Nathaniel » 2008

Jab weekend again.. when will it end?

After being alerted by a colleague on the news that Canada has classified the chemical Bisphenol-A as a harmful substance, we decided to change Nathaniel’s plastic milk bottles to bottles that are Bisphenol-A free. Well, maybe we are being paranoid as all these plastic bottles have been used for years without adverse effects. But we changed the bottles anyway.. parents.. Next up is to get a new water filter!

Nathaniel had his final of his 6 in 1 jabs yesterday… but he has 2 more pneumococcal jabs coming up, then it will really be over (I hope/think)! Well, kudos to Nathaniel, he did not cry (nor did he know what happened actually) when the jab was administered. Brave Boy, Even daddy had to look away. His face contorted for a moment and his attention resumed on the toy daddy was using to distract him. Distraction really works for babies (especially for Nathaniel) because I think they cannot concentrate on too many things at one time.

When we told the paediatrician that Nathaniel can pull himself to a standing position, she was amazed and said that is normally a feat only a 9 month old can pull off. I didn’t know why I felt proud, but I did. Haha, not like it meant anything actually, but it somehow feels good.

Look ma! I can stand!

Oh, one more thing, because DHL delivers on Sundays, we have a new parcel of clothes for Nathaniel!

A Bag of Energy

Nathaniel has recovered from his rashes and with his recovery, he seems to be wasting no time in making up for all the fun he has missed while he was down. He is a little bundle of energy now, and he seems to be learning very fast too. We see him ‘casually’ bringing himself up to a sitting position (which was something new this week) and staying there. Occasionally he will scare us by reaching for the top rail of the cot and trying to haul himself up. That prompted us to bring the cot level down one more rung (its almost like a promotion for little Nathaniel).

He just doesn’t keep still. He is always crawling/rolling around, looking for something to get his hands on. When not crawling, he would be sitting down and ‘talking’ and insisting we chat with him. He also doesn’t nap very long anymore in the afternoon! He only naps about one and a half hours during the day. He used to be able to do three. Thank God he sleeps early. He has been sleeping about 8pm right up till 6am in the morning. What more can we ask for.

Everyone keeps telling me, “wait till he can walk”… hahaha .. to be honest, its already quite tiring now. I must start keeping myself fit to keep up with my son’s energy levels.. I know its only going to get more demanding but what’s that intangible thing that makes it all worthwhile? It must be love.

Of course.. more photos.

He loves to play(pound) on the keys.

Parading stuff mummy bought off the Internet!

Doesn’t he just look like a pocket dynamo!

Did you know a munchkin refers to a very small person?

This photo is my personal favourite.

6 months young

It has been 6 months of waking up in the middle of the night.
6 months of privacy lost.
6 months of xbox360 time lost
6 months of singing “old Macdonald had a farm”
6 months (or more) since we last watched a movie at the cinema.
and the list goes on..
Indeed, it has been a life changing 6 months but I wouldn’t trade the past 6 months for any other 6 months of my life.

We have been blessed tremendously in this 6 months. From the little Nathaniel that fit snuggly in the crook of my arm, to this big baby who is always struggling to break free from my hold and climb his way up my chest. From the little baby who is crying for mother’s milk every 2 hours to this big boy who can sit by himself and eating a whole dish of cereal! From a harmless bite, he now leaves you with teeth marks on your flesh if you let him. From a defenseless babe all swaddled up in his cot to this little boy who just cannot lie still…. Its hard to imagine he mastered all these in just 6 months, and we hear its only going to get more exciting from now on.

But for now, poor baby Nathaniel is having a bout of viral rash, but we thank God he is not distressed by the rash as he continues to feed well and play well. I reckon we as parents are more disturbed and irritated by the rash. Well, doctor said it will get worse before it gets better, so we wait patiently for the rash to clear.

Dear Lord, we thank you for this little bundle of joy. It is our prayer that you will continue to envelop him in your love and care. Grant us wisdom as parents to guide this little child we call our son. In Jesus name, Amen.

and counting…

Teething Problems

When we went to the paed for Nathaniel for his regular jab, we asked her if him teething was causing him to cry in the middle of the night. She said it could be and asked if we applied teething gel for him, we proudly said yes only to realise it was not the lower incisors that were causing the pain (as the teeth were already out) but the upper incisors that have yet to break out.

We applied the gel on the wrong gum!

Silly daddy and mummy. Things were much better after we got it right that night.. the upper incisors are causing much more discomfort than the lower ones.. can’t wait for this teething problem to be over.

can you see my teeth?

Other than growing teeth, we also introduced solids to Nathaniel! We had great fun steaming and mashing the food which included carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples and baby cereal. Nathaniel took to the solids really quickly. It was as though he had been learning all this while watching us when he was seated at the table during meal times. Chomp chomp chomp, he loved it!