Dear Liam,

You are two months old now. I don’t know where the time has gone. People always say how fast time flies and how fast you’ll grow up, and they weren’t kidding! I still remember the day we brought you home from the hospital. How preciously tiny, and sleepy you were.

As a nine-week-old, your milestone have started. We experienced your smile at six weeks, and early mornings are the best part of my day because of it. You have this coo that melts our hearts, and that head of yours is holding itself up high and it’s not so wobbly anymore.

We also had you 2 month check-up last week and here are your stats:

• weight: 10.6 lbs
• height: 14.6 inches
• length: 22 3/4 inches
• eating 3-4 ounces, every 3-4 hours during the day
• You are starting to sleep through the night
• You love being outside, and you love when we take you out on a stroll around the neighborhood
• You have started smiling a lot and almost giggling
• You like to talk to us, making cute little coo-ing noises

Today marks Liam’s one month birthday. Time has seriously flown by, and we can’t believe he’s already been here that long. It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home! With all the constant feeding, burping, rocking, changing, bathing and otherwise caring for a newborn, life this past month for us has been pretty much a blur but one thing is for sure, I fall more and more in love with my lil guy each day.

Here are some of his milestones from the first month:

 

• weight: 8 lb. 8 oz.
• height: 13.25 inches
• eating 3-4 ounces, every 2 hours during the day
• eating 2.5 ounces, twice in the night
• He has started sleeping in his crib in his room
• He has also started sleeping longer stretches during the night
• He has started to be more aware of his surroundings, like the toys hanging from his activity gym, his crib mobile and Gwen.
• He has also started to make more baby noises/babbles
• He has started getting really good grips on EVERYTHING! My hair, parts of my arms, etc.
• He falls asleep instantly in the car seat. He just seem to love car rides.
• He also loves a stroll around the neighborhood
• He has started giving us slight smiles, in his sleep. I don’t think he knows how to smile in reaction yet though.
• He is looking more like his Daddy every day, but he does still have many of his Mommy’s features.

My baby is 3 weeks old now. Almost 4 next Tuesday! I can’t believe how fast time flies! I was looking through the photos of him I took on my phone yesterday, and I couldn’t believe how much his face has already changed in these short weeks! When he was only a few days old, I could see a lot of me in his features. He had the chubby turnip shaped face and he couldn’t open his eyes yet, so they looked really small. He was also still very red, so we weren’t sure who’s coloring he had more, mine or Tom’s. Everyone kept telling me how much he looks like me, and there was no denying it, he did. I kept saying, how “Asian” he looked, and Tom kept saying he definitely looked “Malaysian” LOL. I even, mentioned how Liam reminded me of my dad! Which wasn’t surprising, coz I look like my dad.

Then, a couple of weeks passed, and he started opening his eyes more, and the redness of his skin started to disappear. I still see a lot of me, in Liam’s features, but I’ve also started to see a lot of his father’s features too. Especially the top part of his face. The shape of his eyes, definitely comes from the Sparrow’s side. I see Tom, when Liam has his eyes open. He may not have the greenish eye color his dad has, but I see a lot of his dad in his beautiful brown eyes, which is a slightly lighter shade of brown than mine. He’s also incredibly fair! Not as “Irish” pale as his father, hehehe, but definitely lighter skinned than me. Liam also takes after his dad, in the long fingers department. My son has beautiful hands, with really nicely shaped long fingers, which I’m glad. I personally think I have the WORST looking hands, large with short pudgy looking fingers, so I’m glad he didn’t inherit that.

Although, he did inherit the big feet gene, but I guess you could also argue that, he might have inherited that from his dad as well. I guess when both your parents have big feet, or at least come from a family with big feet, you’re bound to have large feet. I mean they’re still tiny infant feet, but I guess they look bigger than most, since almost every doctor who’s seen Liam would comment on how large his feet are. LOL. Anyways, I can’t wait to see more changes in him, as the weeks past. I don’t want him to grow up too fast, but at the same time I can’t wait to see him smile and laugh, and make cute little baby noises (besides the crying). I’m so in love with him, he’s just the most perfect little tiny thing and I am glad Tom and I decided to have him.

To be honest, back when I was still in Malaysia I was never a huge satay fan. I liked it alright, but I never really craved it, unlike many people I know; like my brothers who would literally devour 20-30 sticks of chicken satay in one sitting. I really didn’t care for it, the most I would eat, IF I was in the mood for it was probably 4-5 sticks.

Of course since moving away, I can’t get enough! I guess you can blame the fact that in the 6-7 years give and take a few months I’ve been in the States, I haven’t been able to get my hands on what I think is truly authentic “Malaysian” Chicken Satay, or at least really GOOD Satay. Sure, you can go to any Thai restaurant or even some Chinese restaurants here and find satay on their menu, but more often than not I find the taste lacking, and IF I do find a place that does serve pretty good Satay, it’s often really expensive! $7-$8 bucks for 3-4 sticks? LOL. A far cry from the RM 0.60 (which is roughly only $0.20) a stick in Malaysia.

Anyways, because it’s been so hard to find really good satay here, and also because I like to cook and experiment, I figured it was high time I tried my hand at making it, with the help of Tom. I just had a baby mind you, so trying to make everything myself is a little overwhelming. Plus, Tom is the grill expert in our house. I cook indoors, and he’s usually the one who does the outdoor grilling. So I prepared everything and had him grill them, and I think we did a pretty good job. It tasted fantastic and actually did remind me of the satays I had back in Malaysia.

Chicken Satay

Ingredients :

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into cubes, or just small pieces.
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 10 (6 inch) wooden skewers, or as needed, soaked in water for at least  30 minutes.
• Extra oil and lemongrass (or you can use a normal baster brush) for basting

Blended ingredients:

• 1 large red onion
• 2 candlenuts
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 cm fresh turmeric or 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
• 4 cm ginger
• 2 lemongrass
• 4 cm galangal or 2 1/2 teaspoon galangal powder (You can usually find this at your local asian grocery store, or  through Amazon)
• 1 tablespoons coriander seed dry roast (without oil) over low heat till fragrant
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed dry roast (without oil) over low heat till fragrant
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed dry roast (without oil) over low heat till fragrant

Method :

1. Mix the sugar, honey, cooking oil and salt into the blended ingredients to form a paste.
2. Rub the paste mixture onto the diced chicken and leave it to marinate for at least 3 hours. I prefer to leave it overnight.
3. Thread the marinated chicken pieces on to the wooden skewers.
4. Grill over char- coal fire or under hot grill .
5. Baste with oil and the leftover marinate paste mixture to keep the meat moist.
6. Serve with peanut sauce, cucumbers and onion cut into wedges and cubed rice.

Peanut Sauce

Ingredients :

• 1 cup raw peanuts, dry roasted, skin peeled and ground coarsely
• 2-3 tablespoons oil
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon tamarind mixed with 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 inches galangal or 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon galangal powder
• 4 large stalks lemongrass, bruised at the ends

Blended ingredients:

• 1-2 cups dried chillies, soaked in hot water
• 2 inches ginger
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 medium sized red onions

Method :

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot.
2. Saute the blended ingredients until fragrant
3. Add the galangal and lemongrass
4. Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, sugar, palm sugar and salt.
5. Once the mixture begins to boil, add the roasted ground peanuts,
6. Leave on low heat for roughly 10 minutes
7. Stir and taste

My son, Liam Ayden Sparrow, was born Tuesday, August 2nd 2011 at approximately 1:05AM, and weighed 7lbs 13ozs and was about 20 inches long. I didn’t get to hold him very long, because of the retained placenta, but the very first few secs that I did get to hold him in my arms was probably the happiest moment in my life. I was so happy to hear his little cry and looked to make sure his dad, Tom was with him when the nurses took him away to be cleaned. Tom was incredibly awesome. He was by Liam’s side making sure everything was ok, because I was still in so much pain and was still unable to hold my baby.

Liam’s birth was actually not that bad, compared to what I had to go through after. Liam’s due date was supposed to be on July 27th, but since that day came and went and there were no signs of him wanting to come out…my doctors decided it was probably best if I got induced. So it was decided that I would go to the hospital August 1st to get myself induced. Tom and I were at the hospital by 6:30 AM, and the nurses started the inducing process at around 7:30 AM. I was hooked up on a pictosen drip and because I was diagnosed with Group B streptococcus (GBS) I was also given Penicillin, which burned! My contractions started getting pretty regular by 9:00 AM, and continued to get stronger as each hour passed. The nurses basically checked me every couple of hours to make sure how dilated I was, and by 5pm I was told I was about 4 cm. Things seemed to be moving along, and I was getting pretty excited to meet my lil boy. Anyways, by 9:30pm we were told nothing much had changed, I was still stuck at 4cm dilated, and things didn’t look like it was going anywhere. Basically 4 hours had passed without much of a change, so the nurses and doctors told us that they were giving me another 30 minutes and if I was still at 4cm…they would have to do a C-section. Tom and I weren’t really happy with that prospect, and I guess our lil man wasn’t either, because by the time our doctor came back half an hour later, I had progressed to 6cm. Things were looking up! I was told to get ready to push at around 12 AM, August 2nd 2011. I only had to push an hour to get Liam out. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, and if I was even pushing right, but Tom and the nurses were great. They helped me along, encouraging me letting me know I was doing great, and they could see my baby. My baby came out an hour later, 5 fingers on each hand and 5 toes on each feet. He had a healthy cry and I was relieved. I was incredibly happy, he was out.

But despite my happiness and euphoria of finally bringing my baby out into the world…I was still in so much pain. My contractions which I thought should have stopped with the birth of my baby didn’t stop. Instead it was just getting stronger and stronger. I wasn’t sure what was happening, all I knew was that the pain didn’t stop and I just wanted it to go away. My doctor told me the reason I was still in pain was because my placenta was still inside me, he said it sometimes takes up to half an hour for the placenta to come out, and there was really nothing much we can do but to wait. So there I was on the bed, not able to do anything, trying my hardest to fight the pain I felt. It was just terrible. I started to get really cold and I was shaking and shivering. An hour had passed and my placenta was still stuck inside, it was by then the doctor knew there was no way the placenta was going to be coming out on it’s own. My uterus had already shrunk, and the placenta was still attached. There was only 2 ways to get it out, surgery, or manually going back inside and pulling it out. My doctor thought manually was the best option, and I am glad he did decide to go back in manually (manually means he had to place his hand inside me and detach the placenta that way). Having surgery right after a vaginal delivery just didn’t make any sense. Anyways, it was 3 hours AFTER Liam was out that my placenta was finally manually detached and I was re-stitched up (yup, I had to be stitched up TWICE!) . I had lost a lot of blood and I was incredibly weak, but I was glad it was over. What I went through with the retained placenta is something I would not wish on ANYBODY, even my worst enemy!

So that is my labor and delivery story, as I mentioned to a few people…delivering Liam wasn’t bad at all, and I would go through it again. I am so in love with my newborn son. He is absolutely perfect. Tom and I are so happy he is here now, and we are now a family.

You were born into a strange world.
Like a candle, you were meant to share the fire.
I don’t know where we come from, and I don’t know where we go.
But my arms were made to hold you, so I will never let you go.
Cuz you were born to change this life.
You were born to chase the light.
You were born…

Love your mother, yeah she’s s good one.
She’ll build you armor; keep you warm as a hen.
The stars may fall and the rains may pour,
But I will love you evermore.
You were born to make this right.
You were born to chase the light.
You were born…

Oh my precious, oh my love, when they come to take me,
I will hold you from above.
I don’t know why we’re here, and I don’t know how,
But I’m here with you now, I am here with you now.
Cuz you were born to change this life.
Cuz you were born to make this right.
Cuz you were born to chase the light.

I was listening to this song at work, and I couldn’t help thinking of Tom, and how I have grown accustomed to him always being there for me, and how much I love him…

(Sorry if this post is too mushy for some of you!)

I’ve grown accustomed to his face
He almost makes the day begin
I’ve grown accustomed to the tune
He whistles night and noon

His smiles, his frowns, his ups, his downs
Are second nature to me now
Like breathing out and breathing in

I was serenely independent and content before we met
Surely, I could always be that way again and yet
I’ve grown accustomed to his looks, accustomed to his voice
Accustomed to his face

I’ve grown accustomed to his face
He almost makes the day begin
I’ve gotten used to hear him say
Good morning everyday

His joys, his woes, his highs, his lows
Are second nature to me now
Like breathing out, breathing in

I’m very glad he’s a man and so easy to forget
Rather like a habit one can always break and yet
I’ve grown accustomed to the trace of something in the air
Accustomed to his face

Mindrelic – Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic on Vimeo.

Watching this video makes me feel a little sentimental. As much as I love Chicago, I will forever love Manhattan and NYC just a tiny bit more (sorry Tom), and I’m glad I was lucky enough to have lived there for a part of my life. It was an…awe-inspiring few years. To be right in the middle of all that. It was amazing. Eventhough, NYC drove me completely nuts at times…at the end of the day…I would always always always fall back in love with the city. I’m sure you guys feel the same way Ellie Gaea Perang, Emylia Liyana Anwar, Olivia Liao, Fatimah Saidah Abd Halim etc, you guys know who you are.

We just found out today that our first born will be a baby boy! I am so excited! I sort of guessed it was a boy almost immediately, only because looking at the amount of boys combined on both my side and Tom’s…I’m basically the only girl.

People kept asking me before what I wanted, a girl or a boy, and yes truthfully I would have liked a girl. Not that I am not thrilled and over the moon that I am having a boy instead. It’s just that growing up with boys…I always wanted a girl in my family. But since that’s not going to happen this time around…I’m really truly happy about it. I’m sort of glad it’s a boy. I had always been a little of a tom boy growing up anyways. Playing with Transformers, Legos, and Ghost Buster action figures instead of Barbies, My Little Pony, and Polly Pocket, etc. I probably wouldn’t know what to do with a girl. LOL. Kidding.

Anyways on to more important things! We have decided to name our lil boy Liam Ayden/Aydin Sparrow. We still haven’t decided on the spelling of “Aydin” just yet, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough. What do you guys think it should be spelled with, an “E” or an “I”.

I can’t wait to go shopping for boy’s clothes! I am so excited! I know Tom might object to some of the things I am going to put our child in, like little overalls…I don’t know about you guys, but I think the perfect tiny little overalls on baby boys are the cutest thing ever! And bow ties! Hahahaha, yeah Tom’s going to kill me.

Going to go do a bit of shopping tomorrow after work and also get some paint, to paint the nursery! Yay!!!!!!!!!! So happy!

Woohoo I’m 14 weeks along now!

Tom and I have put the stroller decision on hold right now to focus on more important things. Like nursery furniture! Mainly the crib.

Just like the strollers, there are so many brands and types to choose from, but we know we want a convertible crib. It just makes more sense, to buy a crib that can convert to a toddler bed, and eventually a full sized bed than getting one that just stays a crib. We’ll just get another crib, when and if we try for a second kid…but uh…before we jump ahead of ourselves…let’s just focus on this little baby.

We’ve also decided on darker colored wood, rather than white. Even though, I love white. White always looks amazing when it’s new, but we know that pristine finish won’t last. So we’ve opted to go for something in “Expresso”.

So in order to finally figure out exactly which crib we wanted, Tom and I went to Buy Buy Baby and Babies ‘R’ Us last week. And I think we’ve eventually narrowed it down to the DaVinci Kalani 4-in-1. It looks great, it’s gotten good reviews, and it’s affordable. Although, we still haven’t decided if we’re going with the crib and changer combo or just the regular crib. I know we’ll figure that out soon!

The DaVinci Kalani Convertible Crib in Espresso

We plan on ordering it next week! Let’s hope Tom and I made the right choice! I’m so excited! LOL.

Hahaha can you guys believe it?? Me…a mom! LOL. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I mean, I still have a long ways to go before the baby actually gets here. I’m only 13 weeks and 1 day along right now, but Tom and I are extremely excited for the mini version of us to arrive. Another Sparrow to add to our nest!

We still don’t know the gender of the baby, we have a few more weeks to go before we can find out. At this point I’ll be happy with a boy or a girl, as long as he/she is happy and healthy. Although I have a feeling it’ll be a boy. I’m basing this theory with the fact that  I am the ONLY girl in my family and Tom only has brothers. That is a lot of boys!

Anyways, Tom and I haven’t actually done or bought much, for the little one because of the fact that we think it’s still a little early. Although, last weekend I did have a weak moment, and just HAD to buy the most adorable onesie I had ever seen! I felt better that Tom agreed I should get it too. It was just too cute! Plus it’s gender neutral, so it’s safe.

I love the British spelling on "Mum" on it!!

I have however started researching or rather online window shopping baby products. Mainly baby gadgets! Hahaha, yeah of course right?! Gadgets are the first things I look for! For some reason strollers were the first things I had to look for, and who would have thought that choosing the prefect stroller is harder for ME than choosing which a new smart phone to get or which DSLR to buy???!! There are just so many great brands out there, and they all seem to have like awesome selling points. Right now, I’ve basically narrowed it down to 3 brands and models. The Stokke Xplory, The Bugaboo Cameleon, and the Orbit G2.

What I love about the Stokke Xplory, is the fact that the baby when placed on the stroller is closer to your eye level. Plus it just looks awesome. Very chic! LOL. It’s also great that the stroller grows with the baby. That’s a huge selling point for me.

The Bugaboo Cameleon is another one that I absolutely LOVE! It’s gotten such great reviews from people, it’s really hard not to be convinced to just stop researching and just settle on this popular brand/model. It’s great that it’s probably the only stroller that comes with EVERYTHING, and is also highly customizable.

And last but not least, the Orbit G2 Travel System. I love that it allows you to turn the baby 360 degrees on the stroller, and also works as an infant car seat! I love, love, love this fact. A car seat is probably one of the FIRST things we need to get, so this feature is great. We can move the baby from the stroller to the car and back without disturbing him/her! Plus it’s gorgeous! LOL. It does however suck that, I will need to get a toddler seat once the baby is older. So that means we would need to spend an extra $250 dollars at least! They also have an add-on bassinet we can get, but I am hoping we won’t be needing that. The Orbit is awesome, but yeah unlike the Bugaboo, which comes included with EVERYTHING in just one price, the Orbit requires us to keep adding to the stroller, as the baby gets older.

The Orbit G2 Travel system, with infant carseat

The Orbit G2 when fitted with the toddler seat

We still haven’t fully decided, and probably won’t until we try them out at the stores. But anyone of you guys reading this have any tips, recommendations, experiences, thoughts, please, please, please feel free to drop me a line! I appreciate all the help I can get!