First Family Trip

Diapers. Checked. Stroller. Checked. Milk powder. Checked. Checked. Checked. Packing for a 3 month old was not mean feat. In fact, I was still running to NTUC to buy more ziploc bags one hour before the cab arrived to fetch us to the airport. Many say we are nuts to bring an infant on a long haul flight to London. Maybe we were. But hey, a little craziness every now and then makes the usually mundane life more fun and exciting, isn't it?

At the end of the day, I'm glad we made the trip with Shiloh all in tow. It was memorable to say the least. Here are some of the highlights from the trip:

Visit to the State Rooms, Buckingham Palace: While one can watch the changing of guards any other day, the State Rooms are only open for a few weeks each year. And since we were in town, this is a must-do. Photography is not allowed in the palace, so these photos of the palace shops and St James's Garden will make do for now.

Cruising down the Thames: Since we took my mum with me on this trip, we decided to do some touristy things such as visiting the Big Ben, and of course, cruising down the Thames. And of all days, we had to choose the coldest day to do this. Brrr..

Visiting Hamleys: We were so fortunate to bump into the Hamleys mascot the moment we hopped off the bus. I thought it was a daily occurence. Apparently, it's not. Haha.

Luckily Shiloh doesn't know how to play with toys yet, else we would burn a really big hole in our pockets.

Borough Market: This remains one of my favourite market since my student days. The housewife in my mum was particularly interested to explore this ang moh market. Here, we found some really big, cheap and delicious oysters for lunch. 

Lobsters, lobsters and lobsters: A visit to London is not complete without a visit to Burger and Lobster. I still very much prefer my Greenwood Fish Market lobsters though. But it was interesting trying the lobster dish at Thomas, the first Burberry restaurant in the world! (the last 2 photos)

Travelling with a young child is definitely challenging but also strangely satisfying. I am glad we took the plunge. 

Full Month Party

This is an extremely belated post. After 3 months, I am finally getting used to baby's schedule and needs. 

In the Asian culture, it is a common practice to celebrate when a newborn completes his/her first month in this new world. Well, the whole idea was because infant mortality was high in the past due to inadequate medical care and a lack of good hygiene practices. Thus if one could survive past the one month mark, it calls for celebration. Today, people celebrate to share their joy of this new addition with their friends and relatives.

We celebrated Baby S "full month" on 6 July when she was 5 weeks old at the quaint and historic Fullerton Hotel. With decorations, red eggs and glutinous rice cakes (ang ku kueh) provided for, we just needed to turn up in style. 

The guest list was intentionally kept small as we wanted an intimate celebration (just like our wedding) with only people who matters to us. Even then, I was so beat entertaining and catching up with friends by the time the event ended.

We also took the chance to do a simple baby dedication. 

We are really thankful to all our friends and relatives who took time to celebrate this joyous occasion with us. 

Baby S was almost awake for the full 3 hours of the party. She was really good too with minimal crying and fussing. Needless to say, she slept really soundly that night. First taste of life as a social butterfly. We start young. Haha.

So many people are so excited and happy to see Baby S. She is indeed blessed and we are really thankful for that. Thanks be to God!

Little girls are made up of sugar and spice and everything nice

It's been so long since I last posted in this space and so many things have transpired. Since 1 June, we've got our hands full taking care of Baby S. This small little being took up all our waking and sleeping time. Although frustrated at times, the fatigue and exhaustion are all forgotten when she flashes us her most charming smile. 

10 weeks doesn't seem such a long time, but Baby S has grown so much in this short period of time. From a newborn infant who just sleeps and eats, her unique personality and temperament is slowly developing. She now melts our hearts with her smiles and coos. 

Looking at her, I marvel at the grace and mercy of God. How could He have created such an amazing being! Thanks be to God! May Baby S continue to bring much joy and blessing to everyone around her!

Butterfly Lovers

It has been a long time since I last attended a Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) concert. And what better time than to do it since they are performing one of my all-time favourites - Butterfly Lovers in the newly refurbished Victoria Concert Hall.

The conductor for this concert was one of China's most prominent conductors, Zheng Xiao Ying. At the age of 86, she is still extremely energetic and full of passion for her craft. Although I didn't attend the pre-concert talk, she made the pieces relevant to the audience by explaining the story/ interesting snippets/history of each piece before the piece was performed. I thought that was rather cool and made the concert more accessible to people, especially when there was a large group of students in the audience.

Baby S seemed to be enjoying the concert as well as she was actively kicking for almost 1.5 hours! When I told the hub that, he claims that was a figment of my imagination. I refuse to give in to that argument.

Anyway, after the concert, I met the hub for supper at Prive @ ACM. Just feeling peckish, I ordered the banana walnut loaf and a cup of hot milo. I like it that the banana cake was neither too dense nor too sweet. A french couple was sitting beside us and I was literally salivating at their beef burgers. We made a mental note to return for their brunch one of these days.

With another about 15 weeks to go, I'm not sure how many more concerts/ plays I can squeeze in before Baby S takes centre stage in our lives. I'll end this post with a quote from Nietzsche,

"Without music, life would be a mistake".

How true!

A New Life Chapter

The last time I posted something on this blog was a good 5 months ago and since then so many things have happened. The hub and I went on a long trip to Switzerland and Amsterdam, when we came back, we found out that we were going to be parents (finally!) and along with that piece of good news saw me vomitting for a good 18 weeks of the pregnancy. Thus, the absence from this space.

Currently close to 20 weeks pregnant, I have been doing a lot of thinking. The thought of being a mother is at once exciting but yet daunting. Many friends and relatives have told me not to worry too much as it is natural for a woman to have maternal instincts, i.e., caring for the baby wouldn't pose too much of a problem. 

But besides the physical care, what else could I offer to this precious life God has so graciously given us? I started questioning my own belief system, my philosophy, the way I eat and live my life and the way I treat the people around me. Besides being a good mother, I want to be an inspiring mother. A mother who is a role model to my daughter, showing her what a woman could possibly be and achieve in her lifetime. 

I want to be a mother who takes good care and is responsible not just for her family but for herself. Newly pregnant, I found myself asking the hub why are so many mothers we see on the road dressed so dowdily. I found myself imagining how these women look when they first got hitched and before they were mothers. I know I don't want to be one of these ladies and I know it is very easy to fall into that trap. We always have that excuse of being tired and exhausted. I think as women, we owe it to ourselves to take good care of ourselves. As such, not long after I received clearance from my doctor, I started hitting the gym and the pool. And the next thing I am going to do it to look into my wardrobe and fit in some pregnant-appropriate garments.

As a mother, I want my children to adopt good habits from young. This includes eating healthily and having a love for reading from young. From now on, I endeavour to eat more healthily by cutting out junk food and sugary drinks from my diet. As for reading, I have started reading to baby some weeks ago and we have completed quite a number of children's books. 

I once read somewhere that being a parent changes the way you behave and live. You start to be more conscious of the choices you make to the extent of being more environmentally conscious. Although the hub is never going to agree with this, I have started sorting out the trash at home by putting aside trash that could be recycled. And perhaps the nesting instinct is something real. I have become a little more obsessed with keeping the house neat and tidy (something the hub should be happy about).

There are so many things I want to show my daughter (I use the word 'show' instead of 'teach' because more often than not, these life lessons are caught and not taught). I couldn't possibly list all out in one post. But as my motherhood journey progresses, I will journal these thoughts, experiences and lessons learnt. I hope that one day my daughter would come across this blog and be inspired.

When I first voiced out my apprehensions about motherhood to the hub, he used this analogy which I find extremely apt in today's digital world. 

"You know how computer systems are constantly upgraded. Treat this new chapter in life as an upgrading process. You were Z version 1.0 before baby came along. Now, you are going to be a better Z version 2.0. And as we all know, there are always teething problems during a system upgrade, so do expect challenges along the way but know that everything will be fine at the end of the day."

Here's to a better me and a better tomorrow!