Sunday 26 October 2008

Daddy's Lap

She fell asleep while I was burping her and did so in this cutest pose! Talia has this super-contented expression after a milk feed.

Saturday 25 October 2008

Peace on Earth

I took this photo on our 3rd day in the hospital after Talia's morning feed when I noticed her peering out of her cot with her cute little eyes. Peaceful and contented and quietly curious about this strange world that she's suddenly found herself in......
It's heart-warming to watch babies fall asleep in happy contentment after a milk-induced high! Talia has been giving us lots of sleep smiles after a good feed but they are too fleeting to capture on camera!

Thursday 23 October 2008

Boys at Ballas

The boys went to Jacob Ballas Childrens Garden again today. Ethan got some much needed exercise cos he likes eating so much. We don't want him getting tubby so it's the good ol' outdoors for our boy!

What was Ethan grinning so widely about? He's activating the lights on these cool "flowers" by turning the crank! Jacob Ballas Children's Garden is really cool...

Tuesday 21 October 2008

My Turn

Ethan's waiting for his turn with the new toy! We trying to teach him to say "Please Talia" and "Thank you Talia!" for sharing her toy with him.

Baby Gym

Her first go at her own baby gymnasium! We're getting ready for a trip to the doctor to check Talia's jaundice level. At the same time, Ethan will get a pneumococchal vaccination to protect him for the nursery 1 kindergarten that will start next year in January.

Saturday 18 October 2008

Feeling Better

Her jaundice levels have come down but she still needs more phototherapy before she can come home with us. You can see here how her skin looks a much nicer pink except around her eyes which is still yellow cos she wears eye covers during phototherapy. So it is back to nasty blue lights for Talia and poor girl is crying now in protest as compared to her happy state just a few minutes earlier in this photo when she was just federal by Mummy and lovingly burped on Daddy's shoulder.

In comparison, Ethan had a fantastic day swimming and snacking with Grandpa, Grandma, uncles, aunties and cousins! Not a bad exchange for having to wake up this morning to disappearing parents and asking, "Where babeee?"

Double Phototherapy

Talia is getting phototherapy from both above and below, so while other babies get padding in their cots our princess has to be content with hard unforgiving transparent plastic for a mattress. Poor sweetie...hopefully she will get discharged tomorrow.

Hospital Again

Poor Talia has high jaundice levels and has to be admitted for a couple of days so we're scrambling to make arrangements.

Jaundice Check

Talia has to get her jaundice levels checked. She has been borderline high so we woke up very early today. Here she is freshly bathed and ready to go at 7.30am!

Car Seat

Talia is so tiny that we have to use all sorts of padding to make the car seat fit better. It really reminds us of those first few weeks with Ethan. She is has eyebrow furrows here because this is her first time in the outdoor sun and it's quite bright!

Friday 17 October 2008

Tiny Memories

It has been only 2 years since Ethan was born but we've already forgotten how small newborn babies are until you actually hold one again. Even then you normally hold them swaddled but getting Talia dressed and bathed is another matter. What a precious time!

Thursday 16 October 2008

Officially Singaporean

She is registered and coming home with us today! Soon she will need a passport to travel with us to exciting places...

Cutie Pie

My daughter has the most darling little mouth! She also has big grey eyes but she's sleeping almost all the time so you hardly get to view them. Double eyelids are also there which is 4 for 4 in the family! But her eyelashes are not as long as Ethan's and Daddy's - the boys in this family have the long eyelashes!

Wednesday 15 October 2008

Family Photo

Poor Ethan has to be out of this photo so it's not "complete" without him! He was quite sad yesterday having to leave his mummy in the hospital, so this evening he stayed at home.

Tuesday 14 October 2008

In Our Arms

Here is our little girl in Mummy's arms, but today Daddy got to hold her for a long time and we snuggled up and had a quick nap together. Very lovely and precious!

Full View

Like many newborn babies, Talia tends to fall asleep during feeding times so we have opened up her blanket so she's not so warm and comfortable that she falls asleep. You can see her slim legs here which are skinnier that Ethan's when he was born!

Monday 13 October 2008

First Day



Here are a couple more close-ups of our now 1 day old baby daughter.

Gadgets vs. Girls

Ethan took to Talia quite well all things considering, even patting her a little with our prompting! However he did think she was a bit over rated. His new toy was much more interesting! Conclusion: gadgets beats girls - hands down.

Special Day

It's not every day that you get to meet your sister for the first time so today is a very special day. Ethan was very well behaved though he missed Mummy so we are now at West Coast Park for a treat before going to see Mummy and Talia in the hospital. Talia is also looking forward to meet her brother. She has already packed a special present for Ethan in our bag today!

Sunday 12 October 2008

Love, Daddy

Dear Talia,

You didn't realize it at the time, but today your Daddy held you for the first time ever. You were so small but you looked at me with your big eyes. I heard them whisper, "I need you Daddy..." so I want you to know that I will be here.

You were cold today after your first bath and because the aircon was freezing! So while you laid down under the warm lamp Daddy warmed his hands in hot water and held your cold feet and hands! Soon you were toasty, and I wrapped you up tight so you would feel safe. You fell fast asleep on me after that. You must know this because one day you may feel you're too big to hold my hand or cuddle up close anymore.

Mummy loves you and cares for you so very much and so very well! Daddy's love looks different but is just as strong and big for you. As I held you today I felt that love growing stronger and stronger. Love in practise is like that. Add up Mummy's love and Daddy's love and multiply it by a gazillion and that is an idea of our Heavenly Father's love for you sweetie. I will love you and show you more as we go along. It's just your first day, but there are many wonderful things like this I want you to experience. Are you ready?

Love, Daddy.

Thanksgiving

Thanks for the prayers and love you have shown. Renata and Talia are resting well. Ethan will see his baby sister tomorrow for the first time! Visits in the hospital for family only please. Thank you!

Talia's Born!


2.525kg and 51cm long at 5.11pm - healthy and already latched on and feeding well!

Warm Bed

Our little girl's bed is being pre-warmed for her welcome into the world. Renata is now 9cm so that will be very soon!

Contractions

The spikes on the right are Renata's contractions We can see them getting stronger (amplitude), longer and more frequent. The urge to "push" is increasing along with the pain and our gynaecologist is on the way! Renata is 6-7cm dilated so looks like Talia will be here before dinner!

Water Burst

Last time when the water broke it was really messy and lots of laundry had to be changed. This time one of the doctors came in to gently break the water bag so it was all done very neatly. No pictures of that!! We are at 5cm now...

Heavenly Bliss

The epidural is in and it all went well. The doctor said Renata was shallow, not referring to her character but the depth of the spinal cavity from the skin! Various medications and blood pressure checks are going on now... Mummy is all relaxed and ready to snooze. Talia should be here in a few hours!

Daytime Differences

Having a baby in the daytime sure feels different than going in at 3am like we did with Ethan. Last time it was like a secret mission or covert operation cos it was all dark and hardly anyone was around. Now it is bustling and Renata even gets served lunch! (wonder if they will charge us extra for the lunch?) Not being sleepy is good too cos Daddy is awake this time!

Easy Does It

This giving birth stuff looks easy... At least Renata makes it look easy! See how relaxed she is, settling in for a lunchtime nap. She scrunches her face a little when the contractions come... Ivan would probably be squealing like a little girl if it was him.

Talia's Heartbeat

She sounds strong and well! The first doctor is checking her out. Talia's head is low but it's still early hours...

Brotherly Love

Ethan is giving his last hug to Talia while she is inside. Next time his mummy will be in the arms of another baby. Renata is having contractions at 10 min intervals so we're off to the hospital now! Pray for us!

Saturday 11 October 2008

McDonald's Mania

We are now having father-son bonding time in McDonalds on Farrer Rd. Daddy thought he would never be a McDonalds fan but has to admit that these guys really have it down to an art! The Happy Meal is just the right size and Daddy gets a decent cappucino. It's all perfect to keep us 2 occupied for an hour!

Friday 10 October 2008

Careful on that Playground!

We discovered another way that Ethan is like his Daddy. Though he enjoys the playground he is quite careful and averse to climbing too high or things that seem 'dangerous'. Daddy remembers he was that way too when young and never did like to climb too high or swing too vigorously. So Ethan will wait till Daddy shows him how to do things in the playground before he attempts them, and sometimes need a bit of encouragement before undertaking the scarier things. Funny that Daddy loves fast motorbikes now...it must be a late developing thing that I somehow think Ethan will pick up too.


Ethan's motor-skills is rapidly improving now. Here he is in this video climbing the ladder with some help from Dad then enjoying the slides all by himself!

Monday 6 October 2008

Our Techie Time

Here we are enjoying one of our techie times together. This is when Daddy takes pictures of the fun things we've been doing then plays photos or videos on his phone. Ethan lies down next to me and we watch together. We also enjoy searching YouTube for toddler videos! Ethan loves this and since he stays still next to Daddy for so long Daddy loves it too. "Let's look at pictures!" says Daddy waving his phone and Ethan smiles gleefully and clambers up onto the comfy bed!

Saturday 4 October 2008

Cooling Off

Maybe its just me being pregnant but this last week has been really HOT! Fortunately our sweaty little boy has his ways of cooling off in this sweltering heat. Here he is enjoying a cool swim in the nice pool at Ah-Mah's place....and it looks like he's not the only one enjoying the swim!

He also enjoys long and leisurely bubble-baths at Por Por's place where it's always a stuggle to extricate him from the bath......
And when he's stuck at home with me, we sometimes take a quick trip down to the Jacob Ballas Garden in the afternoon to cool off in the lush greenery of our favourite park! It's also a great place to celebrate the wonders of water play with other kids as well -- and that certainly takes all our minds off the hot weather!

Friday 3 October 2008

Liao Yi Lin

We have chosen Talia's name and here it is... 廖 亦 霖

Similar to Ethan's name, we wanted to choose a Chinese name that had rich meaning but was also related to her English name. Her chinese name means "rain that refreshes, especially after a drought". As refreshing rain and dew, it is our hope that she will be a source of God's loving and refreshing kindness to whomever she meets!

In case the above Chinese text doesn't appear properly on your computer here it is as an image:

Thursday 2 October 2008

Talia is Coming

The name Talia (tal-yuh) is a Hebraic contraction of "dew" and the name of God, thus meaning "dew of Heaven". In Jewish tradition, dew is gentle and ever-present thus representing God's kindness. We thought this is a wonderful meaning which we hope is expressed in Talia's life as she grows up.

This Talia is about to descend upon us very soon. Renata is having minor contractions already. Here she is getting hooked up to a machine that measures Talia's heartbeats and detects any contractions. Look what a nice picture Renata drew with her uterus!



Wednesday 1 October 2008

First Lanterns!

Ethan enjoyed his first lanterns this year during the Mid-Autumn Festival. He had a choice of a Snoopy Lantern with red and blue LED lights that Daddy bought or a bright blue SpongeBob one that Uncle Roy gave him!

Ethan was fascinated by the lights and held onto his lantern very well -- but I think what he probably enjoyed most of all was the treat of having a nice evening walk with Mummy & Daddy at a time that is usually a little past his bedtime!

Playground Escapades

We have a lovely playground just downstairs now. Five floors and two minutes walk gets us here. Ethan is not that adventurous though and plays it quite safe which makes it easy to watch over him.

Just Like Daddy

We try not to disturb Ethan when he's focussed on a task at hand because he really concentrates on it... often he can't hear you when his mind is occupied anyway. We checked with Grandma who says that Ivan was exactly the same when young! So Ethan is just like Daddy! His facial expression when concentrating is also just like Daddy!