Time Flies!

I was looking back at some photos of baby when he was one month and look at how big he is now! He definitely is to blame for the muscles on my arms! haha

Here he is with Aunty Sharon........so small!



Now he is nearly two months and is awake more during the day. He had his immunisation the other day and eversince then he's been a grumpy lil thing.

Went to Koko Black (my favourite chocolate cafe in town) and tried a chocolate mocha- very rich and sooo yummy! I ordered a chocolate pudding and that was even more yummy! It takes some resistance to not go every week- I need to lose a few kilos!

 Lucas can lift his head up! Yay!

Wow! It's a half smile! It is so hard to get a smile out of this baby!

He prefers the serious look! ahhaah He looks like he is modelling!

"Asians in the Library" Video

Just stumbled on this video on Youtube yesterday and can't believe that this girl has the guts to rant about asians and their annoying habits in the library while she is trying to study. I think it's a very huge generalisation she made and it doesn't apply to all asians. The way she brought the Tsunami disaster into this is so wrong! Although she made an apology- the damage has been done and too late to turn it back. I thought in this day and age people are over this "Ching Chong" and "Ling Long" racist behaviour. It's quite upsetting for me as an asian and I do worry about my child going to school one day.

Shopping @ Urbanbaby.com

(left to right)

Top Row- Prince Lionheart Deluxe Drying Station, Mor-stor Paper Rope Storage Baskets

Bottom row- Love Me Baby wrap, Sleepy Wings & Aden and Anais Muslin Cloths

Just recently bought some baby "essentials" from Urbanbaby which is one of my favourite sites for baby stuff!

Deluxe Drying Rack by Prince Lionheart
I like to have things a bit organised in the kitchen (not that it is very organised at the moment!) so this drying rack was great to separate the dish rack from the bottles. It has easy instructions (picture instructions are more user friendly for me) and was setup and ready for use in no time! Very handy :)

Mor-stor Baskets
This is great for putting all your nappies, lotions, cotton wools, towels and washers etc. It looks fab on the shelf or you can put it near your changing station and have everything you need close by. And when baby is all grown up you can use it in your drawers for your underwear or scarves etc.

Love Me Baby Wrap
I wanted to try this as it was a lightweight material which is good for hot days. Lucas was sweating so much in the Merinokids Cocooi wrap that I mentioned in a previous post. I will save it for cooler days! Lovemebaby wrap is a cinch to use- just zip up and baby is nicely snug. However, Lucas could still rub his face with his arms which will wake him up constantly. So I gave up on it. Maybe it works great with babies who like to have access to their hands as some do to comfort themselves. 

Sleepy Wings  
This is so adorable when Lucas was using it. It's like a little shrug that keeps their arms up or down which ever they prefer and has a pocket for a dummy. Although it looks super cute I find it has the same problem as the Lovemebaby wrap- they can still touch their face. I tried to use it upside down but Lucas could still manage to get his hands up! So I guess I will stick with good old swaddling for now.

so cute!

Aden & Anais Muslin Wraps

A very verstile item to have and has many uses! The good thing is that it's very large so I can use it for swaddling, as a pram cover and I have heard that people use it as a makeshift baby sling! I also recommend their other products too! I bought the burp cloths and wash cloths. I have yet to try the sleeping bags. Have to wait till Lucas is a bit bigger. (And he is getting very big!)

"Do I look fat in this?"

Strike a Pose!

I made the mistake of buying too many newborn clothing for Lucas. He grew so fast! He didn't even need the size 0000 and now 000 is too snug on him. I also bought heaps of baby suits with buttons up there and down there and everywhere- it's frustrating during nappy changes and when changing his clothes. He hates it! The most useful item was the simple bonds singlets and onesies. I avoid two piece outfits as it's too much trouble to pull his pants on and off when I have to change his nappy. I think he would be happy to be naked all the time........

but it's too chilly!

my favourite tank top!

Cheeky little monkey

I'm awake for now......

half a minute later.....zzzzzzzz

Grandma bought this outfit for me!

It says "Just add LOVE and watch me grow"

How cute- he gets too much love I think...he's so chubby now!!

High on Shopping

I am having shopping withdrawal symptoms- I beg my sister, my sister in law, my mother in law and I'm even considering asking my neighbours (who I met once in the elevator) to look after Lucas so I can go out and get some retail therapy. I even ask my husband if he needs me to go out to pump petrol in the middle of the night- so I can score some mags or lollies at the petrol station. I thought my shopping habits were bad before I was a mum. Now it's really to the point of desperation just to go out and pull out my card and give it a swipe over and over again!

How to ease my retail hunger? Thank goodness for the internet. I can still get some shopping done although it's not instant gratification but I plan to do a bit of shopping online every few days so I get something in the mail ...every few days! Yay!

Been obsessed with these two sites-

My Rocking Wardrobe- Japanese and Korean fashion for kids and mummies

Kawaii Kids- Japanese and Korean fashion and stationery

It's so adorable! I wish I have a girl now. All those cute clothes make me want to go "make" another baby and hope its a girl! ahahhaa I wish boys could get away with cutesy stuff without looking pansy! Baby boys fashion only goes as far as stripes and cars. Maybe Lucas can get away with polka dots?

If you know any good sites please share! 

Lucas's Mohawk

For Lucas's One Month Birthday party (Full Moon Party) which is a chinese tradition, I styled his hair into a mohawk style. His hair was way too long! No gel needed!

Made some cupcakes for the party. I should call them butter cakes since I used 2kg of butter for the cake and the icing...so fattening! Oh well, once a year is alright!

I am currently reading "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins whilst breast feeding- nothing on tv to watch during the day. It's a great read so far. I bought the whole trilogy on ebay and glad I did- I have to read them all!

Highly Recommend this book!

Daily Life of a Mum

I am not sure how other mummies out there spend their days but mine is very repetive. It goes something like this: Feed, play with baby, change nappies, put baby to sleep and finally some "me" time and when baby wakes up I start again! Actually, if the baby is particularly grumpy I skip the "me" time until he falls asleep and because I am exhausted I sleep too!

"Me" time is actually not really time spent on myself- it just means baby isn't attached to me and I can do other things. Mostly this involves house chores. If I am lucky to get an hour of actual "me" time I will take a quick shower and hopefully I can include a shampoo every few days! I don't blow dry in case I wake baby up. Then I might be able to do some blogging whilst eating a meal (mostly Nutella sandwiches).

It's been a month now and I am beginning to feel the haziness of boredom settling in and I am desperate to go do some shopping or just go out to a restaurant and getting served for once. I wonder what full time housewives do everyday? It must get so totally and brutally boring for some while others might enjoy it? I know a few of my mummy friends have Foxtel or a stack of Korean Drama series to watch but I am not really a TV type of person. I can't sit around all day and stare at a box! Maybe I should consider taking up some Martha Stewart activities and start baking?

Lucas's birthday present from grandma! He loves it- for about ten minutes! Gives a bit of "me" time:)

Chocolate Cravings

I must say this is the best Tim Tam ever! It's even better than the Mint Slice! The only chocolate biscuit that can cure my cravings......

My hubby's 30th Bday cake from Jean Pierre Sancho. It's very very rich but it's so delicious you dont realise how much you ate till its too late! I had a slice all to myself (usually I share) and I wanted more!

Lucas is two months old and looking more like me to the disappointment of my husband.....

This is Lucas's hangover morning.....he was a very grisly baby and wouldn't sleep and had to feed him extra milk! And when he finally reached La la land he slept for 5 hours straight- and that's a first for me! So no wonder he looks grumpy- he missed out on his feed during the night! See the dummy imprint around his mouth? hahaha so hilarious!

Breast or Bottle or Both?

I had trouble the first few days at the hospital with my milk not coming in till the 7th day! My mum also had the same problem so I think it was in the genes. I had no idea that breastfeeding was so hard! All throughout my pregnancy I was reading so many books on the actual birth process, taking care of a newborn, sleeping habits etc. and I skipped over the breast feeding topics thinking that it was easy. Boy was I so wrong!

Lucas was dehydrated, crying constantly and of course I had little sleep. I just kept trying to breast feed him as it was the only way to stop his crying but he will just nod off to sleep or he will fuss and overall he wasn't sucking much. To top it off he developed jaundice (the yellow skin) and this made him very sleepy and sometimes will sleep through his feeding times. Me too!

By the third and fourth day I was desperate and crying because Lucas was so unhappy and losing so much weight. Finally someone suggested to me on the 5th day to try pumping. It helped a bit and the milk came in very slowly- I think it was too late. My milk suply steadily increased but it was still not enough to keep him satisfied so I had to top up with formula. Now he is a happy chubber!

The pressure to breastfeed is very stressful at the hospital and to get formula each time you had to sign a form which made me feel even worse. I felt so guilty that I couldn't provide breast milk for my baby and it didn't help that the staff were pushing me to keep trying when obviously Lucas was starving!

After the decision to do combined breast and formula for Lucas we are both doing well and I wasn't so stressed out. I can now enjoy my baby without feeling so rundown and tired all the time.

All I can say is that you should try breast feed as soon as possible and frequently (every two hours I was told!) And don't feel bad if it doesn't work out. Bottle formula is the next best thing for you baby as long as you're both healthy and happy!

He does this everytime he is about to wake up. And if I don't go to him quick enough, he will start to wail! He definitely isn't the most angelic baby! haha

Mummy's Best Buys

 Baby Bonds Singlet

 They are easy to put on and easy to take off.

The neckline is stretchy so no need to pull over baby's head and face.

Lucas in his Bond's Tank top- Ships Ahoy!

Maternity PJ set by Peter Alexander

 So comfy and looks great, especially for when visitors come over!

Mustela Products

I received some samples from the hospital and fell in love with the hair and body gel.

 It smells heavenly! I liked it so much I bought the facial wipes, bath oil, massage oil and two bottles of the hair and body gel.

Phillips Avent Steam Steriliser

Couldn't live without this! It makes cleaning and sterilising bottles so easy. I use it several times throughout the day! I even use it to sterilise other baby equipment such as the thermal flask and dummies etc.

Cocooi Babywrap by Merino Kids

I bought the wrap from Urbanbaby.com.au but you can purchase it directly from Merinokids.com as well. I was using cotton or muslin wraps at the hospital and found myself rewrapping Lucas several times as he is quite the squirmy little baby and gets himself unwrapped quite easily. With the Cocooi wrap it was so much easier. The material is soft and not irritating to his skin and it lets him move around and kicks his legs. Plus he sleeps much better! It's the ultimate must have for babies:) I loved this so much I bought another two as soon as I got home from the hospital.

Gaia Baby Massage Oil

I received a sample pack of Gaia products from a friend and thought it was an ok product. I still recommend the Mustela product range though. However, the massage oil is a winner for me. I love the smell and it's not oily and sticky at all! I used this when Lucas's skin was dry and flaky during the early days.

Huggies Nappies

I haven't tried other nappies as yet but the Huggies are great so far. Disposables are so convenient for me and saves me the trouble of washing. Love the cute cartoons on the nappies too!

If you have any other recommendations please let me know!

Welcome to the World!

Pregnancy is a hard thing to imagine if you haven't been through it before. Everyone experiences it differently and I'm lucky to have little complications throughout. Needless to say- it wasn't all breezy and easy! Would I want to get pregnant again? If you asked me last week I would have said a straight out "NO!" and would have been happy with one child. haha Now I have a change of heart and would love to have a girl!

I was around 37weeks in this pic- I felt HUGE! Sorry I didn't take many pictures when I was pregnant. Just felt fat and lazy! haha

Straight after the birth of Lucas I was crying my eyes out and felt no pain thanks to the epidural- the pain came later once it wore off! He was so chubby already but lost some weight due to jaundice. And the first thing everyone says is "He's got so much hair!" just like his daddy:)

He was so pink and healthy looking the first day but turned a bit yellow after day 2 and he lost so much weight I had to give him formula while I desperately tried to pump my breast milk out. The milk didn't come in till day 7 and he would have been starving already!

Lucas's first time in the car seat on the way home!

I love this swaddling wrap I bought from Urbanbaby.com.au and it is the best! He can't squirm his way out of it and it's super stretchy so he can still move around without getting unwrapped. I will post more details about this item later with all my other super recommended buys for pregnancy and baby stuff.

  

My husband feeding Lucas- Daddy's favourite job!

 Bath time! It can be scary at first since they are so tiny! But surprisingly Lucas loves the water- he is an Aquarian baby:)

 I love his tiny little feet!

Apparently Lucas likes to poo while he is in the position- on my lap!

One month old already (with helmut hair)

Happy Birthday Lucas!