4 months - roll over

baby has been trying to roll over for the past week or so. she has been able to do so with a little nudge or two, and always looks very pleased that she gets a different view of the world. today, while i was out, baby rolled from her back onto her tummy. of all the days to roll over, she does it in the 4 hours i am out. considering i haven't been away from her since last month, i would say today is a very good day to buy lottery and strike big.

4 months - fun in the sun at sentosa

the parents and i brought baby to sentosa (baby's second visit) yesterday on a whim, and it was fun being outside for a day. we were fortunate that it didn't rain while we were there, and so we managed to get around quite easily. it was also a good chance to let baby wear her SUNHAT and take a ton of photos! :D

4 months - big world out there

baby turns 4 months today, and i can't imagine our lives without her. she is really well-behaved when we bring her out (she no longer fusses in the car seat as long as she is not hungry, hurray!) and we can usually get a decent meal in without having to carry her much. she also isn't scared of places with bright lights or loud music, which is probably because she follows me to the supermarket, library and nearby mall and is used to being in crowded bustling places.
now to get her used to visiting other homes ... she has been generally ok, but dark enclosed spaces seem to frighten her. i guess it is a natural reaction since baby may think of it as dangerous and alarm bells start ringing in her head.

black friday clothes shopping

carter's got me to part with 100 bucks for really adorable clothes for baby that range in size from 9-18 months. yes, i believe in practical splurging. besides i just found out that i am getting back-paid for a missed work payout (i was too busy with baby to realise ok?) ... and it feels like a big windfall because i forgot all about it.
so yes, black friday shopping for baby is very justified.

3 months - daytime napping

am trying to follow the eat-wake-sleep routine as i think it makes a lot of sense. no sleeping after a meal, waking up when hungry and hence skipping the fussiness before the hunger pangs strike, knowing for sure that any crying during her wake time is not due to hunger, sleeping when tired ...
unfortunately, baby only takes short naps in the day ... i would be lucky if she sleeps more than 1 hour for each nap. she now also HATES it when I try to make her sleep before she wants to sleep. she cries the moment i pick her up and carry her in a lying-down position. heh.
oh well, this is forcing me to be very disciplined and efficient when doing stuff while she is asleep (the picture from babycenter captures it to a T!). which also leaves me dead tired by the end of the day. thank goodness she still sleeps through the night! and by that, i mean 12 hours (8pm to 8am or later), not the 6 hours defined by babycenter as "sleeping through the night". heh.

3 months - enjoying storybooks

we have been frequent visitors to the neighbourhood library to help fuel baby's love for books and reading. it seems to be paying off, with her really enjoying her daily session of story time. when she was smaller, she would get all excited looking at the bright pictures in the storybooks and start kicking really hard (until she got sweaty). she would get so excited that we would have to stop sometimes so that she wouldn't get overstimulated.
now, she starts babbling on and on (with occasional squeals) when i start reading to her, as if she is trying to tell the story in her own way, in her own language.
not really sure what it is that sparks her excitement ... our voices or the pictures, but it is clear that there's something about story time that piques her interest and captures her attention for rather long periods of time. tummy time lasts so much longer when there's a book in front of her compared to a soft toy.
ladies and gentlemen, we have a bookworm in the making!

for the record, here are some of the books borrowed from the library that we have enjoyed so far:
one kiss, one hug - about saying goodnight and going to bed
itsy mitsy runs away - about avoiding bedtime
bumble: the little bear with big ideas - about helping out and owning up
barbar's book of colour - about the world of colour and mixing colours
steggie's stammer - about being different and valuing friends who are different

3 months - spreading joy

baby is really good at making others happy ... just by smiling her winning unadulterated smile. so easy! this is her keeping her grandma and great grandma entertained after lunch today.

3 months - beautiful you

she really knows how to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. even when i am all sticky sweaty tired and longing for a bath.

3 months - and eating everything

baby is putting everything she can lay her hands on into her mouth. yes, even the skirt portion of her dress.

3 months - sleep interrupted

having been pampered by baby putting in 11-12 hours of sleep consistently for quite awhile now, it felt really horrible to have our nights interrupted by baby waking up for most of last week.
at first it was just once, usually at 4 or 5am, which is actually still ok (this means she slept for 8-9 hours), but she woke up every 3 hours one night starting from midnight and it was a torture. had to get the hubby to take the 6am feed because i was just too concussed.
thankfully she is back to her regular programming and has been clocking 11-12 hour nights again ... although i have been feeding her slightly more for her last two feeds just in case we are in the middle of a growth spurt.
my hats off to those mums who are still having to wake up at night to feed their babies at this stage. and again, i am so glad babywise worked for us. that, or we really lucked out with a super easy to care for/low maintenance baby. even our parents can't believe how easy it is to look after her.

a special sunday

spent our 5th wedding anniversary with baby in tow. what a different experience from past years! we had to eat at double speed in case baby started fussing (although she didn't), and we also had to take heed of baby's feeding times and schedule our day around those times. but having baby along was a good reminder of all the great things that have happened to us this past year. her coming into our lives of course tops the list by far.

3 months - entering the wonder weeks

according to the wonder weeks app, baby is going through a mental leap now, and so is likely to be more cranky and attention-seeking than usual. can't agree more, as she has been "complaining" more for the past few days ... not crying, but complaining in her rather loud voice. it's both amusing and frustrating to have to handle her, but i am trying to see the lighter side of things so that i don't get angry with her when she gets into her fussing mood.
sitting tight and hoping this phase will pass soon! have also realised that baby is already showing some of the behaviours/actions that she will be able to do by the end of this leap:

"this leap combines, as it were, the elements of previous leaps. your baby can now perceive or perform a short, familiar series of smooth transitions, patterns, or sensations.

after this leap, your baby's skills will have expanded and you may notice she:

Is suddenly very active: one moment she is taking a rest, the next moment suddenly everything about her moves - CHECK
Hardly misses when she grasps something - CHECK
Puts mother's hand in her mouth - CHECK although it's more like my fingers than my whole hand
Pulls a cloth away from her own face (first still slow) - CHECK she does that with her bib and sometimes her milk bottle if she is holding it while eating
'Hits' the table with a toy - AKAN DATANG
Is busy with an "activity center" - CHECK
Searches to see where mom or dad are - CHECK
Reacts to her mirror image - CHECK although she was already doing this before
Responds to her name - CHECK although she was already doing this before
Uses consonants - AKAN DATANG (I THINK)
Pushes the breast away when she has enough - OH YES
Grumbles when she is impatient - MOST DEFINITELY"

in other news, baby finally did more than struggle while on her tummy today. her neck has always been strong ... she was holding up her head by her first month already (or earlier) when we carried her, so it was kind of puzzling why she didn't like tummy time at all. she would keep swimming on the bed and stuff her nose into the sheets and refuse to lift her head. at least now she has gotten the hang of things and i can check off this developmental milestone.

3 months - check up

baby is a 大头娃娃! we went for her 3 month check up and jab today and her head circumference was 44cm, which puts her above the 97th percentile for her age. the nurse had to measure her head twice just to be sure. but i guess it is to be expected given how the hubby and i have big heads. the midwife who helped with her delivery also couldn't believe her head circumference when she was born, so yup, what's new.
and i must be doing something right when it comes to milk production given that she is a whopping 7.06kg now, double her birth weight and also in the 97th percentile for her age. thankfully baby is tall as well, and hence her weight to height ratio is in the very ideal 50th percentile.

3 months - baby's first night out

brought baby to attend a colleague's wedding dinner last evening. it was her first night out and i was interested to see how she would behave past her (very early) bedtime of 8/8.30pm. all went well until around 10+ when she started fussing because it was too noisy and bright for her to sleep. had to carry her outside where it was darker so that she could sleep before bringing her back into the ballroom.
then when we reached home around midnight she woke up and fussed a bit while i changed her into her jammies, but she calmed down after i boobed her for a bit and then it was goodnight world until 8.30am this morning.
not as tough as i thought it would be! was still worrying that she would start her morning schedule when she got home after the dinner.
looks like we can bring baby out at night when the occasion calls for it. great!

3 months - busy hands

baby is getting very busy with her hands nowadays. she is always grabbing at stuff around her and holding onto them - my fingers, her hanging toys on the playmat, her towel/bib cloth ... also she loves stuffing her hands and fingers in her mouth like they are the tastiest morsels ever. good that she is occupied with things other than MILK!