Monday, March 22, 2010 ;
9:23 PM
After dd's full month, I was out on a roll and wanted to accomplish as many things as possible.
A little too ambitious, cos I got really exhausted at times.. Now I've learnt to tone down.
First, I was keen to get fit and healthy again. So I signed up with my my good friend at Amore. A 2 yr membership gives me enough classes at S$14 each, and works out to about 1 class per week. After I signed up, I realised going for the classes needed more than my enthusiasm.
Since dd is fully breastfed, she can wail really badly if I am not around and my mom is afraid to take on babysitting her while I am at class. Dh has agreed to do so, but so far has helped only 2x because other times he was so busy at work and cannot afford to come home earlier, and then my boys took turns to be down with flu, which took a whole week.
So I went for this free personal training and assessment session on the 8th (Mon) of Mar and then a fitness class with Mary on the 16th (Tues). After that, I hadn't been able to go at all. It's not easy being a SAHM who fully breastfeeds and does not have a helper at all. You wish to do so many things but can't.
Like I've been wanting to get a haircut and enjoy maybe a manicure/ pedicure or a massage. Have to wait till dd is older I guess, then her feeding pattern will be more predictable and then I'll be able to leave her with someone for a longer period of time without worrying.
Anyway, here's something really funny. I went for the first session at Amore with my Papillio sandals and didn't think there was anything wrong. Until the personal trainer met me...
She asked, "Erm, did you bring your shoes?"
I replied, "Oops, do I need shoes?"
Poor her, she must be so incredulous... but she managed to speak matter-of-factly, "Err, yes, because you have to wear proper socks and shoes in the gym and when you are working out."
I almost died. But then, I gave a call home and kind Dh rushed over with my shoes and socks, so I was able to continue without a hitch.
Boy, it was just 45min, and I already knew I was unfit. But, it was such a workout! I also learnt I had more percent of my mass allocated to body fat than skeletal muscle, horror of horrors. She made me do push ups, lunges, leg raises, sit ups, raise weights, stretches and stepping exercises.
You can just imagine what happened the next day. My whole body was aching. But I felt good, so I immediately made a date with Mary to go for the next one.
That one was a group class. It involves resistance bands, dumb bells and other exercises, some set to music, to tone up various parts of the body and also have a cardio workout. Again, I really suffered the next day. Mary did much better than me. Some of the exercises, I chose to sit them out, cos my tailbone was still painful.
My mom nagged at me non-stop about how I had just given birth and should not do strenuous exercises in case my abdominal muscles get hurt. Which had some truth. But I recall Wong Li Lin running a triathlon or something 2 mths after birthing her baby.
Well at that time I was 1 month plus postpartum. Now I am almost 2 mths pp... I don't see myself at that fitness level at all. haha.
A pic of dd within her 1st month. Sleeping soundly, with the same knitted blankie Dh's sis made for ds1, which ds2 also used.
She was blowing bubbles of saliva in her sleep. You know how babies continue to move their tongues as if they were still nursing even when they're asleep? That's how the bubbles formed. So funny.
On the 16th of Mar, after the 2nd Amore session, Sheryl came to visit me with her 2 dds. She also brought a gift for dd's full month. It was a set of cute Carters rompers. Size 6m, can't wait to use them.
While we were chatting and catching up, both ds asked if they wanted to play Monopoly together. They hadn't tried it before but were keen to learn and they ended up playing for a very long time! Sheryl's girls were very amiable and cheerful girls who laughed often, so I think they had a good time playing together.
Look at them laughing away at something ds1 said.
It was great to catch up with old Uni mates.
After they left, my mom arrived and we all set off for the Jurong Polyclinic where dd was due for her 1st vaccination. Both boys were very curious - they had forgotten they too had many vaccinations done, cos all the shots were done before they were 2 yrs old. I also needed my mom's help due to the logistics of all the travel. Had wanted to take a bus there as well, but we ran late, so caught a cab there.
Everything went smoothly and when it was our turn, I brought the boys and dd in. My mom waited outside. The nurse took a look at my boys and asked, "Is there any other adult outside?"
I was so loathe to say the truth, but had to. She suggested my mom look after the boys outside. I told her they really wanted to see her having her injection. She looked like a fellow-mom and I saw her face soften, she must have understood.
So she said they should go out first, when we are done with admin (all the Qs), then they can come in just to observe the vaccination. Wow, thanks!
But when she was asking me about chicken pox and HFMD exposure, I had to tell the truth again, and said ds2's school closed because of HFMD but ds2 didn't get it. She was adamant that he could've brought the virus home and dd could be exposed to it, even though ds2 did not get it. So dd cannot have the vaccination and she rescheduled us for a much later date.
So we all took the bus home. The boys were disappointed and I had to explain to them why it was risky for dd to take the shot if she had been exposed to other viruses. I insisted on taking the bus cos it was already a wasted trip to the polyclinic, in terms of time and money, so we could at least save some by taking the bus home.
(Anyway, I had wanted to drive there, but clever Dh brought the car keys along with him to work, even though the car was with me, so I had no keys to drive the car with. So smart of him, right?)
On the bus, it was pretty crowded and I sat beside an elderly woman who kept talking to me about dd. She touched her cheeks, her feet etc too. Dd began fussing for milk. But she was in a sling and I didn't want to feed her then. Somehow I felt that the kind old lady, being so curious and fond of the baby, would bring a lot of attention to me nursing her, and may even lift up my apparel to have a look at her nursing, and that would be horrifying for me. :-)
So I kept jogging dd within my seat (a difficult skill, ok? to sway and move up and down while being seated) and telling her to wait.
What a stressful journey. I was exhausted when I reached home, cos remember I had an hour of workout in the morning??
17 Mar
Wed
My dearest friend Angeling and her supportive Dh decided to give me a treat and bring my boys to the Science Centre with them and their dds. She wanted me to have a break and experience having being a mom of only one baby again. I so appreciate that!
Just nicely so, my ex-colleagues asked me out for lunch at Jurong Point! I could handle that! JP is nearby, and we can have an early lunch. So Mag, Law, Chiu Wai, Judith and me met up at 11am at the Japanese restaurant there for lunch. It was such a wonderful gathering... to catch up, laugh and talk about the old times...
A lot has changed at Hwa Chong and we got news about RJ too, cos Mag is there, and Meridian as well, since Law just moved there.
After lunch, we decided to adjourn for dessert at Bakerzin but it was so funny. We sat down, looked at the menu then decided to leave. Cos my boys were reaching home, and Mag decided to have Chinese dessert instead of Western.
So she went to buy some with Judith, while Law bought his McD's sundae again. Everyone then drove to my place to have dessert. I managed to retrieve the boys from Angeling. So grateful to her cos the boys had a great time at the Science Center, especially being soaked at the Waterworks section.
The boys then went home with me and talked with my friends for some time before they left. Mag bought this mango dessert, with pomelo pulp for me. It's really yummy. I'm going to get more myself! I live here and didn't know there was this stall at JP all this while!
Forgot to take pics... It would be nice... Judith with her 8mth preggy bump, Mag laughing away, Law snoring on my sofa (so tired out from all the running of marathons), and cw, tinkering with his high tech gadgets.
Rest of the March hol week:
I did a lot of baking, and then there was my mom's birthday. I also tried to start cooking daily meals but realised it was too tough. I now try to be less ambitious and cook only when dd naps long enough, the boys did not fight, and I am not too exhausted.
Cos after the food prep, there is the actual cooking, and then there is cleaning up. Dh helps a lot with cleaning up, but there is still a lot I have to do. Then, when dd is fussy or awake, I have to sling her while cooking or chopping my meat and veg, which is so tiring. I have to also sway and move up and down while cooking!!
My sis and others urge me to order tingkat (fixed day food delivery). But I hesitate to do so because my schedule is so ad hoc. If I feel like it, I go out to eat... If I have time and energy, I cook. If I am really tired, I order delivery or get Dh to order takeaway/ to-go. I also have food mood swings. I would crave particular food at different times and tingkat has fixed menus. Sometimes they may send me food I totally would not like to eat at the time, then what should I do, right???
Gatherings, outings, exercise also have to be less frequent, cos it is so tiring to fit so much into a week when I can be so sleep deprived. Let's hope things will get better as baby grows... though I already know each stage has its own difficulties. :-) But life must have hope, so think positive always!
rainbows every day, do not worry for the morrow
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She was blowing bubbles of saliva in her sleep. You know how babies continue to move their tongues as if they were still nursing even when they're asleep? That's how the bubbles formed. So funny.
Look at them laughing away at something ds1 said.
It was great to catch up with old Uni mates.
