18 Days Left - 北京欢迎你

Started liking this song, and have downloaded the MP3 for my phone. Had been repeating it again and again. Hope Dr@co liked it as well. Still searching for the MV.

Wanted to get the 北京欢迎你 fuwa, but don't know where to get it. Anyone?

37th Week - Olympic Closing - 19 Days Left

Just realised that Philip carnival sale is already on and today was the last. The deal was damn good, but we were too slow. All the good deal items were gone already, DOH!! Nevertheless, we still bought some no so good deal items...

Still rainny, and afraid that Dr@co cloths could not dry...

20 Days Left - Gynae Visit

2.9kg's tiny body was pressing mommy bottom half body, but so far progressing well. Doc had issued an admission letter to us signified that the baby was ready, and we should be ready for Dr@co arrival too. Doc indicated that 80% of baby arrived earlier....

Today, I shoted the ultrasound scan with my camcorder. When back home, just realised that I did not know how to convert the footage into the form that is at least viewable on my computer....

afternoon, cloudy.l We took out clothing and cleaned them before Dr@co arrives ...

21 Days Left - Pillow Set

Daddy got pillow set for Dr@co from Taka's baby fair. It consisted of a pillow, a bolster and a comforter ... I hope Dr@co likes it.

22 Days Left - Durian = Nosebleed

Mommy nosebleed again due to the durian (I thought)... think mommy could not resist ...

"Yummy yummy durian .... " - Dr@co

24 Days Left - Daddy MC

I took MC due to some flu and infections... but gained a good rest.

At evening, we picked up mommy, and we went to pick up Dr@co's mattress before we head back home. Surprisingly, the matteress seem to be quite well quality ... hope Dr@co will feel the same too.

Thereafter, we had seafood dinner at ToaPayoh Lorong 8... Yummy ...

36th Week - Table Tennis Live - 26 Days Left

It was an important day for Singaporean, as the Women Table Tennis Team fought China's Team for the Gold Metal. As most others, we watched the whole match. Personally, I felt that the Singapore team didn't perform well and the Gold Metal went to China ... Anyway, Singapore team walked away with their very first Olympic Metal in 48 years ... Good for the players that team were awarded SGD750,000 for the silver plate ...

On the other hand, the man single badminton also fought in the final alongside with the table tennis game. It was China vs. Malaysia, our home country. Well, not surprisingly, China got that too. Well, so, Malaysia also got the Silver, just not sure how much the player would be awarded.

During the match, I think mommy was too excited ... she had a nosebleed. It only lasted for a while, and it stops soon after.

At night, Dr@co did his usual exercise in mommy before mommy gets to sleep. I made mommy a small glass of milk to drink ... thereafter, Dr@co kind of calm down. I think Dr@co is a big eater, just like daddy.

30 Days Left

I visited Constance at her home. Her baby girl was about 6 weeks old, and when we were there, she was sleeping quietly.

Constance looked well. She shared with me some of her latest experience of her delivery. Good to learn more now.

31 Days Left - RabbitFoam

We finally got Dr@co's cot a foam mattress. Brand RabbitFoam (sounds cheapskate...), which was recommended by a friend of mommy. We got it from one of the neighbourhood shop at Aljinide area.

32 Days Left - Gynae Visit

2.5kg now. Head continued down towards mommy's pelvis with his back facing us. Good boy.

Other than the regular checkup, today, we (more like mommy) had a VERY IMPORTANT lesson on breast feeding from Dr. Ong. I think a single word from Doc worth a million arguments between the couple ... sigh...

Anyway, just wished to share this with all mommy-to-be, including Dr@co's mommy. There are 5 Obstacles for Success Breast Feeding:

1. DESIRABILITY
Dr. Ong can't emphasize enough that, other than mother herself, no others can help. The mother's will and desirability is the utmost important factor that leads to the success of a breast feeding.

"If got, got lor!" kind of attitude is NOT enough. Most mothers fail for sure when they have this attitude.

One should know that most of the breast feeding were difficult at start, especially the first few days following birth. However, difficult to start doesn't equate to cannot start. In fact, "I don't have milk" is no more than an excuse for their lack of desirability.

Mothers must have STRONG desirability and will to keep it up ... then mother has passed the first and most important hurdle.

2. SUPPLY = DEMAND
At birth, mommy supplies only colostrum, which comes only little amount, often a spoonful. But colostrum is far more richer in nutrients and anti-bodies than others food sources, which are essential for baby. The small quantity is generally enough for the first few days of baby.

At this stage, however, most mothers fear that their baby doesn't have enough. With fear, they generally can't help but to supplement baby with formula milk to make it "enough". That's where the breast feeding fails, i.e. baby stops suckle and wanting their food supply from the easier way - milk bottle.

When baby stops demanding from mother, mother's body signals to stop supply, which puts breast feeding to an end.

So, instead of fearing, why not determine if baby had enough? But how much is enough? Well, can't monitor the amount through input? Try output. From the output, we should be able to determine if our baby had enough for the day.

The next limb of this obstacle is STRICTLY NO BOTTLES. For what ever reasons, no bottle feeding (whether expressed or formula milk) AT ALL in the first stage of your breast feeding. Bottle feeding would affect the baby, rather than the mother. At start, when baby finds it (a lot) easier to gain milk from bottle, the baby would refuse to suckle. There will be no win case for mother's breast over bottle, even the lowest quality and lousiest design bottle ...

But it you must, spoon feed the baby instead, rather than bottle feeding. It is possible and workable.

3. TECHNIQUES - Positioning and Latching
During the stays in hospital, try to gain as much guidance as possible from the experts. There are TONS of helps when the mother is still in the hospital. At home, the mother is on their own. The confinement lady would generally not help you in breast feeding. In fact, some may even hinder progress, as they may be the "If got, got lor" attitude.

Dr. Ong also advised, if possible, staying few more days in the hospital for that reasons, instead of rushing home. Mothers often give up on breast feeding due to their ignorance.

4. COMMUNICATION
Mother MUST communicate to express her need. Nobody would know or oblige to know your need, if it isn't spelled out ...

If the monther has any specific preferrences on anything and everything, please make it clear to the nurses, in hospital. Keeping it with yourself does not good to everyone, including the mother and the baby.

It must also be cleared that some requests are not a standard practice as different mother may have different needs. When not sure, JUST ASK!!!

In the hospital, why hesitate to ask when you have already pay for the services?

That goes back to the spoon feeding mentioned above. Mother MUST inform the nurses to do that when it is so needed. It is not a standard practice to spoon feed the baby. In fact, it is easier for the nurses to feed baby with bottle.

5. Engorgement
It can be painful, yes. But mother is SOOOO close to the success. It will be a real pain if give up now. There are lots of ways to deal with engorgement. JUST ASK!!!

There are more on practicals, of course. But what good would the practicals be, if the mother can't even started? It is up to the mother.

From ME: Daddy can only be the finger pointing to the designation, not the designation. Mother has to get there herself.

A note to all daddy-to-be, don't bother to "educate" her about breast feeding when she is not ready to listen. Let the expert to do the job, a lot easier. But knowing that yourself is equally important. Your support is essential. JUST BE THERE FOR HER!!

35th Week - Takashimaya Baby Fair - 33 Days Left

We went to Taka for the Baby Fair. We spent almost 4 hours there, lots of things to see, and buy. We also pick up quite a few things for Dr@co. The main items we got was the Avent sterilizer which come with a free thermo bag and three milk bottles. We thought it was a good deal... We wanted also to get the mattress for Dr@co's cot, but the size we were looking was not available there...

Then, mommy wants to go IKEA to find the mattress, so, we drove all the way to the Tampines's IKEA, but we had no luck as the smallest size mattress is slightly bigger...

"Daddy, no need mattress. Just get me a trampoline instead!" - Dr@co

Singapore 43th National Day - 34 Days Left

Today was Singapore National Day. Daddy had a BBQ at East Coast with colleagues, but Mommy couldn't go because she didn't sleep well, the night before.

We went to area G where our pit was supposed to be located, and we started searching for be before we unloaded everything. Our "pit" number is BYOP10. But we couldn't find it... Then I asked around, there was one nice guy showed me where was the pit...

When I saw the "pit", I was shocked, wordless... it was only a square piece of concrete on the grass floor.... what X#%^#^!&*... apparently, BYPO suppose to mean for "Bring Your Own (f**king) Pit". I think somebody in the relevant administration team should be fired, as it shown that they do not welcome non-local to BBQ in Singapore... that one reason that I always against using acronym...

Luckily, one of our colleague booked another real "pit" at east coast too... she was kind enough to let us used that before they come. Phew, so we found that pit, a much better one, and we carried on our BBQ.

Despite that silly acronym, we had a great day there. I brought back the food for Mommy too.

"Daddy had the best chicken wing in town!" - Dr@cO

Beijing 2008 - 35 Days Left

Today was a day of 8s. 08-08-08 was the date and today was also a big day for Beijing, for Chinese. Olympic 2008 was held in Beijing. One World One Dream was the theme.

Right after work, we packed back our dinner from Gaylang, and we quickly rush back home for the Olympic 2008 opening. It started on 8pm live on Channel 5. The opening lasted for almost 4 hours. It was fantastic... at least I like it. Full of Chinese culture.

During the live broadcast, Dr@co was naughty. He stretched all the way that made mommy very unconfortable. I guess he was excited as well. Well, he will probably get another one on Olympic closing, which will be 16 days later.

36 Days Left - Your Baby Can Read!

Uncle Tay lent me a set of 5 VCDs "Your Baby Can Read!". I was supposed to rip copies for Tay as backup. He couldn't do it due to the copyright protection feature provided ...

Foremost, who in the world now would still bother about CD!? We are in the High Definition Blueray age already, though I was still working towards that. Well, I did my part to safe the world by ripping 5 plastics disc into one (DVD)... I of course kept a copy for myself too, in case Tay had problem with all his... :p

34th Week - Mission Accomplished - 40D Left

"The Eagle Project One" was continued and had finished the last piece today. All paints was used up. Okay, it wasn't very nicely done, but I think I had to put an end to it. Had to find a good time to assemble it because mommy "pantang" on doing anything to the bad.... I will post a picture when I assembled it.

As usual, Dr@co had a busy day tickling mommy. I think he was growing big already.

41D Left

"Project Eagle One" was revived after a long pause. it only left with two side panels, but that was also the hardest part. It need a lots of yellow pain to completely cover the whole area....... Had done one side for each panel, but I think I am just going to use blue for easy sake. Hope I could at least complete it ...

Draco was moving actively, as usual. I was trying to capture the moment again. I noticed some red blood vein like thingy on the lower part of mommy's tummy ... I think that will eventually be stretch mark it mommy didn't take care of it ... the thing is that she could not see it at it was blocked by Dr@co. Mommy quickly put applied some anti-stretch mark cream on that area... Mommy gave up a lot for Dr@co.

In the evening, three of us watched "The Hulk" at home. To mommy, it has a little horror element in it, because of the creature. I hope Dr@co would be braver than that.

Empty Space - 44D Left

I had Ah Ong helped to remove the tank. It was heavy, not the tank, but letting it go ...

With the tank cleared out, my small HDB were bigger. Dr@co had more space to roll now.

"You loose, you gained, daddy ... " - Dr@co

Empty Tank - 45D Left

In the morning, I looked at the emptied tank ... it was not longer with us ... for five years, the tank was fill with water with my beloved aro... it was not longer there ...

In the afternoon, I met up with StemCord sales girl to sign up for the cord blood storing. The process was fast as documents are properly signed. I left with a cord blood collection kit.

33rd Week - 46D left

2.2kg and head down. That were what we were told by our gynae today. So far, Dr@co and mommy had done well, and we continued counting down for the arrival of Dr@co.

While I was happied to know that Dr@co and mommy were in good shape, it was painful when daddy had to start clearing up daddy's pet fish. For all the ideas I had, I just simply don't know where should I ...

Mommy had a training in the office. So, she has to went back to office in the afternoon. But daddy had whole day for himself... after sending mommy back to off, I travelled to JB for Dr@co new baby cot. Will post the picture, when I assembled it.

The Last Day of My Arowana

Today was the last day of my arowana. It was infected badly by fungus and most likely the sudden changed of water conditions caused the death. When it died, the eyes was covered by foggy fungus, and tiny blood vein were shown all around the body ...

I confirm its death through touching it after seeing no movement at all at the gill cover in few hours. That was probably the first time I actually touch it ...

It was with us since 2002 when it was only 1.5 inches long. It was 1.5 feet when it died ...