Finally!! 28 Mar '10

Having been wanting to blog this down but have been waiting.

Close friends of ours should know that our dear Ashlynn is a super pacifier addict. When she started attending childcare 2 weeks ago, I realised that she rather sucks her pacifier rather than drink milk. I got quite worried as I don't want her to fall short of her milk intake. I decided to stop her from using the pacifier.

We refused to give it to her even though she pleaded with us and she cried badly. At times, we almost gave in. But we keep telling ourselves we have already bear with it for so many days, why give up. So the battle continued for a week and slowly she adapted to sleeping without it.

I'm not sure if she is totally wean off the pacifier already. For all we know, she has gone without it for one week plus. We have made a pact within the family never to mention the taboo word with her around.

Actually it was one of my greatest regret on introducing her to the pacifier. I debated with family members many times when to wean her off. Finally we did it.

Mummy

The Day after Ashlynn's MC 24 Mar '10

On our way to the childcare centre, she cling on tightly to granny and I thought that's it. Another crying session to bear with.

When we reached, she kicked off her shoes and walked into her classroom without waving goodbye. Lucky...

When I went to pick her up at 3.30pm, she was having her tea break. Saw her swaying her body to the music. So cute!

And was informed by the teacher that she slept from 12.30 - 2.58pm. Hope it's not a 1 time affair. Actually might be because she is under medication.

So far her progress seems quite ok. Decided we will let her stay till 5pm next week if she continues with this progress. Our main concern is her not sleeping well and eating well. Coz if she didn't eat well, at least we cans till feed her when she comes back at 3+pm. Oh, and she has lost some weight from falling sick already.

Mummy

Fifth Day at School 19 Mar '10

Improvement from the past few days.

1.She bid me farewell when I dropped her off in school. She happily ran to her classroom.

2. She slept for 1 hr before she woke up crying for her favourite teacher who happened to leave the room for awhile.

3. Granny brought her home as the centre called to tell her that she has woken up and her fav teacher is going home soon. Since she is still new to the environment, we did not want her to feel too intimidated.

She is very attached to this teacher whom she calls "yiyi". When she slept at night, I suspect she had a nightmare and she screamed out "yiyi, bao bao". Hope that she gets used to other teachers soon as I don't want her to be over-reliant on one teacher, especially when the turnover rate for teachers in childcare centre is so high.

Mummy

3rd and 4th Day of School 17 & 18 Mar '10

Didn't know that whole childcare issue can be so traumatising for me.

Third Day:
Sent her over at 9am so that she can join them to go to the playground. Cried bitterly when I left. She finished the entire bowl of porridge for lunch and a slice of apple. Refused her milk. Cried for mummy during her nap. Refused to go to sleep. Teacher called me and I went to fetch her. Came home with a runny nose. Sigh... Some improvements I heard from the teacher. She spoke up more and in fact during lunch, she told one of her classmates "Dana, eat". But one thing, we were told that she walked about during lunch.

Fourth Day:
Sent her over at 9am for the playground activity. Cried bitterly when I left. Once I was out of sight, I didn't hear anymore crying. Ate only half a bowl of rice and a slice of apple. Drank 30ml of milk and laid down for 15min. Very attached to teacher Qing Pei. When teacher Qing Pei leaves her sight, she will jump for her. Heard that it may be a good sign that she is attached to a teacher. But hope not too over-attached. Otherwise the teacher cannot attend to other children. We brought her home at about 12.50pm. She came home with a slight fever and 3 mosquito bites from the playground I guess. Can't be from the centre as it is air-conditioned. Double sigh... Heard from 2 teachers that she enjoyed the waterplay so much that even before they began the activity, she jumped into the water and got herself wet. Probably that's where the fever came from.

If her fever persists, she will have to give school a miss tomorrow. Triple sigh... Then come morning, she is going to cry bitterly again.

Mummy

Second Day at School 16 Mar '10

Today I was more mentally prepared. I sneaked off the moment she entered her classroom. I don't think we are ready to bid each other farewell. Granny went with me for fear that I will break down again. Thank goodness I didn't.

Went to fetch her 45 minutes later than yesterday. She already had her shower and all her classmates were already napping. She was still playing alone in the classroom with all the lights off. She was given her pacifier but still refused to napped. She also refused to drink her milk. I think she is still learning to adjust to the new environment. At least she didn't cry as much. Similar to yesterday, she only finished half a bowl of her lunch.

Told the teacher that I will pack 2 milk feeds for tomorrow. One before her nap. If she doesn't want, the teacher can make milk again when she wakes up. Tomorrow I am going to try letting her nap there.

Hopefully things get better as time passes. Heard from colleagues that some kids only started protesting a few days later. Hope this will not happen to Ashlynn. Otherwise I will not work in peace when school reopens next week.

Mummy

First Day at Childcare 15 Mar '10

Finally the day which I have been dreading has arrived. We sent her to the childcare centre but I went with a heavy heart. She probably did not know what she was in for, so she was so cheerful along the way.

When we reached there, unluckily there were many kids in her group crying, and I guessed that frightened her. When we let her into the classroom and close the door, she realised that something was wrong and started crying. In the end, I let myself into the classroom and accompanied her. When the person in charge came to tell me that I have to let go, otherwise Ashlynn would not be able to bound with the teachers, I started crying too. It was so embarrassing.

I kept asking myself why I had to put her to this ordeal. Even asked daddy if we should get a maid instead and send her to a 2-3 hours playgroup instead of a full-day childcare.

We went back to pick her up at noon, after her lunch. She has stopped crying already. We were told by the teacher that she ate half a bowl of rice and 5-6 cubes of papaya. I fed her a bit more porridge when we reached home since I have already cooked.

She was so cheerful when we set off.

Waiting for daddy to ta bao our lunch home. I thought her eyes looked sad.

Mummy

Dinner at Singapore Flyer 14 Mar '10

Had dinner with granny and grandpa at Seafood Paradise at Singapore Flyer.

Mummy

Getting Ready for Next Week 10 Mar '10

Our little darling is starting CC next week. I went down to collect her uniform and to my dismay, they are so huge!! Probably ask granny to alter, otherwise will wait for the S size stock to arrive. Was hoping she can start school wearing the uniform so that she feels part of them.

The PE attire is big, but I think still ok.

Mummy

Baby Ashlynn 07 Mar '10

We were packing Ashlynn's outgrown clothes to see what we can keep and didi and give away to friends having baby girls. Realised that a lot of the home clothes were very yellowish. We decided to try washing them and see if they looked better. Otherwise, we must start shopping for new ones.

While we were busy packing, Ashlynn decided to try out the little mittens, socks etc. She was very comical. There was a point whereby she decided to act "Emo" and purposely posed for us to take photos. This can be seen in the last 2 pictures.

Mummy

Little Princess

Thought Ashlynn looks quite sweet in this picture.


Mummy