Wednesday, May 22, 2013

And finally, to round off the family with Baby #3

Well well well, after a hiatus of what, coming to 3 years, another entry from me.  It is quite inexcusable really, to just blog when only when baby is coming. I mean, look at the history (or rather lack of) of the postings, it's all about baby arrivals! I mean, whatever happened to whimsical musings, and what not?  Obviously, life has sort of take over blogging, if you can even call it blogging to begin with.

Let's see now, a quick recap/summary since my last post, which according to the date stamp, was Nov 12, 2010. 
  1. We have shifted to a new place (which should be worthy of a blog post). I'll try to make up for it.
    View from our balcony #31
    When the pool was still empty in the early days!
    1. We celebrated the 1st birthday of Zander at the new place together with a housewarming (which should be worthy of a blog post too, will try to make up for that too)
      1st Birthday and housewarming
    2. Changed jobs. Am now only 10 minutes away by car to my workplace! It's awesome! Seriously, everyone should just go to work nearby.  I mean, I can still see daylight when I reach home and dinner ends so much earlier, and the kiddos have more time with us and can settle into bed earlier....the benefits just go on and on!
    3. Decided to explore some dormant home baker in me and got baking stuff, managed to turn out 2 chocolate cakes, 1 banana cake (the effort involved in the banana cake! gosh, just mashing the darn bananas are a pain!), a few batches of cookies, not too bad actually, and it's over a few months of course.  Now seriously thinking of exploring doing cupcakes and such, shouldn't be that difficult right??  
      With the handy helper!
    4. Decided to not have any more kiddos, and gave away all my baby stuff, sold my breast pump, put maternity clothes into cold storage, gave away all the bb clothes.
    5. Then decided to try for another one, cos I was thinking a gal and a boy was kinda lonely for either one, since both have like different interests, I mean, Karine has to put make up on another girl and not on Zander right.
    6. Really got preggers! And regretted #4 above, cos as of today, I have ZERO, Zilch, NADA, of baby girl clothes.  I mean I have stuff for 18 mths and above, but seriously nothing for newborns - 12mths!! mittens and booties all given away! I showed hubs the empty drawer of clothes that I have set aside for baby, and he was like, well, let's just buy them then. but, seriously?  Re-buy everything!  Consolation is I can probably hand it over to my sister, but still!!!??! And I gave my nursing pillow, which I got on the cheap, and I thought was really handy cos I could use it as a back rest, and a resting pillow to prop baby up after feeds and for picture takings. Grrr....
    7. And Zander has finally started school! He started in March, in part mainly due to the impending arrival of bb #3, although I would have liked to keep him at home as long as possible. Then I checked against Karine, and she started school too at the same age, although she had the luxury to start off on a half day to ease into it. But I plunged into a full-day with Zander, partly because Karine would be there, and it would be easier (and cheaper) to just pick both of them up at the same time instead of having to shell out extra for the school bus for Zander.  And what would he do at home? watch tv and get his own way....most likely. At least he would be more engaged in purposeful play in school. Actually, this reminds me that both Zander and Karine starting school and their journeys/experiences would be worthy of a few blog posts no less.  Ok, will see if I can get to that soon.

      Some pics first:
    Zander's first day of school
    Working on his project

    His first nap in school
    Karine at one of the monthly field trips organised by the school

    Karine's K1 end of year pic (2012)


    So, we are now expecting a baby girl, due on 25th July 2013. She's quite an active little one already, which is good.  But age really is a factor.  I'm kind of dreading the whole night feeds, diapering and what-nots. Already, I'm waking up once or twice at night for the darn pees, and really tired out during the day.  Plus I have the dreaded shooting pains down the hips to the legs.  Plus Zander still wants me to be the one to carry and comfort him.

    Thankfully, I've been weaning him off to Daddy.  Already, he knows Daddy is the milk maker, and now, starting to be his bottom cleaner, though he still wants me to be his clothes changer. I can still deal with that though, just need to on a stool and not squat!

    Karine's dealing with the impending arrival really well.  She's excited and eager to play make up with the mei-mei!  Karine has really grown to be a big sister.  She's awfully protective of Zander.  For example, she will stand between him and strangers in the lift, goes after whoever who teases Zander with her arms on her hips, and generally just loves him a like a big sister.  Of course at times, she vies for the same attention, wanting similar "baby" treatment, and I always try to ensure that there are no comparisons and everyone has equal treatments.  And I do make special time for her too.

    Zander on the other hand, is such a typical Scorpio!  He is usually in his own world, is a meticulous little boy, and needs to be coaxed, cajoled and reasoned with during disagreements and must feel his ownership over his actions.  This is karma for Scorpio mum, and thankfully, I can still have the patience to deal with his Scorpio-ness.  But once he's convinced, it's pretty much smooth sailing.

    And finally little bb #3 will be a Cancer.  Hopefully, not as "emo" as Cancers are.  We (well mainly yours truly) have finally sorted out the bb supplies, clothings, and storage and furniture placement for the new arrival.  Just need to get the final touches, like setting up the cot, getting a new mattress  and mattress covers (poor thing has to sleep on mattress that has gone through a few rounds of pees and puke!) and the little baby bouncer and bassinet.  Also left with diapers (not sure how big she'll be!) and the sterilised cotton balls and gauze. And we should be all set. Oh, I think I need a final inventory count on baby bottles and teats though.  I'm pretty much set for pumping and stuff.

    The past weekend have been really busy and productive. I have set a target for end May to complete the unpacking and packing and sorting of stuff to ready for baby.  So the kiddos and I managed to sort out all the toys we have, sorting them into the toy boxes categorised by what's suitable for baby, what's suitable for Zander and what's suitable for Karine, and a general toy box that everyone would be interested in. Also managed to throw toys away (like annoying clappers and whistles and broken stuff) as well as sort them into a bag to be given away (mainly McD happy meal toys and stuffed toys). Have also sorted out grown clothes to be set aside as hand-me-downs and clothes that are more suited to be given away too.

    Final things to do by end June
    - packing of hospital bag
    - getting ready the documentation (like bills and receipts for insurance claims)
    - Stocking up on diapers
    - getting ready 0-6mths clothes, mittens and booties!
    - inventory check on bottles and teats and other consumables
    - setting up the cot and sunning/washing covers, bouncer/bassinet and bathtub & steriliser ready
    - shortlist caterer for full-month party
    - firm up confinement food delivery provider

    I think that's about it! We should be all set by then!

    And yes, we are doing confinement by ourselves! We should be alright for that, cross fingers and toes! I mean, kids will be away the whole day, so pretty much all to myself, night time routines, pretty much the same as when I was at my mum's, which was really settle by ourselves. So main difference would be the extra help in attending to baby when I'm pumping/unavailable and bathing the baby. hopefully, hubs 2 weeks leave will help for the initial period, and after that i hope i'm settled in!

    Last note, baby name! Well, since it's a girl, we were thinking of a name starting with "K". However, it's so difficult to settle on one that's also easily pronounced here! The few options were Kiera, Kayley, Kaylene.  But none of them sat well hubs.  Finally, I thought of Karise, since elder sis is Karine, why not Karise (in the same intonation)? Chinese name would be 嘉慧, that's pretty firmed up already.  Stay tuned on the final English name!

    Friday, November 12, 2010

    Zander's arrIval

    Well, I wanted to start of this post by stating that having a second child is no less easier. Granted, you do have more experience and hence you can probably have more accurate guesses on the needs of the baby and/or what's to come. But the sheer effort and energy required is just not any lesser. In fact i think its worse as you are also older!

    Anyway, back to the post on Zander's arrival. Well, i guess he definitely has his own timing to follow. I was getting fairly impatient with being pregnant that i wanted to schedule for an induction on the same day he came out. With the plan to go to the hospital at 6am for an 8am induction, I thought I had it all down pat. In fact, it was quite a good feeling, to know that you are getting ready for delivery the next day. I took a long shower, spent quality time with Karine as her last night as a single child, and just enjoyed the final hours turning in early.

    Alas, the best laid plans were not to be. At 4am-ish, stomach pains and bloody show signalled the impending labour pains. As the cramps intensified,rushed to the hospital as fast as our Fiat cold take us, with Karine safely at my mum's.

    This time was different, as I had already requested for the anesthetist, he was there fairly quickly! The nurses were also moving fast, wheeling me to the delivery room as I was already 5cm dilated when they checked me upon arrival. Within 6 hrs since my cramps started, out popped Zander!

    The worst, or best, thing was, he came out with the umbilical cord wound round his neck twice, and a knot further down the cord! Can you imagine the somersaults he must have been up to in the womb! I don't really want to speculate whether that's an indicator of his activity levels when he becomes bigger!

    Another good thing doing this second time round, is that I'm not such a noon at the breastfeeding. It really is like cycling, but some refresher tips are always useful. The tips at babycentre.com is really useful, especially the one that comes with the visual diagram. Here's the link: http://www.babycenter.com.sg/baby/breastfeeding/visualguide/

    Ok, that's all for now. Will post more pics later once I have them transferred to my iPad. Typing with the soft keyboard is not as bad as I would imagine. I'll blog about how Karine is coping so far and also my thoughts about doing this a second time round and the differences between boy baby and gal baby. Naptime!

    Saturday, May 31, 2008

    My other new Magazine Cover!


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    Friday, May 30, 2008

    Latest cover


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    Saturday, March 22, 2008

    Laughing without a care

    Here's one of those moments whereby Baby's laughter lift up everyone's spirits!

    Sunday, January 27, 2008

    Working Mama

    Have been working for the past 2 weeks already and boy, do I miss bb Karine at work! From being able to be with her at her every whim and cry to only be able to see her in the evening, it's a HUGE difference! It really makes me cherish the weekends more so that I can spend as much time as possible with her! Even changing her dirty nappies is a joy!

    Expressing at work is also something that needed to be worked out logistically. I'm currently managing on a 5hrly interval but that can sometimes stretch to 6 hrs! I realised that I need an alarm reminder or something to get me off the desk otherwise I'll miss the time when I'm engrossed at the computer! But thankfully, my supply is ok so far and I get to take home 3-4bottles of milk for bb. And I'm also glad that I stocked up on the frozen BM, cos Mondays are when they'll be needed!

    Another thing I'm glad about it being able to get photos free from HP's Snapfish service. Heh, so I bring the cute little pics of Karine to the office and think of her whenever I miss her. I've now replaced my mobile's wallpaper to her pic and now, I'm one of those mummies who proudly show off bb pics to just about anyone. Yikes!

    One of my fav pic:


    Today is also one of those days when I bathed bb. Usually a task undertaken by my mum, bathing Karine is not that tough after all. OK, she's bigger now and being used to the water and all makes the job much easier and pleasurable! She's turning into a regular water baby!

    Brought Karine out to 2 places yesterday, Hubby's colleague's wedding and his friend's baby full month. I'm so glad that Karine was such a sweetie at those places. Even though it was kinda hot and noisy at the wedding, she sat in her pram prettily and quietly, and waited for mummy and daddy to finish lunch before complaining about the heat. Just in time to take our leave and reach home for her teabreak.

    The next stop was near our house, and she took her nap on the sofa, amidst the milling guests and other curious toddlers and babies! I'm so proud of her, being able to sleep anywhere, regardless of noise! What a doll!

    Talking about sleep, Karine has started sleeping through. In fact, this sweetie pie started sleeping through 1 night before mummy returned to work! I'm still crossing my fingers and hoping that this it! And her feed times have fallen quite neatly into the 6, 9 and 12pm cycle. She's pretty much into dreamland after her last feed at 9pm-ish and after changing her. I'm glad I bought the Baby Whisperer book and settled her into a routine from day 1, amidst scorn and sceptism from some older folks.

    Oops, gotta change nappy now!

    Wednesday, January 2, 2008

    Karine welcomes 2008

    I feel so excited to usher in 2008 with our new addition. Can't believe it. The same time last year, we were still happily idling in our own home watching the celebrations on TV and calling family members wishing them a Happy 2007. Fast forward to now and how do we celebrate the ushering of 2008? By being sound asleep, with our little one in the next room. Won't be going out for any celebrations anytime soon till she's much older of course!

    It's nice to have a little bundle of joy around, babies aren't called little bundles of joy for nothing. Each time I see Karine and she gives me a big smile or gurgle, I feel so happy.

    Life really changes and it's true what they say, you learn to appreciate your own parents more when you become one yourself. I can't imagine how my mum can go through labour pains 4 times without epidural! Goodness!

    And it's true how having one makes me feel like having another one to keep each company. And I've kinda forgotten the pains. Well, sort of. Anyways, it's still too early to plan for that now, I'd like to enjoy Karine as much as possible first and wait till she gets a bit older to be able to help me with a mei mei. Yup, hope the 2nd one can be a gal too! hee...

    I was just telling hubby that I miss Karine's newborn look. In fact, I can't seem to remember how she's like already! Of course looking at the pics help, but somehow, she still looks the same to me! Thank goodness for technology, we capture those moments and share them and review them so easily!

    Then:




    Now:


    I've been with Karine for the past 2 months and 2 weeks 24x7, it'll be tough on me when I return to work! I'll definitely miss her! And I'm starting work in a week and a half's time. On one hand, it'll be kinda fun to be back on top of things. However, I'm just getting used to being at home and being with BB. I've already planned out my leave days so that I can wean off being with Karine 24x7. Luckily CNY hols would follow soon after I return to work!