It's 2 Days To Friday!

Ethan : Yay! It's 2 days to Friday! And I'm 7 weeks now!!

Time indeed flies. I've been back in Sibu for two and half months, and a week from now, Ethan and myself will be flying back to Malacca. I've quitted my job in AMD Singapore the previous week, thanks to God's favour that bosses agreed to release me without having to serve the 2 months' notice period. It's a decision made earlier, before I came back to Sibu, before Len started his new job in Malacca. Placing family's priority, taking into account baby's welfare, cost of living, matters of settling down, after much prayer and consideration, Len and I have decided that Malacca is a better place to continue our journey as a family with Ethan, at least for the time being.

I have no definite plans at the moment, haven't started looking for job though I still intend to work later. My main objective now is to settle things down in Malacca and ensure Ethan grows healthily for his first few months. Meantime, I'll just take my time and seek God for His will for my life, what He wants me to do, and where He wants to place me. It's the time of waiting and trusting again :)

Ethan is sleeping as I'm typing this. His activities are pretty much routine in a sense that he mostly sleeps through morning and night, waking every 2-3 hours for mum-mum. It's only during the evening ie. 2-6pm that he wakes up, stretches, giggles, chuckles, plays, gets cranky, cries and screams with all his might! Phew, that's the trying time, so happens that's also my tv time (I've been joining mom in her movie series 'marathon' from 230-530pm on ntv7 since I came back, haha). I guess he's scared of heat, that's why he gets restless during the hottest part of the day. There were some days when it rained at noon, Ethan would just sleep through.

Nevertheless, it's enchanting to see him smile. He is happy and smiles a lot when he wakes up in the morning around 6-8am and after his bath. Babies are so simple and innocent, they remind me of what Jesus asked of us to come to Him with childlike faith :)

Happy Baby

These pics are 'freshly' taken this morning. Happened to candid shot baby Ethan smiling as he was in a good mood after a long night zz and mum mum.


TGIF :)


Is my smile sexy?


Or it's sexier without revealing my tongue?


Give you a big, wide smile


Yess..I'm a happy baby!


Baby currently weights 4.6kg, and is beginning to respond to our conversation with him with giggles, 'ang kng' word and some other chuckling sounds.


Say cheeese

Joke Of The Day

This is supposed to back date 2 days ago as it happened the previous day ;)

Baby Ethan let out a loud fart (trust me, it's as loud as we adults fart, even I was shocked), so loud that he jumped out of his sleep and cried loudly as a result from the shock.

Soo funny...haha...

Some Pics

Some recent pics of Baby Ethan from the simple 'full moon' celebration last Sat. Ordered a cheese cake for all to makan, buddy came by later to join in. It so happened Ethan was sleeping so soundly that he didn't want to wake up no matter how we call or shake him. Hehe..that reminds me of MLTR's 'sleeping child'

Oh my sleeping child,
The world's so wild
And you build your own paradise
That's one reason why
I'm calling you sleeping child..


From left : daddy(Len), mummy(myself), grandma(mum), baby, grandpa(dad), uncle(bro Vic), maid (Harti)


Baby Ethan with grandparents


Baby Ethan with uncle


Baby Ethan with me and my buddy (Collina)


My sleeping child


Baby with confinement nanny 'Ah Lan' (pic taken a few days earlier)

Ethan Is One Month Today

Ethan is 'full moon' today, and I'm freed from confinement...finally, yay!
Time passes fast, baby has been growing, feeding happily and healthily. He is a strong (and rough) boy. He can lift up his head and stand on his legs even from the first week. Now he's beginning to respond to people talking to him by turning his eyeballs towards him/her, and his smiles are more frequent too. He loves bathing time, as he can kick and swim happily in the lil bath tub. Nanny begins to toilet train him by letting him sit on a 'tampoi' and make the 'ngk ngk' sound to stimulate his poo poo, and it's pretty amusing to see how his bundle of poo flows out, and that leaves him happy and relieved after that, hehe. Thank God for seeing him through the past month.

Papa Len will be flying over tomorrow. Meanwhile, will continue to rest and relax before I bring baby back to Malacca early July. Have a blessed weekend, everyone! Will upload more pics later. Cheers :)

Ethan's Baby Shower

Mom's cell group friends, with the 'shower' dishes


Me and my high-school friends


Cool term 'baby shower' being used here ;p I wanted to blog about last Sat's makan session but was wondering what term to use, thought of just calling it baby Ethan's thanksgiving. Thanks to Huai Bin who is a step faster than me to blog about this (www.sixthseal.com) :)

In Foochow culture (that's 50% of my ethnic - another 50% Teochew), unlike most other Chinese ethnics, they don't celebrate baby's fullmoon. Rather they will invite friends and relatives over to their places for makan, and this is usually held within the first month, some as early as the first 2 weeks. The main dish served is misua with chicken soup, eggs, followed by some other extra dishes.

Most guests who came (friends and relatives) are my parents and grandpa's invitees. For me, I just asked my high-school friends who're in Sibu to come together for Sat lunch. It was great to see them again, as normally this kind of gathering only occurs once a year during Chinese New Year, and yea, I have to admit I feel kinda old as most have not settled down.

Everyone felt happy though tired that day. Baby Ethan is a blessing to us :)

Here are some of his pics taken this morning of my sleeping child, I think he has grown a lil rounder, hehe

10 days old

Baby Ethan is 10 days old today. He's been sleeping and feeding well, I've managed to breastfeed him successfully (yay, another milestone for me as a new mother ;p), though tiring nevertheless it's rewarding. Each day I'm learning new skills on how to take care of my precious one, changing his nappy when he poo/urine, understanding his needs when he cries, feeling contented each time I manage to resolve his cry. Every 2-3 hours he'll cry of hunger, shortly after each feed, he'll poo or urine. Compared to feeding him with milk powder the first few days, breastmilk is better in a way it helps him to digest faster and poo/urine more, according to paediatrician it also helps to flush out his jaundice.

Baby Ethan got a bit of jaundice, thus was hospitalised for 2 nights for the phototherapy treatment last week. His condition has been improving since, and we'll send him for another blood test later today to check the jaundice level. Let's hope that he'll be alright as jaundice is quite a common thingy esp among Chinese babies.

Papa Len was here over the last weekend, he simply missed his son (and me too, I hope, hehe) so much that he decided last minute to fly over, taking advantage of Mon's public holiday (wesak day).


Like father, like son


Len & Len Jr

More recent pics of baby Ethan (any chance his features will change to look at least 10% like me? haha)


Our lil angel





I'm in my 2nd week of confinement (2 more weeks to go..tsk tsk). Been eating heaty stuffs, taking 5 meals a day, frantically sweating away after each meal. I've lost 9kg after giving birth, and additional 2kg past few days (guess it's due to sleepless nights and breastfeeding). Currently my weight is 65kg, so 7kg more to shed. Been confined in my bedroom together with baby Ethan, banned from going downstairs. Time seems to pass so slowly I've even lost count today is Friday.

Well, have a great weekend everyone! Don't forget to catch the movie 'Indiana Jones' cos someone here is wondering when she'll be able to go for movies again...

A Proud Father,Hubby

13th May 2008,11.05pm - My child is born and Ethan Teoh Yong Shen is his name. It was the happiest moment of my life to witness the miracle of GOD! My heart beat fast as I saw him come out. His eyes were open and he cried. The doctor cut his umbilical cord and attached the cord blood to the cryocord bag. The doc's handwork was pretty fast but he never offered me to cut the umbilical cord..what man..maybe he knew how I felt at that moment by looking at my face...hehe. So he handed Ethan to two of the mid wives. I watched him from a distance maybe 3-4 meters away. As I stood there a question popped in my mind whether is this really real?? My world was silent for awhile as my eyes just focus on Ethan.
I just couldn't believe that there is now an additional member in my family! :)
The mid wife's laughter caught my attention again...
1st one cleaned Ethan's body and the other one attached tube into Ethan's nose and mouth. I got a shock when the 2nd mid wife did her job! The tube was pushed into Ethan's nose and mouth. My heart shouted " Wei,what are you doing ah?" Anyway I just kept silent as I watched the mid wives carry out their duties. After completing their duties they called me to see Ethan nearer. Ethan was wrapped in a towel with his eyes open wondering where he is now.I called his name and he seemed to recognize it, wondering the voice came from. I touched him and later I decided to carry him. As I held him in my arms my heart just felt the warmth, I was overjoyed!

For my wife she's the so called champion of the "marathon" and deserved my highest respect.Though she was in terrible pain,agony and restlessness she determined herself to endure through that critical moment.I was with her all the way and there was nothing much I can do and even words of encouragement didn't seems to help in her situation.But she told me that my presence to be with her was all she wanted.
She battled the pain for many many hours and she was really really tired when the pushing of the baby moment arrived.I just don't know how to explain on her pain at that time.I know it must be God to grant her the strength to do it!At last she did it!
I have to admit that God granted women extra ordinary strength than men do.Well it's up to a person to believe it or not.
I thank God for HIS goodness and faithfulness. HIS love and mercy endures forever.
I also thank family members and friends for their continuous support in prayer for Lis and baby Ethan.

Well Lis and I have chosen the name Ethan Teoh Yong Shen for our son. It means
Ethan = endurance,strong,steadfast
Yong = glorious
Shen = victory

All glory to God!

Len

Ethan Teoh Yong Shen

Jeng jeng jeng!! Here he is, Ethan Teoh Yong Shen, born on the 13 May at 11.05pm, weigh 3.2kg. I was admitted at 8.00am and started induction at 8.30am (cervix was still thick and hadn't dilated). Didn't feel any pain for the first dosage's 4 hours limit. Doc checked my cervix at 12.30pm and it has dilated 2 cm.

Started drip on 12.30pm, mild contraction slowly began. Cervix dilation progressed real slow (only 4pm at 6pm), according to midwife it's because this is my first pregnancy, hence my cervix is thick. At 7pm, contraction became stronger, and stronger as time passed by. I kept telling myself to hang on, that it's just another couple of hours more to go before I can see my precious child. Papa Len was with me all the while, helping me to relax and reminding me to breathe correctly.

9.30pm, the pain was getting unbearable (cervix dilated to 7cm). I began to shout and cry, at certain points I almost wanted to give up. Mom came in and tried to give additional support. With both hubby and mom by my side, and with prayers from relatives and friends, and of course with God's grace, somehow I made it through that most painful moment in my life.

Baby Ethan's cry was first heard at 11.05pm with the help of vacuum delivery from doc. With limited energy left, I had to use the alternative method. It was also discovered then the cord hanging around baby's neck is also blocking one of his hands, that's why it was hard to push him out with my might.

I was soo relieved when I saw a round black thingy (without spec,at that point I was wondering what that could be - turned out to be baby's hair, haha) come out. Ethan is so hairy, not only he has much hair, but his forehead, face, shoulders are hairy too!

Guess it's pretty clear whom his features take after...his papa lor. Except for the hairy part which papa insists is from my side, hhmmmm...

The bundle of joy is here, as the journey of parenthood resumes for Len & I :)

Due Yet Still In Queue

Hmm..seeing the wordings above ' baby Ethan 2 days overdue' is making me the more anxious to see baby Ethan make his move out. I've been MIA (missing in action) the past few days, but..Ethan is not yet out. Day by day I'm crossing my fingers, waiting for any contraction symptom. I've crossed the May 1 target, passed the May 8 due date, hmm..will we make it for Mother's Day (May 11) this round? Went to see gynae yesterday, my cervix hasn't dilated, and since baby Ethan is doing well (current weight is 3.3kg) and still active on the move, doc still thinks I should go for natural delivery. If the cervix has dilated even a lil, he would have delivered for me yesterday.

I'm getting more anxious each day as I wait for our bundle of joy to arrive. Papa Len is currently back here with me, and I'm thankful for his presence and support which means much to me at this moment. By next Monday if baby isn't out, doc will have to induce for me. Still crossing my fingers, praying that God would grant me natural and pain-free labour, and the availability of resources - doc, nurses, maternity ward, delivery room, papa Len, and of course His presence.

Lord, teach me to be patient as I go through the next few days...till then, have a great weekend everyone. Hope my next blog will have a breakthrough entrance :)

39 weeks on 30 April

I believe I can fly..cos I am 39 weeks high..baby Ethan

Tomorrow we're moving into the month of May, will baby Ethan make his move tomorrow, May 1? That remains a question mark. Nothing much happens today, felt some poking sensations that cause me to urine more frequently (at least twice an hour). I assume it could be baby moving downwards.

Last night I dreamt that I've given birth to baby Ethan, and it was PAINLESS! I couldn't believe it could be that easy, and when I turned my head around, I saw baby Ethan sitting on the chair! So fast can sit up already?! Haha, of course that didn't make sense, and as I looked at the date it was 29 April, and I was like 'Oo..2 days short from May 1'. Well, that's just a dream lar

Anyway, let's see if something happens tonight or tomorrow. If not, guess I'll continue with our waiting journey in the next 1 or 2 days. Happy Labour Day to everyone!

I'm Still Waiting

I'm still waiting...
When is he coming?

Baby Ethan is still taking his sweet time in the womb, as to now, there's no false alarm yet. I'm waiting as each day passes by, it's been 2 weeks since I came back to Sibu, preparing for labour. Went to see gynae last night, apparently baby's head is pretty low so according to him, it should be quite soon, but then, only God knows exactly when he'll be out.

In His time,
In His time,
He makes all things beautiful in His time..

Just heard from my friends that 2 of my other friends whose babies are due in May have already popped out. So fast! That makes me the more eager for my turn to come. Even more so each time I visit the singaporemotherhood's forum I read about the excited mothers spreading the good news about their babies' arrival. Awww..

Well, actually I've been hoping that baby Ethan will come out on 1st May which is labour day (labour as in giving birth) so it'll be easy to remember, and also meaningful as we celebrate Ethan's birthday each year and he'll be reminded that this day x years ago, mummy was in labour for him, hehe. That's my wishful thinking, wonder if it'll come true? Hmm..

How's everyone's week going along? Guess most of my friends out there are busy harvesting their works, so is daddy Len, whereas I'm right here waiting for the bundle of joy to come along. Have a blessed week everyone :)

I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever

This morning, a piece of thought came to my mind to write a song for baby Ethan. I didn't have inspiration for new tune as it has been long since I last wrote one. Somehow, one of my favourite Hillsongs played in my mind, so I decided to improvise the song
'I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever'...

We Will Sing Of Your Love Forever

Over the mountains and the sea
Your gift of love for Len and Lis

Your river runs with love for me
Ethan's his name our son to be

And I will open up my heart
Strong, steadfast, wise, his name carries

And let the Healer set me free
To show the love You have for him

I’m happy to be in the truth
With thankful hearts we bring to You

And I will daily lift my hands
This song of praise and love for You

For I will always sing of
For we will always sing of

When Your love came down
When Your love came down

Chorus :
I could sing of Your love forever
We will sing of Your love forever

I could sing of Your love forever
We will praise Your name forever

I could sing of Your love forever
We will love - You, Lord, forever

I could sing of Your love forever
As a family we'll sing together

Green denotes the improvised lyrics of this song. It's more of a song of love and praise to God (You) from us (we - Len, Lis and Ethan :) )

38

Yeah, the title says it all. Baby Ethan is 38 weeks today :) No significant signs of labour yet, felt some minor menstrual cramp pasts 2 days but they only lasted for a while, so can't say these are true-enough-to-be-false alarms.

This noon, Mom and I went to check out the maternity ward and delivery suite where I'll be delivering at Rejang Medical Centre. Sibu is just a small town, so is this private medical centre which is built among a few row of shophouses. It's operated by 2 gynaecologist brothers, and one of them, Dr Peter, is my gynae. They have 2 delivery suites, and 10+ wards. Met up with the midwives who're mainly retired nurses, friendly aunties who managed to assure me they know their tasks well. What I'm worried about is the availability of the ward during the time of my labour as the rooms are fully occupied today, so prayerfully baby Ethan's arrival would be timely whereby the nurses and rooms and doctor and...papa Len would be available. One of the midwives said my tummy looks 'ready' to give birth, estimate one week.

Well, I guess I'm 70-80% ready for labour now. Got some milk powder samples from mom's pharmacy friend and also prepared the place for baby to sleep in. Baby Ethan is still on his moves every now and then. One day passed = one day closer to EDD = one day lesser to seeing baby Ethan..

Baby at Week 38 :
As you know, you've arrived at the final leg of your pregnancy journey, and if you're still carrying your little love around, they've just about reached their birth weight (somewhere between 6 to 8 pounds is average depending on whether they're a boy or girl). There really isn't a lot to report on baby this week, so lets do a quick recount of where we're at: all internal organ systems are pretty much ready for the outside world, they've got their meconium stockpile building up (their first black baby poo), lots of healthy baby fat, a rapidly developing brain (that'll keep growing with them for years to come), and they've more or less reached official baby status-- all they need to do is "head out" and say hello to the rest of the world and especially their ready-to-pop momma.

Rain Down

Rain down on me
Rain down on me
Here in Your presence I am free
Pour down like rain
Come and touch me again
Lord let Your presence fall on me..

Rain is pouring again in this lil' town of Sibu. Thank God for the few drops of rains He sends almost each day to cool me down. Showers of blessings, as the chorus of Planet Shaker's 'Rain Down' plays in my mind, makes me appreciative of the beauty of this nature our beautiful Creator has invented.

It's Monday, the start of another new week. Will baby Ethan make his entrance to this world this week? I guess I'm 60-70% ready for labour, packed my emergency bag the recently passed weekend. Also been exercising my pelvic muscles (thanks to lessons taught in ante-natal class) and walking, hopefully these would help to ease labour.

Have a great week ahead, everyone, while I'm listening to the rhythm of the falling rain...

It's TGIF again

Heyo, how is everyone doing? Hope all is well :) I'm still alive here, in case some of you may be wondering if I've gone missing the past few days, well, I'm still carrying my big tummy, waiting for baby Ethan to make his way out.

It's a rainy day, thank God for the cool weather. Aunty Judy from Miri (dad's younger sis) is here for a day company trip. Over lunch just now, she and mum were discussing about how to prepare confinement food. It seems that the Foochows eat 6 meals (yes, the figure is correct, 6 precisely! haha) a day for confinement, and the menu consists mainly of 'spare parts' (different organs of animals). Apparently, they believe by eating specific organ ie. kidney, it'll help to 'bu' (improve the health condition) the mum's kidney, and the same applies for other organs. Being a 'spare part' lover, I don't have problem with that, hehe, but of course, too much of something is not good either. And thank God mama ((I'm using 'mama' to refer to my mum to avoid confusion between calling myself 'mum' and her :p) said it's not necessary to follow the culture here, as long as I'm comfortable and have enough to eat, that's good enough. Phew..

For baby's full moon, normally the main dish to serve guests is misua (long thin Chinese noodle) with chicken soup. Mama has standby 10kg of 'misua' and couple of bottles of red and white wine. I was astonished to see that as she showed my aunt what she has. Bravo mama! While they were chatting over the lunch table, I could feel baby Ethan kicking excitingly, as if he's happily anticipating his own arrival :)

Weekend is approaching again, time flies, let me enjoy the last few days being a pre-mum before the first cry of Len & my firstborn is heard. Blessed weekend, everyone!

Baby E is 37 weeks today

Baby E (Ethan) : Yuppie, I'm full term today! I can come out anytime..ngek ngek..kekke..

Yea, baby is in his 37th week today, and this means that if he arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though actual due date is still three weeks away. This morning I asked baby, "When are you popping out ar?" Almost instantenously he responded with several kicks for quite awhile. Haha, not sure if that's an eager remark that he's looking forward to the big day, or either that, he still wishes to swim longer? Whenever it will be, will just leave it to nature to take its course, our Creator to orchestrate the wholesome event :)

At 37 weeks :

You are considered full-term now and your baby's final touches are being made. The crown-to-rump length of your baby is now 14 inches and the total length is around 21 inches. Your baby weighs approximately 6.5 pounds. Your uterus may be measuring about the same as it has been and is probably about 6.5 inches from the top of your bellybutton. This week your baby should engage into your pelvis. If this is not your first pregnancy, it may happen later. When your baby engages, his head drops down into your pelvis and you might feel a slight sensation called `lightening` as the pressure on your ribs eases. As your baby drops into the final postion for delivery, you may experience a buzzing feeling and shooting pains in your groin and leg. Normally, you will be able to breathe and eat easier. However, your uterus pushes down harder on your bladder and you will have an increased urge to urinate more frequently. Even if your baby engages now, you still possibly feel his feet in your breastbone around week 40. Your baby is now fully mature and ready to be born. However, your baby is still growing and developing every day. Fat is still be laid down at a rate of a half ounce a day. If this is your first pregnancy, you can expect to deliver closer to 40 weeks or shortly thereafter. If this is not your first baby, you might go earlier than 40 weeks! Make sure that your bags are packed for the hospital and remember to preregister for admission. Your doctor may begin doing weekly pelvic exams to evaluate your cervical changes and progression. Your healthcare provider will make sure that you are not leaking amniotic fluid and will also examine your cervix to check for effacement and dilation. Before labor, your cervix is thick and 0% effaced. During labor your cervix thins out and right before delivery it will become very soft and 100% effaced. Research shows your baby can be affected by stress hormones. Make time to relax, to have fun, and to rest. Your baby has learned to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing so it can do all three when breastfeeding after birth. Babies practice shallow breathing before birth, using amniotic fluid.

Hmm, that means baby's head could be engaged anytime soon. I'm already at the peak of my weight (74.2kg, having put on 16 kg so far!), am already calculating the amount of fats that I need to lose after this, tsk tsk.