The 9th Month

Our first playdate with Susan and Bella

This month has turned particularly quickly and I guess it was because of a lot of sleepless nights as well as some major developments in Rayray!

Rayray caught roseola at 8 months and 3 weeks. She started to have a temperature of 37.5 on Sunday, it rose up to 38.5 on Monday so I took her to the doctor's. Doc said to monitor her temperature for three days and my god, three days seemed eternal! Rayray was lethargic and whiny and it completely broke my heart. I guess I would whine if I had a temperature of 38.5 degrees for three days but it is so hard to see your child suffering. She would wake up every two hours grunting. I checked her temperature every 2-3 hours being a paranoid mum so I was knackered that week. Rayray's rash finally appeared on Thursday morning when temperature dropped but rose up to 38.5 again by lunchtime. So we rushed her to the hospital. The funny thing was that she almost came alive when she was seen by the doctor that's why the doctor commented on how well she looked and how energetic she was despite having a temperature! I reassured him that Rayray wasn't like that at all a minute ago! She just sat on T's lap and being examined by the doc quietly and giggled and smiled at him! lol Her temperature dropped gradually and it could be that we were at a hotpot restaurant for lunch and the external temperature caused it. She finally seemed to be back to herself on Sunday, exactly a week later and that must be the longest week in my life to date!

Poor love fell asleep during lunch and my heart was in pieces

Height - 71 cm 

Weight - 9.9 kg (still hasn't passed that 10 kg mark!) 

Eating - Breastfed 3 times a day plus 3 solids meals. Rayray now feeds 5 mins the most on each boob. I am now aiming to drop the afternoon feed as I am preparing to wean her off boobs when she is 12 months old.

She definitely takes after me in terms of loving fruits! She especially prefers chunks of fruit or fruit sticks. She would quite happily eat two thirds of a whole peach or nectarine and she absolutely loooooves watermelon just like T! She also loves pasta, be it baby pasta served in thick soup or various sauces or giant pasta to hold and chew! 

She has now had watermelon, melon, cherry, kiwi, papaya, mango, edamame beans, plum and tofu.

A bolo bun/pineapple bun that's bigger than Rayray's face

Sleeping - It took her exactly two weeks to adjust her jet lag this time round! It was a bit of a nightmare as my sleep-through-the-night-baby disappeared and would wake up at 4pm UK time (11pm in Taiwan), 7pm UK time (2am in Taiwan) and 11pm UK time (5am Taiwan time). I was so frustrated and angry with myself. I kept asking why I put myself and Rayray through this. I researched everywhere online and the only concrete tip I found was 'midday sun' from an Australian lady. The crazy temperature aside, it's Rayray's lunchtime and nap time so it means we couldn't try that. Whenever she woke up, I breastfed her as I was absolutely knackered and just didn't have the stamina settling her by going back and forth. After the first week, I tried giving her water when she woke up in the middle of the night but she wasn't interested so I thought maybe she has developed a habit of waking up for milk! Though by the end of the second week, she would only wake up once throughout the night so I wasn't so concerned. And just as I though I had my little contended baby back, Rayray was hit by a nasty virus and had Roseola. 

 My heart

Development - 

• Rayray has finally started crawling but she crawls backwards! It's hilarious to see her doing it as her little bottoms wiggle and wiggle!

• She has also mastered the art of sitting apart from being on her front just days before turning 9 months! 

• Has cut her two front bottom teeth!

• Loves 'talking' and I mean she loves babbling! She says dada, baba, mama and 'mama' in particular when she cries or when she is hungry!!! So she knows mama gives her food!!! She also says baba or dada when she is in a jolly mood! Honestly!!!

• Loves playing peekaboo

• We had our very first Gymboree session and thought it was fun. she really enjoyed herself the first half an hour. The assistant there was impressed that Rayray seemed comfortable in a new environment with new people around her and just got on with different toys! hahah

Fascinated with the new place!

She would 'examine' anything she could get hold of by 1) staring at it 2) give it a good shake 3) put it her mouth
The hot weather in Taiwan means I have not been able to take out everyday as we used to in London and I honestly think she gets terribly bored at home. She would play with her toys for a bit and then starts to seek attention whereas whenever we are out, she looks around and gets stimulated by things and people around her.

Stripped her naked to her nappy on only and the AC is on full blast!

It's amazing to see my baby turning into a little person who has proper three meals a day like adults and we can definitely see her personality coming through. In general, she is quite an easy, happy baby who smiles at just about anyone and doesn't mind strangers holding her. She doesn't scream when we take toys off from her as she would just move onto another one. She doesn't cry when we wake her up from her naps and is usually in a cheery mood every morning when she wakes up.

Smiling at the waitress at a cafe

It is such a wonderful experience to see your child grow everyday and I feel ever so lucky to have the luxury to spend time with her every single day and I do wake up every morning looking forward to my day with my bunny. I don't know how I would feel when I start working or when she starts the nursery! I think I would definitely be the one who cries!

Oh and I almost forget to post some of the photos at Joe's Studio we took before we left for London in April. I do like Joe's ideas and he is a very friendly chatting bloke but the downside is it took him TWO months to edit the photos! Not impressed...

Look at our little buddha! lol

Little Tootsie

Rayray's progress:

7-8 months

6-7 months

5-6 months

4-5 months

3-4 months

2-3 months

1-2 months

0-1 month

Facial Cleansers

I had been a loyal Benefit user for a number of years and I think it all started when I received a Bathina as a present along with some other Benefit products. I fell in love with the smell of Bathina instantly but never got round to use it for some reason. It is still in my cupboard as I love the tin and it reminds me of the good old days at Dali Universe! lol Oh and I have been using their Maybe Baby for so many years that I couldn't tell you how many bottles I got through so when they stopped selling them two years ago I was absolutely gutted! I wore it day in, day out! I must have stocked up 10 plus bottles! 

The old Bathina tin

Anyway, so I started using their skincare as I loved their packaging and the smell! I also like their sense of humour on how they name their each product! Very cleverly done!

Their facial wash 'You Clean Up Nice!' is good and does what it says, perfectly! My face always feels really clean after it and never feels stringent.

and here is another favourite of mine - makeup remover

I then started using Sisley products and thought I'd give their Phyto-Blanc cleanser a try as at a point I got relatively dark and I'd try anything to get my skin to a lighter shade. 

The verdict is that the foam is very very fine but I don't feel my face got any lighter nor does it justify the cost. It is not particularly expensive but to achieve what a box-standard cleanser does, I would much prefer my good old Liquid Neutrogena!

I bought this new baby at the airport on the way to Shanghai and I have to say I am pretty impressed with it. The foam is light and fine and the skin just feels really soft after using it! Another cheap and cheerful new found!!! I have yet to try their Immortelle products so this is the first one for me. Just on a separate note, I absolutely adore their Mum & Baby cleansing gel! I have tried various different baby shampoo/bath gel but this one seems to work the best on Rayray! For some bizzare reason, her hair gets all tangled up with other products apart from this one! Honestly, I have tried at least other 5 and only L'occitane doesn't give her 'vermacelli hair!' Plus I do love the smell!

My little champion

The Olympics is well under way and it's such a shame that we are not in London to see the Games!!!! So we decided even we can't be there in person, we can still support the Games! Here is our very own Team GB (well, lone Team GB! lol)

That's the uniform

Here I am

Gymnastics 

Freestyle Swimming

Sprint Relay 

Happy weekend and hope everyone is enjoying watching the Games!