The Mothersucker

It's been 2 weeks! And a very taxing fortnight it was. With no confinement nanny, no parents or in laws helping, we are pretty much on our own. Also, I am breastfeeding the baby totally so that makes it really tough the first week but things are starting to look up.

#2 now has a name, it's Dylan Seow and he is such a cutie (in his parents' eyes at least) :) He is a little mothersucker literally but not a very good one I am afraid. His mouth is so cute and small, that he doesn't suckle the areola when nursing thus giving me terribly sore nipples :*( I clench my teeth in anticipation of the pain each time he feeds and this is at least once every 2 to 3 hours. ouch ouch! Breasts are also like rocks as the supply far exceeds the demand. Sigh, how did I do it for 21 months with Kayden?!? Am contemplating a visit to a lactation consultant if things don't get better this week.

Everyone has been asking me for photos and I am sorry it is taking so long as I hardly have time for anything else. The b&w roll of film in the Lomo has not been processed yet so that one will be sometime later. I brought home the D200 when I was discharged (yes, i went back to the studio 2 days after i had a baby!) and have been shooting baby with the 50mm only. It's so hard to catch him with his eyes open as he is only active in the evenings and i have no light to work with by then.

Anyway, here are some shots of him while sunbathing (for the slight jaundice that he has):




(the daddy screamed at me for putting him on the grass but don't you think it's a nice photo? hehe)

and then there were 2

You know, I think I overestimate myself sometimes. When my due date for #2 was estimated as 12 June, I was still confident that I can make it through the Motherhood Exhibition from 5-8 June. Which I did!

Thinking that since Kayden had to be induced on the EDD, I expected this pregnancy to be similar. I was hoping for something dramatic though, like waterbag bursting or waking up in the middle of the night with painful contractions. Right up till the end of the exhibition, I was still taking bookings for shoots and on Monday (the day after the exhibition ended), it was still work as usual. On Tuesday, I brought the girls to Cathay Photo to get some new lights and I was contemplating getting the Lensbaby to shoot my delivery (ya funny right, how to shoot when in labour. Well, there's epidural!) but it was sold out! After we lug the equipment back to the studio, I got ready to go home as usual and expected to come in tomorrow as there was a shoot and also I needed to tie up some loose ends and bring home my camera etc. Little did I know that I would never make it to the studio the next day!

Here's the story:

11 June 2008
7am - bloody discharge, started to time contractions and when they were about 9mins apart i took a shower while Erwin prepared Kayden for child care.

820am - left the house, waited for the lift and it broke down!!! my 5yrs living here there has been no problem with the lift and it HAD to happen when i am in labour! jeeze :s i clumsily walked down 8 storeys of stairs and we zoomed off. Erwin dropped K in school hurriedly and then it started to rain and there was massive traffic on the CTE. i panicked when the contractions became 6mins apart.

930am - finally reached the hospital and i went straight to labour ward. 2.5cm dilated (DAMN FREAKING PAINFUL when this midwife checked the dilation, wanted to slap her).

11am - epidural has been administered and waited for dilation to reach 10cm. didn't happen for some time until...

4something pm - felt sharp pain on right side lower pelvic area, told Erwin to get the nurse as i've never experienced this pain before. she came in and checked dilation and said i was fully dilated! Eunice came in and said can start pushing. So exciting, up till then I still wasn't mentally prepared. Only when i was pushing and she said the head is visible did it really dawn on me that i am really going to see my second born today! :D i pushed like crazy, this one seems harder to squeeze out than the first one.

435pm - baby out, big phew! he is 4kg exactly, 55cm tall and 36cm head.

some of you may think he's big but his brother was bigger at 4.475kg, however Gor Gor is 54cm, 1cm shorter kekeke, head size the same.

here's a picture of didi (taken on my iPhone as the D200 was still in the studio):

isn't he just so precious? :) the moment i saw him, all my woes of not having a girl disappeared as he is just so cute la! haha!

I would like to thank all who came to visit me and also those who sent us gifts, hampers and flowers! THANK YOU so so much! :)

Motherhood Exhibition 2008

It's The Studio Loft's 3rd year participating at the Motherhood Magazine Exhibition, the largest parenting extravaganza of the year. This year seems kind of slow at the moment. We're halfway into our second day here and i am typing this entry, slow huh? ;) Am hoping things will pick up this evening and over the weekend.

This year, we are sharing our booth with Itsy Bitsy Me and Wink to Learn. So far so good for them as well :) We decided not to bring down too many things this year since we are only getting 1/3 of the booth size. However i brought down the 24inch iMac to play a slideshow of our favourite photos over the years and you know what? It's a great traffic grabber! Oh but sometimes we find some lecherous men leering at the nude Bloom shots :S

One of my favourite clients *shameless plug coming up* Kristal and Martin has a booth here this year. They have a new prenatal education product called the BabyPlus but they said unfortunately it's too late for me to use it as i am too far along already kekeke :D Maybe for #3 if ever i decide to have another one!

The number of clients who came by our booth to say hi this year compared to previous years is an indication of how much we've grown and it's so nice to see our Little Big Shots all grown up or our Bloom mummies with their little bundle of joy :) Oh and some of our friendly competitors dropped by as well, Alvin from Dphotofolio (who has a booth here too) and Hart and Polo from Tomato.

This is our 2008 brochure printed for the exhibition. This year i decided to go with happy faces/bodies :





edited to add:
being the brainless klutz that i am, i forgot to bring home the envelope with all the takings for the fair on the first night :( but i think my unborn baby must have been watching over mummy as when i went back on the second day, the envelope was still under the desk, PHEW! :D

A friendly pow wow with the competitors

Last saturday, i received an email from David of Foto-U (one of our competitors). Four other competitors were included in the email, namely Tomato, Dphotofolio, Kopimei and Funshotz. We are all fellow advertisers on the Singapore Motherhood Forum.

Anyway the email was a call to all of us to come together and stop giving softcopies (negatives) to clients without charging for them. It was a valid call as in the long run, we will all be losing out this way. However it was funny that it was coming from David as his studio was the one that started the practise of giving out all softcopies from their sessions :p Anyway we all decided to meet up for a friendly networking session on thursday and the venue was my studio.

Shirley, our Kopimei arrived first with Hart from Tomato. David came some time later and last was Alvin from Dphotofolio. It was the first time i am meeting everyone with the exception of David whom i met once before when he contacted The Studio Loft for a joint promotion with Foto-U. Everyone was nice and friendly and we touched on issues like our business models, dealing with difficult clients, how to better improve workflow etc.

I am glad we can all be friendly with each other and help pass each other clients if we cannot do the shoots ourselves. Hart mentioned that he does not enjoy maternity shoots and have been referring some clients to me and likewise in my heavily pregnant state i am not fit for outdoor shoots and will refer to him any clients requiring this service.

We all agreed that the meeting was a fruitful one and decided to make this a bi-annual affair :)

I bought myself some more time for $100!

Whoo hoo! My amazing obstetrician Eunice Chua managed to turn my baby last friday when i went for my checkup. It seemed so easy, first she scanned to see where the head was, it was on my right side near the upper rib cage area and the butt was to my left side near my waist! No wonder my tummy was a weird shape that day :p Then she proceeded to massage baby's head downwards and after some pushing and prodding (less than 3mins) she did another scan and viola! baby's head is now in the right position!

Next up was a CTG to make sure baby is not in any distress, it turned out he's ok so i could go home and await natural labour signs! I was super elated as i was worried about the shoots lined up for this week so now i got another week to work :p still beaming, i paid the bill and noticed that the procedure cost me $100 bucks! haha! but i think it was worth it :p

To add to my previous post on turning a breech baby, here are some other methods i found on the internet:

1. Visualizing the baby moving down with the head very deep in your pelvis, several times a day; especially in conjunction with positions and exercises below.

2. Swimming as often as possible. This keeps your body and pelvis loose and relaxed. Do in conjunction with headstand below if you have help.

3. Headstand - with assistance and in a pool frequently as possible.

4. Breech Tilt - begin at 32-35 weeks gestation. Do 3 times daily for 10-15 minutes each time, when you have an empty stomach, and the baby is active. Prop one end of an ironing board securely on a sofa or chair 12 to 18 inches high (or may use slant board). Lie down, bend knees but keep feet flat on board. Relax, breathe deeply, avoid tensing. May also use pillows on a flat surface to raise hips 12-18" above shoulders. Gravity pushes the baby's head into the fundus, tucks it, and baby can then do a somersault to a vertex position.

5. CD/iPod headphones - place them inside mom's pants toward her pubic bone and play classical music for 10 minutes 6-8 times a day.

6. Flashlight - try moving slowly down from the top of the uterus toward your pubic bone while you are in a breech tilt position.

7. Massage - start with your left hand at the bottom of the abdomen and your right hand just above it. Move move your hands clockwise around the right side of your tummy. As your right hand reaches the top of your abdomen, slide the left one over your right and move it down the left side of your tummy. Your left hand leads as you you come full circle, continuing clockwise. Massage gently as you would to apply lotion. Massage for ten minutes or more up to several times each day.

8. Clothespin - place on the small toe of each foot at the outside corner of the toenail; sideways so that the toenail and toepad are stimulated for 30 minutes per day, this is an acupressure point that is a "moving down" point. You can also do this with just finger pressure as you remember to do it.

9. Motion Sickness band - place with the bead four fingerwidths above the inner ankle bone - another acupressure point that is used for stimulation of the uterus. Do not use this point if you are experiencing any pre-term labor.

10. Glass of orange or other juice - follow this with a side-lying position with your hips positioned higher than your feet. Babies move more after a sugar high!

11. Pelvic Tilt- with an ice pack on the top of your tummy on an empty stomach, 10 minutes twice a day. Do this while lying on your back on the floor with knees flexed and feet on the floor with three large pillows placed under your buttocks. Try this in conjunction with headphones and visualization.

12. Cat stretch - start with all fours, then lay your head and chest flat on the floor with your buttocks in the air, as you round your back and return to all fours.

13. Knee-chest position - by kneeling with hips flexed slightly more than 90 degree, but with thighs not pressing against your tummy and your head, shoulders and upper chest are flat on a mattress for 15 minutes every two waking hours for five days.

14. Belly Relaxing followed by Inversion - Partner places a shawl, sheet, towel or rebozo under mom's hips as she lays on the floor. Lift up on the corners of the cloth and shimmy her from side to side moving your hands up and down to wiggle her belly from side to side. These should be very small movements which mom should find very relaxing. Do this for about 5 minutes. Then mother kneels on the stairway landing. Walk your hands down 2 or 3 stairs into an all fours position; have your partner support your shoulders to balance you. Remain in this position for about 5-10minutes or as long as comfortable. Also do this on an empty stomach.

The following techniques to turn breech babies to vertex involve the assistance of a specialist or medical professional:

15. Acupuncture - find a acupuncturist who is familiar with pregnancy and knows the points to stimulate for turning a breech baby.

16. Webster's Breech Technique - see a Chiropractor who is experienced in this technique.

17. External Version - this can be done in the hospital at about 37 weeks; see an Ob-Gyn for assistance and more information.

BREECH!

It's my 37th week and baby is still in breech position! I did my own research on the internet and tried some of the suggestions to help baby turn such as
1. Crawl on all fours with back straight/parallel to the ground, then let forehead go down to floor level resting on arms.
2. Shine a light where you want baby's head to be positioned. Apparently babies in the womb are attracted to light and will turn towards it.
3. Play some LOUD headbanging music where you think baby's head is, to irritate him to move away! ha! this one's funny :p

Anyway i didn't try the last suggestion. Not sure if the first two works but #1 almost always guarantees lots of movement from baby which gave me hope! However the next morning i still feel that his head is up near my rib cage. Arrrgh! What a bummer.

If he doesn't turn by friday which is my appointment with my OB, she said she will try and turn him. After the turn, a CTG will be ordered and if the baby shows signs of distress, then it's straight to the delivery ward! So scarey! I am so so not prepared as i still have shoots lined up till end of May :(

Also, i don't think Erwin is prepared too. The big brother Kayden however seems to know! Since Saturday, he has slept in his own bed every night! He had only ever slept in his bed twice before and that was after much coaxing. But on Saturday night, he just suddenly announced to us, as he dragged his pillow and "chou chou" to the bed, that he was going to sleep there! We thought it will just be that one odd night but he has kept it up since ;) We rejoice to more space for us on the bed after more than 2.5years! :D

Mother's Day

It's my 3rd Mother's Day as a mother last sunday. I cannot recall what we did the previous year, but for the first one, our small family of 3 had dinner and cake. This year since i was pregnant, we thought it would be quite nice if we took some family shots before the new addition comes next month.

Using the tripod as a photographer turned out to be a very bad idea! And Erwin was a terrible photographer as well hahaha! Kayden was having a ball and surprisingly cooperative, i think he really likes the Pagoda St studio and was very cheerful :)

Anyway, here are some of the photos. I didn't do many Bloom shots as I was feeling quite bloated and uncomfortable. However i tried to do some shots that other pregnant women will not do, for example JUMP! :P shhh, don't tell my obstetrician!

First week @ Pagoda Street studio

What a week! The first 3 days were spent packing up at Devonshire studio, moving (3 trips!) all our stuff to Pagoda and then the hell of unpacking began. As thursday was May Day, we had no shoots but i still went back to finish up the unpacking. Thanks to erwin, my dad, stepmum and even Kayden for helping! :)

I was also quite nervous as i left the new studio on thursday as i did not get a chance to do a test shoot at the new premises and we had 5 shoots lined up for friday! So i went in early on friday morning to meter the lights and do some last minute arrangements like putting up a makeshift curtain for Bloom shoots. Totally forgot about this! We had a sliding door at Devonshire so Bloom clients can have privacy when doing nude sessions or when changing.

At 10am when the first client stepped in, everything rolled as usual! Little Big Shot Megan, daughter of former Bloom client Jacqueline was the first client at Pagoda :D She's adorable with her full head of hair and cheeky smile. I handled all the shoots for the first day so Ashley can get some orders done as we are getting behind time and the backlog is starting to pile again.

All in all, it was a good first week and i am hoping things will get better as we go along. I am still trying to get used to the smaller working area at Pagoda but it'll be ok :)

How to make your 2 days 1 night vacation go the mile - Bring your toddler along

hahaha, you probably would have guessed from the title that it was not such a great holiday for us three! kay was having a fever that lasted till we got home on sunday evening. he refused to eat anything solid throughout except sunday's breakfast he had some fruitloops with milk. each mealtime was a torturous time for erwin and me :S

BUT, the swimming was great! in the pool that is! he was having a great time in the Clubmed Bintan pool but when we tried bringing him to the beach, man oh man, that boy was terrified of the waves and refused to step on the sand! which is really strange becoz he was fine with the beach when he was younger. looking at the photos now, it's quite hilarious to see his scrunched up face and upward turned toes in contrast to jaeden's smiling happy self sitting on the sand with the waves coming at him.



check out that terrified face and curled toes :(


then minutes later, the happy boy in the pool!








torture on the beach! i swear that is kay's middle finger pointing at me! (the shadow)




Chilling with Daddy in the room


Dancing on the bed


it truly was a disastrous first vacation but we learnt from this experience and i am determined that the next one will be super! :)

thanks Ik Hui for getting this trip organised, you're so lucky to have a vacation loving toddler!

Last working day for The Studio Loft @ Devonshire

It didn't hit me till the last client left today. As i waved bye bye, i realised hey! this will be the last client at Devonshire Road for The Studio Loft. Kind of sad after we've been here for 2 years. But the rental increase is really too high for me to continue operating from these premises, so we have to move.

Monday will be packing day, Tuesday the movers will bring our stuff to Pagoda Street and then Wednesday will be the headache of unpacking everything. Gosh, i am dreading this. How i wish i am rich enough to stay in a big house with a photo studio built in, no more being at the mercy of greedy landlords and real estate agents. *Dream dream dream*

Here are some photos of the place in all it's pre-move messy glory!

Hip Hop Bobbing Boi

Thought you guys might enjoy another video of my son dancing. I think he's got some black genes in him, check out his hip hop moves ;)

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins

Last year, by some freak coincidence, i found out that a fellow forum mate on a motherhood forum i have been actively a part of is actually my secondary school mate! We have not met for 17 years since we left school and we are both mothers now to sons about the same age :)

Her name is Miaofang aka Curly and this is a superb recipe i got from her.

Citrus Yoghurt Muffins



200g self raising flour
175g caster sugar
1 tbsp each of grated lemon, orange and lime zest
225ml fat-free plain yoghurt
115ml sunflower oil
1 lightly beaten egg

1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Combine flour, sugar, all zests, in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat yoghurt, oil and egg until well blended. Add flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Do not overmix.
3. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake for 20 mins. Remove tin from oven and cool for 5 mins. Then eat!

NOTE: i didn't have oil so i used melted butter instead. the batter was also very thick, not sure if i got the right kind of yoghurt. so i added a bit of milk to the batter. i baked at 165C for 15mins. oh and instead of caster sugar, i used organic brown sugar.





only after shooting the shot below did i realise what a horrible hand model i make :s