Month 12: Happy Birthday To MEEEEEE!!!!!

Gosh, I can't believe it's been a year already. Eventhough I probably spent more time with Izani during his first year than I did with my other kids during their first year, I still feel like he's growing up so fast.
I am so thankful, though, that I get to witness almost every minute of his first year :), and that I can report on his progress to you, via this blog!

Taking his first steps
That major rite of passage is almost here - sometime this month your baby may take his first steps alone. Also at about this time, your baby may begin feeding himself with a spoon, though he still frequently misses his mouth.

Well, he has taken ONE step alone. He could, however walk a few steps while I hold one of his hands though. I'm not too worried because I know it's going to happen sooner or later. Most of my kids start walking a few weeks after turning one.


What's over there?
Izani can't feed himself with a spoon yet, but that doesnt stop him from trying. I notice that he likes finger food more than other kinds of food and insists on feeding himself. So he eats a lot of fries if we're out. At home I give him rusks, crackers and fried chicken wings. He also loves roti canai.
Oh, he can drink from a straw!! The first time he did it was when he took a sip of lollies' strawberry smoothie in Q@tar.


mmm yummmeeehh!!

New kinds of play
Around now your baby's play will probably start changing from mastering his fine motor skills (he's got that thumb-and-forefinger grasp down pat) to exercising larger muscles. He probably thinks it's fun to push, throw, and knock everything down. He'll give you a toy as well as take one, and likes games where he can put things such as blocks in containers and dump them out.

His favourite game nowdays is 'memunggah' (rummaging). He'd open up drawers, cabinets, bags, laundry hampers and take out all the stuff. His favourite toy nowadays is a tupperware, either with or without the lid. I have a cabinet full of tupperwares in between my stove and my sink, so that he can play with them while I cook. The other day, however, he ventured into the dining room and decided to play with the real stuff instead of the plastic ones and broke one of my neighbour's ceramic casserole dish (she had given me some food and I had not returned the dish yet). Aiyoh!!! It was a good thing that HomeCenter was on sale, so I bought her a new one as a replacement.
I brought him to the playground for the first time a few weeks ago and discovered that he really likes being on the swing. What a delight to watch his face light up in discovery of the sensations of being swayed this way and that.


wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

Making bedtime easier
As your baby approaches his first birthday, he may begin to resist taking naps, and his growing independence may lead him to make a fuss at bedtime. Following a well-established nighttime routine, which might include a bath or a bedtime story, for example, may help settle him to sleep.

This explains why you have not seen me blogging as much as before. He only takes 3 naps during the day. Once at 10am (which gives me time to shower and do a litlle housework), another at around 1pm (which gives me a chance to make lunch and eat it), then another at around 6 or 7pm (which is my only 'me' time). We don't have a routine, but switching off the lights usually works like magic. As long as he can't see anything, he'll go to sleep. As long as there are 'activities' around him, he'd try his best to keep himself awake, so that also means shoo-ing everyone out of the bedroom.


It's hard to say good-bye
Your child has probably had bouts of separation anxiety during the last few months. This is natural: he loves and depends on you, so he'll be distressed when you leave.

Oh man... Whenever Izani sees me putting on my headscarf, he'd know I would be going somewhere, and he'd immediately ask to be picked up. I would say "Bonda tak tinggal nya" (I wouldnt leave you), but still, he wants to be picked up. NOW. The only thing/people that could distract him would be his siblings. So far, I've only left him a few times, when we went out shopping in Jakarta.
I don't know whether I'm gonna be sending him to a nursery or not, because the one at my compound costs SR600/month. I was thinking, with that kinda money, I'd rather lug him around myself while I go spend it shopping somewhere.


So, can I get my driving license now?

Learning more about language
Though at this point their vocabulary probably consists of only a couple of words besides "mama" and "dada", many one-year-olds can babble short, fully inflected sentences that sound like they're speaking a foreign language.

I was asked what language Izani speaks, by someone the other day. I'm sure he meant whether it was English or Malay, but I answered 'German' because that's what it sounds like to me. :)
He understands "mintak" and of course, "No".


Giving everything a name
It's up to you to help your baby make connections between objects and their names - the more you do, the faster your child's vocabulary will grow. Keep talking to your baby and labelling things. Count stair steps as you climb them and point out the names and colours of the fruits and vegetables at the supermarket. Read your baby a picture book and ask him to point to or name familiar objects. Give him choices sometimes. Ask him if he'd like to wear the red or the blue socks, or if he'd like to play with his blocks or his stacking rings. He may not answer, but then again, you may be pleasantly surprised.
I'm sure the guys at the grocery store call me "The Crazy Lady" because I talk to my baby all the time. Sometimes Izani even helps me pick out my clothes.

All in all, I think Izani is a very cheerful boy. He is not shy to laugh when something or someone is funny.He is also somewhat of a comic. He knows that I laugh everytime he sneezes, so sometimes he fakes one and gives me a cheeky grin.


Picture courtesy of Auntie Lolly Q

Month 11 : mobility and insanity

There is a correlation between the increased mobility of a child and the increased insanity of the mother of the said child.

Growing physical independence
Your baby is no longer that helpless infant who couldn't do anything without you. His growing independence -- evident in his solo standing, stooping, and squatting -- is becoming apparent.
Izani has started standing up on his own, but he can't stand for too long. If he's not aware of it, he could stand for about a minute. But once he realizes he's standing up, he'd immediately squat on the floor.


Taufik trying to coax him to stand for the camera


He finally stands!

We would usually whoop and applaud when he stands, to let him know that it's quite an achievement and to encourage him to do it more often.

He has also started climbing up stairs on his own since the last two months (but I forgot to write about it). Before this, he'd stop at the first few steps and make noises and wait for someone to go up with him, but nowadays he doesn't care anymore, he'd go up whenever he pleases. When he does this silently it's quite scary coz one moment he'd be downstairs with me, the next thing I know, he's already upstairs! *shudders*


Half-way there!


Books for your little reader
Your child likes to look at books and leaf through the pages, though he won't always turn them one by one.
I bought him Goodnight Moon a few months a go and so far that has been his favourite book (to look at and to chew). But he's not opposed to grabbing and tearing up his older sibling's books, especially if he sees someone really engrossed in it.

Becoming his own person
At this age your baby may assert herself among her siblings and begin to engage in parallel play -- contentedly playing alongside (but not with) another child.
He likes playing together with his older siblings, but he also likes playing alone. He likes it when we lightly tap his mouth while he makes a sound to make that woo woo woo "indian call", but sometimes he'd grab your hand and try to bite your fingers. He'd play with toys with his siblings, but he's not learning to share yet. If you take his toy away, or if you do something that bother's him, there is hell to pay!


Playing around with his abangs and kakak early weekend mornings

He knows how to play peek-a-boo on his own now. While I dress him up after a bath, he'd grab the towel over his eyes (and shuts his eyes) and won't bring it down till I say "Cak!". It is such a joy to watch!

Time to start setting limits
Your baby now probably understands simple instructions and may purposely choose to ignore you when you say no. (To help the word carry a little more weight, reserve its use for things that are truly dangerous.) His desire to explore is stronger than his desire to listen to your warnings, so it's up to you to protect and teach him. What seems to be defiance isn't; it's just his natural curiosity to see how the world works.
Just like my sister tulisje, I'm also scared that Izani would think his name is "Izani Nor".
You'd think with 3 kids before him, I'd be more prepared for this. It still drives me crazy when he crawls away like a turtle on speed and I can't chase him fast enough before he dips his hands into the toilet bowl. Sometimes I don't know whether he wants to sit on my lap or be carried around or stand on his own or sit in his walker or sit down or what coz he's wriggling wriggling all the time.
My tactic for now is ignore his crying and try to distract him.


How can you be mad at this face?

Even with my dilligence, I still can't protect him from hurting himself.

Talking up a storm
Words and wordlike sounds are now spilling out of your baby -- words she's now able to use meaningfully.
This may be just mommy-ears talking, but I think he's constant repeating of "the the" is actually his version of calling me 'Bonda'. My other kids called me the same way when they were small.
Izani does alot of baba's and mamami's anyways, so i can't really tell when he's really trying to say something or when he's just plain babbling, but I know when he sees me and reaches out his arms and say "the the" , he means to call me :)
Sometimes he'd pick up something and starts having a conversation with me, showing the thing to me and pointing at where he picked it up, then giving me a silly grin, as if saying "Look here! I got this thing! I picked it up from down there! yay!" in his own gibberish. Of course I'd indulge him and tell him he's such a smart boy, even though what he'd picked up was just dried cereal from breakfast.


Drooly happy baby

Can't wait for next month!!
What do you think, party or no party?

Month 10 : Long time no see...

I can't believe it's already been 10 months! Times seems to fly so fast when you're having fun...

Becoming more mobile
By the time they're 10 months old, babies are usually able to crawl well on their hands and knees. At this age, your baby can also sit confidently and may even walk while holding onto furniture
Izani can crawl very very well... he looks like a cockroach with a missing foot (lipas kudung) when he's chasing after something or someone (most usually, me). He can already stand and inch his way while holding on to furniture. The malays call this 'infecting' (berjangkit), depicting the movement from one furniture to the next.


Izani standing holding on to a chair and a table

Grabbing with his fingers
Your baby's fingers are becoming more agile. He may be able to pick up a small object with his thumb-and-finger pincer grasp without having to rest his wrist on a solid surface. He's intrigued by tiny things and is still likely to taste-test them.
Tell me about it! This boy wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth. He has eaten pencils, erasers, rubber bands, candy wrappers, and has chewed on his siblings' books. I have to make the older brothers do a 'security check' and clear the floor of anything Izani might put in his mouth. (Ilham just loves the military sound of this request). It's worse now that he's got so many teeth. He could bite through bottle caps, paperback book covers and even people's fingers and toes. I've had a few bite marks on my thigh because of him.


Count my teeth! And I have more coming!
He is also quite adventurous with food. He'd want to try anything you're eating. In fact, he has developed his own taste. He doesn't like sweet stuff (though he likes chocolates), but prefers savoury food. He also loves crunchy stuff, like crackers and crisps. Just like me :)


Izani stuffing himself with goreng pisang (banana fritters)

Blooming personality
Your baby's personality is probably really emerging now. He may be very social, granting broad smiles to everyone he meets, or a little more reticent, shyly hiding his face when well-meaning strangers try to engage him.
When we went home for the holidays, he was quite shy with the new people he met, even his grandmother. After a while though, once he is used to the 'new person', he'd be comfortable with them. It took him a while before he allowed my mom to hold him, but she grew on him after we went to Jakarta and spent a whole week together.


Izani with his maklong (eldest aunt) and his nenek(grandma)
Izani is very attached to his older siblings. The first week when we got back to S@udi and the kids started school, I found him wondering from room to room looking for them. Nowadays he refuses to go to sleep after 1pm coz he knows they're gonna come home soon, and he shrieks with excitement when he sees them as I open the door.


Izani and Ihsan
He'll repeat sounds, gesture for your attention and may even wave goodbye when he sees you head for the door. He's also developing a mind of his own, which you've probably already noticed when he protests being put in his car seat or pushchair
Izani waves his siblings goodbye at the door every morning when they leave for school. Sometimes he even imitates me scolding the kids, with raised voices and pointing his index finger. It can be quite funny to watch.
He also has this cheeky expression he makes when he thinks he's caught doing naughty stuff.


cheeky cheeky little boy!

Handling your baby's fears
There will be times when your child is scared of things he can't understand or of things that didn't formerly bother him, such as a ringing doorbell or the telephone. When this happens, the most important thing you can do as a parent is comfort and reassure him; tell him that you're there and he's fine.
So far, he has not displayed any fears yet. A few startles when I suddenly scream his name to stop chewing on wires or something, but nothing that made him really scared.
He doesnt like to have anything over his eyes and on his head, though. Playing peek-a-boo can sometimes get distressing instead of fun if it wasnt done right, and I have a hard time making him wear the spiky hat we bought him on new year's eve in Jakarta.


my durian boy

Talking to your chatterbox
Your baby is just beginning to understand many simple words and phrases, so it's more important than ever to keep talking to him. Give your chatterbox a head start on good speech patterns by repeating his words back to him using adult language. Though it may sometimes feel silly, having conversations with your baby is a great way to encourage his language skills. Giving your baby a blow-by-blow description of what you're doing is also a great idea, whether you're dicing onions for dinner or folding the laundry.
Since he's my only companion at home during the day, I can't help but talk to him about everything. I'm afraid I'm guilty of sometimes using baby talk, like "mamam" for eat, "muah" for kiss, and imitating him blowing raspberries. Most often than not, though, I talk like a regular person. Sometimes I talk to him even when I'm outside walking or shopping, which makes me look like a crazy person, but what the heck.
He already recognizes his name and of course, the first word all baby learns: "No".
I think the first phrase he'll learn would probably be "Izani!!! What's that you've got in your mouth???" or the malay equivalent "Izani makan apa tuuuu?????". I think he probably already knows what it means coz as soon as he hears anybody say this, he'll clamp his mouth shut.


Izani with the measles

Month 7 : I like to move it move it

Bouncing up and down
Your baby can now support some of his weight on his legs, and he loves to bounce. What's more, he's probably able to sit unsupported (which will free his hands for exploring), and he'll turn when sitting to reach a desired object. He may even be able to get into a sitting position from lying on his stomach by pushing up on his arms.
Oh yes, that’s the theme for this month. He’s very mobile now, and would not take sitting still for a long time. This means a lot of work for me during playtime.
I can no longer leave him under the pooh baby gym, coz he'd get bored instantly and roll over, try to get up by pulling on the arches and then yell and scream when he can't quite make it.
He wont roll around quitely on the floor because he's attracted to tables and chairs and would want to pull himself up. The thing is, he is still unable to balance himself well on his feet, so more often than not, he'd end up falling on his bum again, or worse falling back and banging his head. This means that I can't really leave him alone .. I have to monitor him constantly.

Learning to grab
Your baby's fine motor skills are coming along, too. By now he can probably scoop things up with just one little hand and transfer them from one hand to the other fairly easily. He may also be able to clasp his hands together and sip from a two-handled cup (with your assistance). Before long you'll probably notice the noise level increasing, not only because of your baby's babble, but also because he'll find out how much fun it is to bang objects together.
Izani can’t transfer things from one hand to the other yet, but he can sure grab things. Combine this with his crawling, and you can just imagine the things that he wants and is able to grab..

Teething
See for yourself:


Testing your authority
At this age your baby may begin testing your authority by refusing to follow your directions or entreaties. When he puhes back, he's not being disobedient or wilful - he's just curious and simply can't remember things for more than a couple of seconds at a time. The best tactic is to use a simple no, then distract him.
AHH! *rolleyes* You don't need to tell me this. After four kids, I had figured out how to handle tests on my authority. I think I've watched enough SuperNanny and Little Angels to have an idea of what to do.. :)
Thank God there are no BIG tests yet.

The beginnings of separation anxiety
Your baby's reluctance to be separated from you may delight you but may also frustrate you at times. In either case, it might help to load a laundry basket with his toys and move it - and him - from room to room so you can get the jobs that need doing around the house done while enjoying each other's company.
Izani is feeling this with both Taufik and me. Sometimes even when I'm in the room with him, he'd cry when he sees his dad get out of bed and leaving him, and it's vice versa. Again, we'd use the distraction method, coz really, babies have such short memory spans.
When it's just him and me in the house, I carry him around everywhere. If we're downstairs, then he'd be in his walker and can follow me around as I move from kitchen to living room to laundry to storeroom etc. For short amounts of time, I could keep him occupied with the knobs on the drawers of the cabinets in the living room, but usually he would push himself about the house to look for me.



Recognition skills
Your baby now actively engages in hiding games and can remember that the jack-in-the-box pops up at the end of the song. He's also able to recognise different tones and inflections and may burst into tears if you speak harshly.
'Ci-ku-cak' (also known as peek-a-boo) is his favourite game. His elder siblings could previously suprise him by popping up at different spots behind the sofa, but now that he is able to prop himself up against the back of the sofa, he is quite adept at listening for rustling noises and figuring out where his brother/sister is going to pop up next. It still delights him endlessly though.
I can't even scold his brothers now, without him feeling hurt by the tone of my voice.

Figuring out how objects relate
Your baby's beginning to understand how objects relate to one another in three-dimensional space. He may be able to sort toys, grouping items such as blocks by size. And if he admires his reflection in a window, and you suddenly appear behind his image, he's likely to turn and look for you instead of believing that you're in the mirror itself.
Ooohh i don't know about the sorting out toys part, but I do know that Izani just loves the mirror. Previously, he would look at his reflection curiously, thinking if it was a nother baby. But I think my constant kissing him in front of the mirror taught him that that baby is actually him. He would usually turn to look at me , and then turn to look at me in the mirror to check.

Stimulating toys and games
Your baby enjoys playing the same game over and over because he likes predictability. In addition to peekaboo (see above), try adding classics such as round and round the garden and patta-cake patta-cake to your repertoire.
I've modified "The Wheel on the bus" to play with him while he's sitting up instead of him lying down now. He seems to love it. He doesnt have that many toys at the moment and doesnt seem to mind it a bit. Even a tupperware filled with beans is a great joy to him. tee hee!

Is my baby developing normally?
I think he's doing splendidly!

Here's a treat for Izani's loyal readers:





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Month 6: Reach, Grab, Chew

Exploring with his hands
By the time he's about six months old (though sometimes it takes a little longer), your baby's hand control is developed enough that he can pull an object towards him.
Which seems to be the theme for the past month. He's done nothing but reach, grab and chew on stuff. You can't put him in your lap while you drink a glass of water, coz he will reach out and grab the glass from you (with his tongue sticking out in anticipation).
He has been chewing on my watch, my fingers, my new bracelet.. when I'm carrying him over my shoulder, he'd chew on my necklace, or my shoulder. I can't put anything within his reach, coz he'd grab it and would try to chew on it, even if it can't fit into his mouth (like the big talcum powder container). His gums are starting to be really hard and thick now, I have a suspicion that he might be teething.
He eats three spoons of baby cereal mixed with milk, 2 times a day now.


Left or right handed?
It's still too early to tell whether your baby is left- or right-handed.
But I think Izani is right handed. He seems to favor that side when grabbing. Furthermore, there are no lefties in my family nor Taufik’s

Learning to roll over
By this age, most babies have learned to roll over in each direction.
I can’t change him on his table anymore. I have to put him on the bed instead. I have started putting pillows around him when he sleeps, even when he’s on my King-sized bed, coz this boy can not only roll-over, he can move! He has started lifting his bottom when he is lying on his tummy. He cant pull himself forward yet but he could push himself backwards.
Oh, and he can also sit up on his own! yay!


Your little social animal
At this age babies not only tolerate attention from others, they often initiate it. Though you may soon notice the beginnings of stranger anxiety, six-month-olds are still fairly indiscriminate.
Ahh yess.. you should see him at fitar gatherings. He smiles at everyone who’s talking, even when they’re not really talking to him. Some makciks are luckier than others and might even illicit giggles from him.


Your baby the babbler
By six months your baby sees and hears the world almost as well as you do. Your baby can also recognise different tones and inflections and may cry now, if you speak to him harshly.
Yesterday I scolded him for scratching my face and tapped his hand in mock anger and he cried!! I laughed when he cried, coz I didnt expect him to feel hurt, and he laughed too.

Stimulating his senses
Your baby uses all of his senses to explore and learn about his world.
He really enjoys his pooh baby gym nowadays. He could stare at the patterns on the mat for minutes on end. I also try to make him smell things before I put it on him and tell him "mmmm... nice" or I pretend to smell his bum and say "eyeeewwwww!!!". He really gets a kick out of that.


Getting a kick out of story hour
Reading aloud to your child comes into its own now, as he will enjoy looking at bright pictures and having a quiet snuggle on your lap
Anis 'reads' to him whenever she has homework. (Anis brings home a picture book every few days, she looks at the pictures and makes up the stories). Izani would sit and look at the pictures, slapping the pages with his hands and occasionally trying to grab the edges and chew on them. That is usually my queue to exchange it to one of our own cardboard books.


Is my baby developing normally?
You know what, I'm not too stressed out about it. Last month I wrote that I was worried that he wasnt rolling over and the very afternoon he rolled over on his own. Now he's almost crawling. I actually have a video of him doing that but it took so long to upload to YouTube, i gave up.
I'm just gonna enjoy watching him grow up, coz it's seems like time is just zipping by..


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Month 5 : kicking and crying

Sitting up on his own
By now, your baby's physical developments are coming fast and furiously. If you place him on his stomach, he'll extend his arms and legs and arch his back.
We call this Izani’s “sky diving pose”, coz he looks like a sky diver during terminal velocity.
when on his back, he'll lift his head and shoulders.
Oh, he’ll do more than that.. he’d try to get out of his car seat and once when Ilham didn’t buckle him up, he actually got out ! on the carpet or any flat surface, he’d slowly edge himself upwards like a backward crawl. I don’t use his changing table aymore coz he almost wiggled himself off it too many times. I change him on the bed nowadays. Even then, I try not to take my eyes off him.
Ilham says sometimes Izani reminds him of a big fat maggot because he's always wriggling around.
He may even sit momentarily without assistance.
Yup, he can do that, but it wont be long before he’d slowly fall face down.
If you support him under the arms while letting him balance his feet on your thighs, he'll bounce up and down.
This is his favourte game!
He's capable of easily bringing an object to his mouth for oral exploration. And izani’s favourite object is his own hands.


Learning about cause and effect
Your baby's ability to interact with you, others, and his surroundings is growing daily. At this stage, he may start playing little games as he begins to understand that simple actions have results.
I notice that he has his favourite games, namely singing "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Pok Amai-Amai". He also can tell that a tickle is coming when I start singing "cup cup pin..."
He also enjoys playing with his siblings more and more. (Which is a blessing for me, coz that means I can let Ilham take care of him while I do other stuff *grin*)

Repeating his favourite sounds
Your baby is adding new sounds to his language repertoire, and his current favourite is probably blowing a raspberry or making bubbles.
When izani makes bubbles, his brothers would pop them! Izani’s favourite words now are “hmmmmmuh” and "aaaayyyyhhh".

Strong enough to feed himself
Though he may be able to hold his own bottle now, don't prop your baby up and let him feed himself just yet. Your baby's probably showing more signs that he's ready for solids -- from a lessened tongue-thrust reflex to a keener interest in the foods you and other people are eating.
Izani can hold his on bottle, but he can't hold it for long. He can hold his pacifier even though what he usually does is pull it out of his mouth. More often than not, he doesnt want the bottle, so i don't get the chance to see him demonstrate this that much.
I feed Izani organic fine rice cereal, mixed with milk, once a day. He seems to like it a lot. When he is sitting on my lap while I'm eating, I notice that his head would turn and follow my hand from the plate to my mouth, with his mouth gaping and drooling. Poor thing.. he so wants to eat!


Able to see small objects and subtle colours
Your baby's getting better at spotting very small objects and tracking moving things. Earlier your baby learned to distinguish between similar bold colours. Now he's beginning to sort out subtle differences in pastels.
I really don't know how to test this, but what I know is that he's getting to be really interested in his Pooh baby gym lately. I can put him in there and he can stay occupied looking at the objects for about 10 minutes. He'd swipe at them sometimes, I don't know on purpose or by accident.

Honing in on sounds
Your baby now realises where sounds come from, and he'll turn quickly toward a new one. Your baby may watch your mouth intently when you speak now, and try to imitate inflections and utter consonant sounds such as "m" and "b." Five-month-olds can recognise their own name now.
He would defintely turn his head when someone calls his name now.
I have tried to make Izani repeat "muh muh muh" or "buh buh buh" or "Puh puh puh" after me, but all he does now is watch my mouth and his would quiver abit, but he's not conciously attempting it yet. When I least expect it though, he'd accidently let out some audible m, b, p sounds.

Easily distractable now
Sometimes he is, sometimes he's not. I can't read a book while breastfeeding anymore, because he would stop and turn to look at my book. SOmetimes when he cries, I could cheer him up by playing a game, clapping my hands or jiggling the keys, but at other times, he'd just scream his head off more..

A growing range of emotions
By five months your baby shows a strong attachment to you by raising his arms when he wants to be picked up and crying when you leave the room. He'll laugh at funny expressions or positions and try to make you laugh, too.
Ah yes... at one minute Izani would be okay sitting on his dad's lap quietly, but the moment I walk into the room or he hears my voice, he'd call out for me. He wont raise his arms, but he would be jerking about excitedly.
His favourite joke now is sneezing. After he sneezes I would say "Alhamdulillah!" and give him a huge grin, and he thinks it's so funny. If I sneeze, I'd do the same and he'd give me a shocked expression at first, then he'd grin.
He also likes playing peek-a-boo, especially when I'm trying to slip a shirt over his head. He used to get really scared of the momentary loss of vision as the shirt goes over his face, but a "peek-a-boo!" would usually cheer him up.
And as his 5-month birthday present, I am presenting you with a video of him throwing a tantrum:



Is my baby developing normally?
I'm kinda dissapointed that he has not repeated flipping over his back/tummy. I am afraid if this is the side effect of my always picking him up and carying him around. But Taufik is not worried, because from Izani's active movements it's pretty obvious that his muscles are developing normally.
We're considering getting him a walker, because he seems to hate to be strapped into his carseat or stroller while I'm cooking.

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Till next month, see ya!
*waves*
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Month 4 : I am growing!

Izani is now 4 months !
A lot have been happening in the few weeks that I did not post anything here (for whatever reason), but here’s an update on his progress, based on the growth guidelines given by www.babycenter.com:

Feeding less frequently - Coz his stomach is bigger, and he is now easily distracted.
Hm.. I’m not sure about the feeding less frequently bit.. but he is drinking more at a time. But it’s true that he gets very easily distracted nowadays. His eyes would dart here and there and sometimes he’d turn his head while I’m still in his mouth to look at things or someone. *ouch*

A new talent for rolling over
Oh yes yes!! He has managed to roll over from his back to his tummy! But he can’t roll back yet, though. The kids and I have been cheering him on for weeks now, but he always had assistance before. This time he did it on his own. I had put him on the bed, turned my back to make milk, and the next thing I knew, he was on his tummy!


look at him trying to sit up

Time for solid foods? - They advise to not rush into solids to cut down on allergic reactions.
Actually, I have been putting half a scoop of baby cereal into 120mls (roughly 4 ounces) of his milk.. tee hee. I found that he got irritable though (maybe his tummy doesn’t feel right) so these past few days I stopped doing that. I’m gonna try to introduce cereal into his milk again in a few weeks, then maybe when he’s 5 months I’ll try and feed him.

Reaching out and mouthing objects - Your baby is now able to reach out and grab an object. He’ll study it for a moment and then try to put it in his mouth. You may also notice a lot more dribbling now.
There is A LOT of dribbling!! I use to carry a small towel or his flannel blankie around to wipe up his vomit, nowadays it’s more to wipe up his drool. He likes to make bubbles with them as well (his drool, not the blankie). I think he’s starting to be teething coz he bites his knuckles a lot and thrusts his fingers into his mouth, dribbling all over. We bought him a teether and he’s been chomping on that, even though he really prefers his fingers (or mine).
When I’m feeding him the bottle, he is now able to grip the bottle and either pull or push it as he pleases. I can’t wait till he could hold the bottle on his own! Heh heh.


chomp chomp chomp

Able to play alone now - Your baby can play with his hands and feet for a few minutes at a time.
I have caught him awake and sitting alone quietly just twiddling his thumbs and playing with his blankie. But most of the time he’d let out a “heyyyy” that is a cross between a sigh and a whine. He’d continue doing this till someone comes and plays with him , or if no one does, it will escalate to an angry cry. He can now stay longer in the carseat without crying, too. But ‘longer’ is not too long, because up to a certain point, he will scream to be let out and held in someone’s arms.


He’s starting to outgrow the carseat!

Beginning to understand the role of language -your baby understands all the basic sounds that make up his native language, he develops the ability to make some vocal sounds, he's also able to participate in back-and-forth imitation games . Because you react when he makes noises and tries to say something, your baby learns the importance of language and starts to understand cause and effect. He'll begin to realize that what he says makes a difference.
As I mentioned before, he knows that the different sounds that he makes will get different reactions from people around him. He really knows how to show his anger now. He will scream as loud as he can, and he’d continue till he thinks he’s had enough.
I tried playing imitation games with him, making “ba ba ba ba” (for “Bonda”) sounds to him, but he hasn’t imitated me yet, all he does is laugh, coz he thinks it’s funny.


excuse the hanging strap


Appreciation for a full range of colours - between your baby's second and fourth months, colour differences become clearer, and your baby starts to distinguish similar shades.
Really? I do not know how I could test this skill..


this is not his bed, by the way..

Getting more selective about people - By four months, your baby may respond to your presence, your voice, and even your facial expressions by kicking and waving his arms.
I notice that he would follow me around with his eyes and head when he is with his ayah, but he is still pretty okay with other people holding and carrying him. We had a gathering last weekend, and he was being passed around the room like a hot potato, except he wasn’t treated like a hot potato coz everyone wanted to kiss him and pinch his cheeks. I thought maybe that he would cry, but he didn’t. Until we put him in his car seat to go home…

I really can't wait to see what new things he'll learn next!

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Today is a double celebration, coz it’s also my 14th Wedding Anivessary :)


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