Wedding Bells for Keira's Godmum!

Keira's godmum "walked down the aisle" with her best friend earlier today!

Kevin, Keira and I were so honored to be there to witness the beautiful wedding ceremony and reception at the City Harvest Church in KL.

I absolutely love weddings and get teary-eyed, and this one was no different - except the fact that we had a baby with us and we had to ensure that seated in the hall of hundreds, Keira does not start screaming did not disrupt the wedding proceedings. 

It was also Keira's first wedding attendance, hence we had no idea what to expect...

All we had was a plan, and we plan to stick to "the plan":

• The moment we noticed that Keira's mood was going to go "crazy" we're out of there. 
• We plotted our quick exit by sitting as close to one of the exits as possible, just in case.
• We made sure to pack lots of milk and have it ready for when hunger scream strikes.
• We had her pacifier ready as well, in case of any indication that there was going to be tantrums or loud sounds coming out of her.
• We were equipped with toys and stuff to keep her entertained and some glow in the dark items as well, foreseeing that it was going to be dark during the ceremony.

Thankfully, Keira was in her best behavior and we sat through the whole wedding ceremony without any problems. She even clapped and waved when she spotted her godmum standing at the top the of hall, with the spotlight shining on her as she made her way down the aisle with her father in hand to be given away.

Kevin and I know Hannah on a very personal and friends level, back in the KDU Penang days. He knew her while he was a student there, and so was she. And she is his god sister. 

I knew Hannah while I was employed at KDU Penang, during that same time she was still taking evening classes and working at the School of CIS and we were actively participating in netball and all other social activities at the college. Yes, even as an employee at KDU Penang, I still took part in the student activities to keep my sanity going. During that time, Kevin and I did not know each other and little did we know that we already had a friend in common. And this, we found out only years later.

Many probably do know know that Hannah has been through so many hardships at such a young age. As she is also a local celebrity, all people see is the glitz and glam that come with being in the entertainment industry. Strip all that away, and the reality of it is that you have one very intelligent, workaholic gal who we are proud to have as a godmum to our baby girl.

To see Hannah "glow" in her wedding gown, on her special day... well, here comes the water works! 

We're just so happy that she has found her happily ever after and love of her life in Bryan.

Congratulations to the gorgeous bride, Hannah and charming groom, Bryan!

Baby On Board: Keira's First Flight

We're so excited! Our good friend from long time back, Hannah Tan is getting married tomorrow and the three of us (daddy, mommy and baby) are attending her wedding in Kuala Lumpur! Keira, of course, will have to come along too as Hannah is her "godmum".

We were also quite nervous as it was our first time to fly with our baby. That's Kevin, me and baby. Meaning: no mommy or auntie for mine or any kind of family support would be available to us during the plane ride of 40 minutes. 

What if the air pressure is too much and she cries and cries non-stop? 
Would Kevin and I be able to handle it? 
What if she poops in the plane and makes a big fuss about it? 
What if we forgot something that she really, really needs and she won't stop crying? 
She's not a morning person, cos she sleeps around 4am. And our flight is an early morning one, means that we would need to be up and at the airport before 8am. What if she throws a tantrum for us disturbing her during what's meant to be time for her beauty sleep?
What if...? 
What if...? 
What if...? 
Whatever the case, there was no way out and we would have to deal with all of it like grown-ups.

Thankfully, we ended up having no problems at all with her first flight earlier this morning. Everything went smooth sailing, as our anxieties ensured that we be well-prepared more than ready of anything that coulda, woulda, mighta gone wrong.

• Before the flight, we made sure to put Keira in comfortable clothes and give her a fresh diaper change. We also made sure not to feed her too much milk otherwise she would reject the milk during take-off (and we can't afford that to happen).
• Before take-off (and before she was belted to me as all infants need to be for safety procedures), I lifted her up with both hands so that she can catch a glimpse at the people seated on the flight.  The natural princess nature in her of course shone brightly as what she was lifted up, she gave all the passengers that she made eye contact with a glowing smile and a "princess wave". We could hear the "auuwwws" and "Look at the baby wave, so cute!" compliments that followed.
• During take-off and descent, we kept Keira sucking on something to relieve ear pressure. The flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur is short, so at takeoff we fed her milk from her bottle. 30 minutes later, as the plane was ready to make its quick descent, we could not stuff her with more milk, so we had alternatives ready - water from a bottle or her pacifier. Pacifier was her pick, of course!
• During the flight, we brought her favourite toys and soft-book so that so that we could keep her occupied. It was also a small plane and we did not get the front row, so we had to make do with positioning her strapped on me in the limited space that there was. Turns out that we did not need anything. She was happy to be gazing out the window during take-off and landing.

From this first experience, we discovered that SHE LOVES AIRPORTS and AIRPLANE RIDES! She did not mind the air pressure or the noise during take-off and landing at all. She loved flying with her "royal subjects" and was very well behaved throughout the entire flight.

Hello, Kuala Lumpur! Happy Valentine's Day! We made it here in one piece with our 8 month old! :)

Catching Up With Nicole

An ex-classmate from Uplands International School was in town and the few of us got together for a quick catch-up over dinner earlier tonight.

Nicole Eisen and I go way back before Uplands. We grew up together since our primary years at St Christopher's International School. She recently relocated to Singapore and was in Penang for a quick getaway - so of course we found time to meet up.

Those of us with family, we brought our kiddos along too. The adults had their adult conversations and catch-up, while the older kids entertained 8 month old Keira with songs and dance. And she absolutely LOVED it!

What a fun gathering it was! Truly bless to have great friends! :)

New Year Partay 2014 @ the Crib!

With baby Keira being hospitalized on Dec 30, 2013 (two days after she turned 7 months old and two days before the new year), there was no running away from the fact that our baby would be spending her first New Year at Pantai Hospital, Penang.

It was definitely NOT the New Year celebration we had in mind with our little honeybun. But I also knew that I will never get back this day. So I could keep being annoyed about it (even though it is no one's fault that she got sick at the "right" time), or I could do something about it.
 
I opted for the latter, of course. I just felt like it was up to me - I could let the day just pass like another ordinary day, or I could try to fix it and so something about it and at that point, what was more important, was to bring some new year cheer to my baby girl.After all, it is her first new year and I wanted to make sure my baby experienced a cheerful new year in positive spirit, especially after the pain and suffering she had the past week from endless fever, cough and flu. And as if all that illness was not enough, throwing up after every medication and rashes all over her body were added to the list earlier in the afternoon. Poor baby! 

So at 6.30pm on New Year's Eve (yesterday), after I fed her milk, I got my hubby to mind her for an hour at the hospital while I snuck out to go back home for a quick refresher and to pick up my mom, as well as hunt down some new year "props" I could get hold of in the last minute. Traffic was bad everywhere, so I figured the safest was to stick to what's close. Young Ones seemed like the best last resort as I had seen some party stuff in one of the corners before, and I needed to be quick. Good thing mom was in the car, no need to worry about carpark.

Oh yes, of course I was in luck!!! As limited as the choices were for party stuff, I grabbed whatever I needed that would liven the room and ambiance - a couple of party hats, balloons, decos worth RM42.90 - and I was out of there within 30 minutes and back in the hospital, ready to execute my mission "Project: New Year Partay @ the Crib".

My hubby was in the midst of putting her to sleep when I got back to the hospital room. The stuff I bought, and my prepping (balloon blowing etc.) did not go unnoticed by the little one - it distracted her from sleeping... It was like she knew mommy was up to something and she wanted in on it, and as sleepy as she was, she did not want to miss a thing so her eyes were wide awake.

She was looking a little better so we kept her entertained until she was really sleepy.

It was a good thing that she was admitted into a private room at the Executive Suite and not one of the shared children wards as our crazy antics of entertaining our little one with songs, mirror reflections etc. would have definitely annoyed other patients.

By 9.45pm, she started rubbing her eyes intensively, a sign of sleepiness, to which we sung her to sleep - as we always do. As she dozed in her crib, mommy got back to balloon blowing and decorations, so that by the time she got up (hopefully at midnight), we were ready for her New Year partay in her crib! 

At 11.00pm, when most of the decorations were up, she was awakened by a loud burst from one of the balloons I was pumping. Oh darn! But what can you do right?!? Since it was time for her medication anyways and the nurse was ready to feed with her five shots of meds, we decided that we should just go ahead with the partay at her crib as she will probably be dozing off again before 12.00am midnight. She is unwell after all, and she needs her rest.

 

 

In the end, all that mattered was that we did get to spend a memorable first New Year with our little darling and as a family. It was not exactly the family celebration we we had in mind, especially not location-wise, but it all worked out for the best. We definitely are blessed!

Happy new year from our little family to yours 

& cheers to a greater and brighter 2014! :)

To Jumperoo Or Not To Jumperoo?

I have heard many friends (who became mothers before me) and also expert physical therapists say over and over again that jumperoos (similarly, walkers and other baby items), are unsafe and not good for babies development. They apparently place too much weight on babies legs, the crotch-support seats isn't good for the hips... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...  there's always some reason why something is not good, isn't there? Still, the fact remains that such items are still legally sold and there are parents who swear by them.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and Kevin and I are not one to be swayed by other people's opinions. We never have, and we never will. We listen to what people have to say and their opinions, then do our research and form our own opinions and decide wisely on what is or is not good for our child. What anyone else thinks about our decision is utterly irrelevant.

On that note - Keira got a new toy (thanks to the aunties and uncles at Khazhanah who contributed money to buy the specific Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo we had our eye on but could not find in Penang, among other gifts), and she ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT! 

We love it too because it clearly makes her very, very happy. Doesn't she look happy in her first ever jumperoo experience? Jump, Keira, jump! A happy baby makes for happy parents! :)

We are not irresponsible parents - we do not use such toys as opportunities to leave our baby on the all day long, and neither do we start her on it too early on it (best to start babies on it when they are is more stable - we started Keira on it at 6 months old) or leave her on it for too long. 

Either Kevin, my mom or myself will keep a watchful eye every second she is on it and keep her company while she plays and enjoys her jumperoo time (usually not longer than 20 mins per playtime). 

 

We never leave her alone on it, cos we don't see it as a product of convenience. It's a purchase of fun and excitement for our baby to enjoy and we want her know that we also want to be involved in the process as we clap, cheer and sing along to her jumps and laughter.

In case you too decide that you want to purchase a jumperoo for your little one (and you should consider it!), here are some tips to ensure you maximize your baby's safety while using it:

• Place it on a flat leveled surface; do not place it near staircases, pools or other hazardous areas.
• Keep the floor clear of share or pointy objects that your baby can jump on.
• Do not attach additional toys with strings to the product as they are possible strangulation hazard.
• Take note of the weights and height limit of the product and make sure to stop using the product once your baby reaches/exceeds the weight and height limit.
• Do not leave your baby with the product unsupervised.
• Stop using the jumperoo once baby starts learns to stand and walk.

Yes, the tips and safety concerns listed above do come down to plain common sense, but sometimes people need to be reminded of them... don't you agree?

Presenting... Keira, The Graduate!

One of Kevin's colleague was in the United States recently and bought Keira a cute little pink Harvard University onesie.

To complete the "graduate" outfit, I went hunting for a mini mortarboard all over town - from toy stores to all sorts of places. I finally found one at the flower shop!!!

TA-DA! Meet our 7 month old Harvard graduate! :)

Keira and Bella's Express Playdate

Yu Li and I have been talking about setting up playdates for months since we had our little girls. We both live on the same island, but why is it so hard to fix a day/time for it?

Finally, last week, we decided we really need to make it happen! 

Kevin and I were already headed out to Ferringhi area this weekend anyways with Keira, so earlier today, on the way to Ferringhi, we made a pit stop at Yu Li's home so that our little girls can have a quick first playdate.

Keira is just 6 months old, and Bella (Yu Li's little girl) is slightly a little older than her. Hence, there's not much moving around expected of the two since both are still learning to sit properly and walk, and Keira has not really mastered sitting up on her own yet. 

So, into the playpen you both go as the mommies catch up and watch the two babies form a connection.

Bella took the lead as they played "doctor and patient", so it seemed :) Keira was contented to just lie there on the pillow as a patient and have her pulse, ears and other body parts examined by the doc.