I'm back! Sort of...

My last entry was 2012 when we say goodbye to Pohnpei at the end of our 2 year posting and heading back to the land down under, with additional one person to the family.

And here we are now, living in Vientiane, Lao PDR for almost a year and we became family of 4.

We settled in ok, ms. A enjoying school and playing with her friends, mr. B loves playing with m. Piu our gardener/day guard and Phoung our lovely nanny/maeban and playgroups.

Mr. Husband working as usual and enjoy beer Lao so much, 'it's cheap and really tasty' he said, but he still can't convince me to drink it though, I don't like beer, period.

As for me, I try to enjoy life as a madam meaning I have someone else to look after the house, no laundry and ironing oh yeah.. well I will be doing everything by myself when we are back to the land of down under, so why not.

Stay tune for our journey in Laos, and I promise to write regularly.

Good Bye Pohnpei

Our time in Pohnpei has come to an end, how time flies and it has been 2 years since we arrived in the Garden Island of Micronesia or famous for Pohnpei.

It's time to pack our stuff and move on to the next journey, going back to Australia where I called second home. My first home still Indonesia, a place where I was born and grew up until 2009 when I decided to leave everything and follow Mr. Husband to his homeland.

When I married Mr. Husband I knew that my life won't be boring, we can move to anywhere in this globe where his office reside.

Pohnpei is my first posting but fourth postings for Mr. Husband. When I said yes, he can apply for Pohnpei I don't know what to expect, as not much information I can get from google but one thing strike me was the island remind me of my first home, Indonesia, the tropical weather, the green scenery and the people, well Micronesian and Indonesian are quite similar, dark brown skin and brown eyes.

We arrived in 9 September 2010 and yes the island reminds me of my home town (5 hours drive from Jakarta), I saw familiar trees along the road and in the compound.
I see sugar cane, casava, breadfruit, lemongrass, pineapple, coconut, papaya, soursap, banana, tumeric and even jambu or sour apple as Pohnpean called it, the main difference is rice/padi field, I don't see a single of rice field in Pohnpei, in fact there is no rice field anymore in Pohnpei not like in my home town where you will see rice field pretty much everywhere you look.

Last week the removalist have come and packed our stuff, the house is empty now. We live out of settling in kit and 3 suitcases among the 3 of us. The house feels different, mind you the physic still the same but the heart is different. Everywhere I look, I see empty shelves and empty cupboard, it feels weird and cold, it doesn't feel home anymore, it just feels empty.

Sleep Training For Adults (From A Baby’s Point Of View)

 This is funny, I got this from my BC group :)

 OK, here’s my situation. My Mommy has had me for almost 7 months. The first few months were great – I cried, she picked me up and fed me, anytime, day or night. Then something happened.

Over the last few weeks, she has been trying to STTN (sleep through the night). At first, I thought it was just a phase, but it is only getting worse. I’ve talked to other babies, and it seems like it’s pretty common after Mommies have had us for around 6 months. Here’s the thing: these Mommies don’t really need to sleep. It’s just a habit. Many of them have had some 30 years to sleep–they just don’t need it anymore. So I am implementing a plan. I call it the Crybaby Shuffle. It goes like this:

Night 1–cry every 3 hours until you get fed. I know, it’s hard. It’s hard to see your Mommy upset over your crying. Just keep reminding yourself, it’s for her own good.

Night 2–cry every 2 hours until you get fed.

Night 3–every hour.

Most Mommies will start to respond more quickly after about 3 nights. Some Mommies are more alert, and may resist the change longer. These Mommies may stand in your doorway for hours, shhhh-ing. Don’t give in. I cannot stress this enough: CONSISTENCY IS KEY!! If you let her STTN (sleep through the night), just once, she will expect it every night. I KNOW IT’S HARD! But she really doesn’t need the sleep, she’s just resisting the change. If you have an especially alert Mommy, you can stop crying for about 10 minutes, just long enough for her to go back to bed and start to fall asleep. Then cry again. It WILL eventually work. My Mommy once stayed awake for 10 hours straight, so I know she can do it.

5 months and solid

Today Ms. A is 5 months and 2 days old, how time flies when you are having fun and she's not a newborn anymore :(.

I have been stalling to NOT give her solid because when she's on solid it means she's a big girl and I'm not ready I want my baby to stay baby for a long time :). Yeah I know that's not going to happen.

Ms. A has been watching us eating like a hawk, she will stop and look at me when I drink or eat something while I nurse her, I can see that her mouth is making chewing movement and she also starting to wake up at night for feed which she usually sleep through the night so I told Mr. Husband that I want to try give her solid and see if she's ready or not.

I decided to make her food not using commercial ones, so on Friday I grinded brown rice until become powder, 2/4 cup of raw brown rice make up 1 cup of brown rice powder.

Is Baby the Best Ice Breaker?

Based on my experience from 9 months pregnant and 4 months in the motherhood gig, I can tell that baby is the best ice breaker in the world.

When I was pregnant strangers ask me how far along I am or they ask me whether it's a boy or a girl and somehow there's softness in their eyes.

When we were "stuck" in Guam for 10 days, every single person well most of people that we shared elevator with ask about Ms. A, "is that a boy or a girl?", "how old is she?", "oh she's so cute", "oh she's big for her age" and the comments will continue. Although, I'm a bit annoyed when people ask whether she's a girl or a boy when she's clearly wearing flower pink onesies.

Happy 4 Months

Time flies fast when you are having fun, I guess changing  nappies every 4 hours (give or take), broken sleep, sleep for 4 hours max, wake up at 3am, dealing with a catnapper, overtired, screaming and squealing baby is fun, right?

Ms. A is not a newborn anymore, she's more responsive now, she laughs, she smiles everytime she sees me which melts my heart, she "talks" back, she's more mobile, she grabs and hold things, and sometimes she sleeps through the night.

Happy 4 months my little possum, please stay healthy and happy for many months and years to come, and let the real fun begins.

Mummy and Daddy love you so much xoxo

Super Boobs Juice Has Super Power

One of the girl in my group share this and I just had to share it with the world.

Read the original article here

Other uses of breast milk

Want to use your extra frozen breast milk for something useful? Using breast milk can benefit your whole household!

We all know about the great benefits of breast milk for mom and baby and even the environment, but are there other uses of breast milk?

The answer is yes, breast milk can be used to actually cure a few ailments and even help heal certain diseases…it can be taken by baby, you or any other grown-ups for these purposes. 

Breast milk contains immunologic agents and other compounds that take action against viruses and parasites. 

Breast milk is sterile, anti-bacterial and can even help heal wounds and can help people heal faster after organ transplants and other surgeries.

The many alternative uses for breast milk discussed here…

Breast milk and its uses 

  

All of the below uses for breast milk or breast milk cures can be used for the whole family…

- Pink eye breast milk (eye infections). You can put a few drops of breast milk into baby’s eyes or any family members who are suffering from pink eye. The breast milk will keep the area clean and will initiate healing. You can do this as often as possible. 

- Eye puffiness or redness. Wonderful for removing puffiness and is used just as you would cows milk for the same purpose. Dab on with some cotton wool. 

- Opening a stuffy nose. Breast milk is natural and a great alternative to medications which might even make the situation worse. Just squirt a few drops into baby’s nose while he is lying down, then use a bulb to suction the excess out from his nose. 

Small Victories

It's been awhile since my last post, things happened here and there and caught me to stop posting for awhile until I have time to type with my 2 hands.

Yes, typing with my 2 hands is one of the things that I consider as a small victories in my new journey as a mother.

Why is that?

That means Ms. A is sleeping and she's not sleeping on me like she used to do in her early days. Don't get me wrong, I love the snuggles but things can be a bit tricky when your arms burn and you need to stretch it or you have this urge to go to the toilet. You try to move very little so it won't distract her precious sleep. Once, I tried to go to toilet with her on my chest sleeping, it was really tricky but it's doable and she opens her eyes and look at me like "what on earth are you doing woman?" lol, well a woman gotta do what a woman gotta do, no?

Don't judge me, I do whatever works for us.

The Day I Fall in Love

29 January 2012 is the day I fall in love with you, the day I welcome you to the world and the day I hold you for the first time in my life little Ms. A.


The journey begins when my water broke at 6.30am on 28 January 2012, we rushed to the hospital as told by midwife. She checked me and she said it's only 1cm dilated and sent me home, she gave us instruction that I should have some rest as labor can be anytime today but instead we went for a walk around the neigbourhood to speed things up. I got more contractions but still irregular so we had lunch and just chillin at the apartment.


At around 6pm the contraction become 3 minutes apart so we went back to hospital again in a hope that labor is happening, but the midwife said that it's only 2cm dilated so she sent me home again. I burst into tears because I wish to meet my little girl soon. I think the midwife felt sorry for me, she gave me medicine so I can sleep  and promise me that labor will be today. So off we go home again.

"Dear Non-Pregnant Person"

Dear Non-Pregnant Person, 

I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you should probably read this twice:

1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is 'Congratulations!' with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an a$$.

2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase 'my baby'.

3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in #2, the pregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it.

4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5) Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is 'You look fabulous!'.

Trip to Nah Island

Last weekend was our turn to take the boat out, after got confirmation from 3 other couples, we booked Francisco as the boat driver and prepare stuff to bring include food for the picnic and snorkling gear.

We decided to go to Nah island because it's not as far as Ant atoll but it has same sandy beach like Ant which is a rare treat in Pohnpei. Trip to Nah island took about 45 minutes to one hour by our boat because we have to go really slow in some shallow area especially during the low tide. Nah Island located inside the lagoon across from Nan Madol but since we're using big boat so we have to go outside the lagoon to reach it. I'm not too fancy going out the lagoon as the sea can be really choppy and rough, but this time it wasn't too bad and it's not too long so I'm fine.


The view on the way to Nah island

Nan Madol

50 reasons to be glad you're pregnant!

1. Relishing the early weeks when only you and your partner know your special secret.

2. Knowing you've got nine whole months to plan, dream and fantasise.

3. Throwing away your ovulation charts and testing kits and going back to having sex without a timetable.

4. Choosing maternity clothes - they've never been more practical or more sexy.

5. Now you've got the perfect excuse to pamper yourself - spending hours in a scented bath, enjoying a massage or rubbing soothing lotions into your growing bump.

6. You can join an antenatal class and find a whole new bunch of friends (and don't forget our BabyCenter birth clubs: another great way to meet people due at the same time as you).

7. For once in your life you need to get heavier - pregnancy is nature's way of making you feel good about putting on weight.

8. If this is your first baby, enjoy the next nine months sleeping late at weekends: you may not get many chances later on.

9. At last you've got the bosom you've always wanted, which means you also have...

10...a great excuse to buy lots of pretty new bras.

11. Now you have the good reason you have been looking for to take up yoga, meditation, healthy eating and deep breathing.

12. At last you'll have something more than potplants and cats to care for and nurture!

13. Suddenly you'll find you're getting lots of extra attention from parents, aunts and uncles, not to mention your partner.

14. You may find you develop a closer relationship with sisters, cousins or friends who are parents themselves. Congratulations, you've just won free admission to the parents' club!

15. Telling your mum, dad, sister, brother, aunt the good news and watching their faces light up.

16. New talents! Whether it's knitting bootees or assembling a flat-pack cot, you'll suddenly find yourself trying out all sorts of new skills.

17. Suddenly you'll feel a new appreciation for your own mother and all she went through having you.

18. Decorating the nursery: one of the most exciting things you'll ever do.

19. Feeling those first fluttering kicks and thinking, 'Is that what I think it is? Or is it just wind?'

20. Feeling OK for sending your partner out for chicken tikka masala followed by double-choc chip ice cream.

21. Your parents digging out your old cot or clothes, which they've kept safely all this time 'just in case'.

22. Going for healthy walks with your partner and getting fresh air in your lungs because it's good for you and good for your baby.

23. Enjoying the extra-vivid dreams you get in late pregnancy - and laughing about them with your friends.

24. Feeling a little pair of heels prodding under your diaphragm and knowing you'll soon be meeting the little person they belong to!

25. Choosing baby clothes - or just phoning round for all the catalogues, leafing through them and planning what you're going to buy.

Go Local: Coconut Jam

I have been living in Pohnpei for 7 months but I haven't found local food that I really like. Some of the local food are similar with Indonesia like: breadfruit, taro, yam, casava, the difference is we don't eat those food as main course but more to snack. Oh maybe in some parts of Indonesia they still eat it as main course but from where I come from we eat it as snack.

Everytime I go to Yoshie for groceries shopping I always see jars of Coconut Jam near the cashier, but the package doesn't look appealing to me, yeah I know it's not easy to make a good packaging that really appealing and scream BUY ME I've been there done that with my previous work as an advertising slave. Until Keira & Sky invited us to have dinner at their place.

The Most Expensive Tomatoes in Pohnpei

That will be our tomato.... if it ever grows eventually.


I went to pick up my gardener last week and he load in bunch of long sticks into the car, I know that he always complained that if I have aa truck it would be easier to get all materials he needed for my garden. But I don't have a truck and the embassy's truck is broken so a truck is out of question.


We need wood sticks to support my tomato which already outgrown and also we need to build the structure for the tomato "house".


I ask him to load all the sticks in and see how it goes, so he put the stick from the back all the way to the front windscreen or windshields. My car is a Toyota RA4 so we have a little bit of room but not as big as a ute/pick up truck. After all loaded in then I try to close the back door, I didn't slam the door just a gentle touch trying to close it but then I hear "CRACK"... I was thinking what the hell was that... and when I see the front windscreen/windshield this is what I see... Not a pleasant sight...

Things You Do For Love

In my case, things I would do for love is camping. Yes, you can read my experience on camping trip here.


When you love someone, you are willing to do anything to make that person happy. Some of you may change your appearance, personality and some even change their religions to declare their love. 

Especially in a marriage you would do things to make your husband/wife happy, like trying to do and liking what the other enjoys to do. Who I am talking about marriage and stuff, I've only been married for 2 years and there are many more years to come but I learn everyday that do something for your loved one is actually gives you satisfaction and make you content. The idea of making him happy is making me happy although I don't really like it and I was whinging about it on the internet like what I just did :).

This post inspired by Mr. Husband who criticized my previous post as being too negative about camping. He just wants me to do something that he likes to do. Yes, my first experience wasn't a pleasant one but we can learn from the mistake and next time will do better. And of course I want to thank my good friends The Reynolds who went out with us although Huyen doesn't like the idea of being in a boat on a rough ocean which I perfectly understand because I have the same feeling too. Didn't I say that I'm the biggest wuss in the world?.


I understand what Mr. Husband is trying to do, he wants me to be able to enjoy thing that he enjoys to do. He wants to share the experience with me, together. Like we experience every day, every night together. 

There is nothing wrong with that, it's just he has to convince and persuade me even more that camping is fun. I can't convert to liking and enjoy camping in just after one trip, it's all about the process to actually like and enjoy it at the end.

And what would you do for LOVE?

My First Camping Trip

If you find yourself trapped in the middle of the woods without electricity, running water, or a car you would likely describe that situation as a “nightmare” or “a worse case scenario like after plane crash or something.” Some people refer to it as “camping.”

I've never been camping before and the idea of camping no shower never amuse me. Mr. husband has been trying to persuaded me to camping since we were back in Canberra but no luck so far, as I always have good excuses to bail from it. But last weekend I was running out of excuses and also it was his birthday, he wants to celebrate his birthday by camping in Ant atoll. It was a good plan since he got 5 days weekend for Easter and Anzac Day. Yeah among many other things that he can do, he chooses camping. Suck big time for me, no toilet for 2 days, how can I survive?. This time I can't say NO, it's his birthday. As a good wife *cough*... I respect his choice so off we go camping then.

Mr. Husband is doing his best to tell me that it’s very easy and it allows us to escape the pressures and troubles of the urban lifestyle for a more natural, simplified, relaxing time. Nothing could be further from the truth. In theory camping should be a very inexpensive activity since you are literally sleeping on the ground. But  the more simple it appears the more expensive it actually is.


The first stage is to buy a tent and a matress. Our new tent and matress arrived weeks before the day and we even had a trial at home on how to build the tent, yeah he was so determined to educate me about camping and the FUN of it. 

Here is our tent and matress:

Ant Atoll

We went out on the boat last month for a day trip to Ant Atoll, I heard people say that it's a gorgeous place and a must visit atoll if you live in Pohnpei. Ant atoll is about 1.5 to 2 hours trip by boat depends on the sea, if the sea really rough it might be longer than 2 hours and also if you always chase the school for fishing than it will be more than 3 hours for sure.

This time we used the Navy boat called True Blue, it's one of the safest boat in this island, thank God for that. Since I'm the biggest wuss in the world, there is no way I will take the small boat with 1 engine to go to Ant. I was freaking out big time just doing trip from mainland Pohnpei to Nahlap which took only 10-15 minutes by small boat, can you imagine 1.5-2 hours? I will be passed out.

I don't do scuba diving and I don't have any intention to do it anyway, but you can see soo much just from snorkling, so why bother go deep down.

Anyhow... here is Ant atoll captured on my camera, but mind you photos didn't do any justice, the real one even more beautiful...

Kayaking

This is a very late post as we did kayaking couple of weeks ago, but hey better late than never, no?

I can swim but not on the ocean and I will freak out if I can not see the bottom, so when Sam told me that Emanuele & Nora invited us to do kayaking with them on Saturday I was excited but a little bit nervous at the same time. But Sam assured me that I will be fine and the kayak is safe.

So after we pack snack and lunch we head off to Coco Marina to meet Emanuele & Nora and rent the kayaks there. It was a bit windy and rough in Coco Marina so I was a bit scared but luckly I was wearing life jacket, in fact I was the only one who's wearing life jacket! Naughty kids!


Nora helped me get down into my kayak, and indeed it was a bit scary on that small kayak with rough water and high windy, and since it was my first time kayaking so I don't know what to do to make it turn right or left and I was freaking out when the wind and wave took me on the wrong direction but with Sam & Nora direction I managed to make it turn left and join Emanuele who's been on the water too.


Once you got the hang of it, it's pretty easy to do but still a hard work to paddle. And the view from the water is amazing.

Amateur Farmer Wannabe

It's been awhile since I post anything on this blog, I know I have been very slacked but things happened to me for the past 4 months. Good news and then the bad news happened just right after I think I can spread the joy, but anyhow God has other plan for us :)

So to keep me busy and taking my mind of that bad news event, I planned to expand my garden. 

Before I just plant everything on the containers but then I want to have bigger garden so I actually can enjoy the benefit without having to buy vegetables at the shop.

Here is my garden before:

A Lovely Poem For Me, You, Us...

A dear friend sent this lovely poem for me, thank you  Shinta

So now you see
What makes a Mother
It's the feeling in your heart
It's the love you had so much of
Right from the very start
A gift for such a little while,
your loss just seems so wrong,
you should not have left before us,
it’s with loved ones you belong.
Do not judge a song by its duration
Nor by the number of its notes
Judge it by the richness of its contents
Sometimes those unfinished are among the most poignant..

Do not judge a song by its duration
Nor by the number of its notes
Judge it by the way it touches and lifts the soul
Sometimes those unfinished are among the most beautiful…

And when something has enriched your life
And when it’s melody lingers on in your heart.
Is it unfinished?
Or is it endless?

Author Unknown