Back from our short getaway!

I wish I could say I really enjoyed myself during this trip, but I can't. And thats because I spent many hours camping in the toilet because I had a UTI attack for 2 days straight. And because I was not able to see a doc, I could only self treat by drinking lots of water to flush out the infection.

So because of that, I had little mood to shop and didn't have enough time on the last day to buy the things I wanted to get.. still, manage to get some stuff like Levi's, Polo Ralph Lauren, BB's clothes from BabyGap, and only one bag from COACH.

Baby was also quite cranky during the trip.. the ride there was gd, he slept thru the entire 5 hrs drive.. but coming back, gosh, he was crying and feeling restless and refused to sit still. He fussed alot during the times we were shopping and having meals. Maybe he's not used to be outside for so long.

When we returned to Mountain Home last night, we headed straight to the Hospital to see the doc and got some antibiotics. But today, feeling nauseous , headache, and weak the whole day. NOt sure if whether its a sign that the infection is getting worse or side effect of the antibiotics. Can feel myself falling ill.

And today, we changed the milk powder to Soy formula for Lucas. And today, its been a nightmare cos he has been crying and fussing for the past 9hrs, not able to sleep well etc... prob due to the change in the milk powder;his body is adjusting to it. As with all other change of milk powders, will have to let him go thru this pharse for a while more until his disgestive system is fully adjusted.

And hopefully, we will see some improvement in his skin soon...

Lucas is in his 12th week now. Weighing at 4.75kg. We're quite pleased by his slow but steady improvements day by day.

The only thing that worries us is his eczema on his face. It has become worse despite us applying the mositurising cream for him; his skin is now dry, brownish and flaky, with a hard rough layer on top.

Today we consulted the Head Peditrician Dr Bush, abt his condition. Dr Bush was the ped who was in the OT when Lucas was borned, so he has seen Lucas since birth, thus we trust him more as he gives us very detailed explainations abt Lucas' condition. He strongly recommended us to change Lucas' milk powder to Soy, as the eczema could be an allergy to cow's milk. He mentioned he has seen alot of babies with this facial ezcema and changing to soy formula usually cures that. So finally, we are convinced we will have to try Soy formula to see if it will cure his ezcema, because we have exhuasted all other options except using steriod cream on his face, which will be the last resort.

It is quite heartpain to see the eczema on his face.. in the middle of the night, he would moan and rub and rub his face with his mittens when his eczema flares up and becomes very red and itchy for him.. =( we really wanna cure it for him so he won't feel so uncomfortable..

On a happier note, its really fun to see him being able to do little things bit by bit, day by day.. its quite a delight!

Milestones we have seen in him so far:-
1) Able to sleep for 6hrs straight on certain nights without waking up for milk.. (baby sleeps more = parents get more sleep too!)

2) Able to smile in respond to my smile (but must see his mood de), able to turn his head in the direction of my voice, his eyes able to follow me as I walk across the room

3) Being able to lift his head up 90degrees when carried or on tummy, but still doesn't really like tummy time.

4) ABle to say baby blabber like "Ooh" and "Ahh"

5) Still hasn't wasted a single bottle of milk .. he's quite the milk guzzler.. Im surprised he hasn't reached 5kg yet!

6) Able to stretch day milk timings to abt 4hs interval

7) ABle to reach up and touch Mr Hippo and Mr Lion when in the car seat

8) Able to flip one direction tummy-to-back (with a little bit of assistance..)

Some improvements we would like to see happen soon:
1) Stop crying during bath time and diaper changing time! YES! It's still a battle for us during bath time!!!! The bathroom is a total battlefield, and the Papa always loses...

2) Sit quietly in his car seat.. he used to be able to do this, but now that he's bigger, he hates being strapped down. Grrr....

3)Flip from back-to-tummy

4) Start playing with all the hanging stuff on his baby gym mat. He cries after 5 mins on the gym mat.

5) Laugh or squeal. He has yet to do it.

Buccaneers Anniversary..

Monday night, we attended the squadron's 1st Anniversary Dinner, along with 300+ Singaporeans here.. Proud to be part of the pioneering batch of Singaporeans here in MHAFB, being part of the community here.

Almost 10 mths here in the States have gone by, time really flies. I remember packing up and leaving Singapore for MHAFB as clearly as it were yesterday. I remember going to Ikea and buying furniture. I remember stocking up on long sleeves clothes and lotsa canned food. I remember packing the sky high pile of moving boxes, boxes and more boxes..

I remember arriving here and feeling homesick for the 1st few months. The culture shock, learning to cook, running an entire household on my own.. 10 mths here, and being pregnant for the 8 of those months, being able to get plenty of rest (although i was bored to tears half the time)..

The friends here who have become as close as family; They're really the only family we've got here.. the many BBQ and steamboat sessions we've had throughout the festivities - Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year..

Snow, shoving ice out of our driveway, mowing our lawn, shopping trips, holidays...

And then, giving birth right here in MHAFB, an experience I wil never, ever forget.

SO many has happened, so many has been done the past 10 mths. Just a mere 10mths.. and we're not even half way through this journey; about 1.5 years to go before we return to Singapore.

It's truly been a great 10 mths. Looking forward to more exciting memories ahead!

Haphazard Weather..

The weather here in Mountain Home AFB is really acting up..

Summer is almost here, yet its snowing today!! Gosh! It was very hot last weekend; we got burnt last Saturday when we were out, but weather forecasts show cold weather again next week.. single digit at night again.. Brrr... It's Spring now! But feels like Winter all over again.

Anyone can get sick easily in this kind of crazy weather man... It's so dry here as well, my skin is flaking..

Yesterday, I experienced a scene which really got me thinking "My son really got character". I was in one of the wives' car with Lucas in the car seat. I noticed my boy suddenly reaching up to touch his 2 hanging mobiles (Mr Lion and Mr Hippo) which we had hung from the top of the car seat handle. It was the first time seeing him reach up and play with them, so I was very excited when I saw him do that!!

So I quickly took off his scratch mittens so that he could have freeplay with his fingers. But the minute I took off his mittens, Lucas turned and STARED at me.. and stared.. and stared.. and gave me a face which said "Why did u take my mittens off huh?!" And he never took his eyes off me.. nor did that look on his fave wavered. I even pretended to look away, but he still continued to stare at me til I put his mittens back on!!

The Little Tiger (Year 2010) eats up the Mother Pig (Year 1983)..

Tummy Time..

Lucas during Tummy time~!

Tummy time is important for babies.. Lucas, erm, doesn't like tummy time very much, but still, we try to put him on his tummy at least once a day. The good thing is, he can pretty much lift his head up high already :)

I had to fill up a questionaire on Lucas' progress during the last house visit by the base hospital's nurse who comes every 2 weeks to check on Lucas. After adding up all the scores, Lucas falls behind in certain areas such as Communication, Fine motor skills and problem skills. But we were told not to be too worried since he's only 2mths, and we were given a list of activities to do with Lucas to allow him to develop his skills in those areas.

So this week, I started doing some of the activities, and much to my delight, Lucas has started to respond quite well. He is now trying to lift his hands up to touch things above him.. its the moment when he is slowly discovering that he has hands now!

Baby's 1st Road Trip!

Lurveee this photo!

We're planning Baby's first Road Trip!

Memorial Day is coming up at end-May, so there's a long weekend for us. We're planning to drive up to Salt Lake again for some shopping and to explore the City. Our last trip there, we mainly shopped alot @ the factory outlets. Hubby and I spent more than a thousand bucks there!! Not more crazy shopping this time around, I hope. But we were told Memorial day have the best sales!! I'm just hoping to go there and buy some cute, cheap, branded clothes for Lucas hehehe..

So far, Baby has been pretty good with car rides. From our home to Boise, 1 hr away, he can still take it.. he just sleeps thru out the entire journey. The min the car moves, he will fall asleep.When the car stops, he will wake up and wonder how come my car stopped??? So we're pretty confident he will do well for the 5-hr car ride to Salt Lake. :)

Oh, my mummy is coming again to visit me! Well, think she is more eager to visit her Grandson rather than me.. hahaha... Mommy is going for a business trip in Dallas, Texas, so she'll fly over here for a week once she's done with work. A week is better than nothing!! She can bring me more Singapore food again!

2 mths...

Lucas turns 2mths today! :)

Time really flies... its been 2 amazing months.. and no doubt, 2 very tough months as well..

We would not have being able to pull thru these couple of months without the help of alot of people.. we have been really blessed to recieve alot in many ways .. help, gifts, well-wishes, and lots of love from the people around us.

Many thanks to our both sets of parents + sibilings. My mom and Dad who took the time off to fly over and help us out. My siblings + Cass & Anne Marie for helping us to buy stuff back home + the gifts. My in-laws who gave us Hong Bao + celebrated Lucas' 1 mth for us back in Singapore as well. We even skyped on his 1 mth birthday and they all sang him a birthday song and had a birthday cake and kuehs etc all laid out. It was really heart-warming.

My relatives who gave us presents, hong baos, bought confinement herbs for me for my mom to bring over.

Thanks to the wives here, who gave us a tremendous amt of help. To Steph and Lawrence, your selflessness and readiness to help us out is really appreciated. Thanks for all the time taken to cook for us and helped us out when I was desperately in need of an extra pair of hands. Jolin, Phyllis, Shiyun, Qing Qing - always looking out for me, helping me with the 1st mth celebration, dropping by to keep me company.

And to all those who had visited us, gave us gifts, sent us presents from back home..and anyone else we missed out.. we really appreciate all that we have recieved for BB Lucas. We never fail to tell him often how lucky he is to have everyone love him so much.

Thank you all.

Battle scars..

Two things that can leave a woman feeling depressed after her pregnancy - weight (not) loss and stretchmarks. The battle scars of pregnancy.

Every woman's body will change dramatically after childbirth. Even if you didn't have to go through pushing out the baby but went for a c-section instead like I did, you'll still not spared. I have ugly red stretchmarks which appeared after I gave birth.. I did not religiously apply stretchmark cream while I was preggy because I inspected my tummy often and did not see any stretchmarks at all... until the last few weeks of my pregnancy when some fine lines appeared.

NOw staring at the mirror can really make me depressed. SO hubby has decided to let me invest in a good stretchmark cream which was recommended by my Singapore Gyane. When i went to see her before coming over to the States, she had told me to get this cream called Stri-vectin. She said that she carries this fabulous product in her clinic from the States, but that it was too expensive for most of her patients to buy @ almost SIN$200 per bottle. She says it's THAT GOOD! So she had told me to buy it in the States instead cos it's cheaper.

So now is the time to put on my battle gear! The twins' (Lucas and Olivia) mother - Irene, and myself, we each bought one tube @ SIN$100+ each to try. Expensive investment! BUt I hope it works... 3 times a day for a min of 4 weeks and we're supposed to see results!

Brave Little Lucas!!

You'd think that after going through 10 mths of prgenancy, more than 20 tubes of blood tests and major abdominal surgery, would leave someone feeling that she'd be able to take any kind of pain now.

But today at Lucas' 2 mth well-baby check-up at the hospital, I was the one freaking out when we were told Lucas has to take 4 immunization jabs today. 4!!!!!! Omigosh!

And I told Hubby, erm, I'm staying outside, he can go in with Lucas and accompany him. I don't think I can go through seeing him take the jabs. It's too painful for me to watch and hear him cry.

So Lucas was braver than mummy. Mummy was outside pretending to read a magzine and covering her ears and having goosebumps! He cried abit, then after we held him, he stopped crying le. Brave boy!! And then after that he had 2 cute plasters on his thighs.

Lucas is at a good weight now - 4.4kg. Our boy is growing well. He has never wasted a single bottle of milk, sometimes still cry for more! He's also fussing lesser now. But he has yet to show us his real smile or respond to us when we smile at him. Still cries quite a bit.

Trying my best to do regular updates of videos and photos for everyone to see in fB, especially for our families back home who has never gotten a chance yet to meet our little boy in person. We hope to be able to make a trip back home before he turns 1.

Bathtime~!

Lucas is starting to like bathtime now. He used to cry the entire house down at every bath session (and every diaper changing session). He still does cry sometimes when we bathe him or change his diapers, but its really a vast improvement.

We have good days when he can go thru the entire bath session without even crying at all! :) The minute he hits the warm water in the tub, he's happy le :) Now we have even started shampooing his hair, and he's really good!

His Daddy bathes him most of the time, and I usually leave them alone in the bathroom to let them bond.. Bathtime is their special father-and-son bonding time :)

Will upload some bath videos in FB soon. Meanwhile, Bath pics!

Family shots!

Family shots!! :)

I love this shot the most!

I'm typing away on my brand new Icy white Sony Vaio! Present from Hubby for delivering BB lucas as well as my belated birthday present combined! Thanks Hubbbss!!! :)

Sony Vaio so expensive back in SIN. Buying it here at a far more cheaper price, more worthwhile!

We also got a wireless router for our house (like finally!), as well as a 640GB portable hard disk that Ive been wanting to get for a long time to store Lucas' photos. Now, me and hubby dun have to fight over the one laptop anymore. Each person one laptop now. And I can surf net while watching over BB sleeping in the bedroom. Makes life easier :)