Greg had Another Fall!

Greg fractured his nose once when he was about 1+years (see both pictures above). He had a very bad fall when he lost his balance on a chair and hit his nosebridge against the edge of the table during Shichida class. I felt so much heartache then as his nosebridge was badly bruised and there was a big swell between his eyes. The pain must be excruciating as Greg cried nonstop. I panic-ed and at that moment, I felt lost and didn't know what to do. In the end, I decided to rush him to Mum's house (which was 5minutes away). Greg looked at me very sadly as I was trying to buckle him up in his car-seat. I almost burst into tears as I couldn't quite recognize him when his bump between his eyes worsened. I tried to ice his wound but he struggled and got very distressed. I was so worried and had so much self-blame. It took him about 2-3 weeks before he's fully recovered but his paediatrician said his nosebridge had already been fractured. His doctor did not think there's anything that can be done but his nosebridge will slowly recover on his own as Greg's still very young. It took me quite a while to get over the whole incident and I was indeed "crazy" then, trying to get him consume more foods with calcium hoping that his nosebridge will smoothen out sooner. I know accidents do happen, but I guess I really have to be doubly alert because Greg's such an active boy.

Well, something similar happened today morning. My maid was feeding Greg some food in the living room, and Hubby was eating his breakfast nearby. I was resting in the bedroom. Suddenly, I heard Greg wailing away. Maid told me Greg had a fall from sofa and hit his forehead but I saw Greg keep touching his nosebridge. A minute later, I saw some bruise and a small bump on Greg's nosebridge! I was quite upset about it. I was upset because of the account that my maid gave and she denied Greg hit his nosebridge until his swell in that area became obvious. I was also emotionally quite affected because this incident reminded me of the previous fall. I tried icing it and put cold towel on his nosebridge but Greg struggled and became distressed. Though his injury this time is not as bad as the previous one, my heart still aches quite a fair bit. From the above picture, you can see the little swell on his nosebridge..aiyo!

Anyway, I have learnt a few things from such injuries. (a) Ensure that the eyes are not affected (b) Ensure no nose bleed (c) Check if nose is crooked. If the child has any of the above three problems, it'd be better to bring the child to see a medical doctor. So now, I am just waiting for Greg's bruise on the nose bridge to spread down to his lower eyelids. Just like what Rina sms-ed me, "Greg's going to be batman for the next two weeks"! Well, hope his "eye bags" this time would not be as black as the previous one.. it's indeed not easy being a parent..I do feel my hands are quite full with just one toddler. I really wonder how my parents managed to bring up 4 kids..

Children's Day is Around the Corner!

It slipped my mind that Children's Day is around the corner. One of Greg's Chinese teacher, Wang Huan LaoShi gave him a cute giraffe stuffed toy. She must have noticed that Greg's very attached to his stuffed toy hence got him another one. WangHuan LaoShi is one teacher who has taught Greg many children's songs in Mandarin and someone who has cultivated his general interest in Chinese. Because of her, Greg enjoys singing the Chinese songs and listening to Chinese conversations. I must really thank her for the effort she has put in.

Greg loves this green giraffe so much that he hugged it all the way back home from school yesterday and even talked to it in the car. He told the green giraffe that he would introduce him to another giraffe when reached home. When home, he ran towards his bed and got hold of his old/ orange giraffe. He told orange giraffe that it has a brother, that is, the green giraffe and the two giraffes had a big hug! Waah.. so touching! Haha..

The picture above was a note from WangHuan LaoShi. It was actually tied to a red ribbon round the green giraffe's neck but Greg accidentally pulled it out! Aiyo. The picture below shows the giraffe brothers! Haha. Greg has not named the green giraffe yet. But anyway, I hereby sincerely thank WangHuan Laoshi for the gift.

A Tribute to Mum

I can't help but keep thinking about Mum and the past. Thanks to Greg and my siblings for triggering these memories over the past couple of days. Hmmm... or should I blame it on my pregnancy hormones, because I noticed my emotions do come in waves. I do get emotionally charged whenever I think about how different my one month confinement would be after my delivery. I would also feel upset whenever I hear someone saying that they have difficulties looking after two young kids and they need their mothers' help when one of their kids is sick. Well, I guess I am not as lucky as them. I do agree that not all grandparents dote on their grandchildren and would "scale high mountains/ swim across the sea" for their grandchildren. But both my Dad and Mum did. I know they had always put the children and grandchildren before themselves, and that's partly why their passing is a great loss to me. They had loved the children and grandchildren more than they loved themselves. I can vouch for that.

Above is the picture taken with Mum and my two sisters using our own camera. I couldn't quite recall which year it was taken but Mum was very well then. She suffered from large intestinal cancer in the late 90s but her condition was considered in remission when we decided to take a huge family photo. It had always been Mum's dream to take a family picture with the children in graduation gowns and all the grandchildren. That was the last time we had our family photo taken and it's a pity that Greg, Regine and Reuben were not in it.

Anyway, here's another poem specially dedicated to my mummy..

It's coming to 4 months since you were gone
Some people may wonder why I still yearn for you after so long
I didnt know how painful it's like to lose own mum
Until I went through it myself and wish this day never come

I really miss your smiles and laughter
I regret not telling you you were such a great mother
There are so many things I want to say
Feel very sad whenever I realize you have gone so far away

During those times when you scolded and caned me
I was upset then but now I can imagine how hurt you could be
I used to think you were biased and never fair
Whether you really were or not, now I no longer care

How I miss the good food that you used to prepare
You are still my best chef, and no one else can compare
Though things have changed and do not stay the same
Inside my heart, our times together would forever remain..

Greg and Ma

Greg suddenly insisted to go Grandma's house when I fetched him from childcare yesterday. He said he wanted to visit grandma and to play his toys there. I told him Grandma wasn't around and no one was at the house but he believed that the house wasn't empty. Since my mum's house is very near to TTSH, i agreed to his request. We arrived at about 6:30pm. Greg's behaviour was a little strange in that he used to prefer to wait for the lift. Yesterday evening, he was somewhat impatient and asked me to walk up the stairs with him instead. When I opened the door, he dashed into Mum's room. His shoes were still on.

I saw him at the side of Mum's bed. He turned to look at me and asked, "Mummy, where's MaMa?". I told him Mum has passed away and is no longer with us. He looked at me, and seemed quite puzzled. He then asked, "Why Mama never bring the tiger pillow along with her?". I was struck dumbed. Not knowing how to answer him, I diverted his attention by asking him what toys he wanted to play. Greg selected the toys and plonked himself comfortably on Mum's bed to play. He wasn't bothered with the heat in the room (windows were not opened) or his shoes not removed. After some time, he decided to leave but together with some of his toys. Greg turned to look at Mum's bed one last time before leaving her room. I know Mum loved him and enjoyed his company a lot. I have taken pictures of him in Mum's room but they didn't turn out to be very nice when I tried attaching them in this blog.

Hubby's leaving for HongKong today. On a business trip. I told Greg about it last night.

Gregory (with his arms stretched out, just like an airplane): Daddy, you are taking aeroplane and you are going HongKong?

KengYong: Yes.

Gregory: Why must you take aeroplane to go HongKong? You cannot drive there?

KengYong: HongKong is very far away. It's not possible to drive there. Must take aeroplane.

Gregory: Are you going HongKong to fetch MaMa home??..

Well, Greg must have thought Mum's still around but somewhere far far away. I guess Greg must have missed Ma a lot too.. It's just a pity that Greg lost both his granddad and grandma at such a young age...

Greg Triggers my Childhood Memories..

I went to fetch Greg yesterday at childcare and noticed that he was not wearing his own pants. Asked him and he told me he had passed motion into his brief and pants, hence his teacher had to change him and get him to wear the one that belongs to the school. Asked him why he didn't inform his teacher about his needs and he claimed that he didn't like to pass motion into the toilet bowl.. at home, he would usually poo into his own potty. The toilet bowl at home is simply too high as Greg's height still hovers around 90cm. Very short hor? I thought the toilet facilities at school were just right for him. Hmmm.. or maybe he finds pooing into the toilet bowl in school frightening. I am not sure... hmmm.. I guess I may have to think of some behavioural methods to get him used to concept of passing motion into the toilet bowl. By the way, he has never been traumatized by any toilet bowl-related incidents at home.

Greg would generally tell me the events that happened in school. Yesterday, he told me his classmate, Davitra, is hospitalized. Asked him why the little girl was in hospital and he said Davitra needed some injections for her leg. Poor Davitra. Sms-ed his form teacher to find out more. According to his teacher, Davitra had to go for a leg surgery because she had a lump around the knee area. So what Greg has shared is somewhat true. Hubby and I thought he's a bit KPO. Hahaha.

However, that brings back some past memories I had. I still remember that I used to tell my mum what happened in school. One day, I witnessed my teacher slapping my friend. One that same afternoon, when my mum was chatting with my friend's mum, I told the latter that the teacher has slapped him. My friend's mum asked me where, and I told her it's on his right cheek. She quickly checked and found that my friend's right ear was very red. She asked my friend about it, but my friend didn't talk much. Immediately, my friend's mum marched to the principal's office. I still remember Mum ask me why I talked so much. Anyway, I got frightened or rather, felt threatened when my teacher came to me the next day and interrogated me why I told my friend's mother what happened. Think I was only in Primary One then, and I was indeed very scared. I kept everything to myself and didn't tell anyone about my teacher's conversation with me. I met my friend's mother again, and she thanked me for telling her about it. However, I still remember I was looking away from her then, feeling quite upset and traumatized.. All I have learnt is that it doesn't always pay well to tell the truth.

Now, thinking back, I do think Greg's characteristics do somewhat resemble mine (e.g., telling me what happened, crying in school in the morning etc)... unsure if it's a good thing or not..

Mooncake Festival..

A little poem dedicated to my three other siblings - Pearl, Raymond and Rina..

It's mooncake festival today

I do not intend to celebrate it anyway

Though we had Mum with us last year

It's obvious Pa's absence greatly reduced the happy atmosphere

I could still recall the fond memories we had on this very day

Lighting up lanterns, sharing mooncakes and the fun games we used to play

Without Pa and Ma, I know mooncake festival will never be the same like before

If only I could turn back the clock when our parents were together with us four..

"Mummy, I have no urine to pass!"

Yesterday was the first day Greg went diaperless at childcare. He has been just wearing his brief at home since 2-3 months back and Hubby asked me why we have to keep buying him Pampers pullups almost every week. Greg doesn't like Drypantz and loves to wear only either Mamy Poko or Pampers ones at school. These pull-ups aren't cheap. I guess they fit him better and he prefers the cartoons/ designs on MamyPoko and Pampers. Sms-ed Greg's form teacher (Teacher Roze), and she's kind enough to let Greg try going without diaper at childcare for the first time yesterday.

Luckily, Greg didn't have any "accidents" at childcare. He strongly refused to put on his pullup when I went to fetch him from childcare. You see, I planned to go fetch Hubby at Harbourfront before we head for our home in SengKang. I was concerned that he might suddenly drop me a bomb to say he wanted to pass urine while we were on our way to Harbourfront as I would be driving and he would be sitting behind on his own. Since he refused, I got him to go toilet before we left childcare. Sigh... he requested for milo and yakult after that. I have some plastic bags(those with green strings and the type of plastic bag that you get when you go wet market buy tau hway zui) ready in the car. I was so worried that before he hopped onto the car, I asked him to pass urine again, but this time, into the plastic bag at the carpark. He just looked at me helplessly and said, "Mummy, I really have no urine to pass..". Aiyo, I felt so bad when he said that. I then told myself that I should trust him and should he really need to pass urine in the midst of traffic jam, perhaps it's time he learns how to control himself. I guess I was too anxious.

Well, when we arrived at Harbourfront, Greg revealed that he needed to ease himself. Waaahh... i felt so relieved and glad that he only said it then. *PHEW*. I wasn't that concerned when Hubby took over the driver's seat. At least I know I can rely on those plastic bags if Greg really needed to pass urine in the car. I could always get Greg off his carseat and get him pee into the plastic bag before tying it up. It only becomes a problem when he's left alone in the carseat behind, with either I/ Hubby driving. Hmmm... wonder if I should get Greg learn how to use those plastic bag himself!! On second thought, I doubt he knows how to tie the plastic bag and it's highly likely that he will spill the urine eventually...I can only now imagine the mess he would create! Haha..

Guess what.. Greg refused to wear his brief this morning when I was preparing him for school. Usually I would change him at the back of the car while Hubby drives us to the childcare. He was visibly upset that I did not bring along his favourite brief. I explained to him that his green brief was washed last night and is still wet. He refused to listen and kicked up a big fuss - whining away and throwing his tantrums. Immediately, Greg was sent straight to his time out corner (in the car!) and he went to childcare without his brief on. I wonder he will feel sad or blessed if he knows his mummy is a clinical psychologist!! Sigh.. what a day to start my Tuesday morning!