RaeAnne's infected mosquito bite.... :(

Was surprised when raeanne fell asleep on her own this afternoon at 2pm. Something is fishy cos she is usually so hard to put to sleep. When I hugged her and kissed her good night, she felt a bit hot, not just the arm that had an infected mosquito bite but even her neck. Decided to use the infrared thermoter on her forehead. And it was 38.7 deg, Mei Mei who was the control was only 36.7 so the thermometer is working fine.

Yesterday afternoon, noticed that she had a swelling on the underside of her right forearm. I only noticed it yesterday but the mosquito bite mark has been a few days according to hubby n maid. Ya, Think it started from a mosquito bite but somehow got infected n inflamed slowly. She didn't complain of pain n no sudden onset of fever, that's why we were not vigilant. :p Told hubby there is pus inside, that's why it is hot and red. Maid said she applied Desowen but it was no use. Asked hubby to apply 'qing cao you' when she sleeps cos she refuse to let us apply anything on her nowadays.

Today, her swelling is one dollar coin size, red n hard with a yellowish 'head'. Got pus inside Liao, I think the fever should be due to that cos she has no other symptoms. Brought RaeAnne to GP after she woke up twice from her nap. Gave her panadol syrup before we left, ear temperature was 39.5 when taken by GP. Asked MIL to accompany us cos it was enroute to GP. Good decision cos end up I had to prick the head with a sterile needle given by GP while MIL helped to press out the pus. The blood was blackish in colour. Still got some pus left but she is complaining about the pain. So we left it. Anyway, GP gave antibiotics plus cream so that should do the job to clear the remaining pus. :P Squeezed out at least 1 teaspoon of pus. Yucks! Should have asked GP to do it when we were in the clinic. FIL hid in the room, don't dare to watch.


The swelling is still quite hard. In hindsight, maybe should have squeezed out all the pus. Cos I can't possible prick her again to squeeze cos a scab has already formed over the 'head' :P Fever is almost down but hubby is worried so feed one more time panadol before she sleeps. She is super 'manja' tonight, keep saying 'pain pain. Mummy sayang'. Want me to hug her to sleep too. I tried to sleep with her and she fell asleep. I felt guilty that all of us missed out on her sore mosquito until it got so big and swollen. Poor gal. :(

First Zoo Outing!!! Long long post... :)

Finally fulfilled one of my "to do list" items to spend quality time with RaeAnne during hubby's school holidays. Yup, a trip to the zoo ranked no. 1 in that list because I think it'll be fun, educational and a trip Mummy and Daddy have been saying for the longest time (even before RaeAnne was born) that we will make in the 4.5 years that we've been married but we never made the trip. :P

It was a very good outing. :) First of all, RaeAnne woke up early at 7.18am. Sidetrack a bit, Kudos to our gal for being so cooperative cos she actually woke up around 1+am crying cos the mosquito bites on her feet were too itchy. We already applied mopiko diligently since we discovered the mosquito bite on Sunday morning but she still scratched till the skn broke. She kenna 4 mosquito bites on her left foot and 1 on her right foot. The only worry was that she didn't poo on Sunday, and she only pooed a grape size poo in the morning before we left the house. I was worried that she had constipation. :P

We took quite some time to pack the stuff to bring to the zoo though (should have done it the night before) so when we finally went over to pick up Nai Nai and RaeAnne's porridge, it was alread 845am. We left Nai Nai house at 9am. Luckily the ride was quite fast going by TPE then SLE. We reached the zoo at 930am. Hubby and I got the adult saver ticket ($25 which included the tram ride and 1 boat ride) and MIL was lucky cos the ticket gal allowed us to buy the senior citizen admission ticket at $9 even though she forgot to bring her IC. Tram and boat tickets cost another $10. So, altogether, we paid $69. RaeAnne's ticket is FREE cos she is below 3. :)

Since it was still quite cool in the morning, we decided to do the hard part (walking first) before it gets hot. Looking at the zoo map, we decided that the must see animals are polar (bear), zebra and giraffe (in that order) and elephant because these are the few animals that are on RaeAnne's bumper mats so she knows what they are. ;)

We were lucky to catch the polar bear feeding time which was at 10am though it was already 1008am when we reached the polar bears, having made a stop to see the Maned Wolf. RaeAnne was very fascinated to see the polar bears (Sheba and Inuka) swimming, eating water melon and catching fish. :) Next, we saw lions, zebras and giraffe, she was more in awe of the giraffe cos I had told her many times about giraffe's long neck. Also, it was feeding time so the 3 giraffes were busy eating 'dried leaves' hung up on a tree. RaeAnne is also interested in 'um um' (food). ;)

We took a short walk to the tropical garden, saw mangosteen tree, gourd vines, lime shrubs, etc but it was less interesting for her since she didn't recognise the fruits and everything just looked green. There was also not much shade there. MIL suggested feeding her at the small pavilion but hubby decided that it's better to find a restaurant with air con so that RaeAnne can eat in peace and comfort instead of sweating away.

So, we walked back to Ah Meng Restaurant, located near Tram station 1. We nearly started feeding her at the al fresco dining area, not knowing that the 'real' restaurant is in the air con area. Luckily, the staff told me when I asked them for the menu. Off we went to the cool comfort of Ah Meng Restaurant. Hubby fed RaeAnne her porridge, we didn't want to order our food first cos if RaeAnne sees our food, she won't want to take her boring porridge anymore. After 2 servings of porridge, even hubby gave up cos RaeAnne was eating very slowly even though I gave her 1 straw and 1 plastic spoon to entertain her. :P

It's time for the adults to eat so MIL order curry chicken naan set, I ordered the bbq chicken leg with fries set while hubby ordered the hot dog with fries set. We fed RaeAnne with bits of chicken, naan and hot dog bun. So she was very happy. :)

After lunch, we went for the tram ride and got off at station 4 so that we can see some exhibits and make our way towards boat deck 1. Enroute, we managed to see kangeroos, Emus and poisonous snake and lizards at the Australia Outback exhibit. The entrance was quite hidden, we nearly missed it. :P We also saw the pgymy hippos (they were all sleeping) and RaeAnne got a close up view of big big fish in the huge aquariums. :) We saw the white tigers (also sleeping) and wild boar before reaching the Boat Dock 1.

From there on, it was a long, long wait. Frequency of the boat ride was supposed to be 15-20 minutes but it felt like at least half an hour cos there was nothing to do there and there were not enough benches for us to sit down while waiting. A mother feeding her baby son bottled milk and me squeezed on the same bench with 2 caucasians. Luckily RaeAnne was distracted enough by the baby so she didn't make any noise. When the baby cried, she was so cute, she kept kissing my tummy (thinking it's 'mei mei' crying). When she understood that it's not Mummy's baby crying, she even wanted to stretch out her hand to 'sayang' the baby. Luckily, the mother was only amused at RaeAnne's actions. :)

RaeAnne pooed while we waited for the boat so we quickly changed her, luckily it was the solid poo not the mushy type so we could change her diaper standing up. The boat ride was nice and cooling, can see that RaeAnne was a bit sleepy but luckily we knew she will 'wake up' at the next stop which was the Rainforest Kidzworld (with waterplay), one of our highlights of the trip. We packed so much stuff because we knew there was waterplay (thanks to all the forum mummies who tipped us off cos they already brought their kids to the zoo many times).

So, RaeAnne was well prepared, we changed her into her Konfidence wetsuit, luckily with the velcro fastenings, she can fit in though it was meant for 6-12 months. She had an extra set of thicker clothes, a big bath towel, and even a swimming dress robe. We even brought hubby an extra set of clothes so that he can accompany her into the water. She was a bit apprehensive in the water initially, when hubby put her in the water, she just sat there with her hands and legs reached out, not daring to move. But once she warmed up, there was no stopping her, she was splashing water at hubby, hitting the water, playing with the water pipes and sprinklers. She had so much fun in the short 20 minutes, the waterplay was definitely the highlight of the zoo trip. We took her out as her fingers were already wrinkly. :)





She was very cold after the waterplay and the shower in the changing room is very cold, not much help. So, we just rinsed her, quickly took out her wetsuit, and dressed up. Her hair was still very wet so I'm glad I bought her hooded swim robe (only $7 at Ehub). :) RaeAnne has been imitating adult behaviour and one of the things that she does best is cleaning. She'll copy us, take tissue, wet wipe or towel to clean the table, floor, babychair, etc but the ultimate today is taking the wetwipe out to clean the glass door outside the toilet. See our little Ninja door cleaner. ;)

After the waterplay, we went to Kfc to have a snack. A mini burger for MIL, cheese fries for me and a bit of mashed potato (without gravy) for RaeAnne. Wanted to let RaeAnne take the horse carriage ride but hubby is unwilling cos need to pay $6 for child and $6 for adult. So only managed to take a photo in front of the horse. :(

After eating, we took the tram ride back to the start and that's when I realised that RaeAnne smelled bad. True enough, she had pooed again, mushy type this time. :P
Since we were on the tram ride, we laid her down to change her diaper and she was very cooperative (probably also tired out). By the time we finished changing her diaper, she fell asleep in MIL's arms. It was 350pm, way past her usual nap time of 1+, 2pm. And she slept all the way so we skipped the elephant exhibit, past the cockatoos/parrots, even when we shopped in the souvenir shop, selected the photos from the zoo photographers, back in the car, all the way until we were nearing Tampines. She woke up at 5pm, it was a good 1hr 10 mins nap for her. We went straight to ILs place cos we had already called FIL to cook her evening porridge.

What a long day and she slept earlier at 945pm today, she had a tiring day but hope she had fun and happy memories of the zoo. Told hubby that we should bring her back to the zoo before RaeAnne turned 3 and no. 2 is 1 yr old so that admission is free for both kids. :)

Raelynn's first day of Primary School

Mei Mei has finally started Primary school. It was good that we had a 3.5 days long weekend over New Year to relax before both kids start school. Yesterday, both she and I can't sleep. For me, because of the cappucino in the afternoon. She had many mosquito bites suddenly so it was itchy for her. She's probably excited about school too. Anyway, all of us woke up today sleepily. Got to school exactly at 730am. Good thing of staying near the school.

I was worried about Raelynn cos her best friend from cc didn't get into Poi Ching School. They would have been in the same class because they were both Dec babies. But her parents didn't dare to ballot so she went to Temasek Pri instead. Turns out there were 4 other cc classmates in her class. At least she will have many familiar faces. Haha.

This year, parents are allowed into the school for 2 days. But day 1, we can only observe the kids from the sides at the canteen. Everything went quite smoothly except poor gal was feeling the effects of the all the mosquito bites (even a big one on her face) and can't stop scratching. During recess, a gal from her class went to sit at the wrong table and took RL's waterbottle, slinged it around her neck and started drinking. RL didn't even realise her water bottle was missing. I had to tell the little girl gently that she took the wrong water bottle and washed it for RL before giving it back to her. Haha.

Tomorrow we will be allowed to meet their form teachers and go into their classrooms so hope it will be more exciting day for me. Hb and I almost fell asleep today after hearing so many talks from 730am to 1215pm. Haha.

Trip to the PD - double ouch!

Knocked out with RaeAnne around 11pm but woke up at 12 midnight. :P

Hubby and I had an early dinner at Pu Tien. Decided on the place when we walked by cos they had 20% discount from 530-630pm for early birds. Had the set dinner at $68 which came with 2 kampong chicken doubled boiled shark fin's soup (usual price $25 for each serving) so it's value for $. Anyway, I hardly have tonic soups unless I go over to my mum's place on Sundays. Sometimes, my 2nd aunt also makes for me, so nice of her. :)

Went to NTUC to stock up for the weekend. RaeAnne has been rejecting porridge nowadays, ILs have a hard time feeding her everyday so they've resorted to giving her rice for one meal and porridge for the other meal. Don't know what to cook cos I already cooked modified claypot rice last week. Hubby suggested one dish meal, 'chu bee hoon' soup so I bought ingredients for that. Saw Red Prawn durians from Penang for sale at NTUC (only 2 packs and it was 2 for $25). Each pack only 5-6 big seeds. Decided to buy it cos we missed trying Red Prawn in Penang as it was OOS. And it was the award winning durian in this year's Penang durian show.

Brought RaeAnne for her 18 mth booster jab this evening. As usual, she cried once the nurse tried to measure her head circumference. Her weight is 10.5 kg and height 79cm at the clinic. Poor gal, besides the DPT booster, PD recommended flu jab for her as well. Apparently there was a lot of pent up demand for flu jabs as it has been OOS for the last 2 months. PD said she placed order for 100 doses and it just arrived on Wed and stock is already running low. Must be due to H1N1 cos young kids are more vulnerable to the virus.

When the PD heard that she is attending playgroup next Mon, she strongly urged us to give her the jab. Thought she already had a flu jab before we went to HK in Dec but PD said this flu jab is for the most recent strain. With H1N1 being increasingly prevalent, hubby thought it's better to give the flu jab.

Poor RaeAnne cried buckets when the PD, nurse and hubby held her down while she was given the jab, both in the right thigh and left thigh. I could only hold her head and tell her that Mummy loves her, can't help to take away her pain. :( Was worried about the fever side effect of the 18mth booster jab, that's why brought her to see PD today, and she ended up with 2 jabs! Sure kenna fever like that lar, hubby said start panadol syrup today, maybe it'll help knock her out. :P

PD suggested pnueumoccocal and Hep A jab for the next month if we are keen. I asked PD about her 18 mth development milestones and she said she's fine as long as she can walk and talk (single words are fine). Asked her if it's ok that she can't drink from the cup all the time, she said it's fine, it's an 21 months milestone. Told PD that she can't self feed yet, is it ok? She said it's fine, at this age, they are only playing with the food, real self feeding will be around 3 years old. Okie, at least she's not slow. Took the chance to get PD to prescribe a cream for the angry mosquito bites that she sometimes get. Calendula cream smells nice but doesn't get rid of the mosquito bites fast. End up, she's scratch until it bleeds, then the marks will darken and become ugly scars. :P

Outside the clinic at the counter, the nurse saw the doctor's notes and asked if we want to wait until 2 years old for pneumoccocal cos she'll only need 1 jab ($150) by then. Told her I was thinking of doing that but she's starting playgroup next Mon. She just replied 'oh' (i see). Looks like once the kids goes to playgroup, CC etc, PD will recommend all kinds of vaccination jabs. Asked the nurse to give us an appt, they'll remind us closer to the date but I'll see if I really want her go for it. :P

Oh ya, when we were coming home from ILs place (had to go back to collect our perishables). RaeAnne cried when we were in the lift, there was a little boy and a little gal together with their daddy who lived at the 10th floor. We bumped into the grandma a couple of times when she takes walks with the little gal so I was talking to the little gal, 1 month older than RaeAnne. There was a slight red mark on both side of the little gal's lips so I was asking the little gal in a teasing manner, what happened to your lips? Why red red? And RaeAnne just suddenly burst out crying. Asked hubby what happened, did he hurt her feet when he pushed the stroller into the lift? But hubby said nothing happened. It's true cos I only talked to the little gal when the lift door closed, if she had hurt her feet, she should not have cried out only then. She continued crying until I opened the door and carried her out of the stroller.

Hmm... why caused the sudden outburst? Did she hurt her feet while playing in the lift without us noticing? Or was she jealous cos Mummy was paying attention to a little gal and not her? Maybe, we'll find out one day if she ever repeats this behaviour.

Recently, she has been facing serious separation anxiety. ILs said Thurs afternoon, she refused to let Ye Ye or Nai Nai go into the kitchen to cook, She'll push and pull them out of the kitchen and make them sit in the living room with her. Yesterday and again today (Fri), she didn't allow me to close the toilet door at Ils place. At home cos I'm alone with her, I usually don't close the door cos I got to keep an eye on her. Guess our gal is really growing up, 懂事 and not blur blur anymore. ;)

Mummy has been sneezing a lot today, I even woke RaeAnne in her sleep just now with my sneeze. Hope the scratch throat/cold that I managed to stave with cold and inflammation medicine last week is not making its return. :P

RaeAnne is 14 months old today! :)

It's 22nd of the month again and our gal is now 14 months old. The big difference between now and last month is that she can now walk. She still has a tendency to fall on her bum sometimes but she seldom crawls nowadays. She has finally graduated from crawler to a toddler. :) Mummy was busy cooking porridge and gave Daddy the honours to take a photo of RaeAnne as per tradition but Daddy is such a perfectionist or minimalist that he only took a few photos so there's not many photos to choose from. ;P

Mummy can't find a detailed development milestone for 14 months old so I'll rehash the 12 mth chart to see what are the new skills you have accomplished over the last 2months. :)

Social and Emotional

Shy or anxious with strangers - Still Yes, even with relatives. Gu gu is very hurt when you refuse to let him carry you.
Cries when mother or father leaves - Yes
Enjoys imitating people in his play - No
Shows specific preferences for certain people and toys - Yes
Tests parental responses to his actions during feedings - Er, not sure. Does grabbing bowl and spoon count?
Tests parental responses to his behavior - Yes, will deliberate go close to the power switch even though I've warned her that I'll beat her backside if she touches it.
May be fearful in some situations - yes
Prefers mother and/or regular caregiver over all others - yes
Repeats sounds or gestures for attention - yes
Finger-feeds himself - yes for biscuits (12mths), now yes for food/fruits eg. bread, fruits such as apple, kiwi etc.
Extends arm or leg to help when being dressed - Yes, most of the times. Responds especially well to the mosquito repellent lotion. Will hold her leg in the air for a long time until we apply it for her.

Cognitive
Explores objects in many different ways (shaking, banging, throwing, dropping) - yes especially flipping to explore the back
Finds hidden objects easily - yes
Looks at correct picture when the image is named - yes
Imitates gestures - yes, bye bye, exercise, french kiss, gong xi gong xi
Begins to use objects correctly (drinking from cup, brushing hair, dialing phone, listening to receiver) - yes

Language
Pays increasing attention to speech - yes
Responds to simple verbal requests - yes eg. tries to give but will not release fingers on object
Responds to “no” - yes, by whining or crying
Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no” - Yes, very good at shaking her head now, will even wag her little finger to emphasize 'no'. Will also nod head vigorously to emphasize that she wants something after we said no.
Babbles with inflection (changes in tone) - yes, how I wish I know what you are talking about. ;)
Says “dada” and “mama” - baba and mama are forgotten except in times of desperation when we are ignoring her especially when she is throwing a tantrum. She knows how to say 'an nah' or 'an an' for remote control or when she sees a button. Said 'bear' recently too. :)Uses exclamations, such as “Oh-oh!” - Not yet
Tries to imitate words - sometimes

Movement
Reaches sitting position without assistance - yes
Crawls forward on belly - yes
Assumes hands-and-knees position - yes, often and head too as if you are going to do a somersault. ;)
Creeps on hands and knees - what's that?
Gets from sitting to crawling or prone (lying on stomach) position - yes
Pulls self up to stand - Yes
Walks holding on to furniture - yes, but no longer need to hold onto it.
Stands momentarily without support - yes, especially on bed or bumper mat.
May walk two or three steps without support - Yes, walking without support though she still falls sometimes.

Hand and Finger Skills
Uses pincer grasp - yes
Bangs two objects together - yes
Puts objects into container - yes, especially sweets into crevices
Takes objects out of container - yes
Lets objects go voluntarily - Yes, most of the time, especially when Mummy demonstrates by putting things into the toy box.
Pokes with index finger - yes
Tries to imitate scribbling - Yes, able to scribble on magna doodle pad.

14 months (Ok, here'are the more challenging parts)
• Eats with fingers - Yes but she puts in way too much. Keep putting food into her mouth even though there's still food inside. :P
• Empties containers of contents - Yes
• Imitates others - Yes, people playing soccer or dog dog peeing with 1 leg. ;P
• Toddles well - Yes
• Initiates games - No
• Points to one body part when asked - Yes, she can point to her hair, nose, leg, hand, ears
• Responds to instructions (e.g., "give me a kiss") - Yes, she will look up when Mummy says 'up' so that I can to wash her neck. Will 'sayang' soft toy when Mummy tells her to sayang bear bear.
• Uses a spoon or fork - Yes, but the aim is not very accurate yet.
• Matches lids with appropriate containers - Not quite yet, cannot match the different shapes to the containers either.
• Pushes and pulls toys while walking Yes, she loves to push the NTUC trolley and her bicycle and the footstool while walking. :)

ABC pasta, fruits and walking ;)

Cooked ABC pasta for RaeAnne using stock (corn, pork, dried scallops, wolfberry) then added fish and egg. But she doesn't like it. Only took half of her usual portion compared to porridge, keep making 'puking' sounds. Think it was the threadfin and egg combination, too fishy smell and the bits of egg stuck onto the ABC pasta made it not easy to swallow. :P

I tried to teach her blue and yellow colour yesterday (part of LNT homework) but she's barely interested. But managed to point to the right colour card but today when I asked her again, totally forget, anyhow point. Godsent (evangeline's mummy) said her gal can articulate blue and yellow after she taught her after the LNT class. Amazing! RaeAnne only babbles but I don't know what she's talking about. She still hasn't said any words other than 'an' (press in mandarin) recently. Even mama and baba is forgotten. :/

Today, I decided to teach her fruits instead cos I cooked corn for her soup stock. Showed her the uncooked corn, let her smell the corn, touch the corn, taste the cooked corn kernel, then reinforce with the flashcard again and again. Finally when I asked her where's the corn, she could point at the right card. Showed her what is persimmon and kiwi too cos we have them in the fridge. But then, I won't be surprised if she forgets it all over again tomorrow. ;P

What she's really developing everyday is her temper. She just cried and throw tantrum for a full 10 minutes cos she refused to sleep after her last milk feed. Hubby came out of his shower and asked me what happened. Not sure if it's because she paid a visit to ye ye & nai nai house just now and spent 1 hour playing there. Hubby went there to get her baby sebamed face cream to apply on that 'persistent' mosquito bite mark that has been around for weeks. She kept pulling my shirt and crying so that I can carry her out of the room. Refused to give in if not she'll think she can cry and whine her way out of everything. :P

Always joked with hubby that if we don't have no. 2, RaeAnne will become a 'xiao ba wang' with 2 sets of grandparents, uncles and us doting on her. As it is, now my ILs and mum let her 'bite' them without punishing her. I've never witnessed it though but they sometimes complain to me that she bite them. But if they don't teach her from right to wrong and let her bite, then she'll think it's nothing wrong and continue to bite. What can I do? ;P

Today, finally managed to capture RaeAnne walking but she was walking towards Daddy, not me, and she didn't walk especially for the camera. Never mind lar. Better than nothing. 'Mai hiam'. :)

Packing list for Penang

It's time to work on my packing list for Penang since we will be flying off next Fri. I'm not worried if we forget anything because 1) it's just a 1 hr flight and we are only there for 2 nights 2) things are cheaper in Malaysia 3) We will be staying at G Hotel right next to Gurney Plaza which has everything (7 stories of shopping including Cold Storage and Toy R Us and Popular) YEAH!

Err... so why am I still making a list? Guess I'm OCD, rather have a list and pack the kiddos favourite toys, medicine etc than get pek chek cos we forgot this or that. :P

Hand carry (Diaper bag)
1. 1 cardigan/jacket for RaeAnne
2. 1 extra set of clothes each in a ziplock bag (shirt, bottom, panties for RaeAnne, extra sleeper/bib/face towel/hat for Mei Mei)
3. 5 Diapers for Mei Mei (3 fitti, 2 Mamy Poko)
4. 1 Diaper pants for RaeAnne
5. Cushie Traveller potty seat
6. Wet wipes (dettol and pigeon)
7. RaeAnne's Thermos water bottle
8. RaeAnne's cutlery - food scissors, noodle cutter, soup spoon, 1 fork, disposable plastic bowls
9. 1 Box of Yan Yan/Pokey & 1 pack of vit c sweets for RaeAnne
10. RaeAnne wet face towel in zipped pouch
11. 2 RaeAnne's toy + 2 books
12. 1 Raelynn's rattler/teether
13. 3 satchets of Friso3 milk powder
14. RaeAnne's milk bottle
15. Baby medicine (eg. Panadol syrup, runny nose med, 2 syringes, forehead plaster, calendula cream, mopiko)
16. Small plastic bags (for dirty diapers or wet panties)

Baby luggage Bag
1. RaeAnne - 3 sets of outdoor clothes (3 t shirts, skirt, 2 pants, dress), 5 panties/training pants, 1 hat AND 2 sets of long sleeve pyjamas, 1 set of short sleeve pyjamas,
2. Raelynn - 2 sets of Long sleeve shirt/bottom and 3 rompers, 2 pyjamas, 5 bibs, 5 face towels (2 soft ones for bathing), 2 hats (1 warm, 1 cool), 3 pairs of socks
3. Travel inflatable bathtub
4. Bottle brush and baby sponge in ziplock bag
5. bottle detergent
6. Baby clothes liquid detergent
7. Hangers and clothes pegs
8. 2 thin bath towels for the kids
9. RaeAnne's purple Konfidence Swimming costume
10. RaeAnne's light pink covered up towel dress
11. RaeAnne's arm floats
12. RaeAnne's waterproof black crocs shoes
13. Raelynn's light blue Konfidence Swimming costume
14. RaeLynn's pink swim nappy
15. Konfidence Sunblock spray for kids
16. California baby Swimming defense body shampoo and hair conditioner
17. Calendula bubble bath for RaeAnne
18. 1 milk bottle for Raelynn
19. 1 extra milk bottle for RaeAnne
20. RaeAnne's snacks (2 small boxes of Raisins, 1 pack ABC biscuits, 2 Doraemon UHT yogurt drink, )
21. 15 pieces of diapers for Raelynn (10 Fitti & 5 Mamy Poko)
22. 2 diaper pants & 2 Mamy Poko diapers for RaeAnne
23. 1 big pack of Pigeon wet wipes
24. Ruyi oil
25. Baby lotion
26. Eczema lotion
27. RaeAnne's cetaphil and hair shampoo
28. RaeAnne's comb
29. Raelynn head to toe shower gel
30. Mosquito repellent spray
31. Ear thermometer
32. Raelynn's head pillow and bean pillow and blanket
33. Sack and seat cloth seat
34. Baby bjorn carrier
35. Freestyle Breast pump + handsfree + charger
36. 4 medela pump milk bottles with caps
37. 2 ice packs
38. Black freezer bag
39. 1 lock & lock box with cover (to scald the pump parts and bottles)
40. Plastic bags (Big ones for wet swimming clothes, small ones for dirty diapers)
41. Portable DVD player and RaeAnne's DVDs???

Dinner

Cooked stew and steamed cod fish for hubby and my dinner too. Using leftover ingredients for RaeAnne's porridge (carrot, brocolli, peas) and leftover hot dog from lunch the other day. Hubby said the stew with bread is yummy but I think he's trying to be nice cos it's too salty.

Bought the stew pack from NTUC the other night but is in Japanese so I can't understand most of the instructions. Probably it's meant to be servings for 4 people, that's why they ask to add 800ml of water, 200ml of milk. But if I follow the instructions, really too much for both of us so I cut down the water but added more milk. Still had a lot of sauce left so had to throw away. At least, it's a refreshing change from the 'ta pow' food and FIL's cooking. Hee.

RaeAnne finished nearly all of her porridge today, hubby fed her on the high chair while we ate at the living room table so that she can watch 'wheels of the bus' at the same time. Once she can start eating more 'adult' food, it's time to cook something for all of us and we can all sit down as a family and eat together. But in the meantime, Mummy need to brush up on cooking repertoire, so far, whatever I've cooked are 'one hit wonders' with the exception of spagetti and soupy stuff. :)

P.S. oh ya, been wanting to blog about this since last week but keep forgetting. RaeAnne can help to take out her shirt by pulling it over her head and stepping out of her pants for a while. Read that it's a milestone for toddlers to do that. But the funniest thing (to hubby and I) is that whenever hubby opens the cap of the J&J mosquite repellent lotion to apply on her, there'll be a 'click' sound. Once she hears the 'click', she'll extend her left leg to us. Hubby experimented many times and it works without fail everytime. Today, after shower, we are trying to put her to nap. She refused and kept pointing at my dresser (where the mosquito repellent lotion is). Hubby was so tickled cos he said it's as if she knows that after her shower, all her protection washed away liao, got to reapply again. Haha.

Back from HK trip. :)

RaeAnne has made her maiden journey to Hong Kong and back. :) Super drama man, reached airport on Sat one hour early cos already contacted customer service to book seats on Friday. End up the 11+am flight was overbooked and they bumped us off to next flight with compensation (SGD197, USD$75 onboard shopping voucher and $15 lunch voucher per pax). Was a nightmare cos next flight was 4:25pm, 5hours away.

The aunties were not keen to travel back home, end up got to come back to airport again so my poor RaeAnne had to eat and sleep at Billy Bentley pub at T1 cos that was the only place with a couch. We reached our hotel only at 11pm and I only got to sleep at 130am cos had to nurse RaeAnne and she had difficulty falling asleep that night. Probably new environment and after the drama at airport. Didn't put my baby in the bassinet in the end cos only 1 seat was available and don't want to sit alone with baby. Anyway, the check in staff said bassinet is more for babies below 6 months. If baby more than 12 kg, may not be suitable. My baby haven't hit 10kg but I think she'll attempt to crawl out of the bassinet. But very tiring when baby wants to sleep lor. Got to hold her while eating my airplane food, juggling act. :P Weather was cool and dry there. A bit cold on Sunday but Mon and Tues were ok. Hotel was not fantastic, walls too thin but it's clean and they lent me a baby cot which was very useful for RaeAnne to stand. The room had only twin beds so I had to sleep with RaeAnne cos I had to wake up and feed her in the middle of the night.



We went on city tour on Sun morning and went to Causeway Bay to pray. Disneyland tour was on Monday and it was a very sunny day. We were not seen anywhere without an umbrella at the aunties' insistence. We spent more time at Fantasyland where RaeAnne went on the carousel and the teacup rides. Our little gal enjoyed herself.





We went shopping at Harbourcity but didn't buy much but Xmas decorations and the view at Star Ferry was nice. Pity we didn't manage to meet Mylife, Jan MTB, at HK. Was at Elements waiting for her to call but she was busy with the baby. Couldn't wait indefinitely with the whole kampung who were waiting for me to go to Harbour city. Poor hubby didn't get to go to HMV to buy his DVD though it was only 100 metres away.



Nursing and baby rooms are sorely lacking in HK. Better off wearing diaper pants for babies, at least easier to take off and replace. Elements shopping mall has a very nice baby room with 3 changing areas and even 1 cubicle that can be locked for breastfeeding. Too bad not all shopping malls got same standard. At the airport, I had to BF RaeAnne in the toilet, couldn't find the baby room anywhere. :/ The aunties were very helpful during the trip to bathe and feed RaeAnne. Brought milk powder, cereal, Heinz jar food, pigeon baby porridge to HK. End up she only take BM and fresh porridge which 2nd aunty made every morning. Overall, it was a good trip cos I had a lot of family support though I came back with a headache and sore throat due to not drinking enough water in the dry weather and lack of sleep. :)

Special request from the Feb mummies. Packing list for RaeAnne's trip. Don't faint, it's a long list cos I wasn't sure what she'll need so this kiasu mummy brought everything. ;P

Things to bring Diaper bag
1. 1 cardigan/jacket
2. 1 extra set of clothes in ziplock bag (top, bottom, socks)
3. 1 pair of long socks
4. Diapers (day & night)
5. 2 Diaper pants
6. 1 Bib
7. Tiger Hot water flask
8. Milk powder dispenser (tiered)
9. Pigeon mag mag bottle
10. Pigeon feeding bowl with spoon
11. Extra baby cutlery set
12. Pink thermos food jar
13. Baby biscuits
14. Bottle warmer with 1 clean milk bottle inside
15. Small wet baby towel in ziplock bag
16. 1-2 toys (cloth book and toy camera)
17. Baby medicine (eg. Panadol syrup, forehead plaster, what else?)
18. Baby bjorn carrier
19. Clean cloth diaper
20. Baby hat

Baby luggage Bag
1. Electric bottle warmer? (didn't bring in the end)
2. Bottle brush? (didn't bring in the end, but would have been useful )
3. Sponge in ziplock bag
4. 1 hat
5. Hair clips (didn't bring in the end)
6. Baby Bottle detergent
7. Baby clothes liquid detergent
8. Milk powder (put in lock & lock airtight container with spoon)
9. Baby cereal (bring whole tin or put in lock & lock container with spoon)
10. Pigeon porridge/baby food/jar food
11. 1 extra milk bottle
12. Extra bibs
13. Extra diapers (day & night)/diaper pants
14. Extra tissue/wet wipes
15. Baby clothes (long sleeves, rompers, pyjamas, long socks etc)
16. 4 Baby face towel (2 for feeding, 2 for bathing)
17. Non slip bath mat (small) (forgot to bring in the end)
18. Ruyi oil
19. Baby lotion
20. Baby shampoo
21. Baby comb
22. Baby shower gel
23. Baby bath towel
24. Baby waterproof changing mat?
25. Mosquito repellent lotion?
26. Plastic container (use as water scoop?)
27. Tiger thermos food jar? (can cook porridge in short time, didn't bring in the end)
28. Travel kettle
29. Ear thermometer
30. Something familiar for bed time? Pillow? Soft toy?
31. Bedtime zipper sack
32. Breast pump (mini electric plus cos it's most portable)
33. Stroller? (didn't bring in the end)