Revolving stars

Being a FTM, I find myself worrying about every single thing that H does. One thing that I struggle with everyday is his exposure to digital devices. It is a growing trend for parents to expose their kids to digital devices. Personally, I think it's too young to start kids on digital devices as they get addicted to them. I see those kids who have their faces stuck to the Ipads or phones even during meal times and i worry for their eyesight.  To be honest, I totally understand the urge to let H watch videos, especially when I'm tired after work and he is creating a havoc in the house. I admit that sometimes I give in and just let him watch a little on TV (youtube videos) in my parent's house.  But, on better days, I try to read with him or to him, depending on how you look at it. The key difference is that digital devices do not require parental involvement but reading and playing with H requires a lot of effort. Just getting him to be still and listen is a huge chore in its...

Having a child is a costly affair. My dear baby cost me about $20k just for the delivery and hospital fee. I was quite taken aback by the cost even though there were some $$ allocated to new parents aka baby bonus. And I wasn't even staying in a single bedded room! After such a deep hole in our pocket, we strived to keep our budget and cost for Hunter down.  Below are the 10 things that we did: 1) Hand-me-downs You would be surprised by the number of hand-me-downs you can get if you just open your mouth. I have gotten tons of items of neighbours, friends and relatives. And mind you, they are not just any old items. They can be pretty new clothes that were worn once or maybe even new ones!  In this category, toys, strollers, bassinets and clothes are best as baby outgrows them quickly. 2) Carousell I do a lot of shopping on Carousell. I believe in zero waste parenting and I want my kid to understand the consequences of overbuying. If we can play a part by reducing waste, why no...

I did an unthinkable thing, which is to head over to JB for confinement. When I first suggested that, everyone around me warned me against it. They cited the lack of healthcare should I or Hunter is unwell and the inconvenience caused by the distance. I wasn't deterred and pushed forward with it and I didn't have any regrets. I enjoyed my time there tremendously and would go back there again if not for my insistence that I would not have a second kid. All that being said, there are definitely some cons but they are minor issues in my opinion. An unassuming front  Pros: Amazing food As everyone knows, food in JB tastes better and the confinement centre is no exception. 5 meals are provided a day with unlimited milo and biscuits should you be hungry. (Trust me, breastfeeding is hungry business). The timings are 9am (breakfast), 12pm (lunch), 3pm (teabreak), 6pm (dinner) and 9pm(supper). As you can see, I was really well taken care of in the food department when I was there. Huge ...

Being a new mum, I was very anxious to give a headstart for H. I went online to search for all the different activities that I can do with him when he is 0-3 months old. After so many trials and errors, I realised something: he just wants to eat and sleep unless he is very awake The activities that we did for H when he was: 0 month old - sing and to him - cuddle him as much as possible - breastfeed  I did my confinement at one of the confinement centres in JB and it was one of the most awesome experience that I had. There was no worry about confinement nannies going AWOL and the horror stories that have been going around recently. But that is another story to share next time :) 1 month old - sing and talk to him - get other family to carry and talk him so that he would not be clingy to just one person - feed him via bottle 2 month old - play the mobile singing toy - run fingers along his arms and tummy to stimulate touch - sing and talk to him - feed him via bottle

As a first time mum (FTM), I was very nervous when it comes down to the D-day. This was especially so as H had been turning around non-stop during the last few weeks of the 3rd trimester. It was a roller coaster ride in the literal sense, to the extent that a C-section was scheduled and cancelled. So, in the end, the D-day came about because the doctor (Dr Tan) decided that we couldn't wait anymore and H has to be induced out. This was contrary to the initial worry that he would come out early. So, on a Friday night, we checked in to TMC and I spent the night in the waiting room for the induction of the delivery. (I asked the Hubby to go back home as it was going to take a long time.) I even brought a book along to chill as the Dr Tan told us that he expected the delivery to take place around Sat afternoon. So, I was sharing the room with another person and it was honestly pretty scary, with some others moaning in their pain. In addition, the room was damn cold. The nurses were pre...

I finally understood why everyone says that the 2nd trimester is the easiest out of the 3 trimesters. Recently, I have been suffering from cramps and backaches, not to mention the constant fatigue of carrying an extra few kgs 24/7, which result in poor quality sleep. Despite this, I shall push on. It's probably going to be another 4-5 more weeks before he is due (which is really soon) and the start of another nightmare. :( With the haze recently, I did not manage to finish my targeted daily walks. I was seriously contemplating about walking around the house but it just looks damn stupid, plus there were too many distractions around. Hopefully, the weather will clear and I can re-start the routine again.

It has been such a long time since I'm back here. I guess I had been too caught up with life recently. In a few months'  month's time, a new journey awaits. I can't decide if I'm excited or depressed about it. But I know I'm definitely glad for the few months' break that it would afford me. Anyway, thinking of happier stuff, I have completed my baking package at ABC cooking studio. I will do a comprehensive review on it when I have more time but in short, I would say, "Go for it~!" It had been painful on my wallet but it had also been one of the most enjoyable highlights of 2018. I even managed to bake scones a few times at home despite my busy schedule! Do jio me if you are interested in a trial class for ABC cooking studio! You will get to go for the trial lesson for a cheaper price ($28) while I get to go for free :D And the best part of it all is that they DO NOT hardsell. (PL enjoyed his time there too. We were contemplating if we should w...