My baby girl will be born tomorrow morning! We went to the temple at Si Ma Lu this morning to pray for a smooth delivery and also for my boy to recover fully from his recent bout of high fever, flu and cough. We then spent the rest of this morning at KKH doing pre-admissions check by a doctor and taking a blood test (to test for blood type, platelet count and coagulation just in case a blood transfusion is required during the c-sec). Didn't manage to satisfy my craving for a molten lava cake but did manage to get some last minute grocery shopping done with the nesting instincts on overdrive. Received a call from KKH's nurse in the afternoon to brief me on the time to "check-in" at admissions tomorrow morning and was totally surprised when she said 7am! The time of the caesarean operation has been brought forward from 1pm to 9.30am. Hee i dun have to fast for that long after all, only from midnight onwards. After that the hubby and I went into a little panic mode kekeke and busied ourselves around the house getting anal about every little thing left to be done. By this blog post, I am finally ready! Will take another nice long shower tomorrow morning before we leave and so long till my after delivery!
Monday, March 10, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Counting down to the arrival of Baby No. 2
The mommy is now in the final stages of preparation for her little girl's arrival! She will be early with a planned c-section at 38 weeks as compared to her brother who was induced at full term of 40 weeks. We decided to opt for c-section as my first was delivered via emergency c-section due to slow progression and he was big at 3.68kg. The gynae mentioned a small chance of the wound rupturing from having a normal delivery and we thought we'll avoid the risk of it, the waiting and possibly still having an emergency c-sec. Will be nice to have my husband beside me too =)
There's still a ton of things to be done although we have gotten most of the biggy preps out of the way such as getting a maid and confinement lady. An air purfier was an additional item we had to get with the impending haze and went for a really basic model for low maintenance and ease of use. My mother-in-law is already boiling the ginger and vinegar, 姜醋 from the 2 vats of vinegar bought from Yue Hwa at Chinatown.
There will be more washing and cleaning over the next 2 weekends and spending more time with the family is top priority. Hope to clock more rest and zzzs too! Work matters are in order and most of the projects I was involved in are nicely wrapped up.
There's still a ton of things to be done although we have gotten most of the biggy preps out of the way such as getting a maid and confinement lady. An air purfier was an additional item we had to get with the impending haze and went for a really basic model for low maintenance and ease of use. My mother-in-law is already boiling the ginger and vinegar, 姜醋 from the 2 vats of vinegar bought from Yue Hwa at Chinatown.
There will be more washing and cleaning over the next 2 weekends and spending more time with the family is top priority. Hope to clock more rest and zzzs too! Work matters are in order and most of the projects I was involved in are nicely wrapped up.
| No. | Stuff to Do! |
| 1 | Find a Confinement Lady! |
| 2 | Look for a Maid Agency! |
| 3 | Assemble Baby Cot |
| 4 | Cordlife arrangements |
| 5 | Clean Air-con, buy air-purifier |
| 6 | Buy list of stuff in "To Buy" sheet |
| 7 | Wash all baby items (clothes, bedlinen,toys) and sterilise bottles |
| 8 | Clean out wardrobe/drawers/plastic storage tubs for extra storage |
| 9 | Book Javanese Massage (To start 3 wks after c-section) |
| 10 | Prepare angbaos for Confinement Lady |
| 11 | Pack/Re-pack bag for Hospital Delivery |
| 12 | Pick Name for Baby No. 2 |
| 13 | Manyue Arrangements |
| 14 | Wash and pack baby bath area |
| 15 | Birth Registration, CDA Account Opening |
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
My poor boy
My poor boy vomited on his first day of child care...must be so stressed out and traumatised. I am equally traumatised by his experience as well and kinda blamed myself for not prepping him enough. As if its not enough stress already, my mother-in-law decided to take it upon herself to wean him off his thumb-sucking on the very same day by applying the medicated oil "Bai Hua You" on his thumb and favourite teddy bear. Scarred i would say!!! I pleaded with her not to do it now as he is already very 可怜 (in cantonese) and cried the whole day liao. She said ok - guess what?!!! The very next day she used white pepper!!!! I think i nearly cried out in despair and because of this the poor boy couldn't settle in for his only nap of the day. The result is a super clingy toddler that cries the moment i step out. Think I would dig my claws into my mommy too! This preggie needs no further aggravation but how can i stop her? My husband shrugs his shoulder and asks me to tell his mom lo (wished I was the type to swear or give my mil the superduper black face). *Sigh* psyching myself today that she would use chilli?!
Monday, February 17, 2014
22nd Months Old today and first day of Child Care at Carpe Diem
My boy Trevor turns 22 months today! Just so happened that we started him at the childcare today. We enrolled him at the Carpe Diem Starlets 2 at Blk 120 Teck Whye Lane as 2 of my husband's nieces had studied there before and its a stone's throw from my mother-in-law's place. We realised that most of the teachers we saw when we went down to enrol him had changed, and were greeted by unfamiliar faces when we went this morning. It was nice that they had a little pigeon hole for his bag and shoes with his name labelled on it =p We took half a day leave this morning thinking that we would hang around for a while but i guess the most quick and effective way of letting him get used to the new "school life" is to leave him in the hands of the teachers. One of the teachers, Ms Poh carried him away and shoo-ed us home while she pacified the crying boy...
We left a wailing boy behind feeling heartbroken (my eyes watered!), making a mental note in our minds to shower him with even more hugs and kisses after we come home from work tonight. Hopefully he settles in soon and loves school! Geez, think parents may need more mental preparation than the kids. Well, the other kids there look so cute and were unaffected by his crying.
For the 1st week we will probably leave him for the half day session which ends at 12pm so that he can slowly get adjusted to the new environment and routine. Fortunately (phew phew phew) the teacher convinced my mother-in-law of this who was very insistent on leaving him for the whole day starting from Day 1. For this child care centre, the fees after subsidy are the same for half-day and full-day session.
Trevor, being fussy about what he wears as usual, dislikes his school uniform which is a short sleeve shirt and pants and kept tugging at his collar saying ouch all the time. We tried to distract him on the way to the child care centre by asking him to look out for stray cats =)
Things we have to pack for child care:-
We left a wailing boy behind feeling heartbroken (my eyes watered!), making a mental note in our minds to shower him with even more hugs and kisses after we come home from work tonight. Hopefully he settles in soon and loves school! Geez, think parents may need more mental preparation than the kids. Well, the other kids there look so cute and were unaffected by his crying.
For the 1st week we will probably leave him for the half day session which ends at 12pm so that he can slowly get adjusted to the new environment and routine. Fortunately (phew phew phew) the teacher convinced my mother-in-law of this who was very insistent on leaving him for the whole day starting from Day 1. For this child care centre, the fees after subsidy are the same for half-day and full-day session.
Trevor, being fussy about what he wears as usual, dislikes his school uniform which is a short sleeve shirt and pants and kept tugging at his collar saying ouch all the time. We tried to distract him on the way to the child care centre by asking him to look out for stray cats =)
Things we have to pack for child care:-
- Milk bottle and milk powder
- Water bottle (labelled with his name)
- A set of clothes (exercise attire purchased from the shool) for changing after their shower after lunch for full day session
- Diapers x 4 (he's not potty trained yet)
- Bathing towel x 1 (to be changed everyday)
- Mattress cover x 1 (for their afternoon naps, to be brought home each Friday for washing)
- Shoes
- His favourite bear
Thursday, February 6, 2014
First Maid
We got an Indonesian maid 2 months ago and her first day here was full of drama...She arrived at our home around noon on a Sunday and I decided to let her settle down, unpack her belongings and orientate her around the house. Wanted to cook something simple for dinner that she can eat as well (no pork) and settled for chicken stew with rice. Please please do not take for granted that your maid will know how to use things like a vegetable peeler and can opener OR that she will ask you if in doubt ever!! She took initiative to open a can of mushrooms sitting on the kitchen table before I even told her to and cut her hand badly, she had shaved off part of skin on her thumb and it bled non-stop. When i left her to wash my hands after putting on a plaster for her, she slumped forward, hit the kitchen sink and fainted on my kitchen floor!!
Thank goodness my husband was around and I sat down on the kitchen floor with her pressing down hard on her bleeding thumb to try and stop the blood flow. We let her come to slowly as I knew she probably fainted from the sight of too much blood and low blood pressure. My boy peeked into the kitchen from time to time to "check" on the Auntie who just arrived. When she could walk aided, my husband drove her to a 24 hour GP where they bandaged her thumb and advised to go to a hospital A&E for a jab. It took about 3 hours before they came back and she still look traumatised.
For the next few days we did not dare to ask her to do any household chores =) kekeke had initially wanted to put on a stern and strict face to set the tone but just couldn't bear to do it. In the end, we showered so much concern and kept checking in on her to make sure her thumb was recovering well. I also let her call home that week using a $8 Chat Chat card (available at 7-Eleven) a colleague recommended. She's been diligent so far with no major boos boos *fingers crossed*. To reward her, I have gotten her 2 Chat Chat cards, 1 Gado Gado card and a Hi $15 prepaid SIM card (to deduct from her salary) from Singtel...Hope I won't regret this...and that she will use it with discretion.
Thank goodness my husband was around and I sat down on the kitchen floor with her pressing down hard on her bleeding thumb to try and stop the blood flow. We let her come to slowly as I knew she probably fainted from the sight of too much blood and low blood pressure. My boy peeked into the kitchen from time to time to "check" on the Auntie who just arrived. When she could walk aided, my husband drove her to a 24 hour GP where they bandaged her thumb and advised to go to a hospital A&E for a jab. It took about 3 hours before they came back and she still look traumatised.
For the next few days we did not dare to ask her to do any household chores =) kekeke had initially wanted to put on a stern and strict face to set the tone but just couldn't bear to do it. In the end, we showered so much concern and kept checking in on her to make sure her thumb was recovering well. I also let her call home that week using a $8 Chat Chat card (available at 7-Eleven) a colleague recommended. She's been diligent so far with no major boos boos *fingers crossed*. To reward her, I have gotten her 2 Chat Chat cards, 1 Gado Gado card and a Hi $15 prepaid SIM card (to deduct from her salary) from Singtel...Hope I won't regret this...and that she will use it with discretion.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Has it been that long?
Has it been that long since my last blog post?! Mommyhood sure is busy! Baby number one is now coming to 22 months and baby number two is on her way =). Baby number two came as a pleasant surprise as my husband and I were still discussing if we should use the frozen embryos we still have stored at KKH. I discovered this pregnancy much later than must first one though (@ 2 weeks from the blood test) as my Division was undergoing a sudden restructuring and much was attributed to stress.
Preparations are now more or less complete for my baby girl's arrival in March. There's much less shopping to be done this time round as we can still use all/many of the baby items. Wanted to list down some of the really useful and practical items purchased (in case I forget when my bestie's turn comes!):-
For the preggy
I did not have a cervical cerclage done this time round but instead had more frequent gynae visits to monitor and measure the cervix length. Did have a scare when the cervix length shortened to 1.5 - 1.6cm from the usual > 2cm and that very weekend felt contraction like symptoms!! Baby was only 1.3kg and much too early to arrive at 30 weeks. Had 2 weeks of bed rest and felt much better J Now I am back at work but getting clumsier and walking much slower - awaiting the arrival of my princess!
Preparations are now more or less complete for my baby girl's arrival in March. There's much less shopping to be done this time round as we can still use all/many of the baby items. Wanted to list down some of the really useful and practical items purchased (in case I forget when my bestie's turn comes!):-
For the preggy
- Bra extenders (at least 2)
- Low waisted 99-100% cotton undies
- Comfortable elastic shorts and tees for sleeping in (pick XL for non-maternity wear), bought Ts (Girls - XXL) from Old Navy during the annual Black Friday sales below USD 5 each
- Sorella's seamless bras (good for fitting in breastpads for breast feeding too), in different cup sizes
- Maternity bottoms - 1 pair of denim shorts, 1 pair of black shorts, 1 pair of long work pants (extendable in black/brown), 1 denim skirt, Jeans (optional, got mine from H&M during a sale)
- Maternity dresses especially for the later stages of pregnancy - Work and casual (can purchase them online as well from Old Navy, Motherhood, JCPenny during sales and free shipping periods, could wear sizes S and M)
- Inner slips and camis - as dresses become shorter and necklines get lower
- Cropped tops paired with comfy long singlets
- Stretch mark cream - Bio Oil worked nicely in the 1st pregnancy but for the 2nd it caused an itch and so did many other creams
- Comfy flat shoes with non-slip soles
I did not have a cervical cerclage done this time round but instead had more frequent gynae visits to monitor and measure the cervix length. Did have a scare when the cervix length shortened to 1.5 - 1.6cm from the usual > 2cm and that very weekend felt contraction like symptoms!! Baby was only 1.3kg and much too early to arrive at 30 weeks. Had 2 weeks of bed rest and felt much better J Now I am back at work but getting clumsier and walking much slower - awaiting the arrival of my princess!
Friday, December 30, 2011
A Year of Many Firsts!
What a year it has been! =)
Surprised that there are still many firsts for me!
Here's just a few:-
- 7th Feb : First job in the healthcare sector
- 7th May, 27 Aug : Cast my first vote for the General Elections & Presidential Elections @ Yew Tee Primary School
- 1st July : Got my ears pierced at Wisma's Bedazzled at age 31+, best bud there to give me moral support! Nearly chickened out!
- 30th July : Got my post-grad degree, an MBA (Strategy) and made it to the Dean's list! Woohoo!
- 11th Aug : Received the best news ever from KKH that my pregnancy blood test is POSITIVE!
- 19th Aug : Hospitalised for the first time in my life @ KKH for bleeding. Bawled my eyes out - thank goodness my little one is safe and I am finally going to be a mummy!
- 12th Oct : Had my 1st Epidural for my cervical clerclage and peed a litre in front of 1 doc and 2 nurses
There will be many more firsts to come next year =D The first smile, first tooth, first step of my little boy and many many more. I am very thankful and feel very blessed that everything turned out well! Especially thankful for my family and friends for all their help and moral support. I think we all deserve a pat on the back. Happy New Year everyone!
Friday, August 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Evon's Birthday Treat!
=D A belated birthday treat for my best friend started on a rainy Sat evening with dinner at Cafe Epicurious @ The Rail Mall, a place raved for its brunches. We had a 3-course dinner. We were disappointed with the Risotto but really liked the lamb shank and braised beef rib. After dessert off we went to the Night Safari! A first for Evon! So glad to still be able to share this experience with her! A must see is the Creatures of the Night show - the white timber wolf howling into the night and a spotted hyena left us in awe and respect for these wild creatures. The 40 min tram ride was really enjoyable in the nice cool evening breeze. Her birthday present also included a Victoria's Secret bathrobe in striped pink which I ordered from vPOST
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Bittersweet
If there is ever one word to sum up life, it has to be bittersweet...
Googled to see what would come up from this word and chanced upon this "Bittersweet is the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a moment of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak, and that rejoicing is no less rich even when it contains a splinter of sadness" as Shauna Niequist writes in her book.
Yep if I ever own a cafe, it'll be called bittersweet
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Bye bye Xiao Hei 小黑
My first blog post of the year is in remembrance of my dear hamster 小黑，she passed away last evening, 2nd Jan 2011. We have had her for around 2 years and 4 months. She was a brave and strong hamster that fought the tumour on her belly that just grew and grew while she became thinner and thinner. Missed her chubby furry self when she was younger. Hope she will be happy in hamster heaven together with 小白。
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Jurong Bird Park
Its been a long long long while since my last visit to the Jurong Bird Park!! Has it been more than 10 years?? The weather was great and we were there from 8.30am - 2pm =D Caught the Birds of Prey show, Penguin feeding, Birds & Buddies show and did Lory feeding. The Lory feeding was my favourite part of the day. The colourful lories perched on my arm and drank up their feed from the clear plastic cups while we snapped pictures of them.
Wonderful stay at Fullerton Bay Hotel
A wonderfully relaxing one-nights' stay at the Fullerton Bay Hotel - a pleasant surprise planned by my Lao gong =D
Look at the view from our balcony! Free flow of Nespresso coffee - 12 different flavours to choose from and Gryphon teas. Relaxing rain shower, Molten Brown shower gels and shampoo, thick comfy bathrobes and a breakfast complete with eggs benedict, no wonder I am having withdrawal symptoms!!! We had dinner nearby at Lau Pa Sat - satay and bbq stingray and sugarcane juice. Walked off the dinner at Marina Bay Sands and bought my very 1st Coach bag =)
Look at the view from our balcony! Free flow of Nespresso coffee - 12 different flavours to choose from and Gryphon teas. Relaxing rain shower, Molten Brown shower gels and shampoo, thick comfy bathrobes and a breakfast complete with eggs benedict, no wonder I am having withdrawal symptoms!!! We had dinner nearby at Lau Pa Sat - satay and bbq stingray and sugarcane juice. Walked off the dinner at Marina Bay Sands and bought my very 1st Coach bag =)
Friday, December 24, 2010
Life in Equilibrium
Was reflecting on the things I needed to let go of before the year ends whilst in the shower (I am one of those who ponder about stuff while showering =p)
Well the most obvious one is my ability to have children...been feeling very poorly about this "right" (dun think God made this a right, humans call it a right as majority of the population has it...making themselves miserable when they realise they dun have it) being held from me for so long.
Life is in equilibrium, just not mine alone i guess but collectively. I have been focusing only on my side of the equation and how unfair things seem (such as when I found out that a close friend is pregnant when she did not intend to have children and the pregnancy was easy for her, as she only discovered her pregnancy 5 months into term and sailed right thru it discovering the sex of her baby on her very first visit to the gynae). If I had only considered that the other side of the equation was her joy and that by knowing and made aware of how hard I have tried to have one of my own will make her treasure what she has all the more. That kinda balanced things out didn't it.
Life is cruel as we are made aware of things that we don't wish to know or rather given information that do us no good (like maybe I only have one kidney from a rudimentary horn or my mum knowing that her daughter has to go through IVF...). But it is also the sharing of such information that makes others realise how fortunate they are and encourage them to do what they can to preserve/maintain what they have.
Maybe we are not blind, not that greedy and discontented =) just that we see the 2 different sides to the equation at starkly different times of our lives dats all. After all that being said, why do I still feel so bad inside?!
Merry Christmas to all!!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
TCM Visits to Ban Choon Chan
We have decided to try out this TCM place called Ban Choon Chan and literally had to 三顾茅庐, make 3 visits to this place before finally getting to see the doctor. They were closed on my first 2 visits although it was not a stated rest day.
Here's the address: Blk 81 #01-636 Marine Parade Central Singapore 440081 Tel: 6344 6718 Business hours: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat 8.30am - 3pm, Sun 8.30am - 12pm Closed on Tuesdays and public holidays.
Our 1st visit was on a Saturday and we waited for 5 hours from 9am till 2pm before collecting the medicine and stepping out of the place!! The queue system was by rows of chairs and everybody stood up and moved when the next patient steps out. Nope, no queue number to take and registration and stuff =) Really quite cute and primitive (but it works!)...the images just popped back in your head kekeke. 2nd time round we went on a weekday, Thursday and arrived at 8am to be first in the queue and left at around 9.15am. Phew!
These are the herbs we had to brew at home:-
Hope we are one step closer to becoming a mum & dad!!
A song to bring me forth to the New Year!!
Totally in love with this song from Carrie Underwood =) There's a place for us
Here's the reason why:-
There's a place out there for us,
More than just a prayer or anything you’ve ever dreamed of.
So when you feel like giving up cause you don't fit in down here,
Fear is crashing in, close your eyes and take my hand.
We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.
It's written in the stars that shine above,
A world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,
Exactly who we are is just enough
There's a place for us,
There's a place for us.
Where the water meets the sky,
Where your heart is free and hope comes back to life,
When these broken hands are whole again,
We will find what we've been waiting for,
We were made for so much more
We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.
It's written in the stars that shine above,
A world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,
Exactly who we are is just enough,
There's a place for us, there’s a place for us
So hold on, hold on,
There's a place for us
We can be the kings and queens of anything if we believe.
It's written in the stars that shine above,
A world where you and I belong, where faith and love will keep us strong,
Exactly who we are is just enough, yeah, exactly who we are is just enough,
There's a place for us.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
More South Korea BSM Pics
Monday, November 1, 2010
My First KK IVF
I am hoping that documenting what i did these few months might give me some sort of closure and that I can start picking up the pieces and move on...
I had a shorter IVF/ICSI Stimulation process using the GNRH Antagonist as I was allergic to Lucrin on my earlier try. The process was cruel to me, building up my hopes bit by bit with each KK visit, with each injection, with each scan and blood test, letting me experience the symptoms of pregnancy only to take it all away in an instant.
D1 (29 Sep 10) : Start of Menses
D2 (30 Sep 10) : Visit to KK IVF, Ultrasound scan, start on daily Puregon injections (100 units)
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The 5 Stages of Grief
Denial and Isolation: At first, we tend to deny the loss has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts. This stage may last a few moments, or longer.
Anger: The grieving person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she's dead), or at the world, for letting it happen. He may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it.
Bargaining: Now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, "If I do this, will you take away the loss?"
Depression: The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath.
Acceptance: This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the loss.
Anger: The grieving person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she's dead), or at the world, for letting it happen. He may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it.
Bargaining: Now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, "If I do this, will you take away the loss?"
Depression: The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath.
Acceptance: This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the loss.
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