This morning as I was tossing some stuff into my bag, it occurred to me that my bag seems less packed with two children compared to two years ago when I just had the one baby. I think at that time as a new mum, I was prone to over-packing in wanting to be prepared for anything and everything. But over the past two years, I've learnt dial-down on the over-preparedness so I can travel light since I now have two little ones in tow. Here's a peek into what I carry around in my bag these days...   Two cloth nappies (I like to include at least one Bitti Tutto or Ecobumba nappy which can be adjusted to use on either Grace or Nathan) Wet wipes (I use my cloth wipes at home) Wet bag for soiled nappies Spare 'sposie diaper for Grace Small box of biscuits/snacks Water bottle for Nathan Baby sling for carrying Grace Compact fold-up tote (as some retailers now have a plastic-bag-free policy, plus it folds up into a cute littl...

So after my parents left, I've been finding my feet to get into my own daily rhythm and routine with the kids. It took some trial and error, but I think we've all finally settled into a nice workable routine. Nathan goes to daycare two days a week and spends the remaining days at home with me. It's a little more challenging looking after two kids on my own on those days. But having a rough plan in mind definitely helps steer me through the day. Even if the day goes a little off every now and then, at least I have a general guideline to steer back towards. As I have a number of friends who are about to pop their second baby, I thought for their benefit I would share what my day looks like with the two kids at this point in time (bear in mind that Grace is now about two months old, so she's more settled compared to the early newborn days)...     7.00AM-8.00AM Kids start waking up. Morning drill: Change nappies and jammies, prepare breakfast for Nathan,...

Hi folks, today I'm guest posting at Mummy's Underserved Blessings as part of a series on 'Sharing Your Passion' hosted by the lovely  Lisa And for those of you who know me, almost nothing gets me more excited and passionate than talking about one of my favourite topics: Cloth Nappies! Do hop on over to Lisa's blog to read and support my post: Five reasons why cloth nappies are easier than you think

Just like my discovery of the secret weapon for helping Nathan settle down for his naps, I finally discovered my new secret weapon for baby #2 which turns out to be this old classic:     One of the biggest challenges I had in the early weeks with Grace was getting her to settle down for naps and bedtime. She needed a lot of help by rocking, patting, carrying and all. But the top absolutely full-proof method was simply: nursing.   I resorted to it as at that time everything was all mixed up with cluster feeds, growth spurts and wonder weeks. However eventually the habit got to the point that I often had to sleep next to her literally the whole night just so that she could sleep.   She is still too young to know how to find her own fingers and thumb to soothe herself, so we tried the pacififer on her several times. She struggled to accept it at first and really fought against it. It must have tasted so wrong compared to mummy. But then one day, ...

Our little Grace officially turns 7 weeks today.   This morning, I took Grace out for her official 6-8 week check-up with the child health nurse. It was gratifying to see how all my precious milk has been doing her good. She's definitely a solid sized baby, sitting above average on the weight and height charts.   The early weeks were initially hard as she has been a very hungry baby and also needed a lot of help settling to sleep. I had to either rock or hold her constantly and often even nurse her to sleep (which I know a lot of people say is against the 'rules').   However, I think she's finally settling into a good daily pattern and rhythm. And earlier this week, we finally broke through the 2-3-hour mark and she slept through close to 7 hours one night. Phew!   So what is little Grace like?   Well, she's a very contented little baby (once she's had her milk) and can sit happily in her rocker observing all the activity around her. And there is de...

Even though this is my second time with a baby, it really surprised me how much I've forgotten how hard looking after a baby is.   I was inclined to think that Nathan was just an easier baby. Perhaps he was, I can't really remember. So I revisited some old posts from my early days with him and discovered how equally tough it was for me back then as well.   But following that initial discouraging period with my first baby were hundreds more beautiful photos and lovely anecdotes about parenting and our new baby and celebrating wonderful baby milestones.   (I think perhaps you can sense that I am slowly starting to emerge from the narrow and dark tunnel of the early weeks being broken in by a new baby.)   The point I'm trying to get at is this:   As cliché as it sounds, the joy of having children really and truly always, ALWAYS, outweighs the pain.   It's why there are rainbows after the rain. It's why the pain of labour is usually always forgot...

I mentioned in passing in a previous post about our encounter with Child Protection Services in Australia. As expected, we received many concerned questions from friends and family wondering what on earth happened to us during that very eventful weekend .   So to calm all your fears and worries, here is the story...   A week earlier, hubs had brought Nathan to see a doctor to check on a very bad bruise on his cheek. Like all active boys, Nathan was always getting bumps and bruises from running and jumping about everywhere.   This bruise first came about a couple of months ago when he was jumping on the couch, fell and knocked his cheek against our coffee table. But apart from some initial tears and fussing, he was not bothered by the bruise at all.   Nathan's super bad bruise on his right cheek  A few weeks went by and we started to notice a lump developing under the bruise on his cheek. So we finally we decided to get it chec...

Three things not to say to a mother with a new baby (especially if you currently do not have a baby yourself) #1. Baby sleeping (again)? Forever sleeping one! (you were not up with baby since 5.30am, the toddler since 7.00am, only managed to get baby to sleep at 8.00am, while everyone else slept until 8.30) #2. How many times did baby wake up last night? My children all slept through the night since they were one month old! (tell me, how is that remark even remotely helpful?) #3. Why don't you just pump your milk to feed baby? It will make your life so much easier! (have you ever even breastfed before?) Remarks like that whether said directly or casually in passing will result in said mother crying alone in the middle of the night, when she has been up for two hours with a restless baby trying to figure out why her baby just will not sleep. (End rant)

I suspect I might have a serious case of Folliculaphilia . Folliculaphilia \ fol-i-k uh -la-fil-ee- uh \ verb A person who is only attracted to men with a moustache I don't know about you, but I've really been digging the current trend in Hollywood of male celebrities sporting beards these days. Hubs always gets a heavy five o'clock shadow every second day. On weekends, by Sunday night he'd be looking absolutely grizzly. One day on a whim, I told him he should try to tidy up his weekend scruff so it still looks casually neat. As expected, he didn't want to bother with it at first... so I might have thrown in some bedroom promises to seal the deal... maybe, the details are all somewhat hazy now. I even googled different beard styles and how-tos so we could select which one to go for, and shared a few giggles over a few wacky facial hair styles . But in the end, he got the razor and clippers out to fulfil his end of the deal. It's weird. I never thought I'...

Phew! I've just emerged from a super drama weekend. When it rains, it pours! And I mean that both literally and figuratively.   Keywords describing our highly eventful weekend... Wonder week Cluster feeding Sleep regression (the only way and place she will sleep is in bed, while being nursed) Mastitis Child protection services investigation (long story for another time) Flu (poor hubs finally fell sick with all the stress looking after everyone)   Desperate times call for desperate measures. So it has come to this...     I called my dad to get one and bring it over yesterday before his flight. She sleeps like a dream in it, so now at least I have a bit if respite in between feeds. Perhaps there will come a day when I shall curse this contraption, but for now it is the saviour of my sanity.