TALE OF 2FISH

Fever After A Jab

2011-08-15T14:53:00.003+08:00

Last week we took Kaylene for her jab after turning 1 year old.

It's been months since she had a jab and we feared with her mobility now she may put up a struggle. My biggest unfounded fear is the needle may break while still on her flesh (crazy thoughts, right!). So we strategized to have Mouse hold her tight since he's stronger. Little did we know, not only she didn't cry from the jab. She hardly flinch too! As if nothing happened at all. We're so relieved! My guess is this jab is given on the buttocks where there's more fatty layers thus she didn't feel it.

Doctor says she may developed a low grade fever one week after jab, a normal reaction for some children. This morning, the fever came. The thermometre registered something between 38.1 - 38.7 degrees Celcius. Can't get something more consistent as she won't let me put thermometre tip in her ear for long, not even 1 second which is what I needed to take her temperature!

She is extra needy today, didn't want to be alone even with her favourite toys. Must sit ON me only she feels assured. Thankfully she still ate her lunch albeit a smaller portions. After taking fever meds, she took a nap. A long one but woke up twice with her head wet with sweat. In an air-conditioned room.

I think the fever makes her extra sleepy. She usually sleeps for 1 hour in her afternoon nap but today she's been asleep since 1.30pm till now at 3.30pm. Should I wake her up or just let her sleep on?

Turning 1

2011-07-20T00:27:00.005+08:00

2 more weeks, my baby Kaylene won't be a baby anymore. She'll be a toddler of 1. I am just so astounded to how much has happened over the past 1 year. Did I really go through 10 months of pregnancy? Did I really give birth naturally to this 3.4kg of baby? Did I really become a mother?

Often I find my baby is growing too fast and I desperately need to hold on to my baby being... a baby! Yet I am enjoying these days when she is more independent and I get more me-time to myself as my inlaws enjoy taking her out for the day frequently. I am looking forward to her growth. To see her walk, talk and do things that make you laugh like the this is the only thing that mattered in the world. Well, THIS is the only thing that mattered in our world right now.

This xiao meimei (little girl in Mandarin) will be having a big birthday bash for her 1st birthday. I started planning 2 months ago (though her grandpa has been asking me what are we doing for her 1st bday 3months ago! haha). Aside from catering, there's some little extras I'm preparing for her birthday. Not telling much now cuz I have this tendency to jinx things up until I get them completed. The picture about says a lot of what's going to happen on her birthday party!

Can you guess?

Kaylene in a Contest : Part 2

2011-07-19T02:13:00.000+08:00

So what I didn't win this contest? I am still cute, hor?

If anyone is ever interested to know the contest result, Kaylene was in the Top 3 but didn't win the contest.

What I learned from this 1 contest :

There are some really desperate mummies out there. I am not just talking about those who get friends and families to vote on Facebook. And not even those who opened fake FB accounts to cast vote for their own baby. I am talking about those who offer a prize for people who vote for her baby. I would shamelessly ask my FB friends that I haven't seen or spoken to in years to vote but to bait with gifts? Never!
There's no fairness in this kind of contest. All the organizer really cares is they increase their fans headcount in their FB page. That's the whole point of the contest anyway.
That I actually would shamelessly ask my FB friends (the close and not so close ones and even the not really close ones) to vote....yes, I can't believe I did that. What motherhood has turn us into?
I only have semangat (will power in Malay) to do this once. Unless it's a prize really really good, I probably won't go through this again and subject my 100+ FB friends through this anymore. I think I hear sighs of relief out there....
I am not the desperate kind of mummy in need to win contest afterall. Phew!

But on hindsight, I won another online contest (it requires no votes. just submission). Grand prize somemore!

How awesome!

But I really appreciate those friends who really bother to vote for my girl (at my urging heh heh). Thanks heaps, peeps!

---------------------------------
Related Post
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1) Kaylene in a Contest

Pachebel In Our Lives

2011-07-10T09:43:00.000+08:00

This is the music we had in our wedding. We chose it because it's the one music I fell in love with the first moment I heard it 12 years ago. I love how my heart is still each time I hear it. The violins...they sing of love, dedication and faith. When I hear it, I feel us. I knew this music will be in my wedding (at that time, I didn't know I would marry him. It was our first year then). And it played in our wedding reception.

So this music has a deep meaning to us. Each time we hear it, we share just a short second of glance at each other, and we remember the love that brought us this far in our 12 years together.

Here I would like to share 3 versions that I really love for different reasons.

This is the version I first heard years ago and it brought tears to my heart.

This is a lovely take of the music in an ad which is also very touching.

This is the awesome one. A rock version with electronic guitar.

Stimulating, don't you think?

It's A Miracle!

2011-07-07T00:53:00.003+08:00

The cough stops! Just like that!

The night before I coughed from 11pm till morning of 7am. It was tiring coughing the entire night, not able to catch my breath.

The next day, I went back to the doctor and he powered up my medication after learning I finished 2 bottles of the cough syrup he prescribed. This time around, I am given 2 kind of pills for cough, 1 pill for running nose and 1 antibiotics.

By golly! They are indeed some powerful drugs. The persistent cough that lasted almost 2 weeks simply stopped.

I finally could have a night of peaceful sleep. I have been deprived of sleep so bad, I slept till close to noon today! It felt so tranquil to open my eyes and hear silence. Even my chest has stop hurting, my throat is better.

The medicine is so strong that my saliva tasted bitter but that's OK seeing how fast it worked and now I can sleep in peace!

Lungs Killing Cough

2011-07-05T06:25:00.005+08:00

It's 6.25am as I typed. I am up the entire night. All because of this cough.

I have this awful cough for the past 1 week. It started small (they always do) and I coughed only at nights, bothering me only a little. So I self medicated with lozenges and cough syrup. It worked. Only for awhile.

It got worse and I would wake up 3 times a night from the cough. It's just a really awful chesty cough. Finally I went to see doctor, happy to go home with medicine and said goodbye to the nasty cough.

Now my medicine is completed but my cough has mutated to an even worse form. I am coughing so badly, I needed a thick folded towel to mute the noise to avoid disturbing the baby and Mouse. Tonight is the worst lot. I coughed until food & liquid comes up in my mouth. Until I am having a hard time breathing. I ate so much lozenges, my tongue is thickly coated with a numbing feeling. I wear a neck scarf to bed and keep myself warm as I suspect the aircon contributes to the cough. All of them bring only very little relief. Now I am getting a running nose too. My chest hurts. My tonsils are swollen and in pain. My throat hurts.

Bah!

Urgh! Go away, you rob me of my sleep and function for more than a week. Go!

I am just waiting for the sun to come up, so I can go to the doctor again. Meanwhile I'll just keep on holding the towel to my face to muffle the cough. So I can cough cough cough and cough.

And kill my lungs along the way.

So Loved

2011-06-29T00:04:00.002+08:00

My mum called me this evening.

Mum : Are you home? We're nearby, maybe can pop over your place.
Me : I'm home but Kaylene is not. She is with my inlaws. I am sick today and cannot watch her alone.
Mum : [pauses] Okay la, see you another day then.

Thanks mummy, I am so loved!

Hahaaa!

Kaylene Grows Up : 10 Months Old

2011-06-26T03:10:00.001+08:00

At 10months old, Kaylene climbs to a stand very quickly now.
Lately she even progressed to standing with only 1 hand holding for support.
Very often she can dance while standing too.

Kaylene is now 10 months old. Since birth, I've seen how she grows and how she changes and now she is growing out of babyhood to be a toddler soon. (I'm so gonna miss my baaaaby!)

Physically
Since 6months old, she has gained weight till only 11kg up till now. Now she is shooting taller. (I gotta measure her soon and mark it on our wall). She already looks like a 1 year old rather than a 10month old baby. Her Buddha belly has shrunk a little though. Arms getting less chubby. Heck, I noticed her neck is much more visible now compared to 3months ago!

She has bottom 2 teeth out and 2 uppers ones are showing.

More hair! Yay!! She grows out of the Shaolin Monk style finally! I can rake my fingers through her hair now and I am liking this new hairstyle. Spunky wisps! Did I mention I can put cute clips on her hair to dress her up? Whenever she sweats in hot afternoons, I would sweep her hair with my fingers, making a punk style (hahaa! I am a mean mummy sometimes). I do have to say, my girl can rock a punk look cutely.

Funnily enough, on daily/weekly/monthly basis, I always thought her looks changed. Sometimes she seems to resemble a boy, sometimes almost girly soft features. Sometimes she reminds me of my own baby looks. Sometimes I swear she is a mini version of her daddy! I am sure I'll be seeing her this way till the day she grows white hair!

Over the months, my little girl has learned to grasp and grip.
The easiest way to train this motor skill is to give her small bits of her baby biscuit, let her picks up and feeds herself. Because the biscuit is small, she has to really use her pincer grasp and later on both hands to move the tiny morsel into her mouth.
Initially, the biscuit got lost inside her closed palm. Each time I'd show her that it's hidden inside her palm by slowly opening her fingers. Very soon, she would search for the biscuit when nothing goes into her mouth.
After 2 months of this, now she expertly pops the biscuit into her mouth. That means I gotta have more biscuit ready for her snack time.

Movements & Antics
She is now a pro in crawling. No more hesitation, no more testings with knees and ankles. She is very sure of her movements and directions. Turning left or right doesn't challenge her anymore. She is very fast in pulling herself to a stand. Her legs doesn't wobble anymore when she stands. Now she even has learned to walk once she stands up. Lately she even can dance while holding on to support to stand.

This girl likes to dance! Whenever we sing 'Bom-cha-cha Bom-cha-cha", she'll bounce and shake her bumbum and always always with that big big smile! Then she'll sway left and right as her next dance routine. She sways too when seated. She'll dance and sway when she hears music play.

She can now easily clap on our commands, in both English and Mandarin (though she reacts to English faster). Once awhile, she waves BYEBYE (BYEBYE is same in English and Mandarin hahaa) though it quickly morphes into a clap. An even harder trick is for her to reach both arms high in air when we say 'Hi!'. But this she does successfully once in a blue moon. Usually she does it in random occasions so we're not sure what prompt her.

She's very fast on imitating sounds from mouth. She learnt to make kissing/mooching, clucking and smacking lips sounds in days after I showed her. Of course once she acquired those skills, she drops and picks up again whenever she pleases.

She knows when she is on the edge of our bed, sofa, chair etc. She'll go near the edge, slow down and retreat once she realises it's not safe. We noticed too she is afraid of falling. Each time she feels she may fall, she'd quickly grab on to something to hold on to (usually my shirt, that's why my clothes are all worn out heeheee!). I hope this instinct will stay with her to protect her from any fall.

She is now more efficient in self-feeding through hands. Always strong with her hands and legs since birth, her strength in fingers grasp has grown too. Initially, she easily picks up food with either hand but had to try a few rounds before succeeding in getting the morsel into her mouth. Food would've fallen off or fallen in between the corners of her palm which then she would tried to get it by licking her palm (so cute!). Now she picks up food deftly with her fingers and easily puts them in her mouth.

She has also learned to cuddle up to us for comfort. When she feels tired in the car, she would turn to me and rest her head on my shoulder with a thumb in her mouth (her signs of sleepiness). In the nights, she would stirred and wormed her way to my shoulder for a cuddle. It usually last for 5 secs and she'll roll back to her spot to resume sleeping.

We're not crazy about flash cards or training her to read early. Hey, she got many years to learn that. But we like to instill a habit and culture with books with Kaylene at an early age. This is a touch-n-feel book which she loves. We read to her regularly ; during playtime, during bedtime. We just want her to grow up having books around. We place books among her toys and it's one of the things she enjoys. She enjoys flipping the pages and just touch the different texture inside. Of course, now her pincers are strong and she can easily rip off some of the flaps. Some of her other books suffer a lot of chewing from her. But that's OK cuz it's part of her interaction with books.

Milk & Meals
I feed her solids twice a day. Once at each lunch and dinner time. I am slowly giving her outside food if there is suitable ones for her though her daddy disapproves (he's the paranoid papa). As she has only functioning front teeth, she can bite but can't chew on anything so she still needs to be fed pureed food though lately I been making it coarser for her. So far she eats most things we feed her. Oatmeal, apple, pumpkin, sweet potato, banana, avocado, brocoli, cauliflower, potato, baby pasta, cheese, carrot etc. It's most vege and fruits mixed with her organic cereal. Only during our dinners if there's suitable chicken/fish/meat/tofu cooked without heavy sugar/salt that I feed her small amount of meat. Until then I intend to hold off meat and seafood until she is 1.

In between, she gets 3-4 times of milk. Her appetite fluctuates. Sometimes she can downed 9oz of milk. There are times, she won't finished even 5oz of milk. Doesn't matter. What matters is she eats. It never worries me as I know we can trust babies to determine how much they want to eat and drink. This girl is very sure of herself. When she has enough milk, her left hand would push the bottle away from her mouth. No matter how hard we try, she just won't drink anymore. We never force her to finish her milk. Forcing means overfeeding. Overfeeding means the baby will not learn how to recognize the feeling of being full and this may lead to overeating and obesity in future.

Emotions
This is a Tiger baby alright. Even when she's around 8 months old, we saw signs of her temper. It develops fully by 9th month. At 10month old, she shows her determination to hold on to her things. If we take it away, she would jumps and cry OUT LOUD. However she is not bad tempered child, she doesn't throw a tantrum easily. Only when provoked. Just like a tiger.

Overall this is a very cheerful girl. She is generous with her smiles and laughs. Always energetic. Doesn't fuss much. If she fusses or cries, it's a sign that something is very wrong. Or as we learn these 2 weeks, she needs to poo. Heh heh!

She is also a little reserved (okaaay, a teeny weeny reserved) when seeing new faces though she warms up easily with people. She is very sociable as we bring her out to meet our friends and relatives frequently since birth. In the few times she is among the company of other babies, we noticed she is the first one to reach out to them. It means a lot to me she is not the timid baby like I was.

Moving On...
2 months more she is moving on to toddlerhood. I am too emotional, I am still missing my newborn baby, my little baby....how can I not miss my baby when she becomes a toddler? I think I am the one who needs to learn to grow.

:p

Today, I Learned....

2011-06-25T13:29:00.002+08:00

Today I learned that a fussy Kaylene means a pooping Kaylene.

There's even ample time to put her on potty and not soiling the diaper.

Way to go, Baby K!

5 + 7 = 2 + 1 = Happy Anniversary, Mouse

2011-06-18T17:34:00.005+08:00

This very funny Math equation means :

5 yrs marriage
+
7 yrs dating
=
2 of us
+
1 mini output of lil' Kaylene
=
12 yrs of AWESOME & FUN adventure

This day 5 years ago, that Mouse and this TwoFish abandoned the sweet 7 years of paktorlogy and stepped into the World of Wedded.

5 years later, we look back into our 12 years of lives together and still wondered, "Has it been 12 years already?". We never feel the time in the whole decade plus since we met. Not in our 3rd year or 5th year. Not even when we reached 8th and 10th year together.

From Day 1, we never celebrated our anniversaries. It's just something we don't do. We don't do Valentine's Day too. So there is no fancy dinner nor anniversary gift nor flowers today.

But I got the biggest gift of all this afternoon.

Mouse played Pachebel and we shared a short and sweet moment waltzing to our music. Just us. In our moment. The same us since 1999. The us that overcame long distance when I studied in Australia. The us that never ask but only give in this relationship. The same us that lived, laughed, cried, played for 12 years.

This is my anniversary gift. And I want nothing more.

Thanks for giving me that waltz, lou kung. Happy Anniversary to us!

Love ya. Forever and ever. Ever and ever.

You Asked For It, Silly Ashley

2011-06-17T02:34:00.005+08:00

Yep you sure do, silly Ashley!

You asked for it.
For taking those 2 cups of coffee.
Since 6pm.
Last cup at 10pm.
Jittery until 2.30am.
Woozy.
Tummy unwell.
Head fleeting.
Weak arms.
Weak legs.

That's how well you can handle coffee.
You know it.
And still you drank em'.

You certainly asked for it.

**applause for my own stupidity**
UPDATE : **jeng jeng jeng! still wide eyed at 4.30am**

Sleeping Cutely

2011-06-17T00:29:00.002+08:00

Funny this girl.

Every night, she will certainly wakes up, climbs on me, snoozes on top of me for few few seconds....then rolls back to her spot to continue sleeping.

Hahaaaaa!

The Tiger Roars!

2011-06-04T03:05:00.003+08:00

Little Kaylene is not very little anymore. Though only 9months now, she is very vocal.

Today we witnessed her scolding someone for the first time. I am just too aghast this little being is able to scold somebody. How does a baby who can't even say 'yummy' scolds?

Wait, I am still trying to digest it and stop laughing hahaaa!

This is how :

We're at a store today and she was in my arms. As I needed to look at the items, I asked Mouse to take her which she refused. The store assistant said to her in Mandarin, "Oh, you naughty baby! so angry at daddy." Then the Little Tiger looked at the store assistant and let out a scream complete with a frown.

Then to prove her displeasure of being told off, she yelled once more.

For 2 seconds, we're just too stunned to do anything. Then we just laughed and laughed.

Hahaha....does this qualify to go into the Kids Say The Darnest Thing?

Taking Daddy's Spot

2011-06-01T02:49:00.006+08:00

This just happened 5 minutes ago.

I tend to sleep later than Kaylene and Mouse. That's how I get to see this. Just now Mouse woke up and went to the toilet. Just seconds later Kaylene woke up and rolled over to her daddy's spot. When daddy came back to bed, he was astonished to see Kaylene completely sprawled on his bed. As if she knows when to ambush daddy for warm spot. Hahaa!

**Kaylene is now almost 10 months old

Long Night Sleep

2011-04-15T15:02:00.005+08:00

Last night, Kaylene slept through the night without much fuss. From 11pm - 9am! It's one of the few times in our 8 months with Kaylene that she does this.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, I asked Mouse "did you feed her last night?". When he said no, we both immediately checked her to see if she's well. Cuz we noticed she didn't even move during the night which she does a lot! Thankfully she was just having an awesome slumber.

Usually, she'll cry 1 or 2 times during the night and we have to comfort her to settle back to sleep. Sometimes a bottle of milk is required to do that but last night...absolutely nothing! It's been awhile since we have quite nights like this from her.

What a bliss.....

Sleepy Sunday

2011-04-11T02:53:00.003+08:00

The weather is gloomy with gentle rain in between the hours today. Always perfect for a snooze. That's exactly what Mouse did this afternoon. Took a long nap.

And our Little Loudspeaker** decided to do the same with Daddy. I sat at the bed just watching two of them sleeping, it was such a beautiful moment.

I wished I took a photo of this, but the room was too dark. But I've already taken a picture with my heart.

Aww...

Note : we give Kaylene lotsa nicknames. It changes all the time so this time, for now...she is Little Loudspeaker. Heeheee!

How To Change Battery on Your SmartTag Unit

2011-04-08T14:41:00.009+08:00

When you hear a faint beeping sound from your SmartTag unit each time you use it, it means the battery is weak and is in need of a change.

You could change it at any administration office located at highway tolls, or you can just do it yourself. We tried to change it at 3 different offices only to get frustration upon frustration. It's either the office is not open (on a working day, go figure) or everyone's gone out for lunch (they obviously do not expect customers during lunch time) or they said they don't have the expertise to change battery (most stupid excuse ever, you'll know what I mean when you finish reading this post).

The cost to us? RM9.90 for the battery. I wasted more on toll going to these offices. Not to mention the time too.

*****************************************************

This is how you do it.

1) See this on the back of your unit? Twist it open with a coin anti-clockwise.

2) See the battery? Change it.

Close it back & check unit to see if it's working.

Done.

No expertise my ass.

Travelling with Baby to Singapore : Part 3

2011-04-08T12:11:00.000+08:00

Phew!

It's all sorted and solved! Sister-in-law confirmed with her friend that babies must be in car seat and everyone must be belted. So we decided to drive down to Singapore in 2 cars instead. It also means we don't worry about how the 6 of us will get around. Can't expect my sister-in-law and partner to get around in taxi while we drive, right?

This means I can bring almost everything I want! With 2 car boots plus back seat space, I think I can bring the whole kitchen inside too haahaaaa!!

I don't have to choose which essential item to bring. Everything can take now!

Yay!

Very Needy Morning

2011-04-07T13:51:00.003+08:00

That's the food Kaylene refused to eat the whole morning since last milk at 11pm yesterday. So much leftover, so little in her tummy.

Whenever anyone asked how is Kaylene behaving, my only 1 answer is "there are good days, there are bad days".

This morning, we had one of them bad days.

At 7am, Mouse tried to feed Kaylene the usual milk but she refused to drink. She also cried at contact with the bottle. We tried few more times and she still didn't want milk. This happens once or twice before and each time she'll just go back to sleep. This time she won't sleep. She cried and cried. We can see she is hungry, she pulls the bottle to her mouth but when she had it, she'll push it out crying. We discarded the milk.

By 9am, we gave her some baby biscuits because she had nothing in her tummy since 11pm the night before. Then I fed her the organic cereal which she took only 3 spoons. She fussed again and slept in my arms.

When she woke up from her nap, she was extra needy and wanted only me. Daddy can't even hold her. I made her another bottle of milk, thankfully she drank it. Then after a bath, she seemed to be her usual cheerful self.

By then we see that she was better, I called my inlaws to come to pick her up. They had wanted to bring her out today but Mouse told them not to seeing how upset today the girl is, now that she was better...we thought it should be okay to spend the day with the grandparents.

And for me...I gotta chill too.

Travelling with Baby to Singapore : Part 2

2011-04-07T12:58:00.000+08:00

For the trip, the 4 of us (me, hubby, dad & mum in law) are going to drive down to Singapore with Kaylene.

The car seat will used throughout the trip but I began to wonder what happens in Singapore. Do we need to put her on car seat? Because once we're there, there will be 6 adults traveling. We can cram at the back with 4 adults but if the car seat is mandatory, we can't do that.

I googled 'Singapore car seat law' and got this. Passengers must be belted up in Singapore, children/babies included. Though they too have this funny law (like Malaysia) that states, if there are more passengers than seat belts, it doesn't matter if the extra person is not belted. I find this hilarious especially this is Singapore we're talking about. Haahaaaa!

However then I saw this:

Does the law on seat belts apply to foreign registered cars?
The law only applies to Singapore registered vehicles. However, foreign registered cars with seat belts are strongly encouraged to belt up for their own safety.

Does it mean we can get away without wearing safety belt in our Malaysia registered car? **scratch head**

Gonna get sister-in-law to check it out and confirm.

Shopping for Kaylene's First Swim

2011-04-06T20:24:00.011+08:00

Since my sister-in-law stays in an apartment in Singapore, it means we can bring Kaylene to the pool. It'll be her first time swimming (well, not the first if we count the time she was in my womb heh heh!).

Excited, I began hunting for things to shop for Kaylene. I reckon we will need these. Just look at the pictures! Doesn't they just make you wanna splurge for the pool experience?

1) Swim suit

Photo from here

2) Swimming float
check out the new neck float. awesome!

Photo from here

3) Swim diaper

Photo from here

Me being me, I googled and checked out prices for all those and realised everything to do with baby is expensive!

Swim suit
I saw in Parkson has some nice ones but they cost RM70 above. Something cheaper like RM40 is just a plain coloured one. Online I can find baby swim suits for RM40 below but then I can't be sure of sizing so that is out for me.
** final decision** : as babies grow very fast. I'm not gonna pursue this. Will either just let her swim naked or with a romper.

Swim diaper
I thought I can't let Kaylene go into the pool without a diaper (it's simply rude to risk baby pooing in it). You can't use the ordinary diaper as it'll absorb all the water and weighs baby down. But a swim diaper costs RM35 - RM50, they also come in S, M, L sizes. I don't know when we will bring her for a swim again in KL so buying it means it's just for this 1 time use.
** final decision** : since I have 1 pocket cloth diaper, gonna try that. Either that, I'm gonna take out the stuffing from one of the disposable diaper and see if it'll work as a swim diaper.
** update** can't take out the stuffing. they're all glued together, pulling it out will just damage the whole diaper. So just gonna use the Bouncy Baby diaper shell for the swim.

Swim Float
I saw baby floats going for reasonable price of RM30 - RM70 both online and in Parkson. Since they can be used till Kaylene is 2-4 years old, I feel it's something worth putting money down. So there, we are buying something for her to swim!
** final decision** : can't decide which one. The neck float or the chair kinda float?

Actually, the more I look at the pictures. The more I wanna just buy all.

Oh, jialat!

Travelling with Baby to Singapore : Part 1

2011-04-06T19:22:00.004+08:00

It's been years since we step foot in Singapore. We thought it'll be a good time to visit Mouse' sister this April with my in-laws.

Now we know how much there is to pack when traveling with baby. The moment we decided on a date, I mentally went through a packing list in my head. Ever since Kaylene was about 3-4 months, we have been traveling with her on short trips like going to my parents' place for over night stays, going to Ipoh (almost a monthly affair), going to my in-laws' for half day, Penang & Langkawi. So I got pretty good with my packing list.

My woes now is how am I going to bring these along :
> Combi stroller
> Walker
> Extra mattress (since 6 adults gonna cram in a 2 bedroom apartment)
> Potty
> Bumbo chair
> Baby bathtub
> Potty

All these are big items, it's going to be a challenge to cram it all into car boot on top of our traveling bags of 4 adults.

I am thinking I can do without the bathtub as I bathed Kaylene in a kitchen sink in Penang (though it's easier to bathe with the tub). I'm undecided about the walker. It's not a necessity but it keeps her happy, staying too long on the mattress makes her grumpy. I need the Bumbo chair to feed her cuz I want to minimise having people to hold her during meals (don't want to start a bad habit for her). We need the mattress as my sister-in-law can sleep on it at the hall as she has graciously let us use her room. I would like to have the potty there to continue the practice as much as we can. The stroller of course is for all the outings.

I guess if push comes to shove, I'll bring only the mattress, walkers and stroller. If they can't fit into the car, I can omit the stroller as I have my Pikkolo carrier. I can assume even with 6 adults taking turn to carry, we should be able to manage without stroller.

I am also keeping this option open. To rent some of the equipments. Found this website that gives out daily rates.

Meanwhile, let me mentally start trimming the packing list again.

Oh! Panasnyaaaaa!

2011-04-04T19:17:00.003+08:00

O-M-G.

It's so freaking hot this week. All the rooms felt like they're oven-induced. All water taps are running hot water. Even my favourite place to get a cold shower gives me warm water instead.

After decades of living in tropical climate like this, there are still times I feel it's waaaaay too hot.

This is one of these times. And this is the Ching Ming week, I am only relieved that I am exempted to do the whole 'sapu grave' exercise because Kaylene is with me. Only went to 1 spot which doesn't involve hiking up the hills of cemeteries. Even the little one is feeling the heat, she took more naps than usual.

Thank God someone invented aircon!

Aduh! Panasnyaaaaaa..... !!

Kaylene in a Contest

2011-04-03T00:15:00.000+08:00

Kaylene is almost 8 months old now. She is always ever so generous with her smile, always ready for a laugh. There is nothing else we wish more in this child. The grandparents can't get enough of her, in fact they get withdrawal symptoms if they don't see her for a day! I'll get calls asking what Kaylene's doing at the moment....oh, they got struck by Kaylene-ism bad. Reeeeal bad hehee!

Everywhere we go, people tell us "your baby so cute, you should put her in a contest". Now I know my girl is real chubby (I don't know about cute though), but to win a contest? I don't know....

Anyway I finally put her in a contest on Facebook. If you like babies especially chubby babies, please vote for my lil Kaylene.

It's easy peasy!

1) LIKE here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pitter-Patter/386882930026

2) Then LIKE here
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150205230040027&set=a.10150169102490027.346461.386882930026&pid=8735665&id=386882930026

Easy right? Not even 3 steps!

Thanks heaps!

Off To Ipoh Again

2011-04-02T12:00:00.005+08:00

This year is our highest recorded trips back to Ipoh since CNY.

We like it! We love Ipoh!! I'm so blessed that between Mouse and I, 75% of our parents are from Ipoh. My in-laws are from Ipoh, my dad is from Ipoh. Only my mum is from KL so when it comes to celebration, there's no fight as to where to go. It's IPOH for sure.

This time, we're heading back for ChingMing. It's a day we visit and clean up our ancestors grave, pray to them but to us, it's also a moment where the family gathers up.

Kaylene is napping, gonna get ready for Mouse to come home from appointment then go over to in-laws to travel together. Still packing here. I realised when travelling with a baby, no matter how hard I try to pack light... we always end up bringing the whole house. The words "bringing everything but the kitchen sink" rings so true. Lol!

If I remember correctly, we would be visiting about 7-8 ancestors' 'home'. But I am exempted as I gotta watch baby Kaylene.

How many graves do you 'sapu' ?

In A Tight Spot

2011-03-25T02:45:00.008+08:00

In our upstairs hall, we have a thick mattress on the floor for Kaylene to play and nap. So far at almost 8 months old, she has learned to crawl backwards but I don't worry of her going anywhere or doing anything naughty.

Until this morning.

I left her on the mattress as usual. Went to prepare her bath. Came out and saw this.

Mummy, why does it feel so snug in here?

The little cheerful bub has managed to lodge herself in the tiny space under the sofa's armrest and she did it via reverse motion!

When she can really crawl, I can't imagine how it will be. For ME.

Demise of The Hunk

2011-03-20T18:57:00.003+08:00

After almost 3 years of soldiering under my fingertips , The Hunk has reached its end. The Hunk, my laptop has KO-ed. Though reformatted many times, he just doesn't perform the same anymore.

Well he is the reason why there is this extreme silence here. It started with it lagging in everything, even simple Facebook pages. Then the big dip was I can't type with it. Every time I typed, the keyboard cursor would jump around. This makes my sentences all jumbled up...and I sound like an idiot through all the mistyped words!

Then it began to reboot by itself even though I only left it unattended for 15mins. Sigh...I should've seen the sign. That The Hunk has reached its ripe old age to be passed on.

Good news is I got a new laptop. Haven't got a name for it. Hunk II? Hahahaa...

Let's see now if I got anymore excuse to be keep this blog quiet. Seriously....I need to get moving with this blog. Otherwise this Fish is a stale fish hahaaa..! ;p

Ashley's Math Equation

2011-01-18T20:40:00.005+08:00

Last post dated @ 24 September 2010

+

Today's latest post dated @ 18 January 2011

=

Almost 4months of disappearing act from this blog

=

I'm a lazy/lousy blogger
(hahaaaa!)

Confinement Is Ain't That Bad!

2010-09-24T15:03:00.002+08:00

I wasn't keen on confinement during pregnancy. Mainly from all the 'horror' stories I hear from my friends. And my biggest worry is not allowed to bathe for the month. I can't even stand not washing my hair in 1 day, how do I do it for 1month?

As my parents really believe in the Chinese practice of confinement ("pui yuet" in chinese which means accompanying the month) and that it is essential to care and nourish the body back to its tip top condition after birth, I relented. Also it's a great help that the confinement lady (CL) also takes care of baby so Mouse and I can rest properly during the first month. Also my parents were footing the bill. Don't I have the most awesome parents ever? (I'm so blessed. Thank you God)

Turns out, I love my confinement! The word confinement is so wrongly used in here, it's not that bad. I was having a really pleasant time the whole month! When she leaves, I was really sad as...

I get really good food 3 meals a day, 4 nutritious soups daily (my mum ensures everyday there are fresh ingredient) and red dates juice
She takes care of baby day and night
With her doing most of the work, I can focus to nurse my wound
I can fully focus on breastfeeding baby and expressing milk to maintain supply
She doesn't stress me out with old wives tale on why breastfeeding is not enough for baby. She actually listens when I tell her the benefits of breastfeeding and how to make it work. She now believes me when I told her breastfed babies' poo doesn't smell cuz she witnessed it herself!
Though she is not knowledgeable in breastfeeding, she readily do what I asked. Eg I was direct breastfeeding Kaylene in the first week and CL would carries baby to me every 2 hours without complain (many CL would want the easy way out with feeding formula milk), no negative remarks on my breastfeeding practice
My husband also gets proper rest and able to function when he goes to work
Our house is really clean as she does housework too! She washes baby's clothes, our laundry, sweeps and mop the floor both upstairs and downstairs, even sweeps our porch when she got nothing to do.
I get to sleep a lot during the 1 month. Cat naps, power naps...it was heaven
She cooks really nice food and when she found out what dish Mouse and me really likes, she would cooks for us again!
My mum tirelessly touch base with CL to ensure I get delicious food and worked on menu with CL. My mummy is so awesome!
When our parents come over, she has no qualms to cook for them too. Most CL draws strict line of who they cook for
I learn a lot about baby caring from her, things you don't get from books or antenatal class. Things that only experience can give us

I'm glad I listened to my parents on confinement. It was a great experience for me. I loved it! It's only after my CL left that hubby and I really feel the draught of baby caring.

Sigh....that one month passes too soon!

Buying Lottery Again

2010-09-24T14:56:00.002+08:00

We are the lots who talk about buying number (means buying lottery in this country) but is never in the habit of doing so.

Within a month of her birth, Kaylene's birthcert number struck first prize and 2nd prize! Twice we didn't think of buying her number even on her full moon, we never thought her number will still have any winning strokes left. But bought her number for fun last Saturday when we walk past Magnum.

And our little investment of RM12 won us RM200 heh heh heh! Finally, for the first time ever we have a 'side wealth' coming in! Seriously we never have such luck on buying number but with this little wealth, we're ecstatic!

Awesome!

Buying Lottery

2010-09-07T15:01:00.003+08:00

As typical as any Chinese family would be, buying number (buying lottery) is a must on big occasions like new birth. So everyone has been asking me what is Kaylene's birthcert number so they can score some unconventional wealth.

Mouse and me somehow never acquire this habit but we join in the fun occasionally. Since some of the cousins from Ipoh were here to see Kaylene, Mouse followed on with the number buying.

Nothing happened.

But 2 days later we found out the last 3 digit of Kaylene's birthcert strike 2nd prize! Unfortunately, Mouse didn't buy for that day. Oh....shucks! We never have such luck with lottery anyway.

Well, a couple of his cousins did. So they are now richer by RM110. Not bad for a RM0.50 investment eh!

3 Days More Till the End of Confinement

2010-09-06T16:17:00.004+08:00

3 more days, the confinement will ends!

One side of me is brimming with joy knowing I'll go back to normal food, shower like normal, bring Kaylene out to places and out of the confines (pun intended) of the many many pantang (taboos) that rule my life since Kaylene was born.

But the other side of is going to miss my confinement lady (CL) who takes care of me and most importantly takes very good care of my baby daughter. I'll miss the luxury of taking naps, playing Facebook, blogging, have a good night sleep because the CL has been shouldering the job of looking after Kaylene the entire month. I will miss being treated like a Queen, having someone to cook for me, clean for me, even the house chores are done. I even have my meals brought to my room so I don't have to walk downstairs to ensure I am well rested. Mouse is getting more rest than he expected.

We both are anticipating some very stressful weeks ahead once CL leaves. This is when we really do the REAL parenting duties. **fingers crossed, fingers crossed**

Kaylene's Birth Story

2010-09-01T22:01:00.010+08:00

**Don't read this post if you expect a beautiful story of birth. This is pretty much a story that will give you second thoughts about having a baby. You should however read the final part of Lessons Learned so you don't encounter what I went through in labour and birth**

Both hands strapped for the biggest experience of my life
+
the biggest journey in our married life!

Why It Takes Me So Long To Tell This Tale
I have been taking my time to write about Kaylene's birth story. Mainly because I am still recovering from it (maybe traumatized is a better word heh heh!).

You see, going through the birth was one thing I feared most. It took me the entire pregnancy to prep myself and convince myself that it's not as bad as I imagined it. All the videos I watch online and during antenatal class assured me I was overreacting. I then imagine the birth is something natural my body can do, that it'll be painful but bearable and it'll be a very calm experience. And I'll feel my baby coming out from the birth canal and have that 'Johnsons' moment once she is born.

It. Was. So. Wrong.

It was everything bad I imagined it to be and far worse.

The Tale Begins
See, I had a choice, to induce while dilated at 1cm when baby's at estimated 3.5kg or wait for contractions to come naturally but with a possibly 4kg plus baby. Fearing a difficult birth with a big baby, we chose to induce. Thinking smaller baby would be easier to give birth to.

So goes the story, we checked into the hospital on the 10th Aug after midnight. In the Labour Suite, the midwife went through some procedures with me. Confirming on things like the process of induction, how I want the vaccines to be done on baby, checking the ID straps on my wrist with all correct info as one set would be placed on baby, handling of placenta, tagging serial number on ID strap, facilities in my suite, informing us only max 2 guests can be in Labour Suite (only my mum or MIL allowed with husband), breastfeeding choice, health backgrounds on me, allergies etc. She also checked my cervix, telling me I had some show. A tablet was inserted into me to get induction going. Devan was so sweet, kept talking to me to divert me from discomfort.

I looked at this machine the entire night. Watching the contractions recorded and seeing if I'm in good progress. Little did I know it wouldn't matter cuz the pain just took me out. Heh heh!

First, Comes The Mild Pain
It began at 1am and though there was pain, it was totally manageable. It felt just like period pain except it comes in waves. I could feel it peaked and felt it dipped. It was totally okay. I could even watch some shows on my laptop with Devan and slept throughout the night. There is a long couch and arm sofa in the Suite so Devan could sleep comfortably too. The midwife brought in extra pillow and blanket for him which pleased me a whole deal. Cuz knowing my husband is comfortable comforts me before The Great Pain comes.

Next morning they put me on IV drip. The pain escalated. But I could still managed it with just breathing exercise. As the pain got stronger, I turned to walking around the room to walk off the pain. I swayed my body while doing my in-out-out-out breathing techniques. Still good.

And The Water Was Broken
9 am, Dr Jean Woo came in and checked me. I was about 2-3 cm dilated. So happy to know I was dilating properly as I've heard of friends whose body would not dilate. Then she broke my water with her finger. As she had to reach really deep into the cervix to do it, that was a short moment of real pain I endured.

I thought I was doing great with pain management. Up till then I took no painkillers, just breathing it away. Devan was so wonderful, the entire morning he sat next to me, held my hand and breathed with me. But after the water was broken, the pain got too strong for me. I requested for Gas & Air (a.k.a entonox) to relieve the pain. It was so good, because just after a few breaths, I could feel my head calming down and tuning out as I got sleepy. Basically I feel drugged out which was how the pain was tuned out.

It Goes Downhill From There
I tried not to inhale too much of the entonox but each time the pain came in a big surge that made me gasped frantically for it. In the end, I relied on it exclusively throughout. And I was so zoned out, I was often unconscious and only have hazy memory of what transpired after that. I know that before 11am, I was in so much pain I asked for pethidine (another form of painkiller but via injection). After that I have very little memory of what happened.

My eyes were closed throughout the labour, I held on to my gas mask for dear life. It was the only thing that would take the pain away. Devan held my left hand which was my only comfort until Kaylene came out.

The pain just surged stronger and stronger each time. I tried to bear it but I guess my body couldn't take it. I remember screaming bloody murder, I expect the whole floor heard me. I remember the pain just took over my body and I was thrashing. I remember being told to push but I was so exhausted from fighting the pain, I simply couldn't. I remember apologising to Devan that I wasn't that strong to go through this bravely and I couldn't do it cuz it's so hard. I remember crying for my life because the pain was really awful, it seized me and took control of me each time it comes. I remember begging for c-sec and epidural but was denied because it was too late, baby had crowned. I remember praying to God in my head, asking God to take my life because I cannot go through another moment of pain anymore. I felt baby's head trying to come out and that was really painful.

I was in so much pain, the IV drip came off from my wrist because I moved so much. According to Devan, my blood spurted out and was the bedsheet was very red from it. Later we found a small patch of his jeans with my blood too. Heheeee!

Then...It Just Happened
I remember doctor asking Devan to see baby's head crowning and telling him that it's going to be over soon. I just needed to push. I couldn't. Then suddenly I felt a moment of tranquility though I still hear the ongoings in Labour Suite but I felt quiet and tranquil in my head. I felt the greatest pain barging down on me and suddenly something soft and slimy just slipped out from my body.

I had my eyes shut still. I held on to Devan so strong, he couldn't cut baby's cord. Only when he told me he will go and check on baby did I let go of his hand. By then the pain miraculously disappeared. I felt doctor pressing my tummy and pulling the placenta out from me.

I only heard baby's first cry after Devan went to check on her while the midwife attending to her. It sounded so weird, very alien to my ears. Then I felt Devan next to me again, telling me our baby, our Kaylene is out and she's gorgeous and the pain's over. He kissed my forehead, saying I've done great. He left with the nurses when they took our Kaylene to nursery.

I was too exhausted from the whole ordeal. I could feel the doctor doing something and later was told she was stitching me up. Heck! I didn't even feel her cutting me 'there' at all. I felt the midwife wiping me and changing my gown. I was then transferred to my room.

I only get to see lil' Kaylene about 3 hours later and breastfed her.

So...I Survived It !
When I was really conscious, Devan and I traded stories of the whole ordeal again. Apparently I was asked many times if I wanted epidural or c-sec but I said "NO" each time! In my pain, I was that delirious. I kept wondering why in the world Devan didn't order epidural for me when I was in so much pain. Now I know why! I also found out that no matter how I pushed, baby couldn't come out and doctor used forcep to take Kaylene out. That's another reason why I was so sore for 2 weeks after that.

Sigh...it was pretty traumatizing. I didn't imagine my first birth to be this way. Next time, epidural comes first!! I'd still wanna experience a real natural birth without induction though. I don't think I'd be able to go through it without Devan. My darling husband is the most important key player in this whole process, sometimes I thought more than myself.

So couple of lessons learned :
1) Inducing birth is extra painful. I know about this but I didn't know the 'extra' is like 1,000 times much more painful than natural birth. Never induce birth unless it's life and death situation.
2) It's okay to take epidural. Don't be so against it. Otherwise like me, even when I really wanted it, I said NO when pain took over me.
3) Have a good birth companion. Ideally it should be your husband but if you want your mum or mother-in-law there, make sure they are strong to stomach watching you scream in pain.
4) If you can afford it, get a single room so your husband can stay with you. Your body will be weak plus your private will be sore so having someone you loved makes it more bearable especially when you need help to get out of bed etc. The nurses can do the same but I feel more comfortable when my husband helped me to the toilet.
5) Be prepared to have your naked body seen by nurses and midwives besides your doctor. There's no other way around it!

So there, Kaylene's and my birth story.

Did it spook you out?

Kaylene @ 2 Weeks

2010-08-24T23:09:00.003+08:00

Kaylene's first 2 weeks home with us

Kaylene's first 2 weeks with us is interesting.

By now we know this girl is a big drinker like her daddy. I call her a 'kan cheong' drinker. Because she gets very frantic during latch on.
She must have her feed again after a big poo, no matter what.
When she poos, the whole room can hear (hahaa!)
She likes to be swaddled.
She likes the warmth of non air-conditioned room.
When she sleeps, she really sleeps. Nothing will rouse her, not even wiping her face with a wet cloth.
On Day 6, her umbilical cord dropped.
On Day 10, she went into growth spurt. She was hungry every 1 hour. With 30 mins feeding time, I have only 30 mins to myself each. That was scary.
She got a big fan club ; her 2 sets of grandparents come almost daily to see her. Not to mention the stream of other aunties and uncles.
She got a Great-Grandma who is still very healthy!

Baby Kaylene Says Hi !

2010-08-24T18:26:00.005+08:00

Baby Kaylene says 'Hi' to the big big world while Mummy TwoFish is just relieved the birth is over! Daddy Mouse is happy we are a family in this lil house now :)

Preggers Update @ Week 38 (It's Happening!)

2010-08-06T23:58:00.000+08:00

Well 38 weeks already at this point! Went for my doctor's appointment today.

This just in : I'm already 1cm dilated! I'm ready for labour. Lil ninja is ready to greet the world!

Dr Jean Woo says baby is good enough to come out and suggested induction if I want to though I'm not 40 weeks yet. I'm booked for Monday night (9 Aug) for it but I'm still considering if I want to. Because when a labour is induced, the labour pain is a lot more painful than a naturally triggered one. I'm free to cancel the booking should I want it. Still thinking but quite excited knowing I'm 1cm dilated.

Also I'm thinking of letting fate & destiny decide when should baby meet the world. That is, if I can bear with the abdominal and groin pain that plagued me for the past 2-3 weeks.

So over this weekend I pray and hope contractions will begin and we'll have a truly natural birth I wanted. Otherwise I'll see how I'm doing with the pain and decide on the induction later.

Ooooh, so excited!! It's finally going to happen!

Baby's Stat
Weight : 3.5 kg
Length : 70 cm
Engagement to Birth Canal : doesn't matter cuz I'm 1cm dilated !

My Stats
Weight : added 1 kg
Blood Pressure : all okay
Extra : a lot of pain in the lower abdomen. any movements hurt. In short, I'm in pain all the time. *Bleh* This is no fun. No one told me about the final month is the worst to bear physically.

Right before we left, the nurse staff said they'll book me in for induction for Monday morning. They also gave me a little bag of sample pack of Huggies diaper. More freebies! Yaaay!

Updates
Guess what? By 4pm the nurse staff called again and said the hospital's labour ward is FULLY BOOKED on Monday morning for induction labour! Apparently a lot of people is rushing to deliver before the puasa month starts and the Hungry Ghost Festival. So I'm booked for Monday night instead to deliver by Tuesday (10 Aug).

We'll see what goes in the next two days. **fingers crossed**

Baking : Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-08-06T21:56:00.001+08:00

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

There's a story behind this recipe. Couple months back, I bought the Better Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mix and it was easy to bake and turned out to be very delicious. Then I googled for the recipe and baked twice from scratch, with both times the cookies turned out to be really great! Both times however my husband, Mouse polished it off himself so I was a happy camper. My motto is 'as long as people are willing to eat what I make, I consider it a success!'.

I'm that easy to please.

Then an idea popped in my head. I wanted the cookies to be less sweet and I wanted to make it a dash healthier. So I altered the recipe and tried and voila! It was a success! I'm also happy I perfected the skill to make the cookie consistent in size. The last 3 times I made, each batch were in different sizes.

Today I'm posting the recipe that I altered cuz it's just so awesome. I gave some to my MIL and during a family dinner with my husband's cousins, the wife totally whacked the whole jar of cookies when we were chatting. They said the cookies tasted so good, they asked if I am making it for festive season.

Awww.....! Such compliments for novice baker like me. Me smitten!

So here goes the recipe.

Recipe

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup soften butter (Note : soften, not melted)
1 egg
2 1/4 all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (I omitted this as Mouse doesn't like nuts in his cookies)
3/4 cup quick oats
2 cups semi sweet chocolate (I used Nestle/Hersheys brand, they're pricey but trust me, they're worth it)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Baking Instructions

Heat oven to 190 degrees Celcius
Mix sugar, butter, vanilla & egg. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt.
Dough will be stiff. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
Drop dough with teaspoon at 2 inches apart onto non-greased baking pan.
Bake for 8-10 mins or until the edges turn brown.

I'm not posting the pictures of the instructions cuz they're pretty much same as the post from the quick mix.

The smell will fill the entire house and it's such a happy warm feeling to have. I like cookies. Now I can save my money from buying Famous Amos cookies, cuz I can make em' at home!

I shall explore other recipes next time but with baby due any moment, that'll be some time later I suppose.

For now, I'm just happy I got a reliable good chocolate chip cookie recipe with oatmeal!

Baking : Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin

2010-08-06T18:23:00.001+08:00

My first homemade Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin. Homemade stuffs certainly taste better.
**the picture doesn't do the muffins justice. They actually taste better than they look**

So I said the baking bugs been biting me right?

The first thing I wanted to make was muffins. I don't know why I just simply love muffins. Maybe cuz you don't need any reasons to eat them. You can have em' for breakfast, tea time, snacks...anytime is good time for muffins!

Also I'm a novice in the kitchen, gotta start easy. Muffins the easiest thing to start! I'll up my ante gradually....if I ever have the time after lil' Ninja is out heh heh!

I chose Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin for my first baking fever. It has both my favourite snack goodies. Banana & chocolate chip! How awesome!

Baking instructions :
follow picture from top left according clockwise order

The Recipe

1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cups of sugar (can use brown sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used melted butter, it tasted much better!)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I substituted with milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 3 pcs or 150gm)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chip

Baking Instructions

Warm up oven at 180 degrees Celcius.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt (A)
Combine egg, oil/melted butter, yogurt/milk, vanilla in another bowl (B)
Stir B into A.
Fold in banana and chocolate chips
Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for 20-25 mins (or until brown and pass )

Well, ensure the banana is really ripe. That's when they're best to make muffins. Also if you can, use the small type of banana.

They turned out to be so delicious! I gave 2 to a friend and his wife polished it clean. Me happy! People out there eat my stuff! Yay!

Baking...Online & Offline!

2010-08-06T16:42:00.000+08:00

For some weird reasons, I'm bitten by the baking bugs. Maybe it the Baking Life I'm playing on Facebook recently. Maybe it's the nesting instinct that's kicking in. Whatever it is, I've been baking! A lot! Baking from scratch at that!

Upcoming soon!

My rendezvous in the kitchen...

**disclaimer : Baking more than 5 times in a month is a lot by my own personal records. Because before this, I never baked. Never had an oven in my life. Don't even know baking powder is not the same as baking flour. Even when I finally learned to bake, it was the quick-mix type. Oooh, I'm so proud of myself! (self hug)**

Nesting Instincts Before Birth

2010-08-05T01:15:00.001+08:00

I read somewhere that when you're at your full term of pregnancy (or near it), the nesting instincts will kick in. You will be in the mood to clean up and organise things around the house.

How absolutely true!

For the past few weeks, I've been getting my hands onto things I never thought I'd bother to do. So far, I have :
1) did the birth plan. It's something I wanted to do but for the longest time I was just too lazy to get on to it. Then suddenly it was completed and I managed to get doctor to sign in approval.

2) got busy organising our room after moving in the baby cot and the extra cabinet for lil' Ninja. I bought and cut out cotton squares to bathe/clean baby. I have 2 boxes of squares now!

3) washed, sterilised and sun dried all baby clothes/beddings/soft toys/bottles/breastpumps etc

4) cleaned out and re-organised the guest room for confinement lady, changed bedsheets/pillow cases, ventilated the room. Hubby washed the toilet while I cleaned the toilet's cabinet and stock up toilet paper for her.

5) organised kitchen to accommodate the bottles of rice wines mum and grandma got me.

6) got out stroller and car seat from box, sun dried them, studied the instructions and did a trial on how to install carseat in our car

7) packed hospital bag, repacked and repacked

8) de-clutter some stuffs I was supposed to do for eons

9) just packed snack bag as part of hospital bag

10) re-reading Asian Parenting Today and recap chapters on newborn to 3months

As now I am considered full term at Week 38, I am just waiting for the moment. Guess it helps that I no longer work so I can fret around minute things like these. Otherwise, I'd be lucky if I pack hospital bag this early.

I still feel like I want to clean and get things done around the house as I type now. Of all things, I never though nesting instincts would hit me. Cuz I am super lazy. Like really lazy.

Now I only hope mother's instinct will kick in for me in future. I'm constantly worry I'll be a horrible parent!

Is This A Bicycle Horn?

2010-08-03T15:20:00.003+08:00

One day, I was at my young uncle's house. My aunt had an old set of manual breastpump and she asked if I wanted it. As I bought mine already, I thanked her but declined.

Later, one of her sons who is my little cousin brother came back and saw it. He took out the parts and started to assemble the kit, following the visual on the box.

I asked if he knows what he was assembling. His answer sent us crackling with laughter!

He said, "I know! I'm assembling BICYCLE HORN !"

Hahahaaaa! Kids really say the darnest thing!

Note To Self : Consumption of Ginger & Rice Wine During Confinement

2010-08-03T10:04:00.003+08:00

I saw a friend's post on Facebook on her newborn baby girl. Of course I went and checked out the pictures. I'm looking at everyone's babies pictures nowadays. Who can resist, right?

Her baby was readmitted to hospital for jaundice and underwent phototherapy treatment. On the photo, she wrote the baby developed jaundice because she consumed too much ginger and rice wine during the first 2 days of confinement.

Note to self : do not consume ginger & rice wine during the first 2 weeks after birth. It all goes back to the baby! If you have really no choice, then take only very little amount. Make sure the wine is cooked off to evaporate the alcohol. Ask your mom/mom-in-law/confinement lady to use only 2 tablespoon of wine in each dish.

I just hope my confinement nanny will not be over-eager with ginger & rice wine in her cooking.

Preview on Colostrum

2010-08-03T09:04:00.001+08:00

"Colostrum is the first 'milk' the breasts produce as a precursor to breastmilk. It is rich in fats, protein, and antibodies, which protect the baby against infection and kick-start the immune system. Most women produce colostrum a few days before and after childbirth; some women produce small amounts of it from the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy. It is gradually replaced by breastmilk over the first week or so of breastfeeding. "

Also knows as the 'Gold milk' because of its precious antibodies, colostrum is the first thing babies will feed before the body produces milk.

Some women may find colostrum on their nipples months/weeks before due date. I was wondering if I'd get to see it but my doctor said not all women will leak before birth. So I wasn't counting much on it.

But guess what I saw the past 2 weeks? Colostrum!

Awesome!

They're really thick and gold in colour! They're odourless too.

Though they're not leaking and only a drop or two that come out, it's a good sign for me! I'm just relieved that my body's doing the right progress so far. Cuz I have been wearing wired bra throughout the pregnancy, not knowing I wasn't supposed to. Was worried if I would have blocked ducts which may affect breastfeeding later.

Glad to know colostrum is in sight now!

Belly Progress 2

2010-08-01T12:40:00.000+08:00

See the difference between 8th and 9th month? Notice the 'drop' on the belly? It's called 'lightening' or 'engagement'. This happens when baby is moving towards birth canal. The last check days ago, lil' Ninja is already 70% engaged.

At 37 weeks, she is safe to come out now though it should be 40 weeks for a full term pregnancy. It's any moment between now and the next 2 weeks or so.

It's just a waiting game from now on!

Packing Hospital Bag

2010-08-01T01:05:00.000+08:00

Hospital Bag (noun)
Definition : a bag you pack to be admitted to hospital. In my case, it contains essential items for me, baby and hubby during my labour and birth of lil Ninja. Ideally the hospital bag should be packed at Week 32 onwards of pregnancy. When it's time to go to hospital, it's a just grab n' go!

Here's the packing list I worked out with a little help from Elisa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Packing List for Me (mummy) :
- Admission card (issued by hospital)
- Birth Plan
- Blood test result
- Toiletries
- Sanitary pads
- Bepanthen/nipple cream
- Disposable undies / extra undies
- Change of clothes
- Thick socks n sandals
- Handphone charger
- Nursing bra(s)
- Breast pads

For lil Ninja :
- Onesie / romper
- Booties & mittens
- Hat
- Hankies
- Diapers
- Blanket
- Car seat

For Mouse (daddy) :
- Change of clothes
- Camera
- Handphone & camera charger
- Snacks

So far I've packed for myself and lil Ninja's. Mouse has yet to pack his despite my (many) reminders. Knowing him, he'll just simply grab some and come home to grab anything he left out.

Now, we'll just wait for contractions to come. **fingers crossed**

My Life Savers During Pregnancy

2010-07-30T11:10:00.001+08:00

Though I had a pretty good pregnancy till far, throughout this journey there are a few ailments that bugged me. When they came, it was really uncomfortable. To the point I wasn't able to sleep till 5am at times, only dozing off out of tiredness.

I'm so glad I found some remedies that made it easier for me. Wherever I could, I try not to take medicine for my problems as I was trying to minimise any effect on the baby. But sometimes I have no choice but to take meds, otherwise I'd go nuts!

1) Skin Rash
I began having pregnancy rash in 2nd trimester. It came innocently enough, a small itch on the hips. I didn't realise how much I was scratching till Mouse told me. By then, the rashes were on my hips, tummy and even side of breasts.

They're red and raw. Some areas were dark brown in colour once they dried and even flaky. It didn't hurt but the itch drove me mad. There were few nights I was up till 5am, scratching my life away. In the afternoons, it was bad as perspiration made the itches worse. So bathing frequently was something I did.

First thing I did was to stop bathing using the normal body wash. I converted to Remedica Anago Soap which is a 100% organic soap I bought from Bodybar. The relief was almost immediate after shower. The itch stopped for a few good hours so it helped a lot.

As the skin dries up and became flaky, I had to keep the areas moisturised. I used the usual moisturiser but it didn't work for me. Until I tried the Palmer's Stretch Mark Massage Cream (which I bought out of fear of stretch marks). It was amazing! Though the cream is thick, it smoothes over the skin easily and it's not too heavy. It absorbs nicely and I like the slight pleasant scent. Never thought this stretch mark cream would come in rescue to my pregnancy rash.

Medication. My last resort. The itch progressed to weeks and it was getting really unbearable. I had no choice but to get medication for it. I was prescribed Priton which is pregnancy safe. The good news is, I didn't even have to finish the whole strip. Only took it for 2 days and the itch went down a lot. Then I stopped medication and relied solely on bathing with organic soap and keeping skin moisturised. Thank goodness the rash went away and never came back.

And the scars? They're all gone! Me happy!

2) Heartburn
Arrrgh!! I never knew what heartburn was till I got pregnant. I used to think "how bad can it be? I had severe gastric before, so it can't be that bad!".

I was wrong.

So wrong.

The word burn is there for a reason people. Seriously, it burns the tummy and throat badly. Like a fire that won't be doused. At first it came mildly, I just made sure I stop taking spicy food. It didn't go away, it got worse.

On the worst days, I felt like reaping my throat out so I can pumped ice through it to relieve the discomfort. Sometimes I couldn't sleep till 4am. It was horrible.

I tried all methods I read online. Drink milk. Eat small meals. Eat frequently. Eat on time. Avoid spicy food. They're no use. I had to get help from doctor.

Doctor prescribed me with Eviline Forte. 3 times a day and it worked wonders!! I love Eviline, I love Eviline, I love Eviline! It even comes with a measuring cup!

Oh, I learned very much later that taking yogurt helps. That is the one thing that worked besides Eviline. It toned down the heartburn though not completely cure it. Doesn't matter, I love eating yogurt. Heartburn or not.

Oh one more thing, Gaviscon is also pregnancy safe but I didn't like its taste. If the taste goes well with your taste buds, you can easily get this from any pharmacy.

3) Stretch Marks
Well this is not really a problem that bugged me. But I am one of the millions of pregnant ladies out there who is freaked out with stretch marks. I am so worried I'll have a watermelon lookalike tummy, I bought Palmer's Stretch Marks Massage Cream and Bio Oil.

Later I found out that no amount of precious cream will prevent or heal stretch marks. As this is a genetic call in us. If you wanna know how bad your stretch marks will be, just take a look at your mum's or sisters. That'll give you clear indication of what you'll get.

The most these creams/lotions/oils will do is keep the skin moisturised so when the skin begin to tear from baby's growth, it'll itch less. But you have to be very diligent in applying onto your skin. I always fail to apply 3 times a day, until I had the rashes problem.

Palmer's Stretch Mark Cream & Bio Oil. I love em' both!

The Palmer's cream is thick but goes easily on my skin. I like the slight scent, it's actually one of the reason I used it so frequent. Cuz I love the smell. I'm onto my 2nd bottle now.

Bio Oil must be the only oil I ever use that is NOT OILY. It's a little thick compared to normal oil but surprisingly spread easily on the skin. It took only seconds to be absorbed into skin so it's totally not greasy on hands or belly. I just put on my clothes right after using this, nothing gets on my clothes either. Besides the pretty colour, there is a whiff of eucalyptus to the oil (this is not eucalyptus oil) which is very soothing and invigorating to me. I likey!

All the items here are not pricey or from high-end range. They're just simple products that helped me through my rough days of pregnancy that comforts me in its simplest ways. I'm just glad whatever that pestered me so far, it's not the worst I could get in pregnancy. I've been so blessed till far.

Only crossing my pregnant fingers that the blessing will last through the labour and birth.

Wall.E in Taiwan

2010-07-30T11:10:00.000+08:00

Guess who we met on the streets of Taiwan?

Our Birth Plan

2010-07-28T22:02:00.000+08:00

I didn't know what's a birth plan till I read it on internet. A birth plan is simply a document to your gynae, nurses and midwife that states how you want your labour/birth experience to be . You can specify things like :

- pain management you want to use (epidural/pethidine/entonox)
- birth position preferred
- infant care (breastfeeding? rooming in?)
- type of birth (vaginal or C-sec)
- birth partner (hubby/mummy/best friend etc)
- episiotomy (yes or no to it)

I am not fussy on much, while some people are very detailed to exactly what must be done for them during labour & birth. I drafted mine based on a few samples obtained online. Here's mine below, take a look. I got Dr Jean Woo to sign in approval. She kept a copy and I have a copy in my hospital bag so I can show to nurses/midwife.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashley 2 Fish & Mouse’s Birth Plan

Contact : Ashley 2Fish xxx – xxx xxxx

Mouse xxx – xxx xxxx

Estimated Due Date : 18 August 2010

Obstetrics & Gynaecology Doctor : Dr Jean Woo

28 July 2010

Attn To :

Labour Delivery Unit

Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre

Kuala Lumpur

Dear Midwives & Nurses,

Below is our ‘ideal’ birthing scenario, but we are aware in the event of a life-threatening emergency, we will be relying on your professional judgement and skills to see us through.

We desire a labour and delivery that is free from medical interventions if possible. We strongly prefer a vaginal delivery instead of a Caesarean. Please discuss any suggested interventions or procedures with us both and obtain our verbal consent before initiating any such interventions or procedures.

#1 Labour

Birth Companion

· My husband only

Movements

· Freedom to move/walk around during labour

Pain Management/Pain Relief

· Walking, stretching exercise, breathing techniques

· *Pethidine preferred for early labour – given only when requested

· *Gas & air preferred for late labour – given only when requested

*please inform us when is the final moment of being allowed to receive the pain relief

Hydration/Food

· Drinking fluids rather than having IV

· Light nibbling on biscuit/bread to prevent gastritis

· Water or juice for hydration

Monitoring

· Intermitten EFM if baby and I are doing well

#2 – Delivery

Delivery Position

· Upright on bed

Perineal Tear/Episiotomy

· Doctor to perform episiotomy as deem necessary for baby’s safe delivery. If possible I wish to avoid having episiotomy.

Cutting the Umbilical Cord

· By my husband – Mr Mouse

#3 – After Delivery

· Hold baby and begin breastfeeding immediately

· All newborn procedures done in our presence

#4 – Infant Care

· Breastfeeding only – no bottles or pacifiers

· If baby needed to be taken away, please ensure my husband accompanies her

#5 – if Ceasarean is needed

· To breastfeed as soon as possible

#6 – Recording during Labour

· We wish to take photographs and do video recording of the labour without being in the way of the medical staffs

#7 – Others

· We do not wish to have any medical students to observe the labour

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Ashley 2Fish & Mouse

Approved by,

Dr Jean Woo

Preggers Update @ Week 37

2010-07-28T16:16:00.003+08:00

Went to see Dr Jean Woo today. After this visit, the next is 10 days apart as I am very close to my due date. Just 2 weeks more to go, our lives will change forever! :)

Baby's Stats
Weight : 3.2 kg
Length : more than 50 cm (considered long/tall for her size)
Engagement to birth canal : 70% engaged (20% only 2 weeks ago)
Extra : lil Ninja was pouting today! Aww...! We couldn't believe it till we see it on the screen. Her lips were upturned, you can tell she's upset. Who would've thought babies can emote while they're still inside the womb.

My Stats
Weight : I lost 0.5kg in past 2 weeks! It could be water retention the last time I was at doctor's. Didn't bother me but doctor wasn't thrilled with the steady weight this week, instead she's worried on the overall 15kg gained. Bleh!
Blood pressure : all ok.

I told doctor that the groin pain is getting real bad. It's hard to sleep, hard to move about and I've been experiencing those menstrual pain on and off on certain days. Doctor said all this is good signs that everything is in progress for birth. I just have to cope with it and best thing is walk a lot.

I got my birth plan all done up, showed Dr Jean Woo and she was pleased to sign on it. She said she had patients who wrote 8 pages long birth plan, mine is just a simple 2 pagers. My requests are all very simple so it wasn't difficult to accommodate. Will have a separate post on this next.

All is well till now. Just waiting for the moment for baby to come. Just can't wait.

Pouting Ninja

2010-07-28T15:58:00.003+08:00

#Baby Facts Of The Day :
Babies have facial expressions even when they're still in the womb.

Today when we're at the doctor's, we saw our lil Ninja pouting!
Awwww.......!

Best Line To Tell Pesky Gym Sales Fella On Phone

2010-07-26T15:10:00.001+08:00

You know those pesky calls you get from gym? They'll tell you they're giving you 'free' gym access for 1 week/2 weeks/7 times? No obligation? Just try it out? How do you get out from those calls? Because they're very persistent and... like I said, pesky.

I found the best ever comeback line to these calls! Just say you're pregnant.

They'll hang up immediately after a polite thank you and NEVER call back.

Worked for me every single time I get these calls lately. Damn! I wish I know how to use this earlier.

If you're a guy? Just say you're recovering from a surgery.

Heh heh!

Troubled Sleep During Pregnancy

2010-07-20T14:27:00.003+08:00

The funny thing about this post is, I have been sleeping really good in the entire pregnancy! I've always have problem sleeping before this but since I been carrying lil Ninja, it's the best I've got.

Until I hit the final month of pregnancy.

The past few weeks has been bad. Since the 7th Month, I been having pain in the groin area. I learned that happens when the baby grows bigger and there's strain on the underside of belly. I was able to take it though, it's only in the morning that's hard to get up from bed. Once I was on my feet, I was A-ok. So it was not that bad.

The last 2 to 3 weeks however, it got worse. The pain escalated. When I slept, I needed a pillow just to support my growing belly. When I turned, groin pain is sure there. When I wake up, it's hard to get up and get out of bed. My first steps in the morning to toilet is always the roughest. The groin pain is really bad, it made even turning during sleep painful for me. Now, I started to feel my body creaking whenever I sit down or lie down in one position for too long. Some mornings, Mouse has to help me sit up so I can get out of bed.

I know all these are signs baby is coming out and the body is in preparation for labour. The body is loosened so the pelvis can open up for baby's exit. The groin pain is simply strain from the weight of baby now. This is because the bump is really big, heavy now and unsupported on the underside. I finally understand why some people had to wear maternity belt in the 3rd trimester.

Despite all this, I still think my pregnancy has been smooth sailing and more pleasant than I expected (and than most of my friends). Am only grateful for little blessings like this. This little problem with groin pain and heavy tummy, if that's the worst I have to deal in the pregnancy...I'll take it.

So sleep hasn't been easy lately. Guess my sleepless nights begins here and not just when baby's out.

Things To Do Before Birth @ 35 Weeks

2010-07-18T16:40:00.002+08:00

I looked through my To-Do-List again and realised I got half of them done by now. Just got a little bit more to do, provided my ever-so-in-pain groin will allow me the next 2 weeks. I am sure I can get them done in few days if I don't slack. I only hope I don't put myself in a panic mode if I don't get it done within next week.

1) Discuss with Dr Jean Woo of our birth plan
2) Write my birth plan
3) Check out pre-admission procedure with Gleneagles Hospital
4) Pack hospital bag before Week 36
~~5) Wash & clean all baby's stuffs~~
6) Collect Drypers from Alyssa - she helped me buy some at very cheap price (if not collected in time, no worries. I got Mamy Poko at hand oredi)
~~7) Rearrange our room's furniture layout to move in baby cot & extra cupboard~~
8) Clear drawers to accommodate baby's clothes etc
9) Get all baby beddings from my mum - she's making new ones just for our baby (since she'll wash them, that saves me some cleaning jobs)
10) Get car seat & stroller ready - clean it and ensure we know how to install it (they're out of the box already. gonna put it in the sun to prep it. the next few days Mouse will do test run on installation of car seat)
11) Clean up spare room for confinement lady (halfway done)
12) Wash mini mattress cover (again)

[NEW] 13) Buy sarong since can't get from MIL (still contemplating on this)

Where Are You, Mr Sun?

2010-07-18T14:58:00.002+08:00

It's been so gloomy the past 2 weeks. I know it's the rainy season and previously I was complaining about the weather's too hot etc. I know, I'm hard to please when it comes to weather. Too hot, I complain. Too much rain, I complain.

Normally I would have enjoyed this kind of weather, nice and breezy....no sun bearing down on me. Nice to laze around and just sleep and do nothing.

This time, I want to sun all the baby stuffs I washed before she arrives. Have been waiting day after day for Mr Sun but he ain't there. Thankfully, there was a brief appearanceyesterday and I quickly put everything out.

Yay!! Finally! All is done.

Now I can move on to my other To-Do-List.

Preggers Update @ Week 35

2010-07-16T13:49:00.001+08:00

35 weeks of pregnancy, we got 1 month till we meet Lil Ninja. Finally. I am very nervous. Yesterday was my doctor's appointment, all is well. Baby is on right track.

Baby's Progress
- Weight : 2.6 kg
- 40% engaged on birth canal
- Looks good for vaginal birth
- Can't see much of her, she covers her face with her tiny arm again. Shy girl this one, heh heh!
- I always love it when Dr Jean Woo shows us her heart. I can see her heart beating, the four chambers all moving rhythmically, like a beautiful song of life.
- doctor can see she got hair, so not a bald baby huh? I was bald as a baby hahah, guess another trait from daddy again

My Progress
- I put on 3kg in 3 weeks!! Bloody horror of it! The whole pregnancy my weight gain has been under control and suddenly it all comes at the final few weeks. I blame World Cup! Because each time I stayed up till 4-5am to watch a match, there's bound to be supper. My total weight gain right now is 15kg!! Oh dang, how am I gonna lose it all. I have poor track record when it comes to weight lost. **headache headache headache**
- Blood pressure all good
- Heartburn's still around. Sometimes mild, sometimes bad. Thank goodness for Eviline.
- tummy is really HUGE now!
- I been reading about the 'drop' when it's closer to birth but now I finally understand what it is. I definitely see it happening on my tummy
- Been getting harder to sleep as the belly is so big, it's hard to turn.
- The groin pain is really bad in the morning, so hard to get up and walk in the morning
- Breast still same, expecting it to get bigger but still waiting. No leakage yet
- Baby's movement are very sharp now there's less space for her inside the womb. Though it doesn't hurt when she squirms/moves/kicks/somersaults, the pressure on my body is sharp

Birth Plan
We finally discussed birth plan with Dr Jean Woo, though it's a shorter session than I expected. She just asked if I am still opting for normal birth and if I want epidural. Was hoping it'll be longer. She didn't explained the different types of pain killers and its pros and cons. I guess her patients are all well informed about things like this. Though I learned it all from Internet and antenatal class, I'd still like my doctor to tell me more. Even episiotomy was something I brought up and not her. I suppose that's her style, not much of a talker. However I know we're in good hands. Mouse said next child we should look out for other doctors who are more chatty.

Pre-Admission
The staff issued me with an pre-admission letter and we went to the registration counter for the procedure. Service was pleasant, we didn't have to pay until I am admitted at the hospital. We're given a card which we just have to show during admission so we don't spend any time filling up forms. On the spur of moment, I requested for a short tour into the labour suite (as the tour we did in antenatal class was at a different hospital). Within minutes, the very smartly dressed concierge took us to Level 3 for the tour. I was so happy because I want to know how it looks like, the place where I'll be spending a long time in excruciating pain. I really love this hospital. The moment we're out of the lift, everything around it is soothing and comforting, totally unlike a hospital.

In the labour suite, it's just like what we saw in the class. It's a lot bigger though in Gleneagle Hospital. And there's extra sofa which daddies can rest while accompanying the mummy in pain. The nurse who showed us the suite, showed us around and told us what happens during labour. Mouse was very happy to hear that once they clean baby, they will immediately let baby suckle for the first breastfeeding.

Next Visits
My doctor visits have always been once monthly. The last visit was 3 weeks apart. But now I am 5 weeks to birth, my next visit is within 2 weeks, then 10 days.

I am so anxious, my first birth. To me, this is a big experience for me and for Mouse. Anxious, yet can't wait to finally meet the little one.

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 4th Review

2010-07-11T20:38:00.005+08:00

We attended the last and final class in the antenatal yesterday. I really liked how SJMC allowed us to attend another class when we couldn't make it to the scheduled ones. Though I am sure they don't encourage this practice.

Driving up to Subang was easy. Parking is good in the hospital.

Class #4 Reviewed
This time we met Ai Ling. She's a very bubbly and cheerful person. She cracks us up all the time, even on serious topic like caring for Mother after birth.

Jenlia is awesome, all the consultants are great! I'm glad to hear they're working on a second book which covers baby care after 1 yr old. I got their current book 'Asian Parenting Today' which talks about baby and mother care from birth to 1 yr old. What make their book stands out from the hundreds on the shelf is that it's written from the perspective of Asian practices especially in Malaysia. I think I'll do a separate post on this cuz I really find this book super useful when it comes to local taboos and what to do with them.

Oh! One more thing, after tea break we all received a giftbag which contains a book titled 'Baby Book' (haha!), booklet on contraception and a sample pot of Lucas Papaw Ointment. More freebies, me likey!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#Care and Support for Mother during Puerperium
Ai Ling told us about what we'll expect physically and emotionally once we come home. Also taught us how to take care of the wound be it a vaginal or cesarean birth. Most importantly, she told us what we should eat and not eat during the first 2 weeks and the first 3 months after birth. Believe it or not, we're told not to touch chinese herbs and alcohol in the first 2 weeks. I'm thinking now what is the confinement lady gonna say about this. We're also told what fruits & vege to avoid because they'll go into breastmilk and baby may not like it.

The best thing I've heard? Eat more durians & cheesecake!! Woo hoo!! I'm so gonna 'pakat' with Mouse to smuggle it into room at night! hahahah....

Also she said it's absolutely OK to eat McD or KFC or pizza, it's just how are we gonna maneuver the confinement lady part?

Oh! One more happy news I got. One mummy asked if it's okay to wash hair during confinement, Ai Ling said we can wash all we can! See! The expert says it's okay!

#The Newborn - What to Expect in the First Few Months
#Meeting the Needs of Your New Born
This is part is where we all perked up. Because there are so many things we don't know to expect. Like babies will cry non-stop on the first day home no matter what, so don't worry when it happens. We're taught how to handle colic and jaundice in baby; how they happen, how to spot them and how to care for baby. We're shown how to clean baby (boys and girls are different), dress baby, bathe baby, swaddle baby and how to monitor baby's temperature. We're cautioned on baby's body changes in the first few weeks and how to treat it.

The most important part in this topic is the traditional methods employed by the older generation (mums, MILs, confinement ladies). It sounded like some horror stories how babies were treated. We gasped in disbelief when Ai Ling told us stories she encountered which hurt babies due to these old practices.

I hope the confinement lady my mum hired will not do all these things to our baby. Mouse and I have resolved that many things have to be done our way, or else we'll just ask her to leave. I'm just very glad that we won't have obstacles from our parents (as far as we know for now) unlike other couples we met.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There you have it. Our thoughts and feedback on antenatal class by Jenlia. I've already booked the post natal home visits, Mouse insisted on it after meeting Jennifer, Jocelyn and Ai Ling. Totally worth our RM 310!

The classes are superb, it gives us some better insights of what to expect during pregnancy, labour & birth and after baby's out. Though I read a lot online, I still learn a lot from the class. Mouse especially has a better idea of what his roles are when the time comes.

Then again, I believe we can never be prepared enough. That's the whole fun of parenthood!

Burn Burn Burrrrrrrrn !!!

2010-07-06T15:57:00.005+08:00

Arrrrgh!!

One of my biggest peeve of pregnancy is the heartburn I get. I had it on and off in the 2nd trimester but it was relieved with Eviline when I saw the doctor. It's happening more frequently since month 7. These 2 weeks, it was terrible!

The little bugger that burns in my throat.

My usual life-saver Eviline (pregnancy safe medicine) is not helping these 2 weeks. Last night was the worst, I was up till 4-5am from the burn. The effect of medicine lasted only 1 hour. And then Mouse sees that I didn't sleep much, he let me sleep in. I just don't like it when my sleeping hours are off tangent, I feel out of control. Then again, I thought I might as well enjoy it before baby is out. Cuz by then, I won't have the luxury of sleeping in, not with my intentions to breastfeed.

So back to the heart burn. It burns! Burns burns burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrns! It burns so badly, I wish I can rip off my esophagus so I can push ice cubes through it (vivid imaginations I got there, I know). A good minded friend from Johor told me I should take yogurt for it. I shall try that. And hope it'll help.

**crossing fingers it'll go away, otherwise the next one month till baby comes out**

Didja See The Sky Today?

2010-07-04T15:42:00.003+08:00

Didja see the sky today?

It's Sunday and since morning it's been raining softly and now it's just cooling and cloudy. So perfectly made to be a do-nothing-Sunday.

I wanna sleep.

Things To Do Before Birth

2010-07-02T00:26:00.002+08:00

As I mentioned, there's only about 6-7 weeks till baby's birth. I still haven't quite finish with the preparations for her arrival!

Here are the stuffs I gotta get done :

1) Discuss with Dr Jean Woo of our birth plan
2) Write my birth plan
3) Check out pre-admission procedure with Gleneagles Hospital
4) Pack hospital bag before Week 36
5) Wash & clean all baby's stuffs
6) Collect Drypers from Alyssa - she helped me buy some at very cheap price
7) Rearrange our room's furniture layout to move in baby cot & extra cupboard
8) Clear drawers to accommodate baby's clothes etc
9) Get all baby beddings from my mum - she's making new ones just for our baby
10) Get car seat & stroller ready - clean it and ensure we know how to install it
11) Clean up spare room for confinement lady
12) Wash mini mattress cover (again)

It's not a lot to do, I know. But the past 3 days my energy level has dipped. I get tired and breathless easily now. Like this morning, I was just doing the laundry and cleaning up the dishes and made pancake for Mouse' breakfast. When I finished eating, I was very tired. And had to take a nap. I guess the pregnancy is wearing me down now.

Also there's a lot of things I didn't buy yet because I am not sure if we need them till baby is out. So I just hope I can finish crossing out the list above and prayed all the months of preparations are enough. Though I know we'll never be prepared enough no matter how prepared we are!

7 More Weeks To Go....and I'm a Nervous Wreck!

2010-06-29T23:46:00.004+08:00

33 weeks into pregnancy carrying Lil Ninja now. 7 weeks more to go till the full 40 weeks term....and I'm a NERVOUS WRECK!!!

40 weeks has gone by so quick, I never thought the day would come so close. I am nervous. Shit nervous.

Nervous for the pain I am about to endure.
Nervous for the wonderful experience of childbirth.
Nervous to meet baby after so many months carrying her.
Nervous how our life will forever change now we'll be a small family.
Nervous if I can cope being a mum. A good mum.
Nervous if I can be a mum, the mum she deserves.
Nervous if I can be a mum and still be a good wife to Mouse.
Nervous if I can handle all crying, nursing, sleepless life, no-more-life life etc
Nervous if I can finish the preparation for baby's arrival.
Nervous if we can pull it off financially (we're a single income family, it's hard to live by in KL ok!)

Nervous ....

Nervous.........

Nervous..............

Nervous.....................!!!

Oh Darn! I Caught The Flu Too!

2010-06-28T02:41:00.003+08:00

Oh darn!

I caught the bug from Mouse! Just couple days ago, Mouse caught the flu and I was wary of getting it. I just don't want to be sick in the final few weeks of pregnancy.

2 days ago I noticed I got sore and itchy throat, the first symptoms to get before a full blown flu comes. I let my body fights it, I noticed I been less sick this year so I was just hoping I can go through this without medications.

Sigh! It was of no use. It went worse and today I got running nose and really really bad sorethroat. Mucus turned greenish which is a classic sign of infection. Down I went to my trusted clinic in Damansara Uptown and saw the doctor. As it's a Sunday so I don't get to see my usual doctor but I just wanna get medicine to fix the problem.

Doctor only prescribed me with medicine for the running/blocked nose, a gargle and lozenges. No antibiotic which I am glad cuz I don't want it either, not when I am still carrying Lil Ninja.

I just hope it'll go away quick. It's really irritating to be sick and pregnant at the same time.
BAH!!

This is Love

2010-06-27T00:01:00.000+08:00

We only met Gan & Jasmine just about a year ago in a Redang trip. They're the most adorable and sweet couple we've seen in a long long time.

So happy to hear they're tying the knot soon and now sweet Jasmine sports a nice big diamond ring on her pretty finger.

Congratulations to both of you! I am very happy to see 2 good people found each other to love in this world and you both truly deserves the love and each other. Looking forward to your wedding next year and you know if you need any help in the preparation, you can count on Devan and me!

In Archive for 20 Years

2010-06-26T15:55:00.003+08:00

This McDonald's birthday invitation card has been in my safekeeping for 20 years!

It was to celebrate cousin Vivian's 12 years old birthday in McDonalds. In those days, it's a big deal when you can have your birthday celebration there. I don't get invited to any birthday parties when I was young, let alone to have a proper invitation card. That's why I kept the card as a memory and I didn't realise I still have it when I was spring cleaning earlier this year.

I decided to give it to Vivian when she came back to KL this year. I believe it'll be a more valuable keepsake to her than me. She was so shocked I kept it and it's still in very good condition. I'm very good in keeping things!

See, one the 'talents' that I have heh heh!

Shopping for Mini Money Come : Part 5 - Car Seat & Stroller

2010-06-26T09:32:00.002+08:00

Flurry of Orange in this booth at Parenthood Expo in March.
You probably can guess which brand of stroller and car seat I bought from this picture

There are 3 items that we Mouse and I have decided we should not be stingy on :
1) Stroller
2) Car Seat
3) Breast pump (post on purchase here and here)

I've mentioned this in an earlier post why we decided so. Now, to shop for car seat and stroller, it's much easier than the breastpump.

Criteria for Shopping
When it comes to shopping for this 2 essential safety item, I quickly drew out my criteria :

For stroller :
1) easy to open/close, better still can do with one hand
2) light to carry
3) good, breathable materials that can be taken out for washing
4) suitable for newborn till 3-4 yrs old
5) can recline to 180degrees
6) Price range RM900 or below

For carseat:
1) must be reputable brand with good safety testing & certification
2) easy to install
3) suitable for newborn till 3-4 yrs old
4) light, breathable material that won't cause baby to sweat
5) good padding
6) Price range RM500 or below

Brands Available in KL
Next thing to do is see what are the brands out there. But I went out still to see what's in the market. I discovered the most common brands in the price range are these :

1) Combi - very reputable from Japan. Famous for their easy to fold system and lightweight. my first choice.

2) Maxi Cosi - very good brand especially its car seat. Was told it's a little too pricey for me. Didn't really check this out as I have to go Isetan which is not near me.

3) Peg Perego - they have the all in one system where the car seat, stroller and baby carrier can be put together. While it's sturdy, I didn't like that it's 8kg heavy and you need to bend to open/close it with all sort of latches. The whole set is about RM2,500. That blew my budget.

4) Graco - very famous among KL mummies, see it every where. But everytime I walked into a store the salesgirls just ignore me, I got fed up and never bother to check it out. From what I found online, it's similar to Combi but the material is not as good as Combi. It's also bulky.

I did a quick check on Jusco's Sweet Cherry too. While it has many designs and is very affordable, I learned they are mass produced using the famous brands design. I have nothing against them, I just have my own criteria so I didn't consider this brand at all. Also Mouse didn't like them, he feels they're flimsy in his hands.

Pretty obvious which is our choice right? We decided on Combi's. We're pretty much set on Combi for its reputation and quality. Also the Combi my cousin Vivian is using on Belle (my little niece) has served them well for almost 4 years. They brought the stroller from USA to KL to Korea, Taiwan, Bangkok, China etc and it's still running well till now!

Combi Urban Walker
I like the yummy orange. Just makes my day brighter!

The next thing is to decide which model we wanted. With Mouse and I being tall and big for typical Asian size, I have to assume our baby is big and we need a stroller to fit our big baby. In the end we decided on Urban Walker. It has the longest and widest seat and is about my price range during discount. Also I love the yummy orange colour as option! It suits either baby boy or girl!

As for car seat, we like the Cocoro from Combi but the price is RM999!! That's just way out of my range. I was still undecided on the car seat. My backup plan is to buy 2nd hand unit or take the old one from my Uncle Ben (but it's only suitable for baby after 9 months).

The BIG Discount
I mentioned time and time again, I like to buy during sales. I need to know I spend our money wisely for the right reason. Once I identified Urban Walker, I waited for the Parenthood Expo in March. I knew Combi got a booth there and I was just hoping I could get some good deals there.

And you know what I got?? I got these!

Combi Urban Walker
Retail Price : RM1,199
Usual discount price : RM899
Expo Price : RM700
So cheap!!

Combi Cocoro Car Seat
Normal price : RM999
Usual discount : RM799
Expo Price : RM700
I think I died and gone to shopping heaven!
We got this exact colour too. I just thought it's neutral for both genders but Mouse was happy the fact it matches the stroller. Since when he's ever this fashion concious? Heheee!

So we spent RM1,400 (instead of RM2,200) for both car seat and stroller. And they're from Combi's! I wasn't sure about buying the car seat but Mouse insisted after seeing the price. He finds that Malaysian drivers are terrible (that include himself haha) and safety is something Daddy Mouse insisted for our little girl! It's also exactly our target price so what's there to wait?

I'm a happy camper, knowing our Lil Ninja's travel system is taken care of and we did not compromise on quality and safety. Also glad that the major purchase is crossed out from our shopping list that early, so I could focus on other things.

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 3rd Review

2010-06-26T07:40:00.001+08:00

We had our 3rd class with Jenlia and I was happy to see Jennifer is the speaker again. I like her energy in class. While waiting for the class, I asked Jennifer about wearing wired bra from my session with Ms Lee (Gleneagle Hospital's Lactation Consultant). She said we shouldn't be wearing wired bra at all and if I am not sure about size, I can just get the usual unwired bra until week 36. It's then the breast start to grow again when milk starts filling in. She also told me to ensure the bra straps, the part around the ribcage and clasp part should be large so it can support the breasts comfortably. Otherwise it'll cut into shoulders and can be painful. So glad I asked her this.

Class #3 Reviewed :
- milo still there (yay!) but I think they should make 2 pots instead of one as everyone is going for it rather than the coffee
- everything else is same as per class #1 and #2 so nothing to grumble there

Yesterday's class was very interesting. Looking at the topics, it's obvious it's a vital topics for the daddies. So glad they covered this in their module. I think the daddies need to know what they can do for their wives during labour and birth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#Tour of Labour Suite
We toured the Labour Suite. Though I'm giving birth at Gleneagles, it's good to see how it looks like and what to expect. Jennifer also says it's pretty much the same in Gleneagles. Gotta remind myself to check with my hospital about their Labour Suite's location. Also strategised with Mouse on where to park car, where to drop me off, what he should pack to snack on etc.

#Husband's Role during Labour & Delivery
Pretty clear cut on this. Mouse learned more than just being emotional support during labour & birth. Jennifer says daddies can do a lot more like ensuring the tag on baby is correct, the details like name/weight/mummy's name on tag is correct, be cheerleader to mummy in an efficient way. Great! Mouse now has a better idea of what to do when the time comes. I'm also glad he's been so involved in this pregnancy and birth, I know I cannot have a better man than him. I'm so blessed.

#Preparation for Normal Labour & Delivery
I learned the difference between normal and natural delivery. How silly of me to think they're both the same.

#Normal Labour & Delivery Process
We were show where exactly the pain will take place, the whole process of delivery and what to expect. Very good and thorough. I think it served more purpose to Mouse than me cuz he knows what to expect and what's expected of him when our girl is coming out.

We learned of the 3 stages of labour and what to do during those time. Walking is a great method to get the pain off and to shorten labour period.

#Pain Management
She spoke of the 3 most commonly used ones in Malaysia, epidural, entonox (gas) and pethidine (injection). We learned when are these administered, the efficacy on pain and side effects. I am stumped. I know I don't want epidural but between entonox and pethidine, I am not sure. I am glad Jennifer also guided us on how to decide our pain management.

Before we went outside for breathing exercise, she showed us a video clip of childbirth. It's a lot calmer than I thought. In my mind, the scenario would be a lot of noise and the mother would be screaming a lot. It wasn't! It's very calm and peaceful. And the baby came out without crying or distressed. I am amazed! We're all aghast that the baby came out looking blue and the vernix covering baby's head is so white. Oh that's where we learn too not to bathe baby with any soap/shampoo and just let baby's natural oil takes care of her.

But the most difficult part would be the crowning. Seriously, how is it possible to have something so big come out of a little vagina hole? Isn't human body wonderful?
I cried when the baby came out, it felt so emotional to me. Will I be like this during my own birth?

#Breathing Technique of Stage 1&2

There are 4 breathing techniques I learned. How to breath during contraction pains, how to relax during no contractions, correct method to push, how to pant to avoid pushing.

It's important to know how to push correctly and how to stop pushing. Because that's where the tearing happens, according to Jennifer. She also says it's possible to give birth with just breathing techniques and not using any painkillers because that's how our bodies are made to do! I like this optimism!!

When we did the exercise, she had the husbands sit behind us and pinched us to simulate pain. I am sure contraction pains are a lot worse than this but it's good practice. Actually I felt like laughing the whole time hahaha....!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we left, Mouse keep reminding me to book the postnatal visits with Jenlia. He's very comfortable with them and trusts their expertise. I am glad my research had given good outcome for us.

Also we tested the breathing technique at home. I think it'll work if I focus hard enough on the breathing. I had Mouse squeeze me with pimple stick all over my back (cuz it's sensitive there) and I practise the breathing the whole time. I am happy to report I managed to 'tahan' the pain more and forced myself to really focus on the breathing solely.

We need to practise this more until baby's ready to come out. It's essential we both know what to do when the time comes.

One more class next week. I am liking this class too much to see it end!

Lil Ninja's Stats & Status @ Week 32 (from the beginning too!)

2010-06-25T19:06:00.002+08:00

So you read my pregnancy status from the beginning till week 32. Here's the progress we had on Lil Ninja from the start till now.

Baby's (a.k.a Lil Ninja's) Weight
1st to 3rd month : she's so tiny...no point measuring her weight. But she started off like the size of peanut and grew amazingly fast in the first 3 months.
4th Month : 300 gm
5th Month : 500 gm
6th Month : 800 gm
7th Month : 1.3kg
8th Month (now) : 2 kg!

I pray and pray she won't be too big for natural birth. I am extremely nervous about birth as my pain threshold is very very low (ya, I'm a big baby that way). I just hope I can be strong and JUST DO IT!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baby's Distinctive Movement During Each Ultrasound Scan
1st to 3rd Month : she's still small here. But can definitely see how she grows into a more human shape each time. And her heartbeat is like drums, strong and powerful! I just hope she won't inherit my thalesemia. It's no fun having this blood disorder. We can also see she's having big fun in her 'private swimming pool' hahaha! Once she totally turned 360 degrees! Whoa! Amazing!!

4th Month : we can see her whole body is fully formed this month. Her spine looks so well formed! Her heart...my gosh, we can see her chambers and it's beating so strong. Of course as usual doctor let us listen to her heartbeat. Suffice to say, it bring tears to my eyes knowing I am carrying a life inside me.

5th Month : in this visit, baby is sleeping on one arm while the other hand puts the fist near her mouth. it looks like she is sucking her thumb! Awwww......Mouse and me are so smitten seeing her antics on screen. As usual, the emo me leaked some tears of joy.

6th Month : this is so cuteeeee! When doctor zoomed in on her face, we can see she is moving her lips in a suckling motion. Almost looks like she's talking to us. Heheee...such a sweet moment for Mouse and I. Her spine is so beautifully formed. Just as when doctor mentioned she maybe in breech position if she doesn't turn her head downwards in womb, the screen shows she's already in position. Good girl! She stayed there till now (8months). But doctor says she still may turn up again so each time I pray baby be good girl and stay in the right position. So I can have a natural birth, so I can help Mouse save money.

7th Month : her face is clear to be seen. This time Mouse' parents came with us and they get to see the lil one's face. Though it's only an ultrasound scan, doctor managed to show us her features (I think Dr Jean Woo got one hell of machine, it's amazing!). We could see her eyes are big...like daddy's. We could see her nose is big....like daddy's. Her body length is long....also like daddy's. The only thing she doesn't get from daddy is his lips, she got my small lips. Then again I am always doubtful of how much can we see in features just be ultrasound. I keep thinking doctor is just 'layaning' us (entertaining us). It's real nice though, feels like we met her for real.

8th Month (now) : both hands are held up in front of her face (like a kickboxing move to protect head), so can't see her face. Not much room for movement now, that's why each time she moves her body and limbs, I would feel it distinctively. It's a lovely lovely feeling. I will miss this when she is out. Sometimes it tickles hahahaa!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love it when doctor plays her heartbeats for us. It just reminds me this beautiful small life I am carrying inside me and it just bring tears to my eyes each time.

I'm gonna really miss this when she is out. *sniff sniff*

I Like It When It Rains

2010-06-25T15:06:00.001+08:00

I like it when it rains because it means I don't have to water the garden!

Hahaaaaa....!

I'm such a lazy bugger!

Gleneagle Hospital's Lactation Consultant

2010-06-25T11:18:00.005+08:00

Though we signed up for antenatal class with Jenlia (held in SJMC), I still wanted to have my private FREE session with the Lactation Consultant from Gleneagles. Just to see what extra info I could get my hands on breastfeeding.

When I had my doctor's visit yesterday, the staff was able to book me a session right after my consultation. We trotted to Level 8 to meet Ms Lee. I was surprised she's an elderly lady with a sweet voice and she looks so much like my grandma. I spoke to her on phone before and always thought she's in her 40's or something. Immediately I like her.

Anyway I didn't think I would gain much info in the session because I read up a lot already and it's been covered in the antenatal class. Just thought maybe I could get to test latching position. I'm so glad to be wrong this time. Just within 3 mins of meeting Ms Lee, I learned couple of new stuff :

1) must stop wearing wired bra - At week 30, the body starts producing milk, bra's wire will press on certain ducts and may lead to problems later on. I was advised to either get the normal bra or buy nursing bra now. I got 2 nursing bra now but am worried I may need a bigger size as I've heard once milk comes in, the breast will grow 3-5 times bigger. Will probably hop over to Jusco to get some cheap cotton bra.

2) get proper maternity pads - the normal sanitary pads are mostly bleached and contains chemicals. maternity pads (the one the hospital is selling) doesn't. But I've already stock up on my sanitary pads, will probably just use them.

3) our body will make enough milk for baby - if baby still cries making you believe there's not enough milk, try talking to baby. Baby loves interaction. Cross my fingers I won't suffer that kinda stress.

4) Always rinse bottles with hot water, even if it's been sterilised before - Ms Lee mentioned even sometimes there are water droplets left on the bottles even after sterilising. This 1 little drop is enough to breed germs so it's safer to rinse it with hot water right before use. This applies to any type of sterilising method.

5) Start doing breast massage by Week 37 - she showed me 2 methods to do once a day (actually she showed 3 but I only remembered 2)
- use both palms and massage the breast in a circular motion
- hold breast with both hands with thumbs resting above nipple. stroke thumbs down repeatedly
*do note though to stop if there's any feeling in the womb as breast stimulation will trigger contractions and lead to early labour. that's why this massage should be done in the last 2-3 weeks before EDD

6) confinement food - she explained to me what I should be eating/drinking during confinement
- must drink at 3 litres of water
- it's okay to drink red dates water
- don't take any ginger until 3rd week after birth. it's okay to eat dishes cook with some ginger though
- it's okay to consume those chinese wine dishes, just don't take too much. baby can get drunk. also try to take after breastfeeding
- whatever diet you're practising, make sure there's sufficient fiber in it. constipation is a major issue postnatal

7) first feed - try to breastfeed baby within the 1st hour after birth. the hospital nurses will be willing to help guide as this is a breastfeeding friendly hospital. If ever need to give supplements, use MAM teats as it's designed to resemble human nipples and baby will not reject you later.

8) post natal visits - the hospital also have postnatal visits. They're priced similarly to Jenlia. RM330 for 3 visits and RM510 for 5 visits (if I remember correctly). We'll probably stick to Jenlia as we have met the consultants already and have a comfort level with them.

9) invest in a good breastfeeding pillow - highly recommends the MyBrestFriend which was also mentioned by Jenlia. Hospital is selling it at RM188, a bit pricey but it's very light and sturdy. I think it's around RM130-RM150 during the expo. Will KIV this as a possible shopping list when baby is out. It's also a good support for daddies as it help daddies to hold babies better as most dads are super nervous holding the tiny baby.

10) breast milk is easily digested so don't mistaken it for diarrhea - seems like most ppl expect baby's poo to be solid and hard. Come to think of it, if baby only drinks milk (liquid), how hard can it get right? Therefore it's absolutely normal breastfed babies' poo are soft and watery cuz they're digested very fast. I read this before but must note this down. In my family, all babies are formula fed so I am sure they won't know the difference in poo when I breastfeed my baby.

See, not bad right for a 45mins session? Well, it was meant to be 30 mins but she played us a video so that took a little more time. I am glad I did that small session with the hospital, great service for new parents like us!

Pregnancy Status @ Week 32 (from the beginning too!)

2010-06-25T02:04:00.012+08:00

I haven't been diligently updating my pregnancy status from beginning till now. I know I am bad heeheee. So here it is. Hey, it's never too late eh?

Now I am at week 32 (about 8 months) into pregnancy, the 3rd trimester. Just visited my gynea yesterday for my monthly check ups. Everything looks great.

My Experience
1st to 3rd Month :
Things been going superbly fine from Day 1 till now. Too good to be true. Sometimes I wondered could I be this blessed to have such a wonderful wonderful pregnancy? I have no nausea, no vomitting, no cravings, no aversion to food or smell etc etc. Whatever all the discomforts most people complains about, I didn't get it. I had a little problems in between but they were all manageable. Nothing that would make me complain much. Many times I don't feel pregnant at all and I worried so much that something may not be right with me.

Noticed that my hives stop coming out. Even managed to stop taking anti-histamin. This is very interesting indeed! Sometimes there's a flat taste in my mouth, just took some 'asam' (preserved plum) for a few days and was OK.

One time I was vomitting so badly until Mouse brought me a chair to sit in toilet, only to find out it wasn't pregnancy sickness. It was food poisoning! Hahaaa....saw doctor, took meds and was OK.

Some moments would feel a little more hungry than usual but it's not the kind of ravenous appetite most people described. Was eating normal portions the whole time. But it was Mouse who developed pregnancy appetite! He would craved for food and always always hungry hahaha!

Breast has enlarged! Woo hoo! Sometimes can feel nipples very sore. It eventually went away. Been having bad spells of pimply skin this entire time. It's not acne, just bad case of little pimples on foreheads and side of cheeks. They won't go away even after facial. Stubborn little things. It calmed down by 2nd trimester.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4th Month :
No bump in sight yet. Still can wear pretty much of my other clothes except for office wear and some tight fitting ones. Fitness level still pretty good. Noticed hair fall was drastically reduced. Hair feels so healthy! Nails also breaking less.

Been really worried about how the pregnancy would be as I have thalesemia. I am a minor though but that would means I am anemic. Doctor assures me I am A-ok each time. Also said baby will be fine throughout, even birth. Still worry somehow.

Supposed to gain 1kg each month but only gained 1kg in 4 months! Since I am not the skinny type, this is nothing to worry about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5th Month :
this month is a big tester for me because I went on a big holiday trip to Taiwan. It's an awesome trip but the most amazing thing was my fitness level. I surprised even myself. I could walk for more than 10hours straight. Most days we were on our feet for close to 12 hours and I was able to do with my friends! I am so glad I did the trip, cuz I felt great and was able to have so much fun! The only thing I couldn't do is to hit the hot spring in Beitou but I dipped my feet in it though. Awesome trip! Awesome pregnancy!

Caught cold in Taiwan. Running nose and developed bad fever at night. At 2am, Mouse rushed me to hospital cuz we worried about baby's condition. Thank goodness fever went away by then and doctor confirmed it's only a harmless cold. Baby's fine, heartbeat still great. Was prescribed medicine and all that in a private hospital costs me only RM120!! Mind you, it was after midnight. I LOVE TAIWAN! Oh, thanks Jayen for coming with us, feel so bad we woke you up cuz we needed translator.

Got a small bump. Think it's cute. Heh heh!

Have problem with skin on the tummy. It started off lightly but the itching got worse and I didn't refrain from scratching. It spread from sides of tummy to sides of breasts and back. Terrible. Switched to organic soap from Bodybar, it helps so much! Ended up taking medicine for it, it's safe for pregnancy of course! Went away within a week with the help of the organic soap, medicine and Palmer's cream. So glad those ugly brown patches are gone eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6th Month :
Bump starts to really show. More clothes shelved away. Bought a long pants, shorts, 1 dress and 1 top from maternity section. Spend just RM200 on all that (like I said, I always buy on discounts). Still feels pretty good! Start sleeping on sideways as recommended.

I'm amazed by my health. Mouse got the flu and I was totally fine the whole time! In the past, I'm the first one to be sick. Wow!

Had a bit of heartburn with mild gastric. Had to take medicine to calm it down. Went away after a few days. Phew! Heartburn is awful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

7th Month :
start to notice the tummy is getting too big for comfort but still doing pretty well. Notice feet looks a little swollen but it's just a tiny bit. Still can do housework like vacuuming and mopping the floor. Proud of myself not hiring any help for housechores.

Uh oh! Heartburn came back! This it's more frequent and happened mostly at nights. Not liking it one bit but it's not the worse to encounter in pregnancy. Luckily there's medicine.

Noticed I am not afraid of aircon anymore. I am usually afraid of cold but been blasting aircon all the time now. I even can go supermarket in sleeveless top and feel great. In the past, I would freeze my balls out. Even Mouse has to relinquish his side of bed for me so I can get more aircon at me. Also sweat a lot nowadays. Would sweat just washing dishes or doing the slightest thing.

Gained 7kg in total up till now, average 1kg per month. Doc says it's good but caution me about diet anyhow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8th Month :
this month onwards, I really feel huge. Hefty. Big. Sleeping is a little difficult at times because I keep going to toilet. Also can't turn so easily in bed. Seriously need pillow to support just the tummy to be comfortable. Can't do housework much. Stopped gardening, vacuuming and mopping. Still able to do laundry and simple clean ups around house. Thank goodness Mouse is such a sweet husband, he would do everything even though he's so busy at work!

Poor thing, he also gotta put up with my snoring. I snore more and more which is common in pregnancy. Hate it. I don't know how but I can hear myself snore sometimes and that also disrupts my sleep.

Noticed I'm getting breathless easily now. Just going up the stairs would do it. And my heartbeat would be so strong. A short walk would make me pant like I've done 2 hours of cardio workout. Gotta take it easy with any movements now. That said, still feeling pretty good. The past 2 days I get tired by afternoon, so I guess the body is changing again.

I think I see a little stretchmarks on the lower abdomen!! It's on the under belly side that's why it isn't noticeable. Freaking out a little. Cuz there's no cure for it other than time and genetic call. Bah!

Hives come back a little, but not enough for me to start on anti-histamin yet. Forgot to ask about my weight gain but I am up to 75.5kg, I am guessing total gain is 9-10kg by now. Should still be okay otherwise doctor would rap on me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More To Come
8 more weeks to go, that about 1.5 months till the EDD of 18 August. I'm sure I'll grow even bigger but my weight gain has been pretty steady and good so far. Let's see what else will come along.

Down with Flu

2010-06-24T22:52:00.004+08:00

Not me! Thank goodness!

It's Mouse. Poor thing caught the flu somehow. We just can't figure out where he got it from, he meets a lot of people in a week so it could be just anywhere.

Good thing is, it's not a bad one. He got the usual suspects; running nose, stuffy nose, itchy throat, cough, mild headaches. For 2 days he had it, he didn't want to see doctor. Just wanna drink his vitamin C in double dose (under the recommendation of my nutritionist friend) and self medicate with lozenge and nose drops.

But when his mucus starts to go yellow, I insisted he sees the doctor for some proper medication because it means an infection already. For some funny reasons, he refused to see doctor thinking he can get well with his self-medication technique. I had to put my foot down and insisted again he goes to the doctor. Only when I told him that he may be so sick until he cannot work on Saturday for an important viewing (he's doing real estate) that he listens to me and went to the doctor. (He's been working very hard to take care of this family so missing work is not something he would do at all.)

He got antibiotics and other meds for the symptoms he has. The relief is that with just one dose of medicine, he's feeling much better though it knocks him off. Sleeping like a big big log now.

See, little wife knows best. ;)

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 4 - Breastpump Purchased

2010-06-24T07:30:00.001+08:00

Selection Criteria
First, I looked at my criteria in selecting the breastpump. For me they are :

my budget is between RM500 - RM800
I want an electric dual pump (if possible)
the cleaning must be easy and with least parts as possible
the brand is reputable and easy to buy parts

With these, it's much easier when I go out and look for my options.

My Breastpumps Finalists
After reading up a lot, I nailed down to this 3 options. But first let me explained why I didn't look at Avent at all though it's in similar price range. I found out with Avent, once you buy, you can only use Avent bottles with the pump only. Though this brand is very reputable and favoured by most, I like flexibility to mix other reliable brands so I cross out Avent immediately due to this factor.

In the end here are my shortlisted wish list :

1) Ameda Lactaline @ RM888
This is my first choice as for this price range, it's a dual electric pump. Also I heard rave reviews on this, some even said their milk production doubled with this pump! What I like is it has a anti-backflow feature which other brands doesn't have. It uses battery as well so it's an extra convenience on time when you can't find electrical outlet.

2) Medela Swing @ RM799
This is my second option for electric pump (would be my first if it's a dual pump). Among all Medela brands, this one is famous for its 2-Phase Expression technology that mimics baby's suckling. It also uses battery so if there's no electrical point, no worries! It's small, handy and looks cute and sleek!

3) Medela Freestyle @ RM2,299

The holy grail of all breastpumps! At RM2K plus, this is like the Porsche of breastpumps! It's a dual electric pump that has straps which leaves mummy's hands free to do things. It comes with stylish carrier bag + ice pack + storage bottles. If money grows on tree, this will be my ultimate 1st choice!

The Decision
Medela Freestyle is way over my comfort budget so it's out. Now between Medela Swing and Ameda Lactaline. Both are great products, one is single pump while the other is dual pump. I chose Ameda Lactaline and the next stage is to go and really see the product.

While I believe in doing research online, I also believe in seeing and touching the actual product myself. I headed to Fabulousmom.com and the staff Anthea was fantastic. She insisted I try to products before purchase as it's important to know how our body feels with them. See how good is this store? Who would let you try breastpump before buying?

There came the big bomb! While I love Ameda for its price and functionality, the suction felt almost painful to me. Medela Swing instead is very gentle, even when I maxed out the suction power. Mouse discussed with me and said if now I feel discomfort with Ameda, when the baby is out and constantly sucking, it may hurt me even more. So we decided on Medela Swing even though it's a single pump.

The Purchase
I didn't purchase it because that weekend Fabulousmom would be in the Parenthood Expo and I could get the Medela Swing pump at discount.

We headed to the expo and were thrilled to discover there's even better discount at Medela's booth!! So instead of getting just the pump, I got this!

Medela Swing with City Style Cooler Bag & Purelan Cream
Normal Price : RM1,097
Usual discounted price : RM858
My price : RM778 !!

See the savings I got from this? That's a whole load of savings!! Me happy!!
The cooler bag has 4 mini size Medela BPA free storage bottles and ice pack. I should be able to chill breastmilk for about 6-10 hours. I also like the City Style bag is stylish and not frumpy.

The Purelan cream is also recommended by Jocelyn of Jenlia in the antenatal class. This cream help relieves sore and cracked nipple. It's one of the brands out there that is safe for baby's consumption because you don't have to wipe it clean before breastfeeding baby. I likey!

Though I bought the pump in May, the warranty only begins upon baby's birth. How great is that!! All I have to do is attach copy of baby's birthcert with the warranty card. I did feel bad not buying it from Fabulousmom.com but the savings is really huge. But Fabulousmom.com has this extra service that I won't enjoy by purchasing from Medela's booth that day; they will offer you a loan unit should your unit goes for repair etc. I just hope I'll find ways to survive when my unit goes for servicing/repair. **Gulps**

So there, one of my major purchases for this baby. Hopefully I'll be able to review it when Lil Ninja is out. The other major purchases are the car seat and stroller. Will post on it soon.

Freaky World Cup

2010-06-24T01:26:00.003+08:00

Seriously, this is a freaky freaky World Cup.

I mean, Germany can't beat Serbia? England can't whip Algeria's ass? France got whacked 2 goals by Mexico? Spain can't take down Switzerland?

What's happening to the power houses? Other than Argentina who proves to be playing sensibly (check out how Messi plays, he is a.w.e.s.o.m.e!) the other power houses seem to be....sigh, can't even put a word to it. England with all the superstar players, is a laughing stock. Candy eye Beckham is sitting handsomely on the sideline due to an injury prior to World Cup so it's even less exciting to watch the Brits play.

With Germany and France playing so badly, I may have to join Mouse' league and root for Netherlands (Holland). At least we got family connection to this country and the orange can be a pretty colour this season *winks*

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 3 - Shopping for Breastpump

2010-06-23T07:47:00.002+08:00

Options Around
So you can pretty much conclude how strong are my intentions on breastfeeding from my posts.

Initially I was thinking of buying something cheap (cuz I am forever trying to save money) but as I read in www.malaysiabrides.com forum, I realised it maybe better to invest in a good one and so it lasts and doesn't contribute any anguish in breastfeeding. (to read more, click here and here but do note the thread started couple years ago. the info on price and stores may differ a lot by now)

I read many mummies who bought breastpump for RM500 below complained sore or cracked nipples. They also find when they bought a second but more expensive pump, not only were the problems taken away, they could express more milk for their baby too!

Then again my friend Sheila used a RM80 pump and has breastfeed her daughter for 18 months! In the end, it's personal preference I guess. But I know myself, I am easily discouraged sometimes and I need something to push me to do it. I figure out if I invest in the pump then I'll make myself use it by hook or by crook! (I know, so kiasu hor)

The Many Types of Breastpumps
In the end I conclude this is one item I shall invest my good money on. I began looking around. And got stumped.

To be honest, my first attempt to check out breastpumps left me bewildered and confused! There are so many types, brands and different price range. How do I know which one is suitable for my needs? What's manual and how is it different than electric? What about single or dual pump? And have you heard of 2-phase expression?

I left the store hurriedly and vow that I'll never know how to shop for my baby! I'd fail as a mummy even before baby is out of my womb. Yes, it was that distressing for me.

But as usual, I turn to Internet and self-educate myself on this very scary and unknown product. I learned the few types of breastpump, the different way they work, the brands available in market and price range.

From my research, I nailed down my criteria :

my budget is between RM500 - RM800
I want an electric dual pump (if possible)
the cleaning must be easy and with least parts as possible
the brand is reputable and easy to buy parts

Luckily for you, I'll save you from the misery I went through. This is the answer :

1) Manual or electric pump
- manual pump means you pump with your hand manually. it's lighter to carry around.
- it can be tiring and but it's the most convenient option. you don't need electric source, just a comfortable, clean place to do the job. it's also the cheaper option.
- electric pumps are easier and faster but more pricey and you need to ensure you have electric source though most electric pumps now can be used with batteries or car charger.
- while some people praised electric pump help them achieve more milk, some also prefer manual. I guess it's personal preference on this one.
- for me, I don't want to take a chance on tiring hands. I know I'll get tired so I set my mind on electric from beginning.

2) Single or dual pump
- single pump means you pump one breast at a time which is time consuming. some women can pump one breast within 10 mins while some need 15-30 mins to do the job.
- so dual pump means you pump both breast at the same time. this means you spend 50% less time on expressing your milk which is a huge relief for those who return to work and worries about bosses breathing down their neck everytime they need to pump.
- single pump is cheaper, dual pump is more pricey.
- for me, if I can get a double pump within budget then it's even better. however if there's limitation then single pump will do as long as it's electric as I am not working now and there's no stress on timing

3) Purpose of pump
- what is the main reason you need a pump?
- if you're a working mother who doesn't have a lot of time to express milk in office, then an electric single/double pump will help you get the job done quick. obviously an electric double pump is most effective and time efficient
- if you are a stay-at-home mummy and able to direct breastfeed and only need a pump to relieve engorgement or to stimulate milk production, you can consider even manual pump because you have no pressure on time limit. though it can get tiring doing it manually
- some people even could rely on just hand expression though this is very subjective to individual
- evaluate your needs and see how each pump can meet your objective. My friend Jess ended up more comfortable with a manual single pump though she has both manual single and electric single pump while Mellomouse who is a stay-at-home mum bought a manual single pump but found it rather tiring and finally got an electric double pump from hubby on Mother's Day! so everyone is different ya.

4) Brands Available
- there are plenty of brands out there. You've probably seen Advent, Pigeon, Pureen, Ameda, Medela, Spectra etc etc. with so many out there, I can only share on the ones that caught my awareness
- Puree and Pigeon brand are the most affordable in the range of RM100 - 200++ though I've seen other brands in Tesco or Carrefour for RM30 - RM50. I however doubt the efficacy of these brands.
- from the forum, I read the most mummies with Pigeon and Pureen brand find it less effective compared to the more pricey brands though some have also said these 2 brands work for them. Do note that some mummies said it hurt using these brands, so you should know how your breasts respond to pumping pressure. I believe not all women find these brands bad, just some women's body do not take kindly to certain brand.

5) What to Choose
- there is no straight answer to this. The important thing is that you do your research and find where is your comfort level.
- if you can afford something more than RM2k, why not? But if you buy something for less than RM100, it doesn't mean you're heading to doomsville in breastfeeding. (my friend breastfed her daughter for 18months with a RM80 pump, so see! it's the effort that counts, not the props!)
- what matters if you buy a pump that suits your lifestyle, budget and needs.

I bought mine already in the Parenthood Expo in May. Will share which one it is soon!

Belly Progress

2010-06-23T02:33:00.004+08:00

My Pictorial Belly Progress (from right) : 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th month.
Forgot to snap a pic in 7th month but you can see the growth on me just with these

Here's a pictorial on my belly growth throughout this pregnancy.

For the first 4 months, there's no bump at all. In fact, I was volunteering in a tennis event in the 2nd month and some foreign journalist thought I am a college kid (don't you just love compliments like this?) No one can tell I am pregnant until told. I was able to wear most of my clothes except for those really, really tight fitting ones.

It's only in the 5th month my pretty bump started to come out. Sometimes when I wore loose fitting clothes, some people still couldn't tell I am pregnant. I was able to wear my hipster jeans all the way to 6th month of pregnancy!! Many of my friends were shocked to see me in jeans. My mum especially keep telling me to stop wearing it but it was really comfy!

Till month 7, I was still able to wear but it was just a little tight on the hips so I shelved it. I survived with my jeans and other clothing though the option was getting narrower by the months. I'm proud to say I didn't splurge too much on maternity clothes in this pregnancy. It's also an advantage that I am not working currently so I wear my casuals more. Because the office clothes were the first thing that do not fit anymore, all my corporate wardrobe are body fitting and can't handle the bulge ;p

Got only 9 weeks to go till Lil Ninja is out. Will take more pictures to add on to this pictorial. I will miss being pregnant, I am sure. Want to capture much as I can lest I forgot how it feels.

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 2 - Places To Shop

2010-06-22T11:08:00.001+08:00

Must make sure money is spent right for Lil Ninja
Every cents count!

Looking Around for Best Buys
In order to ensure I get the best value on things to buy in preparing for baby's arrival, I only buy things with discounts. To be honest I am never the kind who would battle through hordes of crowd in warehouse sales, no matter how good the discounts are. I tried it, it was traumatising.

So I aimed at places that I can still get discounts but won't lose my sanity. I discovered the best discounts are during those baby/parenthood expo. The discounts there are amazing! I'll give you an example of great buys I got from there.

If only money grows on tree....

The Best Buy
We've been eyeing the Combi Urban Walker stroller. At retail price it is RM1,199. At Parkson's/other baby shop's, the best discounted price I could find was RM899 which is pretty good discount. At a parenthood expo in Mid Valley (in March), we bought it at RM700! That's a freaking awesome discount!!

The Combi we eyed for Lil Ninja. It's a steal at the expo!

So ever since I decided to sapu (whack) all my shoppings at expos. Though it's crowded, we could hit the mall early on Friday mornings where the crowd is less (thanks to Mouse' flexible working hours). Parking is easy on weekday, we could easily stop and rest anytime. Heck, we even managed to squeeze 1 movie in between restings hahaaa!

I'll tell you more of the great buys we got at the expo. We went twice, once in March and once in May. The major items we got :

1) Combi Urban Walker stroller @ RM700 (retail price RM1,199)
2) Combi Cocoro Car Sear @ RM700 (retail at RM999)
3) Medela Swing Breastpump with City Style Cooler Bag & Purelan Cream @ RM 758 (retail price RM1,097)
4) Dr Brown's anti colic BPA Free milk bottles @ RM50 (retail price RM62.90)
5) Many many misc items - from cotton buds, to organic baby shampoo to changing matt etc etc. They're all on discounts!

Places To Get Deals
Besides expo, there's plenty of online stores that sells baby products at much lower price. Some of the ones I been keeping close eye on :

1) Fabulousmom.com
They got 2 stores at Puchong & TTDI or you can shop online. I love this place though haven't make any purchase from there. The staffs are great and very knowledgeable on breastpumps. The best part about this store is they let you test the breastpump before purchase. They even have a nursing room so you can nurse your baby or pump your milk there. They're really awesome! Vivian (the owner) is really sweet and Anthea the staff in TTDI is fantastic. Pretty sure I'll be going there soon, cuz I want to buy the milk collection shell.

Other online stores to look out for : Babyjaya, MyBBstore, TheBabyLoft, lilwhiz.com. There's plenty of online stores out there, you'll probably find more than what I have here. The important thing is that you buy from one that has good price, service and reliable products. I haven't buy from any of these store cuz I did all the shopping in expo but I'll be hitting Fabulousmom soon.

2) Hansels & Gretels Baby Clothes - I know the owners personally and have bought many baby clothes for friends for the past year. They sell branded & quality baby clothes at lower price. Imagine a Baby Gap rompers for only RM20!! From what I know, they're not reject stocks, just past season clothes. Nevertheless, I'm gonna buy more from them when my lil ninja is out! They don't update their blogshop much cuz the order from friends are enough to drive them busy, so email them your order, they got a lot more stocks than what's posted there.

3) Tiny Tapir - this online store has 2 outlets in Bangsar & Ampang. They are well known for bringing in products that are environmentally friendly as well as super safe for baby. I am eyeing on their range of cloth diapers for Lil Ninja. There are many items they sell which most conventional stores don't carry. You gotta check it out, the products look so good too! It may seem a little pricey but with cloth diapers, you save a lot of money in long term.

4) Amy Sweety Store - once I was seriously considering getting all 2nd hand items to save cost. But in the end Mouse convinced me that for our first child to get new items but at reasonable cost. I like this store, I'll probably buy things like toys or children's furniture when lil Ninja is bigger.

Upcoming Sales
1) Parenthood Expo in August @ Mid Valley - get ready for this one, this is where you can save loads of money provided you know exactly what you want.

2) Shopping n Sales - I subscribe to this website to find out all the upcoming sales/warehouse sale in Klang Valley. It's very informative.

3) Camy Babyland Opening Sale @ Sunway Giza, Kota Damansara

4) Chicco Warehouse Sale @ 1Utama

5) Maternity Wearhouz Anniversary Sale

Lil Ninja Is Doing The Hiccups hic

2010-06-21T23:54:00.002+08:00

For months I been reading about baby hiccuping while inside the womb. For months I wondered if it's those movements I felt but I couldn't be sure.

Finally I feel it yesterday and today! It's a rhythmetic small pulse I feel in the lower abdomen.

Sooooooo cute!! Hahahaaaa! And best part? Even Mouse get to feel it too!

Awesome, ain't it?!

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 2nd Review

2010-06-21T08:45:00.002+08:00

So the very next day, we attended class #1 as replacement for the week we're not in KL.

We got there in time and the class was a lot fuller than Friday's. The speaker was Jennifer Hor, the one I spoke on the phone last month when making my enquiries on their classes. The first thing I noticed was both Jennifer and Jocelyn has thick, luscious, beautiful hair for their age. Must know what's their secret heh heh!

Class #1 Reviewed :
She didn't wait long for the latecomers, only 2-3 mins wait and she get on with the class (yay to punctuality!) As this is the first class, she made introduction on Jenlia, herself and encouraged us to ask question so we have a good class together. You can also tell that while she's friendly, she asserts authority (in a nice way) as well that gave her a lot of respect from us. She's very good with the crowd, making us speak up, laugh and even worried hard when she talked about the sleep-less nights. She even remembers almost everyone's names in the class, that's effort!

The class is much larger, with more than 10 couples which was what I expected for Saturday class. I didn't like that it's noisier than Friday's class as there were people in the cafeteria which is just next to the Function Room. Funny thing was, it's all Chinese. Tiger year such a good year for babies ah, really?

My thoughts on the topics :

#Recognising Deviations from Normal Progression in Pregnancy
This is very good for first time parents like us. It tells us what are the symptoms to look out for that needs immediate medical progression. While we all know what to expect in pregnancy, we do not know how to expect the unexpected during pregnancy. We also got a short biology lesson on the female's body and how it works in the most wonderful way.

Do you know...some women developed 3rd nipple during pregnancy?! And sometimes it leaks milk too! I didn't know that !! See, I learned so much in antenatal class.

I also find comfort that the groin pain I been having for past 1 month is normal and why it happens. I actually learn more here than from my own doctor.

I also learned something new here. Fetal movement monitoring. While I know the routine of Lil Ninja's movement, I do not monitored with a chart. Jennifer told us why it's important and how this little step may save baby's life.

#Preparation for Parenthood
I thought this is about the new routines, how to dress, clean, feed baby etc. But I was wrong! The emphasis here is on US, the PARENTS who we must put in first priority to take care once baby is out. We're so focused on the baby, we tend to forget ourselves. This is also where relationship suffers from strains because we'll make our lives all about the baby and not about us anymore. Jennifer encourages us to cultivate the love between husband and wife, and not just grow into daddy and mummy only.

She also touches on how to manage routine in the first month. The first month is most crucial and she gave us tips on how to work out routines so both mummy and daddy gets decent rest. Also she explains why she encourages baby to room-in with parents instead of confinement lady/maid etc. I'm so glad for this topic because I insisted on baby sleeping in our room though we can easily leave it with confinement lady.

She touches breastfeeding briefly and we got to know why some people do not succeed in it. She described breastfeeding as the mother's body going into production for supply once baby, the client is out. Baby's suckling is equivalent to client's order. The more suckling there is, the more production output there will be.

Someone mentioned they want to express in the first month so they can sleep. Her reply got us all crackling with laugher!

You cannot express in first month. Why? Because you haven't meet local demand, how to do export business?!

Gosh! I love this analogy!

#Relaxation Technique
#Antenatal Exercises
This one is fun! We learned simple exercises that we can do during pregnancy and suitable for post pregnancy. Very simple workouts but it takes care of the back muscle, arm muscle, leg muscle and pelvic muscle. All important for labour and handling baby after that.

What's really nice is that, she incorporates little thing that let the daddies to do it with the mummies during this session. For example, when we were doing Kegel exercise, she got the daddies to touch our bellies to tell us that in Kegel exercise, the tummy muscle should not move. That's how I know I didn't do it right.

The class started on time and ended on time. The 3 hours wasn't hard to pass. We left with more knowledge in us. I learned more in this class from Jennifer. That's also because the earlier class was on breastfeeding, something I read up really a lot online.

So far, still very good. 2 thumbs up from us for now. Can't wait for the 3rd class and to meet Ai Ling, the other consultant.

Already Devan told me to quickly book the post natal home visits with Jenlia cuz he is assured this guys really know their stuff. This is how good the class they're conducting.

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 1st Review

2010-06-21T00:57:00.010+08:00

This review is on class #2 because we couldn't make it to the class #1 due to a family's wedding in Ipoh. The hospital allow us to take replacement on class #1 on a Saturday (our session is on Friday) instead. So we're attending class #2, #1, #3 and #4 in sequence. I'm very glad the hospital is flexible to allow us this, otherwise I may end up missing 1 class!

The review on class #1 will be after this post.

Class #2 Reviewed :
The new basement parking is very impressive for a hospital. Devan keep raving on about it.

The consultant is Jocelyn, a very friendly and sweet lady. As usual some people weren't on time but the consultant only waited 5 mins for them so the ones who came on time didn't have to wait long. Class wasn't full which was what I hoped for Friday evening class. There's only about 4-5 couples in the end. They use the conference type of chair which has very good cushioning so it's comfy to sit for 3 hours. The Function Room is next to cafeteria so it can get noisy when the door's not closed. It's good we did the evening class as the hospital is very quiet then, so no distraction.

I saw they prepared coffee and Milo for refreshments outside the Function Room. Already I have trust on Jenlia because they have the common sense not to serve the typical coffee&tea as pregnant women not suppose to consume caffeine!

Jocelyn give out a handbook which I am glad cuz it contains the essential info they presented during the class. It has pages when I can make personal notes.

Free stuff, I likey!

Also we received a goodie pack!! I like FREE stuff, yay!! There's a trial pack of Dryper's NewBorn, Bepanthen, mitten (with advertising words on them, I'm more likely use it to wipe dust than use on my baby. what if the colour on the printing comes off and get eaten by baby?!), some brochures.

More free stuffs, I likey likey!

As usual I talked the most in class. Hahahahaa! Can't help it, it's on breast feeding! The subject I read up the most by far!

My thoughts on the topics :

#Importance of Early Breastfeeding, #Steps to Successful Breastfeeding,
#Care of Self Post Ceasarean and Breastfeeding
Very well explained. Strong emphasis on latching and positioning. Also I learned more about baby's poo (hahaha). Taught us what to do when there's mastitis. Why colostrum is great and why it's normal to have 'no milk' in the first 4 days after delivery. Taught us about colostrum, transitional milk, foremilk, hindmilk. How hormones make milk. How to know if baby gets enough milk. How to feed if need to supplement with formula. DEMAND=SUPPLY! Showed us how to hold baby during breastfeed, how to burp baby. When to start expressing. What to eat.

She has a baby doll to demo to us. I call it the "Evil Baby" cuz it has RED EYES hahaaa!!

Showed us a video on breastfeeding which was hilarious at some points. Wonder why they never update the video, it's so obvious it was done in the 80's. It's great we get to see what a good latch looks like. During the video, when the baby was feeding, Mouse whispered to me "ah...see, that's a good latch!". Wow! I'm so proud of him lor! He's gonna be my best support in breastfeeding!

Jocelyn covers the topic very well. Mouse benefits from this the most. Most of the things she said, I've learned it online oredi. But it's good to hear it from the pro.

#Signs of Labour
She went through the important points as it's gonna be covered in detail in class #3. I like how she demonstrated to us how does a contraction looks like with her model uterus. It gives me a better idea how contraction works. At least, Devan and me know for now when we need to rush to hospital and when we can wait a lil longer.

#Admission Procedures

Basic, simple info but I feel I need to talk to the Labour Room in Gleneagle Hospital about
pre-admission procedure. I believe each hospital will have different policies in admission. She also briefly covers what to pack to go hospital and when it must be packed.

We took a break in between and I had my Milo. Yum~~

Class ended almost at 11pm! You sure get your 3 hours worth of class. It's very compact and informative. You can tell Jocelyn knows what she is talking about. She uses a lot of case studies she's seen in her career and that was good add-ons for us. Cuz I don't need people to read bullet points from projector to me, I need people to tell me stories, give me info.

Instantly Devan and I felt we made a choice going to Jenlia instead of Parentcraft. So far it's worth the RM310 we paid. So far, so good!

Antenatal Class : The Choices I Had

2010-06-20T23:05:00.004+08:00

Why We Want Antenatal Class
One thing I was very sure I will do during pregnancy is to attend antenatal class with Mouse. I want to make sure we both know the right knowledge when it comes to managing labour, breastfeeding, parenthood and taking care of Lil Ninja.

With our first child, we both should hear from the professionals besides our families and friends. Because some knowledge can be culturally or traditionally driven which at its best, are done for the sake of following advise....at its worst, it may indirectly harm baby.

I made sure our budgeting can cover this cost, seeing we save some money after receiving a handful of things from my aunt, this isn't hard to do! (yay!!)

The CHOICES in Klang Valley
I checked around and found out the choices I have are :

1) Gleneagle Intan Medical Hospital
It's called Parentcraft. There are 3 classes for RM180 per couple. Each class is 2.5 hours. Topics covered are :
Class #1
- Optimum Nutrition in Pregnancy & Lactation
- Labour & Delivery Process
- Breastfeeding
- Cord Blood Banking

Class #2
- Pre & Postnatal Exercises
- Breathing Techniques

Class #3
- Common Problems in Infants
- A video on Epidural
- Bathing Baby
- Tour of the Nursery & Labour Room
- Pain Management

However, Mellomouse's feedback on Parentcraft weren't so good so I was hesitant about it. But the good thing about Gleneagle Hospital is that they are a breastfeeding friendly hospital and each month when I see my Gynea, the staffs would tell me to make appointment with the Lactation Consultant (LC) for private session to learn about breastfeeding. It's FREE! Despite all that I learned from internet, it's still best to meet with a LC to learn. I'm going to make my appointment this coming week.

2) Jenlia Maternal Services
I found this through another mummy blogger's positive feedback and checked out this company more. I learned they're very experienced and even produced a book which I also bought! What I like more is that all the consultants are trained nurses & midwives in UK with almost 30 yrs of experience. They also conduct post natal home visits. However their antenatal classes are done in Subang Jaya Medical Centre though they do conduct some in their premise in Taman Tun Dr Ismail but it's a shorter version.

The antenatal classes are held in SJMC. It's RM310 per couple. There are 4 lessons. Each lesson is 3 hours long. Their maximum intake is 16 couples per class. Topics covered are :
Class #1
- Recognising Deviations from Normal Progression in Pregnancy
- Preparation for Parenthood
- Relaxation Technique
- Antenatal Exercises

Class #2
- Importance of Early Breastfeeding
- Steps to Successful Breastfeeding
- Care of Self Post Ceasarean and Breastfeeding
- Signs of Labour
- Admission Procedures

Class #3
- Tour of Labour Suite
- Husband's Role during Labour & Delivery
- Preparation for Normal Labour & Delivery
- Normal Labour & Delivery Process
- Pain Management
- Breathing Technique of Stage 1&2

Class #4
- Care and Support for Mother during Puerperium
- The Newborn - What to Expect in the First Few Months
- Meeting the Needs of Your New Born

3) Mamalink
I found this in the forums I read a lot on breastfeeding. It is also led by a trained nurse and midwife from UK. What I like is they have Hypno Birthing Training as well! I was very keen on it. They also rent out breastpumps and TENS machine.

The antenatal class is RM300 per couple. It's a whole day class of 6 hours. Maximum 5 couples per class to give you more individual attention and allow more discussions. I didn't get to see the topics but I'm pretty sure it's very similar to Jenlia's and Parentcraft, plus minus a few topics. Mamalink is very reputable also, like Jenlia.

My CHOICE
The first one I striked out was Parentcraft, based on Mellomouse' experience. It also bug me that that the speaker didn't present breastfeeding session, but asked the parents to schedule a private session instead! I mean people already expected the topic to be covered in the session, then give some umbrella pointers to them even if you can't cover it all. Breastfeeding is very important to me, so that is a major faux pax.

Between Jenlia and Mamalink, it took me awhile to decide. I wanted to attend the Hypno Birthing from Mamalink as well but it's RM600 per couple and that really breaks my budget!

In the end, I chose Jenlia because :
- it's conducted only by the consultants. I was told each class is fully conducted by one consultant throughout. Though in the 4 weeks classes, we may meet all the different consultants. Which is good to me because I intend to book their post-natal home visits so I'd get a good first hand feel of them.
- Also I get to speak to Jennifer Hor, one of the consultants and got a very good vibe from speaking with her. Their staff Chloe is also very nice and helpful, always willing to explain to me many times (I ask a lot of questions, if you don't know me by now). So I like the people there a lot!
- their class covers a lot more topics in detail which I believe would benefit Devan and me a lot

The bookings however has to be done directly with SJMC (now known as Sime Darby Medical Centre but I'm still calling it SJMC out of habit). The person in charge there is Sasha and she is very patient in explaining the classes and its schedule to me. I booked my class for June for every Friday @ 7.30pm - 10.30pm. We can't do the Saturday afternoons because that's where Devan worked the most and also Friday would mean smaller class. It's supposed to commence on 11 June (and every Friday subsequently) but we had to be in Ipoh for Devan's cousin wedding. However I was allowed to do a replacement class on Saturday afternoon so I find their flexibility is superb!!

As of now, we have attended class #2 and #1. Next week will be class #3. Will blog on our feedback on this antenatal class soon. So far it's great!

How To Tag People in Facebook Status & Posts

2010-06-14T00:25:00.011+08:00

I know this is probably old news to many people out there but I just learned new tricks on Facebook!

For weeks I been seeing friends' status which tagged someone else in it. I wonder how they do it.

I wondered...and wondered.

Wondered....and wondered.

Finally, I went and googled it.

It's easy peasy I found out.

All you gotta do is type "@" before a name of a friend in status. A dropdown box will appear and you can just easily select the person's name you wanted.

Complete the sentence and click "Share" and it'll tag your friend(s) there.

Easy right?
Peasy right?

Sure Feels Like A Ninja Inside Me!

2010-06-09T17:58:00.008+08:00

The Ninja Baby with some bad ass kicking!

I suspect my baby is a ninja. Cuz she sure kicks like one! I'm in 30th Week of pregnancy now and everyday I get ninja-kicked by her. And it comes in some predictable times too! It always comes softly in the morning, very heavy during lunch time and very active after 10-11pm.

She got this thing of being very silent whenever I'm busy doing something or meeting people. Almost feels like she chose to behave during these times and only demand for attention when I'm free. I'm keen to find out if this is an early behaviour exhibit before birth. Whenever I'm not doing much, she'd definitely kicks up a storm!

The First Kicks
She started kicking in month 4. The first few times, I wasn't sure if I felt her kicked or was I imagining it. Then it became more obvious and my heart was warmed knowing those little flutters are our Little Peanut's sign of life to us. It feels like gentle thuds to me. I felt privileged that only I know how of this special thing between us. Only me, in this whole wide world. These little kicks grew stronger with weeks. Many times, I see my belly shook like jelly whenever she kicks.

For many weeks, Mouse was frustrated that he couldn't feel the kicks. Later on, he just gotta place his hands on my belly when we sleep and our lil girl will kick right at where his palm was. It's like she knows his hand was there. I wonder if she could detect the heat from him.

From Soft Kicks To Knuckle Grazes To Disco Kicks
As weeks grew, the kicks felt different. It was no longer the gentle thuds I get from Peanut. The thuds are stronger now, like she's doing a small jump inside me. They would come with some slow grazing movements which could be easily felt. I could imagine her turning and moving inside me and her little hands or legs scrape the wall of my womb.

And the latest ones, Disco Kicks. She would kick repetitively for 3-5 times and that makes my tummy jiggle like an earthquake. I find all this sensation very interesting and funny. Sometimes they're spooky. Sometimes they're just slight uncomfortable. Sometimes I just don't feel like the abdomen is mine anymore.

Now, Mouse can feel all the different kicks anytime of the day. And whenever she kicks, it's all the combination of different kicks at the same time!

The Ninja Responds
She does responds! She responds to our voices, loud noises, brightness and her daddy's voice.

She would kicks exceptionally more when I'm in the cinema. The loud noises seem to jolt her I guess. Or she's just another movie buff like us heh heh.

And many times when Mouse is talking to me, she would do her Ninja moves. This is when Mouse gets to feel her kicks. I'm glad she's playing with Daddy too before she comes out into this world.

Games to Play with Baby in Womb
I read of this experiment on internet and tried it. It is said babies responds to brightness even they're still inside the womb. So one night we turned off the light. After a few minutes in the darkness, we took a torchlight and shone on one side of my belly. It didn't take long to see my belly shook because baby kicks it.

Then we shone the torchlight to another side of belly. Sure enough, the kicks would 'follow' the light! It was so fun! We felt like we were getting to know her even before she comes out.

Sometimes when she does her routine ninja kicks, I'd tapped my belly gently and she would hit out at the spot where I tapped!

The Touch Before Birth
Lately, I can gently press into my tummy in circular motions (like a massage) and feel the baby. I can feel her body beneath my skin. I guess she's grown so big now, it's easy to do this. I wondered am I the only one who does it?

Says The Tennis Guru

2010-05-17T01:07:00.006+08:00

We're watching Nadal playing against Federer in Madrid Open. Federer made a very good shot!

A very excited Mouse says,
"That's why Roger is Federer!"

Huh??? What is that supposed to mean?

Breastfeeding : Stock Up on Knowledge & Preparation!

2010-05-11T18:34:00.014+08:00

"Breastfeeding your baby is the best thing you can do for your baby. But it's not an easy journey so it's important we learn to backup our noble intention with extensive knowledge + preparation. Because when we hit the wall, we'll climb over it and not crumble in tears."

-Quote by Ashley TwoFish-

One of the things I am determined to do for my baby is to breastfeed her. I wasn't breastfed and I found out from my mum she thought she couldn't breastfeed me because she consumed too much Chinese herbs during confinement. She didn't get much support and education on breastfeeding so I was famous in my family to be the S26 baby (after the formula milk I was given since infancy). Thankfully I was never a sickly child though never breastfed.

To top it off, relatives and friends I know all said they couldn't breastfeed because they have no milk. I got worried, it happened to my mum so it can easily happened to me. I want to breastfeed for more than 2 months, I want to do it longer. To achieve this, I need to be equipped with knowledge to overcome all the obstacles come my way later.

(A) The Internet Is Useful
The internet has been a wonderful tool, use it fully. I've been reading some blogs and one particularly was inspiring in my decision. Suzette is a mother of 2 children and in her blog, she advocates and totally in support of breastfeeding. I am awed by how she managed to expressed milk not just at work but also during her long travel. Anyone would've give up with the hassle but she made it!

Another mummy's blog I am reading is Mellomouse. She is going through her breastfeeding journey right now and I'm glad to see she's managed to breastfeed her son so far. She even gives me very good pointer about buying nursing bra after reading my post on baby shopping list.

Other websites I visit to learn about breastfeeding are :

1) The Breastfeeding Advocates Network on Facebook

Plenty of topics by real Malaysian mothers who are breastfeeding. They discuss anything under the sky, even non-breastfeeding topics. I picked up a lot from here even when my baby is not out yet.

2) Babycentre.com.my
A very informative site that provides information from pregnancy to raising a child. I get my weekly pregnancy updates from here. Sometimes I get more info from this website than my monthly visit at doctor. Highly recommend you to sign up (hey, it's FREE!), my friend Elisa been using this to help her deal with various topics from pregnancy to handling a toddler now.

3) La Leche League International
Lots of information for support, there's so much I haven't finish checking it out! Read up on latching techniques, massages and storage techniques. Very insightful.

4 ) My Moms Best
Another website that supports breastfeeding with tips in the forum. What I like is that it's a local website for us Malaysians mummies.

5) Blessedmums
Another informative Malaysian website. I like how they put up list of Lactation Consultants cuz I know I'll be needing them when my baby is out.

6) www.malaysianbrides.com.my
A very good forum that discusses many girly topics. I found 2 topics on buying breastpump but it gave a lot of insight on breastfeeding as well. These forums helped me decide on the breastpump to buy. Click to read more : topic 1 and topic 2.

There's plenty more on the internet. Just google them and you'll get countless websites giving support and tips to breastfeed. Youtube and other breastfeeding websites has plenty of video on how to latch on, how to achieve let down, how to massage breast, techniques to relieve engorgements/block ducts etc. I personally find it helpful to read Malaysian websites and forums because the localised advises, tips and suggestions given are something I could use in my situation. Also when products are recommended, I know I could purchase them locally.

(B) Support from Your Hospital & Doctor
Make sure your hospital supports breastfeeding. Gleneagles Intan Hospital that I am going now, they are one of them. I am free to speak to their lactation consultant for FREE anytime. They frequently organise sessions on breastfeeding so I am happy to know I have these available within my options. I know many hospitals in Malaysia, private or government do the same. Communicate with your doctor on your intention so they'll know what to do immediately after birth of your baby.

If you can, engaged a lactation consultant/nurse to visit you post natal to check on your breastfeeding techniques. Your hospital would easily offer this service for a small fee. I know Jenlia Maternal Services and Mamalink (both based in KL) offer this service. They are not hospital, just private group with certified staffs that supports breastfeeding and provide antenatal classes as well. Mamalink also conducts classes on HypnoBirthing. Look up for more of these groups near your residence for support. I plan to sign up with Jenlia on their antenatal class and postnatal visits.

(C) Get Support From Family
This is very important. One major failure to breastfeed is lack of support from family. Imagine your baby crying because your body only produces colostrum and not milk yet and your own husband/mum/mum-in-law is screaming at you that you are killing your baby because you got no milk and you are stupid not to use formula milk. What are the chances you'll be able to continue to breastfeed? Will you not succumb and use formula milk instead?

If you have problem overcoming mums and in-laws, then recruit your husband. Together as a team, stand united on this matter. Without any support at home, you'll be confused and scared and that's when you'll easily give up. The baby is yours, you are the parent. It's your decision how you want to feed your baby.

My mum-in-law is not traditional bound and doesn't interfere with how Mouse and I run our lives so I am grateful for having one less battle to overcome. My mum was misinformed in her time about breastfeeding so I need to be strong in my pursuit and teach her the new things I learned. Mouse is ever so supportive in everyway, he just needs to have the knowledge which I have been injecting bits by bits over the past 6 months. See, I've been working on this strategy from Day 1!

(D) Attend Talks/Seminars
Find out where you can attend seminars or talks on breastfeeding. The demonstration will help you to further understand this topic. Sometimes you can attend these sessions for free during expo/baby fairs etc. In my case, I am going to attend a talk by the The Breastfeeding Advocates Network with my husband. It's a session that focus solely on breastfeeding for 1 day. He is my partner and support in everything for our baby. He believes in breastfeeding (I fed him with a lot info for the past 6 months) but he needs to know more on the hands on stuff, so it is very important he attends with me. It's our effort together, not just me a lot. (I am blessed, so blessed).

If budget is ever an issue, try to allocate some on this. I rather not buy a bottle warmer so I can use the money to attend this talks. Actually, that's exactly what I did. I didn't buy any steriliser or bottle warmer at all so I can put my budget for antenatal classes, breastfeeding talk and postnatal visits by consultants.

(E) Find a Good Lactation Consultant (Or A Paediatrician That Supports Breastfeeding)
It's one thing to be prepared, it's another to face the reality. Some of the websites listed above have list of Lactation Consultant in Malaysia. Find one that you are comfortable with. I haven't look for one but I've got the contacts down and I know where to go should I need help with my breastfeeding journey. Also your peadiatrician must support your wish to breastfeed. I've heard stories of how the the doctors tell mummies it's worthless to breastfeed and their babies were getting sick because of it. These doctors should be totally avoided. If you can, report them to the Ministry of Health because the Malaysian Government totally supports breastfeeding.

That's all I can think of for now. Actually this is my personal strategy to pursue my intention to breastfeed. Will update as I learn more in time. I just hope being prepared like this will help me be stronger and resilient. *fingers and toes crossed*

Breastfeeding : 10 Important Things You Must Know

2010-05-11T18:03:00.007+08:00

Picture source credit goes to http://www.007b.com/breastfeeding_pictures.php.
Pls visit them for more info on breastfeeding.

I plan to breastfeed, no matter how difficult it'll be. I'll at least try and attempt until really really really I can't do it. I've equipped myself with a lot of knowledge and preparation for it. For instance :

I read up on internet a lot. not just simple reading but thorough readings on the topic
I've invested in a good, expensive breastpump. That way, I'll make my money's worth before giving up (I am very careful with money, ask my husband)
I'm spending good money to attend a talk just on breastfeeding to ensure Mouse and I will not give up easily on this
I refused to consider or check out any formula milk. No matter how many good-hearted people told me I need to have one on 'standby'

So, to start up... Here are some very awesome facts about breastfeeding that I learned online. I hope to be more knowledgeable and confident in this by the time baby is out!

1) EVERYONE can breastfeed (unless you have medical conditions that prevent you to)

2) There's no such thing as 'no milk'

3) It's important to invest in a good breastpump. Cheap and non-effective ones will only make you give up.

4) It's important to be educated on breastfeeding before baby is out. It doesn't come naturally like everyone says. You need to know how your body works, baby's needs and how to latch to be succesful.

5) Breastfeeding is a lot cheaper than giving formula milk. Imagine, no need to buy thermos, sanitized bottles, formula milk powder, bottle warmer etc. You don't need to prepare the milk, just feed and it's the perfect temperature and properly sanitized!

6) No formula milk can do what breastmilk can do. Best nutrients, antibody and bonding for baby

7) Milk doesn't come in immediately after delivery. That's normal! It takes up to 1 week before the body produce milk. And baby won't starve in the meantime.

8) Our body runs on an intelligent system. It knows how much milk baby needs. As long as you direct breastfeed/pump, it'll keep producing milk as long as the baby feeds on it

9) You can keep expressed breastmilk in freezer for months!

10) When you breastfeed baby, you don't need to feed baby water until they're 6 months old as breastmilk consists of 80% water.

Now, how awesome is that!

*though I make sure I do my best to breastfeed, there's still a teeny weeny part in me that is afraid of failure in this huge task. I pray and pray and I will not succumb and will make it happen through sheer grit*

Another Baby Nightmare

2010-05-09T12:58:00.003+08:00

Another baby nightmare last night.

I dreamed my baby came out but she has some kind of illness that makes her skin very fragile and bits of skin would fall out from her face. Sometimes a little bit of her mouth would fall off but in my dream, Mouse and I loved her with our hearts.

We didn't fear her, just fear for her. We're afraid of hurting her more with her very fragile skin condition but Mouse just swooped her up in his arms and cuddled her and loved her. There were so much loved for that little baby in my dreams. She's beautiful in our eyes because she's our child.

I hope that means we're prepared for this little blessing that's coming our way. That our love for her will know no boundary. That no matter what, she's our child and we'll love and protect her with our lives. I hope that's what this dream means.

*shoo shoo* Nightmare, go away. Let me have sweet dreams instead.

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 1 - The Shopping List

2010-05-08T15:42:00.008+08:00

Okay....one of the biggest thing to work out before baby's arrival is the shopping. Thankfully I got a lot of help from my friend Elisa. Her baby girl, Liesl is already 1 yr old and her inputs helped me firm up my mind on what's important to spend money on and what I can hold off until I am freaking rich (like never hahahaa!!).

While we're ready to commit to some purchase for our baby, we want to ensure our money buys things that are essential. After discussion, the items we will splurge on are :

baby strollers (cuz you can use them till baby is 4 yrs old!)
car seat (car safety is important, what more with these crazy Malaysian drivers out there)
breastpump (cuz we believe the in the importance of breastfeeding. a lousy pump will only hamper the effort on this glorious feat).

The other items, we'll try to get hand-me-downs or buy at discounts. With cheatsheet from Elisa and lotsa info from the internet, this is OUR shopping list for our Mini MoneyCome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1) SLEEPING

Baby crib : got free from Aunty Jessie who doesn't need hers anymore! This saved me a lot!
Mattress & cover : my mom will make. yay!
Padding around the walls of crib : my mom will make! yay!
Blanket : got 2. 1 from friend (thanks Jerry & Bebe) and Mouse bought 1 in sale. made from nice comfy flannel cotton material. I think I want one myself too! will double up as a swaddle too!
Pillows & boosters : not needed until baby's 1 or 2 yrs old. newborns do not require these, it also pose as suffocation hazard. Be aware! anyway, a small towel can double up as pillow if required.
Waterproof sheet : also double up as changing mat

2) CLOTHING
We got a bag of baby clothing in various sizes from Aunty Jessie. Quantity indicated in brackets below. We only bought 4 pcs of ultra cute rompers for our daughter for when she's 6 months old cuz we just simply don't know how to buy sizes for baby. Gonna use whatever we have for now (to save money) and see what we get in gifts in time to come. Worst scenario, Mouse gotta rush out to buy some when baby's home.

Hat (1)
Hankerchief (10) : very cutes ones from Aunty Kim who got it from Spore.
Rompers/Onesies (3) : plus the 4 ultra cutes we bought at Mom & Baby Expo 2010 yday
Mittens & booties (6 sets)
Long pants (11)
Short pants (8)
Long sleeved shirts (10)
Short sleeved shirts (19)
Socks (4)
Shoes (5 pairs) : very good quality from Belle. Unfortunately Aunty Jessie's baby can't wear them so my baby gets Baby Gap & Osk Kosh shoes even before she's born! lucky girl!
Bibs (6) : suspect I gotta get these later on cuz the ones here are very small
Sweater (1) : Hope it's enough. We're in Malaysia lah! Don't need that much, just a good blanket will do. I hope I am right.

3) EVERYDAY USE

Sterilizer : gonna use good ole' boiling method. Got Tablets type from Pigeon for travelling needs or when we're outside. not gonna buy those units that cost hundreds of Ringgit! unless it's a gift *hint hint*
Baby wipes : got them on discount at baby expo
Bottle cleanser : bought Pigeon brand at discount but would like to try Bumble Bees
Bottle brush : to wash bottles, gonna just buy a simple cheap ones
Thermometer : got a digital one, just hope it won't break too soon
Baby bottle : Dr Brown's bottle. totally convinced by this brand by Vivian, my cousin who uses this on Belle in USA
Diapers : got my eyes on Mamy Poko & Drypers. Almost everyone says Mamy Poko is the best especially for night time which let baby sleep longer. My friend Alyssa can help me buy Drypers at very low price. will experiment with other brand when baby is out.
Nappy Rash Cream : Elisa recommends Bepathen. A pharmacist also recommends the same as it not only treats nappy rash, it can be used on sore/cracked nipple and it's safe to breastfeed baby even when you don't wipe it off. That's a big plus!
Vaseline : very good to keep moisture off baby's bum. Cheap and cheerful, I likey!
Cotton squares : so says Elisa but I don't know how useful it is when I got wipes. Since I got few packs for my own facial use, will see how

4) BREASTFEEDING
*Note : there are plenty of accessories for breastfeeding like nipple shield, nipple cream and a lot more that I don't know what they're called. Just that for intial phase, I narrowed down to few items, should I need them then will get more.

Breastpump : bought Medela Swing at a very very good price, me so happy! will have a thorough blog on this later
Milk storage : got 4 Medela bottles from the breastpump package
Breast pads : got some from Aunty Jessie, bought some at discount. if need to will get the washable ones later
Milk Tea : bought Earth Mama Milk Tea Maid from Fabulousmom.com and Autumz Organic Nursing Tea . heard a lot about it, gonna try and see if it boosts milk production. Note : do not consume during pregnancy
Nipple Cream : gonna use Bepathen. Anyway also got Medela PureLan that came with the breastpump package.

5) BATHING USE

Baby shampoo : gonna try Buds Organic's Head To Toe Cleanser. Do you know this is a Malaysian brand and it's EcoCert certified?
Baby bath cleanser : see baby shampoo above
Towel : nah, gonna use our existing ones
Bath tub : yay! got from Aunty Jessie, this one got extra padding
Cotton bud : get those baby sized tip ones
Lotion oil : am gonna use Vaseline to prevent nappy rash but have got some from Buds Organic when I purchased the Head To Toe Cleanser in a baby fair
Nail cutter : haven't buy but am hoping a normal cutter will do. Err...will it?
Clothes detergent : bought Nappikleen at Tesco at discount!

6) TRAVELING

Stroller : got our eyes on Combi Urban Walker, bought it at very good discount in a baby fair in March
Car Seat : got Combi's Cocoro at the baby fair also
High Chair : didn't plan to buy but got a very early gift from Mouse' childhood friend (thanks HongKin & Asuka!)
Diaper Bag : didn't plan to buy either, mom gave me a very good one from her stash of free gifts she gets with her shopping (think hot sexy RED!)
Sleeping/traveling Basket : not in our plan but received it with tonnes of things from Aunty Jessie

7) CONFINEMENT NEEDS

Sarong : got 1, will need to get few more
Maternity Pads : stocked up a lot, I didn't mind overstocking cuz it's something I can use a lot in future
Thin clothing : as advised by Elisa but don't intend to buy, just gonna use whatever I got
Nursing bra : Fabulousmom.com staff says only buy 1-2 months before due date. Also found out they got the most affordable bras around with YouHaveABaby.com.
Nursing top : haven't buy but Elisa say Jusco's Scarlett brand has good range in the RM30-ish
Thick socks : got winter socks from my uni days
Entertainment : Mouse' downloading tons of things for me! Anyway I got the TV in my room and I got me laptop too! Just hope I'm well enough to use them

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YET TO BUY ITEMS
As of now, I got almost everything. Have planned everything to coincide with hypermarket's sales, baby fair/expo etc etc. I'm so proud, I'm never this organized when it comes to myself. Guess a little bit of mother instinct has kicked in eh? *wink wink*

Here are things that I've yet to get but I am sure I can take care of them at 1 shopping trip (if I am not looking for discount). Not gonna be die hard on the discounts now since these are small ticket items so will take it easy and do my purchase slowly. I got till August to do it anyway.

Baby clothes : unlikely will buy anymore, cuz people may send as gifts. rather wait n' see on this one
Bottle brush : not gonna sweat about it, don't even think I'll use bottle in the first few month when I plan to breastfeed
Diapers : major one to watch out for discounts on Mamy Poko
Vaseline : no sweat on this, can just grab from Watson or Guardian anytime. anyway I got baby oil from Buds Organic
Bepathen : same like Vaseline, no sweat. Cuz I got Medela PureLan on standby.
Nail scissor/cutter : really, do I need this? normal ones won't do?
Sarong : gotta get this but it won't cost a bomb lah
Nursing Bra : just gonna hit Fabulousmom.com to get it, the TTDI outlet is very closeby
Nursing Top : will adopt wait and see approach
Entertainment : in progress.

It looks like a long list eh? But I tell you, I've cut down a lot!! The original list from Elisa was double this list! My neighbour purchased all her baby items from USA and had them shipped over to Malaysia. I'd do the same if I have the money cuz many of the things are overpriced in our country, that's why I spent a lot of time doing my research (on stroller, car seat, breastpump, diapers) to make sure I know where our money is going to.

A prudent mummy is a smart mummy. *winks*

Mouse' First Intimate Moment With Baby Peanut

2010-05-01T17:59:00.000+08:00

Last night Mouse had an amazing personal encounter with our baby.

We're about to sleep and I got him to put his hand on my tummy and asked him to talk to baby. He normally finds it hard cuz all he sees is my stomach so he just blabbed about the day he had.

Then, the baby kicked on the spot where Mouse' hand was. He felt it. He shifted his palm and it rested on a different position and he continued talking to baby. Then again baby kicked, and again it's directly where his hand was.

It was so amazing for Mouse. This is the first time he ever felt a direct response from baby through my tummy. It's like she heard him and was talking to him through those little kicks.

For Mouse, this is the most intimate moments he had with the baby. All he hears is what I feel all the time. He just sees my tummy and monthly, the scans where we see our baby daughter grows.

But what happened last night, it was a personal and directly connected to him. I felt more like an observer though it all happened through me. I am so glad he got that little intimate moment with our baby, I wanted him to share and know what I feel all the time with the baby inside me. I want him to feel what I am going through, the same joy and anticipation of baby's arrival. And he had. Yesterday. :)

The Little Face

2010-04-28T13:41:00.003+08:00

We saw her little face today. And she's not even out in the world yet.

It's amazing how these scans can show so much! I didn't do those 3D or 4D scans, just the usual routine ultrasound with Dr Jean Woo. We saw her side profile (she has a prettier side profile than me. hummph!) and her frontal face. I can make out her little nose and mouth. Doctor says her eyes are huge but I feel she is just humouring us heh heh. Her little mouth was moving, like she's talking to us....awwww! Soooooo cute!!

Unfortunately, we both forgot the USB thumb drive. So can't put up the picture but Dr Jean Woo saved it for us and we can get it in the next visit. *must remember to bring thumb drive next time, must remember!!*

Too Much To Blog For A Lazy 2Fish

2010-04-27T22:52:00.002+08:00

Actually hor, I have a lot to blog.

About my progress in pregnancy. My experience in pregnancy. All the things I do in pregnancy.

About the Taiwan trip, about how awesome it is.

About our simple single income life now that I got pregnant before I found full time job.

About my victory over those ants in kitchen (die, you insects! Die!! Muaahahaaaa)

About the kindness I received from a fellow blogger.

About so much but you know what? As usual, I am just too freaking lazy and slow to work on it. This 2Fish is lousy I tell you.

I shall work on it slowly, no matter how slow.

TALE OF 2FISH

Fever After A Jab

Turning 1

Kaylene in a Contest : Part 2

Pachebel In Our Lives

It's A Miracle!

Lungs Killing Cough

So Loved

Kaylene Grows Up : 10 Months Old

Today, I Learned....

5 + 7 = 2 + 1 = Happy Anniversary, Mouse

You Asked For It, Silly Ashley

Sleeping Cutely

The Tiger Roars!

Taking Daddy's Spot

Long Night Sleep

Sleepy Sunday

How To Change Battery on Your SmartTag Unit

Travelling with Baby to Singapore : Part 3

Very Needy Morning

Travelling with Baby to Singapore : Part 2

Shopping for Kaylene's First Swim

Travelling with Baby to Singapore : Part 1

Oh! Panasnyaaaaa!

Kaylene in a Contest

Off To Ipoh Again

In A Tight Spot

Demise of The Hunk

Ashley's Math Equation

Confinement Is Ain't That Bad!

Buying Lottery Again

Buying Lottery

3 Days More Till the End of Confinement

Kaylene's Birth Story

Kaylene @ 2 Weeks

Baby Kaylene Says Hi !

Preggers Update @ Week 38 (It's Happening!)

Baking : Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Baking : Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin

Baking...Online & Offline!

Nesting Instincts Before Birth

Is This A Bicycle Horn?

Note To Self : Consumption of Ginger & Rice Wine During Confinement

Preview on Colostrum

Belly Progress 2

Packing Hospital Bag

My Life Savers During Pregnancy

Wall.E in Taiwan

Our Birth Plan

Preggers Update @ Week 37

Pouting Ninja

Best Line To Tell Pesky Gym Sales Fella On Phone

Troubled Sleep During Pregnancy

Things To Do Before Birth @ 35 Weeks

Where Are You, Mr Sun?

Preggers Update @ Week 35

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 4th Review

Burn Burn Burrrrrrrrn !!!

Didja See The Sky Today?

Things To Do Before Birth

7 More Weeks To Go....and I'm a Nervous Wreck!

Oh Darn! I Caught The Flu Too!

This is Love

In Archive for 20 Years

Shopping for Mini Money Come : Part 5 - Car Seat & Stroller

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 3rd Review

Lil Ninja's Stats & Status @ Week 32 (from the beginning too!)

I Like It When It Rains

Gleneagle Hospital's Lactation Consultant

Pregnancy Status @ Week 32 (from the beginning too!)

Down with Flu

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 4 - Breastpump Purchased

Freaky World Cup

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 3 - Shopping for Breastpump

Belly Progress

Shopping for Mini MoneyCome : Part 2 - Places To Shop

Lil Ninja Is Doing The Hiccups *hic*

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 2nd Review

Antenatal Class with Jenlia : The 1st Review

Antenatal Class : The Choices I Had

Lil Ninja Is Doing The Hiccups hic