Jarrett's in the Lourve!

Jarrett's First Mail!

Look what came in the mail yesterday! Jarrett's first mail at 13th week! Aunty Jean had sent him a "Will Work for Milk" T-shirt! How sweet!

Baby Jarrett: Thank you Aunty Jean! MUACK MUACK!

It's a day for celebration!

Pastor Yen Ming came over to give blessing prayers for Jarrett and our house today.

In all the 9 years we have been together, WX had probably said the acceptance prayer a few times, but today was special. I will not say more, but I feel most grateful & blessed. He's not going for baptism anytime soon, but this is enough for me now. God works in miraculous ways.

Sunday outings - Church! and then shopping ;-)

Bumper Mat

We bought this before Jarrett was born. KS? Maybe..but I wanted to use this when I had my post-natal massages which was good cos it protected my parquet from getting oil stain. Since then, it has been kept in the storeroom, waiting for baby to grow up.

For a while, I thought we were a bit frivolous to spend so much ($266) when there are so many more affordable options available, eg. mattress, ABC mat, playmat,foam mat etc. After all, it is just to create a play area for baby rite. Plus, the grandparents thought we are crazy, after all babies of olden days were brought up just fine without any fancy mats at all.

Well, last weekend, we brought it out from the store room, clean it up and put it out. I had a series of activities planned for my time alone with Jarrett (see earlier post). Well, my doubts about the expenditure were put to rest! I must now say, the bumper mat is a good investment! Why?

1) It's colourful and attractive
I also like it that it can doubled up as an educational "toy" with ABC and nouns printed on both sides.

2) Very comfy and cooling
Definitly very comfortable to lie on. Infact, I spent one afternoon napping on it with Jarrett.
As for the cooling part, it doesn't feel like latex mattresses or rubber mats where you feel very warm after lying on it for a while. Or maybe it's due to my ceiling fan? But doubt so, cos there are days where I sit perspiring on my sofa.

3) Low maintenance
Ultra important to me! It can be easily clean with cloth and warm water. I use Dettol, since it's the first time Jarrett's using it, otherwise, warm water is seriously sufficient.
I also don't have to worry about stains (think milk, pee, drool stains etc...baby??), musty smells from storage, dust mites etc.

4) Baby cannot tear out individual pieces to munch on

The only bad thing I can think of (so far) is the weight. It weighs a tonne! But otherwise, I am definitly pleased with our choice.

My first weekend with Jarrett

Yes, I have been a mother for 10 weeks, and no, prior to last weekend, I had never really been alone with Jarrett. There were a few times where Wx had to go out for 1-3hrs, leaving baby and I at home but being a newborn, Jarrett spent most of the those time sleeping.

So last weekend was the first time I was really alone with Jarrett. For one whole week, I was feeling so stressed about THE WEEKEND! I whined to everyone who would listen to me and thought of ways to prepare myself.
For those who are not aware, Wx has been the one doing most of the work when it comes to taking care of Jarrett. I mostly only nurse, comfort and play with him. My sis laughed at my anxiety and told me when the time comes, I would automatically slip into maternal mode and enjoy myself.

Was she right? Yeap..she was! I enjoyed myself alright. There were a few stressful moments like lugging my 12kg pram into the car boot with a fussing baby and Jarrett crying when I was cooking noodles, but overall, the weekend was a success. I have picked up a few new skills along the way, like eating with a baby on my lap, driving alone with Jarrett and operating my stroller which is not easy ok! I did mention it's 12 kg rite?

By the time Wx returned home at night, Jarrett had fallen asleep in my arms. I felt a profound sense of achievement and motherhood had never felt so great. I'm definitly looking forward to more time alone with my baby son.

Taken over the weekend just before he took his nap.

Elvis no. 2!

Constipation??

The daddy says I'm a bad mummy to post this pic. Am I? This is way to cute not to share, no?

Taken when Jarrett was pooing..

Jarrett's up!

At week 8!

Jarrett has always refused to do tummy time. Each time we tried, he would simply lie there and start crying and screaming, not even bothering to try lifting up his head a tiny little bit. So on the 17th Feb, we just thought to try our luck and guess what! The little guy just surprised us with this sudden development and stayed upright for quite a while, until he remembered it was milk time that is. LOL...

Jarrett and the tub

Jarrett has some major issues with bathing. He's super terrified of it. He used to love it in the first 3-4 weeks, always calm and happy in the tub. But in recent weeks, whenever we put him in the there, he'll start crying and screaming in fear. It has gotten so bad that whenever we change his diapers or clothes, he'll start crying too, thinking it's bathing time again. We have tried all sorts of ways, introducing bath toys, songs, tapping his chest, placing wash cloths on his chest. U named it, we most probably have tried it.
In desperation, we have resorted to stripping down and bathing with the little one. We have tried it twice so far, and both times worked. He sobbed a little at the begining, but he'll remain quiet and calm after a while but this cannot be a long term solution cos 1) I cannot ask my MIL to do the same thing when I am back at work and 2) It's rather dangerous showering with a slippery baby, esp one who is struggling so much.

Jarrett fallen asleep halfway through his bath. We think it was because he was so scared he "fell" asleep.

Jarrett with Godpa Adrian

Visiting Godpa on CNY. Showered with lots of love, with Godgrandma (?) looking on.

Jarrett loves his Baby Bjorn, a gift from Godpa. He loves to people watch from it and loves the rocking motion so much that he always Zzzzz after a while.

Jarrett's 1st CNY!

If I charged $5 for each pic taken with him (as suggested by my bro), I would have been able to earn quite a pretty sum that day..haha...

Week 7, Day 6

At week 7, day 6, Jarrett has managed to sleep through the night for the first time! We are hoping he'll keep to this new sleeping routine and not a one time thing due to the exhaustion from the CNY holidays.

2nd outing (back dated post)

was a failure....Jarrett just slept and slept and slept.....

When he gets cranky.....

..we'll try all sorts of methods to calm him down. Strangly, whenever we place him in weird position, it helps! This is one of them which totally cracks us up but if it works, who's complaining rite? He even fell asleep and stayed that way for quite a while.

Jarrett's 1st outing

Our first official outing (PD visit and grandparents house not counted) with Jarrett was a success! The little fellow was most well behaved and didn't fuss much, which is good cos it means more outings in future.


At the end of the day, Jarrett was exhausted! A trip to the mall, and then to mummy's office and finally Grandmama house might have been too much for a 4 week old baby.
(not looking too good in his car seat cos Jarrett has reflux and we didn't want to take the chance of him puking all over his new Maxi Cosi, thus the waterproof sheet. So bad of us...)

Jarrett and his throne

The Papasan bouncer is just too comfy, within mins, Jarrett fell asleep.


Thank you Uncle Mervyn, Aunty Brenda and Baby Kayden!

Hip hip hurray!!

5 weeks post delivery and my favourite pair of Levis is back in action after 6-7 months of hibernation!

Our wedding cake

Kept in the freezer for 1 year 10 months, served on Baby's full month celebration.
This is a western practice, believed to bring luck or something, I can't really remember.
I just thought it will be fun to do so, but needless to say, most didn't dare to go near it after hearing it was nearly 2 years old. Haa....only Adrian and Jean were game enough to eat a slice each. None of us got sick ok! Plus I soaked it with good whiskey the night before.

Breastfeeding

It's not easy. Infact, it is extremely difficult in the first 3 days before the milk "comes in", esp. so for 1st time mummy who has never breastfed before. You will have to face countless people telling you that the baby is starving each time the baby cries. Couple that with the post-natal hormones, it can drive you crazy. The only ones telling you to try harder and stick to breastfeeding are the lactation consulatant and most of the nurses. Other than that, most people, especially the grandparents, were telling or rather nagging at me to feed baby with formula. Even the PD was telling me that, never mind that he should know better than anyone that colostrum is best and enough for babies in the first few days after birth.
And then there is the 1-2 hourly feed, which is especially tough in the wee hours in the morning. It's the worst at 3am when you are most sleepy and half the world is sleeping.

I am quite surprise alot of people still believe cow's milk is better than breastmilk. A girlfriend was shocked Baby Jarrett's on total breastfeeding and said she's doesn't believe in it. This is coming from a very educated and well read mother. No offence to those mummies who give their babies formula milk, I am just very pro-breastfeeding and believe that by doing so, I am providing my child with the best nutrition. There are many articles and books on the benefits on breastfeeding. Not only is it good for the baby, it is also good for the mother. It reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, osteoporosis and high blood pressure in later life. It has also been shown that babies on breastmilk score on average 8-10 point higher in IQ tests. The list of benefits goes on...I'm thinking the MOH should try harder in educating the public on the good of breastfeeding. Apprently, not enough is done.

I am not pointing the finger at mommies who formula feed their babies, it is very much a personal choice. I just wish more people are aware of the benefits of breastfeeding. "Cow's milk is for little calfs, and breastmilk is for babies", that's God's idea when he created the world ;-) I'm sure He created the cow with the intention of using it as a spare, not as a replacement.

Oh btw, I "fired" my PD. I much prefer to work with someone who shares the same values as me, that breast is best and yes, Baby Jarrett is eating well. Infact, we find his little double chin quite adorable.

Baby Jarrett

Little Jarrett loves bath time!
We named this the Shrek pussy cat look
and this is the chickpea face which we abs adore!
Fashion shoot? Ha..