Jasper @ 4mths

The boy is into his 4th month today! His daily schedule is now more or less settled with 2-3 naps and 5 feeds a day.  He's really getting more and more vocal and noisy.  He's into exercising his vocal cords by "screaming" and squealing.  He still loves to put his hands/fists in his mouth and suck/munch on them, since than we have gotten him the teether to munch instead of his hands, but he still can't hold very well on it so we still need to assist him.  He likes to look at things that make noises ie. rattles/musical toys, so he can lie and his gym mat for quite sometime before getting bored.  The boy now prefers to sit upright as well as be carried upright instead of lying flat.  Anyways he has been trying to roll / flip over to his tummy but can only do 1/2 - 3/4, think very soon he'll be able to flip - that's when we really have to be extra watchful of him.

Milestones:

• Recognizes your face and scent
• Holds head steady
• Smiles, laughs
• Can bear weight on legs
• Coos when you talk to him
• Can grasp a toy

Daily Schedule :

630/7am - Milk 170 ml

830am - Bathtime
10am - Nap (30-45mins)

11am - Milk 170 ml12pm - Nap (2hrs)

3pm - Milk 170 ml
4pm - Nap (30mins)

6pm - Washup

7 pm - Milk 170 ml & Bedtime

Superduper Jasper!

Passport to Travel

The boy has gotten his passport @ 4mths old, even earlier than his big sister.  His first holiday trip will be a road trip to Malacca! I'm actually not too keen to bring the boy as I think he's still too young to travel and hard for everyone to enjoy, but the hubbs is keen to go with his friends so I give in...

3rd Mth immunisation jab

Brought him for his 1st dose of 5-in-1 immunisation jab today.  All looks fine with his development; his wt and ht are in normal range, but PD pointed out that he does have a bit of sensitive skin.  The lump at his groin area is still present tho and PD says it doesn't seem to be growing so just monitor and allow it to slowly shrink.

He was really brave and didn't fuss much during the jab only gave a loud whine.  Now we need to monitor his temperature for fever...

After note: He developed slight fever during the evening and fever subsided till next morning after 1 feed of paracetamol. However he had on-off slight fever (37.5-38)the next day - decided not to give him medication and allow the fever to subside on it's own since he's still feeding and playing as per normal.

Chubby Bubbly Boy

Jasper @ 3 months

This month he seems to be very interactive and  talkative. He is so responsive when we talk and play with him.  He'll either "aahh" back, or smile or even laugh.  He can be quite loud when he gets excited! 
He's also starting to put his hands/fist into his mouth and can even "hold" onto his small milk bottle. 

As for feeding he is now on 5 feeds a day, drinking 150-160ml every 4hrly and at night 6/7hrs after the last evening feed. He has bad days when he gets really fussy with drinking and can put up a strong struggle and fierce cry with the feeder. Those are the times when it gets frustrating / "pek chek" to attend to him and I feel like smacking his butt after countless struggles to get the milk finish.  Anyway he is also like his big sister a drowsy drinker - drink when sleepy / eyes shut mode.. hiaz history repeats itself!

Jasper doing tummy time - he can lift his head quite high and steady

Milestones:
• Holds head steady
• Visually tracks moving objects
• Squeals, gurgles, coos
• Blows bubbles
• Recognizes your voice
• Does mini-pushup (Lifts head and shoulders when lying on tummy )
• Turns toward loud sounds
• Can bring hands together, bats at toys

Jasper and his Big Sister

The 2 siblings have been getting along pretty well thus far. Big Sister seems to adore her lil brother and is abit protective of him at times.  She loves to hug and kiss him and imitate sounds that he makes.  If he cries she'll tend to call for me to attend to him. So far her level of jealousy is not that serious, it only shows whenever I can't attend to her when she wakes up from sleep. This is a far cry from when he first came home... she didn't like him!

Anyways here's some lovely pics of the 2 of them together.

2nd visit to PD

After returning from Phuket last friday, my mum told us that she discovered a hard lump on Jasper's left groin  area while she was bathing him.  We didn't notice any such lump since his birth and we were quite concern as the lump was rather big and hard, but the boy seem to be unaffected by it-he didn't cry when we touched it.  Hubby suspected it was a swollen lymph node but since we didn't know the cause of it we brought him to see the PD yesterday.

Hubby told the PD there was a swell on baby's groin and he asked if it was the left side, and we said yes.  PD immediately told us it was due to an infection from the BCG jab which was on his left butt.  He said it was not uncommon and the swell will take sometime to subside maybe months but it may also get worse and puss may form as such we need to monitor the color of the swell / skin, if it becomes reddish and watery we need to probably get it remove immediately. Well that's abit of a relieve cos at least now we know the cause of the lump and it's not something unknown, just pray that it gets better.

At the same time, PD also commented that Jasper had slight oral thrush (whitish stuff on his tongue) and he told us to clean his tongue with a warm cloth and apply some oral medication which he will prescribe. It will clear within a week  or so. Hmm..maybe that's why he's taking his milk so slowly :P

The boy blowing bubbles with his saliva



Jasper on routine

So far we've been able to put him into a stable daily routine and he seems to cooperate well. I'm glad and thankful that both my babes are cooperative in terms of being in a routine. It also gives me some time for myself to rest and relax in between the feeding/washing/napping.

Feeding
Just a few days after turning 2 mths, the boy has gotten into a 4 hrly feeding routine and is able to sleep for a longer period of time at night - i.e. 6hrs max. before waking for milk . So his last feed now is around 1030/11pm and he'll wake around 4/5am for his first feed. Anyway, we'll try to stretch him further by patting and giving him his pacifier until he cannot tahan and cry out "Feed Me"! But like his big sister he can be quite a slow drinker, tho he seems to be slightly better since he does like his milk, just abit fussy if he's not in the mood i.e. cry and arch his back when we try to feed him; suckle/"gum" the teat gently; and lastly drink when in sleep mode. I hope he outgrows this habit like his big sister.

Sleep
His day time naps are quite standard for now about 2 long naps; one after bath and milk and the other after his afternoon milk. After which we'll make sure he's awake by 5pm so that we can do a wash up for him before he goes to bed around 8pm.

Play
So far he's sleeping most of the time and I guess that's pretty common for babies at this stage. But when he's awake we'll talk to him, play with him or place him on the playmat(at least once a day).  The boy is really responsive and loves it when people chat with him, he likes to wink and smile at faces. He sometimes even "chats" back, he's really quite charming.  At the same time he does seem to have a very quick and fiery temper tho as he can cry cry cry till he coughs and choke when he's upset, but he is easily pacified with a quick hug+rock+pat+lullaby :)



See how happy he is while I was talking to him!

Jasper @ 2 months

Jasper is 2 months old today! Time seems to go by quickly for the 2nd child.  I really don't want to think about the time when I have to say bye bye to my Maternity Leave :P

At 2 months old the boy is growing very well and still maintaining his good appetite for milk - He'll get really upset and make an angry loud cry when his milk is not serve to him fast enough. Anyway I'm still mixing his feed of BM and FM. He enjoys bathing and has no fear of water. He seems to be slightly more wakeful nowadays so we have brought out the playmat as well as fix on the cot mobile for him.  As for his sleep pattern, it still remains fairly the same as he has not begun to sleep through the night yet. Still waiting for the BIG day he can sleep longer at night... since no.1 slept thru when she 2 months, but than again she was a lazy piggy and didn't fancy milk. Anyway like they say every child is different so better not compare.

Anyways here's a picture of him taken a couple of days back. So cute and innocent!

Milestone:

• Vocalizes: gurgles and coos

• Follows objects across field of vision
• Notices his hands
• Holds head up for short periods
• Smiles, laughs
• Holds head at 45-degree angle
• Holds head steady

Celebrity birthdates

Just some silly post / comment I had earlier wanted to make but didn't have time.
Our 2 bundle of joy coincidentally enjoys the same birthday as some of our fav celebrity.

Hazel's birthday is 13 Nov - same as Kimura Takuya 木村 拓哉 (My fav Jap actor beside Fukuyama Masaharu)
and
Jasper's birthday 23 Aug - same as Alan Tam (Hubby's fav HK singer)

Isn't this cool or what since the kids chose their own birth dates! Yes I know this is pretty pointless and 'bo liao'... ha ha ha

Decided to try out the new "rocker" which we got as a gift from Hubby's office. It's called a sunny swing bed and it's from Haenim, Korea. Although the box says from 3 mths onwards, the boy seems to be able to fit in comfortably. Think he did enjoyed it as he manage to get some rest, cos after all he was being rocked.

The dude in his new rocker 

Week 7

Hubby is away this week in Thailand and so I have the task of tending to the little fellow in the night by myself, luckily my mom is around so we kind of "switch shifts" around 2-3am. She will help me tend to Jasper till morning while I sleep with Hazel in her room. Anyway that's kind of working quite well so far, as I do get some hours of undisturbed sleep. 

So far we're trying to stretch his feeding time from 3 to 4hrs. He'll usually wake up for milk 3hrly and if it's BM it will be 2-2.5hrly, so far he's able on a few occasions to go on 4hrly during his night feeds so praying that he'll adapt soon.
At week 7 he's taking about 130-150ml milk (FM/EBM).

The boy's first trip out

Last weekend we headed to vivo city for the boy's first trip out together with the family after the 1 month confinement.  Well nothing interesting or rather he was a good boy as he slept most of the time while we had our lunch (I finally had sashimi!!) and did some shopping, in between we had a coffee break at starbucks while I fed him his milk.  Guess as a 2nd time parent we are more confident and ready to bring the boy out, unlike the first time when we brought No. 1 out - we were so "kan cheong" and blur ha ha...

Jie Jie getting close to Jasper



Jasper with Jie Jie



Jasper's Full Month Party

We held his Full Month Party last Sunday, 19 Sep 2010 at SIL's condo. Fortunatly it was not raining as we only manage to book the outdoor BBQ area.  Thanks to my sister in law, brother in law and sister vivian the place was nicely decorated, the catered food and full month cakes came on time for the guest.  Baby Jasper was asleep most of the time, and our 60 odd guests got a glimpse of him in the pram, some manage to carry him. Party lasted for close to 3hrs and after that we were all tired out. Anyway it was a simple affair but we all enjoyed ourselves.
Food: eCreatives
Cupcakes: Cotton Candy Bakeshop
Full Month Cakes: Sweetest Moments



Jasper all dressed up and ready to attend his full month party



Full Month Cakes for the relatives

Very Happy with his cakes

Tiger and Baby Full Month Cupcakes

Jie Jie tasting Jasper's cupcakes

With Daddy and Mummy

With Mummy's DB pals

Daddy's Colleagues



 With Ah Gong and Grandma

Baby Hamper from Bro in law and girlfriend





Diaper Cake from Sis and Bro in law



Jasper @ 1 Month Old

Happy 1 Month Old Jasper! You are such a smiley and happy boy : )
And yippy end of confinement for me, can officially go out and eat as per normal!

Milestone:

• Lifts head when lying on tummy

• Responds to sound

• Stares at faces
• Follows objects briefly with eyes
• Vocalizes: oohs and aahs

• Can see black-and-white patterns
• Smiles, laughs

Day 25 - 16 Sep

Time flies and the boy is 3 weeks old this week. Today we decided to bring him to see the PD as he seem to be having some stuffy nose and he kept making mucus like sounds which caused some difficulty in sleeping the night before. Anyway we didn't want to take chances as no.1 had the flu a few days back and we were afraid he may have the flu too.

Saw the PD and he did a thorough check on the boy.  Fortunately it was not a cold, PD explained that as their airways are still very small/narrow any fluids along the airways will produce a very loud mucus sound, which we may think its runny nose but its not, will probably go off once he's about 3 months old or so. We were given saline solution and Illadin nose drops to apply when necessary. Glad that it was nothing serious...

Our Cute Little Boy!

Day 13 - 4 Sep 2010

4 Sep (Day 13) - Went to MA early this morning for a review of his Jaundice. Jaundice level was 8.3. So phew... it has more or less tapered off and we just need to keep on eye and make sure his skin is not yellowish, if not we can always go to the polyclinic to test.  I think all the top up feeds after latching were giving him the much required fluids, also this round we got some herbs from the medical shop to bath him for 3 days as we heard it helps to bring down the jaundice (unlike with no.1, I just kept latching her w/o extra feeds and no herb bath, her jaundice appearance only disappeared after 1 mth).

Thereafter we headed over to my Gynae's clinic.  As I was still having some slight bleeding Dr told me to come back in 10 days time for my pap smear as he was afraid results may not be accurate. He also scanned by womb to check for any blood clots; so far only 1 which he says will come out soon.  Then it was Jasper's turn to get checked on his circumcision. Dr very funny, he commented "look so cute and healing very well".  Quite glad that everything went well for the boy.

Day 11 - 3 Sep 2010

3 Sep (Day 11) - Just like to note down these milestones.

This morning his umbilical cord dropped off and later in the afternoon his circumcision cap also dropped off!

1st Week Home

We were discharged on Weds. 25 Aug, after 3 days at the Hospital.

I was doing fine by the 1st day I could walk slowly to the toilet and pee - what a relieve.  On the 2nd day I could walk better and actually passed motion and not feel painful with the stitches.  Think this round my wound/stitches is not as big as the last round. So on the 3rd day Dr came to see me and allowed me to go back but I had to go to his clinic the next day for another check.

For Jasper, he was doing great.  He could already suckle well in the delivery ward, in fact when he is hungry his mouth will open and search for "food"! So for Day 1 I did partial breastfeed; since not much milk yet and the rest at night would be good and Day 2 I started with full breastfeeding. His PD also did his routine check on Day 1 and told us all was good; his cries are strong, lungs are good, straight spine etc., he didn't exhibit any jaundice. Day 2 he was given his BCG and Hep B shots, still no signs of jaundice. Day 3 we did a blood test to see his jaundice level and it was at 9 so we were good to go home, as anything below 10 will be allowed home. But we would need to go back for a review on Saturday (Day 6), that's when the jaundice level usually peaks.

25 Aug (Day 3) - Back home.I started my confinement and had Mee Sua for lunch. Jasper would sleep most of the time after his 3hrly feeds, but when night time came he would be rather hungry and demanded for milk every 1-2hr instead. So I fed him, since he needed more fluids to flush out the jaundice. Suspect that he might be sleepy during the day so not taking enough thats why at night he needs to be fed.

26 Aug (Day 4)- Circumcision for the Boy. We went to my gynae for my review as well as for Jasper's circumcision.  After checking on me, Dr proceeded to "chase" us away as he performed the circumcision which would take about 10mins. So we went downstairs for breakfast and after we were done went up to fetch the boy.  According to the nurse he was well behaved but "complained" a little.  Back home same thing, breastfeed him and middle of the night his hunger pangs would come. Could also see that his face getting more yellow and his eyes were abit yellowish.

27 Aug (Day 5) - Hospitalisation for the Boy. Went back to Mt A PD to check on his jaundice level and results showed that the level was very high at 19.  So we had to admit him into the hospital for light therapy, this will usually take 2 days for the jaundice level to drop.  We were back at the Nursery to admit baby, nurses were very reassuring, we could call the direct line to check on baby's feeding time and they would wait for us to come in to feed baby. We opted to give him formula milk and send over whatever expressed breastmilk (ebm) I could pump out as well as direct latch him when we visited him.  So for the next 2 days the boy would be away from us after only 5 days since he was born.  We went over to the hospital that evening, bringing along Hazel to pass the ebm to the nurse as well as to latch him. We spend about an hour with him. Once home I was busy pumping every 3 hrs, to ensure milk ss didn't drop.

28 Aug (Day 6) -  Dr called around noon to inform us that Jasper's jaundice has drop to 12.3, which was very good. Told us not to worry and rest well.  Visited him at the hospital at noon and latch him on. Spend sometime with him and therafter we headed home as MIL was coming over.  Continued pumping milk. But got much more rest since the boy was not around.  Was also able to spend sometime with No.1 as well, which made her feel less threatened.

29 Aug (Day 7) - Boy is fit for Home. Hubby's Paternity Leave ended and he went back to work so I headed to hospital on my own to check on Jasper and breastfeed him.  On my way over, nurse called me to say baby could be discharge today, his jaundice has gone done to 7.3.  Informed hubby and he said he'll come over during lunch time to ferry us back. Before we discharge we spoke to the Dr he informed us that tho. the jaundice has gone down by quite alot, it will still come back the next few days and told us not to be alarm, just need to go back and review the level next Mon. His skin was also peeling due to the light therapy.  So we were back home with the boy by noon time, and we continued on his 3hrly feed with additional milk top ups to keep him hydrated. 

With the nurses at the Clinic before his Circumcision

Our Boy Jasper arrives on 23 Aug 2010

After my last post about due date, our D-Day was indeed on Monday, 23 Aug 10, via Natual asssited Delivery w/o painkillers.

Anyway here's his birthstory:

830am - Reached Gleneagles and had light breakfast at delifrance.

9am - Headed for Gynae's Clinic, saw one mummy slightly in pain coming out of Gynae's room and heading for delivery as she was already 7cm dilated.  I was telling hubby I got no contractions or whatever not sure if cervix has dilated further.

930am - Our turn to go in and Gynae asked me if I was ready. He did a VE and said I was 4 cm dilated and can deliver today! He commented that actually I was in labour but did not know.  He further broke my water bag and told us to head over to the Hospital Delivery Ward immediately.  Nurse gave me a couple of those bed liner/sheets to wear as she told me more water will come out. As we were heading out to the lift, told hubby I want to go toilet to adjust the liners/sheets, as I entered the cubicle a gush of water just came out uncontrollably. I was all wet bottom down- but lucky it was in the toilet can't imagine if it was in the lift!

Hubby drove us straight to Mt A. lucky traffic was smooth, I was not having any contractions yet.

1015am - arrived at Hospital waited for hubby at the lobby as he got the valet to park the car. I could still walk up to the delivery ward without any pain, just feeling eeky because all wet.

1040 am - Was welcomed by an Indian Midwife Sister and she ushered us to Delivery Ward 9. Undressed and put on the hospital gown before lying on the bed and getting all strapped up on the CGT monitor to monitor rate of contractions.  At this point I was still in no pain.

1100am - Midwife administer enema, so I could pass motion.  Within 5 mins I went to the toilet to remove my bowels, not much anyway since I had light breakfast.
 
1120am - After that she went on to place a drip on the left hand, asked her what was in the drip she said it will help with the contractions. I guessed it was some sort of drip to induce labour.

12 pm - Starting to feel occasional contractions, another Chinese Midwife came in and did a VE check on me and commented still about 4 cm dilated only and very high. Hubby asked he should go get lunch, she told him better go now.  I also told him to go ahead as I prefer to be alone and concentrate on my breathing. Midwife asked if I needed any injection/painkillers I answered her no need.

Anyway after that I was left in the ward on my own to rest, I could feel the contractions coming and it was manageable for a while with breathing and mentally calming myself.  But not long the contractions suddenly became more intense and I crouch my body to the side and held on to the bedside for dear life. I started to sweat profusely, I even thought - Shit how long is this pain going to last esp when the nurse just commented only 4cm head still high :P, stupid me still say don't need painkiller! Anyway I tried controlled breathing on my own but couldn't take the intense pain each time the contractions came, I kept feeling as if I wanted to poo and push something out, I finally rang the bell and the nurse came in. I told her I felt like passing motion, she looked at me and said something but I couldn't make out what she was saying as another contraction was on its way, she saw me and realise I was in labour she hurriedly called the midwife in to attend to me.

I closed my eyes, as the midwife and nurses were busy preparing for me to deliver.  I could hear the nurse commenting "so fast, must be my magic hands just now only 4cm".... "Ah ya you quietly in the room, already want to deliver never call us". The Indian Midwife was very comforting she kept talking to me and gave me the oxygen mask to breathe and told me to just listen to her instructions and I'll be fine.  At this point hubby also came in and he held my right hand - think he was also surprise at the rate of things. All I know was I was going to deliver anytime and we were just waiting for Dr Tan to come to deliver the boy. The midwife was trying to delay my urge to push as she pressed my legs flat down and helped to massage them when the pain came, she also told me to take in deep breathes each time the contractions came which I did as I held on to the the oxygen mask on one hand and grabbed hubby hands in the other. I'm not sure how long I actually waited and endured but Hubby said probably about 45 mins.

Finally Doctor came in after 1415hrs and as he entered the room I was really relived that I could finally push baby out. With 2 mighty pushes and the help of vacuum, I delivered Jasper Boy at 1436 hrs!

This labour is much more painful in terms of contractions but definately a faster labour as I took only 3 hrs to deliver from the time labour pains kicked in! No.1 labour pains were bearable and dilation was faster but I took about 5-6hrs to deliver.

Jasper weighing in at 2.94

Measuring his head circumference

Me and my Boy

The Phangs minutes after Delivery

Jasper Phang looking abit like Jie Jie at birth!

D-day drawing near

Yesterday we made sure we headed early to the gynae's as it was a Saturday and we knew it would be crowded. Reached there at 9am and coincidentally met the Dr along the way cos he too just arrived. Fortunately, Dr was really efficient yesterday with seeing his patients, we didn't have to wait long for our turn. Anyway, I had some traces of protein in my urine- maybe because it's early in the morning and I haven't drank much water yet; my weight didn't change since last wed.  Once in the Dr's room, he check on my BP, did a VE check as well as a placenta scan. Conclusion? He told us we can expect to deliver on Monday!! Since I'm already abt. 3cm dilated, my weight has stagnanted and the placenta scan showed that blood flow was slowing down. He initially told us to go straight to the hospital on Monday morning but later told us to come into the clinic first thing on Monday instead. So not really sure if tomorrow is "D" day a not. Dr was also very funny asked me what's my fave restaurant and told my hubby please bring her there to eat!

Anyway I have mix feelings as I would rather wait and have a natural birth instead of waiting at the hospital. I'm telling the boy to cooperate and let mummy have it naturally instead of anticipating.

Some Last Minute Shopping

Can sense the boy probably will be out soon, so I took half day today to have a relaxing lunch at cedele before heading to Borders to shop for books! Can't resist the discount of 25% coupon+10% card member deal, and since I'm in need of stocking up some reading material for my maternity leave I ended up with 2 books for myself, 2 books for Hazel and 1 book for No.2. I didn't forget about Hubs, and even though I was already feeling abit heavy and tired, I headed to get Hubby's anniversary present before proceeding back home.

I'm officially on leave from Monday onwards, so today is my last day of work for 2010 - wow! Feels kind of strange that I don't have to work till next year, but I'm not complaining. I still foresee myself having to check office email occasionally and settle some outstanding matters, which my covering is unable to handle. Anyways I'm really thankful to have someone stand in for me for the 4 months- phew!

Baby @ 38 weeks

It's week 38 already and the boy is still inside.  Went for our weekly checkup today and Gynae did a VE again and exclaimed that I'm 2-3cm dilated and should be delivering soon... maybe Monday. Told me I will expect some bleeding later in the day and I shouldn't be too concern over this, anyway need to go back on Saturday to check on the babe! Today No vital statistics as Dr says too big to measure, we only scanned for his heartbeat which was doing great.

Later during the day I indeed had some bleeding which was not heavy and later turned slightly brownish. Anyways hoping the boy will cooperate and make things smooth and easy for me! Looking forward to seeing him.

Mooncakes before Mid Autumn

Goodwood Park Hotel was having an early bird special for their mooncakes- purchase 1 box and get the 2nd box at 50% off. Couldn't miss out on this great deal since they have flavours which I really like, the Ham with assorted nuts as well as Snowskin Durian mooncakes. So we popped by yesterday to get 1 box each.  The Snowskin Durian mooncake is deliciously rich while the Ham with assorted nuts was not too oily and had enough crunchy bits.  Ha better eat them before confinement hits me!

Yummy Baked Mooncakes

See the generous fillings

Omega for Me

All my watches have gone bust on me and since I always have this need to tell the time, I felt quite naked without a watch for the past few weeks! Was asking Hubby if I should get a classic watch like an Omega instead of getting a normal watch which will probably have a less than 2yr lifespan.  So Hubby getting the hint from me agreed to sponsor it as an anniversary cum baby gift for me! Hee so sweet since he hardly splurge on anything for himself. Decided on the constellation series and since I was looking for something practical to wear for everyday, ended up with the brushed quartz range with steel straps and white mother-of-pearl dial w/o any bling blings.

Thanks Dear for the watch, I'll treasure it and make sure it lasts me a lifetime.

Nicely wrapped up with a Red Bow!

My First Omega Watch

Close-up of the watch

Maternity Photoshoot

2 years back we did our family studio shots with Benjamin of Foto-u and recently he had a casting call for studio maternity portraits to update his portfolio- mummies volunteer as his model and in return get a free 1 hr photo shoot session along with 10 high resolution/touch up photos and the rest in low res.

I thought it would be meaningful to take some shots of myself while pregnant, since for no.1 I hardly took any photos of myself while preggie, and plus it's free! So I took the chance to book a session with him, and fixed the photo shoot on 13 August morning - crossing my fingers that I was not going to pop before that since I'm already in wk 37.  The session was to last for 1 hr or so but we overran the time to 2 hrs allowing him to take time to experiment with the lighting as well as various different shots. It was an enjoyable session and I can't wait to see the photos and share with hubby.

More pics to come...

Late Nite Snack

Last night hubby brought me to have Rochor Beancurd, while my mum help to babysit No.1.  It's been awhile since we had this and I just lurve the smooth texture of the their beancurd-In fact I don't really take other beancurds except Rochor's :P We each had a bowl of hot beancurd, a cup of soy milk + 1 peanut/sesame ball and 1 butterfly fritter. What can I say but... Burps...

Baby @ 37 weeks

The Boy is finally full term at 37 weeks and he's nearing the 3kg mark (But I'm pretty sure it's not accurate)!  At yesterday's check I had to do a VE to check my cervix. Apparently Gynae says my cervix is open already and giving  us 1 more week. Although baby is still growing and placenta is fine, Gynae was rather concerned as my weight dropped about 400g, he told me to wear the same clothes each time I come for check up from now on.  Anyway, I suspect it's because I didn't have a heavy lunch that day plus my water retention has miraculously disappeared.  Gynae also instructed me to count baby's movements - at least 20 movements/kicks each day and inform him if there's anything less than that. Oh I also need to watch out for the 3 signs of labour -1) Bloody show/discharge; 2) Water Bag burst/leak; and 3) Contractions.

His Vital Stats @ 37 wks:

BPD: 92mm

AC: 320mm

Weight: 2994 grams

National Day Long Weekend

Finally the National Day long weekend is here and I'm sooo looking forward to it! Cos I don't have to go to work - well I don't detest work but I guess it's been rather tiring to move around at work given that my legs are swollen and my tummy is getting heavy.

On Saturday I was craving for some dim sum and heard Taste Paradise - Ion Orchard has some nice dim sum so we met my sister and her hubby for lunch as we manage to get squeezed into the reservation list. The Dim Sum was nice but portion was a bit on the small side, over all their dishes were quite special with a bit of fusion touch. We even tried the home-made foie gras and I enjoyed their herbal fish soup! Anyway lunch was not exactly very filling yet pricey, but it's a pretty nice place with good service.

Later this evening we have our annual family gathering at my cousin Valerie's place, so that's more makan and meet ups before I pop!

On National Day I've made reservations for Hubbs and me to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary at The Fullerton - it's a month early but I'll probably be in confinement on our actual anniversary day so heck, celebrate first! We'll be bringing No. 1 along this time round as we would like to spend some more time together as a family and since it's a National Day Package, we have access to view the fireworks.

Anyways I still have like a list of stuff I would like to do/eat before I go deliver, I'm also feeling abit excited as our due date comes closer... But lately I've also been losing my temper and patience on everyone at home, I try to remain silent but somehow I just explode after awhile! Think it's the tiredness and the uncertainty that makes me irritable. Gosh... must really remind myself to remain calm and shut up!

Baby @ 36 weeks

It's 36 weeks already and so far he is still growing. Got our Strep B test results today and we're negative!! Just some slight fungal infection so have to take some medication for that. We asked Gynae about circumcision for the boy and was told we could do it immediately after birth either by Gynae or by the PD probably cost around $400 but we can claim medisave.  Also asked him about e-c sect and the various options in case we need to go through that.  He told us most likely I'll be able to deliver naturally since no. 1 was natural birth. Anyway now is just the waiting game according to the Dr. I'm telling the boy not so soon maybe after week 37 will be good.

His Vital Stats @ 36 wks:

BPD: 90mm

AC: 304mm

HC: 307mm

Weight: 2653 grams

Oh ya my feet has started to swell as of yesterday, sigh...

Urgh... Swollen Feet. Can't see my ankles!

My Lovely Babes

Here's me carrying no.2 at the end of 35 weeks and my sweetpea hugging us so affectionately!

Name for the Boy

Here's some names which I've shortlisted for our boy. As you can see I'm more inclined to choose names starting with J or T, dunno why but think it goes well with Phang. The only name starting with H I could think of was Hayden... now I'll leave it to Hubby to make the choice.

• Blake
• Hayden
• Jake
• Jesper
• Jett
• Jerel
• Julian
• Lloyd
• Tyler
• Tristan
• Toby

Bird's Nest and Coconut

One of my favourites during pregnancy is being able to indulge in birds nest almost every week after the 1st trimester and it's not the bottled ones I'm talking about but the one's we get from the medical shop that we need to double boil. Not sure why I like it but its refreshing for the throat.  I have taken it for my last pregnancy as I heard it's good for the baby's complexion - baby will have a beautiful and glowing complexion, which I think is quite true as no. 1 was very fair at birth and still has very rosy complexion! And of cos it's good for my complexion and aids in digestion.

As for drinking coconut during the last trimester, it's meant to cleanse the baby of the greasy white substance that protects his skin from the amniotic fluid -- well that's what the old folks tell me. No harm trying this since the drink is so refreshing and cooling for the body -- pregnant mums will appreciate this since our body temperature tend to be higher than normal! So far have started drinking twice last week, and will need to get them at the supermarket weekly. Haiz... once confinement starts can't drink anything cooling /cold etc.. so must enjoy now!

Maternity Leave

Ok I have finalised my work arrangements and maternity leave (ML) period.  I will officially be on leave from 23 Aug 2010 - 2 Jan 2011!! Part of it will be my 16 weeks ML and the rest will come from my 2010 leave. Anyway I will be 39 weeks pregnant when the leave starts, hopefully the boy chooses to allow mummy dearest to have some "me" time before arriving, cos Jie Jie dearest arrived at 37 weeks.

Baby @ Week 35

Today I went for our routine checkup at the Gynae.  The boy is 35 weeks and all looks good, he's growing well and in a head down position- keep it up son! He's gain about 700g while I put on another 1 kg over the past 2 wks.  Oh and today no trace of protein in my urine - yippee! Think drinking lots of water really helps!

Gynae also did a swab for Strep B test today and results will be out in 2 weeks time. Hopefully it will be negative, unlike when I had No.1. I was diagnose as positive and was suppose to be given antibiotics during labour, but because my labour was so fast the nurses didn't administer the antibiotics.  Luckily Hazel was born healthy and with no infection what so ever. However I did read that infection in babies is very rare even if we're diagnosed positive - but of cos it would be better if result is negative so we have one less thing to worry about.

Anyway from now onwards it will be weekly visits to the clinic to check on his development! See you again next week babe!

His Vital Stats @ 35 wks:

BPD: 87mm

AC: 302mm

HC: 306mm

Weight: 2582 grams

Here's today's scan of his heartbeat

Thinking about Baby's Full Month Party

Ha 35 weeks into pregnancy and I'm already thinking about No. 2's 1st month celebration! Anyway, base on our last experience, we actually had very little time to prepare and book the venue for No. 1's 1st month. So I have kind of listed some of the items we would need to look into:

1. Venue: SIL's condo - BBQ area/function room (must get SIL to help us book).

2. Baby Man Yue Cake: Stick to Sweetest Moments (they have a new petit version). This round we'll probably get for colleagues only.

3. Was thinking if we should get this for our guests - Baby Shower Cookies http://bakedwithlove.wordpress.com/baby-shower-cookies/

or a cake/cupcakes http://www.cottoncandybakeshop.blogspot.com/ or http://www.mylittlegems4u.com/mini_cuppies since we're not giving relatives man yue cakes this round.

5. Caterer: Will Look into it during confinement

6. Decorations: Minimal - have ordered some cute new baby boy decorations/items from spree.

7. Photo taking - must assign someone to take as I realise the last round we didn't take many shots.

That's about it I suppose, although it's our 2nd child must give equal importance to the occasion. I'm actually quite excited and happy planning for this - ha ha ha...

Movie before Delivery

Had a Dinner cum Movie date with Hubby  last Thursday. Think this would probably be the last movie we can catch alone at the cinema before no. 2 arrives - not that we do this very often but we do occasionally go for late night movie dates if there's any good movies. Thereafter begins our laborious journey of looking after the kiddo and his needs.

I remembered for no.1 my last show before delivering her was Bourne Ultimatum, lots of action and shooting / explosions and each time she would move with the loud booms!! This time we caught Inception, the show was interesting and it didn't feel like a 2.5hr movie - though my bladder probably felt it and no.2 also moved quite a bit, I suspect he was enjoying the popcorn!

Oh oh oh.. remember I was not suppose to take sweet stuff??!! Anyway the next morning when I took my urine test surprisingly the strip showed very little colour change, I'm crossing my fingers that the protein is slowly diminishing.

Good Buys for Baby Diapers and Food Supplies

Just found some good buys for diapers and baby products via luvbabies.weebly.com. The Jul promotion for Mamy Poko and Drypers is too good to give it a miss, as it's definately cheaper than any of the supermarket's discounted prices. Also found the Delrosa and Gripe Water to be as cheap as the medical shop, so included that in my order to stock up for No. 2 as well.

The only thing is that I needed to spend up to $200 and above to qualify for free delivery, so found my cousin to share the order. Service is really fast, placed my order and payment on Monday and I recieved the goods the next day! Looking forward to more good deals in future...

Baby @ 33 weeks

Arrived at the clinic this afternoon and was surprise that it was empty, so I didn't have to wait long. Prior to that did my usual urine test, but this time there was faint traces of protein,  my blood pressure was fine though.  Dr did the scan and baby's head has turned so the boy's now head down (phew, good boy!). So far he is growing well for the past 2 weeks and I'm happy that he's gained about 500g, Dr commented that he's in good size.

As for mummy here, I need to avoid sweet stuff and drink more water to reduce any risk of pre-eclampsia- due to the faint traces of protein in the urine. Was given the urine strips to test myself every alternate morning to monitor the protein level in my urine till my next checkup in 2 weeks time @ wk 35. And oh I piled on 3 kg- seesh in my eagerness to make sure baby puts on weight I seem to have eaten too much?? Hiaz dun eat also scared, eat also scared, really dunno what to do. Oh well just eat in moderation, will be discipline and eat more healthy stuff for the rest of the weeks - no more fried, oily and unhealthy food!!

His Vital Stats @ 33 wks:

BPD: 83mm

AC: 263mm

HC: 284mm

Weight: 1821 grams

Confinement Food

To make things easier and hassle free, will be catering food for confinement this round.  Now I'm pondering over which confinement caterer to go with... It will be 1 month long so must at least choose a caterer with menu which has what I like best.

The Asian Parent has a short write up and a list of confinement caterers : http://sg.theasianparent.com/articles/confinement-meals-the-tingkat-way
I'm shortlisting natal essentials and ihost food. Most likely will check some comments on forum before deciding.

Entering into 3rd trimester

Some updates on this pregnancy. So far I have gained another 1kg just this week alone.  I'm really crossing my fingers that it's going to my boy. I'm quite concerned with his weight gain since he seems quite small for 31 weeks. I've been taking some durians and trying to increase my protein intake, so hopefully by next visit to the gynae which is next week baby will gain 500g at least!  Tummy has been expericing more tightening during the day and I can still feel his movements daily. I also do feel the pressure on my groin area, especially when I get up from sitting.  Fortunately the ache on my left butt has seem to disappear and I'm not suffering from backaches. And ya he has not turned yet, the boy is still lying horizontally, must remind him to start turning!

As for water retention, swollen legs and cramps- it's not too bad this round. In fact I can still wear my shoes, and my feet only started swelling and feeling tight occasionally at night during start of 3rd trimester. Unlike the last pregnancy where at 2nd trimester I had such swollen feet that I could only wear my Birkenstock and my feet would get so tight that I would feel uncomfortable walking.  My face also looked puffier the last round due to water retention.  And as for cramps I'll get slight leg cramps only when I sleep with the air condition. 

Oh ya this time I don't need to take the Glucose Test since there isn't any family history and my urine test each time has no traces of sugar. So the next & final test will be the Strep B test around 35 - 37 weeks, crosss fingers this will be fine.
Yesterday when I was at a course someone even complimented that I look good for a pregnant lady and I look too young to be a mother of 2 ... mua ha ha ha *blush blush*

Pregnancy Bonus!

Woo Hoo! My loot from Kate Spade has arrived.  Decided to reward myself for this pregnancy with a new bag and wallet during their sample sale. Ha ha call it a pregnancy bonus since got baby bonus :P. I must say the items are good as new though they did warn that there may be some stains etc... and the whole damage was only less than $300(incld shipping). Think it would have cost me much much more if I bought at KS S'pore shop.

Thanks babe for making Mummy indulge in such purchases to cheer myself, maybe we should get Daddy to pay for Mummy :P

See my new classic noel daisy shopper - STUCCO! Pretty??

And a bright and cheerie new wallet in Basil/Turquoise.