Misha: 45 weeks

Milestones
She started cruising this week

Hospital visit
Took her for her follow up visit for her neutrophil count. It dropped to 1.02 so we will have to come back in 3 months for another follow up. Sigh...
As usual the doctor reminded me that if she has a fever above 37.5 we have to bring her in to emergency and get her started on antibiotics. Fingers crossed we never have to face this issue.
Her weight was 7.31kg so the machines are quite accurate.

Sleeping
This week was better. Hardly cried when I put her down.

Nursing
This week we didn't even try to feed her with a bottle. I have decided that I will nurse her till a year and then slowly introduce fresh milk to her and skip bottles altogether. I will still try to give her formula with a cup but I'm not gonna force the issue. I figure whatever we're doing so far is working (she is healthy) so I don't want to rock the boat.

Bath time
Since Daddy no longer feeds her at night...I figured he would give her a bath before bed. So now we sometimes do 2 baths in a day. In our weather it's actually a good idea (she also seems to sweat a lot).  I wanted him to have a special time of day with her and since she's not taking bottles anymore I thought giving her a bath would be something good to do.

Solids Pouch food (guava, blueberry, cherry), steamed minced pork, kiwi
I steamed the pork with chopped onions and she was quite okay with chewing it. She has been eating quite well lately. Usually 6 oz of porridge. Sometimes I don't even have to mix it up with fruit and she eats it.

Playtime
I took her to Mothercare at BSC for her first Playtime session. The class is for 9 months and above. Most of the stuff they did was a bit above her capabilities but I think it's good to get her exposed to it early. She loved it when they blew bubbles!

Meera: 5.25 years

Just a quick update on Meera. It's been awhile but things are pretty much the same as before...

Just wanted to put up a couple of things:

Schedule
7am: wake up, brush teeth get dressed for school

- we gave her an alarm clock and she was quite good at waking up by herself. She would still come look for me and snooze a bit with me before getting ready. But recently the clock stopped working so now I go in to wake her. Most mornings she gets ready quite quickly. Very rarely she will struggle with waking up.
 - weekends she tends to wake up early automatically. :( usually by 7:30am

7:30am: eat breakfast. Weet-bix (2 pcs with fresh milk and fruit and honey) or toast (with butter)
-I only mix formula if she has toast. 2 scoops with 120 ml.
-lately she started eating puffed rice cereal. With honey. And milk
-she also likes it when I sprinkle sugar (I use muscovado sugar) on her toast.
-although she doesn't really like sweet things she does like honey.
-She is starting to dislike eating Weet-bix (takes more than half hour to finish whereas toast is eaten within 15 minutes)

8:00am: leave for school
School is from 8:30am-12:30pm. After that she stays on for daycare. She has lunch then takes a bath then does homework. Has a cup of milk (2.5 scoops) then has a nap from 2:30-4:30pm.  After that she has a snack and then comes home (I usually fetch her home around 5 -5:30pm)
Wednesdays she has gymnastic so I fetch her around 2pm. We come home, she has a snack and we go for her class from 3:30 - 5:00pm. 
Fridays she has swimming so Jing will fetch her at 4pm (she takes a shorter nap). Swimming is from 4.30-5:30 pm.
Tuesdays (twice a month) she has Robotics in school from 1:30 -3:30pm.

6:30pm: Dinner

8:00pm: Bath
After bath we will either do some learning or she will play. She also loves playing Uno (which happens almost every night). And lately Jing taught her how to play Monopoly (Its a little complicated for her but she loves playing anyway)

9:30pm: milk (2 scoops). Sometimes she skips this. Get ready for bed (pee, brush teeth, story)
10:00pm: Bed (somedays its earlier if she didn't nap). Usually I read a book and sometimes I get her to read a bit as well.

She still does the 'hug, kiss, buddy-buddy' thing. And before I close the door I must say 'Goodnight, sweet dreams, I love you'
She also needs to have a night light. And 'Gigi' is still sleeping with her.

On weekends...she will sometimes skip her nap (if we are in the car she will usually fall asleep but if we're at home it's quite hard for her to sleep)

Reading
She is getting better at reading. She can read Dr. Seuss'  books (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Hop on Pop, One Fish 2 Fish)....most of the easier ones.

Big Sister
She loves her little sister. So far she is quite careful and gentle. Occasionally she does get over excited and  ends up hurting Misha but nothing too serious and she is very sorry afterwards. She is quite  mindful of keeping things safe for Misha. And is always looking out for her.

School
School is going well. She is doing quite well in most subjects. Malay is a bit of a struggle so I need to focus a bit more on this.

Dresses
Right now she loves wearing dresses...she'd wear one everyday if I let her. She also likes everything to match...even her underwear if she can!

Swimming
She started swimming classes and by the 9th class she was able to swim quite a distance on her own.

Gymnastics
She still enjoys it and is quite good at it.

Misha: 44 weeks (10 months)

Clinic Visit
She weighed in at 7.29kg (700g more than last month!) So I'm thinking there was definitely something wrong with the scales. I think she did gain quite a bit this past month (with all the avocado shes eating...how could she not?!) but no way she put on so much weight! I am definitely relieved but still need to make sure its a top priority for now.

Nursing
She does 4 feeds now and nurses from both sides. She's averaging about 6-8 minutes for each session so definitely more than before.


Solids ikan merah (market didn't have threadfin), cauliflower,  pork (as stock....the meat is quite tough to chew),
Also going well. Maybe I'm less stressed after the clinic visit but she seems to be eating  a lot better now. I still have to work to get her to finish her food but it's not as bad as before and she is usually done within 30 minutes.
Nowadays I usually give her 4 oz of porridge. 1oz. veg. 1oz fruit puree. Sometimes towards the end I have to 'camouflage'  the food with the fruit but as long as she eats it all I am happy. Most days she can eat 6oz. for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is usually about 3 oz. but its very dense calories (half an avocado with cereal or banana/ tahini with cereal) so I think that's okay.
I also try to add 1 tsp of oil to her meals (suppose to do this everyday but sometimes I forget.)
I started using a plate to feed her recently (which has 3 separate divisions) so its easier for me to feed her the porridge and fruit.
I notice she doesn't like egg yolks (which I remove from a hard boiled egg) so I've started to steam just the yolk with 2 tbs. of water. so the texture is sorta like tofu and she seems to prefer that.

Bottle
She started refusing the bottle again! Sigh.... Last week she was only taking 90 ml per feed so I kinda sensed trouble but this week we tried a few times (4) and she refused. I'm not sure what to do at this point...She is quite expressive bout refusing the bottle. She'll shake her head and push it away and whine all the way. It was quite cute (although distressing for me).

Formula
I am slowing starting to introduce formula to her in a cup during meals. Only an ounce each time and she manages to drink like half. I just want to get her used to the taste more than filling her up with it. Right now I'm using Enfalac (simply because I had a sample from the doctor).

Discipline
Ever since she started moving...I've had to child proof the house. I've also started to say 'no' whenever she goes somewhere (the wet kitchen or bathroom) or touches something (rubbish bins, sockets, wires) she shouldn't. Initially she didn't get it but I have been persistent and I can see it paying off. The wet kitchen is off limits to her and initially she kept trying to go there whenever I was there cooking or washing dishes. I think I said no like 100 times or more before she finally got it. At first she would just continue on and I would physically carry her and put her back into the dry kitchen.  On some occasions I was doing it continuously for 5-10 times. 
I notice this week that she will crawl up to the line (the wet and dry kitchen have different tiles) and stop and look at me. If she wants me to carry her she will start to whine but she won't cross over. Most times she just sits there and amuses herself. Of course I don't push it...if she starts to whine I will attend to her. But so far she has been quite willing to wait for me at the line. We did something similar with Meera and it worked well with her as well.
The main thing is to be consistent and eventually it will sink in (fingers crossed). I must admit I was almost going to give up and put a safety gate...

Milestones
She is getting very fast at crawling. And she can stand and sit quite steadily. I tried to get her to cruise but she doesn't. She only likes to pull up on furniture. I tried to hold her hands and let her 'walk' but she doesn't like us to hold her hands. We've noticed it from before...when we carry her and try to hold her hands she will shrug it off.
Her waving is getting better. Sometimes when I say 'wave bye' she will do it but still not consistent.

Sleeping
Lately she will cry when I put her down for naps (night time seems to be okay though). When I sing to her she will rest her head on my shoulder but once I am done singing and I try to put her down she starts squirming as soon as her back hits the bed she starts to cry. I just say goodnight, wave and close the door. She will usually cry for a minute or 2 and then go to sleep.

Misha: 43 weeks

Sick
By Tuesday she was completely recovered from her cold.

Solids chicken, cheese, cauliflower, tomato, spices (turmeric, coriander), tofu
In an attempt to get her to eat more I have been trying various recipes to see if it would help. So I am not really following the 3 day wait rule anymore. So far she seems to be tolerating most foods. But since she is only eating a little bit of each item its hard to say for sure. Although she used to be able to eat 6oz of porridge before, I am starting to think this is not reasonable for her to eat at one sitting everyday. I have reduced my expectations to 5 oz. (about 150g)
I have yet to find out if there is anything she loves enough  to eat a lot of. Seems like any new item will get her to eat a bit but after a few mouths she is done.
The fried shallots still seem to be working but I'm worried she will get bored of it so I try to give it sparingly. I also notice that she will stare at the spoon to see if its there before opening her mouth. Most time she will only eat 2-3 oz of porridge before she starts fussing and I need to bring out the shallots or try to distract her (had to even resort to letting her watch you tube a few times!)
I am getting very stressed out about this and can't wait for her appointment next week.
Towards the end of this week she seemed to be eating better. Some meals I didn't even need to give her the shallots and she would eat 5 oz. Not sure if it's cos we were out and about and Meera was around to distract her ;)

Nursing
Seems like she is nursing longer this week...and most time she will nurse from both sides. She is also willing to nurse even if the flow slows down. Previously I had to keep switching sides but now when she latches off I can feel that its really empty so she is definitely getting more of the fattier hind-milk.

Bottle
Most times she only takes around  90ml. Not sure if its because dinner is so late or too much and she is full. Or she doesn't like the bottle....

Schedule
7:30am: nurse (she still wakes quite early but some days it was close to 7:30am)
9:00am: breakfast (sometimes earlier if she woke up early)
10:00 am: nap (1- 1.5 hrs)
11:30am: nurse
12:30pm: lunch
2:30pm: nap (1-1.5hrs)
4:00pm: nurse
5:00pm: dinner
7:30pm: nurse or bottle
8:00pm: bed

Sometimes her morning nap can stretch to 2 hours but then her afternoon nap will be quite short.

Sleeping
This week she has been going to sleep quite fast with minimal fuss. Wake time seems to have extended to 3 hours. Sometimes I will put her down for a nap earlier (after 2 hours) but then she will only take a short nap (usually 40 minutes).  Which is better than her skipping it altogether if we go out.


She does not nap well outside of the house....the stroller, carrier or car seat. At most it's a 30 minute cat nap. But she is fine even with that short nap.
  



Milestones
Started figuring out how to sit down after pulling up. She will manage a few times but then forget and start crying a little while later. Talk about short term memory! It got better by the end of the week and she was able to sit down quite well after standing up.

Zizi
A bit late but finally put Zizi with her to sleep. She was quite distracted with it for the first day but after that it has been just left to the side. She will usually play with it when she wakes up but it doesn't seem to be a distraction when she needs to sleep.
I had actually bought this some months ago and let her sleep with it but it seemed to early...she was always sucking it and getting distracted. I can't remember when I gave Gigi to Meera but I think it was around this time.

Misha: 42 weeks

Sick
She started having a runny nose at the start of this week. On Saturday she took her afternoon nap and when I went to get her, she had a runny nose. It was quite bad that night...she woke up a few times crying. She also had trouble nursing cos her nose was quite blocked.
I tried to use the aspirator but it upset her so much she would cry and that made things worse :(
I just put 'yu yee' oil on her chest and feet. It has eucalyptus oil in it so I figure it helps with the congestion. Overall she hasn't been too bad but eating is definitely affected. After 3 days she improved. Still had some congestion but nursing was better and she was sleeping better as well.
The last time she fell sick she was 2 months old so I was relieved it wasn't too bad.

Bottle
Changing the teat did not work this week. Or maybe it's harder to suck with her cold. She is only taking 100ml at most.

Eating
I am starting to wonder if maybe introducing her to all the finger foods developed her taste buds towards more flavoured things and maybe that's why she is refusing the porridge?
Meera wasn't given as much finger foods as her (there weren't many options then). And after testing some of them I realise they are quite tasty...
Its too late now but I am going to reduce how often I give these to her. It has helped with her fine motor skills though.

Solids chicken stock, spring onion, yogurt, blueberries (from  pouch), ricotta (from jar)
In my attempts to get her to eat better I tried cooking her porridge with chicken stock. She seemed to like it but still can't eat 6 oz. For some reason my mind is fixated on her eating 6 oz of porridge (like Meera). This may be too much for her especially since she weighs more than 1 kg LESS than Meera at this age. But I notice if I give her other foods (like a variety) she doesn't fuss and refuse. So sometimes I am resorting to giving her 150g of porridge and tempting her with yogurt and fruit purees.
As for the yogurt not sure if she likes it or it's just something different that piques her interest.
The fried shallots is still helping her eat more.
On Wednesdays, Meera has gym class from 3:30 - 4:30pm so I will usually give her dinner during that time. This week I brought along a pouch food and she was quite good at sucking the food from it. She finished the whole thing (120g) but maybe cos it was a fruit type.
I have stopped making porridge with millet. I am a bit unsure...a lot of different opinions about it. Whether to soak or not and how long to cook it for. Also realised she started eating less last week when I started millet. Could be a coincidence since I also started feeding her more. Will try again in a few weeks time. 

Milestones
She is pulling up to her feet a lot now. But has yet to figure out how to get back down...so a lot of crying because of this.

Sleeping
This week she started crying whenever I put her down to sleep. Normally she just rolls over and plays a bit before sleeping. Not sure why though. But it lasted a few minutes and then she would either quieten down or go to sleep.
Misha usually sleeps by herself (no rocking or patting) so when she had trouble sleeping due to her cold I thought I would rock her a bit to help her sleep but it didn't work. She seemed more riled up by my rocking than feeling sleepy.