test

test

M is ...

My mini munchkin mini me , Maydelyn

is now 7 months old.

She's started solids at 6 months and her first taste of solid was Nestle's brown rice cereal, the same that Amber had as a baby.

Her first feed was messy. M-E-S-S-Y !!!  but fun nevertheless. She loves the cereal taste but cannot coordinate properly with her tongue and half the bowl of cereal smeared all over her face. So cute, aitelyu

Her 2 bottom teeth sprouted at 6.5 months. She's on a constant itch and will shove anything in her mouth to pacify the itch. I gave her some rusks, she relishes with delight, 20% consumed and the rest smeared over her high chair, floor and clothes.
Love ! love ! love ! Those messy moments !

Thankfully, I have a maid.

May sleeps through the night with an occasional grunt and calling out now and then. Nothing that a pacifier and a pat on the back will not settle. Such a gentle baby this one !

Her favourite cartoon is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but her ultimate favourite live show is cheh cheh Amber's antics. Amber makes her laugh, cackle jiggly kind of laugh. Moments I cherish and only these 2 sisters can recreate and connect with. No one else makes her laugh like Amber.

She's on all fours and ready to crawl anytime.

Baby May is 4 months

Baby May turned 4 months recently.

Milestones - 

-Able to sleep longer stretch at night. On good nights, if the takes her last milk at 11pm, she will sleep through till 6am but if she knocks off at 9pm, then she will wake up for another bottle of milk by 1am.
Her night sleep is getting better and mummy is getting more rest. Yippee !!  Occasionally when I'm very tired or back late from yoga, I'll ask our helper to take over. In her hands, May tends to sleep better and longer. I wonder why but I'm not complaining ;)

-Milk intake increased to 6oz, every 4 hourly or on demand, which comes sooner.

-She is able to do a full turn. Early this morning, she was grumbling and rumbling in her cot. I checked on her and she has turned, tummy side down and she probably felt uncomfortable with her face stuffing in to the mattress. I turned her back side down and put on pacifier, slot in her favorite bolster and she goes back to sleep.

-Cooo-cahh.. oooh .. ahhh... Talk to her and she'll engage in a long 'conversation' with me, rewarding me with priceless smiles and chuckles.

I have changed her formula milk from Enfalac A+ to Mamex Gold because her pooh was runny and messy. I didn't see much of a difference in her pooh and I may just take back Enfalac A+.   Her paed said oily pooh could be due to high DHA content in the milk powder. DHA comes in oil form and he probably is right. As long as baby is not constipating, I have nothing to worry about.

Overall, she's a happy baby, just like Amber. Amber loves her lots and can't wait to plant kissess on her cheeks when she gets back from school.

Amber - My front tooth

7yrs 1 month old

Her front tooth has sprouted but mummy is concerned over the other front tooth, the one that was yanked out in a fall almost 6 years ago

I've heard from another blogger mom or read somewhere that if a tooth was lost prematurely, the permanent tooth may take some time to sprout, usually delayed.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my TWO front teeth !

Maydelyn's update

Little M turned 1 month old on 1 April.

Over 4 weeks of confinement care and rest, mummy recuperated and Lil M progressed in growth.

Her updates at 1 month :
- weight increased to 4.6kg
- longer waking hours, sometimes to 2 hours at a stretch
- able to turn her head from left to right
- look at close objects and able to see eye to eye with us.
- poo every day and longest stretch is once in 2 days.

My confinement was a breeze. I already psycho-ed myself to accept my CL as she is. I don't want a stressful confinement like I did with Amber and changed 3 confinement ladies. This current CL is not without fault but nobody's perfect and constantly remind myself to **breath in ... breath out** whenever something doesn't go my way. After all, confinement is only 28 days. I'll tell her if I don't like her doing things her way (like rinsing baby's bottle with hot water and reusing them in the middle of the night) and she's been accommodating to my wishes and demands. Before she left, I asked for a night off to watch Ip Man at the cinemas with Amber and hubs. She sent me off with an early dinner and told me to 'let loose' a bit before the real hard work comes in when she leaves. Overall, she's a good CL and I wished I had known her earlier when I had Amber. Amber loved her to bits too, she was a great help with Amber's chinese homework. I cried when she left, so did Amber. We promised to pay her a visit at Bentong when Lil M is bigger and more travel friendly.

We had a hard time settling her to bed when the CL left. She whined all night, not because she wanted to play but she was just whining with her eyes closed.  The lightbulb idea came after second night on our own, we remembered swaddling Amber as a baby and we did the same to M.  Hubs has the honour of bundling her like an ikan bakar and that did the trick.  She whined less and slept better, despite crying for milk every 3 hours. She is, afterall, an infant....

We hosted a small luncheon to celebrate her one month. Family and close friends were invited to join us in our joyous occasion. Lil M behaved well, slept mostly through lunch despite the sound and commotion.

I did not do much planning for the party and left it to Barb - my crafty friend to spruce up the place for me. She made buntings for the restaurant :

Joanna of Confections made these lovely cupcakes for Lil M and they were snapped up as soon as it was served :

Lil M's full moon party was also a reunion and gathering for my family members, friends and relatives.  Indeed a joyous occasion for all of us.

She slept like a baby but woke up when the guests left and I present her.. Lil M at 1 month old , with the 'smug' look :

Happy Full Moon M. Stay healthy always, there's a whole big adventure ahead of you.

xoxoxooxoxo

Welcome Maydelyn - Her Birth Story

Baby May arrived safely early March.

She was induced at 39 weeks as scheduled. The few weeks prior to her arrival, I was homebound and in bed most of the time. Having survived 2 falls without any danger to baby, doctor and hubs decided it's better for me to stay home and rest.

I was getting impatient and DJW (my dr) asked if I'd like to induce her at week 38, a very safe week considering her size and growth but I wanted to experience a natural labour called and gave her another week but as it is, she's still not ready by week 39 and we proceeded with induce as planned

An early morning for me, scrubbing myself clean especially my hair, bracing for the awful confinement days ahead. We sent Amber to school, told her to wait for us to call but to go ahead with her day as usual and Papa will come and fetch her once mei mei is born.

We had breakfast at McD, a double one as I was hungry !!!

Checked in to the hospital, got paperwork done.. a whole stack.. (authorizing hospital to dispose the placenta, authorizing injections, paed and vaccination for Baby M, etc etc). Hubs left to run some errands while I did my stuff.

Enema-ed and then put on oxytocin drips and strapped on the tummy with 2 monitors - fetal heart rate and contractions.

Contractions started soon but mild. I reminded the midwife numerous times that I wanted an epidurial and PLEASE DO NOT FORGET !! ..I think she got a bit irritated with me and the epidural part ;)  I didn't mind bearing a bit of pain till epidurial but the midwife said since you already wanted it.. why not get it in soon. She checked on the anesthetist available..She's midwife #2 (I had 3 different midwifes attending to me, due to the change of shifts).

DrS came and injected in the epi while I was sitting down. Hubs was holding the big elephant    me from front and made sure I was steady. The monitor straps made my belly very itchy and I keep scratching my belly and the monitor would go out of place and I'll have to call the nurses again.. it went on and on all morning..

Epidural wasn't meant to be a painful or scary jab, I only had to be very still during the initial injection and then later.. I could feel chill all over and it was time to relax and wait.

An hour later, I felt a lot of wetness under me. It could be my water bag breaking but Midwife#2 said.. no. it's just 'hind water' .. whatever that means... but shortly after, DJW came to see me and checked.. 4 cm dilated.. and confirmed it's water bag leaking.. she manually poked the water bag and broke it further, I could feel more water gushing and good, I know labor will begin soon

Unlike Amber's birth.. I was allowed to eat while waiting for labor  Hubs bought me coffee and donuts and I had some hospital food too but I felt horrible after taking the soy milk. I began to feel chilly and wanted to throw up. Fever sets in and I was given panadols and oxygen mask to breath and relax.

My sister dropped by Labor Ward 2, she thought baby M was already out and I wondered how she got into the my labor room as I only authorized hubs to be present and no one else (that's another paper I signed too).. it's good to have her to chit chat while waiting for my labor to progress. She saw that I was very alert and not looking-like-going-to-be-in-labor-soon.. and she left soon after. I told midwife # 2 I could feel CONTRACTIONS and wanted an epidural top up..

She was reluctant and went.. eh... there's no childbirth without pain la.. DANG !!  I remember I felt nothing when I had Amber but I know this was different. I could feel heaviness pushing down and I could feel PAIN !!

Luckily Midwife #2 completed her shift and Midwife #3 came.. she's a dear and topped up my epidurial... without much questions asked...

Then the waiting for active labour begins. We were getting impatient, phone calls from family members asking about baby's arrival and Amber kept calling me and hubs.. when can I go to the hospital ?????

Further check revealed bb's head has not fully descended yet. I can push but it will take a lot of effort to push baby out. DJW advised to wait a little longer..

tick-tock-tick-tock.. late evening came...

at those waiting moments.. I was on whatsapp with my dear friends... they kept me sane and going, waiting for the crucial moment. When they hear no response from me, they knew action was about to begin......

tick-tock-tick-tock... waited for 2 hour, still not full descended. DJW ordered to push in 15 minutes time.
Hubs and Midwife #3 helped me to push.. I think we did around 15 minutes of pushing and DJW was called in for the final push..

One last big push... Baby M was out. She did not cry and hubs was very worried. She let out a small cry . ngekk-ngekk when they whacked her buttock at hubs request. However she scored apgar 8 and 10

I was in tears.. holding my dear baby, greeting her for the first time. Her angelic looks, red lips and chubby cheeks. I will not forget that moment, holding her for the first time.  I cannot hold back my tears.

Baby M,, you have a whole adventure ahead of you and you will always have Papa, Mama and Amber cheh-cheh with you.

Love you always..

Amber
Papa
Mama

Getting ready

I've been on home rest for 3 weeks now. Nothing to do.. bored to the bits. Actually.. .lots to do but physically unable to do much without panting or worrying about the big tummy in front of me.

My helper's been a gem. She's cleared the baby room for me. We've set up a new Graco pack and play - a gift from fellow moms and also a day bed for whoevers-taking-care-of-baby.  I want to station baby downstairs during confinement and after.   Baby M has another cot upstairs (Amber's previous) and that's only for night sleep.

Her bottles been sterilized, air dried and stacked up in Amber's Avent sterilizer. Still in good working condition, all I had to do was de-calcify with citric acid bought from Daiso.

Her clothes are washed and stacked up in the cupboard. I'll let the CL choose her clothes to wear.

We plan to start her on disposable diapers + cloth diaper (just in case she has very sensitive skin).

I've rolled out a big box of cotton balls to wipe Baby M's precious butts

I'll just use Johnson baby soap bar to bath her. Less intrusive than baby baths and this time, no more guiness stout or whatsoever.

We'll have our Eubos and Oilatum on standby .. just in case she has sensitive skin like Amber.

I hope my months of diligently taking probiotics will help in reducing her chances of atopic dermatitis.

Mmmmm... can't wait to smell Baby M..  can't wait.. can't wait !!!!

All set

The hospital bag's ready since before CNY and I've repacked it 2 days ago.

Hope I've not missed out anything ...

For myself, I've packed :

-toiletries survival kit  (creams, face wash, toothbrush)

-2 change of clothings

-towels

-mini towels

-disposable sanitaries and undies

For baby M, she has :

-3-4 change of clothing, mostly Amber's

-receiving blanket. .. same one that Amber used

-hats, mittens, booties and cloth for wrapping navel

-disposable diapers

For hubs, he has : 

- Starbucks tumbler.. to fill up his coffee and I'm sure both of us will be needing it much. RM2 saved with each purchase

If all goes well as planned, Amber might room in with us and I'll have to pack another bag for her - sleeping bag, change of clothing, pyjamas, snacks etc.

I'm pleased with the hospital I'll be checking into as there's ample food choices for hubs, me and Amber. I don't look forward to hospital menu and I can always send hubs down to pick up a donut or bread for me :D

Week 38

Baby is not here yet. Fully engaged but no signs of early delivery , not as we've expected.

Baby's development :

Head fully engaged, facing down/backwards - the best position for delivery
Estimated weight of 3.5 - 3.6kg
Head circumference didn't change, therefore weight gain went to fats on her body

Mummy has not put on any weight. Weight remains the same as 3-4 visits ago. Urine - normal. Blood pressure - Normal

Physical - Not very normal !!! Baby's weight pressing on my pubic nerves makes walking very difficult. I feel like a walking pendulum, ready to be swayed left or right and due to my clumsiness, home rest for me till D Day.

DJW agreed on inducing the baby since mommy already having a difficult time and baby will weigh even more if I wait till Wk 40.

The dates been set.. to induce at Wk39 + 1 day. Unless baby comes sooner, we'll meet baby M by end of this week.

We've chosen a name but in the meantime, Baby M, she is :D

Chor4

Every year without fail, we'll make a trip to my Aunt's (father's sister and mother's brother) house on the 4th day of Chinese New Year.

This aunt, we're particularly close to. She's my dad's sister and she's married to my mother's brother.... and so that makes us very relatively close.

She cooks the best henghua noodle with mushrooms, pork, oyster and fu chuk. She'll also dish out some curry chicken, hakka char yoke, braised mushroom and fried chicken. The ambience at her house is really tong tong chiang feel.. all our relatives gathering, eating and yakking away.

Aunt sent me an sms invitation to her house on Chor4 and I've replied... with our without sms, our Chor4 is booked at your house :D

We also get to meet some of our uncles and aunties (that we only meet once a year) at her house. The 'higher authorities' will have their own chit chat corners whilst we, middle aged and the younger ones have our own group.

Thank you Aunt for maintaining the Chor4 tradition and we will be there next year, the year after  and thereafter.....