Friendship is, good food and hangout

Hot Mamas and Super Hot Babies

top : 2014 09 12 - Grandma's at Raffles City
bottom : 2014 09 19 - Jones the Grocer at Ion

top to bottom :
2014 10 09 - Imperial Treasure Nan Bei at Ngee Ann City
2014 10 14 - Photoshoot with Dec 2014 Mummies
2014 10 30 - Taste Paradise at Ion
2014 11 18 - 10 Scotts Afternoon Tea at Grand Hyatt
2014 12 05 - Ellenborough Market Café at Swissotel
2015 02 13 - The Line at Shangri-La
2015 02 25 - Chinese New Year 人日 at Celine's

2014 11 09 - Hot Mamas Photoshoot at Caribbean Keppel Bay

 

2015 02 25 - CNY 人日 Yusheng Playdate

Hanging with Old Friends and Saying "Remember When"

CNY meet up for the "library club" members at Jimmy Monkey. thanks to dear, we managed to enjoy the 20% discount for easties. finally an almost full strength gathering with Ben Yeo and CKL back in town, missing PQ. it is also baby Keith's "inauguration" to the club. amazing how our activities and time of meet up has changed over the years. miss the good old days when we were all younger.

clockwise from top left :
2014 01 29 - Eve of Chinese New Year Eve at Zouk Members Bar
2012 12 07 - Zoukout at Sentosa Siloso Beach
2015 02 21 - Chinese New Year Day 3 at Jimmy Monkey
2013 04 30 - Mambo at Zouk
2013 06 12 - Total Recall at Velvet

top row :
2010 12 29 - Sam's Birthday at Zouk Members Bar

middle row left to right :
2008 12 03 - Jasmine's Pink Birthday at Zouk Wine Bar
2008 09 06 - Funktion at Fort Canning
2009 03 04 - Zouk Wine Bar

bottom row left to right :
2011 11 30 - Post-Exams at Zouk
2012 10 24 - Zouk

Chinese New Year 2015

Manicure by NailSapphire; Pedicure by PINC - Plaza Singapura

Auspicious Coca-Cola Cans

Layers Batam - Choco Vaganza Plus Half Size & Traditional Prunes Half Size

除夕 - offerings for ancestors

Decorations

Goodies

Red Packets for Good Wishes and Luck

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yearly affair with PapaKiat and MamaCat's first Valentine's Day date with her new lover

Dinner at Mellben Seafood Toa Payoh

Round 2 of date night

Desserts at iScream

Happy Birthday Mummy / Grandma!

Baby Keith Full Month Party

Manna Pot Catering

Great Value A

1. Butter Rice w/Garlic Crust
2. Vegetarian Bee Hoon
3. Broccoli & Cauliflower w/Wolfberries
4. Curry Chicken
5. Breaded Pangasius Sutchi Fillet with Tartar Dip
6. Golden Scallop with Mayonnaise
7. Mango Pudding with Fruits Cocktail
8. Lime Cordial

Delivery Charges : $30
Number of Pax : 50
Rate : $8.90
Total : $508.25

Great Value A

1. Vegetarian Fried Rice
2. Vegetarian Bee Hoon
3. Vegetarian Luo Han Cai 
4. Curry Chicken
5. Breaded Pangasius Sutchi Fillet with Tartar Dip
6. Golden Scallop with Mayonnaise
7. Mango Pudding with Fruits Cocktail
8. Lime Cordial

Delivery Charges : waived
Number of Pax : 50
Rate : $8.90
Total : $476.15

Ultimate Value A

1. Laksa Fried Rice
2. Hong Kong Noodle
3. Broccoli & Cauliflower w/Wolfberries
4. Kong Bao Chicken
5. Grilled Fish Fillet w/Lemon Butter
6. Sambal Sotong on Banana Leaf
7. Braised Seafood Beancurd
8. Mini Chocolate Eclair
9. Sea Coconut with Lemon
10. Lime Cordial

Delivery Charges : waived
Number of Pax : 60
Rate : $12.80
Total : $821.76

Lulu's Celebratory Box

Theme

1. duck x20
2. sheep x20
3. giraffe x20
4. whale x20
5. elephant x20

Flavoursome box

1. ang ku kueh
2. swiss roll
3. chocolate tart

Free swiss rolls and red eggs platter

1. 15 swiss rolls
2. 15 swiss rolls with peanuts
3. 30 red eggs

Shipping : Free Delivery
Order Total : $600

Theme

1. ladybird x30
2. panda x30

Joyful box

1. ang ku kueh
2. red egg
3. chocolate chips muffin

Shipping : Free Delivery
Order Total : $390

Thank you for celebrating the arrival of our baby boy and sending your love and blessings our way! Your generosity and thoughtfulness is appreciated. We hope you had a great time!

Love, Daddy Kiat and Mummy Catherine

Post-Natal Confinement

Confinement is a time of healing, strengthening and preparing the body for life after childbirth. Taking certain foods and tonics during this time is thought to ensure health throughout your lifetime. The first 30 to 40 days after you give birth is the period where you are confined to a certain regimen comprised of nutritious diet, to-do’s and not-to-do’s, and lots of rest.

Confinement myths

1. I am not allowed to bathe or touch water for fear of 'wind' entering the body
2. I must consume plenty of wine, sesame oil and traditional herbs to drive out the ‘wind’
3. I cannot drink plain water at all during confinement
4. I have been told not to read or cry

Confinement facts

1. There is no basis to these beliefs. In fact, bathing regularly ensures good personal hygiene and comfort. It reduces the incidence of skin and wound infections. On a personal note, it certainly ensures that the people around you find you more bearable.
2. There is no medical reasoning behind this recommendation. In moderation, there is no harm in consuming these substances. However, when taken in excessive amounts, they may affect you and your baby adversely. Furthermore, there are various substances present in the herbs that we are not fully aware of. Alcohol and other organic substances might go into your breast milk, and when breastfeeding, these might be transferred to your baby. These substances may affect the liver and worsen jaundice in the newborn if it is already present.
3. Adequate fluid consumption is advised especially if the mother is breastfeeding. The kidneys will produce more urine in the first few weeks after the baby is born to remove the excess fluid that has accumulated during the course of the pregnancy.
4. The traditional belief is that this causes eye problems later in life, which has no scientific basis.

Much as there is no basis nor medical reasoning behind, I followed through the above myths for the 28 days of confinement as per advised by my mum. It was a great feat that I only wiped down and brushed teeth with boiled warm water mixed with Martel everyday, very much explained why I stepped out of the house only 4 times during the period. Washing of baby essentials, pump accessories and dishes after meals were also done by my parents or hubby. Meals comprises of dishes cooked with wine, sesame oil and/or ginger. As I was breastfeeding, tried as much as possible to pump before eating, else I would wait for at least 3 hours after meal to pump. From week 2 onwards, I also drank a shot of Benedictine D.O.M. after my last pump in the night, the next pump would be 4-6 hours after. To avoid plain water is probably the least of my worry, daily beverages are longan red date drink, 3-4 servings of 400-500ml and Milo - 1-2 servings of 300ml. The first week at home after delivery was bad as I practically could not control my tears, mum and hubby asked what was bothering me and I could not give any specific cause. Thank god this lasted for only a week and I believe the uncontrollable outburst was due to changing hormones.

Good foods for new mothers and everyone else in the family

1. Angelica (dang gui) to enhance blood circulation
2. Black fungus to cleanse the arteries
3. Black vinegar to purify the blood
4. Chinese wolfberry to nourish liver, kidneys and eyes
5. Dark-coloured beans for being rich in fibre and folate
6. Dried longan to promote restful sleep
7. Eggs to nourish the body and complexion
8. Old ginger to warm the body
9. Red dates to improve energy and calm the mind
10. Sesame oil for being rich in vitamin E, iron and calcium

Thank you mum for helping to cook, wash and take care of baby Keith. 辛苦你了! Appreciate both mum and dad for sacrificing the master bedroom and bed to us for the month. Thank you hubby for staying with me throughout the tough times and for putting up with my tantrums and temper. 

vegetarian confinement food =)

Benedictine D.O.M.

concoction for my bath water on the last day of confinement

外公外婆 with baby Keith before his 1st hair cut

Thomson Medical - 4 days 3 nights maternity stay

due to caesarian section, i had to be warded for a standard period of at least 3 nights. was bedridden right after delivery till 26th morning and had to continue fasting while on IV drip. green light was given to consume milo on 25th evening and soft solid diet is recommended for my 26th breakfast. the best part of this bed confinement is i did not have the need to pee as they had inserted a catheter without my knowledge. both the IV drip and catheter were removed after dr claudine's 26th morning in-room visit and approved me getting out of bed. she advised to move around slowly in order for my body to adapt and to prevent affecting the wound.

my virgin IV drip nicely done by dr chong

despite stories of the uncaring staff at thomson and their slow response, i did not want to pass judgement till i see it for myself. at the end of the stay, i have to commend and thank the team at the ward for helping with the following.

• wiped down and changed for me while i was confined in bed 
• changed drip bag and cleared catheter bag on regular basis
• served meals on time and ensured the correct diet was provided
• great sanitary service
• timely medical provision, especially for issuing piriton 4mg when i complained of itch on the 1st day

and also to the nurses at the nursery for

• bringing baby to me 3 hourly to latch
• assisting to feed expressed breast milk after i decided to pump on the 3rd day
• clear explanation on care for baby (eg. cleaning umbilical area), items provided and details stated in the health booklet on the day of discharge

the overall experience was good, staff/nurses are attentive and responded to our requests promptly. however, i personally feel there is room for improvement.

• lactation consultant came in on the 2nd day for about half an hour. taught the different ways to latch and correct massage technique for the boobs prior to latching. seems to be only fulfilling her duty but lack a personal touch.
• during admission, we were informed of the on-going renovation works which would be carried out for stipulated timings on weekdays only. i was glad as it would affect us only for a day. they dropped a memo to us on friday itself to inform that there will be renovation over the weekend. dear spoke to the in-charge and she mentioned this was communicated upon arrival which was not. she then offered to convert a 2-bedded room to single-bedded for us as that area would have minimal disturbance. we decided to stay put as it would be too much trouble to pack our things and to inform relatives/friends on the change in location. 
• we were asked to settle the bill at level 1 counter as they were shorthanded. dear went down and found out there was only 1 cashier available. requested for them to reach us at the room since we needed to wait for baby to be fed as well. finally managed to sign off at 12 noon, an hour past official discharge timing. 

thank you all relatives and friends who took time off to visit and for the gifts, your generosity and thoughtfulness is appreciated.

gifts from relatives and friends

flowers from cousin jennifer and family

goodie bags from thomson medical

My Delivery Journal

the day is finally here. think i was tired out by the last minute checking and the fasting since 12 midnight that i slept till 0645hrs. wanted to wake up at 6am to play facebook games for one last time since i had no idea when will i be well enough to log in after delivery. dear on the contrary woke up earlier than the alarm and switched it off, which explained why i overslept. he was drinking coffee and playing games on his ipad in the kitchen when i went to wash up. had to remind him of the time and chased him to the shower. after which he packed the very last items on the checklist, photo/video taking equipment, and we were ready to set off.

really appreciate the smooth traffic during holiday, wonder how long the journey would have taken on a normal workday had we been rushing to the hospital due to contractions. we left bedok at 0738hrs and reached thomson medical at 0756hrs, awesome isn't it?

took a number for admission, queue 2004. there was only one other couple at the counter, but there was also only 1 staff serving at the moment. while waiting for our turn, we did what most people would have done, selfie!

我们去生孩子了！Merry Christmas everyone!

we were so engrossed with photo-taking and browsing of brochures that the staff had to call out to us if it was our number. the wait was approximately 5 minutes and it took 20 minutes to settle the paperwork, which included the following.

1. Registration
2. Hospital rules & regulations
3. Estimated bill for hospital/professional fees
4. Medisave/medishield claims
5. Renovation notification
6. 3 complimentary parking coupons ($3 per exit) were provided, 1 additional coupon can be obtained from ward nurse daily for companion
7. Paid deposit of $4000

the concierge then led us to the ward where the nurse took over and showed us the way to room 313. after putting down our "luggage", the nurse went ahead with the procedures.

1. Took urine sample for tests
2. Brief procedures
3. Measure blood pressure
4. Measure baby's heartbeat, still in breech position
5. Shave private area
6. Insert poo softener, felt like air sprayed into anus and i needed to clear bowels within a minute
7. Change into operating gown

thomson medical centre - single-bedded room 313

self-orientated around the room for 15 minutes and the nurse came to check if i was ready. put on the socks provided and off she pushed me to the waiting area. mobile phones were not allowed and had to be separated from dear for a short while. he was asked to proceed to delivery suite 10 minutes before 1000hrs, the scheduled caesarian timing.

final photo before delivery while waiting for the lift

the nurse came to confirm my particulars and was told to fill in my name and NRIC on the consent for operation. she then offered magazines for my reading pleasure while waiting. after what seems like 10 minutes, dr chong jin long, the requested anesthetist appeared from behind. he briefed me on the epidural procedures and the effects that i would experience. shortly after, dr claudine, my gynae arrived, said hi and checked on how i was doing before i was pushed to the delivery suite.

after being transferred to the operating table, dr chong informed that he would start administering the epidural. the whole process was almost painless, the only pain was similar to that of an ant bite. from insertion of the IV cannula to local anesthetic to epidural injection, dr chong explained clearly what he would do and how i would feel. have to thank fellow mummies for recommending such a good anesthetist. as we opted to donate baby's cord blood, blood samples were drawn through the IV line before epidural was given.

in less than 5 minutes, there were pins and needles in my legs and i gradually lost the feel of them, like they aren't there anymore. dr chong performed 2-3 tests to check if the caesarian area is numbed and is confirmed that i could no longer feel pain nor cold. dr claudine then pinched me real hard as what they described and all i could feel was tugging at the tummy. the epidural administration was a success. dr claudine told me that they would summon dear to come in once baby is ready to be delivered.

much as i would want to peep through the green cloth that was draped above my chest to see what they were doing, i was not sure if i would be able to take the bloody scene. the anticipation was killing me and was really glad when dr claudine asked the nurses to get dear to standby.

dear geared up in protective suit with surgical mask

dear and i chatted for a while but i could not remember what our conversation was about. i was very much distracted by the movements around the tummy area and was paying attention to dr claudine's comments. dear and i giggled when she complained that baby pooed on her. shortly after, she announced that the baby was here before we heard his 1st cry. the nurse showed baby to me for the 1st time and carried him away for cleaning with dear watching by the side. she also counted baby's fingers and toes to ensure baby is perfect and requested for dear's confirmation.

bonding with baby

baby was crying while lying on my chest. no matter how i patted him or what we said to him, he just kept wailing. this lasted for 5 minutes before they brought baby for various measurements and dear had to follow through.

the next half hour seemed to last forever. wonder why but i suddenly felt sleepy and dozed off on and off. it was pretty annoying to feel the tugging and pulling while dr claudine and the nurses worked on sewing me up. dr chong checked on me a couple of times to maintain the steroid level. it was a relief for me when they were finally done, time check 1110hrs. i was then pushed to the recovery area for 15 minutes observation before being sent back to the room where i was finally reunited with dear and of course, our newborn baby.

a very big thank you to all the personnel who helped to deliver our lovely and healthy baby boy.

My Pregnancy Journey - 38 Weeks

dear and i had mcdonald's breakfast this morning before his only appointment prior to the scheduled gynae visit at 12 noon. time check at 0930am and we were wondering if baby would have arrived should we have gone for the previously planned caesarian on christmas eve morning. this was in place due to baby shifting back to breech position a few weeks back. we went on to discuss plans for tomorrow, christmas day. options were to go window shopping at newly opened shopping malls, one km or seletar, or we could spend a day at jurong bird park. what helped made the decision for the latter was when we saw the newspaper ad for sintex warehouse sale at jalan ahmad ibrahim. since the sale location is near bird park, we could conveniently do both. little did we expect a huge surprise awaits us.

since i was not having any contraction symptoms, thought we would be ending this 2nd last pre-natal visit with "see you next week!". as we proceed with the usual OBS scan, dr claudine exclaimed "aiyo! you know what this boy do?". both dear and i froze for that second. "alamak! you tell me how?" she asked as she moved the scanner nearer my ribcage - we saw baby's head. she then provided the 2 available options, to arrange for caesarian tomorrow or to wait and hope baby turns down by 29 Dec. after much discussion on the pros and cons and also the possibilities of ending up with an emergency caesarian, dear and i decided to welcome our baby boy on christmas day. 2 of the main concerns were my water bag may break while baby is breech, his limbs might fall out or if baby fortunately heads down, and we induce the birth, there is a higher chance of ending up with an emergency caesarian.

as we trudged home trying to digest the fact that baby will be here tomorrow, there are last minute preparation to be done, eg. installation of the car seat and informing parents and close friends of the news. mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety, excited to finally meet our baby and at the same time worried of the new challenges ahead. nevertheless, i pray for a smooth delivery, a healthy and strong baby.

Christmas Eve Dinner - last meal before welcoming our Christmas baby

There are many gifts under the Christmas tree. But the best one is the gift of your friendship.

15 Dec - high tea at l'espresso, goodwood park hotel, with loves

20 Dec - potluck at wen ting's house - salad with japanese sesame salad dressing, portobello mushroom with cheese, pork ribs, roast chicken, army stew, bakerzin log cake and udders icecream

20 Dec - uniquely ours tropical christmas tree - with compliments from wen ting's dad

thank you Jia Le, Chu Kok Loong and Nicky for the much appreciated thoughts