My Baby Daddy

This post will be about my baby Daddy <3

Yesterday

I'm still working (unfortunately) but this will be my last week and then I'm off to wait for Jr's arrival away from all the stress.
Eric just got back from a trip overseas and had a few days off so I rushed back from work to hopefully spend some alone time with him (I barely get to see him when he's working such long hours)

When I got home, the door was closed tight and no one was in sight.
I thought Mum and Eric both had gone out and not gotten back yet.
I was feeling a little dissapointed at that point.
Decided to go upstairs and change my blouse as I..erm...kinda ripped it a little at work =(
When I got to our room, I realized Eric was home afterall. Yay!

I peeked inside and I saw him standing in Jr's nursery.
He was folding small little shirts and pants with cute booties scattered around *melts*
It was such a lovely sight...this man, this big strong man was surrounded by baby stuffs everywhere and he's taking such great care in folding this small little shirt.
I wish I took a picture of that very moment...I was speechless and I was tearing up (damn those hormones) just staring at him.

He even organized the drawers. Telling me why he placed clothes, diapers, washclothes, bibs..etc in each particular drawer.
All this from a guy who doesn't even know what's in the drawers of our own closet after so many years!
I was surprised he took it upon himself to fix the baby bed and even knows how many milk bottles we already have for Jr.

Maybe I've misread how excited he is about Jr's arrival.
All this while he seems cool and not crazily over ethusiastic happy like me when we first saw Jr during an ultrasound....or when he felt Jr kick & move for the 1st time.
He doesn't read the parenting magazine or baby books that I bought many moons back.
He doesn't ask the gynea any questions.
Heck...even when we're out shopping for baby stuffs, it was done in record time.

But now...now, I'm in awe.

Cross stitch : ABC Baby Afghan Complete

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ABC Baby Afghan Update 4
ABC Baby Afghan Update 3

ABC Baby Afghan Update 2

ABC Baby Afghan Update 1

Completed afghan with maroon backing and knotted edges

When I found out I was preggers with Jr., I finally made my way to the textile shop and bought some material to complete my baby afghan.
Chose a soft dark maroon cloth as the backing.
A dark colour will be able to hide any stains in the future...we are using it for a baby, stains are inevitable.

Took the afghan and backing material to a tailor and he sew it for me.
Then made knots for the edges.
And it's complete =)

I hope Jr. would love his afghan...my 1st present for my little prince <3

Baby Nursery Checklist - Pt.1

Everyone knows having a baby doesn't come cheap these days.
There's so many things to consider from baby's clothes to cute lil' booties.
Not forgetting insurance policy and future education fund.
Among all the happy anticipations of Junior's impending arrival...there's a whole list of things to prepare for him...started pretty late on this checklist, but as they say, better late than never =)

                                   Cot and Bedding                                 

We've considered getting a travel cot cum playpen. But after visiting Ikea, we've decided on a toddler bed with guard rails instead of a baby cot. I know it's kinda out of the ordinary to do so but I've heard so many stories about babies not liking sleeping in a cot and it's a waste of money. Hence, we got a lil bed that Junior could use till he's about 7 or 8. Hopefully we made the right decision as it doesn't come cheap. Got him a nice mattress and plain sheets to start with. Have read that babies don't need any pillow or bolster as it might cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS). So we'll add accessories to his bed when necessary.

Needs

(√) Baby Bed
(√) Mattress
(√) Mattress protector
(√) Waterproof Mattress Pads
(√) Fitted Bedsheets
(√) Blankets (a cute alphabet cross stitch blanket I made earlier)

Nice To have
- Swaddling Blanket (can be substituted with cloth napkins)
(√) The First Years - Close and Secure Sleeper (as I'm planning to breastfeed Jr. through the night, it'll be nice to have him really close by ie. next to me on the bed...lets see if Eric joins us)

                                         Diapering                                       

We're planning to use a cloth diapering system for Jr. It's the modern kind of cloth diapers and they're oh-so-cute (not the kind that our mommies and grannies used in the olden days). Why you ask? Well, we (or I actually) have some pretty good reasons for considering being a cloth diaper(CD) mommy.

1st - Save lots of $$$. It's cheaper in the long run (but that also depends the brands/types of cute diapers I can't resist buying) as these CD are washable therefore reusable which means...

2nd - We can use the same CD for our next child! Saving us more $$$.

3rd - CD will keep baby's bottom smooth and itch free. Heard of diaper rash caused by disposable diapers? Yup, it's painful for babies and agony for mommies.

4th - Save the environment. I'm trying to contribute my little bit to save the environment. Just imagine the amount of disposable diapers that goes into our landfills daily. It's not a pretty sight.

I'm not naive, I know it won't be easy to CD a baby when there are so many other things to do. Anyhow, I'm determine to give it a try and see how it goes =)

Needs

(√) Baby Cloth Napkins for various uses (nappies, swaddling...etc)

- Nappy Liners

(√) Baby Wet Wipes

- Changing Mat

- Baby Hypoallergenic Detergent

(√) Disposable Diapers (have read that it's best to use disposable for the 1st month)

(√) Cloth Diapers (So exciting...bought GroVia and Bamboolite)

Nice To Have

More Cloth Diapers that makes me wanna pinch baby's bottom!!!
(Gro Via, Happy Heiny's, Itti Bitti, Cushie Tushies, Bum Genius, Moo Moo Kow, Baby Kangas, FuzziBunz, Rumparooz, Knickernappies )

 

                                       Baby Clothing                                   

We're going economical on these as babies do grow pretty fast. Will buy Jr.'s clothes as and when needed.

Needs

(√) Booties and mittens

(√) Short sleeve shirt 

(√) Long sleeve shirt

(√) Long Pants with/without feet cover

(√) Bodysuits

(√) Newborn Hats

(√) Handkerchief

                             Baby Care/Bathing Needs                          

Needs

(√) Baby Bathtub (Thanks to Aunty Audrey)

- Baby Bath Wash

(√) Wash Cloths

(√) Cotton Buds

(√) Bath Towels

- Baby Lotion/Oil

Nice To Have

(√) Baby Monitor (Thanks again to Aunty Audrey)

                                  Feeding Supplies                                 

 

Needs

(√) Baby Bottles - Currently have Nuk (cause I'm really convinced by their nipple shaped orthodontic teats) & US Baby glass bottles (Thanks to Aunty Melaine)

(√) Bottle Brush

(√) Liquid Cleanser for bottles & teats

(√) Little Bean Sterilizer
(√) Little Bean Food Warmer (mostly for stored breastmik)

                                     Breast Feeding                                   

Needs

(√) Medela Swing Breastpump

(√) Breast Pads (in case of leaks)

- Nipple Cream (not sure if I need this...but cracked nipples sounds super painful)

(√) Nursing Bra

- Nursing Tops

Nice To Have

- Nursing Pillow (not sure if I really need one. I'm considering My Best Friend Breastfeeding Pillow but Eric says I can just try with a normal pillow on our bed) 

                                          Toys / Play                                        

Nice To Have
- Bouncer (Considering BabyBjorn but they're super expensive *sigh*)

                                       Out and About                                     

Needs

- Baby Stroller (considering Quinny Zapp Travel System but again...it's super expensive)

- Head Support Cushion

- Travel Changing Mat

- Carseat

(√) Diaper Bag (thanks Aunty Melaine for a cute diaper bag. But I'm still hoping to get my hands on a  Mrs Smith's Bag )

Nice To Have
- Ring sling (considering JumpSacBaby which is made in Malaysia)

For now, my checklist is lacking some stuffs that we may need.

So hard to decide if we should get the more expensive version of stuffs which have super great reviews (i.e QuinnyStroller, My Bestfriend Pillow & Baby Bjorn Bouncer) or just go and buy cheapo ones which I might just regret later as they don't work as expected.

Decisions...decisions...decisions...