That's My Girl

Despite her tummy woes, Vera is still determined to do her rolls. Today she surprised me with 4 head raises while I was talking on the phone! As if saying ' Look Mummy, I can do it by myself!" Nothing thrills me more than seeing those head raises done happily.

I spend so little time with her these days. But I love her all the more.

Vomitting Again

Vera's not been well the last few days. In fact, she missed her Didi's (little brother's) 1st month celebration.

She came down with a low grade fever last Saturday. I admit I panicked at the first sign of it and headed straight for the doctor and insisted on antibiotics.

On hindsight I should have waited and monitored. Now her tummy's not taken well to the antibiotics (again) - it damages the gut flora - and she's not been able to hold down her milk. Even the Omeprazole she's on, which is supposed to reduce acid production, is not helping.

This is what comes up when we vent (take out the air from) her stomach. Really wondering what this means.


The good thing is that the fever is gone. Hoping to get some answers from the visit to the GI doctor next week.

Daen is a month old

We celebrated his 1st month last Sunday. Might have a post for it when we've time to settle down to sort out the photos.

Before the earlier photos become too 'outdated', here are some pix of our little baby at a couple of days old.

Don't be deceived by his seemingly calm looks. He is surely more vocal than Vera .... :P

Wings

I have just received news of the passing of an 8-year-old Trisomy 18 girl. Her name is Annette. According to her mother, she died peacefully in her sleep.

Much as we enjoy each day with Vera almost as normal now, such news always serves to bring her diagnosis to the fore, and remind us to treasure each moment with her even more.

I'm going to play with her now.

Sayang

No words needed here.

I doubt Vera is really sayang-ing (caressing) her little brother (more like 'Is this a toy?'), but as parents we'd like to believe so!

Where is Vera?

Some of you might be wondering too. I'm guilty of literally asking that just the other day.

We were occupied with our new member and our helper had left Vera briefly on the the mat to attend to some household chores. When I came back from the bedroom to check on her, I found her rolled almost under the coffee table. She was as quiet as a mouse (... well, she is born in the year of the Rat according to the Chinese Zodiac), and it looked as if she was exploring its underside.

She seems to know that we're busy recently and has been quite contented to spend quiet and happy moments on her own - clapping her hands, tapping on her musical toys, rolling around, smiling to herself, etc.

We usually flank her with some toys or bulky objects to prevent her head from knocking onto the hard floor if she rolls off the mat. Thanks to all the 'secret training' she's been putting in while we were not looking, her rolls are faster now and she sometimes can turn in multi-directions. Which explains why she ended up under the table.

Looks like we've got a car mechanic in the making.

Confinement Daddy

Most Asian women engage a confinement nanny during their baby's 1st month.

I've got a confinement daddy instead.

Ian has taken leave to do the honours. Changing diapers, bathing baby Daen, bottle-feeding and burping him in the wee hours of the morning.

During the first few days when I was having difficulty walking, he was literally at my beck and call - can you get this, get that, do this, do that.

He's able to spend much more time with Vera as well, just like back in the days when he was a Stay-Home Dad.

It's nice to have him step in during this time when I'm totally out-of-action. I guess that's what team mates are for.

Vera Meets Daen

Here's the pix everyone's been waiting for: a little belated, but oh well.

Not much reaction from Vera to her little brother's presence, or to his angry cries. She seems too contented in her own world to bother.

I may be home but the last week has been so crazy I hardly had time to even look at Vera.

I miss her so much.

I have not been carrying her for the past 2 months (too heavy myself) and I was surprised to feel the difference in her size and weight.

Hey, when did her head get bigger? When did she get that double chin? When did her hands and legs become so tough? I had missed all of that.

Hopefully, I'll get back into the swing of things soon and start exercising her stronger limbs.

Overwhelmed

The first week post-partum overwhelmed me.

Changing gears from an easy-going existence just eating, sleeping and playing with Vera during pregnancy, to a manic 24-hour feeding frenzy is no joke.

At the same time, the body is weak from the hard work of labour, the birth passage wound is sore like crazy and sitting is painful.

Top it up with the discomfort of profuse sweating, no fan allowed (for fear of rheumatism).

Not forgetting a marked drop in hormonal levels that sets you up for teariness ie the baby blues.

Pack it all together and give it to a mother.

You think I'm strong? You're wrong. There's only so much I can take at one go.

Daen's 1st week

Over his 1st week, we've discovered that little Daen is a snacker, i.e. he suckles a bit, naps a while, then suckles again, etc. May has been trying hard to meet his demands almost hourly. This is very different from the tube-feeding with Vera that we're very accustomed to & has taken quite a toll on her. We've started bottle-feeding with formula as a supplement in order to give her time to 'recover'. Meanwhile, I guess she will be too exhausted to blog for a while.

In addition, he has developed a bit of jaundice, possibly due to limited number of poo. Hope some stomach massages & sun-tanning sessions in the early morning will help.