May highlights

After some minor grumbling from a particular party for updates, I have decided to reiterate in blogging that we are going to Ho Chi Minh City early June! After years of desiring to go to the Pearl of the Orient (same given status as Penang), I finally got the chance.

Our itinerary is somewhat planned out - with the obligatory visit to the tourist landmarks in the city centre and the boat ride to the Mekong Delta. With vigorous reading up on tourist reviews and tips (I have too much time in the office ;)) we are geared and ready. For the first time we will be staying at a backpacker's hotel for only USD70 ++ for 3 nites! Only thing I'm apprehensive are the hygiene, pickpockets and unscrupulous traders the reviews warned. Well, better prepared than ignorant.

I would like to think this as our second honeymoon - no tots tagging along! Josh has been (successfully) conditioned to stay at his nanny's and he dutifully agrees everytime I mention about 'mummy's and daddy's work in Vietnam'... after we promise him toys of course! Then my maternal worries come in - what if he doesn't sleep well, start missing us and become depressed?! Jeff says I worry too much. Which mummy doesn't? Next trip will be Hanoi and central Vietnam for some tribal/highlands experience and Cambodia / Laos. Anyone joining me?

The other event highlight is Vicky's & Ben's matrimonial vows. I was just thinking the other day how couples these times co-habitate before marriage. I remember my mum expressing displeasure and trying to pressure Jeff & I into marriage. Now Louie & Khye has already bought an apartment! I suppose it is the norm these days and due to rising costs and lack of strategic land space, people start to commit themselves early to housing loans. Charles, no pressure exerted. Enjoy yourself but do save up enough for rainy days.

To the future Mr & Mrs Chua, congratulations! Another two bite the dust! Quickly start expanding your brood. Josh is getting lonely.

Hullo!

I am contributing for the 1st time.......

let's keep hoping for the best!

j

Poem for our Children

I absolutely love this poem on the love and appreciation for children. Enjoy...

By Kathie Davis

Mothers, touch your children,

Fathers, hug them tight.

Let them know you love them

Morning, noon, and night.

Put your arms around them,

Hold them near to you,

Feel the beating of their hearts,

The life that you made new.

Roll around the floor with them,

Tease and laugh and play.

Listen to what they'll tell you,

They have so much to say.

Take time to get to know them,

See the colors in their eyes.

Appreciate that person

That deep inside them lies.

Let them run their fingers through

your hair and down your face.

Fill their hearts with words of praise.

Make home their favorite place.

Cuddle with them on the couch

And watch a t.v. show.

Sing with them or share a book,

And help their world to grow.

Take a walk into the park,

Hold each other's hand,

Build castles in the sand.

Mothers, touch your children,

Fathers, hug them tight.

Show them what a gift they are.

To love them feels so right.

On being a second time and better mom

Do I want to be a mummy again? Yes, of course!

Who wouldn't? That's what I thought. But surprisingly, I have met quite a number of ladies throughout my career who didn't. Some were dead set about not having kids at all to start off with.

Some were in a midst of a marriage bed which was filled with thorns and wilted roses. So having a kid would further complicate matters. Seem responsible? Others were traumatised during confinement when things went awry with MIL while some ladies didn't know how to cope with 'problematic' infants. By problematic I mean infants who were sickly or hyperactive, had problems feeding and whose personalities were a little more 'colourful' than their counterparts.

Who can blame these ladies who had to work and keep order in the house... at the same time fight raging postnatal hormones!

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I wouldn't say bringing up Josh was easy. Heck, it was tough during the first trimester of pregnancy when I had to be hospitalised twice for severe morning sickness and removal of the ovarian cyst. He was the kind of baby who didn't welcome milk, slept during the day and awoke during the night. Poor fella also had to endure being hospitalised a few times.

Those times were something you don't forget but also worth going through for. After 3 years, living with a toddler has more ups than downs.

I am also looking at this as a second chance in experimenting early parenthood. My friend Nicole decided not to regret the things she did or didn't do with Oliver. I try not to dwell in the past... but instead take it as lessons to better myself with the next baby. My new pregnancy / baby resolutions:-

1. Take folic acids and consume a healthier diet before pregnancy
2. Try for natural birth (maybe even contemplate water birthing) unless complications arise
3. Journal the pregnancy and take more shots
4. Buy nicer maternity clothes :)
5. Try harder in breastfeeding (save $$ too)
6. Be less kan-cheong, instead be wiser / calmer (effects the baby too)
7. Find a reliable day and night babysitter (healthier for relationships)
8. No sarong for baby
9.Try ferberizing (letting baby cry it out) whenever necessary
10.Try baby signing and massage

So, in a nutshell... children do make you or at least strive to be better person. I guess Jeff was right in saying what is life without children?

Still waiting, still longing

The idea of starting a blog chronicling on the want of another child and the eventual journey (hopefully) of pregnancy is entirely mine. I must admit that the idea came out of the blue when I was disappointed (yet again) that there was no bun in the oven.

With a new job last November, I had to insist on celibacy for a few months to avoid office gossip that a new hire got pregnant well before her confirmation, although I have gotten the thumbs up from my superior even during the interview.

Now that I am officially a full-time staff (J) it’s time to hit the road to reproduction. Who would have thought that it is so unpredictable. With vigorous planning and timing, I am still eating for one!

Jeff knows how disappointed I am. I want Josh to have a sibling on his third year. I guess it is the best age gap as he is a little more independent now and can understand the term sibling. However, I am also fully aware that he may not accept it when the time comes and will inevitably develop some resentment. But I believe we will cross the bridge when we get there.

So, what is this blog about again?

I have decided to restrict readership access to it for the moment. Maybe its doors will be opened when I am feeling more optimistic. Well, back to my ladytimer!