BB's happenings

Have not been updating this blog due to problems with blogspot. Anyway, here's the happenings since our last post.

Our little princess is coming to 16 weeks old this Thursday! Let me recap how Yuan2 has grown over the past few weeks :-
1) FINALLY, our little darlg gave us her first BIG smile @ Week 11 -- mummy was so happy to capture her big hearty smile on camera and MMS to daddy immediately :) And she began to explore her sense of touch by grabbing things ard her.

2) Yuan2 had her first swimming session @ Week 12 -- such a fun sight to see her twirling n kicking in the tub. We signed up for 10 more sessions :)

3) At Week 13, she began to sleep longer at nite and skip the nite feed. After her last feed at 8pm, she will zz till we feed her at 6-7am the next morning. Usually, she will wake up in the middle of the nite when her pacifier drops -- she will go back to sleep once we put it back. She became more responsive with lotsa smile n 'yakking' :)

4) She discovered finger-licking-good KFC (aka her fists) @ Week 14! Instead of her pacifier, she derives such joy while "feasting" on her KFC :)

5) She has outgrown her new born clothes and wears 3-6mth clothes @ Week 15.

6) She can put her hands together @ Week 16 -- not clapping but push into her mouth *haha* Oops, there is little room for her to kick while bathing her -- need to get a new bigger tub.

BB outings
We brought Yuan2 to many shopping malls over the weekend -- Paragon, Centrepoint, Takashimaya, Plaza Singapura, Isetan Scotts, Shaw Centre, IMM, Jurong Point, Vivo City, Harbourfront etc. Haha, the first place we look for is the nursing room :) Yuan2 is usually well behaved outside -- sit in the stroller and dozes off :)

Met up with SMH May mummies n babies @ our 2nd gathering -- great fun to see so many babies and all growing well :)

BB's growth
We juz weigh her -- she juz tipped the 6kg mark at Week 16 :) With her increasing weight, we gotta change our style of bathing her. Instead of football hold her to wash her hair, we put her in the tub straightaway and wash her hair with her facing upwards.

BB's smile

Our little princess is 10-week old last Thursday! The days juz speed by and Yuan2 is growing bit by bit -- we dun realise as we see her everyday :) We are fretting why Yuan2 seldom smile at us (she loves to smile in her sleep though) -- izzi becoz she is not happy coz mummy always make her hungry?! Or she takes after daddy -- TK had the stone/blur look when he was baby *haha* Now, she will smile sweetly at me when I bathed her in the morning :)

Yuan2 smiled while playing with her bear bear toy :)

BB outings

Now, we bring Yuan2 out for dinner a couple of times a week. Usually, she will zzz thru our dinner :) Sometimes when I dun have time to cook lunch, will put her on the stroller and walk over to the market/coffeeshop to tabao food.

We brought Yuan2 to attend AL's wedding lunch @ Sentosa. She slept through most of the lunch (even the loud yam seng) and woke up in time for photo taking with the newly wed couple :) We headed over to Vivo after lunch. First stop was the nursing room -- gosh, it was an unpleasant experience -- the room is hot when lights are on and can even smell the "poo" smell from the toilet! While I was BFg, someone switch off the lights n tried to open the door... and continue even though I said someone is inside... then saw this shawdow of a toddler n mummy -- toddler kept banging on the door *FAINT* I shouted that someone is inside in both English n Mandarin and asked them to give me some peace as I m BFg! They finally left...

Yuan2 sleeping soundly in daddy's arms @ wedding reception

Yuan2 with mummy & daddy

Yuan2 wanna have her share of noodle :P

Last Saturday, we took a break and stay at home. On Sunday, we brought her to my parents' place @ Sengkang. She was awake after a satisfying feed of FM 120ml and smiled/talked to us, my sister & brother-in-law :) My niece, Ying, carried her for the first time! Next stop was IKEA @ Tampines -- we bought some stuff for the nursery room. She was very happy with the elephant & hippo soft toys. Too bad the hand puppets are out of stock! She fussed abit while we had swedish meatballs and chicken wings -- oh, found out that she poo big time!

BB's growth
TK suspected Yuan2 gained weight and upon weighing, she is now the weight of a bag of 5kg rice! No wonder the newborn clothes and diapers were getting tighter *haha*

Favourite pic of the week -- round round face with double chin!

BB's learning

To stimulate her young mind, I showed her a ABC123 soft book. Haha, she looked away with disinterest and yawned *FAINT* During her awake time, she likes to sit on the baby einstein chair and touches the hanging toys. We tried to show her the "Your Baby Can Read" DVD but she cannot sit still :P

Here's to share some pics of Yuan2 :-

Yuan2 with her new toy


Yuan2 in her new clothes


Yuan2 in her cute sleeping positions


Yuan2 holding on to her pacifier -- like licking ice cream :P

BB's own room

Wow, our little princess was 2-month-old last Tuesday! At times, it is still a wonder that I gave birth to this bundle of joy :) She is getting more responsive and looks ard the surrounding with curious eyes. Erhm, she cannot sit still and wanna us to carry/'talk'/play with her. With her increasing weight, our arms/shoulders get tired easily! Some friends joked that treat her as weights to train up biceps :P

BB outings
Yeah, I finally managed to bring Yuan2 out alone! First time was to push her in the stroller to buy lunch from nearby coffeeshop. She slept soundly in the stroller :) Next was to meet up with 30+ mummies/babies from SMH May 09. After giving her a full feed FM120ml, she slept through the 30min journey -- so happy to be able to drive her out alone FINALLY. We bought this small little mirror so that we can see her while driving -- infant care seat is backfacing the driver. Our little darling was quite immuned to baby crying -- slept through the gathering *FAINT* It was a challenge to bring BB out alone -- handling the stroller and diaper bag. TK is a gem -- going out with him is a breeze as he takes care of everything :)

Yuan2(in yellow swaddle) with other May09 babies -- she slept thru while other babies r kicking/crying!

BB's own room
We decided to move the baby cot to the nursery room @ 8-week. Beside making her independent at early age, both us and her can sleep better! Her sleep used to be interrupted by our movement in the room while we were disturbed by her many "sounds". Now, after her last feed at 11pm-12midnite, we put her in the cot and leave her to sleep in peace. I will wake up for her next feed when I hear her loud cry -- ignoring other "sounds" :)

BB sense of touch
Since we took off her mittens and booties @ 6-week, she is exploring different texture with her fingers and feets. Sometimes, she will wail suddenly and when I ran to her room to check on her -- haha, she is pulling her hair and dunno how to let go! Oh, I gotta trim her nails diligently -- she scratched her face a number of times!

Daddy playing with Yuan2's cute tiny toes

BB Fussing
Lately, Yuan2 will fuss during feed :( She will cry for milk and when milk is given, she will drink a few mouthful, stop n wail! We were at a lost what to do with her! Heard from other mummies that she may have wind in her stomach which makes her uncomfortable. To release the wind, we tried to burp her more and not let her cry too much before feed -- our double bull is impatient and when she wants milk, she wants it NOW!

Infant Care
We plan to put Yuan2 in an infant care centre when I return to work in September. Those around our home are fully booked -- hence the alternative is near my workplace. We managed to reserve a slot @ Learning Vision's Zero to 3 Infant & Toddler Centre @ NUS Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory http://www.learningvision.com/Parent/centres/temlifescience.aspx. The fee is more expensive than those near our home -- we will be paying $898 per mth after government subsidy of $600 for working mothers. Hope Yuan2 will adapt well @ the centre :)

Yuan2 sitting up on the sofa -- with support from cushions

Wind in the hair -- Yuan2's hari standing up!

BB gained weight

Time really flies! I am oledi in my 7th week of maternity leave -- another 9 more weeks to go! Getting use to Yuan2's "pattern" and more relax. She loves to play with Daddy and will wait for him to come home -- her awake/alert time is after 6pm.

BB outings
We continued to bring Yuan2 out during the weekends. Saturday was our special day and we celebrated with a nice Japanese dinner @ Hoshi IMM. The manager was very nice - upon seeing us with a baby in stroller, he led us to a quiet corner in the resturant! We had a nice quiet dinner while Yuan2 zzz. She woke up in time for milk after our dinner :) She slept thru when we shopped at Daiso & Giant.

We head over to Chinatown on Sunday -- had lunch @ West Lake Restuarant in OG. Again, our little princess slept thru and woke up for milk after we were done with lunch. I left Yuan2 with TK while I went for my facial treatment. Haha, TK spent the next 2 hours pushing Yuan2 in the stroller round & round the kids section!

BB weight
During one of our evening walks, we weighed Yuan2 @ the gym -- wow, she is 4.4kg! No wonder my arms ached during BF *haha* Guess FM will make BB put on weight faster.

Yuan2's "chicken wing" legs

Play Time
Yuan2 is more awake in the day time -- I have to think of games to play with her. She enjoyed the hanging toys on the playmat :) But her attention timespan is short -- soon cry and wants me to carry *wacko*

Yuan2 smiling @ the toys on playmat

Yuan2 "talking" to moo moo cow - her fav toy :)

Here's to share pics of our little darling :-

Yuan2's cute sleeping poses :)

Naughty papa stuffed the bear in Yuan2's top :P

Yuan2 thinking "Papa, r u done with burping?!"

Yuan2 clinging on to Papa's sling strap & phiten necklace

Outings with BB

This week is much better! Yuan Yi got use to have only me ard and her BF timing is more earthly (2-3hrs apart) -- though sometimes she will cry every hour. I also learn the art to distract her with singing and she will doze off in my arms... Am getting more efficient, too :) Can do laundry, prepare ingredients for dinner, cook lunch, sweep n mop floor while she naps.

Outings with BB
Last Saturday, we ventured out with Yuan2 for the first time -- wow, a whole new experience! First we gotta get ready the diaper bag -- "equipped" with all necessary stuff like diapers, wipes, changing mat, nappy cloth etc. Gosh, the bag is so heavy! After BF, we set off for Jurong Point -- did my homework on nursing rooms and JP has good review on its nursing room. Yuan2 slept thru the journey and while we shopped :) Juz before dinner, she woke up and I BF her in the nursing room -- spacious with a long sofa, small side table, can push the stroller in and lock from inside. However, she stayed awake and we had to take turns to carry her thru our dinner @ botejyu :( On the way home, she cried for milk and I BF her in the car...

Mummy & daddy with Yuan2 in JP2 nursing room

Burry family pic @ JP2 Botejyu

Mummy n daddy taking turn to carry Yuan2 while the other eat

We went over to my mum's place on Sunday to collect homemade rice dumplings. After that we head over to Campass Point for more shopping. Yuan Yi woke up while we were shopping at Metro -- luckily a kind staff gave me a chair to BF in the changing room *haha* The kid at the room next door ran out to see where is the crying baby :P

On Wednesday, we went to visit my gynae to review my condition at 6 weeks after giving birth. Everything was in order except he advised me to do more pelvic floor exercise. BF Yuan2 at KKH nursing room before setting off to Holiday Inn Park View Hotel to congradulate our newly wed friends R & B at their wedding banquet. Very happy to meet many SgRunners who we had lost touch after we stopped running! Yuan2 was passed among the friends and she slept thru! Sometimes she opened her eyes to peep at who was carrying her *haha* But she has this frowning look on her face as the environment was too noisy (usually quiet at home). She was a good girl when TK and me had a quick dinner at our fav ramen shop :)

With Dr. SF Loh -- his magic hands delivered Yuan2 safely :)

After each outing, poor mummy had to suffer as Yuan2 became cranky and BF timing went haywired. She will be back to normal 1-2 days later. Well, we have to train her to "accept" noisy environment -- will continue to bring her out during weekends. When I gained more confident, will bring her out on my own in the afternoon.

Bath time

Here's to share a funny incident. After her morning feed at 7am, I will wait for half an hour before bathing her. Will start by cleaning her face using cotton wool with warm water. Next will undress her, remove her diaper and clean her bum bum. This Tuesday, while cleaning her face, she poo-ed big time and I said to myself "lucky she din poo in the bath tub". Feeling safe, I carried her to the bathroom and washed her hair. Felt a warm lump on my feet -- gosh, fresh poo! Brought her to the sink to wash her bum bum -- guess wat, she poo again and the "power" was so strong that she "sprayed" poo onto the floor and wall! No choice, I had to continue bathing her. After she was dressed, poor mummy had to clean up the mess while our little darling watched on with an innocent look *wacko*

BB crying

I have yet to master the art of "tolerating" BB crying. Usually will give in when I cannot console her with my rocking or singing. Till now, I dun hv the guts to bring her out alone -- especially driving as the baby car seat is behind the front passenger seat and I cannot see her. Many mummies advised me to be "hard hearted" and ignores her cry while maintain my cool. Guess I need more time! For now, I cannot bear to see her red red face with rolling tears -- juz broke my heart!

Here's to share more pics of our little "terror" :-

Yuan2 directing traffic in her sleep :P

Yuan2 communicating with bear bear *haha*

Yuan2 holding on to bottle with both hands!

Oops, Yuan2 showing her round tummy!

Home Alone with BB

This is a challenging week -- glad that I survived so far! It is daunting to be home alone with a crying baby and have to juggle cooking and housework. Maybe Yuan2 is used to have my mum ard -- both of us spend this week getting used to each other's "company". Everyday, there's lots to learn how to understand and communicate with our little precious!

Here's how my day looks like :-

6am - latch on bb for early morning feed, while bb zz, will grab a quick breakfast

7am - bath bb (getting better)

8am-6pm - latch on bb, do laundry & housework, cook n eat quick lunch, pacify bb with lotsa of walking n rocking

6pm - give bb a dry bath, wipe face and change clothes

7pm - dinner and bring bb for after dinner walk

8pm - my shower time while TK bottle feed bb with EBM

9-10pm - TK's playtime with bb while I nap

10pm - 11pm - TK bottle feed bb with FM while I express milk

11pm - midnite - zzz time

4am - latch on bb

Darlg TK is very supportive -- rush home from work to cook dinner and take over baby care. Though both of us are tired, it is still a joy to see our little princess growing with each passing day :)

Breastfeeding

Initially, Yuan2 was crying for milk every hour -- I was stressed, tired and sad that my milk supply was unable to meet her demand. Expecially disheartening to see her wake up crying for milk :( We re-introduced bottle feeding to let me take a rest and get my sanity back. After dinner, I would stop latch on and TK would bottle feed with EBM or FM. The last feed at 10pm, we will give her 90ml of FM and that can last her 4-5 hours. I would express at 10pm and store in fridge for next day's use.

Baby crying

First 2 days, I was stressed out as Yuan2 was crying all the time -- when I put my finger close to her mouth, she will open wide to signal that she wants milk. FAINT, milk at every hour? Read in the books that I should delay her feeding if too close (kinda like training her endurance) and distract her with sing song, toys etc. So I will check her diaper, feel her temperature (not too hot/cold), rock and sing to her -- 50% success rate to get her to stop crying and doze off :)

First Visit to PD
We brought Yuan2 to a PD near our home for her 2nd dose of Hep B jab. Doc did a development assessment for her -- everything is in place :) Her weight has increased to 3.5kg and she has grown taller at 54.5cm (haha, must be all the kicking n stretching over the past month). Doc commented that she has BM jaundice but will go away in 1-2 weeks time -- nothing to worry as she pee n poo many times a day. Doc warned that the jab will be painful but our brave little girl only cried during injection and doze off the next moment. Amazingly, she slept through the whole journey -- not woken up by the noisy kids playing in the clinic!

Here's pics of the week :-

Yuan2 dressed up to go to my parents' place to celebrate her full month

Yuan2 sleeping soundly in the car seat -- think she enjoys the car motion!

Yuan2 in her stroller -- sleeping again!

Yuan2 sleeping on her tummy with pointy bum - with our close supervision

TK training Yuan2 -- rolling on the bolster :P

Dressed up Yuan2 in body suits

After dinner walk with Yuan2 -- she sleeps all the way *wacko*

Yuan2 dun like the rocking chair -- TK laughed amusingly!

Full Month Celebration

Today, we celebrated Yuan2's full month birthday!

In the Chinese tradition, the first month birthday of a newborn calls for a celebration. It is the time for proud parents to announce their latest addition to their relatives and friends.

Check out this link for the tradition of red eggs, ang ku kueh & glutinous rice -

http://lifesmoments.inkstudio.biz/1st-month-tradition.html

Instead of hosting a party, we ordered cakes for our relatives, friends and colleagues.

Yuan2 reached her first milestone in life -- able to lift and turn her head while lying on tummy!

Yuan2 did an amazing feat!