5, 6, now 7th weeks…oh wow, time flies! 

Lara is doing well and certainly not wasting away according to her pediatrician.  My not so little 7 weeks old baby has put on a fair amount of weight and now weighs 5.2kg (up one and a half kilo from her birth weight).  And I was right about her bodysuit feeling tighter because she has grown by 5.3 cm since birth, and now measures 55.3cm!  She is a cool baby, chilled out, calm, happy and I like it like that!  She is still feeding every 3hrs during the day and stretches a bit longer during the night.  She sleeps with me at night and by herself in the bassinet during the day.

As for me, handling 3 kids day in day out certainly tired me out.  With a 5.5 yo, 3yo and a 7 weeks old, each has different level of needs, but we are working it really well together.  It is tiring, very hard work at the moment, but hey, when I tucked all 3 kids into their bed at night and see their sweet little faces when they are sound asleep…somehow the aching back, sore arms, tired legs, puffy eyes seem to fade away for a little while.  Sometimes when the older ones come to look for me just so that they could each give me good night kiss and a cuddle, it makes my heart feel a bit warmer again.  Or when their eyes lit up because they know mummy is making their favourite curry chicken and roti prata for dinner, I know they love me just as much as I do for them.  And when my 7 weeks old flashed me her cute little smile, that is priceless.

Lara 5 weeks old

When is awake, fully fed, she lies on her rocker, watching us and I can almost guarantee there will either be a brother or s sister that will sit next to her, sing to her, playing with her chubby little hand, cuddling her and she always have someone around her.

With a brother and sister that are always around her, she is very well looked after and entertained.

Or when she calms right down because big brother JD placed her on his lap when mummy is busy with somethingelse. 

Lara 6 weeks old

Completely and totally milk drunk on one Sunday afternoon.  She reminds me of a big fat caterpillar, haha.

But hang on, I have got hands and feet…I am a baby afterall, hee.

Lara 7 weeks  

Oh life is good, yawn, sleep, eat, wake up…

A bit of deep ponder wouldn’t hurt either.

Most of all, my big sister Chloe is always ready to keep me company.  She is always singing, dancing around me, but she is my big sister and she is a good company.

My husband said to me the other day “Lara has had a real calming effect on me”.  He loves having Lara fall sleep on him like this.  And I am sure she loves her daddy’s nice cushy shoulder too.  Another daddy’s little girl I foresee.

My mum spent the month of June with us in Perth.  My mum comes to visit me everytime I had a baby.  But this time round she stayed the longest which was blessed and wonderful for us all.  Mum’s and Lara’s timing worked out really well!  Lara was able to wait till her Wai Po arrived before she was ready to meet us all and that gave Jayden, Chloe some time to bond with their Wai Po before hand.

The kids love having their Wai Po around.  It didn’t take the kids long warming up to Wai Po, and before you know, the 2 monkeys were already jumping up and down on Wai Po’s bed in the evening.  It was a very quick warm up because the last time JD met his Wai Po was 3 years ago and Chloe was only a new born baby then.  So, it was very nice.

My mum went back home to Malaysia 3 weeks ago, and recently I asked JD and Chloe to say what they thought of their Waipo:

From JD and Chloe, Waipo…..

• can cook yummy tofu with chicken
• can made lots of butterflies with playdoh
• made butterfly puppets for me (Chloe)
• knows how to speak Chinese
• said to put my dirty dishes in the sink
• brought us to the park
• gave us lollies at the airport
• gave us presents
• left her fluffy slippers behind
• play swords with us, hee!
• planted flowers in the garden, but Chloe pulled it out again!
• cooked curry for us
• has now gone on another holiday (kids interpretation of mum returning to Malaysia)

Mum helped me with the cooking, laundry, taking care of Lara at home when I headed out to do the school runs, daycare, groceries and etc.   When Lara needed attention and I was not available, mum would cuddle her, gently talked and sang to her…and slowly Lara would fall asleep soundly and warmly in Wai Po arms.  Lara received a special love and care from her Wai Po.

 (Picture taken on 23rd June 09.  It was an evening, Waipo was holding Lara at 2.5weeks old and Chloe gently gave her baby sister a kiss)

(Picture taken on 28th June.  Waipo was telling Chloe to wave hello to the camera.  Lara was sound asleep in Waipo’s arm)

(Picture taken on 28th June.  Waipo with her 3 grandchildren, Jayden -5.5yo , Chloe – 3yo, Lara 3 weeks old)

During the month mum was here, she also prepared lots of wonderful dishes for me.  Ummm, I still miss her vinegared pork legs.

(Mum’s vinegared porktrotters, my favourite)

(Ginger wine chicken.  So heartwarming, so delicious with a bowl of rice on a cold winter night)

(A bowl of pork liver mee sua soup, with some ginger n tomato omelette.  And accompany with a cup of longan red dates drink. )

(Crispy mee suah served with ginger lean pork, pork liver and kidney, ummm, I love it)

Oooo, dinner time, what should I have?

I know,  mmmmmmilk…

Ah, here she comes, yippie!

She has grown, her size 0000 Bonds suits are tighter, and I can spot her round belly under her shirt now.  Hee.  And she is making noises, almost sound like “Ah goo…”

And I am almost getting a full smile soon.  For now, she communicates a lot through her eyes!

Chloe loves the “Wheels on the bus” nursery ryhme.  She has a little nursery rhyme song book, and we have to sing that song every night and she will do the whole actions thing with it.  Honestly, after that many times, I am getting a bit tired of it!  Thankfully, one afternoon, instead of asking me to sing it again, she sat quietly in the playroom and drew this.  It is her version of “People on the bus”.  The black circles were the  wheels for the bus.  And I must say she has quite a good cutting skills.  She roughly drew out the shape of a bus, and cut along the line pretty neatly.

It’s nice to see how our kids grow!

And a few weeks before she turned 3, she brought home a drawing she did at daycare. 

She called it “Sunny Days”.

Three is a special birthday.  The first one she really understand and immersed in the whole meaning of it (from a 3yo perspective).

Day and night, weeks before she turned 3, she knew birthday was a special thing with cakes, candles, balloons, presents and fun.

Everyday she pretend played “Happy Birthday”, singing it loud, blowing the candles in the air complete with its sound effect, gesturing with her 3 little fingers that she is turning 3 to everybody!  Not forgetting spending her few minutes before sleep each night telling us her present wishlist!

For her at this age, all she wanted was a “flower cake” and butterflies!  Funny isn’t it.  And when asked whom she wanted at the party, she only wanted to invite her “daddy, mummy, Jayden and baby”.  Sweet.  And when I asked what party food she wanted, this little girl requested for “noodles, prawn crackers and duck!” hahaha, my very Cina girl!

The flower cake she requested.  It was very simple.  I got a cake from the bakery, though I had wanted to make her a butterfly cake!  But honestly, with a 5 weeks old baby, 3 kids, running the household, the lack of sleep and energy, a bought cake was a smarter choice for me.  As for the flowers she requested, I looked through my baking supplies, and found a little packet of flower sugar decoration!  3 little flowers for a girl turning 3.

I love the these two pictures of her.  Like a big girl, she quietly admired her cake, with a smile on her face, truly understand the meaning of birthday.  It was true happiness written on her face, and looked at how she placed her hands on the table, full of confidence, full of pride, truly like a big sister now too. 

Not forgetting her presents.  The grin, the happiness she expressed.   That night before she went to bed, she said to me “Mummy, thank you for the birthday.”  I felt touched by her words.  She is indeed growing up and I am thankful for her being appreciative.   

I love her.  She will always be my Miss C!  My no nonsense Miss C!  My little Miss C that loves ballerina, butterflies, princess but whom also enjoy running in the backyard pretend play Ben 10 or Star Wars with her brother, riding on her bike chasing the monsters, camping out in the tent, digging in the sand, jumping on the trampoline.  She is a character!

小宝宝满月了！

爸爸妈妈， 哥哥姐姐，外公外婆， 家里大大小小。。。 

希望妳，在这童年里，天天都充满快乐，玩的好，睡的好，吃的好。

爸爸妈妈也感谢大家在这月里对宝宝Lara的覌怀和爱心！特别是外婆的疼爱和耐心！感谢外婆！ 外婆好棒！

(Lara has turned one month old!  Thank you all for the well wishes.  Mummy and daddy love you lots and may your childhood be filled with love and happiness from those around you.) 

(Pictures taken on 4th July 2009 when Lara turned 1 month old).

And for the grandparents, aunties and friends overseas..I am sorry we can’t deliver the red eggs and loh mee fun over, but here are the pics for you to savour.

These will be the only 2 men she will love in her life, for a little while anyway….

Lara was a name I chose for her.  It has a lot of meaning for us, because I feel she brings a special joy and meaning to the family.

Lara as a name was chosen for its meaning of cheerfulness, joyfulness, lighthearted and brightness.

So, with help from my mum, we have chosen 恺晶 for her chinese name.

 恺- 和乐，快乐

晶 – 闪耀發光

In the last 3 weeks Lara has had a real calming effect on me.  I enjoy bonding with her.  This 3rd time round, I approach the whole motherhood experience with a new and different kind of maturity plus peacefulness.  It is also because I have matured even more over the years , became more at ease with myself and most importantly fully embraced the role of being a mum .

The middle of the night feed, when everyone else is alseep is a different kind of experience compared to before.  There I was, with my new baby, quietly nursing her, listening to her every suckle and breath.  Her head snuggly tucked between the crook of my neck and shoulders, the warmth of her tiny little body…that it makes it all so special even when the whole house, whole street is sleeping.

The last 3 weeks have been great, albeit tiring at another level.  It can be very tiring some days, managing 3 young children at home, doing the school runs, the cooking, cleaning, washing, groceries shopping, umpiring the fights between the 2 other kids, making sure everyone still stick to their daily routine…it is hard work, but being organised is the key.  Some days I snapped and roared at everyone around me, but let’s just stick to the good days for the moment.  I am still taking one day at a time, not even trying to do too much but do only what I need for the time being.

Lara is very well loved by all in the family.  Her older brother and sister love her to bits.  They are fascinated by her.  They fight to sit next to her int he car, so much so I have to shift all the child seats around.  JD likes to call Lara “My chubby baby” and sits at the sofa next to her quietly admiring her face and has more than once told me his baby sister is cute!  Jd loves to rub the tip of his nose on his lil sis’s cheeks.  He has been bringing Lara’s photos to school for show and tell, proudly introduce his new sisters to his school teachers and friends.

Chloe has taken to her little sister a lot better than I expected.  I was very concerned that she might feel jealous by a new sister.  But so far so good, she has been full of love for her sister.  She loves giving Lara lots of kisses, cuddles and fusses around her baby sister.  A few days ago, she stood next to Lara’s cot, on her tippy toe, explaning to Lara about her position in the family.  LOL.  This was what I heard “Lara, listen, now you are the baby, and now I am the mummy, allright!  I am a big girl already, not a baby anymore.  You are!”.  

It’s hard for me to find time to write these days, so here’s a recap of the last 3 weeks with Lara.

Lara – Week One

Her waking hours were spent studying our faces, listening to the voices around her.  She spent most of her time sleeping, warmly wrapped up in her blankets, doing what a model newborn should be doing

Lara – Week Two

She seemed more alert.  Here eyes are dark, expressive and lit up when someone is talking to her.  By the end of week 2, we noticed her cry were stronger and we could somehow figure out the cry for milk or “I am so sleepy” type of cry. 

Lara – Week Three

And by week 3, I think she could even do a little dance, hee.  A bit of traditional chinese folk dancing, 嫦娥奔月， you think？  Check out her fingers.  But in just under 2 weeks, this little baby has put on over half a kilo!  My nurse jokingly commented that I should consider setting up a milk bank in my neighbourhood.

The milestone this week is noticing Lara turning her eyes to search for me in the room when she hears me talk. 

Week Four – Lara

Her cheeks are filling up nice and round.  She is a bundle.  She is satisfied as long as she has a full tummy and not sleepy.  When her tummy is happy, she will lay happily in her bassinet in the living room, listening to the noises around her, the sound of soft music playing in the background, the siblings talking, the vacumm cleaner when I clean the house, the exhaust fan in the kitchen…And when she is tired, she will either fall asleep on her own, or if she is sleepy but she has difficulty settling herself, I will wrap her up in a blanket, cuddle her, and she would fall asleep in my arms.