Waiting & Anticipating

Alas, time is up but baby is still not checking out from Le Mummy's Bump. Waiting and anticipating yet nothing is happening. I know God's timing is always perfect and the baby will choose his own birthday but this is totally killing me.

I will bury my phone the next time it beeps with another concerned "Is baby here yet" message. Sigh, I know I'm blessed with wonderful friends who actually remember the due date and are genuinely concerned. I do love all my friends and I appreciate them but I'm not in a right frame of mind now. In fact I have taken to turning my phone on SILENT and going completely OFF Facebook and Messenger until Baby arrives. Call it a social hibernation, whatever, I am just so damn xien.

And poor hubby is inundated with "Have your wife delivered yet?" at the office all week. Looks like he has to put up with that for a few more days. Thank God no idiot has ventured to the "Why so late wan?" follow up comment after hearing "No". And every time Hubby ask me if I'm feeling alright, I sadly nod and say I'm feeling fine, when what we both really want to hear is "No  I'm having contractions, the Baby is coming!"

Everyone is asking how I'm feeling and if I'm okay. Unfortunately I am, I can't believe I'm saying this but I wish I'm wrecked with contractions and clear-cut pain right now cos all I'm getting are a wide range of inenerrable discomforts which barely warrant a trip to the hospital. I've been reading and re-reading the labor sections of all my Pregnancy books and online resources yet I'm non the wiser.

Here's what I'm getting off the net when I Google "What does contractions feel like?" And these are the gists of some real-life testimonials from various sources:

Severe menstrual cramps
I hardly ever get these back in the day and I can't quite remember how they feel. Nope, I'm not quite feeling this.

Diarrhea, gas cramps
I get lots of these which always lead me to the loo anyway so I guess mine are a results of too much chili padi or yesterday's dinner, so nope, this can't be it.

Sharp shooting pains in the abdomen
I'm not getting much of this, I thought I felt something like this a couple of nights, they went away so I wonder if I dreamt it anyway.

Dull achy cramps
This is happening on and off, probably due to Baby's weight or whatever but it's not alarming enough to set us rushing anywhere. Besides, it goes away on and off.

Tightening of the belly
I have been feeling this all the time past few weeks and it's the one and only slightly more regular sensation I have. The tightening doesn't even qualify as mildly uncomfortable so I'm ruling it out as an alarm unless it gets more intense to the point of actually being painful.

Backache
My mum says hers started out as backache and radiates to the whole belly. I don't have backaches to begin with and I guess this is only valid if the baby's back is pressing against the spine which is not quite my case.

It's something like you've never felt before
Are you seriously kidding me; how is such a description even helpful in any way?

Others
There are other sudden indescribable sensations, little pains, aches and tenderness all around at different spots and different times of the day. They are usually more ticklish than uncomfortable.

So I'm basically sitting around analysing every sensation I experience and trying very hard to compartmentalise them into all the categories I've read up on. This keeps me up all night and it's driving me crazy. Unfortunately nothing I feel seems to be regular enough for me monitor and track. Sigh.

People say "You will know it when it happens" but I sure ain't knowing anything or it's definitely not quite happening. The thing I wonder is "What if it's happening and I don't even know it?" I might have like super-human pain threshold and not even realise I'm in labor. Gosh.

I'm really not sure how much more of this I can take. I'm insomniac, heavy, big, uncomfortable, sweaty and worst of all ... bored out of my freaking mind. At this point, I'm just praying and begging; oh God bring on the PAIN!!! At least I'll know for certain something is going to happen, the waiting and uncertainty is not fun at all.

Preparing For Baby: Part 2 & Final?

Following the photo post early this month, here are more memento snapshots of our preparation for the arrival of our Prince; baby Lucas.

Here are some of Baby's toiletries; not even born yet and he's already being spoilt by Aunty Beatrice with organic toiletries! Next to the them is the soft and cute Lion Rattle which Daddy called a "Flower Bear" before I corrected him. I guess Daddy needs to sit in for animal flash cards lessons with Baby :)

How can any pregnant woman resist something that calls itself Earth Mama Angel Baby and comes in packaging like these? This US brand specializes in all organic, safety-approved baby and mummy stuff. You can buy them online here at Little Whiz, among others. They even have a perineum spray; spray to soothe and relieve the down under discomfort! Who would have thought?

Here's the tub where Baby will spend time playing with water and his two little duckies.

 These are the stuff for bathing the new mum and baby. Errrr, I didn't buy these; my Mum bought a huge bag full of these. They are apparently ancient herbs trusted for generations from the Chinese medical halls, somehow they now come in 'fancy smancy' packaging! They actually smell quite nice from the pack; like a zen spa. I will humor my mum with the lot of them as long as they smell okay during usage and won't give me and baby rashes. 

 I definitely didn't buy these but I have to put this here in tribute to my dear Mum, and to remind myself how blesssed and lucky I am to have my Mum care for me during such a critical period. I would never know what herbs to buy and goodness me even if I did; what do I even do with them? Anyway, she's stocked the fridge full of these plus bottles of ginger wine. It's a lost art I tell you.

 This is me taking the easy way out; after some googling, hearsay has it that Amway has the best post-natal care pack in town; completely traditionally Malaysian but in a modern, hygienic and easy-to use set with an instruction pamphlet in three languages! Here it is; a complete package of capsules, wrap, massage oils, massage herbs and a 'bengkung' tummy binder to 'fix' the new mum.

 These are the final reading while I wait for my Prince to make a grand entrance.

Baby's got some reading materials waiting for him too!

This should be it, we're pretty complete now and ready now. I've been told now is the time to spend some quality paktoh (dating in Cantonese) with the Hubby and some precious alone me-time as once Baby arrives, life will be forever changed.

Week 39: The Last Week!

We have one week to go! Feels like a miracle that we've even come so far. We are both so thankful that we rode through the past nine months so smoothly and almost uneventfully; thank God! For months I've been trying so hard to ward off and pray away unpleasant thoughts of premature birth and all other kinds of fears. Now that we're in a safe zone, we're happy and at rest; just waiting for something to happen!

As promised in my last update at Week 33; here is my final update on being pregnant.


The Physical Updates:

1. I've gained a total of 16.5 kg (from 52kg to 68.5kg) which is rather disheartening as I was hoping not to cross the 15kg mark! But then again, who can I blame when I basically let go when it came to having all my favorite desserts, well almost let go. Hubby kept a tight rein though!
2. I'm still very breathless *pant*pant*
3. I'm more bloated than ever; during my last update I can't imagine I can get even more bloated but I did! Even my nose and face is 'swollen' and ,my fingers are so tight with water retention it hurts to grasp my fist tightly.
4. I tried shoe shopping only to discover I'm now 2 sizes larger! (from 5 to 7 *boohoo*)
5. Some of my maternity clothes which I can wear a month or two back doesn't fit anymore! Just when I think I can save some $$$ I actually have to go get more clothes.
6. Fortunately my face is still behaving very well, other than some slightly more pronounced freckles, I've been blessedly exempted from breakouts. Which is a major blessing as I can no longer visit my beautician as I can barely get up on their facial bed and lay on my back for more than  a few minutes.
7. Another good thing; my hair fall has lessen; seeing alot less hair on the bathroom floor!
8. I've become less moody, maybe the hormones are regulating itself now.
9. I'm still as tired as before and although my aches and pains are the same if not worse off, I'm actually feeling more energetic now. I feel like walking, cleaning, cooking, shopping, exercising etc but I can't do either for long. Something will start to ache in no time.
10. I'm still driving! I just did today! *applause*applause*
11. I seem to able to eat more now due to the lightening; this is when baby has drop down to the bottom in preparation for the eventual engagement.
12. Now that I've started my maternity break, I feel so peaceful and at ease! I guess it's good, I've read that a high stress environment can cause delayed labours which may need to be induced, not sure how proven that is. But I really want to be far far away from work matters now; I can't bear to be mentally and emotionally drained for another day!

Agenda for the week, or days to come:

1. Get mum here and get her adjusted to the house.
2. Stock up on key pantry items, groceries and food stuff.
3. Final checks and preparation of the hospital bags.
4. I should clean the house one more round before the week is over.
5. Gonna try some DIY 'labour inducing' foot massage.
6. Do my final revision on all matters related to birth and labour.
7. Read up and you tube more on nursing; I'm really hoping to get it right from the start.
8. I've already begun to commit the Brahm's lullaby to memory; time for more practise!

Preparing for Baby

We have three weeks to go till the due date, we're now just relaxing and waiting. The past many months were filled with our very busy but systematic preparation process (haha anal me as always); here are some memento snapshots of some of the preparation for the arrival of our first child; Baby Lucas.

There were several batches of laundry for rompers, blankies etc over the months. Sterile things makes me happy!

Baby's cot is ready and comfy. We've since added a musical mobile but it's not captured in this pic.

I found this set of matching bib and blankie online!

The little friends are all disinfected and sitting pretty in a row, waiting to play with Baby Lucas.

Baby clothes, onesies, rompers etc are aranged in age group and sizes in special boxes.

I can't resist showing off this Juicy Cuture bib from Aunty Addie :)

Some diapers to help us get started.

Note we're not being sponsored by Mamy Poko, we just had alot of recommendation that this works best; well we will see.

Daddy had a thing about bottles, he bought quite alot in multiple sizes!

Again, not being sponsored haha, just pure recomendation from friends and plus they were on sale :)

The baby hospital bag is packed and on stand by.  The cute LUCAS zipper name tag is from Aunty Evelyn and we got this gorgeous Allerhand bag after alot of research on diaper bags. Plus we needed a 'unisex' looking bag so Mummy and Daddy can both look good with it!

The infant carrier is washed and ready for the car.  We may need an additional head support though.

And now let's sit back, relax and do some revision for mental and emotional preparation!

F**k the Duck???

My dear funny hubby, knowing how badly I need a mid-morning laugh, sent this to me .... look at the item with the price of Euro 10.80.

I have no idea how and where he stumbled upon it. This picture is a page from a menu from a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Europe, probably owned by some Chinese immigrant with really iffy literal English translation skills!

As we are not experts in Chinese cuisine and we can't read the Chinese characters, we made some inquries and apparently it's supposed to say "kon pow ngap chai" which means "dry the little duckling till it explode". Seriously, I can't decide which translation makes more sense. Either way I can imagine this will stir some really unpleasant sentiments among animal activists!

Anyway, I can't help feeling so darn curious; I would love to have a bite of this delicacy, if anyone knows where I can find it in KL/PJ?