Sam L J

Loved him in movies and love that he gets parents of young kids.

This video totally cracked me up!

Model Behaviour

Yeah right!

But seriously, Christian had a little ‘modelling’ stint for a fashion spread in Mother & Baby in July, and Connor just did one in the October issue.

Action only

Laughing at daddy pretending to jump of the boat!

My lovely baby lumps!

A tad nerve wrecking for us, but it was fun!

Connor's first foods

We gave Connor a taste of his first semi-solid food (avocado) last weekend. The verdict? A mixture of shock and horror! Here's the video!

PS: Yes we were laughing, but it was just too funny ;)

Tantrum Tales

Oh my goodness!

We have an awesome two year old.

He rocks out to Aerosmith, ACDC and Guns N' Roses, insists on wearing mismatched socks and two tees at the same time and asks us to refer to him as Pluto.

We love his quirks - But like most two-year-olds, he can throw pretty epic tantrums - we're talking lying sprawled out on the floor screaming, arching his back and flailing his arms. But then he also provides us with funny gems: Like if I tell him don't scream, he says must scream! Or if I say don't cry he says must cry!

It's exhausting but hilarious at the same time.

Over time though, I've learnt certain strategies to help - both us and him - cope with this phase.

1. Distraction

Ice cream, Harold the Helicopter and Stickers make mealtimes happy

It's simple really - something yummy in one hand and a toy in the other, and he doesn't realise that he's doing exactly what you want him to.

2. Cause And Effect

I'll wear my shoes if I get to shoot you.

Or positive reinforcement. Or bribing. Whatever works.

Pretty much goes something like this.

Me: "Wear your shoes please."
C: "Nope."
Me: "You want a biscuit?"
C: "Yes."
Me: "Wear your shoes then you get your biscuit."
C: "..."

Works sometimes.

3. Engaging

Shopping trips are fun when I get to do this!

I recently read an article that stated that "Children tend to throw temper tantrums in public for two reasons: they are deliberately disobedient, or they are bored out of their minds."

How true - especially the second part. As parents, it's easy to "expect" the kiddo to simply follow you around for the day, whether your catching up with friends over coffee or going shopping, forgetting that these tiny human beings need to be engaged at their level. 

Even while Ewan and I are talking to each other, we try to make it a point to address Christian once in a while, so he feels included in the conversation, and not simply drowned out in the background.

4. Routine

My new stuffed toy

One of the hardest things to do these days, is to get Christian into bed. 

From a young age, we got him into a routine of having dinner, then bringing a bunch of "cool" stuff into his room for some pre-bedtime play, then milk and night night time. 

As he got older, he started to bargain and drag his bedtime.

I'm thankful though, that because of the nightly routine, once he's convinced to get into his room, it's a pretty straightforward bedtime ritual because of what he's used to.

5. Naps

Snoozing 

One of the most basic but underrated toddler needs. Christian's at a stage where he can ALMOST drop a nap - he does that some times when he sleeps in in the morning, so we simply put him down earlier at night. But for most days, he does need one, and will get incredibly cranky when he doesn't get one. The key is to be aware of when he's getting tired and to quickly pop him into the car or stroller (if we're out), or give him a bottle of milk to lull him to sleep.

I think we're handling the "twos" pretty well - so, here's to new parenting adventures and experiences!

Yellow

One of the most terrifying things I faced as a new mum was Jaundice. For some reason ― perhaps because my babies were both born at 37 weeks and their livers had not fully developed ― they were checked out of hospital with low jaundice levels, but the levels went up a few days later, and they required phototherapy.

For Christian, we decided to rent a phototherapy bed from the hospital. We’d already come back to the comforts of home and really didn’t want to have to be admitted again. As it turns out, that might have been the wrong decision. The poor little guy cried almost the whole time his tiny body was in the phototherapy unit and stopped only when we took him out to feed him. As first time parents, we cried along with him and I recall the hours we spent by his bedside holding his hand and praying as he screamed his lungs out.

Christian under phototherapy

For Connor, we were told to give him a sun bath every morning and evening from the day he came home.

Morning, Sunshine!

But after a few days, we noticed his skin was still yellow, and so were the whites of his eyes. So, we weren't surprised when his bilirubin levels were high at his first paediatrician check up. This time though, we decided to check back into the hospital with me staying in a single ward with him. We sure didn't want Connor crying through the night, especially when Christian, who was still grappling with the idea of a new sibling, was trying to sleep.

However, it seems our fears were quite unfounded, as Connor slept like a dream in the hospital, only waking up when he needed to feed. As for me, that hospital stay was pretty much like breastfeeding boot camp - so my supply certainly went up by leaps and bounds!

Connor under phototherapy

Thankfully, after a couple of days in the light, both my babies got much better :)

Connor

Connor

So, here’s Connor’s birth story.

As I approached the weekend I turned 37 weeks pregnant, I knew that it was just about time. No, I didn’t have any contractions or pain, yet, but because Christian was born at exactly 37 weeks, I knew that Connor would come at right about the same time.

It was Friday, 22 March, and we were at Dr Khi’s for my regular gynae check. She did a vaginal examination and I was 2cm dilated ― nothing surprising, because by the way Christian’s birth went, I dilate pretty easily, I guess!

She told me to go back, get some rest, and that it was likely that baby would come the following week.

An appointment was made for the following Wednesday, but when Tuesday rolled around, I just had the feeling that I’d dilated even further, so made arrangements to pay Dr Khi another visit.

I’d gone to the office earlier in the morning, did a couple of hours of work, clearing my desk and handing over the month’s stories. Mum took over watching Christian, and with the hospital bag packed, we went to Thomson Medical Centre.

All this time, no painful contractions ― but I did have Braxton hicks.

After another check with Dr Khi, we found out that I was 4cm dilated, and she told us to head to the delivery suite immediately. As in now. No lunch, nada, unlike how we could go for a leisurely subway lunch just before Christian’s birth. It felt a little weird, as I still hadn’t felt any contractions.

So, at exactly 37 weeks ― on Holy Tuesday nonetheless (same as Christian in 2011) ― we were going to see our second son, Connor!

I was made to poo, put on an epidural, and Dr Khi came to burst the water bag at around 2pm.

Excited to see Connor soon!

Things went smoothly, other than the fact that his heart rate wasn’t increasing as it was expected to each time a contraction came. The nurses said that he seemed a little “sleepy”, but we weren’t quite bothered about that. Expecting things to go into the night, I was rather surprised that I was 10cm dilated by 6pm.

Connor arrived at 6.23pm, weighing 3.065kg ― Praise God for a quick and easy birth!

Screamy screamy

We also learnt that he actually had his umbilical cord wound around his neck, which was the reason why his heart rate actually dipped a little during a contraction. Dr Khi said that it was lucky he wasn’t too big and that labour was fast, or I might have had to go through an emergency C-section. Thank God for that.

Bundled tight

Unlike Christian, Connor came into the world wide-eyed, not crying, although he started wailing a few seconds later. Ewan got his daddy-hands busy by cutting the umbilical cord and cradling our little guy.

Here's... Daddy!

And mummy!

First pic with the parents

The difference at Thomson Medical Centre, compared to Mount Alvernia was that they didn’t wash baby yet, just bundled him up and placed him on me, wheeling us both back to the ward. Only later did they take him away for his first bath, while I got some rest for the night.

All washed up

Phew. Sleep time.

By the way, I was starving by then, as I hadn’t had anything to eat all day! Plus the kitchen had closed as it was past 8pm, but the nurses managed to get me a sandwich. I was still starving, so Ewan went out to da pao some Bak Chor Mee. Awesome.

We were extremely excited the next day when my parents brought Christian over. We had prepared him for his brother’s birth by taking him to buy Connor a little toy a few weeks earlier ― a Lamaze toy lion, which Christian eventually claimed for his own, and secretly bought him a Thomas the Train toy and a Chuck the Truck Trailer, with the plan to present it to him, from Connor.

Presents from Baby Connor

I guess Christian didn’t quite understand the concept of the new baby brother at that time, but he sure understood the concept of new toys and was extremely happy when he came by the hospital. Till today, he tells us that those toys were given to him from Baby Connor ― which completely warms our hearts.

With Mama, Pop pop and his first toy from Christian

First family pic

Of course, through these 5 months +, there were times of jealousy and frustration, as we learn to be parents to two little ones, and as Christian grapples with the notion of being a big brother. But through it all, we are honoured and truly blessed to have each other. I leave you with a quick video of Christian sharing his precious trucks with month-old Connor.




Precious moments :)

Revival

Time to revive this blog! Lots has happened since my last post ― Christian is quite the feisty 2-year-old now and we now have Connor, who's just about hitting the six month mark. Despite some toddler tantrums and the lack of sleep that comes along with a young baby, we are extremely happy with the blessings we received over the past year. More to come soon!

My boys