27 December 2005, Tue

Baby did a scary thing today. She managed to stand up on her high chair! I decided to tighten the seat belt and hopefully this will prevent her from doing any gymnastics on the high chair.

Baby now knows how to use her teeth to eat food… I think. I gave her a slice of apple to suck and she managed to scrape off some apple bits with her two cute teeth.

Baby loves to stand up. Sri said that whenever she wakes up, she would immediately stand up holding on to the higher bed. True enough, when Baby woke up crying at about 10pm, Daddy went to check on her and found her already standing up on the bed. Guess we’ll have to watch her even more closely now.

25 December 2005, Sun

It’s Xmas! Baby was up very early today. And Baby loved to listen to us sing Xmas songs and also delighted in dancing and swinging to the music.

We took turns to open our presents, starting with Baby. She was so excited, she was jumping up and down! First, she opened (or rather I opened) the box with the big teddy bear and she was very happy with it. Next, she opened the stack toy and promptly forgot about the teddy bear. :)

24 December 2005, Sat

It’s Xmas Eve! And Baby seemed to know that it was a special occasion. We went to Yong Peng’s house party at night and Baby was very happy and sociable. She enjoyed crawling around the house and had big smiles for everyone. Of course, she had the biggest smiles for those who gave her presents. :) She was very bright and active even up to 9pm, when I had to take her home to put her to bed.

19 December 2005, Mon

Baby is starting to have a mind of her own. Once she has her mind set on something – like grabbing the remote control or messing up the newspapers – she will be very determined, and the only way to avoid a teary protest is to distract her with something else.

She’s also found that she can make her dislikes known. I was at the PC while Sri was cleaning the house. I placed Baby in the high chair next to me. For a while she was happy to sit in her high chair playing with the string of soft toys which we usually tie to the chair. But she soon got bored and started grumbling. I found a ball and let her play with it. But she delighted in throwing it onto the floor and then leaning over the chair to look for it. Each time I picked it up, she would throw it again. This happened more than 10 times. I started to worry that bending over to pick it up might aggravate my tail bone fracture, so I said “no more” to Baby. She quickly became upset and started crying until I picked her up.

When Sri started vacuuming, Baby heard the noise and the busybody in her had to go out to take a look. I didn’t want to walk and carry her because of my back so I told her that Auntie Sri was vacuuming the house. But Baby really wanted to go and take a look and started struggling and crying while trying to look out the door. I had to carry her out and she was happy to finally see the source of the noise.

Sri said that Baby is getting naughtier and she now knows how to complain about things. :)

18 December 2005, Sun

Baby was baptised today. And so she now has her own church certificate bearing her own name! We brought her up on stage for the baptism ceremony. There were two other kids and one baby to be baptised today. During the ceremony, Baby kept talking and making sounds like she was singing. And when Pastor Peter asked her questions, she went “ag ag” like she understood. :)

16 December 2005, Sat

Daddy and I went to watch King Kong today. Daddy called home to see if we needed to buy anything for Baby, and asked Baby if she wanted papaya or banana. Her response was “na na”. :)

Baby can now easily pull herself to standing in the playpen. She still hates to be left alone but will happily play on her own for a few – and only a few – minutes if she has enough toys to distract her.

11 December 2005, Sun

Baby can sit up on her own now! She has been trying for a while, but today she finally found a way to push herself up to a sitting position. And she looked so proud. :)

She is also trying to push herself to a standing position without holding onto anything. But at the moment all she can manage is the downward facing dog. Is our little girl already starting yoga? :)

9 December 2005, Fri

Went to see an orthopaedic as my back and wrist were still hurting. Had an x-ray and found that I had broken my tailbone. Doc said it would take 2 to 3 months to heal. Looks like no golf for a few months. But more depressing is the fact that I won’t be able to hold or carry Baby for a while. Bummer.

5 December 2005, Mon

Took Baby out shopping today. Baby still has a stuffy nose but is otherwise happy and active as usual. Met up with Szeto, Baby Jonathan and Liz for lunch. Baby kissed Jonathan, or more accurately, licked his face… I guess that makes it her first kiss. :)

Baby now enjoys pulling herself up onto anything and everything. If she’s sitting next to you, she’d grab your shirt and pull herself to standing. When she’s seated in her rocker, she would also try to pull herself up. And even in her high chair, she would grab the tray table and try to pull herself up. Our baby is really getting stronger!

Baby can also crawl forward now. She probably wouldn’t win any baby crawling race ‘cos hers is a low army crawl, but it certainly is an exciting milestone!

1 December 2005, Thu

Had to go to work in the morning. Baby seemed ok, just running a slight fever of 38. But her appetite has been bad and she only takes a few spoonfuls of porridge or cereal.

At night, she could lie down on her bed to sleep, but woke up four or five times crying.

30 November 2005, Wed

Baby’s running a fever, and has a running nose. Took her to NUH and her fever was 38.9. Doc said she probably caught a bug from her cousin since Baby didn’t go out last weekend and Tessa who was sniffling had come over to visit.

Baby hated the medicine but because her fever went up to 39, I had to force her to take it. She struggled so hard, she knocked the syringe onto the floor. What a mess.

At night, her fever subsided but she couldn’t sleep, and Sri had to carry her the whole night.

23 November 2005, Wed

Had a bad fall today. :( Fell down the stairs at the office and hurt my tailbone and bum.

Back home, Sri placed Baby in the cot sitting up while she helped me apply a plaster. To our surprise, Baby grabbed two bars and pulled herself up to standing! Baby’s really getting stronger and we’ll have to watch her even closer now. :)

20 November 2005, Sun

Baby fell off her bed today. I felt like a totally horrible mother when it happened. I had placed Baby on her bed and wanted to push the lower bunk out. As usual, Baby lunged forward and toppled off the bed, hitting her cheek on the stool that was on the floor. She screamed and screamed in pain. I rushed to pick her up, petrified that I may have caused a serious injury out of sheer carelessness.

How could I have allowed her to sit on the bed alone? I should have known that she has become very fast, very strong and even though I was just behind her, it was too dangerous and I should have let her lie down instead of sitting up. I would never have forgiven myself if anything had happened to her.

Thank God, apart from a sizeable bruise on her cheek, she appeared to be ok. After crying for a long while, she settled down and after dinner, was back to her talkative self. Dear Lord, thank you for looking out for our Baby Annette. Please keep her safe and healthy. Please also guide me and Jonas so that we can protect her, provide for her and above all, be good parents. Amen.

17 November 2005, Thu

Baby’s first tooth is getting longer and has almost fully sprouted. We can also see more of her second tooth. Sri said that Baby’s upper teeth may appear soon as her gum is a little red. Can’t wait!

12 November 2005, Sat

Baby has graduated to the long bath! She was apprehensive at first, and cried a little when I put her into the water. But she soon warmed up to it and started splashing the water gleefully.

We put up the Xmas tree and other Xmas paraphernalia today. Baby loved to look at the Xmas lights but was scared of the dancing Santa. Guess she still doesn’t know that that’s the man who gives little children presents. :)

Baby loves to pull herself to stand. Every time I hold her hands to pull her to sit up, she would want to stand up right away! And the cute thing is Baby thinks she’s really steady now and would let go of my hands once she’s standing upright. Of course, she sways and tumbles, but it’s adorable to see her so proud of herself!

Baby got her first bruise today. Thank God it’s a really minor one. She likes playing with the Barney phone and as with all other things, she likes to swing it around, and quite violently too. :) So today, Baby somehow managed to swing it into her own face, and gave her cheek a shiner. She screamed in pain for a while but recovered after a while. Hope she learns to control her own actions a little better.

6 November 2005, Sun

Baby joined her first Sunday school class today. There was 22-month-old Alyssa, 20-something month Leia, 11-month Lucas, and 20-something month Ashley. They sang songs, played games and made a paper butterfly. Baby was friendly and curious, and wasn’t afraid of the big people, even when they talked to her. :)

In the afternoon, we took Baby for swimming pool attempt no. 2. She took one look at the float and started crying. Maybe the float with clear plastic sections reminded her of the shower cap monster. The cold water could have also aggravated the situation. In any case, she kept crying every time we tried bringing her into the water. Even when Sri took her for a walk around her pool, she looked sullen and angry, and did not smile even when we sang songs and made silly faces. And she refused Mummy like she was angry with me! She remained sulky until she woke up after her nap. Guess we’ll have to put off any swimming pool attempts until she forgets the trauma.

Baby’s second tooth is starting to sprout. We can see a sliver of enamel on her gum. Her first tooth is coming out a little more too, but not fully sprouted yet. Really cute!

5 November 2005, Sat

Today’s the day we’ve set aside to introduce Baby to the swimming pool. I had already bought her a cute bikini last week. The plan was to bring her to the pool at about 9am, spend about half an hour there, then bring her back home in time for her 9.30am bath and 10.00am milk.

Baby’s first swim lasted all of 2 minutes. She didn’t like it at all. Maybe the water was too cold.
At night, Daddy and Mommy bought a fancy float with a canopy for Baby. Hopefully she’ll find this interesting enough to venture into the water.

24 October 2005, Mon

Baby’s first tooth has sprouted! You can just see a white line on her lower gum. Over the last few days, I could feel the sharp edge of one tooth when I massaged her lower gum but could not actually see her tooth. Today, I saw finally her one little tooth. :)

Put the shower cap on Daddy to test Baby’s reaction. She again cried. Tried a second time and she also cried. Looks like she really hates the shower cap. :)

On leave today, so I took Baby out shopping. And I went to buy the Baby Signs book. Hopefully, Baby will pick up signing soon so she will be able to “talk” to us. Also bought teats for 6m+. Never knew they existed. Baby’s appetite hasn’t been good lately and sometimes she seems to be unable to get much milk despite sucking the bottle for a while. Hopefully, Baby will be able to drink her milk better with these teats.

23 October 2005, Sun

After bullying Daddy last night, Baby decided she would be content to sleep through the night. She only started stirring and whimpering at 6am. Told Daddy to leave her alone and true enough, she went back to sleep after a while. Our strategy now is to ignore her if she’s merely whimpering.

22 October 2005, Sat

Out playing mj tonight at Share Lin’s home. And Daddy had to babysit. Baby’s been behaving quite well at night, sleeping through the night most of the time, only occasionally whimpering towards the morning. But tonight, Baby decided to bully Daddy big time! First, she woke up at 1am to poop. Then, because Daddy had to switch on the lights to clean her up, she became wide awake and did not go to sleep till 4am. Thankfully, everything was settled by the time I got home. :)

21 October 2005, Fri

On leave today. In the morning, I decided to give myself a hair mask. After I applied the cream and put on a shower cap, I went to look for Baby to play with her. Baby took one look at me and did her u-turn lips to signal her displeasure… or was it fear? When I continued to talk to her, the waterworks started. Baby’s terrified of the shower cap! :)

12 October 2005, Wed

With all that exercise last night, Baby must have been really tired. She only started whimpering at 6am. So both Daddy and I had a reasonably good sleep last night. And when we left the home at 8am, she was still sleeping! She usually wakes up between 7 and 730am.

11 October 2005, Tue

Baby woke up 5 times over the night. I am so exhausted. Got to find a way to let her sleep better.

At night, Baby is really active and kept rolling about. She can now roll both ways easily. And she also raised her bum while on her tummy a few times! Baby’s getting stronger!

10 October 2005, Mon

Went to Ikea to get a new high chair for Baby ‘cos the one at home is warm and does not allow her to swing her legs as she likes.

9 October 2005, Sun

We went to Jumbo at East Coast to celebrate Sri’s birthday. Baby seemed to like watching the waves coming to shore. That night, Baby slept through for the first time in a number of weeks. Was it the waves?

5 October 2005, Wed

While playing with Baby as usual before her last feed, Baby managed to lift her bum a little and sort of prop her behind up on her knees, almost like being on all fours. Sri said she started doing that in the afternoon. Amazing!

4 October 2005, Tue

At night, Sri held Baby’s hands and got Baby to take a few steps. Baby loved it! :)

Baby really enjoys squealing now. She’s especially chatty when we let her sit at the dinner table with us while we have our dinner.

2 October 2005, Sun

Took Baby out to church. We missed a kid’s party ‘cos we didn’t know babies could go. Next time, Baby will definitely join all the church parties!

Baby is really getting stronger. She can pull herself to sit upright even in her stroller. Got to keep a close watch on her now. :)

29 September 2005, Thu

Baby’s getting really strong! She can pull herself to sit upright in the high chair. Must go buy a proper high chair with the shelf table since she prefers to sit upright and swing her legs.

Annette Baby is a really active girl! She woke up at 5am wanting to play! :) At first, I was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t wake up wailing as she usually does when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Instead, she was talking (or singing?) to herself, and was all smiles when I went to her cot. And when I whispered to her that it was still too early, she giggled and kicked energetically. After my patting failed to work, I brought her to bed with me (since Daddy was away) and tried to set a good example by closing my eyes. She then started to touch my face and hit my face with her cute little hands. And when I opened my eyes, she went into a fit of giggles. She finally settled down to sleep only at 6am. Sigh… I was really tired but she’s so adorable. Well, should have been prepared for it since she was already in a giggly and squealing mood last night.

Baby is a real gourmet. She takes 45 minutes and sometimes up to one hour to finish her cereal. :) When we first introduced cereal, she could finish her meals in 15 to 30 minutes but I guess now she’s more easily distracted. Plus, she loves to talk, so the food she hasn’t swallowed will spill out. And she’s taken to blowing bubbles even during meals, so it’s one big mess during meal times.

Oh well, she’s always been a gourmet. Even as a nursing baby, she would take a quick 5 minute appetiser, followed by a 5 minute catnap, then continue onto the main course for another 10 minutes, then nap again, carrying this routine through 4 or 5 courses. Which meant that she could take up to an hour to finish one feed. :)

And now, she prefers to take her milk or cereal in air-conditioned comfort, and slowly take her time to finish her meal. :)

26 September 2005, Mon

Baby’s starting to wake up at night again. Last week, she started waking up just once, and then it progressed to two to three times. Sometimes, she doesn’t really wake, but she simply whimpers and kicks about in her sleep. To help her settle back to sleep without fully waking, we have no choice but to pat her till she falls asleep again. Sometimes, she wakes up wailing loudly and we have to carry her and rock and pat her till she falls sleep. Hmmm… are we spoiling her?

Last night was really bad. She woke up at 1am, 3am and 5.30am. Except for the 3am wake-up call, I had to carry her and rock and pat her to sleep the other two times. Daddy and I now take turns to tend to her at night and unfortunately, it was my turn last night. I am so exhausted I have to take the afternoon off. :(

18 September 2005, Sun

Baby now has a wide vocabulary. :) She is able to say “ma”, “pa”, “wa”, “wee” and more. In fact, she has become very talkative, especially when she’s sitting in her high chair and watching us have our meals at the dining table. So our meals and dinner conversations are now always interrupted by her constant jabbering. :) Guess she also wants to participate in the dinner conversations between Daddy and Mummy.

16 September 2005, Fri

Took Baby to attend Grandma’s birthday. She cried when my Dad talked to her, cried when she saw Grandma, cried when she saw Mee Lian… basically she cried at the sight of any “big and old people”, except for kids and youthful looking adults...

15 September 2005, Thu

Baby said “mama” for the first time! She probably didn’t know what she was saying and definitely didn’t realise mummy’s excitement wasn’t due to her usual bouncing about. J

13 September 2005, Tue

Took Baby out for lunch today as Daddy and I had taken leave to see the ophthalmologist. Bought her first pretty hair clips from Zara. :)

At lunch, Baby objected to sitting in the pram to have her cereal. She wanted to see more of the world around her. :) So we decided to put her in a plastic high chair for the first time! She loved it as she got to bounce on the chair (which was actually a bad idea) and swing her legs. Not surprisingly, she vomited most of her lunch.

11 September 2005, Sun

Baby sometimes poops two or three times a day, a piece at a time! When I asked Sri what the poo was like, she said it was like a sotong ball. :)

6 September 2005, Tue

At dinner, Baby said “ga”! Her first consonant! :)

And Baby’s getting quite good at breakdancing. :) She loves rolling onto her tummy and then using her arms and knees, move herself around the bed to get her toys. And she seems to enjoy moving around in circles, and quite fast too.

31 August 2005, Wed

Baby can crawl! Well, sort of. She can wriggle backwards, but not forwards. :)

Baby’s hair is now pretty much flat, except in the mornings. I miss her cute stand-up no-gel-needed hairstyle. :)

30 August 2005, Tue

Seems Baby loves her new 4 inch thick and firmer mattress. This morning, she was more active than usual when she woke up in her cot. She was trying to roll about and managed to move herself into a different position. She was also tugging at the bumpers. Guess the saggy old mattress didn’t provide her with a conducive enough environment to move herself about. :) Pity the cot is too small for her to actually roll about.

29 August 2005, Mon

Collected the new mattress today. Now Baby has a thicker and firmer mattress!

Sri said she offered Baby the bottled pear today and she was okay with it.

At night, Daddy let Baby lick the apple he was eating. She really enjoyed it and kept licking the apple. :)

Decided to put aside her 6-9 months pyjamas ‘cos they are getting a bit snug in the feet. Baby’s getting taller! And her 6-9 months PJs don’t give her enough room for her usual energetic kicks.

23 August 2005, Tue

In the morning, Baby does her usual stand-up dump again. So cute!

It’s been three nights since she started sleeping with Sri. Sri says that Baby tends to wake up at 5 or 6am. Hmmm, I’d better bring Baby back into our room. Don’t want Sri to spoil her and definitely don’t want Baby to get even closer to her.

22 August 2005, Mon

Took our first family portrait today at Peter Pan. Baby looked so serious until I sang Postman Pat to her. :)

Lunch at Straits Kitchen. After her cereal, she pushed herself to standing position, stuck her bum out and went “umm, umm”. Baby’s taking a poop!

At the clinic, Baby cried when Prof Joseph started talking to us. She’s terrified of him! She cried and screamed even more when he examined her. Her heart-wrenching sobs were so loud!
Sigh. So what they say about babies becoming wary of strangers is true. This is the third person Baby appears to be frightened of, after dad-in-law and grandma. If you want to know whether you look old and wrinkled, just talk to our Baby. If she smiles at you, you are cute. If she cries, you are old and wrinkled. If she’s quiet and serious, you’re borderline. :)

20 August 2005, Sat

It’s Mummy’s birthday! We planned to go for a nice dinner at Gordon’s Grill, and Thumper after. Since we’d be home late, we decided to move Baby’s cot to her room so that Sri could sleep with her.

Developed stomach flu in the afternoon. Bummer. High fever of 38.7 deg. L Decided that Baby should continue sleeping with Sri so that I don’t pass any bugs to her.

Baby has started pooping in pieces instead of her usual mustard coloured paste. She’s a little girl now! Makes it easier to clean her up too. :)

19 August 2005, Fri

Baby is 6 months old! It’s amazing how much she’s grown and developed these past 6 months. She’s so much more steady and curious.

Baby hates the Gerber banana food. In fact she gagged when Sri fed it to her. She also hated the Wheat & Milk with Camomile & Orange Blossom. Well, I guess Baby hates sweet foods. Not a bad thing I suppose.

9 August 2005, Tue

Daddy put Baby on his chest and she could push herself up off his chest! Baby’s getting stronger everyday!

8 August 2005, Mon

I fed Baby her cereal today. She kept trying to hold the spoon and feed herself. So adorable! Of course, she missed most of the time. And it was really messy as she sometimes grabbed the spoon itself instead of the handle and got cereal all over her hands. :)

I’m still producing milk! Really amazing. Felt an urge to nurse her but guess it won’t be a good idea.

At night, the girls took me out to dinner and karaoke. Got home at 3 am. My first late night out since Baby’s arrival.

3 August 2005, Wed

Baby’s got a new toy today! Bought the really expensive Leap Frog activity centre (cost us $200 after a 20% discount!) last night and set it up for our little princess.

We needn’t have worried over whether we’d end up wasting the money. She loved it from the start. She kept smiling every time she hit the piano keys, and she seemed to be quite fascinated with the jukebox and the disco ball. At lunch, Sri said that she loved playing with it so much that she didn’t nap in the morning. I’m going to call this new toy Baby’s Disco. :)

26 July 2005, Tue

At night, I felt my breast were a bit heavy and so I squeezed them a little. I was surprised to see a few drops of milk coming out, both thin and creamy. Amazing I’m still producing milk!

25 July 2005, Mon

Sri said that Baby could roll over without her arm getting stuck and that she could also roll over completely on her own!

24 July 2005, Sun

Baby managed to roll over without her arm getting stuck! She enjoyed it so much that a little nudge was all it took to get her to roll over. But she vomited big time after that. Bummer.

18 July 2005, Mon

Baby had her 3rd 5-in-one jab today. Had a bit of fever and a slight loss of appetite but was otherwise ok. Decided to give her cereal daily from now onwards. Doc said not to use the sippy cup if she has difficulty with the spoon; to focus on the spoon first as that is more important.

14 July 2005, Thu

Surprisingly, when I carried Baby to Sri in the morning, milk leaked out of my breasts. Hmmm… should I try to restart nursing? Better not. Don’t want her to get confused or go on bottle strike again.

For the first time at work, I felt like I missed Baby so badly. In the morning at my desk, I kept thinking of her smile and how she would kick her legs and flap her arms in excitement every time I came home. I couldn’t wait to see her at lunch. :)

11 July 2005, Mon

On leave today. Decided to bring Baby’s high chair to the dining table. Now she’s got her very own VIP seat at the table!

Baby’s drooling quite a lot at times. Daddy nicknamed her Nancy Drool. :)

9 July 2005, Sat

Baby’s car seat was delivered today. Now she’s going to have her very own VIP seat in our car!

5 July 2005, Tue

Baby woke up at 5.30am today. Tried to feed her but she only drank 10ml and was only interested in watching hubby get ready for his trip to Jakarta. After he left, Baby managed to go back to sleep after some tossing and turning. But I found it difficult to go back to sleep.

Have been squeezing just a few drops of milk everyday to just avoid engorgement. Amazing how the breasts can continue to produce milk for so long even without feeding or pumping.

At night, I decided to reposition Baby’s changing pad as she’s getting quite tall and her feet hit the sides of the change table when she does her usual energetic leg thumping.

4 July 2005, Mon

Baby’s good appetite is gone. :( Only drank 700+ a day since Saturday.

Two milestones today. Baby has started on a sippy cup! I gave her the spout for 3m+ and she was able to hold the handles with her two tiny hands. Only thing was she had trouble with her aim and almost poked her eye with the spout. Of course, not all the water went into her tiny mouth and her shirt was soon soaked. :)

I also gave Baby her first taste of cereal today. I mixed about 1 tsp of Heinz cereal with 40ml of formula and tried to feed her with a spoon. Sri took over and Baby managed to take a few little spoonfuls of the mixture, though her tongue was pushing it out most of the time.

2 July 2005, Sat

Period came today. Bummer! Only consolation is that it’s not as heavy and painful as before. Still need to go to the loo every 3 hours and still feel a dull pain. But infinitely better than going to the loo every 1-2 hours even with tampon, and suffering a dull pain even while on Synflex.

1 July 2005, Fri

Baby finished 1020ml today, a record high! Breasts lumpy again. Should I pump? But if I do, when will it stop? Decided to just squeeze the milk out and got 20ml to put into the freezer.

29 June 2005, Wed

Breasts now feel quite lumpy ‘cos I haven’t pumped since Mon. Decided to pump just a little. Put 20ml in the freezer.

28 June 2005, Tue

Running a fever of 37.9 deg C today. Some throat infection. Got so tired that I didn’t pump at all. First time!

23 June 2005, Thu

Since Monday, Baby has been sleeping through the night, tossing and turning only at about 4 to 5am, but each time she managed to settle back into quiet sleep. If all goes well, I will be able to wean her off completely soon. Daddy is away though since Wednesday till Friday. If she does wake up again in the middle of the night, I would have to go back to breastfeeding her as I wouldn’t want to have to fight with her over the bottle...

22 June 2005, Wed

Baby again rolled over from front to back today. And this time she managed (well, almost) to push herself up so that her left arm did not get stuck like the last time. She looked quite proud of herself. :)

She finished 880ml of milk today too, a new record!

20 June 2005, Mon

At about 4.30pm, Baby started rousing from her sleep and I was in two minds over whether I should breastfeed her or not. Before I could decide, she went back to sleep. At 6.30am when she woke up again, I decided to breastfeed her. It was a great feeling.

In the afternoon, Baby rolled over from front to back today, for the very first time! She kind of got stuck three-quarters of the way and I had to help her through, but it’s a major milestone! Only thing was she regurgitated some of her lunch during the effort…

19 June 2005, Sun

At about 5am, Baby woke up again as usual. Once again, Daddy gave her the bottle but she only drank 50ml before pushing it away. Again, she kept staring at me, and I felt so guilty.

18 June 2005, Sat

Today’s D-day, the day I am going to stop breastfeeding her completely.

It’s 4.30am and as usual, Baby woke up for her late night feed. As planned, I made 90ml formula and Daddy gave her the bottle. But she drank only a little (30ml) and started to push the bottle away. And she kept staring at me and went “ug ug” like she was trying to tell me something. I felt so guilty. Daddy asked me to lie down so that she couldn’t see me. But she didn’t want to drink anymore. So we put her to bed, but she didn’t want to go to sleep. It took us a while to get her to settle down to sleep again.

9 May 2005, Mon

I was at a photoshoot today and there was this cute Eurasian guy in his early twenties. And I was thinking how nice if I were to have a son next and he could grow up as handsome as this.

Call it occupational hazard but taking on the job of mummy does take the flirt out of you.

The photoshoot took the whole day. I found it inconvenient to express milk at the studio and put it off as long as I could. By 2pm, I was so engorged it started to feel really uncomfortable. The toilet stank and was stuffy so I had to ask the photographer for a room. I was given the props storeroom. With the discomfort and the self-consciousness, I only managed to express 60ml and was still feeling engorged even after 20 minutes of pumping. :(

19 March 2005, Sat

Today is Baby’s full month party! And the VIP has decided she does not want to wear any silly pretty hat, although Mummy wants her to. I tried to put a cute cap on, but she cried each time. Oh well, guess she’s already got a mind of her own.

With the ang pows received from my friends, we had just a week earlier gone out to buy Baby the BMW equivalent of prams – an Aprica. It’s a full convertible and has nice large sports rims. :)

At the party, the VIP was asleep most of the time. :)

19 February 2005, Sat

Why isn’t she crying? I asked with concern. As if on cue, Annette let out a shrill, piercing scream, and continued for the next 20 minutes.

Yes, our little darling has arrived at 10:59am, 3 weeks early and right smack on our 3rd wedding anniversary. Boy, she sure is impatient and it certainly looks like she wants to claim her place in the centre of our lives. We had been asking her to arrive any day after 19th of Feb, and guess what. My water broke right after midnight on 19th Feb. :)

After 10 hours of labour and 2 hours of heaving and pushing followed by a nerve-wracking vacuum extraction, I finally became a mummy, something I wouldn’t have dreamt about until last year.

Hubby was all smiles as he looked on in amazement. The paed on standby had to remind him to get into action and start taking photos. He looked a little startled when the gynae asked if he wanted to cut the cord, but bravely did it anyway. He suddenly remembered to do the necessary and gave me a kiss on my tired face.

As I looked on at the whirr of activity in the delivery suite, my gynae plonked a cold metal bowl on my still puff belly and picking up the bloody mess in the bowl, proceeded to point out the placenta and amniotic sac. Thanks but no thanks for the biology lesson.
She then grabbed my nipples in turn and squeezed them. Lo and behold, I’ve got milk! Or colostrum to be more exact. Baby is placed at my breast and she began to suckle. It was the most beautiful moment of my life.