Yikes! 2.5 months has passed just in the blink of an eye, and I've got to start work tomorrow. Back to the grind, and back to battling the infamous rush hour traffic. How sad!
Looking back, I think I had a much "easier" confinement this time compared to the first one. MIL, who acted as my confinement lady took care of most things – cooked my meals and double-boiled nutritious soups/tonics, prepared herbal bath water for me, and bathed the baby. I also washed my hair once a week. I even went out several times – three visits to the paediatrician for Yan Yan's jaundice, one visit to my obstetrician for my first week post-natal check-up, and an outing to settle stuff for Yan Yan's fullmoon gifts. In between, I also drove out numerous times to fetch my urut lady to and from bus stop.
In the second month after MIL left, I took care of Yan Yan by myself and prepared my own simple lunch - either leftover from previous day's dinner, or soup with one vege/meat, or pasta with frozen sauces. Sometimes, my younger sister who works nearby will pop by and we'll go out for lunch together. I started expressing breast milk in the 6th week, in preparation for my trip to Montreal later this month. On hindsight, I should have started expressing much earlier to build up more stocks, but I think what I have in my freezer now should still be enough to last Yan Yan for the entire duration of my trip.
Overall, I was also a lot more energetic, and had a lot more time to go online and do things which I couldn't do in the usual stressful and hurried pace of working days. So here's what I've been up to in these 2.5 months:
- Completed two photobooks on on our trips to Hong Kong and Macau, Yogyakarta, Pangkor Laut Resort and Singapore.
- Developed photos for mum & MIL.
- Took Yiu Yiu for her first visit to the dentist.
- Sold my car and made all the arrangements myself.
- Won some hair clips in a blogger's contest
- Learnt how to use my dSLR properly by reading the manual inside out. Had wanted to sign up for a course organized by Canon but didn't manage to fit in the time.
- Stashed 260 oz of breastmilk.
Looking back, I think I had a much "easier" confinement this time compared to the first one. MIL, who acted as my confinement lady took care of most things – cooked my meals and double-boiled nutritious soups/tonics, prepared herbal bath water for me, and bathed the baby. I also washed my hair once a week. I even went out several times – three visits to the paediatrician for Yan Yan's jaundice, one visit to my obstetrician for my first week post-natal check-up, and an outing to settle stuff for Yan Yan's fullmoon gifts. In between, I also drove out numerous times to fetch my urut lady to and from bus stop.
In the second month after MIL left, I took care of Yan Yan by myself and prepared my own simple lunch - either leftover from previous day's dinner, or soup with one vege/meat, or pasta with frozen sauces. Sometimes, my younger sister who works nearby will pop by and we'll go out for lunch together. I started expressing breast milk in the 6th week, in preparation for my trip to Montreal later this month. On hindsight, I should have started expressing much earlier to build up more stocks, but I think what I have in my freezer now should still be enough to last Yan Yan for the entire duration of my trip.
Overall, I was also a lot more energetic, and had a lot more time to go online and do things which I couldn't do in the usual stressful and hurried pace of working days. So here's what I've been up to in these 2.5 months:
- Completed two photobooks on on our trips to Hong Kong and Macau, Yogyakarta, Pangkor Laut Resort and Singapore.
- Developed photos for mum & MIL.
- Took Yiu Yiu for her first visit to the dentist.
- Sold my car and made all the arrangements myself.
- Won some hair clips in a blogger's contest
- Learnt how to use my dSLR properly by reading the manual inside out. Had wanted to sign up for a course organized by Canon but didn't manage to fit in the time.
- Stashed 260 oz of breastmilk.
Breastmilk occupying two compartments of the freezer
Breastmilk in breastmilk storage bags (L) and ais-krim Malaysia bags (R)
There are still a couple of things I had planned to do, but didn’t manage to:
- I have this weird habit of reading blogs in chronological order so whenever I follow a new blog, I'd try to read from the very beginning. There are several blogs which I wanted to follow, and I had planned to read all the old posts during my maternity leave but didn’t manage to.
- I borrowed the VCD for the Chinese series Moonlight Resonance (家好月圆), from my elder sister aeons ago, and had watched up to episode 14 then. I thought I could finish watching it during my maternity leave but alas, I didn't even watch one episode. The series premiered on Astro Wah Lai Toi when I started my maternity leave, and ends tomorrow, but again, I didn't follow it, coz 9.30-10.30pm is the time I'm busy getting Yiu Yiu to drink her milk, brush her teeth and read her a book before putting her to sleep.
- I bought some Photobook vouchers last year during one of the fairs they participated in, all of which are due to expire by year end. I had grand plans to create four photobooks, one for each year of Yiu Yiu's life during my maternity leave, but sadly, I'm nowhere near completion. So far, I've only managed to choose the photos for her 1st – 3rd years among the thousands digital images I have. I still need to do some simple edits (brightness, enhance colours, crop, etc) before arranging them with the software. I wonder if I can really complete four books by year end, and if I can't, I wonder if the folks at Photobook would be kind enough to extend the expiry date of the vouchers.
Ahh…how I would miss these relaxing, blissful days.
- I have this weird habit of reading blogs in chronological order so whenever I follow a new blog, I'd try to read from the very beginning. There are several blogs which I wanted to follow, and I had planned to read all the old posts during my maternity leave but didn’t manage to.
- I borrowed the VCD for the Chinese series Moonlight Resonance (家好月圆), from my elder sister aeons ago, and had watched up to episode 14 then. I thought I could finish watching it during my maternity leave but alas, I didn't even watch one episode. The series premiered on Astro Wah Lai Toi when I started my maternity leave, and ends tomorrow, but again, I didn't follow it, coz 9.30-10.30pm is the time I'm busy getting Yiu Yiu to drink her milk, brush her teeth and read her a book before putting her to sleep.
- I bought some Photobook vouchers last year during one of the fairs they participated in, all of which are due to expire by year end. I had grand plans to create four photobooks, one for each year of Yiu Yiu's life during my maternity leave, but sadly, I'm nowhere near completion. So far, I've only managed to choose the photos for her 1st – 3rd years among the thousands digital images I have. I still need to do some simple edits (brightness, enhance colours, crop, etc) before arranging them with the software. I wonder if I can really complete four books by year end, and if I can't, I wonder if the folks at Photobook would be kind enough to extend the expiry date of the vouchers.
Ahh…how I would miss these relaxing, blissful days.
14 comments:
impressive! your ebm stock that is! :) ...when you've mentioned that you should started earlier, i didn't expect that much but really, that is alot!
so fast 2.5 mths already, feels like yesterday you just gave birth! hope you settle fast to your work schedule coz it took me a while. ;)
Maternity leave is always too short, yeah? You're lucky for having such a good MIL :-)
With a baby and toddler, you are considered very efficient already... can get so many things done! Stash of 260 oz EBS? Bravo!!!
wow! your stash of expressed milk is impressive! it takes a lot of patience to accumulate that much. (i used to laugh at myself whenever i'd use the pump -- coz it made me feel like a cow haha!)
Syn/Mimi - that's assuming she takes 3oz every 3 hours. If her intake increases, then the stock may not be enough liao. But will still be pumping and stocking up till the day I leave :-)
BoeyJoey - haha, pampered like a queen when MIL was around :-) She's really a nice lady, doesn't interfere with any of my decisions.
If your doter consumes more and u run out of stocks while u r away, how?
wah u really keng lah, so many photobooks in 2.5 months!! Next time i wanna to photobook i know who to outsource to hehe..
Wow~ 260oz is a lot... I can never achieve that!!!
You seem have done alot of activities during your maternity leaves.
it is a wonder u manage to do sooo many things in your confinement. you are so blessed to have nice MIL who takes good care of you.
You have been productive during the 2.5 months :) And wow...your EBM stock is really, really impressive!
WK - I'm still working to stock up these two weeks before I leave. Hopefully will have surplus. If not, then have to give formula lor, what to do? Will continue on breastmilk after I come back.
Jazz - come, come, outsource to me :-)
Beckysmum - you no need to pump la - direct nursing is so much easier.
MeRy - haha, still a lot not done :-)
Chinnee - yeah, I'm thankful for her help.
Kittycat - wished I had a little bit more time to finish up the other photobooks. My EBM is a case of "desperate times call for desperate measures" :-)
that's really a lot of BM!!!
OMG! You are like a milk factory!!!! I wish I could have half the amount later!
So impress to see your huge stock up
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