Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Christmas 2012

Had a very nice Christmas Day with some friends and family.

On Christmas eve, I finally hung up the 2 stockings for Shern & Khye. I also stuffed into Shern's stocking some leftover sweets and chocs Shern received during the last birthday party he attended. Haha.

This is my 2 kiddos on Christmas morning.

This is Shern with his Christmas stocking. I told him Santa came last night when he was asleep and filled the stockings with some goodies. He was happy.

And guess what? Shern ate a Ferrero Rocher, 1 Mentos and a jelly for breakfast. And that is Christmas joy to my son! Haha.

As for Khye, I'm sure he doesn't know much about it being Christmas, but he is happy anyhow!

We then got prepared to meet the gang for Christmas Lunch at Kwong Sang House at Leith Street.
This is the group photo minus me & Khye.

And that is Khye sleeping peacefully on the stroller, next to my chair.

4 of the 5 kids there.


My Prawn Aglio Olio. Delicious really.

After lunch, the kids were playing together and running around at the place. The mummies were there keeping an eye on the kids....

While the dads were still sitting on the table yakking away...

After lunch, buckled Shern & Khye on their carseats...

And within a few minutes, both kiddos were fast asleep.

Fast forward to dinner time. This is mum and ah-yee's home cooked delicious Christmas Dinner spread! Loved the honey baked ham and the papaya, prawn n squid salad!

Pressies for the whole family.

Shern was so happy to receive the RM5 watercolour paint I got for him from Daiso. He was painting right away after he tore off the wrapping! Lol. 

A very good Christmas Day for us with delicious Christmas Lunch & Dinner.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Shern's First Musical - Santa's North Pole Express @ Gurney Plaza

Saw this Santa's North Pole Express Musical Show banner at Gurney Plaza quite some time ago and at once I knew that I needed to bring Shern there, with him being so into trains.
Not only did it involved a train, but it was Santa's train to the North Pole , which would surely amaze Shern because he so loved The Polar Express movie.

 

The first time Shern saw the train, he was so mesmerized with it.So of course he took some photos of him and the train.




The musical was really good, so suitable for children.  It was performed by a professional troupe, from Adelaide in South Australia

The story is about Claude the conductor of the express train as he collects an interesting assortment of passengers on the journey to the North Pole.
Claude and Lolly-ita from Candyland have a special delivery for Santa. Without it the magic of Christmas would be lost. But, the evil Count Von Snelly is bent on spoiling everything. Will Claude be able to foil the plot and protect his precious cargo?
There were be dancing, singing, witty dialogues, a fairytale story-line and a happy ending with a specially designed train serving as a backdrop onstage. (Source: nst.com.my)

 








So we brought Shern and Khye there to watch, not only once, but 3 times! Shern was the happy one, while Khye mostly slept in his stroller.

This was us, sitting down on the floor waiting for the 6.30pm show at one of the days.


Shern watching the musical and having so much fun.

Look at this video of Shern, singing Jingle Bells together with the cast!

And below is Shern's favourite song. This is when Claude the conductor invited all the boys and girls and mums and dads to join in this action-song where everyone of us can be a conductor!
It's a really catchy song and really nice!

Shern is really good actually. Just after bringing him to watch the musical 3 times, he knows how to sing the conductor song, and also some of the songs which they sang at Candyland, Toyland, etc.

After the half an hour show, those who have a ticket (they distributed limited tickets before showtime) can go up onstage to have their photo taken with the cast. And if you don't have a camera, you can have it your printed out instantly for only RM5.

Ok. First photo taken by hubby using his hp. Only Shern & me got up onstage because Khye was sleeping so soundly in his stroller and we didn't want to wake him up.
This photo was blur, so we paid RM5 for a clearer nicer printed out photo.

Second time on stage. This time, all four of us got up there.
Hubby passed his hp to someone and she helped to snap a photo of us.
We also purchased the RM5 photo because we wanted a nicer photo of the 4 of us. ;)

Third and final time there. Saw a friend and her family watching the musical too, and so she helped us take a photo of us! So this time we got to save money and got a nice digital photo as well!
Thanks Cynthia!

Merry Christmas!
From hubs & me, and Shern & Khye!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Shern's 2nd Visit to the Dentist

6 months has passed since Shern's first visit to the dentist. We took him back to see Dr. Tow in SmileBay Dental Surgery, Tanjung Bungah.

As usual, we did not have to wait long because we already made an appointment.
This is Shern using the computer at the lounge area while waiting for his turn. Shern was just simply typing words into it. He likes sitting on the swivel chair there.
12 Dec 2012

The moment Shern was called in, he said 'Hello Dr. Tow'.
Then he got to sit the 'airplane chair' which could go up and down. Then he allowed the dentist to check his teeth.

After checking, Dr. Tow told me his supposedly front 'dead tooth' is not so grey-ish now and not so obvious looking, and looks like it is still alive. So glad! And the dentist even commented that Shern's oral hygiene is actually very good.

Dr. Tow : Yiu-Shern, how many times do you brush your teeth a day?
Shern     : One time.

Haha. Yes, actually Shern only brushes his teeth every night before he sleeps, and even then he still drink milk after that most of the days.
He doesn't brush his teeth in the morning. Sigh, I should start training him for that, but it is so difficult even to get him to eat his breakfast and change into his school uniform to go to playschool.

Dr. Tow said as Shern was so cooperative, she would try to do some polishing of his teeth, but without using any vibration.
Firstly, Dr. Tow asked Shern to show a finger to her. Then she uses the tool to polish Shern's fingernail, to show him that it is not painful. Then she asked for another finger, which then she polished it again. She told Shern that she is going to do this to his teeth and it won't cause him any pain.
I find that it was a good thing that the dentist told Shern what she was going to do to him, so Shern knew what to expect, and thus won't be afraid of what was coming.

And Shern actually opened his mouth for her to do it. After a few teeth, Dr. Tow would stop and let Shern had a gargle, so that he wouldn't feel so yucky with all his saliva building up. She didn't want to use the 'saliva sucker' tool as she wanted to minimize the tools being used, in order not to scare him away. So she stopped every now and then after a few teeth to let Shern gargle.

Halfway through, when Shern was getting a little uneasy, Dr. Tow said she had a little present for a good boy, if he let her finish polishing his teeth. She asked Shern if he likes cars or stamp? Shern answered car of course.

And that was how Shern got a little car pressie from the dentist.
And when he held the car in his hand, he quickly opened his mouth wide for the dentist to finish the job. Haha.
So that car pressie really works wonders!

Shern was so happy with the car that after saying goodbye to Dr. Tow, he wheeled his new toy all around the lounge.


And when we were called to pay the bill, the nurse presented Shern his 'Certificate of Bravery'! Wow! Talk about making kids happy!
Shern told me that person flying is the 'Brush Teeth Superman!' Haha!

Shern was very proud and told me that the dentist gave him this because he was a brave and clever boy!



Oh ya, the bill was RM35.
I feel that bringing Shern to SmileBay was a very good and pleasant experience. Dr. Tow made Shern felt at ease and not scared of the dentist. In fact, he even looked forward for dentist visit. I totally recommend Dr. Tow from SmileBay to anyone who is looking for Child Dentistry!

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Breastfeeding with Khye - Part 2 (3 Months)

I have been breastfeeding for 3 months already.
Things have improved tremendously since my previous breastfeeding update.

As suspected, it turned out that Khye really has latching issues. I guess we introduced the pacifier to him too soon. Unlike his bro, Khye was not so adept when it comes to different nipples/teats.

It took about 2 weeks for my nipples to heal, with all the nipple tears and cuts and milk blisters. After that I continued to express again while direct feeding Khye, hoping to boost my milk supply again.
I was a bit worried because I hadn't been expressing for 2 whole week and was so afraid that my milk supply would plummet.
I was really happy that after 2 weeks, I could still express 3-4oz. Phew.

But then there comes another hurdle. Khye started to reject bottle feeding! Arghh!!
So after 2 weeks of direct latch, Khye got so used to it that he obviously prefers my boobs to bottles. It seemed to us that he did not purposely rejected the bottle feeding, but more to not knowing how to suck from the Avent bottle. Fyi, I was using the old Avent bottles to bottle feed him.

He seems to cry out loud whenever we bottle-feed him, and that's quite a main concern because Khye seldom cries out loud. And he seemed to have trouble latching on the bottle to suck. Feeding him was difficult, because he would cry when he couldn't latch on the bottle. Sometimes it takes half an hour or so to bottle feed him. It was quite stressful.

But I was determined to solve this bottle-feeding issue. I wanted to establish my usual routine of bottle-feeding Khye during the day and direct latch him at night. This is so that Khye would not stick to my boobs 24-7. This is so that I can have a breather, and someone else can feed him other than me.

So I googled and asked friends and went on a search of a better bottle teat, in hope that Khye can latch on better. Some friends recommended MAM teats, some recommended Bfree bottles. In the end, I bought the new Medela Calma teats, after doing some research. 
 
There was a mispricing in Parkson so I bought it for only RM56, compared to the retail price of RM85. Hehe. And I've already got a Medela bottle, so I just fixed the teat to the bottle.

Anyway, there is some improvement on using this teat. Khye seems to be able to latch on this teat better. But somehow you could still see his dissatisfaction when giving him the bottle. Either the taste of the ebm he doesn't like, or he really prefers my boobs.

My breasts are getting real efficient these days. I can pump 5-6oz every 2.5 to 3 hours. Whoa...I don't pump as frequent as this all the time. Usually I drag it to 3-4 hours only then I pump. After his last feed at about 10pm, Khye will fall asleep. Then I will need to pump before I sleep which is about 12midnight or 1am. This is because Khye will only wake up for milk at about 4am.
And when I wake up at 8am, after I feed Khye, I still need to pump, as they still feel so heavy.

So now I have slightly more than a hundred bottles of ebm, averaging about 4-5oz per bottle. Khye drinks 3.5oz every 2-3hours, but I pump about 4-5oz every 3-4 hourly. That is why I have so much ;)

I have 2 freezers at home. One is the top door of my fridge, and another one is a loan from my cousin.
There....here are the 120 bottles, plus minus. My frozen ebm stash. Actually is not that much. If I suddenly go on hols, this stash can only last Khye for 18 days, which is about 2 weeks plus.

13 December 2012


I recently did a kind thing. Donated about 50oz (10 bottles) to my SIL who needs it for her newborn before her milk comes in. Hope my milk will help her and give her motivation to continuing her breastfeeding challenges.

I just came back from the pediatrician and Khye weighs 7.6kg @ 3 months. Ohh..really hefty weight. Doctor told me that breastfeeding babies generally weigh more for the initial months. I'm so glad my breastmilk is so awesome.
This is Khye @ 3 months old

Khye @ 3 months - 14 Dec 2012

So proud of myself. I survived nipple cuts and tears and milk blisters. And I've even donated my ebm. Let's see what other challenges come my way. :D

Friday, December 14, 2012

Shades of Grey

I've bought a stack of washi tapes from my good friends' online store, Cardpuccino. They sell really delicious looking washis and they make you drool just by looking at them.
Just a few days back, I bought more washis from them. I am into grey recently and I bought most of their grey washis. These 3 grey washi tapes are my most recent haul. Aren't they pretty, these different shades of grey of different patterns?

My shades of grey washis from Cardpuccino


I came home and used these grey tapes and created a grey layout with a hint of blue on a kraft cardstock. Love the subtle colours of my layout. The top left banners were adhered using those grey washi tapes. Loving it.


Zooming in...

Love scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is preserving memories using beautiful papers and stuff. ;)


p/s - Check out Cardpuccino's website and their facebook page for beautiful washi tapes and more.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Yiu-Khye - Week 10

Week 10 - 16 November 2012

Week 9 is from 16th - 22nd November 2012. Khye is 2 months and 2 weeks old.
The above photo was taken during our outing to Gurney Plaza, Penang.


Vision

I noticed he now can see much clearer and much further.
See him looking at me although I was standing up above him. Khye lifted his head up and watched me with his eyes, following me wherever I move.
16 November 2012


Drooling

Just like the men in the family, he drools when he sleeps. Haha.
Actually Khye drools when he is awake too, since he started putting his fingers into his mouth.



Sleeping


Khye as usual sleeps like an angel most of the time. He can sleep with background noises too such as tv sounds, or chatting sounds. No problem. Just no sudden loud sound which might startle him.

Overall, he sleeps easily. He especially loves it when put into the bouncer, which he sleeps in at Pho-pho's place.

22 November 2012

18 November 2012

He also sleeps when put into his carseat.
16 November 2012

He was still in dreamland that we hadn't the heart to carry him out from the seat in case we stirred him up, so we used it as a carrier (something we rarely do, because it is very heavy!). I blogged about it here.
16 November 2012


At night though, he sleeps in his baby cot.
17 & 19 November 2012

This is his bedtime bear.
17 November 2012


Getting Longer

Khye is getting longer. Khye is now longer than his changing mat. It will soon be time when he could no longer fit in there!

22 November 2012


Awake Time

Khye is having more awake time, being awake for more than 3-4 hours at a stretch.
22 November 2012


Siblings

Another photo with Shern gege. Shern being cheeky as usual. ;)
22 November 2012



Kong-kong

When Khye was younger, Kong-kong did not dare to carry him, coz he said he is too 'soft' as he still had no head control. Now that Khye is 10 weeks old, he has sorta toughen up and has a little better head control, so Khye was carried by Kong-kong for the first time! Yay!

22 November 2012

How is Mummy Doing?

Scrapped my favourite photo of Khye & me, taken when Khye was 12 days old. Lovin' it. :)

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