The BRAND NEW Piggy Family

The BRAND NEW Piggy Family
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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Mysterious fever

RaeAnne started a mysterious fever this morning. 38.2 deg. Hubby gave panadol and it dipped to 37.2 by 11am. Brought her to MIL house as planned though she didn't go to school today cos didn't want her to infect Mei Mei. I called her CC and Huang Lao shi said none of her classmates were having fever for the last 2 days. That's good cos I was worried of HFMD.

Just started giving Nestle chicken & rice stage 3 cereals to RL today. Wanted to save the FEBM for milk feeds and not to mix into cereals since supply is running low. Nestle is really very sweet cos I tasted it. And she kept farting today, not sure if it's due to the added milk powder. :P Tonight, she didn't even finish 80ml of EBM. I fed her and she kept turning away, taking the cover and trying to cover the milk bottle. Gave up and about 20 mins later, maid tried to feed and she took about 50ml only. Last night, she finished 125ml and still woke up at 4+am for more milk, not sure why today her appetite so poor. :P

Ikea finally delivered the new toy storage racks this afternoon. Finally can move some of the toys from the storeroom into the toy boxes. The storeroom is becoming a hazard to enter with the toys stacked way up. :P

Went to Yamaha to buy her textbooks for her Music Wonderland class starting on 8 Jan 11. We didn't know that we have to pay separately for textbooks. They should have incorporated it into the course fees since it's compulsory to buy. Anyway, the textbooks and a percussion kit came up to $101.25. Commented to the course organiser and she said the materials will last 1 year. Oh well, hope RaeAnne is interested in the course and her interest will last for at least 1 year. :P

Sigh, RaeAnne's fever spiked up in the afternoon and evening though ILs gave panadol syrup. Brought her home at night and gave ibufen cos temp was still 38.5deg. She keeps insisting to take out her clothes cos she said she's very hot. Poor thing, keep explaining to her that it's the fever that makes her hot, not the clothes but she doesn't understand. :P

Monday, December 27, 2010

Raelynn's MMRV vaccination

Went down to IEA at HDB Hub in the morning to sign up for the Real Estate Sales course. So exp, $780 + $100 (student membership). Got to go for class from 17 Jan 11 on Mon, Wed & Fri. Sian to travel from East to North cos bus take 1 hour plus and MRT is not direct. Think I'll spend a lot of cab fare cos I would rather spend 2 hrs of travelling time playing with RL than being stuck in public transport. :P

In the afternoon, finally brought Raelynn for her overdue MMRV vaccination. Was debating whether to split up into 2 jabs (MMR and chickenpox) cos some of the Jan08 mummies were discussing that MMRV's side effects are worse than MMR + chickenpox separate jabs.

Spoke to the PD about our concerns. She confirmed that MMRV may cause higher fevers and fever may last longer (depends on individual). She asked if there is any family history of fits and I told her no. So, that was good, cos risk of febrile fits is low.

Anyway, she said it's up to us, we can always bring her back next month for chixpox vaccine. No point jabbing her twice today, cos the side effects will be similar to taking MMRV then. Let hubby make the decision and he said just do it. He is not keen to bring her back again next month. Plus we usually give panadol syrup after jab anyway. Hope RL will be ok.

Strangely, MMRV vaccination ($110) is $5 cheaper than taking 2 separate jabs ($35 for MMR and $80 for chixpox). One of the Jan08 mummy was quoted $200 by her PD. Wonder why my PD's jabs are always so cheap, but then, I am not complaining. :)

Weighed and measured RL today, she is 9.3kg (75th percentile), HC 45 cm (50th percentile), but her height at 71cm is only 10th percentile :( I still think she's short but sweet. But wonder if I should introduce her to skipping rope soon. :P

Asked PD what to do about RL's thumb sucking habit (her poor thumb is getting calluses and infected). She advised us to bandage her hands and pull a long sock over it. She said it's important to bandage both hands so that she can't pull off the sock with the other hand. If it still doesn't work, she said we can get her to suck the pacifier instead cos at least that can be thrown away. But I'm not really keen to wean her off thumb to pacifier cos that will be another evil to be weaned off. As it is, the reason why RL has crooked front teeth is because of her frequent thumb sucking. PD said that's why must wean off bottles when the kid is 4 years old, if not it will affect their permanent teeth. :P

Went with hubby to a movie gala event at Vivocity. Got to try Ximending restaurant before going for the movie (Narnya 3). Haven't gone for a movie with hubby for a long time. :)

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Why Study Smart?


Hubby's 5th book 'Why Study Smart?' is out! I think it is very relevant to all the students and parents out there cos this is Singapore mah. Most of us are kiasu when it comes to grades. kekeke.

This is the first book to be dedicated to our second princess, Raelynn, so hope readers of my blog can go support! So that we can buy more formula milk for Mei Mei since she is self weaning against my will. :( The new book is available at all Popular bookstores. :)

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Xmas 2010!


It's Christmas Eve today. How time flies, last year at this time, we had CL to make a really nice Xmas Eve western dinner for us. We were too late to preorder festive roasts so we went to NTUC in the afternoon to try our luck. Lucky for us, we managed to buy the last turkey with stuffing they had at $59.90. Decided to bake some potatoes and make a simple salad of assorted vegetables with yuzu citrus sauce (french beans, pumpkin, carrot, baby corn) so that it's a more nutritious complete meal. Raelynn has already eaten her porridge but since it is Xmas, I let her try the vegetables and turkey. We still have lots of turkey left so tomorrow there'll be turkey porridge or turkey sandwich. ;)


As per tradition, we gathered round the Xmas tree and opened our presents. To me, Xmas is not a religious event cos even schools and companies celebrate Xmas through xmas parties and gift exchange. It's an occasion to gather with the family and express our love for one another through presents. After all, who doesn't like presents? kekeke.

RaeAnne got a big fire engine with doors that can open (as she requested the door must open), and Raelynn a set of plastic bowling pins. As usual, the gals always seem to like each other's present better. Duh. I got 2 books and a computer game for hubby since I didn't wake up in time to queue for the iphone4 at Hello shop. Wnated to get the iphone4 Hubby got me 2 robin blue boxes to my surprise cos he said one was for our wedding anniversary and one for Xmas. :) Even the maid is happy cos she got 2 shirts, 1 pair of shoes and 1 hair scrunchie from us. This was on top of the 5+kg airmail box of goodies which we paid for her to send back to Philippines.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Self weaning or Milk Strike?

I was searching online for answers on why RL doesn't want to latch anymore and finally I found some useful info from http://www.llli.org/NB/NBNovDec92p173.html.

Possible Causes of a Nursing Strike
Sometimes the cause of a nursing strike is obvious, but other times the mother may never discover the reason. Some common causes for a baby to refuse to nurse include:

•mouth pain from teething, an injury, a cold sore, or a fungus infection, such as thrush, (Check, 4 teeth sprouted while we are away. )
•an ear infection, which may cause pressure or pain while nursing,
•pain while being held in the nursing position, perhaps due to an immunization or an injury,
•a cold or stuffy nose that makes breathing difficult while nursing, (Check, she was having a runny nose when we were away in Taipei and still had it when we came back.)
•too many bottles, overuse of a pacifier, or frequent thumbsucking, which >may lead to a reduced milk supply, (Check, she has always been a thumb sucker, She even has a sore thumb with swollen bite marks. :P)
•regular distractions and interruptions while nursing, (Not sure, RaeAnne has always been a distraction but I thought Mei Mei would have filtered out the noise by now)
•an unusually long separation from mother. (Check, I was away for 5 nights due to Taipei trip)

Raelynn has 4 checks out of 7. Wish I read about this before going to Taipei. But then I'll never know if it's because she is self weaning because according to another article from kellymom http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/toddlernursing.html#selfwean.

A child who is self-weaning will almost always cut down on nursing very gradually over a period of months one session at a time (anything abrupt is most always a strike). Many children will continue with only a nighttime, morning or naptime nursing session (or a combination) for months before weaning. When a child self-weans, she will also have been drinking well from a cup and getting the vast majority of her nutrition from solid foods for a while.

RL has been willing to nurse only at night before she sleeps for the longest time. She loves her solids over her milk ever since I started giving her solids at 6 months plus. Besides finishing 1 cereal feed & 2 porridge feeds, she has started eating rice and bread. Many times, she refuse to nurse but when the maid feeds her, she will eat esp fruits, biscuits and bread. She can drink from a cup but not very well yet.

Oh well, I guess I really don't have answers. Maybe it's a mixture of both internal as well as external factors. Anyway, all I know is my heart ached when I had to lead the weaning for RaeAnne and she was lifting my t shirt and crying cos she still wants to nurse. Not to mention the physical pain cos I was engorged all the time and applied cold cabbages for 1 week plus and still had to rely on hormone pills to stop BF. Now, even when it is weaning initiated by Raelynn, I can just stop pumping immediately and I won't even have to worry about engorgement and blocked ducts. But my heart still aches.

I always think of breastfeeding as the unique bond between me and Raelynn cos it was something that only I could do. Not Daddy, not the confinement lady, definitely not the maid (RL's favourite person). I love to soothe her hungry cries and gaze into her closed eyes and suckling mouth and seeing her fall asleep happily and peacefully when she had her fill. It made me feel less guilty when I had to ignore Raelynn's cries and let the maid attend to her sometimes because of sticky and demanding RaeAnne. That's my motivation to BF no matter how many times and how early she wakes me up in the middle of the night.

Now, I feel sad when she is sleepy and crying cos she will suck her thumb and lean on my chest but I can no longer soothe her to sleep with my breast. I have to pass her to the maid cos even after 10 minutes, I can't make her sleep cos I don't have the right technique to carry or pat her to sleep. That was the maid's forte. For me, it was always my boobs that did the work. :P

Rationally, I know nursing is only one aspect of motherhood. Although losing the BF connection made me feel that I've 'lost' my baby, I must not forget that I have an active 13 months toddler who has been mimicking sounds more and more accurately (it's a bit unnerving sometimes to hear her trying to say 'rubber band' and 'tiger'). I think it won't be long before she shocks me by speaking accurately and putting 2 words together. She is waiting to discover more and more of the world around, I can be there for her even without BF. In fact without BF, I know I will have to put in extra effort to bond with her so that I can move from 2nd position to 1st position in her heart. :P

Family outing to the zoo - drama ahead :P


One of the Jan10 mummies can get discounted zoo tics at $17 each so I decided to bring the gals to the zoo again though need to 'ponten' school for RaeAnne. Been wanting to go to the zoo again with Mei Mei before RaeAnne turns 3 years old in Jan cos admission is free below 3 years.

We reached there at 10am, it was cool but the sky was grey. Waited for some other mummies to reach and it started to drizzle by the time we went in at 1030am. Luckily I rented a buggy for 2 with rain cover. :)

We already missed the giraffe feeding at 1030am but we decided to head there anyway cos RaeAnne wanted to see the giraffes. Then we went to see the lion and took the tram to the Elephant show at 1130am. The show just started when we arrived but we had no seats cos the place was packed. Although she did not get to see 'elephants fly high high' (she watched too much 'Dumbo' VCD), it was still the highlight of the zoo outing for RaeAnne. Tonight, she kept asking me why the uncle's hat dropped and why the elephant picked up the hat for him.


After leaving the show at 12 noon, we proceeded to Ah Meng restaurant on foot (didn't know that we can take the tram again) so that Mei Mei can have her lunch. She looked sleepy by then. Who knows we were still too late cos Mei Mei fell asleep on the moving buggy before we even reached the restaurant. Raelynn really has hubby's genes, she can fall asleep anywhere. kekeke.

Good thing the Ah Meng restaurant had lots of long couches so I decided to let her nap while the rest of us enjoy our meals. RaeAnne and maid had the hotdog set while I had laksa and fried chicken wings (finally dare to eat sinful laksa again after my bout of food poisoning. :P). Hubby didn't eat cos he was too full from eating the bun he bought from 7-11.

After napping for 1 hr, Mei Mei was still sound asleep but I had to wake her up cos we still wanted to catch the afternoon feeding sessions and it was already 1pm. While she ate, I decided to bring RaeAnne to the Rainforest Kidsworld myself so that she can pet the rabbits at 130pm.


Her wish to feed the rabbit came true cos there were 2 small buckets of carrots and long beans for the children to feed the rabbits. She had fun stroking the rabbits too. I was proud to say that though she was the youngest kid there, she was more gentle than the other bigger gals there. :) The zookeeper had to keep telling them: don't be so rough and don't force the rabbit to eat etc. If only she can be as friendly n gentle towards her 2-legged friends ie other kids and esp her own Mei Mei. -_-

After the rabbits, we went to see the goats (Hubby & co caught up with us by then) and the ponies and they were surprisingly smelly. Ew... :P Tried to find the Giant Rabbit and dinosaurs walk indicated on the map but we failed. Maybe the map was outdated? So, we went to the waterplay area again. RaeAnne enjoyed the water very much and knelt down on the rough ground so many times until her knees were badly bruised. Poor Mei Mei looked very worried in the cold water and didn't like being splashed by hubby. She shivered and cried so we took her out of the water n wiped her dry after just 5-10 mins. :P


After showering RaeAnne, we went to the toy shop but RaeAnne wanted to ride on the motorised ponies. So, paid $4 for 5 mins ride. Of course, she had her heart on the pink pony and even complained when another little gal after her chose the same pink pony. She said 'no, she cannot take my pink pony.' Possessive gal! ;P

When we went into the toy shop, I told her to choose 1 thing that she wants and I'll buy it for her. Then I started to browse around for good buys. Got distracted cos as usual the maid acts like a tourist n wanted to get a souvenir so she was browsing n asking my opinion on what is cheap but good. Since the maid was obviously more interested in the merchandise than her charge, I carried Mei Mei out of the buggy and tried to take a few nice candid photos of her.

When hubby came and asked me where is RaeAnne. I wasn't worried and told him I didn't know and asked him to look for her thinking she must be at one of the toy racks since the shop is pretty big. 5 mins later, he asked me again. And I told him, you find lar. Only when he replied me that he made 2 rounds looking for her already, then I started to kancheong and went around looking for her myself.

I must have looked like the 'perfectly irresponsible mummy who lost her kid and now frantically searching' (guilty guilty... :P) cos a Caucasian lady quickly appeared in front of me and asked me if I'm looking for a little gal dressed in a pink shirt. I quickly told her yes. Then she told me she found RA crying and didn't know where her parents were so she brought her to the first aid hut and she directed me there. I can't remember now if I thanked her properly but I must admit at first, I thought why is she so kaypoh to bring my kid out of the toy shop. If not, we would not have lost her even though she was out of our sight.

Only when I reached the first aid hut and saw the KFC staff there, then I realised through him that RaeAnne had been found outside the KFC. The KFC is a distance from the toy shop separated by the motorised ponies. So, RA had gone out of the toy shop on her own and went all the way to KFC. Why did she walk there instead of looking for us inside the shop, I'll never know. But thankfully, she was found pretty fast and didn't seem to be traumatised so far.

Morale of the story, I should never underestimate the kid's ability to wander far and never overestimate her ability to act rationally (ie look for us inside the shop first) even though she is such a precocious kid and always so clever to talk/argue and drives me up the wall most of the time. Secondly, either me or hubby or maid must tag teams and be responsible for 'sighting' her instead of everyone thinking that somebody is with her but end up nobody is. Finally, I better think of a way to do a 'Return to Mummy' dogtag or buy a ranged radio beeper for her so that if she is ever lost again (touch wood!!!), I will know asap. I saw one of those things being sold at SMH BP before so better go look out for it and buy one next time. :P

Other than this episode, it was a happy zoo outing and the kids were neither grouchy in the car rides there nor during the return ride though it was already 4+pm and RaeAnne did not have her afternoon nap. :)

RaeAnne is 1 month away from being 3 years old!

RaeAnne is 35 months today but it was not a good day. Today, her barely 1 week CC teacher complained that she has a bad temper and swept the bowls aside during lunch when throwing a tantrum. The plastic bowl struck another kid who was having his/her lunch nearby, luckily it was a plastic bowl so didn't cause any injuries. The teacher told her to say sorry, but she also refuse. The teacher said she let her be today since they are having Xmas party but she will discipline her more gradually. So paiseh... I told the teacher yes, please go ahead, that's why I send her to CC so that she can learn to socialise properly instead of being queen of the house. :P

Then Nai Nai and I went to NTUC with her after picking her up once it's Dong Zhi today and I wanted to buy tang yuan. Nai Nai bought a pair of scissors for her and she 'thanked' Nai Nai by cutting a hole in their fabric sofa cover. AIYOH!!! Really hope she will learn her manners soon. If not, she will grow up to be a kid that everyone dislikes. -_-

Went down to Spa Infinity this evening at Far East Shopping Centre which we bought the Beeconomic deal a few months ago. The way leading to the spa located at basement 1 was very shabby and dirty, we had to cross the basement carpark to get there. The facilities inside the spa was quite ok, big common jaccuzzi, many shower rooms and changing rooms. But they don't have shower room or jaccuzzi inside the couple room. Massage was ok but very rushed.

What I disliked most was that they made us pay $18 x 2 for aromatherapy oil. When the sales rep tried to get me to sign package after the massage, I told her I don't like the idea of having to pay for my own oil (no other spa I've been to does that). Then, she said that there is an option of not paying, then they will use normal grapeseed oil.

The first guy we met never said that. He just asked us to choose 1 out of 4 oils and said we must pay $18 each, usual price $30. He did not give us any option so end up we had to pay $38.52 incl gst for the oil when we have already paid $48 x 2 for the spa coupons which included 45 mins massage and 2 snacks. I will not patronise them again. -_- Their 'fan choy' with chilli was yummy though. :P

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Milk supply running dry... :(

RL has been refusing to latch since last Monday, 13 Dec unless she is asleep. And it's taking a toll on my supply. At night, I can only pump out only 50ml after 20 mins of pumping. Not sure how long I can persist to BF at this rate. I still have 1 tin of happy bellies oatmeal cereal left (which I need to mix EBM for her cereal). I think the frozen stock can last for only a few more weeks at this rate. It doesn't help that for the last few days, I'm pumping for her milk bath cos the milk cannot be consumed due to the antibiotics that I took for food poisoning last Fri. This morning, I was even crazy enough to try using honey to entice her but she still refused to lie down on my lap.

The TMC LC hotline told me maybe she finds bottle easier so she refused to latch. :( she said her own son not even refuse to latch, he even refused bottle in milk so she had to flavour it with chocolate, before he would even drink milk. Such a naughty boy she said. Oh well, I guess in that aspect I was lucky, at least I did have 12.5 months of BF bonding with Raelynn.

Oh well, must look at the bright side. I did try my best to BF her. Everytime, my supply dipped is because she rather take solids and bottle than to latch. Even when I went to Taipei, I refused to wean off on my own and rather let her take the lead. Even though I pumped diligently there, she refused to latch when I came back after just 1 lucky time. I did reach my BF target of 1 year and looking back, I also BFed RaeAnne for 12.5 months before I started to wean her off. But RA was not ready to be weaned off so it was heartbreaking for me to stop latching her and apply cold cabbage. Subconsciously, I wanted to BF RL as long as possible to compensate for my loss of BF bonding. But I have to keep reminding myself, that RL is a different baby and she has always been more interested in food than milk. maybe, she is also trying to make it easier for me to be fair to both sisters so that I BF them for the same duration.

Just now when I tried to latch her while she was asleep, she pulled out her thumb to cry and woke up but she didn't struggle and unlatch. For a while, it seemed like things were back to normal but I knew she was not really suckling and swallowing but I am already very glad. I don't have much confidence that things will improve but I will try my best until Xmas.

If she still doesn't want to latch after that, then I will have to take it that her Xmas present to Mummy is Time and Freedom. Time to do my own things since she is no longer tied to my boobs and my supply is drying up. Freedom for me to pursue my own things, take up a part time course and hopefully find a fulfilling second career. :S

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Raelynn's 1st Birthday Party Photos

Realised that I haven't uploaded Raelynn's birthday photos, hehe. Cos shortly after we got the photos from Sindy (who turned out to be my Sec schoolmate), me and hubby flew off for Taipei. Seems like so long ago. hehe. But better late than never ya? :)

Monday, December 20, 2010

Wedding anniversary, hotel stay, wedding dinner, food poisoning & Polliwogs

This is an outdated post cos a lot of things happened these few days. Rewind to:

16 Dec 10
It was our sixth ROM anniversary, we didn't go out early cos I was too sleepy after 'chasing' Korean drama Cinderella's sister until wee hours of the morning. In the end, we decided to go to hubby's favourite buffet place 'Olive Tree' at Hotel Intercontinental, Bugis Junction. Buffet was not bad but I thought the price has gone up, $59.90 for weekday dinner buffet. Isn't that similar to The Line, Shangri-La. Anyway, at least there was a 15% POSB discount. :) We didn't have time to shop for presents but we said we'll do it the next day. (P.S, nope, due to unforeseen circumstances, that didn't happen. :()

17 Dec 10
RaeAnne's CC was having their year end concert so we brought her home earlier. Who knows she didn't eat lunch at all that day so we had to scramble to buy food for her from the food court. Fish slice bee hoon soup then rush home to feed her. We are supposed to check into Swissotel Stamford Hotel before 2pm cos it was my cousin's wedding dinner but in the end, we only reached hotel at 230pm and reached our room at 3pm. RaeAnne had already napped for a short while in the car and refused to sleep anymore. Mei Mei slept though. At 430pm, after we gave up trying to put RaeAnne to nap, we decided to go downstairs and walk around and get some tea since we were feeling hungry and the wedding dinner is at 830pm.

We decided to try 'The Hand Burger' at B1 and that was the start of our troubles. I ordered the Pulled Pork burger while hubby ordered the Handburger Original. The beef patty of hubby's burger was still raw inside but being gungho, we decided to eat it instead of rejecting it. Thought it was normal for beef patty to be a bit raw inside. But technically, they never asked us how well done we wanted the patty to be. RaeAnne made noise and said she wanted to go back to the hotel room so hubby brought her back. But she only ended up waking Mei Mei up so we ended up downstairs again, all 5 of us this time.
5-6pm - We went to Robinsons to walk around cos Filamie said there is one at Manila and she is curious to see the Sg branch.
6pm - tapow salted veg duck and rice and some side dishes at the soup/broth place for RaeAnne's dinner. She ate only a little. She's been eating very little nowadays. :/



8pm - After showering the gals, we went downstairs to the ballroom.
845-9pm - March-in of the blissful couple who have been together for 10 years, their wedding date is also their 10 year dating anniversary (Aw..., so sweet), RaeAnne helped to throw rose petals at the aisle.
9pm - Wedding dinner started but it was very slow going, almost half an hour for each dish to be served cos the waiters were busy dividing every course into individual portions. RaeAnne started to cry and scream that she wanted to return to the hotel room at 940pm. Hubby only managed to eat 2 courses so far and he went up with her.
10.10pm - Mei Mei's turn to get grouchy and need to KO so brought Filamie up to the room. She just had 4 courses so far.
1030pm - I came back down and made it in time for the table photo though I was the sole rep of my family.
1110pm - Went up to the hotel room. We knocked out at 1+am after watching survivor.

18 Dec 10
830am - Start of our real woes. Hubby and I both felt our tummy were no good. Hubby started the runs while I started the runs then switched to vomitting. In total, hubby went to the loo 10 times while I had the runs 4 and vomitted another 4-5 times. We were too weak to look after the gals but RaeAnne still needed to eat something for breakfast/lunch so in between, got hubby to bring RaeAnne and the maid down for breakfast. But still, RaeAnne only ate half a sausage.

11am - 2pm
Everything passed in a painful blur. We were too weak to check out of hotel and drive but we had to do it cos the kids and the helpless maid are with us. Luckily we got back in 1 piece. Hubby brought me home first so that I can KO in peace and he went with the kids/maid to ILs house to rest.

730pm
we finally found a clinic that was still open and I was given a jab and antibiotics while hubby opted for just med cos he still needed to drive us back home. Unfortunately, the antibiotics the GP gave was not suitable for BF. But I was too stoned to protest and insist that he gave me another type of antibiotics. Poor hubby still had to go to the loo 3 times after coming home, probably cos he didnt have the jab. we just slept and slept after that.

19 Dec Sunday
we slept the day away, hardly ate, except taking our med. But we roused ourselves in the evening to prepare to bring the kids home. Luckily they are quite guai.

20 Dec Monday
Yeah, we are finally feeling alive again. RaeAnne has no school today. In the late afternoon, we finally went to Polliwogs and made use of the POSB everyday card 1-for-1 coupon that I have been keeping in my wallet for almost 5 months. Instead of $24, we only needed to pay $16 for the 2 gals. There was a slight drizzle when we reached East coast park but luckily, they could play indoors.



Raelynn was so sweet at the ball pit, she kept passing the ball over to another boy who is 17 months old (think she will have no lack of suitors next time) while RaeAnne had fun running around the activity gym and slides like a monkey. We had an early dinner there at the cafe. The gals had a good time so I have no regrets going there though hubby and I were not completely well. One item off my to do list but still got 10 more things to do. :P.

After dinner, we went to ILs house first (cos Mei mei KO already so we left her there to nap) then brought the maid and RaeAnne to the Tampines interchange pasar malam cos the maid wanted to buy some hair clips to send to her nieces. I had bought a box for her from Post office and had offered to let her send back 5 kg of stuff back to Philippines for Xmas.

P.S. Found out why RaeAnne ate so little recently, she had an ulcer below her lower incisors. -_-

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Happy 6th wedding anniversary!!!

It's been 6 years since our ROM. Happy wedding anniversary to my sweet and wonderful hubby. :)

RaeAnne's first day at new school

Today is RaeAnne's first day at Elfa CC. Hubby and I brought her over at 8+am cos breakfast is at 830am and Filamie doesn't know the way to the school yet. When we reached, Raeanne was happily exploring the toys and the role play area. She wasn't interested in the peanut butter sandwich and soya bean milk breakfast though. We were introduced to her teachers and her principal Mrs Cynthia also touched base with us. At first it was a bit messy cos the classrooms all open concept and the music room was playing a concert performance CD so RaeAnne was watching it there with all the other kids while RaeAnne's classmates were still having breakfast. But they finally broke up into their classes and to the indoor playground at 930am. So hubby and I took the chance to leave during that time.

When we went to pick her up close to 12 noon, her form teacher Teacher Helen that Raeanne did well for the first day. She finished half a bowl of rice with braised chicken and choy sim and told the teacher twice that she needs to shh shh. The same teacher already told that RaeAnne will be fine in the morning when she saw RaeAnne running around playing and touching the toys. She said kids who can play on their own are ok and can adapt fast. Oh well, she was ok until she saw us and nearly cried but luckily I distracted her cos we brought Mei Mei to fetch her as well and she was an instant hit among the students, teachers and principal. :)

Raelynn refused to latch on this morning and tonight. Don't know if it's because she is too sleepy from the cold/flu med or because she is trying to self wean. Had to let her sleep at 830pm then latched her when she was asleep. So ironical, cos usually I had to do that for bottle feeding of EBM or FM but never had to 'trick' a baby to latch. So sad. Maybe my BF days are ending soon. :(

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Raelynn rejecting latch on...

When we came back from Taipei, we found out that Raelynn has sprouted all 4 teeth at the same time. All along we thought there were only 3 teeth cos the last one was quite hidden away. No wonder she has been gnawing everything she can get her hands on and even had diarrhea which is always associated with teething. But though I managed to latch her after 3 tries on Sunday (after a 5 days break). But a few times, she will refuse to latch and cry after touching my nipple. Duh, such an insult. -_-

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Couple Retreat to Taipei


Went to Taipei with hubby from 7-11 Dec without the gals. Left ILs house at 11+pm on Monday cos I 'bu she de' the gals and went back at 9+pm to latch Mei Mei. End up RaeAnne refused to sleep until 11+pm so hubby and I were stuck in the living room/balcony feeding mosquitoes in the dark.

Day 1 - The SQ flight to Taipei was good and smooth. We reached Taipei at 1pm as scheduled and the tour guide picked us up. We were very lucky to to be the only 2 people on this semi F&E itinerary (booked with SA tours) so we had a personal tour guide 杨先生. He was a knowledgeable and responsible tour guide but with a sharp tongue when you ask 'stupid' questions. But he explained before that Taiwanese tend to speak like that ie. they are very straight but they mean no harm. Tour guide told us that the next 2 days will be very cold because of the cold winds from China. Great, I thought. :P

Around 3pm, we arrived at Cosmos Hotel 天成饭店, location was very good, near to the Taipei Railway station and the Taipei MRT station. Many 7-11s nearby too. But I think the room was very small and they don't have wifi facilities. :P Given a choice, will book Caesar Park Hotel next time.

Had to pump cos it was more than 14 hours since I pumped and I was engorged (had blocked ducts after day 1). Then we went for late lunch at 4pm at 何记 near M8 exit which served very good 生煎包,蚵仔大肠面线 and the smelliest 臭豆腐which I tried in Taipei. The shengjianpao was only 10NTD each which is about SGD0.40 and it was very juicy so we loved it so much that we went back on our last day to eat and even tapow 3 back. Then we went to Ximending on our own as suggested by the tour guide and ate so many street snacks along the way that we were too full to try the famous Ah Zong Mian xian. The sun starts to set at 5+pm cos it was winter and by 6pm, the sky was completely dark. I needed to use a toilet so for dinner we ended up eating at Meiguanyuan Jap food restaurant. The sashimi there was very generous, super thick slices but I thought it didn't taste as sweet as those we had in Singapore.

Day2, we met with the tour guide at 830am (SO EARLY!!!) and we went sightseeing with him driving us, we went to Yeliu's rock formation, Jiufen, old mining city near the sea (loved the ru3rou4fan4 and drunken chicken beside 阿信的店), then time on our own and we went to ShinKuang dept store within walking distance to our hotel. There were 13 floors and we were very lucky they were having their anniversary sale. I bought SKII there cos it was even cheaper than Singapore's duty free shop at departure hall. Bought some toys for the gals too. Best of all, there was 5% tax rebate. :)

Day3, it was an early start again at 830am, and we went to see the changing of guards at Martyr's Shrine (9-930am) and then to Lover's Bridge (very bright day with blue sky), they were building a huge Ship hotel near here. Then, we went to YangMingshan for a hot spring experience, we forgot to bring our own towel so we had to pay $10+ for a white bath towel (why didn't the tour guide remind us? :/) Then we went to Wufenpu, but we hardly bought anything cos it was the wrong season plus very few children's clothing shops. Then we went to Raohe night market for dinner. :)

Day4, finally a later start to the day today, at 1030am, tour guide drove us to Taipei 101 and we had lunch at the Italian restaurant there at the 85th floor for the free view. Initially, we wanted to go for dinner since it was a hazy day but the tables near the windows were fully booked so we decided to go for the cheaper lunch deal instead. Paid about $42 per head. Food was good and I got so sleepy. hehe. Took the free shuttle to the MRT station and went to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, the sun was starting to set by the time we left there. Then we went to find Jay Chou, Mr J restaurant, it was so ulu and difficult to find. And the restaurant was so empty that I wasn't keen to eat there for dinner but then it was only 530pm on a Fri so maybe that's why it was so empty. :P Went to Sogo (fuxing branch), thought we can shop and have dinner there but was surprised that there was no toys/children floor there. Initially, wanted to eat at 'Ding Tai Feng' but the queue was too long and the menu was identical to the one at Singapore so we gave up our queue number. We ended up eating at the basement2 japanese restaurant instead. Food was so so but at least it was quiet and there was no queue. :) After that, we went back for an early night and to start packing our stuff.

Day5, after an early breakfast, we took a taxi to the Weekend Jade market and bought some jade souvenirs. Since we were not experts on jade, didn't dare to buy expensive items so the most exp piece I bought was a NT2000 jade pendant with crystals. After checking out, we went back to ShinKuang Baihuo to buy some lipsticks for my MIL (ended up buying the Elizabeth Arden Xmas make up set), then we gobbled our lunch at Heji again. Then it was back to the hotel and the tour guide brought us to buy some fruits enroute to the airport. Our flight was 6pm and we reached Sg at 1030pm.



Flight was quite turbulent and I even spilled water all over my shirt. Luckily we came back in 1 piece and stayed up till 3+am to unpack, organise and take photos of our loot. We almost exceeded the baggage limit of 50kg, never bought so much before. I'm sure we can't shop like that if the kids were with us. hee. :P

Thought I will miss the gals so much (plus they were having diarrhoea the day before we left and we even brought them to see the GP near ILs house) that I won't enjoy the trip but I was wrong. I hardly missed the kids while at Taipei. Partly I did the missing before I left and also because I told myself, spend so much $ to go on holiday, must enjoy myself thoroughly and don't worry about things at home anymore. It was a good R&R trip with hubby. Felt recharged upon coming back to see the kids again. :)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Raelynn tried soupy rice today! :)


Just tried giving Raelynn soupy rice today and she loves it. RL's always still very hungry after eating 1 foogo pot of porridge at night so I've decided to start giving rice after she turned 1 year old. Some jan10 mummies already giving their babies rice at night, not even 1 year old yet.

She took about 3-4 tablespoons of rice, the soup contains 1 slice of threadfin, 1 tablespoon of broccoli and 1 tablespoon of small pumpkin pieces, the 1 slice of lean pork (we usually throw away). :P I boil the ingredients soft in water, then put the cooked rice into the soup to cook further so that the rice is a bit softer. :)

Will monitor her poo poo tom cos I'm afraid it's harder to digest than porridge. But I think we didn't give enough rice (being the first time) cos she woke up after just sleeping for half hour at 10pm. :P She whacked another 80ml of milk before sleeping again. :P

The gals' room


It all started with a ceiling fan. After getting a kiddy ceiling fan for the gals room and because of Mei Mei's BD party, I wanted to make the gals' room sweeter and more cosy. After all, what's the point of having 2 gals if I can't give them a sweet girly princess bedroom right? If it's one gal and one boy sharing a room, how to have a consistent theme? hehe.

Most of the stuff came from Ikea but the imported Made in Europe fabric curtains were the biggest extragavant buy from Goodrich. 3 sets of curtains (including 2 sets in the living room) came to more than $1500. Imagine we paid about $2k for the whole house previously but that was 2 sets of roman blinds, 2 sets of full length curtains, 1 set of full length day curtains & 4 sets of half curtains. The ballerina curtains does add a sweet and bright look to the room compared to the old brownish curtains. But because I was too cheapskate to add a block-out lining, the room is very bright in the day and RaeAnne has problem napping in the day. Morale of the story, no point spending $1500 just to stinge on another $300-400. Sigh, hope it's a phase. :P

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Raelynn is 1 Year Old! :)


Mei Mei is one year old today. I wish she will grow up healthy, happy, pretty and taller each day. :)

We already had a big celebration last Sat but Raeanne will be going to Nai Nai place after school today cos we are busy this evening. This way, we can also spend time alone with mei mei on her big day. When we go out with the 2 gals, Raeanne inevitably monopolises our time and attention and poor Mei Mei is carried by the maid. From next year onwards, Mei Mei should be able to fight for attention too cos she's getting more and more vocal at 'complaining'.

Went to Tampines Mall with Mei Mei just now, dressed her in a pink tutu that I bought from BP for just $10 and everyone said she's so cute, so pretty. Mummy feels so proud, luckily, I stopped the maid from dressing her in Gap PJs as hubby suggested cos he said it's difficult to strap her into the car seat with her puffy skirt. But hey, it's her birthday, she deserves to be admired and praised. Of course, wearing a hat helped to disguise her 'baldness' and made her look prettier. keke.

We had set lunch at Cafe cartel while Mei Mei had her porridge. Bumped into my ex colleagues there. Most are surprised to see me and that I've not been working for almost 2 years. Mei Mei fell asleep after lunch cos she was so sleepy. But she woke up at 2pm and we went to Toy r us. Filamie bought her a toy hp and I bought her a toy hairdryer.

Weighed her and she is still only 8.8 kg but she has grown taller. 71cm now. :)