To my beloved daughter,
Yeah, today you are finally 2 months old. These 2 months must have been tough for you to adjust to the new environment however you have done pretty well.
At 2 months....
* you can lift up your head to about 45 degree celsius since the 3rd week of birth. What a strong neck you have!
* you can sleep better now at night with a stretch of 5-6 hours without waking. However, it is not consistent. Still being trained and getting yourself used to it.
* you are still being breastfed however occasionally when Mummy's supply is low, formula milk comes in. But this must not continue too often.
* Finally, you have started to chuckle and smile and is more responsive to us when Daddy and Mummy talk to you. We were so concerned during the first month as you did not smile and neither do you look at us or even response to our teasing and talking.
* You start to converse with us with your ahs, errs, coo, uhs, gaas and we love those cute little conversation you tried to make sense with us. They are music to our ears.
* You do not poo daily now. Only poo every two days. However, those poos you make are explosive ones and you hardly fuss or cry when your diaper is badly soiled. What great tolerance you have, but not in this way please!
* You sleep lesser now during the day and often wish to play, talk and be carried around. The radar in you will start to response with cries once it senses that Mummy is going to put you back to cot. Sigh.
* you are a great observer, you love to look around and will be attracted to lights and will stare with great amazement for a long long time.
* sometimes pacifier doesn't satisfy you and your fingers will be the next best choice for you to suckle. What delicious "drumsticks" you have! Oh well, I have to add on too that you do make loud slurping sound with those "drumsticks".
* you have pretty strong limbs and arms. You will kick and push away anything that comes your way like blankets, pillows etc. Grandma always says you are super active just like Mummy when she was a baby. At times, I will find you sleeping at another angle or end up upside down the next morning cause you kick and move so much that you are out from the original position you were before you sleep. Sigh...I guess even the cot bumper will lose its purpose soon.
Poor thing, today you got two injections by your PD and you really screamed in pain. But you were easily calmed by pacifier and fell asleep immediately. I was sad too to hear that the rash on your face was actually fungus infection called ringworm! Yucks! Isn't that suppose to be on one's foot? Mummy hopes you will recover soon!
Anyway, Happy two months old my dear! Mummy and Daddy loves you lots cause you are such an adorable girl from heaven above!
Current Mood: Bliss
: Wedding Anniversary :
:: Our Precious Evangeline ::
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Evan's Progress
I thank God for the perserverance He has given me, the promises He has for me, the prayers being answered and the improvement in Evangeline's behaviour. And not forgetting my hubby who has been a super great helper. Without him helping, I would not be able to handle the intital struggles, stress faced commonly by first time mums and also the housechores and taking care of Evan.
Week 1-3
Overall, Evangeline was an easy baby and she still is. She only cries for milk and spent most of her time sleeping. She was still not responsive to us or even the mobile toys we placed before her as her focus and eyesight is not fully developed yet. It will take a while before she could see clearly the things before her. The only problem she faced was latching onto my nipple, having jaundice and blocked nose. The adorable part of her was and still is her smile when she is asleep. Yup, she only smiles and chuckles at times in her sleep. Guess the Heavenly Angels were with her then. She learned to sleep on her side which helped her to breathe better so that the mucus would not backflow. The most amazing thing about her is her ability to withstand the poo that totally soiled the diaper without crying. Therefore, I have to constantly check her diaper to see if change was needed. At week 2, she can kick vigourously, able to remove her mittens and booties by herself, refused to be swaddled and able to drink from bottle and cup withour any difficulties. I can say she is quite a fast developer in her psycho-motor skills as well.
Week 4
This week is the last week she will be at her "Mama's" house. My mum was trying to hold back her emotions as Evan has to go back to her own home and MaMa can only see her on Sundays. On the 19th Dec which was her full month, MaMa bathed her and trimmed her hair. Initially she wanted to shave her hair and eyebrows. Yup you did not hear wrongly, eyebrows!. Of course, we were protesting against the idea. I am not going to tatoo her eyebrow if they doesn't grow back. No risk to be taken. She was still feeding well however my milk supply suddenly decreased at Week 4. Not sure why it was so. My breasts were still engorged at night, thus more than enough for her but day feed was worse. Not much milk and barely able to replenish on time for her 3 hourly feeds. I felt super bad as certain feeds, I have to supplement with formula milk or the frozen breast milk which I pumped during the first 3 weeks. Sigh. Thus my pumping stopped totally as nothing much to pump after she fed. Pathetic I must say. She still slept 3 hourly after every feed and continued to smile in her sleep. The only thing that needed our patience was her cries for milk. She has no patience to wait and will scream non-stop till she gets what she wants. Milk! I must say her lungs must be super strong and well developed as her screams can collapse the whole roof down. That's my girl!
That's all I can recall. I really dun have time to keep up with blogging. I wished I could have the time and energy to jot down every little details in Evan's growth but being a full time stay at home mum and housewife, able to sit down for 5 mins to do my own thing is a luxury so is blogging. Will keep up when things are more stabilised for me. :)
Week 1-3
Overall, Evangeline was an easy baby and she still is. She only cries for milk and spent most of her time sleeping. She was still not responsive to us or even the mobile toys we placed before her as her focus and eyesight is not fully developed yet. It will take a while before she could see clearly the things before her. The only problem she faced was latching onto my nipple, having jaundice and blocked nose. The adorable part of her was and still is her smile when she is asleep. Yup, she only smiles and chuckles at times in her sleep. Guess the Heavenly Angels were with her then. She learned to sleep on her side which helped her to breathe better so that the mucus would not backflow. The most amazing thing about her is her ability to withstand the poo that totally soiled the diaper without crying. Therefore, I have to constantly check her diaper to see if change was needed. At week 2, she can kick vigourously, able to remove her mittens and booties by herself, refused to be swaddled and able to drink from bottle and cup withour any difficulties. I can say she is quite a fast developer in her psycho-motor skills as well.
Week 4
This week is the last week she will be at her "Mama's" house. My mum was trying to hold back her emotions as Evan has to go back to her own home and MaMa can only see her on Sundays. On the 19th Dec which was her full month, MaMa bathed her and trimmed her hair. Initially she wanted to shave her hair and eyebrows. Yup you did not hear wrongly, eyebrows!. Of course, we were protesting against the idea. I am not going to tatoo her eyebrow if they doesn't grow back. No risk to be taken. She was still feeding well however my milk supply suddenly decreased at Week 4. Not sure why it was so. My breasts were still engorged at night, thus more than enough for her but day feed was worse. Not much milk and barely able to replenish on time for her 3 hourly feeds. I felt super bad as certain feeds, I have to supplement with formula milk or the frozen breast milk which I pumped during the first 3 weeks. Sigh. Thus my pumping stopped totally as nothing much to pump after she fed. Pathetic I must say. She still slept 3 hourly after every feed and continued to smile in her sleep. The only thing that needed our patience was her cries for milk. She has no patience to wait and will scream non-stop till she gets what she wants. Milk! I must say her lungs must be super strong and well developed as her screams can collapse the whole roof down. That's my girl!
That's all I can recall. I really dun have time to keep up with blogging. I wished I could have the time and energy to jot down every little details in Evan's growth but being a full time stay at home mum and housewife, able to sit down for 5 mins to do my own thing is a luxury so is blogging. Will keep up when things are more stabilised for me. :)
Monday, December 22, 2008
Evangeline's full month celebration
It's Evangeline's full month! However, we decided not to hold any celebration as there were too many ppl to invite. It just happened that Hubby's Auntie was holding her housewarming party on the 20th Dec so we were honoured when she invited us to celebrate Evan's one month old with her. Too bad, we forgotten to bring our camera along so no photos of the occasion. Will try to get it from Hubb's Auntie when we meet her up someday. Meanwhile, I still ordered my full month cakes from a fantastic caterer Sweetest Moments. Here is the card they did for us. So sweet!
http://www.sweetestmoments.com.sg
http://www.sweetestmoments.com.sg
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Breastfeeding was challenging!
20 Nov 08 (1am to 6am)
Breastfeeding was tough. Milk supply has not set in, Evangeline was not latching properly. I was quite unhappy with the night shift nurses as they did not teach me how to breastfeed Evangeline. I was really feeling down and felt helpless when I tried for the first half an hour to latch her onto my breast but to no avail. In the end, she was pushed back to the nursery with no feed at all. I was on total breastfeed then and refused to introduce formula and bottle feeding. I was determined to try again the next feed. Still, tried for the whole of 1st night, Evangeline was still biting onto my nipples. I was really crying then to see such little one having no milk to drink. Fortunately, I was told that babies do have reserve for the lst 3 days. So, I was encouraged by the morning shift nurses to try again.
20 Nov 08 (8am till 11pm)
The morning shift nurses were very helpful, patient and taught me the techniques of breastfeeding Evangeline. As Evangeline is so small and sleepy, she had problems opening her mouth big and wide and was always in dreamland. It was so tough to wake her up thus most of the feeds failed again. I called for lactation consultant for help. Two midwives, one lactation consultant and Mrs Wong came in at different parts of the day to see me and the condition of my breast. Nipples were sore then and again, they showed me the ropes of latching correctly. I really screamed for help each time Evangeline latches on, she was really biting hard and I guessed it was due to hunger. I was praying hard. At about 5pm, my nipples bled. I really broke down again and called Mrs WOng for advise to see if I should continue latching Evangeline. The advise given was to continue as the sore nipples would soon go away. Perseverance is the key to success.
21 Nov ( Midnight to 7am)
To my horror, the same group of nurses for the night shift again. Same kind of services shown. Super Bo Chap attitude and they even suggested me to just put her on formula since Evangeline was so sleepy and I failed so many times. I just told them off firmly that I insisted on total breastfeeding. How I wished my hubby was there then.
21 Nov (8am - 12 noon)
Finally, I can be discharged and was so excited to bring baby home. However, I needed to go back to my place to pack my luggage bag for my one month stay at my Mum's place. Got a Snuggle Nest bed for Evangeline to sleep from one of the shops at TMC.
21 Nov night - 23 Nov
These three days were challenging for me. milk supply is super low. Only manage to express 40ml from 2 breasts. Baby does not seem to have enough. Nipples continue to bleed and sore. In the end, I cried again cause she is crying for milk and my sore nipples couldn't meet her request. Thus I ended opening Similac formula milk for her to drink. She drank up to 60ml. I resorted to bottle feeding formula milk for two days and decided to see Mrs Wong for help on latching.
24 Nov
Hubby and I brought Evangeline to see PD for follow up and detected she has mild jaundice. Not too bad, just needed some sun tanning. However, Evan's weight dropped from 2.56kg to 2.3kg. My heart just sank and tears just welled up. Then went to see Mrs Wong and got the latching problem settled. So went home to try again and still feel extreme pain but I bit my lips and persevere. Now I totally understand the sacrificial love of a mother's heart. Mrs Wong encouraged me to stop bottle feeding and formula milk and try to feed expressed breast milk through a cup. Fortunately, Evan took cup feeding well. Everybody was so amused at how she drank through a cup. She sucked so loudly as if to tell us how tasty her milk was. I felt relieved that she was drinking well.
25 Nov till now
I am thankful to God that she has latched on properly now though sometimes, I failed again. Milk supply is plentiful that I keep having engorgement and need to pump frequently. She sleeps well during the day and wakes up timely every 3 hours for feeds. However, when it comes to night time, she couldn't sleep well, keeps making grunting noises and wakes up every hour for feeds. HUbby and I are really drained having to wake up so many times to attend to her. Brought her to see PD yesterday and found out she has blocked nose and mucus which I was prescribed nasal drops for Evan. Hubby and I really prayed hard and may you all joined me in prayer for her that she will be able to sleep well at night without breathing difficulties and not be fretful so as to sleep peacefully and calmly like her day naps.
Current Mood: Drained and tired.
Breastfeeding was tough. Milk supply has not set in, Evangeline was not latching properly. I was quite unhappy with the night shift nurses as they did not teach me how to breastfeed Evangeline. I was really feeling down and felt helpless when I tried for the first half an hour to latch her onto my breast but to no avail. In the end, she was pushed back to the nursery with no feed at all. I was on total breastfeed then and refused to introduce formula and bottle feeding. I was determined to try again the next feed. Still, tried for the whole of 1st night, Evangeline was still biting onto my nipples. I was really crying then to see such little one having no milk to drink. Fortunately, I was told that babies do have reserve for the lst 3 days. So, I was encouraged by the morning shift nurses to try again.
20 Nov 08 (8am till 11pm)
The morning shift nurses were very helpful, patient and taught me the techniques of breastfeeding Evangeline. As Evangeline is so small and sleepy, she had problems opening her mouth big and wide and was always in dreamland. It was so tough to wake her up thus most of the feeds failed again. I called for lactation consultant for help. Two midwives, one lactation consultant and Mrs Wong came in at different parts of the day to see me and the condition of my breast. Nipples were sore then and again, they showed me the ropes of latching correctly. I really screamed for help each time Evangeline latches on, she was really biting hard and I guessed it was due to hunger. I was praying hard. At about 5pm, my nipples bled. I really broke down again and called Mrs WOng for advise to see if I should continue latching Evangeline. The advise given was to continue as the sore nipples would soon go away. Perseverance is the key to success.
21 Nov ( Midnight to 7am)
To my horror, the same group of nurses for the night shift again. Same kind of services shown. Super Bo Chap attitude and they even suggested me to just put her on formula since Evangeline was so sleepy and I failed so many times. I just told them off firmly that I insisted on total breastfeeding. How I wished my hubby was there then.
21 Nov (8am - 12 noon)
Finally, I can be discharged and was so excited to bring baby home. However, I needed to go back to my place to pack my luggage bag for my one month stay at my Mum's place. Got a Snuggle Nest bed for Evangeline to sleep from one of the shops at TMC.
21 Nov night - 23 Nov
These three days were challenging for me. milk supply is super low. Only manage to express 40ml from 2 breasts. Baby does not seem to have enough. Nipples continue to bleed and sore. In the end, I cried again cause she is crying for milk and my sore nipples couldn't meet her request. Thus I ended opening Similac formula milk for her to drink. She drank up to 60ml. I resorted to bottle feeding formula milk for two days and decided to see Mrs Wong for help on latching.
24 Nov
Hubby and I brought Evangeline to see PD for follow up and detected she has mild jaundice. Not too bad, just needed some sun tanning. However, Evan's weight dropped from 2.56kg to 2.3kg. My heart just sank and tears just welled up. Then went to see Mrs Wong and got the latching problem settled. So went home to try again and still feel extreme pain but I bit my lips and persevere. Now I totally understand the sacrificial love of a mother's heart. Mrs Wong encouraged me to stop bottle feeding and formula milk and try to feed expressed breast milk through a cup. Fortunately, Evan took cup feeding well. Everybody was so amused at how she drank through a cup. She sucked so loudly as if to tell us how tasty her milk was. I felt relieved that she was drinking well.
25 Nov till now
I am thankful to God that she has latched on properly now though sometimes, I failed again. Milk supply is plentiful that I keep having engorgement and need to pump frequently. She sleeps well during the day and wakes up timely every 3 hours for feeds. However, when it comes to night time, she couldn't sleep well, keeps making grunting noises and wakes up every hour for feeds. HUbby and I are really drained having to wake up so many times to attend to her. Brought her to see PD yesterday and found out she has blocked nose and mucus which I was prescribed nasal drops for Evan. Hubby and I really prayed hard and may you all joined me in prayer for her that she will be able to sleep well at night without breathing difficulties and not be fretful so as to sleep peacefully and calmly like her day naps.
Current Mood: Drained and tired.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
My Birth Story!
Thanks so much for all your prayers and indeed God is gracious and faithful. My birth story is such a great testimony on how much God cares and loves us and He is faithful.
19 Nov 2008
1.30pm - Called Doc A and told him about baby Evangeline not kicking much for the past one and a half day. I thought it was nothing serious and maybe just needed to take a trip down to the clinic for check up but Doc A wanted me to admit to the hospital immediately. It was so sudden. Hospital bag and luggage for my one month confinement at my Mum's place were not packed and I was only in my 37 weeks of gestation. Rushed to pack hospital bag first and bathe. I was feeling very anxious and afraid.
2.00pm - Left home and on the way to hospital. Pray with Hubby and even joke with him that we will be back home after check up. It was just a normal procedure. Trying to calm myself with that excuse.
2.30pm - Put on CTG to monitor Baby's heartbeat. Doc A came and did a VE. Was 2 cm dilated. Doc cautioned me not to delay and advised me to deliver on that day. I was shocked and not expecting to deliver so soon. I was stunned and speechless. Hubby was lost too. Doc and nurses persuaded me to give birth that day as Baby was already not kicking much and this could lead to the possibility of baby dying in the womb. Before I could answer them, Doc did another VE and broke my waterbag.
2.45pm - Nurse inserted some solution into anus to help me clear my bowel.
3.00pm - I was put on drip.
3.25pm - First contraction set in. Still bearable.
5.00pm - Couldn't bear the pain anymore. Ask for Epidual. Was put on gas while waiting for the anesthetist to come.
5.30pm - Epidual injected. Felt instant relief. Able to laugh, chat and relax. But still 2 cm dilated.
7pm - Nurse did a VE and I was 9cm dilated. That was pretty fast.
7.45pm - 9.5 cm dilated. Doc was called in to prepare me for labour.
8.04 - Doc came in and everybody in that delivery room got me ready to give my first push.
8.05 - With only one push, Baby Evangeline was out! in less than a minute. Praise the Lord for smooth delivery.
When Evangeline was brought before me, I couldn't help but questioned why she was so small. I kept asking Doc if she is healthy, whether her size and weight is acceptable. Doc assured me that she is alright. Hubby was overjoyed and immediately all attention was on Evangeline..Ha Ha...
Doc stitched me up and I was pushed to my ward. Super hungry as I did not have any lunch and dinner. I was only allowed a cup of milo and sandwich as supper. Evangeline could only be pushed to me for breastfeeding at about 1am. Hubby has to go home to try to finish up his last paper which was due on Friday and due to this sudden and unexpected arrival of Evangeline, I guessed he may have problem completing it. Hopefully, God's grace is with him.
Some pics to share!
This is how big my tum tum is when I was 37 weeks in gestation. I remember the date was 15 Nov. 4 Days before the birth of Evangeline.
Baby Evangeline in my arms
Evangeline's weight
Evangeline Birth Details
Who is staring at me?
Current Mood: Overjoyed
19 Nov 2008
1.30pm - Called Doc A and told him about baby Evangeline not kicking much for the past one and a half day. I thought it was nothing serious and maybe just needed to take a trip down to the clinic for check up but Doc A wanted me to admit to the hospital immediately. It was so sudden. Hospital bag and luggage for my one month confinement at my Mum's place were not packed and I was only in my 37 weeks of gestation. Rushed to pack hospital bag first and bathe. I was feeling very anxious and afraid.
2.00pm - Left home and on the way to hospital. Pray with Hubby and even joke with him that we will be back home after check up. It was just a normal procedure. Trying to calm myself with that excuse.
2.30pm - Put on CTG to monitor Baby's heartbeat. Doc A came and did a VE. Was 2 cm dilated. Doc cautioned me not to delay and advised me to deliver on that day. I was shocked and not expecting to deliver so soon. I was stunned and speechless. Hubby was lost too. Doc and nurses persuaded me to give birth that day as Baby was already not kicking much and this could lead to the possibility of baby dying in the womb. Before I could answer them, Doc did another VE and broke my waterbag.
2.45pm - Nurse inserted some solution into anus to help me clear my bowel.
3.00pm - I was put on drip.
3.25pm - First contraction set in. Still bearable.
5.00pm - Couldn't bear the pain anymore. Ask for Epidual. Was put on gas while waiting for the anesthetist to come.
5.30pm - Epidual injected. Felt instant relief. Able to laugh, chat and relax. But still 2 cm dilated.
7pm - Nurse did a VE and I was 9cm dilated. That was pretty fast.
7.45pm - 9.5 cm dilated. Doc was called in to prepare me for labour.
8.04 - Doc came in and everybody in that delivery room got me ready to give my first push.
8.05 - With only one push, Baby Evangeline was out! in less than a minute. Praise the Lord for smooth delivery.
When Evangeline was brought before me, I couldn't help but questioned why she was so small. I kept asking Doc if she is healthy, whether her size and weight is acceptable. Doc assured me that she is alright. Hubby was overjoyed and immediately all attention was on Evangeline..Ha Ha...
Doc stitched me up and I was pushed to my ward. Super hungry as I did not have any lunch and dinner. I was only allowed a cup of milo and sandwich as supper. Evangeline could only be pushed to me for breastfeeding at about 1am. Hubby has to go home to try to finish up his last paper which was due on Friday and due to this sudden and unexpected arrival of Evangeline, I guessed he may have problem completing it. Hopefully, God's grace is with him.
Some pics to share!
This is how big my tum tum is when I was 37 weeks in gestation. I remember the date was 15 Nov. 4 Days before the birth of Evangeline.
Baby Evangeline in my arms
Evangeline's weight
Evangeline Birth Details
Who is staring at me?
Current Mood: Overjoyed
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