The arduous process of weaning

Inspired by Munirah's process of weaning her son off night feeds (feeding to sleep), i decided to kick off Day1 with ciku last night. I dont know wut hit me, but i just felt that yesterday was the day when i'd begin the 5 day programme. I figured that i wasnt going to put up with 4 straight years of sleep deprivation, and that i had to deal with the problem once n for all. I've been putting off weaning ciku cos it's so convenient to fall asleep as ciku suckles on me, and to pull up my shirt whenever she needs me in the middle of the night.

Im a wreck from last night - physically and emotionally. This morning ciku woke up before i went to work, so i was hugging n kissing her and telling her that i loved her cos i felt so darn guilty for depriving her off boo last night. She seemed absolutely fine, so i dont know whether she remembered just how much she cried last night. We were in bed at 10.30pm and finally slept at 1.30...so that makes it 3 hours of me reading all 5 of her favourite books:

1) Huckle's good manners
2) The hungry little caterpillar
3) Peter and Jane have fun
4) My best friends
5) Topsy n Time little lost rabbit.

Ciku refused to fall asleep without boo, so instead, she made me read those books over n over again. In between, i had to comfort her, i tried to get her to sleep by carrying her, singing songs. She cried for Opa, "Call Opaaaaaaaa!" That was at 12.08am. At 1am, she cried, "See Oma & Opaaaaaaa!" Every time she alluded to wanting boo, i'd tell her that "mummy's boo ouch," which it actually was. At 1.15am i was very near to lifting up my top already cos she was crying so broken heartedly, but whilst reading Topsy and Tim, she fell asleep!! She was so tired that she slept all the way through, and i gave her boo when it was morning.

I should've slept well, but i didnt. I hope i'll be prepared for tonight...denying my child is such a heartbreaking thing to do, and it's not her fault that she's been enjoying the comfort of boo before bed for the past 21 months :(

Ciku's vocab update

Banana - "Nana Tamish" (bananas in pyjamas)
Pak Su - "Pak Pu"
Luna - "Nuna"
Maryam - "mayam"
Juice

Sentences:
"Mia tired"
"Ee thaaaat?" (what's that, who's that)
"Mia eat tatarice"
"Mia feeeet!" (when Luna bites her feet)
"Oma's frend"
"Eet mummy" (sit mummy)
"Mummy cooking"
"Put chili, garlic" (when someone's cooking, she describes the cooking process)
"Daddy look. Mummy hold Mia. Mia go stairs" (Look daddy, mummy's helping me up the stairs).

Chicken pox it is!

We took Ciku to the clinic on Saturday where Dr Lam confirmed our suspicion that Ciku has chicken pox. Daddy's never had it, and mummy is 8 weeks along, so this comes at a risky time. However, Dr Lam said that since i've had the pox before, the baby and i should be immune, and as for daddy, he opted to take a shot that would make the pox milder should he get it. Luckily Ciku had the pox shot at 1, so her current outbreak is relatively mild and not overly itchy.

Sudden Fever

I dont know what's up with Ciku, but she suddenly developed a high fever on Wednesday. It's now Friday and she has these raised spots on her skin with liquid in them. Wednesday night i stayed up to keep her cool, wiping her with a damp cloth every now and then. Thursday night, she had her fever again, but she managed to go to sleep after a dose of paracetamol, but she woke up at 2am and started scratching every scar/bite she already has. She ended up asking, "Light mummy", and that was the beginning of keeping mummy awake until 4.30 in the morning! I was reading the Hungry Little Caterpillar at 3!! This is when i noticed the spots, then i started worrying cos im pregnant and i shouldnt be exposed to children with fevers, let alone spots! Oma called today to say that she's got even more spots. Im so worried and wondering what it is...could it be chicken pox, dengue, measles? I'll have to take Ciku to the doc after work, alone cos Oma and Opa have to go to the airport and Daddy has to work late :(

Mummy's little elf

One of the things that makes me so geram and proud of my little Ciku is that she's a really polite little toddler. It just bowls me over when she says, in her petah way, "Tat you, mummy" or "Tat you, Oma", "peeeash" and "sowy". Another thing that she does really well too is putting away her toys before starting something else. At times you have to remind her, but the best moments are when she surprises me by having put everything away, just when i thought she hadnt. The above photo shows how she put her Little Tikes characters away. I wasnt even expecting it, i was soooo proud!

Breastfeeding is the most natural thing to do, NOT?

There's one thing im very passionate about when it comes to motherhood, and that's breastfeeding. Not only is it best for baby, but the bond derived from having a baby nestle close to you as he feeds is simple amazing. Bottle fed babies and their mothers are missing out on a lot! What's been boggling my mind is why breastfeeding has become such an alien thing for mothers to do. A lot of people around me, from relatives to friends are all having trouble breastfeeding. Most times i dont want to interfere cos the more i know the more frustrated i get by their sheer ignorance and lack of drive. A relo recently complained that she didnt have much milk (she had given birth 2 days prior), and they had already bought formula to supplement the baby's feed. The thing is, no mother has a litre of milk hanging from her boobies right after birth. It's about supply and demand, and in the initial stages there is no milk, there's only colostrum! I am by no means an expert on this subject matter, but i do read, and im still breastfeeding my 19month old. A friend told me that her baby doesnt want to breastfeed because the nurses at the hospital had introduced the baby to the bottle. The poor little thing is only 4 weeks old! This is another thing that peeves me...incompetent nurses! When you're at the mercy of nurses in hospital, know your rights and know what's best for baby!!! When i was told that Ciku had to be fed formula in order for the treatment for jaundice to be effective, i asked the nurses how they would feed her. The nurses said that they could bottle feed or use a teaspoon. Knowing that babies can get confused between a bottle teat and a mummy's nipple, i opted for the latter, and i know for a fact that the nurses complied cos later on Ciku was a pro when fed with a spoon. For future mothers out there, do read up, cos where there's a will, there's a way! Think about it, why would you want to feed your precious bundle a concoction of milk powder, corn starch, palm oil and other things, when there's mother's milk that's not just nutritious but can also prevent babies from catching the flu, colds etc? Breastfeeding has so many benefits, and it really is the best gift you can give your child. These benefits include; lowered risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), increased intelligence, decreased likelihood of contracting middle ear infections, cold, and flu bugs, decreased risk of some cancers such as childhood leukemia, lower risk of childhood onset diabetes, decreased risk of asthma and eczema, decreased dental problems, decreased risk of obesity later in life, and decreased risk of developing psychological disorders. Breastfeeding also provides health benefits for the mother. It assists the uterus in returning to its pre-pregnancy size and reduces post-partum bleeding, as well as assisting the mother in returning to her pre-pregnancy weight. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of breast cancer later in life. (Source: wikipedia).

My Ciku is 19months old!

My baby is inching closer and closer 24months, that milestone which will mean no more boo, and the fact that another year has gone by!!

Right now her pronounciation has become quite good. Bird is no longer "bard", and Mammy has been replaced with "mummy". It never fails to amaze me just how much she's progressing and developing. She can now tell me what sounds animals make, such as a lion, cat, dog, bird, duck. She's also been playing with a wooden puzzle with pegs in it. It's a really good one by Melissa & Doug because it has 4 basic farm animals, horse, cow, pig and sheep with their respective babies. Right now we've taught her that the little ones are baby horses, cows, pigs and sheep, but i guess in time we can give them their proper names.

Ciku's now also extremely attached to both me and hubs. When i go get her, she'll always ask for daddy, followed by 'Yaya'...yaya, you know who you are. At night she'll only settle down when daddy gets home, and that's proving tiring on me.

Have i already said that she knows the words, soup and soap? She loves washing her hands and tasty soup always gets a, "MORE" from her.