Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Thank you Auntie Faith

Here's the little one wrapped up like a burito in the Miracle Blanket offered to him by my friend Faith.
And here is a look at my chubby baby.

Happy 3rd Birthday Laetitia!

My little girl is three today! We had a weekend of celebration for her. Yesterday we went to Koony Parc with our friends Ivana and Kevin and their little girl, Isabelle. Both the little ones had such a great time and I suppose the parents too. Laetitia is now able to go on the big structure all by herself. At one point we even lost her inside! Well, not really lost lost but rather we could not figure out which part of the structure she was at. Here's some action shots.

Up inside the big structure.


Coming down the slide with Isabelle and Uncle Kevin.


And this morning, right after she got up, it was time to open her presents. First off, the card and present from her grandparents.


Next papa's present.

Tati Manu's presents.

We kept my present for her for tea time as we felt she was overwhelmed with gifts. I got her some puzzles.

And then there is cake time!


Tonight we are having dinner at Jean's as it is also Jacqueline's birthday and tomorrow, she will have another party at the daycare.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Mummy and son

My little boy is becoming rounder by the day. I thought normally breastfeed babies are leaner but this little babe of mine is gaining weight very quickly. I weigh him at home and he is almost 5kgs! Scary! I am developing muscles on the arms from carrying him.

Here's a picture of us together. Doesn't he look very Asian in this photo?I am still rather tired most of the time but luckily aside from that horrible night, the rest of the other nights have been more normal. And by normal, I mean that I only have to wake up around 3 times a night (usually around midnight, 3am and 6am) and each time I'll be up for anything from 30mins to an hour to feed, change and put back to sleep. Last couple of nights, I also had to clear his blocked nose as the poor boy has a little cold.

Since the last post a lot of concerned friends has been asking how I'm doing. Generally I am fine but I think my frustration has to do with not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I do not mean just how much work having a newborn is, this I know will get better just as it did with Laetitia. What I mean is I do not see the light at the end of the tunnel for getting out of this SAHM (stay at home mum) situation. I know some people are saying oh how luckily I am to have a supportive husband and be able to stay home etc but that is if I want to stay home. The thing is, I DO NOT want to stay home anymore. Come on, it's going to be FOUR years of doing that. Enough is enough. Good for you if you want to stay home but I want to work. And not just do a normal boring job, I want to go back to an exciting working life. I want to feel challenged. I want to work my brains and fill them with marketing ideas. I am upset that the darn financial crisis has 'delayed' our plans to leave Paris. And even though the delay is suppose to be for 6 months or slightly more, I dare not put too much thoughts to it in case there are more changes.

I try to tell myself that I am very blessed with two lovely children and yes, they are very precious to me. Laetitia is a wonderful big sister and Loïc is a very adorable baby. I just need a little more balance in my life in terms of something outside of being a mother so that I can be a happier and better mummy to both my darlings.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Newborns are so much work.

Least I forget as time goes by, I shall blog this down. It was a darn tough night yesterday! Now I understand why some women go through postnatal depression or entertain horrible thoughts cos I sure did last night. And if anyone ever say looking after a baby is easy, that's because they failed to remember how hard it was. I am probably one of those. I forgot how it was with Laetitia, but then again, with Laetitia, I had my mum who was here to help. Mum cleaned, cooked all my meals, looked after Laetitia in the day so I can nap as much as possible and took care of me. This time, I decided to do it myself and boy am I in for a shock.

The night commence with the little babe going to sleep at around 9.30pm and me getting into bed at about 10.30pm after a short personal time spent with the hubby. At about 1am, the little one got up and I got him, feed him and changed him. There was some explosive poo and I had to change his clothes as there was an overspill of poo on his clothes etc. The I tried to soothe him back to sleep but the moment I put him down in his bed, he is up again! This went on, and on, and on and on! As the night draws on, I started getting more and more tired plus more and more frustrated. This continued till pass 5am! In between this period, I went from nice, soothing mum who carried and tried to soothe the little babe back into sleepland, to frustrated mum who left her little babe in the car seat in the kitchen to get away from his wailing, to depressed mum who was crying while the babe wailed away, to crazy mum who had dark thoughts of throwing the babe out of the window (obviously did not do that and was shocked at the thought crossing my mind), to helpless mum who tried to just bury herself under the pillows and blanket to block out the sounds of the crying babe etc. I was at my wits end. Finally after another feed at 5am, he felt asleep on the boob and this time, I did not even dare to try putting him down, just left him where he was, on the side of my bed and slept with him that way.

Well, that did not last long, at about 7.30am, he was up AGAIN. So, I fed him, changed him and manged to sleep with him for another 2 hours till 10am before it was over.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it will be better tonight. Oh yes, let me state that I do not do well with lack of sleep. I am one of those people who needs at least 8 proper hours of sleep or else I cannot function properly and I have not been functioning at 100% since the little one was born. I need my sleep! And it is true I do not sleep in much in the day when the babe is sleeping but I need to get things done too. And most afternoons, I try to take the little one out so that he gets some nice fresh air and I get a change of scene too.... so yes, a little self inflicted maybe. Sigh.

Friday, March 20, 2009

One month old!

Loïc is one month old today. Unlike for Laetitia, we are not having the one month old celebration. I am simply too tired to organise a party right now, especially one that requires a lot of cooking. With at least 3 wakings per night, I am not getting much sleep so everything has to be minimised this time.

Little Loïc is growing well. We had the one month check up on Wednesday and everything looks good. We're seeing the same paediatrician as Laetitia saw when she was a newborn, Dr Béatrice DiMascio. One of the reasons I am seeing her again is that she is very good with vaccinations, especially BCG. Plus she is one of the few doctors I know who does the BCG on the underside of the arm which means the scar from the BCG is hardly seen.

During the visit, she checked the following:-

1) Heart/Lungs - Good

2) Throat/Mouth - Good

3) Tummy - There was a lot of air which she said is very usual for babies up to three months. An anti-wind/gas medication is prescribed.

4) Face - Loïc has baby face acne and she prescribed Avene Cicalfate for that.

5) Weight - He is now 4.20kg. He put on 990g from his birth weight of 3.21kg

6) Length - He is now 53.5cm. He grew 3.5cm from his birth length of 50cm

7) Head circumference - His head circumference is now 37cm. His head is bigger by 2cm from his birth measurement of 35cm.

She noticed that his head is a little flat on the right side and asked me if he sleeps a lot on the right (which he does) and told me to try to make sure he does not lie too much on his right side.

I was also told that he is a very alert baby and all is well. :-)

As of now, Loïc can focus on a face/object and follow it, respond to a loud noise by startling/crying/waking up (if he is in REM mode of sleep), smile/laugh spontaneously and grasp my finger tightly. He is also a rather demanding little one, crying angrily when he wants to be feed and is not being carried in time. For the time being, I call him my master since I am at his peck and call. :p

Here's a couple of pics, highly alert baby, angry crying baby and peaceful sleeping babe. And a funny pic with papa.



Sunday, March 15, 2009

Grandparents are here for a visit.

Last week, the grandparents were here for 5 days (6th to 10th) for a visit to see the little one. Here's some pics of them and the babe.


Thursday, March 12, 2009

Gift ideas

As friends and family have asked what they could get as present for his arrival, Here's my wish list for Loïc.

1) Hotsling - Solstice print - US$48

2) Bumbo seat with tray - 59,90€

3) Cale bébe - 27€

4) Miracle blanket - 24,90€

5) Clothes for 3mths old and 6mths old are good too.
The only thing is that they have to be of the right season. I suppose 3mths old clothes should be a little warmer since it is still Spring and the weather will be cooler and 6mths old clothes would be more summery. But since we'll be in Singapore in June for three weeks, some light 3mths old clothes would work too. :p

That's really it. Loïc has quite a lot of hand-me-down toys from Laetitia so on that front, we're very well prepared. And of course with two kids in a smallish apartment, I'm trying to avoid things that takes up too much space.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Slept through the night!

AfterLast night, my little boy slept through the night (at least in my humble opinion for a 2 1/2 weeks old). His last feed at night was around 10:40pm, he probably fell asleep around 11pm and he next woke up around 4am! I had blissful almost 5 hours straight sleep. It was wonderful!

Here's a photo of the sleeping baby.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Lost his umbilical cord stump

Yes, he did. It happened in the middle of the night while I was changing him after a feed. In my drowsiness, I suddenly noticed that the stump was gone and I had no idea where it was. I finally found it inside the diaper. :-) All is fine. :-p