Happy 35th Birthday Mok!!

August 2014 is a month of celebration as we welcome our 4th member-Eliora into our family and as we  celebrate Mok's 35th birthday!!

Well, the truth is .... it has also been a tough month as handling 2 kiddos is definitely no joke and I almost lost count of the dates!

Any case, I managed to put together a mini surprise family party for him... *gives self a pat on the back.
Celebrated on 25th Aug as Mok has a company event on the 26th. Due to the losing count of dates = I had really little time to plan.... I was frantically trying to find a nice cheese cake for his birthday cake. Finally decided on Bakerzin New York Cheese cake and thankfully they have a ready made one in the Tampines One Store as I would have needed to order 3 days in advance if they had no stock and I was like ordering it 1 day in advance! Thanks to parents who aided to collect the cake for me. ;)

The cake turned out really pretty and according to the rest, really yummy! Glad that it managed to pass Larry's standard! Really impressed, would definitely consider getting cakes from them in future!

Came in a very pretty box that reminds me of Kate Spade actually ;) 

Awesome New York Cheese Cake

For dinner, we ordered Pizza as I'm still serving my confinement sentence so had to make do with ordering in.

Caught someone eyeing the cake! 

Elijah's handmade card to Papa! His first time experiencing with water colours and I must say its a beautiful master piece!!

Elijah was more fascinated by the gift that I had prepared for Mok

For gift, I managed to get him a Louis Garneau Triathlon Suit from States... thanks to his buddies who aided me on the selection as I know nuts about the the brands and stuff in this area. In short, he loves it!!!!!!!!!! (He better considering the price... haha.. somehow me and his buddies just felt that Mok would prefer this one which happens to be the most expensive of the lot!!) Glad you love your gift darling!!

Thanks Eliza and Joel who joined us for the simple party! It was fun!!  

Happy 35th birthday darling!!

Welcome the 4th member (Eliora Mok) to our family!!

Our precious baby gal was born on 12th August at 1209pm at Gleneagles Hospital. She weighs a whooping 3.7kg and lengths at 55cm, the exact length as her big brother Elijah!

Meet Eliora Mok Kaa Hei (Jia Xi). Eliora means God is my guiding light ;) 

Birth story:

Eliora's weight shot up suddenly at ard the last 2-3 weeks of my pregnancy which caused some form of anxiety in both Lisa Chin (my gynae) and myself. At week 39, she was estimated to be around 3.5kg (+/- 10%). On 11th August 2014 (Monday) at 5pm, I was due for my gynae check and we are all hoping that she will be engaged so that the option of induction can be considered. 

Prior to gynae check, Mok and I decided to go for a nice cafe for tea at PAUL as I had a huge gut feel that I might be induced on that day itself. We had gone to TCC at Keppel Club after induction the last time when delivering Elijah.  

At gynae check, it was confirmed that I could be induced and was given the choice by gynae. We kinda readily agreed as gynae gave an estimation of 3.7kg for baby's weight which turned out to be really accurate! 

Checked into the hospital at ard 10pm that evening and had no signs of contractions. Managed to sleep 3 hours and couldn't sleep thereafter as I found myself rather anxious this time round after knowing the delivering process. Mild contractions started to kick in around 6am. 

6plus am, Lisa Chin came to my room to check on me and administered the 2nd induction pill and informed that I have dilated about 1.5cm.

7plus am, was finally brought to the delivery ward. Discussed about epidural with the nurses and I was initially keen to be administered epidural on the spot but nurse advised against as I was only 1.5cm dilated. I was later informed that the anaetastist which I requested for, Nicky Tay will be in surgery till around 9am and I was like 'WHATTTT!!'. By then the contractions had increased by quite a bit but everyone was still rather relax as they thought about 1.5cm dilation. I held on as I really like Nicky Tay. At 8plus am, the contractions were getting stronger and more frequent that I couldn't even talk to Larry when it comes and had to use the breathing technique to ease the pain. I kept looking at the time and prayed that I will have enough time for epidural! Lisa Chin came at ard 9am and commented that I am having good contractions though no one checked me on how much I have dilated by then. She also suggested that I can choose another anaesthetist if Nicky Tay is still not available but since its already 9am I decided to hang on! In my heart I was screaming ' NICKY TAY....WHERE the h*** are you!!!?!!!!'

At 9plus am, our cool Nicky Tay walked in and very casually and calmly administered the epidural to me and it was once again painless with his calm guidance! The effects kicked in at around 10am though he did informed that with 2nd pregnancy, the dilation can be so fast that sometimes pain can be felt as epidural effects can't match up with dilation speed. 

At 11am, gynae checked and informed that I am about 9.5cm dilated! In 1 hour after epidural!!!! THANK GOD THAT I NICKY TAY MADE IT IN TIME!! 

It was rather fast and I started to feel some sort of contraction pain towards the end. When contractions persisted, I informed the nurses who encouraged me to hang in there since its rather bearable pain. 

Before I know it Lisa Chin was at the ward and putting on the gown and I was like, 'errr, I don't have any urge to push yet leh, just some contractions pain.' .... midwife and gynae both looked at me and then they asked me to try pushing and I kinda gave a push and they both said, she is ready! 

1st contraction cycle push was like a trial push... 2nd contraction cycle push, Mok told me that the head was out. 3rd contraction cycle push the baby was out and placed on me. Both Mok and I were stunned... 'like its over? We haven't even really started yet!' Larry only shouted "PUSH' once!! 

Like this... the labour process was a brisk for Eliora though the pain that I experienced this time round was much more than the 1st. Shudder to think how it would be like without EPIDURAL!! 

Hello sweetie pie! Welcome to our world!

Looking just like her brother Elijah!! 

Elijah when he was just born! 

Proud grandparents and gor gor 

Juggling with 2 kiddos is definitely a different ball game as with 1. Am glad that Elijah has settled down after 2 weeks plus and is showing much love and affection to Eliora now. 

  

Sleep Training Part 2

It has been a week of sleep training and I must say that our perseverance have PAID OFF WELL!!

The past 1 week has been a roller coaster but for the past 2 days, he managed it really well. As I was on MC today (still fighting the flu bug), I witnessed the success of our 'hardening of heart and refusing to throw in the white flag'.

Now, he has minimal difficulty sleeping in the room on his own and our last conversation usually goes like this...

Me: Goodnight Jah Jah...
E: Good night Mummy
Me: Love you Jah Jah
E: Love you Mummy  
Me: Sleep tight Jah Jah and see you tomorrow
E: See you tomorrow Mummy... muackzz ... and mummy will check on me later
Me: Yes Jah Jah... Papa and mummy are just outside kk. Love you!  ;)

We have also incorporated the family kiss and hug in his sleeping routine which he looks forward to and I think it gives him an added assurance that we all love each other.

This evening, we rewarded him for his efforts and success by giving him 3 little cars and needless to say, they are ZZZzzzing with him tonight.

So thankful as I now have some me-time, which is why I even have the time to blog.

To all parents who are still contemplating if you should sleep train your child... I know its a tough choice to make ... just wanna encourage you to hang in there and know that it is for the better of your child as he/she learns independence and also for your own personal and couple well-being. 

Happy FATHER"S DAY 2014!!!

That's my forever young hubby!! Happy Father's Day dearie!!

Happy Father's Day to all! It has been 2.5 years of us journeying in this privilege life phase called PARENTHOOD and this privilege sure does not come easy. Nonetheless, I am so thankful for being able to have Mok as my 'partner-in-crime'. We have definitely come a long way and each time I look at E, I am just so thankful to Him for blessing us with such a lovely little boy. Next year, we will be having 2 kiddos with us and though I am not sure how life would be like with 2, I'm sure we will both figure it out together and lets do it well! YAY!! 

Thanks dearie for all the sacrifices and hard labour that you have made for the family. WE LOVE U PAPA!! 

Our FATHER"S DAY gift to PAPA!! 

 

A personalized mug!! Love the pictures chosen here (by me of course) as all of them truly capture the fun and adventure that PAPA never fail to bring to the family ;) The 2nd picture was taken in Perth just this March, love it! 

My 2 darlings looking cool and suave at cousin Krystle's wedding dinner @ Grand Shanghai

Also got mugs for our parents as parents' / grandparents' day gifts to them. Thanks to PhotoJaanic whom aided to expedite the orders so I could get all the mugs in time for Sun-father's day. Got them on SAT evening... can imagine how glad and relieved I was when I received the parcel! ;)

Glad mum's big blown up pict turned out so well! Love our family picture on the right too.. ;) 

Not difficult to tell which mug belongs to whom. I think my parents love the gifts ... Thank you daddy and mummy for the never-ending love that you pour forth upon us. U GUYS ARE THE BEST AND COOLEST!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Also made the mugs for my in-laws... think my MIL will go all GAGA over the mug. Hers has a sweet pink background and FIL has one in red (which I love!).  Have wrapped both up so not able to take a picture of it.

Oh yah.. I was feeling generous and made 1 for E's Godpa Dennis too as we are so thankful to him for always doting and looking out for E. His has a black background.

Godma Wendy will get her gift next year cos she is away this year ;(

HAPPY PARENTS' DAY to all parents out there! It is definitely not a easy role to be in but its nonetheless still the greatest privileged role to be in. ;) Keep sowing great values into your kiddos!

Sleep Training @ 29 Months

I am currently sitting outside E's room.. today is Day 3 of sleep training and I decided to document this process down since I have nothing else much to do while bumming outside his room any case. 

Brief history: E has been able to sleep on his own since before he was 1 years old as we had sleep training part 1 when he was about 9 months old. It was about 2-3 days of cry it out and tadaa, he was able to sleep by his own in the cot. We really appreciated it as it gave us more time to attend to after-work affairs and E is able to sleep through the night much better as he learnt the art of self-soothe back to lala-land. 

However, things changed when he started to prefer sleeping on the bed instead of the cot and we soon gave in too as he was growing slightly too tall for the cot and would tend to hit his head against the railing in the middle of the night. 

Since transferring to bed at slightly past 2 years old, E's sleeping pattern has became a mild nightmare for all of us as he would walk out to look for us whenever his sleep is disrupted. Things worsened after our family trip to Perth as he was sleeping with Mok and I all the time in Perth and when he came back,  he was having a series of whizzing cough and he had serious separation anxiety after I had to stay away from home due to Dad's contraction of Shingles! NIGHTMARE TO THE MAX!! Weirdly, E also started to sleep later after he was back from Perth... gone is my 830pm sharp kiddo.. he sleeps ard 9ish to sometimes 10ish! 

For the past few months, we have been taking turns to sleep with him on his bed and it has tired all of us out... plus we realize that he has been having increasingly disrupted sleep which is not good for him. THUS, Mok and I felt that enough is enough and that sleep training part 2 is essential as we shudder to think how it would be like once number 2 is out. Lotsa discussion and prayer was done before we decided that a week after Mok's reservist was the best time to commence the training. 

Since Sunday, we started prepping him about sleeping on his own and how it is time for him to do so as babies sleep in cot and only big boys are qualified to sleep 'self-self' on the bed. We also used examples of kids whom we know have been sleeping independently on their own to motivate him. He seemed to take it well though he would also end with wanting us to zzz with him. 

D Day came on Wed and Mok volunteered to train him as I was and still am down with flu. We prepped the grandparents and good thing they were out that evening as I believe the whole block could have heard his WAILS! 

Mok shared that E was practically fighting with Mok to get out of the room as he wanted me... Eventually after many tries, Mok decided to sit in his room with Mok at the door and E managed to sleep by himself on the bed, knowing that Papa is watching from afar. Kudos to Mok for his patience as we did not want him to have a phobia of sleeping and wanted E to feel proud of sleeping alone.

Day 2, I had a idea that we could assure him that we are near him and to leave the door slightly ajar and we will be just outside the room. He cried initially but stopped after Mok had a heart-heart chat with him and with lotsa reassuarance. It kinda work except that E kept walking out to have short chats with Papa. And alas, he decided to poo at 10pm! After cleaning him up, I took over and told him to stay in bed and ZZZzzz while both Papa and Mama would be outside. And it worked!! Partial success too! 

Day 3: Nap time training. Zero cries when I told him that I would be outside the room. He initially tried to negotiate for me to ZZzz with him but after a while, told me himself that Mummy would be outside. Came out to chat with me a couple of times, had some requests and after some stern warning... I think he is asleep ALREADY! Took about 40 minutes of non-crying training! HURRAY!!!! 

Sleep training definitely not over yet but I must say it has been going on pretty well. Thank God for the wisdom and strategies as we minimize the pain for all of us. 

We also decided to reward him with a small gift once Sleep Training has been completed! Wish us luck!! 

   

End result after 40 minutes of 'peaceful' sleep training... zero cries today! I'm proud of you E!