Meet J and his Youtube Channel~

Now that J is 6-year-old, he's exposed to all the stuff on the internet. One of the greatest evil is Youtube... I cannot tell you how much effort we take to ensure he sticks to an outdoor regime and not sitting in front of the Youtube screen every hour he's home.

And recently he's started a new goal of getting a Youtube Play Button... that means getting at least 100,000 subscribers to our his channel - JayXOne / JayX1

Without further ado... here's an introduction of JayX1...

That means alot of time taking videos, editing and uploading of videos for me...

What does the fox say? Play more games!

Since my last post more than a year ago I've purchase a Playstation 4. Top games on the PS4? I probably got half of those games (although I probably haven't completed half of those games that have a main storyline):

1. FIFA 15
2. FIFA 16
3. Call of Duty - Advanced Warfare (50% complete)
4. Star Wars - Battlefront
5. Metal Gear Solid V - The Phantom Pain (50% complete)
6. Assassin's Creed Unity (100% complete)
7. Far Cry 4 (100% complete)
8. Just Dance 2015
9. Skylanders Superchargers
10. Battlefield 4

Perhaps the most interesting game I've gotten so far is Just Dance 2015 (somehow I didn't realise 2016 was already out when I bought it online...)

J has always been a dance fanatic and this game is perfect as it not only takes his eyes off the iPad (to a much larger screen) but also get him to do some exercise instead of just bumming around the house the whole day~

Baby J dancing to "What does the Fox say?"

And through some encouragement from him, I also get some much needed cardio workout.... although the maximum is 2 tracks before I lay down in waste~

Gaming is no longer easy...

Baby J's 1st Birthday~

We had a 1st birthday party by the poolside for our dear J recently. Much preparation and resources went into the organization of this party. Mummy went about finding the perfect birthday cake and catering. We also went to get candies etc for goodies bags which comes with an Angry Birds puzzle! She even went to buy toys for the kids that she knows!!!

Goodie Bags for kids!

 Honestly I didn't get involved much except for toy shopping~ Bought this cute little elephant toy which would blow balls up from its trunk when you press a button. It's one of J's fave toys now~

This is what I got for my dear son~ His fave toy now!

Since we wanted to make his 1st birthday a nice and memorable one, we went ahead to decorate the place with banners and balloons~ It was great family time doing these things together~ Also showed my many inadequacies like not able to blow a balloon or cut paper out very well... But I still helped with printing out photos of J in a very tasteful way~ much like a film reel if you can see from the picture below~

Home-made banner! A few of us came up with this in one night!

Balloons from Parkway Parade~

Balloons all around the poolside~

But the star of the show must be 2 things. Firstly, definitely my son who charmed everyone with his many antics~ Secondly it gotta be the cake which my wife found for all of us~ The cake, from Cake Avenue, was the 2nd star of the event! Fondant on the outside and lovely chocolate fudge cake on the inside~

3-tier cake with a replica of our dog, J's best friend!

And J's biggest reward must be the number of toys he received! And in the Singapore context there were no misers around! Each guest either came with a big ang pow or a big present! All nice to have but their presence to witness my son's growth is the most important~

Toys galore for the little prince~

The next time I'm going to hold a birthday party for him will probably be 16 or 18 or 21!~ 

Recap : January 2012

Sooner than we realised, it was January 2012. For the missus and myself it marks the end of 1 year that we have spent together in Singapore. The past several years in HK are now a blur to me. I certainly cannot remember in which particular year I took a trip to Hokkaido, or Europe or a business trip to China or Kyoto. I most certainly cannot differentiate the days and months I spent between 2007-2009 because they were mostly monotonous without anything outside of work and home. My best years in HK were the 1st, when I was kept extremely busy with work and studies, and the last, when I was kept busy with studies, bowling and a pregnant wife. 

2011 marks a significant year which saw the arrival of our little prince J. 

*Wink Wink*

The joy of being a father, the worries of being an unemployed father. A roller-coaster of a year for me 2011 was. Definitely one to remember. And of course my new job. A job till today I am not completely sure about. I'm quite sure they are sure about me since they've given me confirmation 2 months earlier than the original 6-month probation period.

The pay is nothing to shout about given the volume of work and job roles I play but then again its approximately 50% higher than my previous job in HK. Coupled with a tax system that favors child-bearing  its definitely a great deal to be back working in SG again. Doing my sums I'm getting double my pay in HK as I do no have to pay rental for a shoebox apartment anymore~

I've also been getting calls from headhunters here and there but a higher pay with frequent flying or a lower pay with less job responsibilities just doesn't cut it out for me at this stage of my life. I will give this job a real go and see where it will bring me in 1 year.

January marked a few major events. 1st is the wedding of my dear friend M. He got married to his long-time girlfriend and at the point of writing, has just donated his kidney to his wife. I wish them nothing but good health and good life with each other. And I hope and pray that this transplant means that she will be able to bear children for M, for he loves kids, pets and all living things. Our Japanese teacher K also came over from Japan to attend the wedding. Its occasions like this that brings the few of us friends back together. Work and family commitment has rendered us only friends on Facebook and WhatsApp, and not so much physically within each other.

J climbing the sofa mountain!

Then we got Chinese New Year. A 1st for Baby J. At this point of time J is capable of walking running climbing... all sorts of actions which will render us crazy~

Candlelight dinner for 2

Not forgetting my wife's birthday. I brought her to Au Jardin in the Botanical Gardens. Lovely food in a lovely place right smack in the middle of the Gardens. And at the right price for me.

Fatherhood and work and poodles

I think it is tough to balance parenting and work roles without compromising somewhere. Trying to come out with an iPhone app is harder than I thought. Actually the SDK and object-orientated methods are simple enough to comprehend, and also the tonnes of help available on the internet. But between learning and applying what I learnt, I also have to look after my wife and baby. I'm unemployed at the moment so 3-hour sleep every night is not a problem for me but what about husbands who do not have paternity leave? Its getting into a bit of a pattern and I've finally found the best time to do my work which is sometime between 12mn to 5am. That's the time Baby J can sustain 3-4 hours of sleep without breaking out into a shout. He's not crying... no tears at all!

Anyway Baby J is doing fine after we gotten the overhead phototherapy lamp for another 3 days. During the 2nd set of 3 days, the missus was under the light with Baby J... I must say she's gotten a sexy tan as well~ He's feeding well all thanks to the milk production factory. It's really amazing this breastfeeding thing... Nothing came out when I was using it and now this fellow comes along and magically we have milk... And its as if he's been training for it the past few months...

Progress on the app is good. It's a password management app which is specially catered for Mrs WD because with work e-mails, ERP accounts, personal e-mail accounts and not to mention social website accounts, the number of passwords is simply unmanageable for the average Joe. I'm really enjoying the process of learning things and writing apps. Its therapeutic to say the least, at least for me. Spent hours and days deciphering a new language and then *poof* something usable appears~ It's amazing~ Will try to come up with some promotional codes once it is ready... provided anyone is interested~ ;)

Then there are the dogs. They've taken to Singapore weather stupendously~ (I think) They love the wide spaces, the greenery and the company of so many family members who dote on them. Compared to our initial apartment in HK, this place is 3 times as big and it gives Coffee ample space to run around without having to leave home~ I'm glad that they are happy~

Jaundice vs Baby J and the new Xcode 4...

Back from the hospital. Things are not well... the jaundice level did not go down. On the bright side it did not go up as well. Another 20% higher Baby J would have to be admitted straight away. Another round of phototherapy session coming up. Mrs WD is going under the lamp with the baby... not sure how she's going to achieve that without hurting herself...

Meanwhile I'm using daylight hours to write apps. Not that I'm having dreams of making big money out of apps but programming is something which I like. The new environment in Xcode 4 seems really productive and it should help me push out an app within the next 2 weeks. Downloading the whole of 4Gb will take another 2 hours... I'm really contemplating the NGNBN service... 100m up/down. I wonder what international traffic bandwidth is like... Oh but hold on a second... my house is not slated for wiring until the end of this year... Bah~~~

Maybe I should do my apps development at night. Baby J's waking up every other hour and I do have to take over the shift from the Mrs so she get some shuteye. I've always loved working at night. The quiet surroundings, no phones, no traffic and peace. At least I do get all those when the baby is not crying. But if I work at night I probably need some sleep during the day... which I cannot afford. Washing clothes, bringing food for the wife, sending wife and baby to hospital (it's going to be a daily thing with the jaundice)...

Then there's the job hunt. Still not going to job agencies or whatsoever, just sending in my CVs like 2-3 a week. I'm really not showing too much urgency. On one hand I'll be happy if I get a job now because I applied for really really out-of-my-league kind of positions. On the other, I'll also feel terrible if I do get a job now because I really want to be there for the Mrs throughout her maternity leave and bring her on that holiday during the last few weeks of her leave. I guess I like leaving things to fate...

Jaundice Jaundice please go away~

Baby J praying for a fast recovery from jaundice

On Thursday we returned to the hospital for a blood test on Baby J. The results were delivered to us thru the phone after 2 hours and revealed that Baby J had a serious case of jaundice.

We were given the option of putting him up in the hospital or having a rental phototherapy unit delivered to our place. We chose the latter, partly for convenience as he is being breastfed and more importantly we couldn't bear to part with him. Also we know that the nurses in the hospital will not bother about a crying baby in the unit. Nice plan we thought but it was tougher than we initially expected...

Looks like some hibernation capsule from Aliens...

The unit was delivered early Friday and we quickly got down to strapping Baby J into the apparatus. He cried. And cried. And cried.... He cried so hard so much for so long that it broke our hearts and took him out of it after the whole of 10 minutes.

As much as possible we tried to strap him in but he just didn't like it. After each session which lasted more than an hour (because the parents cannot endure the crying anymore) his back will be red from the treatment.

We will be back in the hospital labs for another round of testing. Hopefully Baby J will pass this time round so that there will be less suffering.... for us!

Days of Fatherhood...

First week of fatherhood. Can't say I was totally unprepared for this... I once had an offshore exercise with the army which reaped a total of 8 hours sleep. I had more than that amount of sleep this week. But army had hundreds or even thousands of men having a few objectives whereas parenthood is one small heavy-duty tear-packed objective with only the 2 of us. So you can understand the pressure...

A typical day starts something like this. After a sleepless night, we wake Baby J up for a round of feeding (more like him waking us up). My mum will give him a bath soon after before rubbing him all over with cream and lotion. I fix breakfast and the miss us herself gets fed before she goes for her jamu massage session. The rest of the day involves more feeding, baby and adults. My Mother-in-law cooks lunch and dinner.

It's at night that the struggle comes. On one night he was crying for feed after every hour. Mrs WD is the greatest as she stays up all night feeding little J. I am summoned as and when she cannot take it and I must try to carry him and try to soothe him to slumberland. Well... I can't really say if our days are shorter or longer now. Before Baby J we spent time doing very little except watching TV and keeping her comfortable. Nowadays the day zooms by, us tired by the end of the day and still accomplishes nothing much. Definitely more rewarding though.

As I look at this precious kid of mine, my heart goes out to those who lost their loved ones in Japan. I have a fair number of friend in Tokyo and Chiba and I hope they are fine. The Singapore civil defense force is on their way, some having just returned fromM last week. Once again be safe, make us proud and God speed~

Baby J's arrival log~

Baby J's first "reaction" in this world was an eruption after the nurse cleaned the area near his balls...

Day 1 - The very first photo for Baby J

All wrapped up after a thorough cleaning by the nurses

In the ward - the look of Baby J after feeding

1st night ready to sleep

2nd day morning - A sight of Baby J sleeping is a good one

Always hungry for more...

Day 3 - Bye bye ward~ (Baby J is in the picture!)

On the way out of the hospital~

Home sweet home... snooze...

2 nights stay @ Parkway East Hospital

The plan was to have the birth induced on the 8th. I guess not everything goes according to plan. 6am+ on Sunday morning there were some minor pains which we thought might be false alarms. When it didn't go away at 9am I still didn't take it too serious although Mrs WD was already putting on her make-up... I changed and bought her breakfast according to my mum's instructions "she's going to give birth soon might as well eat now so she have more energy for the push" in Hakka dialect. When can she understand that I'm not a good speaker or listener of that language?!?!

When I came home with the breakfast I still wasn't convinced that we were having a baby that day. But the trio of elders sitting in the living room (mum, MIL, uncle) had already decided that we shall have no drama of having a baby at home or in the car so off we went~ took the whole of 7 minutes to reach our destination by 11am. Checked-in and admitted into the delivery ward, the nurses checked and revealed to us that it had already dilated to 4cm and that would have been a good time to have the Epidural injection. Mrs WD bravely rejected the suggestion and we waited for our gynae Dr Heng Tun Lan (very very very famous gynae in the area, nearly everyone we know talks about her for delivery).

Dr Heng came at around noon, had a look and decided that she had enough time for newspaper and a cup of coffee. She even invited me into the staff room for a drink, seeing how nervous I looked. I think it was kind of reassuring that she was so sure of her actions. It had a calming effect knowing your gynae is highly recommended by everyone, including your IVF specialist doctor (Dr Juliana from Mt E, who also has a very strong reputation as an IVF specialist).

By 12:25 Mrs WD was threatening to tear the bed frame off. Thank God it was made of strong materials and even more thank God it wasn't my arm! As I watched her In such pain I nearly wanted to cry. She asked for painkiller but Dr Heng decided that it was too late as the baby was going to arrive soon. One attempt at 1234, another at 1236, still no good. Dr Heng suggested some assistance and Mrs WD was open to any help she could get at this time. Out came the vacuum and out come Baby J @ 12:39pm. A gigantic baby with such a powerful cry and wailing arms and legs.

The happiest thing was to see the baby kicking and crying away. He's been reminding Mrs WD of his presence every night and now we know why she's been feeling the damage from inside. The boy got strong kicks! Relief. Such a relief he was healthy and strong. A long wait in the ward before we were led to our room. By that time our family members were already making their way to the hospital. Between meeting happy family members, dealing with the many doctors and nurses updating us on the baby's status and setting up shop to stay for the night, I didn't really have the time to take in the moment of welcoming my son.

Day in day out Baby J was crying for a meal and he's got strong lungs alright. In between his feeding time we manage to get ourselves fed. The hospital provide 3 main meals a day with at least 2 choices everyday. Mums can also choose post-natal meals. Between meals there are also afternoon tea and supper which usually consist of hot chocolate and a cake. I must have gained a kg or two after 2 nights there.

Checked out at around 1pm today with multiple goodies like bags, diapers, baby clothes and many other things from the hospital and their sponsor partners. We are not complaining but I wonder how families without a car can carry all that stuff home... Hmm....

Now he's sleeping between me and Mrs WD. A small little life who came into our world slightly less than 60 hours ago. I'm quite loss for words on how to express my feelings now. Just 1 week ago I was talking into a bulging tummy hoping to meet this guy soon. Now that he is here I'm really awed by his presence.

What a beautiful thing life is~

Encapsulating Placenta into Pills...

Below is a small paragraph which I copied from http://www.gentlebirth.org regarding preparation of Placenta for consumption

To cook, wash excess blood from the placenta. Place it in a steamer over water. Place with it fresh ginger slices, half a lemon and a hot pepper. Steam for 15 minutes, turn, and steam 15 more minutes until no juice comes out when pricked with a fork. (Steam over low heat, it has a tendency to boil over and that's a mess.) The membranes and cord may be cooked with the placenta. It is helpful to turn the placenta to "Schultze", i.e, wrapped inside the membrane when you cook it. It will shrink tremendously, and wrapped in the membranes makes it easy to deal with for the next step. After steaming, slice the placenta in 1/8" strips, similar to making jerky. Slice as thin as possible. Place the strips on a cookie sheet (over alum foil if you're squeamish) and place it in a oven on the lowest possible setting for several hours until completely brittle-dry. (Again like jerky) Using a food dehydrator is even better, but will take longer. Powder the strips in a coffee grinder, and encapsulate. I advise clients to take two capsules three times a day for two weeks postpartum. It can be kept indefinitely, but is best kept in a freezer long term (like any meat).

Hmm.... cannibalism?