Something New Every Day



Baby M "talking" to her daddy.
The sound most associated with daddy is "kkkkkksssstttt"!

Over the past few weeks, Baby M has started coo-ing, vocalising ("aaah!", "eHHHH!!!" and the whole lot) and making sibilant sounds ("psst", "ggrrsssttt", "kkkkkkssstttt") to the Hubby and I on random occasions - waking in the morning, when she was being diapered, in between nursing and just about anywhere when the inclination struck. Most of the times, each vocalisation was a single syllable, and occasionally when she was particularly stimulated and excited, she would articulate double syllables and loud squeals. There was no consistent pattern and some days would see her more muted while other days, she would coo and squeal during play time, and rarely for extended periods.

Today I woke up to a suddenly talkative baby who wouldn't sit still and keep quiet (come one day I might wish this to be the case!). Ensconced in her rocker and keeping me company in the study as I busy myself with emails and other home admin business, Baby M started by kicking along to "This Old Man", and then started a 15 minute long conversation with the toys on the handlebar and her mommy.

Baby M's playmates

Seemingly thrilled with her new found vocals, Baby M spent much of today cooing away!



Happy baby



Toting the Tot Around Town

Now that Baby M is into her third month and hence more "portable", the Hubby and I have been taking her all about town from Saturday chinese dinners, Sunday brunches with friends to quick afternoon lunches at Novena Square next door. An extra pair of hands comes in handy when we go further afield, what with managing the car boot, the car seat, the Bugaboo Bee and the diaper bag AND Baby M, so I usually leave the stroller to when the Hubby is around to help.

When it's just me however, this is how I prefer to tote her around on the MRT to the office, on quick supermarket runs, a slow afternoon wander around the shops in Square 2 or maneuvering around the crowds at the recent Robinsons sale. Having both hands free without having to deal with a possible runaway stroller has made getting out and about with Baby M so much easier! An additional plus is that Baby M loves being held in an upright position, and carrying her this way on our trips out often lulls her into contented sleep.

Baby wearing is not a new phenomenon, and touts many benefits for both baby and mommy. In Asia particularly, carrying one's baby around in this manner is not unusual in places out of the cities, when a sarong wrapped around a woman's body often encases a newborn or even two. Indeed, we're spoilt for choice with Baby Bjorns, sarong slings, one shoulder slings, mei tais, hip wraps and the lot spawing an entire industry of baby wearing in Singapore. While I spy many moms and dads about with their Baby Bjorn carriers, I've yet to see many women toting the baby around in a baby wrap.

Having tried a sarong sling which didn't work for me since Baby M does not like being carried in a cradle position, we moved onto baby wraps after I did some research and spoke with some friends. We started a couple of weeks ago with a SleepyWrap which was great for a novice baby wearer as it was stretchy and allowed one to maneuver baby's limbs within with greater ease. The biggest drawback after 3 trips out with Baby M is that it's a heat trap in our hot weather, particularly the recent heat spell we've been seeing. The SleepyWrap was only bearable in the coldest airconditioned shopping centres, and even then, both Baby M and I still went home with slightly damp teeshirts from the body to body contact. Worse still, after 3 uses, the SleepyWrap seemed to sag a little from Baby M's weight (which is a respectable petite 5.2kg at this stage!) when I would start the day with her head nicely nestled under my chin and end up much further down a couple of hours later.

We've just gotten a new thin wrap made of woven cotton muslin with a cute polka dot front panel from a friend who sells baby wraps. On our test walk out at mid day, this was definitely more comfortable and did not trap heat as much as the SleepyWrap. The drawback though is that without the stretchiness of the SleepyWrap, contorting Baby M's legs through the wrap was a bit trickier (since one had to tie the wrap first with some allowance for the baby) and if the wrap wasn't tight enough, you had to tighten the wrap with the baby inside. I haven't figured out how to take the baby out of this wrap yet without untying everything, so I'm guessing a few more test runs would be needed before I'm comfortable venturing further afield in this wrap!

Firing up the engines!

It's been nearly 5 years since I uploaded my last blog post as A and I packed our bags to leave Melbourne and I came to the end of my 6 month sabbatical. I've always kept a diary to record life's momentous events, and blogging on Chocolate & Spice back then was a great way of recording my kitchen adventures and time out from working life in a different country and keeping family and friends back home in the loop.

Since then, life has gone through a 360' change - plunging straight back into the long hours and grind of working life, progressing up the ladder in my career, buying and fitting out our first home amidst the property bubble of 2007 and the excitement of our wedding and newly married life together in 2008. Despite good intentions to keep up my blog, recording my thoughts on each new chapter in our life together took a backseat with the increasing responsibilities in our household, our careers and our marriage taking up much of my time and energy the past few years. It seemed more fun then to live in the moment than to take time to pen down thoughts for posterity!

This year, A and I turned another page and started a new chapter in our life together with the addition of Baby M. With every day bringing a new experience and many moments of joy (and pain) with Baby M, it seemed timely to restart blogging about life as a woman, wife and now mother. Finding the time to do so on a regular basis will definitely be a challenge given my working hours, but the impetus behind this is that one day, Baby M (and maybe our other future children) will read what life was like in the Red****** household.