Universal Studio

We went to Universal Studio, Singapore (US) last Sun. US has been opened for awhile but cheapo mummy thinks that the $72 ticket is too expensive and didnt think about bringing Lil Shauna there until ah yee bought 2 tickets and got played out by her friends. Despite heavily preggy and with a sometimes uncooperative toddler, we are ah yee's last bet and we accepted ah yee's invitation. Actually, I was quite worried. I seriously have no idea how much I can sustain with my extra 10kgs. It is no joke trying to walk with the extra weight and had been praying that God gave me extraordinary strength. It will be worse if Lil Shauna is uncooperative and wants me to carry her. I tried to get Daddy Lim to come along but he mentioned on Sat that it would be difficult due to work commitment. My heart sank, but we went ahead.

By God's grace, just at US' entrance, Daddy Lim called to inform that he is able to leave the yard and can join us! Hooray! I was so glad. :)

The US is largely different from Disneyland (DL). The only DL that we visited is the one in HKG. DL is more children friendly and the mascots are more well known. In US, it is so difficult to spot mascots that Lil Shauna knows. We saw Frankenstein and Lil Shauna vigorously shakes her head when asked if she wanted a pix with him. Hohoho. This is the only character that we took pix with. Daddy Lim wanted so much to take a pix with Shrek but when we finally spotted him, he was knocking off for the day. -.o"

Then, it started to drizzle and rain. Ah yee checked the weather forecast and we came armed with raincoat and umbrellas. However, we never plan that Lil Shauna will refuse her pretty pink Hello Kitty raincoat after donning it for less than 10mins. She prefer to walk and carry an umbrella in the rain, which is way too heavy for her. So we can imagine how slowly we were travelling in the rain. -.o"

Despite the rain, US was very crowded as most of the tickets were bought in advance. US limit the no of tickets sold per day and visitors are encouraged to buy their tickets in advance. Only limited tickets are sold at the door daily. It is too expensive to forfeit the tickets due to a little rain. But also bcos of the rain, the weather was very cool. Otherwise, we probably would have been burnt under Singapore's typical hot sun.

The park is really pretty.


Daddy Lim and ah yee tried to take pix of Lil Shauna but she was so easily distracted by the surrounding and they ended up snapping pictures of the scenery instead. This is one of the decent family pix that ah yee managed to take for us.

And the father and daughter monkeying about.


The rides that Lil Shauna could take are really limited. She only took the merry-go-round, the flying dino, the ferris wheel, watched the water worlds show and the live donkey shows. She didnt really enjoy the shows. Luckily, children under 4 enter the US for free. So, we took the merry-go-round for 2x and the flying dino for 3x. Even Daddy Lim and ah yee took the merry-go-round to make their $72 worth.

For me, it is worse, except for the shows and the merry-go-round, all rides either forbids or advised preggy women not to take. Win liao lor. But despite the warning, I took the flying dino with Lil Shauna once. That was when she grew cranky and refused to take the rides with Pappy or ah yee. Cannot mah, must make our $$ worth, so mummy brave the odds and survived the ride.

The only common thing about US and DL is the queue. -_______-" Even though the no. of pax allowed into the park per day is limited, we still end up queuing for everything. Some of the really popular and slow rides require queuing of up to 30 mins! Faint.

By afternoon, the princess was tired and took a nap despite the noise and the people. Daddy Lim took a quick rest too while the princess naps. Hohoho. So unglam of him. ;p Ah yee chose to do some exciting rides while I relax one corner and play game on my iPhone. I needed the rest lah, no joke to be walking the whole day.


We went around for more kiddy rides, sightseeing and picture taking when the father and daughter were up and were in the park until 6pm. We had intended to stay on until the park closes by 7pm, but by 6pm, we were all tired, sticky and had explored most of what we wanted. Ah yee didnt take all the exciting rides in the park, the queues were simply too long for some and she has no kakis. Daddy Lim had to help me with the princess most the the time.

We left the park and had our dinner at one of the restuarants at Resort World before heading home. We were all hungry, including Lil Shauna. We had hope that the trip would leave Lil Shauna as tired as we were. In fact, Daddy Lim and I were dying. Hohoho. Although Lil Shauna was energetic, we managed to coax her to sleep at about 10pm and we too hit the pillows.

We old liao. We had to climb out of bed on Monday morning and were all complaining of fatigue. Hohoho. Well, at least we have been to the US. We proabbly wouldnt go again, expensive leh. Actually, most US and DL around the world cost about that price, but I just find it expensive bcos it is US, Singapore. I probably wouldnt bat an eyelid if we paid the same amount for US and DL in other countires. Hohoho, some weird mentality I have. ;p Most importantly, I survived the trip! I was so surprised that I wasnt as tired as I expected myself to be. :)

Mummy Lim

The Things She Says

Lil Shauna has been so clingy to ah mah during class now and had been making ah mah sits through the 2-hour class with her. Soon, ah mah will start to learn English words and songs. LOL. Ah mah is getting sick of the class and wanting to escape. While in the car yday, ah mah asked Lil Shauna.

AM: (in mandarin) Baobao, tomorrow you go school on your own, OK? AH mah stays outside of the class.
LS: No.
ML: Then ah mah go where?
LS: Ah mah cannot go outside of class. Ah mah go to in to class with me.
AM/ ML: .....

++++++++++++++++++++++++
We had been to the library several times and Lil Shauna love the board books that we get for her. She will flip the pages and describe what she sees in them. We had been busy recently and couldnt find time to go to the library to return the books and loan new ones. Each time she ask, it will be nearing the library's closing time and we have to tell her that the library is closed. Yday afternoon, she asked again.

LS: Mummy, I wnat to go library.
ML: No baby, we cannot go library today. We will ask Pappy to bring us to the library next week, OK?
LS: OK, library closed.
ML: ...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
We had been trying to remind Lil Shauna that Isaac is coming. And we call him "LeLe". I been telling her that Lele is in mummy's tummy, that there is a baby there. After awhile, she will too point to her tummy and tell us that there is a baby.

ML: Baobao, where is Lele?
LS: (lifting her shirt and patting her own tummy) Lele here.
ML: No, baobao, Lele in mummy's tummy (pointing to my big belly).
LS: No.
ML: Then what is in mummy's tummy?
LS: Baby.
ML: ... Ok, so mummy's tummy got baby and baobao's tummy got Lele.
LS: Yes, and baby too.
ML: ... OK, so mummy got 1 baby and baobao got 2 babies.
LS: Yes, 2 babies.

Classic, right?

Mummy Lim

A Good Start

It has been a week since we started sending Lil Shauna to Popo's place before we headed for work. This morning, Lil Shauna was awake by the time we reached Centris. While in the car waiting for Popo to come and fetch her, I told her that she is gg to Centris and Pappy and Mummy are going to work and we will come back to fetch her for kai kai after work. She nodded her head. I added that she cannot cry when Popo comes and fetch her, that she must wave bye bye to Pappy and Mummy and she can go and play with Fione jiejie while at Centris, she nodded again.

The last few days, I told her the same thing too and she too nodded in agreement but started crying for mummy when Popo took her over. So, my hopes arent high.

I carried her out of the car when Popo came and she willingly allowed Popo to carry her. :) I kissed her and wave goodbye at her and she waved back. No tears! Oorrrrhhhhhh... Our 1st success after a long week. :) Ah yee says that it is good for Lil Shauna to be able to bid us goodbye when we leave for work and not disappear while she's sleeping and for her to wake up to a house without Pappy and Mummy.

We hope she will revert back to her angelic self soon. The tantrums are reducing and so are the nightmares. We kept reminding her that Auntie M has gone home but there will be a new auntie coming soon. I hope the new maid wouldnt have such an adverse impact on Lil Shauna when she is here. For a start, I will try to make sure that the new maid spent minimum time with Lil Shauna until we are all comfortable with her. We are relying on faith that God will make things work, that His prefect timing will be apparent. Amen.

Mummy Lim

Gathering

The last gathering which took place on Sunday was finally at our place. Hohoho. But bcos our place is so uber far to the rest of the girls, the gathering started much later than usual. And they were all complaining about the distance upon arrival. My place is not that far what. ;p I tried making Lil Shauna napped before the guests arrived but failed miserably. The princess was monkeying and walking and playing in the room and was still awake when the girls arrived.

So, Lil Shauna ended up eating tidbits and whatever instead of napping and grew grouchy shortly. She was clingy and quiet and refused to play with J gorgor. The girls saw how difficult she was and experienced the 10cm crying sensor going off when mummy is too far away. -.o” Luckily, she took her nap a short while later and I had peace.

As usual, our gathering consists of lots of eating, chatting, catching up and watching the kids chase each other and fight over toys. Hohoho. Lil Shauna was still shy when we woke her up from her nap and wasn’t participative. I am always amazed at how independent and active Booboo is regardless of environment. At each gathering, she would walk, explore and entertain herself. I so wish that Lil Shauna would be as brave as Booboo. This time, she was no differeny and she walked around the house, not at all afraid and fighting for toy with J gorgor who is so much older and bigger than her. It was quite entertaining seeing her go “booboo… booboo… plllssss… booboo..”. Hehehe.

The girls left in the late afternoon, leaving only Daddy C, Mummy S and Booboo. We tabao dinner and had dinner at home. With less people and a good nap, Lil Shauna started to warm up and at one point, she was happily mingling with Booboo. I got this really priceless pix of them toileting together, but none successful. Hohoho.

M was still around then and I was so glad to have somebody clear up the mess after the gathering. There was no need to worry about spilled drinks or messy table. It was great to have somebody picked up after us. We left the house after dinner to take to catch some fireworks at Clarke Quay, some YOG celebration thingy.

Lil Shauna was pretty much cooperative during the drive and walk to Clarke Quay. Booboo loves to walk but the big jiejie asked to be “bao” constantly and refused the stroller. The fireworks were only a mere minute and very, very far away, which is also good. The last time we watched a magnificent display of firework at the HKG Disneyland, Lil Shauna was afraid and insisted that we took cover in the souvenir shop. This time, she enjoyed it better.

Lil Shauna refused to walk or sit in her stroller on the way back and I was so glad that she allowed Daddy Lim to carry her. It was a long walk and Daddy Lim had a good workout. Hohoho. Booboo was very friendly to Lil Shauna throughout despite the princess being aloof. She doesn’t want to hold Booboo’s hand and was uncomfortable when Booboo tried to big hug her. Only towards the very end was Lil Shauna able to reciprocate Booboo’s big hug and also kiss and frank kiss her. So cute. I hope they become good friends, just liek their mummies.

I always love gatherings. I hope for more.. at my place? Hehe.

Mummy Lim

Down Town East

The Company chalet at Down Town East (DTE) was available last weekend being the Ghost month. Hohoho. So cheapo me got a good deal. We didnt intend to stay overnight but just a great day of fun. There are many facilities to keep kids entertained at DTW.

Early last Sat morning, we (Popo, ah yee included) sent M to the agency for thumbprinting and had bfast at JE before taking the MRT to Pasir Ris. The train was crowded when we boarded and Lil Shauna refused to sit in the stroller or stand pn her own in the train. She wanted mummy to bao her and there was no kind soul looking out for preggy ladies and offering seat. Just barely a minute on the train, we have to ask a lady taking the "reserved" seat to give up the seat for me. She was visibly embarrassed. What to do, she abled body while I am preggy with a toddler and she's in the reserved seat. The ride to Pasir Ris was generally alright and Lil Shauna was managable.

We arrived at DTE at close to 11am and checked in. The chalet came with 6 complimentary passes to either Escape Theme Park, Wild Wild Wet (WWW) or KidsExplorer, which is a mega indoor playground area. Since Daddy Lim was only available to join in the afternoon, we decided to go to Escape 1st. Popo being almost a senior citizen, got in for free. Actually, she has 1+ year to go but the park was quite empty and the staff close one eye. Lil Shauna got in for free too and I am glad that they did cos the park was pretty run down.

Most of the exciting rides were down. Popo took none of the rides and all the rides discriminate against pregnant women including the Choo Choo Train that moves really slowly. So only ah yee is left to accompany the princess. She had great fun taking the limited rides despite the heat. Actually, God was gracious and gave us an overcast sky but no rain.


After taking all the possible rides in Escape, we had Popoye for lunch and attempted to make Lil Shauna nap so as to recharge her for the later half of the day. My bro's family joined us after lunch, just nice to wake Lil Shauna up from her nap. Daddy Lim came shortly too and we were geared to go to WWW.

It was really great fun at WWW. Bcos I joined them in the pools, we had no pix. There was this mega water playground with different slides and allowed adults and kids to slide at the same time. Most water playground do not allow adults. Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna went up and down the slides so many times. Then there is this river thingy and wave pool. We all had great fun. Daddy Lim, my bro and ah yee even got the chance to try some of the more exciting rides while the kids waddle thru' the kids' pool. We spent a good 3 hours in the pool and were all soaked like prune by the end of the 3 hours. If it is not bcos I am preggy, I think we will go back again soon. Hehehe.

We had dinner before heading back home. Lil Shauna was difficult during dinner time and on the way back home. She was grouchy and didnt want M to be in the car. She cried when she couldnt have her way and kena scolding from mummy. -____-" She was actually really tired and fell asleep on the way back and we had a peaceful drive.

We will go back again, but probably a while from now. Lil Isaac has to come out 1st. :)

Mummy Lim

No Good

Lil Shauna was very much well-bahaved yday with minimum tantrums. She still clinged to ah mah in school but was more participative and chatty. But she had a nightmare again last night at 2+am and was crying and screaming. She had a peaceful sleep the night before and we are not sure what triggered the nightmare.

In her dream, I probably angered her cos she shouted "no mummy" in the midst of her whinning and crying and kicking and whatever. It is as if she was in one of the tantrums and it is made worse that she's half awake. -.o" She refused to talk and doesnt tell us what she wants. She refused milk and thus took longer than usual to calm down. She fell back to sleep thereafter but cried again at 3+am. Haiz, we were all tired out. She didnt even wake up when we chnaged her and send her to Centris this morning until ah mah carried her. Daddy Lim complained the whole morning that he was tired and was yawning non-stop. I am at a loss too. I duno how to stop this nightmare thingy.

We haven decide on a maid. The IDN maid is out. She has no ppt and it will take as long as 6 weeks to get her ppt ready. We do not have that luxury of time. Of the 2 PHL maids that we shortlisted, one is no longer keen to come to work in Sgp and the other one was uncontactable. Strangely, the agent managed to contact and interview a PHL maid that was actually already out of my radar. In her CV, the job experience portion was left blank and the sgent found that she had worked as a housemaid 5 years ago and quitted after she conceived and she looks after her son. She is still keen to work in Sgp and is willing to go for no off days. We are not sure if God has opened a door for us. I prayed about it and felt Ok about it. We are praying that God will continue to open doors if this is the one. Most importantly, that He would bring the maid in asap despite the clamp on the exit of PHL maids. I will be calling the agent in the afternoon to confirm the maid.

We have become more lazy, just a mere 5 months with maid. M had done most of the major housework on her last day. Until the new maid is here, I do not think that anyone of us have the energy to attempt to sweep, mop, wipe or wash toilets. The only housework that we will do are probably laundry and dishes and trash. Now, I have to wash Lil Shauna's milk bottle, Daddy Lim's coffee cup, the butter spreader, etc after use. I missed those times that I can just leave them in the sink or dun make too big a fuss when Lil Shauna wipes her naughty hands on her shirt cos sombody else will do the laundry. Hohoho. But we will make do. It is indeed more tiring for all of us, especially my mum. I am trying my best to leave work at 6.30pm so as to help relieve my mum. I guessed it is important that the new maid comes in soon, so that we can all take a breather.

Mummy Lim

Maid Choosing

Yes, we are back at it. We sent M back to the agency last night. She was so quick in packing when I informed her, done in under 30 mins. She must be quite desperate to leave us. Hohoho. I am not sure what will they do to her. Maybe she wun go back home. They might find her a new employer, one without a toddler who rejects her so badly.

Lil Shauna appears better without M too. She still threw tantrums, but they were very much scaled down. She went to school but cling on dearly to ah mah until the end then was she a little warmed up. She had good fun playing with Fione and Felicia back at Centris. She was happy when we fetch her to send M back. She was largely cooperative and happy. She laughed alot while we played with her before bedtime and turned in at her usual bedtime. The best thing, she didnt have any nightmare and didnt wake up crying. I think she had nightmares for the past 3 nights, woke up crying and left us panda eye the next morning. It is thus tough not to draw connections between Lil Shauna's nasty behaviour with M. Anyway, it is over.

We sent Lil Shauna to ah mah's house early this morning. She was happy and smiley and nodded in agreement when I told her that she has to go ah mah's house, that she cannot cry and mummy will come back for her at the end of the day. But she still cried buckets when ah mah unplastered her from mummy. -.o" It is OK, we will continue to work on this.

So, back to the maid choosing affair. It is always tough. The agent sent me quite a few CVs yday afternoon but they are almostly too old, young, skinny, fat, no work experience, etc. For the past 2 times, I have never scrutinsed the potential maids' CVs, but I did this time. We shortlisted 2 PHL, both married with kids (not one of my criteria anymore) and both have experience working as housemaid while in PHL. I think this is important so that their expectations are right. I think M never expected it to be so tough to be a domestic helper. But the agent also informed that the PHL Govt is clamming down on the exit of PHL to be maids in Sgp and the new maid's arrival might take up to 3 to 4 weeks instead of the usual 2 weeks and there is no gurantee that the potential maid will make it to Sgp. -.o"

My mum is afraid. Of course the delay in the maid's arrival would mean the nearing of my EDD but I think she's already feeling the toll even when it is only Day 1. It is no joke trying to handle 3 kiddos, none angels at all. ;p My mum suggested for us to take IDN maids. It is proven that they are more hardworking, more tame BUT denser as well. And communication is a major problem. Most of them can handle only very basic English and most of them are Muslim. I cannot speak Malay (neither can my mum) and I stand firm that we do not want a helper of a different faith in the family. I hope that God will honor our decision.

We found ONE Christian IDN but fresh maid and could barely speak English. I spoke to her on the phone last night. It is too risky if we have a big communication problem and there is nobody to watch over the maid constantly. She wasnt in my consideration until this morning when an idea struck me. We could do with a IND maid, provided that there is somebody constantly watching over her. Although my mum was reluctant to come stay with us for the time being, this could be done if my bro and SIL allow us to bring her and Lil Shauna to Centris every weekday until I starts my ML. And of course, as she becomes more familiar, we can start trying to let her stay alone in the house with Lil Shauna. I will be asking the agent to send me the IDN maid's CV again.

I have reminded Daddy Lim to pray over it as well. And we will make a decision in the afternoon. It is either the Christian IDN maid or one of the two PHL maid with housemaid experience. Pls pray that God will help us in our decision, that He would send this somebody to us who can really go well with the princess. If the choice is the IDN, pray that He will show us by opening the path before us. If it is one of the 2 PHL, that He would make her come in as soon as possible, despite the rigid new regulations set by the Govt.

Deut 31:8
God is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He wont let you down; He wont leave you. Dont be intimidated, dont worry.

Mummy Lim

Pretend Only

I think I have to start blogging about happy things before this becomes a sad, sad blog. The recent posts are all so sad.

Lil Shauna is starting to play pretend. In fact, she will sometimes tell us to "pretend only". I am not sure if she understands what that means, but had been pretending more and more with us and sometimes even with herself.

This is her pretending to feed her firends.



And she was trying to comfort poor Mickey Mouse who has a hole in his shorts, thus "pain, pain".So, kind Lil Shauna is patting him to sleep. :)



So cute hor.

Mummy Lim

Day One

M still wanted to resign and I think she should go too. Lil Shauna was largely alright yday. I took care of her myself for the entire morning and Daddy Lim helped when he's back from work. She was difficult at times but managable. We just ended up more tried than usual. We had the SHSS' gathering at my place yday and Lil Princess was very much plastered to me. More updates on that next time. We ended the day with fireworks watching at Clarke Quay and the princess was pretty cooperative too. :) The princess seems more at ease when M is away from her and M was very much away from her yday.

We are going to send M back tonight. To prevent possible heart attack on me, we have decided to send Lil Shauna to Centris early this morning and pick her up in the evening after work. Afterall, this will be the arrangement after M is gone. I duno how she will react alone with M and I cannot trust Lil Shauna with a half-hearted M. M will be at home doing a list of housework that I have identifed. The list should keep her busy and we havent told her that she's leaving tonight. I am intending to do so right before we knock off from work. Half an hour should be good enuff for her to pack and to prevent her from packing things that she shouldnt. We will be asking the agency to send us CVs and we will select a maid from the CVs received. This time, I told Daddy Lim that we must both pray very hard and ask God for this special somebody. This changing maid affair is so tiring and more so if your daughter "hates" the new helper.

The new maid will take about 2 weeks to come. So, the new arrangement of sending Lil Shauna to Centris will continue until the new maid is here and probably a little bit more to help Lil Shauna get used to the new helper. This morning, Daddy Lim and I woke up extra early so as to be on time for work after sending Lil Shauna to Centris. I forgot my hp (pregnancy brain) and missed my mum at the lobby. We went up to a sleeping house. She gave me such a black face when she found us at the house after seeing our car at the lobby and had to nag at me for the longest time. Lil Shauna refuised to let me go even at Centris and started crying. My mum insisted that she wouldnt cry if I had "handed" Lil Shauna over to her at the lobby and insisted and we bring the clingy toddler down and do the "handling over" at the lobby. Win lor, OK lor. We did just that and the princess still cry and scream for mummy when popo unplastered her from mummy. Maybe it is better, at least her crying wun wake the others? I duno. We left with Lil Shauna still crying for me. It was heart-wretching. Baby, mummy will be back tonight, not at all deserting you.

Haiz, the day started very much wrong. What to do? We are at others' mercy and we can only take what to come. Today will be another mad day. I hope Lil Shauna cooperates and doesnt throw too many or too big a tantrum at Centris and will really be a nice baby at school. Haiz. Otherwise, I can expect Popo calling me and complaining. For the next few weekends to come, Lil Shauna will spend lots of time with mummy at home or otherwise swimming. We will grow mushrooms at home until Pappy comes home from work. With a big tummy, it is really tought to try to roam the malls now. We even miss church last Sunday. I have no confidence to bring Lil Shauna alone to church. I duno how to handle a screamning toddler or how if she insisted that I carry her and push the stroller at the same time. I guessed we will miss the PCM gatherings for awhile too? Arrgghhhhh.. so many changes. I know chnages are not good for kids but I can hope that Lil Shauna will be adaptable.

Mummy Lim

M Quitted on Me

We are to bring M to e agency and they will bring her down to MOM for thumprinting this morning. Ah yee n popo n I will bring Lil Shauna to Down Town East while M is at e agency and Daddy Lim will pick M to join us in the afternoon.

Lil Shauna was pretty ok on Friday evening and even allowed M to play with her despite a mega tantrum that she threw in e morning bcos of M. I was glad that the weekend is here so that I can better take care of the princess myself and has plans to try a new routine on Monday.

This morning, while getting ready to go out, M told me that she wants to go home. -.o" But the news didn't sound so bad when she broke it to me. Maybe it is a good thing that she leaves too. Her presence has sort of created a monster Lil Shauna, which stressed everybody up.

We sent her to the agency and the agent spoke to her. As expected, she has incurred a big debt and it may not be an option for her to quit now. M claims that her family in PHL will try to raise $$ to help her clear the debt. She continued with the thumbprinting and we proceeded with our plan. The agent says that they will talk to her again and update me.

Daddy Lim picked M up in the afternoon n I spoke to the agent too. M says that she is terribly homesick and is stressed up with Lil Shauna's rejection. The agent asked her to think carefully and revert on Monday.

M is still bent on going, which I think is good too. Her presence created too much stress for us recently. It will be worse for us if M decides to stay on and then decides to quit on us again in a month or 2 nearing Lil Isaac's arrival. Now, it is a matter of how to move on.

We took care of Lil Shauna ourselves for the whole of today. M was largely in a daze. Her presence continues to irk the princess leading to tantrums. -.o" By the end of the day, I was already exhausted and was irritated by M's total turn-off mood and the princess' unreasonable demands and behavior. I did not try to make Lil Shauna wants to spend time with M. In fact, I tried to keep M away from Lil Shauna to minimize possible tantrums.

We have decided that we will send M back on Monday. We will get a new maid, a single this time so as to minimise homesickness. For the next 2 weeks (minimum) without maid, we will send Lil Shauna to Centris every morning and pick her up at the end of the day like how we used to. We are just worried that it will be too much on my mum. They used to have a maid when we had this arrangement. Even for Monday itself, Lil Shauna will go to Centris, M will do all the possible housework and we will send her back to the agency in the evening after work. No point trying to let her try taking care of Lil Shauna, there is no need to try to make things work between them now.

We thought that it would be good too for us to do without a maid for the time being. Maybe Lil Shauna will revert to her own self waking up to Popo and staying with somebody familiar for the entire day. Ah yee the counselor thinks that Lil Shauna has an insecurity problem, thus the rejections and the tantrums recently. When the new maid comes, ah yee suggested for the routine to continue for another week or so, that is for the new maid and Lil Shauna to go to Centris the entire day, so that Lil Shauna doesn't feel that she has again been thrown to a stranger and starts her rejections again. We will explore that.

I am exhausted. MOM only allows me to have 4 maids in a year. M is already my 2nd maid. Lil Isaac is on the way, we are running out of time. This time, I must really pray for God to send mr somebody. The road in front looks so gloomy. Haiz.

Mummy Lim

Happy Mummy, Sad Mummy

Isaac means Laughter, Zu-Le means Joy in the Lord. However, I haven’t been feeling very much of both in this last leg of the pregnancy. This pregnancy had been so uneventful but I am still very much plagued with anxieties, worries, frustrations and helplessness. I hope Lil Isaac doesn’t come out with a frown.

It all started with the babysitting arrangement upon Lil Isaac’s arrival. This uncertainty had bugged me for the longest time and we seem to meet with dead ends whichever way that we turned. The resulting frustration makes me want to scream at times. There seems to be a little more hope now but no conclusion yet. I am waiting for my mum to make up her mind, which based on experience will take a while. Then, it is about keeping everything crossed and hoping that she doesn’t change her mind.

Then, we had to change the maid bcos J was unable to obey our instructions. She crossed the boundary and broke our trust. And M came along and she has been with us for close to a month now. She is a far cry from J. Although much more obedient, she’s so block headed and slow. We had to teach her from scratch. She’s already picking up in terms of housework but is still so slow and lack initiatives. However, we dont know what to do to her pertaining to Lil Shauna.

Lil Shauna adores J and was looking for J when we first replaced J. She doesn’t stick to M like how she used to with J and J was only with us for 4 months. Then Lil Shauna has to choose this point to start her Terrible Twos. She had been so difficult for the past 3 weeks and she is rejecting M. This made things worse on top of the fact that M is already uber stone headed. She doesn’t know how to coax the fussing and whinny Lil Shauna. She offered the wrong thing at the wrong time and is so boring. Lil Shauna used to have so much fun running and jumping around with J, even at home. M just carries Lil Shauna around all the time or makes her watch TV. -.o”

Lil Shauna continues to be difficult when she came down with throat infection and although recovered, she shows no sign of her angelic self. She still continues to reject M whenever there is somebody other than M. And M will stand around watching that somebody handles the difficult toddler, offering NO help at all and no attempt to help at all. Haiz.

This morning, Lil Shauna caught us by surprise and woke up at 6.15am. She wanted to go kai kai and refused to let me go. She even wanted to go office with mummy. M’s weak attempts to detatch Lil Shauna from me flopped severely. I had to lure Lil Shauna to a sleeping ah yee and leave her in ah yee’s room while I escaped for work. Then, I have to see a crying Lil Shauna on the camera at work. -__-“ If it is J, I would at least have that little bit of assurance that Lil Shauna would return to her bubbly self shortly, but I have no tiny bit of confidence with M. Luckily, Lil Shauna was willing to cooperate subsequently. But she was again difficult in the afternoon and forbid M to even stay within her vision. I really have no idea why is Lil Shauna rejecting M so badly.

To add on to my headaches, M had to get our flu virus. I already reminded her to take care of herself and that she will get no rest and have no family to take care of her if she falls sick. I still wake up to take care of the sick toddler and for work when I was suffering from my full-blown flu mah. Then, ah mah called to inform that M cried buckets in the kitchen yday while hanging the newly handwashed baby clothes. -.o” She said that she misses her 3YO son. She called me to ask for permission to call her SIL who is also working as a maid in Singapore and will be soon returning home for vacation. I allowed her to call in the afternoon, after making sure that the princess is asleep. She was on the phone for a short while as her SIL was busy and I heard from ah mah that she cried buckets again. I faint liao. I know she must have missed her son badly and must be feeling miserable after falling sick and facing the very difficult Lil Shauna.

I am at my wits end again. I think it is only right to give M more time, especially when learning to take care of a difficult toddler doesn’t come overnight. But each time I see the baby rejecting M and M standing stonely at one corner, I feel heartache. And my mum has to make things worse to tell me that she thinks M will quit on me when Lil Isaac arrives bcos she doesn’t think M can take the hardship. -___-“Seriously, my maid has a better life than me. She relinquishes her duties to take care of Lil Shauna when we knock off from work. There is basically nothing much to do and she can actually turn in at 9+pm every night while I struggle with Lil Shauna and tucking her to bed after 10pm. My mum has to tell me that M will not be able to handle the housework and Lil Shauna and Lil Isaac and yet wake up frequently to help for night feeds. Great, just what I needed to hear.

And to further rub salt on open wound, my mum called me in the late afternoon that Lil Shauna threw a mega tantrum after her afternoon nap when M tried to pass her a story book. She wanted M away from her as far as possible. When Lil Shauna didn’t get what she wanted, she screamed and cried and clenches her fists and grinds her teeth. My mum said that she has never seen Lil Shauna so angry before. Sob. Now, I don’t know how to go to work peacefully tomorrow.

Ah yee came home early today to take over ah mah, so that ah mah can go home. I came back earlier too to rescue ah yee. Strangely, Lil Shauna was alright when I am home. She wasnt 100% angelic but there was no tantrums. I heard from ah yee that M was so stressed that she cried when Lil Shauna threw her mega tantrum. She must be feeling the stress too, worried that she will have to go if LiL Shauna continues to reject her.

Haiz. There is nothing I can do now. There really aren’t much to do in the house and I don’t know what to give to M during evening time to delay her bedtime and make her more used to the nightmare lifestyle that is coming. I don’t know how to make Lil Shauna wants M more too. She appears ok when she si alone with M but turned into a monster when there are somebody else. Each day, when I see her fussing on the camera, I feel that I should be home for her. Then who helps with the bacon? Sob, sob. I want to be a happy mummy.

Mummy Lim

I Feel Like A Whale

Lil Isaac better be growing well bcos I am feeling so uncomfortable. When I was with Lil Shauna, all the nutrients go to mummy and she was so small despite her growing mummy. My tummy was really small then. With Lil Isaac, I think my tummy is bigger, or at least I feel that it is bigger and I am only in my week 30/31. I am starting to feel so big recently and clumsy and slow. I take time to move around.

Lil Isaac is active now. He doesn't do his karate moves like his jiejie, maybe bcos there is not much space left but it feels like he is rolling and squirming about. My tummy feels so tight, as if he is trying to burst through. It is uncomfy. And he gives me pain, maybe he is trying to stretch my tummy to create more space. -.o"

I am almost there, praying that God will keep him until week 37, which mean I have another 6 to 7 weeks to go. Jia you!

Mummy Lim

Updates @ 29/30 weeks

I went for the routine checks on last Thursday but Lil Shauna had been keeping me so busy that I haven been able to update.

So, Lil Isaac is good. He is probably about 1.3 to 1.5kg, which is of an average weight and definitely heavier than his jie jie. Lil Shauna was only about 1kg when she was at 30 weeks. The best part? My blood pressure (BP) remains normal! In fact, it is a little low. I only measured 98/66. God has been faithfully answering my prayer for normal BP. The blood test shows that glucose is normal but I am low in iron, which is not new to me, since I am Thala minor. The nurse didnt even bother to prescribe iron pills on the account that I am Thala minor since the pills probably wun help much. The next visit will be when I am in my 33 weeks.

I asked again for confirmation that Lil Isaac is indeed a boy. We were given a 95% confirmation during the detail scan and Dr Kee did confirm shortly after the detail scan but I have heard of so many "wonderful" stories of baby changing genders. However, Dr Kee wasnt able to see again. In fact, he never saw Lil Isaac's gender again after the detail scan. Boy or girl, we will love no. 2 all the same. In fact, Daddy Lim prefer girls, just that she will end up dressed in blue lor. Hohoho. And like I always maintain, boy or girl, 2 is more than enuff. I dun think I am capable of surviving another pregnancy unless God is so gracious to us. ;p

Lil Shauna came at 34 + 5 weeks. I am already in my 30th week. If Lil Isaac come as early as his jie jie, I will be giving birth in 5 weeks time wor. The tot is actually scary. We are not at all prepared. I havent even bought the basic neccessities and my hospital bag is not pack. But we also believe that God will keep Lil Isaac in my womb until full-term, i.e. at least 37 weeks. And he will not give me pre-eclampsia.

I am adding on 2 more requests, that I will know for sure when I am going to give birth. The last time, I was rushed to the A&E. This time, I really duno what to expect and I pray that it will not be something ugly, like waterbag bursting whilst waiting for the MRT train. -.o" I am also praying that there will be no birth complications. The last time, I lost a lot of blood bcos my uterus didnt shrink back.

Realising how fast Lil Isaac will come, we are starting to prepare for his arrival. He will sleep with M after he comes. Mummy Jo, Daddy Lim's friend, has generously passed us a big bag of hand-me-down after reading one of my earlier shameless post for hand-me-downs. Hehe. We have more than enuff clothes for Lil Isaac and M will be starting to hand wash the clothes. I must soon start to get my hospital bag together.

Physically, other than the fact that I feel like a whale now, all is good. I have put on 9.5kg so far, which means that the initial target of 10kg overall weight gain is not possible. -.o" But I am doing much better as compared to the last pregnancy. I am starting to have very disturbed sleep. Other than the fact that I take longer to fall asleep now, I wake up very easily from the stirring Lil Shauna, to the need to pee to having to change sleeping position. But it is Ok, I am almost there liao. I am anxious to get rid of the big tummy. It is very much in the way. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

Last Woman Standing

Ah yee is the only survival now. Daddy Lim still sound nasal, Lil Shauna is still coughing away but at least no more fever. I am officially down with flu and M is starting to cough. We'll see how much longer ah yee can last.

Lil Shauna is rejecting her antibiotics even when I feed her while she's half awake. Last night, she coughed and e vomited the antibiotics at my 1st attempt. She used her tongue to block the antibiotics when I tried the 2nd time. On my final attempt, she struggled free at my mere mentioned of taking medicine. -.o" I give up liao. I can only pray that she doesnt grow resistant to the antibiotics or she doesnt fall prey to the same strain of virus again. Haiz.

And she is still difficult. We had excepted her to be cranky but not that cranky. God must be using Lil Shauna to help us develop patience and self-control. But bcos she is actually no longer that sick and our patience has grown much thinner over the days, she gets spank or left to cry alot more when she made unreasonable demands or when she threw tantrums. I really hope that she will go back to her usual self soon, really soon. This was actually taken when she was in one of her rare good moods when she was sick. Priceless.

And who else gets it when my patience wears thin? M....
Nope, I didnt scold her cos she's of almost no help to me during these few days. Lil Shauna totally rejects her. Auntie cannot even come close to her. I have totally no idea why is Lil Shauna rejecting M so badly. When we had J, J can at least coax LiL Shauna at times. Now, M can only stand at one corner when I handle Lil Shauna. Sometimes, it is so bad that Lil Shauna doesnt even allow M to be anywhere in her sight. And M had been really free these few days bcos there arent that much housework for her to do. After Lil Shauna kicks up a big fuss this afternoon, I sternly warned M to buck up. I told her that her main responsibility isnt the housework but the princess. I can afford a dirty house and I dun need to spend so much $$ to engage somebody just to do housework. So she will be in big trouble if the princess continues to reject her. I think she did try a little harder at nainai's place but seems to be getting nowhere. We'll see how it goes. Haiz again.

Lil Shauna was still moderately well-behaved at nainia's place but going to nainai's place is starting to lose its purpose. Everybody is glued to the TV when the Taiwanese drama starts at 7pm. We are left to entertain Lil Shauna when we get to do that all the time at home. And she grows restless too cos there's nothing much to play at nainai's place and it is the same usual games that we play. We even left much earlier than we usually did today. Hmm...

Our patience is wearing thin and things are made worse when we are all sick. We will be back at work tomorrow and I hope M can handle Lil Shauna before school tomorrow. Well, she's usually more managable when we are not around. Lil Shauna will finally attend school again after missing school for the last 3 days. :)

As for us, we hope to reatin our sanity. I even have a snaity coffee with Daddy Lim after tucking Lil Shauna to bed. Hohoho.
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Mummy Lim

Update on the Sick Baby

Lil Shauna is still sick but seems to be recovering. Her food intake was reduced to 50% on Thursday and she barely ate any solid food yday. She didnt want her milk and when she finally asked for milk, she didnt finish half. We didnt force her to eat but make sure that she had lots of water.

Her fever was still very much persistant yday. Seeing how she vomited her antibiotics on Thursday evening, I took half a day of urgent leave on Friday morning. I was worried that M cannot handle Lil Shauna and was unable to feed her medicine. On Thursday night, I managed to feed 2 doses of antibiotic to the half awake but otherwise very cooperative Lil Shauna. Phew. The whole night, I was waking her every other hour to either take her fever medicine or antibiotics. Poor baby.

Yday was bad. She was probably still feeling very uncomfortable and was very clingy. Everything must be mummy, including taking tissue paper from the tissue box. -.o" If auntie or ah mah was to do it on mummy's behalf, she will start fussing, whinning, crying, until mummy re-do the tasks. -.o" She totally reject ah mah and auntie. Nobody is to come near her except mummy and mummy is to stick to her everywhere she goes. I seriously think that her crying sensor was spoilt yday. She will start crying the moment I am 10cm away from her. It was bad and very tiring from all the physical carrying, the coaxing to make her eat her medicine or to drink water and the giving in to her unreasonable demands. I was actually looking forward to coming back to work and away from Lil Shauna in the afternoon. But before I could escape, she woke up coughing from her nap, screaming for mummy and rejecting ah mah until she vomited. I had to extend my leave.

By night time, we were exhausted and she too was tired and uncomfortable and cranky and decided to give us a final show-down. She made unreasonable demands, refused to take "no" for an answer and wouldnt stop crying when she cannot have her way. I think she was just very tired cos when she finally stopped, she fell asleep barely 5 mins after I put her down on the bed. -_____________-"

Her fever seems to either go away or mild the whole night. I didnt have to feed her the fever medicine. She cooperatively took her 2 doses of antibiotics in the night. After the 2nd dose, she even told me that the medicine is "smelly, smelly". I duno to laugh or to cry.

I am back at work today. I already instructed M to feed Lil Shauna her flu and cough medicine, which should be quite alright. Those are sweet and she likes them (when not in a bad mood). I am just worried about the fever medicine. Luckily, ah yee is home today. Then, it will be war again when I return home to feed her the remaining 2 doses of antibiotics.

My mum was commenting about how M was super hardworking in doing the household chores yday and trying hard to keep her distance from Lil Shauna. Hahaha. M even asked me in the evening if Lil Shauna is always that difficult when she is sick. I think she is scare of the princess. ;p

Jia you, jia you. The little pincess is recovering. And we have to prepare for her to remain cranky for another few days after she has recovered like she usually is after a big illness.

Mummy Lim

Still Very Sick

Lil Shauna is still sick, very sick. -______-" I did suspect throat infection when she came down with fever on Tue evening. The clinic that we usually bring her to was closed and we brought her to just any clinic that was still opened. The doctor assured us that it was just common flu.

Her fever was up and down the whole of yday. It will subside after medicine but come back a few hours later.

Coincidently, I had medical appointment this morning and was given mc. I spent the afternoon taking care of the sick and very clingy princess. I suspected that it is more than flu. She only has minor cough and barely any running nose yet her fever refused to go. I had to alternate the usual fever medicine and the stronger one to keep her from burning. Even with the strong medicine, she has minor fever. It was that bad.

We brought her to the usual doctor just now and my fear was confirmed. Lil Shauna fever had slightly subsided after the strong fever medicine and was cooperative at the clinic. Our princess willingly open her mouth and the doctor even managed to show me the ulcers that lined her throat. Very bad.

It is considered as some form of throat infection. It is caused by some similar virus of HFMD but it is not it. Unlike HFMD, the ulcers only developed at the back of the throat but just as painful and contagious. The doctor warned that the ulcers might get so painful that she will find difficulty even swallowing water and saliva. Sob!

We were told to keep her hydrated and were given antibiotics. We were also told that the antibiotics taste horrible but we didn't expect it to be so bad.

Lil Shauna was still cooperative when we fed her the flu medicine back home. Then, we fed her the antibiotics. She took a big gulp of the antibiotics and started puking. It must have tasted really bad. She refused the rest and we tried forcing her making her vomit even more. Then, she refused all other medicines. So, it was bad when her fever started coming back and she refused her medicine. It took us a long time before we managed to coax her to take her fever medicine.

She fell asleep shortly after her fever medicine. She must be tired from the fever and all these struggling and crying. She is still feverish and I am waiting for time to pass so that I can feed her the stronger fever medicine. Tonight will be another struggle, just like the past 2 nights,

I will be taking half day of urgent leave tomorrow morning. M appeared terrified when she sees how Lil Shauna vomited her antibiotic and refused her medicine just now. I dun think I can rely on her to feed Lil Shauna the medicines. My mum can't come early tomorrow as the younger niece is still sick. I predicted Lil Shauna will be just as or more difficult tomorrow. I have no idea how she will be able to swallow the nasty antibiotics tomorrow, I am praying for miracle. I supposed I will just have to feed her the antibiotics separately to prevent her from vomiting all the other medicine. The down side is that we will be constantly giving her medicine and antibiotics then.

I hate it when this happens. I rather I be the one who is sick. At least I dare to eat medicine.

Mummy Lim

Two Sick Babies

There are now 2 sick babies at home - pappy baby and baobao baby.
Daddy Lim felt a flu coming on the day before we left for Malacca but he still has to drive and didnt get any good rest. It developed into a full blown flu on the day that we were back and he was feeling terrible on the drive back. Poor Pappy. Daddy Lim even got a MC yday and woke up with a mild fever after his afternoon nap. -.o" Luckily, he felt better this morning.

Lil Shauna had been cranky but we werent sure if she was coming down with something too. Daddy Lim drove her to pick me up from work yday evening. When I got into the car and carried her, she felt warm and I suspected that she is coming down with fever and I was right. She was still chatty and measured 38.4 degrees at home.

We had fever medicine at home but from awhile ago. I couldnt be sure what she was coming down with, Daddy Lim's flu, Fione's throat infection turned cough and flu or meimei's bad throat infection. I hope it is not throat infection cos it would mean that she would be burning with high fever above 39 degrees for a few days. -___-" We didnt want to take chance and brought her to see a doctor. She was still jumpy on the way to the clinic.

The doctor didnt think that it was something serious. She didnt get to see Lil Shauna's throat bcos Lil Shauna has to open her tongue and stick out her tongue or open her mouth and says "ahhhhh"... She can either open her mouth or stick her tongue out with her mouth closed. And she refused to say "ahhh" with her mouth opened. But the doctor thinks that it shouldnt be throat infection on the account that she still has good appetite. We were given fever medicine and a stronger one to standby just in case her fever shoots.

Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna had an early night. They were both in dreamland by 9.30pm. Lil Shauna was still feverish at 11+pm and I feed her a dose of the medicine. Her fever subsided but she had fitful sleep after the dosage. She woke up at 12+am and was cranky and demanding all sorts of things from milk to diaper changing to wash backside to blanket to badoh bear... we struggle for over an hour before she went back to sleep and her fever was gone. Daddy Lim was too sick and he barely woke up throughout her demands.

This morning, Lil Shauna appears to be free from fever. I have instructed ah yee to take her temperature and feed her medicine if necessary before she goes to school. I have also taught M how to use the thermometer. If Lil Shauna's fever shoots, I will be rushing home.

Daddy Lim mentioned this morning that Mothers' Day is hard eraned. No wonder people only remember and widely celebrate Mothers' Day. Bcos Daddies can slept through the night almost peacefully. Hohoho.

Mummy Lim

Really Funny

This happened in Malacca and it was really funny.

There was this mini pond with fishes at the hotel and Lil Shauna loves to lean over the fencing to look at the fish. On the 1st night, back at the hotel, she insisted that we buy her a tube of mentos and she was happily holding the mentos. We past the fish pond and she wanted to look at the fishes. We warned her to be careful with her sweets. Suddenly, we heard "thom" and saw her sweets in the pond. Lil Shauna was shocked and took a while to realised what happened and she started crying. The sight was uber funny despite her crying. ;p

Thereafter, she kept insisting that the fish took her tang. Hohoho.

She still remembered about her tang the next morning. I promised her to get new tang. On the way to the minimart, she kept saying that the fish took her tang but I reminded her that she "gave" it to the fishes. She paused for awhile and agreed with me. So when I asked her did the fish say "thank you", she replied, "yes, the fish say thank you, Shauna is a good girl and I love you." Hohoho. It was so comical.

Mummy Lim

Malacca

Sob, my final holiday before Lil Isaac's arrival is far too short! Before I realised it, we are back. This trip is much less enjoyable than the Port Dickson one. To begin with, the 2Fs are sick, one was nursing a flu and the other with a raging fever. Daddy Lim was down with flu as well but he is the designated driver and we cant keep him at home. Lil Shauna is not all cooperative too. During the trip, at any time, there will be somebody crying, fussing or whinning. Haiz... Still, it is a getaway from work. Better than nothing. :)

Lil Shauna has to help pack the bag the night before. But things get more messy with her help. -.o"


We tried to use the same delay-bedtime-tactic and woke her up for Mac bfast at 4.15am. She was again cooperative at the magical words of "gai gai". The trick worked again and she fell alseep shortly after we cleared the custom. Malacca is about 2+ hours drive away and Lil Shauna amazing slept all the way there. She only woke up at the hotel. Woohoo! So, you can imagine wat a peacful drive we had. We were in the car with ah yee and singing to retro music and cracking jokes. :)

Upon arriving in Malacca, we had the famous chicken rice balls for our 2nd bfast and it was some sightseeing. Bcos ah yee was around, we had so many more family pic this time. :)

We took pictures in front of some foutain.


I still think Lil Shauna looks more like me than Daddy Lim, no wonder she is so pretty. Hohoho.


And some duno what church. Ah yee says that it is supposed to be very famous.

And we went for the famous Malacca river cruise. But it has to pour and we were busy keeping the rain away with the umbrellas, blocking most of the scenery. After a while, the kids grew bored looking at the umbrellas. Hohoho.

We took shelter at the big shopping centers but the kids strictly forbid us to shop. -_________-" There were so many shops but we bought nothing. Sob. Then we left to check in the hotel and coax Lil Shauna to take her afternoon nap. Popo and ah yee went out shopping and I was dying to join them but decided against it. I needed the rest so that I can chase the bouncy baby in the night. ;p So I joined Daddy Lim and Lil Shauna for a wonderful afternon nap.

Ah yee came back with a sexy swimwear for Lil Shauna and 2 shorts. At least some shopping done. Hoho. We had a swim and dinner back at the shopping center thereafter. I would die for a good shopping but after grabbing cheap guni hun and diapers at Carefour, the kids decided that they had enuff shopping for the day and we headed back to the hotel. -.o"

Back at the hotel, we explored a little and wanted to sing karaoke but ended up with some nice food back in our room. Hohoho. We then ended our day in Malacca.

Lil Shauna woke us up at 7.30am the next morning, asking mummy to make milk. We had a nice buffet bfast at the hotel, the food was much nicer than what we had in Port Dickson. And then, it was more swimming.

Lil Shauna was so adorable in her new swimsuit, a gift from my colleague. She look so uber pro lor.


There wasnt much time left after the swim and we proceeded to check out, buy "tu chan" and lunch before heading home.

We had timed the journey home to coincide with Lil Shauna's afternoon nap. She fell asleep shortly after we hit the expressway. But the journey back was anything but smooth. We were struck in a massive jam as there was road repairs going on. The traffic crawled and so many cars (including us) had to resort to use the road shoulder. Then we have to encounter heavy traffic along the way and scare ourselves silly for fear of being short of petrol before we managed to reach the petrol koisk. Finally to kena the traffic polic road block and we had to pay some $$ to avoid trouble. Amazingly, LiL Shauna slept through and all the way until we arrived at Singapore custom. :)

So, we made it home safe and sound and we drove to nainai's home to pick up M after dropping ah yee. M was unable to make it for the trip as her Work Permit wasnt ready. Lil Shauna only woke up from her nap at 5pm and we were worried that the bouncy bunny will monkey until late night. Luckily, the trip tired her just as much and she went to bed at 10.30pm, her usual bedtime. Hehehe.

I must plan something soon so that I have something to look forward to. Hehehe. Jia you, jia you!

Mummy Lim

Back

We are back and we survived the trip without the maid + 2 sick Fs + sick Daddy Lim. This is my last trip and I will be confined until Lil Isaac's arrival + he is old enuff to travel. I think it will at least a good 6 months. Boohoo.

The trip is far too short. It was actually very much worse that the PD trip. We didnt have time to enjoy and we are supposed to come home. We missed all the shopping. I can literally hear the shops calling me but it was too tough trying to buy anything with the kids. Haiz, but nevertheless, a good break away from work. I bet Lil Shauna enjoys herself loads, as usual. :)

Mummy Lim

Terrible Twos?

I always consider Lil Shauna as a pretty easy baby. We dun have to discipline her often bcos she seldom throws tantrum. Most of the time, if we were to "reason" with her, things actually worked! And she's pretty advance in her speech, thus I even tot that she will skip the Terrible Twos (TT) phase, which is characterised by being negative about most things and saying "no", frequent mood swings and tantrum throwing. This is bcos she is trying to express her growing independence but doesn't have the language skills to easily express her needs, leading to getting frustrated easily and resorts to hitting, biting, and temper tantrums when she doesn't get her way. I had really tot so until recently. -.o"

I am not exactly sure what is the trigger, is it really TT, or the change of caregiver or the soon-to-come Lil Issac? I bet it is a combination of all. Ah yee commented that she's so naughty nowadays. Lil Shauna throw tantrums when things dun go her way. When she wants it, she wants it. There is seldom a second way round it. Daddy Lim and I had been scratching our heads and wondering if we should give in to her whenever such a situation takes place. She will whine and squirm and cry until she has her way, she wasnt like that just a while ago. She snatches meimei's toy at Centris and when angry, she throw the toys away or at somebody. -.o" And she's so super rude to M. Poor M. She will shout at M and hit M when she's not happy or doesnt have her way.

Shower time is so painful now cos the princess will want to choose wat to wear even at home. -.o" Otherwise, she insists to be naked or play wrestling with us should we insist to put on what she doesnt want. And choosing clothes is no easty feat. We will have to show her so many pieces before she finally pick what she wanted and might change her mind right before that chosen piece goes over her head. Then, the whole process repeats itself until finally a chosen piece goes onto her. Hiaz.

I tot TT is too late to come? She is already 26 months, past her 2nd year. She doesnt reject M though M still has a long way to go when it comes to coaxing the princess. Of course, Lil Shauna still prefers her parents or ah mah or ah yee to M. Ah yee thinks that it is likely due to the arrival of Lil Isaac, that she's trying to seek our attention now. Lil Shauna is still not welcoming the baby. She doesnt spend time talking to Mummy's tummy like many to-be-elder siblings do. She still dun want a "didi or meimei" and dun want to be a "jiejie". Ah yee thinks that Lil Shauna can feel the threat. Afterall, mummy and all around her had been trying to tell her about "Lele" and mummy carries her so much lesser than she used to. Oh no...

I hope things get better, but I duno how. It will still be another 11 weeks before Lil Isaac comes along. And I will have even lesser time for her when he comes along. Ah mah foresees that Lil Shauna will get loads of scolding when the baby comes along bcos she's so used to all the attention and is unwilling to share. Aiyo.. poor baby. I hope she dun hate her brother.

Mummy Lim

What Scares Her?

This happened on Wednesday night. We brought Lil Shauna for grocery shopping in the night after dinner. We came back at 8+pm, bathed her and got ready for bed, just like usual.

I was in the kitchen when Daddy Lim called me several times and I sat Lil Shauna stoning on the bed when back in the bedroom. Daddy Lim said that something scared her badly but he couldnt really made out wat was it. Lil Shauna kept mentioning "pa pa, thun, thun, thun" and pointed outside the window. Daddy Lim guessed that it could be the construction noise that she was referring to as he heard the "thun, thun, thun" sound from the piling machine whe he arrived home, but we werent sure.

Lil Shauna was really scared. We took a long time to comfort her, to assure her. We closed the aircon, draw the curtains, prayed with her and she took awhile before she started smiling and talking and playing. Every now and then, she will go "no more pa pa, no more thun, thun, thun, no more thun, thun, thun uncle, no more sound". We couldnt do much but just kept assuring her. She finally fell asleep and I was more worried that she will wake up with night terror or nightmare. -.o"

She did woke up asking "mummy bao" and "pa pa" in the night. And insisted that she wanted to wear her PJ pants. I obliged but she was still tossing and turning in bed and finally fell back to dreamland after I hugged her and patted her to sleep. I woke up with an aching back. -.o'

She would usually sleep until 7.30am and required M to disturb her and wake her up. Our bed must be too comfortable. But yday morning, she woke up crying at 6.30am, something that hasnt happened for awhile. I was worried that Lil Shauna will still be " pa pa" and M cannot cannot her. Ah yee suggested sending Lil Shauna and M to Centirs, which I tot was a wonderful idea. I called and woke my mum and prepared to send them to Centris.

Lil Shauna was worried that I would be out of her sight and followed me around the house while I packed her stuff. While in the baby room, she started her "pa pa" again and when I asked where, she pointed out of the window and said "pa pa uncle". Haiz... Who lah????!!!!

We gave ah yee a ride too and Lil Shauna was happy to be out with us. In the car, she went "pa pa uncle" again and ah yee asked her where is the "uncle", is he in our home and Lil Shauna went "yes". -__________-" Ah yee shouldnt have asked. Lol. But Lil Shauna says "yes" to most things now, even on whether mummy beats her. Faint.

I was very much at peace knowing that Lil Shauna is in Centris and there is somebody (other than M) watching her. Lil Shauna was happy to be in Centris too and went to school and then took her nap as usual. She was fine after that. She still mentioned about "no more thun, thun, thun" last night, but not as frequently. We still cannot figure out what scares her. I dun think she "saw" anything unusual, our house is protected by the Almighty. :) I dun think it is M. Yes, Lil Shauna still prefers J to M and M still blockheaded when it comes to Lil Shauna but she's NOT rejecting M.

I duno... Hmm... The entire episode was just scary and I hope that it doesnt happen again.

Mummy Lim

Nightmare

We seldom beat Lil Shauna, unless she is really too much and drives us crazy. And when we do, it is usually a smack on her arm or thigh. But bcos we seldom beat her, she will cry badly when we do, even when the smack on the arm/ thigh is not that hard. -.o"

Last Sat, I was out with Lil Shauna and ah yee and Lil Shauna was beyond reasoning. I ended up smacking her arm not once but twice. Of course she cried like mad and took a long while before finally subsiding and she fell asleep shortly. Poor baby, she must be tired out from all the crying. And she remembers. She will point to her arm when you ask her where mummy beats her and will tell you "pain, pain". I didnt whack her very hard lor.

Yday, Lil Shauna only has a 40 mins nap. She woke up and was grouchy for the rest of the day and will fuss at the smallest thing that doesnt go her way. She refused to go home after her little gym class but we decided to call it an early day as she was really grouchy. She was whinny and fussy for most of the way home. Daddy Lim was fuming and threatened to whack her but didnt lah. As expected, she turned in shortly after 9pm. She's one tired baby.

However, shortly after she slept, she started whining in her sleep and that usually means that she will end up crying in the middle of the night either from nightmare or night terror and we were right. She whined in her sleep for a few more times before finally waking up and crying. But we were lucky that it wasnt as bad this time as the previous times. There was certain point that she was beyond comfort, we just had to wait for her to cry out. Then she agreed to let me cuddle her and give her milk and she fell back to sleep shortly after her milk. Phew.

This morning, Daddy Lim asked the princess if she had a nightmare.

DL: Baby, what happened to you last night? Do you know that you cried?
LS: Yes.
ML: Did you have a nightmare? A bad dream?
LS: Yes.
DL: Baby, do you know what is a dream?
LS: ... (blank look)
DL: (Trying to imitate Lil Shauna and gave a blank look and scratched his head)
LS: (Seeing Pappy with his finger on his head) It is in your head.
DL: (Very surprise) Yes, they are the pictures that you see in your head when you are sleeping.
LS: Yes.
ML: So baobao, what did you dream of?
LS: Mummy beat me (point to her arm), pain, pain.
ML: Nooooooo!!! Mummy didnt beat you.

We wonder if Lil Shauna really dreamt that I whack her. Daddy Lim says that I must have hurt her emotionally. Boohoo. No lah, when nono bit her (softly) bcos she pulled his tail, she also remember for like 2 weeks lor. -_______-"

Mummy Lim