Whoosh! 4 more days and Zaria will turn 6months. We let her have her first solid yesterday.

Soaked rice grain; blending the rice; Zaria all excited in the kitchen; Zaria kept entertained while the cereal was being cooked

Recipe:
1 soup spoon organic brown rice
1 oz breast milk
some water

Soak brown rice for 2 hours
Blend brown rice with water until grains become fine
Cook liquid rice over slow fire, stirring often for about 5~7mins
Stir in Add breast milk and bring to boil.

Yummy Yummy, faster, quick, feed me, feed me!

She loves it! Kept opening her mouth and trying to grab the spoon! Next week, I’ll add quinoa and millet into her cereal.

Me : “Are you happy? Pao pao (Chinese : full) already?” Zaria : *big grin*

Sisterly Love

Zaria will be turning 6months next week, and is more responsive to her surrounding. She adores Zara, especially when Zara is dancing or singing, she’ll be watching Zara intently smiling. On the other hand, because Zaria is tougher now, Zara is able to hug and hold her and not crush her, Zara is enjoying the company of Zaria more.

Zara is also starting to show her love for her sister. She is willing to share her toys with Zaria, and when Zaria takes one of her favourite item, she will swap it with another less favourite and tell Zaria, “This one jiejie play. You take other one.”

At Zara’s bed time, if Zaria cried in the midst of me cuddling and talking to Zara, Zara will tell me, “Mummy, you go feed Zaria.” She no longer clinged on to me leaving her sister to cry.

2 days ago, when I was having a teleconference, Zaria cried because it was time for her feed. Since the meeting was about to end, I told Jelly (my other maid) to pacify Zaria while waiting for me. I heard some commotions downstairs caused by Zara. After the meeting, I checked what happened. Jelly told me Zara was very anxious when she heard Zaria crying so pitifully, so she kept saying, “Aunty Jelly, mummy meeting, you feed meimei the milk in the fridge! Meimei hungry.” “My mummy meeting cannot feed meimei, you feed meimei with this one (shoving a pack of frozen milk into Jelly’s hand).” “You don’t feed meimei after I smack you huh!”

When my aunt came visiting a week back, she pretended she wanted to bring Zaria home, and carried Zaria to the door. Zara cried, looking desperately for me for help, “Don’t take meimei! Cannot! Cannot take! It’s my meimei.” She only stopped when Zaria was back into my arms.

Sometimes, when she thinks I’m not looking, I can see her leaning over to kiss Zaria and mutter, “I love you meimei”.

I’m rather pleased to see this progress. 🙂 But being her normal self, she still say things like, “I’m pretty. Mei mei is ugly” “Meimei ugly because meimei’s eyes look like ganster (I wonder if she really knows the meaning of this).” or “Meimei so ugly because meimei’s eyes so small like daddy. Meimei’s hair botak like Ah Ku (my bro). My eyes big like mummy and my hair so long and soft.” “o.O

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On another note : My sister came over with Tasha 2 weeks back, I attempted to take photos of the 3 girls together. Boy, it’s tough. It’s hard to make them look at the camera the same time. Here are some ‘nicer’ shots.

A couple of months back, Channel blogged about Miabambina’s online shop which specialises in cloth diapers. It got me interested, I went to check out the site as well as Miabambina’s blog; asked a few questions and few days later, I ordered my cloth diapers.

I ordered 4 pieces from her (3 pieces of Drybees and 2 pieces of Bumgenious), and also included 2 extra inserts. Just to give you some information, these cloth diapers are washable and reusable. It has valcro fastener, and comes in some really cool colours and nice designs. To use the diaper, just slip in the absorbant insert into the diaper pocket. It’s pretty simple. The absorbant insert will absorb all the pee, while the diaper suedecloth inner keeps the baby dry. Because the diaper is pretty light weight,  2 hours of sunning will dry it after a wash. The insert itself takes a while to dry, that’s why I bought extra for cloudy days.

They don’t come cheap, each diaper is about ~RM75 with insert, it’s however more eco friendly; and in the long run, I will save some money from having to buy disposable diapers.

Zaria is fully on cloth diaper in the day when we’re home. She only uses disposable diapers in the night as well as when we go out (just because I don’t want to carry a soiled diaper home if she did a poo). She’s comfortable in it, makes her bum very well padded, which also makes her look rather cute!

The only problem I have with this is that Zaria is allergic to the suedecloth inner of the diaper (which is in contact with her skin), she had some rashes when we started using the cloth diaper. This was very quickly resolved with us lining the diaper with a piece of nappy liner (which cost very little).

I should have discovered this when Zara was still on diaper, then I would really save money big time! For those of you who have young babies, you may want to consider cloth diapering as well.

Zaria and her cloth diaper, in retro pink, baby pink and celery green

If you walked passed my house and hear sound of crying, you can be quiet sure it’s Zara’s. The Two and The Half cries more than her Four Month Old sister in a day!

She cries in the morning when she wakes up and doesn’t see me next to her.
She cries when she wants to wear her choice of clothings but we give her another set.
She cries when she recently had her Hep B vacination.
She cries when she wants to come to the study to play with me but I disallow because I have to work.
She cries when she wants Daddy or me to bath her, but both of us are busy and we ask the maid to do it.
She cries when she wants a sweet drink during dinner and we refuse.
She cries when she is not able to yank a toy out from the toy box.
Basically, she cries when she doesn’t get what she wants; when she’s in pain, frustrated, or just moody.
When she cries, she wails, with big drop of tears flowing down, wetting her face, and the top she’s wearing.
She cries more, when her face is wet, and she demands to be wiped; and it normally takes a while to calm her down.
Zara was a high need baby and now a high need toddler.

Zaria on the other hand, cries only when she’s frightened (by a loud bang, or the unfaimiliar whirring of the blender; or by a bad dream);
When what she is holding is snatched away;
When I abruptly end a nursing session and she hasn’t had her fill of milk;
When she wants to sleep, but she’s not comfortable enough to fall asleep.
When she had her vacination on the same day as Zara has hers, she made just an Argh sound, and that’s it. No tears or wailling like her sister.
And when she cries, she’s easily pacified : the toy returned to her, the feed continues, or just picking her would normally do the trick.

When Zara was younger, I was able to capture lots of crying photos of Zara (see here, here, here, here, here). With Zaria, as she deosn’t cry often, it was tough, but I’d been waiting. Last 2 days, I managed to capture these shots and that’s about it:

She was unhappy when her book was taken away; She wanted to be picked up after lying on her stomach for too long; She wanted to sleep but she was hungry and Zara was making too much noise in the room

4 people tagged me, eastcoastlife, Samm, Dancing Queen, Chooi Peng, interested to know the meaning of my girls’ name?

So why Zara and why Zaria?

It’s quite difficult for Daddy and I to agree on things 100%. When we were looking for a name for Zara, he wanted names like Catherine, and I wanted something more exotic which ends with an A (Eliana, Alina, Carissa etc) . We agreed Sarah is a nice sounding name, but since it’s pretty common; I picked Zara instead, a twist from Sarah and it means “princess”.

Daddy wasn’t quite convinced, until he met Zara for the first time in the delivery room; the spunky kid, who was partially delivered, head out, shoulders still stuck in the pelvic, screaming her lungs out. When Zara was placed on my tummy with umblical cord still intact, Daddy whispred in my ears, “I think the name Zara will suit her.” So Zara it is.

For Zara’s Chinese name, Daddy didn’t mind me making the shot, since he’s not Chinese Educated. I had a dream which repeatedly mentioned Jun Jan (It might have been due to Lin Jun Jie’s song getting lots of air time on radio during that time). When I woke up, I told Daddy about it, and he said Jun Jan sounded nice. So I started looking for Chinese words that sounded like that. It was 君倩 (pronounced as Jun Qian but spelled as Jun Jan in her birth cert) finally, which means gentlemen, noble for the first character, and winsome for the 2nd character (a winsome girl who’s noble).

As for Zaria, we wanted to look for a name which start with Z and end with A and only 2 sylabels. After a long hunt, we narrowed down to Zaria and Zonya (Simple American reminded me they are actually 3 sylabels). Since Zaria also means “Princess”, and both Zaria and Zara are names of young royalties in Europe (Zara Phillips and Countess Zaria), it makes more sense to choose Zaria.

Again, I was given the honour to choose a Chinese name for her, I chose 君洁 (pronounced and spelled as Jun Jie), which is noble, pure and chaste; with pronuciation not deviating too much from Zara’s Jun Jan.

Both girls have the same initials : ZLJJ. I hope the similarity in their names will bring them closer together as sisters.

Here are other bloggers and the meaning of their kids’ name.

1) Msaufong – Meaning Of SQ & Kiki?s name
2) Miche – My ACB
3) eastcoastlife – Choosing Jaymes?
4) Shopping Mum – The meaning of Justin and Isabell
5) Judy Chow – Terry
6) Shannon – Rachel
7) Samm – Gordon n Malcolm
8 ) Sasha – lil J
9) mott – 2 monkeys
10) Fatty Poh – What’s in a name?
11) Binky – The meaning of Ian
12) Dancing Queen – What’s in your child’s name?
13) Chooi Peng – Meaning of KW’s name

A lot of people have been tagged, so I’m not passing this to any one.

Zaria is growing really fast, and such a joy to have around.

This little girl knows how to :
~ turn from back to stomach swiftly (started @ close to 4 months), and turn from stomach to back with some struggle
~ slowly reach out her hand to grab an item placed in front of her, and then immediately put into her mouth to have a taste
~ do the phhhhhhhhhbbbbbbbt sound by blowing air through pursed lips
~ scream aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa or eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaa probably influenced by Zara’s frequent shouting while talking at home
~ turn her body towards my breast when she wants to be fed (this is especially useful when I have to feed her in my half asleep state at the break of dawn)
~ laugh a real nice babyish laugh

And she likes to :
~ suck on her hand (I’m not sure if she’s going to be a thumb sucker later)
~ turn from back to stomach; then cry for help after a while because she doesn’t quite like being on her stomach and still struggling to turn herself back
~ put everything into her mouth, and turning it dripping wet (I always wonder where all the saliva comes from)
~ play with her tongue by sticking it out, or moving it about in her mouth
~ play with her feet; angkat kaki (Malay : lying leg raise) is so effortlessly done
~ be sung to, talked to, and praised; she responds with big wide smiles
~ sleep on her side
~ go to the park and watch children play

She cries (with big drops of tears) when
~ I lay next to her preparing to feed her, making her all excited; and then I got up abrubtly to get something I’d forgotten (like a book to read or to put on the breast pads)
~ I removed my breast from her mouth when she’s half way feeding
~ there’s big loud thunderstorms
~ she has a bad dream (I wonder if it’s about big loud thunderstorm, or abruptly ending a breastfeeding session)

She gives us the biggest smile when we greet her in the morning. Cries the loudest (with no tears) when she’s sleepy but can’t fall asleep in a hot day (lucky for me, this only happens in the day. She’s like an angel in the night). 

She is slowly adjusting to taking 2 long naps a day, and goes to bed at 8:30-9pm, allowing me some private time with Zara (if I wan’t working).

Examining (and sometimes tasting) her toes. About to turn.

Love the taste of her hand. Looking around on all fours. Sleep like an angel. BLECH!

I hosted a 3hours morning workshop for 7 days recently. I had to make sure speakers arrive on time, participants have no problem joining, Q&A are jotted down etc. Thank goodness for technology, they were all done through audio conference and virtual meeting room, making it possible for me to attend at home.

However, being the host and with all the coordinations to do (and all the problems related to logistic to solve), I have to be at my desk more than 3hours in the morning. What happened when Zaria needed her milk after her morning bath?

Thank goodness I invested in My Brest Friend, a nursing pillow which can be strepped around your waist.

This is my best friend.

I know I shouldn’t do this hands free, but when worn while seated close to the table, it prevented her from rolling down from the other end of the pillow. Now with this, I could feed Zaria hands free, still able to do my typing, notes taking, talking.

(oh boy, doesn’t this sound like a PPP/sponsored post? Unfortunately it’s not.)

At 2 1/2 months :
She weighed 5.45Kg and stood lay at 60cm

At 3 1/2 months :
She’s not as chubby as she used to be (but haven’t weighed or measured her yet).
The 0-3months clothes fit snugly now, and she’s starting to fill up the 3-6months clothes.
She drinks 3oz ~ 4oz of breast milk three hourly, 1st feed at 5am or 6am and last feed at 10pm or 11pm.
She takes 3 to 4 naps a day, from a 15mins doze to a 2 hours nap.
She smiles a lot, especially when spoken to.
She cooes when we talk to her or when we sing to her, sometimes competing with Zara to see who is lounder.
She likes to sit on our lap or on the sofa (supported), but dislikes being placed on her tummy.
When Zara watches TV, she stares at the TV as though she’s also watching with Zara.
She experianced her first dip in the pool and a bubble bath together with Zara.
She recognises me as the milk giver. Every time when she’s hungry and I carry her, she’ll be turning towards my breast and flinging her arm, preparing to latch on.
When she drinks from the breast, she likes to latch on then pullll, latch on then pullllll, a few times before she settles down to drink. Imagine the pain! “=.=
Whe she drinks from the bottle, she just pushes the teat out from her mouth, complaining, fusing, crying. Milk is consumed by dripping into her mouth. “=.=
She has bowel movement 3 to 4 days once, and usually after her lunch feed.
She tries to reach out for things, when she does touch it, she quickly puts her fingers around the item and tries puting it in her mouth.
Daddy and I think she’s really cute. Zara also ‘thinks’ Zaria is cute; so cute that she can’t ‘help’ but give Zaria too tight a squeeze at times and just yesterday, bit Zaria’s nose, leaving teeth mark. “=.=

Look at the way she stares at the TV like Zara, as though she’s really watching TV. She was wee bit shocked being in the pool

2 months came and went and Zaria is growing well, feeding well.

At 2 months +, these are things she can do :
~ supporting her head for a few minutes
~ putting her fist into her mouth and licking it (I think she’s planning to suck her thumb, but her aim is not so accurate yet)
~ rubbing her eyes with her hands
~ moving her head and eyes to follow person’s voice or face
~ raising her legs high up
~ hitting and kicking the items on her baby gym (not sure if she did this intentionally or unintentionally)
~ sleeping through the night (YIPPIE for ME!)

She is still purely on breast milk, drinking 3 hourly during the day. I try to fix her feeding time to be around 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm and then 10pm, and she seems to be adjusting to this timing too. She’s taking about 3.5oz.

She hates the heat and fusses frequently in the house (since our house is not fully air-conditioned), but once we’re in the mall, she is very happy and cheerful and able to takes longer naps. The good thing is, no matter how fussy she is in the day, once she has her last feed, she settles down and falls asleep on her own (with Zara, I used to carry and rock her until she’s asleep; and even now, she needs me to be by her side or she won’t be able to fall asleep) pretty easily (the air-condition turned on probably helps).

Babies they grow up so fast, and mummies, their maternity leave just zooms by so quickly too.

First few days after she was born

These are her more recent photos, see how much she’s grown compared to the1st set of photos?

Tricks she knows : Raising her hands and legs; Cooing to her mobile, sucking her fist, supporting her neck

I still have about 20 odd days to go before I go back to work! *big big sigh* And boy, I must say, the feeling of not working but still getting an income is oh so great! I’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

Every time someone I know meets Zaria, they’ll say something like this, “Err, your girl, err.. big hor?”
Hmm, yesterday, we took her for her 6th week jab and got her measured. She’s almost put on 2Kg in 6 weeks (birth weight 2.91kg, now 4.85kg), and taller by 5.5cm (birth height 51.5cm, now 57cm).
She is indeed getting bigger, longer, and the cheeks chubbier.

At 6th week, she’s sleeping less.
She kicks her legs and punches her fists.
She likes us to talk to her and she’ll look at us intently and cooes back, if she’s in the mood.
She’s very serious looking and rarely smiles, but when she does, I can spot the little dimple on her left cheek.
She likes to lift her head up and look around when we carry her tummy (hers) on chest (ours), but dislikes being put on the tummy lying down.
When she’s really upset and cries (she never wails, just cries), tears will form and she really looks so so sad.
She still drinks three hourly, but luckily at night, she wakes up 5hourly. E.g. last feed at about 10pm, she’ll wake up at about 3am and then the next round at 8am.

Chubby Cheeks at 6th week (the head band was Tuyam’s idea)