Natalie is now 2 mths old

Natalie is 2 months old - another significant milestone attained! She has grown taller, measuring 60cm now. Judging from her growth rate, ceteris paribus, she'll probably reach 1.2m by the time she is approx 1 year old?! hmmm, isn't that the height limit for bus rides? Erm something to take note of when she arrives at her 1st birthday.

So as parents what are the top 10 things that we have discovered /learnt about Natalie at this stage?

1) She loves to talk and listen to conversations. Though she could only make baby noises, she is starting to respond and hold her gaze whilst having a conversation with you.

2) Nat doesn't like to wait and has been displaying the traits of an impatient baby. Once she cries she demands to be attended to immediately. Her cries will develop into a non-stop siren that goes 'Wooehhhhhh,O-ehhhhhhhhh,O-ehhhhhh....' for as long as her breathe could hold.Then she'll stop to gasp for air before she starts again. Stops only when she gets what she wants.

3) Like all babies, she loves to be fed, cuddled and sit on mummy's lap.

4) A natural swimmer, she enjoys a good bath ( temp approx at 36/37 deg)and tilts her head backwards as she kicks away in the water. Wobbling the water to create jacuzzi bubbles under her back never fails to bring on a smile.

5) As much as she enjoys the water, she hates being lifted out of it. There is less crying now, but once you put her on the changing mat her sirens will be activated. It helps to feed her prior to her bath but not a hundred percent guarantee that she won't burst into tears.

6) She dislikes having the bodysuits draped over her head and slotting her hands into its long sleeves.

7) She loves it when we play and exercise her hands and legs, and shake them to the tune of Hokey Pokey or Chris' game of triathlon (http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/early_childhood/nurse/hokey/)

8) She is not a typical baby who wants to be swaddled whilst she sleeps. Her preference is to sleep with her hands up, in a victorious position. Sometimes we wonder if we should have named her Victoria instead.

9) She cries when she pees but keeps quiet when she poos and is hypersensitive to wind in her stomach.

10)Nat loves to go for car rides.

Shopping tips

Wanted to place this on the blog a while back but didn’t quite get to post it as our purchasing list just gets longer each day.

For mums to be you might want to check out the baby hyperstores / distributors located at Kaki Bukit Ave 1, Shun Li Industrial Park ( Tel: 68441123 – BID trading, unit no. 69)) . It’s a one stop shop where you could find stroller suppliers & baby product distributors. There is a wide variety to choose from so don’t limit yourselves to the usual shopping malls, Kiddypalace/ Mothercare retailers.

The best deals could also be found at seminars conducted by various hospitals such as KK/ Thomson Medical. Formula samples coupled with free gifts will usually be distributed at the conventions so don’t miss the freebies. For those who sign up for the KK antenatal programme( 10 sessions @$180 ), the hospital would usually organise an external seminar for vendors to sell their products. Don’t hesitate to place a deposit / make your purchases there and then. It’s definitely the best deal in town.

To give you a flavour of what your baby may need, below is a list of our purchases for Natalie from Daddy, Mummy, Po Po and Gong Gong. I’ll be updating it on a periodic basis.

List of essentials
 Quinny Zapp Stroller - Took us a really long time to purchase the perfect stroller which is lightweight, compactable, stylish and functional. In fact daddy had to carry & return the Capella (in it’s original box) which weighs 15kg to John Little Orchard and in exchange we got a lime green children carseat to match daddy’s car. It’s currently in the store room now, collecting dust but it’ll come in handy when Nat is much older. Prior to this we even went overseas in search for suitable car seats, strollers etc but cost of delivery is way too high to justify the purchases. In fact we nearly had to part with 1k to ship a Eurospec stroller which is equipped with wind breakers, snowshield etc. However the quickwitted mummy saved the day by getting the shippers (a separate vendor) to come by the store to weigh and provide us with a quotation before we pay for our stroller. The retailer is also kind enough to understand our predicament even though they had spent over an hour trying to pack the item into a makeshift box.

Quinny Zapp is a lightweight stroller with an extremely compact fold. It is a superb stroller to steer and despite its lack of recline feature has a generous and comfortable seat. It is a great choice for anyone who needs a compact stroller, or appreciates a quality stroller that is easy to manouver.

 Maxi Cosi cabriofix infant car seat – Compatible with the Quinny stroller, detachable and multifunctional – an infant car seat cum infant carrier /stroller. Winner of Best Infant Carrier, Practical Parenting Awards 2007/08

 Mothercare baby carrier

 Picollo playpen – Comes with wheels and could pass through standard door width

 Baby cot – Complimentary from Po Po and Gong Gong.

 Foam mattress X 2 – for cot and playpen. The better ones are made of latex and of course it's sold at a premium. We bought the mid range ones with air pockets to facilitate airflow.

 Cot Bumper + Diaper holder - bought 3 sets. 2 are Carters ( comes with beautiful butterfly & animal designs) and the third came free with cot which was purchased during one of Tangs sale.

 Mattress covers / bedsheets X 6 - Buy a protector as base (zipped type preferred so it does get tangled with the sheets ). Ikea sells good cotton, bedsheets which is strechable and would fit cot size of up to 28X52inches ( size of my cot). It comes in 3 standard colours, baby blue, pink and white. I like it plain without patterns.

 Pillow / Bolster X 2

 Organic bean husk pillow - Useful as back support. Nat likes it on her tummy to help with her balancing and reduce her 'jumpiness' caused by sudden noises.

 Bathtub set - Bought one which comes with a thermometer. Useful as heat could be subjective to indiv's body temp. Good indicator, particularly when you are training your maid/ thrid party to assist with bath preparation.

 Towel with hood X 3 – You’ll need at least 2-3. Buy the 100% cotton ones, polyester would not absorb the water quick enough.

 Baby blankets/ wrap with hood X 2 – Useful for wrapping baby, esp during the initial stage where you may have to visit the paediatrician quite often. I’ve made at least 6 trips to RH just to check Nat’s jaundice level.

 Face towel X 7 - Must be 100% cotton.

 Napkins X 50 - Bought and tried all brands in the market. Pureen has a closer knitting, slightly thicker to hold the liquids well. It's less painful for the wallets too and you may get the occassional 20% discounts if you purchase at Metro.

 Baby wipes (large quantity)

J&J products
 J&J head to toe shampoo – you can get these at a bargain during the expo JL sale.
 J&J body lotion
 J&J baby oil

 Mosquito net- We bought this lovely mosquito net which comes with a floor stand support and extra height so both Hubby and myself dont have to bend too low to pick / change baby. It comes with beautiful ribbons which parts at the sides like curtains. Satisfy the aesthetics and functional criteria. ( Bought it from a supplier at 25 Tagore Lane)

 Nail scissors – Concept of using a pair of scissors was really quite scary at first, but compared to a nail clipper it’s really easier and more for cutting baby’s soft nails.

Clothings
 Mittens & Booties X 6 - Buy more if you can as they tend to go missing real easily.
 Bibs X 7
 Rompers (0-3 months) X 7
 Bodysuit ( 0 -3 months) X 7
 Long pants X 7
 Baby caps X 4 - Must have, if you intend to let your baby enjoy the aircon with you.
 Baby Abdominal Binder X 6 – Covers the umbilical stump and keeps the tummy warm.

 Pigeon Airfield rubber sheet

 Pigeon soft changing mat - for the cot. None rubbery surface appeals better to baby's skin and she won't feel the temperature difference as it has the same feel as that of the bedsheets.

 Ikea Changing mat – This is definitely a good deal cost approx 10bucks. It’s mobile, lightweight, durable and comes with foam lining which gives baby the added comfort.

 Medela Pump (Electric Plus) - understand the ones with 2 phases pummping rythm may be better, but bought this a while back and it's still functional so I'll stick to this.

 Milk/ Storage Bottles – Bought couple of brands for Nat to try out ie Bfree, Avent, Nuk, Browns.) Avent bottles are designed to reduce the chances of baby developing colic but it's not BPA free.Whilst Bfree and Browns bottles are BPA free, both comes with a complicated tubing that allegedly would likewise help prevent colic. Nuk glass bottles is easy to clean with no added gadgets. Each bottle has it's stated advantages, at this stage we are still unable to tell which is Nat's fav brand as she is fully breastfed.

 Steriliser – Tollyjoy cheapest in the market, functions are simple and effective.

 Pigeon Sterilising tablet (for travel)

Natalie was ill

Haven't been updating my blog as I was busy looking after Natalie, constantly making sure that she has fully recovered from fever.

Fever started during the night on 12 March. Being first time parents, Chris and I were both unsure of what to do at 1145pm. As it was the middle of the night, not wanting to disturb my mum, we dialled the KK nurse helpline @ 1900-556-8773(service is chargeable at 80 cents a minute). It was picked up by a sleepy sounding nurse. We told her that Nat is running a fever at 38 degrees, and whether it's necessary for us to admit her given that she is only 7 weeks old. we were told to monitor her for the time being and only bring her in if her fever rises to 38.5 degrees as there is currently a long queue at the A&E. Continue with breastfeeding as it'll supply her with the antibodies to dispell the virus that may be causing the fever. We've eliminated the possibility of a throat infection as she was still able to drink per normal. Nurse mentioned that it could be viral as she had been in contact with Chris' Mum & Sis who were both suffering from flu when they visited during the afternoon.

Mum came by early next morning to help. Nat's fever subsided to 37.2 after a quick morning bath and large doses of breastmilk. It went up slightly in the evening, but not cirtical.

Hi Nat, your po po is quite a life saver huh! She stayed over for 2 days to look after you round the clock! Must thank po po when you get to read this ya!

Hi frederique

Hey natalie, we've received a surprise this morning! It's a card with well wishes from the australia global mobility team!

Hi Frederique, Hope you get to read this! Thanks for the lovely card! Both hubby and i appreciate the thoughts and efforts that you've gone through to mail it to us! Catch up with you when I return to work. Meanwhile take care!

Nat's 1st office visit

Brought Natalie to the office for her first month's visit this afternoon. She seems to be in her element on the 7th floor as she was showered with lots of hugs & coos, and though it was her usual nap time, she remained awake the entire hour during the visit.

Appended is a pic of the cake which we've purchased from Jane's Cake Station for the department. I was really impressed with the way they embellished the cake with pink cream garnishing and though we've not tried the actual cake itself, but i must say that it's well worth the money as the durian aroma is so intense that it filled our entire car with a lovely sweet scent.

For the durian lovers out there, this is defintely a must try!
Jane’s Cake Station
265 Jalan Kayu
Tel: 6481 1322
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 12pm-6.00pm,
Sun & Public Holidays 12pm-4pm
Closed on Wednesday

New Phone

To those who have been contacting me or trying to contact me during the past weeks and found my response slow, I do apologise. It's all because my old phone (samsung U700) has been acting up again. Not only is the audio function not working, the screen has gone bonkers as well. Able to log in on some days but went blank on others! I must say slider phones really do have a short shelf life. Never gonna invest in one ever again.

However I am pleased to announce that Chris has bought me a new phone last evening! It's a nokia E63. Been charging it for over 10 hours and now I finally get to use it!

My dearest hubby got me a wifi phone so I could keep updating my blog anytime anywhere. So considerate of him !Thanks dear!

Away from baby

Tonight, Chris and I have been invited to attend a dinner function organised by rotary club. This is the first evening which mummy had been away from Natalie for close to 4 hours. Even though Mum had been activated to babysit, and I definitely trust her to be a good caregiver, I long to be back with baby as soon as possible. What surprised me most was, during the midst of the event I could somehow know when Natalie starts to get hungry. I called home to check and indeed she was crying for milk. Weird huh? Not a believer in ESP etc and neither was it her usual feeding time, but there seems to some sort of telepathy between baby and me.

Vital stats

At one month and 1 week old, Natalie has grown quite a fair bit. Though not Michelin looking yet, she has definitely grown in height and soon she'll out grow mummy! Check out her vital stats.

First month's checkup

Brought Natalie to visit Dr Toh for her first month checkup yesterday.

Her weight is now 3.95kg. Total weight gained since birth would be 1kg, which according to Dr Toh is within expectations. She is 55cm tall, and this is considered tall for a baby in her category (75th percentile) proving Dr Watt's initial estimation based on bone growth rate.

She had taken her 2nd dose of Hyp B injection with tears and screams, and Dr Toh had to remediate with loads of cajoling in order for her to be forgiven.

Hi Natalie, you've passed your first health assessment with flying colours, but the doctor did mention that you are an assertive baby who verbalises your likes and dislikes. I fully agree with her observations. You are definitely an attention seeker and may be impatient at times. Daddy and I will need to think about how to refine that temper of yours =).

Ps: Whilst writing this.. you are screaming atop your lungs insisting to be cuddled.

Nappy or Diaper?

Nappies or Diapers?

At some point in time, most parents would need to decide between using Nappies or Diapers for their baby. For those who are not familiar with the Baby’s stuff, let me do a quick intro.
Nappies are the “older” version of modern day Diapers. They are essentially a piece of white cloth with high cotton content. You will need to fold it into a triangle before wrapping it around baby’s bottom. Its advantages include,

1) Comfort; babies appear to like nappies more than diapers. The hypothesis is nappies have better ventilation than diapers.

2) Cheaper; nappies are re-usable and is cheaper in the long run... considering that our littleone can Poo or PeePee 20 times in 24 hours!

3) Granny’s Choice; Not universally true but the older folks appear to connect better with nappies as they have being using nappies during their time.

What is a diaper? In case you are really detached from Baby’s world, diapers are disposable pads that babies wear for their toilet business. Popular brands include Pampers, Huggies, Drypers and Mummy Poko pants. Their advantages include,

1) Convenient; use and throw! No washing required!

2) No safety pin issue. Nappies would require a safety pin and parents who are not good with their fine motor skills will find it difficult to handle a safety pin in the presence of a crying baby!

3) Minimise leakage risk; Diapers have a waterproof exterior. This however, appears to reduce the comfort level for babies.

So after trying out both the nappies and the diapers, Sharon and I have decided to experiment with a “Combination System”. We call it the Nap-pers! Nappy on the inside and Diapers on the outside! We wrap baby with the conventional Nappy and secured it with the waterproofing layer of Diaper. This way, we get to combine the merits of both systems while minimising the demerits!

We have now entered phase 3 of our clinical trial. 6000 babies were randomly selected from the Sg population; 2000 worn the conventional nappy, 2000 worn diapers while 2000 worn our new Nap-pers. Investigators were masked from from what the baby is wearing. Preliminary results is highly encouraging; 85% of parents reported better comfort and usability with Nap-pers. We will be uploading pics of Nap-pers shortly, so stay tuned.

Problem with helper

Now that I am out of confinement with ample energy to supervise, I've come to discover that there are loads of chores either undone or done in a slipshod manner. Instructions were not followed fully, and she simply does things her way! Today, I merely checked the toilets after she has cleaned it and found her cutting corners in multiple areas ie washed one tap and left the other uncleaned (excuses were 'I used the cream cleanser for one of it therefore it's shiny') ; seams between the walls not washed ( she retorted saying ' oh I just used the sponge to wash the surface.'); window panes were washed on the inside but exterior untouched. Told her to re-clean the panes, she simply did a touch and go as she wasn't tall enough. Worse still, she even dare to retort saying she has cleaned it when things are obviously not cleaned. Lied without having bat an eyelid! Am up to my limit of niceness! She wasted my time, her time and water as she had to redo all the above! No wonder my mum was always upset and irritated with her.

Am gonna leave it to the agent to tell her off again this evening!

The classical BB

Natalie is now a month old. In order to stimulate her sensory development, we've tuned in to Symphony 92.4 since birth. The jamu calls her a classical bb! As she reaches the 4th week she becomes more active in the day, and so we've switched to Class 95 in the morning. She'll coo and jiggle to the medley of pop music in the companion of Glenn and the flying dutchman. By noon, she'll amuse herself to her favourite nursery rhymes. And transform into a classical baby by night fall. If she is edgy, we'll tune in to Gold 90.5 where she wiggles to the oldies.

Grouchy Natalie

Shot of baby on her new found haven! The fisherprice bouncer purchased by my colleagues certainly came in handy when she is in one of her 'hard to please' mood. Click on the enlarged version of the photo and you could tell how grouchy she was.

Judging from our observations, there seems to be a similarity between Natalie and Junior ( my chihuahua who guards the baby whilst she sleeps). They mark territories! Natalie was so comfy in her element that she poo'd so much in the bouncer that it overflowed onto her seat! Fortunately the seatcovers are removable and it wasn't me who had to cleanup =) .

Natalie is 1 month old today!

Natalie has reached a significant milestone today!

It's been a fulfilling and exhaustive first month, as we've been grappling with the new found status of parenthood. Transition to dad and mum is definitely a fulltime job that requires 100% TLC = Time, Love and Commitment.

So what are our greatest achievements thus far? We are proud to say that we have graduated with the degree in nappy changing. Chris has learnt how to fold and change nappies in record time of less than a minute (cleaning and application of desitin included). In his own words, "Anyone who likes to challenge me to a nappy changing session? Bring it on!"

As for me, my biggest discovery about myself is the possibility of requiring little sleep and still remaining functional the next day. This would not be possible esp on weekends prior to having natalie around. Theory about beauty sleep or ample rest has been erased since I started demand feeding. It's a tiring affair, but yet one which derives the most satisfaction when she gives you the cutest smile after 0.5 hour of suckling at 2am, 4am, 6am....( every 2 hours interval).

So what do we look forward to most in the upcoming months? Baby saying her first words - " I love mummy and daddy!".

BB photos!

Been having problem with my viewcam software, which is why it took me ages to upload BB's photos! Check out her modelling skills! Does she look more like daddy or mummy?

Afternoon Saga

Baby is awake for longer periods during the day. She has been asking for attention every 1hour since 1pm. It's either she poo'd or pee'd; wants to be fed; wants to play or demands to be cuddled. I am totally exhausted by dinner as I have no time for naps anymore.

Jaundice - Part 2

The test results are back... both blood and urine tests were negative, ruling out the other organic and functional causes such as infections etc.

What Natalie has gotten is breastmilk jaundice, a type of neonatal jaundice associated with breastfeeding. It is characterized by indirect hyperbilirubinemia in a breastfed newborn that develops after the first 4-7 days of life and bilirubin level increases to more than 10 mg/dl in the third week of life. Her jaundice is likely to persist for 1-2months, but meanwhile I could resume my ginger intake.

We are ill!

The flu bug has caught up with us again!

This time round it started with Chris, who had quarantined himself in the study for almost a week now. But that didn't quite work as I was next to be contracted.

I had to wear a facemask whilst breastfeeding, but the close proximity made it easy for the virus to hit baby. She was so edgy yesterday and I've heard her coughing slightly in her sleep. Hopefully hers is just a mild cough and would get better over the next few days.

Mummy is so sorry for spreading the virus to you. Should have heeded Gong Gong's advice and quarantined myself from you as well. Please quickly recover.

Jaundice!!

Natalie was born without jaundice but during her 1st week routine check, the bilirubin concerntration has gone up to 15.4mg! Pediatrician advised me to cut down on ginger intake and feed her with 90ml of water and return for bilicheck the next day.

Fortunately her bilirubin conc. has dropped to 14.5mg. I went cold turkey - w/o ginger in my diet for the whole week.

That didn't help. her bilirubin conc. had gone back to 15.6mg! Does it mean she has to be hospitalised? Is her immature liver finding it difficult to process the bilirubin which could be a result of lack of oxygen, poor feeding, thyroid deficiency, enzyme deficiency, or her liver is dealing with an infection? I prayed that it's none of the above.

We met Dr. Toh shortly and she suggested for a blood and urine test to be conducted to rule out the possibilities of an immature liver. As they took 2 tubes of blood from her little hand, we could hear Natalie screaming atop her lungs from Dr. Toh's office. Our hearts nearly broke.

We'll be getting the results some time today. Hopefully there is no cause for concern and it might just be the result of breast-feeding jaundice or breast milk jaundice.

Murphy's Law

It's true, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Mum was hospitalised since the first day of my confinement. She had an ongoing fever for almost a week. Suspecting it might be viral as doctors weren't able to advise the diagnosis, we shifted over nite on 25 Feb back to my place. It was a tiring shift, particularly with the newborn and me being too weak to help and I was practicing on demand feeding at that time both baby and I were adjusting to each other's time slots.

Natalie is a demanding baby. She could suckle for at least an hour during the initial feed and wakes up every 2 hours asking for more. I was totally exhausted from the ongoing feeding and nappy changing. Fortunately, my helper had had some experience looking after babies. She assisted with bathing and took over nite duty of nappy changing.

My mother in-law(MIL) took over the preparation and cooking of confinement food. Being a traditional woman who followed the typical confinement practices, I was not allowed to switch on the aircon/fan. Following tradition had been a uphill task and all the perspiration didn't help either. I broke the rules on strictly no bathing a couple of times within the first week and washed my hair on the 2nd week. I tell you no expensive dry shampoo could help after 2 weeks. The extent of how bad I stank? Per my sister's words,' Stay at least 2 seats away from me.'

As for my mum, she was hospitalised for a week. She suffered from acute fever, followed by prolonged arthralgic disease that affects the joints of the extremities. Doctors suspected Chikungunya. The pain would persist for couple of weeks and according to the doctor could last for several months. She had been given antibiotics and require ample rest. This means I would have to survive with mil and maid's help for another week...