Why I started Co-Sleeping (Even when I said I wouldn’t!)

Posted in my thoughts, Parenting decisions by jahbella

Before I had Jah, I told myself that I would never allow my child to co-sleep with us and I suppose I almost ‘succeeded’. The closest Jah came to co-sleeping with us was in the first 2-3 months when I would place his portable cot right next to my bed. He was such a colicky baby with horrible reflux and I was often exhausted after putting him to bed that it was really just easier to leave him next to me. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep well if I had to constantly wonder if he was spitting up in his sleep. L However the moment his colic and reflux settled, we ‘shipped’ him off to his own room and cot and relied solely on an audio baby monitor to keep tabs on him. Apart from having to go into his room to sooth him back to sleep once or twice a night or to give him his feeds, it was all working out fine.

I can’t really pinpoint when it started happening but I think it started around the time that I was pregnant with Bella. Jah started needing me to sit with him in his room, with my arms around him while he attempted to go back to sleep. This was extremely straining and tiring for me and I soon learnt that the easiest way was to bring him over to my bed and just hug him to sleep while I dozed off as well.

This was how our new arrangement started, some 2 years ago or so….with me putting Jah to bed in his own room at 9pm and him proceeding to wake up anytime between 11pm to 5am. He would sit in bed and call for me or walk over to my room on his own (if he is conscious enough) and everyone would continue to have their good night’s sleep.

At some point last year, Joel jokingly asked me what if Jah was still in our bed in Primary school…haha I know that’s a pretty scary thought! However I think deep down we both do know that as much as this co-sleeping sometimes feels alittle annoying and uncomfortable especially when he takes up 2/3 of our bed (yes a 3 year old can take up 2/3 of the bed!) We both also realize that this is not going to last forever.

Photo credit: howtobeadad.com

I really can’t blame the little boy for coming to my bed every night because as strange as it is…we need him as much as he needs us. This co-sleeping thing has become as much of a habit for him as it has for us. In fact Joel confessed a few nights ago that he finds it hard to fall asleep when Jah isn’t there…oh my goodness! Me too!

Photo credit: http://www.someecards.com/

So if you ask me now, is co-sleeping with your baby/ child unhealthy? Ermm yes I suppose so since both parents have also become dependent on it :p But would I choose to do it again, now that I know of the ‘outcome’. Yes most definitely! Nothing beats being able to watch my child snooze and hug the little sleeping monkey to sleep! Nothing beats waking up to his good mornings, bright smile and crazy singing (unless its 6am of course). I’ll do it again and I’ll keep doing it now because I know these moments won’t last forever and I am going to enjoy it while I can now…:)

JahBella’s Mummy

1Mar2015

iTheatre’s Aesop’s Fables (Media Invite)

Posted in Media Invite, Plays/ Theatre, Reviews by jahbella

Theatre boy (Jah) and I were invited by iTheatre to their latest production Aesop’s Fables at the Raffles Hotel Jubilee Hall and we decided to bring Papa Joel along. Papa Joel usually hates it when I ask him to join me for a play or musical because he just doesn’t have the attention span for it :p But he was more than willing to come for this production because he wanted to witness Jah’s interest in theatre for himself.

This is our second time at an iTheatre production (the first was Hop and Honk) and I have to say that you realize how super passionate they are for theatre and super good at what they do when you see the effort that goes into their programme booklet, stage set and props.

Mandatory Poster pic

Checking out the programme and activities in the booklet 🙂

Thanks for the goodie bag iTheatre!

Programme Booklet

Awesome backdrop

The 50 minutes show (no intervals) revolved around a theatre troupe, the Crowfoot Troupe taking us through 8 fantastic fables. The show was filled with catchy tunes, intelligent humor and great acting! Jah had declared a few times to me that he was scared of some of the characters even though he understood that it was all pretend, just like in his speech and drama classes. He even said “the uncles and aunties act so well!” :p

Wefie!

The show is suitable for theatre goers ages 3 years and up. Although they do say till 13, I’ll have to say “up” because adults like Papa Joel and I enjoyed ourselves immensely too! Papa Joel actually thanked me for bringing him along for the show!

Not only did I enjoy the production elements of the show, I also truly enjoyed the storyline. It was nice to be reminded of the moral of the story behind each Aesop’s Fable. Yes the ones we had learnt as children but somehow had forgotten that they apply to us even in today’s world. It also has given me a lot of ‘material’ to work with for the next couple of months when it comes to introducing Aesop’s Fables to Jah and telling/ reminding him of the moral of each story.

So if you are looking for some good fun for the family and something educational for the little ones then check out iTheatre’s Aesop’s Fables! We can’t wait to catch Gingerbread Man by iTheatre when it premieres in May! 🙂

Next up!

And I leave you with some ‘moral of the story’ that we took away from the show 🙂

“When you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one.”

“Never trust flatterers”

“Don’t let your greed overpower you or you will lose everything”

“Never swop your friends for enemies”

JahBella’s Mummy

8Feb2015

Penang Holiday (Oct 2014) – Yummy Food Outside of the Hotel!! Fishing Village Seafood, Nonya Breeze, Golden River Zi Char)

Posted in Eating Out with Kids, Holidays, penang by jahbella

So yes while we thought that the food at the Hard Rock Hotel Penang was pretty awesome, we did still head out for our food fix. No, travelling with two young kids was not going to prevent us from savouring the good food that Penang had to offer. We just had to think alittle more creatively and do alittle bit more research and planning. This meant no Gurney Drive Hawker Centre (although I would admit that we did try one evening but it was pouring!) and also meant that exploring the alleys and road side hawkers of Georgetown was out of the question. However I have to say we did really well and so if you are looking for something alittle more kid friendly (places where there are high chairs), something super yummy and authentic and something that won’t break the bank…Read on for our 3 recommended restaurants in Penang and we will let the photos do most of the talking…;)

Golden River Zi Char

Located in Batu Ferringhi and a 3 min taxi ride away from Hard Rock Hotel Penang. This zi char restaurant was not found on the main thoroughfare and we actually had to do abit of way-finding in the rain (walking over from our tailor) but we were well-rewarded with good homely zi char food.

Nonya Breeze

I did quite abit of research on this one..more so because I really wanted to try the Nonya food in Penang but most places were either really far out from where we were or were supposedly so good that you had to wait a long time for your food. Waiting is not really an option when you have kids who like to do things really ‘chop chop’ – yes I think they inherited that trait from me. :p So I kept Nonya Breeze on my ‘standby’ list of places to eat at if we were in the vicinity of Straits Quay Mall. I have to say that this place did not disappoint because Joel actually requested that we come back the next day for lunch. So please do not be shocked by all the photos, we ate there on 2 separate days!!!

Fishing Village Seafood

This place is really really rustic and you would need a driver to bring you in and preferably wait for you to finish. The drive was approximately 15 to 20 mins from Hard Rock Hotel Penang and in the other direction away from the city. So plan this for a night where you just intend to have dinner and head back because there is nothing much to see or do in that vicinity. The food though was worth it and we even indulged in some crabs which we don’t normally have when we eat with the kids. Portions are not huge so we managed to order quite a number of items and finished everything! (Note – there were only 3 adults and 2 little ones).

Rustic side of town

Everything feels so old school…down to the highchair

Jah took a walk with Joel and discovered the beach and a little jetty of sorts..

So the next time you are in Penang with the kids and lament that you can’t enjoy the Penang goodies with kids in tow, you know where to go…:)

JahBella’s Mummy

5Jan2015

SG50 Family Picnic at the Istana – Families for Life

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

We had our first family picnic of 2015 over the weekend and we had it with tons of other families during the SG50 Family Picnic at the Istana organized by Families for Life.

Family pic before entering the Istana

Families for Life is organizing a series of family bonding activities and monthly family picnics in conjunction with the SG50 celebrations this year. In fact the monthly family picnics started last year and is held at a different location/neighborhood park each month.

The one we attended over the weekend was held at the Istana and was one of the largest one to be held, with families from all over Singapore gathering on the Istana grounds.

There were games, music, free milo, ice cream, coffee and popcorn. Bouncy castles and play equipments were set up all over the lawn to enter the little kids. Balloons and stickers were given out to kids and families. Each family that pre-registered for the event was also entitled to a complimentary cooler bag with some useful items like first aid kit, rain coats and a small umbrella to name a few. The cooler bag came in very handy for us to store our bag of ice because we were too lazy to lug a cooler box with us. :p

Milo truck

Items in our free cooler bag

SG50 Stickers and Calendar

Playground on the lawn

Families could also purchase up to 2 picnic baskets ($10 each) with proceeds going to the President’s Charity. I loved the little red picnic basket and it had some nice little treats inside. Especially nice for families who may have decided to travel light for their picnic. We, on the other hand braved the load and probably looked alittle silly carrying bags of bottle drinks and sandwiches and pies with us while queuing to get in but we were absolutely happy with the extra ice cold drinks and food. :p

Picnic basket goodies and more!

While the weather threatened to dampen our moods with passing showers (literally passing with 5 minutes of rain each time) and the occasional drizzle, the event was pretty cool. The kids went absolutely crazy with the space they had around them. The sprawling park and lawn where they could run freely without having us adults shouting at them to be careful. Something we really are not quite able to do or not do anymore. The live music that they could dance and groove to and the whole family just being able to relax and bask in the sunlight or huddle under one brolly together.

Perfect blue skies!

I’m singing in the rain!

The process of getting into this event was I assume slightly more tedious than the other park events but this is to be expected, given that we had to clear security etc to get through. Perhaps we will attend one of their other monthly picnics again soon to check out the difference. That being said, there is really nothing stopping us all from organizing our own little picnic with our families is there? 🙂

This is truly an awesome initiative and I hope more families will look to spend more time with each other. I’m fortunate that JahBella has the ‘village’ to spend weekends with, their ever sporty and fun uncles and aunties! #familytimeprecioustime 🙂

One more family pic before we leave!

JahBella’s Mummy

22Dec2014

Fire Station Open House – JahBella’s first visit

Posted in Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

I have always wanted to bring Jah for a fire station visit but figured we will wait till he is a little older to ‘get it’. So when we were looking for a ‘quick morning outing’ this Saturday, we thought why not the fire station. A quick morning outing for us = one that will allow us to be home by 12 noon for a nap and is usually required when we have an early evening commitment planned.

We found out that most fire stations in Singapore conduct Open House tours every Saturday from 9am to 11am. We weren’t sure if this meant that we could go in at 10am? 1030am? So we headed out bright and early and arrived on the dot at 9am. We later noticed that tours were being held as visitors came in, some tours fuller than others and I suppose it also depends on the manpower at the station at that point.

We were given a tour of the station, well more so of the vehicles and equipments which the Firemen use. The highlight for the kids was of course when they were allowed to use the equipment to fight the ‘fire’/orange cones. As always Jah took a while to warm up to new activities and was abit hesistant to fight the fire or to sit in the vehicles for photos. He decided post tour that he would ‘do more’ the next visit.

Bella on the other hand was super eager to get her hands dirty. We really didn’t think to offer her a chance at fighting fire, I mean she is only 19 months old but she actually ‘asked’ to do it. She is well and truly our little no fear fighter.

We didn’t quite know what to expect from the fire station visit but I would say it was a rather educational tour especially for the adults and it was good fun for the kids. Every kid was given a little SCDF plastic fireman helmet which Jah and Bella loved and yes this is definitely an activity that we would do again.