Bubbles & her first play date!

Strawberry shortcake mode: ON

As a kid, I loved Strawberry Shortcake, the cartoon character. Even my primary school wallet was a Strawberry Shortcake one. There was an episode where I accidentally dropped it into the squat toilet at school (curse those convent pinafore pockets), and I hovered over it daring myself to fish it out. 

I eventually did, quite a horrible experience really. Rinsed it under the tap, took out the dollar coin (my allowance) and abandoned it. It was a plastic thing, could have been sanitized and re-used I suppose, but I just.could.not.

Uck.

The other Strawberry Shortcake merchandise I owned was a water bottle that I'd won coming in 2nd in the 50m sprint on sports day, I think in primary 1. Lost that within a week at Yaohan Plaza Singapura. 

As for Bubbles' outfit, it was a $10 bin sale item, I am so glad they rejuvenated the cartoon, but by the time I pulled it out of storage, she probably can wear it only a coupla times more!! And it was meant for a 6-9 mth old baby augh!

Ah well. Even before I found the romper, I had knit the hat and booties. The booties were an adaptation from these 2 patterns, as was the hat. Which also is now a snug fit :0

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/saartjes-bootees

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/leaf-vine-decoration-trim-only

Ah well. I should've known better :-/

So what does this have anything to do with her first play date? It was because of the play date that I went rummaging through her clothes, up till now, 15wks as of today, bubbles' has been dressed in more functional daily wear. Since I babywear her, there didn't seem a need to purchase anything too fanciful since it probably wouldn't be seen anyway. But I knew the mummies in the group were going to be taking group photos of the bubs, and so wanted her to look less drab.

She went without the booties and cap of course, and enjoyed meeting and interacting with her fellow birth month pals! They were all so adorable! I'm glad I stepped out from my cave to meet them, social anxiety and an agonizingly slow healing csec does put a damper on my already non-existent social life.

Bubbles on the other hand, seemed quite the social butterfly, she took particular interest in the babies, often grinning, smiling and reaching out to touch them. As for her interactions with the mummies, she responded with coos and babbles to almost anyone who came to say hi to her.

Can't wait for her next meet, by then they should all be able to sit up, or even crawl....

5-in-1, rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccination

Bubbles being bubbly

So we survived the 3rd month 5-in-1 + pneumococcal + rotavirus vaccination, and although it was a tiring and worrisome 48 hrs, she went through it relatively unscathed but for a slight temperature. The weekend was spent sponging her down and taking hourly reads. 

We were told to expect loose stools from the rotavirus, but the only diarrhoea she suffered was verbal XD 

She started babbling a whole lot more than usual. It might have been delirium from the fever, or the paracetamol, or both haha. But she slept well, and as always, never lost her appetite. Good indicators of her wellbeing!

The most surprising outcome was that it seems she mightn't require ridwind anymore for her colic/reflux issues. The Dr advised me to stop medication and make an appointment at KKH with a pediatrician to try and figure out what has been causing her frequent hiccups and gassiness. Well, the appt has been set for 14th December, by then I hope the colic would have resolved itself.

The most likely culprit would have to be lactose overload due to my oversupply. I have taken steps to reduce her intake of foremilk, at the expense of my boobs, which seem to be suffering from a few rounds of blocked ducts. I'd have to take more care if them lest they develop into mastitis :( when discussing this, the polyclinic Dr who was doing her 3rd mth developmental assessment remarked that "there's still so much to learn about breastfeeding!" after I told her that a group of mummies from a local FB support group helped me narrow down the possible cause for her woes.

As to her progress, all seems well, and our next assessment would be in her 9th mth. :)

Happy Feet!

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, and I ran a little behind on the laundry, so I rummaged through the knitted stuff for a pair of booties that I'd made while pregnant.

These were a tad loose due to the stretch, even though they were a pretty snug fit, she found it easy to kick them off -_-"

Although I used a pattern from this list (No. 10)  I can't seem to find it when I clicked through. Nevertheless, there are a number of other booties I made from patterns in this page, do give them a go!

http://blissfullydomestic.com/featured/the-most-adorable-baby-booties-10-free-knitting-patterns-for-baby-shoes/135213/

Her 5-in-1 + rotavirus will be in 2 days. Am nervous about having to deal with the possible fever and diarrhoea, but am too buzzed to sleep now as we have to collect our keys to the new flat tomorrow! Hope she takes to the pram again. Prepping by sleeping with her blanket so she'll be calmer having my scent near her.

Hope I survive the weekend!

+

Augh! They are all a snug fit now! Oooops

DIY Salted Olive Baby Gym wannabe

 I call this a 'salted olive' baby gym because in Hokkien, it translates into the term 'kiam kanna', which is usually used to describe a miserly and stingy fella!

Being a SAHM, I would have to be rather budget-conscious, especially now that we will also be paying for our new flat. Key collection date will be on the 20th this month, and since babies tend to be rather fickle when it comes to toys, I know better than to fork out upwards of $50 for a baby gym that she might not even take interest in.

DISCLAIMER:-

The items I use are DEFINITELY NOT BABY NOR CHILD SAFE. They are to be used under constant adult supervision. I never ever leave her alone in the bouncer/rocker anyway, so all play will be supervised.

It is also called a baby gym wannabe because, due to the unsafe nature of the components, they are made out of reach of my bub. More of a mobile, really. But the idea came from me wanting to build a baby gym, which I will eventually use the components from this project for, once bubbles gets tired or grows out of it!

On to the DIY bit! For those familiar with my original blog  - http://snowfern-clover.blogspot.com , I don't exactly do tutorials, just document how I made stuff, cos most of it is done on the fly. So make what you will of it :)

Items from Daiso! Cotton batting, cable organizers, onigiri wrappers, bells

 Hula Hoop from Tokutokuya

Scissors, clear masking tape, twining (not pictured)

The animal wrappers are originally intended for onigiri (Japanese rice balls), when I saw them I immediately knew I could find an alternative use for them. I wasn't sure if I wanted to simply stick them to the wall, or hang them face down like mobile. After giving it quite a bit of thought, I realized my bad habit of over-thinking things was impeding progress. All I knew was that 1) it needed a little weight, 2) it needed to be versatile, 3) I needed to do it in as little time possible, since bubbles is pretty high maintenance.

I couldn't get the hula hoop at Daiso waterway point, the other branches probably sell it... but chanced upon it at the AMK branch of Tokutokuya!

If you don't already know, I am a huuuuge fan of Daiso, and now, Tokutokuya! They are also a household goods store, similar in concept to Daiso, except they do carry higher priced items. More branches seem to be popping up rather quickly, you can find more information for their Singapore branches at their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Tokutokuya-Singapore-698185450281621/

 Lightly stuffed with batting, inserted a bell, folded up the sides, then centre, taped it shut. Folded down the top, taped a cable organizer onto it.

 To secure the hula hoop to the bouncer, since it already has a Muslin wrap tied to it, I used the knot at the back to hold the base of the hoop....

....and more of the cable organizers to temporarily attach it to the sides and thus prop it up. As previously mentioned, I kept it pretty high up away from bubbles' reach. I will try to find a couple of large binder clips to hold it in place, but this works for now :)

UPDATE!

 From Daiso! I'd forgotten about these clothes pole pegs, they work great!

Along with the cable organizer clips, I can even flip it up to take her out of the bouncer. Yay!

Bubbles loves it, she was excited especially at the panda. Which comes as no surprise, the black white contrast must stand out best in her 12 week 4 day old eyesight. When she tires of it, I will take everything apart and hang the animals on her room wall :) love that there are ridges on the hula hoop too, makes it easier to hang the animals in place.

Ok, that's it for now! I have plenty of other things to complete, and photos to take of the stuff I made for her while I was pregnant. Meanwhile, motherly duties await!