The Changes of Juan Or's Latest Craze

Mommy is reporting on how Juan Or's craze changes from October 2009 till now. What Mommy meant by 'craze' is that whenever Mommy comes back from work, Juan Or will point either at Mommy's laptop or television, and then make one kind of fretting sound to pester Mommy to switch on those 'things' for him to watch; or Juan Or will hold that 'thing' and then approach Mommy with one kind of fretting sound to ask Mommy to play those 'things' for him (both of which Mommy won't entertain until the time comes) Here are those 'things':

First were these local production books that came together with VCDs: 'Go Go English' and 'The Most Wanted Nursery Rhymes Volume 2' each for RM5 only (very cheap considering that both came with their accompanying VCDs!). The VCDs have the lyrics at the bottom of the screen together with colourful cartoon pictures, much like karaoke sing-along type.

Then, somewhere at the end of November 2009, Mommy went to the Popular/CD-Rama Sale in The Summit (Subang Jaya) and saw this 'Sing-Along Karaoke' DVD selling for RM19.90, but after 20% discount became RM15.90. So Mommy bought it and it became Juan Or's next 'obsession' though the previous VCDs still remains his favourite till today.

Next came this 'VeggieTales Very Silly Songs!' DVD which Papa bought somewhere at the end of December 2009. The first time Juan Or (and Papa and Mommy) watched it, it didn't appear as anything special. Sure, the computer animation was colourful, beautiful and cute, and the tunefulness and catchiness of the songs appeared so-so only. Juan Or also didn't appear to be addicted to this DVD. However, with subsequent times of playing this DVD, the tunes are wonderful (in Mommy's opinion) because they sound catchy and tuneful now. Even Juan Or is addicted to this VeggieTales DVD already! He would dance with almost every song from this DVD. And when Mommy comes back from work, Juan Or is sure to point at where Mommy put this DVD and makes one kind of fretting sound to ask Mommy to play it for him. Even when Mommy purposely laid out all the children VCDs and DVDs together (that includes Barney and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!) for him to choose one, he would still choose VeggieTales only!

See how Juan Or swayed his buttocks from side to side whenever he hears VeggieTales (but the music is too soft to be heard from Mommy's handphone camera's video):

A Visit to the Hospital for Hydronephrosis Check-up

Juan Or waiting for his turn at the ultrasound scan waiting area.

This is really an outdated post. Mommy was very busy during last year's December, so is late in putting up this update on Juan Or's status of mild bilateral hydronephrosis condition. Previous postings on this matter can be found here and here.

This visit to the hospital was on 16th December 2009. As usual, the procedure was to register Juan Or's attendance at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM)'s paediatric clinic, after which Mommy took Juan Or to the Radiology Department for ultrasound scanning. The ultrasound scanning service costs RM20. While waiting for Juan Or's turn for ultrasound scan, Mommy happened to meet another couple with a near 12-month old baby boy who also has the same condition as Juan Or. And same as Juan Or, that baby boy has already been confirmed not to have any urinary tract blockage though the mild kidney dilation is still there. So that baby boy was also on trimetoprim medication up to the point of appointment, just like Juan Or. Along the way during the waiting time, Juan Or 'made friends' with an Indian boy of about 8 years old who is also waiting for his turn. The Indian boy seems to be fond of Juan Or at first sight. On the lighter side of the waiting period, Juan Or was very active and playful, walking and running around and even refused either Mommy or Grandpa in wanting to hold his hand while walking as shown in this video:

Finally, Juan Or's turn for ultrasound scan came and Mommy took him in. The moment the sonographer showed Juan Or the probe (yes, haven't even touched him!), Juan Or already started crying! Mommy knows Juan Or hates to have strangers do things on him, but what to do, that procedure has to be done. So as the scanning went on, Mommy held Juan Or to try to keep him as still as possible, but Mommy saw the scan image on the screen was constantly shaking! Oh dear! Finally, the sonographer conlcuded that the observation was the same as the last check-up, i.e., there's still a little something there but definitely, the dilation is gone already!

After the ultrasound scan, Mommy took Juan Or to the pediatric clinic section for consultation. Luckily the waiting time was not as long as the ultrasound one, but then Juan Or was already asleep in the babystroller by the time his turn came. So the paediatrician decided that Juan Or no longer needs to be on medication anymore. Hooray! Then the paediatrician did a milestone-development check-up on Juan Or, asking Mommy questions such as how many words can Juan Or say, it is more than 10 words, and whether Juan Or is already able to properly hold a pencil/pen. Juan Or's weight measurement was 9.8 kg, to which the paediatrician thinks he is still underweight. So the paediatrician recommended that Juan Or needs to be fed more solid food besides the 3 to 4 times of milk feed per day. In Mommy's head, Mommy was pondering on how to get Juan Or to eat more food since Juan Or refuses food or eats very little only once he is back home from babysitter's house. Mommy thinks probably why Juan Or seems to have better appetite when at babysitter's house is that there is another 3-year old boy whom the babysitter is also taking care of, so the competition to eat may be there. And Mommy also knows the babysitter did not purposely make the food look more attractive just to get Juan Or to eat more, yet he has better appetite there.

After that, the paediatrician opened up Juan Or's diaper (to which Juan Or was rudely awakened from sleep, so he cried loudly!) to check his penis if there is any abnormality associated with the hydronephrosis to which there is none. Finally, the paediatrician was done and Mommy took Juan Or out who was still crying.

Rounded Baby Belly

Quite some time back, Mommy read (and is still reading!) one parenting book on managing your toddler's behaviour. In that book, something caught Mommy's attention:

"Their increased strength and agility will bring a new-found confidence and your child's body shape will slowly begin to transform. That rounded baby belly will begin to flatten out, while chubby, dimpled limbs will start to elongate as muscles develop."

"That rounded baby belly will begin to flatten out"....ha! Mommy had better capture a photo of Juan Or's rounded baby belly for sentimental sake before it flattens out!

The Candy Cane

See this candy cane? Yesterday, this candy cane was given by Mommy's colleague, Mr. Vee, in conjunction with Christmas 2009. Because it was Mommy's first day on duty as the Head of Foundation in Science and with students coming in non-stop to see Mommy (it was the first day of a new semester), Mommy couldn't make time to savour the taste of this candy. So Mommy decided to take it home instead. You know what Juan Or did with this candy? Juan Or used the candy cane as his walking stick to imitate how his paternal Great-grandmother walks! Well, everyone at home had a good laugh! Watch this!

Getting Juan Or to Eat Meat

Just recently, Mommy 'accidentally' found a way to get Juan Or to eat meat - call it serendipity! All the while before Mommy discovered this new way, whenever Mommy eats her meals, Mommy will share some with Juan Or. So, fearing Juan Or may choke on eating chunks of meat, Mommy would chew the meat first before giving it to Juan Or. Actually, for vegetables, Mommy would do the same too and Juan Or ate them eagerly for sweet potato leaves and water convulus (kangkong), but when it comes to meat, he would spit it out even though Mommy tried hiding it in the rice! After thinking over and pondering about how to get Juan Or to eat meat, suddenly Mommy remembered what the babysitter told Mommy. She observed that Juan Or loves eating noodles, vermicelli (bee hoon) and even flat noodles (pan mee). So why not Mommy shred the meat according to the grain so that the meat shreds resemble noodles? And that's exactly what Mommy did and sure enough, Mommy managed to 'trick' Juan Or into eating meat! Woo-hoo! Hopefully Juan Or puts on more weight now that he's eating more meat!

What about other mummies out there? How do you get your child to eat something he/she doesn't like to eat? Mommy would love to hear from you!