Almost an impromptu trip in June, my friend Sat in Singapore & I just thought we both need a good break.

So together with the two babies (Liesl & Fayth) & 2 kids (Avin & Ivan), we mummies packed our bags and headed to Malacca.

Ok that’s a bit drama. Of course there’s the whole booking hotel etc thingy…

So anyways, we left on Sat morning. Liesl travelled down south and Fayth travelled up north for a 2 days play date!

Upon arrival, the adults were starving, so where else but the good ol’ Chicken Rice Ball for lunch. While we ate, the kiddos got acquainted. All four of them.

Checked in to Legacy Hotel after lunch. Lepaked in the room & watch the gals crawl around. Fayth, 3 months older than Liesl was EXTREMELY fast on her fours! Amazingly cute too with her huge concerned eyes that always seems to say “i feel you” =)

And our dear Liesl had to officiate the room by spitting up after a crawl race. =)

After we all took a nap, the gals went for a swim. Liesl seems to be so fearless in the water. Wading on her own from one corner to another. So a month later, Avin and I bought her a float… but yet to use it.

After the swim and some nonya food for dinner, we all had a goood rest.

And here’s the next morning after the girls got acquainted and saying goodbye at breakfast table. (where Liesl broke a plate and spilled precious omellete!

Bye bye Fayth, bye bye Malacca!

This was taken in Morib on 8 May.. So, Liesl’s a few days past 5 months old!

Our afternoon out after the torture at the barber’s! =)

it was a good day out of klang!

Overall, Morib’s nice to go for a picnic, given it’s not too hot! Windy and pretty much clean for Malaysian standard. Don’t expect much of the sea water tho.. Just enjoy the wind and the sound of the waves!

Here’s her FIRST trip OVERSEAS on 23 Feb!

SINGAPURA HERE I COME @ 2.5months old!

Her 1st FLIGHT!

Her 1st TRAIN/MRT RIDE!

Her 1st BUS RIDE!

AND finally… Her 1st accidental roll-over!

p/s: please tell me this is normal…

Am afraid to think of what she would try when the teeth arrives!

The past two days have been significant. The litlle baby started crawling, holding her own bottle, new screaming style, & poohing in her potty!!

I thought today would be MY significant day to bring her to the potty to pooh!

Of all days, I started her on banana puree for lunch!  To my surprise, baby Liesl took almost 1 whole pureed banana, mixed with breastmilk! (Quite yummy, btw)

2pm passed. So did her usual ‘pangsai’ time. Poohpooh time, that is.. But today, no pooh, just lots of poooots!!

With each poot, I placed her at her potty..

Weeee!

” Is it here yettt?”

“False alarm!!Back to play!”

Thennnnn it happened! 6pm.

I heard a poot… shrugged it off as another false alarm. But a mummy’s nose never lies!! So I rushed her to the potty, hoping she would pooh in her potty..

but nooooooooo… my little girl is more of a rascal than I thought (or was!)

She poohed in (and out of)  her nappy & not in her potty!& oh gosh.. it was nassssttyyy!

The little ‘extras‘ on the siding!

The real thing!

The close up..

I’ve never seen anything like this before! Super duper gross!

Her pooh had black stuff all over! At a glance, it looked like worms!

For a while there, I thought that’s probably a result of deworming, literally!

I had to sit her in her tub to get it allllll out and her cleaned!

Just as I thought it was all over, it happened again! 8pm – Round 2 of banana pooh!! Not as pasty.. Looked more like blended spinach! But the black wormy stuff was still all over!

Yes, I stared at it for a good 10 seconds just to make sure it ain’t wiggling!

Phew… what a saturday!

So howww do you get  this soiled nappy cleaned  without getting your hands dirty?!

Here’s some tips:

1) Wear gloves/plastic bags!

2) Leave it on the floor & spray…& pick it up by the clean corner..

3) Throw the entire nappy away!

4) Leave it to your maid!

5) Or those privileged like me, holler for your mother in law! =))

What did I do?

No, not #5! Well, living up to my kampung-ness, where little girls catches fish in the drain & eats chicken pooh (i wont name names…!), I dutifully washed it with my barehands!

I ended up using loadds of hand soap before I serve my darling husband a nice cup of tea!

An interesting Saturday, indeed!

It’s a pity that my last visit back is in April. And it seems like my next available weekend is only in July. After that, it’s weekends for MBA all over again!

So here’s for you mummy & daddy! Enjoy your little girl &  grandgirl! (& the man in their lives)

With her new crabbie squeaky toy!

totally loving it!

Bleh, My eyes are bigger than yours!

*told you so!*  Taken at the famous penang stalls!

Enjoying some sushi together!

A little picnic at Morib after going bald!

With love, to Ah Kong & Ah Ma….!

For as long as she’s bald, at least.

#1 No WIG!

#2: No hair clips! (or scalp ribbon sticker!)

#3: No dress on a boy look-alike!

#4: Definitely no baldie toy!

As promised in my last entry that I’ll share more on my little research if there’s any truth to this little shaving tradition.

The tradition, practised by most  Indians & some Chinese, is to shave their baby’s head at 1 month, if not 6 months. This is done with the purest intention for the new hair to be thicker, stronger, blacker and more ‘even’.

We don’t know for sureee if that is true, but well, I have strong, black, and very thick hair since young. And guess what? No shaving. I’ve checked around with some frienys, they’ve confirmed that their beautiful hair is not a result of a shaven head during infancy. However, I do have a friend who claims that his premature balding is due to the failure on his parents part in observing the tradition. So yeah, there’s no real facts and figures that shows that shaving will help hair grow OR NOT!

I guess all parents want their little kiddo to have beautiful hair. Here’s some tips from various sites – some based on research, some on traditions.. just like shaving:

1) Wash baby scalp with an all natural shampoo

2) Apply oil on baby scalp twice daily as moisturize. Jojba oil is recommended to prevent dry scalp without causing an oily head or face.

3) Avoid bad chemicals on baby’s head. These includes Vaseline, inarl oil.

4) Apply good coconut oil – heat it slightly and massage it on every alternate day.

5) And this is the WEIRDEST of the lot – grind curry leaves into fine paste and apply it on hair! To be eaten raw too! (?!?!)

As to WHY shaving may not help.. here’s the best explaination I’ve found so far..

“After you shave body hair, it may feel coarse or “stubbly” for a time as it grows out. During this phase, it may be more noticeable — and may appear darker or thicker. But it’s not.”

” Hair is dead keratin pushed out by hair follicles under the skin. Cutting/shaving hair does not affect the hair follicles–the dead hair has no mechanism for sending a message to the hair follicles saying, ”I just got cut! Grow more!” Hair can’t talk.”

So there you have it. For more beautiful, thicker and more even hair, there’s more to just shaving..!

For reading leisure..

http://searchwarp.com/swa231154.htm

http://www.mylot.com/w/discussions/1477113.aspx

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/babies/hair.htmlhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-removal/AN00638

http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/hairgrow.asp

Initially, Avin & I were reluctant to comply as we thought Liesl had beautiful hair! But as the months passed, she was sweating so much, causing rashes, we thought perhaps this may be good for her. Though very very reluctantly.

So there you go – the journey of the bold parents and their bald & beautiful (perasan) baby!

WAKEY WAKEY

Best hair day for the last 5 months, I must say…

AT THE BARBER

Earlier in the week, my in laws surveyed the housing area and found a barber from India in one of the shops nearby. Since this is an Indian tradition, we thought someone from the land would be the best candidate for this daunting task. We were sooo wrong!

Here’s the barber. I insisted that daddy must hold baby cause I’ll be too heart broken to hold her. Think I would have just held her and ran out of the shop! =)

She was quiet.. and looking funny (like einstein!).  He used a razor to get rid of the long BEAUTIFUL hair..

Then it all went downhill.. she was crying and screaming.. there were tears! If she could talk, I’m sure she was scolding the barber! Instead, she blew bubbles in protest!

And Avin & I almost cried seeing her tears and pitiful face!

Our attempts to distract her.. in vain!

MUMMY TO THE RESCUE!

Yes, I walked out of the shop with her!

 Finishing touches!

Finally it’s over. Poor girl, there were cuts on her head! I was soooooo upset with the barber!What made it worse was he said the cuts was because there were pimples on her head!! PIMPLES on a 5 month old?!!! PIMPLESS!!!! What’s wrong with him?!! I should have punched him and gave him a huge pimple on his face!!!!

HOME REMEDY

Here’s some flour thingy we put on her head as antiseptic.. Cant remember what exactly that is. Just add some water and it becomes paste-y. Apply it on her head, it will dry off within the hour.

THE POST TORTURE 

Though I hated the process and the entire idea of going bald, I’m must say I kinda like her new look – Sexy! =))

1 WEEK LATER

Thank God her hair is growing fast!

And here’s with Uncle Leroy.. Aww guess we know who looks sexier bald!!

Can’t wait for her hair to grow again!

p/s: I, Elisa Dass, promise I will never ever ever let Liesl-Mae Avin or any of my other children go through the torture again!

• wearing diapers is not as easy as it seems.. cuz it leaks all the time!
• PAMPERS is a horrible brand! It leaks & it tag’s made of hard plastic that scratches baby’s skin!
• sometimes, you feel you’re more of a cow than a mother? =)
• waking up countless times in the night is done with a smile rather than a frown
• you still feel awake the next day despite the VERY interrupted sleep
• you feel silly-ish proud that your 3 month old baby did not cry at her vaccination appointments
• you drive a tad bit faster that usual when going home from work
• when deciding how long you’ll be out without the baby, the deciding factor relies on the milk supply in the fridge
• you feel super pressured & sad when milk supply drops!
• baby bath time is not about being clean, it’s about balance & having fun!
• it’s sooo difficult to decide between joining the gym to have a chun body AND to spend time with baby & have a tummy! =)
• you can’t wait to have the next one and experience pregnancy and the joy of a newborn all over again!?

It’s not just me. It is true that babies are a BUNDLE OF JOY & BLESSING!