Baby Cayla’s Lunar 4th Month Traditional Celebration

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Hola chewy friends! It has been more than a week since we celebrated Mini misschewy’s lunar 4th month! Since it was on a Monday, misterchewy and I took leave just for this. The hubs sent Little misschewy to school in the morning and bought chicken drumstick on his way home. Over the weekend, my mum passed us the Marie biscuits and chives, and also angbao for Cayla! This time, we didn’t trim Cayla’s hair and if you are keen, you can read about Chanelle’s lunar 4th month celebration back in 2014!

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1) Chives (Gu Chye)

Chives play a essential role in baby’s lunar 4th month celebration as older folks believe that rubbing chives along baby’s gums signifies a smooth sailing and painless teething journey. We didn’t boil the chives but simply soak the stalk in water for at least 30 minutes before rinsing it under running water. Not all supermarkets sell chives so do your homework early and buy the chives as near the celebration as possible to ensure its freshness!

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2) Chicken Drumstick

I took a video of the hubs showing Cayla the drumstick and caught her swallowing her saliva as she eyed the piece of meat! Hahaha.

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Oh yeah~ Looks like someone enjoyed licking the drumstick! This signifies that baby will be blessed with an abundance of good food! Two more months to your first taste of solids, Cayla! Hehehe.

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3) String of 12 biscuits

During Chanelle’s time, we used 8 big Marie biscuits and for Cayla, we had 12 small ones. My mum said, “One of each month of the year!” The hubs asked me, “Why Marie biscuits?” Honestly, I don’t know but gave him a lame reply that there are many holes to string the biscuits together lol. Once again, Cayla was caught trying to stuff all the biscuits into her mouth! LOL.

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The hubs touched Cayla’s lips with each biscuit, while reciting “qit ta ta” (wipe dry). This is believed to minimise drooling in babies! Daddies and Mummies, don’t forget to eat all the biscuits to complete this ritual! The hubs and I split the share equally. Haha.

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4) Red Packet (Ang Bao)

Cayla also received angbao from both grandmothers as a blessing! Hope you enjoyed this post! Stay connected with us on Instagram @missuschewy and on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy 🙂

Bangkok for Kids: Art in Paradise Bangkok

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Heyhey chewys! We have come to the third and final post of our three-part series on things to do in Bangkok with kids! As I had mentioned earlier, there are many child-friendly attractions in Bangkok but since we were only there for a few days, we had to plan carefully to make the most of our trip! We went to Siam Ocean World on the second day of our trip, and Kidzoona & Molly Fantasy on the third, but realized that we didn’t get many family snaps which was a pity. So, on the fourth day of our trip, which also coincided with my birthday, we decided to head to Art in Paradise, the first 3D art museum in Bangkok! What better way to take interesting photos that will serve as wonderful memories many years down the road? 🙂

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Art in Paradise is located within Esplanade Shopping Mall, which is some walking distance from Thailand Cultural Centre MRT station. Silly me got it wrong and we walked all the way to Thailand Cultural Centre after we exited the station. Upon realizing that there’s no Art in Paradise there, we took a cab to Esplanade Shopping Mall. Please don’t get confused like I did! Admission for adult foreigners costs 400 baht and 200 baht for children above 100cm. All footwear are to be removed and deposited at the counter before entering the museum. There are over 150 paintings across various themes and we had so much fun posing for photos, Little misschewy included! Shall let our photos do the talking 😉

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Art in Paradise Bangkok is a great place for families to create memories through interactive 3D art. Even though Chanelle might be too young to know how to pose, her unintentional poses and occasional photobombing make the photos interesting! Hope you guys enjoyed this post! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

Art in Paradise Bangkok
99 Esplanade Room No 408
4th Floor
Rachadapisek Road
Din Daeng Bangkok 10400
Tel.: 026-609-130
Email: aipbkk2013@gmail.com

Opening Hours:
Daily
10am – 10pm

Bangkok for Kids: Bangkok Sea Life Siam Ocean World

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Helloooo daddies and mummies! Here’s our second of three-part series on things to do in Bangkok with kids! If you have missed our earlier post on Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy, click here to read it. You know how it’s kinda funny when misterchewy and I look back on our last trip to Bangkok in 2012.. We were trying to decide if we should visit Bangkok Sea Life Siam Ocean World while we were at Siam Paragon. After much deliberation, we both agreed to take our kid there the next time we visit Bangkok. Three years later.. HERE WE ARE! 😀

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Little misschewy had not been to the S.E.A Aquarium at Sentosa so we reckon this would be an eye-opening and engaging experience for her. Furthermore, she knows what a fish is so we thought it would be interesting to introduce different forms of marine life to her. The tickets are priced at 990 baht for adults and 790 baht for children 3-11 years old. We only needed to purchase a pair of adult tickets which worked out to be around SGD 80! We managed to save a bit by getting the Weekday Early Bird rate at 745 baht for adults, which is about SGD 60 for a pair. We saved $20! However, the small catch is that you have to enter before noon on a weekday! With proper planning, it wasn’t difficult at all.

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Indeed, from the moment we stepped into Siam Ocean World, Little misschewy was so enthralled by all the different types of fishes that we spent quite a fair bit of time before moving on to the next species.

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This Octopus is really ginormous!

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Lionfish! Reminds me of my scuba diving days. I wanna go diving again! 🙁

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We stepped onto a glass panel and watched various sharks swim underneath us. Pretty cool!

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This seems to be meant for kids and it’s sooo cute!

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Little misschewy was initially afraid and clung on to misterchewy tightly. But after awhile, she refused to leave! LOL.

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Heyyy fishie fishie!

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Now, that’s a different kind of ‘fish’! Hahaha.

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The otters were just lazing around!

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This is the part where visitors get to touch and feel marine life such as starfish and sea cucumber.

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Going on board the Ocean Feeding Boat allows one to get up close and personal with sharks, stingrays and a great variety of fish. SEA LIFE staff will provide an insightful introduction while feeding the fish by hand. It costs 180 baht per person and this activity is available from 10.30am to 8pm.

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Adorable penguins!

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Some of them were just standing still for so long and I actually wondered if they were real. Haha.

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There’s a mini playground within Siam Ocean World!

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This part of Siam Ocean World took our breaths away. It’s really magnificent plus the music that was being played had that mysterious mood to it. Watching all these gigantic sharks swim around was such an amazing experience!

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As compared to our very own S.E.A Aquarium, I would say that Bangkok Sealife Siam Ocean World wins hands down in more ways than one. If you have a young toddler like us, a visit to Siam Ocean World is highly recommended! 😉
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World
B1-B2 Floor, Siam Paragon,
991 Rama 1 Rd, Pathumwan,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand.
(Nearest BTS: Siam)
Tel: 662 687 2000
Email: marketing.bangkok@merlinentertainments.biz

Opening Hours:
Daily
10am – 9pm

Bangkok for Kids: Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy

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When our friends knew about our plans to take Little misschewy along to Bangkok during my birthday week on the last week of July, many expressed their concern because Bangkok is popularly known as a shopping and eating paradise. Would having a young toddler in tow ruin our holiday plans? And more importantly, would Chanelle enjoy this trip or be bored to tears? Even though Chanelle is barely two years old, she sure knows how to play and have fun! With that, I planned our Bangkok itinerary with her interests in mind, in addition to ours. There are many things to do in Bangkok with kids but due to limited time, I shortlisted three main attractions in Bangkok for kids and families. I will first be introducing Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy in the first of my three-part series 🙂

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There are a number of indoor playgrounds scattered all over Bangkok but I decided on Kidzoona based on two very important factors:

1. Kidzoona is highly accessible as it is located on the 5th floor of Gateway Ekamai Mall, right next to Ekkamai BTS Station. Kidzoona allows re-entry on the same day, so parents and children can take a break at any of the cafes or restaurants within the mall. A few other indoor playgrounds that I had researched on are located away from BTS stations which can be rather inconvenient.

2. Kidzoona’s play areas and play structures are age-appropriate for young toddlers like Chanelle. I feel that some other indoor playgrounds like Funarium and KidZania, on the other hand, target older children about 4 years and up.

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Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy are two concepts under the Aeon Fantasy group, a Japan-based company which specializes in the operation of entertainment facilities for children in shopping centres. Apart from Japan and Thailand, Aeon Fantasy has also found its way around other Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, Cambodia, The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. All I want to say is.. Please come to Singapore soon!!

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Upon stepping into Molly Fantasy, we were greeted by a barrage of coin-operated kiddie rides and arcade games. Little misschewy loves to go on kiddie rides these days, but ain’t nobody got time for that! Besides the kiddie rides and arcade games, Molly Fantasy houses a large play area, Kidzoona, which is what we were there for. First, we had to fill in a form and pay upfront before entering Kidzoona. Adults pay a flat rate of 90 baht but the rates for children differ based on their height and are pricier on weekends.

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The green lockers are for you to store your personal belongings and valuables while the white lockers are meant for footwear. We were unlucky that the green lockers were unavailable so we had to constantly keep an eye on our bags.

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There are educational toys and books for the little ones. Saw a baby boy hammering away at a wooden xylophone. Super cute! It’s a great place for young ones to get warmed up before proceeding to the giant ball pool.

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Lounge area where tired parents can take turns to rest and recharge. There’s even a massage chair to sooth those aching feet!

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This inflatable giant ‘hamster wheel’ is so cool!

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One of the reasons why I enjoy taking Chanelle to the indoor playground is because she likes watching other children play and it brings a smile to her face.

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Hahaha. The look on Little misschewy is like, “Mummy, can I play now?” We have not been to many indoor playgrounds in Singapore but the ball pool at Kidzoona is hugeeeee and attracts children of all ages!

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Inflatable bouncy castle!

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Chanelle tried to climb up but it proved to be too steep!

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Papa Chewy to the rescue!

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WHEEEE! Chanelle asked to go on the slide at least another three more times! Good workout for Papa Chewy! Hahaha.

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This section of Kidzoona is quite similar to KidZania, where children are free to experiment and take on various roles in the ‘working field’. It was adorable watching how kids served their parents who acted as customers or patrons.

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Of course, we couldn’t resist a photo of Little misschewy in one of these cute outfits! Her first part-time job at a burger shop! HAHAHA.

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“Hello! Burgers for you?” I whatsapped this photo to Chanelle’s godma, and she replied that she will BUY ALL THE BURGERS from Chanelle! So sweet can! LOL.

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Ooh! Look who’s a sushi chef? Irrashaimase!

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Mummy is going to post a photo of this sushi platter on Instagram while my personal sushi chef prepares some hot green tea for me!

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The hubs and I are glad that the local children we met at Kidzoona are either well-mannered, or their parents are quick to intervene before things turn ugly between kids. Chanelle happened to pick up a toy which was left behind by a little boy and he took it back right out of her hands but his father immediately handed it back to Chanelle before pulling his boy away. This lovely girl didn’t push Chanelle out of the fire truck when Chanelle climbed in. In fact, she shifted herself to make more space for Chanelle. Her kind gesture truly surprised me because I have come across selfish kids who refuse to share.

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It was a joy watching the two girls smile and interact with each other and they occasionally waved at misterchewy and I!

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We spent close to 2 hours in Kidzoona and paid another 40 baht for Little misschewy to go on this carousel ride before leaving Gateway Ekamai Mall. Besides keeping the little ones happy, it’s also a fantastic way to expend their energy so that parents can have a peaceful meal when their kids conk out after a few hours at the indoor playground 😉
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

Kidzoona and Molly Fantasy
Floor 5, Gateway Ekamai Mall, 982/22 Sukhumvit Road Prakanong, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
(Nearest BTS: Ekkamai)
Local Phone:02 108 2650
International Phone: +66 2 108 2650
Email: contact@aeonfantasy.co.th

Operating Hours:
Daily
10am – 9pm (last entry 8pm)

Price:
Adult – 90 Baht
Child under 105 cm – 180 baht on weekdays/300 baht on weekends
Child over 105 cm – 220 baht on weekdays/360 baht on weekends

My Breastfeeding Journey

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Little misschewy turns 15 months old today and this marks a significant milestone in my breastfeeding journey. As I begin typing this post, I’m overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions. I have always wanted to blog about the difficulties that I had faced, especially during the initial stages of my breastfeeding journey and how I managed to overcome them but I didn’t know where to begin because there’s just too much that I wish to share. This journey is not a smooth sailing one and is fraught with heartaches but I’m rejoicing the fact that somehow, I have managed to come this far. To begin with, I wasn’t properly educated about breastfeeding as I didn’t come from a pro-breastfeeding family. Even before I gave birth, my mum briefly mentioned on a few occasions that there’s no point in breastfeeding for more than a month and told me to introduce formula milk. I clearly remembered those words, “Breastfeed one month enough already. After that can give formula milk.” When I told my mum about my plans to get a Medela breast pump at the Baby Fair, she replied, “Aiya how you know you will have milk? If no milk then you waste money buying breast pump for what.” With that, I didn’t bother to read up and find out more about breastfeeding. It was a HUGE mistake. A mistake so huge that my breastfeeding journey got off to an extremely rocky start.

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I still remember vividly, on the very same night a few hours after I delivered at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, the nurse handed Little misschewy to me when I was resting in my ward and taught me how to position baby to ensure a proper latch on. It was probably around midnight and the room was dimly lit and quiet. Once Little misschewy started suckling, the nurse left the room and it was just the two of us. That magical moment brought tears to my eyes. The very act of nursing my baby was such an amazing experience and I knew that this would be the start of a strong bond between the two of us. Unfortunately, my milk supply had not kicked in and I was immensely pressurized by my parents and relatives to give formula milk to Little misschewy because she was crying when they visited me in the day. I was very sad and broke down after they left. The hubs consoled me and told me not to give myself too much stress over breastfeeding and to just try my best. He would respect my decision whatever it was. As I wasn’t armed with sufficient knowledge about breastfeeding, I wasn’t aware that I had to keep nursing or keep pumping to stimulate milk supply. In other words, Chanelle was being given only formula milk for the first five days until my milk supply finally came. I will never forget that night when my boobs turned ROCK HARD. I was clenching my teeth in pain while massaging my boobs with a warm towel. I thought I was going to die! Also, I could only resort to pumping using the Medela Mini Electric that misterchewy’s teacher very kindly loaned me as the few nursing sessions in the hospital left me with very sore and chaffed nipples that made it impossible to continue nursing.

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I reckon the mini electric pump isn’t good enough for some serious hardcore milk-expressing. It didn’t do a good job at emptying my boobs completely, and coupled with the fact that I was pumping only every 4 hours instead of 2 or 3, I suffered from my very first case of Mastitis during my confinement. It was in the wee hours of the night when I developed a fever that made me feel weak all over and I was shivering like crazy. My fever broke by the time I woke up the next morning but I wasn’t so fortunate the next few times I had Mastitis. A total of 4 times in less than 2 months in fact! The symptoms of Mastitis are unmistakable – immense pain in the breast (always the right side for me), accompanied by swelling, warmth and redness. You might also have fever and chills. Little misschewy was unable to clear the blocked ducts in my right breast and I had to rely on antibiotics administered by my family GP. Each time, I suffered from Mastitis, my milk supply suffered miserably as well. My mum and mil advised me to stop breastfeeding because they didn’t want to see me in so much pain. I was very tempted to give up too but the hubs encouraged me to persevere. At that point, I was really angry at him because I felt that all the pain that I went through meant nothing to him but at the same time, a part of me wanted to give myself another chance at breastfeeding. As I look back today, I’m really glad that I didn’t give up.

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I learned that establishing milk supply is all about “demand and supply”. However, my supply was pretty pathetic after all the mastitis cases and I was very demoralized. After my confinement nanny left, I decided to give nursing another go and I’m really blessed with a baby who can still remember how to latch on after a whole month of being bottle fed! I have read about nipple confusion which typically occurs when young babies are being given the bottle. I tried to nurse her whenever I can, while supplementing with formula milk as my mil would always suggest that Chanelle was probably still hungry whenever she started crying. I also got very irritated with my mum when she kept asking me to feed Little misschewy with formula milk instead of nursing her. It was an emotional roller coaster ride for me for the first two to three months. I broke down many times whenever Little misschewy wailed at the top of her lungs and I blamed myself for my low supply. I tried all sorts of milk boosters in the form of supplements like Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, and also ate salmon sashimi and drank hot milo. There was an increase in my pump output but it wasn’t significant enough for me to stop supplementing Chanelle’s diet with formula milk. I went back to work after taking 12 weeks of maternity leave as promised to my boss even though my milk supply wasn’t established. It was indeed very tough for me because I had to juggle my work while making sure I had time to pump. I would also plan my pump schedule around my meetings. Or was it the other way round? Haha. I was so obsessed with my pumping routine that 2 o’clock sharp meant 2 o’clock sharp. There was no stopping me even if it meant having to go for earlier lunch without my colleagues. It was all about discipline and my baby will always be my first priority.

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I really want to thank a mummy acquaintance who added me to a breastfeeding support group on Facebook. I’m guessing that she is probably another strong advocate of breastfeeding and I’m grateful to her because I have learned so much from the group. Whenever I had any doubts or questions, fellow mummies were ever ready to dish out advice and relate their personal experiences. If it wasn’t for this group, I don’t think I would be sane enough to keep setting myself new breastfeeding targets, from one month to 6 months, to 12 months and now I’m still breastfeeding at 15 months and counting! The mummies literally cry over spilled milk together and pat one another on the back when we break a new record in our pump output. When I became more experienced, I started to share my success stories when I managed to transport frozen breast milk back from our Taiwan trip, when I finally found the courage to nurse in public when Little misschewy was 9 months old, and when my hard work and sheer determination paid off which allowed me to go on the total breastfeeding route (meaning I didn’t have to supplement formula milk), albeit only for a few months. My mantra is “Got milk better than no milk“. Right now I’m paying it forward by adding my pregnant friends to this group because I want them to be well-prepared for successful breastfeeding.

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Be firm if you really want to breastfeed for as long as possible. There will surely be obstacles in the initial stage but once you overcome them, things will become easier. My mum also stopped trying to dissuade me from breastfeeding. I guess she got tired asking me the same old question, “When are you going to stop breastfeeding?” every weekend when she sees me. LOL. The hubs is still as supportive as ever. When Little misschewy cries at night, he’s also the first to hand her to me, “Quick! Quick! She wants to latch!” before rolling over and snoring away. Currently, I pump once a day on average and continue latching Little misschewy to sleep. When friends and colleagues learn that I’m still breastfeeding, they often give me this look of disbelief, “Wah! Until now still got milk meh?” The answer is YES if you keep pumping or latching. Some people suggest that Little misschewy be given formula milk as her last feed before she turns in so that she can sleep through the night. I know it sounds crazy but I’m more than happy when she wakes up crying in the middle of the night, shouting “NEN NEN!” wanting to latch because she’s hungry or because she had a bad dream. I love hugging her close to me and tucking her fine hair behind her left ear. I love it when she giggles uncontrollably when I stroke her cheeks as I nurse her. I’m very amused when she cries as though it’s the end of the world after I declare, “Nen nen no more!” while keeping a straight face. My current goal is to breastfeed Little misschewy until she self-weans. A year ago, I collected some of my milk in a breastmilk storage bag and sent it to a breast milk keepsake creator in the United Kingdom. I decided on a pair of hand prints made using my milk for a charm bead inscribed with Little misschewy’s name, which is Pandora compatible and a pendant with a pair of foot prints as a gift for Little misschewy in future when she is old enough to understand and appreciate what I have done for her.

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Happy 15 months, Chanelle. You taught me that a mother’s love knows no bounds.

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day Three

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As opposed to Australian Dairy Company which had been featured in my previous post, I was quite keen to try Capital Cafe at Wan Chai! This place also seems very popular and has garnered more positive reviews online.

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We arrived pretty early and got a table almost immediately.

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Scrambled eggs with black truffle! It was a pretty generous amount of black truffle shavings and the scrambled eggs were very creamy! It’s seriously damn good la.

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We also ordered the Condensed Milk Bun which was very sweet but we like!

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Next up we went for dim sum at two Michelin star Sun Tung Lok at Miramar Shopping Centre. We were not that hungry so we only ordered a few dishes to share.

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Spent some time shopping at Harbour City! Seriously all the super atas brands are there!

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At Toys R Us!

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Afternoon tea at Intercontinental Hong Kong! They don’t accept reservations but we managed to get a table. Be there extra early if you want a table that gives you unobstructed view of the harbour! It’s really lovely! This is the Afternoon Tea Set for Two that we had. About SGD$130 to $140. We don’t usually spend money like this back in Singapore but since we are travelling, must enjoy right!

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We saved a couple of scones for Little misschewy because she loves them.

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We wanted to try Star Cafe and thanks to the help we found online, all we had to do was to look out for this neon signboard that says Dadol Hotel.

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Walk straight ahead and take the stairs down.

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I tried the Tomato noodles with pork chop. The tomato gravy was a bit watered down but the taste was still quite robust. This proved to be quite a comforting bowl nevertheless! Highly recommended!

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That’s all for Day 3! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day Two

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Little misschewy’s birthday coincided with the second day of our Hong Kong trip and we had planned an entire day of non-stop eating! Headed to Jordon first thing in the morning!

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I wasn’t too keen on breakfast at Australian Dairy Company because I read reviews that this place is quite overrated but the hubs mentioned it’s on his must-try list. Ok la must give and take in a relationship 😛

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We stared at the menu for a few minutes without knowing what to order. LOL. In the end we looked around and ordered whatever others were having.

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Macaroni with ham was mediocre.

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We also ordered the Steamed Egg Pudding and Steamed Milk Pudding which Chanelle loved.

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As we were going to have dim sum in less than a couple of hour’s time, we decided to walk to International Commerce Centre. It was a damn long walk and I think we took at least 20 to 30 minutes to get there. Really no joke because I was babywearing Chanelle and felt like my lower back was gonna break. Haha.

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Chanelle needs her breakfast too so off to the nursing room we went!

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We were so impressed by the nursing rooms in Hong Kong. They have almost everything in there! Weighing scale, high chair, wet wipes, bottle warmer etc.

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Clean and comfortable nursing room.

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Tin Lung Heen is a two Michelin-star restaurant located on the 102nd level of The Ritz Carlton.

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The view. Too bad it was rather hazy that day!

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Roasted Crispy Suckling Pig (HK$308)

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Deep-fried turnip cake with X.O. chilli sauce (HK$88)

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Steamed golden shrimp dumpling with bamboo shoot and asparagus (HK$88)

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Steamed barbecued Iberian pork buns (HK$88)

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Soup dumpling with fish maw in superior stock (HK$112)

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Petit fours were served and I really liked the osmanthus jelly!

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It was a really wonderful dining experience at Tin Lung Heen and everyone should try the dim sum there when they visit Hong Kong!

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After lunch, we went to a few shopping malls.

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Took a break by having desserts at the popular Hui Lau Shan but it was so so.

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I posted a photo on my FB page and a reader commented, “I just returned from HKG too. You gotta try the Kai Kee (at Tsim Sha Tsui) deep fried head of fish balls and deep fried cuttlefish balls. SUPER GOOD.” And so, we did just that. Problem was, we found TWO Kai Kee restaurants and none of them sold deep fried balls! It was kinda awkward and we randomly settled for toasted bun with condensed milk and iced milk tea.

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Shortly after that, we passed by Wah Kee Snacks just 200m down and I thought maybe this is the one! The reader probably got the name wrong and it should be Wah Kee instead of Kai Kee. Plus Wah Kee Snacks specialize in a wide assortment of deep fried balls!

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We tried the squid balls and prawn balls which were coated with some delicious spicy sauce which is their secret recipe. SO DAMN GOOD! We even went back after dinner to buy some back for supper! Hahaha.

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But guess what? The reader said it’s not this. LOLOL. But nvm, we discovered a gem!

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Another Instagram follower suggested that we try the peking duck at Spring Deer Restaurant, also at Tsim Sha Tsui. The restaurant had a pretty old school feel. As we were still feeling quite full, we only ordered Peking Duck (HK$300) to share.

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The hubs looked around us and declared we should have a bottle of Tsingtao beer to go with our duck meat! >_< DSCF6486

Super shiok!

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We bought a small sweet potato cake for Chanelle from the bakery below our hotel and we sang a birthday song for her. Hope she had an enjoyable time!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Family Trip to Hong Kong Day One

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PHEW! I managed to get everything else out of the way so that I can focus on blogging about our second trip of 2015! Back in mid March, The Chewys flew to Hong Kong for a 5D4N stay which was planned as Chanelle’s first birthday trip! Come to think of it, it was also a way to reward misterchewy and I for surviving our first year of parenthood. LOL. Of course, parenthood is not without its ups and downs, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of our family members, who have been very helpful and forthcoming. We truly appreciate it! Ok back to the story. I have been toying with the idea of a birthday trip for the little one for quite some time but was put off by the exorbitant prices probably because her birthday falls in the same week as the March school holidays. Yeah but in the end, we went ahead with the plan because we wanted some time to ourselves!

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We flew with Singapore Airlines and the airfare alone cost us about $1.2K. We did feel the pinch of course, with our home renovation underway and all. But it’s ok. Let’s enjoy first! Hahaha. Catching our flight early in the morning!

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Happy Chewys on the plane! Can you spot Little misschewy’s first tooth sprouting at the bottom? XD

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I think we booked our tickets in January, right after returning from our trip to Phuket, and hence we managed to secure the bassinet seats. The bassinet failed to serve us well because Chanelle only slept like 5 minutes in it and she was wide awake throughout the flight. The husband and I didn’t get to watch Penguins of Madagascar. Boohoo.

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It was an energy zapping 4-hour journey for us! Hahaha.

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After touching down at Hong Kong International Airport and collecting our luggages, we couldn’t be more relieved to meet our driver who was patiently waiting for us, holding up a placard with my name on it. He promptly took over our luggages and led us to our vehicle.

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Really lucky and grateful to have Blacklane sponsoring our airport transfer both ways! Blacklane provides professional ground transportation at the lowest rates in over 180 cities all over the world. The steps to booking your ride is extremely simple. Via Blacklane’s website or app, enter the following details: Pickup and Dropoff locations OR the number of hours you wish to book the a car and driver for and your desired pick up time. After which, you get to select the car class which best suits your needs and budget! We selected the Business Class vehicle which allows a maximum capacity of 3 passengers and 2 luggages.

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After booking, I received two emails. The first email was to acknowledge my booking and the second email was sent as soon as a suitable driver had been assigned to handle my ride request. When I switched on my mobile phone at the airport, I received email and SMS updates informing me that our car is on its way, and a second one as soon as our driver has arrived at the pickup location. It was a very pleasant feeling to be reassured a few times, knowing that you have got a reliable driver waiting to pick you up!

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Bottled water to keep us hydrated throughout the 30-minute ride.

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Loving the Mercedes E-Class!

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Gotta thank Hotel Jen Hong Kong for the complimentary two nights and special rates for the remaining two! We really love the convenient location of the hotel. Hong Kong University MTR station is a mere 3-minute walk from the hotel! We stayed at Kowloon the previous few times we visited Hong Kong separately. This was our first time staying at Hong Kong Island but it wasn’t a hassle at all when we wanted to get to Kowloon. Also, Hotel Jen provides complimentary shuttle service to certain areas at various timings throughout the day.

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We were thrilled to check into this lovely Club Harbour View room which offered us a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour. At 24sqm in size, our room was reasonably spacious for the 3 of us.

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Our room came with free WiFi, full sized Executive writing desk, cable television, movie channels, electronic safe, steam iron and ironing board, amongst many other amenities.

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We were impressed by the smart en-suite bathroom with walk-in shower! Also, the toiletries provided by Hotel Jen were adequate.

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As usual, Little misschewy had the honor of testing the comfy bed.

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Cheeky girl grabbed her pants and tried to escape after I changed her diaper. Haha.

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We were famished but it was too early for dinner. Afternoon tea at Mandarin Oriental’s Clipper Lounge it was!

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Not wanting to ruin the dinner plans we had in mind, we ordered the Afternoon Tea for One (HK$278 + 10%) to share.

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Plain and raisin scones!

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Devon clotted cream and rose petal jam. Both were so goooood!

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The afternoon tea items were great but I found the service somewhat aloof. Well, I can still close one eye. Hahaha.

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Actually this trip was mainly an eat and eat and eat trip! I must warn my readers first. LOL. Within the next two hours, we settled our dinner at Tsui Wah Restaurant at Central (Wellington branch). They have quite a few branches all over Hong Kong.

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Iced Milk Tea.

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Hainanese Chicken Rice was surprisingly delicious!

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The best time to eat in a cramped cafe or restaurant is when the baby is asleep.

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Pork cutlet burger which was tender and oily in a good way!

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When communicating with the reservation team via email, I told them we probably wouldn’t need the baby cot as Little misschewy co-sleeps with us. However we changed our mind after checking in. Having a baby cot is the best way to contain her so that she doesn’t fall off the bed if we are not looking. And the baby cot is so cute!

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“Let me out if not this bunny is gonna get hurt real bad!”

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Surprise birthday cake specially arranged by the hotel! Chanelle’s birthday wasn’t until the next day but it was a really nice and sweet gesture!

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We have come to the end of our post on our first day in Hong Kong! Stay tuned for more!
Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

Little Misschewy Had a Farm First Birthday Party!

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It has been almost a month since I received the photographs taken at Chanelle’s One Year Old Birthday Party in March! Over the years, I had been bombarded with photos of children’s birthday parties on Facebook and finally, it’s my turn! LOL. I was really excited when it came to the planning stage and it didn’t take me very long to decide on the theme, which was Little Misschewy Had a Farm, inspired by the classic nursery rhyme! I specially chose this because it was the first nursery rhyme my mum sang to Chanelle and she ALWAYS sings this. The party was held at one of the garden bungalows at Aloha Loyang. It’s very spacious, with a living room, kitchen and 4 bedrooms. However, I wouldn’t really recommend it for parties because the living room is not air-conditioned.

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Chanelle’s 3D barnyard cake, complete with little farm animals!

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My mum was responsible for decorating the dessert table because I was too busy. She did a pretty good job!

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I ordered macarons and cupcakes from BakeAvenue. They were simply too cute to resist!

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Little sheep and chick cupcakes.

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I also bought a photo prop but someone chucked it in a corner and we totally forgot about it until the party was about to end and many people had left already.

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My mum hired a roti prata man. LOL. Everyone couldn’t get enough of the prata!

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Buffet spread from Manna Pot.

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We took some family photos before the sun went down!

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Time for cake cutting!

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Apologies to the rest whom we didn’t manage to take photos with! Chanelle was extremely cranky by then because she was really tired and I believe she felt very uncomfortable as the living area wasn’t air-conditioned.

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Cooling off with a can of chilled beer!

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Our photographer Yong Ting followed us into our room. LOL.

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Can be Pampers model or not? Hahaha 😛

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The hubby and I were on leave the next two days and that was how we celebrated Chanelle’s birthday in advance, in addition to her birthday trip to Hong Kong that week! More on that in separate blog posts! In the meantime, stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy 🙂

The Chewys’ Hong Kong Trip Video!

During our recent trip to Hong Kong, we took some videos just for the fun of it and decided to compile the snippets together to depict our entire vacation! Both misterchewy and I don’t have any prior experience with video editing and stuff, so it took us quite a while to figure things out. Hehehe please bear with us because we know that this video is very amateurish but we reckon it’s a nice change to be able to document our trip in a different manner. Having said that, do look out for the photos that we will still be posting on this space soon!

Recently I was invited to try a website called ShopBack, which is a cashback website that gives you rebates for buying through them. When you buy through their website, they get commission from the brands, which they split with you as cash rebates! It’s pretty useful because they have websites like Expedia and Agoda, which means I can get cashback rebates for hotels or flights next time. Enjoy and happy hump day! 🙂