First, there was the question of feeding too much. But as Brad commented, every kid is different. Chou-chou seems happy and he’s pooping and peeing fine. So, I guess I shouldn’t worry too much about feeding too much at this point.

Then, I start to wonder if he’s sleeping too much, or I think my real question is, am I not doing enough with him? On a typical day, the chou-chou would:

• sleeps/naps: 15-16 hours
• feeds x9 (say, 30 mins each)
• bath x1 (usually 20 mins)
• diaper change x8 (say, average 2 mins each)
• morning wipe – including face, gums, hands and bum (usually 5 mins)
• bedtime story/song/cuddle: 20 mins

That’s already 21 hours gone. The remaining 3 hours would be for play, songs, TV (hockey with daddy), Tummy Time, watch-Mommy-cook. We’ve also recently starting a 10-min storybook time.

According to an article, at Week 10:

if you put the back of a rattle up to your baby’s finger tips, he can probably grasp it and hold on. He may shake the rattle to make noise, and laugh at the result. He might be able to hold his head steady when he is holding it up, instead of it bobbing up and down a bit.

So, Chou-chou is definitely able to hold his head steady. He’s been able to do that since a bit over 1 month. But no matter how hard I try and encourage him to do so during our playtime, he’s still not grasping toys, blanket, towel…the only thing he’ll grasp on to is my fingers. Also, he’s not laughing yet. He smiles and grins a lot and he’s making tons of ohs and ahs sounds. The one thing he does the most is try to stuff his whole fist into his mouth and drool. But he’s just not laughing!

He’s also not rolling. I’ve been trying to roll him back and front during tummy-time. He loves it on his tummy, he’s getting better at pushing himself up; he’s even kicking his legs, trying to crawl. But he’s not rolling by himself, not even from side to back, or back to side.

So…am I not doing enough with him to stimulate his physical and intellectual growth? Or am I expecting too much from him (and reading too much?)

One thing’s good though, Chou-chou stayed over at Grandma’s the other night and though I had a hard time letting go, I got a lot done – I got him shelving units for his clothes and toys. I rearranged and decluttered his room. I scrubbed the entire house. I did 4 loads of laundry. I got 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I packed Jason’s breakfast and lunch. I enjoyed a nice breakfast at McDonald’s. All in the 24 hours he was at Grandma’s.

I also start to wonder if I am doing something wrong. He was able to sleep 4-5 hours straight last week when we were in Toronto, but as soon as we got back, he’s back to wake-every-2-hours. Does he not like his bed? Or was it a mistake going to Toronto, where he slept in his bassinet next to me the entire week…

Christian’s been good so far, feeding and sleeping well. Tummy time is also going great, he’s beginning to pull his head up and keep it up longer. He’s also kicking his legs like he’s trying to crawl. We can already tell he’s going to be one active baby/kid.

By the way:

1. It’s amazing how many diapers a little baby goes through each day! We’re using Huggies’ Pure and Natural diapers and unfortunately they don’t come in economical bulk packs. We really got to think about potty-training him soon…

2. It’s even more amazing how many batteries you go through: baby monitor, breast pump, baby swing/rocker…and each one of them uses a different type of battery (9V, AA, AAA, D…).

3. Maybe it’s time to get a Costco card, just for batteries and diapers.

Sleeping is so difficult especially with the baby monitor on. It catches every little sound he makes – enough to make me get out of bed every 10 mins to check on him, make sure he’s ok, he’s breathing, he’s not too cold, he’s not awake/hungry…

I’ve also officially  ran out of songs to sing to him. Thank goodness for the iPhone – with YouTube, it’s like my own little portable karaoke machine. It seems he likes 鄧麗君, 張惠妹 and 關淑怡 songs the most. I have also downloaded the Sudoku app – something to keep my awake during his 3am feedings.

So, in conclusion, what I learned in Week 2: I am now second-priority, everything is about the little Chou-chou. All my basic “needs” (ie. shower, food, pee, sleep…) take a backseat to his. Sleep and shower becomes luxuries and the iPhone is an absolute necessity. I can sing him to sleep, but I can’t enjoy it too much or else I’d sing myself to sleep, too, with him still wide awake in my arms.

I’ve new-found respect for parents of multiples. How on earth can anyone take care of more than one baby at a time?? I mean, with all the diaper changes, feedings, bathing, etc.

Christian’s generally a very good baby, he sleeps in 2-3 hour stretches at a time, except nighttime – that’s his “Conversation with Mommy” time.  He’s pretty much up from 11pm to 3am and the only thing that calms him is listening to me talk. Once in awhile he’d close his eyes and pretend he’s sleeping. I’ve actually caught him a few times opening his eyes to peep at me. He’s just too cute.

I’ve also started wondering what he would be like when he grows up, what his favorite ice-cream flavor would be, what kinda of girls would he fancy, what kinda of sports would he play…They say babies grow up too fast and that I should enjoy these little quiet moments where he would just lie in my arms, gazing into my eyes and hold on to my finger like I am all that matters in his life.  He would smile back once in awhile and that’s already more than enough to melt my heart.

I love being a mom, especially Christian’s mom.