Taken a few weeks back

Father and son having fun together… Gabriel is almost 9 months old now.

From wikipedia:

Constipation also known as costiveness, dyschezia, and dyssynergic defaecation is a symptom of infrequent hard to pass bowel movements.

Constipation in children usually occurs at three distinct points: after starting formula or processed foods (while an infant), during toilet training in toddlerhood, and soon after starting school (as in a kindergartner).

It’s just amazing how much willpower a baby can have just trying to hold it in for sooooOOOOoooo many days… But it’s NOT funny.

For constipation, lactulose can help…

In the treatment of chronic constipation, the metabolites of lactulose draw water into the bowel, causing a cathartic effect through osmotic action. Unlike other laxatives that are recommended for temporary relief, lactulose can be taken daily for decades. It is safe for people of all ages, except for those in a very small percentage of the population that are galactose intolerant. Dosage may have to be adjusted over time to produce the desired effect because the laxative effect can reduce somewhat with daily treatment.

In treating constipation lactulose works by increasing the water content and volume of the stools in the bowel, making them softer and easier to pass. Lactulose is made up of sugar molecules and is broken down by the bacteria that live in the lower part of the gut. This leads to the contents of the gut becoming more acidic because of the accumulation of ammonia, and that in turn causes water to be drawn into the lower bowel. This increases the amount of water in the stools, softening them and making them easier to pass. The added volume of gas and flatulence caused by fermentation of the lactulose adds to the volume of the fecal material, and makes it easier to expel. The slightly acidic condition of the colon caused by the presence of ammonia causes active peristalsis. The combined effect of all of these process relieves constipation in a very effective manner.

Gabriel is now able to stand up… With support. Holding on to the sides of the baby cot, he can pull himself up now! Just about two weeks back, he was still trying to pull himself up.

A few days back, I received an invitation to the opening of the Starbucks Coffee outlet in Setia Alam. I turned down the invite from the MPP Zon 21 coordinator as I would be able to make it back on time.

On my way back today, I thought I’d just drop by the outlet and see if the rest of the MPP Zon 21 committees were still there… And they were. So I ended up being a busybody and joined in…

I got to meet the outlet manager and had a chat with her. She told me that this is the 2nd Starbucks outlet in Malaysia with drive-thru! It is also the first Starbucks outlet in Malaysia with a pylon signboard. Besides that, this is also a Shared Planet Starbuck outlet. That means the construction and outlet operations is supposed to be eco-friendly.

Drive-thru business hours for the moment is from 0800 to 0000hrs on Sunday to Thursday and from 0800 to 0030hrs on Fridays and Saturdays. And for a limited time (until they run out of vouchers), all drive-in customers will get a ‘buy-1-free-1′ voucher.

Inside Starbucks Setia Alam

Instructions for drive-thru customers

Starbucks shared Planet declaration

Enough about coffee… So, did I lose a tooth or grow a new one? Of course not!

Our babysitter told Mrs Tai that Gabriel is teething. We were surprised and felt bad that we never noticed it before! So this evening, we got Gabriel to open his mouth while we explored it… heh heh…

OK, it’s not as bad as I made it sound. Check we did and… Yes! We could feel something coming out from the bottom. Honestly, I never thought such events could ever be termed as ‘exciting’ but I really am excited about this new ‘development’!

Just the past one month or so, I have had to lower Gabriel’s cot twice. This evening, had to lower it again as we noticed that Gabriel is trying to stand up now. We saw him holding on to the top of the side railings (while he was kneeling) and trying to pull himself up. At the new level, he should not be able to even touch the top of the railing now…

A few months from now… He’s going to be ‘everywhere’… But nar… I am not worried or upset. In fact, looking forward to it though many have told me that when they start to move about, it’s going to be one heck of a time for the parents.

We’ve also removed the mobile from his cot as he’s now able to reach it (and almost pulling it down in the process).

Time just flies by… I’m just glad I have a good work-life balance at my current work place. Nothing beats being able to spend time playing with Gabriel each evening and watching him grow up…

It’s a public holiday — Wesak Day. After dropping by Dewan Seraya to check out the Setia Alam Vesak Day Open House, we met up with Chee Keong and family at Sunway Pyramid.

I got to catch up with Lok and his family — his youngest daughter was at home though. Mrs Tai managed to do some quick shopping (mostly stuff for Gabriel). We had a good time…

The ‘uniform’ is a gift from Kelly…

I am a big boy now… I can hold my own bottle…

This was taken at our babysitter’s place. Our babysitter was telling MrsTai that Gabriel can hold his own bottle now. I noticed it about two to three weeks back. Back then, when I was feeding him, he would want to try and hold the bottle. But of course, I didn’t let him hold the bottle by himself.

Our babysitter said that since this week, she has let Gabriel hold his milk bottle. She would put him at one corner and let him drink the milk by himself. Once he’s done, he’d put the bottle down (not necessarily upright).

Wow… Time flies. I better spend more time with Gabriel… Next thing I know, he’s hanging out till late night, going college, etc…

First thing I always do when I get back (OK, not really the first thing coz there’s also Mrs Tai) is look for Gabriel and hug him. On Friday evening, while holding him, I noticed he a bit hot. Mrs Tai noticed the same and we quickly checked his temperature. It was higher than normal — looks like Gabriel is down with fever.

We quickly took him to the nearby pediatrician in Klang. This is our first visit to this clinic (Dr Ooi) since the other one we used to go to (Dr. Tang) was closed. Many thanks to Kelvin Tee who helped guide me to Dr. Ooi’s clinic. Anyway, Dr. Ooi confirmed Gabriel is down with fever and also quite possibly, a slightly inflamed throat.

That was Friday… On Saturday, my throat was beginning to get worse. Seems like the mild sore throat I was having the past week was getting worse over the weekend (did I somehow pass my sore throat bacteria to Gabriel?).

And the weekend gets even worse… Early Sunday morning (around 3am), something else happened (it’s a long story) and we decided to be cautious and send Gabriel to the hospital. Yes, at that early in the morning, its the UMMC‘s trauma & emergency centre. But its not the first for Gabriel. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics and paracetemol.

Honestly, I don’t mind going to UMMC’s paed’s trauma and emergency centre at night because it’s the one time where don’t really need to queue to see a pediatrician. Plus, the doctor is not rushed and take their time to check. And we get to ask 1001 questions too…

Anyway, we got home feeling glad that Gabriel need not be hospitalised. We just need to observe his condition. But I was not too keen to give him antibiotics. So, after sunrise, we took him to see Dr. Ooi again for a second opinion. Recalling what happened earlier that morning, Dr. Ooi said we could just hold on to the antibiotics first and only start if he see Gabriel’s condition worsen.

As of Sunday night, Gabriel’s fever has gone away. He seems to be getting better. And my sore throat’s much better now. So, it’s an eventful weekend that ended on a happy note.

But we feel bad having to cancel our dinner plans with an aunt who was in town. *sigh* Hope to be able to re-schedule another dinner between her hectic time-table. She’s from Hong Kong and is here for a short visit but she is travelling all over the place — Singapore, Kuching (or was it KK?), Bali, etc…

Every morning for the past few weeks, we would bring Gabriel downstairs and let him play on his gym playmat which Derrell and Su Fei had given to us. The gym playmat would be able to keep Gabriel occupied while we prepared breakfast and get ready to go to work.

This morning, like every other morning, we left Gabriel on the playmat while we got busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. A few minutes later, we heard some noise from the dining room which was just next to the kitchen. We took a peek and saw Gabriel walking towards the kitchen! Mrs Tai had her mobile phone with her and managed to take a few photos of Gabriel walking on his own!
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Don’t play-play, ok…?

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