Happy New Year 2012!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!
Wow, its 2012! I can hardly believe it!
I just thank God for sustaining us to experience this day.
I pray everyone has a blessed and fulfilled 2012, every facet of your lives – Health, Family, Finances, Career, Relationships etc will be blessed – AMEN

Papa tickling baby. So funny!

Papa very irritating... but baby loves it...

Xavier and his pacifier stunt

*Clap, Clap* Clever boy

Smiley Boy

Enough of nap time = smiley boy

"Superman stretch"



Cheeky smile

Merry Christmas Everyone

HO! HO! HO!

Merry Christmas! Here's whishing everyone

A blessed year of Peace, Joy & Happiness!

p.s. Tummy time on mama's tummy.... He can lift up his head 45degrees now...

Well done, Xavier!

Talking to papa @ 10 weeks

Xavier now loves to talk & smile to papa.

Online shopping

I'm back to online shopping

SMH, Gmarket etc..... you name it, I have it in my favorites :)

Just bought Xavier 4 pairs of baby prewalker shoes..

(Disney baby, Mothercare & Zara kids)

cheap cheap only $10 each with free shipping

there are lots for baby gal but boy boy ones are so hard to find

Can you believe it... my sis bought another 4 pair of shoes for Xavier's Christmas present

All in all Xavier will have 8 pairs of brand new shoes

luckily the sizes are ranging from 11cm~13cm

I guess.... these can last him till 6-8months

this is even cheaper only $9 with free shipping omg!

p.s. patiently waiting for the items to arrive...

Baby Play gym - First Christmas Present

Counting down ..... 2 more days to Christmas!

We have gotten Xavier his very first Christmas present from papa & mama

A baby play gym from Tiny Love

Xavier's growth milestone:

He has started to reach out for objects

begins to grasp his favourite giraffe with his newly discovered hands

Good Job!

Alone in the night

Today hubby is on guard duty
So, I'm taking care of Xavier alone in the night :)
Yeah! Looking forward to that althought it can be pretty stressful at times.

What has Xavier been doing during the day???

As usual, took his 4hours of nap and play & talk with his grandparents. Xavier loves to talk now especially to his grandma. So much until he refused to take his nap, so worry that he might be cranky and fuzzy at night.

Luckily, all went well. He fell asleep at 6pm and woke up (with his eye close) for his milk after 5 long hours of nap. After that, he continue his sleep and woke at 3am for his first night feed.....Next feed will be at 7am. Now, his is back to his "lala land" again. Bye, going to join my little one in his dreams. :)

p.s. Tomorrow, hubby will be on day off -- planning to bring Xavier out for a walk... maybe to "Changi point" - hope the weather will be good- rain rain go away, come again another day please... :)

Nap time

Xavier used to wakes up after an hour of sleep, which I thought is normal to have short naps at this age so I will just picked him up and to go along the day... but after talking to some mummies and his masseuse then I realised that he actually needed more sleep, even if he was laughing and playing.

So I started compulsory rest or nap time. even if he doesn't want to sleep. He will rest. Everyday, after his bath and milk, he will stay on bed for at least 2 hours, sometimes he will self entertain in his cot for two whole hour by himself and fall asleep at the end of it, sometimes he goes straight to bed immediately.

Whatever the case is, this rest time is "compulsory" and is definitely does him good, he is exceptionally happy after the nap and like us, he needs a quiet time to rest too, be it nap or not. this is one area I am rather proud to say, has been very successful... now his nap time can stretch up to 4 hours per nap (currently have 2 naps per day) ... it hard to describe how we do it, some how he knows it and he expects the rest time and it does wonder for everyone. (hope he can stay this way.....:))

Play time with grandpa

Learning to stand

Our darling is learning how to stand too! He is enjoying it! Papa is giving him training everyday. Well done Xavier!

"Papa see! I'm so strong, I can stand now!"

Xavier @ 2 months old

Our little darling boy is at his two months yesterday! He now weighs 5.3kg and with a height of 59cm. I was just scrolling through my collection of Xavier's photo & was amazed with the changes in him. Just for comparison:

This was taken on the 12 December 2011.....


No major difference about one month ago, on the 13 November 2011....


This is a huge difference - Two months ago, on the 17 October 2011...
He looks so much more fragile when he was one month old! (of course la!)

And yes, we are still taking photo & videos for him EVERY SINGLE DAY! Our cameras has already clocked more than 2000 shots! Need to capture and cherish every moments!

First experience - e-flash card & E-book

Another 3 more days, my little boy will be 2 months old. Time really passes so quickly. I'm so glad that everyday I can witness his little changes / improvement but sad to say I will need to go back to work in another 4 weeks time :(
Is time to pen down bits and pieces of his growing up:

1. Getting more and more interested in toys especially his animal cot mobile - Xavier can self entertain for at least an hour in his cot (he will talk and sometime scream LOL! really so funny. Hope can video it to keep as memory


2. Learning to suck his fist now

1. Suck my shoulder when carry him upright


2. kicks wit legs and pushes down when leg place on a surface - Try to stand on my tight when carry him upright


3. Attention span has improve (introduce flash card and e-book)


4. Loves talking to Grandma


5. Feed every 4 hours (sometime can up to 5 -6 hours at night)


6. Night feed reduce to 2 times


7. Longer sleeping hours - 5hours (in tummy position)


8. Know the difference between day and night


9. baby has outgrow newborn clothings, now wearing 3-6 months :)


10. Loves to kick when bathing


11. tear gland formed - cries with tears
    
    
    
    

Milestone - First Real Smile

After weeks of waiting, finally get to see Xavier's first real smile rather than reflex smile. In that instant, all the sleepless nights and endless diaper changing over the past several weeks seems well rewarded when my little one flashes that pink, gummy grin.

Smiling baby = Happy parents

Xavier's baby language

Talking to Mama & Ah Ma

Shopping with Xavier & Family

We have started to bring Xavier out for a few times.
For the past 2 weekends, we have brought him to Bugis & Vivo for our Christmas shopping. Bringing out such a little one is rather tiring .... lots of stuff to bring along... lots of diapers, extra clothings, diaper cream, yue yee oil, jacket, bibs, blanket, thermal flask etc...
u name it, i have it...
But.... the feeling is just so awesome!

Getting ready for our shopping

On our way to Vivo, with yi yi & yi zang

After feed, going to sleep soon

Definitely, will bring him out more often. More practice makes perfect.

Milestone - Xavier's First Haircut

Xavier had his first haircut last Saturday. Here are a few pics taken before, during and after the cut. He looks so cute!

Getting Ready for the cut


And here is little Xavier looking a little apprehensive about the haircut. Hmmm...


His hair is really quite long already and it is irritating him a lot.


Our 1st Family photo after the Cut. Xavier look so handsome! :)

喜怒哀樂 - Expressions of Xavier @ week 7

喜怒哀樂

No tummy time

Just to pop by to note down that Xavier do not like tummy time. He like mama and papa time – doing tummy time on mama and papa chest!

We are so pleased that he have progressed from not being able to control his head to having some strength to lift his head up and shifting his head around. We tried to do it on our bed but he will only allowed us to let him be in his tummy position for a while. Mostly, he will start to complain and cry to get us to put him back on his back. Neverthless, I still try to give him more tummy time when he is happy!

The Angel and the Devil

Xavier has been cranky for the past few days. He is having kind of a blocked nose as we can hear the sound coming out when he tries to breathe. It looks like it is making him rather uncomfortable as he is breathing very hard. Feeling much better after his routine massage.

This is Xavier the Angel. Smiling. Looking at you. Looking around. And he loves looking into my camera. Not showing the devil Xavier anymore.

How to relieve a baby of crying? It seems like there are five "S"s to it.
Swaddling. Use a not so hot blankets to swaddle him up. So far, this is the most effective method.

Side or Stomach holding to ease the baby. Not the safest for the baby to sleep but the lying back is the worst way to ease a fussy baby.
Shhh sound. Do a shhh sound near his ear. Studies have shown that this mimic the white noise in the womb and can pacify some of the babies.

Swinging the baby back and forth gently.

Sucking. Using of a pacifier or something for him to suck on.

Pouting baby Xavier

Xavier's smile is back

As any mother knows, we just want our babies to feel better quickly and we'll do whatever we have to do to help them — no matter how much it inconveniences us or hurts our backs! Of couse, my back was seizing up and pinching every time I inhaled. Last night, Xavier was a little whiny... Hubby & I didn't get much sleep. We took turn to cradle him and took his temperature hourly. We just want give him as much comfort as possible.

Thank God! Xavier 's fever is gone and his smile is back :)

p.s. papa & mama love u so much

Heart Pain

Ooh... Xavier went for his jab yesterday and it's definitely breaks my heart seeing him in pain
He is so so brave... he stop crying the moment papa carry him
He talks in his baby language and it seems like he is complaining to us and asking why he has to go through this... so poor thing right! Very heartache......

After Xavier's massage, his body started to feel a bit warm but not quite a fever, his foot are a little cold.... took his temperature 37.9 degrees. Gave him the cooling plaster.... going to monitor him hourly. Will give him paracetamol (prescribe by doctor) if the condition worsen.

Pray hard that he will be well soon....

Xavier is 6 weeks old

• drinks 120~130ml every 3-4hourly



• bath time routine: bath @ 9~10am & spot wash @ 7-8pm



• nap for 3-4 hours after each feed



• poo lesser now. At least once a day but always dropping big atomic bombs



• love to stick out his tongue



• love to be carried upright



• love to look at us when we talk



• start to make sound like "UH", "OO" & "AH"



• follow papa's movement when moves from side to side



• tries to lift up his head when he place on his stomach

baby is now weighing 4.805kg, 55.5 cm in height and head circumference of 37.6cm. heard that makes him a tall baby and of course, a heavy one. i do take pride that he is thriving well on mommy’s milk!

Bath time experience

xavier loves being in the water

Xavier's 6 in 1 Vaccination - 1st jab

At 6 weeks old, Xavier will be having his 1st jab tomorrow.
I'm a first time mum, I don't know what to expect after the vaccination.
I know that each child is different and their reactions may be different.

Will he cry for a long period of time?
Will he get a fever after shot?
Will he feel hurt/discomfort when changing diaper?
Will he be cranky?


Hopefully, it will go smoothly for us...

posing with mama

xavier & his cot mobile

First time playing with his cot mobile

he is so curios

Trying to grab the hanging animals with his hands

so cute....

Comic Moment #2

Do I look good with a hanky on my head?

mama & papa says I look cute and they love my innocence look

1 month old

I can't believe that Xavier is 1 month old today!! He is growing so fast. His is cooing, and gurgling, and making squeals all the time. He loves to look at all sorts of things, and LOVES for you to talk to him and sing songs. He is such a joy to our hearts.

New Haircut & Facial

Cannot stand my hair anymore

Is so thick and rough

Totally look alike "aunty"

Went JB with hubby for a hair cut plus treatment

while mum babysit baby xavier

During the 3hours, mum:

Change diaper once

Fed him 110ml of EBM - seems full but after a while rooting around again like he is hungry LOL!Mum gave him the pacifier and he took it ... so he is just looking to be soothed & not hungry

After feeding, went for 2 full hour of sleep

everything went so well.... :)

It's been 9 months without facial, booked a session on Saturday, 5pm @ JeanYip together with sis.. Yippi!!!

Confinement coming to an end ( 1 more day to go)

My confinement is the most enjoyable month in my life.
I'm not working = no stress = Can get time to bond with my little one everyday
Get to enjoy all different types of delicious confinement food & my fav red dates water.

All thanks to mum!
She took care all my needs, cook for my food, wash baby clothings and also prepare my herbs bathing water. while, I take care of baby needs like changing of diaper, bathing & feeding etc.

I follow the rules and regulations of chinese confinement moderately.

• 
  
  I ate balance diet, like some carbohydrates, vegetables, protein (eg. beans, fish, pork and chicken) - my fav cod fish, pig organ soup and papaya soup :)


• 
  
  I washed my hair alternate days with herbs and warm water. I did try the dry shampoo (in powder form), but I don't like it! It was messy and I fell it make my hair even dirtier!


I had my first bath after 1 week of my delivery and after that I bath everyday with herbs and warm water. My doctor actually recommended me to take my bath everyday and keep personal hygienic seriously because I was breastfeeding and dirty body my cause infection or slower down my wound recovery (I had c-section for my delivery)!


• 
  
  I went out a few times to buy baby stuff and I wear shorts and singlet at home. According to my grandma, all new mums are suppose to stay home for 1 month and have to wear long cloths, socks and slipper to prevent wind getting to the body. Luckily, mum is flexible on this :)


• 
  
  I drank alcohol soup only once at night (after my breastfed and before went to bed). The soup cooked with DOM, chicken or pork and some Chinese herbs.


• 
  
  I also took my vitamin and calcium supplements to help my recovery.


• 
  
  I ate ginger moderately as well. My mum cooked most of my food with sesame oil and ginger.

Even after confinement, Mum will continue to brew the nutritious soup so as to improve and sustain my breast milk. I really hope that I can breastfeed Xavier as long as I could or at least until he is 6 months of age becasue breastfeeding offer so much benefits for the mother and baby. Baby will have stronger immune system and created a stronger bonding between baby & mother. Nursing will also help to shed pounds more quickly. This is because the body burns calories while it makes breast milk.

p.s.

Look forward to a cup of bubble tea this Sunday :)

total shed 14kg, able to wear all my pre-pregnancy clothings (yeah! Can save $$$ on new ones) :)

Xavier - Facebook Account

We have officially signed up a facebook account for our baby, Xavier Jin Hao. It would be fun to put up his own profile picture and post his milestones and to tag him in my pictures. What do you think about it? Would you accept 'Friend' a baby's account created by their mother?

p.s. please accept me as your friends when I send my invites. Thank you aunty & uncle :)

Will start uploading all his pictures and video.

Facebook Profile Photo

Little Fingers

A new baby is like the beginning of all things

wonder,
hope,
a dream of possibilities

Full Month Party Planning

Busy......Busy......Busy planning baby's full month party coming this Sunday, 13 Nov.

Venue

Chalet @ Costa Sand Resort (Pasir Ris)

Catering

We will invite about 60 guests and we have ordered their in house catering service. Hope the food is nice! The issue for catering for a function is that, you are scared of too much left overs yet you absolutely cannot live with too little food... that will be too rude or too paisieh!!!!! We decided to cater for more food, since we are happy to give away whatever left over and more is better than less..... 70% of the guests should be fine i think....hmmm!!!

Cakes

Well we also order full month cakes packages from Sweetest Moments to be distributed at our workplace on 8 Nov. Reason being? Got lots of review and feedbacks that its nice and is near to our home. We will know whether it is indeed nice soon!!!

As for family - will be distibuting on the day of function

p.s. baby card - you can customised wording and photo but for us we have choose the standard card without customisation. Knowing that most of the baby card will be thrown into the rubbish bin....

Decoration

Engage BalloonNkids to do up the venue for us. Charges are kinda resonable only $80. It comprises of one main bouquet balloon (1 jumbo, 2 18inch printed foil & 2 18inch plain ) & 35 metallic light blue and silver latex balloons with free delivery.

Thinking of getting of getting a baby shower backdrop - will check it out at kidzparty zone @ compass point shopping mall

Yeah! almost all is done!!! Looking forward to 13 Nov!

Comic moment

comical moment of the day: baby xavier trying to latch on papa when hungry. OMG!

Xavier @ 3 Weeks old

Enjoying every moments of parenthood.... Just loving it!!!!

Hubby rocking Baby xavier to sleep!



Hungry baby = Angry baby!




Baby Xavier drinking milk!

Baby Xavier @ 2 weeks old

Baby Xavier is already 2 weeks old......

papa & mama Loves you!!!! Muacks.....

Baby Xavier Birth Certificate Registration

After 9 days of birth, we finally got baby xavier registered.

Xavier's Dreamy Look

Taken before bedtime.....

Letter #1 - 7 Day old Xavier

Dear baby Xavier,

Today was your first trip with papa & mama.

Our first destination, to Mount Alvernia for a follow up checkup with your PD, Dr Simon Ng.

-Weight has Increased: Weighs at 3.07 @ 7 days old
-Jaundice level has improved: continue to monitor, normally will go off by itself in 2 weeks
-No. of soil diaper per day: 4-5 times; poo at least 3 times (these are all signs that baby is getting enough milk)
-Will see him again in a month's time for your vaccine

Next, we brought you to Mount E to follow up for mama's stitches. Everything went well, the wound is healing fast, the stitches are very nicely done, not visible at all. We also did a little shopping at Paragoon. Papa & Mama feel so proud :)

Our Favourite pic of the day:

Our Creation Arrived!

Here he is! Xavier finally arrived on the 12 October 2011, 2256h. He weighs at 3.22kg, 54cm long.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 4

Baby Xavier is currently still in the nursery care due to jaundice. He is undergoing photo theraphy. Did a blood test this morning, the level of jaundice had reduced but doc still prefer him to stay another day for observation. Praying hard that he will be discharge by tomorrow.

Less than 24 Hours

Less than 24 hours, we will be going from couple to family

To meet the little life created.

And I am definitely cleaning up my room & going through all baby stuff one last time before setting out for the hospital in another 4 hours.

It has been 38 weeks & 3 days. We can't wait any longer.

We are ready to begin the next chapeter of our life
We are ready to meet our son
We are ready to be a daddy and mummy

We are so excited that we will be holding our little one in our arms in less than 24 hours!

Week 38 = End Is Near!

Our week 38 scan, baby Xavier now weighs 3.45kg. Singapore average baby size is 3.2kg and anything above 3.5kg is considered big.

Dr Ong dropped a bomb and asked if we are willing to consider inducing labour earlier (EDD 22 OCT) in the hope of letting the baby come out while he is still average size. Hmm, I have never ever thought about it and has assumed that I will go into labour naturally. Baby Xavier is growing really well and putting on weight being a big baby, the doc does not appear comfortable for me to deliver him naturally and definitely not at week 40.

After our discussion, we have decided to induce labour tonight. Brief explanation by Dr Ong: The midwife will insert a tablet containing prostaglandin into the vagina to soften or ripen the cervix. It is the most commonly use method, it often work better with less risks. The cervical ripeness will be monitor throughout the night, the riper it is the more chances that I will go into labour. There will be also chances that there is no reaction to the cervix muscle, in these circumstances, Dr Ong will then have to either use other methods of induce or carry out caesarean.

I pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby. I pray for God to calm my nerves and spirit and for his angels to be with me as I deliver! God Bless!

My Birth Plan

I have finally done up my birth plan to meet Dr Ong tomorrow. Yeah!

Instead of all the long stories, i just cut it short and only included stuff i am concerned with.

Note: At any stage of my labour, should the need arises please discuss any proposed intervention with my husband before proceeding.

Birth Method: Natural vaginal delivery preferred. Unless there is a medical emergency, I would like to avoid a cesarean

Pain Relief: Natural pain relief (gas) preferred. I will ask for epidural if necessary

Vaginal Examination: Preferred to be kept to the minimum

Upon Baby's Birth: I wish to have my baby brought to me immediately after birth before any administrative procedure is carry out

Cutting of Cord: We would wish for my husband to cut baby's umbilical cord

Cord Blood: CordBlood will be donated to SCBB

Feeding preference: I would like to begin nursing right after birth & would not like any bottles to be given to my baby (including glucose water)

Misc Details: I would like to have photographs taken during labour and birth

Chinese name

New mum and dad to be will always feel excited when comes to naming their little one. The old folks generally belief that names have an influence on the child's life, either better or for worse. So, we have to consider the qualities of the character which make up their name.

Choose the name by the following principles:

Stroke Count for Chinese Names
Elements and Chinese Names
Genealogy and Chinese Names

So far, we have decided on either:

刘瑞凯(Pinyin: Low Rui Kai)
刘杰凯 (Pinyin: Low Jie Kai)

For the naming process, we have to forward Baby Xavier's date & time of birth and both parent chinese names to the Shi Fu that we have appointed. Then, he will take 2-3 days to calculate to get the best character/names. Got a recommendation through a few friends. His charges is kinda reasonable only $88

Yeah! Finally 1 thing settle on my do to list. :)

Group B Strep Test - cleared

Went for my last test in my last trimester of pregnancy - Group B Strep Test. This test is to detect a kind of bacteria that many people harbour in their intestinal tracts. The bacteria may also inhabit at the vagina as well and passed on to your baby during labour and birth. This test is normal screened at the late pregnancy stage, if found positive, it can be easily treated with antibiotic and will greatly reduce baby's risk of becoming infected.

The screening takes less than a minutes, very similar to pap smear, the nurse just need to do a swap to obtain the tissue at the cervix and send it for lab testing. I just got the result today, I'm not positive. Yeah! Yeah! No additional pills for me. Thank God!

15 More Days to Go!!!!