Monthly Archives: November 2011

A FAMILY SCARE…

30 November 2011 38 comments

We had a huge family scare yesterday.

I was on a playdate at a friend’s place all day. Some time in the afternoon, Mum called and asked me if I was driving home soon. I said no, as Hunter had just gone down for his nap, and asked why. “Oh, nothing.. just a small issue. I’ll work it out”, she said casually and then put down the phone.

During the afternoon, Chris had also called twice. He didn’t really say much, but would just casually ask what I was up to, etc. Thought nothing of it, and simply asked if he wanted a lift after work, which he declined.

I got home, and saw Mum, Dad and Chris getting out of their car as well in the carpark. “Heh. How coincidental!” I thought and waved at them.

It was only THEN that they told me the whole story.

Earlier that morning, Dad told Mum that he was heading off to their club’s gym, and would drive home afterwards. He does this all the time, so no worries.

But hours later, he hadn’t yet arrived home. When he finally did, he was in a bit of a daze, and quite confused, asking “Where was I? What did I do?”.. stuff Mum couldn’t answer ‘cos she had no idea where he’d been either!

After him thinking really hard and trying to retrace his steps, turns out he’d gone to the gym as per usual… did his exercise and weight-lifting as per usual…. and then……

*blank*

He couldn’t remember anything else after that AT ALL. Only that he found himself a bit confused, driving back home (thank goodness his long-term memory wasn’t affected and he could get himself home!!!), because he didn’t know what he was supposed to do at that point.

It means he’d had a total memory loss/blank for around 2-3 hours! 

Since he had (fortunately) driven himself back home safely, Mum called Chris (she said she didn’t want to call me for fear I’d panic and drive back unsafely with Hunter in the car), and he left the office to go get my parents and drive them straight to the doctor and then the hospital.

They checked Dad over and said he’d be alright for now, but scheduled an EEG and MRI for the next day to eliminate the threat of a stroke or epilepsy.

Really can’t believe NOBODY – not Dad, not Mum, not Chris, not even my aunt that was informed – told me about this entire episode!!! I know they didn’t so I wouldn’t freak out, but sighhhh.

So we had a very worrying and fretful night, and I woke up early this morning to take all of us to the hospital. For 2-3 hours, Dad was hooked up to machines and scanned etc etc.

Then we all headed in to the neurologists office and tuns out…… Dad’s brain is perfectly healthy and unaffected! In fact, his arteries leading up to and inside his head are as healthy as someone half his age – a real testament to how healthy and fit he (enviably) is :)

Dad was diagnosed with Transient Global Amensia. I won’t elaborate on what it is, since you can read all about it at that link, how it occurs, who’s at risk etc. The good news is that it isn’t recurring, and there are no after-effects. The bad news is… Dad will never recover his ‘lost’ 2-3 hours of time :P

Anyway, I wanted to share this with you, because it is truly scary if something like this ever happens to yourself or a loved one. So, please read the information at that link, so if you are witness to this happening, you’ll know what it is and how to deal with it.

I leave you with a picture of Dad’s brain scan – a superbly and unusual picture of health that’s apparently rare among 60-somethings. I’m very pleased. After all, he IS my Dad, and Dads live forever, right??

BABY BUM!!

29 November 2011 11 comments

Isn’t there something so deliciously enticing about a baby’s perfectly smooth bum? It just begs you to go nomnomnom on it and make him gurgle and squeal with laughter! Am I the only mum out there that can’t seem to resist chewing on their baby’s limbs and cheeks? I mean, they are SO soft and plump! Like pillows of fluffy marshmallow. It’s a wonder Hunter is still whole and not half-eaten up by me.

I might as well do this whilst I can.. since it’s probably not too normal if I try to do that to him when he’s 18 years old, eh? ;) If only we could bottle up that perfect innocence and happy laughter for ever and ever…

 

 

 

 

A WEE PLAYDATE AT HOME

26 November 2011 6 comments

I haven’t been very ‘on the ball’ with taking photos and posting about Hunter’s playdates for the past few weeks.. mostly because it’s a bit like “you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all” sort of thing for everyone else IMHO, and aren’t very interesting unless you’re me or the mum of his playdate friend :P So I’ve spared you guys incessant photos of Hunter on playdates most of the time… but for this one, my gf’s camera was too good to resist!! It miraculously captures not only us looking our best, but also our babies. Seeing her photos (below) makes me realise how critical it is to have a kickass camera when you have a baby – so you can capture beautiful moments of your child’s development as well as lovely family shots.

Anyway.

This was just a little playdate at my place, simply a casual one where we could let the babies romp around, nap, and generally relax. It’s also a bit better on our wallet since it is expensive going out on playdates – no doubt we start eating and drinking coffee, having desserts, and… errrr.. going batshit insane buying stuff for our babies ;) It’s generally safer for my mummy friends and I to have home playdates, because it prevents us from shopping!

We had a quite lunch just outside my place, because it’s just too difficult for me to cook lunch and also handle Hunter at the same time. I could actually do it, but it would require a lot of planning and preparation on my part, and often I’m lazy. Ahem.

Look at our lovely desserts! My Victoria old-fashion sponge cake was divine. Also, photo taken with my iPhone 4, not my gf's fab camera. Obviously, right?

 

OOPS! Caught holding hands under the table.

 

Our lil ones then got a chance to scramble around on Hunter’s playmat at home and play with all his toys. The other beneficial thing about home playdates is that babies get a chance to play with a whole assortment of other/new toys when they visit another home. It’s SO much cheaper than buying new toys all the time, and a few gfs and I have now agreed to do a bit of a “toy swap” so that we can still ensure we have stimulating, educational and fun toys for our little ones.. yet not break the bank. Our husbands are pleased ;)

Remember how I said my gf's camera always makes everyone look fantastic? I LIED. This photo does make me LMAO though ;)

 

We are psycho mummies and love whacking hats onto our kiddies, then making them pose for photos. Whaaat???? IT'S FUN!! Here's Miss Blueberry and Mr Dinosaur.

 

"Eh? This sailor hat is too small for me, Mum!"

 

The two pretty ladies

 

Hunter engrossed in his toys

 

In bed together. Already. SCANDALOUS!! I like this photo because it contains so many of Hunter's gifts from loved ones: bedding from my parents, cot bumper & 'baby piano' (on back end) from Chris' parents, cot from my cousin Amanda, teddy bear from Chris, white sheep from my friend Aimee, Peter Rabbit from my aunt Susan, and jingle ball (partially hidden by feet) from me :) OH! And... errr.. a baby girl and her stuffed bunny, from Janice. HAHA!

 

HUNTER: MONTH 9-10 PROGRESS

25 November 2011 4 comments

Happy 10 month Birthday, Hunter!

 

My little man turns 10 months old today, and his personality is so evident now. He’s very outgoing and social and smiley when he’s with family.. but is so much more reserved when he’s outside and/or with strangers. He still flashes strangers grins, but only if he truly does like them or simply feels like it. He’s definitely not one of those I’ll-smile-at-everything-and-anything babies when he’s out in public.

It’s also become really obvious to me that he’s far more placid/docile than babies his age. He’s quite content to sit in one spot if I want him to, and will play very earnestly with his toys with 100% concentration. He doesn’t shout or scream and rarely cries.. but boy he is a whiner!  However in general, he’s really easy to take out with me every day because he’s content in his stroller and will be OK left chilling there by himself whilst I shop and look at stuff :P I’m glad I go out daily and he has playdates with other babies the majority of the week, because I think without that kind of social stimulation, he would be kind of an antisocial baby by nature. To this day, I still find it quite surprising because I’m quite the opposite and always want to be around people and friends, and am always talking!

 

MONTH 9-10 PROGRESS:

  • Eating – A freakin’ home run with this one! Hilarious because just 2 months ago (which you can read all about in the previous Progress updates), eating was such a major horrific battle for all of us. But now, I’m happy to say he loves food. He eats ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Easily, happily, without fussing. He’s eaten so much I won’t even bother listing it out here anymore. What a relief and what a delight!!
    Started 1x formula milk feed this month to start the whole weaning process, but still breastfeeding 4x/day. Formula feeding is only 50% successful (he gets rather angry with me sometimes for not giving him the boob)… so still plugging along with this.
    And, he also poos like clockwork now :) How crazy that things can change so dramatically in just a few weeks! My little input/output fail baby is now my little input/output success baby ;)

"Look at me EAT!"

  • Sleeping – Still no updates here ‘cos he’s a great sleeper and napper. Think I’m gonna remove this section for future Progress updates since I don’t think this is gonna change..

A precious moment in bed

 

  • Motor control - Same as last month’s, just practicing and improving I suppose. Getting to be a bit of an expert in those lift-the-flap books and turning pages with much conviction and purpose.. and he seems to love reading books which is a good thing. He’s also a big fan of putting blocks in/out of a box, inspecting each differently-shaped block and waving it all around. Loves anything to do with vehicles (real or toy) and loves inspecting moving parts with great fervor and deep interest. Wonder if it’s a boy thing.. Also claps hands, waves at people, etc etc.. the regular stuff all babies are doing at his age I guess. Still loves standing and cruising all over the place, but I still think he’ll be a late walker because of his size and rotund-ness (makes him unstable IMHO).

Storytime

His weird way of crawling.. this, or commando-style.

 

  • Talking - Starting to say “da da” now but way less frequently than “ma ma”.. which he’ll utter when I step out of sight and he wants to know where I am – TOO CUTE!! Loves to point at various objects he’s interested in let out a string of (incoherent) babbling, such as excitedly pointing to a giant red ball and saying “baaaa! baaaaa!!”, pointing at the playground that he visits every morning and saying “fdajer3gaaaa” (<– incoherent, haha), etc.
    He’s only particularly talkative around people he’s very familiar with though, and in familiar environments. Once we’re out or with people he doesn’t really know, he’s a very silent baby and will be the sort to sit there quietly and observe, rather than get in the middle of things and talk. Guess he’s not a social butterfly ;)

Overall, Hunter’s still a bit of a chubby baby so I’m looking forward to the next few months where I expect he’ll get even more mobile and drop his baby fat. I know Chinese people love it and boast when they have fat babies (and even pump them up so they get chubby), but I personally don’t think it’s a good thing since there’s no benefit in being big. Fortunately his nutrition is breastmilk-dominated, so I don’t worry about him being overfed or unhealthy, but I certainly am looking forward to when he starts getting longer and leaner :)

And so onward-ho we go! You have brought so much love and joy into all our lives, Hunter. We can’t imagine life without you – not seeing your cheeky grin in the morning; not cuddling you tight all day, not seeing your sleepy lil face and smelling you all fresh and in your pjs, ready for bed.. So grateful to have you in our lives! You are perfect, in our eyes :)

A voracious appetite for books ;)

 

PREVIOUS PROGRESS:

OUR LITTLE FAMILY

24 November 2011 24 comments

One of my favourite (very recent) photos of our little family, taken by my girl friend and her fantabulous camera, the Sony Nex C3. Know why I love it and plan on getting one? It captures us “as is”, as we weren’t expecting a photo of us to be taken that day, so here we are in our comfy ‘home clothes’, without hair and makeup done.

But yet, the photo above has us with (un-edited) super smooth skin, and frankly, I look a crapload better in the photo than I did/do in real life. Dunno how the camera does it, but I swear it makes you look slimmer, have smoother skin, and generally this glowy, happy, healthy look. w00t!!

Hunter looks rather, errr, rotund in it though. It must be the angle!! And Chris is a little disturbed that the camera “removed all my freckles” :P

And I end this mini-post with this HILARIOUS photo of Hunter. I can’t quite decide what the caption should be:

  1. “HOLY SHIT A DOG!” because that was actually the situation.. it was taken at the park when he saw a giant dog and his eyeballs nearly popped out of his head ;)
  2. “HELP I’M BEING KIDNAPPED!” because that’s what it looks like!