There must be something about being high up in the air, because it seems that every time we got on a plane, Spud almost immediately started to show some signs of teething! I don’t know what it is with high altitude, but our visit to Singapore last week seemed to have triggered her teething again when we got to Singapore, and then again when we returned to Bangkok.

I reckon that it will be awhile more before more teeth start to show up (she is still with four since her first teething spree about 4 months ago), but the signs – excessive drooling, sensitive gums, not eating well and unexplainable ultra-crankiness are definitely there!

So, yes! I have been off the blog for about a week now because we went back to Singapore to be with my family over Hari Raya. It was Spud’s first Hari Raya, and I could not help but dress her up in the traditional garb in light of the festivities.

Fortunately for us, apart from her teething, she took to the flight quite well this time and did not give us a lot of grief. While she could not keep still for most of the time, Spud surprised us by actually falling asleep as the plane took off!

We were mostly busy throughout the entire trip going here and there and everywhere, and as long as she was not strapped in the car seat for too long or had woken up at the wrong side of the bed, Spud has been quite a pleasant company.

Despite being in a strange place, Spud’s bedtime routine remained unchanged. In fact, I am most thankful that when it was time for her bedtime, she usually seems quite happy to be put to her cot and left to her own devices before she falls asleep. She would usually get cranky if we try to stretch her bedtime to later. When we inevitably delayed her bedtime by about an hour on one of the days as we were on the road, she ended up having a very restless night.

I guess, Spud being a chronic cat-napper in the day is not a bad thing at all if it means that we can put her to bed by 7pm every night for a full night of uninterrupted sleep.

All in all, while we were mostly shattered, it was not a bad trip this time round. I guess it does get easier as Spud gets older. The bonus was that Spud managed to spend some time with her grandparents, and as the days progressed, she took to them quite easily.

My only regret is not being able to “tapao” all the Hari Raya goodies back to Bangkok this time round as we were verging on excess baggage!

I chanced upon this blog written by  “The Good Chinese Mother” when I read the comments section in response to a particular Tiger Mom article from the Guardian.

I have to admit that when I saw her blog address underneath her own comments, I actually gave it a once over. But after reading several more of the comments below hers, the one person who gave a thumbs-up toThe Good Chinese Mother’s site provoked my curiosity.

I went on to kaypo on her site, and found her style of writing quite appealing. There is this sense of honesty, so down to earth and oh-so-earnest kind of feeling to it. It was written with so much love, respect and a holy sort of gentleness only experienced mothers would have. She’s got a very interesting background too!

Reading on, 2 particular posts had me almost teary eyed. Despite the lump in my throat, I ended the read with a smile on my face. I like her parenting style, and deep inside, I wish I could apply her wisdom to Spud later on in life. From her 2 essays on “Do I have to take a bath” and “Why do I have to go to bed now?”, she struck me as someone with the patience of a saint…

So much to learn, and this is one site which has some practical, tried and tested advice which I find extremely useful for our later years in parenting.

I know I just need to work on that thing called patience a little bit more.