Why are infant’s hands always clenched in their first few months?
Typically, by the end of 3 months (or earlier), a baby would be able to open his/her hands and use it to grab and touch things. The baby will then be able to discover things, by touching and batting toys, and bringing it to their mouths:
It is interesting though, that when infants are newly born, they will open and hold on tightly to your thumb, if you manage to wriggle it into their palms:
That is the palmar grasp reflex. I read somewhere that this reflex is a sort of relic from our evolutionary past. Imagine when we were hairy apes living in the trees. Infants who could grasp on to the hair or some body parts would probably have higher survival rates. I am just wondering~~
I will start sharing some recipes day by day on my blog. Very often, I ask friends why they don't cook, and why some seem surprised that I cook. There's no reason not to cook, and it's nothing surprising, because it is so easy, once you get the hang of the techniques and ingredients. Let's start with chicken curry; to me, it's an incredibly versatile dish and depending on your predilection, could taste anything from Nyonya to Thai. This version is the usual sort you will find in Singapore coffeeshops and hawker centres - rich in coconut milk, not too spicy.
[How] Peel potatoes, boil in pot of water for 12 minutes.
Stir-fry onion with curry paste + lemongrass in another pan (you can skip this step if you are not using onion + lemongrass; it's ok) - Remember you ain't following some Martha Stewart baking recipe, and that's the beauty of Asian cooking - you don't need to be always precise!
Add curry paste to water. Add coconut cream. Remove skin of chicken, chop it up into pieces and add into mixture. Simmer, stirring continually for 20 minutes. Add salt to taste. Remove top layer of oil before serving with white rice or some bread.
Research has shown that girls develop the ability to communicate earlier than boys. But what my baby niece demonstrated yesterday and this morning completely astonished me. Infants at 2 months often practice vowel sounds. (e.g. coo, ahh, uhh, ohh) What surprised me was that my 2-month (and 2 weeks) old niece was combining two vowel sounds together. In one instance, she imitated her father’s “hello” (not shown in video below) and said, “haahh-ohh”. (the consonants and ‘l’ is not articulated) Looking at her mouth movements when we speak, it is clear that she is attempting to imitate the speaking movements of us as we speak.
In addition, baby Raeann responds to different sounds and turns her head towards sources of sounds, such as the TV. She responds to music. She responds to her name and watches the speaker’s face as he talks. The usual age for an infant to reach this stage of infant language development is between 4 to 6 months. (or even, 9 months) Therefore, I was astounded by what I saw and heard yesterday and this morning!
I hope she will be a language prodigy! I think she will probably pick up new vocabulary easily.
I shall, in my next post, talk about mother-ese and phonemes... interesting stuffs
Today I accompanied my brother for an 'emergency' wisdom tooth extraction. Well, it should teeth, since two were removed. He had a pretty bad swelling in his left wisdom tooth; the right one was still OK, but there was some swelling already.
It was painful and I wasn't surprised, given that there were inflammation and abscesses already. The X-Ray indicated that they were getting 'impacted', and partially showing above the gum tissue. The one that was causing the pain had 70% of itself peeking out from the gum tissue, while the other was about only 30% peeking out. And the food bits/bacteria that gets trapped in the nooks and crannies of an impacted/half-peeking-out molar led to an infection. One can imagine the bacteria having a party in there:
But anyway.
It didn't have to be so urgent if not for the fact that he could not miss too much of his military course; it was fortunate that this week, there was nothing much for him to do, hence he could take a MC and recuperate. Since he was to undergo surgery anyway, he might as well take out two. Even though the other that was still 'bearable', I reckon it would lead to yet another infection in the weeks to come, especially if you're stuck in a Brunei jungle doing military training. Oh come on, who brushes teeth there? So to kill two birds with one stone, we had two wisdom tooths extracted, left and right side.
He was freaked out. Now I wasn't that freaked out because I had 4 wisdom molars removed at one go previously. Ok ok, that's not a fair comparison because I was under general anaesthesia. I was blissfully in sleep while the operation took place. But we went to the Q&M Dental Clinic at the nearby Sun Plaza. They could do the job, and they could do it today, and hence there would be a week to rest before he returns to the air force school on Monday. Since my brother was scared, I made sure that I was with him throughout the way, and had a rather interesting opportunity to witness the extraction + stitching-of-wound for 2 wisdom tooth. Now, I must say, Dr. Holy Koh Jr. (Yes, that's his name), a mild-mannered, well-spoken and knowledgeable dentist was really good. He gave detailed explanation and reassured the patient well. He also outlined the various options available:
- remove only one wisdom tooth - remove two wisdom tooth - remove all four ("that would be too traumatic", he said, given that only local anaesthetic would be used) [The upper wisdom teeth were growing out too, and would cause ulceration/gum damage later]
A scalpel, drill, sharp probe, pliers, needle, scissors etc were put to use, and lo and beold, the two molars were taken out. The wounds were cleaned and then stitched up, all without a sinch.
Fantastic service, and hardly painful. The local anaesthetic (yes, yes I know it hurts when the needle is stuck into the gum, but it's just for a short while) did its job well, and my brother blanked out the sounds using an iPod.
Recently, I had made several verbal faux pas, relating to sex.
Yes, you got me right. Relating to Sex. Sexual Health education lah.
Incident #1 We were in a meeting discussing on digital tools relating to Sexual Health education. Raising the topic, I somehow said "Sexual Tools" instead of "Sexual Health Digital Tools".
Incident #2 I came up with a fictitious persona to represent young, successful and affluent male PMEBs. Somehow or another, I said it is "part and parcel for young men to sleep around", when what I really intended to say was that promiscuity is common amongst young PMEB males.
It is a poignant TVC, and resonates with me, for I have lost close ones before. The memories you have of a person is very much made up of the small things. It could be smell, for instance. A memory of five-spice wafting from the kitchen is mundane, but can imprint upon a person in a very lasting way, particularly if you were a young child. When a person dies, one cannot help but feel that the memories are unsatisfiactory. They lack a physicality; a here-and-now dimension.
Imagine waking up on a sunny morning to scents of dark soy sauce, five-spice and duck simmering away in a large wok. It will be chopped up later into smaller pieces for the Chinese New Year reunion dinner; it will be a very busy day because it is the last opportunity to do a thorough cleaning before the new year officially starts. That's why it's good to start cooking the duck early on, for it is fine to leave it aside till dinner time.
And those were the days.
I suppose that's where the senses can act as a conduit through which some of our strongest memories are created, and possibly, the best means through which buried memories are renewed.
Same things goes for the little arguments, difficult times, tribulations. At the end of the day (or life), these are the things that will take on a special texture.
Does new media work in the Health Promotion Board; where worthy causes are championed. A HUGE nature lover and foodie. In nature, I see how little we need in life to be contented and happy. To me, deadlines and unpaid bills cannot be compared to the grand beauty of a rainforest. You may find me seeking refuge from urban madness in places like the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. But that's not all, I enjoy cooking and trying out recipes. I do partake in your usual 'youth' activites like movies, hanging out with friends. I just wanted to highlight my less common interests too.
