Fun at the Gym

Joined Gymboree a couple of months back. Main purpose is to give Aidan a chance to socialise wtih other friends and have some fun. Mommy isn't much fun to play with. Actually, Mommy also gets to socialise with the other Mommies hehe. So far, both are having fun :)

Aidan and his little friends, Anri (left) and Ryo(right).

Little Aidan and Grace in the boat. Check out Mr Drooley's long spidery drool.

Oiishi sushi

I never thought I would have good sushi in Singapore. Ok, this thought occured after I tasted the good stuff at the world's largest fish market, Tsukiji market in Tokyo last year. We went to Shiraishi, Ritz Carlton Singapore on our anniversary this year but it's only alright. But we finally had some really good quality sushi today at Sushi Yoshida.

Both of us are HUGE fans of raw fish. Had wanted to go there for the longest time. DH had suggested this place but then I went to do my braces and couldn't eat well for some time. Then soon after, I got pregnant and refused to risk my baby by eating raw fish. But I went to tokyo when I was pregnant and thought if there is one safe place in the world to eat raw fish, it has to be Tsukiji market. And there, I went to heaven. But that story is for another time.

So today, we had the set lunch. Very worth it. Only $38, comes with appetizer, soup and fruit.

Our appetizer. Half boiled egg with some sauce and garnish.

Both of us ordered the sushi moraiwase (sushi platter). On it are 8 different kinds of raw seafood, 2 slices of egg omelette and 3 small sushi rolls. I just realised what a bad picture I took because the Chutoro (tuna belly) was partially hidden! :(

Of course we had to order the Otoro (premium fatty tuna belly). This cost $17 per piece! But it's worth it! It comes very close, almost like the ones we had in Tsukiji. Buttery, melts in your mouth goodness...mmm....mmm.

Our sake, which wasn't very good. Not as good as the one we had at Shiraishi.

It's now on the top of our must go again list :)

Au Petit Salut revisited

Daddy has come back for a week before he takes off again so I finally have some time to catch up on my blogging. Although this isn't a food blog, my next two posts will be on food.

Yes, we went back to Au Petit Salut because the quality of the food is really good and value for money. This time, we brought Aunty Elaine with us. It's my second time and yet I still enjoyed every single item we ordered. Some pictures for you. (Some dishes were repeated so I didn't take pictures of those.)

“Vitello Tonato” thin slices of roasted veal with light tuna sauce, rocket salad

Our special mocktail

Oven baked seabass fillet with ratatouille and tomato coulis (Seabass hidden under the pile of greens. Even tho' I'm not a big fan of cooked fish, I swear this is tasty!)

Pan-seared “Onglet” beef served with confit shallots and French fries (You'll love this if you love steak. I must have this the next time we go.)

Fresh fruit salad infused with mint served with lemon verbena sorbet (this taste as sweet as it looks)

Mini gingerbread filled with apricot jam and served with cinnamon ice cream (ok, the gingerbread is kinda too strong for my liking and too sweet. Couldn't finish the whole thing. It's too rich)

“Petit Pot” dark chocolate ganache 70% with whipped cream and chocolate shavings (I lost count of how many times Elaine said "mmm...this is soo good, mmm" as she slowly polished it off.)

The happy diners :)

Missing Daddy

Daddy come home soon. We miss you. Mommy is afraid she can't cope without you especially now I'm so active and sometimes very naughty. Without you around, she has to be with me 24/7 so it's very tiring for her. Have a good flight, take care and see you soon!

One sick family

Daddy, Mommy and Aidan are all sick :(

Creamy goodness

Imagine thick creamy potato soup but with cod added. What I did was using my previously pureed potato, heated, I added some formula milk, some rice cereal and the newly steamed and pureed cod fish in it. The result is Cream of Potato and Cod with Broccoli puree on the side. Really yummy and Aidan finished it all in no time. With a little creativity, his meal times get more interesting.


This was for our dinner. Ginger and Sesame Chicken with Shitake Mushrooms and a dash of DOM. Typical confinement food but oddly, I don't recall having this during my confinement. Don't think this was on the menu of my confinement catering company and even if it was, it must've tasted yucky. Now, THIS is delicious hehehe...of course it is, since I cooked it.

Tug-O-War

This is what we do on a daily basis. He's so strong and determined to get his way that I have to grab his body to stop him. I can't put him on my bed anymore. I wonder what's the fascination with edges that he'll instantly pull himself there and try to leap off. So we tug. It doesn't look like it required any effort on my part but the fact is I often have to struggle to hold him in place.

Trials of breastfeeding

Although I stopped breastfeeding Aidan at around 6 months, I want to blog about it to serve as a reminder to the intial utter horrific but later most fulfilling experience.

Most women tend to fret about labour pain but my major concern had always been pain from breastfeeding. Elaine would tell you that this had been my fear since many many years ago. Out of shyness. I shall not disclose the reason for this fear. I'd suspected, that this was going to be an extremely painful process for me. Indeed it was, and more painful than I could ever imagine.

It's really amazing how a tiny baby could so instinctively and efficiently chomp chomp right away while being totally oblivious to your pain. By the end of the first day, the staff nurse was shocked at the extent of my sore nipples. She couldn't figure out why it was this bad as Aidan was latching on well and you're not supposed to get very sore if the baby is properly latched on.

On the second day, he drew blood. I didn't know till I saw blood spots on his tiny baby vest and around his tiny mouth. I was advised to air my nipples, might as well as I couldn't bear to put on my bra anyway. It was too painful. Any contact was painful, so I went shirtless as well. The staff nurse commented that most people by then, would have given up. Thinking back, I had no idea how I endured it all.

My breasts were swollen and nipples were the size of my thumb. It never stopped feeling tender, sore and painful. For two weeks, I was walking around the house topless. It's not a pretty sight, I looked and felt mutilated especially since I was also recovering from C-sect. This is really bad because during confinement, we're supposed to keep very warm and not get exposed to any wind. Hence, during the first month, I caught the chill, shivered non stop for 5 hours and had high fever twice. I don't think my body has recovered since. I still get aches and 'wind' in my body.

There was never a problem with latching on. Aidan was a natural at it and could not have enough. This was made a lot worse by my milk not coming in till the end of the first week. I felt really stressed out and so useless. By then he was already drinking 90ml. After that, my milk came in slowly and I could never keep up with his pace. As such, we had to supplement him with formula. This was a really long and tedious process. With many books written about nipple confusion, we had used a cup for fear that he wouldn't reject my slow flowing nipple. So each feed took about 1.5hours and in another 1.5 hours, we would start the whole process all over. Muliply that by 7 times a day. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life. (we finally gave him the bottle around 2 weeks) There was no day and night. Weekends meant nothing. You don't see any way out or an end to the cycle. I had at most 4 hours of fragmented sleep a day for the first week. By the end of the first month, my total fragmented sleep was, at best, 6 hours a day.

Somehow, by the end of the second week, my nipples were toughened up. It gradually became less painful and sore and eventually, it even began to look normal. However, I think I truly got the hang of breastfeeding only after the 6th week and slowly I began to enjoy the process.

I don't know how to describe the feeling. It must be the most amazing and awesome feeling that you're giving this little helpless being, food made from your body. You're nourishing this tiny being and giving him the best nourishment possible. You're making and seeing him grow stronger everyday by drinking the best that you can possibly give him that is breastmilk. Seeing him suckle happily and filling his little tummy gave me the greatest sense of achievement. All the pain had been worthwhile.

I felt sad when I made the decision to stop breastfeeding. It's like everything that I had endured for, came to an end. What a waste. I still miss being pregnant very much. A baby was inside of me, it was a part of me. With the end of breastfeeding, it's like the final intimate connection with my little precious one was broken forever.