It’s Been A Week

It’s been a week since Luke has joined our family and everyone is in love with the little or rather, not so little man. Matt and I are still adjusting to being parents to 3 young children. At times it seems overwhelming especially trying to co-ordinate pick ups and drop offs, school runs and doctor appointments.

Ally and Max are still smitten with their brother, Max has really warmed up to him which is a great relief for me. It all happened one morning when he went to check on Luke. Suddenly he came running into the room exclaiming ” Luke smiled at me Mama! He smiled!”  and since then Max has been in love with his little brother. It’s great that it took so little to melt his heart.

Early Morning cuteness, and yes I know he's wearing a girl's romper, it was Ally's!

The First Week

We’ve been a family of 5 for about 4 days now and everyone is still adjusting. For me , sleep deprivation is the worst, Luke wakes up every 1 1/2 -2 hours during the night which means just as I am falling into a deep sleep, I’m awaken.

Ally adores her new brother, she is like a mother hen , constantly checking on him and lavishing him with kisses. Max on the other hand is slowly adapting. It’s not easy being the middle child, suddenly he’s no longer the baby and seems a bit lost and confused. He loves Luke and will occasionally come over to give him a kiss. But he’s also been testing our patience, losing his temper easily and being defiant. We know it’s the initial adjustment and hopefully he’ll get over this soon. I have to admit it’s hard to be patient with him at times, especially when my mind is in a haze from the lack of sleep.

From experience, I know the first two weeks are always the hardest. We’re not pass week 1 yet and so far I think we’re off to a pretty good start. * fingers crossed*

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

We had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Giraffe, as my due date drew closer, we made childcare arrangements, packed the bags…etc. Then the due date came and went, Giraffe was still warm and comfy in the womb. Finally , 8 days past my due date, Giraffe decided to make its appearance.

I can honestly say towards the end I was depressed and emotionally very tired. I was sick of everyone asking when the baby would arrive, I was sick of the constant back pains and I think most of all, I was upset that there was nothing I could do about the situation.

I had decided that we would opt for another natural birth without any pain medication. It was such a wonderful experience with Max. His birth was short and straightforward, compared to Ally’s it was a dream come true. On the day of Giraffe’s arrival, I walked into my doctor’s clinic, fat and unhappy. We discussed our options and decided that if nothing happened within the next 24 hours, we’ll talk about induction.

That evening we bought food home for the family and tucked the kids into bed at grandma’s. I was still feeling depressed that Giraffe wasn’t here so I decided to go to bed. Around 11pm my water broke so we headed to Mt Alvernia, Matt and I were still talking, excited to find out if Giraffe was a boy or a girl. We reached Mt Alvernia within 20 minutes and headed to the delivery suites.

Prior to this I had never thought of having a water birth. But once I got into the tub, the warm water was so soothing that I stayed in. Less than 2 hours later, Giraffe emerged, calm and quiet. Matt excitedly announced ” We have a boy!!”

Man did we have a boy, a BIG boy. At 3.75kg and 55cm long, Luke is our biggest child! I think he looks a lot like Max when Max was born. Luke obviously had his own time line, so far he is a really relaxed, chilled out little man. Ally is smitten with him while Max is slowly warming up to the idea of a baby in the family. I love having a newborn in my arms once again, nothing beats that lovely baby smell!

Luke George Kellady

Patience…..Patience

We are still a family of 4, this baby has decided that it will take it’s time to choose it’s own birthday. Due date has come and go and still no sign of baby. Ally’s getting anxious, she keeps asking when is the baby coming. I’m tired of people asking me the same question since I don’t have the answer myself.

In the meantime the waiting game continues, like they say, the best things in life are always worth waiting for.

Big As A Whale

Well, maybe not but I am getting there. The kids and I have been spending afternoons at home, mainly because I don’t really have the energy to go anywhere. I feel sorry for the kids being stuck at home but they don’t seem to mind.

Yesterday evening Matt took them down to ride their scooter and roller blade. They were so happy, I stayed home to take a long shower but I could hear their laughter and shrieks from the flat. They came home sweaty, smelly but oh so happy!

 

Learning Mandarin

I’m the first to admit that my mandarin is disgraceful. I made it through O levels with a C6 and can order food in a restaurant but that’s the extent of my vocabulary. We speak English at home, both my parents never learned Mandarin in school and were unable to help us. My brother fared better than I did, as I fell further and further behind, I disliked the language more and more.

I didn’t want Ally to struggle the same way I did, by the time my mom found me a tutor, the love for the language was long gone. It was something alien to me that I was forced to learn. Now that Ally has shown a keen interest, I decided to sign her up for Berries to sustain that interest.

When we first spoke to her about it, she was teary and very hesitant. She didn’t like the fact that she had to attend class alone and it took awhile to get her used to the idea. I felt like I was bullying her into it but knew we had to perserver for her own good.

Today was her first class, we spoke about it briefly after school and I reassured her that I would be right outside her classroom. We are so incredibly lucky that there was only one other boy in her class, this made it less daunting for her. Secondly , her teacher was very soft spoken but firm which Ally took to immediately. I liked her teaching style and truly appreciated the feedback that she gave at the end of the class.

As we suspected, her comprehension is way below K1 standard. Her teacher says with some home coaching she should be able to catch up as she’s very enthusiastic to learn. I was so proud of her for overcoming her fear about being alone. She looked like she really enjoyed herself and was singing and dancing along when I looked in. We’ve signed her up for a term and will most likely continue with it. I really hope that these classes will boost her confidence to speak Mandarin more.

 

Ally Is Reading

A few weeks ago Ally had a reading assessment in school and the teacher told us that she could read. We were kind of surprise because we haven’t actively coached her with her reading. Grandma is the only one who has been patient enough to go through her Peter and Jane books but even then it’s done as and when Ally expresses interest. I did notice that she has been pointing out signs and asking us what they meant.

Her school has a really good reading program, children are assessed and graded according to their ability. Each week during library day, they get to take home a reader according to their reading level. The teacher sits down one on one with each child to listen to that child read and makes notes in their reading book. Parents are asked to continue with the reader at home and to jot down comments or questions.

Right now Ally is reading at level 1 which is the most basic. By the third day, she knew her reader and all the words in it so we went to the library to borrow more books. Right now she is getting by with reading those thick board books meant for babies. The font sizes are nice and big and there are pictures to help her along with the words. She has really picked up quite quickly and we’re so proud of her. I really hope that she’ll grow up to love reading like I do.

The Home Stretch

The lack of updates all boil down to one simple reason, I’ve been lazy! Now that we’re in the home stretch awaiting G’s arrival, the kids and I spend most afternoons at home. I’m not in the mood to take them out and they seem contented playing with their toys. This usually results in cabin fever by Wednesday, both of them would be driving each other and me up the walls. That’s when I know we all need to get out for some fresh air.

Besides staying home I have been honing my referee skills. There is constant bickering between the two, sometimes from the moment they get up. If it’s early on in the day I still have the patience to explain, cajole and pacify the both of them. By late afternoon my patience would have begun to wear thin and this would now become my standard reply to ” Mama! ____ did this! _____ pushed me!”   I would turn around and say ” if no one is bleeding or injured, sort it out between yourselves, I don’t want to hear any more whining or complaining, do you hear me?!”

Ah, the words of a sleep deprived , hormonal and highly irritable mother.

I marvel at the moms who seem to have endless patience, who always answer their children sweetly even when their child has asked the same question for the 100th time. I was obviously not born with that sort of saintly patience.

The countdown to G’s arrival has begun, as Ally announced this morning ” Mama, soon there will be 3 monkeys in the house!”  One can only imagine what life would be like then!