1st Father's day celebration

After doing my hair at Vivo city, we met at the mall with baby. Before they arrives, I did some shopping for my clothing. It was a fruitful day as I have bought 2 dresses and 2 shoes. We even had our brunch @ Marche to celebration his 1st father's day.

My boy has turned 3 months old! =)

Bangkok Trip ~ Giving thanks to four face buddha

As promised, we returned to Bangkok to give thanks to four face Buddha as he has granted our wish for a child. We booked for a 3 days 2 nights trip so we can unwind ourselves during the trip.

We set off on 31st May, which is a Friday and reached there at about 4pm. The moment we drop our luggage in the hotel, we immediately set off to our 1st destination which is Erawan Shrine. The weather isn't good, as when we reach there it was drizzling. But that didn't fail us to give our prayers to him. How people give thanks to him is inviting dancers to dance in front of his statue. We can have a choice of 2 , 4, 6 or 8 dancers. We chose to have 4 dancers and we knelt down in front of him while the dancers are dancing behind us and chanting.

After settled our thanks giving ceremony, we continue to buy some prayers stuffs to pray again. The drizzles is getting heavier but that hasn't dampen our mood for the praying session. I admit this time I didn't get myself prepared for the prayer as in how should we go about praying and which direction to start off the praying session. The four faces represent different things but I only remembered the side which I have wished for a child and so I continue to wish the same on the same side of the statue. Though the 1st time we didn't wished for a gender of our child but he has given us a son, so this time we wished we could have a girl.  Hope he could grant us our second wish!

Reaching my weight goal soon!

Hoo hoo...count down to my pre-pregnancy weight! Another 2 kg more!

Indeed mind plays an important role to your body changes. Previously I've been monitoring my weight using the scale almost everyday but weight seems to drop very slowly. But recently I tried my best not to touch the scale and weigh myself at the most once a week and it seems to work. By the way, there isn't any change in my diet and I eat as per normal. No exercise during these period too!

Hope to reach my goal soon and gets further down to my desire weight! Breastfeeding plays a major role in my weight lost.

Tracking of baby's eyes development

By the time she's 1 or 2 months old, your baby will have learned to focus both eyes and will be able to track a moving object left and right, though she may already have been able to do this for brief periods since birth. A simple rattle passed in front of her face will often transfix her, or you can play eyes-to-eyes by getting very close to her face and slowly moving your head from side to side. Often, her eyes will lock onto yours.

Starting at 2 months old and continuing through her fourth month, color differences will become clearer to your baby, and she'll start to distinguish similar shades such as red and orange. As a result, she'll probably begin to show a preference for bright primary colors and more detailed and complicated designs and shapes. Encourage this by letting her look at bright pictures, photos, books, and toys.

Once your baby passes the 5-month mark, she'll be better at spotting very small items and will begin to tell the difference between pastels. By 8 months, your baby's vision is strong enough to recognize people and objects across the room.

Credit: http://www.babycenter.com/404_how-does-my-baby-see-the-world-how-far-can-she-see_6564.bc

Davian's development @ 2 months 17 days

He starts to appreciate hanging objects...see how much fun he had looking at them and rocking the chair. =)

 

Alek's Birthday Party

This is the first time he attended a birthday party!

Davian's development @ 2months old

 

Davian obviously is growing very fast. What's suppose to be observe at 3 months old and he is already showing all.

 

No. 1

 

Starts to reject formula milk ! It was a mistake to fully breastfeed him for the past few days and now he has developed a liking to my BM and starts to refuse formula milk. Now he only drinks 11/2 to 2 oz of formula milk compared to 3 - 4oz previously.  Got to train him on FM again so it will be easy in the near future. Maybe I shall try feeding him formula milk during night time and BM during the day and see if there is any improvement.

 

No. 2

 

He starts to suck his fist and enjoys every moment of it even when he is trying to fall asleep. Looking at how he is growing really melts my heart =)

 

No. 3

 

Oh yes, his neck is also strong enough to lift up and turn around while we are carrying him leaning on our shoulder. I was quite surprise that he could do this at just 2 months old! It was a great progress for Davian =)

 

Infant Child Care is my final choice!

After a serious thought for a day and finally I came to a decision. I decide to put Davian in an infant care. Every options we had has its pros and cons but we got to weigh them and see which one is more appropriate for us.

In Infant care at least I am assured of Davian's learning ability and ensure of his sociability. Though the risk of him falling sick is high at such a tangible age but we will just pray hard that his immunity is strong enough to overcome.

Today, we went to the school which dear had found for him to take a look. It was somewhere nearby his workplace. The school name is Cherie Hearts @ Ubi. The environment is clean and well organised. They have different segments or rooms for different stage of learning. So far for infant (First Learning) there is only 11 students and they can take in up to 17 students. The ratio is 1 : 3. MCYS has set a standard for schools to take in 1 : 5 but when dear spoke to the principle yesterday she is not agreeable to numbers as from her past experience from PCF, it is not possible for a teacher to care for 5 students. I am quite comfortable with the ratio set by the school and feel more at ease that the teachers there can pay more attention to each infant there.  Since today is a Saturday, there is no students except for one 13 months old girl playing with a teacher.

I spend about 15minutes interviewing the teachers there and to understand how they operate the class. So far they meet my standard  and dear had even spoke to the principle of the school yesterday when he went there to have a look.

The fee for infant care is about $1450 but after subsidy it will be around $600+. It is much worth than any of my other choices.

I will be enrolling him starting from July and will observe for a month. Hope everything goes well and I shall continue him with the school through his following years.

SAHM/Infant care/Nanny/Maid?

Now we have left with no choice but to consider infant care services, nanny, maid or no pay leaves.

No pay leaves is my last resort but I'm not comfortable with infant care and nanny. If I want a maid for my son, got to find someone who can watch over the maid.

Well..I'm really at a lost!

Finally a light of hope!

We have little quarrels over the matter of who is going to babysit Davian when my maternity ends. DH wanted to find a nanny but I'm not comfortable with the idea as she will be a total stranger to us.

Today, he approached his auntie for help. She is one who knows how to care for kid and I feel safe to leave my kid with her. And her children are big enough to help take care of Davian too. When DH discussed this matter with her, she seems interested but she needs to discuss with her husband. Well chances is 80% as her husband is also a kid lover. She even offer to take care of Davian overnight, well this could also solve our problem for staying up late every night!

Thank god for this but I will also get to miss Davian. =(

Mother's Day 2013

 

My first Mother's Day with Davian and 4th year with Mickey! It's a blessing been a mum and the feeling of able to see my lovely two sons growing well and healthy is the best gift ever for myself!

 

 

As usual we celebrated Mother's Day at granny's house and we had potluck high tea!

 

 

Dissapointment ~ solution to who is going to babysit Davian

My cousin has given me hope but tarnish it in the end.

My mum has given us a solution as to deposit my child with my cousin who is staying at Eunos and of cause I need to hire a maid to help take care of Davian. My DH workplace is nearby her house so its convenient for him to pick Davian every evening.  We went up to her house after dinner at my mum's place and to discuss with her if she is comfortable with the idea. She immediately agree to it and surprisingy even suggested to take care of Davian herself and ask us to save on maid as she says maids are usually not trustworthy. We are so delighted and feel so relieved. She didn't even want to accept any money in return and ask us to save it for my kid, after hearing what she had said, I feel so touched.

But at the moment when I'm about to leave the house, she suddenly came up to me and said she need to discuss this matter with her husband first. Suddenly I feel she might have obligation to help out. Not long after I reach home, receive a call from her telling me what her husband had pointed out. As her mum is sick and needs frequent checkup, so It's not convenient to bring Davian out and if she does it will not be too good for Davian as he is still so young. And certain days there might not be anyone at home, so even if we hire maid it may not be safe to leave baby alone with maid, which I agree with her. So the plan to leave my kid with her is not feasible.

Well, hope our problem can be solved before I start work. =(

Who is going to take care of Davian?

Now I'm having a big headache. My maternity leaves has left with only 2 months and till now we still cannot find a solution to who is going to take care of Davian. Initially was thinking of letting my in-law to take care of him, but seems she is not able to cope as she has her own commitment also.

Now I can only think of 2 alternatives which is hiring a maid or taking unpaid leave till Davian turns 11/2 years when he is ready to attend childcare. Both  has its pros and cons but no choice. My DH includes another choice which is finding a nanny nearby. But our biggest problem now is night duty because that is the most tiring part as we both got to work the very next day. That is the reason why I suggested the 2 options. If hiring a maid, it may not be a good option as mentioned by my DH. She got to take care of Davian during the day and night time she got to wake up 2 - 3 times just to feed him, it will be too tiring for her. I have thought of that too, but what other choice do we have? Was thinking if she can help to take care during the weekdays we can take over the weekends so she can rest during the weekends night while we take over.

Well....its really a big problem for us! This problem has been bothering us since when i'm pregnant. DH says taking unpaid leave to take care of Davian will be our very last option.

Davian has turned 2 months old!

 

Time flies and my boy has turned a healthy 2 months old! The greatest achievement for a mum is seeing her child growing well and happy. And yes I am very proud of myself. =)

 

Cure for eczema

Aloe Vera gel acts as a miracle cure for Davian's eczema skin. Initially I thought it has something to do with my diet or his milk formula but it seems to be the environment factor which causes his condition. Partly it is genetic because I have eczema too. Ever since I started to apply aloe vera gel on his face and bathe him with cetaphil, his skin is getting better each day.  =)

As a precaution, I continue to feed him with hypoallergenic formula.

Davian's development update

Milk consumption: Average about 900 ml to 960ml
Poo pattern: 4 times a day
Weight: 4.7kg

Age: 1 month 21 days
Weight increase since birth: 2.25 kg

Lactation Tea

Was given this pack of tea to try, and it really works! I have an increase of 40ml of milk supply for my baby now =)

 

 

 

Useful information for calculating baby's needs

Use the weight of the baby to estimate the amount of breast milk to leave for each feeding. The following example calculates a 12 pound baby's needs

• Round the baby's weight to the nearest half pound (12 pounds).
• Multiply this weight in pounds by 3 (12 x 3 = 36).
• Divide by 8 to get the number of ounces of breast milk to leave for each bottle-feeding (36/8 = 4.5).
• Therefore leave 4-5 ounces of breast milk for each feeding.

Source: http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=429

The stubborn fats that doesn't goes off

After giving birth I have shed a total of 9.7 kg including the weight of baby (2.45kg), placenta and some water weight. The day after delivering my baby i'm still weighing about 56 kg, in about a month time I managed to shed 6 kg off. That could be the wonders of breastfeeding. Though I didn't latch my baby often but pumping milk does help to lost as well. But there is still 4 kg to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Have read some article from the web and get to know that the body has this intelligence to reserve about 10 lbs of  body fat for producing breastmilk incase the body doesn't receive enough nutrients from food. Once wean off, the fats will shed off automatically. True enough, I have 4 kg of fats left to be burned which is equivalent to 10 lbs of fats.

Well hope what I have read is true, otherwise I will be stuck with a buldge tummy and the unsightly weight. Though I hope to lost the extra weights but still I would like to provide the best for my baby. Still pondering if I should continue to breastfeed my baby after 4 month. By that time it will be difficult to deliver breastmilk for my baby as he will be staying with my in-law during the weekdays.

Poo incidence from Davian

Brought Davian out yesterday evening to J8 for shopping and dinner. He always has lots of surprise for us especially during meal time. When I was feeding him at the foodcourt while waiting for dear to buy food back, he actually poo and stain my clothes and it actually drips out to the floor. At that moment I was so helpless as dear was not around and I was frantic looking for tissue to clean myself up. He has not been pooing during the day and this was a great surprise for me. Even the pamper he is wearing is not able to hold the poo as it was too watery.  Luckily dear managed to come back on time and I brought Davian out to change him.

I always thought as long as it is within the capitaland mall, it should be a child friendly place with nursing room facilities. I was so down in luck yesterday when I need one to change him. On the floor where I was, there isn't a toliet and I proceed to the next level down and the nursery room is under renovation...signz! Davian is looking at me guiltily and didn't make much noise, he must have known mummy is angry and anxious at that moment. I proceed to another level down, and finally there is one nursery room available. But to my surprise there isn't a changing table and I got to put him on the basin top to change him. Was looking for tissues in the room but there isn't any. Water filter without water! OMG! I am really dissapointed with the mall facilities.After then I realised they are going through some renovation and the nursery rooms may not be ready for use.

Davian's Drinking and Poo Pattern

Things getting better, started to monitor Davian's drinking and poo pattern and realised he isn't drinking too excessively. As what I have recorded yesterday, he is drinking about 960ml of milk and at his age according to the milk recommendation from the milk formula feeding is about 900ml for a 1 - 2 month old infant. He is drinking more frequent but less quantity which is a good sign as this helps to aid in his digestion.

Since yesterday, he managed to drag from 1 hr to 11/2 hr having 2 1/2 oz of milk (BM + FM). Formula milk doesn't last him longer than he is having breastmilk. This actually allow us to have more time for ourselves especially during a shopping spree.

Today, it is even better. He can drag for about 2 - 3 hrs till the next feeds, and he can sleep longer too! Yeah, time to slightly increase his feed and this will last him longer and he could sleep better too. His poo pattern has also lessen which means his body starts to absorb the nutrients he is taking in.

Time to pamper myself with a gift!

I'm a person who doesn't go for branded but somehow this time I wish to get a branded bag for myself just to reward myself for being a tough mummy these few months. Went shopping at IMM and happened that we came across COACH having a one day sale and I have bought myself this bag below. Nice and handy when shopping with baby. No more carrier bag for me! =)

 

 

Pleasant Surprise from a reader!

When I was queuing for my turn to pay at KKH clinic, a lady beside me was trying to chat with me. But at that moment of time my queue number was called and so I didn't get to chat with her. When I was at the counter she was beside me and she came to say hi to me and asked if i'm " Michiko Yoshikuni", that moment I was quite shocked because that was my blog name! Yeah! She says she has been reading my blog and she finds it inspiring. I was so touched to hear what she had said.

Thanks friend for been a loyal reader and i'm sorry that i didn't have much time to catch up with you and to get your name. You did mentioned to me that you have actually tried the 4th time but not sure if you are doing artificial insemination. But no matter what you have decided to do, all the best to you! Stay positive and continue to perserve to see result. I believe as long as you are determined, god will grant you your wish. =)

If you are still reading my blog, do private message me here and introduce yourself to me. I will be able to help if you need any advice. =)

 

Post delivery checkup with Dr Matthew Lau

Went for my followup review today. Feel a bit excited to be able to see Dr Matthew Lau again. Ever since I started to see him as my gynae, he has became somehow my idol.. haha. Initially when I was attached to him, I was a little sceptical and rejected him. I chose to go for Dr Loh whom everyone says he has a magical hand for baby. But now I see him differently as a gynae, he is so friendly and caring and another compliment about him is he always try to be punctual  for his doctor appointments with his patients. I have never seen a gynae so dedicated to his job and patients and I feel so glad to have him as my gynae. Had wanted to take a picture with him but I dare not request for it..lol. Wanted to show Davian who is the doctor who has successfully helped mummy to conceive him and also deliver him.

We reached the clinic slightly late by 15 mins and not long after heard the announcement that he has a day surgery and will be late for 10mins. But not long after I saw him walking to the clinic with his surgery wear and his assistant was a bit shocked to see him as she has just made the announcement. As I say he always try to be puncture for all his appointments =)

We waited for another 15 mins and its our turn. The 1st thing he is concerned about is my baby, "how's baby?" This is what I like about him, always so caring! The next moment my husband pushed baby in with a stroller and he took a few glance at him. He even encouraged us to try for our 2nd pregnancy naturally as he says though our 1st child is conceived through IVF doesn't mean we are not able to conceive naturally. This is what I am planning for my second child, to conceive naturally. If I decide to go for IVF again, I will definitely go for him! He mentioned my hus sperm in the bank could be extended till we are ready for the next procedure.

He suggested me to do a papsmear test today as I was way overdue for it. Since I have not been doing my checkup for so long, I agreed to do the papsmear test. The next test will be one year later if I intend to continue to do the test at KKH.

Well...in my heart I feel a bit sad though because I can only get to see him 1 year later. Or maybe slightly earlier if I am planning to do another IVF with him =)

Hectic days taking care of Baby Davian

Life has not been easy all these while coping with baby alone at home. He is a light sleeper and drinks frequently once every hour! I never know young infant can drink that much and so frequent and this has made my days during maternity leave a nightmare. Not sure how long I can endure but as days goes by I seem to be able to cope better with sleepless nights and carrying him around throughout the days.

Trying very hard to kick his bad habit especially cradling and it seems to work a little. Try not to carry him immediately when he cries or turn cranky. Leave him crying for awhile before carrying him to calm him down and put him back to sleep again. Try to drag as long as possible before carrying him and hopefully he will forget about it. At least when its time to sleep at night, he is able to fall asleep by himself with a swaddler wrapped around him and with the lights dimmed.  This is some routine I have established and it works!

Sweetest Moments Photogenic Contest

Sad...Davian is not the winner. It's ok, I will take part in such contests for Davian again. Though this time is unintentionally but i'm quite honoured that Davian's photo is selected for the contest. =)

Happy One Month Old!

He is such a darling boy! "Kiss Kiss!"

 



Confinement aunty is leaving! Sob Sob

Aunty is leaving and in my heart I felt so heavy, not sure if I am starting to miss her or is it beacause her stay with us all these while has made me feel so ease? She has been such a great help to me during the past one month and without her I think I am going crazy with my baby and sleepless nights too. Now my night mare starts and here I am facing the reality soon... T_T

Sweetest Moments' Photogenic Baby Contest (March 2013)

Cool! The photo I have submitted for Davian's full month cake was selected for contest. We are one of the 20 finalist of the month "March".

Dear Roxanne,

Congratulations! Baby Davian is one of the 20 finalists in the
"Sweetest Moments' Photogenic Baby Contest (March 2013)! Your little
prince has been selected from numerous beautiful entries by our panel
of judges, and now she stands a chance to win attractive prizes worth
up to $1000.

All finalists will be posted on Sweetest Moments' Facebook page on 1st
April 2013. The most number of "Likes" or votes* will win the top 3
prizes. Voting will start on 1st April 2013 and end on 8thApril 2013
at 5pm. You are encouraged to share the linkhttp://www.facebook.com/Sweetest.Moments.sg/app_292725327421649
on your facebook profile to start your rally for votes now! Get your
friends to spread the news

!

Baby Shower

We woke up early preparing to go my mum's place for some praying ceremony for baby Davian. This is the 1st time I feel so great for been able to go out after a month confinement at home and it is also the 1st time experience going out with baby and hus alone without confinement lady.

Was hoping I could cope with baby throughout the journey to my mum's place and he seems quite peaceful throughout so I am safe till we reach my mum's place. Went through a simple praying session and we brought him back home to prepare him for the party which starts at 11am.

We even decorated the function room with some balloons we have bought and some hanging elements. Not long after the crowds swam in and we are busy entertaining the guest while auntie the confinement lady help to take care of baby Davian. The 1st session was a crowd and food was almost finished, thats great!

The 2nd session started at 5pm and people only starts to come in close to 5 plus to 6pm. The crowd was not as overwhelm as the 1st session. By this time I'm almost shag and tired but still got to perserve.

Overall, our baby shower party was quite a success and was glad  most of our relatives and friends actually turned up.

Not knowing holding a baby shower could actually receive so much ang baos also, and this adds as a pleasant surprise for us!

We are going to piggy bank all this ang baos money into his saving account =)

Davian is going one month soon...

How fast, Davian has almost turned 1 month old and we are celebrating his baby shower slightly  earlier as his actual 1 month falls on a weekday. Wanted to hold the celebration on a weekend but the function room near our block was not available on both days so we have decided on a Good Friday.

We have decided on baby shower cakes from Sweetest Moments and food catering from Ye Lai Xiang.

Sweetest Moments: http://www.sweetestmoments.com.sg/

Looks like most 1st time parent will go for cakes from Sweetest Moments because of their nice packging and price seems reasonable.

Ye Lai Siang Catering: http://www.yehlaisiang.com.sg/

Ye Lai Siang is the caterer we have got for our house warming and it leaves a great impression to my friends and relatives so we decided to cater from them again.

We have spilt the day into 2 sessions, each session accomodating about 60 paxs. Hopefully majority turn up on that day otherwise we will be wasting lots of food and effort.

We have just received our photoshoot photos from our agency and submitted one for his full month cakes. Attached is the one...

Photoshoot from Bambini Photography

MATERNITY SHOTS

 

NEWBORN SHOTS

Gift from God!

I'm really thankful I have made the right choice to go for IVF and god has given me this chance to conceive and gave birth to a beautiful boy =)

Hubby has been the greatest husband and dad all these while...from my pregnancy till my baby was borned. Thanks dear for always been here for me and baby.

We love you!

My labour experience

Today is an excitng day because we are anticipating the arrival of our little baby. Admiting hospital at 1.30am and I was brought to the observation room for my 1st induce. Doctor has sheduled me for 3 times induce so hopefully by the 1st two induce my baby is out.

Waiting...

2nd dose of induce at 10am, 1st round failed as my cervix is not opened. Lying in the observation room for another 2 hours and feeling so uncomfortable as I couldn't move around. Nurses been checking if I need any pain killer as they observed my contraction to be quite close. At this point, I'm still able to bear. So waiting for my cervix to open, and finally its about 1 cm. It's really slow but my contraction is good so somehow I'm quite worried.

Waiting...

3rd dose given at 6pm, cervix still at 1cm opened. Lying in the observation room for another 2 hours and my contraction pain is getting more intensed. A doctor came in to see me and she has given me a disappointing answer that I may not be able to deliver today cos my cervix still remains as 1cm though my contraction is already quite close. I was pushed to the labour ward after 2 hours of waiting.  The time was about 9pm+ and my contraction pain was getting more and more. Hubby has been so supportive and he is always around with me while I was moved around  different rooms.

At about 10pm+, I nearly can't bear with the pain and asked for my 1st dose of pain killer which could only last for 3 hours. After the 1st dose, I slept through and woke up in the middle of night with pain again. I tried using the gas to relieve my pain but it was not working for me. When my contraction gets to every 1-3 mins interval I actually asked for 2nd dose of pain killer. Dr Lau did observe baby's heartbeat dropping and my cervix still at 2cm, so he decides to give more time for the cervix to open  before attempting to do c-sect for me. They provided me with an oxygen mask to keep baby's heartbeat beating at a normal rate.

And finally by the time around 2pm my cervix was 4 cm opened and Dr Lau came in and give instruction to inject the epidural so I can bear the pain till it is 9cm open. Luckily my boy hears me and I could feel him pushing down my cervix, and the nurse checked and she told me she saw my baby's hair. Cool...here is the time, baby is ready to come out soon.

The nurse on duty asked me to practice on how to do pushing so that baby will be ready by the time doctor comes in. Dr Lau came in at about 4.30pm and he checked on me and told me he needs to bring baby out fast as baby's heartbeat keeps on dropping. He will use assisted equipment like forcep to bring baby out. At the point of time, I was pushing without feel as I was on epidural drip and in less then 10 mins with the help of forcep I heard my baby's loud cry.

Finally he is out!

Dear was beside me giving me encouragement and support. He even drop tears when he saw baby out and during the time he was asked to cut the emblical cord.

Baby arrives at 1658 and weighs 2.45 kg.

Looking at baby, I feel everything I have done is worth!

Photos of our little prince after he was borned, and I think he resembles Daddy =)

 

 

Countdown to 5 more days

03.03.13

A Big day for us, our son will arrive and it is going to be a new phase of life for us =)

Having a mixed feeling of stress, tense, excited and happy.

Hope everything runs smoothly for us!