My dear baby, I LOVE YOU!

Apr 12th, it is a very special day to Mummy Chan and baby Renzo. I found myself a new job, and started working on the 12th, which is the day my dearest Renzo boy turned 8 months old.

I am proud enough to announce to the world that I've been staying at home and looking after my precious boy (of course with the help of Aye Aye) for exactly 8 months. Isn't that awesome? At least I think so! Because most of the mummies only have about 2-4 months with their newborn, before they have to return back to work. But we are just lucky that I can stay right in front of my computer at home for another 4 more months (after my official 4 months maternity leave), cook every dinner for the family and prepare every meal for Renzo, at the same time get my pay cheque of same amount every month.

But such a wonderful situation can't last forever. I need to work not just because we need a better income (which is also for the benefits of Renzo - see how many pieces of clothes I got here for him at one go, LOL), but also because I do not like the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the world. In the past I did considered about being a SAHM (stay at home mother), and in fact my "work from home" routine pretty much gave me a clear idea about the life of SAHM. I enjoyed it, really! Being able to see Renzo's smile first thing in the morning, get most fresh fruits, fish and chicken meat for him at wet market, and laugh together with him at all times are something a FTWM (full time working mother) could never ever afford. But, I have to put a full stop to all these from Apr 12th onwards, and get myself adjusted to a standard 9-6 job routine quickly.

I do not really have much time to think about him at work, but on my way home, my mind is full of questions about whether he eats well, sleeps well and plays well at home. Recently I can feel a huge change in him. He is not excited anymore when he sees me at night, instead his eyes follow Aye Aye wherever she goes. Although I still bathe him, and feed him at night and in the early morning, when I talk to him, he seems to be in his own world and simply ignores the existence of his mother. Somehow I have this strong feeling that he is angry with me, because I am not embracing him with my warm arms after his every morning wakeup nowadays. That really really breaks my heart, even though I jolly well knew that this will be the consequence of me returning back to working world from the moment I accepted the job offer. I hope the situation could change but I do not think there's really much I could do about it. So no matter how tired I am, I will ensure to spend every minute of my time with Renzo during weekends.

I love you my dear son, I really really do!

Toys-R-Renzo's

For those of you following this blog, you would have come to know that Felicia has started to turn to online shopping to satisfy her shopping craves (lol... just joking, but she is beginning to appreciate the joy and convenience of online shopping...). This blog post is dedicated to the shiny new toys (on top of the eon supply of baby clothes that were also bought online by you-guess-who) that Renzo has now, though he hasn't shown interest in ALL of his toys yet, some does keep his little baby eyes trailing as we play with him. So without further ado, let's introduce the them to you blog readers~

1) Parklon Bumper Playmat (Winnie the Pooh Flower Hill)
This is a wonderful double sided mat that measures an astounding 125cm x 185cm x 1.2cm (slightly bigger than a single bed). It is comfy and the strong colours attracts attention of baby Renzo. According to forumers from Feli's research, many babies learn to flip over onto their bellies just so that they can see Winnie and his friends and will try to grab them with their little hands...
P.S. All the spelling on the mat is correct except for the word 'HUNNY' on his honeypot that this Pooh Bear has yet to correct since his debut appearance in 1926... 83 years ago... -__-'

2) Old MacDonald's Farm - A Counting Book (Pop Up Book)
This is a simple cloth book with lots of folding and movable parts to encourage babies and toddlers to learn to count by lifting the flaps and exploring . Renzo hasn't really found his liking for this book yet but considering Renzo hasn't really reached the age to appreciate this book yet, I guess we might have to shelf this till later...

3) Hand Puppet Book (x4)
My personal fave~! Educational books doubled as hand puppets. Though out of the 4 farm animals that comes in this package, only the yellow duckling is normal. We have a pig with a blue nose, a purple cow and a rocker horse with bangs that belong to Heavy Metal junkies. But the discrepancies aside, these hand puppet books are great of Renzo as we can interact with him while reading to him.

4) My First Mother Goose Rhymes Cloth Book
This I haven't really picked up this book yet as I've been preoccupied with those above.. LoL~ But by looks of it, this book ain't as interesting as those above. Its interactivity is limited to a bell that rings when you shake the book. Consisting of basic nusery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty and Hickory Dickory Dock, this book should be more useful later on.

5) Baby Swimming Pool
Second biggest purchase of the bulk (First being the Parklon Playmat), this baby swimming pool that we bought off the blogsite of the sole distributor in Singapore was one that was highly recommended on numerous sources such as MotherCare Magazine. So on the fateful day when we received it, we were eager to fill it up to let Renzo have a feel of swimming, all in the comforts of home, but due to my work schedule, we had to push back the idea a few day. And when we finally did, we realised that the preparation was no joke. Almost 20 minutes of running water + a potful of boiling water (just to keep the temperature comfy, just like bath time water temp). Carefully, I climbed into the pool and settled in to receive Renzo from inside the pool but guess what, as soon as Renzo's little butt touches the water... He started crying and screaming his lungs off. Guess swimming ain't his forte... that or he might be claustrophobic.

So the total damage done to Renzo funds for the above purchases?
Approx S$330... and to think he is just 3½ months now... many many many years more of toy shopping to go~

Daddy Chan and the Great Ikea Workout

During my army days, I was physically at my peak... 50 sit-ups in 60 seconds, effortless 12 chinups, shuttle run in less than 9 seconds, 2.4K in under 9 minutes (at one point), and though my standing board jump sucked, it was good enough for me to get a Gold and a healthy injection of funds from the incentives..=P

But since ORD, my usual daily fitness routine includes frantic clicking the mouse and lightning accuracy with my keyboard strokes, and a WHOLE FULL CRUNCH (½ when I get out of bed in the morning, ½ when I get in bed at night). But today... Just for Renzo... I did more physical activities in a day than I did in ages. All in the form of fitting together the famous DIY furniture from IKEA.

As you readers would have known by now, we have gotten quite a bit of clothes and baby items for Renzo already, and it was time we got a proper storage area for him. And me being the Ikea loyal customer, unhesitantly agreed to Feli's idea of getting it from them. This simple shopping trip down to Ikea Tampines burnt a whopping $593 damage to our stash (inclusive of delivery), but at least they promised to get it delivered to us on Monday...

So came Monday, another usual day at work for me, but the day after work... mehhh... was nothing short of usual. I was greeted by the 2 flat packs in Renzo's room upon my return around 6:30PM, and almost immediately I got to work (hardworking eh? =P)

1 of the pack was for a chest of 3 drawers and the other was for a wardrobe... Seemingly the simpler task of the 2, I started off with the drawers. After opening the package, I began to realise that it was not as simple as I thought it would be. But nothing that Daddy Chan can't handle...=P


The fun thing about putting together a piece of Ikea furniture is that it kinda brings back my childhood memories, those good old days when I looked at a blueprint of a LEGO castle
and then following the colourful pictorial instructions step by step until the architecture is materialised before me. yeahh... Ikea furniture ain't too different, only the manual is printed on dull recycled paper with greyscale ink and the resultant masterpiece serves a much different purpose (surprisingly not much difference in price....=P ).


Completion of the drawers just brought the handyman blood in me running and I was ready to start on the second project... the nonsensically heavy wardrobe. Either I was too drained or flat pack furniture seemed to weigh
more, but either way, it took a great deal of effort to open this pack and lay the items across the room.. and man.. when laid out, the pieces covered more than 50% of my floor area... Haha.. and Feli was impressed how I laid out the little screws and wooden pieces before I began my work... It was my way of making sure that I do have the required number of each piece for the joints and also, for my convenience when I need to look for a particular piece later during my construction. As I explained it to her... in the back of my head, I imagined my cluttered table at my office, and I can't help but break into a silent laugh... =P

(Winson at work at HOME vs. Winson at work at OFFICE)

So after hours of screwing around... literally... I finally got it standing and moved it into position along with the drawers... Whee~... finally Renzo has his own furniture~! Feli wasted no time in packing all Renzo's babyware into the little blue furniture that has so many rounded edges that I seriously do think it'll be bringing smiles to Feli and me for a long time to come... ^_^

Relac no more~

Heading towards City Hall after our Gynae visit was just the beginning of our check-out-all-the-items-on-Renzo's-shopping-list day. But of course, how can we start the day without a proper breakfast (or brunch, judging from the time...=P)? So we derailed and took a left turn from Marina Square into Suntec, only to realise that a good % of singaporeans are in the damn building just for the PC show. I can never understand why people come to such shows to squeeze with another thousand others just to buy a thumbdrive or a rim of DVD-R (yes.. i know and heard of people who do just that). Anyway, pass the crowd and to Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao we went~

Brunch was good and perked us up for the shopping journey ahead. Though we did stop by Domanchi and bought 3 shirts and a pair of pants for your's truly, but we eventually did stop at Kiddy Palace where all the shopping spree started.

Thankfully, through a potent combination of GSS (that's Great Singapore Sale for you non-singaporeans) and Kiddy Palace Membership, the shopping did not burn too big a hole in the wallet. Let me just briefly go through the shopping done on this day...

- A set inclusive of an Electronic Breast Pump, Breast pads, pacifiers (which we didn't intend to get actually) and a baby carrier... for $279.

- Ear & Forehead Thermometer cum room temperature device... $96

- Various pieces of towel, nappies, mittens, bootees, fasteners, grooming items... $157.90

Quite a pleasurable shopping experience if you asked me. The Kiddy Palace staffs were friendly and helpful and really know their baby stuff. Ask them a question and you'll get a notebook full of answers..=P

Because one can only have so much carrying power, we decided to get these things first and continue our purchasing at Kiddy Palace Century Square the following day. Again, they had friendly staff and useful tips which is enough to make me trust them enough to come to them again if there's more baby items i need to grab.

Had to take a taxi back cos the tub and mattress were just too bulky for comfort. And immediately Feli did the calculations.. and looks like we managed to hit an all time low..=P... looks like we are still quite the relac parents afterall...haha

Just 80 days or so to go~

This month, we visited Dr Lim twice... Once early this month, and once more later, on 30th May... It is again an early morning trip down to Tanglin Shopping Centre, same time, same queue, same staff nurses, same parrot fish...

This visit was no different from the previous one, it being a 1 hour bus journey, a 30 minute wait... all for a 5 minute consultation. But in cases like these, no news is good news... And Dr Lim gave another assuring "The baby looks fine and I'm happy with what I see", after doing a routinal scan. I did ask if there was any change to the expected due date, and was told "There is only a 5% chance that the baby will be born on the expected due date, 85% about 1-2 weeks before that, and 10% about 1 week after"... Mehhhhh... there goes my hopes of sharing my birthdate with Renzo... although there IS still a slight chance that he may share it with Singapore (albeit prematurely though...).

Interestingly, week 28 - 36, the visits will become more regular, meaning we'll be heading down here every other week. So after we scheduled our next appointment with the staff, we made half of the payment for Feil's prenatal checkup package, and registered for the Thomson Hospital (we are opting for a Single Bedder so that I can be there with Feli all the time and Renzo can be with us too ~!... supposely for two bedder rooms, babies are brought to the parents at certain permitted times only). Out the clinic we went and off to some DeliFrance buffet breakfast (which Feli have been speaking off for almost a week now). And for the second time, we do not have any scans to upload... Maybe scans are only for before the full scan? *scratch head*

Anyway, we have been doing some Renzo shopping lately, bought some simple things like overalls, baby detergent (supposedly liquid detergent *may* cause skin irritation for infants) and a little clothes stand with little clothes hangers just for him~

Feli did a bit of washing and LOL... when I see those little clothes hanging out there drying in the Sun, that pleasant, warm, fuzzy feeling just overwhelms me... ^_^

Relac Parent * 2

Less than 100 days to seeing Renzo... Shopping list has been listed... Now we have to drill down to the details of the items... Right down to the sizes, brands and exact prices...

Felicia did a bit of market research earlier this week, and man... When she told me about the nitty gritty details, I was exposed to a whole new universe of terminologies and jargons. There was just so many things to buy and so many market brands, each seemingly better than the other.. CHOICES, Choices, choices...

Lets just take a baby thermometer for example... A Cadi Advanced Sensing Thermometer that conveniently takes ear and forehead temperatures and doubles as a Clock with room temperature reading at $90+ versus a standard baby thermometer that can be purchased off the net at a fractional $40. Both boosts the same "Extremely Accurate" and "Easy and Convenient to Use" features... oookay... So I guess the difference of $50 is in the table clock functionality then...=P... And then there are these milk bottle sterilizer kits. One with 8 hour indicated in bright green on the box, and the other with 24 hours, and according to the sales staff at Kiddy Palace, the difference is that the 24 hours sterilizer is one that you can simply place all the milk bottles in it to keep them sterilized round the clock, ready for use at anytime... while the other... well... just can't support 24 hour sterilization ( but when no reference to what the 8 hours means... -__-' )...

Hmm... Lets take a look at the items that considered to be Renzo's possession... A Capella stroller courtesy of my Bro and Da Sao... multiple sets of tops and matching bottoms from Feli's sis... More tops and bottoms from Feli's colleague... a bottle and babyfood warmer from another colleague of Feli's... and lastly, a useful $$ ang bao from my Manager (steady lah Lao Da~)...

Mehhh... No contribution from Win and/or Feli...At least not material contributions..=P

Looks like its time for Renzo's parents to start shopping for stuff for him... Lets start from Ikea~

Shopping List - Getting prepared...

After reading through plenty of useful tips online, here's the final shopping list I've created for Renzo, and myself of course(nothing much to buy for myself though..).. My sister Kelly striked off a lot of items immediately from my original list to help me save more $$..

Wondering how much will it cost to raise up a child???
This is just the BEGINNING!!!



Win was not shocked at the estimated total bill of $3000+ (well, as expected..) haha.. He just commented that the $4k baby bonus paid off throughout 1.5 years from government seems to be not that helpful then... Of course we never plan to touch that $4k as we want to use that for Renzo's medical expenses (kids get sick sometimes and hospital bills can be really huge..).. So parents-to-be, be PREPARED!!!

And this list does not include the following items:
Baby pram - we got a nice one at home sponsored by Win's brother, Wilson & his wife Lucretia, they brought down the pram to our place a few days before they went back to UAE (Wilson is working there currently..), and that is the very first gift Renzo has received so far..
Avent Sterilizer Set - My sis Kelly & her hubby xiaodong are going to buy this set for us. I'm spoilt by choices when comes to such kind of items, as there are just too many different brands in the market. Luckily Kelly always knows how and where to pick the best one..
Baby furnitures(wardrobe, drawers etc) - We have not started doing any renovation or decoration for Renzo's room, so all these things can come in at a much later stage..
Baby toys - Both of us strongly believe that Renzo does not need much toys besides a ball and maybe some lego bricks. We simply hate the idea of giving too many toys to kids, and rather invest the $$ on books and flash cards, which are more educational..

Now the next thing to do, sit back and relax, wait for Great Singapore Sale before we start our shopping spree!!