CNY 2015

GONG XI FAT CAI!

It has been a good new year! And CNY 2015 is also Calysta's first Chinese New Year and EJ's second Chinese New Year

Recap of my Chinese New Year as a married woman:

2012: 1st CNY with my husband and his family. We have just gotten married and we were still enjoying our honeymoon period
2013: 2nd CNY, I was 7 months pregnant with EJ
2014: 3rd CNY, EJ was 9 months old
2015: 4th CNY, celebrating CNY with TWO kids!

May CNY 2015 bring us good luck, health and happiness!

Life as a mother of 2 ~ 2nd month/Feb'15

Hello! 

 

I have been ignoring my blog for quite a while ~ not that I want to do that intentionally but seriously I have no time to blog. One toddler & one infant~ my hands are always full! Especially little Calysta! She wants me to carry her all the time and refuses to nap unless I carry her.. That's the thing! 

 

A little update about my life & kids: 

 

Me:

 

I'm still breastfeeding Calysta and breastfeeding gets easier! What they told me was true, breastfeeding can be very challenging at the beginning but it does get better once it reaches the 6th week mark. For my case, it's true! 

 

Calysta is getting better in latching on & I'm getting better too in having different breastfeeding positions. We both get comfortable with each other but of course she has her fussiness too especially when it comes to evening time from 8pm onwards ~ to 12am, she's really fussy at breasts, sometimes I just don't get it ~ is the milk flow too fast, too slow or she just wants comfort latching but gets angry when the milk comes out? She would cry, pull away the nipple, latch & unlatch, drink a little and stop and cycle continues until 12am! Yes, I'm really worn out! Luckily she wakes up at 8.30am in the morning and has her milk every 3 hours midnight! 

 

I have quit pumping, I used to pump at least 1 bag of 120ml Breast milk a day to keep in my freezer for emergency but I really find pumping is very tiring when I take care & breastfeed Calysta full time and also EJ didn't want to drink frozen Breast milk at all (Calysta still doesn't know how to drink from bottle) so I quit pumping at all! Right now, I'm latching Calysta on demand! She's fed every 1-2 hours during the day, sometimes she's having cluster feeding, so it's like every 1/2 hour non stop! Breastfeeding is no joke very tiring whether you're latching or pumping 

 

It seems like my milk supply has been established ~ means my body recognizes what my baby needs and produces accordingly, that means I'm no longer feeling engorged or too full. Good thing is I feel more comfortable with my breasts and bad thing is I sometimes wonder if there's milk inside there! 

 

I'm currently taking care Calysta full time with no help at all and it's really very tiring but somehow I enjoy her so much.. I enjoy dressing her up, I enjoy breastfeeding her (except when she's cranky), I enjoy smelling her hair.. I just enjoy everything about her.. Motherhood is tiring but rewarding and it's true! 

 

My days are pretty much the same, feeding the baby, changing her diapers, cleaning her, burping, walking & dancing around the house when she's cranky and the cycle is repeated over and over again.. It looks boring right? But I'm not bored at all although I'm tired! 

 

As a mom of two, the worst thing I've ever experienced was when both kids were sick (a couple of weeks ago, EJ was down with flu & cough then fever & passed it to Calysta and she was down with bad flu) Calysta was a newborn & couldn't take any medication and might need hospitalization if things weren't better and oh gosh, I was really stressed at that time & didn't know what to do except kept nursing Calysta & let her stay far away from her brother.

 

What was worst than having sick kids?

 

Me falling sick! Yes, I fell sick too and it was so challenging to take care sick kids while I was sick myself! Thanks God, it's over now! We are all well & hope we stay that way! 

Btw, I have also mastered how to take shower & eat my meal in 5 minutes ~ I have become more effective! ^^

 

 

 

Calysta:

 

She's a petite gal! At 8 weeks, she's more or less 4.6 kg and she can still pretty much fit into newborn diapers &!clothes.. Totally the opposite with EJ, he was very tall & big! 

 

 

Just like other babies, Calysta has her own good days and bad days

 

Good days, she will eat & sleep & eat & sleep and bad days, she doesn't want to sleep at all, keeps crying & wanting to carry & walk & latch all day long and it's really tiring, sometimes when she does that, I just feel like giving up breastfeeding ~ thinking my milk is not enough for her! But I just keep telling myself, breastfeeding is like demand and supply thingy and as long as I nurse on demand & eat & drink well, I should be producing enough for her! Breastfeeding is really a confident game! 

 

 

 

She sleeps at 12am every day and it's really funny that she can be pretty regular with her sleeping time at that very young age! 

 

 

 

 

 

EJ

 

He just turned 21 months old! And he goes to school now! He's now at playgroup! 

 

 

 

And I guess he's the naughty one & a troublemaker at school. One day I picked him up from school (yes, Calysta was tagged along). From outside the class, I heard "Ethan, noooo... Ethan, don't open the door...noooo.. Ethan don't hit...(someone's name) Ethan don't throw your bag...Hahaha.. Apparently my son is really naughty and troublemaker and only him the only who got screamed from the teacher! 

 

 

 

I just realized (and felt so emotional) that he's no longer a baby! It's just something like "missing" feeling in my heart I just can't explain 

 

1) He knows how to keep his toys accordingly. Cars to his cars box. Books to his books drawer and Legos to his Legos box. He even zipped the box very neatly and put back according to the original position. The moment when your baby keeps messing up the house is over. My house just suddenly feels clean without having to keep his scattered toys everywhere

 

2) He doesn't randomly lick or put random stuff in his mouth anymore. He knows what can be eaten and what can't 

 

3) He's no longer tearing whatever papers he sees

 

4) He starts to appreciate coloring, drawing and toys (no longer throwing toys)

 

5) He starts to feel emotional & upset when you scold him & would hide in his room with tears in the corner of his eyes. 

 

6) And finally he knows how to hold a girl's hand (a girl his age) 

 

And that's the time I know he's no longer my baby boy but he will be always the son I love since I held him in my arms for the first time! 

 

 

 

This little boy is also very tricky! When he was 20 month old, EJ had cough & we're trying to feed him cough syrup. He saw the syringe and screamed "pain pain pain pain..." touching his body, hands & legs like he was really in pain.. Then we asked "where pain? Where pain?" hiding the syringe behind. And he was back to playing & totally not in pain. Then we showed him the syringe again and again he screamed "pain pain pain pain..." Argh this boy! Good in bluffing people to avoid drinking cough syrup!

 

 

What toddler sees, toddler follows! He's trying to nurse his dog (soft toy) with mommy's nursing pillow & burp him after that because he saw mommy doing that with his sister! So careful fellow mommies, toddlers follow our action really fast!

 

 

 

EJ is obsessed with cars and he can play cars toys all day long and is only interested with cars! Obsession can start in a very early age, right? He has so many cars toys and seems like he just can't get enough of cars and more cars!! 

 

 

 

EJ can't talk yet! At 21 months old, he can say about 50 words and request us to do things for him by saying one word by one word. That's it! No sentences yet! I'm still waiting for that "talking" milestones! 

 

EJ is very jealous of his little sister and often he would ask me to carry him or cry when he sees me carrying Calysta! And I hope one day he will get over of this jealousy phase & start sharing his mommy with his baby sibling! Another milestone to look forward! 

 

 

 

It's really a long post! And I hope I'm able to be more active in blogging once everything is more stabilized :)

 

And ops, 7 more kg to lose before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight! 

 

Until next post,

From mommy of 2, Netty

 

Brother's love to his unborn sister

My super precious pregnant moment with my son & my unborn (due anytime) daughter! I feel like this kind of moment is so beautiful that I just wish to freeze the time :D And soon there won't be such moment anymore (I will be no longer pregnant very soon!)

This post is also one of my most emo posts! Sorry for being too emo here!

My 19 month old baby boy has been so sweet today. He has been showing so much love to his unborn sister. He just can't keep his hands off my belly :) He keeps lifting my shirt up, rubbing my 39 week pregnant belly, laying his head on my belly, interacting, playing & communicating (using his baby language) with his soon-to-be-born sister, Calysta. He also smiles at my belly (not sure what he sees inside!)

The myth said baby can see their unborn sibling and can interact with the sibling where our normal adult eyes can't see anything except movements/kicks. But baby can! Baby can see what's going on inside his pregnant mommy's belly ~ it's like brother-sister spiritual connection that no one can ever see! And I believe that myth now!

He has been lifting up my shirt & rubbing my belly for so many times today ~ in fact it's like all the time! And he's so happy doing that! I'm guessing, they are playing together happily! And only they know what's going on! It's like little secret these 2 babies share! :)

Besides, EJ keeps guiding my hands to lift up my shirt & directing my hands to rub my belly which is so strange to me, nevertheless too sweet! He has also been asking me to open for him Mothercare catalogue page by page over and over again and he seems to be fascinated by that maternity catalogue showcasing pregnant mommies and newborn babies.. It's like he understands what's going on with his mommy and from that moment, he keeps wanting to rub my belly & to interact with the baby inside my belly. Strange but sweet, isn't? One of the strangest things he has ever done!

EJ is truly one sweet little boy despite his naughtiness, bad temper and picky eating habit. I just feel I'm so blessed and lucky to have him in my life. He brings so much joys and happiness to me and my husband and I'm sure he's going to be one caring & loving brother to his sister. Calysta will be so lucky to have EJ as her brother. They are perfect match ~ even before Calysta is born!

I'm so grateful for everything ~ my life and my kids! Last year, in 2013, late April, I gave birth to EJ and he has been my greatest blessing in life and this year, 2014, early December, another blessing will be entering my life & enriching my motherhood journey ~ I just can't ask or more!

I fell pregnant when EJ was 10 months old and I have been stressing on how challenging life would be to take care 2 under 2 under one roof and how to take care a newborn when taking care EJ itself is still pretty much like taking care a baby (he can't sleep through the night yet & requests for milk twice a night!) I can't imagine how on earth am I supposed to pump milk, feed a newborn and a toddler at the same time and change their diapers in the middle of the night and how am I supposed to soothe 2 babies to sleep? (EJ needs to be carried to sleep)

But today, I see the new light of motherhood, EJ opens my eyes by showing so much love to his sister. I realize that motherhood is not just about thinking the challenges ahead and how to tackle it but rather to enjoy the current moment and savoring the sweet life of being a mother and not to think too much about the future and challenges. It's rather to appreciate every single sweet moment I have with my kids and that matters more than anything else!

And I'm one lucky mommy to experience this beautiful moment in my last pregnancy (most likely) of my son caring & loving his sister before she's even born

Pictures say a thousand words!

 

EJ "I just can't keep my hands off my sister, mommy!"

EJ "There is no way I can let her go & I promise to protect her with all my strengths, heart & soul when she's born. There shall be no men will ever harm her..."

EJ "Hello Calysta! I'm your big brother who will protect you all the time, just come to this world whenever you are ready, don't be afraid!" p/s: look at the last pic at the bottom right, Calysta is reacting to EJ's love by kicking the right side of my belly. Look how her leg is poking out of my right belly :D !

 My sunshine and he will always be my sunshine, mommy loves you EJ!

Video of EJ showing his love to his unborn sister, Calysta!

Terrible 2 is starting at 19 months old

EJ is currently 19 months old but I think he's starting the parents' nightmare, Terrible 2 five months earlier. His temper is really bad!

1) He would hit us if he doesn't get things he wants or if we don't allow him to get certain things
2) He would hit himself if he's too frustrated, example: he is not able to do things he wants to do or he doesn't get what he wants
3) Throwing temper by crying, screaming, laying down on the floor, hitting the floor so hard with his both hands, kicking his legs and throwing whatever objects he sees. Sometimes, when we finally give in & let him have what he wants, he wouldn't want that thing anymore, would just prefer throwing it far away & happily crying & screaming
4) Requesting us to do impossible things like shifting sofa, drawer or furniture

I hope it's true that people said it's quite normal for a toddler to behave that way when a new baby is coming soon and he will soon be back to normal once his sibling out. It's like a myth, I don't know if that's true, but I just hope so!

EJ is also a picky eater! He doesn't like everything! And feeding him food is a nightmare except milk, yeah he loves his milk! I tried every single advise, self feeding, baby led weaning, distracting with toys, video, etc, bringing him out to eat, trying different texture of foods and many more but none worked! Every meal is a big challenge but I'm lucky to have such a patient helper to help me in feeding him! My wish is for him to eat well and more interested in eating when he reaches 2 years old of age in April next year!

At 19 months old, his vocabulary improved ALOT and I'm glad for this milestone. He's able to say 20-30 words now & able to combine 2-3 words together! I thought he was a slow talker because he didn't start talking a few months earlier. But he's learning fast! He learns 10 words a week which is quite a lot!

New words he learned in this week: five (he says it when he 'high-five' us), frog, open (he says as pen-pen-pen), flower (he says as 'fah feh'), no more, come, chair, sorry (learned that from a story book), me (when he means 'excuse me') and he can demand us to carry him in one full sentence "Mama bao bao..." (in Chinese means "mama, please carry me!) "Deh deh bao bao (he calls daddy as deh deh)

And a few more combinations like "bye-bye cat.." "bye-bye car.." "car where.." "car there.."

One cute thing he always do, he always wave and say bye-bye with tears when he's separated with something.. Example: when my helper carries him away and he will say bye-bye to me with tears "mama bye-bye..." My heart can't stand it, always melt! and when he does that, he wins & gets what he wants =.='

Despite his bad temper & the starting of terrible 2 too soon, he's still one sweet baby who captures everyone's heart in this family and I wouldn't trade that for anything :)

 My little monster

Naughty boy!!! See what he did to his diapers? He peeled everything off!! Then he took cottons & peeled bit by bit & whole room is filled with shredded cottons! Why can baby boy be so naughty?

 

EJ & his favorite biscuits "it's all mine mine and mine..."

My little buddy enjoyed hokey pokey so much, after 2 hours of playing, he was still energetic ^^ this indoor playground is so suitable for young toddler like him, toys are very suitable to his age group and hokey pokey is going to have another branch at seletar mall, sengkang (nearby our house), next time can bring him more often :)

Daddy's boy.. Daddy came back home from working and EJ welcomed & rushed to hug daddy excitedly..

I'm wearing batik shirt & pants daddy bought for me from Jogjakarta ^^ this shirt is really cooling, I love it! ~ EJ

What a tiring Sunday! Brought a 19 month old to a shopping mall & walked non stop for more than 2 hours (secretly hope it will trigger labor ) his favorite place was a toy shop where he picked all toys he liked, played all for so long and at the end, forced daddy to buy one or two toys for him. This time he picked the helicopter toy and a walking puppy. His favorite person is of course daddy now! LOL

EJ is one super pampered little boy.. He has so many toys! And daddy can't reject him at all! He has 2 super big boxes of toys, a bunch of soft toys, cars, helicopter, walking puppy and so many more! And the thing is he gets bored of his toys very easily and would rather play random household stuff!