Shern's School Concert

Last Saturday was an exciting day for all of us. It was Shern's concert day. It was his first ever concert, but we were all more excited for him. Haha.
Oh...Shern having his first concert means my boy is growing up...

In truth, we did not exactly know what he would be doing at the concert. Well, we knew the song and the dance routine a little because he came home and danced for us many times. But we didn't know what the exact costume he would be wearing, because he only brought back part of the costume.

There was a little chaos at home in the morning. We were supposed to let the 2-3 year old kids wear diapers on that day, but Shern refused to wear them. I tried to explain to him that today is concert day and is different from other days so he needed to wear them, but he still refused. So in the end I gave up and only put the diapers in his school bag and would let the teachers deal with him.

We got him ready in time and this was the face he gave me in our apartment lift when I asked him to smile. :)

He was in a better mood when we reached WOU, and he even asked for a picture next to a coconut tree. We left him there at WOU at 9am and we went home.  

 

The concert started at 12 noon and the auditorium door would only open at 11.45pm as stated in the tickets.

But by the time we reached there, there was already a long queue in front of us. Oh no..
By the way, there were 9 of us watching Yiu-Shern the star performing if you include Khye, haha.
Ah-Ma, Ah-Kong, Pho-pho, Kong-kong, Yee-pho, Yee-yee, Daddy and Mummy and baby Khye...all 9 of us

This was the stage setup.
Theme of the concert was Disney Movie Music Magic!

It started off with slideshows of the school activities, and I caught sight of the picture of Shern with Pho-pho in a school outing (Hubby & I were in Melb).

Shern's performance was the 4th one which for 2-3 year olds dancing to The Little Mermaid's Under The Sea.

They have impressive slideshows all throughout the concert....tada...starring...

Lim Yiu-Shern as one of the Crabs....lol

Can you spot Shern?
He was standing on the right hand side, middle row.

Zooming in...

From his expression, I could see that he was not very happy at the beginning of the dance. Most probably due to tiredness and he woke up at 8am and it was about 12.30pm when he performed. So he was not dancing his best. He did some steps and did not do some.
We could even see a little girl at the other side of the stage crying and the teacher had to take her away.
I guess some of them were a little in awe of the audience. Imagine about a hundred or so audience watching your perform for the first time.

But in the middle of the dance, he caught on the drift and started to enjoy himself and danced more properly.

Besides that dance, Shern also joined the Finale where they sang Cinderella's A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes.

Everybody comes out and there was a surprise at the end of the song.
Everyone stood up and danced Oppa Gangnam Style. Shern was so happy dancing it that he danced 'til he fell down and got up again and continued dancing. Hahaha...Cute!

After the concert ended, we took a few photos with Shern in his costume.

But I could see that he was tired and hungry. Thank goodness Ah-Ma bought some Apom and he ate a few pieces of it.

A group photo of us, but too bad Ah-Ma and Ah-Kong went home already.

Shern was still eating when we were leaving. Upon reaching our apartment, Ah-Kong carried him out from the car and he fell asleep before reaching the lift. That was like less than a minute, and he was already snoring away....he was very very tired!

No good videos of the concert day to share (will wait for the videos by the professionals).
But meanwhile, if you are interested, here is a video of Shern rehearsing to Under The Sea back at home about 3 months ago.

Overall, it was a fabulous concert. The school put in a lot of effort and I applaud them tremendously. And I'm also proud of Shern.

Breastfeeding with Khye - Part 1

This time around, it was a totally different breastfeeding experience from Shern's.

My breasts were super super engorged for 2 days when my milk kicked in on Day 3. From experience, I knew better and did not use the strong hospital grade pump, and I only used my trusty old Avent Manual. Thus I had no nipple cracks and I applied nipple balm religiously all the time to keep it moist.

On Day 5, I already managed to express about 5oz and I was elated. It was way way better than Shern's time when I could barely reached this amount even in Month 2.

18 September 2012 - Day 5

Then it continued to get better and better. After I direct latch Khye, I expressed and drained my breasts and manage to build up my ebm storage in the freezer. I don't express after every feed. I expressed only when Khye couldn't drain both my breasts.

Below are my ebm storage in my freezer:

26 September 2012 - 2 Weeks

4 October 2012 - 3 Weeks

13 October 2012 - 4 Weeks

20 October 2012 - 5 Weeks

However, all these are short-lived because suddenly I have many nipple cuts and tears after Khye reaches 1 month old. I even had a milk blister. It started off with one cut, and then new cuts when the old one healed.

It is very painful even with just one cut. Because the cut is near the side of the nipple line, I could not express as I would be tearing it more with each pump. And yet I still need to let Khye suckle to drain my breasts and if I still wants to maintain the milk supply. I couldn't let the cuts rest for long because I couldn't afford for my breasts to get more engorged. Once engorged, my breasts gets fuller and bigger and thus forces the cuts to 'open' and that hurt even more.

We guess all this started after we give Khye the pacifier. The pacifier was given so that Khye wanted to suckle and we didn't want Khye to treat my breasts as a pacifier. But Khye wasn't very good in differentiate the different suckling motion like Shern did last time. I think Khye has nipple confusion. Khye latches well initially, but after some time, especially during the night when I'm half asleep, Khye switches from suckling to sucking, and that it a big difference! Suckling is the right way to go, and sucking makes my nipples bleed and tear. Anyway, this is just our guess.

I hope to adress the root cause, so as our guess it latching problem, as of yesterday, we stopped giving Khye the pacifier. I hope this will teach Khye to re-latch properly all the time.

I haven't been expressing for nearly 2 weeks now. Initially I did hand express but I sucked in it, only managed to hand express 2oz max each time. Then slowly my milk supply dwindle down and now I only let Khye suckles, that is all. So I guess my milk supply now only matches Khye's demand, and I have no extra for storage.

As of now I have a cut on my right nipple. And three cuts plus a milk blister on my right nipple.
Imagine my pain everytime I direct latch Khye. Ouch!

Yiu-Khye - Week 5

19 October 201

Pediatrician Visit

It was Khye's first visit out of the house after a month, and it was a visit to the peds the following day following his fullmoon.
 
Khye's Growth Measurement
Age - 1 month @ 15 October 2012
Weight - 4.50 kg
Length/Height - 55 cm
Head Circumference - 38cm

15 October 2012

Went to visit Dr. Dan on for his 1 month visit and Hepatitis B vaccination. Khye let out a loud cry for after the jab, but was alright after I carried him.

Told the doctor about his loose stool which I am concerned as it was much more watery and frequent than normal breastfeeding stools. And also his diaper rash gotten worse due to the frequent stools. Stools were a mixture of mustard yellow and green, which is still ok for breastfeeding standard. And I told the doctor I found some blood stain in his stools twice and showed him the photo of his stool which I snapped.

Dr. Dan said there must be an anal fissure due to the frequent stools, and thus led to the diaper rash. He asked what diaper cream I am using, so I told him the Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm and also Bepanthen Ointment. He said they may not be strong enough and asked me I wanted another cream. He recommended to prescribe him zinc oxide cream for preventing and treating the diaper rash, and also to treat the anal fissure. I told him OK, because all I wanted was to treat his anal fissure before it gets worse.

He did not prescribe any meds for the loose stools because he said they are not really diarrhoea. It may be the food I eat, and the baby is just adjusting his hormones to it. And of course I was asked to bring Khye back to see him if it didn't get any better.


Playmat

17 October 2012

As Khye's waking hours are more nowadays, I took out the playmat and he enjoyed lying down there for awhile. He is now interested in things/toys when you waved it in front of him, but his attention span is not that long yet.


Visiting God Chor-chor

After his fullmoon, we brought Khye to visit his God Chor-chor, which is my dad's Godmum. Their age difference is like erm...80 years or so. ;)

 And Shern fell asleep on her very vibrant colour sofa chair, so very pretty.

13 October 2012

Going Out

I've brought Khye out for breakfast a few times, to places which are not congested, and clean. Usually, he is asleep in the stroller.

19 October 2012

19 October 2012

Sleep

Besides sleeping on his secure sleeper, and in his baby cot during night time, he usually sleeps in the bouncer in the day time, which is airy and bouncy, which he likes.

14 & 19 October 2012

Khye looks so mini on the bouncer. :)

19 October 2012

His awake time is usually in the airy bouncer in Pho-pho's house. He likes to do this expression.

19 October 2012

And this is the expression he does when he is about to cry. Look at his pitiful face. Haha.

 19 October 2012

Brothers

A photo of my 2 babies.
The big Shern, and little Khye. :D

19 October 2012

Top 8 Newborn Essentials

At last, I survived my one-month confinement period. Khye is now 1-month old and just celebrated his fullmoon. Now, I want to share the secret of me surviving this first month ordeal with a newborn. I'd written a post on Top 5 Baby Essentials about a year ago. This time, I want to update this and called it Top 8 Newborn Essentials.

Khye is almost a month old and I feel that these are the things that make my life so much easier as a mum. Heck, they even kinda make me a super mum!

1. The Cheapo Portable Trolley

I got this from a friend who was doing spring cleaning. She wanted to throw 2 of these trolleys away, but I asked her to give me them. They are light, cheapo trolleys which you can buy them at any departmental store in the home department for about RM30 to RM40.
I used one of these trolleys for keeping my scrapbooking supplies, and the other as my portable newborn supplies (above pic).

They are great because they have wheels and are very portable. I can easily wheel it in the room, or in the living room, wherever baby is. I can even put it in a corner when guests are here, as not to clutter the living room.

As a newborn supplies trolley, this is how I allocate the space:

On the top rack, i arrange those diaper rash balm, first aid lotion, and other creams and ointments in a basket, together with baby cotton buds, and nail clippers, etc. On that top rack I also placed the wipes box for easier access.

On the 2nd tier are filled with diapers/muslin cloths. 'Nuff said.
On the 3rd tier, I put Khye's clothes. PJs and short sleeved tops and also his many hankies.
On the bottom tier are Khye's swaddle blanket, towels, hats, mittens and booties.

The best thing about these trolleys are that they store easily when not in used. The trays can be stacked up for storage and take up very minimal space. I love them.


2. Angel Baby Bottom Balm

 

This is an item I stumbled across quite recently when I was doing online shopping for organic baby products. I'm so glad I found it as I love it.

Mostly I use it as a diaper rash balm for Khye. I use it for every nappy change as breastfed babies usually poo a 'lil everytime they pee. I bought the bigger bottle which is 60 ml/ 2 oz, and even after a month of using, it still looks barely used. (mind you, Khye changes 15-20 diapers a day!).

Besides that, I also use it on my 3yo son Shern for mosquito bites, minor cuts and wounds, and some rashes. I basically treat it as a minor first-aid balm. It's like the miracle jar in the house.

3. My ever trusty Avent Manual Breast Pump

I'm still using the same Avent Manual Breast Pump that I used to breastfeed Shern 'til he was 1 1/2yo. But this time, I bought the double electric pump and asked a friend to bring it back for me from US. However, I still use the manual one more, as it is more portable, and I can pump it anywhere.

This pump gave me comfort when I had engorgement in the hospital during the 3rd and 4th day. And even when at home, it helps to drain out the excess milk after Khye finished suckling. I even managed to express 5oz on my 5th day postpartum.
Trust me, buy a decent breast pump, and it will become your best friend throughout your breastfeeding journey.


 4. The First Years Sure Comfort Newborn-to-Toddler Tub

27 Sep 2012 - almost 2 weeks old

I've blogged about it here and here before, but I still want to list this here, because I find this tub is really useful.

Its deep, ergonomic design holds newborn Khye securely for easier bathing, and I love that the tub is lined with mildew-resistant pads for sanitary bathing and easy cleaning. These pads are also non-slip pads which is incredibly useful so that Khye can't slip in it. I find that it really gives me the confidence to bathe Khye in it. 

It is especially good for new mothers because when you put a teeny weeny baby into the water, they can be very slippery and difficult to grip. This is when the non-slip pads becomes incredibly useful.

Also love the small compartment at the foot of the tub which I find it useful as my top to tail cleaning tub. 

5. The First Years Close and Secure Sleeper

Ok. this is perhaps a rather luxury item. But I love it. I used it for the first month for both Shern and Khye. And Khye is in his second month and I'm still using it. Guess I will be using it until Khye is able to turn. I think babies feel more secure in it than their big baby cot in their first month of life.

But the best thing is for the mummy. It is portable and thus I bring it out and place it on the big sofa chair in the living room so that I can always keep an eye on my babies.

And when I go back to the in-laws, I just carry it with us because it is small and portable.

My mum said she could easily make this from cardboard. Punch a few holes at the side to make it breathable. And then line it with some sponge and cloth and ta-da....homemade secure sleeper. Haha :)

Please remember to stop using it when baby knows how to turn and flip!

6. Swaddle Blanket - Love To Swaddle UP Lite

After my experience with Shern, I know that babies really love to be swaddled up. During Shern's time, I bought the Bumble bee swaddle blanket, and I hated it. It was way too small, and way too flimsy to swaddle Shern up properly. No matter how hard we tried to swaddle him in it, in less than 5 minutes, Shern's arms were always out and his swaddle gets loose, and Shern ended up not being swaddled and started making a fuss.

So this time, I decided to buy the zipped-up-kind of swaddle so that Khye will stay swaddled. Came across this Love To Swaddle UP swaddle - like the fact that these swaddle swaddle up babies with their arms up. It is said that baby is more well settled when swaddled with arms up. Bought one in the Lite model due to our hot and humid weather, and that we don't sleep in air-cond room most of the time. Well, Khye loves it. Not long later, I ordered another one online so that we could wash them and use them alternately.

Khye really sleeps longer when swaddled in these.

7. Infant Carrier Car Seat With Base - Graco Snugride 35 Infant Car Seat

After I bought this Graco Snugride® 35 Infant Car Seat with base, Khye sleeps in it peacefully. There is no hassle of installing the car seat every time we places Khye in it. Just plop him in and buckle him up, and voila, we are good to go!

Khye @ 2 weeks old - 29 Sep 2012

Will be writing a review on this infant carrier car seat in more detail soon. :)  


 8. Ikea's Gullunge Babycare Mat

I didn't buy a changing table. I just got this white babycare mat from Ikea at RM24.90. I place it on the sofa and use it as a changing station already, like this:

This babycare mat has a Polyurethane foam filling that gives Khye a little extra padding for a quick diaper change, even on the floor. I like that it wipes clean easily and is soft. Best of all I love it for the the great price!


So these are the 8 Newborn Essentials that helped me survived my first month ordeal with baby Khye! Hope someone will benefit from this list of mine!