I start to enjoy taking care of her myself. Watching her grow bigger each day, understanding her feeding and sleeping patterns and discovering her little details like a favourite song become a pleasure. Even watching her 'mum mum mum-ing' her cereal now is amusing to me. It is a strange feeling. I never see myself as a parent, and it has never occur to me that such a social butterfly like me can find joy in parenting. True, parenting is tough. It is the most tedious, most challenging and most energy consuming project I have received in my life. Countless sacrifices have to be made. Gone were the late night supper sessions. Lunch with girlfriends has to cut short as she needs to be fed. The first thing to consider when we go shopping is if there is a nursing room. I make myself eliminate caffeine, alcohol and minimise MSG in my diet to provide the best quality of breastmilk. I also have to think THRICE before buying a new skirt, now that I am not working. Nonetheless, I didn't regret bringing her into this world.
I cannot describe the joy upon witnessing her first roll, the pride when people commented how her cheeks resemble mine, the delight on seeing her weight increase during monthly check ups.
I enjoy taking care of her so much I evem consider being a full time mummy. This is definately what Daddy B wants. He didn't have the luxury of having a a full time mummy when he was young and he wants Baby R to enjoy it. I know what he means. My mum was a housewife and took care of my sister and I solely. She may not be highly educated but she knows the importance of owning certificates in this society. Perhaps without her suspervision on both academics and character we would not be who we are now.
She, on the other hand discourages me to stay at home full time like her. I should be out working while I am still young, she advises. I think she secretly wants to take care of Baby R lah. Haha. Which is actually the most desirable. Who else can I trust more other than the woman who gave birth to me, with a recent 10 years experience of babysitting.
But what's most important is what Mummy R wants, right? Honestly I miss my flying career. I miss watching plays in London, eating my unagi-don in Tokyo and shopping in San Francisco. What is more important is I miss my salary too. It is depressing to see my bank account being stagnant, and worse, dropping in figures. I no longer am able to buy things I fancy and got to think twice before spending. I even start to compare prices between brands in supermarkets to save a few cents. At the same time, I really enjoy time with dearest Baby R and would hate to miss any milestones she hits. What if I am away when she can speak her first word? What if I am not around when she is not feeling well? What should I do if she pleads 'Mummy stay with me' when I am preparing for work?
Dilemma dilemma. I can't have the best of both worlds, can I?
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Rashes, again!
Baby R's rashes came back this evening. I am now quite certain it is because of the S-26 formula milk.
I am not saying that S-26 causes rashes in all babies. If I am not wrong it is one of the more expensive brands of formula milk in the market and I am sure many mummies swear by it. In fact I have an ex-colleague who recommends this brand saying that her daughter refuses every other brand.
Why am I so certain it is the formula milk that causes her rashes? Monday evening at 7pm she had a bottle of formula milk for the first time of the day. I usually feed her breastmilk but I heard from some mummies formula milk is more filling and can let her sleep through the night. It is time to introduce her formula milk anyway as I am slowly weaning breastfeeding off. At 8pm her rashes surfaced. However the doctor we visited told us it was unlikely that the formula milk was the cause as rashes is common in babies and the cause could be anything, eg dust. He also reassured me to continue feeding her the formula milk.
Yesterday I followed the same routine and fed her formula milk only just before her bedtime, at 7.30pm, against my instinct. This time round I was at my mum's place. And exactly one hour later at 8.30pm, her rashes surfaced all over the body and twice the amount as of the first night. She cried badly and this time round, it was my mum whose heart ached for her. Haha. Somehow, somehow, I was prepared and actually expecting a rebound. Don't ask why, maybe it was an instinct.
The rashes, unlike the first night's, seemed uncomfortable and itchy as she tried to scratch her face and hands. As she could not scratch well, she ended up hitting herself most of the time with much frustration. We had to force-feed her another dosage of medicine deapite her resisting screams, therefore choking herself twice. Coaxing her to sleep is needless to say, more difficult than usual.
Luckily she recovered fully by this morning, just like yesterday. Both rashes occured within an hour of feeding although at different places. I cannot think of any other possible cause. It ia unlikely that it is caused by Nestle Cerelac brown rice cereal we give her twice a day as she has been taking it for a week. I will have to stop feeding her S-26 and monitor her condition tonight. As this is the only brand of sample recieved so far, I can only feed her breastmilk until i recieve the others.
Let's hope I can supply sufficient milk. Rashes. Be. Gone!
I am not saying that S-26 causes rashes in all babies. If I am not wrong it is one of the more expensive brands of formula milk in the market and I am sure many mummies swear by it. In fact I have an ex-colleague who recommends this brand saying that her daughter refuses every other brand.
Why am I so certain it is the formula milk that causes her rashes? Monday evening at 7pm she had a bottle of formula milk for the first time of the day. I usually feed her breastmilk but I heard from some mummies formula milk is more filling and can let her sleep through the night. It is time to introduce her formula milk anyway as I am slowly weaning breastfeeding off. At 8pm her rashes surfaced. However the doctor we visited told us it was unlikely that the formula milk was the cause as rashes is common in babies and the cause could be anything, eg dust. He also reassured me to continue feeding her the formula milk.
Yesterday I followed the same routine and fed her formula milk only just before her bedtime, at 7.30pm, against my instinct. This time round I was at my mum's place. And exactly one hour later at 8.30pm, her rashes surfaced all over the body and twice the amount as of the first night. She cried badly and this time round, it was my mum whose heart ached for her. Haha. Somehow, somehow, I was prepared and actually expecting a rebound. Don't ask why, maybe it was an instinct.
The rashes, unlike the first night's, seemed uncomfortable and itchy as she tried to scratch her face and hands. As she could not scratch well, she ended up hitting herself most of the time with much frustration. We had to force-feed her another dosage of medicine deapite her resisting screams, therefore choking herself twice. Coaxing her to sleep is needless to say, more difficult than usual.
Luckily she recovered fully by this morning, just like yesterday. Both rashes occured within an hour of feeding although at different places. I cannot think of any other possible cause. It ia unlikely that it is caused by Nestle Cerelac brown rice cereal we give her twice a day as she has been taking it for a week. I will have to stop feeding her S-26 and monitor her condition tonight. As this is the only brand of sample recieved so far, I can only feed her breastmilk until i recieve the others.
Let's hope I can supply sufficient milk. Rashes. Be. Gone!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Rashes
The in-house doctor was a young and friendly one. To our relief he said these rashes are normal and happen to most babies. Some have it frequently, some lucky ones seldom get it. Wah this 10 minute consultation at the emergency ward costed us $90 and another $2.80 for medicine to minimise itchimess and redness.
In fact by the time we left the hospital, her rashes subsided a lot. I tried to feed her medicine using the syringe provided but she spit it all out.
What worried me the most was that the rash might itch. That would definately make her fussy and difficult to tend to. However it didn't seem to. She recovered fully by this morning, her face pretty again, thank god.
I told Daddy B my heart ached when I see her rashes. Daddy B said that was just the beginning. In fact that was the first time she got 'sick' since birth. There would definately be more to come. Children bound to fall sick, feel discomfort, fall down, cry in pain etc. This is part and parcel of growing up. And as a parent, am I going to get affected, 'heartache' them and cry with them? No! I should be strong so I can look after and support them. I am sure a little optimistism would help too.
I will toughen up. For Baby R.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Chaotic morning
It was a chaotic morning. Daddy B had to work and I was alone with Baby R for the whole day. Woken up by our neighbour's dog, she was a grumpy girl from the start of the day. Perhaps the three night feeds had filled her up, she refused to have her milk, taking in only like 20ml? Such a waste of my precious expressed milk, hmph!
As I get ready to leave for my mum's place, I smelt something foul, and familiar. Yes, she pooed. Her poo was no longer soft, watery and easy to clean. Must be the intake of solid foods. It is now more solid and sticky, a lot like an adult's. And definately more difficult to wipe off.
I put her on the changing mat and watch her finish her business before changing her diaper. Looking like she was done, I began the much detested chore. Between the two seconds of removing her soiled diaper and replacing it of a new one, she decided to let a lot more out. Yes, a lot of sticky greenish-brown crap out, on the changing mat and table. She wasn't done afterall. 'Arghhhh babyyyy~!!' it was then she gave me that 'I-am-innocent' look and smiled. I couldn't help but to smile as well. See? They are smart. They know how to get into trouble and still win you back.
I am glad that Baby R isn't one who cries during diaper changing. In fact she seldom cries. Most of the time when she cries, she cries for attention. Of course as a parent I recognise between a I-want-something cry and a I-need-something cry. And most of the time it is a I-want-something cry. But this time round, she cried quite badly, which wasn't usual. Maybe she got hungry after letting so much out? To think I was considering bathing her. No time at all! No time to even clean the area! I left the dirty mat and diaper aside and rushed to prepare milk. May the whole herd of houseflies invade the room.
It was then I remembered throwing the bottle of milk out 20 minutes ago when she refused it. Double argh! There wasn't spare expressed milk in the fridge and I want to stick to insistence of weaning latching off (will talk more about it on the next post). I had no other option but to prepare rice cereal for her. Did I mention how I hate feeding cereal? Half of what was in the bowl would be on her hands, her neck, her clothes, not to mention the chair and the floor. Well, I am sure she isn't the only one giving parents this headache. Time spent cleaning up after feeding would be longer than the feeding process itself. Plus my mum was waiting for our visit. It didn't take long to finish her cereal as she was hungry. I quickly changed her out of her cereal-stained top before putting her on the walker. I should have taken a picture of her in the stained clothes. She looked like she just came back from war, especially that it was brown rice cereal. Well, actually it WAS war, for me. Satisfied, she played in her walker alone while I cleaned the cereal mess up, BEFORE clearing the changing mat area. By that time the poo had dried up and it was more difficult to clean.
I went back to her, exhausted, to smell something all too familiar again. She pooed again. This time round, as I was in a haste when putting her clean diaper on just now, her clean clothes kena-ed. I sat on the floor, defeated. I barely had time to breathe! I only sat for 5 seconds before I got myself up. Because I didn't want the walker to get stained as well. I did not need more things to wash! Again, she gave me The Smile. She really knew how to play around with people's soft spots. It was the I-want-to-be-mad-with-her-yet-I-couldn't feeling all over again. I hate it haha.
It took me a good 30 minutes to change her out and bathe her. She loves baths so I usually let her play in it until the warm bath water turns cool. This time is no different, also to let me take a breather. By everything is done it was time for her nap, and time for me to do her laundry and clear other remaining mess around the house. Before she wakes up.
What a chaotic morning. And I believe there is more to come. Just when I finally am able to follow her daily routine, she starts solids. Routine got to change and I need to learn to adapt. As at the same time I am weaning latching off, I have more things to do each day, like expressing and storing. Some days like this, I can barely realise I have not drank a sip of water by late noon! I cannot imagine how my mum took care of me and my sister 20 years ago, with our age differences only 1 and a half years apart. Or how other mummies cope with even more than one. I salute all mummies out there. You all are great!
She is finally napping again, so let me just lie down and watch her sleep, while refuelling to get ready for the next half of the day!
As I get ready to leave for my mum's place, I smelt something foul, and familiar. Yes, she pooed. Her poo was no longer soft, watery and easy to clean. Must be the intake of solid foods. It is now more solid and sticky, a lot like an adult's. And definately more difficult to wipe off.
I put her on the changing mat and watch her finish her business before changing her diaper. Looking like she was done, I began the much detested chore. Between the two seconds of removing her soiled diaper and replacing it of a new one, she decided to let a lot more out. Yes, a lot of sticky greenish-brown crap out, on the changing mat and table. She wasn't done afterall. 'Arghhhh babyyyy~!!' it was then she gave me that 'I-am-innocent' look and smiled. I couldn't help but to smile as well. See? They are smart. They know how to get into trouble and still win you back.
I am glad that Baby R isn't one who cries during diaper changing. In fact she seldom cries. Most of the time when she cries, she cries for attention. Of course as a parent I recognise between a I-want-something cry and a I-need-something cry. And most of the time it is a I-want-something cry. But this time round, she cried quite badly, which wasn't usual. Maybe she got hungry after letting so much out? To think I was considering bathing her. No time at all! No time to even clean the area! I left the dirty mat and diaper aside and rushed to prepare milk. May the whole herd of houseflies invade the room.
It was then I remembered throwing the bottle of milk out 20 minutes ago when she refused it. Double argh! There wasn't spare expressed milk in the fridge and I want to stick to insistence of weaning latching off (will talk more about it on the next post). I had no other option but to prepare rice cereal for her. Did I mention how I hate feeding cereal? Half of what was in the bowl would be on her hands, her neck, her clothes, not to mention the chair and the floor. Well, I am sure she isn't the only one giving parents this headache. Time spent cleaning up after feeding would be longer than the feeding process itself. Plus my mum was waiting for our visit. It didn't take long to finish her cereal as she was hungry. I quickly changed her out of her cereal-stained top before putting her on the walker. I should have taken a picture of her in the stained clothes. She looked like she just came back from war, especially that it was brown rice cereal. Well, actually it WAS war, for me. Satisfied, she played in her walker alone while I cleaned the cereal mess up, BEFORE clearing the changing mat area. By that time the poo had dried up and it was more difficult to clean.
I went back to her, exhausted, to smell something all too familiar again. She pooed again. This time round, as I was in a haste when putting her clean diaper on just now, her clean clothes kena-ed. I sat on the floor, defeated. I barely had time to breathe! I only sat for 5 seconds before I got myself up. Because I didn't want the walker to get stained as well. I did not need more things to wash! Again, she gave me The Smile. She really knew how to play around with people's soft spots. It was the I-want-to-be-mad-with-her-yet-I-couldn't feeling all over again. I hate it haha.
It took me a good 30 minutes to change her out and bathe her. She loves baths so I usually let her play in it until the warm bath water turns cool. This time is no different, also to let me take a breather. By everything is done it was time for her nap, and time for me to do her laundry and clear other remaining mess around the house. Before she wakes up.
What a chaotic morning. And I believe there is more to come. Just when I finally am able to follow her daily routine, she starts solids. Routine got to change and I need to learn to adapt. As at the same time I am weaning latching off, I have more things to do each day, like expressing and storing. Some days like this, I can barely realise I have not drank a sip of water by late noon! I cannot imagine how my mum took care of me and my sister 20 years ago, with our age differences only 1 and a half years apart. Or how other mummies cope with even more than one. I salute all mummies out there. You all are great!
She is finally napping again, so let me just lie down and watch her sleep, while refuelling to get ready for the next half of the day!
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Six months of thoughts
Time flies when you are busy, really. It seems like yesterday I cradled her tiny wailing body in the delivery suite after 8 hours of labour pains. In a blink of an eye she morphs into this attention-seeking chubby doll, although still not growing much hair.
Blame it on my procastination, only now I decided to jot her growth, milestones and what I have learnt while taking care of her, for the past 6 months.
I gave birth in Thomson Medical Centre, to a petite 2.4kg girl at 9.41am, 24th May.
Bent on breastfeeding since pregnancy, I was pretty upset when her paed recommended formula milk to fatten her up before breastfeeding for a few days as my flow had not kick in yet. Normal babies can survive on their own reserves for 2-3 days before mother's milk flow starts to kick in. That is why newborn infants tend to lose a bit of weight after birth. This is how mother nature works and I find it amazing. It is like mothers and babies making a pact to accomodate to each other's requirements. However, Baby R was on the lighter side and it was not advisable for her to lose further weight. However I got to listen to the doctor and at the meantime, I let her suckle every few hours to stimulate my flow.
We stayed there for three days and many relatives and friends came to visit. She of course, received many gifts and hampers too. Thank you all your blessings and gifts! Both baby and mummy were discharged from hospital on the third day as her jaundice level was normal. Yay!
I was really fortunate to have my mum, a babysitter of 10 years experience to take care of Baby R as well as my confinement. The first few weeks were torturous. Baby R couldn't differentiate between day and night. We got to wake her up if she slept too long in the daytime, if not we would be pandas by the next morning! As my milk flow became stable, I began latching her as much as possible. I know most mummies prefer to express the milk so they are able to tell how much the baby drinks. But expressing is hard work! Sterilising of bottles and pumps, assembling of pump, expressing process itself, then washing, storing and re-sterilising the pumps and bottles. Not to mention the heating of milk which takes a few minutes, meaning a few minutes of pacifying an impatient hungry baby. There was once just before I feed Baby R, after going through all the above, I realised the milk had turned bad. Argh! Perhaps expressing is a better system for some, but latching is definately more suitable for lazy mummies like me.
My mum took pride and huge responsibility in taking charge of my confinement. She called up all available aunties and friends to ask for advices and even bought a day-by-day cookbook! However cooking for a picky daughter like me is no easy task. I don't take innards, for one. At all. A good half of the cookbook was therefore useless. I also only prefer a small selection of veggies. Another quarter of the cookbook struck off. Therefore steamed threadfin/pomfret/salmon with sesame oil and shredded ginger is a dish i see everyday. No wait- make that every meal. Yes, both lunch and dinner, not that I am complaining. I love fish and to have fresh huge steaks and fillets of fish steamed on demand, what more can one ask for? I insisted on bathing and washing my hair everyday, much to her displeasure. One day, I sneakily bought Ben and Jerry's home, scooped two huge balls of my favourite vanilla, THEN asked if I could take ice cream. I still remembered her reply: 'You might as well finish already then ask?' Haha!
From sterisiling of bottles to bathing her to preparing my meals, I could not imagine doing it all alone. Yes I did not even dare to bath her the first month. She was sooooo tiny, sooooo fragile. Of course if no one were to help me I had to force myself to lah. I stayed at my mum's place for that confinement month for her convenience. As and when Daddy B was in town he would stay over. I still remember how frequent we changed her diapers. One diaper changing session can easily use up to 3 diapers, just because she pooed immediately after changing. Not to mention the number of times I kena-ed from her explosive sessions. Shirts, shorts, walls and floor were not spared.
We moved back to our place after the confinement month. Grandad bought her a pretty decent playpen to sleep in.
I still didn't know how to bath her. So bathing was Daddy B's job while I slowly get the hang of doing everything else myself. Still, whenever Daddy B was out of town I would go to my mum's place. She doesn't mind. In fact she wanted me to bring baby R over as much as possible! She really enjoyed baby R's presence. I could forsee baby R being spoilt by her grandparents already haha.
The name 'Rebecca' was chosen when I was pregnant. We love old names like 'Katerine', 'Victoria' etc. Chosing a name which starts from an 'R' was totally coincedence, although of course I love the idea of sharing initials with her. :)
When it comes to chinese names, my parents are pretty particular. They insisted on seeking a geomancy master's advice. Geomancy reading requires the 'eight characters' which include the time and date of birth. Therefore her chinese name got to be decided after birth. We went to the famous shifu called '游龙子' at Guilimard Road (apparently famous in context of my folks). Upon recieving a range of characters to match, we decided on '凯励' (Kai Li). I think it meant truimph and position. Gentle on the pronounciation but a strong defination on the meaning. We loved it.
Bringing her out was a breeze as firstly, she slept immediately upon entering the car, and throughout the whole outing. Even in noisy Ghim Moh hawker centre on a Saturday morning and three hour high-tea sessions with my girlfriends.
And two, as I latched on exclusively, there wasn't a need to bring hot water, milk powder, etc. Only a decent nursing room was required and practically every shopping mall has one. We loved bringing her out. And she loved going out.
As she grew older, she slept less. Bringing her out was still fun, but no longer as easy. She doesn't want to sit on the pram without being pushed, refused to be carried sitting down and would cry if no one played with her. In short, she became more fussy and pretty attention seeking. Although I was envious when I saw other babies sleeping in the pram while their parents enjoying lunch, I guessed it was normal now that she grew older. Well, all babies behaved and grew differently. No point comparing and making yourself upset, right?
Ever since Baby R's birth, whenever my mum called, she would be asking about her. 'How is baby?' 'Is she sleeping well?' 'Has she been fed? Feed her more okay?' Nothing was asked about her own daughter. Oh, how I miss the days of my pregnancy when she nagged me to eat more fish, to cut down on fast food, not to tire myself out, etc. I can't believe I am jealous of my own daughter haha. Nonetheless, I am glad Baby R brought joy to my parents. They love kids. I know that. I saw how they played with the boys my mum used to babysit. What more their own granddaughter?
Her sensory developments picked up rapidly after the 4th month, which was expected. I still remembered how Daddy B was commenting on how slow she was at 3 months when she couldn't hold a toy well. I chided him for being demoralising and not giving our dear girl enough faith. True enough, she grabs everything she sees now, from my phone to the umbrella handle to my hair (Argh!).
Speaking of hair, I started to notice a significant increase of hair loss since the 4th month. It was common to find strands of hair all over the bed and bathroom floor. Even my mum asked me about it, refering to my higher hairline. Oh no, what was happening to the thick mane of hair many hairdressers complained about when I asked to be layered?! :( Yes blame it on the hormonal changes from giving birth. I am currently still losing a lot of hair at 6th month but I heard it will get better by the 8th or 9th month. I do hope so, for the sake of my vanity.
As I didn't gain much weight from pregnancy, it didn't take me long to lose them. By two and a half months I managed to lose all the excess weight I gained. However the amazing part was after the 4th month. I started losing even further despite the massive amount of food I eat. Breastfeeding makes one constantly hungry and thirsty, and I can confirm this fact on experience. I can finish a whole roll of swiss roll from neighbourhood confectionery stalls (the coffee flavoured ones are my favourite) and still feel hungry. I can finish a plate of roast duck rice add char siew, a plate of wanton mee and end off with a cup of Koi bubble tea at one sitting and still lose a further three more kilograms. I guess i have Baby R's increased milk intake to thank as she grows. Well, the peaks of breastfeeding, and look who's complaining? :)
Slowly, I learnt to take care of her myself. Visits to 'Wai Po Jia' (maternal grandma's place) became lesser and lesser as ferrying from Clementi to Bedok and vice versa is inconvenient and even more tiring than taking care of her alone. Also, we did not buy her a cot at my mum's place due to space contraints. It became unsafe for her to sleep on a single bed when she learnt to roll. My mum missed her lots.
A few days before she turned 6 months old, we introduced different tastes to her. Funny as it sounds, her first food other than milk is, minestrone soup! And of all places, it was from Rocky's Pizza near our place. It was not even homecooked, so imagine all the MSG and salt and dunno-what-additives in it. At first I was quite skeptical about it when Daddy B suggested imprompto to let her try. If I were a baby I would expect my first food to be bland, comforting, maybe creamy like milk, not some diluted tangy liquid from a metal spoon! But hey, she liked it! She cried when we withdrew the spoon from her! Haha. Of course we didn't give her much. She might get a tummyache!
Subsequently I fed her a bit of what i ate, eg fish porridge without seasoning, orange sacs, tofu.
There are still many milestones to hit before she is independent and I would love to witness every single one. Life as a parent is no doubt busy, but I will try to squeeze time to jot every interesting bits whenever I can!
Blame it on my procastination, only now I decided to jot her growth, milestones and what I have learnt while taking care of her, for the past 6 months.
I gave birth in Thomson Medical Centre, to a petite 2.4kg girl at 9.41am, 24th May.
Features resembling her dad
Mummy's darling
Daddy B's favourite picture
I was really fortunate to have my mum, a babysitter of 10 years experience to take care of Baby R as well as my confinement. The first few weeks were torturous. Baby R couldn't differentiate between day and night. We got to wake her up if she slept too long in the daytime, if not we would be pandas by the next morning! As my milk flow became stable, I began latching her as much as possible. I know most mummies prefer to express the milk so they are able to tell how much the baby drinks. But expressing is hard work! Sterilising of bottles and pumps, assembling of pump, expressing process itself, then washing, storing and re-sterilising the pumps and bottles. Not to mention the heating of milk which takes a few minutes, meaning a few minutes of pacifying an impatient hungry baby. There was once just before I feed Baby R, after going through all the above, I realised the milk had turned bad. Argh! Perhaps expressing is a better system for some, but latching is definately more suitable for lazy mummies like me.
My mum took pride and huge responsibility in taking charge of my confinement. She called up all available aunties and friends to ask for advices and even bought a day-by-day cookbook! However cooking for a picky daughter like me is no easy task. I don't take innards, for one. At all. A good half of the cookbook was therefore useless. I also only prefer a small selection of veggies. Another quarter of the cookbook struck off. Therefore steamed threadfin/pomfret/salmon with sesame oil and shredded ginger is a dish i see everyday. No wait- make that every meal. Yes, both lunch and dinner, not that I am complaining. I love fish and to have fresh huge steaks and fillets of fish steamed on demand, what more can one ask for? I insisted on bathing and washing my hair everyday, much to her displeasure. One day, I sneakily bought Ben and Jerry's home, scooped two huge balls of my favourite vanilla, THEN asked if I could take ice cream. I still remembered her reply: 'You might as well finish already then ask?' Haha!
From sterisiling of bottles to bathing her to preparing my meals, I could not imagine doing it all alone. Yes I did not even dare to bath her the first month. She was sooooo tiny, sooooo fragile. Of course if no one were to help me I had to force myself to lah. I stayed at my mum's place for that confinement month for her convenience. As and when Daddy B was in town he would stay over. I still remember how frequent we changed her diapers. One diaper changing session can easily use up to 3 diapers, just because she pooed immediately after changing. Not to mention the number of times I kena-ed from her explosive sessions. Shirts, shorts, walls and floor were not spared.
We moved back to our place after the confinement month. Grandad bought her a pretty decent playpen to sleep in.
Playful Baby R
Finally!
The name 'Rebecca' was chosen when I was pregnant. We love old names like 'Katerine', 'Victoria' etc. Chosing a name which starts from an 'R' was totally coincedence, although of course I love the idea of sharing initials with her. :)
When it comes to chinese names, my parents are pretty particular. They insisted on seeking a geomancy master's advice. Geomancy reading requires the 'eight characters' which include the time and date of birth. Therefore her chinese name got to be decided after birth. We went to the famous shifu called '游龙子' at Guilimard Road (apparently famous in context of my folks). Upon recieving a range of characters to match, we decided on '凯励' (Kai Li). I think it meant truimph and position. Gentle on the pronounciation but a strong defination on the meaning. We loved it.
Bringing her out was a breeze as firstly, she slept immediately upon entering the car, and throughout the whole outing. Even in noisy Ghim Moh hawker centre on a Saturday morning and three hour high-tea sessions with my girlfriends.
And two, as I latched on exclusively, there wasn't a need to bring hot water, milk powder, etc. Only a decent nursing room was required and practically every shopping mall has one. We loved bringing her out. And she loved going out.
As she grew older, she slept less. Bringing her out was still fun, but no longer as easy. She doesn't want to sit on the pram without being pushed, refused to be carried sitting down and would cry if no one played with her. In short, she became more fussy and pretty attention seeking. Although I was envious when I saw other babies sleeping in the pram while their parents enjoying lunch, I guessed it was normal now that she grew older. Well, all babies behaved and grew differently. No point comparing and making yourself upset, right?
Coffee at Swensen's during her fourth's month
Ever since Baby R's birth, whenever my mum called, she would be asking about her. 'How is baby?' 'Is she sleeping well?' 'Has she been fed? Feed her more okay?' Nothing was asked about her own daughter. Oh, how I miss the days of my pregnancy when she nagged me to eat more fish, to cut down on fast food, not to tire myself out, etc. I can't believe I am jealous of my own daughter haha. Nonetheless, I am glad Baby R brought joy to my parents. They love kids. I know that. I saw how they played with the boys my mum used to babysit. What more their own granddaughter?
She was a bit on the slow side when it came to her neck. At 3 months old, her head still bobbled when we prepped her upright. The nurses said that half of the babies at 3 months old had firm necks already. That kept me worried. Was I too rough with her? Did I damage her neck? Was I not eating right that the milk I provide wasn't helping in bone development? There wasn't anything else I could do but to monitor each day. Slowly, I could see her supporting her neck better and better and by 4th month, her neck was stable as an adult's, and could turn on demand. Come to think of it, it was pretty silly to worry. Yeah, half of the babies passed the hurdle. That meant she belonged to another half lah! So what? She was still on the normal range, at 50th percentile, right? I guess I only had the competitive streak in me to blame.
Her first roll. Yippie!
As I didn't gain much weight from pregnancy, it didn't take me long to lose them. By two and a half months I managed to lose all the excess weight I gained. However the amazing part was after the 4th month. I started losing even further despite the massive amount of food I eat. Breastfeeding makes one constantly hungry and thirsty, and I can confirm this fact on experience. I can finish a whole roll of swiss roll from neighbourhood confectionery stalls (the coffee flavoured ones are my favourite) and still feel hungry. I can finish a plate of roast duck rice add char siew, a plate of wanton mee and end off with a cup of Koi bubble tea at one sitting and still lose a further three more kilograms. I guess i have Baby R's increased milk intake to thank as she grows. Well, the peaks of breastfeeding, and look who's complaining? :)
Slowly, I learnt to take care of her myself. Visits to 'Wai Po Jia' (maternal grandma's place) became lesser and lesser as ferrying from Clementi to Bedok and vice versa is inconvenient and even more tiring than taking care of her alone. Also, we did not buy her a cot at my mum's place due to space contraints. It became unsafe for her to sleep on a single bed when she learnt to roll. My mum missed her lots.
A few days before she turned 6 months old, we introduced different tastes to her. Funny as it sounds, her first food other than milk is, minestrone soup! And of all places, it was from Rocky's Pizza near our place. It was not even homecooked, so imagine all the MSG and salt and dunno-what-additives in it. At first I was quite skeptical about it when Daddy B suggested imprompto to let her try. If I were a baby I would expect my first food to be bland, comforting, maybe creamy like milk, not some diluted tangy liquid from a metal spoon! But hey, she liked it! She cried when we withdrew the spoon from her! Haha. Of course we didn't give her much. She might get a tummyache!
Sleepy Baby R after some minestrone? Hehe
Grandma feeding her
This walker is really useful, as you can see!
There are still many milestones to hit before she is independent and I would love to witness every single one. Life as a parent is no doubt busy, but I will try to squeeze time to jot every interesting bits whenever I can!
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Baby R is 6 months old!
Baby R is exactly 6 months old, finally!
I have lost count of soiled diapers, dirty laundry, fussy feedings, burping and regurgitation etc. Motherhood is indeed not easy. We bought a tin of Nestle CERELAC infant cereal brown rice first stage for her and prepared half a serving for a start. Oh boy, how she enjoyed it! She couldn't wait longer than for us to scoop. I prepared another half serving and it was gone in 5 mins. In total she took 3 bowls in a mere 20 minutes. I had totally underestimated her. In fact my mum commented that she eats faster than I do. Haha yeah lah I tend to eat slightly slower than other people, although friends would say it is an understatement.
We bought a packet of Hot-Kid Baby Mum Mum rice biscuits and I think she likes them too, seeing that she finished one and a half crackers at one go. I think she just likes anything that can be put in the mouth at this stage. Maybe she is teething I don't know.
So far we had let her taste oranges (see the way her face cringes!), kiwis, bread (she loves it), rice porridge, pumpkin (another one she loves), salmon, fish soup and minestrone soup (haha Daddy B's). We will introduce a wider variety to her. In fact Daddy B brought some bottled baby food from London. Let's see if her taste buds are similar to mummy's or daddy's! :)
I have lost count of soiled diapers, dirty laundry, fussy feedings, burping and regurgitation etc. Motherhood is indeed not easy. We bought a tin of Nestle CERELAC infant cereal brown rice first stage for her and prepared half a serving for a start. Oh boy, how she enjoyed it! She couldn't wait longer than for us to scoop. I prepared another half serving and it was gone in 5 mins. In total she took 3 bowls in a mere 20 minutes. I had totally underestimated her. In fact my mum commented that she eats faster than I do. Haha yeah lah I tend to eat slightly slower than other people, although friends would say it is an understatement.
We bought a packet of Hot-Kid Baby Mum Mum rice biscuits and I think she likes them too, seeing that she finished one and a half crackers at one go. I think she just likes anything that can be put in the mouth at this stage. Maybe she is teething I don't know.
So far we had let her taste oranges (see the way her face cringes!), kiwis, bread (she loves it), rice porridge, pumpkin (another one she loves), salmon, fish soup and minestrone soup (haha Daddy B's). We will introduce a wider variety to her. In fact Daddy B brought some bottled baby food from London. Let's see if her taste buds are similar to mummy's or daddy's! :)
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