Saturday, March 22, 2014

Barney's Birthday Bash

We caught Barney's Birthday Bash today! We arrived well ahead of time. I wanted to check out the merchandise, but P saw the stage from outside the theatre and demanded to go in immediately.
Here she is after 15 min of wait. 
After she realised the show isn't going to start anytime soon, she asked me to bring her out again. By this time, the merchandise area was getting crowded. Again, like the Disney on Ice merchandise, things don't come cheap. They have 3 packages for you to choose from, but items can also be bought separately. P isn't THAT big a fan of Barney, so I was again spared from buying anything. 

The show started slightly after 11am, and it was a full house. The theatre was kind of old compared to the indoor stadium, reminding me a bit of old school cinemas. If the person in front of you is tall, you get half your view blocked off. As a result, many parents had their kids on their laps. It would have helped if they have booster seats, but this being a kids show, I don't know how many they need to prepare beforehand. 

Everyone got really high when Barney made his appearance. P was really engaged for the first part of the show. The show involved some talking by the characters, and will lead to a song. I've lost count of the number of songs sang during the show. P could sing along to songs that she knew, but they had quite a few she doesn't, and that's when she started getting restless, telling me she wants to take a walk outside. 

Intermission came, but it was too packed and inconvenient to go anywhere (I regretted getting centre seats), so she was really cooped up for the whole duration. I wasn't too fond of the idea of walking through my neighbours with a big tummy and toddler in tow. 

P went downhill during the second part. They had songs she wasn't familiar with, so she started climbing up and down her seats. She started pinching my face and clambering all over me. In short, she got bored. One thing to note is that they do a bag check at entrance, and require you to remove all food items prior to entering the theatre. While I understand this helps to keep the theatre clean, but it's tough for me to manage P when I can't bribe her with food when she's bored. Worst of all, I was just too eager to escape the crowd after the show that I left my snack container behind. 

I thought the show was quite suitable for her age group, probably more suitable than Disney on Ice. The dancing and songs were mostly fast paced and full of energy. It might have been the theatre and the crowd, but it seems to me that P preferred Disney on Ice to this show...

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Disney on Ice

When I went to fetch P from mil's house yesterday, the first thing she told me is that she wants to go watch Disney. Of course, the advertisement had been running on TV for awhile, and she will get excited when she sees it. I've been deliberating for quite awhile whether to bring her to Disney on Ice because I've spent some good money on the Barney Birthday Bash that coincidentally falls in the same week. I lost count of the times I've gone to Disney on Ice ticketing website to check out prices and tickets.

Hmmm, I guess you'd probably have guessed by now that I made a rather last minute decision to buy the tickets and bring her there. The fact that I'm on leave today was the main push factor, but I had to rationalise the decision with the cheapest category ticket ($20/ticket, 10% off with Passion card). 

The show was at 3.30pm (doors open at 2.30pm). I took at the threatening grey skies at 2.30pm and decided to call a cab. We managed to get into the cab before the sky poured down, so it was really lucky. However, our luck ended when we neared the indoor stadium. There was a huge jam leading to the stadium carpark. Only when we got to the front that I realised people were dropping their family members off at the shelter, and that prevented vehicles behind from entering. I had thought we were well ahead of time by leaving house 1 hour before, but we only reached 10 min before show time. You can imagine how many families were late for the show. Lesson learnt, if the rain threatens to come, better leave 1.5/2hrs before. 

Stadium staff conducted a bag check at the entrance, and our tickets were scanned to grant entry. After entering, there were stalls selling food and a whole lot of Disney merchandise. I knew things were going to be expensive, but the prices still shocked me. Bags of popcorn contained in a Disney bag costs a whopping $16. Disney merchandise easily costs at least $19. However, parents at the show were really willing to spend on their kids. It was a good thing P wasn't that much interested, so my wallet was spared. 

The cheapest category put us on level 3, and this is the view you can expect.
Skating figures were quite small, and the railing blocked P's view, so she spent the whole first half on my lap. The show started on the dot and P was super entranced with the skating figures, music and lighting. When Mickey & Friends came out, I almost had to stop her from jumping to them. She remained captivated for the rest of the first half and I'm really glad to see her enjoy herself. 

It was almost a relief for my thighs when intermission came. I brought her back to the entrance area, and she took to the Lego play table straight away. 
The intermission lasted some 15 min, and we head back for the second half. The second part was mostly about Disney princesses, but there was also a segment on Lion King which was a bit disturbing for P (esp when Simba's father died). She kept telling me the papa lion fell down and remained very perplexed even after the show. Towards the end, there were some fireworks effects and that got P really high! 

Overall, it was a very good show! For adults, it brings back childhood memories. For children, it is something they recognise and I'm sure it will form part of P's childhood when she grows up. We will definitely be back for their future shows! For now, there's Barney's Birthday Bash to look forward to this Saturday morning. 

Monday, March 17, 2014

First Day of March Holidays

Is it considered a milestone when the little one has the first school holidays of her life? Haha, I certainly find it meaningful enough to spend the first day of her school holiday with her!

We started the morning trying to train her on the potty! Despite her happy look below, the training wasn't successful. She would pull down her training pants, sit on the potty, and promptly pull up the training pants after 5s. It's like she's just going through the motion of the potty training books I've read to her, without seeing the real pee coming out. Well, I just have to try again next week when I get to spend Mon-Thu with her because mil's maid is returning to Philippines.
After we had our baths, we set out for Centrepoint. I checked out the Mothercare moving out sale, but didn't manage to get anything. We went to Robinsons for her to play with some toys, and it's time for lunch at Swensens!
Centrepoint atrium is having a Mr. Bean event, and they had a teddy making workshop at 1pm ($20 spend at the mall would qualify your child). We spent a good 15 mins stuffing the bear, got the staff to see it up for us, stuck on the eyes (P decided her bear needed a nose too) and tied the ribbon. Tadah, our masterpiece! Strangers onboard the mrt commented it looked like Mr Bean's bear, so I would say we are quite successful!!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Leg Cramps

My big boss was in town for the past 2 days, and we brought him out for dinner on those 2 days. Naturally, my gym plans during lunch didn't take place as well. 

Last night, I had a terrible bout of leg cramps on my right leg! It was dreadful and painful and even now, I could feel a lump where the cramps decide to linger on. Hubby commented this morning that I walked too much the past few days and exerted my legs. I choose to think its because I've officially entered the third trimester. 

Clyde hits 28 week mark today. He's a super active baby, especially before bedtime. P would chatter a lot and sing, and Clyde would get really excited with his wriggles and kicks. I can feel him rolling occasionally, but I'm sure he's running out of space soon. 

Third trimester brings with it some relief and a new set of problems. Apart from the leg cramps I mentioned earlier, I find that I'm pretty much drained at the end of the working day. By the time I get home, I just plop myself on the sofa and feel my legs aching like mad. I suspect I'm starting to have water retention too. My shoes are starting to feel rather snug. Oh, and the haze isn't helping! The only good thing that comes out of third trimester is that my constipation problem has reduced significantly. 

12 weeks or less to go...

Thursday, March 13, 2014

P's schoolwork

This week marks the final week of Term 1 for P, and she will get to enjoy her first school holiday of her life. I looked back on her first few days at school and marvel at how far she has come, from a hysterical please-don't-abandon-me girl to today's "Yes, I want to go to school!!" It was a roller coaster ride of emotions for us parents too, and parenthood really opens up my eyes. 

Look what P brought back from school yesterday! 
She looked really proud of her artwork, and happily announced that the picture smacked in the middle is a dinosaur! And dinosaur it shall be :) 

As mentioned previously, I didn't have much insight to what she does in school. When prompted with "did you do ___ in school today?", her answers were always "Yes". Looking at all the artwork she brought home really makes a difference. I told hubby I can finally justify her school fees, lol!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Birth Options

I went for my gynae visit this morning, and is really glad to know that Clyde is growing well. At 27W3D, he stands in at 1213g and was wriggling around through the whole ultrasound. Gynae commented his head is still up (in breech position), but that's not a concern yet since I still have a good 12 weeks to go.

I checked in with Dr Teo on my exercise regime and she says it will be good if I can continue. Had initially wanted to suspend my gym membership at the end of this month, but with her reassurance, I'd probably let it run till at least end April. 

The next thing was on birth options. During my performance review with my boss yesterday, she asked if I am going for natural or csect. Obviously with elective csect, I have more control over the timeline of my maternity leave and when to handover my job. I told her I will give her an answer after consulting gynae today, but she encouraged me to go for natural if possible. 

I think I've been overly optimistic on vbac. Dr Teo took a look at the information for my 1st birth and she said "if the reason for csect during #1 was due to baby being in breech position, I'd say we can try. However, your #1 is quite small and if labor failed to progress that time, it usually means there is some issues with the hip or pelvis being too small. That being said, if you really want to try, 
1. Labour cannot be induced. Contractions must start naturally
2. Labour cannot exceed 6-8hours, else it will also end in emergency csect.
3. We can only wait until full term (40 weeks). If baby is late, we have to do csect." Thereafter, she ran me through the risks of uterine rupture, and baby has 20% chance of getting cerebral palsy if that happens. 

Hmmm, now I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about the whole vbac thing already. She recommends I give it some thoughts before making a final decision. She also broached on the topic of hospital delivery and told me to let the clinic assistants know my choice. I got the price list from the clinic assistants, and it's time to compare the costs of emergency csect vs elective csect. 

Dr Teo's clinic will be moving to Mount Elizabeth Novena hospital on 1 April. My next visit in 3 weeks' time will be there. 

Sunday, March 9, 2014

The Bank Bar + Bistro

There's been a fair lot of reviews on The Bank Bar + Bistro, with many family blogs giving positive reviews on how family friendly it is. We finally had a chance to check out their weekend brunch as we wanted to pass my ex colleague (who stays at Pinnacle) some clothes that P has outgrown.

The restaurant is visible from Shenton Way, but we saw it too late and hubby had to make a huge round to get back to that area. If you are driving, you have to turn left immediately after passing Lau Pa Sat. That will bring you to the carpark where the restaurant is located. They mustn't have much parking lots, for a car ahead of us entered the carpark and it showed 'Carpark full'. The security guard came to us and told us we can't wait there, so we had to reverse and turn into the Asia Square carpark. It's just a 2 min walk away from the restaurant. 

When we entered the restaurant, we were asked if we had reservations, which we didn't. I didn't expect them to have much crowd on a weekend morning, but it appears there was a birthday event that day. Luckily they managed to arrange a seat for us. Hubby quickly decided on the Weekend Special while I took The Bank Breakfast. For main courses above $20, kids get to eat for free. We chose Fish & Chips for P. 
While I placed the order, hubby and P checked out the playroom that is within the restaurant. There was a TV playing cartoons like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a slide and some toys to keep the kids occupied. P was kept entertained till the food arrived. 
And finally the food!! 
Hubby's striploin was really tender and I like the gravy that went with it. P's fish and chips came with a crispy batter and fries, but the portion was too much for her. The kid's meal also came with drinks, and she had apple juice with her meal. Last but not least, my breakfast set! I could choose how I wanted my eggs done (omelette for me, with instructions to the chef to fully cook it because of my pregnancy), and whether if wanted chicken or pork sausage. My breakfast set also came with a choice of drink and I had orange juice. It was a truly satisfying meal! 

Towards the end, P decided she had enough food and wanted to venture back into the play room. She strode to the room by herself, with hubby following quietly behind her to make sure all is good. She took off her sandals by herself and make herself comfy in the playroom. We took the chance to ask for the dessert that comes with hubby's meal. It was some sort of citrus cake, and really refreshing for the palate, especially when eaten together with the blueberry jam. That rounded up the meal and we were really contented. 
We are also pleasantly surprised to find out that prices on the menu are nett. I like such places, especially if I'm out with friends and require the bill to be split. Our damage works out to be only $48 ($26.50 for the striploin and $21.50 for the breakfast), not to forget the foc kid's meal. Any meal of this scale would easily set us back by at least $60 at other restaurants. 

The fact that hubby really likes the place and quietness of the CBD area on the weekend morning makes future visits possible. In fact, he's deliberating whether to hold Clyde's full month party there, haha. We will definitely be back to try some of their other brunch options. The pancakes that the table next to us were having looked really appetizing. Maybe I will have that the next time round!

Friday, March 7, 2014

Exercising during Pregnancy

Clyde hits the 27 weeks mark tomorrow, and I'm proud to say that I've come a long way where exercising during pregnancy is concerned. In my previous pregnancy, the only exercise I did was to go shopping during lunch and walk down to buy some food during tea break. Being a first time mother at that time, anything more than walking is considered too dangerous for the baby.

In this pregnancy though, I really have to give credit to having a True Fitness below my workplace. I have been a regular for about a year prior to pregnancy, and didn't want to lose the momentum that I have built up. I was initially a bit worried during first trimester, and consulted my gynae who is not in favor of me hitting the gym. She gave me a letter to suspend my gym membership (which is still with me), and told me not to do anything more than light walking and swimming. So, I ended up walking the treadmill for 30 min during lunch, at least 3 times a week. After morning sickness left me at week 18, I started feeling more energetic and crave the heart pounding feeling. 

With renewed energy, I got myself on the Precor Cross Ramp that supposedly reduces the impact on the joints (as opposed to jogging on the treadmill).

I was pleasantly surprised to find I could pretty much keep the same level compared to pre-pregnancy, so that's what I have been doing since week 18. According to the stats on the machine, I could burn about 320 calories in 28 min, covering a distance of 3.9km. That helps to keep my weight gain in check (my appetite has been increasing recently, and I often find myself waking up to hunger pangs at 3am in the morning) and hopefully keep water retention away.  

Some 3 weeks back, I experienced my first leg cramps while sleeping. Coincidentally, my sister in law who works at Clarins gave me a bottle of Clarins Energizing Emulsion that is supposed to soothe tired legs. I didn't think much of it when I first applied. It leaves a very cooling feeling after a while, and just like its description - really soothing. 
It became a routine for me to apply it only on my gym days. Strangely enough, I didn't experience any leg cramps on nights when I applied this. I can only say its a godsend!

Thanks to my sister in law, I had the chance to try a few Clarins product this pregnancy. I will write about their stretch marks product in a separate post.