minibeanie's Here!

Born: 26.7.2007 15:09

50cm 3.23kg
Arrived safe & healthy (& wailing)

1.5 days later.... sleeping on daddy's chest.

We are still in the hospital; hoping to discharge tomorrow. More stories to come.....

minibeanie is 2 days old

minibeanie wants out!!

This is a situation report from the war room (ok, hospital ward). This morning we suspected that M's water broke. We called the hospital and promptly went - shopping! (never argue with a woman and her nesting instinct. Yes, those hooks to hang up the pictures above the cot are that urgent).

After our little side-trip, we arrived at the hospital, and to our shock heard that yes, the water had broken, and M was already 1cm dilated. So we were admitted - lucky we brought our bags along!

Now M is resting, and contractions are getting more regular. minibeanie should be arriving tomorrow!

-DH

Braxton Hicks

Braxton Hicks are practice contractions :) And last night, as I was making dinner, I experienced it again. 2153 according to the microwave clock. The first time was when I was in my 5th month, after a particularly rowdy get-together with my girlfriends & their better halves over claypot crab beehoon (vermicelli). Well, so far I noticed that they have been brought on by fatigue. No matter.

It happened again this morning as I was drifting into sleep after a visit to the ladies. So there goes my theory about fatigue & Braxton Hicks :P 0815. And as if on cue, DH gave a light snore. No need to wake him for the rehearsal, I thought. It came & went without intensifying itself over the next 40 min or so. Phew...

I wanted pancakes with maple syrup/honey for breakfast. Whilst preparing the batter, my bloody show arrived! Holy crap!

M - anticipation building up
39 weeks 4 days

Baby's First Taste

Apparently, a baby does taste the foods that her mum eats in utero, twice in fact. The first time through the umbilical cord and the second time, through the amniotic fluid when she discharges her waste. (Alright, don't think too much about this ;) moving on...

Here's an interesting anecdote. We've a friend whose baby proved that she actually got accustomed to the things that her mother ate when she was pregnant. During pregnancy, the mum (Finnish parents) had cravings for reeeeaally spicy foods so her husband who had lived in Thailand for 6 months and who out-ate Thais in a chilli eating contest (that's another story) made Thai Green curries that would make any Thai sweat behind his knees. The effect of this became apparent 2 years later. When Liinu, the little girl, refused to eat the bland mash potatoes and meatballs in her daycare, her dad advised the frustrated daycare provider to put some Tabasco sauce in her mash. Bewildered, the poor lady gave the tip a try and Liinu promptly lapped up everything :)

This morning, right after my early morning visit to the little girls' room, a daily routine now, all hopes of returning to sleep vanished when I'd a vision of Lor Mai Fun (glutinous rice). I laid in bed for awhile hoping for sleep to overcome me but soon decided that resistance to any cravings is futile. So by the time DH puts his alarm clock to snooze for the 3rd time, I was already prepping for my lunch by laying out the dried shrimps, mushrooms, glutinous rice and garlic. I was even prepared to go the extra mile, literally, by walking in a 15c light drizzle to the supermarket for a bunch of spring onions. imagine...

I think minibeanie liked the Lor Mai Fun as much as I did :D Next, I'm going to let him/her taste durian. There's a bag of frozen durians at the back of my freezer. Yumm!

M, almost tired of saying "any day now"
39 weeks 3 days

Babies' secret language

Apparently, babies have a language of their own! A guest on Oprah, Priscilla Dunstan, claims that all newborns regardless of culture & nationality speak the same language. That's because it's based on babies' reflexes. Unfortunately, if their 'words' aren't understood, they stop communicating in this 'language' after 3 months. Little wonder why. I would stop speaking too if everyone else consistently ignores what I'm saying.

Priscilla Dunstan is no scientist or researcher. Her credibility lies in her gift of photographic memory for sounds. At 5, she played back a Mozart concerto that her mum had played on the piano once. She could hear sounds in shades and hues. And when she had a baby, she quickly discovered that he was actually communicating with her through his cries! She soon discovered that other babies also had the same language.

The important thing is to pick up the baby's "pre-cry". In other words, before frustration sets in and all hell breaks loose. Here are some basic words that babies use:

Neh = hungry (formed with tongue on the roof of the mouth.. sucking reflex)
Owh = sleepy (similar to a yawn)
Heh = discomfort (time for nappy change!)
Eh = burp (upper abdominal discomfort)
Eair = lower gas (colic)

Fascinating!!! :) Dunstan's DVD "Dunstan Baby Language" can be bought on Amazon. Watch the video demonstration on her website for "Neh"... amazing!

M, feeling cranky
39 weeks 2 days

Car Safety

Recently, we got a new car. It's a carbon-gray Mazda 6 station wagon. But no, this post is not about the car's Bose sound system or leather seats - it's about a rather standard feature called the isofix.

The isofix is a standard adopted in new European cars for the attachment of baby seats. Most baby seats are currently attached to the passenger seat with seat belts. The isofix however is inbuilt into the frame of the car and an isofix babyseat simply clicks in place. Why is that safer than baby seats fixed with seat belts? Firstly, despite the best intentions of parents, most of the latter are attached wrongly as studies have shown. Secondly, a baby seat fixed with seat belt is still going to jerk forward in a crash compared to an isofix baby seat with a lot less forward motion.

Of course, having a baby seat (whether it's attached with an isofix or seat belt) is better than having none at all. It irks me that most back seat passengers in Singapore do not take seat belts seriously. Old habits die hard or plain ignorance/stupidity? Possibly a combination of all 3. What people don't realize is that at a leisurely speed of 50 km/h, a 10kg baby will become a 500kg force - similar to the weight of a baby elephant. On impact, this baby elephant then becomes a projectile (or rocket, if you will) that will very likely either crash through the windshield or seriously maim the front passenger. On a highway speed of 80 km/h, a child weighing 20kg has a force of 1600kg.

This is plain physics - Newton's First Law of Motion. Therefore, it's also plain common sense that a child should be restrained in an age-appropriate child seat or seat belts and not in the 'loving arms' of grandparents. Similarly, all backseat passengers ought to have the common sense to buckle up - if you don't think it will happen to you, why then do you buy insurance?

M, still huge
39 weeks and 1 day

Why I'll be glad this pregnancy's over

- no more water retention that makes my feet & ankles look fat
- I'll be able to wear my rings again (see reason above)
- sleeping on my back!
- walking like a lady again
- being able to eat sushi, sashimi & gravad lax!
- seeing the precious gift from God
- being busy again (a Huge life-long project)

Why I'll be sad to see it over
- no more being treated like a QUEEN
- more & worse sleepless nights
- the beginning of a Huge life-long project

M who is hankering for a lihapirakka (meat pie)
38 weeks 6 days

Cultural differences on Naming

Choosing a baby's name is 1 of the most exciting and important things in a birth. After all, it's a heritage that you'll be passing on to the child for life. Unfortunately, with popular culture changing all the time, what may be a cool sounding name today may be associated with something else or someone tomorrow. Imagine being named 'Dick'.

Anyway, to get back to the topic. In Finland, names are not chosen until after the child is born... sometimes after a span of several weeks! I remembered being bewildered when I asked a colleague the name of her newborn and she said a) it hadn't been chosen or b) she wouldn't tell until after the Christening. And that's the second difference, even if the parents had chosen a name, it wouldn't be revealed to the world until after the Christening. Well, after awhile, I reckoned that this tradition probably had its roots in superstition of the past - not revealing the child's name so that the devil would not be tempted. The Singaporean way would be to have a name chosen for the yet-to-be-born baby and announced to all and sundry :) simple and fuss-free.

The 3rd difference is the Finns' preference for the sex to be a surprise. I suppose it's like opening your presents on Christmas (oh yeah, the Finns open their gifts on the Eve) and to discover whether you get a pair of socks or a box of truffles from your mother-in-law. The Singaporeans of course prefer to know upfront. Personally, I wanted to know minibeanie's sex so that I know whether to get a pink dress with little ribbons or a shirt with trucks.

We've a list shortlisted but we haven't decided on one yet. Using the Finnish 'name calendar'* as inspiration, I thought Elmo would be fun.

M, Sleepless in Helsinki
38 weeks 4 days

* the 'name calendar' is a calendar where each day is associated with a few Finnish & Swedish names. E.g. 11th Jan is Kari/Karri/Osvald. What this means in practice is that all Kari-s, Karri-s & Osvald-s would get a cake on 11.1 because it's their name-day :) Elmo's name-day is 3.1.

11 days to EDD

Anytime now! *gasp* We did an ultrasound yesterday and verified that minibeanie is engaged (although not totally) in the pelvis. This probably explained why I felt increased pressure on my bladder in the last few days :( Finding a comfortable position to sleep is also proving to be more difficult. However, apart from crankiness, I'm thankful there are no backaches or high blood pressure. In fact, it tends to be a little low for my midwife's liking.

On the home front, nearly everything's done. The crib's all set up, 2 cute posters have been ordered from Allposters.com, The Bag's packed and the apartment's scrubbed :) With the lack of projects, I'm feeling a little bored - I actually missed work yesterday! ....but I take it as the calm before the storm?

M twiddling her fingers & watching Oprah at home
38 weeks 3 days

Flea market

The basement cellar falls under the purview of DH since he has the strength and height to shove our Samsonites onto a 2.5m high pile of boxes. And on the rare occasion that I pay our cellar storeroom a visit - I've always been shocked at the amount of stuff we seem to accumulate over time. Hence, probably as a result of my nesting-cum-putting-stuff-away instinct, I did something that I'd wanted to do for a long time today. I sold some of my junk at the flea market! Well, like they say, one man's junk is another man's treasure.

It was great fun. I teamed up with some friends and had a great time. It felt more like a picnic since there were sandwiches, hot Chinese tea & lots of good humour/gossip to go around.

A & S (left) with her handmade jewellery

However, business was a little slow since it was an overcast day. Here are some of the items that I sold.

- An 'art' sculpture that we'd gotten as a wedding gift - 3€
- A Zara bomber jacket - 4.50€
- A pair of Hello Kitty bedroom slippers - 3€
(I think these are a steal honestly)

The bottomline? Some spare change for Ben & Jerry ice-cream, an enjoyable (though tiring) afternoon and a basement that is now just a little bit emptier.

M, no longer a kirpputori (flea market) virgin
38 weeks exactly

Homemade Playdough

I stumbled upon a recipe for how to make your own playdough. I remembered those colourful lumps of dough that I would mould into yummy looking sundaes or cute piggies. Now, instead of buying them off the rack, here's an activity that every kid would love to get his hands dirty with. Best of all, you can be sure that it's non-toxic. Here goes...

How to Make Homemade Playdough

1 cup flour
0.5 cup salt
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tbsp oil
20 drops of food colouring

1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Put all liquids in a pot.
3. Combine all ingredients in pot over medium heat.
4. Continue stirring until dough forms a ball.
5. Remove from heat and turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth. (hot!)
6. When cool, store dough in airtight container.

You can watch a video of the process here.

By the way, I wonder what happens when you pop the cut-out pieces of dough into the oven! Do they become pieces of hard 'cookies' that you can then varnish as keepsakes?? or make them into fridge magnets! If anyone tries that, let me know! :)

M who believes toys need not be expensive or store bought
37 weeks 6 days

The Bag

Made a list last night and finally got around to setting the things aside for The Bag. Gosh, can't believe D-Day is drawing near... feeling a little apprehensive.

Here's a brief of what are on the list & a bad picture below-

• muesli bars
• nighties
• bolster (mine)
• warm pack (for pain relief)
• DH's swimming trunks (just in case we get to have a water birth)

Seems like my sweet tooth finally got the better of me. A trace amount of glucose was detected in my urine on my last visit to the neuvola (clinic). I think it was the muesli I ate for breakfast. Anyway, a follow-up blood & urine test today gave the all-clear. phew! .... still, I couldn't resist a sumptuous piece of almond-rum cake at the cafe with a few friends today. I can just imagine my midwife shaking her head. me bad..

M, a sucker for indulgent cakes
37 weeks 6 days

You can take a gal out of Singapore...

For the past year or so, we've been toying with the idea of getting a house. Nothing that serious, just a couple of viewings and daydreams, that's all. But perhaps it's the quick approaching reality of minibeanie's arrival or the fact that our little apartment is now a teeny bit crowded with minibeanie's crib, pram & drawers, that the search for a new home intensified a couple of notches. (Or perhaps, it's the lack of pressing project deadlines that used to occupy my mind.)

1 thing led to another. Factors to note when shortlisting a house - what type of heating? How much is the monthly management fee & what does it include? Will there be major renovations involved?... You get the drift. AND is there a good English speaking daycare in close proximity? Alarm bells went off in my head. Hang on. minibeanie will be enrolled in these daycares a good 3 years later (possibly, unless they take in 1 year olds), why do I sound like the kiasu Singaporean mums who labour for hours for the school of their choice in the name of 'volunteerism', write out huge cheques or make their poor talented kid cycle a unicycle and juggle balls for the principal? Ok, I'm not in that league thankfully. But is the consideration of daycare forward thinking or is there some 'singaporean mum' in me after all?

Perhaps you can take a gal out of Singapore but you can't take Singapore out of the gal.

M who misses sushi and sashimi dreadfully
37 weeks 4 days

3 weeks and counting...

I can't believe I'm past the 37 weeks milestone. Technically, minibeanie's full term now :) And in preparation for this little person to join us, DH had been up to his neck with laundry, laundry and more laundry this weekend. 6 full loads - mind you, it's an industrial sized washing machine in our basement - equivalent to what we normally do in 4 months!

Enough of suds talk, we can't believe that in 3 weeks or so, there will be 3 instead of 2. Scary thought.

M - never put away so 'much' baby clothes in her life
37 weeks 1 day

Productivity rates

According to a midwife here, more babies are born in April and July than other months. It makes sense though. July babies are made in the dark and depressing months of October/November when the autumn weather affords little to do. It's wet outside and with the sun setting at 4pm, candles are used frequently for giving the home some cheer and light... apparently adding to the ambience as well, heh. April babies on the other hand, are made in July/August when lots of summer lurving goes around. I didn't know about this statistic from the midwife but in the last few years, I made the observation that advertisements of condoms only appear in summer. I guess Durex's marketing department knows something that I didn't previously.

I wonder which is the most productive month in Singapore? My gut feel is that July and August are the peak months. A most unscientific study of my girlfriends & sister shows that the number of birthdays peak in these 2 months. But if seasons do not change, how is this explained?

M - also a July baby ........ and so may be minibeanie
36 weeks 6 days

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

Finally! After 4 years of living in Finland, I finally got to visit a strawberry farm! It was absolutely fantastic. The clear cloudless sky was just the perfect reason to get out of our stuffy apartment - so we made a simple picnic lunch of baguettes, mozzarella, tomato & pesto, packed a couple of containers for the berries and 2 hungry stomachs.

Just 30km from where we live, it already feels like the countryside. Acres upon acres of farmland. It was no different at the strawberry farm. Rows upon rows of strawberry shrubs - some were merely little ones which won't be fruiting until the end of summer but on the other side, were the fully matured shrubs where several people were grazing. Our empty containers were weighed and then we joined our fellow grazers on our allotted 2 rows of strawberry shrubs.

Here's the best part, there is no limitation on how much we picked..... and more importantly, ate! There was plenty of fully ripened strawberries to pick and I reckoned we must have ate as much as 50% of what was in our containers. (They ought to weigh us at the entrance as well) Gosh, was it cheap. 2kg of sweet, delicious strawberries for 8 euros. I would expect to pay more than 2.5 times that at the shops. It was no surprise then that many folks driving up to the farm brought along washing pails.

I promised DH a strawberry cheesecake (light, because we both have a tummy each :P ), froze some of them for the rest of year and made the rest into jam.

For those living in Greater Helsinki, here's the address & url of the farm. Tosi hyviä mansikoita!

Kartanon Marja
Kuninkaankartanontie 35, Espoo

ps. Contrary to the lyrics of 1 of Beatles' most famous songs, the strawberry fields are very real indeed.

M with strawberries growing out of her ears
36 weeks 4 days

Super busy day

The 'nursery' is falling in place...well, almost. DH spent most of today running in and out of 5 shops to get all the barang needed - crib, lamps, car-seat, chest of drawersx2 & groceries. Then! there was the task of putting everything up. First, the existing stuff have to be moved out, the new items assembled and then everything goes back in again. Suffice to say, this will take more than a day as I'm not much help :P The house is in a Mess!! but that's ok :)

M the tired one
36 weeks 3 days

Nesting

Is insomnia normal in this late phase of the pregnancy? It's past 4am and I'm wide awake when by all accounts I should have dropped to bed like a log a few hours ago. I kept thinking of the things I need to do tomorrow, like putting things away and cleaning the surfaces. (Meanwhile, DH will be doing quite a bit of legwork and putting our station-wagon to good use by getting our crib, baby car-seat, Ikea drawers & carpet and night light - some muscle work involved!) Yes, I've this mental list of "Things to do Before Baby comes" and I go check, check, check. ...drives DH crazy :D

M who thinks maybe a glass of milk may put her to zzz mode
36 weeks 2 day