Monday, April 24, 2006

Enough about Karyn...



Ok, I've been going on and on and on about Karyn... her clothes, her toys, her books, her everything. Now, this entry's going to be about ME!

Hehe...

Well, actually I don't find much to say about myself. There's the usual pregnancy symptoms... lack of sleep... backaches... lack of energy...

Talking about lack of sleep, I don't know why, I don't seem to be able to go into deep sleep at night. Always so wide awake, and end up looking at Hubby snoring away...

For the past few nights, after I managed to (kind of) fall asleep, I had been plagued by nightmares after nightmares. Must be all the CSI that I've been watching. For no particular reason, I've been hooked on CSI for the past two weeks. But I think they are too disturbing for me now. Hence, last night, I resisted watching CSI:NY.

As for energy, or rather the lack of it... I find myself getting tired very easily. I'm bushed after the round of washing Karyn's clothes. So much so that I couldn't cook dinner as planned. Even on weekends when we go out for meals and shopping, I find that I can't walk for more than 1 hour without having to take a break and sit down. At most, I can only last 1 and a half hour of shopping. Whew! Luckily, we managed to buy everything that we need in anticipation of Karyn's arrival. Started buying in my 5th month and done with it in my 7th. So 'kiasuism' really paid off! Haha...

Hmm... what else is there to update about me?

Cravings!

Lately I've been craving for many stuff. Milk tea with pearls, durian rolls from Angie The Choice, Nutella hazelnut spread (which I scoop and eat from the jar, yes!), hazelnut chocolates, cakes... all the sweet stuff.

So, caving in to the cravings the past week, we've bought(but not yet eaten) the following: a jar of medium-sized Nutella, a pack of 3 Kinder Bueno chocolates, 1 durian roll from Angie The Choice and consumed 2 cups of Sweet Talk milk tea with pearls.

My gosh, I can't believe myself!

Toys Store


After lunch with parents-in-law yesterday, we went to Bukit Panjang Plaza to buy the long-awaited-for plastic storage containers which I want to pack Karyn's toys in.

Managed to get 2 at $12.90 each and lugged them home. Was just packing the toys before lunch. And a thought crossed my mind...

Karyn's got 2 big containers of toys now (mostly passed down from cousin Ashley), 2 months before she even arrives... My gosh! Isn't her room going to burst with more of them as she grows older???

I shudder at the thought. Can't imagine the packing and tidying up that we have to do when that time comes...

So, I resolved, as soon as she's old enough to understand us, we'll train her to keep her toys after she plays with them. Yes, must train from young.

Hmm... speaking of toys, after taking stock of what we already have. There's something else we wish to have... *hint hint*... i.e. a muscial mobile for the cot.

Saw some very cute ones at Mothercare. But they are all so expensive. My favourite is the Winnie The Pooh version. It costs a whopping $150! My gosh!

Hence, despite being very tempted, we resisted buying it. Hopefully, it will arrive as a gift from some kind soul(s) during Karyn's baby shower... Heehee...

But frankly speaking, we'd rather receive red packet gifts than some newborn hampers of clothing or toys... She's already got TONNES of clothes! With red packets, we can go and shop for Karyn's gifts on our own! *hint hint* Heehee...

Books Warehouse Sale at Expo


During the Good Friday public holiday last week, Hubby and I went to Singapore Expo for the John Little sale and the Books Warehouse sale.

At the Books Warehouse sale, we bought 5 books on pregnancy, motherhood and breastfeeding.

As for children's books, there was such a huge variety, though some of them were quite old. Need to invest some time to sieve out the newer ones and those in better conditions.

We ended up buying 2 books for Karyn. One furry/teddy clothed book about PETS and a waterproof book called "We love splashing" for her to play with, more than read, in the bath.

So cute, aren't they?

And everything just cost us $38! Now we know, next time if we want to buy books for Karyn, wait for the Expo sale! Good bargains!

Socks galore


2 weeks ago, Mother-in-law gave me a shock with a plastic bag FULL of new baby socks for Karyn.

Can you imagine, 9 pairs of them? 3 pairs are actually of the same design but different colours - purple, pink and white.

And there are 2 pairs which are soooo huge that I think Karyn can only wear them when she reaches 2 years old. Haha...

Have you ever seen netted mittens? Or bootees?


Amongst the many stuff that Mother-in-law gave on Sunday, I found this 'rare specimen'.

Hands up, anyone who has seen netted mittens and bootees.

I bet not many people has seen them before. I was so amused by them...

Hmm.. maybe it's good for times when Karyn tries to put her hand in her mouth and ends up wetting the mittens. The net will allow the mittens to dry in no time. As for the bootees, hmm... Why the need for netted ones? Perhaps just to match the mittens? Hehe...

How to decorate Karyn's room?



One question's always on Hubby's and my mind... how shall we go about decorating Karyn's room?

Posters? Disney stickers? Have been looking through them at every HOME Fix store I step into. Always so tempted to buy them. But then again, will they spoil the paint???

A huge Winnie the Pooh jigsaw puzzle framed up? Hmm... That'll be REALLY pretty. But I doubt I have the patience to finish it.

What else...?

In the midst of the pondering, we found ourselves buying a Pooh bear clock. Yellow, so that it matches the curtains. And some decorative stickers of stars and dolphins...

Week 32 and counting down...



Bored at home today, so decided to go on a 'clicking' spree again. Here are more of Karyn's stuff to showcase... Heehee...

Had dinner with the in-laws yesterday. And Mother-in-law 'showered' us with more baby stuff from Karyn.

Let's see... 2 sets of ultra sweet pink clothing (romper suit and dress), MORE newborn clothes, MORE long pants, MORE mittens and bootees, MORE bibs. My gosh, Karyn has enough clothing to open her own baby boutique... Hmm... I better tell her to stop buying, or else I think the drawers at home will crash! Haha..

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

So not looking forward to 21 May

Received a call from Hubby before lunch and got a news that made me dread Week 35 (week of 21 May). He has to go to Guangzhou for a business trip. The trip will last about 3 days, from Sunday to Tuesday, or perhaps Wednesday.

Sigh...

So for the past week, I've been happy for nothing. He was supposed to go this Saturday for a training in Guangzhou and be back one week later. However, the trip was cancelled due to some glitches on the China side. I was ecstatic! I couldn't bear the thought of being left alone when I'm 32 weeks along.

But now... I'll be left alone in my 35th week. It's worse... Sigh...

I wonder what are the chances of Karyn deciding to arrive early... what if she decides to show up when her daddy's not in town??? Who's going to accompany me in labour? Will I remember all the Hypnobirthing techniques? Will I be able to relax enough for a natural birth? Will her daddy be able to hold her when she comes out? Who's going to cut the cord then?

Oh no... oh dear...

Showcasing Karyn's stuff (Part 5)


Last weekend, after weeks of enduring the mess in Baby Karyn's room (we've just been leaving bags of shopping and her stuff on the floor), I decided to get everything packed.

And ended up with setting up her changing table, lying out the stuff needed such as changing mat, nappy liners, power, bath toiletries, Pampers Newborn diapers, baby lotion and the Ikea's inflatable changing mat.

"Aren't you afraid that dust will settle on the stuff? We have 2 more months to go, you know?" questioned Hubby.

I don't really care about dust now, which is quite unlike me. It makes me happy to see Karyn's room all set up and ready for her. I just can't wait for her to arrive! So excited! :)

Showcasing Karyn's stuff (Part 4): Karyn's very own set of wheels!


Here's Karyn's new, very own set of wheels that will take her places - a Peg Perego Pliko P3, which cost us a bomb, $450!

But we were just too tempted by its features. It can be folded and stands up on its own, very much like a golfing set. It can be adjusted to 4 different levels from sitting upright to flat reclining. It is very sturdy (but also quite heavy) and next time if Karyn has a younger sibling, she can stand behind on a small platform and be wheeled along too.

Hmm.. what else.. can't remember already. It's been about 1 month plus, coming to 2 months since we bought it. Anyway, we just hope Karyn will take to it soon enough. Oh yes, and it's suitable for newborns all the way up to 4 years old, quite unlike some other brands which are appropriate only for 1-year-old and above.

Well, we'll see how it goes. I've got a MIM baby sling that's passed down from my cousin. So maybe in the first few months, esp. if I'm bringing Karyn out on my own, I might just use the sling 'cos this stroller might be too heavy for me to handle on my own. Haha...

Showcasing Karyn's stuff (Part 3): Toys glorious toys...


Baby Karyn has one stack of drawers full of toys passed down from Ashley (Hubby's cousin's daughter who is already 3 years old).

Actually, inside the first drawer are some miscellaneous items like teats, nappy pins, pacificers and milk bottles. Out of convenience, I just dumped everything into this chest of drawers first.

I've planned to buy some plastic storage containers for all her toys so that I can use these drawers to put her other stuff like nappies, disposable diapers, toiletries and other miscellaneous items. I think the gray drawers will run out of space as soon as I'm done with all the washing as Baby Karyn has just SOooo many clothes!

Some of the toys are for toddlers and older children which I think Karyn will not know how to play with yet. Anyway, we can always keep them for her till she grows older!

Showcasing Karyn's stuff (Part 2)


Baby Karyn is sooo fortunate...

Hubby always says that to her whenever we come home from a shopping trip. Or whenever we receive hand-me-downs from relatives.

In fact, her room is more or less filled with all her stuff already. And it's 2 months before she arrives!

Look at her whole drawer of new clothes, hats, mittens, bootees, socks, bibs... the list goes on and on. Even before she is born, everything she needs are all ready. As much as I try not to buy pink clothes so that if Karyn ever has a brother, her clothes can be passed on to him. But somehow I just cannot resist all the pinkish girly stuff... soooo sweet....

Mother-in-law bought her 10 pairs of socks, several sets of clothes and some bibs. Even the laundry man who does our laundry and whom we see once every month has given us a baby gift set of pink baby girl clothes! What a unique customer 'service'. Haha...

Showcasing Karyn's stuff (Part 1)


Here's Karyn's baby cot. Bought it at $279 from Baby Kingdom at Kaki Bukit. Came with a 4" mattress and pink bedding set which we had to top up $50 for. 'Cos it's 100% cotton. The original one that comes with the cot is not 100% cotton.

Have yet to put on the bed linen. Better to wash it once with baby detergent first.

In the meantime, there are some other items on the cot. There's a cloth book about pets, a waterproof bath book for Karyn to play with in the bath tub and a growth chart that Hubby bought from Popular.

Looks like her cot is being utilised as a storage space now... Haha... but I make sure the stuff on top are not too heavy, in case they spoil the mattress...

Overwhelmed by hand-me-downs


Hubby was working from home today. So I decided to get started on washing the baby clothes. There are sooo many I figured that I would need at least 3 rounds to finish washing all of them.

Round 1: Hand-me-downs from Cousin's baby girl (whom I've never met). Haha.. such an irony. Anyway, who can reject more clothes?

Round 2: Karyn's new clothes...

Round 3: Karyn's new cloth nappies (3 dozen of them!) and bed linen...

Just look at the number of clothes hung up. I think there's at least 45 - 50 pieces up there!

Karyn at 31 weeks

Went to the gynae last night. Oh, did I mention I've changed my gynae?

I'm seeing Dr. Paul Tseng now. Someone who's totally supportive of my natural birth plan. The previous gynae was quite uncomfortable with my birth plan. So Hubby and I decided to switch to Dr. Tseng, who is very popular with working with birth plans and supportive of active, natural births.

Anyway, he measured my uterus and told me it's 31.5 cm. Had a scan done and he noted the circumference of Karyn's head, I think. He showed me Karyn's heart, body and legs. I was glad to know that she's still head down and facing my back. Good position for birth. But what worried me is she's lying on my right, which isn't exactly the most ideal position. So now I've got to keep persuading her to move back to my left.

Finally, Dr. Tseng told us her weight. She's 1.9kg now, average weight of most babies at this term. She's really putting on weight now. She was only 1.5kg two weeks ago. Heehee...

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Karyn at 28 weeks


Last Sat (1st April), we went to Dr. Ong's clinic at Mount Elizabeth Hospital for my glucose tolerance test. I had to fast from the night before.

When I reached the clinic at 8.25 a.m., it wasn't even opened yet. I must have been too anxious. Several days ago, I had a craving for durians. And asked my mum to buy some from JB where she was getting a colour treatment for her hair. I was worried that little indulgence of mine would affect my glucose test. I was quite worried for the rest of that week.

Anyway, the nurses came in slightly past 8.30 a.m. My blood and urine samples were taken and I was given a bottle of glucose water to drink. It was carbonated and 10 times sweeter than Sprite! Luckily I managed to finish it without puking. After that, Dr. Ong saw me and took a scan of Karyn.

I asked for her position and Dr. Ong said she's head down, facing my right. Great! That's the perfect position for birth!

"Well, it's still early. She may still move around," came the dampener from Dr. Ong.

Anyway, I was happy to know that Karyn's fine and she weighs 1.2 kg, double her weight a month ago.

After the scan, we were told to go walk around and to go back to the clinic to take the 2nd round of blood and urine samples. When we were finally done at 11.45 a.m., I was famished and went to Coffee Club for pasta!

Well, the fasting really disrupted my stomach for the rest of the day. I was so hungry throughout, despite eating popcorn during a 1 p.m. movie. Had to satisfy my hunger again at 4.30 p.m. with a MacDonald's double cheeseburger. Then at dinner, I couldn't eat anything at all. Never to expect that in the middle of the night at 3 a.m., I woke up ravenous and and to climb out of bed to find food. Sigh...

Yesterday, the nurse called and told me that my glucose test results were normal.

Whew! Ain't I glad!

"But you still need to watch your diet, don't over-indulge," advised Hubby.

Sigh...

Well, at least I'm swimming now... Heehee...

Hypnobirthing

It's been more than a week since my Hypnobirthing class ended. I feel such a sense of loss. For the past 4 Saturdays, hubby and I have been attending Ginny's classes at her place in Ang Mo Kio. She is a certified Hypnobirthing instructor who's giving lessons to pregnant mums on how to achieve the most natural birth ever possible - without epidural.

Let's see... how did I come across hypnobirthing?

Actually I don't quite remember too... I think I was doing some research on the Internet about antenatal classes and happened to stumble upon www.fourtrimesters.com

I actually wanted to look for an ordinary antenatal class that I could attend on Sats 'cos I had known by then that the Sat classes at Mount Alvernia Hospital where I'd like to give birth at were full. Incidentally, I clicked on Hypnobirthing classes on the website and have been bowled over ever since. After much more Internet research and discussion with hubby, we decided that we want to go 'au naturel' for Karyn's birth. That is, without any medical intervention, as far as possible. This decision was very much due to the belief hubby and I shared that babies can feel and experience their own birth. Thanks to Dr. Verny's book of which the title I cannot remember. Anyway, that's another story all together.

Eventually, we met up with Ginny for a short introduction to her classes before making up our minds to pay the hefty $450 for the course. I was rationalising, if I were to pay anaesthetist's fee and epidural charge during labour, it might come up to more than that sum. So why not give the course a shot? Who knows, I might really be able to do without epidural. Well, you can guess by now, I was still quite skeptical about this whole concept of Hypnobirthing... even upon signing up.

At the first lesson, we were given a book on Hypnobirthing, written by the founder, Marie Mongan. We were also given two CDs which I was told to listen to every day and practise the relaxation exercises to it. Then in subsequent lessons, we did several relaxation (or what some would call hypnosis) exercises that totally blew my mind. I'd never known the power of one's mind to be so, so... powerful. Well, it's too lengthy for me to describe here. But you got to experience it to know it. Anyway, that was not all. We also learnt many other things about birthing, how the uterus works and how to help it work better, things that husbands can do to support the mother during labour, routine hospital procedures and their pros and cons, writing a birth plan... The list goes on and on.

What never fails to amaze me are the videos of women who have gone through Hypnobirths. Their births are just so calm, tranquil and serene... so unlike the tortuous labours that we are used to seeing on TV. No screaming of any kind at all... By the 3rd class, I was totally won over by Hypnobirthing and I know it is the kind of birth that Karyn, hubby and I want.

Well, even now that I've finished the classes. I'm still not all that confident of going it without epidural. At the back of my mind, I still hang on to the option of resorting to it as a LAST resort, if all else doesn't work. One of the mothers asked Ginny during the last lesson, how would we know if we can really do it on THE day?

And Ginny's answer was, "It's just like taking an exam. You will never know how you perform until the actual day. But what you can do is to be prepared for it."

Well, I guess that quite sums up how I feel now. I'll never know... until the day Karyn arrives...

Finally I can breathe...

Finally... after much struggling, was put on medical leave till delivery (almost). It's such a relief that I've been spared the torture and torment of coping with work, the mental stress that accompanies it and the physical discomforts of the pregnancy.

For the first time in weeks, I slept through the night. Except for the occasional times I had to get up to pee. That's expected of pregnancy though. At least, I was able to go right back to dreamland almost a split minute after the bathroom trips.

Would you be bored to tears staying at home? A concerned colleague asked.

Well, I sure do not think so. For one, I will not have to face the physical heat in class, battling the boisterous students. That for me, is a major assurance, a major stressor off my mind.

Secondly, there're sooo many things for me to do. I can surf the Net for everything I've always wanted to know about having a natural birth... I can read all the pregnancy and motherhood forums that I can find... I can go to the library and load up on books about birth... and most importantly, I can finally go swimming. Something that I've always wanted to do since my 2nd trimester but have never been able to due to exhaustion after work.

So, for the past week or so, I have been doing all of the above. And cooking dinner on alternate evenings as well. Am so sick of eating outside food that makes me guilty, of whether I'm feeding Karyn nutritious food or not.

All in all, I'm glad to have this break. To prepare myself and Karyn too, for her birth. In the most relaxed and stress-free environment possible.