Baby Fair!!

It's baby fair at Mid Valley time! Even though my shopping mood hasn't fully kicked in yet, since it's already November, my dear husband and I decided to go to the end-of-year Baby Fair at Mid Valley to get some baby's stuff because we hadn't done any shopping at all for the baby. On top of our list were stroller and baby car seat, breastpump, bottles, baby grooming and medicine set and some baby clothes. Oh, and toys if they are reasonably priced.

We went there after my monthly checkup with Dr. S at Tawakal last Saturday. We told her that we are going the baby fair and she told us (told me actually, hehe..) not to go on a crazy shopping spree. ;p Parking at Mid Valley was a hassle as always and even more so since there's a fair. Parents to be and parents with babies are everywhere all aiming to go to the fair to get bargains on things they need for their children. We stopped at the food court to get our lunch and trying to get a seat was almost impossible. That's how packed the place was!

Anyway, upon entering the Exhibition Centre, we registered at the registration counter and received a bag with some samples and coupons in them (Actually it was just a small bottle of cleanser, a small tube of children's toothpaste and a sachet of stretch mark cream). We proceeded to go to the booths feeling a little bit lost, walking around with no purpose since this was our first time at a baby fair shopping for ourselves. In the end my dear husband said, "Let's just go and find the main stuff first i.e the stroller and the breastpump." I agreed bigtime since the hustle and bustle of people kind of starting to get to me.

We then went into the main hall and I spotted Medela's big yellow and white sign. I pointed the sign to my hubby and he jostled our way around to the booth. At the booth, the promoter laid out Medela's best seller pumps for customers to try out. I enquired about the Freestyle pump since I was aiming to get that (luckily I had been saving up to get the pump! huhu..) and got a full explanation about the product. The promoter let me tried the pump on my arm and I got to tinkle about with the motor too. It was not that loud as some people described on the Internet so I decided to purchase the set since there was a promotional package for breastpumps. For the Freestyle pump, I got a lower price than the retailing price and also received a free infra-red thermometer and a swaddle blanket for the baby. I also did some impulse purchase of Zaky's hand which was on sale for buy-one-get-two.

We were aiming to get some bottles for the baby and I was quite set on getting the Avent Newborn Starter Kit since it seems to have all the essentials for newbie parents like us. Plus, buying the starter pack eliminates the need for us to crack our brains on what type and size of bottles to buy. The Avent booth was packed with people grabbing all kinds of things off the rack. When I checked the prices, they were not that very cheap and just the same as any departmental stores' sale price. We were quite perplexed as of why are these people mobbing the booth like there was no tomorrow? In the end, we managed to squeeze in and get the newborn set, a milk warmer and a couple of replacement teats for the baby's bottle.

Then, we went around looking at strollers and baby car seats, hoping to get a good set at a good price (really aiming for a cheap but a good one actually). Our main concern is the compactability of the stroller and  the handling. Our car is not the biggest car in the world so how the stroller folds is a very important factor. We went to the SweetCherry booth and saw that there were not many good strollers left since parents are picking them up like hot cakes. There was a stroller that caught our eyes but when the promoter demonstrated on folding and handling the stroller, I kind of noticed that it wasn't that compact when folded and might not fit into our car boot. We then went around to the McLaren and Quinny booth and looked around. My hubby didn't really like the McLaren strollers since all the models are more suited for toddlers rather than newborns. The Quinny strollers however were quite interesting and looked compact enough for our cute beloved little MyVi. We really liked the Buzz but the price was too much so in the end we got the Zapp set since the price was quite reasonable and we got some freebies with our purchase. Freebies are VERY important and in that situation it gave me a sense of getting more for my purchase as my credit card was being swiped! Hehe..

Walking around the booths, we passed by a Pillopet booth displaying arrays of cute little fluffy animal pillows. Ooooh I just had to get one sheep pillow because it was soooo cute! My dear hubby was shaking his head at me but it was too cute to pass. In the end my hubby humoured me and let me get one cute little sheep pillow. ( ^_^ ) I was also planning to get some breastfeeding bras and clothes since I would have to get back to work after my maternity leave and am hoping to pump milk for the tiny munchkin at the office but there was only a few booths selling clothes and the price was quite ridiculously expensive. There was only one booth selling nursing/maternity clothes and inner wear at a somewhat reasonable prices but the place was packed and the items to be purchased are either sold out or out of size. So, in the end we didn't buy any clothes at all. Baby clothes were also quite scarce at the fair. Only a few booths are selling them and the sizes all seem to be not right. They are either too small of too big even though the tags all said 'newborn'. It was quite weird. We decided to just get our baby's clothes at Jusco later to be safe.

So, in the end we spent about 6 hours at the baby fair. Our feet ached and our back hurt but the deed needed to be done. We loaded up our oodles of purchases onto the stroller and my dear hubby was the one doing the pushing. He told me the stroller handled really well with all the weight of our stuff. We didn't get all the things we listed on our shopping list but most of them can be crossed off. Now we only have to worry about the small things like baby clothes, blankies, grooming and medicine set, toiletries and the lot. I hope we do get everything in time since the clock is ticking and my time to shop is diminishing.

Till the next post peeps! Lots of baby dust to hopeful mothers to be out there! ( ^_^ )

2nd Trimester ~ Eating For Two? ~

Most people would say that when a woman is pregnant, she is eating for two. Well, in my case, it's not entirely true. My daily portion of meals are still the same as before I was pregnant. During my first trimester, my weight actually fluctuates and I lost about 3-5 kgs during the fasting month. My weight only started to increase bit by bit in my second trimester but still it fluctuates up and down. I guess it's because I cannot eat large meals in one seating but had to eat small portions and should repeat when I get hungry again (which I rarely do since I would only eat 3 meals a day and then not repeat my meals -- too lazy to do so!).

I am so relieved that my first trimester had gone by safely and now I am not so prone to be sick all day and night anymore. The sickness is still there but only occasionally. It's now either morning, during the day or at night. As my bout of nauseousness has lessened, my appetite to eat has increased a little bit. As my tummy continues to grow bit by bit everyday, my normal daily routine and favourite pastime of shopping continues to decrease.

Since I suddenly have lost all lovey-dovey feeling of going to the shopping mall, the feeling for eating out also had mysteriously disappeared. We actually can count with one hand how many times we go out and eat our dinner especially on weekdays. For lunch hour I had no choice but to eat out at Alamanda with my elder sister since there's no other options available (if she does not have any meetings, that is). The cafeteria at my office kind of sucks, so I rarely buy food there unless most necessary.

My choice of menu had also somewhat decreased. Now I am not very keen to eat chicken but beef is all right as long as it is cooked right and does not have that beefy smell. For some reason, I seem to crave for my mom's cooking. The ultimate dish that I can eat without any side effects when eaten with rice is my mom's sambal ikan bilis tumbuk (crushed anchovies cooked to crispy perfection with chilies and spices, yum!). I am always happy to have that and a piece of bergedel. Prawns are also top on my list but I know that preggies should not eat too much seafood, right?

Remember that I mentioned earlier that my sweet tooth had suddenly gone? I think it's due to the thought of getting diabetes during my pregnancy somehow scared me into not taking sugar like before (plus the thought of going through that sugar-paste-glucose-test! Eeeww!). But I do have a craving for pavlova that mush be cooked by my sister and she's going to bake one for me. Thinking about the crispy and gooey meringue topped with whipped cream and strawberries makes my mouth water. Yummy!

Cravings and all included, so far my portion of meals are still the same as ever. So the term 'eating-for-two' is so not for me. But who knows, I might end up with a larger appetite for food once all traces of morning/afternoon/evening sickness is gone and my weight might play catch up then. Whatever happens, I pray to Almighty Allah SWT for good health and I hope the baby is getting all the nutrients it should.