Keston Chan: March 2009

Over the past week or 2, Keston has finally started sitting up by himself. He used to slump with his hands on either side of his legs and gradually end up with his face between his feet. But now he straightens his back for abit and is able to sit for a short while. Oh well, at least we're getting there.

Before Keston was born, I was convinced he's gonna be a clever kid. After all, I'm smart (and very thick-skinned) so he must get my smart genes too! But when he didn't start flipping at 3mths, didn't start crawling till 7mths, and didn't start sitting much earlier....I changed my tune to "He's just taking his time to perfect each act!"

Even so, I find myself saying things like "Why are other babies sitting so steadily and Keston can't?" To which, HW will always remind me that I said Keston does things in his own time. I guess I should really stop being so kiasu and accept that Keston will reach his milestones when he's ready.

We set off for the airport early Monday morning. Keston was still sleeping when I scooped him out of his cot and carefully carried him to the car. We were hoping he'd sleep all through the flight. Fat hope lah! He woke up before we even reached the car! He must be wondering where we were going at 6.30 in the morning.

Thankfully, the boy did not fuss at all and merely looked about curiously as we made the journey to the airport. I'm not sure how I'd deal with his crankiness when I myself had to wake up so early!

On the plane, he continued being an angel and waited quietly till his milk time which coincided with the takeoff time. Travelling with a baby sure has its perks! For one, our seats were already confirmed so we didn't have to check in early to get 'good' seats. Secondly, we were given front row seats which had amazing leg room! Thirdly, you get to bring liquids on board! Last but not least, the freebies! Got a model aeroplane, storybook (alot of grammatical errors but then what do you expect from Thai airways?), bib, 3 cans of Heinz puree....ok ok, I admit I'm a freebie junkie lah.

We requested for a bassinet. Just before the food trolley came, I laid Keston down in the bassinet and he, amazingly, fell asleep without fussing! So guai, let us eat in peace...

He woke up before the plane landed and still, no fuss! We were so delighted and were already planning a next trip in our heads.

On reaching BKK, Keston was the picture of innocence. He looked at everything curiously, as though he knew he'd made his maiden journey across the seas. We stayed at CentrePoint Petchburi this time. We'd stayed there on a previous trip and loved it! It's actually a service apartment so the rooms are huge and there's a kitchenette, dining table, washing sink, stove, microwave and all.

Keston loved the hotel bed and started crawling from end to end as soon as we laid him down...or maybe he just needed to stretch his limbs :P

BKK is a super baby-unfriendly place. Strollers were a rare sight as it's impossible to navigate the potholed roads or congested pavements. Our stroller was only used during breakfast in the hotel and at the airport. The rest of the time, I had to sling Keston. The sling is a novelty in BKK, the locals have never seen it before and I never saw anyone else using a sling! Some of the local women came up to me to tug, touch and inspect my sling.

The first 2 days passed by in a breeze. There was so much things for Keston to see that he didn't even realise he was missing his naps. Occasionally he'd fall asleep sitting up in the sling but it would last at most 30mins as there's always loud music blarring out from somewhere. Only on the 3rd day I learned to change from hip-carry position to lying down position and Keston got to nap abit better. It was still 30mins naps, unlike his 2-3hrs naps at home. By the 3rd day, the toll of slinging all day got to me and my back and feet ached like mad until I didn't feel like leaving the hotel....but no choice lah. We didn't go on a holiday to nua in the hotel room.

If charm sells, Keston would be a very rich baby. He stole the hearts of locals and foreigners everywhere he went! Some even asked to take photos of him...hmm should have charged them! This kid is a lady killer! Men have pick up lines, Keston just makes his move. What is Keston's move? He looks at any lady walking past and when he catches her eye, he will smile at her. When she smiles back, he will hide his face in my chest and peep at her grinning. Dunno how many womenfolk fell under his spell! Even when he's fussing, he will stop when he sees a girl walk past! This boy ah, really cassanova! And he's not choosy somemore...young, old, fat, skinny also he like! But when the menfolk play with him, he bo chup them. Didn't get to meet any trannies so can't test to see if he knows the difference.

This is partly the reason why we didn't get to go to alot of the places we usually cover. We trawled through the streets really slowly cos every few steps, someone would be touching him and playing with him. So we had to keep sterilising his hands :P Of course another reason would be feeding and pumping schedules. On a normal trip, we would cover Pratunam (Baiyoke, City Complex, Indra, Platinum, Krung Thong), Bobae, Chinatown, Patpong, MBK, Siam Centre, Siam Square. This time, we did only half of the Pratunam places, 1 floor in Platinum, no Chinatown, NO SIAM SQUARE!!! Where did the time go? Didn't get to eat the foods we craved too...our favourite sushi tei in MBK closed down, didn't get to eat sharks fin in chinatown, didn't make it to Siam Square to eat our favourite green snack, didn't have time for Banana Leaf in Patpong. Sigh~

Another thing I must mention, the baby chairs in most of the restaurants are idiotic!! They look more like bar stools for people with tiny butts. Alot of them actually have no seat belts, and most importantly, no blockage in front! And the backs are almost always hollow so when baby hunches, he will fall backwards out of the chair. The only place we found a decent baby chair was in Sizzler's. Unfortunately, Keston wanted to nap then and refused to sit in the chair.

Around the 3rd day, Keston finally felt the toll of lack of naps and started getting abit cranky...particularly when we were trying to have our meals. He'd also try to struggle out of the sling when I'm walking so it got a little frustrating. He also hadn't pooped ever since leaving Singapore so he was probably feeling abit constipated and not feeding well.

On the flight back to Singapore, we were seated next to a Thai-AfroAmerican couple with their toddler. The toddler wouldn't stop screaming!!! And Keston just kept quiet and stared at him. We'd asked for a bassinet so Keston could take his nap but with all that screaming, there was no way he could sleep. He stared at the toddler for half the journey, and then he too joined the crying game in the later half. He'd cry when I try to put him to sleep...so bo pian have to sit him on my lap and let him jump up and down. Let him jump, he happy again....plus there was a Chinese lady across the aisle for him to oogle and coo at. We were actually counting down to landing...HW would say 'Tahan..another 45mins'...and then 40mins...and so on.

When we reached back to Changi Airport, Keston again started smiling and playing with the customs officers who were doing body checks. Changed his diaper (Changi has a decent nursing room), put him in the stroller and within 5 steps, he was fast asleep!!! He slept all the way through immigration checkpoint, collecting luggages, taxi ride...and woke up just as we were reaching home. Poor boy must have been exhausted! Shortly after we reached home, he finally pooped! Hallelujah!

I must say this was quite a learning experience for us. We stretched ourselves to our limits and know how much we can actually do. Would there be a next time? Not sure. Would I consider holidaying without Keston? Maybe.