The Swine & the Bull

Somehow the recent outbreak is worrying me. I wasn't even too concerned about SARS then. Then, it was just me. I couldn't care if I were dead. I still remember having been sent to CDC after my trip back from Vietnam and following that given a whole week's MC to be on a safe side. Bliss!

Now, there's the little one. After that tiring week at the hospital, I know that it is not something anyone would want again. I think I will play it safe. For the time being, no more outings to air conditioned, crowded places. No traveling (ain't I glad the cruise is over). If it was upcoming, I may have just asked for a postponement or even a cancellation.

Alarm bells started ringing this morning when Ah Ma said baby girl's forehead was warm. My heart skipped a beat & took her temperature. It was normal, but told Ah Ma to continue to monitor the whole day.

Some thoughts, will the bull return after this pandemic dies out? Think back 98 Asian Economic crisis, followed by SARS and what followed thereafter.....

Dress of the Moment

Joanne Peh wore this Hermès outfit last night. I fell in love with it at 1st sight. If I were preparing for my wedding, I'll want this for my evening gown.

my 1st holiday with Jilliane

This was a much needed break. Haven't been out of Singapore since Hokkaido, as after which, I found out I was pregnant & paranoia Dw didn't allow me to go on a trip. I'm glad I did it, perhaps I had low expectations, that was why this cruise turned out good. Well, granted, we all didn't get our passports stamped but at least it was out of mainland. A small achievement..

I highly recommend mothers with difficult babies like mine to try a cruise 1st. Like what Chin Yin told me, it's afterall a confined environment. If baby poos, just run back to the cabin. If baby cries, just run back to the cabin too. Jilliane did poo ALOT during this trip but I reckon this was due to many 1st foods she attempted on this cruise. She had her 1st tastes of beef, pumpkin, sweet corn, kiwi & mango. Luckily for her (& us as well), no allergy. It was a brave decision on my part as I usually introduce 1 food to her at a time for at least 3 consecutive days. A nice little cot & a new clean baby bathtub awaited our entry into our cabin. The latter was a pleasant surprise as we were all prepared to have Jilliane sit on the shower floor for her bath.

Jilliane was pretty well behaved throughout this cruise & I must say I am very proud of her. She slept well, allowed mommy to sneak out to the casino for her blackjack fix. She watched a little of the performance & about 20 mins later, figured it was too profound for her & decided to sleep, amidst the loud music! Poor baby though, fell from the steps because her overly ambitious parents were trying to take a glam shot of her. Hit her head & bawled.. lots of TLC from us after.

Some peeves though were that unlike taking the plane, there was no privileged boarding & disembarkation for babies and we were all squashed with the crowds. Moreover, the whole ship was not smoke free. It was difficult to have a meal and enjoy the seabreeze at the same time without having someone pop by for a fag. Needless to say, I have written in my comments and hopefully some changes will be made.

We're ready for a flight now!

Sleeping styles

9pm
12am

3am
5am

8am

Jilliane at 7 months

Managed to escape for a while from all the cleaning & unpacking last Monday.. brought baby girl for her 3rd prevar jab. Next one is when she's 12 months - the dreaded MMR. I kept asking Dr Cheng if that jab really won't cause autism, think I almost drove him nuts. Well, he said no & all his 3 kids have survived this stage well & good. Worse comes to worse, if I were that worried, I can always have hers done a couple of months after she turns 1.

Somehow, I managed to convince Dw that being a new environment & all, Jilliane will most likely not be able to sleep by herself in her own room. So he relented & she's been sleeping in between us for an entire week. We soon realised that it's not a good idea afterall as she rotates 180 degrees & practises her karate chops in the middle of the night and whilst Dw got relegated to the bottom right corner of the bed, mummy was pushed all the way to the side. It's difficult for us to get a photo of this since none of us wants to get out of the bed to fetch the camera but if we ever do one day, it'll be a good laugh for everyone.