The greatest inventions

It has been 6 weeks since the birth of the little one. Being new parents we haven’t had any good 8 hrs straight sleep at nights.

I am constantly researching and reading up materials on caring for babies online. The singaporemotherhood forum really helps new mummies alot. Mummies who had gave birth on the same month with others gathered in a thread to share information on caring for our babies and for some of them, a space to rant their frustrations and discomforts. I would say that this forum is a must-visit site for the new mummies!

On comforting babies, I have bought many great inventions to pacify mine. Be it the conventional Awesome “摇篮” Cradle or the Amazing Pacifier … and of course the Terrific “Swaddle me” infant wrap and the Superb Baby Pouch Sling. If you name it and I’ll most probably have it. I am now tempting to buy the “Binky Buddy“.

Well, as new parents, we are most willing to spend almost any amount of money to keep our baby happy (…and most importantly, to get some quality sleep while they are happy). And trust me, somehow or rather, these great inventions do really work.

A typical day of a busy mummy

Whew! Have been wanting to update my blog since the birth of my baby girl, but I simply have no time! Everyday, the routine goes – feed her, burp her, change diaper every 2 – 3 hrs and the cycle goes again!

And now she got colic at nite… she will start getting cranky, crying and refused to sleep from 11 pm – 3 to 4am… Alan and I got to take turns to carry and pat her to calm her down. If we are lucky, we get to sleep at 3am, if not, 5am.

Despite all these, Chloe is still very adorable when she’s not crying .

Whew… it’s not easy being parents.

My last day before the start of motherhood…

Nope.  No news yet… My baby is still feeling comfy in my womb.

My last check with my gynae shows that the baby is still in the OP (occiput posterior) position – meaning that is when a baby is head-down but facing your abdomen.  The term refers to the fact that the back of the baby’s skull (the occipital bone) is in the back (or posterior) of my pelvis. This position is unfavorable during labour as I got to push out the baby with her spine against my spine – this usually causes the mother to end up having intense lower back pain and longer difficult labour.

As my baby is growing fast, both Alan and I decided to try inducing for natural birth first. Meaning I’ll have to admit straight to Mt Alvernia on 16th Apr, 12 am (that is when the new day when the hospital started charging), Dr will insert a tablet to induce labour and we’ll just hope and pray that my cervix will be dilated when he check back at 7 am and bb will turn. If not, he will insert a 2nd tablet and check back sometime in the afternoon again. If this still doesn’t work, I’ll have to go for emergency c-section to take out my baby.

I have not been sleeping well these few days. In fact, I only slept for 3 -4 hrs last night and waking up at 4 – 5 am in the morning. Not sure if I’m unconciously preparing myself to be a mother or i’m just plain anxious about the labour. But I think I’m mentally prepared and with all my lovely and supportive families and friends, I’m sure I can do it! Yeah!

I can’t wait to see my bb. Wish me luck!

I hate the waiting game…

My blog has been so dead… and I’m gonna revive it! Yeah!

I have started my maternity leave since 1 week ago and has started to get really bored… am really lucky that that I got my parent-in-laws to help out with the chores. 我是幸福的！They have moved in for one month plus already and I’m enjoying the pampering! Imagine not to have to worry about what to eat every meal and going home with homecook food everyday! My MIL is great – she’s a wonderful cook and a A+ housewife and mummy / MIL … she helps out with all our laundry and cleaning and tries to stop me from doing all the chores. So much so that I feel so guilty not being able to help out… keke… simply being pampered rotten.

I’m now into my 39th week of pregnancy and there is no sign of labour yet. I wake up everyday hoping for the contractions to happen, but always end the day disappointed when I turn in every night.

Dr says bb is growing very fast and she’s already 3.4 kg! Going to see him tonight again and hope to get induced within these two days… Till then… will update my blog soon… hopefully with my birth story next.

My 20th week

I’m now 5 mths pregnant and I’ve finally gained 1kg+! I guess i’ll be gaining more weight from now onwards. I’ve started to shop for loose clothings – realised that I didn’t need to get maternity clothings due to the current fashion trend now. There are lots of pretty dresses out there in the mall which are not maternity wear. Lucky me.

Just had my detailed scan done at Mt Alvernia today. Doc said my blood test shows that my baby is growing healthily! She is growing very well and I saw her sucking her little thumb in my tummy during my ultrasound today. And yes, high % that my bb is a girl!

Will have to start buying big items (cot, stroller, car seat etc.) for the baby every mth till delivery. Hope we can get some good bargain from year-end-sale!

May be a girl girl…

It has been a crazy week… Swarmed by work and meetings… and I haven’t even manage to strike off more than 50 % of my to-do-list. Haiz… my appetite still remain the same – unable to eat much.

I’m now 16 weeks into my pregnancy. Just went for my monthly checkup at the clinic 2 days ago. Everything seems to be fine – only that I have yet to put on the weight I have lost. My gynae assured me that the bb is growing fine, so for now, weight shouldn’t post any concern. My blood was drawn for OSCAR test (test for chances of bb getting down syndrome). The result will be out next wed (let’s pray for the best).

The gynae told us that my bb may be a girl girl as he did the scan, he found nothing significantly sticking out in between the middle of her thighs! Keke… but he won’t be able to guarantee that yet until a detailed scan is done. I’m scheduled to do a detailed scan a month later at Mt Alvernia. Think as long as bb is healthy, nothing else matters.

The reason why I have stopped blogging for a while…

Ok, I know this has to be a good reason. And trust me this is a GOOD enough reason.

The reason: I’m expecting!

Yeah! I can finally openly announce my pregnancy after 3 months of taboo period where one shouldn’t announce to anyone when the baby was not ’stablised’ yet. I have finally passed that period. Moreover, my tummy is already starting to show, so 纸是包不住火的！

Both Alan and I were pretty excited upon discovering my pregnancy. So were my in-laws and parents.

The minus points for being pregnant are being constantly lack of energy, tired and having lots of stomach discomfort due to slow digestive system. I have been turning to bed quite early at nite, I was so tired at times that I even skipped dinner so that I can get to sleep earlier.

Won’t I get hungry? You may ask. I have been getting evening sickness with the loss in appetite, so I’ll usually take more food during lunch. My last visit to my gynae showed that I have lost 2 kgs! That is good if I’m on a diet… not so good if I’m pregnant.

Well, according to my gynae, the sickness should go away with the return of appetite after 3 mths. But I’ve yet to experience much of that yet. I’ll see how it goes next week.

Meanwhile, I’ll try my best to blog with my little energy left. Hopefully, they will return back soon.

Cool Barcodes

Check out these amazingly cool barcodes created by the Japanese!

These peeps are really creative!

Check out more!

Zombies in Plain English

Folks at Common Craft has been coming up with great video clips explaining complicated things in simple plain english.

Check out this funny clip in Plain English!

Reviewing

I have been feeling quite down recently due to some events happening at work. Fortunately, I have a ever-supportive husband and wonderful friends who are always by my side, encouraging and supporting me. I hope I will be able to give them the same kind of encouragement and support during their ‘down time’ too. Thank you, my friends! (you should know who you are…)

Looking back at my life, I wonder: What have i been doing all these while? Why am I doing things which makes me unhappy? Am I really unhappy? And what makes me happy?

So, what is my purpose in life?

I think I just want to have a happy and fulfilling life, that’s it.

Sounds simple enough, but how do I achieve that?

I am still thinking.