Bikini girl!

Maggie got this bikini for Valerie quite many years back but she couldn't wear then (it was a size 4 btw). Now tt valerie is reaching 4, we brot out to let her try and it fits! She looked so bright from far becoz of the pink but very cute nonetheless.

Seeing her in a bikini just reminded me how fast time flies and how much she has grown.

Oh Baby!!

Hui has been asking me to send in Nigel's photos to Straits Times for the Oh Baby!! column. I thought it'll be nice if his pictures really gets published but my camera batt was down and I couldn't find the charger!!! Now that we've found the charger and his neck is firm enough for the bumper chair.. so I went "trigger happy"!!! See what I got!

This picture is simply priceless.. love it to bits!

Hopefully we can see this picture being published soon!

3.5 months

Here they are.. both at around 3.5 mth old... Valerie was definitely a bigger baby compared to Nigel. Funny thing nowadays girls seemed to outgrow boys!

Back to Pasir Ris Park

HB supposed to go for his StandChart 10km run today but as he is feeling giddy from yesterday, he decided not to go. And since Valerie has no golf lesson today (we applied leave for her) we decided to head to the beach. East Coast would probably be out of bounds due to the StandChart run so we went to Pasir Ris beach instead.

Actually we find that Pasir Ris beach/park is better as it's less crowded, not so cluttered and the seabreeze is really cooling and comfortable. Will definitely come here again.

This is HB and his little darlings

3 months old!

Hey adorable, you are now 3 months old!

It's too much!!

Ok.. I really need to ease off smsing. Lately I'm sending like more than 1000 smses a month and having only 500 free means I'm paying like S$50 just on smses alone! *OMG*

Definitely need to go easy on them now.. especially since the pay cut will happen in Jan'09. *boo-hoo-hoo*

Constipated?

Nigel didn't poop for FOUR days and it makes me very worried. I asked my friends as well as surf the net and the conclusion is that it's normal that breastfed babies go through days without any poop. But I'm still worried coz his farts are smelly.

So this morning we brot him to see a PD. He was given the supportistory. OUCH! After like 1-2 mins he started to cry very badly. The other time he has cried so badly was when he was 2 days old.. Hearing him cry and scream really pains me.

Finally he poop. It's not watery like his normal poop but not hard like those on formula. It's more like whipped potatoe consistency. And his poop sure stinks!

After he poop he was so tired that he promptly fell asleep after I place him on the stroller as we make our way home. Poor boy.. mommy sayang ok.

Night Safari

DH is currently on block leave so we wanted to bring Valerie some place 'special'. Since his company can apply for free Night Safari ticket, we decided to bring Val there. As he has 4 free tickets, we invited Maggie & her family to come along with us.

Valerie had never really been a fan of the day zoo so we hoped that she'll be able to enjoy Night Safari. When we reached there, she doesn't seemed at all excited. Well, the night safari is quite dark at night and she doesn't like dark places.

After we purchased tickets, we started off by heading towards the show area for the 830pm "Creatures of the Night". While waiting, she kept saying she want to go home. When the show finally started, she began to sob so I carried her.

Thank goodness as the animals come out one by one, she starts to soak up to the atmosphere and began to enjoy the show. Animals that she can recognise (e.g owl etc) she began excited. She would even automatically clap her hands after each performance!

Knowing that she ain't very good at walking long distance, we opt for the tram. We feel that 1) we need not carry her which is very tiring and 2) it gives her some comfort zone, close enough to see the animals but not so close to make her afraid.

After the tram ride, we brought her to have Ben & Jerry's. That sure makes her day! By the time we reached home.. she was so tired she didn't even what to drink her milk... :p

Happy as can be

What else can I ask for. I feel so blessed to have them... and of course my wonderful HB would took this picture of us. :-)

Learning from Valerie

Valerie has been attending Kindergolf for a couple of months now and today it's "meet the parents" day. The teacher went through her progress with us and told us that Valerie is very positive. Whenever she miss a chip or a putt, she'll say "It's ok, let's try again!". The teacher went on and said that some kids will cry or throw the club when they miss.

Her positive attitude is really a virtue that everyone should learn from. I'm definitely learning from her!

Valerie's new hair cut!

It's not the first time Val has her hair cut by professional but the last visit to the hairdressers (Juniors League at PP) was ages back. When we walked past EC House at Novena Sq today, I asked if she wanted a hair cut and she readily said "YES!".

Since we haven't had dinner, we quickly settle our rumbling tummy. After the meal, we asked her again and she still gave us a positive answer. So here goes! I was quite worried that she'll cry to come down after a while but thankfully she didn't.

Knowing kids, they can't really stay still for long. Thru'out the cut (which takes twice as long as normal cut :p), she was fidgeting, sweeping away her hair, kept lookin at the floor and commented "so much hair!". Lucky for us, this hairdresser seeemed very patient and managed to do a pretty good job!

Smile!

Today is my SIL's coy's family day. Originally I wanted to go but since my ILs also want to go, I find that the car will be too crowded. I'm quite anal about baby being in the car seat whenever we travel so I opt not to go and stay home with Nigel.

Although I miss Valerie and quality time with her, at least I still have Nigel who'll smile so readily at me.

Nov desktop background

DH says he like this... just to share..

Nov desktop template compliments from shabbyprincess.com.

First LO for Nigel

This is what I've done for him.. but I kept thinking it's kinda plain. :(

Finally.. a new blog header

Since Nigel was born, I've wanted to change the blog header. Finally found the time to do it! The colour tone is more neutral as we have a balance of sexes now :p

Credits:
Papers & stitches - Feerie Freebie by Amelie Scrap
Frame - Kitbash by Tara Dunstan
Flower Rub On - Smitten by Angela Niehaus
Pink flower & paper clip - Smitten by Ziggle Designs & Kami Leonard
Font - Howser

First 6-in-1 jab for Nigel

Today we brought Nigel for his 1st dosage of the 6-in-1. While, he did cry when the needle went in but it was a short one. H/E, the rest of the day he kept crying in this sleep.. maybe he is still
'traumatised' by the jab. HAHAHA

BTW, he is 6kgs heavy now. Gained 2.5kgs since birth. His weight gain is definitely faster than Valerie!

Year End Concert - She's lil' angel!

Today is the long awaited concert. The concert theme was "Enchanted Garden" and I thot that they'll be dressed up as flowers or small animals. What I least expected was that they will be dressed up as angels!

As compared to prior year, Valerie definitely has shown alot more confidence on stage. She is performing very well, remembering all the steps without much prompting. It's written all over her face that she is enjoying every single moment on the stage. :-)

It was a joy to see her perform. Not just because she enjoys it, but seeing my little girl growing up happily.. I truly feel very blessed to be her mom.

Finger sucking good!

Ha! Caught red-handed!

Happy 2nd month Nigel!

Sweet girl of mine!

Isn't she adorable? When I came home yesterday after my facial (braved through heavy heavy downpour!) she ran to me and said "see see see". She got 2 teddy bear clips on her head. It was my maid to put it on for her. Instantly I took the picture and send to DH.

I'm so blessed.

Exercise!

Enjoy! We don't know where she learn all these from. But it sure is funny!

Sorry for the tilt. This is taken using my mobile and I don't know how to reorientate the video clip.

Happy birthday Seth!

Thank you Elaine for inviting us! Didn't manage to take some pictures with the birthday boy tho' :p

In case you are wondering, the birthday cakes are all baked by Elaine and they taste fantastic! Best of all she made banana and carrot cakes! So they are yummy and healthy at the same time!

Yum Yum

DH's birthday!

Poor HB, back from Japan and down with bad throat. He basically lost his voice and was coughing. Being on mc on your own birthday.. so poor thing. After resting for half a day, he did feel better so we decided to bring Val to Swenson's to have a free Birthday Firehouse.

Knowing that Chocolate is definitely one of the allergy trigger, we went ahead to eat up the choc & peanuts! I don't think she really noticed as she was busy eating up all the whipped cream! Needless to say, the ice cream made her v happy :-)

After having the ice cream, we proceed to buy a small cake so that the kids can sing bday song and cut bday cake. Again, because of her allergy to choc, we have to avoid choc cake (which is VERY hard!). Ultimately we settled for a Pandan Cake from Bengawan Solo.

1st trip to the Library

Today is another 'adventure' for both of us as we'll be taking bus to the library. As we waited quite a while for the bus, Valerie started pointing at any vehicle that drove past the bus stop and asked "Is this the bus?" Hahaha

After waiting for 15-20mins, the bus finally came. Val doesn't have a concession card and I'm not sure if she needed one. When boarding, I asked the bus driver if I need to pay for Val, and the answer as "No need". Hee

When we reached the library, we went to the preschooler's section. It was a nice little area with little tables & chairs and MANY MANY books. Actually so many that I really don't know how or where to start. So I randomly picked out some books and read to her.

We didn't stay very long in the library coz Val kept yawning (hahaha). Besides, it's almost time for lunch so we started heading home. It was a short but at least it's still quality time with Valerie.

But at the near end of it, there was a 'glitch' tho.. that's Val's fingers got caught in the lift door when it was opening! Thankfully nowadays the lift doors have sensor so it quickly shut back when there was something jammed inside. Val's fingers are ok, but she definitely got a fright. But she soon got over it. :p

Smile that melts a million hearts

At 7 weeks plus, this boy is really quite responsive. Maybe his smile will not melt a million hearts as I would have thought. But it definitely melted mine.

Finally.. solo trip with Valerie!

While on maternity leave, I've always wanted to bring Valerie out on my own to spend some quality time alone with her. Finally today we have the chance to. DH left for Japan yesterday night and today being a P.H. means Valerie does not have school and I'll have the use of the car.

She has always wanted to goto the pool so I brought her to NSRCC today. Along the way, she kept saying "No need scared of plane". She still has this fear of the plane flying over her head thus everytime she hears the plane (and at NSRCC you hear that alot due to its proximity to the airport), she'll cover her eyes or seek shelter. Eventhough she kept reminding herself that there is no need to be scared of the plane, she still cover her eyes or ask me to hug her when the plane fly past :p

We spent roughly half hour in the pool. Although the time ain't very long but it's still a wonderful time both of us had spent with each other. I know I'm not as cheeky and 'fun' as her dad but I'm still happy and she enjoys my company (or at least I think so lah). :p

Tomorrow Valerie has no school so I intend to bring her to the Library. She hasn't been to one, hopefully she'll enjoy her 1st trip there.

PS: Sorry no pix of today's dip coz I can't possible take pix while splashing in the pool with her right? :p

Like father like son?

What do you think?

Million-dollar smile

At 6 weeks this boy is actually quite responsive. See how wide his smile is :-) He hasn't started laughing out loud yet, I'm really looking forward to hearing his first laughter

My precious

Valerie is still learning how to be gentle to her lil' bro but we know for sure that she does dote on him.

So does anyone think they resembles each other?

When is too much TV a bad thing?

Was it ever a good thing to introduce TV anyway? I don't know. I didn't want to read those articles coz I don't wish to try to be the best mom and only do all the 'correct' things. Of course I know too much TV is bad, but when is it considered too much? I guess I know the answer now.

Valerie is definitely having way too much TV. Average FIVE hours a day. 1 hour before she goes to school, and at least another 4 hours after she wakes up (5pm - 9pm). It's just too much TV. The moment she wakes up she'll ask for Playhouse Disney. Sigh.

What can be done? Now that we've shifted here, the playground is a tat far for MIL. Other than letting her watch TV, she really do not know how to 'entertain' her. Valerie is already 3+, she should try her hands on some writting (tracing) and recognising words.

I think I must really put my thoughts into action. While I'm still on maternity leave, I should try to bring her to the playground daily. At least try to cut down on TV for the time being.

First solo trip

Other than the trip to ESH, I've not yet bring Nigel out alone. Today is the first. I brought Nigel back to office today to distribute those Bengawan Solo cake cards to colleagues who have given Nigel ang-bao for his 1st month. Unfortunately, quite a few were on leave or on biz trip so Nigel didn't manage to meet all the aunties & uncles that mommy works with.

Nonetheless, I still brought him to walk 1 round in the office just to let my colleagues see him. Most of them said the same thing, i.e. 1) he is fair, 2) he definitely looks like a boy and 3) he got double eye-lid! hahaha

After hanging around in office for 1 hr (Nigel drank milk thus that took half hour already :p), I headed to Raffles Place to meet Lucinda. Along the way, I popped by Madam Milan in Raffles Place MRT station (how could I resist right) and saw that the shop is stocked up with tons of bags. Bottega itself they have 4 or 5 pcs. Many Miu Mius, some TODS/Loewe and of course tons of LVs & Guccis :p

I saw a BV Roma but gosh, it's indeed quite heavy! :p After browsing, I went over to meet Lucinda. Chatted with her for a short while before I went to mom's office for her to parade Nigel around. Hee..

By the time we are ready to head home, it's already past 12! Nigel had been a good boy, sleeping throughout while I sling him. I guess being in the sling is really very cosy to him! The 1st solo trip ended well. Hopefully I can try bringing Nigel + Valerie out on my own soon.

Grandma's birthday

It was my mom's birthday yesterday so we went to GWC for dinner. We took alot of efforts, from soft to hard methods to get Valerie to eat (sigh). She finally did, but didn't eat much. After dinner we hang around in GWC and Valerie came across this 'merry-go-round'.

It was very colourful and we started snapping! :p

Here's a picture of the siblings. Looking forward to the day both of them can sit side by side for a more 'proper' picture :-)

Will he be as smiley?

Brought Nigel for his 4-6weeks review last Friday. He is weighing 5kgs now! Dr Low said he is slightly overweight :p

Can u imagine? Born 3.5kgs and now at 5 weeks, he is 5kgs. I think his weight gain is faster than Valerie! I remember Valerie gained an average of 900gms/mth and 1.5kgs in 5 weeks is definitely MORE than that! :p

Another 'burning' question we have been asking ourselves is.. whether Nigel will be as smiley as his sister. We wouldn't know as yet coz he is only 5 weeks. But I do hope he will be and there are signs that he would! Look at him smile!

How's Valerie?

The focus had been on Nigel lately but no.. I have not forgotten about my precious Valerie :-) I do admit that I have less time to spend with her now as Nigel requires more attention and I need time to express milk etc. But I do try to spend whatever time I have left with her.

Here are some recent pictures of her. Alot thinner now coz she is rather picky with food lately. Things that she used to gooble up 1 year ago (e.g. fried rice, french fries etc), she ain't interested in them now. Hopefully this is a passing phase like what her other cousins went through.

Tummy time

I'm trying to give this boy some tummy time and I must say his neck is actually quite strong! The above picture is not the highest he can reach. He could actually lift his head so high that if u are in front of him, you'll be able to see his entire face! Way to go boy!

My 3 love

There are many things in life money can buy. This? It's priceless.

You are 1 month old!

Nigel is 1 month old (chinese calendar) today! In the morning, MIL came up and ask that I help cut Nigel's nails. They were soooo long! His nails are very soft! I believe it's softer than Valerie's. After that MIL proceed to give him a 'nice' haircut. After bathing, he was changed into a nice romper, ready to be the star for the day!

Late morning we brot him over to my mom's and we had lunch there. KoKo (aka my dog) was very interested to meet a new friend. He kept sniffing at Nigel (we make sure it's not too close for our comfort) while he sleeps inside the infant car seat.

After hanging a short while at my mom's, we headed home to rest. I was having runny nose and feeling kinda terrible. Luckily we still have some time to spare before the caterer came so I pop down some medicine and rest.

Before the start of the buffet, we brot Nigel and pass some tarts/eggs to our neighbours and formally introduce Nigel to them. When the guests finally arrived from 5pm onwards, our house really became a market of sorts! It's so noisy! And guess what? Nigel just slept thru the din! I actually have to carry him up to feed him coz he is 1hr past his meal time! I was so afraid that he wouldn't sleep at night, but luckily he did!

Phew!

Trip to the ENT Specialist

Brot Val to see an ENT specialist today. Her sneezing bout was becoming a little to frequent and too violent (as in her mucus can travel quite far). We thot her nose allergy is mainly brot on by some dust or bugs but we were so wrong.

ENT Specialist gave us a list of food that is known to be triggers for allergies. And these food include:

1) Diary pdts (milk, yoghurt, ice cream, cheese etc);
2) Eggs, esp egg white (cakes, kaya etc);
3) Wheat (bread, yellow noodles, biscuits etc);
4) Chocolate (including milo, ovaltine, choc chip cookies etc);
5) Chicken (chicken essence etc);
6) Peanuts (including peanut butter, peanut oil)

Can u imagine our horror?!?! Valerie eats the following... her fav..

1) Ice cream/cakes (prob once a month)
2) Yellow noodle (2-3 times weekly)
3) Eggs (almost daily)
4) Milo (daily)
5) Peanut butter spread on bread/biscuits (1-2 times weekly)
6) Some kind of biscuits (choc or other flavour), cookies (almost daily)

Doc advise is abstain 1st then slowly reintroduce each category of food again to test which causes her allergy. But we know cold turkey ain't going to work coz she eats all of the above so frequently. So now our approach is drastically reduce to try to curb her condition.

Dancing Queen

Enjoy... simply hilarious!

First 10 days..

The initial days are always the busiest. Getting the hang of latching, into a routine, changing diapers etc etc. Luckily DH was on leave for the 1st week, so we managed some time to take pictures of Nigel as well as Valerie. Look at the difference in size! I totally forgot a baby was this 'tiny'.

So far Valerie has been really sweet to Nigel. Can tell she is a doting sister coz whenever she hears Nigel crying via the baby monitor, she'll inform everyone that baby is crying and will dash upstairs :p

Valerie is also helping me out. E.g. she'll help me take the diaper and throw into the dustbin. At time she also offer to hold Nigel's milk bottle (but we didn't let her coz she wldn't know how to feed) or put the pacifier in his mouth. When Nigel cries, she'll also say to him "baby dun cry" and then sayang his face etc. She was even willing to give Nigel a soft toy when he was crying.

Valere is so sweet.. and both of us feel so blessed to have her.. every single day :-)

Introducing Nigel Yeo!

How time flies! Nigel is 7 day old today! I wanted to update the blog earlier but the initial days are always this busy. Feeding, pumping, changing diapers, trying to get a wink etc etc. I'm still trying to figure out a workable routine as I'm definitely producing more breastmilk that Nigel can finish so I need to figure out how to feed him and pump most efficiently.

But before all that, these are Nigel's stats at birth:

• Date/Time: 05.09.08 1325
• Length/weight: 51cm. 3500gm
• Head circumference: 36cm

As to 'birth story' to share, I guess there isn't any since I went for c-section. I opt for epidural c-section again this time coz I want to be able to hear & see him immediately after birth. That's the closest I get to 'natural' birth I guess. During the op, I can feel the pain (quite painful infact). They up the dosage of the epidural so much so that even my chest area became numb and after the op, I have to work harder to breathe. I'm not breathless but definitely take more effort to take breathes.

Recovery wise I feel that this time round I'm doing slower than previous c-section. I guess not being as fit as before is the main culprit. I did try to walk more at the later stage of this pregnancy but the constant pain at the groin just prevents me from doing so. So I guess chicken & egg situation, the less I walk, the slower I recover now bah.

So far Nigel is doing great. He latches on quite quickly and suckles well. Altho he has the tendency to doze off while suckling (don't all babies) overall he is ok. Definitely more patient compared to Valerie's time. I guess a little more experience also helps. Back during Valerie's time, I guess the lack of experience is the main stumbling block to successful breastfeeding.

As to Valerie & Nigel, I think their 1st meeting went off fantastic. Valerie was very loving and sayang Nigel. The subsequent days went just as well and she has not shown any signs of jealousy. After I came home (Nigel was home 1 day after due to jaundice), she has been a darling. She even sang songs to Nigel (Rock-a-bye Baby & Twinkle Stars)! And when Nigel cries, she'll come by and ask him don't cry. She is such a sweet darling and DH & I are very happy to be blessed with a girl like her.

One thing that didn't change much is how HOT I am throughout the day! And the weather is definitely not helping! Sometimes I wonder why is it when I'm doing my confinement, the sun must shine like there is no tomorrow!!! ARGH!

Tomorrow shall be the day...

After all the anticipation, the stage is finally set. Dr Heng did the cervix check for me and said that I'm roughly 1.5cm-2cm dilated. Baby's head is quite low (she actually can feel) but his face still not facing inside. His hands are rested on the chin and I can definitely see that his nose is higher than Valerie's.

She asked me to wait for another week (she actually said 10 days overdue is fine) but I didn't really want to wait anymore. Many friends ask me to wait. "Just give him a couple more days" they all said. But progressively, I'm losing confidence. Yes, a baby WILL eventually be born naturally, it's a matter of time. But what are the chances of successful VBAC every passing day?

During today's scan, he is estimated to be 3.6kgs (+/- 10%). Even if he is smaller now, give him one more week, wouldn't he be around 3.6kgs by then? I know MANY people, smaller in frame has birth a 3.6kgs baby. But how long did they take? Was it their 1st child? 2nd child? Anyone VBAC? No one can give me such 'statistics'.

I only hope to have my child, safely placed on my arms, with minimum complications. I'm not an advocate that all birth MUST be natural watsoever. But having said that, I understand that natural birth has a faster recovery process. Why would I want to cut myself up for nothing right?

Maybe I'm not determined enough, lack of self confidence and too anxious. But watever it is, the decision has already been made. I've arranged for c-section tomorrow at 1pm. Although I'm sad, since I've already made this decision, I just have to see through it.

Fun @ Varsity Park Condo

Went to Biao Yee's new house yesterday. Her house warming is scheduled for next Sunday but since I should have pop by then, she invited us to her place for dinner one week earlier. After seeing Julian's house, Valerie has been nagging us to bring her swimming so we thought maybe we go slightly earlier so she can have a dip.

When we reached, we are greated by sparsely spaced 5-storey blocks that gives you a very 'resort' feel. The whole compound is actually very big with 1 entrance at West Coast Road and the exit at Clementi Road. It's quite near to NUS (as the name suggests :p). All (I think) of the 5-storey units are actually penthouse units, thus effectively it's 6 floors per block.

Biao Yee's unit is one the ground floor, with large balcony area spanning from the 1st bedroom to the master-bedroom. The balcony area infront of the living & 1st bedroom is made of wood while the one infront of the master bedroom is covered with carpet grass (that needs some gardening :p). It's a 4 bedroom unit totally 1890sq ft. The living, dining, bedroom are of ok size, not too big neither are they too tiny for any effective use.

The facilities in the whole developement are also very spaced out, but thankfully the pool and water play area are located quite near to Biao Yee's house. And this is what you get at Varsity Park.. Water slides!

Before dinner, we gathered at the living room while my cousins played with Valerie. One of them gave Valerie this crown and Valerie happily pronounced herself as the QUEEN. When they asked her who is the King? She pointed to DH. So what does it make me? Hmm...

7th lunar month is over!

Some 'theory' as to why Nigel ain't coming out yet is because he doesn't want to be a 'chek guey' (7th lunar mth) baby. Ok, today is the 1st day of the 8th lunar month, so boy, are you coming out today? :p

Joshua's 1st Bday

Since Nigel doesn't seemed to be ready to see the world as yet, we decided to goto Joshua's bday party today. Julian was DH's cadet and is one of DH's golf kaki. I do know that he comes from a wealthy family but I didn't really expect that his parents' house would have their own POOL. Yes, swimming pool and no, it's not a size of a bathtub. I reckon it's a quarter olympic size pool.

It's definitely one of the most child-friendly birthday party we've attended ever. Why? Because they have little tables & chairs for kids! When Valerie saw those little tables & chairs, she said "School!" hahahaha. When I checked with Julian, he said his friend owns My Gym and lend him those tables & chairs FOC. And there's also the bouncing castle next to the pool which he rented from a friend at a mere S$200.

During the party, I observed the guests and I realised that most (if not all) are definitely from the upper income bracket. Other than Julian's relatives who are obviously in the same league as them, Julian also invited his golf kakis. And I saw their wives carrying Bottega/Loewe/Gucci handbags, wearing huge diamond rings and expensive watches. All of them with manicure hands & feet. The cars parked outside the party house? Mainly Mercz & BMWs. What do they work as? Private bankers, financial advisors, lawyers etc. How old are these people? Less than 40. It's crazy I tell you.

Do I feel out of place? Slightly, I must admit, but I tell myself, as long as you are happy, everything is secondary. And I must say, I am happy with whatever I have now. :)

Still no sign @ 38wks 6days

It's 1 day shy of 39 weeks and guess what.. nothing is happening! Although engaged, his orientation is still towards my left rather than downwards towards the 'door'. Meaning, it wouldn't be happening soon I guess.

There has been loads of anticipation and anxious since I'm 37 weeks. Telling myself he is all ready to see the world. But I guess the word 'ready' is not for me to say. Every progressive day my joints ache more, the groin feels more pain (sometimes to the extend of experiencing sharp pain) but still no signs of labor.

Although I tell myself that there will always be a chance of me going through c-section again for various reasons, I'll be damn disappointed if eventually I have to go through one because there is just no signs of labor coming even when the due day approaches. Dr Heng has scheduled me to see her again next Thursday (1 day before EDD). She says by then if Nigel still not out, we'll talk about alternatives (ie induce or c-section).

I don't think I will want to induce as I always feel that the failure rate is high. Besides, if Nigel continues to grow inside, he'll prob hit 3.4kgs soon? If that's the case, wldn't it be more difficult to birth him naturally? In any case, I've decided, if he is late, I'll opt for c-section.

BTW, he is 3244gm today. All the beef, durian and ice cream works! But of course.. mom puts on weight too! hahahaha

Seng's wallet

Ordered this for Seng 2 weeks back through Carol's contact. It's a Bi-fold wallet with 8 credit card slots, retailing at S$610 in SG. Unlike my wallet, his is made of calfskin rather than lambskin. Carol's friend's friend is working in Gucci or BV so they can get 50% staff discount. FIFTY, can you imagine. But quota is tight so it's not easy to get. I was lucky, sort of.

But the 'unfortunate' thing was that there were some discrepancy in the stock count recently so the collection of the wallet was delayed. Today, Carol sms me saying that her fren's fren still hasn't contacted them about the wallet (sigh). Carol is leaving for HK tmrw (hopefully she can find her Miu Miu Charm), be back on 03/09 so she says earliest can only collect after she's back.

I guess I'll have to wait another week, at least. But waiting is fine, so long as I eventually get this wallet at 50% discount :p Good things need to be patient right?

BTW, Seng agreed to let me buy another BV bag (with staff discount of course)! But I promised him it wouldn't be now, but I do hope I can buy before this contact leaves! 50% discount is hell ALOT! So.. should I get a Veneta, Sloane or ????

Coach Legacy Stripe Wristlet

Hurray! Esther's fren managed to get this baby for me from US at 25% discount! I've been wanting to get this for some time but local stores don't sell this (anyway it'll be expensive) and ebay sellers are selling it at S$190 (cheapest offer was S$175) when the retail price in US is only US$98.

Eventually I paid S$135 for this (including sales tax & shipping) and now all I need is to wait patiently for it to arrive at my doorstep! Wonderful!

Happy Bday Mom

Today is my birthday. While approaching this day, I kept wondering if Nigel will choose to be born today as well. Some of my friends, even my sis, thought that it would be nice to have your son sharing your birthday.. but somehow I prefer that each of us have our own birthday :p

It was a rainy day, which wasn't what I was looking forward to. But nonetheless we have 'plans' for today. 1) We are going to buy the ice cream cake from Swensen's as I have 20% off; 2) We are going to watch the fireworks at Kae Lip's office and 3) Get and free sundae from Swensen's.

I wasn't 100% sure about the free sundae thingie so I sms around but none gave me a concrete answer. Searching Swensen's website is of no use too coz it wasn't stated. Just before lunch, we headed to Swensen's in PP to buy the ice cream cake. There, I verified with the staff at if it's ur birthday, you'll get a free Birthday Firehouse and it's applicable to both kids AND adults. Hurray!

While at Swensen's we asked Val to pick the cake and she picked the choc cake (*yummy*). Once back home, she asked to eat the cake (which we originally wanted to eat only tomorrow). It's really hard to say 'no' to her coz she was anticipating the cake since we reached Swesen's so we told her to finish her lunch 1st. Once she finish her lunch, she skipped to us and announced "I finish my lunch already".. so.. no choice, we cut a slice for her, as promised.

Come dinner, we went to Swensen's at PP (again!). This time to have dinner and get my free Birthday Firehouse. She had be mee-sua before coming out so she's full and all ready to eat up the ice cream. Thankfully Swensen's supply some drawings and free colour pencils so that kept her bz for a while.

When the Firehouse finally came, Valerie sang birthday song... to herself! hahaha. Once we blew the candle, the 1st thing she 'attacked' on the sundae was... the WHIPPED CREAM! hahaha The ice cream taste great but the whole event meant more to me than anything. It's a simple celebration of sorts and I enjoyed every single moment of it :)

Ultimately we didn't go see the fireworks as it was a wet day and the rest of the gang decided to go KTV rather than Kae Lip's office, so we headed home after PP to chill out.

Simple birthday, but very memorable still :)

Enhanced Baby Bonus is being back-dated!

The full details of the Enhanced Baby Bonus ("EBB") was announced on Monday (18/08/08). It was meant to have taken effect for babies born on/after 01 Jan 2009. Upon hearing this, naturally I was a little disappointed but since what I "lugi" is the extra 4 weeks maternity leave and the additional S$1K cash bonus, I just shrug my shoulder and said, "ok lor".

But this effective date definitely created ALOT of hoo-ha in the forum, especially for 1st time mothers who will lose out a total of S$7K cash ($1K cash bonus + $6K CDA topup) as well as the 4 weeks maternity leave. Someone started a thread to gather names for petition and the online feedback was flooded with tons of entries 'complaining' the inequality in treatment (2004 vs 2008).

Today, the EBB is in the news (again). The government will back-date this to start wef 17/08/08. That means I'll be entitled (hurray!) but friends like CT, Shannon, Stef will not be eventhough their babies are born in Aug'08. I wonder would moms with babies born between 01/08 - 16/08 will also submit a petition? Esp since the 2004 Baby Bonus scheme was effectively back-dated to 01/08/2004??

In every policy, it's hard to please everyone. I was quite certain that the government will not back-date this as I thought they would have anticipated the outcry when they announce the effective date. I guess I was wrong. :p

Another week?

Just back from gynae appointment. No weight gain for both Nigel & myself. In fact, I 'shed' 0.4kgs from last week (total weight gain to-date stays at 10.4kgs). Nigel is still roughly 2.9kgs today. During the scan, Dr Heng said his head had went further in, signalling that he's getting ready to see the world soon. She reckon next week. *GOSH*

She checked the fluid & placenta and said both are looking good so far. I asked if she'll allow me to go overdue and she said yes as she doesn't want to induce me (due to my previous c-section). And since Nigel isn't too big, I can go for natural.

So I guess I can still celebrate my birthday this Saturday! Hopefully Valerie's cough would be better by then so we can enjoy free ice cream at Swenson's!

36 weeks + 6 days

Technically I'm into my full term! Nigel is estimated to be roughly 2.9kgs now and has engaged. That sort of explains why my groin area is experiencing more pain lately. But not sure why, I do not feel any 'lightening' nor less breathelessness as they said I would.

I've also done the ctg today as well as blood test. Again, my iron level dropped further so I have to take an iron injection. Nurses said I'm not a good patient as I didn't follow their instructions to take TWO iron pill tablets daily (I am taking one daily as compared to one every alternate day..).

The HVS test done 2 weeks ago came back with signs of fungus infection (Candidas Species) and thus Dr inserted medication for me. She was very nice and attempted in doing a 3D scan on my request but we didn't managed to get any good shot of his face coz he's constantly moving. Half way through the scan, he turned to face inside, so end of story!

HB & I were on leave today so we went PP to buy some stuff (my very auntie looking PJs to be worn in hospital, as well as more clothes for Nigel as ESH doesn't supply clothes for both mothers & babies). After that, we headed to town where I got my hair cut and at 330pm we went to watch "Love Guru". It's a funny show, what else do you expect from Mike Meyers right?

Is it a silly show? I would say so too! hahahaha

It's raining babies!

Gosh.. in a matter of days and it seemed like everyone is bombing! Let's congratulate them!

1) Stef + Damian welcomed their whooping 3.9kg boy, Jae Joseph (JJ) on 9th August (yay! National Day) @ 1647 hrs. Rest well Stef!

2) CT + HB also received their 2nd bundle of joy (Clive or Caleb? decided yet? :p ) on 9th August (yay! ANOTHER National Day baby!) at 2359 hrs!

3) Patrick + Shannon finally met their little girl Kayla today! HB rec'd an MMS from Patrick and gosh, this little girl is indeed pretty! Like her mommy! Congrats & rest well!

Not forgetting my friends/colleague who delivered in July! Congrats to Liuxiang+Telly as well as to Magdeline!

Guess what.. next would be ME!

Happy birthday Grandma!

Today is MIL's birthday. DH's eldest & 3rd sister (and their family) came by to celebrate. DH bot a blackforest cake from Royals (for the kids) and see how happy those kids were? Valerie is exceptionally happy coz she had cake AND ice cream today! The cake was so tasty that she asked for a 2nd helping!

When DH was busy taking all the pictures, he said to me "Wouldn't it be nice to grow old and celebrate birthday with ur children & grandchildren?". And I couldn't agree more.

What a scare!

Tonight Valerie made us scramble like crazy. As usual, around 9pm we'll bring her upstairs to her room. Because of the hot weather, HB turn on the aircon for her. As we have yet to bathe, we'll normally leave her in her own room to do some writting or play some toys while we go bathe. Since the air con was on, we have to close the room door.

From our bedroom, I can hear her calling HB coz HB promised her that we'll goto disneychannel's website to play some interactive game. So I told HB I'll bring the computer to her room 1st and keep her company while he bathe. But when I went to her door, I was shocked to find that she has accidentally lock it from inside!!! I try to ask her to turn the knob again but she kept playing with the door handle!

In order not to scare her, I just tell her to play on her own first. I went 2nd floor, trying to find the keys but have totally no recollection where they were kept. So I asked MIL & FIL if they remember where the keys were. I tried to stay calm but it sure freaked out my MIL!

I remembered the keys were inside a leather folder of some sort. I tried the 2nd floor study room, the cabinets outside etc etc but couldn't find it. MIL is outside Valerie's room trying to tell her why she lock herself inside (obviously she didn't do it on purpose!)

Finally FIL found them, in key chains, inside a box which was kept in the altar drawer. We quickly went upstairs to open the door. In order not to scare her, I gave her a smiling face when I open the door but deep inside I was FREAKING OUT!

Thank god everything is settled within 15mins or so. I was so worried that my MIL will scare her and she starts getting panicky inside coz that'll make matter worse!

Chinese name for Nigel

What you do think of this name? 杨志斌? My mom don't really like the word "斌" coz she said those people with this character in their name cannot study. I think it's quite biased? Coz my intern's name contains this character and obviously she is not stupid.

FIL asked why I don't want to start his name with "杨家X" (he & Hui suggested 杨家乐) since Valerie's name starts with it. I thought since one is a boy and the other is a girl, it's ok to use something totally different? I borrowed some books to read up which ended up making me more confused as some based their 'theory' on simplied chinese while the other based it on traditional chinese characters.

Confusing!

Nigel @ 34 weeks & 6 days

He is 2,274 gms today! Not getting my admission letter as yet coz just did the HVS test today. Dr Heng says she needs the result of this culture test before she can prepare the admission letter.

Again I asked her about natural birth. She maintained that I can go for it as long as all the standard conditions are present, ie 1) labour kicks in naturally; 2) baby dun pass motion inside etc etc. So it seemed I'll be trying for natural this time!

It's really the final final stretch now. I reckon within 1 month? But yet I have 1001 things not done! Clothes not washed (MIL hasn't even sorted them yet I believe), cot not fixed back, mattress not sun, pillows not washed and/or sun. My hospital bag not packed! Nothing.. basically nothing much has been done.

I think I better start nagging them to do so soon.

My funny girl

As many knows, Valerie ain't the most eloquent toddler you can find for her age. Yest nite while in her room, she wanted me to draw things for her. She'll tell you what and where to draw it but she's not very clear with her 'instructions'. "This way" actually means where she wants you to draw and not the orientation of the drawings.

Next is how you draw. She wanted me to draw a tree. Easy right? But noooooo! First I drew at the wrong place.. that made her jump.. then even though I got the place right, she was still angry and frustrated. Ended up she got so frustrated I couldn't understand what she wanted that she starting throwing tantrums.

Finally HB is home and came up (he said he can hear her cries from outside the house), he asked her "what happen darling?" and instantly Valerie pointed her accusing finger at me! It was hilarious but at the same time I was thinking "what wrong have I done"? She asked me to draw a tree right? Which is what I did!?!!

So after all the coaxing, she calmed down. HB offered to draw the tree for her and Valerie immediately looked at me and said "No mommy!". So HB successfully drew the tree she wanted and she was happy. Guess what caused her to be so frustrated???

Because.. I drew the tree trunk first instead of the tree canopy.. RIDICULOUS don't u think??? I'm still drawing a tree right??? But that's just now one-track mind this girl is!

Momma did it again!

Yes.. I ought to be slaughtered... Yes I ought to be canned.. but I just can't help it. Every time I look at my red BV handbag.. I just l-o-v-e the red. So.. this is what I bought..

Yes yes.. I already have a BV wallet in Colonial. Yes yes, I love that wallet too.. But but but..

I emailed to Bryan few days back to see if he has any still available.. but he said it's completely sold out in USA. I was disappointed naturally. Then I heard Carolyn was in HK.. (DH was in HK few days back but I wouldn't dare tell him of my "indecent desire")

She asked if I needed anything from HK and it just hit me.. I pondered for 1 nite and the next morning I texted her, asking her to look out for this wallet for me. When she called me at 7pm yesterday, I was delighted to know that HK airport has 1 last pc! The SA actually told her they probably have sold out this colour but went to check nonetheless. And boy I glad she did!

So now, this beautiful wallet is now MINE!

Happy Birthday to Huixin!

How time flies! It's Huixin's 5th birthday! Maggie & Ian originally booked a room at Bee Heong restaurant (Telok Ayer) but then realised that the room was located on the 2nd floor! Ian's mother has difficulty in walking thus they have to changed to have the dinner at the nearby branch along Boon Tat St. Thank god their branch was nearby!

Huixin was dressed like a little princess that day, with her tiara! All the kids were like on a high and was making so much noise in the restaurant! When it's time to sing the birthday song & cut the birthday cake, Valerie was like the 1st to sit on the chair, waiting patiently for the cake to be cut!

Maggie was very nice to give Valerie the 1st slice.. and a BIG one in fact. The cake was from awfullychocolate. I didn't really appreciate the cake coz I'm not a fan of moist cake. DH said it takes great! Obviously that tells u who is a fan of moist cake :p

Aches & pains

I'm not sure if it's the age or what, but this pregnancy I'm definitely experiencing more aches & pains. For one, my left butt hurts so badly that I'm experiencing difficulty in walking at times. And the pressure at the groin area as well as the sharp pain in the ribs ain't helping either.

I foresee the next few weeks will be quite a 'chore' for me to move around even though I ain't big like a ship. Thus, we went ahead and bought some necessities for Nigel yesterday. We bought him some BPA free bottles (Evenflo is so cheap at $5.90 & $6.90 for the small & big bottle), pacifier, wipes etc. Bought 1 box of breastpad for myself just to last me through the initial days.

Thankfully I've only added on 8kgs so far. If I've gained more, I seriously do not know if I could still goto work. As of now, I'm already wondering if I could last till the day before I pop in office.

UTI update

Valerie is feeling better now, she's accepting the antibiotics (hb forgot to mix well initially) so we are sticking to this antibiotics. She seemed more willing to goto toilet now and I guess it's because it no longer hurts? Fever is down so I guess all is well..

Urinary Tact Infection (UTI)

She started complaining of "tummy pain" yesterday. But when I asked her where exactly was the pain, she pointed to her lower ab which I thought it was unusual. But since she was chirpy and stuff, I didn't think much about it.

Today at 4ish, HB text me that Valerie is having fever so today's plans (we intend to meet up with Lionel for dinner and discuss about our insurance) have to be cancelled. I immediately called home to find out what's happening.

Mother told me that Valerie was not her chirpy self this morning and didn't want to goto school nor change to her uniform. After checking her temperature, she realised that Valerie's having slight fever (37.5) and thus didn't send her to school.

HB & I rushed home after work and Valerie was still chirpy but soon complained of "tummy pain" again. Mother says her stomach probably has "wind" but I was not convinced as such ailments don't cause any fever. I am suspecting UTI as Valerie has a bad habit of keeping her urine.

During the ride to the clinic, she wasn't feeling all that well.. complaining about her pain. Then she told me she wanted to pee so I put on a diaper for her. Almost immediately after she pee, she was chirpy and talkative. It makes me believe that she is prob suffering from UTI.

In the clinic, we made her drink more water and made her pee so that we can take her urine sample just to confirm that she indeed had UTI. Again, she refuse to pee when we asked her, but once we are in the toilet, she pee. Test confirmed that it's UTI.

Dr gave her an antibiotics but that was no use, she vomitted it out (twice). The solution is very thick & sticky and obviously it doesn't taste well too. Tomorrow we have to check whether there is another type of antibiotics we can offer her.

Sigh...

Baby Nigel vs Baby Valerie

I couldn't sleep last night (NO! it's not because of my new handbag)... I think it could be due to the Teh Halia I drank at 7pm or the "Dang Gui drink". My stomach just felt bad and I couldn't sleep.

Since I couldn't sleep, I went to dig out Valerie's scan. Back when Valerie was roughly 31-32 weeks, she was already 2.2kgs! Now Nigel is only 1.7kgs! Gosh, they started off at quite similar footing but now Nigel is obviously lacking behind. I'm worried that my placenta aint't working as efficiently as I had hoped for.

I think from today onwards I have to eat more healthy food, hopefully Nigel can catch up from now on..

My humble BV Family

Yes! I finally lay my hands on my newest purchase! My New Ball in Carminio! Isn't the red lovely! I'm so in heaven!

My Bottega(s)!

It has arrived! It has arrived! But it's currently being "detained" by ICA (Immigration & Checkpoints Authority) for assessment of taxes payable. I'll make a trip down tomorrow to the Post Office early in the morning. Hopefully I can get everything settled and goto work. I could get Singpost to clear the customs for me but that'll cost me another S$15.

Cost is not the main issue, the problem is since I did an email order, all I have as 'proof' is the email as well as my credit card bill. Thus I'm not exactly sure if assigning Singpost to clear the customs would be of any help.

Ooo.. I can't wait to lay my hands on the bag!!!

Visit to Dr Heng

How time flies.. today is the 33rd day from my previous visit :p Now BB weighs roughly 1735gm. I thought it sounded small but Dr Heng said baby should be roughly 3.3kgs at birth.

The urine test showed some protein so I have to stay back to do a more detailed urine test. But thankfully that detailed one turned out ok so nothing to worry about (for now). But my haemoglobin (blood) level went down further so it means I have to be more religious in eating my iron pills (increased to twice daily now!). I just hope I dun get constipated!

So far my weight gain is 8kgs so hopefully I can keep it within 12kgs per what Dr Heng asked me to 'try'. My new visit will be 3 weeks later, on 31/07.

Another 5-8 weeks more to go! Gosh..

Choc Cake Deco Class

Today is Valerie's 4th cooking class with Genius R Us... it was supposedly her last lesson but Violet will be giving us an extra lesson to compensate us for the empty trip we made last time :p

She was excited as usual, chatty and stuff. We did our cake together with a 10 year old Indonesian girl and it was quite fun. Our cake turned out quite well (it actually tasted quite good!) and Valerie & myself each has a cake to decorate :)

As u can see, spreadin cream & pipping is definitely no easy task!

Anson's party!

As we reached the chalet earlier, I got a sneak peak of the cake way before everyone else. It sure looks marvelous! And Valerie saw it while in the pool. Seeing the white box (I doubt she could see the cake from where she was), she went "Yeah! Cake!".. It was so hilarious.

So knowing that she's going to a party and seeing cake.. she was not intersted in any food. She only took some milo and 6 small spoons of rice. That's it.. the rest of her stomach is reserved for the cake.

Look at how eager is she when it's time to sing birthday song & cut birthday cake? We had a hard time keeping her away from the cake while Angel & her family take pictures!

In case you are wondering, Angel got her cake from CherylShuen.. and yes.. it's the orange cranberry flavour. I can't vouch for the taste coz Valerie didn't share!

Fun at the pool!

On the way to her lesson this morning, Valerie kept saying she wanted to go swimming. Knowing that it's Anson's birthday party today, we promised her that we'll bring her for a swim this evening before the party.

I'm glad that I remember to bring the camera along. Look how much fun she had at the pool?

Mommy's indecent obsession

Yes. I have.. obsession with Bottega Veneta. It's terrible but it's true. I just ordered a Bottega Veneta New Ball in Carminio (see picture above) from BV Hawaii. No.. you didn't read wrongly, it's BV Hawaii. Currently they are verifying my credit card information. Once everything checks out, they'll ship out my bag. Total damage? Don't ask but it's cheaper compared to SG price by a whopping S$400 - S$500 (depending on shipping and exchange).

Do I feel guilty? Yes. I bought a Loewe (2nd hand from Madam Milan), a BV wallet and a BV handbag all within a span of 2 months? Yes, it's obscene and I wouldn't deny it. But this will be my LAST purchase for the year (at least). After this I'll be preparing for the arrival of little Nigel in about 10 weeks time.

Ooooo.. when will it arrive?!?!

Mozzie Attack!

I seriously dunno why Valerie always attracts mozzies. Today came back from work and I saw 3 big bites on her face! Can you imagine, her face! The previous bite was just recovering and now there's another 3! Argh!

Daddy forgot to wear diaper for Valerie!

Early this morning (around 5.55am), we heard Valerie calling for daddy from her room. HB went over and asked her to sleep more. Then I overheard her going "herh!" (meaning she was angry). But I doze back to sleep soon after that. When the alarm finally rang at 7am, I went over to call HB. Guess what? HB told me he forgot to wear diaper for Valerie yesterday night! So instantly I looked at the bed, but it was dry. Apparently she managed to stay dry until 6am when she woke up to ask for help to go toilet!

Isn't she a clever girl! Well, but I'm not ready to let her go diaperless overnight yet! But I think it's probably time to teach her to go toilet on her own by 1st buying a step stool for her :p

Way to go girl, you are indeed growing up at lightning speed!

A special day

Today started off like almost any Saturday but it ended somewhat differently.

1) Valerie asked to goto the pool

Something which she had been avoiding due to the fear of aeroplane flying pass in NSRCC. We thot she was kidding but we brot her there nonetheless half expecting her to back out. Surprisingly, she didn't. Eventhough she was still scared of the sound (she covers her eyes whenever the plane flies past), she seemed determined that she wants to enjoy herself this time. And she did. By the time it's time to get up, she didn't really wanted to! Way to go girl! Mommy is very proud of you! Too bad I didn't bring along a camera!





2) Valerie sat on a kiddy ride

This is again a no-no for Valerie. So far, she only sat on a kiddy ride once. That was in ECP and I wasn't the one who paid for the ride. She was riding with another girl FOC and you can tell from her face that she is quite taken aback eventho she didn't burst into tears. We went to Tampines Mall for dinner and when she saw the kiddy ride, she wanted to get on it. So I offered her $1 for her to ride, and she put the $$ into the slot. We half expected her to scream and hop out of the car but on the contrary, she didn't. And she even managed to pose for us!

Mama got a new wallet! (and eyeing another bag)

Yes! I got it! A Bottega Veneta wallet. I heard that the boutique was having sale so I went there after attending the training centre's opening ceremony. And yes! the continental wallet (1st pic) I'm eyeing on was on sale! I originally wanted to get a colleague to order one from Japan for me (it's cheaper) but the fear of buying off an online shop not knowing the authenticity etc just irks me much. Since this wallet is on 30% discount, I decided to grab it! This is the colour I bot, colonial (2nd pic). Not an easy colour to take care I know but I just love the pastels :p

At the same time, I show a bag in BV that really ticks me! It looks like this and it's was in the same green as my wallet. After 30% it costs slightly above $3K. I was so so tempted to get it as well but I CONTROL! Thankfully I did coz when I surf BV's USA online store (authenticity guaranteed), this gorgeous colour (Carminio) was on sale!. Granted that online price are before ground shipping and sales tax.. but the starking difference in pricing just can't be ignored.

Is anyone coming back from States? :p