So Tab has recently started to crawl quite a bit at home, although not for long, before she starts yelling for me to help her get back to her sitting position. But at some times, when I leave her alone to do my stuff, I find her at places where I did not expect, such as in the middle of my living room .

There're many times when I need to leave Tab alone to do housework/cook/go to the toilet (!) but I have become increasingly worried about where she might end up by the time I check on her. So we decided to get her a new toy/cage.



So the above has become her new cage, erm I mean play area. I hope she doesn't become too aggressive in the future and topple the whole play yard over!

I think she is still quite wary about the play yard/cage. She still wants me to sit in the play yard with her for a short period of time. I hope she gets used to it soon and learn to play on her own in it!

I miss BKK. I want to go to BKK. I want to go rest and relax!!!

• 11:03 I wonder why I am so tired. Napped with Tab and I couldn't wake up when she woke! #
• 11:52 Why is Tab so fussy these 2 days? :( #
• 12:00 Resorted to having Tabby play with her toys with her back facing me - otherwise she'll start yelling/crying for me again! #
• 14:06 A hungry woman is an angry woman. #
• 20:05 @missyT Wah I want some too! #
• 20:05 @benkoe Its an excuse. #
• 20:06 @missyT Yeah cooked myself some noodles. :D #
• 20:06 Methink Tabby has separation anxiety. She burst out into tears when I leave home for gym or school. #

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Today was a rather packed day for Tab and I. We had brunch with some friends at Riders Cafe. Wow I was so impressed with my smoked salmon benedict with asparagus. It was way yummy. Tab loves the table and kept hitting the table and wanting to bite it. *shakes head*

After brunch (and her nap back home), we made our way to Tanglin Mall for Kindermusik's trial class (thanks to Hazel!!). Hai yo. I feel so bad for the mommies there cos Tab was crying so much!!! She was laughing and giggling when we first stepped in. I think it took a while for her to realize that it is a new environment, before she broke out into tears. And naughty Tab also triggered poor Warren to tears. *sorry Hazel!*

In spite of that, I had fun at the trial class. Hahaha. I love the way the facilitator make music wth the various instruments and encourage babies/children to play along. I think I'll try another trial class when Tab is older. :)

When we got home, Tab was so exhuasted she went down for her 3rd nap like magic. But she woke up soon after, wanting to play. Timmy got home half an hour later and proposed that all of us should go jogging!!! Like how??? (I had washed up both myself and Tab already!!!)

We changed into our running gear and took Tab in her pram. So Timmy pushed Tab while he jogged! After 14 months of not jogging, I could really feel myself struggling with the 2.4km run. But I was glad we made it! :)

Fun filled day! Back to a normal routine tomorrow.

I was having a bit of problem with Tabby when in the last 2 months where she had completely rejected the bottles (she wails, yells, gags for an hour and would rather starve than drink). Hearing her go through all that really broke our hearts. Well meaning people have been advising us to persevere on and just give her the bottle. She'll take the milk when she is hungry, but we both couldn't bear to do it. Esp me. I had prayed to be able to breastfeed her, and I was able to. If she prefers to latch on instead of the bottle, I just have to do what a mother has to do.

The only problem was, I was supposed to start my masters programme again in August. With her not taking the bottle, it was going to be rather difficult as I wouldn't be around for her 7pm feed (the most important before she goes down for the night).  So Timmy and I felt that I should put her before my studies, and apply to defer again for another 6 months. By then, she would be 10 months and she would have started on solids proper.

I received news in early August that my application to defer was rejected. I was so upset with the department and couldn't understand why. I remember feeling like I wanted to cry, as I thought God was trying to force me to decide between school and Tabby. The natural choice was of cos Tabby, but still, I was yearning to go back to school. I was rather saddened and hubby asked me casually, how will you know it is God's will for you to return to school? I replied without thinking, if Tabby takes the bottle magically.

And so I tried once again (without expecting much truly). And walla! She took it like a pro!! I was so amazed and so grateful that she had taken to the bottle again. Maybe she knows that mommy really hopes to go back to school. :) I didn't want to be too enthusiastic about the success, and tried again for a few more feeds. And she did take the bottle without much hesitation. :)

So now I have been back in school for almost 2 weeks. It has been rather intensive and challenging but I am really thankful for the opportunity to study again. I don't know how I will cope when the going gets tough, esp with Tabby being more fretful lately due to teething issues. But well..one thing at a time. For now, I am really grateful to God for granting the desires of my heart. :)

So yesh. I am now a steewww den.

Saw this ad as I was walking home from Central just yesterday.


Completely amusing!!

And nay, I didn't see them, so I don't have to give them hugs and kisses. :D

My little girl has achieved a new milestone. She is now very good in flipping from her back to the tummy.

Problem is, she doesn't know how to flip back to her back.

We used to half swaddle her for her night sleep, which almost guaranteed all of us good sleep on most days since she was 7 weeks old (put her to bed by 8pm, dreamfeed at 11pm and she'll sleep through till 7am). I guess good nights may have come to an end soon, now that she
is flipping...

Most babies are happy to sleep on their tummies. Mine isn't. She thinks its play time when she is on her tummy, and gets excited. After a while though, she becomes tired, and for some reason, do not know that she could just turn her cheek, lie on the mattress to rest. She buries her face in the mattress and then cries. I have been teaching her to turn her cheek to the mattress to rest, but am not sure if she has learnt it well yet.

I got a fright when I walked into her room to check in on her just now, to find her flipped over (even in her half swaddle!!!!) and struggling with one arm. I freed her from her swaddle, and put her down (back on mattress) in the cot. After a while, I heard cries. My dear girl has flipped over again and does not know how to fall asleep. *faint*

So I went in, and pat her to sleep, with her on her tummy. She got so exhausted, she fell asleep.

I am REALLY not looking forward to tonight and the nights to come. Have a nagging feeling she'll be crying to be flipped back. I shall try to coax her to sleep on her tummy from tonight onwards, and see if she will adjust to it. *Sobs* Shall give her more tummy time in the day to coax her to learn to flip back!!

My dear girl has also started to have discomfort in her gums, resulting in ALOT of drool, a lot of sucking (she sucks her fingers, digs her mouth with her fingers, cries to be latched on more frequently, sucks on my hand...almost anything and everything). She was also unusually fussy, and is only less fussy when she is distracted. Bought her a teething toy to ease her discomfort. My poor girl.

So exciting...the life of a mommy.

God, pls give me ALOT strength to persevere on!!

Today was a tough day for Tabs.

She woke up at 7am very happy, I could hear her squeals and laughter when I woke up to wash up.

We went for breakfast with my dad at 8am, and at 9am, after Timmy and Tina went off to church, I decided to take a stroll near church so that she could fall asleep in the stroller.

No. My dear girl was too distracted to sleep in the stroller. Everything was too exciting for her.

At 10.30am, she still has not slept. Then she started to fuss. I couldn't feed her yet as I need to send Tina off for her Sunday School at 10.45am. So poor Tabs was fussing and I was trying to soothe her till after I send Tina off for her Sunday School.

I finally fed her at 10.50am, and after her feed, she promptly fell asleep for half an hour. After she woke up, she couldn't sleep again. Everything was too exciting. She ended up babbling to Wern.

At 1.30pm, she was of cos exhausted. Started fussing a lot and we quickly brought her home, bathed her, fed her, and put her down for her nap. She woke up a few times during her 2 hour nap, but I was still able to resettle her back to sleep. After her 2 hour nap, she fell asleep for a cat nap in the evening before we went out to dinner with the in-laws.

Alas, dinner was served so late that it overshot Tab's bedtime.  She was so overtired from the day that she was fussing ALOT. When we finally reached home, I fed her, and then put her in her cot for the night. But she wouldn't stop fussing. Then suddenly, her fussing progressed to wailing and crying.

Timmy went in to soothe her, but she only became more and more hysterical. She was yelling, sobbing, choking on her tears, wailing... She was out of control. Timmy and I were shocked, the only other time she had a meltdown like this was during church camp (due to overstimulation).

I was soooo tempted to just take over the baby, offer the breasts to calm her down. Then I thought to myself - maybe I should let Daddy try to soothe her, since I can't be there all the time! Moreover, I don't want the breasts to be the only thing that will soothe her! :P

So Timmy was so garang. He held her close, pat her rhythmically on her buttocks, hummed "Jesus Loves You" (her bedtime lullaby) continuously. He looked lost too but just went on and on. Then I suggested he stand up to rock her. After doing all these for quite while, Tab calmed down and fell asleep. Kudos to daddy!!!! I would have taken the short cut and offered the breasts! :P

An hour into her sleep, Tab screamed again, really loudly. Timmy had this look of worry in his eyes. I find it so sweet that he is so concerned about our little girl. :)

So yeah, my hubby can soothe our little girl during her meltdowns!! Not just mommy!! :D

How time flies. We just celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.

Timmy and I decided to leave Tabby home with my mom and go out for a nice dinner. As I am still breastfeeding, I had to give her the 7pm feed before I could go out. We left home at 7.30pm after I fed her and put her down for the night, and scooped off in a cab to Central Mall at Clarke Quay.

We decided to have our dinner at Ma Maison. The view was splendid, as it overlooks the Singapore River. We had a great time eating, chatting, and reviewing the past year. After dinner, we took a long stroll along Clarke Quay - a first time in almost 4 months!

Frankly it was odd leaving her behind to go out on a date. We both felt something was amiss when we left the home. In spite of that, we REALLY appreciate the couple time that we have. :)

We both agreed that it has been a rather interesting year, with us discovering that we were expecting on our Batam holiday trip in celebration of our first wedding anniversary. In the last year, we also had a challenging time attempting to reconcile some relationships, and I'm glad that we managed to make connections with a certain individual. We also had the joy of receiving many gifts and hand-me-downs from people, and this really reminded us time and again of how much we are loved by the people around us.

Of course the highlight of the past year must be the birth of Tabitha. Having Timmy go through the birth process with me was by far the most touching and encouraging event. Breastfeeding and caring for her completely exhausted me, but it has been really rewarding. Witnessing how Timmy becomes so involved as a father was also very sweet, and I must say we are definitely much closer now as a couple than before.

What we look forward to in the next one year? I'll be drawing my last salary (part of it) in July. After that, we're a one-income household. This will be the greatest test of how we manage with our expenses. We are very sure God will provide, so we ain't too worried about it (as long as Timmy doesn't start getting excited about gadgets anymore!!! :P). I also look forward to returning to my part time studies, but with Tabitha still being totally breastfed (she rejected bottles boo hoo) I will only be returning to school probably next January. We look forward to witnessing Tabitha achieve her developmental milestones, and spending more time with her.

It'll be an exciting year ahead. :)

Thank you Timmy, for being a wonderful hubby and father. :)

Wow..Fandi and Dream Team  ( Rafi Ali, Abbas Saad, Sundramoorthy, Malek Awab, Jang Jung, Lim Tong Hai...) are playing this Sunday at Tampines Stadium, raising funds for Charmaine! I miss those Malaysia Cup days! I remember being so crazy over those soccer matches! Wow.

How I wish I can watch this Sunday's match! But its going to be rather impossible bringing Tabs there. Haiz. Nvm la. 

*Recollects Malaysia Cup days...It was more fun watching them than EPL back then! :P *