Going meta

Ever since he was very little I've always played with him and this bee toy, having it buzz around him by flying it around by this little green strap. First he learned how to track it as it flew left and right. Then he started to reach for it and grab it. I would have it fly away at the last minute and he would always have a big laugh at that. Today I tried that and after a few rounds, he stopped grabbed my hand, took the strap from me and started happily flying the bee himself!

-- Jaime

Busy Mamu

Mamu has been so busy and have been coming home well after Chamu goes to bed. I usually only get to see him for 30 minutes before I have to go to work. He is so alert now and smiles a lot... Really wish that I could spend more time with him...

Good news is that his skin is getting better since we cut him off from the rice cereal and moved to rice porridge. Weekend is around the corner so I will get to see him more...

Chamu tests out the legroom in Business Class

Hanging out at KHH

Sleep Training

November is usually a busy month for me and this year was the same. Joaquin happened to have the skin eczema and was waking up every other hour at night. Not being able to get a full night sleep (or even a continuous 4-hour sleep) was starting to affect my coherence during the day. Last week, I finally decided to that it was time to adopt the CIT ("cry-it-out") method. But it was not that easy (since Jaime and I are both softies). I decided to give Chamu and ourselves another shot. I designed a new schedule for him (after checking with my good friend Karen) and started implementation last Saturday.
The main difference is putting him to bed at 7pm in the evening regardless of what state he is in. We used to wait until he was tired and sleepy before bringing him to his room which could be as late as 11pm (sometimes I would fall asleep before Chamu goes to bed and he would still wake up several time during the night). Since we put him on the new schedule, he has been sleeping from 7pm to 7am (well, he still wakes up at 11pm, 3am and 6am but it's already a big improvement...). We are now trying to train him off the 3am wakening (by feeding him diluted formula) and then hopefully the 11pm wakening too.
For the last few days, I had to come home late because of work and that means I didn't even get to see Chamu at all before he went to bed. I am really bummed but I think it's better that he gets enough sleep and I get enough sleep (and Dadu gets sleep and does not need to be yelled at by very sleep-deprived Mamu)...

P.S. We have moved to soy-based formula hoping that his eczema gets better. He now also wears socks on his hands to sleep. His skin is getting a bit better but still not fully recovered yet...

Getting Better

Baby Eczema

Joaquin has been having very bad skin lately. First we thought it was due to change of weather and his skin is not used to dry air but soon the condition spread to his body. Last week, he kept scratching himself awake at night every hour. No one was getting any sleep under our roof. During the day, he then goes into this perpetual grouchy mode. When we had our 6 months check up yesterday, the doctor was also concerned. He told us to carefully watch the types of solids he is having and to also switch his formula to soy-based formula. He also gave us moisturizers to alleviate his skin, which had started to peel. We cut out formula from his diet and also stick to only rice cereal and pear to make sure his skin does not get any worse. Thankfully, his skin is already a lot better today!
Sadly, I had to leave for the airport right after his afternoon nap and will be away for the next 5 days. Cannot wait to kiss his plushy, soft cheeks again.

P.S. 6-month stats:
Weight: 21 lbs (above 100th percentile)
Height: 70 cm (95th percentile)
Head Circumference: 47.5 cm (off the chart again!)