*Okay to eat raw. All other listed foods should be cooked.

Some guides recommended mangoes too, but it sounds that it might be too sweet/heaty? That's for me, but that's really up to your comfort level.

Consistency should look something like this. Not TOO watery like soup ok.

How to cook:
The best way to retain nutrients is to steam and blend, but baking and blending is fine too. You can choose to blend with a little hot water or milk. I used his usual formula milk to blend with the foods so that he can get more used to the taste.

Several mummies swear by the Avent Steamer and Blender so I would say that it's a good product. I use my regular blender though - more washing I suppose, but my kitchen had no more space for any additional gadgets. :(


To freeze, or not to freeze?
Some people don't like the idea of freezing... I'm personally okay with that, but I didn't do much of it because I felt that it's easier to whip up smaller portions to feed within the day. Less cleaning. Less storage. Less hassle.

But if you DO happen to make too much extra, make sure that:

1. Puree foods are stored in cube trays or storage cubes with covers. Hygiene reasons.
2. Consume frozen cubes within 1 month. Google says 3 months, but I feel 1 month is optimal.
3. Consume refrigerated cubes within 24 hours. Google says 48 hours.
4. Do not use thawed breast milk to blend with fruit/veggie before freezing. Thawed and re-frozen breast milk = Fishiness to the max. Either use fresh breast milk or formula.

I fed Damien with rice cereal too, and here's what I went for.

I actually tested Damien on a few brands like Heinz, Nestle, etc. and this is BY FAR his favourite. Occasionally I mix in some fruit/vegetable puree but he's fine eating it without anything too. He's eating the multi-grain version now, since he's older and all. :)

Will do a write-up on the next stage of weaning soon! Will be including some simple recipes as well. :)

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).