- Today, he turned from 'upward' position to prone position for the first time, as my folks call it 'belajar tengkurap'. I didnt see it though, missed it by 1/2 minute as I was in the kitchen. Bummer :) It was a bit of a cheat since the small cushion below his head probably helped him, but he has been turning sideways quite often lately to start with.
- He is sucking his fingers big time, but the good side of it it seems it has helped him (or me/the caregiver) to occupy himself. Gone is the phase where we had to be with him all the time when he's awake so that he doesnt get bored & starts being cranky :).
- As he gained more control of his limbs & his attention span (? not too sure but i think), he starts to be able to self-soothe himself to sleep. It is still a long way to go, as he has been pretty used swayed in a sling, but yeah we are working on this as we dont want to carry him all the time to make him sleep.
- He is cooing more and more, not only when he is happy (when he is engaged with other people or look at interesting toys), but also when he is calming himself to sleep.
- He is loving swimming. Today hubby said he was totally at ease in the water moving his arms around. This has been his 4th day properly baby-swimming.
- He gets really annoyed by sudden loud voices, like car alarm, speeding motorbike, person suddenly talking to him very loudly. He will shriek suddenly & cries, but quietens quickly too after the sound is gone (& we are there to comfort him).
- He is drinking 120ml per feeding when I'm away, 2 or 3 bottles a day. I'm still experimenting with the bottle volume, trying to increase a bit more especially in the mid morning & late afternoon so he can last a bit longer before I come back home to b/f directly.
- I am very happy that I have been able to pump sufficiently for him and currently my daily pumping volume is more than or at least the same that he needs. This was a big question mark before I started to work, I had a conservative prediction that I would be pumping deficit, as in if he needed 4 bottles a day, I would only be able to pump 3. But thank goodness it is currently all good.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Back to work
It's been 3 days I have gone back to work. Of course I miss him dearly. The first 100 steps out of the house are the heaviest. It's like i'm having the time of my life because of this little man's presence in our house, but yet I am leaving him to do something else. So the first day was the hardest *only for me, and not for him ;) *, I haven't even left my door step and my eyes are red already :).
Anyway, first day didnt turn up to be so hard. Just one hour resting my bum on the office chair, we all ran out of the building 'cause a fire drill was about to start. So there I was back at home from 10.00 am to 2pm to be back with my son :).
It's been 3 days & I have managed to be back at home during lunch break time so that I can breastfeed him directly & of course to see his little blossoming smile & play with him a little bit. Been going to office early (on time) so I can leave on time too. I don't know how long I can keep up doing this, but I will try my hardest to do this as often as I can. Afterall I am gladly doing it.
Ah the joy of motherhood :)
Anyway, first day didnt turn up to be so hard. Just one hour resting my bum on the office chair, we all ran out of the building 'cause a fire drill was about to start. So there I was back at home from 10.00 am to 2pm to be back with my son :).
It's been 3 days & I have managed to be back at home during lunch break time so that I can breastfeed him directly & of course to see his little blossoming smile & play with him a little bit. Been going to office early (on time) so I can leave on time too. I don't know how long I can keep up doing this, but I will try my hardest to do this as often as I can. Afterall I am gladly doing it.
Ah the joy of motherhood :)
Sunday, November 06, 2011
First Travel Trip
Hello! We just came back from a balik-kampung trip to Jakarta & Yogyakarta, me & Adam :) . I must say Adam behaved really well during the travelling time. Phew! He slept easily on train rides & plane flights. Must be the bouncing feel of the train tracks & the zero noise effects on the plane.
This is what I did to prepare for the trip:
- the night before, i didnt do full pumping, so i have extra gush flow in the first half of the day in case A gets cranky.
- minimize hand carry bag weight. Put most things in the checked-in baggage. forego the idea of bringing a stroller along as he can still be cranky on stroller anyway, but is most comfortable when held close, so a sling is the most efficient choice in carrying him (Tested in duo trips to local neighbourhoods).
- ordered the KLIA limousine-train-VIP service to ensure i have someone else carry my baggage till fully check-in while i concentrate fully on carrying & holding A. (Since A cannot hold his head upright yet by himself, sometimes i need one hand holding his neck & the other holding his torso or free to pull out wallet etc from my bag).
- Made my maid stay back with me all the way till i'm in the cab which picked me up in the condo.
- thank goodness i brought a copy of A's birth cert in Malaysia. Eventhough his passport already said he's born here & that's obviously why his passport is still blank from any immigration chop, I still get questions by the young immigration officer. So the malaysian sijil copy helped to prove the case.
- The only 2 times Adam let out a sharp cry was when i was standing still too long waiting on the check in desk & the immigration desk. Rocking motions quickly calmed him down in less than 10secs (and also helped rushed the officers in charge to process my forms faster ;p ).
- Noticed that A slept back when we boarded the sattelite train between the airport 2 terminals. So i decided to hang around longer inside the back-and-forth train for 30mins instead of the 3 mins trip :). Yap and he slept like a baby (notice the pun?). So all i had left was 20mins in the boarding lounge which was spent nursing him and once on the plane, i spent 10-15mins cuddling him before he falls asleep again for most of the flight time :)
- Garuda gave me first row seat & priority baggage queue, so the arrival process was done quickly. The jakarta immigration officer also escorted me to the diplomatic immigration counter to avoid the usual long queing :) Happy me & Adam :)
- Quick nappy change in the airport & quick cuddling on the nappy room mat (since he loves being put freely on a mat once he's full & awake) before picking up the baggage & meet my parents outside the airport :)
- He got a bit cranky towards the last 30mins of the taxi trip to home, that i'm not surprised, after all who can bear the traffic madness of Jakarta. But of course, to all his crankiness, breastfeeding is a simple quick solution :)
Ok, so the travelling was smooth! Before I decided I would go for the trip duo with A (Hubby is on a long stretch of offshore assignment), I had 2 concerns..:
1. will i be able to keep up on pumping breastmilk for stock up purpose
2. i need A to get increasingly familiar with bottle feeding & needs training for this!
Well, the first few days in Jakarta, the 2 things above did not go very well. I kind of discounted the fact of how much help I have been getting in KL with my maid's presence. My parents are not exactly the baby-wearers type who willingly or have the strength to carry a 3m baby for long minutes. And A does not take day naps unless he is swayed & he usually needs at least 15-20mins of being carried before falling asleep! so there i go, handling Adam all day & just hoping the 6pm time will come soon enough, as beyond that he starts deep sleeping & does not need the cradling anymore. So yes, i was exhausted :p taking care of him. First few nights i opted for longer sleeps rather than extra awake time for pumping.
And then on the bottle training, mum was eager to give him bottle at the beginning, but i knew that A preferring milk way better on breast than bottle, will still be cranky after feeding from bottle & will need swaying again to soothe him (This is my maid's trick which is working better & better every day). So after I had a few bottle of stocks, she tried once & found it very hard to soothe Adam after that... so i told myself i will not ask my mum to bottlefeed him again unless she volunteered (which she never did after that ;p ). However, i dont blame my mum, her joints are not strong to withstand this kind of 'exercise'.
After a few days & with some hints here & there, i think my parents saw that i was getting too exhausted, they start to get more involved in handling A, at least when he's not so cranky :p so i have more time to rest. I was quite amazed & impressed by Dad who then handled baby A at his crankiest time of the day (always on the late afternoon) & patiently tried to soothe him (without rocking that is) for at least 1 hour in my 3 days in Jogja. So with this extra help, i was able to be on track again for pumping. Well for bottle training, let's just get back to KL and restart again with my maid. Finger crossed it will be ok.. anyway it's not like we have a choice, he will have to drink from it once i get back to work ... er... in 10 days time from now.. comfort or not comfort now, but he will adapt sooner or later.
So here i am tonight, with Adam peacefully asleep since 9 pm, my mum n my maid each also sleeping in their own room, and I was able to play 'the sims' on the net for 1 hour + ;p. Welcome home to us & cheers to the back-to-daily-routine!
This is what I did to prepare for the trip:
- the night before, i didnt do full pumping, so i have extra gush flow in the first half of the day in case A gets cranky.
- minimize hand carry bag weight. Put most things in the checked-in baggage. forego the idea of bringing a stroller along as he can still be cranky on stroller anyway, but is most comfortable when held close, so a sling is the most efficient choice in carrying him (Tested in duo trips to local neighbourhoods).
- ordered the KLIA limousine-train-VIP service to ensure i have someone else carry my baggage till fully check-in while i concentrate fully on carrying & holding A. (Since A cannot hold his head upright yet by himself, sometimes i need one hand holding his neck & the other holding his torso or free to pull out wallet etc from my bag).
- Made my maid stay back with me all the way till i'm in the cab which picked me up in the condo.
- thank goodness i brought a copy of A's birth cert in Malaysia. Eventhough his passport already said he's born here & that's obviously why his passport is still blank from any immigration chop, I still get questions by the young immigration officer. So the malaysian sijil copy helped to prove the case.
- The only 2 times Adam let out a sharp cry was when i was standing still too long waiting on the check in desk & the immigration desk. Rocking motions quickly calmed him down in less than 10secs (and also helped rushed the officers in charge to process my forms faster ;p ).
- Noticed that A slept back when we boarded the sattelite train between the airport 2 terminals. So i decided to hang around longer inside the back-and-forth train for 30mins instead of the 3 mins trip :). Yap and he slept like a baby (notice the pun?). So all i had left was 20mins in the boarding lounge which was spent nursing him and once on the plane, i spent 10-15mins cuddling him before he falls asleep again for most of the flight time :)
- Garuda gave me first row seat & priority baggage queue, so the arrival process was done quickly. The jakarta immigration officer also escorted me to the diplomatic immigration counter to avoid the usual long queing :) Happy me & Adam :)
- Quick nappy change in the airport & quick cuddling on the nappy room mat (since he loves being put freely on a mat once he's full & awake) before picking up the baggage & meet my parents outside the airport :)
- He got a bit cranky towards the last 30mins of the taxi trip to home, that i'm not surprised, after all who can bear the traffic madness of Jakarta. But of course, to all his crankiness, breastfeeding is a simple quick solution :)
Ok, so the travelling was smooth! Before I decided I would go for the trip duo with A (Hubby is on a long stretch of offshore assignment), I had 2 concerns..:
1. will i be able to keep up on pumping breastmilk for stock up purpose
2. i need A to get increasingly familiar with bottle feeding & needs training for this!
Well, the first few days in Jakarta, the 2 things above did not go very well. I kind of discounted the fact of how much help I have been getting in KL with my maid's presence. My parents are not exactly the baby-wearers type who willingly or have the strength to carry a 3m baby for long minutes. And A does not take day naps unless he is swayed & he usually needs at least 15-20mins of being carried before falling asleep! so there i go, handling Adam all day & just hoping the 6pm time will come soon enough, as beyond that he starts deep sleeping & does not need the cradling anymore. So yes, i was exhausted :p taking care of him. First few nights i opted for longer sleeps rather than extra awake time for pumping.
And then on the bottle training, mum was eager to give him bottle at the beginning, but i knew that A preferring milk way better on breast than bottle, will still be cranky after feeding from bottle & will need swaying again to soothe him (This is my maid's trick which is working better & better every day). So after I had a few bottle of stocks, she tried once & found it very hard to soothe Adam after that... so i told myself i will not ask my mum to bottlefeed him again unless she volunteered (which she never did after that ;p ). However, i dont blame my mum, her joints are not strong to withstand this kind of 'exercise'.
After a few days & with some hints here & there, i think my parents saw that i was getting too exhausted, they start to get more involved in handling A, at least when he's not so cranky :p so i have more time to rest. I was quite amazed & impressed by Dad who then handled baby A at his crankiest time of the day (always on the late afternoon) & patiently tried to soothe him (without rocking that is) for at least 1 hour in my 3 days in Jogja. So with this extra help, i was able to be on track again for pumping. Well for bottle training, let's just get back to KL and restart again with my maid. Finger crossed it will be ok.. anyway it's not like we have a choice, he will have to drink from it once i get back to work ... er... in 10 days time from now.. comfort or not comfort now, but he will adapt sooner or later.
So here i am tonight, with Adam peacefully asleep since 9 pm, my mum n my maid each also sleeping in their own room, and I was able to play 'the sims' on the net for 1 hour + ;p. Welcome home to us & cheers to the back-to-daily-routine!
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Bouncer testing
On a shopping trip, we dropped by at the local toy store & made Adam try the bouncer. Here is his reaction
1. Blank look, not aware yet what's going on & why mummy put him down from the sling (yes, i do carry him in a sling when i travel solo)
2. Three secs later, starts to look around & notice what's surrounding him.
3. And then glimpse of smile start to appear & became a greater grin (which i didnt snap as I was then giggling with him :) )
Ow the thing with these baby toys...
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