My mom took Tino to the doctor last week.
They saw Dr John Adams, the best paediatrician in town.
He said:
1. Tino now weighs 21lbs and is 75 cm in length. 21lbs is actually overweight (waaaay overweight) for a baby her age, but in relation to her height, she is perfectly fine.
2. Her muscles lack tone. She needs to drink more water to tone up her muscles. Keige pe ua unfit. Otherwise her bones and everything are great. Her reflexes are good. Her head support is good. She does all the things she should be doing at 7 months.
3. She had nappy rash which wouldn't go away and seemed to be spreading. John said we should have brought her in earlier (bad mother me!) and that it's developed into excema - a skin irritation of red, tiny, flaky skin with cracks or tiny blisters. It didn't look that bad! But yeah. So he prescribed an oral antibiotic and a skin cream.
4. Don't let her use a walker until she is 9 months old. It's not good to force her development. Give her time and she'll get there. Phew. Tino just got a walker and I was unsure about that. Now we know!
5. Her feet are facing outwards. We need to massage it inwards at least 5 minutes every night to make sure that she doesn't become a duck. Hehe.
6. Otherwise, she's perfectly normal.
Apparently Tinto was squealing and talking and laughing at the hospital. What a charmer. Dr Adams was laughing at her and all the noise she was making at the hospital.
I felt bad not taking her to see John earlier but at least she's alright now. It's a lesson for me - thinking that I am paranoid is not a bad thing. I should take her to the doctor as soon as I notice something not right about her. The thing is, in the past I've done that, and I've taken her to Dr Herbert Peters, who keeps saying she's fine and I'm just being paranoid!!
Oh well, as long as she's fine, I don't care about anything else.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Saga of the DUMMY
Tino's favorite thing in the whole world is her dummy or pacifier. Tino's Nana bought it for her from Maria's Healthcare. We began giving it to her when she was almost 2 months old. She has become very much attached to it.
She gets antsy, complains, or can't sleep without her dummy. Whenever we go anywhere, we make sure that her dummy is safely tucked in her bag or in her mouth.
About 2 months ago, the dummy started looking worse for wear. It looked like Tino had sucked the life out of the poor thing. The teat was thin and worn. I bought her another one. I put it in her mouth and she immediately spat it back out. I tried a few times, but she kept wrinkling her little nose and spitting it out. I gave her the old one. She sucked happily on it.
I have bought dummy after dummy for her and she hates them all.
Yesterday, her dummy dropped on the ground outside. We noticed about 5 minutes later and were looking frantically everywhere for it. We found it a few metres away. The teat was chewed off and mangled. The dogs had gotten to it.
I was SO MAD. I wanted to kick something. I wanted to kick the babysitter who should've seen it drop. And I wanted to kick the damn dog who ate it.
That night I got Tino's other dummy. It's the same kind as her old one, but with a bigger teat. She would pop that one out too. I pressed on the teat until the air had all seeped out, and it looked thin and over-sucked-on like the old one.
I gave it to her and she was happy. Whew!! The sky would've fallen and the world ended if we didn't find another dummy for her.
She gets antsy, complains, or can't sleep without her dummy. Whenever we go anywhere, we make sure that her dummy is safely tucked in her bag or in her mouth.
About 2 months ago, the dummy started looking worse for wear. It looked like Tino had sucked the life out of the poor thing. The teat was thin and worn. I bought her another one. I put it in her mouth and she immediately spat it back out. I tried a few times, but she kept wrinkling her little nose and spitting it out. I gave her the old one. She sucked happily on it.
I have bought dummy after dummy for her and she hates them all.
Yesterday, her dummy dropped on the ground outside. We noticed about 5 minutes later and were looking frantically everywhere for it. We found it a few metres away. The teat was chewed off and mangled. The dogs had gotten to it.
I was SO MAD. I wanted to kick something. I wanted to kick the babysitter who should've seen it drop. And I wanted to kick the damn dog who ate it.
That night I got Tino's other dummy. It's the same kind as her old one, but with a bigger teat. She would pop that one out too. I pressed on the teat until the air had all seeped out, and it looked thin and over-sucked-on like the old one.
I gave it to her and she was happy. Whew!! The sky would've fallen and the world ended if we didn't find another dummy for her.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Picture day
I have a few flicks I was able to save on a floppy disk. Couldn't find my USB anywhere. I have a sneaky feeling that either Cheeku or Tino ate it.
"Hello. Is anyone out there?"
"Don't anybody disturb us. We are fat, bloated, and will be sleeping for the next 10 hours."
Not even a month old. Can you tell where she gets her height and COLOUR from. Haha.
The Malie kiddies Paleni & Junior. My boys.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Food for thought
As Tino has now turned 6 months, she's ready to eat. Yay! Not that she needs to eat any more. She's turning into one big fat baby. Hopefully that baby fat will fall away when she's older, and not remain forever fat like her parents. Har! Har!A few days ago I bought her rice cereal as shown in the picture. I mixed it with some of her formula and fed it to her. She tasted the first teaspoon-full. She dribbled it down her chin. The second lot, she spat out. The third time, she pursed her lips tightly together and refused to open her mouth. Haha. Obviously she wasn't too taken with it.
Tonight I'm going to make chicken soup with potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and round cabbage. And taro, all mashed together. I hope we do better this time. I'm reading up on starting solids and hopefully we will get it right and be able to feed her something she likes. Heh.
Friday, May 19, 2006
A new addition to the household
Yesterday, May 18th at 3:30AM, my sister-in-law Nele gave birth to a baby boy. He weighed in at 8lbs 12oz.
Tino's newest cousin!
I came home yesterday afternoon to find the failele already at home. Wow. Quick recovery. I bought a mosquito net cocoon (like Tino's one) for the baby. He felt so light in my arms. So tiny. Another of God's miraculous creations. He looks like his eldest brother Paleni. Same features except fairer. Six year old Paleni is very proud of his little brother and of course, that he looks just like him.
Nele & Gordon were hoping fervently for a girl. Now they have four boys. As one of the uncles said, "o le koga kama le mea". Heh. Looks like Tino will end up a tomboy with all these boys surrounding her.
He's a funny looking little bubba. His face all screwed up and wrinkled, just like Tino who looked like a monkey when she was born, and now acts like one. Lol. He's a big eater and wants to feed all the time. He cries the moment he is put down. Attention getter, that one.
I'll post some pics up soon. Yes, my neverending promise.
Tino's newest cousin!
I came home yesterday afternoon to find the failele already at home. Wow. Quick recovery. I bought a mosquito net cocoon (like Tino's one) for the baby. He felt so light in my arms. So tiny. Another of God's miraculous creations. He looks like his eldest brother Paleni. Same features except fairer. Six year old Paleni is very proud of his little brother and of course, that he looks just like him.
Nele & Gordon were hoping fervently for a girl. Now they have four boys. As one of the uncles said, "o le koga kama le mea". Heh. Looks like Tino will end up a tomboy with all these boys surrounding her.
He's a funny looking little bubba. His face all screwed up and wrinkled, just like Tino who looked like a monkey when she was born, and now acts like one. Lol. He's a big eater and wants to feed all the time. He cries the moment he is put down. Attention getter, that one.
I'll post some pics up soon. Yes, my neverending promise.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Re-styling
I am slowly recreating and refurbishing this baby blog of mine in an attempt to make it look as Tino-friendly as possible. Heh.
I'm skipping a couple of months because there's just so much I want to recapture and I'm getting all muddled up. So, to the present we go.
Tino is now almost 6 months. She turns 6 months in 2 days. Then she is officially ready to eat!!! Yay!! We're gonna have a real celebration. We'll have fried chicken and faalifu taro and potato salad and Tino will have cereal. Haha.
How time flies. My little baby is now a big baby. She's about to crawl soon. She can turn around 360 degrees and can move a few inches from her original position, using her legs but still can't get her arms to support her. You can tell she gets really frustrated, and she starts to perspire and her brow is wrinkled in concentration. Then she lets out a big "WAAAAHHH!" which means "I'm tired! Pick me up now now now!"
I'm skipping a couple of months because there's just so much I want to recapture and I'm getting all muddled up. So, to the present we go.
Tino is now almost 6 months. She turns 6 months in 2 days. Then she is officially ready to eat!!! Yay!! We're gonna have a real celebration. We'll have fried chicken and faalifu taro and potato salad and Tino will have cereal. Haha.
How time flies. My little baby is now a big baby. She's about to crawl soon. She can turn around 360 degrees and can move a few inches from her original position, using her legs but still can't get her arms to support her. You can tell she gets really frustrated, and she starts to perspire and her brow is wrinkled in concentration. Then she lets out a big "WAAAAHHH!" which means "I'm tired! Pick me up now now now!"
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
New babysitter
Nora, Tino's first babysitter was causing us problems. She called me at work at around 11 in the morning and said her father called and wanted her to accompany him to the hospital. She wouldn't take long. Now this annoyed me greatly for several reasons. 1. Tino would be left in the clutches of my sister-in-law at Malie. She has 3 kids of her own and she's pregnant. How is she supposed to look after a baby as well? 2. This is her bloody job! She cannot just get up and leave whenever she feels like it. 3. She should have told me earlier so I could make arrangements to either go home and be with Tino or have my mother pick her up.
When we arrived home that afternoon, I was ready to blast her away. Before I could do that, she dropped a bomb on me. She told Cheeku and I that she was going back to Savaii because her son was sick and there was no one to look after her parents as her brother had been kicked out of the village. Okay fine. I was pissed, but her leaving would mean having to look for another babysitter and that's hard. She cried, said she was sorry for all her past mistakes etc etc. In the morning, she cried again and kissed me goodbye. One week later I discover she had not gone to Savaii. Her son wasn't sick. Her brother was still living in the village. She was living from house to house and telling people she had left because she didn't like her salary which was $100/week, and she was forced to do ALL the work, slaving day and night both at Malie and at Siusega. Omg I could strangle her, the ungrateful wretch!
So we found a new babysitter, also from Taga, courtesy of Apo again. Her name is Taele. She is 35 years old and has 3 children. She's separated from her husband. She and Tino get along like peas and carrots. Tino laughs at her every time, and sometimes I get jealous when she smiles at her and not me. Lol. She is a very good caregiver, and I am very happy to have found her, and so is Tino.
When we arrived home that afternoon, I was ready to blast her away. Before I could do that, she dropped a bomb on me. She told Cheeku and I that she was going back to Savaii because her son was sick and there was no one to look after her parents as her brother had been kicked out of the village. Okay fine. I was pissed, but her leaving would mean having to look for another babysitter and that's hard. She cried, said she was sorry for all her past mistakes etc etc. In the morning, she cried again and kissed me goodbye. One week later I discover she had not gone to Savaii. Her son wasn't sick. Her brother was still living in the village. She was living from house to house and telling people she had left because she didn't like her salary which was $100/week, and she was forced to do ALL the work, slaving day and night both at Malie and at Siusega. Omg I could strangle her, the ungrateful wretch!
So we found a new babysitter, also from Taga, courtesy of Apo again. Her name is Taele. She is 35 years old and has 3 children. She's separated from her husband. She and Tino get along like peas and carrots. Tino laughs at her every time, and sometimes I get jealous when she smiles at her and not me. Lol. She is a very good caregiver, and I am very happy to have found her, and so is Tino.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Five months & 4 weeks
You can read my other blog for the details of the baby deaths I heard about yesterday.
All I want to reiterate is how much I love my baby girl and how it would crush me if I ever lost her. She is my world. My heart breaks for all those mothers who have lost children by any means (except maybe those who murder their own children).
Tino is now 5 months and 4 weeks old.
Milestones for her so far. She:
All I want to reiterate is how much I love my baby girl and how it would crush me if I ever lost her. She is my world. My heart breaks for all those mothers who have lost children by any means (except maybe those who murder their own children).
Tino is now 5 months and 4 weeks old.
Milestones for her so far. She:
- can roll over like she's been doing it for years. Sometimes she can roll over on both sides.
- amuses herself by playing with her hands and her feet. She loves chewing her toes.
- turns to new sounds. When the door opens, she looks straight away.
- recognizes her name and will turn to you if you call her name.
- immitates speech sounds like "ga-ga", "grrrr", "goooo" (lol)
- reaches out for objects and brings them to her mouth - hand to mouth reflex
- can bear weight on her legs and stand with little support for long periods.
- laughs and smiles
- does mini push-ups
- can sit momentarily without support
- blows bubbles (big ones)
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Back to work
Now that it's time to go back to work, I don't feel like going. I've become to comfortable in my ways - waking up at 9AM, giving baby a bath, feeding her, going back to sleep when she has her nap, going to town etc. I told Cheeku that I want to stay home...for good. He can do his job and earn money for his family. I'll be the one who stays home and looks after the kids like a good housewife. He refused. I had to go back to work. Okay okay!
We had to look for a babysitter for Tino. I asked Apo, our housegirl at Siusega to go to Savaii and look for one. She returned on Sunday afternoon with a girl. In the evening, we went to Siusega to see her. First impressions? I thought she looked slightly retarded. Cheeku thought she looked doped out. Lol. Her name is Nora. She's from Taga, Savaii. I was unsure about her, but my parents said we should try her out. So we did. We took her to Malie and showed her the ropes. She has an 8-month-old baby boy so she was familiar with child care. She actually wasn't retarded or high. Hehe.
And so back to work I went. It was hard. I called home 10 times a day asking about Tino. She was okay. I went home every lunchtime to feed her. I missed her immensely!
We had to look for a babysitter for Tino. I asked Apo, our housegirl at Siusega to go to Savaii and look for one. She returned on Sunday afternoon with a girl. In the evening, we went to Siusega to see her. First impressions? I thought she looked slightly retarded. Cheeku thought she looked doped out. Lol. Her name is Nora. She's from Taga, Savaii. I was unsure about her, but my parents said we should try her out. So we did. We took her to Malie and showed her the ropes. She has an 8-month-old baby boy so she was familiar with child care. She actually wasn't retarded or high. Hehe.
And so back to work I went. It was hard. I called home 10 times a day asking about Tino. She was okay. I went home every lunchtime to feed her. I missed her immensely!
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Who's WHO...
So that Tino does not forget where she comes from, and the members of her family on her mother and father's side, here is a little rundown of who's who.
ALOAINA SIDE...
Grandparents:
CHU LING SIDE...
Grandparents:
ALOAINA SIDE...
Grandparents:
- Leilua Dr Faalii Aloaina & Elita Garin-Aloaina
- Lealaiauloto Arona Aloaina & Iota Imo - Esala Julius, Maylani, Vaelua Julia, Ipulasi Milo
- Aloaina Iluminado Aloaina
CHU LING SIDE...
Grandparents:
- Si'a Sifuiva John Chu Ling & Gafatasi Tautinoga Malele Chu Ling
- Mapu Mapu Utumauu
- Fili Chu Ling & Patsy Bryce - Gethsemane Billy John Fili, Nadezna Limasene Patsy
- Ailao Simanu - Nicholas, Kiona
- Gordon Chu Ling & Nele Kolotita - Paleni, Junior, John Nuualofa
- Sione Chu Ling
- Esekielu Chu Ling
- Petimara Chu Ling & Vaigalo Maua - Rumanusina Francine, Michael John, Madiu Hughes, Belize Beethoven Benjamin
- Ainslie Marietta Chu Ling & Leapai Lau Dr Asofou Soo - Ainsof Julius Cheeku, Hilton Samuelu
- Geneva Martel Chu Ling & Tauiliili Isaako Saufoi - Andrew
- Sherry Senerita Chu Ling & Rev Uikilifi Vaifale - Wycliffe Jr, Nigel, Tufaina, Malua
- Zano Vaiema Chu Ling & Dennis Thorpe - Dylan
- Cin Chu Ling
- Lucy Chu Ling - Tautinoga Hazel, Hossanah, Hallelujah
- Catherine Logo Chu Ling & Tuilaepa Eti Faolotoi - Paletasala Chantelle, Henry John, John Robert, Chardonnay Maletina, Edithmaria Fontayne
- Telesia Chu Ling & Sigfried - Chanel Tiare
- Mafalu Chu Ling & Kaiona Manuleleua - Logonai, Alexander
And that's Tino's big drama-filled family. As you can see, my family is tiny compared to her father's one. One big baby factory over there huh. Hehe.
A graphic post...
A few pictures from the Tino archives. The rest are all in Gramma's pc and we'll post them up soon and very soon.
3 weeks old and already giving us the FINGER. And yes she has my colour.
Tino at 3 and a half months. She's the image of her father; round cheeks and chinky eyes.
3 weeks old and already giving us the FINGER. And yes she has my colour. 
*yawn* Already tired from all the paparazzi. Lol.
Being held by Aunty Reesa.
Looking suspiciously at the camera.
Tino's mosquito net. She's entranced by the flowers.
Tino at 3 and a half months. She's the image of her father; round cheeks and chinky eyes.Friday, April 07, 2006
Flash Forward
After hours of trying to remember all the things that have happened to Tino, I finally give up.
I'm gonna start from TODAY because if I wrack my brains any longer, it will explode.
Tino woke up bright and early this morning. At 3AM. I put her on the bed, fed her and went to asleep. An hour later I woke up to hear her cooing and and blabbering away to the fan oscillating in front of her. I patted her tummy and she went back to sleep.
Today was "kui day" again. Her last shot until her first birthday. Whoopee!
She slept all the way to the hospital, probably exhausted from her early bird activities. She woke up when she was injected. As soon as the needle pricked through her skin, her eyes shot open in surprise. When the pain registered, she wailed and let a tear trickle down her cheek. I put her to my breast and she was suckling away, desperate to make the pain go away. Poor girl.
I'm gonna start from TODAY because if I wrack my brains any longer, it will explode.
Tino woke up bright and early this morning. At 3AM. I put her on the bed, fed her and went to asleep. An hour later I woke up to hear her cooing and and blabbering away to the fan oscillating in front of her. I patted her tummy and she went back to sleep.
Today was "kui day" again. Her last shot until her first birthday. Whoopee!
She slept all the way to the hospital, probably exhausted from her early bird activities. She woke up when she was injected. As soon as the needle pricked through her skin, her eyes shot open in surprise. When the pain registered, she wailed and let a tear trickle down her cheek. I put her to my breast and she was suckling away, desperate to make the pain go away. Poor girl.
My fans are leaving!
Why are all the faces I see every day disappearing? I have loved being held by a variety of different people with different smells, colours and voices.
I remember hearing my mommy and daddy talking about my people who carry me and love me. They said these are my uncle and aunties who came for Ma and Pa's unveiling.
I was sad because they all left and took their smells and voices and colours and laughs with them.
First Uncle Pepe left. When he was here, there were two Pepes. Me and him. I like Uncle Pepe because he has a loud hearty laugh and he likes to play with the children. He gave me a hot water flask with little silver cups. I don't really know why I need it, but it looks nice on the shelf.
Then Aunty Vaiema and Uncle Fono were gone. Aunty Vaiema is one of my favourites. She would look after me when Mommy had to go to town. Or when she was busy. Aunty Vaiema knew how to put me to sleep. She gave me two white embroidered tops for me to wear to church. I hardly to go to church because Mommy sleeps in on Sundays. Uncle Fono is Aunty Vaiema's son. He's fun too. He carries me and takes lots of pictures of me. I like pictures. Uncle Fono would go out alot with my Mommy and Daddy and came home late at night when I was already asleep. I wonder where they go?
Uncle Isaako went too. He is Aunty Niva's husband. He was only here for a short while. I only remember him when we went to the beach and I couldn't sleep because he was talking alot and drinking a brown liquid out of a paper cup. He gave me a bag with the name Wild Turkey on it. Mommy puts my warm blankets in it and keeps it in the cupboard.
Aunty Geneva, Aunty Zano and my cousins Andrew and Dylan left soon after. Aunty Niva bought me lots of clothes which will fit me when I am bigger. I hear Mommy saying that I would look adorable in them. Mommy also said she has lots of money. She told Daddy that she wants to take me back to Sydney with her. She can't have babies of her own and she told Daddy to think seriously about giving me to her and Uncle Isaako when I turn one year old. Mommy told Daddy that he could...over her dead body. Aunty Zano is Aunty Cin's twin sister. Aunty Cin is the one who lives with us at Malie and talks alot and laughs even when it's not funny. Uncle Gordon calls her a 'vale'. Aunty Zano brought me a baby bag, and pretty dresses with hats. She carried me alot. She showed Mommy how to put me to sleep on my tummy. I like sleeping that way. Mommy said she didn't want to because she was afraid about cot death. I didn't like my cousins Dylan and Andrew. They were noisy and pulled my hair. Andrew is 7. He smelled of poo all the time because he would poop in his pants.
Aunty Telesia and cousin Chanel left too. Aunty Sia always smelled nice. Mommy said she wore a lot of perfume. She was always talking about drinks. She's very pretty too. Her daughter Chanel always smelled of repellant. She had big red bites all over her body. I have none because Mommy always puts a mosquito net over my cot.
I can't remember any more people because I'm sleepy now and Mommy put my dummy in my mouth and I can't think when I'm sucking my dummy.
I remember hearing my mommy and daddy talking about my people who carry me and love me. They said these are my uncle and aunties who came for Ma and Pa's unveiling.
I was sad because they all left and took their smells and voices and colours and laughs with them.
First Uncle Pepe left. When he was here, there were two Pepes. Me and him. I like Uncle Pepe because he has a loud hearty laugh and he likes to play with the children. He gave me a hot water flask with little silver cups. I don't really know why I need it, but it looks nice on the shelf.
Then Aunty Vaiema and Uncle Fono were gone. Aunty Vaiema is one of my favourites. She would look after me when Mommy had to go to town. Or when she was busy. Aunty Vaiema knew how to put me to sleep. She gave me two white embroidered tops for me to wear to church. I hardly to go to church because Mommy sleeps in on Sundays. Uncle Fono is Aunty Vaiema's son. He's fun too. He carries me and takes lots of pictures of me. I like pictures. Uncle Fono would go out alot with my Mommy and Daddy and came home late at night when I was already asleep. I wonder where they go?
Uncle Isaako went too. He is Aunty Niva's husband. He was only here for a short while. I only remember him when we went to the beach and I couldn't sleep because he was talking alot and drinking a brown liquid out of a paper cup. He gave me a bag with the name Wild Turkey on it. Mommy puts my warm blankets in it and keeps it in the cupboard.
Aunty Geneva, Aunty Zano and my cousins Andrew and Dylan left soon after. Aunty Niva bought me lots of clothes which will fit me when I am bigger. I hear Mommy saying that I would look adorable in them. Mommy also said she has lots of money. She told Daddy that she wants to take me back to Sydney with her. She can't have babies of her own and she told Daddy to think seriously about giving me to her and Uncle Isaako when I turn one year old. Mommy told Daddy that he could...over her dead body. Aunty Zano is Aunty Cin's twin sister. Aunty Cin is the one who lives with us at Malie and talks alot and laughs even when it's not funny. Uncle Gordon calls her a 'vale'. Aunty Zano brought me a baby bag, and pretty dresses with hats. She carried me alot. She showed Mommy how to put me to sleep on my tummy. I like sleeping that way. Mommy said she didn't want to because she was afraid about cot death. I didn't like my cousins Dylan and Andrew. They were noisy and pulled my hair. Andrew is 7. He smelled of poo all the time because he would poop in his pants.
Aunty Telesia and cousin Chanel left too. Aunty Sia always smelled nice. Mommy said she wore a lot of perfume. She was always talking about drinks. She's very pretty too. Her daughter Chanel always smelled of repellant. She had big red bites all over her body. I have none because Mommy always puts a mosquito net over my cot.
I can't remember any more people because I'm sleepy now and Mommy put my dummy in my mouth and I can't think when I'm sucking my dummy.
The second shot
After Tino turned one, it was time for more vaccinations. God I hate the things. I hate how it makes my baby's face scrunch up, turn red, and she lets out a pitiful wail like the sky is falling. Ia ua lelei Chicken Little. But really, it churns my stomach every time my daughter feels pain because it seems like I feel it tenfold.
Despite the pain, Tino loves going to the hospital. It's where she was born and everybody knows her. The doctors stop by and say hello, and the nurses all coo over her and know her name. It's like her second home.
She was due for her BCG shot. The second one, this time on her thigh.
She screamed of course. Yelled the whole hospital roof down. The sheep up the road could hear her.
After a while she carefully opened her eyes and looked around. The pain, where is it?? It was gone. She had imagined it after all. She promptly fell back to sleep.
She was also weighed. At one month, she was 14lbs and 10 ounces. A strapping bouncy fat bordering on obese baby. The obesity genes are from her father. Lol.
Despite the pain, Tino loves going to the hospital. It's where she was born and everybody knows her. The doctors stop by and say hello, and the nurses all coo over her and know her name. It's like her second home.
She was due for her BCG shot. The second one, this time on her thigh.
She screamed of course. Yelled the whole hospital roof down. The sheep up the road could hear her.
After a while she carefully opened her eyes and looked around. The pain, where is it?? It was gone. She had imagined it after all. She promptly fell back to sleep.
She was also weighed. At one month, she was 14lbs and 10 ounces. A strapping bouncy fat bordering on obese baby. The obesity genes are from her father. Lol.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Feelings
I have often wondered how it would feel to have a baby. My very own baby. When I became pregnant, I was resigned to the fact that I was going to have one, whether I liked it or not. I was afraid of the difficulties of giving birth and of taking care of a newborn baby. This just wasn't me! But as the months went by, I became calmer. I wasn't exactly ready, but I was accepting of the fact that it was indeed going to happen to me very very soon.
When Tino was placed in my arms, I cried. I was emotionally overwhelmed by her. I couldn't believe that I had carried her in my womb for nine months and she was a part of me. Okay so you've heard this from a thousand other mothers. But it's always different somehow. The first few hours of her life, I spent watching her. Running my fingers over her face. Her little stub of a nose, her pursed up lips, her soft downy black hair. God's love is great, and he has bestowed much of it in my little girl.
Up to this day I am thankful for my little girl. I love her dearly and would commit serious damage if anything ever happened to her. Every day is a new day with her. She does something different and new which never fails to her amaze her parents. Tino baby, we love you more than anything. I just hope that when you grow up to be a naughty little girl, and an unruly teenager (just as we were), you will remember the love and blessings showered upon you.
When Tino was placed in my arms, I cried. I was emotionally overwhelmed by her. I couldn't believe that I had carried her in my womb for nine months and she was a part of me. Okay so you've heard this from a thousand other mothers. But it's always different somehow. The first few hours of her life, I spent watching her. Running my fingers over her face. Her little stub of a nose, her pursed up lips, her soft downy black hair. God's love is great, and he has bestowed much of it in my little girl.
Up to this day I am thankful for my little girl. I love her dearly and would commit serious damage if anything ever happened to her. Every day is a new day with her. She does something different and new which never fails to her amaze her parents. Tino baby, we love you more than anything. I just hope that when you grow up to be a naughty little girl, and an unruly teenager (just as we were), you will remember the love and blessings showered upon you.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Baby's first Christmas
Tino spent Christmas Eve at Siusega because her parents were going to the airport to pick up her Aunty Sherry coming from Sydney.
I woke up early on Christmas morning to pick up my baby and bring her to Malie for Xmas. She was hugged and kissed and cuddled within an inch of her life by Aunty Sherry. She was then handed over to her great aunties Lucy and Vaiema for more smothering.
Santa was late. It was almost 12 noon and we were still waiting for Santa and her reindeer. Meanwhile, more family had arrived - Aunty Ainslie and Uncle Asofou and kids Ainsof and Samuelu, Aunty Petimara with Sina, Michael, Madiu and Pelise, Uncle Fili and Aunty Patsy with Nadezna, Aunty Geneva and Uncle Isaako with Andrew, Aunty Zano and Dylan. Tino meanwhile was fast asleep in her cot, amidst all the laughter and shouts and more noise from the kids.
Santa finally arrived in a white nissan pick-up. Santa dressed in a sexy red Mena boob-tubey dress shouting "Ho! Ho! Ho!" It was Aunty Sia, along with Aunty Logo and the whole caboodle - Pale, Henry, JR, Chardonnay, Edith and Chanel. There were plenty of gifts to be handed out.
Tino got the most. All clothes. Enough to last her until her 5th birthday at least! It's good to know my baby is loved!! Hehe.
I woke up early on Christmas morning to pick up my baby and bring her to Malie for Xmas. She was hugged and kissed and cuddled within an inch of her life by Aunty Sherry. She was then handed over to her great aunties Lucy and Vaiema for more smothering.
Santa was late. It was almost 12 noon and we were still waiting for Santa and her reindeer. Meanwhile, more family had arrived - Aunty Ainslie and Uncle Asofou and kids Ainsof and Samuelu, Aunty Petimara with Sina, Michael, Madiu and Pelise, Uncle Fili and Aunty Patsy with Nadezna, Aunty Geneva and Uncle Isaako with Andrew, Aunty Zano and Dylan. Tino meanwhile was fast asleep in her cot, amidst all the laughter and shouts and more noise from the kids.
Santa finally arrived in a white nissan pick-up. Santa dressed in a sexy red Mena boob-tubey dress shouting "Ho! Ho! Ho!" It was Aunty Sia, along with Aunty Logo and the whole caboodle - Pale, Henry, JR, Chardonnay, Edith and Chanel. There were plenty of gifts to be handed out.
Tino got the most. All clothes. Enough to last her until her 5th birthday at least! It's good to know my baby is loved!! Hehe.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Her Baptism
On December 18, Tino turned one!! Well, one month that is. The next day (Monday), she was baptised at the St Theresa Lepea Catholic Church.
Priest: Fr. Simone Ah Lo
Godmother: Catherine Logo Chu Ling Faolotoi
Godfather: Iluminado Aloaina
Present: Elita & Leilua Aloaina, Nydia & Cheeku Chu Ling
It was a simple ceremony with just the six of us. And Tino of course. She was fast asleep throughout the entire thing, even when her head was dipped in water and oil. A tornado couldn't have woken that little baby up. She looked so pretty in her baptismal dress, courtesy of her grandma.
We decided to choose one person of each family to be the godparents. Logo is Tino's aunt, and Cheeku's closest sister, and Ilu is my one and only brother. They are also both Catholics, though one is a non-practising one, and the other is a staunch church-goer and plays an active role in their church community. As godparents, they must be responsible in bringing up their godchild to be strong and knowledgable in the Catholic faith and live a good Christian life. I hope they do a better job than my godparents did...hehehe.
After the baptism, Logo gave us some gifts for Tino - dresses, photo frames and shoes. What a lucky girl!
And then we went home to Malie, to celebrate with a feast of stew elegi.
Priest: Fr. Simone Ah Lo
Godmother: Catherine Logo Chu Ling Faolotoi
Godfather: Iluminado Aloaina
Present: Elita & Leilua Aloaina, Nydia & Cheeku Chu Ling
It was a simple ceremony with just the six of us. And Tino of course. She was fast asleep throughout the entire thing, even when her head was dipped in water and oil. A tornado couldn't have woken that little baby up. She looked so pretty in her baptismal dress, courtesy of her grandma.
We decided to choose one person of each family to be the godparents. Logo is Tino's aunt, and Cheeku's closest sister, and Ilu is my one and only brother. They are also both Catholics, though one is a non-practising one, and the other is a staunch church-goer and plays an active role in their church community. As godparents, they must be responsible in bringing up their godchild to be strong and knowledgable in the Catholic faith and live a good Christian life. I hope they do a better job than my godparents did...hehehe.
After the baptism, Logo gave us some gifts for Tino - dresses, photo frames and shoes. What a lucky girl!
And then we went home to Malie, to celebrate with a feast of stew elegi.
Not enough "tutu"
Tino's paternal great aunt arrived in Samoa from LA for the unveiling of both Cheeku's parents' graves. Yeah something like that. Her name is Aunty Lucy. Now Aunty Lucy is partially deaf and wear a hearing aid. I'm not sure if it works, because we talk to her and she turns the other way, and when she talks to us, the other side of Malie can hear her loud and clear.
Aunty Lucy loves holding her great niece. At this stage, Tino was 3 weeks old and had colic. Colic is characterized by incessant crying with no known cause. Tino didn't cry all the time, but she hated lying down and always wanted to be held, and sometimes no matter how much I fed her, she seemed unsatisfied. It was frustrating at times, and people had also sorts of diagnosis - it could be "la'ofie" (some Samoan infant sickness which required a fofo to have it removed), or gas, or the heat, or not enough milk.
Not enough milk. It annoyed me to have someone tell me I wasn't producing enough milk for my baby. I was, dammit! Total self denial huh. No really I believed that Tino was crying because her tummy hurt, and she automatically turned to my breast as a comfort zone, and she continued to cry even after feeding because...it still hurt! And that was one of the symptoms of colic. But no, Aunty Lucy kept saying "o lega e kagi le keige leaga ailoga o suasua lelei ou susu." I had the perfect retort to that, but felt like keeping the peace.
I always intended to feed my baby with breastmilk alone. The thought of formula never entered my head. Cheeku bought a breast pump so I could express milk if I had to go somewhere and leave Tino. When these people suggested that perhaps my milk production wasn't enough, I started thinking seriously about putting baby on both breastmilk and formula. And it would be convenient too. I even researched on the ingredients and whatnot of formula milk. The clincher: I was fed formula milk from birth because mother didn't have any milk at all. And see, I didn't turn out too bad.
I bought S-26 Infant Formula. At first Tino scrunched up her nose at the taste. Yep, at 3 weeks she could do that already. Gradually she got used to it. But of course her main source of comfort was my breast and I only gave her the bottle when I wasn't around.
Aunty Lucy loves holding her great niece. At this stage, Tino was 3 weeks old and had colic. Colic is characterized by incessant crying with no known cause. Tino didn't cry all the time, but she hated lying down and always wanted to be held, and sometimes no matter how much I fed her, she seemed unsatisfied. It was frustrating at times, and people had also sorts of diagnosis - it could be "la'ofie" (some Samoan infant sickness which required a fofo to have it removed), or gas, or the heat, or not enough milk.
Not enough milk. It annoyed me to have someone tell me I wasn't producing enough milk for my baby. I was, dammit! Total self denial huh. No really I believed that Tino was crying because her tummy hurt, and she automatically turned to my breast as a comfort zone, and she continued to cry even after feeding because...it still hurt! And that was one of the symptoms of colic. But no, Aunty Lucy kept saying "o lega e kagi le keige leaga ailoga o suasua lelei ou susu." I had the perfect retort to that, but felt like keeping the peace.
I always intended to feed my baby with breastmilk alone. The thought of formula never entered my head. Cheeku bought a breast pump so I could express milk if I had to go somewhere and leave Tino. When these people suggested that perhaps my milk production wasn't enough, I started thinking seriously about putting baby on both breastmilk and formula. And it would be convenient too. I even researched on the ingredients and whatnot of formula milk. The clincher: I was fed formula milk from birth because mother didn't have any milk at all. And see, I didn't turn out too bad.
I bought S-26 Infant Formula. At first Tino scrunched up her nose at the taste. Yep, at 3 weeks she could do that already. Gradually she got used to it. But of course her main source of comfort was my breast and I only gave her the bottle when I wasn't around.
Immunization tears
At birth, Tino was administered with two vaccination shots on either thigh to protect her from Hepatitis B. When she was one week old, we took her back to the hospital for her next dose of pain and tears. This time it was for BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guerin) to protect her from serious forms of Tuberculosis.
Before her shot, she had her well-baby check with Dr John Adams, the hospital paediatrician. Everything is perfect, he told us. However, her navel was slightly infected because water had accidentally gotten into it (remember at this stage a tiny part of the cord was still attached to her nacl with a clip and it was supposed to eventually dry and fall off, and voila, a nice tiny puke). He prescribed an antibiotic for it.
She was also looking slightly yellow, meaning she had jaundice. John said he wanted to have her blood tested first for the amount of bilirubin in her blood. Bilirubin being a yellowish-red pigment found in the bloodstream. When in excess, the skin colour turns yellow. So my baby was pricked in the big toe for blood. She screamed and a tear came trickling down her cheek. Poor baby. We waited for the results. 20 minutes later, John came back and said she was fine. The jaundice was caused by our different bloody types. Mine is O and Tino's is AB. All she needs is a little sunlight every day and the colour will return to normal.
And now for her BCG shot to her left upper arm. Yes it's the scar that we all have on our arms. Baby took it well. She cried pitifully for about 30 seconds and then decided that it didn't hurt that much. Coz she's a tough little cookie.
Before her shot, she had her well-baby check with Dr John Adams, the hospital paediatrician. Everything is perfect, he told us. However, her navel was slightly infected because water had accidentally gotten into it (remember at this stage a tiny part of the cord was still attached to her nacl with a clip and it was supposed to eventually dry and fall off, and voila, a nice tiny puke). He prescribed an antibiotic for it.
She was also looking slightly yellow, meaning she had jaundice. John said he wanted to have her blood tested first for the amount of bilirubin in her blood. Bilirubin being a yellowish-red pigment found in the bloodstream. When in excess, the skin colour turns yellow. So my baby was pricked in the big toe for blood. She screamed and a tear came trickling down her cheek. Poor baby. We waited for the results. 20 minutes later, John came back and said she was fine. The jaundice was caused by our different bloody types. Mine is O and Tino's is AB. All she needs is a little sunlight every day and the colour will return to normal.
And now for her BCG shot to her left upper arm. Yes it's the scar that we all have on our arms. Baby took it well. She cried pitifully for about 30 seconds and then decided that it didn't hurt that much. Coz she's a tough little cookie.
Bloody Nappy
When Tino was about 4 days old, I noticed a bloody discharge in her nappy. It wasn't much, only a slightly reddish tinge but still I was worried. What was happening to my poor baby??
I showed it to my dad, who happens to be a doctor, and one we never ever consult when sick...lol...and he said I should take her to see a paediatrician straight away.
That evening, Cheeku and I took Tino to see Dr Herbert Peters. He was surprised to know she was only 4 days old and already coming to see the doctor. He checked her nappy and laughed. Like WTF? I'm worried sick here and the guy laughs it off.
"Your baby has what is called pseudo menses", he told us. What's that? It's like she's having her period, and is a result of maternal hormones, and should pass very quickly and you'll see it again when she's menstruating. My God, my baby has her period and she's 4 days old. How's that for development? Lol.
Dr Peters was right. The very next day it disappeared.
I showed it to my dad, who happens to be a doctor, and one we never ever consult when sick...lol...and he said I should take her to see a paediatrician straight away.
That evening, Cheeku and I took Tino to see Dr Herbert Peters. He was surprised to know she was only 4 days old and already coming to see the doctor. He checked her nappy and laughed. Like WTF? I'm worried sick here and the guy laughs it off.
"Your baby has what is called pseudo menses", he told us. What's that? It's like she's having her period, and is a result of maternal hormones, and should pass very quickly and you'll see it again when she's menstruating. My God, my baby has her period and she's 4 days old. How's that for development? Lol.
Dr Peters was right. The very next day it disappeared.
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