Remember the post I had some time back about making my preg-o appearance on TV with Liam in-utero?

Well, a friend ping me on Facebook today (and along with some others on whatsapp) and asked if the pregnant lady in the commercial was me because we looked similar… :p

So for the curious, here’s a link to the TVC which I found (haven’t seen the commercial yet too)

http://youtu.be/7KlpEKTpAIM

It feels awkward to be watching myself in a commercial but I guess something worth showing Liam when he’s a little older on mommy’s preggy moments!

So my last update on being scheduled an admittance to the hospital wasn’t as ‘boring’ as I thought it’d be.

It was definitely something we didn’t expect as part of our birth plan but yet it turned out to be a good thing. We managed to clear outstanding errands that very afternoon after the gynae visit, spend some last bits of couple time lazing in our bedroom for the entire evening, the husband managed to send some work emails so that he could focus 101% attention on us and overall, we felt very relaxed about the entire thing (vs. the drama I was hoping for initially).

We were told to have ourselves check-in at the hospital after 11:30pm so it was only at 10:40pm that I sauntered in for a nice long bath. One I wouldn’t be getting at least during my 3D2N hospital stay. Reaching the hospital slightly after midnight, we were informed by the admittance counter that all rooms were occupied for the night and that we had to settle for labour ward instead. Boo. So much for gynae’s confidence that there would be rooms available for us to settle in comfortably as we waited to deliver. I even got the husband to prepare drama-thons on the laptop in case there wasn’t anything interesting to catch on the TV. :(

So anyway, we went to labour ward/delivery suites and was assigned a bed (with poor hubs having to settle for a plastic chair beside the bed). The nurse was going on about running a ‘full house’ for the last 2 nights and how tonight was going to be another busy one while strapping me to the ctg machine. Shortly after I was informed of a transfer to another observation ward (because the one I was in was too close to the delivery suites and they didn’t want the screaming from the patients to ‘scare’ me while I was resting..) for my sanity. Er, okay …

20 minutes later, another nurse came by & asked if I knew how many centimeters dilated I was. I mentioned that I was about 3cm as of at the gynae’s this afternoon to which she did a VE to verify. Why would I be lying anyway? Thankfully I could manage this VE again with the help of more deep breathing exercises. I was then told to get some rest and that they’ll check on me in the morning.

I couldn’t really sleep for the next hour because between having nurses switch the lights on and off at the observation ward, other patients walking in and out to use the bathroom which was beside my bed, excitement of when active labour will start to kick in…I started to experience some serious cramping creeping over my abdomen with none of my breathing techniques helping!

I started to toss & turn & kick the husband’s feet off the bed (he had use the side of the bed as a foot stool while trying to catch some winks on the plastic chair) so often that he started getting annoyed with me (probably thought I was refusing sleep due to excitement).

The Bo started to time the end of each cramping till the start of the next one and realized that I was experiencing contractions that were  about 1-2 mins apart. I remember going “oooh, so this is how the real deal (aka. contractions) feel like” for a moment before asking him if I should press the bell to call the nurse or continue to be all heroic about it and tolerate the pain as much as I could.

I eventually succumb to the bell after 10 minutes, and when nurse asked me what I wanted, I told her I wanted pain relief. To which she then responded “what sort of pain relief?” I answered “what do you have?” Doh. Obviously I was in quite a bit of pain that I couldn’t think clearly. She then gave me a rundown of what was available and as she mentioned epidural last, I told her “THAT! I want THAT!”.

She confirmed with me a second time on my choice of pain relief and said that I needed to sign off a form while they contacted an anesthetist that was available. I remember asking myself if I could sit through the discomfort and have a drug free labour for a spilt second… and then the contractions started to intensify. Nope, I needed pain relief…NOW!

I was then informed that it would take the anesthetist about 30 minutes to arrive as she did the set-up. I was praying that I would get a good anesthetist since hearing of many horror stories from friends while squeezing the Bo’s hand each time a wave of contraction hit my abdomen. I was still able to breathe through most of them with some discomfort in between, but concluded that I rather have a happy labour than try to be too brave about it. The last thing I wanted was an arduous labour draining me of energy to push at the final moment. And Bo’s reassurance that he loved me regardless whether we went for a drug-free labour or not (as long as mom & bub were safe + sound) helped affirm that decision.

The anesthetist arrived and I was pleasantly surprised to know that he was one of the highly recommended ones another friend who had delivered a week earlier used. He asked about my pain threshold to which I remember telling him “extremely LOW”. Now was definitely not the time to be proud and boastful of my ability to manage pain so far. And as he worked with me through my contractions (I remember saying “NOT NOW!”, “OK, NOW!”) and injected the ‘one-of-the-best-inventions-ever’, I didn’t feel a single pain or prick of the needle. Yay!

Epidural kicked in after 20 minutes and I was one happy camper who could finally get some rest albeit bouts of shiver in between (one of the many side effects). The husband opted to sleep on the bench outside the observation ward because the plastic chair was just causing too much ache to his already sore back.

4.45am,  the nurse started to wake me & informed that they were going to shift me to a delivery suite as there was one available. I woke up dazed, as she kept asking where the husband was and his name before heading to the bench to call for him. Minutes later,  I was wheeled from the observation ward to the delivery suite with everything around me seeming like a blur. My lower part of the body felt heavy & numb, while my head was spinning from the lack of sleep.

I remembered hearing the husband exclaim in relief that there was a more comfortable recliner available in the suite for him to rest and the nurse announcing that I was 6-7cm dilated in the delivery suite.

I fell in and out of sleep as the nurse did frequent monitoring of my contractions. It was about 6:00am when the nurse woke me up and mentioned that she was going to give me some “good stuff” (a.k.a oxygen tank) to help with my labour as I was having one sleepy baby which wasn’t giving the ctg machine much to capture. With the oxygen mask to breathe into, baby chungkin started to roll out his usual kicks & punches again.

07:00am, my gynae came in all cheery to check in on me. He estimated that I would most likely deliver by noon at the rate I was dilating (approx. 7-8cm) but it was also then I started feeling some dull aches on my left thigh and asked if it was normal to feel this way since epidural was supposed to relief me. Apparently I still had volumes of epidural left in the tank (had only use less than 1/3 at that moment) hence he proceeded to do a VE to find out the cause of the ache and what he said next excited me a lot.

“Wow, your baby’s head is almost out. You can prepare to push now!” 

Whee! In the 5 hours+ of labour, this was the moment I was waiting for. In the next 20 minutes, the nurse brought up the stirrups, positioned me and instructed husband on supporting my neck and thighs during pushing. All excited & geared up, I kept asking the nurse “how to push” and all she said was “do it like you’re going to pass one motion, one big one”.

We then proceeded to do a “test push” which resulted in the crowing of baby’s head hence my gynae was paged immediately. I then caught my breathe before giving a 2nd push and this time I had mr. gynae joking that my $0.20 coin size of a crown was starting to turn into a $0.50 coin as he cheered me on. Mr. gynae was obviously in high spirits as he kept saying “your dream delivery! 4 pushes! Easy delivery! If only every delivery was like yours!”.

I was going to do a 3rd push when I was told by the nurses to STOP because the incubator in my room was not working. And so I had to hold it in, when honestly I couldn’t because chungkin was one anxious little bugger who just gave me the feeling like shite was going to fall out anytime. I also decided not to breathe more of the oxygen which was also encouraging baby’s movements.

For a brief 10 minutes, I saw nurses pushing the incubator out and wheeling another one in and then getting into a bit of a frenzy when incubator #2 wasn’t working as well. Turns out that that particular power outlet which the incubator was plug into was not working and so they hurried to find an extension plug. The Bo was then roped in to help out and finally  the incubator worked (nurse kept saying no point for baby to arrive and incubator to not be working as baby needs to be kept warm/heated immediately. Urgh, point taken). Yay.

So moving on…because the 3rd push was like a half push which I was told to stop half-way (due to the non-functioning incubator), I needed to give a final push. I took one deep breath before holding my breath till everyone in the suite counted to 10. We were counting to ’9′ when my gynae said STOP because the cutest wet and warm little man whose been staying in hotel uterus for the past 9.5 months finally checked himself out and was now on top of my tummy, crying his lungs out.

It was extremely surreal and teary as I cuddled Liam for the first time.

And definitely a surprise that I did manage to experience my dreamed delivery of 4 pushes without an episiotomy after all!

Whoever said dreams are the opposites of reality! :p

{ Liam’s first cries }

{ we are family }

{ a happy gynae }

{ mommy dearest welcomes me with a lovely balloon & a bouquet of sunflowers }

{ the Queenies visit }

{grandma & grandson}

{sweet dreams, my little man}

39weeks + 1day today, and I have to say I’m impressed by my gynae’s prediction that we would most likely be able to make it for today’s visit before the arrival of baby chungkin.

We had a lovely start today – the husband took the day off and we caught a movie this morning (he’s been waiting for it to open in cinemas and have been asking the little one to hang in there), had some yummy lunch at our favorite cantonese shop before heading to the clinic for our appointment. And for the first time in many visits, I got to see the man who would be delivering our baby in under 10 minutes wait time!

There really wasn’t much to ask about during the consultation, considering how we’ve covered most grounds during previous visits except for a few reminders/clarifications here & there. So doc asked if I was okay to do a VE  (and I know hearing from others that it is one unpleasant experience), warned  me that it would definitely hurt (especially if I was keen to know if we were even progressing) before doing our usual scan.

He stressed that it would hurt (so that I would be mentally prepared), and to my surprise it didn’t hurt as much as I thought (yes, it started getting a little uncomfortable after a while). Perhaps the breathing exercise from yoga did really came in handy – I remember concentrating so hard on my inhalations & exhalations that I felt a little “floaty” while hearing “good”, “wow, you’re okay with this!” etc. He was surprised at me resisting the urge to kick around or at his face, while nurse gave me the thumbs up, worried that I might burst into tears. There was even a suggestion that perhaps I could get through labour without any epidural. I managed a weak laughter. My yoga sessions are usually 90 minutes long of focused breathings while labour…goodness it could be for hours!

So baby chungkin was measuring at a good 3.1kg, I was already 3cm dilated. Turns out that I’ve been having contractions without realizing. Doc could also feel baby’s head during the check, which meant that baby chungkin’s head was relatively low with the only “obstacle” being was the very initially stubborn cervix which was probably blocking any of the obvious labour signs I needed. Urgh, I regret not being hardworking on perineal massages.

We were then given the option to check in at midnight today and to “wait it out” till dilation and contractions get stronger. And since amniotic fluid was also getting low and baby movements were starting to get a little sporadic (one day he can be a sleepy head and the next he’s just all over the place punching and kicking my ribs), the Bo & I concluded that this may be the best option after all – getting the monitoring we need.

Now I’d probably get slapped for saying this but I was quite expecting my D-Day to be like a scene from the movies “Bo, I think my water just broke!” or “Bo, I’m in pain! Hospital NOW!” and then off we would be, rushing to the hospital. Dramatic, I know!!!

And more often than not, ideal birth plans and deliveries don’t happen as how we intend for them to be. So although getting scheduled to be admitted to the hospital tonight wasn’t quite what I had in mind (as with being dilated and getting contractions without realizing), I am still hoping that my dream plan of 4 pushes till I see baby chungkin stands a chance. Who knows, a drug-free labour may even be possible now that I’m aware of my new pain threshold level.

Till the next update :)

In case you’re wondering…I’m still here :)

Nope, no signs of baby making his entrance yet albeit some very mild contractions happening off and on (not even good enough to be timed or warrant any excitement).

Current speculation that has been going on at least among my bunch of Queenies as of this morning: little chungkin might opt to be an Easter baby instead. Yes, that means that he will be “fashionably late” over the 40 weeks mark (tsk tsk, haven’t proven himself and yet pulling such a stunt) and may consider entering the world with a dramatic entrance. There were even suggestions that perhaps I should have his first name start with a ‘J’ to have his initials read as ‘J.C’ should he decide to pull the Easter bunny on us all. And no, I’m not considering that suggestion in case you’re wondering.

I haven’t been up to anything much lately except to reply messages from excited friends & relatives that we are still waiting and that we will definitely keep them posted with a birth announcement, spending time alone, and spending quality couple hood time with the Bo (he’s also recovering from an eye infection which he got from one of his nephews and wounds from a very minor skin op some 2 weeks ago).

And while it’s been nice checking out new brunch places that we’ve been meaning to, chilling out with friends and all; looking at my readily packed hospital bags by my bedside daily has been a bit of an annoying reminder that we’re not at the finished line yet – at least for this phase of the parenthood journey.

There are days when I look at my cot linen, the freshly laundered swaddles and rompers placed on top of it, and wonder if I might have prepared them wee bit too soon? Then there are other days when the husband tells me how he would very much like to catch a (much-anticipated) movie with me or check out a nice dinner place with some of our friends, and I’m happy that we can all join in the fun as a family of 3 without needing to entertain any (feeding or sleeping) worries with the chungkin still being in-utero. Fickled much?

***

The Bo randomly mentioned last evening that the belly seems to have sank lower, much to his observation. -_-

***

The gynae has advised me not to come in unless my water breaks in a dramatic way OR if contractions start to come in fast & furious below 5 minutes (to prevent an arduous labour). I’m just hoping that I’d get either signs in a very obvious and dramatic way considering how dense I can get when it comes to interpreting things (as proven previously).

***

Have a happy & lovely weekend everyone. I hope to be back with some updates – be it on the food or baby front.

;)

I’ve been feeling guilty about being impatient with the arrival of the little man for the past 2 nights and I’m glad to say that as of this afternoon, I’m back to being the mom (to-be) that will just patiently wait for him to make his grand entrance when he is ready.

It has been frustrating, trying to decipher all sorts of aches, pains, cramps in the last 2 nights that have crept my way – wondering if any of those symptoms were ‘it’. But after getting back on the reading track today and going through one of my pregnancy books earlier, I finally understood that if any of those were indeed signs of labour, it was most probably the onset of early labour which should be taken nice & slow anyway (stage 2 & 3 being the more active, pain-intensive phases). Besides, knowing that I will be placed in the observation ward (and sharing room space with 3 other preggers who may groan, moan, complain, scream around you anytime) until active labour or dilation of 4-5cm kicks in isn’t how I would like to spend my last moments waiting to deliver, especially since I intend to maintain a calm, breathing pattern as much as possible throughout labour. And with home being a 7-10 minutes drive to the hospital, I might just be more comfy just getting through stage 1 in a familiar environment.

Perhaps the lack of going out, gynae commenting how his other early apr EDD patients are starting to graduate during the last visit, combined with my nesting mode slowly fizzling have been catalysts for getting testy with the waiting game but at the end of the day, I know and trust that God’s timing for us will be the best.

Meanwhile, I just had a very beautiful connection with the bub while rubbing in some stretch mark cream after the shower. I felt the little one’s feet at the top left of my belly before he quickly moved it away as I firmed my palm on that same spot. It was aaaaamazing.

It seems that I might be the impatient one after all.

For all the denying I’ve been giving myself that I still had some time to go before D-day, I found myself nudging & asking the little nugget last night if he would just come out already.

I had my first taste of insomnia yesterday and it was not enjoyable.

I basically woke up at 3am+ to take my first pee after falling into slumber, only to find myself tossing & turning, wide awake and noticing a lot of movements from the little man. My pelvic region was hurting badly and I was drifting in and out of a numb sensation which would overtake almost half of the belly only to subside the moment I shifted my sleeping position and then back again. I didn’t want to excite myself  nor wake the Bo up unnecessarily so till 5am+, my mind was on hyper active mode as I ran through outstanding tasks to do for the day, what I should wear to the hospital, wondered if I should google what constituted signs of contractions while at the same time just hoping for either a bloody show or a burst in the water bag. I finally did fall back asleep for a short while (thank goodness!) only to be woken up at 7am by baby movements and dull aches.

So far, the aches/discomfort has been manageable so I supposed that might just have been really bad Braxton Hicks.

What I do hope is that this cycle of insomnia won’t come visiting me tonight again because feeling zombified due to an exhausted body but alert mind is making me feel really horrible right now.

So, I’m 37 weeks + 3 as of today and quite honestly I’m not as mentally prepared as I thought I would be.

Everything is almost done (except for cot linen, urgh!), documents are in placed (admission documents from the gynae received yesterday), things packed, confinement herbs bought yet I still feel like I’m missing something.

For the first time in countless visits with the gynae yesterday, I didn’t try to wrangle for a shorter gap between visits when he said “see you in 2 weeks”. I would well be in my 39th week by then but I suppose both of us acknowledged the possibility of our next meet taking place in the delivery suite when gynae joked about it twice saying “or see you and your ping pong (that’s how he addresses baby chungkin) in delivery next week? Ha Ha”.

I trust this gynae’s judgement quite a bit so even when he tried to make it sound a little jokingly the 2nd time, after seeing my face freeze a little (I’ve got a lousy poker face) the first time he mentioned it, I knew I had to be prepared.

I’ve also been limiting my going out activity these few days to appease the concerned husband & my mom (mainly just to pre-natal yoga & back), and been spending lots of personal time alone catching up with my thoughts and speed reading respective breastfeeding/childcare/parenting books that I was supposed to have finished reading some 2 weeks back. And then there are moments when I do get caught up with silly trivialities such as ”what if mil interferes with how I care for baby?”, “what if there’s no breast milk?”, “what if I can’t get along with my CL?”, “what if domestic helper can’t get washing of bottles steps right?” etc. but I soon snap out of it, reminding myself there’s a bigger picture to caring, providing and bringing up a child than these little fusses and small mindedness. Just like how reading all the “good-to-read” books on parenting & breastfeeding won’t necessarily make you a better or more successful parent although it may equip you with a little more confidence to attempt things for the first time – my way of self-consolation in case I’m unable to motivate myself to read on till the end probably till labour day which will probably be out of desperation by then (since its been said that 1st time moms usually go into a longer period of labour).

But apart from these trepidations, I’ve been feeling absolutely great. I do feel a lot more lethargic than before but can still manage a good 30 minutes walk on a daily basis. I love these walks by the way, whether its just to grab lunch, coffee with someone, a snack or an excuse to get out of the house.

My close-knit group of mommy friends have also been teasing me how the little one is fully baked and that I shouldn’t deny him from coming out (which I obviously wouldn’t be able to although I don’t exactly encourage him during our mommy-son talks these days). Though it’s funny how all 4 of us may just become mommies of “Mar babies” instead of “Apr babies” – which was the group that introduced us to each other by the way. I am very happy that their darlings are going to be future play-mates for the chungkin too. Me thinks I might have just the same amount, if not more fun than little bub with them around, not to mention our common food craves, shopping addictions etc.

Here’s my first attempt at starting a visual diary for days/posts when I’ve nothing much to say except to post photos just so you know that I’m still alive and kicking (just saying) ;p

{Having Korean BBQ dinner with my IJ darlings before I go into confinement mode within the month}

{2 of the darlings – Fi & Margie who made sure they took good care of us 2 preggers in the group}

{primary & secondary school classmates, now moms-to-be and both expecting dragon boys}

{cookies & creme milkshake for a quick perk-me-up, which baby chungkin enjoyed}

{group shot}

{all-time favorite snack & recent craving, tu tu kueh}

{my nth time of bubble tea throughout entire pregnancy, first time trying milk tea and its so good!}

Korean BBQ dinner was at:

Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ (East Coast)

86 East Coast Road

#02-11/20, Blk B Katong Village,Singapore

Get reviews here & yes, be prepared to smell like a BBQ pit after that too :)

Hopefully after tonight, I will no longer be tossing about in my bed. That’s because today we settled a major outstanding task off our ‘to-do’ list.

By God’s grace, we managed to confirm a domestic help which will be coming in within 2 weeks’ time! Hooray! And just when I was fretting on who would help me with baby clothes & items washing duties after the confinement lady leaves, this helper couldn’t have come at a better time.

The mil, Bo & I interviewed some 5 of them at the first agency – taking an interest to 2 out of the 5 (although their expectations in terms of job duties & salary were still quite high) and it was absolutely exhausting going through candidate after candidate (especially since I had to ask the same set of questions to each of them – new found respect to all recruiters & headhunters out there btw!). In the end we couldn’t come to a decision and needed more time to consider.

Thanks to the BR’s contact, we checked out agency #2 as well (since we were in the vincinity) which was run by her friend’s mom and upon meeting the first candidate, we knew that she was the closest fit so far. Felt comfortable communicating with her, plus friend’s mom aka. agent was really good in helping us suss out the helper’s capabilities/abilities and knew exactly what we were looking for in a helper without needing us to explain too much. She took the lead, gave us very useful tips and even offered to help us ‘train’ her as we wait for the paper work to process.

No doubt there will be some getting used to from both parties but with God’s continued guidance, I know He’ll see us through.

I’m so elated that the FDW is finally settled because this means we’re one step closer to being ready!

On Saturday, the Bo & I had a maternity shoot to capture the final moments of our pregnancy journey.

It was a birthday gift from a very special someone (thank you again), and while I didn’t think I would dare to bare the belly in front of the lens (I won’t even wear a bikini pre-pregnancy &  took some getting used to when I had my first glance of these preview photos) and the Bo thinking that it was probably a waste of money since he could have captured the belly using whatever photographer skills he possessed; we were glad we went ahead with it anyway because upon seeing a preview during our photos selection process after the shoot, we realized that we now had our very first set family photos captured. Encapsulating the joy, love, gratitude & blessing we have for baby chungkin #1 – as we progress from couple hood to family.

The Bo especially has never been a fan of posed portraits, which is why we never had any pre-wedding photos taken as we much prefer spontaneity instead. But seeing how he willingly agreed to have photos taken with us on Saturday, showing either his protective dad-to-be side or goofy little expressions in most of the shots made my heart beat faster & melt at the same time. He definitely looked every bit ready to be a dad as much as I think I am to be a mom.

To parenthood! … the beginning of a beautiful journey and to a smooth, healthy,  fantastic & blessed labour.

NESTING.

or least that’s what my pre-natal yoga instructor told me what my sudden burst of energy was about. She said that my nesting instincts have probably kicked in when I mentioned to her during class today that I’ve been feeling very energized of late. Like how birds gather twigs preparing their nest just prior to giving birth, this burst was my body’s way of preparing for labour and baby’s arrival.

And I guess she was right because after yoga class today, me and some girlfriends went to do some baby shopping (at the taka baby fair & at paragon) and I ended purchasing lots of things on the to-buy list, suffice to say the only things that are outstanding are: more towels for bath because a gf chided me that 2 was not enough! and a clothes rack to hang the little one’s clothes. A productive day indeed!

Meanwhile, here’s a preview of the little one’s cot companions along with the new tidy purchased today. I was obviously bored, hence the arranging of animals. (p/s: The Bo has warned me not to expand our little zoo to a safari and that all 4 of them needs to clear out once little man claims his cot, which I will of course!)

We had one of the best gynae visits today!

Firstly the wait was about 30 minutes (vs. the standard 1.5 hours or the recent 2.5 hours we’ve been subjected to for the last 2 consultations).

The gynae was in an obviously good mood, had the time to joke around, answer my questions, acceded to my early request of a strep B test (just in case I was due early, to which he assured I wouldn’t. :p) and we had a fun, longer-than-usual time seeing baby chungkin via tummy scan.

Little one’s growth slowed down a little, putting on only 0.5kg more from the previous visit which was about 3 weeks ago (currently at approx. 2.2kg) but mama here put on 1.9kg, which was really bad. Though I kind of knew that those red velvet cakes & cookies I’ve been having almost every other few days would contribute to it.

The gynae said that he was very pleased with the growth progress, and that if I maintained, labour should be fairly smooth.

And!!! we managed to get quite a clear side profile of the little one too! Although his hands were in the way again, this time covering his mouth (probably still hungry from the light curry puff lunch I had earlier).

2 more weeks my little man, to you being full term and seeing you via the scan/monitor again! Whee. We’re all getting very very very excited.