The 9th Month

Our first playdate with Susan and Bella

This month has turned particularly quickly and I guess it was because of a lot of sleepless nights as well as some major developments in Rayray!

Rayray caught roseola at 8 months and 3 weeks. She started to have a temperature of 37.5 on Sunday, it rose up to 38.5 on Monday so I took her to the doctor's. Doc said to monitor her temperature for three days and my god, three days seemed eternal! Rayray was lethargic and whiny and it completely broke my heart. I guess I would whine if I had a temperature of 38.5 degrees for three days but it is so hard to see your child suffering. She would wake up every two hours grunting. I checked her temperature every 2-3 hours being a paranoid mum so I was knackered that week. Rayray's rash finally appeared on Thursday morning when temperature dropped but rose up to 38.5 again by lunchtime. So we rushed her to the hospital. The funny thing was that she almost came alive when she was seen by the doctor that's why the doctor commented on how well she looked and how energetic she was despite having a temperature! I reassured him that Rayray wasn't like that at all a minute ago! She just sat on T's lap and being examined by the doc quietly and giggled and smiled at him! lol Her temperature dropped gradually and it could be that we were at a hotpot restaurant for lunch and the external temperature caused it. She finally seemed to be back to herself on Sunday, exactly a week later and that must be the longest week in my life to date!

Poor love fell asleep during lunch and my heart was in pieces

Height - 71 cm 

Weight - 9.9 kg (still hasn't passed that 10 kg mark!) 

Eating - Breastfed 3 times a day plus 3 solids meals. Rayray now feeds 5 mins the most on each boob. I am now aiming to drop the afternoon feed as I am preparing to wean her off boobs when she is 12 months old.

She definitely takes after me in terms of loving fruits! She especially prefers chunks of fruit or fruit sticks. She would quite happily eat two thirds of a whole peach or nectarine and she absolutely loooooves watermelon just like T! She also loves pasta, be it baby pasta served in thick soup or various sauces or giant pasta to hold and chew! 

She has now had watermelon, melon, cherry, kiwi, papaya, mango, edamame beans, plum and tofu.

A bolo bun/pineapple bun that's bigger than Rayray's face

Sleeping - It took her exactly two weeks to adjust her jet lag this time round! It was a bit of a nightmare as my sleep-through-the-night-baby disappeared and would wake up at 4pm UK time (11pm in Taiwan), 7pm UK time (2am in Taiwan) and 11pm UK time (5am Taiwan time). I was so frustrated and angry with myself. I kept asking why I put myself and Rayray through this. I researched everywhere online and the only concrete tip I found was 'midday sun' from an Australian lady. The crazy temperature aside, it's Rayray's lunchtime and nap time so it means we couldn't try that. Whenever she woke up, I breastfed her as I was absolutely knackered and just didn't have the stamina settling her by going back and forth. After the first week, I tried giving her water when she woke up in the middle of the night but she wasn't interested so I thought maybe she has developed a habit of waking up for milk! Though by the end of the second week, she would only wake up once throughout the night so I wasn't so concerned. And just as I though I had my little contended baby back, Rayray was hit by a nasty virus and had Roseola. 

 My heart

Development - 

• Rayray has finally started crawling but she crawls backwards! It's hilarious to see her doing it as her little bottoms wiggle and wiggle!

• She has also mastered the art of sitting apart from being on her front just days before turning 9 months! 

• Has cut her two front bottom teeth!

• Loves 'talking' and I mean she loves babbling! She says dada, baba, mama and 'mama' in particular when she cries or when she is hungry!!! So she knows mama gives her food!!! She also says baba or dada when she is in a jolly mood! Honestly!!!

• Loves playing peekaboo

• We had our very first Gymboree session and thought it was fun. she really enjoyed herself the first half an hour. The assistant there was impressed that Rayray seemed comfortable in a new environment with new people around her and just got on with different toys! hahah

Fascinated with the new place!

She would 'examine' anything she could get hold of by 1) staring at it 2) give it a good shake 3) put it her mouth
The hot weather in Taiwan means I have not been able to take out everyday as we used to in London and I honestly think she gets terribly bored at home. She would play with her toys for a bit and then starts to seek attention whereas whenever we are out, she looks around and gets stimulated by things and people around her.

Stripped her naked to her nappy on only and the AC is on full blast!

It's amazing to see my baby turning into a little person who has proper three meals a day like adults and we can definitely see her personality coming through. In general, she is quite an easy, happy baby who smiles at just about anyone and doesn't mind strangers holding her. She doesn't scream when we take toys off from her as she would just move onto another one. She doesn't cry when we wake her up from her naps and is usually in a cheery mood every morning when she wakes up.

Smiling at the waitress at a cafe

It is such a wonderful experience to see your child grow everyday and I feel ever so lucky to have the luxury to spend time with her every single day and I do wake up every morning looking forward to my day with my bunny. I don't know how I would feel when I start working or when she starts the nursery! I think I would definitely be the one who cries!

Oh and I almost forget to post some of the photos at Joe's Studio we took before we left for London in April. I do like Joe's ideas and he is a very friendly chatting bloke but the downside is it took him TWO months to edit the photos! Not impressed...

Look at our little buddha! lol

Little Tootsie

Rayray's progress:

7-8 months

6-7 months

5-6 months

4-5 months

3-4 months

2-3 months

1-2 months

0-1 month

Facial Cleansers

I had been a loyal Benefit user for a number of years and I think it all started when I received a Bathina as a present along with some other Benefit products. I fell in love with the smell of Bathina instantly but never got round to use it for some reason. It is still in my cupboard as I love the tin and it reminds me of the good old days at Dali Universe! lol Oh and I have been using their Maybe Baby for so many years that I couldn't tell you how many bottles I got through so when they stopped selling them two years ago I was absolutely gutted! I wore it day in, day out! I must have stocked up 10 plus bottles! 

The old Bathina tin

Anyway, so I started using their skincare as I loved their packaging and the smell! I also like their sense of humour on how they name their each product! Very cleverly done!

Their facial wash 'You Clean Up Nice!' is good and does what it says, perfectly! My face always feels really clean after it and never feels stringent.

and here is another favourite of mine - makeup remover

I then started using Sisley products and thought I'd give their Phyto-Blanc cleanser a try as at a point I got relatively dark and I'd try anything to get my skin to a lighter shade. 

The verdict is that the foam is very very fine but I don't feel my face got any lighter nor does it justify the cost. It is not particularly expensive but to achieve what a box-standard cleanser does, I would much prefer my good old Liquid Neutrogena!

I bought this new baby at the airport on the way to Shanghai and I have to say I am pretty impressed with it. The foam is light and fine and the skin just feels really soft after using it! Another cheap and cheerful new found!!! I have yet to try their Immortelle products so this is the first one for me. Just on a separate note, I absolutely adore their Mum & Baby cleansing gel! I have tried various different baby shampoo/bath gel but this one seems to work the best on Rayray! For some bizzare reason, her hair gets all tangled up with other products apart from this one! Honestly, I have tried at least other 5 and only L'occitane doesn't give her 'vermacelli hair!' Plus I do love the smell!

My little champion

The Olympics is well under way and it's such a shame that we are not in London to see the Games!!!! So we decided even we can't be there in person, we can still support the Games! Here is our very own Team GB (well, lone Team GB! lol)

That's the uniform

Here I am

Gymnastics 

Freestyle Swimming

Sprint Relay 

Happy weekend and hope everyone is enjoying watching the Games!

My all-time favourite moisturisers

I have always considered myself lucky when it comes to skincare as I never had any preference and the reason being I have tried various different products ranging from the 'cheap-as-chips' ones to the 'ouch-did-I-just-break-the-bank-on-a-tiny-bottle' ones. I never once felt or saw the difference until my encounter with Sisley's All Day All Year and my absolute essential - Night Complex!

If truth to be told, I didn't eve think All Day All Year was all that the first time I used it and didn't get the hype until recently. My skin gets incredibly dry during winter time and whenever I am in Taipei, my T-zone gets oily and it doesn't matter what moisturiser I use, I have to slather a thick layer during winter and switch to a lighter weight version in the summer if I am in Taipei. However, I realised that I don't have to do that with this baby! It does what it says, one pump is more than enough to cover the whole face plus the throat and it absorbs perfectly! I have been in Taipei for over a week now and it does the trick! This time, I don't have to buy a light-weigh moisturiser. 

Also, here are the two more reasons why I heart this product:

• Anti-UVA and UVB shield: 90% of UVB and UVA rays are blocked by a complex of micro-encapsulated filters which, without penetrating into the skin, safely protect it for 8 hours. 

• Anti-free radical / anti-stress shield: The joint use of Apple Skin extract (anti-free radical) and White Willow extract (stimulates the production of anti-stress proteins), helps to protect the cells against environment-induced stress.

So in just one pumps, it does all of the above AND more! It's perfect for a lazy person like me! 

Oh and I can't live without the Nigh Complex. My skin got really dry and coarse after giving birth. Yes COARSE, as a piece of sandpaper! I didn't have it with me at confinement centre so the day I got home, I used it for the first ten days and it worked like a miracle! My skin was back to my normal condition the second day I used it. I loved it anyway but didn't expect it to work so well! 

I thought the two products were rather pricey but then with All Day All Year, it lasts around 6 months and so does Night Complex since you only use it for 10 consecutive days every month.  Therefore they actually work out not that expensive and consider the benefits you get, they are well worth it! Well, so I tell myself and I am sure that's the excuse we women use as surely we somehow have to justify our spending AND convincing ourselves! lol

I will be back for more of my favourite skincare!

The 8th month

Snuggling up with MY blankie! hehehe

Another month has passed by and I still have not seized to be amazed by Rayray's development! It is so much fun now to spend my time with her (not that I ever feel bored or anything but I remember I longed for 'adult conversations' the first couple of months but now I take her out to lunching with friends, shopping etc etc, and she is like my little best friend/doll that I constantly talk to! hehehe

We arrived Shanghai from London on her 8 month birthday and it was a much better flight journey compared to when we travelled back to London in April. She Rayray managed to get a few hours of decent sleep and I think the routine is  now deep wired in her.

We went to Cathay hospital to have her weighed in and measure and ummm...

Height - 70 cm (she hasn't grown in the past month?)

Weight - 9.7kg (and according to the scale at Cathay Hospital, she has only put on 0.1 kg?! Not that I am worried about her weight but she weighed around 10kg in London just before we left!)

Eating - Breastfed 3 times a day. She is well established on solids and still enjoys her food! She now eats breakfast with pleasure and I have discovered that I should have waited for 45 minutes or so after breastfeeding her. I have also started giving her fingers foods at every mealtime and I think she finds them more satisfying.

Looking very excited as she knew it was meal time!

Sleeping - Rayray now soothes herself to sleep and it really was so worthwhile to sleep train her. She goes down at 7pm and wakes up between 6-7am. She talks to herself when she wakes up in the morning and would do so for a good 15 minutes before making a fuss. She has 30 minutes in the morning and around 2 hours at lunchtime nap.

Falling asleep on daddy's chest and she actually had her entire 30 minutes of MN like that! lol

Development -

• Rayray is one curious baby, she is always busy playing and not only everything she can get hold of goes into her mouth, she would watch and stare at people with amazement no matter who you are or what you do! And talk about vastly improved dexterity! She is also busy exploring with those chubby fingers. 

Her new toy - DJ Station and I highly recommend it!

• She loves attention and needs to be entertained particularly at meal times. She is still a very good eater but wants to play all the time. So if I'm on my own feeding her, I need to make funny faces or tickle her or just make her laugh so she would finish feeding!!!

Totally a daddy's girl and knows daddy is her best play pal!

• She now can roll over whenever she wants to without much effort but still tries to crawl!

• Can bear weight on legs when held upright and she just loves 'standing up' and gosh, does she have strong legs or does she have strong legs! hahaha

• She can pass an object from one hand to the other.

• Absolutely loooooves playing peekaboo 

• She now pick up blueberries, peas or biscuits with any part of thumb and forefinger.

Oh, and lastly but not least I'm back on my pre-pregnancy weight: 52kg! Though still have 2 more kg to go to be on the 'old me' weight as I did put on 2 kg right before I got pregnant!

Playing with Rayray is bundles of joy now as she laughs back and there are actually some serious interactions between us!

Helllllo there!

My smily happy bunny

This year at Stoke Park

Rayray's progress:

6-7 months

5-6 months

4-5 months

3-4 months

2-3 months

1-2 months

0-1 month

Quick lunch at Zafferano

As T was heading to Bangkok, we had a quick lunch at Zafferano today. The food was delightful as always and the stuff was friendly.

Their freshly baked foccacia with salami and parmesan

My starter - San Daniele ham with cantaloupe melon

T's starter - Spaghettini Verrigni with crab and chilli

My main - their delicious flat spaghetti with lobster and fresh tomato

T's main - Char grilled chicken breast with spinach

and this is our little bunny enjoying her breadstick

Birthday lunch

We went to Marcus Waring at The Berkeley this year and it was quite an experience in terms of trying to keep Rayray's voice down as it was sooooo quiet at the restaurant we thought we were in a library! Staff was friendly and service was efficient but it was just way too quiet. I guess it is fine dining after all so not exactly baby-friendly.

Amuse bouche - a chilled watermelon soup, interesting and refreshing

Tao's starter - sweetbread, chicken ravioli, yum

Joce's starter - Heritage tomatoes, charred mackerel, smoked roe and nettle, she enjoyed it!

Dad's starter - Foie gras, pineapple, cinnamon, Brioche - apparently very good

My starter - quail with asparagus salad, delicious

Me sipping bubbles

My main - roast chicken, tender and moist

Tao, dad and Joce's main - Grilled white pork, I tasted it and thought it was delicious

Passion fruit, mago, lime

Tao's favourite - carrot cake, though I think he somehow prefers the ones from Starbucks! lol

My dessert - chocolate tart and raspberry sorbet, loved the sorbet but not so keen on the tart

Dad's dessert - horlick, whisky and caramel cream, different and alcoholicie

Joce's popcorn, white choclate and grapefruit

and my bithday Saint Honoroe Rose!

I probably would go back to try the tasting menu but not in the near future as Rayray goes to everywhere I go! hehehe