So familiar, so far away

Time seems to pass within just a heartbeat, and it's been almost 8 years since I was there.

Browsing through the website of worldneighborhood and looking at some pictures of Tama Plaza in Yokohama bring back a lot of sweet memories of being together with loved ones. 
 

 Picture credits: http://worldneighborhoods.com

The above is a familiar sight indeed.  Of all the pictures I saw on the said site, this is one I remember most lucidly.   One thing I regret is that I did not have a digital camera of my own at that time, or else I might have captured many many photographs for the sake of memory whenever I miss the places.

Down memory lane

During the 3-weeks holiday, I used to go with my dear grand-aunt to the shops around Tama Plaza, I recall seeing Tsutaya across the street.  I've been to this Tsutaya once when my grand-aunt wanted to rent the drama video - back in 2005 video cassettes were still widely-used until DVDs took over almost fully nowadays.

From what I've gathered, the area surrounding Tama Plaza had undergone tremendous transformation since my pioneer trip there, especially the rail station.   Speaking of which, it reminds me of my first experience with the local rail to Shibuya (which line, I don't remember...), as well as the almost daily window-shopping at the nearby Tokyu and Ito Yokado. 

I used to write about the 2005 summer holiday in my old Friendster blog, which had since been demolished after Friendster changed boss.    

Food for my kid - Part 1

An update on what’s currently in progress, many things have changed since my last post.

I started solid food for once a day on my kid only recently, when the 6 months corrected age was finally attained.  

Is it easy or difficult?

The beginning was quite a nightmare , until we arrived at what’s just right after many sessions of trial-and-error.   

Gave him cereal and he’d scream before he finally agreed to eat.  Gave him porridge and he’d get impatient.  Gave him porridge with carrot and he’d scream.  Gave him Heinz Apple puree and he’d reject.  According to Alvin's uncle a.k.a. my brother, Heinz apple is sour.  

Rafferty Garden’s Organic Baby Rice (made for 4 months onwards) mixed with his usual formula was his first food.  Rafferty is ideal as one of baby’s first food because it has only a short list of ingredients comprising brown rice, electrolyte iron, and sunflower lecithin. 

The food trial was soon followed by rice-porridge with ikan bilis, and then with carrots (but I suspect he dislikes carrots because he refused porridge with carrot), and Nestle Cerelac (Rice).   

Yes or no, and everything in moderation

Speaking of Cerelac, I was initially torn between yes and no because I was a little concerned about its sweetness.  Sucrose is one of the ingredients of Cerelac, besides rice, a long list of other fortifications.

But after a second thought, I conclude that it’s okay to occasionally give a little Cerelac on top of other food stuff.  In any diet, moderation should be the practice.

1-day 1-fruit

Besides one cereal-based meal per day, I have recently started on the “1-day, 1-fruit / vegetable” plan.   This is to introduce him to fibre-rich food which is crucial for one who’s like me (if you have seen one of my earlier notes, my kid is just like me when it comes to irregular BO).  

If opportunity permits, I would like to bring in a larger variety of fruits.  However, my selection is contemplated to be a little limited because I do not have a food processor and think it may not be viable to buy one to be used for maybe just 2 months, and then probably never again. 

No matter how hard, persistence is crucial in introducing food to a baby and resistance should not be an excuse for us to slack. 

 Papaya, pureed with a spoon. 

Despite my phobia in giving solid food, I'm pleasantly surprised that Alvin does not resist the papaya offered, probably he loves it just like mommy, hehehe!   

But Alvin, however much in common you have with me, if God permits, please do better in life than me...