As per our yearly tradition, it's time to summarise my life in a post! How has turning 35 changed for me?
Work: After a good 4 years at the advertising agency, I decided on tendering. Didn't really feel like that was my calling you know? The work just wasn't for me. Also feel that the kids are growing up way too fast and I just wanted some time off to spend time with them currently. This is a short term approach though as I would still want to return to the workforce sooner or later. And in the meantime, I'll be using this break to spend more time with the kids.
Family: Relationship with my parents has been good. Been catching up with my parents often. Even if we couldn't meet, we would spend time on the phone and send pictures of the kids.
Love: I have to be honest, having two kids isn't a walk in the park. It's tough parenting with two kiddos below 3 especially when I have to do most of the heavy lifting most of the time. This is also a reason why I decided to take a short term break as Skai has a new job and spends a lot of time out. Someone has to be the constant in the family.
Health: Breastfeeding has been easier the second time around. I guess cos I didn't officially stop. With the help of Aimin, I managed to lose the balance of my pregnancy weight! Phew. I only wished, I had more time to myself and be able to exercise haha.
Friends: No change here. Kept those who matter close and distanced myself from those who I felt were toxic.
Blogging: Spending more time on Instagram instead as I hardly have time on the computer. Still love doing what I do, just more regularly on a different platform. Holler if you have any opportunities!
Thanks to everyone and anyone who has wished me a very happy birthday. As mentioned every year: birthdays just symbolises another year closer to the grave (to me). So love like you have never loved before, eat like you have never eaten before, live life like every day is your last.
Once again, I am extremely tardy with my updates. It's been a while since my last update but with two kids, it's tough to find time at the computer. It's so much easier to update on the phone, on the go. Maybe I need to find a better way to update my blog on the phone?
Here are the kiddos' milestones!
Aidan's milestones from 30 - 33 months!
Currently Aidan takes a mixture of breast milk and fresh milk. Milk is pretty much his comfort drink before he sleeps. I guess that's from the experience from comfort latching back then? He hardly asks to latch these days unless he sees Davina latching. I do continue to pump into a bottle for him at times.
Dietwise, he is still very fussy about food. A lot of food he refuses to take, especially vegetables. He goes into phases but currently he is very into pork, tofu and cake.
He is still a night owl. He sleeps late and have difficulty waking up for school.
One good thing, he is very guai with taking his supplements and medicine. No complains here!
While he has his moments where he throws tantrums and such, he is still a very gentle boy. We had an incident recently where we visited the playground at Suntec. This kid came up to Aidan (unprovoked!) and pulled Aidan's hair with his two hands. Aidan yelled in pain and walked away after that. The same horrible kid later did that again and even poked Aidan's eyes with his fingers and kicked Aidan's head with his foot. The most irritating part? His dad and grandma didn't do anything. Aidan didn't retaliated at all. Honestly, I wished he did. :/ It was painful seeing my poor boy being bullied. After that, we went to cut Aidan's hair super short HAHA. No more long hair for naughty boys to pull! I guess Aidan did not retaliate because we always tell him not to beat/push others and to be gentle and give way. Of course, there are times where he doesn't listen but we are there to tell him to do so unlike said horrible kid's parents.
On a happier note, we try our best to let Aidan try a variety of activities like colouring, sensory play, indoor playgrounds for him to play. He does have his screen times like for his Tayo and Robocar Poli shows but not too much. It's always a treat for him. I do want to try watching a few movies with him soon so that we could bring him to go watch movies next time. Any good shows that you'll recommend from Netflix?
Aidan loves music. He loves to sing and dance at times which is why I have recorded some videos on TikTok with him. Sometimes he will sing his favourite songs repeatly and try to get us to join in.
He has also shown signs of understanding jokes and loves teasing us. One example is when he teases me by telling me he loves papa and when I asked him if he loves me, he will continue to say he loves papa. But when I tell him to ask papa to make him breakfast, he will then insist that he loves me. LOL
He is still super loving with us and would kiss and hug us. Only difference now is that when Davina starts playing with his toys, he would ask me to carry her away.
People may say it's the 'terrible twos' stage but honestly the terrible bits are not much! The terrific times are more. It's only "terrible" because they start to express themselves more like throwing tantrums cos they are cranky and they do not know why.
I love interacting with him at this stage! Let's see what the three-nager years will be like!
Davina's milestones from 5 - 8 months!
Davina is still exclusively breastfed. Since last time, she latches for a very short time unlike how Aidan was. It's so hard to fatten her up!
While the colic times are over, the separation anxiety times are here. 🙁 She screams badly whenever we put her down or if we walk away for a minute. Really have to carry her all the time.
Her bottom two teeth are out! Super painful for me when she bites down. SOBS.
We tried both BLW and Traditional weaning but she doesn't seem ready for food. She hasn't shown much interest in eating or trying anything. When we spoon feed her, she spits it out. With BLW, she just whacks the vegetables to death LOL. Honestly, we prefer if she would eat more but we understand that every kid grows at their own pace. So... we will (im)patiently wait. HAHA.
Her eczema issues are full-blown now. Problem is mittens no longer work nor swaddling her. I have even resorted to making her way socks on her hands but she always take it out. Her skin must be itchy for her as she is always trying to scratch her face, neck & shoulders. We will always stop her but the problem is when we are sleeping. I have woken up and saw her rubbing her face against the mesh of the playpen. Sigh. Needless to say, we have tried almost every cream and while we understand that it's a phase, what makes it more tiring is the constant query of people who see her. I had strangers telling me that she feels so bad looking at Davina. Seriously?! Do you think as her mum, I won't feel worst? I told the stranger to then don't look at Davina in a laughing manner. But seriously, i wish everyone would just STFU.
Davina is a super smiley baby. She loves laughing and smiling at us. Very interactive and cheeky baby.
Some days she sleeps thru the night, which is probably while my period returned at 6 months despite exclusively breastfeeding. Also, my supply has reduced too. SOBS.
Do check out my pregnancy and baby blog posts here:
A few weeks ago, the family and I boarded Royal Caribbean Singapore's Voyager of the Seas for a family vacay.
Not sure if you guys remember this, but last year we experienced Mariner of the Seas when Aidan was 1 and I was pregnant with Davina back then. This time, we went back to Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas for a 5d4n trip which had stops at Port Klang and Phuket but we only disembarked at Phuket.
Here's my experience on bringing an infant and a toddler on a cruise! This time, I had more opportunities to try various activities and take more pictures as I wasn't pregnant and suffering from super bad morning sickness. Here's my tips on traveling with a newborn and a toddler on Royal Caribbean Cruise.
Bringing a stroller and a baby carrier (like a Tula) was the right idea.
Be kiasu. With a newborn, you'll like have to babywear all the way. Having a stroller means the newborn (or even the toddler) can lie down and nap. But of course, if you do not bring a stroller, you can always avoid taking the lifts and get to places faster.
But personally i feel that a cruise is one of the most relaxing holiday that you can take. Be kiasu, bring both carriers and strollers.
Plus a stroller is always a makeshift diaper changing table, especially if your room is far away.
Request for items earlier.
Once I boarded, I immediately requested for a playpen. I'm not sure how many they are, but I rather be kiasu and book asap. You can also make a request to book a playpen before your cruise!
Also, if you did not prebook your dining times earlier, (i.e. if you are on My Time Dining), you can either make a standing reservation (e.g. 5:30pm everyday) or you can book a day earlier. You can also make your reservation online via the Cruise Planner on Royal Caribbean's website pre-cruise!
Again, to avoid disappointments, we booked earlier and the same time each day.
Plan in advance for activities that you'll like to do.
Some of the activities that we really wanted to do was the Flowrider and Rock-climbing. We managed to get these activities done within the first two days.
Which was really lucky of us, because it rained the next two days. Phew! Skai really enjoyed the Flowrider so much that he queued over and over again for it.
Also, for most of the performances, do queue earlier to get good seats especially for the ice-skating show. It was fully booked when we went and we had to catch the next show. Highly recommended to go for it!
Back last year, Aidan enjoyed the shows. This time, he enjoyed it more! I felt that he understood it more and he really enjoyed the song and dances more this time.
Go for a swim, I like that they had movie screenings outdoor where families can just laze in the jacuzzi and watch the movies. Super nua and comfy activity!
Stay safe. Stick to the Main Dining Room if you have young kids or a big family.
While I do enjoy the buffet selections, I feel that having a dedicated table is more important. With young kids, it's tough to wait for tables especially when they get hungry and cranky. I prefer to eat at the Main Dining Room (ours was Sapphire Dining Room) and head to Windjammer for snacks if need be. Also with big families, it's kinda impossible to get a table altogether especially if you go at the peak timings.
Also, you get to enjoy dedicated service, quieter quality moments.
There are kids menu available where you can order items without salt too. Also, it's like an ala-carte buffet, you can order multiple servings.
Sleep in. Order breakfast in.
We order breakfast everyday just in case the kids can't wake up for breakfast.
Offshore excursions are fun!
We chose to disembark at Phuket and go for the Panoramic Tour where we had a tour of Phuket in the comfort of an air-conditioned bus. Honestly, there were other excursions where you can go on foot to explore Phuket and were more fun but we had to think of how feasible it would be carrying a newborn and a toddler. Don't bring the stroller along here! I made a huge mistake here.... I forgot to bring down any cash when we went to Phuket. Was too used to the just using our card on the cruise that I left my money in the safe. Oops. We missed out on all of the street food! SOBS.
Bring a nursing cover.
There isn't any nursing rooms if I remember correctly. A nursing cover means I could nurse anywhere anytime. Royal Caribbean is super family friendly, no one stared when I nursed in public.
If you can only choose one paid restaurant - choose Johnny Rockets!
If you have a fries monster son like I do, do check out Johnny Rockets. Just for one flat fee, you can enjoy all the yummy burgers, hotdogs, floats and fries to your heart's content. Till today, Aidan keeps asking for the fries place. Oops.
Most of all, just chill & have fun.
Things will happen. There will be tantrums, wailing, poonamis etc. But the beauty of a cruise is that you can stop anytime.
If the kids need a nap, dapao them back to the room.
If they pooed and needed a diaper change, go back to the room. Enjoy most of the facilities anytime. There is no rush I feel unlike when traveling elsewhere. A cruise is definitely a good starting point for traveling with young kids for the first time.
Thank you Royal Caribbean Singapore for the opportunity. While this trip was partially sponsored, opinions are my own and not obligated.
Do check out my pregnancy and baby blog posts here:
Here are the updates about the kiddos and milestones for the past 3 months 😀
Aidan's milestones from 27 - 29 months old
While Aidan still continues to take breastmilk, I have swopped from latching to expressing milk for him. Tried tandem but it didn't work so well, hard to juggle both. Feels like I was gonna drop Davina anytime HAHA. Maybe when Davina is much bigger?
Aidan still enjoys going to school, however he finds it difficult to wake up in the morning and would make a huge fuss about it. He would cry nonstop and would want to sleep in.
Still a very picky eater. He hates anything huge or that he would need to chew. Super duper fussy! We should have stuck to BLW from the beginning but it's difficult when I'm not the main caregiver during weekdays ugh.
He still loves snacking a lot. He would ask for his biscuits, puffs, sweets and cheese.
Daily, we would give him his supplements. So far, he's been quite a good boy taking it!
We have established a routine for him. Every night (if we do not go out) after dinner, we would have music time where we would sing along and dance. After that, we would read books. I try to read a variety of books to him from alphabets to numbers to story telling and spot the difference. With this, his addiction to YouTube has reduced greatly but he would still try his luck by asking for it.
Also, Aidan is an essential oils baby. Every night, I would apply various oils and massage him. He really enjoys this and now asks for the roller to apply it on his feet himself.
He is extremely sweet, he would hug Skai, Davina and me anytime and also rain kisses on us.
He has also started asking to brush his teeth daily. No signs of wanting to be toilet trained, so we'll just take it easy and see when he is ready.
Honestly, this time is the most toughest for now as he is quite opinionated. He would choose items that he wants to wear or use like his bibs. And he would tell me if whatever I'm wearing is nice or not nice. Problem is, he would also reject items these days. Like when I tell him "Aidan, it's time to sleep.", he would reply "Not yet!".
While it's the most tiring, I love this stage the most too. It's so fun to interact with him and teach him things.
Davina's milestones from 2 to 4 months old.
Davina is SO DIFFERENT from Aidan. We had a really tough time bottle-feeding her. She refused the bottle and would rather starve and wait for me to latch her.
She is also a screamer. I blame colic. For a few weeks, she would cry at the same time every night and nothing soothes her. We have been giving her gripe water... minor improvements so far.
She also loves to be carried so that's the best way to soothe her.
Just like Aidan, she has inherited our eczema problems. She now has some eczema issues on her face, chin and chest. Doesn't help that she scratches them all the time. We have resorted to making her wear mittens again.
She is also a smiley baby IF you smile at her. When she sees faces, she will smile all the time. But she would give a blank look at the camera. HAHHAA.
She sleeps through the night which is good and bad. Good cos I could rest better but bad cos I would wake up with super engorged breasts. Ow.
Finally at 4 months, she managed to take the bottle. From drinking 30ml only, she is now taking 130ml. Thank god I 'lengthened' my maternity leave by utilising 2 weeks of annual leave.
She is a thumb sucker! She loves sucking her thumb and refuses pacifiers.
Davina flipped and would only sleep on her side or on her front, which freaks me out as I would keep waking up to make sure she is alive. I tried so many times to put her on her back but she would just flip back.
She would smile and 'chat' with Aidan when he hugs her. I think these two would be fun to watch in future. Got a feeling Davina will whack Aidan though. HAHHAA.
