Xmas II

The World of Contrasts: J vs X (his younger cousin by 3 months)

J is BIG while X is tiny.

J is fair while X is dark.

J is active while X is demure.

Xmas I

We had a Xmas lunch with both sides of the family and J was understandably excited by the many presents he received. After a while, he was more interested in the wrapper though. I know what to get for him next time, haha ;)

We wish you a Merry Xmas...

Rolling good times; Finger licking good

J is able to roll from his back to his stomach (about 2 weeks ago) and he has the perfect incentive to do so!

Boo.Boo.Boo

J has learnt to blow bubbles (videoed on 17 Dec). What fun for him but how G hates this phase of developmentI

We are so going to...

a) Swensens

This is the first western restaurant that J has been to so it's only apt to borrow their advertising slogan ;)
He's quite good during the meal after we fed him and he looked on very curiously at all our food!


b) McDonalds

J had his jabs and we popped by Ridout on our way back. The aftereffect of the jabs is that he was very sleepy the rest of the day. Still, the little chap was very brave when he had the first jab - he merely whimpered. Alas, the second jab was one too many...

Babyroo

Have not had much success with the sling cos J was too big a baby. So I mainly used the Baby Bjorn. But, I was in an experimental mood and tried the sling again after he turned 4 months cos there is another carrying position plus he is getting too heavy for me to carry. He was not too pleased at my first attempt but I figured out how to give him more space in my later attempts.

And here's the same picture after playing around with some iPhone app:



I also resort to placing J into the stroller when my hands are too tired from carrying/lifting/holding him. J also loves to put his feet up on the stroller. A future Towkay in the making? :P

I have a picture of J in the pump bag that I bring to work. When I showed J the picture, he reached to grasp it and I was pleased to have captured this shot :)

USS

Couple time at Universal Studios thanks to G's company's tickets :)
The most exciting ride was the Mummy ride since the Battlestar is still closed... I am looking forward to the time when J can enjoy such rides since G is quite chicken for cool rides in amusement parks!

Chatterbox

first time uploading a video... I hope this works :)

Recent developments

J's growth

1. J is now at a stage where he likes to shove everything into his mouth...
   
2. We also discovered that he has a tendency to cry before peeing and it seems that this is common in infants after reading up and checking with his pediatrican :(
3. He has slept through the night (defined as 5 to 6 hours of sleep at a stretch) for 3 nights and is now still waking up twice a night. This means my dark eye circles are staying put...
4. J can now turn to his side. What fun for him! For us, it means being extra vigilant at all times now...
   
5. He can be entertained/distracted with this baby gym (see below). J's current favourite playtime is literally a ball of fun for him now :)
6. J can grasp objects now (see below)! Yeah! :)

Our life

1. We finally have a family outing to eat at Din Tai Feng and this is a fuzzy image taken at Raffles City.
   
   
2. We (just G and me) took a trip to Beijing... this trip is a "work trip" since I am still persisting with cow duty so I pop back into the hotel ever so often and Beijing's bad traffic does not help matters. It was good to spend some time alone with G and to meet Y, an uni friend in Beijing...
3. Am going back to work next monday... I hope my brain is not too rusty and that I can continue to express milk till J is 6 months old. Am back to work before the end of 16 weeks so I can take another stretch of leave around Mar to May. This will be the time when my mummy has to look after my niece after my sis-in-law goes back to work.
   
4. We hired a live in help. For the past 2 weeks, she has helped with housework and learnt to interact with J but it does not feel right to leave J alone with her so still counting on my mummy to help out. Arrangements will be made as and when things change (i.e. niece is born)...
   

New Friends

I have started to encourage J to make friends...


but J (1 month) was grumpy after waking up from a nap while R (2 months) looked on...


A better attempt with JET (2 months) - J (2 months 10 days) was in an extremely "talkative" mood while JET lent him a listening ear... :P

p.s.: the mothers wondered if their boys were reflecting their own character... hm...

The Milk Front

I am pleased to share that my milk supply is finally meeting J's needs!!! YEAH!! :)

But, all men are greedy and I am starting to think about freezing excess milk (where available) so he gets breastfeed for longer than 6 months. NN mentioned that supply tends to fall after returning to work and I am hoping that this will not be the case... either way, good to start banking some milk now! :P

Going Solo

means looking after J with my mum's help in the day n G's help in the night. This is also my excuse for not updating my blog recently since pumping, feeding and washing up takes up a lot of time. And I try to take short naps whenever possible!

But, being confined at home has reached a limit and I have attempted successfully to bring J to the nearby bakery on my own and he seems happy to be strapped in the carrier :) Hopefully, longer trips out will be possible in coming weeks before I return to work!

A missed post....

Just realised that I had drafted this post sometime back but I had forgotten to publish it due to cow duty plus never ending washing of pumps and laundry, soothing colicky J etc...

Honestly, I feel lousy when J cries/screams incessantly at night if he is colicky. I try to laugh at the situation like what a friend suggested but I never could find any funny side at these times... maybe I lost my funny bone for now? Thankfully, J is typically happier in the day. He has also learnt to coo and laugh in response to our antics. It simply feels great to be able to make him laugh.

One month celebration

The first month passed so quickly. We had a celebration for relatives and friends last sat and I just managed to have some time to post on this... this is a picture of J and me taken on the day itself. Unfortunately, he was not too well on the day itself (I attribute to his nanny leaving... poor chap missed her)...

After spending one month with J, I have learnt that he needs to be fed immediately so I have to pre-empt when his next feed will be. As a result, I have taken to expressing milk and leaving it out for his next time instead of refrigerating the milk. It is not as if my milk supply is abundant anyway! At the same time, J has an independent streak in him. He likes to explore his surroundings and tends to move his hands around during feeds. On a few occasions, he was able to hold his milk bottle on his own:

We also visited his pediatrician for his 1 mth check-up and hep B shot and his pedi commented that his growth has been "very fast and he looks like a 3 mth old..." In any case, I have added a section on J's growth in my blog to track his growth...

J also sports a new look now! I miss his crop but hopefully his hair will grow back nicely in time to come. The picture was taken in his sarong (we are using one now in the hope that he will sleep for longer periods during the night... so far, it has worked for 1 feed in the night...):

Growing...

J weighs more than 5 kg already! and he has outgrown a number of his clothes that are meant for 6 month old!! GOSH!!!

As for me, I am looking forward to his one month celebration this sat. Will upload more pics after that but meanwhile this is all I can manage to post for now since 1/4 of my time is for expressing milk, 1/4 for sleeping (or just lying down trying to sleep) and the rest is spent carrying J!

In a good mood :)

I'm a Big Big Boy...

and I cannot fit into the 0 to 3 mths booties my mummy made!!!

Will NOT work for Milk

Breastfeeding has turned out to be a traumatic experience since Day 1... and I have given up all hopes of BB (who shall be known as J henceforth) latching on...

The only good thing after pumping repeatedly is that my milk supply has increased though it is still insufficient to meet J's needs. But, I shall keep trying and hopefully the supply will catch up with his demands eventually.

After observing him for the past few days, I must say that he is turning out to be one poser ;)

Welcome BB!

Er, the baby has a mind of his own and decided to arrive on 4 Aug instead! After dinner with my family, I felt contractions that were getting more regular but they were still sparse... around mid-night, I told G that it was impossible for me to sleep and we made the call for us to head for the hospital, false alarm or not...

It turned out to be a good call since I was 3 cm dilated by around 1 am... the rest of the night proved to be a long one while we waited for my cervix to be dilated.... epidural made the whole process bearable since I slept through most of the 14 hours of waiting...

By 3.30 pm, Dr A decided that it was time to push! Alas, the pushing was in vain since baby was too big to come through... emergency C-section had to take place and I was anxious for the safe arrival of baby... G could not be with us in the operating theatre and that greatly reduced my comfort level then...

In the end, I was under GA during the C-section so neither of us managed to welcome our baby at 1615 hours! What a disappointment... While waiting at the recovery ward, my mind was still groggy but I remembered asking repeatedly for my baby and was reassured that he has been sent to our room. I later found out from G that he saw baby outside the operating theatre and he already had his eyes opened :)

I finally got to see my baby at 1845 hours and fell in love with him immediately :P

A cosy bundle

Mini-me or Mini G?


Look at my chubby cheeks!!
I am Superman!

A Patient Boy

BB has been very patient... At 39 weeks, there has been no visible signs of labour other than some (mild) irregular contractions. The good thing is that he has given me time to increase my iron intake (think beef and pork liver) and get over a cold.

At this afternoon's check-up, Dr A has confirmed that I am already 2 cm dilated! As the amniotic fluid level is still borderline (low), she suggested that we induce labour on 5 Aug rather than wait till the EDD of 9 Aug.

Finally! We will get to meet the little one in 2 days time unless he choose to become impatient ;P

Farewell 20s, Hello 30s

As I turn 30 today, I reflected that I have had a blessed life so far. I have a loving hubby, a good network of friends and am in a job that I like. I feel that I have lived my life so far with few regrets and am now looking forward to motherhood. This should be an exciting next phase of my life and I hope to enjoy a new life with my little one (and G), whenever he choose to arrive...

When the belly button pops...

the baby is done! This is a 3D preview of how our baby looks like:

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Dear baby,

I am going to miss your kicking/punching/hiccups as you may be induced next week if the amniotic fluid remains low...

Mummy is not too worried now that you have reached full term. But, it is going to be a different challenge to take care of you once you are delivered ;P We will try our best so please be more patient if we cannot figure out your needs!

Lots of love,

Mummy

Getting ready...

with home-made taggies...

and booties...

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Dear baby,

Time really flies... you are 35 turning 36 weeks! Mummy is hoping for you to be patient and not rush into this world before you are full term at 37 weeks.

Meanwhile, we have been preparing for your arrival... your nursery is being sorted and mummy's hospital bag is finally packed!

We are very excited to meet you in a couple of weeks time!

Love,

mummy

World Cup thrashing!!

What a disappointing match for North Korea! and me... cos I was betting on them to draw with Portugal...

Ribbon bulletin board

Was browsing through Martha Stewart's craft site and was inspired to create the ribbon bulletin board. It was simple but I had fun shopping for ribbons at spotlight, diaso, kino and paper market =)

31 weeks and counting...

The baby has engaged already and he seems to be growing well at yesterday's scan. He weighed in at 2 kg! and is the size of a 33 week old...

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Dear baby,



We have been busy getting ready for your arrival. Besides getting a cot, car seat, diapers etc, we have also decided to bank your cord blood in the hope that you will not need to use it in future. From the ante-natal class, we have learnt about different positions to carry you, how to breastfeed and bathe you. Hopefully, these will come in useful when we finally welcome you into this world.


Do you know that you have been kicking very frequently and forcefully these days? Mummy has developed the habit of patting you on my tummy from time to time and you tend to respond by kicking the spot. I don't know if you meant to communicate with me but it gives me a kick! haha! Daddy tries to feel you kick but you don't respond as much to him... we read that babies tend to prefer mother's touch but always remember that we both love you very much.



Always,
mummy

Disappearing act... at 30 weeks

A big BABY

I had to be screened for Gestational Diabetes due to the size of my baby from the detailed scan. The Glucose Tolerance Test is a horrible experience with the grossly sweet syrup (to be drank under a nurse's watchful eyes within 5 minutes) and 3 blood and urine tests. Mercifully, I was not diagnosed with GD.

The "bad" news is that baby is 1.30 kg! At 26 weeks, he is the size of a 29 week old baby. He has almost doubled in weight since the detailed scan so my gynae has specified that I should exercise more to "qualify" for natural birth... This feels like mission impossible... =(

You and Me... always...

This is another of the nights when I have insomia or wake in the middle of the night... and to be productive, I decided to post the pictures of our time kite flying (as promised to bb) at West Coast Park...

It has also been 5 years since I started dating G. He has been incredibly sweet to me and my family throughout our courtship and marriage. I know that I can always count on him and am blessed to have him as my hubby =)




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Dear baby,

See my bump in the picture? That's where you are growing right now. We are starting to pull our act together and will be getting ready for your arrival after your daddy is done with his exam in June. Meanwhile, keep growing healthily and know that we are looking forward to welcoming you in a few months time!

We had a visit from mummy's friend JY from Malaysia today. Did you know that another baby is growing in auntie? The good thing is that you will have lots of friends around your age to play with.

Your loving mummy (despite swollen ankles, sleepless nights, carpel tunnel syndrome etc)...

My Little One

We finally had the feotal scanning done and our baby is turning out to be taller (like G!) and chubbier than his peers at 23 weeks... I am going to be seriously watching my diet to make sure that natural delivery remains a possibility!

Although Dr A who did the scan was quite chatty he was also professional and personable. In the middle of the 1 hour scan, he reminded G that he should henceforth limit his vocabulary to "yes, darling" and "sorry, dear"! =p

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Dear baby,

You are shaping up well during scan - thank goodness for that. We have been praying hard that you will be healthy and will continue to do so (even though your mummy is not very religious).

I know that I have promised to bring you to West Coast to fly kite but the weather has not been good... and I was hit by a drowsy spell last weekend... hopefully, we will be able to do so this weekend!

Are you bored inside me or trying to tell me something? I can feel you kicking as I am typing away =)

Lots of Love,

Mummy

Babymoon!

I really enjoyed myself in Melbourne knowing that the memories from this trip has to last for the next year or so... the company and weather was perfect so here are some snapshots from our babymoon in Melbourne!

Great Ocean Road

Puffing Billy in the Yarra Valley

Catching up with old friends...

Savouring THE most delicious iced chocolate

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I thought I would start a section for my little one...

Dear baby,

This Melbourne trip was taken when you were 19 weeks old... how did you like the trip? I thought it agreed with you since you had been really good throughout the flight. The only exception was during the bouncy ride to the airport when you performed a couple of somersaults!

Well, the funny thing is that we have been stuck in Melbourne time for these couple of days and have been falling asleep around 10 pm and waking up before Daddy does (which is always early!).

Can't wait to see you again in 2 weeks time!

Mummy