More manageable

Yesterday marked the 2nd day after confinement. It was relatively more manageable, partly due to the nice cooling weather which put Leanne on a sleepy mode the whole day (except that she was wide awake from 11pm to 1am). On top of that, Grandma gave a pleasant surprise visit in the late morning! She helped to coach the domestic helper to cook a few basic dishes and watched her while she cooks. In the afternoon while Leanne was still sleeping, Mummy continued to guide the domestic helper on preparing the dinner. Mummy was pleased when Daddy commented that he was very satisfied that he could have a proper dinner at home after work, a short time to relax before he goes to school.

Today, Mummy already had in mind what to cook for lunch and dinner - Japanese Curry Rice. While carrying Leanne in her arms, she verbally told the domestic helper to prepare the ingredients and the step-by-step instructions on how to cook. Both had a simple version of that for lunch and will whip up more side dishes for Daddy's dinner later in the day.

Mummy will also get her day off to meet up with her girlfriends for dinner. Yay! She will be bringing Lleyton along while Daddy has kindly agreed to babysit Leanne for the evening. Great for Father-and-daughter's bonding.

First day out of confinement

Ok.. the first day of "freedom" was disastrous! Without Grandma around to help, Mummy suddenly felt so lost, no knowing when she should take her shower and her meals. Of course, the timing should revolve around Leanne but she was so unpredictable!

Needing a solution, Mummy decided to put the MIM sling to good use as it could at least freed up her hands to do some simple stuff. After great efforts trying to put Leanne to sleep, this girl finally took a nap in the sling. That was when Mummy managed to take a quick shower and her lunch.

For the rest of the afternoon, Leanne just refused to nap, either requesting to be latched on or be carried. Mummy thought it may be a good idea to stroll to the nearby mall to buy some stuff and also dinner for all. Leanne was probably not used to the spacious stroller that was used for the first time. Upon reaching the mall, she started wailing loudly at the payment counter. A "kind" auntie attempted to touch her. Upon seeing her intention to pacify Leanne, Mummy responded that it was ok and she could handle. This auntie suddenly turned "crazy" and started using vulgarities to scold Mummy, claiming that she should thank her. As the auntie was making a nuisance of herself at the mall, Mummy quickly apologise and "thank her" and make her way out of the shop before things turned unpleasant. After giving Leanne a comfort feed at the nearest nursing room, Leanne was happy and awake when they made their way home. It was indeed a demoralising first attempt for Mummy to bring baby out by herself.

Daddy and Lleyton reached home at around 5.30pm. Mummy quickly took her dinner with them (and Leanne in sling) and settled down for the evening as Daddy left for his class.

Leanne is one month old!

Leanne is one month old! Same as Lleyton's first month, there was no major celebration held except for a simple family dinner over the weekend.

On the actual day, Daddy, Mummy and Leanne went around a few locations to distribute the first month cakes to colleagues and friends.

Here's baby Leanne on her first month!

Recent photos of Baby Leanne

Many have commented that Leanne looks like her brother, Lleyton. Indeed, they do share certain similarities, in terms of facial features and even some habits.

As she is approaching one month old, she started to develop more distinctive "girly" features and characteristics. Some proofs as captured here:

1. Oh.. I love to pose for pictures

2. See my small "cherry" mouth


3. I have chubby cheeks too


4. Don't I have bigger eyes? Let me attempt to give a shy smile here..

Golf pro

Counting his clubs before setting off


Giving his signature smile for the photo


Oops.. the not so correct techniques


Thinking hard which club he should use

Fun on a hot Saturday afternoon

Daddy took Lleyton on a cooling swim on Saturday morning, something which he has not done for a long long time. As usual, Lleyton had great fun in the pool. Surprisingly, he still remembered his "strokes" taught to him and kicked his legs to maintain the floating position in order to move forward.

Next, his cousins made their weekly visit, this time to Lleyton's residence since Mummy is still in confinement. It was all rowdy and hostile between the 2 boys as they loved to "fight" over the new toys. Daddy found a good solution:

After the car pooling initiative, the three kiddos became best of friends again.. squeezing on the beanbag together and had a crazy time together.

Compare this to the photo taken 2 years ago:

More on Baby Leanne

Baby Leanne on Day 6

At 2 weeks old today, Leanne seems to have established her own routine of feeding and sleeping. She would take a long morning nap, a few short afternoon naps (waking up every 2 hours for feeds), stay awake for more feeds around evening till night.

According to Daddy, she is like a little camel storing up her reserves for the night. At around 9 to 10pm, she will fall asleep after more comfort suckling. Most of the time, she can sleep a full stretch of 6 hours on average, waking up at 4 or 5 am for her next feed and continues to sleep. Last night, she woke up once at 1am for her last feed, and slept through till 7am.

This routine seemed acceptable for Mummy who sleeps slightly before midnight. Somehow she is still a little apprehensive. She is ready for more unpredictable "patterns" of her little young one as she continues to watch her grow everyday.

Lleyton's Birthday Celebration in School

Mummy's camera actually went flat on the day of the event. Thanks to Auntie Iris and the teachers for taking pictures of the celebration which was planned for Lleyton and Shanice!

Both looked pretty confused -- having no idea what the commotion was all about as the whole school gathered to sing the birthday song for them. The part that they enjoyed most.. savouring the birthday cake!

Of course, each of their classmates will receive a party pack consisting of party items, snacks and a pair of socks!

Lleyton turns 2

Daddy and Mummy did not make plans for a big celebration on Lleyton's birthday as they were unsure when Leanne will arrive.

Besides the joint birthday celebration with Shanice (Lleyton's friend who is also born in October) at the Childcare, he had 3 other mini sessions over the weekend.

He received loads of presents and had a fun time unwrapping them all! The "biggest" gift of all was from Daddy and Mummy - it's a Red Snuggle Bug which Lleyton can drive around at home. He also received a golf set, maths puzzle, ATM machine, a Vtech laptop, 3 train sets and a tricycle.

Lleyton & MeiMei Leanne

Lleyton was over excited about his baby sister. After school each day, he will come back to ask for her, and will go into the baby room and visit Leanne. Lleyton has also learnt to "sayang" his baby sister, as evident in the video below. It is really comforting to see the siblings getting along. *so far so good*