All About Your Child

Saturday, Keatkeat did something that could have cost his life.

Sunday, he gave me a bloody wake-up call and he did it again yesterday.

It’s horrible to wake up in this way, as if you were electrocuted, totally unwarned….

So today I decided to give myself a good start, since Keatkeat is back to normal self, by eating my MIL self-made yummy glutinous rice dumplings, we call Zong-Zi in Chinese. These were prepared for the celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival on 5th May in the Lunar Calendar, which was last Sunday, 8th June on the globally recognised English Calendar.

Though a Chinese origin myself, I am still confused over how the Lunar Calendar is works. How could it be June on my desktop calendar and yet it is in the month of May in the Chinese Lunar Calendar….Hummmm….So please spare me on any explanation on this, ok?

For my non-Chinese friends who are interested in knowing the story behind this tradition can go read this short story.

 These are the usual all-time-favourites.

The black and white. The fillings in the glutinous rice varies. It could be meat only or it could be meat with some nuts. It all depends on the cook herself.

My MIL prefer to add different types of nuts with small chunks of pork.

When I was still under the care of my auntie, before my parents brought me home for good, I remember eating a super duper nice dumpling. The fillings were filled with sweet, very sweet, tasty black-coloured meat.

Till now, I still doesn’t know the name of that particular Zong-Zi, I missed it very much. Any of you out there knows the name? 

 While I’m still in search of that delicious Zong-Zi, my current favourite is this – Gan-shui-zong (Cantonese Language).

My kids are as crazy over them as I am now. Maybe because it’s baby sized or maybe because it’s eaten with sugar because there isn’t any fillings in them. Just the plain sticky glutinous rice itself.

If you have a big mouth like mine, all you need is just 2 bites and its gone. Though I have this privilege, I prefer to cut them into tiny bite size, cover it completely with snowy-white sugar and savour it slowly.

My MIL doesn’t like that, she thinks it will cause diabetes, so she will try to fill it up withred beans before she wrapped it with pandan leaves and tie them up with strings.

This year, she gave me 25 plain-baby dumplings, 5 red bean-baby dumplings, 10 black dumplings and 5 white dumplings. On top of all that, Allan’s client gave him 8 spicy dumplings for doing a great job in selling her house. So total 53 dumplings.

Some of you may wonder, how do we differentiate the dumplings when all of them looks the same on the outside? My MIL tie each flavour with different coloured strings! So now we’ve got lots to eat. I’m gonna be nice, this is for you! Enjoy my MIL’s hardwork, ok? Hope you like it.

I like to sleep. That was my hobby before I had kids, now it’s a I-can’t-get-enough thing, ohhhh especially on a cooling, drizzling morning like today.

Allan was out early for a morning appointment. I was still lying in bed, semi-awake, heard the kids’ usual call for their milk, the sound of milk preparation and then the sound of him belting up his pants. Everything was so clear, but I just refused to open my eyes.

The confirmation of his departure was distinct, with his big chunk of keys slapping against the metal gate, I was ready to get back to my dream land as the kids brought in their Lego to play in the room. Then….

“Mom….my, gooot blood…”

That broken sentence woke me up like a pail of cold water splashed on my sleepy face. Opened my eyes wide, jumped onto my feet and searched for my glasses.

Keatkeat shirt and long pants were covered with blood, which dripped down from his mouth, which actually started from his nose.

Yes, it’s another nose bleed again. Maybe because he cried too much yesterday, maybe because the weather was too cold and he had been sneezing too much in the night which could have ruptured his old wound, or maybe it’s both. Whatever it is, I had to stop the flow.

After the experience I got from here and here, I was more composed. This is something that I am so used to. Not that he bleed very often, that would be scary. But whenever he has a bad runny nose for too long, this happens.

It was hard to switch from a sloppy self to a fast speed momentum machine in a split second, but the Mommy spirit in me did a perfect change. I covered his nose with tissue to soak up the blood, preventing it from flowing down to his mouth, while I use my index and thumb to add pressure to his nose bridge.

Keatkeat is used to this too. So our cooperation was perfect team. But the flow was too heavy, his mouth was full of blood, he knew he can’t swallow it because it will cause him to vomit, he knew it, he experienced that before. He signal me that he could no longer control the contents in his mouth.

“Binbin pass me a dustbin!” Yes I still have a 3 year old assistant who has been sitting still and watching the bloody scene. This was too much for this little boy, I could tell. Because he walked pass the dustbin without realising it! “Binbin! The dustbin is over there!!!”

Instructed Keatkeat to spit into the dustbin, then carried him to the toilet. He was a super kid, completely calm. He rinsed his mouth as I continue to add pressure to his nose. As if everything was not hectic enough, “Mommy I want to poo-poo” said my younger boy.

“But Mommy, I want to shh- shh…” said Keatkeat.

My priority was Keatkeat so I was prepared to let Binbin poo in his pants. Ignored Binbin totally and carried Keatkeat down from the inverted pail which he was standing on, pulled down his pants and positioned him to pass urine.

“MOmmy! My poo-poo want to come out already!” cried Binbin

“Ok, Ok….almost done!” I snapped.

When my elder one was done, I lowered the toilet bowl seat-er, then the baby seat-er and scooped up Binbin, sat him down for him to go ahead with his poo business.

Got back to the still bleeding Keatkeat, continued to add pressure to stop the flow. It’s getting better….the flow is not as scary now. Carried my boy back to his mattress….just then….

“Mom -mmy,  I fin-nished!” Binbin sang these 3 words with his usual tune that goes like this fa-mi-fa-mi-so.

“Yes, coming. I am changing Gor-gor’s shirt.” I snapped again.

In less that 3 seconds, “But, Mom-mmy, I fin-nished!” My little vocalist sang again! That’s him, he needs immediate attention, which I wasn’t prepared to give at that very moment!

Stacked up the adults’ pillow and let Keatkeat rest on it, half sitted, half lied down, to prevent the blood from flowing backwards, down his pipe that leads to the tummy. That was the biggest mistake I made the very first time he had nose bleeding. I learnt the hard way and I remembered it well.

“Mommy, I look like a patient now.” said my boy.

“Yes Baby, you ARE a patient now…. Ok let me go settle your brother, before the neighbours complain about him.”  Hopped onto my feet, leaped to the toilet to clean my smelly-stinky kid who has been singing the same line with the same tune over a hundred times….

Then back to my elder one again to check if the flow has stopped completely. Stayed with him for 15mins before I pronounced him, “Ok, you are discharged, free to go play now.”

I was exhausted, but fully awake at the end of everything! What a waste! It was a perfect weather to cat nap for at least another hour.  What a way to start my morning! Sigh….