In the words of Teacher Sarah who told us, "Riley is a eater" when we saw her at the last Parent-Teacher Meeting, we're finding out that Reece is one too.
It started this week - whenever we sat down to eat, Reece would scream at the top of his lungs to join us at the table. And then he'd push his tongue out again and again while staring at the food and this eventually leads to him crying in distress.
What calms him down a little is for me to latch him on. He doesn't actually drink much milk then but what he wants is to hold the nipple in his mouth and occasionally suckle a bit. And all this time, he'd be staring at our food.
Poor mummy is left wondering how she's going to make it through reunion dinner on Saturday night. =_=
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Monday, 8 February 2010
More on school
I was telling Riley that before Reece enters infantcare in April, he'll have to first learn to use a milk bottle. I also explained that it might be a difficult process for Reece because Riley himself never really took to the bottle and would rather go hungry.
Hearing this, Riley goes to Reece and says, "When you go to infantcare, (if) milk bottle difficult, go to Teacher Angie* and drink from her breast, ok?"
*Teacher Angie - teacher at infantcare and playgroup. Fierce lady...
Hearing this, Riley goes to Reece and says, "When you go to infantcare, (if) milk bottle difficult, go to Teacher Angie* and drink from her breast, ok?"
*Teacher Angie - teacher at infantcare and playgroup. Fierce lady...
Full-day school
This month, Riley starts staying in childcare two full-days on top of his usual half-days.
Now that he's in N2, he's included in Speech and Drama classes (in Mandarin on Wednesday and English on Thursday). We signed him up because it's cheap ;p ($80 a month for both!), convenient (no need to send him anywhere) and mostly because we thought he would enjoy something like that (that's why we said no to the group piano class - can't imagine him sitting down for 45 minutes).
The only bad thing about the classes is that it starts at 5pm and ends at 5.45pm. This means he now takes his afternoon nap and dinner at childcare on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The poor boy. When he stayed back for his first class last Wednesday, he was totally knackered by the time we picked him up at 6.30pm. He couldn't even tell us anything about his day - which is unusual cos he usually has lots to say.
But after his 2nd class the next day, he was chatty and not as tired as he was the previous day. Children do get used to changes very quickly! He doesn't say he enjoys the classes but he has lots to say about what he does during the classes so Weng and I take that as a good sign.
Now that he's in N2, he's included in Speech and Drama classes (in Mandarin on Wednesday and English on Thursday). We signed him up because it's cheap ;p ($80 a month for both!), convenient (no need to send him anywhere) and mostly because we thought he would enjoy something like that (that's why we said no to the group piano class - can't imagine him sitting down for 45 minutes).
The only bad thing about the classes is that it starts at 5pm and ends at 5.45pm. This means he now takes his afternoon nap and dinner at childcare on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The poor boy. When he stayed back for his first class last Wednesday, he was totally knackered by the time we picked him up at 6.30pm. He couldn't even tell us anything about his day - which is unusual cos he usually has lots to say.
But after his 2nd class the next day, he was chatty and not as tired as he was the previous day. Children do get used to changes very quickly! He doesn't say he enjoys the classes but he has lots to say about what he does during the classes so Weng and I take that as a good sign.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Reece is 6 weeks old
and he's 7kg and about 58cm long.
He loves his milk but he's pretty clear when he wants it and when he's had enough. Nothing can tempt him to latch on when he doesn't want to. And then there are times when he wants to but can't find the nipple - that always happens in the night when it's pitch dark.
When we put him on his tummy, he can turn his head from one side to the other and lift his head off to grumble very loudly to his evil parents. When we leave him on the bed on his back, we'd sometimes come back to find him on his side.
When he's not nursing or sleeping, he loves being carried and talked to and when he smiles, I get to see his dimples. But he doesn't smile very often (yet, I hope) so I seldom get to see them and seeing them becomes an event for me. :)
He doesn't like being left on his own or being put in the bedroom when everyone else is in the living room. And he makes this known by wailing so loudly the neighbours all hear him.
And how does he get along with his big brother? He's perfectly comfortable with the screaming, screeching, wailing, crying, shouting, kicking, pushing and poking. (Yup, that's from the 3-year-old.) He likes staring at Riley and just watching the theatrics that Riley gets up to these days.
At night, they sleep next to each other and that's when I get to look at them and enjoy them in quiet. Then, Weng and I fit ourselves next to them on the same bed and we all fall asleep.
Happy 6 weeks, Reece!
He loves his milk but he's pretty clear when he wants it and when he's had enough. Nothing can tempt him to latch on when he doesn't want to. And then there are times when he wants to but can't find the nipple - that always happens in the night when it's pitch dark.
When we put him on his tummy, he can turn his head from one side to the other and lift his head off to grumble very loudly to his evil parents. When we leave him on the bed on his back, we'd sometimes come back to find him on his side.
When he's not nursing or sleeping, he loves being carried and talked to and when he smiles, I get to see his dimples. But he doesn't smile very often (yet, I hope) so I seldom get to see them and seeing them becomes an event for me. :)
He doesn't like being left on his own or being put in the bedroom when everyone else is in the living room. And he makes this known by wailing so loudly the neighbours all hear him.
And how does he get along with his big brother? He's perfectly comfortable with the screaming, screeching, wailing, crying, shouting, kicking, pushing and poking. (Yup, that's from the 3-year-old.) He likes staring at Riley and just watching the theatrics that Riley gets up to these days.
At night, they sleep next to each other and that's when I get to look at them and enjoy them in quiet. Then, Weng and I fit ourselves next to them on the same bed and we all fall asleep.
Happy 6 weeks, Reece!
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Sunday, 17 January 2010
Almost a month
So what have we been up to?
On weekdays, it's off to the childcare centre for Riley and to the polyclinic/hospital for me and Reece. Reece's jaundice is still in the high 200s so we've got to get a blood test every other day. There are also more tests that doctors have ordered at the hospital because of the high levels of bilirubin when Reece was admitted on day 9 of his life.
After the polyclinic, it's bath time for Reece and breakfast time for mama. Then at 12.30, we all troop down to the childcare centre to pick up Riley and then we go home so everyone can nap.
It's been a hectic blur going in and out of doctor's offices and learning to be parents of two. Some evenings, Reece is crying because no one is carrying him and Riley is zipping around the flat, screaming in joy/anger (delete where appropriate) and that's when things get a little crazy.
But we're surviving. It's been challenging (to say the least) but it's a period we'll have to get through. :)
This weekend has been about celebrations - celebrating Reece approaching his first month next Thursday, celebrating Riley being a big brother, celebrating Weng and I making it past this month.
There was a buffet lunch at the Chans' on Saturday and then dinner with the Tans on Sunday. And for me, it was just nice taking a break from the many many medical appointments we go for every other day.
We love you, Reece! Now we are 4!
(We took this photo before dinner this evening because I set aside 45 minutes for us to shower - yes, Reece showers with us too! - and get ready but we were done in 20 minutes so I asked Weng to take a family picture.)
On weekdays, it's off to the childcare centre for Riley and to the polyclinic/hospital for me and Reece. Reece's jaundice is still in the high 200s so we've got to get a blood test every other day. There are also more tests that doctors have ordered at the hospital because of the high levels of bilirubin when Reece was admitted on day 9 of his life.
After the polyclinic, it's bath time for Reece and breakfast time for mama. Then at 12.30, we all troop down to the childcare centre to pick up Riley and then we go home so everyone can nap.
It's been a hectic blur going in and out of doctor's offices and learning to be parents of two. Some evenings, Reece is crying because no one is carrying him and Riley is zipping around the flat, screaming in joy/anger (delete where appropriate) and that's when things get a little crazy.
But we're surviving. It's been challenging (to say the least) but it's a period we'll have to get through. :)
This weekend has been about celebrations - celebrating Reece approaching his first month next Thursday, celebrating Riley being a big brother, celebrating Weng and I making it past this month.
There was a buffet lunch at the Chans' on Saturday and then dinner with the Tans on Sunday. And for me, it was just nice taking a break from the many many medical appointments we go for every other day.
We love you, Reece! Now we are 4!
(We took this photo before dinner this evening because I set aside 45 minutes for us to shower - yes, Reece showers with us too! - and get ready but we were done in 20 minutes so I asked Weng to take a family picture.)
Saturday, 2 January 2010
In hospital
Wednesday morning started off normal enough - Riley went to his childcare centre and I went into town with Reece for a routine visit with the paediatrician.
At the paediatrician's office, she noticed that Reece was a little yellow and did a jaundice test. I wasn't too surprised as Riley had jaundice too and Weng and I had also noticed the yellow in Reece and we've been sunning him every morning.
So when the doctor asked us to rent a bilibed home so Reece could undergo some phototherapy, I agreed and was relieved he didn't have to go to the hospital like Riley did.
But I was wrong. Later, as Weng and I were having our lunch and waiting to pick up Riley, the doctor rang and said Reece's jaundice levels were dangerously high and we had to admit him to hospital immediately.
We rushed down to KK Hospital and at the A&E, we got more horrifying news - the levels were so high that the doctors had to consider if Reece had to undergo a blood exchange transfusion to quickly bring down his jaundice levels.
I then rang my sister-in-law who's a neonatalogist at KK and she came down to help take care of Reece.
He was put under 5 lights in the phototherapy bed immediately and we were told that he needed to stay in there for 24 hours with only 10 minute breaks for breastfeeding every 3 hours.
It was heartbreaking enough to see my 9-day-old struggling inside the bed, not understanding what's happening to him.
Then, when it was time for Weng and Riley to go home, there were a lot more tears as Riley and I clung to each other crying for the fact that it'll be the first night we're spending away from each other. Riley cried all the way home and then some more...
The biggest shocker came in the evening when the doctors came in with the test results from that afternoon - the results were so high that they were going to do another test immediately to see if it had dropped since he started phototherapy. If it hadn't dropped significantly enough, they would start with the blood exchange transfusion.
There was a lot of activity then as the nurses prepared the equipment, the doctors were briefed and my sister-in-law put a call in to the blood bank to get them to prepare the blood.
Thankfully, the evening's results were alright enough for the doctors to hold off the transfusion.
In all, we spent three days in hospital.
New Year's Eve saw me at the window in the nurses' pantry watching the fireworks at Marina Bay. And we spent the morning of New Year's Day going between the ward and A&E where Riley was because he was running a high fever.
When we were told we could go home, all of us were thrilled, especially Riley who cheered 'Hooray! Hooray!' because he no longer had to spend nights without his mother.
Happy to be home!
At the paediatrician's office, she noticed that Reece was a little yellow and did a jaundice test. I wasn't too surprised as Riley had jaundice too and Weng and I had also noticed the yellow in Reece and we've been sunning him every morning.
So when the doctor asked us to rent a bilibed home so Reece could undergo some phototherapy, I agreed and was relieved he didn't have to go to the hospital like Riley did.
But I was wrong. Later, as Weng and I were having our lunch and waiting to pick up Riley, the doctor rang and said Reece's jaundice levels were dangerously high and we had to admit him to hospital immediately.
We rushed down to KK Hospital and at the A&E, we got more horrifying news - the levels were so high that the doctors had to consider if Reece had to undergo a blood exchange transfusion to quickly bring down his jaundice levels.
I then rang my sister-in-law who's a neonatalogist at KK and she came down to help take care of Reece.
He was put under 5 lights in the phototherapy bed immediately and we were told that he needed to stay in there for 24 hours with only 10 minute breaks for breastfeeding every 3 hours.
It was heartbreaking enough to see my 9-day-old struggling inside the bed, not understanding what's happening to him.
Then, when it was time for Weng and Riley to go home, there were a lot more tears as Riley and I clung to each other crying for the fact that it'll be the first night we're spending away from each other. Riley cried all the way home and then some more...
The biggest shocker came in the evening when the doctors came in with the test results from that afternoon - the results were so high that they were going to do another test immediately to see if it had dropped since he started phototherapy. If it hadn't dropped significantly enough, they would start with the blood exchange transfusion.
There was a lot of activity then as the nurses prepared the equipment, the doctors were briefed and my sister-in-law put a call in to the blood bank to get them to prepare the blood.
Thankfully, the evening's results were alright enough for the doctors to hold off the transfusion.
In all, we spent three days in hospital.
New Year's Eve saw me at the window in the nurses' pantry watching the fireworks at Marina Bay. And we spent the morning of New Year's Day going between the ward and A&E where Riley was because he was running a high fever.
When we were told we could go home, all of us were thrilled, especially Riley who cheered 'Hooray! Hooray!' because he no longer had to spend nights without his mother.
Happy to be home!
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