Luca turned 1 month old (滿月-manyue party) 2 weekends ago. How time flies. If I had been a working mother, it'll be 2 more months before I need to head back to work. Now... that would really stress me out!
Our original plan was to have the baby shower at home. We felt the baby would be most comfortable in a familiar place, and family and friends can be introduced to Luca's new environment. But after considering the inconvenience of not staying at lift level for the older folks and those with strollers, and that we'll need to separate the party into 2 days (one day for family and another day for friends) due to space constraints, we decided to hold the manyue party at Keppel Club instead. We catered food at the poolside restaurant, The Mangrove. Coincidentally, it was this place that I held my 21st birthday celebration 13 years ago!
This is us relaxing at home after the party... enjoying Luca's manyue cakes from Sweetest Moments. The guests were supposed to each bring a box back... but we were so busy and forgot all about it until my mom reminded us... but that was much later.... so those who left earlier did not manage to enjoy the 2red eggs,2ang ku kuehs and 2cupcakes! Sorry!
Finally, here's Luca's saying a big Thank You to all the gifts and well wishes!!!! But it was me and Dave who had the most fun opening the pressies :)
Weight: 5.1kg
Length: 57cm
Head Circumference: 37.5cm
Dr. Ang said Luca is having Breastmilk Jaundice, which will take up to 3 months to fully recover. At the meantime... I'm continuing breastfeeding!
Since our discharge from the hospital, we've been settling well at home. Our lives will never be the same again, and we feel so blessed to have Luca healthy and loved by everyone. He is exactly how we dreamed him to be... definitely our dream baby!
It's been almost a month now and with some adjustments to the twosome life we were so used to before, we're doing pretty alright, once we have our expectations managed.
About 2 days before Luca arrived, the nanny flew in from Indonesia. We will be engaging her confinement services for 6 weeks. Right from the beginning, I knew I will not survive the traditional confinement where mothers are not allowed to shower, or have air-conditioning or even step out of the house. Plus how I'd dread a diet rich in oil, ginger and vinegar. Hence, for my postpartum welfare, I decided to follow my own judgement on the type of food I wanted, the number of showers I plan to have, the amount of baby care involvement, and basically what it takes to recuperate, be healthy and hygienic for myself and the baby.
I've had people telling me "if you don't do this and this, you'll suffer when you're older..." I know they all mean well, and I don't know for sure how the decision to not follow strictly the confinement regime will affect me when I grow old, but I believe only a happy mom can be a good mom!
So... showers are absolutely essential to me especially with the humid weather here. But I did swop to using mild cleanser... you know... those ph5.5, alkali-free, environment-friendly stuff that can be used even without water! So I figured it shouldn't hurt even if I take more than one shower a day!
As for food, I'm easy. As long as it's healthy. Even Dave is having the same diet as me... and goodness... he's actually losing weight! Talking about weight loss... here're my numbers. I gained a total of 14kg from the pregnancy and I've lost 9kg so far. The last 5kg of flab takes time... and (lotsa) effort, I suppose!
When it comes to caring for the baby, I must say that Dave and I have been quite hands-on most of the time; giving Luca his morning bath, evening wipe-down, diapers change, and lots of cuddling. But because Luca's on total direct breastfeeding, we're not inconvenienced with the sterilizing and cleaning of bottles. So, I still say, even with the engorgement, the blocked milk ducts, the sore nipples.... it's worth it.
Now... you're wondering what the nanny is doing? Well, although I think she's basically having a very easy job over here, but still she has been a great help preparing our meals and bringing Luca to me for the night feeds. However, we are looking forward to be on our own again in two weeks time! Whoppeee! It's going to be a challenge for me during the nights, but we're up for it! Like I say... it's all about management of expectations.... for me... as well as the baby! Hah.
