2009年12月29日

A Good Way to Start A Day

Not with pooping, although it's not a bad way to start!

Max had another long night of sleep again. He took a bath around 9pm and started feeding around 9:20pm. Went to bed at 10pm and then around 2:20am, mommy woke up and heard Max getting restless in his crib. Mommy waited and waited for the cry so she can picked him up. But Max decided that he was going back to sleep. Mommy woke up again at 4am with her boobs hard as rock and Max was still sleep. Finally he woke up around 4:20am for a feed and went back to to sleep at 5am. . Right after feeding, Mommy was able to express about 140ml of breast milk - a record in the Chai household! One of the reasons for this surge in breast milk, is that the left boob finally stepped up to the plate and performed. Before, the RB was always the star player - producing results time and time again. The LB was the lactaionally challenged one - always under performing. But somehow, this morning LB woke up and decided to be a team player. Together, they produced satisfactory results! Maybe they can pump out 200ml per session next time!!?? That would be nice, wouldn't it? And although it was a major milestone for mommy, Max finished it in 10 minutes. Nevertheless, it was a good start to a beautiful day!

Speaking of pooping though, Max used to poop one big poop a day. About a week ago, he didn't poop for 2 days, and then he started doing 2 poops a day. Sometimes he poops right after mommy just changed him. He obviously got the pooping genes from dad who loves to poop just as much as he does!

***update: In the subsequent expressing session, we were able to express close to 100ml. Another record was made! This time, the RB didn't want to be outperformed by the left one, was extra diligent and hard at work. Mommy is so proud of both of her girls. Wish there was some kind of spa treatment we can treat them to

2009年12月28日

Holiday Cheer







It was nice to have daddy home during Xmas holidays because he usually works through all public holidays! On Christmas day, Max went out to Orchard area for a nice stroll with mommy and daddy. We walked from the back entrance of our apartment to Paragon and boy it was "people mountain people sea". Surprisingly, a lot of stores inside Paragon was closed. On Xmas day? They obvious don't want the business. Regardless, Max had a lot of fun people watching, or just looking at the different Xmas trees that were up on Orchard Road. Orchard Road was blocked off for a concert, it was very loud and noisy. Max behaved very well all the way until the very end, when mommy was at Watson's buying stuff. He wouldn't stop crying and moving around. Maybe the music was a little bit too loud for him. As soon as we were leaving, Max fell asleep in mommy's arms and then had a nice nap riding home in the stroller. When we got home, Max was put to sleep in the crib but he woke up right away. Mommy wonders if it's a better idea to just leave him sleeping in the carseat?

2009年12月25日

Merry X'mas Everyone!





Max would like to wish everyone a very merry xmas!

Last night at the Chai house, we had a big turkey dinner, even though it's just the three of us and Max only had milk. There was no stopping mommy and daddy cooking a turkey because we've decided to make it a family tradition to always have turkey on Xmas eve. We've also made it a family tradition to exchange gifts after Xmas so we don't get caught up in the holiday shopping and get ripped off! We put Max in the Xmas outfit that Grandma Annie bought for him. Too bad it's too hot in Singapore, otherwise, he can wear it all day! On it, it says "My First Xmas". We took a family photo by the turkey and it's a good thing that the photo was taken rather far away, because mommy looks more pregnant now than when she was pregnant!

Max gave mommy a few Xmas presents. The first one - Max has been smiling at mommy! We're not sure if he's smiling intentionally but it's definitely different than the "passing gas" smile that he had since birth. These smiles are a little bigger. His eyes are wide open and looking straight at us. But sometimes Max cries right after he smiles. So we're not sure if he's smiling because he's happy or... he just felt like smiling. The second present - Max slept for almost 6 hours through the night! He had a feeding at 9:30pm last night, and then went to bed around 10pm. Mommy woke up around 3:30am and found Max still sound asleep in his crib. Mommy decided to express milk while waiting for Max to wake up. He finally woke up at 4am and then managed to poop in his diaper right after mommy changed him. Obviously oblivious to the cost of the diaper. He was fed at 4:30am and went back to sleep. This was the longest that he's ever slept - close to 6 hours! It was the best Xmas gift to mommy indeed.

2009年12月23日

Max is 2-months old today!






Max is 2-months old today! Yeah!

On Monday, we went to VivoCity with our new BFF Aunty Christine and her 4-month old daughter Angelica. Aunty Christine was introduced to mom by a friend in Taipei via MSN last week. We started talking immediately and found that we have a lot in common. We are both Taiwanese, both first-time mothers, both struggling with breastfeeding (although mom is feeling more confident now) and we both don't like Singapore. The only difference is Christine's whole family is here and she has a lot of help with the baby. We've only hung out at her ridiculously huge house once but have been chatting on MSN a lot. Aunty Christine has been very encouraging to mom about taking the baby out. Mommy is still kind of nervous and anxious about taking the Max out in public in fear of Max crying and screaming uncontrollably in public. But Aunty Christine says that people are understanding and are used to babies crying so mommy shouldn't be so self conscious. Plus, Max sleeps better when he goes out, so we went out!

The perk about going out with Aunty Christine is that she has a driver who picks us up in a black Mercedes and makes us feel like special VIPs. When we're in the car, becasuse of space issue, the babies are held by the mommies and if they start crying, we stuff boobs down their throat. We realize that it probably violates safety rules but it's worked out quite well for us and we will be extra careful. We went to the mothercare flagship store on Harborfront because mommy needs more nursing gear. When we were in the store, mommy decided to try somethings on while Aunty Christine looked after Max. While mommy was in the changing room, she heard Max crying and she thought, "a little crying never hurt anybody" - until the crying got louder and louder. Aunty Christine suggested changing Max's nappy. Even though mothercare sells baby and maternity stuff, they don't have a nursing or changing room inside the huge store. It's ridiculous and bad customer service. We changed Max in the dressing room regardless of the sign that says DON"T DO IT here! Even though after he was changed, Max was still crying and at this point getting quite angry. His whole face had turned red and white from screaming. Mommy left quickly and sat at a cafe outside and started to mix the formula that she had prepared for Max. Max would not stop screaming and crying and at this point, lots of people were looking at us. Frantically, the milk powder was prepared but mom had spill some on the table and it was a mess. As soon as Max started drinking milk, he quiet down and stopped crying. Guess he must have been very hungry! And half way through the meal, he fell asleep and didn't finish his milk. Another lesson to mommy, respond to Max's cry earlier to avoid baby getting too hungry and public embarrassment. With Max sound asleep in his car seat, mommy continued window shopping.

Because Max had slept well at night, so mommy decided to keep taking him out during the day. The next day, Monday, we went to Centerpoint Shopping Mall which is right by our house. It went well because as soon as Max started crying, Mommy started looking for the nursing room and was able to find it quickly. Max ate for about 10 minutes and then fell asleep for about 20 minutes. When Max woke up again and became fussy, mommy decided to go home. Even though on the way home, Max was crying and whining (not screaming), it was a quick walk and mom was able to feed Max as soon as we got home. That night, Max went to bed around 9pm, woke up at 12:45am, 3:30am, and again at 6am. Pretty exciting stuff!

2009年12月21日

Max's First Xmas Party





On Sunday, we went to Daddy's college friend Alvin's for a X'mas party. Alvin and wife Pam have 4 kids together, and they've been so generous with us. Not only did they gave us lots of advice on parenthood, they also gave us lots of hand-me-downs. Max doesn't need to buy any clothes before the age of 1 because his closet is now stuffed with Matthew and Maurice's (boy on left) old clothes. For this year's X'mas party, they had invited a lot of friends over and catered from a Chinese restaurant. Max got a X'mas gift too! There were lots of kids at the party, but unfortunately, Max is too young to play with any of them. So he was sleeping in the stroller most of the time but daddy had a good time chasing Maurice around. At one point during the party, mommy had to change Max. When we got to the ladies room, found that there was no changing table, so we took out the changing pad and changed Max on a bench. Half way through changing, Max spit up, and mommy quickly took out tissue to wipe his mouth. Before you knew it, Max peed and needed to be changed. Mommy was very busy and clumsy, and Max was NOT happy about it and started crying very loud. It was a reminder that mommy needs to learn how to do diaper duty/changing outfit better and faster.

So apparently going out during the day really helps Max to sleep better at night. After a feed at 8pm, Max woke up again at 11:30pm, and then again at 3:30am, and then at 6am. Mommy was so happy about being getting the extra sleep. Hopefully Max can make a habit of this schedule!

2009年12月20日

Brunch at the Fullerton Hotel



On Saturday, Daddy took mommy and Max out to the Fullerton Hotel for Brunch with a lovely couple, Geoff and Carmen. Daddy used to work with Geoff in HK and they both moved to Singapore for a new job around the same time. Now, Geoff is Daddy's client. We haven't seen them for a long time, so it was great catching up. Geoff picked the restaurant at the hotel and we all had the lunch buffet, which turned out to be a great choice, because mom and dad can take turns to take care of Max and eat, and the food would always be hot. Max was fairly quiet when we put him into the car seat. During the cab ride, he looked out the window with a confused look on his face. We were seated at a corner table and as soon as we sat down, Max started to cry. We fed him breast milk through the bottle and he only managed to eat half of it, then fell asleep. But when we put him down on the car seat again, he woke up and started crying. So mommy and daddy took turns to hold him. When Aunty Carmen held him for a brief while, Max was crying too! Definitely more fussy than the other times we were out. Thank God lunch went on for 3 hours so mommy can taste almost a little of everything. We were not the only ones there with a baby, and all the babies took turns crying. This was the first time that the mommy and daddy took Max out together. We hope the outings after this goes a lot more smooth. When we got home, mommy realized Max's diaper was kinda heavy. Maybe this was the reason why he was fussy. At night though, Max slept well and slept for 3 hours twice. Mommy wonders if its because of outing during the day that wears him out. If this logic is true, mommy will be very happy to take Max out everyday!

2009年12月18日

Max does afternoon tea with Grandma!


Grandma left yesterday after spending 2 weeks in Singapore with mommy and Max. This was her second trip to Sing. The first was when she came the day after Max was born to help to take care of mommy. She made the second trip because mommy wasn't so confident on taking care of Max - even with the maid's help. Grandma stayed 2 weeks each time, and this time she spent more time in the kitchen, teaching the maid how to cook some of mommy's favorite food, like scallion pancakes, soybean milk, Taiwanese marinated meat...etc. Thursday afternoon, grandma had to go to Orchard to run some errands. Since it was nice and cool outside (it had just rained), mommy decided to take Max for a walk with Grandma, and if he behaves, we'll keep going.

Max was asleep in the car seat when we were walking, and still sleeping when we got to Paragon. That gave mommy some time to walk around and shop a little. And when he finally woke up, we walked into Lawry's for afternoon tea. Mommy asked for a table tucked away in the corner so we don't disturb other diners, the hostess gave us a whole separate room. There was an old man sitting by the corner, who quickly got the check and left. We're not sure if he left because of us, but it suits us just fine. Max woke up and cried a little, and mommy just breastfed him underneath the cover. It all went very smoothly. And when it was time to go, he had fallen asleep. The times that he was awake, he looked around curiously and probably wonder, "Where am I? What is this place?" He stared at the Xmas decorations on the wall, probably because they're in red. Mommy took this nice photo of Grandma having afternoon tea with Max with her cellphone. The lighting wasn't so great but at least we have something to prove that Max was a good little boy!

2009年12月17日

Hello World





Hi Everyone!

Max will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. Sorry it's taken mommy a long time to set up a website, but she's been very busy breastfeeding and attempting to meet the insatiable demand of Max. Anyway, this website is for friends and family who want to follow Max's development.

Here's a photo of Max 7 weeks and another one at birth. Enjoy!