What's all this fuzz?

seaweed in the depths of the ocean?

hint: she may be bald but she's utterly cute!

Why I would breastfeed all over again

Consider these....

Pluses

1. Bonding - yes, every mum will form the tightest of bonds with her children but the joy in my heart when Nat looks up at me with her innocent eyes and reaches out her hand to receive kisses from me, caress my face or stroke my hair is simply beyond words.
2. Nutrition. Breastmilk boosts immunity. Period. I know the moment I post this entry, I might kick myself for speaking so soon but Nat has never fallen ill in 7 months although I had a cold while I was on maternity leave and still continued to breastfeed.
3. Reduces risk of allergies especially if mum herself suffers from them. Yes, Nat does have eczema but it could have been much worse.
   
4. Ensures adequate fluid intake.
5. Convenient, non-messy way of feeding - no need to worry about not having enough hot water / formula if out for longer than expected, less things to pack when going out or travelling.
6. Does not cramp our lifestyle - read about when we took Nat to the cinema.
7. No smelly poo until baby starts on solids.
8. Best way to comfort baby in distress like when I accidentally clipped off a piece of her thumb when cutting her nails. Oops!
   
9. Best way to keep baby still, for instance when trimming their hair or nails and applying cream on their faces. Nat just hates anyone touching her face!
10. The fact that only the mother, and no one else, can actually breastfeed her baby gives her bragging rights and exclusivity. For instance, I have a ready excuse to take Nat away from whomever's carrying her if I ever need one.
11. Entertainment factor. One only need watch a mother nursing a 4-month old to know what I mean. They start being inquisitive and are no longer just sleeping, eating and pooping machines. The funny antics displayed by Nat during nursing sessions has had me & mum in hysterics.
12. Good for mummy's health - studies have shown reduced risk of breast cancer & osteoporosis.
13. Helps mummy lose weight - through having a good diet and the passive calorie-burning (okay, it's been a while since the needle on the scales shifted down but hey, the only things I'm abstaining from are alcohol and caffeine).
14. A multi-pronged way to save money - on formula (we all know how much they cost), sanitary pads (not having periods is a woman's dream come true!) and doctor's bills for baby.
15. Forging friendships with like-minded mothers. See: breastfeeding support group.

Minuses

1. Pain. The initial agony of the first few weeks.
   
2. How much? All that worrying about whether the baby is eating enough and not having enough milk supply.
3. Staring. Have to think about feeding in public (I've become more thick-skinned as a result).
4. Sleep deficit. Waking up a few times a night to express.
5. Unless one has ample stock in the fridge or does not mind lugging around a cranky, sleepy baby, breastfeeding curtails night-time outings. But this saves us money too and allows me to be more picky about the invitations we accept.
6. Teetotal. Having to be careful with my diet in terms of medication and alcohol.
7. Vaginal dryness. 'Nuff said!
   
8. Runny poo for the first 6 months (the baby's, that is!)
9. Withdrawal symptoms. Just reading Pearl's account about weaning Ian immediately reduced me to tears in anticipation of the end of my wonderful nursing relationship with Nat.
   

Check out her "lotus root" limbs

I can go on and on but the bottomline is, I have finally found my passion. I'm nuts about my Nat!

Chiang Mai - the sequel

It was a much-awaited event, the wedding of Teon & Cheryl on 9th June at the Mandarin Oriental Dara Dhevi in Chiang Mai. Apart from being a long overdue holiday with the in-laws (the last time we'd gone anywhere together was 7 years back to Cameron Highlands), hubby & I were excited to take our baby on her first overseas trip and of course, to welcome another sister-in-law into our family.

The two "stars" of the trip. Will upload wedding photos later when we get the professional ones from Cheryl as we were so engrossed in the event that we hardly took any photos

Spending 6 days away from home with a 6-month old was a rather daunting idea to begin with but we thought, what the heck? It's not often we get to go away with the family so why not make the most of it? Moreover, we'll have so many extra pairs of hands to help carry Nat and her tonnes of stuff.

Our princess on her throne at Akaligo Mediterranean restaurant where the buffet lunch was held

The wedding itself was magical to say the least from majestic surroundings and elegant outfits to sublime cuisine and heartwarming speeches. The hotel was easily the most beautiful (although not the most opulent) I've been to so far and service was simply excellent. The magnificent grounds were so spread out that we had to take a buggy everywhere we went. I'm sure the Jim's team (the photographers) had a field day. Teon & Cheryl had a Lanna wedding ceremony steeped in Northern Thai traditions complete with an interpreter to narrate as we went along. Teon even arrived, as regal as a Thai king, on an elephant amidst a procession of dancers, musicians and paraphernalia-bearers.

There was even a wrist-binding ceremony whereby well-wishers tied a piece of string onto the couple's wrists which the couple then had to keep in their pillows for as long as they were married. And no Chinese wedding would be complete without the high-spirited negotiation between the "Chee Muis" and the "Heng Dais" and of course, the requisite Chinese tea ceremony for both families.

The bride resplendent in her "kua"

After the fanfare of Saturday, the rest of our days there were relatively relaxing with the highlight being a Thai culinary class at A Lot of Thai. We all love our Thai food so when Cindy broached the topic, we put in our names almost immediately. The school is run by a very down-to-earth young couple with 2 kids. It was fun, fun, fun! We decided to learn dishes which were native to Chiang Mai so we asked for a tailor-made private class. By the time we cooked the third course, we were all bragging about how our own version was best. Talk about being conceited!

Aprons on

My yummy version of chicken "Kaeng Hang Lay"

I managed to squeeze in 2 sessions of Thai massage but still maintain that I'm more the aromatherapy massage type. The elbow-work is just too scary for me to drift off to la-la-land. Didn't manage to revisit the Raming Tea Lodge and PornPing Palace though.

So what was it like travelling with Nat you ask? Well, for the most part, it was fairly smooth-sailing to my pleasant surprise. Not convenient, but smooth-sailing. I thank God that she was undemanding and allowed everyone to carry her. The only time she fussed a bit was when she was tired. It wasn't too difficult to feed her in public either as I carried the sling with me wherever I went. She was also very good on the plane. Needless to say, she was adored by people everywhere we went. Hubby and I always thought that we think she's cute coz she's our daughter after all but it seems quite a few people share our view too. :) Perhaps it's because of her eye contact with people. The flirt!

Napping on-the-go

However, her routines were disrupted quite a bit and as a result, she became a bit thinner at the end of the trip. All the adults, on the other hand, gained weight. Also, she has also become too used to being carried around so much so it's no longer possible to just lay her down to sleep. My worst fears have been confirmed but what to do?

As for our accommodation at the boutique Tea Vana, the room we got had 2 super single beds so I shared one with Nat while hubby had his all to himself. Since Nat's such a light sleeper, I had to be very careful not to move too much in bed so woke up with a stiff neck every morning.

On the grounds of our hotel

It's fair to say that every one of us enjoyed the whole trip and we're all saving our remaining Baht for a repeat vacation to charming Chiang Mai.

Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum

A few weeks back I got a call from Sunrise Customer Loyalty Programme staff asking if hubby and I would like to attend the Spiderman 3 premier. Since dad had already gotten us free tickets for that, I asked if they had anything else lined up. She told me there was and so I asked to be invited to that instead.

And so, last night, after putting Nat to bed, we headed down to Cathay Cineleisure for our free buffet dinner and screening of "Pirates of the Caribbean, At World's End" courtesy of Sunrise Berhad. Aren't they simply an ace developer? I'm sure Aileen will agree.

Sad to say dinner was disappointing but I guess can't blame the caterer since there were no cooking or reheating facilities at the Premier Lounge so they could only serve cold, pre-cooked food.

The movie started at 9.30 and went on for almost 3 hours! Good value, you could say, but up until just before the credits roll, I hadn't a clue what the show was about! Maybe not having watched Episode 1 & 2 contributed to my lack of understanding but Hubby, who had just watched the first sequel a few weeks back was almost just as confused as I was. And there I was, thinking it would be an evening of relaxing entertainment that didn't require me to flex my brain muscles.

For those of you who haven't seen the show, I'm not going to spoil it for you and reveal the plot. And don't let my experience deter you, especially those Johnny Depp fans out there (He's so versatile. Hubby and I absolutely love his Tim Burton collaborations especially "Sleepy Hollow"). I've gotta say he's the highlight of the movie and he doesn't even have to try to be funny. He just is! Miss Knightley's character, on the other hand, could've been better cast. I dunno... she just doesn't have Pirate Mojo.

So there you go, my first blog pseudo-review.