170

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Very easy to take the bus in and out of JB, as long as the trips are times properly so there isn’t a long queue to board the bus. We took 170 in and out. KL didn’t join us so this overnight trip was just me + boys + Kate.

We went in on Saturday afternoon, had dinner there and stayed over. Came back on Sunday morning.

Kate has the same allergies with her bros, so sharing food with them when we eat out is quite convenient. For her dinner, she ate from T’s niku udon.

Kate watched Sesame Street on TV on Sunday morning. She was quite mesmerised by Cookie Monster.

Isomil

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Katelyn started drinking a soy formula this week. After we confirmed at the hospital that she is not allergic to soy.

For now, she drinks either 60ml or 120ml per feed. I have offered her both a lukewarm version and a cold version – she is okay with both, so I don’t know what she prefers yet. She takes the formula through a baby straw bottle. She doesn’t need much coaxing to drink, you just have to pass the bottle to her, and she’ll drink it without fuss, so I guess the formula taste is okay for her.

She is drinking Stage 1 (for 0 months onwards) instead of Stage 3 (for 1 year onwards) cos Stage 1 came in a smaller tin. I wanted to make sure she is okay with the taste before moving on to a bigger tin.

She did develop an itchy spot on the face these few days, on her chin. Totally not sure if it’s due to the soy formula cos she’s by right not allergic to soy. Will observe for the next few days to see if that itchy spot subsides.

Skin prick test

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Katelyn finally went for a skin prick test at NUH. From today’s test, she is found to be:

– Very allergic to egg white, egg yolk, dairy

– A little allergic to peanut, almond

– No reaction to soy, prawn, crab, scallop, cashew, hazelnut

Different types of food allergies with K and T. We should be trying to introduce a soy based formula to her soon.

Bukit Timah Railway Station

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Our morning jog today was along the Rail Corridor, ending at the Bukit Timah Railway Station. She didn’t want to sit in the stroller anymore after the 4km mark, so I had to let her out to walk.

She didn’t dare to walk on the tracks. And she really liked being in the railway cart. She was busy banging on the metal seat! But we couldn’t stay too long inside cos it was a public holiday and the Rail Corridor was packed; we had to leave the cart after a while to let others go in to take photos. Okay will be back next time again!

7.87kg

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Went for her 15 month vaccination yesterday. She did not cry when vaccinated, but cried when her height and weight was taken.

Her height is 75.7cm, weight is 7.87kg, and head circumference is 46cm. She is 3rd percentile in weight, so definitely needs to take in more calories!

Bits and Pieces of April 2024

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Pretty morning as seen from my window, on a random work/school day this month.

Got a rice ball maker, made a few rounds of rice balls for Kate. She eats but doesn’t eat to much, so not super worth the effort to make it for her.

T’s classmates gave K some random cut up can (T is acting as a middleman in some penpal like exchange). K in turn gifted back a crushed ball of A4 paper with some math working. Lol!

I tidied up the car boot! It’s still chock full of random things, cos I only tidied and didn’t throw.

Kate has her first scooter! It’s a micro mini scooter that is supposed to grow with her all the way till she’s 6. Hope it’s well built enough to last for so many years.

Elementum

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Took her for a short jog this morning. We checked out the new play area at the Bouna Vista street of the Rail Corridor, right next to the Elementum building. It’s new and nice! But not age appropriate for her, so these were the only two things she could play with.

She enjoyed waking through a path with plenty of flowers and she enjoyed touching the flowers! She touched them so gently! I don’t know their names, but she touched orange and yellow and purple ones.

Shots from school, April 2024

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First week of April. She is consuming less of her own baby cereal to eat the school breakfast instead. Most of the time, I see 馒头 on her food records. Or maybe that’s the only school breakfast that she eats.

Second week of April. She snacks on the way to school, with either her baby bites or a quarter of a chia wrap (that T, K, and me eat for breakfast). She also snacks on the way home when she gets picked up too late, with either her baby bites (if I’m driving) or cheerios (if I’m walking/taking a bus with her home).

Third week of April. Her schedule went berserk this week because I had several work dinners that ended late. I sometimes picked her up early from school so I could feed her before I headed out again. She ended up sleeping around 10am on two nights while waiting for me to be home.

Fourth week of April. KL fetched her on quite a few days because I was on course and ended late. She is learning to imitate more facial expressions now. She frowns at times (when taking photos, lol!) and blinks at times!

Snaps from the week

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Sitting on the bus, on the way home from school.

Trying to get me to buy a box of biscuits. She randomly picked it from the shelves, but it happens to be something her bros eat.

Nibbling a chicken cutlet that her 婆婆cooked.

Her favourite book for the week is a library book on dogs (hiding among other animals). She dropped the book on my lap and tried to point out where the cat was on the page.

So tired

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On Sunday, I took her out with me for a jog in the morning. For some reason, she didn’t nap well after that. She remained tired the whole afternoon. Didn’t eat well, fussed a lot. After her dinner and milk, she promptly fell asleep on the wooden platform in the living room. Lol!

Staycay

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One day staycay cos of an office function. The accommodation was nice! And I didn’t have to hurry through dinner to travel home to feed Kate.

All three of them enjoyed the staycay. For Kate, she spent quite a bit of time hanging around in the kids room. She doesn’t like the ball pit though. She also enjoyed her baths in the big bathtub. For T, he slept well in a hideaway corner in the room and he really enjoyed the breakfast. For K, he spent an hour in the gym (close to midnight!) and caught up on more than 10 hours of sleep cos no one woke him up till way after lunch.

Happy 17th Birthday!

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K turned 17 this month! On his birthday, he had a quick lunch with us and a quick song/candle/jelly moment. We didn’t get to do anything else with him cos his friends booked him for the day. He hung out with them and stayed out till midnight. Glad that he’s enjoying his life right now. He likes going to school, like his classmates, likes the subjects he’s taking, and even likes his CCA. Awesome possum!

I drew his card and it was supposed to be a chic blue and white cover. But 可可 could not stand it not having any colour, so she spent a while adding colour, hearts, and stars to it, lol!

Onlooker play

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She likes to look at other older children play in the playground. Apparently there’s a term for this – onlooker play.

I let her go shoe-free in the playground sometimes. So easier for her to climb up the slide safely without slipping.

Mid week break

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Mid week break with Hari Raya on Wednesday. Yeah to public holidays! Don’t have to go to school and work.

Kate woke up early as usual. She was stealing bites off my fruit box. She is eating v little these days, and still prefers fruits more than mains.

She spent a lot of time playing with T at home. Only T was at home cos K was out last night and most of today.

Kate has co-sleeping with me for months. She wakes up many times a night still. Just so that we can get better quality sleep, I am trying to transit her back to her own little bed (converted from her cot). So after nursing her, I put her back in there. There’s a hole for her to crawl in/out on her own when she awake.

She loves to see what’s happening outside when she hears the neighbour uncle doing his woodwork in the corridor.

Where have the naps gone?

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Having problems getting her to nap this weekend. She took only a 30 min cap nap and wanted to play the whole day. Gor gor was nice, indulged her by pushing her on top the redmart box. She was only too happy to be pushed around the living room…

Chocolate chip cookies

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Jotting down Kate’s recent allergic reactions.

Last Sunday, I baked chocolate chip cookies. Used some cookie mix from the supermarket, then added butter, eggs, oat flour, flaxseed, chia, and nutritional yeast. It was supposed to be a batch of lactation cookies for myself. She was interested to try. I didn’t stop her from eating. She ate two small bites. She started scratching her face, fussed a bit, had a milk feed, and went to nap after that. Woke up from her nap at 30 min mark to puke the cookie bits she ate, her entire milk feed and some undigested bits of her lunch. We fed her water and she puked the water out, twice. She was okay about 2 hours later. Had half a cup of corn for her dinner.

A month ago, she did take a few sips of fresh milk and reacted the same way. Her eczema was itchy, she fussed a bit, but didn’t puke immediately. Went to nap, and woke up from her nap earlier than usual to cough and puke everything out.

Updates from school

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Messy mop of hair. Must have just woken up from a nap.

The school continues to leave “artwork” in her school bag, that are really just random blobs of paint like the one you see above. Lol!

Totally looks like she’s having fun hanging out with a friend at school!

Bits and Pieces in March 2024

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Doing at least one lunch run a week now. Weather is scorching hot nowadays, so can’t run too far. This was me trying to catch up with another colleague along the really steep Vigilante Drive.

Baked lactation cookies for myself in March. Kate took two bites, then had an allergic reaction about 30 min later (more on that in another post).

My mum cooked chicken rice over the weekend. Rice was nice! Plating was so pro too!

My fitness challenge for myself this year is to attempt a full marathon. Signed up for KL StanChart. Will be running with my uncle!

Super pleased with my Yole desert the other day! They have plant based chocolate flavoured yoghurt now, shall go try the next time I pass by the store!

K is starting to get more homework from school. Saw him attempting a Computing assignment the other day.