Blessings from Above

dh took me out for dinner last night - our first 'twosome' night out since claire joined us. i chose Indulgz based on xiaxue's recommendation and we ordered the following: Indulgz's Lobster Bisque with Crabmeat Soup **** Deep-fried Camembert Cheese with Indulgz's Mixed Berry Compote ** Indulgz's Signature Butterfish Steak **** Beef Bolognaise Baked Rice *** Banana & Cream Smoothie *** Iced Blackcurrant Tea ** the bill came up to $80+ (can't remember the exact amount) and personally, i don't think it was worth it - for that amount of money, i could have enjoy Sin Huat's absolutely fabulous crab beehoon (never mind its in a dirty coffee shop quite near the red light district) with leftover change. otherwise, i could have paid a bit more (like 20 bucks or so) and enjoy fantastic foie gras @ DOMVS or Vis-a-Vis! i've indicated how many stars we gave for each of the items we ordered (out of a possible 5). we give *** for ambience and ** for...

me... the mummy, that is... i'm getting closer to the big 3! scary! sleep, that's the present little one gave me. she has been waking up every 2 hours for feeds the last week or so. i put it down to 'growth spurt' and am very glad that i do not need to report for work every morning but last night, she only woke up once (even though i woke up a couple of times to check in on her) so there, my little one gave me the opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. how sweet of her, isn't it? i do think that she's very 'clever' for her age, from examples: when i was staying with my in-laws, she was willing to drink expressed breast milk from bottles (fed lovingly by grandma). the minute i moved home, she rejected the bottles and only wanted to latch on. she started 'recognising' mummy and daddy from about 11 weeks. no one else can carry her now. she 'allows' me to do my things, e.g. when i finish my bath, i need to dry my hai...

i finally lost count of how many weeks old princess is now and so i understand why its easier to just track her growth by months(she's 3.5 months now). :) someone once told me that having a bb gal is like having a life size doll (albeit a very heavy one) to 'play' with it. i honestly can't remember who told me that but it is quite true. i must add that dh and i are both NOT fans of dolls (i used to rip off the heads of barbie dolls belonging to my sis and dh just gets reminded of "chucky" when he sees any doll) however i'm having loads of fun dressing her up. here's a couple of new shots we took recently... here with her (larger than) life size portrait, wearing a head band for the first time... in this summer must-have - a colorful carter's sundress that brings out the youth in her enjoying a cuppa @ starbucks with mummy (no, i'm the one enjoying the cuppa actually - she only gets breastmilk, nothing else!) in her 'i'm a little prince...

having a baby slows you down... it gives you time to reflect on your life and how you've been living. for me, my priorities shifted completely. i never knew that motherhood can change a person so much. while i still believe in working damn hard for $$$, its no longer to satisfy my own material needs but for the comfort of my little angel. i want her to have the best, to have things i never had. i'm glad i made the right career choice when i graduated, for now i have the luxury of watching my little angel grow up yet still have the means to shower her with gifts. i treasure every moment with her and wonder why i never had her earlier. with her, i found time to do the things i loved, like photography and baking, all while spending quality time together. my heart fills with joy when she smiles and laugh and aches when she cries. she's my little angel. i baked dh a fruit cake for his 31st birthday on 11 July... here's what it looked like.

our little gal has turned 3 months old! it seems that now we are not supposed to calculate by weeks but rather by months so 12 weeks is not = to 3 months apparently as opposed to the time when she's still in my womb. i'm sure its a matter of time when we stop recording the events by days, weeks and months but by years but till then, I am savouring every moment I spend with this little gem. on monday, i took her to the hospital to have her 5-in-1 vaccination. like all parents, i was very anxious about her developing a reaction (and thus a fever). true enough, she starting having a slight fever on monday night. we tried giving her paracetamol prescribed by her PD and after which, she threw up possibly all the milk she had for the day! it was not hard to see that she was extremely miserable. on tuesday morning, i attempted once again to give her a dose of the medication. this time i diluted the mixture with water (the mixture is actually too thick and gluey for her to swallow (no...

my little princess is 12 weeks' old today! everyday i thank and praise God for this wonderful gift. she's very alert and inquisitive - she sleeps a lot less now (very often refusing to nap) and loves looking around so we can't stay at the same spot for very long. daddy says she is restless, just like mummy. we've been doing tummy time with her (but grandma freaks out coz she's worried that princess will suffocate herself when on her tummy) and trying to get her to sit on her own - which she manages quite well! :) she is also able to differentiate who's carrying her and very interested to start talking - with her constant cooing! here are some photos taken since the last post... other than being mummy's full-time photo model, princess did her first studio shoot on 21 June with Pix n Portraits and we are still waiting for the studio to process the prints. in case anyone is 'complaining' about the lack of posts, its largely because i have been...

time really flies... i spent the last eight weeks changing diapers, nursing and playing with my dear gal. i have four more weeks before i 'officially' have to start work and i'm so not looking forward to it! princess is starting to be a lot more fun... she sleeps less but for longer stretches, cries less and smiles more. i still continue to wake up every two hours at night because my body (namely, my breasts) TELLS ME to. its just impossible to stay asleep when your breasts feel rock hard and start leaking milk! in addition, my impending return to work brings on the question "who is going to look after princess?". that has kept me up for several nights. yes, we have a helper now but i'm not about to leave princess in the care of a stranger (yes, i still consider her as such because she has only been with us for a month). the original plan was to leave princess and the helper with my MIL... looking at how things are now, i'd say that's not quite poss...

there's a picture of little one @ 6 weeks... i reckon she's looking more and more like DH... what do you think? time really flies... i'm halfway through my maternity leave (though strictly speaking, i do not have any). my dear gal is already 6 weeks old and i visited dr tan for my six weeks postpartum check yesterday. despite the fact that i have no problem fitting into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes, i still have another 3kg to lose before i reach my pre-pregnancy weight - makes me wonder where the 3kg is deposited. the only difference, i feel, is that i now have heavier breasts but i am quite sure they did not become 3kg heavier! anyhow, i have been given the 'all clear' to proceed with exercise and ... SEX! yeah! we can officially start production for junior no. 2!! I'M KIDDING! i'm taking a well deserved rest until... maybe end of the year? would be nice to have no. 2 next year. plus, i have 9kg to lose to my ideal weight! haha... I've sta...

what a relief - confinement is FINALLY over! i have to say i'm totally sick of eating food cooked with sesame oil and ginger. i'm so glad that i can bathe like a normal human being (without having to boil herbs, wait for it to cool and boil again before i bathe!) and not worry about my body/hair being wet and getting 'wind' into my system. most of all, i'm free as a bird! i can now go shopping, have my manicure/pedicure done, enjoy a leisurely walk, etc etc... my precious little gal is coming 6 weeks old and has more or less settled into a routine. we had two weekend of parties for dear princess... a small cozy party of DH's extended family on 06 may and a whole day event with my extended family as well as our friends and colleagues on 13 may. its nice to be able to catch up with everyone but unfortunately, i couldn't find the time to take photos of everyone! those of you who graced this special event (you know who you are!), thank you so much for taking t...

even before i've finalised the details for princess claire's full month party, truckloads of gifts have arrived (ok, i'm exaggerating, not truckloads but definitely plenty!). indeed, we are blessed and loved by many and we are so glad! of course, some of the good gifts are courtesy of claire's grandparents' popularity. here are some of them... not forgetting loads of red packets! thank you all! Party Details 1) Buffet Dinner on 06 May 2007, 6pm 2) Buffet Lunch on 13 May 2007, 12 noon 3) Buffet Dinner on 13 May 2007, 6pm warning: gatecrashers will not be entertained! if you want to be invited, send me an email . i'll consider. :)

yes, thanksgiving is still a long way from now but as i sit and enjoy the new love in my life, i can't help but feel blessed. so today, i'm going to give thanks to the many wonderful people in my life. i give thanks mostly to the Lord, for a relatively easy pregnancy. i did not suffer all the discomfort associated with being pregnant. in the first trimester, i was just mostly tired. i slept through the first few weeks - never actually 'suffering' from nauseousness, morning sickness or the likes of it - i just hate my regular toothpaste. in the second trimester, i had more energy. i spent my days shopping and preparing for the arrival of my love. i ate and slept well. in the third trimester, things slowed down for me - i worked lesser but smarter. work was smooth sailing at most times. i give thanks for not putting on too much weight and whatever i gained mostly went to my new love. i give thanks to birthing a healthy and beautiful baby. i give thanks that i suffered n...

this is princess @ 2 weeks' old... :) on a good night, she will sleep 4 hours straight after one feed... on others, she will wake up every hour and 'demand' to be nursed. i have to produce at least 70ml of milk every two hours to satisfy this constantly hungry baby or allow her to latch on for 20 mins minimum or put up with her incredibly loud wailing. i can't understand how someone so small can be so loud? yet i get immense satisfaction knowing that she is thriving from whatever little milk i am giving her - indicated by the number of soiled diapers DH and i have to change every day (she's already using the 3rd pack of diapers we've got) and her weight gain. for that alone, i shall endure all the pain and soreness and persevere in breastfeeding her until she no longer wants to be breastfed. on a side note, i can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans oredi! :)

see what joy she is!

our little princess is 09 days old... :) isn't she just adorable? on monday, i woke up with my whole body aching... by mid-day, i was having a fever... it went up all the way to 38.8 degrees... all because of engorgement. before i went to see the lactation consultant, i set out to do some shopping online - i bought some Goat's Rue (that is supposed to help improve the milk output), nursing tea (for the same purpose) and a Ameda twin electric breast pump. i am not going to give up breastfeeding my princess because of some pain. the lactation consultant gave my right breast a good massage (which hurt like hell!) and sent me to see my OB for the fever. i spent 4 hours in RH, mostly waiting, before getting home @ 1930 hours. i was prescribed medication (a double-edged sword - too much of this medication will cause the milk production to cease permanently) to help with the engorgement and was told to take panadol for my fever and body aches. this 'suffering' made me grouc...

its almost a week since my dear princess made her grand entrance - my day/nights are now topsy turvy and for the next few months, i will NEVER have the opportunity to sleep my regular hours (10pm - 7am) again. yet, i can't complain; she's such a joy - i love it when she smiles, enjoy her blissful expression she finishes feeding and when she stares at me in the quiet of the night with her big, beautiful eyes. i promised to share the story so here it is... as per doctor's orders, we admitted ourselves to the hospital on the morning of 09/04/07 @ 7.30am, after each having a plate of bee hoon and nice, cold drink @ the foodcourt on level one. on admission, i was immediately strapped onto the CTG machine to monitor princess' heart beat and my contractions. dr. appeared @ 9.30am (he was supposed to appear @ 8 plus!!) and seeing that i was only 1cm dilated, he made arrangements to induce me with pitocin, after breaking my water bag. the "unbearable" wait then b...

a photo of dear princess taken today for now... will share the birth story when i can think straight... :P

D-day is almost here... up 'til now, dear princess still won't make her grand entrance even after we "bargained" for a few more days. dr tan will not allow us to wait beyond tomorrow so we'll have to be at the hospital tomorrow @ 7am for the induction process (dr tan says she'll be out by lunch time!). honestly, i am having mixed feelings; slightly disappointed because i had hoped that i'd be able to birth dear princess naturally without the use of any drugs, extremely elated because we are finally going to meet our dear gal! * however, i am still holding on to the hope that she will choose to make her entrance BEFORE dr tan injects me with pitocin tomorrow * DH finally relented in letting me go out and get my hair cut and my brazilian wax done yesterday! hehe... and since i was out, i did more shopping for dear princess... i finally bought her some toys... and also a receiving blanket from Ralph Lauren coz ms kwekie complained that bb gals should not bro...

in another 2 days, i'll be 40 weeks pregnant... obviously, its good that i've reach full term without any hiccups so far but i'm also getting worried. dr tan is not about to let me wait out for natural birth to happen. he deems it is 'medically necessary' to induce me this thursday because i have lost 1.2kg in the last two weeks and he's concern that its either because 1) the placenta is not working well or 2) the amount of amniotic fluid has decreased. this is despite a normal CTG done today @ his clinic and princess putting on another 1+kg bringing her estimated weight now to 3.2kg. sigh... i've been hoping for a TOTALLY drug free birth and its becoming seemingly impossible now. i will have to return to the clinic on wednesday to do another CTG in order to delay induction to next monday. princess claire, you have TWO days to make your grand entrance so please... be a good gal!

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!