Fun in the Sun

Captions:
1. A sleepy start at the Cupertino Cherry Blossom Festival. So Miki munchkin woke us up at 6am, refused to go back to sleep, and conveniently fell asleep the minute we got there.
2. A sleepy daddy with a not-so-sleepy Miki.
3. Miki's starting to look like a mini Sumo? The Sumo wrestling demo was pretty cool, by the way.
4. Mr and Mrs Duck with their six precious little ones.
5. Mommy and Miki.

Hot Spot

She's got heat rash, or so we think. Miki came home from the sitter today with tiny little pink bumps on her body, forehead, and tummy. It could have been the dress I put her in, or it could just be the rising temps. But there's nothing a cool bath with her rubber duckie can't fix.

It's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow, with temps expected to hit the high 80s - time to whip out some baby sunscreen and her cute little sun hats. We're off to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Cupertino tomorrow, and I think she's going to love it.

She's much calmer today, and much happier! I can only hope it stays this way.

Meltdown

To put it mildly, it's been an extremely trying, challenging, call-it-what-you-will week with Miki. She wakes up screaming half the time, has trouble going to sleep, and has become very temperamental about feeding. What makes it really tough is that we can't figure out what's wrong. Are we dressing her too warmly? Is she having tummy trouble? Or are these teething tantrums?

Whatever it is, I hope we figure it out soon. Needless to say, we haven't been sleeping well, or very much at all. Two hours here, one hour there - we're lucky if we get 10 in two days. Having said that, I'd better climb into bed.

Please pray for Miki, and us. Thank you.

B for Books and C for Cereal

And A's for Alicia who invited me to join an awesome online book site, www.goodreads.com. It helps folks keep track of what they've read, find out what their friends are reading, trade reviews...the works.

And for the life of me, I can't remember what the last "real" book I read was, except it was borrowed from the Rose Garden library. If I had kept record, my reading repertoire in the past year probably reads like this:
1. What to Expect when you're expecting
2. Book of Baby Names
3. What to Expect in Baby's First Year
4. Baby Sign Language
and more recently,
5. Maisy Goes Swimming
6. Peek-A-Pet

How terribly uninspiring! Having said that, Miki made her first trip to the library Sunday afternoon. She likes Maisy Goes Swimming, which is essentially a pop-up book that asks baby to help Maisy change into bathing suit. Yes, it involves taking everything off from Maisy's hat to bloomers.

On to a happier note, Miki got her first taste of cereal this evening. She's been waking up a lot at night to feed, and I think she's ready. She did alright, though she hasn't quite gotten a hang of eating from the spoon. Huge mess, great fun, though she was a little frustrated at how slow the spoonfuls were coming. We'll probably give it another shot this Wednesday - nice and easy, one tablespoon at a time. Yum!

Toy Shopping

I can't quite remember the last time I went toy shopping; but it must have been at least 20 years ago. We got to relive our childhood a little today when we decided to add to Miki's already crowded collection of toys. I hate to say it, but I think it's more because I'm getting bored of playing with the same, old toys with her day in, day out.

So like all first-time parents, we went a little, just a little, overboard and got her a baby piano with keys that light up, a singing/talking dog, a collection of sponge balls, and a cute duckie toy on wheels to motivate her to move. She's a little lazy when it comes to tummy time, so hopefully this will help. She loves banging on the piano..but she's not taking to the dog as much as I thought she would.

We're headed to the park tomorrow to watch little ducklings in the pond and loud geese terrorizing visitors. Miki loves watching the trees sway, birds flutter, and the wind on her face; so much so we've resorted, on some days, to sitting on the doorstep to calm her.

I guess no matter how raved about toys are, nature's still the ultimate playground.

Jiang Hua Yu

I've been thinking about this lately - how to ensure Miki grows up with a decent Chinese vocabulary. It's pointless running a "Speak Mandarin Campaign" at home when the only person that understands me is me. It's just weird speaking to Miki in Mandarin when Mike's totally clueless about what I'm saying. Trust me, I've tried. That said, my Mandarin isn't all that fluent either, due to an obvious lack of practice.

Grandpa and Grandma in Singapore brought a bunch of Chinese picture books for Miki when they visited early this year and it's been fun learning new words from these infant-to-toddler books (for me, that is.) I mean, who knows what the word for cabbage or onion is in Mandarin?!

Given these dismal circumstances, it's looks as though it's going to be pretty challenging imparting a second language. Ideas? Packing her off to Chinese daycare is one. Others?

Brainy Baby

This borders on insanity! A baby reading at 12 months - with total ease? I'll be happy if Miki figures out how to tell me when she wants milk or a diaper change.

Baby Boom

Come August, Miki's going to have a new cousin - a little baby boy with a name that begins most likely with the letter "D". Suggestions anyone? And we're hoping to head back to Singapore sometime in September even though the prospect of a 17-hour flight with a 10-month-old is as unappealing as finding your seat on the plane, only to realize you're sitting beside a couple with a 10-month-old for the next 17 hours. Imagine the cabinful of eyes that burn with frustration as we walk up and down the isle trying to calm a crying Miki. (And did we mention, she's loud?!) I'm hoping she'll mellow out... or perhaps a little dramamine won't hurt (kidding!).

So besides a little baby boy cousin, whom we shall refer to as "D" until he has a real name, Miki also has other baby friends in the making. Aunty Jean is expecting her second (anytime now) - a little sister for baby Ken Lin. And then there's Aunty Andrea who's welcoming Baby Leia in the next two weeks! :) Miki would have so much fun on playdates with her fellow munchkins if we were back in Singapore.

Now I've succeeded in making myself homesick.

Stranger Shy

Look at how much Miki has grown! Pretty amazing isn't it?

So this not-so-little now munchkin accompanied Mommy to work today and guess what? She's no longer likes it, or perhaps, never did. She was calm until a co-worker decided to pinch her ultra-fat cheeks, and then the screaming began. The only way to calm her was for me to carry her. So carry her, I did, sitting her on my lap, and typing with one finger on one hand. Good thing I didn't plan on staying long.

That aside, she's making it known she doesn't like strangers very much these days. She turns around once in a while to check who's carrying her. It takes about 5 seconds for a new face to register before she screams herself pink. Someone commented we should take her out more...but don't all babies outgrow it at some point?

Oh. And here's Miki's second official word - "I", "Eye", or maybe she was trying to say "Hi." Whatever it is, she's become a real chatterbox! I wonder who she got that from.

Her first words!

It's official. Miki's first words: Da-da. She muttered it sometime early Easter morning as she was chatting with herself. Just to make sure I heard it correctly, I asked her to repeat it, and repeat she did for the rest of the day.

She's apparently so excited and proud about making a new sound that she wouldn't quit talking today. And guess who's thrilled? Daddy's been waiting to hear that for quite awhile and now he wants to know when she'll actually associate the word with him. Maybe after she learns to say "Ma-ma?"

I wonder what's going to come out of her mouth next.

30 pushes, 2 breaths

We finally got down to taking the infant/child class on Saturday and I feel much more comfortable now knowing that I won't be clueless in the event *touchwood* that something does happen.

To recap, here are the CPR steps.
1. Check the scene to make sure it's safe
2. Look, listen, and feel (see if there's breathing)
3. Call for help
4. Assign a person to call 911
5. Give two breaths, and follow with 30 pushes
6. Continue until help arrives.

It's a set of skills that's good to have but one you hope you'll never ever have to use - just like cord blood banking, an investment that you hope you'll never cash in on.

To Shave or Not to Shave

Miki was born with sort of a natural mohawk - a tuft of comb-resistant, standing hair in the middle, with thining fine hairs on the sides - or as Aunty Lynn puts it, "Hair like David Beckham!" The situation has been made a tad worse now that bald spots are appearing faster than we can say "to shave or not to shave."

Grandma and Grandpa in Singapore are of the opinion that shaving will help her hair grow faster, thicker, and more evenly. But I think Miki won't be Miki if we make her baby "mohawk" go away. Not to mention the problem of finding someone who can shave her head without the risk of nicking her scalp. Also, this Asian custom could very well be a myth, as some internet sources point out. The coarser and (as a result) healthier-looking locks don't have much to do with shaving stimulating new growth. Rather, it's because you're simply snipping away the softer tips. What's left naturally are the thicker portions of the hairs. Make sense?

For now, Miki's hair is safe - unless all that's left is a lonely island of hair on top. And at the rapid rate she's shedding, leaving a circular bald spot around the circumference of her head, we just might have to.

Do Babies Remember?

I'm asking because little Miki cried the second we stepped into the doc's office today for her second round of shots. It's almost as though she remembers. Unfortunately, research, as always, remains unconclusive as to how much or little a baby remembers in the first year of his/her life.

But I did find an interesting Newsweek article online "Reading Your Baby's Mind" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8852928/site/newsweek/

In a nutshell, babies aren't as simple-minded as they seem. They're capable of an impressive repertoire of emotions - ranging from jealousy to empathy - from as early as 3 months.

Back to the doc's visit, Miki weighed in at 14 pounds 13 ounces today - she gained an extra 4.5 ounces in 6 days, which also means our arms are getting tired!! We've started using the Ergo Carrier (www.ergocarrier.com) and so far so good, she appears to like it.

Clothing Conspiracy

There has to be some sort of confusion conspiracy among baby garb makers. It's been four months and I still can't quite figure out what size Miki truly is. Just yesterday I had to clear her closet again, weeding out the 3-6 month sleepers she can no longer fit into. And to our amazement, her 6-9 month sleepers are a close-to-snug fit.

Something just doesn't add up. Mikayla's growth isn't off the charts - so it's not unreasonable to assume she should fit into anything that says 3-6 months at this point. But that hasn't been the case. She fits into a 12m when it comes to certain French labels (perhaps the book French Women don't get Fat is on to something)

The question begs: Since these growth charts are pretty much universal, why don't baby garment makers use them as a guide, instead of coming up with their individual sizing charts - as though parents don't have enough to keep track of? And I wonder if baby boy clothes are sized larger than those of baby girls. Hmmm...

Enough rambling... I think I'm just feeling a teeny weeny bit disappointed that she's outgrown all her cute little spring dresses before she got to wear them. :)

Baby Brief:
Babysitter said she was a little fussy in the afternoon and wanted to be carried all the time. Other than that, she's been an angel all around.