Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri!

Atuk, Nenek and Cucus, all 6 of them

Selamat Hari Raya AidilFitri to all celebrating! Maaf Zahir dan Batin dari kami sekeluarga.

Potty Training

When a school friend succesfully potty trained her daughter at age almost 2 years, I decided it's Shaqeel's time to be potty trained as well. I have put it off for awhile now but he is going to be 3 in 2 months time, I guess I can't delay it any longer.

So, one Friday, I told Shaqeel you are a big boy, there is no need to be wearing diapers anymore, tell me if you want to poo/pee. I also brought him to the toilet (I bought the potty seat at IKEA) every hour to do his business and constantly ask him if he feels the need to relieve himself.

It surprisingly went without a hitch. So proud of my baby!

Of course, on the first day there were 2 accidents, 1 near-miss incident and 4 underpants change in 5 hours...but all in all, it was not a stressful experience. I think the fact that he is almost 3 makes a difference. He understands things. However, I still put him on diapers at night, can't risk having the mattress wet.

Perhentian Island...

We just came back from Perhentian Island! For the uninitiated, it is located off Trengganu where it hosts the best beaches in Malaysia. Seriously, the island is so beautiful, no words can do justice...

We flew with Airasia to Kota Bharu. Shaqeel was so excited and kept exclaiming "Airplane! Airplane!" Kota Baru airport to the jetty takes about 1 hour by taxi and from the jetty to Perhentian Besar takes about 35minutes. It's a big boat so it's not bumpy at all.

We stayed at Tunabay Resort at Perhentian Besar. Very child friendly resort, 

clean chalet and yummy but pricey food (my only gripe), but what do you expect huh. They need to transport the ingredients by boat from mainland, but how come the seafood is expensive too? 

So so beautiful!

Among the many reasons why I am in love with this resort is because of the corals right at the beach. You don't have to go on a snorkeling trip to enjoy the corals, it's right at your doorstep! The resort is located beside the marine park, so you can see so many colourful fish and corals.

Sighhhh I am so in love with the island...

Shaqeel did not like the water so much and was very clingy to Emil. I really need to send him for swimming lessons soon.

Conclusion, BEST GILA!

Shaqeel's Own Room

Please pardon the flowers, I inherited that

Since the day Shaqeel was born, he has always 90% of the time, slept with us on our bed in our room, in between us. 3 of us, squeezed together, mostly me being squeezed, thank you very much. After much deliberation, (almost 2 months!), I decided that the time has come, the time for Shaqeel to be an independent boy (haha!). Furthermore, from what I read in parenting websites, the best time to separate a child from parent's bed, or to upgrade from cot to bed, is between 2.5 years to 3 years old. Perfect!

And so it began the training for Shaqeel to sleep on his own bed, in his own room...

In preparation, I bought a single bed with a giraffe bed sheet and rearranged the room to make way for the bed. Below is a summary of what has happened so far, bear in mind he has slept through the night since he was 1yr3mo;

Environment: Toilet door ajar, toilet light on, room light off, room door ajar, corridor light on, standing fan volume 1.

Day 1: Put him in bed at 930pm, he gladly climbed up, although I need to lie with him, else he won't sleep. Once he was asleep, I went out of the room (about 1015pm). He woke up at 230am crying, I went to lie with him until he fell asleep, then I left the room (250am). Woke up again at 630am, I did the same until he fell asleep at 645am. Woke up for the day at 8am.

Day 2: Put him in bed at 10pm, no resistance, lie with him. Woke up at 430am, I went and lie with him, then crept out of bed at 450am. He woke up at 7am, climbed up my bed and asked me to "tepi, tepi", he wants to sleep with me. OK.

Day 3: Put him in bed, woke up at 4am, same thing. Woke up for the day at 740am.

Day 4: Put him in bed, woke up at 415am, same thing, I lied with him until he fell asleep.

Day 5: Put him in bed, woke up at 430am, same thing.

So can you see any pattern here? He wakes up at 4 to 430 every morning, crying and looking for me, I had to lie with him until he fell asleep.

Tell me oh mothers who have succeeded, how do I break this? Any tips? Am I doing the right thing by lying down with him until he sleeps?

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone celebrating!

May this dragon year bring all of you good health and abundance wealth!

p/s: Shaqeel in his dragon samfu we bought in Beijing. The picture was taken at Chey's house during her CNY open house.