Mother's Day and being a mom

I celebrated Mother's Day with my Mom, and as a mom this year.

It was a simple celebration - my family bought food over to our place as I was still in confinement.

We then had a cake, celebrating motherhood.





I guess I really have a new found respect for all moms - and dads as well this year.

Becoming a parent has really opened my eyes to a whole new world of work and sacrifice in caring for a newborn.



Take breastfeeding for instance.

The journey wasn't smooth for me - Christian had initial problems latching in the first couple of days as he kept falling asleep while feeding.

When he finally caught up with enough sleep after that, he was hungry and impatient at feeds, which caused him to get frustrated and that posed even more difficulty latching on.

I sought help with Mount Alvernia's lactation consultants and after we learnt to latch properly, he fed for a whole hour at the parent craft centre!

But after a day of feeding like there's no tomorrow, I discovered that I had cracked and sore nipples that were even bleeding a little.

After enduring the pain and having the nipples recover, there was also a couple of days where Christian fed almost round the clock, every hour.

By this time I was so stressed about it I had already broken down a few times and I thank Ewan for always being there for me and encouraging me.

Breastfeeding is just a small aspect of motherhood - the beginning. There's also the sleepless nights, endless diaper changes and worry that something was wrong with Baby.

I can only imagine what else my parents went through as they brought us up from infancy to childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

But then as a mom now, I also realise that parents would simply doing anything for their kids :)

Baby C's birth!

We're in love!

Completely and utterly in love with the newest addition to our family: Christian Gabriel Mah!



He was born on Tuesday morning, 19 April 2011, at 2.20am, weighing 3.130kg - or around 6.8 pounds.

We went through a normal delivery, with epidural, when he was just 37 weeks.

The week before, we had gone to the doc on Tuesday to find that I was 3cm dilated, with contractions. But since he wasn't full term yet, Dr Khi suggested against inducing. The next day though, there was quite a bit of bloody discharge and since this was baby number one, we thought we'd better be safe than sorry and went to the hospital.

Turns out it was a false alarm and I spent the next few days on leave, with Ewan on high alert in case I feel any contractions or if the water bag bursts.

The week passed and soon it was Monday, when we had another appointment at the Gynae. Dr Khi did another check and since I was 5cm dilated with regular contractions, she advised that I be admitted to the delivery ward that very day! I couldn't quite believe it then, but in the next day or so, we would be parents!




So we went to Mount Alvernia hospital - hospital bag and stuff had already been packed the previous week. We even had time to squeeze in a Subway lunch and paid our friend Ben a visit (he was warded at Mount A for a leg injury).





Upon admittance to the labour ward, I still did not feel my contractions much. Ewan went to settle the admission papers and I was given something to help me move my bowels - to which I maintain was the most painful part of the ENTIRE day. I thought it was an oral laxative, but NO, it was administered ANALLY. Within seconds I felt diarrhea pains. But the nurse said I was to wait five to ten minutes before going to the toilet. It was such an agonizing time! And then Ewan said he had to go to the toilet too, so I shooed him off and told him then when he gets back it was totally my turn. He got back in about seven minutes and I gratefully went to relieve myself.



The next few hours were quite uneventful.



After we said a prayer together, Ewan went back home to get some stuff and make some last minute preparations for the baby. I spent my time lying down, trying to fall asleep, channel surfing, reading my book and letting my mind wander about the coming addition to our family.



I worried about the next time I would be home, carrying a baby in my arms - would everything be ready? Would everything be clean? Did I manage to buy everything we needed?

I thought about the things I would miss about being pregnant, the little kicks and punches, how he moves the most at night, how he likes to stick a limb out and when I ask daddy to feel him, he sometimes lies absolutely still as if teasing daddy.



And sometimes when he moves so much at night, preventing me from sleeping, daddy would sing to him "My bubby lies over the ocean, my bubby lies over the sea..." and he would actually stop moving and listen.



I thought about the endless nights of waking up to pee cos it often felt like he was punching my bladder or simply just lying on it.


I thought about what sports he would grow up playing, what subjects he would like in school, what his favourite food would be (I have a feeling it would be chicken rice), whether he would sleep easy, whether he would like dogs and Cleo, what his favourite colour would be, what he would want to be when he grows up... the possibilities were just endless.

Having a baby is just so amazing. How God creates this little person to be placed in the care of two people, and how he could be anything that God wanted him to be.



Soon it was around 7pm and the nurses asked if I wanted dinner. Sure I thought. After all, I was going to need all the energy I could get for the night ahead. Dinner was chicken rice - absolutely yummy! Plus this was the exact food that got Christian moving to the right position when we did the detailed scan for down syndrome during his 20th week. What a way to get a boost of energy for his journey into the world!



Dr Khi arrived at about 9pm to burst my water bag. There was some discomfort but it was manageable. The gush of warm water down my legs was more strange than anything.

Contractions started coming, but they weren't painful. My tummy was just hardening from time to time. We also managed to catch the first episode of the third season of Fringe. Yay!

The nurses then asked if I would like to go on the epidural which I agreed (best choice ever). The anesthetist came and administered it. That's where the discomfort started. As the drugs went in, I felt like the bed was moving - either that or the room was swirling. The grogginess stopped after a while, but then the shivering started. I felt I could control it by taking deep breaths but after a while that got too tiring and I just let myself shiver.



Then the nurses started me on the drip to induce labour.

This went slowly at first, and I hardly felt anything. They then increased the dosage and told me to lie on my left side. The position would help the baby move downwards.

I then started to feel the force of the baby pushing downwards. After about an hour, the nurses checked and I was ten cm dilated. Time to call Dr Khi!

She came in about half an hour or so, and I was ready to start pushing.

Ewan was there, encouraging me the whole way, and our darling Christian arrived at 2.20am.



According to the nurses, the minute his head was out, he opened his eyes and took a look around the outside world :)

The proud daddy then cut the umblical cord, which he said looked like Chee Cheong Fun.



And then the wailing started. He's got an enormous set of lungs!



The nurses then measured his head circumference (34cm), his length (53cm) and his weight (3.130kg).





He was wrapped up and put on my belly. Will never forget that moment :)





We then took some family shots and photos with our gynae before I was stitched up and brought to the Our Lady's ward, St Simon's room for some rest.





In all, labour was about six hours - which is apparently pretty short for a first baby! It was a most incredible experience and I thank God for the smooth delivery and our beautiful baby boy :)

My heart melts!

I celebrated my first ever Mother's Day today.

Ewan surprised me last night with a yummy strawberry tart and a gift from him and Christian.





Here's the note that I found in the book he got me.



I was moved to tears when I read it. I'm so blessed! :) :)

Update: Oh and I got another gift on Mother's Day itself!

The Adventures of the lizard family... and Kueh Salat

Some time ago, I decided to make Kueh Salat.

I've always loved this Nonya Kueh. The top Kaya layer is especially yummy and as a kid, I always ate the top first, and tried to give away the bottom layer of glutinous rice.

So I found this recipe online, and thought, well, how hard could it be?

Turns out that this Kueh was supposedly quite difficult to make, according to my mom and my boss.

So one Thursday morning, I started out the day by soaking the glutinous rice.

I put the rice and water in the rice cooker, and placed a plastic cover over it. The plastic cover had small holes in it. The recipe called for the rice to be soaked for several hours or overnight, so I left it as it was.

Turned out to be quite a busy day for us.

The contractor came over to help us fix up some stuff in our bathrooms.

By the time everything was done, it was about 3 in the afternoon.

We decided to go for a movie, some shopping and dinner. And I made a mental note to make the Kueh when we came back that evening.

When we got back, Ewan went to shower and I went to check on the rice.

I lifted the cover, gave a squeek and RAN OUT OF THE KITCHEN.

OH MY GOSH THERE WAS A HUGE LIZARD IN THE POT!!

AND A LITTLE ONE ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER, PROBABLY WAITING FOR HIS MOM!

How long the big one had been soaking in the rice I had no idea. I couldn't believe it actually squeezed in through the holes of the cover.

And the little one... oh man I was feeling so sad for it waiting for its mom (I think the pregnancy hormones were playing a part here), but at the same time, it was a LIZARD. I couldn't believe I was feeling that way about a LIZARD.

No pics here cos there was no way I was going back to the kitchen, and Ewan said he thought a photo would traumatize me even more so he spared me that.

So in short, Ewan finished his shower, helped me clean up my pot of rice, saved the lizards and there was no Kueh Salat that evening.

He said the soaking lizard was visibly tired and was using his tail to prop himself up above the water. URGH.

I did try again a couple of days later (with a new batch of rice of course, doubly sealed when soaking) and am proud to report that the Kueh was a success and there were no more adventures with lizards.

NZ South Island Part II - In and around Timaru

Ewan's mom and Dez live in Timaru.

So we spent a number of days there, just relaxing, exploring the town.

It's a cute little place where everything seems less than 10 minutes away.

There, we familiarized ourselves with some of the local stores like Farmers, Warehouse, and Whitcoulls.


Warehouse was especially awesome when it came to great deals for DVDs and Blu Rays.

We got the entire first season of Fringe on bluray for just $39. Heh, no surprise we kept going back. Think we grabbed about 15 DVDs/Blurays in all.

Ewan and his mom also found some time for a tennis game at one of the local clubs.

It was drizzling and really cold though, so I stayed inside the club house, taking photos :p



We also made a quick visit to Caroline Bay.

The local beach front is known for its fairs and rose garden. But we went in the evening - about 8 plus, and though the sun hadn't set, it was so chilly so all we managed was a quick stroll at the fair (the rides looked so rickety though!) and goofing around at the fitness corner.


The great thing about staying at Dez's place is that he's got neighbours who keep sheep, cows and donkeys.

A couple of times after dinner, we would take a stroll down the lane, and go bug the animals.

SHEEEEEP!!!!


They've really got a herd mentality so whatever the leader did, everyone else followed.

Except for this guy...


... who let us pose for pictures with him.



There were three donkeys which were sooo cool.


We would pluck the weeds near the fence and feed them and they loved it!


Once, we tried giving them a carrot, but I think they had never had them before and were kind of wary.


We learnt from a young girl who lived there that their names were Charlie, Sinda and something else that I can't remember.


Another favourite animal of ours in New Zealand, were of course the ducks.

These, we saw at the Botanic Gardens in Timaru.


Ewan's mom had packed a few slices of bread so we could feed them.

Ewan's mom also took us to the Timaru local museum.

This little place was really interesting.

It had everything, from the town's history, to the native wildlife of New Zealand, and stuff about the Maori culture.

The giganto Albatross, which apparently after it takes flight from the colony, doesn't return for another five years.


Here's also where we learnt about the poor Moa, which is now extinct.

The huge 7 metre tall bird was hunted by the Maori, and often fell into deep pits.

Its immense weight meant it could not fly out.

The whole species eventually died out, though according to Dez, some people claim to have seen it in recent times.

It's leg itself is already as tall as a human being.


That's about it for Timaru, and we definitely hope to go back some day, this time with Christian (not in belly but running around), to visit Grandma! :)

The Nursery...

... is on the way!

My only work out the past few months...