Brunch at Mimolette

Very serious about food

still prefers milk....

First trip to Botanic Garden & Grandpa's Birthday dinner

Jarrett's first trip to the Botanic Garden and he was a big hit with the babes.

Grandpa's little darling. Cousin's little cutie.

Lucky Jarrett!

This came in the mail last week, all the way from London.
Mummy's the birthday girl but Jarrett got the present. He's one lucky kid, showered with lots of love from all corners of the world!

Baby Jarrett: Thank you Aunty Tricia! I love the book, I've got "That's Not My Puppy". Looks like my mummy and Tyler shares the same taste when it comes to books!" LOL

and a few of daddy's fav pics

I know this is an old joke..but i really can't resist posting this

We weren't kidding when we said Jarrett loves being Superman.

Wx's getting kick out of the room.

No..we didn't have a lovers' quarrel but Wx is under quarantine. The old man has got the cough since yesterday and in our household, when one of us gets sick, he/she gets boot out of the room! Sorry dear, u are either sleeping on the couch or the guest room tonight. With the baby around, we have to be more careful now. Instead of just sleeping apart, we have also enforced the rule of wearing a mask and washing our hands before we touch Jarrett. Contact with the little one is to be kept to a minimal. So it's the case of "Can see but cannot touch".

Why so fussy? Cos......
1) If the little one gets sick, he will not be able to tell us what's wrong with him, so he'll resort to his only way = cry

2) If we do not know he's crying because he's not feeling well, it will result in a lot of irritation and anger and we may mistaken it as him being cranky and which.... may further result in more irritation which.... may lead to us scolding him for the wrong reasons.

3) As parents, we all hate the feeling of helplessness when it comes to our children. It's not a nice feeling knowing that your baby is not feeling well and because he can't tell you what to do, you don't really know what to do to make him more comfortable. I know of some mummies who break down when their little ones fall ill.

4) Heartache. Please see above point 3. U ever see a baby cry till his face's red, tears all over his face and you don't know what to do?

5) I don't mean to say small = weak, but if you are able to prevent a little one from falling sick, shouldn't u do it?

So Daddy's off duty for the next few days, till he gets well. If U read my earlier post, you'll know I am in deep shit cos I'm exhausted. Of course I love to take care of Jarrett, he's my precious little meatball...but I really appreciate having Wx around. He's been great with the baby whereas I am more like an apprentice. So if u call me anytime these few days and if I sound flustered, u know why.

Exhaustion has done me in..

I'm a bad mummy. I did the unthinkable yesterday. I hit my baby "wail.....................". In case you are thinking, no..i didn't bash him against the wall or kick him in the head...it was a tap on his hand but I am dying from shame and eaten by guilt ever since. How could I hit my precious little meatball??? I am a monster!!! The father has been shaking his head at me which adds on to my guilt.

What made me snapped was exhaustion. I have been trying to be a supermom, and boy, it's not easy. Having to juggle a career with motherhood and being a wife is no joke. After a long day in the office, I return home each day, eager to spend some time with my son, but along the way, there are endless chores to be done. There were a few times where I felt like I was going to black out. I know I should take it easy and probably leave the baby with my in laws who are all too eager to take up the duty of babysitting overnite but I want to spend time with my baby too. 24hrs are no longer enough, I feel like I am racing against time and at times I feel like my heart is going to pop out from my chest as I run from one place to the next. I even feel like sleeping when I am behind the wheels.

So on Sunday when the little one just wouldn't calm down and stopped crying, coupled with my super duper low tolerance level whenever I am very tired, I snapped and hit him on his hand. I am not feeling very proud now. Exhaustion is not an excuse. Mummy's sorry Baby Jarrett.
I now understand the saying "when a parent beats a child, it's the parent who will hurt more".

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..

Merry Christmas!!!

Taken on Christmas morning. 10 day old Jarrett wearing his Christmas prezzie from Aunty Tricia.

The Delivery

4.30am: Woke up from bad cramps. First thoughts "Oh no..another false alarm?" Started timing and like before, it was irregualar but definitly stronger intensity than before. Dozed on and off.

7.00am: Hb was up and by then cramps were really quite strong, enough to get me in tears. Wx started timing the contractions.

8.00am: Contractions coming in a every 5-10mins. Called the gynae and was told to admit myself and get monitored.

9.00am: On the way to GlenE, contractions slowed down both in frequency and intensity. Decided to stop over at Caltex for petrol and breakfast at Dover. Had fried carrot cake thinking it will be a long time before I am allowed to have any. By the end of breakfast, contractions got even more irregular. Called up clinic and was told to monitor by myself.

10plus am: Went to Botanic Garden for a drink and bump into Tricia who's back for a holiday from London. But I was too grumpy to be decent company. Contractions still irregular, infact it slowed down a lot, to almost every 20-30mins. Decided to move on. I felt bad glowering at Tyler too.

11 plus am: Reached Centerpoint. Wx went off to meet his classmates for discussions and I went shopping by myself. When in Mothercare, I was hit with a strong contraction. A salesman even offered help, but I continued onward to Gap and Robinsons. Somewhere along, Wx came to meet me and we got really clueless what to do. Decided to head home, but I called up Agnes and she advised drinking Rasberry tea. Gosh..I never knew pure rasberry tea is not easy to find in local supermarts/organic shop. In the end bought Rasberry, Strawberry tea from Great World Cold Stroage and guess what, bumped into Tricia again.

2pm: Reached home and we both Zzzzzzzzzzzz.....mild contractions on and off.

5.30pm: Contractions started again. Mum called and asked for ward and bed no. She thought I had delivered.

7.30pm: Contractions strong enough to make me lose my appetitie and snapped at the Mr. Went to the loo and realised I was spotting.

8.00pm: Head out to GlenE for the 2nd time that day. Told Wx the cramps were really bad, if it was another false alarm, I would get the hospital to give me painkillers!!

9.00pm: Got admitted. Midwife did a VE check. It was so darn painful and gasp! bloody too!Only 1-2cm dilated.

9.30pm: Given enema.

9.45pm: Midwife asked if I wanted epidural. Contraction hit! Midwife was very nice, waited till it passed and told me not to wait till I got too distress then ask for epidural. I also rem. Dr Chew saying no epi. once 5cm dilated. Was told 126 reading on the CTG scan means maxi pain. I experienced the 120 score, it wasn't nice. Chicken out and asked for epi.

10.15pm: Was given epi, all done within 15mins, quite painless too. Impressed with the doc who came in slippers.

10.30pm: Side effects of epi kicked in. Die..felt dizzy and nauseated. dosage lowered and i could actually feel contractions w.o pain.

12am (16Dec): Only 2 cm dilated. Things dun look too good. Nurse said if still not much progess, had to be induced by 5am. Puked twice cos of the epi. Shivered too. Felt darn awful and told hb there will be no 2nd baby.

4am: 4-5cm dilated. Nurse didn't look very happy with the progress.

4.45am or so: both hb n I decided to catch some sleep but suddenly nurses rushed in, on all the lights n started running round the room, preparing for delivery. One of them told me baby's heartbeat was dropping. another checked n said i was fully dilated. Another said she called my gynae to come immediately and said I had to deliver ASAP with forceps cos baby had to come out now!! Both Wx & I were so scared, confused and lost. Didn't help tat the nurses look very anxious too and when one commands my gyane to do anything, it must have been dead serious. The whole time I just grabbed onto Wx and kept thinking "Shit! I dunno how to do this!" Amazingly the doc arrived within 10 min, apparently he lived rite behind GlenE and he too came in slippers!

Seriously i dun rem much of wat happened then. Nurses and doc were rushing, I was just scared stiff. When told to push by the nurses and doc, i was so lost it was hilarious. i didn't know who to listen to. so i did the next best thing, just anyhow push. 3 push, baby was out!!! The actual labour was very short, according to Wx, it probably only took 3 mins max.

So saturday was the real thing. My mum now thinks she has a crazy daughter who refused to get admitted when she was in labour. Anyway, thanks a lot to Midwives Christie, Yang and Mila who took great care of me and baby! The only regrets were that Wx didn't get to cut the cord and see the birth from the Dr's view cos I was grabbing on to him so hard that he forgot to tell the Dr. abt the cord and couldn't move away from my side. Hahahaha....

And oh..the suffering started once the epi. worn off..Ouch, ouch and ouch from the stitches!!!

Baby Jarrett!

Born on the 16th Dec 2007, 5.17am

Birth Weight: 3.125kg
Very alert right after birth. Only 2 cries were heard.
The Ngs!
Day 3 at home. One of his favourite poses. Superman!!!
Or the fortune cat!

Snug & Cozy

After 4 false alarms and regular cramps for the past week, I am dead tired. Somehow, the false alarms only happened at night, and always in the wee hours. At one point, I really thought the baby's coming. Woke up from pretty bad cramps on Sunday morning and had regular contractions for about 2 hours, but around 5.30am, the cramps kind of slowed down to every 30mins or so....

Went to the gynae yesterday and he said to return and see him again later this week. If I have dilated by then, we will go for a planned delivery (note: not induced) if I really cannot take it anymore.

Our conclusion, baby must be feeling really good and happy inside my small but snug and cozy tummy and apparently, "Anytime now" can turn out to be a long wait.

False Alarm

We are both exhausted! False alarm can be so not fun!

1. It got us all anxious

2. Timing contractions takes patience

3. For a first timer, I wasn't even too sure if what I experienced was indeed contractions.


The experience
2.30am: Loo visit

2.45am: Half asleep/awake, felt some aches and cramps in lower belly, and had trouble trying to remember menses like cramps meant contractions!
Decided not to tell the hubby yet since I wasn't sure what was happening.

3.04am: Another bout of cramps, this time round quite sure it felt like menses cramp but still decided to monitor myself.

3.22am: Cramps again. Decided to get hubby to time contractions. Hubby got all excited and anxious and starting going round the house to gather things for the hospital.

3.40am: Loo visit again, not sure if I was having another bout of cramps but felt like a mild one. Got hungry and ate a piece of cake, cos I remember Brenda's advise about eating before admitting myself into the hospital. Also remember Doc's instructions to remove nail polish before admission, so got the hubby to do that since I couldn't reached my toes (since don't noe when) and I thought it could help to calm the Mr. down.

After that we both settled back in bed, there was some mild cramps here and there, but decided it should be a false alarm and I was too tired to care (!!! hahaha) and went back to sleep.

Baby's almost ready to face the world...

Yesterday's visit to the gynae got us all flustered. Apparently, baby's already in position, getting ready to face the world! And we are all not ready yet!!! At week 36, 3days! or maybe earlier cos I have been feeling this lower ache, bad pelvic pain and this feeling like baby's pushing low at the belly for days.
But Dr's not too keen for baby to come out yet. He said baby's head is really way down, but he wants me to "hold" him in for a week or two more cos baby's still on the small side.
So I was given a week's MC to rest at home, instructed to walk less and see him in a week's time to discuss the birth plan. Usually, it doesn't mean baby's coming out within a few days once he's engaged. But seeing the frown on Dr's face is not too assuring...lucky I have been so KS and have more or less finished my shopping.

Frantic call was made to make an appointment for the last waxing job before birth. Hey...I'm not going to let any nurse come near me with a shaver. My boss, aka my Sis, nearly freaked out when I updated her and her first words were "make sure u finish the contracts before baby comes out!!!" I was expecting more enthusiasm from her, she being the baby's aunty...but work comes first. And guess what, despite the MC..she has gone ahead and made business appointments for the rest of the week! Slave driver!!! I am so going to complain to the other directors, ie. my mum and bro.

Baby's first laundry

Baby's first load of laundry done. Nappy cloths on extreme top right corner are actually mine! Well-kept by my mum for 20 over years! How cool is that! More loads coming! There's just so many things to wash.

On another note, I have become baby's slave, already...yes. The doc handed me a counter on Friday and I was instructed to start counting baby's kicks. 2 time slots a day, from 9am-2pm and 4-9pm, all the way till delivery. This means no sleep ins on weekends, me with the counter everywhere I go (so not glam), yes, even during business appointments. Yesterday was the 1st day and it sure felt like a long one. But hey, all for the good of the little one. Doc. took the extra effort to explain the need for it even thou most other gynaes do not ask their patients to do so.
So no complains...well...at least not really...kekeke...

Finally.......

Our latest trip to the gynae's had been rather fruitfull. We finally got to see baby's features. Ok, so it's not the whole face, but hey, a very nice side profile and that was only after much cajoling from the daddy. The doc was very happy with the pic from the 3D scan too and saved a picture for his own keeping..how sweet.

The grandparents to be said baby has a rather big nose...(i wonder if it's inherited from my side of the family? ha..) which according to chinese beliefs is very good, cos big nose = good prosperous life..so I am not too pissed with the comment. My newphew being the kid, couldn't understand how one is able to take pics of something u can't even see...and started bombarding me with "scientific" questions, including some on the birds and bees...of cos, being the very smart aunty, I promptly lead him back to his parents with the "interesting" questions.

Anyway, back to the doc's visit. Apparently, I have not put on any weight for the last 3 weeks, tummy size remains the same as well. Baby's est. weight from the detailed scan was 1.8kg as on Tues. Dr Chew was amused with my constant weight and asked if I had been on a diet. "Horrors!" of cos not! I am only left with 8 weeks to eat to my heart's content...diet??? u must be crazy. When we asked if baby's size is normal, he said "hmm...not too bad, average." Well, this comment got the very paranoid father panicking! "Not too bad means what? Bad but not very bad is it? Or ok only but not satisfactory???" Hahaha.....now he's getting worried about baby's development and has been urging me to eat and eat! He even forged hunger at 12am on Saturday so he could feed me supper. He said I need to fatten up so baby will be chubby and at least a 3kg. "Roll eyes" Before Tues visit to the clinic, he was watching my diet rather like the hawk..and kept reminding me not to eat too much, else I'll have trouble losing the fats post delivery...now it's green lights flashing everywhere! He even allowed me to get a tub of ice-cream. How unbelievable is that?

9 more weeks to go.....

I have officially hit week 31 today and I am literally breaking into 2.
While I am not super anxious to deliver, I really wonder how long more I have to go through these pains....besides the really bad backaches, there has been many sleepless nites, it's almost impossible to find any comfortable position to sleep in. Lie on my left, baby starts kicking, lie on my right, baby kicks again. Lie on my back...not advisable cos it's no good for both mother and child. So...no sleep. And now...down with some allergy problems..my whole head is blocked! Feels like my whole head is stuffed with cotton wool and it's impossible to breathe thru my nose. Sleeping is once again impossible...the throat is sore....bloody hell..the whole body is sore.
Feels feverish at times and no..this is not due to the increased in body temp. from pregnancy. oh and did i mention my baby loves to play with me? by punching and bouncing on my bladder. I kid you not. I lost count of the no. of toilet trips I made last nite.

So anyway, gifted with 2 days of MC, guess why i am typing away, blogging now? It's because there has been so many calls from the office since 10am this morn, so I fig out I might as well positioned my fat ass infront of my PC in case someone calls again.
Sigh..........did someone mentioned pregnancy is fun?

Baby name lists

Boy
Chinese: Huang Yu(3) Xuan (for no. 1), Huang Qi Xuan (for no. 2)
English: Jayden (our current favourite as it means God has heard), Ethan, Nathan.

Girl
Chinese: Huang Yu(4) Xuan, Huang Kai Xuan
English: Cheyenne, Isabel, Jade, Sage

Baby's first presents!

From Aunty Grace!

Baby Kicks - Part 2

Is it possible for baby kicks to be so powerful..that I feel sore inside? I must be carrying a very playful baby...my bladder feels sore from all his kicking and my lower belly actually hurts sometimes. Baby is definitly growing stronger with each passing day. "Ouch"