Play Date

Last Wed, Rae's friends came over for a play date and I've prepared some snacks.

I've prepared egg mayo sandwich, mushroom cheese sandwich and banana muffins.

Banana muffins recipe

Ingredients: 

250 g self raising flour 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt

60 g unsalted butter (melted, at room temperature n mix into the wet ingredient but I prefer using cold butter doing rubbing in method)

 60 g fresh milk 

2 eggs (lightly beaten) – I used large eggs 

2 tsp vanilla essence 

80 g  sugar 

 5 medium over-ripe bananas (mashed) – about 6 inches long - 

I mashed 4 and lightly mashed 1 to be used as fillings insert in the middle of the mixture of the muffin cup

Method

1 Mix dry ingredient - flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg powder and salt in a bowl

Add in cold butter using rubbing in method.

2 marshes 4 banana till liquid like and likely mash the last one and leave aside.

3 Mix wet ingredient - egg, vanilla essence, milk and sugar then add in the marshy banana

4 preheat oven to 220'c and grease the muffin tray.

5 pour dry ingredient slowly to wet ingredient scope by scope and mix 

Note: lightly mix and limit the mixing stroke to achieve fluffy muffin texture

The batter must be "spoonable" and not too wet.

6 Scope into the muffin cups 90% full

7 Bake in 220'c oven for 5 mins then turn to 190'c for about 15 mins or golden brown

Orange Scones with Raisin

Today RY will not be back for dinner so I decided to do some baking since I don't have to cook dinner except porridge for baby.

I was wondering what to bake then suddenly recalled that RY bought a lot of oranges which are not sweet to my liking, so instead of throwing them away, I decided to test out this orange scones recipe.

I've done some modification in the recipe.

Ingredient:

All purpose flour 240g (but later I increased to 280g  as I've added too much milk)

Sugar 30g (I don't like too sweet but can add more if want it sweeter)

1 egg lightly beaten (keep little yolk to mix with milk as the egg wash on the scones surface)

Butter 40g

Baking Powder 1 tablespoon but later I added half teaspoon more due to flour increase

Raisin - a cup

1 orange, extract juice and also grate the skin for the zest

1/4 teaspoon salt

Milk moderation (recipe stated 125ml for 350g flour and for 240g flour should be about 85ml but I added 30ml already find it too watery)

Method:

Grease the baking tray to get ready.

Pre heat the oven 190'c

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, sugar in a bowl, then add in butter using the rubbing in method till it resemble breadcrumbs.

Add raisin and orange zest to the mixture.

In another bowl, beat egg and add into the mixture.

Add orange juice

Add milk in moderation (think I added about 30ml then I realised the mixture was to sticky so I added more flour and baking powder.

Mix all well and make the mixture into a dough.

Roll the dough into 2cm thick on a flat surface (flour dust the surface)

Use cookie cutter to cut the shape.

Use the egg yolk with bit of milk as egg wash on the scones surface

Baking:

Bake 190'c for about 16 to 18 mins or till golden brown.

New hobby - Baking

I've a new found hobby which is possible to do now as bb goes to school, I've some free time to read up on the recipes, do baking essentials shopping etc.

I started with the basic Rock Buns to build up some confidence before I progress to more difficult recipes. 

Then I moved on to making scones and this morning I baked chocolate chips muffins.

I'm very happy with my baking adventures since all have been a success, both Bb Rae and RY like them very much.

Next in line will be cake baking which I hope would be a success too .........

Rock Buns

Recipe http://smallsmallbaker.blogspot.sg/2007/11/chocolate-chips-rock-buns.html

Scones

Recipe http://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-raisin-scones/2/

I replaced with Chocolate Chips.

Chocolate Chips Muffins (Recipes http://www.thelittleteochew.com/2013/05/chocolate-chip-muffins.html. But I replaced with butter and further reduced sugar)

Baby Rae 1st Handicraft

Baby Rae came home on Thursday 3 October her 1st art work.

It's a doll made from recycled material.

I need to blog about this before it's gone into the bin.

Happy Children's Day 2013

Yesterday was Baby Rae's first Children's Day party in school.

All schools (primary and under) were closed on 4 October 2013 Friday so there was no school for her but her school had organized a party with fun filled activity like balloon sculpture, face painting, manicure! kids gym demonstration, positive focus talk for parents and kids, bouncing castle, ball pits etc.

I brought her to the party yesterday.

To let baby experienced the joy of giving, I packed small gift packs for the whole school to let her distribute to every kids in school on Thursday 3 October on pre Children's Day as not all will attend the party next day.

I sent her to school and informed the teacher to bring her around to do the distribution.

She came home after school a very happy baby!

The gift pack consists of healthy organic treats which has no artificial addictives, which I hope all the kids can consume and a parents would also feel safe to let their bb eat in peace.

See my happy baby at the school Children's Day party.

It never appeared to me that she'd be so ill 2 hours later .......

Misadventure

A mother gotta do what a mother has to do!

If u were in Takashimaya shopping mall yesterday afternoon, you'd ve seen a crazy women shouting for help and asking for trained medical profession to come forward to help her bb who was in fits and unconscious.
Her call was answered and her bb was attended by a trained nurse who happened to be shopping and the Taka staff rendered kind assistance.
They were sent to hospital via ambulance for treatment and her bb is well n playing now!

I wanna thank all who has assisted in anyway, help or just standing by watching the free live drama.

No, I'm not ashamed of what I've done!

The ambulance medics said baby was in fits and the KKH doc diagnosed that the fits was caused by fever, till now I am still wondering what have I missed or done wrong.

Baby attended her school Children's Day party yesterday morning, she was playing happily and eating fine, she fell asleep on our way to Taka and awoke when I was choosing shoes, she helped me picked the colour, then I made payment and asked her if she wants some milk, she said no and she said she wanted cake, so I proceeded to B2 to q up for the cake.

While in Q, I maintained conversation with her, then suddenly I saw her not responding and her eyes rolled backward as her whole body became stiff. 

I quickly jumped out from the q, carried her, held the stroller and went up to B1 while my mind ran thru all the possible solutions and at the same time kept calling her name.

I realised I am not moving fast enough with bb, stroller, diaper bag in the crowd and definitely can't make it to taxi stand fast to rush her to hospital, I was thinking of calling her dad to come but it'd take him sometime to arrive from work, I also think she needed medical help immediately, so I made the instant decision to seek immediate attention to get help, which started the big calling for "help" scene.

No word can described my fear, my fear of losing my precious baby..........

I'm glad I did the right thing as I know I can't handle the situation alone with a sick baby, stroller, diaper bag and a very worried mum who may not be in her right mind in a crowded shopping mall.

She still has fever and is sleeping now.

I hope she can recover ASAP!

Note to self, must attend First Aid course to learn some life saving skills.

Midnight demand

Baby is recovering from the common cold and she has lots of phlegm in her throat, so she feels the discomfort and would drink more water.

Usually baby Rae would cry and whine in the middle of the night and I'd need to guess what she wants as I've no clue. I'd either pat her to sleep or make her milk. 

Each time I'd tell her she needs to tell mummy what she wants so that I can attend to her needs swiftly.

Early this morning, she woke up in the middle of her sleep and said "I want water"!

I gave her some water and she went back to sleep.

I was very happy as she is able to communicate her needs to me in the middle of the night which makes it easier for everybody.

I hope she'll continue to do so.

Actually, at 19 months old, baby Rae had begun to talk in sentences, like "I like", "Give me phone", "Bye see you" "where is it" etc.

Everyday is a "Discovery Day" for me as I get amazed and impressed by my baby's development!

This is the good part of being a SAHM!

I'm around to witness her little achievements as she grows ...........

The best suction tool!

After buying various kind of sucking tool for removing the mucus from bb's nose, I realized that the best tool is none other then ME!

Yah, it's gross but I think the best way to clear bb's congested nasal is by the use of my own mouth to suck out the mucus!

Only a Mother would dare to do this out of LOVE!

I've asked RY to do it but he shake his head vigorously and refused to do it for his bb!

Yes, my darling girl is down with common cold and is now having bad congested nasal.

She is still active and playful despite being ill.

She started sneezing 3 days ago and yesterday she had mild fever, but this morning, her fever went up to above 38.6'c.

So we went to TMC PD clinic and the doctor prescribed some cough and cold medication as well as Ibrufen which is to be used when she has high temperature above 38.5'c to bring the high temp down.

She "merlioned" her dinner due to the congested nose as she can't swallow her food.

So I gotta use my mouth to suck out the mucus to relive her uncomfortableness.

After resting for an hour, I fed her some milk and checked her temp which was 39'c and quickly did a wipe down then gave her the Ibrufen.

Before she slept, I checked that her temp had gone down slightly to 38.6'c and hopefully she will feel better after a good night of sleep.

A Mother's simple wish is to wish that her bb get well soon!

HFMD in Rae's School

Last Tuesday afternoon, Bb Rae's teacher called that there is a confirmed HFMD case in her school.

A boy was rejected entry on Monday due to fever and the following day a visit to the doc confirmed that he has HFMD.

The teacher informed that upon knowing about the HFMD case, they have disinfected the school facility and all toys, but advised parents to decide if they would like to keep their child away from school for sometime as the incubation period of the virus could be up to 10 days.

After discussion with RY, we've decided to abstain bb from school this week as not sure if there maybe new case.

Lucky I am a SAHM, so I'm able to make swift decision to stop bb from school as I can look after her myself.

So in time of such emergency, being a SAHM is good!

Happy Wedding Anniversary 2013

RY came home with a bunch of flowers last Monday!

I am happy that my hub remembers and still gives me flower ..........

Happy Teachers Day 2013

Last Thursday was Teachers Day celebration day in BB Rae's school and the following day was a day off for all the teachers in SG, so no school for bb (not sure if it applies to just preschool and primary schools).

I only realized on Wednesday about the celebration and was wondering if I had sufficient time to prepare the gifts for the teachers.

On Thursday morning, I quickly sent bb to school then came home to do house cleaning and left home at 10.30am to the shopping mall nearby to shop for gifts.

After walking around, I decided to get the teachers a gift pack consists of a Hand cream and a Face mask.

I bought the items from SASA and the sales assistants were very kind to help me removed the price tags and helped me packed them into individual packs.

Next, I went to a kiddy shop to get a Hello Kitty (HK) post it note to write the message.

Then I found a quiet corner to repack and sealed the gifts and attached a HK note each.

I checked the time, it was about noon and I had not finished packing.

Lucky RY called me and informed that he was nearby and offered to fetched bb home.

I got him to fetch me from the mall to go to the school together.

We reached baby's school at about 12.30pm and I told bb to distribute the gift to the individual teacher personally, there were 13 of them.

The teachers were very happy and my bb enjoyed giving too!

I am glad that I managed to get the teachers' gifts in time (in a mad rush of course).

Hopefully next year I can be more prepared!

Baby in School

Yesterday was bb 1st day in school!

I woke her up at 7.50am to fed her milk and shower her.

We reached school at 8.20am to q up to let the teacher check her temperature and examine her hand, foot and mouth before letting her inside the school.

It was breakfast time and bb Rae sat down at the dining area to eat with her new friends.

Breakfast was cornflakes with milk but bb preferred hers without milk.

After breakfast, it was story time before the children went into their individual class.

There were 2 other new kids in her playgroup and the teacher let them play at the big play area.

I left the school at about 9.30am as I felt that I should let bb get used to not having me around when she is in school.

The teacher informed that should bb cry uncontrollably or any emergency, she will call me.

I went back with a heavy heart.

I came home to do house cleaning and prepare the ingredients for dinner.

I also checked on my phone continuously for fear that I might missed the school's call.

RY fetched me for lunch at 12 noon and then fetched bb home.

The teacher informed that Bb behaved very well and was able to sit through the class.

She was also able to follow instructions and didn't look for me.

She managed to eat half a bowl of porridge with teacher's assistance.

But bb had a bruise on her left upper eyelid on the first day of school.

Before I left in the morning, she was ok.

The teacher was very apologetic and explained that she didn't cry and nobody knew what happened.

RY and myself were "heart pain" but nothing can be done except to apply some ointment on her when we got home.

On the way home, bb told me that she is very happy and likes school very much.

I gave her some apple and milk.

She napped for 2.5 hours.

Today is her 2nd day in school.

I woke her up at 8am to prepare her and reached school at 8.40am for breakfast, she ate cheese sandwich.

I left at 9.30am and fetched her home at about 12.15pm.

The teacher feedback that she was good except that she doesn't like to share toys with friends.

She also finished a bowl of rice with tou foo, fishball and veg soup.

My precious bb had a fragrant pear and milk.

she just slept at 2pm and I shall wake her up at 4pm.

I hope my bb can adapt well in school fast and pick up good habits like toy sharing, self feeding and good social skill.

Mummy was sick

Last Friday, I woke up with a heavy head and aching body.

I thought I'll be ok to perform the daily task, so I cooked for bb, did some house cleaning, woke bb up and fed her milk then bathed her.

But towards lunch time, I was feeling really tired and lousy and quickly text RY to come home for lunch to feed bb as I was really sick to do anything.

I was lying on the sofa while bb played in the living room and she would come to me and asked me to play with her.  Being really weak and sick, I just stared at her and didnt do anything.

My bb was frustrated as she couldn't get mummy to play with her, so she walked up n down and threw her toys all over to seek my attention.

My good husband came home at 12.30pm to feed bb Rae and also bought me mee hoon soup for lunch.

After feeding bb, he rushed back to work.

I was so sick that I slept in the afternoon together with bb and I woke up in time to cook bb's porridge for dinner.

RY came back early to cook dinner for us.

He took care of bb while I turned in early for the night.

The next morning, I woke up with painful throat and then realized that I was having tonsillitis.

I drank plenty of water and recovered by Sunday.

The last time I was so sick was last year June when I was down with rota virus infection.

I always took great care of myself as I fear to fall sick since I am the sole care giver of bb Rae.

Fortunately RY was in town so he was able to help out.

I can't imagine what will happen if he is on biz trip ..........

Note to self, must really take good care of my own health for the sake of my bb and hub!

 

Ok, we'll go to School!

We've finally decided to send baby Rae to school and she'll start on 2 Sept for half day class.

The school allows a 2 weeks trial period and in the event that baby doesn't like it, we can withdraw her.

During the registration, I've raised few concerns to the Principal and she assure me that my worries are trivial and can be easily resolved.

These are my concerns:

1 Baby Rae is still unable to self feed

Principal : the teacher will feed her till she is able to self feed and usually with peer learning, she'll pick up the skill fast.

2 Baby Rae prefers soft diet and chew her food thoroughly so she eats really slow

Principal : she is an active toddler and requires lots if energy to be active, should encourage her to eat more solid diet and the teacher will be patient in her feeding.

3 Baby Rae is very active and can't sit still, so may not be able to blend well with the school system

Principal : it's normal for kid like her to run around and many kids started this way and gradually get used to the school routine

4 Baby Rae is very expressive so she may make loud noises if things r not to her liking.

Principal : it's normal for young toddler to make nose as they have not master the right communication skill. They'll learn through teaching and playing.

5 Baby Rae is tall and strong to her age and may exert too much force on other kids, like pushing or patting hard.

Principal : the teachers will observe and ensure the safety of the kids and do corrective action should they spotted any pushing or beating incidents.  Teacher will feedback the incident in class to parents but will not reveal the "culprit" identity so as not to victimized the child.

6 If due to emergency we're not able to pick baby up by 1pm, what should we do?

Principal : Arrangement can be made for the parents to fetch the child later if due to emergency, but not on frequent basis.

We're pretty satisfied with the Principal's replies and went ahead with the enrollment instantly.

A day out in RWS

I've won free tickets to SEA aquarium in RWS from CIMB bank and need to collect the tix by this Wednesday. The tickets are valid for 180 days.

So yesterday, I brought BB Rae to RWS by MRT and bus (I hardly take taxi as I think it's pretty costly to me, moreover we lives in town so public transport is pretty accessible).

I brought a stroller with me since I think it's useful to stroll her around the big RWS compound.

We took a MRT to Harbourfront station and changed to RWS bus transfer,

It was pretty tough to handle a baby, a pram, diaper bag and her lunch bag (brought porridge to feed as I'm limiting her in take of outside preservative, MSG and other additives laden food). 

Boarding the bus is always a real challenge as the entrance of SG buses are pretty narrow with a railing divider.

We collected the SEA Aquarium tickets and then went to lunch in McDonald.

We walk around the big compound before we head home.

We took the RWS bus transfer out of Sentosa then took a direct bus back home.

Baby was really tired from the running around and had a good nap when we reached home.

It isn't easy to bring a child out alone and I do hope people will be more compassionate to lend a helping hand if they ever see a struggling mum in need ......... A simple gesture of opening the door or pressing the lift "Open" button would definitely help!

School or No School

My baby is 19 months old and next week, she will be 20 months.

I am in a dilemma whether to send her to preschool.

In SG, 18 months old toddler can attend preschool or child care for either half a day or full day.

I've found an ideal school for BB Rae and is able to enroll her anytime but am still pondering which is best, should I send her to school now or defer her till she turns 30 months or older?

I feel that baby is not learning much when she stays at home and I certainly doesn't want to make her a TV addict.

I am always tired as I gotta wake up in the middle of the night to comfort her as she tends to wake up in her dream.  During daytime, I will do housework, cooking and laundry and can't do much teaching as I am burnt out.

I feel sorry for my baby that she has to follow me around at home watching me cook or I will turn on the TV to keep her occupied.

If she goes to school, she has playmates and get to learn while I get some rest.........

But sending her to school may mean that she will get sick easily.

I'm also afraid she may not be able to adapt well in the school environment as she has me around most of the time.

Am in a dilemma ..........

What should I do?

Teething Bleeding

Bb Rae is considered slow when it comes to teething.

She had her 1st tooth when she was 8 months old and when she was 1year old, she only had 2 upper and 2 lower front teeth.

Then when she was 14 months old she had 4 upper and 4 lower front teeth.

Her molars only came out few days ago (last Monday) while we were in Ipoh for the long weekend vacation.

Her 1st upper right molar erupted on Monday then 2 days later the other 2 appeared at the same time, now awaiting for the left lower molar to come out.

Last Friday (we were still in Ipoh) while cleaning her teeth after milk, I saw blood stains on the handkerchief.

I was shocked as this has never happened when she had her front teeth.

The bleeding lasted for about 3 days and it finally cleared yesterday.

I checked up the Internet that this is teething bleeding as the big molar pushes its way up and out on the surface.

A check with my other mummy friends confirmed that this is normal.

According to the dentist, baby will experience most discomfort when the canies teeth erupted.

I hope that Baby Rae will be spared from any teething agony (a simple wish of a mummy)!

Update on 18 Sept:

Bb's left lower molar came up when she turned 20 months old and few days ago, her left upper canie tooth eruptef, so now left with three canies and the last 4 molars which should appear when she is about 2 and 2.5 years old respectively.

Bye bye EBM!

I just thrown away many bags of EBM as they were beyond 6 months old.

Amazing huh, I had produced so much milk for my bb and these were just the excess pumped out and not to mention a carton full was discarded last Nov prior to house moving!

Back from Europe

We're back from Europe since last Fri and now I am busy unpacking and doing the laundry.

Before we left SG 2 weeks ago, the sky was blue but when we returned, the sky was grey and the air smelled bad due to the haze.

I've been doing laundry portion by portion so that I can move the clothes indoor to air should the haze worsen.

A glad that the sky seemed clearer since last Saturday.

I must say that traveling with a young toddler is very challenging.

Throughout the 2 weeks trip, I didn't have a good sleep as bb Rae turned cranky during bed times due to foreign environment and I gotta calm her down.

I am really glad that I managed to wean her off from EBM as it was impossible to wake up early to express BM.

I was awake since 4.30am daily to ensure we were on time for the tour and if I gotta express BM, then I'd need to wake up at 3am!

The weather in Europe was very pleasant, it was early summer so it wasn't hot nor cold.

Baby was able to eat a packet each of bb food for lunch and dinner and she had more milk then usual; she drank 4 to 5 times daily instead of the usual 3 feeds.  I guess the jet lag had make her lost of appetite.

She slept in the coach most of the time and when she was awake she'd played with me or RY or the tour mates (we joined a guided tour instead of free n easy).

She behaved so well that all the tour mates including the tour leader were impressed with her.

Europe is not very stroller friendly, so most of the time I carried her in the carrier.

It was a wonderful experience to travel with bb as the last time we were in Europe was just RY and me!

I think bb will not remember anything about this trip.

Most important is we as parents experienced traveling with her when she was 17 months old!

I'll cherish this memory........

Let me show u some pics of my cheeky girl during this trip.

Packing up for the Europe trip

Prior to the arrival of bb Rae, packing for holiday or biz trip was easy and merely took me a few hours to complete.

But with baby (especially such a sticky one), it seems to be taking me forever to pack ........

I can only pack while bb is asleep and gotta do it early in the morning like 4am and have about 3 hours each time to organise and pack for 2 paxs (bb and me).

Do note that not only I gotta pack her clothes, I also need to plan how many diapers/ wipes, how much milk powder, bb food pouches (yep, she is still eating bb food as she only has front teeth and no molar yet so she refused to chew or grind food which is not soft to her liking) and which toys to bring along etc ........ 

I only managed to pack for bb and has yet to pack for myself.

Wish me luck in my packing and hopefully I can pack in time!

Toughest job!

I met up with a mommy friend 2 days ago for lunch.

We were supposed to meet in Orchard for lunch but due to me lack of sleep (bb's mid-night Merlioned episode), I was too tired to travel so my friend came to the mall near me for lunch instead.

It was a nice meet up and we chatted over lunch to share about our little ones and also about being mum.

We both agreed that being mum is a tough job and I personally feel that being a SAHM is the toughest job I've ever had ........

SAHM has no annual leave, sick leave or time off, no salary, no bonus or AWS, no overtime pay but overtime is expected, multi tasking is also expected.

SAHM contributions has the least recognition in the society!

SAHM like any other job has its ups and downs, as well as work stress but we've no HR dept to complain to.  We only can talk to hubby and hopefully he listens but sometimes he is the source of our frustrations so he may not understand.

Being a SAHM means that hub and others like MIL may've certain expectation on you being able to clean house, do household chores, cooks, care and discipline bb with perfect score of 10/10 since you're home all the time.  

RY expects me to attend to bb whenever she gets cranky especially in the middle of the night or early morning so that he can get a good sleep and if i dont act timely, he'll get upset.  MIL expects me to handle all housework by myself and not bother hub so that he can concentrate working and have good rest after work. (Note: MIL has never taken care of her kids full time as her mother helped her while she worked).

Anyone who is a SAHM like me with no helper would understand that its no mean feat to handle housework and bb alone.  

I need a break too!

When you're at work, you get tea break and lunch break but being a SAHM, I've no such break!

My meal time is a short 5 mins to let me swallow my food without tasting it.

The worst part is when baby cries while I've stomach upset and gotta decide which to do first, attend to bb or go toilet, it's an agony to hold back your "shxx" while attending to bb but its also heart breaking to hear her cries loudly and fiercely.

Rae is very "sticky" to me and want me to carry her like a koala bear and refused to leave me to let me do my work.

The rewards of SAHM is non-monetary!

I get to care for bb personally, ensuring that she eats balanced diet and be part of her growing up companion, play with her and teach her words.

We sing/ dance and laugh together.  

My job satisfaction is when I see her growing up well and hear her call me MaMa!

i'm also glad that I'm able to witness her achieving the different milestones.

So there is pros and cons of bring a SAHM and I hope the cons are temporary only.........

As a matter of fact, I do enjoy my time with bb Rae.

She "Merlioned" in the middle of the night!

Yesterday was a horrible day for me!

It was the 1st time Bb Rae vomited and it was in the middle of the night!

If you've seen our Spore icon Merlion, you can imagine why I use it figuratively.

She started crying in her sleep at about 2am and I tried to pat her back to sleep but with no avail.

Then I gave her some milk and she clang on to me to sleep but when I tried to put her back into her baby cot, she cried fiercely and "merlioned" whatever was in her stomach!

So I gotta clean her up and also clear the mess on her bed, change the bed sheet etc.

Just when we thought we can catch some sleep, she pooped and hub gotta change her diaper.

We only managed to go to bed at about 5+am!

I hope this wont happen again as its really tiring .........

Preparing for the Europe trip

We'll be going to Europe next week and now gotta start preparing for the trip.

I gotta plan what to bring for bb since its going to be cool spring weather there.

Not only I gotta pack her clothes, I also need to pack her milk, snacks. Bb food and medication  etc.

I should be bz doing the packing till the day we depart for Europe.

Down with common cold

Bb Rae is down with common cold and has been sneezing with running nose for a week.

I weaned her off from EBM just before she turned 17 months old and after a week of no breast milk, her immunity went down.

To boost her immunity, I've given her Scott's Emulsion and hopefully she can recover fast on her own with no medication required.

River Safari on 14 May 2013

Thanks to one of my mommy friend who is working in a bank, i went to River Safari last Tuesday FOC!.

She managed to get her corporate pass to River Safari and invited me and 2 others to join her.

This new river themed wildlife park is very pleasant to visit as its mostly sheltered so even if its sunny or rainy (light rain) day, you can roam around the park at ease.

We were there at 10am and left at 2.30pm to bring bb to her music play session at Our Music Studio in Tanglin Mall.

The main attraction to this wildlife park would be the 2 panda bear, Kai Kai and Jia Jia, but our babies prefer looking at the red panda instead as they are more active moving around.

I think I may consider being a member so that I can bring bb there more often.

How to discipline my bb?

My bb is very active and has been making me lose my cool.

At times, I'd raise my voice and tell her NO and when it doesn't work, I'll shout at her (I know it's bad) and if it still doesn't stop he mischief, I'll resort to beating her using the short plastic balloon stick ( hub disallowed me to get cane and I didn't want to use my hand as a hitting tool for I believe that hand is to cuddle and hug her).

But hub has been disciplining her with his bear hand and now bb copy the action and hit us or her friends.

I kept telling hub to change but he is not listening.

I must try to rectify this mistake.

I pray to God to let me be a patient and loving mum so that I can maintain my cool and not get angry with my precious baby. 

I also hope that hub would agree with me and work with me to a better way to discipline bb Rae......

Flu Jab

Bb had her 1st flu jab last Monday and she'll need a 2nd dose next month prior to our Europe trip.

As I'm stopping EBM soon, I thought she should get some protection from the flu virus prior flying.

If not for the Europe trip, I'd continue EBM and not let her have the jab!

Should I stop EBM?

I've been expressing breast milk for bb Rae despite weaning her from breast feeding.
Am thinking of stopping EBM in view of the forthcoming Europe trip in mid June.

Yah, we're going on a Europe trip as a family with RY and bb!
I seriously don't think I'll be able to express BM during the 2 weeks trip.
I'll be too tired to care for bb and doubt will be able to wake up early in the morning to pump, wash and sterilize the breast pump accessories and pack up the luggage as we'll be changing hotel every 3 days ........

I know it's kinda "sayang" to stop EBM as breast milk is the best for my bb, but as a Mother I need to feel good too right?
I can't possibly wear myself out which may in turn fall sick ........

I need to start making plan on the gradual stop in EBM s that my breast won't engorge which may hurt.

Being a SAHM has slim me down!

Prior to preggy, I was 46kg, during preggy was 62kg and now am 43kg!
My bb has certainly made me slimmer than ever!
No, I didn't get to do any exercise nor running, except for the baby chasing, stroller pushing, bb carrying etc.

Play dates

I've been busy lately!
I've been busy fixing play dates for bb Rae!

I get to know a group of SAHM and have been organizing play dates for the toddlers.

We'd either go for tea meet up and child friendly restaurants or go to some mommies house (we take turns to open our house to all to visit) and also do outdoor like zoo or botanical gardens.

Yesterday we were at Jacob Ballas Children's Garden for the water play.
Then we had lunch at Watami at Star Vista.

I believe in play dates for bb to let her interact with other tods to horn her socializing skill which may help in developing her EQ.

First time in Zoo

Last week, RY took a week off to clear his annual leave and he planned a series of fun filled family activities like zoo, short vacation to Desaru, Malacca and KL.

On Monday, we went to the zoo and it was Bb Rae's visit!

It was a sunny morning and we only reached zoo at about 11.30am.
We bought ticket to the sneak preview of the Panda bear for 12pm viewing.
After viewing, we had lunch at 12.30pm in the Panda theme restaurant.

Having a baby means you got to take things easy and we only finish lunch at about 2pm.
So we took the unlimited tram ride around the zoo and went to see different animal shows.

We left the zoo at about 5pm and didn't really get to see many animals and also skipped the water play.

Today, I'm bringing Bb Rae to zoo (without RY) with a group of mommy friends.
We intend to do the water play so I ve brought a lot of stuff in a backpack!

Role Switch

Prior to yesterday, RY had big ideas and would suggest on bb caring, cooking & feeding routine.
He also had the thinking that a SAHM like me must ve a lot of free time.
So yesterday we had a role switch to let him experiment his method.
Just merely a day of role switch, he surrendered .....
He only gets to read his newspaper in the evening when I'm back!
It's always easy to give ideas and suggestions but when you're doing it Daily, it's not what you imagine!
SAHM caring a bb/ toddler with no help is no mean feat!
Do not judge or hold any unfair comparison.........

Universal Studio Singapore on 20 Mar 2013

Yesterday was the 1st time I went to USS with bb but we'd gone to the one is US in September lat year while she was 8 months old.
RY didn't come along as he gotta work so I went with my sis and her family.

It was a really hot day.

I started my day by waking up at 4.45am to cook porridge for bb and then move on to clean the house and express BM for her etc.
Then I woke bb up at 7.45am to feed her milk and wash her up.

We left the house at 8.40am and arrive Vivo City RWS bus pick-up point at 9.25am to meet up with sis to catch the RWS bus which cost $2 for a round trip ride.

USS was not very crowded since it was a weekday.
We roamed around the theme park leisurely and had lunch at 12.30pm at the food court in Madagascar zone. I must say the food is lousy for the price we paid ($15 per portion).
The rice, roasted chicken and satay were hard and dry.

Bb refused to take her nap in the park and was very cranky.
She refused to eat her porridge so I gotta feed her milk instead.

I bought a cap, t-shirt and bottle sprayer for bb.
I'd never buy anything if not for bb, now I understand why the theme park targets at children market segment.

We left the park at about 6pm.

Chicken Pox Jab on 5 March 2013

Last Tue we brought bb to ve her chicken pox vaccination.
Some may think that this jab is unnecessary but I feel it's better to jab her so that she has certain level of immunity instead of a full blown one should she gets chicken pox.

We were told to monitor her body temperature and possible body rashes for 2 weeks.
I hope all is well for her!

The weight is 8.9kg (50th percentile) and height 77.5cm (90th percentile).

How I wean my bb Rae from breast feeding?

I thought it'd be good to document down the wean off process so that some of the BF moms may benefit from my experience.

I had original planned to BF bb for 9 months then gradually wean her off by introducing bottle feed BM to her. The plan was to give her 1 bottle feed BM for 2 weeks then increase to 2 for another 2 weeks then introduce FM into one of the feeds, so become 2 BM and 1 FM, then another 2 weeks increase to 2 FM and 2 BM. So by the time she turn 1 year old, can can be on bottle FM fully with just 1 BM.
Note: BM is Breast Milk, FM is Formula Milk and BF is Breast Feeding

But due to the viral fever in Sept 2012 and house moving, so my weaning plan was not able to proceed as planned.
I only manage to bottle feed her BM in end Oct'12 and was 1 feed a day in the morning.
The in mid Dec'12, I added a feed of FM in the afternoon and after we return from KL, I weaned her off from mid-night BF feeding by changing to FM.
In Jan'13, I change her last night feed to FM.
Her feeding schedule is as follows:
Morning 7am - 120ml FM
Morning 10.30am - 100ml BM
Afternoon 3pm - 150ml FM
Night 9.30pm - 150 FM

I intend to give her BM till her next MMR jab which is next month, then I'll stop pumping BM for her and my life may be easier and more relaxing.

Challenge
I'd list down the challenge that I faced in weaning her off.

Finding the right bottle
It was a nightmare to find a milk bottle for her as she has been BF exclusively so she won't accept any milk bottle. She rejected my Medela bottles and Calma teat.
But am glad to be able to learn about Como Tomo bottle which is silicon bottle which feel like breast.
Bb Rae was willing to suckle on it.
The bottle cost SGD32 and the fast flow teat is about SGD14.
It is an expensive but worth the investment as she is willing to suckle

Encouraging her to drink from bottle
She resisted bottle feed BM initially and would cry and struggle at every feeds.
I gotta be firmed to let her understand that I m determined to not let her BF.
I sang and talked to her and she finally relented and suckle.

Constant mid-night crying
She was crying fiercely for the mid-night suckle for for few weeks when there was total no BF.
So every night I'd wake up to pacify her by patting her back to sleep or make her FM.
I gotta keep assuring her that no nursing doesn't mean no Love.
During bottle feed, she'd hug me tight and fondle my breast and then smell my breast for comfort.

Frankly speaking, I do miss nursing her.
I miss the "closeness" and the private bonding time that we shared.
I miss her looking at me, smiling at me while she suckles ........
I also miss the convenience of BF as now I gotta pack hot water flask, FM powder, whereas previously I only need to bring a nursing cloth.

It was a tough weaning process but I don't regret BF her.

2nd Mens in 2 weeks time!

I had my 1st mens post childbirth and BF weaned off on 16 Feb and my 2nd one came yesterday 1 Mar, which is CD14 of the previous cycle.

I've read that it's not uncommon to have irregular mens during the 1st few months and subsequently it'd stabilize.

I hope it'd regulate soon .......

What is Love? Point 4

Love is ......... Squeezing every single drop of breast milk (BM) that you can and hope that hope that supply would improve instantly!

Since last month, I've not been latching bb on for breast feeding but I'd express out BM to bottle feed. With no latching, my BM supply gradually drops and jut 2 days before my mens it dropped horribly and during mens, the BM yield was pathetic.
It would take me an hour just to pump out 2 oz.

Supply gradually improves when mens is over, now the yield is much better.

What is Love? Point 3

Love is ....... Holding her close to your heart to comfort her even tho your bladder is very full and on the verge of exploding .........

What is Love? Point 2

Love is ........ Waking up in the middle of your sleep to check on her to ensure she is sleeping well and lay her blanket.........

What is Love? Point 1

I've decided to start a series of What is Love base on my own understanding and interpretation.

Love is ....... Willingly stick your finger into her mouth to clean her teeth, gum and tongue after milk with a handkie eve tho u know that she'll bite your finger hard .........

1st Menses after almost 2 years!

Today my mens finally came after almost 2 years!
I've weaned BB Rae off from breast feeding for about a month and was thinking when my cycle will resume.
I am very very tired ....... I've forgotten how tired it is on the 1st day of the cycle ......

Happy Valentines Day 2013

I've forgotten about the V Day till hub came home from work with a bouquet of roses.
I thought I won't be getting anything after being mom, am so surprised when he presented tome the flower.

Baby No. 2?

During CNY visits to relatives and friends' place, there are few questions which they'd definitely ask, for instance "how's your school result? Where r u working now and what position? When r u getting married? When r u going to ve baby?"

Before bb Rae, we ve to think of how to answer the bb question.
This year, we also get the bb question but the kind of question we get is "when is baby no. 2 coming?"
Frankly speaking, I just hope that this people can keep their mouth shut!
RY and myself just smiled politely and answered "coming coming ......"

I've already gone thru so much to ve my miracle bb, I certainly hope that God can perform another miracle on me to let me have another baby...........
Am I being greedy? Deep in my heart, I am wishing for another bb so that bb Rae won't be lonely when me and RY are not around ......
I wish but I dare not think too much about it.

Gong Xi Fa Cai 10 Feb 2013 Year of Water Snake

My baby girl wishes all Gong Xi Fa Cai and may all your wishes (esp baby dream) come true!

CNY 2013 - Year of Water Snake

This is our 2nd year of CNY with bb Rae!
This morning we departed SG at 6.30am and arrived Ipoh at 12.30pm.
The custom at both SG and MY were clear and traffic was smooth too.
We chose to come on Thursday as we fear that tomorrow being eve of CNY eve would be heavy traffic.

It's amazing that a year passes so quickly and my baby is now a toddler and a very active one.
The moment she set her foot on PIL house, she was busy walking and grabbing things within her reach to throw on the floor.
She is simply adorable and nobody reprimand her except me, her mummy.

We quickly bathed her and went out for lunch.
After lunch, we cleaned her and she is now taking her nap.

I think we should be staying in Ipoh for a week.

Busy SAHM

Lately I've been extremely bz due to extra daily cleaning.
No, it's not spring cleaning for CNY, it's just the usual daily cleaning, except that I gotta do sweep and mop the floor 3 times daily!

There is a housing construction nearby and the house gets dusty easily!
If there is no baby, I won't be so diligent.
With a walking toddler at home who is curious in everything and puts whatever she come across into her mouth, it pays to do extra cleaning.
I'd rather work harder than to risk letting bb Rae falls ill!

This is the power of love!

Congrats to my Friend

Yesterday I received a SMS from my friend that she is 9 weeks preggy.
We were secondary school classmates and have been friends till now.
I am really happy for her and wish her a smooth 8 months ahead.

Update on 1 Feb 2013
Sad to update that my friend had a miscarriage and did a D&C yesterday........
A check with the gynae on last Monday revealed that her bb had stopped growing since week 7.
I feel really sad for her.
This reminded me of my previous 3 losses .......
I hope she recuperates fast and try again ........

Shopping with Bb Rae

To bring some sanity back, instead of being home whole day, I'll bring bb out for about 3 times during weekdays.

Usually I'll take her out in the afternoon about 2pm and come home before 6pm.
I ll bring her to nearby shopping mall for a walk to do some grocery shopping or go Orchard to feel the busy crowd.

See my naughty girl playing with her shoe while mummy bz shopping for grocery.

Getting Baby Ready for School

In view of the plan to send baby Rae to school at 18 months, we gotta prepare her to be able to be independent in some ways, like self feeding and toilet train.

I think self feeding is more important than toilet train since she can still wear diaper to school. So we started her on self feeing exercise first.

I've been letting baby self feed herself the simple finger food like tiny baby biscuit, yogurt melt and Graduate Puff and she is able to handle those small bite size snack with no issue.

Yesterday was the first time I let her handle bigger piece of biscuit and banana, so she gotta hold on to them to slowly self feed and munch, unlike those smaller bite size ones she used to eat.
Being a baby, she enjoys playing with her food and is curious to see what will happen if she were to crash it or throw it on the table and floor.

To get myself ready for the mess, I had laid a newly bought plastic shower curtain to be used as floor mat for her and placed her baby high chair on it.
I had also removed the high chair fabric cushion cover to enable easy cleaning of the food stain.

It was really messy!
I think > 50% of the biscuit and banana went to waste, they re all over the floor mat, high chair, sticked onto her clothes and hair ......
So I spent another 15 mins to clear her mess on the floor and chair before cleaning her.

I think it ll be worst when we let her self feed porridge or noodles ....... But this is part of the growing up phase and we gotta take it as a pinch of salt!
I hope she can master the self feeding skill well ASAP ..........

Weaning BB Rae

After breast feeding for > 12 months, I think it's about time I wean her off.
3 months ago, I ve replaced her first morning feed with EBM, few weeks ago, I managed to wean her off the night feeding, so am gradually weaning her off totally from BF.......
I am introducing formula gradually .......

I do feel kinda sad that she latch on lesser but I know it needs to come to an end.
If I don't stop BF sooner, it may be tougher to wean her as she gets older........

School Hunting for Bb Rae

I've been researching on schools for baby to attend when she turns 18 months this June

I ve visited one centre yesterday near my house.
This school caters for toddlers range from 18 months to 6 years old for play group till Kindergarden 2.
Being a private run center, the school fees is at $1k per month for half day service and about $1.5k for full day one.
This school is new and really near to my place as its just 5 mins walk and has big clen class room and big green area and plenty of space for play!

I'm really tempted to enroll baby in this school but is deterred by the high fees!
With just single income earner, it may not be wise to put her there in the long run as I still have no plan of returning to workforce yet ........

I'm also also considering the public run centre and hopefully I can find a place for baby.
Pls wish me good luck!

Baby Rae Development Updates

At 1 year and 13 days old on 3 Jan 2013, bb was 8.1kg, 75.5cm tall and head circumference of 44cm.
Her weight and head circumference is 25 percentile while her height belongs to 75th.

Let me try to recall her different milestone during her first year ........
When she was newly born on 21 Dec 2011, she can latch on to suckle well .....
She was able to smile and laugh when she was 2 months old ........
At 2 months +, she can lift her head straight up with no support.......
At less than 4 months old, she can sit up ....... And flip at 4 months +........
At 5 months +, she was crawling ..........
At 7 months old she was standing up and walking with support
At 10 months + she was standing up and walking with no support
At 1 year old, she is moving so swiftly that it can be challenging to catch up with her ........
At 13 months old, my bb can pronounce some words pretty clearly, like Papa, Yeh Yeh, mom mom, up, ball, star and can count 1 to 3.
Last week during CNY in Ipoh, she can pronounce "Hello, Hi"!
Just 3 days ago on 16 Feb, she called me "Mummy"!
At 15 months old, she can count 1 to 10 and she can copy us saying a whole sentence like "what is it?/ where is bb/ good morning/ how r u etc"
She can also open the bb gate we place to guard the kitchen effortlessly.

At 16 months old, my bb can count 1 to 13 and she can hold a pen to scribble on paper.

She can say simple Chinese words like 洗手洗脚，妈妈，爸爸，在一起

I ll update more about her as she grows .......

Update on 5 Feb 2013
We brought bb to have her 3rd dose of pneumo jab yesterday.
She is 8.625kg, 76cm tall and has a head circumference of 45cm.
Still belongs to 25th percentile for weight and height is 75th percentile.

Updates on 19 Apr 2013
Last month on 6 Mar, bb was 8.9kg and 78cm tall
Last week 8 Apr, we brought her to ve her booster jab or MMR, she was 9.5kg, 79cm tall and her head circumference 45cm.

Update on 11 May 2013

Last Monday 6 May, we brought bb for flu jab and she is currently 10kg heavy and 81.9cm tall.

Baby Rae is a Toddler!

Random thought: Our bb is now a "toddler"!
But in my eyes, she is always a baby .......

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Toddler as:
One who toddles, especially a young child learning to walk.
A size of clothing for children between the ages of about one and three years.

MMR Jab

Baby was supposed to ve her 1st dose of MMR jab on 27 Dec 2012 but due to the KL trip, we postpone it to 3 Jan 2013.

We were told that between day 5 to day 10 post MMR, bb usually get fever.

Bb Rae had fever on Day 2 post MMR and it lasted for 2 days.
She is well since yesterday and I hope there'll be no recurring fever.

Happy New Year 2013!

It's 5 min to 1 Jan 2013 and I'm sitting in the living room typing this post while waiting fr the laundry to be ready.
I got a lot of clothes to wash as we just came back from a 4 days trip to KL to meet up with PIL and SIL.

I'd like to wish everybody a Happy New Year!
May your wishes and bb dream come true in 2013!

Merry Xmas 2012!

This year our Xmas is different from previous years as we ve a little bb to play with! It was a quiet Christmas with just RY, bb Rae and myself in our new house. We went to Cold Storage to buy a roasted chic and some raw veg to for a "semi-home cooked" meal RY did the cooking while I bathed and fed bb. It was simple and yet meaningful as this is the perfect Xmas that I've been longing to have .......

Happy birthday my precious bb!

What does 21/12/2012 means to u?
Is it fear of the Mayans prediction of dooms day?

To me, it's a day to celebrate Motherhood and many many more years ahead of being a good Mother to my darling girl ......

I can still remember vividly last year 21/12/2011, what we went thru to welcome u; the anxiety, excitement, joy and labour pain etc

Mummy simple wish is for u to grow up a happy and healthy girl!
Mummy love u always .......

Baby Rae 1st Birthday Party 15 Dec 2012

Yesterday, 15 Dec, we celebrated BB Rae 1st birthday party at my new residence BBQ pool deck.

My mun came at about 12 noon to help me pray to 床头婆婆 while I went to the pool deck to decorate the party venue using the helium balloon and the party banners I bought online for BB Rae Minnie Mouse party theme.

RY went to collect the preordered birthday cakes from Pine Garden and the mini Mickey Minnie cupcakes from Cake Story.

It was pretty challenging to decorate 5 walls and a small pillar column by myself, fortunately my 9 year old nephew came with my mum to help out.

The buffet caterer was punctual and I was still doing the wall decor while he waited patiently before he set the table up to line the buffet spread.
I was racing with time to complete the wall decor by 2.30pm and quickly went back to change and was in time to receive the 1st guest of the party.

We had also hired entertainer to perform magic show, game captain and balloon sculpture to entertain the guests, especially the kids.

In total, I had about 30 adults and 25 kids at BB Rae party.

The kids had enjoyed the magic show, games, piñata and balloon sculpture at the party.

I had dressed my baby up as a Minnie Mouse to be in line with the party theme.

Each kids also got a Mickey Minnie party pack to bring home with them as a gift favor.

We hope that everybody who attended BB Rae party would have an enjoyable day with us then it'd be effort and money well spent!

The party kicked off at 3.30pm and ended at about 5pm!

I am exhausted after weeks of working non-stop on house moving and baby party organizing.
I just want to laze around and do nothing.......

This maybe my first and last party I organized for my baby as its really a lot of work.

Let me recuperate from the exhaustion and the next project will be school hunting for baby to attend when she turn 18 months.

Happy birthday 2012

Last Tuesday 11 Dec was my birthday and I didn't care much about it as I was and am still busy with the planning and organizing of my BB Rae's birthday party.

RY wished me Happy Birthday in the morning and asked if I preferred to have lunch or dinner outside at Dempsey Japanese restaurant, I chose lunch since afraid of possible dinner crowd.

We had a really sumptuous Jap set lunches and I did some grocery shopping while RY headed back to work.

Dinner was just simple home cooked meal.

It was a pleasant surprised that RY came home in the evening with a bouquet of red roses and a box of yummy chocolate cake.

This year I'm a mum to my precious bb girl and it's kinda nice to ve my bb and loving husband by my side. I feel complete and ve no regrets of giving up my career........

After the cake cutting and sampling of the yummy delish cake, I thought all was done and RY surprised me by giving me a birthday gift!

This year he got me another gold bar!
Looking at the rising trend of gold prices, it should be a very good investment.

Tomorrow, 15 Dec, we're celebrating BB Rae birthday. I hope all will turn out well!

Planning for Baby Rae 1st Bitthday

Time flies, soon my precious bb will turn 1 yr old in 3 weeks time!
As her actual birthday, 21 Dec, falls on a Friday, we've decided to held her birthday party on 15 Dec, which is a Saturday.

I've not done any planning yet except for the invitations via FB sent to friends 2 weeks ago as I was too occupied with house moving and unpacking.

I must work really hard to finalize details on theme setting, cake ordering, food catering, venue decor and entertainment hiring etc.

Hopefully I'm not too late ........

Unpacking Done

I'm kind of relieved that the cartons are gone, I.e finished unpacking!
But most of the stuff are being kept away in the store room as I need to tidy up the place to get ready for baby Rae 1 yr old birthday party, which is in 2 weeks time!
Frankly speaking, I've not done any planning for her party yet, except for the invitations.
I need to work on her party planning now to be in time for the ordering and catering.

House moving

We've shifted to our new house since last Tuesday but still ve some stuff need to bring in from the old place.
Trust me, house moving with a small bb is no mean feat!
We need to pack and at the same time care for a hyperactive bb is really stressful.
We must vacate the old house soon as it will be rented out next week.
Now the new house is full of cantons and boxes which gotta be unpack and organize and it's going to take some time.

October Updates!

Wow, it has been a month since I updated my blog! What ve I been doing in Oct? We are bz with the new house renov and soon will be moving in Nov, shopping for the furniture $ home appliances for the new place; managed to rent out the existing apartment; just return from the long weekend (Hari Raya Haji holiday) from Ipoh. November will be a bz month due to the house moving and I hope all will go smooth ........

Baby is sick!

Baby is down with Roseola Infantum. She develops fever since Thursday and her temp goes up and down like a yoyo.
Yesterday we brought her to TMC and Dr Janice Wong told us that if she has rashes by Sun then her fever will be gone but if my Monday she still running at a fever then we need bring her back to clinic as bb may develop other symptoms.
Last night, her temperature peak at 39.3'c and I quickly sponge her and fed her Brufen to bring her temperature down to below 38'c.
Seems like this fever may go on for a few days, I just hope that she will recover soon.
Despite the high temperature, she is still as playful but she tends to latch on more often for milk.
I just wish my bb will be well ASAP, this is a simple wish of a Mother........

Update on 30 Sept 2012:
Her fever subsided as rashes break out. Now we will just need to wait for the rashes to clear.
I am glad that the high fever phase is over.

iPhone 5

My love came home on Monday with a surprised gift for me, a iPhone 5!
After using the stone age Motorola, I finally got a smart phone!
I find this new iPhone very sleek and fun and have been playing with it since yesterday

Baby Rae at 8 months old

I ve received request from some readers to post baby Rae photo. Finally able to do it using Ipad after spending sometime figuring out how to do it.
Sharing a picture of my precious darling - Baby Rae!
This pic was taken last week in Universal Studio LA.

Back from USA trip with Baby Rae

We are back from our 1st family vacation with our precious baby! My baby is having a jet lag.
She is sleeping on my lap while I type out this post.
It was really a challenge to travel with a young baby but am glad that we made it!
The day that we departed SG, we had 2 pieces of large checked in luggages which weighed 42kg and we returned with 3 checked in luggages of 72kg!
We also had 2 back pack and a hand carry for handy baby stuff, as well as a stroller cum car seat.
I did a lot of shopping in the Premium Outlets but mostly for baby. I only got a dress for myself!

Bringing baby on a holiday requires careful planning, execution of plans and setting reasonable expectations.

We had covered San Francisco, Los Angeles & Las Vegas within the 2 weeks trip.

Actually I think holiday with baby is ok and the toughest part was the luggage packing since we changed 4 hotels.

When we told friends and relatives about our USA holiday plan with our 8 months old baby, some gave us negative input and dissuaded us from going as they said it would be very tough and impossible to travel. We ve proved them wrong that it's doable!

Having a baby should not stop us from going anywhere as long as we are well prepared!