Laugh-Out-Loud

It's funny how petty things can make a baby laugh. Babies are amused by random movements, facial expressions or sound.

Some babies give out loud, hearty, belly laugh but Kaitlyn's best is as you see in the two videos below :D

Kaitlyn's first solid food

Baby's firsts are such memorable occasions. So I've decided to take some photos and video in actual order and a video in the end (thanks to sis & bro-in law). :D Well, it all started with much excitement, both mama & baby, but stay tuned to see how it all turned out. :P 

24th July 2013 at 6mo3w, my dear baby girl had her first solid food - avocado. I mixed it with breast milk so that it tastes familiar. Avocado makes a great first food for baby due to its texture and creaminess; an extra bonus is that avocado is full of good fats and has high nutrient content for baby's brain & physical development! Also, avocado is one of the easiest foods to prepare because you don't have to cook it. They are served fresh from their peels :) 

Not too hard, not too ripe. Yay!

Tadaa, mashed & mixed with BM

The curious Kaitlyn having her first spoon 

After a few times.. note how her 'countenance' changed a lil? :P

"Mommy, what are you feeding me?"

"Mommy, I think I'm gonna puke"

"I'm serious..."

And she gagged and almost puked...

Well, I will try again today, probably without the milk and see if she likes it.

Why do I breastfeed?

Every mama wants to give the best to her kid(s), be it baby clothes, prams, cots, car seat, toys, what more FOOD? Baby's first food is milk. What would you consider the 'best' food for your baby? Processed milk powder with ingredients to 'imitate' breast milk or the natural God-given milk that only you as the mama can give? :D

Liquid Gold:

Breast milk is often referred to as 'liquid gold' because it is indeed very precious. Your milk is very rich in nutrients and antibodies to protect your baby. This protection is so unique that formula cannot match the chemical makeup of human breast milk. Try googling on benefits of breast milk and you will see tonnes of them. 

Convenience:

Breastfeeding may take a little more effort than formula feeding at first. But once you & baby settle into a good routine, it becomes easy. There are no bottles/teats to sterilize, you don’t have to buy, measure, and mix formula. No bottles to warm in the middle of the night. Just pop in your nipple to satisfy bub's hunger. It is exceptionally convenient when you are travelling!

$$$:

You save a whole lot of MONEY! Go find out how much a box of formula costs in the market and how fast can a baby consume. Do the math. 

Baby is sick less often and thus, less medical bills too. 

Bonding:

Physical contact is important to newborns. It makes them feel secure & comforted in their new world. 

I just can't explain in words how amazing it feels to bond with Kaitlyn when she feeds - when she looks up at me with those round loving eyes, how she falls asleep in my arms when she's full, how she now whack my chest playfully to show that she's happy to be cuddled to feed. Priceless. 

Burn those fats! :

Breastfeeding burns calories. Our bodies burn almost 20 calories to make an ounce of breast milk. Do the math again. :D It also helps eliminate that post-pregnancy pooch. When you nurse, your body releases certain hormones that shrink your uterus back down to its former pre-pregnant size! 

During my post-labour check up (5 weeks after delivery), my uterus has gone back from the huge 'bag' to its original size (6-7cm).

I'm proud to say that I am now 1 kg below my pre-pregnancy weight despite eating (more than when I was pregnant).The hubby is nervous that I might continue to go down in size. Well, isn't that good? :P 

The list of benefits goes on but let me encourage you, dear mama-to-be readers, to breast feed as long as you can. It's good for you and your kiddo! 

"Breast Milk is Best Milk"

'Sister-hood'

Keira came to visit Kaitlyn last night. They are 2 months apart. 6mo & 8mo. So they will be growing up together, like sisters!

I have only 1 sister. Sisters laugh together, play together, fight & cry together. We had to learn to share our stuff since young. And that's tough.

In our growing up years,

I still remember how I borrowed her top to wear and it was unwashed when she needed it. "Boomz".

I wanted to use the house phone to make a call and she would be 'boiling telephone porridge'  for what seemed like HOURS... Argh. Those days, no mobile phones like the fortunate kids today.

I was studying in the room and she came in like a boss, "Get out, I want to use the room". What a bully.

When mom & dad went to work and we were home after school, our house was 'war zone'. We fought like cats & dogs, or maybe dinasours & godzillas. She almost fractured my little finger once. And I lost a lot of hair due to the pulling. She pinched me till I bled. Yes, I was the victim most of the time. I was the gentle, good-natured one. :P

There were great moments too.

Before we sleep, we would crack super silly jokes and laughed and laughed and laughed till out tummies ache.

We played 'finger games' in the bus on the way back to our hometown and giggled non stop.

Our parents do not need to turn on the radio in the car because the moment we got in, we would start singing.

Today, we are like best friends.

We tell each other everything. We love, we share, we give. We treasure each other. It is great that we got pregnant together and journeyed through mama-hood together.

                                     Photo by Adele Ng / I was really happy that day.. 

Now, its our daughters turn to experience what we did. Maybe not that similar but there would be similar pattern of growing up with a close cousin of the same age.

They will fight & cry, play and laugh but we wil definitely teach them to love & share. This video is just the beginning ...

Amazing Mamas

I want to give all the credit to my dearest mama-friends, who have been the greatest support to my breastfeeding journey. Without them, I would have given up in the first month. So, thank you Sarah Ho, Juli Joe, Charis Ooi, and my sister, Shu Yen. 

#1: Sarah

"Don't buy formula milk to put at home 'just-in-case' you needed it. You will definitely give in and use it." So I didn't buy any from Day 1. 

She told me all about the 'horrors' of breastfeeding that somehow got me mentally prepared. But yea, you got to experience it to really know. :P Sarah breastfed Joel  for 1 whole year. 

#2: Juli 

Juli is one mama that is very well-read about breastfeeding. Her blog on breastfeeding http://julijoe.blogspot.com/search/label/breastfeeding, her advises and encouragement are priceless. She has got that PASSION to help mamas successfully breastfeed which is incredibly AMAZING. Look at her 2 beautiful princesses! 

#3:Charis

Charis is my good friend who is a mama who exclusively pump for her boy, Jethro. EP mamas are amazing. Having need to pump every 3-4 hourly, to wash & sterilize the pump accessories, to wake up in the nights to pump / warm milk for bubs, she is still doing it until today (Jethro is 11.5 months). One thing that impacted me was that she successfully stored 80 bottles of EBM when Jethro was ONLY 2 MONTHS OLD!  

#4:Shu Yen

My dear sister, Shu Yen gave birth to her lil girl, Keira, via emergency C-sec. Keira was admitted to NICU for 10 days due to lung infection. With the crazy painful wound, my sister got up to pump as frequent as she could for every drop of colustrum / milk to feed the little one in the hospital. On day 6, she had to travel to hospital where Keira was and walked into the NICU in excruciating pain to let Keira latch directly. Today, she is still breastfeeding. (Keira is 8.5 months)

I do believe that a support group is too important to be able to successfully breastfeed. When you think you can't, think of your friends / family members who have done it. God gave milk to mothers to feed their baby, God gave milk to cows to feed theirs too. So be careful not to feed the wrong type of milk! :P

Well, thank you guys for picking up my desperate calls and being there when I so needed you. Love love love! 

Side note: Hubby! 

Of course thank you to the hubby who was super supportive too! Thank you for praying for me when I was in tears and in pain. Thank you for helping me with the different positions to nurse, putting up those pillows to support my tired arms. Thank you for cup feeding Kaitlyn when I was in too much pain to let her latch. You are just amazing. Love love..

The Best Moments

Now that K can sit but cannot crawl, it is what mamas say 'the best & easiest time for parents'. 

It's so true. I can just leave her to sit & play while I get my chores done. When I get back, she's still sitting there, biting her books & toys. I don't have to worry if she's chewing the wires or poking her finger into the electrical sockets. And when she sees me, she'll give a huge generous smile and then flap her arms up and down with joy. Sometimes, a squeak will accompany if she's too excited. I would always melt. 

But babies grow up so fast. I will miss this moment so much. 

Soon, she'll be able to crawl then walk and she'll be EVERYWHERE! Papa & I will have a good time chasing her. I tell myself, I do not want to be the super paranoid mom who thinks that everything that the bubs touches or bites is poisonous and life-threatening. I don't want to be screaming and yelling, "Don't touch that!" "Don't go there!" "Don't do that!" 

The poor baby is just trying to explore. 

I guess I'll have to baby-proof my house and let K roam. Can I be that chill? :P

Cita-Cita Saya...

"Cita-cita saya adalah untuk menjadi seorang doktor / peguam / ahli bomba / cikgu / polis... "

Only God knows how many times I changed my 'cita-cita' when I was in primary school. I guess I was that fickle-minded girl who did not have an idea of what I loved doing. Sad.. 

But I have always toyed on the idea of being a teacher. I love how teachers impart knowledge and values to enrich their students' lives. I love teachers who are dedicated to help their struggling students overcome their most hated subjects. I would imagine marking exam papers and see improvement in their results and then praise them for their progress. I would imagine myself being in the students' shoes. "Will they enjoy my classes?" "Will they go home and tell their parents that they have learnt something valuable at school?" 

After 8 years of being in the workforce, I am finally going to be a teacher. I will be teaching in Sri Emas International School starting from Aug 1st, 2013. My subjects are English, Maths and Biology. 

I am excited and nervous at the same time. Will I be a good teacher? Will the students like me and look forward to my classes? Will they step all over my head and throw chalks at me? OK, I doubt so. 

May the Lord give me the knowledge & wisdom, the patience & love, the strength & dedication, and the anointing & discernment to be a great teacher. 

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." - William Arthur Ward

"What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches." - Karl A. Menninger

Hello!

I've decided to say goodbye to Tumblr.... Hello Blogspot!

For my previous posts, do visit http://faithyeoh.tumblr.com/.