Alex & Richelle's First Baby Spa Experience with Hippopo.

Yes, you see that right. 

We brought Alex and Richelle to a Baby Spa & Wellness Centre, called Hippopo. Hah. 

Initially when Alex was a few months old, I had that thought of letting him try this swimming thing at Hippopo (located at Queensbay Mall by the way), but Adrian felt that it was waste of money. So since both parents cannot agree, I pushed aside this and never talked about it since. 

Then one day, Adrian went out with Alex and somehow, he found himself walked into Hippopo and started asking questions about this spa-thing for baby. He came back home with its brochure and said, "Baby, we should let Alex try this!"

Hmm. 

So guess what. 

We did. Afterall, got promotion! Heh. 

We decided to double-date with the Seahs because they also never try before and Miss Leny confirm wants to try also wan. Bookings have to be made at least a day earlier because Hippopo has allocated slot time for babies, and especially if two babies go together, then they will have to arrange for us. 

We wanted to do it on a Thursday since it's a weekday-promo but fully booked (didn't think initially that this place also can get fully booked), so we did on a Friday instead. No more RM68 of course. We paid RM88 per baby. 

Now, when we first sign up for this, we thought Alex and Richelle would be on the neck float but turns out, they are too "old" and "heavy" for neck floats already so they used a slightly bigger floats for the entire body. 

Here are some benefits of this baby-spa thing:

• It encourages brain development - stimulating babies' senses through body awareness and coordination
• It improves baby's appetite - plenty of gentle exercise and warm water helps to make a baby hungry
• It boosts baby's emotional stability - reducing babies' crying and emotional stress
• It strengthen immunity - stimulate hormones and increase immune systems
• It increases comfort - relieving babies from wind, colic, constipation and teething discomfort
• It improves relaxation - increasing levels of relaxation through more sound and longer sleep

So, why not try right? So many benefits leh. 

We had many questions before we started this swimming session so the first 10 minutes or so, we spent them by asking questions and them explaining to us on how the things work. Their staffs are pretty informative I have to say. I mean they have to be also la. Imagine if you work for a company or brand and you don''t know the answers to frequently asked questions. Heh. 

Here are some questions that we asked.

What is the ideal age for a baby to start?

As long as your baby is 4.5kg and above and cannot be older than 3-years old. 

What is provided in the baby spa package?

A swim float, a swim diaper and a towel (if your baby has sensitive skin, you are advised to bring your own towel).

Do the babies need to be wearing any swimwear during the session?

No, as the water is warm (32-35 degrees).

Do you change the water after every baby spa session?

We have 2 types of tubs - small and big. 

Small tubs (only 1 baby) are for babies age below 6-months old and the water will be changed after every session. Big tubs (maximum 3 babies) are for babies age 6- months and above and the water will be changed only once a day, not after every session. That is because this big tub contains ionizer which work to kill bacteria in water - that ensures freshness and cleanliness of the water. 

Do you have a private tub?

Yes, only in selected branches. Surcharge of RM10 (member) and RM20 (non-member).

How do you become a member of Hippopo?

Just sign any baby spa package with us. 

Can I leave my baby for the baby spa session and come back later?

No, this is not a babysitting service. Heh. Every baby must have at least a parent/guardian. Maximum of 2 adults to a baby at the time of spa session. 

If my baby is coughing a little, can he/she still join?

No. Baby with sickness (cough, flu, fever, infection etc) is not allowed to be attending any spa session. 

How about if my baby had just gotten an injection?

Also not allowed for any spa session within 72 hours. 

So, there are 3-parts to this baby-spa session:

1. Stretching exercises for the babies to prevent them from getting cramps (10 minutes)
2. Swimming in the pool with floats (20 minutes)
3. Post-swimming full body massage (20 minutes)

And that's RM88 per baby for you all. Heh.

I think it was pretty interesting for first-time parents to experience this, but really not necessary. After all, it was just putting them on a float (topless) because the water is warm and encouraging (and hoping) the babies would kick. Naturally they would. Except for Richelle, because she was enjoying life like a boss please.

I like the idea of swimming in warm water that has zero chlorine in it, but still, I will not pay anymore money to have people help my son to swim and me sitting at the side watching him swim. Excuse me, I want to jump in and swim with him okay.

Of course we are not going back to Hippopo, and it's not because their service was bad. In fact, their service was excellent. The two ladies were really friendly and engaging. But it's really because this is not how parents should spend their money. Heh.

I think people who sign up package with Hippopo (or any other baby spa centre) are most likely people/parents who are afraid of water themselves and probably want their children to not have that fear too. So, by sending them to spa session, it will sort of "replace" the need of them having to be in the water with their child. So, this would be a perfect alternative.

Or the parents too rich and don;t know where else to spend money on. Hah.

Still, it was a very nice first-time experience. First and the last. Hah.

Always fun to double date with our favorite family (in law). Heh.

Two family photos because it's soooo difficult to take photos with babies! Ahhh.

Till next time, bye now. 

I'm Coming Back.

Why my blog macam so dead ki?

Oh mannn.

Time to spend more time in here.

Alex is finally 6-months old and have reached that 'right' age where we should start feeding him puree and human food. Heh. We actually fed him once about a week ago and everything got so messy.

So messy that we decided to postpone his eating solids milestone a little longer hah.

Or at least we will wait until he can sit up on his own. We shall see when that is gonna happen. ot gonna rush these things since he is only gonna be a baby for such a short time nia.

Before we know it, he is gonna run everywhere and giving all the 'why' questions. So, for now we shall enjoy his baby moments.

My last day at FGA Centre is this Friday and I have the whole month of December of mommy-duty so more time for me to blog, and print photos to flood my house (and mom and grandma's house).

Till then.

Malaysia's Public Holidays in 2019!

You are all welcome! :)

Why You Should Get a Baby Monitor?

Why not?

Before Alex came out, I was already leaning towards getting a baby monitor but I was told that it is not necessary for us as we stay in an apartment - not 2-storeys house or bungalow. So, I let that idea go.

So expensive some more for the good branded ones.

Not until after we started the sleep training and after that we-almost-lost-our-son-scare, that we realized having a baby monitor may make a difference.

When we first started the sleep-training, we put Alex in a different room and we would not close the door completely because scared cannot hear him when he cry so we just sort of close it a little. Also, to get some lights from outside for us to be able to see him when we take a peek.

Then now, since his room is not going to be ready so soon, we decided that he will sleep in our room in his own crib first.

You must be thinking, why then do we need a baby monitor since he is already sleeping in our room, just next to me.

Well, Alex's sleeping schedule is quite consistent now in the evening at about 8pm and sometimes he would wake up at 10pm-ish for milk and sleeps till 6am for another milk session. Since he takes his nap at 8pm (if we are at home - because if we are out then his sleeping pattern all sure kelam kabut already but still manageable), Adrian and I prefers to be outside hanging out with his mom or each other watching TV, instead of lying on our bed waiting for him to fall asleep - just to make sure that he is not stuck or in danger or anything.

With this baby monitor, we do all the monitoring from outside and so, Alex is able to sleep peacefully inside the room with the door closed shut and all lights out. So, no noises or disturbance.

It's really a highly recommended from us - If you intend to sleep train your child, a baby monitor is a must have - it's life changing please.

If you enjoy not having to run to the room every 5-minutes to check if he is breathing okay, then you should totally get this baby monitor.

If you want to enjoy having friends over to your house to watch a movie together or just to hang out and at the same time be a parent, you should definitely get this baby monitor.

If you want to spend time with your spouse - cooking a meal together or cuddle and watch TV or just do some financial budgeting (with some arguments in between for sure heh) - then you must get this baby monitor.

Even with all that reasons in our heads, we could not bring ourselves to spend so much money for a baby monitor. Not until a fellow mother recommended a particular baby monitor that does not cost that much.

Best part is that she was already using them and she is still using it and she highly recommended it.

I got mine from Shopee (as recommended by her) and it is by far one the best parenting must have. No regrets at all. One mistake I did was choosing (by mistake) the US plug point so now I am using the universal plug with it so boo sama I.

Apparently, there are many other types of baby monitor that is also wallet-friendly but because I have not used them before, so I am not going to recommend them okay.

Recently, we went to KL for a quick getaway and yes, we brought the baby monitor with us - it is super travel friendly. Of course we will be bringing this with us to every holiday from now on. Hah.

There are other things that I really like about this monitor and the first one is the temperature monitoring which is super accurate. We tested it out by changing the temperature of our air-cond and it follows very chun. So, I would know if it gets to cold for him or if I should switch off the fan or something. Love this feature.

Second one is the time and date feature on the monitor. It's super convenient for me whenever he starts to cry because whenever he does that, we would time him - give him a good 5 minutes of crying and if the crying continues, then we would go inside the room to comfort him by patting his bum bum and talking to him for a bit and then leave the room again. If he continues to cry, we would wait for another 10 minutes and maybe then we would carry him (depending on the type of cry actually).

But now, he would cry for less than 5 minutes and be okay already. Self-soothing successful yas. So, with the time displayed on the screen, I don't have to keep using my phone to check.

Third one is the 2-ways audio communication which we have not tried it yet because he usually just falls asleep on his own really fast. And even when he's crying, he won't be able to hear us because he would be so loud already. But I do look forward to use this 2-ways audio communication when he is much older and sleeping in his own room - oh fun times ahead.

Fourth is the night vision and its clarity. The room will have zero lights and yet on our baby monitor screen, it is so clear and bright.

Fifth one is the fact that it's small and easy to be moved around. It's not wireless (probably the only minus point) so you gotta have a plug point nearby, but the wire is quite long so quite good la. Sometimes I place the camera nearer to his face and sometimes I put it on a higher area to see his entire body - depending on the mood heh.

So yeah - I don't know what's not to like about this product because with just RM130 (plus shipping fee), we get so many kind of functions and it's changing our life to the better. We are happier parents because now we can still open our house to having people over for meals and hangouts - just like before Alex came.

Who says becoming parents means having to sacrifice the freedom to hang out with friends and/or do fun things after the sun goes down? Just have to do more indoor nia okay. Hah.

Some parts are true la (heh) but we can always think of ways to have a fun-er parenting ways. Hah.

Thanks to this life-changing-parenting-hack.

Till then, bye now. 

How We Almost Lost Our Son to Suffocation.

Never have I ever thought that this would happen to us, to Alex.

We started sleep training Alex since about 2 weeks ago and ever since then, he has been sleeping in another room, on his own - with both our rooms' door open. 

It has been going pretty okay with this training although it was the most difficult first week of training with three of us losing sleep - a lot. Heh. 

Ever since birth, he will always sleep in his own crib that has wheels for us to move him around - very convenient. We don't do co-sleeping because hello, our queen-sized bed already feels crowded with two adults. Imagine if he sleeps in between Adrian and myself, for sure we would end up sleeping on the floor. That and because we decided that the bed is for the two of us - the adults - not for him to sleep and also, later we terlena and accidentally sleep on him. 

But during the night, he will wake up wanting to be carried and/or rocked to sleep and that was really difficult because we would have so little sleep it's insane - and again, that's parenting (people will tell me heh). 

At times, he finds comfort just by lying on Adrian's stomach. It's super cute but very not practical okay. 

When he is in his own crib, we put him down on his back (after a long time of rocking in our arms), with his face naturally turned to the side and both hands up in the air, a blanket over his torso and legs and then the mini bean-bag pillow on his tummy for some secure-feel. Oh and a bolster next to him because sometimes he sleeps sideways and the bolster supports his back. 

Now I know that all these things are like sleeping hazards to an infant because they increase the risk of SIDS and suffocation, but because Sha Lynn and Daryl also slept with this pillow and blanket, it was fine for me and Adrian. He seemed so comfortable in them anyways. 

And he is usually in the same room with us - so we would always like to wake up and check. 

This mini bean-bag pillow is like a must-have because he calms down and falls asleep faster with them. This and the pacifier - his two must-haves. 

Even when being carried with an Ergobaby, this mini bean-bag pillow for sure has to be there - as though he needs to smell and touch them. 

So, here's the thing about this entire sleep-training thing. 

Because he now sleeps in another room, we do not turn on the air-con for him because the fan is enough and we remove the blankets because not cold anymore and it's dangerous to leave a blanket in his crib in case it covers his face. 

We decided to still use the mini bean-bag pillow to put on his tummy so he would be comfortable and after the first few nights, he seems okay and loving it - even without the blanket and pacifier. He had never been able to pull the pillow up from his torso so we know that it's fine to have him sleep like that. 

This is what we have decided to do for his sleep-training. 

We would rock him in our arms first till he is half-asleep, then we will put him on his crib on his back and then put the mini bean-bag pillow on his lower torso. Lights will be fully turned off and the door will be half-closed. Most of the time, he would continue sleeping and only have his cry-it-out session at 3am-ish and another time at about 6:30am. 

The training is that we will not pick him up at all when he cry so that he can learn to self-soothe and sleep on his own - no more mad rocking him and walking around the house for an hour. 

So, every time he started crying in his room (yes we can hear it because this boy screams more than cry wan), either Adrian or I would get out of our bed and out of our room to take a peek through the half-closed door of his room to make sure that all is okay and he's crying for attention and not in-trouble-kind-of cry. 

And if it is me who got up, I would quickly go back to my room and lie down and tell Adrian that he's okay and both of us would half-sleep to wait till he stops crying. Then only we would fall asleep deep. Heh. 

Most of the time, I would still be very much awake because I would time his crying sessions. Sometimes, it would last till 30 minutes and sometimes it takes 10 minutes only and he would fall back asleep. 

Then, there is this particular night where he was crying the usual kind of cry and I was in my room just waiting it out. It was probably like going into 10 minutes or so and then he became silent and usually I would just fall asleep myself. 

But mother-instinct kicked in. 

I felt that I needed to go take a look at him. I felt that that silence was unusual. 

When I peek through the hole, I could not believe what I saw. 

The mini bean-bag-pillow was covering his lower part of the face - mainly the mouth and nose. Both his hands were up waving in the scariest panic mode. His face was turning left and right trying to breathe. 

I quickly removed the bag and he let out a sigh-relief like he finally got to have oxygen. Then, he started to cry and I was relieved. 

Obviously that night I broke all sleep-training rules and carried him and just repeatedly whispers to him, "I'm sorry, Alex". 

He calmed down and fell back asleep in my arms. 

I have never felt so scared in my life. The fear of losing my son was all over me and I just kept thanking God for mother-instinct. 

I dared not imagine what would have happened if I have decided to continue to be on my bed and continue sleeping - assuming that my son has fallen asleep like he usually does. Thinking back, he would have died of suffocation from the pillow because of the heaviness of the beans in there and he is still too young to be able to coordinate his hands to remove them from his face. 

Then it hit me - that it's different now because he never has to cry and struggle in his own bed when we put him on the bed because we would always make him sleep first before putting him down. Now, he has to go through the crying and struggling because no one would pick him up - because he has to learn to fall asleep on his own.

So, for sure he (try) to grab whatever he can in the moment of being frustrated because no one would pick him up. That's how the pillow must have gotten from his lower torso up to his face. 

That day onwards, we removed the pillow and bolster and only let him sleep as it is. 

I never ever ever want to go through that kind of scare again in my life. It was the scariest thing ever. Every time I try to imagine if I have not gotten up, Alex would have been dead- gone. I cannot let that sink in - too scary really - nightmares started since that night and prayerfully, it will be gone soon. 

I would highly recommend other parents to do sleep training (maybe in the same room) because it seems to have helped in other areas other than sleeping - like when he goes into his car seat. He used to scream non-stop the moment he gets in the car seat and stops only after he gets out of it. Now, he would sit quietly and enjoys the ride - macam he won't bother crying and screaming anymore.

Now, he sleeps in the same room with us because he knows how to yummy-turn already so yeah. Need to watch him closely especially if he tummy-turns middle of the night.

Also, after changing pajamas and playing with him for a while, we will leave him on his crib wide awake and turn off all the room lights (except for 1 small light in the corner) and he would fall asleep on his own with no crying at all. The same goes if he wakes up for milk at 4am (if we feed him early at night before he sleeps), he would fall back asleep on his own. No need to carry and rock anymore. LIFE-CHANGING I TELL YOU.

We try to feed him milk at 10pm and his next drinking time would be at 7am so that works really well for us. 

I also spent some time reading up on suffocation, choking on toys, and SIDS. 

Apparently, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is sometimes known as crib death because the infants often die in their cribs. Although the cause is unknown, it appears that SIDS might be associated with defects in the portion of an infant's brain that controls breathing and arousal from sleep. SIDS is spontaneous and random - my bulu naik reading up on all these things because I am beyond scared of losing my son - no one should go through the pain of losing or almost-losing their children :(

So yeah. This is a true story of how we almost lost our son to suffocation. 

All is well now. I am beyond thankful.