How 5kg changed my life

What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Found these on a website n thought that what was written is really true.

Just 7 week and my life has COMPLETELY turned around! Jus a year ago, i wouldn't expect that i'll be able to wake up in the middle of the night esp every 2 hours to feed my baby but everytime when i sees him smiling at me, my heart would jus melt! :P

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

16. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth."

17. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth."

18. "You now know where the sun comes from."

19. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have."

20. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers."

21. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night."

22. "Silence? What's that?"

23. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having."

24. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had."

25. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule."

26. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one."

27. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog."

28. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late."

29. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury."

30. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger."

31. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place.

32. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do!

33. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution.

34. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart.

35. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them.

36. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts.

37. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"!

38. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect.

39. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING!

40. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!"

41. You want to take better care of yourself for your child.

42. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo."

Still no sleep

Having to do the night shift (taking care of baby at night) has taken over my life. I used to enjoy partying till the wee hours at night and still can wake up the next day feeling alive but now, having to take care of my baby at night, feeding him every 2 hours and expressing milk every 4 hours is really making me so exhausted! when will this end? or at least gets better?

i can't wait for the time where he will at least sleeps longer at night so that i can also have my beauty sleep. hiaz... now my routine starts at 2pm when i wake up, have my breakfast cum lunch, do housework and bath by 5 pm. Start feeding him and taking over from my mom until i have my dinner at abt 7.30pm. his fussy time begins abt 9pm till abt 1am where he will refuse to sleep and just fuss and cries. I just hope sometimes i know what he wants cos at times i feel like a failure when i just can't comfort him. he will finally dose off at around 1am than wake up abt every 2 hours to feed. i will do my expressing at 1am than wash up and quickly go to bed before he wakes up again. My next expressing time is around 4-5am either after or before his feed. Abt 7am, i am usually super tired and will start dosing off whenever i feed him. My happiest moment is 9am when i know i can finally pass him to my mom, express one last time and finally go to bed by 10am. This cycle will repeat again at 2pm :(

Sometimes i find that i do not have a life anymore. i no longer have time to do my own stuff like reading, knitting or even go out. i miss being pregnant where we are 2 in one rather than now where everything i do has to fit into his schedule. Will i ever get used to it? No wonder woman gets post natal depression. i do wonder how woman without family help pull thru this super tough time. i really salute them man!

Confinement

Confinement.. wat a scary word. Being pregnant is such a wonderful feeling esp when you add the freedom that comes with it. Child birth is such a torture. 1st, there is the painful labour with the pushing and tearing and than straight after that, the discomfort and occasional pain from the stitches and bleeding below. Now, when my breast starts to get engorged and feel like they are going to explode or when my milk ducts are clogged and i starts to get fever from Mastitis, i really wonder What's next?

I've read alot about it but when i experience all these myself, it can be so overwhelming esp when it come with the lack of sleep.i should be considered the lucky few already. with my darby helping with the house work and my mom helping with the baby in the day, I am indeed very very lucky :)..
Really wonder how those who dun live with their parent cope with all these.

I'm still adjusting to sleeping when the baby sleeps and expressing milk every 4 hourly. My baby now totally feeds on breatmilk but he still refuses to latch on cos when he was in the NICU he was already given the bottle :(. Actually this could be a blessing in disguise for me so my mom, sis and darby can help out with the feeding, and i can actually measure out the amt of milk that he consumes.

Baby Tristan is gaining alot of weight now and he has definitely grown longer. I have no time to weight him yet, will do so and update his length!

Now Abt confinement, My only complain is not being able to wash my hair and bath as often as i like and drink water as much as i want. Other than that, i'm eating well cos my mom makes yummy food for me but currently am overdosed with chicken already so will avoid chicken for a while after this mth! Luckily it's only 1 mth!!!! hee hee

50 Hour of Torture!

Fri 2nd Oct 2009
6.30 am- Menses- like contractions started. It was still barable. Woke up cos couldn't really sleep. Was wondering if to day was D-day.
8am- waiting for my sis to come back so that we can go and eat our favourite Teo noodles. After that, walked around interchange. contractions got stronger.
12 noon- mom made fried rice and i went to take a nap after that. now the contractions got stonger, about 20 mins apart so it is still early.
3pm- called darby cos constractoisn are now like 10- 15 mins apart n he said he'll come back home. Called Dr Lai also. Dr lai asked if i'm ok and said to go to the hospital if contractions are 3-5 mins apart.
4pm- darby came back, i could not sleep althgough the contractions were stronger that the once in the morning. tried to do some last min packing of the bags for hospital and the room so that it's ready for baby!
8pm- had a light dinner cos contractions were really getting stronger now and abt 5 mins aprt. But we wanted to make sure so decided to wait till it is more regular.
10 pm- decided to go to the hospital cos didn't want to wait till last min.
11pm- reached hospital and settled down but when the nurse checked me, was surprise to find that i'm only 1-2 cm dialated. Wah piangs!!!! a long night ahead man!!! :(

Sat 3rd Oct 2009- Mooncake Festival!
2am- Dr Lai came in to see me cos the nurses called him. I was actually surprise to see him so early in the morning. he checked me n said i was 1-2 cm dialated. he said he can try to 'stretch me' so that i could open more. although only 1-2 cm dialated but my cervics has thinned out so it's good. at least 1 thing is going smoothly. he said that with thing going at this speed, i might take a while to dialate fully n it could be more than 24 hrs. So Option A - to wait at the delivery suite, Option B - to go home 1st and wait or Options C - to wait in the more comfortable hospital room. I picked option A cos didn't wan to move around as the contractions are getting intensed but they are not regular.
4am- 8am- the contractions were getting really intensed now. at least every 1-2 mins, 1 major contraction. I try to relax and take long breath but it's making me wanting to vomit everytime i have contactions. my back and bum also ache like crazy.. This is when the rice sock and microwave oven comes in handy. you wouldn't believe it, it cost less that $15 to make 2 rice sock but what a differance it made to the relieve of pain. Without it, i could have died. darby massage me everytime my surges come in. we tried standing up but everytime i have surges, my legs will jus go weak!
8.30am- Dr lai came in to see me a 2nd time, He checked me again but i'm only 2 cm dialated, he said that my baby is the the OP position ( occiput posterior- baby is facing down but back of head is facing my back) which will cause intense pain especially on the lower back and bum area and a long labour! he asked me if i wanted to have pain relieve. Suddenly, the word 'pain relieve' sounds so magical to me esp after so much pain. But we decided to wait a little longer.
9.30am- i couldn't take it any more so told darby that i really needed to have the Pethedine jab. the nurses came in to give me the jab that could last up to 6 hrs. i was hoping by than, i would have dialated some more.
12pm- managed to fall asleep but the medication is already starting to ware off. i could feel the painful contractions come back :(
4pm- darby went back home to clean the house n feed animals. the nurses also brought the gym ball in so decided to sit on the gym ball and take a walk around the room. tried to do the 'polar bear' position, hoping to dis-engage baby and help him change position. walking aound actually should speed up the dialation but in my case, it doesn't help.
6pm- too painful so decided to take another shot of the Pethedine jab. managed to fall asleep after that cos was too exhausting already. I couldn't really eat although food was provided cos everytime i have surges, i feel like vomitting.
8pm- Dr lai came again to see me- this time, he ordered a ultra sound machine to be brought in. the ultra sound confirmed that baby is in OP position and i'm still only abt 3 cm dialated. He suggested that i use Protaglandin gel to help soften my cervics so to aid dialation. My goodness, after that, my contractions were more intensed and frequent. I wanted to have another jab cos it was so so painful, but the nurses told me to use the laughing gas instead cos too much Pethedine jad will make teh baby drowsy and no good for him, Bo bian n still very painful i used the gas throughout the night. How the gas works is that you need to breath in until the peak of the contraction and than stop using it. maybe it's the deep breathing, which helped a bit. I tried every position possible, standup, sitting on the gym ball rocking back and forth and walking around. That was pssibly the longest night ever for me!

Sun 4th Oct 2009- My Birthday!
7am- Dr Lai came in again to check me but i'm still only 2-3 cm dialated.. Haiz. we discussed augmentation methods.. he gave me a few options: Options A- burst the water bag and wait cos usally it might speed up labour. Option B- Burst water bag and use Oxytocin ( the hormones used to induced labour) to speed up labour which will be more effective than Option A. But if i decided to use Oxytocin, i shoud seriously consider the use of epidural cos the surges will be more intensed and frequent. Wah lau, after so many hours, the word 'more instensed and frequent' really frightened me man!
I went with option A 1st. So he burst my water bag. It was a strange feeling cos warm water started to gash out. He siad water is clear cos there is no sign of meconium ( baby's shit). Dr Lai said that he will leave the Option of using oxytocin and Epidural up to me and if i have decided to use it, i can jus let the nurses know and they will arrage every thing.
9.30 am- too painful! Decided to use Oxytocin and Epidural. So The nurses call in the anesthesiologist and he administed the IV and than the epdural catheter for me. I find the whole experience ok except the jab he gave me numb the skin painful. the epidural took abt 10 mins to work and after that, i totally knocked off man and jus slept through the surges although some of them, i could feel that i'm contracting but it was not painful.
12pm- I was running a fever becos of the epidural so now the nurses were monitoring the fetal heart rate and me more regularly.
8pm- One of the nurses checked me but i'm only abt 6 cam dialated. Was actually hoping to give birth to me today.

Mon 5th Oct 2009
12am- the nurse checked me and call Dr Lai. I'm still runnign a fever and the baby is showing some destress alreday cos of the drop in heart rate.
1.45am- Dr Lai came in, cheked me and told me that the situation is not too good cos there is thick meconium present so we need to give birth now. The nurses prepared and got everthing ready. when i told darby who jus woke up that i'm going to give birth now, he was so shocked. within 5-10 mins, everyone was ready, except me.
Dr Lai said he'll use the Kiwi suction cup to 'pull ' baby out while i try to push him out. We need to do it fast if not, we'll have to do a emergency c-section. that seriously got me motivated. The epidural was turned off so that i could feel the contractions and start pushing.
2am- still numb, i couldn't feel anything at all but whenever the nurses feel a contraction coming, they told me to hold my breath n push. I seriously dun know what i was pushing but i jus followed instruction. This whole 20 mins was tiring. Everytime i was told to push, i jus look at the mother mary picture on the wall infront of me and told her to give me the strength to push and i jus kept doing that. It felt like i was going to the toilet n was very constipated.
2.22am- Tristen was born! but before he had his 1st breath, Dr Lai suctioned out most of the meconium present in his mouth and nose and immediately, when he's born, darby was told to cut the cord and handed him to Dr Tan, the pediatrician. Dr Tan than suction the meconium present in his air ways. I took a 10 sec look at him and he was immediately wheeled of to the NICU. So much for skin to skin contact that i'm so craved for.. haiz :(
Dr lai stitched me up and told me that the perineum stretching that we were doing helped and i only tear a little. But at that point, i couldn't care much about how much i tear, i was exhausted, sore and very worried about my baby.
3.30am- i was wheeled to my room. I told darby to go look at our baby n give him some moral support. I'm not allowed to see him until the epidural wears off in abt 6 hrs time. Haiz...

I stayed in the hospital till fri 9th oct 2009 cos baby has to finish up his course of antibiaotics. 95% so to be on the safe side, we needs to finish his antibiotics.

It was tough for me. In a lot of ways i kept asking myslef if i would have done it differently? would i have opted for a c-section earlier when i know that he's in Op position so that baby would not have to go thru all these? or would i have opted to use augmentaion ealier so as to lesser my pain and that baby be born ok? In alot of ways, i'm glad that i decided to still have a vaginal birth instead of a c-section becos the recovery time is alot lesser and i can stand up and walk after 6hrs and visit the NICU regularly. but if i could change 1 thing, it would be to opt for augmentation ealier so taht he would not be in destress and born ok and we could have skin to skin contact and start breast feeding normally.

Well, I guess if i were to have another baby, i might not remember much of the 50 hrs of pain but i will do things very differently!
:D

Birth Plan vs God's Plan

Like going for some examination, i went to my delivery suite armed with 'the' perfect birth plan. Little did i know that God has the 'other plan' for me. LOL

As many of you know, my labour lasted abt 50 hours! YES! it's that long... and very very painful. I was prepared to go thru this birth easy, calm, relaxing and drug free but in the end, nothing in my birth plan came thru except that i didn't have a c-section.

Was it a waste of time than to plan so much as many people have asked me.... Well.. No! I was glad that by reading, researching and planing and doing all the necessary preparations, i had read up on all the possible procedures and medication, pain relief methods, induction and augmentation methods. So during my painful labour, i could make informed choices and know exactly was i was getting with each decision. I think in the end for me, that's what matters.

I'm glad that at the end of the day, my baby Tristan is safe and happy now. the period that he was in NICU was a big torture for me cos i had to go visit him whenever i can. Breastfeeding is difficult also cos he jus refuses to latch on. haiz...

Came back on fri and now still trying to adjust to life with him. It jus feels like having a new boyfriend n in a new relationship, very exciting, very happy but at the same time very nerve racking. LOL

I'm lucky that my mom is always around to help. She is jus amazing, cos without her, i dun even think i can cope or even Nap. Maybe only after being a mom myself, i started to appreciate the things she do for me although we still have our fights and disagreements. I guess it's jus like that for mom and daughter.

Having family around is great! My sis and Wangfei provides entertainment for my baby! It can be so funny sometimes, for those who have face book and can connect to my sis account, we 'put' the missing eyebrows on Tristan which we laugh until we couldn't stop..

Another person that i seem to take for granted is my darby, I must say that throughout my 50 hours of pain, without him constantly massaging me, encouraging me and loving me, i dun think i would have made it! As compared to me, my darby only had the small IKEA reclining chair to sleep on and he had to shutter between home and hospital everyday. What he had done for me and Tristan is jus beyond what i had expected or could have expect out of anybody.

It strange, i though that i might suffer from post natal depression but i can tell you now that i feel really great everyday! except that i get teary often.. hee hee

Tristan has put on weight since he came home.. Started at 2.69kg at birth, today he weights 3.12kg at 1 week!

Sorry picts all over the place, cos uploading it with my darby's comp and without photoshop... :P

Home run- FINALLY!!!

It could be today, tomorrow or sun.... I think... Been having menses like contractions lately, esp last night and i can see spotting.. Could be my mucus plug releasing. :P

Darby had been really busy these few weeks, coming home really late, trying to finish up his work so that he can also go into 1 mth confinement! LOL. But yesterday he told my son that he can finally come out anytime now. It was a relieve. I was excited and at the same time scared. So now can only wait. :D

I'm all prepared and the rest is up to the lord... Pray for me! hee hee

Hello Stranger!

I went to see the doc today. I'm 38 week pregnant now... lagging him around is really uncomfortable now adays. For the longest time, i was talking to this stranger but today, i finally know how he looks like!

Hello Tristan!

Birthing place

Woken up by my own snoring n couldn't go back to sleep.. so decided to just wake up n do something rather than lie down. I do not have very uncomfortable symptoms during this pregnancy but my stuffy nose is killing me. It's so bad that everynight, i had to take a tablet to sleep if not, i either wake Darby or myself up with my snoring :( Haiz..

Went to see a new Gyne on Mon, 8.40am at Camden medical, Dr Lai, a male doc. I dun mind my doc being male or female but i find that he's more open and detailed in explaining stuff to me. I was impressed that he was willing to fit me in, last min, esp Mon at such an early timing, 8.40am, becos i know most doc would not do that. When i presented my rather loh saw version of the birth plan, he seems ok, except that he told me if i wanted a natural 3 stage, which is the birth of the placenta, than I'll need to take some iron tablets so to minimise postpartum bleeding. I told him that i dun mind active management in the 3rd stage of labor and will leave it to himto handle it.

After that at 11am, i went to TMC to tour, honestly, i didn't like that hospital.. Sorry Jan, Wendy and Sherrie who have birth there, I felt that it was like a market.. very noisy and crowded and it seems to me or how the marketing exe portrayed it as the service standard depended upon what kind of room u r in and how much u pay for them. She was also not very experienced and informed.

Finish at 12pm, had nothing to do cos the tour at Mount Alvernia was 2.30, i drove to Novena square for lunch. i actually didn't wan to tour Mount Alvernia cos i didn't really know how to get there but having seen TMC n was disappointed, i jus thot what the hack, if Mount Alvernia don't work out, i'll tour East Shore Hospital on the weekend.

Drove to Mount Alvernia and reach there early at 2pm. Was surprised that it was a catholic hospital. i was impressed by their service standards although it was a relative small hospital as compared to the other ones that i've visited. They gave me a goody bag which comprises of magazines, sample of Anmun Milk, their service brocheurs and also a free drink voucher! I thought that was very thoughtful of them. Our 'tour group' was small, just me and this very young couple and the lady that brought us touring the Hospital was very detail and friendly. I was impressed and was also happy to know that the nurses were all very friendly and nice. At that moment, i know that this is the hospital that i wan to birth in!

i am glad that i could tour different hospital and also changed doc last min. It's a bit risky to do such last min changes but i know it's all worth while. At least, i dun have to be induced at 39 weeks and have the option to chose the hospital that i want to birth in! Mount Alvernia is also the hospital that Darby was born in 36 years ago.. like father like son!

12th Sept- Eventful day!

Yesterday was a very eventful day for me.

Morning:
My baby stuff were delivered- the cot, the car seat and the stroller. very happy and excited to see them.. reality sets in....

Afternoon:
Me, darby, mom, sis and Wangfei went to have DUCK RICE at east coast park hawker center. Supper yummy!!! Weather was very hot but as soon as out duck rice came, we finished it up in less than 1/2 an hour.

After lunch, we went for our 3rd Hypnobirthing class that we missed out. This class was super intensed because it was to teach us how to write our birth plan. We researched into topics like pain relief, delay cord clamping benefits, induction and augmentation of labour. For general knowledge, epidural will stay in the mom's and baby's body for up to 2 weeks!!!

I truely enjoyed the classes and really learned alot throughout the experience. I am also glad that now i can make informed decisions about the kind of birth that i want.

Night:
Finished at 6pm, we went over to darby's cousin's home to see his new baby girl, Natelie. very cute and adorable!

After that, met up with darby's parents for dinner at bukit merah (exactly where i dun know but i know it's opposite Alexandra hospital). While waiting for our dinner to come (BTW we were seated under a tree), we heard something that sounded like fire cracker and suddenly, a very big branch broke off and fell on us! Luckily, we were all ok and no one was injured at all! i really felt so blessed and lucky man that only the small branches and leaves fell and hit us! :D

Dinner was ok.. after that went home but actually after the Hypnobirthing class, i was thinking abt changing my doc and also the hospital. Spoke to darby abt it. My doc is the active management kind so i'm sure that she might not accept the kind of drug free, natural birth that i wanted. So at midnight, made up my mind to change my doc and also the hospital.

Midnight:
Sms my hypnobirthing coach and she will help me set up an appt with another doc. Will be seeing him mon morning and also will tour Thomson medical and also Mt Alvernia on mon. Gosh... changing doc during my 37th week... abit stressed up now... hee hee :P

Jus finished my birthplan - feels like going for an exam... =D

Happy Birthday Janet!

For the Mother who live for her children.... Happy Birthday Jan...


Mother’s love is deeper than ocean,
Mother’s lesson is bigger than the sky,
Mother’s sacrifice is greater than God,
Mother’s lap is more comfortable than the warm bed,
Mother’s tale is better than the best novel on this earth,
Mother’s picture is more beautiful than a fascinating scenery,
Mother’s blessings are more powerful than the thousands of seas,
Mother’s shade is cooler than the shade of heavy laden trees,
Mother’s light is brighter than the sun,
Mother’s role is seventy times greater than the father,
Mother’s place is more sacred than any shrine,
Mother’s care higher than the heaven.

Happy Birthday Kisane!

TRUE FRIENDSHIP
True friends are for life
Until the end
They're more than special
They're your bestest friends.

They're the ones you can go to
When you're in despair
The ones that'll help you
Even when you got gum in your hair!

They're the ones who'll laugh
And go laughing with you all through the night
The ones who'll help you
Help you with all their might

To have a good friend
You have to be one
So be nice to one another
So you can be friends forever
And that's how to be the best friend you can be

~ Samantha Sumler~

Please Mom and Dad

My hands are small, I don't mean to spill my milk.
My Legs are short- please slow down so I can keep up.
Don't slap my hands when i touch something bright and pretty. I don't understand.
Please look at me when I talk to you. It lets me know you are really listening.
My feelings are tender- don't nag me all day. Let me make mistake without feeling stupid.
Don't expect the bed I make or the picture I draw to be perfect. Just love me for trying.
Remember, I am a child, not a small adult. Sometimes I don't understand what you are saying.
I love you so much. Please love me just for being myself , not just for the things I can do.

Author Unknown

Updates and Thank You's

1. The last few weeks were busy busy for us. We finish our 4 Hypnobirthing classes which started on Aug 1 but we missed class 3 (how to write a birth plan) cos darby caught a flu. So will make up for it on 12 sept but the KS me has already done up my birth plan and 'pass up' to my instructor to take a look jus in case... We also finished our 2 Parenting classes last sun. 4 hrs on breast feeding... We were so tired after that man...

Verdict:- I think what we've paid for is all worthwhile cos there were so much information shared and now we know what kind of birth we want rather than let the hospital or doc dictate what is right for me and the baby. So i would recommend it to any mother who wans to have a easy, comfortable, relaxing birth! The parenting class is also great esp the breast feeeding class!

2. Last fri, my mum and me went to buy all the stuff that baby and i need, like diapers, washing detergent, my Pj for the hospital, breast pad etc.. Wah so many things to buy man!! Shopping... Shopping... Shopping!!!!

3. We also took out what Wendy's mom pass to me.. i didn't expect so many baby clothes, mittens and booties, blankets and pillows both new and used! basically i didn't need to buy any baby clothes and still have enough supply to keep for my sis and also more clothes for my baby until he reaches 2 years old i think..


4. Saw the doc on sat and she said she would wan me to give birth earlier, in my 39 week .. hmm that should be like end sept or very early oct.. that really send me panicking man.. so over the weekend i was trying to get everything ready and make sure i prepare everything.. I got so gan chonge that i couldn't sleep. LOL.. Until finally yesterday, i was so tired, i jus 'Peng san'. But at least now i feel better that most of the things are prepared already and i dun have to be so worried and stressed out! Now only waiting for the bed, stroller and car seat to be delivered on the 12 sept. Will major pack my room this coming weekend.

5. Baby is now 2.2 Kg and very very active.. head has turned down so now waiting for him to be in the LOA (Left Oxyput Anterior) position which doc say will happen around the 36 week.

6. Lastly, We would also like to say a SUPER BIG THANK YOU to all these Angels for their help and contribution, because without them, this journey would not have been so smooth and enjoyable..
- My Mom for the car seat, baby stuff and all that she has done for me
- My Sis for the Breast Pump
- My Dad for the steriliser
- My Mom, Dad and Sis in law for the Robinson voucher
- Wendy, 4th Aunty and Kieren for all the baby clothes supply and milk bottles
- Janet for her help in coming up with the shopping list
- Kisane and Lee for the Baby album

- All the Blessing and Well Wishes from friends and family!

Final Analysis

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;

Forgive them Anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;

Be kind anyway.

If you succeed, you will win some false friends and some true friends;

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;

Be Honest and Frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;

Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous;

Be Happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;

Do Good anyway.

Give the world your Best anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God;

It was never between you and them anyway.

~Mother Theresa~

Chill Out Nite

It was the 1st time since i know darby that he 'chio' to go for a 'chill out nite' with his Mikoishi friends last friday! Of course i was surprised... ha ha ha


We had dinner at Lau Pa Sat before going to M hotel's J bar to listen to one of his friend play.. Dinner was not fantastic.. 10 beef n 5 chicken satay with rice cost $9 from store No.1!!!! Wah lau so ex.. and i was disappointed cos the meat was the minced kind.. Plus i was not even full after that.. Ordered curry chicken noodle + drumstick ($5), which was more satisfying man...
My darby 'trying out " the COOL look...Wah!!! Yan Tao!!! Slurp Slurp...

Our 1st memorable chill out nite photo.. Can see the giant pimple on the tip of my nose... goodness

Above: Darby's Mikoishi Art team
Below: The band that we were listening to.. The guy on the far left is Danny from Mikoishi..

Left: This is What the guys were having.. BEER!!!!!!!
Right: Shirley's temple is what me n darby were having... sob sob...

Movie Night

Watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on Monday with my darby, his colleagues and my friends Kisane n Lee. The movie was not bad.. Couldn't really remember much cos i read the book a few years ago. So have decided to read the book all over again now to see wat was missing from the movie.. and apparently... A LOT!

As usual, my son really loves movies.. he'll kick n move Non- Stop! It was the same with Transformers 2.. I had my sweet + salty pop corns (that was before i know i had diabetes)! After that, we went to Aston at Cathay for dinner.. Yummy! But i was thinking the steak at the east coast outlet tasted better.. hmmmm

Alamak

Woke up to pee in the morning n saw a missed called from my doc.. Returned call and turned out... I've got the thing that i most dreaded- Gestational Diabetes!!!

Shit!!! was my 1st reaction.. than followed by F#&% no more supper :( hiaz..

Bo bian, i've got to go see a dietitian this sat and she will tell me wat i can eat n wat i can't. Luckily only 11 weeks more to go.. Can you imagine the torture... :(

Happy Birthday Wendy

Today is a Special day for my cousin Wendy, who will be celebrating her birthday away from home. How fast time flies, it's almost a year since she left us for Sydney!

Happy Birthday Wendy... I wish you a wonderful life filled with love and happiness. I hope others bring you joy, just as you've brought joy to us!

We Miss you!


For You, Birthday Girl...

There's nothing to fear --- you're as good as the best,

As strong as the mightiest, too.

You can win in every battle or test;

For there's no one just like you.

There's only one you in the world today;

So nobody else, you see,

Can do your work in as fine a way:

You're the only you there'll be !

So face the world, and all life is yours

To conquer and love and live:

And you'll find the happiness that endures

In just the measure you give;

There's nothing too good for you to possess,

Nor heights where you cannot go:

Your power is more than belief or guess ---

It is something you have to know.

There is nothing to fear --- you can and you will.

For you are the invincible you.

Set your foot on the highest hill ---

There's nothing you cannot do.

Revamping...

Looking at my blog n feeling bored with the colours n can't sleep so decided to revamp it! Changed the colour scheme and also the top.. i think now it looks more cheerful and happy!! I like it!!! :D

Been feeling abit stressed lately, maybe because of alot of miscomm abt issues during confinement time.. Hiaz.. I wonder who invented those stupid rules abt no bathing and wat to eat and wat not to eat?!? Why so many rules? Isn't after delivering a baby a time to rest and enjoy? No wonder some woman suffer from depression after birth. i dun see the population of ang mohs declining when straight after birth, they are able to take a bath and eat what they want and still surviving to a ripe old age. *really shake head*

Haiz, It's not that i wan to rebel against these "rules". I jus wan to discuss if there are ways to modify some of them...

Well, decided to jus not let anything affect me now and stay happy! :)

Eh. Ouey. You.

Isn't it funny how names are smartly removed from conversation whenever you chance upon an old friend. And for the next 5 minutes, you wonder who the hell it is you are talking to, all the while trying to avoid asking the question "Er, sorry ah... What's your name hah?"

A name is more than something that we simply respond to, it reflects our personality, and for some strange reason, even manages to define us. So despite how terrible, old fashioned, boring, funny, weird sounding you might think your name is... Face it, I bet you can't imagine yourself being called anything else, right? Trust me. My sis is called Gidgetelena and her friends think that I am the one with the funny name. Go figure.

Yet, despite knowing that everyone eventually settles into their given name, I would like to think that my son would one day thank me for giving him a name that was unique, representative and just plain cool.

Over the past few months, friends and family have been offering an onslaught of baby boy names. Ranging from the corny... to the fantasy-que... to the new age hip... to colours... to lost ancient scripture even... While all the time, I was holding on to the name which I always thought I would call my first born son. Kainan. It's a long story that you can read up in my earlier post.

So blame it on constant mispronunciations, sounds-like-jokes, or whatever, I concede defeat and it's time for an alternative name. Maybe it's the nerves of writing something in stone, maybe it's the fear of my kid's possible embarassment, maybe Sheila should name him instead, maybe I have better luck in naming pets, maybe...

Tristan.

Enjoy your new name kiddo. That's gonna be it! Or at least until the next name panic comes. :P Luv, Dad.

Santa and Liam

Today is baby Liam's 1 mth celebration. We had a delicious lunch, thanks to Uncle David, Auntie Irene, Daniel and Sherry. =D My favourite.. these delicious hainanese kuay kuay... WAH.... soft, chewy and super NICE!!!!


'Cousins get together sessions' = Major GOSSIPS!!!! ...where we talked abt kelong, prawning, blading, Ubin, seafood, iPhone and P.O.R.N. LOL.. Steven just kept mentioning it and spelling it out which i thought was so funny. We also had a very very cute Domi who kept asking for food and entertaining us with his ever so cute 'pls mummy' and other actions and who could forget the ever so active Isaac playing with his uncles...


I also had alot of good advice from Jan abt everything regarding baby, Breastfeeding, what to bring to the hospital, diapers, baby swimming classes.. etc so much info in last than 3 hrs... better than reading any books! Thanks Jan..
** Oh n who could forget the rose syrup jelly with longan... Jan I'm waiting!!!!!!



Oh as for the Santa part... my 4th auntie and Wendy.. Who gave me so many baby cloths and shoes which i have to sort through, baby bath tub, pillows, bed sheets and many many more. Now, i have them all wrapped up waiting to get a new drawer so that i could put them all insides. Thank you so much!!! It's really a blessing cos me and Darby can save money and also it makes me stress free so i dun have to worry abt what i need to buy!!!

Sat 11July
What started out as racky session for a baby changing table turned into us buying our baby cot which could be transformed into a toddler bed when he's older and a baby stroller... the 2 most expensive items on our list hahah.. i think darby was so scared of me walking back n forth between the 2 baby hyper stores countless times at kaki bukit that he decided to jus buy the one that fitted our budget, nice looking (very impt for him) and functional. By doing that, ended his ordeal of shopping (which he hates) and me going back n forth comparing prices, brand and quality. =P Thank you Darby for being so accommodating n loving!!! MUACKS!
Delivery date.. 12 Sept- include assembly as well.. Good buy!

Wat have i been up to..

Mon 30 May
I went for another round of check up. The doc say that baby is healthy and is growing well. Whew! He's not over weight this time round, now weighing abt 958g and i gained 1.8 Kg since my last check up. He's confirmed a boy.. LOL.. Now my darby can't decide between 2 names for him- Kainan ( pronounced Kay-nen) and Tristen.. As for me, both names are ok..

Wed 1 July
Mom's birthday! went for dinner!!! yummy!!!!

Fri 3 July
Major Emo outbreak!!!! can ask darby abt it.. but i dun think he even wans to remember it! ---> YES, it's that bad... haiz

Sat 4 July
We attended a taster session for Hypnobirthing classes.. It's a prenatal class for drug free birthing. It has 4 classes n we'll be attending the 1 Aug sat 2pm class. We'll also be attending the parenting n breast feeding class.
http://www.fourtrimesters.com/hypnobirthing_classes.htm

Went to Ikea for dinner n also to search for the nappy changing table but couldn't find the one i wan so think have to go to kaki bukit baby center to look for it.

Sun 5th July
I was suppose to do my pedi but than couldn't wake up. Went to tampinese to return the starhub box and also had swensen ice cream! i had ny lime super soda and darby his usual colt tower with all chocolate ice cream. :)

Mom made chicken curry for dinner... YUM YUM!!!

Wed 8th July
Went to the library to return n renew some book than went to do my very long overdue pedicure... I was too lazy to go to roxy squre to look for my friend so decided to do it opposite my house.. Results... now my feet look so Cin-na!!!!!.. I'm so tempted to go have it repainted but than too lazy.. Haiz.. well maybe you might get to see my Cin-na toes this sun.. LOL

When i wake up in the middle of the night n can't sleep, i usually listen to HK radio top ten charts when i surf the net and EAT!!
PS: if you wan to listen, use realplayer instead of windows media player cos it streams faster.
http://www.rthk.org.hk/channel/radio2/

Fri 10th July
Woke up again.. This time feel super hot n thirsty although darby is wrap snugly in a blanket.. LOL. Need to pee as well. haiz. keep wanting to go to the toilet. Today i was good.. Ate an apple and drank Vitagen =P

Mee Suah

Can't sleep n woke up hungry. So after updating my blog and reading Wendy's and Janet's blog, decided to cook this delicious Mee suah! I found it at NTUC and decided to give it a try. Very Very nice and easy to cook as well. Not expensive, $1.35 for 2 packs.

Wat's in my mee suah? - Veggies, 3 CP wantan, 1 egg and 1 pack of mee suah...

Walah!!!

This is the brand of mee suah that i bought.. =P

Mum's 60th B'day- 1st July 2009

Mum and Dad

My mum turned 60 on 1 July 2009! We had a delicious dinner at the seafood place opp our house. Before that, my mum bought 5 delicious durians - sorry but no photos of durians.. LOL

Sambal Sweet potatoe leaf & fried Mee suah- Long live the b'day Mum!

Snowy Tofu & Chrispy fried chicken ( chicken skin with a thin layer of fish cake with sweet n sour sauce)

Fried scallop with banana n bak kua & CHILLI CRAB!!!! - opps for got to take the fried man tou =P

Sis & Wang fei eating mee suah

Handsome DARBY!!! =D

Double Cheezee Burger!!!

Hiaz.. couldn't sleep so guess what... had craving for double cheese burger!!!! If darby knows abt it, he's going to kill me big time!!!!! Didn't wan to go out to buy so ordered Mc delivery 24/7.. My order.. 1 double cheese burger, 1 small fries and 1 ice tea.. $9.35!!! LoL at least i didn't upsize my order.. hahaha =P

Think i'll be getting a scolding from the doc on mon when i go see her again. Dun know how much weight i've put on so far.. Oh, jus measured my waistline, i'm 102 cm in circumference.... hahaha

I'm knitting a new jumper for my son.. but than because i'm using a size 6 needle instead or a size 4, the jumper is a bit bigger than the size given in the book.. so instead for a 6 mth old baby, i think have to wait till 1 year old than can wear!!! ---> will post the pic up when i'm done .. Will include the 1st sweater that i knitted... =D

Being Pregnant so far....

I'm in my 6th mth now.. so far, i didn't have any discomfort and if my friend Tasha didn't make me take the pregnancy test, i think i might not even know that i'm pregnant! lol

Maybe i'm considered one of the luckier pregnant woman... My only discomfort in the very early days of my pregnancy was my breast being very very painful and sore till i cannot sleep. My cure.. i applied flex seed oil on both my breast and massage them 2 times a day. after i realised that i was pregnant, my cravings changed weekly from luncheon meat to chocolates, plum lime drink to bak zhang, oranges and now durians... ha ha ha these are some of the things that i would not eat before i was pregnant and now i find that i'm thinking constantly abt them.

I realised that some days i'm more emo esp at the end of the week from sat to Mon and i'm be alright from Tues days onwards.. dun ask me why but that seems to be the trend. I must say that my darby has been especially understanding, gentle and attentive towards me despite his taxing workload.. I'm a lucky woman.. Well besides my darby, having my dogs around gives me comfort as well, esp Washington, my cute little chihuahua.. haiz, i just can't stop smiling whenever i think abt him... =P

People say that woman feels insecure when they are pregnant, for me to combat it, i have a fetish that started in my second trimester... i like to smell my husband shirt.. (which he says that i'm bian tai!) The t-shirt that he wears to sleep, i will take n smell and hug it when i sleep so now a days, he'll pass me the t-shirt he slept in the previous night and wash the one that i use as my 'comfort blanket'.. hee hee hee

Being pregnant makes me do funny crazy things, and eat things that i'll won't probably touch last time. My tears will also fall at the slightest 'touching' stuff so can you imagine when i watch TV drama, I'll be crying non stop.. hee hee... So far, i think these 6 mths has been a happy and rewarding 6 mths... hmmm wonder will there be any major changes when i cross over to my last trimester? stay tune... Lol