9 months old!

Liam has reached 9 months!

3 more months and he is officially a toddler. My little baby is a toddler!
He is entering the 'difficult' stage. Eating is a problem right now. Sigh. Why are my kids like that??

We started solids when he turned 6 months. Till today he doesn't really like them! Of the 3 he is definitely the worst.

I'm at my wits end at the moment and am trying hard not to freak out about it. Of course it doesn't help that he hasn't gained a single gram since the end of December. How is it he can put on weight so easily for the first 6 months of his life and then struggle to even gain 100g in the next 6? It's bloody ridiculous. I had a lot of internal struggle as to whether he needs more milk? More solids? being a breastfed baby I felt a lot of responsibility -- maybe my supply sucks?? Maybe my milk is too watery or something?? Should he start some formula?

Anyway.. I trawled the internet for more information and the message is mixed. Obviously the pro-breastfeeding people say that milk is all they need for the first year and solids is 'just for fun', and other sites say that they need the solids more towards the end of the first year.

I think I'm probably going to try and encourage him to eat more, but it's really tough. Patience is probably what we need. Hopefully one day he will come to like food.  Annika is finally mostly over this phase. At 3.5! Sigh.

Work is also a source of stress.. the clinic feels like it's another kid!
We've completed the clinic renovations and the place looks much nicer, but I guess it'll take awhile for people to start coming back. And also, I probably need to spend more hours sitting at the clinic... which is another reason why Liam has to eat more and drink less.

For all these reasons I'm quite sure Liam is our last kid. After Annika I entertained the thought of having 4, but I'm definitely not a chilled out/relaxed sort of mamma. I'm really tired of being stressed out over the kids and stressing out over feeding/napping issues. The older kids are at a good stage now, and I'm looking forward to being able to do more stuff like ski and travel with them all. The clinic would suffice as my 4th!

Moving forward: Liam, please start eating better so I can worry less about you, Clinic, please pick up so that I can also worry less about you! Annika and Madison: Enjoy your pre school days... they are running out fast!

Madison's 6th

I'm really happy to say that the money spent on face painting and balloon twisting was well worth it!

Alicia Lye, the solo artiste who came and entertained the kids with her art is quite good. She has a company called Happier.Sg and she specializes in face painting. I've seen a few face paintings done by other artistes and she is by far the best. The only downside is that she operates on her own, so if its a big group she might have difficulty painting all the kids. I think the adults also wanted their faces painted by her!!

I wanted to keep the party small and simple this time, but have great food and wine. Chris and I did steak taste testing over the past few weeks, and I finally decided to order chilled barley fed USDA rib eye from MMM at Square 2. It was a tough decision!

But the steaks turned out great. We had them almost an inch thick and the marbling was fantastic. I bought 2 cast iron grill Le Cruset pans to cook the steaks in. We cooked it over the BBQ fire, but the pans took a really long time to pre heat. I was so lucky.. our new neighbour on the 5th floor lent me his cast iron flat grill and that heated up more quickly. He was so nice to come and help us grill the first 10 steaks!

I think we had 5 bottles of wine amongst us all, as well as some beer and soda. The kids had pan fried ribeye and chicken nuggets.

Oh.. the only hitch in the day? The kids.

I asked Madison if she would like to have her hair done before the party and she said 'yes'. So I took both girls to Monsoon at Novena Square for a haircut and for me to get my hair treated.

After we spent a good hour getting our hair done, we went home to prepare the food for the party.

The girls were amazingly well behaved at home.. no fights, no screaming and no tears. Of course that also meant they were probably up to no good.

They were sitting in the balcony and Madison was GIVING Annika another hair cut. She lopped her sister's fringe off so annika now has no more fringe.

Unbelievable. 2 hours from the party just freshly back from a professional haircut and they did this to their hair. Why not do it YESTERDAY! To say the least I was fuming mad.

.. it was lucky Warni spotted hair on the balcony floor and stopped them before more damage was done.

I'm glad the party is over and that it was a success... everyone enjoyed the meat so that was the point of it all...

One more party for school and I'm done for another 3 months!

Moo cow

I'm so lazy!
It's been ages since I've uploaded any pictures of the kiddos.

This was taken just this Sunday that passed. We went out to Marche at Vivocity for lunch. It's actually quite fun taking the kids out for meals now that Liam takes the bottle fine and the girls enjoy their meals outside. The only thing is that logistically things seem to take awhile to do so we wind up just having the meal then leaving pretty much soon after ( naptime for baby ).

The girls wanted to sit on the poor cow and I said 'no' initially, but another little girl got to do it so then they asked why they couldn't!

Of course their daddy obliged. They did make a cute photo though!

We are now in the month of March and Madison's birthday is coming up. We are having a little party this year with a few neighbours and their kids. I wasn't going to do anything for the kids but then I thought it was rather bad to focus entirely on the food only. So I've lined up a balloon twister and face painter for 2 hours.

I'm making the cake as usual but fortunately Madison has agreed to a simple cake decorated with flowers. Annika is getting excited and has started planning her party, but she has requested for a bouncy castle and a face painter. I think she also wants some complicated cake design.

More updates closer to the day! ( or perhaps after the party?? )

New beginnings

It's been a while old blog... I've seriously neglected writing in this blog for the past few months!

My fault... time just seems to tick by, the days blend into each other and before I know it two months have passed already.

KIDS:

Madison is almost 6! My dear sweet firstborn, the reason I started writing in this blog has passed the half decade mark...

I started seriously freaking out at the start of this year because she is finishing preschool and will start Primary one next year. I've heard so many horror stories of primary school in Singapore to be stressed. I hope she will be able to cope with the schoolwork, with the independence that is expected from a primary school kid-- having to buy her meals, being in a larger class, finding new friends and dealing with relationships with other kids.

I can't even begin to imagine what next year will be like: Madison will need to be in school by 0715h, Annika will still be in preschool which starts at 0900h and Liam should also be doing something at least three times a week somewhere ( which I haven't decided as yet ). Someone needs to send the kids to their destination every morning, and then pick them all up when they are done!

Other than that... I must say I am enjoying the age that Madison is at. She is finally past the eating/sleeping/ diapering problem stage, and is such a pleasure to be around. I can actually do things with her, like take her out for meals, go shopping etc. Not that we have alot of time to do that anyway.

Annika is also slowly getting there... she is still my stubborn little child, the 'difficult' one that drives my blood pressure up every morning ( it's slowly improving ). She's the feisty, rebellious and noisy one, but is also the most thoughtful one of the three( at the moment ) . I still have difficulty getting her to finish her breakfast quickly so that we can leave at a decent time in the morning.

She's also progressing well.. she finished her Baby graduate music classes just last weekend, and will start individual piano classes next week with Madison. Annika's also started tennis on Saturday mornings with Elizabeth and Madison. She really enjoys her tennis sessions, although I suspect the three of them spend more court time fooling around rather than hitting balls. Vicky and Annika also started gymnastics this year, at the same place as the 2 older girls.

Since I freaked out about primary school and Mandarin skills, I caved in and enrolled the 2 girls at Berries.

Actually Madison has been asking me to allow her to attend Berries. I think most of her classmates at Pat's go to Berries. I've been doubtful, but I figured it was worth a try. And I think it's not bad. Group classes must work. The kids don't mind going for the 1hour 45 minute sessions once a week, and they revise their work during the week.

Finally.. Liam.. my little baby, who is still a baby. He's 8 months already.. I cannot believe it's been 8 months since he was born. He's my little cutie pie, the cuddly one for now.

But the chubbiness is going away (sob). I know it's normal, but I was really hoping he could be as chubby and cute as Madison. I think I failed with Annika.. she was so skinny by 1 year old. I really cannot remember what I did right with Madison. Liam is getting so active and fidgety now, I think he must burn all his food calories everyday. He hasn't gained any weight for the past 2 months and that is freaking me out ( as usual ) .

We've started solids with him and to my dismay he doesn't really like it. Sigh. It must run in the genes. Must be Chris' side. Elizabeth and Vicky had no trouble taking solids.  I'm stubbornly trying everything I can.. Annabel Karmel recipes, different produce, new blender etc. I can't figure out if he needs more milk or more solids. Trouble with milk feeds is that he refuses solids after milk. I'm trying to give solids before milk for now to see if it helps.

WORK

We've finally renovated the Heal Balestier Clinic. Reason being IPSS is moving in to join us since their lease is up.

The renovations took just over 3 weeks to complete and it's finally ready. The new clinic has a brighter and lighter feel, and we've created more procedure rooms.

Obviously the clinic load took a hit during the renovations, so I'm anxiously waiting for the caseload to pick up again. Hopefully it won't take too long....

HOUSE

5 Martaban is coming up! I'm really excited for the increase in space that we will have. I'll miss being close to our neighbours and our carpark, but having more living space trumps that. The kids' stuff is EVERYWHERE in our little apartment and it really looks messy. And I'm really excited about a larger kitchen! We've got a kitchen specialist so hopefully they do a good job with creating my dream kitchen. ( or close to that ) ( actually more space is already quite good )

Because of the house and it's accompanying renovations our cash flow is super tight. I hate feeling like we ?might/probably be short of money( I don't dare do the math)  but I know it's temporary. The kids' school fees are EXHORBITANT, but looking at Madison I think it's probably worth it. I keep asking Chris if we should downgrade or switch to a cheaper preschool but he doesn't think it's worth it. So difficult to know what to do! So.. for the time being.. no holidays, no expensive meals out ( that is is arbitrary.. normal meals out with the kids and helpers start at $100 a pop )

I think I get stressed over all these things on a daily basis, but I'm also aware how quickly these things go by. How very soon Chris and I will be old and think back of the days when the kids were so little and life was so full and fast. I know I shouldn't wish for the days to go by quickly, because I will regret it later, but when life gets a little much and I'm rushing around trying to accomplish all these little errands it does get to me sometimes.

One step at a time..

5 months

I just realized my little baby is almost 5 months!

He's seriously my little bear cub... and he makes me so happy!

Unfortunately he's sick at the moment.. gastro when he got back from Phuket, and now, he's on his 2nd cold.

But even when he's sick he such a champ. Poor fella had a terribly blocked and congested nose last night he couldn't sleep. So I decided to use the nasal spray on him and he took it like a champ. Didn't even cry when we sprayed and then dripped iliadin afterwards.

When he's well he's a social bird. Smiling, cooing and laughing with and at people. Where ever he goes he never fails to attract attention!

He loves being with his sisters, and in return they love to entertain him.

He can sit with support now, and likes to 'walk' ie take steps with someone holding him. I think he's starting to develop stranger anxiety as well.

And of course he loves to 'talk' .

Poor guy doesn't really get to have a schedule.. he's frequently tagging along his sisters' activities so he naps when he's really tired. At least bedtime is fairly fixed because the sisters go to bed at the same time everyday. I remember Madison had a strict schedule at this age and Annika was fairly routine too. Oh well... he seems to be doing ok though..

In another month or so I guess I'll have to start him on some solids. I think I'm less stressed about him eating solids compared to Annika. In retrospect I probably rushed Annika onto solids too quickly. I underestimated the importance of breastmilk when she was less than 1.

Here's hoping this round of colds go away quickly...

Centara West Sands Phuket

We finally had a family holiday! This was the first trip abroad for Liam.

In all, the trip went better than expected.

We took a noon flight on Air asia on the way there, and a late afternoon flight back on Jetstar. Despite being budget airlines, the flights were surprisingly smooth and hassle free.

Madison and Annika had a really good time.. they were so excited and were able to participate throughout the trip. 3.5 years and above is a good time to go away on holiday!

Liam was the tricky one. He's almost 5 months now, less sleepy and becoming more aware of his surroundings. Of course he refused to breastfeed on the way up and down, and of course he wound up being the screaming baby as the plane took off. I think it was a combination of being super tired and overexcited. Thankfully once the plane was in the air, he suddenly fell asleep. The girls slept for most of the plane ride. Easy peasy.

When we got to Phuket, we had a pre-arranged hotel transfer so that took care of transport. (thank goodness, we had an entourage : 2 families who had 3 kids and 2-3 helpers EACH)

The resort was close to the airport so the transfer took 25minutes ( short by Phuket standards, other hotels take 1 to 1.5 hours to get to ) Of course this also meant we could hear the planes throughout the day and night, but when you have kids anyway you don't really notice it that much.

We chose this place primarily because it is located next to a waterpark. Plus we get free entry to the park. The resort had a fairly nice pool and was right next to the beach as well.

Since we were such a large group we booked the Penthouse suite which is basically like a serviced apartment with 4 bedrooms. The suite was a huge duplex and the kids were literally running up and down the stairs the entire time we were there. The rooms were large too with ensuites and it wasn't a problem fitting 2 extra mattresses for the kids.

Breakfast was included in the tariff and was a generous spread. The kids loved the automatic pancake machine and the juice dispensers. They had all their meals in the resort, either in room dining or at the watersplash park. Phuket is troublesome in the sense that getting to a restaurant outside means an extra 20-60minute taxi ride each way. I couldn't imagine trying to wrangle 3 kids there for every meal.

The resort also had a kids club, which is essentially a large indoor playroom that also had a flatscreen TV and game consoles. There were also organised activities for the kids but we didn't try them out. The 4 kids were happy playing with the toys in the room .

In the evenings after we'd spent the day in the pool and sun, we'd leave the kids and helpers at the apartment, and take a cab out to dinner. Phuket is still quite reasonably priced for visitors coming from Singapore.

The only thing we didn't manage to do was to get our massage and go to cocktail hour at the lounge. As we had booked the penthouse suite we were entitled to free drinks every day from 5-7pm at the club lounge. Of course that falls smack in the middle of dinner time for the kids. By the time we sorted dinner out it was usually too late. Baby steps..

Overall... a good relaxing trip that everyone enjoyed.. looks like we might be headed for more regional travel!

October

I cannot believe October is over.

Our 2nd helper finally arrived on the 22nd of October, and to be honest I have mixed feelings.

She's been great really, and it's a load off my mind that when I go to work there's enough manpower to look after Liam and get the housework done. It's time I get more hours in at the clinic and I felt really bad that the poor boy was stuck on his bouncy chair while Warni rushed around trying to do the housework. Even though I kept telling her not to worry too much about the housework when I was working, somehow the message didn't seem to get through!

Funny thing though, is that sometimes having 2 doesn't mean things are done more efficiently or more quickly. Maybe it's also because Mylene is still new. And it's also a different stress, now that I have to manage 2 live-in staff. It's still a little treading on eggs trying to work out if they get along. I'm not quite sure.

But overall I think it's the right move... Weekends are much less stressful because Chris and I can actually leave the 3 kids at home and go out for a meal/shopping and spend some time together.  Prior to Mylene arriving the weekends were always revolving around the kids' activities and most times it was a 'divide and conquer' mentality. Going out as a family for meals usually meant Chris and I took turns eating.. not relaxing at all.

Liam is now 4 months old and he's at a really nice stage! He's such a happy child and so social. Much more than I remember with either girls. He coos and babbles ALOT, and recently decided he likes socializing more than eating or sleeping. I think he also recognises me and that makes me really happy! I think it really takes 3 to appreciate the baby stage more... and he makes me so happy.

Annika is finally starting to understand a little more, although she has her temper tantrums she can settle with timeouts. She's actually quite motivated to learn,  probably as a result of having 2 older girls to learn from. I think she's also accepted her brother, and although she's occasionally jealous that I spend time with him, she understands if I explain it to her. And then bribe her with something.. not neccessarily with a material object.. sometimes something as simple as promising to spend time with her alone.

Madison is already a 'tween'. She's started to negotiate over everything, but in general is still easy going and a really great help now. She has empathy and offers to help me carry things when she sees I have a thousand things to lug from the car to the apartment.  She's improving at piano and is really quite motivated as well. I was having trouble with her being unmotivated at tennis, but after sitting her down and talking to her about it she's much better.

And finally.. we are about to take our first holiday with the baby. And it's only because the girls had their annual flu shot and Chris told them they needed it if they wanted to travel. So Madison got it into her head that we were going away... and now we are.. just a short getaway to Phuket with another family. Let's see how that goes... the kids are so excited..