4 months!

Awww... the neglect, I've been so busy these past few weeks that I haven't got time to update the blog as much as I'd like to. My computer also underwent some reinstallation hence, the utility I use to upload pics to blogspot is gone as well! Anyway, casting back to what happened in Alden's fouth month on Earth........

Spead the LOVE (virus) around!
Ah yes, ILLNESSES!!! First, it started with Karen, she had a mild cough and a sore throat, but a dry one, then she had a fever and something like a flu got to her, then, after about a week I started developing the symptoms as well... Don't get me wrong, we pretty much stayed out of Alden's way, we tried not to carry him and all, Alden also started to sleep with Grandma (cause she's healthy, and I'm like taufu) to isolate him from all the germs floating around at night. Karen wanted us to get well as soon as possible because all in all Alden was with Grandma for nearly 4 weeks, as the cough didn't want to go away. Despite all the stringent precautions that we took, Alden also got the virus.

So he too started coughing and it's worrying to hear him cough as he can't really expel out the phlegm as well as adults. So we took him to the doctors and he put him on some cough syrup, phlegm medicine and just in case antibiotics. He weighed about 8.7 kg too! his coughing was very worrying, reason being if he cried he'd start coughing and then out comes the milk he just drank! So we have to cut down his milk by about half to stop that from happening. Sometimes he'd go on 6 hours on 3 ounces of milk, very very worrying indeed.

We were anxious because he'd develop mild fever that will go away as abruptly as it appears and whenever we feed him medicine he seems to be droopy and sleepy all the time. After that he started developing rashes!!! Again we went to see the doctor who gave us some anti histamine to help clear the symptoms that looked like hives.

However, the hives like symptoms were pretty persistent for about 3 days, he'd go to bed all clear and the next morning, have a new set of them cropping up. Everyone thought it was the medication that the doctor gave but I figured it wasn't. It's a good thing that Alden has such a good father who can analyse the situation well and I said that it was the Ridsect that we've been spraying into the room. After all, it's dengue season and we've been extra vigilant and generous too with the spraying, especially when my dad has the can!!! Anyway, we stopped spraying for about 2 days and all the symptoms cleared! So Karen's much relieved now and she say that the baby is like me, "Sensitive to everything, must be inherited!"... Ahh, blame the saviour...!

Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Well, after that episode things seem to be well, and Chinese New Year came! Wow, Alden really got a tonne of ang pows, and Karen and I were commenting that we have to go through 3 New Years to collect that amount that Alden got! Times sure have changed! I suppose either inflation have really caught up with us or that we have more people giving compared to when we were qualified to receive ang pows. Actually he got a lot from Grandma and Granddad so it's good!

By the time of New Year, he still had phlegm and you can hear it when he breathes. Ugh! Nowadays he like to put two fingers of his left hand into his mouth whenever he can, also he struggles a lot while being fed and is more insistent about everything, like wanting to go out, wanting to see things, wanting to be carried while being put to sleep... Oh he's spoilt...! About the only person who doesn't spoil him would be his dad....! Hahaha, can you imagine having a sensative ear when he's bawling into it... Oh no... I'd drop him to someone else... heh! He's also starting to slim out, even cousin John said so on his last visit to see Alden.

Would love to upload some pics, but I need my digital camera back from Thailand (my dad's having it) and I need to install Picasa first too! See you next time!

3 Months 1 Week

Happy New Year!!! It's now 2005 and as I've said to so many people, the season is less festive each year. This time round, the Tsunami 26-12 (I can see a pattern here, naming catastrophic events and appending the date at the back, at least this time, it occured in the ASEAN region and we used a DD-MM format instead of 9-11 which is in MM-DD format, confused Americans!) came and gave us a rather unexpected shock (no pun intended, really). As of today, the 4th of January, the death toll from the magnitude 9 Richter quake just off Aceh tops off at about 160,000. Your Kong Kong said that he expects it to be about 170,000.... I'd say 220,000, he said the figure was too high :)

Anyways, Alden can now hold his head up quite well, he has also grown noticably longer, and we've christen him thunder thighs as well now, apparently, his thighs are bigger than Grandma's forearm.. scary thought, taking after his father they all said (such indignition).

He's also growing TEETH, at 3 months, he's teething already?! Yup, apparently from the ladies who dare to put their fingers into his mouth and have a good feel about, he has teeth and Karen also said last night that she can already see one surfacing from the bottom gums. Teething periods are especially trying, not only for the baby but also for the caretakers because the baby is especially unruly at this point of time. Requiring extra attention and also throwing tantrums at unbelievably loud levels. We've gotten him a teether but he hasn't taken a liking to it. He prefers the fleshy part of his hand better.

As for me, I'm taking it all in stride, allowing others to calm him down, not because I don't want to take care of him, but rather, I have sensitive hearing and he prefers the upright position now, so sometimes when he goes and has a loud one, I feel like my ear drums are being pierced by knives. Of course, everyone thinks I'm such a wimp because "I can't take my own baby's crying..." If only they knew what a blessing and curse of having sensitive hearing can be.

He is also growing more and more naughty, he expects to go for walks on a daily basis now, knowing EXACTLY what time to wake up, his times are about 4 pm and like clock work he will wake at this time as he knows that Kong Kong and Narti Che Che would bundle him up in his "Ferrari" (stroller la) and go walking around the field. He expects 3 rounds at least and if not given the 3 rounds, he'll protest going into the house after the walk. That does not include bad weather by the way :P

So all in all, he's developing nicely, he also knows when people are upset with him, as I tried to scold him once and he daren't look at him, or rather didn't want to look at me after he's calmed down. Very perceptive, thing is I felt guilty for reprimanding him as he can't help crying if his gums are itchy now can he, ok la, give chance, next time have to be more patient...

So until next time, I'll get some piccies up for ya!!!