Week 38, Day 3 Gynae Visit

29th December marks my 38th week gynae visit. Hubby had some activity at Sentosa, so I asked my sister and mum to go for the gynae appointment with me.

The little gal happened to have fever and we decided to bring her to see Dr Ang Ai Tin at TMC. While waiting for her turn at the PD, the little gal goes to my gynae clinic and gets to see baby on the ultrasound for the very first time. ;)

During the appointment, Dr Tseng confirmed that: baby is already head down & decending (but it does not mean labor will come soon), baby is facing the side of my tummy, baby's heartbeat is 155 and estimated weight is 3.1kg... No vaginal examination was conducted and he expects that this baby would arrive at about the same
number of weeks/days as my first.

After the appointment and PD visit, little gal followed my mum home while me and little sis shopped for the outstanding baby items - long pants/ towels/medela pump parts/new nursing bras and little gal's white school socks!

Ending off with the ultrasound photo... Can you see baby's face?

Pregnancy & Food...

A lot of friends who were pregnant more than once shared with me about how "bo-chup" (care-less) they were about the food they ate during their subsequent pregnancies. I guess I am no different from them... :p

The diet preference for the 2 pregnancies were fairly different. I suffered mild symptoms of morning sickness for #2 and lost about 2 kg during my 1st trimster. Hubby also did not control the diet of my #2 as much as the first (because I told him the restricted diet made little gal a small eater... LOL).

#1 perfered savoury food stuff, green leafy vegetable and anything spicy and sour (yes, tom yum topped my list). I only ate "Asian cusine" and largely avoided "Western food". The only craving I had for #1 (which was never acceded to, was tom yum instant noodles- hubby was insistent! NO instant noodles- bleah!).

While #2 has no objections to "savoury stuff", I tend to suffer a lack of or zero appetite if the food came in spicy and oily (read spicy minced meat noodles). No cravings for instant noodles but #2 seem to have a sweet tooth! While I controlled sugar in my tea, I could not resist cravings for sweet stuff! The difference with #2 was in terms of the cravings I had...

During the 2nd trimster, I just could not get waffles with ice-cream out of my mind. Hubby was not only suprised (since I would usually not ask to eat waffles with ice cream) but very happy to oblige since it is his favourite dessert!

The other sweet cravings I have were:
Durian and soy beancurd. It was strange since I was quite reluctant to take both during #1. This time round I would tell hubby - "See, durians for sale. Buy leh, I want to eat...". Anyway, I only asked for durians twice. :p

Soy beancurd was a sudden thought that came to mind. Maybe a reminence of "pak-tor" days where we visted Yong He to eat the 油条 and soy beancurd. Each time we had 飞飞云吞面 at Joo Chiat, I would request to have beadcurd.

The last and perhaps strangest craving I had was for 点心 and in particular 凤爪. Yup strange indeed, but it was always at the back of my mind and a must order if I ever had tim sum.

Happy Birthday!

The little gal is turning four this year. Since it's the last birthday as an only child, this birthday celebration was kind of special and I made it a point to start planning early.

She wanted a "princess" birthday party due her (over)exposure of Disney DVD cartoons like Cinderella, Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid and Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. For some reason, she loves Snow White the most. The theme then evolved from "Princesses" to "Snow White".

I started my search for the cake topper about 5 months prior but could not find one that could make me go "OK! This is the one!". In early November, the frenzy started since figurines/toppers from US Disney would take some time to reach Singapore. I then sought help from a colleague to see if she knew where I could get decent toppers (not those where Snow White has small slits for her eyes). Well, I finally found one sold on the SMH forum!

Two weeks before the "birthday party", another frenzy  moment took place as we hunted for THE birthday cake design. Hubby felt that a "garden theme" cake would go with the topper and sure enough, it did!

Then it was on to the ding-dong-ing back and forth with Pine Garden (via email) for the design of the cake. Seriously email is surely the most inefficient manner of doing it, so many thanks to hubby, who went down to Pine Garden with our "sweat & tears" art work to place the order. Pine Garden does not do Disney themed cakes so they decorated the cake according to my request and I placed the topper on my own after that.

The teachers and children "Oooooooo-ed" and "Uhhhhhhhh-ed" over the cake. We ordered a 2kg Hazelnut Chocolate Crunch cake and it was moist and soft!  The children were particularly enchanted by the blue cream (yes, can you believe it?), edible lady bugs, strawberries, flowers, snails and of course the fondant words that read Happy 4th Birthday Nicole.

Now, let's just allow the photos to do the talking... :)




The Birthday Cake! :)



More shots with the bright and cherry "Snow White & 7 Dwarf" birthday cake.
 

The family shot :)



Kiddos surrounding the cake and little gal blowing out the candle.

 

Cutting the cake and having a HUGE SLICE of the cake! :)

 



Aloha Loyang Chalet (art & craft on Day 1 & 2)

This is the second year 4 families come together for an R&R weekend at the Aloha Loyang chalet during the December school holidays. This time round we stayed at Bungalow 14. The condition of this chalet was worse than the previous and was quite a distance from the swimming pool. The only perk is that the unit was facing the sea (so it was windy) and there is a mango tree outside which was bearing lots of fruits! :)

This time round, two mummies prepared some craft material for the kids to entertain themselves during the chalet. There were 2 toddlers (including little gal) and 2 older children. Doing crafts entertains the kids and doing it at the chalet takes away lots of stress (translate to: no worries about the sand all over the floor or paint on your precious furniture/wall). The best part is seeing all 4 kids enjoying themselves!

There were other things which the kids did like painting the sea creature coaster and "free hand" doodling/drawing which were not captured on photos.

But here are some pictures captured of the children in action!

Day 1: Little gal doing foam art with another little gal (who turns out to be her best friend throughout this entire chalet!)



Day 2: Batik Painting all around! All serious at work... :)

Everyone "flashing" their work of art... and laying them out to dry outside the chalet

 

All posing with their art pieces! All very pretty isn't it? *Well done!*



Two mummies helping their gals with the "Glow-in-the-dark" sand art pieces! (PS: The messy messy SUPER messy but super fun craft! Most fun to do at Chalet cos even if the sand spills, the parents can still chill!)

The little gal with her finished piece!

 

Hubby helped the kids "sun" the glow in the dark sand & all the kids went into the room to see the "glowing" art work. Quite impressed that the glow in the dark sand really "glows". LOL!

Red Rhino in "action"...

Came home from grocery shopping to find the car park fire alarm triggered and ringing away. Shortly after parking the car, a red rhino was despatched to scene. While the fire-fighters checked out if there was a real fire, they parked the Red Rhino at the shelter.

Such a rare opportunity! So took the chance to let the little gal have some "close look" at the vehicle... Technically it is a "fast response" vehicle for small fire incidences. But too complex for me to explain it to her. In the end, she calls it a "mini-fire engine".

The fire fighters were of course amused by our "suaku-ness" since we asked little gal to take a photo with the Red Rhino. They must be wondering if this extreme mother will put the little gal behind the wheels for another photo (worrying since the engine was on and none of the official personnel was in that vehicle...). :p

Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB)

Back in 2008, I decided to donate my daughter's cord blood to the public bank. 4 years later, I made the same decision as I strongly believe the stem cells would have a better use to save lives of Asians who need stem cells for their medical treatment.

I called SCBB last week. The lady over the phone did a mini interview on the phone. After passing the phone interview, an appointment was fixed to meet a SCBB staff to complete the paperwork. The paperwork includes more indept questions which includes intercourse history (LOL!), medical history of mother, father and their parents.

There was some clarifications that i made with the SCBB staff:
1. All donors will recieve a "Thank you" card from SCBB
2. The donated blood is weighed and counts are made. Pass this stage and a information letter from SCBB will be enclosed in the "Thank you" card.
3. Further to the above, if you/hubby recieves a call from SCBB asking about the baby health when baby is 6 mths old and 1 year old, it means the cord blood is banked.
4. After the 2 calls, SCBB will then process the donated cordblood for DNA profiling and have it available for patients who need it. ;)

I sure hope that my #2 one will also be banked! ;) After passing the meetup interview, you will get 2 sets of document (one being the agreement and one to bring to the hospital when you are delivering).

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

It's the end of the year and Christmas lightings are already up along Orchard Road! The little gal kept asking if she could have her own Christmas tree. This being the second year she asked, hubby initially told her that she could go to my neighbour's to see their tree.

Perhaps it's the pregnancy or because she has grown up and I wanted her to have the experience, so I told hubby that we would get one for her this year. Hubby of course jumped at the idea - he wanted a Christmas tree too, the first year we moved into our place. My reaction was "huh? For what?". LOL. The things we would do to win a child's joy and laughter...

Shopped around at both TANGS and GIANT hypermart for the Xmas tree. My criteria was simple, a tree that cost as little as possible but still look decent enough (since the tree will be back in the store room after a year). And this also applies to the deco.

Checked out the prices and decided to get the cheapest one at GIANT... Damage: Xmas tree 1.5m tall ($12.99) + Multi-colored lighting ($19.99) + Ikea Xmas 25 piece deco ($5.90). I know what the reaction will be: the lighting actually cost more than the tree!!! But it's really pretty with bells and snowflakes... ;)

And here are some pics of the little gal decorating the Xmas tree and a picture with the Xmas tree. :) haven't gotten the star so asked Hello Kitty to stand in first...

When there is only you and me...

It was a date with little gal... ;) Picked her up from mother in law's place and brought her for tuina at TMC's TCM clinic. At almost age 4, bringing her out is easier...

We adjourned to Starbucks for her "cake". Starbucks at United Square shopping centre is always packed! (its perpetually filled with students and there is no seats for customers like me). *oh well* This time I managed to get a seat by "sharing" it with someone (who was not studying). He left soon after partly because no privacy... *haha evil laughter*

Here are shots of the little gal enjoying her hot chocolate & oreo cheese cake.

High tea with mummies - Rose Veranda

After a tuina session for little gal and Jinny's baby boy, we met Stella for lunch/high tea at Shangrila's Rose Veranda. It was really nice to catch up with fellow mummies in the 2008 group. ;)

Stella brought Evan along. Evan and little gal had loads of fun together making animal mask, colouring and doodling which the mummies sipped tea and ate.

Here are pictures of them colouring, with the animal mask and little gal's doodling... ;)

Little gal's colouring... If u noticed, she added a sun at the top of the picture. The butterflies are drawn by me. The one directly below the sun is drawn by her (and it looks like a dollar sign...).



Little gal drawing her "My family" - from her left: Mei mei, mummy, daddy and herself. (noticed she has got two pony tails)



I asked her who was she drawing and she says: "Mama". Haha, not bad at least I look decent. And I have long eye-lashes!

Finally! Ultrasound photos!

With technology these days, getting ultrasound pictures during gynae visits make it super enjoyable and fun (despite the fact I burn $40 for the scans at gynae's clinic). 

 

My gynae recently changed his ultrasound machine (not the 4D one) but the clarity of the pictures are surely better. Not sure if I will ask for another ultrasound to be done during the next visit (since it is like 2 weeks from the last "spine" pic). If it's done, it's more for weight estimation. *keke* 

 

Here are the ultrasound pictures so far. As usual, imagination and creativity is required. Usually it requires quite a bit of pointing out to figure where is what... 

 

The very first ultrasound picture! The black dot (at the lower part of the photo) signifies a fertilised egg implanted in the uterus.  (Approx: Wk 6)

Second set of ultrasound: Heartbeat time...  (Approx: Wk 7) The appointment was supposed to be at week 8 but I was having pink spotting so ran down to see my gynae. The strong heartbeat gave the assurance every pregnant mummy will want to see.

Second set of ultrasound: With proper labelling from my gynae! *haha*

Third set of ultrasound: Once again must measure the heartbeat... (Approx: Wk 9) 

 

Third set of ultrasound: Maybe hubby's imagination is bad. So gynae decided to label this as well. The little black dot finally has a form to it. and can see where the head and buttock can be seen.



Fourth set of ultrasound: This one need imagination? Head is on the left and body is on the right... :p (Approx: Wk 15) There was a first trimster pre-natal screening which I did at about Week 13. Ultrasound was used but no "cute" pictures so never post here. The purpose of the Week 13 scan (or OSCAR) is to predict the chances of anomalies (such as down symdrome) by comparing the fetus's nuchal translucency (this liquid behind the neck) and nasal bone measurement and readings derived from the maternal serum (blood) against a set of "normal readings".

Detailed scan: The first time I can see the face of the baby. The left side shows a almost front profile of the face. (SO CUTE RIGHT???) *haha*  Actually I feel that the detailed scan is much better this time (vs my dotter's one) because the sonographer told us every single detail that she was looking out for. This baby was however less co-operative than big sister, because I had to go for a 20 min walk and come back for another scan. Her side profile could not be taken despite the tummy jiggles and coughs I made to make her change her position in the tummy.  (Approx: Wk 21)

Fifth set of ultrasound: Mmm... can you see the face (looking upwards. Head is on the right)? it's not an exact side profile of the face but papa is very happy to be able to see another ultrasound picture that captures her looks and check out the hands by the side of her face. :) (Approx: Wk 25)

 

The most memorable gynae visit (so far)...

Today marks the last monthly visit to the gynae and back to the bi-weekly visits till birth day. ;)

During the next visit at week 32, the clinic is going to collect the delivery fee! The heat is turned up further as the hospital has sent me a "pre-admission" form.

I am still as cool as a cucumber- baby clothes, breast pump and almost everything else is still in the store room. Nothing is washed/dried. Newborn diapers are still on the supermarket shelves... I wonder if that's how mummies prepare for their subsequent births! LOL!

Complained to my gynae about my cough that has been persisting for the last 2 weeks. The green phelgm is gone and I am super glad that I didnt need to take the GP prescribed anti-b. However, the persistent cough gave me the most memorable pressie this afternoon. After a hearty, fulfiling lunch of prawn noodles and ngoh hiang which I craved for, we headed to Vivo to get my lozenges. While in the carpark, a burp came up together with that cough. The unfortunate combination triggered a small "merlion" event. As hubby was shocked and concerned, my subsequent coughs triggered two larger "merlion" cycles. I think I was in shock too - trying to not ruin the car (too late) and was unable to puke outside the car (as i was still buckled). *roll eyes* To my horror, my face and eyes were all red and teary (yeah i look drunk alright) from the coughing and lack of air caused by the puking episode. Actually, I had two similar mini accidents prior to this. Now, i'm so freaked out, I have a plastic bag on the ready...

Also, asked my gyane whether "baby bump vibrations" were normal... During week 26-28, I felt my baby bump/baby vibrate. It was queer- like having swollowed a vibrating mobile phone. It was a "cute" but worrying sensation since common descriptions are usually flutters or bumps and kicks from the inside. Gynae laughed and confirmed that it's normal as the baby is having some natural reactions (like a shiver up the spine type of reaction some kids have while/after pee-ing).

Having decided to donate my #2's cordblood to SCBB again, I sought my gynae's support in collecting it after delivery. I will have to call SCBB after week 32 of my preganancy to get the paperwork done. ;) It's always better to donate than discard, since it could help save someone's life.

Other updates would include my suprising (under?) weight gain (only 5kg so far). Tummy size is normal (1cm per week progressed). Baby is still head up but gynae says it's ok since there is still some time to go. Ending off this post with a "spine" ultrasound photo which gynae took. :p Can tell?

A melting pot of emotions?

It didn't seem so long ago that I jumped for joy seeing two dark lines on a pee stick test.

The first trimster of discomfort from the queasiness and the worry that came due to cramps and mild spotting, gave way to what I term "honeymoon". The second trimster was a sudden burst of energy (evident w flurry of activities I was willing to embark with the little gal and hubby). Good times don't really last as I'm offically in the last trimster.

At 30 weeks, as the tummy continues to balloon- so did the belly button. This time its 100% "popped". Despite little gal's good intention to "sayang" her little sister, I have to sometimes stop her when her little hands move over my tummy across that swollen belly button as it kind of "hurts".

This pregnancy has been a little harder than the first. There was the queasiness! The "going to vomit" feeling left me with little appetite and resulted in me losing about 2 kg during the 1st trimster. I also felt more pains at the tailbone and pelvic area...

Other than that, the little one also seems to have more activity in the tummy than #1. From flutters to huge thumps to kungfu kicks directly on the bladder (makes me want to run for toilet) to "vibrations" (and I wonder if I swallowed a vibrating mobile phone).

10 more weeks to D-day (Delivery day). The feeling is like a roller coaster!

Anticipation - to meet the little miracle/testament of our life and future together.

Excitment - it's like opening a present! Will she look like an exact mould of #1? Or will she spot bigger eyes and sharper nose? Will she be fiesty like #1?

Anxiety?! - Wonder if she will head down, will I have another delivery without epidurial? Will this one latch? How will little gal react to baby? Will she be easy to care for? Blah blah.

And yet some strange inner-peace and calmness will inject itself when anxiety threatens to ruin everything. I guess the #1 "benchmark" works both ways. As a second time mother, you just hope for better outcome and experiences. ;)

The ultrasound photos are still in hardcopy so got to leave this post with my fully "popped" belly button. LOLZ!

The 2012 graduation concert...

Nope my little gal did not graduate but participated in the school's concert... The song she danced to was called the 加油歌. It seems like her passion for dancing, shaking around is pretty strong. Perhaps it's because of early exposure to music (kindermusik) and this is her 2nd participation in a dance item (her first was in Cherie Hearts).

With the little pompoms, the dance was energetic and high spirited. The kids on stage all enjoyed themselves despite being a little messy in terms of movement and coordination. Can't expect professional cheer leading precision at this age... :p

Some photos taken during the dance, with her classmates and of course a family portrait (can't tell my tummy is there ya?). ;)

Little gal's garden!

I've always recalled fond memories of my very young days at grandma's old landed property which consist of a mini garden. During my pre-school days, my younger sister and I would be disturbing the life of spiders (destroying webs), ants and even the goldfish (by over feeding them) in the fish tank. We would also spy my grandma when she was doing her gardening.

When my sis and i were in Primary school, we started growing green beans on wet cotton wool (i bet many of my peers would remember this). We had the opportunity of growing long beans in the backyard and even harvested the long beans when they grew! Cool isnt it?

I wanted to recreate this for the little gal despite the fact that we were staying in HDB. Hopefully the little morning sun will keep the plant alive and good enough for it to flower and fruit some day. ;)

Planning went well and she picked out the seeds from far east flora (okra/lady fingers & long beans). After that, we took a long break as little gal pestered us daily, shaking the seeds in our faces and asking when she could start. (opps)

One fine day, she finally put her foot down and insisted we got down to it. Little gal counted the seeds and pressed them into the moist wet sand. Then a thin layer of sand by papa and she patted the sand down.

Since it was her little garden, she waters the plants everyday and boy did they grow tremendously within the 3 days!

I decided to do a side project with her: a signage. Decided on a design (arrow pointing to the left) and words. I drew the words with her inputs, she drew the tree and grass and did the colouring all by herself. Super colurful isn't it?

Hopefully the plants will grow well and start growing lady fingers and long beans! (fingers super crossed). ;p

Batik Painting

Finally caught the trend of letting my little girl try "batik painting". It's meant to help children gain control and coordination. ;)

Today papa guided lil gal by helping her pour out the colors and telling her which to mix to get other colors... Midway through, she was so happy she held up the painting and exclaimed "wow so beautiful!". And she did not want papa to do any of the painting for her... Lolz...

Apple Pear Drink

The little girl is down with phelgmy cough and cold. With "bad breath", I was quite sure she was getting "heaty".

Researched online and found a drink suitable for coughing toddlers, so decided to give it a shot. My mum cooks this regularly (minus the pear and almond).

The drink is pretty sweet and the little girl didn't mind drinking it. I used a slow cooker so I don't need to watch over the fire.

Ingredients were adapted from http://food-4tots.com/2009/07/25/apple-soup. Hubby and I agree that it would be wierd to have it as a savory soup, so I omitted the meat and the bitter almond (since pregnant n tods should avoid due to toxicity). Instead of soup, we have a drink.

Ingredients
2 apples (small sized)
1 pear (brown skin, big one)
3 figs (无花果)
3 honey dates (蜜枣）
10grams sweet almonds (南杏）
Enough water to cover the ingredients

I shaved away the skin of the pear and apples (removing the core and slicing them in quarters and halves). Rinse remaining ingeedients. Put all together n slow cook on high (for about 3-4hrs).

The result is a clear yellow sweet liquid... ;)

More scribbles... ;)

Little girl was scribbling on the note pad while I was peeling the pamelo that day.

Didn't really pay attention to the small scribblings other than the fact that she was proudly spelling her name on the paper.

The next day on closer scrutinity, she actually wrote her name again - reversed this time. The surname was also reversed! *sheez* mum always tells me that this is normal for younger kids. Sure hope it's the case.

On the lighter note, she wrote the word "九" on her own! Amazing!!! ;)