Weekend

An overdue post on what we did during the weekend.

Gone back to In-laws place on Friday night, because in-laws having the Chinese 7th month prayer on Saturday. I’m not too sure if this is a Baba Nyonya tradition on the the way they pray during the chinese 7th month (the ghost month), I know for Hokkien and Cantonese they will usually pray on the road side on the 14th or 15th day of the 7th month of lunar calender by burning jossticks, candles and offering foods to the “hou heng dai/ho hia di” (good brothers)

The prayer we held over the weekend is one of the 4 main prayers throughout the year for my in-laws. Where an altar is set up in the middle of the living room, MIL will cook up a feast as offering. (Didn’t take much pictures..plain lazy)

Besides MIL’s homecooked Nyonya dishes, there were also fruits and Nyonya kuihs as offering. Chinese tea and brandy were part of the offerings too.

Here’s what my MIL cooked

• Pong Teh
• Curry Chicken
• Chap Chye
• Braised sea cucumber with mushroom and dried scallop
• Fried hokkien mee
• Deep Fried Prawns
• Pig intestine soup with gingko nuts and dried scallop.

The cooking is sumptious, with lots of meat/pork…it’s a ‘treat’ to the ancestor, hence cannot be too ’stingy’ according to my MIL. Started the prayer at about 11.30 when all the food is served on the altar. FIL tossed 2 coins to invite the ancestor for the feast. (The coins will indicate if the ancestors/guests has arrived) After the “guest” had arrived, all the family members would have to offer josstick. After about an hour, FIL would tossed the coins again to see if the “guests” has done with the meal and happy with it and left. After the coins indicated that “they” have done, gold paper/hell gold bar were burn together with a pinch of foods from each offering bowl. Just a simple prayer. One thing I learn this time from MIL is that the number of offering food bowl has to go in the number of 4, 8, 12,16…it cannot be of any numbers in between. So we have 8 rice bowls with 8 tea cups and liquor cups and 4 main bowls for the offering, the rest of the food will be side accompaniment in other smaller plates. Besides that before the food is served on the altar, need to garnish it with fried scallots and spring onions. (The rules of the prayer I suppose)

After the feast to the death…we had a feast for ourself with these sumptious cooking of MIL. SIL#1 invited a few friends over to join us for lunch.

SIL#1’s a free thinker, SIL#2’s Catholic and Hubby and me are Buddhist. But we never resist this tradition of my in-laws. Even for SIL#2, as a Catholic, she did not resist on holding a josstick to offer a prayer to the deadly and she ate the food that has been offered in the prayer. I know surely there are alot of Christians who are quite against the thought of this. That’s why I always think that Catholics are more open minded and have more tolerance towards the other religious practices.

After lunch, we went out for shopping. Met up with my college mates at Subang Parade, havent seen them for ages.

 (oops..only got a pix of John and WH in my camera, dont have pics of YC)

Initially wanted to get the free concert ticket from YC, but seeing that the kids were still not well, so I gave up the chance of going to see my idol Wakin perform at Setia Alam on Saturday night.

Throughout the whole weekend, JS was a glum. Not too sure why she wasn’t in her chatty mood. WH was ok, and he tagged along with John quite well eventhough they haven’t met before.

Joy Of Breastfeeding Toddler

Thanks to MMB, I have managed to breastfeed WH for 21 months now and still going strong and no sign of him weaning just yet.

I have exclusively breastfeed him for a year and introduced solid to him at 6 months. He started taking bottle formula at 1 year (without much problem) and is having both formula milk and breastmilk now. I’m proud of my achivement. I enjoyed most of the moment when having him close to my heart.

I no longer have to breastfeed WH in public. Once we were out, he’s just too busy with his surounding. I only need to nurse him in the car

He knows how to ask for nen nen and differentiate nen nen and milk, he’s quite certain of his choice at different time of the day. If he wants milk, means he really drink from the formula from the bottle eventhout I offer him nen nen

When I’m working in front of the PC, he knows how to come and help himself. No longer need to carry him on my lap, by standing and me sitting continue to work, he can help himself. He would nurse at one side, run around the chair and help himself at another breast. Sometimes when he’s playing, and suddenly he feel “ketagih”, he would come to me for his addiction and runaway, continue with his play after a few minutes of sastifaction.

He knows how to alter from one side of the breast to another side after nursed for too long at one side of the breast. He demand to nurse on the side he’s comfortable in.

He can say “nen nen please” and he knows how to pull down my shirt after he’s down.

He sayang me when I’m nursing him by patting my chest.

It’s the most easiest way to sooth him when he’s crying. Immediately he will stop crying even after a hard fall or a fight with JS.

He’s addicted to McB. He can nurse for a few minutes, then went off to play and come back again to be nursed and it repeats over and over again for a good 1/2 hour, and it’s so fun to see..

It’s the most easiet way to put him to sleep.

I love the bonding so much though sometimes I wish the whole breastfeeding thingy can end (when the pulling and tucking starts to get uncomfortable, when WH moves alot, kicking me when nursing). Don’t know for how long more I will breastfeed him, I’ve not attempt to wean him yet. It’s my habit to ask me many times daily “WH, you want nen nen?” ”WH, come mummy give nen nen”…. I feel something missing from me if I don’t nurse him. Old habits dies hard….

I wonder if I would ever get the chance to tandem nurse WH and another baby….maybe by that time he will be weaned from McB already….. just wonder.