Day 29: Had a good day

Despite having to wake up four times last night, I had a deep and restful sleep.

This translated into a calm, peaceful day.

Especially since Zoe and I had another nap from 2-4pm.

I sure hope this is a sign that things are on the upswing...

Z for Zen

Dadz-daughter bonding

I'm starting to get the pumping thing sorted which lets D give Zoe a bottle each night.

Zoe has about three ounces each feed. She scoffs down 80 per cent of it in a jiffy and then slowly slurps the last bits when she gets really sleepy and f.l.o.p.s!

We are family...

...D, my baby and me!

La la la...

Our first family photo ever!

Day 27: The Full Moon Party

D and I are chilling out watching the F1 in Monaco. To think I was in the South of France this time last year having a decadent, drunken, delicious time.

Memories.

So today was the D and my first foray into the colourful world of children's parties.

As we both spent half an hour tying bundles of pink helium balloons around the function room, I said to D: "How many years of this do we have to look forward to?"

Note to self: Next time order less balloons. Two hundred is a little excessive!

The cake turned out to be super-cute and super-yummy, which was a very pleasant surprise since desserts that look super-good usually don't live up to their looks.

The proof was in the pudding.

And Zoe was AMAZING! She rolled up in her Ferrari (even though Shumi has a bad name at the moment)pram at 3.30pm and then slept through till 5.30pm. I expected her to fuss but she was so angelic.

So everyone got a good look at her... all dolled up and looking so kerrrrrute!

Sleeping through all the fuss
And from another angle...

My one month old birthday gurrr

You're invited!

Surprisingly, all is quiet here.

Two sets of grandparents, my sister-in-law and my nephew are camped at our place. They arrived last night. My foggies came up on Thursday.

Z with the grampies
Everyone but Zoe et moi are asleep. Oh and the nanny, who is watching her while I phaff on the computer. Have I mentioned: I LOVE nanny!

Today is Zoe's 'coming out party' - I wish you all could be here!

I finally got my act together. But my plans for an elegant English Tea Party are kaput. D and I came to the conclusion that the oldie aunties and uncles would scoff at the the watercress and cucumber finger sandwiches and the delicate scones with clotted cream.

So we've gone with a hawker style cookout. The catering company have set up straw huts and will provide cooks to whip up penang char kwey teow, fold the dim sum, dish up assam laksa, scoop ice kachang and pull teh tarik... amongst other dishes.

Here's the invite if you have your helicopter standing by:

The two hour dinner outing

Is it a new motherhood thing? Or is it just a case of having to get back into the swing of things?

Whatever the case, socialising last night, after being rather hermit-like for three and a half weeks, was pretty surreal.

Don't get me wrong. It was nice getting out of the house and I had a good laugh (for the wrong reasons - but I won't go into it here!), but it was kinda... bizarre.

We were a little late to the party coz...

1. I had to figure out what to wear.

With the "amazing shrinking belly", I thought I'd be able to squeeze into my bigger pre-preggo jeans/pants. How demented was I?!?!? All I have to say is: Damn those Oreos!

2. I had to feed Zoe.

When we left her she was peacefully snoozing...

Bye bye my little one... Mommy will be home soon!




So D and I were the last ones to arrive at R's farewell do at about 8.30pm.

We were greeted with a rush of well-wishers and congratulatory kisses.

It was all rather overwhelming. People... faces... open palms... all thrusting at me.

I had to sit down and take a moment.

It was weird coz I was looking forward to getting out and then suddenly I wanted to be home.

It wasn't coz I missed Zoe.

It wasn't coz I felt bad leaving her.

It wasn't coz I was worried about things.

It was coz a wave of fatigue crashed over me.

The night hadn't even started! And to think after dinner, we were supposed to meet Ling for drinks too!

Anyway, we were soon seated at our table with two other (elderly) couples. Small talk, small talk, small talk... (this was the very amusing part of the night!)

At 9.30pm, after slurping a very interesting take on tom yum soup and scoffing down a too brown-saucey cod, I excused myself to call home. When Maritess picked up the phone, I could hear Zoe wailing in the background. The poor kid was demanding food and the nanny was frantically trying to thaw the very frozen milk. But all was well and I returned to my seat...

More small talk, small talk, small talk... and trio of decadent desserts - choc mousse, tiramisu and creme brulee... And then, it was 10.30pm.

I had had it. I did the eye signal thing and D caught on. We said our goodbyes coz "we had to be home for Zoe's 11.00pm feed".

We were home after two hours... on a Friday night.

Needless to say, we didn't end up going to Zeta to meet L for drinks.

Fail.

Day 25: All pumped up

This stuff is like liquid frozen gold Lutetium.

(Lutetium is the most expensive metal in the world, costing US$75,000 per kilogram, as opposed to Platinum at a mere US$12,800... See, read this blog and you learn something new everyday!)

I've been squirreling away an once of milk a day since Sunday.

So now there's a stash of SIX ounces in the freezer - good for two feeds.

If I feed every two to three hours, that translates to SIX HOURS OF FREEDOM!

*Runs off to do hair*

So tonight, I'm off to dinner and drinks!

OKbye!

She may be thriving...

...but I'm dyyyyyiiiinnnggggg.

Yesterday, I fed her THIRTEEN times! An average baby eats about eight times a day.

Repeat after me:

The boob is good.

Breast is best.

I will bite the bit till the end of month one and relook the whole beastfeeding thing again.

Things better get better ASAP man... otherwise FORMULA!

*Horror*

Formula est tres taboo



In the meantime, let me tell you sweet dreams are made of these.

It would be so ACE to have an icy martini right now.

Oooo an appletini from Morton's.

*Drool*

Or a choya one from mezza9.

*Double dribble*

Sigh... this breastfeeding thing is just a KILLER!

Let them eat cake!

Mopi's Full Moon Party is slowly coming together.

Considering that it is in five days, that's a good thing.

Today I ordered 200 baby pink Helium balloons and an AWESOME chocolate fudge birthday cake.

Check it out!

A zoo theme coz it's always feeding time here!

Day 21: Who needs a cot?

Today, marks Zoe third week in this big, wide world.

She's really a lovely baby... especially when she's not upset.

And when she's sleeping, she's a little angel.

So far, her favourite sleeping places are...

Snuggling on my chest:

And flopping on her father's tummy:

Day 20: A colic daymare...

I thought it was all over.

The wind in her tummy let out, let down, let it rip!

But then, this afternoon, it all kind of came back.

It was tough going.

She cried till she was purple in the face.

Inconsolable.

Poor little thing.

Finally, after a dose of Detinox and Ru Yi oil rubbed into her tummy, she settled.

Four long hours later...

Peace reigns again!

Day 18: Cookie monster

A gremlin has invaded my baby's tummy!

Normally, Mopi is a barracuda kind of feeder. She latches on, her jaws pump non-stop and she's done in 15 minutes. Then, with her belly full, she happily catches her zzz's till the next feed, usually 2 to 3 hours later.

But for the last couple of days, Mopes hasn't been herself. She's taken forever to nurse (like 45 minutes each feed) and has been wanting to feed practically every hour. And even after she eats, she is fussy and grumbly, refusing to be put down to snooze.

I suspected tummy troubles. I hear rumbles from her gut, she has poo poo explosions, and she's all uncomfy and squirmy when she should be comfy.

Well, Nurse J came today and I told her about it.

Nurse J: Have you changed your diet?
Me: No.
Nurse J: Been eating anything in excess?
Me: Errr... ginger?
Nurse J: Alcohol?
Me: I wish!
Nurse J: How about sugars - chocolate, cookies, sweets?
Me: Oh.

Seems Nurse J considers a chocolate bar a day, a few Ferrero Rochers and eight or so Oreos excessive.

Where did she get her training?

I've been told to halve my intake. It's giving the baby indigestion. I bad!

Sigh. What joy is there left in my day... Stuck in the house, no alcohol, sore boobs, ginger food, endless cups of red date water and now, NO CHOCOLATE!

Here's the quote of the day from Mel: Poor thing. Got the baby out and still can't eat crap! Haha!

Anyway, poor Mopi had her first spoonful of medicine today - Detinox for her gassy tum.

But besides the gremlin in her tummy, Mopi is doing well. She's now 3.8kg - she put on 400g in 4 days. That's more than 10% of her entire weight! Could it have been the Oreos?

The amazing shrinking belly

Two and half weeks ago, I was as huge as a house.

But everyday, my belly gets a little smaller.

That's the ONE and ONLY good thing about beastfeeding (not a typo).

But too bad it isn't quite having the same effect on my butt! Heh!

* * *

On another note, Mopi has discovered her thumb.

When she sucks it, she makes a lot of slurping noises which is super hilarious.

But maybe it's just funny to me.

And to her Daddy.

Slurp, slurrrrp, slurrrrrpppppppp!

From Aunty Michy...

...and baby Holly, all the way from Australia.

Aunty Mich says she wants a cuddle but she'll have to wait till the end of the year when Mumz is thinking of taking me to Perth!

Will that be my first holiday I wonder?

The moon is rising

Well, we've decided to have a Full Moon party to celebrate Zoe's one month in the world.

It will have to be next weekend. Probably Sunday, coz I think I want to do a hi-tea: Pink cupcakes, chocolate fountain, tiny tarts... Earl Grey.

Full moon parties are a Chinese tradition - after a lunar month, it's time to show-off your baby, or at least introduce her to friends and relatives who haven't yet seen her.

Anyway, the keyword is see. I don't plan on letting anyone carry her at the party.

The poor child should not be passed around like some football, breathed on, pawed at by like 70+ people.

But seriously, unless it's your little baby with an immature immune system, one wouldn't even think of washing one's hands before carrying her, much less if you are just touching her face or head or tiny fingers...

G.E.R.M.S!!!!

And trust me, she's a handful when she's all bubbly and healthy. I so do NOT want her to be anywhere near coming down with anything!

So the nanny will have to parade her and then take her up.

*ROAR* (Protective mother here!)

Now to organise it all...

I feel how Zoe looks: Headache!

Day 14: The Nanny

Over the weekend, I had a temperature. I thought it was a flu bug or just from being sleep-deprived and run-down.

Turned out it was mastitis - a kind of a boob problem caused by clogged milk ducts.

Nurse J popped by today again and proceeded to massage the affected areas.

Super painful.

Nurse J also checked Zoe out. All is fine and dandy and she's put on more weight. Mopes is now 3.4kg. Growing baby.

Despite her healthy appetite, I think Mopi was a bit cranky coz she wasn't geting enough milk from the bad boob.

Feed me Seymour
Vicious Circle: Boob hurt, not enough milk, extra nursing time, hurt boob even more.

Ow.

Anyway, it's now sorted out and the fever's gone.

But I ask: When will the torture end?

It already has been two weeks and my mammary glands been in perpetual P.A.I.N.

This has made me think life without my nanny will be impossible.

I want Ah Ying to live with us FOREVER!

...and who's going to pick me up when Mumz watches Gilmore Girls?!?

Happy Mama (Day)!

My first Mother's Day as a Mother.

FREAKY!

But who says no to pressies?!?!

From Danz and Zoe:

The new Sony Vaio in Copper.

Love it!


And on another note:

From Pinz

Day 12: Saturday snooze

Weekends are nice coz Dad is home and we can have a lie-in together in the mornings.

Day 11: First pram ride

You went out for your first ride in your brand new pram today.

You looked so teeny in it.

Dad and I took you for an evening stroll downstairs. Twilight and cool, just after the rain.

You had a nice time looking around and breathing in the fresh air.

Unfortunately your outing lasted just five minutes. We saw a meanie mozzie buzzing around your head and we decided to zip back upstairs.

Day 10: Bathtime and a new belly button

Zoe gets a bath every morning about 10. She doesn't like it much.

But then after she's all cleaned up, she gets fed and then she's a happy little vegemite.


Oh, Zoe's umbilical cord fell off this morning at 4am. Sultana anyone?

Day 9: Birth(weight) and beyond

Today, Nurse J came by again to check on Zoe and my VERY sore boobs. The right one is much better but the left one is worse. Crrrackkkkkssssss! Ow.

Nurse J said if I had been doing it right like she taught me on Monday they should have healed over by now.

Sigh.This breasting thing is hard.

But the good news is that Zoe has surpassed her birth weight ahead of schedule. It usually takes about two weeks for babies to hit their birth weight and she's done it in nine days. So despite the sore boobs, I've been doing ok.

Zoe now weighs 3.25kg.

When Nurse J came on Monday, she weighed 3.15kg. That's an increase of 100g in just two days, which is huge! A normal weight gain is about 20-30g a day.

So it seems she had a bit of a growth spurt yesterday. No wonder I was feeding her every hour! Ow.

Given that she's eating well and she's active, Nurse J says there isn't too much to worry about regarding her jaundice. She's still a little yellow but her eyes are getting clearer each day.

Day 8: Holy Moses!

We thought we'd sun Zoe naked for 5 minutes to help with her jaundice.

But then she did a big pee and we had to wash her Moses basket.

To line it, I found a great play mat that Aunty Claire gave her.

It kinda reminded me of Bart's scary clown bed...

Please don't eat me Mr Clown Bear!

Day 7: We're home!

It was a day of ups and downs.

Of smiles and frowns.

The loong trek home took place yesterday.

We checked out from Room 4428 at about noon. It was quite sad leaving all those very helpful nurses, who over the last 6 days had become so... essential to my well-being - physically and mentally. Let me tell you there is nothing like 'the nursery'!

We went back to D's brother's place, where the foggies had congregated and spent the afternoon there taking photos with the baby, carrying her non-stop and just plain staring at her little sleepy face.
Keith and Ju dropped by for tea and brought a lovely pressie for Mopes. Thanks!

We had a quick dinner about 7.30pm and tried to time it so that we could leave after her 8pm feed. But Mopes had different ideas and we didn't set off till past 9pm.

Mel also popped by to say "bye". And to help comfort the foggies as they waved us off... No doubt, the foggies were very sad to see the little one go. But Mopes was oblivious to all the fuss and papparazzi-like behaviour of her grandparents.

In three hours we were home. We didn't make a stop and Mopi slept all the way to Seremban. I fed her a little and before I knew it we were pulling up at Hampshire.

The night was tough though. No help from the nurses. No nursery to send Mopes off to.

But thank goodness, the nanny arrived at noon!

Day 5: Pressies galore

As you can see, we had quite a bit of stuff to cart home. There were loads of lovely pressies and baskets sent to the hospital. Much of it came from D's office people in Singgers and KL.

Lucky, lucky Mopes.

Something noteworthy: Mopi even got her first designer outfit - Baby Dior from Aunty Fi and Uncle Rajoo. She'll need some time to grow into them but they are just so cute.

Mopes also got a whole load of lovely pressies like Baby Burberry perfume from the J sisters, a much needed diaper bag from Aunty Smell's First Few Years voucher, a couple of gorgoeus Petit Bateau outfits, the cutest Made in Singapore (err... not true) romper and other cool stuff from Aunty Ling and Uncle Kenny... and there were other toys, bears, playmats too.

I will post pictures when Mopi models all her new stuff - most of which she still has to grow into.

I wasn't forgotten either. Ping bought me the most wonderful pair of kimono PJs which came in really handy with its front openings. And Fi brought along her mancurist to buff up my nails as well as a whole library of reading material of the trashy nature. It was much appreciated! I also got a load of Bird's Nests, Chicken Essence, other TCM stuff and Yomeishu and Dom. Not quite sure what to do with it all...

Poor D was much forgotten. There was a bottle of champers from Raj and Ling tho... WHEN CAN I DRINK IT!?!?!?!?

Day 4: My first outing

Today, we took Zoe to collect her passport.

We got special permission to leave the hospital for an hour to go to immigration... and then we zipped back.

Zoe slept through the whole trip!

My mommy made me look like a garden gnome!

Day 3: The scoop on poop

Photo of poo bum deleted.

I still haven't changed any diapers. The stuff coming out of her butt is just dem gross.

It's inky.

It's green.

It flows like lava.

So D's become the designated nappy changer!

The J sisters visit

Heh!

Daddy with his li'l girl
By JL Snr:
Ickleoriental and I expected some sort of miracle change in sleaw and DZ now that they are parents, and for a moment when they were both huddled over her, earnestly changing her diaper, it seemed that way...
But then, while I was stroking her little head, Steph went: "Soft right? Like a handbag..." and DZ went: "Where's my beeeeer?", we knew our drinking buddies are still the same old madhatters.
A comforting thought.

By JL Jnr:
So tonight, Chetz and I traipsed down to the hopsickle to see Stef and Mopes. Proud Daddy Dan beamed and gazed at his daughter in absolute wonder. It was such a heartwarming sight. Here they were, our two best drinking buddies - the two biggest culprits where potato vodka and champagne is concerned - sharing a moment changing a diaper together. Mopi (her real name is now Zoe) gurgled from inside her make-shift papoose. And just when you thought the world was getting a little too strange, Dan stands up and goes, 'Okay, where's mah beeer?'
Ahhh, all is right in the world again =)

Day 1: The grandparents go ga-ga-goo-goo

Well, I suppose you can't really blame them.

They've been waiting quite a while for this.

At least D's parents have had M to play with for the last 7 years but my foggies have had a looooong wait.

Now, everyone's happy.

Ok job done.

We have a name!

Meet Baby Zoe!

Time of birth: 11.53am
Weight: 3.128kg
Head circumference: 36cm
Length: 51cm.
Apgar scores: 9 and 10

It took a while but D and I finally decided on a name.

In fact, she was so nearly a Madison, so much so that I had sent out messages to my friends in KL announcing her birth... but her name had to be retracted later on!

Other names we considered were:
Lauren
Natasha
Ashley
Isabelle (which I really loved but he didn't)
Alexis (D liked these two names but I didn't)

...But in the end she looked like a Zoe.