"The joy of the Lord is my strength"

Going to the malls

2012-01-12T22:24:00.001+01:00

We're having winter right now in Germany.

I don't have as much problems with the cold as I have with the darkness of winter. Last week was gloomy and the sun rarely made its appearance. And even when it did, it emitted weak rays of light before diminishing behind the cloudy skies.

And as all stay-home moms will know, its tough to stay at home with baby all day. I usually try to take Sammy for a walk once a day so that I get some fresh air into my lungs and some daylight into my system.

The past few days though, we've been experiencing a brutally cold East wind and stormy weather. This meant that it would be painful (literally) to go out for walks. There was a recent news report of how a mother brought her baby out for a stroll and a gush of wind toppled the stroller, causing the baby to roll out of it, down a hill and smack into a river! The desperate mother jumped into the river and managed to retrieve her baby before it was too late. Sounds straight from a hollywood film right?

When I first heard the news, my heart went limp. I don't even want to think of what it must have been like for that mother to witness the possible last few seconds of her baby's life.

Anyways, my point of it all is that I have been desperately trying to figure out how to pass the time with a little one at home.

Stuttgart downtown has a wide array of stores. BUT they are all along the main shopping street and one would have to walk through the cold weather from one store to the next. This isn't entirely ideal for a baby wrapped up to the neck, who would be fine outdoors but sweating / be uncomfortable indoors with the heating.

And believe it or not, there is only one main shopping mall close to where I live. One.

I know that when I first moved here 5.5 years ago and realized that there was only one shopping mall near where I lived, my heart almost fainted. The Singaporean in me was devastated that my favourite pastime was reduced to 3-floors of shops in the same building!

Anyway, one is better than nothing. So I called a friend of mine and off we went to this mall with baby in tow. We didn't anticpate the throng of cars there waiting for a parking space! For every available parking space, there were at least 3-4 cars roaming around the carpark! I started getting sweaty hands when I pondered the possibility of spending our shopping day driving round and round the carpark!

Thank God after a couple of close-shaves-but-no-parking-lots, I managed to be at the right spot at the right time, just when some people were getting into their car.

These are a couple of pictures we took at the malls. Its so much easier to take care of a 4-month old outdoors. This little one simply wants to see people and be in a different environment. At home, I'm the one who has to entertain him. Outside, he's happy sitting on a couch and observing his environment.

I'm so big I get my own seat now!

Oops I'm tumbling... can't support the weight of my head and my broad frame

Oops.... I think I do prefer lying down instead!

Look at that happy smile and know that I'm contented going round and round the swivel chair!

Yes Mummy, I am a very good boy! Oh at least I try to.... People tell me I got nice lips...what do you think?

Let's see what's on the left...

Now let's take a look on the right.....

Now I shall be nice and look at Mummy's camera!

My fist tastes sooo good!

Yes and what were you saying here?

I think I prefer lounging on the couch instead!

Looking back at 2011

2012-01-04T22:27:00.001+01:00

Alrighty I know that we're already in 2012 but I decided that I should get down to reflect on how 2011 has been for me (us).

Well, in one word, it has been EPIC.

"Epic" cos in this year, I went through 9 months of pregnancy, childbirth and became a Mom.

As I look back at my blog entries for the past 12 months, I realized that more than 50% covers my pregnancy and baby! And since Sammy was born I think I have written about nothing except about baby.

Yeah, looks like my blog is fast becoming a baby blog! I can't help but write about him all the time. That's basically what my life is all about these days.

I love cooking but I can't seem to find the time to try our new recipes. My cooking has to be something fast and easy because I'm still breastfeeding and I'm hungry all the time! That means that dinner has to be on the table by 7pm latest, if not my tummy will rumble and put me in the worst of all moods. Plus having a baby means that you could have 30mins to prepare dinner (on good days) and maybe 10 mins max on bad days.

We hardly travelled last year due to obvious reasons but its all worth it having a little bub to call our own.

Yup, so these are the highlights of my past year and the accompanying links.

- March 2011: Official announcement that I'm preggy.

- April 2011: Day trip to Constance, Boden See and bought a new car!

- May 2011: Spending Easter for the first time at the North Sea to visit hubby's extended family

- June 2011: Trip to Singapore with my preggy bump and Babymoon plus pampering in Krabi

- July 2011: My professional pregnancy shots

- August 2011: Bump Progression, having the most amazing babyshower and last wedding as a family of 2!

- September 2011: Birth of baby Sammy and my birth story

- October 2011: My ramblings as a new mother and Hubby started his new job

- December 2011: Sammy's professional baby shots and first Christmas a family of 3!

Yup! This is exactly why I keep a blog. So that I can have a recollection of what I have done and its a nice remembrance of how God has sustained and carried me through the ups and downs.

While looking through my entries of pregnancy, I realized that although I had quite a number of "downs" - hayfever, backpain, discomfort etc. God either cured me of the ailments or He gave me enough strength and grace to go through them.

Right now as a new mother, I'm going through a season of really baddddd sleep. Although my baby sleeps through the night, I'm still waking up at night and take ages to fall asleep again. When I wake, I'll be covered in perspiration like I went for a workout! My gynae said its due to hormonal changes and I know that she's right cos I'm also dropping a bit of hair - which is another sign of hormonal change.

However, it has been very tough on my body to have to deal with the constant wake ups for no rhyme of reason. Some women say that once baby sleeps through the night, their sleeping habits go back to what it was like during the pregnancy. And when I took a quick glance at my pregnancy entries, I realized that I did have disrupted sleep then as well.

Whatever it is, I find that I'm yet in another season when I have to pray and trust God for healing in this area. That my body will learn to sleep again and I won't be jolted awake every 2-4 hrs (??!!) In the meantime, I'm taking comfort in the fact that my in-laws can help me every now and then with looking after Sammy when I need to get some eyeshut.

It's also a season when I have to learn to accept myself, (ie. body) with all its good and bad. Good in that I know that this body which God has given me has brought forth life in the form of Sammy. A beautiful, healthy and happy baby. Bad in that I have no idea how my body started tuning itself to this night wake ups. It's not bad if I fall asleep immediately. But I hardly do actually. I take quite some time before I drift off into slumber again.

"Dear Lord, thank you for the past year 2011. I see your hand upon our lives as we entered into new seasons. Motherhood for myself and a new career direction for hubby. I trust you and I know that you are in control. Please grant me a heart of surrender and serenity. That I will stop asking "whys" and rather trust that you hold me in the palm of your hands. That I can rest in the assurance that even if I have so little sleep, I will still have the strength, motivation and most importantly, joy to look after this little boy whom you have given to me. I pray that this season of bad sleep will end soon Lord, cos I'm simply so tired. May the joy of the Lord REALLY be my strength. Help me to learn whatever I need to learn during this season so that this too will pass. In Jesus name I pray, Amen"

Dear Sammy - 4 months!

2012-01-02T18:42:00.001+01:00

Oh geez, my young man is 4 months old already! And I'm getting behind with his letters! But then again, he's a boy, so I doubt that boys would necessarily be sentimental over their Mummies' letters? Hmm.....

Wow, what has happened since the last time I wrote?

-------------------------------

Dear Sammy

You have turned 4 months old! And you're growing so fast!

The past few weeks have seen significant developmental milestones in you.

Firstly, you discovered that you have hands and feet! Ok, this sounds too basic to be something worth exclaiming over, but it was incredible!

Previously, you would move your limbs but never actually looked at them. One day however, you just started staring at your hands and moved them simultaneously. When you realized that you had motor control over what you were seeing, you had such a look of amazement and awe written all over your face! :)

Daddy was the first to witness that! He said that he had tears in his eyes when he saw you actively studying your moving arms and legs! It's like your little brain was making all this neural connections of your growing process!

Secondly, you're discovering you have a voice! You used to coo every now and then, but now you're almost singing!

Mummy tried to capture your lovely voice on video but you get distracted with the light from the iPhone whenever the video function is on, so Mummy hasn't been very successful in capturing those moments when you decide to practise your vocal chords!

Thirdly, you're learning how to grab things these days.

And boy, are you strong! Mummy has to pay attention to her hair whenever she carries you cos it would only take you a second to grab it with your iron fist!

Talking about hair, ohhhh..... Mummy's dropping hair these days! Apparently its due to the hormonal change that takes place around 3-4 months after a baby's birth. Mummy's thankful to have a lot of hair to begin with, but she can't wait for her hair to stop dropping, cos its getting pretty unsettling.

You don't seem to enjoy grabbing your toys though. Whenever Mummy tries to make you grab your toys on your bouncer, you would withdraw your hand like you were afraid of them. But when you think that nobody is watching, you would sometimes touch those toys with your fingers.

You seem to enjoy grabbing pole-like objects like the railing on your bed. That's quite cute to realize that you're developing your own preference for what you prefer holding.

Fourthly, you're really developing your own personality!

Previously your cries were easily separated into the normal, fussing cries to the escalating "I-wanna-be-carried-now" cries. The latter cries would take a long time to build up and usually happened when Mummy was busy in the kitchen or just unable to tend to you.

Now, you seem to have developed a 3rd type of cry which shouts "Oh man! Why isn't anybody attending to me cry", which can happen almost immediately. Its like there's this switch in your brain that gets turned on once you decide that you want to be picked up.

We try not to pick you up immediately whenever you cry, cos we want you to learn how to wait and to be patient. So whenever we do that, you tend to emit your 3rd type of cry, during which Daddy and I would look at each other and say, "Oh boy, that's new!"

Having said that, you are breaking out into such easy smiles these days!

Gone are the days when you would breastfeed with no distraction whatsoever. Now, you can even just take a sip from the boob, release it, look at Mummy in the eye and give me the widest grin ever before continuing on your feed.

I must say that I LOVE those smiles! Cos you seem to tell me, "Hey Mum, I love you! And I love you enough to stop drinking my milk just to tell you that I love you".

Ok, maybe I'm just reading in between the lines, but honestly why else would you give me those smiles by stopping your feed? :) So yeah! Continue giving me those smiles baby!

Alrighty, when I'm in a rush to get you to finish your feed, I do get a bit impatient with those smiles, but in general I absolutely adore them!

You're a true-blue extrovert! Over Christmas when we have visitors over, Aunt Bel and Uncle Kian as well as Aunt Sabrina, you simply enjoyed being with all the adults!

On the evening when we were spending time with Aunt Sabrina before she flew back to Australia the next day, you actually stayed up (wayyy past your bedtime) just so that you could spend time with Aunt Sabrina before she left!

You're such a true sport! You seem to realize when the days are special (like over Christmas) and when we were at your grandparents' place. You can sense the excitement in the air and just enjoy going out / hanging out with Daddy and Mummy.

Sleepwise, you're still doing great! Over the holidays, Mummy allowed you to sleep on her bed cos it was just oh-so-cosy when the whole family is on the same bed together.

Mummy thought you would continue to be the lovely baby who sleeps 8-hr stretches. But.....

You seem to have realized that you're on our bed and you woke up in the middle of the night! Or maybe you were just loud enough / moving around enough in the bed to wake Mummy up.

But its all fine, cos we still really enjoyed having you with us.

Oh and we are finally going to bring you with us to Singapore come January 2012!!! It will be your first Chinese New Year and you will get to meet your family and friends in Singapore! Mummy is so excited because so many people are so eager to meet you and get to know you personally. We try not to think about the 7-hr jet lag from the flight yet, but I'm almost 100% confident that you will adjust to the new time much faster than your Daddy and Mummy!

We love you sweetie and look forward to more memorable days with you in this new year 2012! May you continue to grow strong in the Lord!

Love,
Mummy & Daddy

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And now that I've run out of things to say, I shall bombard my readers with an overdose of Sammy pictures!

You're getting so heavy that Mummy has to find new ways to carry you!

You little man who always want to be where the action is

How can one resist that cutsie face of his?

Yeah, your Daddy is truly your hero!

You in your Santa costume being held by Aunt Bel and Uncle Kian

That's your typical look whenever Mummy has to wrap you up for the cold weather outside

That's you hogging the table whenever Daddy and Mummy want to eat

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T00:17:00.000+01:00

This year we celebrated Christmas for the first time as a family of 3!

How has it been?

Surreal. Really.

Ok, its been nothing short of "WOW" to have a baby to bring along and who's always in the center of attention wherever we go. We love Sammy to bits and he adds such a special dimension to Christmas, cos we know that God has given him to us a gift. In the same way God gave Jesus to us as His gift for mankind. Immanuel - God is with us, may this truth sink deeper into my heart.

But it has also been soooo much work when I'm at the back and call of a little one. We usually play card games over Christmas and this year, the card games only worked when baby was asleep. Thank God Sammy sleeps pretty well anywhere so he slept on his Aunt Sabrina's bed while we played our games.

Dinner time was also tricky because hubby and I had to take turns to care for Sammy when he got cranky. But overall, he was a very good sport and we could enjoy our Christmas at our in-laws until the wee hours of the morning.

We also had our special guest, Bel, who came back for her 3rd Christmas with the Tews. :) This time she brought along her fellow Singaporean boyfriend, who shared this festive season with us for the first time.

Sammy lapped in all the attention and one can really tell how much of an extrovert he already is! Oh yeah he received sooo many presents too!

Our present for him was the Santa Claus costume which I got at the spur of the moment because it was simply soooo cute!

At the Christmas market in Ludwigsburg

Together with Sabrina, my sister-in-law who flew in from Australia to spend Christmas with us and Belinda who flew in from London - Talk about being international!

The Singaporean bunch!

The Christmas market in Stuttgart

Look at how many presents we had under the Christmas tree!!!!

With lovely Bel

With my cute and sporting Santa baby

3.5 Singaporeans and 1.5 Germans

All that lovely yummy food, lovingly prepared by my SIL and MIL

Another blessed year....

2011-12-27T23:08:00.012+01:00

I turned another year older 1 week ago.

Oh man time is flying through my fingers! This year I became a Mom! And I have a baby!

I remembered when I turned 26 I got so upset because I felt like I was in my "late" rather than "early" twenties. But then at the end of the day, an age is just an arbitary number. Your life is what you make out of it. Many great people in history became "great" in the later stages of their lives.

My desire and goal is to be joyful and contented in every stage of my life. And to live my life to the fullest no matter what circumstance I'm in."For Godliness with contentment is great gain" 1 Tim. 6:6

We had a very small coffee and cake gathering with my family and some close friends. Yvonne very kindly opened her place so that I didn't have to go through the trouble of clearing up my house. Since October this year, our living room has become playroom-cum-living-cum-dining-cum-office room. Needless to say it ain't the most conducive place for a gathering of peeps.

Having a baby does change every aspect of your life. I used to have huge birthday parties, which required me to cook days in advance, but now I'm equally happy with just a small cosy and fuss-free gathering. :)

And the best part of all? This is the first time Sammy celebrated my birthday with me!

Professional baby shots

2011-12-18T21:02:00.001+01:00

In my effort to revive my "dying" blog, I have decided to upload some professional baby photos we took with Sammy when he was 4 weeks old.

But to be honest, I do feel like I'm talking to myself here cos the last comment I had was ages ago. Got to keep reminding myself that I'm blogging as a keepsake for myself and Sammy too.

Anyways... looking at the photos now make my heart melt knowing that Sammy is growing sooo fast!

He looks so tiny in these photos and yet I remember that when we were taking them, the photographer ran out of props because Sammy was pretty big! She (the photographer) told us that newborn photography is best done in the first 10 days of a baby's life. That would have meant something like going straight to her studio from the hospital!

We were very happy with the results and would definitely recommend her services! Carmen Ruiz

Love the way he puts his hands on his face

He sleeps just like me here

This was a candid shot!

He didn't like the feel of a tie on him

My precious bundle!

A contemplative baby

Somehow black and white suits this contemplative shot more

This is my all-time favourite! He has such a mischevious look in his eyes here.

He's perfectly and wonderfully made!

His newborn hair which has more or less dropped off by now

Like father like son

He was so tiny!

Our little family of 3!

Christmas is coming

2011-12-12T22:11:00.001+01:00

Oh man I can't believe that I haven't blogged in ages. Haven't had the time nor energy to do anything much the last 3 weeks.

Still can't believe that its already December and we're only weeks away from a brand-new year! Having a baby does blur the entire concept of time. When baby's awake, I sometimes feel time drags - cos there's just so much you can do with a little one, especially when one is stuck in the confines of home while the weather is raging cold outside. And when baby's asleep, my free time slides through my fingers so quickly and I find myself typing like crazy before I got to wake baby for his feed.

On a separate note, I'm realizing is that I should begin to take photos with my regular Canon camera again. Since baby arrived, I've been snapping shots on my iPhone 4 but the photos taken simply can't make the cut as much as those from a regular camera.

Hence, these are some photos that I've taken to revive my old, forlorn friend. I'm certainly much MUCH happier with the results.

And....I can finally start using the "kids and pets" mode to capture those timeless expressions!

Our Advent's calendar which we have only used once so far!

Meeting up with some friends for a steak lunch on a weekday. Love those weekday lunch offers!

My little man was so warm indoors that I had to strip him of his pullover.

Oh and this was the day I packed the diaper bag but forgot to put in the diaper(!!!)

Love how he looked like he wanted to hold my hand in this pix

Hanging out at a cafe with a fellow mom in my mothers-babies group

We could most certainly use the above photo to make personalized Christmas cards! This would be the first year since I moved to Germany in 2006 that I didn't make any hand-made cards! Having a baby does take up so much of your time! But at least we can make up for that by making computerized cards instead. :)

My little adult baby

2011-12-01T21:32:00.001+01:00

I have a feeling that Sammy isn't a big fan of toys.

Sure he's crazy about his Fisher Price rainforest mobile and he can sit on his rocker for a long time.

But he's happiest when people talk to him and interact with him.

Last Saturday, a couple friend of ours, Tina and Frank came to visit. They were so sweet. Tina dotes on Sammy and bought him yet another jacket! :)

They took quite a number of photos with Sammy and what really struck me is how my little boy looks so grown up in them!

He looked genuinely happy to be just sitting in a circle with us, enjoying our conversation! Oh boy, this little boy is such a gorgeous gem! I really enjoy seeing how his little brain is picking up and processing information! He's already blabbering lots and I don't think it will take long before he starts talking!

Guess who's the father?

See this is what I mean about my little adult baby

Enjoying playtime with my young man

With the lovely Tina

I loveeee this pix! Sammy really looks like he enjoys chilling with us over chips and soft drinks

What having a baby teaches me about God

2011-11-28T22:28:00.000+01:00

1. He is always watching over me

As a human I'm unable to always be by Sammy's side. However, I try my best to keep an eye on him to see if he's fine. Even when he's sleeping I would check on him to see if he's still breathing and if everything's A-ok.

I am then reminded that God said in His word, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" and "The Lord never slumbers nor sleeps". I'm so comforted by knowing that God never takes His eyes off me.

2. I don't need to worry

When Sammy was even younger, he would cry his lungs out if he was not fed immediately. Now that he's older, he's able to wait longer for food and he would even smile at me when I start to undress (prepare myself) to feed him.

I am constantly reminded that even if sometimes some things longer to come to pass, it doesn't mean that God is late. It just means that God's timing is always perfect and He will never leave me wanting. He will always provide for all my needs in every single way.

3. God is proud of me

Sammy doesn't ever have to "achieve" anything for hubby and I to be proud of him. We just hold him in our arms, smell him and stroke his soft skin and we know that we know, that we would never be prouder of anything else but our son.

Suddenly the verse of, "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well-pleased" makes so much sense to me! God said those words to Jesus before Jesus started on His ministry. This shows that God's approval doesn't stem from what we do for Him, but who we are in Him. That we are His beloved children cos of Jesus' blood for us on the cross.

4. God creates masterpieces

I'm still so in awe at how a living human being could have grown in my belly for 9 months! It continues to astound me that Sammy has 10 fingers and 10 toes! That a year ago, this baby was not even in existence!

And I'm not necessarily a person who appreciates art, but oh boy, am I able to appreciate babies!!! Especially my own baby. Have I already mentioned how I can simply stare at this boy and continue to think how beautiful He is? How "fearfully and wonderfully" he has been made?

5. God trusts me

Many a times when I wonder if I will be able to care for this little one day in and day out, I have to remind myself that of all the women in the world, God chose me to care for this precious baby. That even if I may not have the answers to every situation I'm facing / am going to face, I need to rest in the fact that God already has the answers and He will provide me the keys and give me wisdom and courage in every circumstance.

God trusts me with this little life. I need to learn to trust myself and believe in myself too.

Yup yup, just some reflections that have been going through my head since I became a Mom. What has being a Mom / parent taught you about God?

Dear Sammy - Week 11

2011-11-23T21:39:00.002+01:00

Dear Sammy

You turn 11 weeks 2 days old today. You're almost 3 months old!

The past 2 weeks have seen so much progress in you!

The best part is that you started sleeping through the night! Mummy has no idea how it happened, but you first started sleeping a 6-hr stretch from 8.30pm to 2.30am. This progressed to an 8-hr stretch from 9pm to 5am.

Mummy then tried to feed you at about 11pm before she went to bed. After a couple of attempts, you finally got it and started sleeping your 8-hr stretch from the last feed to 7 /8 am.

WOW! We're so proud of you!

Now Mummy has to re-learn how to sleep through the night. Mummy's biological clock seems to be stuck at waking at 3-4 hr intervals, since that's the time interval you used to wake up at. And she would either get so hungry / need to go to the bathroom / just wake up out of the blue due to bad dreams. :( Mummy's still praying and trusting God to help me to get back to my regular sleep in the night. :)

Oh your smiles are so precious. Mornings are not my favourite time of the day but just to see your beautiful smiles and cheery looks help me to wake up!

We are still trying to figure out a regular routine for you. It hasn't been that easy since Mummy has to figure out what courses I would want to sign up with you.

However we have started going for a weekly mothers-babies club. The ladies from my birth preparation course all have their own bubs and its been pretty fun hanging out with like-minded women who can't stop talking about their young ones.

You, my darling are pretty big for your age. You simply look huge compared to the other babies in the group. I'm so proud of the fact that you're easy to bring out. You're so contented just watching other people and I'm able to just put you down on a cushion while you observe everything and everybody.

You seem to going through a phase when you find it difficult to settle down to sleep. Mummy hopes that its not because you're overly-tired, since you're not much of a regular napper. You do nap my dear. But just not according to any routine really. Hence, mummy isn't able to do things around the house according to your naptimes, since you very often nap when you're in your stroller.

We made your German passport today and will probably get it before Christmas. What a lovely 1st Christmas pressie it would make!

You're a very happy baby in general and we're so blessed to have you. It's still hard work looking after a living, breathing human being with your emotions and developing personality but Mummy's just so thankful to have this opportunity to be the one who pushes you in your stroller, stroke you on your cheeks and kiss and squeeze your lovely arms and legs!!!

You're growing so fast little one. We love you to bits and pray that you'll also know the Lord at a young age!

Yup, I think that's basically all the updates for now. And here's an overdose of photos of you who's growing up sooo quickly!

Love,
Mummy & Daddy

Chilling out at a shopping mall with Daddy

Left: You can tell how Mummy passes her time eh? Being on the computer and taking endless photos of you.

Right:With your friend who's 5 days older than you. You seemed to be saying, "One more shot please!"

Our very cozy gathering at a lady's place. Lots of babies, lovely chatter and food. What more can one ask for?

That one evening when you were in such good moods you were so ready to smile for the camera!

Another great thing of a playgroup: You get to try out different toys!

Some of Mummy's favourite shots of the two of us!

You don't look so pleased here, but trust me you love Mummy kissing you!

See, this is what I mean about you being a smiley baby!

Dear Sammy - Week 9 (2 months)

2011-11-08T22:00:00.001+01:00

Dear Sammy

Can it be that you are already 2 months old? Wow!!! You're no longer the little tiny baby we brought back from the hospital. When I look at all your photos now, I feel time slipping through my fingers and my little baby is going to be a big boy even before I realize it!

Your nickname is "Sammy Bammy". Daddy gave you this name because the "Bammy" part rhymes with "Sammy". When you are hungry, we ask you if you are "hungry bungry". Hah.

Mummy loves spending time with you. Your coos and smiles make everything so worth it! You are becoming more awake these days, which is very nice. But the flip side of it is that today you woke up at 6+am wanting to play. I've not seen you so cheery and sunshiney as much as I saw this morning! Mummy hopes that this is just a phase and you'd realize that 6am is still too early for playtime sweetie.

You love your grandparents. Granddad brings you out for a walk in your stroll once a week and Grandma comes by one afternoon to spend time with you. You recognize their faces and greet them with your signature coos and smiles.

The last 3 weeks saw Mummy doing some things without you. I managed to cut my hair as well as go swimming / sauna on my own! Daddy and Mummy enjoy our private swim time while your Oma and Opa have their private time with you. You are such a champ and most of the time you are able to go without a feed for about 4 hours when Mummy's not around.

Sleepwise you're still morphing. Sometimes you have a 6-hr stretch and sometimes shorter. We're still trying out different methods to help you to sleep longer. But we're so proud of you of being able to soothe yourself to sleep such that we can just leave you awake in your cot and you fall asleep on your own.

Once Mummy was unable to fall asleep after feeding you so she went to check on you. You were still not asleep despite being in bed for one whole hour. And guess what? You didn't even cry! You were just playing / soothing by yourself. We're soooo proud of you! And somewhat sad too when you are tired but are unable to nap / sleep.

We're sure that this is a passing phase and you'll sleep quickly soon enough. One sure way to help you to sleep is in your stroller / putting you in a car. You are such a trooper. Mummy and Daddy brought you to Strasbourg, France for one day and you were amazing!

You slept the entire 1.5hr journey there and another 1.5hr journey back. During the whole day you barely even fussed, except for once when we took you out of the stroller all wrapped up in your blanket of course.

Ohhh and have I mentioned how you enjoy sleeping next to me? During the night you sleep on your own. But come morning, Mummy allows you to sleep next to her on her bed. You do take up more than 50% of my bed though and Mummy ends up being squashed up at the side. But all this is worth it when you just feed and fall asleep, while Mummy is treated to endless sleeply looks from you.

I really treasure those mornings, especially cos it feels like you sharing my slumberland with me. And you always know whenever Mummy is not there cos it doesn't matter how long you have slept, once I get out of bed you tend to wake up soon after.

Sometimes when you wake up, we just play face games in which I put my face right next to yours and we look intently at each others' faces. You love it! Your smiles are such a joy!!! They are even able to brighten up the increasingly dark mornings nowadays.

I think I've written a long enough essay. We love you so much sweet little one. We do pray that you'll be able to nap more easily and sleep longer at night. God's many blessings and protection on you.

Love

Mummy & Daddy

Happy 2 months old darling!

You were actually crying here but your skillful Mummy managed to snap the pix at the right second such that it looked like you were smiling!

The first time I brought you out to town by myself!

Enjoying the sights with Daddy in Strasbourg, France

Being my little munchkin at a French cafe

That's a typical "Bammy" look!

Our little Pirate of the Carri-Baby!

My morning lark

2011-11-04T20:58:00.000+01:00

It's no secret that I'm a night owl. Motherhood is slowly changing me into a morning person cos of my little human alarm clock.

Hubby, on the other hand is a morning person. So it was interesting for us to see who baby takes after.

I took these pictures shortly after baby woke up a few days back.

What do you think?

Dear Sammy - Week 7

2011-10-26T16:47:00.018+02:00

Dear Sammy

You are one week short of turning 2 months old!

So many things happened the past week that I have to document them down.

Firstly, You gave us your first smile! And your first laugh! It was heavenly!!!

Can't remember exactly when you first smiled at me, but you were staring straight at me and suddenly you broke out into the widest grin ever! It lasted for a few seconds.

To say my heart melted would be an understatement! I was soooo overwhelmed!

Since then you've been rewarding your Daddy and grandparents with your precious smiles.

Your first hearty laugh happened when you were half sleeping. I had just finished breastfeeding you and was talking to my friend, Yvonne. We shared something funny and I laughed out loud.

You heard my laugh and imitated me!!!! Your laughter was soooo boyish and happy! I stared at my friend and she stared back at me, both in disbelief about what we just witnessed.

To confirm this laughing episode, I "faked" laughter again and you copied me yet again!

We simply can't wait until you really laugh consciously! It would make all the sleepless nights and fatigue so worth it!

Oh you have also starting cooing at us. Oh boy. I know every parent says that, but its the sweetest and cutest sound ever! Your coo still sounds like you might start crying but this is still heaps better than crying being the only sound you produce. :)

Also you had your 6-week check-up at the doctor and everything's A-ok!

Doctor was really amazed at how fast you have grown! You are currently at the 97th percentile for your height and above 97% for your weight.

On average most babies put on 100-200grams / week. You, my darling have put on 400grams/week! :) Doctor says this is no problem because breastfed babies cannot "eat too much". And he's also very impressed at your ability to observe your surroundings.

You're currently 6.5kg and 61cm. You have grown so fast that we've had to put away your newborn clothes. You no longer fit into size 56 but are currently wearing size 62 / clothes meant for 3 to 6month-old babies - You're only 7 weeks!

I figured your size is something genetic. I remember my brothers being pretty big babies too. The doctor was so encouraging and he said that this means that you enjoy my milk! And that I have no problems producing the quantity of milk that you need to grow and grow so quickly!

We think you might be having a growth spurt again because during the day you want to be fed more often than the usual 3 hrs. And you've been craving more attention. You don't seem to sleep very long in the day although you do sleep quite a bit in the morning, which is really nice cos Mummy enjoys co-sleeping with you. :)

Sleepwise, you are sleeping better in the night. No more 2-hr feeds but more like 3-4hrs feed. Last night you slept from 8pm to 2.30am straight! And again from 3 to 6am. That's such a breather!

Mummy is becoming a bigger fan of online shopping ever since you were born. I have ordered a couple of things which I hope would buy me more no-need-to-carry-you time. Hope you will enjoy them!!!

People enjoy babysitting you cos you sleep so well in your stroller so all they have to do is to bring you for a walk and you're a dream baby.

Yup I think that's all your developmental milestones for now. It's so exciting to watch you grow and Mummy already feels a sense of nostalgia that you no longer are a fresh newborn. BUT I'm so looking forward to you sleeping longer stretches at night! :)

Love
Mummy & Daddy

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You looking all grown up in your first pair of jeans

So what's the verdict? Does Sammy look more like Daddy or Mummy?
(Note the hairline of the two boys. That's a typical Tews family trademark)

Ramblings of a new mother

2011-10-20T21:05:00.016+02:00

This post is going to be all about me.

My thoughts, my feelings and basically an entry where I can put into words my current state of mind.

Mom.

Oh boy, I still can't believe that I'm a mother. When I was younger, I always knew that I wanted to become a mother when I met the right guy.

Stephan is the perfect hubby and Daddy material. Sure we're both still trying to find our rhythm in handling a little baby but hubby has been nothing short of amazing in adjusting to his role.

He hasn't had the easiest time either. Two weeks ago, he started on a new job. Needless to say, this period of transition ain't a piece of cake for him either. He said that he can no longer work on "automode" but has to learn everything from scratch. Even if he's in the same job (a tax consultant), a new company still has a different accounting system and different way of handling issues. He's also had to learn how to work with two new bosses, new colleagues and to top off the cake, he has an additional 2 -3 hrs of daily travelling time.

*phew* I feel tired just typing all that!

When he was working at home for 4 weeks, I had him all for myself and Sammy. And for the past 2 weeks, I've had to "share" him with his new company.

Needless to say, I became "jealous" of his "new wife", even if I was proud of him for being so brave to take on this new challenge in his life.

Maybe its just me, but I feel the pressure of "having everything under control". In Germany, most women manage everything on their own. Many live far from their parents so parental help is not the norm here.

Even though I told myself to be mentally prepared to be a Mom, I still felt that this change is like being thrown into the deep end of the ocean and you're forced to swim with no idea where or when the next shore is going to come up. Some days, you feel like you're thrown a float to give you a breather, other days you feel like what you thought was a shore, was nothing more than a shadow.

I'll be frank. I'm a woman who loves her sleep. I used to sleep 10-12 hrs a day if I could. And its not a form of escapism, its simply that I enjoy sleeping - especially in Germany where the weather is cooler and I savour every second when I can snuggle in my cozy bed.

Hence, to be jottled out of my bed every couple of hours by a crying baby who sounds like he's going to die if he doesn't get food THIS VERY SECOND, was such a blow to my system!

Having a little human being who's so utterly dependant on you for his existence can be overwhelming but still give you a sense of invincibility.

My days are broken into 3-hr cycles in which I know that at the end of these cycles, my baby would be hungry again. Nights are a different story altogether. It's like baby's 3-hr routine gets thrown out of the window once its dark. He wakes up at 1-3 hrs intervals and I have no idea why.

I drive myself crazy trying to figure him out. I tried cluster feeding him in the evenings, ensuring that he gets a full feeding each time, researching on the internet to figure out new solutions etc etc.

And now I've come to the point of "Let's see what this night brings".

For a person who treasures her sleep so much, having a baby who wakes up frequently at night feels like having the meanest joke played on me.

But I know its all nonsense! And baby is a human being with his own personality and will. And God has made him special. And unique.

And that's when I feel crap!! Because I feel like I'm frustrated at not understanding why my baby wakes up so often, but I feel like I shouldn't be frustrated at all! Plus, there's this siren in my head that tells me that instead of complaining, I should be utterly grateful to be a Mom in the first place.

But I'm human after all. And to say that "Oh, everything's great!" if someone asks me how I am, would be a blatant lie.

I'm so thankful for the lunch meet up the other day with fellow Singaporean ladies whose babies are pretty close in age in Sammy. We talked about our experiences and it was just sooooo good to know that I'm not alone trying to find my way in this wilderness called "Motherhood".

I love my baby with all my heart. Looking at him feed in the wee hours of the night still makes my heart melt.

But this is soooo much work! Everybody tells me it will get better and I'm trusting that God will give me the strength and perseverance to keep going on.

The weather's getting colder in Germany and my 5 years experience in Germany shows me that I ain't my best in cold weather. That, coupled with constant fatigue of caring for a 6-week old does not look very promising to me.

But I need to tell myself that by the time winter really strikes, baby's age would be countable in the months and not just weeks anymore.

And I need to tell myself that "where the will of God leads me, the grace of God will keep me". And "I am more than a conqueror in Christ". And "He will never leave me nor forsake me".

I need to trust God so much more. I need to release hubby to the plans that God has in store for him and not make him feel guilty for not being able to be there for me and baby as much as I would like him to be.

I know this journey may not be easy, but I need to remind myself that God is on my side.

I guess I want to be able to enjoy baby in all its fullness. That I don't have to enjoy him in my daze of half-awakeness. But today while talking to a friend of mine, she said that what I'm going through is "very normal" among young mothers and I got to be patient with myself.

That is so true. I need patience. A baby is not a mathematical equation that I can solve if only I tried hard enough.

I need to surrender my need to have everything under control. And its ok to be honest and say "I love baby but this is hard work!" I don't have to feel the need to meet up to my own personal expectations of being a Mom.

I will tell myself that "His grace is sufficient for me, for His strength is made perfect in my weakness".

For all you mothers out there, how did you get through those sleepless nights of having a newborn?

Dear Sammy - Week 5

2011-10-10T10:39:00.002+02:00

Dear Sammy

You turn 5 weeks old today! :)

This means that Mummy also "survived" her first week without Daddy being at home *phew*!

You are such a good baby. Mummy and Daddy are both so thankful that you are not one of those babies who scream for no reason. 99% of the time when you cry, you're hungry. As simple as that. But this also means that when you cry in the middle of the night for your feeds, we can't "trick" you with a pacifier either.

You're pretty chilled-out. When left on your own, you just watch your surroundings and observe. We know that you are learning so much on a daily basis because you no longer believe that Daddy's finger = boob. You "reject" his finger as soon as he puts it in your mouth. Smart boy!

You've been put on a 3-hr feed-wake-sleep schedule over the past few days. Surprisingly, you've done pretty well in that you've gone down for your naps more often than not. It's still not easy to figure out when exactly you finally will drift into slumber but you tend to do so in your own timing.

Another thing about you - You love to co-sleep with us! And truth is, we love to sleep with you too! But Mummy's just paranoid that she might squash you in her sleep, so I try to swaddle you back to your bed as much as possible. Some days, Mummy's so tired so I just let you fall asleep right beside me. And oh boy, you're able to sleep until your next feed! You're Mummy's boy at that! Now if only I can "train" you to sleep and eat your whole morning away!

You seem to be hungrier at night so Mummy has been waking up sometimes as often as every 2 hours to feed you. During the day, you're pretty much punctual with your 3-hr feeding cycle and tend to wake up on the dot for your feed. Now Sammy, could you try eating more during the day so you (and we) get to sleep more at night?

We think it won't be long before you give us your first "real" smile! You've been "smiling", or more like moving your lips in what looks like a "would-be-smile" when you're awake. Makes my heart melt everytime!

We love you baby and you're precious to us. God bless you sweetheart!

Love
Mummy & Daddy

You were trying to reach out for your playmobile here!

Looking cute up close

What were you dreaming about?

You had such a mischievous look here!

Love love love you in this outfit!

Finally a picture of us! At an American restaurant enjoying cocktails and BBQ food!

Sammy & his playmobile

2011-10-09T22:12:00.005+02:00

This is a short clip of Sammy playing with his playmobile. I got a bit emotional while taking this video because I remember what it was like when we turned the playmobile on for the very first time before Sammy was born.

At that time, the thought of being a Mom and holding my baby in my arms was simply too out-of-this-world for me to grasp.

And now, motherhood has been a reality for me for the past 34 days already! Totally in love in my little man and still so in awe of how God makes perfect little human beings in the wombs of their Mummies! We are indeed "fearfully and wonderful made"!

Enjoy!

Head-lifting Sammy

2011-10-01T15:03:00.000+02:00

What did Mummy do??? Why am I on my front now?

Oh no! This is hard work! I don't like this!!!!

Hmmm.... it ain't too bad afterall? Yah, a baby's gotta work for his milk!

My birth story

2011-09-28T14:09:00.008+02:00

Ok, it's been 3 weeks since I went through what we term as "labour".

And today, I actually feel like I have enough energy to document the birth story of Sammy before the details blur into fuzziness.

Labour. Nothing can ever prepare you for this age-old reproduction process. I went for a birth preparation course where I was taught breathing techniques and different positions of labour.

However, when I had to go through the actual thing, breathing techniques were more like "survival 101".

Word of caution: This entry is not for the squirmish.

Saturday night (3.9.11) - I was spending some time with the Lord.

This was when I was led to Psalm 22.9 "You brought me out of the womb, you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast".

I just knew there and then that Sammy would be born the next day. I felt in my heart that the Lord wanted me to "release" my baby into the world and that I needed to trust God to look after Sammy when he is no longer in the "safety" of my womb.

Blame it on the hormones but I felt so emotional knowing that this would be the last night I would spend pregnant with my first baby. I felt like as much as I wanted to see him in real life, there was nothing I wanted more than to protect him from all the "dangers" of this world we live in.

Still, I released baby in my heart to the Lord in a simple, heartfelt prayer and went to bed. I didn't know then how prophetic this prayer would be.

Sunday (4.9.11)

Early morning - I couldn't sleep well this night. Kept tossing and turning, while having intermittent cramp-like contractions. I didn't think too much about it, because all I wanted to was to fall back asleep!

5 am - I felt a little balloon "burst" inside me. For a while I thought, "Could that be my water bag?"

When I went to the toilet, I saw that I had some discharge but it wasn't enough for me to confirm. My cramps started becoming more frequent.

5.30am - My water burst just like in the movies. I had to wake hubby up and we started timing my contractions. It was coming every 5-7 minutes. We called the hospital and they said to come in right away since my water had burst.

7am - Arrived at hospital, contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes and were very, very VERY painful! Upon internal examination, I was so disappointed to know that I was only 1-2 cm dilated and the doctor said that I should go for a walk.

I couldn't even stand up properly, let alone go for a walk! I ended up sitting on a stone bench at the park while the poor hubby kept urging me to get back on my feet.

I pleaded with him that it was close to impossible, cos the contractions were coming at such close frequency and I was in increasing pain!

9am - Went back to the hospital where they placed me in a birthing room and strapped me to the machine which monitored baby's heartbeat. I was still only 1-2 cm dilated but my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes!

By this time, I could barely do anything except concentrate on my breathing. The contractions were just crazy! There was another lady who was close to giving birth and whose heartbeat monitor I could see from my room.

My contractions were more frequent and the intensity was worse than hers! And she was in the end stage of her labour, while I was only in the first!

10.30 am - Decided to get the doctor to administer Epidural for me. The Epidural didn't hurt at all and I was soo thankful for the time off.

10.30 to 7pm - I slept intermittently while my cervix continued to dilate at about 1cm / hour to about 6 cm.

7pm to 8pm - No progress. Doctor said that baby's head seemed to have been "stuck" in the wrong position and was not directly at the entrance of the pelvis.

She manually emptied my bladder and amniotic fluid left inside me. I was also made to lie down on the left and right side at 15 minutes intervals so that this might hopefully help baby to settle into the pelvic region.

All this time, I could still get up on my feet so I was on the birthing ball, doing my standing exercises to help ease baby's drop. I did basically anything and everything I could think of! The doctors and midwives were very amazed that I could have motor control over the lower part of my body because they said that many women are unable to move once Epidural has been administered.

8pm to 8.45pm - Dilated from 6cm to 8cm in 45 minutes!!!!!

My joy was short-lived when baby's heartbeat fell by 50% and there was a flurry of midwives and doctors who fussed over me in their efforts to bring baby's heartbeat back into the normal range.

I was given an injection that would cause my heartbeat to increase so that baby's heartbeat would be elevated.

The injection caused me to shiver uncontrollably while baby's heartbeatshowed signs of improvement.

8.45pm to 11pm - No progress. I was stuck at 8cm.

By this time, the Epidural no longer had an effect on me because I was feeling every single bit of nerve-wrecking, spine-tingling contraction. I was convulsing so violently whenever the next wave of contraction came.

Tried so hard to breathe through each contraction, but it was hurting so bad! I had both stomach and back contractions, so I basically had to deal with pain jotting through all my muscles at 1-2mins intervals.

I was also so mega exhausted that I was falling asleep in between my contractions! Before my labour, I didn't even think that would have been possible, but here I was, sleeping through my contractions!

11pm to 12 midnight - Finally my cervix opened to 10cm and I was ready to push!

BUT, baby's head was still not low enough! I was supposed to push him to sit right at the entrance of the birth canal.

The first push was semi-successful. Second push was awesome, in which the doctor said that the baby was coming out soon.

This was when the head OB-gyn came into the room, at about midnight.

He looked through my birth progress and said that something was not quite right because I didn't have any progress for 2-3 hours when I was stuck at 8cm. This meant that he suggested me having a C-section.

They decided to wait until the next contraction to see if my push was "good" enough to get Sammy out.

With this type of pressure, I caved and wasn't able to push properly with the next contraction.

At this juncture, I had to decide if I wanted to do C-section (as recommended) or just keep trying to push, keeping in mind that Sammy's head was still not entirely sitting at the entrance of the birth canal. :(

I decided to go for the C-section mainly because that's what the head-OB Gyn recommended.

By this time, I was soooo beyond my ability to really think that all I wanted was baby out! I fell asleep during the C-section as well, which might have been a good thing cos all I remember was that people were tugging and pulling my insides.

5th Sept 2011, 45 mins past midnight - Baby Sammy entered into the world looking all red and pinky.

Below is the first-ever photo taken of him at the hospital by one of the mid-wives and oh man, he already looks so different by now!

4060grams, 55cm of human-ness staring back at me and all I wanted was to sleep! The doctors said that he was sooo wide-awake even before they took him out of me. They said that most babies are just in a sleeply state when they are first born, but not for my Sammy. He was too eager to take in everything!

When people ask me what was my labour like? I candidly tell them I felt like I gave birth to two babies! One because I was fully-dilated at 10cm and the other through the C-section.

I was really disappointed that I had to go through a C-section but the midwife told me that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck once, so perhaps it wasn't entirely a bad decision. And he was afterall a pretty big baby, so I might have tore badly too if I had gone for a vaginal birth?

Questions for which I will never have answers for. But the most important thing is that my little one was born healthy and fine. I think that's the only thing I will still remember 20 years down the road. And I simply have to trust God that with so many people praying for me, it can't have been "sheer coincidence" that the head-OB gyn popped by out of the blue to recommend a C-section.

Dear Sammy - week 3

2011-09-26T21:47:00.003+02:00

Dear Sammy

Happy 3 weeks old darling! Wow! Can't believe you're 1 more week to being 1 full month old!

This week saw you having a growth spurt in which you woke up every 2 hours to feed over a period of 2 days.

We know that its impossible to "analyse" and evaluate your sleeping and feeding patterns at such a tender age, but Daddy and I were thrown off course because we had so gotten used to your 3-4hrs feeding pattern.

Thank God that last night, you settled back into your 3-4 hrs sleep / feeding pattern so we both could get some eyeshut.

We're very thankful that you hardly ever have your evening crankiness anymore. You've been having naps in the late evening, such that all we have to do is to wake you up for a feed, change your diaper, interact with you a little bit, before swaddling you up and you fall asleep on your own.

You're a very good baby in that you save your loud cries for food and the other "noises" do not usually escalate to wails. Daddy said that when he unwrapped the Swaddleme today, you automatically dropped your arms such that Daddy could easily wrap you up. Perhaps you're beginning to realize that Swaddleme = sleeping time?

We know that things change so quickly with a newborn, so we're very thankful for each good day with you.

Mummy's just tired most of the time and wonders if this constant fatigue will ever leave. I hope to be able to take you out for long walks in your stroller but at this moment, I can only walk short distances because of my physical constraints.

There's got to be a reason why the learning curve of Motherhood is so steep at the beginning. Perhaps its just God's design to make man more dependant on Him. I find myself praying for strength, grace and perserverance to look after you on a daily basis.

We also started allowing you to sleep with us for short stretches on our bed. You sleep sooo well with us! I think you actually enjoy smelling your Mommy when you sleep. Usually you drink your milk really quickly - about 10 to 15 mins. But as of this week, you've been taking long, casual drink marathons of up to 30mins!

I think this is your way of combining your nursing time and cuddling time because you tend to fall asleep for long stretches after that. I hope this method will continue to work when Daddy goes back to work next week.

We love you so much little one. You're growing so strong! And have a mind of your own. Mummy can't "force" you to drink longer or shorter if you have set your mind on how long you want to be in my arms.

Have I mentioned that you recognize your name? You would be falling asleep while nursing and all I have to do is to call your name, "Sammy" before you continue sucking again. Once, you even suddenly opened your eyes as if you were startled out of your sleeply state!

May you continue to enjoy being our baby as we grow into our roles of being your parents.

Hugs & kisses
Mummy and Daddy

Enjoying my sushi with you. You fussed only when you were hungry and stopped after I fed you.

Gosh, you look like a little man here!

That's you taking your afternoon nap on my side of the bed. You slept a full 3 hours!

Looove this "paparazzi" photo of you!

Daddy playing with your feet

Dear Sammy - Week 2

2011-09-19T21:38:00.002+02:00

Oh man, I can't believe that we survived the first full week at home alone with baby! It's only been 1 week but to be honest, it feels more like 1 month!

I'm pretty tired, so I'll write my letter before I fall asleep!

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Dear Sammy

You turn 2 weeks old today! :)

Wow, has it already been yet another week? Everybody tells us to enjoy you because time flies by so quickly.

There are days when I think that 24 hours feel like an eternity, but all it takes is a whiff of your baby smell and endless showers of kisses on your cheeks that makes the broken-up sleep all worthwhile. Oh and your little grunts after you finish your feed that make you sound like a little mouse. I wish I could tape down every second of your life so that I can remember every single little detail of it forever.

After only one week, your Daddy and I feel that we know you so much more! You no longer stay awake at night, but sleep right through it. Usually you only wake up once to feed and I know that this is amazing progress for a 2-week old!

Mummy is exclusively breastfeeding you and she's pleased to say that you're drinking so well! I call you "Sammy the boob rescuer" now, because we're in this partnership together in which I provide you milk, while you have to feed regularly so that I don't have engorgement or excess milk.

Breastfeeding hasn't been easy. The technique is fine, but its the constant waking up to feed you that tires Mummy out. Still, I wouldn't exchange this for the world. Mummy's experiencing pretty painful letdown pain on one side, but she hopes and prays that this too will pass and breastfeeding would be painless asap.

You're 4.3kg now! That means that you have gained 240grams since your birth and 200grams in your first week at home! :) Mummy has also lost 10kg in the past 2 weeks (!!!) which makes it 4kg left to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight! The joys of breastfeeding!!!! :)

You're a relatively good baby in that you only fuss when you're hungry. Mummy's learning how to listen to your cues and feeds you more frequently in the evening before you go to bed. Daddy's the one who's plays with you and you are easily calmed down by his voice and when you're in his arms.

Daddy has another 2 more weeks at home, after which Mummy will be left on her own. I really hope that before Daddy goes back to work, we would have a certain routine so that it would be easier to take care of you on my own.

We love you so much darling. It's taking every ounce of our energy to care for you, but we thank God for people who have been helping us!

You're a real trooper and we're so proud that you managed to sleep the entire time when Mummy went about to shop for some new clothes (ie. PJs and nursing wear). And yeap, Mummy managed to treat herself to her favourite Starbucks Frappucino!!!! The little pleasures in life!

Continue to grow well into a strong, young man of God!

Lots of hugs and kisses
Mummy & Daddy

Aiyoh, I could kiss those cheeks 24/7!

Visit from my pastor, his family and my leader

Playing with Sammy after a feed

Love love love this contemplative shot of his

That's his typical milk-drunk look after a feed

Love Daddy-and-son bonding pictures!

Sammy sucking Daddy's nose

2011-09-17T14:09:00.000+02:00

I simply had to take this video.

Enjoy! :)

Sammy at ten days old

2011-09-14T19:37:00.002+02:00

Yay I finally figured out how to use my iPhone to take videos and upload them to You-tube!

So here's Sammy's first-ever video. Do pardon my baby-wannabe voice.

We're dedicating this video to my Dad in Singapore, who's a brand-new Grandpa at a young age of 53 years! :)

Have I mentioned how much I loooove my iPhone yet? It's the one thing that helped me to keep my sanity during my 5-day hospital stay. And even now during the endless nights when I'm breastfeeding Sammy, I'm so thankful that I got something that I can use with one hand.

Dear Sammy - Week 1

2011-09-12T15:56:00.007+02:00

I figured that since I don't have much time on my blog, I would use this blog to write weekly letters to my little one. So if you don't mind a new mother's mushiness, you're more than welcome to be part of Sammy's online love letters!

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Dear Sammy,

You turn 1 week old today. And as of today, you have exceeded your birth weight, with your current weight being at 4.1kg. Well done you! :) Mummy and Daddy are so proud of you, because you regained your 7% loss of weight so quickly! Mummy's milk only came in on Saturday and you've been drinking like a trooper! You have such great suction power that we can call you "a great sucker" - in a positive sense of course!

What can we say?

We're so over the moon to call you our own. It's truly such a privilege and honor to be stewards of God's gift. You're so precious. We love the way you look. When you were born, you had blue eyes. Now your eyes have turned light brown. Both colours are beautiful to me though.

Everybody says that you have Mummy's eyes. :) We love the way you look both Asian and Western, depending on what angles we catch you on camera.

And your smell. Ohhh your smell. I never knew what people meant by a "baby's smell" but when you were born, I could really understand why some people say its the best smell in the world. You smell sooo delicious! If we could eat smells, we would eat you! Ok, that sounds gross but gosh, I so don't want you to lose your baby smell....ever! Going to treasure every single day that your smell lingers on your face and behind your ears.

You're generally an easy baby. You fuss at night and Daddy and I have to resort to all sorts of methods to calm you down before you succumb to deep sleep. But once you do, you sleep sooo well! For the past 2 nights, you've only woken up once or twice to feed and have gone back to sleep right after that. For that we're so thankful and grateful!

Being your parents has been the one most adventurous thing that your Daddy and I are undertaking together. We're new at this. Thanks for being such a precious pearl! We know we'll make mistakes with you, but we also know that "in our weaknesses, God's strength is made perfect".

Oh man, I think I should stop soon before your overly-emotional Mummy's going to tear.

We love you baby and wish only God's best for you. Know that we pray for you everyday and God's warring angels surround you as you wake, eat, sleep - literally every second of everyday. We pray that you'll grow into a strong man of God and be the epitomy of what your name means.

Grow well little one.

Love,
Mummy & Daddy

You were making such a funny face here! - In Grandma's arms

Peacefully sleeping you

First outing with you to a sushi restaurant.... your Mummy was craving for her sashimi!!!

You're really a "chip of the old block"!

Our little bundle of joy!

Samuel Ethan Tews

2011-09-10T14:28:00.002+02:00

I'm not pregnant anymore!

Nope I haven't forgotten about this blog but things have been haywire ever since our baby was born.

I'll write up my birth story once I actually get some sleep at night. Right now, our baby is a night owl. He's pretty calm and manageable during the day but at night, both his eyes are wide open and he's super awake! And yes, he can scream like a world champion when he's fussy.

We just got home from the hospital yesterday - which was a nightmarish experience (more about that later too) and my midwife came to visit for the first time today (another nightmarish experience).

I think having a baby in a foreign country throws one into the second phase of cultural shock. Its like everybody says something conflicting and thinks their opinion is the best, while the others' are invalid or just wrong!

I do wonder what its like to have a confinement nanny in Singapore. I do believe that you don't get scolded for everything you do wrong. I mean, its our first baby, so of course we make mistakes. But we really don't need to feel that we're on somekind of evaluation examination all the time!

I always thought that giving birth would be the hardest part of having a baby. But nope, apparently in Germany, the bureaucracy of nurses, midwives etc. is suffocating me!

I do apologize that I wouldn't be able to blog as much as I would want to in the next few days. If you have Facebook, do add me under "Priscilla Tews". I try to upload daily photos of the little one there. It's simply so much easier to do so via the iPhone than to blog.

Other than my rant, we are so in love with our little one. He's perfect to us. - Ok, he could sleep in the night, but we wouldn't exchange him for anything else in the world.

Samuel Ethan Tews

Born on 5th September 2011 at 00.45am, weighing in at 4060grams and measuring 55cm

Our happy family of 3!

Overdue

2011-08-31T23:58:00.000+02:00

As you might have noticed from my ticker, my D-day has come and gone.

Baby's officially "late" now - so that makes him more Singaporean than German. Hah.

On the other hand, statistically only 5% of babies are born on their Estimated Delivery Date ("EDD"). The other 95% are born in the time period of 2 weeks before and after their EDD.

I'm very thankful that baby decided not to come earlier, because of the wedding we attended recently and the very intense heatwave that plagued Germany last week.

However, now that I'm all ready, I must say that I was a bit disappointed that baby didn't make his appearance on his EDD - as if babies follow schedules.

I've been going to the gynae every two days just to check that everything's A-ok on the inside. Baby's heartbeat is strong and everything's still perfect. Just that there's no sign that baby's gonna make his appearance anytime soon. He's very active and continues to kick as if to tell us, "I'm happy inside here, don't worry about me!"

I feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles because I have no idea when the whole thing will start. I just have to keep trusting that God has already chosen the appointed time for our baby to come into this world.

Yesterday was the last day that we needed to finish cleaning the kitchen so our little bundle of joy can really make his appearance soon!

Last week I spent the entire time at home because of the crazy weather and just the thought of having my waters break in public was enough to put me off going to the city. However, after one week of being cooped up at home, I hit the city today with hubby after my gynae appointment. It felt so good to be out, do some shopping, get some fresh air and exercise! :)

Perhaps that's exactly what I need to get baby out! To get on with my life and at some point in time, little boy's going think, "I think I've had it in my Mummy's belly and wanna join her!"

Physically-wise, I'm glad that I don't feel too bad. I'm waddling because baby's head is very low in my pelvic region and have backache on my right side. But other than, even hubby commented that I don't like a woman who's overdue, since I still look energetic and fresh. Notice I used the word "look".

On a side note: My beloved Sony VAIO laptop has been infected with a very malicious Trojan horse. :( I have no idea how it happened since I was simply surfing the Internet and didn't even download anything! I'm hoping that hubby can repair it soon - Am currently blogging from my hubby's laptop.

Yup, just a short update so that you know that our little baby is still baking and my absence is not because I'm in the hospital already.