Little Miracles · Our Blessings from God…

Here, There and Everywhere

April 17, 2013 in Breastfeeding, Emma, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Parenting | No comments

During the past one month where I have been learning about this new world I’m in, Daddy and Mommy has brought me to so many new places! So many new things to see, I can safely assume I have been to more places than most of the newborns around! 🙂

I visited my pediatrician twice; once when I was 2 weeks’ old and one more time when I was a month old. I didn’t like it when they undressed me and placed me on this weighing scale thing, but Daddy and Mommy sure seemed happy after they took my weight. Also, I had a Hepatitis B jab during my 2nd visit. Didn’t like that at all! Hmmph.
I’ve followed Daddy, Mommy, Ethan and Hannah out on countless occasions to several restaurants for their meals. Japanese food, Vietnamese food, fast food…they sure eat a LOT. Me? I’m just contented with Mommy’s breast milk – yummy!
One several occasions, they brought me along to this ice cream store called Coldstone Creamery where they bought their ice cream to go. Daddy said something about me crying, so they had to get it to go.
I’ve also been to grocery stores, sometimes just Mommy and me. It’s never too early to learn about shopping, they say. Mommy pushed me around in a stroller and managed to get the groceries done.
Mommy has also brought me along to my brother Ethan’s school to drop him off, and she also takes me down with her when she drops my sister Hannah off at her school. The cool weather is just right for me, but there were a couple of days when it was a little bit windy. I heard Mommy saying that it’s much warmer now and that it was a good thing I was born a little later, after the unforgiving cold winter.

I’m looking forward to more exciting outings ahead…psst…I heard that they are planning some as we speak! Well, I ain’t complaining as long as they keep me clean and dry and ensure that my supply of milk is readily available all the time! 😀

Cooking Class

April 16, 2013 in Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Hannah | No comments

Lately Hannah has been slightly disinterested about going to school. She would grumble about being sleepy in the morning and I would have a hard time waking her up. Then she would be all clingy and did not want us to leave her in school in the morning, sometimes citing tiredness or tummy upsets. Her teacher however, says that she is enjoying her time in school, and her uneasiness wears off after about 3 minutes.

Nevertheless we tried many methods to make her like going to school: bringing a soft toy, bringing a book to share, telling her about something interesting that would happen in school. Some worked for a while. She’s also been asking me to pick her up a little earlier from school. You see, her class has activities in the a.m. and then lunch at about 11:30a.m. After lunch, the kids wind down for some quiet time or nap time, around 12:15p.m. Hannah asks me to pick her up around 12:30p.m. and we’re guessing it could be that she’s a bit bored by the non-activity.

In any case, I’ve decided to start her off on a weekly cooking class on Fridays in school. Hopefully it will be something she will look forward to every week for the next 2 months or so, at least till we leave. (She’s been looking forward to her Phonics Adventures classes every Monday and Wednesday, so having a Friday cooking class to look forward to could be the answer!)

She had her first class last Friday, and I was surprised to see her get up early that day, all by herself too! The Cooking Class method must be working, as she was excitedly looking forward to it the whole week!

Last week, she made Dunkaroo Dip, using yogurt, cool whip and confetti cake mix. She definitely had fun making and sharing it with us when she brought it home. We had the dip with some Teddy graham crackers.

I’m sure she can’t wait for her next cooking class! 🙂

Emma at 1 Month

April 15, 2013 in Emma, Milestones | 3 comments

Scrap Credits
The Endless Love kit from K Designs
Cozy Alphas from retrodiva {designs}™

Amazing how this tiny little bundle of joy is totally dependent on me for everything! And it’s equally amazing how much I love her so…

Weight

9 lbs 4.5 oz (4.21 kilos). Suffice to say, the infant carrier Emma *travels around* in is getting heavier by the day! Her weight gain is excellent, and she is right on track, gaining approximately 1 kilo since she was born a month ago.

Height/Length

22″ (55.9 cm)

Motor Skills

Emma can slightly lift her head for short periods of time during tummy time, and at times she will just end up sucking on her fist.
She is still not very interested in toys, preferring to look into the eyes of the people carrying her. She also likes to look at pictures on the wall.
Emma has a very firm and strong grip, and apart from grabbing onto my finger, she will hold on tightly to my hair too! I have had to ask Pete for help in breaking her grip sometimes!
Emma loves sleeping in the sleeping sack, just like her brother Ethan. It gives her tremendous comfort and keeps her warm too. She has begun to sleep less during the day, but just as I was hoping she would sleep longer through the nights, she wakes up like every hour or so too. I blame it on the occassional growth spurts she gets, but I’m praying I’ll get more and more sleep soon.

Communication and Social Skills

To date, Emma looks rather serious and does not smile “willingly” yet. I’ve only seen her smile a couple of times to me, and on a few occasions when she is sleeping. We’re hoping she will smile more readily in the next month.
I can more or less tell the difference between her cries for hunger, for comfort, for burping, to be changed, or simply just for a hug and cuddle. Emma loves to be cuddled and held, and I can always see the comfort on her face when I hold her.
Emma can recognize the familiar faces around her pretty well now. If she cries and I pick her up, she will stop crying immediately. Sometimes, if she wants milk, and Daddy picks her up, she will continue crying up until she gets “transferred” into my arms, and she will stop crying, just like “magic”. She will sometimes remain quietly in her rocker, and when she hears my voice or sees me walking past, she will let out a cry.
Emma loves going for rides in the car. More often that not, the vibrating and soothing effect of the moving car will provide her the comfortable environment to sleep in.

Others

Emma’s umbilical cord stump dropped off on day 6 after she was born. I was definitely surprised because I had expected it to fall off around the 10th day or so.
“Baby acne” still prevalent on her face and head, similar to those seen on Ethan and Hannah when they were wee babes. Doctor says the acne will run its course over the next month.
Emma’s eyelashes are growing beautiful and long, just like her siblings’. They frame her beautiful deep-set brown eyes so well too!
Emma loves to fall asleep in my arms, and more so if she has bare skin to skin contact. I believe this must be due to the fact that she was exposed to the skin to skin concept immediately after birth. She just seems so contented that way.

Food and Feeding
She is 100% on Mommy’s milk. Occasionally I give her 1 ml (400IU) of Vitamin D drops (as prescribed by doctor) because babies who are exclusively breastfed and who live in the higher latitudes are advised to be supplemented this way.

Brain Power

April 9, 2013 in Ethan, Funny Moments, Growing Up | 3 comments

While checking through Ethan’s homework one evening, I came across this “solution” my boy wrote for one of his Math questions:

Now, don’t you wish you had written that when you were in school? 🙂

Those “Hannah and Mommy” Chit Chat Sessions

April 4, 2013 in Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting, Sleep | No comments

Each night (well, most nights…when Hannah is not too overly sleepy), as I tuck her in to sleep, we will share a special minute or two just to catch up with each other. Sometimes she will request for a bedtime story and sometimes she will tell me a bedtime story instead. At times, we’ll help each other make up stories…short and funny ones.

Yeah, my Hannah still sleeps with me and is very much attached to me. She says she will move to her own room when we get back to Penang, so hopefully she’ll keep her word.

Our chit chat sessions are special moments I would treasure forever. Even though I need to nurse Emma, Hannah is being very much the helpful big sister by bringing me the nursing pillow and then as I nurse Emma, Hannah will ask, “Can I hug your hand?”

Now how do I say no to that? 🙂

We chat about everything at all: how her day was, what day it would be the next day, what we would be doing the next day, how Hannah sleeps like a starfish, we discuss how we’d share the blankie…and then she would yawn, close her eyes and fall asleep. It is the perfect end to every day.

I Am Truly Thankful…

April 1, 2013 in Breastfeeding, Emma, Growing Up, Milestones, Parenting | 4 comments

I am truly thankful that Emma has been a relatively calm baby. She cries gently, except when she needs to be changed IMMEDIATELY or if she is unbelievably HUNGRY, but other than that, she cries only when she needs to. I believe this might be due to the immediate skin-to-skin contact after she was born. We had a one-hour bonding session right after she was born, and that could possibly be the reason why she is a calm baby.

I am truly thankful that Emma has been taking a few naps in the daytime, which allows me time to cook and clean and do the essentials around the house. Unfortunately the popular adage, “A mom needs to sleep when the baby sleeps” does not hold true here, because only when the baby sleeps, do I find the time to do the important things that need to be done.

I am truly thankful every day because even though Emma keeps me up throughout the night, waking up every 1-1.5 hours for the past few days because she is currently in one of her growth spurts and hence cluster-feeds all the time, I would not be as sleep-deprived as I would be had I not chosen to breastfeed. I cannot imagine how zombie-fied I would be if I had to wake up and mix up a bottle of formula or even wake up to sterilize my breast pump to express milk. So even though I am sleep-deprived, I am still thankful.

I am truly thankful that on the several occasions we have taken Emma out, she has been behaving really well. She wanted to be fed a few times, but it was nothing this Moo-mie could not handle. Hey, I make milk, remember? 🙂

I am truly thankful that Emma has gained a good amount of weight, taken at her 2-week checkup. She was a healthy 7lb 4 oz at 2 weeks and we shall see how much she weighs soon, at her 1-month checkup. For the record (and also from our observation), she definitely looks more BULAT now. 🙂

Can’t wait for her to grow up and play with Ethan and Hannah! 😀

Big Brother and Big Sister

March 27, 2013 in Emma, Ethan, Growing Up, Hannah, Parenting | 1 comment

Ever since Emma came into our lives, I can tell that in a way, it has brought Ethan and Hannah closer together. It’s not like they weren’t playing together before, but I kind of feel like they look happier together now. It’s as if they now have something special in common, i.e. a little sister they can call their own.

It’s truly a blessing Ethan and Hannah have each other because it sort of distracts Hannah (especially) from jealousy and inevitable sibling rivalry. On the contrary, both Ethan and Hannah adore their little sister Emma. They witnessed her being born and that in itself is the most precious thing in the world.

Hannah, especially is very fond of stroking Emma’s hair and head and has, on many occasions, asked to hold and carry Emma (under adult supervision, of course).

When Emma cries, Ethan and Hannah will ask that I check on the baby immediately to see if she’s all right. Hannah will sometimes say, “Mommy, I think Emma wants breast milk!”

So I think this sibling relationship between the three have gotten off to a good start. 🙂

Of course, we did give it a push in the right direction by doing a couple of things on our part too. When I had Hannah, I brought along a photo of Ethan with me to the hospital, and similarly, this time, I had with me photos of Ethan and Hannah.

They were certainly happy to see it when they visited me. 🙂

(The purple bag beside the picture frame is a gift bag from the hospital. It contains a lavender spray, a few bars of lavender oatmeal soap and some lavender cream. Heavenly!!)

We also did the gift gesture from Emma to Ethan and Hannah when we got home.

Hannah asked, “But Mommy, how did Emma buy the presents for us?”

And Ethan answered, “Of COURSE she didn’t! Mommy and Daddy bought them!”

They were happy with the gifts all the same though. 🙂

When I had to stay in hospital for 2 nights, Pete had to single-handedly manage both kids, and I was primarily concerned about Hannah. Ethan is quite independent and matured enough to understand most things, but Hannah would be away from me for the first time ever, so I expected a certain amount of insecurity. Pete said it was harder dropping her off at school (and still is, sometimes), so I really hope Hannah will overcome her insecurity soon. That being said, Pete did an excellent job in caring for them both in my absence, and for that I am truly thankful. 🙂

So yeah, both Ethan and Hannah adore little Emma and they can’t wait for her to grow up so they can play with her, especially Hannah, I think. Ethan’s gonna be a terrific big brother and Hannah’s gonna be an awesome big sister. 🙂

Hannah says, “Mommy, now there are THREE girls in our family!”

And Ethan continued, “Yes, and now there are also THREE kids!”

The girls outnumber the boys BUT now the KIDS outnumber the grown-ups. This is gonna be interesting. 😛

The Wondrous Birth of Sweet Little Baby Emma

March 20, 2013 in Breastfeeding, Celebrations, Emma, Ethan, Hannah, Parenting | 14 comments

It has been a little more than a week now that we have been blessed with Little Baby Emma in our lives, and sometimes I still can’t believe that she’s here! 🙂

We had been waiting for her arrival since I hit the 38th week, and every day since then had been anxiety-filled and putting what-ifs into question. I had also gone for several rounds of prenatal fetal non-stress tests before Emma’s arrival, and every time I had been told, “Your baby looks perfect! This baby’s beautiful!”

Apart from the regular Braxton-Hicks contractions I had been feeling, there was no other indication that Emma was gonna come soon. Week 39 came and there was obvious stress on my bladder and pubic bone. I was finding it increasingly hard to move around, but I still did my regular stuff: cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and even some yoga and light cardio on the elliptical. Her movements in my belly were more prominent at night. I tried to keep my mind off the waiting by doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, rewashing Emma’s crib linens, whatever I could think of, but nothing happened.

I drank a lot of labor prep tea (containing red raspberry leaf) and also had yogurt with pineapple in it, in the hope of starting off labor, but guess what, nothing happened.

Initially I had predicted Emma would be born on February 28th, but that day came and went without incident. Then Pete predicted she would be born on the same date as her sister Hannah’s birthday, but March 2nd came to pass too. Then we thought it would be March 5th, and I thought for sure it would be March 8th. But nothing happened.

Incidentally, we had a blizzard on March 8th, which lasted till March 9th, so had she decided to make her entrance that day, it would be hard for us to make our way to the hospital too. Clever girl. 🙂

On Saturday, March 9th, I felt stronger contractions, or rather they felt like the urge for a bowel movement. Nothing happened then though, except that I *thought* my mucus plug was dislodged that day. On Sunday March 10th, at about 11:00a.m. I definitely had “the show”, and I excitedly told Pete about it.

“This is it,” I said. “Emma will be here in a day or so.”

Read the rest of this entry »

A Definite Case of Déjà Vu

March 8, 2013 in Funny Moments, Hannah | No comments

Hannah did something really amusing today, which reminded me of what Ethan did a few years ago, when I was pregnant with Hannah.(Remember this?)

Today, I caught Hannah cheekily prancing around like this:

She had stuffed one of her favorite soft toys under her shirt and was pretending to be me!!

Cheekiness, much? …or is it just one of those Like Brother, Like Sister moments? 😀

Hannah Turns Four!

March 5, 2013 in Celebrations, Food & Feeding, Growing Up, Hannah, Milestones | 3 comments

Last Saturday, my little sweetheart of a little girl turned FOUR!! She had been looking forward to this day for a long, long time, and she had already started the countdown to this auspicious day after Ethan celebrated his birthday about a month ago.

Being a little paranoid and worried that my third little bub might arrive on that same day, I had a contingency plan in place for Hannah’s birthday cake. Thankfully, this year, Hannah requested for a cake that did not require much shaping and moulding on my part. So the backup plan in case I was not around was that Pete go get a store-bought cake and then decorate the top with my ready-made cake topper.

However, in the end, since my third little one decided that it was still more comfy in Mommy’s womb, I still got to bake and decorate Hannah’s cake….and a whole lot of fun I had!

Hannah’s crazy about Princess Jasmine and the song from the movie Aladdin: A Whole New World, so it came as no surprise when she’d requested for a Princess Jasmine-themed cake. I ordered the edible cake topper online and only had to bake the chocolate cake and decorated it with chocolate ganache, frosting, chocolate rice and some orange slices. The addition of the fruits was Hannah’s idea too.