My exploration in life… (diary for baby!)

We’re officially four days and almost halfway into RACHEL’s episode of HFMD (Day 1 was the night of discovery, according to her medical certificate).  She has been an angel of a child in this period, really.  It just pains me further to have her couped up in our room and send FELIX into my mother’s to prevent contact among them.  We hope that this will reduce the chance of the spread of the virus to FELIX…

She has been generally lethargic these couple of days and been very cooperative to our instructions.  She hasn’t cried too much about wanting to run out of the room, but it does pain me to have to just ‘force’ her to stay inside…

We were told that the last few days of her carrying the virus was a little more contagious and people (children) around her will be more susceptible to getting it.  I hope that the virus will just die from there.  Anyway, I’ll be around then as this week is my last week that I’m officially needed back in school.  Have been on leave on Monday and today.  Will be popping in tomorrow for a while for my department’s presentation for some project and be in school for Friday.

I do feel somewhat stressed by the many events that take place around me since getting married.  I am trying my hardest to cope with things that happen while not neglecting and disappointing my wife and children, who need me most…  =(

Sigh - the feared disease must become inevitable.  RACHEL had fever since Saturday and we discovered a blister on her right thumb (the one that she always sucked to sleep).  Alarm bells rang and we immediately brought her to the pediatricians at NUH. 

There, my worse fear was confirmed.  Sure, it really isn’t a big deal, some might say.  But considering the fact that YEN can hardly stay away from work, that I still have this week to go before I declare the start of my December holidays, and that I have one more child (FELIX) at home to separate from RACHEL…  things were gloomy for me.

Really think we should get extra help henceforth.  Taking into consideration that YEN will be delivering another one come February next year…  yes, I do think we need another adult around the house when we cannot tear ourselves away from work.

Have been successful at keeping RACHEL in the room this morning until now, about 3 in the afternoon.  She isn’t showing too many ill effects of the disease, and she isn’t whining.  Have to keep her hydrated, YEN told me.  I managed to do that, thanks to the Hi-5 CDs - pausing it to coax her to drink some water and playing only after she does.

Other than her reluctance in going to bath, drinking water and going to bed, the only other time she cried this morning was when I heard FELIX cry loudly after a seemingly loud ‘bang’.  It was apparent that he got his head knocked onto something in my mother’s room.  I brought RACHEL out of our hideout to see if he was okay.  RACHEL wanted to go to the ground from my grasp, like she wanted to go to FELIX to see if he was alright.  Had to deny her the opportunity of playing ‘good elder sister’ and brought her back into the room, amidst her cries…  =(

I called my school and found out from my administrator that I had only one more day of childcare leave for this calendar year, expanded today.  Hope I can get a couple more days of leave from my Principal over other avenues…

It age thirty, I discovered I actually had wisdom teeth in my mouth all these years.  This is probably due to my not remembering what had been taught - that I had to visit a dentist once every six months.  Now that I’m advocating this in school, I thought I better go for a check-up in June.

I had an x-ray done and discovered I had four wisdom teeth in my mouth.  I was told that I did not have to extract any if they were not giving me any problem, but in the end, the dentist, who happen to be an ex-secondary school classmate, told me that I had to get at least one extracted as it affected one of my other molars.

I had a bad toothache recently and was on painkillers until I was able to go for my appointment.  It was done a little over half-an-hour.  I was shown the wisdom tooth and the molar by its side during my visit,  I found out for the first time that stained teeth and cavity, shown in Health Education textbooks and dental clinics, was possible in me!

At the end of the visit, she also told me that the wisdom tooth that caused my toothache was not the same one that she told me I had to get extracted!  I have to get another one extracted a couple of weeks later, and this time, the surgery will be longer and more difficult based on the place of the wisdom tooth.

I went to look for a little extra income in the form of an tuition agency.  This one in Jurong West, called MindStretchers, had no problems in giving me a class to teach, starting December.  But due to my timing available and the number of teachers that they already have, they can only give me one class at the moment on Friday evenings.  I’ll start out with them and see what it brings.

Also, YEN made a call on my behalf to ask about a LASIK surgery.  I was deliberating over one for a couple of months now.  I felt it was probably helpful as I teach Physical Education and glasses do sometimes hinder my teaching.  Moreover, it will save me some money in the long run if I were to change glasses every couple of years or if I wanted to go for contact lenses.

My sister-in-law, Huijun, had hers done recently and is coping fine with her new found eyesight.  And YEN just made an appointment for me after finding this one from SNEC that cost a little cheaper than the rest.  I think there will be hidden charges and the cost will swell upward, but since she is so supportive of me getting the operation done, perhaps I should put my worries aside and just go for it…

I wanted to try count the number of words RACHEL can say (and mean them!).  Perhaps I shall try…  Let’s see:

These are words to address people around her - Daddy, Ma ma and mummy, Di di, Ah ma, Po po (my mum-in-law), shu shu (EDDIE) and shen shen, jiu jiu (JASON, my brother-in-law).  Not forgetting RACHELand YI ZE.  That’s eleven words.  She has recently been able to name some of her schoolmates in the play-school, but I’m not going to count those…

She can say the letters of the alphabet and zero, count one to ten.  She is able to name some animals - dog, cat, butterfly, elephant, frog, bear, duck, rabbit, bird, monkey, pig, donkey and horse.  Some fruits - apple, orange and banana.  That’s another twenty-seven.

The colour that she can say readily is blue.  She knows book.  When she is watching TV, she says Hi-five, Pooh Bear, Mickey Mouse and Minnie, Dibo, Johnny (of Johnny and The Sprites), Danny (of Danny and Daddy), Barney, Strawberry (of Strawberry Shortcake), Manny (of Handy Manny).  She can name shapes - square, circle, triangle, star.

Some random words will include yes, no, hi, hello and bye, see you later, nose, sit, stand, clap, kick, sleep, carry, balloon, no more, car, bus, quack, eye, hug, cold, flower, shi shi (urinate), cake, milk, ball, baby, pain, bless you, tissue, shoe, etc.  Think I’m missing out quite a bit but these are those that come to mind now, looking at her sitting in front of me.  The total is about eighty-eight.  Though it may be a little slow for a two-and-a-half year-old, I feel, I’m just quietly anticipating the time when she will able to talk to us a lot.  Perhaps I will feel that she talks too much later.  But that’s later…

YEN asked me a few days ago what is the reason that I always choose almost always the same kind of food / drinks, in particular - curry chicken rice whenever we go to Jurong Point.  Is there a particular reason?  Is there something special about its curry?  Is it extra spicy?  Why?  I told her there probably isn’t a good reason, only that I had found something that I liked, and I’d rather stick with it rather than venturing out again for something else.

Well, that is probably my view of life - wanting to play safe nowadays.  Why pick something else when you like this one?  It is probably the same for everything else - even with my relationship with her!  Why risk losing what I have in her when I know that she is the best I have found and I am fine with whatever she stands for.  =)

These days, I’m clamouring harder and harder for us to hire a domestic helper.  There are times that the two of us alone just cannot handle our two young ones.  This is scary as we are looking at the imminent arrival of our third child.  Can we afford it?  I hope.  I am meeting up with the boss of this tuition agency in Jurong West tomorrow to see if I can tie up something with them.  The money will come in handy, really, especially if we do get extra help.

We have been having discussions, on and off, regarding whether we should hire one.  YEN is still not comfortable with the thought of having a stranger sleeping in the house, looking after things and at times, our children.  I told her we have to try, as my mother is, at times, getting on my nerves with her not helping out when we are home during the weekends.  It is not liek we do not bring work home to accomplish.  Well, she just feels that we are home and the children, being ours, should be looked after by us while she curls up in her room and watch TV programmes and sleep.  Sigh.