Vaccinations

22 January 2011:

One of the things most babies have to go through is vaccinations.

I dread whenever Blake has to go for one. I always fear the fever that comes after and the losing of sleep that night. But, I know if my son don't develop the fever (and if the fever don't go away overnight), then he is not building immunity against that particular whatever they injected him with. Not all vaccinations means fever will develop though, only some.

The first time Blake developed fever after one of his vaccinations, he had two injections to his thighs. It was rather funny actually, seeing how it all unfolded.

Dr. Yip, injected one thigh, and naturally, Blake cried out loud but only for a split second, and then he was ok. Or so he thought... Dr. Yip then injects the other thigh (yes, we sometimes inject 2 different vaccinations at a go), and he screams even louder than the earlier injection.

I'm terrified of needles, and I didn't watch the doctor inject Blake (thank goodness for Sean!), I just concentrated on Blake's face the whole time. After the first injection, his face really did look like it was saying, "Phew! It's over!" And when the second injection went in, his face went, "What!? Again!? I feel cheated!" It took a lot longer to calm him down after the second injection.

Blake starting developing his fever when we were heading home, after we walked around town for most of the day. We already had those cooling gel patches on standby to put it onto his forehead to keep the temperature down. Problem was, it wouldn't stay on. Either Blake peels it off, or it drops off on its own when Blake's sleeping on his side. So we came up with our own solution - using plaster to  hold it down.

It lasted the whole night, but it was rather painful to remove it cos some of Blake's hair got caught in it. Not very pleasant. We have since changed to using those white surgical tape (not sure if that's what it's called), which are easier to remove when in contact with water.

  My brave little boy! I don't think I'll even be ready to play the very next day after a vaccination!  

Tummy Time

Tummy times are great for babies. It a way for them to learn how to use their body muscles to the fullest, which is essential for babies cos this will progress to sitting, crawling, standing and eventually, walking. Tummy time helps 'teach' your baby how to lift their heads up, how to flip, basically use every muscle in their body!

We didn't start Blake on tummy time as early as some parents do (some start as young as 1 month old!). No, it's not cos we were afraid or anything. We didn't know about it! I only found out about it after reading some materials that were sent to me via a website called Baby Center (Singapore). It's an awesome website, by the way, if you're a first time parent. It helps you track your pregnancy progress, and your baby's first year. It was sort of the guide that got us through this period.

So, when we found out about tummy time, we started to do a once a day 'training' for him. In the beginning, he wasn't very please about it. He cried quite a lot, but slowly, he got used to it! He even begin to enjoy being on his tummy more than on his back!

14 January 2011:

We had tons of fun during this period! I remember spending almost every waking moment that's free of feeding, cleaning etc. on our bed having tummy time with him (this was after he has gotten used to tummy time and enjoyed it). It was also the period where I can just leave him on the bed (he couldn't turn yet!), cushion all corners, and fall asleep on the end of the bed. Haha. Not recommended, by the way. But I was often tired and lying on the bed... Well, it just goes one way. Haha!

18 January 2011:

Chinese New Year 2011

Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, 2011 was really exciting for us. I believe every 'first' celebration together as a family is really exciting. I remember buying new clothes for both father and son really early. I believe I bought the clothes 1-2 months in advance! And yes, I was worrying quite a bit - what if Blake outgrows the clothes before Chinese New Year? Fortunately, one of the outfits was still a little big and the other fitted nicely :)

2 February 2011: The eve of Chinese New Year (CNY) was a belly-full event. We had steamboat at both our parents' place for dinner! Travelling with Blake was not much of an issue for us as our parents stay really near us, we could walk most of the time :) It was also really sweet of my dad for loaning us the car, just in case the weather changed or something.

From L to R: My father-in-law, Sean carrying Blake, me, and my mother-in-law

Didn't take any with my parents that year cos we were all so busy catching up!

3 February 2011: Day one of CNY was spent with the family. The morning was pretty rush for me as I had to get everything ready before Blake woke up. I have since come up with a smarter, and not so rushed, method of doing things. Pack everything the night before! I will be able to get more sleep too :P And if I throw in the clothes to be worn as well, there will be less to think and do the next day!

Once we were all ready, we stepped out of the house and walked over to my mother's place, where we had lunch with my cousins, uncles and aunties (Blake's aunts and uncles, grand-uncles and grand-aunts).

The star of the day was none other than Blake! Everyone wanted a piece of him, but the little boy is picky when it comes to who can carry him. I think only people with similar body structures to me or Sean were able to carry him.

4 February 2011: Day two of CNY, we did a little visiting.

We went to my paternal grandma's cousin's place. We call her Bei Po, which means elder grand-uncle's wife (I think. That's what my mom taught us to address her, from the time we could speak). I remember going to her place every year for CNY growing up, and visiting her place was always fun cos there will be tons of goodies for children to eat!

That year, we went over to her new place to pay her a long awaited visit, and to also introduce Blake to her. She became a great-grandmother not too long ago!

Here's my mom with Blake on her lap, giving mandarin oranges to Bei Po. It's a way of exchanging well wishes and greetings over CNY :)

We had an awesome time there. Blake really enjoyed himself! Good company makes babies feel comfortable and relaxed :)

After spending some time there, we went back home to enjoy the rest of the public holiday as a family, where we taught Blake how to hold the oranges. Hehe.

Gong Xi Gong Xi (our way of saying "good luck")

Looking at his Reflections

4 January 2010: Blake’s cute expressions caught on camera. He was looking at himself through the flip screen of my camera.

Year 2010 Review by Blake

1 January 2011: Blake giving us a short summary of the wonderful time he had in 2010 :)

Blake's Laughter

1 January 2011: The first recording of Blake’s laughter. We were swinging a red tiger plush that my aunt (his grant-aunt) gave to him after returning from an overseas trip. For some reason, it always cracks him up whenever he saw the red tiger plush swing! In my book, a baby’s laughter is always good stuff happening :)

Christmas 2010 and New Year 2011

24 December 2010 - 1 January 2011: Christmas Eve 2010 through till 2011! :)

Christmas Eve, we spent some family time at home. We don't really fancy squeezing with the crowds, plus, whatever Christmas shopping that was to be done, was long done!

Our first Christmas as a family.

On Christmas day itself, Blake was wearing a shirt that my mom bought back from USA. It was way too big for him at that time, but we couldn’t resist it!

That Christmas morning, while we were out for breakfast, Sean bought a dancing poodle for Blake! Blake enjoyed watching it dance so much, but a couple of days later, he got really frightened by it for some reason! It’s funny how babies can like one thing so much at a moment, and the next thing you know, they are so terrified by it.

Then came New Year! We had quite a bit of fun on New Year's day, playing with Blake and videoing him speaking baby. It was also the first time we heard him burst out laughing! :D