[Our 7-day-old Brie. Lucky to have caught her smiling away! =)]

Now that I have a newborn baby PLUS two older kids to care for everyday, three common questions I usually get from people are :

>> How are you coping so far?
>> Are the big sister (7yo) and big brother (4.5yo) loving towards the baby?
>> Do the elder kids help out?

…

And … here are my replies =)

>> How are you coping so far?

First of all, I’m SO very thankful that Baby Brie was born on the exact day as when Wilson’s parents arrived in Singapore. Call it, perfect timing! (I personally believe that it’s God’s grace and His perfect timing for us. I’m constantly amazed at how God works wonderfully in our life!)

My Father-in-law was here for 3 days, but my Mom-in-law stayed for 10 days, ie. She’s leaving for Jakarta TOMORROW.

[My Mom-in-law has been a HUGE help in cooking food for us all everyday, doing the grocery and ironing our clothes. Can't thank her enough!]

So, to answer the question, I’d say … yep, I’ve been coping okay =) I’ve been eating a lot too! (read: constantly feeling hungry as I’m exclusively breastfeeding baby Brie)

Am thankful for my overall good health too!

BUT.

I must say, REALITY will officially start tomorrow.

No MIL, no extra help from families.

Just us.

So, err … I’ll keep you updated on how things go =)

[Come and join me on Facebook. I share and post updates there everyday =)]

…

>> Are the big sister (7yo) and big brother (4.5yo) loving towards the baby?

YES, they are.

They have been VERY loving towards the baby.

They want to carry the baby, they’d ’sayang-sayang’ the baby. They’d hum or sing. Vai showers Brie with kisses on the cheek. They’d want to push the pram.

It’s really sweet.

[Off to find a spot to sunbathe Brie, while the kids entertain themselves at the playground, with their scooter or bike]

…

>> Do the elder kids help out?

Now this is a tougher question to answer.

Because as much as they love their little baby sister, they ARE kids.

Kids with wants and demands.

And when their demands or requests are not met, I need to be ready to face these potential scenarios everyday :
- Tantrums
- Complaints
- Minutes of whining
- Rude talkbacks
- Unhappy faces and attitudes

Well, I find that THIS is the tougher part of having a newborn and 2 elder kids.

To me, it’s not so much about caring for the newborn and 2 elder kids. It’s about handling the attitudes and demands of the two elder ones that’s more challenging.

And, everyday, I’m learning to still stay calm while coping and addressing challenging episodes as patiently and wisely as I can possibly can.

It’s hard work!

[Good thing such episodes come and go, and sweet moments do outweigh challenging ones!]

…

So. That’s how my first 10 days of being a Mom of three is like.

More or less =)

Will share more with you soon. Stay tuned.

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Over the past years, I’ve written a few posts on the impact of technology in our lives, especially in the lives of our little ones.

[I shared how 'Technology can be both good and bad', and also the topic of 'Human Interactions versus Gadgets' earlier this year]

And today, I’d like to share how a child’s ‘natural curiosity and interest’ on mobile phones can be steered towards learning how to spell simple words too.

You see, I’m still using Nokia E63, and since I don’t play mobile phone games, I deleted them all from my phone. So, whenever my kids ask for my Nokia, they’d usually watch old videos of themselves, OR … they’d scribble all sorts of stuff on my ‘Notes’.

Anya, who is 7yo and can already read and write well, would sometimes create a ‘New Note’ and write sentences or short stories.

Vai, who is 4.5yo, on the other hand, prefers to randomly press on the keyboard and create random alphabets on the screen! =)

Now.

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been teaching him how to read and write simple words at home. More like a ’supplement’ to what he’s learned at school.

[Not a 'compulsory' activity where I'd pressure him to do worksheets daily though, as I believe at his age, he should be encouraged to LOVE to learn, and NOT be overly pressured against his will, which eventually will make him reject the whole idea of learning altogether]

So these days, once in a while, when he asks for my Nokia phone, I’d ask him if he could write simple sentences for me.

I’d say a sentence, slowly repeat the words, and he’d type them out one by one (note: ‘Predictive texts’ feature is turned off, so he’d need to type the alphabet one by one)

Sometimes he’s not sure of the spelling of certain words, and I’d then guide him (ie. Instead of immediately telling him the alphabets, I’d exaggerate and say the ’sound’ of the alphabets in the word, so he could guess what alphabet comes next, based on the sound. eg. I’d go ‘Bbbeeehhh-Oyyyy’ … ‘Boy’ … ‘Bbbbeehhh - Ooooyyyy =)

Anyway.

This activity allows him to ‘revise’ the spelling of the words that he’s learned with me so far, WHILE using my phone at the same time. And, you can do this using the simplest mobile phone available, ie. No ‘applications’ need to be downloaded

And the good thing about it is, to him … it feels like he’s playing with my phone! =)

He doesn’t feel like he’s revising or learning how to spell =)

[Note: This little guy is more into playing with his Lego bricks and making jet aeroplanes, than writing or learning how to spell]

It’s quite a win-win situation, I guess =)

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We thank God for this amazing gift.

…

A quick note from me :

Still adjusting to our new daily routine, and I’m finding it easier right now to post status updates on Facebook while I’m ‘on the go’ (like how we found out today that Baby Brie has a high jaundice level, etc). So, do join me there on Facebook if you haven’t already yeah! (http://www.facebook.com/leonny.atmadja)

I will definitely continue to blog though =)

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The weekend has been a busy one for our family.

Because we finally got to meet our littlest member of the family.

Who is a GIRL, btw =)

I’ve been sharing more on Facebook since the weekend (easier to access it from my phone, as I go about doing this and that everyday, even during my stay at the hospital =)

We’re all back home though, and I’m slowly adapting to life with 2 school-going kids and a newborn around =)

Anyway, I’d like to *again* say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who left such sweet messages and well wishes over on my Facebook.

Thank you so much.

We are indeed so blessed.

…

And oh before I end the post, I better introduce you all first to the little girl =)

We’ll be calling her baby ‘Brie’, short for ‘Labrielle Hidajat’, which means ‘God is our Strength’.

Will share more about it and the ‘Birth Story’ soon!

[In the photo above, she's just arrived at home, welcomed by the big sister and big brother. At less than 2 days old =) ]

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Hi everyone,

I’m writing this entry from the hospital =)

Here’re some updates from me:

I am officially 38 weeks now, and since I had a ’show’ (ie. ‘pinkish discharge’) near midnight last night, the nurse I spoke with over the phone strongly suggested that I went to the hospital to have things checked, ESPECIALLY because it’s my ‘third’ baby.

(Read: Labour can progress quickly though there’re no strong / regular contractions just yet)

Anyway, apparently having a baby the third time round does NOT mean I would ‘know’ what and how things will take place!

Because, things happen differently this time round.

(Like, my water didn’t break and I’ve just been induced for the first time ever)

Anyway, I’ll be sharing real time updates on how things go with Baby no. 3 on my Facebook … and you’re most welcome to add me if you haven’t already =)

http://www.facebook.com/leonny.atmadja

…

Okay. Back to waiting time for us here at the hospital! =)

To Baby : See you real soon! =)

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I recently read that some pregnant women actually craved for strange things. And I mean, … strange.

Like, toothpaste and clay! (?)

Luckily, mine so far has been rather ‘normal’ (sweet dessert!), and thankfully, it’s also easily found here in Singapore! =)

Durian Ice Kachang.

Yummmm.

=)

Btw, Moms … do you believe in ’satisfying your cravings’?

And, did YOU crave for any particular food / drink during your pregnancy?

…

PS: I am 38 weeks pregnant (as of tomorrow), have gained a total of about 8kg and am still waiting for the moment when baby decides to say HI to everyone! =)

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I’ve been wanting to make something for baby since I was … about 6 months pregnant, I think.

Just something.

(It’s a longing that I somehow have, and it’s NOT because I have ‘nothing’ to do at home, obviously, hehe)

I wanted to make something that can be used daily.

BUT not something too difficult for me to make.

And, NOT something that requires NEW skills for me to learn too, please =)

So.

I decided to make … our very own handmade baby mobile! =)

And since we still are not 100% sure of the baby’s gender, I made something that’s suitable for both genders =)

Using colourful felt, I made a tree, two birds, a dragonfly, and two flowers.

On average, I only managed to spend about 15 minutes each time I touched on this ‘baby project’. It’s either late at night, or when I accompanied the kids as they did their homework or something.

And, it was done so randomly too.

Meaning, I could work on it on a Monday, and only managed to get back to it and continue with the work on a Friday!

Anyway, it’s more or less done!

*YAY!*

I only needed to sew fishing lines to it so that it can be hung from our ceiling.

Oh, there’s also one more thing.

I notice that some baby mobiles look ‘nice’ from OUR point of view, BUT not quite from the babies’ point of view.

Eg. If you have elephants, tigers and giraffes on the baby mobile, they’re often hung in such a way that the baby lying down on the cot only gets to see the ‘tummy’ parts of the animals.

So, I tried to avoid this when I made the baby mobile.

=)

One of the many good things of making our own things, I say.

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… are often things that Mommies will never do =)

Like, throwing a little boy up in the air,

while having fun in the pool!

…

I’m glad that such simple actions inject so much more fun into a child’s life.

Thank God for Daddies.

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Some people said, things should be ‘easier’ for us when baby no. 3 arrives, because Anya and Vai are older.

[ie. Since they're much older, they would be of great help to us and the baby. They don't need much 'physical care' from me]

Anya is 7yo and Vai is 4.5yo now.

Well, frankly, I have no idea how things will be when baby arrives.

I have no idea how the two older siblings will behave / react as they ‘adjust’ to the whole idea of having another baby in the house.

Because, with a newborn baby around, it does mean Mommy’s time and attention is no longer ‘just for the two of them’.

Mommy will be busy tending to the baby’s needs (not to mention the round-the-clock breastfeeding) and all other things that need to be done at home. And, Anya and Vai STILL crave for Mommy’s time too.

They may be able to do quite a lot of things on their own, but they have … emotional needs and demands.

You see, Anya and Vai CAN be independent, but they are not THAT independent.

They still demand my time. Unreasonably, sometimes.

They can whine and excessively complain if what they ask / want is not given.

They often choose to be defiant too (read: more often than not, I’d get such episodes from them both everyday these days)

And yes, this happens even when we do make the efforts to ‘prepare them for a new baby’ in the house.

(Read: Preparing older siblings for a new baby as best as we can doesn’t automatically mean they’ll completely be ‘unaffected’ by the change, because each child’s characters and emotional developments are unique)

…

Anyway.

We try to create a positive feel about the whole ‘new baby’ idea at home. And to (hopefully) better connect the older siblings with the baby, I try to get them involved in the preparation for the new baby’s arrival as well.

And this is one of the things they did.

They did simple drawings and colouring FOR the baby.

Anya did a little ‘poster’. She chose to write the word ‘Home’ to welcome the baby home.

Vai did a poster too, but errr … he insisted that I drew a picture of a car on it before he watercoloured it! =)

And, this is another idea we had.

We bought 5R-sized photo frames from IKEA.

Anya and Vai then did more colourful drawings and we framed them up.

[They also wrote something at the back of each of their drawing to make it even more personal. It'll help us remember WHEN these drawings were done too, and how their handwriting was like at the time =) ]

So.

Four frames will soon be put up next to the baby’s cot!

Courtesy of the big sister and the big brother =)

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We were all getting ready to go for our swim, and as I walked pass our big mirror, I thought, hmm … I really should get shots of the kids with the baby, while it’s STILL in the tummy.

[Believe it or not, as much as I take photos everyday, we have very few photos of the kids WITH my big tummy]

Anyway. I personally like this shot of Vai putting his ear on my belly! =)

And just for fun, I played around and made the shot look more like a ‘painting’ =)

[Click HERE to view baby no. 3 week-by-week pregnancy journal]

…

PS: Shared this photo on my Facebook too. Click on the ‘Daily Photos’ link (left sidebar) to view more photos and our everyday things stories.

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