Mid-30s

I just hit mid-thirties.

If you are going to enter a marathon race, you will be placed in the Veteran category. No shit! Means old lah. Hahaha.

My relatives say I have this motherly look. What that means is that with just a glance, people will know that I have kid(s). To me, motherly look literally means - I have panda eyes, and my face looks puffy and wrinkly, and I pandai bargain in the wet market, I suddenly got very interested in cooking-ware, and love sharing recipes. Basically, like an Ah Sou.

Nevertheless, there is nothing I love more about myself than achieving mid-30s. I feel mature, I feel empowered at work, I feel I am in control of my household. I am happy with my relationships at home with my hubby, siblings, with in-laws, and my own parents and relatives. I am happy with my job and being a career woman. I have some assets (properties, investments, not body assets). I am not bragging, but I am grateful to be given various opportunities in life to see and experience so many things in this world:

1. I drank good coffee before
2. I drank bad coffee before
3. I got a many degrees - biology, Ph.D. and recently - chemistry.
4. I have obtained a Scholarship before.
5. I have been an exchanged student before overseas.
6. I have completed a triathlon and a duathlon. I swam in the open-ocean before.
7. I have 40 open water dives logged around SEA - Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
8. I have completed 6 full marathons.
9. I have lived overseas - China, Netherlands, Singapore
10. I have experienced blind dating, meeting a guy online and regretted it because he's so not like his Friendster profile
11. I have gotten drunk and drove drunk for 10 km (only if I remembered).
12. I bribed a cop before.
13. Got caught for DUI before.
14. I have sung on the stage in public before
15. I studied a foreign language before - Japanese
16. I have traveled to many countries around the world before
17. I have kissed a complete stranger before
18. I have been embarrassed in public before - usually involving clothing malfunction
19. I raced up KL Tower before. *proud*
20. The highest I've been in Twin Towers is 74th floor.
21. I own a luxury bag before (relatively expensive)
22. I have helped a stranger before by giving him/her my money, and not asking it back.
23. I almost died due to a medical condition before.
24. ....and came back alive and became a motherfarter
25. I stayed in a dorm before with total strangers.
26. I acted like a bitch before, throwing tantrums and not giving in.
27. I have experienced both bloody childbirth and c-sect. The pain!
28. I must have had 6-7 dates including boyfriends, before I found my hubby. Wait, maybe 10.
29. I met with 2 major car accidents before.
31. My car got stolen before.
32. I have been baptized a Christian.
33. I am a landlady
34. I am a wife
35. I am a mother.

Glad to announce:
I have not smoked before.
I have not taken drugs before.
I have not experienced studying overseas before (I really wish)
I have not done plastic surgery before.
I have not ate weird foods before and will never try - reptiles, fried insects, live octopus, raw herring, blue cheese, etc.
I have not seen the death of a human being before.


I know can never (but never say never!) be a stay-at-home-mum as my brains are constantly churning chemistry reactions for the development of new chemicals, thus I kinda think nobody at home would appreciate my brilliant, scientific (ahem!) mind. And tell you, I hate managing my home and my son 24 hours, 365 days a year. He can be so cute that I wanna kiss him all the time, but that's just it. Otherwise, my son can be quite annoying because consciously I enjoy my freedom as an individual, hence I hope to just see him at night (kidding, but 50% truth) (I am a good mother ok but I need my ME-time back). I love my kid, but I also love the office, the laboratory, my colleagues, the rat race, and I like to get my brains work out hard...and most importantly: I get to bring back a chunk of salary.

To say I am an accomplished woman, nope. But to say I have hit some good milestones in life, then yes. I still think I have a long way to go to achieve -

1. financial freedom

2. having successful kids (though you have to define success)

3. leave a good legacy in this world (e.g. breakthrough in scientific discoveries, charity, save tigers,     :-P ).

4. sleep without anyone disturbing me.<--never br="" never="" say="">

Ivy-out!

Week-3 Log

This is Daniel.

You can call me Yang Yang.

Baby Daniel at 2.5 weeks

He is going to be 3 weeks old on Saturday.

He has both mummy and daddy features:

1. Born botak like mummy

2. Curly hair like daddy

3. Eyes like daddy

4. Obvious double eye lid and lashes - unlike mummy or daddy

5.  Nose like daddy

6. Sexy lips like mummy

7. Sweet smiles and cute like mummy 

8. Very boyish, cho-lou (rough!) and playful like daddy

9. Blood type A+ like daddy

10. Screamer and bad temperament like mummy

11. Ears like mummy

12. Fingers and feet - long and huge like mummy

His mummy is in confinement and haggard-looking at home - with broken sutures and blood clot on C-sect wound a week before. Mummy tries to limit movement and not carry Daniel too much (how sad!), but still can blog :-P

Daniel's growth milestone has been tremendous eventhough less than 3 weeks old:

1. Each feeding is 3++ ounces already

2. Suckling on mummy's breast until sore. Latches like a velociraptor.

3. Play with himself after feeding i.e. talking! "Ang-gu-gu"

4. Super screamer when hungry

5. Does not get annoyed by loud noises (sleeps thru' loud TV, radio, crowds, people talking, etc.)

6. Developed double chin

7. Kicker and boxer without mittens. Daniel hates mittens

8. Loves bathing and swimming in bathtub (which baby doesn't?)

9. Has strong and long neck, unlike mummy and papa.

He makes mummy and papa smile everyday. And because Baby Daniel loves to smile too.

Daniel makes me wake up at least twice at night time to pump and latch, but all the lost sleep are worth it. Mummy lost 13 kg in 2 weeks. Left 5 kg to pre-pregnancy weight.

Mummy feels kinda sad because not much BM produced but tries her best to eat supplement for increased in BM - dishes such as Ikan Yu (=shark meat), hot Holicks, papaya soup, etc.  

Mummy feels the pain when admitted to hospital for C-sect bleeding at sutures. Mummy cries so much more than during contraction/labour pain - cause can't get to see baby to BF him. 

Daniel is very kind to mummy and papa - gives shit and pee to us to process everyday. But somehow seeing his yellow poo2 and pee2 makes mummy and papa very happy because this means Daniel is growing well.

Papa will come see baby Daniel every weekend. We both miss papa very much!

2.5 weeks