How to Relax and Enjoy Oneself

Ethan is already a master at relaxing and enjoying himself. Here he is looking stylish, cute, and laid back all at the same time while listening to his musical keyboard. Like Daddy, he focuses really hard when he's concentrating at a task but when it comes to relaxing he really knows how to enjoy himself.

If you zoom in on his gums you'll see white things poking through. Ethan's started to teethe as there are times when he sounds like he is in pain and bites on things more. No tooth has actually seen daylight yet though!

Swim-Fest

We bought Ethan a new swimming wetsuit and he looks soooo cute in it. This photo doesn't do his new sporty outfit justice! We got this from Kiddy Palace - it's their smallest one sized for 1 year old. Our tubby 6-month old baby fits into it with some room to grow!


Now that we spent $26.90 (after discount) on this wetsuit, we are trying to maximize use of it before Ethan outgrows it. So this morning we took him for a quick dip before his morning bath. It's a bit colder in the morning so he wasn't laughing as much as the previous day!

The wetsuit is really good! Not only does Ethan look very stylish, but he's kept warmer as compared with wearing only shorts. His favourite water activity is zooming around on his l'il speedboat!

Bethany Methodist Nursing Home

After our Good Friday service at Woodlands EFC, we popped by Causeway Point for a quick lunch and to buy a swimsuit (more on that super-cute item later). Then we went to Bethany Methodist Nursing Home as some of Renata's church group from BRMC were there to host a service for the residents. After the service we mingled with some of them and of course (a) Ivan couldn't understand any of the dialects and (b) Ethan brought much joy and big smiles to their faces! Here's one lady who really enjoyed carrying Ethan. He took quite a liking to her as well, happily sitting on her lap for quite a while.

Afterwards there was a short reception where Ethan also got to eat his tea-time milk snack. He finished that, but then was very interested in what Mummy was drinking. He wanted the water so much that we gave him a bit to try...from a different type of bottle! Most of it went down his shirt but he had lots of fun!

Bumper Sandwich

This evening while washing up in the kitchen, I heard the familiar tired cry for attention about half an hour after putting Bubs to bed. I thought he was just fussing but went in to check when it got persistent-- and found Ethan's head sandwiched between the cot rails and the bumper cushioning that was supposed to protect him from bumps arising from his newfound mobility of being able to squirm his way around the bed! Somehow in his half asleep state he had managed all this before raising the rescue alarm. Fortunately no harm was done and a loving cuddle soon sent him (as we say round here) to fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars a few minutes later!

Swimming!

Such fun! We took Ethan swimming for the first time and he luuuurrrrved it! A few months ago we tried when we were on a short holiday but it was cold and Ethan cried lots. This time we waited for a warm day, got him used to the water, then let him sit in his baby float toy that A. Pek Ya & Wan Ling bought for him!


Ethan liked swimming with Daddy almost as much as Daddy enjoyed it! Mummy was on the sidelines taking pictures and saying, "Be careful!" Now that Ethan likes the water so much, we can't wait for our baby swimming book to arrive which will teach us how to teach him to REALLY swim!

Less Cereal

Ethan's been eating less Cereal since last week when we were in Thailand. He has been having just a third of his usual portions and seems to need a bit more comfort sucking. Its ok as he is making up for it in the milk he drinks, but it does mean that this Milk Bar has to work a little harder! Could it be a reaction to the changes he had to cope with during the trip? Or maybe its part and parcel of the teething process? (He has been needing to bite on things-including Mummy! -drooling, and been a little irritable at times) We are still trying to decode this mystery, but as with everything we are sure it will pass- our 8kg baby is going to need more than just milk to fuel his energy and growing needs!

Playing with Daddy

We're at home playing by ourselves just after dinner! Mummy's going out to play Kendo so Dad is doing some funny sing-song stuff to entertain Ethan. At this very moment, Ethan is sitting on my lap biting his blanket while watching me type. He's adjusted back to the routine at home after being in Thailand. Things changed for him a little bit but now after 2 days it seems all systems normal!

Reflections After Travelling with a Baby

The challenges of travelling overseas has made us learn more about Ethan's behaviour and parenting in general. Here are my musings...

• Sleeping with us make for a sticky Ethan. We really saw it with Ethan! You see, he's been sleeping in his own room since 1 month and sleeping thru the night since 8 weeks - heavenly! We only sleep with him in our bed for short naps during the daytime. But after this trip and 4 nights of sleeping with mummy and daddy, he learned to wake-up during the night to get our attention! It became more pronounced on night 3 and 4 and continued when we got home. He cried more when we put him down for the night and even woke up for mummy's milk a few times. He has only woken up during the night ONCE in the last 4 months when he was having a growth spurt. So these wakings are certainly due to having too much sleeping with mum and dad! Now after 2-3 days things have returned to normal, thank goodness!
• Routine, routine, routine. Because this was a mission trip and we had to meet certain timings, we had to change Ethan's schedule here and there. The one hour time difference also affected him. Things were a bit more difficult because of this but still manageable. He got extra grumpy on the last day when he had hardly afternoon nap cos we had to check out. Next time, we would try to ensure he gets sleep even if it means paying for 1/2 day at the hotel as he much more grumpy on the return flight as a result.
• The Quinny Zapp is a great travel stroller. We packed it in it's own bag and took it as hand carry so it was ensured of not getting damaged. With a toddler that's all we would need, but as Ethan can't sit up by himself yet, we had to bring the Maxi-Cosi car seat and check it in on Tiger Airways. Their regulations say they can take it for $25/sector. Not wanting to pay $50 round-trip, I packed it in a big cardbox box and checked it in. Everything was withinn our 15kg/pax limit so no extra costs! When he becomes a toddler we'll travel with just the Zapp and will pack it into it's bag just before getting on/off the plane.

Teaching Ethan Swimming

We just bought a book on how to teach babies to swim. It was a toss up between Water Babies and this book which we ended up getting, buying from local online bookseller Zakoola.com for the first time! It hasn't arrived yet though... so Ethan has been dunked yet either!

Making Adjustments

On any trip when you travel with a group, adjustments must be made... and certainly on a mission trip! One of Ethan's adjustments was bathing in the sink! On this trip we stayed in a cheap hotel so things were relatively easy for us.

Though things were quite cramped in the sink, Ethan enjoyed playing with the water coming out of the faucet and looking at his handsome self. You can see though that his cuteness was slightly marred by what we think were insect bites he got a few days before we left Singapore.

His skin condition got worse during the time we were away due to his sensitive cheeks. As a result, he was more bothered and cried more during the flight back. But now we're back home with our full array of creams and medicines and things are okay. Over all, our brave little trooper experienced many new things and enjoyed the new sights and sounds. He less enjoyed the change in schedule though, especially his sleep times. We're keeping in mind for the next time we take a trip with him...

First Flight on an Airplane

Just before 9pm on Wed 28 Mar, we boarded the airplane for Ethan's very first flight! Here we are standing at the door waiting to walk out on the tarmac and up the stairs into our Tiger Airway's plane. For those who don't know, it's a budget airline carrier so there are no sky-bridges and no bassinets for babies.


Ethan was an EXTREMELY good baby on the flight! He sat with Mummy the whole time, except when she had to make bathroom trips then Daddy held him. He hardly cried at all during the flight. We tried to make him suckle during take-off and landing so he would swallow and equalize the air pressure. There was toddler in the row in front of us who wailed quite loudly, and we think that upset him a bit but generally he was a very good baby!

Family Mission Trip

This evening we are flying to Thailand on our first mission trip as a family. Ethan is the youngest tripper of our large team,, turning 6 months old during our time there. We will be back just after Sunday night (so no blogging until next week).

Do pray that Ethan will take to flying and travelling well! We hope he'll behave too, so Mummy can fully participate in things and Daddy can minister and do his work well.

Spotty

Poor Ethan got a bunch of spots appearing on his face over the weekend. It was there during his child dedication on Sunday but flared up more after that. We think they are insect bites. Thankfully they don't seem to bother him at all.

Child Dedication

Yesterday, we had a Child Dedication ceremony at our church service. Ethan was one of many babies/children to be dedicated that day. Both sets of grandparents plus Goo Ma (Auntie Mei) came to witness the event!


Pastor Kenny prayed for Ethan and for us. May you grow up to love God and fulfil the purpose for which He created you my son! Perhaps Ethan will be a pastor like his daddy, but he can find his own path and be anything he wants... perhaps the doctor that Daddy didn't end up becoming, or the war journalist that Mummy considered being! If he becomes a medical missionary ministering in the middle-east he can combine all three!! (I can hear grandparents gasping right now...)

New Haircut

Tomorrow is a big day! Ethan's having his "Child Dedication" at church and both sets of grandparents are coming! We gave him an "army style" haircut so he will look neat and smart for the occasion. He does look smarter, and Mummy thinks his new haircut emphasizes his eyes but Daddy thinks he also looks fatter in it. Hmmm... post a comment and tell us what you think!