Summer Shopping Is Fun

The lil rascal is terribly fortunate he has a fairly wealthy daddy!!! And one who dotes on him very much. Spring is here meaning summer is not too far off. I rummaged through Gabe's last year's summer clothes and many were too small for him. So he didn;t have many choices left. So we asked Daddy for money (lots of it) and went jolly shopping at our new favorite hangout place @ Futagotamagawa, where they have this huge new shopping mall and best of all H&M is there. Gabe got quite a few items from there, mainly shorts n TShirts. The rest we got from Baby Gap. Which by the way we managed to get 50% off all our purchases coz we drew a lucky 50% discount coupon the other day!! So Mummy got a pair of shoes for herself too!! Yippee...

And, seeing how curious he is nowadays with those fast lil hands wanting to grab anything and everything, we decided more toys needed, so Daddy got him this musical animal toy which he seems to like.

More toys but slowly. Dun wanna spoil the lil rascal too much...

We're off to the Zoo soon and later this week we'll be heading for a scenic holiday for 2 days, so meanwhile, enjoy these pics..

Many new clothes

New Toy

Just Being...Gabriel

Pooping is hard Work

Ok, been wanting to upload this for sometime, but never managed to get the video taken in time. Today i caught the babe in action..yes, him pooping...Every time he farts, he makes noise, and when he poops, it's bad. He screams and grunts and moves. EVERYTIME. Yet his poop isn;t hard, it's peanut butterish, so i do not quite know whether it hurts (which shouldn't) or it's simply his way of getting it out???? Anyways, here's a video:




This pic below was taken BEFORE pooping. Hair all stylo, smile so nice.

This is AFTER...can u see the difference? Sweat and tired, poor Gabe. Pooping is hard work.

Just.....Hi..

Just wanted to say Hi Everyone...you'll see me soon in 2months....

Xiao Yi..Look Look..See what i have...Mummy said she gonna eat tonight...

Oops, Whoops.....Tumble

Ok Grandma, your question answered on previous post....He fell off his chair today. No harm done coz it was placed on the mattress. Sigh, i sorta knew this would happen when he kept leaning back sometimes to look at us or just do it for fun...Today he went too far and tumbled over. Damned funny though the sequence...And at the end, he just smiled and played with the chair...Kinda think he thought it was fun...

Update on doc check up today:
Oxy levels Ok, heart flow Ok. His weight 6.7kg, just very slightly up from last month's 6.51kg...and yes he still refuses to eat much solids. I'm looking for salmon fish oil to fatten him up since doc says it's ok to give it to him.

Assessments Begin...

Gabe had his 1st assessment on the 20th April, where they basically just asked us alot of questions with regards to his health, eating habits, sleep and activities. Gabe was pretty well behaved that day, playing with the toys while the psychologist played with him while asking us questions. She says his response is very good. Hehe and as usual, everyone fawned over his lovely hair.

Today, 23rd April, was the assessment with the physical therapist. He had a nice work out today, while she gave him many musical toys to play with and see his response. He did a great job, shaking all the toys really hard and even kicking his legs happily and grabbing things from one hand to the other. She had some exercises and moves to help him try sit and go into crawl positions. She says he did really well, being able to sit supported for a long time and his legs are good, moving all the time. All these will help him to learn to sit and crawl faster with therapy. Gabe was well behaved, smiling to her after awhile and he didn't fuss much too. Was surprised coz i expected him to be screaming away. Guess all the toys had him.

So after the 45mins session she told us that he will need therapy twice a month and will start after he has been evaluated by the doctor on 22nd May. Yes, evaluations after evaluations...more to come. And just yesterday we finally went to Babies R Us to get him a chair. I was sick of him lying on the mattress rolling around. I needed and wanted him to progress. I mean he could already roll like nobody's business, so i though we had better move along since he has weak ab muscles which affects him sitting ability. Initially i wanted the great Bumbo chair coz of all the great reviews it had....But as you will see in the pics, after Gabe tried the chair and nearly fell out, i decided nope..this isn't a good choice for him.

So in the end we settled on a comfy, blow-up chair which after we tried when we got home, i knew it was perfect. It fits him well and provides good support to his back..And Gabe is very pleased too, trying it out playing with his playstation...sat like a king playing with the dangling toys:)

Oh..and specially for Xiao Yi...we bought the Market-O brownies liao...low calorie food usually dun taste too good huh...Mummy tried it and well, it's so-so only lor...nothing to hoo hah...if really no snack to eat or really on diet then i guess this will do...but Xiao-yi since u so fat liao, i tink u can skip it all together...no point wasting 100kcal ..ahahahahah

Bumbo seat: For the first few minutes was OK...then he fell forward

If this is gonna be his position in the Bumbo,then nope...it ain;t gonna do.

The much better blow-up seat...so comfy...yay!!

Today's Therapy, Gabe hard at work

Market-O Choc Brownies @ just 100 cal per piece....Anyone wants?

10 Months and Counting

Gabe turns 10 months tomorrow. How fast time flies. Can't believe it's been so long since i gave birth to him. Yet it feels just like i did yesterday. It's been along long 10 months and by that i mean crazy.

I still have not managed to get 7 hours sleep straight. Depressing. Gabe is sleeping poorly past few months, waking up 3-4 times not to drink, rather, just crying and wanting to be put (sing, rock, etc) to sleep. So yes it's been rough. Dr H says alot of babies go through this period and he says it'll get better...uh-huh...i'm still waiting. Should have asked Dr H to make a guarantee on that.

Gabe's neck muscles are definitely strong now and he can do flips all over the floow and bed. But he still can't sit unsupported yet nor can he crawl, so we're aiming for that development milestone once he starts therapy. He's a happy lil boy and we can already see he has a temper. When he's upset he hits his legs on the floor "bang bang bang" and yells. Sigh...and just now i scolded him, he hit his hand on the chair and let out a displeased yell.....man...we're gonna have loads of tantrums..i can just see it.

But when he smiles, it's a different story...it's like sunshine pouring in on a gloomy day, and everything seems to light up...i love that smile...don;t u ever stop smiling Gabe...

At 10 months, nearing 12, i think alot of couples start to talk about having another child....nope..uh-uh...not for me...not anytime soon...after 9 months of a difficult pregnancy, plus another 10 months of sleepless nights and tough feeding...that's 19 months in total (???!!!!)....no way!!! It scares the living daylights & nightlights out of me when i even think about it. How would i manage? I tried to envision it..carrying Gabe with a carrier, baby#2 on stroller, me with my hair all over, face unmade with unsightly pimples, body in desperate need of a total overhaul (even more frequent breakdowns than the Alfa Romeo)...yup..u guessed it right...simply terrifying..horror..

I've learnt a big lesson since Gabe..i'm just not one of those mothers who adapt to motherhood easily and love the breastfeeding, co-sleeping etc...i thought i would take it like fish to water...but no..

So right now, all i want is Gabe..and also, the energy, love and capability i have within me right now is enough only for Gabe. He needs my full attention and love especially with coming surgeries (pls note...plural) and therapies...

So Gabe, tough luck, you're gonna be an only child for now...let's not venture too far into the future yet..i may change my mind few years later :)...And Hubby, the bright side is that there's only me n Gabe to spend your money...

Happy 10 months baby..Mummy loves u so much, you've come a long way...

A Beautiful Good Friday

The weather is getting warmer here in Tokyo. Today was sunny but still abit coldish at 13degrees. But I decided to treat Gabe to a walk in the park behind our apartment coz he was a good boy sleeping 1.5hrs this morning.

So we started off with a trip to Wan Zu Zhi, a chinese japish restaurant outside our street for a dose of preserved egg tofu and fried noodles with cuttlefish...Gabe was a sweetie sitting in his stroller beside me watching me eat, till he made some noise indicating he wanted some as well....yes baby doesn't want his food, but wants mine...so i gave him a bit of the soup (egg n seaweed)...he liked it and kept making noise for more!! And i tasted it..yucks!! Geez, i made him nice sweet porridge n food, and here he is asking for more of this blah soup?????!!! Anyway he shared some of my tofu too, which he doesn''t really take at home..sighhh...

After lunch we went to the park. Many kids were playing there. And sakuras are in bloom!! Beautiful indeed. Walked around and after awhile sat on the bench to feed Gabe some cheese cake and orange juice...trying to teach him to suck using the straw so have to entice him, but orange juice doesn't seem to be working it's magic..i think coz it's very diluted so he knows somehow i'm cheating him...gotta find another drink...anyway, this honey bear cup i got online from TalkTools in US, supposed to help those with speech problems and weak mouth muscles. And good thing is i can control the fluid by pressing the bear's tummy to make the liquid come up...so i teach Gabe to associate straw with liquid...then he'll get it and learn to suck..which he did a few times i think by accident...

Anyway, i think as the weather here gets better, there'll be lots more walks..Mummy needs to slim down too anyway..

So i'll leave you guys with some pics of today....and a Happy Good Friday to everyone..

Mummy, me no want eat..."puit puit"

Yes, even with such an extensive menu, Gabe has now refused any solids. Not even a few bites. He sees the food, shakes his head and lowers chin to chest, i think in the hope that i get the big hint...but i still try and he will let you put it into his mouth, but then he spits it all out. All the while looking (ok staring more like it, in defiance) and spits it out. Eyes no blink some more....sighhhhhhhhhhhh

Someone please tell me this is a phase (yes he does seem to have many problematic phases) and he will eventually eat solids? My only worry is that if we leave it too late, it will be harder to get him to eat and moreover chewing i read is necessary for good jaw development, esp since he has DS. But i can't force him to eat, so in order not to scare him, i've stopped the solids for a few days and decided to try perhaps 2-3 times a week.

Tried to give him soft finger foods, but unfortunately he plays with it and throws it. He doesn't know how to put it in his mouth i guess and secondly just doesn't seem interested yet perhaps. Initially as i mentioned, he did eat well his porridge n cereal when milk intake was down. But all of a sudden he decided milk is better and now his milk intake has gone back up to a reasonable level. So i think this could also be a factor.

All my efforts wasted. I just hope he gets interested one day soon and starts to attack the food. Till then, wish me luck trying...