tuka update - turning 11 months

11 months! 1 more month and Tuka is a year old already! Where did my baby go???? They grow up so dang fast! (sigh)

Anyhoo, I thought it high time to post an update on Tuka since the last time I did that was probably 6 months ago, more on that here. Besides, H is on Tuka duty so I am hoping I can cram 3 entries today to update my blog. Hehehehe..  :)

So here it goes...

HEALTH and NUTRITION

Weight: 9.2 kilos as of January 8, 2014. Tuka was 9 months and 17 days.

Milk: We are currently drinking S26 HA Gold. We usually drink 24-30 ozs of milk everyday depending on our solid food intake.

Vitamins: We are still taking Poly Vi Flor Drops (0.6 ml daily) and Tropicee Drops (0.6 ml daily).

Suam: Yes, we started Tuka on suam a couple of weeks ago and my verdict: AWESOME! Now, a lot of folks here usually substitute the suam for milk so most people think suam is used if people want to save money on milk. Don't do that, use suam as a substitute for water. Don't dilute or lessen the milk. Good for appetite, great for weight gain and more nutritional value! Downside, you have to spend more and exert more effort. I cook suam everyday, I have to wake up early in the morning and cook so that the suam can cool down for Tuka's morning bottle. Also, we use organic brown rice for our suam, Php75 per kilo and a bit hard to find.

Solid food: I feed Tuka anything and everything under the sun. Hahaha!!  :D 3 meals a day, a small snack during mid-afternoons and small nibbles all through out the day.

Favorites: CHOCOLATES and ICE CREAM! Just like any regular kid. Pasta as well.. :)


VACCINES 

We have completed the following:
-OPV (3 shots)
-Measles (1 shot)
-BCG (1 shot)
-DPT (3 shots)
-Hepa B ( 3 shots)
-Rotavirus 1 ( 1 shot)

Upcoming:
-booster shots
-chicken pox
-invasive pneumonia
-(I have to check with my Pedia. Hehehe..)


TEETHING

We have 8 teeth so far. Yay!!  :)

I finally got to experience a teething meltdown. Hahaha! :)  Tuka did experience a mild fever and I figured a lot of pain since he did cry a lot.

I gave him Paracetamol by Tempra, orange flavor, Tuka hates it but it did help with the pain. And of course as I've said earlier, Poly Vi Flor Drops since it has flouride in it.

We are still using the teething materials that I mentioned in my 1st teething post, more on that here. But there were additions to our set of materials. The porcupine teether that he got last Christmas, the popsicle maker, (you can check out the pics here) a giraffe teether by Dr. Brown and a couple of toothbrushes by Pigeon. We are also using a toothpaste, strawberry flavor by Pigeon as well.

Tuka is currently using the Lesson 2 toothbrush but by mid February we will be switching to Lesson 3. :)

Here's a picture of the giraffe teether by Dr. Brown.

MOTOR SKILLS:

Basic motor skills:

-Can sit on his own without any problems.

-Can crawl on his own without any problems.

-Can transition from a crawl position to a sitting position and back again on his own without any problems.

-Can stand on his own but for a short period of time only. Can stand for long periods of time if he is holding on to something - in his crib, a chair, the bookshelf etc.

-Can transition from a sitting position to a standing position and back again without help (from grown-ups) as long as he is holding on to something - chair, a toy etc. Sometimes though, he can stand up on his without help at all but these instances are still rare. 

-Trying to take baby steps but usually falls down after a couple of steps.

Fine motor skills:

-Can clap his hands.

-Can use his fingers individually especially his thumbs to tinker his toys.

-Can hold on to things really well. Has a strong grip.

-Can do "close open" and "twinkle twinkle".

-Can hold his bottle but only if it is half full. Sadly he can't lift his bottle on his own if it is full.

HEALTH BUMPS:

Since November, we've had a series of health problems and it did drove me nuts. I am hoping that this February Tuka's luck on health will improve a little bit that way I can rest a little bit as well. (please please puhleeeeeez)

Cold - We had a cold during early November. My ammo for this bump were Vicks vapor rub, eucalyptus oil, Aciete chamomile oil and lots of water.

Teething pain and fever - We had a series of these since we grew 6 teeth for the past 2 and 1/2 months. My ammo - Paracetamol by Tempra (mainly for the pain), popsicle teethers and ice cold teething materials.

Flu - We also had the flu. So again, lots of water, menthol rubs that I mentioned earlier for the sniffles (nose congestion) and cool fever mats for comfort.

Bacterial infection + mild diarrhea - Yes! We got this as well because apparently I need to suffer some more. (sigh) My ammo list is a bit long. Drugs - e-zinc, antibiotics, erceflora and semiticone (anti flatulent). For hydration - Pedialyte and Gatorade. Dilluted milk for a week, no multivitamins for a week, and no solids for a week. Generous application of petroleum jelly every nappy change. 

Fungal rash on his buttocks - Do you guys feel sorry for me yet? Anyhoo, my ammo this time - mineral oil. Highly effective!

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There. Tuka's most recent status update.

Starting February, I will be focusing more on his motor skills and intelligence since he will be turning 1 soon. I want him to start walking already since I think he is way behind compared to his peers on that front. Also, I have already bought a set of educational toys and will be doing more play/learn activities with him with chocolates as a positive reinforcement tool. (I know, I know. Cheating! Hahahaha!)

I will post more next time! xx