Comfortable Accommodation

We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn West Chester. You can tell it's pretty new. That or they kept up the cleaning and renovation very well.

It's just off I-75 and 15 minutes drive to Evendale. There are several restaurants across the street and the housekeeping is up to par. If I ever come to Cincinnati again, this will be my top choice for hotel stay. 

Outlet Shopping

I would say this is the only saving grace of the trip. An opportunity to go shopping at an outlet mall for baby clothes. Before traveling Meimei already did her homework and found the nearest outlet mall to my hotel. She also shortlisted a long long list of baby clothes to buy and even had a cart on Carter's webby just so I have a picture to reference.

My entire day was spent hunting for baby clothes at Carter's, Gymboree and OshKosh. I had bought a Samsonite luggage as a first stop and dragged it to Carter's for the rest of the morning. It was full when I walked out of the store with a USD300+ bill.

Lunch was simple pizza at the food court. I was happy for the break and wasn't too eager to get back at it. I had achieved most of my targets and didn't really fancy any more hectic shopping. The morning at Carter's was draining as I had to run down the list and match the clothes to the pictures.

My colleagues however were still raring to go. They were still discussing on their after-lunch shopping route and trading good deals. I played tag-along for the afternoon and it wasn't all a waste. I managed to buy two Polo Ralphs tees each for Meimei and myself, and a pair of Clarks walking shoes.

Dinner was at an AppleBees opposite the hotel and we retired early after a hard day of shopping. It wasn't the end of it for me though. I laid down everything I bought today for a showcase display before going to bed, just so Meimei could have a quick look to see if anything was missed. This has to be the most shopping I've done in years! And I'm quite proud to say I did it!

Middle Seat Torture

Our flight departs at 6.45am and takes six hours to reach Narita. Two and half hour transit before a gruelling twelve hours to Detroit. Then another four hour layover before a hour and half flight to Cincinnati. Twenty six hours and not counting the three before boarding the first flight from Singapore.

To top it off, I was in a middle seat the whole of the trip. It was practically a nightmare. The only reprieve were the layover when we get to stretch our feet. I didn't even dare to eat the meals on the flight for fear of having to struggle past another passenger go to the toilet.

The only food I had were during the transit stops. A quick lunch of chirasi-don at a Japanese restaurant at Narita. Dinner was a takeaway Connie Dog at the gate entrance benches. By the time we reach Cincinnati International at 9.30pm all the shops were already closed.

I dare say it would have been a somewhat 'better' experience if I was in an aisle seat. But no ... we had to book last minute travel. And a cheap one too where the flight was full. So no way could I  upgrade on my personal expense even if I offered to. Phhhfff. The total bill for the return flight and 7 nights accommodation summed up to a meagre $2,125.80. They are truly saving money for the company ... at the employee's expense!!

Traveling For Work

3 weeks ago, Mavis and Von came to my desk at the same time to talk about a SAP workout in Cincinnati. Typically you would have planned this months ahead but proper planning has never been there in the SAP team. It's like the perennial achilles' heel that embedded the entire team and doesn't go away even with the mess from the previous implementations.

In normal cases I would gladly accept the assignment but it's been only 2 weeks since 阳阳's arrival. Plus we didn't have a confinement lady so I'm Meimei's sole helper at night. This couldn't have come at a worst time. That said I didn't give an immediate no to both managers ... this workout may set about the work plan for the next 2 years. I offered to attend it remotely but they didn't think it would have the same impact as me being present there physically.

So I checked with Meimei and she replied with a golden rule ... that we have to find a confinement lady for the period I'm away. Ouch ... how do you find a confinement lady in 3 weeks and during the Chinese New Year period? Bahhh. Well eventually we found one from Confinement Angels ... but at $2,500 for 14 days. I sent a copy of the bill to Mavis, just so she isn't under the illusion that it was an easy ask of me.

Besides the hefty bill for the confinement lady, I had to shop for winter wear. It was hovering around 10-15 degrees celsius and I needed layering clothes to keep warm. On this I must have spent another $2-300. Bahhh. And you know what ... as a contractor I don't think I can claim any of this.

And speaking of being a contractor, I cannot use my own credit card to pay for anything as it's policy for the company to reimburse only fees charged on the corporate card. So one of my colleagues has to book the flight and pay for all the bills. The flight wasn't booked till a few days ago. By then, all the aisle or window seats were already taken up. Bahhh.

To add on further complications, I was in between being a contractor and converting to a permanent staff during the trip. I really hope nothing messes up and I lose my contractor SSO. The permanent SSO cannot be activated till 1st March when I officially 'start' but I can't get to local IT to help setup the laptop.

Looks like all the odds are against this trip. It had better be a fruitful one. Sigh ...

2nd Time Swimming

I've been wanting to bring OO to the swimming pool at Bedok Heartbeat since it open months ago. OO's only been to a pool once and this would be the 2nd time for her.

OO's been home for the past couple of weeks as there is a chicken pox contamination at school. Since it was sunny today I decided to brave it and brought her to the pool myself.

The place was busy but not packed, benefits of coming on a weekday. The slide at the children's play area was cordoned off so we could only waddle around the pool. OO was pretty apprehensive about the water at first. But once she got her hair wet she was giggling and splashing around.

Towards the end she was mimicking other children. She placed her palm on the pool floor and started kicking the water as if she was swimming. Natural instincts? Hehe definitely important to learn to swim. It's one of two life skills my parents exposed me to ... the other being cycling. So yeah, our children are going to pick these up too. I'll make sure of it.

Confinement Meals

We didn't hire a confinement lady this time as it is the Chinese New Year period and rates are exorbitant. We went instead with the 28 days Thomson confinement meal package. They deliver right to your doorstep twice a day for lunch and dinner. Convenient and hassle free.

Well it's pretty much like any of the tika food deliveries ... just that the menu has been 'customised' for women in post pregnancy confinement. The dishes sounded very good on the menu but the real thing wasn't appetising. Mama would try to supplement the dishes with some tastier food.

I suppose it's the trade off for convenience. Plus even if we hired a confinement lady ... the food isn't necessary going to be better. Oh well ... Meimei's going to have to endure another 20 odd days of this. She's already bored of it after the first few meals! Oopsie.

Scooting On Her Own

Nyaung brought OO down to play with scooter today. I was mildly worried as OO would ask me to pull her on the handle. This meant having to hunch my back as I do so. Nyaung's back has been giving him problems and surely he's gonna hurt himself if he does what I do.

It turns out she is able to balance and push herself forward without assistance. She doesn't know how to glide yet but I'm sure with a few more play sessions she'll get the hang of it.

阳阳 Suntan

There is a good ray of sunshine at around 9am in the mornings. We would place 阳阳 on the portable crib and moved him to the window.

He seems to like the sun and is contented to lay there with the rays on his skin.

OO's First Strawberry Sundae

I was afraid OO will feel left out since everyone's attention has been on 阳阳 since we got home. So I thought I'll give her a treat and brought her to Bedok Mall's Mac.

It would have been difficult for her to hold a melting ice cream cone and I wasn't ready to deal with a whole lot of mess. I bought her a strawberry sundae, her first, instead she can slowly enjoy it and ... hopefully keep the mess confined.

Let's Try It

Wow that's really cold

Brain Freeze~~!!!!!

Ha, shiok, let's do that again

阳阳 Going Home

Like OO, 阳阳 has jaundice due to his AB+ blood type. 

Thankfully it wasn't as bad. He was under the light for long periods yesterday and it went down below 10 points this morning. Dr Ang cleared for him to go home after the checkup.

Right after noon we brought him home. He was sound asleep the whole trip. :-) I think he's gonna like it at home.

Add A Touch Of Muscularity

I went to register our little baby the first thing in the morning when I had a chance to leave the room. We had discussed this and instead of using the same 憬 as OO, we are going with 景 for his second name. Papa and Meimei mentioned that 憬 is more feminine so 景 is more appropriate for a boy's name. Plus it goes well with 阳. So 景阳 it is!

This time round Meimei made sure to remind me to put in the English name on registration. I had left it out in the initial birth registration for OO and we had to make separate trips to the ICA to add in Emily. Meimei shot dagger eyes at me as we talked about what happened with OO's registration. Haha I wasn't about to get the heat for a 2nd time so I diligently filled out the form with 阳阳's English name Justin.

Our Second Darling

Delivery of our second born was a much simpler affair since it's a planned caesarian delivery.

Meimei wanted to try natural birth again but Dr Loh was not having any of it. We had no preference on the delivery date so Dr Loh chose this date a few months ago. The original estimated due date was 19 Feb but that's right smack on day 4 of CNY so he feared there would not be an attending anaesthetist. Having it before was much easier, plus baby's Chinese zodiac would be a  Rooster instead of a Dog.

Even though the delivery was planned, I had the same excitement and sense of uncertainty while waiting to meet Meimei in the operating room. How will he look? Will he smile at us when we set eyes on each other for the first time? A gush of happiness and wonder rushed through me as I ponder these happy thoughts hehehe.

Like his older sis, he is nothing short of a miracle. Much effort, pain and resources have been spent to create this miracle and we are elated to welcome another member to the family. It's not just us but the extended family members too. 老爸, 老妈, papa, mama, yeeyee, OO were all waiting eagerly for our little boy to arrive.

Our little baby weighs a healthy 3.12kg. He quickly took to nursing with Meimei so it's a good sign we may be able to see through breast feeding for him. Well even if he doesn't that's ok, OO turned out fine too on a mix of breast milk and formula. Oh and I think he looks like a Justin :-)

To-Gather Cafe

Since the delivery is tomorrow I wanted to bring Meimei out for a quiet meal before the impending month of maternity confinement.

We didn't want to go too far so I brought her to the To-Gather cafe near our home. It serves decent western fare and has a nice quiet ambience on weekday afternoons.

We shared an order of spaghetti and hamburger which was more than enough. Meimei cannot stomach much at any meal with the big tummy.

Largely this was an excuse to bring her out for a quiet meal together. I like our little getaways for lunch. And I think Meimei likes the break too.

Bike Trial

I've been contemplating getting a bike so I can commute to the nearby NTUC or Bedok Mall with ease. I use oBikes when I can find them, but that's like one in four trips. 

As I research on places to buy bikes, I found the Decathlon website. I know it's nearby at the Chai Chee Technopark but never really give it a thought nor visited it. So I was happy to find a good selection of bikes at affordable prices. And I even chanced on children's bicycles ... for OO's age.

Since I've started my child care cum paternity leave stretch, I brought OO along to try out the bicycles. She was extremely excited to test them out and kept switching between the green/yellow, pink and orange/black. I'm glad she is taking to riding. I see it as an essential life skill that I need to inculcate in my children.

Plugging A Leak

The HDB Home Improvement Program team came recently to test our bathroom for leaks. The master toilet passed but somehow our common toilet failed. On the day it failed I immediately contacted Norman to see how we can get rectification works done. 

I was 'referred' to the after-sales service team and was told the warranty was only 18 months and we have just passed it by a month. What bull ... I insisted he check with Norman on this since we made it crystal clear to Norman that we were going to go through HIP and the wet works definitely needs to pass the tests.

The guy called me back the next day after clarifying with Norman and apologise for making a mistake. It seems we are covered for longer period on the wet works. Phew.

The after-sales guys came and discovered the problem. There is a big hole behind the main pipe and thats how the water was getting drained to the toilet a floor below. Sign ...

They patched it up with cement and an injection of chemical sealant. Let's hope this does the trick.