Monthly Archives: April 2008

In bed with bub (Backdated)

Posted by Misty Mom on 28/04/2008 None comments

Who would have thought that falling asleep with your baby is the nicest thing ever? Forget about worrying if you could accidentally roll over her or the fact that she could suffocated with all the layers of blanket you have on since it’s freaking cold…forget all that and just take in the fact that sleeping with your baby in bed is great!

Why? Well, deep down inside, I don’t want Arianna to get used to sleeping in our bed with me because I really don’t want a third party in bed with when we’re in DA mood, you know? Also, jumping in bed and sleeping with us would also mean that she would always need to be in that environment to fall asleep and that can’t be good as especially where independance is concerned. I know I may sound like some sort of mother from hell but I think that keeping kids in bed with you too long would make them too attached to you and then, it would be hell trying to get them to sleep in their own bed.

Anyway, I allow Arianna and myself the luxury of enjoying each other’s presence in bed together once in awhile, especially if she’s having a really crook day or if she’s major fussy. Actually, it’s only when I find it hard for her to go to sleep in the cot that I give in and we sleep together. Actually, it is a tactic I used to get her to nap sadly, the trick always backfires on me but in a good way. A couple of days ago, Arianna was having one of her I-am-going-to-be-the-devil’s-spawn-today mode and was just so cranky. She refused to take a nap no matter what I did – I made sure she was dry, feed her some booby which is like the magic sleeping potion and still, nothing worked. So I took her to our bed, go her in with me and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. She was not amused and didn’t really take my bluff at all. She was still whinging and whining, but at least she was somewhat in a sleeping postiong. Because I am so good at pretending, I actually really fell asleep, which wasn’t the plan at all and woke up an hour later to see Miss Muffet sound asleep so I thought, ‘Ok, I’ll slowly get up now since mission accomplished.’ but she must have read my mind coz almost instantly, her left arm casually landed on my right as if saying, ‘Uhuh, no way….you ain’t going anywhere, Mummy.’ then wriggled to get more comfy and drifted off to sleep. So what was the mummy suppose to do? Go back to sleep la, what some more!

I have to admit that despite feeling ‘pressured’ to take another nap, I welcomed it with open arms. Hehehe….I don’t normally take any siestas so this is somewhat a luxury to me so another hour passed and this time when I woke up again, her arm was still securedly holding on to mine but I really couldn’t sleep anymore so decided to read my book. Jeez, talk about placing my eyesight at risked as the room was rather dim but I just couldn’t lay there and do nothing, right? So I read slowly but it was most likely the pages being flicked that woke her up, and she wasn’t that happy to be woken up that way but she did. Didn’t take long to get a full blown smiley face from my baby and all was back to normal. ;) She had a good 2.5hrs sleep which is great since her normal downtime nap is about an hour at any one time. I’m not to overly concerned about it as this means that she sleeps longer through the night – alleluia!

I do noticed that whenever we sleep in bed together, she tends to sleep longer periods of time. It could be many reasons why but I think she just likes the body warmth of another in bed with her and also, it must be nice to be in a bed with like 3 layers consisting of a sheet, a fleece blanket AND a doona. Yes, it may sound excessive and I’m sure that it is but heck, I’m not a fan of the cold and I like it to be warm in bed. I’m too afraid to think how I would deal with living in Nuvanut…..*shivers to the bone just thinking about it*

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks (Backdated)

Posted by Misty Mom on 25/04/2008 None comments

Sounds like a rather weird title for a blog which I am going to dedicate especially for my Mummy, eh? ;) Well, it’s meant to be that way, really. With Mother’s Day around the corner, it’s that time of the year where mothers are given  lightly more attention than usual. To me, this celebration, like Valentine’s Day has been blown out of proportion and made so commercialised, I think it’s time we all got back to the core of the celebration. It’s not all just pressies, flowers and giving your mum some time out. Nup….that’s not it at all.

Since becoming a mother myself, I am now able to see things so differently and in many ways, I think I am seeing them through my own mother’s eyes. What I am going through each day is like reliving that slice of history what I lived back then. It can really be very overwhelming if you sit down and take it all in and sometimes, I do that and I can see why so much importance is place on a mother’s love. I’ve always looked up to my mum as my hero because of all she has done for us [that's my lil sis and I] after our dad passed away. And despite mentioning this many times before, my highest respect goes out to all single parents, both mums and dads especially if they are working, single parents. It’s already tough enough being a working mum BUT to be a single, working mum – that takes a very extraordinary person to pull off. And what makes all the hardship worthwhile is that I can stand here today and tell the world that both my sister and I have been it good and are proud to be who we are today. Although my sister is still hitting the books today [She's taking up her Phd at the moment.], I am proud to be a mother today because she has instilled in me many qualities that I believe has been a blessing for me to fall back on when the day has been a hard one. And I can assure you that I have had many of those days.

I have found a new height of appreciation and respect for a woman who has been the backbone of all my ups and downs, in short, all through my life. She is not only my hero but also my role model. Many say that becoming a mother is tough, I beg to differ. Becoming a mother just takes a night of good loving, 9 months of pregnancy – morning sickness, aches, acne, stretch marks, mood swings, maybe even more, hours of labour and that last push to give you the title ‘mother’. But to be a good one – the one who makes your child proud of, appreciate, respect and love, takes a hell of a lot more than that!

I am a stay at home mother. I spend the whole day at home with Arianna and still I can hardly find the time to clear the house and cook a decent meal. And then, there was my mum. Before dad passed away, she was working she butt off as a teacher [No, teachers DO NOT have it easy. Ask any child whose parents are teachers and they will back you up - provided they know what their parents are going through la.], cooking, cleaning, sewing all our clothes, looking after us since we didn’t have a maid or a nanny [That's me, sis AND dad.] and she even took us on holidays on the train!! Omg….taking Arianna on the train was a nightmare for me even though Arianna was quite an angel. I can’t believe how it was taking ME on the train!! Then when dad passed away, she could have stopped working and retired but she didn’t, she ploughed on and saw both me and my sis through our tertiary education, still cooked and cleaned….everything under the sun. Still had and still have the energy to garden, which is her passion and sewing which is her hobby till today. Although as with time, everyone hops on the cyber world bandwagon so she had found a new love – Scrabulous, on Facebook which is a small reward she gave herself but I think it’s great that she has finally found the time to do things that SHE likes.

Like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day should be everyday – it’s not about what gifts we give our mothers on this day  that matters although I’m sure a cruise around the world would make you her favourite child but it’s the way we show our appreciation, not taking her for granted, respect, thanking her for everything she has done, and most importantly of all is love, tell her that you love her. To be honest, telling your mum you love her should be to most natural thing for a child to do but I personally find it hard to say out loud and perhaps its time to say it now, for the time is now, not sometime today, or tomorrow, or over the weekend. That time of telling mum you love her is now. And you know what, you should tell her that everyday of the week too!

A very happy mother’s day to all the mothers out there – here’s hoping that we all have a pleasant day and that you were a good kid yourself, after all, karma bites back, you know? ;) So if you were a brat when you were a kid, it’s still not too late to butter mum up now before it really does get too late! :P

When consumed by panic, can I remain under control? (Backdated)

Posted by Misty Mom on 20/04/2008 None comments

Yes and no.

Yes, because I can still have the sense to call Ted and explain to him the situation in a rather calm and orderly manner, so to speak. At least, I was babbling nonsensically.

And no because I was actually all numb and felt so lost so much so that I had forgotten the emergency number! And to think I was trying to calm myself so that I could remember but it sure as hell didn’t work. Bah!

Anyhow, nothing that serious happened, praise God for that but I can’t imagine how things would have been it was an emergency. I would have been a complete wreck! Anyway, it happened while Ted was on one of his all night shifts so he wasn’t home. Perhaps due to the change of environment, Arianna went to bed a little upset as in whining and grizzling. After all it was passed her bed time and I thought that perhaps she was just way too tired. So I tucked her in as usual and was watching TV till about 11.30pm when I thought I’d go take a sticky beak before I head off to bed myself. When I bent down to kiss her as I always do before I go to bed myself, I found the front of her suit a little wet, as was the blanket. I thought it was pee at first but when I realised that the sleeves was also wet, I knew it was much more than that. She must have puked and despite being so sound asleep, I had to wake her up to change her. So I did and I’m sure the poor sleepy head didn’t what was going on. So after I changed her, I placed her in our bed while I changed the sheets in her cot.

When I turned the light on [had the side lights on instead of in the bedroom as didn't want to fully wake her up], the whole front of her suit and part of the back, as it must have flowed toward the back was covered with puke and the left sleeves too. Not to mentione that her blanket AND the sheets were dirty too – poor thing! That’s a lot of puke, you know? The bizarre thing is that she didn’t fuss much so much so that I didn’t even realised that she had puked in the first place. I mean, she was whinning and all just as she does when she is ‘forced’ to go to bed, and that is normal. So I really don’t know when the deed was done.

So I changed the sheets in the cot and hand-washed the soiled clothes, and soaked it coz there was some stains, and then got into bed with her. Although she was asleep when I did, minutes later she woke up crying so I turned over to pop one in. And lo and behold, I found that the newly changed suit was also wet – I was shocked! So I quickly got out of bed and found that she had puked again. :( Poor little thing!!! This time I decided to call Ted and tell him what had happened because her chin was very red and so was her eyes. And the first thing that came to mind was perhaps she was having some sort of allergic reaction. Then again, the red eyes could have been because she was crying….or I could have been wrong, I dunno. Anyway, while talking to Ted, was thinking back about the stuff that she had eaten to see if there was something out of the norm which she normally eats and the only thing different was that she had had a tin of baby food so I will not be getting that brand and flavour for her anymore. Actually, MIL bought it so that’s why I’m using it coz I personally prefer to cook my own so I know what she’s getting. Anyway, Ted told me to make sure I get some fluids down her and to check her temperature.

Her temp was ok – 35.7 and she wasn’t upset or anything like that. In fact, she was up and playing with her toys and all. Anyway, I gave her some warm water which she drank quite happily and we watched tv till about 1am. She had fallen asleep in my arms so I thought to tuck her in our bed but before I could even reach it, she puked out the warm too! :( I was panicky by then but since I knew that there was no temp and she wasnt upset or anything like that, I decided to sleep in the chair with her, more upright than usual and that was how we were until about 2.30am.

By that time, I couldn’t feel my arm anymore so decided to give it another shot since she was definitely dead asleep and thankfully, she was asleep till morning. I had a rush of so many emotions running through me during that period of time. In fact, I hardly slept because I was so afraid of her choking on her own puke – I mean, I have had this paranoia since she was born and this is the first time that such a thing is happening to me so you can imagine how wild my imagination and thoughts were running – it was going all berserk in my head! In fact, I was up every now and then, and reaching over to check if she was still breathing – it was that bad! :( I’m just glad that it is all over and that is a-ok now. Phew!

When I’m gray and old…

Posted by Misty Mom on 12/04/2008 None comments

I want to make sure that I will be cared for and have the best insurance option that matured senior citizens have. After all, you never know what will hit you, when. Accidents can happen when you least expect it and illness are worst or perhaps just as bad since you can’t really foresee these things.

By getting a medicare advantage plan, I feel that it would be at my advantage too because I would be getting a rather broad range of coverage and the premiums are considerably low, hence it will not tax the pocket. All in all, I think this is something to certainly look into seriously when the time comes.

Big women are sexy too

Posted by Misty Mom on 12/04/2008 None comments

Who ever said that big women can’t be sexy is dead wrong! Just because a women is plus size don’t mean she can’t look good. I consider myself a plus size because I can’t fit in those free size clothes they say anyone and everyone can wear. I personally feel and Ted can vouch for this too, I think men in general like their women to have something they can hold on to and keep them warm at night. I doubt having bones sticking out and poking you in the middle of the night is hardly something to enjoy!

Anyway, thank goodness for plus size clothing or I would be in deep trouble – I’d have to diet and lose my curves!! That would be very bad indeed. So if you’re a big mama like me, don’t fret…..big women are voluptous! :)

And if you got it, you flaunt it girl!!

Sitting up!

Posted by Misty Mom on 11/04/2008 5 comments

Finally I found the time to blog about this major development! :) [Aida, you're a superwoman for being able to cope with 2 toddlers under 2, keep your home clutter free, feed everyone at home AND sew!]

Arianna has been sitting up for longer periods of time unaided since 9/4/2008 and all thanks to Nana who has been helping/teaching her to sit up. As you can see, she’s got a pretty smug look on her face – she knows she’s done something new and is darn proud of it too. All this happened while I was in the shower and it seems that she put on an ‘act’ for Mum and Ted too. *lol* Must have been quite a sight and I managed to catch a glimpse as her steam ran out too. Lucky Mummy!!

She’s been quite a twister but at the same time, she knows when she has to lift her legs up and when she can wriggle around. It’s really funny how she know the after bath wipe down. I normally wrap her up in her bath towel and change her in the room. So once we reach the room, I would lay her down, and tell her as I’m doing all the actions – “Clean ears….armpit up -wipe, wipe, wipe, other armpit up – wipe, wipe….wipe face…..now leg up – wipe the bum-bum!!!” and she always lifts up her chops on que! VERY, very cute….and of course, she always rewards me with a smile too. :D She loves it when I rub the baby cream all over her but with the humidity here, it makes her sweat even more so that’s more for bedtime.

On the solids front, Arianna is still taking the rice cereals although I’ve changed the flavours a couple of time and realised the she likes the oats and prune from Nestle the best. She is also taking rice porridge with either carrots or pumpkin with corn thrown in for flavour. Of course I also add in a piece of chicken meat for that additional flavour. Today, I put in 3 prawns and she loved it! Truly Daddy’s little girl. She seems to favour the savoury more than the sweet so I will have to keep an eye out for savoury cereals as well. I try to feed her twice a day but it’s tough to keep to a strict solids regime when we are always going out. So whenever we are out, it’s always cereal time.

I’ve been reading my little feeding book and they always say bf first before giving bub solids but if I did bf her, she’d be too full for solids so I have been feeding her solids first and then bf her when she goes down for a nap. And it seems to work fine with us. Also, I’ve been thinking of introducing formula milk to her for those times when we are out and bf is not in favour and the measurements that is supposedly for bubs her age is quite a lot and I don’t think she takes in that much bm at all!! Very confusing…..

MIL’s been grumbling about me not giving her meats. Is there a reason why I should rush these things? Is there a time line for introducing your bub to new foods? I know she is concerned but Arianna did start taking solids a ittle later than most bubs and I am in no hurry to introduce more things to her after all she did resent that mashed sweet potato and then went on strike and refused to eat after that. So, no thank you – ain’t going down that road again!

Plus, we don’t really have that hand processor here AND Mum kind of broke her blender so I’m sure another week or 2 without meats is ok. I’ve been thinking of sticking to rice porridge and adding other stuff to it like veggies and meats instead of the usually ang moh foods like stews and mashed stuff. I think that’s the Malaysian in Arianna. :) O well, we’ll see….

One more thing : Arianna weighed 8.45kgs on 19/3/2008…wonder what she weighs now?

I love flip flops!

Posted by Misty Mom on 04/04/2008 None comments

I’ve come to realize that I’m not a disciplined person when it comes to sticking to my exercise regime. In fact, I suck at keeping to it! The only thing that I actually enjoy doing is taking walks. It doesn’t really matter where I walk to although the best place to walk to, which also happens to be my favourite spot as well is to the shopping complex which had my favourite restaurant in it. :)

In some crazy and ironic way, it’s makes for a great workout and then, I treat myself to a really good meal for a walk well done. :) Because of all the walking that I take, for me, I need comfortable wear and although most people go for walking/running shoes, I prefer to roam around in my flip flops.  You might find it hard to believe but it’s true. They are the most comfortable thing for me to walk in and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if I had to chop off my arm for it. That’s how seriously I take my flip flops. :) What do you find comfortable for walking around town?

Brought to you by Teva

Bling bling!

Posted by Misty Mom on 04/04/2008 None comments

I’m not the kind of girl who goes for womens gold watches because I’ve always thought myself a tomboy. I personally prefer those slightly chunkier and more manly watches but that doesn’t mean that I detest those really delicate, feminine watches.

It would certainly look totally out of place if I were to wear my BUM watch with my sexy, bare backed, dinner dress, right? So it’s really inevitable for me to not own a really nice piece of jewelery which can also tell me the time and hence, checking out some of those gold watches isn’t such a bad idea after all. I’ll just keep it for best. :)

Brought to you by Jewel Elagance

I didn’t really apply for the job, but I got it anyway….

Posted by Misty Mom on 01/04/2008 2 comments

 

I thought it was one of the most cute cards I’ve seen and it turns out that it was a card we sent my Mum a long, long time ago. Maybe in the late 80′s because sis could hardly write at that time but still managed to scribble something there. But I totally can’t remember at all.

Mum has kept all the cards that sis and I made her while we were growing up and I can really see how much we changed in the way we made our cards. :) Mum is very proud of her cards and is still keeping them in good condition. Mum’s like that – she’s very sentimental that way. I guess I’m like her too.

Ever since Arianna was born, anything that we can physically keep, we do so and place it in a box ie. the newspaper on the day that she was born, her hospital tags, all her ‘welcome to the world’ cards, her hospital temp name card which said ‘Baby S’ – S for my surname not Ted’s, and even a baby’s first Christmas ornament which had the year 2007 printed on it. So yes, in that way, I’m very much like my mum but this habit of mine will certainly turn me into a hoarder one day. I can already see myself collecting things I don’t need and storing them away.

I can all envision Ted, standing at the door, with his hands on his hips spotting a very unamused look too. *lol* I tell you, you won’t be surprise if I blog about what a hoarder I’ve become in the new couple of year. As it is, a lot of stuff at home is all mine….hehehehe. On a lighter note, we’ve finally moved all our stuff from the old place to the new. Thanks to my man who had to stay back and finalised things before flying out. He will be with us next Monday and I just can’t wait to see him.

Both Arianna and I miss Ted a lot – I think she misses him more although she doesn’t really show it much. Good thing that Ted always talks to her on the phone whenever he calls and I do make it a point to show her our wedding photo just so she doesn’t forget his face. I hope its working! Ted’s most likely flying late Monday night so Arianna might not be able to come with me but we’ll see how it goes – I’m a little afraid of leaving her behind with Mum just in case she wakes up but at the same time, it would really be WAY past her bedtime too. Have to think about this and see what happens….fingers crossed, I get to a decision real soon!!