Found IT!

Finally i found a preschool for YiWen.. YIPPIE! Seems like I'm more excited than YiWen hor? Spent 4 days checking out 8 popular preschools nearby my neighbourhood, and finally we GOT IT. It is not a Montessori school, but somehow the fees are more expensive. Especially on the miscellaneous fees which covers their study materials, parties, library usage, art and craft material, stationery, water play, dance training, toy fees and bathing toiletries. RM350 ?


What i like about this preschools:


1) Clean, tidy and bright condition - i hate those gloomy gloomy classroom, make me wanna sleep all time..
2) Playground are super clean and at almost new condition. Make me wanna play along too.. ekekeke
3) Mini Gymnasium for kids! This is what i'm impressed the most. They have this mini colourful treadmill, bicycle and etc for them .. ngam ngam their size.. so cute!
4) Management especially the principal is very friendly. It is equally important to have a nice-to-talk-to teachers around. We must chat with them to know our kids' daily progress right?
5) Food are cooked by retired chef. Ya.. he was a chef in UK western restaurant and local chinese restaurant before. Wonder how he ends up here? He is actually father of the principal. Got it?
6) Uniform that need not mommy to iron.. argh! I don't know whether you like to iron or not.. but i hate it... sweat like hell when i need to do this chore... this preschool provide t-shirt and a cotton pants (but look like a skirt).. very cute design.. i like it a lot!
7) Strategic, just on my way to work .. nearby my neighbourhood.
8) Disallow students with fever to attend class.. they will check temperature every morning before enter the classroom.. if fever is detected, will call parents/guardian to bring them home to rest.
9) Water play every friday (if no rain).. so i'm getting YiWen a new swim suit lo! YiPPIE!
10) They only absorb public holidays and close a week on CNY. This is very important for working parents.. I visited one montessori school which required long holiday for christmas and 1 week holiday when long term school holiday.. Cialak.. 


School will start on 3rd Jan (coming Monday), just can't wait to send her to preschool to have fun, learn and mix new friends.. :D 

60oz or more GONE!

Poured away more than 20bottles (3oz each) of breastmilk into drain!


Haiii.. due to my mishandling of it. Should have put it into freezer right away after pumping as YiJing is not able to drink all in time. I had put it in refrigerator compartment for more than 1 week only when I thawed it for YiJing, the smell of the milk was awful.. tasted sour too.. YUCK!


Hub said nevermind, it is not that mommy has no supply.. he also added that if next time i pour it into drain again, better use it to water plants.. he wanna save 2 plants on our balcony which are dying away soon...hehehe..

Should I send her to Preschool?

I'm in big dilemma now. I hope mommies out there can give me their view on this matter. YiWen is gonna be 2 year and  3 months next year. She has shown some interest to learn new things and she is learning quite fast too! She also start to learn to talk and try to repeat some words while we adults were talking. I really wish that she could learn more and have more fun with children of her age outside the house. But, will it consider too soon for her age now? Another big big concern is i heard that kids in daycare or preschool get sick a lot.. :S No mommies like to see their kids fall sick OK? Very very heart sick one! Since I'm still in maternity leave till early Jan, should i use this opportunity to accompany her few days in the preschool?? Sigh.. headache now..

YiJing on Camelia Flower HeadBand

Cute mah?

Ba Zhen Tonic Soup

After 12th day of giving birth, every night my CL will slow-boil me tonic soup to nourish and improve my vital energy or qi. Every night with different type of soups. But one of my favourite is THIS!!    

Ba Zhen Tonic Soup

It tastes bitter sweet, i like that combination. Since i love to eat boiled egg, instead of 1 , i requested 3. 1 for hubby, 1.5 for me and half for YiWen. YiWen loves the egg yolk dipped with soy sauce. Pandai makan hor? So young can taste so yummy food.. Every night, i'm looking forward for my CL's tonic soup.. that's my supper!! 

Giant Baby

YiWen on YiJing's sleeping basket.

See this giant "baby"? She is getting cheekier lately. Whenever she saw i carry mei-mei... she will ask me to "pau-pau" aka carry her. How to carry 16+kg toddler during confinement ar? Usually i will sit down and ask her to sit on my lap and hug her.. consider carry lo..
If i breastfeed mei-mei.. sometimes she will ask me for nen-nen.. **slap forehead**
If she want me to follow her to somewhere, but i'm carrying mei-mei.. she will push mei-mei away.. is this sibling jealousy??... consider not gua, coz she don't simply do that unless she wants to reach something with my help..


Hmm.. didn't notice my daughter has grown up so much until she squeezed up into this basket.. muahahahaha!

Dropped 9.6kg

Guess what?! I lost 9.6kg in 2+ weeks after gave birth to YiJing. That's an incredible number! This time i lost weight faster compare to first pregnancy. No, I didn't put myself on diet. NEVER during confinement. Coz I know I got a CL who is darn fine cook. No one can ever resist her yummy delicious cooking. The possible reason is day and night my body is burning all the fats for milk production. This FOC slimming course is just so effective! MarieFranceBodyLine also can't defeat my natural slimming technique.. hehehe.. 
But i still got 9kg more to burn before i get back my pre-natal weight. That's 56kg! My ideal weight! Wonder when can i achieve it.. hmm... 

YiJing is bathing.. Her hands and legs are half-way into Michelin's .. hehehe :) 

Baby YiWen & Baby YiJing

Baby YiWen

Baby YiJing

Do they look similar? I think both their eyes look like mommy.. nose like daddy.. YiWen's mouth looks like daddy whereas YiJing's like mommy.. YiJing got more hairs then YiWen , obviously.... :P Both also very chubby , but somehow YiJing extra chubby.. kakakaka.. Argh, both are my PRECIOUS!!  :)

Home-Made Char Siew by CL

Never thought that I can eat home-made Char-Siew during my confinement. Ya.. this is done by  my CL. She told me she took 1+ hour to prepare and grill the pork. Seriously, i really salute her for being so hardworking in cooking delicious meals for me and family. Maybe she no need to take care bb during night time.. so she got more stamina to cook variety of food for me.. hehehe.. :)

She is gaining.. ^_^

Very contenting to know YiJing is gaining fast. Nurse came to weight her today and she is now at 4kg. Though I can't get her to be fully on breastmilk since day 1, but to me it is an achievement to have her fully on breastmilk since day 6th. Really hope it will last till she is 1 yr old at least.. hehehe.. :)

Confinement Food

Stir-Fried French Beans with Pork 

 Pig Trotters Vinegar - My All -Time Favourite!!

Fried Pork - Specially for YiWen to munch 

 Curry Chicken with Potatoes - Yummy! 

 Steamed Lady Fingers with Fried Shallots 

Herbal Chicken Soup

The Chinese pregnancy & confinement cookbook

My Ameda!

Sigh! My Ameda Breastpump has gone kong again this time.. U must be thinking that i must have pump so intensively till the Ameda can't tahan me right? No la.. though i pump frequently but i didn't even turn the suction to max. Instead it is always less than half max level. This time the serviceman told me it is the wear-and-tear problem of the belt. Small issue nia.. will cost me RM10 for belt replacement and RM6 for postage fee. So, relief to know that it is fixable and no need to buy a new pump. I LOVE this pump so much!! 

Breastfeeding Progress So Far..

Gladly to say that i feel a lot more comfortable and confident to breastfeed YiJing compare with the time with YiWen. At least till now, i do not have any blocked dust or extreme engorgement since i'm been pumping every 2hours (daytime) and direct breastfeed (night-time). Through experience, i know how to avoid those problems which i faced last time. This time i hired the same Confinement Lady. She is a very nice person, darn good cook, very very hardworking, clean and tidy person. But she is never a good breastfeeding adviser. She will give lots of bad comment on the breastfeeding and no confident that breastmilk will grow up the baby. If last time i almost believe in her words.. but NEVER this time! Everytime she said anything bad about it, i will ask her to look at my YiWen. A 2 year old toddler but wearing apparels size of 3yrs old. So, jangan main main ya!! Never let surroundings to demotivate you! This is very important!!

5th Day :Jaundice?

I don't know how much you believe in gov nurses who came to our house usually on 2nd or 3rd day after gave birth. I really appreciate government for sending them over to check on our conditions. But please ensure that those service is at upmost standard la.. This X nurse came to our house on 3rd day. She said my bb a bit kuning, better test blood to check. Since YiJing is delivered in private hospital, we went back to the hospital for test. Came out result 12.4 , according to the nurse, only when reach 15.0 and above need to be warded. So, on their follow up call, we told them the result, but she said since bb is O blood type, better check again the next day, coz this blood type easier to get jaundice. Fine! This time, we though maybe it is FOC in gov clinic, so we gave it a try. After blood is taken, nurses asked my hub to send the blood to "makmal". My hub waited for 30mins at least , NOT WAIT for result.. but WAIT for that lab assistant to finish "Yam Char" aka "breakfast". And yes! 1 makmal 1 assistant only. CIALAK. Then my hubby got back the result in <1 min after passed the blood to him.. <1 MINUTE!! And the result came out to be 15.0 tepat tepat!! The nurse wrote me a letter and asked us to admit YiJing to General Hospital. We did not object, we just wanna get out of the place ASAP! Negative confident! My hubby immediately said go to private hospital to check again, just to ensure YiJing is not 15.0. So, we went back, and the result came out 30mins later, and showing only 12.5!! So , u tell me how to let them handle my precious if they do things like tidak apa! Though the service and hospitalization fee are free, but how to be confident with them if the diagnostic procedure is so terribly lousy? AIYO!

After 2oz of breast milk.. she now sioK siOk in her dreamy land.. hehehe .. :)

Confinement Food

My CL (Confinement Lady) is one fine cook. She has a lot varieties in mind and all are yummy-delicious dishes. SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE!!

I will sure gain a lot during my confinement.. this is for sure.. :)

Today's breakfast: MiHun Pork Soup with Fried Shallots

Today's Lunch:

Green Sawi with fried garlic

Turmeric Chicken

Pig Stomach Soup - One of my favourite soup

Yesterday's Lunch:

Mixed Veggies with Char Siew

Chicken Wine Soup - I don't particularly like wine.. but somehow i love this dish today. I drank all the soup.. and it boost my milk supply a lot.. :D

The Chinese pregnancy & confinement cookbook

4th Day

CL (confinement lady) bathing YiJing

Refreshed after bathing.. now eyes terbeliak.. can't sleep..

Face exactly like daddy.. hehehe.. Size as well.. :P

My Princess YiJing is borned!!

Finally my second baby girl is borned!! Yeah! She is a big and healthy bb , weighing at 3.76kg aka 8.3pounds. Never expected my bb is gonna this big size. Doc din really hint me as well.. though the scanner did told me her weigh 1 week before delivery was 3.5kg. From doctor manual examination, he assured me she is gonna be 3.3kg only. Many tau, all also wrong..

My actual DD is 17th Nov but on the 6th Nov, i went for check up and doc told me that my cervix is already opened 2cm and bb position is OK. So doc told me it is anytime. Must induce within 48hours else bacteria might enter in and harm the bb. So he schedule me to induce latest by 8th Nov. In unprepared situation, i got to plan my delivery, since my in law told us 8th Nov is not a good day, so we decided to have it done on 7th Nov. On the 6th, I quickly went back to office to pack my notebook and other stuff, so that i can work from home while i'm away. Get ready all YiWen's stuff so that in law and my hubby can take care of her while i'm away. Of coz , also my hospital bag, stemlife bag and so on.. really a mess.. hahaha.. coz it happened so much earlier.. very unexpected, u know what i mean?

On the 7th Nov, once settled down YiWen, myself and hubby quickly report to the delivery suite. It was very very quite and dark inside the suite.. with only 2 nurses standby. From my previous experience, usually this suite is packed with mommies, nurses walked around busy with patients and monitoring equipments, few doctors rushing between delivery rooms. But today, just feel very awkward. Well.. don't care la.. i told nurse in the suite i'm here for induce .. but nurse told me no induction to be done on Sunday unless emergency. UH?!!! Then why doc asked me to come anytime.. ISKS! Nurse called my doc and he agreed to do it for me on his rest day... felt so relief.. so this suite is only for me and not shared by any mommies.. so special. Kekeke!

I was then induce at 2:30pm.. then by 3:30pm, my cervix has opened up to 10cm already.. doc is with me standby.. but somehow my contraction after contraction is very far apart.. about 2.5mins. Each pain, i'm required to push.. and the whole session last till 4:22pm. It is horrible to push.. initially thought doc will help me by vacuum .. but he said i can do it by myself.. AIYO! Somemore, without knowing that i'm pushing a big bb out! Sakit tak terhingga ooo! Once bb is out.. i was already too blur to know what is going on ... i only hear nurses said.. "wah! big bb ooo!!" Wah , so big ooo the placenta... ! When i wore my spec back.. the floor are stained with fresh blood.. some more a pool of blood by the placenta tray.. wah! I asked my hubby.. "so much blood ar?" Doc said "big bb mah.. now got to stitch back your part.. too big already." And the stitching like took forever to be done.. PAIN like hell!!

So glad that all is over.. and relief to know my bb is super healthy.. mommy has no complication too, except loss of excessive blood which i need to "bou" back during my confinement period.. :)

Some photos of YiJing to share with you.. :)

Long Bean Rice and Chan Choy Soup

I learned this dish from my MIL. Some ppl say it is Hokkien dish, so I asked my mom (since she is Hokkien) whether she is know or not, she said never heard about it. *slap forehead*. Instead, my MIL who is non-hokkien is the one who introduce it to me. Hehehe..

This is a very nutritious and yummy dish. If you lazy to cook for 3 dishes meal, you can try this recipe. I change the recipe a bit to suit my taste.. :)

Long Bean Rice ( cooked in rice cooker)

Ingredients:

Long Beans (cut into 2" length)

Chinese Sausages

Minced Pork Meat

Dried Cuttle Fish (shredded type)

Dried Shrimp (soaked)

Garlic

Shallots

Seasonings:

Light soya sauce

Black soya sauce

Pepper

Lea & Perrins Sauce

Water

Cooking Steps:

1) Heat oil in wok. Add in garlic, shallot, dried shrimps and shredded cuttlefish. Stir fried for a minute.

2)Then add in minced pork and chinese sausage. Mixed well and stir fry until fragrant.

3) Add in long bean and all the seasonings, mixed well and stir fried for 3minutes. Done.

4) Prepare and wash the uncooked rice. Put it into the rice cooker.

5) Transfer all ingredients into rice cooker and add water till it covers rice completely just like how u usually cook rice.

6) Turn on the rice cooker and wait for it to cook automatically.

ENJOY!!

Lately I been boiling lot of vegetable soup for my family. Last 2 weekends, i boiled Goji Leaves Soup and Amaranth Soup. To me, i feel it is easier to feed my daughter vegetable this way. She loves to drink soup.. and she will eat those green vegetables as well. This time, instead of putting chicken egg, i put in salted egg. It actually taste a lot better.. :)

Chan Choy Salted Egg Soup

Ingredients:

Chan choy leaves

Pork Ball

1 Salted Egg (get rid of the dirt and wash it)

Anchovies

Ginger - 4 small slices

Water

Seasonings:

Salt

Pepper

Cooking methods:

1) Boil water in the pot. Add in anchovies and ginger once water is boiled. Turn the heat to lowest and simmer for 30 minutes.

2) After 30 minutes, scope up all the anchovies and ginger

3) Turn back into high heat and put in pork ball and chan choy and boil for 2-3 minutes.

4) Break and add in the salted egg into the pot and quickly stir it.

5) Finally add, salt and pepper to taste. Done.

My daughter, YiWen loves the rice and soup. You know what, those food that she loves, no need adult feeding. She will sit obediently and eat on her own. Glad she had a good lunch that day. :)