Merry Xmas!

Christmas had never been more meaning and joyous than this year. Thank Lord for this little bundle of joy he gave us, my life had never been happier.

Merry Christmas everyone!

ps: not bad eh, Im getting pretty good at this now, I can feed and shop together to save time!

Babylegs

Wearing her Babylegs for the 1st time. Isnt she adorable in those? Got her 4 pairs of diff colors & design and I think there will be more to come! Im addicted to Babylegs! They are absolutely useful and convenient, not to mention, jazzes up any plain outfit!

ps: I didnt staged the 2nd pic where she did the superman pose!

Baby in Vivocity

We used to hate gg out during the weekends, for everywhere is jam packed with ppl. Not to mention the horrible wait to get into full carparks.
However, life changed(in everyway) with Aralyn. Now, we look forward to the weekends, so that we can bring her go gaigai! She have always been a good babe during outings(ONLY during outings), and hardly ever fuss. She'll sleep in the car, wakes up when we reach our destination and stay quiet, taking in all the sights thats exposed to her. She'll only starts fussing when its near her milk time.


Heres daddyhan burping baby after feeding her in public, while mummy was shopping in Zara. All around were grannys or maids feeding their tots. Daddyhan definitely stood out among the crowd. Best papa you are!


Another one of her in the cute pink dress n cute pixie shoe socks.


Say cheese for the camera! =D


Acting cute in the pram as usual.


She sure gather tons of attns when we bring her out. Many ppl will stop in their tracks n gawk or whisper n point. Some will do a double take. Some will point n squeal 'so cuteeee'. Must be the hair. Or she looks too fat?

Hot babe

Aralyn's temp went up to a high of 37.4 degree today. To make things worse for a 1st timer mummy, she kept crying and fussing even after doing all the things that will normally soothe her or make her go to sleep with a snap of the fingers. She was hot and at times cold and broke out in cold sweat. When she cries, I cry. It was worrying and heart breaking.
She started fussing last night when I was out to attend a dinner. Daddyhan said she refuses to sleep after her milk feed. She could have been missing me, or either that, she was already unwell.
Brought her to a pd after daddyhan rushed home early. By then, she was back to normal. No more fever and was in the healthy 36ish range. Pd commented that she is heavy for her age(again!),"she is double than what she shld be". Now, at 10 weeks, she is 61cm long and 6.22kg. No wonder my back aches so much after carrying her! Even my right arm is sporting a lil bump!

Playgym

Thanks to uncle kuku Jef & auntie Meiling for the playgym which Aralyn is starting to enjoy. She used to cry when we place her on it, now she'll just stare at the toys hanging above and tries to bat them. However, there are still days when she will cry out of boredom tho.

I Can Give You Gatsby

Aralyn doing a Gatsby when she was 3 days old. lol.

Drunk On Milk!

She'll smile like this everytime after her morning feed. Makes me feel so appreciated for providing her yummy 'mummy's milk'.
Isnt it cute that when babies smile, their upper lip will curl outwards, making them so kissable n adorable. I love her sooooooo much!!!!!

Cap It On!

Baby and cap do not get along, especially when it makes her look so ridiculous.

2 Months Old

Lazing with Brownie


Can you guess what she's doing? Haha.
Happy 2 mths old!

Mini Me

When ppl tell us that Aralyn looks like daddy, we will just nod and smile. But deep down inside, we know that baby actually takes after me more. The comparison shown below says it all.


What do you think?

Smilies

Smiling more n more by the day! =D

Peace!

Having a nice sturdy changing table makes changing diapers a pleasant experience w/o having to bend over and aggravate the oreadi achy back.

However, it also means baby can get a better shot at you.



Bulleyes!

So much for peace.

Yellow Bear Bumpermat

Laid out the bumpermat for the 1st time and boy! Was it cute and comfy!

It wasnt as oily as complained by the other mummies on the forum. Took only a quick wipe and its good to be trampled on. Only gripe is, the rubbery plasticky smell smells alittle strong.

Arranged it rite under the ceiling fan, infront of the tv, and this family of 3 wasted no time in lazing on the comfy mat together! Ahhhh. life is great with the little one around.

Family Portrait

Spur of the moment family portrait, with a dishevelled me, looking everybit like the housewife Im s'pose to be. Not that Im not, but let's put it this way, Im jus not that efficient. But hey! Im a FT mummie okie. So happens I have a demanding baby that do not like to slp in the day, draining away any Me Time I have with her incessant cries and ah-ahs eh-ehs. Any excess time are spent playing Feed-dat-rascal, Burp-the-baby or Change-a-diaper.

Thank God for daddyHan, whose help been such a great deal to me. I wouldnt have been able to keep my sanity if not for him. Best daddy in the world!

Sweet Dreams

Came across this while Googling for 'Lullabies Piano".

I decided to d/l the album for only USD$9.90! What a steal! The tunes are so easy on the ears, not those irritating type sang by a bunch of kids. They are so soothing, I kept replaying them on the webpage!

Lets hope Aralyn will be sleeping as soundly as the baby on the album cover when I play this during her bedtime.

Rashy Lyn

All the confinement lady's fault. She is such a sloppy dirty cunning-looking woman. When Aralyn was still under her care, she never really bothered to clean her properly and I remembered once I saw smelly whitish globs(milk & dead skin cells) between the folds of her neck, which I promptly cleaned away. After she left, I have been diligent in cleaning her, making sure its clean and dry n powdered, but the same area is still red and angry looking.

I have no choice but to bring her to a PD today. Turns out its a fungal infection!

Expensive trip it was, for the bill came up to $112 for a tube of antifungal creme which is easily available in pharmacy, a tube of moisturiser for her dry rashy cheeks and a bottle of antiseptic wash.

Expensive, but it put my heart at ease. Btw, she is 5.17kg now!

Angel & Demon

Feeding Aralyn every 2.5-3hr is exhuasting. After every feed, I'm only left with 2hrs to do my own things, and that is only possible if she falls asleep rite after feeding. On certain days, she'll demand to be carried, swayed & sing to. She'll gradually fall asleep in my arms, looking so angelic and sweet with her little rosebud lips slightly parted. However, once you put her down into her cot, her cherubic lil face immediately turns red and she'll start brawling.

Being a mother is really tiring yet it is also satisfying to see that she wants mummy to comfort her more than she wants daddy!


See, with those looks, how tired also worth it. I love her so much.

5 Weeks Old

She's been smiling alot in her sleep lately. Cant wait for the day when she will laugh out loud when I play with her. =D


Looking rashy here.

Philips SCD499 Baby Monitor

Sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor in lyn's room have finally taken a toil on me.

Though I was there for only 4 days, my back have gotten so achy that I have difficulties standing upright. Contorting and freezing my body to a suitable position while breastfeeding/feeding her worsen it all the more.

Couldnt take it anymore and M decided to bring us out to get a baby monitor, so I can move back to our bedroom without missing out on her cries at night.

With the $100 gift voucher given to us during her baby shower, M got me the baby monitor shown above, which happens to be the top of the range model with DECT.

It has temp sensor, which keeps track of the temp in baby's room. Parent talkback, so you can soothe and talk to baby from another room. Starry nightlights, which I think is crap and 5 supposingly soothing lullabies which you can activate from the parent's unit. I only find the 'Rock-a-bye-baby' lullaby soothing, and the rest is, well, crap too.

The sound quality is amazingly clear and I can hear her every goo, gurgle and whimper!

Cant wait to zzz on the bed later. Miss it so much.

Exactly A Mth After Birth

CL lady left yesterday and no, nobody is missing her at all!
The kitchen is oily as hell. The shelves, the cabinets, the counter top, EVERYWHERE!
Thank goodness the part time maid was in yesterday. She spent half the day in the kitchen cleaning up, and some of the stains still remain. Will have to get down to the task myself someday.

Visited the PD for her HepB shot this aftern, and she weighs in at 4.65kg! Seems like a little overweight to me. hmm..
Anyway, when the doc pushed the needle into her thigh and begins to inject the vaccine, she lets out a very high pitch cry that goes like "Eeeeeeeeeef". I patted and kissed her face immediately to comfort her, with my eyes tearing up at the same time. Wah, I cannot believe Im crying becoz she is in pain. Maternal Instinct sia.


Looks so sad after the jab. My poor baby. =(

Took out the cake given by Carlton for some polaroid opportunities in the evening. Most of the pictures came out blur n ugly coz baby was moving too much, and the parents look too tired. In the end, we gave up on taking pics and cut the chocolate raspberry cake instead. Yum.

Happy 1mth old! Mummy loves u so much!

Aralyn's 1st Mth Party At Carlton

This morning before we head down to Vic Cafe at Carlton, lyn had to get her hair cut by her grandma. Not a very good job done, coz it was uneven everwhere! Theres even a lobang above her left ear. Cant blame my MIL, for lyn was wriggling like a worm in daddy's arm n screaming away. Then, lyn's grandpa carried her to the ancestors table and her great grandma proceeded to feed her a grain of rice. Dunno what that means tho.
Heres Aralyn looking up at the ancestors altar, looking a wee bit annoyed.


When we reached the cafe at noon, some of the guests were already there. The food was pretty alright from the looks of it. I didnt get to eat much coz I couldnt eat poultry and seafood(cept fish) due to my incision. Ended up with only a few slices of raw salmon n bits of cakes in my stomach.

Thanks to the generosity of all who attended, the baby got loads of clothes n gold n angbao! Wee!! I promised to put those money from the angbao into her education funds instead of 'buy-mummy-a-nice-diaper-bag' funds.

She was well behaved at the party and did not cry one bit. She slept thruout, oblivious to the many hands that groped her as she was being passed around.


Sleeping soundly in Auntie Gina's arm

Confinement Woes

My confinement is finally coming to an end next wednesday. Time really flies and Aralyn is gg to be one month old soon. The confinement lady(CL) whom was recommended by M's sister in law(SIL) hinted to us on monday, whether are we gg to extend her service by asking how much goceries do we need to buy to last till to. Told her blankly to buy enuff till the day she leave. Think she got the message and, thus ended the conversation.
Yesterday, M asked if Im keen to extend her services for another 2 weeks. He said I still look very tired and thinks that with 2 more weeks of help, I'll be able to rest more. I wasnt keen on the idea at all, coz Im beginning to find her a tad irritating. Just last night, during dinner, she asked how long will we take, coz we told her we'll be gg to Jurong Point to run some errand. I asked "Whats the matter?" to which she gave a cheeky grin and said " Its been a long time since I went to JP, feel like joining you guys too, if its a quick one."
I stared down at my rice and kept quiet, to which she continued "There's this particular shop there that I like, and whenever Im in Singapore, I'd find time to go down there and shop for clothes.", and she went on to blabbler abt how much she like the clothes there.
"Can bring bb go out oreadi meh?",I asked.
"Can! Can bring out oreadi loh!"
I think M must have been pissed, coz he suddenly said in a rude sort of tone, "Im going for a haircut, its gg to take sometime."
Auntie(CL) probably felt something was amiss and said "Nvm, nvm, just asking only, thought I'd join you all if its a quick one, but since you are getting a hair cut. then its okie la."
This episode sealed her fate.
M is not going to renew her.

There have been many times that I felt like punching her face, or kicking her you-know-where. I could have easily asked her to leave, you may say, but I kinda couldnt. You see,
1stly, she came thru recommendations from M's SIL.(and she was still raving to me, how good Auntie is. -.-)
2ndly, she is very close to the 1st SIL.
3rdly, she have been the CL for his 1st and 2nd SILs.
4thly, if there is going to be anymore births in the family, its her face that we'll be seeing again.
Terminating her services prematurely =probably will kena criticize by 1st SIL = embarrassment if we see her again in future, coz we definitely will, if anyone in the family gets pregnant again.
Its a good thing I have a supportive hubby for me to rant my head off abt her, else I'd have probably gotten the postnatal blues.

She does have her good points, which is, she whips up really yummy food. Oily, but its yummy. Confinement food is supposed to be pretty oily anyway. She also have a way with the baby. She always seems to be able to soothe her right to sleep, whereas when it comes to our turn to pacify her, it always seems so difficult. I think thats abt it. No more good points abt her.

Now, she got tons of things I can scream my head off at her for!

• Once, when I was changing bb's diaper coz its wet, I noticed that she didnt clean lyn's groin area properly, so I wiped it down with wet wipes and it came up yellow! POO STAINS! I went on to wipe her vagina and it came up dirty too! To add on to my frustrations, there were abit of poo poo on the cap of the diaper barrier cream! She is so dirty!
• She tried feeding lyn immediately after a diaper change, without washing her hands 1st.
• She likes to overfeed my baby too. There have been a few times I caught her trying to feed baby with more milk than she shld be drinking, to which she will insist that its only normal for the little one to be drinking so much. Everytime the baby cry, she will insist that baby is hungry. Once, baby continued crying after she was fed. She said I gave too little milk, so she insisted I give her more, end up lyn drank like 100ml in total. Shortly, she threw up most of the milk, and continued crying. Turns out she wanted to be cuddled after the feed and it wasnt becoz she is hungry. She was only a week+ old.
• She mops the oily kitchen, RINSE the mop with just water, then mop the WHOLE hse with that mop.
• She turned my kitchen into grease heaven. Im not refering to that 80s' musical.
• She dropped a clean storage cup onto the oily floor and rinse it before putting it back. Turned back to see if anyone is looking, saw me looking at her, then rewash the said storage cup with soap this time.
• She walked into my bedroom just now, when I was on the phone and patting lyn in the living room. When she came out and saw me looking at her( I had my back to her earlier on), she said something like " Oh oh, never see ur room before! Just see see"
• She is nosey and likes to ask how much did we pay for the dog, how much is the cats, how much is the plasma tv, how much is this, how much is that.
• Likes to comment that I didnt pour 100ml of milk into the storage cup, coz when she pours it out into the milk bottle, its only 95ml or slightly more.
• Always insist I pour more milk into a storage cup, but when baby can't finish, she throws the excess away! HALLO! My nipples is so sore from all the pumping, even wearing a bra hurts! Treasure my milk lah! She can always pour more out from other cups, if a feed is not enough. Why insist I pump more into each cup and then throw away the excess when baby couldnt finish?
• Clean lyn's neck earlier on, and it was smelly and dirty, with a thick glob of sticky stuff btwn the folds of her neck, and she OREADY had her bath!
• Use her fingers to brush the french beans that was stuck to the covering lid of the plate, back to the plate. Yucks. Also duno those fingers clean or not. Made a remark when I saw her did that, and she replied that she had oreadi washed her hands. "Auntie not so dirty one you know, I washed my hands just now liao. How can handle food with dirty hands?" Yeah rite.

Many more irritating things she did, and too much to write abt. I think we have been really nice to her. We always buy her what she likes to eat if we go out. Buy her chinese papers to read, lest she get bored . So many things we have done for her, but she isnt appreciative.
Hate her.
Happier note, She'll be gone next wednesday. YAY! \0/

Bumpermat!

Daddy got Ningning a Yellow Bear Bumpermat yesterday! Hooray!
Daddy got mummy a babysling to tote Ningning around in! Hooray hooray!

Tho she is still too young to be crawling on it, Daddy couldnt resist the cute prints on the bumpermat and decided to grab it 1st, incase they go out of stock like the other designs he had wanted to get few mths back.

Gifts

Its not even her 1st month and she is getting her gifts oreadi!



Ist gift: Angbao from auntie Gina.



2nd gift: Teddy necklace from Daddy's colleague.

3rd & 4th gift: Ralph Lauren hooded sweater & pants, a blouse n pink coudroy skirt from Daddy's customer all the way from Greece! Gifts came with a card that brawls like a baby when opened! Very cute.



5th gift: Anklet from her grandma(my mother)




6th gift: Crystal Pacifier from Auntie Helen

Rashule

Got this for lyn yesterday.
Went to Eunos but they only have blue, and then we popped over to Beach Road, and finally got what we want - yellow!
Tried it on her last night and she kinda like it! When the baby chair is laid flat, it becomes a rocker that will swing front and back. Supposed to imitate mummy's heartbeat or something lidat.

Invitation

Will be holding lyn's 1st month party soon, and still deciding on the venue.
Isnt her 1st 'birth-month' card pretty?
Done by me!

12 Days Old

....and starting to sleep like how daddy sleeps.

9 Days Old

1st Manicure By Daddy!

M aka DaddyHan is gg to be the best daddy in the world!
I suggested cutting her nails as they were too sharp, but freaked out when I realised her fingers are way smaller than I thought. Not to mention she is such a wiggly babe too! He took on the task bravely, and had her nails trimmed n filed.



Daddy & gal moment.

Aralyn, 3 Days Old

Pictures taken at 3 days old

Aralyn's 1st Photoshoot At 3 Day Old

How Aralyn, affectionately known was Ningning at home, looks like at 3 day old. Picture was taken in the hospital by a hired photographer, and she looks so good!
Look at those rosebud lips. They are the reason why mummy's nipples cracked n bled. sob.

Aralyn, 3hr old.

The Children's Day baby

Finally.
I'm officially a mummie.
Baby Aralynn was born on the 1st Oct thru a C section. Still feel rather sore at not being able to go thru a natural delivery, but aiya, what's most important is baby is safe. Hope for my next birth, a vaginal delivery is possible.
Wt.3.26kg lenght.50cm head.36cm
No huff and puff stories to tell since she was conveniently carried out from my stomach. However, I was told by the anesthetist, that when I was sedated for the adminstration of the epidural, I was blabbering about clam chowders. Yes, Clam Chowders. I have absolutely no idea why I'm on that topic, and I highly suspect I probably blabbered more than I should, tho the doc assured me that I didnt. Im sure the docs and nurses are used to such nonsenses, but I really hope I did not divulged anything more than I should.
After epidural was put in, I was still blabbering away. I remembered telling the nurses to go next door (another operating theatre!) to fetch me a mirror, so I can see the operation. I even went on to blabber that my dentist was kind enuff to provide me a mirror when I wanna look into my bloody mouth during the extraction of my wisdom tooth. I was really trying hard to convice them that Im not afraid at the sight of blood and I really wanna see the process of my baby's birth.
When M was led into the theatre after changing into the sterile gown, he was told by the nurses that 'Your wife is talking alot". When he stepped into the theatre, my gynae told him the same thing.
During the operation, I keep urging M to pop over the other side to see whats inside me. He claims he saw my thick layer of fats underneath my skin, like the pork belly sold in Giant. I was told that I kept pulling down the green sterile cloth divider that was placed around my ribs, much to the annoyance of my gynae, who had to keep flipping it up. I must have really wanted to see my baby's birth badly.
When Aralyn was born, I cried. I didnt expect myself to cry, but the tears just flowed uncontrollably. She was screaming so loudly that the gynae commented she is a loud baby. Shit, must have inherited that from me. Anyway, After M cut her cord, she was wrapped up and plonked on my chest. She looked just like an angel. A wet angel. A brawling wet angel.
I cannot believe this thing came out of me, and is for me to keep.
I seriously cant remember much. What happened that day remains fuzzy in my mind.
Must be the sedatives, or like what the anesthetist called it, Champagne shooter.

Mummy. 33 weeks

Aralyn still inside me. Picture taken when I was in my 33 weeks on 22nd Aug 2007. She was delivered in my 39th.
My bump was humongous during the last few weeks, and I felt so monstrous. Did not take anymore pictures after this, coz it was too depressing.

It must be the hormones.

I sat at the side of the bed, with M seated on the floor infront of me, looking up. The room was dim, and the atmosphere tense.

"Tell me. Did you or did you not? Tell me the truth. I can take it. I'll let it go. I just want the truth."

He nodded.

I got worked up. I couldnt breathe. Tears flooded my eyes and my vision went blur.

"How can you do this to me? How can you do this to me and baby? Are you telling me the truth? Did you really do it??"

He nodded again.

"Why? WHY????"

He looked down and kept quiet.

"When did it happen?

"Last week"

I tried to recall what we did last week. It must have happen during a weekday. Which day was it? It must have been during office hr! I cant breathe. This is too overwhelming.. how could he...

Next thing I knew, the room was dark. I was still on the bed, but lying down now.
I picked up a pillow and smacked it hard right into M's face.

He woke up with a startle and sat right up..

"Why bb? What happened?"

I felt anguish and pain. I felt so upset that I couldnt cry. I was huffing and puffing. Then a tear fell.

He turned on the lights and comforted me, and tried to pull me into his arms, but I pushed him away.

"Tell me bb, what happened? Nitemare again?"

I looked away. Did it really happen? Or was it just a dream? It seems so real.. we were just seated here, with me at this corner, just a few mins ago!

"Tell me what happened baby.", he said assuringly.

"You admitted to visiting a prostitute last week. You just told me that mins ago!"

"AIYO! SILLY GAL! You got nitemare again la!"

=(

38 week Gynae Visit

Another Monday. Another gynae visit.
Baby is well, everything is fine, and she weighs a whopping 3.458kg at 38weeks, and mummie put on another 400g, which totals up to 62.8kg.
Im so heavy. Damn.

I dread seeing the gynae now. She is seriously getting ridiculous. Im being charged for the measurement of my baby. They are kind of a free routine thingy in other gynaes' offices(where they will measure baby for its weight, so as to keep a check on baby's progress), but apparently not in hers. She is extremely money-minded. I really cant wait for everything to be over, so that I DUN HAVE TO SEE HER ANYMORE.

37 week Gynae Visit

62.4kg.
A mere 400g difference. Not too bad lah, considering I put on 2kg last 2 weeks.
Gynae said baby is at least a 7 pounder, but have not engaged yet. I think Im not gg to pop so soon after all. Warned me to stay away from high carbo food like durains n mooncakes. I dun even eat them often, so M says it must be his 'big genes', and he is rather happie abt it. zzz
Woe on me, for Im gg to deliver this big fat bundle thru my you-know-where. Looks like Im being punished for not doing my kegels religiously. Anyway, I still hope to be able to deliver naturally. I do not wish to be cut up and have to waste alot of time on recovering.
Seems to be down with a slight sniffle. Sob.

Hungry!

Did I mention gynae said no more junk food?
Am so hungry now (11.57pm) and M juz went off to get me a Mcspicy meal. Upsize.
Poor man. Not only have he gotta suffer for my icorrigible behaviour, he oso put on weight along with me. Last weight in, he was 9kg heavier! =( Gone is his flat stomach and an obvious punch is in place. =(

22 days to go!

Whoa!
22 days left!
Another gynae visit tmr!

We're hiring part time help, and she will be coming every wed! Yay! No more hsework! Shall not do any work and accumulate all of it for wed! Hehehehehe.
Had dinner with the in-laws today, and papa-in-law keep asking us to get a maid. Seems like every dinner he will bring up this topic to us. Reasons he cited seems like he is afraid that I'll be tired out with hsewrk n looking after our 1st child. I think he is worried that I might not be able to cope n probably go into depression. Heh. I feel kind of loved. Not used to be love this way by a parent- figure, but Im touched nevertheless.

36 week Gynae Visit

Saw baby in the ultrascan today. She looks kinda fat, like a michelin tyre baby! Mike claims she is in the lotus position, hence all the knee poking at my sides all the time.
Btw, Im a hefty 62kg now. Well.
Be visitng gynae every week from now on. Geez. The Day is drawing nearer n nearer, cant help but feel excited and scared at the same time.

34 week Gynae Visit

Tipped the scales at 60.8kg today. Weight was same as 2 weeks ago.
Gynae was concerned as I didnt put on any weight, and had to go a CTG to make sure baby is okie inside. She did comment that as long as baby is still kicking everyday, everything shld be alright, nevertheless, she put me thru the CTG just to be safe. A CTG is a machine that prints squiggly zig-zags, while a band is strapped to the stomach to monitor baby's heartbeat. I had to be strapped to it for 15mins, with M by my side trying to record the sound- which sounds just like a galloping horse, into his hp.
All is well afterall. I knew it! I knew baby is healthy. She juz wanna make another $55 out of me for nothing.

Have no idea how heavy is baby now, but if I weigh the same as last 2 weeks, it means Im losing weight! Isnt this fantastic? I eat 3-4 meals a day, sleeps at least 12 hrs, and do not even need to excercise and Im losing weight! How good is that! Ha!
My last month at gorging myself with food b4 baby is out. No more excuses anymore. I really feel being pregnant is one of my happiest period in life where I can really eat and not give a damn.
I think Im gg to miss it.

39 Days left?

WTF? Only 39 days till my EDD?
So fast?!?!?!

Money Matters

Having a baby is an expensive affair. We're not even talking abt future education yet. Im not too sure how much we spent on baby things and what we got, but I'll try to list the estimates. Some items I remember the price, some are minimum estimations.

Alta Cot bed-$499
Sleepsafe Latex Mattress- $169
Sleepsafe Cot sheet & Cot bumper- est. $145
Mamas&Papas Musical Mobile- $95
Ikea Babycot Net- $39
Mothercare Rattles & toys- est. $81

Peg Perego P3 Pramette- $639 after 20%
Peg Perego Infant carseat(2nd hand!)- $80

Clothes- min. $300. Actually much more, coz we've been buying nonsenses. But we'll leave it at that.
Baby hangers- $4.80

Avent set consisting of;
Manual Breast Pump
Food warmer
Bottles
Milk containers
Steriliser- $364 after 20%

Nuk milkbottles x5 -$74

Ikea drawers- $269
Toyogo Plastic drawers- forgot.
Diapers- est. $100
Wet tissues- est. $30
Baby clothes detergents- est. $40
Baby shower gel- $10
Baby misc item, nail clipper, rash creams, oil
bottle washers, powder, etc, - est. $100
Ikea bathtub- $12
Ikea changing table- $40

Gynae fees & tests- $1685.20
Hospital fees + delivery + misc.- dunno yet.
Antenatal classes at TMC- $235.40

Ikea Foldable bed + mattress for confinement lady- $75
Confinement lady's salary- $1700

Birdnests and Cordycep- est. $1092.10

Everything adds up to 8k plus, and thats not everything!
Still some nitty gritty bits that I cant remember for now. We have not even add in the hospital fees. Oh, have not added my maternity wear, which are really bare basics as I do not have to work nor go out often, so its less than 30 tops and pants add together for thruout the 9mths. For homewear, its still my old tanktops and boxers, with the top covering only half of my tummy now. Hehehe.

Its amazing how much we spent in preparation for the notti gal inside me, who kicks non stop and presses so hard on me, that I had to visit the loo at least 6 times a night.

32 week Gynae Visit

Im starting to dislike my gynae more n more each visit.
Not that she isnt professional, but I feel she is very $ minded and little things which other gynae provides, she doesnt.
Im actively in a mummy forum grp, and we exchange informations and keep each other updates on our growing progress. I realised most of them were given an estimated figure of baby's weight thru simple measurements done on the ultrascan machine, during the scan.
Mine did not.
When I asked her for my baby's weight last mth, she told me that if I'd want to know my baby's weight, I'd have to pay her an extra of $60 for it. I dun see why there is a need to pay, coz all she need to do is to take some simple measurements during the scan and thats it.
I brought it up on the forum and everyone tot it was absurd!
Its eating me juz thinking abt it coz, I tot they shld make it a standard procedure, so that mummies can know how their little one is progressing.

Anyway, did the 32nd week detailed scan today, and baby weighs a hefty 2.1kg! A mummy in my mummie grp mentioned that 1.6-1.8kg is the average range for a 31 week old baby. I think my little kicker inside is pretty overweight! Luckily, I only put on 1.6kg since last mth. Looks like all my late night Macspicy meal went to her instead. Hehehe.

Back to the baby weight issue with the gynae.
I told her today, I'd like to have keep track of baby's weight from now on till I deliver, and again, she brought up the extra $ issue.
I told her, if thats the case, how am I gg to keep track of baby's progress? She mentioned something like, its normal procedures in Singapore, and if I go to KK, I dun even get to have an ultrascan every visit, onli during detailed checkups, do I get to see the baby. I feel like slapping her face and tell her, thats why Im paying to much to see a private gynae. She even wanana charge me for the printout of baby when I asked how come no printout this visit. She says at this stage, nuthin much to see and its a waste of paper.
I feel like killing her.

If Im going for my number 2, I'll never go to her again.

Naming bit

Im going crazy trying to think of a name for baby.
There are so many choices, and remarks n comments from frds just confuse me further.
I like Aaralyn. Maybe Aaralynn.

Cannot lah, like malay name.
Eeee, Why so many As
Eh, you trying to be different issit?

Not trying to be different, but came across this name from one of the many baby name website, and it was really love at 1st sight! It sounds nice too! Air-Rer-lin. Have been toying with this name for a few mths and was so sure of it! Now after all this kind remarks from frds, Im not so certain anymore.

Ainslie. Anslie. Annsleigh. Ainsley. Ansley.
I like too.

Eh, you know there is a mountain in Aust call Ainslie?
What? Why sounds like a boy?
Sounds like ur cat Ashley leh.

Arcelia.

Ah Celia?
NOT NICE!
Ah lian leh!

Okie what. I tot it sounds rather feminine. =/

Arlette.

Huh?
Eee.
Never heard b4.

Arianne.

okie loh.
Not nice.

I like Adelie too.

M likes Abigail... but Im not so sure. I can still call her Abby for short, but the name just reminds me of a Singapore tranny. Hard to get past that.

As for Chinese names,
We have more or less decided on Zi Ning.
However, we are also in a dilemma coz we were told that it'd be better for the child's future, if we get a Shifu to count the strokes of the chinese characters.
That would also mean, if Zi Ning is not within the apporiate number of strokes, we'd have to give up the name, and settle for something orbit.
If we were to go ahead with Zi Ning w/o any Shifu's help, we'd also be bothered by the fact that it might not be an auspicious name for her.
Sigh.

Motherhood

The path to motherhood, an amazing and exhilarating journey. A wonderful beginning. A new chapter to a beautiful marriage. Blah blah blah blah yada yada.

What about the downsides? Every website or books wax lyricals abt the amazing blah-blahs of pregnancy. What abt the horrible weight gains? Puffy face? Painful leg cramps! Nauseousness? Water retentions? Backache! Frequent urination? They are just conveniently left out at the start of any reading material, only to surface when you are reaching the end.

Did I mention dreams? Vivid dreams? Erotic dreams? Nightmares!!
When I was in my 2nd trimester, I get lots of erotic dreams. They can be quite frustrating to have when you have no outlet to release. Did I mention sex fly out of the window when one is pregnant? Worried parents to be, no matter how well informed, will refrain from sex. I know it wun hurt the baby... but.. I know baby cant hear us... but.. And when you eventually get aroused enough to abandon all inhibitions and no-nos, you are faced with the damned position contraints. Who say being pregnant is sexy. They only say that to make you feel better. The only part that makes one sexy is being able to finally let ur stomach out in full glory without having to suck them in all the time. In bed or not.

I had a dream last night. Its one of the many awful dreams that screams out my insecurities. I dreamt that M got flowers, not for me, but for someone at work named Ms Lee. Apparently, he is getting a lorry for her to drive as well. Why a lorry? I have no idea. I woke up screaming loudly, and shouted at him to leave me alone when he tried to comfort me. I realised immediately it was just a dream when I opened my eyes, but the hurt n anguish of betrayal in the dream was brought forth into reality. He know I had one of those silly dreams again, and he tries to be funny and tease me, which further irritates me and made me cry.
Anyway, it kinda tickles me now, thinking of him buying another gal a lorry. Hehehe.

31st week

Sorted out baby's clothes for laundry yesterday and realised that there are onli 2 colors, and thats pink and white. Sitting on the floor tearing off price tags, I teased M abt him wanting to buy baby's clothes everytime we are in the kiddy section. We have 2 big bags of baby clothes, and obviously, we over bought. We even have baby clothes for 6-9mths old.

The powdery baby smell greeted me when I walk out of my bedroom this morning. Its very nice to have the whole hse smelling so nice n babyish. I normally wake up to the smell of poo lingering in the living room, and this is definitely a nice refreshing change. 9 more weeks or maybe even lesser, and Im gg to be a mummy. Time really flies when you are pregnant.

Had a huge scare yesterday evening after buying dinner. Had just entered the lift and was abt to press the Close button, when a very inconsiderate prick RODE his bicycle into the lift. He almost bumped into me and I was so shocked and rooted to the ground that I looked at him wide-eyed. I wanted to scold him, but was still recovering from my shock and didnt know what to say. But I guess he can sense my displeasure, coz I kept throwing him sideward, eye rolling glances. I told M what happened and he suggested we sneaked upstairs in the middle of the night n cut the brakes lines off his bike and let the bugger have a big fall. So evil.
However, I decided not to be so petty and take any action against the jerk, for I believe in Karma.

The 1st antenatal class

"Daddy very busy. Daddy going to sleep. Good nite!"

Abusing what was taught in the antenatal class on Sunday afternoon, the very sentence that he said to my stomach b4 he went to bed.

The daddies in the room were all taught how to communicate with their babies. This involves some patting and stroking of the bump and talking to it, eg. asking after the baby and then replying to it as if the baby replied.
The lady also taught them to use the phrase "daddy is busy", so that baby will be used to this term when they gets older, and will not bother the daddy too much when he say he is busy.
So now, the man is clearly enjoying abusing what he was taught, by telling the baby ever so often that he is very busy. "Daddy is busy, Daddy going to read papers." "Daddy is busy, Daddy going to watch tv." See how he abuses the 3 word?

"Daddy is busy" aside, the antenatal class is really fun! We were taught really interesting moves to relieve our aches, and also touched on nutrition and confinement myths. M have been really supportive and participative in the class and Im so proud of him. He is such a blur dude most of the time, but he got all his techniques applied on me correctly. Cant wait for the next lesson!

Went shopping after classes and popped into gucci to look see. Turned out the bag I've been dying to have for the past few weeks isnt exactly what I wanted. Fell in love with another tote and almost got it on the spot, but my conscience got the better of me, and I quickly pulled M out of the shop. I dunno why, but for that spilt sec, I felt very bad to be wanting to splurge over a thousand dollars for something that I can do without. M was trying to pull me back into the shop and it made me so tempted!
Now Im still thinking abt the bag and is trying to get it out of my head.

Baby's 1st pic

Frowning. Just like me.

28 weeks Gynae Visit

Weigh in at 59.2kg on thursday. A healthy growth from 56.8kg a mth ago.
I have never been this heavy b4, so am still pretty much paranoid that I'll never be able to lose all this excess away. I hope I'll be able to get back to a 48kg soon.
With all the slim & skinny idiots around me during my pregnancy really upsets me. A frd who have been big for years recently went under the knife, and had 1.8kg of fats pumped out. Now she spots a flat stomach- in my imagination- tho I have yet to meet up with her. Now she is gyming and stuffing healthy grabs and slurping healthy shakes. I think Im going to look much fatter than her soon.
Now I'm upset again. Damn it.

Did a 3d scan too, which cost a hefty $120. One stopid printout and byebye 120.
Baby looks very much like me, coz she was frowning in the picture. she spots a flat piggie nose like me too. =(
I think she will be bothered very much by her nose when she grows up, just like me. Worse, she is going to be born a piggie, and now with the piggie nose, she is going to get endless teasing. =(
I hope she doesnt get my curly hair and she looks like she is going to spot daddy's eyebrow, coz its pretty obvious that there is a blurry stripe of eyebrow. Nice. I was hoping she will follow daddy looks all the way, cept for the eyes, lips n cheeks, which I think mine is much better. Hehehe. No oily skin from daddy too, pls! Daddy's face is oily like ur kitchen wok, so no pls.

Been getting crampy feelings now and then, and gynae said they are called Braxton Hicks. Some false labour contractions. Not very painful, just feels like shitting.

3 mths left

Im getting increasingly bored with the pregnancy.
Before any of you jump into conclusions that I'm getting sick of the baby and is a bad mommy, its not what you think.
Im gettign bored of the pregnancy as in the waiting time and the sore backs, the clumsiness and the leg cramps!
I got my 1st leg cramp last week, and boy! WAS IT BAD! I literally jumped up from sleep, clutching my right leg and screamed away at my snoring man. I hope I do not have to experience anymore of those, but its highly unlikely. I have no idea when the next one is going to strike, and I have been religiously stretching n massaging my calves everynite b4 I sleep. Its really painful.
On a happier note, baby is growing well and healthy and is kicking everyday! Why do I have a feeling this little thing growing inside me is going to be a fiesty one like mummy?
Her kicks gets pretty furious at times and it makes me wonder what the heck is she up to inside utero. It gets pretty irritating at times when I wanna rest, but she is still dancing away at 3-4am. Sometimes, when she doesnt move, I will shake n poke my belly to irritate her back. Heehehe. An eye for an eye!
Im really looking forward for her arrival, and I find myself thinking maturely now. I still miss clubbing and drinking, but I know my priorities have all changed.
Finally, Im a grown up.

Its a...

Gal.

Our 1st baby is gg to be a gal!
Im so happy that I got what I wanted, but yet at the same time, felt disappointed that I might disappoint my papa in law. Theres already 2 grandsons in the family, but he was hoping that mine would be another boy. He's been saying stuffs like, " Im sure its a boy." to almost everyone.
Upon realising its a gal, he didnt show any disappointment, but said things like " Gals oso nice!" "As long as bb is healthy, thats all that matters"
Somehow I felt he said those words coz nuthin can be done, n probably to hide his disappointment.
Mum in law is more excited tho, this is gg to be her 1st gal grandchild, and in fact, the 1st gal grandchild to carry the family surname.
On my side, I told the news to my mom, after numerous unsuccessful calls, when i got thru to her, she gave crap excuses like she changed a new ringtone, n didnt know it was her phone thats ringing, yet at the same time, she can press the cancel button to cancel my call....duhz.. her explanation doesnt make sense at all. Anyway, she wasnt enthusiastic or anythin. In fact, she didnt even call me since feb till now, not to mention any nourishing soups I was expecting from her.
Oh well. I have oreadi learnt not to care less.
Someone mentioned in MSN that " I finally realised the importance of my mom only after being a mom myself.."
I ponder over that statement for the longest time n felt, nah.

Silly old gynae in Jurong

Caught a cold over the weekend and made a little trip to a gynae near my area.
This old man, is, hmmmm, weird. He acted cute when I asked him some qns, to which he will screw up his face n say things like " Hmmph!~ you dun believe me when I tell u the answers, Im so sad~." in a really disgusting act cute tone.
And the questions I asked are so innocent! " Are those the baby's legs/arms/head/heartbeat, Oh so cute! Dun look like it at all!"Isnt that very normal to make such remarks during a scan? he is totally disgusting to behave like this at that age.(prob 60+)

Anyway, I did the scan coz was dying to find out the baby's gender. This old man said he cant see very well btwn the legs, coz it wasnt fully open, but he mentioned he couldnt see the 2 important sacks. I can sense M's disappointment that it might be a gal.
I feel a'lil upset too, coz I have been kinda under pressured to have a baby boy by the in laws. I wanted a gal tho. Cant wait for my detail scan with my regular gynae on the 21st.
I hope that baby will still be loved even if its a gal. Gals are so sweet.

The 5th Visit

Such a disappointing day! Bb was asleep during the scan n its legs were crossed and cannot see anything!! Sensing my disappointment, gynae told me to walk ard and come back later if I wanna scan again.
We left the clinic n had a drink. I was tapping on my tummy thru out, urging bb to wake up. M kept laughing at me for being so silly. The 2nd scan prove to be as disappointing. Little rascal was up n moving inside, but refuses to open legs!! URGH!
Have to wait till 5 weeks later to check on the gender again. Grr!
On the way home, M commented that bb is as KL as the mummy. What an idiot.

The 4th Visit

Trip to the gynae was fun today.
Saw bb in the scan and it was flipping all over. Then it lay still and raise up its right arm n sorta wave! Then, it proceed to put its hand on the nose n seems to be picking it's nose. I burst out laughing n exclaimed to M,'Hey, that looks like you, always picking ur nose!' The gynae laughed and told me not to move coz she was taking measurements to do some important tests to check on Down Syndrome. Apparently, my hysterical laughing jerks made the ultrasound out of focus.
This gynae is the 3rd I've been to, and we like her so much, we are sticking to her.
A motherly figure and frdly and assuring.
Next visit is 4 weeks later, and then, we'll be able to see bb's gender. Cant wait!

Peanut

Went to another female gynae today.
Saw the little lump which M affectionately calls it Peanut.
Everything looks good and its 0.6cm long.
This gynae is tons better than the previous and we kinda like her.
However, becoz her office isnt situated at Gleneagles, we might drop her in favor of one whose office is there.
I'd prefer a gynae who will check on me often when I check in.

Got back yesterday and it was my worse flight ever.
I was seated at the last row of the cabin, near to the toilet(good!), but I was also near to the stewardess' work station, which means when they brew coffee, I get to smell it 1st. When they prepare to serve meals, I smell it 1st.
Coffee smell + food smell + 6week preggie with a nose as sensitive as a dog = frequent runs to the toilet to puke.
I puke every 30mins, and it was so bad, that I didnt sleep on the 13 hr flight at all. Guess I was very excited to see the boys too. M didnt sleep a wink too, and its surprising, coz he normally dozes off soon after the plane takes off.

Morning sickness started when we reached Paris. I was still pretty fine in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and my appetite was good. However, everything change for the worse and I started getting gases and almost everything turns me off. I hated milk, eggs, bacons and cheese and refused to take the hotel's breakfast, for thats what they serve. In Netherland however, I was stuffing my face with all the different types of cheese, and drinking tons of milk. Its surprising how drastic my taste bud changes when I reach Paris. I had a hard time filling up my tummie.
No food = gastric = puke.
Food = nausea = puke.

I really hate my time in Paris. I hate the food, and the weather. It was so cold and it made things worse. It was just a bad time to travel.

The 1st Gynae

Did 3 preg checks with various brands of home kits yesterday just to be very sure that the kits dun happen to be one of those faulty ones.
Looks like it true. Im really pregnant.
There isnt any moments of tears of joys or anything like it. There were just lotsa "omgomgomgomgomg". Not those happy jumping for joy kinda omgs, but rather, its those shocked omgs.
M is really happy, and I'm still absorbing the fact.

Had to see a gynae today to check on what medication is okay for me to consume. I'll be leaving Singapore in a few days time, on the 2nd, and I normally pop lotsa of panadols, lomotils and flu tablets during vacations in cold countries.
With no knowledge of any other gynaes in the west, we went to one we often see when we drive past for kopis.
Situated somewhere in Bt Timah, his office looks pretty comfortable.
When we entered his office, he did not exude any warmth. Infact, he was shaking his legs n came across as arrogant n rude. We sat down infront of him and began the consultation.

Gynae: So how, what can I do for you?
Me: Im pregnant.
G: How do you know you are pregnant?
M: I did the test kits and it is positive.
G: Are you sure? Cos sometimes it might be too early to tell.
M: Yah, I did it 3 times, and it shows a very strong result.
G: Lidat means sometime wrong! Normally, one will only get a faint result during early stage.
M: Mine came out really clear n obvious. One big +.

We proceeded to the scan machine, but nothing could be seen.

G: You better take a urine test. Take liao then say.

We left the room and the nurse gave me a container. M and me felt alittle pissed with him. He is one rude ass.

Went back into the room after a 15mins wait. A pink test kit is on the table with 2 dark pink markings in the windows.

G: How come arh??! Cannot be, why is your result so clear?
M: I told you so!
G: You sure ur menses was on the 1st Jan?
M: Very sure.
G: Let me scan again.

Still cannot see anything on the screen.

G: So far cannot see anything, so I cannot say if its an ectopic pregnancy.
M: ....
G: I advise you not to go for the trip. It might not be safe to travel.
M: But Im leaving in 3 days time, and I cant cancel the trip!
G: You know, if anything happens, the hospitals in Europe is very expensive you know.
Few Ks you know. Not like Singapore few hundreds nia.
M: .....*wtf*
G: And they do not have your medical records, so you'll chalk up a huge medical bills if they were to run alot of tests on you. And no subsidies hor!
M: .....
G:*still shaking away* You better consider carefully!
M: No choice. Have to go for the trip.

He then gave me some advices on medications on which are safe to consume and before we left his office....

G: GOOD LUCK HOR! GOOD LUCK ARH!! See you again when you get back!

WTF was that for? It was totally unneccessary! He is like cursing me to meet with a mishap or something. Such a bastard! Left his office $150 poorer and not to mention, angrier too.
I was very upset at his comments and felt that he could have tried to comfort me or maybe dish out more advises on how to take better care of myself during the trip instead of being such a bastard. Thats the last time Im ever gg to see him. He is so unprofessional and he keeps shaking, like some chao ah beng.

+

Menses was late for a day, and I have been feeling really crampy ard the abdomen of late.
With my 6 sense urging me, I decided to test myself with the home kit that I got a few weeks back.
I peed on it as instructed and watch the felt tip of the marker look alike device turned bright pink. Nice pink actually.
I watch the urine slowly spread across the 1st window. Im starting to see the ---- line. Slowly, slowly, slowly..... Instead of just a horizontal line, now I'm seeing a vertical one cutting across it! The big + sign is looking back at me flatly. The urine spreads to the 2nd window, and the test is complete. Fast and easy. Under a minute.
I cannot believe it. Im pregnant.