Hiro’s 4th Month

Hiro is turning 5 months old soon, and I just want to write down the growth of his 4th month.  It was a big one.

He started to dribble a lot, chew on his fingers and fists, wanting to stand up and making steps forward (while being held), curious about everything and try to put everything into his mouth, show an interest in what we eat, become more mobile, and now he can roll-over both from back to tummy and tummy to back!  All of them happened in this 4th month.

His rash was diagnosed to be “not easy one” by GP and it will take time to disappear.  Now we have 3 kinds of cream for him, mild to strong, and I use them according to his skin condition everyday.  When the rash was very severe, Hiro had to take antibiotics and it was pink-coloured liquid.  I gave it to him with a syringe, and it was his first time to drink (?) something sweet other than milk.  I don’t know if it’s because of it, but since then his interest in what we (D and I) eat became obvious.  He follows our movement with eyes, and stares at the food until we put it into our mouths.  I think he is ready to eat some solid!  I’m planning to start with apple juice, then rice cereal or something.

By the way, I’ve been feeling guilty….  It’s been busy weeks for me, and I think that I’m not playing with him enough.  I sometimes have to let him cry to do my things, and watching and hearing him crying makes me feel bad.  He doesn’t stop crying – even though his voice becomes sound-less and his face turns to super red.  Hmmm…..   Other mums I know seem to concentrate on their babies more.  I also wanted to do things like taking him to play group every week and taking him for swimming (as I mentioned before), but I haven’t done it.  I decided to not go to the play group we visited, because of few reasons.  I was going to call-up other places, but I haven’t.  We also missed joining on this term of swimming class, so we’ll need to wait until next year (because the next term will start in Oct and we will soon have to go to Japan then).

Writing these things is making me think about it clearly, actually.  Ok, I will call-up some play groups next week and have a visit.  And, Hiro and I are taking swimming class when we come back from Japan, next year.  It might be a better thing to do considering his skin problem.

Oh, and, we are (probably) flying to Jakarta before we go to Japan, actually.  D is going to JK to extend his ID thing around Oct, and I was originally going to stay here with Hiro, but I’ve changed my mind (because I’m blood type AB).  It will be a short trip – not longer than 1 week.  We can practice taking him on a plane before we take long flights to Japan.  And also, I’m dying to get some massage!!!!

Hmmmm, play group, flight to JK, flight to Japan, swimming class…..  I think Hiro will be 1 year old before I know it.

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A Short Trip to Mandurah Cicerello’s

It wasn’t a perfect day to go sightseeing on Monday as it was raining, but we did.  We took D’s parents to Mandurah just to have lunch and walk around.  …Well, we couldn’t really walk around much because it started to rain pretty hard while we arrived.

We went to Cicerello’s to have Fish n Chips.  The interior of this restaurant is cute –  like a log house.  There is a fish tank just like the one in Fremantle, but smaller.

We ordered 2 senior deals – which comes with seafood chowder soup, 1 fish and chips, coffee (black or flat white), and a slice of black forrest cake -, and 2 seafood baskets to share.

The presentation of the dishes was much better than Fremantle restaurant.  The tartar sauce came in a oyster shell.  The coleslaw salad tasted better and fresher too.

The hot soup was served straight away  It was creamy, tasty, and a great body-warmer!

I was quite hungry when we arrived there, but these fried stuff made me full quickly and D had to finish most of the food.  Well, he was happy to do so anyway.

The coffee was nice too.  While eating I had to warm up milk for Hiro, and asked a mug of hot water from the coffee counter.  The staffs were all friendly.

Hiro seemed to enjoy watching the fishes.

Afterwards we headed to Mandurah Centro shopping centre to walk around.  It’s shame that it was raining.  Walking on Mandurah Terrace would be much better!

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Hiro’s First Night Out

The other night I was invited for dinner with in-laws to Tony Romas on Hay street.  At first I didn’t want to go, because I’ve been doing “night time routine” for Hiro for almost 5 months now and didn’t want to mess it up.  He normally takes bath around 6pm then feeds, and goes to bed around 7pm.  But, sisters were saying “it should be ok~” , and I know I should be doing some trials of taking him out at night as our flight with Cathay Pacific is midnight.  So we all went out.

Before we go, I searched the topic on internet and read someone saying “Don’t do it! My baby didn’t sleep afterwards at all and it was a nightmare”.  Hmmmm….  bit scary, but we should try it anyway!  The dinner booking was at 18:30, so we bathed him around 17:30 and fed him until he fell asleep.

When I put him in a capsule he woke up, but stayed very quiet and looked drowsy.  He fell asleep in the car. Yey

At Tony Romas, we started with few entrees : garlic bread and onion loaves.

I was very hungry that night, and ordered regular-size St Louis Rib (pork ribs with choice of sauce : Original, Carolina Honeys, Blue Ridge Smokies or Tony Roma’s Red Hots – I had Carolina Honeys). D ordered St Louis Sampler (a dozen of ribs with all the 4 sauces) .  Boy, it was a big portion!

I did finish mine, and helped eating few ribs from D’s plate too.

Hiro stayed asleep while we were dining.  Everyone was asking “Is there really a baby in the stroller?!  Maybe you left him in the cot in the house!.”  But when we were about to leave the restaurant, he started moving and opened his eyes.  In-laws started talking to him, so he was completely awake when we put him in the car.  ….. Screaming and screaming…  He didn’t shut up…  Because he was screaming so hard, his voice started to be dried and high-tone.  Poor baby…

When we got home, I quickly took him out from the capsule and held him in his cot room.  He then fell asleep, and didn’t wake up when I put him on the cot.  He stayed sleep until 2 am!

His routine went back to normal from the next day, and he’s been good.  I’m glad to know that taking him out at night won’t mess up the routine we’ve established.  Crying hard  part (because he was exhausted and sleepy) is a bit of worry to me, but I’ll think about what I can do about it before out flight.  I heard a baby hammock will do good job on the plane.

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Mc VALUE Lunch Deals

Writing about fast food made me want to eat some burger!

Since McDonald’s is doing the Mc Value Lunch Deals, I run to the nearest McDonald’s to get the deal.  As I thought, there’re so many people …. at the drive-thru and inside the store.

There’re 6 menu to chose from.  I got myself Grand Angus Deal

I hadn’t had burger for awhile…. It made me so full!

Gochiso-sama-deshita

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Fast Food and Slow Food

“Fast food or slow food?”  When I ask this question, most people give me definite answer. Some people just love getting fast foods while others  enjoy the quality of slow foods.

Me, I’m actually bit of both. Because of being blood type AB and star sign Pisces (post – by the way, thanks to people who left comments on this post and are the same blood type and star sign as me or similar), I have many likes and dislikes, and they don’t always stay the same. One day I get craving for a cheese burger and French fries, and run to one of the fast food chain and enjoy the junk food. Next day, I feel like appreciating the nature and eco-friendly food, and enjoy the whole process of cooking and dining.

When you imagine fast food, the first thing that pops into your head is probably burgers or fried chickens.  In Japan, there are also other types of fast food, such as gyu-don (beef donburi), onigiri (rice balls), and udon noodles.

One of the images of fast foods is being unhealthy, but yes, I admit it. I love burgers too.  McDonald’s, Mos Burger, Lotteria, Burger King…  These burger chains in Japan sells wafu menu (Japanese-style menu) along with standard burgers and side menu, and they are irresistible …  Teriyaki burger, katsu burger, rice burger…  they all taste so good.

And, the good side of fast food is that they are usually cheap, and often offer discount coupons.  Go to Mcdonalds, Lotteria and Mister Donut websites.  You can easily download the coupons and use them straight away.

But, after awhile I start to miss those foods that are made with care and from fresh ingredients.  Often they are Japanese food (wa-shoku).

Cooking brown rice and enjoying it with simple side dishes and miso soup.  Making dashi stock and cooking dashi-maki tamago with it. Whole process of cooking is enjoyable, and I can appreciate the food.

I don’t know which one I like better.  I can’t chose!  But, both fast food and slow food give me vitality, happiness, and the power that I can start a day with smile!

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