Monday was a bank holiday and it was also the last holiday of the year till Christmas. We took advantage of the long weekend by spending our holidays at Cornwall. At first, it sounded like a bad idea as it was a quite a drive and possibly massive queues but it all turned out so well. No doubt there was a short queue due to a vehicle breakdown but it didn’t spoil the journey.
As soon as we arrived at the first fishing village called Polperro, we knew that we made the right choice of destination. With the perfect sunny weather, fresh air, tasty cream tea and fabulous food as well as comfortable accommodation at a golf resort, we had a real smashing time at this magnificent peninsular. A place where you can get the best of both worlds; picturesque landscape as well as breathtaking seaside view.

Lands End which is UK’s most southerly point with its astonishing cliff is definitely a recommended stop. The other unique location is Minack Theater, an open-air theater by the seaside which was the brainchild of Ms Rowena Cade in the 1930s. There was a rehearsal in progress while we were there, could be the play The Tempest in conjunction with the theater’s 75^th anniversary celebration.

I’ve decided to post the photos on facebook, the latest social utility craze as I’m starting to get the hang of it.

My third week at work and I’m finally feeling on top of things. Feeling much more comfortable and confident. Yesterday, I had never felt more satisfied when I got around to finish off some issues and the thought of my little baby at home. Before I had Cameron, I never felt happier whenever I managed to complete any jobs. It was just another ordinary achievement. However, Cameron completes everything. I felt so contented looking after him during my maternity leave when career was out of my mind for a little while. And right now, I feel happy that he’s around to complement my accomplishment at work. Him or family no doubt takes precedence over career at present or career/job has become a small part in life. Perhaps every parent thinks the same way or am I  just overly emotional as he’s my first?

Whatever it is, I’m still excited that I’ve personally discovered this new sentiment and I very much believe that I will feel the same way for his future sibling. Seeing him grow so quickly by the day tells both Eng and I that we need to be more discipline and efficient in managing the family to be able to grow alongside with him. I never thought that a baby could develop so much in 7 months – from a tiny softy sleepy infant who only fed on breast milk and needed to be carried all the time into a toddler who is now able to roll, sit and throw his hands and feet all over the place as well as feed on solids! Btw, he loves babbling ‘pau pau pau pau’ repeatedly and it makes me burst with laughter. I can’t imagine having to miss all these milestones if he was cared and lived with either our parents.  It’s already so hard not seeing him for 10 hours while I’m at work.

Anyway, at the end of the day, I’m still pleased that we are able to witness and immensely influence his development with minimal supervision from our family although it’s tiring without additional assistance. But it can’t get any better than to be in total control of your own kid, if you know what I mean? *grin So my advise is try to spend as much time as possible with your little one from the very first day he/she was born as it will never be the same again once he/she grows. I’m so pathetic as whenever I see a mum with a newborn, I would always recall when Cameron was like that although I’ve got him in front of me!

Cameron has been good with the bottle. It has to be MAM though and after making an adhoc comparison with the price of the bottle in KL, seems like it’s a little cheaper here. I’ve also reduced the BF sessions to twice per day – morning and night. During the first 2 weeks at work, I had to express during the day. Subsequently, my body automatically got adjusted to the demand and supply and I could get away without expressing. How amazing is God’s creation! Furthermore, breast milk does not fill Cameron up anymore since he’s already 28 weeks old.

However, the story of our broken nights has yet to end. For some reason, he still wakes up multiple times at night; sometimes for feeds and sometimes for comfort. I still think the reason is feed. Still trying to figure out the correct timing and quantity to give him before bed time. The problem is he can’t drink plenty at once (max 5 oz) and he can’t stay awake very much after 8. So night feeds are inevitable for now.

As for other food besides formula, he has started on solids. We’ve been feeding him baby rice, broccoli, butternut squash, pear, apple, blueberry, avocado, carrots and parsnip. Mostly organic, so his food is definitely pricier than ours! Also, he loves sucking the juice of a whole nectarine. Well he seems to eat anything, so I’m not complaining.

It was the hottest day this summer, temperature increased to a record high 32 last Sunday. Perfect day for a picnic and off we went to Hyde Park at London. Girls were clad in bikinis sunbathing on the park. Should have taken some photos but sorry guys :p

We had a lovely home prepared meal – turkey breast wraps, grapefruit juice, potato salad, nectarines and scrumptious sticky toffee pudding. Cameron was distracted with the surrounding (must be the girls), so he refused to drink any milk. But I’m sure he had a wonderful time relaxing with us on the grass.

We went to Europe’s largest shopping mall, Bluewater, in Kent 2 weeks ago.  I think it has 300 over individual retailers, super huge and much more varieties than 1 Utama. Their nursing facilities are superb. However, I believe they could do better with more selections of restaurants. There were only 2 oriental outlets and the menus didn’t look good. We opted for Spanish instead. Cameron’s face was filled with amazement when he saw the toys at Disney’s.

http://www.bluewater.co.uk/

It has been a week since I went back to work. A week since my long ‘holidays’ ended. As soon as I’ve returned, I received the news about maternity leave being extended to 9 months for birth after April 2007. Darn!
Anyway, I miss baby-sitting Cameron full-time. Miss being a full-time mum as I’m enjoying motherhood so much. Honestly, I miss those first few weeks of his life. People think I’m lunatic as those were supposed to be the worst moment of all due to sleep and rest deprivation. Some said that once the baby is 6 months old, it would be a lot easier. I don’t think so since Cameron is still not sleeping through the night. Since it doesn’t make any difference to me, I’ve concluded that those first few weeks meant so much more. I do admire the beauty of the arrival of a little human into our lives. It’s like being in a whole new world with a whole new beginning. It’s like a second chance. Looking at his angelic face in his peaceful sleep and the contented smiles after feed were simply invaluable. As a result, Eng and I came to a common consensus that the first 4 months were the best time before he turned into a little monster.
Now the story gets cheesy. Why little monster? That’s because he loves to scream especially when we are having our dinner. He just drives Eng up the wall. We reprimand him but obviously he doesn’t bother. We haven’t really figure out what to do but we will be getting a high-chair this weekend. With it, he can have his snacks and toys while we eat and hopefully that would work.

Still feeling sorry for being a distant from Cameron while I’m at work and not being able to nurture him personally. Then, why back to work? Well, we are probably used to double income and with the money that my parents had invested in my tertiary education; I feel bad for ditching a career.  Old-fashioned thought eh?  Also, it’s due to never ending commitments here and back home. Furthermore, continuous employment is like an insurance for the future. But is it fair to my baby? No doubt it isn’t but we are doing all we can to give him the best attention that we could possibly give. Parenthood means a lot of worthwhile sacrifices. While we are at work during the day, the rest of the time are dedicated and reserved for Cameron. That’s what I mean by owning 2 jobs. Now I’m experiencing the tough ride of raising a kid even before he starts to crawl. Can’t imagine the challenges ahead.

How our lifestyle has changed since 29^th January 2007.

1.       Limited evening events as Cameron needs to wind down by 8pm. Definitely retired from clubbing :p

2.       After 8pm, the noise in the house has to be at the minimum level. We even have to be wary with our footsteps, tiptoe is best; as our wooden flooring is quite creaky.

3.       Shopping list priority goes to baby accessories and baby clothes. There goes all the expenses….

4.       More focused and disciplined in meeting timelines ie. definite hard stop at work by 6pm as need to be home to attend to Cameron’s needs.

5.       Outings are like moving the whole house into the car – baby stuffs.

6.       Possess 2 jobs; 1 office job during the day with pay and 1 baby-sitting job throughout the night and weekend without pay.

7.       Multi tasking skill becomes the most essential and sought after expertise ie. the need to be able to cook and pacify a crying baby at the same time as well as the ability to enjoy meals and attend to an energetic baby simultaneously.

8.       Increased speed in completing tasks eg. Shower, dressing up and meal time cut down by half.

9.       Controlled vocabulary - Eng is forbidden from vulgar language.

10.   3 hours of uninterrupted sleep a day is considered a blessing.

…and one word to describe our life; ‘EXHAUSTING’….I can print more comments but when I look back, they all equate to a newfound happiness; parenthood that we really enjoy and appreciate. A personal experience and journey that is priceless and irreplaceable. So, can’t be complaining all the time…