Welcome Lovebug !

 

 

February 11, 7 lb 10 ounces



When my daughter was old enough for bubble bath, she gets one every day.  Every few days or so, I noticed her skin got some red patches after she's done with her bath.  I decided to read the label on her bubble bath bottle.  It's a well know kids' products so I assumed the manufacturer used the mildest ingredients, but boy was I ever wrong.  Holding the bottle on my hand and my eyes zeroed in on the "sodium laureth sulfate", and then on the caution: that says "prolonged exposure can cause irritation to skin and urinary tract" !  I flipped because my daughter loves her bath and loves the bubbles !  I can't believe I exposed her to this harmful product.  Needless to say, we discontinued using that bubble bath.

*SLS - sodium laureth sulfate - a toxic ingredient used in products to make it bubble and foam.  You can read it more here:
http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics---sodium-laureth-sulfate/

So began my quest for natural organic bubble bath !  I'm looking for bath products that is gentle on skin, make adequate bubbles so my daughter can play with and doesn't have harmful ingredients.  Simple enough right ?  it wasn't.  I tried many products and noticed that, since they don't have SLS, the bubbles don't last !  or barely bubbly at all !  Then one day, I came across Green Beaver Bubble Bath !!!!!!!  It has few ingredients and most are organic.  It smells wonderful, the bubbles last a long time, and best of all, my daughter can sit in her bubble bath tub for a long time (20 min.) and no rash or irritation.   It was truly a life saver for us because I was beginning to pull out the hairs off my head, going mad with my daughter repeatedly asking every day, every hour, "bubble bath mommy, BUBBLE BATH !!!!"
Here's the product info:

Key ingredients :
- Formulated with the mildest plant-based cleanser
- Canadian organic raspberry and cranberry emollients
moisturizes skin leaving it soft and smooth.
- Instant foaming hand wash
- Rinses easily
- Non-drying
- Certified organic, nut free, gluten free, vegan, biodegradable

I brought Green Beaver bubble bath from Well.ca.  An online Canadian retailer that sells a lot of organic products.  I hope to try more products from this brand in the future.

Our girls enjoying bath time

On each of our prayer list, I'm sure health and financial security topped the list and maybe, just maybe, wisdom is listed somewhere down below.  I don't why we rarely ask/pray God for it ? Having wisdom is like having your own gold mine !  And as we continuously ask God for wisdom, it's like having a bottomless gold mine !!!  Having wisdom to know what is permissible and what is not beneficial to us will greatly reduce unnecessary stress, worries and unhealthy wants/desires in our lives.  Wisdom to pursue or continue to wait in obedience for God's guidance.  Wisdom to know what to say and when to hold our tongue.

Having a family and a full time job, I sometime forget to pray because I'm simply too busy.  Then I noted that life will always be hectic and busy AND because it's moving at such a fast pace, I NEED to pause to pray before I go about my business.  I need His guidance every single day !  so that when I'm in bed I will have less regret on the things I said, the decision I made, the thoughts I allowed to enter my mind.  To not rely on ourself and go to Jesus to seek and ask for wisdom (earthly & godly), to me, is being wise. I pray that I will always remember to seek for His will and guidance.  

The bible has many examples of wisdom and folly that we can learn from.  And it seems to me, self reliance is most often not the best way to go !  I know I'm finite as human being, and it's ok because I have access to a God that is infinite.  Knowing that makes me feel at peace and secure.

I'm having a baby girl !  We're very excited for her arrival and that she's a girl ! Unfortunately, we can't say the same for others, you know, the strangers at markets, the collegues we barely talk to, the sales ladies at the stores, the asian friends' parents...their disappointments surprised us.  It's like as if they are directly affected by my pregnancy !  What's going on ?

Hubby expressed with me his annoyance of people, of how they would say to him "so now you have to try for a boy !"  Why ? is the world evolved around men ?  he asked me.  I laughed because I've heard it way more than him !!!  Stuff like "maybe the ultrasound is wrong", "your 3rd will surely be a boy", or "try again", blah blah blah.  I don't think the world evolve around men, but I do think people think your family is only "perfect" when you have 1 of each gender.  If you have 2 girls, you must try for a boy.  If you have 2 boys, you must try for a girl.  Just very stereo typical thinking.  People wants the best of both world.  If there's a third gender, I'm sure people would ask us to try to have all three. 

While at a store shopping for clothes, the sales lady noticed my bulging stomach.  When she found out that I'm having another girl, she tried to console me !!!  I was like, I'm happy with my girls.  She didn't believe me ! she told me, to have one of each is so much better (because she has one of each).  I wanted to share my thoughts on that subject with her, but looking at her sincere eyes, I let it go.  She is one of those sweet but closed minded woman that no matter what I say to her would make her think that there are people who don't really care about gender.

I know I know, people just want to start a conversation, what comes out of their mouth are just words, small talk stuff, conversation starter.  They don't really care and maybe are just nosy.  However, as a mom of a child who is yet to come out to meet the world, I can't help but feel defensive of her.  Thing is though, there's really nothing I can say to get it through to them that hubby & I are perfectly happy with 2 girls.  But they weren't seeking for my thought/opinion.  They just want to pin their opinion on me.  If I expressed my feeling, they would think I'm in denial.  If I don't say anything then it means I agreed with them.  Either way they already made up their mind about me.  So no point of saying anything !  It is what it is. 

Ahh, this is just one of those annoying thing in life !!!  Like when you're single, people keep asking: Are you still single ?  and once you're married, they'll will ask: When are you having kid ?  it's a never ending roller coaster.  I know people don't really think about what they're saying.  I know they don't mean any harm.  But when you hear it enough time it's a pain in the behind.

As a mother myself, I think majority of mothers dont fuss too much in the gender dept ! we just want to make it through the gruesome 9 months with a healthy baby.  Sure we do think about the pink and the blue but I don't think it's top on the priority list.  Our focus and energy are all on taking care of our baby and praying for a fast, safe delivery !

When I first found out I was pregnant, I bury my head in all books + articles under the sun on babies !  Make sure I take all precautions to ensure the health of the baby.  While doing all that,  I wait patiently each day, in anticipation, to hear the 1st heart beat, 1st sign of movement, then trying to feel out where the feet, the hand of the baby is !  Praying there are five fingers & toes.  Each week, each trimester marked a milestone that was met with a sign of relief !  thankful to the Lord that we passed it with no complications.  Pregnancy is a blessing but it also come with anxiety because we don't know exactly how well the baby is until we give birth.  So trust me, the last thing we stress over is gender.  Not like we can choose anyways ! 

***After I posted this, more than one mom has told me they do long for a certain gender, and it's completely ok to.  Longing is natural as we're human after all.  But be prepare and willing to let it go if you don't get what you long for.  An acquaintance of our family was so disappointed when her boy wasn't a girl that she avoided him for a while after birth.  It was hard on the family and on the little boy.  They are fine now but I couldn't help but feel so bad for the little guy.  As parent, mom or dad,  it's so important to love your child as who they are, from birth to adulthood, and not what you want them to be !  just something for thought that's all.

Personally, I am envious of those who have sisters :-)  I wouldn't trade my brother for the world though, I appreciate him for who he is.  My mom has a lot of sisters and they are best of friends since like pre-school.  Now in their 60s, they travel together, shop together, go for walk together.  It's so sweet.  My friends are best friends with their sisters too and they do everything together.  I'm lucky if I have a conversation longer than 15 min. with my brother :-)

My best friend K and I both have kid at almost the same time. While many of our friends were enjoying their single life or newly wedded bliss, we were busy growing our family.  We switched our heels for flats and stylish clothes for comfortable pants and loose shirts, the kind that let your little bulgy tummy hanging out freely yet no one can see its existence :-)

In the first year of being "mom", whenever we stop by one of our favorite clothing store, we would share a laugh or two when we noticed the majority of the clientele were teens or early 20s.  But we don't know where to shop otherwise ?  We don't want to look like "mommy" yet !  Our body is not perfect but still decent looking, so we still want to look stylish, look good :)  we feel young, and we look young too (we think).

Now at 33, suddenly I found myself at a cross road.  Summer is coming and one item that can be found in both of our drawer is short shorts. I love it more than K. And probably prefer it shorter than hers too. Tank & short is my staple outfit for the summer. They allow me to expose the most of my skin to the sun to tan my pale skin, and short is more suitable for us moms, when we're chasing our babe around (no fear of exposing our bum). The way I see it, I don't dress overtly sexy, my clevage aren't exposed, bum cheeks are hidden, all the parts that needs to be covered are covered, so I don't see the problem with me showing as much arms and legs as I want.

Maybe age (and soon to be mom of two) has something to do with it, but it dawned on me the other day > Do I continue or take a detour on this short shorts loving journey ?  K and I had a good laugh the other night talking about this very topic and contemplating when we should retiring them.  I'm so so not ready for it yet.  I like the look and comfort they provide !  Being short and having not-so-perfect legs, short shorts give me a few inches of skin to make my legs look somewhat bareable to me.   So, at what age is it deemed inappropriate to wear short shorts ?  I can't seems to think of one.  I googled to see what other moms got to say about it and got the extreme on both sides of the pond !  The decission in the end lies with me, as it should be anyway !

With fashion, there's really no defined line of age-appropriate clothes me think.  I feel it's all about HOW you wear it and how you carry yourself.  I've seen people older than me wearing short shorts and they look great in them.  Understand though, that with shorts, it can go from it's-just-short to trashy unappropriate if you don't wear the right one, like when underwear disguise itself as short then it's too much, and that goes for any age group.  And of course your body type play a role in it too.  If the fabric is just big enough to barely cup your bum bum then I must say its too short.  Add another inch or two would make it easier on the eyes :-)  My test for appropriate casual summer attire is > after I put them on, I would bend down infront of a mirror, if boobs is out, it's a no, if bum is close to be shown, is a no.  Simple !

With time on hand to play, I decided to google some shorts images to show you what I mean.  These are what I think is just a tad too shorts (there were worse ones):

And these are some nice ones.  They're just a tiny bit longer than others, but see the different an inch or two make ? 

Bottom line is, when it comes to clothes, I think if you feel good and comfortable in them go for it !  Just make sure you dress appropriate for the occaision !  like, no shorts at wedding !!!  And people who likes to judge, will find ways to do it anyways.  I mean, my big long wavy hair was once pointed out by a lady at the mall that my hair is "stripper hair" !  Did I change it ?  No way !!!  If the topic of "omg look at her shorts" is all people got to talk about, then I'm glad I give them something to talk about. I mean, people must have a pretty boring life to slander about such trivial thing in the first place.

So in short, I can't wait until summer so I can break out in my short shorts !

While waiting for the arrival of my 2nd baby and being too large to go anywhere, I've been baking a lot !  I've made all sorts of waffles (traditional, blueberries, chinese egg style waffle (sweet), condense milk waffle), vietnamese style egg rolls, assorted cookies (organic & non), sweet potato cake, chard chips, kale chips, etc etc etc.  It was time consuming but fun !  Our family get special treats everyday or every other day.  I wish I can eat more but this baby of mine is taking up all the room in my tummy and leave little space for food.

This waiting period feels like eternity.  I'm 35 weeks and a few days now.  36 weeks will put me in the safe zone !!!  I really don't mind if the baby decided to come out then because I'm so ready !!!  I can feel her fighting her way out too.  It's getting tight in there for sure.  She moves morning and night, punching me in every corners.  She used to be like a fish, swimming, flipping from one side to another but not anymore.  There's no room for all that excitement and fun ! 

C and I couldn't agreed on a name for her yet.  It's been hard finding a name we like starting with the letter K !  and not only just a name, we want a meaningful name too.  It doesn't have to be a K really but I'm just one of those picky, obsessive compulsive person who like orderliness.  And with one girl name starting with a K, I thought another K would keep it "together" :-)  and well, there isn't any other name we like so having a preference for "K" kinda helps us to have a starting point.

Oddly though, we can't seem to have a girl name that we likes but we have a boy's name that we like !  It was picked while we were looking for names. We thought we would soon find a girl's name but it proves harded than we thought.  I'm sure once she's out something will come to mind.  

Bag for Mommy

Before you pack, keep in mind, you will be bleeding down there, and your tummy will look like you're still pregnant ! so pack comfy, easy to slip on/out clothes !!!

- Button down pyjamas and pants
- Loose t shirt and sweat pants
- Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hair brush, deodorant etc.)
- Underwear, not the skinny kind but the granny one
- Overnight Maxi Pads (the hospital do give out pads but they are super thick and hard)
- Nursing bras/pads
- Hair tie/band
- Light cardigan (hospital room can get cold)
- Flip flop (you can wear in shower) or slippers
- Snacks (Granola bars, crackers, etc. You will get hungry after nursing)
- Water, juice
- Camera

Bag for Baby

- approved and valid (not expired) baby car seat (hospital will check and won't let you take baby home if you don't have a valid one)
- onesies (short or long sleeve depending on season)
- hats, mitts, socks
- burping cloths
- receiving blankets (to cover bottom half of baby when secured in car seat)

Bag for Daddy

- Pyjamas
- Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant etc.)
- Change of clothes (jeans, sweatpants, t-shirt, etc.)
- Underwear, socks
- Flip flop (you can wear in shower)
- Snacks
- Towel
- Neck pillow (like the kind people use on airplane, it's great for when you have to catch a quick nap on the couch)
- Electronic chargers
- Stuff to past time:  book, magazine, ipad, etc.