Review : Avi Spa, Port Dickson

Bringing a baby for a short trip is like packing the entire house

Overview of the resort: My first impression on Avillion Port Dickson was so-so. First of all, we arrived at 3.30pm and the chalet  was not ready! We waited until 4:30pm (after numerous calls to the lobby) then only it was ready. The chalet in itself is very impressive. Spacious rooms and even bigger bathroom. I love the room! Service is generally ok but could be better as it is a five-star resort. The staff does not voluntarily smile or greet us. So in general, for the price we paid, it wasn't worth it. 

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The newly renovated Avi Spa is breathtakingly beautiful. Somewhat reminded me of the resorts in Maldives. I like the service as the staff there are courteous. The problem is because the premise is small, the rooms are always fully booked, so I recommend to call in advance to make prior booking before heading down to Port Dickson. 

The lounge area is exclusively for priority customers - i.e. those who stay in premium water chalet. They serve finger food there. The staff was gracious enough to allow us to quickly snap a picture before we went off. 

Both me and hubs selected the normal body massage as the spa package was expensive! We reckon that it was not worth splashing our money like that. The entire session took us 90 minutes. 

Treatment Room:

- Beautifully decorated. I love the interior. Very exclusive Tiffany-color theme. 

- Overlooks the ocean so it is real good ambiance with the sound of crashing waves. 

- Couple room is big and airy.

Massage: 

- Started off with the foot soak and was gently scrubbed using sea salt.

- Frankly, I didn't enjoy the massage that much. Too strong pressure. 

Beautiful isn't it? 

After the session, we were usher out to the open-space balcony where we sip on their ginger tea while overlooking the sea. I love this concept. Extremely relaxing  :)

All in, I would recommend just for the experience. I really didn't enjoy much the massage. And it is quite pricey as well. 

Love;

Mummy Geri

Review : My Confinement Lady

Now that I've pass my confinement (actually I've passed it 5 months back but was too lazy didn't had the time to blog), I think it is high time to do a review on my confinement lady (CL).

My super love my CL.  I would say that I'm very blessed to get a correct one at first try without actually meeting her in person (she's from Ipoh) and interviewing her. Her name is Ah Mew -  I call her Mew Che because she's obviously older than me. Gotta admit, initially I didn't take a liking to her because she is straight-forward and too "ganas" (she's not the gentle-type la) for my liking. But week after week, I grew fond of her and she's open to my disagreement and I can be very frank as well with her.

Here are the reasons why I love my CL :

1. She's not petty and definitely not calculative. She always offered to cook for the entire family - even if my husband comes back late from work!
   
   
2. Does household chores. In fact, I never tell her to do it. On her own, she will change my bedsheets, wash my toilets, upkeep my household, fold and iron my clothes, arrange the stuff in my drawers etc.
   
   
3. Does not take afternoon naps.
   
   
4. She's relatively young i.e. in her 40s, so she's not that old school and won't impose stupid confinement rules. (Well.. she does impose some la.. but most I can get away with :p) Yes, I still can't wash my hair until Day 12 and I can bath everyday with herbal and ginger water.
   
   
5. FULLY SUPPORTS BREASTFEEDING! In fact, she was the one who encouraged me when I thought I didn't have enough supply. She discouraged me to buy a tin of formula milk for standby, she cooked yummy milk boosters soup for me, she reminds me to pump regularly, she brings the baby to me for feeding etc.To the extent that friends who gave birth around the same time asked me for help for milk boosters recipe from my CL. She also prepared extra ingredients when she left so I can prepare my own milk boosters. Couldn't thank her enough for that.
   
   
6. An amazing cook! Her dishes are all very yummy. And I can put in my request for her if I gian wanna eat something. I was very well-fed in that 28 days of confinement. It has been awhile since I've last had home-cooked food. :(
   
   
7. Good companion. While I had my post-partum blues, she was the one who sat and chit-chatted with me. She kept me occupied the entire time. I shared my concerns and in exchanged she gave me tips on how to take care of a baby, on breastfeeding, and we shared stories of her funny confinement stories with weird clients. There was this time when I was being harassed asked to drink this awful herbal thingy by my family which in my opinion (and my CL agreed) was not necessary, we pakat and hid the bottle. heheheeh ~
   
   
8.  My only complain is this : While she is excellent in taking care of babies, she can be a bit crude in the sense that she is stern with the baby (in terms of words). Initially, I didn't like it but when I told her, she kinda mellowed down. I like the fact that she allows you to room in with your baby in the final week of confinement to get adjusted to the baby's routine. Of course, she'll be there on standby if ever you require her assistance.
   
   
9. Still keep in contact with my CL and she calls me from time to time to check on my and my baby to make sure that everything is ok. She's like a friend now. :)

So all in, I am extremely pleased with my CL and would definitely hire her again for my #2 in the future. 

Love;

Mummy Geri

Breast Feeding (Part 2) - Review : Medela Swing

When I was pregnant, I was undecided between Avent or Medela. After a quick survey and asking my mummy friends, I've decided to purchase Medela Swing, a single electric pump. Was tempted to get Freestyle which is an electric double pump but it was so darn expensive at around RM2,000! 

Thank God I made the right decision. I love my Medela Swing to bits and pieces. The pump has been following me everywhere - to work, to the shopping malls, to other people's house. Yes, I've been pumping very diligently for my little milk guzzler at home. 

What I love about Medela Swing.

- The 2-phase expression is absolutely wonderful! It mimics the sucking of a baby to stimulate more milk production.

- It is quiet so the whole world won't know that I'm pumping.

- It's portable and can I can opt to use batteries or electric. Perfect for full-time working mums like me who is always on the go.

- Simple to use, wash, and assemble.

- You have an option to convert it into a double-pump. DIY yourself and refer to the Youtube video. It's very simple :)

What I don't like about Medela Swing - I occasionally have the problem of backflow of milk into the tube back into the motor! Grrr ~ So inconvenient to wash. There's this one time it was so bad my tubing had mold! Yuck

Alternatively, drop by to Enjoy Breastfeeding where you are allowed to try the pumps before deciding on which on which suits you best.

Love;
Mummy Geri

Review : Battle of the Storage Bottles (Bumble Bee vs Autumnz)

The reason why I had two different brands was because Autumnz storage bottles comes together with my Medela Swing, whereas Bumble Bee was bought. Honestly, I prefer Bumble Bee storage bottles over Autumnz and here's the reason why : 

(1) Compatible with my Medela Swing. I can straight away pump into the Bumble Bee bottle without having the hassle of changing and pouring. Minimize the risk of spilling my precious breast milk.

(2) I find Bumble Bee's storage bottles more 'solid' in the sense that it doesn't look too worn out after numerous washing and sterilising.

(3) The middle cap doesn't fall off easily as compared to Autumnz (which is darn irritating).

Love;

Mummy Geri

Review : Autumnz Steam Steriliser and Bottle Warmer

The initial reason why I chose Autumnz brand is because they comes in a set and is relatively cheap. Also, the steriliser was recommended by a good friend. After using them for a couple of months, here are my reviews.

(1) Autumnz Steam Steriliser. 

- Straight to the point and very user friendly.

- Sterilises your items in 8 minutes.

- Light indicator and there is a beep sound once it's done (plus point!).

- Able to fit all my Avent bottles and Medela Swing pump. 

- Good buy. 

Good buy :)

Can fit in a lot of items

(2) Autumnz Bottle Warmer.

- Takes very long to warm up (major thumbs down!)

- Good to keep the milk warm at a constant level i.e. 40c.

- Light indicator - orange means warming up, green means keep warm.

- Can do without it, would rather do the traditional way of using boil water.

Bleh~

Traditional way is still the best and fastest!

Love;

Mummy Geri

Review : Giving Birth in SDMC

I had stated previously on why did i choose SDMC to give birth. And how I have been through it, I am glad that I've chosen this hospital. 

The only downside is that this hospital is amongst one of the more expensive private hospital to give birth in. My total bill (inclusive of the baby) came up to approximately RM9k! Bear in mind that this is an induced natural birth with epidural and not even a c-sect. Can't imagine what's the cost of a c-sect. When we looked through the itemized bill, the hospital in itself charges the most (surprisingly not the professional fees of the gynea or the anesthesiologist or the nursery and pediatrics).

Oh and also there is no additional sleeping chair for your spouse. You may rent a lazy chair but it is very uncomfortable. In the labour ward, there is no sofa chair as well. Room is rather small as well.

What I love about SDMC:

1. Dr Delilah, my awesomest gynecology in the whole wide world
- calm, cool, and collective. In my 25 hours of labor she kept coming in the check on me - even in the wee hours of the morning.
  
2. Midwives
- all very professional and patient.

3. Dr Ngui, the anesthesiologist who did my epidural
- fantastic, didn't feel a thing.

4. Labour Ward
- very warm and comfortable (not scary like those you see in movies)

5. Nursing Care
- Thumbs up!

6. Nursery
- Very pro-breastfeeding. After the baby is taken to the nursery to be heated up for 2 hours, the baby will be taken to you for breastfeeding. Everytime the baby is hungry, the nurses will bring the baby to you for feeding. The nurses will teach you how to latch correctly and is on-call 24 hours should you encounter any problems. Rooming in with the baby is encouraged. No formula milk is given unless consent is given by the mother.

7. Dr Sanjay, the peadiatricion
- Extremely gentle with babies. Love that he encourages breastfeeding as well.

So there you go.. given a choice (and the budget), I would definitely choose SDMC again to give birth.

Love,
Mummy Geri

Review : Antenatal Class with Jenlia

In my opinion,  antenatal class is extremely important especially for first time parents as we do not know what to expect. It is better to learn from the expert than go around listening to hear-says from other people because their "advises" could be wrong - although they meant well I am sure. 

Truthfully, we didn't do any research on which classes to attend. We selected Jenlia based on good recommendation from friends who had attended their class and naturally because their classes are conducted in SDMC where I am going to give birth at. 

Jenlia charges RM350 per couple and there are 4 classes which are conducted on Fridays (7:30pm) and Saturdays (2:30pm). Each session lasts about 3 hours. The educators are qualified midwives who had garnered their experience from UK. Both me and Bear had thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and we found them very useful. 

Here are my thoughts on the sessions: 

Session 1

Recognizing derivations from normal progression in pregnancy.

Preparation for parenthood.

Relaxation technique.

Antenatal exercise. 

--> This session was pretty easy-going and light. It is a very basic class on what to expect and what to look out for during your pregnancy and into the first few months with the arrival of the new baby. I have forgotten how to do the antenatal exercise actually. 

Session 2
Importance of early breastfeeding. 
Steps to successful breastfeeding.
Care of self post-csect.
Signs of labor.
Admission procedures.

--> I totally love this session especially on the topic of breastfeeding because I know it is not easy. It is good to be mentally prepared and learn the correct techniques to ensure that I won't give up too easily when the time comes to breastfeed. Also, knowing what are the signs of labor and admission procedures keeps us on our toes to look out for symptoms and not panic when the time comes when the baby bear arrives. 

 Session 3

Tour of labor suite.

Husband's role during labor and delivery.

Preparation for normal labor and delivery.

Normal labor and delivery process.

Pain management.

Breathing techniques.

--> Touring of the labor suite was very interesting. Looking at the suite, my fear of giving birth somewhat was lifted off a little because it looks pretty cozy. It doesn't feel cold and scary like in the operating theater. Secondly was on pain management. I have pretty made up my mind that epidural is the way to go the minute I can use it to completely take away the pain (yes, I am wussy like that). We were thought on how to handle labor and the actual birth, when to push, what to expect, and what is the role of the husband (not to stand there and look pretty ok). We were also shown a video of an actual child birth using epidural - and seriously, this session overall really calmed me down a lot. There is not so much fear of childbirth anymore. I also forgot the breathing techniques.. I hope my husband still remembers them. 

Session 4
Care and support for mothers during puerperium .
The newborn - what to expect in the first few months.
Meeting the needs of your newborn.

--> Informative on post-birth care for the mothers and basic 101 care for a newborn like bathing, swaddling, sleeping position etc.

The subject matter which are being thought are very basic and is only an overview, which is good enough as a headstart. Typically, you are encourage to join an antenatal class about 2 months before your due date. 

Love;

Mummy Geri

Food Escapade in Sydney (and Melbourne)

Here are the food places (in my opinion) worth mentioning in Sydney - and to some extent Melbourne since we stopped by there for a while during our recent trip to Sydney in August. They are in no particular order:

(1) Cafe Inniene, Bourke Street Melbourne. 

The cafe was just a stone's throw away from the place where we stayed in Melbourne, Causeway Inn on the Mall, so naturally we dropped by there for breakfast. It was among the cheapest there as well. I like that dining was al-fresco because the weather was fantastic (cooling). I had their breakfast set and chai latte. It was yummy-licious! :)

(2) Bratwurst Shop,Queen Victoria Market Melbourne.  

OMG! This was SO GOOD!! They use french loaf, and the humongous sausage was so juicy! Top that up with cheese, sauerkraut, lots of mustard and chili sauce - it's a perfect combination.

(3) Ying Thai, Melbourne

Good Thai food. Full stop. 

(4) San Churro, Lygon Street Melbourne.

Ultimate comfort food. Lightly battered, sprinkled with powdered icing, and dipped in chocolate. Hmmm~

(5) Schnitz, CBD Melbourne.

Schnitzels are actually breaded cutlet made with boneless meat. To me, it was pretty much like your normal fast-food joint . So really nothing much to comment here. 

(6) Pancakes on the Rocks, Sydney.

I don't think this place needs introduction. The pancakes were fluffy and out of this world. So so good. :)

(7) Lindt Chocolate Cafe, Cockle Bay Wharf Sydney.

Honestly I am not a chocolate fan, so I don't have much to comment. However, the raspberry ice-cream  coupled with the thick dark chocolate poured over it was heavenly. Of course, the view over-looking Darling Harbor adds to the entire ambiance too.

(8) Fish Market, Sydney.
I really don't know what is the hype about this place. The seafood platter was so-so. In terms of freshness, it was so-so also.

(9) Chat Thai, Sydney.

In my opinion, they serve the best Thai food!! Reasonable pricing too. It was so good, we went back there twice! Must go!

(10) Pho An, Bankstown Sydney.

Aside from the Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle) in Springvale Melbourne, this place serves the awesome~st most authentic Pho ever! This is because the place is a Vietnamese community and the beef that they used are Australian beef which are tender. The place is out of the way from CBD. We were quite blessed cos Bear's uncle drove us there. :)

(11) Some restaurant near Blue Mountain, Sydney (forgot the name).

The food was bleh and very expensive too ... only consolation was that the pumpkin soup was really delicious. 

(12) Harry's Cafe de Wheels, Wooloomooloo Sydney.

True to the hype, the hotdogs and pies were really good. Just be prepared to get real messy! Must try! 

(13) Clipper's Cafe, Glebe, Sydney.

Their chai latte is the best~est that I have ever tried!!!! You need to sieve the spices yourself. Soooooooooo good~! Must try their baked egg with tomato sauce and lamb sausage as well. Awesome breakfast place. Just a caution though, it could get pretty packed over the weekends with students from UTS. 

(14) Hurricane's Grill, Bondi Beach, Sydney

Must must must must go!!! EAT THE PORK RIBS AND NOTHING ELSE!! Please make reservations or you will have to wait like mad.

That concludes our makan escapades in Sydney (and Melbourne).
You hungry yet?

Love;
Mummy Geri

Review : Maternity Portrait with Keep Gallery Kids

I have been toying with the idea on whether if I should go for a proper maternity portrait  My concern is that it could be a waste of money. Secondly, the photos will inevitably end up collecting dust (just like my pre-wedding pictures). 

So based on the two reasons above, I was pretty set on not taking any maternity pictures. Until about a couple of weeks back when I saw two friends who did it, and they looked amazing with their baby bump! And my mum has been asking me to do it to celebrate my pregnancy.

And with that, I created an excuse decided to go for it! Capturing the moment when I am still young and my boobs is not sagging yet with no stretched marks - it was the perfect opportunity. How I managed to con Bear to do it is an entirely different story altogether. He ended up being a willing party anyway cos I paid for the package. :p   

So, as usual I turned to my trusted Google and started searching. Honestly, I didn't want to spend too much because really capturing my maternity portrait was purely just for the fun of it. So, if it was too expensive I was prepared to let go of the whole idea altogether.

FYI, photographers are charging on an average of RM500 - RM1,200 (including newborn portraiture) for maternity photography. Most are timed at 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours per session with a restriction of two change of clothes. 

I chanced upon Keep Gallery Kids (same people who runs Keep Gallery Wedding Studio in SS2) and they are running a promotion. Keep Gallery Kids is quite a newly set-up studio and they are based in 1U Old Wing (near Popular, opposite Honeypot). 

Their package comprises of :

- 20 poses edited and returned in softcopy.

- 1 big photo plus frame.

- Makeup and hairstyling for both mummy and daddy.

- 2 hours session.

- Allowed to change into any amount of clothes.

- They also provide clothes (but I didn't like them).
- Only studio sessions available.

All for the price of RM299/=

What a bargain!

FYI, they do have another awesome package which is priced at RM1,500 and you can go for as many sessions as you like for maternity, newborn, and family photography all the way until your child is 2 years old. All photos will be returned back to you.

No. I decided to not push my luck with Bear didn't take up the offer in case if you are wondering.

And here's my unbiased verdict on Keep Gallery Kids.

Pros: 
- Value-for-money.
- Very friendly and accommodating.
- Make-up is done very nicely.

Cons: 
Because the set-up is relatively new, the photographer was not very professional in the sense that she needed to refer to previous clients' poses for inspiration. Further, you would have to tell her exactly what concept that you have in mind.

Some of the un-edited pictures didn't turn out good - for e.g. Bear's face is blocked by the shadow of my face, my skin tone is blended with the background (I am very fair), the lighting is not done properly hence me looking very fair and ghostly pale.

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Truth be told, honestly after seeing the un-edited pictures I was disappointed. And was silently consoling myself that I only had to fork out RM299 (if it was anything more I would have probably freaked out). I mean I kind of knew that the outcome would be somewhat like that judging from the photo session.

My second consolation is that picking out 20 photos was a breeze.

So anyway .... my saving grace was that the staff and the photographer was really polite, pleasant and accommodating. She edited some of the pictures on the spot and assured me that the final outcome after the touch-ups would turn out good. She even went to the extent of emailing me all the chosen pictures for my consent before finalizing them.

And surprise.. surprise! It did turn out good. In fact, it turned out damn good! The photos are so natural and classy - I loved it!

You be the judge! :)

My conclusion is, if you wanna do a maternity portrait just for the fun of it, then just go ahead with Keep Gallery Kids because they are relatively cheap. However, do lower down your expectations. Else, if you really want a "professional" one, then please find another one - Keep Gallery Kids is not for you.

Love;
Mummy Geri

Review : Crafted by Mei

If you could recall some time back, I engaged in the service of Crafted by Mei as well to custom-make a bracelet and two necklaces. Much to my delight I did received my goodies and they are really pretty and up to my expectations!

All of your orders from Mei comes in a packaging like the one below - very sweet indeed. Ideal for gifts you get to save on wrapping! 

And here are the two necklaces which I ordered from Mei. I would say that both turned out very good and exactly what I had in mind.

Original Design

My modified design - wanted an unconventional
colour of dark blue and blood red.

Original Design

My modified design - Honestly you can't see much of a difference
here but I changed the link from snowflake to butterflies.
And the color of the necklace carries hues of light green as well.

 

And the finale is of course the bracelet which was made entirely from scratch - meaning I combine both designs to be made into one. This is to symbolize my pregnancy where I chose the pram as a charm and the color of sapphire/blue represents me and amber/purple represents bear. Both are our birthstone.

Original Design 1 - I wanted the bracelet to be entwined
with beads like the above.

Original Design 2 - With the charm, flower cabochon,
and Swavovski crystal to dangle from the middle.

And here is Mei's creation. It was perfect, simple, and fits the description of what I had in mind. I love it to bits.

Perfect! *heart*

So yes, aside from Diary of a Miniature Enthusiast, you can always opt for Crafted by Mei as well. Both are good albeit having different styles. I guess it is entirely up to the individual's preference. 

For me personally, I prefer Wendy from Diary based from my past experience primarily because she is fast in answering emails, very pleasant and accommodating, and somehow her style suits my taste better.

Of course to be fair I am not saying that Mei is less talented in terms of the creative department, it's just that due to her workload, she can be a tad slow in replying emails. I just find Wendy more engaging. That's all. :)

Love;

Mummy Geri