Psalm 22:10
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
nicknames....
1) chia char-bor (in chinese teochew dialect) [by our lactation consultant]
2) chilli padi [by our lactation consultant and paediatrician]
3) Ms Singapore [by our lactation consultant's nurses]
but to Emma, she's just oblivious to it all... she's just contented sleeping most of the time, no matter how noisy the environment is. I guess it's all the "training" she got in Ade's womb, through the worship practice sessions, and the loud EQ sessions prior to church services.. heheheh
Sunday, August 26, 2007
"praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children...
Thank God for strengthening Emma's body with each passing day. Her jaundice level dropped to 10.8 during our latest visit to the paediatrician on Fri. We know that her jaundice level will definitely go down. YEAH! Also, that was the same morning when she first poo-ed after 5 days!! yeh! that was certainly a great relief for Ade and I. To all our friends who've been praying for us all, a BIG 'Thanks!" from three of us. =) oh yah! her umbilical cord stump also fell off on Sat morning!
We can't say enough thanks to our friends who've been with us, and especially with Ade, as we pressed on with establishing a good feeding cycle for Emma. Took us a while to figure out how much formula milk to supplement her with after each feed by Ade. One thing for sure, she's very very very slowly needing less formula milk each day. So we pray that in no time, Emma will not need additional formula milk supplements for her feeds. =) yeh! well, she's definitely fulfilled after each feed, as evident in her deep sleep in whichever position, and at whichever location (e.g. my lap, her cot, her playpen, on the sofa...)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Thanksgiving
It's such an amazing feeling to see Emma each and every passing moment... and I'm just amazed by God's wonderful creation, and how He has seen us through in every ups and downs, and now bringing Emma safe and sound into this world. Indeed Emma's uniquely crafted in His hands and she's definitely wonderfully made.
We'll also like to give thanks all our family and friends for the gifts and support since the birth of baby Emma. Indeed, we've been so blessed. =)
Oops, Emma's awake now... I've got to go. until the next time then.
7 Days!
It’s been a week! Emma’s a week old! The week zoomed past so fast that it seemed as if we only rushed to the hospital last night.
Emma’s still having slight jaundice, and we’re praying for ample sunlight in the morning and evening these days, but these few days have been rather cloudy, with little pockets of sunlight which we try to catch to sun Emma as best we can. All else, we’re trusting God to bring the jaundice level down, and also praying that Emma’s bowel movements will improve.
Other than that, Emma’s getting on fine at home, sleeping well, and drinking milk well. For now, we’re supplementing her with formula milk, only after Ade feeds her each time. Thank God she’s not showing preference for the bottle over mommy’s supply (albeit limited for now), but she’s beginning to be quite picky over what she drinks. For example, she’s beginning to dislike the red dates water (that should help with bringing her jaundice level), and she’s beginning to use her tongue to try and push the bottle out from her mouth. Hahaha… we then cup-fed her the red dates water, so she has no choice but to swallow.. hehehe…
Ade found out how to get her going at suckling without falling asleep. Play music with strong vocals, like worship music by Martha Munizzi, or even Melinda DooLittle’s singing during the American Idol contest earlier this year. We’ll try it again for her subsequent day feeds and see if it works. But she was definitely awake when the upbeat worship by Martha Munizzi was being played. Praise God!
Emma did her morning stretching exercise after her "(indirect) sun-tan" session.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
discovering Emma
We discover things about Emma daily... for one, she's got her favourite sleeping position... much like the one that we put up in our previous post. The same "recovery position" on her right side, with her left arm and left leg crossing over to her right...
and not forgetting her usual "right hand to the nose or right cheek" as well..
and even her arms "inverted sky-diving" pose.. =P
she's probably enjoying being cuddled more and more as well...
Adrian and Jasmine with jiejie Cherise came over for a visit. Thank u all for your gifts! Especially this nice beautiful handiwork.. sorry, but there're no prizes for guessing whose room-door this is hanging on... =)
oh! and I must say this. Just as Cherise gave Adrian a "baptism" of her "pee-in-the-air" act, Emma did the same antic the moment Adrian, Jasmine and Cherise went home... hehehe.... now I have to watch out for such antics by Emma during her nappy changes.. hahaha!
Monday, August 20, 2007
mesmerised...
Thank God for our confinement lady. She's a great help in the home, cooking for us, preparing the stuff for Ade, keeping watch on Emma, cleaning Emma, feeding Emma water or glucose water from a small cup, "sun-tanning" Emma, cleaning Emma. She's a great help as both Ade and I find our footing at home with Emma around. At the same time, we're really learning lots from her in how to handle a real baby Emma. She's a great value-add to the things we've learnt during our ante-natal classes at TMC.
I finally managed to sooth Emma to sleep this evening after one of her feeds. She was her usual cranky mood, waaaa-ing intermittently loudly, almost falling asleep, yet awake the next moment. So I laid her again on her left side on her cot and patted her, praying at the same time for her to sleep. But alas, to no avail... sigh... so I finally relented and carried her in my arms and cradled her in my arms as I sat in the chair in her room. Lo and behold, she actually dozed off within 15seconds or so! She simply laid her head back, and slumped in my arms, eyes closed and drifted to lala-land. That was a first for me! The sight was so mesmerising. For the next 30min or so, I carried her as she slept, moved to the living room, laid her on her playpen, and she continued her blissful sleep... so sweet... well, that was another moment for me to savour... she woke up 2 hours later and waaa-ed, telling us she wants to be fed... =)
Ade fed Emma, and as usual, she would drift in and out of sleep... and then really fall asleep on our bed..... here're some snaps of Emma enjoying our KingKoil mattress.. hahaha
well.. now I'm sleepy.. another day has gone by in a flash.... looks like it's true when pple say kids grow up really fast.. it's only 4 days, and I'm feeling it already!
now, it's time to tend to mommy Ade.. =)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
bliss....
Ade's a lot better after close to 2 days at home... but one thing for sure, today didn't seem like a Sunday to us.... our routine has changed.. every 2 or 3 hrs is Emma's feed-time, and I think Ade's doing a wonderful job as a mother... saw Emma lying next to Ade during one of the feeds, and lo and behold, both of them were sleeping! it was such a sweet moment to savour... somehow, watching Emma sleep just warms my heart... the sight of it just builds me up.. =) I think this is how God watches over us too, always looking at us very attentively, very intensely, very patiently... that is a nice feeling to know that Someone's watching over us....
so far, Emma cries mostly for milk, and not so much for attention... well at least for now.. tsk tsk.. but we pray that she'll be like this even as she grows up with each passing day... =) else we surely will have to go through excessive sleepless nights....
anyway, I can't believe it's already end of the weekend, and it's back to camp for me tomorrow (I'm still on course right now).. will be arranging my time to spread out my 3-day paternity leave entitlement over the week...
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Home Sweet Home!
somehow, resting at home is still the best... not that the hospital wasn't good, cos the nurses were very helpful and the food ain't that bad... but all said, home is still the best! nothing beats the comfort of one's bed and environment.. hee hee
well.. Emma got acquainted with her new bed and daytime playpen pretty easily...
[ getting acquainted with the cot... almost overwhelmed with the gifts from relatives, uncles and aunties... so blessed! =) ]
well.. Ade's better rested now after her nap in the afternoon.. and I pray God will renew her strength with each passing day, and also her confidence in her new role as a mother... and as for me, it's perseverence too.. to try my best as a father, and a husband, and not forgetting my work... ok.. i MUST finish my research paper by tomorrow afternoon! it's due on MON!!!! arrrgh! hahahaha!
All said, Ade and I are very thankful for our parents, friends and relatives who came by to visit us and their gifts... the support means a lot to Ade and I, esp when we're both very new parents.. =) Thank God for u all! God Bless you!!!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Emma Joy Foo is here! 符明萱出世了!
well, it's an interesting experience for us both especially when we least expected her to be born so early. We went to the hairdressers' on wed lunchtime. We Even finally decided to take some photos of Ade with her preggie-tummy in the afternoon, which we were thankful for doing, as we seriously didn't know that was the last chance we could do so.. hahaha...
We even went to church in the evening for worship practice for the upcoming church's Power Weekend. Got back home to watch CSI-Miami, and settled down to sleep. Everything seemed normal up to that point.
At abt 2am, Ade felt that there was a slight gush of amniotic fluid coming out and realised it's the beginning of show! To think we were even joking with our friends in church in the evening prior, that Emma'll probably come out a couple of weeks later. Well, lo and behold! We certainly weren't expecting this at 2am so soon!!! hahaha
we grabbed our pre-packed emergency bag, my laptop, my camera, and rushed to the hospital.
We reached the hospital at 3am - Ade prepared for labour and waited at the delivery ward. So far, no pain yet. All's ok until about 4:45am when Ade felt much pain in the contractions, squirming about trying to find comfort. She was abt 4cm dilated then. I sure felt at a loss not being able to help alleviate the pain that she was going through.
After trying to bear with the pain for another 10min, she decided for epidural to be administered. Thank God for that! Ade was abt 5cm dilated by the time the epidural was administered half an hour later. She sure felt much better after that, and at least she could try to rest a little before the final effort to push Emma out.
Soon after that, before we knew it, Ade was 10cm dilated by 6:40am! Emma's coming out very very soon! and we were waiting eagerly for our gynae, who only came at abt 7:30am. What a long wait that was. At that juncture, Ade and I really couldn't wait to see Emma!
Ade did about 3 contractions worth of pushing before Emma was pulled out with the help of forceps. That feeling of watching a life, our daughter appearing right in front of our eyes was simply indescribable! Of course Emma had to demonstrate her vocal prowess, but she quickly quietened down when she heard Ade's voice and my voice assuring her everything's ok. It's so heartwarming. I'll never exchange anything in this life for that expression of trust in Emma's face. NEVER! Thank God I'm here in Singapore to see Emma being born.. =)
Well, Emma seemed like a well-tempered gal. Didn't fuss at all when the nurse carried her to weigh and measure her. Emma kept peeking through her eyes, slowly observing her surroundings. My heart just melted whenever she opened her eyes and smiled in response to my voice.
well, that's all for now.. I've not slept yet and I'm prob running on adrenaline, but heck! I feel as if I can run my Army Half Marathon now! hahaha.. ok.. time to go peek at Emma.. =)
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
You might be in late pregnancy if:
- Somedays your rings and shoes go through spontaneous shrinkage... (in fact i can't wear my ring anymore! Am now having sausage fingers... bleah)
- You've reverted back to nervously checking the color of pee on every toilet paper wipe -- just like in the 1st trimester!
- You feel a kinship to ducks or penguins.
- You feel as though a beeping sound much akin to the backup alarm on a loader should accompany your rolling over in bed --- and it takes WAY too long to do!
- you cant sleep more than 1.5 hrs at a time, cos you have to pee before that 2 hr mark rolls around.
- you finally realize why they say not to sleep on your back, when you realize that any sitting up in your bed send your lower back into a world of agony.
- you have learned to sleep sitting up, and are forcefully woken up by heartburn if you start to slide down too horizontally.
- your wardrobe is consisting of less "cute outfits" and more "whatever fits and is comfortable outfits".
- You and your grandma now have the same walk.
- you say to heck with putting on makeup and fixing hair before going out, isn't it enough that you get up, get dressed and show up?!?!
- If you feel like the big bad wolf in the 3 little pigs is YOU, cos you huff and you puff and you're afraid you'll blow the house down....
- You are constantly checking for any "wetness" and praying you never sneeze... or cough... in public... so as not to wet yourself!!
- you have found that you can not sleep without at least 3 various sized pillows including a bolster, and a fan blowing on you cause it so hot!
- if most everything you do begins & ends with a sigh, and there's a grunt somewhere in the middle.
- when you don't even have to ask your husband to help you off the couch, he can recognize that look on your face and automatically extends a helping hand!
- you're constantly thinking "What will I do if my water breaks here..."
- when you pee and stand up and before you even leave the bathroom you feel the urge to pee again ... you really want to ignore this urge but you are afraid that it might later turn into you wetting your pants.
- When you have to put your pants on by holding them in one hand and bending to that side for one leg...then switching hands and sides to get the other leg in.
- There is a spot on your couch that is starting to droop because all you can really do at this point is sit and watch TV in your "favorite spot".
- You want to slap the next person who comes up to you and ask you when you're due then follows by saying you look like your about to POP. (okok, I'm not that violent lah... haha)
- You can't wait to go to the doctor to GET CHECKED!!!
- Your toes have become another form of picking up things from the floor!
- you have to pee really, really bad and then when you sit down you are lucky to get 2 drops out.
- You lay on your side wondering how long you can put up with the hip pain because rolling over required about 10 movements and you're out of breath.
- You grunt before any movement at all.
- You look like an idiot as you try to hoist yourself out of a chair.
- You look like an old man trying to hoist yourself out of the car. You have to hold on to the open door while pushing yourself up with your other hand.
- you wake up and realize you've just taken a 3 hour nap!
- People no longer start their conversations with "hi" or "how are you?" but instead- when are you gonna pop? is that baby here yet? what's taking so long? not long now huh?
- It takes you 10 minutes to use the potty. Five to sit down, 2 seconds to tinkle, tinkle and five more to study your underwear... is that wetness discharge, sweat, pee or amniotic fluid???
- You have actually googled pictures of the mucus plug!
- You dream of the day when you are in the "worst pain of your life" and fantasize about the whole experience!
- You wake your husband while getting up to go pee at night because of the grunting, moaning and sheer amount of work it takes to roll over and get out of bed.
- The noises you make trying to roll out of bed to pee wake up your husband and he immediately panics, thinking you're in labor. Why else would a woman make those kinds of noises??
- when all you can talk about with your husband when he comes home are all the stories that were posted on babycenter or the motherhood forum that day.
- when putting on underwear/pants you stare at them first, wondering if there's anyway around the balancing act.
- every night while watching your husband sleep, you want to wake him up because you can't sleep, and you want to wake him up so he can feel how you feel.
- Are in complete disbelief when you explain that it is just one big girl and the person wants to argue with you or say something like... Well you never know. OF COURSE I KNOW... I believe in present day technology!!!!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
preparing for our Princess...
It's a good thing I'm home, so that I can be with Ade. Emma's getting rather heavy now, and she likes to bunch herself up on one side (the right side) of the womb, causing Ade much discomfort. Emma'll only relax herself after we've talked to her and assured her everything's ok. It must be tough for Ade. Kudos to all mothers for bearing with all the pain and discomfort associated with child-birth for the entire pregnancy. I'm not too sure if I myself would be able to manage it all if I were ever to be in their shoes.
Anyway, spent today having lunch with Ade, and did a little shopping at Sheng Siong. We saw this little girl (prob abt 2 yrs old) with her grandparents at the foodcourt, and we were simply amused by her cute adorable mannerisms. I wonder if Emma'll be endearing as well.. prayerfully so.. heheheh
I finally decided to set up the BabyMax playpen with a bassinet that we bought from John Little at a members' sale back in Mar 07! We've always intended for the bassinet to be Emma's daytime abode in the living room, and convert it into a full-height playpen when she's able to flip over and crawl on her own. The integrated changing top will be handy for Emma's nappy change in the living room, but it's only good until she's past 10 months or so, just in case she's too heavy for the changing table by then.. safety 1st.. haha
oh yah, talk abt baby changing table, we rushed down to IKEA yesterday to get the SNIGLAR baby changing table, after a "tip-off" by our good friends (the Sims.. heheh). It's original price was S$40, but was being sold at S$25 at the IKEA's As-Is corner. Not being sure if the price was good only during the IKEA clearance sale, we rushed down to get it before going for our dinner-movie with Zhiguo and Charlotte (btw, Bourne Ultimatum is a good show, and I personally think it is a befitting ending for the Bourne trilogy). Well, I fixed up the SNIGLAR last night during the agonising 90min of Man U-Reading goal-less match (SIGH!!!). Now we don't have to worry about Emma's nice bed being soiled during her nappy changes.
That's not all.. hehehe.. We also got the Antilop baby high chair with tray for S$33 ($25 for the chair and $8 for the tray) from IKEA. Call us kiasu.. but since we were already there, we figured we might as well get it after reading some good reviews on its sturdiness and its hassle-free maintenance.
http://www.epinions.com/content_327140347524
http://dadsquad.com/ikea-high-chair
that's all for now... time to get back to touching up my final essay for my course.. Thank God I'm home this week to work on it.. =)
Ade's "Fours"
. Business Development Executive (my 1st job after graduation with a biz degree)
. Corporate Affairs Executive (non-profit organisation)
. Administrator (aka "wrap mountain, wrap sea") in an MNC rep office (the one and only one in the office in fact. hahah)
. Teacher
Four places I have lived:
. Mei Ling Street, Queenstown (I was born there)
. Farrer Court, Farrer Road (from 3 - 11 years old)
. Sian Tuan Ave, Bt Timah area (for more than 20 years)
. Bt Panjang (after wedding)
. U.S.A. (almost the whole stretch along the West Coast: Seattle, San Francisco, L.A.; Las Vegas & the Grand Canyon in Nevada; along the East Coast: Chicago, Boston, N.Y., Miami & Key West)
. Canada (Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal)
. S. Korea (for our honeymoon)
. China (Beijing)
Four of my favorite food:
(this is hard cos I simply love to eat!)
. Sashimi! (even the exotic ones)
. cockles (those half raw ones - very "harm"-ful)
. Curry chicken
. 猪脚醋 (pig's trotters in vinegar) - yum yum...
Four places I would rather be right now:
. lazing around at a nice beach with a good book
. Vancouver, definitely!
. a good Japanese restaurant that serves great sashimi (can't wait to eat that after Emma's out)
. home sweet home... heheh
Tagged again.. Emma's Daddy's "Fours"
ok here goes...
Four jobs I have had in my life:
This is tough.. technically i've never really worked as in having a paid job until i joined the military... do the "jobs" i did during the annual Scouts Job Week during my sec school days count? hahaha...
. Car washer
. Gardener
. Baby sitter
. Soldier (*wink*)
Four places I have lived:
. Upp Serangoon
. Lorong Lew Lian
. Lorong Ah Soo
. Bkt Panjang
. USA (Chicago, NY, San Francisco, Connecticut, St Louis & Springfield in Missouri)
. Canada (Toronto)
. S Korea
. China (Beijing)
Four of my favorite food:
. Steak (medium-well)
. Salmon Sashimi
. Fruits
. 云吞面 (wanton noodles)
Four places I would rather be right now:
. Chicago (running along Lake Shore Drive)
. Beijing (climb the Great Wall again.. http://adeline274.fotopic.net/c1163112.html)
. Vancouver (since Ade's been yearning to visit Vancouver ever since she graduated)
. my bed.. zzzz
Four couples I’m going to tag:
hmmm.. no one that I can think of right now.. =)
Friday, August 10, 2007
What's daunting?
Many people have been telling me to get ready for sleepless nights, how tiring it's gonna be when Emma's born, how difficult it is to sooth her down should she be colicky, etc, etc. On one hand, I'm grateful for all the heads-up, but on the other hand, personally, I think all these challenges during Emma's infancy stage are not as daunting as the fact that how Emma will turn out depends greatly on how Ade and I perform our parenting roles. That to me is a greater challenge as its effects are more long-standing and are of greater impact to Emma's development as a person.
Ade and I would want Emma to grow up to reach her destiny, not according to our own human parental desires or dreams, but according to God's plan for her life, for her to be the person God made her to be. This is something that I've come to realise, and something i need to constantly remind myself of in the life ahead as a father. So.. time to change some of my bad habits! hahaha...
All said, I'm looking forward to being a father. It's an unexplainable feeling. The past few nights of feeling Emma move and play with me (by her responding to wherever I placed my hand on Ade's tummy) just made this wait for her birth all the more exciting. Yeh!
Monday, August 6, 2007
She's now 2.479kg!
My gynae has decided not to test me for GBS (Group B Streptococcus) because he said even if the result turned out negative, GBS may still be present during labour... which means, I'll still NEED to be on an antibiotics drip during delivery. Ah well... as long as Emma's healthy & fine, I guess I don't mind extra needles poking me during labour... Maybe I'll be so preoccupied with the labour pains to be even be bothered with the extra needle for the drip. =P Nevertheless, thanks for your prayers still. =)
Emma's cot is finally done up, except that we've not put up the mosquito net yet. Here's a preview of her cot & the Flower Wall Lamps from Ikea.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
I'm totally speechless...
Sigh, my ceaseless cries of protest fell onto deaf ears... just hope people don't start presuming that I've already given birth when they see our car & start asking silly questions... =P
(but it does look really cute, don't you think? heheh)