Anders in his new Liverpool kit

Anders, aged 10+ months in his new LFC kit

Oops.

The kit isn't as big as I thought it would be.   Maybe I should have bought another size up.

Here is my little Anders, looking absolutely fabulous in his kit.  But then again, it IS an LFC kit so how can anyone not look fabulous in it!  My two sons suit the red of Liverpool, they do.

Anders' new LFC kit

Anders' new LFC kit, Mar 2014

When Connor was born, friends in Scotland sent us a baby Liverpool FC kit.  Maybe it's hard for you to understand if you're not a footie fan but I absolutely loved seeing my son wearing the kit.  Even more so when he was posing with a football.   At that time, there was a huge hoo-haa on fan forums regarding the lack of local boys in our club and I had daydreams of my son (who's half-Liverpudlian) being one of the "local boys" in the starting eleven one day. 

When Anders came along, I didn't really think about buying him his own LFC kit.  After all, the one Connor wore still looked brand new and it fitted our Anders perfectly now.  I had learnt the hard way that infants grow out of clothing very very quickly and it's best to not spend a fortune on their clothes quite yet.

But then I spied this kit at 50% off.  The bargain hunter and Liverpool fan in me could not resist.  I pulled out the credit card right away and bought the kit.  

It arrived last week, all shiny and new and I was SO pleased with it.  Poor Anders.... being the younger child, he's always been in hand-me-downs and we've barely bought anything for him that's all his.  

Until this kit arrived.  This is HIS.  It's all new, never been worn and it's my gift to my younger son, one for him to keep and maybe pass on to his own son.  

I can't wait for him to grow big enough to fit this kit.  It says on the label 12-18 months but the sizing is so generous, it looks like it can fit a 2yo easily.  I don't mind.... happy to have clothing last him as long as possible!

You'll never walk alone, my little Anders.

For the Liverpool FC fans

Perfect for us Liverpool FC family, no?

Click HERE to buy.

Disclaimer:  I'm not the one selling it.  But I am thinking of buying it for my son(s)!

Connor's old baby stuff

A few weeks ago, I sorted out all of Connor's old baby clothing and washed those that were sized 0-6 months to put away in the baby's room.

I took so long sorting them out because so many pieces held such lovely memories for me.  Aw look, there's that little T-shirt we bought him when we were on holiday in Vancouver and I was 22 weeks pregnant.  We bought a little black Canadian bear to go with it too.

And his Liverpool FC rompers we got from the club shop when we visited my in-laws when I was 6 months pregnant.  He wore them home from the hospital when he was 4 days old.  Look how tiny they are.

And there's that lovely set from Pumpkin Patch that Auntie PB bought him and I remember he was 8 weeks old when he wore it and he was so cute while I looked like complete shit because I had so little sleep.  I got them all still - the orange t-shirt, the shorts, the blankie, the cute tiny little socky-wockys.

That's the cheap Matalan joggers we got him in UK the time he'd barfed and pooed over all his clothes and I ran out of bottoms.  

His first proper Liverpool kit from Uncle Raymond and Auntie Jackie, sent all the way to our home in Jakarta.  The label said 3-6 months so I put him into them when he was 5 months old and the shorts ended about halfway down his shins.  He ended up wearing them till he was 14 months old and could stand and kick a ball.

Dungarees his aunt sent.

Super Gap Hawaiian shirt that Mummy scored at a sale in Liverpool One.

The Mothercare set Por-por and Gong-gong got him.

Each time I saw a piece that triggered a memory for me, I would smile and sit a while and think back to when he was at that age and think about the friends and family who bought those pieces.  A lot of the pieces looked as good as new still and Number Two will get a lot of wear out of them.

So while it looks like poor little Number Two will be wearing old clothes, he's really going to be wearing a whole lot of memories and making some new ones for Mummy.

I finally have a winning bid on eBay!

Boy, am I a newbie or what.  LOL  

I've just managed to win a bid on a baby sleeping bag on eBay!  

Number Two will be using most of Connor's old baby things but what we lack is baby things for the cold weather when Number Two is around 6 months old.  Unlike Connor who spent his babyhood in the tropics, Number Two will need lightweight sleep bags for summer and heavier ones for winter.

As the cold snap is usually over by March, I didn't see the point of buying everything brand new as I know from experience how quickly babies can grow in a few months.  And I also know from experience that used baby gear can be perfectly fine. 

So for Number Two's cold weather gear, I've been stalking various pieces on eBay, without much success I must say as I'm new to this bidding thing and didn't even realise there's such a thing as automatic bidding until yesterday.  Duh.

But today I was there at the right time and at the right place and managed to score a 2.5 tog sleep bag for the princely sum of £5.  A brand new sleep bag costs about twice the price.  The branded stuff like Grobag can cost up to £20+ per bag so that's quite a bit of saving considering I have to buy a few of those sleep bags for winter, not just one.

Back to eBay... wish me luck!

Baby Gear: Spare tyre tubes for your Phil & Ted's Vibe

We had a puncture in our Phil & Ted's recently and Dear Hubby took the tyre to a bike shop in Desa Sri Hartamas. The shop told him that no one in Malaysia carries the correctly sized inner tube required for the tyre. All they could do was patch it up and that would have to do till we got the correct inner tubes from either UK or NZ.

We both thought it was a bit silly that no bike shop in this whole country had inner tubes that size. Enquiries at local baby shops and Mothercare turned up nothing, they don't carry spares for the tubes.

Luckily there is a bike shop in Bangsar that carries them. They cost RM16 each (approximately 3++ quid) from the shop. I got our tyre fixed and bought a spare tube to keep at home. I forgot the name of the bike shop but they are on Jalan Telawi in Bangsar and they are sandwiched in between the party supplies shop at the corner of the block and the pet shop. If you are coming from Bangsar Village 2, just exit at the Guess exit, cross the road and walk down the back alley till you come to the row of shops facing the row of houses on Jalan Telawi.

Buying a stroller: Some points to consider

Since my friend and soon-to-be yummy mummy Shortcake is expecting, I've been thinking back about all those things I wish I knew before I bought some baby stuff. I know this is a little too late for you, Shortcake but I hope it'll come in useful for Baby Number Two! ;)

Buying a stroller is far more confusing than signing up to a telco plan. Some of you Malaysians may remember that fantastic Digi phone ad on confusing phone plans (Plan A got this, Plan B got that... etc etc... chee mou?) and buying a stroller is just like that.

What you should really do is look at your lifestyle, your space constraints, your budget and then look at the strollers that fit those criteria. Not start off with "Oh, should I get a Maclaren or a Quinny?" and work backwards from there, which was what I did.

Ask yourself:
- Do you take your baby out a lot alone? Or just on the weekends with the hubby? I liked our old stroller because it was light and easy for me to handle since I was usually alone with Connor.
- Do you take your baby out to the parks a lot? You might need something that can handle uneven ground. If all the walking you do is confined to the malls, you don't need a stroller that has those fancy pneumatic wheels.
- Do your grocery shopping with the baby? Then you'll appreciate a sturdy stroller with a large shopping basket. Ever tried hanging shopping bags on the stroller handle, taking your baby out to put him in the car seat and having all your shopping and stroller tip over? I haven't either but I saw it happen right in front of me. Try retrieving that your tins from under the car. Not fun.
- Is your car boot big enough for your stroller? Funny how this doesn't quite hit some people until AFTER they buy the stroller. If your boot space < stroller + shopping + bags, then either buy a bigger car or buy a smaller stroller.
- Can you handle the stroller? Not talking about just wheeling it around but you have to remember you're going to be folding/unfolding and lifting it into the car boot for a long time to come. I am besar dan sihat but I can imagine a very slight, petite mum might have probs with our current stroller.
- Do you have space in the house for the stroller? A question to consider especially if you live in a condo. Toddler + stroller = Wow, Mummy this is the BIGGEST push toy I've ever had! Wheee!!! *crash!*
- A question some people never ask themselves: Is the stroller big enough for your baby? The Combi was supposed to last Connor till he's 2yo but he outgrew that before he turned one and Connor's not even big.
- Does it have the Zzz Factor? If it does, yay! Add 2 more hours to your shopping time! Shopping + Sleeping toddler = maxed out credit card


Our first stroller was a Combi travel system (ie stroller +car seat). I picked a travel system because we travel mostly by car. All we had to do once we arrived at our destination was to pick up the car seat, with Connor usually still asleep in it, and click it on the stroller frame. Ta-dah! Connor's sleep was undisturbed and I could shop in peace.

Once he outgrew the Combi, we bought a Phil & Ted's Vibe. Why?
- Safe and comfy for Connor
- Has some Zzz Factor. Crucial because I can only shop for clothes when he's asleep. He's male. Hates clothing stores.
- BIG basket underneath to stash all my grocery shopping and diaper bag. Great because I'm usually alone with Connor and this means I don't have to haul all the bags myself.
- Very sturdy, can't see it tipping over. Never tried though!
- Height-adjustable handle. Very useful because there is an 8" difference in height between Mummy and Daddy.
- Very easy to maneuver despite its size
- Doesn't rattle the heck out of Connor when I take him off-road to the park
- On SALE! Teehee... got it like 40% off. Otherwise I never would have considered it.
- The company is called Phil & Ted's Most Excellent Buggy Company. Dude, how la to not buy from a company with such a good sense of humour!
- For those of you who care, it is not bad in the stylo-mylo stakes. It's not something high up on my list though otherwise I would have plumped for the Stokke Xplory.

In other words, it fitted our lifestyle, our budget (post-sale price), our baby and we had the space for it.

Cons: Bulky, have to always carry my bicycle pump around for the pneumatic wheels, had to give up buying a Suzuki Swift because cannot masuk boot (I like driving small cars), harness a bit fiddly, bloody expensive without sale.


I don't really bother with the accessories because I don't use them. Stuff like the raincover, sunshade... don't meet a lot of mums in KL who wheel their babes out and about in the tropical heat and rains. One accessory I found really useful is the fan. It's got foam blades so it doesn't hurt the little one and makes a lot of sense in our weather. Another good one to get is the bottle holder. Everything else goes into the stroller basket.

So before you buy your stroller, think about some of the questions I've listed above. I've asked myself some of those questions, some were asked by fellow newbie mums. Take your list of answers into the store when you're shopping.

Happy shopping!