Today with Eliza

Highlights of the day:

Sick but cheerful Eliza
Eliza's fever subsided but it came on and off. Fever meds helped keep it at bay and sleep, i think helped. It's not really high but she felt warmer than normal. I gave her her flu meds again cos her breathing is still so noisy with all the phlegm..no runny nose though, but i think it's making her uncomfortable. Still, she's as playful and smiley.

New toys!
Bumbo is returned after 2 mths and new toys came in! woohoo...Eliza was looking at it so curiously when we received it. but i wouldn't let her sit in it cos she was going to have her nap, and she has been fussing for abt half hour le. At least this allows me to put her in and do my other stuff and still not need to watch her toooo closely like for the Bumbo seat. plus it entertains her quite enough. if i weren't working, i might buy toys and rent it out too. gosh it's so much better than buying them! i was getting bored of the toys Eliza has...though i don't think she is bored of it.

Mini-outing
I decided not to bring her to my office to show her off (hehe..and say hi too lah) cos it's so far away and she's somewhat sick. ok...but i still brought her out. whoops. I didn't want to run into having a cranky baby far away from home. yesterday, we scraped our evening outing to Borders and almost went to the PD cos of her feverish-ness + crankiness. just that when we got out of the house, she was happier and we decided to go have dinner at TM instead. but it wasn't too good initially cos she wailed in the lift and when we changed her diapers (cos she pooped), some kid was screaming and scared her so badly that she cried furiously. that was halfway thru the diaper change, gosh! i didn't even have time to put the cream & quickly wore her diapers on. anyway, thank God after that it was better. :)
chewing my toy away while daddy chooses books to buy at Times, he was so happy that business & mgmt books were 20% off...better than going Borders. but i can't be bothered, why not books for me???


oh monday we went out tooo....went to Raffles City SC Coffee Club for lunch with Y

Eliza's in tip top mood, and happy to play with Y. it was also her debut ride on the mrt, everything went well, just super curious with her surroundings. anyway lunch with Y was good, Eliza slept thru out dessert and we went to buy J.Co later. thot i could pop by my office but then my dad had something to pass to me frm his tokyo trip, so Eliza & I went to Naumi hotel to meet him. pretty place, checked out the beautiful rooms and infinity pool. small though but that's what you call a boutique hotel. went home in a cab with Eliza falling asleep the moment we got on the cab.

opps back to today. had to return my super over-due library books, buy lunch and food for dinner and bfast.(suddenly i thought...gosh i'll have to worry abt all 3 meals everyday if i stay home all the time!) anyway....
i bought liao4 to make yongtauhu ($3.30 for 15 pieces at NTUC, boil chicken stock with Ikan bilis, put all in + veg...tastes wonderful!!).
bought bread & tuna for bfast tmr.
paid my $10 library book fines & renewal fees.
borrowed a new book (Sears & sears "Fussy baby book")
it rained when i got in the bus home.
Eliza slept. (i realized she always sleeps on the way home)

*con't on May3, saturday...was so busy on thurs & fri that i didn't have time to use the comp much. so much for the title "highlights of the day" now i need to remember what i wanted to write...

Co-sleeping
Honestly, i never thought about co-sleeping much until recently when i borrowed this book

borrowed it at the library and it was once of the books i wanted to check out. I've read BabyWise & Gina Ford, now it's this..the other book i would like to check out is The Baby Whisperer. anyway back to the book...reading this book made me a much more open to co-sleeping. initially i though that i didn't really want baby in bed with us, because i knew i had to wean her from our bed eventually and stories of babies suffocated when sleeping in the bed with their parents. actually though in the early weeks i'd bring her to our bed to sleep cos i had to nurse her and we were so sleepy we kind of fell asleep together.

recently, because i've been really sleepy in the early mornings when she wakes up to fuss (i wonder where did my morning energy go now?), i would bring her to my bed so that i can hug her to sleep. mainly because she kicks, scratches her ear & head. unless i hold her hands down, pat her or rub her forehead, she will wake herself up with all that movement. sometimes it's 1/2 to 1 hr of fussing and me plopping in and out of bed that frustrates me. by then i myself have fully awakened. yawns!! so bringing her to my bed helps us sleep better. Eliza gets mummy hugs and warmth, mummy is nearby to attend to her and thus fall asleep in less than a min from the time i rouse. wonderful! actually i love it.

nowadays, most of the nights she'll be in her cot and early mornings (ie. 4-5am) i'll bring her to bed with us to sleep.

i realized that this started when she was sick and needed to be comforted and carried most of the time. bringing her to bed with me helps me have enough rest and thus be able to care for her better. gosh...if anyone realizes, co-sleeping must be something mums & babes have been doing since ancient past.

whell i better enjoy these moments before she outgrows all of it. :)

Narrating the world

I love to bring Eliza out as much as she loves to go out. ok...so we love to go out. it's like she's exploring her exciting new world and soaking in all the sights and sounds. unless i'm busy shopping...i'll narrate the world to her. occasionally pointing out things, the sky, the car that whizzed past etc etc etc. else it gets a little boring.

i'm also lagging on my so called learn to read materials with Eliza. mainly cos each day is so busy, and sometimes i forgot all about it. but i try to read as much as i can to her, at least a book a day (except when i'm working). yesterday while we were at PageOne browsing books, i popped over to the children's section to check out the Spot books. showed one book to her and she was all so excited (the past few weeks she wasn't too excited about books), i guess it was because she was bored of the toys at her pram. oh she was so cute trying to flip the pages and eat them and listening to me read it to her. (argh..photos were accidentally deleted). i love Spot books too :) maybe i'll buy that whole set of the Spot board flip-up books. :P

frm babycenter..
"the most stimulating and beneficial interactions your baby can have are the simple things you do together. Babies learn best from their parents. I like to tell my patients to "narrate the world" for their baby: Name the colors and objects your baby is seeing. Describe the clouds, the sky, birds, and trees. Count everyday items as they pass by. Dance with your baby in your arms — emphasizing the beat of the music will give your baby her first sense of rhythm. Give her a chance to explore her sense of touch by feeling new textures, and then describe what they are. Electronic accessories and other "educational toys" are never going to offer as much stimulation to your baby's developing mind as you can provide."

playing with photobooth on my mac

Photos accidently deleted

bleah.

accidently deleted quite a bulk of photos that i wanted to transfer to my computer. so devastated. (ok a lil exaggerated but it was bad enough). they were nice photos!! :( i'm wondering how to recover them now..just that the card is some memory pro whatever memory card that no other devices i have can read from it. help!

went to Vivo today on our lil family outing. checked out books, tried out babylegs cos it was so cold in PageOne, window shopped, bought groceries.

so no cute photos today.

2nd half of the day was a trying day for us. because we were out till 430pm, Eliza had a total of less than 2 hours of sleep before her bedtime. she was sleepy early but we had dinner at home with my mum & sis. and she obviously wasn't too keen on entertaining them when she's tired and grouchy. she managed to hold it out, and occasionally crying when my mum tried to play or carry her. so i set to put her to bed earlier at 8pm. she was dozing off but by 845pm she fussed and fussed and fussed till 930pm. and i went to wash clothes. but she woke up crying loudly (unusually different cry i feel) for at least 6 times which sent me going in and out of the kitchen bathroom to pacify her. gosh by the time i managed to plop the clothes in the washing machine it was 1040pm. she was peaceful till 11pm which was when i fed her and even so it took her till 1130pm before she could soundly fall asleep. a really trying night for me.
i concluded to Ww that it is either
1) the overtired day and thus the lack of sleep
2) ear infection cos of her runny nose
gosh my poor Eliza i wish i know what she's really crying for instead of having to guess all the time. so that is why we should never ignore babies cry...cos it's their only way to communicate to us. ok even the 'fake' cry..which i know what it is like and it's a tearless cry

even so this wasn't as frustrating as me accidentally deleting the photos :S
sigh sigh sigh

it's gonna be a long and interesting week. really need God more. more strength, more wakefulness, more sleep, more patience, more time.

Information overload

There're gazillions of websites for mums online that are so interesting that i keep bookmarking them since Eliza was born. now that set of bookmarks have ballooned till i have to scroll down to view it. and some i have yet to check it out the second time. really, where do you have time when almost 80% of your waking hours is taking care of baby...ok and housework and sleep. i feel i want to read them alllllll!! but i have no time, keeping track of the nov07mums forum is already quite a feat at times, esp since i have not read any since monday.

i was so busy at work last week i just have no time to go online much. it's also cos i leave work early (745am), home late (830pm) or later (11pm). I really don't like to go home late.
1. my mil has to work overtime which is quite tiring for her.
2. i miss out on time with Eliza
3. there's lots to do when i come home (express milk, wash bottles, feed Eliza her dream feed, get Eliza to sleep)
4. too rushed too rushed

so i'm gonna be a 12day SAHM. i wonder how i'll be able to 'survive' all that with housework & attempt to cook dinners, and have fun with Eliza (who seems to be sleeping less nowadays).

meanwhile, 2 new items came thru my mailbox already!

Beco Carrier
I just tried it today! Works like a dream...and i don't feel the weight of Eliza at all! (almost). The weight distribution is at the hips (just like my huge deuter bags i used for trekking last time). And it's easy to wear her in. Baby has to face in though but they say it's better for their backs. It's also a lil warm too esp where her tummy touches my fat tummy. and i tend to perspire there too. then again if you're in shopping centres it's still ok. ahh..finally a carrier that doesn't stress your shoulders. very happy with this purchase! more photos in future!



The other item that came in was BabyLegs!
I love the pattern of this Babylegs! suits her clothes so well. hoho..(ok all..almost all her clothes are pink) it's to keep her warm on cold days when we go out and she wears rompers. how to wear pants with rompers?? but it looks really pretty too.



you know i'm sooo tempted to have a family photoshoot...like those pro photoshoots. i think Eliza's so photogenic (ok all mums think their child is anyway).

Updates on Eliza:
SHE FLIPS!
which is the beginning of extra supervision on Eliza when she's on her back on the sofa. she can do a flip is 5 seconds....tho with one of her hands stuck under her belly. should video her soon :P

SHE LAUGHS!
babies laughter is so contagious. and these days she has been so vocal and cheerful. makes me so happy too.

SHE WHINES!
ehh...yah because she wants to be carried and doesn't want to lie on her bed/playpen/sofa anymore. it's a very characteristic whine so we all know it. still how can you ignore her anyway? and most of the time she 'gets her way' and she laughs again

Recovering baby over the weekend

Eliza's recovering. We all can tell.

She's drinking as much as she used to, previously when she was sick she would drink 80-110ml compared to her 130-150ml of milk now. She's also pooing more. For a few days she didn't poo in the morning which was quite odd as it's usually the time with the most poop.

Eliza's also extra playful and squeal-y happy these days but i think that's more of a developmental thing as she's starting to discover more of her world and the world outside as her vision improves. There's so much to see and discover for her. She's also teething slightly; and learning how to flip (most of the time it's a half-flip and we'd help her on, and when she turns over she'd be super excited).

She makes me happy, esp after rushing home from work, she would see me and beam. plus it's been a tiring two weeks of rushing for a deadline (that's tmr!), if i don't have a kid i would be home late everyday! i'm going back to work tmr and it's thursday...it was worse last week when Eliza was sick and i couldn't be at home to take care of her.

On mum's sleeping.
I was telling my colleague on my night episode with Eliza and she was saying that it's so tiring. hm...i think so too. I used to be elated with a 5hr or more stretch of undisturbed sleep. I still am, just that i've somewhat accepted that it's babies will more or less have night wakings and do not expect that she must sleep thru the night all the time. God just made mothers more wide awake, stronger, more sacrificial. I guess it's something that changes in us when we have our babies. God changed our hormones and the way our body works so that we can attend to our lil one. I would wonder how Ww can sleep thru Eliza's fussing and not realize it at all. Once she cried quite loudly (it was more than enough to wake me up anyway), and Ww didn't budge one bit. Is it some father's symptom...not being able to hear baby cry at night?
Anyway, I am not so sleep deprived either, i try to take at least 2 naps during my long weekends. and i could sleep earlier but i still stay up till 11pm or 12mn almost everyday, waking up at 630am on days when i work, and 7+am on days when i don't work. It's a luxury to sleep till 8am.

I'm looking forward to the coming 10+days i get to stay home with Eliza, juggle housework & some cooking, and outings with Eliza. :) (oh..it's cos my mil's going to Turkey)

Photos while Eliza was sick....or is she? doesn't look sick at all anyway, as long as she isn't having fever, she's quite fine & happy :)


I'm trying to get her to take her morning nap, but she has other plans....
her cot is her playground...


and if you realized....the cool pack is gone...she has swept it away..somewhere on the cot

Eliza trying to turn...or do a flip...still learning!


Me trying out which headbands will look good on her...to wear to J's party that night. which do you like?



On sunday, while Augustine was talking with us, we decided to take photos...i like this one best of the many we took.

Diaper reviews

Ok after 4 months of trying out most diapers. I have concluded that Pampers is the best so far. It's Pampers BabyDry. Why this of all the other brands?
- It's not too expensive (neither it's v.cheap, else i'll surely get it all the time)
- It's soft and comfy
- The tab is reusable and doesn't come off (read abt my experience with the NTUC brand one later)
- The back of the diaper is high

I can't understand how other brands like huggies & mamypoko is more expensive than Pampers
and there're ppl who say that Pampers is expensive. Ok...the other series of the Pampers ones are expensive...not the BabyDry series. Moreover, we have managed to buy them when it's on sale. It averages a $0.23 per piece compared to $0.30 per piece for other brands.

My experience with other diapers...

Drypers
- SH passed me a pack of size S Drypers cos her baby can't use them anymore (too small), and i tried it but it was kinda a lil tight for Eliza, plus the back of the diapers is not as high so sometimes her poo leaks from behind. i also don't like the tab that's of sticker type, not the grip tape kind. Eliza also has her thunder thighs and the elastic of the diapers leaves red marks at her thighs. it's one of the cheapest brands though but after I discovered Pampers i never bat an eye at Drypers. maybe one day i will. btw, i used at least 3-4 packs of the NB ones.

Huggies & MamyPoko
- i can barely remember using them. used one pack of each. i think it's so-so. i think i remember my mil saying that it isn't really soft.

NTUC
i tried the size S once cos it was on sale. then, it was quite ok, just that it's a lil rough too. i recently bought another pack to replenish stock but the tabs keep coming off, especially when i try wearing it on struggling Eliza (that's usually after bath, i dunno why she's so edgy then). for 3 nights it had come off and i had to use masking tape to stick it on as i didn't want to wake Eliza up just to change a perfectly fine diaper. today morning i woke up to find her in a half opened diaper. argh. so i thought i could just use it for day time. but but but the diaper failed me again. it's probably the 5th diaper that 'went wrong'. i was so frustrated i had to waste it and use the other brand instead. i'm contemplating sending the whole pack back to change.

PetPet
heard that it's the same manufacturer as the NTUC brand tho it's slightly more expensive..i think by $0.05cents. other than it's rough and the sticker like tab, it's so far ok. not the best but ok. it leaked poo the first time Eliza used it & poo-ed but then again i'll give it a benefit of doubt, after all her Pampers diapers leaked quite a few times b4 too.

Goo.n
I've tried out the sample pack. so far it's really soft, and snug for Eliza. i actually like it a lot but i can only order it online. and it's not cheap..abt $0.336 per piece, not including delivery. it has the wetness indicator which really, i feel is not needed. maybe it's because i only change Eliza's diapers when she poops. otherwise i couldn't be bothered.

Pampers
my all time favourite. it was good that there were discounts at NTUC & Shop&Save and now at Giant. so we've bought like 3 + 2 + 1 pack so far. my mil said why not buy more? gosh...now i worry Eliza will outgrow the M size! it averages $0.23 per piece...so it's still ok. the "grip tape" is great and reusable, which is very needed when i need to adjust her diapers.

diaper status now:
NTUC brand - use if i dare to
PetPet - for day & night use
Pampers - for outings

average diaper usage per day:
4-5 pieces. actually it's equivalent to how many times Eliza poops a day. and also bathtime milktime schedules. most evenings we bathe Eliza b4 her milktime, and Eliza tends to poop after her milk feed...so sometimes that after bath diaper is wasted. sigh...

gosh it's another 1 1/2 to 2 years more before we can wean off diapers. poor environment. would love to go for nappies but then for the sake of our sanity, save water and save our hands from all the detergent (my fingers have been really dry lately due to all the detergent from washing the bottles & in particular the Tollijoy wet wipes, don't ask me why). anyway $20+ a month for diapers is still manageable, it seems like costs we barely notice.

Serious silliness...for all ages

One of Ww's student's parent bought these books for Eliza.


It was sooo cute that i kept reading (ok trying to read) them to her...and i'm contemplating buying more of them. why? cos...
- it's easy to read cos it's a board book.
- the illustrations are so hilarious
- i love the way the author makes the story rhyme
- and it's silly anyway

so i recommend mummies out there to check out this book, so far i've found them in Borders (none at Times)...and of course more at Amazon.com. if one day i go to US i'll buy them ALL...(i think). check out her website here

anyway we have been really blessed by Ww's students' parents who shower Eliza with really sweet gifts. and going to one of his students, J's birthday party was really fun (happy birthday to J again!! :) ). plus this is 2nd time Eliza's been there (oh the first time was when i was still so pregnant with her, at Ww's class party). i really enjoyed talking to the mums there too, and the things they share about parenthood is really quite helpful and so true...so imagine me 12 yrs from now...