Rainbow Baby

Past few days, I have been struggling and juggling a lot.  I am really not fond to end the year feeling crappy and more so to start the year feeling unhappy.  Not sure if I shared this here before (memory loss), there was one year when on the 1st Jan, there was a huge quarrel in the family.  Because of that the whole year was crappy, whether you believe it or not.   So, I vowed that on the 1st Jan of each year, we must start the year happily.  Avoid confrontations.  Avoid people who are unhappy.  Say nice things.  Eat sweets.   But things can't be avoided in the past few days.  I was fatigue and spent Christmas Day just resting.  We had to cancel our trip to Penang (which turned out to be a blessing as the traffic was horrible).  I wanted to go somewhere with the family, but plans turned to clinic visits and running chores. Anyway, before this post get any more depressing, let's just stop. Few things ...

This is one phrase that I really dislike to hear.  It's not like I don't use them.  I only use them when I have tried my best and yet I still can't find the solution and so I wanted someone else for help and I said this. When my girl started to use this phrase, I knew I have to stop it immediately.  Why?  Because I am married to a guy who used this too often. Tell this phrase to a boss and you will get a poor appraisal.  Tell this phrase to a teacher and you will be reprimanded for not paying attention. To me, this is a very irresponsible phrase.  It shows that you are not determine to know more, you don't care, you don't want to improve, you are lazy, you don't want to think, you want the easy way out, you act stupid and so on. It's a very easy answer and it ends with a full stop or an exclamation mark.  And it ends just like that. If the other party accepts this, then you will be off the hook.  No need to do more. If the...

I have been to both and can honestly tell you that I much preferred Lexis Hibiscus to Grand Lexis.  And here's why. Lexis Hibiscus Pros: 1. Very near to the highway. 2. Located near the beach (although very small area). 3. Food stalls located within walking distance to the hotel. 4. Better services from the staff. 5. Bigger pathway for walkers and cyclist (for those who like to do some walking and cycling). 6. Better view of the sea. 7. Swimming pool is located outside the chalet with sea view (depends where the chalet is facing). 8. Sauna is provided in the chalet. 9. Wide spread of breakfast buffet. Cons: 1. A bit more pricey. 2. Public pool is boring. 3. No kitchenette. 4. If it rains, the sound on the roof is very loud because of the material of the roof (sounds like zinc roof). 5. Toilet door is without lock.   Grand Lexis Pros: 1. Nice public pool with slides for the kids. 2. Big swimming pool inside each room. 3. W...

If you haven't read the first post on Happy Fish before, go here .  Again, I will emphasize here that I am not assigned to write an advert for Happy Fish and I do not receive any benefits from this. After exploring a little bit in the place, found that there is a baby changing area located upstairs and 4 hair dryers are provided for us to dry our hair.  Isn't that great? Now that we are 6 lessons in, my girl can submerge, not afraid to jump into the water and hold her breathe for longer period. The place must be very well known by now as there are many, many parents and kids and the place is so crowded before and after our class.  The pool for us to practice before and after the class is always packed.   My girl is one of those who are following instruction closely and if we were not doing it in a group, I believe can further teach her more.  But because the rest of the kids in the group are not following instruction and some always absent ...

Year 2018 is coming to an end.  Which means school holidays are starting soon.  Which means the new school term will start in 2019. Which means my girl will be turning 3 soon. Actually, I have no intention to send her to kindy yet.  I feel 3 years old is a bit too young and I don't want her to be bog down with homework, etc.   I have heard some mommies commenting that they have regretted sending their first born too early to school.  As a consequence, the child became traumatize by school and refused to step foot into any school.  So for their next child, they only sent when the child turns 4. But that didn't stop me from going around searching for a kindy.  I know I know...I am being a bit paranoid.  Kiasu. Since there are so many kindy out there and the price varies, I have decided that I will not check out those big franchise names kindy.  Like RKids, QD, EDW, etc.  I do have my reasons.  Let me tell you one by ...

Few days ago, I had a chat with a Grab driver.  The conversation started about my work and then flows to our family and kids.  Coincidentally, his only daughter is just a day older than my girl. His daughter is on formula from 6 months old till now and weighing 18kg and is overweight for her age.  So he is asking what formula I am using for my girl and when I said I don't give formula and he asked why.   For my girl, I just gave fresh milk when I stopped breastfeeding at 2 years old.  I tried sheep formula and in my heart still don't feel comfortable about giving processed food.  So I ended up giving fresh milk.  Fine it is also processed, as in squeezed out, packed in bottles and shipped.  But lesser things are added into it. I am not against formula.  I am just not comfortable with the ingredients in it.  And I have seen kids who drank formula are a little on the hyper side.  He told that his girl can't sit still...

I have to admit that I am not a perfect mother.  I have my ugly days when I shouted at my girl and would sometimes whack her when she does naughty things.  Especially on days when my patience run low, energy running out and spouse not helping.   But end of the day, when we go to bed, I will tell her that I love her and would tell her I am sorry if I hurt her and we end our rift before bedtime.   I don't pamper her as much as some does.  Because the grandparents are pampering her enough, so I am the bad guy in the family.  But at the same time, I let her know that I love her very much and that she is very precious to me. Enough said about what I do.  I just want to share what I see and hear. Recently, my girl was invited to a birthday party.  She is the youngest among the bigger girls.  There were about 7-8 of them, about 5-10 years old.  My girl was not shy and immediately went to play in the playroom where toy...

17 years ago, I witnessed the loss of a child for a mother.  My aunt lost my cousin sister in a tragic car accident.  Few years later, I witnessed another loss of a child for a mother.  A friend lost her only daughter to leukemia.   Before being a mother, I don't understand what's it's like being in their shoes.  Of course I wouldn't want to be in their shoes ever because when I lost my cousin sister, the grieve was too difficult to bear.  What more for a mother. When I miscarried my first baby at 6 weeks, I was devastated.  That was because I have accepted my role being a mother and was having high expectations of the days to come.  The pain was too much and I wouldn't even wish it to happen to my worse enemy.   After joining motherhood, I can truly understand the pain of losing a child.  Be it a miscarriage or a stillborn or a toddler or a teenager or an adult.  I can only pray that I don't have to experienc...

If you have read my earlier post about swimming classes for babies , you would have an idea of our first class with this instructor which I will not name for privacy purposes.  Now this is not a paid advertisement by Happy Fish.  Neither it is a review since we only attended 1 class.  I will just share our first impression about Happy Fish at Sunway Pyramid. Long before I got pregnant, I came to know the story of the owner who started Happy Fish in Singapore.  It was truly from rags to riches kind of story and was quite amazing.   When I was searching for a baby swimming class when my girl was 6 months old, I found out that Happy Fish had opened a school at Kota Damansara.  However, I don't really like to go to that area because it is pretty congested during weekends.  So I decided to sign up to some place nearer to home. However, after 3 terms at this place which I will not name, I am not satisfied with the progress that my girl made...

With one and a quarter pregnancy, my body is wrecked by it.  I don't want to scare any future mothers, but this is a true story.  So, if you are trying to have a baby, please take note of this as much as possible, otherwise, you will have the same fate as me.  And I am not talking about stretch marks. Sciatica I first felt the sciatica pain when I was just about 7-8 weeks pregnant.  I remember there was one night, husband and I visited some friends and all of a sudden, I knelt on the floor and unable to get up.  The pain was sharp and numbing.  My husband have to press on the spot for few seconds before I can get up and walk again.  However, as the pregnancy progressed, I didn't have that pain so often.  Only once in a while, my husband have to press on that spot to give me relieve.   After delivery, that was when it finally hit me hard until now.  It's not something that can be cure by medicine or physio.  It's some...

Alas, the drama ended with tears and heartache.  I must say, this is one heck of a drama.  The writer and director duo is the greatest combination ever.  First it was Descendants of the Sun (DotS), then Goblin and now this.  All are superb and the best. With DotS, I found many inconsistencies with the show.  Like how can the main lead kept on surviving is beyond me.  It wasn't realistic at all.  But it makes my heart flutters a lot. With Goblin, I fell in love with the bromance and the mystical story line.  Though I felt really uncomfortable between the male and female lead's romance due to their huge age difference and their lack of chemistry, I thoroughly enjoyed the show.  I wasn't in for their romance, but more for the bromance and the sword and the ghost who went for them. With Mr Sunshine, sigh, where do I start?  First the cinematography was captivating.  The story didn't start out on a popular note despite havin...

My uncle passed away last week and the family donated his body to the hospital for a program titled 'Silent Mentor'.  Throughout the wake, there were only prayers, but no body.  Friends and family who came to pay last respect can only see his photo and not the body.   Hmm...such a subject in my baby/child friendly blog.  But I feel the need to touch on this.  It makes me wondered about life and the end of it and what happens after we die.  Every religions has their own belief and somehow I feel weird about the whole thing. I have heard of organ donation but this is the first time ever hearing about body donation.  However, if you go to the website for Silent Mentor, you would see that the whole process is very respectful, dignified and honorable. Just that I can't seem to understand the whole thing and it really define 'funeral' in a new way.  Because of this, there was no funeral, there was no last journey before the cremation, ...

I would say that I have a rather good childhood.  I remembered all the good times spent with my cousins and playing with them.  Those were the best times. However, I was an accident-prone kid.  When I was 6 years old, I slipped on fresh chicken shit and fell flat on my chin and required 2 stitches.  I remembered my aunt piggy back me to the nearest clinic and got the doctor to do the stitches and while he was stitching, he farted and my aunt went outside but I couldn't move and suffered from the smell.  Till today, I had the scar at the bottom of my chin, though not visible if I don't show it. When I was 8 years old, my cousins and I were playing on this lazy chair where you can adjust the level of the back.  Somehow, my right index finger got into one of the gears and the next thing I knew is my finger was bleeding badly.  I quickly went to the sink to wash and there was more and more blood coming out.  When my aunt found out about it (t...

Unlike any other profession, a mother is a role that is given upon birth of a child.  There is no certificate, diploma, degree, master or PHD for this profession.  The most education a mother-to-be received is when she attends a breastfeeding class or a prenatal class.  That also is teaching about how to care for a newborn and nothing much about toddler, teenager, etc. A mother's job is a thankless job.  I am still trying to learn the skills to be a good one.  How?  I learned not to do something from friends who already been through it.   Breastfeeding Since I know breast milk is the best milk for babies, from pregnancy itself, I vowed to breastfeed.  Of course that time I didn't know the difficulty of it.  I tried to read as much as I can, but theory is nothing compared to practical.   I am glad I managed to breastfeed until almost 2.5 years old.  Although it was challenging, the rewards we received were mu...