phuket 2014 - part 2.

day 1.

we reached phuket at around 8am in the morning.

buggy made a poo so we had a toilet break before getting our passport stamped. and it was nine when we finally done.

it cost 200baht per pax via minibus and 900baht for a taxi to reach our hotel. we choose the minibus and the trip was about an hour plus. distance on the map do not look that far, but road of phuket are quite hilly and windy. we reached our hotel around 11plus.

we stayed at Kata Lucky Villa & Pool Access at kata noi beach area. after choosing for very long, this place has what both the hubs and i wanted.

i previously liked Arinara Bangtao Beach Resort due to it has a beach at the resort itself and the pool is just outside the room! but the hubs felt that bangtao area is pretty far from everything else. he like Avista Phuket Resort & Spa which i also like but its on a steep hill! we did not want to stay at patong area because reviews and feedback were that the area would be a little rowdy and with a small kid, we wanted somewhere peaceful and quiet.

so we finally settle on kata lucky which has pool just outside the room and no hill! kata beach is about 10-15 mins away but there is a shuttle to and fro every hour!

the manager was nice and allow us to check in early though check in time is at one. they said that it was because we have a baby with us. i think thats so nice! =)

this is the view outside the room! whee!!

it is a shared pool with 6 other units. 

pool outside the room also mean that the hubs and i can have swim time while baby naps. =) 

shortly after we check in, it started to rain. buggy was also starting to fuss a little cus she was hungry. she napped on the minibus so her mood was still considered good. we quickly made her milk and she passed out within seconds.

blur photo of buggy but apparently very happy. 

..

anther blur photo of her happily crawling on the bed. 

and this is her, 15 mins later, peacefully sleeping with her monkey keeping watch.

while buggy naps, we had lunch.

the food was not as good as expected.. =(

the tomyum was sweet and my favourite omelette was burnt. 

the pineapple rice was ok though. 

after lunch, the three of us nap till buggy's tea time. so groggy mummy woke up and made milk for her and realise its time to go out! the rain has stopped and we had plans to go to the phuket weekend market. we washed her butt, wipe her down and change her clothes.

SHOPPING HERE WE COME!

wait must take photo first.

these set of clothes is from aunty ju for her full month present so must take many photos! thank you aunty ju!

so cute the way she was holding her monkey.

it cost 500bht (~S$20) to go to the night market by taxi. the night market is like the chatuchak market in bangkok but maybe 10 times smaller? cus i have been to chatuchak market like 10 time but never been able to complete cover all the stalls? but the phuket market, we still was able to walk 2-3 rounds? hahaha..

sorry there is no photo of the night market cus i brought the wrong cam out.. the D70 was too big and too much to handle at such a crowded place with a baby in tow. and futhermore, i do not want to be robert toh. anyway the shops there are selling similar stuff but quality does differ. i saw a cute romper for kids. one has the elastic band right the middle of the clothing (not to nice i feel cus then the bottom will look very long) and the workmanship was poorer. the other one has a nicer elastic band slightly lower and stitches are neater though they both are offered at the same price. =)

we ate at this roast chicken stall. the chicken was marinated with herbs by the shop owners themselves. it has stuffing too! like a turkey but its chicken and the chilli was superb! sorry no photo again cus was busy feeding buggy. use your imagination ok?

we left the place at almost nine and went back to give buggy a bath.

happy buggy taking a bath with her papa.

love this photo =)

after buggy bath, we gave her milk and she went to bed shortly after. such a good girl right? i think the flight and travelling tired her out.

sleep time for her means play time for parents!

pool looking so inviting. 

the neighbour at that corner unit kept peeping at us from behind their curtains.. i think they also want to come out and play but shy.. maybe they scare they too fat or something.. but they should see my disgusting flabby tummy then they would instantly feel better about themselves. lol.. anyway its better for us that they stay in the room, then we would have the whole pool to ourselves. hehehe

we had beer with the chicken from the night market earlier.

we could not finish the whole chicken and dapao back for supper. 

i thought it would not be nice after it is cold but it was still nice! 

and the nice aunty also gave us extra chilli to dapao. =)

i am also glad that i have stop expressing my milk..

SO MUCH FREEDOM!! 

went out with mummy and buggy today.

when i look at this, i really have to admit that my daughter is really very 搞笑 like what her aunty dodo says about her.. hahahaha.. loving her to bits. 

ok, this is a proper one of her.

buggy will be seven months when i return to work so its time for her to have porridge. her daddy wants her to have dried scallop and i want her to have dried oyster in her porridge. so we went to 四马路 to get the dried goods. =)

i also went next door to get my pants altered. =)

we went to ramen keisuke tonkotsu king – four seasons of ramen at bugis village for lunch.

free flow of hard boiled eggs! too bad, it wasnt those runny type. =(

we went for a hair cut, mummy and i, before we head home.. 

these are the goods we got today..

ikan bilis.

to sun-dried futher, blend and add into buggy's porridge. 

its rich with protein and calcium so a good food for her!

the dried scallop. 

$6 for a 100g. not sure cheap or what but its sure sweet and yummy! 

cant stop eating them.. hehe.

dried oyster.

to make her porridge tasty!

dried abalone strips. 

for cooking soup.

dried guava.

mummy got this cus she says its cheap. $4 for this bag of 500g! 

dried mangoes.

this is expensive. $13 for 500g. 

but they says its from the philippines that is why.

dried cuttlefish. 

$4 for this 200g bag.

yummy! this is my second fave of our buy today.

first? of cus is the scallop!

dried cuttlefish also.

$5.50 for this packet. =)

how i wish my tuesdays can stay like this.. 

last tuesday before i go work. =(

the earth is not flat and the wall is hard

today, the little girl learnt that the wall is hard..

as usual, after her bed time milk, i would leave her on my bed to self snooze.. she did her normal night exploration of the bed surrounding to check for bugs and monsters underneath the bed. started from last night, she also did the sleep-war dance which consist of wriggling her butt up in the air, chantings and war cries. tried to take a video but it was too dark..

since now she is so good with crawling and flipping, tonight she found the wall.. she put her head against the wall but it did not budge. then she tried pushing it harder with the side of her head but still the wall did not give in. undaunted, she used her hands to feel the wall. she cautiously put her head against the hard surface and gave a good long push. still not moving. she did this quite a few times and it was just too funny to watch.. really.

she got excited that she discovered the un-pushable wall. she waved her hands and kick her legs. she lost her balance and the forehead slap into the wall. she looked at me and blink and gave out a painful cry. hahaha.

she double confirmed that the wall is hard.

phuket 2014 - part 1.

so we took a short trip to phuket just the three of us - the hubs, the baby and me. its was the little girl's first overseas trip and i was a little anxious.

many people says it would be a waste of money bringing such a young baby on a trip, anyway they dont remember a single thing. err.. the cost of the flight for her was S$20. she stays for free and she drinks her milk as per non-trip. so what cost? the real cost probably was that we cannot really do what we wanted (like ATV or island hopping, etc) and we have to go on a slower pace. but that's all right i feel.

i think it was good that the hubs and i had agreed that the trip would be a relax one before we set out. so when we were there, we were all right that we spend a day at the pool or just walking around aimlessly.

after having the little girl, there was much "getting use to" than i ever imagine. take for an example a simple trip to the supermarket, if i am alone, i just grab my wallet and go. with her, i have to pack her diaper bag and prepare for what-ifs. the trip would also take longer cus i will walk on pavements and only cross green lights to set good example for her. and at the mall, i have to take the lift instead of the escalator. so this trip is one of those pilot trip where i get to test, learn and practice.

i must say though it was a trip of doing nothing much, but am glad we took it. it gave me time with my little one and the hubs. looking forward to the next one.

***

the packing. 

packing for us adults would be easy since the hubs and i frequents tioman and redang. but packing for the little one was tough. i packed almost all of her closet there. hahaha.

for her, we took...
- 8 sets of clothes
- 2 sets of swimmers
- 2 sets of pjs
- 30 pcs of diapers
- 6 pcs of swim diapers
- 3 pcs of nappy cloth for just in case
- one tin of 400g formula
- one tin of cereal
- biscuits & snacks

bought this newly for the trip. 

i know it does says for 8months old but i find them easier to feed her when we are out compare to the biscuits she was already having. i give them carefully and she eats them carefully =)

she is also learning to put them in her mouth!

- sunblock lotion
- body soap
- non-rinse soap
- clothes detergent

- milk bottle detergent and a sponge

- 8 sterilising tablets & a 2 litres container for sterilising her bottle

this is good and very convenient to use. 

i filled the 2 litres container with water and put the tablets in. 

i leave the container beside the sink and put things that i washed right into it. 

leave the things inside for 30mins and they are ready to use! 

the water is also usable up to 24 hours period but i change them every 12-18hours. 

- a sieve for making purée for her
- anti-bacterial wipes and lotion

- mosquito repellent patch and spray

the patch goes onto her clothes and spray is for her surroundings and us.. 

somehow the patch works better. she gets only one bite for the whole trip (i think its because i did not use a new patch when she goes to sleep at the last night so she got bitten on her left arm), compare to us who gets multiple bites.

- water proof blankie
- toys
- etc.


all her soap, moisturiser and detergents are actually freebies and the bottles are less than 100ml! good for packing into hand carry luggages. and miraculously, our total luggage weigh is only 20kg!

the amount i think for her packing list is so much more than just twice.

but i will not change anything cus i love being her mummy!

***

the flight.


it was really daunting packing for a flight with a baby because i have no idea what she would need or want. i can only prepare everything.

i have milk and water on standby. other then for hunger, these are to help her with the ear blocks, i was hoping.

hot water flask.

snacks.

all her toys which include a new soft toy. wanted to buy a new toy but was too busy and hence i used the mcdonalds' new fatty bon bon and it works well too.

picture taken from here.

a set of clean clothes each for all of us including the hubs and me.

extra diaper and a big pack of wet wipes.

the anti-bacterial wipes and lotion, mosquito repellent patch, non-rinse wash and bottle detergent all went into the hand carry.

i even include a pacifier, prepared for a situation when all things fails.

the flight was at 715 in the morning which means that we have to be at the airport at 5ish. we let her sleep in her flight clothes and just change her diaper and put her tights on to keep her warm before we left our house at around 430am. she was cooperative and i think due to her playful nature, she was happy to be out than upset when we disturb her sleep. lol.

i put all her liquid stuff in 1-litre ziplock bags, separated by food and non-food and her milk is exempted as long we bring them in quantities that are sufficient for the flight. the check went smoothly. phew. YAY!

first family photo of the trip!

when the plane took off, she was happily sucking her milk and i almost cried. i was relieved that the trip started so well.. =)

we took cathay as they were having a promotion. S$500+ for the 3 of us, including food, luggages and insurance. on the flight, buggy was given three bottles of baby purée which she took one per day while we were in phuket. S$20 for 6 bottles of baby food, i think thats a good deal! one bottle is already almost S$2 in the supermarket! lol.

buggy was super good on the flight there and i am so proud of her. she drank her milk, napped and played in her bassinet. she was so curious about her surroundings and want to go everywhere, that was only the "bad" part. lol.

***

thats all for now. shall blog about our days there later. =)

#babyinphuket

baby 101.

recently a few friends are expecting. (YAY!) and they have been asking me much about everything baby-relating. from pregnancy symptoms to diaper cream. so i am going to write down here what i am frequently asked so that next time when other people ask i have notes to refer to.



starting with the most important... THE GYNAECOLOGIST.

if you are a stalker of mine, you might realised i had two other gynaes before finally finding another whom delivered the little girl. there are two who i absolutely love - dr cordelia han (raffles) and dr kenneth e lee (mt alvernia).

dr han was my first gynae. she was firm but nice. as it was our first baby, dr han gave us very valuable tips on pregnancy. she did not say that i should restrict my diet (of course raw foods are a big no no) but she wanted me to be aware of what i put in my mouth. it helps. she wanted to me to be eating more protein than carbs. she even draw out a whole day food plan for me!

read this for why you need protein & the benefits.

she always catches me not doing the right thing - not eating enough fruits or not drinking enough water or going out on empty stomach.

the problem we had sadly with her was cost. so we ask for referral and we ended up in KKH which was disastrous. the processes are slow, nurses are not really efficient and the wait are ridiculously long. the cost which was our concern was also not put to rest. so after the awful amniocentesis, we found dr lee and the end of all worries. i have no comments on the gynae in KKH. after always having to wait so long to see her, no mood for anything else...

dr lee is friendly, funny and very accommodative to our requests as long it is allowable. his fees are reasonable. though his diet plans for me are less strict (no raw and all other in moderation), on the day i delivered, he checked on me every two hours and gave updates. and when i was in the hospital after delivery, he comes everyday at 7-8ish in the morning like clockwork. all the nurses seem to have nothing else to say about him except good praises. hahaha.



up next... diapers!

these are the second important! i know milk is important too.. but since the little girl has only had taken breastmilk and enfamil i do not think i know enough to comment what is good or not. but anyways, the formula was introduce by dr lee and all the other mothers also tell me its good milk. ok, so back to diaper..

i love merries and mamy poko. i absolutely hate the old drypers. i bought them on numerous occasions because it was on offer - 14cents per piece. merries and mamy poko are twice that price but i usually get them when they are on offer...

diapers by the carton.

because buggy was on the breastmilk diet, her poo was watery most of the time. and when i was using the last pack of drypers, every time she poos, we have to wash her, her clothes and whatever she was on or in! IT LEAKS BIG TIME! from the sides, from the top, everywhere! messy and disgusting. the money i saved on the diapers are not even enough to cover the cost of detergent, water&electricity bills and the effort! but that was the old one. may be the new one is better but i still do not have the courage to try.. lol.. huggies are also slow in absorbing the wet poo especially when she poos really much.. it leaks too but less frequency then the old drypers. we never have leaky poo with merries and mamy poko, so i love them the most!



relating to diapers are wet wipes and diaper cream.

for wet wipes, the hubs and i like the watson's baby wipes the most. its wet and the sheets are big and smell very very very nice!

her grandma likes the huggies ones but the hubs finds them a little small when compared to the watsons's ones.

we started with pigeon ones which were also not bad but they dry up a little too fast. so when the wipes are left with a quarter, they are usually quite dry already even when in the box.

for diaper cream, we previously used desitin but it was too dry to spread. so we end up using too much and causing her butt to peel.. eeeks!

but of cus it really works and keeps the butt dry. 

we then found another brand of cream which came in one of the freebie pack - mustela. its much wetter and just a little can spread on her whole butt..

we have been using this tube for five months plus and it still have a lot of left. compared to the desitin (top) tube, its almost finished even before two months.

on the topic of cream, we use this all purpose lucas pawpaw ointment.

its for diaper rash also, bites, cuts, burns. 

we usually just keep one in the bag and bring it everywhere she goes. 

i did not believe in its effectiveness until i tried it. 

when i had mosquitoes bites, its take much shorter time to heal when i use the cream. cuts also take shorter time to dry too! now that i am writing these, it seem that i have more use of the cream then her.. hehehe.. 

i think this works like our zambuk but pawpaw does not have the spicy feeling when applied so i feel safer to apply on a young infant like her. =)

second last, milk bottles.

we use tommee tippee's cus it was promoted for its nipple like teats. to lessen confusion for the babies. though i believe that my baby is smarter than that (hahaha) but really she does not have any problem with either. =)

i also like the shape of the bottles. its fatter and easy for her little hands to hold.



lastly, breast pumps.

though i preferably likes medela's freestyle pump but i guess any double pump is all right.

the first one i had was a single pump. boy, it was messy. do you know that when one side is being pump, the other side leaks!? hahahaha.. and also double pumps are more efficient for obvious reasons. with a double pump, in 20mins you are done. with a single pump you take twice as much time so alot of precious time which could be spend resting or playing with the baby is spend pumping milk like a cow...



ok, thats all i have now. will add to the list later.. =)
anyway, we be going away this weekend. it will be baby's first holiday and plane ride. so mummy (me) is busy doing homework and packing!

inspirations & failed attempts.

this post is inspired by the dodo.

***

she send me these the other day...

this was her inspiration photo

and she tried to take a similar photo of her buggy.. 

and it ended up like this:

and like this!

hahaha.. but i think it failed cus buggy is placed on her tummy instead of her back.. anyway this post has nothing to do with buggy. its my cooking!

i tried to cook a few dishes for the family on saturday. i went online and search for a few simple recipes. i wanted to cook pasta because i think it's the easiest but was sick of my usual one.

so i found this...

the inspiration - lemon pasta with chicken.

and the fail attempt. 

but the chicken is really nice i think.. hehehe.. 

recipe here.

and i was thinking that we should have some starters too! cream of mushroom is my favourite but was too time consuming.. so i choose a potato salad. thinking that it would be more time saving since i was already going to make potato purée for the little girl's dinner. but i was wrong. cus the little girl's potato was to be boiled in plain water while ours needed salt!

the inspiration - egg potato salad.

and the failed attempt.

the potatoes were overcooked on the outside and became marshy. =(

i skipped the peas and added onions.

recipe here.

i was ambitious and wanted a side - chicken wings!

the inspiration - spicy chicken wings.

and the failed attempt. 

mine did not turned out char like expected. 

and though the receipe say to refrigerate for at least one hour, but i dont think its enough. 

i massaged them and left them inside for one and a half but the seasoning has just started to soaked in so the bigger wings are bland on the inside.

recipe here.

i think i had fun trying out new recipes and they dont really taste that bad, just dont look as nice.. =)
looking forward to the oven at my new place and i can bake more food!

oh, and i said tried cus my finger got cut when the onion decided to give a run. so the hubs stood in and the dishes are mostly finished up by him.

le hubs: why i end up cooking huh!?
me: cus my finger broken (exaggerating much here).. so if you dont want my finger to break and you end up cooking then you dont let me cook the next time..

*after a long paused..

le hubs: then who cook?!