Mr Silly

My Mum's cat Mango. Back at my Mum's yesterday.

This is my 牛仔 greeting us in the morning with his chirpy smiles and gurgles and coos.
It is only 7am.. the room is still relatively dark and we're still half asleep. zzzzzZZZ..
In this photo he is swatting his hands everywhere (that blur in the face is actually his hand waving)


He makes an "O" with his mouth whenever he pees.

Wake up folks! Good morning! Beautiful morning!


Mr Silly.

I've taken out my rusty Canon DSLR to practice again.
Hopefully I can take more nice photos of my 牛仔!

Our weekend

Andy booked us a Couple Spa appointment on Saturday.
Not bad, my Hubby is so sweet :)

I did a postnatal treatment which included slimming thermal wrap and postnatal herbal massage. Shiok!

I enjoyed the massage so much that I fell asleep!
I've booked a Diamond and Gold facial for myself the next time I go. Hee!

After that, we adjourned to Manpuku at Tampines One for our lunch.
It's like a Jap version of Marche... but nothing special. Dont think we will go back there again even though the ambience is quite nice.
It was my treat to Andy for being so sweet to me, planning our couple's weekend and stuff :)

SUNDAY

As usual our Sundays have been family-centred and very very busy because Sundays are also Andy's mum's "off days" from taking care of Adam and doing housework so Andy & I have to do everything ourselves.
Of course we aint complainin' since we enjoy taking care of Adam so much. Andy is doing a great job of bathing our little soldier and I'm so proud of him :)

We then brought Adam to both his great-grandmothers' places.
My poor baby has begun to recognise faces and places therefore he was crying and crying from all the unfamiliar sights.
I tried everything but could barely pacify him. He was tired but couldnt go to sleep but just kept on crying and it broke my heart to pieces.
I just wanted to hold him and comfort him the whole time and sing nursery rhymes to him.

Speaking of nursery ryhmes, I've mastered all the songs playing on his musical rocker so everytime he is on the rocker, I will fill in the lyrics to the tunes.
*Proud of myself* Hahahah

This is our favourite!

Five little ducks went out one day
Over the hills and far away
Mother duck said "Quack Quack Quack Quack"
But only four little ducks came back

... (continue till none of the ducks came back tee hee)

Guess where the Little Duckies went off to?
Adam's bath tub!

Bath toys from Chicco made of a special kind of fabric which will stay afloat so the toys are actually soft and still floatable :)
I bought them online and dont see them in stores.
He also has Froggies bath toys but they are still hibernating in his cupboard.

It's crazy 'round here

I need to declutter and organise Kai Kai's stuff...
The entire house is filled with his toys - musical mobile, rattles, Disney playgyms, rocker, Chicco bath toys...
and his wardrobe is a mess of clothes - Newborn, 0-3mos, 3-6mos, 6-9mos, 9-12mos, 12-18mos....

I have already packed 2 bags of items for my preggy friend Siling - some brand new GAP and Mothercare rompers, NUK teats, AVENT bottles, pregnancy book...
How come the piles of stuff never seem to reduce?

I'm having a headache just opening his drawer chests and staring at those piles and piles of clothes. How to organise? By size? By outings/home wear? By color (white/ baby blue/ navy blue/ grey/ stripes/ patterns)? By tops/bottoms/pants with feet/ pants wo feet/ shorts/ singlets/ rompers??? -__-'

I still have lotsa stuff at my Mum's - his books, block toys, stuffed toys, reading blocks, picture cards, 2 rockers! Thankfully she has allocated one section of her wardrobe for Kai's stuff.
Seriosuly just how many rockers does a baby need? Ans: As many as his grandparents desire haha..
You see, 1 is gift from Grandpa Tan. 1 is gift from Grandma Zhen, 1 is a bouncing chair.

At home, Kai has 3 beds - his classic white cot, a hammock, and our bed.
During the day he sleeps in his hammock. At night he sleeps in his cot until his 4am feed, afterwhich he sleeps in our bed in between Andy & I (for my convenience of breastfeeding)

I cant take a picture of our house and his wardrobe because it may scare you.
Indeed, my son is living like royalty.
Okays, getting my ass off blogging and to pack his stuff now. Ciao~

Meanwhile, some photos to keep you occupied:

Whatcha lookin' at?


Lololololol...


Throwing tantrums


Still throwing tantrums: BISH BASH KICK

Adam's Mummy

I recently just found out why Andy named our son Adam.
Apart from the obvious reason of "A" for boys and "V" for girls, it is also because...
ADAM = the first man on Earth (this one I already knew)
Adam therefore = Our first. First son, first grandchild. He is also first in our hearts.

Everything I do now is about him. Life is purposeful and beautiful :)

Gen's 21st Bday - WHITE Party

I dont look like I just gave birth 6 wks ago, do I?

Last Sunday was Gen's 21st Birthday party at Bottle Tree Park.
We were honored to be invited to her WHITE Party a la Gossip Girls.
As usual, Baby A, though he has many white outfits, was best left to the care of my Aunt LY and parents while Andy & I attended the party ourselves.
We left after 2hours because I cant stop worrying about our lil one! Parentssss...
True enough when we reached my house to fetch him home, he was crying and cranky because it was an unfamiliar environment and he was looking for me.
He immediately hushed and fell asleep in my arms when I carried him and we made our way home feeling really maxed out - Andy, baby & I.
I have become his pacifier - he would sometimes put his mouth to my breast (with my clothes on) in public if he wants comfort or wants a feed. Even at home if he is not hungry sometimes I just let him latch on for comfort and he will fall asleep.
And I wonder how come I am perpetually tired??!?!

Over the weekend, Andy & I went to Orchard to do some quick shopping. Bought some clothes and lingerie for myself and also more GAP rompers and clothes for Baby A (we took advantage of the ongoing sales).
Luckily I dont have a daughter if not I will go bankrupt before you can even say "broke".
With a baby, being able to step out of the house without looking like a mad woman is in itself a luxury.
If you're able to go out and buy something nice for yourself, it's a real bonus and consider yourself alike striking lottery.

edit to add: This is Gen! photos stolen from her Facebook haha finally.
Still awaiting for group photo *drums fingers on table* :P

Organic baby

Tristan-mommy recommended me this California Baby organic shampoo & bodywash.
I'm lucky to have a friend who is into organic stuff like me.
I love the essential oil smell and best of all, it is not drying. Previously I let Adam use J&J and it is so drying to his delicate skin.

It is expensive ($22.90 plus delivery $8 from Little Dreamers) but if you dont mind splurging on your little one, you can manage to get cheaper prices if you purchase online or join sprees with other Mommies on forums.

And I finally put him into those Marks & Spencer animal rompers and his new Osh Kosh rompers.

I love rompers because they are easy one-piece suits ie. more manageable than seperates.
Not to mention they are uber cute.
Disadvantages: once it is soiled you have to change the entire suit and they arent very easy to get in and out of if you have a crying struggling baby!

Favourite brands: Mothercare and Marks & Spencer for their excellent quality. Very soft cotton and embroidery are fabric-backed so will not scratch baby's skin.

P.S. Adam is only 6 weeks old now (1.5mths) yet he is already outgrowing his 3-6mos clothes!
Time to upgrade size again...

Baby Adam's Full Month Baby Showers Part I & II

Baby Shower Part I
Venue: at my mum's place
Buffet, Vinegar & ginger pork trotters and wine chicken

First thing in the morning, a staff from Tai Mao Bi centre came to shave Baby Adam's hair.


The toughest part was choosing the material and what to engrave on his brush!


Then Harry arrived to deliver the cakes.
The blue boxes were for the relatives. I like the pretty box and the personalised card with Adam's photo on it.


The pink ones for ancestor prayers.



After shuttling from our place to Adam's great-grandma's (Adam's zhor zhor because she is Nonya) place, we went back to my mum's for the final ancestor prayers.
This is the only photo I have of him that day.
Because I was simply too tired to take any photos.. My mum was playing mahjong the whole day and when she had to excuse herself Andy had to take over, which left me with little or no help.
And I had to look after the baby, entertain her mass of friends (90% of whom I dont know), serve them drinks and make sure everyone is fed, express BM every now and then... Oh my gosh it was a nightmare.
I told my mum I wont ever attend her gatherings again and YES I really mean it.



Baby Shower Part II
Venue: NSRCC unit number 39
Buffet, BBQ and Chris' cuppies!

Siling and Norman came early. I'm glad they did because I had so much to catch up with her. I packed some of Adam's newborn diapers and other pregnancy/baby stuff for her but when I have more time I will pack the rest. Can you tell she is already coming 5 mths preggy??


I know what you are thinking - I need to do something to my hair!
Do hair salons have breastfeeding-safe rebonding and color?





erm.. Check out the father & son expression!


Chris baked these cuppies even though she is taking a break from baking. That's totally so sweet of her! And they are really yummy., Towards the end of the night, several people tapao some home.




With Charmaine & Meena.


We received many gifts again from generous friends and relatives :)

I dared not invite too many of my own friends this time because I was worried that it would be a nightmare again like at my mum's. But thankfully my MIL was around the whole time to help me carry, feed and burp Adam so I could have some time to sit down and catch up with the guests.
We didnt have to delegate anyone to help us this time, Andy's relatives volunteered their help in cleaning, washing, BBQing, carrying all the hampers and presents home (including a car seat!)

Baby Adam says a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who turned up.
I really appreciate your presence at our bundle of joy's party and have to apologise for not being a good host.

A nice little dinner

Yesterday Andy & I decided to go on a date - just the 2 of us to a nice dinner like old times.It feels good to be away from the mundane-ness once in a while.
He made reservations at Azur Restaurant at T3 which was great because we were supposed to go for dinner there on the Sunday which I gave birth and now I finally have a chance to try the food there!

It was sucha surprise that Charmaine and her family + KW also came at the same time for dinner :P
We had a fab time catching up randomly and I feel so happy that I still have an existent social life after a baby HAHA

This weekend: Adam's 2nd baby shower
Next weekend: Chocolate buffet with the girls and Gen's 21st birthday bash

Some random updates while I have time

About the dogs:
Mavy loves the baby as always. He licked his ears and feet yesterday but Baby Adam decided he didnt like it and he cried out loud. Poor Mavy. Hahaha
Alice has taken to eating Adam's soiled diapers from the bin. Maybe the digested remains of breast milk curds is the cure she's been looking for all these years. Eeew. Stupid dog.

About breastfeeding:
We've cleared out the freezer compartment of the refrigerator to store my "inventory".
These are what I've been pumping out after every latch-on feed and through-out the night.
Initially I used the 80ml Medela bottles which my Mum gave me from KKH.
Not alot initially...

But after my supply increased (and so did Baby Adam's demand), the 80ml bottles were no longer enough, so I bought milk bags from Chris' contact which could store up to 250ml (refer to below pic). Bravo!

My BF routine now is to latch him on as much as possible because I really dont want to give him FM. It's tiring as hell because after latching I still pump out the excess for inventory but thankfully Andy and MIL helps with the last bedtime feed so I can sleep early and take over the night feeds. Sometimes he wakes every 2 hours to feed, on good days he only wakes up once at 4am which isnt too bad.

About the little man:
We received so many MANY gifts for his 1st shower at my Mum's, and I have to say, some are really useful.
Like this Disney Baby infant pillow with breathable pinholes and a "dent" in the centre to mould infant's head.

And the many clothes which fit just nicely now even though the sizes state 3-6M and he is only 1.5mths.
As a result? He is wearing all the nice nice Disney Baby and Mothercare rompers at home.

And I really do miss his hair...
Cant wait for the Tai Mao Bi centre to call us for collection of his Calligraphy brush!

About an 8yr old Shed-land sheepdog

Alice's skin problem crept up again and this time I spent $400 on her vet bills - which is driving me crazy.
I had spent $400 to run some blood tests for her, which turned out to be Normal. No raised white cells. RBCs ok. No hormone problems either.
"Normal" are not good news at all - because it just means we have yet to find out the root problem of her skin problems all these years.
The last time I brought her was the week before I gave birth. And now after my confinement.
Dont tell me I have to bring her to the vet every other month. I will go crazy man.

It takes a really strong person to be able to deal with 2 dogs (an ill one amongst the 2), and a baby to boot.
Dont get me wrong. I am not a strong person at all. These are the times when I feel like giving Alice away because it's just too stressful for me to deal with a baby and then her.
And it's not even about the money. It's about having to force-feed her 4 types of medicines (steroids, antibiotics, anti-histamines) twice a day which she will keep spitting out and I have to keep forcing it back down.
It's about having to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesnt steal any junk from the bin which will aggrevate her skin problem.
It's about having to catch her scratching 200x a day and scold her and get her to stop it.
It's about having to go around picking up her balls of fur and mopping up her flakes of dandruff.

All these while juggling a screaming wailing infant, while breastfeeding topless, while changing nappies and soiled diapers, while dealing with colic and regurgitation.
Feeding time: every 3hours. In between the 3 hours: try to cat-nap, and fit in all the above activities plus eat/shit/bathe/breathe/live.

And I wonder what happens when the baby is old enough to crawl and decides that her dandruff and fur are edible.

Maybe she needs to go to a home which is patient and kind enough to see her through her skin problem and all the what-nots associated with it.
A home that doesnt have crawling babies. A home which will take in an 8yr old dog.

Temptation

It's the Great Singapore Sale once again and I'm itching to do some massive shopping.
I'm in dire need of new clothes and so does Baby Adam.
I think he needs Baby Gap, Baby ZARA and Mothercare.

Hopefully I can steal some time away to do some shopping in town. Just one day, alone. Without any distractions so I can concentrate fully on the important task of s.h.o.p.p.i.n.g.