To HongKong & Back (ALIVE!)

I had been deliberating abt blogging about the Hong Kong trip with Ashley, coz I just didn't where to start. Her nanny thought I was mad to attempt this death-defying stunt of bringing Ashley alone to Hong Kong (Daddy was flying in separately from elsewhere and was gonna rendezvous with us there). I think I was MAD. Otherwise I wouldn't have booked the tickets pretty last minute and head off for a trip like this. The concept sounded easy - just pick the baby up and bring along on a holiday! But in actual practice it's must crazier. 

All I can say is I think I can really do ANYTHING after going through this trip. Like SUPERHUMAN.

Ang pow given by nanny - "good luck" for baby's first time flying

 Woke up at 4am to prep everything - make sure lights and electricity supply off etc. Arrive at airport at 6am. Thankfully her godpa drove us to airport. Otherwise I couldn't have managed all the luggage on my own.

 Ashley's half awake face makes me wanna laugh!

I had a huge bagful of toys, snacks, iPad but halfway through, Ashley lost interest and was bored. Thank God I had a very kind Norwegian man sat beside me. He helped to carry and play with Ashley so I can have my plane-meal and go to the washroom. Ashley enjoyed playing with him and it helped "shorten" the flying time. I think he's a Godsent.

Here's how a bassinet on flight looks like.

We finally arrived, met Daddy at HK airport, checked into the hotel room and by then it was late and almost time for dinner. 

 Ashley's sweet smile (left pic)

Daddy brain-freezing baby with Xu Liu Shan! (right pic)

 Mostly we moved around with the baby in their carrier, mode of transport - MTR. The Hongkongers are so unlike Singaporeans. They would play with Ashley, touch her hands and "Ho tak yee" her. I've been taking the LRT quite frequently recently and Singaporeans usually mind their own business and seldom do I get people in the train playing with her. We observed that there are very few kids and infants in HK, maybe that explains why a baby in the train is "Ho tak yee" coz it's not commodity.

 Once I arrived, I hunted down Ashley's meal. It was really hard to find! Not that I die-die have to feed her organic (though I have a preference for so), but even the normal commercial babyfood versions are not so common. And by the way, they cost about 20-30% higher in HK.

Here's where the stroller comes in handy. For the next few days, I basically push her about the hotel room in the stroller - when I brush up, I park her stroller right outside the toilet... I feed her in the stroller...

 We stayed at the LANGHAM Hotel along the glitzy streets in Tsim Sha Tsui.

 Basically throughout the day, Ashley's mode of transport is a black parachute, strapped to my chest.. Hahahhaha...

 The hotel dropped nice chocolates and daily inspiration notes (pictured left)

The humorous housekeeper who arranged Ashley's sleep toy (Suzie bunny) neatly in the middle of the bed wearing Ashley's wool cap. 

There was a H&M right near our hotel. Bought Ashley this very cute white wool cap to keep warm.  

Periodically, I would snap her face on my iphone to see if she had dozed off (couldn't see from my angle with the cap covering her)... And once she has, YAY for me coz I can stop and check out stuff! (When she's awake she let's me know that I'm not allowed to linger too long looking at something - i think she must have been briefed by daddy to stop me from shopping!!!)

 

In the nights when daddy is free, we hang out together....

 and go for MEALS!

The craziest thing is all the restaurants (even the ex ones) did not have a baby chair! We had to carry Ashley in our arms throughout the meal. Super child unfriendly! BOO! 
One of the nights, we walked by this shop selling crabs. The following night we couldn't resist but went back there and order some. Don't ask us how we ate crabs and having to carry baby in hand (without baby chair). We just did and we enjoyed every bite... :P

This is what I mean. I have to carry Ashley in my right hand and use my left hand to eat. In every restaurant/cafe/eatery in HK.

Not to mention that the many of the toilets do not come with diaper changing stations. The nursing rooms are a rare find.

How do the Hongkongers with children survive around town?!?!?!? I am really curious!

How I prepared for a holiday with an infant

I'm typically well-prepared whenever I go overseas - research best spot (according to my budget to stay in), places to visit, where to shop, what to eat etc. But travelling with a baby makes me very nervous! I make sure and double make sure I had everything covered! (Especially since I was going to travel up with Ashley alone! I cannot leave any stone unturned!)

About 1+ week before the trip, I started to plan extensively. 

1) How to bring the baby to walk ard on my own (since Hong Kong is super child unfriendly)

Checked with mummy Limiin... She shared tt the last time they went there, they brought just a baby carrier and her hubby carried bb in it most part. But I was gonna be alone most part. I would break my back carrying her for 4 whole days!

Bring my own stroller? I'm flying up on my own and gotta carry baby, bring luggage, baby's food + milk + diaper bag... I dun have a spare hand to lug an additional stroller there! 

Solution: I checked with the hotel and they are able to loan me one during my stay. Problem solved!

2) what to do with the baby during her playtime... I toyed with the idea of bringing her swimming in the hotel's pool... 

Went to check out swimming diapers...

At the same time, I checked out infant swim float too...

Eventually abandoned this idea coz it was gonna require additional packing & I decided to stick to the "expose baby to the swimming pool after 12 mths" resolve. So i guess the only thing we can do is do walk around and go shopping... Which has become one of Ashley's fav past time by now. :P

2) How to bathe baby

I read mummy Sharon's blog about how she used this bathing float for bb Aaron while traveling in Paris. I would have almost missed this out! She was kind to loan her float to me... :)

3) Bags & carrier - comfort issues
Bought a Hellolulu bag with many wonderful compartments hidden within! It is the PERFECT bag for the diaper, wet wipes, food containers, ur wallet, separate compartment for iPad!

Tested out BACK-carrying the baby with our trusty Infantio carrier... Honestly, I feel more comfortable FRONT-carrying (think the same goes for baby... since the back-carry position only allows her to see my back)...

Bought a pair of flats for the endless walking + 7kg weight on my shoulders.

It was the start of the winter in Hong Kong and that means more bulky clothes to pack into the luggage.

Half my luggage was packed with Ashley's diapers. The other half was packed with my breast pump (abt 3 kg), baby food preparation items, thermal flask etc.

Hmmmm... Where should I find space for my clothes and toiletries?!!!!

Ashley lovin' her mush

We started Ashley on solid foods when she was about 5 months old - right when she started looking longingly at us eating, drooling, hungry before next feeds.

We didn't have much difficulty weaning her, in fact she took to food like a fish to water. She's nearing her 8th month now and still looks forward to her meal times to explore more different tastes and textures!

Initially, there were many different views and methods to start the weaning process... I didn't know how to begin! I decided to start with diluted baby rice during the first 2 weeks... 

Thereafter, thickening the feeds and I also prepared my own veggie purees to mix into the baby rice... Which was easy if you had a fantastic steamer-blender!

One of my good friend was raving about this gadget saying that it's very simple to prepare. Just place your chopped food into the gadget to steam, once it's done, flip it over and blend! It's so fun and simple that I enjoy planning what to cook for Ash every week!

 Last week I started to introduce the oatmeal version. Nanny says she LOVES it. Much more than rice. Nanny cooked a very yummy bowl of our usual chinese white rice porridge for her and faced rejection. Ash doesn't like it at all. Guess I just have to stick to the same cereal for her...









So far for the veggies she's tried :
1) Carrots
2) Broccoli
3) Sweet potato
4) Potatoes

Glad to say she likes them! (That's of course mixing them into the cereal + breastmilk... Eating them alone will still take some time getting used to)

I made some apple and pear puree, which were yummy sweet! And guess what?! She started gagging and made loud vomiting sounds like I was feeding her poison. I seriously don't understand what's so yucky about fruits when you can accept smelly veggies like broccoli. She definitely doesn't have a sweet tooth, unlike me.

Our determination... To EAT!

Nothing can stand in the way between us and food... Not even an infant! Hah, if only that was true...

Throughout these 6.5 months, we've discovered that many of our favourite eat-outs are sadly not Ashley's favourite (no space for stroller, too hot etc etc) hence that propelled us to hunt down "child-friendly" eateries and hangouts. We had always thought that even with a baby, our lives wouldn't change by much. How wrong we were! The truth is no matter how much we can try to keep to our previous lifestyle, some things gotta give to accommodate an infant. 

I hope I'm not too presumptuous to say that the following considerations run through every parents' mind:

1) Is it gonna be easy access for the stroller? (Lift landing, car park etc)

2) Can the stroller fit in the restaurant? Or do they have baby seats?

3) Is it too hot & sweaty or noisy that may cause extreme discomfort for a baby?

4) (applicable for breastfeeding mums) Is there a nursing room nearby for feedings?

5) The food has to be easy to swallow (parents with infants & toddlers do not eat, they simply swallow) - no hot soups, steamboats etc...  

I've learned empathy coz it takes a person to become a parent to understand another parent. Now I don't furrow my brows at crazy crying babies coz I have one of my own and I have special respect for parents who attempt to eat out with 2 kids and more. 

Nowadays, when we find a good "child-friendly" place to eat, we keep going back!

Here's Ashley looking happy at our choice of eat-out!

 

 Sushi is a good bet coz you don't have to worry that they turn cold since they ARE served cold... ;)

Eating out is getting better for us since Ashley is able to sit in the baby chair... It buys us enough time to finish up appetizers till she gets bored and wanna bail out of the seat...

Gonna continue to figure out more strategies to get more food down the throat!!!!

Toys... toys... and more toys

Another OJT (On-job-training) post

Sometimes we learn through the hard (and costly) way... I have concluded that one of the hardest part of taking care of an infant is trying to keep her entertained. In our quest to keep Ashley entertained, we have purchased many different toys and gadgets - many of which cost quite a bit but was not put to much use...

It started with "bear bear"... This was a Fisher Price toy meant from birth+... We bought it coz it looked fun and came with built-in sounds... It cost us $120... Not sure if she's finally starting to like this toy since I left it with the nanny.

 

Then it was a cot mobile that cost $80... Looked beautiful but did not entertain much as the mobile and lullaby had to be manually winded... It has now become just a decor piece to her cot...

 Next it was a Fisher Price rainforest swing... Daddy Randy remembered himself enjoying swing rides at the playground when he was young and imagined Ashley would get a kick out of this too... Paid $180 for this... Thankfully she's beginning to enjoy the "Viking rides" much more in the recent weeks...

Then there was the Lamaze Tummy Time mat... Cost: $60... She didn't like this... Could only last 3 mins before she makes her displeasure known. Eventually I realised that not all babies enjoy being on their tummies... I know baby Zeph loves to, apparently Ashley prefers to sit upright in a TV-watching position.

 This mat's quite cool actually... Has a mirror to aid baby in self-discovery... Too bad it's a wasted purchase for us...

 

 Lastly (hopefully I'm not speaking too fast), I bought a baby play gym last week as most of the toys are with nanny and I find myself crippled without any toys during the weekends... $42 for this pastel-coloured play gym...

I would say this is a relatively good buy... She's quite happy staring @ the stuff toy elephants and giraffes... :) 

 Another lesson learned for me: Not to impulse-buy a toy (especially bulky ones... :P ) For one, she may not like it... For two, she would likely outgrow it real soon...

By far, the most effective entertainment is walking her around the supermarket across our home... Both myself and the nanny make sure she gets her walks a few times a day... I asked other mums on what they do and apparently Lydia's 2 kids are supermarket goers too... Thank God for the 24 hrs NTUC across the road!