I finally decided to abandon the baby for a night and watched this show last Friday. It was on my “must watch” list after i saw the trailer before I delivered. I thought it is going to be a sci-fi show packed with lots of action and visual effects, my favorite combination! Science wise, a science idiot like me finds them unconvincing and somehow ridiculous. The visual effects are awesome, though some are very “extra”, like the billboard smashing the reporter, Hollywood sign being ripped off and the wolves chasing the guys. Nothing intelligent or surprising with regard to the plot. But overall, I still find it very entertaining and had enjoyed the show tremendously.

Turbulence in the air, tornadoes in LA, flood in New York, hailstones (or hail-rocks) in Tokyo are some of the frightening scenes. Instead, what strike me most are the two babies that make brief appearances. One was sleeping peacefully while the father left for the Scotland lab. The second baby screaming in fear when New York was flooding. At those instances, I am really frighten that my child might be subjected to such hash situation one day and how painful it would be to see the child suffering. Luckily, it was only a movie afterall.

It used to be looking at the handsome guys and beautiful gals while watching movies during teenage years. After graduation, it was fashion, trends that catches my eyes. Then it became home decorations, home accessories after marriage. Now, it become prams, toys, cute little ones that are attracting my attention. Anyway, these has nothing to do with the show, and i guess the day after tomorrow will be the same for me, milk, diaper and crying baby.

Finally finally, the passport is finally ready and is collected today. Perhaps we will all go to JB this weekend to visit the grandparents, instead of having them come here (and maybe help us babysit the kid for a few hours while we get our timeout).

The application and collection of passport is almost hassle free. I just sent in the form and was notified for collection in about a week. Queuing and long waiting hours are expected at almost all government agencies. So I decided to go early. Reached there at about 9.30am, and saw a lot of people walking in and out of the building. As I turned into the public car park, I saw three car park attendants walking around, preying for drivers who failed to display their parking coupons. Anticipating long queue, I tore a 2hr coupon. But the whole process took me less then 10min. I am really impressed by the speed, though i wasted the coupon. Anyway, applying passport by post or thru the net is definitely a wiser choice.

I must voice out my unhappiness over TIBS rebranded as SMRT buses. Bt panjang area have been faithfully served by the orange fleet and now, i am begining to see them changing into the red and white coloured SMRT buses. Isn’t that smilar to the SBS transit buses? I am going to miss the bright sunny orange buses.

my skinny monkey finally decided to stick out her neck a little bit further and lift her head up a little bit higher. discovered a whole new frontier ahead. the sight in front must be much more interesting then staring at the ground when she couldn’t hold her neck yet.

I combed the net and found various solutions offered by parents who have had babies that refused the bottle.

try different bottles and nipples.
get the older baby nipples
mixing a little formula with breast milk
try a sippy cup or even a medicine dropper to pour out some milk into her mouth
heat the milk warmer than luke warm
feed her in the bouncy seat or car seat
feed her in a place where you never nurse her, like the bathroom or the garage.
gave her the bottle at her hungriest time
check for a tiny “formula plug” blocking the nipple hole
turn your baby on her side so she is in the breastfeeding position
begin to try to get her to take watered-down rice cereal as early the baby would accept it, that even a tablespoon would make a difference.
offered it often throughout the day, even if she only drank an ounce at a time
“reverse nursing”, which worked really well, if you can stand the sleep deprivation.
be prepared for LONG nursing sessions when you nurse
be calm, centered and focused when feeding her.
buy a frontpack, stuck her in it, paced around the house while feeding her
continue to breast feed your baby
as long as she is healthy and gaining weight, have patience and try not to worry

I have changed the formula, bought new nipples, nurse her whenever she refused the bottle. waiting to see some results soon.

Did an inventory check of my baby’s toiletries basket. There are so many bottles, containers, tubes inside!

Destine creamy diaper rash ointment with aloe and vitamin E (must have!)
Johnson’s baby wash (i love the advertisement where the baby bath in the sink)
Kodomo baby powder (great for my baby who sweat buckets)
Yu Yee Oil (must have! important)
Tollyjoy extra thick baby wet wipes (wet enough to clean her bums)
Epoch baby message gel (nice smell, but have not been using, its a bit too sticky for my sweaty kid)
Woodward’s gripe water (for relief of wind. my mother-in-law use it to clean the baby’s mouth. i try not to introduce anything other then milk)
Baby lotion (still in its original package!)
Cord spirit (the doctor gave me a big bottle. i think i used less then 1% of it)
b.n.p. antibiotic powder (the baby’s belly button didn’t dried up fully)
Antiseptic wash (she was attacked by some fungus on her face)
Hydrocortisome and Clioquinol cream (and her face was inflamed)
Johnson baby oil (for her cradle cap)
a rattle (don’t know how it gets into the basket)
a bathtub rubber boat (still waiting to be launched)
a big container of cotton balls and cotton buds (i am a cheapskate, i don’t buy ready to use facial cotton)

and the basket sits permanently in my living room floor, where i bath the kid.

Is it true that the babies will eat when they are hungry? I used to believe this philosophy wholeheartedly, so as to reduce my guilt and anxiety when my baby refused to take her bottle of formula. Nowadays, when she is in her stubborn mood, i think she would rather goes on hunger strike then take a bottle. As she gets older, she becomes so much sensitive to what we offer her. She only wants her milk fresh and warm from her milking machine.

My suspicion has been confirmed, the baby’s growth has retarded. We visited the pediatrician today for the 3months checkup, and she weighs only 5kg. I think that put her into the 20th percentile or lower. I am quite worried. Dr. Liu tried to cheer me up by saying the baby don’t look thin at all, probably just “small boned”. However, if the baby doesn’t improve by next month, she would want to start her on cereal immediately, to fatten her up. I certainly hope cereal will really boost her mass.

The weight issue already upset me a great deal. Dr liu proceed to check on her other aspect of wellness, She used her stethoscope to listen to her lungs, her heart, her stomach, all over her small body. She listened so intently, as if she had heard something abnormal, and then she listened here and there again. I started praying hard that everything will be ok. Glad to know that everything else is alright, no more red alert. Got to formulate some new strategies to make her eat more.

I broke the new vase i bought last week, what a bad start of a day. Luckily, it wasn’t an expensive one, and frankly speaking, i am not very fond of it. Gave me a good excuse to buy another one.

The weather today is so so so hot! It is going to make my blood boil. And when I got home from the airport, I realized I couldn’t practice my calligraphy today, which is the ultimate source of my frustration. Space invasion. Have not been practicing much due to a slight fever for the last two days. Now, how am I going to face my teacher tomorrow. He has been dropping hints that I am not progressing well. Uggghhh!