Infant Formula

How do you find the best infant formula, presuming that budget is not a restriction? Does the most expensive mean the best? Well, it is usually equated to that.

So does it mean if you can't afford expensive milk, your baby would be deprived of nutrients or the better stuff? Sounds like it...

It's kinda sad, isn't it? Since having AIR2, I've been pondering on what formula should I give her when I go back to work. The nursery do not want to take EBM, only formula. Well, I guess with many kids around, formula is easier to handle.

Milk prices have increased tremendously. When AIR was an infant, up to 12 months, we gave him 'expensive formula' as it wasn't THAT expensive at that time, and we had a family friend who was working in the company and was able to purchase it at almost 30% off the rack-price, and so that saved us a lot in the long run. Considering how much a baby boy takes, it definitely did save the pocket.

Now, the princess though doesn't drink much, but the substantial increase in costs, at almost 25% (and if compare this to the staff-price, it'll be almost 55%), THAT's ALOT of $$$!!

So, back to the question - how do you determine which is the best? Some have DHA-ARA and whatever-A and some gangliosides, some iron, some dunno what other enhnaced vitamins etc etc

Can it be concluded that the general rule of the thumb still lies in the more u spend, the better it is? ;p

Merdeka 2010

It's very early to talk about this but there are already many adverts on TV highlighting the upcoming independence day which always is themed around the 1Malaysia concept.

Now this year, I'll be looking forward to it too...kinda strange, right? All of a sudden, I'm looking forward to a Merdeka Celebration? Well, that's because I'm gonna be featured in 2 promo ads :) Look out for it ok? I'm not sure which TV channel it will be and when exactly yet, but it will be TV channels within the Media Prima Berhad family :)

Restaurant Hj Shahrin Low

Finally we set foot here. With the whole family for lunch.

I guess from its location, its not much of a lunch-place as when we were there, there were only a handful of tables occupied. So we ordered BBQ Duck, Salted Egg Crab, Sweet and Sour Fish, Sze Chuan soup, vege and Yam Basket. Enough to feed 8-10 people but there were only 4 adults and AIR1 was asleep.

Our verdict - cooking style very much like a Chinese restaurant. Duck was normal, nothing to shout about, but its rare to find a halal shop selling duck, hence my excitement. Crab was quite good (though i don't take crab) but it would've been better if not for frying in dough first. Fish and vege and yam basket were all good. Soup - I guess it's been a while since I had something like this, so its not too bad. Overall, ok la, can go again for the other dishes. It's nothing exceptional here, its just that it is HALAL so there's alot of variety. Food price - exclude the fish and crab, and its very reasonable. Even the price for the fish and crab weren't exorbitant.

Mummy or Maid?

Though I wanted to babywear since last time, I actually do not know the proper way to do it yet. *embarassed*


Anyway, so I went to a mum&baby shop where I could test and try it out and decide what I want. But then I actually prefered designs of the slings from other online sources, so I contemplated. Ended up going to the shop so I could physically test it out and at least get some proper guide, and had to settle for some ready available designs. Hmmmm wat to do...

OVer the wekend, we went to Pavillion with the whole family including mum and dad. And so I carried AIR2 in the sling while AIR1 was in the stroller. Mum went into a shoe shop and I decided not to follow, so we waited outside. Not too long after, a maid with a stroller and a child and some shopping stood outside the shop too. And it struck me - if not for Dad waiting with me (hub went off with AIR1 first), I'd look just like her - a maid, slinging a baby (that's what alot of Indonesians do with a sarong, anyway), waiting for the Madam shopping in the store. Unlike shopping complexes like One Utama, Mutiara Damansara area and Mid Valley, the babywearing community in Pavillion I guess is limited to the maids ;p

And I wasn't really into shopping so I more or less 'accompanied' mum walking into and through all the shops, and mum being Chinese, is very fair, and people wouldn't ever think we're related. So I guess I was bibik for the day....slinging baby and walking behind mum most of the time! :)

BabyWearing

Gosh its been ages since I logged on to bloghop and to blog. Sorry folks, unstable b/band connection and was quite busy after my confinement :)

I'm a firm believer of babywearing but never got to practise it with AIR1. That was because he never liked it, esp the sling, which I was very fond of. He felt claustrophobic, I guess and kinda warm, perhaps. And Alvina (AIR2), being the princess she is, likes to be cuddled, held and carried until she dozes off. Sometimes after dozing off, upon putting her down, she'll awake, and the process starts again. So the solution to it - babywear her! And now, as I'm writing this, she's in the sling fast asleep. I not only have my two hands free, I can go anywhere and do anything now, without every few minutes having to stop what I do because she whined or cried.

Hey I even breastfed on the go! Yup, as I was walking/shopping, I was b/feeding her, I didn't have to stop and sit or look for the babyroom to nurse her at all. :) Mum was surprised when I was nursing her while we were having lunch the other day.

Macaroons finally

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

And finally i sunk my teeth into many macaroons :)

I actually purchased those in Pic 3 first from Whisk in Empire Shopping Gallery, Subang. A tad pricey as they were slightly larger than our 50sen coin and cost me RM18 for 10pcs or RM2 each. But for the sake of trying, I bought 10. Too small to actually enjot the uniqueness of the dough.

Pic 1 & 2 were ordered online. Ga-teaux.blogspot - her web and she's got lots of nice and unique goodies...Now I know where to get my cakes from. Much larger, the way I imagined it, and so can enjoy the taste and texture. At a minimum order of 24pcs, I took AIR2's fullmoon as an excuse to buy, so can share with my relatives. Otherwise when else can I finish 24pcs?? That too, I still brought home about 10 pcs. Not much of a sweet-tooth person with many reasons bout health etc...

Now that I've tasted it, I do like it, but need to find 'kaki' to enjoy it with me la :)

Macaroons

I've this sudden urge to want to eat macaroons.

Adoi, it's so difficult to find. Found one online, but when I sent an email to enquire, no reply. Then another, I've got to drive out to Jln Tun Razak so that'll have to wait.

Hmmmm no, I'm not going to attempt to make them cos the ingredients are different from what I have on hand and abit more tedious in preparation.

Guess it'll have to wait!

Oprah

The Oprah Show has become a daily feature during my confinement now. Why? Cos mum watches it everyday at 1pm. :) And so while I surf or blog or whatever, I pun tumpang and watch.

Sometimes she's got really good topics and sometimes not so. But today, it's about couples suffering from lack of or no intimacy in the marriage.

Couple 1 - Wife dislikes kissing husband. She used to like it and she loves kissing, but somehow along the way, the act of kissing just lost. And she can't bring herself to kiss anymore. Part of the therapy - start with 15min of kissing on Day 1. Day 2 - talk to each other, exclude work, kids or household stuff.

Couple 2 - Suddenly 2 1/2 yrs ago, after a 9 yr marriage, this couple stopped having sex. Hubby says they just don't connect, at times he doesn't find her attractive (after a long day at work etc and she seems tired etc). This couple looks like they are in the 40s. They now have 3 kids. And it was after kid#3 which they stopped. They don't have physical connection at all and they're worried bout their marriage in the future.

Interesting, I must say and brave of them to open up publicly.

Apparently 15% of the US population have sex-less marriages.

I'm blogging as I watch, and I'm not going to wait for it to be over. I guess for them to appear, the therapies must've went well, and so they're now happy again :)

Roller Coaster

I think my emotions are like a roller coaster at the moment. (This just happened few days ago)

Nope, not post-natal depression or anything post-natal related but I just feel like it's not so 'normal'. hehehe

Losing my appetite too. (This started since a week plus back, I think) This I say is from eating the same herbal soup daily twice a day, almost the same dishes daily and oh well, it just isn't very apetizing. Anyway, not complaining much, just eat and it's supposed to be good, but the thing is, I notice my portions are smaller and smaller by the day and it takes mammoth 'strength' to eat it all. hahaha Tak makan kang, mum pulak bising kan? dah penat2 masak for us.

And that is also why I can't wait to put on my running shoes and just get out and go for a walk...

Erm, no insanity hasn't kicked in, though I've been confined to the many corners/walls (not the usual 4 only) of my home-on-the-air, looking out to the now barren land which was a forrest 3 weeks back. OK, there still is a forrest behind that barren land.

Neways....another struck off the calender...

One week to go!

Yup, time just flew by...

But, last night my problem knee (the left knee) suddenly seemed to realise that it's going to be tortured again...and decided to kick a fuss, literally. Suddenly I was having knee pain, at the rear of the knee...adoi! So upsetting..and I wasn't even sitting on the floor or doing strange contortions...just suddenly while walking...

Crap! Now, let's give it a week to recover....now hasn't my month-long staying away of cooling-food, ice and cold drinks help? arrrrgh! Frustrating....

Nevermindlah...worse case scenario...swim everyday! With AIR1 of course...kekeke mum will freak if I actually take AIR2 for a swim at 4-5 weeks old!!

Why like Chipsmore?

Aargh! My bband is driving me nuts!

Now u have it, now u don't!! one moment its fine and the next, literally gone!!

Eeee annoying!

Hope it'll be ok from today on...seems fine now... *keeping fingers & toes crossed!*

Training

Now, when will I regain that? Opps regain? hahaha, it was never there, except for the skinny legs, the ultra-flat tummy?? hehehe

So, lets see...if I can squeeze in a walk before that plan to f00d-binge of mine, it'll be superb. Otherwise it can wait till the next day, Saturday.

Day 1 - Walk, walk faster, brisk walk and gym-ball
Day 2 - Brisk walk, gym-ball
Day 3 - Brisk walk, slow jog, gym-ball
Day 4 - Slow jog, gym-ball
Day 5 - Jog -lah!

Well, it should remain as jog, and short runs, but bearing in mind all this in a hilly terrain....so I will have to see how my under-used knees (only used for weight bearing during the 9 months) will survive the first few days before I push myself along.

Then there's the fasting month coming up, 2 weeks after I gain 'freedom' ....and 2 weeks after Raya IS Newton Run...alamak! ;p

Daunting!

What to do after 30 days?

Another 15 days to go (more or less lah) and I'll be free to eat and drink what I like.

So, what have I planned for this time? Yup, of course already planned...

Breakfast - coffee (at home) then dimsum with mum
Lunch - cos it's friday, if I've not had my share of briyani before this, then it shall be briyani, otherwise skip lah, dimsum would last till dinner-time (it usually does cos we eat alot) ;p, worst case, IKEA foodcourt nyumyum
Dinner - if its not briyani for lunch, then perhaps the Lamb Kabsah (in Cyberjaya), otherwise maybe dinner at someplace serving western food, or even some foodcourt so I could sample everything

Terrible, right? hahahaha I'm just so bored eating the same old soup daily, twice a day. Well, of course the other dishes change slightly, but DAILY same soup!! Adoi!

And then of course, some shopping after that! :)

Updates....again

Kinda fast lah, it's already 2 weeks post delivery.

She now has more or less a schedule/system, but the not-so-fav part of it all is that she will pass-motion after her feed, esp at night and sometimes this 'process' will take an hour or more. And during that hour, you will have to entertain her, i.e. carry/cuddle or talk to her or else she will bring the house down. Worse is even her small whines will wake her suddenly-ever-so-sensitive-brother.

Weight gained during pregnancy - approx 7kg
Weigh-in at 7 days after delivery - (-) 10kg

hahaha I loike! Let's hope it stays that way :)
And let me find time (after the next 2 weeks) to start training :p

Then and Now

Stay away from my sista!

It's funny, looking back at things...

1st baby, I was so much more tired. Maybe becos in the day, baby slept shorter spurts. But he was a good baby at night. Now, baby sleeps longer hours and she's also an angel at night.

I tend to want to nap more in the afternoon then, but failed miserably. But now, I have the luxury to, but don't always make use of it.

I was literally waited on hand and foot, especially in the first 2 weeks, now, if I don't ask, it is assumed that I'll do it myself. hmmmm no more princess-treatment ;p

I was so rajin at changing nappies (yup, used cloth nappies for the first month) and now am just so lazy...thank God its only 1.5 yrs apart...I wonder how it will be if the gap was larger ;p

Luckily it's the time of the year when the weather's really nice and cold, compared to previously, where it was dry and hot...made things really unpleasant throughout the 30-days...

Most people experience that during the 2nd baby, milk supply will definitely increase, but not in my case. Yup, very strange. During my 1st, I had so much during the 1st night itself, I was engorged the next morning cos baby didn't drink much then. I had overwhelming supply. Now, I'm 1/4 of the previous mark and its really not motivating. Though this time, I'm taking feenugreek, the 'milk tea' and also another yet to be consumed supplement, the alfalfa tablet. But so far, though its on the low side, it's just enough for the baby girl. Small appetite. :)

Me: Asrul, let's go see Alvina....

Asrul: Na na... (that's his version of Alvina)

and then we walk over to the baby cot.