"Good-sized" baby = "big-sized" baby

Hubby's finally back from Guangzhou yesterday evening. The night before his return, Karyn and I were both so anxious that I could hardly sleep. I went to bed at midnight yet still found myself wide awake at 2.30 in the morning. And Karyn was so active throughout, moving around more than usual.

Early in the morning yesterday, I called up my gynae's clinic to make an appointment as the previous night's appointment had been cancelled at the last minute. His nurse had called to say he had 2 deliveries to attend and so could not be at the clinic.

So, I called his clinic at TMC and made an appointment at 11.50 a.m. Took a cab down with my mum who had been staying with me since Monday evening to accompany me while Hubby was in Guangzhou.

We had arrived earlier and thus went to the hospital nursery to look at the babies there. There were about 8 babies there at that time, mostly boys. Then we noticed there was a baby which weighed 3.9+kg! My gosh! That's huge! I wonder if it was a natural or Caesarean birth.

Then we proceeded to my gynae's clinic. During the consultation, Dr. Tseng palpated my tummy which caused slight discomfort at the pelvic area. Then he measured my uterus and commented, "You have a good-sized baby.."

I was caught by surprised and laughed out out. "That means "big-sized" lah!?"

"About 3.1 kg. You have to watch your carbo and sugar intake," he advised.

OH MY GOD! I didn't expect my baby to be this huge at 36 weeks!

"Is she engaged already?" I probed.

"Not yet but she's engaging.." was his reply. I wonder what that means...

Oh dear... Thoughts ran wild in my mind. Should I self-induce Karyn to come out within this two weeks? What if she gets bigger in the next few weeks? What if she gets so big that I can't have the natural birth that I want? What if...?

I was so worried. Later that evening, I msged my doula-instructor and asked for her advice. This is her reply: "Imagine putting an unripe apple in a microwave, what would be the outcome? It's the same with your body, if it is not ready... no matter what you do, nothing will work."

Well well, she does have a point there.

Sigh... looks like there's nothing much to be done except to really cut back on rice, bread and noodles which have been my staple diet for the past 9 months.

But then again, it's time to resume taking raspberry leaf tea! I had stopped taking it after that week that I started. 'Cos it was giving my consecutive nights of Braxton Hicks. And I thought it wouldn't be wise to continue in case it triggered labour while Hubby was away.

But then again, when I asked Dr. Tseng about the tea, he said that it would trigger contractions but not induce labour. And anyway, he added, it's alright for me to drink it now since I'm already close to full term. What he said contradicts what I read from the Internet and is a bit self-contradictory. Many women who are past their due dates swear by raspberry leaf tea to induce labour. And if he really meant that it wouldn't induce labour, then why had he reassured me that it was okay to drink since I'm close to full term?

Well, well, whatever the case, i don't see the harm in drinking it every day. Anyway, I think it's better to start learning to cope with the Braxton Hicks before labour. Hopefully, drinking the tea will help achieve an easier labour, as advocated.

Thunderstorms

Every time Hubby is away from home for whatever reason (business trips or reservist), it never fails to rain.

The last time Hubby was away was in January this year. He had gone for a week of reservist training. On the very first day that he was not at home, the sky suddenly turned overcast in the late afternoon. Soon, a thunderstorm ensued.

This time round, there was no exception. Actually, the weather had been hot and humid the past few weeks, with only very few light drizzles on and off.

After I woke up from my afternoon nap, I was surprised by how dark the sky has become. So much so that I had to switch on the lights in the room at 4.30 in the afternoon when usually it is bright and sunny. In no time at all, huge droplets of water fell from the sky and the occasional roar of the thunder can be heard.

What a strange phenomemon. We were still lamenting how hot the weather has been for the past few weeks and now, a thunderstorm...

Sigh... even the sky is crying with me...

"Flight status" by little Karyn

Whenever Daddy goes on business trips, Mummy will be obsessed with the SIA Flight Status web page.

On the day of departure, she will log on to the page and keep on clicking at the refresh button to see the actual time that the flight takes off and estimated time of arrival at the destination.

It is no exception this morning. She has been at the page since 6.50 a.m. even though Daddy's flight was scheduled to depart at 8.00 a.m.

It is only when she has seen the actual time being reflected will she leave the computer.

Sometimes, it takes very long for the timing to be reflected as there will certainly be a time lag between actual take-off time and the time the SIA personnel takes to upload the information. Like today, it wasn't only until 8.25 a.m. that the timing was shown - actual time of departure 7:59, estimated time of arrival 11:58.

So Mummy has been at the computer for 2 hours straight - from 6.30 till now...

She will be at it again this noon, around the estimated time of arrival - 11.58 a.m.

"Mummy's love-hate-relationship with sms" by little Karyn

It's only been 1 hour plus since Daddy left the house and Mummy and Daddy have already exchanged 2 smses and 1 phone call.

Daddy has just called to say he was boarding the plane and several minutes later, he smsed a mushy message to Mummy, promising to sms again when he touches down in Guangzhou.

It's a love-hate-relationship with all these phonecalls and smses. Each time, it never fails to make Mummy both happy and sad at the same time - happy that Daddy's in touch and yet sad that he's so far away.

Everytime Mummy hears from Daddy, she starts convulsing again and poor me, have to be subjected to constriction of space once again. Luckily, the duration of each convulsion is getting shorter and shorter. Maybe Mummy is gradually coming to terms with Daddy not being around these 4 days.

The litter bin below Mummy's desk is filling up with Kleenex again. It's a usual phenomenon whenever Daddy goes on business trips.

"Daddy goes to Guangzhou (Day 1)" by little Karyn

Daddy just left the house at 6.15 a.m. for the airport.

After Mummy locked and closed the door, I suddenly felt squashed from left to right, top to bottom. For a while I'm squeezed at my buttocks, and then released. And then I'm squeezed again. Mummy seems to be squashing me intervally, and I can hear her sobbing and blowing her nose. Her convulsions seem to go on forever and there's no space for me to stretch my arms and legs.

"Mummy! It's ok, don't cry. We'll be fine. Daddy will be back soon."

Sushi buffet

Hubby's right eye suddenly turned red and slightly swollen on Tues night. We figured it must have been due to his staring at the laptop for too long the whole day he was working from home.

The next morning, we woke at 6.30 a.m. (yes, it's been long time since I woke up that early) and found his eyes still red. So we went to see the doctor who diagnosed it as conjunctivities and gave Hubby 3 days' MC.

Well well, despite being on MC, he still continued to work from home that morning after we got back from the clinic.

For lunch, we went to Suki Sushi at Lot 1 and had sushi buffet. It cost $19.90++ per person inclusive of yellow plates that are normally priced at $4.90 each. I thought it'd be worth the money if we just ate 10 plates of yellow plates. We especially like the butter baked oysters. Yummy!

In the end... guess how many yellow plates we ate? Nah.. not 10. Only 9 of them. But we did take some green plates ($1.80 each) too.. so we weren't shortchanged...

And the cream puff was SO yummy too! I kept on taking and taking, one plate after another from the conveyor belt. The second plate was best, 'cos the cream inside was still very much frozen. I found myself addicted to the puffs and continued taking. The puff pastry wasn't overly thick and the cream was just suitably sweet, not too sweet like custurd. In fact, it tasted more like light vanilla ice cream.

Those on subsequent plates I took had mostly melt cream so I found myself searching for that elusive frozen ones. And kept on taking and taking until I finally found one plate with freshly served, frozen cream. And by then, I realised there were 5 dessert (printed) plates on the table.

Haha... I could just sit there the whole day eating their cream puffs.

A mother's legacy

Hubby and I were watching ChannelNewsAsia last night and there was this programme, 20/20. It was a Mothers' Day feature about the intriguing relationships between mothers and their daughters.

A few minutes into the programme, Hubby made this comment:

"Daughters will always be close to their mothers. But sons will be close to nobody..."

I definitely agree with him on that. Nothing can replace a mother and daughter relationship. I'm the perfect example. Despite all the misunderstandings, quarrels and squabbles we had, my mum and I are still very close. I still let her in on many of the issues that are close to my heart, from relationship issues to work to just plain grouses about life. In comparison, Hubby is not as close to his parents. His conversation topics with his dad usually revolves around technology and gadgets, investments, soccer, the usual guy topics. As for with his mum, there's not much else other than updates of work and day to day life. As for Hubby's sister's relationship with his mum, I would say it's much closer than his. Of course, that's a mother-and-daughter relationship for you.

In the past, the Chinese has this saying "Daughters are water that is poured away", meaning, as soon as a girl gets married, she takes on the husband's surname and is considered married into his family. So the Chinese has always favoured having boys than girls.

But I think that notion is no longer as upheld as before. Almost every mother-to-be that I know now prefers having a daughter as a first child. Whether they have a son or not is not that great a matter. The kind of bond between a mother and daughter is just so unique and special, one that never does exist between mother and son or father and son or father and daughter...

I'm glad that I'm carrying a baby girl... Heehee...

Ok, I've derailed. Back to the 20/20 programme.

Then there was this segment about a lady in her 30s, Erin Kramp, who was dying of cancer in 1997. She had a daughter, Peyton who was just 5 years old. She thought long and hard about what she wanted to leave for a daughter and began making tapes of all the advice and messages that she would want her daughter to grow up having, years into the future.

Here are some excerpts of her tapes...

"When you're picking your career," Erin advised in one message, "don't pick what you think I would want you to do. Don't pick what you know would make Dad happy for you to pick. I want you to pick something, whether you're schooled in it or not, that you have passion for."

"I want you to know that I would very much bless Daddy remarrying if he is given that opportunity. Because I know at that time you would be hesitant and would say, 'Well, what does Mom think?' Or, 'Would this be my second Mom? Should I call her Mom? How would Mom feel if I called her Mom?' I feel fine about it, because I'll always be your real Mom."

In one of her tapes, Erin promised Peyton, "Love will sustain you more than anything, and you are the most privileged person I know because of all the love that comes your way."

It was all so touching that I couldn't control the tears streaming down my face as I watched the programme. Here is a great mother who knew she was going to leave her young daughter behind when she succumbs to cancer... A mother who wanted to be there for her daughter even though she knew it would be next to impossible... A mother who endured all the pain and hardships of her illness in order to prepare the tapes for her daughter...

How great is a mother's love!

Click here to read the news article about Erin and her tapes for her daughter.

In case the website ceases to be accessible, I've decided to paste the article here...

A Mom's Farewell
Dying mother leaves daughter messages of love, candour and humour

Jan. 27, 2006 — In her mid-30s Erin Kramp thought long and carefully about what she wanted to leave her daughter, Peyton. Comfort, advice and humor were among the assets Erin wanted to bestow, all adding up to a portrait of who she was. And so she began to make tapes, creating messages that her daughter could count on receiving years into the future.

"When you're picking your career," Erin advised in one message, "don't pick what you think I would want you to do. Don't pick what you know would make Dad happy for you to pick. I want you to pick something, whether you're schooled in it or not, that you have passion for."

At the time, in 1997, Erin required a steady oxygen supply because she was dying of cancer that had spread to her lungs. Her focus on creating a legacy as a mother was unshakable, from the first message she recorded.

Living With the End in Mind

"I had to get up, and I had to cut three times," she told me then, "because I kept crying, thinking I can't believe I'm talking to her as if I wasn't here. Then, I started really getting into it, and started, you know, thinking … this is my only chance to really communicate with her some of the things I think are important."

Erin was raised in Dallas and married entrepreneur Doug Kramp in 1987. They were a vivacious, charismatic, adventurous couple. She was a fast-thinking venture capitalist who advised Doug on business deals. Their daughter, Peyton, was born five years into the marriage, on March 5, 1992. Two years later, Erin discovered a lump in her breast — a malignant cancer diagnosed as fatal. She immediately went to work to try to prepare herself, her husband and her daughter for what was to come.

"There's two nurses and a doctor," Doug Kramp remembered, "and Erin has already got a pad of paper and a pen, and she's grilling them on questions. 'OK now, who do I need to talk to?' And I just remember thinking, 'Oh my gosh, she's already attacking this thing.'"

Erin and Doug wrote a book called "Living With the End in Mind" — a checklist for preparing for death and embracing mortality.

Doug assumed a lot of the tasks that were part of Peyton's daily routines.

"Doug started taking over the role of putting Peyton to bed, so that if I wasn't around, she would have the same routine," Erin said. "When she falls asleep, I come and pray over her at night, at the foot of her bed."

In one of her tapes, Erin promised Peyton, "Love will sustain you more than anything, and you are the most privileged person I know because of all the love that comes your way."

Erin began thinking of her daughter in two ways: as the carefree preschool child she was and as the young woman she would be when she viewed her mother's tapes in the future.

Erin acknowledged that going over all the details related to dying may sound unsettling to people who fear that anticipating death will hasten it, but, she said, doing so eliminated stress that could have plagued her.

"What would happen if I passed away? Who would take care of my child? There's a huge sense of panic. But once I finished [preparing], the panic was all gone. Everything was in place."

Erin died at 4 a.m. on Oct. 31, 1998. "I went over to pick up Peyton from her friend's house," said Doug. "And I remember driving back to the house, and there were tears … and before I could get the car stopped, Peyton jumped out of the door and ran into the house. She kept on running from room to room, just making sure that it was true that Erin was gone."

Then, Peyton was 6 years old. In March 2006, she will turn 14, having grown into a young woman with blossoming talents in both art and writing. "I remember the first room I went to was her bedroom," Peyton said. "It's where we had conversations after school … and when she wasn't there and the sheets were off the bed, I just knew that she wasn't going to be there again."

Preparing Her Daughter for Boys — and New 'Mom'

Both Peyton and her father went through a long period of grief.

"At times, I would go up and she would be in her closet, in her bedroom, and she was crying," Doug said. "And sometimes I wasn't prepared to know what to say, how to comfort her and have the right things to say. That was hard."

But Peyton had her mother's tapes. They were full of a lifetime of advice and messages tailored to when Peyton was ready to hear them as she grew older.

They include virtually every type of motherly counsel — from makeup hints to tips on establishing good credit to how to deal with boys. ("Do not ever let a boy pressure you into sex or anything else you do not wish to do.")

"I just like having her input on what's OK and what's not OK as the years progress," Peyton said.

There was something else in the tapes, beyond what Erin Kramp wanted to say to her daughter. It was a sense of who Erin was — her expressions, her laugh, her drive, her personality.

"She talks a lot about herself, and I get a sense of her personality and how funny she was … And I just know who she is. And that's a great feeling."

"I just love to see the passion," said Doug. "I love to see the love that she had for Peyton. It's just awesome."

Among the issues that came up after Erin's death was Peyton's request that Doug not marry again. "I made it very clear," Peyton said. "I didn't want someone to come and replace her. I just didn't want anyone else."

Erin had anticipated that too.

In a tape to be played when the question arose, she said, "I want you to know that I would very much bless Daddy remarrying if he is given that opportunity. Because I know at that time you would be hesitant and would say, 'Well, what does Mom think?' Or, 'Would this be my second Mom? Should I call her Mom? How would Mom feel if I called her Mom?' I feel fine about it, because I'll always be your real Mom."

'I Just Know That She Loved Me'

In 2003, four-and-a-half years after Erin's death, Doug did remarry. Cheryl Kramp is a former pharmaceutical representative who gave up her career to care for Peyton and the two boys she and Doug have had since their marriage. Cheryl is keenly aware of how much that message from Erin has meant.

"It was really good for Peyton," she said. "And it was good for Doug, especially in that Peyton then felt the freedom to be able to accept and embrace me without the guilt, because Erin did give her blessing … to call me Mom. And I think it gave [Peyton] the freedom to do that. I think that's enhanced our relationship."

Peyton took to heart the extraordinary example that Erin had set. On the day that Cheryl and Doug were engaged, Peyton wrote a message to Cheryl.

"She gave me this beautiful, beautiful letter," Cheryl said, " just telling me how much I was the perfect fit for their family and she loved me and respected me."

For the first time, Peyton called Cheryl Mom. She signed the letter, "With love, your daughter, Peyton."

There are many messages from Erin that still await Peyton in her future. Peyton says the most powerful message is the one that is both spoken and unspoken, coming from the past and existing in the present.

"I love you."

"It's just so strong," Peyton said. "And every time I see the tapes, I just know that she loved me. And that's such a great feeling, to know that she really cared for me and she wanted me to be happy. It's so dear to me to have everything about her, and I don't know what I'd do without it."

Mother's Day

Who invented Mother's Day?

In the past, Mothers' Day was never celebrated in my family. Nor was Fathers' Day. The reason is that all of us don't subscribe to the commercialism of such occasions. What's the point of being extremely nice to your Mum or Dad only on this so-called 'special' day of the year but be yelling at them at the top of your voice (or do some other unfilial things that hurt them) on the rest of the 364 days?

So in my family, such days are never that special as some people make them out to be... I always try not to do things to hurt my parents, no matter whether it's Mothers' or Fathers' Day...

It was only after I got married that I started 'celebrating' Mothers' and Fathers' Day, with my parents-in-law. It was in the culture of my Hubby's family, or rather his sister, to celebrate such occasions.

I still remember the first Mothers' Day we spent (was it last year or the year before? I can't remember now). We went out for lunch at some restaurant. And my sister-in-law gave her mum a small gift. There was no gesture on my hubby's part. I remember feeling a bit awkward.

Well, Hubby also doesn't subscribe to it. And I being the daughter-in-law, will never assume the same place as a daughter. So I did not do anything about it either. Anyway, it is just not my style, it's just too contrived for me.

But I did something for my own mother though. I sent her a bouquet of flowers on Mothers' Day last year. It was the first time I did anything as a Mothers' Day gesture. I figured it was because I had gotten married and moved out, we weren't that close (in proximity) now so I wanted to do something to hold on to that bond. She was very touched by that gesture...

And in the same year, I gave my Dad a handmade Fathers' Day card on which I pasted a photo of us taken when I was a baby. My mum said he was so moved by it. Heehee...

Anyway, a year has come and gone. It's Mothers' Day again and it falls on a Sunday. Well, the routine Hubby and I have is that we visit each other's parents on alternate Sundays. Shortly after the wedding, we thought alternating the visits was less of a hassle for us. The first few months when we tried visiting both sets of parents on the same day, it was so tiring for us. And we felt like we had no time for each other. Saturdays were spent doing housework. So we had settled into this alternate-week routine.

And so... this Mothers' Day, it so happened that we were supposed to visit my parents. And because of that, we couldn't celebrate Mothers' Day with his. I felt bad for 'depriving' his mum of time with her son. But apparently, Hubby thought nothing of it. Nevertheless, I insisted that we should just make the exception this Sunday and just visit both sets of parents. Which we did.

Well, at least I've done my part as a daughter-in-law. Despite not getting Hubby's mum a present (which I would feel awkward doing as it's just not my style), at least I've made him 'celebrate' Mothers' Day with her.

I'm so proud of myself... I'm a good girl, ain't I?

My ice cream flavour...

Saw Mag's ice cream flavour on her blog and decided to find out which flavour I am...

Your Icecream Flavour is... French Vanilla!

You're a smooth and silky suave type! You exude class and you believe in tradition. A classical taste who doesn't like things to be too flashy or showy. Climb the Eiffel tower of taste with a spoonfull of you! Oui Oui!

What is your Icecream Flavour?

Find out at Go Quiz

Can't wait to give birth too...

My colleague, Linda who is slightly more than a month advanced than me in her pregnancy has just given birth yesterday to a 3.16 kg baby girl!

I was so excited and couldn't wait to go visit her and her baby at Mount Alvernia Hospital. So I went down today.

Seeing her baby in the bassinet REALLY made me envious. How I wish I can hold my baby in my arms too!

Congratulations to Linda on her precious new addition to the family!

It was quite interesting listening to her birth story...

She had been having contractions since 11 p.m. on Monday and endured it all the way through the night till 8 a.m. the next morning. She then proceeded to the hospital and discovered that she was only 2 cm dilated. It didn't progress very quickly as the dilation only increased by 0.5 cm at 12 noon. So she was put on the drip and her labour was augmented.

I cringed when I heard about the painful vaginal examinations that the midwives did every two-hourly. Linda said they were so painful that she might not have asked for epidural if not for these VEs as she found the contractions manageable. I'm glad I've stated in my birth plan that I want to keep the VEs to the minimum and only to be done with my permission.

In the end, after having the epidural at 1 plus in the afternoon, her baby was finally born about 4 hours later. In retrospect, she realised that she might have admitted to hospital too early.

Hmm.. I do agree with her. It could have been prodomal labour as from the way she mentioned the kind of contractions she had gotten in the night, they didn't seem like labour contractions to me as they were irregular in frequency and intensity.

Maybe if she had not gone to hospital, they wouldn't have augmented her labour and then perhaps she might not have given birth this soon (at 38 weeks plus).

Well, whatever it is, maybe it's a good thing too. Her baby's arrived earlier to celebrate Mother's Day (14 May). Hehe...

Anyway, the moral of the story for me is... to take note of the contractions when it happens and go to hospital only when it becomes regular and increasing in intensity. Or better yet, wait for water bag to leak or the bloody show. 'Cos I definitely don't want an augmented labour...

Raspberry leaf tea

Had been reading so much online about the widely acclaimed raspberry leaf tea for the past few weeks...

"It has also been shown to strengthen & tone the uterine wall and help to make delivery easier and speedier by helping the uterus contract more efficiently and helps expel the placenta after."

"If taken regularly through pregnancy and labour can:

	Ease the symptoms of morning sickness.
	Sooth and prevent bleeding gums which many pregnant women often experience.
	Relax the smooth muscles of the uterus when it is contracting (Burn & Withell, 1941).
	Assist with the birth of the baby and the placenta.
	Calm cramping of the uterus.
	Provide a rich source of iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium. The magnesium content is especially helpful in strengthening the uterine muscles. Raspberry leaf also contains vitamins B1, B3 and E which are valuable in pregnancy.

Raspberry leaf is also used for the following:

	To aid fertility.
	To promote a plentiful supply of breastmilk.
	To help stop excess bleeding after birth.
	To treat diarrhoea.
	To regulate irregular menstrual cycle and decreases heavy periods.
	To relieve sore throats.
	To reduce fever.

It is thought that around one fifth of pregnant women take some form of raspberry leaf. Women believe that it will shorten labour and make the birth easier. The use of this herb for remedial purposes dates back to the sixth century and its benefits in childbirth have been recorded as a proven aid in maternity in the most ancient of herbal books."

I'd been won over by the wonders of this tea. Bought 2 packets of it from Moms in Mind last Saturday and started drinking it yesterday. Expected it to taste bitter but it was actually quite palatable. Maybe it was because I sweetened it with Manuka Honey.

The recommendation was to drink up to 3 cups of it each day. But so far, I'm only drinking one cup per day. Maybe i'll increase my consumption slowly...

It'd better help in having an easier labour!

After suffering from daily Braxton Hicks contractions that are driving me crazy, I'm resolute in finding the link between having these 'labour rehearsals' and the ease of actual labour. For the past two days, I've been scouring the Internet for this information. And this is what I found...

"Braxton Hicks contractions help your uterus to practise for your upcoming labour. They help to soften your cervix and exercise all the muscles that you need to push your baby out. Without the help of Braxton Hicks contractions, labour would actually be much more difficult and painful."

Read the article in its entirety at http://www.epigee.org/pregnancy/braxton_hicks.html

Well, for all the torment that I'm going through ON A DAILY BASIS now, I sure hope what this article says is true!

Braxton Hicks's depriving me of sleep! Arghhh!

I'm so sick and tired of this so-called 'labour rehearsals', otherwise known as Braxton Hicks contractions!

Went to bed at 11 p.m. and was woken up at 1 plus in the middle of the night again by it. And tried everything listed on the Internet to help relieve it - changing positions, drinking water, deep breathing - all to no avail. The cramps just won't seem to subside. It tortured me all the way till 5 a.m.

Then I realised I felt hungry, so I got out of bed to get a snack to eat. After munching, I found that I was too full and couldn't get back to sleep. So there I was, half reclining on the bed, wide awake.. all the way till Hubby got up at 630 to go to work. I was semi conscious while he had breakfast and read the newspapers.

I only managed to sleep again after he left for work at 8 a.m. Before long, an sms woke me up again at 9.30 but I managed to fall right back to sleep again. And finally woke up at 10.30 a.m.

Strictly speaking, that means I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night! SIGH!

I HATE BRAXTON HICKS!

If only frequent occurrences leads to shorter and easier labour! Then of course I wouldn't mind. But I haven't managed to find any study on such a relation on the Internet at all! Humph!!!

False alarm (AGAIN!)

Woke up in the middle of the night with the all-too-familiar-now menstrual-like cramps. Couldn't get it to subside. Seemed to be the same intensity no matter which side I tried to lie on. Luckily, I was able to doze off to sleep after some time.

In the morning, after breakfast, the cramps came back again. This time, accompanied by lower back soreness... It's familiar ground... I've had it once last Sunday morning... So I wasn't too bothered. Since the hospital bag is packed, I haven't got much to worry. At most, if it's really time for labour, I'll call Hubby to come home from work.

So I pretty much went about doing the usual stuff - surfing the Internet and chatting on MSN. In fact, I managed to cook myself macaroni for lunch. Then I started to feel REALLY tired and went to lie down. Unknowingly, I had fallen asleep and woke up only 2 and a half hours later.

Oh yes, before that, I was still somewhat concerned that the cramps seemed to come on and off. Was worried about preterm labour. So I smsed Ginny and asked if I should head to the Gynae's clinic there and then or wait till my scheduled appointment at night. She advised me to follow my instincts, can wait if the cramps are not to bad, or go immediately if I was very concerned.

In the end, I decided not to panic and assumed a wait-and-see attitude. Glad I didn't rush down to the clinic as the cramps seemed to subside while I slept.

After I woke up, whilst taking my shower, the cramps seemed to resume again. Sigh...

Luckily, I only had to bear with it for another couple of hours before Hubby would be home and we'll head to the gynae.

Dr. Paul Tseng asked if there was any blood in the discharge. There wasn't. So he concluded that it was just Braxton Hicks and not labour contractions; labour contractions would increase in intensity and doesn't go away at all. He mentioned that I would expect to experience an increase in the frequency of the Braxton Hicks as the due date gets nearer.

When he did the scan of the baby, he noted that the baby's head was quite low but wasn't engaged yet. And my uterus was quite soft, meaning we're not quite near labour yet. So, the conclusion that Hubby was waiting for was, there's no risk of baby arriving early. So yes, he would go ahead with his Guangzhou business trip in my 36th week (22 - 25 May). Sigh...

After we left his office, I realised that he didn't mention Karyn's weight... Hmm... I wonder how much she weighs now...

Washing round 3

Over the past 2 weeks, I managed to finish 2 rounds of washing of Karyn's clothes, mittens, bootees, bibs, hats and stuff.

Today's the final round. Washing of nappies and bedlinen. It took an entire 2 hours to finish even though I used the washing machine and did not hand wash.

The reason being: I just realised last weekend, the proper way of using Kodomo Baby Detergent.
The clothes have to be soaked in the detergent (1 cup : 1 litre water) for 20 mins before washing. I didn't do the soaking for the first 2 rounds of washing and decided I should do it this time. Plus the fact that the new Tollyjoy cloth nappies seem to feel quite rough to the touch.

After patiently waiting for the washing for 2 hours, I was ready to hang the nappies and bedlinen out to dry. While hanging them, another surprise awaited me.

While flinging out the nappies (so as to spread it out flat instead of hanging it creased), lots of white lint landed on my dark blue t-shirt. When I was hanging out the bedlinen, I found SOoooo much lint on the bolster cases! And the pillow cases! And the bedsheets! My God!

The worse was when I emptied out the lint container in the washing machine, guess what I saw... One whole thick wad of wet whitish stuff that looked like a cotton pad! I pulled it apart and found that it was all wet lint compacted together. Gosh!

Think I'd better use a lint remover and clean the bedlinen when I take down the laundry. Can't imagine what will happen to Karyn if she breathes in all that lint! Wonder if I should wash the bedlinen again...

False alarm!

Had a hard time falling asleep again last night. And what made it worse was, in the middle of the night, after my second visit to the bathroom and upon getting into bed, I felt this familiar sensation in my tummy. It was the third time this was happening...

The first time was the night after I had "kway chap" for dinner... maybe it was all the pig's organs that triggered it. The second time was after I drank barley with lemon at parents-in-law's place. And this time, I really have no idea what could have caused it...

The cramping sensation was persistent. Could it be Braxton Hicks? Doesn't seem like it. Braxton Hicks supposed to come on and off, in an irregular pattern. Mine is just consistent persistent cramping.

Am not sure how too, but I managed to doze off to sleep, never to expect what that was to happen in the morning...

We were supposed to go to my mum's place for lunch. At about 1030 a.m. , I started to have this backache in my lower back. And accompanying it was the cramping sensation in the lower abdomen again.

I suddenly recalled a conversation with Clara. On the day of her labour, she had backache and cramps at the same time.

Oh my gosh! Could this be it?!?!

Oh dear! Quick, Hubby! We've got to pack the hospital bag now!

And in a frenzy, we went about the house getting all the necessary stuff and packed them into my overnight bag, in preparation to go to hospital. Maybe Karyn has really decided to come early!

Many thoughts floated across my mind... hmm... can I still carry on with lunch at Mum's place? Or should I stay home for the first stage of labour? When should I call the gynae? When should I head for the hospital? Oh dear... oh no... I don't know what to do...

In the midst of packing, I sat down to fill in the hospital's pre-admission letter (yes, I haven't even mailed it out yet!). And I found that the backache was aggravated while I was sitting. So I had to get back on my feet again. Somehow, standing helps to alleviate the ache. And without realising it, all that moving around and packing stuff has helped to keep the cramps away.

So... after all that frenzied mad rush in which we managed to finish packing the hospital bag (which I've procrastinated for some weeks now), I realised that the backache and cramps had ceased...

So it was just a false alarm...

Well, whatever the case, at least the hospital bag is packed now... Haha...