Even though N went back to school this month, we still found time to do quite a bit. N skipped a day of school so that we could go on our staycation at Rasa Sentosa, but we figured it was fine, since he’s only in N2. We won’t get to do this when he’s older for sure!
Our staycation was nice and chill, with plenty of time spent in the hotel itself, and we all appreciated the family time together. I especially loved the DIY maternity photoshoot that C did, since this is most likely our last pregnancy.
On the same day that we checked out of our hotel, C and I went on a date night to catch Les Misérables at the Esplanade. I can’t remember when our last date night was, and we thoroughly enjoyed being lost in the world of Jean Valjean. (So much so that C suggested naming Didi “Jean”. I vetoed that, of course.) It has been a while since we last caught a good musical, and Les Misérables is now definitely one of our favs, together with Billy Elliot and Jersey Boys. We were both thoroughly impressed with the cast and set, especially with all the spectacular special effects. So glad we found time to watch it!
Date Night
C also decided that it was time for N to start doing some simple chores, such as washing his own bowl and utensils after meals, putting the laundry into the washing machine, and transferring the washed clothes into the dryer after that. N has been pretty enthusiastic about helping out, although I cringe whenever I watch him wash his bowl and utensils, because he uses so much water and soap. I’m still trying to teach him how to conserve water while ensuring that he washes everything properly.
Washing his own bowl
Rinsing off the soap
Happy to help with the laundry
N also has to wash his own sandals, and he seems to enjoy this activity quite a bit, because he gets to play with soap and water in the bathroom for as long as he likes.
Washing his sandals
On the home-learning front, we’ve been trying to work on various activities, such as tracing letters, joining the dots, mazes, jigsaw puzzles, and tangrams. He loves working on mazes, and can complete them quite quickly. I’m also trying to teach him about the calendar, using the Janod Magnetic Calendar from My Miracle Baby.
Now that N takes the school bus, we have less time for home-learning, because he leaves home earlier for school, and comes back later as well. I’ve been trying to spend more time reading with him, and our target is five English books and two Chinese books a day. Sounds simple, but it’s actually quite hard to achieve on some busy days!
Joining the dots
Mazes
Still loves the Cars and Planes jigsaw puzzles
Tangrams
Having fun with his Janod Magnetic Calendar
N enjoys painting and art in general, so since I had an extra canvas board and some buttons left over from our first tape resist canvas art, I asked if he wanted to work on another painting. I looked for ideas online, and thought this button tree craft was quite beautiful, yet simple enough to recreate. N had different ideas of course, and insisted on painting the entire canvas, then pasting the buttons randomly around. I tried creating a tree trunk, but after a while, I gave up and let him do whatever he wanted, because it was after all his picture.
Paint, paint, and more paint
The black part on the left is apparently a volcano
Proud artist with his completed artwork
N came down with a throat infection this month, just a week before his birthday, which gave me quite a scare, because his temperature kept soaring, and he woke up in the middle of the night crying and saying that there was something wrong with his stomach. He usually doesn’t cry like that, and I felt so utterly helpless, especially since I was solo parenting. C was away in JKT as usual, and I struggled to sponge N throughout the night, because of my huge belly. Thank God my parents live nearby, and rushed down to our place at 5am to help bring us to the 24h clinic nearby. I contemplated going to KKH, but when I called to enquire about the waiting time, the staff told me that it would be at least 2 hours before we would see a doctor, and I didn’t feel up to waiting there with a crying N and whatever other germs there would be at the hospital. The GP said that N had a throat infection, and that the stomachache was unrelated, and a result of constipation, which was odd because N usually poops quite regularly. He did manage to poop after I gave him the laxative, and said he felt better, so that was good.
My mum kindly took half a day off work so that she could help look after N, and stayed overnight to sponge him as he slept. When his temperature refused to come down despite an entire night of sponging and medication, I decided to bring him to the PD in the morning. I felt so lousy about not being able to carry and cuddle him, but I knew I had to think about the twins as well, and my mum stepped in to do all the things that I was supposed to do for N. I felt bad that she had to keep taking time off from work, but I also knew that I wouldn’t be able to look after N on my own when he was so ill.
N’s infection took almost a week to clear, even with antibiotics, and I ended up catching the germs from him too. I tried to go without meds, and downed plenty of plain water, honey lemon water, honey, and even apple cider vinegar with honey, but ended up seeing a GP because I was coughing up phlegm with blood. I was given something to gargle with, instead of antibiotics, and some runny nose and cough medication, but the virus was really persistent and didn’t go away even after I finished everything. I was so afraid that I’d still be ill when I gave birth, but thankfully, I’m a lot better now, after taking lots of vitamin C and honey.
Oh and I’m not sure if I’m being paranoid, but somehow, when I gave N Singulair, he seemed to be more difficult to manage, and was extra mischievous, as though he couldn’t control his emotions and actions. MamaJ from Mum in the Making once shared with me that one of her boys also had similar issues, so I decided to stop giving N Singulair once he seemed better, instead of completing the entire course given by the PD. I’m really not sure if the meds caused his strange behaviour, but I didn’t want him taking so many types of meds unnecessarily either, so I stopped. His behaviour did improve, but I have no idea if it’s because he wasn’t as sick as he was, or if it was really a bad side effect from the meds. Has anyone else encountered something like this before too?
Down with a high fever
Sick but still able to play hide-and-seek
Thankfully, N recovered in time for his birthday, and we were able to celebrate it in school with him. This year’s birthday celebration was a really small affair, but the important thing is that we were able to spend time together as a family, and I hope that he remembers that.
Happy birthday, sweetheart!
N has been curious about how the postal service works, so I decided to ask his favourite Faith Meimei’s mum if she could be pen-pals with us. N was really excited about it, and drew a picture for Faith once I told him about it. I brought him to buy the stamps, then got him to paste them onto the envelope, before putting it into the mailbox. Mr Shorty couldn’t quite reach the opening, and I had to help him with it in the end.
His drawing for Faith
Carefully pasting the stamps
Trying hard to put the envelope into the mailbox
Faith made him a beautiful card for his birthday, and he was sooooo happy when he received it. He kept exclaiming, “Wow, this is so nice!” and proudly showed it off to my mum when she visited. He still doesn’t really understand how the postal system works, so I plan to bring him to a post office to mail his next letter to Faith. If you have come across related books on this topic, please do share them with me, so that I can read them with N. Stories are always a great way to introduce and explain concepts to young children!
So pleased with his birthday card from Faith
Faith coloured a picture of herself too!
In terms of preparing for the twins, I daresay we are more or less done with the physical part, in that N’s cot has been adjusted to the right height for the babies, and that I’ve stocked up on the essentials such as diapers, wet wipes, and milk bottles. We’ve been very blessed to have received most of the essentials from Pigeon Singapore, and I’ll be blogging about them after we’ve tried out the different products. I’m quite excited about using the Pigeon Newborn Pure Products, as it uses Natulayer™, which is a layer of ingredients that mimics the natural coat of protection found on the baby’s skin in the womb.
N helping to set up the cot for the babies
Rocking Tiger to sleep in the car seat
Pigeon Newborn Pure Range
I also received a Haenim UV steriliser for review purposes, and I think it will come in really handy once the twins arrive.
I started having some water retention recently, and tried soaking my feet in Mummamia’s Ban Kah Chai Mom Confinement Herbal Bath, since they are also providing some of my confinement herbs. I actually met up with a lady from Mummamia a while ago, to understand a bit more about their products, as I don’t really know much about TCM, and she told me that the confinement herbal bath can help reduce water retention as well. I was sceptical, since I actually developed a rash when I used the herbal bath from a medical hall after I gave birth to N, but I figured there was no harm in trying out Mummamia’s, after learning more about how their herbs are processed and packaged.
The herbal bath sachet had to be soaked in boiling water before I could soak my feet in the water, and my mum helped to prepare the foot soak for me because I couldn’t carry the heavy pot on my own. While I soaked my feet, I started perspiring like crazy, and this is embarrassing, but I also farted quite a bit. I texted the Mummamia lady to ask if it was a side effect, and she told me that it was a “wanted effect”, as it is supposed to help me expel wind from my body too. So interesting!
My feet did look less swollen the next morning, and I did feel better, so I guess the foot soak helped. I did get water retention again after a while, but at least the foot soak helped to ease my discomfort for a period. More importantly, I didn’t develop a rash from it, which means I can use the herbal bath sachets during my confinement as well.
Mummamia’s Ban Kah Chai Mom Confinement Herbal Bath
My fat foot and the herbal foot soak
The Night Before and The Morning After
Apart from being blessed by sponsors, I was very touched when I received a gift package from one of my readers. She follows me on Dayre as well, and knew that I haven’t really gotten many things for Meimei, since we have a lot of preloved items, so she sent me some really sweet tops for the babies. N also got a lovely outfit and Minions game from her, and was really happy to have been included. As for me, she sent me some Mother’s Milk tea, which she personally found useful, and wanted to share them with me. So sweet of her, right? J, if you’re reading this, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
“So many presents!”
We’ve firmed up the names of the twins, and I’ve gotten name stickers printed for them, so that I could start labelling their milk bottles. I’ve also decided not to share their names on social media, for a bit more privacy, and will refer to them as Didi and Meimei, like what I’ve been doing in my letters to them so far.
Lastly, the most exciting thing that happened this month is that C’s brother and family welcomed identical twin boys two weeks ago! Twins don’t run in their family, but God works in mysterious ways. The twins are really adorable, and I love that they’re identical because that’s double the cuteness. N was really drawn to them on the two occasions that we’ve visited them so far, and kept exclaiming, “SO CUTE!”
I really hope that N will be as excited about our twins when they’re born, even though we will have less time for him. He has already informed me that he will put his stool next to their cot so that he can pat them when they cry next time, but we shall see how long his enthusiasm lasts. I’ve been quite amused by how he has taken to referring to himself as KorKor, even when he talks to Tiger, and I pray that he will embrace his new role cheerfully.
Now that we have passed the 36-week mark, my doctor has scheduled me to be induced this Thursday, if the babies don’t come out on their own before then. The waiting game is making me really nervous, so please do keep us in prayer for a safe, smooth, and natural delivery, and that the babies will be healthy. Thank you very much!
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