New Chapters of Life - 2nd Pregnancy

1.5 years have passed since I last posted.

Many things happened in this 1.5 years. Happy things :)

First of all, I was blessed with my 2nd pregnancy.

It was a total surprise! Neither hubby nor I was prepared for a new baby. A pleasant surprise nonetheless.

This was not the easiest pregnancy.

The first trimester was basically me lying on the bed, sick from morning sickness, bouts of flu, sore throat, cold etc.

Then came the easier 2nd trimester.

I decided to bring Cedric for a solo trip to Taiwan. Only me and Cedric. Then we joined Xiaoyi at Taipei, and later on Ah Fen yiyi came to meet us at YiLan.

It was a memorable trip...a blessing that I get to bond with my little man before the arrival of the new baby.

Dear Cedric, mommy love you so so much. I am going miss all the time spent together, with only the two of us...I am sure you would too. Soon, we will have a new friend, new member joining our family. You will have a special someone to share your happiness, sorrow, naughty moments, and great memories together. You and Cayden will be brothers, for life.

台北阳明山，擎天岗， 好美好舒服的一片大草原

 

台中，清静农场。阿芬姨姨过来农场找我们玩了!

 

宜兰，吉米公园。谢谢小姨当我们一路上的苦力

I was huge during the 3rd trimester. Having gained at least 18kg, I was 68kg at 38 weeks pregnant.

I didn't have any stretch marks when I was pregnant with Cedric, but developed some at the thigh area this time around. But it's ok. These are the trophies that I won as a mother. Not young, not slim, not perfect, but feeling blessed, contented, and thankful for everything that I have.

Huggies Dry Pants

It has always been a struggle to put the diapers on my active Cedric boy. One second he is lying there, another second he is gone, trying to escape from mommy's evil clutches. 

I have been thinking whether it is time to change him to diaper pants for better convenience, which are supposedly designed to help end/ease the diapers struggle with toddlers. So when I received a bag of Huggies Dry Pants samples from Huggies Malaysia as part of their blogger contest goodies, I am more than happy to let Cedric try it out. 

More information on Huggies Dry Pants can be obtained from www.facebook.com/HuggiesMalaysia

So far Cedric has tried 4pcs of Huggies Dry Pants, M size. Below is the summary of my review:-

(Scale * Very bad ** Poor *** OK **** Good *****Excellent)

Ease of Use **** - Generally it is quite easy to use. When the toddler is refusing to lay down still for conventional diapers wearing, and is struggling to escape, what I did was, I sat Cedric on my lap, and put the Huggies Dry Pants on like putting a normal pants. The stretchable side makes the pulling up easier and smoother. 

3 simple steps to wearing Huggies Dry Pants - Koyak, Salin & Lepas!

Save of Time ****  - Of course there are still some strugglings involved when I tried to put the diaper pants on Cedric, but compared to conventional diapers which I have to keep pinning the screaming boy down while I try to tape and adjust the diaper, the diaper pants is much easier and quicker. With the conventional diapers, the baby has to be lying still for the diapers to be put on properly, if the baby moves or tries to roll over half way through the wearing process, the diaper has to be readjusted, and the process can repeat a few times, which is time consuming. With a diaper pants, the hardest work is to put the baby's 2 legs through the pants. Once the pants is on, it can be pulled up and be adjusted even when the baby is on the move. This save a lot of time and screaming.

Diaper Rash Prevention ****  - Cedric didn't develop any diaper rash or redness from wearing the Huggies Dry Pants. 

Huggies claims that they are Malaysia's first brand of disposable diapers which is clinically proven to prevent diaper rash.

Absorbency *** - I has been using Huggies conventional diapers for Cedric's day use for more than a year now. Usually for day time, I change his diapers every 4-5 hours, with the diapers about 70-80% full. Much like its sister diapers, I feel that the Huggies Dry Pants is good for day use of 4-5 hours without leakage. I have not tried it for night use of 10-12 hours, so no comment on that.     

Leakage Prevention **** - No leakage from 4-5 hours of wearing.

Comfort *** - The material of the diaper is quite soft to touch, and the stretchable sides help to prevent red marks on baby's skin. 

Cutting *** - The cutting of the diaper pants not big. Cedric is wearing M size of the conventional diapers quite comfortably, but with the Dry Pants, I feel that M size is a bit tight. And with conventional diapers, I like to put them on in a way that the back side is slightly higher than the front, so that when he poos, the higher back will prevent the poo poo from staining the clothes at the back. With Huggies Dry Pants, I notice that there is no front and back, as in both front and back is of the same length and design. 

Design & Presentation ** - I find the blue colour cartoons and wordings on the diapers a bit dull. 

Will I use Huggies Dry Pants on Cedric? **** -  Yes, for day use. 

Note: For mommies who would like to try out the Huggies Dry Pants, you can request for samples at  http://www.huggies.com.my/huggies-community/request-a-sample. 
 

Cedric checking out the goodies from Huggies

Sexy Pose

Front view of the Dry Pants

Back view

I love Mommy

1-Year-Old Cedric

Time is a magic wand. In a wink, my little baby Cedric has turned into a cheerful, cheeky toddler. 

Now my big boy Cedric is very much a little adult. He is pretty good in doing what we adults do.

He can walk, sometimes he walks very fast, and he trippers and falls. But he is such a brave boy, he will stand back up in no time, and walk again. But his little legs sometimes get very tired from all the walking, and after 10 minutes or so he will start wanting to sit on the floor, and want daddy mommy to 抱抱 (carry). Never mind my good boy, let mommy 抱抱，then you can walk again when you have enough rest ok?

Walking in my first shoes!

He is a chatty boy, he can talk, talk and talk. But too bad mommy and daddy is not very smart, so we can only understand some, but not all of what he wanted to tell us. Luckily he is not at all discouraged by his blur parents. He keeps his talking spirit high and always patiently explaining and talking to us.

His favourite words are "nen nen" (milk), "抱抱" (carry), "mom mom" (eat), "wow wow" (dog), "pa pa pa" (daddy). Oh, not forgetting his signature 不要不要 (Don't want!), which comes in a package with a dramatic shake of head and hands. 

Cedric giving speech

Since last week, mommy decided that Cedric is a big enough boy, so he has been promoted to join the rest of the family members at the dining table. He has his own spoon and plate, so he is free to feed himself and explore his food. One good thing about my lovely boy is that he is quite generous in sharing his food. He shares it with the floor, the chair and his shirt. And he sometimes worries that mommy is hungry, so he likes to feed mommy his food too! Mommy is so proud of Cedric who is not stingy to share. I hope you can keep up this good trait and continue sharing with others.

Self feeding, the Popeye way

Mommy I feed you!

Cedric is a very affectionate boy. He likes to hug and kiss. His way of showing his love is by head-to-head knocking, and rubbing his face and nose against his loved ones with a lot of energy and passion. Sometimes he will kiss/eat/bite your face, nose, eye with his little mouth, and leave his sweet saliva as a souvenir.

We rub head sayang sayang

Cedric sayang yiyi

Cedric is a lucky boy. He is being loved deeply by daddy mommy, gong gong popo, grandpa grandma, yiyi, gugu, and suk suk. And he himself is a fair boy with a big heart. He will share his love with all who love him. He will want gong gong to carry for a while, then it's yiyi's turn. Before play time with daddy, he will sayang mommy for a while and perhaps gives a few kisses and hugs so that mommy won't feel left out. He makes sure everyone has enough of his attention and love, so that all will not get jealous and fight among each other. 

We are lucky to be blessed with Cedric! We are one big happy family who loves Cedric dearly!

We love Cedric!

Cedric's Botak Diary, Part II

Cedric's first hair cut by daddy didn't turn out too well. 

Notice the disastrous side of the hair?

It was supposed to look like this...

Mommy was heartbroken looking at Cedric's new hair cut. His hair used to be so dark, so full, and so nice...Now it looks like it was munched by rabbit or something...total disaster!!

So here comes another hair cut. This time we went for shaolin monk style - botak head it is.

Shaving in the saloon

Are you done?

Why so long mommy...

I don't want to be a botak...

Before

After

My smile is as shiny as my botak head

It took mommy many days to get over the sadness of turning Cedric into a botak; daddy felt very guilty too and swore he wouldn't try to experiment with Cedric's hair anymore.

Even though the first hair cut attempt was a failure, the lucky thing was Cedric was 8 months old then, not 8 years old or 18 years old...Botak or not, he is still as happy as always. Botak or not, he is still mommy's prince charming, forever...

Cedric's Botak Diary, Part I

Cedric had a head of beautiful dark hair - full, soft and silky smooth. 

People sometimes mistaken him as a girl. So one fine Sunday at home, daddy decided that enough is enough, Cedric is a macho boy - it is hair cut time!

Cedric before hair cut. 

Happily playing water while daddy was doing his magic.

Daddy cutting hair

Hair cutting is no fun :(

How do I look after hair cut?

Cedric with daddy - the master hairdresser

Cedric @ 7 Month Old

My Cedric boy is a 7 month old big boy now!

He has changed A LOT since I first laid my eyes on him. 

It was like yesterday when I first met him in SDMC's labour room...so small, so vulnerable, and so adorable...

Today, he has developed into a healthy, handsome, playful and cheerful 7-month-old!

I have 2 teeth!

I am always curious! I want to crawl everywhere, explore everything, I want to feel the world!

I am fascinated with my tongue! I love to stick out my tongue and show to mommy, daddy, yiyi and everyone, I have a tongue!

My mouth is my key to explore the world! I chew on everything, I taste them, feel their texture, and I learn.

I have started semi solid! So far we have tried baby rice, sweet potato, carrot, green bean, broccoli, dragon fruit, banana, pear, apple, avocado etc. My favourite is pear! I can finish 1/2 a pear, and still asking for more!

Daddy was making silly faces, mommy and I laughed our lung out, and we love daddy very much!

Our cutie Cedric kia, daddy and mommy love so much!

Cedric @ 5 Month Old

Cedric is 5 month old!

At 5 months of age, he is developing well, and is hitting his milestones at an encouraging pace.

He knows how to lean his body towards his favourite persons when they offer their hands and say "bao bao".

He is an expert roller. He can roll from one end of the bed to the other end in just seconds, sometimes a few rolls at once. 

His favourite toys so far are his hands. Recently he developed a taste for his legs. 

He can sit with support since 4 months old; when unsupported, his sitting can only last for a few seconds.

He is now practicing to crawl. He can lift his buttock up, knees on the floor, hands supporting his chest for a mini push up. I think he has got his basic posture for crawling right, but still needs more practice and exercise to strengthen his hands/legs muscles, as well as to perfect his hands/legs coordination for crawling.

He is better at expressing himself now. He has developed more variety of tones and sounds to express his different emotions. And he loves it when people talk to him. Sometimes he babbles back as if he is having a conversation with people.

He is playful and cheeky. Sometimes he can be mischievous too. He bites sometimes, and look at me with a cheeky smile. Or he pulls hair, licks your skin, followed by the same cheeky smile, as if he is saying: Gotcha!

He still wakes up for his night nursing every night. On a good day, he wakes up 1 time at 2-3am to nurse. On a not so good day, he can make noise almost every other hour and demands to be comforted. I am still not ready to let him cry it out, so let's see how he progresses next couples months.

Cedric @ 5 months old:-

Weight : 7.2kg

Length : 64cm

Head Circumference : 43cm

Father & Son Time

Hubby's job requires him to travel quite extensively. 

He is almost always on the move. Most of the time, he will be away 3-4 days a week, sometimes he even needs to work over the weekend.

So when he is at home, I always appreciate the quality time he spends with me and baby Cedric. 

I'm sure baby Cedric enjoys his daddy's company very much too!

Hello baby!

Nen Nen time

Pom Pom time

Daddy loves baby

Happy birthday daddy!

Us!