Z is 21 months old!

Here are two latest pictures of Z taken last weekend. My baby is growing so fast!

5 months just went past so quickly; not easy to juggle a full time work, family and 'ME' time.

I was just looking back at Z's older pictures, selecting them to be posted in this journal. Am amazed how different Z is now compared to just few months ago and how much he has grown (physically, mentally and emotionally). 

November 2013:

We went to Langkawi for a short family holiday and the weather there was awesome! Z's favourite thing to do was going to the pool. He would point to the door the first thing he woke up; in the morning & from his naps. I think he likes the idea of staying near the pool because we visited the pool up to three times in a day.

                                       

We stayed at The Westin Langkawi as we wanted to pick a hotel that is baby friendly and could order Z's food separately. Z was 16 months old then and we were trying to delay in introducing salt and sugar to him until maybe about 2 years old. I was nursing Z by the pool with a fantastic weather and the feeling was so special :) 

We went up to the Langkawi Cable Car, a must go when you're in Langkawi. The queue management was horrible as we had to queue by standing in a line for almost 2 hours even though we were given numbers. The ride up was quite scary as it was really high up. The views were breath-taking even though the sky bridge was closed for maintenance. Heard that it was closed for quite a long time; almost two years. I would recommend every visitor to Langkawi to go up the cable car but try to avoid public holidays or weekends and try to go in the afternoon, at about 2pm. We were surprised to see there were no queue when we were leaving the cable car centre at about 2pm. 

December 2013:

Christmas 2013. Z's 2nd Christmas :)

We were at Jungle Gym, Bangsar Shopping Centre on the last day of 2013

January 2014:

Z's Calendars 2014!!!!! 

Z's first Chinese New Year shoes!

The moment Z saw these shoes, he was pointing & touching them while saying 'ar! ar!', that's his version of 'car'. His not-so-nice haircut was by his mommy :( I think I got better in cutting his hair after this haircut.

February 2014:

Z started imitating the adults by holding a phone to his year by saying 'arloo' and 'bye'. He would also use both hands to pretend to press on the phone as if he was texting. 

Chinese New Year 2014

Z the drummer boy!

Z simply loved the lion dance performances. He liked the drummer boys and would stared at them the whole performance but not at the lions. He would prefer to approach & try to hit the drums than reaching to touch the lions. Z never cease to amaze us on the things and details that he would get fixated on. He is so sharp that he would notice almost everything and would quickly point out on things that he likes.

March 2014:

We celebrated Z's Suk Suk (Uncle in Chinese) birthday!

April 2014: 

It was Grandpa Yong & Gandpa Chong's birthday month!

April was a very special month because two of Z's favourite persons had their birthday celebrations! Z was the centre of attention because he got to sit on the birthday boys' lap to sing the birthday song and blow the candles. He could hum many songs and sometimes would sing to himself. He has his daddy's trait because SJ would do that sometimes in the car when the radio was not turned on. It was quite fun to watch ;) 

Compared to 5 months ago, my baby:

Has more hair now.

He could run very fast now.

He could reach the door knob and turns it.

He could reach many things on the table.

He understands very well what we were saying.

He could follow instructions.

He could imitate the words that we speak and the words that he uttered would surprised us.

He can negotiates.

He knows what is a quiet corner. I introduced the quiet corner to him sometime in April after I realised that hitting his hands and legs did not make good sense. I would usually threaten to hit his hands if he did something that we didn't approve. There was once he was jokingly hitting his great-grandmother (Tai Poh) and I told him that he shouldn't hit Tai Poh because it hurts and wasn't nice. The moment I said: 'If you hit Tai Poh again, I am going to hit you', this entire sentence felt so wrong. How could I possibly educate my child not to hit anyone if I continuously hit him? It was there and then that I have decided to stop hitting him because he understands what I am saying now. 

He could hums the entire song of a few nursery rhymes. His favourites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and London Bridge is Falling Down.

He could recite A, B, C, maybe for the first 5 to 6 alphabets and hum the rest of the ABC song. 

He could count 1, 2, 3 and to 10 but missed a few numbers in between.

My baby is growing so fast and looking more like the man that I fell in love with, his daddy. I love my little family :)

Now I need to make it a point to update this journal at least once a month! 

Z is 16 months old!

This whole month seemed to pass quicker than before. I truly believe the earth rotates a little quicker now and the clocks know that too! I think there was a study about this.

*Started writing this post on the 20th November but didn't get to post it until today.

My baby is 16 months old today! I forgot about this until in the evening when someone asked me how old is my son & I replied her quickly; 15 plus months. It was only when I saw the date & internalised that it's 20th today that I realised that my baby is another month older!

Zach with his cheeky smile. 

Updates:
1. Z can walk steadily now, almost without fall/sitting on the floor in between steps. He could climb easily onto and down from his bike, alphabet train and other toys.

2. He is about 32 inches tall, that's 81 cm. My father in law said for boys, you'd know his adult height when you take the height at 2 year old times with 2. He is almost 3 feet now and if he reaches 36 inches by July 2014, then, he will surely grow to 6 ft (180cm) as his maximum height. We predicted he would be at least the same height if not taller than his dad. SJ is 6 ft tall. So, am expecting 2 tall bodyguards to go out with me when he is older :)

3. He has about 14 teeth now. He has molars popped out at the bottom and I could see his molars are sprouting out on top too. I bought a toothpaste for Z that is suitable for 4 years old and below. It was extremely expensive, imported from USA and made from natural ingredients. It was written on the tube that it can be swallowed and has a yummy bubblegum flavour to it. There was a toothpaste speciality store near my office and they had rows and rows of children tooth paste in that shop. I would usually drawn to new shops & of course I had to walk in to see what they have.

I hope this tube would last for a very long time (maybe until like when Z was 4 years old!) because I can buy 6-7 tubes of our usual Colgate toothpaste with this one Branam Xylitol Tooth Gel.

On the plus point, Z was very excited to see me open the cap of this toothpaste and squeeze onto his cute tiny blue toothbrush. I would just touched the paste onto the brush and it was really little but I guess he could taste it in his mouth because he was biting and sucking the toothbrush. Z would let me brush his teeth willingly for a good 1-2 minutes before he grab the brush and proceed to brush on his own. I have been demonstrating gargling my mouth with water and spitting it out in a very exaggerated motion but Z haven't master the spitting of water from his mouth. He kept drinking the water from the cup which was really funny. I guess the only way to improve is don't give up and keep on trying. Same thing with everything else in training a baby or toddler. Being persistent! Which is something I am quite good at :P

4. Something very funny happened yesterday; Z was attempting to sit on his tiny bull-dozer. Z loves everything with wheels. We were at my best friend (also Z's Kai Ma) to visit my little Kai Lui and the only magazine there was there was about baby products and it has strollers pictures in them. Z was pointing excitedly to the wheels on the strollers as he would usually very fixated to magazine with cars. The boy-mechanical brain is like inborn and comes naturally. 

Z attempting to sit on his mini bulldozer. Poor bulldozer!

5. Z's favourite word is 'ai-yah!' with a loud sigh like an old man! It is really funny hearing him especially when he tries to get up from a sitting position, picking things up from the floor, pushing his toys or walking. He is also babbling away many baby words. I can imagine that he is quite fun to have a conversation with because he is so animated! 

6. Z's vocabulary is getting bigger and he is absorbing these by himself without us consciously repeating to him. The adults in the house have a habit of saying things out loud and explaining to Z when we're with him and I guess by this way, he is learning and having a lot of input. I opened a picture dictionary bought by SJ for the first time this week and was very surprised that he could recognised many pictures when I called out the names. I was such an impressed and proud Mommy! Could see in this video that his favourite things are the vehicles.

               

Am really proud of my baby. He is knowing and growing so fast! 

Z's first birthday!

Zach's first 'all fresh fruits only' birthday cake 

(taken a day before Z's birthday, on the 19th July 2013 about midnight)

This post is 3 months late. 

I was quite proud of myself with the cake that I've made for Z. Z's 1st big birthday was on the 20th July, which was a Saturday and it took SJ and I awhile on how shall we celebrate Z's first birthday. We didn't want to make it very big because the birthday boy is too young to know what's happening and we didn't want it to be ended up as party for the parents. SJ insisted that he wanted a really small group of people but I didn't mind to have a bigger group. So, in the end we decided to invite only 41 people consisted of immediately family members & our close friends.

We decided to have Z's birthday party's theme as 'Under the Sea' because Z was very interested with his sea animals bath toys. Those toys could keep him very much occupied during bath time. He loves to look at the fishes in the aquarium too. 

I have also ordered a cake with under the sea animals theme from my friend, HY from Cake Pantry. I wasn't confident if I could make the all-fresh-fruits only birthday cake for Zach. I wanted to make it as Z hasn't started eating any salt or sugar yet and I thought it would be really sad if Z wasn't allowed to eat his own birthday cake. Since Z loves fruits, so this special cake seemed perfect! I went online and searched some photos and write-up about this special cake. Asked HY where I could buy some sea animals moulds & she found them for me in Penang; crab, turtle, dolphin & octopus. Thank goodness the cake turned out well ;)

Getting started; I hardly cook & haven't carved anything in my life since Kemahiran Hidup (Integrated living skills subject) in secondary school. I bought Z's favourite fruits; papaya, melon, peach, grapes. I should have bought more colourful fruits such as green kiwi and pineapples to make the cake more colourful. 

The cute moulds! 

Melon sea animals! They were so cute!

I spent about 2 hours to plan, looking at the websites, cut and think how should I arrange the fruits. I used tooth picks to hold them together at the sides. I cut Z.A.C.H with free hand & I was quite proud with myself. Haha. My brother in law asked me how much I bought this cake and where I bought it. Many people were surprised that I made this. Guess I am really not a domestic person & most people know that. 

We're ready to party!

Ta-daa! My cake on the left & HY's cake by Cake Pantry on the right :D 

Z's birthday was held at Marmalade, Publika Solaris Dutamas KL. We ordered a western fusion buffet and had the whole indoor restaurant to ourselves for lunch. Marmalade gave us free 40 helium balloons and we had them in pastel blue and green. The decorations were also provided by Marmalade. We enjoyed our party and the food was good! Alicia, the owner of Marmalade did a very good job :)

Z with his proud parents. 

Z and his friends. 

Z with all his birthday presents! His biggest present were the swing set by his dearest uncle, JYSC. Z is so blessed to be loved by so many people around him. Z is a lucky boy!

This little boy is growing so fast and he looks different now at 15 months compared to 3 months ago when these photos were taken. I am going to miss the baby Z soon!

To Z, Mommy and Daddy love you very much and will always love do. Grow up healthily & happily!

Lots of love, hugs & kisses from Mommy & Daddy :))))

Baby Shopping!

Aunty Jamie or will be known as Yi Yi to baby bought all these for our baby!! Since Jamie knows it's a boy, it's so much easier to choose.. these clothes are soooooo cute!! THANK YOU Jamie Yi Yi!! Was so happy to receive this picture message from her :)))

 Mom & Baby's Expo 2012 was held at Midvalley, KL last weekend. It was also the very first time SJ & I went to do some serious baby shopping, or rather window shopping because we haven't been doing much research on baby products and we have so little knowledge on what's in the market. Good thing we have got this list when we were looking at strollers at Baby Cottage, PJ. This list is REALLY useful! Shall use this list to shop ;) Also I'm so lucky to be surrounded by new mommies (you know who you are if you're reading this!) and I can always go to them to get advice before I purchase anything :))))))

We really should start checking out from the internet or forums on what's recommended and not. My usual strategy when I see a particular product range, example the strollers, I would ask the promoter for the best-sellers in the shop. This is because I believe that particular model is a best-seller for many good reasons; value for money, quality, functionality etc and that many people has probably done a lot of research before they decide on this particular item, therefore, I'll just go for the best-seller. I am not a person that compares much or maybe I'm just lazy. I'd usually just get three quotations that fits my budget range and I'll usually pick one of them after I've done a list of pros and cons on these three quotations. I practically do a pros and cons list in almost every decision I've made! :S

The things that we focused on yesterday were the ranges and prices of baby bottles, organic made products, strollers, breast pump machines, stem-cell companies and baby cots. Had to stay focus because we didn't have a whole day there. So many different types of products/companies that we've never heard of! Things that we bought yesterday were 3 boxes of organic detergent powder (buy 2 boxes, free 1; have to start washing baby's clothes soon), bibs and some organic toys. Really going for organic stuffs :P 

I have so many things cluttered around that I really need to get sorted out before 3rd trimester. I really must list down the items that I already have or will be getting from friends/family and a list on what to get as this list would be really handy when comes to shopping. So much to do! At the same time, SJ is coming out a list of things to get for our new house! This year is really a busy but exciting year!!

It's a BOY!!

Last Friday was quite an exciting day ;) We were going for my monthly antenatal visit on that day! Don't think anyone gets so happy to see doctor! Haha! My sister, Jamie came as well this time. I brought my thumbdrive with the hope to save the ultrasound visual and audio but unfortunately we couldn't because Dr. Choong doesn't think his machine can do that :( He recommended me to go to FMGC, Jaya 1, Petaling Jaya to get a detailed 3D/4D scan because they are the scanning experts. Dr. Choong had an amused look that we're just so excited because we're first time parents :P

Started that day's consultation with a lot of questions from me:
1. I wanted to know how big is the baby now because many people been asking me this question which I have no idea.
Answer: He would measure and let me know today so I can let my friends know. Expectant mothers of dragon babies are more competitive!
2. Am I too big for my current stage?
Answer: SJ is tall and I'm quite tall myself, so it's quite normal to expect that baby's quite big. He thinks bigger baby is good. So, nothing to worry about.
3. Baby been kicking me on my right side my of belly. What is his position now?
Answer: He said that it's common for baby to kick on my right side but soon, it will be all over my tummy. Baby's position that day was head down and his legs were up horizontally.
4. My mother has been very concerned about Down Syndrome and asked me about baby's neck measurements.
Answer: Dr. Choong did the measurement when I was 3rd month pregnant and it was normal. Plus my blood test also came back low risk. So, it's nothing to worry about. The only way to confirm is by doing an amniocentesis test which has a 1% risk of miscarriage. He had cases where the results came back normal but the baby fell.
5. Also told him about my friend's stillborn baby on the 8th month and I wanted to know what are the causes.
Answer: There could be so many reasons but the main reason is birth defect but most cases are closed with unknown cause because it's just too painful for the parents to find out more from autopsy.

Most of the answers that he gave me that day was sort of expected. I think there is nothing much doctors can say other than keep on reassuring the patients that everything is going to be ok. He probably gets these questions a zillion times in a day and even more with new parents, like myself.

Dr Choong spent a lot of time at the ultrasound that day because he had an audience (my sister!). Jamie stood near him at the ultrasound screen. There were 2 screens; one that Dr Choong was clicking and operating on, and the other was across the consultation bed that SJ and I were looking at. Jamie tried to record the ultrasound with her Ipad2 but I'm not sure if it was clear. I didn't mind looking at the ultrasound all the time because it was fun seeing some black and white images moving around and I was trying to visualise what's on the screen. The first thing Dr Choong pointed out was the heart, which was blinking and beating. The next thing he pointed out was 'it's a boy'! He was showing baby's penis on the screen but I couldn't really see it. Jamie and SJ could see it. So, it's confirmed a boy! We can now start looking at baby things in blue colour, clothes with soccer ball, dinosaurs, aeroplanes designs. hehe.

He measured baby's head circumference and baby is estimated to be 506grams that day. I have gained 7 kilograms and baby is less than 600grams! I was expecting baby to be bigger but Dr said that baby's growing well, so it's all good. Dr also checked baby's heart and other organs and all look good. He also checked the heartbeats (my favourite part!) and the rhythm sounds regular, good and strong :)))))))) I was really happy leaving his clinic that day. Felt so relieved and happy that all is good. I have a 'circle' of worry that goes around almost every month, especially in the past two months. Each time after my dr's visit I would be really relieved but as the time passes (usually between 2-3 weeks later), I'll start to worry again and I've told SJ that I wished we could go for Dr's visit every 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks. I think 4 weeks is a little too long.

Dr. Choong suggested that we go and have a look at the labour and post-natal rooms. We went to the rooms and there were nurses showing us the rooms; what was inside, some of them were like suites with fridge, sofa and tv. I was wondering how long usually the expectant mothers would be in the labour room because it was so nice with all these facilities. Her reply was up to 48 hours :S I really hope I won't take that long. I am going to be in one of these rooms in less than 5 months time and seeing these rooms helped me prepare mentally by visualising that we will be there in July.

We were in the hospital longer than usual that day but it was all good :) I was happy and decided to reward myself by having a few sips of cold Starbucks frappuccino which I shared with Jamie! :)))) I'm not supposed to have cold drinks but I guess a few sips should be ok because I was feeling very happy. I know these happy feelings are going to last for a very long time :))

I'm 21 weeks pregnant TODAY..

Apparently my pregnancy week starts on a Thursday because I received a newsletter/update from www.babycenter.com.my telling me that I'm 21 weeks pregnant today! I have been following babycenter.com since about week 10, after my friend, Audrey introduced this website to me. This website has been incredible useful. It answers many questions I have about pregnancy especially on the what not to eat part at the beginning of my pregnancy.

My last visit at the doctor's was on the 13th February which was quite exciting because we were about to find out our baby's gender!! It was really funny because everyone in the Chong family was so excited especially my sister. My sister, Jamie and mom were sending whatapps messages at 4.30pm after my dr's appointment asking for Dr's findings. I didn't answer Jamie quick enough because was chatting with the staff nurse there and she got annoyed! So funny! Dr Choong couldn't confirm the gender as baby was rather shy that day, but he was 90% sure it's a BOY!!! Hence, this blue coloured background blog :P

Almost everyone 'predicted' that I am carrying a baby boy.. my mom & mom-in-law dreamt that I was carrying a baby boy, a feng shui master predicted that I will have a boy as my first child.. my friend, Cin Neng thinks I'm having a boy because the father-to-be gained weight.. my friend, Yin Teng and my colleague, Cindy thinks that I'm having a boy because I'm looking less 'feminine' while pregnant, this could be my super short hair & I gained quite a lot of weight at the beginning of my pregnancy.. another friend, Mazzy thinks that I have a baby boy bump.. others think it's a boy because I didn't experience major morning sickness at the beginning.. 

I guess only my sister, Jamie wanted a girl.. to both SJ and myself, it doesn't matter whether it's a boy or a girl as long the baby is healthy. I just can't wait for my next visit to see the doctor on the 9th March! I hope baby will be less shy then ;)