Grandma is the real MVP this week

Week 162 motherhood with 3 year old and 10 month old: 

• October 25, 2023:  The week started off with the baby having a couple of coughs which grandma noticed.  And then soon, it followed up with some runny nose.  The toddler soon had a runny nose as well.  Sigh…  It was a small cold it seemed.  And no coughing or fever at least.
• Because of this, I nursed the baby extra at night.  Whenever she was just about to fuss, I would stick the boob in her face.  I wanted her to be extra hydrated so her cold would pass faster.  It seemed to help.
• The baby this week has begun “sampling” or feeding, when putting her to sleep in the bed, from either side of my breasts lol.  She will crouch over my body and suck on the other breast if she is on one side and vice versa.  It’s quite funny.  Also, for three days this week, at bedtime, after she did this routine, she stood up and holding against the bed rail, started clenching.  I knew that a poop was coming.  One time, instead of holding the bed rail, she was leaning against my body.  It is such a mommy thing that I can say that I have felt someone hold themselves against me to poo. 😂 So afterwards, I smelled the poop immediately and asked for DH to come change her diaper.
  •  Whenever the baby poops, I usually ask DH (or grandma) to change her diaper.  I do enough with the feeding and accompanying to bed that I will let others to do the diaper changes if possible.  I need a few breaks here and there throughout the day too.
  • Speaking of that, DH is the one who exclusively bathes both kids.  I actually haven’t been at the baby’s side much whenever she is taking a bath.  Usually at that time, I’m finishing up dinner.  It’s easier to divide and conquer.  But we have had the conversation come up where, when the toddler was at this age, we usually were at her side together during bath time and it was fun.  But now with two kids, we can’t dedicate time exclusively for the baby’s bath time (unless we bathe her earlier in the day).  But we tend to bathe the kids at nighttime before bedtime so they sleep better.  (Routine established from when the toddler was a baby.)
• Also for 2 days this week, during bedtime, she clung to DH and cried viciously when DH tried to put her down beside me for bedtime.  It was like she didn’t want to let him go.  It was a shock the first time it happened because she usually is so eager for bedtime and wants to nurse.  I joked with her, saying, “But I’m mommy, the one with the milk!”  Haha.  I joked to DH saying that she didn’t want to let him go.  She really is comfortable in his arms.  Men’s arms are bigger than women’s and most babies and children like being cradled in their arms. 😌
• The baby started seriously babbling this week!!  Out of nowhere, she started going “wa wa wa wa” and then sometimes with other consonants.  It was the first time she continuously babbled like this and “talking”!  So cool.  Is she is fast babbler compared to her sister?  Maybe.  I’d have to check my old blogs to see.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to us though because she listens to one extra voice talk in the house (her sister) whereas when the toddler was a baby, she didn’t have an older sibling to copy from.
• Ever since last week and the baby eating more, she’s been growing back her chubs!  Her little wrists have those rolls again. 🥰
• The silly baby.  When she bites my nose (literally I can feel her teeth against the round part of my nose), she will hear me say “no” and then pull away and giggle and laugh.  DH says she is mischievous.  He says that she sticks her fingers down his mouth lol.
• The baby is teething again!  One of her top teeth is coming in.  We all felt it coming out from her gums when she is biting us.
• The baby also has had this practice the last couple of weeks of really pinching my nipples with her other hand when she is nursing on me in bed.  It really hurts!  It’s interesting that mother nature designed babies to nurse on the breast and then have their other hand just wander and pinch the nipple at the right spot…
• On Thursday, we had our last Wonders of Nature event with the EarlyON program.  It was held at Strawberry Creek Farms in Newmarket.  It was a quick 20-minute drive right off the highway.  Immediately upon arriving, we could see that it wasn’t a huge venue (unlike Brooks Farms or Kortright Centre the previous weeks).  It was a cute farm though with lots of activities for the kids!
• Before we went on the wagon ride (our third one this autumn), the toddler was intrigued with the sensory table which had soybeans and toy trucks in it.  There were a couple of other kids around the table too playing with the small shovels and trucks.
• There was a mom talking with another mom and I overheard the first one giving advice to use a pool noodle when their baby is beginning to walk so that the baby can hold the noodle (while you hold it) which will prevent you from bending over too much and hurting your back.  I thought it was a good idea and expressed my thoughts to her.
  • Then, I started talking to the first mom and turns out, her child was in JK already this year and she had pulled him out of school just for the Wonders of Nature event (I think it’s worth it).  She said her baby practically grew up at EarlyON and all the facilitators know her kid and how she know him since he was a baby to learning to sit up and walk and talk and now he’s in school 🙄.  He didn’t go to daycare either, just like my toddler.  Upon hearing that, I asked her how her son’s experience was attending school (because I’m worried about the toddler attending school next year and not being used to it).  She looked at my toddler and basically did a “tsk tsk” and said, “Yeah, it will be difficult for her…” and said some other things about how things will be hard 😑.  I felt like she had no right to “look down” on my child and think the worst of her.
    • She asked me if she spoke English, and I said “no, only Cantonese”.  She then launched into a thing about how she made sure her kid was bilingual from day one (speaking English and Canto) at home because her husband was half Trini and blah blah blah.  I countered with the fact that I immigrated to Canada when I was 4 years old with no English and grew up just fine.  She’s the type of person who doesn’t even wait to hear your response and continues talking.  Ugh.  Why are some parents like this?  She doesn’t look that much older to me.  How do people of my age grow up and become these sorts of annoying parents and people?
• Worst too was when it was time to line up for the tractor ride and grandma was holding the baby and adjusting her blanket (because it was a tad windy outside) and the same lady stood near us and commented in Cantonese, “Aiya, that baby looks so old”.  Ugh, why is it your business?  If she looks so cold to you, are you going to give her a blanket or your coat?  We’re the parents/guardians.  We’re ALREADY fixing her up with a blanket, so no need to talk or comment.
  • And then because I didn’t reply her, she said the same thing again in English.  Seriously?!  Why is that necessary?  Why are some people so rude like this?  It’s none of your business, so keep your comments to yourself.
• The tractor wagon ride was nice.  We went around the farm.  Then we picked our own pumpkin from the patch!  We were allowed to pick one per family.  Unlike the pumpkins we picked at Brooks Farms, these pumpkins were super large and heavy!  We picked one, took some photos, and then grandma brought it to the car.  She had trouble with it because it was so heavy (and I was carrying the baby so couldn’t help her).  An EarlyON facilitator was SO nice.  She saw my mom struggling with the pumpkin and RAN over to her to help her!  Aw, they go above and beyond for us.  So nice and very much appreciated!  The EarlyON staff are so amazing. 🥰
• After this, the toddler expressed that she wanted to play on the swings, so we did.  She didn’t like her sister swinging next to her lol…  The toddler also wanted to play more at the soybeans table so we did.  We also went to the tractors (a fake one built out of wood), the corn maze, the Plinko game, saw the goats, and then back to the sand box area where the toddler read some books and had a snack.
• I was impressed that whenever she goes, she can find a book to read.  Kudos to the EarlyON staff for preparing these quiet stations for the kids who want to read (or draw and colour).  The Wonders of Nature event wrapped up at noon and I appreciated that the staff noticed the toddler was reading with me still and didn’t pack up the books station until we were ready.  That was really nice of them.  It makes me feel all warm and cuddly inside when people are kind and considerate like that. 🥰
• The corn maze was actually quite legit (not an easy one).  I explained to the toddler that we needed to find the exit.  I let her choose the way when we came to a fork in the road.  Eventually, we were led to an “emergency exit” sign and the toddler was like, “We found the exit!”  So I let it be and we exited out the emergency exit way lol.  I was glad because I wasn’t sure if we were going to find the correct exit without walking too many more steps.
• We picked up some local apples, corn, and maple syrup at the farm before we left too.
• Since we were in Newmarket, I checked out the Flashfood app at the nearby supermarkets and got some produce boxes.  It was such a long wait at the No Frills unfortunately (because the staff couldn’t find the meats and my remaining two produce boxes).  The toddler was okay sitting in the shopping cart and wiping her nose (she had sneezed when we got there and she had a huge stream of mucus running out — thank goodness that the checkout area had a roll of paper towels which I grabbed for her her to use).  It wasn’t until I checked my photos and the time stamps afterwards to realize that we had been waiting for 30 minutes!  Can you imagine a 3-year-old sitting around and waiting for that long without any toys to keep her busy.  I’m so proud of her and how she can wait and be so patient.  I know not all kids are built this way.  (Poor baby and grandma for waiting that long in the car for us too.)
• For the first time since giving birth to the baby (10 months ago), I had a dinner date with a friend!  DH and I now know it’s possible for me to be away from the baby for about 3 hours before she needs a feed, so this means I can go out again!  Yay!  It was really nice to chat with someone outside of the home and to catch up with a friend. 😌  When I got home, the baby was fine.
• Over the weekend, DH attempted to cut and trim my hair.  Grandma was out, so we only managed my bottom layers lol.  (We put the baby in the bouncer in the bathroom next to us.  The toddler was sitting nearby in the bedroom watching.)
• It was Chung Yeung Festival this past Monday, so we gathered with relatives on the Sunday to visit the cemetery to make offerings to our deceased relatives.  It was the first time that I can remember post-pandemic that we did this with relatives again.  The other times, we had gone separately.  The toddler was provoked, unbeknownst to us, by a relative and she started crying uncontrollably.  DH had to bring her to the car and settle her.  But even then, she never felt comfortable to be near the gravestones again.  It was tough because I had to hold the baby.  Grandma had to do everything.  Luckily, our relatives gave a helping hand.  But still…
• And then I was able to have a second catch-up date away from the home with a friend!  Yay!  My friend and I had a drink inside of a cafe and a short walk near her home.  Again, it was nice to be able to be away from the home.  The baby was totally fine.
• The toddler loved snacking on the yellow pear tomatoes that my friend harvested from her garden.  They are so cute and the cutest gourd-shaped tomatoes I’ve ever seen. ^_^
• The baby is so good at eating and feeding herself.  She holds foods so well in her little hand.  She can gnaw on green vegetables and bread and cheese.  DH started giving her cheese this week, and she can eat them very efficiently!  Because of eating better, she started to sleep more soundly at night and not waking up as often too.
• The kids were feeling okay so we went to the Creative Chefs class at Richmond Hill (I somehow missed that they had had Tuesday classes this entire month and only found out last week!).  They made salad wraps this time.  The toddler enjoyed cutting the tomatoes (they were hard to slice into at first because the skin is tough), spreading the hummus on the pita, and then holding the wrap in her hands to eat.  She then played with some kitchen items, the playdough, the kinetic sand table, and I read a book with her.
• (It was really cute this week that they started incorporating giving the kids aprons and mini chef hats to wear!  It’s too bad that the toddler didn’t want to wear either one though.)  (I bet when the baby is older, she will want to wear them haha.)
• It was the moment when we had chosen a book and sat down on the carpet that I realized something sticky was on my hand.  I looked down and saw a gooey booger on my finger.  Ewwwwwww.  Disgusting!  A kid must have picked their nose and then wiped it on the ground and I unluckily came across it and it stuck to my hand!  So disgusting!  I did the first thing I thought of which was wipe it back on the carpet.  I know.  I shouldn’t have.  I should have taken a Kleenex and wiped it there to throw away and immediately use the hand sanitizer on the shelf.  I was just too shocked.  I made sure I didn’t step in that area of the carpet again when we were at circle time and I hope that the EarlyON staff clean their carpets after each session (I can only hope).  I certainly regret not throwing the booger in a napkin… it’s still out there and will probably stick on to someone else without them knowing.  Ugh.  I wish parents would teach their kids not to wipe boogers on to carpets, but I know it is wishful thinking.  Kids also don’t listen.  (I did wash my hands afterwards.)
• The bellababy carrier we got from the Amazon warehouse has been so helpful.  Grandma wears it often and doesn’t feel as strained when carrying the baby.
• We hit a milestone event on the Tuesday with our house, mortgage-wise.
• Today, I brought the baby to the Parent-Child Mother Goose class at the Markham Main Site of EarlyON.  They had been booked full the whole time it began but 2 spots opened up last week when I checked and I registered.  I really wanted to try the Mother Goose class for the baby (I didn’t like the other class at the mobile site and it was too far anyway).  It was actually the very last class of Mother Goose today; the attending parents and babies got a certificate at the class today for “graduating” from the program.  So cute.  I liked the liveliness and full class.  Most of the songs were new to me.  It was nice to be there.  The baby was crawling around for most of it and didn’t want to just sit on my lap to listen (which 10-month-old would?).  She did like the song where I held her “up, up, up” to the sky though.  She giggled and laughed.
• This baby is so social.  She kept smiling at others.  There was another baby crawling and standing at the chair and my baby was not shy and stood next to him, observing him.  She copied him when he was tapping on the chair.  She was okay with the facilitator holding her at the end of the class too.  Aww, yay!
• When they were singing the frog song and making an eating motion with their hands, the baby copied and did the same with her hands!  The EarlyON facilitator was happy and looked so proud of her.  Later, when we left, the baby waved bye and the facilitator said the baby was smart. 🤗
• When we were at dinner and the server brought the last dish to the table, the baby said “argh” to the server lol.  She was initiating interaction with him.  Haha, funny and so cute.
• The toddler continues to be hungry constantly throughout the day.  She will say she’s hungry and I’ll ask her what she wants to eat, etc.  She isn’t a big fan of crackers or the Cheez Its lately.  After dinner, she says she like to eat “siu yeh” (midnight snack/”supper”).