and there... you think you're that great, that, I need to give all my information??

see! Another perks of going fulling breastfeeding your baby is...

you can just tell THESE people off...

I just got a call from enfa club...

see!! enfa, they're soooooo “chiong kong” in our country... it's like it's THE formulae, and nothing else...

this lady called me, asked if I'm still preggy, I said “no, I've given birth”, first, they just like to call call call, and my babies, all are sleeping, the big one, and the small one...

then, immediately, she asked me, what's the baby name...

ooh... why should I tell you?

Ok!! I admit, I'm just like any other auntie, I got the free sample from the hospital, and that's when I “betrayed” myself, and signed up certain minimal information,

BUT THEN, I don't feel comfortable giving out my babies' information... see!!!

so, she asked,

and that, I rejected, I asked her why they need to know, they said, cos, I'm a member, and that, they need to call up to update my membership details...

see see see!!!

and I told her to cancel my membership,

she said, “but it's FREE!!”

(oh, so what if it's free?? I don't need...)

I said, I don't use formulae and I fully breastfeed my newborn...

again, she insisted, “it's FREE!”

so what!

So what!!! so what if it's free??

the thing is, also,

so what, if it's enfa club???

JUST TELL ME, SO WHAT??

I don't feel right that, without me willingly giving out information, they “invasively” asking for information!!

so what if they get the information? (ya, in a way, right too!)

not that, I'm going to buy any enfa formulae milk powder...

so, please don't simply call people up to ask for information, especially their kids' information!!

you guys just spent too much on your marketing... and ya, that's where we pay for the tin of formulae right??

even I just simply signed up in the hospital, for the free sample, you know what??

they spam my mailbox, literally, A MAILBOX, downstairs, my apartment,

with tonnes and tonnes of their newsletter, leaflet, and whatever crap...

please!!!

don't spam my real mailbox, will you??

There I Nurse Again, ^_^V

isn't it great??

nursing, ie. Breastfeeding...

1. my uterus/tummy went back to its size pretty fast...
2. neither my husband nor I, gotta wake up in the wee hour at night, to wash the bottles, wash the teats, and make milk for baby...
3. and that, I don't have to keep burping him (my newborn)... but yes, comparatively, he needs some burp, as compared to his sis...
4. in this 1 month of 'resting' time, I could eat as much as I want... though, I do keep an eye... but then, I eat happily... whatever food the confinement centre cooked for me...
5. it's even more “syok”, when my newborn, for this round, is a very efficient sucker... ^_^ and when I see that, haha, I've plenty of breastmilk for him... again, damn “syok” man!!!

if you ask me, breastfeed or formulae... I'll sure opt for the former... it's simply... CONVENIENT!

At night, I've plenty of sleep, though you'll shake your head... cos, I just carried him, and when I had my oxytocin, and he's his... both fell asleep... yes, I'm still carrying him, but why bother putting him down... I need my rest, and he needs his sleep, we just choose whatever's best for both of us...

yes I know, in the end, he may likes to be carried as often as he wants... but then, we'll see... and manage... that's the thing about parenting, right?

The Power of Prayer...

before I went into the hospital for my second boy's coming... (cesarean) I was plain worried...

worried about anything, if you ask me... about the household, about how my husband and my daughter would cope...

and therefore, I pray, I prayed very hard... every night... (haha! I thought it's supposed to be day and night?? anyway... ya... I prayed... that's the only power I could trust...)

I prayed for smooth operation, (cos, I insisted on a cesarean!)

I prayed for speedy recovery aftermath,

I prayed that, my husband and my daughter will cope well, and

I prayed that, my newborn son, will be healthy, (health is the MOST MOST MOST important criteria... if you live healthily, there's indefinite possibilities in your life, whatever you want, whatever you wanna do, but if you're not healthy... that's it...)

as of today,

as when I'm jotting down little notes...

I believe, I've recovered well, coming close to 2 weeks...

I have my confinement food catered... in fact, I wanted to cook, but in order to let my husband to have a peace of mind, I opted for a caterer...

and Praise to God... (Thanks you God!)

that, Gabriel, was having just mild jaundice,

and that... the biggest blessing of the year, with his birth...

he's a born sucker... ^_^, very good and efficient in suckling, at this age, ie. 2 weeks old...

he latches on well,

and he sucks well, most of the time, he'll finish off both sides...

and that, he'll sleep, and since he's full, he'll sleep for 3-4 hours...

and like I've mentioned, as opposed to his sister, madeleine, (that time, she was having jaundice, a more severe type, we concluded it was breastmilk jaundice...)

madeleine need to be breastfed every 2 hours, and each time, she'll be on my boobs, even just 1 side, for around 30-45 minutes,

and with madeleine, of course, it's the first time in my life, for me to nurse a baby...

I had mastitis, I had cracked nipples, sored nipples, and I gotta apply the lansinoh all the time...

and for some reason, the diaper on madeleine just couldn't fit well, huggies, mommy poko, any other brands, it'd leak... and we've more things to wash... more things to change,

for Gabriel's case, all these are gone...

of course, he's his problem,

lately, just these 2 days, he starts to have yellowish eye discharge, just 1 side of his eyes...

we read, it's blocked tear duct...

so, I massage his tear duct on and off... it seems better now,

however, I also suspect that, it's because of the confinement food that I've been taking,

cos, last time (first childbirth) I've a confinement lady, though she wanted to cook super duper confinement heaty stuff, but I forced her to cook something simple... I practically eat the same food every single day... cos, I didn't want any other stuff... though she insisted that, she could cook well... well, those other stuff that I didn't want to eat... ^_^

but since, this round, I've the food catered... so, they delivered whatever, since I've paid, and thus, I'll just wallop whatever!

And I reckon, that “increase” my inner “qi” temperature... well, chinese saying “heaty”!

And that contributes to the eye discharge for Gabriel... that's what I think,

cos, when the eye discharge was like... non-stop... I'd mine too... though not as severe...

then, yesterday, I forced myself to have plenty of water... really plenty of water...

and today, it seems better...

see!!!

this is the “problem” with this baby...

still!!! I've to say, cos,

this is unforeseen, and that, of course, I didn't pray particularly about this, ie. Eye discharge thing... it's NEW to us...

but then, whatever I've prayed,

Dear Almighty God's obviously there to listen...

and that, He's granted me HIS Blessing,

and He's granted Gabriel, HIS Blessing...

Confinement! Confinement! Confinement!!!!!!!!!!! (Damn you!!) OK! it's not too bad this time, frankly...

first of all...

I've to thank my husband, he's done a great great job!!

no no!! I'm not done with my confinement yet, haha! just 1 week... arrgh... 3 more weeks to go, though, by the end of next week, I think I can just go out for a big gigantic sashimi buffet... ^_^ (slurp!)

anyway,

yes, most of the people were "stunted", when I told them, I'm going to do without a confinement lady...

based on my past experience, I just hate the existence of one, one extra person at home...

NOW! I CAN HAPPILY BARE MY BOOBS (COS, I'M BREASTFEEDING) AND SLEEP LIKE A STARFISH IN MY LIVING ROOM, OR PRACTICALLY ANYWHERE IN MY HOUSE...

my husband's done a great job in taking over the work, looking after my dear baby daughter, (oops, again, she's a toddler now, but still my forever baby! dearest one!) for eg. Shower her, prepare lunch/dinner for her, read bedstime storybooks for her, make milk for her...

yes, he's done a great job...

and I've my confinement food catered from this SN Confinement Ladies Service, I've to say, so far, the expectation is just about right... they handle it pretty well... and I'm happy... (cos, I'm definitely not too happy with my previous confinement lady... getting her to stay-in, I've to entertain her, listen to her yakking non-stop... see!! I like quiet place, I like quiet environment, and what more to say, during my confinement... when I really need rest... I mean, I don't have to rest ALL DAY, but then, I like the freedom to rest whenever I can, and wherever I want, you get it?? having another person, or another 2 persons in my house, will just take all these luxury away...)

though, I do have to help with some minimal housework, for eg. Launderette, since I've recovered pretty well, can move around... (in a way, to make my wound heal faster, I gotta move more, rather than being bedridden!) I've offered to take over the job, but in order to make me easier (ie. Minimize bending, lifting...) I use a stool, bla bla bla bla bla...

see!! like I told my husband, I'm not pushing myself to the limit... and I'm just working myself within the limit, picking the right tools, to ease my job...

the thing is,

I like doing vacuuming... haha! With my new ergorapido SPECIAL!

And I like doing my launderette... ya, a little bit sick, I know... but then, seriousyly, it's pretty joyful for me... haha!

And I don't want another person, to come and keep reminding me that, I shouldn't do this and that...

see! My last confinment,

I've to kinda beg, or threaten my confinement lady to prepare the herbal bath for me...

and sometimes, I just have to close the door, and take my own shower, without listening to her “opinion”...

now?? haha! I take shower BY DEFAULT!

Especially these few days, weather here sucks...

the thing is...

my husband still hasn't given up...

he's still trying to tell me, not to shower, not to do this and that...

I give him one condition,

“if today, I'm staying in beijing, or I'm staying in somewhere northern china! I'll listen to you!!”

haha!! I should have done this long time ago...

yes! Come on!! todayy, at present day,

our generation's staying down south, near the equator... you know how damn hot it is??

there are time, I just wish I'm not a chinese, or I don't marry a chinese... maybe things will be easier for me...

but then, I'm not saying that, I hate whatever or I dislike whatever I have, or whoever I am now...

yes, there're time like this...

however~ no matter what, I've to say, I enjoy this confinement more than the previous time...

my newborn??

err... I don't know why people keep thinking that, the so-called confinement lady HAS TO look after the newborn,

in actual fact, newborn is very easy to take care of,

what more to say, I'm a nursing mom...

half of the time, I'm carrying him to nurse,

half of the time, he's sleeping...

another bit of the time, he's awake, I change his diaper, or I bathe him,

that's all?

Why do I need a confinement lady there????

and what more to say,

my opinion is...

confinement ladies out there,

they're different practices,

all from their experiences...

some are not too right, some are not too wrong, but there's no such handbook, or guidebook, or “bible” for them to strictly follow...

some can cook, some cook bad food,

some don't use the ingredient fully, some waste the ingredients you provide to them...

like I said, there's no standardization...

and yet, we simply get one, depends on our luck,

and some!!! I mean, some confined mother out there, just listen to them blindly...

as if that's the only bible in the confinment world...

somehow, I think, it's pretty sad...

so, if the confinement lady's wrong, then, it's just wrong...

so, if the confinement lady tell you that, for 30 days strictly you should not get into contact with any cold water...

then, probably, you don't have to wash your hands often...

seriously!!!

after I've stayed in hospital for 5D4N, fully airconditioned hospital ward...

I took my first inaugural shower at home,

I still feel that, the layer of dirt on me's pretty thick...

yes, you may find it gross, but I'm telling you so, cos, it's reality!!!

reality is...

you sleep in your room, with your kid (some don't, then, maybe it's ok) and with your husband, or maybe you're alone,

and you're sleeping with layers of dust and dirt on you... I find it yuck!

Then, the second day, I take my second shower... (in such damn hot weather!)

let me tell you,

I still feel that, the layer of dust/dirt's endless!!!!!!

and you may think that, why should I make my husband help with the confinement period...

why not?

And why would any husband reject that???

when you've your enjoyment in impregnated your wife...

is that it??

you leave everything to your wife,

or your parents, or a so-called confinement lady? Or a maid???????

that's the ONLY thing you guys(men) are capable of doing???

even though my husband's not a domestic god(dess) but then, I'm glad that, he's left home for study before...

and that, he at least, know how to cook, how to do the houseworks and bla bla bla...

let me tell you, I hate those chinese “siu yeh chai”, exactly as what I've described...

LEAVE EVERYTHING TO OTHERS!

And think bloody highly of themselves!

You see!!

I wanted to write this post...

each time, when I'm lazing around, lying like a starfish in the living room, in the couch...

yes, damn syok!

And I don't have to entertain/listen to nonsense... or non-stop noise pollution!

And I can pop-up my boobs anytime I want, when I need to nurse...

isn't that great??

AND NOW? my second baby is here, another, yet new experience for me!

Oh ya… I've just delivered my second one, a boy…

Yet, another new experience, seriously…

Though it's just another cesarean… but then,

Signs of labour??

Ya!! Tell me about it, I've gone through it all…

Well, you may ask me since then, why didn't I just deliver the baby the natural way…

No!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well,

Signs of labour 1: Contraction,

Ya… I've it since 2 nights ago, before the actual delivery date…

At first, I thought it's false alarm, and not being prepared emotionally to leave my husband and daughter behind, I didn't want to check myself into the hospital and just wait…

In addition to that, I WAS still thinking of the opportunity to deliver my boy the next calendar year… gosh!! It's just a few days away…

For that 2 nights, I was monitoring my pain,

It felt like period pain, ya… I'm one of those hormon victims, who'd period pain since I was a teenager… very painful type of cramp…

How do I manage?

Ya… let me tell you, you listen to Radiohead's new album "the king of limbs"… damn trance man!! Haha!

Finally… the third day itself, I told my husband, that it's better for me to be admitted to the hospital, seems like the pain won't go away, and,

The funny thing is…

My "water" also has broken… just that, it's unlike what others have described "a gush of water"… it's just some slurry and translucent material…

Ya, the first thing that came, is actually not the contraction,

But the "bloody show"… see!!! All signs, I've been through, in a way, I’m "experienced" haha!

Yes, "bloody show" started like almost 1 week ago… or at least 5 days…

So, I checked into the hospital, and the nurse/midwife told me, my cervix in fact has dilated 3cm… arrgh…

If I wait longer, maybe I'll be able to deliver naturally…

And seems I could withstand the contraction for 2 nights,

Why not???

Now, I’m not patient,

Each time, including oldtime, when I had my period pain,

I've always asked THE AIR, when's going to stop??

WHEN WHEN WHEN???????

No, I'm not patient enough to deal with the pain, given that, MAYBE my pain tolerance level's pretty high… but no, I don't wanna deal with it anymore…

Let me tell you,

I was soooooooooooooo scared of the epidural/spinal block jab indeed…

Though I've experienced once, but I was still terrified, however!!

That day,

Maybe because of the pain,

Everything was like, went through so fast, like a flash light…

The epidural… I was soooooooooooo glad when I felt its effect on my lower part of my body…

No more pain!

No more pain!!!

Then, doctor works his way to get baby out,

Then, placenta…

Everything else, doesn't matter to me anymore…

I just wanna sleep…

Because of the pain… gosh!!

I was in the hospital, 5 days 4 nights, (fri-tue)

At first, I was so ambitious to even tell my husband to bring my notebook to the hospital, when I got up I wanna use it…

But then, I forgot that, due to the wound,

I couldn't even sit up properly, it'll be a struggle to me,

There, I didn't even bother to watch TV or anything,

And I guess, I need to really rest to recover fast enough to go home…

I miss my daughter… my baby… I mean, my daughter's always a baby, that's what I told her,

Her brother? My newborn?? We'll just refer him by his name…

Baby = Her, my daughter… I missed her so much…

I missed hugging her to sleep, smelling her and so on…

Anyway,

After a long of rest and lengthy sleep, though the first 2.5 days, I was still dealing with the pain,

The pain from the wound,

The pain from the contraction (yet, not ended, right?) of the uterus… (luckily, I prefer breastfeed, that's always the best thing to solve ANYTHING!)…

And the pain from the drip, and so on… (gosh! My hand's still swollen man!)

THEN!!

LAST BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY…

The pain on my back and bottom, ie. my buttock, due to being bedridden on the super hard hospital bed…

It's good quality bed, I mean, in the hospital, clean sheet, and leather mattress… but you know, it's simply too hard for sleeping pleasure…

It's just bloody painful, let me tell you,

Till the day I checked out,

I guess, my wound was doing fine, my uterus was doing fine,

It's just my buttock and my back… gosh!!

It's so painful to the extent that, I called it NUMB!

I came back,

Put some plaster (tokuhon, salonpas) on…

And it healed quite a bit… and I sat on my own bed!

Oh! Heaven!

Ya… I brought the neck pillow, but I forgot about these plaster… damn!!!

Yes, the neck pillow's another life saver…

The first night, I slept on the hospital pillow,

Somehow, hard, and unbreathable, leather… what do you expect???

Then, I realized, hey! I've my own u-shaped little pillow, why not??

That's why, the first/second night, I didn't have much quality sleep, till the nurse who came in to check on me, even asked me if I could sleep…

I told her, no, just can't sleep…

Then, I switched to my little u-shaped pillow…

Then… though, the back/buttock damn painful…

I was still able to have good quality sleep…

Gosh!!

Yes, I thought I've been through everything during my first childbirth…

But then again,

This time, another new experience added into my "being a woman; being a mother" resume!

TV... no... it's not for everybody, not all the time..

TV?  Yes, I love watching TV… watching shows... But then, it's not for me all the time…

Sometimes, you can just stare and the TV… even though, for 1 hour, 2 hours, you don't follow the storyline…

Anyway, as for me,

I've one problem, I can't just watch anything at any time, any "section" of the programme…

I must watch from the beginning… then, I'll be able to get where it's heading towards… in and out…

I can't just suddenly sit in when it's in the middle of the show, and still yet enjoy the show..

No!!!

See, when I was in the hospital,

I didn't on the TV most of the time,

Cos, I know what's showing, but then, I just can't enjoy the show…

The ONLY thing I actually watched, was just Criminal Minds…

Most of the time I was on my ipod or phone,

To sms, or check on facebook/twitter/google+!!

Oh ya!!! THAT active…

Haha! Ya… I'd rather be on these social networks… than watching TV…

Hehehe...

my dear gynae

and did I tell you that, my idol (no! I should not idolise anybody, but you know what I mean... ^_^)... keke... I need to use "layman term" right??

anyway, yes, my idol,

dr. tan in SDMC... my dear gynae...

some people may not prefer him, but not my problem,

he's my hero, and he's my idol...

and after this second childbirth, his "idol" image in me is even stronger...

see... when I first met him, recommended by my GP...

he looks fierce to me... and he speaks very little...

then, slowly...

slowly...

I find that, he really loves what he's doing,

he's quick, and accurate, and yes, quick, and accurate...

that's what the ladies/nurses in the hospital tell me too...

when I told them, "dr. tan's fierce!" (I did not say it to "offend" him, but I just wanna see how others see him, cos, he's never fierce to his patients, ie. including me, but I've seen/heard him scolding certain nurses who worked with him, for eg. in the OT during my first childbirth)

the lady told me, "but it's ok, he's good and fast!"

see!!! ya... that's what I wanna hear in fact... haha!

anyway,

yes, he's my idol...

during this second childbirth,

maybe it's in the evening, after his clinic session, maybe he's strike lottery, or something...

he seems a bit cheerful and "high", to my "dr. tan" standard...

he was chitchatting to the staff... well, maybe there and then, the staff are those who's worked with him before and maybe close to him...

and the whole process, seemed to be pretty fast...

baby out,

my placenta out... bla bla bla...

done!

I think, less than 1 hour, or just 1 hour plus, I'm out of the OT...

and according to him, haha!

he said, his record's even better when he's much younger...

see!!!

confident man!!

confident man's always attractive, no matter at what age...

We're stronger than we think... we are~~

yep... we're stronger than we think we are...

I like to tell this to friends who needs encouragement, and help... and maybe a bit of advice... (though, sorry, I do tend to give lengthy advice... I'll cut it next time, ok?? ^_^)

see... just last friday, I went into the operation theatre, for my cesarean, well, for my second baby, a baby boy...

(I'll have another entry about my pre-cesarean experience, cos, that's another lengthy one I'll make... kakaka!)

but then, today, approaching another friday (scary, time really flies, so fast, 1 week!)... oh, ya, I went into the OT in the evening, but now, it's early friday, ok, maybe just 6 days...

I thought I've recovered pretty well...

but of course, if you ask me, I'll say, it's the power of prayer, maybe the power of love...

I've been praying for speedy recovery, and smooth operation, yes, it all went well... the operation, the recovery...

and there I prayed, because of the love of my family, my daughter, my husband, I can't afford to be bedridden for a long period right?? and I need to take care of the newborn, take care of my precious baby madeleine (ok, she's a toddler now, but like I've told her, she's THE baby!!) and also, resume our daily activities, as a housewife, as a stay-at-home mother, to take care of my husband, take care of the household... and of course, there's also, love from God...

yes, everything went well...

as of today,

despite the swollen feet that I'm having,

hm!! in fact, I did not have, all because last night, I chose to sleep on the sofa, sitting position, and I laid my legs downwards... for long period...

and that, I guess, all the water went down? @_@

and today, I'll move back to our bedroom, one whole family cramped together (how sweet!) and Gabriel back to his crib...

I write this, it's because I myself is pretty surprised on how well our own body can recover and heal by itself...

of course, with good rest, healthy food, healthy drinks... I supposed...

just 2 days ago (tuesday) when I first get home, that's my condition : belly painful, not too painful though, tolerable, the irritating one is the bottom and the back pain, due to the hospital bed... and getting up and down the bed (my bed) seems to be a little bit tough... therefore, last night, I opted for the sofa, but that's a bad choice...

and just yesterday, though I've much improved, it still take a bit of effort for me to get up from the couch...

but then, today?? I'll say, all went pretty well...

I can get up from the couch easier, and I took my first shower...

yuck isn't it??

for once, I listen to "public advice", that I'll not shower immediately, but tomorrow, I'm going to see my gynae, so, I'd better shower... and like I told him, under the microscope... probably the dirt's a few mm thick... yuck!

but then, compared to my first childbirth, at this point in time, I think, I could manoeuvre easier...

IF NOT BECAUSE I'M CHINESE,

AND IF NOT BECAUSE CHINESE HAS ALL THESE THINGS ABOUT CONFINEMENT,

I guess, by the end of next week,

I can actually go out and run around and shop and live like usual...

and of course, as expected, even my dear husband will not allow me to do so...

he'll make sure that, I'll be CONFINED, for 1 month!!!!!!!! anyway,

he's done a great job to be the CONFINEMENT MAN! yes, this time I skip that, no confinement lady,

only confinement food catered.. and I've to say, it's good...

it's just pity that, my husband's to do the cleaning job... plus taking care of my dear daughter...

though, my dear daughter, again, Praise to God, she's been behaving...

and everything went well...

Praise to God...