Happy 2 Months old Baby C

When she was only 1 month old

2 months old

What she can do now :

• Smile
• She can see us now
• She drinks well and finish her milk in 25 mins (it used to be 45 mins)
• She sleeps very well
• She can react back to us
• She is 5.3kg now!! (everyone is amazed with her speed growth)

It's really nice to know when Baby C can smile back at us :)

And I am lucky to know she has a good nanny whom now I can trust her (even though she has only been with us for 2 weeks ; but my cue tells me she is the right one for Baby C)

3 more weeks and I am done with my maternity leave :( I wish I have another 3 more months. Not ready to commute back and fro jakarta-bandung yet.

Motherhood

Totally enjoying every bit of my maternity leave :)

Didn't expect that I can get used to the new life easily too..

42 things that change when u have a baby

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara

[Many readers begged to differ, saying things like, " I disagree with number 12. My dogs are my additional children," "Nothing about previous babies, whether two- or four-legged, changes when a new miracle comes along," "My dog will never be 'just a dog," and "This is sad to me. My dog is still my baby too."]

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution. — Anon.

19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys

20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.

21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon.

22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"! — gummismom

23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect. — japanese_macaque

24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom

25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!" — Anon.

26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor

27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo." — littlehulk2008

Dilemma

In big dilemma on being a working mother. Daughter will be in Bandung, while I need to work in Tangerang (Tangerang - Bandung is 4-5 hours drive).

Helpers shortage!!

Hari Raya holiday is coming to an end soon. For a housewife and mom like me is a nightmare because as recently there is a shortage for nannies and maids. It's not happening to me only, but also to a few friends of mine. Peeking over their blackberry status, Facebook status, they are all complaining the same thing.

A close friend declares that the war on looking for nannies will begin next week. Sounds scary? It is indeed a battlefield and it's not easy to find a good nanny. The good ones are usually taken fast or their previous owner won't let them go by increasing their pay. Some friends even have strategies to get their choice of nanny. I believe this kind of situation only happens in Indonesia. We are so used to have helpers in the house to do everything, and now we are so dependable of having helpers to take care of a child. Pampered? Absolutely however Unavoidable.

As for me, I haven't got one either. I don't have any strategies like them. Am I scared and worried? Well a bit, the fact I really need to get one before I can go back to work. But on the other hand I am learning to take care of the baby by my own, in case I didn't get any nanny at all!

Confinement Lady

Caroline and Auntie Ah Mei

Yea!! finally I got a green light from the doctor to go fly back home. Life is too bored here. I am so used with my busy life before that I often dazed around when there is nothing to do. (beside helping my confinement lady around).

I am so blessed that I have a good, kind and helpful confinement lady. Her name is Auntie Ah Mei. Beside helping me taking care of the baby (that includes bathing, feeding, and accompanying Caroline sleep), she cooks for me too. And most of the time, she is the one who accompany when I am bored. She tells me stories of her working experience, teaching me how to take care of Caroline, but I think I depend her too much. She is going to stay with till early October, and after that I need to find a nanny to take care of Caroline; knowing that it is not an easy task anymore to find a good nanny in Indonesia, I was hoping Auntie Ah Mei will keep staying with us until Caroline gets older.

In case still wondering what exactly a confinement lady does...I got some information about confinement from a website..so here it goes:

Many ethnic Chinese women in Malaysia hire a pui yuet (literally "companion for the month" in Cantonese) to help out in the postnatal period immediately after birth. Also known as a confinement nanny or confinement lady, a pui yuet is usually an older woman experienced in caring for the special needs of a new mum and newborn baby according to the traditional confinement practices of the Chinese. Usually, she is an acknowledged expert in Chinese postnatal practices.

Although some women find confinement nannies or confinement ladies to be old-fashioned in their approach to the dos and don'ts of the postnatal period, they can be particularly helpful to a first-time mum who may not be familiar with various aspects ofcaring for a newborn baby.

What will she do?

Traditionally, the pui yuet's duties include:

• Bathing baby daily.

• Feeding baby (once breastfeeding is well-established, you can express breastmilk so that she can take over one or more night feeds).

• Generally caring for the baby so that the new mother can rest.

• Cook special confinement dishes such as traditional chicken soup which are considered extra-nutritious. In smaller households (especially if it is just you and your husband), it is not unreasonable to ask the pui yuet to cook all the regular meals.

• Wash the baby and the new mother's clothes (if you prefer to just toss everything into the machine, that is acceptable too).

Few confinement ladies or confinement nannies these days are expected to do other household chores - though they should always clean up the kitchen and dishes after meals. The older and more traditional ladies will be used to doing some light housework.

Hunger; Hungry; Laperrr

They said breastfeeding always makes the mother feel hungry all the time; I totally agree. I never feel fully satisfied. Especially after pumping out all the milk, always leave me with the feeling of hungry yet tired too.

Another thing is my weight seems to keep going down. I know for some women this is a good news, shedding off all the post-pregnancy weight. Well, luckily for me, I did not have any problem in loosing any weight, as I did not gain much during pregnancy, and when the baby is out, I only have to shed 3kg more to my normal weight. Currently, I have another 1kg to go, however, the downside for me is whether I am totally healthy. I am drinking chicken essence every night, eating all the good food, yet the weight keep going down.

Is it because of the post-operation appendix? All the doctors said I am fine, but there are time I still feel the soreness in my stomach :( and I am hungry all the time!!!

I am a mom now :)

Sorry readers for not updating my blog. It’s not that I am too busy; it’s just that I am too lazy to type. So a quick update on my life. Now I am a mom to a 1 month 5 days Baby C! I still cannot believe that I am a mom now either, maybe because nothing has really change about myself after Baby C is being delivered. I am still who I am, and maybe because I am so used to taking care of my own family member, so when Baby C is finally here, I felt it’s my another big responsibility to make sure she feels safe, warmth and I promised myself I will bring her up to become humble, wise and kind person. About her being smart and successful, well I think that is God’s given, and I believe God loves Baby C J

For the past few weeks, I have been going through a lot with my own body. Starting from sudden announcement from Prof Chen that I have a weak placenta, which force me to have caesarean operation on my 38^th week and then a week after that I have an acute appendix which has burst, caused a very bad infection around my intestine, leaving the doctors with no choice but to do an immediate operation to cut the bad appendix and wash my intestine. After the major operation (it was 3 hours!!!) I have to go bed rest for almost 8 days with several tubes poking into my body (the tubing makes me suffer very badly).

Well at first I did not know how bad my body condition was, until my father-in-law explained to me that I almost lost my life. I really thank God for giving me another chance to live my life well. I cried every night in the hospital, because I was so worried that if I am really gone, what is going to happen to Baby C and A. I promised myself that I will be taking good care of my own body for the sake of my family, I can’t afford to loose them, and they can’t afford to loose me either.

Right now I am back to breastfeeding baby C after the absenting for 2 weeks because I was under heavy medication, and going back to breastfeeding makes me feel happier knowing that Baby C is eating well.

To me Baby C is a miracle gift from God. Even though she is born small (when she came out; she was only 2.236kg), but she is very strong baby. When she is hungry, she will cried out so loud that the whole house will go panicking. When she feels bored, she will talk to herself very loudly and makes everyone of us wonder what is she trying to say to us J The doctor calls her Chilli Padi, meaning small yet so strong.

She is still 1month 5 days old, and yet I feel the time flies by fast. I keep telling myself to enjoy every moment with her, as I don’t want to miss anything, and I know by the time she is a teen, I doubt Baby C will want her mommy to be with her all the time :p

what does it feels like

When the doctor told me that I will be giving birth anytime soon, my heart goes fluttered. Then he asked me do I know what I should be looking for..Water coming out, or patches of blood..or tummy-ache..my reaction to him was nothing but a blur face..and then he says.."well you will know it when the time comes.."

So when it is going to be? today? tomorrow? or now? What makes me nervous is that I don't know what i will expect, the experience that I will go through, what makes me look forward is to finally meet baby C. It's like telling myself finally I am meeting someone who is going to be the most precious, most protected..someone whom I am willing to sacrifice my life unconditionally..well words cannot describe that kind of feeling. Once she is here, everything is going to change. I will never be alone, Alvin can go and travel for work but I am not going to be alone anymore. There will always be her by my side :)

And everyone is actually looking forward to meet her too..my parents n in-laws are the most excited one, checking on me everyday, making sure I am all right..somehow the moms are hoping they will be here on time to witness the birth of baby C!!

I hope baby C don't come out too fast, well at least she should wait for Alvin to come this wednesday :D

Counting down

2 More days and I am leaving everything and everyone behind and get ready for delivery. Well I am glad that I chose to give birth in Singapore, even though it's very troublesome...but if I don't force myself to go far away to give birth, I would not have enough time for me and C. I have been feeling guilty that all these while I have been ignoring my pregnancy. C sometimes remind me though by giving me a kick here and there...and she always moves around just to let me know "hey mommy...get a rest!!"

So I will have at least a month to have a our mother-daughter time before she sees this world and everyone will want to be with her.

Erin is so excited of being a big sister...she has been talking to C almost every night, acting as if she is the nanny asking whether C is drinking her milk or she has taken her evening bath. I like it most when Erin will approach me while I am lying down and she will be stroking my tummy and asking everyone else to shut up...I think Erin is so ready to C soon!!