Turkey Thigh, Here i Come

Yay!! Went for docs visit today, Gabe's weight has increased to 3.675kg from last 2 weeks...good boy baby!!

Now, hopefully you'll put on more and be upgraded soon to Turkey category...Mummy can't wait to see those rolls on your thighs..

Everything looks good for the lil boy, he can fly home in December too...

Tender Juicy Thighs

We were at our favorite shopping mall the other day, and Gabe had to feed, so we went to the nursery. Given how many people go in n out, we'd be rich by now if we collected money per entry. It doesn't help that the nursery was confortable and had full facilities, even individual nursing rooms for moms...cool..

As we were feeding Gabe, we looked at all the babies that come in & out...and realised...their thighs were the size of turkey drumsticks.....juicy, chubby and rolly....i'm not kidding..i dunno wot those moms feed them or what the moms eat, but yes, those thighs were really really chubby...

Then, we looked at Gabe's....and looked at each other...then took the cloth we had and covered his thigh which had become exposed....ok, we weren't embarrassed (ok, maybe a lil)...the rooms was pretty chilly u know....

Let's put it this way..Gabe's thigh has some long way to go before they reach the "Turkey" status..at the moment, let's just categorise his as "chicky"...developing...

Sample of Turkey Thigh


Gabe's Chicky Thigh

PaPa Feeds Gabe

Terry always say "you must be patient with Gabe, he is slower than others, but he can do it, just must be patient:..."you have no patience one"...

Yes, Daddy dearest, showed how patient he was ysesterday during Gabe's last feed at 11pm..The photos already show some positions Daddy tried to make Gabe drink faster n wake up (which he always does abt 20min into feeding..is this normal?)..and the video, well shows how Daddy lost it and tried to fasten process by squeezing the nipple and squirt milk into Gabe's mouth since Gabe refused to suck anymore. Daddy also suggested we look for those plastic bottles whereby we can squeeze for him instead of Gabe having to suck...yes what a patient daddy. Plus, poor Gabe got scolded so many times during the feed...He thinks i'm exaggerating when i say how difficult it is to feed Gabe at times, especially when it takes him a good 60mins to finish a puny 60ml!!!!





Gabe says..."what did i do?"


Daddy holds Gabe while trying to use the laptop at same time...

Milk to Donate..Anyone???

Ok this is bad..my fault actually...Gabe's milk bank is running dangerously low on supply. This wasn't always the case. When he was in the hospital, he had over supply, even my fridge was full of his milk. But i think somewhere along the way, my fried up brain miscalculated. I thought he had alot in the freezer, so i slacked in my pumping...then one day when he suddenly began to drink more, i realised...there wasn't as much milk left..in fact, what supply i had could only last him maybe 2-3 days.

So i quickly in a state of panick, started pumping, only to realise that my milk supply had dropped drastically. I used to be able to pump at least 180-240ml per time. Now, it's a mere 90-120ml, at best 150ml per time. And Gabe has started to pick up on his feedings, his intake is about 500ml per day now. I think it was due to my diet as well, whereby i started to eat much lesser so it kinda affected supply as well.

So, after a few days to trying to increase by pumping, there was not much improvement. LAst resort, i bought this Amoma Milk Up Blend Tea that's supposed to increase the supply. Ordered it online. Got it today, just took my 1st tea bag tonight. It's caffeine free...So we'll see how the effects are, will keep you guys updated. If it doesn't work i think Gabe will need a mix of formula...

Help Mummy, I'm Stuck

Ok remember few posts back i mentioned how Gabe sleeps in weird positions? Well this time, his super flexi neck got him stuck..I woke up n found him in this position, neck at near 90 degrees and he was whimpering...pitifully, asking for my help...ahahah

Thank goodness i heard him n woke, otherwise he'd be stuck for dunno how long...but it's quite a beautiful position eh? Looks like some artistic pose..

San Yi & Uncle Ken Have Come n Gone Home

Gabe's San Yi & Uncle Ken came to Tokyo on 15th Aug - 23rd Aug....we sent them off to Haneda Airport last night...

Gabe had a wonderful time as he went out often...otherwise poor Gabe would just be staying home all day coz Mummy is too tired and lazy to go out. Since his birth, he has now ventured to Shibuya and Harajuku...so happening...but the heat was terrible when we went to Harajuku. It was i think near 36 degrees and by time we met San Yi, i was sweating like a pig. Plus the sling was so uncomfortable...my shoulders n neck ached like crazy after that...sorry Gabe, nope Mummy ain't doing that again anytime soon.

Shibuya was a much cooler affair as it was abit cloudy and cool that day so we had fun with Gabe sitting outside Shibuya 109 waiting for San Yi, he kept looking around and smiling. San Yi i think had a fun time buying stuffs, her luggage probably full. I had a good time too, managed to shop around for shoes and clothes thanks to dear Uncle Ken who lovingly pushed Gabe around while we shopped. Plus, he carried Gabe + stroller up n down those terrible flight of stairs at the train stations..Thank You Uncle Ken.

San Yi however did fulfill her aunty duties by feeding Gabe n changing his nappy. Uncle Ken played with Gabe too and carried him. What a fun week we had.

We're sad to see them go, but Gabe will be seeign them again year end...yay!!!

Uncle Ken with the latest fashion accessory...nappy bag





san yi so happy at Shibuya 109




uncle n nephew bonding moment..awwwww

A Hard to Capture Moment

I finally managed to snap him smiling while he was awake.....ain't that smile precious!!!

He was being scolded for not sleeping, so i guess the lil fella tried to charm his way out...sure worked..

Here he is all dressed up in his cute lil shirt that Grandma bought. We'll be meeting San Yi & Uncle Ken soon...more pictures will come later on..

Also, this was just after his bath, i tried to comb downthe hair, but look at the pic & you'll know i failed to comb it flat..it just keeps going upwards..looks like as though his hair just got bombed...

Cute lil Boy

Gabe's appetite ha sbeen improving, he's been hitting the 60ml mark often and his per day feed is now touching 500ml. A vast improvement...yay!!!

But he's weird. Sometimes he gets hungry after waking up, and often he tries to eat the crib's cushion...keeps turning his head toward it n uses his tongue to lick it and tries to suck....poor boy.


And as i was mentioning before he's been difficult to put to sleep, this is the position he & i often end up in nowadays...


See my tongue!!!!


His musical play thing which was a gift from Terry's supplier. We put him there for awhile everyday so that he can learn to try reach for it. Good for his early development skills

Sleeping Beauty

Gabe's been kicking up a huge fuss lately when it's bedtime. Especially in the afternoons, once you put him down, he notices and starts crying until you carry im again. Repeat this several more times and in the end, i lie on the sofa with him on my chest. I give up...too tiring. Even "Magic Auto Crib" doesn't help at times.

But he's cute when sleeping. In the end he always ends up in some weird sideways twisted gangsta position and even his head is twisted in a flexible super sideways tilted position. It's amazing his neck doesn't end up aching.

Doctor's Visit

Sigh...went for doctor's visit today to monitor Gabe's progress...and it's not too good in terms of his weight.

when he was discharged on 1st August, his weight was 3408g. Today, it's 3455g..too little weight gain. So Dr Hayashi has stressed again the need to closely monitor his weight gain over next 2 weeks until his next check-up.

See Gabe, if you dun buck-up you're gonna have an ugly tube sticking out from your nose soon.

Other than that his ECG heart monitor is good, thhe blood flow is smooth. That's a relief.

Now all our focus will be on his weight which hopefully will increase since he has improved on his feedings which is now about 450ml per day.

Reminders

Since we brought Gabe back from the hospital, there have been much to adjust to, especially the used-to-be 8 hours of sleep and the freedom to go anywhere and do anything. But, it's been a worthwhile trade.

He's going to be 2 months old this 14th August and we can slowly see his character. He's a tough cookie that's for sure. He's a horror during feeding times, getting down just 60ml per feed is pure torture coz he struggles and wants to let go of the bottle just after a few sucks. He's a good actor at times, sometimes pretending to fall asleep only to wake up immediately once you take the bottle out of his mouth.

He delivers a strong kick too, using his legs as lever to push away from the bottle teat. His gums and tongue come in handy too. when he knows neither of these works, he turns his charms, by smiling. Ever so often now, i see the smile more often and he knows how to play more.

Honestly, as i watch him and play with him everyday, i tend to forget that he has Down Syndrome. I know, the signs often only are visible as he grows older. But yet, looking at him, you wouldn't think he has DS.

And we were reminded of this today when the Public Health people called us and said they wanted to meet us to see our home and meet Gabe. Our doctor gave them our number so that we would have access to more information on DS. Only then did i realise, this is for real, soon we're gonna be attending various classes and meetings, etc. I guess it's all for Gabe's development. But yet, somehow this is a big reminder for us.

So anyway these people will be come by our place on Tuesday next week and we'll see what they have to say then....

My Brain is Fried

I hear people say that after giving birth your memory becomes bad, i think mine got fried somewhere along the way.

After being discharged from the hospital, Gabe has to go back for check ups. So his first visit was supposed to be on 11th August.

Come that day (or so i thought), i got up early to make his 10.15am appointment. Had to getready myself first then feed, change and give him his meds. I thought that 1.5 hours would be enough to do all that, but by 9.45am we were running late and Gabe had yet to take his meds, my hair was still a mess and i wasn't even changed..sigh...where does the time go to?

So it was kinda hectic and while i was getting ready Terry was done with himself and waiting for us, when suddenly he just called me and paused....i saw him looking at a piece of paper i had pinned up on the wall which was Gabe's doctor's appointment schedule.

Terry then said.."His appointment is on the 11th August...". I said "yeslah"....then he looked at me..."but today is 10th"...

I was like..no...can't be...then i realised, yes it was the 10th....oh geez....all that hectic frantic rushing for nothing....Terry just shook his head...and asked for all the bank accounts passwords & user IDs (which i also forgot, and we had to reapply new passwords from the banks) saying he was very worried about his money....sigh...........but the good thing was since we were all ready, we decided to go do Gabe's passport & birth registration at the Malaysian embassy..

We had to take a passport photo of him, so we conveniently went to the instant photo booth just outside our apt. Only thing was, the embassy said they wanted a blue background, so we retook his photo at home using a blue cloth. But photo shop said can't print blue background, it kept coming up white:(... Anyway, here are the photos we took...so cute..








This one we took at the booth

Please...Someone Slap Me...

Yes i need that slap to wake me up.. it's been crazy since Gabe's been back. The first 2 days at home were OK. But yesterday all of a sudden he refused to be put down to sleep in the afternoon. After drinking milk, i carried him and he fell asleep. Then i put him in his crib, 15mins later he woke up crying. Carried him again, he fell asleep and i put him down. He wakes up....i repeated this like 5-6 times.

I really really really wanted to pull my hair out. Coupled with the few hours of sleep i got since he was home, i was near having a mental breakdown. I do not survive well without enough sleep....When Terry came back, same thing happened when he tried to put Gabe to bed...the only good thing is that he sleeps well after 12am up to 7am...

But, i have tons of work to do in the afternoons, so i finally caved in and got one of those auto swing cribs that has music too...the one that he has been sleeping in the hospital...we went to Babies R Us this morning and now Gabe is sleeping beside me, though he did wake to fuss to see if i would carry him. I didn't. I just sat there and patted him while the crib was working magic. Finally after 15-20mins he dozed off..I think perhaps the problem is that he wants people to carry him to sleep so all the while he was testing us..at least now i do not have to carry him, just stand my ground while he rocks...

My Baby's Coming Home

Gabe is coming home tomorrow!!!! I have waited for so long for this day. It seems like it has been months since we've been travelling to & fro to the hospital. Finally, our baby is coming home to us.

He's been feeding well so that was what convinced the doctors to discharge him. He's taking about 450ml per day so it's a good start for him. But he has to be back for check-ups every 2 weeks or so.

Most important for him is to gain body weight as the doctors mentioned he's a bit slow in this area. If after a month he fails to gain enough, we may have to put him on the tube to feed him additional milk.

So Gabe, you better be a good boy n drink up.

More pics will come now that he'll be home...