Week 129 motherhood – social smiles and coos, first time at an EarlyON Centre

Week 129 motherhood of two:

March 8: The 2.5 month old is smiling in response to us talking to her. It’s the cutest thing. She also “talks” back to us in coos and gurgles that sound like words sometimes. She said “lai gu” and “yeah” and others. She is still an “easy baby” for the most part and eats well and sleeps well.
There was one day this past week where she was fussy in the morning until she finally had a bowel movement and then slept well afterwards. Or the other day where a rare thing happened and she was so sleepy and slept nearly the full day.
She still has bouts of crying at night right before her bedtime, but it’s easily resolved once I alternate nursing her on each side and she burps. Once burped, she falls asleep easily and quickly.
She still likes sleeping down towards my crotch and her legs are so strong that when she kicks and hits me, it really is strong and hurts.
We went to IKEA for the first time yesterday as a family of four. We timed it perfectly this time by having the 2.5 month old (can’t believe she will be 3 months old — just around the corner!) finish feeding right before we left the house. She was full and slept the entire way from the car ride to the IKEA trip to coming back. It was around 4 hours’ time in total. This is the essence of what taking out a newborn baby should be like — no rushing and being flexible towards the baby’s schedule and not our own. The dim sum experience last week was just horrible. I brought my nursing supplies in case I needed to feed at IKEA but luckily didn’t have to.
She wears 3-month-old clothing just fine these days. We weighed her the other day and she tips the scales at 12.6 lbs! By this weight, she can even wear size 2 diapers soon! She barely wore the size 1s for any amount of time. So crazy fast that this one is growing. Could it be the nursing/direct feeding?
While we were at IKEA, we played at one of the play centres set up in the middle of a section. I loved seeing how considerate one of the kids was. She and her brother were drawing and playing on the touch screen, but she offered us the screen to play if we wanted to. The toddler was intrigued but watched them play first. When the girl moved away for the toddler to play, the toddler attempted to draw on the screen as well.
The toddler continues to refuse things at various points of time. I need to exercise lots of patience with her as she talks and asks questions every minute and needs acknowledging and responses.
She tells us “you said it wrong” (nei gon cho jor) if you remembered something incorrectly.
She has the best memory of recalling things that happened long ago before. She randomly says “peen fok mama”, meaning “bat mama” referring to the time at the ROM when I tried on a bat costume there for fun.
Grandma had bought some tangerines home and the toddler loves eating anything that’s fresh and new to the house. She requested one to eat. I peeled it for her. She likes it without veins, so I had to make sure the little tangerines were fleshy without veins first. She ate three in a row! We finished that little bag of tangerines in just a matter of days because she was requesting them every day. It’s a good snack, so it doesn’t hurt for her to have a lot.
On the other hand, she’s also been requesting the Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Hopia durian cakes often too. She likes to say she’ll “treat” grandma to the hazelnut that’s inside the Ferrero (because she doesn’t like eating the nut inside). She likes the chocolate and the shell though.
We have to limit her from eating too many at once because she keeps asking for it. Same thing for my breastmilk where she continually wants the bottles of breastmilk but I prefer to keep a bottle, at least one, inside the fridge at all times in case we need it for the younger one.
Speaking of bottles for the younger baby, she still doesn’t like to use bottles and refused even the new nipples that we haven’t brought out yet. She has serious nipple bottle aversion.
We visited an EarlyON Centre for the first time finally. I had been meaning to visit one in the fall of 2022 before I gave birth, but when family members started falling sick in the autumn months, it delayed our trip. Once we were recovered, I was afraid of the virus and germs that were floating around and getting people sick so we didn’t go either.
It was a great experience. We got to play in the play room for a bit before the STEM workshop started. I was impressed that almost all the toys were Montessori aligned. The toys were in trays on the shelf that the children could independently take out to play.
There were several stations that the children could alternate between for the STEP program. The toddler really enjoyed the watercolour/tea leaves station. She got to use a dropper for the first time and created three art pieces. It was fun and it was her first piece of artwork to bring home! Luckily, I’m not one of those sentimental parents who will think every artwork is to be kept forever — we just don’t have the physical and mental capacity for that. The cardboard station for them to create moving structures was too difficult and way over their heads. Instead, the toddler enjoyed poking the push-out pins into the holes of the cardboard. It was simple but challenging for her too.
She wasn’t interested in the hammering station.
She was able to thread a pipe cleaner into the buttons. I was surprised she could do it because the hole in the button was so small. It’s testing her hand eye coordination.
We left at the 1.5 hour mark of the workshop since the baby was starting to wake up and it was time to feed. We were close to home so we decided to leave so that I could nurse comfortably at home.
Whenever it is time to feed the baby, as I’m getting ready, I find it so funny that the baby lunges for my nipple and usually can latch herself with my help. If she falls off the nipple (rare), she can relatch herself without my help. It’s so fascinating.
I’m so proud of the toddler incorporating the peg dolls into her magnetic tile play. She put in the toy cars into the “garage” of the structures she built. She also put in the peg dolls into the houses too. I love seeing her creativity be born.
I continue to see the chiropractor bi-weekly. I’ve been doing the stretches more diligently now and also walking each day, sometimes reaching 10,000 steps. My pelvis feels better now and I don’t feel as much pain when I turn sides in bed.