100 plus days and counting....

Baby M passed the 100th day milestone a week or so ago. I've been meaning to post an update on her latest achievements right about then, but had too many things to do in the midst of getting her on a schedule and me mentally (and physically) ready to go back to work. So this update come a little late, but that also means there's more news too! Here's a quick list of what's new.....

1. Baby M now sleeps a longer stretch and gifted me the best gift on her 100th night - a close to full night's sleep when she went for a 6 hour stretch without waking from 10pm to 4am. And even so, it was a business-like 10 minute feeding affair at 4am, with a quick diaper change, which meant that I could sleepwalk through the whole process and be asleep properly by 430am! Bliss is when mommy has had a full night's sleep.....

Since then, Baby M has been sleeping consistently at least a 5 hour stretch once a night, waking only once to feed. This translates to a better functioning mommy, who's quite relieved that this change comes just before work resumes for real next week.

Baby M still needs help getting to sleep in the daytime as you can see!

2. Baby M has started showing her preference for certain folks, and only deigns to smile at others outside of this circle if she feels like it. In no particular order (since it varies depending on her mood from day to day and what she needs us for) is Mommy, Daddy and our helper, Tina. I do think however that I have a slight edge =). Witness one episode a couple of nights ago when we had a dinner party at my parents. After putting M to sleep in my grandma's room, I merrily thought I could sit down for a good tucker. 15 minutes later and midway through my prata, I hear loud screams (that penetrated through 2 doors!) and saw her wide awake with a terrified look on her face as my grandma carried her. She calmed down once I took over and cuddled her, and later found out from my grandma that she woke up, looked around the room and saw my grandma, looked even more frantically for someone more familiar and started crying loudly. This happened twice more that evening. Seems like my little girl has a distinct preference for just one person to put her to sleep....

3. Baby M sits up very well by now, and can independently hold up her head and back. So this means a short stretch in her Bumbo chair every day which amuses her much better than the 45' rocker chair! She also spends more time on her tummy, and is starting to scoot forward if she's able to find my hands / legs to push off from. She's also started rolling from her front to her back!

Rather bemused that she can now sit upright!

4. This also means that toys and books are really starting to hold her interest, and for longer spells now. Placing her favourite centipede toy a short distance away is incentive enough for her to try hard to scoot forward!

Eye balling Mr Centipede

5. I now have a noisy chatterbox at home, who loves babbling when she sees me or the Hubby. She's happiest when she's had lots to eat, and a good nap - that's when Baby M breaks out the smiles in abundance. My best present though happened about 3 weeks ago when she laughed out loud for the first time, sending me scrambling for the camcorder to record it for the Hubby!

Baby M seconds after laughing out loud

Family... and what it means

Over the Father's Day weekend, we had the Hubby's aunty and uncle visit us in Singapore. The Hubby's a transplant to Singapore from Sydney, which means that seeing his family once a year or so is about as good as we can do given the long 8 hour flight back and forth. We didn't make it back last year while I was pregnant, so we were really happy that some of them have made and will be making the long flight down here enroute to weddings/holidays in the region.

Uncle Ed and Aunty Eve with Baby M

How nice that his Uncle Ed and Aunty Eve made it for the Father's Day weekend! Uncle Ed is pretty much a second father to the Hubby, given that their families were early immigrants to Australia in the 1970s and 1980s and were pretty much on their own then. So it was truly wonderful to be able to have both families (his and mine) around the table for dim sum lunch; the last time this happened was during our mad wedding week 3 years ago. The time we had together was quite crunched, given that my mom and the Hubby were both flying off in the afternoon for work trips around the region.

The picture speaks a thousand words!

Watching Uncle Ed and Aunty Eve interact with Baby M, and their delight at having a grand niece (the Hubby's family being predominantly inclined towards males for some strange genetic reason!) pulled quite a bit at my heartstrings. At dim sum lunch with my family, I sat on the sidelines and watched both families have a good time catching up, talking about the latest news, watching and playing with Baby M, and felt a sense of peace knowing that Baby M would be growing up as part of a secure, close knit family and that she would be well-loved by everyone.

Baby M enjoying the attention!

A week or so back when my dad was out of town, my mom, aunt and uncle came over for dinner at our place. Thoughtfully bringing pot luck with them so that we wouldn't have to fret about feeding so many extra mouths, it was a great evening of catching up and playing with Baby M. Aunty Yvette is also close to being a second mom to me, given that she's my mom's only sister, and used to babysit my brother and I in our younger days when we went over to spend time with our cousin Mel. She too was equally enthralled with Baby M and I was quite amused watching my mom and Aunty Yvette do goo goo ga ga noises with Baby M that evening.

My mom, her sis and Baby M

As a nice round up, the Hubby's parents are finally coming down and will be here in a couple of weeks for Baby M's baptism. That's something we're really looking forward to!

Happy Father's Day!

"That's what my Daddy is - a super man!"

Baby M enjoys a very special relationship with her Daddy, reserving the brightest smiles and coos for the man she probably one day will regard as her super hero. Hence, the Father's Day card to prompt the Hubby as to the ideals that his daughter will likely want him to live up to!

The Hubby with his precious one
early one morning before he leaves for work

The Hubby in turn, is thrilled to be a father, and has already told me quietly that when Baby M grows up, he'll probably be "in trouble" and won't be able to deny her anything she asks for. 

On my part, I'm thrilled that father and daughter will have that special bond, and look forward to the day when Baby M can make her own card for her very special daddy.

A private moment with Daddy on Father's Day

The Post Baby Wardrobe

The sure thing about having a baby is that one's body will never be the same again. Apart from pigmentation and stretch marks (which thankfully I've escaped), pockets of fat cells seem to find their way to the parts that need it least. Since most of us mere mortals do not have a celebrity trainer on speed dial, shedding the pounds and fitting back into one's pre-pregnancy wardrobe would take some time.

I was quite lucky as most of my existing wardrobe worked until I hit 5 months, and some stretchy dresses from m'phosis and Mango actually fit up to birth. Apart from some maternity shorts and capris from Gingersnapps and Mothers En Vogue, I still bought clothes from my favourite brands, only a size up, or stocked up on Zara's affordable stretchy basic dresses to accomodate the growing bump. Formal wear also didn't pose much of a problem since A/W 2010 silhouettes were cut on the roomier side and I could always get these taken in after birth. It wasn't until my 8th month that I brought out that gawd-awful Pea in the Pod maternity dress (thankfully in a sleek grey with a cowl neck) and shrunk my work wardrobe to the few dresses that didn't bite into my belly because comfort rather than style took on a greater priority. Consequently by the time my belly wrap came off in the second week of my confinement period, I was feeling the greatest need to hit the road running and shop at top speed!

That as any mom knows is clear impossible with a newborn demanding feeds every 2 - 3 hours so shopping on the internet proved to be my saviour, as it had during pregnancy when work, family and other commitments rarely allowed me an extended day of shopping. In all 9 months I carried Baby M, I stepped into a changing room to try clothes on not more than 8 or 9 occasions, relying mostly on shopping off The Outnet, Net-A-Porter or Shopbop and thought I had gotten ordering clothes (with no error in terms of sizing and hence not incurring any charges for returns/exchanges!) down to a pat. Unfortunately, after 9 months of not knowing my "real-life" size, I've had a lot of trial and error trying to update my wardrobe post delivery. Although most of the pregnancy weight fell off within the first 2 weeks, and the numbers of the scale edged closer to my pre-pregnancy weight, nature had conspired to endow me with more curves such that a number of my clothes refused to budge whether I was trying to tug them down from the neck or pull them up from the ground!

The last shopping expedition off The Outnet proved no different as I now realised to my horror that I am no longer a UK Size 10, nor an Italian Size 38. The sole dress that fit only did because it was too big and a trip to Michelle Alteration will be on my calendar in the near future since there was no smaller size available for exchange. I've subsequently stuck to ordering my favourite brands of shoes online instead since there's little room for error and also because (a) they're much cheaper than what On Pedder/Tangs/Hue etc sell them at (b) there's a greater variety of designs and (c) it's so much more exciting receiving a visit from the DHL and UPS guy!

My guilty passion for flats and impractical shoes

So with my return to work imminent, and with no real work separates in the wardrobe that fit, I've been going on various shopping expeditions in my free time especially since it's the GSS and there are a number of bazaars and sales going on (online and in the shops). Unfortunately, I haven't quite stuck to my shopping list since I ended up buying everything else except work clothes!

Accessories and dresses - but no work separates!

3 Months On....

and the long late nights at work, Sunday lunches, afternoon teas and shopping jaunts with girlfriends, and foodie nights out with the Hubby seemes very much part of a past life. The past 3 months have been a road of discovery, at times paved with tears and frustration as I learnt the ropes of motherhood, but more often than not, with tremendous joy and wonderment over you, the little being your Daddy and I created. 

3 months ago on 14 March 2011, I cradled you in my arms and couldn't quite believe that I had become a mother. 

Holding you minutes after 2:07pm, your birth time

3 months on, I can't imagine not having you in my life.

How you've grown Baby M!

The first month with you passed pretty much in a haze. Thankfully though, you were a relatively easy baby then, sleeping lots and wailing not at all that much. 

2 weeks old and asleep in your rocker

Even awake, you were such a smiley happy baby and you still are - you must have Daddy's sunny disposition!

14 days old

And you loved your bath time very much, and which has quickly become one of our favourite times of the day.

Food-wise, you caught on quickly to breastfeeding, and had no problems switching between the bottle and the breast by the end of the first month. You amazed me one day with your seemingly insatiable appetite, when you guzzled down 150ml during the night bottlefeed. Sadly, that must have been a one-off instance since it was never repeated (or else Mommy was halucinating during the feed that night).

Your quizzical expression and
the oversized bottle had me laughing!

Outings were also a breeze since you sleep quietly through and allowed Mommy and Daddy peace and quiet to enjoy lunch. You even slept through your first month party, probably because you were snugly cradled in nanny's or Mommy's arms!

Sleeping through your first month party!

Then came the second month, and that's when Daddy dubbed you the Decepticon! I guess you came out of your sleepy phase and with the increasing periods of wakefulness, we got to know you a little better and realised which characteristics of Mommy and Daddy you had taken on. Strong-willed (or stubborn :)), determined and impatient (Mommy's), sunny disposition, inquisitiveness and mischievious (Daddy's) were some of the catchphrases used to describe you.

Up to no good?

We realise now that you don't do well if you're (a) kept waiting longer than 10 minutes for your milk, so much so that we now warm up your bottle 15 minutes before your next scheduled feed to avoid mini meltdowns and hunger strikes (b) sleepy and want to sleep but can't (c) hot and bothered - in which case, standing with you under the airconditioner works wonders in smoothing away the pouts and grumbles.

Sleep it seems is where we trip up quite a fair bit until we stumble onto the position you love best to be rocked to sleep.

Being rocked to sleep on a cushion

You, like Daddy, enjoy being sociable and look forward to outings with your favourite people. You sit quietly (most of the time) in your stroller and car seat and love looking at your surroundings when we're out for dinners, lunches, walks, errands or shopping. You also seem to sense what Mommy does for a living when we go back one day for a visit, and make nary a peep in the hushed confines of Mommy's office! 

Entertaining yourself in your stroller

Food by now intrigues you hugely - you're now not content to stay quietly in your room while Mommy and Daddy have their dinner, and insist loudly on joining us every evening before your bedtime. At bedtime most nights, you enjoy being read to, and love the book "Giraffes Can't Dance" and Paddington Bear stories. 

Daddy reading a Paddington Bear story to Baby M

One thing for sure was that you were, and still are, Daddy's little girl. You reserve special smiles and gurgles for Daddy, whom you see only for short moments every day due to his busy schedule, and rarely if ever tantrum at him (nope, you save that for Mommy!). 

You and Daddy spending time together

Daddy knows just how to make you laugh and smile and you love it best when Daddy dances for you.

Daddy dancing to Beyonce

In the last few weeks, you surprise me with how much you accomplish and how fast you do so. One day, you last just a couple of minutes on your tummy. A few days later, you happily babble to your toys during tummy time, and then astonish me by deciding to roll over!

Ooopsies!

Another day while playing "Horsey" with Aunty Tina, we're both thrilled when you let out your first real laugh (and many of them). I was so lucky to get it on video for your Daddy who missed it the first time round. Since then, you've gone back to quiet chuckling but I'm sure when you've had a whole series of your favourite games, that laugh will break itself out again.

Laughing out loud while playing Horsey

Your first 3 months have been such a wild adventure and we're looking forward to many more memories and good times with you Baby M!

Has it already been 3 months?

Baby M is 3 months (and 2 days old). I'm still a little in shock as to where the past 14 weeks or so have gone!

Don't know why, but I somehow think of the 3 month milestone as a huge achievement - probably because by this stage, babies would have developed so much further along than their 1 month old milk guzzling, crying self into a little being with a distinct character and personality traits! More on Baby M's progress in another post but here is a quick run down on her typical day now that she's 3 months old and has her voice - as told to Mommy by Baby M in 'her own words'!

Baby M at 3 months (14 June 2011)

"I am a wee bit petite so Dr Yip says at 5.43kg and 55.5cm, although my brain seems to be developing fine since my head now measures 38.5cm! Never mind, I'm sure I'll catch up with all my other friends when I start eating all those yummy things Mommy and Daddy keep putting in their mouth.

Most days, I wake at 7am with a smile on my face as I babble "good morning!!" to Mommy and kick my feet. Sometimes, I'm not hungry (especially if Mommy fed me at 4 or 5am) so I take my time eating and smile and gurgle at Mommy in between sips. Since I can now talk, I try out my whole new vocabulary of "oohs" "aaahs" "eehhhhhssss" and "kksssstttss" on Mommy, and practice my different smiles with her. 

All that kicking, talking and playing with my hands makes me really tired, so I yawn through my morning top and tail. I'm quite happy to get out of my manky diaper, but I'm always surprised (everyday!!) and let out these huge gasps when Mommy wiping my face with cool water! [Aside by Mommy - Baby M is a drama mama queen when it comes to washing her face in the morning with her theatrical gasps and facial expressions. Still hoping to be dexterous enough to wipe her face AND get a photo!] I'm quite ready to have my morning nap by 815am and stay sleeping to about 915 or 930am when I wake for a short play session before my next feed. 

Mommy's milk energizes me for an hour or so where I play in my orange bouncer with the cow toy that moos. Usually I get a bit cranky after so much play, so I go sleep for another 40 minutes or so until lunch time at 1pm.

I now drink well from the bottle (about 125ml) and all that milk coming at me in 5 minutes means I'm usually drunk and asleep within 20 minutes! Aunty Tina has to wake me by tickling my feet and changing my diaper, and I polish off the remaining 20ml or so and happily take my afternoon nap.

Later in the afternoon after tea, on days that Mommy and I are not out and about, I'm usually raring to go out for an evening walk with Mommy! I also spend some time on my tummy, and am starting to practice my rolling onto my back - wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I also love it when Mommy props me on her knees and lies back to "fly" me around the room and when Aunty Tina puts me on her knees and plays horsey.

All that play is making me quite hungry by now, so I have a quick snack and then comes my favourite time of the day. Splish splash is great fun, especially when I have the yellow British duckie Daddy got for me from London! Splish splashing ends too soon though, and I wear my jammies and try to settle down for night night time. But first, I must say goodnight to everyone in the house, from Gizmo and Max, to Aunty Tina, Daddy and Mommy and turn off all the lights. If I'm really tired out, I'm asleep by 845pm, otherwise like Mommy, I sometimes don't need so much sleep so I play and kick and generally annoy Mommy until 1145pm!"

The Hand Reflex

The Hand Reflex. I had no idea what this was until I flipped to the monthly development guide in the baby books while BF in the middle of the night. Oh, so that's what she's been up to when she was busy swatting at her toys and twirling her fingers around and around! 

Like any first time mom, the amount of baby jargon out there has truly baffled me. Rather than worry about her milestones obsessively, I have been enjoying (and documenting) every new step she's taken as it comes. Seems like she's right bang on target development wise!

Swatting at her rattle

The rattle was originally much higher on the play mat and
she liked it better once it was swopped down with another toy!

The toys on her bouncer are closer within reach so
she's been happily batting at them to the tune of This Old Man!

Loving the cow which moos when she grabs the leg

The choices one makes

A photo of Baby M as my wallpaper to remind
myself that there is more than work

Unlike a number of my uni classmates who have made a successful transition to a less stressful (and shorter hours) worklife by going inhouse, I have chosen to remain in practice. Largely because I enjoy the work I do, but partly also because I have the support of a nurturing boss and colleagues, with whom I've been privileged to work with since I started work. Knowing that I have trouble managing my stress levels, I have tried over the years to move to a less frenetic pace to carve out more time for myself, family and friends, and in anticipation of starting a family. These attempts were never successful, as I found it emotionally difficult breaking links with my team. I always went back after a mini meltdown and ultimately found some level of happiness and fulfilment in the work that I did, despite the long hours, intense and frenetic pace and sometimes overwhelming stress levels of managing difficult clients and transactions.

Throughout my pregnancy, being blessed with a smooth ride with Baby M allowed me to keep the same hours and pace and work on a number of high profile, challenging transactions. I loved feeling all together managing work, our family and social obligations and the anticipation of a new chapter in our life; I got so good at multi-tasking that I closed my last transaction with a week to spare, and was remote managing a couple of others up to my EDD (and as the Hubby liked to note, up to a couple of hours in the delivery suite before the big event). At that time, I thought I could have it all. 

With Baby M's appearance though, I had to make a big effort to wean myself off work and the chained to my wrist Blackberry given my habit of checking my emails all the time (literally every time I woke, in the bathroom, while waiting for the Hubby, even while breastfeeding Baby M) so that I could devote my full energy to nursing, enjoying time with Baby M and recuperating from birth. It wasn't easy given that our office culture promoted being available 24/7 (Blackberries being standard issue where I work) and did not encourage out of office messages - in the initial first 2 months, I still responded to emails, queries from my associates, calls from clients who did not know I was on maternity leave, and other office administrative emails that required my attention. Always at the back of my mind while nursing, cleaning or playing with Baby M was that there may be an important email that I needed to read, or a call that I had missed getting. I now empathised fully with the protagonist in I Don't Know How She Does It, a book I got 10 years ago and currently out in the cinemas. It was only in the last 2 weeks when the last of my major transactions finally closed that I would no longer see the red light flashing on my Blackberry and could finally let my mind wander freely in tandem with Baby M's development progress.

Over the past few months, taking time out from the office has been very therapeutic, more so that when I went on sabbatical in Melbourne for 6 months. I loved that each day with Baby M made me marvel anew at the little things in life, seeing everything now through a fresh perspective as our baby started exploring the world around her. With my maternity period drawing to an end in 25 days, I find myself seriously considering the previously unthinkable and unachievable - staying at home with Baby M and working part time. I hate thinking that someone else would be here watching her next few milestones, and I would be at work getting second hand reports instead. A decision has yet to be made firmly, given that I had committed to going back at least for 3 months to cover a colleague who was going on sabbatical. After that, who knows?