Family Chalet @ NTUC

Going to have our family chalet tomorrow,  yeah!!!
Have a little gathering for our family of 3 & my mum
before we leave for USA trip in May 2012
4days 3 nights @ NTUC chalet

Here a smiling pic of baby xavier taken I left for work today.... his smile melted my heart!!!

Counting down 39 days to go!!!!

39 more days to go.... I will be flying off to USA....
Can't wait for this moment to arrive!!!
The thought of being a stay at home mom &
spending the precious time together with baby and hubby really make me happy :D

Baby Xavier enjoying his toys

Baby Xavier enjoying his toys!!!!

Great Weekend :p

Baby Xavier new found trick : He loves to grab our hair and make us squeal. He will just giggle.

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We started our Saturday kind of early at about 10am... once baby woke up, bath, finished his milk, we headed to 112 Katong Mall for our brunch. Been there a few times but didn't really got a chance to walk round. I will say that the deco are posh and with up-market retail shops. They have lots of F&B outlets, Golden village multiplex & The marketplace etc.....

The shops that I always patronised - babyOnline located at basement 1, they carry a wide range of high quality baby products at reasonable price especially their range of baby food. Another place I like to go is the market place, they have a large variety of organic vegetable & fruits. This week, I'm going to let baby try pumpkin.

The organic stuff are generally more expensive. One small pumpkin cost about $3.50 & 1 avocado is $3.99. It is said to contain less added chemicals and it taste better than commerical foods. It is also believe to be healthier and is better for us and our children so I have decided to let baby have a try.

so far, baby Xavier had tried wholegrain cereal, sweet potatoes & pumpkin. Next on the list will be avocado & carrot. Baby Xavier loves pumpkin alot.... i think is becos of its natural sweetness bah!!!!

Next, we make our way to Isetan at Parkway Parade. We put him in the baby bjorn carrier while we shop.. Xavier is definitely not behaving like a newborn baby anymore... he loves to be cuddle and carry while we are out...he will kick and babble whenever he sees thing that excite him... he will also lay on me to take his nap...
See! that's us while shopping... :)

Worth Living for

A baby will make love stronger,
days shorter,
nights longer,
bank balance smaller,
home happier,
clothes dirty,
the past forgotten and the future worth living for

Xavier's breastmilk folds

Dear Xavier,

This is probably the time of your life you are soooo cute and cuter as you get plumper!
Mummy looking forward to more of your breastmilk folds :p

Seemingly all grown up

At day 158 (5mths 1wk & 1day), Xavier made a few more discoveries. I'm totally amazed how fast baby xavier can learn!!!

started to get thrilled with some of the toys that he ignored in the past or was unable to participate in playing e.g. able to reach out and pull on the hanging items on the fisher price rocker to make the music come on, he did it with his hands and foot! Knows cause and effect very well.

Able to hold his favourite bottle (NUK wide neck bottle) well & successfully finished his milk without a mess

After weeks of practising, he finally did his first waving bye bye to gong gong and mama this morning --- will try to capture a video for his "First" moment

just realise after I came home from work --- baby xavier, do you want mama to carry??? he immediately got excited with a smile and raise his hands.... omg!

I feel really emotional about all these. Because it seems just like yesterday that Xavier was a little bundle, now yes, he is growing up!!! I feel happy that he is growing up yet sad, that these stages of his life go by soooo fast. I really can't wait to spend 24/7 of my time with him to experience all his "First" moment together....2 more months to go....counting down :)))

In a blink, Xavier turned 5 months old. The previous months didn't seem so obvious but this month, it is very prominent that, he is growing into a little boy.

But he will always be my baby. Be it 5 months, 5 years old, 50 years old.

Like what my friend said, we will always love our child more than our child love us. I think it’s true.

packing ... packing & packing

Into our 2nd day of packing, done with 10 boxes

More to go.... jia you!!!!

Feel so thankful

After giving Xavier a big dose of love
Thankfully, he got better today
He woke up in the morning, with a smile -- they say laughter is the best medicine!

Xavier is sick!!!

Our little darling boy exhibits his first signs of common cold - lots of sneezing. I was sick too, down with flu and cough again!!! I was hoping and praying that the virus will not spread to him. Monitored him and his demeanour, appetite and sleeping habits were pretty normal. By Friday night, though, it was cleared that we were facing our first sick baby. Brought him to the PD this morning, fortunately it was a mild case - mainly just nasal congestion with no fever. Came back with lots of medicine-- nasal spray, nasal drop and oral for allergies.

His milk intake still the same and he was as full of life as ever. I think babies are smart. Xavier knew when he was going to have the medicine and he was all ready for it. At first, I thought he will scream or even push away before I spray the medicine into his nose but to our surprised, he took it very well. I think he knew that the medicine is good for him.

Praying hard that Xavier & mummy will get well soon!!!

first root vegetable - sweet potatoes

My little one first foray into solids, after the initial organic wholegrain baby rice cereal introduction, was sweet potato puree. From everything I have gathered, sweet potato are universally love by most babies because of their sweet taste, and Xavier was no exception. He loved them immediately.

Jarred or Homemade baby food?

Well, my husband and I had a collective agreement of choosing homemade baby food over jarred baby food. This decision was concluded last night.

I personally like to make my little one baby food from fresh veggies and fruits. I love the thought that I made it myself. I truly enjoy doing it. Moreover, I love the idea that what we give him comes from unprocessed produce.

The freshness of the baby food we feed him is just one of the two primary reasons why we opted to continue making him homemade treats. The other one is, "financial practicability."

I am not against jarred baby food. Don't get me wrong. We just realized that making baby food ourselves sounds more practical and delightful knowing that we feed him new variety of veggies and fruits each week, made from fresh produce, prepared with love. And of course, the bucks we save each week is awesome!

I am not saying that we will no longer give Xavier jarred baby food. There should be special situations where commercial baby food is more suitable for an occasion than the homemade one.

Milestone - Rolling over from left

Witness his first roll over to tummy from his left side --- yeah! Now Xavier can roll over to his tummy on both sides.

He will rock on his stomach, kick his legs and swim with his arms to move himself in a circular motion just to grab for his toy or just to get a little closer to me. He is such a sweetie little guy... Muacks :))))

Random Updates

Just an update:

I'm on leave from 14 Mar till 19 Mar to spend time with baby
Carton boxes for packing will arrive tomorrow
Have tender my resignation officially on 9 March. My last day of work should be on 8 April but I have postponed it to 30 April to cover duties for my colleagues.
Extracting my 2 of 4 wisdom tooth tomorrow. My dentist has advised me to remove them as, it is vulnerable to decay, it will affect other teeth, due to improper angulation.
Our USA visa are ready, tentative flight on 4 May
Xavier had his first home made root vegetable today - sweet potato with Breast milk. He loves it lots. Will blog more about it!!!

Xavier 5 months old

Time keeps ticking away!! I can't believe Xavier is five months old, such a big boy. Sometimes I feel like you have been with us forever. Your dad and I are getting used to this whole "being parents" thing and I would say we have a nice routine down by now. Sometimes though I get kinda frustrated, or tired, or just overwhelmed and I feel like a bad parent, but then I remind myself that I've only been "on the job" for 5 months, and it takes most people at least that long to get used to a new job and then I feel so much better.

Xavier has made a lot of new discoveries this month. Here's what he's up to:

Found his feet and loves to play with them

Had his first taste of something other than breast milk and he LIKED it. We started with Rice Cereal and he literally knew how to eat from the spoon, the second I put it in his mouth. He will take my hand, when I'm holding the spoon, and try to shove the spoon in his mouth faster than I can get it there. Boy, oh boy is he going to love the "real" baby food! Stay tuned for that!

Still our "go with the flow" baby. When it's nap time, whether he's at home in his bed or in a stroller out & about, he takes his nap. Love it!

Become a lot more vocal lately too. He loves to talk to his papa

Can sit up on his own for quite sometime. tripod method, of course

One of my absolute favorite things he's doing lately is laughing! He laughs at me making faces or funny noises, and is the most ticklish little thing.

Drink 150ml every 3 hours. still using a medium flow nipple. in size M diapers and wear primarily 3-6 month clothes

Rolled over from your front to his back at 4 1/2 months (from right side)

Hand eye coordination is also improving. Now you actually reach for things and get semi close to actually touching them. Every now and then you will get what you are reaching for and get really excited

Still sleep through the night

Go to bed between 7.30 - 8pm and wakes up by 7am. He lay there so quietly and happily that I don't know exactly when his sweet eyes open for the day.

Nap 2 or 3 times a day. The times and lengths are different every day.

Love his baths & swim

He knows his name

Don't have any teeth yet

Enjoy giving Papa & Mama High Five

Learning "flying kisses" & "bye bye" in progress....

2nd Dip @ Baby Spa

Went for 2nd dip @ baby spa with yi yi & ah ma today
Instead of going to the small pool, we upgraded Xavier to the big pool
Big pool has more space for him to manoeuvre
He is so much happier & calmer than his First

After a while, a 9 months old baby boy joined Xavier for a swim in the big pool . He started to fuss the moment he was placed in the water. He is not happy at all but after a little coaxing and with the hlep of pacifier, he was ok.
Ah ma feels that Xavier is a little affected by him... can feel that he is a little tense. But after a short while, Xavier is back to his usual self... Thumbs Up!!!!

Thank you yiyi for paying for my swimming class today!!!!

All Smiles

Very Happy everyday, especially after a long good nite sleep :)

USA posting in May 2012

Something great is going to happen in 2 months' time :)
I'm going to announce it officially.....
That is.... Hubby will be posted to USA for 2years in coming May 2012, this time is so different, I will be traveling with my baby and my mum. Definitely something to look forward to and be happy about it :)
There are lots of things need to be done, arranged & organised..... so much so until I 'm not sure what needs to be done first. But, we know that baby will always be our utmost top priority.


Next thing on my mind is my job. I love my current job, colleagues and the working environment. I feel kinda sad to leave such a nice place with such wonderful colleagues...... Haiz!!! What to do, in life there are always sacrifices we need to make!!! If you were to give me an option again to choose between job vs family... My choice will always be family.

I know that some people feel that I'm not being realisitic. Many tends to equate success to with money, power & fame. To me, success = cultivate family bonding that last a lifetime. I strongly believe in this "A tightly knit family is like a rock which can survive the toughest storm. In time of crisis, family is the one who is always there to support and help one another."

So, I will never ever trade family with anything else!!!!

Did you know

rice cereals, bananas, and applesauce are some of the most binding foods around and are common causes of constipation.

breastfed babies may be more prone to constipation when solid foods are introduced. This is because their tiny tummies are used to processing the easily and highly digestible mother's milk.

There are many things you can do to help relieve baby's constipation. You can change baby's feeding pattern and/or engage in some physical exercises. Exercises to Help Relieve Infant Constipation include:
Tummy Massage -- Gently massage and rub baby's tummy in a clockwise direction. Place your hands at baby's navel and massage in a circular motion, moving your hand(s) out and away from the center of baby's belly.
Bicycle Legs --- Place your baby on her back and lightly hold her legs in a half-bent position. Gently begin to move your baby's legs as if she is riding a bicycle. Alternate "Bicycle Legs" with Tummy Massage. *"Bicycle Legs" also may help to relieve a baby who is gassy.
A Warm Bath --- Some medical professionals suggest giving your constipated baby a warm bath. The thought is that this may help relax baby and "get things moving" again. Give a tummy massage as you are drying baby.

Relieving Constipation in Babies Younger than 4 Months:
Try giving one to two ounces of diluted fruit juice such as grape, prune or apple-prune twice daily and practice some of the above exercises. (Always consult your pediatrician about the appropriateness of new foods/liquids to help alleviate constipation) Learn about Fruit Juice in your baby's diet. Relieving Constipation in Babies 4 Months to 12 months + by Changing the Food DietAdding more fiber to baby's diet may help get things moving again. Try strained foods that contain high fiber such as:
apricots
prunes
peaches
plums
pears
peas
spinach

3rd day on solid

It been 3 days and I think Xavier is doing quite well now!!! :))
Will start to introduce small amounts of various organic vegetables and fruit once Xavier is 5months old. 5 more days to go :))))
It is advisable to give baby more vegetables than fruit so to prevent baby from developing sweet tooth. At this stage, root vegetables (such as carrot, sweet potato & swede) are recommended. These contain natural sugar, will taste sweeter and blander and may be more palatable to babies.
Baby Xavier enjoying his baby cereal in the afternoon.


To start with home-made baby food, I invest in the Combi step up cooking set. It comes with 3 different mesh to crush foods for your little one. Starts from the green to orange and finally to the yellow one. So to puree I will start off with the green one.

Googled and found lots of baby puree recipe available online Yippi!!! Making baby food is so simple!!! Looking forward to it.


There are certain foods that are recommended to avoid for babies below one year of age, especially on Honey and Citrus fruits like orange. And we are following it to the dot.

2nd day on solid

Breast Milk is still the most important food for him as it provides him with the right balance of vitamins and minerals. Solid given to Xavier now are classed as first tastes and fillers which I will increase very slowly over several weeks, gradually preparing him for 3 solid meals a day.

So, when & how do I feed Xavier solid???

The best time is once a day in early afternoon after milk. This is to ensure that his daily milk intake does not decrease too rapidly before he reaches 6 months. I started off with half a tablespoon of organic wholegrain cereal mix to a very smooth consistency using warm expressed milk of about 20ml.

Guess what!!! baby love it & finish the whole bowl.... Good Job!!!

Play time after meal....

Starting on Solid Food

Well, tried feeding him cereal for the first time today! Xavier is not a fan at first. His face tells it all!!!! I have to be honest, it doesn't smell all that great, it tasted kinda bland with just a little fruity apple taste. For the every first spoon of cereal, he was not sure what am I going to feed him so he was quite reluctant to open his mouth. Subsequent feeds, he was more trusting, he just keep opening his mouth and reaches for the food.

Ready for some cereal --- open up!!



Oh I am not so sure about this!!!


What are you feeding me ???


Taste yummy!!!! Open up for more.....

Xavier @ 4mths, 2wks & 6days

BB is due for his monthly injections, went for his 2nd dose of Pneumoccoccal & 1st dose of Rotavirus. As usual, Xavier did not cry .... what a brave Boy!!!!

We are intending to let Xavier try out some solid food. We feel that he is ready to experience some texture soon. In fact, he's already getting much hungrier and always chewing on his hands, looking longingly at us when we eat. Have spoke to the PD, he advise that is alright to introduce solid food now but give something that are lighter to digest such as baby rice/porridge or puree.

There are many leading brands of baby food widely available, and after doing much research, I wanted to try the Organix range. Organix products include no added salt, extracts, colourings etc just good wholesome food suited to your babies needs with added vitamins to ensure dietery needs are met. This particular packet stated for use for babies 4mths (Stage1)so I felt at ease buying this product.

Food choices aside, we have another problem. We are lack of a high chair!!! So, we make our way to IKEA to get him one... We are surprise that he enjoy the chair!!! :))))

Tmr, we will be his 1st experience of organic baby cereal with apple!!! Yippi!!!! Fun but challenging...

Xavier weighs 7.44kg & height of 67cm. Whooo!!! Above average!!!!

Xavier learning to sit

Sitting independently gives your baby a new perspective on the world

We have started propping Xavier in sitting position since he was 8 weeks old. So now, he has slowly figure out how to maintain his balance while seated by leaning forward on both arms in a tripod position.
Xavier now can sit for a few minutes without assistance but eventually will still topple over...

Good Job, Xavier!!!!