I am so tired...

... from 2 nights of feeding marathon. I think - and hope - that Faith is just going through the usual growth spurt at 12 weeks. For the last 2 nights, my dear daughter has been waking up 3 times a night to drink, at about 2 hourly intervals. Last night, one of her feeding session lasted 1 hour. You would think that after drinking for so long, it would be able to last her through till the morning. But no... my dear daughter started squirming and kicking her sheets till it covers her face some 2-hour later for her next feeding. I was so tempted to drag the blanket over my head, ignore her squirmings and go back to sleep.

I'm praying that its a growth spurt that she's going through since such events only last only 2-3 days. She went through a feeding-spree during her 3rd week growth spurt. In the 6th week growth spurt, there wasn't any deviation from her normal feeding patterns. Her paedi told me that it is possible for infants to go through growth spurts without exhibiting any signs of increase appetite/hunger.

Here's keeping my fingers cross that by tomorrow, Faith would revert to her normal feeding pattern. Otherwise, this weekend, you would see a panda on the loose ;)

Aunty's "babies"

Aunty Xiuzhen was our confinement lady for the 1-month after my delivery. We got to know her through word-of-mouth (WOM) from my boss and she came highly recommended and also someone that was very pro breastfeeding. A pro breastfeeding confinement lady was rare, and of course we were told to quickly contact her more than 6 months ahead of our delivery date :)

Thus, Aunty Xiuzhen has been making her rounds taking care of the mothers and babies of a few common friends. On Saturday, we visited LS, who has recently delivered her 2nd kid -- a daughter. Aunty Xiuzhen has taken care of both LS' and EL's 2 kids when they were delivered. Lo and behold, it was a gathering of Aunty Xiuzhen's "babies" at LS' place.

And so it was, we've spent an enjoyable Saturday afternoon, chit-chatting with Aunty Xiuzhen, reminiscing about our respective trials of motherhood post-delivery and "oohing-aahing" over how much all our babies have grown. Here are some pictures of Aunty, the mummies and all the recent baby girls delivered. The 2 toddlers... well... they were in the living room playing and as with boys, I don't think they were very interested in picture taking :)

Faith is growing :)

It might be just me, but I think that Faith has growth spurts whenever I go overseas. Just came back again from Bangkok and I could tell that Faith was chubbier, her hair was fuller and I think she might even have grown a little taller. All in 3 days you might say? Well, I'd like to think she misses her dad and to make up for it, goes on drinking binges. Imagine what it'd be like when I go for reservist for one week starting Monday!

As Eve says, the most rewarding thing is still to see her smile. I was in the airport lounge when I accessed Eve's previous blog to see Faith's pictures and it picked me up after a long day in the office. It was already pretty late in the evening when I got back, so I didn't get to talk to her much this time. Tomorrow morning though we'd get to talk all we want! :)

Green Tea Creme Brulee

There are 2 green tea desserts that I love; green tea creme brulee and green tea tiramisu. Surprisingly, I had both while overseas, although not in Japan. I tasted my first green tea creme brulee at the Saffron restaurant of Banyan Tree Bintan. The green tea tiramisu was served at Satsumi restaurant at Wardour Street in London.

What I liked about the green tea tiramisu, which makes it very different from the other green tea tiramisu that I've tried is that the mascarpone portion of the dessert was flavoured with green tea while the sponge finger layer still retained the usual coffee liquer taste. It was yummy! The online recipes that I've found for green tea tiramisu were different in that they substitute the coffee liquer soaked sponge fingers for green tea instead.

I've decided to try to recreate these 2 desserts at home, starting with the green tea creme brulee becos it was the easiest. Here's a peek at the finished product fresh out from the oven. Its yet to be caramelised though.

The verdict??

Hmmm... there was a hint of green tea, but a very faint one at that. Perhaps its becos I was using green tea powder and did not use enough of it to bring out the flavor or I should have let it steep longer. Alternatively, I could use green tea leaves, which might give greater flavor. All the same, it still taste good.

My smiley baby

I love my baby most in the mornings when she wakes up all full of smiles. It doesn't take much to make her smile... in fact, she would stretch like a cat and give you that full megawatt smile that makes you feel that nothing else in the world can compare to this.

Its my favourite time in the day and the best time to snap some great pictures. Say "Cheese"!

Baby keep your head up

Yes, for a while, Faith has been trying to lift her neck whenever we hold her in an upright position, with her chin over our shoulders. Today, while I was trying to burb her after her feeding, I noticed that she could hold her head up for about 5-10 seconds.

Of course, she couldn't really hold it for long cos she will flop about. Nonetheless, I thought it was a little achievement for my little one. I wonder when would be the day that she would be able to have control over her neck and can take in sights whenever we hold her up. Curiously, I wonder if its a progressive development i.e. increasing timeframe that she can hold her head, or would it just happen? Nonetheless, I think I shall give her more time on the tummy so that she can use the opportunity to exercise her neck.

Bon chance, ma petite fille!

Is the grass greener on the other side?

I think it is true. Back when I was holding a job, I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mum (SAHM) and I thought that there could be so much things that I could do with my kid when I become one.

Today, I went back into office to pack my desk in preparation for the start of my 2-year leave of absence from work in Jul. Maybe its becos I haven't been experiencing the stress of work, but I was actually looking forward to going back and meeting with friends and colleagues. I felt guilty for feeling this, but then, it was good to be interacting with people. Although I have always wanted to be a SAHM, these days, I am ocassionally gripped with the thought that it would be liberating to earn my own money and not be consumed by guilt whenever I want to splurge on myself and know that I'm spending my hubby's hard earned money.

Perhaps I would embrace and enjoy my role as a SAHM as Faith gets older and there are more things that we could do together. I've always fantasised that I would be cooking different types of food and cuisines that are nutrious, going out or playing with her and yet, still have the time to pursue my other love i.e. cooking and baking. It may sound rather simplistic. Just as I had always loved my deceased but dearly missed grandma's cooking, I hope there comes a day in the not too near future where Faith would tell me that "Mommy, could you cook me my favourite XXX dish".

In today's context, this may not be the yardstick for being a good mum. However, in the Asia of my grandma's and mother's time where love may not be expressed so openly, it is most often communicated through the food you cook for your family.