3 Months Old

Time really flies. My maternity leave is up and Janine turns exactly 3 months old today! Somehow, when you have a baby, you realise how fast time flies because the change in time is so evidently seen by baby's size and developments.

Janine is now 6.1 kg and about 60cm long. She seems heavy, almost doubling her birth weight at only 3 months when babies usually double their birth weight by 6 months. In any case, I am thankful that she's growing well :)

Juggling between work and family, I am so thankful for how God has answered prayers just within the first week (ie. last week) of returning to work! Somehow, when I bring Janine for meetings and all, she's been very well-behaved and literally sleeps through them all. This is somehow not very true when she's at home! I see it as an answered prayer :)

Having 2 kids, I now understand what some mothers mean when they say they feel bad because they cannot spend the same amount of time with both kids as they did for their no.1. Especially when Janelle is still at a very cute age, and Janine is also very cute, I can't help but feel that I can't fully enjoy both my kids' cuteness because my attention is divided between them both!! Yet on the other hand, you can say that we are doubly blessed with 2 cute kids. :)

Simple Joys

Last night, Janine broke her record in terms of sleep! After her last feed at 9pm or so, she didn't wake up till 5:45am for a feed! That's more than 8 hours of blissful rest (not just for her but for me!!). Am amazed that at 9 weeks old, she can clock such a long stretch of night-time sleep. I can only hope she continues on that way! Perhaps she's trying to make up to me after being such a difficult baby in terms of sleep since she was born. Heh heh. Nowadays, for daytime naps, she can also sleep on the bed for up to 1 hour 15 mins! It's a record for her considering she always wakes up within 15 mins of being put on the bed to sleep!

Janine's also getting very responsive and simply loves to 'talk' to people. She'll reward us with a big wide grin or a sweet smile too, whenever we talk to her.

Such are the simple joys of motherhood.

Janine - 2 months old

Janine is turning 2 months old in 4 days' time!

Yesterday (at 8 weeks old), she slept thru 6.5 hours without a feed at night! I was elated as I only had to wake up once at 3:30am to feed her! :) That's her record! Am thankful she sleeps well at night, or rather, better than in the day.

Previously, she was only able to clock 5.5hrs without a feed, at most. So am really glad for this! Praying that it will continue that way, or get even better! :)

Some developments:
- smiles readily at familiar faces, and even at unfamiliar faces, whenever people talk to her.
- "talks" back
- still gives very pitiful and cute cries! (i should attempt to take a video or a photo of her doing so)
- at 7 weeks old, she started recognizing people! Amazing! And it was quite terrible, for she only wanted me to carry her :( Would cry and cry if Gina or Royston were to carry. So now Gina doesn't dare to be left alone at home with Janine because chances are, she would cry without being soothed.
- as for her sleeping patterns, she would sleep till about 1:30am or 2:00am and awake for a feed, followed by another feed at 4:30am or so. Sometimes she would wake up at about 6:00am or 6:30am for another feed! But still, she generally falls into deeper sleep at night than in the day.
- her daytime sleep is still very light. She's a very light sleeper, and can only sleep for about 10 minutes at a stretch if put down on the bed :( Must be carried to sleep!
- at 6 weeks old, she was 56cm long and 5kg.
- now at 8 weeks old, I have no idea about her weight but she sure seems like a big baby! She's outgrowing those 3-6mths old clothings!

Recent Developments

Janelle - about a week or so ago, she has learnt how to open and close our room doors! Oh no...it means we can't "lock" her or ourselves in the room any longer. Sigh, she sure learns fast!

And she's responding really well in sentences. Now she can tell me stuff like "I like purple, I like Milo, etc". And it's no longer "Mummy, on TV!" but "Mummy, can you on the TV?". When asked if she had fun at Little Pals, she'll say "Yes I had fun". So grown-up already!

Janine - at about 2 or 3 weeks old, she could lift up her head and turn from side to side while lying on her tummy. She's got a pretty strong neck!

At 4 weeks old, she can make "ah" sounds and other baby gurgles. She responds really well to faces and loves to look at faces! She'll also move her head from one side to the other to follow an object held above her.

She still feeds 3-hourly during the night. Praying that she can sleep longer through the night soon! She's very sensitive to sounds and all, so she's got a big problem with her sleep. Sigh. Dunno how to train her also. She needs to be carried and cuddled to sleep all the time.

Thank God her rash (which developed and spread all over her body) looks slightly better today! I attribute it to prayer :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Janelle!

Today Janelle turns 2 years old!

We woke up early this morning and brought her to MacDonalds at King Albert's Park for a breakfast treat. After a hotcakes breakfast meal, we headed home to prepare for the family lunch party.

Our families arrived at 11am onwards with lots of food! There was fried rice & bee hoon (cooked by Gina), cod fish + duck + charsiew & meat (by my parents), fried chicken wings + chicken dish + vegetables + pig stomach soup (by Royston's parents), and lots of fruit.

Time really flies...our little girl is now 2 years old! When asked "how old are you?", she would reply "I'm two!" and try to make the sign "2" with her fingers. But of course she would not be able to do so, and end up doing "4" with her fingers and proudly saying "I'm two!" when obviously she's doing a "4"!

Our birthday message to our older little girl:

Dear Janelle,

We are so thankful to God for bringing you into our lives, for you brought lots of laughter and joy! Your cheeky yet innocent ways are so endearing, and so often you have made us burst out into laughter by the funny things you say and do.

You love to jump and run around the house, and are always game to try out new flavours and foods. (It is truly a joy to see you enjoying heartily tucking into your food!) Recently, you have become really imaginative, 'cooking' all kinds of food for us to eat/drink - amongst which milk, milo, raisins and carrots are your favourites! 

It is amazing to see just how much you have grown - not just physically but mentally as well. Not only are you able to hold a conversation with us, you have also taken on the role as an older sister to all other children you come into contact with.

We pray that the Lord will continue to nurture you in His ways, and that your life will reflect the grace of God - just like the meaning of your name "God is Gracious".  

Blessed 2nd Birthday to you, my darling!

Love,
Daddy & Mummy

Janine has arrived!

Date: 31 December 2007, Monday
Time: 1306 hours
Venue: Mt Elizabeth Hospital
Birth Weight: 3.155kg
Length: 50cm
Head Circumference: 34cm

Praise the Lord for a smooth delivery via caesarean under epidural / spinal block! It was an experience of a lifetime to be awake during a surgery with Royston by my side. The first thing that crossed both our minds when we first saw Janine fresh from the womb was that she looked exactly like Janelle!! It was simply amazing.

By God's grace, I was up and walking by the second day and discharged early from the hospital by the third day. However, the first few days at home upon discharge from hospital were a nightmare! Janine wouldn't sleep at night till 3 or 4am! And she would cry and wake the whole family up - including our helper. It was a real challenge trying to put both our girls to sleep. Thank God that the past 2 nights were much much better! I think Janine was just not used to our home environment at first, hence the crying at night. Last night, Janine even slept all the way at night (11:30pm to 7:30am), waking up only once at 3:30am for a feed. So proud of her!

Janelle has been a very adoring sister to Janine. She simply loves her mei-mei! She would sayang and kiss mei-mei, leaving Janine's face wet with her saliva! Yikes! And whenever Janine fusses or cries, Janelle would try to pacify her with her toys (which of course don't work) and say "mei-mei don't cry". And every now and then, when she looks at Janine, she would exclaim "mei-mei is sooo cute!". We're very thankful that Janelle is reacting to Janine so well.

Janine is simply adorable (well, of course to us who are her parents, she is adorable!). She's a very sweet baby compared to Janelle, who was 'fiercer' and tougher. And she charms us all with her endearing expressions while falling asleep...like this one....

Janine - newborn