A Cut Short Lunch with Colleagues

Was very much looking forward to today's lunch with Bo and the rest. KS, Yeo, Irene, miss Ang and Bo were there. We gathered at 4 Fingers, Orchard Gateway.

It was back to the old times when we had long chats at lunch and talk sense and nonsense... lol. It felt really good. But short lived. As we adjourned to Yakun for part 2, mama's phone call gave me a shock and I sprinted back home.... not even an hour lunch together. She said Eden was crying non stop. Initially I misheard he was puking non stop. In either case I was still very worried so got to leave the gang without further ado. I felt worried yet sad to have ended my time out like that.

Thankfully Eden was a lil more settled when I reached home. Thankfully I could get into a cab without waiting.

Eden could be cranky as he was coughing badly or he could be looking for other people for companionship at home. Or even both. Poor baby was all whiney and tired and probably hungry. He was falling asleep during the milkfeed.

On the other hand I think bro and Evans are now having fun, the last I checked with bro, they were at Art Science Museum!!! Happening right!? I have never been there myself!

Eden is now asleep but I can't stop thinking when I can be out with friends  (free from worries) again. Actually I do have a dinner coming up this Fri. Certainly hope things will be better.

Throwback to Last Saturday's Dinner at Shabu Sai

When I was doing laundry just now, I tried to recall where did we go for dinner last week. Cos today I suggested not to go out  (sad) cos didi is having a cold.

I realised I forgot to blog about dinner at Shabu Sai, East Point last Saturday in celebration of my papa's birthday. It was my parents' first visit. Somehow it felt a while since we last went out for dinner like that. This time, with Bin Bin in the pram.

Hubby, bro and I are not new to Shabu Sai. And its 90 min limit is rather well known so I was quite cautious when they asked me to go have a seat first before the rest arrived. Then I realised the outlet at East Point wasn't particular about the time limit, probably cos there was no queue. The restaurant was not fully occupied but it was still bustling with action.

That outlet did not serve any cooked food like the one at Orchard Central. It seemed limited with the food choices but I still found it enjoyable. It's always the people that matters. I think papa and mama enjoy themselves too though they shared that the soups were a tad salty and the price was steep for the ingredients. True that but it is still a decent and reasonable place for family dinners. The last time at Shabu Sai was with Evans and hubby at the The Clark Quay Central which has now closed down. Still remember that time we were having staycation at Merchant Court and baby was still cosy in my tummy. Missing those times when I could go freely whenever and wherever I wanted. Now... ...

Anyway back to the dinner, paid around $161 with 3 top ups for free flow drinks and ice cream. Had my heart's content!!!

Got to think of the next dinner place to celebrate mama's birthday!

Breast Milk

People call mummy's milk as liquid gold because there are hundreds of natural nutrients in the breastmilk  (bm) which is not present in the formula milk (fm). During my mom's times, giving bm wasn't popular and we were on fm. But now, everyone is advocating breastfeeding. For Evans and Eden, I managed to latch for a few days before kicking in the pumping schedule. Very tough to start and build supply. Once the routine and supply are set, things seem easier even though for Eden, I had problem pumping on time because of lack of help.

I was more diligent during Evans's times because all of us just had to focus on one baby. I recalled I was an over supplier. For Eden, I had experienced short supply before and we had to rely on fm to tide over. Now 4 months plus post partum and Eden drinking 150ml for each feed  (5 to 6 times per day), I am just an "enougher". There were good times last 2 months when I could store some frozen bm in the freezer for future use when I am back to work. But now I just wanna focus on feeding the fresh ones, particularly because Eden seems to be coughing and he often sounds nasal. I could hear phlegm. I know a few friends told me due to narrow airways babies have, they usually sound nasal. But still I think it is affecting our sleep. At around 3 to 4 am, Eden would start to fidget and turn, I think he is trying to find a comfortable position to breathe better while sleeping.

Recently his coughing seems more frequent, so I feel that all the more I should give more bm for the antibodies. When he was coughing, I was still thinking "eh... I thought breastfed babies shouldn't fall ill so easily...." Recalled Evans was quite illness-free during the bm times. But now probably with a sibling, Eden is exposed to greater risk of being hit with some flu bugs. So I really hope my bm is a good medicine for him.

While bm is liquid gold, it doesn't mean breastfed babies don't fall sick. If they do, it will be less severe in terms of intensity and duration. So I can only keep giving my liquid gold and will keep pumping for the supply.

4 hourly, 20min per session, 1 middle of the night pump, 5 pumps per day.

To-gather Cafe

Last Sunday hubby brought us to this cafe in the midst of the neighbourhood at Bedok North. Within an old estate, this hippy cafe stood out and seemed to be popular amongst the youngsters and small families like ours, minus the baby.

Wouldn't say this was an enjoyable lunch despite the food was delicious. Eden was not too pleased halfway through so hubby and I got to take turns bringing Eden out of the cafe for a walk. And somehow I thought the outside smell a little with the birds shop next to it.

Anyway the consoling part is I like what we ordered. Other than the small portion of calamari, I think the rest was good and reasonably priced. I enjoyed my fish and chips! Smell and tastes great. The Mango breezer was a good complement, sour tangy mango in sparkly soda was what I needed in the hot weather.

Next time we shall try the lava cakes which looked alluring in the display window.

Catch Up with Aunty Baozhu

Met up with Aunty Baozhu, my confinement lady yesterday after lunch. Brought mama, Eden and Evans along. It was such a nice gathering. Has been months since we met. Love chatting with her as she is ever so jovial.

Her daughter Iris was there too and she is also very nice and could tell she likes kids from the way she interacted with the 2 boys.

Initially thought of bringing them to Délifrance as the seating seemed comfy but remembered Aunty and mama are not into "angmo" coffees so impromptu, I quickly googled "yakun", thankfully there is one at Century Square! And seats were just available for us!

Aunty Baozhu is getting popular as she has 2 upcoming confinement jobs! One of which is my bro's friend, giving birth in Dec. Going to be busy.

Mama also had a good chat with her. It just felt really nice. It would have been better if Eden did not whine (as he wanted to sleep).

Throwback to "Bringing The Boys to the Airport"

Brought my boys to the airport to fetch bro last Friday 21 Oct. He was back from Vietnam. It was my 1st time bringing them out. A little nervous about it because it was Eden's 1st time in the carrier and he was already a little sleepy when we went out.

Though it was not all smooth, I enjoyed the afternoon out with them. We were an hour earlier than his arrival and I was hungry, so we went for Mac. Evans was cooperative and it was easy especially after Eden fell asleep in the carrier, even though it was only for a few minutes.

What made the outing not so smooth were Eden's on and off crying  (probably discomfort from the carrier or lack of sleep) and Evans's repeatedly whining about jiu jiu taking so long and then being very hungry (at 6pm). I couldn't bring him for food because it would spoil his appetite for dinner. So... luckily finally bro arrived and we got home.

Will try to do this some other time when Eden is more adapted to the carrier.

Same Room, Different Babies

As I slowly and quietly turned the door handle down to go out of the room (to get my pump parts), I suddenly recalled doing the same when Evans was sleeping with me in the same room. Realised how things are different now and how time passes. My baby (Evans) is now a big boy and his words are very different, but still cute most times.

Now Eden is sleeping in the cot in the same room but very soon, the cot will be too small for him. Very soon, he will need a bigger space to toss and roll. Seeing other newborns or younger babies also made me realise Eden is no longer a newborn. One part of me really wishes him to grow up faster so that I have fewer things to pack and do... but another part of me reminisces his birth and how he was as a new baby.

I'm wide awake after my pumping session while Eden is stretching and tossing in his little cot. I better try to catch some sleep before the whole cycle starts.