First Outing to the Mall

Since I'm pregnant, EG and I have been looking around for baby gadgets. One of it is stroller. Though many told us stroller might not be very useful but looking at the fact that we always go out together, of course we'll want to bring Eunice along. And since we travel to KL quite often esp. to attend friend's wedding, and I also want to bring Eunice back to Miri next time, stroller is in my list for sure as I dun think we can carry her everytime.

We have been looking around for a light weight stroller and the one that won't take up much boot space (imagine if we go KL and the stroller takes up all the boot space, then where am I going to keep all the other shopping stuff? :P). Most of my colleagues highly recommended Maclaren strollers for the light weight but the price is kinda high.

However, after surveying around, EG really likes Maclaren strollers comparing to others as he said, it's sleek, stylish and light. He can carry with one hand after folding it up. So after Eunice is born, we got the stroller. And see how happy the father is! :P

The happy father with the new toy for his princess

The quest sport model

The stroller is supposed to be used for babies from 3 months onwards, but if we have the head support, we can use it for Eunice too! So, we got a Kiddopotamus head support for her and off we went to Queensbay for our first shopping together with Eunice!

See how happy my cutie pie is :D

Overall, she behaves quite well out there. I think she likes to go out (this is my gene) and it's very funny to see her looking around amazed by many many things. It just never fails to make me laugh to see her looking so curiously for the surroundings. Maybe she's just too bored at home, just like her mother me. :P

The stroller is very easy to use and it's very light to push. Though there's no front bar but it's 5 points harness and after EG adjusted the strap nicely, this naughty girl can't even move much inside her stroller. But she's still turning her head left and right to check out her surroundings and it's really cute. :P... And of course, she never fails to get attention from others as well. Almost everyone who walk pass will look at her. :P

However, she only can stand for almost 2 hours and she started to make the LOUD rushing sound - means she's hungry. So quickly EG made the payment for our shopping and off we went home.

But overall, it's a good experience to bring her out. We shall try again next time when her feed is not that often.

Temporary Fulltime Mum

It has been two weeks that I have been taking care of Eunice myself in the day time during weekdays when EG goes work. And when he's back, he'll help to carry Eunice when she fusses, buy food for me and do the housework when I'm tied up with Eunice.

So, many asked - how's it?

The answer is - it's VERY TIRING!

My everyday's job now is - feed, burp, change diapers (oh god!), bathe, carry when she fuss. Everyday feels so short now esp. at night coz I need to battle with her to make her sleep.

What do I dread to do?
Bathe her. It's not easy to bathe a baby esp. when she fusses. Thank God that most of the time she's still ok but it's a BIG TASK to bathe her. Everytime after I bathe her, I'll be sweating like nobody's business. Since now she still can't hold her head up, I'll have to carry her and support her to bathe her to make sure she doesn't fall inside her bath tub. And I need to talk to her when bathing her then only she'll be quiet. Another challenge is this little naughty girl will suddenly poo or pee after bathe and dirty the towel, new diaper, and sometimes the floor or bedsheet (coz I wipe her on my bed on the changing mat so that it's not so taxing on my back). That's really a disaster! But then again, I think babies like bathing in general...

What do I scared to do the most?
Changing her diaper. Baby won't tell you that they are going to pass motion, they just DO IT. That's the scary part. I kena few times with her poo on me when she poo together with gas! My Gosh..! The stain needs to be cleaned & scrubbed off seperately before throwing into washing machine to make sure there's no yellow stain on the clothes. I tried to make it fast but there are a few steps that I'll need to do before changing a new diaper - wipe off, make sure it's really clean, dry the pat-pat, put on some cream to prevent diaper rash, wear the new diaper. Between this, accident happens. Many times she'll just poo and dirty either the new diaper or the changing station, or the towel. Argh....

What do I can't do well?
I can't burp her well. I still can't though I have been trying to learn that from my MIL, EG's aunties, nurses from Columbia Asia, and the pead himself from Island. But I still can't burp her well. The success rate is only 50%. =.=! I seriously need more help in this...

What do I hate to do?
Sleep her. Everyday is like a gamble. I'm seriously not sure how she's going to fall asleep everynight. I just pray that she'll just doze off herself by 11pm without fussing too much! When she fuss, I have to carry her and walk around the room for hours to make her sleep. Sometimes I'm so sleepy that I just close my eyes while walking to take a rest. I'm still trying many ways to see which one works to make her sleep comfortably. So far I think swaddling her half body with two arms out help to make her sleep better. Will observe more and see. :P

What do I like the most?
When she plays with herself. She really looks like the cutest angel when she plays with herself in the playpen or cot. She's calm and just looking around in her playpen / cot quietly like she's trying to find out what's around her. And during then, I'll just call her and talk to her a bit, and continue my web surfing or do some housework or even cook some simple dinner..!

Another gesture that I love to see the most is when Eunice starts to make the rushing sound, I know she's asking for feed. (If I don't get her cue, she'll end up crying loud with tears...) And when I pull up my shirt, you'll see her very cute anticipating face waiting for u to feed her. It's really very cute. And sometimes when she fusses, I'll carry her and she'll start turning her head to my breast and knocking her face on my breast - then I get the cue - she wants to be fed. It's very funny to see her acting in that way - it makes me laugh everytime. :P

Overall, it's a very "special" experience to be a fulltime mother at home now. But it's seriously very tiring. Sometimes Eunice will fuss so much that I can't even go to toilet (when I'm alone at home). Weekend is slightly more relaxing as EG will be at home to at least help to carry her so that I can eat / go toilet / bathe. And now, I really can't wait to go back office to work as at least I can go out for lunch and have a break from all the feeding / changing diaper duties... (OK, I know I'm not a very good mum)

But then again, the thought of sending her to babysitter also aches my heart (and EG's) as I wonder if the babysitter will pay so much attention to her esp. if she fusses. Hmm...

Sleep Train Adventure

Since the 3rd week of Eunice, I suffered at night as my little princess refused to sleep at night and she wanted to be held else she'll be shouting. No, she's not hungry because she's fed before she slept. Yes, if you hold her, she'll be lying quietly in your arm like an angel but when you put her down, she'll transform into a monster!

Sleeping is so important to me. However, since I have this little one which I need to breastfeed on demand, I'm used to wake up few times at night to feed her, to the extent that if she doesn't wake up for feed, I'll still wake up to check on her, or change her diaper. But, I still cannot stand not sleeping till late at night. This little fella can fuss from 10.30pm when I off the light all the way till 3am... then only she's willing to sleep in her cot..! It's really a nightmare for me. Another time, she fussed from 3am all the way to 5am with no reason. I fed her, changed her diaper, made sure she's not too hot or too cold but she still fussed. I almost dieded. Mother in law came and help to comfort her and till 5am, guess she's too tired and she fell asleep finally!

I read up the internet / any books regarding baby sleep almost everyday during my confinement and try the methods suggested. So, after I brought her back to Penang, I make sure I open all curtains in the day time, on the radio / mp3 to make it not so quiet to let her know that it's now day time, and by 9pm I'll start to wipe her, feed her, carry her, but no talking, dim the lights, no noise (EG and I will be whispering) and try to sleep her to tell her that it's sleeping time now. It's a battle everyday. And I make sure she doesn't sleep so much in the day time esp. after 7pm. I'll do everything to wake her up - until the extent to wipe her face with wet towels. Kesian my baby right. But thank God so far she can sleep by 1am. But still we're not very happy about it esp. She'll wake up and fuss or ask for feed. And slowly she has dark circles on both of her eyes. :(

We later found out that it might be caused by evening colic. After the recommendation from my babysitter (yeah, I actually called up to ask for advice :P), EG went to pharmacy and bought Dentinox Colic Drops for infants as he also heartache see me try so hard to sleep this little monster every night. I also applied ru yi oil on her tummy to relieve her tummy pain caused by colic (though I'm not sure if it's really working but I just do everything that might help). So, so far, at least both me and EG can get 6 hours of sleep with some wakes in middle of course.

EG still wasn't very happy because he expects her to sleep through. Everytime when Eunice wakes up and make a little sound, the light sleeper EG will also wake up and look at her moving around in her cot. He said he pity her not able to sleep. And sometimes he'll actually go carry her and try to sleep her for 1 hour - which I stop him after he did it once as it might make it a habit for Eunice to sleep in the future. As long as baby doesn't cry, we shouldn't carry her esp. at night during sleeping time.

I then try to find some lullabies online. It works in the day time (or maybe she's just napping), but it doesn't work during night time. Argh... So I gave up, but I stick to the routine - wipe, change to pyjamas, carry & swing a bit, feed, and expect her to sleep soon.

When we see Dr Dan for checkup, of course we raised this concern. Dr Dan told us she's a baby. About sleeping through the night for 7-8 hours, Dr Dan said she's a 5 wks old baby and he doesn't expect her to sleep more than 3 hours a stretch. And her senses to differentiate day and night will only be activated in 3rd or 4th months. When I told him I tried to not let her sleep so much during day time, he asked "Why... just let baby sleep. She's just a baby..."

Guess both EG and I forgot the fact that Eunice is only a 5 wks old baby (though we felt it has been SO LOOOONG) and we should really give her a break and let her be a baby... :)..

But still, my sleep training still go on (just with less expectation) so that both me and EG can have some sleep at night!

Growth Spurt

What is a growth spurt?

During a growth spurt, breastfed babies nurse more often than usual (sometimes as often as every hour) and often act fussier than usual.

......

Physical growth is not the only reason that babies may have a temporary need for increased nursing. Babies often exhibit the same type of behavior (increased nursing with or without increased fussiness) when they are working on developmental advances such as rolling over, crawling, walking or talking. Mom's milk is for growing the brain as well as the body!

When do babies have growth spurts?

Common times for growth spurts are during the first few days at home and around 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (more or less). Babies don't read calendars, however, so your baby may do things differently.

More info @ http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

I used to ask my friend who has been breastfeeding for >2 years why many ppl say if we can endure 6 weeks of breastfeeding, breastfeeding will then be a breeze. She said, because there will be a growth spurt on the 4th week.

I experienced the growth spurt on Eunice's first week. And I almost gave up. She was on my breasts for almost 24 hours! And every feed can be >1 hour. And after that I had all the sore & cracked nipples. Moreover, when I was still so new about breastfeeding, I just couldn't help but to think if she's not getting enough and hence the long sucking... later only I found out about this growth spurt thingy...

I suspect now Eunice is on growth spurt also since it's now her 4th week. She was asking for feed from 3pm+ to 9pm+ last night almost non stop. I only had 10-15 mins break to go toilet or take a quick bath and I had to feed her again. And today, she has been also asking for feed from 2+pm till now.

Now, I feel like a cow...................

Eunice Back to Penang!

After a month in Taiping, I noticed Eunice can start to focus on things around the rooms. I told EG I need to bring her back to Penang ASAP so that she won't get any anxiety later when we bring her back to our place in Penang (or actually I want to escape from Taiping after staying there for 1 month :P).

Eunice never really sits in her car seat before though the one we bought is supposed to be used from newborn onwards. When she's first born, she's too fragile. It's too scary to put her in the car seat so I used to carry her in my arm while we travelled from PG to Taiping - Yah dangerous I know but EG was driving like 80km/h on the highway. But thank God everything was fine.

So, after one month, we have decided to start letting her sitting in the convertible car seat that we bought for her (else wasted laaaa) while coming back from Taiping to Penang. I was worried that she'll fuss around in the car seat. However, to my surprise, she has been sleeping in the car seat for the whole journey (daddy was still driving slow so we took almost 1.5 hours to reach PG). I was even starting to get worried that she's supposed to get up for feed so my eyes never leave her during the whole journey to make sure she didn't suddenly get cranky.

My cutie pie in her Britax car seat

She has been again an angel all the way till we were like 5km from our home and she started to scream... Of course, she wasn't being fed for almost 2 hours+ and she normally will ask for feed in 1 hour to 1.5 hours. She must be very very hungry. Quickly I picked her up, calmed her. And thank God it's only 5 minutes to reach home and EG quickly opened the door and I rushed in to start to feed her!

But anyway, I'm really very happy with the car seat! We were looking around and checking out so much before we decided to get this convertible car seat. The price is reasonable esp. since it comes with a base. Looking at Eunice's response in it, it seriously worth all the money that we paid. I used to be worried that the fabric will be hot for her but seems like she's very comfortable in it. This will be her permanent place in my car wherever we go next time! :)

And yeah, Eunice is BACK TO PENANG!! :)

First Bath on my own

My MIL aka my confinement lady has been bathing Eunice for the whole month... Since I'm going back to Penang soon, I requested that I need to start learning bathing her before I go back to Penang and do everything on my own. I have been washing her hair and body with MIL's help for the past two days.

Today, MIL went out for some marketing and not back till 10am. I thought it might be good for me to bathe Eunice myself and to feed her soon so that she doesn't pass motion WHILE we dress her after bathing (which happens many times). So, I get EG's auntie who is helping here to prepare the water and there i go bathing my precious by myself!

After bathing her, I do what my MIL always do by bring her to have a brief walk at the car porch to get some sun light to warm her up... but I couldn't do for long coz she's getting heavier and my arms are getting more and more tired after holding her for long. And now, she's happily playing with herself on her bed... and am waiting for her to make the rushing sound for me to go feed her with susu cap mamabeh.. :D

The look after bathing :D

I must say that I'm quite proud of myself that I could do it my own...! :)... Hopefully when I go back to Penang, it won't be so hard as well as by then, I need to prepare the bathing water by my own as well.. but seriously, bathing baby is very fun! :)

Postnatal depression

Definition for Postnatal Depression:

Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a form of clinical depression which can affect women, and less frequently men, after childbirth. ... Symptoms include sadness, fatigue, insomnia, appetite changes, reduced libido, crying episodes, anxiety, and irritability. Current data suggests that 5 to 9 percent of women will develop postpartum depression, but less than one in five of these women will seek professional help. .... Studies tend to show that more likely causes are the significant changes in a woman's hormones during pregnancy. On the other hand, hormonal treatment has not helped postpartum depression victims. Many women recover because of a support group or counseling.

I think I'm overwhelmed by the new role as Mother now and I have slight postnatal depression.

I cried very easily these days and my tears can just drop with no control. With EG working in PG now and me alone in Taiping with his family, it makes things worse. I cried so many times before he went back to Penang, and so unlike me, I actually asked him to stay back though I know he has already taken 2 weeks off to accompany me during my maternity and this will definitely affect his job performance.

Anything that goes wrong with Eunice, I'll start crying. But really I thank God for friends around who has told me to call up if I need help... I could call up friends to check with them if all the "problems" that I'm having with Eunice are normal, and I could just cry over the phone. I know it might sound funny if I were to read this post back after many years but I just couldn't help the sadness and helplessness in me - what more for me having the first child with no experience and what-so-ever.

Anyway, I'm dying to go back to Penang and live in my own house with EG & Eunice. I started to hate the confinement food and hate the confinement thing. I couldn't stop complaining and it makes me feel even more depressed. I have to keep staying positive for another week until this stupid confinement is OVER and then I can have a nice bath many times a day, drink cold drinks many cups a day, and eat anything that I like to freshen myself and attend to my little bundle of joy!