21 January 2016

So Ihsan is now 17 months old. If I were to stop breastfeeding at 24 months, I am left with only 7 months in this breastfeeding journey. Oh nooooooo! This will be my last ever breastfeeding journey! Boo hoo hoo! I shall enjoy it and not complain about the lack of sleep or how frequently he wakes up at night. (If I ever tell you that he sleeps through the night, I define night as between 2am and 5am.)

17 months and a couple of days. What can Ihsan do?

He can climb. A lot. I don't remember the girls climbing our dining and computer tables. I don't remember having to push all chairs against the wall to prevent the girls from climbing the tables. This boy requires constant supervision.

Consequently, the simple meals that I cook have become even simpler. I really cannot afford to be in front of the stove and watch over the onions that I have to tumis sampai naik bau. So, baked stuff are convenient. And I start cooking really early. Vegetables are actually the most cumbersome dishes because the prep work takes some time. So, I start preparing the vegetables immediately after I'm done with his breakfast. On a normal day, by 9am, the vegetables for lunch and dinner will be ready. (If you want to tell me about nutrient lost because of the early preparation and et cetera, it's okay. At worst, we get the fibre from the vege.)

The Boy. He still hates eating and I don't know how to get him to swallow the food. I normally manage to make him eat the first 3 (tiny) spoonfuls of his lunch/dinner. But trouble often starts from the 4th spoonful. He will start spitting out the food the moment the food enters his mouth. It is infuriating! To avoid wastage, I scoop back whatever he spits out and shove it back in his mouth. We have to do a few rounds of this before the food disappears (most of the time it's because there's too much stuck to his clothes to be scooped up).

He is underweight. Way below the 3rd percentile. 8kg for a 17 month old baby. Sigh. On one hand, I am not *that* worried (unlike during the era of my firstborn) but on the other hand, I am somewhat concerned that he may not have enough nutrition. I have tried out so many recipes. Last year, my 12yo nephew whom I tutored often helped to finish his porridge especially if it's cod porridge. Sigh.

Developmentally, there is nothing alarming. Other than his less-than-steady walk, everything seems to be on track. Alhamdulillah for that. He is getting very cheeky these days and can follow commands. Ask him to make muka kiyut and he will cup his cheeks with his hands. He can point to his body parts except dagu and dahi. He can call out to his immediate family members and his favourite cousin. One day, the favourite cousin was at the door. He ran to the door and called out, "Ämiya! Amiya! Amiya!" Cousin's name is Nabilah.

He only salam people when he wants to. And when he wants to, he will salam you repeatedly. Likewise for kisses. He hates to see me sleeping. Everyone else can sleep but if I dare close my eyes when he's wide awake, he will immediately resuscitate me with a few smacks on my eyes. He likes to pretend to read. This is an influence of his sisters. He opens up a book and pretends to read by pointing at the words. He likes being read Llama Llama Red Pajama and any books that feature Elmo, pronounced Eh Mmmm. He also likes to tear pages off books. (let's pause for a minute and mourn the books that were sent to The Book Hospital)

He likes playing ball games - catching and kicking. He perspires a lot and needs the fan all the time. Thank God we don't have airconditioning at home; otherwise, our utilities bill would be astronomical. He has developed a penchant for magnets, stuffing them into his mouth whenever he managed to pry one off the fridge. (yes, they are placed higher but with this boy, short of putting the magnets on the ceiling, there's no place high enough) Sadly, he has outgrown his thing for durians. Was hoping to fatten him up on a regular dose of durians once they are in season.

Okie dokie. I must stop now. The Boy is sleeping and I have to do a couple of things online before he wakes up. I have about 30 minutes or so left before his nap time is over. Til next time, goodbye!