Teeth! Teeth! Teeth!

For a long time, Julien stayed at having 6 teeth - 4 on top and 2 at the bottom. And that is quite a feat, because, I think besides another baby, he is the only baby I know that has so many teeth so fast. 

This week, he started his drooling act again. Everywhere he goes, he leaves a wet trail - ok I exaggerate - at least a few little puddles! Haha! At first, I didn't really notice it, because he just needs a bib everyday these days. But slowly, I realise that one bib a day just doesn't seem sufficient anymore and his chin is perpetually wet and so do my shirts become every time I hold him.

And yesterday, he started biting anything that he can put in his mouth... which is a bit of a surprise to me, cos Julien has not been much of a pop-toys/objects-into-my-mouth kind of baby so far.  And Daddy Low and I have both got a rude shock individually when we suddenly felt his sharp little pearlies trying to take a chunk out of us - he's gone for arms, tummy, chest... Ouch!

In fact, he also bites on his toothbrush now, when we have brushing-teeth time. And he would not let go. (Yup, we have been religiously  brushing teeth since his 4-teeth days. The dear little man would open his mouth every time I show him the brush and open my own mouth and make brushing noises. I think he likes the taste of toothpaste).  Curious, I decided to check his gums yesterday... and I found Nr 7 peeping out at me from the lower gum, just beside his left tooth. The right one is not out yet, but I dun suppose it will be long now; they do come in pairs. Excitedly, I told Daddy Low about it when he came back from work.


But today had a bigger surprise for me. Julien is now into babbling and laughing ever so happily till his eyes become mere slits. He does this very frequently now, almost every hour. Today, while standing up in the playpen holding on to the rim and babbling and laughing away, he fell down onto the floor of the playpen and landed on a hard toy. I quickly scooped him up and checked him over. From laughing and babbling happily, the poor thing was now crying and wanted some consoling, but otherwise seemed to have no major injuries. It was in my check that I saw them - the next 2 teeth peeping out in the top gum, just beside the outermost teeth now. 

I was stunned for a minute. That's teeth Nr 8 and 9! Goodness, this boy is just sprouting teeth! My mum had just said earlier in the morning that Julien is really fast with his teeth, when I told her about Nr 7. And now, two more! Wow! Well done, Jules!


But for now, I am definitely staying clear of my little boy's mouth when he comes crawling, especially when he crawls up me, pulling onto me to stand upright. This is a mini Jaws here! I think next Chinese New Year, he will be eating bah kwa faster than me!

Our Very Own Special Easter

It's Easter Sunday and of course, all the shops are closed ... except for the Asian shop! Trust the Chinese to open and make money :) Their sign says they are even open on Bank Holidays! :) So, we went in and grabbed some sesame sauce, having run out at home.

But that's not the highlight of the day. And it's not hunting for eggs either. Easter may be a big thing here, but to us, it should just be a holiday, but since Daddy Low's work does not enjoy bank holidays, this is just a normal weekend to us. 

I had started the day with a driving lesson, while Daddy Low had gone into office to give a briefing and Jules had gone with him, since I could not take him with me. Apparently, Jules looked a bit puzzled at the sea of unfamiliar faces, but was otherwise well-behaved and quiet. I had come home, exhausted from all the double roundabouts and parallel parking...

And we took it slow, taking an afternoon nap when Jules had his and it was fabulous to sleep off the sultry heat of the afternoon. Somehow, we must have both been exhausted, 'cos we woke up refreshed and feeling like new persons totally.

So refreshed and so new, that we thought it would be great to get into the pool for a dip!

So far, I have brought Jules to the community pool twice with other mummy friends. But Daddy Low has never gone and we were really looking forward to going together.  I think he was as curious to see Jules in the water as he was envious of the time I have with Jules to do all these "first experiences" together.

The first time we went, Jules had clung to me throughout with a deathly grip. He was an absolute koala and no typhoon would have loosened his hold. We spent the first session like that. I think Jules thought it all very strange and didn't feel safe and could not relax, even though the pool was heated and all.

The second time, he would not stop crying. Later, I learnt that he was not feeling well, so he was naturally very upset.

It's been a while since the last time we went. And I felt hopeful that this time he would feel more at ease and possibly enjoy himself. Why? Because Jules has been increasingly enjoying his baths. Now that he can sit upright by himself, bathing has become a very different experience. At first, he clung on to me, then the sides of his baby tub tightly and would not let go. After possibly a few weeks, he became more used to it. And when I introduced toys, he became more intrigued by the properties of water, as it trickled through the holes in his stacking cup. The turning point came one day when I showed him how to hit the water and make splashes. He imitated my actions and thereafter, every bathtime is a very wet affair for the bathroom floor. With this in mind, I was confident that he would enjoy the pool this time.

So, we went into the pool. And again, the death grip came out. Daddy Low brought him into the water, but he kept wanting me. Once I held him, he refused to let go, not even to go to Daddy Low. After much cajoling, he went over. I showed him how to make splashes again and he watched me intently with his beady eyes. Then, after a while, he started making tentative hits at the water and we had a small mini spray. And the rest is history - he was soon happily splashing away, getting his face wet many times. He would blink his eyes, but would want to continue. And Daddy Low would gently wipe his face clean of droplets of water. It was very sweet watching them.

I would have stopped there and just enjoyed playing splashing water with Julien. But Daddy Low saw this experience differently - he wanted to teach Julien the skill of paddling and feeling confident in the water. He held Julien tummy flat on the water and supported his arms, so that they were stretched straight outwards. And he moved Julien towards me. And before long, Jules was making little paddling actions with this legs and flailing his arms a little. It was amazing.

I was a proud mama. My little boy was not only enjoying water, but moving in the water :) And I am a proud wife, because Daddy Low taught our son that. And that is what I noticed about the 2 of us. As a teacher, I have it in my mind very clearly always to look out for teachable moments, but as a mum, I realised that I am always just focusing on making Jules feel safe and play with him, to make sure he is enjoying himself, to get the pure peals of joyous laughter from his lips. I suppose Daddy Low's memories of his swimming lessons and his background as a diving instructor helped to influence his ideas about interaction with his son.

Anyway, we had a jolly good time. And to give Julien some rest, we also brought along his baby float. He is still too small for it, but he can still use it, albeit being a bit "sunken". And we were lucky to be the only ones using the baby pool, since the lifeguard allowed us to take photos of Jules. We had a really good time.

Jules got a nice warm bath when he got back and with a bottle of milk, he was soon fast asleep. Daddy Low and I treated ourselves to a steaming pot of prawn noodles. Oh, so nice, the hei mee!

Haha, what a great Easter! :)

A Fabulous BBQ!

This has to be one of the best BBQ parties I have been to for a long long time. Still can't believe how much I ate! :)

The sun was blazing. The garden was in bloom. We were in a nice terrace, shaded by a giant parasol. The children had the run of the garden or the sparkling coolness of the paddling pool.

And for the food, there were the usual suspects - chicken wings, beef burgers, sausages and salad. But when you see seafood, you know this is no angmoh bbq. And by seafood, I don't just mean fish. There were prawns, squid and oh, lucky us, clams, clams, clams! :)

But you have not heard the best yet - we also, amazingly, had a very unexpected bonus - glutinous rice!A taste of home away from home! Feel so blessed...

Yes, it is a Singaporean party. 2 of our frens had their parents and mum come visit, and as the air grew thick with Singlish, we truly felt at home. And it was not just the language, but also the turn of the conversation - Singaporean food, homesickness, mums who come all the way to help their daughters with confinement etc. I could have sat there yakking away the whole day, well actually I did, so I guess for eternity. It felt so much like home.

And of course, I wasn't just chatting too - I had happily plonked myself at the table and was happily eating away. Oh yes, I was definitely enjoying my food. And that is the hallmark of a Singaporean food gathering, especially BBQs - there is always neverending food... and more often than not, we would end up with surplus and have to split the remaining food to bring home.

This time, however, we did well. We finished everything save for the stray sweet potato and sweetcorn. (Why would anyone eat root vegetables if you have seafood? :)

Even Julien did well. He ate all the food I brought that day and in one sitting, finished one whole avocado by himself! We were astonished and impressed. I am a bit worried that I am overfeeding him, but well, he does seem to be one of the thinner babies in our circles... And at the end of the day, the Chinese do say that it's one's good fortune to be able to eat, and I love people who enjoy their food and can hold their own at the table. Haha, Julien will be a good eating buddy :)

P.S.: Was so happily chomping away that I did not even take a single photo of the food ... they just went from grill to plate into my mouth! Heheh!

Back On The Roads

Today, I woke up humming with excitement... I am going for my first refresher driving lesson! :) it has been a long while since I drove and I never was a very confident driver to begin with. So, even though we have been here for so long, I have dragged my feet over converting my Singaporean driving license to a British one or looking for an instructor. But when I realized we are coming to being here for one year already and I would no longer be able to simply convert the license after one year has lapsed, I sent my forms in and got my British license.

The British license arrived and still, it seemed a bit unreal that I would really move forward further. Daddy Low nudged me and after a bit of a false start - found an instructor that I felt comfortable with, then turned put his car is manual :( - I found an instructor. Originally, he had said he was fully booked till May, so it came as a surprise when he said on my second call that I could start this week. Woohoo!

I must say when I sat in the driver's seat again, I felt a few butterflies in my stomach. I felt oddly out of place; after all, I have been a passenger for so long. Yet, at the same time, there was a sense of familiarity and definitely a tingling throughout, as the whole body preps up physiologically, I suppose.

One of the key areas I was really concerned about was roundabouts. Milton Keynes is unfortunately full of them; one just cannot get anywhere without encountering one. My nightmare is that I would never be able to get into one and there would be all these cars honking at me from behind. Or it would be like a whirlpool and I would never be able to leave one, fated to going round and round inside forever. We had a good laugh about my analogy and Steve pulled out a book with laminated diagrams of roads. We turned to the page on roundabouts and he took out his marker and explained to me his formula. I appreciated that he was calm and patient and his formula was really straightforward and simple to remember.

When he told me to start moving anytime I was ready, I panicked slightly. I started to adjust the rear view mirror and the seat, but nothing I do can make me feel perfectly comfortable. And lots of questions popped up in my kind - Do I remove the handbrake first? Or is it to move the gear into D (drive)? And I have to press something to shift the gear, right? Or is that for a manual car? After all, there are only 2 pedals in the automatic - accelerator and brake, yes? And then, I looked at the 2 pedals and dropped into a minor panic - which is the accelerator? Which is the brake?!

I decided that this is way too stupid a question to ask and took a minute to compose myself. And trusting that it will all come back once start moving, I moved the gear into D, at which point the instructor gently reminded me that I have to turn on the engine first. Hahaha, funny...

So, we were off... And I did feel a bit tentative on the road after not driving for so long. I think anyone can sense that tentativeness - it came across to me as bit of shaky driving! But I was right - once you start moving, it does all come back and my hands, feet, eyes etc seemed to be largely working by instinct, gut feel, reflex, whatever. Happily, driving is one of those psychomotor skills that once learnt, remains in your memory, like some sort of computer program that can be retrieved from the archives :)

And true enough, after about 300 meters, we were approaching our first roundabout. He told me which exit we were going off and I followed his formula accordingly. But talking about it was much easier than execution. There seemed to be so many things to do at once - signalling to enter, getting into the right lane, deciding if it is safe to enter the roundabout, signalling at the right time to exit, just checking my right instead of both directions when exiting etc ... Needless to say, it was not the best roundabout performance and my car drifted a bit, but hey, we are safe - safely in and safely out. And no heart palpitations! Heheheh!

We spent the whole session doing roundabouts - normal roundabouts, huge roundabouts, mini roundabouts. It was interesting how the roundabouts can be so big that you have 4 lanes leading into it and how they can be so small that they are just mere circles painted into the tarmac and with 2 exits. And they were surprisingly harder to negotiate too, as one has to turn a lot more and faster to get around them. After a while, you do get the hang of it. And although it did still feel like a lot of things to remember and do at the same time, it was manageable.

When I was well out of the roundabouts and the instructor could sense that I was managing ok, we started chatting. We moved from small topics about what I used to work as, to what I could do for work now to world politics. What impressed me was how I managed all that and still drove ok. In fact, I did a pretty smooth ride and felt really happy with myself.

 

As a learner car, we were of course moving a lot slower, as many cars whizzed past me. I remarked to my instructor that I must be driving very slowly and he said, "Well, yes, you could be a bit faster."Out of curiosity, I asked him what is the speed limit in UK and he said 60 miles, and on bigger roads, 70 miles.Now, I have no concept of miles, being used to the metric system, but just thought I will keep my eye on the speedometer and was shocked to see I was travelling at 20. Shocked, I stepped on the gas till I was at least between 40 and 50. Then, we turned into a small village and he mentioned to me that the speed limit here is 30, so I dropped down to 30. He repeated again that it was 30 and I said, "Yeah, I am on 30", nodding at the meter. He looked and said very evenly, "That's not the speedometer, the speedometer is the one on the right." Later, Daddy Low told me I was looking at the revolution counter... and there I was trying my hardest to reach 60 and thinking to myself, "Wow, it feels like we are flying at 40! The speed limit here is so high that I can't even reach it?!" Daddy Low and I had a good laugh about it! :)

Then, there were the humps. I know I have to slow down when there is a hump coming up and I did not the first few times. I think the instructor was feeling puzzled and perhaps getting annoyed that I am letting his car take all these humps. The truth was I did not notice them! First of all, they did not look really bumpy and it does not help that there were painted with white stripes... not to mention that most of the time, the paint was faded and hardly noticeable. It was on the tip of my tongue that humps were painted with yellow stripes and the paint was not fading in Singapore, but luckily I caught myself in time. I have grown sensitive to the untactful phrase "In my country..." ever since my very unsympathetic midwife used this phrase ("in this country") countless times to emphasise the superiority of this country.

Needless to say, after the initial start, I became more aware of what to expect on UK roads and kept my eyes peeled for bumps as well as different lanes. I have to confess that the few times I drifted into another lane, I did so half the time because I could not see the markings on the tarmac. I came home and grumbled to Daddy Low about this, and he said that repainting the markings constantly costs a lot of money, especially since this is a big country. I protested that the government should take a higher regard of road safety and e replied that every driver should be take responsibility of road safety, no matter the conditions... which is an argument that I cannot refute. Whatever, at the end of the day, I cannot help but think that Singaporeans have got it really good in Singapore, that the government does do a lot of good things and sometimes we complain too much and take things for granted. Sigh...

My father used to tell me to "feel at one with the car". Gosh, I hated that phrase! What the heck does "feeling at one with the car" mean? It sounds like something out of a Zen kind of spiritual teaching - totally profound and wise to hear, but enigmatic, undecipherable and thus useless as a piece if advice. I told my instructor about this saying and how it is totally not illuminating and he explained for me - to sense how fast you can push the car, to listen to its sounds and learn to hear when it is straining and act accordingly to reduce speed or change gears etc. It was the first time I have heard it explained like this before and suddenly, it is not a mystery anymore; I can understand this Zen message now :) It reminded me of what Daddy Low said to me once - anyone may know how things work, but not everyone can teach.

And before we knew it, the lesson was over. When one is concentrating, one does not notice the passing of time and I was surprised at how quickly one hour has passed. And as much as it sounds like a joke, I did feel exhausted. I did a mere drive-around, but I might as well have participated in Formula 1. My heart was not pumping, but I certainly felt drained. And of course, happy and proud. I had done it; I was not hopeless.

A few weeks ago, at one of our mummy gatherings, the other girls were talking about upgrading their cars to a bigger one as their babies grow older and require more boot space. And to my surprise, everyone had mentioned how reluctant they were to change to a bigger car, because it was much easier to park a smaller car. When the conversation turned to their fears in driving, I felt normal again. All along, I had felt a bit inferior, that I am the only one who does not drive because of all my fears in driving. To hear that the rest also preferred smaller cars and bigger lots, would rather park further away and walk a longer distance to the shops, so as not to fight with people over popular spots... oh, it was balm to my self esteem in the area of driving. :)

And now that I am doing something actively about it and had a smashing first lesson (even my instructor was pleased with me), I felt really good and happy with myself.  I have to say it felt absolutely liberating to be driving again. Now, I am just looking forward to my next lesson!  :)

My 1st Mother's Day

In UK, Mother's Day is also known as Mothering Sunday. It has been celebrated here on the fourth Sunday in Lent since the 16th Century, so it can be different dates in different years. This year, it falls on 3rd April 2011. 

How do I feel on my first Mother's Day? I would say I dun feel dramatic about it, no bursting with excitement etc.  Julien is, after all, still very young and it will be a while before he will celebrate it with me. Nevertheless, I do feel a little skip in my heart just to think that this year is a step forward on the journey of no return ... I mean, nobody can go back to child-free, non-motherhood days once you have crossed over the threshold into the temple of motherhood :)


All I can say is when one has gone down the path of motherhood, one understands that so much time, effort and sacrifice is involved. Just a lot of hard work - the nightfeeds, the routines, teething, weaning etc etc ... oh man, just a lot of hard work! And sometimes, I encouraged myself by saying that it's alright - he will outgrow the nightfeeds, he will get into routine, his appetite will be back once his teething is over, I will watch him carefully, so no more falling or bumps from hard knocks... but for every one of the above, you know that there is really no certain end to it (especially the knocks and bumps - it seems boys have a knack for this area!). In fact, once you become a parent, you never stop worrying about your child, even when he grows up and starts his own family, so I've been told. And with that realisation, you tell yourself that it's alright, you can relax and afford to breathe, that if you relax, motherhood will be much more enjoyable even with the nightfeeds, bumps on the head etc... I tell you, it is a roller coaster ride like none you have ever taken before!


Anyway, in true blue Singaporean fashion, Daddy Low and I celebrated the occasion by going shopping and having a nice meal, of course. Our first stop was to Mamas and Papas, where I bought some maternity clothes on sale. Yes, maternity clothes! Crazy, you say. All I know is that they had a nice wool cardigan that dropped 50pounds off its price tag and as long as they had my size, I can wear it even if I am not pregnant. Secretly, I think to myself, "Oh, I will enjoy my second pregnancy with all these nice clothes..." Yes, I know, a bit crazy there. Julien is a lot of hard work, but when you see his smiles and how he always wants me, his mummy, to hold him and pick him up, your heart melts, and any hardship is forgotten. The joy of babies! :) And I really do want him to have at least one sibling!


Next stop - Mothercare... to get a front-facing car-seat! Oh yes, my boy is growing up indeed! His legs stick out a bit now when he is in his old back-facing car-seat, though we are still using it, cos he has not totally outgrown it and a back-facing one is safer than a front-facing one any day. But we have already seen something we want and thought we will grab it while it is on promotion. More than anything, I like the idea of buying it on this significant day, that somehow Mother's Day marks another milestone for him. I love the seat we bought - the Maxi Cosi Axiss, because it can turn around towards the door and you can put the baby in without adding strain to your back... Julien was 8.08kg 2 weeks ago when we weighed him and he feels increasingly heavier by the day, so anything that helps lessen that back pain is very welcome indeed!

And oh, Daddy Low got me a cute, pretty baby bag, so that I dun look like I am struggling with the "whale-size" Bababing bag, which, really, Daddy Low got it more for himself, since the tag line of Bababing's bags goes: "The best baby bag is the one carried by Dad!" (Wow! What a long sentence! As an English teacher, this is strongly not recommended.)  Three cheers for Daddy Low! Hip Hip Hurray! :)


And then off to a nice Mother's Day lunch. In the Italian restaurant Zizzi's, the Mother's Day menu is a 3-course meal with a complimentary glass of Prosecco. As I admired and sipped my pink bubbly, I thought to myself, "Is that how Motherhood is like - all pink and bubbly?" Not too sure about that, I nonetheless loved the taste and the feeling of having a pink, bubbly Prosecco in my hand and mused to myself that it would be nice if I could have a glass of bubbly just like this, all pink and girly, everyday at home... As I perused the menu, I was amused to see that it featured the spicy king prawn pasta.  I remember this dish well...


When we arrived in UK last March, a homesick, miserable, 20-week pregnant Me dreaded mealtime every day, because I could not enjoy my food and in fact, could not keep much of it down. I had been on porridge for the first few days, then remembering what a fren, who had been pregnant overseas, said about pasta being the only carbo besides rice she could tolerate, I decided to give the king prawn pasta at Zizzi's a go. I remembered I found it unbearably sour (which was probably due to the garlicky chilli base) and although I ate quite a bit of it (for indeed, pasta was a good comfort food), I ended up throwing it all up on the way home... How coincidental that now that the baby is out and I am celebrating my 1st Mother's Day, that we should find ourselves back in this same restaurant (I had another restaurant in mind, but we somehow ended up in Zizzi's) and me facing the same dish... and once again, deciding that I will have it! How Life does go in circles!


And the verdict? It was not vile or sour; in fact, I enjoyed it very much. And more or less polished off the plate. It is strange to think what a difference a surge in hormonal levels makes to one's tastebuds. Back then, I had thought to myself, "so that is how the various food items really taste like" - I had thought garlic is the most odious thing on earth and would gag every time it was cooked. I had thought that my eyes were truly opened for the first time to its real taste (what have I been eating all this while?!). But ask me now, and I can only honestly say I have no idea anymore of that odious taste; garlic, onions etc are the most heavenly smells when fried and sweating out in the pan! 


The day ended with a touch of reality - we went to the supermarket to buy groceries. As much as it was Mother's Day and all mothers should be off duty, you know that is not really true and life goes on -  we've got to do that weekly grocery shop, so that my wife/mother's role can resume undisrupted the next day, when my nice, pink, bubbly Mother's Day turns back into the good old pumpkin!


Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, first-time or otherwise! It is a hard job, but one that you can truly give yourself a pat on the back for! And oh, you definitely deserve that Prosecco! :)

Teething, Weaning and Sleeping

Julien first sprouted teeth when he was 4.5 months old. They were the 2 bottom front teeth. I have to say it felt magical looking at those 2 little teeth. They are so white, so straight and so tiny! Having been used to a toothless Julien, it was rather odd indeed to look at Julien with his 2 little pearlies. And I remembered how excited we were at the thought then of introducing food to Julien. We went to buy some baby porridge and I bought a book of baby weaning recipes. He was neither impressed by the porridge nor the fruit purees.

Next, he ignored the 2 top front teeth and grew his left and right fangs instead. He looked like a cute little vampire for a while. By then, he was quite happy with fruit purees. I also tried the popular brand of organic baby food - Ella's Kitchen. Apparently all the rage among hip mummies in London, they are packaged in brightly colored pouches, where you can squeeze out the contents in a spoon for Junior or have it straight from the pouch, sucking it out easily - Jules loves to have it that way. In fact, he really loves Ella's Kitchen and has actually learnt to recognize it now. He is all ready to eat once you show him the pouch. I have tried tasting the stuff myself and have to say it is indeed yummy!

Early this week, I spied the top left front tooth coming out, and 2 days later, realized I was mistaken - he was having his 5th and 6th teeth at the same time; both top front teeth were coming out. Wow! And he's 7+ months now, so he is ready to try the Stage 2 weaning foods. Hmmm... That means tasty vegetable bake, fabulously filling fish pie, chicky chicken casserole and delicious beef stew! I think I am ready for some Ella's Kitchen myself! :)

But try as I might, he would not take to the Stage 2 foods. I have to confess that I am much tired out from waking up at night for his night feeds - he wakes almost every 3-4 hourly for a feed - and so have stopped making food for him. Instead, I have been turning to store-bought food. It seems that he would eat the Stage 1 store-bought food but would turn his nose up at the Stage 2 foods. I suspect that this is because the Stage 1 foods were mostly fruit purees, so he likes the sweet stuff, but does not like the savory Stage 2 stuff. Also, the flavors were more complex, so it is probably something that he does not feel comfortable with yet.

I started to worry that my boy is not getting enough nutrients, especially iron - the baby's store of iron does run out after 6 months. I read about how an iron deficiency can cause anemia and was desperate to make sure he gets his iron.

Daddy Low is away from us for a week for work and I decided then to use this week to help Julien get into a sleeping/feeding routine. Up till now, Julien is still having night feeds and I really want to try to get rid of that. I went online to look for 7 month routines as well as asked frens and found that 7 month olds seem to be eating a lot more than my dear Julien! And I thought, "Maybe that's it - I have been starving my baby, so that's why he can't sleep through the night!"

With that thought in mind, I was determined that my baby will not go hungry into the night and so devised a detailed routine where he would not only have his milk, but also proper meals of rice, meat, veg and fruits. I got all revved up and spent one evening, when Julien has gone to bed, cooking up a storm.

The problem with weaning a baby is that every portion has to be small because their capacity is not there yet. But it is impossible to cook with little amounts, so I ended up cooking and freezing them in individual food storage containers. I made 2 flavors that night - (1) chicken, carrot and potato, and (2) fish, sweet potato and pak choy vegetables.

You can imagine my disappointment, when Julien refused to eat. I was half upset and half indignant. Upset because I was banking on these to get more food into him and make him full, so that he can sleep through the night, so that I can sleep through the night! Indignant, because it was nice food! And after all this work too! :(

And then, I thought, maybe it's the discomfort of all these new teeth growing out .... No wonder he has been in a rubbishy mood! He wants to be held all the time, threw up his milk once and have more poo than usual 2 days ago. And his appetite has been half of his usual. They say every tooth coming out generally takes 3 days to ease up - so, I think we are over the worst, since the teeth have cut through the gum, peeping at me like little gems hidden in the sand.

It is funny how all the babies grow differently in their own way. Although they are all around 7-8 months now, their growth and development does not go in the same sequence. Baby Lewis is the leader of the pack, being the first to flip, sit, crawl and can now pull himself upright against supports. Yet, he has no teeth. Jules is a record-teething baby, but still inches himself awkwardly along when he tries to crawl. Dun get me wrong, Jules gets places alright, but he is nowhere as fast or as fluid a crawler. And with that many teeth, you would think that Jules would be chomping his way through food paradise these days. But no, my dear boy makes feeding time a marathon event. The way he fights me, sometimes you would think we are in the boxing ring too! Anyway, it's just really interesting how nature works itself through the different babies... But fast or slow, they all get there eventually :)

So, anyway, it was a lot of hard work trying to work on getting the feeding/sleeping routine out of nowhere. And I half suspect that Julien is not much interested in food now anyway, because of all the discomfort from the teething eruption.  So, much of the food remains in the freezer... but at least, I am proud to say that I have not given in to temptation and bring him into our bed at night - I have still religiously helped him to sleep in his own bed. And it is nice to have my own space after he has gone off to sleep - maybe read a book, or go online... at least, he seems to be slowly veering towards fewer feeds at night now! They say once babies have a routine, the night feeds will go off on their own. I am hoping that this is true!