This is why we don't need a domestic helper

Cos Jarrett works hard for his milk.

Weekend get away

We spent last weekend at the very classy St Regis, celebrating the Mr's birthday and also to let J have some fun where I don't have to worry too much about cleaning up...hahaha..

J having fun playing in the pool

my 2 boys

He had lots of fun with these sliding doors which gave me some time to enjoy my fancy coffee served by the bulter no less, and the Sunday papers. Nice..........

Grandma wanna be

After a bout of sickness, I've pretty much lost my appetite for most things. So when the grandma asked if I would like my usual cup of herbal tea and I replied "Dun want. So sick of that". She gave a very hopeful look and asked "You pregnanat ah?"
Faint!

How?

I've been tasked with a really difficult task. How do I write a self intro? I suck big time at this and dread coming up with something really corny. Can someone help pls!

Chill..

Instead of howling at J every 5 mins with a "NO!", we decided to let the little kid had some creative play without anyone hovering around. We left him alone in his high chair in the dining area, with a bowl of apples and a mug of water. Actually, we didn't plan this, we just wanted to have 20 mins in front of the TV and veg. And also, we got tired asking J to "feed Mama, feed papa" when he obviously wasn't in the mood to share his food. So we pretended to be pissed off and walked away.

We checked on him from seconds to seconds, to make sure he didn't fall off the chair or stab himself with the fork, but what totally amused us was how much fun he had. We thought he would be upset being left alone but not at all.

Since he was hogging his apple with so much fervour, he of cos started off with feeding himself. He would occasionally turned to face himself in the mirror and beamed with so much pleasure and turned back to eating more apples. And then he decided maybe eating apples just wasn't as much fun as making apple juice, so he turned his mug upside down and "washed" his hands before he proceeded to make himself some freshly squeezed apple juice. Very nice....he pinched the apples with so much might, I fear it would leave marks on his tiny fingers. He was very careful too, making sure the apple juices fell straight into his little bowl. But I gathered he wasn't too thirsty and wanted to perk up for the next day, cos he started giving himself an apple facial. He smeared his face with 2 little hands full of apple juice and made sure they reached his neck too. Very through indeed...

This went on for another 10mins or so. By then he had enough fun and was ready to terrorise us with his apple flavoured self. Didn't cost us anything, but it got us some 20 mins of bliss and so much fun for him. We should do this more often.

my cuddly little bear

J never has an issue with sleeping by himself since birth. In fact, he didn't like us to cuddle him much right before sleeping. He preferred rolling around by himself in his cot, hugging his bolster and companion, Kaka, before falling asleep. When we tried to get him to sleep with us in the big bed, he would make a big fuss until we put him back into his little haven.

4 weeks again, he went thru a sudden transformation. Instead of the usual practise which was milk, kisses from mama & papa, and then to his little bed, he clung onto to me like a koala bear and refused to let go. So that night, he slept on me. He first slept right on top, with his face tuck under my chin, when I tried to move him, he still clung on and shifted to my tummy (very soft and nice?), and finally when I tried to shift him back to his bed, he stuck his face right to mine, with his butt high up in the air. Since then, every single nite (unless he falls asleep in the car first), he has been sleeping in our big bed, either with papa or mama. Sometimes he'll get to sleep with us thru the nite, but most times we'll shift him back to his cot right after he goes into deep sleep.

To be honest, I don't mind this change. I know....i noe..there are probably some horrified looks on some of your faces now, thinking I am crazy to let J grow into this habit, and how we should be cultivating independence at this stage and what about personal space and all. Seriously, how long do you get to hug and hold your kids to sleep? You don't need to do any maths to know it's only a few short years, if not months. How long do they stay such trusting little babies? Too short I say. Already J is showing signs of wanting to do things by himself, like "wearing" his own shoes, taking off his clothes, refusing to hold our hands when he wants to run....my little boy is growing up. Soon he'll reach the stage where kisses from mama is so not cool and I'll be left thinking about the little bear who slept on my tummy and clung on to dear life when I tried to shift him away. So is it wrong of me to love sleeping with him? Nah...I don't think so. It's something I quite look forward to at the end of a work day =)

Day 11 - End of breastfeeding

After 11 days of pain and gallons of chives tea, I think I am almost there, the end of my breastfeeding days. It has been more than 24 hours since my last pump! A major feat for someone who used to turn into a grouchy monster after a 4 hours lapse.
Woohoo to no more engorgement, whoohoo...to more freedom, whooohoo.....to no more lugging pumps and milk bottles everywhere I go, bye bye to ugly nursing bras!!!

Happy Father's Day

J got Mama as his "assistant" and made Papa a father's day card! Both grandpas got their cards too.

24th June

J & I had the whole of Wed to ourselves. Grandma & Grandpa were away on a holiday, so I decided to have some quality time with J. To ensure Papa was not left out, we took some pictures to document the day.

Fresh out of bed.

Feeding himself breakfast.

and sharing it with his favourite bear.

Playing with my pots and pans when I was doing the dishes. He "made" a pot of soup (stiring and blowing) and "served" me some too.

Coffee (my empty mug of cos) after dinner.

Weaning of BM - Day 4

I am an easily replaceable cow. J has been successfully weaned off BM since day 1. Ever since Grandma succeeded on Wed, the little one has not much issue with the change of milk. Darn...i didn't know I am so replaceable, feeling abit wounded, esp when Wx said so....hahaha..but of cos I am so glad we have it so easy with J. I have heard of so many horror stories about weaning that has indirectly made me hesitant in stopping breastfeeding.

So anyway, J's not the one walking around with a sulking face that there's no more milk milk from Mama. Rather, I am the one suffering from withdrawal symptoms. This cold turkey method is really tough, from latching on twice a day to zero within one day, it has made me feel alittle lost. Like I didn't know what to do with the existing milk supply, and then of cos my desire to feed him ONE LAST TIME.

When I first decided on weaning J, I wasn't thinking of the cold turkey way. I was thinking mixing a little here and there until the supply dries up. But Wx and my MIL want it the hard way and insist if I really want to stop, it has to be here and now. So I've been mopping around, grouchy too cos of engorgement. It's like bringing 2 stones with you wherever you go. Argh............................................................and u know what? Now that i have the freedom to drink coffee as much as I want, the urge is simply not there. Sigh........

Weaning off BM - Day 1 Part 2

9pm: Fuss a little when I tried to give him the bottle. Wx took over, gave J a story book and the little fellow settled down and finished every single drop.

Weaning off BM - Day 1

J officially turns 18 mths yesterday. I'm proud to say he has been totally breastfed all these time, not a single drop of formula milk (unless the nurses cheated and gave him some when he was in the hospital). It has been a long journey, taxing, frustrating at times, esp the beginning and very demanding, especially when I was travelling, but it has been truly fruitful. Aside from the health benefits and nutritious value, it has helped me bond with my little one. It means a lot to me, since I don't get to spend alot of time with him, being a FTWM.
But I can't breastfeed him forever, and I have been thinking when to stop for the longest time.
My initial target was to BF for 6mths. 6mths came and I was like "hmm...maybe another 6mths" So another 6mths came, and I was like "Ah...maybe another 6mth". At the rate I was going, it will be never ending, but i don't want to gross out people when I said "Oh J's still on BM when he's like 10 right" so I decided 18 mths it will be. 18mths of goodness, I think it's enough. We are planning to enrol J in a playschool soon, so it will be good to get him comfortable with formula milk/fresh milk before he starts and also with our holiday coming up, I think it's now or never. I want to travel without lugging pumps and milk bottles for a change, drink coffee as much as I want, at any time of day and drink my wine without timing myself.

So this morning, I took out the tin of formula milk I bought, I was a bit clueless since the last time I prepared milk was say...15 years ago for my niece and I probably did that only twice. But honestly, i think it was mainly the reluctance to stop breastfeeding which made me paused and hesitated in reaching for the bottle. It has after all been 18 months, for all my whining about no coffee, no freedom, I am very attached to this breastfeeding biz. It has already become a large part of my life. So u may be thinking, why stop? Continue till he's 2 then, well, pls read above..it will be never ending and if we really want to have a no. 2. I really will like to have some time to rest before we embark of Project No. 2. BUT.........don't get too excited yet, this doesn't mean we are in stage 1 of Project No. 2, the management is still in discussion.

So anyway, J's progess on weaning off BM:

Morning: Failed. Took 1 sip and started showing me his "preference" ie. brawling like mad, hitting me in the chest.. Gave up and BF him in the end.
Decided I will pass this "chore" to my MIL instead. Maybe without the cow (ahem, me) around, he'll be less selective.

4pm: Drank all! Yay!!!

9pm: We'll see how I fare tonight.

A day at the beach...not...

J had a date with Kayden last Sat to play at the beach. Armed with spades, buckets and even a watering can, both kiddos were ready to spend some serious time building sandcastles with the daddies but......5mins (or was it less) into the play, thunders, lightnings and strong winds had all of us running back to the car. Sigh....it has always been like this. Whenever we plan some outdoor activities with J, something is bound to happen to thwart our plans. So with the rain, we went to T3 for dinner instead. Lots of space for the kids to run around. It only hit me that it was not the most ideal place to go after we got there, what with the HINI thing going on.

Anyway, here r some pics, which i stole from Kayden's daddy. Forgot to bring my own camera...more pics of the kids can be seen on Mervyn's blog

Learning my ABC

J's picking up alphabets these days.
It sort of slipped our mind to teach him ABCs until a few short weeks ago...I have no idea why, but I think it's mainly because he was on the GD method. GD advocates not to teach abc and numbers until dunno when...I just can't remember which means it's rather obvious we have stopped practising the GD way with J.
Anyway, unlike most kids, J didn't start with A for apple, B for boy....his 1st alpha is F.
He'll go "F ah!" and he does this everywhere he goes in his totally loud voice. It's rather cute, truth be told, but it can get embarrassing at times cos .........when he gets excited he goes "F ah!", when he's happy he goes "F ah!", when he sees mummy/daddy coming he also goes "F ah!", basically his Fs are everywhere....if your mind's pure and totally intainted, you may not catch the joke. So funny or not? ;-)

The other woman in my life.

I love my mum lots but this year, I've decided to give tribute to my mother in law who has welcome me into her home with open arms way before Wx & I got married.

My MIL is a very simple woman who ask not much from life or the people around her. She derives her joy from the little things in life like making sure her family's well fed and taken care of and her weekly mahjong sessions. She doesn't expects anything from us, but has so much to give.

My relationship with her is truly blessed. There's no love hate drama and we have gotten along very well since day 1. I honestly think it's because of her patience and easy going nature which makes it so. I know I am not the most easy person to get along with, what with my obsessive compulsive disorder (hahaha). Of course we have our differences and at times "fight" for what we each think is right for J, but she basically really respects my wishes as a mother to J. For that, I am really grateful. After all, she is the one who has brought up 3 boys while I am all new to this mothering business next to her.

Being a working mother, it is really important for me to know that my baby's safe with someone who love and care for him. It gives me a peace of mind and allows me to concentrate well on my job when I am away from J, esp. when I need to travel. I count myself darn lucky to have my in laws help and not have to resort to other help such as infant care, maid etc. I am one who never believe that grandparents should naturally be the caregiver when the little ones come along (that is if the mother is not a SAHM), instead, it is a blessing when the elders want to take on the job. Every parents already paid their dues when their own little ones arrived in their lives. Imagine having to take care of us brats for close to 2 decades and when they finally can retire and enjoy their golden years, they are expected to take on another round of baby chasing? Mind you, some kids never grow up. Heard of the Italian boys who will always be mummy's' boys. Now imagine, having to take care of ur kids forever, and then their kids forever. It may be fulfilling but I am sure there are some parents who want something else from their lives and I see nothing wrong with that. Of cos it's fun for grandparents to be with their grandchildren but it sure sounds tiring and I am sure there are some who dream of travelling in their retirement, enjoying a cuppa with their friends as and when they like, etc..I'm sure you get the picture . And because of my beliefs, I am really grateful and appreciative of my MIL. She's so patient with J, so patient that she puts me to shame, really. And nobody watches over J as well as her, she's with him every single step.

She's not one to openly express her affection, except with J whom she grabs and shower with kisses so I have never told her how I feel. Frankly speaking, I have no idea how. It's not like I can goof around my mum, gives her a hug now and then and make her blush when i plant a kiss on her cheeks. This mummy is more conservative, and not easy to shower with gifts since she lacks nothing and wants nothing. So this year, for mother's day, I want the world to know how great a mother she is. Happy Mother's Day Mummy!

Birthday brunch at The White Rabbit - pictures intensive.

Instead of doing the usual, which is dinner, we decided to have brunch instead for my birthday. We figured out it would be easier for J cos of his bed time and also we didn't want couples out for a romantic time to throw us dirty looks when J starts "sharing" his excitement, ie. screams & yells. So we headed to The White Rabbit, a beautifully restored chapel in Dempsey to chill the Sunday afternoon away.the much talked about Mac & Cheese on the left and Benedict Eggs on the right. Both were yummylicios. No complaints about the food, it was really quite good but the service needs to be improved. There was this rotund waiter, who couldn't wait to snatch the menu from our hands, even though it was very obvious we were not done with it yet. tsk tsk..

this is a recent problem we have with J. He has started staring....in a pretty hostile way. Wx confessed one day that it could have been him who got J on this bad habit. There are times when J misbehaves, Wx will glare/stare at J, so he figured out that was where/how J picked it up and you know what's the funny thing. J has exactly the same look as his dad when he does this. No kidding.

and the little one has gotten more animated. see what he did when we asked him to pose for the camera.

and the little sweetie giving mummy a bouquet of flowers..

he was very careful with the flowers, watchful of his every little steps, lest he fell and crushed the flowers

getting a bit tired........

back home for the cake cutting in the evening...

look what fun he had with the cream

yummy yummy!

tada...J's creation.

playdate with aidan

Jarrett spent a Sunday afternoon playing with Aidan. See the two of them making attempts to "interact". I think the adults had more laughs thou...

J having a ride on Aidan's toy horse.

backdated post: East Coast Park

For once we decided to be healthier and make a date with the kids at East Coast Park for some outdoor activities, like cycling, playing with sand etc..but alas..God had some other plans for us. We were only cycling for around 30mins before it started to rain. Needless to say, that put a stop to all activities we had in mind. With the kids, we made a dash to Waruku for dinner. Brenda had made reservation for a private room, so that the kids had space to roam about and play while the adults catch up and ate.

They say the way to a man's heart is through the stomach. Well, the way to a toddler's heart was biscuits. See the 2 kiddos so happy...I don't know about Mervin & Kayden, but Jarrett definitly takes after daddy.

putting on my shoes

J's showing more and more independence each day. He's already taking off his shoes by himself now, and is now trying to master the much more difficult skill of wearing his shoes.

trying to figure out which one goes where.

err....getting a little confused....

argh..........I need some help here!!!

Little J's growing journey

Out for brunch on a sunday with papa and mama

strolling with papa at the esplanade

I'm all grown up, dun need to hold my hand ok....