Week 76 and week 28 - Books, glucose and sleep regression

I went in for my glucose test today- good times drinking a supersweet Fanta and getting pricked 3 times for yucky blood  - and the doctor said I am the only one of the three today who passed.   A blessing in disguise really as someone (ok, probably me) should tell myself to stop eating so many darn sweets.  I love sweets when pregnant - ice cream these days.  Otherwise the baby is trending below average - not alarmingly so but her belly size has her coming on Christmas!   She is now 1100 g or around 2.5 pounds.  At the moment she is head up - which makes me nervous but neither Matt or Doctor C.  I joked if our baby comes on Christmas that we should name her Jesus.  I would really prefer she not arrive then.

Doctor C suggested I make a double booking at his hospital and the one by our house.  This was the most excited I ever saw the husband at a doctor visit (as he knew if I delivered at the local hospital he would be able to sleep at home instead of the crappy companion quarters).  The nurses were quite confused at my request to book this second hospital so I had to explain to them that I had a crazy labor before and Doctor C is being cautious.  I gathered that this is pretty unusual protocol for my busy doctor.  I appreciate his efforts of treating me well in this way - as I think he genuinely feels bad for missing Charlotte's birth.

In Charlotte news - over the last week she has finally shown an interest in books!  17+ months of pushing (not militantly, just some) and she will bring one to Matt or me any time of day to read!  She really liked the Very Hungry Caterpillar among a couple of less famous ones.

This is also the first week (except for two nights ago) that she didn't get up!  Two nights ago she woke up with teeth pain (her bottom left molar is the last of the 14 she has to erupt.  Owwie).  This ends a month or so of crap parenting sleep and grumpy Drakes.  This week I read about 18 month sleep regression and though I still blame teething to some extent this did make me feel better in a 'it's not just you' way.

Videos are back!  The Flip's battery has died but I bought rechargeable ones so all is well.  I can do videos with the S95 but I like the way Flip's are organized on the computer and uploads.  Be prepared to be bombarded....

Here is an older video of Charlotte saying her favorite word - no...

Charlotte carries her diaper bag as if she is going shopping:

Cheeky Charlotte says "Imee" instead of "Yaya" and wants tortilla chips... again:

Charlotte lifting a step stool that we have to always get her off of:

Charlotte tries on shoes - again:

Daddy and Charlotte watch the neighborhood party emcee on Saturday:

But Charlotte is not to sure to leave Daddy's side:

But she likes the bouncy castle - the outskirts of it anyway:

Charlotte likes lifting mommy's pregnancy ball:

...and playing with remote controls...

...and reading books...

...and making funny faces:

Week 75 and Week 27 - Krabi

We went to Krabi for a few days this past week.  I am in the process of writing more about it (via a separate post) - the short form is it was a beautiful place that we had not been to before.  Amazing sunsets.  Not the most amazing beach but the sand was nice (when there was sand and not a zillion seashells).  I thought it would be as good as Phi Phi Islands or Boracay - but it was not.  Limestone cliffs were there (a la James Bond island) and they were beautiful.  I was the only person in the entire resort who didn't bring an SLR camera it appeared.  Charlotte had a good time - she slept twice a day so there isn't a ton of time for exploration.  The resort we stayed at (the Anantara Sikao) was nice in that there were a couple of restaurants, the food was good (albeit expectedly resort expensive) and the resort was walkable - we didn't have to wait for a buggy to cart us around everywhere.  We didn't sleep so great the first night - as Charlotte was adjusting to her new environs.  But it got better.  We did try to go to Robinson's Department Store in Trang - a 40 minute drive to this closest town and we never found it.  We also drove 15 minutes to the aquarium - which was great!  Small so good for Charlotte's attention span and we were the only tourists there!  Pretty weird to be in Thailand and be the only tourists anywhere.

In other news - Charlotte is not sleeping so consistently - of course we blame the teething (she has 8 on top and 5 on the bottom) but those pesky bottom molars are still due to come in.  Our other theory is that she is hungry - so we are feeding her a snack at five and then trying to feed her at dinner till she signs 'bath time' - to indicate she is done of course.

In word land, Charlotte is now saying hat (on her own accord!  We think she picked it up on the sign language video), yes, Bucky, put, dog (with no G sound sometimes), water, oh no (when she drops something), bird, boat, bye-bye, and Charlotte!  So there is progress.  She is also signing lettuce (?), pear, and swing...

Apologies in advance for no videos of late - my Flip doesn't seem to be holding its charge well these days :(.

View from our room:

Charlotte admiring the view:

Charlotte trying on daddy's flip flops:

Charlotte and daddy admire the view:

Pretty sunset:

Admiring a diorama at the aquarium:

At the entry:

Poolside:

Beachside:

 

Yet another sunset:

Week 74 and week 26 - A nailbiter

So Charlotte is finally better... what began as a weekend of the same crap (so to speak) of 4 times a day diarrhea got better as of Friday - with no poo overnight!  Yes!  I think that the whole experience is far more manageable without overnight poo!  (Christ, I never thought I would be writing so much about poo).  So Charlotte's disposition has never really been affected by this, so after a steady diet of chicken congee and other bland foods we splurged and took her to Fat Boys for burgers on Saturday (rather decent though I think that they mix chopped onions in their meat - blah - I am not a fan of other things besides meat and seasonings) where of course Charlotte nicked the steak cut French fries because she is a French fry nicker (carb whore anyone?  I suppose I could learn my lesson with this with this pregnancy but I like carbs!  And I hate feeling hungry while pregnant).  Anyway - this resulted in a climactic poo that smelled (and looked - bleh) of French fries.  And this ended our active engagement with rotavirus!  Charlotte has since slept well and is back to her once a day poo routine.  We started her back on milk on Monday and everything seems copacetic.  Wow are we relieved!

Our friend Jenn visited from Hong Kong this weekend and we ate at the aforementioned Fat Boys and at the high tea at the Ritz Carlton (where she was staying).  Wow - the high tea was amazing!  The nicest one I have ever been to - elegant but not pretentious as the one at the Peninsula in Hong Kong.  The desserts were well presented and delicious!  My biggest complaint about the high teas are the desserts that mostly taste the same - little petit fours that, aside from color, are virtually indistiguishable from each other - not the case here.  The ambience was bright and verdant (the lobby lounge is adjacent to a garden) and they had a guitar/piano duo playing Burt Bacharach and Jack Johnson covers.  The guitar player was smitten by Charlotte's unabashed dancing, as were two Japanese women who were initially confused by seeing Matt carry Charlotte around until they saw me approach and I confirmed that yes, indeed, I am the mother.  The teas were both traditional and modern - Jenn and I ordered the hot tea while Matt ordered a peach iced one that came with 'tea' ice cubes.  The chocolate souffles closed our meal with a flourish - they are served in these tiny ramekins that are indeed generous given the richness of the dessert.  Forty six smacks was a lot for a tea but a great value for money for the experience... at least I thought so.

Charlotte has begun biting her nails!  I think that this has been going on for a while but I have only caught on to it recently.  She bites them before she goes to bed.  She doesn't do a bad job of it - her nails look tidy and she doesn't bite them to the quick... I am not sure how to curtail this as she seems to do this before she goes to bed at night.

Regarding the pregnancy - I am feeling more stiff and achy since Charlotte was getting up at night - when I get up too I feel rather unable to move when I get up in the morning.  This is frustrating to me.  I also have begun pregnancy yoga and walking - as I have been somewhat lazy to exercise I am trying to be better for the mental aspects more than anything really (though the yoga helps as the delivery can be very physically demanding - from what I remember).  Since she has slept better my aches have subsided a bit - but I must accept that this is part of the new normal of this pregnancy.

Ok - on with the pictures...

Charlotte likes hamburger places, ok, she likes the fries...

Charlotte loves her new leash fashioned as a labrador...

Thanks to Daddy Charlotte also loves to swing (Lean back! Lean back!)

Charlotte jibber jabbers on my phone.  She really says something, not sure what though...

Charlotte loves high tea!

Cool and funky desserts!

Marveling at the view in Aunt Jenn's hotel room:

Daddy showing Charlotte the building he and mommy worked on:

Charlotte slides with her new sandals:

Bucky - the muse to my flash.  This must have been a good day when he is not stealing Charlotte's food and is relegated outside:

Ready to go to the park:

Bye Mommy!

Week 73 and Week 25 - Rotavirus yuckiness

Charlotte has contracted what we believe to be a case of rotavirus.  This apparently afflicts all kids around the world by the age of 5.  She has been having diarrhea for a week.  At the beginning it was 3-4 times a day, then around 8-12 times a day, now back to 3-4 times a day (and one overnighter to boot).  To say she has been miserable is a bit of an overstatement - she has been inconvenienced but has still seemed to manage to charm the doctors with her unflappable Charlotteness.  The beginning is the worst - when you don't know what the heck is going on - and you continue about your day and there is diarrhea and regular wet wipes = one raw and painful diaper area (e.g. raw with blood).  This is really disheartening for a first time, somewhat nervous parent like myself.  Luckily this rawness went away with the use of no wipes (or homemade ones with water only) and some prompt showering off if required. 

I went to my normal pediatrician today, basically to ask what the hell?  Why did you not give our kid this vaccine (or offer to) and he said that Char is one of the few (unlucky) kids in Singapore who does not have this vaccine because it was being recalled / questioned within her window of being vaccinated (at 2-6 months).  But - on the bright side - once she recovers it will be as good as she is immunized!  Great - up to 2 weeks of crappy sleep = 1 dose of a magic bullet pill.  Dear readers, I implore you - go for the magic bullet of rotavirus immunization.  Do not delay!

Charlotte cannot tolerate milk of any type (soy, hypoallergenic, etc.) without it going right through her, so we have given her water (which has made me nervous because she can be dehydrated with all that pooing) and isotonic drinks (which Matt is convinced is giving her gas).  We tried the Pedialyte but Charlotte HATES it.  Today Imee made rice water (e.g. rice cooked with a lot of water then pureed) and she really likes that which is great. 

Charlotte has been on a 'park' moratorium - and she is stir crazy in the afternoons as a result.  She is begging Imee to take her outside (well, begging by whining and light back beating).

Perhaps the funniest thing in all of this is that we can ask Charlotte if she pooed - and she will either answer "No" or just smile, which means of course it is time to turn the shower on...

Stuck at home, I makes use of her time by practicing my Italian hand gestures...

...and watching too many "Signing Time" videos...

... but I do enjoy alfresco dining, sort of....

The only time I get to leave is to visit the Doctor...

...but when I get home I can pretend drive!