Marion @ 1 year 1 month

So far I have not tracked Marion's progress on paper, and when I looked back, somehow I have forgotten even her major milestones.. I regretted not doing it. The milestone that I put in facebook was not detail enough as I only update once a month cos I feel lazy to choose a suitable photo and upload it to keep up with her progress. Maybe not an interesting thing for other reader to read, but this is merely for my own tracking..

These are Marion's progress as of today at 1 year 1mth.

Physical Development:
1. Have 2 lower teeth, 4 upper teeth.
2. Already started to run.
3. Weight 8.25kg...
4. Is going through Roseola (a type of chicken pox) since the past 2 days. Tomorrow should be cleared already.


Social development:
1. Can pronounce (and recoqnize) : Daddey (daddy), Dodo (a BabyTv channel character), nenen (milk), mam (eat), star, red, bluh (blue), yes
2. Smiled/excited when hearing the word: Circle, triangle, square
3. Loves : Babytv channel (esp Oliver the Monkey), the cuddlies esp Dodo, Hi Five ntv7, nursery rhymes, her Baby Bright CDs
4. Favourite nursery ryhmes : Twinkle Little Star, If You Happy, BINGO
5. Can dance following the music tune
6. Can sing "dah, dah... da, da,dah" (to B.I.N.GO tune)
7. Can wave and say "bye-bye" since 10mth old,
8. Dislike sad songs by "crying without any reason"
9. Start sharing her food with us
10. Sudah pandai main kejar2 with my babysitter's grandson (last time main kejar2 pakai walker)

We have just started to let her feed herself using her finger, but she can drink from a trainee cup since 10mth old. I've also started to get her to drink from a straw and subsequently using a bottle with straw, but that has not been an easy thing to do though. Will try harder.

Food Critics Gone Wrong

Eventhough I consider myself to be slightly introverted, one thing I actually love to do is having guest at home. When having guest around and sharing our food, I honestly belief that it is the act of kindness, and by doing that, I will actually have more 'rezeki' come to our home.

For a small gathering, I very much love to prepare my own cooking compare to catering, if time permit it. I know I am not that much of a cook, eventhough I never poisoned my hubby with my cooking. But still, I noticed that guest (including myself) are more drawn to home-cooked food prepared by the host themselves, somehow we can tell the difference. We understand the effort taken by the host to prepare the food with their bare hands, and food well cooked shows the sincerity of the host.

So far that I have organized a small makan-makan, some food that I cooked will vanished very quickly, and some will slowly diminished towards the end, and some of it took us a few days to finish the leftover. Having the same familiar guests over the years, I have roughly know their individual preference and taken a mental note whenever they mentioned about it, but of course I can't produce a single food that will suit every individual guest, so I make varieties. I sometimes ended-up handling too many types of cooking, and found myself still in the kitchen by the time my firs guest arrived.

I do not expect any compliments from anyone in regards to what I made. I just hope that everyone will enjoy themselves. On the other hand, some guest do make a constructive critism and gave me some plus point or some tips for me to try, which I'll be gladly happy to hear.

Among all the guests I have had, there is this one guest that we have been having over very frequently. On at least 3 occasions, the husband has commented on my cooking. The words chosen was upfront, and the first time it happened, I was taken aback and speechless. I do not know him that well for him to be able to say that to me (he is a friend of hubby's). I tried to brush it off, although I felt a bit hurt and could not forget about it until this day. The second time he commented, I just laughed and smiled, I thought maybe he or his wife is a very good cook, and knows about food very well. But somehow after being to his place many times, I did not really find his wife cooking to be that great, but I always made sure to say something nice to show my appreciation, or if the food wasn't that great at all, I just pass it and there is no need for me to say anything. There were plenty of other food for me to eat anyway.

Recently, we have had them again, and in one night he commented negatively about the food I prepared twice. And on the second instances, he had compared my food with the one he had eaten in the restaurant before. And of course he said the restaurant food is better. I mean, if I can cooked that well, I won't be doing what I am doing right now, I should be opening a restaurant right? Those are home-cooked food, don't they realized how much love, care and effort has been taken to create the food? And if my cooking is not spicy enough for his taste, what about the rest of the guests and small kids who have lower heat tolerance?

After that incidence, I am considering very heavily either just cater everything the next time around, or not organizing any gathering alltogether. Just because of this one person who gave negative comment, and never said anything about the rest of the food that he piled on his plate, it made all my effort to be unworthy, and I started to ask myself why would I bother to do what I did.

P/S : I am sorry for those who have came to our gathering before, I really hope that I do not offend anyone. It's just because of one person, this post come about, I couldn't let it go since it keep on bugging me. Please don't shy away from our invitation next time. For a well-meaning critism, of course I could take it very well, but as the saying goes, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything OR just say something nice anyway!

Elite

It maybe a bit too early to say this, but I really glad that I made the decision to take up the job that I am currently into. It has been two weeks now since I joined. The first day was a full-day orientation program, and the rest of the week I was sent for a software training. Last Monday was the first time I saw my workstation, and shortly after warming up my seat, I was called and immediately being briefed by the technical director. And after that, nobody really bothered me so far, I was being left alone to go through their system in the server, which actually had help me a lot in figuring out the overall picture of the department I am currently in.

After going through all the correspondence, what I found out was that the department I was in right now was just initiated in 2009, and the system that we do is a pilot test project not just in the company, but also in Malaysia. My particular field was just being started by mid of this year though, and I am very honoured to be chosen to fill up the gap in the department as it is becoming one of the 'elite' arms among the group of companies. The top management are visionaries and are very supportive of us in terms of investing in the training, hardwares, softwares, marketing strategies etc as we will going to change how construction will be done in Malaysia in the future.

This Monday we will move from Level 9 to Level 1, to our very own brand new office solely for our department. On Friday, I will be going for a managers conference with a very well known key speaker, which was organized by our Group. I will be rushing out to go back immediately after that to catch flight to Kuching as we gonna be celebrating Marion's pre- 1st birthday together with families, relatives and friends.

Please Don't Touch My Baby

Dear readers (yes the two of you..) what do you think about letting strangers playing with your baby while you were outdoor?

I personally dislike it when some strangers come up and pulled my daughter's hand and touched her cheek without even asking for permission... I am not being stuck up whatsoever, but you can't imagine what that person has touched before they touched your baby. I don't mind they playing with her or be near her, as long as there is no physical contact. So far most of the rude strangers I encountered are the middle eastern tourist, somehow my daughter has attracted their attention everywhere we go. They will just come up, raving and cooing at her, touched her hands and hair with total disregard of whether we like it or not.

I am still not sure how to prevent strangers from touching her while at the same time being tactful about it. If you have any suggestion on how to do this subtlely, let me know.

Lone Exodus

Watching my daughter, Marion, waving her hand while saying 'baa baai' at the cartoon character in the tv just a moment ago. I still couldn't accept the fact that she doesn't need me to carry her around tightly in my arms anymore... my little baby is a big girl already.. am dreading the day that I have to stop her from going out dating with a guy when we're she's not ready.

Well, about the good news. Heh. It is still a good news, but it has a bit of a twist to it. Okay, I got a new job actually. The day that I resign after I could not cope with the mountain of workload, another company was trying to reach me via email and phone but to no avail. I was truly busy I did not have time at all to open up my personal email, and my phone was on silent mode on that very day. I saw a few missed call from the same number, I tried to call back but it was a hunting line. Had discussion with my boss regarding my workload and proposed some solution, and let me think about it over the weekend.

The next Monday at 9am, I finally picked up the call. I could not hear clearly the first time and I thought it was another ambitious tele-marketer, but when she mentioned, "bla bla job offer... would you like to join us?", I sat up on my chair and asked her to repeat from where she is calling.

It was actually the company that I had went for an interview, just a few days after I went for an interview with the current (former now) company. I was not really sure I would be able to secure that job, but at the same time I know their hiring process will take longer so in the meantime I'll take whatever comes my way. At least if I did not get it, I already have a job in hand.

To cut it short, I did secure the job with the company, but it was NOT the one I applied for (oh ow..) I only figure it out after I went to take the offer letter.

At the moment since I had only a two weeks notice, my last day was last week's Friday. I am supposed to start on the 3rd October, but have to join another intake's batch cos I have already registered for an induction course conducted by ACEM which I do not want to miss.

Ok will update again soon as I needed to answer my daughter's nature call.

I am Elated

Uhmmm aaaa... ehehehe...

I need to pinch myself again and again. The news that I was waiting for almost 2 months, has finally came through. If not because I was at my workstation, I would have screamt my hearts out, and leaped in joy as high as I could.....

I really hope that either this would be the last one, or it will be a platform for me for something much much better in the future!

Guilty Pleasure-Deep Fried Oreo

I've watched Ann Ward, the winner of ANTM Cycle 15 made this Deep-Fried Oreos in one of the episodes sometimes ago. Since then, I have been wanting to try it. And finally today I did.

It was super easy, especially so if you happen to have a ready-made pancake batter. But from my experience using the pancake batter below, I believe it's worth to make your own batter, really. I can taste a heavy dose of preservative in it, and it doesn't taste great, although still edible. I suggest you to take the pancke batter recipe from here, it's looks very simple, and there are lots of good reviews.


With this ready made batter, I needed additional 1 egg, palm oil, and water as per the box instruction. After mixing the batter, just dip the oreo in the pancake better, then deep-fried it until golden brown. Drain on paper towel. Then munch.
And munch..
and munch...

Update : I've tried the batter to make a pancake today, and gosh I feel like crying! It was my first pancake, it was the best I have ever tasted! So fluffy and light! Thanks so much to the contributor. She didn't realized she is spreading the love all over the world!

How to Make Crispy Pork Rind (Lanyih)

Crispy Pork Rind/Lanyih

Pork rind (or Lanyih in Iban language) is actually the part of pork with lots of skin and the fat. It resulted from that pork skin and fat fried in its own oil and separate into pork lard and crispy crackling pork rind. When I was small, my mother likes to add this pork into vegetable soup, it tasted and smell divine. It also can be taken on its own as a snack. In Chinese hawker stall, you normally find these small pork rind bits in your char kuey teow, dry pork mee etc.

I always found the pork rind sold in packets in Pasar Bau, Sarawak to be a bit smelly and I do not like them (in it's uncooked form). That was until I tasted a homemade pork rind done by Momo's grandmother. It was the best I have ever tasted, we could just munch on it on its own. It never crossed my mind that we could actually do it ourselves. Since Momo also knew how to do it, I have been bugging him to buy pork fats for me to try, and that was about 3 years ago. Finally he bought it for me last Sunday.

Its very easy to do. What we need is just a kilo of pork fats. That cost us RM10/kg. The lady pork seller has already cut it nicely into small bits, just nice to sprinkle on your char kuey teow, but I would not mind for a bigger pieces either.

Clean and dry it. Sprinkle just a pinch of salt.


Heat up wok. Once it's hot, lower down to medium low fire. Dry fry the pork fats. Pls excuse the dark wok *shy*


You can fry it in big batches. It was my first try, so I was just being safe. Then just let the stuff cook away. You can see that the pork rind and the pork lard slowly separating. It's done when the pork rind turn gold color. Drain the excess oil from the pork rind using paper towel.


For a kg of pork fats, you can get almost a kg of pork lard. Keep this for when you stir fry vegetables.


And the resulting crispy pork rind, about 4 cups, and to be kept in an airtight container. Yummy... Add this to my maggi mee, mmg sodap!!

How To Choose Milk Powder Dispenser

When my baby was younger, she would feed few times at night so I like to prepare her milk powder with the right amount in a milk powder dispenser and put it at the bedside table. This way, I don't need to go to the kitchen and make fresh milk dispensing whenever my baby cried. This is a helpful little invention, as I can shorten the time for me to prepare her milk, make her happier and both of us can go back to sleep as soon as possible. This is the usage other than the time when I am going outdoor with my baby.

Basically, there are two types of milk powder dispenser available. One is cascading type, and one is rotating type. See the photo below.


Left to right : Cascading and rotating type of milk powder dispenser.

Here's the pros and the cons;

1. Cascading Type:
Pros;
-bigger compartment with wider mouth. Easy to fill up with milk powder, that would means less spillage.
-dispensing hole at the center, thus ensure that no milk powder remains when you dispense
-easier to wash

Cons;
-The compartment has to be rearranged after one of the compartment being used up. Very messy sometimes, especially when you are in a hurry or very sleepy :D

2. Rotating Type:
Pros;
-Just rotate the dispensing hole (the cover) when one compartment is being used up.

Cons;
-Compartment can be small, especially for dispenser which have more compartments, thus more spillage occur when you pour the milk powder. For this reason, try not to buy a dispenser which has more than 3 compartments
-Normally wider in size, thus taking up space e.g in your baby bag
-Dispensing hole is not on the center, there will be some milk powder stuck at the corner. Sometimes you have to shake it so it fall.
-Slightly more difficult to wash as it have corners.

My choice would be the rotating type just for the reasons that it is so convenient to rotate the cap. It made my life so much easier..

How to Use Little Bean Steam Sterilizer

Since I received lots of traffic coming to my site with keywords such as 'how to use Little Bean steam sterilizer' whereas I did not put any instruction on how to, I think I might as well put it in here in the hope that it can clear new parents doubt.

I am still head over heel over the sterilizer, I don't think I can live without it. It really made my life so much easier.

This is step-by-step instruction on how to use the sterilizer.

1. Wash the bottles and wash the sterilizer. Add 90ml filtered water to the sterilizer. From my experience, 90ml is just enough to cover the steel plate on the sterilizer, so it's not necessary to measure anymore..

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2. Put on the bottle rack.























3. Arrange the bottles on the rack. Since the second tier is not enough for all 6 nos of MAM bottle accessories, I attached the bottom of the bottle loosely together to the body, minus the rubber valve. Arrange the rest of the accessories on the second tier.























4. Put on the cover. Switch on the main power. Then switch on the Start button.























5. While the water in the sterilizer is boiling, there will be random numbers showing on the indicator.
When the water become steam, the countdown from 8-0 minutes will start, as shown on the indicator. This is when the sterilizing process going on. Do not touch or open the cover at this moment.























6. When the sterilizing process is complete, there will be beep sounds. After that, the number '3' will show. This means that the bottle will stay sterilized for up to 3 hours if it remains unopen.























7. You may re-sterilize by just pushing the button again by waiting at least after half an hour (eventhough for me I will do this only twice a day).
8. You must wash the sterilizer and change the water EVERY DAY. Otherwise, you may feel kinda soapy slippery on your bottles. Air dry your sterilizer after use if possible.
9. If there is accumulation of calcium deposit, pour vinegar to cover the steel plate overnight. Scrub and washed it thoroughly the next day, then use as usual.

Caution: The sterilizer is very hot during and after sterilization. Please handle with care. Make sure to cool down your feeding bottle before using.

Disclaimer : I will not be held responsible for any accident occur due to users following the instruction above. Common sense apply..

Good Luck Charm

Last Monday, my white gold chain broke. I did not realized that the thing inside Marion's grip was actually my heart-shape white gold pendant which was given by my hubby for my birthday this year. She dropped it and it fall into a tiny hole at my car's handbrake which I never knew existed. Out of all places... What was the odd? I felt like crying...

I actually sent my second job application last week Friday night, and I was very confident that they will call me. Call they did,on Monday morning. I was surprised it was that fast. You know what else? He asked me to go that evening itself. I was stuck for words. I told him it was too short notice, the next day (Tuesday) would be ok. Set. I panicked since I haven't actually done much revision so far, I kept on putting my reference books aside.

Told myself I should be fine, despite being brain-dormant for almost a year. I would just cocked-up some long winded stories so they would forget to throw technical questions at me. Sounds good. Ahaha...

I got a day for preparation, including my file and my attire. Neat cloth, washed hair, simple make-up, a dash of perfume, high heel waiting by the door, yada yada.. and yet I felt incomplete without my necklace. Then I remembered Marion's necklace and Cross pendant which was a gift set given by her daddy.

Hmm.. maybe.. maybe my necklace was meant to be broken. Maybe I was meant to wear Marion's necklace for the interview. Put it on, I felt complete, I kissed the Cross and went off with butterflies in my tummy.

Almost 1 hour into the interview, my interviewers who are the directors of the company, went out, I guess for some deliberation. 5 minutes later, one went back in and told me, "Ok, we can match your expected salary, although it's a bit high yada yada (that's a BS, I know). Pls wait for 5 minutes, we are printing your appointment letter."

My mouth dropped. I could only said, "Uh? That was fast". Never in my entire working life. Ahaha. Marion's pendant must have been the good luck charm ...


Happy..... :D

An Eye for An Eye

I was chatting with my ex-colleague yesterday afternoon. I am not proud to say this, in fact a chill running through my spine when she told me about it. I just found out that immediately after I left, my former boss was sick, gone through an operation and warded, had MC for a month, and was using a crutch to work. He was just recently got slightly better and managed to walk around without the crutch. My ex-colleague told me that it might have been because I had cursed him. I had only felt a slight tinged of empathy, but I remember I was thinking about him almost every night prior to my delivery, and I tell you it was not in a good way. Little did I know that the silent prayers that I made those nights was actually happening at the same time.. and I know what I had prayed and wished for.. in fact was not fully done yet. There was more. Someone has done injustice to my yet-to-be-born daughter, and it was fair enough that one's generations to come will suffer the same, if not worse than what one did to her.

Do I want to undo it?

Really, I don't know if I want to. Not yet.

What Was Life Like At that Time

Oh ya..before I myself forget. Let me just jot down my peculiar behavior during my pregnancy with Marion, so that I can compare it in the future *God bless us*

Things that I like :
a) Homecook food, esp my mom's and my siblings cooking, esp traditional food
b) Malay food
c) Mamak food (except curry and sambal)
d) Heaping on Sunny Hill's ice-cream during the final month. Heaty..

Things that I hate :
a) Chinese food
b) Curry and laksa Sarawak
c) Soya bean & milk .. still dislike, but no more gagging
d) Fruits... until to date :(

Things that I normally don't do:
a) Super lazy to cook. I practically stop cooking since the first 2 months of pregnancy. The most I cooked was maggi mee for myself if Momo too tired to go out to buy food.
b) Lazy to do ironing, cleaning, laundry etc. To think of it, I was just too tired to stand up on my feet.
c) No more shopping. No mood..

Main Masak Masak

Honestly, i have been a bit quiet recently in the blog but hey im still around. I got a renew enthusiasm for cooking at the moment, as I know once I get back to join the workforce, these days of culinary experimentation will literally be over. I have not just learning how to cook better, but also on how to do better food photography. I don't know where it's gonna bring me, but at least my hubby is a one happy man right now eheh, He not just get to eat good food, but also get the chance to practice his photography skill using his new dSLR (ahemm). I've been slowing down these few days as I need to get ready to be called for interview. I did not apply much this time around, I already got one appointment from a MNC who headhunted me, and I just sent my cv to my ex-company biggest competitor. Serve them right if i able to get it. Anyway, wish me luck, i badly needed one right now!

The Three of Us

The Effects of Sterilization to MAM Feeding Teats

During Marion's stay in KPJ, we were provided by the hospital with cold sterilization (tablet form) to sterilize her MAM feeding bottles. Despite the chlorine smell, seeing how convenient it was, I went out and buy Pureen brand sterilizing tablet (RM26.90 per pack of 52 tablets) upon her discharge.


Prior to her admission, I was boiling her MAM bottles since I had left my beloved Little Bean steam sterilizer back in KL. I had noticed that the bottle teat change slightly from clear to slightly frosted, but it will turn normal after a while. Whereas I never encountered this situation with the steam sterilizer.

Then again, when I start to use the cold sterilization, somehow the teat became seriously frosted in a matter of a month, but I continue to use as I didn't find it brittle. Momo also started to notice it, but I just brushed it off. However, seeing how Marion started to drink less milk lately, I became a bit concern, and decided to stop using the tablet and switched back to boil the bottles and the accessories.

And see what happen...



From right to left:
1. New MAM teat (All Teat No. 2)
2. MAM Teat after constant heating/upon 1 week cold sterilization
3. MAM teat severely frosted after cold sterilization, and get the burned color after subsequent boiling

I am not sure exactly what happen, but my suspicion was that the teat has weaken after the boiling process, and it react with the chlorine contained in the tablet. The burnt color from the subsequent boiling process was because it has penetrated into the teat itself. I had no choice but to throw it away, no way I'm gonna let Marion use it anymore.

It was a blessing in disguise after all, as I only have Teat No.3 with me. I tried it on Marion, at first she choked a bit due to the faster flow, but she managed to control it after a few gulps. Smart baby.. And because of that, she drank a lot more faster and without realizing it, drank more milk than usual. Thank God for that.

Babywearing-Baby Ring Sling

As a new parents, me and Momo were very inexperienced in terms of how to be mobile with a baby in tow. We did not know in the beginning what was the best method, their pros and the cons. So what we did was watching how other parents do it and do a trial-and-error. We have 2 sets of stroller (1 in Kuching, 1 in KL), 1 baby carrier (for Momo), 1 baby car seat cum carrier, 1 cheap sling and 1 sling ring! After trial and error for 3 months and literally bleeds money, we finally settled on the method that suited us three the most, which is Baby Ring Sling.

Our first try-Marion at 2.5mths

I am quite familiar with the using of baby sling, since as long as I can remember. When I was little and already know how to play-acting, we couldn't afford to buy any dolls to play with, so we formed a doll by rolling up a towel and pretend to take care of a baby and carried it with a sling made of kain batik, as how the orang kampung normally do it. That is how I had practiced, so when I use this sling, it came naturally to me.

Before settling on this method, we have tried going around with the stroller, but it was kinda heavy (to me), troublesome to unload from the car, difficult to maneuver, taking up space especially at the aisle, and we have to find lifts instead of using the escalator for safety reason. End up, most of the time one of us held Marion and the other push the empty stroller duh.. Using the shoulder strap baby carrier was also troublesome, as I will explain in detail in another post on "How To Choose Baby Transport" next.

One day when we were in SDMC, we saw a Chinese mother pushing her daughter in a buggy, and have a younger son in a baby sling, and I immediately pointed it out to Momo. I had been wanting to get one for myself but I know it is not cheap and Momo is doubtful to spend for yet another stuff that we are not really satisfied with. Just a week before, I had tried make a home-made sling as how I use to do it with kain sarong, and Marion fall asleep in it within few minutes, so I was sure she would be able to accept it too.

Sleepyhead..

When Momo saw how convenient and easy it was for the mother as she was not with her husband or a maid to help her, he gave me the green light to go ahead and buy it.

Hands-free!

So this is the baby sling that I bought. Mine is Mamapatch Baby Sling Ring-Auburn Rose Petal with linen. Honestly, this is so far the most expensive local brand in the market. I was in a hurry to buy it at that time, and I still feel a bit sorry that I didn't wait and look out for a better option. Luckily you can avoid the same mistake by learning from me :(

I did not understand the terms babywearing at first, but when I saw this photo taken by Momo, then I realized how the terms babywearing came up...

My best and priceless accessory, my baby!

Does He Worth My Cent?

Oh yeah .. Definitely.

Before I got lazy, I better update my blog with 'post-mortem' of my first Michael Bublé’s concert. I am a big fan of Michael Bublé. My wedding song theme was his rendition of ‘Quando Quando Quando’, just to let you know how much I adore him :D


After dropping Marion at her Inik’s (Momo’s aunty) in Bukit Jalil at 7.45pm yesterday, we drove as fast as we could to catch Michael Bublé entrance at 8.30pm, but we were stuck at the Melawati Stadium parking lot due to the jam at the parking and miss half an hour of his performance.

The first thought came to me when we were ushered to our seat and immediately saw him on the big LCD screen at the left side of the stage was,

“Oh. Wow. He looks chubby…”


Watching him singing life is just like listening to him in records, no flaw at all, including the 13pcs musical instruments that accompanying him. It was really a world-class performance and it worth my every single cent. He is not just a really good singer, but excellent performer and entertainer as well. The audience laugh, sang and dance with him. Eventhough review saying that most of his fans are women, but last night I heard more men’s voices singing along with him, especially when songs like Save The Last Dance for Me, Me & Mrs Jones including Everything came up.

I was wondering whether he would belt out my favorite which is Quando3x, but I was a bit disappointed it did not come out. Of course, he would have to sing with someone, a local would be easier bet such as Sheila Majid or Ning Baizura. Oh that would be nice.



Those funny moments were when he tricked the audience believing that one of his musician was a Malaysian, and his impersonation of Michael Jackson with his famous moon-walk, only that he cheated by walking backward through a slippery and slanting stage. That was hilarious, coming from him.

There were lots of memorable moments last night, and those worth to mention is when he sang “Home”, he left the front stage and went near the back console to be nearer to the audience who were seated higher up. The stadium was totally black-out and the spotlight shone only to him who were literally centre-staged, and it was a heartwarming moment to watch him sang in such a beautiful voice.

Nearing the end when he sang Me and Mrs Jones, I managed to look around and saw many couples of all ages lovingly hold or hug their partners, sang or swayed to the music. It was definitely a sight to behold… there were so much love around.. that was how powerful his music can be. It can evoke emotions in human.

His final song, I don’t know what it was, but as a closure he sang it MINUS the microphone and the music. The stadium was totally quiet and you could hear a pin drop. He was singing at the top of his lung, and yet despite the huge stadium, we could still hear him loud and clear. The audience cheered and gave him a standing ovation for his powerful vocal, and that sealed my belief that he is actually one of the centuries’ legend in music world.

It was a memorable and great performance overall, we went home happy but wanting more, and crooning his songs on our way home. Although the tickets are definitely not cheap (ranging from RM250-RM1098), the organizer was targeting the right kind of audience and it was a sold-out anyway. The location chosen was great, the sound system were flawless, the event was very organized, and the audience, despite being modest and orderly, were very ‘sporting’ and wonderful.


Oh. The show last night was a blue-themed. Me and Momo, including Marion eventhough she did not came with us, were being such a sport and wore blue too :D

Parenting's Bible

Being a new parent, do you ever wish that there is a book that can tell you everything about babies and parenting and answer your doubts and question without waking up your own parents in the middle of the night, or calling the emergency room?

Well, this book almost give you all that. The reason why this book is more special than any other book available is that, it's written by Asian and it is specifically written for Asian parents.



I received this book as a gift from my mother-in-law when I was warded at SDMC during my morning sickness period. It stayed unwrap for the next 3 months. I only opened the plastic packaging when I was 3 days away from my trip back home to deliver, and boy I was hooked!

I really recommend this book to anyone especially new parents as it answered almost 90% of my questions and doubts, that my own parents couldn't. It deals with lots of asian parenting practices and converge it with the opinions of pediatrician and healthcare practices. It was written in a very straightforward manner, points by points facts and easy to understand. This book also has helped me to educate people around me too with old parenting myth e.g. baby crying during cleaning of their umbilical cord with alcohol not because it sting or painful, but because alcohol is a bit cold when it touched their skin.

This book also deals with parenting issue for newborn baby up to 12mth old toddler, so by reading this book, you will know what to expect when they grow up. I always put this book within my view so I can grab and read it whenever it's convenient or when I need a fast reference. It is faster than switching on your laptop and googling for information.

The price is RM39.90 only and available at major bookstore and online shops. This book is also can be a great gift for new parents to be!

The backcover description can be found here.

Extra note : This is a free personal review.

Michael Buble Crazy Love Tour Live In KL-We are Going Hihihi!!

Yeaiha yeiihaaa Buble is coming to town!!!!!!! It's what I've been waiting for..

XOXOXOXO

Just bought tix for me and Momo, his Valentine's Day present :D

Anybody else coming?

More information on Michael Buble Crazy Love Tour can be found here!!

Loving Those Teats!

Wow. Surprisingly, my review regarding Little Bean Sterilizer & Warmer has produced such an overwhelming stats. The moment it was posted, I got lots of hits everyday. I really hope it has help some parents-to-be in making their decision. As a first-time parent myself, I wished I had received lots of little tips that made lots of difference before the arrival of my baby, thus enable me to save lots of money from making mistakes. Therefore, I will continue giving simple yet practical tips based on my own personal experience and opinion every now and then.

Next on my list of review is the MAM brand feeding bottle. Initially, I had bought 2 bottles of 160ml MAM wide neck feeding bottles. In the end, the endless cleaning and sterilizing of bottles per day got to me, and I had to ask Momo to get me another one. Luckily, Mummycare boutique, which is very popular in Kuching, carry this brand too.




The pros of using MAM wide neck feeding bottle are;

1. The purpose of wide neck bottle is to cater for a wider teat to simulate mother's breast. Wider teat is good for baby's oral and jaw development, although I felt there is nothing wrong with my jaw when in those days wide neck bottle is unheard of.

The design shape of MAM teat is wonderful, my baby has less messy feeding from the leaking at the side of her lips. Once she get used to the bottle, I found that she can do stronger suction on my breast compared to before. I am thankful for this as I had initially feared she would have 'nipple confusion', but instead it has helps us both. I believe this is one of MAM bottles strongest points, it made the transition from mom to bottle easier. I have tried giving Marion the normal rounded teats, she had no idea what to do with it, she just chew on it or place it at the corner of her mouth.

2. MAM bottle is BPA-free, very sturdy, have 4 choices of color (I have blue, green and purple but not pink) with pleasant bottle design. I don't have any Phillips Avent feeding bottles, but I have heard lots of complaints about it getting yellow stains (imagine plastic bottle that has been subjected to high heat many times, u can imagine how it looks like), and I have seen it with my own eyes too in few occasions. I never heard of MAM bottle having the same complaint so far.

3. The anti-colic design is by using silicone valve at the base instead of on the teats. It works, but so does any other anti-colic design of other brands. I don't know about you but I really find this anti-colic thingy is an overstatement, you still have to burp your baby after feeding anyway.

4. The base is separated because of the valve, made it very accessible for cleaning.


And the cons are;

1. The base is separated because of the valve, so you have extra 2 piece of parts to clean. Imagine if you are using 4 bottles, it means you have additional 8 parts to clean everyday. I admit that after a month, I am getting tired of it already.



2. Wear and tear-You have to change the silicone valve, not just the teats. It means extra money to spend, and the valve and teats are not cheap either (teat alone cost 1/3 of the feeding bottle price).

3. The base has open holes at the bottom. If you forgot to put the silicon valve in place in your haste to beat your baby's crying, things can get very very messy urgghhh >.<

4. The holes at the base may cause cross-contamination. Although MAM never encourage or discourage the user from immersing the bottle in the warmer and cause water to sip in, I have my own reservation. This is one of the reason why I prefer to heat up milk in the storage bottle instead of feeding bottle.

5. At RM33.50 per 160ml bottle, it's not cheap. You need about 3-4 bottles (don't forget the babysitter!) so you are spending more than RM100 for bottles alone. And don't forget the teats, as you need to change it as your baby grows. It cost about RM12 per teat. So please do the math..

I think the pros and cons are quite balance. If you don't mind the extra parts/price and ignore the possibility of contamination, I can say that this bottle is really good especially if you want to bottle feed but still wants to continue direct feeding at the same time. Bear in mind though that babies are unique individual, so what I experience with my baby may not necessary be the same with yours.

Little Bean Sterilizer & Warmer

This is my own free review based on my personal opinion and experience. I hope this review can help a lot of mothers-to-be out there with their planning and purchase.

Remember when I bought my Little Bean brand Bottle Steam Sterilizer and Warmer before I delivered? Well, it proof to be few of my best purchases so far, eventhough I can still wish for few features to be thrown in together. Let's get straight to the point:

A. Little Bean Steam Sterilizer
This steam sterilizer is in my opinion, a better alternative to the conventional method of sterilizing by boiling the bottles.



The pros are;
1. I never have to worry about forgetting to switch off the gas and frying the bottles instead.
2. It took only 8 minutes for the whole process.
3. It's easy to use. Just a push of a button.
4. It use only 90ml of water for the steaming process.
5. Can sterilize 6 bottles at one time, and can fit most wide neck bottles.
6. Resterilizing is possible and easy by just pushing the button again.

The cons are;
1. Of course it is the costliest among all method. But Little Bean steam sterilizer and warmer are one of the cheapest combo buy around.
2. The steam droplet stays on the bottles and accessories long after steaming process completed. Drying is a problem, so if you want, you may opt for a steam sterilizer that come with a drying option. There is one brand of steam sterilizer with this option, you can try look for it in Littlewhiz.com. (I against drying it on the drying rack as it is exposed to the environment, and can cause contamination instead. I use Ikea drying bowl that come with a cover, at least it's better than exposing it to the environment).


Wish Ikea had been more sensitive to the Bidayuh in choosing their product name hahaha! (Tokig means poopoo owkay? LOL)

B. Little Bean Warmer


We (me, my MIL, SIL and hubby) really love this little milk&food warmer/juicer for these reasons:

1. Compare to warming milk in hot water, the temperature stay 'constant' as it has a thermostat that can control water temperature to your selection. It means, the hot water will not turn cold, which is the case for the conventional method. This proof to be very useful when you are not using the milk immediately, but just to get it ready by the time the baby cry, or when u have unfinished milk. This reason alone far outweighing the cons of using this warmer.
Note: I heat up storage bottles instead of feeding bottles, so that I can half the quantity and use the rest for later, or when baby wants more than usual. I advise against reheating feeding bottles with unfinished milk because the teats is already tainted. I only do this if I continue feeding her with the same bottle she used before her shower, which is only a short span.
2. You can use it to heat up solid food when the baby is older.
3. It can be use to sterilize small accessories like pacifier, but I don't normally use it for this purpose.

The cons however are;
1. That I wish I have bought one that can be used in the car or everywhere else. Little Bean also have a separate model that does have car adaptor with it. But I wish more for one that is portable AND battery operated, which I haven't found yet.
2. When you heat up storage bottles, there is a chance of heat build up in the bottle as the heat could not escape. So please check for temperature of milk before giving it to your baby. What I did is to loosen the cap of the storage bottle a bit so that it can release the heat during prolong warming of the water.
3. It can be a bit slow compare to hot water, so you need to set temp selection to higher at the beginning to melt frozen milk or to fasten the heating (not too high, you'll destroy the nutrition value of the breast milk), then lower it down to desired selection. Based on my experience, the selection of milk warming at 40deg only means the bottle is hot, but not the milk, unless you wait for few cycles of heating. So it takes some getting use to, to maximise the potential of this warmer.
4. If you dont switch off the main power overnight, the water may dry up eventually, so beware. Eventhough the thermostat still work to protect the warmer, errr.. you don't want that to happen do you? These warmers are not cheap leyy..

Note : If you are formula-feeding, this warmer may not be necessary except when you start on solids.

The Day Marion Is Born

I have been wanting to update my blog with proper post, there were so many things I wanted to write I don't know where to start. I had promised myself that I would write about the day I delivered my daugther, so that would be my first ever post for the year 2011.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Marion was 9 days overdue. It was such an agonizing wait for us all. I got so many advice regarding how to induce labor naturally, some of it plain superstitious and some made me flabbergasted. What I did and believed in was praying to God that everything will be ok, and asked for the elders especially my mother's blessing. Apart from that, I followed one tip that I got from babycenter.com which actually proved to be effective (I won't revealed here which one, write to me if you wanna know hehe).

On 10th Nov, the day after I went up to kampung to see my mother and asked her to 'persuade' my baby to come out, I finally got a 'blood show' at about 3pm. I had been having mild and irregular contraction for the past few weeks. After I got the show, I followed my MIL went out to buy some stuff, hoping to kick start the first stage of labor. By 7.30pm while having dinner at the restaurant, there were mild cramping and about 15mins apart, and I had to leave the restaurant by 9.30pm to get some rest. I managed to sleep quite well as the contraction had stopped, and awaken at 2am by a strong one. I didn't want to wake Momo up as the contraction was still irregular and went back to sleep.

The next day, I took a walk with Momo around the house to further encourage the labor. While having breakfast, the contraction got stronger it took my breath away, but it was still more than 5mins apart. We made our way to the hospital soon after and I brought my hospital bag along just in case I would be warded. Got checked by my doctor at 9.30am and she confirmed I was in active labor and my servix had opened abt 1.5cm. She estimated that I would deliver in the evening, and she admitted me to the labor ward to be monitored.

Eventhough I went for the antenatal class provided by Kuching Specialist Hospital before, I had never learned any breathing technique. I did as what I have seen in the movies all these while, and it worked to relax me and saw me through the painful contraction. At about 12pm, I saw more blood when I used the washroom and told the midwife about it. The nurse became concerned and told my doctor immediately. By 1.30pm, I was asked to go to the delivery room. My doctor came soon after and I was told my servix opening is still 2cm, and she broke my water to speed up things. About 2.30pm, the contraction became unbearable it scared me so much. I finally gave in and asked for epidural to ease the pain, despite Momo's concern of the procedure. But what the heck, even the pain from the procedure is much welcoming than the contraction pain, and helped me to relax and rest before the start of the second stage of labor.

At about 3pm, we went through a bit of panic moment as the midwife ran in to see the monitor and then shook my belly with a look of terror on her face. A moment later, she breathed and told me that she heard the baby's heart beat had stopped for those few seconds. Luckily after she 'awaken' the baby, the heart monitor showed that the heartbeat had turned back to normal. At the same time, I was checked and informed I was 5cm opened, and by the rate of things going, I would be fully dilating real soon.

At 3.30pm, suddenly the pain from the contraction was building up again despite the epidural. When the midwife saw me panting, she informed me that it may be a sign that I was already fully dilating and ready to push. She asked me if I want to be checked again. And yes, true enough I was 10cm opened, and she told me I can try to push, and went out of the room again.

At that point, I was puzzled and looked at Momo as I did not know how. So I just did what my MIL told me to do sometime before. I laughed as I felt the situation was still a bit unreal. A few minutes later, the midwife came back with another nurse, and taught me when to start pushing, and how to do it correctly. My doctor came in for a while to check on me, and reduced the epidural drip to help me to time my push with each contraction.

From then onwards, other than the moral supports that I got from my husband and the nurses, it was like a lone battle for me. I fought really hard, at a point I was so exhausted, giving up and looking silently at the midwife to help me get the baby out whatever way possible. She saw my pleading eyes as she looks on and got a worried look on her face. She must have went out and called my doctor about it, but the doctor said to give me chance as I was progressing well (I was told of this later on by the doctor herself).

As the baby's head was approaching nearer, more shouts of encouragement came from the nurses and Momo. I felt helpless as my energy level getting lower and frustration came over me as I did not know how far more I had to go. The environment in the delivery room change when all of them suddenly became quiet and were looking at the heart monitor, and with urgency, Momo told me that the baby's heart beat had stop, and the midwife urged for me to push harder as we need to get the baby out asap. Momo told me that it was all up to me as the baby's life depend on me now.

I became panic, and suddenly out of nowhere, I found such a powerful strength in me that I have never known existed, and begin pushing with all my might. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to my baby. At that moment too, my doctor came, and they were rushing to get ready the bed to receive the baby. I pushed within 3 more contraction afterward and the baby's head finally crown. I could feel all my muscles tightening as the doctor stopped me from pushing and made the episiotomy incision. I screamt for the first time, urging the doctor to do it real fast as I couldn't hold it any longer, but the midwife told me not to scream to save my energy for the final push.

Finally, amidst scream of encouragement and one big push, at 4.41pm on 11th November 2010, Marion was finally born. I heard the cutest cry ever.... I couldn't see her at that time as I did not have my specs on, but I've known for sure she's perfect little girl as Momo kept telling me so. It was only days later on Momo told me he cried when he saw her coming out of me, and said it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

I cuddled my baby for the first time after she was wiped clean and while I was being stitched up. She was so calm when I hold her, and it was a moment I would never forget in my whole life. Her fingers are so tiny and somehow, weird as it sounds, I did not dare to look at the rest of her as I was scared I might find some imperfection. In my state of grogginess, I had refused to give her back to the midwife, as I was puzzled why anyone wants to take my baby away from me, until she explains that the baby needs to be given her jab. She had fallen asleep in my arms, and cried the moment the midwife took her away from me.

I had always wonder how every women I'd known whom have given birth can recall the minute details of their childbirth experience, be it 4 years or 40 years it has occurred. And now I understand why, nothing in life can compete with this kind of experience. No wonder despite the pain, most women did not mind going through it all over again.