Favorite baby care products during winter

The items below are my favorite baby care products during winter in Sweden. These are just so perfect for the baby skin during the harsh cold and dry and chilly winter. It is a must to apply lots and lots and lots of lotion/moisturizer to keep the skin moisture. I always ensure that Ashlynn's skin were well moisturized from time to time that I forgot about myself . Due to that, my hand's skin was too dry and it bled easily. You wouldn't want to see how bad it was.. it looked so much like a bloody skin :p

Most of the products below I purchased from Iherb (www.iherb.com) as it is way cheaper to ship from US than I purchase locally. No doubt, I'm an Iherb lover! =D

 

So here's how I apply all of them at one go!

After bath ...

Body:
Weleda Baby Oil -> Nature's Baby Organics face and body Moisturizer

Face :
Weleda Baby Oil -> Nature's Baby Organics face and body Moisturizer -> Badger suncreen -> Baby Buds Frost Defence

Lips :
Baby Buds Lip Balm

Surprisingly, Baby Buds does not fail me. I just love it. I did apply generously from time to time, every now and then whenever I see dryness and it works great. Throughout the entire 2 weeks winter trip, my daughter's skin were perfect. No sign of dryness at all. And her lips were well moisturized. I'm happy with all these purchase. And I'm pretty sure the little girl is happy winter-ing. =D

If you plan for any winter trip in future for the kids, make sure you pack along these baby care products. Very important and shouldn't be missed. Baby Buds can be purchased from Parkson.
And if you would like to get the rest of the items from Iherb, feel free to use my product code (HUZ619) and get discount on first purchase.  You will receive $10 off the first order of $40 or more, or you can take $5 off orders less than $40.

I miss Sweden !!If given the chance, I will definitely go back again.. with BOTH kids. =)

Ashlynn's first snow!

Ashlynn's first snow was in Kista. Unfortunately, on the day it snowed, we didn't have the time to take a picture because we had to rush to the airport for our flight to Norway. It will be awesome if we manage to file at least one nice picture of her and the snow. Deep down in my heart, I hope that there is more snow when we are back so that she has the chance to see how snow looks like and she has the chance to step and kick on the snow.

And it did snow again!!!
In Oslo!
Felt so satisfied that finally we had captured some nice pictures of her playing with snow. The snow is not thick enough to make a snowman or snowball, but still, we were glad that it snowed and we had some nice photos.

 

 The snow was getting thicker on the day we left Norway.

The after effect of watching/playing with snow..

Scenario #1 
While taking bath....
Ashlynn : Mama, see snow! Got snow!
Me : Where?
Ashlynn : Pointing towards the bubbles on the floor. lol.

Scenario #2
I was wearing black shirt with white polka dot
Ashlynn : Mama, your shirt got snow.
Me : Looking at my shirt.. haha, she defines white polka dots as snow.

The spirit of SAHM is soaring!

As day goes by, week after week, month after month... the spirit of SAHM gets stronger. If finance isn't the main concern now, I wouldn't hesitate to throw in the letter of "Hereby, I tender my resignation...."

Situation has been a little haywired lately that makes me feel like resigning in 24 hours. I wish I could be there hugging my son to sleep. Crying it out is not my type... I couldn't bear the pitiful cry, neither can my heart take the pitiful look of a child crying for your attention. Baby is only a baby for a year, they are growing up too fast, why can't I pamper them. I love my babies a lot ...

Here's a little summary of what happened. After 3 weeks of Europe trip, Daniel's routine is a little messed up. He needs some pats on the butt in order to fall asleep. And he hates his crib as of now. Usually, he is an easy going boy, an easy sleeper. All I need to do is to put him in the baby cot, walk out and close the room's door. And he will sleep on his own. But today, it's so different. The moment I turn my head away, he started crying. Crying inconsolably. It's heart wrenching to see him cry till like that, the out-of-breath type of cry. Babysitter is training the same, it can go on for 10-20mins. Oh dear, how can a mother accept it? If I were there, I will cry together with him. This whole situation makes the spirit of SAHM going stronger, I wish I can just throw in the letter and say goodbye.

Secondly, I've just received a not so good news that my boss is cutting short my pumping session in office. I used to pump twice a day in the office (morning and afternoon) and my boss (he's married with a son anyway) suggested that I pump during lunch time and after working hours. This schedule does not work for me as I need to pump every 4 hours in order to maintain a good supply to Daniel that he can be exclusively breastfeed. I just love the bond of breastfeeding, and I'm not ready to cut short the supply. Just imagine that two little eyes starring at you while he nurses, and that little fingers that couldn't stop touching your hair, your nose, sticking his little finger in your mouth... this is what we defined as real JOY! It's a sad news for me, and all in, I'm just demotivated to work and, I feel like throwing in the letter.

Thirdly, Daniel still wakes up to nurse every 3-4 hours midnight and I have very little of sleep. Sometimes I feel so heavy headed in the morning and it's a tough time to get up to work at 6am.

I'm having mixed feelings now. I wish money ain't a concern.

How to keep a toddler entertained in the plane

We're back!!! 13 hours flight with a toddler is no joke! But, if I were given a choice, will I do it again? Definitely yes! And the next round, I will have two toddlers in tow. Just couldn't imagine what will happen .. but at least, 3/4 of the journey they will be sleeping. That's the good thing about midnight flight.. if and only if your child sleeps well in the plane. I prayed that Ashlynn will sleep throughout the journey (13 hours) straight and she did. Thank you Jesus. She didn't really sleep from the start to end, but she started to sleep after 3 hours of take off and then 1 hour prior to landing.

And here's how I keep her entertained in the plane...

1) Toys

We brought her favorite toys and the duplo below are the one that I bought for her in Arlanda Airport. It cost me SEK49 for one small box like this. Well, she enjoyed it and most importantly is she's happy in the plane. Otherwise I will be the one mommy that has a lot of eyes staring at me.

 

2) Stickers
Before we left to the airport, I hopped on to the stationary shop to get some stickers. She loves stickers and at least, this whole set of stickers made her sit quietly during take off. RM4.90 for a quiet 30mins. Worth it!

3) Colored Pencils
Recently, she's addicted to color pencils and coloring and writing and drawing. Thus, we bought a small box of colored pencils and it does keep her occupied for at least 15mins? Not long though, but at least something different. You know, entertaining a toddler is not easy. They just couldn't sit still and if they can sit down quietly for 5 mins, you already consider it a win. 

4) Snacks
Snacks and lots of them. From sweets to biscuits to sticks to anything that you think your child loves to eat. And just to make her sit quietly in the plane, I gave in to a lot of unhealthy snacks like sweets. =.= I would rather her have something she likes than hearing her screams/whines in the plane. Once a while sweet makes a happy kid.

5) Baby Bus on Tablet
Her favorite! Baby bus! She can literally sit down for at least 30mins to play her favorite baby bus. So, don't forget to install lots of games/educational apps/movies in the tablet/phone. It helps a lot!

6) Bananas aka Minions
She discovered her love on bananas (that's what she calls minions) in Europe. She just couldn't get her eyes off these bananas and she laughs over their funny moves/characters. I downloaded a minion game but she's too young to know how to play. Anyway, this entire movie makes her sit quietly in her car seat when we took a taxi from Arlanda Airport to Kista.

Basically this is how I keep the toddler entertained during the flight. We thank God that more than half of the journey she was sleeping. Thankful!

And here's my happy girl after 13 hours flight from KL - Amsterdam. She did great during the flight, only a little whines/tantrums/cry. But overall, she was a champ. Thank you Ashlynn, Thank you Jesus. =D

We shall do this again baby, ok? And the next time? We shall do it together with Daniel! =))

Daniel, mama misses you!

Daniel boy, mama misses you very much and I just want to let you know that I love you and you and you! I couldn't wait to be back! Saying the word see you soon is pretty tough, and it hurts my heart so much when I see the plane flying high, and we are thousand miles apart now. But ... we will reunite soon, and mama just couldn't wait for the day to come!

Daniel - 9 months

And he is 9months!!
- Crawling and chasing after jie jie
- Standing up with support
- Still dislikes apple puree but eating porridge like a King.
- Crying and calling ma-ma-ma-ma-ma at the same time.. smart boy! He knows this tactic to get a full attention from Mama.

So, where did the time go? I just couldn't believe this sweet boy of mine will be ONE in 3 months time. Wowweeee! Lots of hugs and kisses to you baby boy, from all of us!!

Baby Stats:

 --------------------------

  Sleep

Still same old routine, you roughly wakes up to nurse about 12-1am and then 3-4am. And afternoon nap is still the same, sometimes you sleep like a champ, but sometimes you sleep for 1 hour and wakes up crying. Mama just can't wait for the day you grow up and easily fall asleep like your jie jie.

(This mama loves spikey hair, and ain't him handsome with hairstyle like this? Hehehe)

Ok, roughly mama knows what you like. You have a taste bud exactly the same like your dad. Something nice, you gobble down the food like a King, but if the porridge is tasteless/fishy, no matter how hard I stuff in the porridge, you will spit out every single mouth of them. Boy oh boy... Did I say you love bread/cake ? The only way to keep you entertained in the car is thru this.. feeding of bread/cake. =D

Solid Food Adventure:

20 Nov - First intro on Oatmeal Cereal (Yumm)

25 Nov - Oatmeal and Banana Cereal (Yumm)

1 Dec - Apple puree (Yuckk)

19 Dec - Butternut squash puree (Yuckk)

27 Dec - Potato, pumpkin and beef casserole (Super Yumm - bought from Woolworths Australia) 

8 Feb - Avocado + Oatmeal Cereal (Yumm) 

Weight

 At birth : 3.02 kg

7 weeks : 4.7kg

3 months : (still not checked)

4 months : 6.2kg

5 months : (not checked)

6 months : 6.5kg

6.5 months (30 Nov 2013) : 6.7kg

7 months : (not checked)

8 months : (not checked) 

  9months : (not checked)

 

Funniest Moment

As you grow older, you are getting more and more cheeky. The other day, you just knew that you are not allowed to go to the restricted area, but you slowly crawl towards there, and while crawling, you paused for a few moments and looked at me, if I ever carry you back.. I ignored at first, and you slowly crawled there again.. and then you paused and looked at me again. Haha. Cheeky! 

One more thing! Whenever you hear music, your head goes up and down like a rock star. Mama believes you inherited your papa's musical talent. Baby, use it to serve God! ;)

Milestone

- pulls self to standing position

- learning to stand with support for longer period and learning how to cruise while holding to object

- expert crawler

- reaches for objects while crawling

- able to identify small tiny objects on the floor and trying to pick them with the fingers

- babbles a lot (ba ba ba ba ma ma ma ma)

- responds to name

- responds to commands (like No) and then he cries .. Haha

- cries whenever we walk away from him

Favorite Toy

Ball!! You love balls! 

My dearest Daniel, we love you lots and lots. Papa and mama prayer are the same everyday, that you and jie jie grow healthy and strong, His angels are with you all the time, that both of you will do well in your life, filled with wisdom and knowledge of God, walk in His ways and loves Him more than anything else.

We love both of you so much!!