Sorry little baby

Daddy is sorry that he shouted the other night and scared little baby.

Daddy promises he will not scare little baby ever again.

Mummy and Daddy Loves You

Little baby, Mummy and Daddy will always love you.

And daddy needs to be fanned.

Happy Two Weeks and One Day

How time flies. 

Your cheeks have grown chubbier.

You're still as feisty. 

You've developed more facial expressions.

Your hair's turning a lighter shade.

Your toes are still wriggling all the time.

Your face is getting more squarish.

You're liking the music from the cot mobile now. 

You still don't enjoy bathing.

You're crying and fussing a whole lot more.

And daddy and mummy love you even more each day. 

The Princess Has Arrived

And so Little Baby came into our world on 9 October 2013, 2 weeks and a day ago. 

She was a screamer right from the moment the doctors and nurses pushed her out of me. Her screams filled the entire room and more. I remember hearing one of the attendants commenting that she was loud. Lol. 

When they first showed her to me, I couldn't see her clearly (I wasn't wearing my glasses in the OT). And then just as quickly as they had whisked her away to be cleaned up, she was placed onto my naked chest. Skin on skin. Mother and daughter. Within 5mins of her birth. I like that arrangement. They kept her on me for a whole hour before bringing her away to be dressed. 

I'd thought about what to say to her the first time I saw her. I couldn't come up with anything and thought I'd just wing it and say whatever came to my mind. In the end, I only managed a cheesy "Hello Little Baby". 

The c-section was a scary and somewhat traumatising experience but I shall not dwell on it. 

What's most important is Little Baby's a relatively healthy normal little baby girl. 

Maybe we should stop calling you Little Baby already. Right, our precious Nadya?

This was taken about 1hour and 15mins after she was delivered. 

 

Little Baby's Space

Little Baby's cot is finally here! 

See you tomorrow

Little Baby,

You were so active last night. Before Mummy and Daddy went to sleep you were moving around and kicking so much. And when Mummy was asleep (or trying to sleep) during the night you were kicking too. I could feel the bumps and thumps through the night.

Are you preparing to flex your muscles when you get out in a few weeks' time?

We'll be seeing you tomorrow again in Dr Tan's office. I know you don't like the scanner but try not to kick it again okie?

Bises et a demain nos bebe petite!


Love,
Mummy & Daddy

Thoughts

Self-doubt occasionally reaches out even to the best of us.

I’m just a normal girl and reservations about my own abilities float into my thoughts from time to time. More in recent days and I think it’ll be on my mind even more so as October draws nearer.

October. That’s when Little Baby arrives.

So what’s on my mind now? Plenty.

Will the wound hurt alot from the C-section? Can I manage holding her and feeding her without wincing in pain from the wound?

Will I produce enough milk? Can I handle breastfeeding? What if she doesn’t latch on? How the hell do I know if she’s had enough?

What if I run out of patience and feel like slapping her when she cries uncontrollably? Will I scream at her? Will I shout at her?

Will I be able to bathe and clean her properly? What if she inherits my not-so-good body constitution instead of her father’s robustness?

Will I be a good mother? Can I handle things? Can I handle her?

Will I be able to inculcate good values in her as she grows older? Will I be able to set a good example for her to emulate? Will I bring her up well?

I’d like to think I am not the only one to think or feel this way whether as a soon-to-be mother or a new mother. Or maybe some mothers questions themselves even when their kids have grown up.

Whatever it is, come what may, I’ll be winging it and doing the best I can.

Of course, with K charging on by my side as well. :)

A nudge and a kick

Little Baby,

You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?

Dr Tan was using the scanner yesterday and trying to get a good look at you. Maybe he poked at you a little too hard. You didn’t like that scanner for sure. You were kicking at it so hard! Dr Tan couldn’t measure your femur till after several attempts lol.

Keep growing well little one. Mummy & Daddy will see you in about 8 weeks' time.

 

Love,

Mummy & Daddy

ZZZZzzz...zzz.....

Little Baby,

Please try to sleep as long as possible each night....and don’t wake up in the middle of the  night  or before the sun rises can? Mummy is tired and needs her sleep. I’m looking like a zombie already what with the pale skin and dark eye circles...

Love,

Mummy

敲锣打鼓

Little Baby,

You've been extremely active since Saturday, kicking me all day and very often in the middle of the night too. And they are strong kicks. Stronger than usual.

Are you having a growth spurt? Are you feeling feisty? Or have I fed you something you don't like?


Love you
Mummy

Le Musique Classique

Little Baby, today marks your first time listening to classical music. How do you find it? :)
Mummy was playing it from the 92.4FM radio station.

Little Fashionista

Little Baby seems to have a growing wardrobe. And she's not even born yet.

From mittens and booties to bodysuits and rompers, from little pretty dresses to stockings and skirts and T-shirts.

I forsee more clothes coming our way in the next couple of months....Myabe we need to get her a real wardrobe soon.

Will a simple cupboard from IKEA suffice? lol...

FYI, little baby

Mummy has begun using you as an excuse to getting things from daddy. Particularly food she wants to eat.

Daddy will start using you as an excuse too.

Hello Little Baby

Little Baby,

Daddy and Mummy saw you again last week. In fact, twice over the last one week!

You were covering your face on the first occasion on 11 June and I’m sorry that the sonographer was disturbing you to get you to change positions. You gave me quite a few hearty kicks in response.

You were gentle enough yesterday though and we got to hear your heartbeat.

Dr Tan said you’re doing great and that you’re of the right size at this stage. Daddy and I are very happy and relieved to hear that.

Grow well little one! We’ll see you in four months. :)

Love,

Daddy and Mummy

Hello There

Little Baby,

Daddy & I saw you again last Saturday. You were moving around while Dr Loke was trying to take a scan of you and measure your crown-rump length. He said you were growing well and doing good and that we had nothing to worry about. Daddy & I were very happy to hear that.

Mummy has been feeling your bumps and kicks (or are they punches?) since last week when you were about 19.5 weeks old. You seem to be pretty active. Well I hope you won’t be an active baby at night next time!

You were kicking and moving about quite a lot last night too when Daddy and I were watching “Fast Five” and “Top Gear” on TV. Do you like cars and speed? Well, you can be Daddy’s little girl and talk about cars with him next time.

Mummy will start taking calcium supplements soon so you’ll grow up with strong bones and teeth!

Keep growing well little one. J

p/s: Daddy and I have bought some lovely clothes and a cute little fleece blanket for you. And we're getting more toys for you soon too!

Love,

Daddy & Mummy

Little Baby's First Virtual Conversation

Sunday morning, I woke up and was rolling around in bed waiting for K to come back from his morning breakfast with his parents. He would usually be back by 930am but at 940am he still wasn't back yet and I texted him.

Me: Baby baby, little baby miss daddy
K: Sayang sayang little baby. Daddy coming home soon.


:) so sweet.

Hope

I hope Little Baby would grow up loving these things as much as K and I love them....

• Music - old school jazz, slow rock, modern pop, Chinese pop, new age, you name it....
• Food - Chinese, Malay, Peranakan, Italian, Indian, American, French, Indonesian, you name it....

I hope Little Baby would be and grow up to be :

• Healthy, happy, normal, strong
• Emphathetic
• Filial
• Smart, intelligent, knowledgeable, talented
• Independent enough to judge things for herself
• Exposed to different things
• Brave, courageous, upright

I guess, I just want the best for her....

Muthu's Curry

Little Baby, today's your first taste of Indian food. How'd you like it? :) Butter chicken, briyani rice, aloo gobi and curried brinjal, fish head curry....

Mummy loved it. I hope you liked it too! 

You're 18 weeks old already. Grow well and be healthy, happy, normal and strong! 

"Spurting"

Little Baby, I complained to Daddy a few nights ago that my belly was getting bigger and he said maybe you were having a growth spurt again. In his words, he said you were "spurting". I think he’s right.

I felt slight cramps in my pelvic area a few days ago and yesterday I had belly cramps. I couldn’t even stand up straight sometimes yesterday. You must be growing fast these few days and need more space. Are you pushing against the walls of your amniotic sac? Give me some time to expand my uterus ok? Lol....

Grow well our Little Baby. Mummy and Daddy love you!

Little Baby is a She!

It is official. Little Baby is a girl.

We went to the gynae's on Saturday. Little Baby was on all fours and in a position to "stare at my buttocks" according to Dr Loke. He said she's growing well and it's good to hear that. She's 133 grams now and about the size of an apple? Or maybe slightly more.

I read online that at 16 weeks, Little Baby would be moving much more actively now and if I concentrated, I could perhaps feel her kicks and punches. I tried to but didn't feel a thing leh. Alison said that Little Baby is still small and most likely more gentle since she's a girl. I would probably feel some light flutters but dismiss it as something else.

Maybe at 6 months I would feel her much more.

New Discoveries

Little Baby is getting bigger. At just 15 and a half weeks, I am already discovering the following:

• I am getting backaches if I sleep flat on my back for too long or if I walk for more than an hour at a stretch.
• It's getting a little bit more difficult to just bend down or squat down to get something off the bottom shelf of a store or from the floor.
• I can feel that it's also getting more cumbersome to get off the bed or shift positions in bed.
• I cannot slouch or bend forward too long when I am sitting down. It squashes the tummy and abdomen area and that feels uncomfortable.
• My back seems to be arching more to accomodate the growing belly.

Gosh, I cannot imagine moving around at 8 or 9 months.

Education Starts Young!

I’ve started singing the alphabet song to Little Baby and will continue to do so till we’re into our 5^th month. I’ll probably start counting from 1 to 50 from the 5^th month.  

And then from the 6^th or 7^th month onwards, we can start reading simple storybooks for babies and toddlers to Little Baby. Right now, I’m the one doing the singing since Little Baby can only probably hear me.

But K will have to read some of the storybooks next time when I’m in my 3rd trimester because Little Baby would already have developed ears by then! :D

Research Research

There are so many things to learn, understand and prepare for the birth of Little Baby. Right now, we’re doing research on numerous items. We’ve only just started on some, we’re about done for others and we’ve not started on anything for some things on this list lol.

1. Strollers  

2. Car-seat  

3. Milk bottles and sterilisers

4. Insurance for baby

5. Bank account for baby

6. Cots

7. Playpens

8. Finding a PD

9. Types of infant milk power

10. Breast pumps

11. Antenatal classes

Going forward in the next couple of months, I think we need to buy loads of things.

Ok, time to cut down on our spending!

Morning Sickness

Little baby and my hormones were pretty co-operative yesterday and on Saturday evening. I didn't feel much nausea except during the morning. The nausea and grogginess came back today though. And I found myself stoning for pretty much of the whole morning till now, just after lunch.

We're flying off tomorrow on our babymoon trip to BKK and HK. I hope I won't feel too groggy or nauseous during the trip, especially during the flights.

NT Scan

We went for an NT scan yesterday. It was an appointment booked at Thomson Medical Centre by Dr Loke's clinic.

K and I waited 2 hours before we went in for the scan. Apparently to do an NT scan, the baby needs to be lying down on its back with maybe its face tilted to one side. The sonographer said little baby wasn't in the right position. What she said after that made me burst out in afit of laughter.

Sonographer: "The baby is standing on its head."

Me: "AH? HAHAHAHHHHA."

And she showed us the image on the screen. Lol, little baby was upside down with its arms splayed out and legs in a sitting position (like as if it were on its bum). I am still quite tickled by this and am chuckling to myself as I type hahaha.

Anyway, first try at the scan was no good. I had to drink more water and come back for a second try.

Apparently the second try at the scan still failed. Little baby changed positions already but was in a diving position instead i.e. face down. It wasn't lying on its back. And no matter how much the sonographer prodded my belly, little baby didn't move. Apparently it was sleeping! Lol...so cute lah.

I had to get on all fours and she tried to massage my sides in a bid to wake little baby up and in a bid to get it to change positions. So well, we woke it up finally but it refused to move much.

No choice. We had to wait for another 30 minutes for a third try. Luckily this time round it went well and the sonographer managed to get the images that she wanted for the NT scan. :)

From all the scans she did, we could see little baby moving on the screen. At times, it was waving its arms, sometimes it was kicking its legs. Sometimes, it would arch its back.

K was smiling and even laughed out loud sometimes haha.

It's good to see little baby progressing and growing well.

Update:
The gynae's clinic called me today and said the results were normal. This is very good to hear and of course, a relief as well. Thank you God.

10 April 2013 Wednesday

The last few days have been challenging. Nausea, giddiness, breathlessness. And they don't come individually. They come in pairs or altogether at the same time.

I took the cab to work on Monday. Cost me $25. $#%$&$^%$.

Decided to save money and take the bus home after work and I remember I was feeling woozy and queasy all the way while walking from office to the bus stop. I felt better on Tuesday, maybe because I took a bottle of chicken essence in the morning before going to work.

Today I went to see John Thomas, the neurosurgeon who fixed me all those years ago. Went to ask him about how those past problems could affect the pregnancy and vice versa.

Option 1: To get a peace of mind that nothing odd is going with the blood vessels in my brain, I could do an MRI. BUT, it's not been 100% proven that MRIs don't affect the babies in expectant mothers (although the gynae actually said it was safe to do an MRI). JT recommended not to do an MRI.

Option 2: To go ahead with a natural delivery but JT said there's no 100% guarantee that everything would go smoothly.

Option 3: If I'm worried about how a natural birth could affect the pressure in my brain, I could opt for a caesarean. JT said again that caesaereans also come with a small measure of risk.


I hope he is just trying to caveat himself. Mum and Dad are hoping I'd opt for a C-section. K and I are still discussing. We'll see how it goes later on.

6 April 2013 Saturday

We went to see Dr Loke again. Our 3rd gynae visit.

Little baby, you've more than doubled in size! You went from 2.4mm two Saturdays ago to 5.4mm today! You no longer look like a peanut. We can see your arms and legs and head already. :) Wonder if your fingers have formed?

You've grown so much in the last 2 weeks. No wonder I've been feeling so much morning sickness and I've been emotional as well. Too much hormones coursing through my body.

My energy levels are at an all time low. I walk a few steps and I feel breathless or like my heart's been working overtime. Damn it.

I'm showing much more now.

I'm glad we made that trip to the store to buy me some proper maternity clothes. That pair of maternity tights is definitely a life saver.

5 April Friday

I wasn't feeling very well. But still I agreed to walk out to the Pasir Panjang Road coffeeshops for lunch with the team. It was a long 10-12mins walk under the sun. I wasn't feeling good halfway through and by the time I reached the place I was very giddy and nauseous.

I couldn't even eat lunch so Ryan bought me a drink. I sat there feeling woozy and queasy and generally wishing I was back in my bed.

The rest had to hail a cab to bring me back to office.

Quite a scary experience actually. Didn't help that K didn't pick up my call when I tried calling him after I got back to office and was packing up to go home.

I guess, all the morning sickness symptoms have officially kicked in. Only in my 11th or 12th week???

UGH.....

3 April 2013 Wednesday

I went to SGH for my annual heart check-up. Met up with Mum and Dad there as well because Dad had his colonoscopy done that morning itself.

I was ambitious I think. And I overestimated myself. I took the train to Outram MRT and was feeling fine. So I walked up the slope all the way to the various SGH blocks.

I was supposed to wait for them at the foodcourt and by the time I reached there, I was giddy, nauseous and very breathless.

I bought a bottle of water and sat down. By the time they came 15mins later, I was still feeling nauseous and had a plasti cbag in front of me. My heart was beating fast still.

I must have freaked them out, especially Mum and they admonished me as well, saying I shouldn't have exerted myself.

I only felt much better after about an hour or so. Still I had to walk slowly after that.....:(

In any case, the heart check-up went well. ECG results were good and the doc said I could go for natural birth. I'll need to see him again in July.

2 April 2013 Tuesday

Took MC today. Was not feeling well.
Tired. Slight nausea and slight breathlessness. Nose is slightly stuffed and I've got a slight cough as well.

Oh bugger.

28 March 2013 Thursday

Ok, so there are lots of things to avoid eating.

No raw fish.
Not too much crabs.
Not too much Vitamin A.
No tuna.
No mackerel if possible.
No century eggs.
No half-cooked eggs.
No medium-rare beef.
No.........

OMG.

My cravings for pork porridge and pasta are still around. Not strong cravings but still there at the back of my mind. ;p

I am feeling more tiredness and I have been sleeping at 10pm at night.

23 March 2013 Saturday

We went for our second gynae visit today.

Little baby, you've doubled in size and are at 2.4mm already.

All's going good according to the gynae. I just need to keep eating well and healthily.

K's parents and my parents are excited and happy as well...:)

19 March 2013 Tuesday

Little baby, you must be growing quite fast. I can't zip up my jeans already!

I need to use a hair rubber band just to hold my pants together! I am feeling bloated these days. Full of gas.
Tummy is also popping out a little.

Little baby, I hope you're doing well.

15 March 2013 Friday

When we woke, K suggested we go the A&E to get myself checked and see if the foetus was doing alright.

And so we went to CGH. The nurse there advised us to head to KK hospital instead as pregnancy specialists were stationed there. We finally decided to pop by the gyane's clinic instead as he as an ultrasound machine there and could see if everything was going fine inside of me.

When we reached there at 915am however, we found out he was fully booked and couldn't attend to me till after 12pm. The auntie nurses there asked what was wrong and we described my symptoms. What ensured was quite funny. A delulge of comments came flying into our direction.

Auntie A: "Oh it should be gastric reflux lah. Normal. You're only 8 weeks? Aiyah, this is very normal in the first trimester!"
Auntie B: "Yaya, very normal, no need to worry so much! Your pelvic joints are aching? Ya because your uterus is expanding, the whole area is expanding so your bones need to expand wider too. That's why you feel the aches and soreness there!"
Auntie A: "Ya, all these are very normal one. No need to worry too much ok! No bleeding right? Means you're doing fine."
Auntie B: "For your gastric, you can actually just go to a normal doctor GRP and get medication for it. But you must remember to tell them that you are pregnant ok."
Auntie C: "Actually hor, to feel all these discomfort is actually a good thing. It shows that the baby is growing well and your body is trying to accomodate itself to fit the baby already! It's a good thing. It shows that eveyrthing is normal!"

Us: "Oh really? Normal ah? Ok, that's a relief to hear."


And so.....we went back to the clinic near our place to get myself some antacids...
An entire morning spent running around places lol. But it was a relief to hear that things were alright.

14 March 2013 Thursday

K was working late in the office. It was 11-plus and he was not home yet.

I'd been feeling weird since after dinner. I knew that slight cramps and discomfort were normal in early pregnancies as the body adjusts itself to accomodate the growing foetus. But this felt downright uncomfortable.

I tried to go to sleep but I still felt horrible. I couldn't find a comfortable position sitting down or standing up. Lying down on my back or on my side didn't help either.

I tried to puke but I could only retch and nothing came out. I tried farting or burping but nothing too. I tried to pass motion but nothing too.

My gut was feeling very uncomfortable and my pelvic joints were feeling a little core, like I was muscle aches after a long jog.

I called K eventually and told him about it. He came home shortlly after midnight and asked if I wanted to go A&E. I didn't want to and eventually the both of us fell asleep.

9 March 2013 Saturday

K and I kept the news to ourselves after we found out on 3March. We were happy but we also wanted to be sure of things before we shared anything with our families. We went to see the gynae on 9 March.

And that was when we first laid our eyes on little baby. If I could even call it a baby then lol. It was a small little blob on the ultrasound screen, a foetus. An undeniable little foetus floating in my womb.

"There you go!" announced the gynae. "1.2mm long. That puts you at around 7 weeks 4 days."

What should we take note of? What should we do? K and I asked the gynae.

The first thing he said was "No sex during the first trimester." And he said it with a deadpan face lol. I saw a flicker of disappointment flash across K's face haha.

The gynae gave us a few more words of advice and dos and don'ts. He prescribed me folic acid as well.

A new chapter in our lives has started....
Our new adventure begins.....

3 March 2013 Sunday

It was a hot and humid Sunday. K had gone for an evening jog before dinner and I'd just woken up from a deep nap as I was feeling quite tired from an event I did in the previous two weeks.

I don't have the most regular of periods and decided to test myself after I woke up as I'd missed my cycle for 3 months already, longer than the usual 1.5 to 2 months.

The test came back positive. I couldn't believe my eyes. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and stared at the test kit again. I looked at it under the fluorescent light, I went to the window and looked at it in natural light. The deep blue "plus" sign shown on the indicator was undeniable.

I wanted to take another test to double-check but I didn't have anymore kits.

When K came back shortly, I sat at the edge of our bed and showed him the kit. He was surprised and a little shocked like me. I guess we were more shocked than happy haha. We bought another test kit after dinner and that tested positive as well.

Voila! I'm expecting!