Don’t Temper With Me!

I think I am beginning to show signs that I will be capable of expressing a huge temper when I grow up. Whenever I am not fed in time (ie within 15 seconds from my first wail), I can let go a crying temper tantrum will my face turns coal black. Sometimes, I even still maintain my temper and crying with the bottle stuffed into my mouth (just for the heck of it…hee hee..) When I’m black, everyone better pick up the slack!

On top of that, I have also discovered that whenever I cry (for food, attention, or just for fun), and if I perfectly synchronize holding my breath all at once, my face will very quickly turn blue. This of course would cause Mama to be very worried.

So I am still learning not to mis-use this gift. For I know that with great powers come great responsibility…;-D

srepaiD no esreveR

I keep hearing the adults saying that once the baby comes out, he will bring new challenges to the life of Papa and Mama. True enough…now that I have started to become more comfortable sleeping turtle back, I have introduced yet another challenge to the adults.

You see in this position, I will have a higher probability of wetting the bed. So much more so if I was wearing Mamy Poko brand. Although this brand is really strong and good in absorbing my liquids (disclaimer: I’m not advertising here), it has a rather strange design on the front being lower compared to the back. Sure, it looks more fashionable but it also means my mattress is gonna get dirty more often!

So one day, Mama tried to put on these diapers on reverse for me, with the bum side covering my crown jewels in front and the sexier and shorter bikini brief front covering my poopinating bum. Worked rather well I may add, but I could see how tough it must be for Mama to put on those diapers in reverse for me….hee hee…;-p

One funny episode came during one of these reverse diaper experiments when I suddenly switched to my poopinator mode and (ahem..). Well, let’s just say the aftermath is too messy to describe and it involved lots towels…

Blood and Needles (BAN)

After numerous trips to hospitals and clinics, I have decided that two things that I don’t really like when I’m there would be blood and needles. It should be BANned.

I have faced them too many times that I cared to even remember. Since Day 1 when they poked my heel to do some baby test…and then a few days later I was poked again for the jaundice test…and then again for another jaundice test. I think I now understand why even adults don’t like needles…

However, my worst BAN experience was the night when I reached Sitiawan. It was getting pretty late when Papa and Mama decided to take me to see the doctor to check on my jaundice. Since it was going to be a simple blood test, they took me to a Government hospital in Manjung. O what a nightmare it turned out to be.

Papa and Mama were asked to leave the lab where they would do the blood test. If you thought getting poked in the heel was bad enough, the staff nurses at this hospital made things worse. They actually took blood from the veins on my hand! And that’s not the last of it. I think they took enough blood to run experiments for days! I’m sure I didn’t sign up to donate blood that night. My bloodied mittens left Papa and Mama speechless and I don’t think they will bring me back there again. ;-D

Ninja Turtle (Back)

I achieved a significant progress (well, to me anyway) in my sleeping pattern a day after my full moon celebration when I managed to independently turn myself turtle back during my naps to sleep with my back facing upwards.

Feels kinda comfy this way. Hmmm. Think I shall stick to this posture for some time. The adults have tried to put me down to sleep upwards but I stood, err, laid firm that I wanted to sleep turtle back.

Sniff sniff…hmmm…when was the last time my bed sheet was washed…?

One Month Milestone

Mama took me to see the PD yesterday to do a follow-up check on my jaundice and the first of many jabs to come since my birth.

Good old doc said my jaundice is subsiding already so there was nothing to worry about. Didn’t quite like my renewal of acquaintance with the needle but the doc said it was a necessary jab for all babies after the first month. Necessary jab? Yeah right. Good thing I didn’t see the doc at my first moon celebration. Grrr… ;-p

My statistics after about one month and a week to the good:

Length: 56 cm (hmmm…need to do more stretching then)
Head: 37.5 cm (oh no! only a 0.5cm expansion from my last check-up?!!)
Weight: 4.4 kg (alright! Getting rounder and rounder by the minute!)

Hair update: The hair on my back is starting to really drop off…hope this is not an early sign of balding!! Yelp..

I Did It My Way

When it comes to feeding, life as a baby doesn’t get any better. Just make some noise and the adults will come scurrying to you. You will get fed almost immediately, and you don’t even have to clean up after that! Most of the time, a cradle or a song will be thrown in as a bonus too.

But there are days when I’m more hungry than usual, I may get too carried away and start to wanna hold the bottle myself and feed myself at my preferred speed. My act of independence is beginning to catch the eyes of the adults so I think I better start to control myself better. Don’t wanna lose my feeding privileges anytime soon.

The Full Moon Chronicles

(warning: long-winded journal ahead)

My full moon lunch celebration had already been arranged at 12.30pm at Palace Restaurant, Hotel Excelsior Ipoh on 22 March 2008. The small gathering would only consist of three tables of immediate families and close relatives.

As early as 9.00am, Papa, Mama, Ah Por and Ah Mai were busy getting ready for the short travel up from Sitiawan to Ipoh for this celebration. I was punctually given my bath, which was much longer than usual (hmmm…benefits of a one moon in rank, perhaps…), powdered up and dressed up in a smart-looking green collared outfit. It was about 10.30am when Mama proceeded to feed me one round before we started our journey. I caught a glimpse of several other bottles of Mama’s goodness being packed as well so I wasn’t too worried.

We were already more than half an hour behind time when we left the house in Sitiawan about a quarter past 11.00am. Sure, blame it on the baby…*sulks*

The ride up to Ipoh was quite smooth except for some rain which fell in stretches. It was an almost perfect condition to sleep, which I did, for close to an hour. Felt like having a snack as we approached Ipoh so I started wailing. Eveready Mama pulled out a warmed bottle of milk and fed me till we reached the hotel.

I have to admit I was really in a daze when I was carried into the room filled with complete strangers greeting and smiling at me whilst congratulating Papa and Mama. Am I truly related to these people? How did these gold bling blings get around my neck and ankle? Gosh, my world just got bigger. So many aunties and uncles and cousins I need to take note of. Sure hope my brain continues to expand…wanted to get some tips from Ethan Koko on how to memorise all these faces but he seemed preoccupied that afternoon.

Everyone there were looking so happy and excited to see me I just could not contain myself too. So I decided announce my arrival with the biggest poop-explosion to date. This happened seconds before the waitresses brought out the food, so Papa and Mama had to scoot me off to a nearby room to attend to me. So big was this explosion that I had literally pooped downwards (as usual) AND upwards - staining the upper-part of the body, including my nice green outfit. Hey, don’t ask me to explain why my poop didn’t follow the law of gravity, OK? Fortunately, ever-planning Papa had brought another fresh new outfit for me to wear after the massive clean-up operation.

When we returned to the table, most of the dishes were already halfway through so I didn’t have the chance to post some photos here. Anyhow, when I found out what they were serving, I didn’t want to post anything about the food too. You see, here we have a celebration for me (!) and the adults are treating themselves to rice with lemon fried chicken, braised pork leg in groundnut sauce, some green vegetables, watercress soup, mantis prawn in oats, some steamed fish and finished off with dessert of peanut soup and pancakes. And all poor me had was, (drumroll), milk…Sigh.

Seeing all this, I thought I might as well get some shut eye first. Little did I know, I was cradled around by different different hands during that time, being paraded here and there, and photos taken too. After about the hundredth snap and flash that I heard, I woke up a little annoyed and hungry, which led to my next feed.

By then, almost everyone had filled their stomachs and started to say goodbye to me before leaving. Everyone also took home a full moon package consisting of the angkus, red eggs and yellow glutinous rice with curry chicken. And all I took home was milk…

Anyway, barring the unfairness of food distribution, I truly enjoyed myself and am really honoured to have so many close relatives (from as far as Alor Setar, Penang and Sitiawan) making their journey to have a up close and personal view of cute lil’ me .;-D With the type of feast they had, I'm sure all the adults enjoyed themselves too.

A double thank you thank you to my Chor-Chor who made the effort to come. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. You certainly look so happy from this photo that I just had to put it up here. Thank you Chor-Chor for making my full moon celebration truly memorable! ;-D

Moonracker

Apologies for the late blog entry, but would you believe it….I am one moon old already!! Surpassed this milestone a few days ago by celebrating all night long without sleeping for more than 12 hours straight! A party animal in the making I’m sure.

Anyway, Papa and Mama will be organizing a small lunch gathering for me in Ipoh to celebrate my first moon celebration. Apparently, it is quite a big thing to celebrate whenever these moon things comes along. Ah Ma has already helped to identify the venue and sending out invitations and all already. Golly, I’m feeling excited already.

I will have full details of my full moon celebration in my next entry.

Till then, let me savor the feeling of achieving my first moon…and certainly looking forward to racking up more moons and more celebrations in the future. ;-D

Poop Machine

I think that should be the leading candidate of choice for my early nickname. Not that I should be proud of it but to tell the truth, I just can’t help it!

So far, I have managed to poop on the changing mat, wet wipes, napkins, towels, pants, rompers, and other things that I can’t even see. Hey, I don’t have eyes down there OK?!

However, I think one of my key milestones of my pooping triumphs would be a few days ago when Ah Por had just given me a bath and was about to put some powder on my backside. Apparently I have some rash down there too. Anyway, she was using this cotton puffy thingy dabbed with powder (alike those make up powder kits) and had already started to powder me when yours truly let out an explosion right smack into the cotton puffy thingy.

Ha ha…that is definitely one funny episode. Ha ha..;-D

P/s no pictures for this blog sorry....too gory..;-D

New Furniture

I found out yesterday that even countries go through renovation every now and then. What I heard was that our Government did some renovation yesterday by bringing in some new furniture and immediately announced about it for everyone to view.

Some older pieces of wood were not kept or returned; some were recycled into other types of mantelpieces; quite a number of new furniture additions were exported from East Malaysia (I hear they have good balak over there). Overall, the new furniture sports newer designs – one that is more trimmer and slimmer.

My only furniture is my cot and cupboard full of baby clothes. Ah well, no renovation for me anytime soon, I guess. ;-D

Pose of the Day

Dial CRY for Cradle

Usually I will feel sleepy and satisfied after my feed but for the past few days, I seem to have developed a knack for wanting something more. Yup, the adults have discovered that it isn’t so easy to drop me off in my basket to sleep right after a meal. I guess it must be a part of my baby phase to demand for an incentive to coo me to sleep.

So now, my every feed must be followed by someone cradling me. If not I shall refuse to go to sleep and deny everyone rest with my crying and wailing.

Yet another privilege of babyhood membership discovered. ;-D

Longer Baths, Please?

Is there a restriction to how long a baby should be given a bath? That’s my major grouse today.

I enjoy my bath times. I really do! Even though I am stark naked and cold, these daily bath sessions is something I look forward to everyday. And the best part of the session is when Ah Por puts me into the baby bath tub filled with warm water. Whoa….that is life. The comfiness, the rush, the relaxation. Now I think I could even sleep in here.

Only problem is that just when I was starting to get comfortable in the bath tub of warm water, I am pulled out, clothed up, fed in and put into the basket. Sigh. I wonder why. I tried to cry my way back to the warmth of the water but to no avail.

HHmmmmph. Fine. I shall accept that the adults rule for now cos they have the shampoo in their hands. I can’t wait to get my very own Jacuzzi so I can soak myself silly then

Burps of Joy

As a baby, I am starting to learn a lot of good habits. For example, burping after meals have constantly brought me joy of knowing unwanted air is removed from my fragile body. It also ensures my nutritious milk goes IN and not OUT.

The way I am burped after every meal also makes me look like a samurai with my eyes pushed diagonally upwards. Many of these adults may think it looks funny but it can be quite uncomfortable at times.

I also notice many adults also like to experience these burps of joy. Hmmmm. So either I have picked up an adult habit at my tender age, or adults can’t let go of their baby habits. ;-D

Growth Progress

My diet thus far has been healthy Mama’s milk. And since my second week, my intake has been hovering around 3.5 ounces. Of course, if I cry a bit more, I will be promptly given another half ounce more. Cry a bite more again will get me another half ounce more. Ahhh…the wonders of being a baby. ;-D

Of course, I have to measure my cries too because if I cry too much, my parents will probably take me to the clinic liao.

A week plus after my birth, I have proudly crossed the 3.5kg mark in weight! And during my latest clinic visit, the scale displayed 3.9kg. Hope to catch up to role-model Papa real soon! Of course, my weight was taken with my diapers on so there could have been a possibility of measuring extra erm, liquids…. ;-p

My head was also measured and it is now at 37cm. That’s an increase of 4 cm of brain in 3 weeks! Yay! At this rate, I calculate that I would be able to challenge Papa in chess even before the year is over! ;-D

It Never Seems to End!

Almost immediately after my jaundice subsided, I developed some rashes on my body. Sigh. One after another. Thank God it’s only a mild one. Wonder what’s next. Sure is tough being a baby.

And then Mama took me to see the doctor yesterday, who took my blood (again!) for testing. Results came back with the doctor mumbling something like 15.6…..not really sure what that means but it sure sounds higher that 12.5 during my last test for jaundice. The good news is that the doc said the results shows that I’m not in the danger zone so there isn’t much to worry. Don’t know the meaning of danger zone but I sure would like to stay clear from it! Sigh…it never seems to end!

I have noticed things like these usually tend to make the parents worry most. Me? I call it character development. ;-p

I Miss Papa!

It’s been more than a week since I last saw Papa. After fetching both Mama and myself back to Sitiawan for Mama’s confinement, Papa went back to KL to resume something called work. Must be something important too becos he’s left my sight for more than a week already.

Three things I miss about Papa:

1. Poop-cleaning skills
2. Sleep-cradling hold (wonder if it is a variation of the sleeper hold from WWE?)
3. Funny faces

Heard from Mama that Papa will be coming to see me this weekend! Yay! I’m counting the days Papa! Err…as soon as Mama teaches me how to count first! ;-D

Astrobaby

Papa told me about some Angkasawan project that took place last year where a Malaysian was sent to space for research purposes. The hero is now back home on Earth, and is believed to be going around the country sharing his experiences and also promoting science and space studies. Sounds really cool, eh? With this kind of euphoria, I think I also want to become an astrobaby. And the signs are pretty good.

You see, after all the powerful undies were counted (and probably recounted a few times more) last Saturday night, all the adults and that squarish box with colourful lights and sounds were abuzz with the shock results. I couldn’t really understand everything that was going on but all I could gather was this:

Government remains with the weighing scale thingy
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (luckily for me only got 5 fingers on one hand to count with) states will have rockets and moons in control, including the states I’m from.

And that’s all I needed to know. With rockets and moons, I think my chances of becoming an astrobaby is pretty high. ;-D

Powerful Undies

The adult world is really confusing. Come tomorrow (8 March 08), I hear that many adults will be queing up to throw their undies into tongs that will determine the leadership and governance of our country. Other words that have been commonly linked to the big day tomorrow like ‘bersih’, ‘rolls’, ‘smear’, ‘rosak’, ‘P’, etc. only gives me further proof that the elections is not so much different than a toilet episode!

After hearing what Papa & Mama said about prices of babystuff getting more expensive these days, all my baby mind can hope for is that whoever wins tomorrow better do something to reduce the prices of diapers, milk, wipes and petrol (note: Papa made me write that).

Wow. Till today, I had no idea how powerful undies can be. Can’t wait to grow outta my diapers for undies so that I can be a part of choosing my country leaders too.

Happy Voting Malaysia! ;-D

Colicky Collin

C-O-L-I-C. Colic. Funny. For a word that isn’t too far off from my name, the feeling sure isn’t very funny.

Mama thinks I may have colic for the past few days. You see, I have been crying more often than usual, even after feeding. The adults are now trying to soothe me with baby oil and other stuff. Sure hope the extra air goes out soon, err..in the right manner, of course. ;-D

Update: much better already since yesterday. ;-D Can feed back to normal...yum yum..;-)

Doggie Pals

I would have expected our house dogs to be barking at a stranger like me when I went home for the first time. Surprisingly, both of them greeted me like we have been family for years.

Maybe cos all three of us do have some things in common. Let me see - we pee a lot, we poop a lot, we eat a lot, and we all know how to howl when we want attention. ;-D. Ahh…it always feels good to have good doggie pals.

However, Papa tells me that many baby books that he read warns that newborns should be best kept away from pets with fur like dogs and cats. So I guess we shall only be able to play catch some moons and months later, OK?

Cheers to you both – Rotti and Messi. ;-)

0183

The numbers represent the last four digits of my IC.

On the fourth day after I was born, eager beaver Papa went to Putrajaya on my behalf to register my birth certificate and MyKid (which can only be collected about a month later).

Why did those numbers make this blog? Becos the numbers are exactly the same as the house address number Mama used to live in as a baby and kid in KL. Freaky, eh?

My 2-Week Roadtrip

People say it isn’t good for a newborn to be traveling around too much. Not sure why but I sure have been like some rebel goin’ places in only my first two weeks! A brief chronology of events detailing my travels till today.

Day 1 – Delivered in Cheras, KL
Day 3 – Discharged; travel home to Balakong.
Day 5 – Travel to Cheras for checkup; Admitted for jaundice treatment
Day 7 – Discharged; travel back home to Balakong.
Day 8 – Travel to Ipoh
Day 9 – Travel to Menglembu; stranded – car broke down.
Day 12 – Travel to Sitiawan – finally!

Don’t think I’ll be traveling anywhere far soon – perhaps during my full moon celebration…yay....(shhh...keep it down..)

My Grandmas Love Me!

I am very privileged to have two very loving grandmas who have been a regular feature beside me since I was born.

Ah Ma (Papa’s Mama) came down to KL on my Day 4 to help cook some dishes for Mama and look after me. She followed us back to Ipoh on Day 8 after I had been discharged from jaundice treatment. Ah Ma is a real pro at cradling and singing babies like me to sleep. ;-)

That was when Ah Por (Mama’s Mama) came to see me too. Ah Por is currently helping Mama to look after me during her month of confinement as well as cook dishes for her.
Ah Por is a real pro when it comes to bathing me – by not getting herself wet in the process. Whoa…;-)

Thank you Ah Ma and Ah Por! I love you both!!

Seeing Double

One of Mama’s colleague mentioned that the name Collin sounds international. Wow…really like that comment. ;-P. And I’m really glad Papa & Mama chose my Collin with 2 Ls instead of the more common Colin (with single L).

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that everyone at home also has a double alphabet in their names! I may be young but I’ve noticed Papa’s name has 2 Ls (Allan), Mama’s has 2 Es (Pei Gee), and both our dogs too (Rotti and Messi)

Is that a double chin I see in the mirror?! Gasp! I hope not!

Tummy Belt

At my young age, I’m already starting to experience the spills and thrills of road trips. When we were in Ipoh last week, we stopped over at my Uncle Suan Sing’s house in Menglembu to pick up Ah Por to leave for Sitiawan. When Papa had parked his car inside the house porch, the car made some noise and then just shut down.

The mechanic that came over said it was a tummy belt issue and it would take a couple of days to fix. I never knew cars also wore tummy belts. Maybe I should feed more and more so that I don’t have to wear a tummy belt too.

This tummy belt episode left me stranded in my third house in a week before leaving for my fourth house!

Do I look more like Mama or Papa?

Apart from the typical “So cute” and “Shhhh…he’s sleeping” phrases, one of the most frequently asked questions in my first week is who do I look like more.

Well, the safe answer would be that all babies look the same, so I also don’t really know yet. However, upon closer observations and using CSI-honed instincts, one may actually see that I have tried my best to take a bit from both my parents. See what a good son I already am at this age!

From Mama: Hair on my head (I’m not botak…yay!), sharp high nosed feature, distinct eyebrow

From Papa: Trademark chin, fair skin complexion

Gimme a few more months and I’ll tell you who I look like more, OK?

Sleeping Perfectionist

I have heard Mama saying that she is someone who loves to sleep a lot a lot but has the ability to wake up when needed. On the contrary, Papa is someone who doesn’t need much sleep but once he dozes off, it will be quite a challenge to get him to wake up.

Guess what? I have decided to pick up both their ‘good’ habits – now I love to sleep and sleep and sleep but is not easily woken up.

Bad news then for Papa & Mama…

Join This and That

When I came back to the hospital on 23 Feb for my first PD checkup, the whites of my eyes had already slightly turned yellow and was immediately checked and diagnosed with jaundice. My billy ribbon count level was already at 252, which was considered on the high side for a newborn like me. Nevertheless, everybody around me seems to say it is so common in babies these days.

This of course led to me being admitted together with Mama for phototherapy and observation. Ahh…it was my first experience of upclose and personal sunbathing. Now if only the nurses could have replaced those ‘batman’ cotton eyemasks with cool shades, I would really look like one suave baby!

I was discharged together with Mama after two days when my count was down to 192.

19

Somehow I notice Papa seems to be very happy that I was born on the 19th.



Perhaps the picture below is the reason. Hmmm…

Evan Almighty!

Ha ha…yeah, I sure hope to able to use that in a sentence one day…ha ha. Anyway, when it came to the selection of my Chinese characters, Papa & Mama sought the help of Mama’s parents to choose a suitable Yi and Wen character for me.

After a thoughtful and careful process of a few days (thank you Ah Por and Ah Kung), they came up with my Yi and Wen characters, as shown in the image above.

Yi means firm, resolute, determined (as in Yi Li)

Wen means suave, elegant, refined, cultivated (as in Wen Hua)

Personally, I think being resolute and suave sure sounds good for my days ahead!

How my name came about...

Papa & Mama explained to me that the task of coming up with my name took months and months of browsing through name books, getting suggestions from family and friends and even consulting a Chinese pastor to be in Singapore!

Anyway, three names were shortlisted – Evan, Benjamin and Collin. After a few more weeks of shouting my name (hey, I can hear from inside Mama’s tummy, you know) a thousand times everyday, Papa & Mama decided that Benjamin was quite a mouthful – so that left Evan and Collin. Both were too nice to drop so they decided to keep both, that is by making one of them my Chinese name. Since Evan in Chinese (Yi Wen) sounded nicer, the tentative draft was set – Collin Cheah Yi Wen.

For the curious cats, meaning of Evan from www.thinkbabynames.com :
The boy's name Evan \e-van\ is pronounced EV-an. It is of Welsh origin. Variant of a Gaelic name anglicized as John (Hebrew) "the Lord is gracious". In Celtic, the name means "young warrior". In Welsh, it means "God is Good". It is also used as a short form of Evangelos, which means "good messenger" in Greek. In Hebrew, Evan means "rock". See also Evian.

Will write more about my Chinese name later. Feeding time. Yummy.

Collin is my name!

For whatever reason, I have been given the name Collin Cheah Yi Wen by my Papa and Mama. Must make note to ask them how they came up with this name. Ah well, I guess I can live it. Better than Diego or Ronaldo, right? Mama doesn’t seem to like those names. ;-P

Did some basic research on my name and this is an extract of it, taken from www.thinkbabynames.com :

The boy's name Collin \c(ol)-lin\ is pronounced KAH-lin. It is of Scottish origin. Variant of Colin, which is of Irish, Scottish and Gaelic origin, and its meaning is "young creature". Diminutive form of the medieval name Col or Colle, a short form of Nicholas (Greek) "people of victory". In Scotland, it has been used as an Anglicized form of Cailean (Gaelic), popular among the Campbells and the MacKenzies.

Collin has 2 variant forms: Collen and Collins. Baby names that sound like Collin are Colwin and Cullin. Secretary of State Colin Powell; actors Colin Farrell, Colin Firth. Colin has 6 variant forms: Cailean, Colan, Col, Cole, Colle and Colyn. Baby names that sound like Colin are Colwin, Calan, Cailin, Collen, Colwyn, Cullin, Galin, Glin and Kalin.

Collin is a common male first name and a very popular surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census).

Hello World!

“Hello world!”

Wowee. My very own blog. Kewl. Apologies for the delay but it took me two weeks to pick up on my typing skills. So I will try my very best to recall my amazing journey in this world so far…

If my two-week old memory is accurate, I came out from my Mama’s tummy on 19 Feb 2008 in Hospital Pantai Indah, KL. It was a Tuesday morning, 9.51am to be accurate. (clock was directly above my head…heh.). The wait wasn’t too long as my strong Mama managed to push me out within an hour when the nice looking doctor told her to start pushing. My Papa said that he never cried so much in his life before immediately after I was stashed in front of Mama. Don’t really know because my eyes were also full of tears at that time.

After the nurse jabbed my heels with some needles, I was measured left right center like some vegetable on sale. My height came up to 51cm and my head was recorded at 33cm. Sure hope my brain expands soon. 33cm sounds ridiculously small. Wait a minute..I’m just a baby..;-) After some wriggling on the scale, the nurse announced my weight as 3.26kg. Hope to grow fatter soon. My Papa can be a good role model here. ;-)