July 1: 7 months, 2 weeks.

I have such good news... my baby is sitting up by herself! I'm so proud of her,she's right on time. She was showing signs of keeping her back steady since a week, and suddenly, we let go and she was up for good! If she looks up too suddenly, or gives a laugh she topples over, lol. I'm really so happy with my brave baby girl. Now that she's depending on her own body a little more, she doesnt need me as much. She plays with her toys by herself a lot better now, and I can catch up with other things. YAY! Everything she sees still goes straight to the mouth, and she loves to bang things together, sometimes just her bare hands.... beginnings of a clap??

She's now 17 pounds and six ounces, and eats well too, esp in the mornings. She loves her puree of carrot and beans, or rice. Her dad cooks up batches and we put them in the freezer. At night she has about 4 ounces around 11 pm and is off till 4 am. This is a good stretch for me, to catch up with my husband, or watch tv, and then get some rest. She's still a light sleeper, but thats her nature and we'll live with it!

She doesnt babble as much as she used to. Thats strange? But when we go out to a mall, or park, she's so excited and drooling like the old days! lol, she loves going out. We were at an Italian restaurant for Father's Day and when the waitress spoke to her she just babbled away... she likes crowds, lights and having different things to look at.

She has this long set of the thickest eyelashes I've seen on a baby, the pictures dont show it up properly. She has the loveliest eyes, big and melting brown, and when she's looking at something I can see her eyes through the thick fringe of lashes and I swear my heart melts.... this baby could be in a maybelline ad for lashes I'm telling you. I'm just so in love with her its like my heart has no room for all that I feel for her. I love that she looks so much like my husband! Everyone we see tells us she's his replica, lol.

I love being her mom, playing with her, making her laugh. Nowadays when she's in her father's arms she looks at me like she wants to be with ME, and lets me kiss her as much as I want and that makes me feel on top of the world!

June 23: Seven Months, 1 week

At seven months, my daughter weighs 17 pounds, 1 ounce and is 25 inches long, she has surpassed my expectations. She has 'stranger suspicion' an important milestone and can sit up without support for a few moments. She has a tooth coming in, more on the way, her gums are lumpy. Her ped is very pleased with her progress and no shots for the next six months!

May 29 - 6 months, 2 weeks

I just had to update - my sweetheart baby enjoys boiled and pureed pears very much. The doctor thinks she is teething also! Plus she babbles different sounds now...she repeats something that sounds like mmmmbah!! a LOT and sometimes drops the b to just say mmmah and adds another ma to it so it SOUNDS like she's saying mmmamah! a couple of times she even said mama in the middle of all that babbling really clearly. I was SO excited and am keeping the videocam ready in case she does it again and I can show my husband. On the other hand she needs to be entertained all the time and wants me in her sight constantly... its a bit hard to keep up. Wonder how others are coping with children that are similar?

May 17 - 6 months, 3 days

My baby girl started solids! She is six months plus, which makes her close to four months, 3 weeks gestationally, very safe. I met with her paediatrician and he recommended we start right away. As I had guessed, she was more than ready and accepted the cereal with a confused expression but open nonetheless. Its been a week since then and she hasnt had the negative effects she suffered with formula. I'm thinking of moving onto boiled, pureed apples next... its such fun to introduce this world to her, by each taste, sound, texture and sight. She is supposed to have 3 ounces of water now that she's on solids but she hates having water. the only way i can get it down is by feeding her spoonfuls while giving her cereal. Its made her constipated and now I dont know what to do next. I read it up on the net and it seems prune juice helps... but am i supposed to buy prune juice in a box or make it myself from fresh prunes??
Two days ago we got her a Graco Lovin Hug infant swing that I can put her in when I do some chores around the house. She loves the sense of motion but got cranky because she was sleepy and is used to sleeping in her crib... well lets see if she's up for it better in tomorrow. At six months she weighs 15 pounds and is 25 inches long.

April 29 - May 6 - Five months, 3 weeks

Wow, I cant believe a month has passed by since I last updated. Time is flying. On the 29th, I took my daughter to the local jewellers where she had her ears pierced. She has pretty dangling earrings on now. They shake a lot even when she's still, lol. She cried so hard but then she fell asleep during the procedure, and thankfully it was over in less than 5 minutes.
She will be six months old in a few days....I'm amazed how a few months in an adults span of time, has a whole new meaning for an infant. She rolls over beautifully from her back onto her tummy and even scrabbles at the floor with her toes and knee.
I'll line up a row of coins on the edge of a table and then I take her hand and make her fingers drop the coins off the edge, one by one. She watches intently three four times and then the next time she will clumsily bat at the coins and drop them, two-three at a time. I laugh and cheer and she watches how accomplishing something gets mommy to smile.

I have yet to start her on solids, though I did test with some rice cereal just to see if the tongue-thrust reflex is gone (it has). I have to wait five extra weeks before I'm sure she's gestationally past 4 months, which makes her older than six months. She doesnt seem to mind and is still fussy while drinking milk. She doesnt feel hungry even though the number of hours says she should be ready for a feed. Its hard getting through a bottle, it takes a whole hour, but she's gaining weight steadily. So I suppose I should be happy with that.

She loves to be out and about for now. I took my parents out for lunch and then we visited my aunt (dad's sister) on the way home. She was pepped up and singing/babbling away all through even though she couldnt complete two whole naps. She was the same when we attended a family friend's wedding last week, she took in all the bright lights, flowers and colours, the people rushing around and didnt even mind that it was hot inside the reception area (she cant stand heat usually).

March 26 - April 5 : 4 months, 3 weeks

Well a short update. I will start with my daughter who's news is always most important to me. She attended her first birthday party for the daughter of my college friend today. It was held in the lawns of her club and it was SO well done. There was a magic show, tattoo artist (temporary glitter tattoos for the lil ones), face painting, games, two cakes and a huge buffet. Of course my baby girl didnt participate too much, being all of 5 months old, but she did take in everything with great interest and seemed to be enjoying it all. That was good enough for me. I stayed till the cake was cut and spoke to two other moms who also had kids in the 3-6 mo category, and had a bite to eat. I got my friend's daughter who turned 3, a cute summer top and shorts from Mothercare, a Barbie doll gift from my baby to hers, and a little amethyst pendant set in 18 carat gold.
And on a happy personal note, I'm just back from a week long trip to Mauritius, the gorgeous beach island in the Indian Ocean. It was a wonderful trip, we stayed at a resort and spa and just relaxed and let go after so many months. There was a dolphin excursion on board a catamaran, I did some snorkelling and tried my hand at waterskiing. What a wonderful place, came back with some photos, souvenirs and lots of goood memories!

Head control!

March 14 : 4 months

To give a short update, I took my baby girl for her four month immunizations and I'm glad its over. Two shots and oral drops. She screamed her head off and was in much pain. I gave her infant Adol for the next 24 hours and she slept most of the day off due to a fever but seems to be coming out of it now thank goodness. It hurts to see her in any pain.

To give further updates on what Id written earlier....my marriage HAS improved after much time and effort on both sides. We may even take a short trip later this month. As a short getaway my husband arranged for us to stay at a lovely resort-hotel in the city itself in February and it was nice to just experience the luxurious hotel, butler service, great food and ambience! We took a buggy ride around the resort and my darling fell asleep in my lap. That was cute. She even fell asleep when we had tea in the lobby and when she woke up she could'nt stop smiling and flirting with the sky-light ceiling!

And another thing I had to update, thank god my baby girl doesnt have acid reflux. It may be a case of lactose intolerance for which we are going to try soy formula and see if that works better. I am still mad at the doctor who diagnosed her as having acid reflux in a matter of minutes with barely a detailed examination of her and even prescribed zantac! I have since found a wonderful doctor, and am deciding to stick with her.

To end on a happy note, my baby is 4 months today! How time flies. I hope she goes from strength to strength.

Jan 22: She is nearly 10 weeks old

She weighs 9 pounds and is 21 inches. She is having problems with feeding. She seems in pain, refuses and cries while being fed, and when I took her to another doctor today he patronised me by suggesting I change the teat to the next size. I am going to try it for 24 hours before I look around for someone to take me seriously. She is fussy and showing all symptoms of silent reflux. Fussy feeding and sleeping habits. On top of that she is suffering from colic at nights. Caring for her shortened eating and sleeping habits has left me with little time to express (pump) breastmilk regularly and today I had to visit my lactation consultant because I found two lumps caused by blocked ducts. I have not been draining my breasts regularly and its now so painful when I even change sides while sleeping. I am SOOO tired... want to sleep for days. Want a day of peace of mind to just think and recollect and get my mind together... everything is so all over the place.....

God if I can just manage the next few months and get through sleepless nighs without my head falling off I will be proud of myself!!

She is gorgeous though... smiled sweetly at the doctor examining her and that made my heart melt. :)

Jan 7: 1 month, 3 weeks

I am happy to write this that our baby girl is progressing so well we actually held a get together for our family and friends to properly introduce her and have a lovely party in her honour. When she was born most of the visitors could not see her as the SCBU has strict rules about entertaining visitors. So once she got steadily stronger we felt we needed to do this little thing for her so that we can share our gift with close family and friends and also to celebrate how far she has come. We held a small party for 40-50 family members and friends on board a two hour dinner cruise. The seating arrangements and buffet service was exceptional and everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly. My darling baby slept through most of it and thankfully did not catch an infection as i'd feared.

Jan 5: One month, 3 weeks

Today (as of Jan 5) if I had still been pregnant, her gestational age is 40 weeks she just crossed the due date that I was given at the start of my pregnancy. But her actual age is one month and 3 weeks and although she is slow in reaching her milestones of other peers her age I remind myself to measure her by her gestational age and if I go by that she is doing absolutely beautifully. She is now seven pounds, seven ounces and would have been exactly right for her gestational age. We took her for bi-weekly check ups with a wonderful pediatrician and at the last check, she was doing so well that we have been asked to come back only after three weeks for her two-month vaccination.

I live by and cherish the steady steps she is taking towards progressing and growing every day. Her cheeks are plump and rosy, she tracks our movements with her eyes and once, I think, she smiled in response to me. I love my brave baby girl so much.

To give you an idea of her size at birth and now, here she is, on the left at one month of age, in her Graco infant car seat... and here again at seven months of age, she is barely fitting in. She has made giant strides through sheer willpower, and I'm so proud of her.

Starting to put on some weight... the beginning of better times.

Out of the incubator and in the nursery like other regular babies! I was so happy with tears of joy on this day. Waiting peacefully to come home, my sweet baby girl.

VERY TRUE!!!

Mum and Dad were watching TV when Mum said, "I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed.

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container,put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.
She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry. She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the excursion and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair. She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her bag then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night Solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, "I thought you were going to bed."
"I'm on my way," she said.

She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and radios, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list.
She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals. About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. "I'm going to bed." And he did...without another thought.

Anything extraordinary here?
Wonder why women live longer...?
CAUSE WE ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL...... (and we can't die sooner,we still have things to do!!!!)