The sinful bliss!

Baking, oh baking! How much I missed baking!

Anand finally transported my oven back from Penang. I now have a proper oven that I can use to bake for him! Armed with couple of baking books Anand gave me last year as gifts, I set out to accomplish the first mission - chocolate brownie, just because I didn't have a cupcake pan. My version had cherries and white chocolate in it! :)

The finished product tasted so good and it tasted even better with ice cream.

Then the next mission was to bake cupcakes. The cupcake book had a recipe for vanilla-flavored watermelon cupcake. Right out of the oven, after cooling and frosting, the cake tasted good. But after keeping it in the fridge overnight, it tasted even better! I can't even begin to believe I baked those cupcakes.

My third attempt was red velvet cupcake. The cupcake turned out well for a first timer but the cream cheese frosting was a disaster. There were various techniques out there and so happens the one I used crashed my dreams of sinking my teeth into the nice velvety cake I baked on the same day. The entire night I researched, trying to find where I went wrong. I attempted to get my cream cheese right and my second attempt went ace!

Now, 4th mission in planning...

Nothing but the best

The fact I didn't have the time to post any new blog updates is enough to show I have plenty of drama and action going on in my life. Where to begin..

My project at work that I have been working on for more than a year now is almost near completion. Yes, that means I am busy with the project rollout. I am particularly proud of this project because it has given me the exposure and experience that I never imagine getting. I feel proud to be part of the core team member to produce an in-house built CRM application for an international bank. 

The new software system will be rollout to all branches in Malaysia this coming week. And I have been as busy as bee getting the managers from every branch trained. I'm their new best friend :)

Moving on, being mother myself made me realise a lot of things. I know people who often complain their parents did not do enough for them when they were younger so they wanted to give their own kids what they never had. True, we often want to give our kids what our parents didn't give us. But what we didn't realise was, our parents actually gave us things that their parents didn't give them. Makes sense?

And along the struggle to give the children what we never had, we work hard to ensure what they are getting is the best. As parents, that's what we do. Our children to have the best of clothes, toys, feeding bottles, and the list goes on. I am definitely one of them. But, the best comes with a price. And instead of giving the best to kids, we most often give the best that we know and we could afford. Going by the same principle, I'm sure our parents have done the same.

Why I am suddenly talking about this? I finally realised my parents has done the best for me at their best capacity. I used to wonder why I didn't get the same funky toy as the girl at the kindergarten did. Or why am I walking to school. Why I have to exhaust my school bag to the point of tearing apart before getting new one. Why I had to use a huge cardboard box as my study table for many years before finally getting a proper one at 13. Why I had to settle for things that is not brand new. 

Why? Because my parents acted on their best capacity based on their best knowledge of my needs. I have to trust they have given me the best. In fact they did and I'm happy they didn't choose to abandon me somewhere but instead decided to raise me with all they had. I'm glad I grew up healthy, with proper food and clothings and most importantly, I was given education - something that some parents at that time deemed unnecessary. 

I do a lot of research before getting something for my daughter. Like every other parent out there, I want her to have the best too. But the best is limited to what I can afford. Her clothes, her toys even her play mat is carefully chosen. As a baby, her very survival is dependent on me. This made me appreciate my parents even more. How they took on the responsibility to care for not one but three kids. It's just amazing. Of course I do feel at times the care and love given is lopsided which I aim not to repeat with my own children but the fact they fulfilled my basic necessities and aided my growth all these years is commendable. 

But there will always be people out there who will complain that their parents did not do enough for them and they had to work their way up. I find it amusing. Unless the person is orphaned or grew up at a welfare home (or even alone), there's no such thing your parents did not do anything. No one in this world had a perfect childhood and one can never have enough of everything. Likewise, no one can give everything for their kids despite the intention to do so. Our parents was in the same boat as well. And they didn't have Google at that time, yet they did their best to find out what's best for us.

Nursery Room @ Isetan The Gardens Mall

Last Friday, I fell sick. I wanted my body to fight whatever war that was going on inside my body, but nada. I visited the doctor during lunch and got an MC for the rest of the day. Since Anand was still working, I decided to wait for him. It's Friday, come on. Of course I wouldn't want to stay in the office.

I took the LRT to Bangsar station and hopped on the bus to Midvalley. It was a much better route than getting down at Universiti station and taking the bus from there.

The reason why I chose to go to Midvalley was due to the availability of Nursery rooms (or Mother's room). I don't exactly know how many are available but I know for sure Jusco AEON and Isetan have one in their Baby department. This post is about the Nursery room in Isetan that I visited.

First impression - it's really clean! The place looks polished and well-kept. There are 3 nursing room with curtains, a pantry with microwave and hot water dispenser, 3 changing pads and a sink.

For added convenience, there are also additional bench like chairs. Each nursing room has power outlet, a chair and table... and a nice picture to look at :P

Anyway, I personally feel the room is well-kept. I don't know whether men are allowed in the first place, but while I was pumping a couple came in with their baby. So, always make sure you have the curtain pulled while nursing/pumping and locked with the hook. Moving on to a more visual part - pictures of the place!

The nursing rooms

Inside the nursing room

The changing pads and pantry

A wider view of the nursery room.

So where do you find this room? Look for the Baby Wear department at Isetan, The Gardens Mall. While you are there, do walk around - they have some really pretty baby stuff there *hint hint*.

Medela Calma - a review

The idea seemed cool - a teat that was designed for breastfeeding babies so that they can use bottle and still doesn't end up with nipple confusion.

I got my Calma teat along with the Freestyle my husband bought for me last year. I only introduced bottle after one month of exclusive breastfeeding. I feel it is important not to introduce bottle within the first 4 weeks of birth, if you have no medical reasons to do so. This is mainly because, the first few weeks of breastfeeding is the most crucial part of breast milk supply establishment. 

Yes, it's challenging. But persevere. :)

So, I started my bottle feeding experience with Medela Calma - which costs RM85 in the market today.

At first, I was definitely attracted by the fact it is recommended by lactation consultants for breastfed children. I read reviews on Amazon (and even thought of getting a second set) before starting to use it. Some people reviewed that their babies choked on this teat. Some claim it was the only thing that worked for them. 

For me, my baby accepted the teat just fine. She had problems with it first - like choking on the gush of milk. The teat works by the means of vacuum - the baby has to suck to create vacuum to get the milk flowing. But that's where it stops in comparison to breast feeding. When the baby stops sucking, the milk kept flowing until the vacuum runs out. So babies are forced to drink when all they wanted to do was pause.

Since my baby was only 1 month old when I gave her this teat, she had trouble swallowing the heavy gush of milk. In the end, a lot of breast milk just went down her neck instead of her throat. Also, the amount of work she has to put in the get the milk is far more difficult and tiring than getting the milk from the breast itself. In no way I see this teat can be compared to breastfeeding.

Often, it is also a challenge to get the bottle to be completely empty as possible. This is because you have to keep repositioning the flow hole so that the last few millilitres of milk could flow to the baby's mouth. But then, it is almost always difficult to see the hole. If you're planning to send the baby to daycare, then it requires a lot of training for the caregiver to properly use this teat, else you risk losing A LOT of breast milk just because the flow hole wasn't positioned properly and the milk doesn't get to the baby. This was my #1 concern and frustration - anything that makes my breast milk to go to waste raises a loud alarm bell in my head.

Also, my baby takes just 5 minutes to finish 3 ounces of milk with this teat. At one month, she used to breastfeed for at least 40 minutes. So 5 minutes on the bottle is REALLY fast. She was literally gulping the milk. This is not a good thing.

The bottle is not anti-colic. Period.

Finally, disassembling, washing and assembling it again was another chore to add to your list. The teat has a silicone nipple (which was long and hard), and some other "layers" of parts to clean and assemble each time. It was just a hassle.

I stopped using Calma at 2 months old mainly because I couldn't see my baby choke on the milk each time anymore. She struggles and when she's really hungry she gets frustrated for not being able to get the milk out. It was much easier to get milk letdown on my breast than using Calma. I'm glad I did not make the decision to purchase a second set. It's just too pricey and the so-called technology that went into it is just marketing gimmick.

I finally bought Pigeon bottle with Peristaltic Plus nipple at M size which has Y-cut nipple. It works much simpler that Calma, cheaper, easier to clean and my baby doesn't choke on it. The milk flow pauses when my baby pauses and the breast milk leftover is just so little.

If you're looking to purchase Calma to replace some other bottle you have been using, then skip this product. Give the teat a try if you got it free - who knows you might like it. I wouldn't really recommend the teat if you need to pay money for it.

Oh well it's still Friday!

Taking time off at Dome@The Gardens Midvalley mall.

Friday finally!

A traditional cup of "kopi susu" to kick start the day!