Feeding our little boy

Ethan has been in our lives for nearly 4 weeks and he's a surprise every day, bringing much joy and laughter to all of us in the family. :)

Milk Intake

When he was born, he was already able to suckle on my breasts immediately when the nurses placed him onto my chest for skin-to-skin contact. I was initially worried that he might not be able to latch on well and that would be quite stressful for the both of us. He also opened his eyes soon afterwards and for the 2-ish hours when we were still in the delivery room, he was all active and alert and didn't go back to sleep at all. Perhaps he too was excited to meet all of us. :)

He feeds very well and on the 2nd night, he wanted to latch on almost all the time. I couldn't sleep and was exhausted and the little boy was frustrated as well. He was wailing badly and I had no choice but to call in the nurse for help. We eventually decided to send him back to the nursery and let the nurses feed him some formula milk. 

He started with 20ml of milk and very soon, by the 2nd week, he graduated to needing 80ml of feed. As of now in the 3rd week, he is taking in around 100 - 120ml of milk every three hours. What more, I suspect he's undergoing a growth spurt and he demands to be fed every 2 hours... By the time we finish feeding, burping and trying to put him to sleep, guess what? It's time to feed him again. Wahahaha. 

Diaper Choices

9Before giving birth, I spent time reading up on diapers reviews and I was adamant on providing the best for my little one. There is afterall so many pieces in one packet, how expensive could it get, right? That was my initial thought and I had my choice set on the brand Merries.

Come Ethan and..... all the poopy business. Haha. I tell you, I think the number of times he poops in a day is more than the number of times I poop in a week! Ethan tends to poop when feeding and after feeding and that would mean at least 2 change of diapers within one feeding period. Together with the fact that he tends to have explosive poops, it's important that we change him promptly so that he's more comfortable.

So the first brand Ethan wore was Huggies which was provided by the hospital. It was not bad and we like that we could tell if the diaper is wet just by looking at the cartoons printed on. The yellow cartoon prints would turn blue if the baby has wet his diaper. That saved us a lot of trouble of trying to peep into his diaper from the side gatherings and made things easier and straight forward for a first-time parent. Ethan took well to the brand and didn't suffer from rashes. What more, I find that Huggies is reasonably soft on his bump and its holding capacity is pretty good!

We also had Pet Pet on hand at that time so we were alternating between them. While Pet Pet is value for money, it is comparatively less soft and Ethan developed diaper rashes once during the time he wore the brand. One plus point about Pet Pet is that its newborn diapers have a special cut-out for the umbilical cord peg hence we need not fold down the front portion of the diaper. The holding capacity is quite good too, similar to that as Huggies, i would say. We used this as the 'Day' diaper since there are more frequent diaper changes in the day and I don't want to risk his butt getting rashes again from wearing the diaper for too long. Wearing this affordable diaper for frequent change does help to save on the diaper costs.

When Pet Pet was running low, we tried the diapers from Giant. Definitely one of the, if not cheapest, of the lot. I like the prints as it was cute and vibrant. However, we found the diapers pretty warm and that it's not as soft too. The holding capacity is not as high and it gets full pretty easily.

We were given a Cake Hamper by a lovely friend and Merries diapers were found within the package. Merries is definitely our favourite so far but I wish the cost is more pocket friendly. Merries is soft and the cotton is breathable. Ethan could wear it for a longer time and not suffer from rashes. The holding capacity is good and it's our 'Night' diaper due to its comfortable material.

Finally, when we have finished using all these, hubby bought Dryers. It was on promotion, selling 2 packets (88 pieces in S) for $30. Very good price I would say. Its performance is commendable; Ethan can wear it for a longer stretch and it can hold quite a reasonable lot of his output as well. The material is soft and comfy as well. Frankly, we will continue to buy this brand of the promotion continues as it's really quite value for money.

So that's all for Ethan's diaper journey so far. We hope to be able to try more brands and find one that us most comfortable and also economical for our little boy. :)

Ethan and Mummy

After I've given birth to Ethan, the excited hubby helped to send pictures to my family, relatives and friends, informing them of the good news. The replies I got were all the same - that Ethan looks very much like me. Or some said he looks exactly like me when I was a baby. Looking back at the first pictures taken, indeed, it is so. The similarities are so interesting, especially when we are of different gender.

The little one has a lot of hair. This was usually the first thing visitors commented on when they first saw him. (He even has hair on his ears!) I didn't have as much, but it was comparable. He also takes after my bun face and thick lips.

His lovely eyes, nose and ears take after his Daddy. Quite a 'fair' mix isn't it? Hehe

After interacting with Ethan for 3 weeks, we found other non-physical similarities between us as well. Just like me, he likes to do lazy stretches and also likes to sleep with his two arms spread open, as if he is trying to lift weights. Haha, of all things to take after, right?

Oh well, I'm writing this post after barely sleeping for 3 hours last night. I can't deny that it's a love-hate relationship and it can be very draining physically and emotionally. Moments when he fussed excessively, I'm just thankful that I could walk away and let my mum handle him while I regained my sanity. But looking at him when he smiles and when he's drinking his milk with a contented look... It makes everything so much more bearable and worthy. :)

Ethan, mummy is looking forward to know more about you as you learn more about us as well. Let's get along well! We love you! ♡

The Last Time

Saw this on my mummies forum and thought that it's a good reminder to self.

:)

一辈子

一辈子很长, 一辈子也很短。
幸好一辈子的路上有你。

♡

Ethan, Our Boy

ETHAN

Strong, Firm and Enduring

He's our boy. :)

Welcome, little Ethan! ♡

Let's do a quick update! :)

Overjoyed and brimming with love and pride - we are proud parents to little Ethan! ♡

I often imagined about how Ethan's birth process would be like but things would not always go our way, right? I had imagined my water bag to burst naturally (and also imagined all sort of funny possibilities where it might burst - workplace, supermarket, public transport!!)  therefore kickstarting the labour process and I had also imagined that the labour process would be short and sweet and that I would be able to push the baby out easily.

However, since I was already overdue, Ethan was induced and I was told that an induced birth would likely be more painful and take longer. The water bag burst naturally, but only at the 8th hour into labour. And by the time I was fully dilated, I was too tired to push, and probably too high on gas too! Baby Ethan was not out yet even after 1.5hours of pushing. Raaaah. Haha, nothing according to what I've imagined but it's fine. All is good! :)

Our lives have changed completely upon his arrival and it's only for the better. While he has brought the meaning of sleep deprivation and being patient to a whole new level, my heart melts when I see him smile.

Speaking of smiling! He smiled at us on the 2nd day of birth and yesterday (31st Jan 2015) he laughed for the first time! Hehe. Couldn't remember what made him laugh but it was such a precious and sweet moment. ♡ Can't wait for the next milestone!