Renzo's development - Month 08

For the very first time, Win brought Renzo for his Pneumococcus jab (2nd dose) at polyclinic on Apr 19 himself, and I was not there with them because taking leave is not something I usually do when I start a new job. I felt really bad about it because in the past I was always the one carrying Renzo when he had the injection, but this time Win had to do it, and according to him, instead of whining a little bit during every injection, Renzo really cried this time.

Overall his growth is really good, well his weight is a bit on the high side but he is all healthy, that's more important to us.

08 Month vs. 07 Month
Weight: + 0.3kg
Height: + 0cm
Head Circumference: not measured

Major development
1. His top 3 incisors erupted.
2. He is able to crawl well.
3. He looks at the fan when you ask "where is the fan?" and looks at the poster on the wall when you ask "where is C is for CAR?".
4. He uses his potty to pass motion most of the time. He pooped on diaper for no more than 3 times in the past 2 months.
5. He had his first outside meal at crystal jade restaurant on Apr 24.

Renzo has tasted a wider range of food during the past 1 month, that even includes some oily and salty stuff at the restaurant. It was really fun to watch him nibbling on "roasted duck kway teow noodles" and "cha siu bao (chinese steamed bun)", of course we only let him try the dough but not the filling. Of course he enjoyed his meal very much, and I was really worried that he will refuse to eat any home cooked food since they are usually less tasty. Anyway guess we might not let him try outside food again till he is 1 year old maybe, the reason is simple, outside food are too unhealthy and his digestive system might not be able to take it for the time being. Since I am working and AyeAye has not much time preparing Renzo's daily food, I've made stocks in an ice cube tray and a lot of dumplings for Renzo's lunch and dinner, so AyeAye could simply add them into Renzo's ABC pasta. During weekends, I cook porridge for Renzo as it requires longer time to prepare.

And finally, after so many months of crazy online shopping, I bought this nice little hat for Renzo at a small shop that sells kids apparels. The hat is made and imported from Korea. I was quite reluctant to pay 25 bucks for it initially. But when Renzo saw his own reflection in the mirror with this hat on, he was chuckling like nobody's business, his sweet smile simply melted my heart and I couldn't think much but made the payment immediately, LOL..

My dear baby, I LOVE YOU!

Apr 12th, it is a very special day to Mummy Chan and baby Renzo. I found myself a new job, and started working on the 12th, which is the day my dearest Renzo boy turned 8 months old.

I am proud enough to announce to the world that I've been staying at home and looking after my precious boy (of course with the help of Aye Aye) for exactly 8 months. Isn't that awesome? At least I think so! Because most of the mummies only have about 2-4 months with their newborn, before they have to return back to work. But we are just lucky that I can stay right in front of my computer at home for another 4 more months (after my official 4 months maternity leave), cook every dinner for the family and prepare every meal for Renzo, at the same time get my pay cheque of same amount every month.

But such a wonderful situation can't last forever. I need to work not just because we need a better income (which is also for the benefits of Renzo - see how many pieces of clothes I got here for him at one go, LOL), but also because I do not like the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the world. In the past I did considered about being a SAHM (stay at home mother), and in fact my "work from home" routine pretty much gave me a clear idea about the life of SAHM. I enjoyed it, really! Being able to see Renzo's smile first thing in the morning, get most fresh fruits, fish and chicken meat for him at wet market, and laugh together with him at all times are something a FTWM (full time working mother) could never ever afford. But, I have to put a full stop to all these from Apr 12th onwards, and get myself adjusted to a standard 9-6 job routine quickly.

I do not really have much time to think about him at work, but on my way home, my mind is full of questions about whether he eats well, sleeps well and plays well at home. Recently I can feel a huge change in him. He is not excited anymore when he sees me at night, instead his eyes follow Aye Aye wherever she goes. Although I still bathe him, and feed him at night and in the early morning, when I talk to him, he seems to be in his own world and simply ignores the existence of his mother. Somehow I have this strong feeling that he is angry with me, because I am not embracing him with my warm arms after his every morning wakeup nowadays. That really really breaks my heart, even though I jolly well knew that this will be the consequence of me returning back to working world from the moment I accepted the job offer. I hope the situation could change but I do not think there's really much I could do about it. So no matter how tired I am, I will ensure to spend every minute of my time with Renzo during weekends.

I love you my dear son, I really really do!

Renzo's Play Room

Education isn't only about academics. And who's to say that play time can't be educational? With those thoughts in mind, Feli and I set out to decorate one of our rooms, and purposefully named it Renzo's Playroom.
In this Playroom of his, it spots the ever popular IKEA MAMMUT chest of 3 drawers and IKEA MAMMUT wardrobe that I painstakingly bought and brought home from IKEA and single-handedly assembled on one side of the wall adjacent to the door.

On the wall on the opposite, facing all these IKEA furniture, are Disney wall decals that light up and gives life to the wall itself. We starred Mickey's House as the centerpiece and gradually circled our way out, trying as much as possible to have the decals spread across a bigger area in a balanced manner while at the same time, having the focus redrawn back to the centre. And to complete the job, we filled in the gaps with flora and fauna and lots of butterflies and bees. ^_^ I like the end result and when coupled with the Parklon Bumper Playmat that we bought a few months back, it feels almost like they came in a set (at least to me it did).
Next, we bought a few wall posters from Popular Bookstore. Simple educational materials emphasizing on ABCs and 123s that were used wayyy back... So much so that even I remember seeing them during my Kindergarten days (20+ years back? lol). The wall posters of today are more vibrant and pleasant to look at than those from my childhood days. Then again, it could be the decay of those memories that is giving me this impression, but either way, Feli and I are pleased to have made these purchases... =P.. Especially so when we see that Renzo seems to be picking up ABCs. Frequently, we would carry Renzo to one of the posters and go "A is for Apple. B is for Ball. C is for Car......". Recently, we noticed that when we tell Renzo, "C is for Car", this little guy would turn his head around to look for the poster! Even more recently, it seems that it works for "F is for Fish" too... hehee...

Also, we bought a book set for Renzo, complete with full encyclopedia set, 4 Disney "A Story A Day" story books (366 stories), 4 Disney "Words Words Words" that is supposed to enhance and strengthen kids' vocabulary and a "Fun Thinkers" book which is basically a puzzle book to stimulate creativity and improve problem-solving skills. Of them all, currently we are only using the "A Story A Day" in Renzo's daily routine, reading it to him every night after his bath. The rest will probably come in handy in a few years' time after Renzo picks up reading skills.
So with the above in place, what's left is to bring in Renzo's toys, a mattress for comfort, a little fan to keep the ventilation going and voila, we are done. It has been more than a month now and yes, Renzo does enjoy his playroom as much as we enjoy seeing him laughing and rolling about in his Playroom ^_^