The last day of 2011

Time and space are fragments of the infinite for the use of finite creatures Time waits for no man and it's worse when you have a child to keep you on your toes!

it's the last day of 2011 and i didn't even realise till i saw the many wishes on FB. There hasn't been much difference in night and day since lil pumpkin's born thus you can't blame me for amnesia.

It's always on this day that nostalgia kicks in and i'll review what I've achieved through the year. 2011 has been a whirlwind for me. Every bit of memory holds a special meaning and this year my treasure box of nostalgia is brimming over. this year has been a fairly tumultuous one, coping with the 24/7 sickness during the first tri and the intense exam period in the last tri. Coupled with the hub's constant business trips, I was left to face the unknown myself. All was worth it, when I laid eyes on the most beautiful thing in the world -- my lil pumpkin :)

Having lil pumpkin means several adjustments to our lives. Married life is already difficult and now, there'd be more compromises to be made. I am guilty of not tending to my hub's needs and feelings at times but I want to tell him that I appreciate him lots despite my constant "scoldings" hehe...Tolerating each other's habits and way of life is something that we all must learn continually, but most have been sweet and I'm thankful for the beautiful and sacred covenant of marriage.

The lil pumpkin's growing n that is evident from the amount of poop she excretes. I suppose she's 5kg now. Few wks ago she was 4.2kg when she went for her first vaccination.

She's a brave girl and faced the jab with a big scream and calmed down really fast thereafter.

It isn't an easy task to hv to juggle with laundry, cooking, chores, amidst diaper changing, feeding and coaxing, but I'm proud to say that I'm coping well thus far. In all truth, the clueless times were an incredible test of patience but it comforts my soul and makes me smile to hear lil pumpkin's coos and gagas.Well, sure I can do with more rest but this learning curve has been an incredible process.

My main driving force

This year marks also the launch of my agency. No mean feat either, considering I was preggers and had to juggle with my main line. Despite several technical hiccups, I pulled through. Though marketing has been shelved, several deals have been closed and I'm truly blessed for the word of mouths. I hope to climb to greater heights in 2012!

Christmas wasn't helluva celebration unlike in the past without lil pumpkin. In fact, I suppose age is catching up and we are embracing the camaraderie and hanging out with the usual friends instead of partying the night away. Thinking back, those times were really fun, but we are entering another phase of our life. Time in its aging course teaches all things and I hope i'm able to learn more and excel.

A man who dares waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.

Charles Darwin

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

Indeed, God has made us all different. In particular, the two sexes are significantly distinct. I don't know to say if it cracks me up or irritates me to no end that the hub is such. Many a times, he would offer to do the night feeds and allow me to sleep in, but my rationale is, if he has to get up, sterilize everything, feed, clean up, pat lil pumpkin to sleep and then probably get ready for work thereafter, there's really no point.. I'd rather latch on. I'm no where near being superwoman and to be honest, I think though he's out at work at this point in time, I'm constantly working at home too, with the immense amount of laundry (cloth nappies and all!), spring cleaning and not forgetting my work, I would like to think that I've much more on my plate. But then again, things shouldn't be compared on that basis.

Anyhow, since the hubs is on leave tmw, I decided to allow him to fulfil his fatherly duties -- Feed the baby at unearthly hour. First response from him --> dear, you've got to wake me up. HUH? do u mean to say that all this while, you can't hear lil pumpkin "neh" in the middle of the night? Apparently so! n he had the audacity to say he didn't get good sleep on some days and that he's a light sleeper compared to me! These days, I've even hardened myself and allow myself to go for a leak b4 attending to a wailing child. But yup, apparently, the hub has developed selective hearing not only to me, but to lil pumpkin! However, perhaps due to my shocked response, he subconsciously managed to get up after a few cries. No prizes for who got up first. The intention was for me to sleep through till the next feed, but lil pumpkin's incessant cries of hunger kept my eyelids opened. After monitoring for a good 10minutes and with the intensity getting greater, I decided to drag myself out of bed to check on things. ALAS! the hub was busy sterilizing and left a wailing baby in her crib. While it's true that one should not always rush to carry the bub when she cries lest she develops dependency, crying in such manner has great repercussions, namely WIND. That would lead to more detrimental consequences. Below is the flow of events in chronological order:

445am Hunger Cues
5am The hub started sterilizing
515am The hub finally started settling down to feed. By then, i decided that since I'm up, I might as well express my milk
530am I was done with expression (150ml from both boobies..not bad at all!) and the hub simply placed the lil bub in her crib after a burp, without ensuring that she's fast asleep, despite my naggings. Knowing that lil bub or perhaps most babies need to be comforted and pat to sleep b4 being placed in the crib, I hung around for a while.
540am Lil bub started crying...where was the hubs? he bounced right into bed after "throwing" lil bub into bed
540-now I'm still trying to coax the lil one to sleep.

This worries me thoroughly...what's gonna happen when I resume work (which is soon!)..how am I gonna cope with the long nights and long work days?

Sigh....the difference between men and women is so define...or perhaps only in my case?

Burping in progress....CUTENESS MUCH?

Monster in law

Once again my patience was tested today :
Mil: bb's hair so fine sure drop like all my 3 children
Me: CHOY!!
Mil: really will drop one
Me: CHOY
Mil: might drop till bald. Most bb drop at the fringe.. Very ugly
Me:silent (fed up to the max)

Seriously why are the old foggies like that? Earlier today his aunt also commented that this particular bb is very ugly. 很难看 were her exact words! Mean words run in the family I guess? Intentionally or unintentionally it's really uncalled for!

The two most important people in my life

My favourite pic. It perfectly encapsulates the love sweetie has for our lil pumpkin.

Bathing the lil pumpkin. Not an easy task considering how slipper the affair is and that her neck is still soft.
Sweetie has been a great dad thus far, not so much the loving husband I expect though. Mayb my expectations run too high and perhaps I'm a little short fuse from the lack of sleep. From the day she was born till date he has been caressing her cheeks and coaxing her to sleep. However, patience seemed to be weaning yesterday when the hub was asked to do the laundry for lil pumpkin. Since the end of confinement, I had been doing all of lil pumpkin's laundry. mind you, it's not simply a case of chucking into the washer and spin it. They have to be separated from our clothes and for some handwashed. I'm using cloth nappies for half a day and lil pumpkin can be changing 3 nappies in an hour! it's intense. Given that the hub isn't the most organised person in the world, bathing the baby and doing laundry become two major task. When told to bathe her, off he scooted, without preparing all the stuff needed. Halfway through, he'd shout for me to grab her towel etc...as if I dont have my hands full! The whole idea for him to bathe her is for me to get some other things done. I feel like I'm constantly a maid to him. Then when it came to laundry, he loves procrastinating and accumulating. When told not to do that, he'd wash a load in the day and another at night. Given the very nice cooling yet rainy weather, that's not exactly the wisest thing to be doing given that we do not have a dryer. True enough, after the 2nd lot, in his frustration, he exclaimed that there isn't any place to hang them dry and that we needed a maid coz laundry was getting intense! Who wouldn't like extra help? Only that finances doesn't quite permit else it'd be very straining. and HALLOooooo...the wife has been doing it for the entire wk, coupled with all the cooking, washing, diapering and feeding! There was even a dilemma for me as to whether i should feed or leave the wailing baby and shit! I chose the latter coz I've been constipated for the last few days and this was the golden opportunity to excrete! Back to the topic -- MEN. you can't stand them, yet you can't live without them. (in some cases). This whole episode goes to show how strong women (well most) are and the amazing things mummies go through for their love ones. Men in comparison, WEAK WEAK WEAK!!!

I'm one month old!

10 months of baking. yes the full term and more, out comes lil pumpkin. Unimaginable! Time seems to flash past when u are in bliss. The lil bub is ONE MONTH OLD! Happy one mth my dear! :)

For this special event, the very vain mommy went to extremes. It's as if i have nothing better to do during my confinement. But i figured, I need to feed her anyway, and the nights are long thus what better way to occupy myself but to do some crafts for the event:

Invitation cards :)

Check out the very adorable mini rabbit longevity buns i've ordered!!! So cute just like my lil pumpkin. n totally apt since it's the year of the rabbit!
The cous was suggesting that she could help me to put together a full month package. I thought that it's a neat idea since MIL could not confirm the numbers. To order would probably more straining to the pocket. These days, every cent has to go through stringent checks. THe above are the many roses I made. a total of 150!!
What went in it: 2 Ang ku Kways, 2 red eggs, 2 longevity buns and 4 cupcakes. According to Chinese customs, when a baby turns one month old, a ceremony is held to celebrate her first full moon. This also co-insides with the end of the mother's confinement period, and both mother and baby are formally introduced for the first time. Before the unveiling party, the baby goes through a host of customaries. Once that is over, a party is held to celebrate the health of the baby. Relatives and friends gather to give their blessings and gifts to the new baby, and traditional treats such as ang ku kueh and red eggs are featured.

Traditional cakes and eggs, dyed red to symbolise luck and blessings are given out to relatives and friends. Eggs are chosen as they represent fertility and their round shapes symbolise harmony. It is believed that if you have a boy, you give out an odd number of eggs, and if you have a girl, you give out an even number of eggs.

According to word of mouth on Hokkien tradition, if you have a son, plain round ang ku kuehs (red glutinous peanut cakes) are given out, and if you have a girl, you mould the ang kus into the traditional tortoise moulds, which are more intricate and delicate.

Tradition also dictates that you shave your baby's head, although most parents don't observe this practice anymore. And with such a gorgeous mane, Why would I want to cut my darling's hair? Instead, i trim a little bit of hair off, to symbolise the shedding of the birth hair (hair from the womb). After the first hair cut, both the mother and the baby supposedly must bathe in water mixed with pomelo leaves, to wash off any unwanted and evil vibes. But the MIL did not prepare (though she was told), so be it.

It is believed that if you wrap your baby's hair in a piece of red cloth and sew it to his pillow, it helps calm him down. I SHOULD TRY THAT!

The end product. So proud of myself!!! :)

Love how the mineral water bottle turned out! One guest even asked if the bottles were from a certain upmarket brand! haha..it's from NTuC..OPS!


We placed our star on the table like a centre piece..makes viewing easier :)



Happy One month my darling! May you be blessed with wisdom, good health and beauty!


Our first family portrait. Absolute LOVE!

Baby Language...goo goo ga ga?

Since my last post, things improved a fair bit. I took advice from Sis E and spoke to the little one for 5mins after her feed, when she's in a semi-conscious state. If i were to put her down immediately, she'll wake up like before, but last night, SHE DIDN"T! YEAH! accomplishment!!! talking to her for a longer period of time does work! Not that i have not been talking but perhaps the way i bring across the idea?

Below is also a clip which has also helped tremendously. See, the power of technology! so who says it doesn't pay to be a tech nerd? Though there's nothing much we can do with regards to the "EAIR" sounds, at least I wont be that clueless and will be able to cope better mentally and keep the hormone-related woes at bay.



Now I'm lost in a sea of happiness and can operate better despite the lack of sleep. Things hopefully can be on auto-mode soon and I can be blessed with bountiful optimism. In truth, we are all new in this game and she's just a lil baby new to this world. The first year of baby's life is the most memorable and exciting..there'd be loads of first and every moment is monumental. She's starting to notice the world and definitely taking notice of her parents. She's responding to our calls and is taking delight the little details of the world. All these little changes make the very insides of me light up.


Ahhhhh...BLISS :)

Fussy Baby

Being alone with baby most of the time in the day made me really efficient. Bathing became a luxury and the same goes for shitting and pee-ing. At times, I had to put her in her pram and watch me shower! She adores the sound of the shower and would keep quiet for a bit.
I was pretty much getting into the routine of things...feeding every 2hrs and by dawn, i'd be doing the laundry, washing the cutlery and preparing her bath before the next feed. at night, she was also able to sleep for 3 and sometimes even 4 hours through! Then thereafter, I'd be preparing the ingredients for the day's meal. All was well and peaceful until Week 5/6. Things got little haywire. Lil bub decided not to feed every 2 hours at night and instead changed to an 1hour. at one point in time, it was every half an hour! Again, i was doubting my milk supply. I mean how can those muscles and glands be producing that quickly? Seeing her tugging at my nipples wasnt a pleasant sight too as it could mean my flow was slow. NATURALLY! that aside, I was exhausted, but I pressed on and refused the frozen EBM which I so painstakingly expressed at wee hours of the night. It wasn't only 7-11, it progressed to beyond the 11th hour...things got so intense I ranted to friends, both online and off. Only to be slammed by a good male friend for spending too much time online and complaining about how tough this whole fiesta is. What else did he expect me to do whilst feeding? Talk to her i did, but i was too tired to even carry her. At times, i would be patting till i suddenly jerked awake! It was scary and I had to find things to distract myself -- namely, the computer, my phone and the television. Vices perhaps, but definitely needed in this case. Also, these were my sources of mental respite. Thank God for the invention of Whatsapp as it was an online mommy forum for me. I seeked solace and comfort in the advices many gave over Facebook. Seriously the men just dont get it!! I can't be generating negative energies and passing them on to the lil bub thus I had to rant it off and give good vibes to the lil one. On top of that, fellow mommies were very helpful and they certainly reached out to me in times of need, with links to articles and video clips. So what is so wrong with being online 24/7 even if I was. Does that make me less of a mother? In all honestly, I may be blogging, but it's coz lil pumpkin's right in front of me, getting ready to feed any moment. I can't possibly be doing anything else.in fact, this post was crafted eons ago and saved as draft as I simply didnt have the time to complete. Had to revisit almost 6 times before publishing! So dude, if u r reading, pardon the raging hormones, but perhaps more empathy could be given?

Anyhowz, to make a note of things, again, credits to the informative kelly.com, below is what I've found:

My baby is fussy! Is something wrong?

What is normal baby fussiness?

Whether breastfed or formula fed, during their first few months, many babies have a regular fussy period, which usually occurs in the late afternoon or evening. Some babies' fussy periods come so regularly that parents can set their clocks by it! The standard infant fussiness usually starts at about 2 to 3 weeks, peaks at 6 weeks and is gone by 3 to 4 months. It lasts on "average" 2 to 4 hours per day. Of course, there is a wide variety of normal.

To distinguish between "normal" and a problem, normal usually occurs around the same time of day, with approximately the same intensity (with some variation); responds to some of the same things each time, such as motion, holding, frequent breastfeeding, etc.; and occurs in a baby who has other times of the day that he is contentedly awake or asleep. Normal fussiness tends to occur during the time of the day that the baby usually stays awake more, the most common time is in the evening right before the time that the baby takes his longest stretch of sleep.

What causes babies to be fussy?

If you feel that your baby's fussiness is not normal, it's never a bad idea to get baby checked by the doctor to rule out any illness. A common cause of fussy, colic-like symptoms in babies is foremilk-hindmilk imbalance (also called oversupply syndrome, too much milk, etc.) and/or forceful let-down. Other causes of fussiness in babies include diaper rash, thrush, food sensitivities, nipple confusion, low milk supply, etc.

Babies normally fuss for many reasons: overtiredness, overstimulation, loneliness, discomfort, etc. Babies are often very fussy when they are going through growth spurts. Do know that it is normal for you to be "beside yourself" when your baby cries: you actually have a hormonal response that makes you feel uncomfortable when your baby cries.

Comfort measures for fussy babies (many fit into several different categories)

Basic needs	Nurse Burp baby Change his diaper Undress baby completely to make sure no clothing is "sticking" him
Comforting Touch	Hold baby Carry baby in a sling Give baby a back rub Carry baby in the "colic hold" (lying across your forearm, tummy down, with your hand supporting his chest) Lay baby across your lap & gently rub his back while slowly lifting & lowering your heels Lay baby tummy-down on the bed or floor and gently pat his back Massage your baby
Reduce stimulation	Swaddle baby Dim lights and reduce noise
Comforting Sounds	Play some music (try different styles and types of voices to see which baby prefers) Sing to baby Turn on some "white noise" (fan, vacuum cleaner, dishwasher)
Rhythmic motion / change of pace	Nurse baby in motion (while walking around or rocking) Give baby a bath Rock baby Hold baby and gently bounce, sway back and forth or dance Put baby in a sling or baby carrier and walk around inside or outside Put baby in a baby swing (if he's old enough) Take baby outside to look at the trees Take baby for a walk in the stroller Go for a car ride Set baby in a baby carrier (or car seat) on the dryer with the dryer turned on (stand by him, as the vibration can bounce the seat right off the dryer onto the floor)

One of the most interesting things I've seen in the research regarding infant fussiness is that almost anything a parent tries to reduce fussiness will work, but only for a short time (a few days), and then other strategies need to be used.

If you nurse and it doesn't seem to help, then try other comfort measures. If you pick him up or nurse him, and baby is content, then that was what he needed. If it works, use it!