You are here: Home › Blogs

Mommy Bloggers

Amber Chia’s Very First Chinese New Year With Baby Ashton

This is the first year that I am celebrating Chinese New Year in Kuala Lumpur. In fact, there are many FIRSTs for me this Chinese New Year: my first Chinese New Year with my family in Kuala Lumpur (my mum and dad flew all the way here from Tawau); my first Chinese New Year with my baby, Ashton and my husband, Adrian; and also my first Chinese New Year giving Ang Pow.  We had a pretty great time during Chinese New Year – this is certainly a very memorable year indeed!

How did you prepare for Chinese New Year?
My preparations for Chinese New Year were quite simple. I had a budget of RM1,000 for decorating my house. I bought simple Chinese New Year decorative items like lanterns, good luck posters, rabbit figurines, cushions and plum blossoms and it turned out nice.

The first thing I actually did was to buy clothes for my baby, the second thing was to buy things for my house and the last thing was to buy stuff for myself. In the past, I bought new clothes for myself first as I only go back to Tawau, Sabah for Chinese New Year. This Chinese New Year is different for me because I have baby Ashton, my husband and my parents with me. I bought my new clothes at the last minute – a day before Chinese New Year! I believe that this is what mothers do. My son and not me takes first priority now.

What did you do during Chinese New Year?
During Chinese New Year, we went to a lot of places. On the first day though, we were at my father-in-law’s house, you know; with baby Ashton, my husband, Adrian and my parents.

The second day, we went to Port Dickson. We walked on the beach for awhile.  It was pretty hot and the place was quite crowded and happening. I bought an inflatable pool – a small one. Actually, it was an adult float but I changed it to a swimming pool for baby Ashton. He loves it and he now showers in it.

We then drove from Port Dickson to Malacca. We visited the famous Malacca landmark, the A’Famosa Portuguese fortress and the Stadthuys which used to be the official residence for Dutch governors and their officers. We couldn’t resist posing for a picture on the beautiful trishaws. And of course, the tour would not be complete without tasting the famous Malacca chicken rice balls. After a sumptuous chicken rice ball lunch, we browse around Jonker street before heading for home.

On the third day, we went to Sekinchan, which is my father’s hometown, with my baby and my family. Sekinchan is a fishing village in Kuala Selangor. I grew up there before moving to Tawau, Sabah. I was actually born in Ipoh but lived in Sekinchan until I was seven years old.  We visited all our relatives; aunties, uncles, etc, because the last time they saw my baby was when he was a month old. He is now four months plus. He loves to play and talk although I don’t understand his baby talk. Even as I speak now, he is looking at me and wondering what is going on!

On the fifth day, we went to Genting Highlands. It was a bit crowded there. We rode on the cable car and went to the indoor Theme Park. The outdoor Theme Park was too happening with adults for my baby Ashton to be in.

Did Baby Ashton enjoy the indoor Theme Park?
Yes, he likes to see colourful things. He jumped inside, looked around and then looked at me with those eyes that kind of said, “Mummy, where is this?” He looked like he was having fun – laughed a lot.

After that, we went to I-City in Shah Alam because I know he likes to see a lot of lights – colourful things. Even my parents had a great time. It was a family day so we were just walking around.  My husband was also there. We took some photos. It was beautiful and the area is big. For the last part, we went to the Snow Walk because my parents have not experienced winter before. They don’t travel during winter. We went in to the Snow Walk because they use natural ice unlike Genting Highlands where they use chemical ice. Natural ice is safe for my baby. It was cold but fun.

Did they put on warm clothing?
Oh, my baby loves the cold. His expression was like “Wow, wow, wow!” He was looking around - there were lights and it was beautiful!  When we came out, I felt that he was tired already so we headed home.

My mum went home already and yesterday, we just stayed home because we were tired after all the travelling. Last night, I bathed him when we came home and then I cleaned everything up.

Today, my husband just told me that he wants to take Ashton to Mid Valley Megamall to buy some toys for him. Ashton can pick his own toys now, you know. He knows what he likes so it is a good time to take him shopping. There are more and more toys in my house now. He likes the toy called SpongeBob you know. It is yellow in colour. He has many SpongeBobs now.

How does he choose the toys - how do you know he likes the toys?
Okay, the last time I bought the SpongeBob balloon, it was just a simple balloon and he picked it himself. When the air went out, I tried to look for another SpongeBob again but couldn’t find any. So I bought him a yellow colour teddy bear with big eyes. I thought it looks like the sponge box but I was surprised that he could tell that it was not a SpongeBob.

Ohhh… we went to the Thean Hou temple at Robson Heights too. That is where I bought the SpongeBob for him.

So he is very happy - with all the people and the new toys?
You know, he is fun to play with. He knows how to laugh out very loud and is able to recognize people. When I or his Daddy sees him in the morning and say HELLO to him, he laughs and puts out his little hands, wanting us to hug him.

My hair is dropping though. I went to my Gynaecologist yesterday and my Gynaecologist just told me,  “You know, it cannot be avoided, it’s the hormones”.

My baby salivates a lot now. We need to change his clothes frequently. He likes to play with his hands. He sometimes put his whole hand inside his mouth. He is very cute but drools a lot. He can be quite demanding. Sometimes, when he is not happy about something, he goes “WAAAHH…”. He just makes crying-like noises - when you go close to him, you can see there are no tears. But he will cry when he is hungry.

Can he say Mama yet?
No, but when I talk to him like; “How are you?, he goes, “Aaaah…”. He is only four months and one week old, you know. But he knows how to hold his milk bottle a little.  I was surprised though that he can actually hold his milk bottle. However, he is not quite strong enough so sometimes you have to give him support. It is amazing that he wants to hold his own bottle!

I enjoy motherhood - it is a lot of joy and bliss. It is pretty fun but sometimes, it is a bit tiring but when I see him, I will forget everything. I am lucky to have my husband and maid to help me. Sometimes when I am tired and he wants to play some more, I just pass him to them.

One thing I realized is he likes to look in the mirror. He likes to play with babies. When he sees other babies, he wants to get closer and play with them. I still remember this occasion at my relative’s house on the third day of Chinese New Year. My cousin sister has a baby girl who is about 12 months old. One minute, we were holding our babies and the next, Ashton was pulling the baby girl towards him. It was just s so funny - he fell forward, kissed the baby girl and his saliva was all over her face! The baby girl didn’t like that and she was trying to push him away whilst he was trying to hug and kiss her some more. In the end, they both started crying.

Did you manage to catch this on camera?
No, but we took a photo with the baby girl. She has huge eyes. I think my baby likes big eyes because all the toys that he likes have big eyes. So I think he must like stuff with big eyes. Whatever has big eyes, he loves them, even toys, even humans. And he likes to play with babies. Sometimes, when there is no other baby in my house, I just put him in front of the mirror and he would look in the mirror and play with his own image – smiling cheeky smiles.

He is so much fun. I love him – I feel like so “geram”. I just want to hug and kiss him all the time. I really enjoy motherhood!

Most popular blog entries at Mamababyworld.com

Comments:

Back to the main page

TOP