The Olympics

Watching the London Olympics and envisioning that P is one of the athletes out there.

I told hubby if P ever decide to go into sports as a CCA, we must give her a lot of support, especially transportation support. I played netball from primary 4 right up to JC 2. My secondary school and JC were not exactly close to home. Lamenting to hubby that going home after training always feels like hell, so i hope to be able to fetch P if she have trainings in future.

Life of an athlete is also tough, unless you/your team is very good at it. Slogged like hell in secondary school but I think my CCA points were lesser than that of a library club member. Compared to the hours and sweat we put in, I think we were really shortchanged.

Anyway, here's some pics of getting P started in the athlete world: Gymboree at Harbourfront Centre and My Gym at Tampines.


Gymboree - Harbourfront Centre



My Gym - Tampines



The Blessing

Went with mom to Orchard Central today. There's a SPH GSS event and my mom got a text message that she's been picked to enter the challenge. Already a long queue when we arrived, and we soon found out what the challenge was. Upon registration, they will provide you with a form that you need to complete. Then you join the queue. When your turn arrives, you crush the entry form into a ball, pick one racket and try to hit the ball into a car with 2 of the side windows turned down. If you are successful, you get to enter the draw for a car.

Sadly, mom did not manage to do that. She hit so hard that the ball flew out of the fence/barricade. There goes the car, so we made our way on foot to Takashimaya where I tried to scourge the baby fair again. Very tempted to get a sack and seat, which can turn any chair into a high chair, but I can imagine my hubby's wtf face, so mission abolished.

Grabbed a late lunch at Kaffir & Lime at Paragon. It's under Thai Express and menu is so similar that I wonder why they have to give it another name. Despite the crowd, food was surprisingly quick to serve, and tastes good too! We ordered mango salad, sambal kangkong, chicken with cashew nuts, and Tom Yum soup. For desserts, I had red ruby and mom had some chendol looking thing. A lot of food yeah? And we finished the food! Thankfully, P slept till dessert, so lunch was overall a pleasant experience with minimal disruptions.

Went for evening mass, and P was super cranky throughout. No amount of rocking or cajoling can get her to sleep or quieten down. I spent the bulk of the time outside the main church since she was making noises of frustration. This workout is much more effective than my gym, for when I finally passed her back to hubby, I could feel my arms aching.

Today is the last weekend mass of he month, which means there's going to be 'Blessing of Expectant Parents'. I had almost forgotten about this. When the expectant parents took their spots in front of the church and receive the blessings, a sudden rush of emotions came over me. I must have been crazy, or PMS-sy, for I teared! I really feel so touched, and an image of me, hubby and P going up together in future flashed by my mind.

I guessed all the Facebook pictures of friends giving birth or heavily pregnant really got to me. I feel so envious, and makes me wanna start Project #2 soon. However, hubby's facing some instability at work and it's really not a good time. Patience my friend!!


A diaper change + feed at 313 Somerset's nursing room. Big and comfy, I like!



1 big bump

P fell backwards and hit her head on the edge of our side table. I was just next to her, but couldn't react in time to break her fall. Now, she has this red patch on her head and evidence of an erupting bump. Guilty to the max.

Come to think of it, she has quite a fair share of injuries so far - some when we were watching her, and others when we weren't watching her. It brings back memories of a conversation I had with hubby's cousin during a recent family gathering.

She has a son who's about 3 weeks younger than P. At the family gathering, P is the one who keeps roaming around, while her son can sit quietly in her lap. She stared at P and asked me why we aren't following behind her, what if she falls? My reply to her is: Ya, we let her fall.

Cousin gave me a strange look, as if I'm the worse mommy on earth. She told me she doesn't allow her son to roam like P did. Even if he's just standing, there will always be someone behind him to 'spot' him. The whole thing just seems too 'overprotective' to me.

Whenever P has a fall and hurt herself, I always think back on this conversation and wondered whether I should have done what cousin did. It's heartbreaking to see your child's years, and hear her piteous cries/screams. On the other hand, I want her to learn from these falls the dangerous spots so she will avoid in the future. I wonder if it's too early to get anything into her brain though... Dilemma...

1st Taste of Stardom

Taaaaa-dahhh!

Pic of P - Taken at about 7 months old

P appeared in Mother & Baby August 3012 issue! Sent in her pic some 2 months back, but did not see her in the previous issue. While waiting at a clinic awaiting medical checkup this morning, I randomly flipped through the magazine and saw her pic. I can hardly contain my excitement haha.

It's not like P won any big prizes. The column just showcases baby pics, and the proud parents will get 1 pack of Huggies Ultrapants.

I recalled my mom telling me that I have also appeared in some magazine when I was young. I still have the photo, but my mom told me she lost the magazine when we moved house, so sad right! I'm now super determined to keep this magazine for P for her future reference :)

Mother & Baby Aug 2012 issue

Ikoi

When I first put forth the idea of a Japanese buffet to hubby, his face lit up and the first thing he said was "Yes, let's have a good meal without her around!" Naturally, the 'her' refers to P.

I've mentioned before in my staycation post that eating with P around is a torture, no moment of peace. Can't blame hubby for having such thoughts haha.

Had a great time gorging on sashimi. Salmon, tuna, yellowtail, swordfish, snapper, we had them all! Caught up on our lives, and the funny happenings around us recently. Like hubby said, great to be without P sometimes, but I do miss her so.

We ordered 5 rounds of sashimi (I think!)

Seafood soup that comes in a teapot looking thing. Hubby loves this, but I find it kinda fishy (as in fishy smell, not that they have something up their sleeves)

Love the Japanese table setting

Japanese buffet = Happy man

Counting down

A glance at the calendar this morning reminded me that P's 1st birthday bash is approaching in about 3 weeks' time.

I'm hesistant to do this, this being documenting the costs of her party. I'm afraid to face the big O: Overspend.

• Venue: Aranda Country Club Executive Suite - $642 for 3D2N
• Buffet Catering - $385.20 for 30 pax
• Birthday Cake: Oven Creations - $260 for 2 tier cake to feed 30-35 pax
• Party supplies: Party City spree & Birthday Direct spree on SMH - Estimated $75
• P's birthday dress: Crazy8 spree on SMH - Estimated $18

Expenses to come

• BBQ food - Estimated $250
• Balloons - Getting from Aranda Country Club on actual day at $28 for 20 balloons, or $35 for 30 balloons

Quick punch of the calculator gives $1600++. Argh, I shall not subject myself to further torture!!

After a good 4 months of planning, the day is finally approaching! Thinking back on her full month party, P slept through the whole event, waking only for feeds, then promptly fell back into her slumber. I certainly hope she will enjoy the day with plenty of clapping and laughter.



A sneak peek into P's birthday theme



Toxic Milk in China again

I can't remember how many times this has happened already. For this reason, I'm really glad P is born in Singapore. If I could help it, I wished I could breast feed P all the way. Sadly, breastfeeding is one blemish in P's life that I can't salvage anymore.

SBS

No, I'm not referring to buses.

Chanced upon some articles about Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), and decided to read more into the topic. According to Baby Center, SBS is a serious brain injury that happens when an adult violently shakes a baby or young child. The amount of damage depends on how long and hard the child is shaken, but in just 5-10s, a child can suffer permanent, severe damage or even death.

Culprit can be anyone, maids, nannies, relatives and even parents. It's sad that Singapore is a society that makes it difficult for a family to have 1 sole breadwinner. Oftentimes, both parents are out working and their kids are left to caregivers. I can't imagine putting P with a caregiver, and to receive a call in the middle of the day to say that P is in hospital, a victim of SBS. And this is all because I have to work and can't take care of her personally. I can't imagine the anguish and guilt of the parents as well!

It's been a long time since I took a pic of sleeping P. She slept through yesterday night, only crying at 6.30am for milk, and went back to sleep after that. Now, I'm missing her while at work.

Taka Baby Fair

Brought P to PS' Baby Spa today. It's been such a long time since her previous visit, some 3 months already? Anyway, only 2 more times left, and I'm keen to finish it off. Realised that P fares much better in an outdoor pool compared to a commercialised one. She can splash to her heart's content in an outdoor pool, whereas there are a lot of watchful eyes and floats that prevent her from splashing freely.

After the swim, I brought her to Taka Baby Fair. She must have been tired after the swim, for she slept through most of the baby fair, waking up only towards the end when I was talking to the Mustela promoter. Fair was very crowded today, and full of pregnant ladies walking around. One has to be super conscious of making one's way through the crowd. At this time last year, I was one of the heavily pregnant ones at the fair. Time flies.

Anyway, the crowd makes it difficult to shop effectively. I only managed to grab what I wanted to get, and clear off from the fair.
1. Mustela products. Mainly wanted to get the body wash, which is surprisingly lasting (my current bottle is coming to a year)
2. Pigeon Hand & Mouth Wipes Travel Packs. P is a messy eater, so this comes in handy when we are dining out. The only thing I don't like about it is the smell of the wipes.
3. Long pants. 3 for $10. If P is around, we'll sleep with the air con, and it does't help that P is a champion blanket kicker. I only have 2 long pants on hand, which is insufficient to last through the week. Got some from Carters, but haven't arrived, so I'm quite happy I managed to get some cheap ones at the fair. They look super ordinary, but it will serve the purpose.

That's all I got from the fair, looks little but damage was about $76. I might make a another trip there on a weekday, when there's not as many people.

Another thing to rejoice today is that we put P on the potty, and she actually pee-ed!! We saw her gek sai face and decided to put her on the potty, but all we got was the pee, haha! Parenthood is really funny, you get so happy at the most frivolous things!

Her first steps

At 11 months today, P took her first unassisted step. Our bed is right next to the bedroom window, and she usually stands there in the morning, holding on to the railings and looking out to see what's happening at the rooftop garden. Both of us (still lazing in bed) started asking her to clap. The lil' one let go of the railings and started clapping, after which she took 2 steps forward an plomped into daddy's arms. We cheered like there's no tomorrow.

Unfortunately, her walking episode took a downturn later, thanks to the lousy mama. P had her milk, and lay on the bed sucking her thumb (her way of self soothe to sleep). I just sat next to her and twiddled with my phone. She then used my shoulders as a support, and stood up. I felt her let go of me, but didn't think too much an continued playing with my phone.

Before I continue, I should explain why I did not think too much. We have always been careful about P crawling to the edge of the bed. However, some 1 month back or so, she suddenly surprised us by getting off the bed (or any surfaces) by herself. She would crawl to the edge of the bed (or surface), turn 180 degrees, and start pushing herself backwards such that her legs would touch the ground first. Since that successful attempt, she has been getting off beds/sofas all by herself.

Back to my story. I thought she would just plonk down on the bed and start to make her way down like she used to do. When I finally realise she was kinda quiet, I turn around and saw her taking 2 steps forward, upon which she lost her centre of gravity and suddenly take running steps forward. Before I could react, she went flying off the bed and hit the ground, narrowly missing our tv console. Needless to say, she cried and screamed :(

I seriously hope this incident did not damper her confidence to walk. If it did, this bad mommy has a huge part to play. Lesson to all mommies out there: Really REALLY do not take your eyes off your kid, and don't take their abilities for granted.

Say "Apple"

MIL texted me to tell me that P has learnt to say "apple". This morning when I carried her to the alphabets charts and asked her "where's meow?" and "where's fish?", she is able to point them out correctly. She can be so smart at times, and so clueless at others. Can't get enough of her...

MIL went for a heart operation at SGH yesterday afternoon. Op was supposed to start at 2, so I was expecting to see her when I get to hospital after work. In the end, she only came out at about 8pm. Its so scary that our parents are ageing. At my MIL's age, she should be retired and enjoying days with her grandchildren, but she still has to slog because the youngest of her 5 kids is still in school. There are household expenses to cover, so stressful for her. My mom is better off, younger of 2 kids going into the working world. She's no longer working and looking forward to spend 2 days with her grandchild every week.

As much as I want to have more children, I'm scared to become my MIL in future. Burden is so much heavier with more kids. And as parents, you should not expect to live off your children when you are old, so it's not like more children = more returns.

P is becoming more adept at stability. From the way she is walking in her walker, can see that her toddler days are not far ahead. She's also more willing to let go of objects to stand on her own. I might need my running shoes really soon.

If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands!

"If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands!" This is the song that comes to mind when I look at P lately. She is responding to "拍手", and that sends her into a frenzy of shake head plus clap plus super happy smile. Her aunt told me the English version of "clap hands" don't work for her, only the Chinese one works. Hopefully, with me and my mom speaking to her on mandarin, that will give her a head start in the language.

P has also uttered her 1st word on Friday. Brought her to the playground where a couple of kids were playing soccer, she pointed to the soccer ball and said "ball ball"! I was totally amazed and showered her with praises. To ensure it wasn't a fluke, I brought her away from the group for about 10 min, and then went back. Same thing happened, she pointed and said "ball ball".

It's such a joy witnessing all her milestones. She's becoming super responsive, charming to strangers (but they can't carry her), and motor skills improving with each passing day. Nowadays she is more daring to let go of her support when standing. Handed her 2 toys at Toys R Us yesterday, and she held one in each hand and stood unsupported for a good 1 min. Really proud of her, and can't wait to see her 1st step!

Gardens by the Bay

Hubby's birthday today! He's 28 already, time flies! He was only 21 when we got together, 真是岁月不饶人.

Went to AMK hub for lunch and did some grocery shopping. Went back home and P took a nap till about 4 pm. After she woke up, we made our way to the newly opened Gardens by the Bay. This project costs a whopping 1 billion dollars to complete. It had better be good.

Gardens by the Bay has 2 conservatories - Flower Dome and Cloud Forest. Pricing to enter 1 conservatory was $12/pax, and 2 conservatories at $24/pax. It was close to 5pm by the time we got there, and we didn't think we had time to do both conservatories. Chose to enter Cloud Forest because we think P would appreciate the waterfall more.


Just arrived, and trying to get our bearings

 Cloud Forest was relatively cold upon entering, think its got something to do with controlling the temperature for the plants it house. It felt like Genting Highlands. The first thing you see is the waterfall. While P appreciates the waterfall, we hurriedly put on socks for her. The walk through Cloud Forest took us about 50 min to complete. That's when we realise we actually had time for 2 conservatories.


P & Birthday Papa at the Waterfall



Conquered Cloud Forest!



Flyer in the background

Headed to the Supergrove, the structure you can't miss when you drive along ECP and passing by Marina Bay Sands. Paid $5/pax to head up to OCBC Skyway, essentially a link bridge connecting 2 Supergrove structures, and provides a great view and opportunity to take beautiful pictures. Heard from the staff on duty that the structures will light up at 7pm, and there will be a light show at 7.45pm. Decided to stay for the light show, and regretted it after watching. Not v entertaining, but I guess we just have to watch it once in a lifetime.

Great view of MBS



A picture speaks a thousand words - Fatherhood rocks!



The girl who's 'Not Lean'

Night view of the Super Groves

Thank god for the heavy lunch we had at AMK hub, we didn't felt that we starved ourselves to stay and watch the show. Once it ended, we made our way to Marina Square's Manhattan Fish Market. I had purchased a Groupon voucher yesterday in anticipation of the close proximity to Gardens by the Bay. Great dinner to mark the end of our day :)

Overall, I think the Gardens is quite nicely done. Although I suspect there's a lot of people there, the vast area make it such that there is no crowded feeling. The only thing to watch out for is the OCBC skyway. There are some stretches that are very narrow, not very pram friendly. Apart from that, nice place to take pics, and my iPhone was on form today, managed to snap some great pics!

Attention

This definitely doesn't apply to P at her current age, though I suspect it might in the future. If I get into a comfortable position, she will just be scrambling around trying to touch/put things in her mouth. When she's engrossed, she pays no attention to you even if you are dancing naked in front of her.

Staycation @ Changi Village Hotel - Day 2

P woke us up at about 8 am. I think her sleeping experience here is pretty good. 9pm bedtime, 1.30 am feed time, 8 am rise and shine.

Went down to Saltwater cafe for breakfast. They have a decent spread, and I ate plenty (hubby's not much of a breakfast person). Made a bowl of cerelac brown rice for P, but she's done after 2 mouthfuls. She then became super interested in her daddy's food, and had a couple of mouthfuls of pancake with maple syrup. After that, she started her usual antics of climbing out of high chair, crying in her high chair. We had a baby who looks about her age at the next table, sitting quietly in her high chair and is being fed. It makes me wonder where we went wrong with P. Can babies be trained to sit quietly in high chair? Or it just runs in their blood, whatever behaviour they exhibit?

Headed to the pool half hour after breakfast, but P looks kinda bored after a while. We stayed in the water for about an hour, and concluded its P's naptime, thus her lack of interest. True enough, she fell asleep after her bath. That comes to the end of our staycation, hope to do one more this year if possible.

Saltwater cafe

Dinner reservations were made for 6.30pm. P was still sleeping, but papa Jon was getting super hungry and we decided to carry her down and eat while she sleep. As you may guess, she woke up upon reaching our table.

Food area doesn't look v big on first glance, and I start to be skeptical on their offerings. Papa Jon made his 1st round of patrol and came back with sashimi, cold prawns and soup. I walked 1 round with P after that and found that they had quite a lot of DIY stations (Kueh pie ti, rojak, lor mee, laksa etc), quite localised too. I tried the laksa, and it was fabulous (maybe coz I haven't had it for v long). There was also an outdoor BBQ grill area, and we ordered steak, squid, fish and prawn. Hubby love the BBQ prawns, but I find it alright only.

Eating a buffet with P in tow... is like paying money to suffer. Haha, she refuses to sit in her high chair, will keep climbing out of it. She also refuses to sit in it for long, think its too boring for her. How we deal with it is to take turns to carry her. Even so, she's constantly trying to reach for the food/trash/utensils on the table. To put it simply, no moment of peace at all. Despite that, I would still prefer her presence.

There was supposed to be an outdoor wedding, but it was marred by the rain. Felt sad for the couple, as the outdoor decor was nicely done. Their guests were shifted indoors while we were settling into our table. Nevertheless, the wedding is still ongoing and sounds quite happening. We are back in our room on the 3rd floor, and we could hear the shouts of "huat ah!" and "yam seng!!!".

Salad offerings

Kueh Pie Ti station

Sashimi section - Whatever that white sashimi is in the middle, it's good

Cooked food section

Salad section

My DIY laksa - Tastes superb!



Rojak section



Staycation @ Changi Village Hotel

Booked a staycation at Changi Village Hotel to celebrate hubby's birthday. Check in was 2pm and we arrived just before that. The process was completed within 5 mins, and the counter staff even wished my hubby Happy Birthday. Hubby was stunned that the staff knew about his birthday, little did he know I had already informed the hotel beforehand haha.

P was very excited upon entering our suite. Most of the room was carpeted, guess that means crawling around and not having painful knees for her. Baby cot was also placed in the room before we entered. P co-sleeps with us, but I put in the request just in case we are both occupied and need to put her somewhere safe.

Our room - 309

A window that enables you to look at the person bathing/doing business

Someone's happy about her 1st staycation

P had her milk feed and we made our way to the pool at the top floor half an hour later. P had a great time splashing around in the pool, and constantly tried to put her head in the water. She succeeded and found herself choking on the pool water -_-"

P and Papa Jon

Delighted to be in the water

Took a walk through Changi Village, and P fell asleep towards the end. Now she's conked out on the hotel bed while her parents are fighting their hunger pangs. Dinner will be at Saltwater cafe, poolside BBQ buffet. Will put up a separate post later :)

Conked out

The Amazing Spiderman

Caught The Amazing Spiderman with hubby just now. Enjoyed the dinner, movie plus hand-in-hand experience of dating days, and I'm grateful to my mom for taking in P every week.

Sept FB group has an topic currently regarding couple time, and I should be one of the few with this luxury. I find it so easy to forget each other when you have a child depending on you for every need. It really takes effort to maintain the relationship, and I wonder how I'm going to spread my time after having #2 (and possibly #3).

*Lying in bed now and missing P who usually sleeps next to me*

P LOL

I caught a video of P laughing a few days back. Here's the link: P LOL
I can still remember her first chuckle. We were bringing her home from in law's place, and walk through the 'sky garden' of our block. Hubby was carrying her on his shoulder, and I think the bumpy ride made her LOL. Both of us burst out laughing, which made her laugh even louder. She should be around 3-4 months at that time.

Babies' laughter are so infectious. I can't get enough of that.

Baby dead 'for a day' as Japan mother chats on net

Baby dead 'for a day' as Japan mother chats on net

Sigh at the news article above. Having lost 2 children, I thought the 3rd one would be super precious to her. How can she let him go just like that?

P is over at my mom's place. I really wanna give her a big hug after reading this article.

Totally depressing...

The bulldozer

Co-sleeping with P is a hazard. She has this weird habit of sucking her thumb and bulldozing around our queen size bed when she's sleepy. This only happens at night, I noticed. In the daytime, she would prefer to cling on to us and fall asleep, upon which we would put her down after she conks out. At night, papa would volunteer to rock her to sleep, but she would have none of it. It's flip, turn, bulldoze, flip, wriggle, turn, bulldoze around our bed till she hits THE sleeping spot. If you get in the way of her bulldozing, she actually gets frustrated and grumble at you till you get out of her way. I thought that was cute.

My job is just to lie in bed and block the dangerous area while she does the bulldozing. After she falls asleep, I'd adjust her to the proper sleeping position in between the both of us.

Then, I will indulge myself in her smell. Smell, kiss, smell, kiss... <3

Safe Haven

Most mornings, P will usually just wake up on her own, look around to get get bearings and then finally burst into babble to wake us up. Today, she woke up and burst into tears. My cooing and patting didn't work on her, so I picked her up and the crying stopped immediately. She then nestle herself into the crook of my neck and lay there contentedly. I love the feeling. It's as if she feels safe in my arms, feeling the warmth from my body radiating to her. We indulged in 10 min of cuddling before I brought her out for a diaper change. Times like this, I really hate to leave for work.

Anyway, I received news yesterday from my friend that her sister has given birth. This girl is probably about 24 years old, still in the last lap of her university life. What amazes me is that she managed her birth without epidural! I have great admiration for people who do natural birth without epidural. My birth was induced and I only felt a little contractions somewhat like menstrual cramps, nv got a chance to experience the full blown since I was on epidural already. For my friend's sister, I think it was too late to administer by the time she got to hospital. Most importantly, both mother and daughter are safe. I love birth stories! Here's presenting Ferlyn Teo.

Humpty dumpty had 3 great falls

We're lousy parents. P had 3 falls within a space of 2 hours. Bad day for her...
1. Trying to use the Playskool Walk N Ride. For some reason, the walker slipped and overturned, and P went down with it. Her legs were in an awkward stuck position, must have hurt.

2. Stood up in her bath and rub her hands on the wall. Lost her balance and plopped butt down onto the tub. Bad thing is her bath toy is underneath her butt butt, cried again. Expecting a bruise on her thigh/butt area tmr.

3. I was bathing and heard P's loud cries coming from bedroom. Later heard from hubby that she was clumsy, standing by herself but legs suddenly weaken and knock her chin against the edge of our TV console. Poor thing...

What I truly find amazing is that with a bit of comfort, she picks herself up and venture into the treacherous world again. One thing I gotta learn from her is her persistence at getting things she want, even though she knows she might hurt herself in the process. It's as if the fall that just happen is thrown to the back of her mind and forgotten after crying for 30s, there she starts her journey again.

It's ok darling. Tomorrow will be a better day for you.

Love,
Mommy

Dim Sum lunch at Mandarin Court

Bought a voucher on Groupon sometime back, decided to bring my parents there to try their dim sum lunch today. Hubby can't really appreciate dim sum, so we left him at home hehe.

To sum it up, I think food is so-so only. Ordered a fish porridge for the 'lil one, and that is probably the best tasting dish of all, sweet and flavorful. Tried a variety of dim sum, and all were mediocre. After Groupon discount, I had to pay about $40, so that makes $80 for 3 people. Imperial Treasure and Crystal Jade would be able to do so much better at a lower price. 

Service wise, I find it very difficult to catch the attention of the waitresses, had to resort to approaching them thrice. This is bad for hotel restaurant standard.

Anyway, some pics of the food...

Cod dumpling

Siew Mai

Deep fried shrimp dumpling, Chee cheong fun with shrimp, Yam croquette, Scallop dumpling with shrimp

Glutinous rice

My dessert - Avocado  with walnut ice cream

And presenting the proud grandparents with their beloved granddaughter...