i think mothers tend to worry a lot. sometimes necessary, sometime unnecessarily.
when Ollie was still waking up 4-5 times a night, I worried about the amount of sleep he was getting. Surely getting awoken multiple times a night wasn’t good for him? I then reinforced the two daily naps, just so he could hit at least 12 hours of sleep a day. Also, the two naps helped ensure my sanity as it gave me two hourly breathers before I deal with Oliver again.
when Ollie was going through a phase where he was eating 5 spoonfuls of porridge/cereal for each meal, I worried about how little he was eating. He was running all over the place and yet eating so little. Surely he was starving? It didn’t help when both his grandmas were going on about how petite he looked and had lost some of the chubbiness in his face. I made up by nursing him. At least he was still getting some nutrients.
now Ollie is eating A LOT. He wakes up at 7am, and goes “mum mum mum”. Fair enough, he sleeps through most of the night for the past couple of days, so he would be hungry. He has a cup of milk. He then has a breakfast of oatmeal with fruit puree, each spoonful topped with Cheerios at 9.30am. Goes down for a hour nap at 10am. Wakes up at 11am, walks to the fridge and goes “mum mum mum”. Hrm. Offer him a corn cake or a biscuit.
What? You want more? Umm, okay. How about a fruit pouch? Sure, cool, you finished it. It’s gonna be interesting to see how you are going to finish your lunch now. What? You want some of my bryani? It’s spicy. Oops..too spicy eh. Here, have some yoghurt. Riiiight. You finished the yoghurt. It’s now 12pm. I guess you are probably not gonna have lunch.
Cue 12.45pm. You guessed it. “mum mum MUM MUM”. And he finishes 3/4 of his rice porridge. Where did all the food before go to??
Then lotsa running around, dancing, peekaboos and doing what he does best, reading mama’s book upside down. We head out for a bit, more running around. Time for his nap at 3pm, and he downs another cup of cold milk. The weather is a little humid, the cold milk should cool him down a little. He sleeps for an hour.
Wakes up a 4pm. Walks to the fridge, pats the door. “Mum mum”. *sigh*. I swear, I now have this mental image of a teenage Oliver, being ABSOLUTELY blokey, scratching his stomach, standing in front of the opened fridge and thinking about what to eat. But yes, that is too far down the road. So another biscuit, more Cheerios, another rice cracker, water. A bit of quiet play with the iPad, some reading and puzzles, 5.45pm, he is ready for his dinner. Donald comes home, and Ollie is ready for OUR dinner at 6.30pm. Yes, he continues eating some of our dinner. Then there is fruit at 7.30pm, then a supper of milk with oatmeal & Cheerios at 8.15pm before bedtime at 8.30pm.
Where does he pack all that food?? I posted a question on FB about whether toddlers double their intake. I worried about him overeating. So damn if he undereats, and damn if he overeats. Haha.
He doesn’t poop. I worry about constipation. He poops twice a day. I worry that he has an upset stomach. Bah. Does all these worry not end? I didn’t think so. Probably not until they grow up and get married or something. Then it’s Ollie’s wife’s responsibility. Muhahah.
Ollie’s been doing some growing these few days. It’s really lovely to see more and more of that cheeky & smiley disposition. I did get really cross with him a couple of time when he has tried to poke his finger into the fan (thank goodness for the fan netting) and told him off. His little face crumbled immediately, and he came over for a hug. Aww. He understands instruction a lot better and is more willing to comply. And I love watching him interact with the feline boys. Ask him to give Marcus a hug, and he actually leans over and gives him a hug. I am thankful for a cheerful baby, it has motherhood a lot easier for me and a really pleasant journey.
Does make me wanna have more kids. =P Imagine all the giggling going on in the house! haha.