Carina's full month

We made a journey to the West to attend little Carina's full month party at The Chevrons. Carina is the daughter of my maternal side cousin, so that makes her the same generation as P and the newest addition after P.

We arrived slightly after 12.30pm, to find that the hosts have not arrived, haha. P had just woken up, and was totally cranky. Luckily, there was a playground to entertain P while we waited. She looked really reluctant to play, but soon warned up when we put her on daddy's lap on the swing.

Guests and relatives start arriving subsequently and it was a great family gathering. Some of my cousin's relatives even recognised me. Like omg, I only spent some bits of childhood with their relatives, and didn't expect anyone to recognise me. Hehe, plenty of awkward moments, but it was still good fun.

At about 2 plus, my dad brought P for a walk and came back announcing that P saw people playing in the pool, and wanted to go in! Being the well-prepared mama (haha, don't roll eyes!), I asked hubby to go grab her swimming accoutrements from the car, and off they go. Daddy was wearing knee length shirts, and could only go in this far. Barely 1 min in the water, the lifeguard came over. We thought the issue was because my dad wasn't in proper swimwear, but she told us only members could use the pool. Event guests doesn't count. However, she was nice to add that since P is a child, she would let her continue playing for a while. Phew! I can't imagine the tantrum P will throw if we take her out by force. Eventually, P did have a splashing good time until she willingly left the pool.

The party continued in the function room. We dried P and brought her back in and that's when someone played Gangnam Style on the audio system. P couldn't resist and started dancing to the music. Everyone was super amused by her. Haha, she is really a 开心果.

Hokey Pokey Time

Hokey Pokey reopens today at Millenia Walk after about 2 months of moving and renovation. I saw the announcement on their FB page and told my mom about it. It's my mom's favourite indoor playground for P, so she was gamed to check out the place.

I could only join them after work, but on a side note, something surprising happened at work today. I received this!

My boss was the one who sent it, and I wasn't prepared for it because she was out on leave today. Really very sweet of her, I felt so touched because not even my hubby has sent anything to my office before. And the first thing that my colleagues asked "From your hubby?"

Back to the topic of Hokey Pokey. I found it the moment I entered the mall, situated on level 2 near the entrance to Parco. At first glance, the place feels much bigger than its Suntec space, and the best thing is they have increased the locker and seating space. There is much more space to park strollers, and a row of seats. They even have a designated party room now. My mom however, felt that the play area has became smaller after they moved.

The indoor playground wasn't very crowded when I got there at 6pm. There were plenty of space and toys for P to run and play with. Seeing that she was enjoying herself, I told my mom to give her a bit more time while I head downstairs to get half dozen of Twelve Cupcakes. I returned to see her on the mini roller coaster, having a blast.

Yes, that blurred figure is P.

Looks ready to be a big sister

Play rates remains the same as those in Suntec. They had a 1-day opening special of 20% off, so I think my mom only paid $12 instead of the usual $15.

Hokey Pokey will be able to keep your bubs busy for a couple of hours. The longest duration P ever clocked was close to 5 hours. Thumbs up for them! Do bring your bubs there to try too :)

Just before leaving

A tinge of guilt

I was feeling really ill last Thursday, so instead of fetching P back after I had dinner at MIL's place, I decided to let her stay for the night. The strategy has always been to get maid or SIL to distract her by bringing her to the room, while I (and sometimes hubby) sneak away. It has worked well, until last Thursday.

My SIL told me the story when we were over at their place for dinner yesterday. After P had her fill of the distraction (going to MIL's room to see the Carebear collection), she came out of the room and searched the whole house for me, calling out "mama, mama... mama" as she goes. After a while, I guessed she more or less known that I have left, so she went to the gate and shouted "MAMA!! MAMAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ugh, heart wrenching. I'm actually tearing as I type this post, imagining the scene and her thoughts (of being abandoned). Poor thing :(

P's Growing Vocabulary

It's only this week that I realised that my little girl is starting to speak, and boy, does she pick up fast! At 19 months, my little one is finally speaking. The glory and pride of parenthood!

It happened on Monday when I reached MIL's place to pick her up after work. She was holding 2 balls in her hands and back facing me. I called out to her and she turned around, offering the balls with a vindictive "Boh Boh!!!" I laughed and accepted the balls gladly.

Over the next few days, she surprised me and hubby with more words. As of now, she can say the following.
1. Mama or Mami

2. Papa

3. Ma (for both grandmas and her godma)

4. Ball ball

5. Dog
Hubby discovered this when he read "The Wheels on the Bus" to her. P pointed to the dog and went "DOG!!" ever since then, each time she sees one on Tv or anything that looks like a dog, she will go "dog!!". We were watching news yesterday and there was someone on tv walking a pet pig. To P, that's still a "dog", haha.

6. 美美
Must have been taught by my mom each time she wants to put a hair clip on her. Hubby and I were lounging on the sofa and feeding her dinner when she suddenly came over to pat my head (I was using something that pushes my fringe back) and mumbled something. I didn't catch it, but hubby did and he went "Orh, 美美啊?". P went on to do the same to hubby's head.

7. Baby 
Babies appear quite often in her story books. Where is Baby's Belly Button, The Wheels on the Bus, Baby's First Bible Stories are just some of them. All along I thought she wasn't listening to me read the stories, and that she only wants to flip the pages quickly to see the pictures. Last night, a baby flashed on the tv screen and she went "Baaaaaaby!!"

8. Fish
Her pronunciation of it sounds more like "fis", but I'm glad she is at least willing to try. Previously when I asked her to say "fish", she would either gesture o me how it swims, or smile sheepishly (whenever she doesn't know how to do it)

9. Please 
Taught by her godma, but pronunciation sounds like "pis" as of now.

10. Car car
She did a wonderful rendition of it last Friday when our bus passed by the Mini Driving school at AMK Hub. I'm amazed she even knows where it is though we are on the bus. Subsequently I've asked her to tell hubby about "car car", but it has since evolved into "tar tar".

11. 蚂蚁
Possibly the most classic of all. We'd pass by the rooftop garden each time I fetch her from MIL's place. I swear the garden homes the greatest number of snails I've ever seen. There are also ants crawling around the soil and on walls. The first time she pointed at an ant and made the "hmmm?" (loosely translated as what's that) sound, I've started telling her it's 蚂蚁, and repeated every time we pass the garden. Last week, she decided to give it a shot at saying it, and ended up with 蚂....咪. LOL.

Sigh, the little one is growing up really fast. It's times like this that makes me hate myself for being a FTWM. I had to miss all her milestones and have her caregiver tell me what she has learnt or is capable of doing.

Took a long nap on Saturday afternoon

P's First Dental Visit

I've been concerned about P's teeth for awhile. For one, her bottom teeth 'covers' her top teeth when she bites down. Also, her teeth growth rate is kind of slow. She got her first teeth only at 10 months, followed by 13.5 months, then 17 months. At the end of 17 months, she only has 8 teeth. When my mom brought P back on Wednesday, she told me P is sprouting her molar. What happened to the teeth between her incisors and molar? No signs at all.

I did some online research on paediatric dentists in Singapore and finally settled on Dr. Ja Intarasoot at Atria-City Dental Group at Ngee Ann City. They have online appointment booking system where you input your preferred appointment dates and time and the clinic will call to confirm. I put in a request on 15 Mar and they called the following day, and my appointment was scheduled for 23 Mar. Fast and good service.

Atria called yesterday to remind me of the appointment, and told me to arrive 15 min before for registration. I had my mom come along in case I couldn't handle P. When we got to the entrance, my mom's first comment is "Wah, this is going to cost a bomb!" Haha, there's a koi pond looking thing smack at the entrance of the dental clinic after you enter the glass doors. P of course was very entertained by the fish in the pond, and had to be constantly reminded not to put her hand in.

Grandma and P

I filled up a registration form asking for personal particulars and a series of health questions on P's behalf, and we were asked to take a seat. Atria has this small area where kids can play with toys and read books if they want. There were some kids and their parents in that area, so only P managed to venture in.

Very soon, we were called into the dentist room and the dental assistant asked me to lie in the dental chair and have P lie on top of me. The room was very brightly decorated with animals covering the walls and a soft toy in the corner. When you lie in the dental chair and look up, you can watch cartoons (Tom and Jerry for us today) playing. P was super curious and yet wary at the same time.

Dr. Ja came into the room after awhile. She strikes me as a gentle and friendly person. I guess those are the traits you need to work around kids. She gave P a warm welcome and bright smile and sat down beside to talk to us. The first thing that she noticed is P's cross bite (bottom cover top), and that's when I finally learn the terminology to describe P's condition. I also learnt that the cross bite could be due to genetics. She took a mirror, asked me to hold it and checked my teeth (P was watching the whole process), and explained that I have a slight cross bite too, so she might have gotten it from me. Oops, bad genes!

I tried to get P to open her mouth several times, but all attempts were not successful. I'm not surprised by her lack of cooperation though. Dr. Ja suggested for me to get her prepared for her next visits by getting books about visiting the dentists (she mentioned a Dora book) and possibly getting some dentistry toys to let her interact with the equipment. She was also very willing to let P hold the mirror that dentists use to check our teeth.

I finally has to resort to scamming P with an imaginary yogurt snack and she fell right for it. Her mouth opened and the dentist caught sight of the back of her mouth. Dr. Ja said that her back teeth is indeed out, and that it's normal even though it doesn't grow the textbook way. She asked about her night feeds and yes, P still goes to bed with a bottle of milk. She suggested for us to either
1. Let P drink from cup directly or with straw from the cup
2. Wean off her night feed
3. Brush her teeth after her milk.
She then reached for Mr. Donkey (soft toy cum helper) and showed me how to brush P's teeth. After the demo, she let P hold the toothbrush and they brushed Mr. Donkey's teeth together, haha. She told me that one of P's front tooth looks quite yellowish, and I have to take note to brush.

Me lying in the dental chair, Mr. Donkey in the corner.

On the topic of toothpaste, she say we can do without it until she learns to spit. If we really want to use, have to look for those without fluoride like First Teeth toothpaste. We're using First Teeth, but P hates the taste with a vengeance. Once she smells it, she won't let us put it in her mouth. I guess I either have to do away with toothpaste, or look for alternatives (am eyeing Jack and Jill toothpaste).

P got really upset (no taste of yogurt snacks) towards the end of the consultation and started to fuss. Dr. Ja re-emphasised the brushing and the night feed thing before sending us out. She told us to come back in 3-6 months time, 3 if she doesn't weaned off night feed.

The consultation fees came up to $85.60, and they accept credit card payments. Only after payment was made then I saw this signage that they are a Baby Bonus approved institution (stabs hearts!!). Haha, in any case, I can't remember the pin number to P's account. The next time we come back, I'll be sure to have it on hand!

Love is...

To me, love is... not being able to sleep at 2am and caught hubby sleep talking. "Baby, are you ok?"

Adeva Spa at Paragon

I bought this Groupon voucher some one month back that enables me to get a 9 minute ginger massage. Finally put it to use today!

Adeva Spa is located at Paragon, 6th floor. I was quite impressed by the atas furnishing and friendly staff when I arrived. They asked me for the voucher and my NRIC, and directed me to one of their plushy sofas to wait. Shortly, one staff came up to me and asked me to fill up a form with personal particulars and my massage preference. Just when I completed and was wondering who to pass it to, their consultants were very observant and came to me straight away. She told me my voucher is for a 90 minute ginger massage which is rather light, and the 90 minute is inclusive of some bathing time to wash away the ginger powder. It might have been my build that she sounded me out if I'm keen on a full biddy massage that is more intensive (I found out later that painful is the word) but I can enjoy the full 90 minute without the bathing time. It sounded good to me, so I took up her offer.

I was directed to the massage room that was really dark, and told to change out of my clothes. I can barely see the cupboard and the hangers, haha. Very soon, the therapist came in and started the session. Man, the kneading and pressing was really vigorous. I acted nonchalant until she felt me tense at one point in time, and told her it was painful. She explained that I need to tell her about the pain, else I will ache really badly tomorrow. Oops, I thought pain was good. She makes an effort to check on my comfort level frequently after that, which I felt was very nice of her.

Oh, and this I need to mention. Their massage beds are heated! Haha, I may sound suaku but I seldom go for massage and those I went to didn't have heated beds. I didn't realise initially and thought it must have been the heat from the therapist rubbing oil from my body. When I told her my body feels so warm, she then told me about the bed. Super thumbs up for me, since I'm just wearing a disposable undies and covered with towels, the heat really takes away all the chilly Aircon.

As with the end of each massage, everyone knows what to expect next: the sales talk. I hate it and I do badly at rejection. A consultant came over while I was having my post massage tea, and asked me how everything went. I braced myself for a full frontal attack from her, but it didn't come. All it takes for me was to say "I really enjoyed the massage, but I have no intention of taking up any packages at the moment", and she backed off after awhile. I have more admiration for spas that don't do much sales talk, and is more inclined to return. However, the packages are probably out of my reach.

Well, you'll be glad to know they serve this white fungus and longan dessert together with your post massage tea. I was having a blocked nose, so I couldn't taste it much. However, the service at this spa is really impeccable. Hope to return someday!

National Immunisation Registry

As mentioned before, P goes to hubby's uncle (who is a GP) for all her jabs and illnesses. Knowing she is in safe hands, I have never asked what jab she is taking for that day. He would list out the months to come for jab, and we'd just follow.

My FB mommies frequently posts questions about jabs and I realised I had no idea what kind of jab P took before. The acronyms in the health booklet don't seem very clear either. I can't tell a 6-in-1 from a 5-in-1.

One of the mommies posted this National Immunisation Registry link today, and it was almost a revelation for me. I logged in with my Singpass and out came a list of jabs and the dates that P took them. There is even a chart that tells you when each jab is due and whether your child missed it.

Total coolness IMO. We're now just waiting for her 24 month jab, and that should round things up for a while. 

No, not taken during her jab, but I just find the pictures apt for this post



Kids Fiesta at AMK Hub

I spent the bulk of the day feeling under the weather, an sign of an impending sore throat/cough/runny nose. After hubby got back from soccer, I took my nap, amidst the babbles and shrieks of P as she raged around our room. After 2 hours, I awoke to a sleeping P next to me, and my iPhone vibrating non-stop. Hubby's family were texting each other in a group chat and SIL reminded me that Mat Yoyo is going to make an appearance at AMK Hub in an hour's time. I thought we wouldn't be able to make it, but P woke up 15 min later and gave me ample time to change, take a bus down and still be 20 min early for the show. Despite that, a crowd had already formed and all the seats were taken. SIL (in blue and white striped shirt) had reached early and secured a standing spot at the railing, so I handed P over to her while I stood behind and watch the action.

The emcee at about 3.50pm and played some games with the children. The greatest revelation of the day was when the children answered the emcee that Mat Yoyo were... CATS!! OMG, all along I thought they were monkeys =X Anyway, I stayed to watch their opening song (which was rather soft and awkward) before going to Watsons to grab some toiletries. 10 min later, I headed back to the event to see that the emcee was rounding up the show and starting the photo-taking process. Erm, a 15 min show?! Probably the shortest one around... In any case, SIL told me that P was super excited and kept clapping and yay-ing through the show.

The crowd 20 min before showtime

Coloring at Kids Fiesta

After the show, we brought P to the Mini Driving School next to the taxi stand/pick up drop off point. I first notice this some 1 week ago when the MRT stopped at the AMK Station. The first time I brought her there, one of the uncles told me she is too young to ride the car. I was a tad disappointed until another guy came along and said he has some remote controlled cars which P can ride while I control. Each ride was supposed to cost $5, but I think they are having their introductory promotion whereby each ride costs $4. The duration is 8 min for weekends and 15 min for weekdays. I think it's quite worth it knowing that P usually take at least 2 of those kiddy rides at AMK Hub, which will cost between $2-$4. I asked their worker how long they will be there, and they will likely be quite longterm.

Godma controlling the vehicle

So if you are thinking of how to occupy your kids this March holidays, bring them down to AMK Hub for some Mat Yoyo and vroom vroom fun.