Rant

In my second trimester, I bought a support pillow that's filled with styrofoam-beans (think beanbag) in the hope for a good night sleep. Well, it worked. The support pillow moulded to my belly and gave the support needed. At last, I got some restful sleep. Not now, however. I've 'outgrown' the pillow and didn't bring it along with me to Singapore. Now, the belly just plonks itself on the bed like a huge boulder :D Turning on the bed was also akin to Obelix hoisting a boulder - with 2 hands on the belly!

My hips are even more achy now. The baby's head is already engaged rather low down. This is in sharp contrast to the time I was carrying minibeanie. I think it's because since this is the 2nd pregnancy, my hips/pelvis have 'stretched' so microbeanie's head is able to descend earlier. Proof irrefutable that a woman is NEVER quite the same after childbirth! In fact, when i walk these days (or waddle, more like it), there's a slight pressure in my pelvis...quite uncomfortable and much worse than the first time when I pretty much didn't feel anything.

As to being back in Singapore, the food is awesome. We've been drinking lots of local coffee (kopi), tea (teh) etc. DH just discovered a very nice teh-cino in the neighbourhood coffeeshop.. Hmm, I wonder if I should play my pregnant card and get him to go down to buy tehcino and prata for me sometimes :D

Today was a busy day. Besides going for my weekly checkup, we did the hospital tour as well. I'm up to my head with all the forms I've to fill for the Baby Bonus and admission etc... And I'm kicking myself for forgetting to bring our marriage certicate!!! I set it aside a few weeks ago, made a note of it but OF COURSE I forgot to pack it when the time comes! and it's needed for birth registration :(( will have to call up ICA or ROM tomorrow........

We did the Mt. Elizabeth tour today. Quite nice. It was the first time that DH saw a nursery because in Finland, it's 100% rooming in with the bb. I definitely prefer the option of having a nursery just so that I can get some rest *if* I want. But on the other hand, pain management techniques & birthing positions are still rather old school in SG. The traditional stirrups are still the default position. In Finland, birthing balls (for pain management), birthing tubs, birthing stools are on the cards... even though in reality, not every woman gets to use the tub.

Tomorrow we're going to the zoo! I hope I won't be too tired :P With a 2 year old and a waddling preggie, I think it'll be a huge achievement just to go on the tram, take in 1 show and briefly visit the 'Kidzworld' before minibeanie or me call it quits!


minibeanie is 2 years, 1 month & 1 day old
microbeanie is 37 weeks 1 day in utero

Full term

microbeanie is officially full term today :) With each passing day and with it the increasing likelihood of birth, I'm feeling nostalgic that these are probably the last few days where I can give my semi-independent toddler my undivided attention. But my love for him certainly won't diminish... Love's a strange thing, I realize. It isn't a finite resource, having one more claimant in fact increases the total pool and that's the wonderful thing about increasing the size of the brood.


minibeanie is 2 years, 1 month old
microbeanie is 37 weeks in utero

Singapore at last

We've been in Singapore for 6 days :) What a relief to be here... The first few days had been taken up by visits to doctors and attending to boring things like banking matters. Now, things have settled down a little and we're trying to take a little breather before the little one comes. There are occasional Braxton Hicks episodes (like now) but at least I know I'll be in good hands just a brief taxi ride away :P


minibeanie is 2 years & 4 weeks old
microbeanie is 36 weeks 6 days in utero

False alarm

Thank God it was Braxton last night!!! It was definitely contractions...I could feel it radiating from front to back and my belly actually felt hard and tense. I was lying in bed with my alarm clock, turning on its night light whenever a wave comes. At one point, it was every 10min even if each lasted only a couple of seconds. After 2 hours or so, it tapered off. By then, I'd been alternating between sleep and wide-awake heart-thumping anxiety for 3.5 hours until day broke.

In the light of day, I'm just glad that it as a false alarm. But when it was actually happening, who could have assured me that?


microbeanie is 35weeks 5 days in utero

Let it be Braxton!

It is 4:21 in the morning and I've been woken up by what feels like a tummy ache. I remember rolling over and returning to sleep a few minutes ago but it came back again. Oh no, God, please don't let this be the real thing. I'll be going back to Singapore in just 2 days!

I'm hoping that it's just a little upset tummy or Braxton Hicks :( The truth is, even after having gone through one before, it's hard to remember what it feels like. And it doesn't help that there's a bit of lower back pain (a possible sign of labour!) which is unusual but which may be caused by us being out in town today. ....Please don't let it come so soon!!


microbeanie is 35weeks 4days in utero

Looking ahead

Less than 2 weeks to go before heading to Singapore to pop! I'm glad I'm at the final stretch. I've been feeling increasingly uncomfortable and tired... not least since I'm nursing a cold right now :(

And I'm constantly thinking have I made all the prep in Singapore and here when I return? For Singapore, I've made all the necessary appointments with dentist, obstetrician, pediatrician and even the hospital tour. And as for Chengdu, I've begun checking the how & where of vaccinations, stocking up of S-size diapers and stockpiling meat in my freezer. The last point probably sounded strange but if I find it a hassle going to the shops (even though in October, we'd have a driver and car at our disposal) even now, what more when a newborn is tethered to me?

Hence, thank heavens there's a Kiwi couple here who started a meat delivery service where they make *real* 100% meat sausages, cut sirloin steaks to your desired weight, make ready-to-eat pies and prepare roasts such as chicken rolled with dried fruits and nuts. Hmph, not the typical confinement food of ginger and pork trotters but that's ok. As long as there's warm food on the table that's easy to prepare, I'll take it :)


minibeanie is 2 years, 1 week & 4 days old
microbeanie is 34 weeks 1 day in utero

I hadn't known that putting 2 words together is such a milestone for toddlers. Guess what minibeanie means when he says "mama mosh"? Mama sit! Hilarious :D I mean, he can say "mama" and "sit" pretty decently but put them together and what do you get? hahah... sometimes, it comes out as "mama dash" which is probably the last thing that mama can do right now.


minibeanie is 2 years & 3 days old
microbeanie is 33 weeks in utero

Baby shower & Birthday party

I'm exhausted. This had been such a hectic weekend that I'm going to need this coming week to rest. On Saturday, my friends threw me a baby shower party. It was wonderful - lots of good food, nice presents, good gossip ;) and even better company. And today, Sunday, it is Alexander's 2nd birthday. And even though I didn't go the whole she-bang like last year's bash, there was still plenty of work baking the cake, making the hors d'oeuvres and decorating etc...

Oh yes, the cake. I decided on a race course design because minibeanie is a petrol-head. He loved it! He didn't seem to have much appetite for the cake but the toy cars on the cake? Those are all he wanted. Assembling the cake was a cinch (& pretty fun for the parents!) but baking the 2 sponges was a huge challenge that took up most of my Saturday. The first attempt went to the freezer because it didn't rise much (I'd use them for a future dessert), the second attempt with a different technique was much better, and because I needed TWO sponge cakes, I'd to bake another one. But the third attempt was a disaster. It went straight into the bin without reaching the oven. Finally, at 10pm Saturday, the fourth and final sponge cake was baked. Thankfully, this one went well.
The birthday tea party went well. I'd invited the same friends in my baby shower; this time the boys joined the party as well :)



minibeanie is 2 years old!!!
microbeanie is 32 weeks 4 days in utero

Book Club

It has been a nap time tradition that I read to minibeanie. We used to sit in a big comfy armchair but since he moved to his own bedroom (and the chair is in mine) and my burgeoning tummy makes it impossible for another bean to sit against it, we have moved to the floor and occasionally, when he gets droopy, on his bed.

For a very long time, his favourite book had been Ten Little Ladybugs. Perhaps it was the tactile feel of the ladybugs but he just loved that book. He just loved to see the ladybugs 'disappear' one by one by flipping through the pages.

These days he usually prefers stories or books on his favourite subject - Cars! Tractors, Rockets! :) But there's a surprising favourite - Eric Carle's From Head to Toes. He loves following all the actions in the book, such as "I am an elephant and I can stomp my foot. Can you do it? ... I can do it!" It is usually the first book he picks out from his little bedside library ;P



minibeanie is 1 year, 11 months & 3 weeks old
microbeanie is 31 weeks 2 days in utero

Sleepless

I'm exhausted. I can't sleep these days. I'd be so tired by 9pm that it would be an effort to trudge upstairs to tuck minibeanie in (even though he says so endearingly "mama mama" and points at the stairs in front of him) but once I lay my head down on the pillow, it'd take a long time before I fall asleep.

One major reason is, I can't get comfortable. From the fifth month on, it only means 1 sleep position - on the side! Turning is practically a pain. Imagine hoisting a watermelon to the other side in slow mo because of a sore pelvis. I haven't slept through the night for a very long time. Yes yes.... this is perhaps God's way of preparing soon-to-be mothers of newborns for the challenges ahead... but that is not in the least bit comforting at the present because I AM GRUMPY AND TIRED!

And as if I don't have enough discomfort in bed, gastric reflux from the obligatory suppers I have these nights make it worse :(

Then, there are the things that go on in my head - things to do before the birth, minibeanie's birthday part next week, worries about the baby and even the fact that I can't sleep. It seems as if the moment the lights go out and all's quiet, my mind runs at warp speed. Great, making mental notes and worrying don't exactly make for a relaxing bedtime routine.

My fuse is <----this----> short today. Just as well I don't drive because I'm positive I can kill someone with my bare hands if he cuts into my lane without warning.... which in China is as commonplace as "你好".

ps. "insomnia often occurs in the third trimester." (source)


minibeanie is 1 year, 11 months, 2 weeks & 3 days old
microbeanie is 30 weeks 5 days in utero

The first 3 nights in the not-so-scary bed

I don't know what other mums think although I suspect some will have differing views. My parenting philosophy is that I'm raising young adults and that means setting them onto a path of independence. From the time they can walk unaided, feed themselves (by whatever messy means) to the time they become contributing citizens of the world. On this matter, let it be known that I expect the boys to move out of the house by the time they're in their early 20s - sure, come back for weekly family dinners but leave the laundry out :P

Since sleep independence is one of the many steps towards this goal, I'm happy to report since the last post that the migration to his own room and bed has been smoother than expected. No tantrums during bedtime except that he wants to play with the cars on his table.

On Friday night, he woke up at 1am. I found him sitting up in bed groggy still. Gently toppled him down to the sleeping position, put the tutti back in, positioned the bolster, gave him a few pats on the bum and that was it. He was out like a light bulb :) 2am: I heard the handle of his door cranked open. minibeanie marched out crying and looking more awake that I liked. I ushered him back to his bed despite vehement protests of wanting to go down to play. He soon quietened down when I tucked him in, sang a little to him and laid down close to him. In a short while, he was asleep and I sneaked out. The next time he got up was at 7am and by then it was dada's duty. Dada marched him back to bed and rather surprisingly, minibeanie managed to fall asleep again, this time until 10am. Heavenly rest for all of us!

Night 2, Saturday. The night passed without any incidents but he got up at 7am ;P

Night 3, Sunday. Ditto.

Then, like a comedy, just when we congratulated ourselves on a job well-done, minibeanie woke up THREE times during Tuesday night.

2am.... 3am.... 5:30am..... and finally at 7:15am, dada decided to throw in the towel and called it a 'night' by getting his morning espresso.

It was the same thing each time it happened. *Clunk!* the door of his bedroom being cranked open, then the baby monitor in our room buzzed (funny how it never picked up anything before that). A split second later, a where-are-you cry followed by censored expletives and groaning in our bed. Then, either dada or me would lumber out of bed, shoo the rascal back into his own room and bed with a curt single-word command, "Bed!" before trudging back to disrupted sleep. As a result, both of us had been panda-eyed for the last 2 days.

I think this would pass. Just like the time when he started sleeping in his open crib and tried to make 6 escapes within a half-hour, this is one of those things. I told dada that this is practice for the not-so-distant future when we'd be waking up every 3 hours. I don't think he was too amused :D


minibeanie is 1 year, 11 months, 1 week & 6 days old
microbeanie is 30 weeks 1 day in utero

Sleep

Today marks a milestone. We're officially migrating minibeanie to his very own room for the night! 2 weeks ago, we started playing in the room during the day - I gave him a set of new army tanks, hovercraft & trucks that were played solely in his bedroom upstairs. This week, he had been taking his afternoon naps in the new bed and now finally today, we're going to take the leap and reclaim our bedroom for the two of us..... at least for the next 2 months ;)

Getting the bedroom ready had been a long work-in-progress. For a year, the room had been nothing more than his closet & changing table ;P Getting the landlord to agree to paint the wall was the first step in February. Then, it was a trip to the hardware store to buy the cheery yellow paint (阳光普照 - "sunshine yellow") that I envisioned the 1 wall to be painted. And since he began watching Winnie the Pooh, thanks to the Christmas DVD he got from his mummi (Finnish for grandma ;), I got a set of made-in-Korea Pooh wall stickers. This was followed by a mega shopping trip at Ikea's... Then, without boring everyone with a blow-by-blow account of what was assembled and when, it was suffice to say that this process of assembly stretched over a period of nearly 2 months. Thus, we finally come to these last 2 weeks where I put away the odds & ends, hung up the pictures and vacuum-sealed & categorized minibeanie's outgrown clothes ready for his micro brother.

He has been asleep for 20min now. I'm 'standing guard' outside his room in the study anticipating the prison break :D Time will tell how many times we'll find ourselves woken up by minibeanie marching into our room in the middle of the night straight into our bed or if we have to get up and soothe him because he cries waking up in a strange room all by himself. But for now, I hope he gets some zzz and for us some privacy.


minibeanie is 1 year, 11 months & 2 weeks old
microbeanie is 29 weeks 2 days in utero

Finnish pictures

Finally, the long procrastinated pictures from Finland.

It's a rite of passage for every Finn. First, the sauna followed by a dip in the lake... no matter how freaking cold it is. And trust me, despite it officially being summer, it was supposedly the coldest June in 60 years. The temperature in this lake was therefore a toasty 14C.

Sisu (Finnish for bullheaded determination or stubborness ;) or plain crazy?

It was a tearful struggle getting him out of the lake even though he was shivering

Row, row, row a boat, gently in the lake....

Happy passengers. Our cottage in the background

The sandpit providing hours of fun.

Note his sizable collection of pine cones...

... whereby the hoodlum took joyful glee in throwing them at me

minibeanie is 1 year, 11 months, 1 week & 6 days old
microbeanie is 29 weeks 1 day in utero

Speaking up

All of a sudden, mb was able to vocalize a couple more words. It was on the first day of our arrival in Helsinki, when he first shouted, "Go go go!", ran to the door and pointed excitedly at it :D It was obvious what he wanted.

"Moooore" was another. Rounded lips and all. Also blatantly clear what he wanted especially when added after a treat of strawberries/blueberries/chocolates/cake.

"NOOooo" finally, a typical toddler word. We were wondering when it would come. And now it has. And when the mood strikes, everything is in the negative.

And his first Chinese word, "谢谢 / "shie shie"!" :D He must have picked it up during our short trip to Beijing.

It is apparent he wants to form words with his tongue but lacks the ability to do so yet. We 'sing' to the ABC song and he looks at my mouth so intently but could only say repeat a few letters and when he does, he breaks out in applause :D


minibeanie is 1 year, 10 months, 4 weeks & 1 day old
microbeanie is 28weeks in utero