::PREGNANCY:: Desires

OH moon cake! 

How I wish I could eat you.

All of you! you! you and you!

Durian, ice cream, truffled, lotus paste with yolk! 

But because somebaby has been eating very well, I have got to control my diet so that I can still push him out naturally.

Gynae says to eat you after birth. 

She must have a modern mother/confinement lady/mother in law. 

--draft dated 19 Sept continued post birth--

OH FUCK!

I birthed. Right next day.

And I hadn't a chance to savor the lotus with single yolk mini moon cake that I grabbed on sight on Monday while out having dinner with the girls. It was a real random purchase from a random bakery. I told them I wanted to eat a moon cake before I birth. And then the snow skinned ones arrived for collection on Tuesday. They sat happily in the fridge while I contemplated the gynae's advice before eventually turning in for the night. 

Temptations vs Determination

0 vs 1

:)

Before we could see how long this battle could hold up, we decided to birth. On Wednesday.

It was a rather impromptu decision that left me with no time to head home for That Shower and to grab that moon cake that had been luring me since Monday. 

And hence, here I am with this post.

Papa N has been really helpful by finishing up all the moon cakes in the fridge, without of course, tempting me first. :S

So son, you owe mummy many moon cakes in the years to come!

::PREGNANCY::Little Penguin

US at our 13th week with a proud mama/papa penguin!

How time flies!

Anticipating our little one to arrive soon!!

I am beginning to feel mummy instincts this week ;)

Cant wait to cradle you in my arms, D.

::PREGNANCY:: Thoughts

Right after my pee break in the wee hours one night, I was having trouble getting back to sleep and amidst the tosses and turns and feeling a slight crampishy ache in the tummy, I thought it would be a good date to birth that day. 6.9.2012. These days, I have gotten used to the crappy aches/tugs/pulls of sorts I have all over the belly/groin/pelvic area, which acts up if there is any sudden change body movements, that if the real contractions do come, I think I might just put it off as just another ache. Even build-up of poops causes an ache in the rectum. 

After visiting the delivery suite and seeing how 'ergonomically' designed the birthing chair was, I decided I had to do some thigh stretches to prepare the thighs for some *er hemz* 'spreading 'when the day comes for them to do their job. Hence I have been feeling some sort of aches in the pelvic-thigh area and I groaned to the hubby that my pelvic joints were loosening and they hurt. He reminded me that it was probably muscle aches from the butterfly stretches. And guess what? I still cant tell for sure. This week, I also feel an extra pressure on the groin area which I suspect is D nesting his head comfortably against his new-found pillow (that's one more ache somewhere inside there).

With all the extra weight pulling me down and the added discomforts going on inside me, it would really be a great relief to pop! But as eager as I am to get him out of his comfortable nest, I really just have one problem.  

I cant seem to get this image out of my mind

I am secretly glad that I will be on the other side of the view, but I can't help but feel very conscious about the anatomy that's going to happen there. I wonder if N would still like to participate actively in the birth of his son, OR do the other job of a scratch/pinch/grab pole. ;p

But we have already come this far and all that's left to do is to birth him out.

It's between the image above + a cut in the natural birthing part or a cut through the many layers of the belly. 

Not much of a choice, right?

.

That aside, I really do wish somebody can tell me now what my labour sign will be like. Because anticipation of the unknown is killing me. Every time I go take a pee, I try to look out for that mucus plug or that bloody show. Every night when I get jolted up from sleep, I feel the bed for signs of water bag bursting. And every other sudden ache or false contraction in my body makes me pause and think if that was it.

So everyday I pray that Someone up there give me an obvious sign so I know when to send myself to the hospital. 

::PREGNANCY:: Baby M, Baby D!

Here's our Baby Murphy hanging out with Baby D!

Yawnz

Daydream

What's a didi? Is it yummy??

Listening to me

YAY! to a name!

There ll no longer be an identity confusion around in the house!

::PREGNANCY:: 35 weeks

 Decided to get some workout in this weekend!

Been 2 months since I last hit the pool and I almost forgot the fabulous feeling of a post-swim!

SUPER SHIOK YO!

And here's a bump shot of my 35-week old belly

We are almost there now.

::PREGNANCY:: Fashionidisastar

DON'T judge a waddling woman with a shoe misfit. 

These days, I found feet solace in the most comfortable shoe I have had all along.

My Adi fluid trainers.

The feet has grown from size 36 to size 38 in prettyfit and gripz - the only 2 places I found decently padded undersoles in a pretty pair of flats. 

The first 2 pairs were covered and soon gave me a bad toenail crack.

Just as I have given up searching for a good shoe, I found my 3rd pair which fit all criteria - pretty with a blingz ribbon, decent rubber soles, comfy pig skin and peep toe. 

I have been wearing it for 3 months now and I thought it would last me till the end of this whale-ling journey. Sadly, it started to give me a swollen feet lately due to the restriction of blood flow from the snug fit. 

It wouldn't make sense to start the whole shoe hunt again since I know how hard it is to find something decent plus I technically only have 3 more weeks to go till full term. PLUS the feet really don't fancy WALKING now as it aches and tires easily. Shopping is definitely out of the question. Potentially fruitless shopping is definitely not going to happen. 

I sadly thought I was going to turn up on the streets in my crocs.

I actually weighed this decision very carefully - the cons of going on a shoe shopping trip on my tired feet that is going to be potentially fruitless vs the cons of being seen in non-casual wear and in the CBD in the big head purple crocs till I birth. Neither appealed more than the other. 

I thought of just putting up with the daily swell since it actually de-swells if you give it a good rub during the night. 

But last week, since we had an exercise session at the antenatal class, which got me really excited about getting pumped up again, I started to put together the gears for my first 'gym' session in monthssss. Sadly, the gym tops I used to wear now ride high on my belly.

Something like this

Hmm.. the 'beauty' of pregnancy is a bit misleading here, maybe something like this is more reflective of the reality. heh!

Although the cuteness is overstated here too...

I resorted to wearing the man's shapeless Tshirt and my maternity shorts for the workout.

How sexy.

For the shoes, I was just being hopeful that I could still fit into my only pair of trainers. 

I dug it out from the shoe cabinet and VIOLA! Despite the 2 size upgrade in my pretty shoes, the trainers still fit!!! :D:D

So here I am, a happy trotter in my Adi trainers!

DO NOT JUDGE ME AH.

::PREGNANCY:: Keeping Active!

The 2km walks to the Singapore Expo used to be such a breeze. We would take a leisurely stroll there and back if we had no intention of bringing back any major purchases. 

After being a lazy ass for several weeks - I haven't been swimming, we decided to take a walk to Expo on Sunday for Murphy to meet some furry friends. He has also been bumming around the house  during the weekend. So it was time for our lazy asses to get some adrenalin kicking in!

Passing Sunbird

And we made it in one piece!! 

-At 34 weeks-

Lugging around all that extra weight for the 'workout' gave my poor feet an ache the next morning! And Murphy started snoring really loudly at 9ish that night. 

How unfit are we!

Luckily all those previous bodypump and cycling sessions have been really useful in prepping the body for pregnancy. N&I attended our 2nd antenatal class (exercise class) last week and realised more than half the ladies in class suffer from backaches. 

Through these 34 weeks, I gathered there are 2 important areas to workout on pre-preg:

Abdominal Muscles

During pregnancy, the belly stretches outwards. The abdominal muscles are connected to the spine so together, they form the support over the growing uterus. While the abs stretch outwards, the spine also curves in in the same direction. If the abs are not strong, there will be additional stress on the spine to support the growing uterus and that's when you get backaches. So train up your abs!

Quads 

Imagine all the extra weight you are carrying and having to stand up from squat positions or the floor, which become increasingly difficult as the weeks progress. The last thing you want is to wail for help after picking up the dog's poop in public. ;p

Muscle Isolation

 This isn't a particular area to work out on but knowing how to isolate muscles helps especially if you have a heavy dog like mine (10kg) or a #1 toddler to pick up every once in a while - I try not to carry Murphy from the floor if I can help it but when I do, I make sure I put him close to my body and am not using abdominal muscles just in case it squeezes the uterus - Have u heard of uterus collapse?! o.O! It's nice to have people fuss around and make sure you don't carry the 'heavy' stuffs once in a while but seriously, we are not handicap! It's really for us to pick up that sack of rice or that pack of dog food if we use the correct muscles! Then again, try not to be too gungho if help is available la. 

So to my friends who are preparing to start a family, start training up for it! And thank me again for your smooth pregnancy! ;p

::PREGNANCY:: Early Labor

::NEWS FLASH LAST WEEK::

The arrival of SS and YN's baby girl at 33 weeks.

JH and Reb's 1yo baby girl was also born at the 32 weeks. 

Since we were all in a group chat on whatsapp sharing conversations about baby stuffs, the announcement and the shocking reveal by JH made N&I panic a little about the arrival of our precious little prince. 

We are at the 33-week mark now. 

And have only attended ONE pre-natal course so far - about nutrition (which is most beneficial to those in their 1st trimester of preg, not ppl like me who is in the last tri ;p)

The classes for contractions, labor pains, childbirth, breastfeeding and bathing are all scheduled in the next 5 weeks!

Will we be graced with enough time to finish all basic labor identification, delivery, lactation and baby-handling skills before the arrival of our little prince?

So just last night, I experienced some recurring contractions at 230AM. 

I finally understood what my gynae meant by "Stomach hardening". Previously when she warned me to track any "stomach hardening" during my 24th week, I didnt quite understand her, because my stomach is as hard as it is every moment now. Hey! I am carrying a baby inside my pouch, not a muffin belly ok! So my stomach is quite hard and it gets harder after a meal because of all the organs bursting for a space inside. So we left the clinic that day with the take-away word for the day - "Stomach hardening", without really knowing what it meant. 

And last night, I finally experienced "stomach hardening". Recurring "stomach hardening".

So I whipped out my iPhone and frantically googled for help, at 230AM, while the world was in slumber. The husband was also in a DEEP slumber but I didnt want to wake him up in case of false alarm. And I needed him to wake up fresh so he could get us both three to the hospital if it was really a true labor. 

I used the Contractions app to monitor the duration and frequency of my contractions.

After 1/2 hour of monitoring and getting some non-conclusive results (based on what I learnt from Google), I got up and packed my hospital bag. Just in case.

I went back to bed at 3ish and found little fella hicupping frantically inside. 

He gave some kicks and judging from the position of his legs, I think he has shifted during the contractions. So I continued monitoring his movements and got ready to monitor the rest of the contractions while thinking to myself that I will have to take leave in the morning.

But my contractions went away. 

And I drifted back to sleep.

All these while, thanks to our wonderful Serta bed that can absorb all bed movements, my dear husband did not even realise that I jumped in and out of bed at least 3 times and tossed and turned and flipped and kicked my pillows/blankets/bolster while trying to have a better feel of the contraction cycles.  

But he did dream that we were both on leave this morning because of the baby. 

Scary how my thoughts could translate into his dreams!

By the way, this story doesn't have a dramatic ending. YET.

I woke up this morning, as pregnant as ever!

But I am going to get everything ready by this week!

Just in case!!!

::PREGNANCY:: Cropped!

Ivy asked if this was going to be The Cut. 

I told her to go ahead. 

She was one of those whom I told The Big Secret to before The Official Reveal simply cos she has been caring for my tresses since preps of our wedding. So she was excited that I could finally curl and color my hair after the wedding but I had to tell her about my chemical abstain for the time being.. ;p

Ivy has also once cared for the tresses of Murphy! :D

::PREGNANCY:: Doing the Laundry

We have been buying little clothes from everywhere that we travel to and stashed them in the wardrobe.

Last Sat was spent doing the laundry for our little one. 

We hung them on a laundry string that stretches over the whole 4.24m of our balcony (yes! his stash of little clothes alone took up 4.24m of space!) and brought out the little pegs that we have stocked up for his laundry. 

There was no more space for mittens and booties. So these were separately sunned.

Halfway through, N & I decided to get some TWOsome stuff done at the movies and we returned home to find that it had rained o.O"

And there we go again.....

::PREGNANCY:: Week 23 vs Week 31 snuggles

How snuggling has evolved between me and Dog. 

::PREGNANCY:: WEEK 31 AND NAIL WOES

Hello toes!

I can still see you!!

Though I have to live with a spoilt toenail for the time being cos doc says a toenail is but aesthetic. Lets get the baby out first before we treat it. 

And let's try not to paint your nails for the time being.

Why do you think we earn the title of being the greatest woman on earth?

There are big sacrifices that come along with it.

Like that of living with a cracked toenail. 

::PREGNANCY:: Getting Murphy Ready!

We have been telling him that he's no longer going to be the baby of the house, and getting him to feel baby's little kicks from my belly. I wonder how much of these he actually understands because sometimes he will give my belly a little lick, as if to acknowledge didi's presence. But sometimes he doesn't seem to understand that well...

like when he tried to check out the plastic bag of baby stuffs we bought over the weekend because it contained a (human) squeaky toy. 

and when he saw the star socks that my sister bought for didi and immediately associated it like it was HIS NEW TOY! My sis was telling me all about it when the socks came through their mailers the week before and I witnessed the same reaction a week later at our own place! Here's Mur, doing the jumpidy-jump to reach the star socks amidst all the other little things that I was unpacking.

and when he snuggles like a baby whenever N carries him like that. 

Awwwwww

and when he tried to stake claim on a little blue doggy soft toy key chain that we let my baby niece play with over the weekend. We don't have any human toy at home to entertain kiddos so we just made do with whatever toy-like items we have at our house to entertain the kids who come over - including a model of N's 1st car. So said soft toy was actually a display item on our TV console. Murphy tried to steal it from the TV console after my niece went home but was reprimanded. Being the good boy that he is, he didn't attempt to steal it while we were away. But then yesterday night, he brought me and N to the TV console separately  and stared very hard at the key chain. So we did the parental discussion thingy and decided to give it to him and he was a happy wagerly dog thereafter and spent the next 15 minutes marking his new toy (read: biting and salivating ALL over it until it was wet when he decided to let us play fetch with him with it)

AND SO, we have done the most traditional thing any parents with a 2nd baby do - Buy a gift for the 1st kiddo when baby arrives! This squeaky hippo s gonna be Murphy's gift from baby when we get home from the hospital :) I am not sure if it will work though...but he is definitely showing an interest in the squeaks already! And another thing for sure - our baby is gonna just play with rattles because Murphy is staking claim on everything squeaky!!!

Oh! The hippo squeaky is really cool! The whole handheld portion squeaks when you press anywhere on it!

And if logistics allows, I think I might just get someone to bring him a used mitten for him to get used to didi's smell before their first meeting!! :D

::PREGNANCY:: Soccer Ball

End of June in Kuching

You are so BIG now!!

And momma has to find new clothes for my growing belly!

Momma's back in Kuching early this year in order to finish up all work travel series before you become too big to carry around ALONE. Yeah. Papa and I are still planning some travels if time allows. But Europe has been shelved off cos my poor feet can no longer do long walks nor climb big stairs. And I still cant find any decent comfortable shoe. Even the much raved about Fitflops that everyone from non-pregs to pregs swear by doesn't appeal to my feet. :( 

Back to happier things, CLOTHES!!! The nice laobanniang whom I frequent annually had a hard time finding big clothes for me in her shop but still let me waddle into the fitting room generously with my picks to try on ;p 

They even encouraged me to try on this REALLY tight dress!

And how I really stretched it!!!!

Oh! And that's the cute little popped out belly button that I used to think was SEXY on other preggers' bodies!!! And how I very eagerly anticipated my own to pop out when I first learned about you in me, and how I very confidently proclaimed to all my collics what i thought of its sexiness and how they have to get used to seeing the lil belly button on me because I was SOOOO going to not try to hide it's SEX APPEAL from them! But that is all in past tense.... cos I saw your biao yi's one which did not cave back to its original state >.<" 

I dont think it is sexy anymore. 

Please dont let mine pop out further.

I already have the varicose veins, flabby arms, armpit fats and potentially stretchmarks to be glum about. Though the internet prolly says I should be glowing with the knowledge of what I have inside me. I prolly am. But allow me to whine about all other uglier aspects of nature. I really don't want FLABBY arms!!! Nor a forever protruding belly button!!! :'(

Ok whine finish. Anyway I am happy as long as you grow up healthy and strong. 

That's really all I have in my daily prayers. 

Murphy Baby

Somebaby is not going to be very pleased that he is no longer going to be the baby of the house.

Just over the weekend, I woke up from my nap and felt little fella kicking me. 

So I cooed to him, "Baby, you wake up already ah?"

Immediately there was a pitter patter of footsteps to my bedside, and there he was - My other baby!

::PREGNANCY:: Growth Spurt

500 GRAMS

That's how much I put on this morning

And I wonder where all the extra weight is coming from because I only took 3 meals yesterday. 3 normal me-sized meals.

Isn't it weird?

Babymoon

Back from the land of shopping spree and eating spree, but sadly didnt get to accomplish much of the shopping part due to

#1: A whale-ing body = no clothes fit at all :(

#2: Equally whale-ing feets and need for walking stability = difficult to find shoes

#3: Subconscious effort to save the big moohlahs for our little dragon = drool at the super cheap rolexes and shun away from the branded bags queue outside boutiques, just in case I cave in to the tax free haven pffft! So I immediately texted Ser, who was honeymooning in Europe, to BUY AS MANY BAGS AS POSSIBLE!

And when I finally caved in to that pair of ferragamo jellies that my feet needed to walk HK for the rest of the trip, because you know preggy feets are oh-so-delicate and need a pair of good shoes lovin' from the hubba, they were sold out in my size PFFFFT!

Anyway, there are other more fulfilling parts to the trip.

Like catching up with an old friend over din din and a cuppa gelato late at night.  

Bless my belly! Baby, this is your first star encounter yo! ;p

ROARSS!

And so it seems, I just received a call transmitting great news, I am not the only one measuring growth by the fruit this year! :D

Someone else in the maternal family has joined the big dragon chase! :D

Make that 3 of us in family in the big chase this year!!!

Not that I have heard any of the great news from the horses' mouth though.. you know how secrets always cant be kept a secret within family?? Mine was leaked wayyyy before I made the big announcement too >.<"

CNY 2013 is gonna be soooo much moooore exciting!

This pic was actually doodled to mark the growth milestone of my little bean who turned peach size in week 13. Heh! And I thought Dino looked a cross between dinosaur and dragon, so a great representation of my lil bean ;)

It should be a sweet potato size this week but I dont have any cutsie sweet potato cartoons to doodle yet..

YAY to playmates and merrier gatherings next year!

We cant wait for u to arrive darling!

Daddy and Mummy slept with your zebra last night!

The Song

Drawing experience from raising my precious furkid where I had a song invented specially to sooth him to sleep since young, which works wonders every time we want to put him to bed even up till now, I had a serious discussion with the hubba last night. We need to find a song for our baby. Just like Murphy has his song.

Being the great musician that hubba is, he of course, had questioned my choice of tune for Murphy's Song. Claiming it was weird. Apparently the change of tune between verses is a little abnormal and is not common in professionally written pieces. He has never heard such tune change before. Being the non-musician that I am, of course I dont quite understand that technical bit but was quite defensive over MY song and thus claimed that I have my own unique song writing techniques which the pros out there probably have never experimented before. pfft!

But anyway, in order not to let baby inherit any potentially unacceptable music education from mummy that might ruin his/her future music upbringing, I decided to bring the matter up to the musically inclined daddy last night and let him take charge.

We had a serious chat while daddy was shatting on his throne, and I was right outside the bathroom disturbing his peaceful private time ;p 

Me, "Daddy, we need to find a song for baby. You know, like the Murphy song? Then next time when baby cry or fuss, we can just sing The Song to soothe baby."

Daddy, "Ok. National anthem lor."

Me, " -_-||| . Ok. But I am not going to do it in public. You can sing mari kita to your kid next time if he/she cries in public."

Baby goes to Sydney

at 16 weeks old!

I marvel at how some people can guess the gender based on the looks of the belly.

So how?

Boy or girl?

We are taking bets! ;p