Z's first birthday!

Zach's first 'all fresh fruits only' birthday cake 

(taken a day before Z's birthday, on the 19th July 2013 about midnight)

This post is 3 months late. 

I was quite proud of myself with the cake that I've made for Z. Z's 1st big birthday was on the 20th July, which was a Saturday and it took SJ and I awhile on how shall we celebrate Z's first birthday. We didn't want to make it very big because the birthday boy is too young to know what's happening and we didn't want it to be ended up as party for the parents. SJ insisted that he wanted a really small group of people but I didn't mind to have a bigger group. So, in the end we decided to invite only 41 people consisted of immediately family members & our close friends.

We decided to have Z's birthday party's theme as 'Under the Sea' because Z was very interested with his sea animals bath toys. Those toys could keep him very much occupied during bath time. He loves to look at the fishes in the aquarium too. 

I have also ordered a cake with under the sea animals theme from my friend, HY from Cake Pantry. I wasn't confident if I could make the all-fresh-fruits only birthday cake for Zach. I wanted to make it as Z hasn't started eating any salt or sugar yet and I thought it would be really sad if Z wasn't allowed to eat his own birthday cake. Since Z loves fruits, so this special cake seemed perfect! I went online and searched some photos and write-up about this special cake. Asked HY where I could buy some sea animals moulds & she found them for me in Penang; crab, turtle, dolphin & octopus. Thank goodness the cake turned out well ;)

Getting started; I hardly cook & haven't carved anything in my life since Kemahiran Hidup (Integrated living skills subject) in secondary school. I bought Z's favourite fruits; papaya, melon, peach, grapes. I should have bought more colourful fruits such as green kiwi and pineapples to make the cake more colourful. 

The cute moulds! 

Melon sea animals! They were so cute!

I spent about 2 hours to plan, looking at the websites, cut and think how should I arrange the fruits. I used tooth picks to hold them together at the sides. I cut Z.A.C.H with free hand & I was quite proud with myself. Haha. My brother in law asked me how much I bought this cake and where I bought it. Many people were surprised that I made this. Guess I am really not a domestic person & most people know that. 

We're ready to party!

Ta-daa! My cake on the left & HY's cake by Cake Pantry on the right :D 

Z's birthday was held at Marmalade, Publika Solaris Dutamas KL. We ordered a western fusion buffet and had the whole indoor restaurant to ourselves for lunch. Marmalade gave us free 40 helium balloons and we had them in pastel blue and green. The decorations were also provided by Marmalade. We enjoyed our party and the food was good! Alicia, the owner of Marmalade did a very good job :)

Z with his proud parents. 

Z and his friends. 

Z with all his birthday presents! His biggest present were the swing set by his dearest uncle, JYSC. Z is so blessed to be loved by so many people around him. Z is a lucky boy!

This little boy is growing so fast and he looks different now at 15 months compared to 3 months ago when these photos were taken. I am going to miss the baby Z soon!

To Z, Mommy and Daddy love you very much and will always love do. Grow up healthily & happily!

Lots of love, hugs & kisses from Mommy & Daddy :))))

Z is 15 months now!

My last entry was when Z was 10 months old and now he is almost 15 months old. Time passes so fast especially when you're having a good time & busy. Things at work are picking up really fast and am still trying my best to capture Z's growing up moments.

Highlights when Z was 10 months old (June 2013):

Z - He could point with confidence on the items that we named out for him; orange, car, light, fan, air-con, mommy, daddy, grandparents and more. SJ and I were so impressed and surprised one day when Z was about 10 months old; we put him on his play mat and I asked him where is Orange, he crawled to the picture & pointed confidently while looking at me that was Orange. We seldom read the alphabets to him, we're more of the random teaching 'method', where we just mention him the things in front of us and seldom repeat them but we speak to him a lot. Babies are absorbing like sponge everyday! He was so much more fun now that he is older and we have more confidence in managing and knowing what he wants.

Z gave me this cheeky smile when I grabbed him to sit with me & I said 'Smile' to the camera!

We went for our first beach holiday on the 9th to 11th June to the Redang Island. This city boy didn't like the sand at all. He kept brushing the sand away from his hands, legs and refused to sit on the sand. He only wanted to be sitting on the beach towel. It was also Zach's first get-away with his grandparents, (Kung Kung & Po Po) and Yi Yi. We brought so many things for Zach to this trip; his potty, slow cooker for his solids, vegetables, fruits and lots of toys. Zach slept on his flight to Redang & behaved really well on our way back to KL. I was glad that our holiday went so well and Z didn't have any problems adapting :))

Z fell asleep in my carrier before we board the plane & he slept throughout the flight on the way to Redang. Yay! This was Z's 2nd time being on the plane. This first was in December 2011 to Singapore. 

Daddy & Z's bonding time. 

This was taken on the morning of our last day in Redang. Z was such a serious boy. He is more fun now at 15 months. 

Highlights when Z was 11 months old (June/July 2013): 

My friend, R from Hong Kong came to visit & celebrated my birthday with me! :))) We took her to do some touristy stuffs; visit Batu Caves, Petronas Twin Towers, KL tower and had some must-eat Malaysian food.

In front of Batu Caves before we conquer the steps. 

 Inside of the cave, while Daddy & R went up the stairs to explore further, we took this opportunity to take some photos. We saw many monkeys on that day!

Next stop was the Petronas Twin Towers. We couldn't get the tickets to go up the towers because they were completely sold out by 10.30am! We thought getting tickets would not be a problem since it was a weekday but we were wrong! Lesson learnt: To buy the tickets online way ahead of time. 

We couldn't go up but we could still take photos with the towers behind us. It was such a beautiful day!

KL Tower. Getting tickets to go up was easy and zero hassle. It took us less than 10 mins to queue & made our way up to the tower immediately. 

One of the must try food for friends that visit us in KL; Roti Tissue at Original Kayu Nasi Kandar SS2 because this roti tissue is huge! It's about 3 feet tall. I was just impressed that it was so big! If we order one, I'll call it KL Tower and The Twin Towers if we ordered two :P

SJ & I are food lovers. Naturally we would bring our guest to good eating places around KL. Here's the list of food that we've introduced to R:

1. Hokkien noodles at Ah Wa Restaurant, Jalan 222 PJ. We don't think Hong Kong has dark coloured hokkien noodles.

2. Dinner at Dancing Fish, Bangsar Shopping Centre KL for a good ambience and yummy tasting indon-malay food. We ordered fried fish, satay and a huge variety of food. The chilli and sambal sauces were really good!

3. Breakfast at Antipodean, Bangsar KL. Well, this is nothing extraordinary as compared to western food in Hong Kong but the breakfast in this place was voted as one of the top 10 in KL.

4. Roti canai at Raju's Restaurant, Jalan Gasing PJ. SJ thinks the roti canai here is one of the best & most crispy in KL/PJ. They made them fresh immediately. Other than roti canai, the rest was just ok.

5. Nasi Lemak, Village Park, Damansara Uptown, PJ. Our favourite nasi lemak & it's really good! The king of nasi lemak in Klang Valley. Their fried chicken (ayam goreng berempah) is superb. Their other food such as asam laksa & prawn mee were also quite good too. 

6. Mille crepe cake by Nadeja, 3 Two Square PJ. These cakes were made famous by the same name shop in Melaka and many people would buy these cakes and bring back to KL. They have a branch now in PJ! and

7. Huge Roti Tissue at Original Kayu Nasi Kandar SS2 PJ. There have many other things in this restaurant which are also recommended; nasi kandar, other types of roti and of course teh tarik for the tourists. 

From the list above, we really had quite a feast in R's short trip; 4 days in Malaysia. We could have brought her to more places if we had more time and if Z was older. Our schedule was built around Z's routine. I am sure R will plan her next trip soon and I hope we didn't paint the impression that Malaysians are a bunch of gluttons. 

After we sent R to the airport on the 2nd July evening, the three of us went to a neighbourhood cafe to celebrate my birthday. Last year on the same day, I was heavily pregnant and this year I had Z with me! We used to celebrate birthdays in a big way; dress up well in nice restaurants. But things are different nowadays with a baby. My priorities and needs are different now too. As long I am with Z & SJ, I feel I am the luckiest girl in the world because they both make me feel so happy :)

Going to end this long post with a picture we took at my birthday dinner. Next is Z's 1st birthday! Have a great weekend everybody!

Z is learning so fast! Z at 10 months plus

Z is learning & growing so fast that we were so shocked & impressed with his progress. This week has been eventful as Z is showing us many things that he know and new things that he could do.

Physically, Z is constantly practicing his stand and he is standing longer and more stable now. He has been sleeping between us on our bed since 6 months old even though we 'planned' to move him to his own room at 6 months when we first had him but that didn't happen :(( I love the idea of co-sleeping and its so convenient when he wakes up at night for feed. I could just breast feed him while lying down & I would usually fall asleep first before he finishes. I also loved the mornings when he wakes up & cuddle with me. It was really nice but we really have to move him before he gets smarter and refused to go! We were quite adamant to move the cot to his own room last weekend but failed to do that & again, failed this weekend. Hopefully we can move him to his own room by end of June. Am not looking forward to his long & probably frequent cries for being left in his cot & room in the first few days. Am visualizing very hard that this transition will be a pleasant one.

We have been putting him in his cot at night when it's time for bed & he has been pulling himself up & then fall on his buttocks & do it all over again, with both of us lying on the bed silently in the dark watching him & wondering/guessing how long he could go before he just lie down & falls asleep. Some nights he could go for at least 30 to 50 times I think. Usually after about 15 minutes of him pulling himself up & standing on his cot, falls on his buttock & up again, SJ would then try to persuade & coax him to lie down. It's so much work but SJ is really good at this. I usually gives up in less than 10 mins & SJ had to take over.

Here are photos of Z standing in his cot with his pacifier on one morning last week. 

Z also discovered drawers! His observation skills is amazing & he could work out how to open things by just observing what the adults do. It's quite scary knowing that he can imitate the adults so well. We have to be careful of what we do or say from now onward. Babies absorb everything like a sponge!

Z was opening & closing the drawers in our wardrobe. It's time to buy those child safety locks to ensure the drawers would not fall on him. 

Z can entertain and play by himself now. This is probably the best and most fun thing at the moment; he cannot run all over yet but he can sit down by himself without needing us by his side. He could sit in his cot in the mornings for a good 20-30 mins without making a noise while I take my own sweet time to get ready for work. 30 mins is a luxury for me, I used to be rushing like a mad woman & could get out in less than 10 mins. Things are getting better now!

Z is growing faster and I am having a hard time catching up with him. He is looking like a little boy & no longer a baby. I am beginning to miss the little baby Z but at the same time, am relieved that my little baby is growing so well. SJ thinks I would miss Z being a baby when he is all grown up. I guess by then, I would just look at my few thousands photos and posts in this blog over & over again :P 

Z is 10 months old!

He is turning 1 year in 2 months time! I have started planning a litte for Z's first birthday bash. His birthday theme is going to be 'Under the Sea' and I am going to make a all fresh fruits only birthday cake for him! So excited!

Photos of Z taken this morning. He was holding on to his pacifier, putting it into his mouth and repeated that over again. This is one of his favourite thing to do since he mastered this skill when he was about 7 months old. The best way to take his photo nowadays where he would look at the camera is by taking the photo 'with' him using the front camera. I guess he likes to see his face on the screen.

Z been growing and learning so much in these past few weeks and we were so amazed with his development. Z is crawling really fast now, he doesn't do the normal crawl with his knees but with the commando crawl on his chest. He pushes his body with his right leg most of the time and this resulted him moving towards one side which is quite funny to watch. He could turn around really fast and moves really quickly when he sees someone with a piece of food. He has also begun to hold on tables/sofas and pull himself up quite easily and able to stand unassisted for a few seconds.

He is able to identify the people and things around him. He would turn at every sound and he has an eye for details. He has started to babble and could babble words with 'ma', 'da', 'na' sounds. His existing 8 teeth are growing quite well and huge. He has more teeth coming out and he is interested in his banana teeter again. He abandoned his banana teeter for  while but started to chew on it again today.

Z has learnt to crawl and sit up by himself. Bedtime is harder as he would sit up and continue to explore his surroundings instead of going to bed. We know it will get worse when he starts to stand and walk. We made the biggest mistake by letting him to fall asleep on our bed a few months back. Ever since then, he loves the warmth of our bed and been sleeping between us. Each time we put him into his cot, he would wake up quicker and wailed when he knows he is not in our bed. Our plan is to move the cot to Z's room soonest and to sleep train him to sleep by himself as soon as possible. I like the idea of co-sleeping with him but I know that Z needs to sleep by himself soon because it would only get harder when he is older.

Z is still not sleeping through the night yet. Yes, this is part of being a breast-fed baby. Breast-fed babies will sleep through the night slower which I am fine with it. I used to plan and think of ways on how to have Z sleep through the night as soon as possible but decided to stop thinking about this when Z was about 6 months old. I just thought when Z is ready, he would sleep through himself . Maybe he would sleep through the night when we move him to his own room, . I have got used to waking up a few times at night. My sleep deprivation is not bothering me anymore and I can function quite well during the day. Lack of sleep and breast-feeding has resulted me back to my pre-pregnancy weight in 4 months!

My baby is growing so fast! There are so many things I want to do with him and for him but there is just not enough time!! Being a working mom is definitely not easy. I love what I do and I love my family but I could only pick one at one time. It's really too bad that I can't be super great in both at the same time :(((

My first Mother's Day!

A year ago on Mother's Day in 2012

and this year, it's such a special Mother's Day because it's my very first Mother's Day! 

SJ was away for a business trip and I spent the whole of Mother's Day Sunday with my Mom. It was simple and nice to be able to spend some quiet time at home. The past few months have been crazy busy as I've got busier with work plus maintaining a house is no easy job. This Mother's Day brought a whole new realization to me: Being a mother is probably one of the toughest job ever. It's difficult and satisfying at the same time. All in the name of LOVE. 

I want to dedicate this Mother's Day to all women out there who are struggling with infertility, miscarriage and infant/child loss. I am so thankful and grateful to have this wonderful experience of being a mother and I appreciate my mother even more now. These statements are clearer to me now: You'll never understand the sacrifices that parents make until you become a parent, and Daughters appreciate mothers more especially after they become mothers themselves. Now I wonder if Sons feel the same towards their parents. 

Hope everyone had a meaningful Mother's Day. A constant reminder to myself: I should appreciate my parents and people around me all the time before it's too late. Everyday should be special! 

Ending this post with a picture of my ever-young looking dearest Mommy with her favourite person at the moment, her grandson!

Z is 7 months old!

Z's typical morning:

Z usually wakes up about 7 plus in the morning. I would usually try to coax him to sleep more by breast feeding him and it worked sometimes. I would then proceed to clean him or bath him at about 8am. After that, I would have to rush because Z can only play by himself for a short period of time. I had to quickly clean up and dress for work.I'd put Z in his cot and give him a toy to hold. He would keep quiet for about 15 minutes on a good day. Now that he is able to sit unassisted, I would place him in the cot while he entertains himself. He is such an inquisitive boy that he is constantly intrigued by the tiny details around him which I found to be very entertaining.

On a lucky day, I would be able to catch his cute little actions on my camera or phone-camera; this was taken yesterday morning on the day he turned 7 months old.

Z was trying to 'catch' the teddy on the sheet. He was scratching and touching the brown bears. 

When he realised that I was watching him, he stopped immediately, sit up and looked at me as if he was doing something naughty. 

With the next few seconds, he gave me a huge grin showing me his teeth. 

After his short huge grin, he went back being distracted by something else; the label on his bunny security blanket. It's amazing how easily distracted Z could be.

I could really just stare at him the whole day ;) 

It's Friday tomorrow! Happy weekend everybody! :)

The day Zachary was born..

This happened exactly 7 months ago, on the 20th of July but it feels like it happened very recently. Can't believe that 7 months have passed! Was just looking at his photos which were taken when he was born and he has changed so much!

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On the 19th of July, Thursday:

So, SY was right! We told baby that we would induce him and force him to come into this world if he didn't give us any signs that he wants to be out naturally before 20th July. Contractions happened on the 19th July and he was not induced! Read this post on the date we picked for induction.

I woke up at about 9am and show appeared (bleeding). I told SJ that but we didn't have any big reaction; that was a sign that baby could be coming anytime soon. When a show appears, the contraction could take from hours to days to occur. We went to Antipodean, Bangsar for our huge breakfast. It was yummy! I was about to enter the confinement period for one whole month right after delivery, I just had to make sure I get to eat my favourite foods on the day before I deliver.

After our yummy big brunch, we drove to Amcorp mall in PJ because we decided to get a good camera on that day. I have been telling SJ that I always wanted to get a better camera because the current one that we have does not take good clear photos in low light. Told him I 'needed' a good camera to take baby photos :)) and he said, ok! He started to search for the camera model the night before. He even posted that question in Facebook and many suggested Canon G12 and we decided to get that! Found out from the internet that the shop in Amcorp mall gives one of the best prices for cameras. 

I was so happy and in good spirit because we have a new toy! :) Spoke to Dr Choong briefly while I was at the camera shop to explain to him about my condition. I was supposed to go into the labour ward in preparation to induce labour that very Thursday night after dinner. Since the show appeared that morning, we thought maybe we should wait for another few days because natural would be better for both mommy and baby. Asked Dr Choong for his opinion but he said it was entirely up to me. Dr Choong voiced that he preferred me to wait for baby to come out naturally. 

After that, we did some errands; stopped by at the lighting shop to confirm the lights for our new home. At about 2.30pm, I felt a regular rhythm of hardening and releasing of my tummy. It felt like baby was stretching really hard in my womb, which I initially thought it was baby kicks but realized that it was contractions because it occurred on a regular pattern. The contractions were 20 mins apart. I quickly messaged my friends and family members with this new update. My mom was asking me to quickly rush to the hospital because she was afraid baby could be popping out anytime.

We went home to rest. I had a nap but was woken up by the pain whenever the a contraction happens. Had my shower, washed and dried my hair. The Chinese's confinement observes that new mothers are not allowed to wash hair during the one month confinement period because it could cause rheumatism. We packed 4 bags of things to bring to the hospital. It was like we were going on a holiday because we had so many things. We had a bag of food; bicsuits, instant cup noodles and even isotonic drinks which we barely touched when we were in the hospital. I read that we won't be given any food when we were in the labour room and I should eat a little so that I would have energy to deliver the baby. So, the kiasu me packed a lot!

My mom-in-law was so anxious that she advised us to bring our dinner to the hospital instead of having it at home. At about 7pm, my contractions were about 15 mins apart, we had dinner at home and we watched an episode of CSI before we decided it was time to leave to the hospital at 9pm. The antenatal class instructor advised us to only leave to the hospital when the contractions were 8 mins apart.

Reached Pantai Bangsar at about 9.30pm and I was ushered to the labour room. 

Wires were being stuck on my belly to monitor baby's heartbeat and contractions, as shown on the machine located on the right side of the above photo. The nurse or midwife confirmed that I was already dilating and there was no need to induce anymore. Yay!

Just the two of us. Third member of the family would be joining us soon!!!

 In front of my bed was a small little bassinet where my baby would be placed inside when he was born into this world.

After the initial 30 mins of monitoring, I thought I would be transferred to a nicer room with an extra bed. During my tour when I was about 5 months pregnant, we were shown different rooms with an extra single bed for daddies to rest and there were tv in the rooms. I thought those rooms were great because SJ could rest and I could probably distract myself with the tv but I was told that I had to stay in this labour-delivery room until the baby arrives. I was shocked and feeling a little sorry for SJ because he had to sleep on the plastic chair. Tried to negotiate with the nurse that I wanted a better room but was unsuccessful because she said I would had to move back to this room when I deliver which could happen anytime soon.

My plan was to walk a lot while waiting for baby's arrival. I was walking around the room for a bit, stopped in between when the contractions comes and practicing my breathing but when the water bag breaks at about 10.30pm, it was almost impossible to move. Water was trickling continuously and it was so uncomfortable to even move a little. I was advised to just sit or lie down :(

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On the 20th July, Friday: 

At about 2am, when I was at about 5cm dilated, the pain was rather unbearable and I was not able to get any rest with the contractions that I decided to get the epidural. The epidural took about an hour to arrive and the anesthetist told me that I would still feel the pressure of the contraction but the epidural will take the pain away. A catheter was inserted to my back to numb the bottom half of my body and I would not be able to leave the bed at all because the epidural solution would continuously flow into the body. Babycentre explains epidural very clearly: http://www.babycenter.com.my/a542571/epidural

The epidural effectively removed the pain and I could sleep for a good few hours. SJ was sitting beside me the whole time observing the contractions and baby's heartbeat monitor. I was in so much pain without the epidural when the contraction number went to 60 but with the epidural, I could still sleep soundly even when the number went above 100. 

I had a fever at about 4am and I was shaking uncontrollably. I was feeling so cold and my teeth were chattering but it stopped after I had some paracetamol. At about 6am, Dr Choong came in and told me that my baby's heartbeat was beating faster than usual. Baby was in distress and it could due to my fever. At that time, I was 8cm dilated and if I did not reach 10 cm in another 2 hours, Dr Choong suggestted caesarean. 

9am came and Dr Choong examined me and I was still only 8cm dilated. He said he would let me wait and take my time if my baby's heartbeat was not beating so fast but because my baby was in distress, he strongly advised us to have caesarean to get the baby out fast. We agreed and preparation for surgery started immediately.

I was pushed with my bed to the operation theater  This was my 2nd time being in the OT, the first when I had my thyroid surgery in April 2010 but this 2nd time was quite an exciting and happy moment because I was nearing to meeting baby! The hospital staffs were fussing over me, preparing for the surgery that they almost forgotten about SJ. They left him standing outside of the OT. Dr. Choong was about to start when I reminded him to bring my husband in. 

Operation started at about 9.30am and baby came out at 9.49am! I could see the digital clock clearly in the OT and I could see a little from the reflection of the lights above me when Dr Choong pulled the baby out. The moment baby gave a really loud cry, we were relieved because baby was ok! SJ immediately took out the camera and followed the nurses. Our first born, Zachary was born! He was weighed 4.15kg and 51cm tall. I was so thankful that Zachary was a healthy baby.

The nurse brought Zachary to me so I could kiss him before they took him away

Our new precious!

It was love at first sight!

Yay! All good! 

That was 7 months ago! This past 7 months was probably the most special 7 months in our lives. It's really amazing that this tiny little human being could bring so much joy to our families and it such a blessing to have him. I hope I am doing alright as a Zach's mommy. SJ was amazing and very supportive throughout the labour and delivery. He is such a hands-on daddy and he is my pillar of support. I am really lucky to have him! :) I hope Zach would grow up to be like his Daddy.