All About Bryan and Dylan

He’s my son, of course he is cute! (to me)

I really thank all the kind comments that I have received from all you mummies regarding Bryan & Dylan’s relationship.

Things really have improved a lot since I brought Dylan back.

We can now see that Bryan has grown to love Dylan more and more each day.

• Bryan will get upset when Dylan cries for long period. He will repeating ask Dylan not to cry. If Dylan still did not stop crying, he will start crying himself.
• Even when he is engrossed in his TV or in some game, when he sees Dylan, he will immediately come to give Dylan a kiss.
• He will occasionally shower Dylan with kisses non stop.
• He only gives wet kisses to Dylan. For the rest of us, his kisses are usually a cheek to cheek contact with a “kiss” sound.
• He will offer his toy, his favourite pillow and his food to Dylan.

Sure, he still does get the jealousy pang once in a while. Usually it is when I am bfg Dylan. When that happens, he does not hit Dylan but instead asked me to stop and put Dylan to sleep in his cot.

I can’t wait for Dylan to grow up and for both of them to play together. I know both of them are just gonna have a terrific relationship as brothers.

One of the things that I was warned repeatedly when Bryan starts school is that he may get sick more often.

4th week after Bryan starts school, he has his first “MC”. It probably started on Monday. He came back from school and complained that he is HOT and demanded us to switch on the aircon for him immediately. We brushed it off as him being spoilt as he had been in an aircon environment the whole day.

On Tues, his body really felt warm when I picked him up at the school. It felt warm the moment I held. At first, Audrey told me that his body may be warm because he had been running & climbing around just before I arrived. But it still felt warm. So Audrey checked his temperature and it was 37.1 C. Oops looks like we have to continue monitor him.

We gave him paracetamol (PCM) after dinner and his temperature hovered around 37.6-37.9 that night.

The next day, his temperature ranges around 37 – 38, and I decided to take him to the PD after work. PD checked his hands, foot and mouth and ruled out HFM disease. Checked his ear, clear. Checked his throat and there were some redness, but no white spots. So he prescribed some polaramin, PCM and gave me some voltaren supp as spare.

True enough, later that night, his temp surged to 39.8 eventhough we had just given him PCM an hour ago. In went the voltaren and temp dropped back to around 38. It was then PCM every 4 hourly.

On Thu, his fever has subsided. But we decided to let him stay home still and on Fri too to rest.

Looks like we got to start all over again to get him used to school on Monday.

Oh ya, his PD told me to keep Bryan away from Dylan during this period. But how la…

He not only wants to be around Dylan but loves showering him with kisses…..Luckily Dylan is fully bf now, so hopefully his immune system is strong. Or else I am gonna be really worried.

I read Angeleyes posting on her beach outing with her family, and I remembered that I have not taken Bryan to the beach in a very very loooong time.

Bryan loves the beach, but I have not been able to find the time to take him there.

I mentioned this to HL not long ago, and she suggested that we take our kids to the beach near our house together one day. I know that there are some beaches near our house but I have not been to any. I have only been to the ones at Tg Bungah/ Bt Ferringhi.

And little did I know that the opportunity would come so soon. HL sms me last Saturday asking me if I want to take Bryan to the beach the next morning. YES of course!

Sunday morning
Bryan woke up abt 830am, and as usual, he is not very interested in his milk. I need to be at HL’s house by 9am, and there is little time to let him finish his milk and some solid breakfast before we leave the house. Besides I have not packed the necessary items for the outing yet. Luckily HL lives just a few doors away from me.

Bryan was very excited when he saw his swimming trunk, and he has not worn it for at least 2 months (another reminder for me to take him swimming). And even happier when he saw his sand castle building tools.

Hubb could not come with us as my parents are going out. So he stayed behind to bbsit Dylan.

By the time we got to HL’s house, everyone is ready to leave. JM was also there with her daughter Wei Xuan.

We went in JM’s car and HL’s husband lead the way. The beach is really pretty near to our house. Less than 15 mins away. But I would never have found the beach by myself. We had to go through a housing area and a malay kampung to get to the beach. It is definitely not visible along the main road.

As soon as we got there, I thought Bryan would be running to the beach in no time. Just like the last time he was there.

But no, he was uncomfortable with the feeling of sand and he wanted me to carry him. He also dared not venture into the water and he was even afraid of the sea shells on the beach. LOL

It took him a while and soon he was enjoying digging sand with his friends Charlotte & Wei Xuan. And of course running to the sea, and throwing sea shells into the sea.

Oh yeah, remember his milk? I took it to the beach, and I had to feed him while he was enjoying digging sand or playing with sea water.

And his solid breakfast? I did bring some biscuits but he did not have any. Because JM made a lot of very delicious sandwiches and even cocktail sausages with cucumber. Yum yum! I would have taken a lot more if I diden have to watch Bryan all the time, since hubb did not come along.

After a while, Bryan was getting pretty adventurous at the sea and asked that i take off his singlet as well, so that he can “swim”. No swimming la..just squatting in the sea water nia.

The girls are more afraid, Xuan more than Charlotte. And to get Xuan to be less afraid of the sea, her daddy made her a miniature “swimming pool.”

It was so cute to see the 2 kids fighting for space in the miniature swimming pool..

Since we all live so near to each other and the beach is not far away, I have a feeling we will be doing this again in the near future. *Bryan clapped happily*

More photos here:-
Wei Xuan’s blog
Charlotte’s blog

• Weight: 4.5kg
• Able to hold his head up for much longer period now
• Enjoys conversations and songs from us
• Starting to engage in “baby conversations” with us
• Cries for attention now. Quiets down when someone enters the room, even if we do not pick him up.
• Poo less frequent now with much sizeable amount each time. Still a few times a day, but considerably less than last month.
• Pushes our hand away if he is annoyed when we tried to apply cream on his face/ neck
• Learning to smile

Mom told his PD that Dylan have also expressed preference over people. For eg, he prefers my mom to hold him over my dad. He would be calm & alert in my mom’s arms but would start crying loudly when my dad took over. The moment, my mom takes him back, quiet again. We had observed this many many times. Poor kong-kong…

But PD said that he is too young to be this “choosy.” If yes, then he is a really smart baby.

I had to run some errands after I dropped Bryan off at playschool about 2 weeks ago. I arrived home late and and I found this.

My mom had to feed Dylan expressed breastmilk and Dylan was holding the milk bottle himself.

To most mothers, this is probably not a big deal. But to me YES!

Why? Because my firstborn (Bryan loh) absolutely refused to hold the milk bottle himself right from the beginning. He always wanted someone to hold it for him. He would rather we hold the milk bottle for him so that his hands are free to do other things… play with his toys, remote control, “read” a book. I should have taken a photo of him doing that but too late now, the moment is gone.

Bottle feeding milk to Bryan was a absolute headache to us, and we are crossing our fingers that Dylan will be “smarter” than his koko when it comes to drinking milk. Or maybe should i say, less manipulative than his koko…

There is a huge improvement for Bryan when it comes to school since Monday.

Tuesday: My dad drove us to playschool because my license have expired. Bryan was crying pitifully in the car demanding to see Popo, cause Popo is the only one at home besides Dylan. He kept saying that he doesn’t want to go to school.

But upon reaching school, he quieted immediately. And as I carried him up the building, he started his never-ending lists of questions, “What is this? What is that? Why is it like that?…blablabla”

And when the teacher opened the door and greeted him, he walked in immediately without even turning back to look at me.

He did not cry in the school and did not ask for me at all.

Today: He whined a bit in the morning as we were preparing him for school. As we are about to leave the house, he said,

Bryan: I want to go Tumble Tots.
Me: Oh great! Let’s go to Tumble Tots now.
Bryan: No, No, No, I don’t want to go Tumble Tots.

Haha, even the boy is confused himself. I wonder which one is the truth.

So, I put 2 pieces of Oreo cookies in his tupperware and told him that he can enjoy that in the car. He obliged and got into the car without any trouble.

The entire journey to school, he was happily playing with his cookies. He didn’t eat them as he wasn’t hungry I guess (he already had 6Oz of milk & 1 soft boiled egg for breakfast).

Then he sang songs and chattered happily with me all the way to school.

Upon reaching, i told him to walk by himself up the school. He walked a few steps then asked me to carry. No crying though.

Once he reached the school, the teacher greeted him happily and he walked into the school. I passed his school bag to the teacher and just before the teacher closed the door, he turned back and asked me,

Bryan: Mommy, where are you going?
Me: Mommy’s going to work (ok la, i bluff)
Bryan: *Turned back and head straight to his school, looking happy*

Again, he did not ask for me at all in school. But today was a fun day, as one of his classmate celebrated his/her birthday. And Audrey updated me that Bryan was busy happily popping the balloons one by one.

Now, I am just crossing my fingers that things will continue to be smooth sailing next week when he starts full day. I think he will just do great….at least that’s what his principle is telling me

Each time Bryan can get hold of my wallet, he will be digging out one by one of my cards, looking for his favourite cards - Jusco, Toys’r Us, McD, SKII…

Last Monday night was no exception. My HP was ringing, and this busybody dug through my handbag to get my hp for me, and of course, he found my wallet.

So one by one, the cards come out. But this time around, he managed to get my IC and driver’s license out as well. The compartment where I keep these cards are very tight, and usually he is not able to pry the cards out. But this time he did!

And I am GLAD he did!

Why? Because then I noticed that my driver’s license have expired on Dec 2007! I am close to 5 months late!

I was so thankful to noticed it, that I praised Bryan immediately and thanked him for being naughty.

And guess how Bryan looked when I thanked him?…. Utterly puzzled..haha

Bryan is really settling down to the playgroup. He still cries every morning when we leave for school but the time he spent crying at the playgroup is getting considerably less.

Day 3 & 4: Cried off and on for the 1st 1 hour. After the morning snack at 10am, he is usually much better and will not cry anymore, unless something upsets him, and he will start asking for mummy again.

Day 5: Cried for only 30 mins in the morning. Started to participate in the playgroup program and Audrey says that he really seems to enjoy himself in class. To prove it, she recorded a few videos of him in class where he really does thoroughly seem to enjoy himself. During break, she asked him if he likes school, and he said, “Yes.”

Bryan is also getting closer to Audrey and the teachers there. When I picked him up on day 5, I saw him seated at Audrey’s desk happily chatting away with her. Audrey updated me that he was busy “testing” her on the different items on her desk - “What is this?” “WHat does it do”….

Day 6: That’s today. Hubb sent him to playgroup today, and he told him that they are going kai-kai. So Bryan left the house in an enthusiastic manner. But as they approach the school’s building, Bryan suspected that something is not right. Though the school is right next to his favorite mall, he knew that they were not going to the mall. Why? Because all the lights are off - so it is a sign that the mall is still closed.

He asked his dad (in mandarin, but i lazy to translate la….)

Bryan: Where are we going?
Hubb: *Keep quiet*
Bryan: Where are we going? (started to sound fearful)
Hubb: *Keep quiet*
Bryan: Why are we going there?

WHen hubb doesn’t answer anymore, he started crying, “Tumbletots mai, mai”

He cried all the way as hubb took him up the staircase to the school. But later Audrey sms me to update that Bryan only cried for 1 minute upon reaching the school. Then he started singing, laughing and continued to enjoy himself at school.

When hubb and I picked him up at 12:30nn, we saw him happily enjoying himself, oblivious that we have arrived. When he noticed that we had arrived, he happily exclaimed, “Finished studying liao. Mummy finished work. Can go home liao.”

He is really settling into the playgroup routine. THe half-day routine. But we are starting him on full day next week as I will be going back to work…so it’s gonna be another round of settling in to do.

But i am happy to say that I am very pleased with the way the teachers have helped him to settle into the school. I am also very happy with the constant update via phone & sms when Bryan is in school. That helps to cut down my worries a lot!

The photos posted below are the good Bryan moments. When he is a loving gentle ko-ko.

But after a while, the other side of Bryan will surface, the naughty side of him. He will pull Dylan’s hand/ feet, or stroke his head really hard, poke his stomach….

So even now, we still cannot leave him alone with Dylan. There are moments, that he will just stroll by casually and then give Dylan’s feet a rough tug.

But there are moments, that we can see his face suddenly lights up whenever Dylan enters the room and he demands to be allowed to “sayang” his didi.

I guess it is still a confusing time for him. He is learning to love his did more and yet he cannot help feeling that the presence of didi has taken away his baby position in the family. Poor boy.