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).

Sleeptime Marathon

A coincidence, but he's obviously communicating that it's bedtime!

As with every evening, baby does his Marathon Nursing sessions each night before he finally gets down to rest for the night. For those new mothers, do note, it IS normal for a baby to nurse very frequently and even seemingly non-stop in the evening hours. They are essentially tanking up their little tummies as they ready themselves for a longer stretch of night-sleep.

As the non-stop nursing leaves me rather much an invalid for that part of the day, I would plan not to do much for those few hours.

To cope, I would eat dinner early, bathe quickly and change after an early evening walk with baby and be ready to simply "veg-out" in front of the TV in my bedroom by 7+pm. I would also prepare 2 mugs/tumblers of drink on my bedside table to keep myself hydrated. Then I would just watch TV programmes or read while he nurses. He would usually finally get to deep sleep by 9pm or so. Some nights, it does get quite neverending and last until 10 or even 11pm! Do prepared for this and plan to basically do nothing much but relax at this time of the night when you have a newborn or young baby.

When would a baby outgrown the evening marathon nursing pattern? Seriously, I don't remember. *haha* It will eventually!

Shopping with Baby

Going out to the stores with baby is quite a journey to be planned for. I can't say it's mostly a breeze bc with baby "on" me, usually, I can walk and see the items, but it is rare that I can stand to *study* the items I want to buy. I generally would have to have an idea what I need to get, and then just pluck them off the shelves/racks quickly.

I'd need to allow extra time in my shopping trip in case I need to breastfeed the baby or to change baby's diapers. Believe me, after a 9year gap between babies, I do need to get the hang of nursing in public once again too! I had to think through how I could reach in to undo my bra discreetly but quickly, how to pull down and stretch out my nursing top and latch baby on - again, quickly but discreetly. Initially it was fairly nerve-wrecking. It has become easier with practice. So, for new mothers, trust me, you'll get the hang of it. Practise at home first if you need to! (Here in these photos, I am at Ikea with 2-month-old JR in a Navy Sateen Sling and nursing in a Selina Top)

See how I used the upright side-sitting position to carry JR so he can look around. This is very similar to the Hip Carry position. I have the edge of the sling up to his shoulders/neck for greater support since he's such a young baby.



I'm always happy when a much-needed trip out is at it's end, breathing a sigh of relief.

Here I am back from one such trip.

I was glad to be able to finally be able to fit into one of my favourite tops - the Belle Nursing Top , and after a tiring trip out, I was simply glad to crash out at home with baby nursing away.

MRT Ride

Baby had his 1st MRT Ride today.

We took a 15min walk to the station. Without fail, the swaying motions as I walked lulled him to sleep on the way.

He must've sensed something different as I boarded the train though. He woke and looked all around. Couldn't miss out on all the "action", I guess!

He drew quite a fair bit of attention looking the way he did, peeping out from his pouch!


I'd compromised on "luggage" for this trip since it was a fairly short one, and only used a waist-pouch. Didn't need to bring much for a breastfeeding baby anyway. I realised that I should just have worn my sneakers instead of my sandals so that the walk would be more comfortable.

Anticipation

The look of anticipation as I pick him up to nurse. His cries will quieten to a soft whimper or even stop, while he waits for me to get ready and position him to nurse:

I just had to capture this look!

Business Trip

All cosy, and quite a nuisance in the corporate world nevertheless, but I had to bring my nursing product manager along, yah?

Keeping Hydrated

As a breastfeeding mother, you might find yourself thirstier than normal. Probably hungrier than normal too! It is important to eat & drink to your demand too, just like baby needs his milky when he's hungry.

On hot days, I like to have something other than water to drink, and I find chilled roasted barley tea to be really refreshing. And it's so easy to make. These are usually easily bought from supermarkets that stock Japanese foodstuff. This tea can simply be put into a tumbler and filled with room temperature water and left in the fridge to chill and would be all ready to drink as & when you feel like it.

Another one of my current faves while out (yeah, I get thirsty so often!) is papaya soymilk freeze/shake! The one from Jollibean is Icy Cold with frozen papaya and ice-cubes all blended into a frothy coolant. The Mr Bean version is creamy and filling. Both are tasty, high in vitamin C, and....some mothers claim that it is great for their milk supply. For me, well, I don't see a significant difference in my milk supply since I nurse baby so frequently, and don't often express breastmilk, but it's a wonderful beverage that I love!

Sashimi Pig-Out

Public Holiday! Dh & I went to Ikoi and gorged on sashimi and all our other faves. The different types of fish soup, the fish-head, the rolls, and the tempura.

Dh had toyed with the idea of bringing the carseat. Thankfully I decided against it. I was hoping to get a floor-seated table, but alas, being a public holiday, the place was so crowded although we had a nice, albeit small corner table. But it would not make sense to put a carseat on the floor in such a crowded place. Even a stroller would be at risk here!

JR was cosy in his sling, charming those at the next table for a while and fell asleep for the rest of the meal and all the way home, nursing off & on. Whew!!!! We managed to eat. And JR had delicious fishy milk after. *haha*

It's useful to wear nursing clothes with empire-waistline nursing access when nursing baby in the sling. This day, I wore a Liana Top - another of my favourites as this top is shapely and really flatters.

And for all those sashimi lovers out there - yes, it's ok to for breastfeeding mothers. The main danger is mother getting food poisoning from raw fish. If this happens, this usually stays localised in the gastrointestinal tract and does not pass into breastmilk. Mom might feel mighty terrible though! So do keep to established restaurants for clean sashimi.

Umm-Umm-Ahhh

This 2-month-old loves to mumble, grumble, yabber-jabber - generally quite responsive: