Fantastic weekend

Staying at my parents' place over the weekend turned out to be a great thing!

Of course it was nice that there was no one else around, so the house was pretty quiet.

Usually we have to transfer Annika from the cot at Novena over to our place at night after dinner, and I get stressed worrying that she'd wake and then refuse to settle. So it was such a relief to not have to do that on Saturday night after dinner.

And it was nice that Annika got a room of her own while I got to sleep in a separate room in peace! Madison camped over with grandma and boy, was she happy!

The night turned out to be great! Annika slept soundly till 1 am, waking for her usual feed. She settled quickly after that. At 2, I heard noise coming from downstairs, and then Madison crying. Followed quickly by my mom running back upstairs and comforting her. Turned out that Madison had peed in her diaper and it had leaked so needed a change.

The funniest thing happened to me though. I downloaded an alarm clock app for my iPad and though I'd try it out. I set it for 3 AM to pump ( if Annika didn't wake by then ) and of course forgot about it. Fell asleep and then was rudely jolted awake by the sounds of church bells chiming. I panicked and started cursing the bells, and quickly turned the baby monitor on to check if Annika had been disturbed by it. She moved once and then settled by herself. Took me awhile to finally realize that only I was hearing the stupid bells! And to turn it off!

The rest of the night was peaceful... Annika didn't even wake at 5 as per normal! It was also nice that I didn't have to juggle 2 kids by myself early in the morning since my mom was looking after Madison. We went to the Botanic Gardens for breakfast when my dad came back from the airport. In the afternoon Madison had a haircut, and when I turned up with Annika the stylist took it upon herself to cut Annika's hair too. Pretty weird.

Yesterday it was back to the grind. Monday blues all around. I had to take Madison to school and got caught in horrendous Monday traffic. It didn't help that it was also drizzling. On the way there Madison decided to unclip the safety belt that was holding her car seat down. And of course soon after I had to brake suddenly and guess what? The entire seat with Madison came forwards onto the front seat! Was a good thing it was at low speed. OMG. I couldn't believe my eyes when she did that.

Am hoping for a good week this week!

Juggling 2

It feels like I'm playing tag team with Warni most days.

In the past there was only Madison to worry about; now there are 2 of them.

I don't know why but Annika has been waking more frequently the past week or so. Prior to that she was so good, going to bed at 730Pm and not waking till at least 230AM for her first night feed! It was great, and I had to pump once before that so that I wouldn't be too engorged and make her choke when she ate.

Now she's waking close to midnight, then another 1 or 2 times before waking for the day! Last night she was up close to 1 am, then again at 3 and then refused to go to sleep after that! She didn't want to nurse, and she started to fuss when I tried to rock her. So I put her back in the crib and waited. She started to fuss and squirm so I undid the swaddle to let one arm out. She squirmed some more and the other arm was free. She settled and was pretty happy with her 2 drumsticks, and funnily enough, fell asleep by herself some time later ( I fell asleep first waiting for her!) And strangely,stayed asleep till past 7am!

Other than the sleep, she's incredibly cute, cuter than Madison ( if I may say so!) She's getting more aware of her surroundings therefore is distracted during her feeds. It's especially annoying when I'm trying to get her fed so that I can go to work, since she refuses the bottle at any time other than at 3Pm ( fingers crossed at this stage!Madison started refusing all bottles after 3 months!). Otherwise, it's quite funny. She will yank and pull off repeatedly until I give up and then she flashes this gummy grin at me. Makes my heart melt. I tell myself, it's all TEMPORARY... in the end the only feeds that are left are the pre brekky, pre bed feeds... even night feeds END. And finally, it all ENDS. My only concern is that she is not getting enough during the day so makes up for it at night! Grr...

On the Madison front, the poo saga is almost over ( I hope! ). She is back in diapers although she is able to pee in the toilet with the child seat. I'm trying to get her to poo normally again first before we attempt any further training ( or not ). Of course now she has to catch another cold and is running around with a snotty nose. Thank goodness Elizabeth is away this weekend so she's not around to pick it up too and pass it along to the baby!

I'm quite short of patience with Madison these days. She's getting fussier with her meals and I need to BREATHE while trying to give her meals ( thank goodness I don't have to deal with LUNCH!) This morning I was so close to the edge with her... after spending 30minutes trying to get Annika down for her morning nap and she walks in JUST as the baby fell asleep and of course wakes the baby up ( who of course responds by screaming her head off!) I know it's not fair but I feel like my patience tank has run dry by the time I'm done with one child!

We are staying the night with my mum tonight... everyone is away.. Pa is away in Sri Lanka; Geok and gang are in HK, and Chris is on call the entire weekend. Should be fun....

Fed up!

This potty training thing is driving me nuts!

First of all it wasn't even a planned event. She got trained overnight because she had bad diarrhoea and severe diaper rash that required her to go diaperless for 2 days. Then after that she was able to pee in the potty without issue. Initially pooing seemed to be fine too, but for some reason she started to withold and became super constipated.

Now I don't know what to do about it all. She is still not pooing again on her own, and she screams when we try to potty her regularly for poo. Chris and I had an argument last night about this and I'm still pretty mad about it.

Today she developed this weird rash on her cheek and upper lip. Now I'm paranoid it's an allergic reaction to the lactulose or liquid paraffin that I've been giving her. And to top it off, Mun Hon is disapproving of my dispensing habits and frightened me with things like Madison's gut becoming lax, addiction to laxatives etc. But my reasoning is that until she is able to go naturally again, her poo should ideally be soft and easy to pass so that she does not have pain.

Anyway.. now I have to stop all medication because of this weird rash. Not worth risking an anaphylactic reaction just because of poo. Urgh.

On a different note... Annika has been really good to me the past few afternoons.. I've been successful at putting her down in her cot AWAKE for her afternoon nap, and after singing for 15-20 minutes she went to sleep! It's great! I could never do that for Madison. And she's been taking the bottle daily for the past 2 months as well.

Although I have fewer pictures of Annika compared to Madison, I feel a whole lot more relaxed looking after Annika. I don't stress so much with her feeding schedule, it's ok if she screams a little here and there. And she's so cute at the moment, it's irresistable! I think I was quite nervous with Madison, and still am when it comes to unnavigated territory ( like potty training!)

Maybe I should just relax and let things sort themselves out. I seriously GIVE up already!

Madison made me proud!

Today marks Elizabeth's first day at Mandarin school at Bibinogs.

I told Madison over the weekend that Elizabeth would be starting school with her on Monday, but she didn't respond so I assumed she didn't really understand me.

This morning, Elizabeth came over to my place with Siti ( her carer ). Madison perked up immediately ( she was a little grouchy before that ). On the way to the car, Madison started to hold Elizabeth's hand and they walked together to the car. Madison was really quite cheerful (unlike her usual Monday self) and was chatting to Elizabeth all the way there.

When we got to the school, Madison did the usual thing: get temperature checked, rubbed her hands with disinfectant etc. When it came to Elizabeth, she suddenly refused and wanted to leave. Madison took Elizabeth by her hand and led her back to the teacher. Each time Elizabeth tried to escape, Madison would drag her back to the classroom!

At 12, I went to pick the kids up and Madison was all chirpy. When I asked her how their day went, Madison giggled and said " Elizabeth was crying!" So I asked her what she did. And she replied:" I wiped her face!" I was so proud of my girl! And touched that she could be so thoughtful towards her little cousin! This is despite the awful battles they have at the grandparents' place regularly.

In other Madison related news, we are having a horrible time with potty training the no 2. She is peeing well and can even hold her bladder for short periods of time for us to find her a toilet. But the pooing is posing a serious problem.

After the horrible evacuation that I had to subject her to, I started her on regular stool softeners. She still refuses to go when she has the urge. It ends with an awful screaming session on the toilet. According to parenting sites that I looked up regarding potty training, apparently behaviour training is quite important. She is supposed to get used to sitting on the potty after meals to poo. So, I've been trying to sit her on the loo twice a day after breakfast and dinner. I hope it gets better soon.

In Annika related news, she is getting so cute! Her neck strength is improving by the day; she is able to lift her head up 45 degrees and look around ( although not long ). For the first time ever, she giggled at me on Saturday! Nights are still somewhat erratic, she wakes up between one and three times a night. I sometimes feel bad towards her, she has to play second fiddle to Madison because I need to get her breakfast, dress her for school etc then get round to feeding her in the morning.

I think Annika is going to be one chatty person. Already she babbles and coos endlessly to people ( when she is not fussing or grouchy ). She loves going out, and is the best when we are out shopping -- she loves the lights, the noise and the people.

I just wish there were more time in the day to fit everything in!

Constipated!

Madison is constipated. I think she will probably hate me in another 5 or so years for blogging about it, but I am quite traumatised by the whole thing!

She's normally a once- a - day type of gal. If she skips a day, we know we're heading for trouble already. 2 days? uh-oh... So I'm super OCD about her diet and fluid intake normally.

I guess with 2 kids it gets harder to keep track and we're less patient with coaxing her to drink. And I just don't get why toddlers don't want to drink water! It's so frustrating, trying to run after her with a sippy cup of liquid that she literally SIPS.

So... coupled with this potty training thing, Madison is officially constipated. Jammed up.

Yesterday was Day 4 of the absent BO. I took her down to the pool side to splash in the water before dinner, and she suddenly said she felt like pooing. So off I dash to the toilet downstairs with her, stripped her of her swimsuit and sat her on the toilet. Then all hell broke loose. Long story short, there was screaming, there was a manual evacuation and then there was more screaming ( by me..!)

I think I might have post traumatic stress syndrome from it all.

Pumped up from it all, I drove the kids to the pharmacy and bought an array of laxatives. A microfleet enema, glycerin suppositories and paraffin liquid. I wanted to give the enema straight up, but changed my mind and she wound up with 2 glycerin suppositories. Which didn't seem to really work but she ended up with tummy ache the whole evening. And skipped dinner.

Somehow, amidst the chaos, it emerged that Warni( probably me as well ) is not coping with 2 kids and housework. Although she refuses to acknowledge it or to bring it up ( Why? Why ? ) Anyhow, with a crying baby that wants to be carried all day and an energetic toddler to mind she cannot get all the housework done in the few hours that she has at our apartment.

So after some pow- wow with the hubby, we came to the conclusion that she has to 'bring work home to do' ie take the laundry back to finish up in the evening when we are all at my parents' place. So we drove out to buy another ironing board, iron and laundry baskets for my parents place for her to use.

Hopefully the new system will work. I guess this is an evolving situation, and we are all trying to cope. There is just no winning. Unless I stop work and help look after the 2 kids and Warni can do more housework, or else she needs help with the kids. The former is not really an option so trying to get more help might work.

Sigh. I just hope the liquid paraffin works. Apparently in Australia they have parachoc, which is liquid paraffin for kids. Chocolate flavoured! How come we don't get it here?

New place

It's been pretty fun getting the new apartment!

On Friday, we had a bbq dinner for the family. It was a bit of a mad rush, since I finished work a little late and then had to run around getting the bits for the bbq. It turned out to be pretty fun though! Even though it cost me more to do this than to just go out for dinner!! Mun Hon took Elizabeth for a dip in the pool. Poor Madison missed out because I was too stressed with getting dinner cooked and pacifying a tired baby at the same time.

Still, she was more than happy with her mini Magnum ice cream... clever little girl even wanted more-- she told me to follow her, and I did, only to have her take me to the lift lobby.. when I asked her where we were going, she told me solemnly... "mama, I want to get more ice cream". So we get to the lifts, and I thought to myself, "well.. if she actually figures out how to get back to our apartment, I certainly will give her another one!" But she gets to the lift and and is stumped by whether to go up or down! Good try though...

On Saturday.. I had the 'brilliant' idea of going over AGAIN to the apartment for a dip before Madison's lunch. That wasn't the silly part. To decide to COOK her lunch at the apartment was the silly part. We ended up with shattered pyrex all over the floor, baked beans and rice all over the cook top , one screaming baby and a toddler who was refusing to don her slippers even though there were glass shards all over the place!

Even so, I managed to salvage the event; her lunch did get cooked, we did go to the pool for all of 10 minutes! And she had lunch by the poolside. And got another mini Magnum while I tried to clean up the mess. At the very least I got to try the awesome jacuzzi at the pool! They were really strong jets of water! Fabulous... great for post exercise massage/water therapy!

The contractor came over on Sunday to measure the apartment up and to draw up additions to the place. Being a small apartment, we need build- to- measure furniture so as to maximise the use of space. I am looking forward to seeing his plans for our new abode!

The grandparents came back from Tokyo on Sunday. We were all glad to see them, and they bore bags of goodies for us all. Of course the kids were the most excited... to see packets of chocolate, biscuits and the like spill out of their bags... they were literally swimming in the stuff! But, I must admit, the Japanese snacks are actually quite something... giant sized Pocky sticks, smooth as silk Royce chocolate, and delicate butter cookies.

Well.. all too soon the weekend came to an end... it was dinner together, then home for everyone to their respective places..

Happy Children's Day!

Today being Children's Day in Singapore and Anthony's last day with us, I thought I'd do something nice for a change.

Initially the plan was a simple lunch with the kids and maids in tow at Casa Verde at the Botanic Gardens. Then I thought: " OMG it's Children's day... probably going to be terribly crowded ..! " So.. after some consideration, I decided that a picnic at the Gardens would be a nice alternative.

Of course this change in plans just had to be made at the eleventh hour... so as usual I was thrown into a mad rush to gather picnic material. Madison is just recovering from her bout of gastroenteritis so I was a little paranoid about what to get for lunch. I wanted to cook some chicken but in the end, I realized it was either cook the chicken and be too late for a picnic, or make do with store bought roast chicken. So, I settled for the roast chicken, but microwaved it again for safety's sake. It also helped that being mid morning, the chicken had just been freshly cooked.

It turned out to be a great afternoon! The weather held, nice and sunny, and we managed to get a little pavilion all to ourselves.

We layed the picnic sheet out, trotted the food out and when the kids saw the spread they wanted to eat immediately. We had the roast chicken, sliced cheddar cheese, bagels and foccacia, salad and fruit.

After lunch the kids ran off to feed the black swans in the pond, while I fed the baby. Was great that Chris managed to come out to meet us too for awhile.

The reason why I decided to write this post is that I was just thinking... life would be so simple if I decided instead, to leave the kids at home and let the maids do their usual routine with them, and then take Anthony out for lunch. Instead it was a mad rush and stressful event trying to pack up 2 toddlers and a baby and 4 adults to go to a picnic. But... that's what having kids is all about, isn't it? Children are not "convenient" to say the least, but it is when we do the "troublesome" things that gives us the fufillment, isn't it?