"He is humming"

Started few months ago, I let Fidel listens songs at home or in the car. I noticed that he starts singing, more to humming when he watches the children video program (“I Can Speak Mandarin") – they play, learn, read rhymes, and sing songs together. He enjoy the story so much and sometimes he laughs and claps hands when he hears the rhymes.

One day I was in the kitchen while he was watching the video, and I heard him humming to the songs though his tune was not right yet. He surprised me.

“Fidel, you are singing…. “ He looked at me and gave a smile and continue watching.

While three of us went out to church, hymn songs were played in the car, he enjoy the music and humming again.

“Listen, he is humming” I told my hubby. He looked at Fidel and smiled.

If he likes the music, he’ll move his body. You will see him shake his tummy up and down. And claps his hands when the music stop.

Re-train Fidel

Three weeks ago when Fidel was sick and didn’t want to eat for 4-5days, we decided to let him latch on me while he sleeps at night. Every time he woke up, I’ll offer him. Until he recovered, it became a habit. He wakes up quite many times in the middle of the night and will get back to sleep only when he gets the milk. When he wakes up, I would pretend sleeping and won’t bother him. Guess what he did… He did “self service” by pull-up my shirt and act like the milk is belong to him, and he would suck till sleep.

I told Joseph that we can’t let him go back to his bad habit—wakes up many times and need to latch-on only get back to sleep. So, we decided to let him sleep with Joseph.

Then the training starts….

Fidel woke up at night and knew that the person slept next to him was not me, he cried. He cried for about 40minutes and fell asleep.

In the morning 05.30, I heard from the other room (when its training period, I sleep at other room) that he cried. I did send SMS to Joseph ask whether need me to go to the room. He said wait till 6 O’clock only give him milk. After cried, he gets back to sleep again.

When breakfast time, Joseph told me what happened at 5.30 - Fidel cried. Fidel woke up and pull-up Joseph’s shirt. He couldn’t find the breast, so he tried to touch and it was FLAT! (Hahahaha….) Suddenly Fidel cried so loud, because he knows there was no milk for him.

After few days sleeps with daddy, few times wakes up at night, he cries for few minutes. Slowly he knows that no more milk at night.

We are very happy that he doesn’t wake up anymore at night. If he wakes up, we don’t bother him, he will make noise (complaining) but he will go back to sleep again.

Finally, after one week, all of us can sleep through the night.

House On Fire!

Last Sunday, 25thOctober2009, two days ago, there was a fire at our 5th floor apartment.

That day almost 1 o’clock in the morning, I was in the toilet, I heard a man shouting in Hockian dialect and I don’t really understand what that man shouted about. I thought people get drunk, quarreled and fought, which sometimes happen at our apartment. I heard a breaking glass sound too. I thought it must be a serious fighting!

I went out from the toilet and smelled something was burning, and the living room was smoky. I guessed I know what that man was shouting about. I ran to the room and woke Joseph up, asked him to go out and check whether it was fire out there. Then he went out to check.

While waiting for him, the burning smell was getting stronger. Close my room where Fidel was sleeping there so that the smoke won’t go in to the room. I went out from the house and looked downstairs, the smoke was too thick, and I couldn’t see anything.

I ran back to the house and made a call to a fire department but somebody has made a call earlier than me. I became panic and keep thinking what I should take. Important documents, birth certificates, laptops? I grabbed a bag and put few important folders in.

Joseph came back and asked us to go out from our apartment.

I asked him, “Need to bring these (pointing the bag which I packed)? Laptop? Anything?”

“No, no… Just go down. I didn’t see the fire, only a thick smoke. It won’t burn the whole apartment. We need to go down, because it’s not good to smell the smoke.”

I took a face towel and made it wet to cover Fidel’s face. Joseph carried Fidel and covered his face. Thought that it’s not so serious, we got down using the lift which actually we were not supposed to use the lift when got fire. Anyhow many people were inside the lift so we just follow. We saved energy instead of walk 12 floors down (because we leave at 12th floor).

When we reached ground floor, there were so many people with their pajamas, a very old woman sat on the floor while her daughter keep patting her shoulder, I guess this woman was shocked.

Joseph passed Fidel to me, he slept on my shoulder without bother anything.

There was 1 old couple injured. Their unit at 5th floor was fired. They couldn’t go out from the door while the smoke is too thick, they couldn’t breathe. The husband broke the room window, get out from the window and climb to the next neighbor balcony. The husband injured his hands and his wife was rescued and ran her to the hospital by the ambulance as she breathed too much smoke.

After waiting an hour at the ground floor and the fire brigade had checked that it’s safe, then we can get back to our apartment again. It’s almost 2a.m. Our house still got the burning smell. We opened all the windows and doors let the fresh air come in. Put Fidel on his bed, he didn’t wake up at all. How lucky he was…. Sleep with no worry, and know nothing.

I felt hungry… maybe because carried 8kg Fidel and stood for an hour. I cooked instant noodle for us. I thought we were ready to have a good rest until I went to wash my feet, I found that my feet were so black! Just remember that our house was full of smoke and it sticks to the floor. Oh no… Need to mop the floor before sleep? Sigh…

Finally we can go to our bed on 3a.m. after cleaning the house.

“Bed, here I come”

“What.... 6.30?? So fast!” I felt my head just touched the pillow, and now need to wake up, prepare breakfast, feed Fidel, cook his porridge and prepare to go to church as I’m the pianist for this Sunday service.

Thank God that I still can concentrate in playing the piano.

After church, we went for lunch and I went home. Must! My eyes can’t open anymore. Unfortunately, Joseph needs to stay back for a meeting at church.

“Bed, here I come again”

Fidel is Fully Recovered

Finally after 10days struggling with cough and cold, Fidel is fully recovered now. First 5 days when he was sick, I need to struggle with him many times in a day just to feed him the medicine. Hold him tight and use syringe pump the medicine into his mouth and he will cry very loud. One more thing that he didn't like to do was breath-in the gas/ventolin exohaler using a tool, called aero chamber. This one, I need to tight his whole body with a cloth/blanket. While breath-in, he struggled, screamed and cried. Sounds sadistic huh? No choice... For his own good. He cried loudly, I cried in my heart too.

We try to keep him familiar with the thing and the medicine by letting him play with those things and keep reminding him that it won't hurt him, and the medicine is sweet. Slowly he let us put the aero chamber and he behave very well. We almost couldn't believe how good Fidel is while taking the medicine. No struggle, no cry. Thank God, thank God! He answers our prayers.
One day when he woke up from his nap, I peeped from outside the room. He took the aero chamber and put on his face, pretended using it. I grab my camera and go in to the room, have few shots of him, and he ask me to do it for him. Oh dear... He is such a good boy.

"I think everything is ready here"

"Is it correct to insert this way?"

"Put the mask on your face like this, OK?"

"How come still can not go in?"

Thank you Lord for answering our prayers and healing my baby.

Thank you brothers and sisters for all your prayers and concerns to my little one.
May God bless everyone of us.

Fidel is Having Cough Again

Fidel(13months) has a serious cough and flu again last Wednesday(5days ago) and fever for three days. It has been 6months since he got the last serious cough. He didn’t want to eat any solid food. We tried to pursuit him, did some “trick”, and end up only 1-2scoops went into his mouth. He doesn’t like formula milk and hardly drink water. It makes us worry.

4days before sick

Sick Face (Day 5)

Thank God that He still provides breastmilk for him until now. So, I just let him latch on me the whole night. The next day he still had no appetite. Whole day eats only 4-5scoops for five days and he lost 0.5kg. Within 5days he lost 5months weight that he had gained.

Normally he will come to us when we eat something. Just call his name and show him the food, he will come. But this time, he will just walk away and close his mouth tightly. Offer him his favorite biscuit, usually eat one piece within a minute, this time takes 20minutes and not even finish one piece. Sigh…

We pray and pray that God will heal him and the most important is he wants to eat. We try not to worry so much as we keep praying.

God slowly answer our prayer, although he didn’t want to eat, he still want to drink water. And this evening in front of him I pretended eating my food which was actually his porridge, he looked at me and moves his lips, and he said,”Mam… mam-mam…” Oh dear… Thank you Lord! God answer the prayers. He opens his mouth and eats. If I scoop the food too slow, he couldn’t wait and shouts, “Maaaaam….”

“OK, OK baby….”Look like his appetite is back. One bowl of rice he finished this evening.

Till now, he still has cough and runny nose. Beside few medicines that he takes, we do nebulizer to him too. Hope he will recover soon.

Watching His Favorite Program

Every time I play this program (Fun Song Factory) for him, he feels happy and excited. He claps his hands and makes a little dance by moving his belly up and down. That time he was 11month-old.

Chickenpox At Our Church

Two weeks ago, seven person from the church I attend were attacked by Varicella Zoster – chickenpox virus. It attacked all kind of age, from toddlers till the old one.

Chickenpox is contagious, meaning that someone who has it can easily spread it to someone else. Someone who has chickenpox is most contagious after 2-3weeks since he or she got it, when the scabs are about to fall off.

A person who has chickenpox can pass it to someone else by coughing or sneezing. When he or she coughs, sneezes, laughs, and even talks, tiny drops come out of the mouth and nose. These drops are full of the chickenpox virus.Before you know it, the chickenpox virus has infected someone new.
The good news is that chickenpox is a common illness for kids and most people get better by just resting like you do with a cold or the flu. And the really good news is that, thanks to the chickenpox vaccine, lots of kids don't get chickenpox at all.

Usually the vaccine is given at age 1. But you can get it when you're older too. Kids, who do get it, if they got the shot, often get less severe cases, which means they get better quicker.

Fidel just had the CP vaccine last Wednesday as he is one year-old now and going to face CP virus at anytime and anyplace.