Energizer Bunny

One of those nights when baby just seems to be tireless. Just one of those days when it's just too amazing how he can have a full day and not be down early(!!!).

No EBM

Hai, the little boy just refuses to have his milky any other way but direct. He'd rather wait for me than have any form of substitute. When he was real little, he took the Avent bottles but didn't quite manage to suck well.


I saw that NUK had new teats that could fit wide-necked bottles (yeah, they do fit the Avent!), so tried them out. Our elder 2 children took their milk with NUK teats, and didn't like any other teats, so I thought it might be worth trying. Oh well, no go. The baby just didn't like those either.


We also tried giving the baby his milk by using a syringe. But the cheeky little one spits out the milk instead, making the caregiver all "drenched" in milk instead. *haha*. As a "last resort", I got these Avent Spouts that are easily used with Avent Bottles. I realised that with these new "no-spill" spouts, the poor baby still needed to suck at it to get any liquid out from the bottle. So I removed the valve below the spout attachment (and yes again - the valves are easily removable). This way, the milk can just flow out of the spout without baby needing to suck. Once again, baby launched his protest by spitting out the expressed milk.

Ah...I think I'll just save my liquid gold and not waste my time expressing milk, lah. Will just either bring baby out with me or just not leave baby for too long away from me. Just for a couple more months.....

Nightmarish

Just one of those days .... the nightmarish trip we always wish never to have. ;(

It's so important to plan the trip well and not get into one of baby's foul moods, but well, we try...

Transitional Pleats

One of my fave tops while pregnant. I wore this until I *popped*! (and no, I'm not talking about my belly button. ;-P)

It was a really comfortable top, skimming and showing off my preggy form. And really great immediately postpartum. Friendly for breastfeeding.

Now available in-store. Just look for the Hayley Pleated Top.


Another fave top is the Tania Babydoll. This fits my bustline nicely and flows out to hug my belly neatly when I was preggy. Postpartum, it is a really comfy top that does not look like a maternity item.

Camera-Action!

It was one of the loooooooooongest photoshoots I've ever done. Little JR refused to be put down, and only wanted me.

(Model wearing Rachel Scrunch Top)

So I had to carry Baby JR while styling the models, ironing, and organising the clothes and taking the photos. Had to balance somewhat with baby on me.

He nursed......


.....and he slept, & he played. Cheeky fella...

And I was super-exhausted after the photoshoot!

Outdoor Concert

Another outing. We are "super-deprived" of concerts now with baby *hehe*, so outdoor concerts are so welcome!

It was cloudy earlier and threatened to rain but well, it ended up well. The weather was cool & windy. No showers at all! YAY!!!

The group performing - Joyful Strings were great! Even the little ones are really pro. They play with choregraphy too. They even played their violins while hula-hooping, and bouncing on balls! Very very impressive!

I found this videoclip of that day's performance online too, that shows a close-up of the group of really young ones (3yrs & above) joining in the performance with some Suzuki pieces. And looking really cool as they danced & performed!


We certainly had a wonderful outing. Ah....and it sure tempts us to put JR to Baby Suzuki Classes like those kids too! *haha*

Charity Dinner

Was performing with the Strings Group in school. I have done this many times before, but this time, it was quite a task as I had to work the practices with the Group around Baby JR's schedule.

And on the night of the performance, we had to bring the little baby along. I planned the whole day's schedule so that hopefully baby would not be too cranky at night. It was somewhat "risky" to bring him out at that time of the night since it was his bedtime.

We did a run through (rehearsal) with the String Boys while there, and then I tried to give JR a good feed before the Dinner started (and hence the performances).

The boys looked really spiffy that evening, all dressed to the nines in their tuxedoes. To have a breastfeeding-friendly outfit, I just wore my black Jean Tank Top inside my buttoned coat & black long pants. That was quite dressy enough. And I could breastfeed baby easily too, as can be seen from the photo!

Aerial III

So comfy sleeping in the baby pouch.

Aerial II

3-month-old baby sitting in the pouch (legs inside)

Tummy Filler

As a breastfeeding mother, I get hungry often, and with an in-arms 2mth-old (ah - JR just turned 3 mths-old yesterday!), it's not always possible to get a more decent snack in between meals.

I've found an oatmeal drink to be a quick & easy tummy filler. Just a few spoons of instant oatmeal mixed with a little hot water, and when oatmeal is well-mixed, I add in chilled soymilk from the fridge. I did say it's to be a quick to prepare item, right? That's why it has to be "instant" oatmeal and not rolled oats (to be cooked), and soymilk is the ready-to-drink kind from tetrapacks or pre-prepared.

Oh, and another good thing about oatmeal? It is good for your milk supply!

Swimming

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon , so JR went for his first swim today!

Ah ... this was BEFORE we stripped him down bare. ;-) He wore a pair of cutesy swim diapers that are available from CLA & Bumwear.

When we first put him into the water, he had this "what is this?" look. But before long, he was kicking away with such intensity, enjoying every bit of the experience! He was so tired out from the exercise that he drifted off to dreamland soon after the swim! Just as well too, as it poured heavily the rest of the afternoon.

Going to Church

As it is every Sunday, we go to Church.

It does tend to be a fairly stressful outing for me as I would always be worrying that the baby might kick up a fuss and cry during service. This is often every new parents' concern. Many new mothers would worry as to whether it is alright to nurse in church too (yeah, it is ok!).

If baby is sleeping and shows any sign of waking, I'd quickly try to nurse him before he starts to cry. On the other hand, if baby is awake and looking around when the service is going on, I'd look out for signs that he is getting tired and needs to nurse to sleep. That's me keeping alert so as not to have baby & me creating a scene in church - baby fussing with his cries and me fussing with trying to latch him on to nurse and quieten him down. Oh well, and there are times when the rocking, swaying, or nursing does not work and baby still wails ..... I'd have no choice but to spend a good part of the service outside pacifying baby JR.

Today, baby was fairly manageable. He was sleeping, waking only to nurse. Whew! (Nursing in my trusty Selina Top and a beautiful silk sling).