Gosh it’s been a month since I last blogged. I just wish I have more time in a day! How time flies since I started working and Cameron is already 9 months old…3 more months and he’ll be 1..and that means I’m getting older too boohoohooo Anyway, some little updates about my little darling.

I’ve officially stopped BF and Cameron has been successfully weaned off and he’s beginning to like solids only after 3 months of introduction! Phew. Even with the variety of food he is eating – avocado, pork porridge, millet, lentil, cod, salmon, parsley, etc, he still fusses around. How spoilt! Fortunately he is good with people and even strangers, otherwise it will be a nightmare for him to be with the childminder. This is the third week since he’s with the childminder and he is adapting well. Now I feel bad for not spending enough time with him ever since I started working. 10 hours a day away from us seems like an utter shocking figure. Maybe if we were living in KL, situation would be better as we would have our parents and maids at our disposal but then again it might not be as easy as it seems. Going through the stress of getting stuck in traffic and high living expenses especially when the little one is consuming 1 can of milk powder a week are not something I would look forward to. Although means of transportation and public welfare are of an advantage over here, it’s hard to find extra help due to costs reasons.  Forget about the suggestion about hiring a maid as it would most likely blow the entire month’s budget, well unless you are wealthy of course. Even though you are willing to pay for others to work according to your hours, you might still not get what you want as they are not suppose to work for more than 10 hours a day, according to the law. So you do not have much choice but to workaround all these constraints. That’s why people over here leave the office on time due to commitments. I guess people will learn how to persevere in every situation, just at various degrees of independence and intensity.

On the sleep matter, he only started sleeping through the night after 8 months! Now , he sleeps from 8pm-7am without night feeds. Now that he is on bottle and doesn’t wake up at night, I suddenly feel so free. When I was breastfeeding, I found it challenging and was desperately hoping that he would sleep through the night. Now that I’ve gotten over it, I just wished I haven’t.  Life is odd, although that moment might seem difficult and testing, but I was happy and content. Btw, he has started crawling and now he is trying to stand with support. And we are trying to keep up with him by making the house child proof. He sure does keep us busy…..

Cameron has developed quite a lot in these couple of weeks. I can see him discovering and learning new stuffs every day. It’s pretty scary as it means time flies so quickly without us realizing. See what he has been up to…

1.       He can sit.

2.       He can roll over. During bedtime, he will roll from one end of our bed to the other before settling down. Yeah he still sleeps with us.

3.       He loves to splash during bath time. Not forgetting he has little yellow rubber ducklings as bath pals.

4.       He is teething. Could see a small one appearing at the lower gum.

5.       He is extending his hands to be carried.

6.       He has added a new word to his current vocab. ‘Mum mum’ that is! But that doesn’t mean mummy. Although it sounds like he is asking for food but he seems to babble those words at any time of the day. Only he knows what it means :p

7.       He loves blowing bubbles even while he’s eating and I get splatters of it at times. I consider that a bad habit but I do not think there is such thing as a bad habit among babies. Just need to make sure he doesn’t inherit that when he grows a little older.

8.       He refuses to lie down in his car seat. Guess it’s time to upgrade it to a proper buggy for 6m+.

9.       He was sleeping well the last 2 weeks, only woke up at 2am. Lately he has been fussing, could be due to teething.

10.   Eng’s mum says he got a flat nose. Hahaha in line with his name, which means flat or crooked nose! Ma says I should have ‘pinch’ his nose during the first month so that it would be sharp like an “ang-moh’s”. I think I was the one who caused the flatness as I love rubbing my nose against his since he was born ooopssss.

And next would be crawling…

My third week at work and I’m finally feeling on top of things. Feeling much more comfortable and confident. Yesterday, I had never felt more satisfied when I got around to finish off some issues and the thought of my little baby at home. Before I had Cameron, I never felt happier whenever I managed to complete any jobs. It was just another ordinary achievement. However, Cameron completes everything. I felt so contented looking after him during my maternity leave when career was out of my mind for a little while. And right now, I feel happy that he’s around to complement my accomplishment at work. Him or family no doubt takes precedence over career at present or career/job has become a small part in life. Perhaps every parent thinks the same way or am I  just overly emotional as he’s my first?

Whatever it is, I’m still excited that I’ve personally discovered this new sentiment and I very much believe that I will feel the same way for his future sibling. Seeing him grow so quickly by the day tells both Eng and I that we need to be more discipline and efficient in managing the family to be able to grow alongside with him. I never thought that a baby could develop so much in 7 months – from a tiny softy sleepy infant who only fed on breast milk and needed to be carried all the time into a toddler who is now able to roll, sit and throw his hands and feet all over the place as well as feed on solids! Btw, he loves babbling ‘pau pau pau pau’ repeatedly and it makes me burst with laughter. I can’t imagine having to miss all these milestones if he was cared and lived with either our parents.  It’s already so hard not seeing him for 10 hours while I’m at work.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I’m still pleased that we are able to witness and immensely influence his development with minimal supervision from our family although it’s tiring without additional assistance. But it can’t get any better than to be in total control of your own kid, if you know what I mean? *grin So my advise is try to spend as much time as possible with your little one from the very first day he/she was born as it will never be the same again once he/she grows. I’m so pathetic as whenever I see a mum with a newborn, I would always recall when Cameron was like that although I’ve got him in front of me!

Cameron has been good with the bottle. It has to be MAM though and after making an adhoc comparison with the price of the bottle in KL, seems like it’s a little cheaper here. I’ve also reduced the BF sessions to twice per day – morning and night. During the first 2 weeks at work, I had to express during the day. Subsequently, my body automatically got adjusted to the demand and supply and I could get away without expressing. How amazing is God’s creation! Furthermore, breast milk does not fill Cameron up anymore since he’s already 28 weeks old.

However, the story of our broken nights has yet to end. For some reason, he still wakes up multiple times at night; sometimes for feeds and sometimes for comfort. I still think the reason is feed. Still trying to figure out the correct timing and quantity to give him before bed time. The problem is he can’t drink plenty at once (max 5 oz) and he can’t stay awake very much after 8. So night feeds are inevitable for now.

As for other food besides formula, he has started on solids. We’ve been feeding him baby rice, broccoli, butternut squash, pear, apple, blueberry, avocado, carrots and parsnip. Mostly organic, so his food is definitely pricier than ours! Also, he loves sucking the juice of a whole nectarine. Well he seems to eat anything, so I’m not complaining.

It was the hottest day this summer, temperature increased to a record high 32 last Sunday. Perfect day for a picnic and off we went to Hyde Park at London. Girls were clad in bikinis sunbathing on the park. Should have taken some photos but sorry guys :p

We had a lovely home prepared meal – turkey breast wraps, grapefruit juice, potato salad, nectarines and scrumptious sticky toffee pudding. Cameron was distracted with the surrounding (must be the girls), so he refused to drink any milk. But I’m sure he had a wonderful time relaxing with us on the grass.

We went to Europe’s largest shopping mall, Bluewater, in Kent 2 weeks ago.  I think it has 300 over individual retailers, super huge and much more varieties than 1 Utama. Their nursing facilities are superb. However, I believe they could do better with more selections of restaurants. There were only 2 oriental outlets and the menus didn’t look good. We opted for Spanish instead. Cameron’s face was filled with amazement when he saw the toys at Disney’s.

http://www.bluewater.co.uk/

It has been a week since I went back to work. A week since my long ‘holidays’ ended. As soon as I’ve returned, I received the news about maternity leave being extended to 9 months for birth after April 2007. Darn!
Anyway, I miss baby-sitting Cameron full-time. Miss being a full-time mum as I’m enjoying motherhood so much. Honestly, I miss those first few weeks of his life. People think I’m lunatic as those were supposed to be the worst moment of all due to sleep and rest deprivation. Some said that once the baby is 6 months old, it would be a lot easier. I don’t think so since Cameron is still not sleeping through the night. Since it doesn’t make any difference to me, I’ve concluded that those first few weeks meant so much more. I do admire the beauty of the arrival of a little human into our lives. It’s like being in a whole new world with a whole new beginning. It’s like a second chance. Looking at his angelic face in his peaceful sleep and the contented smiles after feed were simply invaluable. As a result, Eng and I came to a common consensus that the first 4 months were the best time before he turned into a little monster.
Now the story gets cheesy. Why little monster? That’s because he loves to scream especially when we are having our dinner. He just drives Eng up the wall. We reprimand him but obviously he doesn’t bother. We haven’t really figure out what to do but we will be getting a high-chair this weekend. With it, he can have his snacks and toys while we eat and hopefully that would work.

Still feeling sorry for being a distant from Cameron while I’m at work and not being able to nurture him personally. Then, why back to work? Well, we are probably used to double income and with the money that my parents had invested in my tertiary education; I feel bad for ditching a career.  Old-fashioned thought eh?  Also, it’s due to never ending commitments here and back home. Furthermore, continuous employment is like an insurance for the future. But is it fair to my baby? No doubt it isn’t but we are doing all we can to give him the best attention that we could possibly give. Parenthood means a lot of worthwhile sacrifices. While we are at work during the day, the rest of the time are dedicated and reserved for Cameron. That’s what I mean by owning 2 jobs. Now I’m experiencing the tough ride of raising a kid even before he starts to crawl. Can’t imagine the challenges ahead.

How our lifestyle has changed since 29^th January 2007.

1.       Limited evening events as Cameron needs to wind down by 8pm. Definitely retired from clubbing :p

2.       After 8pm, the noise in the house has to be at the minimum level. We even have to be wary with our footsteps, tiptoe is best; as our wooden flooring is quite creaky.

3.       Shopping list priority goes to baby accessories and baby clothes. There goes all the expenses….

4.       More focused and disciplined in meeting timelines ie. definite hard stop at work by 6pm as need to be home to attend to Cameron’s needs.

5.       Outings are like moving the whole house into the car – baby stuffs.

6.       Possess 2 jobs; 1 office job during the day with pay and 1 baby-sitting job throughout the night and weekend without pay.

7.       Multi tasking skill becomes the most essential and sought after expertise ie. the need to be able to cook and pacify a crying baby at the same time as well as the ability to enjoy meals and attend to an energetic baby simultaneously.

8.       Increased speed in completing tasks eg. Shower, dressing up and meal time cut down by half.

9.       Controlled vocabulary - Eng is forbidden from vulgar language.

10.   3 hours of uninterrupted sleep a day is considered a blessing.

…and one word to describe our life; ‘EXHAUSTING’….I can print more comments but when I look back, they all equate to a newfound happiness; parenthood that we really enjoy and appreciate. A personal experience and journey that is priceless and irreplaceable. So, can’t be complaining all the time…

Eng’s mum is here in the UK to help look after Cameron for a period of 2 months. Lucky me as it really helps since I will be returning to work pretty soon. She has been potty-training Cameron. Since he started on solids which are just baby rice, vege and fruits, his poo is starting to smell. Can’t imagine once meat is included into his diet.

Nicely tucked onto mummy’s seat. He was good on the plane, slept in our arms most of the time. It was us that didn’t get to sleep during the 13-hour journey.

This is Cameron’s latest look. Macho with enough scars to compliment his manliness

Cameron seems to like the MAM bottle more than the rest. Hence, I bought another one from ToyRus yesterday just in case  I can’t get the same brand in KL. Costed me another £4. Gosh these baby accessories are pricey. I’ve been investing in all sorts of bottles and I think I’m gonna stop doing that if he is receptive towards this. Now the challenge is it only works if the content is water. No luck with milk yet but will keep trying.

Although he’s been very difficult but I guess the best solution in this matter is baby-led, meaning letting the baby decide when he’s ready for the bottle. At the same time, will drop nursing gradually starting with mid-day feeds as I do not mind feeding him in the morning, before bed and midnight (already gotten used to broken nights). I was pretty anxious at the beginning to entirely stop BF due to return-to-work pressure but I’m learning to be more relaxed. What’s the point of forcing him if he isn’t ready at all? It would only make the weaning process tougher. If I need to express at work, then let it be. Besides, I’ve been enjoying the bond that we’ve had all these while but it will not last forever. Some day, he will grow out of it and would be independent. Guess treasuring the special moment that we are experiencing now would be the best bet. I never knew I would become this obsessed with BF as well as I’ve been very comfortable nursing him outdoor (in nursing rooms and venues that appreciate BF of course). However, it would be a little setback in KL as most places including the 5-star hotels do not have nursing rooms. Wonder if Malaysian BF mums do not go to secluded places to BF or most babies are bottle-fed? Having said that, I only know Jaya Jusco has them, so I guess this would be the only place I can comfortably hang out during my trip. Besides, having to deal with stares…

I’m trying to wean Cameron off breastfeeding but he refuses the bottle. He had no problem with it when he was 2 months old as I was unwell then but I resumed exclusive bf when I got better. I tried introducing the bottle again when he was 3 months but he totally rejected it. I should have continued some bottlefeeding when he was much younger. At least a bottle a day; either with formula or expressed breast milk. Now that he’s aware of choices, he’s being very difficult although I guess he will eventually accept it. I’ve spent a lot of money and effort by trying all sorts of brands/teats from Avent to Tommee Tippee to MAM and now I’m trying to give him the Avent magic cup. I’ve received many advise from friends and have tried these but in vain:-

1. Switch to bottle halfway breastfeeding.

2. Bottle with water or formula milk.

3. Letting others feed him using the bottle.

4. Feed him by letting him face outwards instead of near my body.

Every baby is unique and I guess I just have to eventually discover his unique preference. Hopefully, he will surprise me by accepting the penguin looking trainer cup (the one in yellow). If it fails, I will try the spoon and repeat the bottles with various content till he accepts them. Wish me luck!

Time is gold…48 hours in a day is all I need now! Cameron is already 18 weeks old and gazing back at the past 4.5 months, it just went by like a blink of an eye. Looking after a baby without additional assistance plus exclusive breastfeeding is no joke. No doubt Eng takes over some chores when he gets back from work but the situation is still demanding. Though I thank God that Eng has been very supportive and understanding.

Cameron’s nap time is the only moment which I can get to execute my personal chores and that is only 3 hours in a day. At times, blogging has also become an effort, hence will always try to keep it short and simple and not as comprehensive as I would like it to be. I’ve been meeting up with a few friends who have babies of Cameron’s age. We all laugh about the same experience that we are going through which is rushing about like a mad woman during the 3 hour jiffy.

Since I had breast abscess back in April, Cameron had been bed-sharing with us. It was the only way to make him sleep longer and less taxing for me. Now that I’m kinda well, last Thursday was the first time I put him back to sleep in his own cot. Apparently, that would help him to sleep longer and it surely did. For the first time, he slept for 5.5 hours without waking up (from 9pm –2.30 am)! We are pleased but I miss having him on our bed. I still woke up at 1 am to check on him and thought he would want some milk. It happened automatically but found him still sleeping so peacefully. After the feed at 2.30 am, I put him back on our bed hehe. I didn’t want him to cry in the middle of the night, just in case if he realized he wasn’t sleeping with mumdad anymore. Eng said I am the problem…boohoohooo I think so too. Breastfeeding mums are usually more attached to their babies….

I will return to work end of July and our short term decision is to send Cameron to a childminder. We’ve been on the look out for a few. Childcare in the UK is ridiculously costly. In our area, the hourly rate ranges from £3.75-£5! Would see how it goes as who knows, our circumstances might change.

Submitted Cameron’s visa application for processing 3 weeks ago and I’m rather surprised that it’s been approved so much earlier than expected. Fantastic! That means we will be in KL very soon! That also means Cameron can leave and enter the UK by himself but I doubt he will do it without his mummy *grin*.

Sometime ago, Cameron’s GP prescribed nasal drops for him to be applied during take-off and landing in order to reduce ear block in flights. I wanted to pay for the prescription and guess what? The chemist said I do not need to pay anything for Cameron until he reaches 18! *grin*

Btw, he is 16 weeks old, weighs 6.5 kg and his height is 62 cm. It’s also sunnier now and I nearly got burned by the scorching sun yesterday but still much nicer than the downpour. Eng says Cameron is too fair (of course lah, look at the mother *perasan*), so needs to get some tan.