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!