Lotsa Expression

When I first posted the first pictures of Sophie on my blog and Facebook, one comment that stayed with me was “she has so many different expressions”. It’s true, normally most kids under 4 months, very have few expressions. Here are the standard faces:

The Straight Face

The “Please Do Not Cut My Toes” Face

The Fully Fed Face – complete with drool

Of course there are The Smiley Faces that just melts all hearts:

Awwww!!

Starting the “non-standard” faces there are The Flustered and Harassed Face

The “You Owe Me Money” Face

One of my favourites, The "What you talkin' bout Willis?" Face.

Of course we have The Concerned Blur Face as well

and once in a while you get The Disguised Look where you wonder, “Hmmm who is this ah?”

The Hurriedly Worried Face

The Butch Face

The KKK Face

And of course The Coy and Adorable Face

Yes indeed Sophie does have many looks and she keeps us entertained. Here’s look’in at you kid.

M a Proud Daddy

Touchy Touchy

These past few days, I have been spending much time in the word. Recently PP has been speaking about meditation over God's word and how a verse can become so real in one's life. It's pretty hard to explain 
but suffice to say the wife got it down pretty well as she blogged here.

For me, every few days I find a verse that jumps out at me and that would be my meditation verse. What I also do is to make this verse as my Facebook status, just for fun.

What I did not expect was the verbal melée that ensued via status comments each time I made a posting. One thing is for sure religion is a touchy subject especially for the misinformed, misguided and misunderstood. I wanted to copy and paste the thread but after 14 comments, a blow by blow account would be too cumbersome.

It’s funny how people are quick to blame God for the things that He “made” us do. One of God’s greatest gifts to us is free will which is defined “as the ability to make a choice without coercion”. Lest we forget the consequences.

M Praying

Back on the Road

Well not exactly the road per se but more the path. My long awaited return to cycling has come. I guess the reason why it took so long was the mental block about just getting all the gear together and plonking myself on that seat and pounding the road. Now that I have finally, it is a good feeling. But as with all first time cycling attempts this was not spared from dramas.

This time around my best mate, Selvam and I after much, much, much talk (we have been talking like almost a year) we finally found time for to take a ride together. It was meant to be an early morning ride on the Changi Park Connector Network (PCN) but that would not be the case.

After dropping the wife off at work, I headed to Tampines to get Selvam. The weather which looked perfect took a turn on the way there with a sudden downpour of torrential rain. Thank God for the KPE which got me out or shall I say under. Soon we were on our way to Changi Point which would be the start of our ride on the PCN, when the rain came again. Thankfully the rain stopped when we hit the Changi Beach carpark.

We unloaded our bikes and just when we did, the heavens opened! This time it was here to stay. We ran to a nearby shelter and soon was joined by a crowd of people who were doing the same.

 

In the foreground are a bunch of students camping and learning how to tie knots. Yes clove hitch, reef knot, cross lashing kind of knots. In the background are “orange” guys from SembCorp who were supposed to be doing some landscaping work. All Stuck!

This was not how I envisioned my return to the road. After almost 45 mins of chatting and quietly laughing at the knots instructors cheesy attempts at humour, we had enough. If we are not going to ride we should do the next best thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It started with a warm cup of coffee to warm up but the rain did not let up so…..order up!

 

 

The food was surprisingly good. I messaged the wife to tell her that my bike trip has now become a foodie trip to Changi Point. While we were chilling out here, she was playing Incredible Hulk.

Eventually the rain slowed by mid morning (10ish) and so we decided to hit the road. I am glad we stuck to it. It was a great 30KM ride. The PCN was a great idea, there was no need to contend with heavy vehicles and drivers in cyclist unfriendly Singapore.

 

 

 

 

 

We rode from Changi Point to East Coast Parkway before turning back towards Changi Point. On our return trip we stopped at these rest point and soaked in the view and the breeze. It was great!!!

I noticed on the other side of the pictured waterway was a large yellow beacon. We decided to head there to see see.

 

It was the Tanah Merah beacon. It was located on a tip of a break water and the view from there was awesome! Too bad just had my iPhone with me to take some okay pictures. Here is the view towards the East up the breakwater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s the view West wards, up East Coast Park and way in the distance is the CBD. This photo does not at all do justice to the view to be honest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as we headed back to Changi Point, I was already thinking about our next cycling trip and promising myself that it will not be 3 months or 3 weeks later but 3 days later, unfortunately as luck would have it the bike is in the shop for servicing and hopefully I will get it back soon.

M Riding

Giving Back

Last Monday I was not in the best state of mind, it was Monday blues in a slightly different shade. I had mixed feelings of uncertainty, indecision and anxiety. I guess it is human given my state but I am on an extended break and to be frank there is little to be worried about. But on occasion these feelings to get the better of me.

So I was labouring to re-enter a state of rest, I tried everything to prevent these contagious thoughts from resurfacing. Most effective of course was just to look at Sophie sleeping, guaranteed smiles there but it was temporary. TV and reading did not help either. Then S woke up from her slumber, I picked her up and she did this.

As usual she rested on my shoulder but this time she just stayed there, awake but resting. It was almost as if she was comforting me and telling me in her way that “it’s all good Dad, REST!” No matter what she was trying to do, everything that was bothering me melted away and was forgotten in that instant. This small act of giving back from my almost 4 month old girl, set the tone for what has been and is continuing to be an awesome week.

Choose to be happy and not be defined by your circumstances.

M glad for S 

Sleep Patterns Study

Sleep is one of the most important human functions that is essential to survival. We all do it and we all need it. Did you know that anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you're sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you're still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.

In any case, I recently conducted a sleep study of Sophie. Here are my findings:

Sleep time usually begins after 100-130ml of milk, following a bout of burping and about 10 to 15 minutes of winding down (no sleep deprivation here) before the eventual “dreamtime” begins. This is followed by me swaddling Sophie so that her movements are minimised. This is just a delay tactic for the eventual result as will be shown eventually.

 

The next stage that can happen anywhere between 5 minutes to 2-3 hours is the escape of the left hand. Always the left. This has led us to a possible pre-conclusion that Sophie is left handed.

 

The next stage is a mix of chaos and completely unpredictable in terms of timing or outcome thus, chaos. As is clearly shown by the next set of images captured on different days and sleep cycles, the results are random.

The next stage is the point between sleep and wake. This is a critical stage and the eventual outcome can be determined but is not always guaranteed by some careful steps. First with the introduction of a pacifier which will calm baby down followed by some light patting on the chest should return her back to sleep state. But as said earlier this is not a full guarantee as after a few minutes of sleep she might be in the next state as shown. 

 

This is the end of the sleep cycle and is normally followed by a change of nappy and some fun smiley times of play and discovery.

 

No matter what the case maybe, sleep is always an interesting subject for us adults to ponder upon. No matter what the case maybe or the “sleep” stage which the baby is in, to adults it always guaranteed to bring a warm smile to your face.

 

M studying S!

Brunch Anyone?

The word brunch itself spells indulgence. Its exudes that carefree, lazy, airy feeling that settles so lightly on one’s palate. Ah…brunch!!!

This was one of the things that MMM (Maji, Maju and Mojo) did together. Every morning I would search for a suitable place for us to brunch at. Someplace nice and cosy, away from the hustle and bustle of the usual weekday activities.

Of the many places we tried to go to, our favourite was nestled right in Bishan Park surprisingly. I expected to find something good in the Bukit Timah area but after a few forays there, Canopy was the favourite by far!

The place is gorgeously landscaped so you feel outdoors but not too stifled by the heat of the morning or shall I say mid morning (we are talking brunch) sun. Service was impeccable, we have been back a few times since and the server there even remember my name! That is top marks in my book.

Food wise, there was little to be disappointed about too. We sort of started a quest to find the best Eggs Benedict and so far Canopy’s has beaten quite a few top competitors! The pièce de résistance was the hollandaise sauce which was nicely balanced and just slightly tart to give it a full body. Yum!

The mushroom sandwich as well, a sure pleaser for the mushroom lover! With aromatic fresh shrooms with some melted Cheddar on multigrain bread, just perfection. Probably the spoiler was the fried which seemed like an odd accompaniment to such a richly flavourful dish.

Sophie too enjoyed herself, she was so excited soaking in the new surroundings that she fell asleep. So guys if you are ever in the area do drop by Canopy at Bishan Park next to Aramsa Spas, it’s a delight.

M Brunching

Restful Increase

This post was written quite a while ago but I am only posting it now. It took a bit of soul searching and inward reflection to get to a place where I was comfortable to share. So here goes;

Just before Chinese New Year (early Feb), I got the word that I was being let go, ironically it happened as I was watching the movie Up In The Air. It was a shock but, somehow I felt that He prepared me for this. I took the news well and chose to leave graciously.

To be honest, with this incident, I did feel anger which is only natural, as you can imagine but, I felt it for a good 20 minutes only. Following which my mental state was a mix of uncertainty as well as glee! Yes glee! This is really credit mainly to a super supportive wife, who alerted me to the silver lining as well as her similar experience a few years ago.  My soon to be ex-colleagues called me the happiest “retrench-ee” they had ever seen. To be exact I was giving the option of the two “R”s, I chose resignation instead.

I have been wanting an exit for a while now. Of course I would  have preferred it to be of my own doing but hey that's how the cookie crumbled. I was pretty satisfied with the package so I was not complaining. It was a case of true restful increase or in lay terms - paid holiday! So all things considered it worked out for the best.

Something else I did not complain about was the timing. The wife was going back to work soon and it meant that we (3 of us) could have some solid family time together. Believe me we did just that and to be honest it has been the happiest time in my life! So all in all it's been a time of blessed restful increase.

M humbly thankful

3 months on

 

Sophie is 3 months today. It has been a life changing experience and I have enjoyed all of it. I think this picture (although blur) pretty much sums up how life has been for me since her arrival and the fun we have together.

I could not be happier and best of all I get to do all this with my best friend.

Thanks Babe!

 

M Loving Life

BST

or Bible Story Time. This is time for me to read to Sophie a bible story from Sweet Dreams Princess by Sheila Walsh. Its a pretty good book and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to tell their little ones about Jesus. Side note: Not to be limited to little ones it will also bless unknowing parents/readers.

This practice start way back when the wife was around 2 months preggers and it continued every night till Sophie was born. After which it was rather hard to ensure that she was awake and the right time, etc. When she was in the belly it was easier.

So now whenever I get the chance and the book is close by, its BST! S just loves it..

M ministering

Sow Much Lately?

One morning while I was out shooting, I took this picture. When I took this picture, I was going for a contrast play on the harshness of the rocks with the freeness of the dandelions. Cool huh?

When I got home to do a little post processing, I realised that these dandelions, were not really free as I though. In fact, they were fighting for survival. They would not last long as their roots would be shallow amongst these rocks.

The ground on which we stand needs to be deep rooted. Shallow roots do not hold strong and reap very little but healthy ground reaps deep roots which reaps a bountiful harvest that is thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

M discovering

The Mug Shot

Have you ever gone back and looked at old identity cards, perhaps even old student ids or even an old passport and looked at your mug shot and said,  “Gosh what was I thinking?” I know I have on several occasions.

With the wife going back to work soon, the idea came to take a short trip before the “pillar hugging” starts (private joke). There was a possibility of going overseas as well, so we had to get the little one the necessary documentation. I was particularly excited because I was going to take her passport photo. So after a few tries we ended up with this:

I can’t wait for the day for her to start talking coherently and for her to tell me what she thinks of this picture.  I imagine her saying “Dad, did you run out of hair gel or something, come on what were you thinking?” I’d probably reply “Cute what?!!”

M loving every moment

Test Drive

It took us a while to get over the "hurdle" of bringing Sophie out. We had only brought her out to the PD. So when we thought that she was ready or rather when we were ready. I decided to give the little fella a "test drive" in the car seat that was passed down to us. After reading the instruction booklet for the fourth time, I put baby to car seat. She took it quite well as I was trying to adjust the straps frantically.

Someone was obviously having more fun than I was. It was not as easy as I thought. I had to refer to the instructions quite a few times to get things perfect. Sophie was smiling all the way.

After all straps were adjusted and more or less in the correct place we had one snug baby in her new car seat ready to take on the world!

M Baby Mobile

Trusting Him

Trust is an important thing to have. Not just trust received but trust earned as well. When the cards are against us who can we trust? Family? Friends? Ourselves? Of course we can rely on our friends and family to help us get through a difficult situation but they can’t really help us in the situation, now can they!

So we turn to ourselves to endeavor ourselves and to struggle out of any difficult situation. This self effort is usually accompanied with cupfuls of coffee, buckets of stress, loads of worries and not to mentioned hours of sleeplessness. We can’t help it; this is what it takes to get the job done.

Such was the situation for me in Apr 2007. I was a complete wreck, the stress was so great the wife, who at that time was fiancée, received the brunt of my mood swings and stress. She too was dealing with a fair amount of stress at the time too, so it was both ways. Eventually we stumbled over to the other side successfully intact and stronger with the grace of God only.

Today, the situation is similar but strangely there is a calm. We are both getting accustomed to Sophie’s presence. And I am dealing with work issues again, which often seems out of my control. But rather than falling the same way, I am trusting Him and though there are times I sense and feel myself falling, when realisation kicks in, I cast it to Him and there is calm.

All I know is that whatever will be done will be done well. I know it may sound foolish but faith will sound foolish to the faithless. In the midst of the storm, I am looking to Him to make a way for me and to show me the way out of the situation.

M Trustin Him

Maintaining Sanity

It was a tough day today. It started from the morning as I started to fall asleep while I was driving to work. There was no one to blame but myself for this happening not my little girl. But when I got to work I was faced with another issue. I found myself playing a school counselor in a “high school disagreement” at work. I tried not to lose it and I maintained my cool but still I was admittedly angry but I kept my words steadily firm but sane.

As the day progressed, the deterioration continued with my constant lunch time conundrum of what to eat, followed by a few session of word play, I am happy to say I have made it to the end. Triumphant and victorious! Can you hear the people in the stands?

Although I struggled through today I maintained sanity throughout because I though of two things. One is my wonderful family. Maju and Mojo are my constant pillars in my life holding me up even when they are not physically present. They are so important that a day without them would be torturous. The other thing is of course is my refuge, my shelter, my hiding place, my Jesus. He is always with me wherever I go. When I am walking in the valley He is with me. He is always with me and He is my comfort.

Photo credit by b_hoffman2000

This picture is apt. Because no matter how small or tiny we feel. We have a big God shining down on us. ALWAYS! With these two things in my head and heart I can move mountains. Nothing is too hard! All I need to do is REST!

M telling all to Bring it On!

Nursery Rhymes??

As you can imagine with a baby in the house, there be a lot of these really kiddy tunes being played to pacify Sophie. Or that our CD players will have stacks of nursery rhymes CDs just waiting to churn out some sweet kiddies tune.

Oh so wrong. We have nothing like that. Perhaps the closest thing to that we have is the Mozart Effect which was supposed to be played before and after the baby is born. During the first 2-3 weeks surprisingly Sophie responded well to The Who!! Yeah, I was surprised too! She in particularly liked their catchy hit from 1965, “I Can’t Explain”! Personally, I could not be happier as this is what I dreamed of doing, that is to introduce my girl to great classic songs.

I am respecting the wife’s order of no heavy rock or metal music, which I do think is a good idea for a under 6 months old. Hehehehe…so now shes into U2, Hillsong United, Simon & Garfunkel and of course The Who. When she starts to get restless hook up the iPhone to the stereo and wala she’s grooving. All I can say is “The girl’s got taste”!

M Rocking

Incidental Shopper

One of my greatest joys as a Dad is to buy clothes for my little girl. I simply can't resist these cute little rompers, t-shirts and dresses. Gosh, what's happening to me.

I have been responsible for the majority of Sophie's wardrobe that is, other than the clothes she got from her older cousins.

I normally never leave my office to head out for lunch unless it's absolutely necessary. But today I left the office after a late finishing meeting to get some clothes for my little girl. I found a shop selling cute branded clothes at low prices. So that's a good score for Daddy.

M a baby shopaholic

In the minds of people

Recently I had the privilege of talking to someone who had some insights into how a certain group of people perceived me. In a sense, I knew I was going to hear things that I was going to be affected by either mentally and emotionally but the need to hear this “feedback” was too intense. Did I mention that the people who said these things about me were people I rub shoulders with everyday? Well they are and of course they are not aware that these words of their were reaching me.

As expected the words were surprising and some of them cut like daggers. Most of the words used and conclusions said were either based on erroneous interpretation and the awareness of part of the picture but as we all know in life, we are never privy to the full picture.

I sometimes wonder to myself why such situations occur. Sometimes good intentions results poorly and misinterpretations are so frequent that at times, trying to be extra nice to certain people might not be worth much effort. A cynical view? Perhaps? Does that stop me from having good intentions? Its unlikely that it will stop me.

On the other side of the coin, why do people crave feedback so much? Why when feedback is not given we are left wondering? Wondering so much so that it leaves us in a state of loss. But in the rare case when the feedback is given it is often received with denial and angst at first followed by a time of soul searching. This is such a soul searching post.

One thing I am glad to know is that one person sees all things. And after seeing all things He does not judge, persecute or look at us any differently. I take comfort in such a person watching over me.

M Discovering

2009 – The Dektos Year

Ok I know I am a little late with this post but better late than never. As mentioned many times before this blog is a means to chronicle all the good things that I am so blessed to receive, experience and share with others.

And so as each year passes my list of things to be thankful for get longer. So rather than listing out all the great things (and believe me there are so many great things) that have happened to me, here is my Top 10 (drum roll please).

10. Revived the Photo Habit

9. The invention of Majimo and majimoblogs.com

8. Start of Exercise (on pause at the moment J)

7. Had two amazing beach holiday one better than the other

6. Got Promoted at work

5. Found out we were Preggers

4. Experienced the Free Flowing Favor of God in all areas of my life

3. Rebelled against bad food at the office

2. Becoming a Dad to Sophie

and the Number One thing to be thankful for this year is……

1. Fell in love with my wife all over again! Thanks Babe you are the bestest!

M in 2010

First 20 Days

Aside from having a 20 day old baby, I'm also a 20 day old father. Already after 20 days I have new respect for fathers in general.

Most of what is happening is more or less expected, being well read and prepared before Sophie's arrival. But there is a part that goes unprepared.

Basically at this point, nothing much else matters other than the family. I knew that family was always No. 1 on my list of priorities but I never  expected it to be such a distant first.

After 20 days, I am just filled with the overwhelming knowledge that I have such a direct influence in a person's life. So is there pressure? No not at all, actually it's a sense of priceless privilege! I am priviledged to be a growing father to Sophie.

As she grows, I grow. How great is that!

M growing

Back to Work

Today is my first day back to work since Sophie’s arrival. I was not looking forward to it but at the end of the day, I am glad there were just a few challenges and His protection and His hand has been on my team while I was away. So there were a few issues to deal with.

However, the work and the issues were not at all on my mind. I kept thinking about what’s happening at home. How is the wife doing without me? Is she ok? Is she lonely (aside from her cuz, mum and CL)? My many WhatsApp messages must have either irritated her or shown her that I left my mind at home.

And of course the wonderment of what is my little girl doing. Is she sleeping? Is she awake? Is she smiling? Gosh the call to head home has never been stronger. Never realised I could miss 2 people so much. Right now, I am just waiting for that sweet spot time of 6.30pm when the traffic is not that crazy to blow this pop stand.

Oh well I expected this to happen honestly and fills me with such joy to head home so much more than before to my 2 girls!

Oh look at the time! Ciao!

M Leaving

New Life, New Banner

“Life as you know it will cease to exist” so said a friend of mine, in a rather negative way. Your freedom will be a thing of the past, your level of responsibility will increase dramatically, you will become more and more tired and you will lose more hair, if not it will get greyer like mine, he continued to expound.

QN: So has life changed?

ANS: For sure, now it is more full than it was previously. I have more to look forward to each day, previously I looked forward to spending time with the wife, now I can look forward to time with wife and Sophie.

QN: Do you have less freedom?

ANS: Do not really think so considering I am homely guy. Perhaps this question is more pertinent for the wife. LOL!

QN:Has your level of responsibility gone up?

ANS: For sure it has but I think it has gone up in a good “Circle of Life” kinda way.

QN: Are you tired

ANS: Yes I am, I explained that I am so tired that to compare it would be like my Army Jungle Training in Brunei but, I am super overflowingly overjoyed by the tiredness.

QN: Hair Loss or Grey Hair?

ANS: Ok hair loss started way before Sophie’s arrival and to be honest it fine with me, as for grey, the wife finds the few grey hairs that I have very sexy. So bring it on!

M loving every minute

PS: If you have not noticed I have a new banner? Nice?

Isn’t She Lovely

Yes I know I have been extremely late since my last short message that the much anticipated Mojo (now renamed as Sophie) has arrived. Since her arrival, I have been jubilant, sleep deprived and in utter amazement that the wife and me could have produced something so beautiful.

Here are some more pictures of our bundle of joy

 

For the birth story please head to the wife’s blog.

M over the moon

Birth Announcement – Sophie

Maji & Maju.

She's Here!

Super Mom pushed out Sophie Dorett at 11:30pm, while Dad took pictures! Baby is doing well and Mum is resting. She took her time but she's worth the wait!

M in Love

Mojo Update

So we are now in the delivery suite. It's happening folks! Mojo is on
her way out.

Mum is at 4cm and Praise the Lord! the pain is minimal. Contractions
come in the way of backaches. This is of course after Prostin pill
inserted over 8 hours ago. Gynae was expecting her to be in more pain
but she isn't! My super trooper!

Doc has suggested to start the drip so as to expedite the process. So
all in all Mum is doing well. She's as cool as Mojo!

As for me, I just doing silly things. Trying to take my blood pressure
with the machine, inhaling Oxygen in a hope to have a high. Hahahaha
well that me always up to something funny, so not as cool as my two
girls!

Anyhow I think our motto for the moment is "Go with the flow and
glow!" so that's what we are doing.

Mojo is coming!

Mojo Update

We are now 3 days overdue. I was hoping she would come out on the 6th and share her birthday with her old man but I guess she's got her own plans.

So tomorrow is the scheduled induce date but, the wife and I have our apprehension. Should we force it or let nature take it's course? Let's see what the doctor says.

All I know is that we have an ultra cool customer in the making here. She's calm and contented amidst all the excitement! There are so many people waiting on her and eager to hear the good news. My Facebook wall has never been this busy!

Here I was thinking a few posts ago that I was robbed off the excitement and anticipation. Well folks, I'm getting it in buckets now! I think I just need to chill out and go with the flow and glow!

M trying to be like Mojo

Mojo Update

Still no Mojo as yet. Tomorrow the 4th Dec is our EDD so it now all about the waiting. The wife was having some back pains but they were not really contractions as yet. She is still 1CM dilated. I stayed home with her today because she was in a bit of pain. Pain relief came about by her walking. She is much better now.

The last I saw she was doing yoga!! Amazing Woman!! If there is no news over the weekend Monday morning next week we will be inducing!

So its just a matter of time till Mojo is born!!

M excited!

Ready?

In all stages of life, from the first date, to the marriage proposal, to the actual wedding day and now for us the birth of our first child; Can anyone ever confidently say that they are ready? Although the time frame associated in bring a life into the world is normally 9 months, I believe that the preparation for this event starts much earlier. Each life experience that we have accumulated from the time we are able to be coherent prepares us for the next. As such, I believe that it’s not just 9 months preparation but I believe that for me it has been 35 years.

As mentioned in my previous post work has been getting me down more so from the fact that I felt robbed from the special anticipation one feels when their first born is about to come into the world.

I am happy to report that that work “distraction” is gone and now I can “enjoy” that butterfly feeling of anticipation. And to all who have never had children before it is really an awesome feeling.

Its hard to describe the feeling, as little comes close. I did not feel this excited on my wedding day, nor on the day that I proposed. My first date does not really come close either and so I can basically conclude that this is going to be one of the biggest and most exciting events in my life.

I feel really blessed to be able to share this impending event with all of you!

M happy to be blogging

Maternity Shoot

You knew it was coming. We have been trying to take as many pictures as possible to commemorate the various stages of pregnancy. From the growing belly to random shots here and there. But what we never got down to doing was a purposeful photo shoot aimed at taking the wife in all her glory.

So before it was too late we headed to Lower Pierce one morning to take some pics. Here are the results after some editing.

 

 

M glad to be along for the ride!

Things that Move Me

There are quite a number of things that move me, meaning that either sends me into a deep meaningful reflection or complete rage (ok lah, not rage but anger). Such has been the case last week. Due to some dramas at work, I have been on a roller coaster of emotions.

This situation at work has made me angry but more so disappointed that such a thing could have happened. I shall not expand on it, but take it from me the circumstances were not pleasant. However the thing that has really really upset me is that this work issue has got my mind so preoccupied that I am unable to fully enjoy the last few days I have with my wife before Mojo comes.

I imagined to have that airy feeling of butterflies in the stomach but at the same time that uncontrollable eagerness of what is come. Its like going for that insane rollercoaster ride that you have always wanted to be on for so long and best of all to be on it with the one you love the most. However in my case, while standing in line to get on, my mind is someplace else as both of us stand there in silence, waiting for the event to take place. I feel somewhat robbed of that emotion.

I know we can control how we feel but sometimes our emotions and feelings just get the better of us. However, I know that when I see that most anticipated face, everything will melt away and what is truly important will be all that matters.

This morning I read something profound from The One Thing, that moved me and my emotional state one step closer to where I should and want to be. It a verse from Deuteronomy 28:4 which I have personalised. It goes like this:

Blessed shall be the fruit of MY body, the produce of MY ground and the increase of MY herds, the increase of MY cattle and the offspring of MY flocks.

M better now!

Mojo Update

A quick Mojo update: We are one day from Mojo month and the wife is in “early labor” already (perhaps that is not the exact term but you get the idea). No, the baby is not coming just yet, but according to our gynae on Sat morning she is 1CM dilated. So folks any time now!

There were a few false alarms, which was good as it served as dry runs for the actual event. I now have almost military precision in terms of what to do when I receive the call from the wife to tell me “Mojo is coming!”

M in anticipation

Essential Reading

 

This has been what I have been reading over the past few weeks; it’s The First Year from the What to Expect series. It has been quite a revelation as the book is well written and very easy to understand. It is very very detailed and I like to read books which leave very little to the imagination. I would recommend it to anyone who is going to be a first time parent.

 

M almost there

Baby Engineering Part 2

Since the baby preparation phase is more or less over with the resolution of the preverbal spanner (will talk about details and God’s super favour for this topic in another post), we are now moving to handling issues when Mojo comes. One of the goals of some parents will be to be so insync with their little ones that at the sound of their cries they will know exactly what’s up. To state the obvious, babies do not talk, they cry, but are all cries are the same? Can we decode their cries to understand what is up with the little fella?

Apparently studies have been done which actually show that baby’s cries can be discerned and the exact problem pinpointed (to 95% accuracy) using the following factors:

• Crying Power
• Crying Frequency
• Crying Intervals

Enter the Why Cry Baby Analyzer; which claims to with 90% accuracy be able to “decode” a baby’s cry within 20 seconds to display the following image to show if baby is Hungry, Bored, Annoyed, Sleepy or Stressed, as per the Chart of Tranquility, shown below.

 

 

 

 

It all sounds a bit loopy to be honest but then again we could be on to something, considering that this technology is based on over 6 years of research and clinical testing. So I started on some research and basically found nothing in the way of user reviews. There are numerous sites, talking about the product which contains the same press release information but can it be trusted? Am I willing to shell out USD$ 75 to get this contraption?

So more searching, and guess what? Remember the time I said I love my iPhone, well it is one of those “I love my iPhone” times. A company called Biloop came up with something called a Cry Translator, it too claims to do the same thing that the Why Cry Baby Analyzer does, only difference its an application that runs on the iPhone!! Now how cool is that!! It identifies the cries in 3-5 seconds and it boast the accuracy of 95%! The clincher is that it cost only USD$10 through the App Store.

But before you rush out and purchase this App, read the reviews! Yes there are 8 reviews and out of them, only 2 are positive the rest say that this App is “a waste of money”. Talk about anti climax.

So in conclusion, do these things work? Who knows? Perhaps they are complete hype or just tech companies preying on the desperation of tired and weary parents. But coming back to the first point and the intended goal which is “parents who want to be insync with their little ones”. In order to be insync with anything, there will be a period of learning or “getting insync” this time can vary and results also might vary but it does take time and patience. All I know is that whenever Mojo cries I will smile (at least I will try) to myself in memory of this post!

M Smiling to Myself.