Archive for the ‘Confinement’ Category

My confinement lady leaves tomorrow morning. I am feeling bittersweet about it. It means I will be able to reclaim my kitchen (and house!) and I’ll be able to wash my hair everyday and drink Coke! However, I will miss her wonderful cooking and also her help, especially during the night. I suppose all good things must come to an end.

She was supposed to stay with me until 11th Oct as her next job isn’t due till the 16th. However, her customer called her today to inform her that she has already delivered, 2 weeks early. Hence she has to leave because she had taken on this job prior to my extending her. Tough luck for me as I only managed to sneak in one week of proper rest. In addition, my boss called and requested me to return work on the 19th, which is 2 weeks ahead of my formal return due to resourcing issues. I’ve agreed out of goodwill and commitment.

This time around, it’s with a tinge of regret that I didn’t manage to do the things I’d planned to do during the confinement period. Perhaps it’s written in the stars that I’ll be a fulltime slave to my boys – at least for the next couple of years

I feel like a roll of sushi at the moment. I’m tied up so tightly that I have to sit upright in front of the PC, which may not be such a bad thing afterall.  I just had my first session of post-natal massage. And this is my first time as I never dared to engage one for my earlier two pregnancies. You know, I’ve heard of a few tales of how your womb can be injured or twisted if post-natal massage is done incorrectly.

The massage, which took place in the comfort of my own bedroom, started innocently enough. She started massaging my legs and thighs with deep, long rubs. Just as I was starting to doze off, she started rubbing my tummy rather vigorously. She rolled the loose piece of flesh (!!) around, as Bryan would with his PlayDoh. And then all the pulling and tugging started! My, oh my – it was really painful! Apparently, this technique is to help move the womb upwards and back into its original position. I don’t know the great fuss about my inards not being in the right position, but I quietly grit my teeth and pray that the ordeal would be over soon.

After what I felt was like eternity, she moved away from my tummy area to concentrate on my arms, shoulders and neck. Now, that felt really nice. Again, just as I was dropping off, she promptly announced that the 2 hour session was up, and I was to be in a standing position. Some herbal paste was spread across the tummy area and the infamous bengkung made its appearance. I have heard horror stories about this piece of cloth – tight, itchy, unable to breathe. After she rolled me around like a stick of cotton candy, it didn’t really feel that bad. In fact, I will request for the bengkung to be tied a little tighter tomorrow. Afterall, vanity comes at a price, right?

Ok, this is the first time since Bradley’s arrival that I’m able to sit down for longer than 5 minutes at my laptop without a toddler pulling the keys out or yanking at the wire to have a closer look at what I’m doing. VT has taken Bryan and Brandon to Cameron Highlands together with my PILs and SIL for 2D/1N, mainly to give me a much-needed break and also to entertain the boys over the long weekend. Actually, it would have been nice if I could have gone as well, especially when we’ve not gone for a family vacation before. Anyhow, thought I take this opportunity to pen down what has been happening the past 3 weeks.

Last weekend, my home was privileged to be blessed with the presence of mummy bloggers – Wen, Jaccs, Slavemom, Healthfreakmommy, Chanel, Sue & Jazz. I can’t thank you gals enough for bringing all the laughter into my house. It was a good break from my usual boring & mundane routine, and I enjoyed the chit-chatting tremendously. You can read more about the visit here, here and here. Sorry girls, my house was EXTREMELY dusty, dirty and untidy. Of course, there was this sexy mama who helped herself to the mop and helped mop the living room (person revelaed in the next post)!! Now, tell me, where would you find a friend like this????? I was telling VT later on that even with my closest friends, they wouldn’t have thought of lifting a finger to help without asking. Throughout the week, I also received visits from my colleagues, another blogger mummy- Marlina, and Amy who coincidentally is Dinah’s SIL. I deeply appreciate all the company and offer to help in my maidless days.

On the not-so-exciting days, it was getting increasingly difficult to entertain and keep a 3yr old toddler at home. I also pity Bryan as he is coped up in our very, very small house daily. VT has been buying sticker activity books but even then, these do not last past half a day tops. So I’ve been trying to read him stories, play with his Thomas train tracks and PlayDoh. But there’s only so much we can play. I even enlisted Bryan to help change the bedsheets, which we both thoroughly enjoyed because once all the linen are on the floor, we will jump into them and lie on the soft cotton. There will be times that Bryan will get all whiny and berserk – mainly from boredom and frustration. That’s when I will find PlayDoh in the tubes of my breast pump or my lingerie in the balcony! When all fails, tickles don’t! I will start tickling Bryan and we will both end up in a heap on the floor, laughing uncontrollaby.

In the evening, I’ll try to take him to the playground near my house but unfortunately, it has been raining the past couple of days. To make up for it, we will have a mini picnic in the living room where I’ll lay out a mat on the floor and serve a snack -  be it biscuits, tiny sandwiches or fruits together with fresh milk, Yakult or chilled Milo. At the same time, I will sing “Having a Picnic” song from Barney. That never fails to put a wide grin on Bryan’s face.

As for Bradley, he is quite a terror and cry baby. He is currently drinking 3ozs of EBM every 2-3 hourly even at nights, which I think is quite a bit for a 2 1/2 week old baby?? After drinking, this little fella doesn’t sleep but instead fusses and fusses until the CL cannot tahan and picks him up. Mummy won’t pick him up because he would start rooting eventhough he just had his feed. I find that Brad’s behaviour is quite a bit like Bryan’s, in that there is a lot of fussing. Unlike Brandon who fed, slept and pooed without any fuss. I hope his habit changes over the next couple of weeks.

As for my maid issue, my 1st (old) maid will return from her Raya holidays in 3 days time – Hooray!! Hence starting next week, both Bryan and Brandon will resume going to their Ah Ma’s house, leaving mummy to complete the remaining week of confinement alone. I’ve also extended my CL for 2 more weeks for proper rest. At the same time, I’ve submitted the application for another maid, who hopefully arrives before I resume work in early November. Else it would be quite a strain for my MIL to handle 3 kids with one maid. 

That’s all the updates I have for now. I should be able to blog more regularly next week when I have a bit more time on my hands. Have a super weekend all!!

Despite being a 3rd time mum, I am a real idiot when it comes to breastfeeding, by the fact that I hardly breastfed Bryan & Brandon. With Bradley, I decided to give it a shot again seeing that he is quite good at latching without much help. So far, I’d managed to b/f him exclusively but I have run into several issues.

- he is only able to fall asleep when he’s latched on. So soon and I’m already his human pacifier

- he sleeps past his feeding times during the day which leaves me in a limbo of whether to express or wait; yes I’d tried waking him up but most of the times, he can sleep through a hurricane!

- the b/f times clash with the time that I’ve set aside for Bryan, like at 6pm we usually go to the playground

My solution? I’m going to express and feed Bradley via the bottle. This is the same thing which I did with Brandon when he was an infant. I hope that my supply will be able to keep up with his demand. If not, no sweat lah

Oh, and here’s a photo of Bradley- courtesy of Two Pixels

My body feels like it’s being torn apart. My eyelids weigh like a ton of bricks. My mind is frazzled. This post is going to be jumbled and perhaps, incomprehensible.

It is now 10:55pm – and THIS is a good day because Bryan fell asleep while having his milk, and only because he refused to nap today. Else it won’t be till past 11pm when I’ll be able to start doing my chores – cleaning up the hurricane-attacked living room, preparing Brandon’s porridge for the following day, washing bottles & what-nots lying in the kitchen, paying bills, and last but not least, expressing bm because the boobs are way too sore after a full day of attention for direct feeding (gotta give it a rest before the graveyard shift, you know). VT is the same sorry picture. He comes home with Brandon past 9pm, eats a hurried dinner and puts Brandon to sleep. After that, he mops the floor and washes up. He is a gem.

Is this how people without a maid cope? Perhaps we have been too pampered in the past. But at least we can now proclaim that we belong to that group. Not a pleasant situation to be in. The best part is, I’m supposed to be having a relaxing confinement period. Being in confinement makes things worse in a way because I am unable to bring Bryan out to release some energy. I’ve already hinted to the CL that I’ll be taking Bryan to the park tomorrow. I can sense the poor lil’ guy’s frustration of being coped up in our small little house the entire day.

Which probably explains why Bryan has been acting like a pure lunatic the past 2 days. He whines and cries over the smallest matter, and his incessant “Mummy, Mummy” calling is eating into me. While he is tolerant of me feeding Bradley and expressing, he wants my 100% at ALL OTHER TIMES. He doesn’t nap either. So essentially, I have been sitting next to him doing whatever he feels like doing. Bryan has been peeing in his pants as well. Could all of these be signs of an attention-needy child? But I DO give him the attention although sometimes my tone gets a bit harsh when he goes into one of his tantrums. I feel so frustrated and tired, and yet I still try to maintain my cool. Will I snap one of these days, I fear.

Oh, what a confinement! (and it’s supposed to be my last to enjoy!)

Bradley Lim Yu Seng

Thanks, Sue, for the beautiful photos!

Brad looks almost identical to both his kor kors at birth. It is such a great feeling having a newborn at home again. Both Bryan and Brandon have taken Brad on very well. They have been kissing and stroking Brad’s head with such affection that I’ve never seen before. It is such a blessing to have 3 wonderful sons, healthy and happy. Bryan was particularly happy when he was presented with a Thomas train set from his youngest di di. Brandon was happily mouthing the track pieces, so I guess he’s happy as well!

Confinement so far has been hectic.  CL is quite all right and sometimes play nanny to the boys when I’m breastfeeding. On weekdays, Brandon goes to my MIL during the day while Bryan stays with me. It means zero “ME time” as I had intended to do a whole host of things during this supposed-to-be-luxurious one month period, such as watching Season 7 of “24″ and completing writing the book that I started when Bryan was born. At times, if I think about it, I get quite sad and frustrated but on the positive side of things, it also means that I get to spend a lot of time with Bryan as well. As a FTWM, this is one luxury.

Breastfeeding is slow but Brad is such a natural latcher! I am thankful for that. I am also thankful that both Bryan and Brandon do not fuss when I b/f Brad or when I express. Having said that, I had to carry Brad and b/f with one hand and hold Bryan’s hand with the other at 4am this morning ha ha. But it’s ok

Thank you all for your well wishes – I have never had so many comments on my blog before! You guys are GEMS!!! Gotta go – duty calls.

Finally, after 1 month confinement officially ends today. But actually, I have gone out last Friday to 1-Utama to kai-kai already Then yesterday out again for lunch so I guess I’m a CL’s nightmare.

To commemorate the end of my confinement, here is a summary of my routine in the past 2 weeks:

7am – Wake up (only cos Bryan jabs my eye and calls me “Mama” repeatedly until I open my eyes); play with Bryan
8am – Peace at home once VT takes Bryan to MILs. First expression.
8:30am – Breakfast comprising of Milo and half-boiled eggs. I have been crazy over the eggs as I had abstained from them during pregnancy for fear of Salmonella
9am – Blog and check out people’s blog
11am – Shower (and sneak in a hairwash every 2 to 3 days)
12pm – Lunch
1pm – Check work emails
3pm – Nap
5pm – Watch season six “24″
7pm – Dinner
7:30pm – Watch more telly
9:30pm – Bryan returns home; puts him to sleep
11:30pm – Drink herbal soup; Last expression
Midnite – Tuck in
3am & 6am – Expressions

Quite shiok right? That is why I am quite sad that confinement is over because I have been enjoying myself! Never did I had so much time in my hands since the birth of Bryan. My CL is leaving tomorrow so the fun ends ha ha.

….me shutting down my milk factory. Just when I thought I’d increased the expressing interval from 2.5hrs to 3.5hrs to slow it all down to face the imminent end, my supply began to show some improvement. Don’t be too happy for me first because after the sudden surge (probably due to the increased waiting interval), I can tell that the supply is fast diminishing.

I would like to thank you all for both the advice and consolation – yes, I was extremely upset….not stressed, but just upset that this didn’t work out the 2nd time around either despite my putting in more effort. At least I think I managed to make fairly good use of my Spectra 2 pump as the machine groans when I turn it on and off now.

As with any other mother who feels guilty about stopping b/f, I am too. But I won’t let this come into my way of enjoying motherhood

What havoc this evening!

During my confinement month, VT has been bringing Bryan home from my PILs. Then I will put Bryan to bed while VT watches over Brandon. Today VT had to return to work for an emergency. So there is myself, the maid and my CL. It all started when Brandon pooped so much until terkena my CL so she had to go wash up. So I had to tend to Brandon. Bryan started crying and screaming the moment I picked Brandon up (who was also crying and screaming). When Brandon stopped crying, I put him down and picked Bryan up. Then the whole cycle started again – pick one boy up, the other one cries. WALAU!!!! (All this time, the maid was taking a shower)

At the same time, my boo-bies were also screaming to be relieved. After all the chaos settled down, I took a drink to relax and sat down to be a cow. I would have expected a good volume of EBM as it was way past my expressing interval.

But NO……I only managed to express 2 miserable ounces.

I am at my wits end. I did all the “right” things – drink lots of water & papaya soup, rest, distract myself, express regularly even at night, etc. But still, these two stupid lump of flesh refused to co-operate. Now, I’m the sort who expects to see results whenever I work hard at something. This just isn’t happening.

I’m waving my white flag.
Subject closed.
Amen.

Sorry, it’s not an invitation to coffee, much as I love to but have to wait till post-confinement.

I sent a text to this breastfeeding expert-mama on whether I could drink coffee whilst still expressing BM for the baby. She thought one cup daily was ok and I should drink it right after I express to give 2-3 hours lag time till I express again.

I have and always been a big coffee- drinker. Even when I was pregnant, I drank a cup of mild 3-in-1 a day to jumpstart the day. It probably explains why Brandon does not sleep from 12am to 3am everyday! I stopped when I delivered but with me resuming night duties next week, I think I need some caffeine to stay alive during the day. It’s sort of like a domino effect – drink coffee when pregnant, baby doesn’t sleep, need to drink coffee to jaga baby, baby doesn’t sleep, need to drink coffee to jaga baby, baby doesn’t sleep, need to drink coffee to jaga baby…you get what I mean.

So, what do other breast-feeding mummies out there think? Can drink or not??