Introducing my ah buiwell-endowed erm, son. I created a special hashtag for this little guy called #mylittledamien on Instagram to document his journey as my little human and mine as his creator. :)

The past 6 months was like a dream. From a teeny little newborn at barely 3kg to a fluffy 9kg sack of rice today, Damien has really grown. Why do babies grow up so fast! :( Mixed feelings... on one hand, I don't want him to ever grow up and retain the cuteness always, but on the other hand I can't wait for him to feed himself lah, lol. More than anything, I'm really glad that Damien is a really healthy baby (other than the constipation -_-), and didn't catch anything more than a runny nose. 

Damien was born looking a lot like his daddy. But he grew up to look a little more like me, heh. He's really cheeky, smiles a lot, has a hearty laugh, craves human attention, loves listening to stories, drools like mad, hates not getting attention, and takes up 60% of our bed space.

Why you so perfect one. #obsessedparentalert

Warning: Cuteness Intensive.
(this mama not paiseh one LOL)

Hello, I am The Damien.
FINALLY flipped over at 5 and a half months!
Attended his first CNY lohei at Boon Lay Raja.
Subsequently took a family photo with his slavesparents on the styrofoam sheepies at J Cube.
Started solids slightly earlier than the recommended age at 5 and a half months, as his pooping got backlog. -_-
The boy was like "WHY NO MILK" *VOLCANO ERUPTS*
Beginning of The Teething Nightmare. Drools like the Niagara Falls and bites on everything.
EVERYTHING.
I cannot deny that this parenting thing is hard. REALLY hard. Like nothing I've ever encountered before. It is a huge responsibility. It requires you to multi-task on a whole new level altogether. And you can forget about 'me' time, or 'us' time, or whatever time. No more sleeping in on weekends. You will keep worrying about your child until he's 50. It's like wearing your heart on the outside... so fragile. In a nutshell, that sounds like a pain in the ass. But you have never known that a human's heart can hold so much love, it's going to explode. You have never known love in such a magnificent form. Nothing makes you happier than seeing him/her smile, or laugh, or eat his toes. Being a parent is magical, and all worth it. We keep falling in love, over and over again.

Happy Half Year Old, #mylittledamien. 

With love, Daddy & Mummy.
This guide is written in Singaporean context. J

Oscha Sekai Hiiro, size 6, Front Wrap Cross Carry.
Sizing
“What size should I buy?” is the first question every mummy who’s venturing into babywearing would ask. For beginner mamas, I’ll recommend starting out with your base size – It’s the size where you can do full-length carries (e.g. Front Wrap Cross Carry) most comfortably. After experimenting with different sizes, here’s a conclusion from my own observations.

Petite body type (short, underweight/skinny) – Size 4
Average body type (slim mamas, most common in Singapore) – Size 5
Large body type (eh, me lah… UK14 to 16) – Size 6
Plus-Sized body type (above UK16) – Size 7

If you google, Size 6 is the average but see… Caucasians have bigger body frames than us Asians. The sizing is not only dependent on your body type, but also preference and experience. Some slim mamas like longer tails, so they’ll get a Size 6 anyway. I like shorter tails occasionally, and I can do a Front Wrap Cross Carry in a Size 4 (with the tummy muffin top jutting out haha). If you still can’t decide which size you are by the end of this write-up, just get a Size 6.

The sizing of the wraps also depends on the types of carries you want to do. This is a good website on the types of carries you can do with various sizes:

Which Brand Should I Go For?
It varies from person to person, but most beginners go for Lenny Lamb, Girasol, Didymos, Little Frog, Inda Jani. 

Where do I buy these wraps?
There’re a lot more, just listing the more common ones if you’re just starting out. J

Local
SG Babywearing Swap (Facebook Group), Jars Of Fluff, Fluff Mail, Sophie Ian Baby Boutique, etc.

Overseas
The Babywearing Swap (International Facebook Swap Group), 5mr.com, birdiesroom.com, marsupial-mamas, b2boutique.co.uk, wrapbabyboutique.com, pinkletinkbaby.com.

Types of Fiber (Materials) and Fiber Care
Refer to: http://babywearing102.tumblr.com/post/53280622414/washing-and-care-by-fiber for more info. This is a pretty good guide. J

Types of Detergent
Rule of thumb is no Optical Brighteners and no Softeners. Most mamas use Ecover Delicate (can buy from iHerb), Earth’s Choice (Cold Storage). For wool, Eucalan is recommended.

Learning How to Wrap
I mostly learnt from Babywearing Faith/Wrapping Rachel/Wrap You in Love YouTube Channels. Or join a Wrap Clinic here. The key is to practise practise practise and soon you can wrap with your eyes closed.

Why are Wraps SOOO expensive?!

In a nutshell… Wraps are just like bags. There are Korean-style Bags from Qoo10 (wraps under $100), Coach Bags (wraps $100 to $300), Gucci Bags (wraps $300 to $600) and Chanel Bags (wraps $600 to $1000 or more).  The more expensive wraps are either limited edition, are of better material (which means more lasting and supportive… it’ll probably do fine after being run over by the MRT 10 times), or customized/hand woven. Wrap economics involve market value too, like how you can sell Chanels above the retail price that you bought.

For even MORE detailed information…

Check out the documents from Babywearing Singapore Facebook Group here. J Happy babywearing!
As a follow-up post to what I packed in my delivery bag, I realised that half of the things were useless and the 2 nights' stay at the hospital went by in a flash, lol.


Clothes and other wearables
Button-down PJ set x 1 Tummy was still humongous, couldn't button up shit. My maternity tank top worked better for latching. 
A set of clothes for going home x 1 I just wore whatever I wore on the day of delivery. Who cares how chio I look? I just gave birth to a baby yo. I took a taxi home anyway.
Jacket x 1 I wore a cardigan, because I felt damn hot.
Baby clothes set x 1 Okay, this was useful. :D
Bedroom Slippers x 1 pair Slippers were provided by the hospital, so I didn't need to use them.
Socks x 2 pairs Totally unused.
Nursing Bra x 2 Only used one. I was practically bra-less throughout. 
Disposable Underwear from Guardian x 1 pack This was important. :D
Maternity Pads from Guardian/Watsons x 1 pack The hospital provided pads, so... barely used them while I was still there. Could've left them at home lah.
Belly Binder I was too lazy. Yup. But necessary, I guess. 

Toiletries
Bath Towel x 1 Didn't manage to bath, of course.
Travel Neck Pillow x 1 (to put on my butt) Turns out the stitches weren't as painful as people mentioned, so didn't use this either. Meh.
Wet Wipes x 1 pack Okay, this is a must-bring. Remember to wipe boobs after latching!
Tissue Pack x 1 (the bigger kind) Provided by the hospital. 
Travel Toothbrush/Toothpaste Set Yes, I managed to brush my teeth. :D
Dry Shampoo I think I used it once.
Angel Mama Bottom Spray Didn't use it. Like I said, the stitches were not as painful as I thought.

Nipple Cream YES. Because chapped nipples.

There should've been a LOT less things to pack, or maybe I'm just a minimalist at heart.
I've been struggling on how to continue blogging, because my life just whipped up, over, and sucked into the black hole of baby baby baby ever since I gave birth. And now I've been back at work (since January, actually) and I finally have time to blog again. But every time I tried, it'll end up looking like a hard news article (it's a work thing -_-). Anyway I'm the type who's too lazy to upload and edit images lol. 

I'll press on anyway. Because the husband's been bugging me for the lack of writing. 

There's a MEGA huge misconception about maternity leave. I mean, it's "LEAVE" and it's four fricking months long. Sounds awesome to most people. Like a dream. Like a sabbatical. Eat Pray Love. To non-parent people, I mean. Maternity leave was like having to run on chicken essence pure adrenaline due to the steep learning curve of parenthood. 

Because...

1. Mama became a raging ball of hormones, feeling demoralised and pissed off half the time for no reason. 

2. Mama constantly feels (or made to feel) that she's under-performing. Lay off the "advice", people!

3. Breastfeeding. Another rant for another day (another long article for this!).

4. Cranky baby is cranky. 

5. Sleep. What sleep?

Teaser to more ranting posts ahead. 

Anyway, I have some really good review posts coming up. Maternity leave was also the season of experimentation, and I learnt so many things that no one told me about. I won't proclaim myself a guru, as different stuff work for different babies, but it's cool to try. Stay tuned.

Here's a random picture of my boy to end this post. I'm starting to miss the newborn version already, though he's such a cutie pie now. 


Despite all the bitching, nothing beats being Damien's mummy. :) BEST THING EVER.

It's Day 17 now, and I've finally managed to find some time to pen down my birth story... I can't believe two weeks had just flown by! It has been the most dramatic two weeks of my life, I think.

My last gynae appointment happened on 7th October when my gynae did a VE (vaginal examination) since the ultrasound showed that Little D was really low. "You're 3cm dilated," he said, and I was like HUH? Anyway, Little D was 37 weeks old and finally full-term, so he advised me to admit to the hospital tomorrow morning as I was ready for delivery.

I was kind of expecting it lah because I was already off my meds for pre-term labour, but the reality made me quite excited. :x 

That night, I had bloody show so I called the gynae up on his emergency line, and he told me that it's better to go to the hospital immediately. Omg. ._. Anyway, we picked up the bags and headed for Gleneagles. I was pushed to the 5th floor in a wheelchair (though I srsly didn't need it....) and changed into the hospital gown in the delivery suite.


There. My last bumpfie photo with Lil' D. I'm already missing my bump and baby kicks! 


The bed was actually more comfortable than it looks. The husband was sitting/sleeping on a comfy-looking armchair nearby, with my barang barang and stuff. 

I didn't really go into labour right away until the next morning when the gynae broke my waterbag and put me on some sort of induce drip to hasten my contractions. The contractions' pain came quite quickly after... I tried to distract myself by chatting with the husband and watching TV, but it got to the point where I curled up in pain and grabbed the sides of the bed just to hold still. The final straw came when the gynae came in to do yet another VE for me... You wouldn't want to know the gory details, but having a hand inside you in the middle of a contraction is just... PAIN. PAINNNNN. You get the drift.

And I only dilated an additional 0.5cm. Pffft.

The midwife asked whether I wanted to administer the epidural, laughing gas or the pethidine jab. I only had minutes to consider as I was already 5cm then? Full dilation sounded so far away, and I was only halfway there. -_- That was probably the last chance to get the epidural, and my contractions were already coming every half a minute, so...

I said yes.

Luckily for me, the anesthetist happened to be in the hospital so it was only a 15 minute wait (usually it takes about half an hour or so for the doctor to come). I think he almost gave up giving me the needle because my contractions were so tight in between and he had to administer the epidural in super speed. I dunno about others, but the needle didn't hurt at all. Or maybe I was too numb from the contractions pain lol. The anesthetist was complaining about his condo problem while giving me the needle, and he apologized for being unprofessional after that. I was like "Eh it's okay, I'm having a bad day too." XD

The epidural took effect quickly, and I feel asleep right after. OMG it was probably the best decision ever. It was nice to be able to sleep! But the part where you're unable to feel your legs felt really disturbing. Even my hands were numb.

I woke up about an hour or so later when the midwife came in again to do a VE and she said "You're ready to push."


My dilation suddenly went super speed on me. ._.

I had to start pushing to a certain extent before the midwife called the gynae in. The husband and midwife propped up my legs (limp until cannot!) and I tried pushing, but I really couldn't feel anything at all. Like I wouldn't be able to feel anything even if someone broke my legs at that very moment. Epidural worked too well for me, the midwife said.

The pushing process was alot harder than I thought, especially since I couldn't muster any energy to push much. After god-knows-how-long I pushed, my gynae finally came in and I continued pushing. I pushed for pretty long... until I threw up (that's how hard I pushed! -_-) and my gynae used vacuum to help Damien out as his heart rate was starting to drop.

I thought I was going to die lor, I was choking on my own vomit when I finally pushed the baby out.


My beautiful baby. :) Born on 8 October 2014, weighing 3kg and measuring 49cm (if I remember correctly lol). I was too overwhelmed to feel anything, so I just kept staring at him crying away as my gynae stitched me up.

First bonding. :)
First family photo. :D
I'm grateful for the husband's support and encouragement throughout the delivery. He held me on my side when I was administering epidural (where did the nurses go?!), offered me his arm to squeeze when I was in pain, encouraged me throughout the pushing process (he was standing for hours too!) and cleaned up my vomit even, without complaints. Since my phone died, he was also busy whatsapping people to update them of my status lol.

I was told that gynaes only appear at the last minute when they deliver the baby, but Dr John kept popping by to check on me throughout the delivery and during my stay. He stitched me up pretty quickly too, and my stitches have healed well as of now. :) Grateful for him too! Money well spent, heh.

Big love to all the Gleneagles' midwives and nurses as well, they were very smiley and took great care of me during my stay. It was a mighty fantastic experience. Money well spent too, though Gleneagles is really expensive. ._.

Huge love to all my family members, relatives and friends who have showered me with tons of Chicken Essences, flowers, fruits and other lovely gifts.

Obligatory Gem of Gleneagles shot. Baby Damien looks so much like his daddy!
Mummy and baby. :)
I've just gotten the hang of dealing with a baby, being a noob mum and all, and I hope to blog more often after this... I have loads to write about, and will share more in due time.

Okay it's time to feed (again).
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