Countdown to 6 Months' Old

Matt officially turns 6 months tomorrow. Come to think about it, time really flies. It seemed like just yesterday that he was still kicking me in my stomach. I still recall that there was this one weekend we tried to film Matt "moving" in my stomach with my stomach rumbling in "waves". It was hilarious.

He certainly has brought much joy to the family, since both his daddy and mummy are such workaholics. We used to work until late at night and only go home with takeaway dinners around 9 plus at night. Now, we try to make it a point to leave earlier and reach home before 8.30 so that we get to spend some time with Matt before he sleeps.

I must say Matt's a pretty well-behaved kid. Other than crying when he is hungry, he usually amuses himself with toys, pacifier (pulling it in and out of his mouth), fingers and toes... He likes to touch people's faces to explore them. When he is in a good mood and you play peek-a-boo with him, he breaks out into laughter and giggles. The part I like best is hugging him to sleep, as if I am cuddling a big teddy bear. There's so much I can say about this boy... He's on solids for almost 2 weeks now and have tried rice cereal and sweet potatoes. I have bought some carrots and intend to puree it for him this weekend. He's currently feeding like an adult, only 4 feeds a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner with rice cereal or puree and milk, and supper with only milk). We usually feed him before our own meals. But then, he always looked glutton as he would stick out his tongue, licking away as he watches us when we are eating away. I recently made 2 orders of books for Amazon about solids and flashcards so that I can read up to gain more information. They are still in shipment and I certainly can't wait to read them.

I am now halfway to my target of breastfeeding for 12 months. Matt's been on total breast milk for the past 6 months. Now, my 2 opened cans of formula milk powder are just sitting in my kitchen, wasting away. Sigh... Jia You, another 6 more months to the completion of my target, although it can be a pain to express milk in the office. However, I do believe that breast milk has immunities in them that are good for the baby, cos Matt's not been sick before, except for a slight cold he got when he first came back to Shanghai.

Summer's almost here since the temperature in Shanghai in the day time has reached almost 30 degrees celsius, although it is still rather chilly at night. I originially wanted to bring Matt swimming and so excitedly got ready his swim gear, swim diapers, neck float etc, just to find out that the Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease ("HFMD") is very prevalent in a nearby Anhui province. So I guess I will have to delay this until it is safer. My mum has reached Shanghai last weekend to take over the caring for Matt. She bathed him this morning. Matt was kicking away, enjoying himself. I certainly look forward to the day that I can bring him swimming at the pool in our development.

As we celebrate Matt's 6 months birthday, I also pray that for this child of God to continue to stay in God's blessing and for God to watch over each and every little baby step he is taking. I also want to cover the children and people of the Sichuan province in prayer, as the Lord watches over them during this period of the earthquake and pray that these people will get all the assistance they would require to ensure survival as well as the reconstruction of their homes afterwards. Amen...