(2008/02) Feb 2008 MTBs

I'm also upset but what to do, they insisted since day 1 and we didn't anticipate this wld become an issue. they say ah gong and ah ma very old-fashioned.

i hv frens also in same situation as you, fairfield. they said that the kids learn the differences in intonation over time. don't worry, they will pick it up sooner or later.
 


ya, i suspect thats what my mom thnks too-- old-fashioned, so she doesnt want to be called Ah Ma.
Hehe, i think as new parents, we never expected forms of address to become an issue. But i thought as parents, we got first priority abt what/how we want to be addressed?
 
bkkgal,
hehe.... I also enjoy cosleeping with my gal. Feel so much sweet & calming when sleeping with her. For her afternoon nap at weekends, I try to sleep with her if not busy.

Every morning when we hear that my gal wakes up, we quickly walk to her, lie besides her, talk some nonsense with her.
 
Channet called grandparents 爷爷奶奶,公公婆婆 called us Daddy, Mummy. Occasionally, when she heard us calling 妈 she will follow and call her grandma 妈
 
bkkgal, fairfield, glad I'm not alone facing the problem. Fairfield, I agree with you. I very 'ba4 dao4' when it comes to what I want my gal to call me. Today, she was in FIL's room calling Mama, mama but I ignored her initially. Then I ask her loudly, you calling Mama or Mah Mah? She can't make the intonation. So, hubby jumped in and say she's confused lar, don't know how to differentiate. Then I said it loud enough so that FIL can hear, then call Mummy lar. Hee. ;)

Clover, that's Bx and Baby Ashlynn's blog.
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A calls me mama or mummy, calls hb dada or papa or daddy

she calls both my mum and my MIL ah ma and my father and my FIL ah gong. haven't figured out how to differentiate between maternal and paternal grandparents yet. probably wait till she's older.

pauline,
A called me mama all the while until at one play date - she heard friend's baby call mummy. when we reached home, she called me mummy!! now she calls me interchangeably, i don't really have a preference.

so maybe you should let raeanne meet someone whose kid calls mummy hor =P
 
Big E calls me "mummy", calls hb "papa", calls my mum "po po", calls my mil "ah ma", calls my fil "ye ye".

Small E calls me "jie jie", calls hb "papa", calls my mum & mil "ah ma". still waiting for her to call me mama.... :p
 
gd morning mummies !!

N calls me mummy, calls hb papa, calls my mum popo, calls my fil yehyeh, calls my mil mahmah.

calls my sil gujie, my bil suksuk (cantonese) ;p

she used to call me mama and my mil also insisted she call her mahmah (she doesn't like to be call nainai). And N was too young to differentiate.

So my mum n I taught her to call me mummy instead.
 
good morning mummies,
C calls me ---, hb "daddy", pil ---. recently heard her call 'ma' and 'gong'.
my MIL also teach her to call her 'ma ma', fil 'gong gong'.
my mum teach her call 'po' as in 'wai po', my dad 'gong' as in 'wai gong'.

anyway, she as lots of names too - ah gal, chinese name, ang moh name, full english name. we call her the names interchangeably and she responds to all the names. :p
 
xiaoyun
shawn calls my mum 'po po', think he can't pronounce 'wai po' yet. when i ask him where's 'wai po', he can point correctly.

he calls my FIL "gong gong", my mum and MIL "po po", his counsins "gor gor" & "jie jie", me "ma ma" or "mummy" when he needs my attention, my hubby "daddy"

nowadays he likes to say "no more" when something disappear/is finished. he can't pronounce words with 'f', like 'flag', he will say "tag'.
 
Wow... seems like all the kids know how to call liao... but mine only call her dad, "dada", and once in a blue moon, she will call me "ma" and my mom, "mama"... but really dunno whether is she calling us... her speech development is very slow but learn very fast on all sort of funny noises...
 
My boy calls me - mummy, hb - dada, my mom - porpor, my dad - gonggong, my mil - ahma, mil fil - yehyeh, my bro - Gu, my bil - Shushu.

Few months back my in-laws taught him to call my MIL Ma-ma, but after my boy picked up up, they encouraged him to call Ah-Ma instead, and he did make the switch.
 
wah...Ruth doesn't really have that much words yet. Mostly only call her dad "DADA..dadadadada"

Which sounds like she's saying "daddy..why never come carry me....etc etc"

When she REALLY wants something, she'll be whiney and call me "meh-meh-meh-meh..mehmehmehmehmehmeh..."

I don't have the mama and mahmah dilemma because..

My mum is Popo.
My dad is Gonggong.
My MIL...no chance - cuz my girl damn scared of her. But we tell her to call Nainai. I don't have FIL.

btw..just went berserk buying activity books for ruth. She's at this whiteboard marker stage - she likes drawing on whiteboards..so they were selling these wipe-off activity books. i just dun care and bought like mad.
 
Pauline
i oso feel that as parents we should get first right of refusal to the forms of address. If I always called my mother's mother "Ah ma", why can't my mother be called "ah ma" by my dd? Understand what I mean? It's tradition what...i always call my ah ma like that so why can't she also be called like that... why change now. haiz. i was quite embarassed once or twice when we went out and my dd called my father 'pa pa', pp thot my father is my hb!!! arrgghh!!

My colik's hb was quite upset that her mom insisted to be called ma ma which confused the kid btw my colik and her mom. Fell out with the IL. When men fall out with IL, i think more serious than we women falling out with our IL.
 
bkk - i agree on the ma ma (MIL) portion, even though i voiced out several occasions, still the ma ma insisted on ma ma, everytime we see her, she will always start on, oh ma ma do this for , ma ma buy this for u, come, ma ma feed u, orh, so guai, u give ma ma this..i was like zzzz

however i stand by my point, i always insist saying H, pls give ah ma this, please say goodbye to ah ma, haha.so bad of me
 
bkkgal, you are right, it's like that. I call my own mum Mummy and my dad Papa. I don't question how my gal calls hubby as long as he is fine with it. So far, she calls him baba, dada or Dadee. But for me, I want her to call me Mummy and not Mama. :p

Got no time to post in the day cos looking after my gal. Today's children's day celebration so only 1 hr party and tomorrow got no school so decided to bring her home after the party to look after her myself these 2 days. She 'rewarded' me by not napping at all this afternoon.

Tried different methods from lying down beside her to pushing her downstairs in stroller to letting her exhaust herself while I lay on her cot bed but nothing worked. Sigh, understandably she's super cranky and sticky this evening so I tried putting her to bed at 830pm, 1 hr before her usual time. She refuse to lie down, keep wanting me to carry her from room to room so that she can sleep. I refused to do that cos can't bear her weight on my tummy for long. Hubby is happy to carry her but she rejects him. Kept on screaming and shrieking non stop. End up got no choice but to carry her from room to room until she finally lie down on my shoulder and knocked out. What a day! :p
 
Wow.. bkkgal,qingling, pauline, fairfield.. i seriously never ever think that what to call can also be a problem.. thanks goodness my in laws and parents never insist on anything. It can be a torture when we have to face with such a 'minor' issue... some elderly can be pretty insistent.

G calls me mama, hb call papa.. fil call yeye.. mil call popo.. my mum also popo.. father.. ah gong..Of coz.. she cant say all these on auto mode lah.. but she will associate the names withe right person.. i think the only few words that she can really say to express her needs/wants are 1) yao ( want things) 2. na ( pass things to us) 3. neh neh ( water and not milk) 4. No More.. 5. Papa.. 6. bao ( carry) 7. mum (eat)..

A lot of baby language.. not many real words unless we ask her to say. :D
 
qingling,
i am trying to do what u do too-- ie, get my boy to call my mom Ah Ma, even though she continue referring to herself as MaMa.. heheh

genice,
ya lor, never knew will have this kind of 'problems'. Sigh!
 
Hi Gals,

Now I got a big headache... we applied for Canadian PR many years back before we have any kids, recently they have been asking for more info... and now suddenly it's been approved and have to be there by next Aug. Now with no 2 coming along and edd in May, really dunno what to do... Some more last time don't have kid yet, so I also looking fwd for it. But now with kids, I really dunno... my hb wants to go and wants me to think about the overall pic and decide... and my mom strongly object to the idea... sigh...
 
Kitsune,
Yap. I stayed near Tampines round market.

Talking abt bb language.
Channet also said some. But I'm surprise she can now say " I can see you." and word like crescent, rectangle, triangle, etc. But she speaks mainly Mandarin as grandparents 奶奶,公公婆婆 all speak to her in Mandarin. One thing bad is she cannot recognise chinese word.

Any idea where can I buy DVD that teach Chinese? I afraid she will only hear to mandarin and not understand a single chinese word.
 
Snowbelle,
how long do you need to stay there in order to keep your PR?


bluegin,
not sure what's the best method to learn to read chinese.
chinese is not like alphabets which can be learn by memorising how the word is pronounced. chinese words are mostly 'xiang4 xing2'. e.g, the word 'shan1' looks like a mountain..
there's a program by Yoyo teach kids on how the chinese words transforms. the problem is that it's a Taiwan program and end up it's teaching the traditional chinese words along with 'zhu4 yin1 fu2 hao4'
probably tubao has any idea which china dvds are good for learning chinese word like the Yoyo do?


apple,
how does Wink teach chinese?
 
Hi snowbelle,
do you have family in canada? is that why you wanna migrate? i think the aug deadline is just a logistical issue which can be overcomed by either 1) you + hb+ babies all go and apply or 2) leave #2 behind for a week or two while u+hb+#1 go. In any case, it's good to have the PR status in the bag. The bigger issue is really whether you want to eventually move to Canada and fulfil the PR requirements e.g have to be in the ctry for X months/years? That's the trickier qn to answer which u will need to consult your immediate family on.

Pauline,
wow, Raeanne really difficult to put to bed...have u tried establishing a bedtime routine for her? like a warm bath, warm drink, read books...wind down time? maybe she's so psyched with the activities of the day that she can't wind down properly. poor girl probably v tired..

blueginger
i've been showing K this "wink to learn" chinese songs/DVDs. It teaches chinese words and highlights the words to them. As I said, til now, i think no effect on mine but u can try? i see wink to learn banner advertising on the home page of SMH.

Food for sick kids
um...wanna ask what you do u feed ur sick, low/no appetite tods if they hate porridge? all of yday, K only drank milk and eat med cos she's quite sick but she hates porridge. tried rice and soup but she only wants soup.

Btw, Happy Children's Day to all our tods!!
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Xiao Yun,
Need to be there 3 years out of 5 years...

bkkgal,
My hb's uncle is there but we may not go to the same province. They have this stupid rule that once PR is granted and before we land, cannot have another kid... if we go with no 1 first when no 2 is already out, it will be even more diff to get no 2 there later... now we are exploring if we land before no 2 is out, will it be a better alternative...

I really dunno... all the family members and relatives over my hb side, encourage us to go, my side strongly object to the idea... I think my mom sure cry when my no 1 leave... they stick together like super glue... then also not sure whether can find a job there and may have to survive on single income... dunno the life will be better or worst...
 
Hmm Wink to learn: I have the Chinese flashcards version DVD which I have yet to show. The songs one I have shown but she is not that keen. For the english flashcards DVDs, she likes to watch them and she does pick up some words from there as in she will say the word and point to the object in the house but i am not sure if she recognises the words or the picture. Yet to verify.

Bkk : how abt soupy mee sua or kwa tiao?
 
snowbelle,
don't understand the rule.
means if you go there with no. 1 in Aug and come back singapore and deliver no. 2 and no. 2 will be very difficult to get PR?
3 years out of 5. Means that you really need to find a job there otherwise difficult to fulfill the requirement.
how about the taking care of no. 1 and 2 there if both of you can get the job?
 
apple: i hv yet to show the Wink to Learn chinese flashcards too but chinese songs she love. Will point and "translate" to me in English. LOL. The English one I can see she really learns - after watching the numbers lesson, she started to count 1-10. But she hates the number 3, 6 and 7 - find hard to say.

Today's lunch - trying mee sua. Hope she eats!

Snowbelle,
if the cost of living is lower there, u may get better quality of life even on single income. plus more time to spend with kids...which is hard here...maybe u guys need to go and visit for a while to decide what is best for the family huh?
 
bkk: haha so li hai she can translate! Amanda likes to count one 1-10 too but i think in the DVD, there is one on even or odd numbers and she hates that cos its not in the sequence she knows.

Actually normally when they are sick, we also cannot expect them to eat too much.When A was sick recently, she also survived on milk. Lost quite a bit of weight.
 
bkkgal,
When they are sick, they lose their appetite. When my kids are sick, they don't eat much too. Most of the time, they just drink soup or porridge "water". Sometimes I will cook meat/fish porridge with veggies in it, but very diluted ie water more than porridge and ingredients. Easier to feed.

For noodles, I prefer to give mee sua as they can just swallow without much chewing. Again, soup more than mee sua.

Hths.
 
DD3 calls us:

Me: Mom, Milk
DH: Papa, Dad
DD1: Jie Jie
DS2: Ge Ge
My Dog: Bog (she can't pronounce D)
MIL: Ah Ma
FIL: Ye Ye
My mom: Ma Ma
My dad: Gong Gong
 
Xiao Yun,
No, if we only land after no 2 is already out, then it will be difficult and take very long time to sponsor no 2. So now we have to find out if we land before no 2 is out, whether this alternative will be more feasible. It's difficult to find this info as we cannot call to enquire, have to write it... dunno how long they will take to reply...

I think either I'll have to be sahm or they have to go childcare centre...

bkkgal,
Maybe really have to go and try out first... my hb is very angry that I'm having 2nd thought at this point of time...
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Pauline,
I used to smell their tiny feet during infancy, love the bb smell, but not anymore now.

My DH loves to smell their hair, those sweaty hair. He kept complaining it's smelly but addictive. I think he's a pervert, hahaha!!

He only kiss the girls but not the boy. He says it's so strange for a guy to kiss another guy.. I kiss them all!
 
bkk,
I just read your post on the naming confusion. Don't worry about the mama and papa issue. They can differentiate. Actually, if you pay a little more attention, you will realise their ma ma for mother and ma ma for grandma sounds different. Their tone/pitch is different.
 
Snowbelle
i can understand...kids just change the equilibrium...it's not just a new place, it's a new life, your support network will be gone...for me too, when i think of taking another overseas posting (not migrating permanently), i'm so daunted by the thot of childcare arrangement, who to help us, domestic help gone, new set of frens, create new networks. Ask ur hb to give more time, consider all the issues together carefully. sometimes, men say things damn easy but when do things, they miss all the details.

Apple
haha, she "li hai" to try and escape speaking chinese. drive me crazy sometimes.

I see her stomach today all flat already and face seemed smaller too but at least, yday night, she stopped yelling "noshe noshe!" every hr and could sleep nearly 12 hrs.
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REena, hee, thanks. i dun let it bug me anymore cos i know who she means when she calls.
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Snowbelle,
Just to share, my friend just migrated to Aussie and like bkk says, lost all her support network and friends. But it's a decision that she and her hubby decided to make years back and no choice.

One year before the 'dead line' to reach Aussie, she got pregnant again. IN the end, fly there when she's about 7 months and gave birth there.

It's a tumultous journey for her looking after 3 children herself with no help. For now, they have put no. 1 and 2 into 3-day childcare. (3-day cuz they have some subsidy given by government but i cannot remember why 3-day).Lucky her hubby found a job - but that's after 1-2 months there. VERY STRESSFUL!

You must be prepared for the journey mentally....

Grandparents:
It can be VERY hard. No solution for u. SInce your mum already so close to her grandchild, it's heartbreaking to split them. Will she consider going over with you for a few months? I dunno. Maybe when she's there, she can understand better why you wanna move there and etc? Just suggesting.

CANADIAN ADMINISTRATION:
Is superbly notorious for their (in)efficiency. i have 2 good friends, one in Toronto, the other in Vancouver. Both have been complaining about how Loooooooooooooooooooooooooong the authorities take to process all kinds of legal documents. It is VERY exasperating.

COST OF LIVING:
Bkk..i was there for honeymoon. I think cost of living is damn subjective. But consumer taxes are horrendous - though maybe you'll be able to find ways to get round it?

For any item, you get taxed between 12-25% i think. And they are BIG on the environment tax too. If you don't return the recyclable stuff, you lose the tax u paid on it. (eg those milk cartons, juice etc...all will be taxed at least 1-2%)
 
bkkgal,
You are right... the sudden lost of support network, really scare me... moreover, we have been quite dependence on my mom... yeah, men really say thing damn easy... my hb said just bite the bullet and go... if we have no kids, fine... but not when we have 2 young kids...

lezy,
It ever cross our mind to give birth there, at least no 2 will auto become citizen. But will feel quite helpless when trying to search for a job and have to handle new born baby.

Grandparents,
I'm not sure whether she wants to go over with us for few months. She hates to take long flight and the journey to Canada is damn long and tiring... Hopefully after she has been there, she will understand and more fan xin...

Cost of living,
Yeah, the taxes are high... got to be really thrifty, life style will be totally diff...
 
erm..i think if u go over with #2, you will have to survive on single income for awhile. you'll be fine i think on single income for awhile. After settling in and recovering from the delivery, then u can start thinking about finding a job...
 
hehe.... we didn't teach E any English/Chinese character recognization.

E call me : mama(mostly used), mummy, 娘。
call DH: baba(mostly used), daddy, 爹。

IL: Ah ma, Ah gong.

my parents: popo, yeye.
 
snowbelle,
wow migrating is indeed a very big decision. with two kids, i am assuming that there will be changes to the considerations for / against moving to a foreign country.

I would probably split it into two decisions
a) Whether or not to go
b) When to go (especially since you have a #2)

Perhaps, one of the first things you can do is to call up the authorities and explain that you are expecting #2 and if the aug deadline can be pushed back (just give some story about being pregnant now, not in the "optimal" health condition to make arrangements to migrate, after giving birth need to recuperate blah blah). that will give you more time to think through and decide.

write down the pros and cons for moving and get your hb to do the same separately. sit down and compare your lists and this will help flush out all the considerations, and also to help you systematically identify challenges and find solutions.
 
bkkgal, previously she was quite easy to put to bed except on occasions cos we used to do last milk feed on our bed then after she roll around and fall asleep then transfer her to the cot in her own room. From June onwards, she still falls asleep on my bed but we don't transfer her anymore.

Problem now is a new routine ie. feeding last milk feed on her bed and getting her to sleep on her bed. She either keeps climbing down the bed to 'disturb' my maid (also something new to her) or run off to look for her toys. Hope the novelty wears off and the new routine will sink in. She just fell asleep at 3pm on my maid's tilam for her nap. Got the maid to come into the room and pretend to sleep too so that she won't be distracted. I fed her milk at 1.15pm but around 2:15pm, she poo poo so got to coax her back to bed all over again. :p
 
hi ladies,
long time no "see"!

wow, it seems like the toddlers here are learning very fast. hmm... wonder if ashlynn is slower in her development as her vocab is still limited and can't count yet.
 



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