Multiparenting Cayen & Cayson

I'm a hassle free mum. I need to get things done , fast. Here's my list of essentials when expecting a newborn.  For baby   1. A safe toy / bolster (with holes) that he can hold on to for comfort (sometimes people call it safety blanket but ironically blankets are not very safe at this stage due to suffocation risk)  2. A pacifier (yes, you may not want to use but this is for standby in case you really need a break)  3. Changing mat and also some waterproof cloth to line your bed or the cot  (if you don't intend to keep changing bedsheets everytime mishaps happen) 4. Yu Yee Oil  When colicky (i.e. still crying despite having drank enough, slept enough , changed diaper, ideal room temperature), put some oil on the tummy. If it's due to wind, baby will fart and all will be good again. You can also try to massage a bit to get rid of wind. 5. Diapers Depending on your baby's birth weight and size, he might outgrow the newborn ones really fast. So don't buy too ...

To encourage Cayen's ability to talk about his experiences and feelings , usually I will ask him about his day and also share my day with him. This is done over dinner or during bedtime. I think this is important , because I hope he will always feel comfortable enough to share his joy and also his issues/problems with us even after he grows up into a teenager. As a side benefit, his storytelling skills should improve too since he has to recall his day and share the highlights and lowlights as well.  Usually, I will ask him things like: how's your day; what are the happy stuff; what are the sad stuff; who did you play with ; who are your best friends now.  There was one particular day which was rather funny: C: How's your day Ah Ma? Me: Long day , hence I'm eating dinner so late.  C: Why? Me : Some people pushed their work to me so I have to work late.  C: They push you ? Me: No. What I mean is that the work was supposed to be done by them but they didn't do it so th...

Teacher informed us that it's his classmate's birthday today. So yesterday I asked him to make a card and he obliged.  As I had a conference call from 8pm onwards,  I didn't realise the issue after he had completed his work and shown me proudly. I noted he had made extra effort to colour inside the shape.    Well, issue was that he had drawn on the back of my bank statement. You see, as part of being environmentally friendly , usually I will give Cayen scrap paper to use for his drawings at home. So he's very used to going to the scrap paper box (usually comprising of bank statements or advertisements) to pick a piece to draw or write on. When I told him that when we make a card, we needed to use a fresh piece of paper , he looked a bit disapppointed. So I tried to think of another way , which was to cut the original drawing into separate pieces and paste on a fresh piece of paper so he could still give it to Val.  When we were in the car, there's another issue....

Read about the new playground at Turf City Grandstand and decided to check it out. It didn't disappoint as Cayen was able to entertain himself in the playground for around two hours and in the adjacent arcade for another two. The main playground was a little crowded from 2-4pm on a Sun but the crowd tapered off at 5pm+.  Interesting concept where you can buy a prepaid card and use it at various stations. For instance, the playground with unlimited play section cost $22, but playing at another arcade machine will cost $2 per play. There's also a rather clean looking sand play area where one can pay $5 I think to play for 30 minutes.                    I didn't let Cayson go into the playground as it was too crowded but it's free for under 1 year old. However, before that he did play at the playground at a Thai restaurant outside. He was super happy as there were other children playing there and he simply adores children. In fact, whe...

Many books say that we need to expose babies or young kids to the same food many times before they will even eat it. I don't know about you but it sure sucks when you spent one hour baking or cooking per the recipe book to find that baby or toddler won't even take a second bite. Hence, here's my alternative strategy - go out to look for nicely decorated kiddy meals or promise a sensory visual treat.  1. Jack's place  They served quite a few kid's meals , which we can also top up to get macaroons or ice cream (which is my treat if he finishes his food). You can choose from a selection of mini steak, fish and chip, sausage and egg etc.  2. Kuishinbo (Suntec city) They have a whole section with kids' food and desserts. It's very hard not to be impressed with the selection and decoration. . Good if you want to get them excited about food.  3 Slappy Cakes I went to the one at Turf City Grandstand and I think I saw one right outside Universal Studio as well. Kids ...

It's the opening weekend of the first ever Children's Biennale 2017 , which will open till 8th October 2017. Hence, we headed down to the National Gallery to check it out. Singaporeans bring your IC as you can get in free. You can get your kids this $5 interactive pack that will come with stickers which can be used for one of the installation.  Yayoi Kusama’s Oblieration Room - big word for a very fun room  First stop was this very special white room where children are invited to paste the colour stickers/ polka dots anywhere in the room, from walls to sofa to lamps and tables. Both kiddos were super excited of course and even I think it was so fun."First time I can anyhow paste," is Cayen's insights though I was more like "And also the last time you can anyhow paste".  That's an idea for revamping our children's room in future. If walls have any blotches , instead of painting, perhaps stickers can be a good idea.      Firewalk, A Bridge of Ember...

Ah Pa was reading to Cayen a book on dinosaurs. Midway, he paused as Cayen looked very troubled , as if he's going to cry. Ah Pa asked him on what's wrong and encouraged him to share his problem so perhaps they could work it out together. This is what happened next. C: Ah Pa, what is the middle number from zero to infinity ? P: Erm , since infinity is never ending , and for whatever number you name, there will always be a next bigger number , there's no such value . Or perhaps the middle number is "infinity divided by 2" P: actually Cayen, so far we have been teaching you 1,2,3,4,5... 10 but we never taught you about negative numbers. Actually the smallest number is not zero , it can be negative 1,2,3,4....10 and it can even be negative infinity.  C: oh, so zero is not the smallest number. I thought zero is the smallest number.  Just as Ah Pa was going on with more examples about positive numbers and negative numbers, suddenly Cayen exclaimed , " I know! The ...

Scenario 1: It's been a long day and one of the last tasks of the day is to put the baby to bed. After trying for 30 minutes, Baby finally blinks and closes his eyes. Then without warning , he opens his eyes wide open despite being very tired and cannot go to sleep. Then you try to repeat the routine again. After 45 minutes, you are tired and want this to end. So you pick the baby up, rock him in your arms  / carry him around the house / put him in a pram and push him around / take him out for a drive. Then finally he goes to sleep. You conclude that this is a quick fix and is so much more effective. You should have done it upfront.  Scenario 2: After 45 minutes of trying to get the baby to sleep, he still is awake. In fact, he's crying loudly as he's tired and wants to sleep. You pick him up , stop the crying and put him right back into bed. He cries again, and you pick him up, stop the crying and put him back into bed again. This goes on for 30-40 times before he finally ...

It's raining now. Usually, I would take consolation that I would be able to find snails with Cayen the next morning when we  walked in to school . However, very soon, this will be no more, unless I can successfully petition against the demolition of the green space that's making way for the driveway.  Actually we got notice of the demolition last week. However, it didn't sink in until I saw them tear them the playground last Friday and put up the hoarding today morning.  Hence, I immediately wrote to the principal and also informed some of the mothers. "Understand that you are constructing a driveway and have seen the demolition of the playground so far. Actually, I was wondering if we can still preserve the central patch of grass patch since a driveway will still serve the purpose as long as one car can go through and we don't really need so much space.  Reason for asking is because I have seen many plants and insects flourish in that space and if we get rid of th...

Cayen had been going to preschool since he's 18 months . For all the occasional issues that have cropped up along the way, crying when being dropped off (separation anxiety) was never one of them when I dropped him off personally.  The only times he cried was when Ah Po carried him through the entrance (2-3 years old) and into the classroom. Then, he would make a fuss and refused to be let go. When I dropped him off, I would only carry till the entrance (when he's older, he would walk himself all the way) where he still needs to perform the usual routine of temperature checking and stuff before entering the classroom. Using this approach, he would not whine or cry when going to school.  However, in the last one month, I started to sense his reluctance to let me go cox I unintentionally started a new routine of hugging him just before he enters the classroom. Because of that, he would usually ask for more hugs , and sometimes teacher needs to help to gently tear h...

Having kids mean having to cope with a lot of surprises along the way. In the last 4.5 years, I have seen my share of various ailments (myself or friends') & want to share some of the experiences. In general, I suggest to bring kids to see doctors whenever they are not well as doctors know best. Nonetheless, during sudden situations, I think it's also important to know what we are dealing with so I am sharing what I have googled along the way to educate myself (my first way out is always to see PD or GP by the way). Do note that I am not a doctor and the following is for reference only. 1.Spitting up / vomiting milk When a baby who is feeding suddenly vomits milk, quick hold the baby vertically up. Don't let the baby continue to lie flat in case he/she chokes. Spitting small amount of milk  is common in young babies but if vomit is projectile and happens once a day or more, please go see doctor. See article for more details on spitting up and reflux 2. Nosebleed...

He's a very sweet kid. Though I spend very little time with him on weekdays as he's usually asleep by the time I am home, he still prefers me whenever I am around. In fact, my mum cannot understand why he's so attached to me. This month, he has mastered pulling himself up from sit down position to standing up (with support). He has also managed to stand for a few seconds without support one a few occasions the past few days. These newfound skills meant that he is no longer contented to just sleep when placed in his cot. The current routine is to pull up 20-30 times with a cheeky grin after his milk , before he can finally fall asleep. He also has this cute habit of touching and twiddling with our fingers/hands when we feed him milk when he's in a half drowsy state. I have a feeling that he's gonna be a sentimental boy. This month, he has on more than once startled us with some pronunciations that were quite accurate: mama, papa, book, ABC, yeah! He now appre...