Books, books and books!

I can't believe I have not blogged for few months! Can you believe that? Of course you can, you saw no posts for the past few months, and it's not something new, isn't it?

My baby is now all grown up *isk* she's turning 16! 16 months that is... :P So that means, I get to spend more time with her and she knows what I'm trying to teach her. She now walks and talks! Babbles most of the time, but she can say some simple words to get what she wants... like wanting touch something. Or wanting to eat banana. Yes, just like me, she likes banana.

And the fact that she's more mobile now is enough to keep me on my toes. She's very responsive to instructions and requests for her to do something. So, what is my point now telling all this? 

I've been busy of course! Now you know, why the blog has been lonely for so long? Hehe...

Alright, now that my daughter has been growing up at lightning speed, it's a good time to start building that little library I have always dreamt of for my children. 

Yes, with physical books. 

No, not my Kindle library. 

Yes, the books has no batteries. 

No, you have to read to those books.

Yes, by actually flipping the pages.

Yes, library for children exists.

When I was a kid, my parents unknowingly (I think it was just by chance) bought a library set for me (and my sisters). That one thing helped shape my future. They didn't know reading starts at an early age. They just thought the books would help us in one way or another. I loved those books. I would spend hours browsing and reading. Reading again and again. 

And they went missing. The books I mean, not my parents.

I knew I had to get those books back - back in my shelf. My daughter must read these book. She simply has to. I despise those who has never touched these books as kids. I truly am saddened - saddened that my daughter may never read these books. The fact that these books are no longer in publications means, I cannot buy any new editions of the ones I used to read. 

And so, I found out a secondhand book dealer in KL - Junk Book Store at the heart of KL city. I called them up and found out they do have the book sets available and apparently, in good condition too.

You see, good condition is a very subjective term. I was hoping it to be almost new, untouched kind of good condition - because the price they quoted was well above what my dad paid for many years ago. I know, I know... I was expecting too much. But the price that they quoted, equates to my expectation.

Only to be let down. I was hunting for 2 sets of books. One set looked as if it was dug out from a trash bin. There were torn pages, plenty of markings and scribbles. The other set looks good from the outside. The covers were nice, but there were so many markings, drawings, scribbles and what appears to be hand prints of kids. I was really disappointed. Price was not negotiable at all. I didn't feel happy paying the sum and I knew Internet will have the answer.

Ok, eBay to be exact. Just to be clear, I have searched these books in eBay before, but sellers were either selling incomplete set or bad condition set. Not too happy about it either.

But luck was on my side when I finally had the time to comb through eBay and find the books I wanted. I found two of my favourite set, both located in US, one being a rare collection now. Vintage set, how about that! Now I know why the secondhand book dealer was charging me an arm and leg for it.Non-negotiable on top of that!

Surprise surprise, the price was negotiable on eBay (I gave my best offer and it was accepted). And with the shipping and all, what I paid was just half of what the secondhand book dealer quoted me. And the best part is, the ones I just purchased were in excellent condition - at least from the pictures shared to me by the seller - far, way far, better than what Junk Book Store had in their store. I wish, I could bring my books to them and show it to them.

Well of course I can't.

Who would lug 31 books across the KL city just to prove a point? And, it's in their name - they call themselves "junk" for a reason, right?

Anyway, I don't have the books yet in my hands and I can't wait to touch and flip them. These gems, (yes, GEMS) are on their way to their new home. I am excited... I finally found something that was so much part of my childhood which I treasured so much. I'm sad the original books that I read are missing now... but I am also glad, I found a replacement for it - and one that is in good condition too.

Watch for my updates when the books are delivered to me.

By the way, eBay's global shipping program is just so awesome. It takes the worry out of me cracking my head over import duties, taxes and customs. :)

So now, Mr Husband - we have a library to build. :)

Break from routine

One thing that I did not expect is losing weight after delivery. If anything, I anticipated weight gain not weight loss - and I have lost 7kg from my pre-pregnancy weight!

This new me has landed myself into another dilemma to deal with - clothes that doesn't fit anymore. My skinny jeans are now baggy and my shirts are hanging over my shoulders. I obviously needed some pair of new pants. Nothing fits anymore.

Today was a day that I looked forward to. Anand and I finally found some time to hit the mall. We took Baby ma along too. 

We headed to the Gardens Mall in Midvalley, straight to the Gap store. I tried on their skinny jeans which I was after by the way, but I liked none. In the end, I decided to deviate from the norm and got their slim cropped pants. Yes, it looked fashionable yet formal. And I liked it. The hubby paid for it of course. :P

Then we went to Baby Gap store which was just a floor above. There were pretty dresses and shirts and ... sigh... I really wanted to get some for Baby ma, but the fact that she grows so fast kept me thinking whether I should really be spending so much. Furthermore, Anand just spent a fortune on Baby Gap shirts for Baby ma few weeks back. I decided to wait until she is 6 months old to get her some new batch of clothes.

By the time I'm done, it was almost lunch time. And I know Baby ma will start screaming for milk. The three of us headed to Manhattan Fish Market (MFM) to redeem our Groupon offer. I purchased Groupon deal from MFM for RM49 which basically gives us the flaming seafood platter (values at RM55.90), Ceasar salad (values at RM12.50), mussels in garlic herb sauce (values at RM10.90) and finally 2 Tropical Breeze drinks (values at RM8.90 each). Oh, did I mention the voucher includes the service and goverment taxes as well? Yes, indeed it was a deal. I love the seafood platter so, this was a jolly good deal! :)

As we expected, MFM was packed with people who were redeeming their groupons as well. We were seated after few minutes of waiting. While waiting for the food, we fed Baby ma. By the time she is done, the food arrived :) Perfect timing.

After lunch (the queue to enter MFM got longer!), we headed back to the Gardens mall. We stopped to buy a new Samsung battery for Anand and continued to Marks & Spencer to find some additional pair of pants. This was when we had our first explosive session with Baby ma.

She pooped. While in her Boba. And some splashed on Anand. Lol :D

Good thing I packed extra clothes and the rinse-free nappy cleanser. The good thing about Gardens mall? They have pretty good facilities there. The baby changing room is located right next to Isetan and it was clean. So, we dropped our shopping session and got Baby ma cleaned. It was a good teamwork between Anand and myself. He helped to wash her soiled pants and dry it using the hand dryer while I cleaned Baby ma and freshened her up. 

We headed back to M&S and I found two really skinny pants (those are called "jeggings" which is the short form of "jeans leggings").

Of course, the day would not be complete with some ice cream from Baskin Robbins, would it? :)

We're ending the day today with couple of sticks of chicken satay, nasi himpit, wine and football game. Today was a breather for us. A break from the usual hectic, full of stress routine.

Got milk?

I remember sitting down on my hospital bed, at the verge of breaking apart as I struggled to express colostrum for my baby. I was really looking forward to the breast crawl experience.  But as the nurse whisked my baby away to the NICU, I knew I had to wait.

It was only 2 days later I was allowed to carry my child. It was just out-of-this-world feeling. I still had to express my colostrum which was no way anywhere near the required amount. I could not breastfeed yet and my baby needed milk to survive.

Seeing me struggle so much, Anand tried to help. He spoke to the nurses, doctors and lactation consultant. He also searched for articles and videos on how-to correctly express the milk. In fact, if it wasn't because of him I would have given up. I persisted and finally I was allowed to breastfeed my baby!

Initially I was nervous. This was partly because during my visits to NICU I often see mothers trying to get their newborn to latch and oh my, struggle they did! The babies scream and often refuses the nipple despite numerous attempts by the poor mother! So I wondered, how would Baby ma react?

The nurse placed a breastfeeding pillow on my lap, carried my baby and placed her on the pillow. Almost immediately, my baby latched and started suckling! Again, it was and extraordinary experience and I definitely felt relieved. And at that very moment my journey in breastfeeding begins.

It has been close to 3 months now and my still breastfeeding my baby. I aim to feed her exclusively with breast milk at least for 6 months - longer if possible. I'm grateful for all the awesome gadget Anand got for me to support my breastfeeding journey. The best of it all was the breastfeeding pillow. I cannot imagine going through this challenging moment without it!

Of course there are those who were skeptical and who thinks breast milk reservoir will dry up in first month. Those who also thinks babies who cry often after a feeding is not getting enough milk and immediately departs their wisdom to you to feed the baby formula milk.

It wasn't easy I tell you to fend of the remarks from "non-believers". But perseverance was the word and I had to turn deaf and believe Kelly's Mom is right.

Learning as I go, I'm very certain breastfeeding has helped to bond my baby to me. And it's such a beautiful bond.