just sharing

my favourite sites that are baby/parenting related include, among others are:

• Babycenter
• Babble
• Shine from Yahoo
• Parenthots

there also various sites and pages on facebook specially dedicated to parenting and baby/kid related posts. being a contest junkie, i am always on the lookout for contests and now that i have my little Babycakes, i am always on the lookout for contests for babies too. when i was confinement, i won a RM50 Giant voucher from a Huggies sms contest. i will write about this in another post.

recently i took part in Parenthots where all i need to do is share my personal experience regarding babies, kids, parenting and the like. it can be anything so i simply submitted one and hey, my entry was published online. the title of my short post is Shopping Smart For Baby.

i'm not sure if my entry will be the best entry of the month but i remain hopeful. i could get a RM20 Giant voucher which can be used to buy Babycakes' toiletries. but if it is not chosen as the best of the month, it's ok. sharing is, after all, caring, right?

we won a diaper!

I won a packet of Baby Love Night Jumbo pack from a contest in Mami & Baby magazine for Irene yeay! I entered the contest many months back that i've forgotten about it until i received an email notifying me of my win and asking me to collect the prize.

hmpph. apa la salahnya courierkan aje? what if the winner stays in Shah Alam, Bangi or even outstation, it would be a hassle for them to go all the way to the god-forsaken place office, right? they will have to arrange for courier service themselves.

their office is at Taman Mastiara, Jalan Ipoh. they provided a map and they don't even have a signboard. in the map, they stated 'Farm Land Fresh Organics' as the landmark but their office is opposite the Farm Land Fresh Organics shop. why can't they quote 'J.Y Caterer' instead? it's right next to them and its signboard is big and clear. hmpph.

this is the diaper that we won. by we, i mean Irene and I. I entered the contest but it's for her that's why I say we. geddit? luckily i put her diaper size as M size. she can definitely fit them. If i had written NB or S size, she won't be able to wear them. so to those of you who plan on entering contests (especially like this), remember that it will take weeks or in most cases months for them to announce and notify the winner so always think ahead.

little books for my little one

it is never too early to instill good reading habit in your little one. the books or reading materials need not be expensive, as long as it has bright colours and patterns, different textures, crinkly and squeaky sounds, it can give endless hours of exploring. reading to your little one is a good way to increase her vocabulary and to improve her listening skills. you can read almost anything to her. sometimes i would show Babycakes catalogs from Giant or Tesco, sometimes i show her Dominos Pizza menu or flyers that i get stuck on my car. i would also read the newspaper to her too but she would only pay attention for a couple of minutes or so before she started to lose interest.

we have several books for her but she can't hold the books by herself yet, let alone turn the pages.

bought these books online from MyBaby Helper. managed to get some discount for buying a lot.

yup, since she can't turn the pages or hold the book, she lost interest within 3 minutes or so.

i searched online and bought a few cloth books for her from Gifts From Heaven. they sell really cheap cloth books that i ended up buying 5 cloth books for Babycakes, with each costing a mere RM12. that is very reasonable as compared to RM39.90 or more each. the good thing about the site is that they have a disclaimer telling you if the item(s) are defective or dirty or if it's a ex-manufacturer stock or if some pages are printed upside down etc. they even said that customers who are particular are not advisable to buy.

there is nothing wrong with the cloth books that i purchased, except for one, which the page is a bit senget and the tag is upside down. other than that, all is fine.


Babycakes doesn't seem to mind at all. in fact, she even reads them upside down!

i was so excited to give her the books that day but i see that she is even more excited as she grabbed the book herself when i was busy taking pictures.

the duck book has a furry cover, squeaker and its wing has a crinkly sound.

this Garanimals book even has teethers for her to chew on.

the books kept her entertained for hours, which gives me time to do other things. i guess we can skip buying Grolier book set for now. they're really expensive! there's always MPH and Popular bookstores too which sell good books at reasonable price.

lunchtime shopping

in my previous post i said that if i go to the shops, i will always get something for my baby, didn't i? today i did just that. i'm glad that i don't work near shopping malls anymore. i've worked at Jalan Pinang once and hey, KLCC and Pavilion were my playground then. i can't imagine if i am still working there. i will surely spend most of my money and lunch time at either KLCC or Pavilion. phew~ that wouldn't be good for the pocket and for the future. my current office is in Hartamas and there are many shops, restaurants, cafes, boutiques, spas etc. thankfully there is only one shop (or at least one that i know for now) that sells babies' and kids' clothing. damn. there goes my money. i love to browse and look around but i manage to control and refrain myself from buying anything for babycakes. i mean, she has tons of clothes and some she hasn't even worn yet! but then the clothes and the gowns are just too adorable to resist. so far i've only bought her 3 pairs of socks (before she was born) and today i bought her 2 pieces of panties. not bad for self-control, right? *pat on my back*

a baby girl needs panties when she wears her gowns, right? *alasan*

Fisher Price panties for only RM6. trust me if they costs more than RM6, i would not buy. i'd love to get the printed ones, they are cuter but they only have size 0-3 months.

as for myself, i bought this pair of earring from F Block for RM10. their boutique is near my office and they sell pretty and cute ear rings and hair accessories ughhh. they're so cute and so cheap i just have to buy, no? i've bought several hair bands and ear rings too before this. note to self: stay away from F Block!!

the difference

ever since being a mum and back to work, i became more selfless. everything is about the baby. everything has got to be about the baby. she is on my mind 24/7, i can never stop thinking and worrying about her especially during the day when i'm at work and she's at the nursery.
what is she doing at this very moment? did she drink her milk? did they burp her after her milk? is the milk that i send enough for the day? is she behaving well at the nursery? are they treating her well? does she have enough stimulation in between naps? oh my. the more i think the more i become anxious. anyway let's see the difference before and after i had a baby.

BEFORE BABY
i can go to the shopping mall after work for some me time or buy some stuffs for dinner.

AFTER BABY
i have to go back straight without making any stops so that i can pick my babycakes at the nursery asap.

BEFORE BABY
i go to the shops and buy things for none other than myself (and the occasional stuffs for hubby).

AFTER BABY
if i go to the shops, i can never leave without buying a little something for my baby, be it a teeny weeny toy or a pack of socks. or a new pacifier. there must be something for her.

BEFORE BABY
i've no doubts about spending money for myself.

AFTER BABY
i hesitate to even buy a RM50 top for myself but i don't mind paying RM30 for a teething toy.

BEFORE BABY
hubby and i can go to any restaurants to eat.

AFTER BABY
hubby and i will see if the restaurants is a baby-friendly restaurant i.e not noisy, spacious enough for a stroller, there are separate sections for smoking and non-smoking, comfortable and not hot and stuffy etc.

BEFORE BABY
i can wear any kind of top when i go out.

AFTER BABY
i have to consider wearing a nursing-friendly top. i only have a few nursing tops and they are not so stylish. if i wear a baby tee, i would wear a tank top underneath. it's hot and not that comfortable but like i said, it has got to be about the baby.

BEFORE BABY
we can easily go up and down the floors at shopping mall using the escalator.

AFTER BABY
we have to wait for the elevator to get to different floors and sometimes it takes forever and it is almost always full. we then have to wait for another, which takes time. so we had to make sure which floor we want to go to so as not to waste time just by waiting for the elevator.

BEFORE BABY
i can sneeze and cough for as loud as i can.

AFTER BABY
i had to control and compress my sneeze and cough especially when the baby is sleeping.

BEFORE BABY
i couldn't care less about nose booger and ear wax except mine.

AFTER BABY
i get super excited and i feel like it's an achievement when i managed to suck out a nose booger out of her nose (with a nasal aspirator, of course). i also get super excited when i clean her ears and gosh who would have thought that someone so little can produce so much ear wax?? wow. oh i also love to see her 'high' face when i clean her ears. she would have her eyes half-closed, looking all high and feeling good when i clean her ears.

that's all i can think of at the moment. now i'm missing her like crazy especially after spending quality time with her during the long weekend. i miss golek-goleking with her in bed, in front of the tv, hear her babble away and screams at the top of her lungs (it's her new found habit), kissing her until she rimas hehe oh the list goes on and on.

damn it's only 12pm?