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.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
4D3N in BKK
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.
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.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Bags are packed
We had a good session at BJG today. Regular teacher's back so yipee for Keston. Only Jacinta and Keston turned up for today's class so they both got teacher Grace's undivided attention. Both babies were v guai and attentive much to our delight! Keston had a nice nap in the morning so he wasn't cranky and didn't need his pacifier in class today! Wah! Big achievement!
We originally intended to go Expo for the Babycare fest but then the sky got v dark and thunderous so we decided to give it a miss. Stayed home to pack instead (yep, I didn't finish packing yesterday :P)
Now Keston's stuff are all packed and he's taking up a full suitcase for himself!!! No space for my things...hmm...do babies get their own 20kg luggage weight?
Did I mention Keston turned 7mths yesterday? And he spent the whole day showing me his leopard crawls. Most of the time, he's still v nua but he will scramble for his ugly toy ball when he wants to.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Yesterday, an innocent comment from the pils drove us into a frenzy. See we booked with our usual agent so there was no need for us to submit our passports and we'd sort of forgotten that passports have an expiry date. So yesterday afternoon, fil casually asked if our passports have got a 6mths validity. We were stunned but figured should be lah! Later at night, HW checked his passport and realised his passport expires next month!!! His panic button was depressed and he went slightly insane. Who on earth has a holiday booked on Monday morning only to find his passport will not work on Friday night!? The ICA webby said that it'd take 3 working days for them to re-issue a new passport. He rushed to ICA early this morning and luckily they were able to do an extension of 9mths, printed on a document, all for a cost of $15. I'm already dreading the immigration at Thailand cos they will probably take an hour to peruse the document! While over at ICA, HW also took new photos to make his new passport. The photographer insisted that his glasses were reflective and made him wear ah pek glasses! HAHAHAHAHA!
Today I am supposed to get started (and probably finish) packing Keston's things. I have a long list of must-brings. So small yet so troublesome!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Fussy Eater
Despite my best efforts, Keston hates pumpkin! (That reminds me, I still have that Avocado in the fridge) I gave him a tiny bit mixed into his cereal yesterday and he was alright with it. So this morning, I got a tad adventurous and mixed 50ml into his cereal-- there was more pumpkin than cereal. Keston sniffed at it when the spoon came near his mouth, wrinkled his nose and gave a look of utter disgust. I stuffed it in his mouth and he pooi straight out. Tried a few times with the same result and I surrendered. After I came back from washing the bowl and spoon, I caught Keston using his bib to rub off all the pumpkin bits from his tongue. So cute! Haha
I hope Keston doesn't grow to be a fussy eater like me. I hate vege, I don't take chilis, I don't like Chinese food. There you go.
I hope Keston doesn't grow to be a fussy eater like me. I hate vege, I don't take chilis, I don't like Chinese food. There you go.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Becoming hands-on
Since Keston's now alright with his cereal and commercial puree, I'm starting to think about giving him healthier choices (ie. homemade concoctions). I mean he can't be eating cereal forever right? So I've been reading about how to make puree, how to cook porridge....On Sunday, I finally bought my first piece of pumpkin and avocado! It took me a while to find the avocado since I have absolutely no idea what it looks like!
And then the procrastinating took me till this morning to steam the pumpkin. I hope most of the nutrients are still there since it's been in the fridge for a couple of days now. I followed Cat's instructions, but I must have not steamed enough cos the inner part of the pumpkin was still vvv hard! Took me forever to scoop out whatever I could. Dump the flesh into the Pigeon foodmaker to grind. I got v restless during the mashing process and nearly gave up but HW would laugh at me, so I perservered. The too-hard parts I threw away cos I couldn't be bothered to steam again. So now I've got like 160ml of pumpkin puree sitting in the babycubes. Hooray for small miracles! But I suspect I wasn't v thorough with the mashing so there may still be chunky bits. Sorry my boy, I tried my best already :(
Porridge? Maybe after we're back from the trip!! I need a big rest from my little kitchen adventure!
And then the procrastinating took me till this morning to steam the pumpkin. I hope most of the nutrients are still there since it's been in the fridge for a couple of days now. I followed Cat's instructions, but I must have not steamed enough cos the inner part of the pumpkin was still vvv hard! Took me forever to scoop out whatever I could. Dump the flesh into the Pigeon foodmaker to grind. I got v restless during the mashing process and nearly gave up but HW would laugh at me, so I perservered. The too-hard parts I threw away cos I couldn't be bothered to steam again. So now I've got like 160ml of pumpkin puree sitting in the babycubes. Hooray for small miracles! But I suspect I wasn't v thorough with the mashing so there may still be chunky bits. Sorry my boy, I tried my best already :(
Porridge? Maybe after we're back from the trip!! I need a big rest from my little kitchen adventure!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Keston pontangs school!
Remember this post? I seriously think Keston wakes up in the middle of the night, logs on the internet and reads this blog! And this is not the first time he's done this lor! See this!
The Sunday right after I posted, he napped for just 30mins and no power on earth could make him go back to sleep again. So he was awake since 11.15ish and by the time his classes started at 2pm, he was getting cranky! Sigh...and it happened the following week again!!! Every other day of the week, he takes a 3 hr nap in the morning...all except for Sundays!
Yesterday we had a surprise when we saw a new teacher at BJG. Our usual teacher had gone on holiday (without informing us!). Before the class started, Jacinta, SL and Keston laid on the floor while the relief teacher came to introduce herself. Keston was still relatively happy. But once the class started, Keston seemed to realise: Correct place, wrong person! And immediately wailed out loud! SO MALU!! I quickly left the room and brought him to the gym. He quietened down immediately. HW came from parking the car and asked me what's wrong. I kept telling Keston don't be afraid and all and made HW bring him back to the class. The moment he entered the class, Keston took one look at the relief teacher and wailed out loud again! We scampered out and he calmed down....this time I took a long time to muster up enough courage to try again. This time, even the teacher was wary. She gave a sheepish look and didn't make a sound, but the moment she spoke, Keston wailed! Aiyoh!!! This boy ah...
Finally we made the decision to skip class this week and do a make up next time. Just as we stepped out the door, Keston smiled. My naughty boy is learning to play truant and he's not even 7mths old yet!!!
The Sunday right after I posted, he napped for just 30mins and no power on earth could make him go back to sleep again. So he was awake since 11.15ish and by the time his classes started at 2pm, he was getting cranky! Sigh...and it happened the following week again!!! Every other day of the week, he takes a 3 hr nap in the morning...all except for Sundays!
Yesterday we had a surprise when we saw a new teacher at BJG. Our usual teacher had gone on holiday (without informing us!). Before the class started, Jacinta, SL and Keston laid on the floor while the relief teacher came to introduce herself. Keston was still relatively happy. But once the class started, Keston seemed to realise: Correct place, wrong person! And immediately wailed out loud! SO MALU!! I quickly left the room and brought him to the gym. He quietened down immediately. HW came from parking the car and asked me what's wrong. I kept telling Keston don't be afraid and all and made HW bring him back to the class. The moment he entered the class, Keston took one look at the relief teacher and wailed out loud again! We scampered out and he calmed down....this time I took a long time to muster up enough courage to try again. This time, even the teacher was wary. She gave a sheepish look and didn't make a sound, but the moment she spoke, Keston wailed! Aiyoh!!! This boy ah...
Finally we made the decision to skip class this week and do a make up next time. Just as we stepped out the door, Keston smiled. My naughty boy is learning to play truant and he's not even 7mths old yet!!!
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