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Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Lull-a-Baby Sleep Plan days 1-3


Amy's days as a sleeping companion for mummy ended on Saturday night. Hubs and i used advice gleaned from the Lull-a-Baby sleep plan by Dr Cathryn Tobin to encourage Amy to sleep in her own cot. The first 2 days were hard because Amy felt betrayed by our action, and cried her lungs out. Having to put her back into her own bed after breastfeeding was also hard because i had to stay awake. Normally, she'd be sleeping by my side feeding and we'd both fall asleep. I feel like i've been hit by a truck or my brain was sucked out of a straw by aliens. Dont know how im functioning. Just need delicious sleep!!!


Amy's latest development is that she sings, which is wonderful to hear! We think she sings twinkle twinkle little star, because that's what we've been singing her :)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

My List of Favourites: #1 Peg Perego Pliko P3 & Primo Vaggio carseat


This was certainly pricey but hubs and i have no regrets making the purchase at all. Amy loves travelling around in it. The carseat rocks when put on a flat surface, and that has been helpful on many mornings.

#2 Lucas' Pawpaw cream


Drapolene doesn’t heal diaper rash, but pawpaw cream does. We’ve replaced our drapolene with this product instead. It’s made from fermented papaya and heals all kinds of skin ailments from insect bites to rashes.

#3 Mamy Poko diapers


These are pricey and probably the most expensive diapers out there, BUT they’re worth it!! They’re super soft on a newborn baby’s bottom, and last longer. I made the mistake recently of buying Drypers because they are cheaper, but what ended up happening was that I was going through them faster. Won’t be making the same mistake again.

#4 NUK bottle and food warmer


My mother looks after Amy while im work, and this little item has saved my mother from having to go through the slow process of warming bottle in a mug of warm water. Again, it’s made in Germany!

#5 NUK bottles, teats & soothers


NUK bottles, teats & soothers – The fact that I love NUK products is noticeable here. Their products are mainly German made, and I trust the Germans! Their teats are especially designed to prevent colic.

#6 NUK bottle sterilizer


They do cost quite a bit when one could just boil bottles and soothers in a pot of water, but sterilizers are more convenient. On weekdays I’d put everything in the sterilizer and let it do it’s job while I went to sleep.

#7 NUK washable breastpads

I found these more handy than disposable ones. The disposable ones with sticky strip are thin and usually go out of shape in my undergarment. All I have to do with the NUK ones is to chuck them into the washing machine and they’re ready for use when dry.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Ultrasound pix week 30


Ultrasound pix 17 weeks


Amy at 3mthns, 1 week



Milestones:



  • Responds to smiles


  • Chats back with gurgles and coos


  • Squeals in excitement


  • Vocal about what she doesnt like (screaming & crying)


  • Is tickled by more things an will laugh


  • Double eyelids have emerged


  • Making attempts at turning over


  • She loves her baths now and will cry when bath time is over!

Amy's first Raya


The only thing I had energy with, in preparation for Eid, was finding clothes for Amy’s official debut. It was a 2 month project and I’d scoop up anything cute, which resulted in her having enough clothes for a few costume changes.

First Raya was over at the in-laws this time. It’s a pretty quiet affair over there, except for hanging around at other people’s houses. Amy was exposed to her very first bbq, where she got to inhale lots of bad air for about an hr before I had her bundled into a room upstairs to avoid the smoke. She was pretty well behaved throughout the festive break. She’d only cry if people were holding in an amateurish fashion or making her do weird dips into the air etc. I was always glad when she cried, cos there’s nothing better than claiming her back from people who mishandled her.

Raya on my side was fab (naturally). God was great, most of the relos I wanted to meet, and feared not meeting were at my great grandma’s at the time I showed up there. My grandaunties were really happy to have Amy around. They’re lonely people, and Amy brought joy with her – I was so proud of Amy for playing her part.

I didn’t stuff myself this raya, unlike all other ones. The only thing I had a little too much of was mother in-law’s chocolate chip cookies which were yummy!

I usually turn into a bit of a monster when im over at my in-laws, and it happened (privately this time) when FIL picked Amy up when she should be having her nap time. I was mad at him for interrupting her sleep, and hubs for not saying a word! Ergh!!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Blissful weekend!

Hubs and i had a great weekend catching up with Amy. At 2 months and 3 weeks, Amy has just noticed her hands, and has let out a handful of laughs (much to my utter delight). It amazes me to see that for her, a laugh is still a work in progress, and it's still something she's learning to do. She also comforts herself by sucking on her hands now.

She currently wakes up every 2 hours for a feed, which means that i havent been getting enough sleep for almost 3 months!! I miss sleep and my own bed (Amy sleeps with us).

Monday, September 15, 2008

Week 39 - Birth


It was either that night or the day after i wrote my previous blog that Amy decided to make her appearance.

During dinner i had been complaining of back pains which no one really took note of, and at 3am the next morning, I woke up with a start because i felt water gushing out of me. Hubs was initially quite panicky, but i was like, hey, lets see what Dr Miriam Stoppard has to say about that. After consulting her book, we called the hospital, and rather calmly collected my things to stuff into the car.

I didnt want to be dropped off at the hospital at such an ungodly hour, and so hubs parked the car and i waddled along with him all the way to the labour ward. It was 4am by the time i was admitted. I was made to change into the hospital clothes and waited for the mid-wife on duty to tell me what was going on.

She was a really nice n gentle lady, but i think one of the worst procedures in the delivery process is the doctor or mid-wife checking how far dilated you are. With her hand in me, she said that i had to lie in bed during the labour and wouldnt be able to get up because my baby no longer had the protection of amniotic fluid (i had lost 1/2 at home and the other 1/2 walking from the car). I was also told that i had to wait for Dr L at 8am to tell me how i was doing.

Between 4am to 9am I had contractions which were 5 to 7 minutes apart. They felt like really bad period cramps, but bearable with breathing techniques. Nurses kept asking me whether I wanted anything to help with the pain, but I was ok, as much as I hated having to have contractions. Hubs was reading the Miriam Stoppard book so that he could learn how to rub my back to relief some of the pain. Oh, and the annoying part was that on the way to the hospital there was a song on by god-knows-who, that goes something like, "i kissed a girl and i liked it...", and so that song was in my head throughout labour.

8am came and went. Dr L only showed up at 9.10am, where he told me that he was going to see how far along dilated I was. He stuck, what felt like his entire arm into me and felt around. What he did was worse than contractions cos I felt as if the entire baby was being pushed up to my chest! I thought that was bad, then suddenly I heard the midwife and the nurses shout, “PUSH, PUSH”!! I was like, huh??? But push I did for maybe 10 mins. Dr L must have given up on me cos he left me to the midwife and her team.

They encouraged me to push until 10am. At 10am, the mid-wife told me that she had to get the doctor in, and i said, "No! I dont want Dr. L!!" and so she gave me another half an hr, but even that wasnt long enough. Expelling the baby from one's body was really hard for me because my contractions werent strong enough, and i had no idea what "Bear down!" meant (thats wut the nurses kept shouting at me). At 10.30, the midwife said something in cantonese to the nurse, and lo and behold, Dr L (ergh) showed up fully kitted in an apron, visor, rubber boots etc. I was scared already, and knew that there was no way wutever he was going to do wasnt going to hurt. Basically i was going to have a ventouse delivery, where the baby would be sucked out of me. I wish the procedure was similar to unblocking a toilet, but during the procedure i underwent the most indescribable pain. I was pretty sure that my vjj was playing host to a 3kg baby and an old man's arm! Within 10 mins, little Amy was born. By that time i was too exhausted to really pay much attention to the baby, and i was hating on the doctor cos he had forgotten that the local anesthetic didnt cover the inside of my thigh where he was stitching me up!


Whilst pushing away so many thoughts flashed through my mind:

1) Im going to die. No you're not, dont say that!

2) Just cut me open and take the baby out!!

3) Can we consider adoption after this?

4) Dear God, whyyyy????

Monday, June 30, 2008

Week 39 - mixed emotions

Today i hit week 39 in my pregnancy which i hope wont last longer than 40 weeks. Im having mixed emotions right now because....

1) Everyone keeps telling me im having a boy, and i have enough pink stuff for that kinda speculation to be disturbing.

2) My doc's been a little ninkinpoop by being politically correct bout his response to my Q, and all i want is some reassurance.

3) The baby's head isnt all the way down wherever it's supposed to be, which means that im not having a baby any time soon.

The house is almost all set except for getting our stuff moved from the current house. We're also sans water heater, astro, master bedroom curtains (not yet ready) and a chest of drawers i wanted for the baby's stuff. Im flat broke at this very moment, and mulling over buying the chest of drawers from IKEA.

I hope the baby'll make an appearance the week of 7 July cos i dont really want the baby to be induced. The thought of having to pull the little sucker out of me is scary....

Monday, June 23, 2008

Week 38 - A Matter of Time

At this very moment im thinking of this episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza turns the area under his desk into his sleeping cubby hole. I wish i could do that with my desk. I am oh so sleepy thanks to that cat again!!! I suspect that he wanted canned food along with his regular breakie, but there was no way that i was going to go downstairs to do that at 6.30am!! How do i get a cat to shut up?

The baby was rather quiet yesterday, and a quick google produced forums where women shared that that was usually a sign that the baby's going to make it's a appearance soon. It freaked me out cos yesterday was FIL's bday, and i dont want the baby to share her bday with anyone else! Later that night over dinner, a lady had a look at my tummy and said that it was still high, so im not due just yet.

OMG...my eyes...i cant keep em open!

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Week 37, 2 days - Sleep deprived


Wiley, our gorgeous 1 yr old orange tabby is training me for motherhood. Every morning, the little tyke comes to our room and miaos for food and other things that i havent quite figured out yet. For some reason he was at his worst this morning, waking me up at 6.30 for breakfast and then calling me again every 10 mins!!! He came to sit on the bed a few times, but even that wasnt enough. Hubs didnt hear a thing which isnt a good sign, cos is this going to mean that i'll be the only one hearing the baby?

Im feeling so tired right now...i almost didnt go to work, but what got me out of bed was a colleague. It's her second last day at work, and i should be around...

Curtains for upstairs have been ordered last night, but it'll take 3 weeks for them to be done. What's next is purchase of the fridge, washing machine and gas stove! My savings are almost all but finished, and the sale is currently on and i'd really like to get more baby stuff!

2 1/2 hours to lunch...how am i going to get through the day??

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Week 37 - fear of water


This has been quite a week. Im struck by this great sense of hurry to get everything done for the new house so that i can move in asap! We had the house cleaned on Sunday. My little army stood at 3 people strong - Irzah, the artist and hubs. They did a great job of being there when they said they would, and boy, did they clean! My upstairs was gleaming! I stayed downstairs and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen....unfortunately didnt realize what my limitations were and was rather disappointed! The men practically cleaned the whole house while i cleaned here and there.

We had our coffee table delivered that day too, so now our furniture collection for the house stands at 6 pcs!!! On Monday, hubs, me and my mum went to order curtains. Found gorgeous Indian taffeta material at a reasonable place. With a budget of RM600 for 2 rooms, i think it's very possible to dress the windows of the most important rooms of the house! Found so many things that i liked that i wish had more rooms to buy curtains for!

Anyway, enough bout the house! Baby wise, my greatest fear right now is that my water's going to break in someone's car, on my office chair or when im out and about. I've already had a word with Baby A...she's only allowed to make an appearance on the weekend or when hubs is around :)

She does a whole lot of kicking too and moving....i cant wait to see her! Hubs and i are total opposites physically, except for the tall and fair bit. Wonder whether she'll be a mix of both...i just hope that she takes after one of us.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Week 36 - lazy days

Im losing interest in my work and im getting so tired these days! The good news is that hubs and i have 1 middle name chosen and 2 shortlisted for a first name. Im partial to the one that begins with A, so that her initials will be AAA.

To save money, i managed to round a bunch of friends to help me clean the house. Unfortunately, that army of mine is dwindling in number because of a lot of last minute things that come up. Im not defeated yet, but i sure hope that i can contribute significantly to the cleaning.

I dreamt that i had a son who was the cutest chunky lil kid ever (a lil like Fawwaz). Hubs was playing with him and i was enjoying watching them...sigh...

A family friend want to get us a sterilizer which is the fabbest news...im also hoping that someone will get us a baby monitor.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Week 36 - 2, 4 or 6 more weeks to go?

Things are getting a little scarier for me cos hubs and i are preparing to move into a house, and at the same time i may be due in 2, 4, or 6 weeks. We dont even have enough money to buy a fridge yet, and on top of that still have things like curtains, cleaning and delivery charges to pay for! I dont know how we're going to manage.

ok...cant write anymore cos i still havent sorted how im going to get everything done this weekend :(

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Week 35 - where have the gentlemen gone?

My company had an AGM recently, and i was asked by my boss to bring 2 projectors and a laptop to the venue. I was carrying those things in addition to a heavy paperbag with press stuff and my office bag when it began to rain heavily. Thankfully for me, bumped into the company driver who took my car keys off of me, and went to get my car in the rain. The reason why i had to do everything on my own was cos im the only person in my department!!!

Well, chivalry ended there, cos from the carpark to the venue on the 1st floor, men only watched as i dragged all those things with me. This included a mat salleh by the way (was expecting more from him)!

Anyway, handled a ton of things on my own for that day which began at 8.30 and ended at 11pm! The next day was as sick as a dog and ended up absent from work for 2 days due to flu-like symptoms - stuffed nose, sore throat, watery eyes and general lethargry.

My poor baby...mummy always thinks that she's a superhero and can do all those things normal people do. Im taking longer to get better cos im not taking the meds that the docs prescribed me. I dont trust Msian GPs. The chances of them giving you the wrong meds are high, and you can be sure that no one's going to get sued if you die thanks to their mistakes. When i was 5 months preggers, i had angin, and a GP prescribed this medication which, after googling, i found out that it has not been certified safe for pregnant women to take!!!!

Baby A's also been very kind to me during my flu, cos she's let me sleep in whatever position i choose :)

Sometimes when the baby's been a little bit too quiet and i get worried, i'd place my hands on my bump and she'd respond with a movement, as if to tell me that she's ok. I still cant believe im carrying a little someone...

Thursday, May 29, 2008

34 weeks, 2 days - No knees

My knees are gone. I dont know whether it's cos i've gotten super fat or whether im that bloated. Realized that when i was praying cos i could hardly bend my legs under me. I felt like a balloon, and when i squeeze myself i feel plasticy...not soft with fat...

According to a website it said that if my stomach has dropped, i have another 2-4 weeks before going into labour...2 weeks?? Im not ready!!!! My baby has no name!!

Don't know how im going to handle the AGM...im practically dragging my feet when i walk around, and then there's the issue of shoes...i wear Birkenstocks to work now. Cant stuff my feet into my Clarks anymore.

I hope the baby decides to come on a weekend when hubs is home...

Monday, May 26, 2008

Organ football - Week 34

I guess week by week, im in more pain. This time around, the baby seems to enjoy kicking a particular part of me ( i suspect that it's an organ cos it hurts like crazy), and i believe that my pelvis must be expanding or something cos that area's so sore! There's also more pressure on my bladder and when it's full, i can hardly walk to the bathroom!

I still have a thing for roti canai which i find absolutely delicious, and ice cream. 6-8 weeks more to go and the baby still doesnt have a name. I seriously need to be inspired!!! All the names i dreamed about using as a child for my kids cant be used at all. I cant imagine an Ashley or a Lindsey binti xxxxxxxxxx running around a sekolah kebangsaan, can you?

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Horse Riding - week 33

I dont know what's going on with my body right now, but the insides of my thighs hurt as if i've been horse riding all weekend long! I havent been on a horse since my Hill House days, and believe you me, that was ages ago!

This latest development all happened yesterday - sore inner thighs, and me walking around like a pregnant woman. Yes, Irzah's finally said that i do have the gait of a mother to be! Went to a shopping mall yesterday hoping to get myself a pair of Crocs to wear to work. Was horrified to find out just how swollen my feet are! Was only planning to spend RM129 on a pair, but the only thing that was kinda ok was this pair of wedges which was going for RM169. Definitely not a cool pair for when i go back to normal, so wasnt very keen on spending that much on a temporary pair of shoes. Also went a maternity clothing store...forgot what it's called, but it's the pricey local brand...Tried on a dress which i thought would be cool to wear at the AGM. Turns out that i look like an elephant!!! No dresses for me...i guess i'll have to buy tableclothes and 3 holes into them - 1 for the head and 2 for my arms.

Yesterday, i accomplished a diet that my doctor would have been proud of! I only had bfast, lunch and dinner with absolutely no snacks in between!! I guzzled down a lot of water though and was peeing like a fountain all day. Had a chat session with 2 colleagues who told me lots of scary giving-birth stories. I hope it'll go by smoothly, and i hope that i'll be a tough cookie enough to withstand labour without an epidural, and may my eyeballs not pop out of their sockets due to the intense pressure of the pain and the pushing! AMIN!!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Names

My mind can't seem to disassociate the pretty name from that person that MIL was talking about!! She's poisoned my mind! Please let it pass, cos if we're not using that name, hubs n i will definitely be at a loss.

I've been wanting to check out the Topshop/DP sale at Mid Valley for weeks now. It's really hard getting to such places from the little corner of the world where i work, so imagine my utter disappointment when i did show up at MV, only to find that the stores were closed for a members only sale!!! I wanted to scream n cry and kill someone! So here i am, feeling the 32 weeks around my belly, knowing for sure that venturing out on my own is not going to be as easy as it sounds. Ergh!!!! The circumstances surrounding my marriage is that i have to be pretty independent cos hubs is hardly around. It's sucking big time right now cos my wings are being clipped a little at a time. What am i to do??

Baby's fine i hope, cos last night when we were out celebrating my mum's bday i had a sundae, which i believe had some liquor in it. It tasted funny...a little like Kirsch. How would i know? From all those years of accidentally gobbling up adult pralines, of course! We were at an accident hotel in KL which made pretty good spaghetti cabonara. I thought nothing could surpass Pizza Italia (im using the old name cos thats when they were excellent and charged decent prices), but this cabonara was superb.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

32 weeks

At this point in time im feeling huge! i have swollen feet and waddle around :( my trousers are getting rather tight too, but im pleased to say that i've been able to keep to my diet, and consciously saying NO!!! to temptation like ice cream and other desserts. For the past 8 months i've been enjoying my work snacks which would include anything from bread, prunes, snicker bars to fruits (and everything else in between), but i've been able to stick to portions of fruit to stave off hunger pangs which is great!

Yesterday spoke to MIL and mentioned a name hubs n i both are ok with. She associated that name with a promiscuous young lady who's been in the papers the past few months! I didnt really appreciate that association and she's kinda spoiled it for me, but i refuse to be influenced by such a shallow point of view. There are all kindsa ppl with all kindsa names!!!

There's nothing really all that new with regards to the baby except for the fact that i love having her presence felt. I hope she's in good health. Amin.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

31 weeks & 5 days along

Oook, so much for wanting to record every minor detail. Im almost 8 months pregnant now with another 2 months to go.

Dr. Liew's been very unhappy with my weight gain for the past 3 months, so i've been trying to go on a diet which involves cutting down on all the snacking i do at work. On Wednesday i began the diet in earnest, eating 2 slices of whole wheat bread & milo for breakie at around 7.50am, and then at around 10.30am i had a whole mango, then a malay lunch at 1pm. I was starving by the time it came to lunch time and wiped up one whole plate of rice & lauk. In the afternoon, around 4pm i had an orange inspite of my stomach which seemed to have created a lot of angin. That night i had a pretty big dinner with my brother.

The good news is that the next day (yesterday), i was totally fine with a big breakie, no snack, lunch and still wasnt inclined to snack, though i gave in to some M&Ms. Im going to watch n see how today goes. Have a pear to snack on should hunger strike, but today have an appreciation lunch to attend, and i'll be well fed then.

The baby's been moving a lot, and due to her size, the movements are more violent in nature, with my whole tummy contorting in waves. It's amazing to watch and sometimes it literally takes my breath away. She's most active in the morning, the evening and around 12 midnight. At night when she's not happy bout me sleeping on my side she'll kick n kick until i change positions. I wonder what goes on in there, and how does she feel?

There's 8 weeks to go and my poor little one is still without a name! Hubs & i have only agreed on names that are culturally not suitable for the baby...goes to show that we both didnt grow up in Malaysia long enough to feel at ease with most local names.

Dear baby, i hope your mum & dad will come up with a fab name that would suit you to a tee.