Advance reunion dinner

This year, we had our family reunion dinner a week earlier
To save all the washing and cleaning, mum decided to have it outside at:
Uncle Leong Seafood Restaurant
9 Tebing Lane
#01-03 Ponggol East

Gong Gong & Ah ma

Ah ma & Xavier meaty tights

In the stroller playing with his fav sophie while papa & mama enjoying dinner

Happy family of 3

First Family outing for 2012

Well today, we had quite a few things planned out. The first on the list was to bring Baby Xavier to Boon Keng for his 2nd hair cut for this coming Chinese New Year.....his hair is really growing out of control.

Next on the list was to satisfy our craving for Cupcakes for our tea time while baby took his nap. Not just any Cupcakes but Twelve Cupcakes at UE Square #B1-60 by Jamie & Daniel. My sis ordered 6nos for $17 bucks... what is there to love about this? The cupcakes are so delicious, so moist and the topping are so special. Will definitely go back for more!

Ok, with that done, we headed to Great World City for Espirit Sales with staff purchase. With additional 40% on top off already 50% clearance stocks... Amazing right! Bought 2 pair of jeans, 1 Crop pants and 1 slipper for office wear :)

After our happy purchase, we had our dinner at food junction but before that we bought xavier to the nursery room to get his diaper change. The room is so spacious and it comes with 2 partition room for breast feeding and express mums.... it also comes with hot water as well....

Ended our day late at 10pm....

Xavier waiting for papa & mama before setting off

Happy Family of 3

Family Morning 7am Adventure

First weekend after going back to work, how i wish I can woke up late on a Saturday morning

Guess what, Xavier woke up at 6am for milk and started playing with papa & mama

He has started to laugh out loud too and this definitely bring a smile to our face :)

Our morning 7am adventure ..... Tummy time!!!!

Hooray, Xavier neck muscle is getting stronger each day and he is able to lift his head 90 degrees for quite sometime.... Good job, Xavier!!!!

12 weeks of bliss

Well, now that it's Tuesday evening, my maternity leave is officially over.

I can't believe how fast this 12 weeks has flown by and that I am already facing the reality of going back to work tomorrow.

Luckily for me that I only have three days of work this week and then only 5 more work days after that until a one week break for Chinese New Year.

With those breaks in mind, I honestly am not dreading going back to work.

I am going to miss Xavier like crazy during the day, but on the other hand, I'm ready to resume a bit of a life outside of the house. But for now, here's a cute picture.....

Xavier Loves Mirror

Baby Loves gazing at Mirror... He is so amaze finding papa & mama's reflection.... :)

My Brave boy

Xavier went for his 3rd month vaccination. Instead of having his usual 6-in-1, Dr Ong recommended pneumococcal vaccine. This vaccine is to fight against Streptococcus pneumonia which is also known as pneumococcus. There are more than 90 subtypes of this bacterium. Pneumococcus can attack different parts of the body leading to serious infection of the following systems:

Lungs (pneumonia)
Blood (bacteraemia)
Coverings of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis)
Middle ear (acute otitis media)prevent pneumonia and it can be deadly if infected.

Patients with pneumococcal pneumonia may develop lung abscess and pericarditis (inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart). Pneumococcal meningitis may cause significant learning disabilities, speech delays, paralysis and even death. Hearing impairment can occur from recurrent otitis media.

The best way to protect against PD is through vaccination and is highly recommended by Health Promotion Board (HPB).

This vaccine consist of 2 dosages, decided to split up the jabs instead of letting Xavier have 2 jabs at a time......... hence, will have to inject alternate months with his 6-in-1 which means 4th month (6-in-1, 2nd dose), 5th (pneumococcal 2nd dose), 6th month (6-in-1, 3rd dose)... All the vaccines will then be completed by 6 months. OMG, the thought of it is so painfully lor.... my poor little boy still has to go through 3 more injections. No choice, I know is good for him................

My sweetie pie has grown so much... he is much braver than before... he cry lesser and babble more.. even Dr Ong commented that he is talkative... LOL!

p.s. At 11 weeks, weighs 6.225kg height 61cm......:) Irritated look after the jab... LOL!

Playtime with Baby

Playtime with papa & mama, right after feed... Xavier in his most relax and alert mode.

In the first month or 2, baby still won't appreciate toys that much so I would think that parents are his first toys. We strongly believe that skills necessary in development, both physical and emotional, can be nurtured through play. So, we make it a point to include at least half hour to an hour of playtime right after feed depending on his mood.

p.s. Increase milk intake to 160ml to 4.5-5 hourly. Next to train - to sleep through the night, not sure whether it is too early, have to check with PD.

Tomorrow, Xavier will have his 2nd dose of 6-in-1 injection. Hope everything will be well.

Hello 2012, goodbye maternity leave

Counting down to 11 Jan 2012.... just another 8 more days, I will be back to work :(
Wow, where did those 3 months go?
The thought of going back to work at the end of my maternity leave can be quite heart breaking. But I know that somethings are inevitable.
There are so much things to do/prepare/arrange just to make sure that the transition is easier for us and baby:

1. Mentally prepare myself - the thought of it make me feel sad & guilt to part with baby almost the whole day, definitely will miss his smiles & squeals


2. Care taker - my mom will be taking care baby while I'm at work... feeling more at ease knowing that baby will be in the hands of someone I trust instead of sending him to infant care


3. Decided to continue with breast-feeding - need a space in the office to express every 3 hourly (office design is open concept, the only place i can think of is the store room... but i think it will be super stuffy so i will need a fan :))... other than that also need to prepare the breast feeding essentials -sterilize pumps, bottles, storage milk bag, ice pack & cooling bag etc - all these have to be readily pack the night before.


4. Baby's feeding schedule - now baby is fed 140ml every 4 hourly: 9am,1pm,5pm, 9pm,1am,5am - still able to feed him when i am back from work, bonding is something not to be miss.


5. Stocking up express breast milk - for the past weeks, I have been exclusively pumping... freezing all the excess BM... heard from some mummies that the supply will be affected after returning to work, probably due to stress ba... and some find it too troublesome and give up along the way... What I need is determination.... do not use the ruse of work not to breast feed my baby!!!!

Personally, i feel that balancing work and baby is no mean task. Successful working mum must have the ability to manage time and prioritize. Hope that I can handle it well.

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!