Miyoko is TWO!

Two years passed so quickly, it's a little hard to believe and accept that our little bunny baby is now an active toddler, running and hopping around. I miss the chubby baby but enjoying the bubbly toddler now. Here is a long summary of her exciting 12-24 months stage!

13 months (Jan 2013)

 

@13 months, our Princess started to throw her terrible two tantrums which started so early! Her tantrums are totally out of control. She will roll on the floor, screaming and crying, ignoring us.  It's hard to calm her down and nothing much worked except ignoring her. Even that doesn't work all the time. We learnt to be very thick-skinned and ignore stares from others till she calms down.

Although no stranger to public transport, she has not tried a double-decker bus before. So we took her on one to Chinatown to soak in the CNY mood while having fun looking down from the bus.



Cheeky fun onboard the bus to Chinatown



Snake year is coming!
 

She developed a fear of pools when she was 5-6months old. We thought she was ready for the pool at 13 months but she was still very afraid. Her screams and cries at the pool were so loud, people probably thought we were abusing a child there.



Clinging on to daddy for dear life

 

14 months (Feb 2013)

 

@14 months, she suffered her 1st bout of stomach flu. She has never been so ill before, vomitted 7-8x within 4 hours, very lethargic and cranky. She slept most of the time during that period because she was feeling so weak. It took up to a week before she fully recovered. She lost so much weight in that 1 week! :(

 

I took her to the Sengkang Public Library for the first time. She was very excited and went around digging books out to browse. Subsequently I brought her to the library every 1-2 weeks till she started school.  



 

1st trip to the library

 

15 months (Mar 2013)

 

@15 months, we went to the Gardens by the Bay with my family. Our Princess had fun walking around for a short while, then was carried by grandpa for the rest of the day!

 

On Gd Friday (Bad Friday for us), we went to the S.E.A Aquarium with my family. After the excursion, we met with a nasty road traffic accident. Heavens was watching over us as we escaped with minor injuries. It's Miyoko's first visit to KKH A&E for observation, and we pray we won't ever have to go there again.



1st visit to Gardens by the Bay

1st visit to S.E.A Aquarium

16 months (April 2013)

 

@16 months, to prepare Miyoko for her role as a big sister and ease her acceptance of a new baby, we bought her her first doll. A cheap, light and cute one from toys r us. She chose it among the whole box of similar dolls and wouldn't let go of it. She owns 4 dolls now :)

 

Her first doll.

See how excited she is! Kept hugging and touching it on the way home after buying

She seldom sleeps in the cot now, preferring to be on the floor mattress instead. As the cot will be used by baby in a few months' time, we decided it's time to transit her to a proper bed. Brought her shopping for a bed and she immediately took a liking to this low, smooth-edged princess bed. I think she loved it because it's low enough for her to climb up and down effortlessly. Plus it's so pretty in pink! 

Upgraded to a standard single-sized bed

 

 

17 months (May 2013)

@17 months, we wanted a short break with just the 3 of us before baby arrives so we went on a staycation at Hotel Intercontinental. She loved the big soft fluffy bed with daddy and mummy beside her so much that she slept a record 12hours straight that night.

1st staycation @Hotel Intercontinental

 

18 months (June 2013)

 

@18 months, the highlight of her 2nd year is starting of school! 

 

Before she started school, we had been mentally prepared for the separation anxiety from her, the crying, the refusal to attend school, the possibility of being bullied in class as she's the youngest there. Imagine our surprise when she didn't cry at all (except on Day 3 coz daddy didn't bear to leave her and she sensed it). She will give us a blank look and walk away to join the teacher without saying goodbye. Instead, we were the ones with separation anxiety! We checked on the cctv umpteen times a day to see what she's doing.

 

She may seem very quiet in school, but she's definitely not a pushover! Our worries about her being bullied turned into worries about her bullying others! We received feedback she was pushing other kids away or pulling their hair when they were near her, and on one ocassion, she fought with a boy who is a few months older and almost pushed him down to the floor. She behaves better now although we still receive feedback ocassionally on her pushing others.

We are glad she likes school. She's always very happy to go to school in the morning, very happy when she's back home. Sings and dances often at home now.

 

Going to school!

 

We were spying on her in school all the time!

 

She attended her 1st wedding dinner at Peach Garden. Specially bought a pretty dress and shoes for the ocassion. Luckily she behaved reasonably well during the dinner although it meant we had to take turns to bring her out for walks to keep her occupied.  

 

All dolled up to attend her 1st wedding dinner

  

19 months (July 2013)

 

@19 months, we brought her to the Zoo because there was a National Day promotion for it. I think it was 40% off entry fees for Singaporeans? We never thought of bringing her there earlier as we didn't think she will appreciate it. She was very excited to see the animals and we had lots of fun that day despite the super hot weather. 

1st trip to the Zoo
 

2 weeks after starting school, Miyoko insisted on self-feeding dinner. Always leave a big mess on the table and floor but I let her be and informed the teachers to guide her instead of feeding her. We believe watching her peers self-feed motivated her to try it herself.

 



Learns to self-feed at school (due to peer pressure?).

 

 

 20 months (August 2013)

@20 months, she was promoted to status of 姐姐! She was excited about baby but didn't know how to handle him and was rough at times. She will slap his head and pull his limbs. She probably thought he's a life-size interactive doll! Initially she was quite jealous and often wanted us to attend to her immediately whenever we are busy with baby. Now she's ok with it. Took her a few weeks to adapt to "shared attention".

I'm a Big Sister now!

 

21 months (September 2013)

 

@21 months, she started to insist on doing things her way without help and being our little helper too. That includes walking without holding hands at times, wearing shoes herself, bring dirty clothes to the laundry basket, throw soiled diapers, fetch me baby's diapers and clothes. We are happy with her progress in self-help skills and try to let her do things herself as much as possible and step in to help only when necessary. 

I don't wana hold hands! I can walk on my own!

The school organized an excursion to the Health Promotion Board and she went without us, like most of her classmates even though parents are encouraged to join.

   

1st school excursion

 

When baby was 1 month old, we let him play on the playgym. That's when Miyoko took on her role of 姐姐 seriously. She played with him and taught him how to play! She really dotes on 弟弟 :)

 



Miyoko teaching Kazuki how to play

 

 

22 months (October 2013)

 

@22 months, we decided to let her take the school bus home. She only took it twice and fell sick for 2 weeks! We don't know if it's coincidence or just more germs on school bus. However looking at how unhappy she was on that 2 trips, we stopped taking the school bus.

 

This is the first time she's down with a high fever that lasted 5 days, ok for 2 days, high fever again for 2 days. She usually has cough and runny nose but never high fever. It's her first time taking antiobiotics too because her nose and chest were infected. 

I left the sch at 5, reached home at 6 on this bus! No more sch bus please!

Our friends organized a picnic session at East Coast Park. It's her first picnic experience by the beach. She didn't like the sand and kept her legs off the sandy ground most of the time while eating. We ended up as her "chair".

1st picnic at East Coast Park with friends

 

 

23 months (November 2013)

 

@23 months, to celebrate daddy's birthday and our wedding anniversary, we went on a staycation at Pan Pacific Orchard. A memorable day for us, especially for Miyoko, because she conquered her fear of swimming pools. She was so happy playing in it, she refused to leave the pool!

Playing with 弟弟 in hotel's bathtub

 

Having fun at the hotel's swimming pool


 

24 months (December 2013)

 

@24 months, she was no longer afraid of kiddy rides but 1 month later she's afraid again?! We can't figure out why. Good lah, save our money ;)

 

 

December is Miyoko's special month because it's her birthday month! We had 2 celebrations for her. One at school and one at the restaurant with my family.

Celebration at school

Celebration with family at Asia Grand restaurant

We went to the Zoo again, this time courtesy of daddy's Corporate Pass so we didn't spend a single cent! She enjoyed it much more because this round she recognized some of the animals.

Off to the Zoo in our 1st family tees!

大象! 大象!

Miyoko attended her 2nd Xmas party at my parent's place, but this is her first time dressed up as Santarina.

1st Santarina costume

1st Xmas with 弟弟



Miyoko attempting a selfie while daddy takes a selfie

 

Her growing up stage from 12-24mths was filled with many "firsts". Good happy experiences and some not-so-good ones too. I hope her next 12 months will be filled with lots of fun, laugher, learning and most importantly, good health!

Arrival of our little Prince

Our little Prince Kazuki 朱明峰 has arrived on 2nd August 2013!

Kazuki means "first shine"(一輝) or "harmony & hope" (和希), depending on the Japanese Kanji characters we choose. Being kiasu parents, we take both meanings lor! It sounds similar to daddy's 2nd wife's name "Suzuki"so he insisted on it :)
His chinese name 明峰 has a 明 to follow jiejie's 明艳。The 峰 means peak so we hope he reaches the top in whatever he does.

His arrival wasn't very eventful coz it was a planned elective csect. My gynae wasn't supportive of natural birth due to risk of previous csect wound rupturing. I also prefer csect since I can plan my arrangements for Miyoko and I didn't want to end up with an emergency csect again if Kazuki fails to arrive via natural birth. .

We camped over at my parent's place the night before so that they can take care of Miyoko in the morn. We arrived at Mt Alvernia hospital at 6am for the 8am operation. They gave me a double room coz it's full (snake baby so popular?). After I explained I've a toddler who might be noisy, they found me a single deluxe room which is slightly more expensive than a standard single room.

My room looks like hotel room right? (minus the hospital bed). The western food was very good! Nurses are nice and caring. Mt A hospital is good! (except for the serious parking problem)

 

After changing and clearing my bowels, we relaxed till around 7 then they took me to the waiting area for operations. Hubby had to wait outside the area. There they checked my particulars then the anesthetist came and asked my history, explained what he will do. A while later I was taken to the operating theatre for the epidural. Once done, the nurse put massager at my legs for blood circulation but I couldn't feel anything by then. Then my gynae appeared and joked whether I want to see the reflection of what he's going to do then turned the lights away. My hubby came in around the same time and sat beside me. We started chatting, wondering what is Miyoko's reaction when she wakes up without us around that morning and some random stuff I don't remember. The whole mood was very relaxed, so relaxed until we didn't even know baby was out already until gynae held him up smiling and said, "here's baby".

My gynae smiling behind the mask (^-^)

 

Kazuki is small at 2.6kg and a sleepyhead! He cried a while and then went into sleep mode. After taking a few photos, hubby went to the nursery with baby while the gynae sew me up. I was very alert and definitely not in pain (unlike my first csect where I was in pain after delivery while still in OT and had to be masked to zz). I looked around and saw the anesthetist relaxing one corner reading newspapers! Hahaha! When done, they brought me back to my room to rest.

 

Few hours later the nurse brought Kazuki over for breastfeeding. Aiyo, such a tiny little boy who doesn't look like hubby or me. But so cute lah. He has that blur blur look! And duno if it's a characteristic of snakes, he's always asleep in the day, awake at nite!

My sleepy boy in hospital

 

In a flash, we became parents of 2 kids with a gap of 20mths. It's tough managing 2 young kids, especially when the elder one is at her terrible twos. But it's a joy to see the 2 interact, to see how 姐姐 dotes on 弟弟 and sometimes bully unintentionally.

 

The day everything went wrong!

What was supposed to be a short family excursion with my parents, sister & bro-in-law to the S.E.A  Aquarium at Resorts World Sentosa turned out to be a long nightmare. We reached the ticketing booth at 10+ and was greeted by a long queue. My sis & bro-in-law queued while we went shopping. Almost 45min later they called to say the Courts promotion for tickets at 15% off is not applicable to Public Holidays (it was Good Friday). I was so pissed! I had called up RWS customer service hotline prior to this day to verify if we could use the promotion. So I rushed back and made a big scene, almost screaming at the ticketing staff before they finally gave us discounted tickets.

It was almost 12 noon and we thought maybe it's better to eat first before no seats at the eateries. BIG MISTAKE. By the time we were done with our meal, we were shocked to see a long snaking queue outside the Aquarium when there weren't any before our lunch. We thought it'll take just 1-2hrs. We were so wrong. It took us 2hrs to get into the building, another 2 hrs to get into the Aquarium. Yes, a total of FOUR freaking hours!!! The first 2 hrs were the worst. Hot & humid outside the building. The next 2 were in the air-conditioned building but by then we were exhausted. Really regretted not postponing this excursion when we saw the queue. We never expected it will take this long!

I was too tired by the time we entered the Aquarium to fully appreciate it. Many photos snapped but yet to upload to the computer as I just don't want to be reminded of the stupid Aquarium!

We left at 7pm+ and was back at Vivocity for dinner at 8pm+. Long queues everywhere at all the eateries. We waited close to 45mins before we got a table. Left for home at 9pm+. But little did we expect home for that night was at KK hospital....

The Accident
It happened within 15mins of us exiting Vivocity's carpark. We were travelling straight along Keppel Rd with green light in our favor when this black car at the opposite lane turned right. He was probably shocked too and stopped in his tracks. Yes, this idiot stopped his stupid blackie right in the middle of the lanes of oncoming traffic, inviting cars to go bang him. It was too late for hubby to avoid a hit. The best he could do was swerve to the side to lessen the impact. All I remember was hearing his honks and seeing that blackie in front, the bang and our car spinning.

Smoke, smell, pain and cries. Poor Miyoko was screaming and crying. She was enjoying her milk and dozing off in her carseat just before it happened. I was beside her holding on to the bottle. My lower abdomen was painful. I couldn't and didn't dare to move. A kind motorist appeared at Miyoko's door and tried to get her out of the carseat. I was beside her crying in shock and worry over the little one inside. Hubby later came to unbelt and carry Miyoko out before helping me out of the car. 

I couldn't stop crying and hugged Miyoko real tight. She was actually very calm. Maybe she's in shock. Or maybe she's sleepy and tired. Soon the paramedics arrived and I was brought into the ambulance. Miyoko stayed with hubby as she seemed fine and was asleep on his shoulders. Before the doors of the ambulance closed, I remember telling hubby, "Don't forget AhKe's in the car. Take him out." This sounds silly, but I love my 25yr old AhKe like a real baby. I cannot let him stay inside the smashed up car and end up at the car workshop!

Blunders at KKH
Although the A&E doctor let me hear baby's heartbeat, I wasn't satisfied. I wanted to see him on screen to know he's fine. The doctor's reaction was "Oh, you want ultrasound ah? Ok, we'll get a senior doctor down." When the senior doctor came, the A&E doctor immediately wanted to do a cervix check without even telling me what she's going to do. Just proceeded to pull my undies. Hey, please give the patient some respect! After that another doctor said she'll do the scan and fumbled with the machine and needed the senior doctor to guide her. The senior doctor then told me he'll give me an injection and some hormone pills. I can stay for one night observation or leave now to see my own gynae but I've to sign an indemnity form for discharging now. I called my gynae who assured me baby will be fine and advised me to stay for a night. My parents came to help with the admission papers and my brother came to visit and fetch them home.

A nurse came by and gave me an injection before I was sent up to the ward. At the ward, a doctor came and intro himself before saying "You'll be doing the vaccuming." "Huh? What vacuum?" I was stunned. He continued "clearing your uterus?" Seeing my shocked reaction, he checked his file and asked if I'm "xxx". Then realised he got the wrong patient!! Hello? I'm in a single room. There's only 1 patient in here. Can't you check your file before popping into the wrong room and saying the wrong things?! I don't remember if he apologized but he mentioned he'll be back to draw my blood. Till now I still don't know why he drew my blood.

2 hrs later, a nurse came and said she's here to give me an injection. Injection again?? Didn't they just give me one 2 hrs ago? She seemed surprised and requested to check my injection site to verify. I showed and she checked her system. Pissed, I asked if there's any record. She said no record in the system and asked whether I had taken it at A&E. She said A&E are all written records, not in the system. I asked didn't my A&E records come up as well? She replied yes, she'll go check it and quickly left the room before I could shoot more questions. Why didn't she check A&E records before coming to jab patients? What if I didn't ask anything and let her jab again? This is really dangerous!

My sister & bro-in-law went to meet up with my hubby at the accident scene and brought Miyoko to KKH Children's A&E for check-up. She seemed fine after 2hrs observation and discharged. According to them she was very well-behaved. Maybe she knew something's wrong but didn't know how to react. When she saw me, she was all smiles. Hubby joined a while later after he was done sending the car to the workshop. By then it was 2am. Both of them stayed with me for the night.

The next day, I didn't dare to take the pills prescribed. I have zero confidence in KKH after what happened the night before. I didn't know I could be discharged until the pharmacist came to pass me medication and told me about it. I don't know who wrote what rubbish in my record, the pharmacist said it was stated in my records that I've been taking the hormone pills, so I should be aware of its side effects. What?!That's my first time taking it!! In the discharge summary, there was no mention of the injection I took at A&E. The nurse added it in after I asked.

In short, bad experience at KKH!

Right after I discharged, I went to see my gynae. Baby's fine. He saw the whole row of bruises at my lower abdomen and the big black one on my arm and prescribed me medication to help reduce the bruises. He said the injection & pills from KKH are fine and I was told to continue for a week. I'm so glad I've a good caring gynae!

1 month later
The events are still fresh in my mind. My bruises, rib & ankle pain are finally gone after 3 weeks. Abrasions from seatbelt at lower abdomen recovered but I've a little scar from it. Hubby's chest pains are gone. Our car was out of workshop last week. The first 2 weeks after the accident, Miyoko would cry whenever we put her into the carseat and I had to hold her hand throughout the ride. Now she's getting better. She'll reach her hand out for mine but wouldn't cry. She'll just whine a little if I didn't hold her hand.

I'm lucky I've a strong knit family who rushed down to assist us when the accident happened. Without my sis & bro-in-law, I wonder who could take care of Miyoko while I was at KKH and hubby at scene, fetch us home the next day, and look after her while I went for check-up at my own gynae's clinic? Without my parents & brother, who could help me with admission and give me emotional support while I was alone at A&E?

And we are very lucky we had GuanYinMa watching over us.

Please belt up!
We can't emphasize enough the importance of seat belt and carseat after this accident. No doubt the seat belt caused my bruises and pains. But without it, it could have been worse. I felt the impact of being flung forward but held back by the belt. If there's no belt, I probably would have hit the seat in front with more serious injuries, or worse, flung out somewhere. Without the belt, my hubby probably would have serious injuries too. The most important of all is the carseat which cushioned Miyoko from the impact. We are lucky the hit was at front right side of the car and not near where she's seated. Nevertheless she would have experienced being flung but held back by the belt, but being rear-facing meant the carseat absorbed most of the impact.

If she had been sitting on my lap like what many parents do, the whole row of bruises and abrasions which was on my lower abdomen would have been on her. She would have become my airbag. On her fragile body, it might be more than just superficial bruises. If she was sitting on my lap without the belt, she might have flown out of my hands. If she had been sitting in the front passenger seat with airbag installed, the chest pain my hubby suffered for 3 weeks would be on her face/head/whole body. It might not be just a nagging pain he experiences each time he coughs, but head concussion/broken neck or ribs on her fragile frame.

The Traffic Police don't set penalties just for the sake of it. It's really for our safety. However, many drivers disregard it, thinking "I'm a safe driver / It's just a short distance / My child doesn't like it". Many drivers and passengers still don't belt up and many babies & kids aren't belted up in proper carseat/booster in the right seat. Well, I hope they don't meet a reckless driver like we did.

Miyoko's 1st Year

Our little princess has just turned 1 year old! It has been a very fun and exciting 1 year for all of us ~ Princess herself, we the slaves, and our family. Look forward to see more fun months and years ahead!

1st Month

Starts to clown around with her many funny expressions. Looking so much like Daddy!

 

 

2nd Month

Her 1st Chinese New Year. Looking very tomboy despite the hairband.

1st swim & spa experience. Starts her neck muscle exercises.

 

 3rd month

Successfully lifts up head on her own! Trying a new retro girly look.

Goes for her 1st haircut at a salon.

4th month

Strikes a cutesy model pose in her new dress. Acts like a big boss on her new ikea highchair.

Training to hold milk bottle on her own. First encounter with cake & candles on Mummy's birthday.

Having fun in her playground. 1st sashimi-viewing experience.

 

 

5th month

Gets to play in a rented exersaucer for a month.  Learns to sit unassisted.

1st encounter with Hello Kitty. Turning into a couch potato.

Starts on semi-solids and hated it! Still prefers durian to cereals.

 

 

6th month

Gets to play in a rented jumperoo for a month. Celebrates 1st Father's day.

Surprise visit to grandpa's office and trying to act like a boss. Daddy gets her a bumbo seat as her princess throne.

Acting cool for 1st swimming experience but cried throughout the time in pool.

 

 

7th month

Daddy pampers her with a 3-in-1 tricycle. Grandma sets up a playground at her home for Miyoko.

Has her first taste of 纸包鸡. Begins to crawl around.

1st & hopefully last encounter with the unusual kind who licked her cheek ~ Yucks! Starts to stand and jump at her cot.

 

 

8th month

Starts to show an interest in pebbles. Learns to walk with push-walker gift from Mummy.

Cruising around at home. Gets more adventurous at home.

 

 

9th month

Still cruising around. Acts cute again with a new hat from 姨姨.

1st time sitting in a supermarket trolley. 1st indoor playground experience @Fidgets.

Grandma can't stand her messy hair and ties it up, looking so Ah Girl! Starts her trail of destruction at home.

 

 

 

 

 

10th month

Tries KFC chicken rice and loved it! Starts to stand unassisted.

 

Celebrates AhKe's birthday. Goes for 1st movie ~ enjoyed 1st 15 mins, cried next 15 mins, slept thru rest of the movie.

Realises it's fun to wash hands at the water feature. Gets another new hat from 姨姨

 

First family trip ~ 4D3N cruise to Penang & Malacca 

 

 

 

 

11th month

2nd visit to indoor playground, this time at Hokey Pokey.

Starts to walk unassisted and begins practising for 2013's CNY visiting. Celebrates Daddy's birthday.

 

Meets great-grandma for lunch with baby cousin

12th month

Attends 1st SSO concert ~ totally not interested in it!

Starts to walk in public places. 1st taste of beer can.

Starts to explore drawers and utensils.

Has 4 upper teeth & 2 lower teeth by 1 year old. Celebrates 1st birthday with family & close friends.