@34weeks

My stats:

Gained 3kg from 28weeks check. Total weight gain: 10kg

Baby gained 1.38kg from 28weeks check. Total weight gain: 2.38kg

So far:

- no swollen feet (yay)!

- no stretch marks (yay)!

- no need to get bigger clothes. Hehe

Preparations:

- bb stuffs done

- cot still not up yet

- hospital bag yet to be packed

Sara's reaction:

Awhile ok to have a sibling awhile she gets jealous. Normal I guess.

Hubby's reaction:

Excited but at the same time calm and composed. Hehe. Thinking of all the $$ that is going to be involved I guess. Hehe. 

Praise God bb is healthy and well... And I managed to control my weight better this time compared to the first pregnancy. :D

@ week 20 (#2)

Hello all!
Long time no updates... Been busy with the house renoworks and that too, have not updated the other blog.

The last post was more on updates for Sara, in which I'm also kinda busy preparing for a small party in school for her. But the best part is, I can do everything online! Woohoo! Except for the balloons I have to pick-up myself because the delivery cost is much more than the balloons itself. Hehehe.

So here is my 20th week picture:
Slightly bigger.. Tummy grew exponentially after the 18-19th week. Hehe.

Managed to get a video of baby moving inside. It was really so nice to see bb inside. Not much chances during Sara's time. Hehehe. Hello babes! Doc said bb is very active! PTL!

Mummy's weight: 61.9kg (~+1.5kg)

At the time I'm writing now, already 21weeks, I'm at least (+3kg already) - boohoo!

Baby's weight: Not sure... but should be around 360g, 26cm? Didn't measure during the checkup and I forgot all about it. 

I have started wearing a mix of maternity clothes already. Went shopping at H&M Mama ranges and the clothes are super comfy!!

Here's one, for just $24.90!

Very comfy and the pants are super nice and comfy.. and prices are not expensive unlike other maternity clothes range. :)

How do I feel these days? I feel much better now than in the 1st trimester. More energetic, able to do more stuffs, but since tummy is getting bigger, it is quite difficult to bathe Sara these days. And thus, the job has been handed over to Daddy. :)

Daddy has been helping me alot these days. Especially with handling Sara (and her tantrums and disciplining her) and also her well being. :) Not only that, he helps me with the laundry as well, which I am much appreciative. Thanks, darl!

Overall, I just want to thank God over and over again for the good health and stress-free pregnancy (minus the minor discomforts) this time around. It would be so difficult if I have very bad nausea, backaches and what not as some of my friends do, and are complaining about... though some of them are mothers-to-be. :) Maybe that's why they said the 2nd one is always EASIER. hehehe. Praise the Lord!

Baby has been kicking very, very, very actively, since 14 weeks it started off with flutters.. now it's super-kicks. Hehehe. Or sometimes I can feel baby somersaulting. And yes, we are keeping the gender unknown to all (except for close friends) as long as we can. :)

Till now, me signing off, have a great weekend ahead!

16 weeks and counting!

Yeah, time flies. I'm into my 16th week already.
Skipped my appointment for this month. Just plain lazy to go.
I just hope I am able to feel baby's stronger movements to know that he/she is OK. :P

So far, checking from my own weighing scale, have not put on weight yet. (yay!).
I hope I can maintain till 20weeks... so that I can have more leeway to put on after that.

Back starts to hurt once in a while. Trying not to carry Sara, but at time, just have to do so for a little one. My big baby. :P. The "zng" back pain starts from the hips right to the toe, usually on either side of the legs. Signs of aging I guess. The older you are, the more lethargic and tired I feel. May not be true for some of you.

Other than that, I'm perfectly OK!.

At the moment, we are also busying ourselves with house reno designs, etc.

Headache, but step by step. Can't wait to move in. :)

12/13 weeks and counting..

First trimester flew very fast!

In my last check up at 12 weeks, here's my stats:

Weight: 60.9kg (almost no weight gain from 8 weeks check up)
Baby shld be about >5 cm

How do I feel? So far so good. Appetite did not exponentially increased, still the same as before.

Mummy? or Rara?

Any similarities? :)

Gong Xi Fa Cai

It was Sara's first CNY. And she celebrated it in Melaka because Segamat was flooded. *Mummy grins from ear to ear*

Will blog about it later. Here, some photos of our first CNY with Sara.

 Before setting out for visitation on 1st Day...

 With 3rd Aunt

 Chap Chye soup... this is awesome!

 Original Itik Tim!!! Yummy!!!

 Gosh! I missed this for 4 years!

 Sara's on the swing for the first time. :)

 FIVE generations :)

Her angpows collected. Not to mention, the RM500 which mummy borrowed from her. Need to give tithes already. :)

Till then.. it was indeed a memorable CNY for us, but too bad, hubs was busy cleaning his house in Segamat due to the flood. Back to "reality" tomorrow after 5 days of so much of happening. :) Have a great week ahead, peeps!

In the pink of health

We never thought about life twice until things happened. I've always misunderstood that Our good health, Sara's good health is a form of blessing until I hear friends how they have to put up with sick babies. I thank God so far for His blessings of health upon our family. So far, after giving birth, i hardly fell sick even though I was carinf for Sara alone most of the time.

Till today, I appreciated life. It's so fragile. My dearest 3week old nephew was admitted to the ICU today cos he couldn't breathe and he turned blue. They had to 'revive' him. An hour later, he started to turn pink! Doc said it was SIDS. Praise the Lord for He heard our prayers! As a mother I can totally feel the agony of his parents, and I thank God that He has brought them through this.

Thank You Lord for Your mercies and love endures forever. Amen!

Sara's 7mo today!

I just can't believe how much my baby has grown. This post was the first time my pregnancy kit showed POSTIVE! I was ecstatic!

Can't believe it has been 7 mo already and I'm still not losing weight! Bah.

Sara:
- can stand up on our laps
- knows how to get things done her way (by crying out loud, of course!)
- She understands how to "sayang"
- She is more "verbal"
- She knows how to clap your hands and give a hi 5!
- She's starting to go on all fours.
- Before this, she knows how crawl backwards, but looks like she's trying to move fwd now.

Anyway, cheers to my little baby. Mummy loves you. :)

Joel Tay Chiang Sern

The latest addition to the biiggg family. Welcoming, my little nephew, my cousin, Christina's and Johnson's little hero, Crystal's and Celine's little brother... Joel Tay Chiang Sern. Joel means Yahweh is God, Chiang in Mandarin means River, and Sern in Mandarin means Life. River of Life! I like it!

Sara seems to like him. But after awhile, she got bored. She must be wondering why this "thing" doesn't move. No fun. Hahaha. Kidding. She will soon have a playmate. Woohoo! :)

Joel is 3.2kg, stands at 59cm (7 cm longer than Sara!), and he was born at 6am, 18th Nov. :)

Being at home

How's life after resigning?

As most of you know that I have left my company, Flextronics Spore after 2.5 years there. Last Friday was my last day.

This is my first time resigning and I'm super busy. Sara changed quite a bit when I came back. Handling her, to say easy not easy, difficult not difficult. Overall, she's a cheerful baby who loves to laugh and smile at nothings. :P

Right now, my "war" with her is her feeding time. Not sure why she's like that, but whatever we do, she just won't open her mouth, pushes out with her tongue and even crying just by putting the towel underneath her. Imagine that! I read online, they said might be acid reflux. No wonder she spits up more often and vomits more often.

http://heartburn.about.com/od/infantschildrenandreflux/a/refluxininfants.htm

But overall, she's quite an easy baby besides the eating part. She L.O.V.E.S to play. Even when you put a straight face at her, she will smile a little. But the minute you smile at her, she smiles back at you.. widely.. sometimes it turns into a small laugh. Hehehe.

Busy time at home, but like what most mothers will say.. it's satisfying and fulfilling. But still.. I have a mind to go back to work actually.. Let's see how things go... :)

*yawnz*

Been pretty busy, that's why the lack of posts.

Some updates:

Sara's weight at 2mo: 5.4kg
Sara's height at 2mo: 59cm

1) Sara got her first jab of vaccination & rotavirus (oral) medication 2 weeks ago.
2) She will be going for her first pneumococcal jab come 3mo.
3) She is starting to suck on her fists.
4) She responds easily to you when you talk to her and smile at her
5) You can distract her for quite awhile with toys and moving objects for a good 30mins or more. This leaves me with more time to do my own things.
6) Very verbal these days. Including a different kind of cry, an angry cry! :(
7) She finally gets the hang of the pacifier, and needs very little rocking/cuddling at nite to sleep. Just need to pat pat her to sleep in her cot, and she's fine.
8) She is waking up 3 times a nite! Not sure why.. jumped from once to 3 times.. Must let her get back to her routine.
9) When I'm angry with her... she smiles. And that.. is her weapon!!!

Sara & mummy.. watching tv @ Segamat... :)

Lamaze toys from Daddy dearest. I told him just to buy the gym, he bought the others too. Pretty interesting too. Hehehe.

Sara's 'singing' to "Jesus loves me" & "God is so good"
@ 2mo

Sara's (fist)ing time. @ 2mo

Labour of L.O.V.E

Yes, yes, I know that Labour Day has just passed...but this is indeed a LABOUR story. :)

05:40 Woke up to go to the toilet as I had the some bowel movements. Big business! Had slight stains. Thought nothing, it will take long before the contractions set in. So went back to sleep. Didn't bother to call hubby also.

05:50 Second time for big business. Just had the urge to do it again. Funny. Stains were more. Pain came in. Started to time my contractions. Unbelievable. It was 5 mins apart at first, and getting stronger!!! Mum was cool and calm... asked me to take my time to bath and get ready.

06:00 Contractions was really painful, and it was only 3 minutes apart after that. Called hubby and can calmly ask him to take his time. (Heard too many stories from friends that it usually won't be so soon). Took my bath, WASHED my hair, yes, very important to wash hair. And at most times, I was trying to stand the pain in the bathroom. Giving short-short-long breathes as what I have learnt in the ante-natal classes.

06:50 Reaching hospital soon, called hubby to tell him we're on our way to the hospital and I think we reached already. Can't remember.

06:55 Mum dropped me at the A&E and a nurse helped to wheel me in. At the entrance, the person at the registration had the cheek to ask me for my IC!!!!! I frantically searched in my handbag which was with me (thank God) and just put the IC on the desk. (I know this is dangerous, but heck care! I was in PAIN!) I was just ouch-ing the whole way through and the nurse brought me straight to the maternity ward.

There, she asked me what type of room I want. Single-bedded or double? I said single. Thank God there was a room available. She wheeled me in, and then, checked me through. Asked me a few questions on the way like what time contraction started, bla bla, is this your FIRST child? bla bla... Then wheeled me straight to labour room. I was like. So fast? On the way in, they were getting info on me, like who's my doc, and who's the child's doc. I was on the labour bed and the midwife just told me to PUSH. I remembered in class about dilating first then only push. So I asked her, and she told me I was FULLY dilated. I was like. Ok.. just 2 days ago, doc said I did not dilate even 1 mm. And now, fully dilated, thank God!

But the midwife probably didn't know Sara was abit big, so I began pushing with all my might and strength. And when I finally thought that her head was out, I just felt lots of water gushing out. And next minute I know, she was telling me, oh no.. "Baby poo inside already, water is yellowish-greenish". Fine. That's all I need to know to make me panic and the other stupid nurse made me anxious by saying the "C" word. Yes, C-section.

I said a fast prayer, HELP ME GOD!. Push and pushed but no signs of her crowning. Doc finally came in about 15 mins later (he was stuck in the traffic jam, and of all days, it was raining heavily some more). He came in, explained the situation to us (yes, mum was with me! But I could see the look on her face was not a pleasant one). Hehehe

Doc gave me 2 choices. He will try to help me with the vacuum suction or, c-sect. At that point of time, I couldn't give him the answer direct, but in my heart, I wanted c-sect. Fast and don't have to endure the pain. But of course, I chicken out at the thought of c-sect too. So without wasting much time, doc took out the vacuum thing and started to insert to try. My next contractions came and I really gave my all in pushing, and her cute little head popped out. Mum saw and first thing she mentioned, "Aiyohh.. so cute her cheeks!". The doc plopped her on my thighs since the paed was not around yet. Just then, the paed was around, came in and tried to suck out the stuffs from her lungs and all that, then came to pass her to me. She's so adorable, but I had no reaction to her because I was still in pain. It took the doc another about half an hour to stitch me up. Imagine how many stitches I had! I had to be on local anesthetic for the stitches, but no pain relief for the actual delivery. How irony!!

Anyway, still wanna thank God for the fast delivery that we have prayed for. And such a cute little blessing from Him. Appreciate my mum who has been such a great help all the while until now, taking care of me and Sara, having her sleepless nights, and also having to use up her leaves. Love you lots mum! (Now I really know what it takes to be mum!). Oraits... gotta go... Need to see the lil one if she's done her big biz or not. Hehehe. :)

Ting!

The bun is finally baked!

Welcoming the long-awaited, most anxious & anticipated arrival of our little princess...Sara See Hui Ning (薛慧宁)....


Sorry for the late post or rather the lack of it. Have been sooooo busy and besides, was having my after-pains. Had lots of stitches and was trying to "heal" from it. As I'm writing this too, I'm sitting side-ways coz it's still abit of a pain. :P

The name.

Why Sara? I was thinking of something to start with "S" to go with hubby's surname, "See". Sara came to my mind as I was thinking that she is going to be our princess. And Sara means Princess in Hebrew. :) God's little and chosen Princess.

As for her chinese name, hubby was tasked to come out with a name. With sooooo many considerations taken (esp because of his unique surname), he wanted "Ning" because it means "Peace" and gosh, yes, thank God we need that in her! Hehehe. So we had to find a middle name for her. And "Hui" fits in perfectly. Wisdom & Peace.

Overall, Sara is a happy baby. Barely a week old and she can lift up her head so we have to take care when we burp her coz she can lift up her head anytime. She also can turn her head especially when she gets angry or cries. She turns lobster red when she stretches or when she wants to make her big business or when she cries hard enough. She eats very well, in fact, too well as she can suck really hard. :) Of course, it goes without saying that she's such a cutie angel when she SLEEPS.

Thanks to all the lovely wishes and also the gifts, and also your visitations. :)

The bun is still in the oven!

I can't wait to hear a "ting" from the oven. Hehehe.

Am getting a little impatient here waiting for my little woman to be out. From my status in FB, I think everyone probably knows how I am feeling right now. I get these questions "How are you feeling now? How are you doing? U ok or not?" of late. Thanks for the concern, but I guess it's easier for me to write it out so that I don't have to keep on repeating myself like an old record player. :P

And I pity my mum as well because my aunts and cousins have been calling practically either everyday or other day to ask the favorite question "Sudah ka, belum?" So before they can ask, my mum will usually answer them "Belummmm..." Same goes for her colleagues as well.

I am generally OK. Still bearable. Just that I am feeling so uncomfortable because tummy is huge. Like I said, it's literally like I'm carrying a basketball in my belly. She's getting low, so sitting down is so uncomfortable for me, I have to open up my legs a little bit.
Not only that, the weather has been so crappy of late. Even after a bath, I am literally sweating sitting under the fan, turned on FULL BLAST. And of course, it goes without saying I take probably abt 4-5 baths a day. Hehehe.

I have been walking alot. As in alot. At home, I time myself to walk every 15 mins, 5 laps. Then rest. Then 5 times squats every hour. Then in the evenings, I will go for a walk with mum and Philo around the housing estate. By the time I reach home, after dinner and all that, I'm really so tired.

I hate sleeping at nite because that's the most uncomfortable position. I get up to go to the toilet abt 4-5 times. Of late, I have been doing "big business" at 3-4am. And when I sleep, to turn left and right is such a huge task because of the size and weight of the baby. And if I sleep on one side too long, my legs or hands get numb because of the weight. So.. in short, I hardly sleep! So usually in the mornings, I sleep in till about 9am++ or when I'm really hungry, I'll wake up.

As I feel myself so heavy these days, my pelvic muscles in between my bone is hurting quite badly. It's like I feel anytime it's giving way. Hahaha.

Anyway, I know all's worth it when I see my little one in my arms. :) Can't wait for it. Hopefully, this weekend. Please pray for me and the baby, everything will go smoothly this weekend. :)

She's coming...

WE HOPE!

Mum and Jason is on leave already (and is back in Malacca! Yay!). This morning had some discomfort. So... I'm still waiting. Taking my timings and all.

Not to mention, drinking my "pao sum" for some extra energy boost later if needed.
Have been going to the loo for the umpteenth time. Hehehe.

Till then, please pray for little one to be out safely today and also that I will have a smooth delivery. Woohoo! Can't wait to see my little woman! :)

@ week 38

My updates:

My weight: 75.5kg (-1kg from last week)
Baby's weight: 3.1kg (-kg from last week) - rough estimation I guess. Hehe. Her head has finally ENGAGED! Good girl!! Doc said should be any time.

What does "engaged" means? Check out the pics below. It means the baby's head has to be fall lower into the mum's pelvis (for this case, it should reach till "0"). If it isn't engaged, the doc will say it's still "high". Which means, if I go into active labour when the babe's head is still high, I will have a longer labour period. The more engaged the head is, the faster the labour it is (as it is near the cervical opening :))

***************************

So what have I done in the past one week back home in Malacca?

Lunch with Liza @ Durian Tunggal - Yummy superbly spicy cili padi bee hoon goreng!

Just needed this one just in case I go in labour today....Coconut shake @ Klebang!

My brother got the Bentong ginger for me... 6kgs @ Rm13/kg!!! It's supposed to be the best for confinement.. anyway, me not a real ginger fan, I hope this will convert me. :P (not to mention the 15 bottles of rice wine that grandma has ordered and the 5 bottles from Jason's grandma). :P

Have been sorting and washing the lil Princess' clothes, hand-me-downs from Jason's uncle who has 3 angels of his own. This is the 2nd load, I have one more load to go. I do hope she's big/small enough to fit in all these lil cutsies! The weather is soooo hot that they get dried fully after 1 hr in the sun. :P

Tadaaaa! I finally finished ONE SIDE of the shoe. Hehehe.

Thanks to Aunt Cat Teh (Liz's mum-in-law) for this lovely suit. It's SOOOOO cute.. but in the weather like this, I wonder when she will have a chance to wear this.. Hehehe. :)

Next up, we were supposed to fix the car seat belt for the old Honda Accord to fix the child car seat, but had no time. Besides, we need to send the cushion for washing first...

Hubby and I were praying that baby comes out this weekend, but looks like she's still pretty comfy inside. I am having that occasional tummy stretch, which I thought was her stretching inside, but doc said it's not. It's actually a form of contractions. So, when he said that, I started to time them. First, it was every two-hourly. Hoping that it'll get closer, but now.. it sort of disappeared or took longer than 2-hrly. I guess it's probably Braxton-Hicks? Not sure. I don't even know what a contraction feels like as I get different pictures of it from different ppl. I do hope I do know what a real contraction feels like when it REALLY comes. Hahaha. Till then.. still waiting patiently for Princess' arrival. Oohh.. can't wait... :)

Hmm..

This morning's check-up stats.

My weight: 76.5kg (+21kg???!!)
Babe's weight: 3.2kg (+0.5kg??!!!!)

Doc said it's rough estimation, might be less. I really hope it's less. We managed to catch a glimpse of her face. Looks like she has small nose (like mine :(), high forehead, cute lips (can't make out it's thick like Jason's or in between)... and.. really chubby cheeks???

Ah well, need to start dieting now. And walk alot, alot, alot more cos doc said her head is still rather "high", not engaged yet. Anyway, if she were to be born anytime from now, she's considered a full-term baby.

Pray that she comes out during weekends. Hehehe. Good girl. :)

Meanwhile, have done shopping for the tiny bits like her napkins, my "sarongs", washing of her clothes and so on. And yeah, fixing the cot. Hehehe. Excited? Yeah.. I'm WAITING.... just waiting.... :)

April Fool's

Today, marks April Fool's day.

I share the same prayer as Sharon's on her Facebook status. Just that I have some additional requests (in red):

Dear God, may baby not come out today on April Fool's day, but anytime after today will be good. Dont let it stay to long too cos am feeling very uncomfortable dy. But make sure baby comes out anytime during the weekends so that daddy can be around on time (and not kelam-kabut) to witness the birth. Thank u God.

My brother told me to tahan if she were to come out today. Hahaha. Anyway, she has been like totally kicking sooo vigorously the past few days. I'm not sure if it's a way of her saying "Hey look, mum. I'm getting bigger, and there's not much space left for me. It's not that I'm doing any somersaults or aerobics, but I can't help it. Because I'm getting bigger, you're able to feel every move I make. Till then, mum, I hope to see you soon. :)"

@36 weeks

Hello all..
Blogging from Malacca.. :)

Went for doc's check up this morning, here are the stats:

My weight: 74.5kg (+2kg since week 32, +19.5kg in total! GOSH!!!!)
Baby's weight: 2.76kg (+0.56kg since week 32 --> Avg OK,but on heavier side :P)

Mum told me she was huge and clumsy when she was carrying me. And she went over 20++kg and lost all that in 6 months. I hope I can loose all that in 6 months too. But mum was naturally lighter than me (<50kg) before she was preggie with me. But I hope I can lose it faster if I'm breastfeeding. Hehehe. Vanity, yes!

Lil Princess was happily kicking when the US was done on her. I guess she doesn't like when doc kept on pressing my belly. Hehehe. He managed to show us a side profile of her face. She DOES have high forehead! Like me, I suppose? And one side of her eye can be seen. Seems big. Praying it's big. But Jason said, still can't see if it's big because lids were closed. Oh well, slit eyes like her dad is also cute. Doc said we can go for the 3D or the 4D scan if we want to see it. Well, we want it to be a surprise! Hahaha. So we'll just wait when she comes out. :P

We went to tour the ward awhile. There were no rooms available for us to view (but it's ok since we can roughly remember how it looks like from the number of friends/ cousin who has been there before), so we just went to see the labour room. What I'm happy about is that, they don't bath the baby immediately after they are born. They put them in the warmer, then the next day, either mid morning or towards evening, they will bath the babe. That's great! They gave us a tin of milk, Snowbrand. Anyone wants this?

At mum's place now packing some stuffs to bring back to Spore like the baby's clothings, my maternity pads, diapers and so on, just in case... JUST in case.. Princess decides to come out next week and we're stuck in Spore. :P Hehehe.

Oh Lord, we pray that everything will come beautifully in YOUR time. Amen!

Thank you!

On behalf of our little Princess, we would like to thank you peeps for the early & advanced gifts..

Aunty Auds:
For the super duper cute little rompers from Bkk.. I really do hope she can fit in 'em, coz as I was going through with mum, they looked pretty small :P


Aunty Lavi & SYiin: The cute lil hamper

Aunty Eunice: The cute lil bolsters and pillow and booties & mittens

And the rest not mentioned like my aunt & Jason's uncle.. :)

Thanks, heeps!