Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Calling Mommy
Later on, Mommy asked Juan Or to call Mama and his Father asked him to call Papa. Instead, Juan Or called,"MA-BA" - a hybrid of Papa and Mama!
Juan Or's Don't-Want-to-Sleep Rendezvous
- 6+ pm - Mommy breastfeeds Juan Or, Juan Or's playtime.
- 7+ pm - Juan Or sleeps.
- 8.30 pm - Mommy feeds Juan Or with medicine for his mild bilateral hydronephrosis. Juan Or's playtime.
- 10.30 pm - Juan Or sleeps.
- 12.30 am - Juan Or wakes up for another breastfeeding session, and goes back to sleep.
- 2.30 am - Juan Or wakes up again for another breastfeeding session. After that, he appears to be sleeping and with a lot of tossing and turning, then wakes up and starts crawling. Refuse to go back to sleep (which means playtime and Mommy has to be up to 'entertain' him as well!). Usually this is the time for Juan Or's don't-want-to-sleep rendezvous. Shown here are two video clips of Juan Or's rendezvous:
- 4.30 am - Juan Or sleeps again. So Mommy sleeps too.
- 6+ or 7+ am - Juan Or wakes up for breastfeeding session, followed by morning stroll with Grandma
- 8 am - Juan Or is send to babysitter's place by Grandma. Mommy goes to work.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Buying Books for Juan Or at MPH Stock Clearance Sale
(Front view)
(A bull hiding behind the flap.)
2. Who Goes Moo? - another board book with colourful illustrations with farm theme, so you can expect farm type of noises from farm objects for baby to learn. Sold with 30% discount, originally sold for RM4.90.
(Front view)
(Mommy loves the colourful illustrations and Juan Or seems to love this book the most because of the funny sound Mommy has to make when reading this book with him.)
3. Magnetic Counting Fun - this book has magnets for children to place according to their imagination and according to the story in each page. This book also has very colourful illustrations, but is suitable for children above 3 years old - when they no longer put things into their mouth! So, Juan Or cannot use this book yet. This book's original price is RM29.90 and sold with 30% discount.
(Front view)
(Mostly background scenary pictures for children to place magnets according to how the story goes.)
4. The Illustrated Musical Instruments Handbook - Mommy bought this book, partly because of Mommy's own interest since Mommy is also a piano teacher, and partly for Juan Or's future music education (but that's still a very long way to go!). This book's original price is RM39.90 and sold with 30% discount.
(Front view)
(This book has interesting stories, facts and history of almost all kinds of musical instruments - a good read for serious music students.)
So, all in all, Mommy spent RM63.40 in this sale.
The week before, Mommy saw a short article write-up about this sale in The Star newspaper. The article mentioned that MPH is giving out a free book to each of the first 10 customers on each day of the sale. The conditions were that the customer must produce the entire page of the newspaper article and the customer must purchase at least RM50 there. So since Mommy only reached there at 1.50 pm, Mommy did not hope too much to be the first 10 customers of the day to fulfill those conditions, but it turned out that Mommy did! And Mommy had indirectly learnt the trick on how to get free book: Go only on those days when the sale has started for quite a lot of days already, then you'll stand a bigger chance. Chances are that most people who want to claim for the free books will go on the first few days of the sale. After that, things will somehow 'cool down' - so that's when you 'attack'! Simple, right? Here's how the free gift book looks like (believe me, the book was even wrapped in gift wrapping paper!):
(A recipe book of quick and delicious creative cooking - all are Western style cooking which is not quite Mommy's taste, but Mommy will keep it anyway, just in case Mommy wants to venture into Western cooking in the future!)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Mamil Mama Gold Club Membership - Free!
(The whole package)
(A closer view of the plush dolphin toy. The dolphin is wearing a jacket and the fur feels very soft!)
(The dolphin is hugging a heart-shaped cushion with Dumex's careline number printed on it so that you are less likely to lose their contact number for future communications!)
Upon checking the Danone Dumex website, Mommy found that apparently you can also register for membership online, but only for Malaysia and Brunei residents only. No proof of purchase is required, unlike Abbot Laboratories' (1 scoop) and Wyeth's (3 scoops) mummy clubs. And the cute plush dolphin toy is while stocks last only! So hurry!
Baby Games
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
His Boys Can Swim Prize Giveaway Received!
Here's how the prize looks like:
(The entire package from the cushioned envelope.)
(A closer view of the prize.)
(A congratulatory note from Medbasics.)
(A peek into the contents of the book.)
(The book's outer cover can be folded into a small bag for you to hang at visible and convenient places in case of baby emergencies.)
Born in Selangor? Then RM1500 Could be in Your Baby's Hands!
Then, Mommy wanted to know more information as to whether Juan Or qualifies to apply or not considering that the news says "born in Selangor" whereas Juan Or is born in Kuala Lumpur. So Mommy went into Google search engine and typed "Selangor Born Heritage Fund" and checked for websites in Malaysia. No result. Mommy then went on to type "Kumpulan Semesta" and there is result, but there seems to be no link to Selangor Born Heritage Fund. So Mommy searched for the 'Contact Us' link in Kumpulan Semesta's website and wrote an enquiry email. Sure enough, the reply came in the afternoon with a link to Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor (TAWAS). Mommy read on the procedures and requirements of the applicants and found these below.
Requirements
- Child must be born in Selangor or outside of Selangor from 1st January 2008 onwards; AND
- Child must be a Malaysian citizen; AND
- The father or mother of the child must be Selangor-born OR born in Kuala Lumpur before 1st February 1974.
OR
- Child is born in Selangor from 1st January 2008 onwards; AND
- Child must be a Malaysian citizen; AND
- The father or mother of the child is not Selangor-born but has been staying legally in Selangor for at least 10 years (you will need to get your Dewan Undangan Negeri Service Centre to certify this).
Procedures
Must include a photostated copy of the following documents (no need to certify true copy):
- The child's birth certificate and MyKid
- Both parents or guardians' identity cards
The place of registration is:
Pusat Pendaftaran (Projek TAWAS)
Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor (TAWAS)
Tingkat (LG), Bangunan Darul Ehsan
No. 3, Jalan Indah, Seksyen 14
40000 Shah Alam
Selangor Darul Ehsan
So Mommy called up the TAWAS office and found these extra information:
- For those born in 2008, all applications received after 31st March 2009 will not be considered.
- Applications through the post are also accepted.
- Internet-download forms are also acceptable. Submit in only one copy (although the foot note of the form says about white, blue and yellow colour forms).
- When your application is approved, TAWAS will issue a certificate which you will use later to claim the RM1500 when your child is 18 years old. You can either come to the TAWAS office to claim the certificate or TAWAS will send you a letter to tell you which Ambank branch to collect the cert from.
- This fund has been in existence since the previous Selangor state government's time (i.e., Barisan Nasional, BN), so don't worry about this fund being non-existent even if the current Selangor state government (Parti Keadilan Rakyat, PKR) is no longer there by the time your child reaches 18 years old! By the way, previously, BN charged a RM10 processing fee, but now it's free under the PKR! Yay!
So, what now? Mommy has to hurry up then! The application form can be downloaded here.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Learning to Stand on Own Two Feet (Part 2)
Monday, March 23, 2009
Toys for Juan Or at Litt Tak Warehouse Sale
(Three plush toys in a hanglet, all for only RM2! What a bargain!)
2. Winnie the Pooh Security Blanket
This blanket is made of fleece material and has nice satin cloth wrapping the fleece at the border. There's also the Winnie the Pooh head sticking out of the blanket which acts as a rattle - makes sound when you shake the Pooh head. The blanket is packed in a box with a see-through cover and the box has many cellophane tape marks on it. Price? RM5 only. Very cheap and good! Mommy also bought one piece for Ms. Stephenie's baby as a token of appreciation for giving Juan Or the Similac infant milk powder.
(Full layout of the Winnie the Pooh Security Blanket.)
(Juan Or sleeping with his Pooh security blanket.)
3. Teether cum Rattle
Only two designs were available: Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. However, the Mickey Mouse only had two units left whereas the Pooh was in abundance. Mommy grabbed both the Mickey Mouses (where one is for Juan Or and another for Ms. Stephenie's baby) and one piece of the Pooh. The teether part is actually the handle at the sideways of the rattle, though the teether is not as soft as those proper type of teether. The Disney figurines, however, are made of hard plastic, so is not meant to be the teether part. Price? RM1 per rattle! Very cheap and good for Disney toys!
(Each costs only RM1!)
4. Winnie the Pooh Plush Toy cum Rattle
(A close-up view of the Pooh plush toy cum rattle.)
(Juan Or enjoying his Pooh toy.)
(Another photo of Juan Or playing with his Pooh toy.)
These are plush toys with strings attached where you pull out the string and the toy will wiggle until the pulled out string fully goes back into the toy. The size of the animals are also quite small. Price? RM2 each, not very cheap compared to the other RM2 toys that Mommy bought, but can-lah....for variety and fun. However, Winnie the Pooh cannot be found. By the way, the brand is Playgro (Australia).
(Wiggling toys, each at RM2.)
6. Soft Rattles of Eeyore, Tigger and Piglet
These are rattles that also serve as plush toys. Winnie the Pooh, again, was not available. Price? RM2 each! Very cheap and good! Mommy saw a baby stock clearance sale in Leisure Mall Cheras selling similar types of soft rattles (but not Disney characters) for RM6.90 each. So what Mommy got here in Litt Tak is really, really good buy! The brand is also Playgro (Australia).
(Each priced at only RM2! Cheap and good!)
7. Multiple Texture Plush Toy
(Still in the packaging.)
(Front view)
(Back view)
8. Mickey Mouse Stacking Cups Toy
There's only one unit of Mickey Mouse left (Mommy quickly grabbed it!) and the rest are Winnie the Pooh. Price? RM10. Mommy's not very sure whether it's really cheap or not, but should be cheap-lah, considering it's Disney type of toys.(Mickey Mouse stacking cup toy)
9. Gun with Felt Bullets
Mommy saw this toy together with the Pooh plush toys and rattles that Mommy mentioned just now. Price? RM2. This toy is meant for Juan Or to play when he is much bigger and older.
(Gun with felt bullets for only RM10.)
10. Robot Transformable Train
Mommy bought this, again, in view of Juan Or reaching a much older age. The brand is Takara Tomy and costs RM5. Obviously, Mommy doesn't know whether there's any "Hikarian Railroad" cartoon on the TV screen or not, but anyway, just buy-lah since it's selling for a cheap price!(Still in the packaging)
(The two parts join together to form a train.)
(The two parts detached and opened up.)
(A closer view of the robot portion.)
All in all, Mommy spent only RM48 for all these toys! Good bargain! Ooohhh, Mommy loves buying things at a bargain! By the way, this time, Litt Tak stocked up a lot of Thomas and Friends sets at a reasonably cheap price (compared to Jusco), but not as cheap as a mere RM10 or so. These sets cost RM45, RM55, RM60, RM70, RM80, RM150 up to RM300 in the Litt Tak sale. But this time, Mommy is not giving in to the temptation of buying Thomas and Friends because Mommy already bought a Thomas and Friends Starter Set (RM55) for Juan Or in the previous Litt Tak sale in December 2008.
How about the crowd and the queue? The answer is good - no crowd and the queue at most is only 3 to 5 customers long (so much unlike Mattel Warehouse Sale with its horrendous crowd and queue)! However, the place is quite crammed with toys with only small passageways for people to walk and browse the toys. Mommy reckons that probably because Litt Tak sounds chinaman, so most people think they can't find good toys there. Anyway, Mommy doesn't care about Fischer-Price toys (found in Mattel Warehouse Sale). The hell with Fischer-Price toys! It's not worth it to go brave against the wave of horrendous crowd just to grab Fischer-Price toys (which are not that cheap also in the warehouse sale) and then queue for something like 3 hours just to pay for the toys!
By the way, just a sidetrack, although Mommy knows that this is none of Mommy's business, but Mommy can't help mentioning what Mommy observed at Litt Tak. When Mommy was done with the purchases and walked out from the building, Mommy noticed that there were no more Winnie the Pooh Security Blanket left (the blanket was placed just outside the building entrance). Mommy clearly remembered that after choosing the Pooh blankets (Mommy bought two pieces of it, remember?), there were three more left. Now it looked like all were sold out. But on a closer look, Mommy saw one empty blanket box and the see-through cover already detached from the box and the blanket was gone! What do you think happened? Go figure out yourself!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Story of Disposable Diapers that Juan Or Used Before
Hey Baby! - This is the first brand that Juan Or used since the day he was born. Mommy bought S86 and M74 packs from a sale in The Store at RM23.90 per pack (member price; non-member is RM24.90). For your note, this packaging size is no longer available - what's available now are smaller packs of about slightly more than half the old packaging size. At the time of purchase (Mommy was in 2nd trimester of pregnancy), every pack came with a free baby sleeveless T-shirt which can be worn when baby is about 9 months of age onwards. However, Mommy was lucky in that one of the pack that Mommy bought, the manufacturer accidentally put in 2 T-shirts! So in the end, Juan Or gets to have 3 T-shirts for buying only 2 packs. As for the diapers, quality-wise is good (meaning absorbent) (Hey! It's the same manufacturer as Drypers!), the only difference is that Hey Baby! doesn't come with gartered waist unlike Drypers, that's why the price is cheaper than Drypers. The outermost layer is made of breathable paper material which claims a cloth-like feel. The M size comes with a blue colour absorbent core area on the padding of the diaper, but not for size S. Later on when Juan Or was around 1+ month old, Hey Baby! is sold in the new packaging size. By then, Juan Or was already using size M. So Mommy bought 2 packs of M48 for RM15.99 per pack from Carrefour. Then about one or so months later, Carrefour advertised Hey Baby! again as buy 2 packs for RM30.99 to which Mommy bought 2 packs (M48 and L40, because Mommy thought Juan Or's body weight was gaining rapidly!). However, along the way, Juan Or's weight gain started to slow down at about 4 months onwards, so in the end, the L40 pack remains unopen till now. Nowadays, prices of things has gone up and this brand is no exception. Since the end of year 2008, the normal price has gone up to RM18.90 (Tesco) and even more recently, to RM19.90 (Tesco). During normal Tesco promotions, the price was RM17.90 which is still not cheap enough. Just last week, Mommy saw this brand sold in Tesco's Baby Fair Promotion for the good ole' price of RM15.90 again. Mommy's verdict: Good quality and recommended for daily economical wearing especially when baby needs 4-5 times of diaper changing per day.
(This is the Hey Baby! free sleeveless T-shirt.)
Pampers All Night: Mommy bought this when Mommy was still in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, sometime shortly after buying the Hey Baby! diapers from The Store. Mommy bought 3 packs of M40 at RM15 per pack from a stock clearance section in Carrefour Sri Petaling. At that time, the normal price was RM29.90 or RM30+ per pack. This type is able to absorb more urine than Pampers Comfort and has a blue colour core area that is supposedly more absorbent. However, Juan Or still experienced wet patches on his pants as a result of urine leaking out from the sides of the diaper. Also, the faeces leaking out from the holes waistband (supposedly for more ventilation) is still persistent. Mommy's verdict: No good! Not recommended!
Baby Like Economy Plus: Mommy first tried this brand because Carrefour was selling it as a 2-day sale for RM19.90 per pack. So Mommy bought one pack (M72) first to try because the outermost layer is plastic material. Mommy wasn't so sure whether this type of material is suitable for Juan Or's skin or not. After trying, it turned out to be OK for Juan Or's skin. Then, about one month later, Carrefour had a 2-day sale again, but this time was RM21.89 per pack, but Mommy bought it anyway because it was the cheapest diaper available considering that Hey Baby! had gone up in price. Some more later, Tesco also sold this brand for RM21.90 to which Mommy bought another M72 pack. So all in all, Juan Or has used 3 packs of this brand (he has another 17 more pieces to go before Mommy puts him to size L diapers!). This brand is good (if you don't mind the plastic material which feels hotter to the skin) and economical. The padding material is also a bit longer than Hey Baby!'s. The good thing about the slightly longer padding material is that the faeces doesn't leak out from behind. So far, Juan Or has never experienced any urine nor faeces leaks using this brand. The only thing is that the top edges of the diaper don't look that neat when the diaper is worn onto the baby, but that's not an issue for Mommy. Mommy's verdict: Good (if you don't mind the plastic material) and very economical and reliable.
Drypers Drypantz: Mommy first bought it (M44) to try from The Store Member's Day for RM29.90 per pack. Normal price is about RM35 to RM37 per pack. Then, recently, Mommy saw it sold in Tesco Extra Cheras for RM28.90, but there was no size L in stock. Then, even later, Tesco lowered the price even more in conjunction with the Baby Fair Promotion, now at RM26.90 per pack, so Mommy grabbed 2 packs. This diaper pants has a neat fit when worn and is capable of absorbing a lot of urine. So Mommy will wear it on Juan Or for 12 hours or more (if he doesn't defecate) especially if bringing Juan Or for outings the next day. So far, there are no leaks encountered even when it is very saturated with urine. Also, the manufacturer claims it to be 100% breathable. Mommy's verdict: Very good and reliable! Mommy's favourite!
Sticking the Tongue Out
Mommy also managed to capture a video of Juan Or with his tonguing acts.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Diaper Sickness
Babies get diaper rashes, Mommies get diaper sickness!
Yes, that's right! Mommy is pretty sure this is a common ‘sickness’ among Mommies. Even Mommy's office room mate who has a 4 month old baby has had diaper sickness before. What are the symptoms? For mild case, it is an irresistable feeling of wanting to buy and stock up on baby diapers. For the real case, it is not only that irresistable feeling, but the determined action of actually rushing to buy the diapers, usually in more than just one pack of diapers. So far, Mommy is not aware whether there are other Mommies out there who are stricken with a serious case of diaper sickness. What marks the onset of diaper sickness? It's usually the act of spotting advertisements of typical hypermarket weekend-, or 3-day, or 2-day or even 1-day sales. And these advertisements usually appear in The Star newspaper on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays advertised by either Tesco, Giant or Carrefour.
Last week Friday, Mommy saw Giant advertising Huggies Dry Comfort at RM33.49 per pack (Mommy wants to stock up on L60) and this price was valid for 3 days only. Lo and behold! Mommy has never seen it sold this cheap before! Just about 2 weeks ago, Mommy bought Huggies Dry Comfort L60 from Tesco for RM34.98 which Mommy thought was already cheap enough. Now Giant was even cheaper! Mommy just have to have her hands on it! So Mommy went to Giant Taman Connought which is nearest to Mommy's workplace and bought 2 packs. Mommy was in euphoria!
Then, Mommy’s next stop was at Tesco Extra Cheras because Tesco’s Baby Fair Promotion has just started. Mommy had already checked Tesco’s recent catalogue and found that A5-sized flash cards are on sale at RM7.95 each and on top of that, it’s buy one, free one! So Mommy’s going for that flash card! Mommy was also eyeing to buy Tesco Choice’s refill pack of baby wipes sold at RM7.99 for 300 pieces. Also, Mommy saw that the price of Drypers Drypantz was sold at RM26.90 per pack (cheapest price ever for this brand!) even though the catalogue stated the price as RM28.90. Last week, what Mommy saw was that at the promotion price of RM26.90, only M44 and XL sizes were available. L36 was not in stock. So now that L36 was in stock, Mommy grabbed 2 packs! Later, after some thoughts, Mommy grabbed another one pack of Drypers Drypantz M44 to be given as baby gift for Sister-in-law’s coming 2nd baby in August 2009. Ooohhhh……Mommy was stricken with diaper sickness!
When Mommy was back home again, Mommy arranged the 5 packs of baby diapers (2 Huggies Dry Comfort L60 + 2 Drypers Drypantz L36 + 1 Drypers Drypantz M44) in a stack nearby to an existing stack of disposable baby diapers which Mommy bought some time back (all are size L). Gosh, what high stacks!
By the way, Juan Or only has some 17 pieces of size M diapers to finish up, then Mommy will put him on size L already. Mommy will review about the brands of diapers that Juan Or used before in one of the future postings.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
The 'B' Credit Card
In Transition to Infant Milk Powder
Mommy's colleague, Dr. Renee, offered to get a scoop of Enfalac from her sister-in-law who still has an infant to care for. There's also Ms. Stephenie, also Mommy's colleague and office room mate, who gave away the remaining quarter tin of a 900-g Similac (from Abbott Laboratories). Apparently, Ms. Stephenie wants to change brand to Mamex because she wants her baby to have more frequent bowel movements than currently is.
So Mommy handed the milk powder to the babysitter to try on Juan Or. The result? According to the babysitter, by drinking the infant milk powder itself, Juan Or retches or acts like he is about to vomit. So the babysitter fed him via the spoon. The next day, the babysitter mixed about two-third of Mommy's breastmilk and one-third of infant milk powder (with water), and Juan Or seems to accept it better. Of course, this time Juan Or won't drink from the baby bottle anymore. If fed by spoon, he will bite it. So the babysitter resorted to pouring a small amount of the milk mixture into the baby bottle's cap and slowly poured into his mouth. What a tedious baby! But luckily, the babysitter doesn't find too much of a trouble feeding him that way. How about Juan Or's bowel movements ever since consuming Similac? According to the babysitter, his bowel movements are daily and of the normal type - not too dry and not too wet, just nice.
Mommy is relieved that Similac goes well with Juan Or and that he accepts drinking it when mixed with breastmilk. Mommy is also relieved that Mommy doesn't have to succumb to the daily pressure of meeting the daily milk production target of about 20 oz. per day. Prior to this, Mommy's daily milk production falls short of Juan Or's daily consumption by as much as 6 to 10 oz. per day. For this reason, the buffer period of frozen breastmilk supply in the freezer has dwindled from a good 14-day buffer period (when Mommy went back to work after maternity leave) to a mere and miserable 5-day buffer period. According to the babysitter, everyday, Juan Or drinks 12 to 14 oz. of breastmilk and 6 to 8 oz of infant milk powder (with water). Mommy heaves a sigh of relief!
Juan Or in Cute Baby Overall Onesie
Watch out! He's going for Mommy's handphone camera!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Bulldog! Bulldawg!
(Many, many thanks to Red Zena for allowing Mommy to use this handsome bulldog photo!)
And no one does the bulldog face better than Juan Or! (Yes, Mommy has tried pulling the bulldog mouth before but it looks horrible!)
Mommy recalled seeing one bulldog in Facebook's virtual pet by the name "Bulldawg". So don't say CHEESE, say BULLDAWG!