Family getaway - Penang, Malaysia

We are having our first family getaway in Penang, Malaysia this week. The weather has been great - not too sunny and some could even say temperate compared to the usual Malaysian humidity.

LM has been getting lots of attention from the various guest here at the hotel. We have been having ppl looking after him or carrying him while we are by the pool or having breaky which is rather nice of ppl. Apparently lil babies are always welcomed all over! Rather endearing too.

We are staying at Batu Feringgi which is a tourist hub but seeing that we didn't know what to expect when it comes to traveling with a lil one, it's the perfect holiday. All we have been doing is sleep, lounge by the pool and eat. I know I've gained weight already - the spread has grown sideways!

As per my recent status update on FB " Everyday is a beautiful day when one is on holiday"

Naughty getaway ..

Ah...
So mum is taking LM for the weekend while the parents have some time to recharge their batteries.

What do we do?
1) Head to the cinema and catch a movie
2) Check into a hotel for the weekend (LM is 1/2 hr away which means we are still available for emergencies)
3) Be back in the hotel room by 9pm, order room service and relax.

Ahhh....

Lil man's first flight

Back to Malaysia to visit mum's side of the family.

First international flight at 10 weeks old ! Is this turning my lil man into a jet-setter or what?

Brunch @ Proud Mary Collingwood

I must say, being on maternity leave is great - when else can do brunch on a Monday morning without feeling guilty (annual leave does not count)

Brunch today was at Proud Mary in Collingwood. I had the ricotta hot cakes with poached peaches and pistachios whilst my brunch mate had the pork belly sarnie washed down with mocha and as always, brunch was good.

I can get used to not working I reckon. Lol.

Brunch @ Industry Beans Fitzroy

Have been doing way too much blogging about baby these days so pretending like my life is BB (before baby), I went for brunch with a mate whom I haven't caught up with in nearly 2 years. Now, she is a food blogger so we checked out this place that I would not have found otherwise!

Just close to the Rose Street Artist Market sits Industry Beans. True to its name and location, it attracts the hip crowd being rather artsy and even the menu had infusion type food -even for breakfast!

I enjoyed my French toast, my mate didn't quite enjoy her mushroom something or another. But catch up was good tho. :)

Post natal recovery current

Now, as per my previous blog entry - my labour and delivery of my lil man needed 'assistance' thus instead of being able to recover quickly, it is still an every day struggle to do certain things without straining myself down there. I have however in my own lil mind improved and on the road to recovery although was given very strict instructions by doctors not to:

1) Carry anything heavier than the lil man as it could put a strain and accidentally open up my stitches.

2) Not to drive at all due to the loss of blood.

3) To stay off my feet as much as I can.

I found all these things difficult to say the least as anyone who knows me simply knows what an active person I can be. My mum and BF however were very insistent that I take the doctors orders to heart so reluctantly, I did as was told albeit with a pinch of salt. Most Asian mothers have this 40 day confinement period where they have to eat only certain food, not do certain things, stay indoors the full duration of the confinement period etc but I didn't follow these things to the tee and kept things to the minimum doing what my Mum showed as the bare essentials.

Seeing that I am still in recovery and with child in tow, I haven't done any cycling yet. On the other hand, I want to get back into shape - seeing all the access skin and weight is actually rather depressing so have started back on my cardio work - just walking around the neighbourhood and not going massively fast but it is better than nothing. My first few attempts were dismal - it hurt badly and I could only achieve down the street before I wanted to turn back. I am improving though - with walks everyday plus the added bonus of getting me out of the house and the lil man gets some fresh air too.

My stitches have started coming off but my pelvic muscles needs work which means no running yet. Small steps but all in the right direction at this point. The last thing I want to be is a fat women who has let it all go because 'she has a man and a kid'.

One needs to take some pride in somethings after all. I might not win the prize for the yummiest mummy but there is no harm trying to keep up - which also includes cutting down on the chocolate biscuits and chocolate bars - something that has become a bit of an obsession of late - am addicted! Imagine polishing off a whole family size block of chocolate in a day? Yep - that's me. Not good at all.

My lil man turns 1 (month)

Oh my, I can see why parents say 'enjoy the moment' and ' time flies quickly so enjoy the moment' - with a wink of an eye, my lil man has turned 4 weeks!

So far, I'm amazed by the amount of diapers he has gone through and am equally amazed with how easily I have taken to changing diapers ~ I've always thought that diaper changing would be my least fav task to do ~ but like a duck taking to water, it's not actually been that bad.

The lack of sleep was also something I've been able to handle as fortunately, I've always been able to manage with minimal sleep. Furthermore because I'm still on maternity leave, I've been giving BF the lie-in opportunity so he takes the 530am feeds while I do the rest.

I did struggle with breast feeding tho. No one ever tells you how difficult breast feeding is especially at the start where your nipples are being chewed on (rather roughly too) by a newborn and coupled with cracked nipples, engorgement and improper latching - my first week was horrid. I had to supplement with formula to enable my lil man to eat as I wasn't producing enough milk at the start. I was also expressing so the nipples had time to heal and to reduce engorgement but am slowly getting the hang of things.

Huge learning curve, but am enjoying the challenge. He's gained weight which is also reassuring.

Next post - the post partum recovery journey.