Cousin fun

The Singapore boys and Brandon were here earlier this month to visit and boy, did Joe have a great fun time playing with the boys! They especially loved the castle...5 knights and a princess.

At night, they camped out in the living room....finally sleeping VERY late after a big fun pillow fight!

Playing Rapunzel...

Joy insists her name is Rapunzel.

Princess Rapunzel.I made her a simple tiara out of silver pipe cleaners (cost less than ONE ringgit!) while she hijacked a long gold ribbon from one of the christmas presents and asked me to tie it to her hair. She asked me to stand at the bottom of her castle to pretend to be the evil witch!Of course she has a brave handsome prince to save her. It's so much fun when they pretend play together!

Blessed Christmas 2011

It's Christmas!!!This is Isabel's first Christmas and obviously our first as a family of 5.I refuse to be part of all the secular celebrations and excessive feasting that have nothing to do with the true meaning of Christmas.

May you discover the hope, joy and peace that Jesus brings... He's the reason for the season!!!

cups, cups, cups!

I was browsing... Joy came up to me and said, "I want the purple cup!!!"

me : huh? Why do you need these cups? Do you know what cup this is?
Joy : Ya... it's a suction cup....so that I can stick to you and be your siamese twin!!!

Nemo at 1 Utama

We brought the kids to 1 Utama 2 days ago for this.......arriving there just in the nick of time to grab the last 2 registration forms.

After a Q&A time, there was a puppet show with a clear message to NOT eat shark's fin soup! Sharks are friends...not food.

This was followed by a craft session and then some photo-taking.I was just so pleasantly surprised that my usually-sticky-to-me princess went in to the children-only area without any fuss. And this was one of those times when I forgot to bring the camera and wished I had a fairly decent camera on my hp.

**Photos were taken with iPad and downloaded from the Voila Group Facebook site.

The difference with no.3...

First kid - I washed his bum in warm water and dried with his own towel at each diaper change.
Third kid - a wet wipe will suffice and cold water is okay.

First kid - I used Bepanthen.
Third kid - Vaseline is much cheaper.

First kid - I jump each time he even whimpers a little... Is he hungry? Dirty? Colic?
Third kid - a little crying is good for your lungs.

First kid - I check the time at each feed, each nap and count how many times he poops each day.
Third kid - I don't even look at the clock.

First kid - I sterilized his bottles.
Third kid - I don't have a sterilizer. Rinsing with hot water will do.

On the plus side...

With Joseph, I worried he would get used to my rocking him to sleep and his sleeping on my chest would tie me down. My worries caused much unnecessary stress on myself. I rocked him till one day when he was 13 months old - he just pushed me away, crawled into his crib and fell asleep. I felt so redundant! Now, in the blink of an eye, he's coming to 7 years old, over 24 kg and impossible for me to carry.

I've learnt my lesson. With Isabel, I'm more relaxed. She can nurse as long as she wants. The last few days, she has been napping for about 3 hours each afternoon on my chest. She sleeps so much more soundly and I get some sleep too. I know for sure this will not be forever and I will miss it all too soon.

One month old - Non-fat milk or not enough milk

Isabel is one month old...tomorrow! She's grown. Not as much as I hoped and wish but she's grown.

I estimate she's just 3.6kg at one month old (3.025kg at birth). Her head circumferance has increased from 33cm to 36cm. Length-wise, she's 55cm compared to 48.5cm at birth.

And she did all this growing on MY milk!!! But she ain't chubby... unlike some breastfed babies I know. Like her older siblings, she's lean. They all are when breastfed...like kampung chickens. My mum says I produce non-fat milk. That's why breastfeeding is such an emotional struggle for me.

Did I mention I have this love-hate feeling with breastfeeding?

I love how baby cuddles up to me. I guess it's God's way of making mummies hold their babies more so that baby gets the hugs and cuddles they need to thrive. It's good bonding time!

But if you know my babies, they take a really really long time to feed!!! They feed and then they fall asleep so I keep my boob. But once they realize their mouth is empty, they want the breast again.

They don't sleep for long periods either. At least not on their own. They can sleep 3hours in my arms but awake the moment I put them down.

They also want to be carried all the time. I realize now that this is normal for all babies. They love the warmth and coziness of being cuddled.

When they do sleep, I wonder if ...
A. they sleep because there's no milk to drink or
B. they sleep because they are actually full.

And when they take so long to feed, is it because...
A. they are waiting for the 'let down' for milk to flow or
B. they just like having the nipple iin their mouth

Consequently, baby is either stuck to my breast or in my arms at least 20 hours a day! Nah..I don't think I'm exaggerating.

I feel so trapped.

I eat in a hurry, poo in a hurry, shower in a hurry. I don't even have time to look in the mirror because baby will be crying and looking for my breast!

Thus far, the older kids have been great. They understand that I can't do as much with them for now. Joy in particular is still trying to adjust. She loves her baby sister but when it comes to bedtime, she wants mummy all to herself. She wants me to lie down with her and hug her till she falls asleep, which is what she's used to before Isabel arrived.

In spite of all the above, I'm thankful. This 'hardship' will pass. Soon. Though time seems to crawl by for now.

I'm thankful for perfectly healthy babies.