H1N1

Just finished reading the news from CNA and the matter that concerns me the most is the H1N1 situation. Now that we have come up from 19 to 95 in a matter of a day it seems like there is not much we can do to avoid. It will soon become like the common flu.

As a mother of one, I will worry and being in a job that puts me close to people and especially children, hence I am at risk as well. I hope that by being careful and also keeping a lookout for symptoms I can keep myself free from H1N1 and also spreading it to my family and loved ones. Especially baby Elayna. She is only 4 months and I do not want her to be affected and fall sick. When she does, she will become part of the statistics but will there be care and concern? Only from people who love her. My baby girl is my precious and I love her to bits.

When will this infection end? When will Singaporeans be more gracious and more considerate for others and not just themselves. Starting from the most basic of giving up seats for pregnant women and elderly (by the way when I was pregnant, I took MRT about 6 times and only 2 times strangers offered me their seats). That is terrible. Especially for those young women out there, if you are ever pregnant, I hope you think back on that time when you did not give up your seat to that pregnant women you saw. you understand how it feels like, how physically demanding it is and y do not want anyone to squash you.

Be considerate, put on a mask if sick. On another hand, I wonder if I have flu-like symptoms I wonder what will happen at work...sheesh.....nites!

Back to work

I have been back at work for going 2 weeks. And its been alright so far. Knowing that Elayna is in good hands with god grandma, great grandma and the maid. Had some maid problems eariler but luckily for me, had been resolved. It was so lucky otherwise the maid would have to be repatriated back to Indonesia and she can never come back to SG to work again. It was all the agency's application fault but now that it has been resolved the maid can stay and all's well that end's well. And in all honesty, the maid is quite good with the baby and she is quite patient with Elayna also..so thats good.

Today, Elayna went swimming. Went to the Hwa Xia place at Plaza Singapore. Well, at first I thought it would be great and it was for Elayna, she had fun and I never expected that she would be able to kick so well on her first try and going front crawl and back stroke! I mean, it was good fun for her and all cos she is a 4 month old baby who was taking her first swim with a neck float and kicking and waving her arms about. She looks so good swimming! And she was smilling and laughing as well. Hahaha...Hubby will be posting up the vids and photos to facebook and she got her own sunglasses as well today..And I know she has strong legs and arms but today I really saw for myself...if I bring her to a pool, she will be swimming away so fast before I can say put your arms forward and kick. Anyway, she really loves the water and it was such a fun experience for her. Good exercise and it was a pity that toeay's session was so so short!

But anyway, the Hwa Xia AKA HX is kinda very basic. The staff did not teach Elayna anything and the entertainment value and the time for a basic trial of $28 was quite lacking. Elayna might have been able to kick and pedal in the water longer and i think she was kinda sad that it ended so soon. She wasn't able to enjoy longer..even after she was taken out of the water and I was trying to get her diaper on she was still kicking and kicking, waving and waving..that was how much she loved the water fun. But I think if it weren't for the H1N1 I will be bringing her to the pool to swim. so I hope this H1N1 passes over quickly so that I can bring her for a swim soon!

And Baby Makes Three - A must read for any couples after baby

I finished reading this marvelous book on keeping marriage and romance alive after baby arrives. Its called, "And Baby Makes Three" by John & Julie Gottman. Its a wonderful book. It talks about what happens to a marriage after baby arrives and how can we make it better not worse. Cos sometimes we get caught up by the arrival of the baby and we tend to neglect our partner's needs and feelings.

This book also includes a section for fathers and what fathering is all about. And one of the key quotes that I love in this book which I keep repeating even before I read this book.

" The greatest gift you can give your baby is a happy and strong relationship between the two of you."

A must read!

Tomorrow will be a new day

I will be heading back to work tomorrow. I am not worried much..but I am also dreading abit being away from Elayna. Work has always been a challenge for me. I mean not that its tough but its not something that can fall out of control either. But once I get the hang of it, I won't get worried.

Elayna is constantly changing, and I hope that I can catch up once I get back to work. Her first steps, her first word, her first crawl. I look forward to spending time with her as a FTWM.

Lets see how this new adventure will pan out!

Tired Tired

I am so so tired right now. Been staying up late these few nights. Helping H out with some of his stuff. Next week I will be heading back to work and I am worried about how baby will be without me. Especially I will be working till late. And she has been so used to me putting her to bed. I don't want to cultivate her with a late bedtime but I get worried.

Anyway, I know I will miss her but since I start later in the day, I will get to see her in the morning when she is awake. And I will be able to play with her when she is awake. I expect the return to work will be me getting used to plenty of stuff. And a blitz through new festivities. I have to mentally prepare myself for eariler hours and less time with my bb gal. Oh gosh, I will miss her.

Expo Part II

Part 2 of the Expo sale.

Went to Popular sale. I think I was there for nearly 3 hours! Why? Was looking for bargain books for my dear daughter. I know she can't read yet, it would be a good idea to read to her. She likes the sound of people's voices and just by reading to her, she will be very happy. Of course if she is in the mood for it. I bought so many books for her, I do not believe that she should only read those flash cards for her to learn words and all but she should also enjoy a good story. Only thing is she is a TV addict now. Just like my nephews when they were little. They would always need their dose of Barney, Teletubbies, Hi-Five to get through the day. Sorry Tristan, Gareth. But its a fact. I was always the one who had to turn the DVD on for you kids and then you would settle down. But at least Gareth was a little more active. I could sit him in the walker and he would be knocking all over the house..hahahaha.

I bought about 8-10books at the expo for $51. So I think its a bargain cos some of the books are actually compilations with many stories. I even bought quite a few disney stories for her. Talking about that, I know we are not suppose to expose her to TV so soon. But just the other day, when we were watching Monsters, Inc on TV she was laughing quite a few times. Haizzz..

I think the Popular fair was quite good in terms of book selection, especially for kids. But I was looking at laptop bags as well and was fairly disappointed with the selection. The english books i think unless you have a whole day, otherwise don't bother. But I am proud of myself at the popular sale. Instead of being overexcited, I gave myself a budget and stuck to it. I wasn't even near my budget ceiling of $60. So I was very proud of myself.

John Little sale-Seems like ever so often JL has been having sales at the Expo. And the items are quite regular now. H got 2 pairs of shoes at JL sale and he was just telling me that the shoes are kinda not good for his sole. So now I think should look for insoles for H. Wonder where to get some good and inexpensive ones. I used to get from running lab but I don't think thats the type he needs but ergo labs are so ex! Anyway, JL sales are good for going if you have an idea what you want but if you are looking for bargains, no harm looking you may never know what you can find. For myself there, I wanted to get new bras. But since I have a new size I didn't manage to find any suitable ones. Haizzz of course the new size in an increase. But I was looking for those seamless ones. Sheesh. Don't tell me I have to go Marks and Spencers.So ex...but see if they have any sale worth going to. Otherwise, other than getting a new mattress protector for the new sofa bed at gran's. I don't think there was anything else I was really looking at.

Anyway, GSS 09 has been rather quiet. So so quiet...have not been hearing of any good bargains. Anyone has got any ideas where have all the good bargains gone?

So so sleepy

So sorry, I just don't have the energy to add on to part 2 of expo tales. So so sleepy today. I was up till 3am and then Elayna my precious was asleep from 10 - about 3.30am...So as I was about to fall asleep my darling woke up and wanted to drink milk. Hai...So ya had to wake up. And then went back to sleep at 4:30am, woke up at 7:30am.

Cos now that we are getting used to the schedule of bringing Elayna to my gran's during the day..I so need to learn how to drive! So H can take his bike to work and I can drive the car...argh!

Too long?

My Newphew..Mr ODD, said my blog posts are too long..comments anyone?Then again he is 12..so there.hahaha...

Expo-Shopping+Adventure day 6/Jun 09 {Part 1}

Elayna was placed in care at great granma hse so that the maid and great granma, grandma and god granma can play with her and look after her.

Hubby & I went to Toh Guan East where the medela service centre is to get my PIS repaired. Got there around 11.30am, left around 12nn. Very fast.But costs me $65 to get the cover replaced..lucky still under warranty otherwise might have to pay service charge. I can't seem to find the warranty card, lucky still had to receipt. Bought it from KKH FFY. And they did not provide me a original motor cos they brought it in from the US. Thats called parallel importing.

After Toh Guan, left for Expo. The decision to go Expo was due to the fact that there were 3 fairs that I was keen on visiting. Motherhood(went on thu to recce ,Sat going buy), Popular(books galore) and John Little (additional looksee).

Motherhood fair
Walked around again. After visiting the Toh Guan Service Centre, H & I found some interesting items we like to get. A forehead thermometer. Little Elayna does not appreciate us poking at her underarm so we decided that we wanted to get a forehead thermometer. And we wanted to be able to moniter her temp when she sleep as well, without have to poke her underarm. So ya. Got a forehead thermometer from the medela mums & babes booth for $55.90. Perhaps might be abit ex but then again, cheaper than the thermaflash that the polyclinics and hospitals are using. $179! I mean retails at over $230 but special offer at the MH fair. But not really practical for home use. If I have 3-5kids who does nothing but squirm and run about perhaps.hahaha.But since I intend to have 2 kids er..don't really need such a high end one.

Went back to the nestle booth.Found out more about the nestle Nan. Anyone has any comments on it? Is it sweet or anything?Cos Elayna's drinking Friso and its pretty good but dunno lar. The fact that Nestle NAN has this hypoallergic component which reduces allergies would be a good idea. Did not buy more of the rice cereal or gerber as initially thought. M mentioned a good point. What if she does not like the taste. Instead, signed up for Nestle club so that I can know more. H said I was giving away free details again.

Went to the HUGGIES booth. Really liked the 2 for $25 deal there, cos the best deal I saw was from NTUC-2 for $30.45. Bought a mix of 2M 2L and got a free Little Tikes tiger torch.H asked me if Elayna would be scared of it with the sound it makes(a roaring sount) I said nope. And naturally mommy was right. She absolutely loved it! Anyway, bought only 2M and got 2L cos at home we bought 3petpet M70 (3 for $34.65 @ NTUC) and one pureen M84. I think that would be enough to last her for at least 4-6mths I think. Signed up for HUGGIES club, got the recycle bags, Hubby signed up too. They are really big and useful. Now using it as transportation bags for Elayna's stuff from home to Gran and back again.

We walked around again,went to a booth at the end of the hall, bought a neck float for her $14.90 for a small size one which fits 0-24mths. nice.H wanted it. We both wanted to get the tub, but realised that well, our bathroom is kinda small and will be tight so we resisted and got the float instead. Decided that we will bring her go swimming after this H1N1 stablises(will talk more another day).

Bought a set of bodysuits for 12mths(abit kiasu I know) but getting Elayna to wear clothes is like a challenge. She does not like getting dressed. Like now, being 3plus 4mths, she is wearing up to 6mths clothes. And her god granma just got her more clothes for 6-9mths from M&S. So she is well equipped. If you wonder y more bodysuits, cos she perspires easily. And at night rather than t-shirt and shorts she will be more comfy in bodysuits. Short sleeve on that is. Only on nights that are kinda chilly then she will wear the long sleeve ones. Anyway, the 12mths ones are 5 for $15 so 3bucks per pc. Of cos I buy lor.

Bought also the Baby I can read set of flash card books. Cos we have the baby I can read vcd so bought only the books. Will have to let her watch and read also.

Finally I found myself subscribing to Motherhood magazine for 3yrs. I never ever subscribe to such mags (only TIME & RD previously) now I am a bona fide kiasu mom. Just slightly. So that I can read up on the latest, what is the best and what I should be aware of. And working in the related sports/kids enrichment services, gives me an update on what are the things we should be aware of.

The freebies I got and the premiums are quite worthwhile, but not really needed. Shld be selling them away online as well. Posting on some forums soon. As soon as I get to the photo taking again..hai.

Wanted to buy more nursing bras but since I am going back to work and won't be doing much BF thought better of it. Looking for normal bras but w/o the underwire, so difficult for my size. Must budget now.

MH fair was pretty alright. I loved the Nestle, Huggies and the variety of diapers & products available there. But I think there needs to be more
comprehensive & basic items to be cheaper(other than the Nestle was great!). Like Johnson & Johnson's booth wasn't any interesting at all. No great offers like bundled deals. Pigeon was missing from this fair, drypers, and many others.Perhaps babies r us should consider going into these fairs. Even Kidzloft should. But honestly, I was tempted by many things at this fair but luckily I had H to keep me level headed.

Next On..Popular fair..next post!keep a lookout for the bargain mummy

I think she is...& my medela PIS

I think, I think, she is teething..I know I know. It sounds kinda extreme that she starts teething now but she is showing signs.

1)Spot of white on her gums. Felt it, it was hard and well have to admit her bottom front gum has also shown signs such as the teeth shapings.
2)Growing increasingly fond of biting at her bottle teat..gosh.
3)Constant biting of fingers
4)Drooling

The above signs have lead me to believe that she is teething. So there. If anyone like to tell me more signs to lookout for please share here. It would really help.

Okay, in my previous post I talked about going back to the Expo for the motherhood fair and I did.

Oh yea, I bought a medela manual pump cos my PIS tube connector broke. I thought it might take a while but who knows it took them 30mins to fix it back with a new cover...So I think I will be selling off my medela manual. I only used it once and less than 30mins somemore. Brand new!Should be posting that along with some other items on some forums soon..Just as soon as I get my hands to taking pics of all the stuff.

Expo..-A Day of adventure..Refer to next post.This will be long

Shopping @ Expo

The motherhood fair that I went to on thursday was alright I guess. I mean I am going back today (since its after 12mn) to get more stuff. Diapers and some misc stuff that I had missed out eariler.

Anyway, really tempted to get the baby swimming tub for her. Undecided between the one 80x80 or 90x70 cos if I get the 90x70 I can get in with her.hehe But M has been so unreasonable. At first we wanted to sign her up for baby swimming sessions with hwa xia, plus after the swim there is a baby massage you can sign up for at $10 per session. Well she said she was too small, and then she may get sick easily. Wait till 3mths. Now Elayna's 3mths, she says H1N1...so I say get the baby swimming tub, $70 or $75 depending on which one we get. Safe and not to worry about mixing outside. I can do the massage for her. But now say waste of money. I recall hubby telling me his colleague had bought the tub for his son as well as seems like it was quite good in helping baby development. Why is it that M cannot see it this way? I have already told her that it will help her but does she listen? Never, she says its a waste of money, well its money well spent if Elayna grows and develops well adjusted and stronger, fitter. Let her learn how to develop her physical and mental co-ordination through this swimming activity. Its never easy, and I think that its fair to say that I would like her to be able to get the advantage that she can at this early age. Wait till she is older then start to stress her too late. Now through fun she can develop, y not?

Anyway, if we do buy I think it will be well worth it. Going back later for John little and popular @ expo as well. Will be spending the day there. But before that have to go to Toh guan to get my Medala PIS fixed. the cover with the connecting tube broke so have to change the cover. $65 for the change. I might as well get them to look at the motor as well. I went to First Few Years at KKH, they also charge the same but they cannot check the motor and they say might have to wait. Going back to the dealer 30mins, should be okay. Of course I prefer to go back to technical centre. Will update on how it was at the TC. But I really like my medala PIS, the pump is good and its quite strong. I bought the manual medela, really regret. Now I think I want to sell second hand. Only used once. Will be letting go of it soon.

Will update more soon about my shopping and repair adventures!

A Spot of white

Elayna has started to sprout tooth! A HA! Such a surprise....I thought babies will have teeth only 4months and older. But this little lady started at slightly over 3mths. Its on her right side and thought I was over reacting when I saw her start to bite at her fingers 2 weeks back. I let her bite her fingers but when she started to suck i would pull her hand out. She starts to stick her entire fist into her mouth...haiya...I will just pull it out and tell her Please don't put your hand into your mouth.

Then y do I let her bite? hahaha..cos even if she bite she will stop once her teeth grows out. Pain mah! So she will learn and lesson and stop biting..hahahaha...I am so evil...

Having Help & other things

I now have a maid to help me take care of Elayna when I get back to work. Its thanks to my aunt that I have this extra help. After being here for about 2weeks it seems like she knows my baby girl well enough. That's good thing I will say. But now that I have put her on FM, my daytime milk supply has run low. I am still continuing with nighttime BM feeds but I get so worried that its not enough. Like last night, she woke up at 11am and I gave her some milk, 1am, 3plus and then 6plus. I wonder if my milk is not enough.

I really hope that she can sleep longer but I also wish she can continue her nighttime BM feeds. The dilemma. Well as long as she is growing well, that is the most important thing. But I will work hard towards the nighttime feeding. It will be tough for me once I get back to work, but all along the main idea was having the best for her. So I will keep that notion in mind and keep to it. =D

Ah HA!- Clackity Clack

My baby girl has learnt how to do the clucking sound with her tongue. hahaha..even her granma was impressed. She started out trying and was licking at her lips loudly(look at the pic!) till she finally got it over a few days. About 3days I think..and its so amusing when she finally did! Haha...

Another milestone she reached was her managing to turn. Just the other day, she turned herself to the side and she turned herself to her tummy and got really angry frustrated...she actually does not like being on her tummy but she feeling frustrated at being left on the bed while I was pretending to sleep beside her. Well, I really wanted to see what she would do, :-P

And she started to turn and finally when she got on her tummy she cried out in frustration..but she turned nonetheless.Initially she was turning from her tummy to her back, cos she really hated being on her tummy but now...hehehe..And she tends to turn on her side more often now. Just the other night, she turned her body 45degress to her side. H & I will have to watch out more often. But I think the dimple pillow actually helps to hold her in the position so that she doesn't overdo the turning when she sleeps. So I have a slight peace of mind and not worry about her suffocating.

I am so looking forward to the motherhood fair coming up this week, I would like to get some great bargains on diapers, clothes, baby items. maybe a booster chair. I have been eyeing the one at www.kidzloft.com.sg for the longest time. Its ex but I think it will last her quite a while. Its a five stage seat so it will last her. I am hoping to find bargains at the fair so crossing my fingers! And the best part is the popular book fair at the same period, more baby books for my baby! YAY!!!