Lizzie as a Mummy: End of Confinement

Sunday, March 16, 2014

End of Confinement - Yeay!!

Yeay for the end of confinement!

Let's count the number of things I violated during my confinement. Climbed the staircase a handful of times, drove the car once to PKNS (it was urgent!), weekly trips out to shopping malls to keep me sane, and dessert - I can never say no to dessert, and vegan ones without butter and eggs just ain't the same. I even have a rule - indulge on only one cookie per day. Oh, let's also not forget the one time I had salted brinjals (sedap gilerrrrr) but paid for it dearly bila angin masuk badan. And the other time when my MIL brought cempedak goreng to the house when she came to visit, and I think I had erm, probably 5 pieces? Sometimes, I would help myself to some karipap that we usually serve to visitors. Halfway through my confinement, I even gave away my pilis and serbuk pelangsing perut to my urut lady!

Well, at least it was an uneventful and successful confinement. No bentan, no gatal. Ended my confinement by losing 17kg out of the 22kg I gained. (And thankfully the remaining 5kg slipped away as well the following month.)

My confinement was due to end on Sunday, so I had my last visit with Dr Seri on the Friday of that week. After seeing her religiously every month during the pregnancy, I have to admit that I was quite sad that I wouldn't be meeting her again. Seriously, she is the most bubbly and vivacious doctor in town. She is so cheerful every time I see her, cracking jokes and melayan my drama outbursts, while also being professional all at the same time. Despite being the gynae to retis retis Malaysia, I feel that she treats all her patients with the same fabulous bedside manner. I was watching Yasmin Hani's Selebriti Materniti where they showed her gynae appointment with Dr Seri, and I burst out laughing when I recognized the same tone of voice that she would use whenever she is scanning the baby.

Thank you, Dr Seri!

Aiden weighed 5kg at one and a half months.

Sleeping peacefully after his one month jab.

The next day, we received news that my dad was coming to visit! Yes, after 43days, Ian was finally going to get to meet his grandfather, whom he shares the same birth date with. While waiting for him to arrive, Hubby and Aiden had some quality time in the garden.

Now this is why my garden is always trimmed and beautiful. I have a husband who loves gardening! Me? I love shopping *grin*

Sadly, we had to chop all the leaves off my pokok kari due to insect infestation. (But just two months after, the pokok kari is back in business - plump, insect free leaves, so don't be afraid to chop it off if you have the same problem.

Hubby turned on the sprinkler and Aiden ran around happily in the garden.

Cheap entertainment!

My father arrived, bush jacket and all *grin*

So that's where Ian got his nose from!

Smiles all around.

Three generations share the same birth date!

43 days in and I was still wearing my socks dutifully.

Then finally, the day arrived! *campak socks in the air* The family celebrated the end of my confinement by bringing me to a buffet - how appropriate! We went to Atmosphere 360, the elegant modern revolving restaurant, 282m above ground level at Menara Kuala Lumpur - the tallest tower in Southeast Asia! During the journey there, I tried explaining to Aiden that the restaurant would revolve around and we would be able to see the entire city from the top of the tower. He got all excited - I think he thought the restaurant would spin rapidly like a top! True enough, when we got there, he was so disappointed about how slow the floor was moving. But at least the buffet area didn't revolve, so he got the kicks from seeing how much further away we were moving from the buffet area with every bite he took.

Waiting for the elevator to the top.

Ian, on the other hand, didn't really enjoy himself. He gave us the biggest poop ever, soiled all his clothes, blanket and even the stroller seat! Hubby used up an entire pack of wipes to clean him up, while I ate and took care of Aiden. (Now that we have two kids, we have to practice the one parent per child rule.) Unfortunately, by the time Hubby came back, it was close to tea time and they were starting to clear the lunch buffet. Poor hubby didn't get to enjoy the food. Also, I thought the selection of food was pretty limited, which was a shame because the last two times I had dinner there, I was quite impressed with their array of food. Taste of food was decent, but nothing I would rave about. The buffet area was also quite small, so it was not easy trying to put food on my plate among the throngs of people, while making sure Aiden didn't go wandering around by himself. And you know how mothers would have to put food on two plates at the same time - one for herself and one for her child? Well, that was not easy either, because the buffet line up was so packed that there was no space for me to rest one plate down while I used one hand to scoop food onto both plates. Also, the buffet didn't include sky juice! Yup, since I was still on my 100days no ice pantang, I requested for warm water, only to be told that they only served cold cordial drinks. Fortunately the waiter was quite apologetic about it so I agreed to pay additional for a bottle of room temperature mineral water.

But at least, the views from the top made it all worth it. Since it was close to tea time, we were among the last to leave. The waiters were more than happy to help us snap photos, even though they were busy clearing the plates. The view was really breathtaking - it was a shame we didn't get a seat by the huge windows.The waiter promised to move us if there was an empty spot, but of course that never happened. So, if there is ever a next time, I must remember to get there early for good seats.