Backtrack 7: Munch, munch, munch

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

Nope, our daughter’s not playing a brown harmonica.

Rosabelle had her first taste of Heinz vegetable-flavored teething biscuit on Sunday 17 May. She grabbed a stick of the (rather dog-like) biscuit and put it in her mouth. The biscuit was really hard (we didn’t buy the soft kinds for fear of her biting off pieces and choking on it), but good for her aching gums, and she munched on it for all of 5 minutes, before becoming really distracted by the stitching on the armrest of our leather sofa, and leaving finger prints of biscuits on the leather…

Backtrack 6: Hello, is it me you’re looking for?

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

Rosabelle’s always very interested in phones, handphones, and remote controls, getting all excited when she sees them, and at times throwing a hissing fit if we don’t let her grab them. That was when I decided to get her her own handphone from Fisher Price when we were shopping on 16 May.

She has not really gotten used to holding it up to her ear yet, but just munches on it. There were times when I would speak into her ‘phone’ and pass it to her ear, and she will chuckle happily, before grabbing it to give it a saliva OD, haha! Looks like she is also more interested in grabbing the logo on her Dad’s shorts instead of playing with her new toy….

This phone is supposed to teach her social skills, practice her motor skills (have to open and close it, and she can press the buttons for sounds/music), and recognize the alternating animals that appear on the phone screen. So excessive, huh…as Wayne said “RMB89! Add a bit more money and you can get a real handphone nowadays!” Haha, true, true…

Backtrack 5: Off days

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

It was the nanny’s off day on Saturday 16 May, and Wayne had a classmate reunion on that night, so it was Rosabelle and myself all alone that night. After I brought her out for her walk, I let her take a bath and fed her before she took a short nap, allowing me time to wash the dishes, clean her stroller, and take my dinner. All was going well, just like the other times when it was just me and her… or so I thought.

When she awoke from her nap, it was close to 9pm, and I had to call Wayne at 12:30am to hurry on back as I was fast falling asleep to a still-very-active daughter! Maybe it’s the lack of other people in the house, but she was very sticky to me, and I could not even put her down for a second (to go to the toilet, or to prepare water for her bath/diaper change) – she will whimper, and also eventually cry. I put her in her Fisher Price chair and placed her at the bathroom entrance to watch me bathe, thinking it would be a novel experience for her (haha!), but I ended up taking the quickest bath ever (maybe a minute max, including drying and dressing myself), as she started bawling really loudly once I switched on the shower.

Maybe I was too tired, or I got too complacent, I was supporting her with one hand when she was sitting down on her playmat, and when I was putting a toy away with my other hand, she fell forwards, and her face struck a triangular toy. She bawled really loudly and I was so afraid it had struck her eye, but thank goodness, when a red spot appeared on her cheek, I realized she’d hit her cheek against the toy – I shudder to think of how terrible it would have been if she’d poked her eye, or if the triangular toy was something harder/plastic. Never again will I rest on my laurels (shortly after, I put her in her cot to sit and released ever so briefly to tie my hair, and she fell sideways and grazed her head slightly against the bed rails, letting out a short cry…how bad a mother am I? Sigh!).

When Wayne came home past one, our active daughter was in her high chair, enjoying sips of water I was giving her, and she was screaming excitedly. She only tired out slightly past two, and not before getting all hyper when I carried her out of the room, taking peeks at the nanny’s room to see if the latter was in, and if she would peek-a-boo out suddenly and play with her, aiyo! I remember telling Wayne in jest to call the nanny and ask her to come back and look after her whilst we went to bed – we would pay for her cab fare!

When the nanny came back on Sunday, Rosabelle must have blamed her for ‘abandoning’ her the night before – she wasn’t very happy on her evening walk and in fact bawled away halfway out to the park. When I went to the park later, she was crying in the nanny’s arms, and I had to carry her all the way back. Even when we reached home, she still refused to be carried by the nanny and eventually, the nanny worked her charm again and patted her to sleep. She was just too tired and grumpy, and thus did not enjoy her outing as she usually does.

Other than hunger and sleepiness (and harm accidentally caused by her own mother, gulp!), Rosabelle was happily playing to her heart’s content as always at other times. Although these days, whenever I’m around, she tends to want to stick to me, going “Mmmmmm…mamamama….nai nai nai nai nai (milk)”, and would not stop whimpering until I carried her up. Nanny says she’s perfectly fine and happy when I’m not in. Onset of SA (separation anxiety) already, or maybe her teeth are coming out, thus the grumpiness…

Guess happy babies have their off days too!

Backtrack 4: Sorry, not interested

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

I got Rosabelle an Avent sipper cup from the baby store last Friday, and her first ‘taste’ of it wasn’t very receptive – she bit the sipping teat slightly, and as it’s harder than the usual feeding bottle teat, she gave a disgusted look and put the cup aside.

Our continued attempts to teach her how to use the cup (‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ after pretending to drink from it so as to make her equally excited) were all in vain. Till now, she still prefers to drink from the spoon, or try to drink from the two-handled open cup (or lick the Avent sipper cup cover, or turn it upside down to chew!). But we’d still need such a closed cup for her to bring on her walks as the weather gets warmer, and when she eats more solids and needs more water intake. As with all things new, well, we’ll just keep trying and give her time to get excited about it, I guess!

Update on this – she has since taken well to the cup, the nanny’s trick of bringing the cup out on our walks worked; when she saw the other children whipping out their own bottles and cups and drinking from them, she wanted to mimic them as well and started drinking. She is now happy to sip from it (though she of course still prefers the normal open cup and will at times sputter from drinking too much at one go).

Backtrack 3: BFF

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

That’s the acronym for Best Friends Forever (BFF), by the way.

Vanessa and I have been friends for the longest time (though the Choons are moving to Shanghai soon.. :(), and we kept to the yearly ritual of meeting up over the weekend on 16 May to celebrate her birthday (she’s still 18, by the way), with babies in tow this year!

We decked Rosabelle up in a oh-so-cute (I know she’s my daughter and I will of course say she’s cute, haha!) pink bunny suit, courtesy of my sister who bought it for her in Singapore. I really have to treasure this period of time when she will not (or at least not know how to) protest at silly and cute-looking dressing!We met up at Panino Teca at Sanlitun Village for a late lunch (as Rosabelle woke up close to noon and by the time I prepared her cereal with broccoli, I had to feed her banana in the car – just as well, the Choons were running late too and arrived at the same time as us). We gave Vanessa her present of a mini black marker board where she can scribble her daily to-dos/to-buys/to-remembers…
The two girls were kept busy thumping the table, grabbing the menus, and playing/interacting with each other (and intense head-shaking for Rachel’s case, haha!). Vanessa got Rachel a pair of shades that Rosabelle tried on as well, looks so hilarious on her!

After a filling lunch, we then walked around the Village taking photos of baby sculptures, posing behind Panda billboards, and looking at the fountain spouts.

A very fulfilling day, coupled with good weather, in the good company of dear friends and family!

Backtrack 2: I can remember…

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

My mum was one of Rosabelle’s primary caregiver till the latter was 5 months old, when we returned to Beijing. Rosabelle must have vivid memories of her dear Popo, as she will always look towards the photographs pasted on the refrigerator, and especially look at the picture of Popo carrying her when she was smaller. She will also inevitably reach out her tiny fingers to try and pry the photograph away, or perhaps to touch Popo’s face. She also likes the photo of herself with Simon Kor Kor and Marianne Jieh Jieh on an outing to the airport. We’ve been letting her hold the photos and she will turn it back to front and wonder why there are no visuals or people at the back, and she will never put it in her mouth save for the rare occasion. She will always grip the photos very tightly and look for it if it falls from her hands.
When my mum called last week and she heard Popo’s voice on the speakerphone, she again turned to the direction of the fridge and the photos.

I’m curious what her reaction will be when she meets Popo for the first time again on 3rd or 4th June. Can’t wait… I’m also glad I managed to find a nice two-bedroom apartment for them within my housing development (about 5 minutes walk in the same estate), costing RMB328 per day for my family’s two-week stay here. The previous apartment they stayed in when they were last here in August 2006 costs lesser at RMB280 per day, but is not as well-maintained and rather shabby now. Am sure they will love the new place!

(However, my brother-in-law messaged two days ago to say most of the family now have flu and fever, yikes, hope they will be allowed to board the plane and that they get well soon to enjoy their trip!)

Backtrack 1: To top it all…

(Delayed posting due to swine flu.)

Whenever we go out, we will let Rosabelle don a cap. At the end of winter, it was to protect her from the cold. Now that summer is here, it’s to shield her eyes from the sun, and the walk to the car at the basement is quite chilly as well.

Whenever we place the hat/cap on her, she will shriek excitedly, as she knows that’s the code for going out. On Friday night (15 May), after Wayne and I came back from our dinner date, she might have missed us, and started to shriek excitedly when she saw us come home. It was our daughter’s way of welcoming us, and of telling us she is happy to have us at home, I guess!

Her excitement peaked when I took out some caps to see if they fitted her. Alas, my girl, it was too late to go out. This hyperactivity went on till 12 midnight, and I think she must have been exhausted – the nanny was tired out from the evening walk as well as Rosabelle was dancing and shrieking excitedly and refused to let the nanny stop dancing in accompaniment. Rosabelle had a good, sound sleep till 12 noon the next day on Saturday!