Tonight, Tonight

It's 2am and I really should have slept 3 hours ago, especially seeing how the little one is over at the parents precisely because I have an event that I need to be at early later this morning. But I couldn't resist the temptation to just lie on the couch and stone without having to put anyone to bed. To play games and surf on my phone, uninterrupted. To just be awake because I want to, and not because I have to soothe a crying babe back to sleep. 

Yet, as I type out how much I'm enjoying this rare sense of ... freedom? I miss the little one so much. His gentle breaths. The way he reaches out and grabs a lock of my hair. His sweaty head. 

Ah, motherhood. 

Being Schooled on Good Manners

BabyAC's vocabulary has been growing incredibly. I was reading a picture book with him and it was so impressive how many words he knew! 

Dolphin. Watch. Wagon. Goat. Whale. Chair. Bear. Clock. And so many more. 

Anyway one of the things we have been trying to teach him is to say "please". Don't point and cry at something you want. And recently we have been quite successful. 

He sees the bottle of Yakult. "Ah-Kult. Plis. PLIS. PPLLEEEEEEEESSE!" 

As I was lying on the sofa last night, he comes up with me holding out a bottle cap he picked up. So I opened my hand and waited for him to give it to me. 

BabyAC: "PLIS!"

Me: "Oh, please?" 

And then he gave me the bottle cap. *beam with pride* 

Pangandaran and The Rest of our Trip

23 Sep, Sat: Arrived at Bandung, rested at SIL's house before heading to the train station to make our way to Tasik. Had dinner at home and settled down. 

24 Sep, Sun: Lazy day. Hung out at home mostly. Had a massage but nothing compares to Ibu Made. 

25 Sep, Mon: Drove to Pangandaran and met some of +3's cousins and nieces / nephews. Checked in to the Laut Biru hotel. Had lunch at a noodle stall owned by the cousin, and later dinner at the restaurant at the hotel also run by the same cousin. 

Had a massive headache. Aiyo. I think the drive gave me motion sickness. Popped a couple of panadols and rested. 

26 Sep, Tue: Probably the best day of the entire trip. Had brekkie in the hotel, and walked across the road to the beach. This was babyAC's first time at the beach and HE LOVED IT. *squeal* He took to the water so naturally, enjoying having the waves splash at his feet (and legs, and body). Cried when we said we had to go back. 

Can't really remember where we had lunch, then headed to Batu Hiu (along the east beach) where it was so windy and the views across the sea were gorgeous. BabyAC really enjoyed it tpo. Dinner was at a restaurant at the inn of another cousin (or was he the nephew?).

We did a grocery run as well and the boy had a go at one of those car rides where you pay 2 coins. 

27 Sep, Wed: Back to Tasik. The ride back wasn't too uncomfortable. Dinner at home. MIL made prawns which gave me an allergic reaction. Had to force throw up, and took some zyrtec. 

28 Sep, Thu: BabyAC was running a fever at night but I was too zonked on my meds. +3 took him at 6+am and took care of him for a couple of hours while I rested. Then he had to leave to settle some paperwork for his IC and I took care of the little one. His fever came back and I had to ask my MIL (who was with +3) to take us to the doctor. 

Traveler's diarea, apparently. Doc gave some electrolytes, MIL went to buy some panadol, and I hugged the little one and tried to comfort him as best as I could. 

29 Sep, Fri: Poor boy was still having fever and the runs throughout the night, and I didn't get to sleep. +3 took over in the morning again, so I could rest, and then left to settle more paperwork. We took the train back to Bandung.

Supermama moment when I changed his poopy diaper in the train toilet. Luckily we decided to try to buy diaper pants, which made it easier to put on while standing up. 

My SIL arranged for Ibu Made to give us massages. +3 had his first, while I looked after babyAC. Poor kid was so fussy - I couldn't put him down and had to carry him for the entire hour. When +3 was done, Ibu Made asked if she could massage babyAC (of course! please do!) and she said that he had a lot of wind, and rubbed his back and belly with some oil. He cried during the massage, but passed out sleeping soon after! 

Ibu Made has magical hands. After working on my problem areas, I felt so much better and so refreshed. But apparently I need 3 days of intensive massage from her to really sort out all my problems. Need another holiday and stay in Bandung! 

Interestingly, babyAC woke up in the middle of the night and let out this mega fart. All that wind, probably. Glad he managed to let it out tho. 

30 Sep, Sat: We prepare to head back to Singapore. BabyAC slept the entire time on the flight, yay! 

== 

It's been almost a week since we got back and babyAC is almost back to 100%. We took him to the doctor back in Singapore and the doctor said that we just needed to let things run its course. 

He lost a lot of weight, though. So now we're going to have to fatten him up all over again. 

Who's Gonna Pat My Bum To Sleep?

One of the most tiring things about motherhood, for me at least, is having to deal with the little one when he wakes up at night. He still doesn't quite sleep through the night yet, especially since he's been unwell. 

Co-sleeping makes it easier for me to scoop him up when he wakes up crying, but it still takes a while before he drifts back off to sleep. And by the time that happens, I've been awake long enough that it's hard to go back to sleep. You know how a quick power nap recharges you? 

So here I am at 3am, desperately needing to get more hours of sleep but unable to go back to dreamland. 

Little Signs Of Love

It's the little things that really show you how much a person loves you. 

1. At Bandung Airport as we were heading back, I asked +3 if he could get me a hot chocolate. And he got me one with soy milk instead of regular milk. (Cos I'm lactose intolerant). He said he didn't want me to have explosive shits on the flight back hehe. 

2. This evening, I said that I was hungry and asked him if he could get me a slice of raisin bread on his way back from the kitchen. He came back with the raisin bread, toasted. Cos he knows how much I like toasted bread. (aso warm and crunchy, yummmmmm.) 

Of course there are the bigger gestures- wanting to get me a nice present for my birthday and take me out for a meal of my choice; looking after the little one in the morning so I can get a few extra hours of sleep; giving up his budget to get a VR headset so he can pay for a phone for me (my old one is dying).  

But it's the little unexpected things that really makes you appreciate how lucky you are to be with someone who loves you so much.