A sleeping baby is a good baby!!

Can't get over how chubby he is... Little bun #2 is a whole lot bigger/ heftier than his big brother was at the same age and he certainly does not look like a newborn baby! The plus side (no pun intended) is that since he is physically bigger, he is a lot less fragile and much easier to hold.

We are still trying to figure out who he resembles (obviously I am insisting that he takes after ME since little bun is a photocopy of his daddy.. there MUST be some fairness right?!!).

Burping and bonding with my little milk monster after one of his feeds.

Found these 2 photos that were taken when little bun #2 was 4 days old and had to be warded for photo therapy treatment due to his jaundice. Poor baby had his little wrists and feet poked numerous times for blood tests to check on his bilirubin levels, which at its peak was 307!!  

I felt terrible leaving him behind in the hospital although I knew the nurses would take great care of him and the treatment was necessary to lower his bilirubin level. Mark and I made frequent trips to visit him throughout the day (like every 3 hourly so that I can latch him on) and it breaks our heart to see him lying naked under the light, brawling his little lungs out. 

Fortunately he reacted very well to the photo therapy after 24 hours and was allowed to go home the following day.

I see myself in little bun #2.. full of facial expressions and I think I passed on my classic furrowed brow frown to him! Hehehe..

He's been with us for over 2 weeks now and we are still getting to know each other better. I find myself studying his every feature, especially when it is just the two of us at night. This little man is another product of Mark and I!! He is a testament that miracles do happen and blessings do happen to the same person twice!!

My freshly laundered baby!! Nothing smells better than a baby who has just had a bath!! **sniff sniff**...

My little boy is thriving and feeding like a champion (which makes me one very tired mommy, but hey, whose complaining?). He gave us a little scare with an episode of jaundice earlier on where we had to leave him overnight in the hospital for photo therapy session to get ride of the jaundice. Thankfully, he's over it now and the levels have dropped enough for the doctor to allow us to bring him home. 

Memories

Some of the memories of my recent pregnancy... Totally hard to believe that the baby who first appeared as a 'positive' on the home pregnancy test kit and then subsequently whom I saw weekly on the ultra sound scans is now snuggling contentedly in my arms.

Little bun resting against my burgeoning belly... little did he know that his new playmate is just mere inches away from him!!

Yet another guy has stolen my heart... Don't know how it works but when little bun first came onto my life in 2011, I had thought that I have already used up all the love I have inside of me. Somehow, when I first laid eyes on little bun #2 and when they first laid him in my arms 2 weeks ago, my heart just expanded to accommodate yet another little man. 

Feeling so fulfilled and bursting with love for my two boys (and their daddy as well.. not forgetting my 2 Angels too..).

Announcing the Arrival of Little Bun #2!!

Little bun #2 made his grand entrance at exactly 38 weeks of gestation.. While we were already expecting him any time, the suddenness and how quickly it happened caught me by surprise. 

On the morning of 13 March, I went for my schedule appointment at 10.45 am to see Dr Anu. She did some checks and below is the conversation we had: 

Dr Anu: Oh! You are 4cm dilated and having contractions every 20 minutes!

Me: Wow... really??!

Dr Anu: Aren't you feeling t he contractions?

Me: Nope. Not at all.

Dr Anu: Any pain?

Me: Ehhh... none too.

Dr Anu: Right... I think baby is coming today. We better admit you now. This baby is bigger than Kyran and could come really fast!

Me: ....... **gasp**

(*From memory, when I was in labour with little bun, I was already in considerable pain when I was 4 cm dilated and begging for them to give me the epidural.. it's weird that this time round, I didn't feel ANY pain at all.. oh well.)

I made a quick call to Mark and he told me he was coming home AFTER he's had his lunch (this man's priorities is skewed, I tell you). I made a quick trip home to ummm.. shower  (this is VERY important to me as you can see) and pack my things while I waited for Mark to come home to pick me.

By 2 pm, we were back at the hospital and checked in immediately to the Delivery Suite (ahhh.. this place holds many fond memories for me as I had spent 3 whole weeks there when I was pregnant with little bun). 

Happily posing for photos when I was around 5 cm dilated (still no pain!!) and waiting to be checked out by the mid wife and anaesthetist. 

At 6 cm dilation, I had my epidural in (still wasn't feeling any pain then.. wooohooo!!). Once the epidural was in, it slowed down the whole labour process considerably and Mark and I were thinking that little bun #2 may only arrive the following day at the rate things were progressing. I only started feeling some pain 2 hours later, and they were not contraction pains. I had this annoying but throbbing pain between my shoulder blades that was bothering me and I tried changing positions to alleviate the pain but to no avail. Hmmm.. when people are in labour, I think they are supposed to feel contraction pains rather than shoulder aches. 

Oh before I forget, I had this side effect from the epidural as I did the previous time. I vomited like crazy and once again, sweet ol' Mark held on to the teeny-weeny puke dish while I emptied my stomach. NOT a glamorous sight, I am sure.

After 10 pm, I felt this pressure and an urge to push.. it was then that I started feeling the contractions. They came with a vengeance and oh boy... I cannot imagine how it'd have felt like without the epidural! Dr Anu arrived just before 11 pm and before midnight after a lot of pushing/hold your breath and count to 10/huffing and puffing, our 2nd little prince arrived with a flourish.   

He is much bigger than I expected.. close to 3.8kg and brawling his little lungs out. Dr Anu commented that he was very loud, and a real little screamer.. hehehe.. That was when I decided on his name.. we had a few short-listed but at that moment, little bun #2 picked his own name. We named him Ayden, which means 'fiery one/ little fire'. 

Welcome into our hearts and into our little family, little Ayden!!