Movements

18 weeks 5 days
weight ~ 59.5kg

mummy has been waiting in anticipation with Baby 'communication' portal in the way of feeling his movements. It was pretty tough since descriptions shared by mums to be (mtbs) are rather vague or perhaps mummy has a thicker skin than others.

However unexpectedly on 26 Aug 08, the excitement rose further. We marked another of Baby's milestone as we crossed the 18th week. Mummy was preparing for bed and while watching television program, she felt some twitching motions and light pushes / knocks on the right lower abdomen. Hardly noticeable initially, it became more prominent and obvious. It was tough to describe how it exactly feel like, perhaps bubbles bursting feels more like it (well, trying my very best to decribe). Though highly excited, mummy felt skeptical and worried as it felt so surreal, After composing myself and staying more focused, mummy enjoyed this special moment and grin to herself.

Over the last few days, the movements / knocks / kicks / pushes are much more obvious and apparently likely to occur in the night though on a few occasions in the noon. Perhaps movements are more obvious when baby is hungry which served as a reminder to mummy that food will be appreciated.

On a personal note based on mummy's own observation, it appear that not much growth have been observed on the tum tum although the figures are increasing on the weighing scale. Well, it could be a positive thing on the assumption that food went to Baby instead? (consoling myself to some extent). Mummy still appear FAT with the buldge instead of looking pregnant!

Weight

17 weeks 7 days
weight ~ unsure

went to see dr woody on fri because of the intermittent pain as mentioned in the earlier post. reached there at about 11.20am and clinic is empty.

as usual the same greeting statement and before mummy's bum can settle on the seat, whisked off for the ultrasound scan when complaining about the pain. Mummy make a mental note to request for the ultrasound printout which was not given the last 2 scans to be assured of Baby's growth (note: no names mentioned as indecisive as yet).

we were shown Baby's head, tummy and heartbeat and dr woody asked about last mentioned EDD. If we remembered correctly, one of the measurement in the scan reflect the dimension of Baby's tummy as daddy as if he's measuring a round thingy as 'head' but he replied tummy.

Guess he forgot about our gender identification last visit as he asked again if we wish to know the gender. Mummy was jokingly suggesting that daddy isn't very convinced that it's a BOY. He took a while to locate the legs which mummy roughly figure out and pointed to a white little thingy again announcing 90% to be a BOY. Poor daddy must be really disappointed.

wat we managed to figure out from the scan, FW = Foetal weight? 236g
AC = ? (assumed it's previously known as CRL - crown rump length) 13.7cm
FL = ? (maybe the measurement of tummy?) 2.5cm

as for the numerous dates reflected in line with the measurements, no single idea what it is all about, guess the most accurate EDD will be known over our detailed scan mid Sep 08.

he assured that it's normal to have pain & cramps so no cause for alarm. When asked if I required a medical certificate, told him that mummy is jobless and he asked with interest and concern. He suggested to sue mummy's ex-company but we were saying that I'm under probation thus they have the excuse not to confirm as well. he's suggesting to work for the govt body as they for sure can't show discrimination of any kind.

next visit will be a month later....oh how long can that be...mummy's neck can grow longer than that of a giraffe waiting to see Baby again!

Gal?

17 weeks 3 days
weight ~ 58kg

Don't be shock by my caption and fall off your chair. Read on and you will understand why I had as the caption.

Had a good rest for the whole of this week since mummy is officially 'jobless' but last few days had insomnia thus not sleeping very well and the biological clock goes haywired. Food intake have been improving and goof portion nearly back to normal but mummy still wish to keep the weight gain gradually.

last sunday saw aunties and Baby's grandma for the 1st time since preggy and they commented that mummy's tummy is rather small & well kept for 4 mths. Overheard grandma passing a remark wondering if dr woody made a mistake as like mummy's aunties, they are pretty convinced that mummy is having a gal! Mummy told daddy about it and daddy was rather happy, harbouring some hope that Baby is a gal and wondered if we should hold all purchasing of BOY bb items, can fainted lor.

Auntie Jasmine and Auntie Aili passed down some of the bb items which includes stuff like bathing tub (daddy say it's pink so Baby won't like it >.<"), Alphabets floormat, Chicco playmat, receiving blanket, bibs, cot mobile, basic wear etc. Mummy too lazy to take photos so will have to update with photos later.

Contemplating if we should visit Dr Woody tomorrow or as scheduled next Monday as mummy has been experiencing some intermittent pain in the lower abdomen for the past week. Shall continue to observe as mummy is sure that Dr Woody will attribute it to stretching of the womb for growth of Baby thus the pain which is again very normal.

Blurz!

15 weeks 7 days
weight ~ 57.7kg

coolz Baby, we are marking another milestone of approaching 16 weeks which is 4th month!

mummy is really confused and blur in alot of issues relating decision making on what to buy for Baby, what is necessary, what to look out for, why etc. Thousands and one questions I have on the preparations for Baby, mummy is like a headless chicken, completely clueless.

Steriliser ~ to use the traditional method or electric steriliser?
Bottles ~ so many different brands (narrow / wide neck), BPA concerns etc
Bedding ~ Baby cot or playpen, what type of mattress?
Breast pump ~ buy before delivery or post delivery?
Stroller ~ buy before delivery or use sling? what to watch out for?
Car Seat ~ necessary to buy before delivery?
Diapers ~ spoilt for choices with hundreds of brands

the on-going baby fair @ taka not making things any easier for mummy too. Uncertain if it's too early to buy then have to watch out for warranty issues although some packages are so attractive. Or perhaps it's a better idea to halt for year end sales which could and should be much more attractive.

decisions....decisions...relax...breathe in....breathe out....breathe in....breathe out!

Blue

went to see Dr woody earlier due to a bad stomach causing mummy to run for the loo in the morning and experiencing heartburn for the umpteen days.

daddy is so anxious when shown the scan to check the gender and dr woody went in search to unravel the mystery. He is very certain that 90 - 95% we are having a boy. Again for this trip, he did not print the ultrasound for us and we are not informed on the growth of Baby.

he spoke quite a lot today as mummy checked with him on BPA free products & sterilisers. He's a very practical doctor as he mention it could be due to a moving trend which will die off and we all grew up previously unknowingly of these factors. His advice is stick with brands like Avent which he had been using for 3 of his kids and so far so good. If worried then try to stay clear of products made in China. We then chat a little more on not being overly protected for the kid and allowing them all exposure after the age of 1 year or so.

He can be quite a joker at times mentioning about giving his kids all different kind of food and not just homecooked porridge which they will grow sick of anyway. He fed his kids any kind of food outside be it chicken rice or whatever and not lugging porridge everywhere they go. Guess he's just too busy with too many patients otherwise one will change their impression of him as not talking much, he exactly had a sense of humour in his talk.

so it certainly works by cooing Baby to open legs big big for us to identify Baby's gender, got to give credit to our precious for being such a good Baby and cooperative.

Confinement

15 weeks 4 days

the topic of engaging a confinement lady (CL) have been pretty much weighing on me for the past 1 week or so. still caught in a dilemma as to whether we can handle in the absence of a CL.

Brought this topic up for dicussion with daddy a few times but yet to make a firm / sound decision as yet. Lots of discussions and advices pouring in from forum and surrounding friends (experienced parents) as well.

We are quite certain and determined initially that we will handle just as well without a CL after balancing the pros & cons. However this determination was shaken by kind advices shared by others as a warning to us to have it in our expectation coming our way should we not engage one.

~ Pros of having a CL ~

Quality rest for mummy
Proper confinement food for mummy
Night care-giver (of course not in the case of breastfeeding unless on expressed milk)
Day care - giver (mummy can rest with peace of mind)
Baby's chores (e.g. washing Baby's clothings + milk bottles + sterilisation, bathing etc)

~ Cons of having a CL ~

Prices too steep of around $3K (EDD supposedly CNY)
Privacy (stranger in the house)
Uncertainty of 'quality' of CL (performance equates to price paid)
Indifferences in care-giving methods

As our EDD falls over CNY, we need to make a decision real soon otherwise it's either CLs decide to give themselves a rest over the festive season or taken up.

As daddy would usually be on long leave for 2 weeks or more over CNY, he can help out but uncertain if he can take over being daytime care-giver for mummy to catch up on the resting portion. Wonder if he will be able to handle Baby since he had totally no prior experience with infants.

The last resort will be turning to my mum for help but fearing that it might be taxing for her since she is vendoring her own food stall.

Dream

15 weeks 3 days
Weight ~ 57.5kg

mummy had a funny dream early morning.

mummy dreamt that Baby is a boi boi as I remember 'disciplining' a toddler boy. Yes, interestingly did not exactly dream of an infant, instead it's of a toddler.

mummy sms daddy to share this funny dream and daddy replied previously he dreamt that it's a girl.

gosh, luckily it has been confirmed long ago that mummy is expecting only one Baby otherwise might have believed it's twins.

So we shall see if mummy or daddy's dream came true in the end. Stay tuned!

First Gifts

14 weeks 7 days
Feeling ~ Happy

Mummy was just complaining yesterday that we have not bought our precious Baby his/her first gifts. Kinda frustrated when we could not find any infant clothings from Fox Baby @ Vivocity. Feeling really guilty about it, we made our way to IMM outlet hoping that the sales is not over as yet. We were so excited upon seeing the cute little pieces of rompers and try hard to resist purchasing too many items at one go. It's a good thing we have not known the gender at this point of time too otherwise certainly will go ga-ga over the cute little things.

Resisting to our very best, end day mummy and daddy walked out of the store happily with 5 pieces of rompers for You....

p/s ~ 2 pieces in particular might have to wait for a good while before it can be put to good use...hee


daddy's first gifts for our precious Baby

3 rompers in a pack

bought slightly bigger...a tad kiasu

won't get to use for a good while...hee

even longer while before can be used...haha

mummy's first gift to our precious Baby..bought 2 weeks back

Updates

14 weeks 5 days
Feeling ~ mysterious

Due to busy job search on-going, delayed for such a long time before updating my Sweetie's blog.

Last few weeks have been feeling unwell towards the end of the week with MS perhaps due to tiring week. Brought forward the scheduled review supposedly on 31 Jul 08 to 24 Jul 08 instead.

Was introduced to fish oil which is optional but we decide to take it for the sake of our sweetie. Dr Woody gave us back our Oscar results and all are fine including the blood test. The blood test taken at his clinic return normal too which is great news.

The scan was a very quick one. Both mummy and daddy did not manage to register the positioning of our precious. As usual the printout turn out worse so please don't ask me about the orientation of Baby in the print. He did not offer the printout of this scan untill mummy requested and it was only later then we realised that no measurements have been taken, so disappointing.


our precious @ 13 weeks 3 days - Baby facing down?

Fish oil

capsules form