The Chair Series (4 months old)

DS is 4 months old today and that only means ONE thing... my maternity leave is over! I know this sounds really cliche, but gosh, time does fly doesn't it?

Same time last year, DS was just a bunch of cells and DN + PF had just joined me in the UK.

Nine months ago, we'd just returned to SG and were stuffing our faces (okay, MY face) with local food.

Six months ago, DS was still growing in my belly and DN had just started school.

Three months ago, DS was one month old and I was finally liberated from confinement.

And look at us now. 2009 is over and before you know it, DS will be one and DN will be four!

So what is little DS up to now? At four months, she's still not rolling over. Well, not "professionally" anyway, haha. She does make those turns to her side, but it's "not pro" because her entire upper torso is close to flipping over but her (Beyonce) butt is still firmly on the mattress. This is really all my fault because I keep forgetting to give her her daily dose of tummy time. :p She doesn't abhor it as much as her brother did, so I really have no excuse for skiving. It's just that I've recently discovered the joys of virtual farming (on Facebook) so the minute she sleeps, I'm plowing land and harvesting pumpkins!

At four months, she's finally sleeping through the night. And this is not "baby" sleeping through the night either. We're talking "real adult" sleeping through the night. I usually give her her last feed around 830-9pm and she sleeps until about 730-8am the next day. Oh. Em. Gee. YESSSSS! *pump fist* Want to know the other wonderful thing about this baby? She can sleep on her own! By this I mean, I don't have to rock her or pat her before putting her down in her cot. After burping her and holding her upright for a couple of minutes, I then put her down, kiss her cheek and say goodnight. She'll then lie there contemplating life for a while before falling asleep. *pump fist even more* Either my sleep training worked or it's payback time for what DN did to me. But, who cares?!

At four months, she's drooling big time. I took the bibs out about 2 weeks ago because by noon, our little missy always has a wet chest. (In another context, that would sound really skanky!) Could she be teething? I don't really know because prying babies' mouths open is not really my thing. But I don't think so because she's generally in a good mood all the time and she's sleeping well at night. DN however, might be, that whiny cranky tot!

At four months, she has started to bring things to her mouth for a good chomp. Usually, it's her thumb. -__-" I am now seriously thinking if I should introduce the pacifier because you can throw away the pacifier but you can't throw away the thumb. Looks like I am destined to fight battles with thumbs and pacifiers. *sigh* But that said, I think subconsciously I'm hesitating because I think she looks really cute sucking her thumb! But then I remember how my mother tried weaning me off my thumb (there was chilli and lots of threatening involved) and it doesn't look that cute anymore.

At four months, she's still talking a lot. Oooh, this is love. DN was never a chatty baby. In fact, I don't remember him gurgling or babbling AT ALL as a baby. We were always purring and cooing at him but, no dice. This one however, is SO fun to talk to. She usually coos, but when she's excited, she squeals! I actually have tons of videos of her cooing. I just haven't uploaded them here because they are videos that only a mother will love. Just a baby making unintelligible sounds. Horribly boring if it's not your child!

At four months, she's starting to bald. It's not as bad as her brother when he was four months, but she's starting to drop hair at the back of her head. Right now, there is a ring of scalp round the back because of all the rubbing she's doing on her pillow! Honestly, I don't know why I just spent $40 on baby hair clips. -__-

I really love DS the baby. She's such a darling. I love snuggling and sniffing her. I love brushing her soft cheek and squeezing her. I love patting her Tintin hair (more about that soon) and thinking of all the pigtails I can tie in two years' time. I love seeing her do her leg lifts and when she head-bangs because of her slightly wobbly head. I lovelovelove her!

I wish I could have DS the baby forever, but it's okay that I can't because otherwise, I won't have DS the toddler, DS the primary schooler, DS the teenager or DS the working adult who will bring her mother out for high teas in fancy hotels!

Merry Christmas!

I don't have a helper at home, but my mom does. J came to live with our family a year after my brother was born 17 years ago. I was 18 and J was 22. We are just four years apart, but by then, it was obvious that our worlds were miles apart and our futures were going to be so different. I finished my A Levels, went to University, went on holidays, dated, got married, went on honeymoon, had two kids AND throughout, I had my family around me. J just helped our family for all those years. So basically, I lived the cookie cutter (and privileged) life. Because J and I are so close in age, I often feel guilty (but grateful) for having so many things and such an fortunate life.

When DN was born, J helped me out with my housework. She was a godsend. With her, we slept on clean sheets, walked on clean floors and wore clean clothes. Without her, we would have lived in filth and smelt even worse! We are very lucky to have J. She is so patient, kind and generous. She has been with us for so many years and seen us through so much, she is like family to us.

About two years ago, J decided that she wanted to move back to the Philippines to get married and start a family. Although no one wanted her to go, it would have been very selfish to make her stay. So we made do while she was gone. And sigh, started living in filth.

So J got married and her husband and her had a little boy last year. :)

Sadly, because of the global recession, her husband couldn't find work and five months ago, she returned to Singapore to work. It was good to see her again after all that while, but I couldn't help but feel SO SAD when I thought about how she had to leave her little boy to come back here. And indefinitely too. How painful must that be? I remember what a wreck I was when I had to leave DN last year. And even then, I knew I would be seeing both PF and DN in about two months or so. (What a wuss!) So my heart aches for J and her little boy. And all the other helpers who had to leave their children behind to work here. It's too sad.


On a recent Sunday, I asked J what she was doing that day. She told me she was going to Lucky Plaza to wire money back to her family because they didn't have enough to buy milk for her son. I stopped smiling after that. Life is so unfair right? Just as J and I have such different lives even though we're about the same age, so will our children. My son started receiving Christmas presents left, right and centre about three weeks ago. J's son will spend Christmas without his mother. My son just went on his fourth holiday last week (and he's only three and a half). When will J be able to take her son on a holiday? I mean, I bought DN his own luggage for heaven's sake!

As a "privileged" parent, providing for my children's basic necessities is a done deal. I am lucky to be able to go beyond that and give them even more. I know how lucky I am, but DN and DS don't realise how lucky they are.

So my Christmas wish this year is this - I wish that my children will grow up to be humble and giving individuals. I wish that they will have compassion in their hearts and are able to put others ahead of them. I want them to take nothing for granted and be grateful for everything they have. And lastly, I want them to give generously and wholeheartedly to those who are not as fortunate as they are.

In the midst of all the giving and feasting with family this season, let's stop for a while and think about all those who cannot celebrate the holiday the way we can. Merry Christmas everyone!

DS's 1st Holiday... and DN's 4th!

Phuket was great. I always love love love going to Thailand because the people are just so genuinely friendly. And the food is so good! Now I have three babies - Der Nen, Der Shyen and Food. -__-"

I'd say we're definitely braver with #2. It took us 1.5 years to gather up enough courage to go on holiday with #1. This time, it only took us 2 months. *pat on the back* I figure there's no better time to travel with DS than now because she's still on 100% breastmilk. Just call me "meals on wheels". It's either now or after she turns 1 because once she starts weaning, I'll have to worry about mashing fruit and veg on the go!

We all enjoyed ourselves on this trip. My mom loved the food, PF loved the excuse to drink more beer, DN loved the swimming pool and 24-hour Disney channel and DS loved hanging out in the pouch all the time. What did I love?

These pictures. :) (Bear with me, there are a lot!)

DAY 1

DN loved watching the planes. One of these days, we'll drive to long Changi Road, park by the side and watch the planes. I used to do that with my parents and LOVED it.

DN tried to put his hand around his sister's shoulders but she refused to budge. He settled for putting it ON her head. Haha!

DS was such a breeze on the plane, both ways. Pity she didn't get to sleep in the bassinet for that long. Turbulence.

Ding dong! Room service!

DAY 2

DN making chocolate chip cookies - one of the Kids' Club activities at the resort.

He loved it!

DAY 3

Just-out-of-bed hair.

 DS ended up being carried A LOT because we didn't bring her bouncer.

Er... he's playing with tow gay here.

Sharing beef kway teow soup with DN.

DS waited patiently in the stroller as we ate lunch. Awww!

Father and daughter both trying out their "act cute" poses.

DN impersonating Jar Jar Binks

Free ice lollies by the pool!

You are feeling sleeepyyy...

Zzz...!

JUST LOOK AT THAT!

DAY 4

Checking in. 

DS was such a magnet.

DN and his Trunki. (I wish they made one in my size!)

WINNER! Raffle Wednesdays [#1 The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique]

Congratulations Joyce! Please email me at junewee[at]gmail.com for details on how to claim your personalised Santa book from The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique!

Thanks everyone, for taking part. This whole process was really great fun! Especially picking the winner. I wrote everyone's name on little bits of paper, cupped them in my hands and shook my hands until one piece of paper fell out. Never felt so powerful before! Mwah-hahahaha.

Stay tuned for January's instalment of "Raffle Wednesdays". The next giveaway is really really cool! TRUST ME. So don't forget to check back here regularly... especially on Wednesdays. ;)

And hot damn, I really wish I could take part in this one!

Sawadeeka!

PF and I have very different holidaying styles. He's really suited for chill-out-and-go-brain-dead type of spa holidays and I'm the duracell-bunny-on-speed-and-a-coffee-drip type of holiday maker. I mean, I'm here for only x number of days, so pass me the baht and call a tuk-tuk, we're going canoeing, rock-climbing, golfing, spa-ing, shopping... and THEN lunch! I'm the ultimate kiam ka na (stingy sour prune) too. When shopping, I almost get into fights over 10 baht. And usually by that time, my husband would have slunk away in embarrassment and would be of absolutely no use if I'd gotten my eyes scratched out. Of course, I then go back to Singapore and realise that I was almost blinded over 40 cents!

So that's me on holidays before kids came along. It's really different when you have kids huh? Goodbye duracell bunny, hello slow loris. No more cheong-ing until 11pm, or making full use of happy hour. You've got to think about naps, insect repellent, tea-time snacks, regular bowel movements and spare toys in the diaper bag. Not glam, not glam.

All this just means taking things really slow on holidays, MAJOR changes in one's holiday expectations and lots of beer on the plane. And in the hotel. And at dinner. And heck, how about one before dinner? You know, to dull the pain!

This was the first time I'd seen PF drink so much beer on a holiday. It all started on the flight to Phuket - a beer with his tray dinner. On Day 2, it was beer from the minimart (Phuket Lager!) and beer at dinner. On Day 3, more beer when the kids were sleeping. No beer on Day 4 because his hands were full carrying all our barang-barang, and he konked out on the plane after lunch. He drank more beer on this holiday than on all our other holidays combined! When you go on holiday with two kids under four, life's more bearable through beer goggles eh?

It was also funny that as the holiday progressed, the list of things that we'd forgotten to bring got longer and longer.

1. DN's anti-allergy medicine (Ack! Had to buy Zyrtec at the airport.)
2. DS's bath net
3. Cable for downloading pics from the camera
4. Plug Adaptor
5. DN's multi-vits

... and so on and so on. The days were peppered with, "Aiyah! We forgot to bring that!"

But all in all, it was good fun. I got to spend quality time with my mom, set my throat on fire with Tom Yum Goong, enjoyed our own private lap pool and basically did nothing constructive or useful. Quite shiok! ;)

Off we go!

So much has happened the past few days, I haven't had time to blog. Sorry! And this is going to be a short, short post because we're rushing to the airport!

Yes! We're going on a beach holiday! Yay!

With my mum! Yay!

And two children! Argh... shoot me now.

Well, it was an offer too good to pass up (free accomodation + Silkair promo) so the whole motley crew is going. Hopefully we come back relaxed and chilled out. Wait, what am I talking about? We're going with a 3-year old and a 3-month old. Hopefully we come back sane, with all our luggage and the same number of children we left with!

In the weeks and days leading up to this crazy adventure holiday, we've done tons of stuff.

1. Made DS's passport (thank God for online applications)
2. Bought DN his own Trunki (more about that later...)

Enjoy this photo as we enjoy ourselves in Phuket! We brought DS to get her photo taken for her passport and that's how they took her photo. She still can't sit on her own, or hold her head up for long for that matter. Had to crop myself out of this picture though because my chest was too rude for this family-friendly blog!

See you all on Friday! And raffle results on Friday too. :)

My Little Joey

DN was never a "joey" baby. I really wanted him to be one because I just loved the idea (and look) of slinging your baby around. I know how this must sound to all my no-baby friends. Don't worry! No throwing of infants is involved in this activity!

Back to slinging babies about. (lol!)

You can even get slings in different prints to match your outfits. Fashionista! (except that I'm too cheap to buy different ones so I'll be the fashion disaster in a polka-dot top and striped sling!)

DN hated the sling. Absolutely detested the thing. Everytime I tried to put him in it, he would wail and cry and scream and howl and turn red on purpose to scare me. I'd then whip him out of there and proceed to look longingly at the sling and then at my baby and wonder, "Why???".

I was REALLY sad he didn't like it. The sling just looks so... cool!

So with DS, I didn't get my hopes up. This time round, I wanted to try a pouch. It looks cooler than a sling! Again, I borrowed one from a friend before buying. On my first outing alone with DS (had tea at Bakerzin with Funny Bee), I brought the pouch AND stroller. You know, just in case.

Halfway through creme brulee and herbal tea, DS woke up. I looked at her, at the pouch and then thought, "Heck! Let's give it a shot!" So we trooped off to the baby room and after her diaper change, I slipped her into a pouch and she fell right asleep!

Okay, "slip" is not a good word. There was nothing "slippery" about how I got her into the pouch. In fact, there was much grunting, furrowing of brow and gnashing of teeth. When I finally got her into the pouch, I was panting and sweating like a rugby player. It was my first time with a pouch after all and I was so paranoid that I would put her in wrong and she would get MAJOR pins and needles. I must have put her in and taken her out at least 3 times before she looked comfortable to me. I mean, I don't want to put a baby in and take a pretzel out right?!

I

Snug as a bug :)

(despite being put in and taken out and put in and taken out and put in and taken out of the pouch!)

That photo was taken when DS was 5 weeks old. Since then, I've had more practice with the pouch and am happy to report that I no longer look a train wreck after putting baby in. (In my defence, the cradle carry is supposed to be the trickiest of the lot.) DS is now 3 months (and a bit) old and I've popped her into the pouch many times because... SHE LOVES THE POUCH! Yes sir-ree! She falls asleep EVERY TIME she's popped into it when we're out. This has been very very helpful because DN sometimes refuses to walk, so we pop him into the stroller and DS pops into the pouch. I finally have my own joey baby!

Just last weekend, I decided to try the kangaroo position. DS's head is pretty steady now so I thought I'd just let her try it out. After all, I'd been watching the video over and over in anticipation of this day!

DS the prairie dog (lol!)

Success! She likes it too! And I'm really happy for her because she can now look at all the exciting things that are happening around her instead of staring at my wobbly chin all day!

It's fun being a kangaroo mama!

ps : Have you joined the raffle yet?

Raffle Wednesdays [#1 The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique]

Have you joined the raffle yet? If you haven't, wassup?!?

I have just made it easier to join this raffle for a personalised santa book from The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique!

All you need to do now is click here (and scroll all the way down) to leave a comment and answer this question - "What would you like to win in the next raffle?"

For another shot at winning, be a fan of The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique on Facebook. After you've done so, leave another comment.

On 12 December, I'll choose a winner from all those who have left comments. One comment counts as one chance to win.

Easy peasy!

ps : There's something wrong with my blog! I've activated the "comments" function, but they are just not appearing on the main blog page. They only appear on the individual post page. Help! 

Raffle Wednesdays [#1 The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique]

Guess what? I'm giving something away here on this blog!

... for free!

... including postage!

... to anywhere in the world!

A good friend of mine, Debbie, started a lovely little store - THE BUSY BEE PERSONALISED BOUTIQUE - which specialises in goodies for our own busy little bees. There's something for everyone this Christmas - baby bee, toddler bee and even primary school bee! And from what I hear, soon, mommy bee will not be left out. ;)

For baby bee, I'd go for a personalised book ($15-$18). Brilliant!

For toddler bee, I'd get a personalised backpack ($38.90 non-personalised, $44.90 personalised) for playschool. How cool is that! Yee-haw!

And for primary school bee, I like the Money Savvy Pig. Oink!

I just love stay-at-home-mommy-run businesses, don't you? You know that the stuff they sell is always perfect because hey, they're moms too. Can you imagine what a daddy-run business will stock? Probably too many sweets, mismatched socks and uncoordinated outfits. That's what happens when papa bee is in charge right?

Anyway.

For my very first raffle, The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique is giving away a personalised santa book (worth $15) to one lucky reader. All you need to do is...

... leave a comment below (click here and scroll down) and answer this question - "What would you like to win next?". I hope to have at least 1 raffle a month!

For one extra chance to win this santa book, just be a fan of The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique on Facebook. Don't forget to leave another comment below telling me you're now a fan. I won't know otherwise!

This raffle is open for 10 days and I will draw a winner on Saturday, 12 December. Anyone, and everyone can enter! 

My very first raffle! I'm so excited! Even though I can't win anything. -__-"

I also thought it would be nice for everyone to learn a little bit more about Debbie and her Busy Bee Personalised Boutique, so I asked her three quick questions and here's what she said.

1. Why did you start The Busy Bee Personalised Boutique?
Well, I saw a gap in the local children's gift and apparel market. I felt there wasn't a store which concentrated on personalised and luxe stuff. And I'm a BIG fan of personalised stuff.

2. What's the funniest thing your baby bee has done?
Hmm.... this is a tough one. Too many! She is in the throwing-everything-stage and recently took off one of her socks and threw it out of the lift as the doors were closing. So we had to go back up to retrieve it. And the people in the lift were giggling! It's an incident that made me giggle to myself too!

3. What do you do to relax when baby bee is finally in bed?
Uhmmm, I don't think relaxation is really possible! When she's napping, I squeeze in my meals, catch up on chores or work on email orders. I try to sneak in a tea-time snack and a cuppa, or just chat with my BFFs online every now and then. After she's gone to bed, uhmm well, I watch TV. I'm a huge TV buff!

The Chair Series (3 months old)

Making It Lovely is one of the blogs I started following this year. When she started posting monthly pictures of her baby girl sitting in her Eames rocker, I thought, "THAT IS SUCH A BRILLIANT IDEA! I'm SO going to copy that!" You see, PF and I decided to splurge a little and got a gorgeous rocking chair (for me to nurse DS) from Lorgan's and upholstered it in a wonderful retro print. Deee-licious! And just perfect for doing my own chair series for DS!

So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the first and second instalment of The Chair Series! :)

DS is now three months old, and that means two things. One, time flies and two, my maternity leave is ending. Ack!

I know I will be an embarrassing wibbling mess on the first day of work because I'm really enjoying this baby. You know how you're not supposed to say good things about babies because you might just jinx it? I won't go to the extent of naming my baby xiao fei zhu (little fat pig), but I will say this...

DS is such a "terrible, terrible" baby. She is "impossible" to placate and cries "non-stop, all the time". I'm always "at my wits' end" on how to handle her because she is just so "difficult". She "hasn't slept through the night once" (nudge nudge!) and still wakes up "five times a night", the little "devil" (wink wink WINK!). Of course, this causes her mother "great great grief". Sigh!

I think I just beat the system. *smug face* I will now have the most intelligent and well-behaved baby in the worrrrrlddddd, woot!

Whoops, think I just jinxed it.

Caught In The Act

To suck or not to suck the thumb, that is the question.

Hmmm... decisions... decisions... what's a baby to do?

 

Heck! I'm going for the fist!

If you're going to do it, do it right!

Oh dear.

In 3 years, I envision myself doing this yet again, but this time it's going to be 10x worse, and this time, I'll really go bald. You can throw away the nyeh-nyeh, but you can't throw away the thumb!

My Mei Mei!

A cousin's of PF shared this story about sibling rivalry that scared the bejesus out of me. It's a really short story and goes something like this - one day, she found her 2 year old standing on his 8-month old baby brother in the playpen. ACK!

That's natural birth control for you!

So it was with much trepidation that we introduced DN to DS for the first time in the hospital. We did our prep work and prepared a present for DN (from his sister). Before DS arrived, we read "A New Baby" to him and every night, we invited him to talk to his little sister via baby telephone (toilet roll). I don't know if it was the present, the book, the baby telephone, or just that DN is real sweetie at heart, but I don't think he's going to use DS as a stepping stone any time soon.

PHEW!

He really does love his little sister. He gets real excited when DS smiles at him and will promptly shout (and scare the living daylights out of his little sister at the same time) out, "Mei Mei smiled at me! Mei Mei smiled at me! She smiled at me you know!"

During DS's first month, the first thing DN wanted to do every day he came home from school was "look at Mei Mei". After kicking off his shoes, he would rush over to her cot and attempt to hug her with his grimy hands and shower her with sweaty kisses. Sweet, but terribly unhygienic!

One day, when confinement nazi left the flat to walk DS along the corridor, DN shouted from the living room, "HEY! That's my Mei Mei!" He was worried his little sister was getting kidnapped, but apparently not worried enough to get off his seat from the couch and stop watching cartoons to chase after confinement nazi and get his sister back. LOL!

He even tries to be the mummy by singing her his favourite lullaby (you MUST click on that link!) when she gets a little fussy.Yes, I've got a little hokkien kia at home. And if DN keeps up with the serenading, I will soon have TWO.

And now that DS is actively cooing and communicating with us, when DN is in a patient mood (not often enough), he will talk to her and give her advice.

DS : *coo coo coo*
DN : Hello Mei Mei! (playing with his cars)
DS : *coo coo coo*
DN : You cannot play with this yet okay? I am big. You are small. When you're big, you can play.
DS : *coo coo COO*
DN : Hush hush.
DS : *coo COO COO*
DN : Don't cry okay? Ti or or... beh lor hor... ah kong ah mah gia gut tor...
DS : *COO COO COO!!!*
DN : Hush hush! Quiet quiet! Otherwise I'll make you stand in the corner!

He tries. He really does.

But don't get me wrong, it's not always hunky-dory in the Ong household. We are so NOT perfect. Just the other day, I lost my temper when DN prodded his sister with one of those handheld back massager sticks (sometimes, I'm just so eloquent) despite being warned not to. And he refuses to share his pillows, bolsters, towels, EVERYTHING with his sister. And the other night, he peed on the bed, and ME, when PF carried his sister out of the room instead of him. Me! He peed on me! My son actually urinated on me! So yeah, it's not all ribbons and rainbows over here too. But overall, I'd still say that he does love his little sister and can be quite a sweetheart.

At times.

Sleep tight, my little bunnies!

Laugh or cry?

DN : I got two cars!

Me : I have two cars.

DN : No. You don't!

Me : ...
Okay, this one can laugh.

Me : (lifting DS up by her armpits)

DN : Mei mei is superman!

Me : ...

This one also can laugh.

DN : (looking up at me and pointing at my belly) Mummy! Got more babies inside!

Me : ...

CRY! WAIL! SOB! SNIFF! HOWWWL!

Imagine my dismay when DN said that. He used the plural form too! BABIES, not BABY. It's been 12 weeks since I gave birth and I tell you, I'm sick and tired of still looking pregnant! And PF is sick and tired of me constantly asking him, "Do I look like Big Momma?"

My wardrobe is so limited. I can't wear sleeveless tops because my arms look like honey baked hams, I can't wear ANY of my skirts because my muffin top threatens to overflow and I still can't wear my old jeans. If my arms look like honey baked hams, I don't even want to think of a comparison for my thighs! The only pre-pregnancy thing I can fit into comfortably now are my goddam shoes, and that doesn't count!

I know I'm supposed to be patient and give myself six months, and I guess it makes sense. After all, if it took me 10 months to put on all that weight, it should take equally long to get it off right? Technically yes... if you're a mere mortal. If you're Heidi Klum however, when your baby is 5 weeks old, you abandon said baby walk in the Victoria's Secret Show. In your undergarments! For the whole world to see! Goodness, when DS was 5 weeks old, my undergarments were big, white and 100% cotton. Hang on, DS is now 12 weeks old and my undergarments still look like flags on the washing line.

Did you see that picture of her? I mean, seriously! 5 weeks after giving birth?! And this is her 4th kid?! Give me a break. This woman's either of a different species than me, or... of a different species than me, i.e. NOT HUMAN.

But God is fair. I think I see a hint of a water-retention ankle in this picture. And I think my baby is cuter than hers! Humph!

*sniff* Something smells sour in here...

Milo Tins Under The Bed

You know how the old folks like to keep their money in milo tins under the bed because they believe banks are just out to cheat us? (Looks like they might be right after all...) Well, check out what DN has stashed behind his pillow.

(L to R) His wallet, a Thomas the Tank Engine book, his teddies 
(the round one he nicked from a baby basket for his sister) and his Mr Men board books (current fave books)

This is where he keeps his favourite things. He loves to go to bed knowing that they're there. He will even arrange his books neatly in a row. Their spines are all not facing out, but give him a break, he's 3! Last night, he refused to sleep because his phone was not with him.

DN : I want my phone!
Me : But why? It's time to sleep, not play.
DN : I need to call someone! *wail*wail*wail*
Me : ...

I finally let him out of the room and he ran to the living room to retrieve an old, spoilt cordless phone which he now uses as his mobile phone. He fell asleep with it in his hand. :)

Weaning off the Pacifier : Day 7

Down to a pat.

All in the bag.

It's a wrap.

Done and dusted.

Whoo-pee-tra-la-la-la-fiddle-dee-dee-yay!

Night 7

Took less than 10 minutes to fall asleep.

Didn't ask for his pacifier all day.

Slept through the night.

Woke up happy.

It's REALLY over!

Weaning off the Pacifier : Day 4 + 5 + 6

No more nyeh-nyeh in the house!

No more nyeh-nyeh in the car!

No more nyeh-nyeh from today!

No more nyeh-nyeh FOREVER!

That was the anthem DN's grandma created when we embarked on this crazy journey. DN was really excited and happy as we chanted that on Day 1. It actually became very festive. He even threw his own nyeh-nyeh (happily too) in the bin when his grandma asked him to. I was so shocked he did it. I mean, it was his right arm! There are 2 possible reasons why he did it.

1. All that chanting really got him into the mood and when we cheered after he did it, he must have loved basking in all that attention and glory.

2. The poor guy didn't know what he was getting himself into.

It's probably #2 eh?

No matter. We're 6 days into this whole thing and I am happy to announce, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. By jove, I think I see the exit! :D

Night 4 : DN wakes up around 12am, wailing again. Starts thrashing on the bed. I quickly pick him up, cuddle him close and rock him. In less than a minute, he stops wailing and starts whining instead. Eureka! The poor chap just needs some tender lovin'! He soon falls asleep and I put him down gently. This continues on and off for the next hour until he finally dozes off into deep sleep.

Night 5 : DN continues to drift out of deep sleep between the hours of 12am and 1am. Tonight he whines in his sleep. I like whining! It sure beats wailing! PF and I leave him alone and he manages to go back to sleep! Woot! When I wake up BY MYSELF (oh, you don't know how good this feels), I check the clock and it's 6.30am. It's 6.30am! OH MY GOD! *hyperventilate*

Night 6 : We have a feeling the worst is over and I'm not afraid to go to sleep anymore. As usual, DN wakes up from deep sleep during the night and starts whining. Today there's thrashing, but we ignore him and he GOES BACK TO SLEEP! There IS a God! (and I think he likes us!)

So yup yup, it looks like DN has gotten used to life without nyeh-nyeh. He still asks for it every now and then, especially when he's cranky and in a bad mood, but it's not a persistent type of asking, you know what I mean? He just asks once or twice and when we ignore the request, he stops asking.

No more nyeh-nyeh... FOREVER!

Weaning off the Pacifier : Day 1 + 2 + 3

DN's absolute, most favourite thing in the whole world is his nyeh-nyeh. Believe it or not, he never graduated from the Pigeon Step 2 pacifier for 9 month olds because the Step 3 one is of a dramatically different shape compared to the Step 2 one and he refused to have it in his mouth. So yes, up until yesterday, my 3-year old toddler was sucking a pacifier for 9 month old BABIES.

We've thought about weaning DN off the pacifier since he was a year old. Obviously, for 2 years after that, we did squat because we were too chicken. And the task just got more and more difficult as DN got more and more attached to his nyeh-nyeh. We might as well have started compiling a wedding guest list for the happy couple. -__- But I'm happy to announce that there will be NO wedding and NO happy couple! There will instead be a very disgruntled toddler, extremely unhappy with his parents and whose main goal is to turn all their hair white in a week.

He's not doing a very good job with that. Our hair's not turning white. It's falling OUT!

The days are actually alright. We've already weaned him off his nyeh-nyeh during the day. It's weaning him off sucking it in the car and at night that we needed to work on. So far, getting him to go without his nyeh-nyeh in the car has been pretty easy. We just keep him really occupied in the car - talk to him, sing with him, let him watch videos on the iPhone...

The nights are a totally different story. That's when our hair starts falling out in clumps. (Some of it is pulled out.)

Night 1 : DN wakes up at 1am WAILING for his nyeh-nyeh. Totally inconsolable for an hour. Tells PF between sobs and wails, "Papa, I don't want to be like this!" *piang piang piang* (sound of PF's heart breaking) Finally calms down when I bring him downstairs with me to watch me pack the milk I'd just pumped. Continues to wake up every 2 hours after that, wailing every time.

Night 2 : DN wakes up wailing again. Only asks for his nyeh-nyeh a couple of times and then gives up. Then starts asking for things that he knows we cannot give (just so he can kick up a bigger fuss I believe). Asks to eat "rice and fish" and then "rice and meat". Wakes up 2 more times (wailing) after that.

Night 3 : The wailing continues. Wakes up at 12am and his crying wakes DS up. (ARRRRGH!) It's not "rice and fish" today, but "I want to go out and buy bananas! Now!". Wakes up again at 3am. At 6.30am, DS wakes up for a feed. PF and I look at the sleeping DN and breathe a sigh of relief AND start counting our chickens before they're hatched. PF then (foolishly) brushes his head and that sets him off again.

The funny thing is, DN has been able to fall asleep quite easily without his nyeh-nyeh every night since the weaning started. What he can't do is soothe himself back to sleep when he rouses from those periods of deep sleep.

It's Day 4 and I feel the same as DN on Day 1 - "I don't want to be like this!"

Can't believe I'm a mother of TWO

If you had told me 17 years ago (that's when I first met PF) that I would be married to PF and we'd have 2 children, I would have been terribly upset because then, I really wanted to marry Harrison Ford. Oh well. PF ain't too bad I suppose. Ha! He's going to kill me!

So yup, fast forward 17 years and now we have two kids! Two kids! Two! I am officially a "mother of TWO"! Gosh, it makes me sound so grown-up. And responsible. And... old. I guess I'm still in denial about my age. But honestly, I really don't feel like I'm already 25 years old.

(Haha, got you! Bet you started mentally subtracting 17 from 25! I'm WAY over 25.)

Anyway, life really changes once you have kids huh? Gone are the marathon shopping trips, 2-hour gym sessions, holidays to places that might give you diarrhoea and/or rabies and parking 10 minutes away from the shopping centre just because there's free parking there after 5pm. Our lives now involve lots of rushed shopping trips to kid-friendly malls, holidays where we do research on where the nearest hospitals are and of course, actually parking IN shopping centres in Orchard Road.

Sometimes I miss those child-free days, but most times I'm loving it. Yup yup. Even though my body has surrendered to gravity and my belly gets jiggy with it (against my wishes) when I'm in a moving vehicle, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love these two little munchkins so much! When DN was first plonked into my arms after birth, I felt this HUGE rush of love come flooding in even though he looked like a wet rat. Now, when DS is quietly kicking and cooing away on her playmat, I feel like I'm going to explode with joy. I used to make fun of people who wrote about this kind of mushy crap. I'm now one of them! Ack.

But honestly, I will step in front of a moving bus for these two.

I love this photo.

Caught DN and DS staring at each other on the playmat one morning.

Almost gave myself an aneurism running for the camera.

8 weeks and counting...

At exactly this time 8 weeks ago, I had just finished pushing my baby out and was presented with a slippery little thing that looked more worm-like than human. Sorry DS, mummy loves you, but it's true. You looked like a puffy worm! Well, that puffy worm is now 8 weeks old and, I'm happy to report, does not look like the hungry caterpillar anymore. (Although she still wriggles like one.)

This time round, I tossed my Gina Ford book aside and just let my baby set the pace, instead of some white English lady I'd never met before. When I was pregnant with DN, someone told me about Gina Ford and how she was a God in the baby-rearing world, so I bought the book and was quickly converted. I mean, this lady promised that your baby would sleep from 7pm to 7am! Yeah sure I'll have some of that!

But I soon found out that Gina Ford = Chairman Mao. I don't know about her dental habits, but her objectives sounded ideal, her practices made sense, she promised heaven... and it didn't work. Smells Marxist to me!

Okay okay, I'm being a bit harsh and unfair here. I'm sure it worked for tons of babies out there, DN just wasn't one of them. Bugger that! He still wasn't sleeping through the night when he was one and a half. But I think I've paid my dues because recently, DS has been waking up around 1-ish and then again at 5-ish to feed. Which, at 8 weeks, is WAY better than DN at 1 year 2 months. But, knowing my rotten luck, I've probably JUST jinxed that and she's going to want to do the macarena all night tonight.

Hmmm, so what else has DS been up to these past 8 weeks?

Jaundice : By her 1st month party, she was still looking rather unattractively orange. Her PD said it would take up to 2 months to clear because she's on total breastmilk so I had to be patient. Even though I knew that, it was still rather unnerving staring at a carrot in the cot. Thankfully, the yellowness disappeared about a week ago and she's looking like a normal baby now!

Baby Acne : With DN, I had never heard of baby acne so when his cheeks started getting pimply, my computer almost exploded with all that googling. This time, I was the epitome of calmness. It was my mother-in-law who flew into a panic and I had to calm her down. Just call me cucumber already!

Cooing : Okay, this is a first for us. DN was always the strong, silent type. This one? She's a pigeon! In week 5-6 she started cooing in response to what we were saying. So I became a pigeon too! Although we have nothing much in common, I still love talking to her. Coo coo gurgle gurgle...

Growing : The picture below says it all!

From L to R:

What she wore home from the hospital, Her sleepsuit from week 2-5, Her sleepsuit now :)

Say cheese!

Disclaimer : DN did not learn this from us. I repeat, DN did NOT learn this from us.

I thought I'd better put that up there first, lest you think PF and I pose like camwhoring teenage girls named Apple and Prada who shout "Kawai-ne!" at each other in encouragement.

Recently, DN has been brandishing the V-sign whenever we take photographs of him. Very amusing. Sometimes his V-signs look like rabbit ears...

 

... sometimes it looks like he's pressing a pimple...

... sometimes he gets others in on the act...

... sometimes it looks like he's making a bad sign - in New York...

... and London...

... but almost all of the time, his fingers are pressed right next to his temple and, if I may biasedly say, he looks rather cute! 

 Everyone, meet Gucci Ong.