New Year's Eve!

It's the last day of 2009 and also the last day of the decade. It's also Raelynn's official man yue cos it's lunar 16th today. Weighed her today and she's gaining weight well at 4.7kg (hope my weighing machine is accurate).

Since it's the end of my confinement, I went out to celebrate. Went to buy hubby's present and to NTUC to buy Betty crocker muffin mix cos I wanted to try making muffins for RaeAnne (she kept saying muffin muffin) but it didn't turn out very well cos CL and I were not sure of what is the correct amount is 1 cup size. Muffins were still cooked but do not look nice and puffy. Never mind, at least she said it's nice and there's always a next time. :)

Had dreamed of hugging hubby and the 2 gals and counting down together as a family but the 2 gals are fast asleep. But I guess I should count myself lucky that tonight is more peaceful cos RaeAnne screamed for 1.5 hrs last night when she woke up from her sleep but was inconsolable when we let her sleep on our bed. Hubby was busy watching his DVDs and just joined me to watch the last few minutes of the Countdown programme on Channel 5.

Here's to a better 2010 with the gals growing up well and healthy and all our dreams and new year resolution come true. :)

P.S. Oh yes, and I posted a total of 240 posts in 2009, almost double of what I posted in 08 since I stopped working in Feb09. Not bad huh? No wonder hubby calls me a full time blogger. hee.

Mama milk again...

I've got 30 over bottles of frozen EBM in the freezer now, was stocking up for my dental surgery but now I've got to do it in Mar (3 months away) cos my dentist is away whole month of Jan and I'm not keen to do it in Feb due to CNY period (want to eat the good food). Think got to start defrosting and giving it to RaeAnne liao. We have been mixing a bit of EBM into her FM since 2 weeks ago.

But today, I decided to give her some chilled EBM from the fridge thinking that if I give to it like fresh milk, she may take it. Also thought it's good to give her now since she's still having viral fever. It started the night after Mei Mei's Man Yue. I had to pretend to sip the milk with her cos she said share share. Aiyoh, it was so fishy, never tasted chilled EBM before. Freshly squeezed one tasted so much better. Luckily, she didn't seem to mind the taste and finished all the chilled EBM in 3 helpings. And said Mummy nen nen. Phew! :)

Celebrating Raelynn's Full Month

Celebrated Raelynn's Full month today on 27 Dec. Her official 满月 is 31 Dec 农历十六 but it is a Friday, not a weekend. Invited mostly friends and fewer relatives for lunch at 12noon. Still it was pretty crowded cos our 5 room flat is quite small. Raelynn was pretty 'cranky' last night and tired today but didn't nap well, maybe not used to the crowd. Even RaeAnne was tired out and only managed to catch a nap from 3-4pm. Poor Cheh Cheh was probably dehydrated and started to running a fever at night, luckily the fever subsided after taking ibufen. :P

Got the catering from Fu Kwee, the same caterer as RaeAnne's full month. Food was still as good esp fish otar and curry but portion seemed to have shrunk from last year even though prices have gone up. :P Luckily, we had a huge 2 kg cake from Prima Deli. Chose the carebear design since RaeAnne has the same Rainbow Carebear. Had a candle blowing ceremony for RaeAnne's sake since Mei Mei can't blow any candles yet. ;)

Thanks to all the aunties and uncles for the well wishes, pressies, vouchers and ang pows to Raelynn. She was too tired and knocked out without opening her presents though. Haha. :)

Xmas Holidays

It's Xmas again and this year we are celebrating with not one but two princesses, RaeAnne and Raelynn. Last year, this time, RaeAnne is still blur blur and can't even open her presents. This year, she still can't quite master the technique of peeling off the scotch tape but at least she can say 'open open' and direct us to open her presents for her. Haha. Raelynn missed out on the Xmas present unwrapping this year cos she was sound asleep at 9+pm but there are presents for her as well. :)

This year, similar to last year, we didn't go out for Xmas Eve dinner cos of the kids. CL cooked dumplings and MIL came over for dinner. The highlight of Xmas Day was the orange cake that CL baked. I was supposed to learn the recipe from her but halfway through, RaeAnne was sleepy and cranky while Mei Mei continued crying even though I've BFed her, so I didn't get to watch the whole cake making process. The cake still turns out wonderful though a bit sweet.

For Xmas Day dinner, CL made chicken cutlet, fruit salad, fries. Special request for western meal by me cos both she and hubby were not keen on roast chicken and honey baked ham. :( But the dinner was yummy. CL even had the honour of inviting both FIL and MIL to the dinner, the first time both of them ever had dinner at our place.

RaeAnne is 23 months old!

3 days before Xmas and RaeAnne is 23 months old. She is still 11kg and 85cm (maybe 86cm but she tore up the Fisher Price Giraffe height chart so many times that we can't take her height accurately anymore ;P).

Her language capabilities are much better. She can say short sentences like XX在哪里？， 起来，one more time, bear bear fall down, even teochew words like mai, wu, boh. She can hold a tune and sing songs like Jingle Bell, Baa baa black sheep, head and shoulders, knees and toes etc. Missing words will be slurred over. Haha.

But while she's expressing herself more, she is also throwing more tantrums if we don't understand her (her diction is still not perfect so sometimes need to pick out key words to know what she's talking about) or if we don't give her what she wants (eg. her new favourite Organix Alphabet biscuits that my cousin got for her from UK)

Physically, she's pretty much the same. Running, jumping and climbing as usual. Development wise, she's now trying to wear her own pants. Though she usually only manages to put on 1 pant leg and the front, not the back yet. She's still not potty trained cos doesn't know how to tell us before she 'wee wee' or 'poo poo'. But she can now tell us after she poo poo without fail. She's also more easily frightened by loud noises outside the house. She can open and close the door on her own cos she's tall enough but the bad thing is she'll often barge into my bedroom when I'm BFing Mei Mei. ;P

RaeLynn's Massage (Part 2)

A follow up to an earlier post. :)
While mummy was doing her massage, baby RaeLynn also got to experience her first baby massage!

18 Dec - First school trip

Should be resting after BF but suddenly remembered that I have not blogged about RaeAnne's first school trip. She went on her first school field trip on 18 Dec. Mummy couldn't go so Daddy accompanied her. They went to the fish farm and animal farm at Pasir Ris. We have been wanting to explore the place for months since we passed by it when going to my auntie's chalet gathering. Good that the teachers brought her there.

Daddy said RaeAnne enjoyed herself but she was frightened by the sound of a real rooster cos it was really loud and very noisy. Haha.

She was tired out cos the trip was from 10am - 12+pm. Hubby brought her to Nai Nai house straight cos I had a dental appt at NDC in the afternoon. She didn't even want to shower before sleeping but Daddy insisted. She knocked out at 2+pm in the end. Daddy also caught a big bag of 'longkang' fish for her and they are now at Nai Nai's house. Hope they can survive there. :)

Oh yes, finally had time to take a photo of the Carters warehouse loot that I got for the gals. $58 for 3 packs of rompers, 5 t-shirts, 1 play suit and 5 rompers. Cheap or not? Haha. :)

Cheh cheh & Mei Mei

We finally took a photo of RaeAnne holding Mei Mei today. It's not the first time she held Raelynn in her arms. She did that last week but we didn't have the presence of mind to whip out the camera to take a photo. Too busy and distracted last week bah. Hehe. This photo was taken just before RaeAnne went to school so she's in her playgroup uniform.

Went to the yearly Carters Warehouse Sale at Tampines. Bought $50+ of clothes, it was so crowded though it was after the morning shower. Bought some rompers and T shirts for RaeAnne. Rushing so never check properly, bought too many NB and 0-3 mths rompers for Mei Mei. Just wanted 1 or 2 for her full month celebration actually. Hope she doesn't outgrow them by Man Yue. :P

RaeAnne had a milk strike yesterday when me and hubby went out for lunch to celebrate our ROM anniversary. Filamie tried to feed milk at 130pm and she refused. When we got back past 2pm, we tried to feed milk but she also refused. She even rejected her before bedtime milk feed. I only managed to feed about 180ml of milk at 2+am this morning. She refused milk again this afternoon. Luckily, hubby managed to feed her milk tonight. Hope the milk strike has ended. :P

Oh ya, I finally traded in my N85 and hubby got me an Iphone. Can't wait to let RaeAnne try out the new games/apps but worried she'll spoil the phone. Dilemma. :P

5 years and counting...

I remember a TV commercial where the guy presented a solitaire diamond ring to his wife on a beach. As they ran hand in hand, the tv screen showed flashbacks of their wedding, the birth of their beautiful children and how they have grown older. The wife said at the end of the commercial 五年了，却不象五年。

I remember I wasn't even married when I first saw that ad but I thought it was so romantic. Today is our 5th ROM wedding anniversary. I remembered how I teared and my voice choked as I 'signed' my life away at Rasa Sentosa Shangri-la in front of friends and colleagues 5 years ago in 2004. Haha.

How time flies and we are now parents to 2 beautiful (in our eyes, they are forever beautiful) gals while both me and hubby have aged prematurely due to the late night childcare duties. Hubby even sprained his back cos he has been carrying RaeAnne so often when she cries and wakes up a few times at night.

On this special day, I will like to pay tribute to my loving and patient hubby who has put up with my quick temper, impatience and laziness (especially when I was preggie and feeling like a beached whale). Thanks for loving me for who I am. For being a doting Daddy to our gals.

Although we have not said this to each other for a while since we've been too focused to being parents. I love you, dada. Look forward to growing old with you. May our marriage grow stronger everyday. :)

五年了，却不象五年。。。我终于体会到了。

Massage and weight loss

Finished my last RN home massage session yesterday. Weight down by 1.7kg and waist smaller by 1.5 inches. Glad that I don't need to be bounded by the super tight binder anymore. Hee. ;) Still got a lot more to lose so must continue to use my stretch mark reducing cream and dig out my old OSIM binder to use on my jelly tummy. :P

Smiling away...

Daddy captured a nice photo of Raelynn smiling away. :)

More pixs of Raelynn :)

I was smiling so prettily before this. But Mummy didn't stand by the camera so she only captured my half smile.

Hmm... What is Mummy doing?

YAWN... Why did I wake up so early?

Oops, that yawn wasn't very ladylike, was it?

Now, watch me cross my eyes and stick out my tongue.

Quick, tell me I look pretty or I'll continue to pout.

Wheredatoe? Wheredatoe? Wheredatoe?

Haven't posted anything new about RaeAnne in a while. Where's the toe is RaeAnne's favourite game ever since hubby played peek a boo using our blanket to cover her toes. Whenever I BF Mei Mei, she'll open the door wide open, climb onto the bed and start chanting Wheredatoe? Wheredatoe? Wheredatoe?. Lucky thing is most times, she's happy to play on her own, finding her toes and squealing in laughter. :)

She also learn to say 'zainani' (在哪里？) instead of just where, where, where? Maybe cos we are speaking more mandarin cos CL doesn't understand English. :) Bad thing is she is also beating hubby on the face more and more often. Tried to persuade her, beat her back etc but she still thinks it's a game. Sigh. :P

Moo Moo Cow

RaeAnne went to ILs place for the day while me and hubby ran some errands (collect photos, fix my specs and collected loot from YL). She had a 3.5 hr nap there and tonight she slept close to 11pm. Mei Mei had woken up for milk by then. My worst nightmare. Luckily hubby could put her to sleep while I BF Mei Mei. Finished BF at 12.08am (1 hr later cos she start and stop due to burping etc). Decided to pump cos breasts still felt full. Managed to get 90ml of milk. Quite surprised, not sure if it's because Raelynn didn't drink much or because I drank some red date tea so triggered letdown.

Tonight, we tried mixing some EBM into RaeAnne's FM as suggested by CL. Hee, she happily drank everything. So glad that I can make it up to her cos I stopped BF at 12.5 months to try for no. 2. At least she'll get some antibodies from my EBM now. :)

Raelynn's first BB massage

Today, Raelynn had her first BB massage by Rustic Nirvana masseur. Had to wake up early and BF her at 730am instead of 830am so that we will be in time cos the masseur, Helen, has to rush back for her first appt at Liang seah street branch at 11am. She enjoyed the massage, looks very 'siang shou' but some milk came out during her massage cos she was full. :P Daddy took a video but no time for me to edit and upload it yet. Next feed is 1130pm. And Cheh only slept at 1030pm today. :P

Here's a pix of her at home, Day 5. Cheh Cheh had a similar pose too when she was young too, like Ultraman. :)

8 Dec 09 ...

Today was supposed to be Raelynn's EDD. How time flies. Last week I was waiting for her to come out and now our dear baby girl is 6 days old already. :) Yesterday, while at TMC, the PD clinic and LC weighed her and she was 3.25kg. When she was discharged from TMC, she was 3.1+kg. She's latching well and glad that she has gained some weight. Her poo poo has also changed from greenish black to BF mustard poo. She pooed total of 4 times today. :P

Today, Rustic Nirvanan's masseur came at 830am to do my steam, massage. Supposed to have 15mins of BB massage but we didn't have enough time as I wanted to feed Raelynn before starting the massage. Hope we'll have time tomorrow. Today, I wanted to try out a schedule for RaeAnne and Raelynn to avoid yesterday's situation when Cheh Cheh doesn't want to sleep cos I was BFing Mei Mei.

Inspired by Gina Ford so I tried to start a 3hr feeding routine for Raelynn cos she said if you feed the baby frequently in the day and keep her awake for some time in the day. The baby will sleep longer at night and hopefully avoid night feeds.

Raelynn & RaeAnne's schedule
830am BF RL (while hubby/maid prepares RaeAnne for school)
1130am BF RL (while hubby/maid feeds RA lunch)
1230pm Hubby bathes RaeAnne
130pm Put RA to sleep after milk feed while RL sleeps
230pm BF RL (RA continues to nap)
530pm BF RL (RA plays)
830pm BF RL (RA plays)
930-10pm Put RL to sleep after milk feed while RA sleeps
1130pm BF RL (RA sleeps)

The schedule works for lunch time cos RA slept from 2-4pm and RL sleep through from 12noon to 245pm until CL woke her up. Night schedule didn't work as well cos RL continued to sleep and even though we woke her up at 845pm, she refuse to wake up and BF was very slow going with CL waking her for me and her falling asleep at my breast after a few suckles for a few times. By 925pm, I gave up and let CL put her to sleep while I pumped. Hardly any milk came out though breasts felt semi full, hope it's not due to Freestyle being not powerful enough. :P

Then RA pooed (2nd time tonight) so hubby cleaned her up. By the time, I got time to start RA's routine and made her sleep, it was already 1015pm. Don't know what time RL will wake up. Think it'll be 1130pm if she doesn't wake up on her own. Hope she can sleep longer after 12 midnight. :P

1 day tour at TMC...

Was at TMC from morning 9+am to 4pm. Did gynae check and Raelynn went for PD check today. Luckily jaundice under control though still need to sun for 3 more days. We did her birth cert today too. Her name is 张旗庭 Raelynn Teo Kay Tin. Opened her CDA account at OCBC too.

Only managed to book LC appt at 2pm today too. So, we went for lunch at coffee shop then went back to ACJ clinic to take a photo with Dr Joycelyn Wong. Forgot to bring camera today so had to borrow their camera. After that, just nice, Raelynn was hungry and we headed to Parent Craft centre.

The LC Chen Liqin spent 2 hours on me. I actually attended her talk on 3 Dec, my 2nd day at hospital. Good news is my baby is latching well and my supply is good. She drank 75ml when latched on (they actually weigh bb bbefore and after latching each side), I'm impressed. After that, she helped me massage and ask me to pump, and I pumped out about 25ml.

Bad news is I have breast 'congestion' due to leftover lumps from no. 1 so she said that I'll need to visit them once every few months to clear. Sigh. At least she helped to clear as much as possible and she also taught hubby how to massage for me. Only paid $50+, very cheap considering the amount of time she spent on me.

BF journey begins again...

Latched on Raelynn in the hospital but didn't pump. Only colostrum anyway. Yesterday tried pumping cos Raelynn was sleepy and only got a few drops of colostrum which I gave to RaeAnne. Today, tried pumping after latching and got 15ml of EBM. Pumped again after 7pm feed (Raelynn only took from left side) and got another 15ml of EBM.

But my breasts still feel swollen and heavy after pumping and some part of the areola feel lumpy and painful when I press. Tried to hand express and press on painful parts but still painful for some parts. Worried that it may be the start of blocked ducts so tried calling TMC's hotline. First it rings then was cut off. Then I tried calling twice thereafter and the HP was switched off. Some hotline. Bleah! :/

So sian and scared of seeing history repeating itself with blocked ducts and mastitis. The pain and costs really puts me off BF sometimes. Sigh.

Finally home... :)

Finally back to home sweet home around 2pm this afternoon. :) Discharged a bit late cos Raelynn was crying when we left so had to BF her in the room first while Daddy went to get the car. He had to rush off to pick up the Leapfrog fridge magnet that i bought from WTS thread at Tampines MRT after that. Was so tired that I knocked out with sleeping Raelynn but hubby came back soon after with lunch and my mum came to visit so no chance to sleep.

CL came at 4pm but there was no food in the fridge due to a miscommunication. So hubby followed my mum back to get some meat, fish etc. Raelynn slept from 2pm to 5pm. So only BF her at 5pm but she was still sleepy and only pooed once at 7am so a bit worried.

CL started cooking dinner for everyone at 5pm while Hubby went over to ILs place to get RaeAnne and Filamie. RaeAnne was so excited to be home and to see Mei Mei. MIL came over too. Let RaeAnne sayang Mei Mei's head a few times and she was very gentle. Hubby fed RaeAnne whom ate 1 small bowl of rice with ingredients. Good gal! :)

Tried to BF Raelynn again at 8pm but she didn't drink a lot. Tried to pump after that but only very little colostrum. Not enough to store or give to Raelynn so gave it to RaeAnne instead. Luckily she drank it.

We had to move her cot bed to the other side of the room so that Mei Mei's cot can be next to CL. She walked around her room so many times but refused to sleep. Pooed twice instead. End up hubby brought her to Cheers to buy bread and she knocked out after she came back at 11pm. :P

Tried to BF again at 1130pm, massaged and squeeze out before. Can see some transitional milk on right breast. Looks like diluted BM. This time, she drank more and can hear her swallowing.

CL said feed her a bit of red date water can help get rid of jaundice. She did not pee or poo since she came home so agree to give some though I'm not sure if red date tea is different from glucose water that TMC has given. Hope it's ok. :P

A bit of mixed feelings and nostalgia cos lot of adjustments for the first day. Wondering how we'll cope in future or is it my hormone acting up? :P

Oh ya, was reading a brochure on Fri and decided to go with Hua Xia to get Raelynn's chinese name since we already have the first 2 characters. Got the names this morning, end up both Qi xin and Qi en cannot be used. Will deliberate and confirm one over the the weekend.

They gave us 旗耘，旗容，旗庭，旗珍，旗玲. So far, the strongest vote is for 旗庭 cos we like the short form of tingting and not as common as the rest. Dialect name of Raelynn Teo Kay Tin sounds quite nice too.Then can register Raelynn's name on Monday when we go back for gynae and PD review. :)

1 more night...

Raelynn's jaundice was 9.3 at today's 9am blood test, above 11 must stay for phototherapy. Decided to stay 1 more day so that she can have phototherapy here, then jaundice can come down faster. Hubby went back in late afternoon though cos MIL got wedding dinner tonight so can't look after RaeAnne.

Called for LC again this morning cos left side (4-5 o clock) painful with slight lump when I BF Raelynn at 330am but overall breast still soft. LC came and said it's congested. Told me must continue to wear nursing bra high to lift my boobs and massage more. Then she told my hubby when he met her outside that she thinks I lack confidence cos of my mastitis history. Ask me to attend parentcraft session again.

Duh... Got pain of course ask to see LC while I'm still warded lar. Wait until discharged meh? (was supposed to be discharged today initially mah). Somemore half hr of TMC LC consultation will be $55 leh. :P She did say my colostrum supply is 'raining' and thick, good for bb though. I do find my boobs getting heavier too. :)

Just now after I finished feeding my gal at 640pm. The nursery staff pushed back to me at 720pm and said she has been crying from the minute I push back until then. Fed her from 720pm to 810pm but she's so sleepy. Sucking but not always strong sucks. Push back to nursery staff and they asked if I want to feed glucose water cos baby keep crying and they are afraid she'll be dehydrated. Bo bian, ask them to feed if interval is less than 1 hr lor. :P

Just finished BF Raelynn at 11.30pm. She's still very sleepy but I used hot towel to massage and stimulate flow just now. Hope she managed to drink more. If not, will have to let the nurses feed her glucose water cos phototherapy is very dehydrating and she needs more fluids. Next BF time will be 3am. Just ate biscuits, going to sleep soon or I won't even get 3 hrs of sleep. :P

More pixs on Raelynn

After a long detailed birth story account. Will just let the photos do the talking this time. :)

At the delivery suite


Both eyes wide open this morning :)


Double eyelids? But alas, they disappeared once she opened her eyes fully. Hidden double eyelids? ;P

Raelynn is born!!! :)

My Birth story :)
530am - RaeAnne woke us up with her crying. Put her on our bed, gave her water and she fell asleep again feeling my tummy but woke up shortly after.
600am - Buay tahan cos difficult for me to lie on my right cos she's lying on my right side and insist on feeling my exposed tummy. Asked hubby to make milk for her cos she might be hungry. She finally knocked out after her milk feed.
630am - Tried to go back to sleep but started having cramps that extended to my back. Similar to the false alarm on 1 Dec early morning where the pain lasted for 1 hr plus then disappeared.:P
700 - 800am - Started timing the contractions and they seem to start from 20min aparts to 10-15 mins apart.
800am - Told hubby to get ready then wake up RaeAnne and bring her to ILs place cos this may be it. Hubby didn't ask maid to go over with him cos he said he wanted her to help carry things to the car.
800 - 830am - Contractions started to drag in duration. Instead of every 10 mins, seemed to go back to 15-20 mins. Stomachache and want to poo too. Wondered if it's a false alarm so called the clinic. They said to go down for a check.
830 - 845am - Had shower, washed hair twice and
850am - Got maid to walk over to Ils place with her barang barang.
850am - 910am - Took 1 bottle of chicken essence and a muffin for breakfast. Told hubby rather go later then get caught in morning rush hour traffic at Thomson. :P
915am - Finally left the house, had to walk very slowly as contractions was almost every 5 mins.
940am - Finally reached ACJ clinic but was told to go to toilet first before getting strapped to CTG machine cos once strapped, cannot move for 20 mins.
945 - 955am - Waited long time to go toilet cos long queue. Scared a few patients with my moaning while waiting I think. :P
10am - 1045am - Strapped to CTG machine, contractions confirmed every 5 mins and intensity started from 40+ to 80+. Waited impatiently for Dr Wong to assess me cos I was having a lot of pain every 5 mins and getting no pain relief at all! :( Started to think that I'll definitely take epi after all. The pain is unbearable.
1050am - Dr Wong finally came in between patients. I was already 4cm dilated. She said I'll definitely give birth today and it'll take another 6 hours before I'll be ready for delivery. 6 more hours of pain and she said the intensity will reach 160+, double what I'm experiencing. Decided on epi cos I don't think I can't bear it.
11am - Transferred to Delivery suite on wheelchair by the clinic staff. Felt a bit paiseh by the curious looks by the clinic patients but was in too much pain to care about image liao.
11am - 1130am - Given fleet to help poo out but the pain was so intense that I didn't manage to wait long enough for the fleet to soften the stools.
Was in so much pain in the toilet due to contraction pains while hubby went to do admission procedures.
1130am - 1145am - He was given a queue number and they don't have single bed wards. He told them will upgrade to Single premier for 1 night then. ($158 more per night)
1145am - 1220am - Continued to pester the nurse for the anaesthesist. Was told it's peak hour due to lunch time cos a lot of procedures going on. Pain was so bad that i was trembling at each contraction. Sigh.
1230am - Dr Lim (anaesthesist, my first saviour) finally came to the rescue. Had to try very hard to hold myself still for him to administer the epi cos I was shaking so bad and BP was also high by then. The nurse and Dr Lim asked me why I didn't come to the hospital earlier. Told them I was here since 9+am. :P
1230 - 1250pm - Waited for epi to take effect. Pain was still as bad. Told him about my bad experience at KK for the patient controlled device for epi and he said he will make it as pain free for me as possible.
1250pm - 2pm - Pain was finally over and I could joke with Dr Lim who came back to see if I needed any top ups.
2pm - Needed a top up cos pain was bad. Dr Wong came finally and checked, I was already 8cm dilated. Dr Lim topped up by another 10ml but it takes time for the extra epi to work and pain intensity upped again while waiting.
2pm - 225pm - Dr Lim was nice and allowed the nurse to add another 10ml again. Finally could talk instead of moaning again. A nurse came to check, I was close to 10cm dilated. Was finally moved to Labour Ward.
230pm - Dr Wong came to check again. She said I'm already 10cm but baby's head is still high. Pain was unbearable again. Dr Lim upped my epi again. Dr Wong told me that if the epi is working. We will wait until 330pm before starting to push since I had to push 2 hrs for RaeAnne and that led to a slow post delivery recovery. Negotiated for her to make it 315pm so that I won't be left stranded again cos it takes a long time for her to come back.
245pm - 3pm - Extra doses of epi finally kicked in, no more pain though I was much number including my hands. But I had no pain and kept wanting to fall asleep.
3pm - Dr Lim came to check on me one last time and told me that he's going home to walk the dog and if I need any top ups. But also warned me that too much top up may cause me to be breathless. Decided to take the chance since only 15 more mins to tahan till pushing time so told him no need any top up.
3 - 315pm - There was an irritating alarm that keeps sounding. Stopping me from napping. Called the nurse, she came in and explained that it's the baby warmer giving the alarm. Got her to check before she left the room and she said bb's head is low enough. Asked me if I can feel pressure below. I said got a bit cos I'm quite numb already. She said I can try pushing if I want to.
315pm - 330pm - She set up the stirrups and I started pushing with hubby supporting my neck, timing it with the contractions. Didn't feel much pain and my hands were numb. Did about 3-4 rounds of pushing.
330 - 340pm - Clarified with nurse then realised I was supposed to hold my tummy in then push with all my might. Started to push better after that though my blocked nose was a hindrance when I'm supposed to be taking deep breaths. Did another 3 rounds of pushing (3 deep breathes each time)
340pm - She said I was pushing well so took a break while she called Dr Wong to come and break the water bag and continue. She said bb's head lower already ie. can see her hair when I was pushing. I'm surprised that at 10cm dilated, waterbag still did not burst. Whereas for RaeAnne, it broke even when I was only 2cm dilated.
340pm - 350pm - Dr Wong broke my water bag, no pain cos got epi. She was reassuring and we continued the pushing.
351pm - Just another 3-4 pushes and baby was out at 1551hr. I was surprised that she came out so fast. Dr Wong had to call me twice before I realised she was asking me to see the baby's face as she came out. Definitely more pain free and less pushing compared to RaeAnne. :)
351pm - 400pm - Dr Wong placed Raelynn on my chest while she got hubby to cut the umblical cord. Then, she continued to stitch me up while Raelynn was put on the warmer.
4pm - They brought Raelynn out to weigh and measure her. She was 3.355kg, 100g more than Cheh cheh. HC 34cm and length 49cm - same as Cheh Cheh.
415pm - Hubby got a call then there's a single bed now available at level 6, rm617. So he decided to take it. Took a family photo with Raelynn then let her latch on for 5mins. But was so groggy and sleepy liao, all energy spent.
4+pm - Had to transfer then hubby and nurse pushed up my bed to rm617 with Raelynn.

Waiting Game...

It's been a few days since i last posted. Thought I would have popped by now. :P

But Mei Mei has other plans, I'm 39 weeks tomorrow and she's later than Cheh Cheh who came out at 38w4d. I guess she prefers to be a Dec baby rather than a end Nov baby which I had anticipated. Well, Dec is the month of me and hubby's ROM anniversary so she has something in common with Cheh Cheh. Cheh Cheh came out 1 day after our customary wedding anniversary date on 22 Jan 08. :)

Well, RaeAnne has recovered from her cough, and I've mostly recovered except for a slightly stuffy nose which acts up from time to time. Daddy's school holidays have already started. So, it's a good time for her to arrive. I'm getting very clumsy cos it's difficult to move or get up from bed or even shift position. Leg's water retention is getting bad so got to keep putting up my legs on a pillow when I get a chance.

The longer she waits to come, the bigger she'll be and she's already 3.1-3.2 kg when gynae checked last Thurs. If there are no signs by this Fri, I may have to think of a date to induce liao. :P Dr Wong is on holiday from 14 Dec onwards so must choose a date on EDD or at most 1-2 days later. May want to choose a good date if inducing cos Dr Wong said delivery for no. 2 should be around 7-8 hrs. Asked the question in baidu, and got the answer that 2 Dec, 7 Dec and 8 Dec are good dates. Oh well, we'll see. :)

Anyway, I've decided not to get myself flustered when waiting day by day. Since she doesn't want to come out yet. I shall 'enjoy' myself these few days shopping and eating food that I can't eat during confinement. Maybe more walking will also help induce labour. hee.

Yesterday, at Poh Heng's 50% off sale, I showed RaeAnne the 2 pendants that I wanted to buy. The garnet I told her it's for her. The Poh Heng saleslady asked her the sapphire one is for who. She paused then shyly pointed to my tummy. Her saleslady said she's very guai and loving towards her Mei Mei. Really sweet to see her loving towards Mei Mei, hope it stays that way when Mei Mei is born. ;)

RaeAnne did not nap at all at ILs place today so she knocked out early at 920pm. :) I'm not complaining but MIL definitely was. They were so tired cos she didn't nap so they didn't get to have their afternoon nap either. :P

Sitex and gynae visit

Went for gynae check just now. At 38w2d, RaeAnne is between 3.1 to 3.2 kg. Head circumference is around 32cm and I'm 1cm dilated. My water retention is getting bad, at first just can't see the veins on my feet but now they are practically like pigs trotters. :P Dr Wong is also surprised I'll drag for so long. Thought I would have popped by now. :P She said maybe I'm the sort who will slowly dilate then once reach 2-3cm then water bag burst. Anyway, next appt is 5 Dec and if I don't pop by then. She'll talk to me about inducing on the 8 Dec or a few days after that. Induce sure to be more painful, will have to go for epi and may have risk for c section. Sian. :P

Went to Sitex today, mainly to get a GPS device for hubby as Xmas and anniversary present cos I'll still in be confinement. :P We spent more than 1 hour at the Eastgear booth before deciding on the Garmin 255w at $299. My friend Bobby actually recommended Holux and the Holux 62E is $259 and the software is more user friendly but the volume is too soft. Can't even hear it at Hall 6. Definitely can't hear it in the car if we are playing children songs for RaeAnne or the radio. :P

Tried out the Garmin GPS just now. Not bad, it gave us a shorter route for us from TMC back home. Hope with the GPS, we will have fuss free travelling to new destinations and hopefully we can start going to some new food places that I've always wanted to go eg. Bollywood veggies, Dempsey, Punggol marina, Jalan Kayu roti prata, The French stall at Serangoon road etc. Hee.

Last night, RaeAnne got blocked nose so can't sleep well. I slept on her cot bed with her from 230 - 530am. My back was so stiff cos I can't turn and there's not enough space for me to leverage and move with my super big tummy (43 inches!?!). At 610am, she cried and hubby carried her in upright position so that she can sleep until 8am. :P

Just now, we used the nasal spray to clear her mucus cos she tends to breathe in the mucus again instead of blowing her nose (she learnt to do that this morning but refused to blow her nose tonight). She hates it and struggled very hard. PD said review this Sunday but hubby is keen to try TCM liao. Sigh, whatever he decides, better go before I pop. :P

Bloom shot - 31 Oct 09 (34 weeks)

Raelynn is 38 weeks!

Waiting game now, been waiting for 2 weeks actually since dr said she was engaged at 36 weeks. Thought she would be early but at this rate, she'll probably come out at the same time as RaeAnne or even later. A bit worried that she'll end up to be too big. Cos she was already 3 kg during last Fri's checkup. :P

Finally went to see dr today cos my cough/cold was not getting any better after 2 days of self medication. Asked dr for antibiotics too cos I don't want to be sick during delivery. Phelgm already starting to have bloody streaks liao. :P

In the afternoon, went back to QB house cos the lady didn't cut my layer at the right side so I have a chunk of hair that keeps falling over my face. Today when I went there, the same lady was not there but her colleague cut for me. I don't understand why hairdressers always insist on cutting the side of my hair into layers. I already repeated many times that I want to be able to tie it up. If they keep layering it, I can't tie it up cos chunks of hair will keep falling over my face. Worse, they took out so much of the thickness that the ponytail is now so straggly but I can't even clip it up anymore. Must use a rubber band and go through many many rounds.

Sigh, serves me right for trying to save $ and going to the cheap cut salons. Next time, I'm going back to Phyto hair spa where I have a package. :P But it'll be a long long time before I can keep my hair long enough to undo all this damage. :(

Back to school

RaeAnne went back to playgroup today. She was quite happy initially, ran to the classroom after washing her hands. But when she reached there, she started crying cos there are quite a few new faces today. (teacher Suriya is sick so there is another stand in teacher), then there is a new boy who just enrolled last week (when she was on 'MC') and another lady (maybe the boy's mummy) Duh, bo bian lor, she's been away for 1 week so far. Bound to have some changes.

Tonight, we brought her to PD for review. She was guai as usual, never cry or make any noise when the PD examined her (think the Elmo goes to the doctor DVD helps a lot to ease her fears). Dr Lee prescribed additional med: one for wheezing, one for phelgm and oral drops as well. Today's damage: $58.60. She said to bring RaeAnne back for review on Sun, hope RaeAnne recovers before that (duh, don't know if I popped by then) :P

RaeAnne is 22 months today!

2 more months to RaeAnne's 2nd birthday. She is 10.3kg and 84cm tall. She was 10.7kg at the PD clinic, probably lost weight cos she has not been eating well for 1 week.

She can repeat A-Z after us and parrot words that she heard for the first time.
Long words like papaya are no problem for her now.
Can say short sentences like 'Smile, Daddy, Mummy' too. ;)
She can differentiate the colours: Red, blue, green, yellow, white and green.
She can differentiate the shapes in the shape sorter correctly.
She can open the fridge door on her own and take out her favourite gerber stars. (need to buy a fridge lock liao :P)
Can say 'ng ng' after she pooed but can't say 'shh shh'.
She will try to sing along when she hears the same tune/lyrics more than once.
She can take out her own shoes and kick them away. (Mummy is trying to teach her to take out the shoes while sitting down instead :P)

Now, RaeAnne's fav book are the 3 pelangi books that I got through Tongtong. 我的爸爸，我的玩具熊不见了，一只大肥猫。She likes us to read about how the Daddy interacting with the boy, flip to last page and find the bear and flip to the page where the fat cat is given medicine by the doctor. haha. The other book she enjoys is the Usborne book 100 words sticker book cos I let her help stick on the stickers.

Poor gal is still sick, phelgmy cough and running nose. So, I couldn't take a good photo of her today. Only got one when she was playing with the mei mei doll and my camera. She either pretends to take a photo by putting her fingers on her eyebrows or places her eye close to the lens of my Canon 110s ixus. :P

Her medicine is finishing, will check if I can buy med from PD clinic. Since she's better, intend to let her go to school tomorrow. She has missed school for 1 week so far. Will probably put on more clothes for her though. Long sleeve jacket and long pants? :P

Passing the bug...

This morning, stomach n back so crampy and achy that i thought contractions started. Luckily, after taking a nap, felt better. Sigh, I caught the bug from RaeAnne liao. In fact, all 3 of us are sick, hubby, me and the maid. Probably due to not enough rest. :P Just took cough syrup, cold med, 1000mg of Vit C and flumicil just now. Hope I can nip the problem in the bud. :P

Cut my hair just now at QB house Century sq, wanted to save $ and time cos RaeAnne woke up at 2pm from her nap. :P The aunty layered it by a lot. My ponytail is even more straggly now, looks like a joke. But at least by chopping my fringe and a layered back, it is more cooling.

RaeAnne vomitted after her milk feed again even though we fed her on bumper mat this time and didn't let her lie down. Sigh, looks like we got to cut away the last milk feed until she recovers from her cough. Fed antibiotics this morning and night, her diarrhea problem seems under control liao. Good, at least one less thing to worry about. :P

Phew, passed another day without popping. Hope I recover before Raelynn arrives. Hope Raelynn won't be too big though cos she's already 3 kg, will be very difficult to push if she comes out too late. Sigh, dilemma. :P

Raelynn is 3kg! :)

Went for gynae check up just now. Baby Raelynn is already 3kg so even if pop this weekend, she's of good weight. I'm 57.8kg today, looks like won't cross 60kg, phew! I'm only 0.5cm dilated but gynae said her head is engaged and quite low. But if she drags to next week, she'll be 3.1 or 3.2kg like RaeAnne. Forgot to ask Dr Wong to check Raelynn's head circumference. :P

Anyway, I don't ask for too much. As long as she tahan and let Cheh cheh recover first before arriving then I'm happy. Will go cut hair tomorrow, shorter but still can tie the hair at the back but will chop off the fringe since not long enough to tie up anyway.

RaeAnne's diarrhoea is caused by augmentin cos I have the same reaction. Called the pd this morning, she said can cut dosage by half but best to continue until sat cos antibiotics should take for at least 5 days. RaeAnne vomitted her milk again after we gave her the night feed and she coughed. Hubby said we got to change our usual practice of last milk feed before she sleeps cos she's prone to puke it out when she coughs.

Her diaper rash is still bad. Today still keep pooing a bit of loose stools. Kept crying when we try to change her diaper, wash her butt, and apply steroid cream. Heart pain, decided to skip the antibiotics for tonight since her loose stools didn't get better even with 2.5ml dosage. :P Probably not a rational decision but I really can't bear to see her suffer even more. Cough with phelgm and cannot spit out already kelian enough, really don't need diaper rash to add onto her problems.

Actually met a mummy, Celia at ACJ clinic who has read my blog. She said she's Diana's friend and she read my blog because it was linked to Diana's blog. I thnk we have 3 Diana among the Feb mummies? I remember one is Artemis, one is Diana(spoiltbratz), and the other one not very sure. :P Anyway, Celia's a Feb mummy too but seldom post. Her 20 month old gal, Cadence (hope I spelt her name correctly) is so chatty and talks so well using short sentences. Wonder why RaeAnne who is 1 month older, can't talk as well. Okie, okie, must remind myself: Don't compare, don't compare. ;P

Managed to eat at tian tian huo guo today, it was the most obvious restaurant from where we parked. My ILs called hubby at 730pm cos my gal was fussing so we only had 1round of food. :P But very happy that I got to satisfy my craving before popping. Can't imagine going to eat steamboat with a toddler and baby in tow. :P And I'm sure it'll be even tougher for me and hubby to have er ren shi jie after no. 2 is born cos ILs will find it a strain to help us look after 2 gals even with the maid. :P

Diaper rash... :(

RaeAnne's diarrhoea is bad and now she's developed diaper rash. Got to keep changing her diapers, apply steroid lotion and desitin. Think I'll call PD tomorrow and ask if we can stop the Augmentin (suspect the answer will be no).

Sigh, put her to bed just now. For once, she wanted to drink milk. So happy but end up she cough and vomit all over the cot bed. Luckily we had a water mattress on the cot (to reduce her temperature) so bedsheet was just a bit stained, no need to change yet. But need to wash her and change her clothes all over again. Was almost 11pm when she slept and she went to bed hungry again. Think my dear gal will be much slimmer after this bout of illness. :(

Seeking alternative treatments

Went to Hock Hwa and bought the 珍珠川贝 (my mum's favourite sales lady told me it's top grade) 南杏, 北杏 and some chinese 鸭梨 (more cooling she said). The staff told me after 2 hours too but 1 hr still ok cos she said this soup is not strong. She split up the 川贝 into 5 packs and I'm supposed to double boil or boil 1 pack with 1 ya pear and 1 teaspoon of 南杏，北杏. Will add some winter melon sugar if still not sweet. :P

Also bought flumicil satchets and the nasal spray that Yvonne recommended. Only let her try Flumicil so far cos she napped from 2-5pm. By the time, she woke up, time for fever med liao so can't take TCM. If she can nap better, hope it means that she is getting better. Fever peaks are slightly better too, around 37.9 to 38.1.

Will boil the soup for her tom. The nasal spray the pharmacist said must ask her to spit out the phelgm which she can't or ask her to blow her nose (which she refuse to do) so I'm not sure how to administer it. Maybe plan B bah.

Wanted to buy the Ba bao shan but the EYS lady recommend me the Hou ning which costs $66+ for a small bottle of powder (can only take 2 times). Hubby said try other methods first. He said rather bring her to see TCM dr if fever comes down and cough is not ok.

Raelynn is 37 weeks! :)

Raelynn has finally reached 37 weeks, full term. Too bad no gynae visit this week. Really eager to know if she has moved down and her weight now. Very tiring stage for me now. Got pains in the butt and V area cos her head is already engaged. Even getting swollen finger joints due to water retention.

MIL passed us the confinement herbs and stuff today. Took the chance to tell my MIL today that if baby really comes in the middle of the night, we'll send my gal and the maid over before going to the hospital. Have asked the maid to bring a few sets of clothes and her tilam. :P

Repacked my hospital stuff today into a bigger luggage cos the Samsonite cabin luggage is just too small to fit cordlife kit, RaeAnne's present and my stuff, me & hubby's toiletries, laptop etc. Still need to charge and bring handycam and digital camera, HP charger etc. No way, I can't fit my freestyle pump so got to bring it separately. Luckily the pump comes with its own shoulder bag so not so bad. Still wondering if I should bring my BF pillow and borrow the inflatable ring from my cousin again. ;P

Poor RaeAnne is Sick

It's been almost 4 months since RaeAnne started attending playgroup but she's finally fallen sick. She started with a bit of cough since last Thurs/Fri. Not sure if I spread to her. :P

Then she started phelgmy cough yesterday. Last night, keep waking up every 2 hrs. Poor hubby had to keep carrying her. I didn't want to leave her to cry for fear that it will aggravate her cough. By 4+am, i gave up n ask hubby to bring her to our room to sleep.

Luckily, hubby clearing childcare leave today so he brought us to the clinic this morning. Hubby wanted to bring her to the TCM clinic but we lost the namecard and couldn't remember which block it was at. PD said she has a throat infection and a phelgmy cough. She is 10.7kg and 84cm tall when they measured her at the clinic. She was very guai for the visit. Didn't cry at all even when she had to lie down for the PD and PD used the cold stethoscope to listen to her lungs. So different from her previous PD visits. Shows that she has really grown up. :)

PD consultation, med and 2 creams (eczema lotion and cream which we requested) came up to $60+. Hubby said next time we should bring her to GP not PD to save costs. Told him we start doing that after 2 years old bah and after she finished all her jabs bah. Below 2 years, I'm still a bit kiasi, prefer to bring her to see specialist. :P

She didn't go to school today but we still brought her to mil house after pd visit. Since it was too late to tell ILs not to cook for her and there's hardly any food in the fridge to cook for her.

After that, went to watch 2012 with hubby n had a late lunch at seoul garden. Most likely the last movie i'll get to watch for a long long time cos of the 3 hr BF schedule. :P

One of the Dec09 mummy popped on Sun morning even before she got to watch the movie. Last night, had a lot of Brackton hicks contractions and baby Raelynn was moving a lot so told hubby I think it may be within this week. Let's see if I'm right. ;P

Just now while at ILs house, she felt a bit warm and she was still active and playing. Came home and hubby took her temperature, it was 38.6 (using ear thermometer). PD already warned that she may develop fever so we gave her paracetemol and the cold med as well before she slept. She just slept at 1025pm. Hope she will sleep well tonight. Don't know whether to let her go to PG tomorrow. :P

P.S. Over the weekend, all of us LOL when we realised that she asked the maid to 'put it here' when the maid was helping her to take the dollhouse. She's really parroting our language. :)

Celebrating Waipo and Waigong's BD

We went for dinner at Chin Lee restaurant at Blk 115 Bedok North to celebrate Waipo and Waigong's birthday. Didn't find the food fantastic. Went there simply because Waipo had eaten there once with my cousin and she found the food nice. But she didn't remember what was nice when she last ate there. :P RaeAnne ate some steamed pomfret, chicken, fish slices, straw mushroom, stir fried veg,fried mee sua and some white rice. Brought along the food scissors and cut everything small. Hubby thinks even zhi char food is better. But then, most importantly is that the old folks are happy with the choice of restaurant. :) Especially brought along the camera but forgot to take any photos. Duh. Pregnesia! :P

RaeAnne wailed in the short car ride home. She keeps doing that nowadays. Keep crying and calling for Daddy and Mummy when she's seated in the back with Filamie. Don't know why. :P Don't think RaeAnne ate much rice cos she finished 220ml of milk. Most days, she'll leave 40-100ml behind. She knocked out at 940pm cos she had a short afternoon nap of 1hr 45mins. :P

Noticed that my fingers are getting stiff and swollen from water retention just now. Tummy is now 41 inches. Think D day must be drawing close. Almost 37 weeks liao. :P

Penang June 2010

Hehe, Airasia got free tickets promotion on 11 Nov 09. Mai tu liao. Chong to order tickets online for 11 -13 June 2010. Just $205 for 3 tickets, saved $150. Can't buy infant ticket for Raelynn yet cos she doesn't have BC or passport mah. Told hubby best time to travel if before Raelynn starts solid food and RaeAnne can take table food like us. Hee. Asked MIL but she's not keen to go. Will see if we decide to bring the maid in the end. If just 4 of us, then just need 1 room with extra bed for RaeAnne. Raelynn can squeeze with us on king size bed. At least got a short holiday to look forward to. :)

Baby is ENGAGED!!!

Saw Dr Wong today. Baby Raelynn is 2.6kg and engaged liao at 35w6d but luckily cervix zero dilation. I'm surprised cos didn't feel any big difference in the last 2 weeks. Dr Wong estimates that I'll deliver by 38 weeks. Got to arrange for her cot to be delivered earlier than 20 Nov liao cos Dr Wong said she'll see me in 2 weeks time unless I pop earlier. Hubby's school holidays still haven't start yet. Stressed. :P

RaeAnne's First Stage Performance Video clips.... :)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


RaeAnne slept at 10pm today. She must be tired out by the day's activities. Poor mummy has to stay up late despite having taken cough syrup at 9pm cos the video clips take so long to upload. Maid and Daddy are in lala land even before 10pm. Duh. :P

My flu has mutated to cough now and I'm running out of cough syrup which I got from Dr Joycelyn Wong previously. Throat so itchy that I have to cough hard. But sometimes will leak due to pregnancy induced stress incontinence. Sian! Today's lunch was stir fried macaroni. Dinner was pork rib soup with old cucumber, steamed threadfin belly with shredded ginger, mushroom and tomato, and stir fried cabbage with dried shrimps and minced meat.

Hungry now but don't know what to eat. Heartburn also. Drinking hot hot Bouvril to relieve my itchy throat. :P

3 minute of fame

3 minutes - that's the entire duration of RaeAnne's 1st stage performance. From the time she stood on stage before she coming down crying - what a short lived performance. ;P

Today is Premiere (new DBSS flats at Tampines)'s Welcome Party and RaeAnne's playgroup has been invited to put up 2 dance items at 420pm. We thought that she'll be too young to go on stage but Teacher Chris said it's fine. The most if she cries, they'll bring her down.

With all our efforts, she had a good afternoon nap from 1pm. In fact, she didn't even wake up at 330pm so we had to wake her up 'gently' so that she won't miss her first performance. We were still late for the assembly time of 345pm though. When we reached the RC centre, the teachers were already bringing the kids over to the Premiere by foot so we quickly joined in. :P

Waiting in the very sunny 'backstage'. The floral 'hats' were made by Teacher Chris but wasn't very useful to block out the sun. :)

Looking blur on stage, she was given the honour of front row, centre position. Mummy had to curb a very strong urge to go up and adjust her shirt and shorts. Aiyoh, who/what made her look so messy in such a short while? Tsk tsk.... :P



So far so good


Starting to pout

Boo hoo, I want my mummy! Camera not big enough to hide my face. :P

In teacher Suriya's arms watching her classmates' performance.

She did go up on stage for a short while after the first crying but the teachers gave up when she started crying again. Never mind, it's the experience that counts. But one thing's for sure, I can kiss goodbye to my dreams of being a 星妈 liao. ;)

Our manja gal

Early this week, RaeAnne fell down when she was walking across the surface carpark to towards Blk 702 (the RC centre where her playgroup is) When she reached the school, she quickly pulled up her shorts and showed the teacher her knee (scratched, reddish but not bleeding) who applied Zambuk for her. Up till now, 5 days after her incident, she'll still pull up her pants and say 'fall down' and if anyone ask her where did you fall? She'll reply 'car park'. Haha. Our manja gal very clever to get people to sayang her. ;)

Today is RaeAnne's first public performance at The Premier (new DBSS flats at Tampines just across the road). Their playgroup has been practicising this song for some time but the teacher is quite secretive so I've never seen their practice or rehearsals. Supposed to gather at 3.45pm at the RC centre so we made special effort to cook at home, let her eat early lunch so that she can have an early afternoon nap at 1pm. At least she'll be well rested by 3+pm before we leave the house for her performance. Charging the video cam and camera now. Wondering if it'll be too kua chang if I bring along a tripod. ;)

Stocking up on diapers

Went to Giant Tampines to check out Mamy poko diapers today. MP NB 28 + 2 pcs for $10.65. BP price $15.50 for 1 jumbo MP NB pack (52 pcs), NTUC selling at $17.80. Bad thing about ordering from BP is that to qualify for free delivery, need to order 10 packs.

Good thing is that this BP organiser is also selling Huggies Pull up pants and quite cheap ($14 instead of $15.95 which is already NTUC's offer price). MIL reminded me at Giant today that RaeAnne's pull up pants are running out, so decided to consolidate and order the diapers at one shot. And asked the organiser to expedite on delivery.
For Raelynn
2 packs of MP NB (52 pcs) - $15.50 each
3 packs of MP S (72 pcs) - $21 each
For RaeAnne
2 packs of MP L (56 pcs) - $21 each
3 packs of Huggies Pull up pants (36 pcs) - $14 each
Total damage: $178

Keen to try Fitti premium (recommended by some Jan10 MTB) cos prices are cheap. Only $10 for NB, S & M and $11 for L, XL. Need to order 6 packs for free delivery. Promotion extended till end Dec 09. Don't dare to buy 6 packs at one go cos never tried Fitti before, don't know if the cutting will fit Raelynn. So will kiv and reevaluate in Dec whether to order and try. So far, Raelynn already has
1 pack of Huggies NB
2 packs of MP NB
1 pack of Huggie S
3 packs of MP S

Next question: Where to store the 10 packs of diapers when they arrive? RaeAnne's room is becoming a storeroom. Faint! Think may have to bring some diapers to MIL's side and put in hubby's old bedroom. :P

Raelynn's first present from Waipo

This afternoon went with my mum to Poh Heng to buy a gold anklet for Raelynn. Mum has old gold pieces to trade in and price of gold is good, $54.50 per gram for 916 (22k) gold. Disney didn't have any nice cow/ox designs and the anklets design are quite limited. End up choosing a non disney bracelet that has 2 bear charms, 2 heart charms and a small bell. Looks quite nice to me. Can start letting her wear it as an anklet for her full month.

After that, then add links when she outgrows the anklet or use it as a bracelet. The bracelet costs around $250, cheaper than RaeAnne's piglet anklet. But RaeAnne's piglet anklet was too long and didn't have enough hooks so by the time she could wear it, she was already quite big, more than 1 year old. And she is not used to the bell sound when sleeping. End up being a white elephant. :P Still wondering if should get a Pooh Bear pendant for Raelynn but last year Nai Nai bought a chain and necklace for RaeAnne so she may want to do the same this year for Raelynn.

Came back at 4pm, was quite tired so after checking forum, took medicine and slept at 5+pm. My flu is developing into a cough liao. Was still tired when hubby came back so never go to ILs place for dinner. Hubby said he'll tapow for me instead. When he came back from the coffee shop, MIL managed to persuade RaeAnne to stay over for the night. So, it's a quiet night for us today. Hope she sleeps early tonight cos Fri night, she must sleep early to prepare for Sat's performance. :P

Mummy sick...

Have not posted yesterday though BB Raelynn is 35 weeks cos I'm down with cold then flu. Slept the whole afternoon and self medicated but body aches were so bad that I didn't want to get out of bed or walk. Finally went to see GP last night, at least better now. Though throat still no good. :/ Good thing is Raelynn is getting big so her shadow kicks near my ribs are really painful.

Today, RaeAnne wet her shorts and teacher got to change into her spare pants. Apparently her diaper was too heavy and drooped down so when she peed, she wet her pants. Teacher Suriya said RaeAnne pushed 'Hao En' (one of her classmates) these few days. It started when Hao En nudged her a few days ago when trying to get close to the teacher's table. Hmm... my gal is no pushover man. But still told her tonight before she slept that cannot push anyone. If anyone pushes her, just tell teacher. ;P

We started sleep training RaeAnne (inspired by teacher Chris who told us to ignore her cries at night, she'll stop after a while like the way she adjusted to PG). Got perfect excuse cos I'm sick. So keep telling her Mummy's sick, Mummy take medicine and sleep, cannot carry RaeAnne. RaeAnne must sleep on your own. If really wake up, then look for Aunty. She's so sweet, tried to give me 'imaginary' medicine to swallow, asked me to eat the medicine in her hand. :)

First night, she cried for 1 hour plus from almost 4am to 5am before knocking out on Filamie's arms. Filamie could only put her back to her bed at 530am. Filamie also did the wrong thing by knocking on our door and letting her in even though we already told her that we are starting the sleep training. Second night was better, she cried at 11+pm but was pacified faster by Filamie, again at 1+am and one more time at 4am but she quietened faster each time and went back to sleep. Gave Filamie some time to rest in the afternoon to catch up on sleep.

Oh ya, keep forgeting to blog this. RaeAnne can say Minnie and she'll say that everytime I ask her to pick out the shoes she wants to wear. She has 2 pairs of Minnie shoes, 1 Crocs and I coletee leather shoes. :)

Raelynn's Chinese Name

Hubby and I have been cracking our heads for Raelynn's chinese name recently. According to a shifu we consulted, the ideal no. of strokes to go with hubby's surname is 11, 14, 10 (kang xi dictionary). RaeAnne's new Chinese name is 张旗芮。So, we are thinking of 张旗恩 or 张旗芯 for Mei Mei. Of course, we'll double confirm her bazi after she's born just to see if there are any missing elements that we need to supplement. May or may not want to go back to the shifu to confirm the name cos need to pay another $168. :P

Think 旗恩 sounds better in terms of dialect name but my cousin's 2 kids already has 恩 and we are not Christians so not sure if it's a good idea. 旗芯 seems to complement Cheh cheh's chinese name 旗芮 since both got 草字头 and related to plants. But hubby thinks Kay Xin sounds like Chye Sim. :P

Anyway, I did a poll with the Jan08 and Feb08 mummies for Raelynn's name. So far, Kay En 旗恩 is leading by 5 votes.
1）Teo Kay En 张旗恩 - Jan 08 mummies (Kam, luca, Aqua, superbee), Feb08 mummies (tongtong, genice, lezy, Apple79, blueginger, Diana, Esty, qingling, Stephie) - 13 votes
2) Teo Kay Xin 张旗芯 - Jan08 mummies (Krystle, Jess, pixie, steph, Icy), Feb08 mummies (XY, clover, happymum2b) - 8 votes
Those who voted for 旗恩 said it's more meaningful (gratitude which also applies to buddhism, not just for Christians), popular cos a lot of their kids also have 恩 and that Kay En is easier to pronounce.
Those who voted for 旗芯 said it's because it has heart (心), sounds like kai xin 开心, and complements RaeAnne's name.

A feb mummy said 旗芯 sounds like qi4xin3 which means crazy in cantonese. Duh... blueginger, another Feb mummy, highlighted that names with 草字头 is supposed to be good for babies born in the year of the Ox. Surfed online and it's true. In fact, there are even some 部首 to avoid too like 心 and 王. http://www.woluck.com/web/html/content_50893.htm

Hmm... even more confusing now cos 芯 has both 草字头 and 心. Whereas 恩 does not have 草字头 but is a popular choice among the mummies. May have to go back to the drawing board if both names are really not ideal. Arghh! Will let Daddy decide bah. :P

Grouchy in the car

RaeAnne was grouchy in the car ride yesterday evening and today when we were going to and coming back from Ah Ma's house. Think it must be because I let her sit on my lap for 5 mins yesterday when coming back from studio loft. Moral of the story, cannot set any precedence. Kids learn fast when you bend the rules. Have to keep telling her that policeman will catch us if she doesn't sit in her car seat. Not very proud of using scare tactics but 10 mins of whining, crying, fussing, screaming is extremely grating to the ears when you are in an enclosed small space. :P

She napped for just 1 hr 45mins from 2pm to 345pm. Hubby had to carry her and walked along our corridor. She didn't eat much dinner at Ah Ma's house. I don't know if it's because of the food. Ah Ma cooked the exact same thing as last week. Or because she has half a slice of raisin bread at 415pm. Minced pork with chopped carrots, chopped broccoli and cooked with 'pearl' beans soup. Poured over her rice and added some pieces of pan fried salmon (cooked by my aunty), shitake mushroom and capsicum but she only finished half her rice at best. We reached home close to 930pm, suspected she'll be hungry so made 220ml of milk with 4 scoops of FM. Usual is 3.5 scoops. She finished her milk so fast and knocked out within 10 mins. Must have been tired and hungry, that's why so grouchy. Poor gal. :P

Oh yes, I collected the Pelangi chinese books from Dor tonight. Glad that she likes them especially the 4 animal books and 我的爸爸 from the Rainbow series (45 books for this series but I only chose 15 books). She makes me and hubby read it over and over again. She'll call Daddy, daddy when she wants us to read the book. :)

Bloom shot at Studio Loft.....

Went for bloom shot at Studio loft today. Wanted to do it when preggie with RaeAnne but Daddy convinced me that better to take 'quan jia fu' after she was born. Since Raelynn is no. 2 and not sure if we will have no. 3, decided to take some 'preggie' shots as a souvenir of my big tummy days.

We were late n rushing then still got to do make up. Our fault actually cos RaeAnne woke up early at 7am but we were too tired from her nocturnal wakings last night to do anything fast. I woke up at 8am. :P

Had told Daddy about the photo shoot a few months ago but since it was my suggestion and not something he was keen on. He basically left me to plan everything. From our clothes to RaeAnne's clothes, to toy/props to bring for RaeAnne and Raelynn. Even when I asked him if we should mount the family cartoon onto a board and make it look more presentable for the photo shoot, he said no need. I thought of which tops to bring (white and red tops) but didn't realise that we will need coordinated bottoms as well. End up Daddy's blue jeans were all at Nai Nai's house so we needed to make a detour to pick up the jeans.

Super slow traffic at PIE and CTE, that's the trouble with people like us who seldom venture out of Tampines area. Don't know when the 'morning rush' starts on weekend. Managed to park at mosque street, many parallel parking lots cos morning but only at 10am.

I paid extra $80 for make up/hair. Kelly? (shucks forgot her name) did my make up and helped to touch up the dark eye rings and blemishes. She straightened my hair with a straightening iron and blew it a bit but with no hair spray or fixing agent, my hair was still quite messy during some of the shots especially when the fan is on. Luckily, RaeAnne had fun playing with the toys and props while Daddy and her waited for me.

MaryAnn was a bit impatient (probably because we started 30mins late) and she still had 2 shoots lined up at 11am and 12noon. With a list of instructions Eg. face the light, tilt your eyes and smile towards camera, lift your left leg, hold up your left foot, straighten your shoulders, No, left leg higher, don't hunch, push out your butt more, your hair is dropping down, push it back on the left/right etc. Very difficult to smile naturally while 'holding' my position while facing a photographer who was rushing and hardly smiled. Think my solo shots showed the stress I was feeling so they neither look very natural nor happy. Definitely more stressful than my wedding photography studio shot even though I remember I was sick on that day.

I even had a series of photos in the red polo shirt where my left sleeve was not flipped properly and it was not detected by the photographer (can see how rushed the photoshoot was since the photographer didn't even notice it). Quite a pity cos the red series looked nicer than the white series.

We couldn't use the family cartoon for the photo shoot in the end cos it looks too unfinished. Maryann said there was ooo much white space as it was just drawn on a piece of A4 paper and the cartoon was too small :( Luckily, I brought along Raelynn's album of ultrasound scans. So, at least there was 1 photo for Raelynn, think she will feel left out if she saw the photos in future and there was not a single 'photos' to symbolize her in the entire shoot. :P

So, end up chosing more family shots with a smiling RaeAnne instead. Felt that it was difficult to capture her smiling nicely (instead of the usual 'see teeth no see eyes' poses) so rather pay for her photos. The bloom package included 1 8R and 5 5R so I kept shortlisting and shortlisting and end up paying for extra 7 shots at $15 each.

Raeanne was very grouchy on the car ride home, I had to pacify her and let her sit with me for a while in the front seat. Luckily we tapow mac back so had a quick lunch. Daddy showered her cos he ate in the car while driving (no mean feat). After her milk, she knocked out at 2pm n just woke up at 430pm. 2.5 hours, quite an accomplishment considering she was alone in her cot while Daddy and I caught up on sleep.

Since the fridge was bare, there was nothing to cook so we went out for dinner at Sakae sushi at 530pm. RaeAnne kept choosing an 'Elmo' shaped rice kiddy set (rice with tempura) so we gave in thinking we can give her chawanmushi instead of the tempura. But we didn't realise that it was the uncooked ebi roe that gave Elmo its rosy hue. Didn't dare to give her raw food yet so we ordered a few more sushi and took out the rice for her. She loves her yakult drink though we diluted it in a cup. :) Daddy and I fed her first while the maid ate so we ended not eating much. :P

Went to NTUC to stock up on groceries and reached home at 8:15pm. She slept at 10.10am after her shower and milk feed. :)

Afternoon naps

RaeAnne has been having longer and later afternoon naps at ILs place recently. :P On Wed, she slept for 4 hours from 130pm to 530pm. ILs said it's because of the cool weather and no dogs barking. She only woke up when they woke her at 530pm. Today, even worse, hubby noticed that RaeAnne was still 'steam steam' when we went over at 630pm. He asked FIL if RaeAnne just woke up. True enough, FIL said she only woke up at 620pm.

They had problems making her sleep so she only slept at 330pm after yeye pushed her downstairs in a stroller. MIL said only after her poo at 3+pm then she's willing to sleep. Anyway, can understand how difficult it is to put her to sleep cos we encounter it all the time. But an afternoon nap until 620pm is way too late. I should feel they should have woken her up at 530pm. But maybe ILs were too tired cos they missed their afternoon naps and coffee break that they rather let her sleep longer so that they can get a breather. :P

Anyway, nothing much I can do on both nights except try to bring RaeAnne home earlier so that we can start her bedtime routine earlier. This way, even if she takes 2 hours to fall asleep, at least her bedtime won't be outrageously late. Luckily, she was quite guai, Wed night, she slept at 1010pm while tonight she slept at 1030pm. :)

Bought her first Doraemon soft toy today at Mini toons. Cut my finger trying out a small umbrella which I wanted to buy for her. The mini toons staff were apologetic, gave me tissue, handyplast and even waived off the Hello Kitty strawberry marshmallow which I bought for her birthday party in Jan10. She can't say Doraemon so she calls it 'ang ang ang' after the song. haha. :)

RaeLynn Scans (belated)

Poor RaeLynn. We've not been posting her scans as Tiger daddy has been very busy and the scanner has been rather cranky recently. Finally managed to scan her photos so here they are!

Raelynn has been growing steadily from 700g (24 Aug) to 1.8kg (12 Oct) to 2.1 kg (26 Oct). Jia You! Jia You! :)

Sleeping through...?

RaeAnne slept at 1030pm last night while I was rubbing her back. Never did that before, was just playing with her. Told her Nai Nai used to 摸背摸背 then she'll sleep right? Surprised when she just lie quiet with tummy down on the toddler bed and let me rub her back. And fell asleep shortly after that. Hubby went to check on her around 12 and said she nearly flipped down from her bead, the big sleeping Pooh bear had fallen from the cot side. He shifted her inwards and we slept at 1230am.

Woke up feeling very warm and having restless leg syndrome again at 4am. Feeling strange cos don't think I heard her cry between 1230-4am. Tried to go back to sleep but my legs' constant 'sng sng' feeling made it hard for me to go back to lala land. Got paranoid after a while, decided to go over and check on RaeAnne at 435am. Found her sleeping soundly on her water mattress but her body was veered towards the 'unprotected' side of the bed again. Didn't dare to move her for fear of waking her so I put a big pillow and the pooh bear on the bumper mat beside her bed instead. Finally fell asleep again close to 5am.

Finally heard her cry, checked the clock and it was 5.55am. Hubby carried her over to our bed, made milk and she fell asleep again until 8.15am when I woke her up for school.

Checked with Filamie this morning, she said RaeAnne woke up at 2am and 3+am, saw her and went back to sleep. Keep fingers crossed that she'll be the same tonight. :)

Baby Raelynn is exactly 34 weeks today! 3 more weeks to full term (37 weeks). :) Was checking my old posts. RaeAnne was 2.2kg at 33 weeks. Looks like Mei mei is a little bit smaller though I gained more weight than compared to RaeAnne. Hmm.... Not enough tonics or ...?

We have the habit of feeding RaeAnne some water after her milk since we don't brush her teeth at night (lazy parents afraid that brushing her teeth will 'refresh' her). Anyway, she drank a lot of water last night (finished her whole Tommy tippee drinking cup). Tonight, she kept asking for water again and finished all the water (only filled to half this time). And she learnt to say 'water bottle'. :)

RaeAnne was super active tonight. Laughing loudly, skipping and running, walking on her own without wanting to hold our hands. So, she only slept at 1050pm. MIL said she only slept for 2hr15mins today but I was secretly glad cos the more she sleeps in the day, the more it will affect her night sleep. :P