Baby Chamu, Baby Mamu

What, are you kiddin'? We got us a family here!

Life is good when you're a little Chamu

Confused

So we had to call a lactation consultant today. I have had problems with clogged milk ducts and haven't been able to clear them for weeks. I also think I have a milk supply problem because sometime Chamu just seems not satisfied. So she showed up today and helped me correct these problems so both Chamu and I can have an easier time feeding going forward.
She says that I actually have more than enough milk but because of clogged ducts, milk is unable to come out properly and it becomes a vicious cycle (since Chamu needs to suck longer and my body produces even more milk to be stuck in the ducts). She also corrected a few things that Chamu is doing wrong and helped me position the baby correctly but at six weeks old, he already has a strong opinion of what he likes and dislikes so he was not too happy about all these corrections.
She says there is no need to empty both breasts at each feeding and that pumping sometimes causes clogs (so it would be best to express by hand -- man but that takes hours). She says I should feed one side until it empties and the other side as long as he wants it instead of doing 20-25 min on each side and try to empty it manually afterwards. She also says no swaddle and demand feeding is better. She also said no pacifier is better. All of these are somewhat opposite of the books that I have been reading...
Six weeks into parenthood, I am already completely confused by all these different schools of thoughts behind child rearing. Schedule or no schedule. Discipline (allow them to cry themselves to sleep) or no discipline (pick up always when crying). It is already confusing enough for an adult like me and no wonder Chamu can't never make up his mind of how he should behave...

Lovely Aunties and Uncles

Haven't seen Beth since I-Pei's wedding and haven't seen Wei-Ting since their wedding and Elliot since birth. Elliot is already such a big boy. We were delighted to have them visit us in Hong Kong. Joyce came back for Frances' wedding... She does not look pregnant at all. On the other hand, I look like I have another baby on the way... Emily has visited Chamu many times and Chamu has behaved well each time so she keeps coming back for more...Uncle Mic and Auntie Katherine love to play with Chamu. They are our frequent visitors and despite seeing fussy Chamu many times, they are still not discouraged. Today they caught Chamu in a good mood.

Many other dear friends have visited or sent their best wishes since Chamu's birth but we didn't manage to take photos. Thank you aunties and uncles for showering Chamu with lots of love. We are so blessed to have you all to share our life and joys!

Dadu Puts Himself to Sleep Too

Fussy Time

Joaquin has become quite fussy in the last few days.
He would demand to be fed every hour sometimes and still refuse to go to sleep. He sometimes requires us hold him to sleep and wakes up crying every time we try to settle him down. We have to walk around and bounce him while holding him in order to satisfy him. He has learned to differentiate a wet diaper from a dry one and will demand to be changed even if he just pees or poos a little. Every thing is the opposite of what Gina Ford wants to train a baby to do.
I lost my patience last night while feeding him since he was squirming around and would not eat properly (and it was his 3rd feed in three hours) so I spanked him (don't call child services yet -- it was a light pet on a very padded butt). Later on, as I was lying in bed exhausted, I heard Jaime yelling "Joaquin, POR FAVOR! (meaning PLEASE in Spanish)" I jumped out of the bed and found a very frustrated Dadu trying to put Chamu to sleep for the Nth time, only to find him crying and looking like he needs to eat again (after being fed multiple times including a bottle of formula). I picked him up and gave him his pacifier and he fell asleep shortly (I was quite happy because so far I have not been able to put him to bed).
Anyways, we started to train him today. Trying to see if we can make him less demanding when he is fussy. We will see if we have the heart to keep it up.
One good thing is that he actually doesn't cry during bath now. Thanks to the little hammock (it was Apo's great idea) we got for him, he now realizes that he cannot fall into water during bath. Well I guess there is some improvement we can gush about.