Alphonse Otousan's Diary

The Leap Day is Here!

2012-02-29T09:42:00.000+08:00

The leap year happens every 4 years with an extra day which is the 29th of Feb, which is Today!

That sudden thought came to my mind. If you are pregnant and suddenly you feel the labour pain, would you be happy or worried?

'Baby wait!!! just a few more hours to 1 March!!'

I doubt I would be anywhere close to being happy! I may want to give my child a unique name, buy unique clothings and all but NO... not a unique birth date that cause him to only get to celebrate his birthday every 4 years!

Sad lah!!!

Of course some may like the exclusivity but I don't appreciate it. I want my birthday cakes!!! :x haha...

Especially when this year is the year of the Dragon, Im sure there are those who 'accidentally' give birth today and those who enter the operation room for a c-sect just to get this date.

So I am listing down those Leaplings here and wishing all of you a VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
May you have fruitful years ahead with joy and love X4 of everyone else. Have a blast today!!

Leap Day Babies
2012 (Dragon)
2008 (Rat)
2004 (Rooster)
2000 (Dragon)
1996 (Rat)
1992 (Rooster)
1988 (Dragons)
1984 (Rat)
1980 (Rooster)
1976 (Dragons)
1972 (Rat)
1968 (Rooster)
1964 (Dragons)
1960 (Rats)

Okie. I shall stop here. Anyway anyone older than that probably wont be reading my blog. :P

And to everyone else who knows of a leap day baby, do shower lots of love to them today!

Xoxo,
Kaye

Chinese New Year 2012

2012-01-12T22:39:00.007+08:00

Don't you have fond memories of Chinese New Year celebrations during your childhood days? I do! (Yes. I can be very cheena and I know it. hahaha)

Chinese New Year was to me...

1. BUYING NEW CLOTHES!!!
As the youngest among my siblings, most of my clothes were second hand/third hand from my 2 elder sisters. Chinese New Year every year, was almost the ONLY time I could buy new clothes that I liked. And I always hoped that it would fall on either right before or after a weekend so that we had 3 days of celebration. MEANING 3 SETS OF CLOTHES! :p Muahahahaha...

2. ANG BAO aka red packets
What else? Of course ang bao!
I still remember I was always going to the toilet because I wanted to check on the among of angbao money inside. :P At the end of the new year celebration, we would calculate how much we got, and save them in our bank accounts. :D

3. FOOD
Bak Kwa! Sweet! Soft Drinks! New Year goodies and pineapple tarts!
My mum never really allowed me to eat junkies when I was younger because those were lacking in nutrients and unhealthy. So CNY was the only time it was 'legal' to eat! (but I always fell ill after CNY due to heatiness. lol)

4. New Year Greeting to Parents
I still remember I would start thinking of the new year greeting to my parents way before the 1st day of lunar new year. Since I am the youngest, I was usually the last to greet my parents. (unless my sisters give in to me) So I would standby many extra greeting just in case my sisters went before me and said all those I prepared. :P

My list usually included:
新年快乐，万事如意/事事如意，身体健康，笑口常开

Extras:
出入平安，恭喜发财，年年有余，大吉大利！

I remember 1 of the years during my primary school days, I said "年年有今日，虽虽有近照” and got laughed at by my whole family cause that's a birthday wish, not a new year wish! :D

5. Spring cleaning and deco!
We would clean and scrub our house! I remember taking a toothbrush and scrub every corner and in between every tiles! hahaha... hardworking no? We pasted angbaos, made them into lanterns or paste the '福 'or ‘春’ paper on our doors.:D My sister would do the paper cuts and hang around the house too!

It's a sad thing that our chinese traditions are getting more and more diluted each year. We are capable of buying clothes as and when we want. (Best. ONLINE!) We don't really use the chinese new year wishes anymore. Even the new year goodies turned into potato chips and chocolates (leftover from Christmas).:p

I wonder how it's gonna change in the coming years. Hopefully I will still be able to share some of these Chinese New Year traditions with my son when he is slightly older. :) What do you think?

Happy Chinese New Year to ALL my friends!
May the Year of the Dragon bring you great JOY, PEACE and LOVE!
May your household be blessed with wealth and great health!
And may the Rabbit hop off carrying ALL your uphappiness and worries!!!

CHEERS,
Kaye

Happy New Year To ALL!

2012-01-01T00:03:00.000+08:00

Spotted this very cute video of a baby and thought of sharing with you. :D

Hope you have a good laugh and have a great year ahead!

HAPPY 2012 From the LEE FAMILY!

Cheers!

ELRIC IS ONE YEAR OLD!!!!

2011-12-31T01:42:00.003+08:00

It's definitely mixed feelings when I think about Elric turning ONE YEAR OLD!

On one hand, I miss that innocent and fragile look when Elric was first bornt. I miss carrying and hugging him, and he wouldn't retaliate. :P

On the other hand, I love watching him grow up and learn new skills everyday. I want to be there with him when he does his FIRST flip, turn, when he learns to sit, to stand and when he starts to walk. I want to cheer with him, clap for him and say 'Great job, Elric!!' That's real joy and accomplishment for both Alphonse and I. :)

I was browsing through Elric's photo... Lo and Behold! He has changed so much!!
So let me share them with you. :P

When he was in the hospital, he hardly opened his eyes.

As I was supposed to feed him at about every 3 hours, I hardly slept in the hospital because I was waiting to see him again in 3 hours time! :P

See his THICK THICK HAIR????

I miss them so much... T_______T

Mama what are you doing?

What is that thing on your hands??

That was the time when we could clothe him with funny hoods & he won't (can't) retaliate! hahaha...

Elric has learnt to flip by himself. ^^

See him cuddle with Daddy Dearest!

Let's have a chat with Dr. Elric Lee Z.Q.

ho ho ho...

"Yo Yo Yo!!! Look at my STRONG LEGS!"

Hahaha... I actually love this picture a lot! haha

I'm a Happy Baby!
... and I smile happier than Mr Bee!

Elric proudly showing Papa and Mama that he can stand!

I was so trailed when I first saw that!

Elric was looking at my handphone, hoping to see what I have got on my screen. ^o^

My Sunshine boy has learnt to feed himself with finger food!

Even during times of worries and sadness... Elric's smile never failed to cheer me up!

And there we go... ELRIC is 1 years old!!!!

Sad to say, I won't be holding a birthday celebration for him this year, mainly because his grandpa, (my dad) just passed on. Don't think it is appropriate to be holding a celebration when it is merely 2 weeks apart.

However, we will be spending sometime together as a family.
And to our Elric Dearie...

Happy Birthday!!
May God bless you with true joy and love as you GROW, GROW and GROWWW!!!!!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...
Mama Kaye
(^o^) muackx...

We are married... For 5 years!

2011-11-17T00:10:00.050+08:00

I can still remember what happened the today 5 years ago.

I received many SMS's and calls from great friends congratulating me for my wedding. I headed over to Tampines Mall for my manicure and for the first time 'justified' my spending on my manicure sessions. :P

I did my facial and massage too. I knew it was going to be sleepless night, so I put 2 metal spoons in the freezer to calm my swollen eyes on my big day.

I ensured that did not eat too much and NO JUNK, so that my tummy wouldn't appear in my wedding gown. I got my wedding gown and admired it again and again as though there was going to be any difference from the last I touched it. It was going to be the BIG DAY of my life!!!

Yes! 18th November 2006 was my wedding day. That was 5 years ago when I was 23 years old! The day I became MRS instead of MISS.
(wahhh.. so young ah?) Yes. I married young. In fact, Alphonse proposed to me when I was 22 years old.

Well, we all know it's unlike the fairytales where you live happily ever after once you are married. :P Through in this 5 years Alphonse and I were married, there were lots of ups and downs, tears and joy but most of all, lots of love! ^_^

Seriously, if love is simply an emotion, we wouldn't have lasted this long.
Once a couple stay together after marriage, SOOOOOO many things change.
You will have your honeymoon period of course, but after that??? :P
You can quarrel about the SLIGHTEST, PETTIEST things on earth. e.g. Why you no pour the milk in the cup but drink directly from the carton?!?!

So what made our marriage last?

Love and forbearance.

Love, like I mentioned, is not JUST a matter of the heart. It is also requires the mind and will.

When you truly love a person, you place the person's well-being and interest above your own, even if it means to have to step out of your comfort zone.
And when your partner fails to do so, forbearance comes in. You learn to forgive just as you want him to forgive you when you fail.

Then again, some will say that 5 years isn't that long after all. "Wait till you are married XX years then you know!!:" Hey... most of us studied in tertiary 3-5 years already KPKB loh! :/

While Alphonse is not a PERFECT husband, Kaye is not a PERFECT wife either!
But one thing for sure is, if I am to stand before God to answer this question today,

Zhao Kaijin , will you have Alphonse Lee, to be your wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony; will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only for him so long as you both shall live?

My answer will still be a firm, " I will. "

And here is the vow I took, standing before my lovely friends and relatives (& of course before God)I will gladly repeat it again...

Alphonse Lee, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful wife in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

And like I mentioned earlier, things changes after you get married.
I am the one who purchase all the household items as well as my husband's clothings. Even his keyboard, mouse, gaming headsets were bought by me! Seriously... what's left for me to buy during this anniversary????

If I should buy anything, it would probably be something I would already buy, but hold until THE DAY before passing to him. Pointless right??

So finally, I decided to use a song I recorded 6 years ago for him, to create a simple montage. :p
At that time, Century Square 5th Floor, had this recording studio. You can pay $70++ to record a song or two and they will burn it into a disc for you. so with all excitement I went in and recorded the song, Fly Away by Fish Leong. I totally regretted because I had only 1 chance to record. Facing 2 strangers with dull faces, I was totally stammering.

But what made me happy was Alphonse's response to the gift.
He loved it! ^^

So here is the montage...
My dear, this is for you. :)

Love As Always,
Kaye

What happened to the puppy, Dino?

2011-11-14T22:54:00.003+08:00

To friends who have bee curious (just as I am), since my last post about the late night barking of the dog:

What actually happened to Dino?

Today, Alphonse met the youngest son from the family. Out of curiousity Alphonse asked the boy where Dino went because we haven't heard or seen it around.

The boy told Alphonse that Dino is in the hospital (vet I guess, otherwise would be SPCA).
Reason? Dino's leg was injured.

Poor Dino was injured and they didn't care to send him to the vet?
No wonder it was crying so badly. Could it be that it was beaten up very badly?
It has to be. Otherwise the police wouldn't have interfered.

This is a family with 4 children. It's fun and educational for children to take care of a pet. It teaches them responsibility. But the pet is not there for you to abuse! That's not how you teach your children?! :(

I certainly hope Dino has recovered from the injuries and will soon meet with a better owner.

These little creatures need your love too!
Please treat them with care!

Love,
Kaye

The thin line between being nosy and concern

2011-11-10T23:42:00.003+08:00

Helllooo!! Sorry for keeping this space empty for awhile.I have been very worn out lately and rather EMO as well. Maybe because Elric was sick and now Alphonse is down with fever too.

Just thought of sharing with you something that happened to me which brought me to stop and think about myself.

"Don't be so Kaypo (nosy) can or not!"

Has anyone said that to you before?
This thought suddenly came to my mind when I was deciding whether to call the police because of my neighbour's dog has been barking from 12Midnight to almost 2AM for a few nights.
I know the dog. His name is Dino. I used to like him a lot but hasn't met him and his owners recently.

It started off when Dino was barking after 12 midnight! The first thing that came to my mind was, "WHY IS THIS DOG SO NOISY!!" My son has been down with fever and rashes. He hasn't been sleeping well because he was uncomfortable. Pls don't bark and wake my son up!

I was angry because the kids from that family have been noisy in the day and now even the dog is noisy! :( I was tired and lacking in patience because when Elric is unwell, we can't rest either.

On the 3rd night when the Dino started barking, my husband asked me if we should call the police. That thought gave me a pinch! I was upset by the noise. I was irritated that the dog was barking loudly at such an unholy hour. But that shouldn't warrant the police to their door... right? I needed a bit a time to consider, so I told my husband that we should observe for awhile before we call.

During this 15min or so, I tried to listen to the Dino's barking.
I came to the conclusion that it was crying. It was barking out of fear.

I decided to call the SPCA after checking the website. I didnt know if it was right for me to 'disturb' SPCA at 1AM in the morning to check on the dog. I mean, what if I was wrong and it is not a case of abuse? Damn so paiseh right?

Still, I called SPCA and was told that they can't approach the family unless I have evidence of abuse. Otherwise, I can call the police that the dog is making a nuisance.

OOOiiiii!!! I am not calling you because I am angry with the noise! I am calling because I am worried that Dino is being abused! :( Still, I understand where they were coming from. They can't go knocking at people's door in the middle of the night just because I suspect there is an abuse.

So... I was back to whether to call the police. Here came the question I asked myself.

Kaye, are you just angry with the dog's noise, KAYPO or really concern?
After some 'self-examination', I called the police. Within 15min, the police came and Dino stopped barking. 30min later, the police car left.

I guess I made the right call. It was a case of abuse. I no longer hear any sound from Dino these few days and I believe it was brought away. I hope Dino will be taken care by a better owner from now.

This very minor incident brought me to think further. What is the difference between being nosy and concern? If i didn't get to know Dino before this happened, would I have noticed that it was calling for help instead of just barking crazily? If I don't have a baby and careless about barking dogs, would I have paid attention to Dino?

Somehow we are brought up in a society which tells us to "mind our own business" and "Don't so Kaypo can or not?". Isn't this the reason why people would walk away from an injuried toddler run over by vehicles? Take photos of dying/injured people without helping? We talk talk talk, complain complain complain and there after, we walk away. It is so easy to click the "share" button on Facebook and "retweet" button on Twitter, but are there real actions after that? I guess we need to put away our pride and start to care for the people around us EVEN IF it place us in a vulnerable position.

I don't have a halo on my head. Neither do I rush to help every single person in need. However, I certainly believe that if I hope for others to lend a hand when I am in need, I have to first pay attention to others I meet.

Passing Thoughts.

Love,
Kaye

Read to your baby!

2011-10-24T00:19:00.004+08:00

"It's never too early to read to your baby!"

Yes. I certainly subscribe to that. :)
My husband and I took turns to read bible stories aloud since I was pregnant. Once awhile, we would go to the library to borrow children books and "read a story to my baby" before we sleep. :P

I was clueless whether he really knew what Daddy and Mummy were doing, but it certainly formed the habit for Alphonse and myself to read a story to him every night.

During the first 2 months after giving birth to him, I was rather confined and couldn't borrow books from the library. So Alphonse and I downloaded Andriod Apps which contain children stories/bible stories to read to Elric. From 3 months onwards, we visited the library almost every weekend to borrow 6 books. (that's the maximum number of books we can borrow with each library card)

1 week 6 books = 4 weeks 24 books
That's quite a lot!

hahahahahahaaha.... No wonder my son is a bookworm!!!
He loves munching on his books.

ohh... the book taste good!

Don't get me wrong! I have totally no intention to train him to be some nerds or scholars. I was never a book lover myself. I just think it is more beneficial for him to be occupied reading then to indulge in iPad games. There are so much more a child can learn from books and baby toys than those games. So I must start the habit young.

So why is reading good for the babies?

It teaches your baby to listen. Remember that your baby does not only learn the words you read, your baby is also learning your tone of voice. So when you read the story to your baby, care to be more expressive. For example, "Woah, that's a BIG elephant!"
"See? That's a smalllll turtle!"

This will help him improve his communication skills. When your baby hears you speak, he is learning too. You may not understand his "Gu gu ga ga ga... bua bu ba ba mumu mama ma..." but he is learning to express by imitating you and that will ultimately improve his communication skills. You will be surprised how expressive your baby can be when he starts to speak!

Reading your baby a story, is also a good time for family bonding. Your baby gets a quality period of time with you. He gets your full attention and he enjoy listening to your voice. :)

There are many types of baby books which are suitable for your baby.
You can always head to the library to grab some books too. Just that the books have passed through many hands. You may want to avoid letting him lick or bite on the book!(>__<)

Books borrowed from library. Careful to clean their hands after touching and reading.

Unlike the past, there are many types of books designed to aid the growth and development of babies.

Touch and Feel books

These are the books with different texture for babies to touch and learn.
You will see portions of the pictures with a different cloth material to stimulate the child's sense of touch.

Waterproof books
I bought this waterproof book from Campbell Books when Elric was just 3 months.
He loves this book since, and we bring it along whenever we travel out. This waterproof book is great as a bath time activity too. Keep you child occupied with the book while you scrub him clean! :D

waterproof book from Campbell Books

Normal Board books

Bought this Ugly duckling book from Popular at $4.90. :D Cheap Cheap! I like! whahahaha... It is heavy though, so if your baby still can't sit up straight, don't let him handle the book on a lying position. Just in case he drop the book onto his face. It happened to Elric. :(

Cloth Books

I bought these cloth books sometime back from http://www.joli-petite.com. The good thing about cloth books is that they are very light and easy to bring along. I got the pack of 6 books at $26. (each about $4.50 after adding postage). The bed time prayer book was $15.90. Once a while I would pick this up and reread to him. I like this one because the colours in the book are in pastel colours. No so stimulating and suitable as a bedtime story.

Musical books

My Mother-in-law bought this Fisher Price Musical book for Elric. She bought it from Malaysia but I checked the local pricing. ABOUT $40+!!!! Well, grandma always dotes on their grandchildren. Right? :)

Elric like this book alot too! It's very colours and everytime you spin the round button at the corner, it will introduce the animals on the page and plays a song. I will sing along with it every page I turn.

Activities Book
This is the latest book which I bought. The Playgro Clip Clop Toy Box Teether book. You can find it at http://www.joli-petite.com ($16.90).

I am still struggling with what animal this is. Pony right???

We all know that children products are getting more and more expensive. Hence with every purchase, we want to make sure that we are stretching every dollar to the max. So here is one good product I found! :D It's not just something fun to play with, it is also great for learning.

Elric with his new toy book explorig the legs and tail of the toy.

You can guess by its name (Toy Box) that this book contains different activities for the child.
1. It is a CUTE TOY! The colour pictures and legs stimulate visual learning.
2. The crinkle and texture of the pages encourage sensory and tactile learning.
3. There is a squeaky at the head of the toy which stimulates motor skills and audio development
4. The red and blue feet or 2 textile teethers

Lastly, I personally like the red velco strap which you can use to secure the book when you are bringing it out. :) Thoughtful isn't it?

Best of all, Elric loves it!

Woah... This is a lengthy post. :P
Hope my sharing will encourage you to read to your child/baby too!
Instead of letting your child play your iPad, INVEST some time to read and play with them.
You effort will NOT go to waste!

Cheers,
Kaye

Just for Laugh

2011-10-15T23:15:00.000+08:00

Kaye: A sign that Alp is too bored!!

Swaddling is a traditional practice of wrapping infants in swaddling cloths. It is believed that babies will feel calm and secure being swaddled up so as to enable them to sleep well. However please do take note to ensure that the baby is not swaddled too tight :p~~~

Below are pictures taken when Elric was less than a month old.

Muahahahahhahahahaha...

I was looking back at those old pictures...

My cutie ELRIC!!!!
See he has grown so much over the last 9 months!

( ^ o ^ )

'Cosplaying' Elric into a Cupid

2011-10-15T15:21:00.002+08:00

I knew in my mind that it will be a perfect Cupid pic after Kaye took those 3 lovely pic of Elric wrapped with his diaper cloth. (clean of course :P) I spent quite sometime on the xiuxiu.meitu to edit his picture.

No no... I am not bringing him out for Halloween party. hahaha
but this is so fun!!!

At least I managed to entertain myself. I am sure we will have a good laugh when I flip back these pictures with kiddy Elric on my laps. :D

Before editing <= => After editing


The complete version

To some of our friends who are considering setting up a family, hope this will encourage you to look forward to parenthood! :P

To Elric:
Careful hor... Don't anyhow shoot your arrow ok?
Can be very jialat one loh! :P

Baby Abandoned in the Dump, eaten by Ants

2011-10-13T22:04:00.016+08:00

I teared when I read this article from theasianparents.

http://sg.theasianparent.com/articles/baby-eaten-by-red-ants-in-dump/

How can ANYONE in the right mind throw A BABY into the dump!!!!??

That's absolutely insane!!!

What's more, it's the mother's very own flesh and blood! She carried it where ever she went for 9 long months! She brought that little soul onto earth and immediately tell him that he is unwanted and he belongs to the dump?! Gosh!!

This poor baby was thrown into the dump alive. Ants were eating his flesh and crawled into his nose, almost suffocating him!!!

Can you imagine what that helpless baby went through???
Mother of the child!! Helloooooo! Lay yourself in the dump and get bitten all over! Can???

This reminded me of the Singapore case of the baby being buried in the soil and found out by an uncle.

The last thing the mother could do, is to give the baby away! In a school, a home, a church... Why bury/dump the baby!? Why do you want to murder your own baby?!

Due to selfishness. No? You want to live your own life, don't want your baby and afraid of being caught by police for whatever reasons?

*Breath*

As much as the chinese song goes "世上只有妈妈好”, it is a sad truth that there are many mothers in the world who are not so loving to their babies. :(

We may not be the richest people in the world or have the capability to provide our babies with the best in the world. But with whatever we can offer, we provide for them. Even if you think you have NOTHING to provide for your baby, he just needs to be with you. Cause you (yes mother! YOU) are his world! Without you, his world collapses! You are THAT important.

Some says, "That's why I chose abortion."

Is abortion any better??

To me, absolutely NO!

Your baby,

born or unborn

does not belong to the dump.

Baby, "Mama, please take my hands... not my life."

NEW LOOT: Multi Activity Box from Jam 'n Muffin

2011-10-09T00:47:00.006+08:00

We happened to come across this coupon deal from Jam'n Muffin in June and since then we have been eyeing on the toys available on the site.

No no no... it is not Ben and Jerry.. Ben and Muffins... Jam and Berries!!!

WHATEVER... for 5 months we've been visitig that site we still managed to get the name wrong!

Okay... get it right for once. It's JAM 'n MUFFIN!

Jam 'n Muffin emphasizes about their environmentally friendly products which promotes learning for our kids.

This is what they promise in the products they sell:

Recycled or Recyclable
Natural (made from 100% natural products)
Organic (from certified sources)
Non-Toxic and Bisphenol A Free
Sourced from low impact / renewable sources
Encourages waste reduction / energy reduction
Produced under fair-trade conditions

Pretty impressive isn't it?

With all the negative news about toys/clothes/milk powder that are harmful and toxic, all we need is the assurance that the toys we buy are not causing harm to our little ones.

So what's our loot from there?

The Multi Activity Box!

Here's the description:

A magic box to awaken all the senses. Your little one would be delighted with the different colours, shapes and numbers.

Features a mirror, a maze to find the colours of fruits and vegetables, a clock to tell the time, a magnetic origami and an abacus to help develop concentration and motor skills. The abacus can be removed for ease of storage.

Designed in the heart of the Jura Mountains, France
16.5 x 16.5 x 29cm
12+ months

When I tried using the coupon code, I had some trouble. The site stated that there was an error in the code. So I contacted the site where I bought it from and Jam 'n Muffin promptly responded within a few hours!
Problem solved and my coupon code worked! :)

Good service!

Okie... Elric is still 9 months old and the toy is meant for 12 Months old.

But I accidentally let Elric spot the toy. So might as well take some pictures for you to see. ^^

Elric seems to like the Magnetic Origami very much. Only that the triangles have sharp edges, so we have got to monitor closely when he plays.

Thanks Ben and Jerry... OOPSSS... I mean JAM 'N MUFFIN!!!

My Letter to my Otousan Dearest （给爸爸的信）

2011-10-02T15:29:00.014+08:00

My close friends would have known that my father is down with pancreatic cancer in the final stage. It has been more than half a year since he was diagnosed with the illness and we can see that he is significantly getting weaker.

As I recall my childhood days with my Dad, it suddenly dawn upon me that I haven't told him how much he means to me and how I am proud to have him as my father.

My dad is a man of few words and hardly expresses his love and concern for us verbally. However, he has always given all he can for his wife and children. I remember how I used to hold his hand in order to sleep and how he would quietly check my temperature when I had fever. These are little things which he always did and I never thanked him for.

I feel shy to tell him face to face, so I decided to pen it down in this blog to thank my Dad for who he is and what he has done for me. I will pass him a hand-written copy after this.

Pardon me my POOR Chinese and don't let my Chinese teacher see this!

亲爱的爸爸，

可能是应为智谦吧，我最近总是回想起同年。

想起爸爸你以前是怎么关心，怎么照顾我的。

想着，想着，发现我从来没对你说过这句话：

谢谢你爸爸，我爱你！

我对小时候的记忆并不多。不过有一些是非常的深刻。

还记得每晚临睡前，我都会握着你的手才能入睡。

爸爸都会等到我睡着后才偷偷地离开。

哈哈！当时的我，也不了解你工作回家已经很累了。就偏偏要缠着你不放。

我也记得在四岁的时候，我顽皮地爬到椅子上看窗口。你一看，就马上打我，把我包下来。我还气了好久呢。

我每次发烧的时候，你都会悄悄地进来摸摸我的额头，察看我烧退了没有。看到我头痛或不舒服，你就会提醒我吃药。

爸爸，谢谢你二十多年来对我的关爱。

谢谢你哪从未要求回报的付出！

这些我一直都看在眼里，方在心底。

我非常感谢上帝让你能够相信他，依靠他。

也希望你能在上帝那里得到平安与喜乐。

爸爸, 谢谢你!

凯今

Food recipes for Baby Elric

2011-09-28T14:19:00.006+08:00

It's really nice to hear people praising Elric and saying how healthy he looks!
Of course I think the diet plays a part. Other than the breastmilk that he is still drinking now, I want to feed him with nutritious food to keep him healthy!

We have been reading up and exploring new recipes for Elric. These are the first few recipes which we have combined different vegetables for him and he really loves them alot.

SWEET POTATO, POTATO, SPINACH and ANCHOVIES
1 large sized Sweet Potato (cut into small cubes)
1 medium sized Potato (cut into small cubes)
A cup Spinach (leafy part for easy digestion)
150g Anchovies (removed the head and intestine)

Put into the Philips Combined Steamer and Blender
Steam for 20 min and then blend.
You can divide the ingredients into 2 portion and steam separately.
This amount for vegetable is good enough for 1-2 weeks.
Potato and Sweet Potatoes are source of carbohydrate. As potatoes are less nutritious, I prefer to add in some sweet potatoes for nutrients and taste.
Spinach provides him with the serving of vegetable he needs and Anchovies provides protein and it is high in Iron and Calcium as well. :)

RED BEAN with APPLE
200g Red beans (You can consider getting organic ones since its not really that expensive. We soaked the red beans overnight to make it really, really soft before cooking)
Boiled the red beans till its really pasty and sticky. You will need to stir and add some water along the way.

3-4 red apples (cut into small cubes)
Put the ingredients inside the machines and steam for about 5 min
Place the red bean puree into the blender and you will get your red bean and apple puree.
*red bean is very blend. do get the small red apple that is sweet for taste.
Red bean is a good source of carbo, protein as well as dietary fibre. It also contains a good amount of Folate.

SWEET POTATO, CAPSICUM, PUMPKIN and ANCHOVIES
1 Large Sweet potato (cut into small cubes)
2 Capsicums (remove ALL seeds and cut into small cubes)
1 slice of pumpkin (cut into small cubes)
200g of anchovies (removed the head and intestine)

Yellow taste sweeter, but all the 3 colours (green, red, yellow) provides similar nutrients.Capsicum is a great source of Vit A, C and antioxidant!
Put into the Philips Combined Steamer and Blender
Steam for 20 min and then blend.

You can divide them into 2 portion and steam separately.

This amount for vegetable is good enough for 1-2 weeks.

Hope your baby will like the recipe too! ^^

Cheers,
Alphonse

NEW LOOT: Baby Cube for food storage @$16.90

2011-09-28T12:12:00.003+08:00

Got this a S$16.90 for a set of 8 cubes of 70ml each.
If you have coupons from gmarket.com.sg, it will be even cheaper!

Using this for freezing my baby food. ^^ I bought 2 sets previously. Just bought another 2 sets cause Elric is eating more now.

Why Buy?

- BPA Free

- It's stackable for easy storage

- It's freezable and microwavable

- Ideal for storage your cooked/pureed baby food. :)

Top on of that, the containers are very light and thin. This means that the reheating it faster.
The container is also translucent so that you can easily find the one that you are looking for. :)

Where?
gmarket.com.sg

www.babyonline.com.sg

XOXO,
Kaye

Going Out with Baby

2011-09-23T00:50:00.006+08:00

Travelling out with your baby can be a nightmare to some.
There are so many things to consider and so many things you need to bring.
It can be frustrating if friends and family fail to sympathise.

As advised by my son's pediatrician, it is best to minimise travelling to crowded areas until baby has received his 1st jab. Before that, he has very little immunity to the viruses that is around him.

From 1-3 months, try to keep your session short because babies during this period requires a lot of attention most of the time. Feeding and diapers changing are about every 3-hourly. They are however, very good travel companions as they are asleep most of the time. For those who are considering bringing babies overseas may want to think twice. It is important to note that vaccination (eg. flu vaccines) cannot be done for babies below 3 months. So it is better to wait a little.

From 4-6 months, babies are more awake and curious about the surroundings. Schedule is gradually changing and you may be able to extend travelling hours to 3-4 hours without scheduling in a nap time. Be sensitive to baby's cue when he is sleepy or hungry. they tend to be distracted until they are very hungry or grouchy. This will make feeding and napping harder then usual.

From 7-9 months, babies has started solid food. Hence there are more to bring out with you when you are travelling around or runing arrands.

Here is the checklist of stuff you may want to take note whenever bringing baby out.

Diaper changing
Diapers- Minimum 3
Wipes
1 set of clothes for change. If you need to bath him outside, bring 2 sets.
Diaper cream

Food
Baby bisuits (snacks)
Cerelac
Food Jar (for convenience)
Bowl & spoon
Milk bottle
Baby Milk Powder (if you are on formula)
Hot water (in thermal bottle)
Breast milk (if you are giving ebm)
A bib and a hanky
Room temperature water
Fresh juice

Comfort
Toy
Teether
Book
Clip on fan
Soother (if your child is using)

Miscellaneous
Mosqito repellant
Sunblock lotion
tissue
waterfree hand detegant
changing mat
2-in-1 bathing lotion (if bathing)
towel (if bathing)
vicks

Till now, each time I travel out with my baby, the session is short.
That's unless there is a place where he can take a nap during the trip.

When Elric grows older I guess I will have more experiences to share. :)

XOXO
Kaye

Our Laughing Baby

2011-09-13T18:07:00.004+08:00

Elric is a happy baby and he laughs easily

That makes me feel good!

As though he is telling Papa and Mama that he is well-taken care of. :)

Kaye was making random, funny sound and Elric started laughing at the 'farting' sound.

hahahahaha...

How I love the way Elric laughs. ^^

I can't help but to laugh with him every time I watch the clip!

Elric at 8 months old

The Case of an Injured Giraffe

2011-08-29T23:48:00.009+08:00

As all good stories start...

Once upon a time, there was a giraffe named Sophie. She was a cute and gentle giraffe.

Sophie the Giraffe

Sophie loves babies and would smile and play with them.

Sophie had a good friend, and his name was Elric.

Elric would hug and kiss little Sophie, while Sophie would accompany Elric to play during his wake time everyday.

One day, while Elric was playing with Sophie, some thing bad happened!

As Elric was teething, his gums were swollen and itchy. He couldn't resist himself and gave Sophie a bite!

It hurt Sophie terribly and she gave a loud squeak but Elric couldn't care less and continued chewing on her legs!

Sophie was very cross and gave Elric a kick!

Baby Elric was choked. He vomited all the food he had for lunch. :(

hahahahaaha... I am just trying to tell you how much my son loves his teether, Sophie and Giraffe. It's a trusted product and it does help my son relieve his uncomfort caused by teething. However, do watch your child closely when they are biting the teether. The long legs of Sophie may choke the baby. :)

I miss the Newborn Elric

2011-08-24T22:59:00.002+08:00

I told Kaye that I have been missing those days when Elric was first bornt.
He was so fragile looking, so small and sweet looking all the time.
And Gosh! He is only 8 months old and I am missing him as a newborn already!

Not that I dont like him now, I am very happy everytime he learns something new.
I love how he calls for Papa and how he crawls to me and lay beside me.

I just miss that 'little thing' he used to be. :P
He couldn't do anything by himself and had to rely on us all the time.
He wouldn't kick and splash during bathing or diaper changing.

But to prove that I still love him just as much...

Ohhh.... my Baby Elric!

And Elric loves Papa just as much!

I was so happy when Elric first managed to sit up straight with his hands off the ground!!

And when he finally was able to sit on a high chair by himself. ^^

But I am sure 8 months later, I will tell you that I miss the way he is now.

So I will treasure every moment as I watch him grow. ^^

New Minestone... I mean, Milestone!! ^_^

2011-08-09T23:55:00.003+08:00

I love watching Elric cross each of his new minestones...

Opppsss I mean Milestone! hahaha...

Those are minestones too, when he is not careful. :P
Like when Elric tries to crawl and fall face flat! hahahahaha...
I know I sound sadistic but I really laugh at him when he falls. It is so that he thinks it's funny and refrain from crying! ;)

Just a couple of days ago, Elric started to 'stand on his fours'! Like Kaye's mum put it,‘好像小马喔！’ (like a little pony)

:D We were not in time to change the lighting when Elric first did his stunt.

Kaye was so happy, clipping and praising Elric, that he repeated what he did over and over again for her to see. hahaha... go on his fours and fall face flat!

pumping position DOWN!

Mama, See I am good at it. heh heh...

Then we thought he looked like he was doing Yoga!!!!

ooommmm.........

hahahahahahahahaha........

Papa and Mama had a good laugh, so did Elric! :D

Before I go, hope you had a good National Day Holiday!

Elric,"I am all dressed for National Day!" :)

World Breastfeeding Week! 1 August to 7 August (By Kaye)

2011-08-03T22:30:00.010+08:00

Happy Breastfeeding Week to All Breastfeeding Mummies. :)

Yes. Yes. It's Alp's blog and some of us as Asians feel shy talking about this topic but I really want dedicate a short note to breastfeeding mummies out there. You ladies are wonderful! Keep it up!

Don't doubt!
1. Breast milk(BM) is superior to forumla milk(FM) and provides anti-bodies that protects your baby from many harmful germs!

2. Breast milk is also easily digested and doesn't stress on your Precious' tummy!

3. It increases your bonding with little ones. :)

4. Recently there is a study which shows that BF kids has less cases of behavioural problems when they grow to 5 years old!

However, I don't believe you are a better or worse Mum just because you chose to/not to breastfeed.No mother deserved to be judged like that, especially when some Mummies have genuine reasons and obligations for their choices.

But if you are breastfeeding, kudos to you because it is a tough path to take when many elders still thinks that FM is better. All thanks to the TV commercials on formula milk.>___<"

If you are a new mum planning to breastfeed, here is a video that has helped me a lot during my initial months of BFing. I hope it will help you as well.

NOTE: Please note that this video is SOLELY intended for educational purposes.

Cheers!
Kaye

Cheer me Up!

2011-07-29T16:00:00.002+08:00

While sleep training Elric, we just needed to keep ourselves occupied with things to do.
Kaye and I even cried at one point because we couldn't bear the pain of him cry for such a long time.

So here is Kaye's artwork. :)

Elric with Mr. Bee!

Elric and his new chair!

Sleep Training Baby Elric

2011-07-29T15:00:00.005+08:00

As some of you may know, we have been sleep training (re-training) Elric for the last 6 days.

It has been heart wrenching. Remember my previous post saying that Elric managed to sleep through 8 hours? We were overjoyed. But when Elric started teething, we relaxed on his sleep pattern and picked him up from the bed trying to figure out why he cried.

Before Elric was born, we were told that hearing other babies cry is different from hearing your own baby cry.

I couldn't appreciate that sentence but now I totally do! The former is irritating but the later is heart breaking. :(

Since Saturday, Kaye was insistent on re-training Elric because his inability to sleep is taking a toil on both of us. So yes. She started it and she pull it through.

Day 1: We put him to bed at 10:30pm. He cried for 2hours before he finally slept. Kaye and I did not enter the room until 45min interval. :( Poor Elric almost went nutz I think. He was so so so angry when he saw us. He couldn't even control his cry anymore.

Day 2: We put Elric on bed at 10:30pm. He sleep almost instantly and woke up at 11:00pm. Cried for 2 hours.

Day 3: Kaye decided to use the soft approach. We put him down at 10:30pm and she went in to pat him for 1-2min after 15min of crying. She went in for 2nd visit after 20min of crying. 3rd visit after another 25mins of crying and so on. He finally sleep at near 1AM.

Day 4: Kaye did the same.... He slept at 12:45AM

Day 5: Same thing... I almost couldnt take it and wanted to go pick him up to cuddle and hug him. Kaye insisted not to. He slept at 12:50AM

Day 6: Elric slept through from 10:30PM to 7:30AM this morning.

Either he is toooooo tired, or the training is successful! We will have to continue to observe the next 3 nights. If all 3 days are good, we can announce the SUCCESS of our hard work!!

Why do we sleep train him?

1. Because if your baby don't sleep, neither will you.

It's been tedious when Elric can't sleep. We sometimes had to stay awake till 3-4AM just to ensure he is well.

2. It is a form of discipline.

Discipline from birth? Yes! From birth. Why not?

By discipline, i dont mean physical discipline. Babies don't know what is good for them but we as parents do. We know that he need to have a structural timetable to his meals and nap and night sleep, so we have to teach them to follow it.

If you cant discipline your kids when they are babies, what makes you think you are discipline them when they are older?

3. For health reasons.

Have you seen kids with eye bags and dark circles? It's a pain to see that. And it shows that the child have not been sleeping well. Children who do not sleep well, dont learn well either because they are too tired and grouchy.

4. Will my child think that I dont love him/her?
I can tell you with certainly that Elric is happier and able to spend quality time with us when he sleeps well. Looking at all his photos, I guess you can agree with me.

So yes. I am letting him cry for a good reason, and I am sticking by it.

A short-term pain and better than a long-term one.

Elric do you agree?

heee... agree...

Elric on his new chair!

Now I know why God made us this way, that we can't remember anything from birth till about 3 years old. Cause if we do... we might hate our parents. :P

See? Elric is still a happy baby in the day!

Avent Philip Combined Steamer and Blender: Making Sweet Potato Puree

2011-07-25T12:35:00.038+08:00

Have you ever purchased gadgets thinking that they are very useful because the sales person who demonstrated made it look so good? These gadgets all ended up as white elephants because they are not as user friendly as you thought they were at the point of purchase. You finally decide that the conventional methods are way easier and more productive. In the end, you either throw the gadget away or chuck it aside to collect dust.

That is a familiar scenario to me! :P hahaha... You can imagine how many weird gadgets I have in my house. Products like magic mop, salad mixer and many more!

So I have learnt that one thing you need to do is to think through the entire using process before purchasing the product.

I bought this Avent Philips steamer/blender. I can tell you it is one product that I LOVE and I am pretty sure you will too! Step by step, I'm going to go through how I make the puree for my son. :D

Okie..

Step 1: Wash and Peel your ingredients. In my case, I have sweet potatoes and apples. (Blended separately)

Apple rinsed with water

To prevent colour change (oxidation) of the apple, we usually use salt to soak the peeled apple. But for baby, salt may not be a good choice. So you can choose to add a few drops of lemon juice.

Peeled the apple

Step 2: Cut the apple or sweet potatoes into cubes (about 2-3cm). Main thing is to speed up the blending process. :)


Sweet Potatoes peeled

Okie... I have chopped them up and placed into the jar of the Avent Steamer/Blender.

Here is something really nice about the product which I like... A LOT...

Step 3: Add in water into this compartment for steaming. But how do you know how much water to put? How do you know how long to steam? Here is how IDIOT PROVE IT IS!

The product comes with a recipe book that tells you how long to cook for each ingredient. For apple, 5min and for sweet potatoes 15min.

It also has a measuring cup...

that tells you the amount of water to add according to the time you need to steam. Not sure if you can see this clearly.

Hope you can see...

200ml for 20min
150ml for 15min
100ml for 10min

It's that simple! :D

Step 4: Fix the container with the wider base downwards to steamer. You will see a nob which you can turn either to the left or to the right. For steaming, it's left.

Easy right? on the left you see the icon of steam and the right shows the icon of the blade.

So I added 150ml of water for the sweet potatoes and steamed it.
Another sweet feature about this product is that it stops automatically when the water runs dry! Therefore you don't have to worry about over cooking or to watch the fire like you do if traditional steamer.

Step 5: When time is up, simply turn it up side down and blend!

Tadaaaa..... I turned and hold the nob for 10 secs, 2 times and my sweet potato is ready to serve!

You can make extra and freeze the rest of the puree in ice trays.
In my case, I use this breast milk container which I bought previously to keep Kaye's breast milk. :D 30ml per stick.

After the puree are frozen, just keep them in air tight containers or zip lock bags.

Yippeee!!! You are almost done!!!!!

So what else do you need to do???

WASH LAH!

So what are the items that you need to wash?

1. Cuting board
2. Knife
3. Bowl (for soaking the apple)
4. Measurig cup (just rinsing)
5. The jar of the Avent Steamer/Blender
6. Spatula or spoon you use to scoop up the puree!

There you are! DONE!

Weeeeeee!!! SO Simple right???

If Alp can cook... So can you!! hahahahahahaha...

If this post has convinced you of getting the Avent Steamer/Blender, I hope you will like it as much as I do!

Cheers!

Baby Food

2011-07-18T00:21:00.003+08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Elric has started on solid food.
It's no longer just milk and milk bottle. I have to cook, mash, blend and wash!
It has been more tedious than I could imagine.

I searched online for recipes of baby puree.
Thank God I found this Nicko Baby Food Channel that provides many great recipes!
Nicko Baby Food

Apple and Pear Puree

Pumpkin and Corn Puree!

He made the preparations look so simple! ^^

Better still, Kaye found this product...

Philips - Combined Steamer and Blender SCF870/21 - Food preparation and storage - Preparing for feeding - Mother and child care

The Avent Philips Steamer and Blender!!!!
It's a brilliant product and ALL new parents MUST BUY!!! MUST MUST MUST!

It made the preparation process even simplier than I have expected! :D
Basically, all I needed to do was to wash and cut the vegetable or fruit, put them into the steamer/blender to steam. Turn it around after steaming and it allows you to blend the ingredients!
No mashing, no need a separate steamer and blender, all are done within 1 machine!!! Less washing to do!!! COOL isn't it?? :D

I will make the puree and get Kaye to take pictures for you too see! :D
I have tried making apple puree, pumkin puree and carrot puree.
Next in line will be sweet potato and banana. I shall do it soon!

Cheers!

Photo post

2011-07-17T11:07:00.003+08:00

Oh yes... I am sorry.
I have been delinquent in my postings.
It's been a tough 1 month taking care of Elric. Things are not as simple as the initial 6 months. It was just heating up the milk, feed and play and sleep.

Elric has started solid food! :D
So cooking and cleaning are required as well. He is also learning to crawl, so we have to pay extra attention to him whenever he is out of his cot bed.

Has it been extremely tiring for both Kaye and myself. :S

But Elric has his ways to cheers us up!

We love his SMILE!

It is simply fulfilling to know that your child is growing up happy and healthy under your care. Isn't it so?

Thank You PaPa and MaMa!

Our Little Angel!

SMILEXXXXX... ^_^

Happy Otousan DAY!!!

2011-06-21T10:44:00.002+08:00

I just celebrated my FIRST Father's Day! :) *proud*

Not that my son could do anything for me but it felt great! Really!
To hold my son in my hand and see him grow everyday under my care, to me, is the greatest achievement in life!

Nothing fanciful for Papa's day. We just went for a meal together with Kaye's parents and sister at Peach Garden Orchid Country Club. We were terribly tired because Elric couldn't sleep but I know my wife wants to meet up with her parents. So we went ahead.

And there my Elric boy, seeing papa so tired, gave me a WET WET kiss! hahahahaha...

See him grabbing papa's face!

Cheering up Papa! ;)

My deary wife then gave me a little surprise in the evening...

Sweeeeeeettt??? heee....
Oh yes... we went for a swim the day before. I shall blog about it soon!
Happppppyyyy Papa's day! To myself ;p

Leashing a kid

2011-06-18T23:57:00.004+08:00

It's a common thing to see parents leashing their kids in the western countries. In fact, it is getting increasingly popular. There is a large variety of leashes, and of which some are very cute. They give their products fanciful names like safety harness, but come on!! A leash is a leash.

The parents who are not capable of restraining their kids use leashes to bind the children to them.Just like what they would when they walk their DOGS!

Like this...

Here is a fanciful one...

It looks as though the kid is carrying a monkey looking bag, but it is actually a leash.

I saw it at Kiddy Palace. S$39 I think.

It takes a monkey to restrain a kids. How ironic!

I definitely disagree with the use of a leash. I believe we humans are unlike animals. We are capable to reasoning and understanding logic, so do our children. They are not our pet dogs. (In fact some well-trained pet dogs do not even need to be leashed.) The children ought to be taught not to run away from their parents, because they may loose their way or get into danger. They need to know that they have to behave themselves in the public so not to be a nuisance to other shoppers. Not to be leashed up instead!

Are Asians any better since we seldom see parents using leash?
I think many of our parents are worse.

Have you seen BIG 'babies' sitting on strollers??? Seriously big kids like 5-6 years old! It frustrates me whenever I see parents with these kids on strollers. To me, they are just lazy to control them, so they place them on the strollers. When they enter into the supermarket, they will put these kids onto the trolley so that they won't get to run around.Better still, add an iPhone or PSP to keep them occupied.

Some parents would argue that it is difficult to handle kids. They would say things like, "My kids is different!", "You won't understand if you don't have a kid!" or "They are still too young to understand."

Seriously, I remember I was not allowed to sit on a stroller after I could walk stably at about 2+ years old. I have also seen childcare teachers bring 10-15 preschoolers on outings in the MRT and they behave themselves!

So is the problem really on the kids? I doubt. I believe the problem is with the parents who are too lazy to keep an eye on their kids. I hope parents can try to be responsible in watching out for their children and not deprive them the opportunity to learn the lesson of SELF-CONTROL!

What do you think?

Elric and the Doggies (by Kaye)

2011-06-12T19:03:00.004+08:00

When I was at IKEA searching for furnitures for my baby, I saw this cute little puppy plush that is so huggable!

I told Alphonse that WE HAVE TO GET THIS CUTE LITTLE THING FOR ELRIC! :P

And so we did! We named him Milo the Puppy.

Milo has been a great companion to Elric. We always felt that Milo would help to prevent Elric from being scared to cats and dogs.

Well, we have a friend who owns a dog so we visited them over the weekend. This is our test. And guess what?

Elric was patting Snowie the doggie!

No fear at all! Look at his bright smile! :D heee...

I was even afraid that Elric would be too rough when playing with Snowie. Like pull her fur or bite her ears. Don't believe??

OK... This is when Elric is in his good mood with Milo...

This is when Elric starts his JUDO Pattern!

And look at his Dragonball hairstyle! :P

And this is when Elric BITES!!! hahahahahaha...

Usually it's the dog that bites right? But because Elric is teething, he's been biting EVERYTHING on his hands. ^_^

I am just glad that Elric is not fearful of little pets. But I must teach him that he CANNOT BITE REAL DOGS!! whahahahha...

Kaye

Made in Korea summer clothings for Elric

2011-06-10T00:44:00.013+08:00

It is a well known fact that the weather in Singapore is HOTTTTT and humid. Not easy to buy suitable clothing for Elric as he perspires easily and becomes grouchy when he feels hot.

We bought many short sleeved jumpsuit but they are still considered thick for our weather.I have been searching online for suitable clothings for Elric on gmarket.co.kr and was hoping to find some clothes that are of a better quality and cooling for him.

Managed to find a seller that is selling really good quality, cooling baby clothes. The brand is Dr.n baby and it is MADE IN KOREA. Anyone who is interested can find the link by click here. The unique part of their clothes is that the tags that always causes irritation to babies are sewn on the outside of the jumpsuit. Isn't that being sensitive and considerate to the baby's need? ^_^

I bought total of 4 sets of clothings as shown below.

Elric in his small bear outfit.


Doesn't he look like he is posing for the photo??? lol...

Elric in his dinosaur outfit.

Elric in his smiley face outfit. Gosh he is really VERY VERY happy! haha.

Elric in his hamster outfit.

Just to show everyone the tag which I mentioned earlier is sewn on the outside of the suit. Not all are sewn this way, so if you are particular about it, do check clearly before purchase. :)

The best part is that they are pretty CHEAP! After adding shipping fees, the price of each piece is only about $8.90!!

There is a large variety of designs and my wife is so tempted to purchase all of them.wahahahahaha... Actually me too!

Take a look at these...

Some of them are super cute loh!

Just a small guide to help anyone who is interested to buy from gmarket.co.kr. for their babies.

After entering the site --->here.

Just follow the instructions from the picture below.
Alternatively you can also use google translate as a guide from ---> here.

Speedy service from this seller! It took only 4 days to arrive and they gave a free pair of socks. :)

Hope your baby will like it too! ^^

Baby Elric was stuck after flipping over!

2011-06-03T12:51:00.004+08:00

It was on the 31 May when I saw Elric facing downward (the flipped over position). I was very surprised he did that as I was looking out of the window that time!

He was however, stuck in that position as he was unable to flip himself back. I helped him out the first time and got my phone ready to record in case he did that again. Sad to say, I was not ready when he flipped himself over the second time but I managed to record a video of him trying to flip back.
My wife, my sis and my mother were "heartbroken" after watching the video,seeing Elric's struggle.

Now I am considering placing cameras at every corner of my house so that I will never miss out on his new stuns! (muhahahahahaha....)

Please do rest assured that in the making of this firm, Elric was never put in any danger, abuse or torture. :P

I am just trying to see how he could cope with it. There will surely be times like this when he is alone in his cot and has to learn to flip himself back. He was being assisted immediately after the video which last 2:15 minutes.

Lunch gathering with in-laws

2011-06-01T23:14:00.002+08:00

Had a family gathering with my in laws on the last week of May to celebrate my FIL's birthday. We had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant in Peak Seah Street call the Whole Earth restaurant. They serve paranakan/Thai vegetarian dishes.

Initially they seemed very happy with the food. But once they saw the bill, they said it would be the last time we are going. hahaha... Well, we tried our best.

Here are some photos taken. :)

Me taking photo for grandpa, grandma and Elric

Elric with cousins!

Elric with Grandma and Grandpa :)

Elric's Wai Gong carrying him!

Picture with Er Yi

My FIL was rather tired but I am glad he enjoyed some time with Elric. :)

As for me, I did my favourite...

Elric's signature "stunned" look!

Piggybacking Elric!

hahahaha... I just realised we lack a family photo.
Shall take one soon. ^__^

Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym for baby

2011-06-01T12:23:00.001+08:00

Like any other Singaporean Kiasu parents, my wife and I bought the Fisher's Rainforest play gym for our son since he was 1 month old. Not that he could play it yet, we just thought we should get it before we get too busy to shop.

You may find that there are many different brands and types of play gym for the babies.

For us, the decision was simple because both of us quickly fall in love with the Fisher Rainforest Melodies and Lights Deluxe Gym when we saw it online.

Here is how it looks like:

http://www.fisher-price.com

Kaye and I didn't quite like about some play mats/play gyms with colors SOOO bright that it may over stimulate Elric. This rainforest gym on the other hand is colorful but is not overdone.

Look at that friendly-looking giraffe! It seems to be helping you to watch over your little precious.

Kaye was in love with this eye-catching creature she found so cute. This over-sized giraffe seems to be watching over the baby while it is exploring the surrounding. I wonder if that was the intention of the designer, to give the baby the feeling that someone is watching and taking care of him.

Why is it called a gym?
Well the play gym includes hanging toys like a soft monkey, a parrot with a spinning paddle, a jingly toucan and Elric's favorite elephant! These colorful hanging objects motivates the baby to reach out and bat them with their the hands.
You will also find some crinkly leaves on the mat which motivates the baby to kick and exercise the legs to hear the noise made by the leaves.

The floor quilt has also colorful images of the animals and plants in the rainforest. The baby can flip and turn to observe the surroundings from top to beneath them. :)

You can also choose to turn on the music mode or play the 'sound of nature' (frogs croaking and birds chirping) for your baby to listen to.

hahaha... this is what your baby will see from his angle looking up.

Size: 20 X 32.5 X 32.5 Inches

NOW!
See my son enjoy himself!

I definitely believe that he is so happy not only because of the gym but also because Papa is there! Muhahahahahaha... :P

Elric was kicking so happily!

They say the original price of the product is about S$179 but I always see discounts around.

So just WATCH OUT FOR THEM!

Cheers!

Reigniting My Passion for Children

2011-05-18T00:48:00.000+08:00

Before I start, let me warn you that this is going to be a wordy and NO PICTURE post. Proceed if you don't mind. :P

Okie... let's start.

I had just placed Elric onto the bed after a feeding and was hoping that Elric would be able to sleep. Then I heard noise of children's laughter and a dog's barking.

This was definitely not the first time I heard these children playing at the void deck, screaming as they played with their dog, and PISSING ME OFF! Well, before Elric came, I never really noticed the noises at my neighbourhood. But for the last 19 weeks, I have been super sensitive with the sound being made in my neighbourhood. From students playing soccer at the void deck, to the playing of the piano and maids chatting and laughing at the neighbouring block. Every of these noise DISTURBED me because it will risk waking up my son. :S

Okie... back to the children and the dog.

I was so upset with them that I went downstairs and wanted to give them a good lecture. But when I approached the children, they smiled and politely called me "Uncle"! Instantly, I swallowed everything that I wanted to say. I started chatting with them and confirmed my suspician that they are from India. The puppy approached me and as I cuddled it, the children shouted happily,
"Dino likes you, Dino like you!".
The kids asked me to stay longer to play with them but I told them that I had to attend to my baby. One of the older girl immediately said,
"Uncle, you have baby? Must wash your hands after touching Dino!"

My heart melted. I laughed and assured her that I would wash both my hands and feet.

Some of you may know that I used to work as a youth volunteer. I always had a heart for children, especially those from disfunctional families. Part of my job scope was to get to know children loitering at the void deck and introduce to them our centre where we provided them with free tuition and board games to play with. We wanted to engage them purposefully so that they would not meet up with street corner gang members and go astray.

Looking at these children reminded me of those children I took care of. How can I help these children who parents are busy working and neglecting them? How can they spend they time more wisely and purposefully?

I definitely will want to work with children again. Just how. Meanwhile, my objective will be to get a degree in children psychology and to take good take of Elric.

Elric went to the clinic

2011-05-17T00:46:00.000+08:00

Okie. This post should have been up a long time ago. :P
Kaye brought Elric to the PD for his 3rd jab on the 28th of April.

He was getting feverish and so we fed him the medication.

Poor Elric became sooo sleepy...

that he was closing his eyes even when I let him sit up, he closed his eyes!
I know we shouldn't be laughing at his agony but... (whahahahahaha...) couldn't help it!!

Our boy was indeed a tough boy. He didn't quite cry through out the trip and even though he was uncomfortable after the jab, he was whiny. :)

See? That's when you have a 'tiger cub' (born in the year of Tiger)! :P

Outing with Elric

2011-05-08T23:37:00.002+08:00

It hasn't been easy to bring Elric out.
Each time we travel, there are many things that we need to bring along and much effort is needed. Hence we hardly met up with our friends when they arranged to meet up.

But I know Kaye misses her friends, so we decided to "Just do it!"

Here is my outing picture!


Kaye and I brought Elric to Marina Square Hippopotamus for dinner with friends.

Elric should be happy that so many pretty jie jie carried him that day. :D

Unlike the pass, we couldn't enjoy our dinner slowly. As Kaye had to breastfeed Elric, she gobbled up her steak and quickly nursed him in the nursing room at Marina Square.

hahaha.... honestly, I never knew there are such a room until that day. :P

Ok... Thanks ladies for bearing with us. We would have loved to stay longer if not for Elric. Let's meet up sometime soon! :)

Dear... I am playing SOCCER with Elric!

2011-04-26T20:14:00.001+08:00

I was talking to my wife one day sounding elated

Me: Dear... I was playing with Elric just now!
Kaye: oh, What did you do? (sounding happy)
Me: We were playing soccer!
Kaye: *pause* huh??
Me: I was playing soccer with Elric! :D
Kaye: What on earth did you do to him???

hahahaha... You must be just as shocked as my wife...

Well, some of you may know that I love soccer. I used to play soccer on the field but I can no longer do so because of my old injuries on my ankle.
But still, that doesn't stop my interest in soccer. I am still following soccer news and am playing soccer, still, except that it's on the computer. :P

Did you think that I let my 3 months old play computer game??
haha... naaaahhhh... I am not a father who would allow my son to play computer games too soon, nor will I allow him to be playing with handphone especially when his elders are around.

So what was I doing?

Here you go...

This is ME!

and this is my imagination of Elric in 16 years time! (whahahahha...)

:P Since married, I have always told my wife that I wished I could go onto the field, teach my son soccer and play with him.But I can't do that because of my ankle injuries. I am not even supposed to run. So I created our characters on my game and feels happy somehow whenever either of them strike a goal. ^^

Seriously... I can't wait for the day when my son stands up and I will buy him a mini football for him to start kicking the ball. (*^__________-*) Meanwhile, I will continue playing with the 'Elric' on the computer game. :P

And this are the images of my character and my Elric on my game:

Give each other a pad on the shoulder after assisting and scoring a goal. What great chemistry we both have :p

Hugging each other after assisting and scoring with Elric.Isn't that sweet.

Massaging Baby

2011-04-12T01:14:00.002+08:00

I was told by my friends on the benefits and importance of massaging babies.

1. Improve relationship between Papa and baby (^___-)
2. Helps baby to relax and sleep better
3. It improves the baby's blood circulation
4. Stimulate the baby's growth (I guess mentally and physically)
5. Helps to relieve digestive problems
6. Helps baby to be more attentive

But it is not so easy for a guy to massage a baby compared to the wife who is more gentle. Isn't it?

All these while my best massage is when I helped him apply "ru yi you" :P the ointment for soothing baby's tummy and remove gas.

So again... I seeked help from my teacher... Youtube!

Johnson & Johnson

Weleda

I also watched my wife massaging Elric after we bathed him.
There are 2 types of lotions and a type of oil which my wife bought and use alternatively.
1. Johnson and Johnson baby lotion
2. Gaia Moisturising lotion (contains lavendar oil)
3. Perfect Potion Beautiful Baby massage oil (contains chamomile, lavendar and mandarin)

Well... Everyone knows how Johnson and Johnson bottles looks like after watching the youtube video. :P

So here are the other 2...

Gaia was introduced to us by our 2nd confinement lady.
We used it to apply on our baby's skin whenever there were rashes and it has certainly served us well.

The Perfect Potion also contains essential oils which I am sure helps babies to sleep better.

Both products have been very useful for massaging.
The Gaia moisturising lotion gets absorbed very quickly, so you won't have to be afraid that your baby gets sticky. The beautiful baby massage oil on the other hand can cause baby to feel sticky, but the effect is very good. So for that, you can consider mixing both together when applying on to the baby's skin.

Johnson and Johnson lotion is also a good product and definitely much cheaper compared to the other two.

:P Here are some of Elric's picture after Kaye massaged him.

baby sumo... :p

I feel good...yeahhhhh...

hahaha... Elric gone rounder and rounder... :P

I have also massaged him and he seems to be happy whenever I massage his chest and tummy. *^_________^* Not so good with the hands and his feet yet. He loves to kick whenever I touch his feet.

Elric, Otousan will Gambateh in massaging you! ;)

Kaye Okasan: Just for Laugh: Father goes into Baby's Crib

2011-04-07T18:25:00.002+08:00

Kaye Okasan's speaking:

Saw this funny Youtube video today.
It is funny to watch, but not funny if it happens to us!

So Otousan... we have got to perserve in Elric's sleep routine. (^x^)"

Hand made baby bumper for Elric

2011-04-04T13:17:00.001+08:00

As Elric is growing fast and will start to row around on his bed, we went searching for suitable bumper. Sadly speaking, the bumpers we saw were expensive and not nice at all.

So as usual, I went online shopping for the bumper (^-^) and we found a very cosy looking bumper on Gmarket!

What's so great about it?
3 sizes for you to choose from, so one of it will definitely fit your child's bed.
It has many pretty designs for you to choose from.
The material is very soft and the bumper we bought is very well sewn.

We were so happy when we received the parcel!
And this is how it looks on Elric's bed. :)))
Our cot size is big, hence we paid S$84 in total for the medium size bumper.

Forgive my lousy handphone camera :P

Okie... by seeing my pictures will do no justice to the bumpers.
So let me show you some nice pictures from the seller.

Kaye and I were lamenting why we never had such nice bumpers when we were young^o^

If you are interested, click here to find out more. :)
Do not have to worry if you are unable to read those korean words cause neither can I.:P

You can just go to google translate to have the website be translated to your readable language. An example can be seen from here. There are quite a variety to choose from. Here are some of your choices.

Step 1: Select your preferred design.
Step 2: Indicate the size of bumper you want. (Inner length and width of your child's bed as well as the height)

There are 3 sizes to select from:

Our baby's cot size is 75cmX130cmX30cm, so I selected the medium size and key in the information over at website.

Most importantly, we are happy that Elric loves his cot bed. ^__^

Baby Elric's Hello and Hi

2011-04-03T20:18:00.000+08:00

(*^_____________^*)

Kaye and I have been trying to take video of Elric for weeks since he started to mimic some of the words like mama, daddy, hello and hi.

"Mama" was his first word he said when he was 2 months old. I had my doubts when Kaye first came running to me saying that Elric called "Mama". I even laughed at her until I heard it with my own ears few days later. Well, he has since picked out a few more simple words. Not very clear sometimes though.

hahahaha... I watched this video again and again and it never failed to make me smile from cheek to cheek. :P

Online shopping: Unique Nail Cutter :P

2011-04-02T17:41:00.000+08:00

Heehhh... Bought a new gadget for cutting babies' nails.

You probably can't tell what it is at first glance but it is a very cute nail cutter. It is quite useful and the seller promises that your little precious will NEVER get cut by it.

So how does it work?
Take a look at the video...

It is very light and handy such that you can even carry it along with your HP

Here's how the blade looks like so you wont cut the child even if he/she moves around

Here's another video. Demo done on an older kid :)

If you are interested to find out more about the product, just click here.

Well, I have yet to use the nail cutter on Elric yet. :PP
Kaye has been the one trimming his nails. I will have to start doing it when Kaye returns to work.

Kaye's Opinion of the nail trimmer
Good:
The good thing about this nail trimmer is that there is no chance for the child to get hurted with the nail cutter. It is very safe to use whether your child is awake or asleep.

Bad:
It is so safe that you may find difficulty trimming off the nails. hahaha...
But you will get a hang of it very quickly.
It is also difficult to trim toe nails as they are very close to each other.
Conventional round tip scissors may work better for that.

Alright... I will let you know my review after I start using it. :))

Elric is teething !!!

2011-03-30T12:45:00.001+08:00

I was sharing a few days ago that Elric is refusing the bottle at times and wants to take control the bottle during feed. As I observed more closely, I realised that he was actually moving the bottle teat to the sides of his mouth to chew on it. After checking with my friends, most of them agreed that there is a high possibility that Elric is teething.

Teething at 3 months ago?? Is that possible?
And Elric started this behaviour 2 weeks ago meaning he was not even 3 month old.

Well... Kaye decided to get Elric a teether regardless, and I checked from online to DIY a teether using baby handkerchief/washcloth.

It is very simple actually.
These are what you need:
- Handkerchief
- Ziplock bag
- Boiled water

Boiled Water, Hanky and Ziplock bag

Just have a handkerchief and tied a knot at each of its corners.

Dip the knots with water (make sure it's boiled water) and keep it in a ziplock bag to store in the fridge/freezer.

Maybe because the teether which Kaye bought is still too big for him, he seems to enjoy biting on the handmade teether more. I have taught him how to hold on to the handmade teether and guide him to put into his mouth.

Be sure that you dont reuse the same knot for 2 different feed. So to identify the side which you have used, simply untie the knot before placing back into the fridge.

Have fun! :)

Elric is able to sleep for 8 hour finally ^o^

2011-03-20T17:11:00.003+08:00

After nights and nights of training, Elric has finally able to sleep past 8 hour. Yes! 8 hours!!

We last fed him at 10pm and brought him to bed before 11pm. Elric was still well asleep when me and Kaye woke up around 6.50am. I woke him up only at around 7.10am. This is really an achievement for both me and Kaye.

Not just that both of us can have a good night sleep but it also meant that our trainings for Elric has not been in vain. Having a baby sleeping past 8 hour is no longer a myth but a reality. :))

zzzzZZZZZ... sleep like an... oink oink... :P

Is Elric rejecting bottle after near 3 months

2011-03-19T11:49:00.000+08:00

I have been noticing that Elric likes to raised up his right hand during his feed timing and when putting him back to bed. It seemed to me that he is playing and observing with his right hand. However things started to change during his feeding time. He wants to touch the bottle with his right hand and tries to push the bottle away when he wants to stop drinking. Initially, I did not allow him to have it his way, but earlier this week, he began to be very grouchy and even cry and scream at the sight of bottle.

Left with no choice, Kaye decided to try direct feeding him. And he latched on immediately! I am worried as Kaye will be going back to work soon and Elric has to be bottle fed by me for at least 3 feeds in the day. I was praying hard for wisdom to find the best solution.

Yesterday, I tried bottle feeding him again, this time round, instead of keeping his right hand away from the bottle. I decided to let him keep his hand on the bottle. And Surprise!

After his right hand was on the bottle, his left hand wanted to have a part.
Yup! Both his hands were on the bottle... with my hand supporting of course. Seems to me like Elric wants to feed himself!

He would suck on the bottle for 2-4 minute and the push the bottle teat away for a while and then back on again. This process went on for about 25 min. Well, I have to say that this feeding was longer than usual but it worked amazingly. He finished 140 ml of milk!

I was wondering if it could be that Elric wants to try feeding himself got angry when I kept his hands away. So... I tried the same method during my next feed and same thing happen again! He was receptive to the bottle so long as his hands were holding onto the bottle.

I am not sure if I am doing the right thing by letting him hold the bottle. But at least for now, he is willing to drink from the bottle. :P

Elric waking Alphonse up

2011-03-13T20:12:00.003+08:00

Came out with another comic strip with Elric. Kaye took some shots of him
trying to wake me up when he was placed beside me. I actually faked sleeping to see how he would react. Interestingly, he tried using his hand to wake me up.

:DD

New Wall Decal!

2011-02-19T18:54:00.005+08:00

When Kaye and I shifted into our home sweet home in 2007, we were crazy about wall decals. We spent near to $2000 on the wall decals in our living room, study room and bedroom.

Our service provider was Winkplay.com.
Wink = WALL-ink

What's the difference between their wall decal and others?
winkplay pride themselves with one of the thinnest wall stickers, making it much more durable than the cheaper wall decal you find out in the market.

I have to agree with that because after 4 years, all my wall decals are still looking great. :D

Here is one of the decals I have on my wall...

this was an artist's impression in 2007

Kaye and I always told our friends that the pandas represented the 2 of us, and we would add a baby panda when our child comes. And of course we wanted to purchase some new stickers to decorate the baby's room.

So Kaye contacted winkplay for a quotation for the baby panda as well as other decals.

When Kaye contacted winkplay after 4 years, she was very impressed that they managed to prompted find the old stock images and came up with the new artist impression.

However, when we have confirmed the deal, it took them a long time to get back to us. We were frustrated by the delays as Kaye was already 36 weeks pregnant and could deliver any time.

So in the end? We got only the baby panda and not other stickers meant for the baby room. :((

The Baby Panda was added in by winkplay Dec 2010

It was rather expensive though. Inclusive of installation, this baby panda costed $140.

I was pretty upset as I didn't want to welcome my baby boy into an undecorated room. So I went online (as usual) to search for wall decals. And I found many amazingly cheap AND NICE ones!

You can find them on gmarket.com.sg or gmarket.co.kr. The site which we bought from gmarket korea is here. Different sellers will set their pricing differently. Just search under wall decal. Do compare price before you actually purchase.On the average, each piece of wall decal is only about $4-$10. You can even find some of those wall decal at a very good bargain of 1+1.

Even though the quality isn't as good compared to winkplay, the price is SOOO MUCH CHEAPER! I mean, it is for children room... and the baby will start tearing them down when he can crawl right? :P

Okie... let me show you...

We pasted this in Elric's room. :)

Cute right? These are suitable for children and there are many more which are nice for living room, master room and even the kitchen. :)

You can paste them on any smooth surfaces like kitchen cabinets, glass and mirror

Kaye and I have pasted 4 sets of the stickers on our walls. Even though it was not an easy task, we did not spoil any of the stickers. :P

These are actually 2 sets of stickers. Aren't they adorable?

Another 2 sets of Safari images :)

If we were able to stick them on, so can you! Hope you like them. :)

My Korean looking Son

2011-02-17T09:36:00.001+08:00

As my wife is on maternity leave, I don't want her to feel too bored with just taking care of the baby. So I have been streaming Korean drama series to watch with her during our free time.

I came across this drama,Take Care of the Young Lady/ My Fair Lady.

It's a romance comedy and we are enjoying the show.

But that's not the main message of this post.

There is a child actor in the show whom my son looks like!

He is Wang Suk Hyun.

hahahaha... Take a look for yourself.

Don't they ressemble each other? :D

We were so thrilled when we first saw the boy and I started searching around for his previous movies and dramas. :P

I so have the urge to perm Elric's hair now. heh heh heh...

Nursing Pillow

2011-02-15T18:34:00.000+08:00

My wife had a hard time with direct breastfeeding innitially because the baby was not latching on properly. In order to ease her pain and help her have a better nursing experience, I searched around online to find different gadgets for breastfeeding mothers. (Nice husband right? heee...)

Nursing Pillows
My wife and I searched around for different nursing pillows.
Some looks really cute but they are not that user friendly.

*Pointers from my wife on choosing the nursing pillow*

- When you are breastfeeding, make sure the nursing pillow/cushion you use is firm enough the support the baby. Otherwise he/she will not feel secure and over time, it is bad for the baby's bone and muscle growth.

-The pillow should not only support the baby, but also support your back and help you sit in a good posture. Imagine that you have to sit uncomfortably for 8 times x 30-40min.
That's more than 4 hours of back torturing.

- Don't feel shy about trying on the nursing pillow before buying. It's not a cheap item and you won't want to waste money replacing it because you realise that it is not helping you.

- Colour of the nursing pillow may affect the feeding. (that's how I feel) I will prefer choosing lighter and softer colour so that the baby will not be overly sitmulated during feeds.

So which brand did I buy for my wife?


The Brest Friend Deluxe Pillow

The Brest Friend pillow has a very firm base support for the baby. There are also 2 humps to support the baby's head. What I like about the pillow is the back support and the adjustable buckle. The buckle is pretty silent when being released so you don't have to worry about scaring your little gem when he has dozed off after the feed.

As if I am the one breastfeeding right? whahahaha...it's because I use it to bottle feed the baby. It is very useful for bottle feeding as well because I don't have to slouch. Best of all, it contains a pocket for us to place the milk bottle and washcloth. Should the baby spit out on the pillow, you can remove the cover to wash.

The only thing that I dislike about this pillow is the buckling tightness. I am considered thin for a guy but I believe there are many ladies even thinner than me. Due to the shape of the pillow, I can't fully tighten the buckle. So it can be quite loose for me.

You can take a look at this video demostration. :)

Do let me know if you like it after using it. :))

2 left handers give birth to a baby = ???

2011-02-05T23:39:00.001+08:00

Just for fun...

Kaye and I are both lefties/left handed and since we got married, we have been wondering if we would be giving birth to a lefty as well...

So till he starts eating and writing... we will continue our guessing game. :P

What's your guess???

How to be a good Otousan??

2011-02-01T22:56:00.001+08:00

After anticipating for 9 months, I am finally an otousan! But there are so many things that I did not know. From feeding, to diapers changing, to swaddling, I have never tried any of them before. In fact, I never dared to carry a new born baby.

So... how to be a good Otousan?? Can you believe it? Youtube was one of my favourite teacher. hahaha... Yes. Youtube. Whenever my wife and I are at a lost of what to do, Google and Youtube are our best friends.

Let me share with you some of my experiences and findings. :))

Today I shall share Lesson No.1: Feeding a Baby!

My wife and I believe in breastfeeding because there are SOOOO many goodness in doing so. It benefits the baby just as it benefits the mother.

Some benefits for the baby:
- Breastmilk provides the best and most balanced nutrients for the baby.
- Baby will have lesser trapped gas
- lesser possibility of getting diahorrea
- Breastmilk contains antibodies that builds up baby's immune system
- always fresh and always the right temperature!

Some benefits for Mama:
- closer bonding with baby
- decrease risk of getting cancer
- contracts uterus
- best of all... losing weight! (this is the part my wife love the most! lol)

And of all things, it is very convenient. We don't have to be preparing bottles when we travel around. Worrying about whether there is warm water or not.

Of course, mums can also choose to express out their milk and allow husbands (like me) to feed the baby. AND I LOVE FEEDING MY BOY! :)))) It's a joyful thing to see my baby drinking milk in my hands. The feeling is so lovely.

Well the flip side, breastfeeding can be a tedious job for new mums.
Why do I say that?

Newborn babies doesn't know how to suck and latch properly. So proper latching on is very important. (As if I am very experience right?) I saw how my wife breast feed my boy and like a little tiger cub, he bites and sucks vigorously! ouch... I can imagine how painful it can be.
Within 1 week, my wife's nipples were swollen and it bled. It was so painful that she would tear whenever feeding the baby.

*recommended by my wife"

In order to continue providing Elric with breastmilk and allowing the nipple to heal, we decided to start expressing out the milk and bottle feed him. However, do take note that you should use bottles that are breastfeeding friendly. Which means it is easy for you to switch between bottle and direct feeding. Some bottle nipples flows so easily and the baby becomes lazy to suck when latching on to Mama's nipple. They will cry and reject Mama's nipple. So choosing of bottle and nipple is very important.

We tried a total of 4 brands and finally decided on using Avent Philip bottles.

- Tommee Tippee (my son has to open his mouth very wide when sucking. He doesn't quite like that)
- Chu Chu (Japan brand famous for being slow flow and has glass bottles. Don't have to worry if it is BPA free)
- Nuk (my son's sucking is too strong. So the nipple tends to collapse easily)
- Avent Philip (My son seems to accept the bottle and nipple better)

Each of the brands have their pros and cons, so you have to go about trial and error to get the right brand for your baby.

While exploring the bottle brands, my wife was trying her best to recover her nipple. We bought the lanolin cream from Avent. Pretty useful, but the best way to recover from sore nipple, we feel, is to apply your own breast milk. After expressing out the milk, my wife would apply the breastmilk on the nipple, let it dry and let the milk do it's healing work.

Alternatively, you may like to try Aloe Vera which also has good healing properties.

There are also other products which I bought for my wife to help her recover from the soreness, like breast shield, gel pad for cold and heat treatment. Within 10 days, my wife was back to direct feeding. I will be reviewing some of these products in time to come. :)

Meanwhile... Happy feeding!

Looking for a Good Confinement Lady

2011-01-28T21:26:00.000+08:00

As I shared in my previous post about my bad experience with a confinement lady, I would like to also suggest some pointers for you to note when looking for a confinement lady.

What are some different types of confinement ladies?
There are 2 main categories.
1. Stay over
This is what the majority would do because most new parents are very tired and need a good night sleep. Hence the confinement lady would be the one feeding and changing the baby during the night feeds.
It is also easier to find stay over confinement ladies as many of them are Malaysians. They would prefer to stay over rather than looking for another place to stay.

2. Day Confinement
These confinement ladies are mainly locals who prefers to return home after 6PM.
They will prepare for you lunch and dinner, and help you feed, bath, change the baby.

What are some things you can request a confinement lady do?
- Take care of newborn baby's needs. (Feeding, changing, bathing)
- Take care of mother's needs (3 meals, prepare drinks, tonic and bathing water)
- Do marketing for the ingredients of your meals
- Cleaning the house (depends on the size of the house)
- Washing of clothes of baby and mummy

What to take note?

1. Look for a Confinement Lady ONCE your gynae have confirmed that you are pregnant. Good CLs get booked very quickly.

2. Every CL has different terms and habits. Make sure you discuss the details with them before you confirm taking on their service. eg. whether she can clean the house, cook for your husband, go marketing etc.

3. Different CL are different in their pricing. Some confinement ladies will ask for more money if you request for her to cook for your husband. In my case, I paid the 2nd confinement lady extra to cook for me.

4. Every confinement lady has their specialty. Some CLs are great cooks and became famous because of that. Others may be well-known for being good at handling babies. Be clear on what is more important to you.

5. Check with the CLs what are the confinement food that they are good at preparing. As every dialect group has their own type of confinement food, do inform them what you like and check if they can prepare that for you.

6. Let the CLs known how you want her to take care of your baby. Some CLs get angry if your make requests because they think they are experienced.

7. Have a good chat with the confinement lady before confirming. Best is to meet up the person because this person is going to stay with you for a month. You won't want to regret it.

8. Hiring CLs through agencies will be more expensive, but you have security because you can change the CLs if you are not confortable with the one they arranged for you.

9. If you finally decide that you only need someone to prepare for you confinement food, you can consider alternatives like catering confinement food. It will be much cheaper as well.

10. Point number 10 is added by my wife. hahahaa...
Kaye: It is always better to hire a CL rather than getting your mother or MIL to help you do confinement. You will be terribly tired and the last thing you want to think about is your relationships with your mum or mil.

Hope this helps!
Do let me know if you can think of other pointers and I will add them in. :)

Have a happy and restful confinement!

I learnt how to swaddle my baby!

2011-01-20T00:58:00.000+08:00

Cool! I have learnt how to swaddle my son! :)

Tadahhh....

Not bad yah? :DD
He seems to be really confortable being swaddled.

Just a few days ago. I think I swaddled him too tightly...

And his facial expression was....

hahahahahahahahaa... My son is soooooo cute!!!
But even so, I was reluctant too re-swaddle him cause his expression was so funny!

:PP This is evil father in me.

And this is the swaddle done by my wife's confinement lady...

Do you agree that I did a better job?

Muhahahahaha... I learnt from Youtube.

Very nice swaddle isn't it?

Here's another one. I was very inspired by him to swaddle my baby. ^^

I am loving my fatherhood!!
(*^_____^*)

Our gynaecologist clinic, Tow Yung Clinic

2011-01-16T01:40:00.000+08:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Dr Lim Teck Chye from Tow Yung clinic is my wife's Gynae. When I first found out that my wife was pregnant, I was pretty insistant of searching for a female gynae. :P

Like all good and sensitive husbands, we would all prefer the gynae to be female.
So I started searching online for good female gynaes. And after a few calls, we realised that ALLLLL the female gynaes were FULLY BOOKED. FULLY BOOKED!!!

Down and sad as I was, I spoke to some of my friends and started whining about how popular female gynaes were and that I should have called to book even earlier.
Surprisingly, many of my female friends told me that male gynaes are better even though my wife may be shy.

They gave me some reasonings on why male gynaes are better but what I remembered best was that guys are better decison makers. (which I absolutely agree ;PP) Should there be difficulties during delivery, male gynaes are stronger and quicker in deciding on the right steps to take. So with that in mind, I started looking around for male gynaes.

We come across some forums and read about Tow Yung Clinic which is located at Tanglin Shopping Centre (beside St Regis Hotel). Many commented that Dr Lim Teck Chye is a great gynae. It so happened that one of my friends has all her 4 kids delivered by Dr Lim and she has only good things to say about him.So we made our appointment and visited Dr Lim.

He was indeed a friendly and jovial person. Both my wife and I were very at ease with him. In fact, he was like a father figure, teaching us what to do next. I remember he always told me to "Bu" together with my wife in order to take care to her cause I am under weight.:)

We took up the package, so regardless of how many times you visit the clinic, the pricing will be the same. My wife's pregnancy was pretty smooth, so we didn't have to "maximise" it but just in case, taking up the package is always better.

The nurses at the clinic are also friendly and experienced. I was told that many of them have been working there for a many, many years.

Well, of course, my Baby Elric was safely delivered by Dr Lim into the world!

So... Thank you Dr Lim!!

Tow Yung Clinic

Blk 19 Tanglin Rd S'pore Medical Centre #05-01

Tanglin Shopping Centre Singapore 247909.

Tel: 67374433

11 days of nightmares from a confinement lady

2011-01-15T09:23:00.003+08:00

For Chinese, we have a tradition of hiring a confinement lady to take care of the new mum and the newborn baby. Her task is to handle the baby so that the mum can have a good rest after the birth trama. She will also have to cook and doing some cleaning.

My wife's confinement lady came to our place on 2 Jan 2011.

Once she unpacked her bag, she proceeded to the kitchen to familiarise herself and tidy up the place. I must say that she is very neat and tidy.

During dinner that day, she told me and Kaye that she was having a bit of sore throat and could not share the confinement food with my wife. Thinking that it is just a minor issue, we told her that she can cook separate dishes for me and herself. (Confinement food are very heaty.) Well unknowingly, we have just stepped into the beginning of our nightmare.

Once we knew that she was having sore throat, my wife provided her with lozenges, and Lo Han Guo to sooth the sore throat. However, her sore throat went on to develop into cough as she was unable to resist the temptation of eating chilli and sambai. She pushed the blame to me that because I ate chilli, I tempted her to eat too. I had to constantly remind her to take her medication every meal as she kept forgetting.

We were very worried that her cough and sore throat would affect our newborn baby, hence we bought face mask for her to use whenever she handles the baby. Yet again, she refused to put them on while handling the baby!

(@_@)" She was risking my baby's health!

Before confirming this confinement ladies, my wife told her that she was required to do marketing unless my mum or mum in law was available to help. Instead of doing so, she wanted me to run the errands to buy rice, sauce, bread and even vegetables. Her excuse was that she didn't know where the supermarket was.

(=.=)" what an excuse...

Her third day of work, she told us that the bread was bought for us was going to expire and has about 6 pieces. Both Kaye and I did not want to waste the food, so told her that we would help to finish up bread. After that incident, she took

the liberty to stop preparing breakfast and assumed that bread would be our breakfast from that on. Apparantly, my wife should be taking hot dishes even for breakfast.

(>.<)" she was just too lazy to prepare cereal for my wife.

She saw that I have been waking up in the middle of night to feed Elric and assured us that we could just past the load to her. Yet one night, we were both awaken by Elric's cries at about 3am, while she was still snoring away in the room. Despite us liting up the room to feed, she woke up only after we were done with changing diaper for Elric.You know what's the best part? she asked me, "Oh... you mean the baby cried?"

My wife couldn't take it... and took pictures of what she did.^o^


start of feed... snore

during feed... *snore*

end of feed... still... *snore*

Isn't she amazing!??!!??

Both my wife and I were dumbfounded by her irresponsible behaviour but that was not all. On another occasion she left Elric topless and alone on the mobile changing station by the window side without even the safety buckle on. We were shocked by what we saw, I quickly swaddle him up as the wind from the window was very strong. When questioned her about this matter, she just said that she was sun bathing him and she would check on him every 5min.

That was certainly a lie since she did not even notice me going into the room, swaddling up Elric and removing him from the window. Kaye then informed me that this confinement lady had previously warned her never to leave Elric unattended on the mobile changing station as it is very dangerous. What then was she doing???

Grrrrrr.....#*(>_<)*#

We were at our breaking point and spoke to the lady who made the referral. She finally managed to arrange another confinement lady for us. Honestly, we couldn't wait for her to leave. :(( So on the 11th day, we sent her off straight after breakfast. :p

We learnt the hard way how important a good confinement lady can be!

So in the next post, I will be sharing with you on choosing a good confinement lady.

Thanks for bearing with my lengthy, whiny post! :p

Comic strip on Otousan and Elric

2011-01-08T14:22:00.000+08:00

Decided to do up a simple comic strip on Elric and myself as my wife, Kaye took
some shots of me burping him. After the first few days of getting myself to be more involved in taking care of him, I felt so much more competent. The bonding between me and Elric are getting definitely strengthened each time I nursed him.

The Daddy's Boy

2011-01-06T12:45:00.000+08:00

My little bundle of joy...


Elric on Day 2 in Otousan's arms :))

My wife carrying Elric (She didn't want to be shot cause she was still looking tired)

Did you see my baby's hair?? It's so bushy!! hahahaha... My lovely boy.
Elric looking so fragile as though he is telling daddy to protect him. :))

The day I became Alphonse Otousan (Arrival of Elric)

2011-01-02T09:50:00.001+08:00

It was on the last day of the year 2010, 31st December. My wife, Kaye, woke me up at around 5am and told me that she was bleeding. After making a call to our gynae, we rushed to Thomson Medical Centre. I was thrilled, nervous and at the same time worried for my wife as this is our first child.

Kaye was a brave mother-to-be, despite it was going to be her first delivery, she rejected epidural and suffered pain during labour, though the nurse repeatedly offered her epidural injection. She only allowed herself to be on oxygen mask during the last 30min of her delivery process.

The delivery was a very smooth one, once our gynae Dr Lim came in, it took just less than 15 min, 2 pushes and Elric was delivered. I was unable to witness the whole process of Elric's arrival as I was too focused on Kaye's condition, helping to put the oxygen mask on her. To be honest, I never felt so helpless before. Seeing her go through the pain and suffering but all I could do was to pray hard and have faith in our Lord.

I was filled with joy and excitement seeing the beautiful baby boy's first cry. He is a beautiful baby and GOSH so much hair for a newborn baby! I knew on that day, my life will never be the same again. I have become a father, Alphonse Otousan.:PP

Elric was brought back to us after 4 hours of queuing up for a bath

Elric was put back into his cubicle. Time for him to sleep.