Of The Biggest Loser and Warehouse Sales

It has been three days since I last updated this blog on my attempt to get Aiden to sleep in the Playpen. And since then, I have accepted that my nightly futile efforts are all in vain. Does that make me a lousy Mummy? Nope, it only means that I treasure my night sleep. Haha... do sympathise, I am trying desperately to make myself feel better. Every night I would put Aiden in the playpen fast asleep, only to have him wake me up bleary eyed two hours (or three hours if I am lucky) later. And I would almost always give him his feeding vertically, which also leads to me back to lala land, and Aiden warm and happy underneath the covers in between his two favourite people in the whole wide world. Therefore Operation Playpen is now obsolete. It looks easier in print, than when done. However, I shall at least put Aiden in his Playpen before Mummy and Daddy retreats to bed – it is the very least that I can do to ensure that me and hubby get our “quality time” together, where we whisper in the dark about house renovations, pre-school fees (do you know that pre-school costs as much as a degree at an IPTA would per term??), share our maid woes, gossip about just about everyone and anyone, and plan our weekend! Oh also to get Aiden used to the Playpen, for the resurrection of Operation Playpen when Aiden turns 3 or 4 months... not years, mind you!

Enough about my failure, and back to the title of this post - my story on what happened yesterday. After leaving Aiden safe in the hands of Bibik, I left for a scrumptious salad lunch in Nandos with a few colleagues. Salad??!! *gasp!* Yes, I am capable of having salad, thank you very much. After lunch, I headed straight to the office for my weigh in. Weigh in? *gasp!* What the hell is going on?

Yes, that’s right. In an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle (and to ensure that their experienced hires don’t conk out and die from a heart attack due to the stress inflicted by work), the Deepwater office decided to split all its workers into 4 different coloured “houses” – red, green, yellow and blue. And each house sends its finest to compete in various sports. And the Red house decided that I was worthy of the Biggest Loser challenge. Haha. I think they were impressed with the 20kg lost from the pregnancy, and thought that they would win by having me in the team. Hmm... or am I just comforting myself here?

For the Biggest Loser challenge, each house nominates six participants, and each team is assigned a personal trainer. The trainer then forces his team through various cardiovascular and muscle building training. After 8 weeks, each team is weighed and measured again, and the accumulated weight and inches lost for each team would determine the winner.

So I had my first weigh in yesterday, where I clocked an impressive certain kilograms. And an impressive certain inches around the hips. Then my first meeting with fellow team members and our personal trainer. First order of the day: stand on one leg with your eyes closed for at least a minute. Easier said than done. I clocked a lousy 3 seconds on my left leg, and another lousy 15 seconds on my right. Second order of the day: training starts next Friday at the KLCC Park. Be prepared to run.

I am not going to let my team down. Which explains the salad. And why I was on the treadmill twice this week. And why I am feeling very very very hungry now.

After the weigh in, I drove to Klang to join one of my girlfriends, Iza at the Toys R’ Us warehouse sale. On my way there, I decided to drag another girlfriend, soon-to-be-Mum, Dayang, so I drove by Bukit Jelutong to pick her up. After 15 minutes of moaning about moving to Shah Alam and the subsequent misery of traffic jams to work much to the chagrin of the Shah Alam resident , we arrived at Centro, Klang. Lo and behold, it was like a land full of warehouse sales! Not only was Toys R’ Us on sale, so was Times Bookstore. And FJ Benjamin which houses Guess, Raoul and La Senza, has a store on the ground selling last season’s designs.

I went into Toys R’ Us with a practical mindset. Buy only practical items. Forget the fact that gaji baru masuk. Toyed around with the idea of getting a playgym for Aiden, but Aiden already has one, why would he need another? Wanted to buy a toy slide which we can install in the garden of the new house, but they weren’t selling any. Iza showed me a couple of items that she bought for her girl, Ayesha. However they were too advanced for Aiden’s age. Dayang was going crazy at the apparel section. However, Aiden has a ton of clothes. At last I bought a toy fit for a 6 month old, and 2 Sesame Street VCDs of nursery rhymes. Not so much for Aiden, but more for Daddy who’s getting a bit rusty on the lullabies.

Advanced on to Times Bookstore, where I thumbed through a copy of The Dummy’s Guide to Healthy Cooking. Weighed the odds of actually using it. Nil, nada, zilch. Returned it to the stack of books. Hunted around for some chick lit (see, I’m not ashamed of admitting it!). Unfortunately nothing new to add to my collection of Cecilia Ahern. But something caught my eye, it was a black paperback with Darth Vader and a Doll on the cover, a book entitled Man and Wife. Written by Tony Parsons, it is a sequel to the book Man and Boy which is a million copy bestseller. Read the reviews on the cover and decided to get both. I am such a sucker for tear-jerkers!

After buying a shirt at Raoul, I decided to call it a day. Unfortunately, Dayang wasn’t quite done and she successfully convinced me to visit the Robinson’s VIP sale. By that time I was missing Aiden quite a bit, so I decided to swing by home to pick up Aiden and Bibik. In Robinsons, I was contemplating on a Fisher Price high seat. Fortunately the practical side of me reminded myself that RM599 is a lot of money when I can get a no-frills high seat for a much cheaper price in Ikea. Wow, hubby would be so proud of me!

By the time we got home, Aiden was sleepy and cranky. I was eager to start on my book. Left hubby with dodoi-ing duties, while I read the first few pages. The thing about me is that, once I start on a book, I cannot stop. Therefore by the time I forced myself to stop, hubby was already fast asleep.

Shopping spree: 1 Playskool toy, 2 Sesame Street VCDs, 1 Ladybird laundry bag, 2 books, 1 girder, 1 Raoul shirt, 1 Nuby bottle, 3 Pigeon bottle cleansers and 2 Adam Kids tops.

The damage: ~RM400. Not too bad, I’ve had worse shopping sprees and paid ten times worse!

N.B: It is NOT easy to concentrate on a book with a 2 month old baby constantly demanding for your attention. Apart from that, I am currently at page 257, and have cried at least twice, once even sobbing quietly on Aiden’s shoulder. I need happier books.

Dressing Up for Pavilion

Green Giraffe Pumpkin Patch top - RM59.90

White Baby Gap slacks - SG 30 dollars

White mittens - free (hand me down from a fellow cousin)

Grey Baby Gap socks - USD 5 dollars

Grey Mexx shoes - USD 15 dollars

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The look on Daddy's face when he arrived home to pick Mummy & Aiden up for dinner at the Pavilion.....

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PRICELESS!

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Hahaha... corny, I know!

Ala ala advertisement Mastercard la ni...

Aiden’s Maiden Night in the Playpen

We were desperate to start introducing Aiden to sleeping in the Playpen. First off, hubby tosses and turns way too much which causes Aiden to stir restlessly as well (while Mummy prays silently for Aiden to continue sleeping). Secondly, I am bored of sleeping as still as a rock or being overly conscious of all my movements and the sounds of the bed springs. Thirdly, erm... three’s a crowd? Fourthly, this co-sleeping business has to stop soon, because if it continues too long, it will be extremely hard to separate Aiden from this habit. Furthermore, he needs to start learning to fall asleep on his own.

According to the book “What To Expect The First Year”, this separation can be attempted once he outgrows the physiological need for frequent feedings during the night. Aiden usually wakes up once or twice for his night feedings, so I decided to give it a go. Furthermore, I am still on extended maternity leave, therefore climbing out of bed once or twice per night does not sound too bad.

12:30am: Aiden fast asleep downstairs in his infant sleeper on the couch downstairs while Mummy & Daddy watches a poorly pirated copy of Angels and Demons.

12:50am: Mummy places Aiden in his Playpen for the very first time (Playpen previously served as a space to store freshly laundered clothes... haha)

1:10am: Mummy finally went under the bed covers. Looked at Daddy, who gave her a smile – and continued typing on his laptop. Iskh! Mummy sighed, and went to sleep.

3:40am: Aiden started whimpering. Looked at Daddy who was sleeping like a baby. Mummy sighed again, and climbed out of bed. Aiden’s eyes were still closed, only his mouth was open. Gave Aiden his night feeding. Placed him in the Playpen again.

3:55am: Aiden stirring restlessly. Mummy did not move an inch.

4:20am: Aiden started crying. Mummy jumped out of bed. Aiden’s eyes were wide awake. Mummy getting cranky. Mummy knows that trying to get Aiden to sleep when his eyes are wide open, would be a challenge, not to mention time consuming. Picked up Aiden, placed him on the bed and started breastfeeding while lying down. Promised myself that I would place him in the Playpen once he dozes off.

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7:30am: Aiden whimpered in his sleep. Mummy woke up startled, looked at the time and cursed herself for not keeping to her promise!

And so it was one failed attempt. Tonight we shall try again, eh Aiden?

Aiden happy that he tricked Mummy into bringing him back into the snuggly warm covers of the adult bed...

Of Michelin Man and a Delicious Dinner

After another afternoon of showing off junior heavy-weight Aiden (who amazingly is as lanky as his 7-month old cousin!) to yet another set of relatives whom haven’t seen him, Mummy and Daddy decided to have an evening out in One Utama.

After strapping Aiden in his carrier, we went around One Utama - Mummy eager to have her dose of retail therapy. It was then that I realised that strollers are pests when it comes to shopping. As hubby was strapped down with Aiden on his chest, I was assigned to stroller duty. Unfortunately, the stroller was too bulky to go in between aisles, and was constantly knocking onto shoes, blouses, pots and pans, heck anything that was in the store! When we bought the stroller back in December (yeah, 4 months before Aiden was due), we were overjoyed to purchase a spacious Maclaren stroller which (we hoped) would last Aiden as a newborn until he turns into a toddler. Regrettably, it would not fit into hubby’s car, it would fit ngam ngam into Baby Beemer – leaving minimal space for luggage and other knick knacks, it space hogs nearly half of a standard elevator and is quite heavy!

Well enough venting about the stroller. After (unsuccessfully) hunting for new shoes and formal blouses in preparation for Mummy’s grand return to work, we decided find a spot for dinner. On our way to Ms Read’s Delicious, we were greeted by none other than... the Michelin Man! They were having a promotion on Michelin Tyres and the mascot was making his rounds, taking pictures with everyone visiting their showcase. And because junior heavy-weight Aiden was dubbed the Michelin Man when he was born because of his arms yang berketak, we desperately wanted a shot with the mascot.

Aiden at 3 days old, with his tangan berketak...Aiden posing with his idol, the Michelin Man!
Michelin Tyres printed a complimentary photo of Aiden with the Michelin Man. Aiden fell asleep right after meeting the Michelin Man, so we continued our way to dinner. Upon arriving at our table, we transferred the sleeping baby to his (very spacious!) stroller. As soon as his head touched the headrest, he opened his eyes curiously and fortunately kept himself very amused with the new noises and bright lights around him. We ordered a salad, sirloin steak and chocolate brownie for dessert. I jokingly told hubby that if Aiden starts crying, it would mean that the food will be arriving soon. Just as I predicted, Aiden started crying for his food, and as I was busy fussing around with the nursing poncho to start breastfeeding the hungry boy, the Delicious food came! Aacckk... very frustrating!

Aiden, literally wide awake, with his eyes wide open.Mummy, glad that Aiden is preoccupied - while silently hoping that the food arrives, pronto!Aiden's shoe peeking out of the nursing poncho.

Daddy on dukung duty while enjoying the salad.

Hubby forced me to snap an "artistic" photo of the salad leaf.

Mummy on dukung duty while enjoying the scumptious Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice-Cream (with Aiden looking greedily on.. hehe).

So that was how our Saturday went. Looks like Sunday would be a stay-at-home day. Hubby wants to do gardening and tend to his fish pond. Looks like I would be keeping myself busy with the internet again. Hmmm......