Our first holiday after Kaelyn's arrival

David and I love travelling and we used to travel overseas once or twice a year. We no longer enjoy this mobility now that our angel is here. Bringing her out for a few hours of shopping is already a challenge, I didnt even dare to think of bringing her overseas with us. Our girl is on breast milk but she does not like to latch on direct. So I had to lug my expressed milk in a cooler bag, hot water bottle and my pump machine whenever we bring her out. An afternoon out is like going for an overseas trip, in terms of the number of bags we have to carry.

We finally managed to get away as a family a few days back, just a week before I go back to work. Although it was only a 3D2N at Sentosa, I enjoy the trip very much. And it was really a great achievement. We decided on Sentosa (over the other alternatives like Bintan and Pulau Ubin) because if the little gal decides to make a big fuss, we are still able to "deposit" her with parents and enjoy the rest of the holiday as a couple. But thankfully, she was very well behaved throughout the trip..

Preparation : -

It took me 2 days to pack for the trip - milk bottles, detergent, cleaning sponge, hot water bottle, breast pump, cooler bag, sterilising tablets, diapers, baby's clothes, bibs, handkerchiefs, towels, blankets, beansprout pillow, hat, mittens, booties, baby carrier, toys, milk, baby bather etc etc..... Plus our clothes, swimming gear, track shoes etc etc... Gosh, by the time I get to the end of the list, I had 1 huge suitcase (which David and I used for our honeymoon to NZ for 9 days), 3 haversacks and 2 paper bags. I almost wanted to bring the play pen too! But good thing we found out Rasa Sentosa can provide a baby cot. Phew!

Kaelyn all dressed up for the trip

Day 1 : -
Checked into Rasa Sentosa in the early afternoon. We got a room with pool view so that if we have to stay in the hotel for whatever reason, we still have something to look at. Although the weather was not very good, we were able to go for a swim while the helper and Kaelyn stayed in the room and watched us from the balcony. Later in the evening, we watched the "Songs of the Sea" performance, a combination of musical fountain, laser and fireworks displays. Our gal was mesmerised by the performance and even 'sang' along out loud throughout. It was really funny.

The view from our room

Songs of the Sea musical fountain display and the souvenir shop

Day 2 : -
Travelled around on the beach tram. Kaelyn was complaining throughout because of the heat. Visited the Underwater world with Kaelyn asleep in my sarong. We decided to wake her up in the tunnel so that she can at least look at some fishes and take photos before we leave. We got upgraded to a room with seaview because we complained of the noise coming from the renovation works just above our poolview room.

A happy baby in her new baby cot
A family picture at the Underwater World

Views from our upgraded room

Day 3 : -
Papa brought Kaelyn for a walk along the beach and to look at monkeys and birds while Mama was busily pumping away. Then we all headed to the Dolphin lagoon for the pink dolphin performance. After that, it was home sweet home.

Watching the dolphin performance at the Dolphin Lagoon

Although most the time was spent on feeding Kaelyn, bathing her, waiting for her to wake up from her nap in the baby cot, and waiting for Mama to pump, it was nevertheless a good and enjoyable trip. In the past, we would have visited a lot more places but with Kaelyn around, I have significantly lowered my expectations. I told David before the trip that we should only target 1 attraction a day, which was what we have achieved. And the sea view was a bonus!