Gabe + Food = Not a good Match

Next week, on the 24th Oct is Gabe's montly doc check up, so the frantic "i need to fatten him up" routine has started. This time, since Gabe has been surviving on jarred baby foods, i decided perhaps he was ready to eat some home cooked meals.

***Ok before that, in case some of you think i'm a lazy mother, i previously toiled in the kitchen during weekends to make like 3-4 different kinds of food for him. But His Majesty hated solids and refused, so in the end my hard work went down the drain, literally.

Anyways, i thought that since he's bigger now and a pro at chewing (thanks to Senbeis) perhaps he's had a change of heart and decided Mummy's cooking is healthier and yummier...So, being a slave to His Majesty, i boiled black bean soup for like 3 hours and made stir fried beef with mushrooms and garlic n wee bit of soya sauce for taste...hah!!! Fed it to him, he cried n cried, but ate like half. For dinner, i cooked noodles with pork dumplings and added them to the soup. His Majesty found that it wasn't to his liking and screamed his head off but did eat like 1-2 spoons coz he was starving.

***Another clarification: I do not believe that my cooking sucks. In fact i think the beef looked damned tasty n my soup had tons of pork so it was sweet. No salt for Gabe added. Terry says it serves me right coz i myself am picky n always say people's cooking not nice....

Clarification #3: Yes I am picky as in i do not eat beans especially and some others. So i choose not to eat coz I'm a grown up. And, there are some people's cooking that is seriously really bad and I choose not to eat also. He knows it too, so being in denial doesn't help. There is a difference between bad cooking that people won't eat, and tasty cooking but just that i do not like that particular dish.

Now, clarifications aside, I wanna smack His Majesty's cute ass. In the end, he ended up eating his pumpkin bread. I think perhaps it's not the food rather he seldom gets hungry and if he doesn't then, he just doesn't want to eat....but then again, say he doesn't get hungry till like 6 hours later, what am i supposed to do???? I cannot stand by and do nothing...and besides, we cannot allow a wee boy of 1.5yrs old dictate his routine yet....Too bad Gabe you've got a stubborn ass for a Mummy.

Today, being the loving wife I am, i cooked Terry lunch before he headed off to work. Eggs & stir friend pork strips with veg and tofu and soup...Gave Gabe rice in soup with runny egg yolk and tofu. Scream fest again, but he ate 3/4 with tears running down his face.

So, i'll just have to soldier on till i find the right combo. Till then, pls pray that Gabe & I do not bash each other up.

Some photos for y'all:

This is the beef dish which i blended of course for Gabe

The Pumpkin Tart at Starbucks which Gabe adored

Toast for breakfast: One half with Nutella and the other with Strawberry jam. Yes, tsk tsk, I'm a bad mummy for giving Gabe sugar overload

Happy face with Nutella Toast. See, sugar overload pays off

My boy waiting for therapy to start, he looks so grown up hor

P/S: Grandma is coming next week. And i think you can ask anyone, her cooking is one of the best. So let's see how Gabe responds to her food when she attempts to make some for him.....ahahahhah

P/P/S: Now that i recall, i think Gabe "inherited" this tiny bird like eating habit from Grandpa. Yes, Grandpa, is super picky too and eats like bird...So i guess the Grandson doesn't fall far from the Grandpa????

Ashikaga Flower Park

This weekend was great..really great. We met some old friends and met some new ones. Terry's childhood friend James and his wife Elaine n their cute daughter Naomi came to visit and we had the pleasure of spending some time with them. We decided to go for a 1 day trip to Ashikaga Flower Park and Sano Premium Outlet.

We thought it was near enough, but by car it took us 3 hours to get there and there was abit of a jam too! Anyways, the park was beautiful. And with a lightly warm weather, it was near perfect.

Gabe certainly enjoyed himself and we'll be going back again when Grandma n Grandpa come visit...yay!!!

Tissues Are My Best Friend

There is pure joy when Gabe sees tissues...real joy where his face lights up. Dangle a tissue in front of him if you want to see him crawl real fast...it works like a charm.

I turn my back just for a minute to throw something and the boy was super fast to get his hands on the goods. So happy to get caught too

Is there light at the end of this tunnel?

One of the things about Gabriel is that he is NOT consistent. Whether in his sleeping habits or eating habits. It;s like taking a rollercoaster ride with him every week. One week he's super good, the next he's gone 360degrees the other way. I do not think it's to do with DS, it's just....him being a difficult baby, ever since birth. Even back then, in the hospital he was a light sleeper and had to be put in the auto crib mostly.

Now, at 16 months, you'd think i'd be in lala land every night huh? No way...on good nights i wake at 2am and then maybe 5-6am to feed him (sometimes the boy refuses to drink). On a bad night (which happens like every month for 2 weeks or so), i get up at 10pm, 12am, 3am and then maybe 6am. For the past few months, he'd go to sleep on his own after milk feed at 8pm. Now, he cries n screams when i put him down and i have to rock him to sleep on my chest for about half an hour. Even then, he'd wake about 1.5hrs later.

Lately, i've had to deal with another sudden change. He doesn't want to drink much milk anymore, or eat his solids. He has this bad habit now of spitting...whether it's his milk, solids or even water..sometimes even his saliva. I thought it was teething, but nope, i checked, no new teeth coming out as far as i can see. It's really testing my patience and i can tell you i'm reaching the end of it.

Sometimes i wonder where i went wrong. Did i do anything to make him this way? Sometimes it's so bad that we both cry at night...yah, frazzled...he's already not gaining weight and now this...i've cooked mroe food, like porridge and pasta for him and making it lumpier coz i thought maybe he'd like more chewy foods. Nope...he spits it out too...the only thing that he's been eating consistently past week is his bread..he loves bread..so i have to make sure i have that handy everytime. even his all time fave yogurt is in his spit-list now...

Why...Why...Why....i think he takes joy seeing me like this....Getting Mummy all worked up n frazzled till her eye balls look like it's gonna burst...And you wonder why i don't want another baby?? Go figure..

But again, they say there is a light at the end of every tunnel...so i'm waiting..n waiting...pls pls let me see the light....16 months is long enough time in a tunnel...i need fresh air.

The only thing that remains consistent is his cuteness:)

I always ask him to feed his doll doll milk, he'll take it and then feed himself...

His fave place to be when he crawls...the fridge which i caught him licking a few times...yucks...

After months of screaming when being seated in the stroller, i got him to sit in it again..strapped him in and sat at home till he calmed down and understood that if he wanted to go out, it's either the stroller or nothing..

P/S: gabe understands alot of things i say and ask of him...just that he can't communicate back mostly. But for some things, he'll use his hands to show you

Guess what..the lil rascal pulled himself to stand recently...yup big achievement...and now he loves the sofa...

Here he is at Gymboree yesterday...

He's doing Peek A Boo...

Gabe, show Mummy the light pretty please??????

Being Cute

Just some cuteness to brighten up your day

And here's an everyday moment with him..

Shake Shake Shake

Very early on, Gabe has this thing for shaking stuffs, so he likes toys that make noise when you shake it. Funny thing is, if you watch the video, he can shake using both hands, but when he uses the left hand, his right hands shakes along. But when he uses his right, his left doesn't...i dunno , i find it really funny whenever i see him doing it and both hands shake.

Happy Meal.....NOT

Feeding times are a horror in our household. It usually (out of 7 days, only 2 are good days) ends up with both Gabe & I screaming...and tears follow (it's mostly Gabe, but i have a small share).

When we started solids, it was really really bad so much so i dreaded it. It is better now, but there are some very hard days. Days where you just want to fling the bowl and be done with it. These days, there's less screaming and tears. But still loads of nagging. Mickey Mouse has alot to do with this. Yeah i know some parents are against the idea of watching TV while eating..but sometimes we have to bend the rules abit and focus on the bigger picture. So, if i want Gabe to put on weight, he's gonna have to eat more, and if watching Tv is it, then, yeah...TV it is.

Some of our happy meals:

Breakfast times are the happiest..he seems to enjoy it alot. Dinner is the worts of the lot...which brings us to scream fest:

And, there's the "after screaming scene". Basically he's done his protesting and screaming and crying, but i insist he eats more. So he goes into his "Bo Chap" attitude which means he will eat, but he'll take his time and do it with no joy whatsoever in the hopes that i give up



Yeah, fascinating huh our meal times? Anyone wanna volunteer come feed him?