Blessings from Above

still no sign of our little princess... i read somewhere that if the parents are not ready (e.g. have not finished shopping for the bb), then bb will not want to come out but my dear gal, we have officially finished buying all the things you need! grandma and mummy just went to buy the car seat for you... it is TIME to meet your family... so be a good gal ok? see what you're coming home in! Britax Royale - for the princess! nice and comfy eh?

we finally saw dr tan after a 2.5 weeks wait... apparently, i lost 700g but princess gained 200g and now weighs in @ almost 3kg (a good weight according to dr tan). we are getting closer to the finishing line and dr tan wants to do induction on 05 april if she still doesn't make her grand entrance these few days and that is making me really nervous because i really want to birth her naturally, WITHOUT the use of any drugs AT ALL. so my dear gal... i know its warm and comfortable inside mummy's womb but its really time to meet us so be good and quickly complete your 'descent' ok? we love you and can't wait to meet you!

its week 38 and still no sign of princess... been feeling surges on and off but definitely not regular and progressive (not according to Ginny's definitions anyway). i've moved in with my in-laws and chewy has been an absolutely devil - he's been barking every single night (no need to sleep ah?!?) and i think nobody in this household (or even the other households in the neighbourhood) has had a good night sleep. i am contemplating of moving him back home and let him stay there by himself. we could check in on him every day. obviously since i'm getting closer to D-day... DH has 'refused' to let me go out. its thursday and i've only gone out once on my own; on tuesday, i went to do some shopping (ok ok, quite a bit of shopping, i'm not known to be a shopping queen for nothing). my happy purchases - a exercise ball, which i'll use as a birthing ball for now. its handy to have during pregnancy, labor and beyond! see what they say about it. so instead of...

since i'm already into my 37th week, here's an update on my purchases and my wish list. i've bought most of the things that i'll need (or rather, that our princess will need) and here are the remaining items that i've yet to buy: - Britax Royale (which will be a gift from Claire's grandparents) - Medela Pump-in-Style Advanced Breast Pump (available @ all major stores) - BabyRock Carry Sling (from babejoy.com) - Bumper playmat (from babejoy.com) - Environmentally friendly diapers (from bumwear.com) - toys for her stroller (learning curve/lamaze, tiny love, gund, etc...) - bedtime storybooks (eric carle, karen katz, etc... ) can i also add what i would NOT like to receive?? - Brands Essence of Chicken (I get nose bleeds each time I attempt to drink that) - DOM (don't like the taste) - Milk Bottles, Clothes (unless they are equivalent to Carters or GAP! Princess has an image to uphold! :P) so you can see, we are more or less ready for princess' arrival. i...

i remember when i was in school, the dear old principal used to tell us the importance of being a woman who "ru de chu fang, chu de ting tang'. loosely translated, it means a woman who is capable both at home and out (whether its working or just being the woman behind the successful man?). I used to think and believe that that was really cliche! why should a woman's place be in the kitchen/home/behind the husband? then, i felt that i wanted to be a career woman... but now that i look back, her reminder seems perfectly reasonable. would it be great to be the 'perfect woman'? to be one who is well-groomed and yet takes care of the house/family immaculately? better still, an independent who earns her own keep and can balance work/family life well. i aspire now to be someone like that and hope that our little princess will also pick up some of these traits from me. i spent thursday sewing some pillow cases for our princess... with the excess cloth, i decided that ...

this is week 37 and we're moving closer and closer to the arrival of princess... my sweet hubby has officially *banned* me from work... he wants me to rest @ home and just prepare for princess' arrival. we will be moving over to his parents' place this weekend as he wants to make sure someone is around when i go into labor. :) its nice to just stay @ home and do nothing (i spend my time now resting, reading, listening to the birthing affirmations and relaxing). even my boss doesn't *allow* me to step into office anymore! my appetite has improved tremendously the last two weeks or so... and i'm so happy that princess is the one putting on the weight instead of me! hehe. i've started drinking coconut water (sticking to old wives tale) and also increased my bird nest intake to every day *when i remember, otherwise its alternate days*. :P we are supposed to see dr tan weekly from last week but unfortunately, he is attending a medical conference this w...

the visit to OB y'day marks the 36th week of my pregnancy... i put on 0.6kg since the last visit (2 weeks' ago) but our little princess experienced a growth spurt! she put on 0.7kg which means she now weighs in @ 2.7kg (yippee! all the weight gain went to her!). the nurse commented that she's of a good size so even if i have to deliver her earlier, everything shd be ok. obviously, last visit's estimation of her weight @ birth doesn't stand anymore (dr tan put it @ 2.8kg on full term). her head diameter is now 8.3cm *this no. i'm worried about because the cervix can only stretch up to 10cm (medically) so if she is too big, i am either 1) going to tear 2) have an episiotomy performed on me and neither scenario fits into my birth plan!* in any case, we have been religiously listening to the birthing affirmations cd and practising the techniques taught in our hypno-birthing class. we have another 2 classes (2 more sats!) to attend so my sweetheart, don...

must be the weather getting to me... its been raining non-stop since y'day morning... sometimes heavier and sometimes just a drizzle... but i dun like rainy days. yes, its nice to sleep when its nice and cool but what about when i have to step out of the house? i hate carrying umbrellas!! now i'm having a headache, my lips/tonsils are slightly swollen, my back and shoulders are aching and all the extra weight from princess claire is killing me! plus my DH has gone to batam to play in a charity golf tournament and will only be back tomorrow! absolutely sucks to be at home alone! :(

GONG XI FA CAI! hope that everyone had a great time feasting and winning $$$ during the lunar new year celebrations. another long weekend flies by... and this is the 34th week of my pregnancy. it is actually my first lunar new year spent at home coz the last few years, we used the long holidays to travel (the only time that DH can get away from work to holiday). it was great to see the extended family members again after so long. all my little nieces and nephews have grown up and are really not so little anymore (i'm amongst the youngest in the extended family). it is actually rather "scary" because it is a reminder of how old i am getting! having said that, my dear cousins... we really should be getting together more often!! courtesy of mummy and grandaunt who flew in all the way from US, princess claire now has her own (carter's, no less) wardrobe! check it out some of the latest additions... that's not actually all but not bad for someone who has not even enter...

no, not mine obviously... but of our little princess. yet another milestone to remember... your highness took her 1st photo today... in my womb! thanks to technology (my OB is ahead in this area), we know now that princess will have my chubby cheeks, my nose (button nose) and mouth (the chinese call it 'ying tao xiao zhui' - literally translated as "cherry small mouth") and possibly my face shape - very nice... i am really hoping that she'll have daddy's nice bridge and deep set eyes. (these parts are not exactly clear in the photo) again, we verified the gender (100% gal - i am finally 101% convinced that all the pink rompers will not go to waste!) and counted the no. of fingers and toes (yes, all twenty of them). her weight is estimated to be 1828g (very auspicious no. for CNY!) @ 32 weeks and i'm glad that i only put on 0.8kg since last OB visit (meaning most of the weight went to her, which is good). in total, i've put on less than 11kg for the ...

last thursday's OB visit was not exactly eventful (that explains this delayed entry)... claire's ultrasounds are not very interesting now that we can't see her completely. dr tan basically just checked through her organs for abnormality and everything seems normal which is really assuring. in any case, we are very happy to see her and hear her heartbeat. she's estimated to weigh 1233g @ 29 wks and i've put on about 9kg so far. medically speaking, i still have another 10 weeks to go before my EDD but since a baby birthed after 34 gestational weeks is already considered full term, princess claire could be out as early as the lunar new year week. our house is still in a mess, we've yet started my hypnobirthing/antenatal classes, the hospital bag is half packed, the list goes on... so you can probably imagine how much anxiety we are feeling now. considering the EDD is just that - estimated ... i really feel that i have to start getting things done! it obviously does...

i spent about two hours sewing claire's first "security blanket"... and i think its beautiful! how do u like it? perhaps my little princess will be like linus of the charlie brown comic strip - amazingly intellectual and philosophical about life and problems. :) incidentally, charlie brown and gang are amongst my all time favourite!

So!!!!!! how did you celebrate your new year? Had plenty of fun? We made our last trip together as a family of two and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company! we stayed @ novotel hydro majestic, kuala lumpur visited petaling street, sunway lagoon, suria klcc shopping mall paid to use clean toilets, took taxi rides to get around and checked out the aquaria klcc admired the petronas twin towers, day & night (the view from our hotel room) watched the fireworks (again, from our hotel room) and basically, ate and shopped our time away! two more weeks before the next OB visit!

after much anticipation, we went to see the OB yesterday (and of course, little Claire). it was a supppppppperrrrrrrrrrrrr long wait @ the clinic because there was an emergency case that dr tan had to attend to. i reached the clinic @ 3.40 but only got to see dr tan at 5.20 or so and as a result, it was a rushed appointment. didn't spend that much time with little Claire. :( in any case, we are glad that the scans showed that little Claire is developing normally. dr tan scanned her brain and heart and no abnormalies were detected so that's a relief. she is really active now, kicking me constantly... so much so that i feel like 'tearing' her out of me sometimes! here's a scan of her brain. its no longer possible to have a full scan of little one now that she is about 35cm (that's longer than the ruler that we are used to in school!) and i finally understand why my EDD keeps getting pushed back. little Claire is slightly below average in terms of size. based on es...

time really flies... i'm into my 6th month already! in less than 4 months, i will finally meet my little one! i'm excited but anxious and i know that i have to treasure my last 4 months of freedom! oh, how different life is going to be after march! i am starting to feel tired again (must be the extra weight i'm carrying around) and i definitely don't have as much energy (or stamina) as before. i can't really walk a mall for long without feeling the strain on my feet, or my back! my appetite has improved tremedously and i am constantly feeling hungry. i try to distract myself from eating by keeping busy and when i really have to eat, i'll look for fruits to eat first. obviously i don't want to deprive little one of her nutrients but i also don't wanna look like a pig! :P back on the topic of my wish list... my lovely friend in shanghai has offered me her Avent Steriliser and Food Warmer (her little princess has already turned ONE!) so that these two item...

what a beautiful day... i took the train today and TWO women offered to give up their seat to me. second lady was insistent so i finally relented (afterall, my legs were a little tired from all the walking). thank you ladies! i really appreciate the kind gesture! whatever happened to 'gentleman'? all the men immediately 'fall asleep' when i get on the train! i also went shopping for my precious one today... managed to buy a gorgeous Aprica W-mini Eye-to-Eye stroller for almost 50% off the usual price. very happy... this is what the stroller looks like: very nice, ain't it? i'm so pleased with this purchase (even though it is still very expensive after the discount) that i can't stop grinning still! there's more! on our way home from the store, we saw a beautiful rainbow! that just about completes my day!! so there you are, one item less on my wish list! i promise to update my wishlist as and when i buy things for my precious one (and of course, add new...

since i'm almost into my 6th mth, many of my dear frens have started asking me what i need. other than buying some small items, i've not exactly started shopping for bb yet but yes, i do have a list of items that i intend to buy for my precious one... and here's the list with pictures for reference: from left to right: Combi Stroller (Model: RiccoW), Avent IQ 24 Steriliser and Avent Bottle & Food Warmer from left to right: Safety First Car Seat (Model: Intera Convertible), Combi Rashule High Chair cum rocker, Lucky Baby Besto Bath cum Changing Table Unit these are the main items that i have not bought. if you wish to buy any of the items for me, please let me know so that i won't buy it (and i can make a note so that others won't buy it either!) ;) my dear aunt in US has already bought me most of the bb clothes that i'll need so i won't be needing any more clothes. i also intend to buy the medela pump-in-style breast pump and have already bought Avent mi...

yesterday was my 4th visit to dr tan and as always, i was eager to see bb again. like the previous scans, bb is very active so dr tan had a hard time trying to capture the scan photo... and after numerous attempts, here's a scan of little one @ 20 wks+... lying in the same position as the last visit but you can see how much bigger little one is now. she now weighs 352g and head diameter was 4cm+ (can't remember the exact dimension). dr tan also went through my triple blood tests results and everything is normal. the stats: little one has a 1 in 1,656 chance of getting down syndrome, 1 in 82,795 chance in getting edwards syndrome and 1 in 3,477 chance of neural tube defects. pretty good stats according to doc. for comparison, those bbs of mothers in my age group has 1 in 1,049 and 1 in 10,490 chance of getting down and edwards syndrome. the report didn't print the ave. stats for neural tube defects so i dunno how bb compares to average. in any case, i hope this means bb will...

i'm due for my next doc visit in a week's time and i really can't wait. i'm wondering how big little one is now and whether little one is really a bb gal! and i've finally started shopping for my sweetheart... look what i bought! very cheap... each item only cost me S$1 (except for the microwave steriliser that mr tan says will come in handy when HE is lazy - but even that is only S$5) . in addition, my best fren bought this from hk! yes, its very 'gu niang'... my dear husband has already complained about it. i am not a big fan of hello kitty but it is one of the nicer ones i've seen. the others... yucks! and this one... her head bobs from left to right! How cute! on a sadder note, someone in the family lost her bb... she's due roughly the same time as me (two weeks before actually) and i'm sure it hurts terribly. god bless the couple and hopefully, also bless me with a smooth pregnancy and little one will come out safe and sound!

today marks the third visit to my OB... as with the previous two visits, my heart was filled with anxiety. as a first time mom-to-be, my mind was filled with heaps of questions, largely concerned with the well-being of little one. the very moment i laid eyes on the ultrasound machine and saw the movement of little one, followed by hearing the heartbeat, my heart and mind felt at ease. here's what the scan looks like. if you look carefully at the scan, its not a complete 'picture' of little one - he/she has grown quite a fair bit and i was told its not really possible to have a full scan of him/her from now on. the scan also showed a different position from the last time (the head was on the left side previously and now, its on the right). as he/she is very active, doc had a hard time trying to capture a clear scan. the only two measurements taken were the head circumference and thigh length, unfortunately, both numbers have now eluded me. the EDD has been pushed back a cou...