Our trip to Malaysia - Part 1: Getting on a plane with a 3 month old baby

A couple of weeks ago, I decided on the spur of the moment to travel back to Malaysia with Isaac for a holiday. It was a month since my parents and in-laws left Melbourne and I was really missing family. Isaac was also doing all these new tricks and I was so eager to show him off. Not very rewarding for Isaac when he is only performing to an audience of one everyday - Mummy and mummy again. Isaac's a bit of a morning person so he doesn't really respond to dad when he comes home after work or any night visitors who want him to strut his stuff. All the baby really wants to do at that hour is head off to lala land or rest on mummy's chest while sucking on his tiny fist.

After I booked our tickets, I suddenly had a panic attack. I only had one day to pack for the both of us and I was really nervous flying with a baby especially since Ken wasn't coming along. I had to sshh the chaos that was going on, be positive and come up with a plan, try to stick to it and hope for the best. I read a couple of articles and tips from parents who had flown with an infant so I took all that in. 

So the big day arrived and this is what I did...

I didn't have a stroller (only a big-ish pram) so decided to put Isaac in the baby bjorn carrier whilst carrying him at the airport until we were on the plane. This was great as Isaac felt secure being close to me in such a public space. It also freed up my hands. 

He had his dummy attached to his bib all the time. This kept my mind at ease knowing he could be easily and quickly soothed if he were to start fussing or wanted to sleep. 

We also web checked-in so it saved us time queuing up. After we checked in, we headed to Mc Donalds to get some breakfast including Isaac. I took him out of the carrier to feed him. 

It was really helpful travelling with someone as my father in law was in charge of completing our departure cards and holding on to all our boarding passes and passports. This helped me concentrate fully on the baby such as talking to him and stroking his head or hands so he would be settled. Just as we were about to leave Mc Donalds and head in, Isaac needed a nappy change so we got that done. I was happy knowing that he was full and had a clean nappy. 

We quickly headed in and there was a very long queue at immigration. We were running slightly late. While we were queuing up, Isaac got lots of adoring smiles from other passengers and those around us even chatted with us. Finally passed immigration and dashed passed the shops towards the boarding gate. Too bad no time for window shopping :(

We sat down amongst some aunties. Isaac got more adoring smiles and so did we! Then someone said that families with children had boarded so we quickly jumped the queue and the flight attendants let us in. 

Some passengers had boarded the plane by the time we went in. We flew with a budget airline so it was pretty cramped. I had booked a front seat where the bassinet was but was told the seat directly in front of the bassinet was taken. I assumed another family with an infant was travelling. However, it turns out it was a couple without an infant. It was a bit awkward at first but I shall skip through the details. It all worked out in the end because I managed to use the bassinet seat and the couple didn't mind even though it was in their way. *Not flying with budget airline for international flights again*

Most people say to allow the baby to feed while the plane takes off to relief the pressure in their ears. Isaac fed at first but when the plane started going really fast and started its ascend he was startled and had his eyes opened really wide looking about what was going on. I then gave him the pacifier and he didn't cry at all. For safety purposes, he was also attached to me using an infant seat belt which was a bit cumbersome and I didn't quite like. It is optional so I didn't use it on my return flight.  

Anyhow throughout the 7 1/2 hour flight, Isaac stuck to his feed, play, sleep routine. He has eczema so the itch from it was really the only thing that bothered him. It was a bit difficult to sleep in the bassinet because he was so distracted by all the people walking up and down and looking at him. He slept in my arms or his grandpa's arms a few times and only slept in the bassinet twice. Each time he slept for only about 30 minutes.

The other issue is that I could not raise the arm rests where I was and it was too cramped to breastfeed Isaac so towards the end of the flight, I was feeding him in the restroom. It wasn't dirty or smelly which is why I decided to feed him there. 

I often find that I get really bored during the flight. 7 1/2 hours seems like a lot of time to kill. This time, it went by so quickly! I couldn't believe it. I was doing so many things like playing with him, feed, burping him, changing his nappy and before I knew it, 5 hours had gone by and they were serving the second round of meals. The next thing you know, we've arrived! The baby was sound asleep in my arms when he descended so no dramas. When we were about the exit the plane, the lady next to me complimented Isaac on how good he was. I was so proud of our little boy :)

Ah what a relief...now the holiday begins!

How are you?

I have made a few new friends who have babies about the same age as Isaac. It has been nice meeting other mummies who are in the same boat as you. Every time we meet, we would ask the question, 'How are you?'. The first response is often, "oh my baby didn't sleep well last night. He...." or a comment about their baby. The funny thing is, when someone asks me that question, I would also respond the same way, "Isaac has been doing this...". After we have given a report on our babies, then we start talking about ourselves. This just shows how our lives and looking after our baby or child are so intricately connected. If the baby slept well, mummy slept well. If the child had a tantrum, mummy is bound to be exhausted by it all.

Sometimes I really just want to know how the person is doing and what she has been up to. But often it takes a few probing before she starts talking about herself and not her baby. Yesterday I met my friend for lunch and when I asked her about her, she gave me the rundown on her baby's routine. It was good to know but I really wanted to know what she had been up to, non-baby stuff. 

I suppose it just shows how consumed we can be with our kids.

I spend so much time with Isaac. He now has a routine which I think works really well for us all so this has given him a good sleeping pattern and it helps me plan my day a little better. However, when he is awake, there is so much to do with him or for him. So I suppose it is only natural that when someone asks you about you, you talk about what you have been spending most of your time on. Well, I suppose for some people that means talking about Candy Crush? haha

Wardrobe nightmare

I have to rant about my clothes. It's been a nightmare since I came home from hospital. It has been 10 weeks since the baby came and I haven't done much to alleviate this fashion torture I am going through. Ok, maybe I am sounding a bit like a drama queen. But here's the spill on things...

Before I delivered, I thought about my clothes and what I was going to wear post-pregnancy. I went to K-Mart and got myself some breastfeeding tops...you know, those that allow you to get the baby on the breast as soon as possible with little hassle. I wasn't sure how much I would shrink in size so didn't buy any bigger sized clothes.

After the baby arrived, I realised I couldn't fit into a lot of my clothes especially my jeans. It is not a nice feeling when you try to button your jeans and you can't. No matter how hard you tummy tuck and pull on the jeans, the button just won't loop around the hole.

Anyway, having a baby at home and shopping for clothes do not go hand in hand. So I desperately went through my stash of clothes hoping to find ones that still fit. Sadly a lot of them didn't fit but there were a few that did.

I finally got out of the house and bought two new pairs of jeans. I went to the store and tried on a couple of sizes and cuts. The shop assistant was offering her advice on the size and fit. I tried a pair and it felt like it just fitted around the waist. Not too lose, not too tight. I like my clothes a bit lose but sometimes it's not very fashionable to do that. The shop assistant said that jeans will expand a little so you don't want to buy a pair that is lose because jeans don't look good if they are a bit lose. I was a bit hesitant but I figured she's probably right because baggy jeans don't look good. So I bought two pairs of jeans..got them altered...and placed them in my wardrobe.

The other day, I took one pair out and put them on. It felt fine when I was standing but the minute I sat down, it was too tight. The button was poking into my stomach. Arghh!! I couldn't believe this! *Note to self - Next time when trying on pants/jeans, try sitting down in them.

Haihs...it's so annoying every time I open my cupboard and I look at all my clothes and can't wear most of them. I hate shopping because I always make stupid decisions like this pair of jeans. I guess I will just have to slowly fill up my wardrobe again with nice, fitting, comfortable clothes. Until then, I shall wear baggy t-shirts, leggings and my limited supply of clothes that still fit. Sobssss....

It is true, It does get better :)

It is amazing how fast a newborn develops. I remember reading article after article about how the six week mark is significant. The six week mark is when you meet with your doctor/GP for a final check post-pregnancy. The GP then gives you the final clearance as if to say, you are all well and so is your baby, you have recovered from this massive impact on your body and you have passed all the challenges like breastfeeding, your health, etc. Now you can go shopping! No, he doesn't say that but I like to think it implies that because that's exactly what I did :P On a more serious note, the six week mark is your green light to going back to doing everything pre-pregnancy. It's back to exercising and jumping up and down, aerobics, zumba..you name it. It is also back to resuming your sexual life pre-pregnancy...when you made that baby! Now the baby is here. It's been so long, how did we make that baby again? Yes, time sure flies.

Anyway, being Chinese and considering the confinement period of four weeks, I often thought that the four week mark was meant to be your day of liberation. However, I must say that I did not really feel 'liberated' after four weeks. It still seemed like I had been on the treadmill since I was admitted to hospital. However, after six weeks, I can definitely say that it has gotten much better. You have figured things out and the baby has matured and grown so much. 

Isaac is now 2 months old and he is doing so many things he could not do before. He can now entertain himself much longer by staring at objects, sucking his fists and sucking on his pacifier or his joon joon as we call it in Hokkien. Previously, he always wanted to be close to people or carried. He would totally ignore the hanging objects on the mobile on the rocker. He took forever to breastfeed. He now stares intently at the objects on the mobile, he can track objects so well with his eyes, he feeds so much faster now (I never thought this day would come) and he is now cooing and smiling. I can't wait for his first chuckle! He is simply adorable :) 

So it is true, to all new mums and mums-to-be, it does get better! 

Little Isaac at 1 month :)

Look at me now :) Chubby bunny!

A whiff of liberation

Early this week, I had to pick up my new pair of glasses from the optometrist. I was really looking forward to that morning. I had it all planned out. I made sure the baby was full before I left and I left Ken with a bottle of milk for the baby in case he got hungry. I wanted to use this opportunity to have some me-time for a couple of hours.

I can't remember the last time I left the house without a baby and pram. I can't even remember the last time I went shopping! Anyway, headed out the house and got in the car. I stepped into the shopping center....ahhh...coffee. It was such a nice feeling...a feeling of liberation even though it would only be for a few hours. 

It's funny when I think of that moment. It's funny because it is the little things that can make one happy. I have stepped into that same shopping center countless times before the baby was born but was always in a hurry to get in and out. But this time was different..this time it was like greeting an old friend with a smile and saying, 'hello again, I'm sorry I took you for granted. You smell nice...like coffee :)'

That was a great morning. I got my glasses, bought two pairs of jeans, went to Target to look at baby things (Yes, mind still on baby..sigh..), bought a box of nappies from Toys R Us (Again, baby...), went to Coles. It was a nice nice morning :)))