Little Steps Journal

The Pacifier Nightmare

2009-05-28T19:36:00.002+08:00

After delivery, there are sooo... many things I would love to update but was always too busy to do so.. Let me just jot this particular journal first. I will catch up on the rest later...

Just when I thought I am finally starting to adjust to Valene's schedule and she to mine, she started giving me problems today. I suspect that it is due to my continuous latch on with minimal use of bottles that cultivated this unwanted habit. She got so used to my nipples that she started throwing tantrums when I tried feeding her my expressed breast milk with a bottle. If thats not enough, she is constantly crying out for something to suck on.

I was just about to hooray that my daughter unlike other babies dislike the pacifer and was about to slap myself for the purchase of it. I was also starting to generate ideas of disposing the rest of the pacifer when today she started crying for one. To be honest, she was actually crying for my nipples. But they were so sore from her constant sucking that it sends shivers down my back whenever I give in to her cries...

Sighz.. So in order to pacify her, I had to give her the pacifier.. But I shallnt give her anymore nipples nor direct breastfeeding until she learns how to drink by the bottle again. Here's baby Valene with her pacifer...

Little Miss Giraffe

2009-05-27T19:45:00.004+08:00

Mom bought Valene a new giraffe romper from JB yesterday. Seeing how adorable she looks in this new attire, I decided to try to capture a few shots of her in this new outfit. As it was almost her milk feeding session, I wasnt successful with a peaceful shot except when she was sleeping.

Maternity Photoshoot

2009-03-29T21:27:00.014+08:00

Its funny sometimes. In my first trimester, I felt so lazy and tired, I could hardly go anywhere. During my 2nd trimester, I was busy sourcing for baby's stuff. Popping into baby's departmental store every time I had a chance to. Now at my 3rd trimester and about about 3 more weeks to my due date, Mummy here is getting vain.. I guess it could be because I had been through 10 months of "suffering", watching my body changes into a bloated balloon and suffering all the aches, vomit, etc. I just couldnt stand it anymore. I need to get a little pampering before I pop. Hence, I went for a makeover by Langeie to commemorate my first pregnancy.

Korean cosmetics brand, Langeie had this makeover promotion held at Bugis over the March weekend. For a nominal fee of $30, you get to enjoy a free makeover, a hairstyling session, a photoshoot, a A4 printout, a 4 piece trial kit and a $30 voucher fully redeemable for Langeie products. I decided to make use of this great offer to take my maternity shot before I pop in 2 to 3 weeks time.. Afterall, how often do I get to be of this size. Haha...

Getting myself all dolled up in preparation for the photoshoot.

Tada.. I am all set and ready now for my glam mama shot.

Taking pose.... The photographer was very friendy and guided me on the various poses to take in order for the picture to turn out better. They even had a trolley of costumes for customers to wear in order to spice up the pictures further. Rather professional....

Glam Mummy....

After a few change of costumes and a few photos taken, its photo selection time. Hmm.. The photos turn out rather well.. I just couldnt mke up my mind. As this is a maternity photoshoot, I decided to be a little more generous to myself. After a little chiding from hubby who is willing to foot the bill.. I decided to take on 2 more 5R photo prints at $35... Well.. I regretted much later... Could have paid for another $30 voucher in exchange for a A4 photoprint and another Langeie product... =( Lesson learnt.....

For 9+ months, I felt so fat and ugly that I hardly bothered to makeup, style my hair or wear fashionable clothes. I just felt like a big, fat penguin trotting around. I find my body becoming bigger and rounder, face rounder and totally ugly no matter what I do.. For once.. I felt attractive again and proud to be a mum to be. =) Here's the shots from the photoshoot. I simply love them... Glam and Pretty Mummy... keke...

And that's not all... For $228 worth of cosemetics purchase, you get to take back with you a limited edition luggage bag, a travel size make up pouch, a professional makeup pouch, several versions of trial kit sets and the chance to purchase a star buy item at $15. Seeing that I was sooo... attracted by the luggage bag.. Dear offered to purchase the cosemetics for me... Muacks.. Thanks Dear.... So all in all.. I not only get to lugged back beautiful photos for my memory keepsake.. I brought home with me lots of cosmetics and skin care products from Langeie and freebies... keke... Its Mummy's day for once.... =)

Third Trimesterd (Week 36)

2009-03-25T22:51:00.000+08:00

After week 20, I was soo.. busy at work + of course some lazy factors, I hardly updated little's Valene growing status... Now at week 36.. I had put on a staggering 14KG!!! from my original weight.. I used to be a petite size of only 46kg.. Today... I am 60kg!!! This is the first time in my life I had reached this remarkable weight.. Haiz.. I hope I am able to lose them all lorz..

In case you are wondering, if you are at 14kg, does that mean baby Valene is very big too?? No. Baby Valene is growing at a healthy weight of only 2.5kg. And Yes!! I gained more than 10KG on my own... You must be curious how Valene looks like now... Well.. as she is rather big in size now, her whole body couldnt be captured in the picture. The recent 4D scan done at the gynae's office was rather blur. I was only able to make out 1 of her eye in this case. I am glad to know that Valene has rather big round eyes like her mother.. =)

As the months progresses, Valene's movements could also be felt in stronger intensity too. You will be able to tell her movements either by looking at my stomach or by placing a hand on it. It has the feeling of something poking out of the stomach. Sometimes, I could even feel her bones. However, even up to today, I still couldnt make out which part of her body is poking from my stomach.. I am counting down to the day I meet her in the face.

Week 20 (2nd Trimester)

2008-12-14T13:19:00.007+08:00

Hi guys, I know it had been a long time since I last update baby's blog again. =p.... Well, there's so much to update. I will key in 2 seperate entries this time.

First of all.. the moment you have all been waiting for.. The results of my detailed scan. My detailed scan took place on 1 Dec. On the day of the detailed scan, it had been a rather unhappy moment. Baby's dad actually couldnt find his way to the hospital.. (despite claiming that he had a navigator which could show the way, blah.. blah.. blah..). To make matters worse, the day before my scan, I actually discovered some slight bleeding from beneath.. I got a little worried and panicky.. and cant wait to get to the hospital soon for my check up.. Well.. to cut the long story short, we took a cab to the hospital instead (even though its just a short walk of 5 to 10 minutes from Novena station).

Soon it was my turn.. And there we saw her... Prior to the scan, I already had this feeling that I am expecting a girl and was already searching for baby girl's stuff and names. Thought of a few names and finally Daddy decided to name baby Valene if she is a girl. Valene = Strength. True enough, the Sonographer confirmed that we are expecting a baby girl! For those who got it right, you deserve a pat on your back. =)

Here's some snapshots of baby Valene whilst she is still in my stomach. =D

Are you able to see her face? Her eyes were closed in this picture. She was sleeping initially. She soon wake up after she realised all the commotion during the scan.. keke.. I was in fact so touched to see her that I began crying when I see her cute little face.

The Sonographer said that she is rather fat at her waistline for her age. Her waistline is slightly thicker than an average child and she is rather chubby too... This got me a little worried as I did not eat much (just normally).. gained 6kg since pre-pregnancy so far.... How come baby is growing so fat? She assured me that Valene is just absorbing faster in the early stages. She might slow down later. May I also highlight that Valene is now 344g (since the last scan).

Side view of Valene

The bottom view of Valene that confirmed her gender. Two fleshy parts.... (RA21)

Look at her little feet. So tiny and cute.

In the earlier part of this entry, I mentioned that I faced some slight bleeding. Well.. the Sonographer checked my cervix and placenta during the scan. She said that she didnt find any problems that could lead to this. She added that it could be some some slight external spotting. The gynae also highlighted that it is nothin serious. True enough, the spotting stopped in 2 days time. Baby Valene is continuing to grow healthily in me. Cant wait to see her again. Have also signed up for an antenatal class in early Feb and a 3D scan in Jan. You will get to see more of baby Valene in the next few months. =)

Week 17 (2nd Trimester)

2008-11-07T17:35:00.004+08:00

Guess... I have been very slow in baby's update lately... Yah... Getting lazier and lazier as I slip into later stages of pregnancy... How I just admire some of those mummies who are still so active and so full of energy even when they are heavily pregnant.

I am not exactly full blown in pregnancy yet.. however, the bulge on my little tummy had become rather visible by now. Extremely big and round. I felt like a fat little hippotamus lying on the sofa couch every night after dinner.. Sighz.. Never been so fat in my life before.... Most of my pants and skirts are being dumped into the "non wearables" category by now.. And stubborn little me.. still refused to pay for those expensive maternity wear on the shelves. Instead, I have been squeezing myself into whatever old little clothes that I have before I was pregnant. I even wore my child's size Harry Potter T-shirt to sleep last night. Yes.. There its a funny sight.. but I didn't let my exposed bulging stomach bother me... keke...

Alright.. enough complaining... here's baby's growing progress update.. Baby looks more like a human now.. Can you see its little head and body?? It has a little tummy too.. keke..

Baby is now 8.97cm. Its getting more and more difficult to see baby now. During my last visit, I could still make out baby's "would be" hands and legs and its cute little head and body. But this time... I could only see baby's head and body clearly. Its little hands and legs looks like funny round stuff on the scan machine.. The gyane mentioned that as the baby continues to grow older, it will be harder to see the baby clearly...

At 16 weeks, baby's ears are already fully developed. Kiasu me have been so anxious that I started talking to baby since it was 5 weeks old. Even more so now.. The amazing part was I could feel it moving inside me at times.. =) Perhaps due to its size, Dear is still unable to feel baby moving even when I tried placing his hand on my tummy... That's one benefit which a Daddy can't enjoy. As a mummy, I gets to enjoy the early stages of bonding with baby.. Sometimes, I can even feel baby's thumping heartbeat... keke..

We have a rough conclusion of baby's gender by now... but I shall keep this a secret and will only reveal it here after my detailed scan in Dec. Meanwhile, feel free to leave a comment with your guess and see if you had guessed it correctly.

Second Trimester (13 Weeks)

2008-10-13T21:16:00.000+08:00

Finally.. I managed to cross over the 3 months period and enter into my second trimester.. Well.. the vomitting have not stop yet.. I am still vomitting at times in the morning.

Baby's scan at week 13. Baby is slowly starting to take the shape of a human now.. Well.. not quite there yet though...

Baby Update (Week 10)

2008-09-22T10:50:00.007+08:00

My prenancy period seem so painfully long... How I wish I learnt about this only around this time... Everyday I look forward to the growth of baby... but baby is still the size of an embyro at the moment. Baby will only start to take shape and look more like a human around week 16... Thats a painfull waiting time of about 2 more months....

Here's baby when it was at 10 weeks old..

Watched a movie, "Knocked Up" with dear yesterday. It showed how a couple went through one night stand which landed up in an unwanted pregnancy. The movie depicted the pregnancy journey that a woman had to go through.. and the changes it could make to a person. The man who was a jobless, disgusting and irresponsible guy at first slowly make changes to become a responsible father. The couple also developed feelings for each other fell in love towards the end of the show. The best part was the delivery scene whereby it gave me a rough idea what I should expect on the day of my delivery.. haha.. Disgusting but touching moment... The baby was sooo.. beautiful.. Its a girl..

My morning sickness has taken a worst turn these days... I used to vomit only air... nothing came out.. but these 2 days.. I started throwing up and more frequently too... Read somewhere that 8 weeks to 12 weeks was the worst period for morning sickness... After this time, it should get better... My appetite was not affected though... Could finish all my food without a morsel left... Must be careful... lest cannot return back to original shape after baby is born...

Must I also add that I actually frequent the toilet more often these days too... Waking up at least 3 times a night just to go to the toilet... Luckily, I could still return to sleep... Pregnancy sure isnt an easy thing... I truely admire my parents now... (Not that I dont before... but I appreciate them even more these days....) To be honest... raising a child is no easy feat... and they had went through it for 26 years (including pregnancy period)... I wonder if I could manage it as well as them.... Daddy... Mummy.. I salute you for raising Jeremy and me up. Thank You!

Baby's First Heartbeat (Week 7)

2008-09-09T09:27:00.007+08:00

Dear and I went to see the gynae for the 2nd time since my pregnancy period. Its going to be an exciting moment for us today. We are going to see our baby's heartbeat for the very first time... keke...

As I did not really drink alot of water before the scan, the doctor found it rather difficult to scan the baby's heart for us to see. He decided to proceed with a scan from the bottom instead of via the stomach instead... And there... we saw it... It was a very small thing... I couldnt really make out the shape of the baby though... but we saw the baby's heart... It was pounding softly.... The doctor even played the baby's beating heart for us to hear.... It was a very sweet and exciting moment for Dear and I as we see our little baby growing in me....

Before today, I was afraid that I will not be able to see baby's heart and will be forced to remove baby from me. I kept engaging myself in little conversations with baby telling him/her that he/she had to be strong and be born into this world... Daddy and Mummy loves him/her very much and wants to see him/her born... We hoped to see the baby's heartbeat at the next session.. True enough.. Baby showed us his/her heartbeat... I will never forget this moment...

And here's a picture of my little hero... You can't really make out its shape yet. But you can see the 2 little hearts (left and right) from the scan...

Mummy's Woes (Week 7)

2008-09-09T09:27:00.006+08:00

The past 2 weeks had been like a little roller coaster... Everyday is soo... unpredictable. Both emotionally and physically.. Firstly, I never know when I will be experiencing morning sickness.

Everyday, I could wake up in the morning experiencing something new... Either I feel like vomitting but nothing came out or there are barely any seats and I feel faint and uncomfortable throughout the whole journey... Because of these signs, everyday, I would make an additional effort of taking the train home from Marina Bay instead of Raffles Place. Yes.. Its about 10 minutes more into the ride... but at least I can be guaranteed a seat mah... At this time, my stomach is not big enough to convince others to give up a seat for me... They will probably brush off thinking I am just a fat young lady...haha...

My pants are getting tighter now.. I could barely button them anymore... I am changing my wardrobe to dresses and skirts instead... Vain little me always buy body hugging clothes... so now.. almost half of my collection had to be avoided to make space for the little one.. haha.. Yet, I am still too small for maternity collection.. Yah.. I ended up neither here nor there...

Emotionally, I get agitated rather easily and goes into wild thoughts quite often too... Blew up at the gal gang lately and ended up having everyone upset... Now, I dont even know when I could meet them up for dinner again.. Cos even though they didnt quite seem to mind and had kinda forgiven me for the matter... they had not really accepted my dinner invitation yet... Sighz.... To make things worst... I keep having nightmares that my boss is not happy with me at my job lately.. I kept thinking that I am losing my friends, my job, everything... And I keep all this to myself.... Well.. it could be the hormone changes that causes me to think this way... Nevertheless, I end up in nightmares and sleepless nights at times... This shouldnt be the way!!!!

Anyway, let's cast all these unhappy talks aside... Here's a picture of how baby would probably look like at 7 weeks.....

First Baby Talk (30 August 2008)

2008-09-04T09:54:00.003+08:00

Thomson Medical hospital had organised a baby talk session for parents to be at Marina Mandarin hotel. I happened to chance upon its advertisement in a Straits Times Supplement. Seeing that it only costs S$16 per couple, I chided Dear to sign up together with me.

The talk was rather good as the doctors shared information of the types of food that we should increase in consumption and the types of food we should decrease in consumption. Dear seem to have noted these information in his head as he actually becomes very concerned about my food intake after the talk. He stopped me from eating my favourite ice cream, fast food, etc.. He said that they are unhealthy for the baby and should be avoided..haha..

Besides food concerns, there were also lessons on how to help the baby workout when the child is born. Its called Baby Yoga. Rather interesting topic. Try telling baby yoga to my mum 25 years ago, she will probably give you a blank look. Anyway, we watched the live demonstration of babies exercising in action. It was rather interesting. Both Dear and I had to remember the steps so that 1 year later when baby is born and ready for the baby yoga, we were both remember how to do it for him/ her.

The whole session ended with some live classical music performances. It was indeed a very enriching course for both of us. The $16 we paid for entitled us to refreshments and 2 very attractive goodie bags which comprised of baby toys, milk powder for both baby and mother, dinner sets for a boy and girl. It was our first baby talk and it will not be the last. We both agreed that we should attend more of such talks in the near future.

P.S: Bought a new Olympus Underwater Camera and a new 4 in 1 colour printer from the fair that day. We want to capture more baby moments and have it printed out in future.. Kiasu parents right.... =p

First Scan (Week 5)

2008-08-26T17:44:00.007+08:00

I am so happy... I just found out from the forum that there is a rather famous gynaelogist at Sun Plaza. Yeah.. Can see gynae before or after work. Dear can easily join me for the visits as well... Beats going to KK... long queues and wait. Here... tired of waiting can go dinner or shopping... so convenient...

Anyway, went to see Dr Ang for my first visit with him. Rather nice guy but speaks rather fast. He told me to keep this pregnancy issue a hush hush affair as every 1 in 5 women usually end up in Miscarriage... so worrisome... Baby will only be 90% stable after the first 3 months. Dr Ang also told us the things to avoid and the things that we can do. Surprisingly.. cold drinks is on the ok list. He also said that nutritious food at this point has no effect on the baby.. just eat normally.

I told him that I am worried that my pregnancy test may not be true. Afterall, the baby came so suddenly, right after I stopped taking contraceptive pills. I also quoted cases that sometimes scans may reveal that a woman is not pregnant even though the test is positive. To prove me wrong, he took a scan for me...

Black spot refers to the water bag, baby not obvious in scan yet.

Lo and behold, I saw baby for the very first time... keke... No evident features or anything yet. Still in development stage. Dr Ang added that as I am into week 5 of my pregnancy (Baby 3 weeks old), the heart is not developed yet. Another scan will be conducted 2 weeks from now to detect the baby's heart. If the baby's heart could be seen. Thank God! Baby will have a 60% survival chance. So excited for the next test to see baby in action. I really hope to see baby's pounding heart then...

First Discovery (Week 4)

2008-08-22T13:58:00.003+08:00

Missed my period for 2 weeks. Period was expected in the first week of August but it didnt come.. Well.. I am not exactly very accurate anyway but I had been on contraceptive pills previously so it should be rather accurate...

Got suspicious.. Told my colleague about it, she advised me to see a doctor to confirm my suspicion. I thought it was too early to check.. but went ahead anyway... Took the urine test... ok.. now.. waiting anxiously for the results... What if the result is negative??... Ok.. my turn now... Doctor confirmed my suspicion.. yayy!!! We are having a baby!!! Baby is 2 weeks old now.. Based on calculations, Baby will be born sometime around April 09. So exciting.

2 bands = Pregnant

Leo even mentioned that if it is a girl, he wants to name her Lai Xueli.. Is this name a little too common?? Well.. gotta start searching for names soon... I dont want to keep addressing little baby as baby right?? Hmm... any suggestions??