Knitting

As one of my Xmas gifts, my Mom got me knitting needles, two balls of yarn, and a pattern for a baby hat. *panic* Both my Mom and my sister know how to knit, and my Mom is knitting Josh a sweater, and my sister is going to knit him some booties. I'm suppose to do the hat. So for the last few days, my Mom has been teaching me how to knit, and I must say, it's not that hard and it's really therapeutic!! I'm enjoying it. Now Tim wants a scarf after I'm done with Josh's hat. Even Auntie Crab Rangoon wants me to knit her something, LOL.

Thanks Po Po, now Josh will have a nice outfit for the winter. :)

After much deliberation and review, we finally decided on a car-seat, stroller, and carriage for Josh. We started off wanting the Peg Perego Pliko P3 with the matching Prima Viaggio SIP car seat in Toffee. It had really good reviews from our friends who have it. We started seeing more and more of them on the street (okay, so it is somewhat of a fashion statement). Then the 2007 models came out and we saw the new Peg Perego Uno combination stroller/carriage in Mod Verde. We thought that it was the one for us, until we saw that there was a Bugaboo Frog on sale for ca$850. That ended up leading us to the Rock Star Baby Stroller package (includes a Bugaboo-like stroller system with seat, carriage, and adapter for Graco car-seat).

After visiting our favourite baby supplies store for the hundredth time, we found what we wanted... the Firstwheels City Elite.


It's also a stroller system, like the Bugaboo and the Rock Star. The base package included the wheels (hehe), and the stroller seat. We added on the carriage/pram so Josh can nap while we go on the nightly walks, and the Graco car-seat adapter. Upon that, we bought the Graco (duh) Snug Ride car-seat. The final price came to about the same as the Peg Perego Uno + Prima Viaggio SIP combo, and about 25% cheaper than the Bugaboo Frog system (sans car-seat).


We chose the Firstwheels City Elite over the Peg Perego combo because:
- The frame and seat separates which makes it easier for Ducks to handle
- It is a proper pram for Josh to sleep in (tilt down seatback on the Uno just does not look as comfortable, and we would have the harness to wrestle with)
- The frame feels sturdier than the Uno
- Air-filled tires with larger all-terrain wheels
- We can use the Graco car-seat (which is cheaper), although we could get an adapter for a Peg car-seat as well
- It looks like a Bugaboo!



We liked it better than the Rock Star because:
- The Firstwheels uses a squared aluminum frame, which was sturdier than tubular frame used by the Rock Star
- The stroller seat is bigger (Josh is a 75% percentile baby, and if he's anything like his daddy...)
- Frame for the car-seat is a clip on for the Firstwheels (albeit additional cost) but it means less additional weight later on
- We had the option of a Graco or Peg Perego car-seat adapter
- The Firstwheels does not have the big Rock Star logo (I did say that it was a fashion statement ... somewhat)

We chose it over the Bugaboo Frog because:
- It's at least 50% cheaper once you factor in all the necessities (stroller, car-seat, adapters, etc.)
- It's not a Bugaboo, so I don't feel like I need to lock it down with a chain and padlock

Things that could be better on the Firstwheels
- One-handed folding and unfolding mechanism (helpful if you have a toddler in one hand)
- Handbrakes (i.e., Bugaboo Frog and Cameleon)
- Better designed recline for the stroller chair -- the web-site shows that the seat is supposed to recline in three stages
- Better seal on the sun shade (there is leakage on the sides if you choose to strap the seat-back to the stroller frame, and then try to loop the shade over the top)
- Fleece lining on the pram
- Bigger storage basket
- Snack tray (Even the Bugaboo does not have this)
- Better manuals

We will probably be able to provide a better review of the Firstwheels when Josh arrives.

Gift from Po Po

Josh got a good haul this year, and he's still in the womb! Here's one of his gifts from Po Po - a chenille blankie from Pottery Barn Kids.

Some of Josh's Gifts

Some of Josh's gifts came in the mail! Here's something from Uncle Ronnie and Auntie Pansy.

Mommy at 31 weeks pregnant.

Josh's Middle Name

After some thought, we decided to give Josh an English middle name in addition to his Chinese name (TBD still). His Chinese name will not be officially on his birth certificate, so we thought it would be nice to have a middle name to distinguish himself from the other Joshua W's. So far, here are the picks:

Tim's picks:
Joshua Timothy (yes he wants to name Josh after himself!)
Joshua Thierry (according to Tim, it means "ruler of all people" and it's pronounced "teary")

My picks:
Joshua Tristan (yeah it means "sad" in French, but hey it sounds really good!)
Joshua Jordan (which some people vetoed because of the JJ - but I like the meaning, it means flows down, or receiving which ties in with his Chinese name!)

My original picks include names that begin with E, but unfortunately, that would result in Josh's initials being JEW, which is not ideal.

Anyway, time to vote! What is your choice?

Prenantal Course

Over the past two Saturdays, Ducks and I completed the series of Prenatal courses at the Mount Sinai Hospital. The first part of the course covered the pre-birth and birthing process, covering matters such as stages of labour, pain management, Natural and Cesarian section birth, and coaching. This week, we covered topics around postpartum, nursing, and brining the baby home. There was little in relation to the stereotypical labour classes, but they did cover a little bit about breathing techniques and what the father's role is during birth.

All-in-all, I think it was time (and money) well spent.

Chinese Names

After an exhaustive search, we were finally able to track down our family's naming convention. It seems that Josh's name will contain the character 承 as part of it.

Link to Wiktionary for meaning of the character.

Expected date

I guess it help, first of all, to tell everyone that BabyJ is expected on February 25, 2007. Which makes mommy 22 weeks pregnant.

Edit: Actually Baby J's expected date of arrival is February 26, 2007. :) Mommy knows best!

First Post

Welcome to the BabyJ chronicles. We started this blog to document our first experience as parents. Hopefully, through this blog we can share some of the things that we have learned to our friends. It will also allow for us to look back on the entire experience later on and be reminded of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) times we have as parents. Enjoy!