Siu~V: September 2011

'baby needs' ...

Apart from a healthy balanced diet, here are my 10 'baby needs' ....

1. I've never heard of a maternity toothpaste before, but since i got this free, why not use it... :-P

2. My stretch mark lotion to keep my 'itching' days at bay. I switched from Pureen to Mothercare's UK imported cream (smells like sweet coconut) after i found the latter more effective.

3. Baby needs an occasional boost of bird's nest to replenish nutrients and for a fairer skin. Sorree, hubby doesn't get a share of this. ALL MINE!...muahahaha

4. A good friend recommended Elken's Dr Xeniji; a fruit and vege supplement fermented for >3 years in Japan, thus turning it into an enzyme catalyst. In short, it's nourishing for preggy mums and baby for a healthy metabolism. My most expensive companion (by far) these 9 months...almost 600 bucks a bottle!

5. Spirulina tablets - speaks for itself. No chemicals, all organic, hence it's safe for baby :o)

6. Doc introduced me to this DHA supplement to increase IQ (of the baby lo). Here's to another Einstein in the making? Stocked up on my supply from Caring Pharmacy after getting a great deal from them... RM 45/bottle.

7. Don't ever forget baby's daily intake of multivitamins to provide what your intake of food can't. I went from taking these little pink dolls to an iron pill called Sangobion.

8. Manuka honey is a wonderful and absolutely safe remedy for coughs and colds, or even when you feel a sore throat coming.

9. Another important baby need comes in the form of milk powder and i go for the Chocolate flavour.

10. Finally, once in a while, i can't help but crave for that cool taste of my fave carbonated drink...

(ok i admit, that's more like a 'mum wants')

Moon's Birthday at Suki-ya's

Suki-ya "House of Hot-Pot" is not your regular kind of steamboat buffet restaurant. If ya looking to stuff yourself with tons and variety of meat, then this may not be to your ideal liking.

However, I personally enjoyed my time here recently and you will soon discover five reasons why i said so.

First of all, it's Japanese!! :-)

Now, to go to this restaurant, head over to the end of Tokyo Street in Pavilion (6th floor). It's right beside the Daisho store. We arrived early for dinner but the entire place was a full house later on in the night.

With a name like 'Healthy Bar', don't expect to find any greasy fatty food or high cholesterol seafood stacked up.

Instead, they've got clean, fresh crisp greens and a variety of mushroom, balls and noodles for your selection. Sorry i happen to be a vege freak. :-)

Also found some ready-made sushi rolls which turned out to be pretty good too.

Of course i didn't dine alone; i was with a bunch of buddies to celebrate Moon's birthday. Since us health underwriters called the shots, hence the decision to go h-e-a-l-t-h-y that night! (haha, sorree Jac)

Basically, this place only provides you 3 kinds of meat - chicken, beef (imported from Australia or so they claim) and lamb. All very thinly sliced (so they cook in no time), non-marinated (so you taste the freshness of it) and can be replenished till your belly's content! My fave was the lamb! :-)

Aaah..there's nothing like having quality steamboat in the company of great friends, in a non-sweaty environment. The thing i dislike about steamboat restaurants is when they still use gas stoves. Use electric hobs already!

For the same type of food, you can choose to either pay RM 29.80++ (for lunch) or RM 39.80++ (for dinner). A reasonable additional 10 bucks for more time to dine and mingle. Choose from their 3 types of soup base - shabu-shabu, sukiyaki and kimchi. While my fave was the sukiyaki (as it had more flavour to it right from the beginning), the kimchi was alarmingly too hot and spicy for my liking. One wrong slurp down the throat and you'll be ruining the rest of your dinner.

Jac with her swift cooking moves only took chicken and beancurd the entire night. apalah... =.=

From all the different sauces and condiments we got, their sambal belacan really got POWER!

Finally, the time came for dem girls to show Moon some birthday loveeeeee....

....guys included too.

THIS coming from his own manager...?!

But finally, his sweetheart takes the cake.... ><

Some other photos we took that night...My belly looks huge when standing up.

"Moon, you trying to style your hair like Tintin's?"

Hey, i can hide it sitting down.

My last fave of the night - their free flow of ice cream! :-) Shape it right from the ice-cream dispenser itself and top it off with all sorts. I love it that it's not too sweet, but i was too full, all i had was one cup. Note to self : next time, start off with the ice cream first.

Choy Phyll and her impression of .... erm, go figure...

One last photo before we say goodnight...

GOODNIGHT!

oh ya, i've got one last pic to post here just because it looks so damn cute....all 3 of dem!

just another cheesy article on pregnancy tips

Talk about tips on getting pregnant, there are tons of write-ups on the Internet.

But, for the benefit of some of my fellow frens, here's MY own take on what works and what doesn't....at least for me that is :p :-

The numero uno of it - it's NOT all about the wife ... hubby plays a damn important role too!

For dem ladies, get a proper body check up (basic blood and urine test) which should definitely include a papsmear and ultrasound of abdomen and breast.

Just so u get a clean bill of health at the start of 'GO'. You know, make sure you got all the right props and utensils before you start 'baking' anything.

Number 2: It helps a great deal to strengthen your immune system at least six months before actually making any pregnancy plans. And in case you actually do get a bun in the oven, it makes it a whole lot easier to carry your baby through the crucial first trimester. I basically forced myself to a daily dosage of Elken's Spirulina and regular Herbalife drink.

(Not advertising anything here, just sharing :D)

Throw in some form of exercise (you and pardner, mind you) once or twice each week. I personally enjoyed hill climbing.

Number 3 : Cut down (and i mean REALLY cut down) on fried/ fatty food AND cold drinks. In my case, more often than not, that meant saying NO each time hubby picks up a can of Coke.

Number 4 : No smoking and no alcohol which may greatly affect fertility. No drugs too coz you never know when you are actually already preggy. Exactly the reason why i had to stay fit and healthy - to avoid popping pills. Plus it certainly wasn't easy refraining from picking up that glass of wine whenever i attended wedding dinners.

Here's something else i learnt from my dad -soy products like tofu actually lower a male's sperm count!

So, instead of your regular tau foo fa, guys, take Bio-Zinc instead to help produce healthy sperm.

Number 5 : I learnt from a few of my senior colleagues that Eu Yan Sang's 'Bak Foong Yuen' ( a Chinese herbal supplement) actually regulates my menstrual cycle, hence increasing my chances of conceiving. Well, no harm in trying (even if one dosage costs around RM 15...i took 3 a month). My cycle almost immediately became consistent, so much so that i was able to suspect something amiss when i was just one and a half

weeks late. So yup, you could say i took 'the test' and found out about my pregnancy pretty early.. (proud)

Number 6 : You've heard this over and over again but it really is so true that you do not stress yourselves out. In fact, you'll just be piling on unnecessary stress when you find that you still get your period after months and months of trying.

Go on a holiday together to de-stress.....so much for making an NZ baby; i think this could well have been a Redang baby. hehe.

Number 7 : 'Do it more' in order to 'make it once'. But not to the extent that you're participating in some kind of marathon...Be comfortable with your own pace and you wouldn't even need to bother with an ovulation calendar.

Reading stuff like the different sexual positions to aim for a boy or a girl, or how you should lift your legs in the air afterwards, all paint a truly hilarious picture. You're bound to try it at some point and after a while, just laugh yourself silly. lol.

Number 8 : Stay positive, just be happy and think 'what will be, will be'.

*******************************************************************************

There now, my own version of what we did to end up where i am today. Wouldn't say it's 100% foolproof; i'm still hoping and praying for the best to come for me and growing baby. ^^

But i hope sharing this here will benefit someone else even if only in a small way.

Don't be disheartened if the results don't go your way.

Funny thing about this is you are likely to follow all the above steps, but nothing happens.

Then just when you start to give up, wa la, u get a positive result!

Took us 8 months to realise this. ^.^

esha & ravin ... happily married

It was on Sept 10 that i was at Restoran Nelayan, Titiwangsa Lake to attend a wedding dinner. My first time here, so wasn't sure what to expect, except i was hoping it was gonna be a night free of mosquitoes.

The stunning bridal car was parked right in front of the restaurant.

The celebrated newly weds, Ravin and Esha looking dashing as ever. Imagine having to plaster that smile on your face the whole night.

As we made our way towards the banquet hall...passing by other diners...

...luckily dinner was to be served in an enclosed air-conditioned hall.

The main table which sat only 6 people...

This cupcake tower was the first thing that caught my eye once i entered the hall! Even moreso, check out the amount of cream on top of each cupcake!

This one here (as our table gift), looks more edible.

All in all, our course dinner was as expected, if not better for a quality Malay-style wedding dinner. Never mind there wasn't any sharks fin soup (those poor creatures!) but at least food was aplenty and came in a timely fashion.

Kudos to the couple too for bringing in one of the better emcees and sitarist Hamid Khan with his band, who kept us all entertained throughout the night with songs in different languages (even Chinese and Latin!).

Whilst it was a joyous occasion that night, no one was prouder than the parents of the bride, watching their only daughter all grown up and starting a new chapter in her life.

Even I managed to embrace a whole new experience from this destined communion, particularly on the morning of Sept 10. Here's what happened...

First, we headed over to Lanson Place to pick up the bride for the wedding ceremony.

The nice lobby of this exquisite serviced apartment.

Finally went up to find a glowing Esha donned in a cream-colored elaborately embroidered baju kurung and tudung. Ain't she a pretty sight? I so envy my sister-in-law looking so serene and elegant in this traditional wear... =)
(Oops, did i forget to mention that Esha is Mark's younger sister?)

You see, Hwee Nee (Esha is her Muslim name) had found her soul mate in Ravin (an Indian Muslim) and finally on this blessed day, they were to be married in the National Mosque.
With the solemnization being held at this place of worship,

...that calls for me to be dressed for the occasion (and place) too!

dun laugh k..

thanks Hwee Nee, for the attire!

i said dun laugh leh..

While i thought wearing something somewhat baggy like a baju kurung could hide my growing belly, boy, was i wrong. lol.

Looking back at this picture, i can't help but laugh at my 'dangling' baju kurung as compared to how it's usually worn. Truth is i had to wear my baju kurung way above my huge waistline, hence exposing my naked feet. (shy).

After some brief introduction and exchanging of greetings among the new family members, it was time to gather inside the hall for the wedding ceremony to begin.

The hall looked magnificent and the lights bring out the best of traditional Islamic art, calligraphy and design. The men sat on one side,

while the women gathered in the opposite direction. That's me with my mum-in-law, Esha and Jill (Esha's best friend).

Calm and anxiously waiting for the ceremony to begin....

The kadi arrives and delivers the wedding sermon (kutbah nikah).

The rest of the family members and guests gather closer, including the women too.

A nervous looking bride waits patiently for her turn, while her hubby faces the kadi.

The kadi makes sure everything he spoke off is understood by the groom.
This includes the conditional divorce, which (to my surprise), speaks of how to invoke a divorce in the event the husband leaves the wife for a period of 4 months without providing for her whatsoever. wow.

In fact, the kadi had on this very serious 'dun mess with me' expression on his face the entire time.