Birthday Wishes

Leave your wishes and greetings for Ayesha on her first birthday ... Click on the comments link below.

Then I get a rosy cheek

Tuesday night, my fever was looking well under control. Most day, I had below 38 temperature. So by night time, it was a surprise when my mom discovered red rashes all over my body. Not being sure what it could be for, we again rushed to the doctor's. It was late in the evening and we were hoping we'd still get a chance to see the GP - I certainly wasn't keen to visit the hospital this soon again. As we entered the GP, there was another lady in front of us who was told to wait and she will be fitted in if anyone ahead of us finished early. So we'd be second in waiting and chances of us seeing the GP that night was looking bleak. Mommy and daddy started to talk about driving to Westmead Children's.

We then saw the lady ahead of us smile at us and leave. Soon after, we realised the receptionist has managed to fit us in to see the GP. The lady just made way for me. That was very kind of her. We very much appreciated her kindness.

Shortly it was my turn to meet the GP. She managed to make us feel bit more comfortable saying this looks like a common viral fever pattern known as Roseola. The pattern goes like this - high fever, followed by red rashes all over the body which then moves to the arms, legs and cheek and goes away. There isn't any medicine really. And just to make sure it wasn't an allergic reaction, she also asked to stop the antibiotic.

Next couple of days went just as the doctor predicted. I had no or low fever but very red rashes all over my body. By Friday evening, I have red cheeks to complement it all. Meanwhile, I was eating and drinking pretty well. And doing some great walks too. I prefer to be on my feet now. I walked from the living area to the kitchen and back several times the other day.

Saturday night was the most uncomfortable though. For the first time my rashes became itchy and irritating. I started to twist and turn at 4 am at night - waking my parents up. Initially daddy was quite upset with me thinking that I was just being naughty. Soon he realised I was in a lot of bother. Mommy and daddy tried to soothe my itch by massaging my legs. Anyways, after an uncomfortable couple of hours, I fell asleep.

The rashes have started to disappear now. We still went back to the GP to find out if there are any medication I can take tonight to get a good night's sleep. It was good for me to go out and about too, as I have been pretty much locked inside the house. I even managed to catch a ride on a red car.

Mommy and titas have been very busy preparing for my birthday next week. They were practicing their skills with balloons and drawing up plans for the party. Everyone is just hoping that I will be fully fit and well for my birthday party. All that is left to do is to find a beautiful dress for me to fit the party mood. My night garden friends are dressing up too for sure.

Since I started playing with the soccer ball couple of weeks back, I became very fond of it. I not only like kicking the ball around, I even learned how to call it 'boh'. I love my game of 'boh' even when I am sick. And if I am in the bed, I settle for peek-a-boo.

Night out in the hospital

Trust me, it wasn't fun. You already heard I had high fever over the weekend. On Monday morning, mommy took me to the doctor with my fever still relatively high. The GP recommended to see till mid-day if the fever was under control and if not, take me to the hospital. At mid-day, with my fever at 39.5 and no sign of release ... mommy summoned daddy to come back home from work. We met up with him in Westmead Children's Hospital. After the initial triage, the nurse told us to wait for the doctor to become available.

With my temperature still very high, the pediatrician who saw me thought it would be safer to run some thorough checks to rule out any nasties in my blood. So I had to face the most daunting moment of my life - 20 minutes of gruelling by the doctors and nurses. Already tired from the high fever, I hated all the attention from those busy people. The poking with the stethoscope and needle for the blood felt equally annoying and I cried through the process. The doctor even left the little opening for the blood in place just in case I needed it again.

We waited for several hours for the result to come through. At about 1 am, the doctor came out to say it's all clear. Yup, after that ordeal, the white cell count in my blood appeared normal ... ruling out invaders in my blood. The urine was clean as well. So the only rational explanation was some sort of viral fever which doesn't have any direct cure. The nurse took out the bandage off my hand and we were free to go home. Mommy and daddy was told to keep a close eye on my fever and keep consulting the GP. My feeding pattern and how well I was coping with the fever would determine the next course of action. We are all just hoping I can ride out the fever.

Titas were waiting for me outside till early hours of the morning. Everyone was relieved there wasn't anything to worry about.

My sick day off

Mommy organized a book-look at home on Saturday. She bought me a number of story and picture books few weeks back when she visited a book-look session. She asked Rachel from Total Learning to come over and talk about her range of children's books and CDs and she invited some of our friends to join us at home. Mommy and daddy picked up a few more books. Tita's and tito's were also there to select some books they liked. Only trouble was, I wasn't feeling too well.

On Friday, Tito Jovan treated us for dinner in Ribs and Rumps, which was booked out till 8.30 pm. It was a late night dinner on a rather cool night. The fact that I am also getting two more teeth added to the complexity. By Saturday morning, I was feverish - with temperatures hovering around 38. So I wasn't feeling quite myself. Having said that, I am an active girl. So I kept up playing and eating and taking my Panadol. My parents thought it might just pass by.

By the time night approached, it turned little worse. At about 10 pm, my fever had started to cross over 38 close to 39. The Panadol wasn't working. Mommy and daddy was getting worried but decided to see out the night. I was totally composed though. By about 3 am, my fever has crossed 40. I couldn't sleep ... so there I was in the bed, playing peek-a-boo. Daddy wanted to do something and gave me another doze of Panadol. Which really made it worse - I just didn't like the taste and vomited it out with my food. I couldn't help but cry. Mommy took me to the living room to watch In the Night Garden. That would have been the only thing that could calm me down. I watched Iggle Piggle for some time and then fell asleep. Rest of the night, I had my fever hovering around 40+. 

So first thing in the morning, we went to the local GP and waited for him to arrive. We wanted to be the first in the queue. When my GP arrived, he had a quick check and decided it was a bout of flu virus. But to control the high fever, he gave me some antibiotics. He also recommended some Nurofen to go with it. Having had the first doze of Nurofen with the doctor, by 10 am, my fever was in control. And I was running around again playing peek-a-boo with mommy and daddy.

My parents have been praising my strength. I've been a very good girl during this fever. I kept up my fluid intake to keep myself hydrated. I am eating well. Only trouble is - I don't like the taste of the medicines. They just have to put up with some cries as they try to make me take the medicine.

Because of my illness, mommy had to cancel attending two parties. I missed out on Celeste's birthday too! That was a shame. I am just hoping and praying I get well real quick in time for my own  birthday.

Easter holiday

The best part of Easter is having everyone at home for a whole 4 days. I get to make most of it as I get up in the morning and go down to the kitchen for breakfast. I have too many options - and hence I get to demand who I want to carry me. Pity mommy doesn't think that way. She has rules. And the rules dictate, I should be on my highchair or my baby pod and have my breaky. So I ended up crying for 20 minutes asking to be released from the shackles of the highchair. Neither daddy or mommy or anyone else came to my rescue. Well, my lessons of growing up has just gone a notch tougher.

Other than that though, it was lots of fun spending the holiday at home. Nothing was planned for this Easter. Mommy and daddy decided to take it easy this year and take a break from their routine long Easter drives. We took a short drive to Ku-ring-gai National Park for a day picnic with our friends. I met up with a selection of exotic wildlife, which included a turkey, lots of birds and a really long Guana. The creepy creature was brave enough to reach very close to us in search of food. I was safely planted in daddy's arms just in case it felt I was small enough for its jaws.

My walking skills has improved impressively this week. It's now one of my favorite game to play. I take turn to walk from one person to the other and back. If I successfully finish the walk, I get a big cheer. If I fall in the middle, I can quickly pick myself up to continue the walk ... again amid the cheers of the spectators. It's a fun game.

I got hold of a soccer ball in the picnic. It turned out, my skills of soccer isn't bad either. I was pretty good in kicking the small soccer ball around - making daddy wonder why the ball at home is the same size as me. So he brought out his old soccer ball from the garage to give me ample practice before I start calling the Matilda's for a trial.

In the communications department, I have got a great addition. I can very well communicate 'no' when I mean it. Say mommy is trying to feed me and I have had enough, I'd shake my head to say no. When daddy is trying to put me down but I'd like to be carried, I shake my head no! Daddy loves to see me do that. The other day I was crawling around the room and reached for the TV unit. Daddy called out 'no' with his head shaking. I stopped and turned back to him and shook my head to confirm I understood what he did not want me to do. You should see how excited that got him.

I am also pointing to things I want to get or know about. Complimented with the phrase "Ei Je" and the finger pointing, that tells people around me I am interested in it.

Magic Moments: Fun in Easter

The unhappy rider

No wonder lola loves ironing, this is fun!

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

Magic Moments: Lazy in the park

Make me fly daddy

Hey, give me my ice cream

Australians all let us rejoice ... what's the next line mommy?

Enjoying my walks

This week started off with a rather nervy setting - it was the first week with tita Jebs. Daddy, mommy and tita Annie had to take turn to stay at home and support me with her, as she transitioned into being my nanny. Since then, I have become a better friend with tita Jebs. I am feeding with her, playing with her and if there is no one else around, I am happy to stay with her for as long as I have to. Next week will be a stronger test of our ties however, as I get to spend some close bonding times with her.

Saturday, it was Ninang Wella's birthday celebration. We spent most of the day in her place. It's always a good time for me to catch up with Katrina and kuya AJ and have some play. With me being able to walk a bit as an option, I had jolly good time. In between great food, naps and play - I didn't hesitate to show off my walking skills. If I weren't walking, I was trying to imitate a very talented dance show from Katrina and kuya AJ.

Sunday morning mommy and daddy wanted to take it easy. After breakfast, we headed for the Bella Vista Farm Park open day. It was a festival atmosphere - but was a great way to laze around on the grass on a Sunday afternoon listening to the country music. As a bonus, I got to go close to some sheep and goats and ducks and rabbits. I get pretty excited when I see animals - and I am not afraid to hold them when I get a chance.

After lunch, we thought of having ice cream ... yes, that would be my first ever. I was sharing the sorbet-top with daddy. But then I wasn't giving him much chance to eat - I loved it so much, I kept pulling it from his hand onto my mouth. With cream all over my mouth, I looked funny. But that wouldn't stop me! I licked and licked until I reached the bottom of the cone when mommy decided to allow me to hold it by myself and eat.

Throughout the week, I kept on improving my walking skills. I can now just wander around on my feet when no one's watching. At one stage, I followed tita from my room out to the hallway. Quite often I'd just walk from the bed to the wall and back.

Since lola left, I have been sharing bed with mommy and daddy. I don't need much feeding at night. With a late night and early morning feed -I do just fine.

It's getting close to the big day - the day I'd turn one. Hey, don't forget to send in all your thoughts and wishes for me ... because soon this blog will be turning into a book to capture the memories of the first year of my life. And I would like to have your notes for me in there.