2012 in review and on to 2013

Its no surprise that the most significant event for me this year, and the rest of my life is the birth of my first child! Since she arrived, my blog has been mainly about her and breastfeeding. Haha Little Bambi is now 6 and a half months, and only thing I dread about the New Year is leaving her side to return to work.

More highlights of the year:

- Being a mother has changed me completely. Suddenly, I am shopping in baby shops, reading up on baby topics and baby everything!

- Going on maternity leave. I swear, I have been enjoying every minute of it. I am taking 8 months of maternity leave, and during this 8 months, I am still getting half my wages each month. Which is money in my bank account, and with this, Little Bambi and I go shopping, we buy nice things, we eat nice food and have a good time together.

- Seeing my BFF marry the love of her life! Did I mention... there's a little baby on the way!

- Turning 30.

2013 I hope to:

- Juggle my family and a full time job. It will be hard work, but I want to make it possible! I want to be a good mother to Little Bambi and at the same time, have a career.

- Eat better. Somehow this year we have been having fast food at least once a week because its quick, convenient and cheap. I should really stop! I don't want my little baby to even go near McDonalds.

- Exercise and be healthy.

- Buy an investment property. Wishful thinking, but I am convinced I can make it happen. Reading my old posts, I did mention that I wanted to change the carpets in my house, which I have not done yet!

Today, at this point in time, I am happy! I had a lovely Christmas and apart from returning to work very soon, I hope the New Year will bring more wonderful experiences for the three of us - Little Bambi, Grumpy and I.

Happy New Year!!

Our First Christmas with Little Bambi

Our first Christmas with Little Bambi has been filled with lots of love, laughter, delicious food, heaps of presents and being surrounded by the people whom we care most. Just having Little Bambi in my arms makes me feel so blessed!

Here is a quick rundown of our Christmas this year.

First up, Grumpy. My dear husband has been working on building a deck at our house for the past couple of weeks. I was not too keen on the idea at first, but now that it is complete, I actually like it a lot. And the most impressive thing about the deck is that he built it all on his own. Mr Happy did help Grumpy with the deck at the start, but most of it, Grumpy did by himself.

And as for his Christmas present this year, Grumpy asked for a barbie - to go with his deck! He kept picking all these gas burner BBQs that cost more than $1000. In return, I kept sending him pictures of BBQs on sale at Bunnings for $299. And then he goes "Hey I got you a Rolex this year!" So, I gave in and he picked this 3 gas burner Weber. The Weber arrived 4 days before Christmas. So he was one happy camper!

Next up, Little Bambi. While my friends were giving their babies fancy presents (i.e iPad), all Little Bambi got was The Very Hungry Caterpillar book. Its a great book, and I am sure she will enjoy it. Oh, and one day while I was at Baby Bunting, I found one of these little Sophie's on sale for $12, so I got one for her for Christmas too. I placed it in a Christmas sock next to the tree.

The first dinner I had was with the wombats last Friday. It was a bit different because I did not bring Little Bambi with me to dinner. I left her at home with Grumpy, just to avoid disrupting her sleep. Which may have been a bit weird to my friends who brought both their babies along. Am I a bad mum who left her baby behind? Regardless, we had lots of fun, and I came home from dinner with sooo many presents, all for Little Bambi!

On Christmas eve, we rushed to Chaddy early in the morning to get a photo with Santa. I know I left it to the last minute, but at least I did it! My neighbour said to me, "You know what that means right? You will have to do this every year now..!" Yikes.

She's not even smiling! Haha

At night, we had Christmas eve dinner with Grumpy's cousin and family. They roasted a massive turkey and a leg of ham. There were 4 kids so it was buzzing with noise and Little Bambi slept through most of it. 

On Christmas Day, we went to church in the morning. We do this every year, with my cousin, uncle and Little Miss Bargain Hunter and her aunt. It was Little Bambi's first time at church and again, she slept through the noise when the band was in full swing.

After church, Grumpy came home and he spent ALL day preparing dinner for our annual Christmas orphans dinner. He cooked a turkey and a rolled pork leg in his new Weber barbie. For the first time in the many years of our Christmas dinners, the turkey actually turned out moist and juicy. I loved it! It might have been from the overpriced barbie that cooked it so well, but it was also the first time he placed the turkey in brine overnight. Grumpy also made roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy all from scratch. I made two different salads. Dopey and his girlfriend brought a savoury tart. Little Miss-Bargain-Hunter brought prawns. Another friend made a chocolate tart (and she hid Pop Rocks popping candy in the tart base) and mango mousse pudding for dessert. As you can imagine, it was a real feast!

I still think the turkey on the right looks like Malaysian BBQ Chicken (without rice)

Christmas Orphans Group Shot

And on Boxing Day, instead of the usual shopping day in the city, this year we had a family lunch with my cousins and uncle. By then, we reached our third turkey, three days in a row.

While Little Bambi missed out on the fun on most of the festivities as they were all dinners (her bedtime), I was able to get a photo with her at my family lunch in her Christmas outfit and a Santa hat!

From now on, Christmas time will be our most favourite time of the year.

Breastfeeding

As the year comes to an end, I thought I would share my experiences on breastfeeding. As I will be heading back to work soon and 'might' bring breastfeeding to a close (*sniff sniff*), I want to note them down here, so that I can always remember how much I enjoyed it.

- No one tells you how hard it is as the start. Many mothers I have spoken to after having a baby tell me that they struggled with breastfeeding. I guess the main issue is latching on correctly, and that is where we get damaged nipples. I had tremendous support from Grumpy, my mum and the midwives (who cared for me at the hospital and also after returning home) on my breastfeeding efforts. And with that, I was able to overcome that first hurdle of learning how to breastfeed.

- Breastfeeding is all about demand and supply. The more my baby feeds, the more my body responds and produces more milk. As per Tizzie Hall, the first 8 weeks is all about establishing a good milk supply by the mother. I have been fortunate enough to have ample supply of milk for Little Bambi, and so I have never needed to top up her feeds with formula. Grumpy and I bought a second hand freezer from Gumtree a few months ago, to store bags of expressed milk.

- You become extremely thirsty after a feed. Its true. Some days when I head to Chaddy with Little Bambi, I bring two bottles of water from home with me. One is not enough. I drink so much water these days.

- You become very hungry after a feed. Oh my, some mornings after feeding Little Bambi, I will have two serves of breakfast. And after that, morning tea as well. I read that its important for mums to have a balanced diet, and that includes carbohydrates. And so I eat rice, bread and potatoes (as much as I please). Other times I am usually careful with carbs, but not while I am breastfeeding.

- You become exhausted after a feed. It feels like all my energy has been sucked out of me sometimes. I remember during the early days, I will crawl back to bed after Little Bambi's first feed and just lie there for 30 minutes.

- During winter, your body becomes very cold after a feed. I remember how I used to put on another jumper after feeding Little Bambi, and I will say "OMG I am freezing!"

- Milk flows out pretty quick, like a running tap! Haha Until today, I still laugh when Little Bambi chokes while feeding because she can't keep up with the flow. And there is milk everywhere if she pulls out. Up in her nose, her forehead, all over the pillow, the chair..

- While feeding, Little Bambi makes funny noises, like she's going "Mmmmmmmm" and this has got to be MY MOST FAVOURITE PART about breastfeeding. She sounds like she is enjoying her feed so much that I get such a strong feeling of satisfaction on my part.

- When she was about 3 months old, I would un-hook my nursing bra to offer her a boob, and she would open her mouth really wide and swing her head left to right (very quickly), looking for the nipple. Like a ravenous lion.

- Mastitis. This awful awful word... and I have already had it twice. The second time was only about two weeks ago. I suffered with a fever, cold shivers, my entire body was aching, I also had a throbbing headache. I thought I was going to die. And the doctor prescribes me antibiotics, which is equally bad because it passes on to baby from my milk.

- You don't have your period while breastfeeding. So I guess this could be a way of contraception. Not that I am already planning for baby number two. But I don't think its possible to get pregnant while breastfeeding.

- You have to wear wireless maternity bras while breastfeeding which makes you feel super UNsexy. I wear maternity bras from Marks & Spencer and they fit so amazingly well. These M&S bras that I have look nice too, compared to others I have seen in Myers. And of course, M&S are not available in Australia. So I got mine from KL and London.

- I am still a little shy when feeding Little Bambi in very public areas like restaurants, cafes or even in front of family members. I usually look for a Parents Room to feed her in shopping centres.

- Breastfeeding while on the go (when we are out, or even while we were travelling in Sydney) is so convenient, because there is no need for bottles, sterilising, warming up milk etc.

- It is free! Formula, on the other hand is expensive. However, while breastfeeding, I still eat my pregnancy vitamins.

Above all, I think it is the bonding and the closeness that I have with Little Bambi is priceless.

6 Months

I am about 5 days slow with this post, but that just shows you how busy I am with Christmas around the corner.

Little Bambi is now 6 months old! She got her vaccinations last Saturday, and now weighs 9.4kgs and is 70cm tall.

And as I was trying to take her photos for her usual monthly mug shot, I realise that the process is quite challenging because she is actively moving around a lot more than the previous months.

 

At 6 months, she is constantly rolling from her back to her tummy, and her tummy to her back. When I leave her on the floor in the living room on her own, in just a few minutes, she goes missing. Then I realise she is under the TV cabinet. Brilliant!

She is also picking up anything and everything with her hands, and then she puts it in her mouth.

Little Bambi's solids adventures have been very positive so far. Apart from baby rice cereal, she has tasted apple, pear, sweet potato, carrots and recently zucchini.

Now that she is 6 months old, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I feel comfortable with my body and can fit into most of my old clothes. I have also started going to the gym again with the other mums from Mothers Group. Its fun having a support network with people that live so close.

Happy half-a-year old my little darling! What a wonderful six months it has been and I have enjoyed every minute of it! I can't imagine how quick another six months will come by, and we will be celebrating your first birthday!

Little Bambi on Solids

While most of the mums at our Mothers Group were so keen to start their babies on solids, somehow I was a little apprehensive about it. I blame it on the breastfeeding. I know this sounds silly but starting Little Bambi on solids would mean I will not be her main source of food anymore :(

Being the overzealous mum that I am, I read books such as Annabel Karmel 'Weaning', Gill Rapley and Tracy Murkett 'Baby Led Weaning', Dr Rana Conway 'Weaning Made Easy' and Gina Ford 'The Contented Little Baby Book of Weaning'.

After reading up, I decided I was ready to wean Little Bambi. The primary reason is that at six months, babies are vulnerable to iron deficiency. So about over a week ago, I gave Little Bambi her first taste of organic baby rice cereal.

Of course, I video-d it! Here it is..

StellaFirstTasteOfSolids from Jules Ng on Vimeo.

Roll Over

She did it! My Little Bambi rolled over today! And I missed it! AHHH putain!!! I bloody missed it!

I placed her on her tummy on a mat (on the floor) in her room. Then I left her alone, while I ate some lunch in the kitchen. When I came back to be with her, she was on her back! She was grinning! I think she liked it. She did it all on her own.

Among all the other babies in Mothers Group, she is the last one to roll over. Most of the babies did it at about 3-4 months. Little Bambi is 5 months and 2 weeks now. Only a tad slow in this area of development milestones!

I tried to get her to perform it again in front of me. She blatantly refused. Yup, that's my girl!

Actually, on Sunday, I did the same thing as today. I left her on her tummy, then I went out to grab some lunch. No I did not leave her alone at home.. Grumpy was home, but he was working on his deck. I asked him to keep an eye on her, and then I drove out. When I got home, I rushed into the room to check on her, and she was on her back! I was so happy! She rolled over! I picked her up and I smothered her with kisses. Then I thought, maybe I should check with Grumpy.. I asked him "Did you place her on her back?" And he said "YES!" Oh man, haha so NO, she did not roll over on her own.

But she finally did it today. I hope I get to see it again.

We have been very busy the past week. Every Monday we have Mothers Group. Last Thursday, Little Bambi and I drove to Little-Miss-Curtains house to visit her new baby. I made fried noodles for our lunch. I rarely cook, but that was probably the first time in such a longggg period of time. It felt nice to cook a delicious meal to share it with friends! That Thursday night, I also caught up with Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch for dinner (how funny is that, 'For-Lunch' for dinner) at Chapel Street. Grumpy stayed home to watch Little Bambi, while mama went out for a lovely dinner! On Saturday morning, Little Bambi and I caught up with my boss for coffee. That evening, it was Grumpy's work Christmas party at a park in Mt Dandenong. And then on Sunday, Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot came over for dinner (all the way from Sydney), along with my brother Dopey (who just returned from the States). I made chicken pie and baked a flourless chocolate cake for dinner for everyone (Yes, I cooked! Again!).

Phew! As you can see, I am trying to make the most of my maternity leave. Time is running out. Not only that, my baby girl is growing up too fast! Soon, she will start crawling, then walking, and the next thing you know, she's off to uni! Bahhhh...

Good night!

A Day In The Life of a New Mum

Grumpy is often starting his sentences with...  "Since you are on holidays..."
He thinks maternity leave = holiday. I often correct him by saying "Do I look like I am sitting by the beach sipping a pina colada?"

So I thought I would note down what my day looks like now, with a baby. And a dog. And a husband.

Here it is, a day in the life of a new mum!

5.40am - Alarm goes off! I hit the snooze button. Twice.

6am - Up from bed. I head to the kitchen and I turn on the bottle steriliser. I feed the dog breakfast, and then I prepare my own breakfast. I am on the iPad, reading my emails etc.

6.40am - My boobs are very full first thing in the morning, and Little Bambi will only feed 5 minutes on each side (most) during this feed. Therefore I express the fore milk out first, so that Little Bambi gets the hind milk (which is better for her).

7am - My favourite part of the day. I wake Little Bambi up and she gives me the biggest smiles. I remove her swaddle and she will be out stretching her arms and kicking her feet! Then I give her the first feed of the day.

7.45am - Done with feeding Little Bambi. She does not normally empty my boobs during this feed. I have to express for the 2nd time. I put her in her baby gym next to me.

8am - Once I am finished with expressing, I will play with her, sing nursery rhymes, etc. I try my best to keep Little Bambi awake (she will usually be very sleepy by 8.30am). Sometimes I leave her on the rocker or the Bumbo, while I do some housework.

9am - I put her down in her cot and she falls straight to sleep. I wash all the baby bottles and clean the steriliser.

9.15am - I catch up on house chores, wash baby clothes, make the bed, cleaning, etc. Then I hop into the shower.

10am - I turn on my laptop and catch up emails etc. I am often browsing the internet, looking for things to buy!

11am - I wake Little Bambi up from her sleep and give her the 2nd feed of the day.

12noon - I grab a quick bite at home (leftovers or a quick salad) and then we head out to the shops. We go for a walk, do something outside the house.

1pm - Little Bambi takes her nap. If we are out, I make sure she sleeps in her pram.

3pm - I head home by this time to give Little Bambi her 3rd feed of the day.

3.45pm - Its play time for Little Bambi. I make myself a cup of tea.

4.30pm - I put Little Bambi back to sleep for a short nap. If I am tired, I take a nap too.

5.15pm - I wake Little Bambi up. Then its tummy time!

5.45pm - Bath time! Her favourite time of the day.

6pm - Little Bambi is all dressed and she's feeling very refreshed!

6.20pm - I give her the 4th feed. But it is sort of the last feed whereby I breast feed her. She usually takes a longer time to feed at this time of the day. And I love this time with her, because its our last chance to snuggle before she goes to bed.

7pm - I put her down to sleep. Then Grumpy and I have dinner! Ahhh time to relax!

8pm - After I am done with the dishes, I hop into the shower and put on my PJs after. I read a book or watch some TV with Grumpy.

9.45pm - Time to express.

10.30pm - I prepare a bottle of expressed milk for Grumpy. He does the dream feed with Little Bambi.

11pm - Bed time.

Vanilla Cupcakes

About two years ago, I was really into making cupcakes. Unfortunately, I did not quite have the talent for cupcakes. I could never get the cake right, or the frosting, despite endless trial-and-errors. I wanted my cupcakes to be absolutely perfect, and to taste exactly like how they sell them at the shops. And so, after many failed attempts, I decided I would park my cupcake ambitions aside, and just go back to basic baking, such as banana bread, blueberry cheesecake and chocolate cakes.

Until our Mothers Group session this week, one of the mums made some yummy vanilla cupcakes. She said her friend from the UK bought her this recipe book from a famous cupcake shop called Hummingbird Bakery. I did not really pay attention to what she was saying about this cupcake until I noticed she had a fancy KitchenAid Mixer! I thought, my.. she must be serious with her baking. I have always wanted one of this fancy mixers myself, but not only is it very expensive, I am not sure if I could bake enough cakes to make my money's worth!

I googled the recipe and I found it here. I decided to give this recipe a go!

I am quite pleased at my first attempt of cupcakes after such a long time. They taste pretty good....!

5 Months

Today Little Bambi is 5 months old. She is  growing well, and putting on lots of healthy weight. I still breastfeed her exclusively.

At 5 months, she is now able to recognise faces a lot more. Yesterday, I drove to Chaddy with Little Bambi in the car (she was in her baby capsule). She was happy, talking to herself, enjoying the car ride. Until I pulled over at the train station to pick Grumpy up. He hopped on to the back seat to sit next to Little Bambi, greeted her with a big smile, and suddenly, she screamed and burst into tears! Haha poor Grumpy, he could not calm her down. Tears were rolling down her face, she was probably afraid of her own papa! Finally when we arrived at the shopping center, and I parked the car, I picked her up to soothe her, and she was happy again! Even my mum notices that Little Bambi brightens up when she sees me. She gives me big smiles and sometimes, she just won't take her eyes off me. This is truly a wonderful feeling! The feeling of being a mother!

At 5 months, Little Bambi is still unable to roll over. My poor baby, she is probably the only bub in our Mothers Group that has not rolled over yet.

Also, at this age, she is probably ready to start solids now. I have not done it yet, only because I still want her to enjoy the benefits of breastfeeding. My plan is to only start her on solids at 6 months. Over the next couple of weeks, I will be busy reading up on books about introducing solids and recipes for her.

Christmas is also round the corner. Yesterday, I ordered our first family Christmas card. It was fun and I can't wait to send it to our family and friends. This Christmas will be Little Bambi's first Christmas. I want it to be extra special!

Bambi's First Trip to Sydney - Part III

Everyone loves a wedding. It is that one day in the year, where you gather with all your friends and witness two people exchange vows and profess their love to one another. It becomes even more special when the bride or groom are your closest friends in the world. Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot and I have shared so many ups and downs together in life, we have always been there for each other. And now that it is her turn to get married, I couldn't be more happy for her!

I woke up that Saturday morning, gave Little Bambi her first feed of the day at 7am, then at around 9am, I headed out to Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot's hotel which was just a few steps away from ours. We got out hair and make up done, with a videographer and a photographer by our side. The atmosphere reminded me very much of my wedding day... ahh time flies.

Then at 11am, it was Mummy's Milk Bar Duties for me. Grumpy came over to the hotel with Little Bambi and I gave her the 2nd feed of the day. While feeding Little Bambi, I had rollers in my hair, make up and fake lashes.. I told Grumpy, "I feel like Miranda Kerr!!"

Picture from Miranda Kerr's Twitter

Ta-dahhhh! The gorgeous bride with her matron of honour

By 1pm we were all ready, and I took the opportunity to quickly express my boobs in the bathroom. Little Bambi usually feeds at 3pm, but because we would all be in the church at that time, I expressed at 1pm instead.

The wedding day went exactly as planned. The church ceremony was beautiful. I think I saw the groom getting teary eyed! After the ceremony, the bridal party headed out to Vaucluse for sunset photos. Grumpy went back to the hotel to check on Little Bambi. We decided not to bring her to the church only because taxis with baby capsules were so rare!

Grumpy and I with the bride and groom

After we were done with photos, we headed to the reception at around 6.30pm. Immediately, I rushed to the toilets, again, to express my boobs. So you see, I spent the entire wedding day with a breast pump in my bag, thinking only about emptying my boobs and how to avoid getting mastitis again! Plus,  wearing a bridesmaid dress instead of a nursing top made access to the boobs quite challenging. Haha but I soldiered on!

If there was one thing I was nervous about on the wedding day (apart from my boobies), it would have to be my Matron of Honour speech! Eeks! At the end, I kept it simple, short and I wrote/spoke exactly of how I felt about our friendship after all these years.

After the reception, Grumpy and I decided to head out with the rest of the wedding entourage to the after party. I was a little bit tired but we thought, hey, we're in Sydney, Little Bambi is sleeping at the hotel, my mother-in-law is looking after her.. lets just have some fun! So we went to Bar100 until about 2.30am. I was in bed by 3.15am.. and the next morning, Little Bambi woke up at 6am (instead of her usual 7am). But I missed her so much! I barely spent time with her the day before, so the next morning I couldn't stop giving her cuddles!

That Sunday morning, we packed and checked out from the hotel at about 12noon. We headed straight to the airport for our flight back to Melbourne. We finally got back home at nearly 7pm that day. Grumpy, Little Bambi and I were exhausted. 

At the Sydney airport

It was indeed such an eventful trip to Sydney! Grumpy and I decided it will be a while more before we travel again (with a baby in tow)! Haha

Hurricane

My brother Dopey will be heading to NYC in about 2 weeks, for work. I have never been there myself but I am so excited for him.

He sent me a text message this morning.

Dopey: The hurricane is hitting New York

Me: Perfect time to go!

Dopey: I will die

Dopey: And Bambi will lose her only uncle

Bath Time

Bath Time is Little Bambi's favourite part of the day! She just loves taking a bath! When Grumpy took this photo yesterday, I told him we have to save this photo for her 18th birthday! 

We were using Johnson's Baby Top to Toe wash for her baths initially. But it made her skin extremely dry.. and when a paediatrician pointed out that Little Bambi had eczema, I changed her body wash immediately. Now I am using ecostore Sleepytime Bath and it smells so lovely on her. 

4 Months

Little Bambi turned 4 months old yesterday. We went for her 4 month check up today and she is now a whopping 8 kgs in weight and 65 cms in length. She is still tracking above average on the charts. Yup, the 'Little Porker' title stays...

She has not been able to roll as yet... However, if there is one thing she has learnt to do lately, it would be squealing at the top of her lungs. At first we thought it was funny. We would video her squeals and send it to our families and laugh... But then, her squeals became LOUDER and she did it MORE often, nearly making me run for cover! 

She is also losing a lot of the hair on her head. Hehe looks like she has a receding hairline. My mum keeps persuading me to shave her head bald, but others tell me that her real hair will grow soon.

We also started with daylight savings last week. On the Friday before daylight savings, I moved her routine forward by 20 minutes. On Saturday, I moved it forward by another 20 minutes, therefore 40 minutes ahead. And on Sunday, VOILA, one hour ahead and we have fully adjusted to the new time! I told Little-Miss-Whats-For-Lunch about this, and her response was "Wow I admire your dedication to sticking to the schedule!" Haha 

Apart from all of that, at 4 months, Little Bambi is a real delight to care for. I treasure every minute of my time spent with her. My favourite time with her is when I am breastfeeding. What they say about a mother breastfeeding and bonding with her baby is absolutely true. 

Happy 4 months my darling Bambi! I love you the most!

Bambi's First Trip to Sydney - Part II

After we landed in Sydney that Thursday afternoon, we checked in at Medina Grand Sydney. We booked a 2 bedroom apartment (one room for Grumpy's parents and one room for us). We requested for a cot in advance, and what we got was an el cheapo portacot which came with a charge of an extra $5 per night. Being the nervous mum that I am, I was worried Little Bambi might not adjust well in the portacot, but thank god, she was fine and slept through all three nights in Sydney.

I also hired a pram for Little Bambi from Hire for Baby, and they do drop off and pick up (of the pram) at the hotel, which was great! This is my 2nd time using Hire for Baby, and I think they are awesome! Professional and very friendly people to deal with. (The baby capsule in my car currently is also from Hire for Baby).

That same evening, we went out to Lowenbrau at The Rocks for dinner. It was funny because we bumped into my BFF, who was also there for dinner with her family. Lowenbrau was a nice restaurant for Grumpy's parents, but it was extremely noisy place for my Little Bambi. 

The next day, Friday, was our only day to show Grumpy's parents what a beautiful city Sydney was. We found it difficult to travel because we had to pre-book taxis that came with baby capsules by a few hours ahead. We decided to head to the fish market by tram that day. 

When we were done at the fish market, we headed back to our apartment so that I could give Bambi her 3pm feed. After her feed, we were just hanging out in the room, playing and singing to her, and suddenly, she started to laugh! Grumpy and I were so surprised. It was her first laugh... and she's wide awake!  We were used to seeing her giggle in her sleep. This was different. My camera was right next to me, and I was able to capture her first giggles on video! 

Little Bambi at 14 weeks old

Stella's First Giggles from Jules Ng on Vimeo.

Mischka Aoki Dress

When I was pregnant, I was secretly hoping to have a baby girl, so that I could dress her up in cute little outfits like this Mischka Aoki dress! Little Bambi would look so adorable in this!

16 Weeks

Little Bambi turned 16 weeks old yesterday. We went for her 3rd dose of immunisation last week, which was again a terrible ordeal for both of us. She screamed when the doctor placed a needle in both her thighs, and as for me, my heart stood still for that moment. The good thing about babies is that they forget about it very quickly, because in minutes, she stopped crying and seemed fine. She did not develop a fever, which was good. But she was very unsettled that evening, refusing to take any milk. In the end, we gave her some Panadol (for babies) and by the next morning, she was back to her normal happy-baby-self. The doctor also popped her on the scales, and she now weighs 7.6kgs, which is a very big baby! Oh my.. the doctor assured me she was fine and told me I should be very pleased because Little Bambi feeds so well.

Little Bambi trying to turn her body to the left

She is near the 4 month mark, and this is when they learn to roll over on their sides. Soon, I will not be able to swaddle her any longer. She will start using her sleeping bags with her arms sticking out. I know that rolling on their sides is part of their development yada yada yada, but I get so emotional just thinking about how quick my baby is growing up. I still watch videos of her when she was just a newborn, and it melts my heart, tremendously.. just listening to her 'little' cries when she was only a few days old.

At the moment, she is very responsive. When I smile at her, she smiles back at me, and that just makes my day!! She makes me the happiest person in the world!!

This week, I started reading to her. I read picture books to her, and she pays attention! She looks at the pages on the book, the different colours.. curious and very attentive. I definitely look forward to more reading time with her. 

Bambi's First Trip to Sydney - Part I

Going to Sydney with a three month old had me worried about nearly everything. I spent weeks preparing for this trip. I created checklists and even a timetable of how I would have to manage Bambi's feed and nap times. Packing was quite a challenge too.. we had a big suitcase filled with baby things from a microwave steriliser, to nappies, blankets, toys, clothes and muslin cloths!

On that Thursday morning, I woke up extra early. 5am. Just to get a bit of a head start. Ate my brekkie, then I took a long hot shower... breathe Jules.. breathe.. washed my hair, blow-dry etc. Then I woke Bambi up at 7am. Fed her, then dressed her up. Grumpy was a bit of a headless chook that day. He had to pack all the things in the car, including Bambi and his parents. We drove to the airport at 8.30am and parked the car at the long term car park. It was $69 for the 4 days we were away. Easier that way, at least Bambi is in her own baby capsule.

I read in Tizzie Hall's book to feed baby two hours before take off, and once again after take off. Sucking while on the plane helps soothe their ears. And so, when we arrived at the airport, I looked for a Parents Room, and I fed her there at 9.30am. Take off was at 11.30am. 

Little Bambi's first boarding pass! :)

Okay, we are ON the plane. So far, Bambi is good!

I was a bit slow with booking our seats. I could not get the seats at the front with a baby bassinet. However, it was such a short flight, that we would not have used the bassinet even if we did have one on the plane. We settled with a normal window seat.

Bambi with her baby seatbelt, which is attached to mine.

Okay time for some family portraits! Whoops, missed Bambi's face!

Now thats better!

She was feeding on my boobs through out most of the flight to Sydney. She was so well behaved, Grumpy and I were so impressed. She did not make a sound and seemed happy looking around.

When we finally landed in Sydney, I was so relieved. WE MADE IT! Haha

In the train from Sydney airport to the city

Clown for Lunch

Recently Belgium Chocolates and myself became owners to a new pair of watch. He got himself a Breguet for his 50th, and Grumpy gave me a Rolex for the birth of Little Bambi. We were both very happy with our new presents on our left arm! And for my birthday, Belgium Chocolates bought me a pair of Rayban aviators. At the same time, he bought himself a pair of sunnies too. 

He emailed me yesterday..

Belgium Chocolates: Hello, I am wearing mine today. Are you?

Me: Rolex or sunnies?

Belgium Chocolates: I don't know where you live, how the weather is, but in the city, you need more of an umbrella than a pair of sunnies today.

Me: So you are wearing an umbrella?

Belgium Chocolates: Oh I see, you had a clown for lunch :)

3 Months

Little Bambi is 3 months old today. She is starting to earn the title 'Little Porker' in my family, which is a bit of a worry to my mum. We went for her 3 month check up today, and she currently weighs 7.2kg. That is on the 95th percentile, which is really above average - especially for an Asian baby. The nurse nearly did not believe me when I said Bambi is fully breastfed.

It has been over a week now that my mum has left, and so far we are coping well. There is always something to do, like cleaning, laundry, ironing, etc. In other words, I am busy as a bee! I do not sit at home in front the telly, watching The Real Housewives of Orange County all day, hehe okay maybe I do, but not ALL day, maybe just an hour in the day.

Next week, Grumpy's parents arrive to stay with us for three weeks. Then we will be off to Sydney on Thursday to celebrate the wedding of my gorgeous BFF Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot. I must admit, I am very nervous about this Sydney trip. Nervous about Little Bambi settling on the plane, in the hotel, disrupting her routine.. Oh and also, I am extremely nervous about the Matron of Honour speech. I have been working on it for three days already, in between Bambi's feeds and naps!

Little Bambi is wearing a Seed Bodysuit.

12 Weeks

This afternoon, Little-Miss-Whats-For-Lunch was telling me about her day at work, how stressful it was and how she was trying to improve efficiency for her subordinates, etc. I thought to myself, okay, while all my friends are busy at work, making the world a better place to live in... here I am, holding a mini rolling pin and clay, making little imprints of my baby's hand and foot!

I am sure you have seen better, but it was such a challenge trying to get Bambi to unclench her fist!

Today Little Bambi is 12 weeks old, and I thought it was time to capture her hand and foot print in a memory tin.

Happy 12-weeks-old, my beautiful sunshine!

Not only is she 12 weeks old, but today I felt quite alone at home for the first time because my mum left to go back to Malaysia last night. My mum has been here for three months, and I must admit, I did not fully appreciate her presence in Melbourne until today. She has been a tremendous help to me and Grumpy with looking after our baby, cooking yummy dinners, grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning the house. I have been so spoilt indeed. Now it is time for me to really get my hands dirty and become a real full time mother!

Here are some photos to show Little Bambi's development at 12 weeks. 

Look mummy, I can lift my legs!

From the age of 3-4 weeks, we started placing Little Bambi on her tummy. She absolutely hates Tummy Time. But with perseverance and encouragement, at 11 weeks, she has been able to lift her head up high now!

My strong baby girl! :)

Still holding her head up! Whoop!

Boo!

Omg so tired!

My 30th Birthday

My big 3-0 birthday this year was indeed a special one. It was very different this time round, compared to all my other birthdays. This time, I have my own little bundle of joy to celebrate with. There were no fancy parties, no popping of champagne bottles, no dancing in a club, yet I think I felt most happy for this milestone birthday. Being a mother to Little Bambi has been such a fulfilling experience, I could not ask for more.

Since living in Australia from the age of 19, I have not celebrated the past 10 birthdays with my parents. This was the first time, in a decade, that my mum was present, with me on my 30th birthday. I thought that was kind of special!

My first birthday celebration started with dinner with my mum, my brother, his girlfriend, Grumpy and of course, Little Bambi, at a Thai restaurant, recommended by friends from our Buddhist group. We pre-ordered a special Thai dish, which was a steamed fish custard, and it was absolutely delicious!

Three generation of girls in the family!

Home made chocolate tart by my brother Dopey and his lovely girlfriend 

The next day, which was the day of my actual birthday, I gave Little Bambi her evening feed, and left her behind (poor bubba!) at home with my mum, to go to the city with Grumpy for a nice romantic dinner at Movida. I enjoyed it very much. In fact I still think about their yummy roasted artichokes!

Looking a bit tipsy after only one glass of Spanish cider!

See how red my face is!

Ice cream! Yahhh

The following day, Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch got the day off, to have lunch with me and another friend who is currently on maternity leave - she is due any day now.

Oh my I look so fat here.

And to wrap up my 30th birthday celebrations, I had lunch today with Belgian Chocolates (my ex-boss) in the city. He turned 50 in July, and with me turning 30, we decided to have a nice lunch together at a cosy Italian restaurant. I did not take a photo with him, he is camera shy. 

I got some really lovely birthday presents. But the best present of all, is my Little Bambi. I feel so blessed!

Fathers Day

Its Fathers Day today here in Australia. Why we celebrate it on a completely different day than the rest of the world, I have no idea. But my sources tell me it could have been the works of Myer and David Jones.

It is Grumpy's first Fathers Day and instead of staying at home cuddling Little Bambi, he is out playing golf with the boys. But its okay, we will make it up later this afternoon/evening after his golf game. How has Grumpy been with the bub? Pretty well so far. He is very much the doting dad. However, with my mum around, I guess we have been having it easy. My mum goes back to KL on Wednesday, so I guess Grumpy will have to take things one step up and I am sure he will try to help me out as much as possible.

At the moment, Grumpy does the dream feed at 10.30pm on his own. I find this as a good way for Grumpy to bond with her, to spend some alone time together. During the dream feed, he will gently wake her up, give her a bottle of expressed milk, burp her, change her nappies, and tuck her back nicely in her cot. He also adds another layer of blanket on Bambi, so that she stays warm for the rest of the night (the temperature drops further around 4am/5am).

Here are my favourite photos of my two loves!

Happy Fathers Day, my darling husband! I hope you continue to enjoy being a father to my precious Little Bambi! Okay, I have to ring my own father now and wish him!

Mastitis

I have never heard of the word 'mastitis' before... until two weeks ago. And that was when I was diagnosed with this awful condition! It does not sound as serious, but I swear it was horrible. It happened on a Saturday afternoon, when I had a terrible headache and an extremely sore boob. I was feeling a bit nauseous, so I took 2 Panadols, and a powernap. That night, we were celebrating a friends engagement, and considering how long it has been since I actually put on a nice dress and a pair of heels, I soldiered on and decided to head out that night regardless of my condition. 

Going out that night made things worse, and the next morning, on Sunday, as I was giving Bambi her first feed of the day, my temperature shot up and I felt like I was burning! I had lunch plans with friends that day, and I cancelled it. I stayed in bed for hours, shivering in cold sweat. However, a few more Panadols later, I felt a bit better.

On Monday, I thought I was back to normal again. Unfortunately, by the late afternoon, my fever was back again, and I knew something was not right. Hehe I googled 'mastitis' and somehow my symptoms seem to match the description (i.e. fever, flu like symptoms, blocked ducts, painful breasts)! 

On Tuesday, we met with Bambi's Maternal & Child Health Nurse, and she said I needed to see a GP immediately. So I did, and I was given antibiotics. Mastitis really did my head in, because suddenly my milk supply was reduced and I was worried sick about having to wean off Bambi. Before this, I had plenty of milk, it was funny seeing Little Bambi gently 'choke' while the milk came gushing out in to her mouth. But now, it was no longer the case and that made me extremely sad. It took a lot of effort for me to get my milk in, and I was really feeling sorry for myself, and for my baby. I had plans to breastfeed Bambi for at least 6 months, or longer if I could. It was only 2 months now, to stop breastfeeding was very premature!

Surprisingly, even with mastitis and on antibiotics, I was still able to breastfeed Bambi, and I was avoiding formula where possible. To add to my misery, I was flying to Sydney on Saturday to celebrate my BFF Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot's Hens Night. How I got mastitis, I will never know, as I have been expressing as much milk as I can, and freezing it up so that my mum can feed Bambi while I was away in Sydney for 2 days. My doctor requested that I go back to see her after 48 hours, and I said to her "There's not much milk as before!" All she says to me is "Keep expressing!" :(

By Friday, the redness on my boobs disappeared, my fever was gone, but I must admit, I was still very nervous about leaving my 2 month old baby behind for 2 days. I knew she was in good hands, my mum is very capable of looking after her, but it was little things like.. "What if Bambi really needed to latch on to my boobs?" "What if she is unable to settle without me?" 

Regardless, I could not miss my BFF's hens night. I was determined to make it to Sydney. On Saturday morning, I hopped on the train to the city. Then a sky bus to the airport. When I got to the airport, 20 minutes before boarding, I rushed into the toilet and I was expressing just to clear out the milk. Utter madness. I have never been so obsessed with boobs and a breast pump in my life! While in Sydney, I was also expressing at every opportunity I had. This is to clear out the blocked ducts, and I was hoping that my milk supply would get back up again. I got back home to Melbourne on Sunday night. I missed my Little Bambi so much! Over the next two days, I stayed home and I was religiously expressing every two hours between Bambi's feeds. I also had to make sure she had enough milk. 

By Wednesday, finally...there was light at the other end of the tunnel! My boobs felt a bit better, and my milk supply has increased again! Oh my, mastitis! What a terrible ordeal! 

2 Months

My little Bambi turned 2 months old recently, and what can I say, it has been an amazing 2 months for me being a new mummy to my little baby.

At her 2 month check up with the Maternal Child & Health Nurse, she weighs over 6 kgs and is on the 90th percentile on the growth chart. She is growing well and healthy, which is all a mother could ever ask for. She is also growing out of her 000 outfits, which means, its time for me to buy my little bub some new clothes.

Also, at 2 months, Bambi is already doing her nights! My darling! She sleeps from 7pm straight through to 7am, although we do gently wake her at 10.30pm for a dream feed. 

Just a quick post now, but next I will write about how I flew to Sydney for a night without my little bundle of joy... oh my!