The First Sign of Weaning?

Baby G has been a champion at nursing.  Granted, it had been quite a tough journey initially.  For the first 8 weeks of life, Baby G was, for reasons unknown, uncooperative and screamed bloody murder each time I brought my boobies near her.  As such, the only option was to exclusively express faithfully every 3 hourly and cup-feed her to prevent nipple confusion.  It didn't help that Baby G had quite a bad case of reflux and kept throwing up a big portion of milk during almost every feed.  Somehow, 3 months after, Baby G gradually took to suckling after persistent efforts and has been a champ at it ever since!

Ever since.

EVER SINCE.

Baby G is now nearing 21 months.  In the blinking of an eye, she has been nursing for almost 2 years! Mummy here is so happy to be almost there - reaching the intended goal of breastfeeding for at least 2 years (in line with WHO's recommendation of continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond).

AND I love how Baby G looks at me adoringly, though I suspect my human milk jugs has an important factor. 
I LOVE how she joyfully yells out "MAMA!!!" whenever I reach home. 
I LOVE how she immediately walks enthusiastically (albeit a bit clumsily) over to me as soon as I appear at the door. 
I LOVE how she requests for "milk milk" whenever I pick her up into my arms for an embrace after a long day. 
AND I LOVE how she will then unceremoniously reach into my shirt and grope me, all the time while pointing towards our bedroom with the other hand.

I love this indescribable bond and closeness we share. Sure, there were ups and downs.  There were moments when Baby G accidentally bit. There were crazy days as a working Mum - having to find time to pump at work (sometimes I even multi-task and eat my lunch while pumping!). But I would never trade in anything for this once-in-a-lifetime bond that we shared.  It is such a bliss!

Ever since. EVER SINCE.

Over the course of this week, I noticed that she has been showing less expectancy at my arrival at home from work.  Baby G no longer come to me immediately when I reach home.  She no longer requests for "milk milk" when I pick her up for a hug.  Neither does she grope me anymore, nor gesticulate towards our bedroom to request for a session of breastfeeding after a long day without one.

It has been three days since the first time she started to show signs of weaning. Three days ago, I took the initiative, brought her into the bedroom, flashed her my boobies, and asked, "milk milk?".  TO MY ABSOLUTE HORROR, Baby G took a quick glance, calmly shook her head and, to add salt to my wounds, muttered her recently acquired words "Bu yao, bu yao". 

The same scene played out again yesterday.

I am so not ready.

Where has my milk monster gone to?!

Our Little Precious

Mister Hum and I. We have reached yet another milestone in our lives!

The first five months of 2016 have been insane in ways more than one! Change of work (for me), moved in to our new place (after overseeing renovation, purchasing of furniture and all), got promoted (Mister Hum), and we also welcomed baby G!

Ta-dah!!!

It was neither an easy or too difficult a pregnancy, and baby G is kind enough to cut mummy some slack. It was a smooth and relatively short delivery of only 8 hours! Perhaps she knows she has been giving me helluva morning sickness and is making up for it!

She's a bundle of joy - literally a sunshine girl full of smiles. Our love for her increases by the second. She is also fast becoming Daddy's favourite girl. Feels like my throne is in threat of being usurped! 

Quick Recap

So!

It has been more than a year since my last post!

So. What has transpired during this one year?

PLENTIFUL!

I got married (yay!) to a wonderful man. Went on a blessed honeymoon at the picturesque Maldives. Gotten the keys to our flat (double yay!). Received a promotion at work. Conceived and put(ting) on a ton of weight. And moved on to a new job posting.

There's so much to blog about, and I'll try to gain my momentum back. With the impending birth of our first born, I guess there'll be loads of things to blog about!

This is so exciting! But I hope that I have enough sanity to see through everything!

Looking forward to seeing our little precious soon. We are just a mere 3 weeks away from the EDD. Here's wishing you to be sooo healthy and cute! 

D minus 8 days!

That's it!

Months and months of planning and yay! We are heading off to the next milestone of our lives!

Exciting journey ahead!

D Minus 6 Months and Counting!

Time flies; we’ve been engaged for slightly more than a year, and another half a year more to the official BIG day!

LOVE!

[Dinner] Prive Grill @ Keppel Bay

We celebrated HTB’s birthday a couple of weekends ago! It was an absolute splash!!!

As his birthday fell on a Saturday, we conveniently had a luxurious 3-day celebration. That equates (literally!) to 3 days of satisfying feasting! We visited Prive Grill @ Keppel Bay the night before, followed by an overnight staycation, dinner at The Line and a romantic trip to the Singapore Flyer at night and a 6D Motion Ride experience the following Saturday! It was a total blast!

Our experience at Prive Grill was excellent! The service crew was so professional and accommodating. Due to the recent rainy climate, I had requested for an alfresco dining. When we reached, we were so pleased to learn that we were assigned practically one of the best seats in the house! We were given a cozy table which was a distance away from the other diners; and not only that, our table also overlooks the port! Lovely!

We were sooo looking forward to trying the widely-acclaimed Josper-grilled Augus ribeye cap. Scenery aside, it was the main reason why I picked Prive Grill in the first place. Imagine our disappointment when we realise, upon reaching, that the particular main course is unfortunately unavailable for the day! I was a little begrudged over it, because it was THE intended highlight of our dinner.

The absence of our star main course aside, the rest of our dinner was splendid. For starters, we were served sweet potato chips, followed by a bread basket and some fried tomatoes. All 3 were delish, but the mixed bread was an absolute delight. There was a total of 3 different bread which comes in 2s each; all of which we loved! Freshly toasted, warm, soft, fluffy yet crusty and tasty! They were so delightful that we had difficulty picking our favourite; which we eventually did after much agony. HTB liked the walnutty one, and me, the something-that-sounded-like-hard-dough. The bread were totally YUMMYLICIOUS!

Angus Eye of the Ribeye - $65

Rangers Valley Tenderloin - $58

For mains, we had Angus eye of the ribeye ($65) and Rangers Valley tenderloin ($58). The cuts, according to connoisseur HTB, were excellent and the steaks were definitely tender and juicy! Our service staff also provided us with 4 different sauces to choose from, and the restaurant was generous enough to let us try ALL of the sauces. The wasabi-based sauce, though skeptical-sounding initially, was a pleasant and lovely surprise!

We wanted to go for some deserts, but our tummies were – by then – comfortably satisfied. Not forgetting, we were also given a complimentary snack (carrot cake) from the Prive Grill!

Overall, it was a nice dining experience and the staff was excellent. The meal was well-paced and the staff seems to always appear at the right moment. The scenery was pretty and the table we were assigned to gave us all the scenic view and privacy we wanted. Maybe we’ll be back again someday to try the ribeye cap!

Happy Birthday, my love!

[Dinner] Amici Authentic Italian Restaurant

Last week, HTB and I had dinner at Amici Authentic Italian Restaurant.

The Italian restaurant has been awarded Singapore Service Star Award for 2010 and accredited by Wine and Dine, Singapore Best Restaurant, Singapore Top 100 Signature Dishes, Singapore Gourmet Hunt, Top 5, and Channel U, Must Eat Signature Dish.  So, we were quite excited for the gastronomical delights this place has to offer. What's more, it is easy to get to - located in Holland Village and within a stone's throw from the MRT station (a mere 5 minutes stroll!)

There were a variety of starters to choose from - soup, Italian bread, calamari, salad. Thankfully, the English translation was provided in the menu. It was most helpful in the sea of fanciful names of Italian dishes!

 Zuppa di Mare (fresh seafood soup with tomato and spur chilli) - $13.90

 Gli Involtini di Prosciutto di Parma (rolled parma ham stuffed with rocket and mascarpone cheese dressed with balsamico) - $15.90

For starters, we had the Zuppa di mare ($13.90) and Gli involtini di prosciutto di parma ($15.90). Admittedly, we were taken aback by the miserable portion of the seafood soup, but the robust flavour makes up for it. It had prawns, mussels, lala and calamari. The salad, too, surpassed our expectations.

Fettuccine Alla Russa (smoked salmon and caviar served in vodka cream) - $23.90

 Aglio Olio e Peperoncino con Granchi (crabmeat pasta with garlic, olive oil & chilli) - $30.90

Having read the raving reviews on the internet, we order the Fettuccine alla russa ($23.90) and Aglio olio e peperoncino con granchi ($30.90). Indeed, we were not disappointed! The 2 dishes were as delightful as expected! The Fettuccine alla russa is rich in taste and the volka cream is divine! We love the caviar too!

The Aglio olio e peperoncino con granchi is also another pleasant surprise. Not only does it have a smooth taste, but the restaurant was pretty generous with the crabmeat as well. As such, every mouthful was a pleasing delight!

 Award-winning Tiramisu ($10.90)

What's an Italian restaurant without a tiramisu?

For dessert, we had the Award-winning Tiramisu ($10.90). However, it does not really live up to it's name per se. The first mouthful was nice and light, but it starts losing its magic thereafter. At a hefty $10.90, it's not worth the money.


All in all, we had a pretty satisfying dinner!

Of Joy and Wedding Bells!

This is pretty old news by now : WE'RE ENGAGED!!! :)

 
It has been months already! Caught up in the midst of breaking the good news to family and friends (the majority of the latter being via Facebook), taking photos of the actual proposal events, celebrating of (my) birthday, hunting of pre-wedding photoshoots, wedding venues and hotels, and getting drunk in this new chapter of giggly love with an awesome man; finally I am able to sit down, relax, chill out and blog about it! (oh yeah, we managed to sneak in a Boyce Avenue concert, a visit to the River Safari, and a short trip to Bali in between too!)

Oh, man, I love the guy. 

Can't believe he spent 9 months preparing for the big popping-of-question day! During this long tedious 9 months, Mr. Hum went hunting around for the perfect ring, venues to propose at, learning of guitar (*swoons*),  stealthily "stealing" of my friends' contact numbers, and coordinating the whole event - even down to the food - on the actual day so I could bask in this happiness in the presence of my close friends (shall blog more about it another day)! So touched by all the efforts he has put in, just for that one BIG moment!

I love this ring; because it's just oh-so-pretty and The Hubby-to-be went to miles to get it. I remember him asking for my preference (cut, shape etc) and this is exactly what I envisage it to be! What's more, this ring was specially chosen as it has a sentimental significance to it (shalln't reveal!). All in all : LOVE IT!

Love you, babyyy.

Blissful Chapter!

We're engaged! :)

Blessed and Happiness...

... is being with you. :)

Trekked!

Bangs and pixie ears make a strange but lethally cute combination!

Yay!

The documents we're waiting for have finally arrived!

Exciting journey ahead! :)

Sick!

Running a sudden onset of high fever. Bleah.

And the cooling weather is making it worse. My teeth are literally chattering away!

Off to the doctor's tomorrow.

Work!

Life is getting so busy! I've hardly any time to sit down and blog properly.

CIP trip, for one. And end-of-year holiday with The Boyfriend (yay!). And the recent Christmas season. And the upcoming Valentine's Day. AND the transmission into a new job, and the consequential adjustment that comes along with it.

Glad to announce that I'm still coping well. So far, that is. Just a lil' too busy for my liking, for now, but I guess it's just a matter of perspective and adjustment! :)

New Beginnings

As per title, 2013 is a year of changes! It feels like treading on the unknowns; a sense of exciting trepidation!

May all things turn out to be good; in fact, better than good! Yay!

JUST WANNA USE THIS SPACE TO DECLARE...

... YOU'RE THE BEST! :)

Yelp yelp!

HATHA-ED

One of the terms and conditions of the online Yoga deal which I got off from the internet is that the 5 Yoga sessions have to be completed within 3 weeks. In view of the looming deadline (this coming Saturday!), I had to squeeze in two sessions of Yoga this week. As such, I had my first taste of Hatha Yoga yesterday!

The instructor started off focusing on easy breathing exercises, starting us off with deep and slow breathings. While doing the deep-breathing warming up, I was beginning to have my doubts about Hatha. Compared to Hot Yoga, Hatha seemed harmlessly gentle. Breathe in, breathe out. Lungs expand, lungs relax. This nostril, that nostril. Stretch here, stretch there. 

Oh, boy, as usual, how mistaken I was! The beginning of the lesson was treacherously deceptive! 

Mid-way into the lesson, the workouts got more and more ridiculous (not all, though). I thought my spine was going to break into half! If you listened hard enough, you would have heard me cursing particularly venomously under my breath at Shoulder-stand pose, Locust pose, and Full Locust pose. To make things funnier, the instructor went around pressing down on our back to challenge our limits. It was a little hilarious, hearing poor innocent moans of "ahhhhh~~ ahhhhhhhh~~ ooooowwww~ AHHHWWW OUCHHH~~" when Instructor pushed the poor fella down during the Sit-Up pose.
 
The real killer turned out to be this pose called the Scorpion. 

Source : http://www.yogaclassesonline.net/hatha-yoga/


You need not listen hard at all to hear me swearing and whining this time round. None of us could execute this pose, and poor Instructor only had enough time to aid one person in this pose, while the rest of us tried to "smoke" our way through. Again, when lesson ended, everyone let out a collective sigh, and the fellow yogi who was on the mat next to mine exchanged glances with me and rolled her eyes tiredly.


Anyway, my last session of Yoga will be on Friday (tomorrow!). And I'm still deciding on whether to take up a 'per-session' package with them (too busy for unlimited packages). Anyone with any good Yoga places to recommend? I'm keeping my options open!

YO-YO-YO.... GAAAAAA!!!

I've recently embarked on an activity which is totally new to me. YOGA. And hot Yoga at that.

I've always warranted Yoga a lackluster mindset, believing it to be all hype and no substance. Flexibility, yep. Balancing, ditto. Flushing off body toxins, sure. BUT!!! Meditation? Chanting? Calm and inner peace? Spiritual tranquility and mental well-being? GAH! IT ALL SOUND SO FLAKY. Unimpressed and dismissive, I was.

I've always been in favour of core exercises; preferring Pilates over flexibility-focused Yoga. Yoga just seemed, well, soft. And what good is flexibility and balancing without a strong core? It's like a tree without deep roots.

And so, it was with this nonchalant-cum-haughty attitude when I purchased a Groupon deal online for Yoga a couple of months back. I figured that it would be no harm a try. After all, it is a good deal; working out to be less than SGD$6 per session (totally worth it!). And, after Pilates, what is Yoga? Or so I thought.


The first session (3 Saturdays ago), surprisingly, induced a limp jelly out of me. The seemingly innocent-and-oh-so-easy poses, surprisingly, are a bit of a challenge to hold with the passage of time. Regardless, I completed the first lesson with relative ease and a good ending note; giving myself a mental pat on the back while using the showering facility post-Yoga. THE NEXT DAY, however, my entire body was aching and crying foul. Arms. Thighs. Hamstrings. Shoulder. Upper back. Butt cheeks. You name it.

The second session (2 Saturdays ago) got relatively tougher. The poses started to get more and more demanding. I had some difficulty holding the Balancing Stick. And nearing the end of the Yoga session, I was sweating buckets and was developing a slight heavy head. The resultant muscle ache the next day made the previous one pales magnificently in comparison. Oh gosh, in fact, my muscles were protesting like rebels!

The third session (2 days ago on the 1st) nearly wiped me out. The instructor is going on to more and more advanced poses. At the end of the lesson, a collective sigh of relief was heard from all the yogis. Me? I wasted no time and grabbed my bottle and towel, retrieved the necessary items from the locker, and headed to the shower. 

 
In conclusion, Yoga is totally NOT as 'soft' as I had mistakenly anticipated it to be. It is definitely not as easy as it looks. And I'm not regretting taking up Yoga one bit! I'm enjoying it loads! Tremendously!

LONG TIME NO SEE = HONEST JUDGEMENT?

At a work dinner on Friday night at Mount Faber, an ex-colleague dropped by and commented casually, "Hey! You've lost weight."

My gosh, this is such a heavenly delight to the soul! Considering that I was just commenting casually in the previous entry hoping that I would lose some weight, and indeed, voila! Someone just had to comment on exactly that a week later! Coupled with the fact that I've not really been keeping up with exercise (read : pilates or workouts or sit-ups), this is such a pleasantly unexpected surprise. And, of course, this coming from someone whom I've not met in months (honest judgement!) is like the icing on the cake!

I'm still lightheaded with pure happiness! Gawww~

Ohhh... Let me preen. *contented sigh* 

TIRED. BUSY. TIRED.

Have been up to my neck lately! So much so that my eyelids are feeling so mightily heavy at a mere 9.45pm on a Sunday night!

Was out the whole of yesterday (including a session of yoga). Woke at 7.30am this morning (on a Sunday! Sigh!) for work followed by spending some time at The Boyfriend's house before reaching home at 7.15pm! 

And this coming week is not getting any better. There's a course to attend tomorrow afternoon until 5pm, and followed by yoga at 5.45pm. On Tuesday, meeting The Boyfriend (yippie!!!) for dinner! On Wednesday, work finishes at 6pm, and followed by yoga (again!) at 7pm. On Thursday, work ends at 630pm. And on Friday, there's a work dinner to attend.


Oh, I foresee a lot of energy is going to be expended.

May I lose some weight. :)