Nadya's First Step

In celebration of nadya's first step on earth, we present this video (above) to dear family and friends! Needless to say, this important milestone was recorded in our "Little Milestones" Kit.

It is interesting how different Nadya's first step was in comparison to Vera(video below taken 2 years ago). Nadya seemed so ready for this moment, even though it was her first. Maybe it is because we never hurried her, unlike Vera, when we literally forced her to take her first step one day after her first birthday when we decided "it was time". I guess we were really anxious back then. This time with Nadya, you can say we are the super chilled parents who simply waited till she was ready on her own. No pressure. Ahh...the benefits of being the second born.

Vera's first step at 12 months -Nov 2007

Nadya's 1st CNY

Someone puuleazzee save me from these adults!

Contrasting schedules

With the blink of an eye and Nadya will soon be 1 month old. It has been quite a crazy month and each day just whizzes pass faster than the speed of light.

There is very little distinction between night and day for me. I am nursing Nadya every three hours, with each session lasting 40 mins to 1 hour. Which means that if I am lucky, I get 2 hours off each time to tend to Vera, answer emails, fulfil orders, blog, take a nap, eat, visit the loo etc...

We have not introduced expressed breast milk in the bottle with Nadya yet as I want to feed her direct for as long as I can. You can call me a "purist" in that sense but I believe the skin-to-skin contact and 1-to-1 time I have while nursing Nadya is very important. This is "our time" when I can enjoy bonding and getting to know her.

I was clearing out my old diaries just the other day and came across Vera's feeding "log book" which I recorded 2 years ago. I remember how stressed out I was then, trying to establish a schedule in the beginning, 20 mins each side, 40 minutes each time, every 3 hours. It was really hard, especially for a 1st time mom who gets grouchy when she doesn't get enough sleep (see below).

(above): Typical feeding schedule - click image to enlarge. It is pretty much the same schedule I am keeping with Nadya now although I am not writing it down. I recorded everything down back then as it was hard at times trying to remember how long I had fed and which side I last fed on. I actually also invented a code to record the time of feed, which breast I last fed on etc and was very close to inventing a stop watch just for recording the nursing time. I settled for a $2 kitchen timer in the end. As you can see, it is a 24/7 job.

Contrast the schedule above to the working schedule I had just before giving birth (see below). This is proof that being a full-time mom is really more taxing than a full-time job!! Say goodbye to leave, holidays etc!!

(above) Typical work schedule at the office before having kids - click image to enlarge. Ok, my time is up! I believe I am being called for another feed...

Our first shopping trip out

We decided that I was tired of staying home one day and decided to make a trip to Tangs to get this (have been eyeing this for the longest time). Here is Dada, carrying Nadya in the very macho Pink Dotties pouch (one of our best sellers). He drew many stares from the crowd which I am glad he was quite oblivious to. And quite naturally, Nadya slept like a doll in the cradle carry.

Currently listening to while nursing Nadya

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Delivery by C-Section

It has been quite a challenging week. Besides nursing round the clock and balancing the needs of a newborn and demanding 2 year old, there are still many orders and enquiries for the online shop that need to be tended to.

Just thought I would take a break by sharing a little about my journey as a "new-mom-again" so far, starting with how Nadya was born.

I have to say that the whole delivery process this time felt really surreal. Unlike the first time when I was in labour for 15 hours before going for an emergency c-section, this time everything seemed so orderly and pre-meditated as it was a planned c-section due to the expected size of the baby.

Vitali and I checked into the hospital in the early afternoon after a visit to the hair salon (I decided that I needed to have a hair wash since I knew I was not going to be able to walk for the next day). It felt like we were checking into a hotel for a holiday, except that there was also an immense sense of deja-vu as we entered the hospital. Weren't we just here just recently to welcome our first baby? How time flies!

When it was time for me to be wheeled into the operating theatre, it started to dawn on me that we were going to meet our new baby soon. While I was excited, I was also quite nervous as I recalled the trembling, vommiting and hallucinations I experienced the first time I had Vera. I prayed that this time would be better although it didn't help that I had to notice some bright red spots of blood on the ceiling of the operating theatre where I was parked. How did that get there...hmm....ok, close eyes, don't think, never saw it, don't want to know. Period.

The anaesthetist came in to give me a jab to numb my lower body and Vitali joined me shortly after I entered the theatre. Everything ok so far and I was still conscious and feeling quite fine, unlike the first time when I had already passed out of fright at this point in time.

I tried to keep my eyes focussed on Vitali, think happy thoughts and engaged in a dinner-like conversation with my gynae. Before I knew it, she happily announced that the baby was going to come and the nurses in the room started to push my tummy. I heard a cry soon after and the feeling of joy was immense when I realised that Nadya was born. I made it and heard the baby's first cry! Praise God! The nurses quickly wrapped Nadya up and placed her on my chest. That was when the picture above was taken and I was still in the process of being "stitched up". Yikes!

So this is the story of how Nadya entered the world. Not as drama and long-drawn as Vera's entry but different and just as memorable.

While it has been a tiring week since then, I really thank God for this little bundle of joy. I have been trying to savour every moment of this new journey as I know how fast babies grow. I guess the point of me sharing this on this blog is to assure other moms who have to go for a c-section for one reason or another not to feel too scared. It really isn't bad as some people make it or what we imagine it to be.

Of course, if you can deliver naturally, why not? But if for some reason you can't, then do enjoy the alternative process of delivery that medical advancement has enabled. The joy of hearing your baby cry for the first time and holding him/her in your arms will make up for any fear or doubts you might have about a c-section delivery.