Parent- Teacher Conference

I had Sarah's 2nd parent-teacher conference yesterday.  I am so glad to hear from the teacher that Sarah is doing very well. She has grown so much since the last conference & especially since she started with this daycare.  Here are her accomplishments and areas for development:

Self-Help
She is now very familiar with the daycare routine - she washes her hands before and after each meal, throws away her leftovers into the compost bin, brushes her teeth after lunch, and even tries to put away her cot when she's done napping (with the teacher's help). Next she will be learning how to put her jacket on/off and help dress herself such as pulling up her pants.

Social/Emotional
Sarah is doing well.  She is very weary of any strangers in the room and likes to maintain her distance with them until she is comfortable (which is a good thing!). She will cry when strangers approach her too fast. In terms of sharing, Sarah doesn't like it when someone snatches a toy away from her. She will fight and will cry out loud. She needs to continue to work on sharing.

Cognitive
Sarah is getting good at recognizing shapes and colors.  She can recognize 5 different colors - so the teachers are moving on to the mixed colors, such as purple, pink, etc. Sarah can also do puzzles and match 2 similar objects together.

Language
Sarah knows a lot of words and her mimicking skills are good. She is able to listen to a word and pronounce it very close to what she heard.  Sarah is able to communicate most of what she needs - milk, eat, more, book, etc.  Her next step is to learn how to use two-word sentences and put 2 different ideas into 1 sentence.  The teachers are also continuing to teach them sign language & words at the same time.  Sarah loves to read books, especially when someone reads it to her.

Fine Motor
Sarah is able to draw with a crayon upright.  In the past, she will always hold it in a slant position so nothing will come out, but now she can draw circles and lines.  She is learning how to weave strings in holes to practice precision and hand/eye coordination.  She is enjoying sensory activities such as sand, shaving cream, and messy paints much more than before.

Gross Motor
Sarah knows how to run, walk backwards, walk up and down the stairs, and kick the ball.  She is refining her skills on hopping, jumping, and standing on one foot!

It's nice to get these progress reports from the teachers every so often...because it helps to know what the teachers are teaching her so we can do the same at home.  Just like when the teachers told me that Sarah is now drinking from an open cup, we switched out all our sippy cups at home.  And now that I know they are trying to get her to take on/off her jacket, we will encourage her to do the same at home.  I am so glad that Sarah is learning so much from the daycare!

Are you kidding me?

Ain't this the truth??!! I'm sure every parent in this world can relate to this cartoon.  This evening, the situation was so similar it brought both SQ and I to tears, crying of laughter!  The name "TOBISHA" was embossed on the screen of my laptop. When I pointed to each letter, Sarah was able to read them all!! She had a little trouble on the "T" but all the others she was able to repeatedly come back with the right letter, even when I mixed the order.  I told SQ to quickly get the camera so we can document this important milestone.  And when the camera was rolling....all we got was a blank stare followed by typical baby gibberish.  O-M-G!  Are you kidding me?!  We couldn't believe how true this cartoon is!  How would we ever prove to other people that Sarah is able to recognize some of the alphabets at 19 months?? You'll just have to trust me.  Either way, I am so proud of my little girl.  She is learning very fast!! 

A Year in Review

Inspired by my friend, LL's Christmas "letter," I want to write down what went on 2011 for us this year...similar to every news station's Year in Review

• Sarah has the most milestones this year (of course). She learned how to crawl  late March, walk in May, feed herself in August, and talk up a storm in September. She grew all her 12+ teeth all this year! Today she is a vibrant, vocal, energetic 18-month old toddler, full of joy and silliness. 
• We went on our 1st family trip together to the Pacific Northwest (Seattle and Portland) this past July to celebrate SQ's 40th birthday.  We had a great time. 
• We welcomed a new niece to our extended family in March. Sarah's "baby girl' status only lasted for 8 months. 
• I took 4 business trips this year, which is more than I wanted:  Hawaii in March, Hong Kong in April, Paris in October, and Hong Kong again in November.
• No construction in our house at all this year...although things around the house are surely aging. Our plasma TV is broken; our mattress is getting lop-sided; our little car is due for maintenance...and the list goes on.   
• SQ is still working for the same architecture firm for past 3 years. He's leading a project for construction of a commercial building in Emeryville, which is targeted to be complete in June 2012.  
• I am still working for the same company in Downtown SF.  It will my 12 year anniversary next February. Work is still busy as ever (yes, even in December!) but excited that the Cosmetics business is doing very well in the Asian region.  I am very much looking forward to receiving my biggest bonus check (so far) next year when 2011 ends

18 month check up

Sarah had a cry-fest during her 18-month check up this afternoon.  The moment we walked into the reception area, she began her non-stop crying.  She refused to sit on the weight bucket and she kicked and screamed. She didn't cry with her normal whiny voice, instead she cried HARD with tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned beet red and she clung to SQ like a koala  bear and would not let go.  It was one of our most difficult check ups yet.  But I guess this is normal since Sarah has great fear of strangers (she needs time to warm up) especially if they come close to her.  Ai-yah!  Thank goodness SQ was there with me!  Besides all of the crying, Sarah checked out fine!  She is gaining weight and growing exactly on the projectile curve.  Her height to weight body ratio is on the lean, slender side.  She is developing on track -

• feeding herself
• weaned off the bottle
• walking, running, walking up and down stairs
• follow directions
• knows body parts
• can ask for things with words
• peeing/pooping regularly
• knows more than 100 words

There were 2 things I brought up to the doctor's attention that I was particularly concerned about - (1) Sarah's persistent cold.  Sarah has runny nose and cough for 3 week now that never seem to go away.  Doctor checked out lungs and said they were fine.  I guess she is just getting a cold marathon! :-(  She might be recovering from one and getting another virus strand from another.  Annoying! (2) Sarah's bow-leg.  Sarah's left foot turns inwards when she walks.  This is common and it eventually goes away.  But I think it normally straightens out by 18-months. The doctor does not seem concerned, but I am.  I'm going to really keep a close eye on it...

Sarah's 18 month stats:

Weight :  24 lb 2 oz (44% tile)

Height :  33.25 inches (87% tile)

Head : 48 cm (85% tile)

 

A different view

After 18 months, we've finally decided to change Sarah's car seat from back-facing to front-facing.  In the past for many years, the American Pediatrician Association had recommended that parents leave infants in their car seats rear facing until 1 year old.  Then recently, within 1 or 2 years ago, they changed it to 2 years.  But seriously, most car seats are not designed to hold a toddler rear-facing for 2 years.  

Sarah's feet have reached the back of the seat for months now - and we've tried our best to let her stay as long as she can in the rear-facing position. But now, it has gone to the point where her legs are crunched up. So we decided to finally make the switch.  So far, Sarah is pleased with her new view.  She is positioned in the center of the car so she has the center aisle view of the windshield.  No doubt she is a happy camper. However, I must admit that getting her onto the car seat and buckling her up is no easy feat. In the past, we can carry her into the seat, have a seat ourselves next to her and take our time buckling her in.  Now, the position is awkward as we need to hover...and with the door wide open and my back facing out, I can't help but feel a sense of insecurity and paranoia that someone will attack me in the back.. or rob me, or do something malicious.  I guess I just have to train Sarah to learn how to get onto the seat herself! 

15-month Wellness Checkup

We brought Sarah in for her 15-month wellness check up yesterday afternoon.  Overall, it was a relatively good appointment.  She only whined for a little bit and was fine for most of the appointment session.  Sarah is developing and growing on track.  I mentioned a couple of my concerns : Sarah's feet point inwards when she walks (bow-legged) and her vomitting whenever she cries hard/coughs.  Doctor said all of these are not cause of concern and will self correct themselves as she grows older.

Sarah took 2 vaccination shots and 1 flu shot during her visit. For the remainder of the night, she was irritable and had a hard time falling asleep. Woke up today with a slight fever. :-(  

15-month stats:

Weight : 22lbs 8oz (43% tile)

Height:  31.75 inches (85% tile)

Head Circumference: 18.7 inches (89% tile)

She didn't gain as much weight as she did the last few times. She dropped from the 50's percentile to the 40's.  Not a big deal, but I wonder if it's because she's not drinking formula anymore and her food intake is not enough to supplement?  I guess it's fine... she's just going to be a tall slender baby! 

Sarah 12month checkup

I brought Sarah for her annual check up this afternoon.  The minute I drove into the parking structure, Sarah began to cry, as if she was afraid of something. I wasn't sure if she was just afraid of the dark winding parking structure or did she have a previous memory of that place, knowing that it led to the doctor's office? Can't be the latter, right?  She's too young to have that kind of association, especially it was 3 months ago since I last brought her to the doctor's!  Sarah continued to cry more in the elevator.  She seemed to be very scared of the confined space especially when the doors closed.  Even when I took her out of the stroller & carried her, she cried hysterically.  She finally calmed down when we got to the waiting room. So when it was time for her measurements and for the doctor's visit, she was fine.  

weight 21 lbs 9.5 oz (57%)
height 30.25 inches (82%)
head circumference 18.7 inches (96%)

Overall, Sarah is doing just fine. She is right along the growth curve, maintaining her weight, height and head circumference for her age.  She is also developing on path.  After the doctor's visit, it was time for Sarah to get her vaccinations.  We waited a while until the nurse called us in so Sarah spent her time walking around the big waiting room.  Then the 3 shots.  She cried and cried and this time, she didn't stop for a long time.  Previously, she stopped crying after the shots came out.  This time, she cried longer than normal... then of course, we had to go into the elevator to get down -- so more crying.  And of course to make matters worse, Sarah had to get her blood drawn to test for her blood count and lead levels.  I had the option of taking the blood test today or at 15 months.  I thought mind as well get it all done.


At the lab, I had to hold Sarah down and basically pin her legs inside my thighs and hold her really tight.  Of course, she resisted. Of course, she was besides herself.  Tears rolled down her cheeks like waterfalls - her face turned beet red.  The nurse had to solicit another nurse to hold her down because she had to prick a needle into Sarah's vein for the blood draw.  And boy, silly girl was STRONG!  Thankfully, the nurse was successful finding her vein the first time around and after a few minutes, it was all done. After a distraction by her blocks, she finally stopped crying. She was so tired from all the commotion that she zonked out in the car on the way back home.

Sarah examining the bandage on her arm from her blood test

Sarah goes to the Potty!

Nooooo, I am not a tiger mom forcing my just-turned one year old to potty training already!  As you may remember, say for the past 300 days or so, we bring Sarah to the bathroom every morning when we change her diaper.  We hold up her legs into a sitting position so she can go poop (she poops consistently 95% of the time).  This extra step means less messy clean up for us and it is another way to prevent diaper rash.  As she grew, it was more and more difficult for us to carry her (she got heavy), so we wanted her to sit on a potty.  We started off with a kiddie potty that SQ bought in Chinatown. But the design (and probably the craftsmanship) of the potty was heavily flawed because every time Sarah sat down in the front, the back of the potty would flip up.  So it didn't work.

My sister gave us this kiddie seat since my nephew has since outgrew it. Most kids don't like the toilet seat because they are "afraid of falling into the hole."  But we gave it try.  Luckily for us, Sarah didn't have this fear, or maybe because she doesn't know better at this point?  The first couple of times we put her on the seat, she whined and wanted to get off.  After the 3rd time, she was OK with it.  Then for the past couple of days, she even pee'ed and poop'ed while sitting on it!!  I was truly amazed and couldn't believe it!  Don't get me wrong, Sarah's still NOT potty trained - meaning she doesn't come tell us when she needs to go.  She still needs a diaper to be on her at all times.  We just let her sit on the seat in the morning to go poop.  Hopefully, this will help her get used to the seat so when it's time for real potty training, she won't be afraid of the toilet!

Happy FIRST birthday, Sarah!!

 

We celebrated Sarah's 1st birthday at Canton Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant in the City.  We had about 80 guests and we had a dim sum lunch. We had a lot of fun ~ the venue was perfect.  We had the space private to ourselves so we could mingle yet there were ample space for the kids to run around.  Everyone seemed relaxed and enjoyed themselves. Sarah blew out her candle on a mango mousse cake from Schuberts.  She was curious about the frosting on the cake, but when we gave her a bite of the mango mousse, she spit it right back out! 

Happy Birthday, my silly mao mao!  

Sarah's First Steps!

Sarah took her first few steps at my parents' house this past Thursday!!  She has been standing alone 'hands-free' for about a couple of weeks now, but making that first step was such a daunting task.  I see her little toes curl up and her body swaying back and forth trying to make her foot move forward.  It looked like her foot weighed a ton. When we open our arms to entice her to walk to us, she would end up just lunging into our arms instead. So I was floored on Thurs when she took not only a step, but a few steps!! When I put her a distance away from the sofa, I was convinced that she would just lunged her body into the sofa, but nope! She took her time, step by step and walked to my mom, who was holding a remote control to entice her.  Of course either SQ and I captured Sarah's first steps on camera.  We weren't prepared!

But I was able to record this video of Silly Girl walking this morning.  She's still pretty wobbly but doing great!! I'm so proud of you, silly girl! You started to walk at 11.25 months!!

Sarah's 9 months check up

I was a bit late in bringing Sarah to her 9-month wellness check up.  Normally, I try to schedule it within the week of the actual date, but with the travel going on last week, I didn't bring Sarah in until today.  Before going in, she napped for 1.5 hrs, got fed, and changed into new diapers.  Therefore, she didn't have a reason to cry - but silly girl somehow 'recognized' the office. She started to cry upon entering the elevator and continued to cry on and off when we did the measurements.  

Weight : 19 lb 6 oz (54% tile)

Height : 28.5 inches (74% tile)

Head Circumference:  18 inches (92% tile)

After we did the measurements, I put her down on the bed and let her play around a little bit.  It was a good thing that the doctor was running late, and we spent the next 5-8 minutes just hanging around the room.  She was in much better spirits by then.  She clapped her hands, babbled, wiggled around a bit and even read her own charts (haha, wouldn't that be nice?) until the doctor came in.  She didn't cry and let the doctor examined her.  Overall, she is growing exactly on the projection path, which is great.  She has a mild case of eczema on her face and her neck.  I put dabs of Aquaphor everyday but it doesn't seem to work much.  It's itchy because she will scratch her neck and irritate it even more.  So the doctor prescribed Hydrocortizone to help with the itch.

I asked about her diet and it turns out that I am taking her solid feedings too slow.  Doctor said that by this time, I can pretty much feed her everything!  And here I am, still feeding her Stage 2 foods! And I thought I gave her plenty already - she's gone through all the fruits and veggies. She even tried yogurt.  But I haven't given her any meats or fish yet.  I guess that will be the next food group to try.  She still hasn't mastered the pincher grasp yet so no finger foods either...

But overall, I am happy with her progress and development! Good job, silly girl!    

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Sarah's 1st tooth

It took me a while to be able to take a picture of Sarah's 1st tooth.  It came out a couple of weeks ago but it was so tiny that I could barely see it.  Plus, every time I try to pull on her lower lip to inspect, she just sticks her tongue out and hides it.  But now, her tooth is much more visible. Her 2nd tooth is also on its way out.  Can't see it on the picture, but it's there.... Goodbye, gummy smiles...   

Solid feeding

 

6-months is such a big milestone for babies.  Not only do they learn how to roll over, they learn how to sit and begin teething, they now need to learn how to eat too.  Apparently, babies only know naturally how to suck.  So what we all think as a simple task of transporting food from the tip of the tongue to the back of the throat and then swallowing the food is actually a learned skill.  Babies need to learn how to do this.  When babies are too young, they have this tongue reflux that pushes the food out.  But when they are older, this tongue reflux disappears, they are now "ready" to eat solids.  

This whole solid feeding thingy is extremely confusing to me.  I don't know why! I actually tried to give Sarah rice cereal when she was 5-1/2 months.  The instructions on the box were 1 TBSP dry rice cereal, and 4 TBSP formula (or breastmilk).  The consistency is really really liquidy. It was barely a solid at all.  But either way, I fed that to her but didn't have much luck actually getting into her mouth.  She spit most of it back out so I thought maybe she's not ready.  I tried again a few days later, and it was still a disaster.  She also had some loose BM so I gave it a rest again. A week later, I gave her oat cereal. This time, I made the consistency a little bit thicker, so it felt a little more like porridge.  She ate the whole 2 TB I gave her!  I was super happy that this is finally going somewhere.  But then my happiness was short-lived.  She refused it the next day I gave it to her.  Sarah is all over-the-place when it comes to solid feeding.  One day she knows how to swallow and loves the cereal.  One day she forgets how to eat and pushes everything back out with her tongue. 

So far I am able to only get 1 solid feeding with Sarah a day.  I want to increase this to 2x a day, but so far haven't had much luck.  She is so good at keeping her lips tightly sealed when she doesn't want any or any more. So besides rice and oat cereal, I fed her peas.  She loved them 2 days ago (ate 2.5 TB), but rejected them this morning.  Ai-ya!! What a tough eater to please!  Please tell me that this is only a phase and that my baby will learn how to love everything I put into her mouth....    

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6-month wellness check up

I brought Sarah to the pediatrician's yesterday for her 6-month wellness check up.  The appointment was at 9am in the morning (again, it's in the middle of her nap time).  Side note: I realize that I have only a short window of 1/2 hour to catch Sarah in a non-eating and non-sleeping mode.  So I gave up.  She fell asleep in the car on the way there, but quickly woke up when I moved her car seat into the stroller.  She's a very light sleeper and doesn't transition at all.  We did the usual measurements (see below) and then the doctor came into the room.  I didn't see the same pediatrician as I did last time due to scheduling conflicts.  But this pediatrician seems to be much more experienced and better at handling Sarah. She didn't cry at bit!! I had a lot of time to ask the doctor my questions.  I was so happy and thankful! I think I might even change the primary doctor to this pediatrician instead!

Sarah took her regular 3 shots & 1 oral vaccinations.  She also took an additional one for the seasonal flu. Poor thing. She cried out loud and had tears rolling down her cheeks.  But by the time I put her back in her stroller, she already stopped crying.  She's such a trooper!! 

Growth percentiles (6 months)

Weight : 16 lb 2 oz (54% tile)

Height : 26.75" (84% tile)

Head Circumference :17.3" (88% tile)

Compared to the experience last time, I must say that today's appointment was wonderful!!  Only if every check up is like this....

Today Sarah's not eating much and don't have much of an appetite for anything.  She normally takes 6 oz of milk every 3.5 hours.  But now she's barely taking in 4 oz.  She was also very whiney and irritated yesterday...today, not so much.  She's really back to her normal self - smiling, giggling, and laughing.  Her thighs must be sore though!!  Poor poor baby! 

Oh yeah, one more thing - no teeth yet. Doctor can't feel anything coming out.  So baby, may I ask you what your drooling is all about?!  LOL

Scream-fest!

As a new mommy, everyday is a new learning experience.

I brought Sarah to her 4-month wellness checkup at Kaiser yesterday. Lesson #1: Don't schedule baby's check-up during her nap time. Appointment was at 3:00pm; Sarah fell asleep in the car at 2:30pm. She was a little irritated when we got there, but being so nosy, she kept herself awake and quiet. Nurse called us in and we did the usual measurements. Sarah was absolutely fine during this whole time. Brought her back to the room & then the doc came in. Lesson #2: Do not, I mean DO NOT let anyone look baby in the eyes for a long time when she's at the height of her Stranger Anxiety phase. This was an important lesson to learn!! Sarah went hysterical... she cried, kicked, screamed, had rows and rows of tears falling down her cheeks, turned beet red, coughed, the whole nine yards. The entire Pediatric wing heard her cry & probably thought I am the worst mommy ever...

The screamfest lasted forever. (Well, it's maybe for about 10-15 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity). For the life of me, I could not calm her down. The ABC song didn't work. The pacifier didn't work. The hugging, the swaying, the patting, you name it. Nothing worked. She was besides herself... she has NEVER cried so hard before. Doc had to leave the room so I can have a few minutes to calm her without her being present. I finally put her back into the stroller, let her cry it out while pushing the stroller back and forth. This calmed her a little bit although she would still cry out once in a while. Doctor came back in and we continued our conversation. It was so unfortunate that she wasn't able to examine Sarah thoroughly since Sarah was crying so hard during the examination! But her stats (below) are good & she's gaining weight as projected...so doctor didn't have any concerns. Sarah's vomiting seems to have improved since we switched to Enfamil. Before, she would at least vomit once a day. Now, she maybe vomits once a week, if even.

We proceeded into another room for Sarah's immunization shots. I was thinking to myself, "oh no, here we go again..." But surprisingly, she barely cried at all!! She cried when the 1st shot went in, and then by the end of the 3rd shot, she was already pretty much done crying. 30 seconds at most? I was impressed. Got her back to her stroller & into the car without hearing another peep from her. In fact, she fell asleep before I even made it out of the parking structure. Poor baby - probably too tired and sleepy from all the commotion! She's tired?! She sure tired me out!

Growth percentiles (4 months - 1 week)

Weight: 13 lb 14.5 oz (51%)
Length: 25.5 inches (87%)
Head circumference: 16.7 inches (84%)

Here is a picture of Sarah, in the elevator - tired & worn-out. She normally doesn't take the pacifier, but on this day, she did.

YAY! She did it!

I always worry about Sarah's ability to raise her head up just because we don't make her do enough tummy time. First of all, Sarah sometimes throw up her milk and so we are careful not to move her too much after each feeding. So we give her tummy time before feeding - but that sometimes fail because she gets hungry. And when she does get tummy time, poor little Sarah just has a hard time. She's able to lift up her head a little bit but most of the time, she cries and cries in agony and gets sweaty hot. We can't bear to see her in such discomfort so we let her "off the hook." I know, I know, we're such easy parents!

So up until last week, Sarah's head (or should I say neck?) still wasn't strong enough. In fact, when we went to Sears last week for her 3-month portraits, all her tummy pictures didn't turn out nice at all. But this week... she DID it!! I couldn't believe it! Not only did she lift up her head, she held it long enough for me to capture a photo of her and her smiley face!! I am so proud of you, baby girl!