Baby Pictures!

Napping on the elephant chair, Auntie Elaine put you in that position...

Baby with Auntie Wina

Baby walking...

Baby Vs Sling

Dear Baby,

Before you were born, mommy had this vision of carrying you around in a sling, that way I can have you close and at the same time enable me to do what I need to do.

Unfortunately you have other ideas.

You like to be held especially when you sleep, grandmother lambak can attest to that, she can hold you for hours which you enjoy.

The first time we tried out was the baby carrier, but after it was on daddy and we tried putting you in it, you seemed lost in it and we figured better to wait for you to be bigger before he could use the carrier with you in it.

The next one we tried was the ring sling which mommy been especially looking for. But the first attempt I wasn't wearing it properly and when we put you in the same thing happened. And mommy needed to look up more instructions.

Now that mommy got the instructions including watching the various videos on how to wear a ring sling, I've been trying to get you in it, but somehow it seemed like you don't like being all snug up!

But mommy is not giving up, it's a matter of us getting used to it. In the few instances where I could get you in, it helped free up mommy to do what I need to do and at the same time I didn't have to worry about leaving you because you're always right next to me.

So baby, we're going to get through this, we're going to have a nice happy relationship with the sling, that way you can participate in life instead of being just an observer. Right now you're asleep, strapped on me and I have both hands free to type. We heading to the studio next...

Love,

Mommy

Diapering In Cloth

Dear Baby,

Months back before you were born, mommy decided that you will be cloth diapered, and daddy supported the decision. It was for an environmental reason why we decided to cloth diaper you, 500 years before a disposable diaper breaks down, and we'll use up how many? That's just too much guilt for me. I'll admit there might be times when we'd have to use a disposable but at least it'll be minimal, and cloth diapered babies potty trains early too so that's a saving grace there. When mommy started researching about cloth diapers and read reasons why people choose to do cloth diapers I learnt about the chemicals that were used in disposables, and they were scary. Some babies are allergic to them and got nasty rashes on their bums. I didn't want that for you and all that chemicals almost 24 hours a day next to your skin is extremely unhealthy. Babies who wear disposables get rashes a lot whereas cloth diapered babies hardly have any, big plus there. Wearing disposables is like throwing money into the bin, as they are one time use when cloth diapers are one time purchase and can be used multiples of times. The amount of water and electricity used is minimal compared to the energy it took to make a disposable and break it down. I'm quite happy with the decision we made to cloth diaper you, and your future sibling(s) will benefit from it too.

Mommy did a lot of research on cloth diapering and discovered a world beyond the usual flat fold origami. Mommy had to understand what prefolds, fitted, AIO (all in ones), pockets and more, were for. Mommy even tinkered with the idea of making the diapers as well, but with my limited sewing skills it's a bit out of my league and there were tons of tutorials online on making cloth diapers. Maybe in the future...

After discovering the various types of cloth diapers the next thing was how to wash them. New diapers have to be washed at least three times using just water to prepare the material for maximum absorbancy... if there is such a word... and when washing wet and soiled diapers, we don't want tons of suds, keep rinsing until no more suds, use less detergent than recommended amount because we don't want particles left on the cloth which can lead to irritation and rash on baby's skin.

For you, mommy got you prefolds, which had to be ordered from Singapore because there is no such thing here. And we got given flats as well, which your grandmother likes using because they dry faster when washed. Especially more so when it's the rainy season upon us currently. We also got you some pockets system but we haven't used those yet, am hoping they'd be useful for night time diapering.

Daddy learnt how to do the origami for the flats, cool ain't it...

We got given a few months worth of nappy liners, and your grandmother read that they can be washed and this was after I already told her, she didn't believe it until she read it, so we're able to stretch out the use for a bit, only when they got pooed on is when we throw them out. The liners are to keep you feeling dry when your diaper gets wet so you won't be too uncomfortable in them.

When we're out and about, that's when you get to wear the covers too, purely for convenience really. At home we don't use it to allow the air to circulate and reach your skin. I'm not too happy with the covers as you get so heated up in it and when you're wet it gets really humid and these are conditions that can cause rashes to develop.

We're quite fastidious in changing you anyway when as soon as we discover your diaper needs changing, so sometimes you end up going through three diapers in an hour. I read that for newborns up to three months you'd be going through 10 - 12 diapers a day, that's like a diaper every two hours. When it comes to you, I think we go up to 20. I tried keeping tabs on how many in a day you used but I always lose count after 10 and there are still several hours in the day left. So because of this that's why your grandmother preferred the flats. The amah had to do the laundry twice a day, I don't know if I could keep up with that when we move back to our place.

Those are your diapers for now, mommy been reading up alot on cloth diapering and it says not to go overboard investing so much as different system works for different babies and parents.

Now, what are we going to do with the hundred of disposables that got given to you... am thinking of donating them to the maternity ward at the hospital so they can use them for the newborns who needed it, first, gotta ask if the ward would like them...

Love,

Mommy

The First Check Up

Hi Baby,

Your first check up went well. Daddy took half day off from work just so we could bring you to the clinic. The night before we packed a bag for your diapering needs, good thing we did, because you needed changing at the clinic. You slept the whole way, from leaving the house and getting back. Daddy carried you mostly, he doesn't get to be with you often so it was good. Daddy met several people he knew while at the clinic too. He's super proud of you.

Apparently there's a routine with baby check ups just like mommy's prenatal check ups, what we have to do was weight you and measure your length prior before we see the nurse. You have gained a whole kilo after one month from birth, wow... but we weren't sure if we did the measuring right, it says you only grew a centimeter in length.

I'm guessing mondays are baby days, because when mommy went there for the prenatal checks on tuesdays or wednesdays, never seen babies on those days, but yesterday everybody was holding a baby in various sizes and ages. Babies are big nowadays, there was one baby boy and he was as half as long as his mommy, and when the dad walked in you can see from where the baby got his genes.

While we were waiting for our turn, you needed a diaper change, fortunately there was a space on the table next to the weighing machine and daddy had you quickly changed, unfortunately we forgot to pack a bag to put the wet diaper in, fortunately we packed an extra cover so we just used the old cover to wrap up the wet diaper and used the new cover on you.

The nurse took the measurements down and she also measured your head circumference, 36.5cm, that's 3.5cm growth since you were born. I wonder what's the significance, your brain is developing? Head going into shape because when you were born your skull was mouldable just so you'll fit through the birth canal. Probably that's the reason for the head measurement. Another nurse checked you over, I noticed she checked your soft spot on your head, took off your diaper (she was a bit stumped with the snappi, hehe) and pressed your pelvis area, checked your response, asked what sort of milk you're getting, breast milk exclusively of course and asked about your wet diapers, lots. Then mommy and daddy regaled them with labour stories.

After that you needed to get your second vaccination for Hep B, the nurse said better to wake you up or else you'll be shocked when the needle goes through. You refused to wake up and was still sleeping in daddy's arms. Mommy had to hold your knee down just in case you'd kick and the nurse inserted the needle into your left thigh. You gave out a piercing wail and then went all quiet again. Daddy said it was much louder than the other babies before you who had their jabs but yours were short whereas other babies were still crying.

So your next appointment is on the 16th August and we're scheduled to see the doctor. Hopefully she's nice and tells us lots of things about baby's health. Daddy said he'll take the day off to take you again.

Love,

Mommy

Baby is 1 Month!

Hi Baby,

Well, by monday 12th july you'll be. You just past the 4 weeks old! Tomorrow will be your first check up at the clinic, exciting and nervous as it'll be your first expedition out of the house. Mommy's current debate or ponder, how to do the whole cloth diapering trick outside the home... hmmmm...

Love,

Mommy

Umbilical Cord Stump & Midwife Visits

Hi Baby,

The government antenatal programme is so good. Mommy's experience with the prenatal check ups, time in the hospital before during and after labour, and now that we're home, the visits from the midwife.

We got home on a sunday, on monday daddy sent the letter the hospital midwives gave to give to the antenatal community clinic we went to for our prenatal checks, so that they know mommy had already given birth and they will arrange for a midwife to come visit starting the monday afternoon, so they told daddy.

In the afternoon, mommy got a call from the midwife saying she won't be able to come but will come tomorrow and asked how we were doing. That was nice I thought.

The next day she came in the morning and basically checked on your umbilical cord stump, cleaned it, said you got a bit of yellow and told us to take you to this other clinic to see the level of your jaundice. And then, she checked on mommy, told blood pressure and temperture, and checked on mommy's stitches.

She did this every day until your stump fell off. That happened on a friday, it just so happen mommy was changing your nappy and the stump came off! the next day the midwife came and cleaned your belly button, had an independent source saying your jaudice was mild and just sun you and breast feed, midwife was satisfied with that. Checked mommy for the last time and gave appointment for baby for first clinic check at exactly one month old.

Your umbilical cord stump coming off in a week was pretty good, some I read takes up to three weeks. The midwife said some mommies and babies she visited can go up to ten days, so ours was pretty good since she only had to visit for five days.

Your grandmother said to keep your dried out stump and save it for when you get another sibling to keep the stumps together, it's a belief that the siblings will always be in harmony together. We don't know how true that is but ok, we'll give it a shot.

Love,

Mommy

The 40 Days Confinement & Other Thoughts...

Hi Baby,

You and I are in confinement for the next forty days... at first mommy was quite worried about being in confinement, everybody who have gone through it said they were bored out of their minds and I feared that the only highlight was when it's meal times and end up over eating. Brrr...

So far, three weeks into this, I quite enjoy it. Minus sometimes I get that being-stuck-in-one-place-boredom but it's really not too bad. Every morning your grandmother would prepare the sitz bath with sea salt and herbs in boiled water, and it felt like as if mommy is being dunked in tea. But it's very comforting to be in, and I'm imagining all the sore, achy, torn, cut, stitched up bits are being healed. It also gives me some me time, and I do sudoku to pass away the time while you spend time with granny.

We get food delivered to our room, mainly soup and I haven't really gotten sick of it. Plus daddy sometime comes home with other yummies, hahaha. Your grandmother made sure the room is stocked up with fresh fruits, been eating them just like the time when mommy was pregnant with you, fruits aplenty.

Mommy don't have to worry about doing laundry, cleaning house, etc because someone else does it - but I do wonder about the state of our house being left alone...

I get to nap with you in the afternoons, make up for the multiple waking up at nights for nursing and changing nappies.

Basically I just get to enjoy you... even though your activity is limited to nursing, sleeping and changing diapers at the moment, but it's okay. I've been watching out for your signals when you need what. We pretty much manage to keep you from crying most of the time, only time when you do wail your head off was when mommy or daddy was a bit slow in attending to your needs. Mommy also been trying to do EC with you, but the few times I did you weren't too happy, I could be holding you wrong so will have to try and find the right that works for you.

It's only been three odd weeks so far and all of us are getting used to have each other, mommy and daddy are the center of your world right now and we're more than happy to fill it with as much happiness and love as possible for you.

For mommy, this whole motherhood and taking care of baby felt right, I just fell into the role and it didn't faze me, like I knew what to do, strange really because I never responded to other babies before, I guess this only happens when you get your very own and went through the process and all of the sudden you believe the precious bundle in your hands is the most cutest ever! We'll revisit this when you're a teenager and see how it goes, hahaha...

Love,

Mommy

The First 24 Hours

Hi Baby,

Daddy went to your paternal grandparents for our grandmother to bury your placenta, I was told it got planted between the pineapples and papaya tree...

While daddy was away, you and I slept until mommy heard a ruckus. The bed in front of us got a new occupant with a whole mob of people who were trying to be quiet unsuccessfully.. or they didn't even bother attempting to. This was precisely the reason why mommy was specific about who to come to the hospital. While you and I doze, apparently we were on show as well because at one point mommy opened my eyes and one of the ladies in the mob was looking intently at us. Mommy just smiled in acknowledgement and proceeded to ignore them, I'm tired, sleepy and I want to rest.

Our first visitor was mommy's cousin, apparently she works in the maternity ward but that day was her day off and she only came in to attend a lecture. She found out mommy was there when she saw a message from Auntie Wina about you arriving in this world and after her lecture she decided to pop by. We talked briefly and reminisce about her late father. Good of her to drop by.

Daddy came back not long after, with the carry on luggage and blanket mommy had packed earlier for the hospital stay. Our afternoon was spent with just the three of us and daddy holding you. Mommy just can't move out of bed, everything between the waist and knees felt so heavy, I couldn't even turn in bed to change sides without great difficulty. It was only towards early evening when mommy just had to get out of bed to change the maternity pad. By the time I got to the bathroom it was soaked through. And the bed and the bathroom were at opposite ends of the ward, and that was when mommy experienced the slow duck shuffle. Peeing was a daunting thing to do and was ever so grateful for the hose spray to counteract the pain and gave a bit of relief at the stitched up site. And remembering Auntie Elaine's advice to make sure the area is dry, mommy developed a certain technique to pat self dry down there.

Just moving did make mommy feel better but the pain down there was ever present and butt felt so heavy.

The hospital caterer served dinner and mommy ate a bit as sitting down was difficult. Food wasn't exactly appetizing either.

After the sun had set daddy's parents and sister arrived to visit you an brought mommy some food. You are their first grandchild and niece. Needless to say your grandmother was a bit exuberant giving you your first taste of honey, to ensure you will always have the sweet things in life, as you ended up coughing and hiccuped for a while. She wondered whether to give you water and it was resounding no, babies are to have nothing but breast milk for the first six months. Your grandfather was a bit more stoic but he was happy to hold you. That was when daddy and your Auntie Lin took lots of pictures of you and uploaded them online. By the end of the evening, lots of people had commented on your pictures.

After they left, mommy's parents came, along with your Pa'Ngah, Ma'Ngah and your three eldest cousins. During their visit the hospital pediatrician came to assess you and after checking you over she said she can't find anything wrong and you seemed perfectly healthy and can go home when mommy gets discharged. I remembered thinking she could've worded the sentence more positively, but she was nice enough and your grandmother found out she came from Myanmar or was it Laos.

After they left daddy stayed on until he was shooed out by the security personnel who came around to let visitors know visiting hours are over. Daddy promised he'll be back in the morning to see us again. Mommy settled down with you in my arms and tried to get some sleep, but the pain was getting to me and sleep just seemed impossible. The security people came around again to make sure everybody who aren't meant to be there are out. The night shift nurses came on and they pulled everybody curtains back so it'll be easier for them to monitor us.

Mommy saw that in our section only three beds were filled, the other four beds were empty. The nurses told mommy and the other mommies that the doctor will be coming around to check on the patients about 6 in the morning, and told us to make sure we change our pads or risk end up having to stay another night because the doctor will think the flow is still heavy. Mommy ask the nurse to wake us up just in case we'd overslept.

Well, the nurses didn't have to wake mommy up, because mommy couldn't sleep at all that night. After fidgeting around in bed, couldn't move much considering was in pain, took pictures of you sleeping and MMS them to daddy who also hadn't slept yet, finally decided to just get out of bed. Had you in my arms and nursed you standing up, carried you around, all the while trying to keep myself occupied and not move around much.

During the night the empty beds started to fill up slowly. The first one came about 2 in the morning, it was a mommy who was wearing a head gear (tudong) which throughout our time in the ward had never came off, she even slept in it. Her husband was with her and I was just watching them, he helped her in bed and kissed her before he left and their baby got taken away and it was several hours later before the baby came back.

One mommy was constantly under UV light with her baby. Mommy saw that baby had his eyes covered. A nurse was with her helping her get into a better position so the baby could get the most from the light. For a ward filled with mommies and newborn babies it was pretty quiet I thought. There were occasional baby crying but it wasn't disturbing. Maybe us mothers are in tune with the sounds. You didn't cry much, as a matter in fact you were pretty content, maybe because you were in mommy's arms the whole night helped as I could anticipate your needs instantly. The one bit that I kept on checking was your diaper whether you needed changing, as the other mommies had to change their babies diapers. I wondered if it's because you already went when you came out of the womb that's why you didn't need to go.

The next bed got filled up about 5 in the morning, the mommy and daddy were there but no baby. The daddy stayed for a while until it got light and then he left. Not long after a nurse came to the mommy and told her to bring her cards and go to the infant intensive care unit as they wanted her there. The nurse asked where the daddy was and said to call him to come back. That mommy was gone for a while.

The day was getting bright as the sun was coming up. The mommy who's bed opposite us got up and was getting her toothbrush and stuff together, then, she wheeled the cot her baby was in with her to the bathroom. A nurse came around, asked if mommy had already changed pads and told her I hadn't yet, but will soon, as I was putting you to sleep. Figured I didn't need to bring you to the bathroom with me so you stayed in your cot. Mommy can freshen up when daddy gets here.

It wasn't long after mommy got changed when the doctor came around. The nurses had already placed each mommies medical records by each bed for the doctor to check. A nurse told mommy to get into bed and the drew the curtains and the doctor did her checks, hardly anything on the pad and my perineum was intact. She said I looked fine and am allowed to leave providing baby is alright, told them you were already checked out by the pediatrician and got the a-okay. So we could go back in the afternoon after mommy got the rubella and depo prova jabs.

The hospital caterer came with breakfast, a croissant with jam and hot milo. Mommy drank and had a bit of the croissant and jam, for some reason I wasn't hungry and left the rest on the tray.

Then your Nek Os and Nek Ajis came! Total surprise for me, turned out they wanted to come last night but got held up and came this morning complete with chicken porridge with ginger for mommy to eat for breakfast. She got a spoon and went to borrow a mug from the nurses to get mommy a hot drink. Oh dear, rice... so mommy ate slowly, and chatted with them and daddy came. He took you so mommy could go freshen up and when mommy came back the three of them were deep in discussion, where as you slept away until a nurse came to take you for a bath.

Another set of visitors we got were your Uncle Boy and Auntie Zarina. Uncle Boy promised mommy he'll bring kolo mee when you are born and he kept his promise, hehe... they got a present for you too. Not long after Ucu turned up as well. So that was mommy’s lunch because hospital food wasn’t that great again for lunch. After everyone had left mommy and daddy packed up to get ready to go home. Daddy went to get your car seat from the car and the nurse came to give mommy the injections, one to go in the arm and the other in the bum. Interestingly bum injection doesn’t hurt, that was for the birth control so the rubella injection could work it’s way to get mommy immunized against it and it’s dangerous to be pregnant when that is happening. Mommy chatted happily with the nurse and I mentioned to her that I hadn’t had to change you and apparently when she took you for a bath, that was when you decided to go toilet. Oh, that saved mommy the trouble, hehe, smart baby.

Daddy came back and held you in his arms, mommy made sure everything was packed and got changed out of the hospital outfit, he was making small talks with the people in the bed opposite while mommy was packing, when they heard mommy is being discharged they wanted to go to but I knew this morning the doctor said she can’t go because her baby was still sleepy the mommy said to the doctor. The daddy got sent to the nurse station and he came back with no because the doctor said so. So that mommy and baby had to stay another night.

Mommy was happy because we get to go home, and everything was packed and daddy strapped you into the car seat and carried you while I pulled the trolley bag. Extra food and drinks we left them at the nurses station for them to distribute so we wouldn’t have to bring them home. I think mommy was the only one with a wheeled luggage in that place, it was a lot easier to pull than to carry, and mommy couldn’t move very fast either because of the pain.

Baby had your first feel of sunlight on your skin as we made our way downstairs. We went to the entrance of the OBGYN clinic as it was easier to wait there with baby while daddy went to get the car. By 3pm we left the hospital and headed home… to your grandparents Lambak place…

Your first 24 hours in the world was pretty pleasant, you seemed content and didn't kick up a fuss, you like being kept close and wasn't too keen to be in the cot unless you were wrapped up well, apart from that you spent it in mommy's arm like you've always been in the womb, all safe and secure.

It never occurred to me that was why mommy's arm was aching te next day, hahaha...

Love,

Mommy