Baby Marcus is 8 1/2 month old
He has 7 sharp and intimidating pearly whites
and after having repeatedly shown how TEETH can BITE which leads to OUCH
He has now grasped the concept of these 3 new words and hardly attacks the one that nourished him

He is a ferocious eater who is constantly hungry
He needs to be fed every 2-3 hours
and he is less fussy with his food as compared to his elder brother
He eats banana, papaya, mango, apple, strawberry, orange, cereals, porridge, pumpkin, carrot, fish, bread, spinach
and is happy with soupy rice with mashed tofu whenever we visit a Japanese restaurant

He blabbered ‘papa’ during our recent trip to Switzerland
though it was more to the grazing herds
and to fields of spring flowers that greeted him

He has now progressed to ‘mama’ but is still clueless to its meaning
The only word which he seems to vaguely understand is ‘mum mum’
which he has consistently linked to food

He seems eager to talk, to communicate, to connect with his elder brother
but he can only manage noise

I failed miserably at coaxing him to sleep through the night
He still wakes up to feed at night
and enjoys being stuck to my breast
which makes me a very tired soul by day

He loves his toys
but not as much as your empty drink bottle, remote controls, camera lens cap, keys and anything that hardly resemble your typical colourful, fanciful, educational toys
During our recent trip, he discovered the taste of Swiss wild grass, hay and alpine flowers
but the taste didn’t impress him much

We also found out that he has an ingenious way of befriending strangers
notwithstanding the lack of a common language in a foreign land
thus displacing the elder and laying claim as the family’s undisputed lady killer

Last week, he managed to pull himself up to a standing position
and 2 days ago, he  sat up without help
He was in this push up position
with his butt sticking in the air
which I thought was a prelude to a funky dance move
but instead, with herculean effort
he heaved himself to a sitting position

He is eager to explore on all fours
but always ended up crawling backwards
until yesterday when he finally figured out the leopard crawl
and each time he masters a new position, be it standing, sitting or crawling
he would beam with joy
grin from ear to ear
turning his otherwise big eyes into little squints
flapping his little arms in exhilaration
as if doing snow angels in the air

He just melts my heart whenever he does that

At 6 month and 2 weeks old
Baby Marcus has 4 teeth

He started getting his left lower central incisor about a month ago
then his right lower central incisor a week later
then his right upper central incisor
Now he is growing his left upper central incisor at about the same time as his elder brother is getting his permanent one
Such coincidence

Isn’t that a lot of teeth for a 6 month old baby ?!
I don’t remember Malcolm getting this many teeth this young
and I would rather the baby gets his teeth a little later
as I don’t see much use of them now

His diet is still mainly breastmilk
even now that we are starting him on solid food
they are usually mush of some sort

As he is at the stage of exploring with his mouth
Everything that is within his reach goes straight into his mouth

And with his early teeth
you can imagine the destruction that he is causing
especially when he has yet grasp the concept of NO
and will flash you the cheekiest smile instead

Actually my main complaint here is
Breastfeeding time for me now has turned into
Feeding time with a Barracuda

OUCH !

Marcus is now 5 months and a week old
He is a healthy 8.1 kg
with a hefty butt that needs an L to fit

We started feeding him solids two weeks ago
We started with rice cereal
then moved to organic bottled apple
Then pear
Then peas with rice
All organic mush
and he loves them all

He opens his mouth in anticipation
with tongue stretching and eyes expecting
He laps up everything like a hungry puppy
and would shoot you an angry look with a nasty scream if you were to feed him too slowly
Unlike his elder brother who is repulsed by fruits of any kind
Marcus LOVES fruits
and this makes us very please

Speaking of food
I think their Dad is crazy
He doesn’t give two hoots about one kind of new food a week
He has bought 10 different kinds of organic baby food
Just to see if Marcus likes them, he says
But what does it matter?

He gives Marcus our food
after munching it in his mouth of course
replete with his saliva and all
and dismisses my shrieks about hygiene and modern methods
with thus far unverified claims of ancient lore
of mothers feeding their children this way for millenniums
and so why should the glory of the 21st century stop us now?

But I do blame him for Marcus’s occasional bout of constipation
And the glorious dark green poo that was a result of peas and rice

Marcus is now 5 months and a week old
He loves to flip himself on the bed
So now we got to be extra careful
and surround him with pillows
or put him in his cot
Lest he repeats his inaugural but fortunately harmless stunt
of rolling off the bed onto the wooden floor

We could get this elder brother to babysit him for a little while
and entertain him with his silly games and antics,
which almost never fail to make him grin from ear to ear
He looks with a yearning eye
to join his gor gor (his elder brother)
in his quest deep in the mines of Moria
where his mystical powers stopped the Balrog

Marcus is now 5 months and a week old
One can only wonder what goes through his mind
Yearning, yet dreading for the day
when he learns the skill of crawlling
And walking
And climbing
And jumping
And tearing the house down with his beloved gor gor

I can only be sure of one thing when that day arrives
And that is complete and utter exhaustion
But a good exhaustion it will be
For it will warm our hearts
to see our little babies turn into little “thugs”

He twists and he arches

but his left leg got stuck

He kicks and he wriggles

then his right arm got stuck

I held his little leg firmly and led him the way

I tugged his little arm gently and showed him the way

He tries again with a sparkle in his eyes

He struggles again with a twinkle in his eyes

I know

It was fun

Then a few more kicks and a few more push

And just like that

He DID IT

He squeals with delight and flashes his biggest grin

It was so spontaneous and I bet he doesn’t even know what he just did

He FLIPPED

He was 18 weeks and 1 day old

The baby now weighs at 7 kg, more than twice his birth weight, as heavy as his elder brother when he was 3 month old
His head circumference  and weight are at the 90th percentile but his height is stuck at the 50th percentile
A stout and no longer so little guy and I am beaming with pride when I write this as 99% of him today comes from mama’s milk

A toothless grin or a pouty lips with his brows knit to a frown defined his 2 most prominent facial expressions
The former greets me every morning and it just makes me a tad less tired
He looks very different in each expression

He loves playing with his saliva, blowing bubbles
His elder brother calls him the bubble machine
He does that when he is hungry and when he sees me coming
Somehow he has learned to equate MAMA with FOOD

He seem to have found his voice.
He coos at his hanging mobile
He oohs and ahhs when talked to
He chuckles when his ribs are being poked at
He is much more playful than his elder brother this age

He is able to hold his neck now and he enjoys looking around him when held up
Because of his stronger muscle, we have added some new bulky toys to his meagre collection
A hand-me-down Bumbo chair from his elder brother
A hand-me-down Jumperoo from his twin cousins
A hand-me-down rocker from a dear friend
They came in handy when I need my hands free but he usually won’t want to stay in any for long

He seem very eager to use his leg
His kicks are powerful and he enjoys pushing himself up to a standing position, showing his biggest grin as if with great satisfaction
I thinks he enjoys looking at his surrounding from different positions, lying, sitting, tummy down and standing
Each gives a different view

Just 3 months into his life and I felt that I could understand what the baby wants even though all he does is cry. It is only now that I understand what parenting books means by recognizing babies’ different cries to know what they want.

I definitely can handle Marcus better than when I had Malcolm and because of that, I have been bringing the kids to places on my own. I am less panicky and more relaxed and because the baby sleeps so well when in motion, it is actually less tiring for me to bring them out than to stay at home.

I realised that, when I had Malcolm, I was LEARNING to be a mother.
Spending most of my  time trying to decipher the baby’s cries can be stressful.
Unable to pacify the baby in the public can be stressful.
Having a baby who refuse to sleep in his own cot and waking up every 2 hours for feed can be stressful.
When the baby controls your life, IT IS stressful.

Now, with the experience from my first born and all the lessons learned through the hard ways I am surprise that I could actually ENJOY the baby. He is such a happy baby and his smile is SO contagious.

If only all babies are this easy, I don’t mind having a couple more.

is cooing at my hanging mobile

Baby Marcus is 2 months old

At 2 months, he weighs about 6 kg and is almost double his birth weight

He is still very much on his 2 hours feeding schedule

however, he is able to stretch his feeding time to 4 hours if he is in deep sleep

This usually happens if he is

- in his car seat in the car and the car is moving

- in his car seat in the stroller and the stroller is moving

- in the night

So far, he drinks from the bottle and from me

We let him try formula just so that he won’t end up like his brother who drinks NOTHING but breastmilk

He rejects the pacifier and has discovered his fist

We were hoping that he will eventually learn to soothe himself by feasting on his fist

Marcus makes all sorts of noise when trying to poo

We suspect he is as colicky as his brother

Because he is breastfed, he poos a lot and I mean A LOT, many times we end up having to bath him because the diaper leaked !

He is happiest in the morning

Usually cranky in the afternoon and evening

He is still unable to sleep through the night but he seem to be able to differentiate between day and night

He wakes up once or twice for his feed at night but is able to go back to sleep faster than in the day

He has rather strong neck muscle for a newborn

We suspect it is due to the amount of beef I consumed when I was pregnant with him

At less than a week old, he was able to push his head up and turn it when he was put on his tummy

One of his favourite sleeping position is tummy down position and because of his strong neck muscle we are quite comfortable putting him in this position

He loves to kick and locks his knee when you hold him upright, as if trying to stand

He loves to bath and the sound of splashing water calms him down

Unlike his elder brother, Marcus likes to smile

He likes to be near people

He smiles when you look into his eyes and talk to him

He smiles when he gets a diaper change

This little chap has kept our family busy lately

Before I had him, I couldn’t imagine life with another baby who looks like Malcolm

Now, I realized that no matter how much he may resemble his elder brother

He is every bit himself

Specially Uniquely Him

and he is just sooo adorably cute

and I can’t imagine life without him

It took us a long while to decide whether to pay a few hundred bucks, leave the kids behind and relived our wedding day (I could already imagine my mum looking all stressed out caring for the baby day and night)
OR take the risk and pack the kids with us.

We chose the latter, we brought our 7 weeks old baby along.

Nah, it wasn’t anywhere far. We just drove across the little channel to this island called Sentosa for a little getaway, the exact location where we took our wedding vow many years back, this time, back with 2 kids, not as romantic as before.

The island has changed drastically. No longer quite as idyllic nor quiet, with all sorts of entertainment centers sprouting out all over the island.  There are nightly fireworks at the Songs of the Sea.  There are pubs everywhere.  There is an artificial surf center for those who really wants to surf but didn’t have the time to fly down to Bali. There are people tempting fate doing the flying fox down the hill which I thought this might be more interesting to them.

Add the up and coming IR, and all the other interesting attractions, I can already imagine the Sentosa of tomorrow - crawling with tourists, local and otherwise, big jam on the narrow causeway, double digit inflation, and lack of space on the beach which I am so not looking forward to.

The entertainment centers now breathes more life into the island.  Gets rid of outdated and loss making parks.  Dolphin lagoon appears to be closed.  So much for the pink dolphins which I thought was a far cry from being world class.  I am not too sad about Dolphin Lagoon closing after hearing that dolphins elsewhere such as at San Diego Sea World were treated better.

Mal was contented staying in the resort, feeding the peacocks, playing with the water slide, taking pictures with cool christmas trees made from recycled materials. Here’s one made from 250ml drinking bottles.

and here’s one with him playing the slide. He could do this the WHOLE DAY!

We woke up each morning, looking forward to our sumptuous buffet breakfast at the resort’s cafeteria
We stuffed ourselves crazy with food and ate like pigs
At night after putting the baby to sleep, we ordered room service and had our dinner at the balcony, occasionally catching the fireworks from the musical afar.

We went on the beach tram to explore the beach area, a large part now lined with shops and pubs. So much has changed and there is even a food court which makes it even more convenient for family with kids to visit the island

Before the trip, we worried that the baby will keep everyone awake at night
We worried that we will end up spending money to get ourselves stressed out

After the trip, we realized that being away from the daily mundane chores is by itself a natural stress reliever.
Nursing the baby under the stars with Pulau Bukom greeting us made waking up in the middle of the night less painful

When we were out and about, I chose slinging the baby over our heavily invested jogger
Going up and down the tram with the baby in the sling was a breeze
I was able to nurse the baby discreetly
Most importantly, I could have both my hands free while carrying the baby.
I am selling these slings here.

This trip has definitely made us more confident in handling baby Marcus and we are now thinking of going further for our next holiday with him along.

It is a Chinese tradition for women to go through 30 days of confinement after child birth. During this period, she needs to follow a certain lifestyle and diet which is believed to not only help her recuperate but also rid her body of any prior illnesses. It is a belief that she will then emerge with a stronger and healthier body after the 30 days.

If you ask my mum, she will probably ramble on about how disobedient I was for not following the confinement rules. To be frank, for both confinements, I did try my best to stick to the rules, BUT, failed miserably. I figured out that to adhere to the stringent lifestyle and diet requires more than just plain perseverance and determination. Without some kind of faith and belief, it is impossible for me to stick with the practice of NOT bathing, NOT drinking water, NOT leaving the house, NOT washing my hair. I can’t imagine the physical discomfort that one has to go through without bathing and washing hair for a month and I think it may just aggravate any post natal depression.

But because my mum is a strong believer in the benefits of doing confinement, I was served like a empress during this 30 days period. I was spared the washing, the cooking, the cleaning. She even helped to bath the baby because I should not touch water.

You can read more about confinement practices and confinement myths busted

It was good to have help during this period when I was sleep deprived and when the wound from the operation still hurts. And when my husband volunteered to help with the cooking during the first week, both my mum and I got a little worried as we knew that it was his virgin attempt in cooking confinement food. But thanks to the internet, he managed to find some really good recipes and served some really authentic traditional confinement food.

So for 1 week, he cooked 6 meals a day, with each meal nicely planned out and written in his diary. I was impressed with how well organized he was and I even thought that he would fare better as a househusband if  and only if he could keep this enthusiasm going, continuing his effort 24/7.

Apart from the usual Red Dates and Longan confinement tea, he tried something called the Fried Ginger Rice Tea which is really simple to make and reminds me of Sikhye, a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage usually served as a dessert. I totally love it !

With my 30 days of confinement coming to an end, on one hand, I may not feel any sense of achievement or triumph for having completed the stringent regime, on the other hand, I no longer feel guilty about flouting all the rules. Perhaps like what my mum said, I will be stricken with rheumatism and a thousand other maladies when I hit 50 years old.

Meanwhile, enjoy this refreshing tea recipe.

Fried Ginger Rice Tea

Ingredients:
300g white grain rice
150g fresh ginger shredded
Sugar to taste

Method:
1) Stir-fry the rice and shredded ginger until dry and golden brown.
2) Remove and keep in a bottle
3) Soak 1tbsp in a cup of boiling water. Cover for 30 minutes.
4) Add sugar to taste
Serve hot.

I am like a walking zombie these days
At 3 weeks old, the little baby is wearing me out with his 2 hourly feeding.

And I thought having breastfed Malcolm for 2 years had trained me well, I realised that it is not the physical fatigue that I couldn’t bear but more of the montonous and unchallenging chore of feeding, burping, changing that have wore me down.

Malcolm was a breast fed baby
He was breast fed till he was 2 years old and nothing could soothe him more than mummy’s breast
He rejected the pacifier
He rejected the bottle
He rejected ALL baby formula
Tins of baby formula went down the rubbish chute as nothin could please his discerning taste bud

When he was about a year old, we gave him fresh milk, in a cup
He started drinking from a cup since a young age
In fact he started using cup when he was born
something recommended by the breastfeeding experts
nipple confusion was what they feared

And because we had done EVERYTHING RIGHT, like what a breastfeeding expert would recommend
I was the SOLE caregiver for my first child for a long time
My baby was totally dependent on me for food and nourishment

The good thing that came out of this dependence was
Our first born went EVERYWHERE we went
We went for our first holiday when he was 3 month old
We dipped him in the pool and he tried swimming  for the first time

It was relatively easy to pack for trips as he was a breastfed baby
All we needed to do when he was hungry, sleepy, thirsty or edgy was to WHIP out my ‘weapon’ and he would be soothed, almost immediately
We saved hundreds of dollar on milk powder
Iron fortified infant formula was new to me
DHA and ARA supplemented milk powder was foreign

The downside to this was
my life revolves around my baby
Nobody could take over the feeding job even when there were eager helpers around

Now with my second baby, I choose to do things a little different.
I am expressing my milk
I am introducing bottle to my new baby
I am handing the baby over to whomever eager to help with the feeding
I am not going to monopolize this feeding job

I started expressing on Day 1 with less than 10 ml of colestrum
then on Day 2, I hit 10 ml
on Day 3, I was getting abit more than 10 ml
and on Day 4, I was pumping 40 ml
By the end of week 1, I was getting 150 ml
and soon I was getting a whooping 1 litre a day!

The baby was happy
I was happy
I felt like a milking machine, literally
and it felt GOOD

I packed my precious extract in bags and bottles
hand the baby to anyone eager to help while I run errands, send Malcolm to school, drop by grocery stores and go for my checkups
I need not have to worry about rushing back in 2 hours’ time because the baby needs to be fed
I was enjoying the freedom
something which I never had before with my first born

Then I got a little lazy, a little complacent
perhaps even a little too smug, for my own good
I started expressing less as if to test the Theory of Demand and Supply
Within a few days of slacking, my supply dropped drastically
I began to panic
I began to stock up on baby’s first tin of infant formula
I reverted back to my 3 hourly milking schedule hoping to regain my supply

Sure enough, the theory proved itself
Within a couple of days, I was getting back part of my supply
As I wrote this, I am still working towards the 1 litre/day

Despite the fatigue, I am not about to give up breastfeeding as I believe that breast milk, time-tested for millions of years, is the best nutrients for babies as it is nature’s perfect food.

And if you ask me, as a mother, breast milk has to be the best thing that I have given to my children so far.

5 years ago, when I had Malcolm, I was certain and confident that I would give birth to my baby like any others, the way my mum did with her 4 kids, the natural way, through the vaginal birth canal. The chance of me having it any other way, was distant, remote perhaps even nonexistent.

After more than 12 hours of labour, with my cervix still stucked at a dilation of 1/2 the required length, I was told that unnatural  intervention was needed. Malcolm was finally brought to the world under the doctor’s skillful surgical incision. The procedure was brisk but the recovery was arduous and painful.

This time round, for my 2nd pregnancy, I was given the option. Vaginal birth which put me at risk of tearing my 5 year old wound and perhaps see history repeat itself OR pick a good looking date from the doctor’s busy schedule and get it over and done with in a blink of an eye.

It was a tough choice and we chose the latter.

So on that good looking day or more like, convenient day, within an hour or two, the job was done, the wait is over.

Thinking that this might be it

my LAST bump !

We hauled out the camera stand and started snapping away

And we ended up with some cheap home studio pics

And I think I am going to miss my bump.

The truth is that
Malcolm is not really keen to meet his baby brother

His standard answer to
‘Are you happy that you gonna have a baby brother ?’
or question of a similar effect
will yield a straight ‘NO’
reason
‘Because baby will be noisy’

And guess what ?
He is probably right

He does adore my new tummy, A LOT
and would plant kisses all over it whenever given a chance
He is somewhat fascinated
and would ask questions
‘how will the baby come out’
‘how will the doctor do it’

I realised that the biggest task on hand to welcome this little life
is not the stocking up on diapers
the amassing of clothings and toys
the splurging on fanciful gadgets

In fact
these are trivial

We have decided that the new baby will be getting mostly
hand-me-down items from our first born and from friends

The more pressing challenge we are facing now
is to mentally prepare Malcolm for the arrival of his baby brother

We talk to him
We explain to him
We turn to books
illustrating all the fun of having a baby brother

We WANT to feed him with all the good things of being a BIG brother !
We WANT him to LOVE being a BIG brother !

and when he came home from school the other day
and exclaimed that HE MADE THIS in school

and HE IS GOING TO GIVE IT TO THE BABY !!!
…
….
…..
We thought we finally see some light at the end of the tunnel

I got a little carried away with the recent buzz and it totally slipped my mind that I am nearing the final stage of my pregnancy.

It is great to keep my mind occupied with things other than aches and pains and the long to-do-list for the arrival of the new baby.

On one hand, I am excited about the new baby, on the other hand there are things I wish to accomplish as I know my focus will soon be very much on the new baby.

I remember how my time revolved round Malcolm when he was little. I was a new mother then, I was inexperience, I was not sure and I panicked at his smallest cries.

I like to think that after 5 years of caring for my first born,  I am more experience, less panicky and more prepared.

It was during the onset of my 34th weeks, a series of sudden Braxton Hicks contractions, it dawned on me that the baby may arrive ANYTIME, perhaps even too early.

I had a sudden urge to pack, to wash, to arrange
It came so naturally and it felt so powerful
I just couldn’t resist the urge

It was my body’s subtle way of telling me to get ready
and I was reminded to listen to my body

The human body has to be the most amazing and beautiful creation

At 34 weeks I am finally feeling the strain of carrying a 10 kg load. Yes, I am still at my 10 kg mark, somehow, my weight hasn’t been increasing much at this final trimester. Perhaps due to the low sugar, low carbo, low fat diet that I am sticking to, a conscious effort to keep my blood sugar level within acceptable range.

I can’t walk as fast and I can’t walk as far. I feel heavy and my legs ache. In fact, I have to plan ahead the places I want to go.  I avoid places where a lot of walking is required. Now, that is totally unlike me, as I go places even when I am pregnant because many times, I FORGOT that I am one until someone will to frown and remind me how PREGNANT I am! Being in the pool is about the only time that makes me feel normal, a relief from the extra weight.

Just a couple of weeks ago,  we had a girls’ night out. Just the wifeys and mummies with the daddies at home baby sitting the kids. It was a crazy night with food and juice, music and dancing. And YES, I danced, though I did feel a bit out of place with my protruding tummy in a jam packed pub. We called that a little celebration before the baby pops.

That was about 2 weeks ago.

Today, I think twice even when going to town. For now, my body is my MASTER and I am OBEYING my master’s plea for me to SLOW DOWN

I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions. I don’t remember experiencing such intense false contractions when I had Malcolm and the advice given to me was to REST. The baby however doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. He kicks, moves and turns causing uncomfortable tightness all round my tummy even when I am resting. I told my husband perhaps this baby will take after his size, an 8 pounder compared to Malcolm who was barely 6.5 when he was born, thus explains the intensity and frequency of the baby’s movement. The baby NEEDS space and room which is probably scarce with my petite frame.

Apart from preparing for the arrival of the new baby, my husband and I have been getting quite a bit of couple time these days with Malcolm volunteering to go over to my sister’s place. Reason being, he gets to indulge in almost endless computer games.

We would go for dinner, coffee and then indulge in conversation for hours. We talk about everything and anything and to think that I have known this man for 20 years, it is simply amazing. I am certainly not complaining as I know in about a month’s time, our conversation will probably revolve round the new baby.