Two Monkeys: Nicholas & Joshua Read

One years old seems like a magical age. In a matter of a week, I have seen Nicholas transform into a little toddler. He's finally back to his old self after a few weeks of teething, that left him feeling needy and uncomfortable. He had a blast at his birthday party - especially opening his presents from friends and family. He did his monkey face every time he saw a new toy. He really hated putting on his birthday hat. We caught some great pics of his reluctance to wearing his birthday gear. Since turning one, he's been really good at understanding my commands in Cantonese. He doesn't obey them all, but I'm surprised that he understands what I'm asking. In a week, he has learned: "Give that to mom", "go make the monkey dance", "do you want milk?". I also explain all the activities we do in Cantonese in hopes that he will catch on as they get repeated. He has also been playing more independently with his toys. He walks from room to ro

A year passes so fast when you have a little one. Nicholas is a few days away from turning the big 1. He's grown so much that I look back at pictures and can't remember him being such a tiny baby. He's now almost 20 pounds and about 30 inches. He was 7 lb. 15 oz. and 21 inches when he was born. Jean and I had a bet as to when Nicholas would walk. It turned out that I was right! He took his first steps at 11 months. He was completely fearless and persistent. It's been around 3 weeks and he hasn't resorted back to crawling. I am going to miss the pitter patter of his hands on and feet when he crawled around in the morning! Since he's been walking, I've had fun looking for shoes for the size 5 feet. He now has a cute pair of runner and a pair of waterproof boots for the winter time. He also has a number of tricks now too! He loves to grab our cordless phone, press the messages and page the phones, flushes the toilet, unravels the toilet paper, climbs up our

I can't believe it's been two months since my last post. We spent all of September in San Fran where the sun shone every single day. It's not hard to wonder why people lust over being in California full time. It's so beautiful there with the ocean, mountain view, coastal scenery and amazing organic food. While we were there, Nicholas perfected his clapping and pow wow trick. I've been trying to teach him how to clap for months. I read that if you used a song to teach them to clap, they may pick it up faster so for a few months, I was singing "happy birthday" to him. Cam would always say - it's not his birthday!!! One evening during a feeding, he started to clap. The funniest thing is that he has to look at one hand to make sure it's there before he can clap. Nicholas has also been a cruiser for the past month. He's hanging on to our furniture and moving around the ottoman with no troubles at all. Jean and I had a bet on when he'd start

We had our 9 month check up today at Dr. McConville's and Nicholas now measures 29 1/2 inches (born at 21 inches) and is almost 18 pounds. He keeps hovering over the same weight, so Cam and I are determined to keep shoving more food into his mouth. He never says no to anyting we feed him, so we will just continue with healthy, fatty food. The doctor ordered a blood test just to be sure his iron was ok. I brought him to the clinic and I felt bad just telling them that the requisition was for the baby. Thank goodness he didn't know what I was up to and I sat him on my knee as the nurses prepared him. They even had a baby sized rubber band to compress his vein. A second nurse held his arm down while I held him tight to me. The nurse pricked him for the blood.....and....not a peep. He didn't feel a thing and only started to squirm when he realized that his arm was being held down. A quick minute later, it was all done - two full vials of blood. I was amazed at how quick and p

I never thought holding your baby could result in injury to your hands, but I've definitely got Mother's Thumb. It's better known as tendonitis and mother's typically get it on their thumb and wrists. I've been dealing with it for about a month and it's left me unable to move my thumb without the tendon snapping. I've had some massage therapy to relieve the soft tissue and bought a brace to keep my thumb from moving in awkward positions. Simple tasks like holding a bowl is quite painful, so my left hand is now getting a workout. Ironically, Nicholas is still holding strong at 17 pounds and he's also crawling around. It likely was a buildup throughout the months to this point. I'm hoping that it will repair itself over the next few weeks, but the recovery period is usually a few months.

We've been spending an amazing week vacationing with 4 kids (Matisse - almost 5, Maya - 15 months, Laeticia - 11 months and Nicholas) at Tremblant. It's incredible how much kids learn from each other. Prior to this week, Nicholas was eating 1-2 teaspoons at the most at each meal time. This week, he's been observing the others eating 3 times a day sitting in their high chairs. He'd scream and squirm every time I put him into his chair for feedings at home, so I resorted to using the bumbo while surrounding him with toys. Today, his whole attitude towards food changed completely. He had multiple servings of breast milk and his solid foods included: 1 jar of strained carrots with rice cereal added, 1/4 cup of mashed pear, and a few slices of avocado. I even had to stop on the side of the road while pushing him in his stroller to feed him because he was fussing so much. I'm excited to give him more delicious food to him tomorrow as his appetite has grown significa

This pic bares a lot of resemblance to me when I was a baby.

This boy sure loves his mommy!

Big smiles from Nicholas at 5 months.

Nicholas at 5 months. Photo taken by my friend Joyce Tam in Toronto during our visit in May.

Last week, I discovered Nicholas' teeth coming through. The bottom teeth are sprouting and they're sharp! He hasn't bitten me yet, but I'm sure that soon enough, he'll discover what he can do with them. It's so funny to watch him when he digs his face into something hard to relieve his sore gums - it's usually a table or the back portion of a chair. He looooves chairs and I often have to hold him back from sucking on dirty chairs in restaurants. With his new teeth, he'll be able to chew on new foods. So far, he's been eating quite well. He can't sit still at the table for food, so I usually spoon feed him in his bumbo chair while he plays with his toys. I think that by next week, his tooth will be visible and he'll no longer be called a 'toothless boy' by my grandmother.

I can't help but add this to the entry. Now that Nicholas is eating solid foods on a daily basis, his poopies have definitely changed. I can't believe I'm saying that I'll miss those explosions - they were sometimes messy, but they didn't smell bad. With solids in his diet, diaper changes need special handling. He's a squirmy baby too, so I have to make sure he doesn't grab his own poo while I'm changing him. It's a load of fun each time! Cam's comment this morning as he changed his first smelly poopy was... "It looked like he sat on a Mars bar". It made me giggle as I was waiting for him to do a change with the new poops.

It's official! Nicholas is now crawling....which means that my days of putting him down on his back for a few moments of rest are over. He's spent the past month on all fours rocking back and forth, and finally last Wed., he made it across the room. My favorite moment is when I put my arms out and he crawls immediately to me with a big smile on his face. Occasionally, he gets distracted by things on his way over, but he will follow me crawling wherever I walk. He's also pulling himself up to a standing position using anything he can find. Even in his little tub, he will try to use the soap holder to stand up. There's no stopping him. He's definitely not interested in sitting anywhere for longer than 2 min. Feeding him in his high chair is a challenge - he just hates to be seated in there for food. Maybe I should start giving him creme brulee or chocolate mousse to entice him to enjoy his seat a bit longer. I spent a few hours this weekend removing things that wo

There's no question that Nicholas is a boy - he loves to climb. When we hold him now, he tries to climb up and over our shoulders. When we're at restaurants, he grabs onto the chairs like a koala bear. When he's on our couch, he loves it when he's facing the back part so that he can practice standing. He's a complete monkey and he's building abs of steel. He hates to be on his back and loves it when he can situp. He's not strong enough to sit up on his own yet, but I'm sure it's not too far off before he accomplishes that. He's also now weeks away from crawling. He's able to get onto all fours and he rocks back and forth. He's not quite sure how to move forward, and will whine in frustration after a few minutes of trying to do that. The bouncy chairs' days are now also limited. I found him last week with his head completely leaning over the chair to the ground in an attempt to break out of the chair.  I am sure that he'll soon

Nicholas is now showing all sorts of emotion and fear is one that is crept up today. My mom was playing with him in her garden and she showed him her statue of a deer. He was fine for a few minutes, but then he started freaking out. She brought him closer to it and he kept screaming. She wanted to see if he was afraid of other statues, so we showed him her sailor and a dog ... and both objects scared the living daylights out of him. I ' m praying tonight that he doesn't have any nightmares. He's also dispalying some stranger anxiety as well. The Lee family came to visit us over the weekend and Nicholas began to cry as they all tried to play with him. It took him about 10 minutes to gain composure. He stared at them for awhile before he was able to be comfortable around the family. After showering some days, I will put a towel around my wet hair. The other day, I put it on and when Nicholas saw me with my new look - he began to scream. I tried to talk to him so that he&#

Nicholas will be turning 5 months this week and he's beginning to master sitting up by himself. The changes I see are so quick and daily as we discover his new skills. His first attempts at sitting always had his head on the ground in some weird yoga position. I've discovered that toys in front of him will help prop him up and keep him interested enough to hold the position. He also now eagerly stares at Cam and I as we eat our food. He watches carefully as we cut up our dinner and bring it to our mouths. It's definitely a sign that he's pretty much ready for solids. I'm going to wait another two weeks before we start to introduce cereal. I'm so excited to watch him develop with his food. We had chicken heart for dinner this week and he didn't even flinch at the sight of it, so Cam and I are convinced that he'll like it too...hahah. The fun part will be seeing what he'll love and hate.

If I had one wish, it would be for a cure for eczema. It's wreaked havoc in my life for 35 years and now it's affecting little Nicholas. This past week, my eczema erupted again on my face and chest. Not only is it painfully itchy, but it exhausts me and leads to many sleepless nights. The nights are now even worse as I often have one feeding to do at about 3 am. Nicholas' eczema is primarily on his neck, legs and we think his scalp. Cam was shocked to see him itch intentionally the other day. He's been scratching his head for the past week, so we're quite sure that he's got some itchiness there. His stools have also been extremely acidic smelling - almost vinegar like and full of mucous. If anyone has any other suggestions, let me know. For now, I'm avoiding dairy and eggs and praying to the skin gods.

This week, I've discovered our little guy rolling from back to front a few times. Of course it's during times when I'm doing something other than watching him but it's quite an accomplishment to finally see him more mobile. When he does get onto his front, he ends up letting out a yelp that says - how the hell did I get myself here! He hasn't made it from front to back yet, so that may be the next step.

Nicholas playing with one of his toys - he can now hold and grab things. Nicholas loves staring at this lamp. He's also a pro now at tummy time. Hanging out with his buddy Liam.

My friends Erin & Jay from Kansas sent us a Jolly Jumper when Nicholas was born. I finally brought it out for the first time and he loooves it. It keeps him occupied up to 30 min. I love it too! Thanks Erin & Jay for the fabulous gift!

Nicholas has finally graduated to his own crib at 4 months. I've discovered that his electric worm movements during his sleep made him thrash his legs against the bassinet. When you watch it, it almost seems like he'd be able to hop out of the bassinet, so we thought it was time. Since moving him there this week, it's been a lot easier to drop him in to sleep once he dozed off. With the bassinet, the minute we did the transfer from the arms down, he'd know immediately what we were up to. With the crib, he just lies there and passes out without a fight. This morning, we found him with his legs though the end of  the crib and face down. He's quite the mover in bed as we put him down in the middle of the crib and on his back. We're happy that we can now reclaim our room and bed again!

Nicholas is now 15 weeks and weighs in at 13 lb., 14 ounces - close to 14 pounds. His latest thing is grabbing things that are within his reach, which includes my hair and the necklaces that I wear. He hasn't ripped any off my neck yet, but I'm sure that's to come. My ears have been safe so far. It was cool to watch him play with a toy the other day for the first time - going from batting it to actually grabbing it. Of course, what he wants to do it put it in his mouth to suck. He's probably getting sick of sticking his fingers in his mouth, which are constantly wet. I've also had to stock up on more bibs. At first, I wasn't sure if all the bibs were going to get any use, but now that he goes through 3-4 a day, I may need even more.

I think that I've gone from pregnancy brain to suffering from post pregnancy brain. For the third time this month, I've gone out with a new shirt with the tag still on. I don't find out until someone pulls on it to point out that I've totally forgotten to cut them off. Ooops! Since spring is in the air, I've been able to find a few new outfits including a new pair of jeans that in my regular size - wahoo! It felt great to finally wear jeans that don't have the elastic band on it. I loved wearing the stretchy jeans, but I am happy to shed the maternity gear for regular clothing that fits.

Nicholas has hit his 3 month growth spurt. Great for him, but bad for his parents. His wonderful routine of sleeping through the night is no more. I've been getting up the whole week for night time feedings every two hours. To top it all off, he is wide awake and ready to play at 7 am. The drool is also pouring out like a faucet. I was wondering if I'd get to use all the bibs we had for him. I definitely don't need to worry anymore, as he goes through 3-4 a day now and they're completely soaked! I hope that this coming week means that he'll be back to his normal routine of sleeping through the night - at least until 6 am.

Today's fascination was his hands - he couldn't stop slurping on his hands today. Over the past month, we have found him examining his hands for up to 5 min., but he was never obsessed with eating them. The teeth must be coming soon because the hands were stuck to his face today.

My little baby has reached 3 months! It has been an amazing adventure - the best job I've ever had. I had to finally get some of my photos developed so that I can reflect upon all the great memories we've built so far. I love looking through pictures so that I can remember certain moments as the time seems to be flying by. Here are some of the milestones we've noticed: Giggles I can now get him to giggle if I nuzzle my face on his belly and tickle him at the same time. It's so much fun to hear him laugh out loud. Smiles He loves to smile back when you smile at him. His best smiles are after feedings - no surprise there. He also gives big smiles in the morning time. I loved the smile he gave me last week as soon as he woke up. He usually wakes up before I do, so he likely was thinkig - FINALLY!!! You're awake so that we can play. Standing and Sitting He loves to sit up and stand with our help. I've developed a little exercise where I count to three

Cam has been my hero for the past few weeks. He's endured hours upon hours of non stop crying. Nicholas just won't take the bottle. We were beginning to see some success with some feedings, but for the most part, he rejects the bottle attempts made by Cam. The good husband and father he is - he offered to live through the crying on 2 weeks ago when I went out on a Sat. night. I called every hour to see how Nicholas was doing and he did end up taking the bottle with some crying. Since then, he's bee more feisty - at the sight of the bottle, he kicks and screams. Cam can't even put him in the position for bottle feeding without him yelling at the top of his lungs. He even hides his face when Cam comes near him with the bottle. When I take him back after an hour of crying fits, he even smiles and giggles when I look into his eyes. It's amazing how sensitive they are to what they like and dislike at such a young age. This week's bottle feeding trauma reached n

Over the past few weeks, we've been able to join other moms for playdates. We've also visited the Early Year Centre locations - Industrial Road and Don Reid. All meetups have been great sources of information sharing. I've also learned some more songs to sing to Nicholas - I found myself singing songs half way and then realizing that I don't know the words at all. It's amazing how having children can bring people together for endless conversations on feeding, bottles, daycare and much more. Here are some pics from our visits these past few weeks.   Playdate at Francine's on Feb. 5th - babies in pic include Naomi 8 months (Scott and Eva's), Liam 5 1/2 months (Mary and Adam's), Corbyn 4 months (Mel and Mike's) and Nicholas at 2 months. Playdate with Shannon and Xavier (13 months) on Feb. 9. Xavier loves the camera - a natural poser!  Playdate on Feb. 11 at Natalie Matula's. We hadn't seen each other in over 10 years

Nicholas is becoming more and more interactive. He's now discovering his hand. I found him staring at it in his bouncy chair, studying it like it was a piece of art. It's quite funny to watch because it amuses him for such a long time. He's also taken to slurping on his hand - I don't mind as it keeps him busy for at least 10 min! He's also becoming more aware of who I am.  I've noticed that when anyone else holds him, he fixes his gaze back on me. He just stares at the moment and doesn't cry. I'm sure that will come later. His neck is getting stronger and stronger. I put him into Tania's jumperoo and it was so fun watching him stare at the parrot. His feet were dangling, but he was able to hold his head up. Nicholas in the Jumperoo.   Nicholas chewing the exersaucer.   Discovering his hands.

Nicholas and I visited Ziad and Liz's little girl, Ella. She was born on Dec. 5th as well, and was also delivered via the vacume. They were born 12 hours apart. We met up with Ella this week and introduced the little ones. Here are some funny pics of the meetup. They look like an old married couple already. Nicholas and Ella share some moments together on the couch. Cutie pies side by side. Nicholas falling asleep already on his new friend.

This week marks Nicholas' two month milestone, which meant that he was due for his 2 month check-up with Dr. McConville. Robert (Cam's dad) came with me for moral support and boy, did I need it. Nicholas weighs almost 12 pounds now - 11 lb. 14. ounces - to be exact and is 60 cm/23 3/4 inches (he was 21 inches at birth). He's above average for his age in weight and length and he is in good health. His fractured clavicle is healing well and there should be no concerns. When it came time for his two shots, which are given in the thigh of each leg, I felt for the little guy. Robert held him up vertically and his blanket covered what was going on below. The first needle sent him with a screech and the second one brought me to tears. I think it was the tone of the cry and the way he looked at me that made me tear up. I needed a few minutes to compose myself because it was so emotional for me. The little man cried for a few minutes, and then he was feeling much better. I fed him

On Sunday mornings at 9 am, I've been joining a yoga class that's offered for free at the Lululemon down the street. It's fantastic - each week is a different type of yoga class and they're free. My absence for an hour means that Cam has to watch Nicholas.  When I came home last week, Cam looked as though he had been doing it for 5 hours, which made him realize how much work is really involved in an 8 hour day with the little man. We've been trying to get Nicholas used to the bottle so that I can have some freedom when I need it. For some odd reason, he'll take it from his grandpa Robert, but Cam gets the screaming, wailing cries that don't stop when he tries to feed him. This morning, poor Cam tried for an hour to get Nicholas to drink his milk from a bottle. Little whimpers turned into high pitched cries that forced us to just give him back the breast. During the feeding, I was back from yoga, so it likely was my scent on Cam and being in the room that c

Over the past few weeks, Nicholas has had to deal with baby acne and cradle cap. The acne went away after a week, but the cradle cap was getting quite ugly. It affects a lot of babies as the hormones from my milk cause him to develop a flaky scalp that's yellowy and crusty. I got a great tip from my friend Sabrina, who suggested the Medella foaming shampoo for babies and it's worked wonderfully. No matter how many times I say it, 'Cradle Crap' still comes out of my mouth rather than 'cap'. I think 'crap' is more suiting for what it looks like, so I'm going to stick to it. We've also discovered that Nicholas is a noisy sleeper. My mom was in shock when she heard him snoring while she was pushing his stroller. That's my guy! He's just like mom. Since my pregnancy, I've been snoring a lot more and often will wake myself up. He also makes a lot of grunts while sleeping, which are quite funny to watch. Let's hope that the noise level

Nicholas is now 7 weeks old and almost overnight, he's developed an attention span of longer than 5 min.! Over the weekend, he is now able to amuse himself in his bouncy chair for a record 30 min. I was so shocked to discover this as he's always cried when we put him down for longer than a few min. I moved him to his crib today during the day and he was also able to play around without the need to be picked up. I train them well! He was also able to last the whole yoga class on Sat. morning without crying. I put him on his back for the whole time and he just played by himself. It was fantastic to get some stretching done without any fussing. He's also discovered his little left hand can be used to soothe himself. Rather than using a soother, his hand is the perfect object! It's always there and it's attached to him...hahah.

Just when I thought that I had the diaper duty all figured out, I keep forgetting that one missed step can lead to a big mess! As I was changing Nicholas last week, he kept squirming and wiggling as I took him out of his diaper. I heard a few little farts coming out, so I let him roll around a bit more. A few moments later, projectile poo went flying across his change table, dribbled on his clothes and change pad, and finally landed on the floor. Thank goodness newborn poo is not solid, but watery and odorless, so it wasn't too smelly. It made me laugh as I've never witnessed a poo force of that strength before! I picked him up to take a bath and as I was about to put him into his tub, I felt some dribbles on my feet. I guess he figured that if he did a number 2, he mind as well get it all out!! That really made me laugh. I wish there was someone else there to see it.

This week, we confirmed that all the milk he's been drinking has resulted in Nicholas weighing in at 10 pounds, 2 ounces. I think that he's also grown a few inches as well. That's harder to measure as he's quite squirmy and loves to kick. He also has begun to baby talk - making small babbles when he's happy and lying on his back. It's amazing what a few weeks growth can mean in baby terms. He's also able to lift his head up when we carry him around, and he's often mesmerized by the world around him. The biggest development is his ability to sleep at night with a 12 am, 3 am and 8 am feeding. The feedings aren't too long, so I've been able to catch up on  my sleep. I keep the room dark so that he eats and knocks right out after he finishes rather than being wide awake. We also went for our first walk together alone in the neighborhood. The fresh air was amazing for the little guy. He stayed asleep for most of the walk, waking up only after I

Bayshore has become our new hangout. I make at least 3 trips there each week - it's great because they have 2 elevators and lots of open space for you to walk with your stroller. Maria, Tania and I met up there for the first time since I had Nicholas. I was used to meeting them there before during my pregnant days, but this time, we were 3 mommy divas with our babies. It was quite funny walking into stores and figuring out if we would fit. The beauty of shopping with friends is that they can watch your baby while you try on clothes. I wondered that last week - how the heck am I going to try clothes on with the stroller and the potential for a crying fit at any point. By the end of our shopping trip, we all walked out with some new clothes! I was so glad to find 2 pairs of pants to replace the 4 maternity pants that I've been wearing for the past 5 months.

Nicholas and I went to our first yoga class together on Saturday at Dovercourt. I used to get up a 9 am for my 9:15 class...but now it's a different story. I needed at least an hour to get the both of us ready. I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that it would get me out of the house and it was something that I could do with Nicholas, Maria and Liam. I kind of wondered before what it would be like and thought - what happens if he starts to cry or need food during the class? After finishing our first class yesterday, it was definitely an entertaining hour. There were 5 babies in the class - all various ages. The funniest was Owen who was six months and his new trick was rolling and yelling. He's adorable with big brown eyes and filled with giddyness. His mom put him down on the groound and off he went - rolling, rolling, screeching, rolling. We started the class and Nicholas was quite good and then he began fussing. I was doing the downward dog and was trying to con

This week was the first time where I felt the complete exhaustion from lacking sleep with a new baby. It was the first week where Cam was back to work, so I didn't have my morning helper which was what Cam usually did when he was off - changing the morning diaper and lulling Nicholas back to sleep at night so that I could get some zz's. Nicholas had one night of constant feeding and by the time I got to sleep - it was close to 5 am. My body the next day felt as though I was hit by a train. I had flu like symptoms - but it was only due to a lack of sleep. My sinuses seem to be giving me some issues as well - at first, I thought it was a pimple developing on the bridge of my nose, but have since discovered that it's likely a sinus infection. I realized this morning that the lack of sleep with a new baby is worse than the experience I had after I partied all week in Cancun with no sleep, too much sun, lots of drinking and bad food. Mind you, I was 22 at that time. It's

This is my little party animal who could only handle 4 ounces of milk before passing out before midnight. We were hediging bets that he'd need more milk at midnight, but he let me off easy this year! At least he was in good spirits to put his party hat on and toot his own horn.

Here are some links where you can access more pics of Nicholas: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 New Year's 2010 Week 4

Nicholas at Week 1. Nicholas at Week 2 Nicholas at Week 3 Nicholas at 4 weeks. Nicholas at 5 weeks

In my new job as a mother, I am discovering new talents that I never knew I had and reviving old ones. The feeding demands have increased over the past two weeks - Nicholas demands milk that takes anywhere from 20 min. to 5 hour marathon sessions. The long sessions aren't daily, but they do take place every few days. Those are the toughest as all I do is sit on the couch and feed straight through. This is where my new talents come in. Since I'm sitting so much and can't move my arms, I've had to learn how to pick things up with my toes. It really is a challenge to do that. I feel like I'm armless and all I can do is stare at the object I want and concentrate on picking it up with either both my feet or toes from one foot. Since sitting down for hours on end is not appealing, I've also discovered some new squat exercises to do with Nicholas - I know it's dangerous to do them while he's breastfeeding in case he decides to tug hard, but I have managed t