jeudi, octobre 14, 2010

Sleeping arrangement

A few months before the arrival of little brother, we bought a junior bed from Ikea for the big brother. Though he was only 16months old, we decided to make him sleep in the junior bed instead of buying another baby bed for the little brother. The little brother would instead be sleeping in the existing baby bed.

We installed the junior bed but big brother did not want to sleep in it. It took him a month before he slowly accepted sleeping in it. Now, he had no problem sleeping in it. I think he knew the advantage of sleeping in the big bed. He could get out of the bed early in the morning and came looking for us in our room. In the baby bed, he would have to wait for us to come get him. We no longer needed to set the alarm clock as we could hear big brother getting off his bed and walking along the corridor at 6.30am or sometimes earlier.

For little brother, I decided not to put him in the baby bed yet. The 2 boys would be sharing a room and since little brother cried so often as all new borns do, I did not want him to disturb his older brother’s sleep. I rented a maternity baby bed for a month. We could easily move the baby anywhere we want. Furthermore, we could see the baby through the transparent cot.
Another week and little brother would be a month old. I'm hoping that the 2 boys would sleep well when they are both in the same bedroom.

samedi, octobre 02, 2010

The birth story

The day before he arrived, we were at Jardin de Plantes in Paris. On the way home, the usual 30mins drive became 2hours due to massive traffic. Saturday evening traffic in Paris was horrible. That was when the contractions started. On Sunday early morning, the contractions continued and became regular at 5 minutes interval at around 3.30am. I called my mid-wife, Adela and she said to go to the clinic and she would join us there. We arrived at 4.30am and Adela examined me. She prepared the labour room and at 5am, my obstetrician arrived. By 5.10am, the baby was out. Adela knew that I would like to have a natural birth and we worked towards it throughout my pregnancy. I was really pleased that the birth turned out as I wanted. No epidural or complications. So it was really true what people said about first delivery being long and subsequent ones would be faster. But neither Seb nor I expected it to be that fast.

I thank God for answering my prayers. Adela, my mid-wife was great. She knew that my first delivery was long and difficult. She did her best to ensure that I would get what I wrote in my first birth plan. I did not even bother to do a birth plan for this second one.

If you are looking for a mid-wife in the Parisian area, let me know. You won't be disappointed with Adela.

vendredi, octobre 01, 2010

The wait is over

My second boy had arrived on sunday. He weighed 3kg100g and was 48cm. He arrived at the same term as his older brother; 39 weeks + 2 days.

Baby boy's name starts with an A, like his older brother. So I guess I have to call my Baby A, Baby 1 and this new born, Baby 2.

As usual, we engaged the services of Adela, my mid-wife and Dr Sabban, my obstetrician. I stayed at Sainte Isabelle Clinique as I enjoyed the service there for Baby 1. This time round, I took the suite since the room was entirely paid by my mutuelle. The rate was like that of a superior room in a 5 star hotel in Paris. Very expensive. The suite was spacious. I should have done that for my first stay instead of opting for the single room.

I stayed 3 nights there and though the food was alright, I longed for kebah and sushi. Seb delighted me with the best sushi he knew in Paris. (That was when he was still eating fish.) The fish were really fresh. I guess I had more craving for food than when I was pregnant.

We are all home now and as usual, mum is doing confinement for me. I can hardly wait for the confinement period to be over so that I can be FREE. Mum is not that strict but still, confinement is confinement!

Baby 1 takes well to Baby 2 and even kissed him. Baby 2 is adorable so far. Not a fussy baby. Or maybe because this baby business is not new to us, we are less stress up.

Oh yeah, when I was at the clinic, I met a nurse who did an internship at KK Hospital in Singapore. She knew about the confinement practise and we discussed a little. She was surprised to have a patient from Singapore and asked if my mum was going to sleep with me at night. I told her that my french husband would never allow that.