Ian starts to teeth at exactly 6months and 3 weeks. Now he has 2 cute teeth on his lower gum, his incisors are growing day by day. He looks so cute when he grins and smiles. He looks so grown up lately, he has already lost his baby look and starts to look like a toddler instead, while maintaining his chubby cheek, my trademark when I was a baby, and now it is also his.

Needless to say, he grows more adorable each day, and babysitter said he can eats one bowl plus of porridge from a 6oz sized bowl. I guess that’s the main reason he don’t drink as much milk as he used to be. Therefore now his intake of EBM has increased to about 80% a day ever since he started solid. Admittedly, on weekends I try to give him less porridge, and more milk. I figure he can handle 2 days of less solids and more milk. And if I were to give him solids, I mixed those with milk instead. Just like pumpkins and peaches plus plain porridge.

Unfortunately the peaches I bought were not sweet enough, and are a little tangy, so when I pureed it and gave to Ian last weekend, he winced and refused to eat much. I mixed them with plain porridge and some milk, and still it is too sourish for him. Now I dread to think of what I can do with the leftover puree I had frozen in the fridge. Maybe I will puree some apples this weekend and mixed them with a cube of peaches with milk to trick him into eating. Ho ho ho! Or make jelly and dump the cubes of peaches in and eat it myself with hubby instead!

I made a few cubes of avocado puree for him too, and I’m guessing he will most probably finish it this week or next. So I’m gonna have to restock on them this weekend. I bought a box of organic cereal grain, and this saves me time to cook porridge on weekend. Hehe… with this plain cereal, I can mix them with fruits puree and he can have something different to eat on the weekends instead of his normal porridge + minced meat + carrots + potatoes + marmite.

Anyways, baby food cost so much. 2 peaches cost rm9 and 2 avocados cost around ~rm9 too, depending on their weight. 2 avocados can last Ian for about 1 week plus depending on the frequency babysitter feeds him. His box of organic cereal cost rm19.90. I don’t really keep track how much I spent on him on weekly basis, because in his case, as long as he can eat, I will gladly buy for him. I want him to grow up eating healthy food, and I think I will need to puree vegetables soon, or at least ask babysitter to mix it into his porridge. Spinach is a good start.

I had no recollection whatsoever whether I had written on this topic before, and I couldn’t be bothered to check through my archive. So here goes; the list of things that pregnancy did to your body.

 Low lights:

1. The gradual/exponential weight gain – depending on individual, weight gain during pregnancy varies greatly from a person to the next. In my case, I had the optimum weight gain of 14/15kg during the whole 9 months, and my butt, thighs and tummy ballooned. Before being pregnant, food is my greatest sin. To sum it all up, I am a glutton. This was made possible by the superior gene I inherited from my mum (my suspicion). I suspected I have high metabolism, because no matter how much food I binged on, I could hardly put on a kilogram or two. (yes, I was cocky back then due to the privilege of being able to enjoy limitless food without every worrying about weight gain).  Needless to say, all that has changed. I am having trouble trying to losing the extra 5kg I gained from pregnancy right now. When I delivered Ian, I lost 5kg. Ian was 3.7kg, so the rest was the placenta and the amniotic fluid. After I was hospitalized for 1 week, I lost another 4kg, which brings the total to a 9kg. so 14 -9, I’m left with 5kg that I have been struggling to lose ever since. I am still breastfeeding therefore I feel hungry really fast! And I eat about the same amount of food as hubby, with late night suppers thrown into the equation. I am lucky to say I haven’t gain an extra ounce due to this, but I can’t lose an ounce either. Everyone has been telling me BF will help me to lose weight, but by the rate I am going, I doubt I will ever be. There’s this lady whom I knew, who had already went back to her original weight pre pregnancy, but I am still being haunted by stretch marks, and the ever flowing muffin top/spare tire! I know exercise is the key to losing weight, but I just can’t seem to find the time or energy to do it. so now I totally understands what chubby people actually felt, when they go shopping or when they looked at themselves in the mirror. It is really hard to find nicer clothes to wear, and body hugging is a total no-no because it’s obscene. Sigh… I gave myself 6months to lose those 5kg, and now I have to push my goal to 1yr. Dang!
2. Railway stretch marks – some women are so lucky they do not have stretch marks. I fell under the category of the unfortunate ones. Even after nearly 6months, the marks have not faded yet. Yes, do tell me I have unrealistic expectations over this… but you can’t blame me. I am not a hardcore vainpot, but I still am worried of those marks. I wonder how my hubby will think of them, although he still said I am beautiful. And I can’t wear my 2 piece swimsuit due to this (but mainly the marks are secondary reason. Prime reason would be the fact that I still cant fit into them, and I will look like I have a motorcycle tire around my waist -_-).
3. Muffin top – I have had many people asking me whether I am pregnant again, and I was horrified initially, but now, I learnt to take it all in my stride. The next time someone asked me, I think I will just say Yes. T_T
4. Thunder thighs – I have exceptionally big thighs for someone as skinny as me. It is no fun. I can’t wear skinny jeans. I cant wear straight cut jeans. I can only look nice in a bootcut. ‘nuf said. Damn.
5. Wider butt – my butt has always been categorized as wide for someone as skinny as me, and pregnancy plainly just made it worse.  I can no longer fit into my old pants, and I had to buy new ones at the ridiculous size of 8/10. I felt awful. My butt is wide and flat. Urgghhhh!!!
6. Hairy skin – yes, I felt that my hair grows faster than usual when I was pregnant, but then again, it might be the figment of my imagination. So, there is still no conclusion to this yet.

 Highlights:

1. Bigger breasts – any women who are pregnant will tell you they have bigger breasts due to the milk ducts and all. In my case, I still have the size I had because I am still breastfeeding. You see, I am one of those gals who wear a 32A size, and basically, looked like puberty never hits me. I used to lament that it would be nice to be wearing a 32B instead, because I will look nicer in clothes and dresses. And yes, becareful of what you wished for. ;p I got my wish during my pregnancy, my mcB literally went up 1 cup. Haha…  but after I delivered, milk starting coming in, and I was elevated to a 36B. for the first 3/4months, I wore a 36B and I find that it was a hassle, because I can’t fit into my old tees anymore, and if I forced myself into them, I will look so obscene that the mirror will crack if I ever stand in front of it. -_- so I had to waste some money to buy some tops because I had nothing to wear to work. And I got tired of wearing my old pregnant clothes/tops because people kept thinking that I am pregnant again. Well, hello?!! -_- finally, last month, I went 1 band size down, so I am a 34C at the moment. Yes, 2 cups bigger than I used to be, and 1 band size bigger because overall I am chubbier than I used to be. Would I want to have smaller mcB now, I think so. Less 1 cup will looked just nice.  ;p haha! But then again, now is still bearable. Just that I hated to be stared at. Oh ya, and I had to keep buying bras. For the record, La Senza is my fav at the moment. They have really comfy cotton bras, and cute too!
2. Healthy, glowing hair – oh  la la! my tresses was so beautiful and healthy when I was pregnant. My hair hardly falls, and the curls and length was just great. I did not trim my hair for like 9months straight, and I had no split ends at all. My hair dresser was horrified that I did not trim my hair for that long. ;p
3. No menstruation – best of all, no periods! During the entire pregnancy, and up until now! I haven’t had my period in 1yr and 2months time. Yay! I plan to continue BF, and I hope it won’t come back that soon. It is just so much fun without the PMS and all. ;p  but I have read from the forums, that after stopping for so long, period will come back in a vengeance. The PMS symptoms and physical pain is quite bad. Hu hu…

 I’ll update this list again when I can think of any new items. Hehe.. I know this posts ended very abruptly, but then again, I ran out of steam. ;p

Ian is all giggly in the playpen for like 10mins, or 15ins tops and then he starts to make noise and crave for attention. Well, he is one big, brave and tough boy. I’m so proud of him. I said this because he went for circumcision yesterday, and the whole morning prior to the minor surgery, he was all quiet and composed and never did he once kicked up a fuss. We let him fast for like 5hours before the surgery as it was the requirement, and he was so hungry by the time we went to the hospital, he licked the blanket on the bed (when he thinks we are not watching him) when we changed him into his hospital outfit.

After everyting was settled, I need to accompany him inside and hold his hand while the anesthesiologist knocked him out. The doctor put a tube underneath his nose, to let him inhale it and when he started to close his eyes, he put the whole face mask thingy on his face. And for the whole time, he did not even cry. Just quietly shook his head from side to side when the anesthesiologist put the gas under his nose. So I held his hand, sang him his lullaby but stopped halfway cause my voice cracked due to the fact that tears are welling up in my eyes. When he was knocked out, another doctor led me out of the room because they would need to wheel him into the operating theatre. And tears started dropping down on my face as I walked towards hubby. Heart pain.

We were led to a waiting area, and after sometime, I started to hear a baby cry in the daycare area, and I suspected that’s Ian. But no nurse came to get us. Eventually, 1 of the nurses came and asked us to go in, but only 1 at a time. So I went in first. The sight that greeted me wasn’t pretty, and the first feeling that came to me was helplessness. There was Ian crying inconsolably on the bed, with his penis wrapped up in bandage and the nurses trying to paste the fetal monitor on thumb, and 1 nurse was holding his head comforting him. He was red in the face from crying and I think that’s mainly due to the pain.

so I quickly went to his side, calling his name and all, and 1 of the nurse ask me whether I want to hold him. Of course I want to! But I checked with her whether that will hurt him or not. Ended up they wrapped him up in a blanket, and passed over to me. I put the pacifier in his mouth n sang him his lullaby, sshh-ing away at times while he cried his lungs out.

Even I started to cry at that time. Sigh… Eventually he stopped crying, but was sobbing away. I requested for the nurse to open up the door and let hubby in as I believed he must be anxious waiting outside. And when he saw Ian’s bandage, he grimaced. We spent the whole day in hospital, and had our insurance claim rejected twice. Yes, ING is very inconsiderate and as much as I wanted to tell them to go eat shit/suck cock, I don’t think I can (Ian, please forgive mommy’s foul language here). Apparently they insisted that circumcision is parental decision, is an elective, and in Ian’s case is congenital although the doctor had confirmed it twice in his report that it wasn’t. So a snip of Ian’s foreskin cost us 2k+. Tsk tsk…

Anyway, to cut long story short, he cried each time he pees as I think the stitches hurt. We tried to make him comfortable and let the wound air dry while in the hospital, but when he sleeps at night, we need to cover him up loosely in a diaper. It is a bit tricky taking care of a circumcised baby as opposed to a circumcised toddler because babies don’t know how to tell when they want to pee, so we can’t air dry their wound at all time.

I think Ian is aware of the pain if he moves around so much, because yesterday night while he was sleeping, he nary made a move. His legs were also straight while he slept on his back. Normally, he will turn left and right, move in a clockwork circles and changed positions so many times. I wish my son a speedy recovery. The only consolation today, I think maybe the pain subsided although it is still there because he still cries when he pees. But he can also smile and goof around when we played with him. Thank god!

Oh ya, on a high note, those nurses loved him. haha.. cos he’s so cute and so kuai when he was admitted. And each time they called him, he smiled happily. Bet the boy’s a ladies’ man when he grows up! Haha! Nevertheless, I loved him so much! And I am against circumcision of babies, especially when it isn’t medically necessary. I honestly wonder how can those parents go thru with it, citing hygiene as a main purpose to circumcise their babies. In case any of you wonder why we circumcise Ian, well it was because it’s medically necessary. He has been having trouble peeing, and doctors suspected it’s because his foreskin seems sealed together, leaving a tiny hole for urination. Hence he needs to strain each time he pees.