finally a full turn

Emma can finally make full turn...I think it was on Sunday :)...so if I leave her just a moment, she'll do a full turn by herself...so dangerous...must watch out for her more!!! Oya...so sad...I just fired my new nanny...she was very good...very clean...very very diligent too :( but, when I took her to the lab to check her hepatitis B, she's a positive carrier :'( so I had to let her go!

my new curiosity

Yes...I have a new curiosity in handicraft: Quilt Patchwork!!! (last time it was knitting, ha!) I've always liked quilts...and have been looking for a beautiful quilt that would take my breaths away...but none so far :(...So, I decided...maybe I should make my own :|...but I can't even use the sewing machine nor am I good at sewing...plus...I'm not a dedicated handicrafter, I've always stopped half-way into making something...even less than half, actually...

Anyhow...I found these cute patchwork books from Kinokuniya today...too bad they're in Japanese :( and last week, also bought a book on how to sew and a book on quilting techniques...fingers cross...

emma, hugh and hugh's crazy aunties

Today has proven to be a very interesting day :). This morning, my very first maid/nanny finally arrived :) yay! Then...we had lunch with Catherine, Cik Kiani, Cik Jul, Siew Huey, Howard and Baby Hugh at Warung Kita...When Emma first met Hugh, they were both asleep in their own stroller :) so cute!...Then, when we were almost done with lunch, they both woke up and Emma started getting cranky...anyway...after lunch, Hugh's aunts and us went to Starbucks while Hugh's parents had their day out then we go home to our place and put them side by side ... too bad the lighting was low...must take some more pictures together when they meet up again. Hugh is so cute! he has giant legs and feet hahahahahaha and he's about 1 month older than Emma...he has strong grip and very manly too :)...One thing I noticed...I think all baby boys have the same "fake" cries...very interesting :)


1. Hugh looked as if he was saying "Hey Em...what's with your stroller??? so high?"





















2. Emma waiting at Starbucks :D





















3. Aunt Cath....you sure you're strong enough for both of us?















4. Okay...together now...first...we eat our yummy little fingers together...then...let's hold hands but wait...Hugh, please don't eat my hand too :|

5. Then....Hugh needed his "power" sleep as his auntie would say it :D











6. And they played scrabble and left A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF as they hurried home :)

emma jalan-jalan

Some pictures I took today with the new camera..

1. Waiting for Dad in the car...







2. At Plaza Senayan's Kinokuniya Book Store

my new point and shoot

Finally...after years of Nikon DSLRs, we bought our first point and shoot, a Canon Digital IXUS 860 IS...it's so cool..I was going to take the IXUS 960 IS, but then the store owner told me that IXUS 860 has a 28mm lens whilst IXUS 960 has smaller angle, though bigger pixels...and the price didn't differ too much either...in the end I took 860 because of the wider angle, since I don't really need the large pixels, 8mb is more than enough for me :)...though I must say...960 has a beautiful titanium body :| ow well :D...Finally, I can take pictures of Emma outside our home.

mommy hates it when you..

I hate it when Emma gets busy with her fingers!!! She'd put a whole fist or fingers into her mouth until she'd gag...and she refuses a pacifier!

peaceful angel

I used to wonder ... why parents wouldn't wake their babies when guests come to see the baby...now I KNOW WHY!!! When Emma is asleep...it's HAVEN for me :)

3/4 turn

Yesterday, Emma can do almost a full turn :)...she's still struggling to free one of her hands :) from underneath her body....I'm so excited!! Still...after she turns, she'd cry asking us to turn her back :) She's grown too fast :D

u-shaped pillow

Well..the other day when I was at Mothercare, I saw a u shaped pillow for breastfeeding, which can also be used for supporting babies to sit...SO, instead of buying one of those bebe pod (which...apparently sold out the other time I went looking for it), I took out my rarely unused breastfeeding pillow and use it to support Emma :) the problem is...she can't sit still!!!

yummy little breads

Mom found these cute little delicacies at Grand Indonesia's Foodhall! Crusty on the outside and gooey inside...very similar to the sesame bread I used to buy at a Korean bread shop in Virginia. I believe it's by Lee's Bakery but these Brazilian (I think it's Brazilian) breads only available at Grand Indonesia since Lee's Bakery only have an oven there :)...I bought 20 the last time I went :D.

cool blog

The other day as I was browsing the net, googling quilt, I stumbled upon this savvy and cool blog "baby-ape". Apparently, the owner also owns my favorite baby shop at Plaza Indonesia, called Cotonnier. They sell cute quilts for babies and I was gonna buy the bed bumper but it was too small so I'll need to come back to special order it. Anyways...from her blog, she listed a lot of other cool blogs...I never knew such thing existed :)

emma turned 3 months

Emma turned 3 months on October 3rd, 2007 :D...how time flies...she can now coo and talk by herself when she wakes up in the morning and sleeps longer at night (around 9-5) and her wake time has increased!! which means I have to play and entertain her more!!! We played peek a boo today and she was gigling so loud :D...I've also re-introduced her with her old baby gym...and she seems to be interested in it now. She would stare at all the toys I hanged and would sometimes smile...it looks as if she's exploring all these new and very different toys :D from the ones she's seen before :D.

3 months also means she no longer enjoys her "magical" swing chair that would usually puts her to sleep!! and hates being put into her swing combi chair!!! She now arches her back when she's bored and cranky and constantly eating her hands which drives me NUTS!!! She's grown taller and is now 61 cm and weighs 5.63kg :D and drinks more milk than before though still at her own pace. Her neck is getting stronger and her thighs are longer and chubbier as well as her cheeks :) and she's much more interactive than before. How we love you very much, Em!

pumping pumping

I'd like to share my experience about my expressed breast milk (ebm)! I have to admit, as a new parent, I could not stand my baby crying trying to latch on for her feeds, specially after the c-section procedure, when it was very hard to move freely around and the inability of private room at RBWH, hence no help from Francis at night. And, to make matters worst, Emma got jaundice which meant I had to feed her more milk so that the bilirubin will be out of her system, which was kind of hard when she didn't want to latch on. Then, one night, I met my ANGEL midwife :D...she gave me this medela harmony breast pump to try so that Emma would be able to drink more milk to reduce her bilirubin (the other midwives just asked me to express the milk by hand!!!). It was a lifesaver!!!!

I got my medela pump in style at this baby expo in Brisbane the weekend I got out of the hospital...at first they didn't want to sell us the pump, since it was the only one on display and they don't usually sale for retail, only wholesale. I asked Francis to contact them the next day (after the expo was over) and see if they would like to sell that pump and they did!!! I was so happy!!! and we got it at a bargain, since they only sale wholesale.

In the beginning, everyone was telling me how my milk would dry out after 1 month if I only use the breast pump without trying to latch her on and of course, like any other parents out there who only want the best for their children, the idea of my milk drying out after 1 month SCARED me :). After a few failed attempts, Francis and I researched on this subject on the net...and we found out that:

1. Need to pump at least 8x a day @ 15-20 minutes each time

2. 2-6 hours between each pump

3. Must not be lazy and Must be consistent (I even do it in the car, at the office and when I was in Brisbane, I did at the mall!!)

and after asking around my newly mom friends and cousin, they all said their milk still overflowed after more than 3 months, even after!! However, we must do it consistently, that is a min. of 8x a day (including those dreadful early mornings 3-5am) and now...it's been 3 months and I see no decrease in my milk supply :D, I even have to throw bottles and bottles of milk each day since they only last 3 months in the freezer so I'm planning to freeze my milk on the sixth month, that way I can start decreasing my pumping activity :D and would still be able to stock milk for the next 3 months :D

Having said that, I do encourage new moms to try latching their babies, it saves you washing all those teats and bottles!! :D

The moral of the story is...DON'T ALWAYS believe what others tell you! Research the subject yourself and DO ask around :D and as Davina would say it...the baby won't die if she has to drink formula milk :D

looking back

One of the first things I did when Emma was born was pinching her chubby cheek :D I can't help not pinching her :) I LOVE pinching cheek and I guess Emma's cheek will be my new object of pinching...Francis' cheek suddenly doesn't feel so nice to pinch anymore :D...This picture was taken just minutes after her delivery :D...

I know it's only been 3 months but looking back at her old pictures make me realize how much she's grown and how little she was 3 months ago :) and what a shock to our lifestyle she is :D. I guess once we survived the first month, we've adapted this new lifestyle...

I love taking pictures of Emma when she's sleeping with Francis..I find it very cute seeing them together :D. This picture was taken on MY resting bed that we decided to put on the 2nd floor, so that I didn't have to go up and down the stairs while I was pregnant...it then became Emma's day bed :D.

I was so surprise when this beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived at the hospital..since I have no friends in Brisbane..I was wondering who would send me this beautiful thing :D...specially when the note did not mention any names! Then I realized it was from my very thoughtful dodolette friend, Myra :D...Thank you, Myr...you made my day when I was feeling lonely in that dreadful hospital bed :D

I think I might take some more pictures of Emma being swaddled...since she will outgrow those swaddle cloth very soon :D! She can now wiggle her way to free herself from being swaddled! so annoying...because we would have to re-swaddle her to sleep!