2/5ths In!

A fortnight ago, Doc said that Baby's head is already "locked" within the pelvic.. Today, he said that Baby's head is 2/5ths engaged.. Which is almost half deep in the birth canal.. Apparently, usually around this time for first pregnancies, babies' head would still be floating around, trying to get engaged. Looks like Baby's an eager beaver, eh?

We can hardly see the full head during ultrasound scan now.. Doc did an internal examination and could feel Baby's head but the cervix has not dilated. If it has, Doc should be able to feel Baby's hair and that means, labor is due to happen within hours or days. It's scary at the thought of that, but it's exciting. Baby still has lots of amniotic fluid around him to move about. His heartbeat rate is normal. My blood pressure is normal too. I've now touched 50kgs, almost 1.1kgs gain, which Doc was really pleased about.

Because of the fact that Baby's head is already 2/5ths in, Doc warned that I could most probably go on early labor, 1-2 weeks before the estimated due date. Gee... Is Baby trying to come out early for Father's Day celebration??? Hubby's banking for 16th June, coz it coincide with the birthday of his favourite singer, Tupac. *shakes head*

But yeah.. I've got to be ready.. I need to pack my hospital bag!

Goodies From Down Under

Was expecting a parcel of jig board (for jewelry-making) from Lily but I'd never thought I'd get anything more than that! Imagine my suprise when I saw a huge box waiting for me at my doorstep today!

Down Under goodies!

* Deluxe Thing-a-Ma-Jig
Bringing my jewelry-making hobby to a higher level by forming loops with wires. I have something to do during my confinement period, well.. Besides the boxes of TVB and Korean drama series that Sis and Footitie will be loaning me. Tee hee hee!

* Card
"It's a boy" with a personalized message from Lily and husband. Thank you so much!!! *Hugz*

* 2 pairs of onesies, a.k.a. bodysuits
The joy of having a baby boy - 'Lock Up Your Daughters' and 'PIMP - Poo In My Pants'. *lol* Why aren't there any locally-made baby clothes that come with cute captions like these? Hubby and I couldn't stop smiling about the PIMP one. Very excited to have Baby wear them!

* Baby Owner's Starter Kit
The most hilarious yet informative manual I've ever seen.. Describing babies in product terminology.. The kit comes with a darn cool manual (troubleshooting baby's audio cues, and checking with the service provider if there are any missing parts), an instructional poster, growth chart and stickers for marking baby's progress, babysitter's memo pad, a crawling baby magnet and oh, hardcover keepsake box. Niceeeeeee!!!

Thanks a bunch, Lily and husband!! You've already given your share of gifts from the baby shower last weekend and yet there are more with these goodies. Thank you, thank you!!! And yes, the manual is definitely gonna be very handy for us. Hehe... Thanks again!!! Bless you both!!! *Hugz*

36 Weeks

4 more weeks to go! *Gasp*

From 3dPregnancy..

"I am getting a white oily vernix all over my body; that feels nice and soft".

"Being pregnant is wonderful. It is for a good cause and it will not last much longer! Be glad that you can still enjoy your belly and that you have your baby happily inside. Once the baby is born, you will think back with a bit of melancholy on that wonderful feeling of being pregnant. A feeling that is hard to describe but that is so beautiful and overwhelming, you have to experience it to understand. Enjoy it while you can!"

Indeed I am enjoying the moments.. More so now that the big day is getting nearer and nearer. The more I think about it, the more I know I'm gonna miss having Baby inside me - kicks, hiccups, turns and all.. *Sniff*

But on the other hand, in 4 weeks time, we will be welcoming a new member to our little family.. And yes, I'm very, very excited!! *Grin*

What Are You Looking At???

The one thing about being pregnant is that people tend to stare at you or rather, your bulging tummy.

When my bump started showing, I was pretty oblivious about the stares. At least until someone mentioned about them. And when the bump got much bigger, the stares got even worse and longer.

Whenever Hubby and I walk around the shopping complexes, strangers would just stare at me. They'd whisper to the person beside them to tell them to look at me. I'd be wondering if there was something on my head, a stain on my face, did I look weird to them or was I walking funnily. Had they just take a short glimpse, smile a bit or something, then I'm fine with it. But this is downright annoying.

Once, my colleagues and I returned from lunch and we took the lift up to our floor. There was this other lady in the lift with us. My colleagues noticed that she was practically staring at me from head to toe the entire ride. They were so annoyed that they stared back at her. I of course, did not take notice of this until they told me.

One of the afternoons, Hubby and I had dim sum for lunch. A lady sitting opposite me was staring at me. When she left, she passed by our table and she just looked towards my bump.

What the heck! All these people just seemed as if they've never seen a pregnant woman before! It is coz I look too young my age to be pregnant, that you need to search for the wedding ring on my finger??? That I look too small size and thin to be pregnant? Have you not seen a pregnant belly at all??? Must you stare at me like as if I'm some kind of an exhibit?? And for sure I don't wear any tight fitting clothes.. I have nothing to flaunt, really.

YES, IT IS POSSIBLE! YES, I AM PREGNANT!

Please give us pregnant women some respect. It's already stressful having to cope with the pregnancy blues, cramps and all. We do not need any added stress by you staring at us like aliens!

35 Weeks

From 3dPregnancy..

"There is a good chance that he will not have to go in the incubator if he is born now. After all, he is completely ready, except for his lungs! If he were born today, the neonatologist will check to see if the baby is premature. If his lungs are not fully developed, he may need to spend time in a special care nursery with medication. If he's healthy, though, he can even go home soon, despite his small size."

Noooo.. Baby's not 'fully baked' yet.. Don't come out so soon!

"Breastfeeding is very important for premature babies, because their immune system can still be underdeveloped. The chance of infections is greatly reduced through breastfeeding. The first milk, colostrum, is extraordinarily rich in antibodies and is an outstanding precaution against infections."

I do intend to breastfeed Baby for at least 6 months, if it's possible. Good for Baby. Good for me. And good for our pockets too, save on milk powders. *lol*

A Walk In The Park

Chef and Xiao Ping are on a hunt for an outdoor location for their bridal photography. We suggested the Bukit Jalil park coz they have those gardens from all around the world.

So today being a public holiday for Wesak Day, we took the opportunity to make a visit to the park. Besides I need some exercise to ease my upcoming delivery. We took a long walk along the tracks, passed the ponds, to the gardens and then back to the car.

It was quite tiring, having to carry almost 2kg load in front of me. Despite all the huffing and puffing, I had a slow but really goodwalk. I'm really glad I managed to conquer it without fainting. And Hubby gave me an ice-cream treat after that! Yay! *Grin*

Baby Shower Suprise

The girls, along with Hubby, threw a baby shower suprise at Italiannies, The Curve!

It was truly an unexpected one.. Today started off like any usual Sunday, doing some simple housechores before we head off to The Curve/Ikano to do our grocery shopping. Hubby said that he felt like having pasta for lunch, which was, I thought, kind of odd coz he's not so much of a pasta fan (fattening and expensive) but then again, I thought it was probably one of his craving moments (see.. I'm the pregnant one but he's having the cravings instead. Not kidding here! Hehe!). After throwing in a few suggestions on where to have pasta, Hubby said to go to Italiannies. I immediately went, "Wuah.. Sure?? Very expensive woh!!!" But oh well.. Since he's the one having cravings.. Hehehe..

The other odd thing was that we walked around, even hung out at one of the bakeries for a bite or two (and I thought we were supposed to have pasta for lunch) before Hubby told me that Chef and Xiao Ping would meet us for lunch.

Once we've arrived at Italiannies, we asked for a table of 4 and the waitress was about to show us a vacant table. Somehow Hubby insisted that he wanted to sit at the upper deck, to the extent that he was almost whispering to the waitress that he must sit up there. Odd observation #3! The waitress of course, looked confused but she brought us up to the upper deck anyway. I looked for a nice vacant table ant noticed that the bigger table at the center of the deck was decorated with balloons. I wanted to tell Hubby that maybe there was a party going on there! Then at a corner, I saw a very familar face.. Gummy! Wow! It had been months since we've met up and it was such a coincidence to bump into her there! I was so excited that I wanted to tell Hubby. Then odd observation #4.. Moorish was sitting beside Gummy.. They're both my very close friends but they're not very close to each other, I've not seen them being in the same room together since my wedding 2 years ago and now they're having lunch together? Hhhm.... I was really suprised.. And suddenly, the rest of them came out from their hiding places.. Only then, it hit me.. The party was for us!! *lol* How very, very sneaky of them!!!

I couldn't believe it! I mean, we did however throw a shower for Jewel but I'd never in a million years, expected to receive one as well. And I couldn't believe that Hubby kept this away from me!!!

It was nevertheless, a truly wonderful suprise and a very fun reunion! *Grin* We've had so much of talk about pregnancy and babies, especially from the experienced mummy Jewel.. And ooh.. Those lovely, lovely gifts and those yummy cupcakes!! We can't be grateful enough for their kindness and generosity!!

Baby shower goodies!

Personal sets of onesies from Moorish during her time in Houston

To the girls - Moorish, Sue, Mei (who came up from Singapore!), Gummy, Jewel and Lily (your presence was felt even though you're far away in Sydney).. Thank you very, very much for the gifts, for throwing this wonderful shower for us. You've been the girlfriends I never thought I would have all these years.. 22 years with Gummy and 13 years with the rest. Here's to many more years of friendship between us!! Cheers!!

Chef and Xiao Ping - Thank you so much for being there at the shower. Baby is truly blessed to have both of you as his godparents (apart from 2 other godfathers.. And he's not even out yet!!). Wishing both of you great happiness as you unite as one in a few months time. We'll make sure Baby is ever ready to roll on your marital bed when the time comes! *Grin*

Wan Nei and Bubble - Was told that you girls couldn't make it for the party, It's alright, we can arrange to meet up soon before Baby is out, yeah? *Hugz* Hhm.. Wan Nei, now I understood why you called last evening and asked if I was at The Curve with my friends and then later on said that you called "for fun". *lol*

Hubby dearest - You really got me there this time. Hehe.. Very cheeky of you!! Am very excited to look forward to welcoming our little monsterous man, a mini you, in a month's time. :) *Muakz*

It definitely had been a delightful and an unforgettable event, to be blessed with having them in my life and now to share the arrival of our forthcoming bundle of joy. Love you, girls!!! *Group hugz*

Baby Is Engaged!

Today's checkup was a very happy and exciting one.

I had mentioned to Doc that my appetite has been reducing lately, that I couldn't eat as much as before at one sitting. He said that it's common because as the uterus expands, the stomach gets shrunk. But when we did the routine weight measurement, we found out that I have gained 2kgs.. Which brings me to 48.9kgs now. I have gained 9.1kgs in total so far and Doc was very pleased with it!! Yay!!

We did the ultrasound scan.. Doc told us that Baby is already "in" because he couldn't quite see the top part of the head now. This showed that Baby is already "engaged" which means Baby's head is "locked" between the pelvis, ready at the birth canal. It is likely that I will deliver 1-2 weeks earlier than estimated! That's like, in 4 weeks time!! *Gasp*

Baby is growing well.. He's now weighing almost 2kgs! Doc said that although Baby's head is "locked", Baby still has plenty of room to move his body, arms and legs. That explains why Baby's growing at the correct pace, not too fast, not too slow, but his legs are growing 2 weeks faster! Must have been all those kicks!!

Speaking of kicks, Baby was moving a lot during the scan. Doc was pressing the tummy quite hard with the scanner and I think Baby really didn't like it. Baby tried to squirm to move the scanner away whereasDoc kept pressing the scanner deeper. It was reaaaaaally uncomfortable. I had so wanted to tell Doc to remove his scanner. Hehe.. Baby was doing that "body bulging on the right side of my tummy and a lump on the left side of the tummy" thingy and I immediately asked Doc to place his scanner at where the lump was. Doc did so and said "That's his foot". Haha! Naughty Baby!

And yes, Baby is indeed a boy. Doc showed us Baby's scrotums.. *lol* We've definitely come to terms of having a boy.. And I must say, I love Baby more and more as each day pass by. Can't wait to see him next month!!!

Our next checkup is in a fortnight's time. So exciting!!

34 Weeks

From 3dPregnancy..

"This week I am going to turn my head downwards because that feels best to me."

I know for sure that Baby is already in that position since the last checkup, so it's a good sign. :)

"In the coming weeks his head will go down further behind the pubic bone. The pressure of the growing baby and your loosening pelvis will allow the baby to descend lower and lower in your pelvic region."

Hmm... So maybe that was what happened yesterday!

"Lying on your back is not so good because then the weight of your uterus presses on the major abdominal artery and the lower vein as a result of which your baby can get less blood supply. Your baby will let you know if you are reducing his blood supply by squirming, kicking, and generally letting you know you should move!"

Darnn... All these while, I thought that was amusing to watch Baby move! Sorry, Baby.. Mummy won't do that again..

"If you notice a pattern to the contractions, if they are longer than 45 seconds to a minute, if they command your attention and you can't talk or move through them, and if they are getting closer and closer together, these are signs of early labor contractions."

So I've got to watch out for this!

Anyhow, 6 more weeks till Baby arrives!!! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Tummy Dropped

I don't know if I'm seeing things.. But I felt like as if my tummy is much lower today..

I wonder if Baby's much heavier now.. I'd probably might need to hold my tummy to keep it from dropping. *lol*

By the way, I've got a new activity to do now.. Watering the plants using a small water container.. Haha! It's a good exercise for me, lots of walking from where the tap is to the plants. :)

Happy Mummy's Day

I shall only be able to celebrate Mother's Day next year..

This year, Hubby and I brought my parents out for a buffet dinner treat at Eastin Hotel. We celebrated a day earlier to avoid crowds and well.. It's much more expensive to dine out on the day itself.

We also bought a small American cheesecake from Bakerzin for Mummy.

To my Mummy dearest

Can't believe it.. I will be a mother soon.. Wow..

33 Weeks

.. And 49 more days to go!

The Pregnancy Countdown Book says...

"All of her bones are still hardening, except for her skull, which remains soft and pliable and will not completely join, enabling her to journey through the birth canal".

"Just surrender to your nesting instinct. "Nesting" - The desire to clean, redo and renew one's home - is real. Nesting is a primal instinct among all pregnant animals. It often hits the human ones during the third trimester (In fact, a strong nesting urge at your due date week can even signal the onset of labor)."

3dPregnancy says..

"You waddle like Mother Goose".

To think that I'm already walking like a penguin now... Now I'm like a Mother Goose... *Sighz*

Onesies

Oh by the way.. We bought 2 bodysuits a.k.a. onesies from Brands Outlet.

They're so darn cute, branded items yet so cheap!!! Couldn't resist them!

The joy of expecting a baby boy.. Tee hee hee!

We love this so much!

We will let Baby wear the latter one during his full moon celebration.. If the grandparents allow us to! *Grin*

Baby's Chinese Name

It's really tough having to think of a name for Baby.. So far we've only managed to decide on the English name and we're very happy with it!

We've came up with a Chinese character name.. I'll save you from telling how we've come to decide on that. Hehehe... You will really knock your head on the table or wall. Anyway, yet somehow our families don't quite approve it. One said it's very Tibetan. One said it's very old-fashioned. One thinks it's very religious. One just felt that it doesn't sound nice at all. *Sighz*

Eventually I guess it will just be up to the both of us to decide on a full Chinese name. The problem is, it is tough to think of one coz we're both Chinese illiterate, and we're relying heavily on this Chinese name book we bought some time ago, Internet or friends. We did ask Mummy coz she can read and write Chinese. The problem is that she thought of ONE and only ONE Chinese name for Baby and had been persistent with it, refusing to find other suggestions. How are we to accept the name if we ourselves don't even like the pronounciation nor the meaning?

We've got 2 more months to come up with a full name.. We will find the best name we can give for Baby.. Ever since we've decided on the English name, we've been calling Baby by that name. I wonder if he knows that we're calling him. Hehe..