Introducing Solids!

These days being a parent I have significantly changed my shopping list to suit more on my child lesser for myself . Today, when Hayden was given his Rotavirus oral vaccine and pneumococcal vacine, his pediatrician asked if all is well with him....

Dr Foo: Your baby is doing really well! Weight is good & really active too! Is he still eating well?

Me: Yes, but recently he gets really cranky and usually he will have his milk every 3 hours interval, but for the past 2-3 days, he gets hungry every 2 hours and would just continue to cry until I feed him again eventhough its not the time yet!



Dr Foo: Ahh.. this is the sign where you can start him with solid food! He cries because he is not full. So try to give him solid food once a day. You can either give him for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Me: Really? But he is only 5 months old! I thought babies would only get to eat solid when they are 6 months.

Dr Foo: It all really depends on the baby. Since he has shown sign that milk is not enough for him, you can now try solid. 

So there I went getting excited about the fact that my little Hayden is gonna have his first solid today! After dropping him off at home, I went straight to the mall, screening through all the brands of baby food/cereal. My excitement turned not-so-excited-anymore when I was at the aisle filled with ROWS AND ROWS of baby food. There were Heinz, Nestle, etc and Nestle brand in particular has Stage 1, 2 3 and 4. For Stage 1 alone, there are "Rice Only - with milk" (blue tin), "Rice Only - without milk" (green tin), "Rice and Soya" (brown tin), "Brown rice" (pink tin). WHOOAA! I have no idea which to buy! After making some calls to my mom and my good girl friend Vivian (her baby is 1 month older than Hayden), I finally made up my mind. I went for the blue tin (RM9.60 for 250g).

At 8.30pm (2 hours ago), Hayden had his dinner. The cereal was pretty easy to make. 4 spoons of cereal (it is in power form but with texture) and 4oz of water. After mixing it, it becomes milky with some soft texture in it. He could actually drink it like his usual milk and he finished it all!

So what's next? I have to watch his poo of course! Lets hope his poo turns out normal tomorrow morning! 

Hayden's menu: Enfalac A+ & his new Nestle Cerelac 

My Twinkle Little Hayden at 5 Months Old!

Hayden is 5 months old today. How time really flies! Before you know it, we will all be old hags whilst our child (+ren) grow up and taking over our place as the "kids" in our parents' eyes. I thank God for blessing us with Hayden and like a broken record, I am going to say it again: I absolutely love being a mother!

Hayden, at 5 months now, is such a doll! He is able to respond to us whenever we call his name. He smiles alot when we talk to him (he probably thinks we look funny when our mouth move). He squeeks, coo and laugh when we make funny noises too!

At this point, I am waiting to see when he would be able to roll over. He already started to twist his body sideway at 4 months but thats it. His neck muscles are visbly stronger too when he tried to lift his head up when he wakes up!

His sleeping pattern? Well, when he was younger (3 months back that is), he established a sleeping pattern where he would wake up twice in the middle of the night. Once at 2am. Another at 5am. I am quite used to get up and feed him despite being in a sleepy state. The books I read and other experience mothers told me: "When he gets older, he would not wake up middle of the night anymore..." "He would sleep longer if you turn off the light so he knows its night time..." "Let him cry till he falls asleep again..." "Let him drink more than the usual amount before his bedtime". So guess what? I've tried every method and right now at 5 months he is still the SAME. His sleeping pattern did not change. His last feed would be at 7.45pm before bedtime. I know some of you probably would advise me to feed him last around 10pm so he would sleep longer. I've tried that method too. Doesn't work. He has subconciously set his own alarm clock ...

Little baby Hayden is a joy to my life. I love him to bits! Hubby and I would definitely want a second child in later year(s). Be it Hayden's lil' brother or lil'sister, doesnt matter. So long he/ she is healthy. Agree? But of course I am openly hoping that my second child would be a girl!

Like they say, picture paints a thousand words. But video paints a billion. So here's a treat for you - a video of Hayden today.

  

Best of Bangladesh

So much to share, so much to blog. Its 10.20pm now and baby is fast asleep in his room. In this new post, I want to share with you my experience being in a country where no one would ever thought of visiting - Bangladesh.

On 3rd March 2011 we flew to Dhaka, Bangladesh in MAS together with a group of delegates from the Malaysian hospitals and our Ministry of Health personnels. We were invited to attend a Health Tourism exhibition and to showcase to the Bangladeshis that Malaysia, too have good hospitals with good specialists and they should consider coming over to our dear country for elective treatments (Bangladeshis usually opt to go to Singapore or Bangkok and hardly to Malaysia! - don't quite blame them if you know what I mean).

We were there for a good 3 days and to summarize how it was:-

a) People - There are alot of nice friendly people.
b) Food - Go for their nasi briyani. Absolutely a must try!
c) Shopping - Beautiful textiles, beautiful sarees. You can get them in places like Aarong & Bashundhara
d) Hotel - Sheraton Hotel rated 5 star (4 star for Malaysian standard). One commendable thing about the hotel is that they serve great food!
e) Streets/ Roads - They do have highways and they have alot of trishaws on the road.
f) Air - Dusty with fuel smell
g) Transportation - You have to hire drivers from the hotel. A good 400 Taka (around RM20) per hour. It is absolutely not advisable to get taxis off the road as the streets can be pretty chaotic!

All in all, it was a good experience for me. Being in Bangladesh, makes me appreciate the life that I have right now. Here are some photos that captivate the best of Bangladesh.

Street of Dhaka - Cute little mini cabs! They roam around the streets like ants! 

You can make beautiful sarees from these materials! Absolutely gorgeous!

Bangladesh's Nasi Briyani (rated the best in the world!)

 

A Trip to the Philippines

After a long week of travelling, I am finallly back home. Traveling may sound interesting but it has a huge price to pay at the end of it - I'm down with an irritating cough sadly. So much for wanting to kiss Hayden, now I have to wear a mask whenever I am near him!

It was my second trip to Manila and my first in Cebu. Being in these places, especially in Cebu makes me feel proud for being a Malaysian. Feeling even more appreciative for being who I am and where I am as the people in Cebu are either down to earth or down right indigent. Seeing children begging in the streets and knocking on your car window in the middle of the street (when you stopped at the traffic light) and started singing to you, it really reminded me of the movie Slum Dog Millionaire. We even saw a naked woman walking down the road unashamed of herself!

Well, apart from working, of course we did have a great time...shopping! From Glorietta malls to GreenBelt and to our favourite - Bonifacio Global City in Manila, we also had a good time relaxing at SPAs! It was all worth it at the end of the day as we got the job done with what we set out to do (work wise of course).

Next stop - Bangladesh. Hmm.....



In Cebu city - They crowd around our taxi singing to us

  

Final Day at Cebu Island





The Philippines team - at Shangri-la Mactan, Cebu



Welcome the Rabbit Year!

Happy Chinese New Year everybody! I'm a full time mother this week. In Brunei.. Nothing much to do. Hubby & Baby sleeping. And I just can't sleep in the afternoon despite my lethargicness. Thank you Cityville for accompanying me! Without FB, I think I'll just tear my hair off.

I read somewhere that this year is apparently bad for those who are born in the year of Rooster.

Rooster Fortune in 2011:


The rooster will encounter a lot of obstacles in work. Due to low popularity, you will be involved in verbal spats and will also be framed by others this year. Your work will not go well, money will be a major worry as well. It is recommended that you get to know more about financial management, be thrifty and do not break the law to earn quick money. Also, do not be a guarantor or lend money to others this year or you might get yourself involved in lawsuits. There will be a alot of ups and downs for your love life, expect some problems with your marriage. You will feel moody at times due to the pressure from work and you should seek medical advice if you are feeling unwell. Any delays will be bad for your health.

Geez. I hope its not too true. I do not want to believe in this and do not want to invite any negativities to rule my life for this year. Like the Law of Attraction, the more we attract the bad stuff, then the bad stuff will somehow come to you. Agree?
 
Oh well, we will see how it goes this year. With my recent career promotion I do hope to do well and cope well especially with the increase level of stress that I will be having. Lots of expectation, no room for mistake. Wish me well. Gong xi fa chai!
 
 

Fiercely loyal creature to those they really care about

and can be brutally honest too! 

 

Hayden Today

As I am waiting for Glee Season 2 rerun to begin on StarWorld, I thought of Hayden (he is already sound asleep in the room). He will be 100th days old tomorrow! Time flies right before my eyes, and soon, I'm sure, he will running around mischievously and I will be with a cane in hand.

Hayden went for another scheduled monthly jab today and to our shocking surprise, he did not cry at all! What's more surprising, he was smiling at us right after! Hayden Dominic, you make mummy & daddy so proud of you! (even his dr sang praises about him!) 7 kg now, Hayden is such a darling!

His saliva is starting to drool and he is awake most of the time during day time. His eyes starts to focus on our faces and he will smile whenever we talk to him. I would keep a routine on his daily schedule and I personally think it is important that I do so :-

10.30am - "pom pom time!" (bathing time)
7.00pm - "massage time!"
9.30pm - "bed time!"

My mom does the same routine when Hayden is over at my parents'. He is naughty of course (he constantly wants to play! Then he gets absolutely tired and starts to cry real LOUD before he finally goes to sleep). Everybody loves Hayden (including my maid!) He definitely brings happiness to everyone around him especially when he puts on his killer smile...!

Hayden will be travelling by plane for the first time when we return home in Brunei this Chinese New Year. His grandpa & grandma in Brunei already missing him terribly!

Happy Chinese New Year to all my fellow Malaysians and everyone else around the world who celebrates this festive season! Kong Hei Fatt Choy!


Hayden and Daddy



Hayden and Mummy
(this pic was taken by hubby when we went for breakfast together -
just the 3 of us for the first time)



Tears in the Sky

I dont know what to say. I dont know what to think. It was only 2 days ago that I pen down my happiness of having my son next to me. 10 minutes ago, I bid him goodbye yet again as my parents came by to pick him up. I held back my tears.

Its going to rain soon and the sky is gloomy reflecting the same for my emotion. Why must the day pass by so fast? If its not for my trip to Singapore early tomorrow morning, Hayden would still be staying with me until Monday comes.

He cried when he left the house (I would love to think that he cried because he misses me). But no. He was just sleepy. Sigh...

I wish I could express my inner emotion right now. I don't like to be parted with my baby. I have no choice. I wish my parents could turn back their car and head straight back to my house right now. How I really wish they are only staying next door!

Come back Hayden! Mummy miss you so much now!!!!