Moving Fast?

I've always felt like I move faster in life than friends my age, and I'm not saying this to be cocky.

At 21, I completed my diploma, while my friends were still studying theirs.

At 22, I got myself a job at a local advertising agency, while they were pursuing their degrees (no, I don't have a degree).

At 25, I got married to the guy I've been dating since the year 2000, while they were just starting their working lives at big companies, with the likes of Petronas, Celcom, CIMB, Nestle and Media Prima.

Now at 26, I am blessed with a son, while they are either dating, engaged or enjoying single lives. And at 26 also, I gave up working life, while my friends are working their way up the corporate ladder.

Sometimes I feel like a loser, seeing everyone busy with their career lives, earning big bucks and enjoying all the luxuries, while me, just a housewife. I run around in t-shirt and jeans, hair up in a ponytail and face sans make-up, while others, prim and proper in their power suits.

Pardon the sliver!

But, as corny as it may sound, whenever I look at my son's face, when he smiles, how his eyes lit up when he sees me, I realize that all those that I'm missing out aren't nearly as important as he is. I'm happy to be able to be close to him, take care of him and witnessing each of his milestones. There is nothing more satisfying than that. Moving too fast or not, I don't regret any of the decisions I've made.

Coolest Baby Book. Ever.

The Baby Owner's Manual
Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, And Advice On First-Year Maintenance

This book has got to be the coolest baby book I've ever encounter. For only RM8.00, my mother-in-law got this at the book fair at Amcorp Mall a few weeks back. What a steal!

I love the clever technical concept (how the author refer infants as models, parents as users and paediatricians as service provider), the look and feel (using only blue, orange and brown) and the design (illustrations and typography). The content is easy to read, straight to the point, humorous and definitely entertaining. Everything about this book gets two thumbs up from me.

I've not finished reading it yet, but I've found some tips under the Medical Maintenance section that I'd like to share:

1. Congestion
If your baby's nasal passages are impeded by mucus, you can bring the baby's car seat inside and strap her into it at bedtime. Sleeping propped up will help her drain the congestion.

2. Hiccups
Blow on the baby's face. This might cause him to inhale quickly and change the movement of his diaphragm.

3. Diarrhea
Add a dash of yogurt to the baby's meal. The active cultures found in yogurt can help to restore her regular stool.

4. Fever
If the baby's temperature is at or above 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit, the baby has a high fever and the baby's service provider should be contacted immediately. Sponge her with warm water, which evaporates quickly and cools the baby faster than cold water, and give her small doses of ibuprofen every four hours. If the baby's fever remains at this level, there is good reason to suspect a secondary infection.

Rantings On Manners and Knowledge

During the weekend, we went to Sunway Pyramid and had Ayam Penyet Ria for lunch, which was pretty good. I personally like the sambal because it is super spicy.

After husband and I satisfied our stomachs, it was my baby's turn to satisfy his so I went to the baby room in Jusco. They had an area for changing diapers and private sections for breastfeeding. While breastfeeding, I was rudely interrupted twice. One was a Malay girl and the other one was a Chinese woman. Giving them the benefit of a doubt, they might have thought that the section was empty even though the curtain was clearly drawn. But what irked me the most was not only they didn't apologize, they didn't even have the decency to close back the curtain. Where are your manners, people?

Image from z.hubpages.com

Today, I was pressured by a couple of people to let my baby drink plain water.

"Oh, look at him! He's thirsty. You HAVE to give him water!"

It's difficult to talk to these people when they think they know more than a young mother like me.

Extracted from Baby Center:

In general, it's not a good idea to give your baby water until he's about 6 months old. Until then, he'll get all the hydration he needs from breast milk or formula, even in hot weather.

Giving a baby younger than 6 months old too much water can interfere with his body's ability to absorb the nutrients in breast milk or formula. It can also cause his tummy to feel full, which curbs his desire to feed.

Work It, Woman!

Image from www.ellipticaltrainers.us

You know you're SO out of shape when a 50 year old woman can last 30 minutes on the Elliptical machine, while you, a 26 year old woman, can barely last 5 minutes without feeling your legs are going to fall out.

I kid you not.

First Day On Solid Food

Today marks the first day my baby starts eating solid food.

Prior today, I paid a few visits to the supermarket to survey on baby rice cereals. No doubt, Nestle products dominate the shelves at the baby food section. But after reading about the Nestle boycott, I decided to get Heinz Baby's First Rice Cereal.


One teaspoon of the rice cereal mixed with a bit of expressed breast milk to get a thin consistency. Baby was grinning from ear to ear when we fed him!

Bittersweet Memories

Talking about being pregnant with my ex-schoolmate (who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl) and ex-colleague (who is in her third trimester now) brought back some bittersweet memories when I was pregnant myself. Lots of memories, but these stood out the most.

On my 3rd month, my sister found my 4 year old nephew unconscious in the pool. He was on life support for 3 days, and the doctors couldn't give us any certainty that he would make it. Tears, grief and dark clouds surrounded our family. On the fourth day, God Almighty, my nephew woke up. For the first time ever, I believed in miracle.

On my 4th month, I got hospitalized for 4 days due to food poisoning after having satay at R&R Dengkil. That was my first time getting admitted into a hospital.

On my 5th month, due to the crazy pregnant women's hormones, a small misunderstanding with my mother lead to a huge, huge fight. Lots of shouts and tears, it was ugly. But we patch things up the next day. I'd have to say, that fight made our relationship better now.

On my 6th month, I was stopped by a man as I was about to go up to my office. He asked me whether I work there, passed me a projector and requested for me to hand it to my boss. The projector was heavy. I thought to myself,

"WTF is he thinking asking a pregnant woman carry this heavy thing?!"

But I kept my mouth shut and carried the darn thing up to the office. Later in the day, my boss came up to me and said that the man (who was his friend as it turned out) texted him saying:

"I passed the projector to the hot chick who works at your office."

That left me speechless for a minute there. So I guess he didn't notice me from the neck down. Either that, or he has a thing for pregnant women (which is a bit creepy if he does!).

On my 7th month, I stopped by Petronas on my way back home from work. It was 7pm. After filling the fuel, my car wouldn't start. The battery died. Oh, the joy it was. The alarm went off like mad, and all I got was looks and glances from other customers and workers who were mostly men. I tried calling my husband (who was still at the office) but there was no answer. I figured he must be praying as it was Maghrib time. After a good 5 minutes of me struggling, a man came up to me and said,

"Your car battery is dead"

and went off, not offering any help. Well, thank you for stating the obvious, mister. In the end, I called up my husband's friend who lives nearby the petrol pump. He showed up 5 minutes later and jump start my car. My lifesaver. God bless him.

And throughout the whole 9 months of being pregnant, there were only two times that someone let me jump the queue. Once was a man at the kedai makan, and the other one was a woman in a pharmacy. So much for getting special treatment for being pregnant, huh? Also, not to mention countless of dirty/weird looks from strangers (mostly Malays), as if saying,

"She's pregnant?? She looks young! Is she already married? Or is it a love child??"

Or maybe it was just me being perasan.

Quick Update

Oh wow, my last update was two weeks ago, huh? Alrighty, here's a quick recap of what have happened since:


14 November 2009, was my husband's birthday. As usual I'd ask him,

"What do you want for your birthday, sayang?"

Usually he'd answer,

"Just a dinner will do."

But this time around, he said,

"I already have you as my birthday present for the rest of my life."

How can I not feel blessed with that kind of response? So I got him a Lumix LX3, which he had been raving on about for months now other than Nikon D90.


16 November 2009, I sprained my leg muscles during my workout, which lasted until today. So sakit, okay?!


22 November 2009, my baby boy pulled an all-nighter for the first time since he established a sleeping pattern when he was 2 months old.


23 November 2009, now that he's 5 months and 2 weeks old, my baby started showing signs that he's ready for solid food. So I've been prepping up for the big day. He's growing up so fast :(


25 November 2009, I created a new blog, photoplaybox, to display photos that was taken using the husband's brand new baby. We're not professional photographers. We just play around and snap :)

Sweat Time

Today's workout was long overdue. I'm not much of a sports person. It's safe to say that the last time I went for a jog was a year ago. Now, the only exercise I do is walking up and down the stairs, and lifting the 8 plus kilos living dumb-bell (a.k.a my baby boy). But then again, that's not enough. I need to make this sweat time a routine from now on. Live healthily! Plus, my InBody result says I'm 3 kilos over my ideal weight. Boo.

Everyone Connects .Net

I am loving this TVC. It is so nicely done, it gives me goosebumps. I hope there'll be more quality TVC produced from now on, from the concept up to the execution.

Stolen

Last night, between 8:15pm to 10:30pm, my sister-in-law's boyfriend's car got stolen. A white Proton Putra, parked outside Kelana Puteri Apartment in Kelana Jaya. At approximately 11pm, his friend saw the car at Glenmarie. So he rushed there, but as luck would have it, the car was nowhere to be seen. Just thinking about it makes me feel so angry of these low-life dungbags who have nothing better to do but steal from other people.

A few years back, my mother's plate number got stolen. Front and back. A couple of hours after we noticed it was gone, my then boyfriend (now husband) saw a Proton Waja using the plate in Bangsar. He tried to chase the car, but he's no racer (sorry, hun!).

On a lighter note, once when I thought my car was stolen (turned out I forgot where I parked), the first thing that came to mind was,

"Oh crap. My shoes!"

Because you see, my car was a moving shoe closet. Har har.

Be Careful Of What You Wish For

Have you ever wish for something so hard you end up getting it, except not quite like what you imagined it would be?

My mother-in-law just told me about a pregnant lady who wished that her baby will be as pretty as a doll. Yes, her baby came out very pretty, just like a doll.

Except, the baby is mute. Just like a doll.

I've an experience of my own. Last year, there was this big deal pitch that my team and I have been working on for a whole month. I was so nervous about presenting that I wished so hard that my director would do it instead of myself.

On the morning of the presentation, I received a terrible news. So terrible that it haunts me up to this day. My little nephew was rushed to the ER, as he was found at the bottom of the swimming pool, unconscious and blue in the face. I had to take emergency leave, so my director ended up doing the big presentation.

See? I got exactly what I wished for.

Express Lunch

The baby's taking a nap, so I whipped up myself a quick lunch.

This might not look too appetizing, but trust me, it's quite good! What I did was pour a packet of Campbell's Instant Soup - Mushroom Cheese with Croutons onto some boiled spaghetti. Try it. And while you're at it, you can add some chili flakes to give it a lil spice.

Sesi Bahasa Melayu

I must admit, my Bahasa Melayu is not that good, but I'm not saying my English is perfect either. Ask me to converse in proper Bahasa Melayu, and you'll hear me slipping in English words before the end on my second sentence. Lately I've come across a few Malay words that made me go blank in the face. Let me share some with you (if you've not already know these words):

1. Laman Sesawang, means Website

2. Terjun Lelabah, means Bungee Jumping

3. Ibu Sawat, means Telephone Exchange

Fascinating, isn't it?

31% on 31st

I'm sure all you ice-cream lovers are aware of the 31% discount on the 31st at Baskin Robbins. So today, husband and I made our way to their outlet in Damansara Uptown. After queuing for 50 minutes (I was this close to walking out and head back half-way through), we finally got our 2 pints. Cookies & Cream and Vanilla for the husband, Maui Chocolate Madness and Chocolate Mousse Royale for me. Well, there goes my diet!

So did you get your Baskin Robbins today?

Mothercare Opening Promotion

Dear parents/ soon-to-be parents,

Mothercare is opening in Bangsar Shopping Center and they'll be having an opening promotion from 1st to 15th November 2009.

Shoppinnnnnggg!

On Strike!

Image from stock.xchng

I came across a thread at SusuIbu.com forum about babies refusing to direct feed, and it reminded me of a period when my baby had a nursing strike a couple of weeks after I resumed my hectic working life. Determined to get him to direct feed again, I did some Googling on how to do so. Armed with the information that I've found, I spent a few challenging weeks (after I've resigned) trying it out, and resulted in success.

So, I'd like to share some of the steps that I've tried:

1. When the baby refuses the breast, try feeding him your expressed breast milk with a spoon/ cup/ syringe. After that, try offering your breast to him. If he still refuses, continue feeding him with the items mentioned. Bottle should be the last resort.

2. Increase skin-to-skin contact. Take your top off and leave your baby in his diapers only, and spend time playing, touching and hugging.

3. Make sure the room is quiet, dim and cool. We want the baby to feel at ease with no distractions.

4. Don't force the baby. The last thing we want is to get the baby traumatized by the sight of our breasts.

5. Unless you want to see him throwing a tantrum, try these steps when he is not too hungry.

6. And most importantly, you have to have lots patience and don't give up.

We all want the best for our babies. For those of you who are facing this same problem, I hope these steps will help you and I wish you good luck!

Because, Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Baby's On The Way! (Part 2)

Image from stock.xchng

Based from experience, I've gathered a few shopping/ preparation tips for you new expectant mothers and fathers:

1. Stock up on well-known branded diapers, as they have more quality compared to the one that aren't, well, not that well-known. Newborn babies have sensitive skin, therefore you need to test out which brand suits them best (and also suits your wallet). Myself, I stocked up on Mami Poko, Huggies and Drypers. My baby didn't have any skin reaction towards Mami Poko and Huggies. Drypers, on the other hand, gave him blisters.

2. Go easy when buying baby care items. Because firstly, as I've mentioned, babies have sensitive skin, so they don't need us slapping on anything and everything on them. And secondly, you'll be surprised at the amount of baby care items people will give you when they come for a visit. My baby's 4 months and two weeks old, and I still have lots of baby care stock stashed away.

3. Baby cot, stroller and car seat can wait if you have limited shopping funds. This is because your baby will end up sleeping on the bed with you so breastfeeding will be a lot easier, otherwise you will need to carry him in and out of his cot every feeding time. As for the stroller and car seat, you won't be bringing your baby out anytime soon until he's at least 3 months old (or right after the 2 months confinement period for those eager new parents).

4. Do not buy too many clothing sized for newborns, as babies grow at a very fast rate. Buy the ones sized for 3 months old onwards. I can say there are quite a number of clothing that my baby didn't get a chance to wear at all!

5. Survey, survey, survey. If you have an eye for a pricey item, make sure you survey a few places first before making the purchase. For example, I wanted to get Medela Harmony, retailing at RM249 at Metrojaya. Then I went to Babyland in SS2, PJ, and they had 10% discount on it. I didn't stop there. A week later I went to Robinsons, The Gardens, and they had 20% discount on Medela Harmony.

6. Preferably, don't get the modern swaddling blanket as it is too easy for babies to 'escape' from being swaddled. Get the traditional swaddling blanket and secure it with a safety pin. But first, you'd need to learn how to swaddle them, yes? Easy peasy.

7. Before you start splurging, ask your siblings/ relatives whether they have anything they want to hand-down to you.

Baby's On The Way!

So you just receive the great news. You're expecting a new family member! That means bigger responsibilities, a change in lifestyle, and of course, a reason for a guilt-free shopping session. Though shopping for your new family member is fun, you need to be selective of your purchases as you don't want to over-spend on unnecessary items. Therefore, it is wise to prepare a checklist beforehand.

This checklist I'm sharing with you was compiled from the world wide web (I forgot to take down the exact sources, sorry!), tweaked and designed by yours truly. Just click on the pink one (for baby girl) or blue (for baby boy) to download the PDF file.

Random Snap 02: Anjingku Hilang

The length some people go to find their beloved pet. This was snapped at the four-junction traffic light in Sri Hartamas. I doubt this bunting was legal.

Hi, Doc. I'm Sick.

Why is it that some clinics act like their MCs are too precious to give out? You couldn't get out of bed that day because of a high temperature. Or you can't go on for 2 minutes without crapping your pants/ puking your guts out. So you drag yourself to the clinic for a check-up, and of course an MC. After checking your temperature, blood pressure and whatnot, you tell the doctor that you need an MC because you're taking the day off work due to falling ill. Then he gives you a simple response.

"No. I think you should be able to do your work."

Wow. Easy as that. How would you react? Strangle the doctor? Give the doctor a bollocking? Or simply shut your mouth and walk out?

Sure, doctors have worked long and hard to be in their profession today (much respect to that), but how can you tell a person how their body is feeling and coping, when it is not you who are feeling it?

Dua Inci

I always dread the day when I have to get my hair trimmed. The results were often not what I asked for.

Situation #1:

Aunty Saloon: Berapa inci mau potong?
Me: Satu inci saje lah.
Aunty Saloon: Satu inci tarak nampak. Dua inci la.
Me: Ok lah, dua inci lah.

(a number of snips later)

Me: Eh, Aunty. Kenapa pendek sangat??
Aunty Saloon: Mane ade pendek. Ini dua inci la.

(more snips later)

Me: Aunty! Ini bukan dua inci! Ini sudah empat inci!!
Aunty Saloon: Aiya, sekarang rambut pendek fashion mahh!
Me: (refraining from grabbing the scissors and snip off her hair silly)


Situation #2:

Aunty Saloon: You punya fringe mau trim?
Me: Yes, trim sikit. Sampai mata saje, ok?
Aunty Saloon: Sampai mata? Ok ok.

(snip snip snip..)

Me: Aunty! Saya cakap sampai mata saje! Ni sudah atas kening saya!
Aunty Saloon: Sekarang fashion mah buat fringe pendek. (grabbing a magazine). Tengok ini gambar. Fringe dia pendek. Manyak cantik woo..
Me: (speechless)

Mind you, these two situations took place in a two different saloons. But why do they always give the same reason when they screw up on my haircut? Fashion, my foot!

Medela Harmony Mayday

It was on my sixth day of being a stay-at-home mom when my Medela Harmony diaphragm decided to cut itself a hole. As my baby was on nursing strike (but now he's back on direct feeding, hurahh!), I had to express my milk every feeding time.


I've not seen any shops selling this spare part, so I went online and looked up Medela's distributor in Malaysia. Much to my relief, they're located in Ampang. I gave them a call in hopes of getting the spare part/ diaphragm fixed pronto. I spoke to a very helpful sales person, Miss Siti, and she informed that the spare part is available at only RM35.

So for those who needs to get their Medela breastpump spare parts, fixed or serviced (they also offer lactation consultation), you can contact:

LactaEquip Medical (M) Sdn Bhd
Lot B2-M, Jalan Selaman 1
Dataran Palma, Off Jalan Ampang
68000 Ampang, Selangor.
Tel: 603 4270 1128
Fax: 603 4270 6451
Email: lactaeqm@tm.net.my
Website: www.lacta-equip.com

Festival of Light 17.10.09

Image from stock.xchng

One of the perks of living on a high rise building is being able to see the beautiful celebratory fireworks at the comfort of your own home. Sharp at 12:00am for a good 20 minutes, I saw numerous fireworks all over the Klang Valley, celebrating the festival of light.

Happy Diwali, everyone.

Random Snap 01: You're Being Watched

I was going through the images folder on my machine when I found this. This was taken in 2007 in the ladies' room at the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) office. Imagine taking a loo and then noticing this on the cubicle door. Freaky.

Kesan Regangan

Into my fourth month of pregnancy, I started slapping on different brands of Cocoa Butter lotion and oil all over my body; Palmer's, Body Shop and Fruits of the Earth. The earlier I start, the better chances of not getting any stretch marks. Or so I thought.

Fifth month came, no stretch mark.

Sixth month, no stretch mark.

Seventh month, why, hello there slight stretch mark on my hips.

Eighth month, what are you doing on my thighs, stretch mark?!

Ninth month, nothing. I thought that was it. Boy, was I wrong.

Two weeks after I gave birth, more appeared on my tummy. Then I told myself, hey, it's not so bad. I have a baby now, that's what matter. But that didn't stop me from looking for remedies.

After reading about Bio Oil and its testimonials, I decided to give it a try. Didn't put too much hope on it as stretch marks are known to be very difficult to get rid off (unless you have money to spend for laser treatment!).

The Bio Oil insert says to apply twice daily for a minimum of 3 months to reduce the appearance of scars/stretch marks. I'm into my second month of using it, and I must say I'm quite pleased with the result so far. The marks are still there, but not as visible anymore. Let's see the outcome after the third month is up.

Close to my heart

Making the decision to be a full time wife and mother was not the easiest to do, mainly because of the non-existent second household income. We were not making too much nor too little. We were just.. comfortable. But being a working mom in the advertising field was definitely not easy. Tight deadlines, late nights, high stress level, demanding working environment, you know the deal.

At the end of the day, whatever decision you make, be sure it is what makes you happy. Because there is no point of doing something when your heart and mind is not into it.

"Sure, earning money and being good at what you do is very good for self-esteem but there comes a time when the balance is tilted. Sometimes, you work so hard that wonder where the time has gone." - Source: www.nst.com.my

Read full article here: Skin deep: Be brave, follow that dream