When It Is Just The Two Of Us

I'm lying with my back to the little one cos he likes to hold my hair while he sleeps. Suddenly a tiny hand reaches out and caresses my face.... And i realise he is wiping his booger on my cheek. 

#motherhood

Nighttime Conversations

"Time to sleep now"

"Eat the booger!"

Hk2018 - Part 2

25 Oct 

- Took the tram to near Central with plans to head up to The Peak. But by the time we got there, the queue was SO LONG that we decided to detour to the HK botanical and zoological gardens. 

- Lots of steps to climb which made me realise that we probably weren't fit enough to go hiking as originally planned. 

- Saw lots of monkeys which fascinated the little one who has been talking about monkeys eating bananas and climbing trees. 

- Walked to Admiralty MTR, and took the train back and had lunch at Sister Wah. Beef brisket = love. 

- Napped and met cousin.ling for dinner. Had thai food at a nearby eatery and then dessert after. Always good fun to catch up with cousin.ling 

26 Oct 

- Went to the park and playground after brekkie and had lunch at Sister Wah (again). It's really good! 

- Napped and then made our way to Times Square. Wanted to get a pair of birks but they weren't much cheaper than back home so we skipped it. Spent a bit of time playing in the lego store and having coffee and cake at Tom n Tom.

- Took a tram back and stopped at the playground again. Headed to the mall and had dinner at the Japanese curry place again. This time, they actually gave us a kids menu and the little one almost finished the entire portion of rice!

27 Oct 

- Don't know how time passes so quickly. Met cousin.ling who came by with another cousin-in-law who dropped us off at the peak. Luckily we took a cab up cos the queue to take the Peak Tram was loooooooong. 

- Took in the sights of the skyline in HK, and headed back down by tram. Then took a bus to Central where we took a star ferry to Tsim Tsa Tsui. Walked around the waterfront and had lunch at one of the eateries there. Then took the Star Ferry back to Wan Chai and headed back to the hotel to nap.

- Headed back to the Indonesia Restaurant for dinner and met with Ncuk and Shally, and their high school friends. Dinner was yum as usual, and then headed back.

.. 

Typing this while lying in bed in the hotel room. We are checking out tomorrow abd heading to Disney for 3D2N and then back home!

HK2018 - Part 1

And just like that, we've been in HK for 6 days now and will be heading back in a couple more days. How fast time flies when you're on holiday!

22 Oct 

- Arrived in HK at about lunch time. Had lunch at Tsui Wah in the airport, got ourselves data sim cards, took the Airport Express train to Hong Kong Central station and cabbed it to the hotel. 

- Checked in, napped, headed out to cousin.Ming's restaurant for a quick dinner and then back to the hotel for an early lunch.

23 Oct 

- Brekkie in the hotel and back to the room to rest for a bit. We head out to explore a little but go back soon so that the little one can rest. The little one is feeling sniffly so we stay in the hotel room while +3 continues to explore the surrounding areas. He comes back and shares that Victoria Park is nearby and there are a few playgrounds there.

- Have lunch at Windsor House near Victoria Park and eat at some Japanese curry place. Nothing you can't find in SG. 

- Little one plays in the playground for an hour or so and we head back to cool down.

- Meet Andi for dinner and discover that Sister Wah, which is just across the street from the hotel, has amazing beef brisket. 

- End the evening with coffee and cake at the hotel while chatting with Andi.

24 Oct 

- Head out to meet Da Ma after brekkie at the hotel. We have dim sum. The little one impresses everyone with his hearty appetite when cousin.Ming feeds him. Think he finished 2 baos, one (big) matball, and a chee cheong fun roll with prawn.

- Go to Da Ma's new home. It's slightly bigger than her old place and the boy takes a nap while +3 catch up with family.

- I'm getting used to afternoon naps too!

- Head out for dinner and meet with another cousin. The little one eats a lot! 1/2 bowl of rice, 2 bowls of lobster noodles, and a fair bit of beef. He also ate the chives dish. 

- He ate so much that he had a poo-explosion at the restaurant. Cleaned him up and headed back to bathe. 

The Sweetest Words

"I love you, mama" 

... And after that he said "I eat booger now, Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom. Finished already!" thankfully he was just pretend eating. I hope. 

More Fartiness

The boy was getting ready to pee the other day and I was standing behind him, holding on to him so he wouldn't fall into the toilet bowl (he's still too short so was standing on the toilet seat). 

Instead of peeing, though, the little one said "AC fart on mama" then proceeded to stick his skinny little butt out and FARTED. And of course he proceeded to giggle non stop at his cheekiness. 

Be Kind

Today, two things happened that reminded me that I need to be more kind and less bitchy. 

1. There was a work event all the way in the west side and none of my colleagues who drove were going back to the office after. The bus/mrt journey would have likely taken 1-1.5 hours. I asked another colleague who worked nearby if he was driving back, and if yes, could we hitch a ride in his car? 

Said colleague is someone who is loud (not in the booming voice way but more in the always have some things to say way)  and quite frankly, a little bit odd. I'm not a big fan and usually stay away. 

Honestly, I felt quite hypocritical being all nice and friendly this morning cos I wanted to hitch a ride and he said yes. And to make me feel worse, he dropped me off at my office as I had a work meeting before heading out to have lunch. 

Eeks.

2. Another colleague that I didn't really like cos she never smiles at you (even if you smile at her) and at a work event, interrupted a conversation I was having with someone to promote her school. I'm not particularly close to her, but at that same event today I saw her in a wheelchair. 

Long story short, she's been through some shit and it looks like she'll be permanently in a wheelchair. 

... 

I don't think I've been particularly nasty or bitchy to these colleagues, but it was a really good reminder today to treat people with loving kindness. You never know what they are going through and it doesn't hurt to be nice.  

Morning Merrytime

I had to be at work early today but it was the last day of our event and all the major parts were already over.  I woke up and got ready, and then lay back in bed watching the little one sleep. I should have left at 7am, 730am latest to be on time for work but it was already 745am and he was still sleeping and looked like he was about to stir. 

After a few moments of turning and stretching, his eyes open and he flashes me the widest grin. He says "mama" and closes his eyes again. I stroke his hair and say good morning,  and he stretches his arms out as he opens his eyes again. 

"mama carry? "

I pick him up and get out of bed. He lays his head on my left shoulder, and closes his eyes again, twirling my hair between his fingers.  "Let's go say good morning to daddy and Nanny. " 

We go outside and +3 greets him with the chirpiest "Good morning! " Nanny does the same. He starts to chatter about his police car and I pass him to Nanny to I can get ready to leave the house.  

While putting on my shoes, Nanny shows him how to turn on the iPod and some music starts to play. It's Queen's "I want to break free" and the boy is jumping around happily dancing and squealing in delight. 

My shoes are on, I'm carrying my bag and all ready to step out of the house. But this is a moment I can't resist. I go to the dancing little one and grab his hands and we bob around laughing and dancing (note: this is a very BROAD interpretation of the word "dance"). 

I get him to stand on my feet and I walk around with him for a bit, much to his delight. And everyone has such huge smiles on their faces. 

Eventually we leave the house and blow a few kisses and take the lift down. We wave again at the both of them who are now standing at the balcony. While walking out, we see a little girl at her balcony, we wave and she waves back. 

What a beautiful morning.

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

Knocked his head on the bed and said, "Pain pain go away! Go fly away! Fly far far away! Fly to the bridge! Pain pain go away!  No more pain pain.

Me-Time

After having a child, a lot of time and attention is focused on the young one, and moms usually end up having very little me-time. In fact, it's important to make an effort to ensure that one has some time to meet with friends and take care of oneself. 

This month (last month, actually), I decided to make a more conscious effort to meet up with some friends alone so that I could fully concentrate on the conversation and catching up. 

Had a lovely lunch with the fashionjeannie at some Japanese place in town, and went to one of those pop-up bazaar things at the National Design Centre, which was really lovely. I'm not one to shop, but it was nice doing something different from my usual routine. 

Also had dinner with yummy and trin at Jumbo Seafood in East Coast Park, of all places. Trin said she wanted to feel like she was on holiday (beachside and rip off prices?) so off we went. Food was good, the breeze made me feel a little chilly, and the company excellent as always. 

Today, I even booked a one-hour body massage at the Healing Touch Spa at Hotel Rendevous before meeting Linda and Sharon for a buffet lunch at Straits Cafe. Such indulgence! My therapist (Pam) was really good, and she really managed to work away a lot of the kinks and tensions in my body. Catching up with the two of them about work and life, and before we knew it three hours had passed. 

..

I was on my way back to my parents' place and texted +3 to let him know my whereabouts. The little one had stayed the Friday night in SK, and was having his afternoon nap when +3 arrived after lunch with his friend. 

I was still on the train when the little one woke up, and apparently it started pouring and he was looking for his mama. 

"Mama where?" 

"Mama is on the way back" 

"Mama get wet!" 

And he started singing "Rain rain, go away!" at the top of his lungs. The thunder and lightning did not scare the little one as it usually does, and it only served to make him sing louder and as fiercely as he could. 

*heartmelt 

What did I do to deserve such a sweet and loving little boy? 

Talking

The boy asked me this morning, "Top up water bottle? Cos so little water inside." 

Wow. It's really amazing to see him develop in different aspects. Stringing words together and forming sentences. 

He is also quite the joker. When I say goodnight he will sometimes laugh and say good morning! 

If you tell him something that is wrong, he will also correct you. The other day I pointed at a yellow car and said, banana! And he replied, YELLOWWWWW CARRRRRRR! 

Hehehe. 

Now to focus on his mandarin. I know I need to be more consistent with speaking mandarin with him, but with me being the only mandarin speaking person at home, it's really quite tough. 

I'm trying with words for colours, numbers, and objects like fruit and vegetables. But progress is slower compared to how well he speaks English. 

I've tried playing mandarin children videos on youtube but the ones I've seen aren't that impressive. Oh well, just gotta keep trying.

I Am A Fairytale Princess Now

With the little one now sleeping in his bed at night, there's more space on our bed. Sometimes though, he wakes up in the middle of the night and will say "mama hair" or "want some more hair" or "mama lie on bed, hair" which are really just requests for me to scoot over to the edge of my bed and rapunzel my hair down the side of the bed so he has something to hold on to. Lol.

Fart is Funny

Me: close your eyes and sleep

AC: close your eyes and fart hahahahahahahaha

2.5

How is my little baby now a cheeky little joker with the sweetest heart? How has it already been two and a half years? The boy loves to laugh and likes to say silly words and gets us to repeat it or sing it and he will laugh and laugh and laugh. Last night we spent quite some time singing random songs about a-bla-bla-bla. Lol.

Sometimes, he will ask me to cry. Then when I go waaaaaaaaah he will come up to me and pat pat pat my shoulder till I stop, then say "no more crying!" Hehe so sweet. Likewise when I tell him that there is some part of me that is painful, he will gently stroke the area and say "pain pain, go away! No more pain." 

..

My sister and family was in town for a month in July and it was really awesome go see the kids play together. Her baby was too young to join in the fun, and initially AC would get jealous and cryyyyy when me or nanny would pick up the baby. Over time he got used to it, and would even ask to carry the baby or give him hugs.

The two firstborns got along together and had so much fun. It was so cute to see the older girl teach him how to ask for things (Can I borrow your toy please?) and he would follow her when she ate her meals and he would want to feed himself and finish his food too. 

They would run around and laugh and jump on the bed and it was such a joy to watch. Now I feel like I need to have more playdates with other kids! 

..

He has also started sleeping in his own bed, only crawling back into bed with us in the initial days and also when he was not feeling too well. It's amazing to see how much he has grown, and how big he is getting. While I enjoy having more space in bed, one habit he hasn't outgrown is the need to hold my hair when he is falling asleep. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, he will call out "Mama? Hair... Lie down.." and will wait for me to lie down close enough to the edge of the bed and let my hair fall down so he can grab at it. 

..

Ok, better get back to work now. 

Oh really?

Daddy: You're coughing. What food cannot eat when coughing?

AC: Pasta

Daddy: Pasta is ok. Fried food cannot. Cold drinks cannot. Ice cream cannot. 

AC: Ice cream caaaaaaan! CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM CAAAAAAAN! 

4.30am Sleep Talk

Porridge! 

Scooter Success

We bought the little one a scooter a couple of months ago but he never quite seemed to get the hang of how it worked. Instead of stepping on it and kicking off, he was happy to push it along like how he would push his luggage.

Fast forward to this lazy afternoon. We're lazing around at home when we hear the little one say "I learn! I learn! I learn scooter!" and he is scooting his way from the room to the living room. 

Hurrah! We never really pushed him to figure out how to use the scooter so it was quite a pleasant surprise to see that he had figured it all out by himself. 

The boy is growing up and learning ao fast, it's really such a joy to watch. 

Growing Up

I've written before that we bedshare with the little one. Even though +3 has said that the little one should be sleeping in his own room, I said that we should wait till he could open the doors to our rooms easily in case he wakes up in the middle of the night. 

I get it. We don't want the boy to become dependant on sleeping with us as he gets older, but he's only 2+, and I do enjoy having him in the bed with us.

However, last night, the boy trotted to his room after changing to his PJs and brushing his teeth. "Sleep in bed," he said, crawling up into his bed. 

I asked if he wanted to sleep in mama's bed and he said no. 

(breathe)

Anyway, I didn't want to discourage him but I wasn't ready for him to sleep alone in his room, so we brought his bed into the room with us. 

Last night he slept in his bed but woke up in the middle of the night crying. We ended up putting back in our bed and he slept soundly till late in the morning. 

Tonight, he said he wanted to sleep in his bed again and he just woke up again. Carried him for a while and when he calmed down, I put him back in his bed where he is still sleeping.

Sigh. 

I've got mixed feelings. Part of me is happy that he is growing up and asserting his independence and need for his own space. But part of me misses my baby sleeping next to me, holding my hair and snoring next to my ear.

Parenthood isn't easy but I'm loving this journey so far. 

Washing Hands

One of the things we do when we get home is wash our hands. We explain to the little one that it is because when he is out, he has been touching stuff and his hands are not clean.

Now when he goes to wash his hands and we ask him why, he will say:

"Touch bussssss! Touch taxiiiiiii! Touch leeeeeaaaveees!" 

Too cute. 

He also chatters a lot and will make observations about what is going on.

BabyAC eat egg. Mama eat bread. 

Bridge! Go up, go down.

Red light, stop! 

Love this little dude so much.

Size

This evening.

Me: Can Mama sit in your stroller?

Him: No!

Me: Why not?

Him: Mama so big!

Me: Can Daddy sit in your stroller?

Him: No!

Me: Why not?

Him: Daddy so big!

Me: Can you sit in your stroller?

Him: Yes! So small!

Lol

MOTN Toilet Runs

You know how you wake up in the middle of the night to pee? For most people, it's no big deal. You wake up, fumble your way to the toilet, switch on the light (or not), find the loo, pee and hope you're not peeing on the floor.

Not in this household. Not for me, at least.

We bedshare, and the little one has a habit of pulling on my hair when we sleep. Sometimes he stirs, which makes me wake up, which makes me realise my bladder is FULL. I need to go pee but I've got the tiny little fist of the human I created wrapped around my hair. 

I slowly untangle my hair from his fingers, and slowly get up. Which doesn't really work cos removing my hair from his hand triggers some sort of alarm bell in his hand and he wakes up. 

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Mama's going to the toilet.

MAMA CARRY! MAMA CARRY!

Mama will be back.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! MAMA CARRY!!! MAMAAAAA CARRYYYYYY!!! 

And cos I need to pee, and I don't want to wake the Hubby, I scoop him up and carry him to the bathroom with me and hold him while I do my business.

Sigh. The drama.

These days (ok just today, but I'm hopeful!) we can negotiate a little. I got up to pee and the little one says to me:

MAMA LIE DOWN. 

Mama's going to the toilet. I'll be back. 

MAMA LIE DOWN!

Wait for me sweetie. 

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 

But I managed to run off to the toilet without carrying him, go back (to a crying little boy) and shove a lock of my hair in his hands. 

"See? Mama's hair is back!" (just the hair, the rest of Mama doesn't really matter). It doesn't really work and he is still crying. I scoop him up, carry him for a bit and pat his back. 

He finally settles back to sleep, softly snoring and eventually, I lay him back on the bed next to me. I wonder when this nighttime drama will end, but I realise that I'll just enjoy each tiring moment cos there'll come a day when he won't ask for Mama (or my hair) in the middle of the night and I'm not quite sure if I'm ready for that yet.

4am

Singing: eat eat eat ice cream, eat ice cream 

Speaking in Sentences

Today, the little one told me "Nana go gong gong house". He's also said before,  "Take train go gong gong house". 

He also recognises where to stop when we take the train, and will say "OK! " when the train is at the station or the bus is pulling into the bus stop. 

Aaaah my baby is growing up so fast. 

2am

In his sleep: Bubbles? Bubbles. 

Jibber Jabber

It's so cute to see the little one express himself. He can articulate what he likes and does not like ("I like it. I no like it!") and is sometimes crafty enough to say he does not like something (eg, Scott's cod liver oil) and ask for something else that he likes (multivitamin gummies). But give him the cod liver oil anyway, and he'll take it. Haha. 

He also says "hungry" and can tell you what he wants to eat "oats, eggs, bread". He has a great imagination and will put a ball in a flower pot and hold it up to you and tell you that it's ice cream. And I love how his dad encourages him by changing different coloured balls and asking him what the different flavours are. 

He can sing quite a few songs too. Pearly Shells and Tiny Bubbles aren't your typical bedtime lullabies, but are songs that his lola has been singing to him since he was a little bub and now he sings along, and can even request if he wants you to sing it to him. 

We also watch a fair bit of Super Simple Song videos, and he can sing a long to quite a number of their songs. And if he doesn't like what he is watching? "Change!"

These days, he describes what's going on pretty well. "Mama go office", "Daddy outside", "Nana sleeping". And sometimes he can get pretty detailed too. "AC blue car where?" "Put orange donut inside".

One day, +3 was playing with him and gave him 5 coins. Later on he only gave him 3 coins, and the little one actually reminded his dad "some more?" until he handed over the other 2 coins.  Awesome memory. 

We got a letter in the school communications book inviting us for our first ever Parent-Teacher Conference,  and I have to say I'm really excited. It's only been 4-5 months and already we can see how much he has developed, grown and learnt.  

:)

Mothers' Day

I wouldn't be the recipient of mother's day celebrations if I didn't have the little one. At 2 years and a little over 3 months old, his personality is really developing and it's quite clear he inherited the joker genes from his parents. 

Waking up in the mornings on the weekends is probably one of my favourite things about being a mother. We're still bed-sharing so when I wake up, I see a little face staring back at me, who breaks out into the sweetest smile. Sometimes we start the morning singing songs, or giggling over funny faces. And if we're lucky, the little one will let out a long, loud fart which he will proudly announce "FART! ".

The hubby wanted to go out for breakfast this morning, but I didn't feel like forking out 20 bucks a person for eggs, bacon and toast. So we prepared toast, sausages and scrambled eggs, and set out the picnic mat and had a simple picnic on the balcony. 

We're now hanging out at home cos it's raining, and the boy is playing with his "donuts". +3 bought some small wooden discs for the busy board and had some extra and the little one is feeding us with banana, carrot and broccoli donuts. I love how imaginative he is - one of his favourite things to play now is pretend cooking and eating. The other day,  he squeezed folded up umbrella and told us he was putting ketchup. 

He's also the sweetest boy. He saw a bruise on my leg and said "pain pain, put cream" and brought me to the room so I could get some cream for him to put in my leg. 

Of course, we're not exempt from the terrible twos but honestly, it doesn't feel all that terrible to me. It's sometimes quite funny to see him have a meltdown over the smallest and oddest reasons,  but I know it's all developmental and he usually is a sweetheart anyway. I think being an older mom really helps me with perspective. 

Anyway,  enough here and off to spend time with the family. 

8 Days in Bandung and Tasik

Wed 4 Apr

- Flight from SIN to BDO was the little one's first time on a flight with his own seat. He did not like being buckled in and struggled so much that he bit his tongue. He also only preferred the fruit from the on flight meal. 

- Got picked up and went to SIL's new home. Parts of it were still under reno so we decided to book a hotel room cos it was dusty and not too safe for the lottle one with all the tools and sharp pieces lying around.

- Had my massage with Bu Made. 

- Little one had a massage too and peppered her with kisses after. Hehe 

- Dinner at home before checking into the hotel (Mason Pine Hotel). 

Thu 5 Apr 

- Breakfast was included in the bookimg so we head there in the morning. Nothing exciting.

- Had lunch at a cafe called Miss Bee's and I love love love the place. Apparently it gets really crowded on weekends and I can see why. I had pasta and sweet potato fries and a fruit bowl which was my favouritest thing I ate in the cafe. 

- +3 was supposed to go to the dentist but the wait was too long and I was exhausted carrying and even more exhausted toddler so we went back instead. 

- Had dinner at the hotel. Food was pretty good. 

- Discovered that the little one thinks it's hilarious to have what little hair he has tied up in a fringe-ponytail. Have to admit he looks super cute with that hipster hairdo. 

Fri 6 Apr 

- Decided to explore the hotel and discovered that there was a kid's club and a rather nice water play area. Didn't pack a suit so we stayed indoors in the kid's club. We were the only ones! 

- Bu Made came in the afternoon for more massagey goodness. 

- Had dinner with SIL at a nearby restaurant. Almost wanted to punch a Korean guy who kept tripping over babyAC's baby chair. YOU CANNOT SEE ISSIT.

- Did not know you can download youtube videos which allows you to watch them offline. This is awesome and I downloaded so many videos from Super Simple Songs. Hehe. 

Sat 7 Apr

- We were supposed to head out to the Factory Outlets but that didn't happen so we had lunch in the hotel and napped and decided to just take it easy.

- Checked out the chinese restaurant in the hotel for dinner and ordered too much food. 

- Video called gong gong cos the little one kept asking "gong gong where?"

- Have to add the little one is also super friendly and always saying "Hello!" to everyone he meets. 

- MIL is in Bandung but she had to head out with my SIL to Sukabumi for some ching ming stuff. Didn't get to meet them cos by the time they got back to Bandung was super late. 

Sun 8 Apr 

- Meet up with MIL and family (both SIL's and their families), and also one of +3's  cousins. Had an early breakfast in case they picked us up late and I was right. By the time we got to the dim sum place it was 939-945am?

- Dim sum place was in a mall. Did a spot of shopping after. What did we buy? Ice cream and underwear from Mark's and Spencers lol. 

- Finally left Bandung at 1+ with the little one passing out in the middle of Zara. 

- Drove and stopped by Asep Strawberry for a late lunch. Yay! Ever since we discovered how convenient it was to take the train to and fro Bandung and Tasik, we hadn't been to Asep Strawberry. MIL was sweet enough to hire a driver to drive down to Bandung so we could all drive back up and pass by Asep Strawberry. 

- Yummy food. Happy me. 

- We ate at a pavilion which meant we were sitting on the floor with low tables. Little one was a happy camper running around. 

- Got to Tasik in the evening and picked up some groceries and diapers before heading back home. Was too full for dinner so I prepared oats for the little one and off to bed. 

Mon 9 Apr 

- Being in Tasik = lazy days. We didn't really have any plans. +3 and MIL caught up while the little one played in the garden riding a toy car that's more thab 10 years old. 

- Had chicken porridge for breakfast and mie (not from mie selecta though, but thr brother's shop) for lunch. YUM. 

- Took naps and got bitten by a gazilliom mozzies. (I'm the only one who gets bitten, by the way.)

- Dentist aunty came by as well. Little one is busy charming everyone he meets. 

- Just realised we didn't have bandrek when I was there! Oi. 

Tue 10 Apr 

- SIL was supposed to come to Tasik so we could all go to my FIL's grave for ching ming. The plan was then to go back to Bandung together. However Bu Made said that the timing was too late (SIL's home is outside of Bandung) so we had to think about what to do. 

- Decided to take the train to Bandung and check into a hotel near the train station. The hotel also provided a free shuttle to the airport so that settled our transport.

- SIL arrived much later than expected so we didn't get to go to my FIL's grave to pay our respects. 

- Did a quick run to the department store to buy some clothes and oranges for offerings.

- Got to the train station where the little one tired himself out pushing the (very heavy) luggage back and forth. That's one of his favourite things to do too.

- He was excited to see the train, then passed out in his seat while eating a bread bun. 

- Train ride was uneventful (which is always a good thing). Offline youtube videos helped. 

- It was a short walk from the train station to the hotel but the sidewalks were so badly maintained, +3 had to carry the luggage (instead of roll it) most of the way. With him doing all the heavy lifting, we were so glad that Bu Made was able to give him a massage when she came. 

- Called in-room dining for dinner and had an early night. 

Wed 11 Apr 

- How did a week just pass by so quickly?! 

- +3 was feeling bloated, probably cos he skipped lunch and wolfed down dinner after his massage. The aircon in the room probably didn't help as well. 

- Hotel brekkie, back to the room to pack, checked out and took the free airport shuttle. Something we'll look out for when we go to Bandung next time and stay in hotels. 

- Bought a book for the little one and some snacks for colleagues at the airport. 

- Didn't buckle up on the way back to avoid a meltdown. 

- Home sweet home. 

Is Sharing With Yourself Still Sharing?

The little one loves cars and once in a while we'll get him a toy car. Today, +3 found a purple car that was on sale and bought it for the boy. 

As expected, the little one really loved the purple car and was carrying it around everywhere. Even to the toilet. He was in his room playing with the car, rolling it around on the table. 

Me: Can share with mama? Can I play? *reaching out my hand*

LO: *opens up his free hand and puts the car in it* Share. Thank you AC. 

Lol. 

My Roundabout Train of Thought

Was at the kitchen this evening when +3 walked in. For some reason, the both of us decided to raise our hands in the air and pump it banghra style, which reminded me of an old blog post I read today at the office. 

I wanted to share the story of the night we went to the Rupee Room, but somehow ended up telling +3 about my meeting in the office this afternoon. Which led me to tell him about some back story about work. And by the time I finished telling him about my meeting, I had no idea why I was talking about it and he reminded me that I was telling him about my colleague, Jul. 

And I was talking about Jul because I was giving her a live blow-by-blow account of the meeting which she thought was funny and suggested that I should blog. Which made me read some of my old blog entries, which included the one about the Rupee Room which was what I wanted to tell +3 about because of our hands-in-the-air dancing just a few minutes ago. 

Lol. 

Ice Cream

This weekend, babyAC stuck his red rubber ball in an empty plastic flower pot and told us it was ice cream. Gah! The boy is growing so fast. How did he even learn to imagine and create an ice cream cone on his own and play pretend? 

Witching Hour Wakeys

So the little one decided to wake up at 330am. I knew he woke up cos he was calling me, "Mama! Mama!". Thankfully he stayed in bed throughout and didn't get out to explore like he has done previously.

Usually when he wakes up like this in the middle of the night, I don't engage him much beyond telling him he needs to go back to sleep. And he is quite happy to sing to himself. 

On the song-list this time: 

- ABCs 

- Baby Shark 

- His originally composed song with the lyrics "jabai jabai ju ju ju" 

- Let It Go 

- Numbers 

I was surprised with Let It Go because he hasn't actually watched Frozen, and only knows the song because I keep playing a video of cousin-I singing the song. So the lyrics aren't that clear but I recognised some of the words that he was singing.

Colour me impressed. 

Anyway the sweetest part was when he suddenly took my hand and put it on his chest, and settled down to sleep. He's never done that before! While most babies have a lovey or chouchou (usually a pillow or small blanket or stuffed toy), he uses my hair as his chouchou, holding it and twirling it between his fingers as he drifts off to sleep. I do pat him as well, but he has never actually asked me to hold him before. Whee! 

HFMD, UTI, CNY

Aaaand the little one somehow got HFMD. I'm not sure if he got it from the childcare centre or from the playground at home, but the last couple of days has been a painful replay of the last time. 

With multiple ulcers in his mouth, it's been painful for him to eat or drink. He takes ice and iced water, and thankfully today ate a bit of porridge and bread. He also happily ate some chocolate ice cream, but we really have to watch the cold food intake cos he is also having cough. 

As usual when he is sick, he becomes really clingy and grumpy, and I'm glad I have a supportive team and boss at work that took the initiative to find someone to cover my duties so that I could stay home to look after babyAC. The result of having a little koala cling on to my like I'm the last eucalyptus tree on earth is that I've been holding my pee a lot, and that led to UTI. 

Not a good time. 

And because HFMD is contagious, it's affecting our CNY plans. Namely, we won't be having dinner with the family on the first day of CNY. 

Sigh. But what can we do? 

Just gotta count our little blessings I guess. +3 took the day off to help with taking care of babyAC, which meant that we were together for Valentines' Day. Not that we are the sort to really go out and celebrate it, but it was nice to be together, even if it was to soothe a crying child and (force) feed him his meds. 

Let's hope we get all the sickness and unpleasant stuff out of the way early this year, and that the rest of the year will be a healthier year for all. 

Dream Speak

I love it when babyAC (not a baby anymore, he's 2!) talks in his sleep. Gives you a glimpse into the things he dreams about.

Just now- Ambulance! White ambulance! .. Probably dreaming about his white ambulance toy car cos he also reached up to grab the air.

And also- Cawfee! Cawfee! Dreaming about drinking coffee? Lol. 

Anyway he's 2 now, omg. Had a celebration in his school and brought a cake (2kg cake from Polar). Was so cute to see all the little kids sit at the table and sing Happy Birthday to him in English, Chinese and Malay. 

Took him to Pororo Park on the weekend and had a blast. Got there early at 10.30am when they opened so it wasn't too crowded, the place started to get packed at about 11.30am onwards. He was so tired that he fell asleep when we reached Marche for lunch, so I carried him while he slept. Thankfully he woke up in time to have some lunch and we headed home.

Had dinner with the grandparents on his actual day. Simple meal that we had delivered, and a small rainbow cake from Prima Deli. Also got him a little red scooter which he is slowly learning to ride. 

I can't imagine life without this chatty, cheeky boy. His appetite is growing, perhaps thanks for the iron supplements that he's been taking. He now loves hard boiled eggs dipped in kecap manis, and has that for breakfast in the mornings. Just saying "eggs" will wake him up and get him toddling out of the room in excitement. 

Alphabet Dreams

Tonight while sleeping, babyAC yells out "E! ... Eggs!" 

A New Milestone

We managed to get a spot in a childcare near our home, and babyAC started daycare this week. I was allowed to join in for the first three half-days, to help him get used to the new environment. 

Before starting, there were so many things to prepare. Although there was a trial period and didn't need to buy a school uniform so soon, I decided to do so anyway because the likelihood of us withdrawing him was pretty low. I also had to get stuff I never thought of needing- labels for clothes, stickers for his water bottle, and a wet bag to put his stuff in after showering.

 

Got the necessary items and packed his bag. His grandma bought a cute little ladybug bag for him but after packing it with the stuff he needed, he could barely carry the bag (eeks). So I packed his stuff in a slightly larger backpack and carried it instead. 

Day 1: Got to daycare and the teachers were already expecting him. He cried through the necessary medical checks, but happily traipsed into the play area. There's an allocated space for his shoes, bag and water bottle. 

The boy was naturally curious and was exploring all the new toys while the teacher explained some administrative stuff to me. There were a number of kids (the ones who get there early) who were singing songs and dancing with another teacher. 

He would explore and play, but regularly come to me to hold my hand or sit in my lap. It was a rainy morning, so there were no outdoor activities. He had lunch there (didn't seem like enough eeks) and showered too. Wasn't happy with the shower and struggled throughout. 

Day 2: Explore and play, and the teacher set out some paints and stamps for arts and crafts. He struggled when having the apron put on him, but enjoyed playing with the stamps and paint. The class also went to the community garden and he started to get really clingy instead of holding his classmate or teacher's hand, and kept wanting me to pick him up. His body was feeling rather warm so I had his temperature taken and he was having a fever so we headed back home instead. 

I was hoping it was just teething but... 

Day 3: Outdoor activity for the day was sand play and after that they had some dough play. We took his temp and he had a fever so I had to bring him back. 

The panadol I gave him at home did not seem to kick in and he was still feverish in the afternoon, so I got nurofen. When that didn't seem to kick in, I brought him to the clinic where the doctor said it was probably a viral fever, and that I was managing it the right way. 

So I guess he picked something up from one of his classmates. I didn't bring him to daycare today as he was still having a fever at night, and will probably go on Monday instead. 

All in all, I liked the teachers and the many activities that the little ones get to experience. I've a newfound respect for early childhood educators cos the amount of energy and patience you need to have is incredible. 

Dreams

Sometimes I wonder what the little one dreams about. Tonight, he suddenly sat up in his sleep and shouted CHEESE!

Before I Write About 2018

I wrote about our Genting Trip but didn't write down what happened after. A quick summary.

Got back from Genting on Monday night (18 Dec) and had taken the next day off (19 Dec) so we could rest a bit, knowing that a road-trip would be quite tiring. We had lunch at Lawry's to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary (3 years! and I'm still madly in love) and then headed to the cinema to catch the latest Star Wars movie.

I was having a bit of a headache, and the 3D glasses made me feel worse, so by the time the movie was done and we were having dinner at Ichiban Sushi, I was feeling so ill I could barely eat. Popped a couple of panadols and went back home to rest.

Took another 2 panadols before heading to bed, but couldn't really sleep. Took my BP measurements and they were high - 185/111. By midnight, my headache was THROBBING and it was worrying that the panadol didn't really seem to kick in. CH suggested I go to a 24 hour clinic or the A&E so I made my way to Raffles Hospital.

At the clinic (or was it A&E), my BP had risen to 194/133 and the doctor ordered some blood tests and a CT scan. My BP kept rising (217/133!) so they had me warded in the ICU. They wanted to observe me so I had an ECG thing stuck and a BP cuff (actually 2 BP cuffs) and a very expensive hospital bill.

Long story short, I was in ICU for 2 nights, and moved to a normal ward for the third night. I had to do CT scans (brain looked ok), and echograms (heart looks ok - a bit thicker than normal but the doctor didn't seem too worried). I was on pain meds and new BP meds and had stabilised before the doctor gave me the OK to be discharged.

I was wondering why I had to do so many heart tests and why they assigned a cardiologist to me, but later read that high blood pressure (hypertension) is a warning of more serious cardiovascular problems. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases the risks of aneurysm, heart failure, heart attack, kidney damage and stroke. SO THAT'S WHY.

Frankly, knowing I had high BP didn't really worry me all that much till this hospital scare. Cos now it's not a BP issue but one potentially to do with my heart. Ack.

All my tests came out ok so the doctors weren't sure why my BP spiked so high. Which I reckon is quite dangerous because that means my BP could easily spike highly again. Gah.

So 2018 is a year where I really, really need to make lifestyle changes and focus more on getting healthier. Let's work towards that!