Being Selfish

Was having this conversation with my friends about us human being selfish.

Yes, most people detest selfish people. Being selfless is more highly looked upon. But is it possible to be 100% selfless in life?

For me, being selfish to a certain extent is necessary. For instance, when it comes to love, I don't believe in the saying 'if u love someone, it is enough to see him/her happy'. I believe in doing something to make both of us happy.
I believe that in a relationship, love goes both ways. If it only goes one way, then this is only one-way love, it is not a relationship.

I am selfish when it comes to Peter. Peter must only love me alone and no one else. Romantically I mean. Of course he can love Shern, his parents, his friends, etc. Not another woman.
I don't believe in sharing Peter romantically. I am one selfish person when it comes to love.

However, I believe love can be multiplied. Family love for instance. I love Shern as much as I love Peter. I don't love Peter less now that Shern is here. These 2 are different kind of love. Don't ever ask me to choose between them two. No reason to anyway.

We must be selfish enough to defend ourselves. If not, the other person will step over our head and take advantage of us.

Being selfish to a certain extent is practical living. :)

My 28th Birthday

Clock stroke 12 midnight yesterday. Hubby came into the room to kiss me Happy B'day with Shern asleep in his arms. He put Shern down onto his cot and snuggled onto bed with me.

He gave me a 'lil keychain with the words 'Peter & Shu Yin' (yes, without hyphen! - which he quickly said it was not his fault). He told me he bought the keychain when he went to Johore earlier this month because he was thinking of me. How typical of hubby to buy me such things! :P

I woke up in the morning feeling all excited simply because it was my birthday. Went through the morning routine as usual - b/fed, bathed & clothed Shern, then only myself.
I reluctantly left Shern with ah-yee & dad because Peter said he has the whole day planned out for me. We could not bring Shern out the whole day.

Look at Shern's grumpy look. I think he knows we are going to leave him there. :(

grumpy Shern with mummy

Hubby then took me to my favourite Japanese restaurant Tsuruya @ i-avenue. I love that place. They serves delicious food and big portion too.

Tsuruya @ i-avenue

While awaiting for our food, hubby gave me another surprise. Anklet that I've always wanted. Not in gold though 'coz it is too expensive and silly to buy gold at this price. Hubby said he will buy a gold anklet for me the moment the gold price crash. teehee.

Anklet

I ordered Sashimi & Tempura Set while hubby had Seafood Teppan Set. Noticed my faithful breastpump bag on the table? Yeah...i need to bring it out wherever I go. :)

Both of us seated at our table @ Tsuruya

After lunch, we went to QBM. I bought 7 books in Borders. Unbelievable discount. Could not resist. So that added to my birthday gift as well ;)

While walking, there was this booth which gave us a piece of paper to 'declare our love' and we got a heart-shaped balloon & a yellow rose.

Both of us with the heart-shaped balloon & yellow rose

Stopped at New Zealand Natural ice-cream stall and Peter negotiated with the seller for a 30% discount with pleas of '..but it is her birthday', 'can't you give the birthday girl a special price?'. Peter won in the end. So we ended up with 3 scoops of Boysenberry, Chocolate Ecstacy & Coffee flavoured ice-creams @ 30%!

Next stop was Toys 'R' Us. We bought Shern a bag of 100 fun balls which we wanted to put inside his playpen. Although I was out enjoying my birthday surprise from hubby, I miss Shern so much and didn't protest when hubby decided to buy it for him although it was quite pricey even after a discount.

A bag of 100 fun balls from Toys 'R' Us

After that, hubby took me to MIL's house where she already cooked for me my favourite 'jiu hoo char'....yummy!

We then went home. I carried Shern the moment I walked through the door. I miss him so much especially on my birthday.
I then cooked for Shern his dinner and Min helped to feed him because hubby whizzed me off to Feringghi Garden which he had made reservation at 7pm.

Feringghi Garden is a very beautiful place. Very clean and romantic. Wonderful ambience too. (I will blog about it soon)

Feringghi Garden

They gave us a nice table with a small waterfall behind our table. The sound of the rushing water makes me feel so relaxed. The air-conditioner was just nearby so it was quite cooling although it was a hot & humid day.

Both of us at our table @ Feringghi Garden

After we finished our meal, the waitress gathered around and brought me a birthday surprise. It was a chocolate brownie with ice-cream. They all sang 'Happy Birthday' to me. I was so embarrassed, especially when the patrons at the next table shouted to Peter 'kiss her..kiss her'!

I guessed they thought we are a hot, young, dating couple. Little did they know that we are actually an old married couple with a 7 month-old son :D

my B'day Surprise from Feringghi Garden

After hubby paid the bill, we took a stroll down the Batu Feringghi night market for DVDs. Bought 18 DVDs. Satisfied, we trotted home at last.

Along the way home, hubby told me Kuma especially made for me homemade Milo ice-cream - my favourite. I'm going to get the recipe from her and make it myself every week! teehee.

Homemade Milo Ice-Cream from Kuma

Another surprise waiting for me. Strawberry Cheesecake Haagen-Dazs Ice-Cream Cake from hubby! But then the ice-cream cake kinda melted. Doink-doink Min apparently didn't know that ice-cream cake should be kept in the freezer, she just kept it in the fridge.

Haagen-Dazs Starwberry Cheesecake

But it still tasted heavenly when I ate it today. Ah-yee kept on commenting, 'wah..this cake delicious lor'. :)

3 of us taking a photo with the half-melted cake. It looks like I was the only one staring straight at the camera. Peter was more interested in the cake, while Shern was looking at something up there.

A picture with everyone at home.

Besides everything hubby planned for me, I also received:

- ang pow

- 2-hour spa @ Danai Spa

- handsfree set (which I requested)

- Kuma's homemade Milo Ice-Cream

and I think 100 birthday wishes from friends and relatives 'thru sms, facebook, email, etc.

It was really a wonderful day full of surprises. I think hubby puts in a lot of effort just to make me happy. I am so blessed.

Not blessed just on my birthday but every day. Blessed with a loving hubby. A healthy and cheeky son. A wonderful family. Good friends.

What more can a girl want? *wink

Book Review: Kafka On The Shore

Grabbed this book about a month or two ago in Popular bookstore with the promotion '2nd @ 50%'. This is my first Haruki Murakami book.

Kafka On The Shore is not the kind of book which I normally read. I don't fancy fantasy novels (apart from Harry Potter series) but this book is kinda different from the normal mythical books I've read.

The story alternates between a fifteen-year old Kafka Tamura and an elderly man Mr. Nakata. Kafka Tamura runs away from his father and home, and also in search of his mother and sister. His quest begins as he seeks for answers to his past. Nakata wants to find the half of his own shadow that he lost when he was a young boy during World War II. A mysterious event left Nakata unable to read and 'empty' as he calls it.

Many parts of the story remains a blurry element of the novel. The mysterious event of the World War II. Human talking to a stone.
There are also unbelievable events taking place in this novel. Talking cats, fish raining from the sky, appearances by Johnny Walker and Colonel Sanders.

It is really quite a confusing read. The novel though a page-turner at times, but other times rather confusing.

I find the ending ambiguous but somehow this novel makes coherent sense in a way and is rather an interesting and pleasing read.

I still have another Haruki Murakami to read. Looking forward to it to see if the style is the same.

Rating: 6/10

Little Fingers and Toes

I absolutely love staring at Shern's little fingers and toes. They are chubby and smell nice. ;)

I love the dimples in Shern's hands.
I love how his fingers are V-shaped - from broad to narrow at the tips.
I love his chubby feet and cute big toe.

This is called a mother's fascination and adoration of her baby. :D

Homemade Baby Food: Utensils

Some people ask me what do I use to cook Shern's porridge.

Well, I don't use the rice cooker or slow cooker.
I use the good 'ol pot to cook Shern's porridge. I usually stir the contents using a whisk as I find that it is easier to stir.

Shern's typical porridge consists of:
slightly ground brown rice, juice from fresh pork meat, frozen pureed brocolli / green peas, mashed pumpkin.

The frozen food from the batch cooking saves me time and thus I don't find it a chore to cook for Shern every day. In fact, I take pride in cooking for Shern.

Banana Bread with Chopped Almonds

Last week's Bake Of The Week was Banana Bread with Chopped Almonds.

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. All of a sudden, my mum came to me and said she has a bunch of overriped bananas and she asked me to whip something out of it.

I decided to make some banana quickbread. Threw in some chopped toasted almonds as my mum loves nuts.

18 January 2010

It was served warm and you could feel the crunchiness of the crust and chopped almonds and the moist banana bread. :)

My Breastfeeding Experience - Part 3 (7th Month)

7 months plus and still counting - this is how long I have been breastfeeding Shern.

I am glad I have passed my 6 months breastfeeding target. Now my next target is 9 months although my ultimate aim is 1 year. I have learned to take things one step at a time.

Breastfeeding is a breeze nowadays, if I can say so. I mean, there is no more painful engorgement breasts, no more sore or cracked nipples and no more over-too-sensitive nipples. I guess they have all hardened and can now withstand Shern's vigorous suckling every night.

I still maintain the same routine I established many months back. Express/Pump during the day. Direct feed at night. I like this routine because Shern gets to eat fresh breastmilk and I get the milk supply stimulation from direct suckling at night WITHOUT Shern sticking to me 24/7. In short, I can still get away to do my own things during the day when Shern will be fed EBM while I express wherever I go.

Of course there are sacrifices on my part. I have to carry my breastpump insulated storage bag everywhere I go. And I still need to plan beforehand and also to find suitable places to express my milk, etc.

Another thing is that Shern sticks to me like glue. I'm not sure if this super strong bond is directly linked to breastfeeding, but Shern is especially close to me. It gets a little tiring when he wants no one but me, especially when night time comes.

The last I counted, I have about 100 bottles of ~4-5oz breastmilk storage. My freezer is full of them. No more space for ice-creams, etc. Actually, don't think this is a lot. This is merely less than a month of Shern's demand. I cannot imagine those who have 3 months supply of EBM. No wonder they have to buy a mini freezer just to keep them.

25 January 2010 - My breastmilk storage in the freezer

I am still using my Avent Manual Breastpump. Loving it. It has serves me well in my journey so far. I will definitely recommend it to other breastfeeding mums.

I am very proud of myself to have reached here. I am thankful and glad that I am able to provide Shern the best food he can have.

And I guess I should be happy that Shern sticks to me ;)

Click here to follow Shern's Breastfeeding Journey:

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 1 (2 mo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 2 (4 mo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 2.5 (5mo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 3 (7 mo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 4 (10 mo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 5 (1 yo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 6 

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 7 (16 mo)

Breastfeeding Shern - Part 8 (17 mo)

Shern's Teethers Reviews

When Shern first started to put things into his mouth to bite, I knew I had to get him something to bite on.

I bought him a few kinds as he likes some more than the others.


1. Pigeon Mr. Strong Teether



-Designed to fit into baby's palm, with an easy-to-grip handle and a firm teething pad.
-Develops baby's grip.
-Biting the rattle teether provides baby with tactile stimulation.
-Shaking the rattle teether develops baby's hearing and sensory perception skills.
-Can be used as a toy from three months old.


Verdict:
Shern didn't fancy it at all. I guess the whole thing is too hard for his gums to bite on. As for the rattling sound, the little thin rings can barely make a sound loud enough to attract his attention. The pastel colour is not attractive enough as well making it useless as a toy.

Rating:
1/10



2. Nûby™ Sea Mates™ - Crab

-BPA-free
-Designed to soothe and comfort painful gums and aid with the teething process.
-The multiple teething surfaces allow your baby to chew and cut their first teeth, relieving sore and sensitive gums.
-The soft and fun characters are made from plush material and are just the right size and shape for little hands


Verdict
The crab is very attractive and it certainly grabs Shern's attention everytime I shake it in front of him.

He likes to bite and suck on the plush cloth material surface. However, it makes it very dirty with his saliva and milk. The instruction says not to be submerged into water and thus making it very difficult to clean properly. The most I can do is to wipe it with a damp cloth but I find it not clean enough.

As for the other surfaces, it is quite difficult for Shern to bite on it.

One thing I like is that it is indeed just the right size and shape for Shern's little hands.


Rating
5/10



3.MAM Multi Soothe Teethers



-Designed to cool and soothe both front and back gums during painful teething.
-The MAM Multi Soothe Teether was designed to offer optimum comfort and safety for your baby.
-The unique combination of textured cooling and chewing surfaces offer double relief. By chewing the soft textured part of the Multi Soothe Teether, the erupting tooth is pushed gently back into the gum releasing the pressure from the painful area for a short while. Whilst the cool resilient surface soothes and stimulates the inflamed and sore gum areas safely and effectively.
-PVC free.

Verdict
Shern somehow does not fancy this MAM teether. He will just bite on the cool surface for awhile and then will ignore it.

One thing is that although I put it in the refrigerator for more than 1 hour as per the instructions, I find the cooling effect wears off very quickly. It turns warm in less than 5 mins.

Rating
3/10



4. Fisher-Price Deluxe Gum Soother

-Easy to grasp water filled teether
-Printed colorful characters and shapes
-Cute character handle to help baby to hold teether
-Part of Fisher Price Peg Program
-Age Range Birth to 2 Years

Verdict

Shern likes this best of all. He can easily grasp this with his hands and the small individual shape is small enough for him to put into his mouth. He can bite on it for a longer time and he seems to enjoy looking at it too.

Rating

8/10

Shern at 7 mths plus now does not especially fancy teethers. With 4 teeth, he will just grab whatever is at hand and BITE! Careful your fingers! ;)

Shern on Cloth Diapers - Part 1 Review

Shern has been wearing the traditional lampin during the day and Mamy Poko at night. While Mamy Poko has sizes, Shern is growing out of his traditional lampin soon. It is getting difficult to wrap it around his buttocks.

I don't like the idea of him wearing disposable diapers ALL the time. Not that I am so environmental friendly, but more to me being broke having to spend so much on disposables.

So, after much thought and much delay, I decided to research and go scout around for the modern cloth diapers (CDs).

I decided on choose One Size Pocket Diapers.
A pocket diaper is a two-layer diapering system consisting of a waterproof outer layer and a stay-dry inner sewn together in such a way to form a pocket so that a soaker can be inserted into the pocket to absorb the wetness.

As they are rather expensive, I decided to buy 2 pcs of different brands to try. I bought Happy Heinys One Size Pocket Diapers and Bum Genius 3.0 One Size Cloth Diapers.

After pre-washings the CDs before its initial use as recommended, I let Shern tried it on. I bought the ones with velcro tabs and not snap-on buttons because I find that it is much easier to wear on fussy Shern and not having to fuss with so many snaps. And also I find that velcro provides a better wrap-around fit.


1. BumGenius 3.0 One-Size Cloth Diaper
(http://www.bumgenius.com/one-size.php)

Colour: Ribbit

My Review on BG:
> Fit - I find Bum Genius CD a better fit.
> Sizing - For now, for sizing, I am snapping only the 2nd row buttons to the top row, leaving another row for growth. However is smaller compared to HH and I'm not sure if Shern can still wear if when he reaches 2 years.
> Inserts absorbency -I also find the microfibre fleece inserts a little more softer than HH's. Absorbency is good. With these 2 inserts, I let Shern wear from 9am to almost 5pm and there were no leaks.
> Drying time - Half a day out in the sun. One whole day with partial sun exposure.
> Cute factor - only plain solid colours available at my time of purchase.
> Cost - Pricey - RM78/set (promo) from http://mumnbaby.com/ in Anson Road, Penang.

Shern wearing Bum Genius

2.Happy Heinys One Size Pocket Diapers
(http://www.happyheinys.com/one_size_diapers.php)

Colour: Monkey Print

My Review on HH:
> Fit - Do not fit as good as BG but is not bad.
> Sizing - Happy Heiny's CD is much bigger and thus leaves room for more growth. However, the sizing buttons are not tight enough. Every time I snap the sizing buttons to better fit Shern, it kept snapping open. I find this frustrating as I cannot achieve the proper sizing I want.
> Inserts Absorbency - However, despite the improper sizing, it still did not leak after Shern wore it for more than 7 hours. The absorbency is equally as good.
> Drying time - Half a day out in the sun. One whole day with partial sun exposure.
> Cute factor - Prefer the cute monkey prints than plain solid colours
> Cost: Pricey - RM85/set for prints from http://mumnbaby.com/ in Anson Road, Penang.

Shern wearing Happy Heiny's

Surprisingly, washing these CDs are a breeze. First, fold back the laundry tabs to prevent. Next, pull out the inserts and dump it into the wet or dry pail. Then when you wash your laundry, just throw it all into the washing machine. The only thing you need to remember it not to use any bleach/softener and also to use half or less of the recommended detergent to ensure full absorbency.

After wearing these for a week or two, I am so in love with using Cloth Diapers.
Now I am going to look for CD deals and also maybe to try more brands and see which suits Shern and me best.

Why I Like It Longer

There are a few ahem...things which I would Like It Longer.

1. Why I Like It Longer - Legs

http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/

I would like to have longer legs.

Simply because I would look so good wearing skinny jeans with high heels. And I would also like to wear those super long Sommerset Bay dresses that reaches my ankles. Only people with long legs can get away with it.



2. Why I Like It Longer - Eyelashes

http://www.ehow.com/

I would like to have longer eyelashes.
So that when I bat my eyelashes at people, they will actually notice it.

With my current super short eyelashes and my small eyes, people don't even notice it when I try batting my eyeslashes. Arghh...



3. Why I Like It Longer - Fingers

http://www.ruby-jade-sapphire-pearl.com/

Ok. So I don't own a 10 carat diamond ring. But I do own a half-carat diamond ring and it will only look good if I have long fingers.
Unfortunately, my fingers and short and pudgy.



But I guess people must and have to be contented with what we have. Contented with God's gift to us even though I have short legs, almost-invisible eyelashes and short, pudgy fingers.

But to see it in another perspective, having these short body parts make me the unique person I am now.
Hubby loves to touch my short legs. Hubby loves kissing my eyes. Hubby loves holding my short pudgy fingers. *grin

But one thing that I would like to own and is not God's gift is the LG’s new Chocolate phone (BL40). It has a unique long shape that allows for a 4-inch widescreen and is a sleep supermodel phone.

Ohh...how I wish I own it. At least I would have one long thing I could finally called my OWN!

Yiu-Shern - 6 months

Now that Shern has reached his 6-months, I decided to update his milestones monthly from now onwards.

23 Dec 2009

Yiu-Shern's 6 months Milestone

Paediatrician

Just a quick update on Shern's growth measurement which I's already updated earlier in his week 27 post.

Shern's growth measurement:
Age - 6 months @ 7 Dec 2009
Weight - 8.00 kg
Length/Height - 69 cm
Head Circumference - 44cm

Hair Cut for the 3rd time
Shern cut his hair AGAIN. Hehe. I like Shern with short hair because his hair is those hard, spiky type. Not those soft, silky type. So I think he looks better in short hair.

Both daddy and son went for their hair cut together this time.

So does Shern looks like daddy?

15 Dec 2009

Or like mummy?

15 Dec 2009

Asleep in Stroller
Shern can now sleep in his stroller when we go out shopping. Actually, he fell asleep in our arms. And then only we put him down on his rocker. He can sleep even up to 1 hour in there while we shopped to our hearts' content.

26 Dec 2009

Hand Motor Skills Tuned
Look at how steady his hands are? He can really grip at things. Look at how he grips the musical doggie toy of his rocker?

27 Dec 2009

Afternoon naps in bouncer
Shern is not a person who falls asleep easily. It is quite difficult to pacify him to sleep. Even if he does, he does not sleep for long. You will be lucky if he sleeps more than an hour.

Last time, he used to sleep in our arms because the moment we put him down on his cot, he will cry. Now, he is getting used to sleeping in the bouncer during afternoon naps. When he stirs in the middle of his sleep, all we does it to rock the bouncer and he falls back to sleep.
The bouncer is more cooling and with the bouncing motion, he loves it and can sleep there longer.

26 Dec 2009

Musical Cot Mobile still up
Shern still loves his Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Mobile. Although it is recommended for babies from newborn to six months, I still have not taken it down because Shern loves watching it.

However, he is now trying to grab it. But since he still can't stand up, he could not reach it yet. By the time he starts standing up and cruising, it will be time to remove it. Well, let Shern enjoys it 'til then.

26 Dec 2009

Back to Tummy Roll and Vice-Versa
Shern can now roll from back-to-tummy and tummy-to-back VERY smoothly. He has finally master this skill. It is a joy just to see him there rolling back and forth.


Teething
Shern's upper middle 2 teeth are emerging this month. His right central incisor tooth erupted on Christmas Eve. The left censor incisor is still struggling to breakthrough and thus causing him discomfort.

He also has rather loose stool (breastmilk-like stools) which is not normal because he has already eating semi-solids now.


Refusal To Drink Milk from Bottle
Coincidently, starting 1st Jan, Shern refused to drink milk from the bottle. He only drank 4 oz for the whole day. However, when I gave him my breast, he took it eagerly. We guessed that his refusal should be due to his teething. So we just let it go and see how he is after a few days.

On the 4th day, he started to drink milk little by little but still not the normal milk intake. He does not drink all 4oz at one session. 4 miserable oz of breastmilk only finished in 2-3 sessions.


Shern's First Christmas
Shern spent his first Christmas at shopping malls happily gazing at brightly lighted Chistmas Decorations.

Shern posed for photos at (see photos below):

Prangin mall - 27 Dec 2009
Gurney Hotel new wing - 26 Dec 2009
Winter Warmers - 3 Jan 2010
G Hotel - 3 Jan 2o10
Gurney Hotel Beach Entrance - 3 Jan 2010

Look at how he stared at the big Christmas Tree deco and we could not get him to look at the camera?

Shern with His Many Poses

19 Dec 2009 & 28 Dec 2009

7 Dec 2009 & 20 Dec 2009


26 Dec 2009 & 2 Jan 2010

How Is Mummy Doing?

Starting to run out of breastmilk storage bottles. I have about 80 bottles of 3-5oz of frozen breastmilk in my freezer, which is about 2-3 weeks of supply.
This is especially so when Shern is not taking his normal milk intake. Really need to buy more storage bottles.

By the way, I am currently using BumbleBee PP Storage Bottles, the cheapest BPA-free storage bottles I can find.