The Baby in Bangkok's maiden journey to Paradise (Park)

Baby in Bangkok, Noah Yii gives an account of his first excursion out of his apartment that is NOT to the hospital:

I have been bored at home for the last 10 weeks. Aside of my cot, my room, the toilet for my daily shower and occasionally (now more and more) the living room, I have only gone downstairs twice for strolls, both of which I fell asleep unknowingly, and a few times to the hospital (I don't like the hospital, they stick glass things into my arse and poke me with needles).

It's the second day of Songkran, I gave my indication of obedience with a high-pitched chuckle and YES, Daddy and Mummy finally decided to be brave and brought me to Paradise Park. The journey there was very exciting, because we have not experienced the annual waterfights before. The grownups looked crazy, but the kids looked even crazier! Luckily we were safely protected from the incessant water attacks inside the car, otherwise we would surely need to go back before even arriving at the destination!

Actually, I believe I have been ready to go out long ago. What else can babies like me ask for? We don't need money, we don't have jobs, we can't talk. All we need is a simple cuddle to keep us happy, and we will sleep, poop, eat, sleep, poop and eat again, ALL of which I did at Paradise Park. I realised that Daddy is a popular man, because every shop we went into, the people inside seemed to know him and were very excited that Mummy and I came, as if they had been waiting for us for a long time. I especially enjoyed it when a little girl kept looking at me while I was pretending to sleep in that bright shop that sells a lot of bags.

Daddy says this shop is a Royal Project started by a kind  Princess to help the poor, I want to marry a kind Princess too

See, I looked so relaxed when Daddy was feeding me, I treat the mall like my own backyard

*facepalm* Of all shops they brought me to the tupperware shop, boring or not

Come on man, a picture in front of a row of yellow ATM machines? You can do better than that!

So, as you can see, my maiden leisure trip was not very exciting, but it made Daddy and Mummy quite satisfied because they ate seafood and ice cream, though I think they would have enjoyed it more if I did not  insist they feed me just as their food arrived.

It was more fun when I arrived back home, because I had a good time playing with the results of Mummy's retail therapy:

Look, I'm juggling with my new cartoon face towels!

How about posing with the cat and fish key pouch?

I wonder when I will be going out again. I am sure looking forward to it, but please, no more tupperware shops!

The Stranger looks back at some of his major milestones in Thailand

Hello everyone! Friends in Thailand have mostly switched into their holiday mode, because tomorrow is Songkran! A festival that has a similar significance as our Lunar New Year. For foreigners, it is more popularly known as the Water Festival (泼水节), where everyone will strut to the streets with their bazooka-esque supersoakers and engage in epic waterfights for 3 full days. This is a special experience for me, because though I have been here for 4 calendar years, it is my very FIRST Songkran! I need to thank little Noah for this, as if he was not so small and fragile, I might have left Thailand for a getaway already, since this is the only long holiday we have here in Thailand every year.

I still remember someone asking me, "So what have you achieved during your time in Thailand?" during her visit last month and I was unexpectedly dumbfounded. I do not know whether it was because I felt that my achievements were so obvious that they do not need elaboration, or was it because I was suddenly reminded that what I had done so far is actually not a big deal. During this special time, while my warehouse team is busy taking stock of our goods, I would like to also do a stock-take of my few little milestones/events that happened here in Thailand that made my time here so very special.

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Came to Bangkok alone to open a branch for my main office. It was a really really difficult time man, with the language and cultural barriers. The struggles to hire suitable people, the manual labour moving goods box by box in and out of the shophouse, the late nights in the office, the loneliness, the wandering across a good half of Thailand looking for customers etc.... I really did not know how I managed to survive that period. But oh well, hopefully that's all in the past now.

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Stumbled through the state of emergency, one which involved protesters spilling their own blood around, and culminating in a military crackdown and the sacrifice of a few popular shopping buildings downtown.

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Dipped my hands into streetside vending, making and selling floral floats during the annual Loy Krathong, fully experiencing how locals make a living with nothing much more than a portable table and a pair of skilful hands.

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Witnessed an interesting general election that might have already changed the political landscape of Thailand forever.

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Towards the end of my time at the little shophouse where TES began its operations, I was extremely excited as I opened my doors to my beloved brothers from secondary school. It would be a great pity if they missed this milestone of my life, but they didn't.

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We moved!! From a little shophouse, to a relatively big warehouse. This was probably the very first time I felt genuinely proud of what I managed to achieve in my young career.

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After 2 years, finally moved into a place where I can call my own. It felt good, really good.

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But the challenges will not stop coming. I had to guide my company through the most catastrophic floods Thailand has experienced in the last 50 years. It was a taxing, tumultuous time, but because of God's endless grace, we pulled through largely unscathed.

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This is by a fair mile, the most satisfying milestone that happened here in Bangkok. To have my dear little Noah born safely in Thailand, and to live every single day looking forward to going home to my wife and son. What more can a man ask for?

So happy holidays everyone. Stay safe, don't drive if you over-indulge in alcohol, and remember to ziploc all your valuables before you go out!

The Stranger in Bangkok becomes the world's best Pediatrician!

Updated 6th March 2014

These couple of days, I have been reading many posts related to breastfeeding in a blog train started by Madeline of www.madpsychmum.com. Being the husband to a mummy who is valiantly still breastfeeding our little Noah at 25 months (even though the weaning process has slowly but surely started), many thoughts went through my mind while going through each and every heart-felt post.

I wanted to write something, but the topic is too delicate for me to write anything in full that will be both representative of what I feel and also sensitive enough for everyone to read, because even though I would like to see myself a supportive husband, I will probably never be able to fully understand the mental, emotional and physical strains my wife had to go through to make it happen. 

Then, I tried to recall what happened when this journey started. I remembered my wife struggling between recovering from her C-section operation and trying to produce sufficient milk for Noah, culminating in Noah having to be hospitalised due to jaundice believed to be partially due to insufficient milk intake.

It eventually got better, very much due to my wife's persistence and the encouragements of a new pediatrician and a BF consultant at the hospital, and Noah was soon growing big and strong from his full supply of BM.

All of a sudden, I remembered writing a post dedicated to our pediatrician, which managed to amuse my wife a little when she read it. Some of you might find such doctors slightly inept, but no matter what you think, we are extremely pleased with the positive energy he generates and he will continue to be Noah's doctor for the foreseeable future.

I hope this post adds some light-hearted humour to the blog-train, and serves as a form of encouragement to every couple who is fighting this lifelong battle of parenthood, especially if your child is still a little baby. I would love to hear your comments on whether you feel that my model answers are what I consider, world's best! So here goes:


Noah promoted me from Eddie to Daddy just 2 months ago. In all fairness, I am still a greenhorn, inexperienced and imperfect. However, having changed a Pediatrician and being absolutely amused by our new one, I have completely understood how to become the perfect Pediatrician. Using this standard parents' Q & A, I will show you how....

As parents of tiny babies are usually overworked, tired, depressed and the mother still recovering from the physical trauma of the delivery process, it is absolutely important to begin with a burst of positive energy. I consider this half the battle won, so I greet every parent with my million-dollar smile!

Hello, how are you, oh your baby is so cute!!!!!!!!!!

1. My baby cries a lot, is there any problem?

Looking serious for a while...

Ans. The baby cannot speak, its only form of communication is to cry, so there is no problem!

2. I am having difficulty breastfeeding, can you help me?

Ans. Really? From your baby's weight gain, you are doing a great job! I am not a breastfeeding consultant, I will help you make an appointment with her later. But remember, formula is NOT POISON.

3. I only give my baby milk now, do I need to feed him water?

Ans. Does your baby pee well? Is his pee deep yellow or brown, if no, it's ok! Milk is 80-90% water, if you feed him water, you might as well feed him milk, right?

4. Are there any side-effects with vaccinations?

*forgotten most of the side-effects already

Ans. Of course there are, but PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE! Go back and do your research, ask your friends about the side-effects, you can make your decision the next time.

5. How many time should my baby poop per day?

*forgotten the number already

Ans. When taking care of the baby, look at the baby, don't look at the number. If the baby never poop for 2 days but looks healthy and happy, it's ok! 

6. Is my baby gaining enough weight? How much should he be gaining per month?

*forgotten the number already

Ans. As I said, look at the baby! If he pee ok, poo ok, happy everyday, don't worry! Most important is to have a happy and healthy baby.

7. How many ounces of milk should my baby drink everyday?

Ans. Again, number number number. When taking care of baby, look at the baby, don't look at the number!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that the bombardment of questions have been taken care of, I usually do a very routine check on the baby before sending them off in my usual up-lifting way: 

You are doing a WONDERFUL job, KEEP IT UP!!

No wonder I am the best and most popular Pediatrician in the world.

I dedicate this post for Madeline's initiative to collate stories from heart-felt mums in their BF journeys to encourage others who are facing similar challenges. Click here to read all their excellent stories.