A mindboggling array of baby things

Aiyoh. I cannot believe how a little teeny weeny person need so many many things.

Went window-shopping for baby things on Monday with Ning. We had a glorious but tiring time looking at booties, mittens, strollers, breast pumps, sterilisers, rompers, cots, bath tubs and what-nots...I tell ya, its lucrative being in the baby - maternity business, coz you just cannot believe how much some of the things cost.

We walked from one end of Orchard Road, to the other end, contented for the moment,to just look at cutesy stuff, we wish we had when we were babies...until the day come to make a dent in the Man's wallet that is....

tee hee hee.....

Toot toot, says the generous one...

Hmmm... an unexpected surprise from a friend today. He said he has reserved a S$600 plus toy car for the little one. FOC. But only can play when he is two.

"What do you mean its a he? How can you be so sure?" I asked, miffed that sexism is still an issue in this day and age.

"Yah I think its a boy, so can have this car to play. Girl cannot." he said smugly.

"I don't care, boy or girl must also have. Who says women can't be Grand Prix drivers?" I retorted.

"Aiyah, women are just not physically built for this sport. Anyway, shan't argue about feminism issues with you now. I've got work to do!" he replied, ever the escapist.

Oh well, so long the toy car is safely in my hands, doesn't matter who gets it! Yoo hoo!

14th week and the ghost of MS still lingers...

Aiyoh, just when I thought I saw the last of my nemesis, MS, it struck me with a vengeance today. Not once, but twice.

I merlioned out my breakfast, and later my vitamins with much effort that I felt drained.... Today just isn't MY day.

I was soo sleepy and lethargic after lunch that I just had to get some shut-eye. Which prompted my monkey of colleagues, Ning and CY to giggle and suggest taking pictures of me. I growled. They fled. Back to my much needed rest. Ahhhhhh.........

Can't wait for EDD. At least life's misery will take on a whole new meaning. Now, its just too murky and hurlish.... YUCKS!

The baby budget

I had been bugging the Man to do his sums and give me a budget to purchase stuff for the baby. As usual, he procrastinated, despite my repeated reminders, threats and tantrums.

Finaly yesterday night, in order to get me off his back, he declared that there wasn't going to be a baby budget. I.e. I can buy anything I want, provided its not stupendously exhorbitant.

Yoo hoo! Let's hope he keeps his word on that......

Vivocity, here we come!

The Man and I went to check out Vivocity on Friday evening. He has been bugging me about it for th past week, but I was always crippled by nausea. I was rather excited to see the new concept store for Tangs and of course the newly arrived Gap store, which touted to sell Baby Gap clothes.

It wasn't a really good start to the evening. I felt pukish (yet again) even before dinner and really puked out my dinner before we started to browse. Well, at least that made me feel better.

Vivocity turned out to be every woman's (and mummy's) shopping haven. They have a few stores selling infant, toddler and children's wear and every conceivable fashion retail outlet for the fashion conscious mummy. One stop spacious shopping haven indeed! Will indeed visit the place more often in the near future!

"Sniff, Doc said I gained too much weight!"

Ning came back from the weekend morose and indignant.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Yah the silly old woman told me that I gained too much weight! The nurse was shocked and took the weight twice. When I went to the gynae's room for the checkup, she remarked that I had put on more than I should. I mean its only a overall 7 kg gain since the first month!" she said resignedly.

"Huh? I thought its acceptable weight gain? See I told you the old woman is rubbish. Charge so much and give crap advice. Does she want all her patients to be anorexic?" I said exasperatedly.

"Yah me and my big mouth. I told her from the start to help me control my weight gain. She has a good memory! So now she watches my weight like a hawk! But it seems she nags at every patient. I think if she did not say a thing, some will put on 5 or 8 kg a month!"

Sigh, I guess I am lucky than most. Still looking as skinny as ever, despite eating high caloried foods. I realised that my cheeks have become rather sunken, but of course, that will soon change. There isn't a choice but to start accepting that I will look like a fat lizard, come full term. All for the sake of the wee one.

Building brains the Mozart way

In a decidely whimsical mood, I decided to play a repertoire of classical music to stimulate the wee one's brains.

"Little Stein can't hear you! Isn't it too early to be playing these stuff?" asked the Man, hot and bothered from changing the bed linen, while I lounged around lazily.

"Well, the little one might be a early developer, and anyway, it's never too early." I retorted, determined that my child should get a headstart in life.

"We should play some Pussycat Dolls or Diana Krall. Yeah, I want my baby to be a jazz baby." said the Man, offering his unorthodox ideas.

"I don't think the little one will appreciate such stuff. Research has shown that the fetus will only enjoy and respond to classical tunes."

And so it was a happy afternoon listening to Mozart, Beethoven and Pachebel, and absent-mindedly rubbing my tummy to feel for any unexpected kicks. Yes, I am determined to feel that first kick soon!

Bicycle kicks et al

Today, Ning was relating to me about her wee one kicking and thrashing wildly in her tummy at odd hours of the day.

"Yah! the silly girl will kick me at 6.30am, even before my alarm clock goes off!" she said in mock exasperation.

"Well, isn't that great! She is trying to be your alarm clock!" I replied, utterly delighted at poking fun at her.

"Can't she let me sleep for a while longer! She scrabbles furiously at the right side of my tummy until I am conscious. And when I do finally wake up, she goes back to sleep!" said Ning, clearly irritated. "And she wakes up again after I have my breakfast, and is at her most active between 9.00pm and 11.00pm. Her playtime I guess."

After this conversation, I patted my tummy and asked Little Stein, "When can you start kicking mummy?" Maybe I have to start playing the classical repertoire for babies. Hehehe...

Dear, I am fat!

My tummy has grown more noticeable of late. So I did what any self-conscious whiny woman would do. I turned to the Man and said, "Dear! I am getting fat!"

He looked at me with an inscrutable expression. Maybe it bordered on puzzling...

"What do you mean you are fat? You are preggy pop now. You are supposed to be fat!"

"But I don't wanna be a fat whale!" I wailed in plaintive dismay.

"Don't worry, you won't be the fat whale. The position is already taken by Dan." said the Man smugly.

Oh well, since the position is taken, I have to be contented being an oversized lizard than.....

It was supposed to be briyani

I wanted briyani today. Well, either that or yong tau foo or organic brown rice. Sigh, the decisions I have to make.....

Fortunately, Ning came to the rescue.

"Save the briyani for next week. I'll have it with you." she said. Ok, and since I wasn't about to step into the crowded and dingy Lau Pa Sat for yong tau foo, I settled for organic brown rice. And ended up having that, plus avocado mousse, and a white fungus drink.

Talk about piling up the calories. I am eating for Little Stein's sake. Hope It is growing bigger!

The would-be gymnast

It was time to screen Little Stein aka 'It' for DS during the 12th week. So it was with great trepidition that this mummy, grandly chauffeured by my sister, went to do the OSCAR test.

During the OSCAR test, my sis and I thought that the wee one would be sleeping or making slow movements. However, we realised that Little Stein was having a time of its life in the oasis it called home.

From the ultrasound scan, we saw that It was bouncing up and down, as if on a trampoline, and kicking it's arms and legs wildly as if in a swimming competition. In a mere 10 minutes, It managed to turn from left to right, while refusing to position itself optimally for its neck thickness to be recorded.

"Behave yourself. Mummy needs to pee!" I said, in exasperation. My bladder was threatening to explode, but Little Stein continued with its antics, ignoring my dire warnings and all.

Finally It got tired. It fell in a position that was optimal for the test. We cheered. I bolted to the nearest toilet for my much needed pee. Ahhhh relief.

13th week and prayin...

Yeah its been 13 weeks since one resilient tadpole swam steadily to Nirvana, and eight weeks since I found out about my preggy pop status.

It was all kinda cool - new found mummy status, the Man doing the housework (or rather, he agreed to get part-time help), people treating you like a Queen etc... Until the dreaded MS.

Yes, the MS that plagues most preggy pops like cigarette smoke plagues your clothes. It's gross when you don't know when its going to hit you. Well, mine hit me with a vengeance in my 9th week...

It was terrible terrible terrible! I was huddled up in bed, at home on sick leave for a few days. The nausea and vomit comes in waves. I could not keep anything down for the greater part of two weeks and ended up losing weight rather than gaining it.

The Doc was sympathetic, but Ning was not.

"It's all in the mind!" Ning says. "You have to learn how to tahan and be stong like me!" All balderdash if you ask me. I'd rather be lying in bed than doing the Merlion over the toilet bowl at the office.

To make matter worse, I also developed what was known as the 'Bionic Nose and Tongue'. Anything that previously smelt and tasted heavenly to me, started to smell and taste like yesterday's garbage. I just could not eat. Misery.

Well.. things are better now... Or rather I hope it will be better now. Just that Nature added a new torture. No sourish drinks, no caffein and no extra spicy food. Nausea and stomach churn will immediately set in. It sucks. My favourite lime drinks, latte drinks and mee pok geh hiam (not hum!) will have to go the way of the XS clothes in the closet. For now anyway. Sigh.

Of appendectomy and pregnancy test kits

The Man was holed up in the hospital, after an appendectomy.

I was bored playing nurse. So I told him that I was off to buy some magazines and tidbits.

I came back with magazines, tidbits and an electronic pregnancy test kit.

Yeah, I kinda suspected something was wrong when my ever faithful 28-day period cycle has not started. Hopefully the thingamijig will tell me something positive.

30 seconds after a stream of pee later, the results were in. Yep. Positive. "Pregnant" it says. I was in for a nine- month roller coaster ride.

"Eh... wake up! See this!!!" I shook the Man awake from his morphinated dreams.

"Huh? What? What's going on?" said the Man, groggy and still in pain.

"See this thing!" I was ready to pry his eyes open with a crowbar.

"Orh... aiyah I need to go to the toilet now!" So anti-climatic. Not exactly the response I was looking for.

I went out to call Ning and managed to pry her away from the boring printer's session. The one that I escaped.

"Yah what? How's the man?" she growled.

"I've got something to tell you. I've got good news! I've succeeded!" We squealed like little kids. She was already three months pregnant. We've succeeded. The months of sucking the Basel thermometer and watching our ovulation cycle was OVER. On our way to becoming mummies!