Monday, 17 March 2008

Pleasures!

Ever since I became a father I realized that I can derive pleasure from the smallest thing that Isaac does.

Take for example he finishes his milk and progressed from drinking 120ml to 150ml now. I get great pleasure from that. I can’t wait for him to progress to the next stage but according to Dr B, we should not be rushing things and he will let us know himself whenever he is ready for more milk. So long as he continues to gain an average 200 grams each week then everything is fine.

Speaking of weight gain, it did not really dawn on me how much he has gained until I took off his clothes to change him recently. Usually I only had to unbutton the bottom half of his romper but that night he wet himself so I had to change him. It was then that I saw his much rounder body. That sight really brought a broad smile to my face. Don’t get me wrong because I obviously know he has been gaining weight since we’re weighing him ever so regularly. Besides I have also seen him being showered but for some reason and I can’t quite explain it either, maybe it was the angle or lighting or perhaps the time in the early morning, it left a very deep impression. At that moment I can really see the gain in his body mass. My sis who has not seen him for a week commented that he is much rounder.

Sidetrack a little here. You realize that most people are careful not to mention things like fatter; heavier; cuter; rounder; prettier etc out loud in the presence of the subject / baby? I know both my mum and MIL will shush whoever mentions anything nice or good in front of Isaac. In case this person’s skulk is a little thick then they will bring Isaac to another room or simply away for this person and his compliments.

So to counter this, we will have to puff up our cheeks and curve our arms outwards to express Isaac has gained weight again. So a typical comment from my sis will be like: “Eh Kor, Isaac has really (show action) since I last saw him” this is acceptable for some strange reason.

Anyway, there are other simpler things that I derive pleasure from, such as him smiling back at me whenever I talk to him. According to a baby’s growth monitoring website, Baby Center, by the 2nd month Isaac will be able to recognize our voices hence he will smile whenever we talk to him. He usually smiles the most in the morning just when we were dropping him at my parents’ before heading to work. The Mrs always finds it very hard to let him go. She would always want to spend that little bit more time with him.

Then there is the cooing. According to Baby Center we should try and engage him in daily conversations which can be considered as a way of playing games with him. We will talk to him as if he understands but with pitch and tone alteration and he will coo his answers back. We should wait for him to finish before we say something again and if he is enjoying himself or the topic of discussion he will smile and coo again. This will usually go on for 15 to 30 minutes before he gets bored from discussing the Malaysian election and Mas Selamat’s escape.

On the sadistic side, I can even derive pleasure from watching him cry. If ladies have mood swings then they must have taken lessons from the babies because babies can change from cooing and chuckling to cranky before the blink of an eye. Sometimes Isaac will be cooing and playing with me and the next minute you can see his facial expression take a 180 degree turn. He will show you that he is unhappy before he lets out his cry. That 扁嘴 (pouting) look still leaves a very deep impression in me.

Obviously I do think of Isaac when I am at work and besides thinking of his peaceful (sleeping) and cooing (smiling) look, I will also think of this 扁嘴 look.

I’m sure I am biased here but every little wink or smile and chuckle from Isaac is the cutest thing that I will see for any day but I guess that’s just the way it is.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi dylan, it is very heart warming to read your post about how little isaac makes you smile with the little things that he does. their babyhood is such a precious time isn't it? and our babies are growing fast. treasure the time, and enjoy it to the max. remember to take tons of pictures too. our babies are growing and changing everyday. sometimes i wish they wouldn't grow so fast...=P

Anonymous said...

Hi Dylan,

I agree with you that our kid(s) can bring us sooooo much joy... even little things abt them excites me alot...hehehe...

I guess most (if not all) parents are bias lah... my hubby think that our boy look like him; some relatives think that he look like his uncle... but i always tell my hubby that my son is way more handsome than him & his brother...kekeke..

BTW, I've switched my blog to Wordpress. Do u mind if i link ur blog to my new blog home?

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Roanne,

Just the other day I was telling the Mrs that I felt Isaac was growing too fast (and only at 2 months). The reason is I find this is the best time to play with and hold him. Any older I will not be able to have him sleep on my chest.

When he is in upper primary, it will probably be uncool to be seen with his old man. Sigh....

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nana,

Like most dads I am proud to hear that my son looks like me. I will go around telling people that ya, he looks like his dad, so handsome! Ha Ha

The Mrs on the other hand will sound disappointed and even concerned (can you believe it) that Isaac looks like me!?!?!

One thing she has not said though is Isaac is way more handsome than his father. Ha Ha

Sure link my blog to yours. No problem but do let me know what is the new address as I have been following it. You can message me from Facebook.

Nicole said...

Hi Dylan,

Such joy to watch them grow isn't it? Now Cleo can 'call' for us by her 'ai ai ai'. Sometimes, she'll also go 'aiya' but of course, that' by coincidence. Haha!

Ya, I have to agree that elderlys doesn't allow us to comment on how pretty, how big, how round the baby have grown. In fact, I've heard SO MANY people commenting that Cleo is way too mature, way too big for her age. They said she look like she's at least 5 months onwards. Will always ask me what I feed her with. I meant, what can I feed her with really? Steriods meh? *giggles* In fact, now whenever someone commented that Cleo is big, pretty, round and blah blah blah, I'll also shush them. Gosh, I'm becoming one of those aunties already. HAHA!

So how's Issac's weight now?? Should update his photos so that we can see the rounder him. So that we can comment and go 'wow, big boy already!'

Anonymous said...

Hi Dylan,

So i m not the only 1 who thinks / says that the son looks better than the husband...hehe...

BTW, you hvn't show us ur family photo, we can't tell Isaac looks like you, or ur Mrs... *hint hint*

Here's my new blog addy : http://diaryofnana.wordpress.com/

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nicole,

Actually it is a joy to watch them now but I wish he will not grow as quickly.

Like I said in my reply to Roanne, I prefer for Isaac to stay at this age for a while more.

Isaac likes to say "ai ya! ai ya!" whenever he is crying to sleep and has the pacifier stuck in his mouth. Will try and capture it on video and then post it.

Guess I'm not turning into an uncle anytime soon because I have absolutely no problem with others praising Isaac in front of him. Ha Ha

Speaking of mature, Isaac has the same comment. When he was a few days old and people are already saying that he looks like he is 2 months old. Even now others are saying he looks older than his age.

As for his weight it is still below 5.5kg. We're still trying to play catch up. Hee Hee

Will try and post pictures soon.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nana,

Oh....believe you are not the first and definitely not the last to think your son is better looking than your husband. I'm sure most if not all mothers think like that. Ha Ha

Er.... will post family photo soon.

Anonymous said...

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.. I wanna have these feelings tooo... haha...

Mrs Chew

A Husband's Voice said...

Hey Jolin,

Don't be misled by only the nice things cause it is not all a bed of roses! Ha Ha Ha

No, seriously having a kid can be a world of fun but there are of course the negative parts of it.

I am not one to encourage or discourage others from having children and I told the Mrs that we must not turn into those that will urge you to have once they have one themselves.

Lionel n Rachel said...

hey dylan, yup, the old folks sure hv a way to "shush" people up. i was js praising my little girl the other day on her chubbiness in front of my mil & b4 i can finish my sentence, my mil says: shhhhh! dun say anything." & quickly carries rachel away. i was like, huh? wat? dumbfounded!

yo, i dun see many foto of issac. share share leh..hehe. treasure every moments u hv with issac. haha..hv his fotos everywhere; ur car, ur lap top, ur wallet, ur hp, ur office table. so if u are annoyed by something along the way, wipe out his (issac) foto & soon...u are all smiles! (and trust me, u wld hv this feeling that u wanna go straight home to hug & carry him even though u js arrive at ur office some 15 mins ago)

missmoon said...

hi Dylan
as usual, your post never fails to bring a smile out of me :)

it really does lead me back to memory lane. this will get me back on track with those photographic moments, capture as much of my little one at every stage.

now, i shudder to think of the terrible twos. he's yet to turn 2 but already in that stage. ha.

Nicole said...

Hey Dylan,

I've actually linked your blog to mine but I see the ladies asking your permission so in order not to be rude, I've decided to ask you. But I've already linked it up liao. Hahahaha!

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Yvonne,

Honestly I am surprised that you only got "Shushed" now considering you already have 2 kids. I got "Shushed" countless times already and Isaac is only coming to 3 months old. Ha Ha Ha

We do have pictures and a few are rather nice. Only problem is I am too lazy to copy or scan then upload them. Will do so eventually.

I wanted to get this digital photo frame to display all my pictures. Maybe I won't be so lazy once I get this photo frame.

I intend to bring it to my office so I will be able to look at the the Mrs's and Isaac's photos daily.

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Cynthia,

As usual the fact that my blog brings some joy and nice memory to you will also always bring a smile to my face.

Since Isaac is still young so all I can blog about are mainly nice stuffs. Guess my blog will bring you not so nice memories later when Isaac starts to show the monster in him!! Ha Ha Ha

A Husband's Voice said...

Hi Nicole,

Please do link up!! No need for permission. It's no big deal.

And all you ladies reading, there is no need to ask permission. Link my blog to yours no problem.

All I'm asking is if you have a blog and will not mind me reading, do let me know what it is so I can share what you're going through as well.

Cheers

Dylan