Dearest Julianne,
Has it really been half a year already with you in our lives? I can’t figure if time has passed us by so quickly or that it feels like you’ve been around for such a long time already. Your Papa and I are always lamenting how we have forgotten how you were like when we first brought you home and how we went through those early days.
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| 1 week old |
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| 6 months old |
You’ve been going places this past month. Mainly food places and the supermarket actually. Yah, we’re starting you young on the Koh family’s favourite past-time – eating! And it seems like you have some of that genes in you, much preferring your solids to your milk. You will happily empty your lunchtime bowl of porridge that grandma cooks but fight us at the bottle when you’re in one of those bottle strike moods (which sadly still happens quite often) though things are much better compared to your 30ml a feed days.
Grandma is now your primary care giver having given up her job to take care of you.
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Kisses from Por Por |
Thankfully, you haven’t given her too much trouble and know how to make her happy with your smile. We call it the bou-gay smile and it’s gonna be that till your little teeth sprout out. You have since settled into a nice routine since Mama went back to work. A typical day for you goes like this:
630am Rise and shine. You’re a morning person like Mama and have always been an early risen since birth. Which suits us just fine since we get to play with you for a bit before heading off to work
7am After cuddling in bed with Papa and Mama, I give you a washing up and change you out of your pjs before bringing you downstairs to greet your best friend – Gong Gong – who’ll be reading the papers. This is probably your noisiest hour of the morning when everyone wants a share of you. You join us at the table for breakfast and start reaching out for whatever we’re eating. Grandpa sometimes brings you for a little morning walk down the street before we feed you your reflux medicine. By about 815am, Papa and Mama kiss you goodbye and head to work.
9am Peace for the next 9 hours or so. It’s pretty much just you, Por Por and Aunty Joy. Por Por gives you your morning feed and you usually go down for a 2 hour nap. You still take your naps in your rocker which you’re clearly outgrowing! I don’t know how long you want to nap in that thing! Por Por tried putting you to sleep on her bed but only succeeded once when you slept for an hour. We haven’t been able to repeat that magic ever since!
11am You’re up from your nap and spend the next 3 hours or so playing with Por Por. You get another bottle after your morning nap followed by your favourite lunch of pumpkin or sweet potato porridge around 12ish. Por Por says this is your most talkative time of the day when you can go on ooohing and ahhing. Your favourite line is ah mamaaaa, erhmmmm. I’ll like to think you’re trying to call Mama!!
2pm You go down for your afternoon nap, another 2 hours or so.
4pm Por Por gives you an afternoon TV treat of Baby TV or Disney Junior on cable. You will sit in your favourite pea pod cushion, cross your legs, hang your arms loose (like a Samseng kid) and stay glued to the telly. I don’t encourage but I know Por Por needs a little break too so I just close an eye! But strictly those two channels!
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| Glued to the telly! |
530pm You get a tea time treat of either rice cereal or oatmeal mixed with your favourite pear puree! By this time, you would have gone through about two changes of clothes but still stink from perspiring all day!
630pm You hear the shouts of “Jujubee! Jujubee!!” as everyone comes home. Papa and Mama usually make it home before Gong Gong and Yiyi Sam does. When you see me, you greet me with your biggest smile. Then almost always, you’ll turn to Por Por and give her a bewildered look, as if asking for permission to be ‘returned’ to Mama’s cuddles! It’s so adorable to watch! Then I’ll bring you to the gate to wait for Gong Gong. You start kicking your legs the minute you see the car drive into the car porch. And when Gong Gong appears, you give him your megawatt smile without him having to do anything. He just needs to stand in front of you. it’s like your day is finally complete seeing him!
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| Daily walks with gong gong |
7pm We play with you, feed you your 2nd dose of meds, then slowly wind you down for the day with a warm bath. Your Papa calls it your personal onsen! We bundle you up in your PJs, then bring you down to join everyone at the dinner table. In the meantime, in your room, the lights are dimmed, aircon on, black-out curtains drawn and your lullaby music starts playing in the background.
8pm We’re done with dinner, you say your goodnights, fly your kisses and we take you up with your final bottle for the day. Mama will sing to you as you drink up your bottle. Halfway through the feed, we’ll burp you while reading your go-to-bed books. You get very excited the moment you see your books and will even make noises as we read. You know how to turn the pages when we tell you to and you love kissing the animals in your book – each and every one of them. We finish up your milk and you usually end up falling asleep while doing so. I nurse you for a bit just for comfort after an entire day of sucking on rubber before finally putting you down in your crib.
2am You usually start to stir demanding for a feed which I dutifully still give to you. I’m not sure if you’re really hungry or its just out of habit. But since you’re not drinking tremendously well in the day, I figure you still need the night feeds. I enjoy nursing you cos its our time, just you and me so I’m not complaining.
6am Your body alarm clock is triggered. I nurse you once again and you usually don’t fall back to sleep cos you somehow know its morning. We play in bed, waking your Papa up and then your day starts all over again! I should add that one crazy thing your Papa has started on recently is playing the Majulah Singapura song at this hour and pretend he’s raising the flag while drawing up the curtains. You get extremely thrilled when you hear the national anthem – I’m impressed at how patriotic you are at this age! We should get extra baby bonus for that!
On your development, you have started to take baby steps in the crawling department. It happened last week when you crawled from one end of Por Por’s bed to the other to lick Yiyi Sam’s leg! I wished I was there to see you hit that milestone. It thrills you that you can sit up by yourself (albeit not very long). You’re always smiling to yourself whenever you’re seated with that smug look on your face. It’s like you know this is tough work but yet you could do it! And because of this, we’ve graduated you to your high chair! You can finally join us at the dinner table!!
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| Our new guest at the dinner table! |
You can also hold your own bottle, something that Por Por taught you caused she wanted to involve you in the drinking business. Apparently you drink better when you get to participate in feed times. You are one inquisitive child. Whenever you hear us talking, you literally stop whatever you’re doing and stare up at us as if you understand what we’re talking about. Kay-poh is your middle name. I love that curiosity in you though, it makes you such an alert child wherever we go cos you’re so eager to see new things and explore the big world around you.
You are clearly the darling of the family, a position Yiyi Sam gladly gives up for you so that you can now tie with cousin Sophie. If only cousin Sophie was here, it would be so fun to see the both of you play together.
Continue growing my sweet child. The coming month promises more exciting meal times as I plan to introduce other foods to you and more adventurous weekends to parks and beaches. If you’re good, I may even throw in a swimming session or two so that you can parade in your new swim suit that’s making its way here from Ann Arbor!
Happy half year Jujubee!
Love,
Mama
