A decade of love. Happy 4 years of Marriage

Yesterday, we celebrated Twentysixoctober. ❤️

10 years in relationship and 4 years of happy marriage. It has been a good 10 years. 

It doesn’t feel like we have been together for a decade... you still feel new yet familiar.

I still like to ask you why do you like me (still going to ask you as and when I like). 

I still like to receive flowers from you. 

I still like surprises from you.

I still like to hear sweet words from you. 

I still wonder how can you be so perfect for me.

I like that you are consistent, righteous and always have a clear line between what you deem right and wrong.

I like the way you like me like I am the most perfect person in the world (even though I know I’m not).

Thanks for everything.

Let us continue to love like this till forever. 

Happy Anniversary ❤️

Do not judge parents who co-sleep with their babies

A few days ago, I saw friends on Facebook and parents on parent group share The Straits Time news article titled "36-day-old infant who dies after sleeping with parents"

Here's the link for those who have not read the news: 

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/36-day-old-infant-dies-after-co-sleeping-with-parents

I was emotionally strirred by this article. And felt a need to vent it out here

Sad for the parents who have lost their young baby.

Disturbed by how the author of this article wrote .... which may lead to readers thinking that it's the parents' fault. 

Furious when I saw people who made insensitive comments which suggest that the parents were lazy by choosing to co-sleep with their baby. 

In real life, there are many parents who co-sleep with their babies and often, parents made this choice not because they are lazy but rather they genuinely feel that it's better for their baby. I am one of those who co-sleep with my baby after my confinement and I can understand why parents will choose to sleep with their babies. 

👉🏻Co-sleeping is having a baby in the same room which include bed-sharing or putting the baby cot next to the adult bed. 

👉🏻Co-sleeping does not necessarily increase the risk of Sudden Infant Deaths (SIDs). The risk is higher if the parents who co-sleep are heavy sleeper, smoker, consume alcohol/ drug that can cause drowsiness. 

👉🏻There are babies who cry the moment you put them into the cot and will only sleep soundly when their care givers are next to them.

👉🏻There are many reports which support that co-sleeping if done cautiously is beneficial for babies. I do not want to list down the benefits point by point here so you can click onto the link the check.

Here are a few articles including a published research paper:

http://www.parenting.com/article/ask-dr-sears-co-sleeping-a-sids-danger

http://www.naturalchild.org/james_mckenna/cosleeping.pdf

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/baby-sleep/co-sleeping-8-benefits/

👉🏻Yes, it's true that there is risk of suffocation for babies from bed-sharing. However, there is risk in everything we do. Sleeping inside a cot (in a separate room) is not always the safest choice too. There are cases of babies who died while sleeping inside their cot too. We can try to minimise risk but sometimes accident still happens.

👉🏻Every baby is unique and there is no one perfect solution that works for all babies. Some method may work for baby 1 but not on baby 2. I have heard from many parents who told me that before they became parents; they thought they were well-prepared from reading all the guide to parenting 101, but then when it comes to the actual thing, many supposedly proven methods DON'T WORK .. and we can only try whatever we can and learn "on job". Often, we doubt ourselves for every decisions we made... we will not know whether our method works but we hope for the best. Parents will continue to worry till maybe our kids have grown up or till the day we part the world. Or perhaps still worrying when we are up in heaven. 

The parents in the article are probably in grief and will do anything and everything to have their baby back so hope people who made insensitive comments will learn to understand their pain.

Hope to article will help to spread love & knowledge and not hate & doubts. 

- Mommy eve 

Toddler's activity: The Making of Father's Day card

As you can see from the title, this post is about the making of Daddy's Father's Day card! 

With the help from Daddy, motherhood has been endurable  enjoyable. My SAHM life has been less "黄脸婆-like" as Daddy has been helping me in daily house chores. Moroever, ever since I complained about having no time for myself, he tried to bring Aedan out on weekends to allow me to have some "me-time".

So to reward his contributions and to celebrate Father's Day, I had been thinking hard what present should I give him. Had planned to give him an iPhone cover with our family picture on it. I bought online weeks ago but sadly, it was discovered by Daddy before Father's Day :( Didn't hide it well. 

Couple iPhone covers.

It's really hard to buy things for Daddy because he's VERY particular about the things he wants.. he will only buy clothes which he really really likes ... we can walk in and out of shops multiple times and it can take up to weeks or even months for him to find something he likes. I do not dare to any how buy things for him so I thought it will be good to make something for him with the help from Aedan. 

This was our FIRST handmade project for Daddy!

Today, I'm sharing with you our mini project and this can be an activity for caregivers and toddlers too. We spent hours making it and clearing the mess and I realized this activity is a pretty good way to kill time with the toddler. 

1. I found brown wrapping paper which was the left over from my last present wrap. I used it as the base for the card. 

And I used a crayon to write the word "Happy Father's Day" on it. 

 

2. We found many used papers which Aedan and I torn them into pieces. 

🌟Believe or not, tearing papers have been proven to be a good way for toddlers to work on their small muscles in hands. 

 

3. Then I applied glue onto the "Happy Father's Day" wording and let Aedan placed the scrap papers onto it!

 

 

4. And Tada!! It's done! Super easy right. So easy that a 22 Months toddler could do. And I personally think it's quite artistic 😂

 

5. Posing with our handmade card time! 

I took like a zillion photos to get a few good shoots. Lol 😂 

 

 

 

 

6. After it's all done, I passed Aedan a plastic bag and asked him to put all the remaining paper into the bag. He was happy picking up the paper with me. Another simple activity for him. 

 

 

Daddy was touched when he saw the first handmade card from Aedan. And the cost of making the gift - $0.00. They were all used materials. 

There's one special ingredient in it - lots of love from Aedan and Mommy (hehe ☺️).

Besides the handmade card, we celebrated Father's Day by having our dinner outside. 

In Singapore we used to dine out almost everyday. But now living in Israel, we cook almost every meals and only dine out on special occasions. 

 

Had a mega dessert called "Eiffel Tower" which was a plate of sinfully sweet heaven. The plate was filled with cakes, brownies, biscuits, macrons, cream puffs, ice cream and top with lots and lots of whipped cream. It's my happy dessert. It felt like we're celebrating Mother's Day! 😊

After our dinner, Aedan refused to go back to his stroller and demanded Daddy to carry him... After a while, Daddy put him down and we tried to get him to walk instead. We held his hands and surprising he never refused. It's the first time that we walked hand in hand with Aedan between us. Since young, I dreamed of having a family like this. And it felt like my dream has came true. 

This Father's Day was a satisfying one for me... I hope it's the same for Daddy. Though the handmade card is a simple one, I felt happy to have made something for him. 

For those reading this, hope you'll find this simple art and craft a good way to spend time with your toddler. 

"Happiness is engineered/handmade with love"

- Mommy eve 

Travel tips: Travel with baby to Santorini

For those who follow and still remember, our family visited Europe last year and I promised to blog about our trip!

In my last travel post (months ago...), I blogged about the 13 things to do in Athens. 

Today, I'm finally going to continue documenting our travel memories ... 

👉🏻Sharing tips on how to travel within Santorini with a one year old baby. 

I believe Santorini is on many travellers' bucket list. Santorini is famous for their caldera view, blue roof churches, traditional cave houses, black sand and red sand beaches. It's one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world. Before we went on the trip, many told us that Santorini is not a baby friendly place .. Or so we thought.. 🤔

Transportation 

Within Santorini, one of the most recommended mode of transport is their local ATV which you can find their rental shops throughout the island. ATV is an affordable mode of transport which provides tourist the flexibility and convenience to tour the island at individual pacing. 

 

Photo credit to @jaysteves

However, it's definitely not a safe mode of transport for family who travels with baby. 😱

Before our trip, one of the greatest concern was transportation within the island. We had considered to rent a car but were worried that non-international license may not be acceptable. 

I went on to research on their modes of public transport and read about KTEL. KTEL is their local bus agency which has a main bus terminal located at central Fira. It has many buses that travel from Fira to all attractions in Santorini. The best thing - it costs only 1.80 to 2.50 euro per ride! 🎉It was super convenient and cheap for us to travel around Santorini with their local buses. 

 

You can check their timetable online and enquire the bus number at their main terminal at Fira. There's no need to purchase tickets prior as you pay only after boarding the bus. It's free seating on the bus and seats are on a first-come-first-serve basis. The buses can be really packed during peak hours so it's good to arrive earlier to ensure you get a seat!

Accommodation 

If you are looking to travel around Santorini via their KTEL public buses, it will be most convenient to stay at Fira since all buses depart from Fira. Fira is located at the centre of Santorini so the accommodations around Fira are always high in demand and cost more than the other area. It's advisable to book your accommodation at least 2 months before your travel date to secure a good deal. I booked our accomodation through Airbnb a month before our travel date and already almost all the good ones were fully booked and we were left with very few choices. We believe we grabbed the last good deal. 😆

Attractions 

If you think traveling with baby will let you miss out some attractions

You are Wrong.❌ 

We travelled to most of the best spots on the island. 

 Everyone planning a visit to Santorini should not miss these four places! 

1. Fira 

Of course we toured Fira since we booked our accommodation there. But even if you book your accom elsewhere, you HAVE TO visit Fira. It's located at the centre of Santorini with awesome caldera view, many restaurants, shops, beautiful churches and the famous donkey steps.

 

 

 

2. Oia 

Oia is another area well known for their scenic view, white wash cave houses, windmills and little blue roof churches . There are also many restaurants and shops around Oia. It's the best place to have a romantic dinner in Santorini. 

 

 

 

 

3. Red Beach 

This is one of my favourites! For those who love beaches, you CANNOT MISS this. You can take the KTEL bus ride to Kamari. In order to reach the red sand beach, you have to either hike or take a boat there.  I highly recommend travellers to hike there. Along the hike to red sand, you will be able to catch a cute white church and beautiful sea view. 

Check out our walking trail:

 

 

 

 

4. Black beach 

Besides red beach, Santorini is also well known for their black beach. The textures and colours of the sands are totally different and it's interesting how nature creates these beautiful differences. 

 

After our trip, we realised that it's not really difficult to travel with a baby to an island. We had so much fun exploring. Of course, baby wearing has made it so much easier to travel and hike. Also glad that I breastfed Aedan so he could be fed wherever we were. 

"Travelling creates memories that last a lifetime" 

- Mommy eve 

Mom confessions: Postnatal Depression

It's not easy to start this post. Recently, I chanced upon a post about a mother who jumped off the 12th storey of her HDB block with her newborn baby girl in her arms. I feel sad every time I hear news like this. I hope to share my story to bring awareness to Postnatal Depression (PND) which has always been a subject that is close to my heart. For those who follow may have read that I came from a single parent family but not many know the cause of my mother's death. She died from PND when my brother was little and I was only two years old. When I was really young, no one told me about her cause of death and I only got to find out when I was older. 

When I first discovered the truth, I felt sad that she chose to left us. 

I was curious about PND and read more about depression. After learning more about PND, 

I believe it's not her decision to end her life. She was lost and she's not in the right frame of mind. 

My dad told me before my mom died, she kept hallucinating that people talked bad about her. My dad thought she's just imagining things and it's nothing serious. At that time, depression was not a well known medical condition and not many people talk about it. If the people around her had known more about depression and if she managed to seek help, tragedy may not have happened. 

Ever since I became pregnant, my family paid extra attention to my emotional well-being. They were worried that I'll follow my mom's footsteps. Even I was worried. Because I have read so much about depression. I knew that anyone can be a victim of PND and the consequences of depression can be severe. In mild cases, a mother develops negative feeling and lack of motivation to connect. But in severe cases, a mother can hear things, see stuff and do things which are not within her control. 

And when people fall into that black hole, it's hard to get out by themselves, they need someone to pull them out.  

After my pregnancy, I tried to be vocal about my thoughts and emotions. I would share my thoughts with my hubby because I know it's important for me to share so that my close ones could help. It's a way for myself to help myself. 

Motherhood is not easy. When a woman becomes a mother, it can seem like everything in her world has changed. Our body stretches to accommodate another human being, our body produces so much hormones that make us hard to control our emotions. And during this changing process, we may feel that we are losing ourselves, we can no longer think, behave and make decisions like what we used to. 

And while these changes take place in our body, we struggle to strive in our new role as the caregiver to our babies who hardly know anything but only to cry when they need us. 

Any mothers can develop PND if they do not get the support they need. Mothers who need help may be scared to share their problems as they do not want to be judged or seen as less capable.

To all mothers out there, it's okay to seek help. We seek help because we care for our babies and we want to be a good mother. 

It's not a sign of weakness to seek help, it's a sign of growth which will make us into a stronger and wiser person. 

It's essential for friends and family to NOT judge or try to fault a mother, because you DON'T know what's best for her baby. Instead, be the audience and listen to her. When a mother grumbles, sometimes she just needs someone to assure her that she's not alone in this journey.  

Every sacrifice will be so worth it when we see the smile on our little ones. A mother needs to be well to be there to guide their little ones' growth. 

Mother's Day is right around the corner. I hope Mother's Day will not just be a day to celebrate with mothers. But a day for us to bring awareness to PND so that we can be more caring to all new mothers. We all can play our part to prevent PND. 

Happy Mother's Day. 

- Mommy eve 

Life in the past 4 months.

It's has been more than 4 months since I last posted.

It was really really cold during winter and early spring in Haifa and I have been in hibernation mode... kept my heater on and spent all day at home playing with Aedan (running around the house like a crazy woman). 

Life has been simple. I work on my business (TSOBaby) when Aedan naps and of course cook meals. On alternate days, I bring him out to play at the playground so that he get to socialize with other kids.. Most of the time he'll just play with me or Daddy. 

Weather is getting warmer and I'm back to my active mode....just realized that I have not been active blogging and the last post was on Christmas Day. 

For those who are interested to know what happened in the past 4 months, here's the summary.

1. We moved to a bigger apartment 

In the beginning of this year, we moved to a bigger apartment next door. We used to stay in an one bedroom, one living room cum kitchen cum everything else apartment. It is like living in tiny house. 

 

The all purpose room was Aedan's play area, dining  place, our kitchen and also living room. 

Aedan has grown up and he loves to run around... Simply running around with him in circle made him super happy. The previous place was just too small for him. He's happier after we moved to the bigger place. It has separate living room and kitchen and 2 extra bedrooms which we turned one of them into Aedan's playroom!! 

 

As you can see we didn't decorate the room.. Cos we didn't want to spend on furnishing since there's only less than a year to the end of our stay in Israel. Time flies..

It's so comfortable in the new place that we stayed indoor most of the time during winter. 

2. We finally visited Southern Israel to celebrate my Birthday!

It's the best birthday present from Daddy!

We took a road trip from Haifa to the southern desert Israel and spent 4 days 3 nights there. 

We visited the famous Ramon Crater, done star gazing in the desert, went to Eilat to find Dory, hiked at the Red Canyon, visited the Dead Sea and floated on the shallow salty water, last but not least took a ride to legendary Masada before we headed back. 

Ramon Crator 

 

 

The most memorable hike at Red Canyon 

Baby wearing Aedan to climb those stairs was super shag!

 

The view of the desert from Masada 

 

It was an awesome trip! Best birthday present and best trip in Israel! 

Posing with my heart shaped birthday cake from Daddy

I took many photos especially when we visited the aquarium in Eilat and also the Dead Sea but sadly they were all gone :(

I guessed this whole trip was too good so something bad have to happen to buffer the exploding happiness.

During my trip at Dead Sea, some salty water got into my phone so I lost most of the photos (except for those in Daddy's phone)!! I was really sad for losing the digital memories of this trip! 

3. Aedan has grown up fast! 

He's currently in his 20th month and I feel that these period will be his most adorable stage in life (before the terrible 2 starts.. I can sense it coming). I really have so much fun with him since he has grown from being a baby to a little man. 

He loves to follow my actions and it's fun to teach him things. He has learned many vocab so he can express himself pretty well now and he'll tell us what he wants...it's fun to figure out what he wants too. 😜

Through his words and actions, we gradually discover his character and personality which is an interesting process. He's very shy in front of unfamiliar faces but is super talkative when he's with us only. There are so much so much joy by just being with him. 

 

 There were days when I miss those days in banking when I will get adrenaline rush every time I close a deal. The truth is being a stay at home mom, it's not as exciting and glamorous as working in corporate banking.  However, I never regret quitting my job. This whole new life is so much more meaningful and peaceful as I get to do things for my loved ones and the best part is to be rewarded with their smiles. 

I am truly happy each and every day. 

"Happiness is when you found something which you can love unconditionally"

Feeling blessed

- Mommy eve 

Till next time.