Oh No...

Found another opportunity to go out the other evening. As I was happily going through my closet, thinking of what to wear, I suddenly stopped and think, "what do I usually wear before I was pregnant?" Even now, I'm still wearing my maternity clothes as they are so comfortable and they are adjustable to fit different sizes. So I actually had to think for a good few seconds in order to recall what I used to wear!

Aha! I remembered my box of pre-preganancy clothes that I kept in the other room and found my favourite pair of 3/4 pants. Haha! Finally I can wear back my old clothes! But when I pulled up the pants, Whoop? I couldn't pull my pants pass my hips!

Oh no..!!!

Was I that thin? And... am I that fat now?? I didn't even realised it, in fact, I was rather proud of myself as thought I looked ok after birth! I guess you don't know how much weight you have put on until you try on some old clothes. Sigh~ Would I ever get back to my old figure?

Hiccup!

I love the sound of her hiccups - so cute~!

Gifts of Love

Received 2 parcels this week, and each was equally surprising and pleasant! I love receiving parcels!

1st parcel was from a family friend, my Auntie Ting Ting from Hong Kong. She's like a sister to my Mother and she bought us three set of clothes. My favourite was this one.

Haha I can imagine Jolie looking like a China Doll when she wears this. But it's SO BIG! I guess we have to wait a long time before she can actually fit in this.

This afternoon we received another parcel. It's also from Ting Ting! But this Ting Ting is my old friend from Nanyang Polytechnic. She went back to Australia with her family the week I was due, so it was definitely a nice surprise!

The baby stuff from Australia looks so pretty and adorable! 4 outfits, socks, mittens, a pair of cute booties and a super cute hair band!!! We can't resist and let Jolie try on the hair band and booties.

Hahaha... She looks so ADORABLE! Just nice the hair band and booties matches her pink top.

A big THANK YOU to both Auntie Ting Ting and my dear friend Ting Ting!

A Typical Day In Confinement

A couple of people ask - so what do you do the whole day? Actually my days pass so quickly, I wonder where did my time go most of the time!

8.30am Wake up and eat breakfast
9am plus - Feed baby, sun baby (she's got a little jaundice) and give her a nice bath.
10am plus - Offer baby milk, if she don't want, it's time for her to take her nap.
11am plus - Pump some milk to be stored
12nn plus - Lunch time!
1pm plus - Feed baby, burp baby, change diapers and put her to bed again

2pm - 3pm plus - Peace Time! This is the quietest time of the day where baby takes her nap, my Mom takes a break from cooking and cleaning and takes a nap too. Cobby would usually be in the study room, doing his reading or assignments. Me, I would hang out at my spot on my sofa and watch some tv, surf the web, or take a nap too.



4pm plus - Feed baby, burp baby and change diapers. Usually she would be awake for awhile during this timing, so play with her for awhile.
6pm plus - Dinner Time!
7pm - 8pm plus - Feed baby, burp baby and wash baby's butt. (Attempt to get out of the house - don't care where - I just need to get out!!!)
9pm - 10pm - Hang out time...(plus secret showering time - oops did I just say that!?) Hahaha... Or

10pm - 11pm plus - Feed and burp baby with milk expressed earlier.
11pm plus - Pump out more milk for early morning feeding.
12pm plus - Time for Mummy and Daddy to sleep! Zzzz...
1am - 2am - My Mom would feed baby using expressed milk
5am - 6am - Daddy would be kicked out of bed to feed baby

Repeat....

So basically we just do the same thing, the whole day, everyday. Wee...~





As for me, you can basically guess what I do whole day. I eat, I sleep and I feed my baby.

I can't wait for confinement to end...

Baby's First Nail Clippings

Jolie's nails has been quite long ever since she was born, but we never really got to cut it due to many reasons...

No time...
No scissors - only nail clippers (which was seriously frowned upon by EVERYBODY - ok, we had to buy a pair of scissors)
Nobody dared to take on the responsibility on cutting Jolie's tiny, fragile nails.

So today, when she fell asleep while feeding (again), I took the opportunity and started to cut her nails, very carefully. My goodness her fingernails are so tiny and thin! The nurses at the hospital advised us that it's not necessary to cut them too short. As long as it is not pointed and not too long, it's fine. Basically you just don't wanted baby to scratch herself.

So I just trimmed them abit and I'm done! Yeah! Baby's 1st nail clipping! Since these were her very 1st nail clippings, I thought I should keep them. So I made a little envelope and kept them together with her cord.

Anyway the nail clippings were so small and so little, it almost looked and felt like an empty envelope. Haha...

I hope that we can keep it until she grows up, then I can just pass everything to her, like, "here sweetie, here's your umbilical cord, your 1st nail clippings, your 1st bunch of hair cut, etc."

Post natal check up

Was really looking forward to the check up because the dressing is itching like mad! I had prepared 2 extra bottles of milk last night as we had to send Dad to the airport after my check up. So after feeding baby in the morning, Cobby and I left the house while Mom and Mother-in-law stayed at home to take care of baby. Yeah I'm free again! Haha...

At the hospital, Cobby went to register baby's birth while I went for my check up. Oh by the way, we've made a decision on baby's Chinese name. Our dear baby's name would be 陈禹彤 (Chen Yu Tong), or Tong Tong in short! Nice?

I think she likes the name too... :D

Anyway, my check up was fine, Dr Kee removed my dressing, cleaned it, checked it and said it was "excellent" and said that I can have another baby in 2 years. Haha... He also said that the dressing wasn't needed anymore, but I felt so insecure without something covering it. Good news! I've lost 10kg since baby's birth! Amazing! Now must continue to strive to lose more weight!

After my check up I joined Cobby at the birth registration counter. There was like SO MANY paperwork to fill! So by 11.30am we had collected Jolie's Birth Certificate and opened her Child Development Account. We still have some time, so Cobby and I had a nice lunch at Pasta Mania before picking up Dad to the airport. I even got to see my brother-in-law as he was there to pass Dad some stuff. By the time we got home, it was around 2pm plus, I was happy to see my baby again, but it was also very liberating to be out and about!

Yeah I'm Free~!

It was Sunday evening but Cobby wasn't hungry yet, so he said he'll go to Causeway Point shopping centre to pick up the photos he sent to develop. I've just fed baby, and she's sleeping soundly, so a brilliant idea popped into my head. Can I go with you??!! When Mom said it's ok, I was so happy! I practically skipped to my bedroom and quickly got changed.

We've been to the woodlands shopping centre a million times, but I've never felt such FREEDOM and HAPPINESS before! I was smiling all the way and Cobby was laughing at me, "这么惨吗?" (was it so bad?) he asked. Honestly I didn't know that I would feel so good just to get out of the house, even the air smells fresher!(Well, abit hazy lah)

So we went to collect photos, walked around and bought some stuff. I felt like a country pumpkin who had just come out into the city. So many people! Such bright lights! After that we went to a nearby pasar malaam to walk around somemore. It was nice to spend some alone time with Cobby again, it had seemed an eternity since we went out, and I didn't want it to end. But soon we had to go back as it was almost time for me to feed baby again.

It was short outing, but it was really nice. Hope I get to do it again soon! :)

Baby's First Check Up

The appointment was 11 Feb, Friday, 10am. We had everything prepared and all planned out! The baby bag has been packed the night before, we'll feed the baby at 8.30am, finish and leave at 9.15am. We were so confident that I didn't even think we need mom to accompany us! But we learnt a very painful lesson that morning. When it comes to baby, we CANNOT plan the schedule that tight.

Baby must have sensed my anxiousness as it was a COMPLETE struggle when I tried to breastfeed her! She kept wriggling around, unable to latch on properly and was being very frustrated! Me on the other hand, was super stressed!!! I kept glancing at the clock as it ticks away... 8.45am, 9.00am, 9.15am, 9.30am... And still we keep struggling to feed! I was at a lost, baby has never been SO difficult before so I don't understand why is she like that!

I asked Cobby to inform the clinic that we'll be late, but in reality, I really wanted to reschedule the check up and do it another day! But mom call me to relax and not to worry, so by the time we left the house it was about 10.30am! By then I was already super stressed out, so I asked Mom to come with us as I don't think I can do it without her.

Visiting the pediatrician was another form of stress. The nurse said that they needed to help baby draw blood to test for jaundice. I wanted to faint at the words. DRAW BLOOD??!! So we went to the lab and waited for our turn, while I anxiously wonder how on earth can they draw blood from such a small baby! Just when I thought that the situation couldn't get worse, baby decided to up the challenge and pooped big time and started crying. -_-

So now, we have a half fed, cranky crying baby who has just pooped and waiting to be poked and blood drawn. GREAT~ Seconds later the lab officer called our name and we went into the room. Cobby went to get Mom, so it was just me and baby. The stupid staff nurse then punctured baby's heel with a little needle (like those we use to test blood), squeezed out a drop of blood and collected it with a fine straw-like tube. Of course baby stared screaming her head off, she cried SO HARD that no sound came out.

I wanted to strangle the nurse for causing so much distress to my precious baby, but I can only pray that she finish up quickly. Cobby heard the screams and joined me in the room. But we were helpless as we watched the nurse 'torture' our baby! After what seemed like an eternity, she's done and we headed back to the clinic, where we got to change her diapers and see the doctor.

The doctor, Dr Keoy, is such a funny character. The baby may be screaming away, but he is still talking in the same monotonous tone. Blah~blah~blah~blah~ Think he is all numb to screaming kids! Haha... So apart from the slight jaundice, baby's fine, we just need to sun her at home once a day.

I was SO relieved to be home! I was so exhausted that Cobby offered to feed baby for me. It's the first time for him, so he was very happy after that. :)



I was feeling so distressed, but I perked up when I received a card from friends. Baby must have been stressed out that day, so she was quite cranky for the rest of the day. But the adults were even more stressed out than baby! I guess today is only a taste of how life would be like for the next many years.

Happy Valentine's Day!

When we finally crawled into bed, exhausted, Cobby wished me Happy Valentine's Day as it was already passed midnight. He then apologised for not getting me any presents. :) It's ok, I told him, I didn't get him anything too! So in a few minutes, we were snoring away. Zzz...

So Valentine's Day 2009 was a little different, no flowers, no candlelight dinner and no presents. In fact, Cobby had to go to class in the morning and later meet his mom and aunt at Bedok to meet up the Feng Shui expert. They were going to get some baby's name suggestions from him today!

But something very extraordinary happened that morning! When I was adjusting her swaddle before feeding her, I realised that HER UMBILICAL CORD WAS GONE!!! I looked around her cot and clothes, but I can't find it! Mom was downstairs buying some stuff, so I thought that she had thrown it away earlier. After feeding Jolie, I unswaddled her to change her diapers and found her dried up cord among her clothes! Whoo Hoo~! Yeah

I MMS Cobby immediately and he replied that his Mom said to keep in an ang pao. The thing is, where should we keep the ang pao after that? Hmm, right now it's sitting on Cobby's bedside table. See how lah~




After lunch, everybody was here. His mom, aunt, sis and cousin. My Dad was here too as I wanted his opinion on the choice of names. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed by the choice of names. I was already in a bad mood cause baby was so cranky earlier on. So we've decided to think about it overnight.

So that night, Cobby and I sat on the sofa, cradling baby in our arms. I looked back at how we celebrated Valentine's Day last year and wondered how much our lives had changed within a year. Makes me wonder what would happen next year! :)

Thank You All

As wonderful the experience was of having my little bundle of joy, it was also quite rough during my few days stay at the hospital. Unlike other mothers who had natural birth, I can't even carry my baby out of her cot without help from others when the nurses parked her next to my bed. The pain from my wound was nothing as compared to the pain of not being able to simple things such as carrying her around to sooth her when she cries.

Apart from that, I had chosen to go on total breastfeeding, which itself poses a few challenges due to my C-section, and of course, the frustration when sometimes, the baby doesn't latch on properly. And it doesn't help to have a concerned mother-in-law breathing down your neck when you are breastfeeding, worried that the baby doesn't feed well and you are starving her precious granddaughter.

In fact, several times she has subtlety suggested that I go on partial formula feed, or pump out my milk so that others can feed her better using the bottle. But I had insisted that I continue to breastfeed her on my own. It may be hard, but both baby and I are learning together, and we shouldn't give up so easily! 加油!

There may be many lows, but there were definitely ups too! Through this experience I realised that there are actually many people out there who care for me! Shortly after sending out the sms informing my friends of Jolie's birth, I had received a tidal wave of sms, congratulating Cobby and I. For the next few days, my room became to slowly fill up with hampers, gifts and beautiful flowers.

Fish essence, chicken essence and bird's nest. From all the gift hampers I've received.

One of the many lovely bouquets I've received.

I think they are wonderful, as they definitely made the room light up with colours and made me feel better just by looking at them. Of course, how can I not mention those who came to visit me! Thank you Zinc, Char, Ah Ying, Brown and Sotong for visiting and the lovely gifts! They came after work and didn't even had dinner yet, so I was quite paiseh when baby started crying and they had to wait while I breastfeed her.



The next day, UJ dropped by. Thank you for the lovely gift too! Baby is currently using the Huggies diapers you gave us. Perfect fit! Also, thank you Citrix for visiting and helping me take such a nice video of baby! It was really nice meeting up with you again.

Hmm, who else... Chew Bee, Gillin, Cedric and Connie, and also Cobby's friends and colleagues, thank you for the lovely hampers and flowers. Not forgetting family members who came to visit and help me take care of baby in areas that I can't. Very touched and thankful to all! On my Facebook, a couple of friends wrote congratulatory words on my wall. Thank you~

On Wednesday, I got a lovely surprise in the mail. It was addressed to "Mr & Mrs & Baby Tang"...



Whao~! Apparently it was a card from all my friends from my previous work place!



好感动!!! I felt so happy and touched by all the kind words! It was such a lovely gesture, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I know this sounds like a very boring post with me keep repeating the words "Thank you, thank you" like a broken record. Probably it doesn't mean much to all the people I mentioned, but it meant alot to me. OK lah, say one last time...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE!

Princess Jolie's Birthday!

Yeah finally dawn has arrived and I started to worry about my parent's and in-law's arrival. They didn't know that I'm sharing a room with someone yet, so I worried that their early arrival would disturb my roommate! So I had to coordinate their arrival via sms and calls - silently. Sigh, don't understand why people would even consider sharing a room for an event like this!

My operation was 8.30am, but by 8.10am a nurse informed me that she's here to take me to the delivery ward. HAR! SO FAST? I felt that I wasn't prepared mentally, but after some comforting words from my parents, I was wheeled to the delivery ward.



I had to go down alone so that they can prepare me for surgery. Cobby would only join me later at the operating theatre. The nurse wheeled my bed into the delivery ward, parked my bed along the corridor and went off again to 'pick up' another patient. So I just lie there as the nurses greeted each other good mornings, chit chatting about their new year celebrations and went about their businesses.



I felt so nervous lying there, waiting. When the anaesthetist arrived, my stomach flipped! OK, he is super nice loh, kind, constantly giving me reassurance and comforting words of encouragements. But... The epidural HURTS LIKE HELL!!!! To all those people who say that it doesn't hurt - I HATE YOU. (BEEP!) I had to yelled out in pain when he pumped the medication into my spine...man... BUT - seconds later, I can feel sensations (touch) but I can't feel pain! It's amazing!!!



By then Dr Kee has arrived and soon, we started. I can actually feel the blade slicing my tummy, it's like someone drawing a line over the tummy with a fingernail, but no pain. The Cobby walked in and sat next to me. Even with the mask over his face, I can see that he looked quite pale. But I was so happy to see a familiar face in that cold and bare operating theatre! He held my hand as Dr Kee worked on me, Cobby could have easily seen the whole procedure, but he was quite freaked out already, so he didn't look.

After only 5-8mins? Dr Kee shouted that the baby is coming and expect alot of pressure, then there was alot of going on behind the screen! I can feel alot of heavy tugging and pulling, like he is pulling all my insides out!!! Seconds later I can hear a baby crying! Waah~ Waah~ Waah~ I glanced to the side and saw one of the nurses carrying the baby to be cleaned up. Even though I only saw a pair of legs, I was awed, disbelieve. Oh my god, I thought as reality hit me hard. I have a baby! They actually pulled a baby out from my body! I remember myself repeating the words "Oh my god! Oh my god, that's my baby!"



It was even more magical when the nurse placed baby onto my chest. I can't believe that I'm finally holding MY baby in my arms! After nine long months, she has finally come out of my tummy and into my arms.



The anaesthetist helped us take a photo and we held our baby awhile longer before they took her away. Then I was wheeled away to the recovery area awhile before returning back to my room.



Cobby and my parents were SO worried because I was shaking uncontrollably due to the epidural for the next hour or so, but actually, apart from the drowsiness, I felt fine. In fact, the shaking is just more of an inconvenience as it was so bad that I can't even reply a simple sms properly.



I drifted in and out of sleep for awhile before they pushed baby to the room. Of course, everybody was ecstatic, but they had to wait for me to breastfeed her before taking turns to carry her. The lactation expert was there to guide me on how to breastfeed, and soon, baby Jolie was happily 'dining'. So happy~!



Around 3plus I finally got to move to my single room. For an extra of a few hundred bucks, it really was a great big difference. It was almost like small hotel suite with a hospital bed. Haha... At the end of the day, when everybody has gone home, Cobby and I sat there and marveled at how extraordinary that day was. We were totally exhausted, but we also looked forward to what tomorrow brings! Its the beginning of another life stage for us. Today we celebrated Jolie's birthday!

Princess Jolie Birthday - The night before~

On the 4th Feb 2009, the night before my C-section, I sat at home, watching TV, waiting for Cobby to come back from class. Everything seemed routine, but in a few more hours, my baby inside my tummy would be in my arms! Feels so weird, I thought, as I pat my tummy.

We arrived at the hospital at midnight, but we were sorely disappointed that there wasn't any single bedded rooms available, even when we have booked the rooms weeks in advance. The staff was apologetic, but we were angry and upset. What's the point of booking the room if you were going to give it away on a first come first serve basis?? So I was already nervous enough of everything, then I had to share a room with some stranger, then they tell me that that spouse cannot stay over for twin sharing room! My tears immediately welled up as I try to compose myself at the counter. This is NOT how I envisioned this to be!

Bobian, we got into the tiny room, hardly enough space for me, so Cobby confirm cannot stay... :( The nurses asked me to change into the surgical robe, which is just a piece of cloth and nothing else. Huh, so early change? I guess I had to sleep in this! When I came out of the toilet, the nurse told me that I wore robe wrongly. The opening was suppose to be behind! Hahaha... but because of my tummy, I can't really tie properly, so my bare butt was sorta exposed. Haha feels so comical..



A nurse came shortly and said that she had to shave me. o_o I cooly said ok, but it feels super weird as I lie there and she sprinkle baby powder over my tummy and 'below' and started shaving. It's also SUPER TICKLISH as the shaver scrap across my tummy loh! My tummy keep twitching because it's SO ticklish but the nurse thought that it was my baby kicking. Haha, so funny.

So after helping me to settle in, Cobby reluctantly left me alone in the hospital room with the stranger in the next bed. I felt so sad, scared and terribly alone, but I can't cry with a stranger lying next to me! So I just sat there and sob silently, while my room mate snored soundly in her sleep. -_-

I hardly slept at all, I hugged Cobby's jacket for comfort, but I kept waking up, checking the timing on my handphone, waiting for dawn to arrive. 3am... 3.30am... 4am... The nurses kept asking, "cannot sleep ah?" duh, I know they meant well, but quit asking the obvious! SOB! Can morning come faster??!!

To Be Continued...

2009 CNY Jackpot TOTO!

The annual Chinese New Year Jackpot TOTO draw is nearing again! With the jackpot prize of estimated 10 million or more, how can we miss this chance of being a millionaire!? So after lunch today, we went to Chong Pang market to buy our "chance".

Actually we were there yesterday, but after queueing for 30mins, the stupid lady behind the counter said that we had to buy for Monday's draw as well as the Jackpot draw. If we wanted to buy for the jackpot draw only, we had to buy on 3 Feb. WHAT!? Why didn't they say so earlier!? If we knew we wouldn't bother to queue for so long. We were so peeved that we walked away. Hmph! We buy the next day!

Actually Cobby could have easily buy the tickets from any Singapore Pools outlet, but since this is no ordinary draw, he wanted to get them from a more LUCKY outlet, so he insisted on buying from the outlet at Chong Pang market. When we got there, we got a shock! The queue was SO LONG, it snaked out from the 7-eleven store, all around the side of the block, all the way to the back of the building! So I waited in the comfort of the air-conditioned car while poor Cobby queued.

The queue was so long I can't see where Cobby was standing from the car. More than 20mins later I finally saw him in front of the car. It took him another long 30mins plus before getting the TOTO tickets!



Cobby and I seldom buy TOTO, only when the winnings are exceptionally large. But each time, after we buy the tickets, we'll always get lost in conversations of how we'll spend the winnings. This time, we happily decided that we'll bring our parents to Europe for a trip if we win! With a budget of a million or so, we can stay in a 6 star luxury hotel and dine in a restaurant with 3 Michelin stars! We were so engrossed that we even wondered which hotel to stay in and argued that maybe we shouldn't waste the money on the hotel and spend the money on the good food instead! Hahaha...

I guess this is the fun part when you buy TOTO, like dad said, we're actually buying 希望 (Hope). I love sharing these great dreams with Cobby, and besides, fantasizing about the win is always fun and happy! Friday is draw for the TOTO, hopefully our dreams would become reality! Good luck to us!

Nervous or not?

Everybody seems to be asking me the same question over and over again. "Nervous or not?" Well, "Not yet." would be my most honest answer. I would be checking into the hospital after midnight tomorrow. Cobby would accompany me till morning, then he'll go pick up both our parents at 7am. By 8.30am, I would be wheeled (or walk in?) into the operating theatre where we'll welcome Princess Jolie in an hour or so. :)

Anyway, back to my current state of mind. Like I said, "Not Yet" seems like the best way to describe my mood now. I'm sure I'll be super nervous when they wheel me into the operating theatre, but right now, I'm just taking it easy and trying to relax.

I think my baby stuff is all ready, so that's good, but it's REALLY difficult to just sit around the house and do nothing. I read somewhere that it's called the "nesting instinct", where mom-to-be would have a constant itch to clean, organise, and fuss about the house - basically, to "nest".

Dad asked me to do nothing for the next few days and just rest, but I just can't! So taking CNY as an excuse, I limit myself to cleaning one area a day. Now that it's after CNY, no more excuse! I had to control myself not to do much housework, but cannot tahan, so I vacuumed the house yesterday when Cobby left for class. Then all my efforts were wasted when burnt ashes from people burning offerings floated into my house yesterday after midnight! ARGH!

Then this morning I found out that one of my top kitchen cabinets is crawling with ants! Argh..! If I can, I would grab my step ladder, rag and water bucket and clean every inch of the bloody cabinet. But I have to spare a thought for the safety of my little Princess, so I just poured some ant poison into the pile of ants, closed the cabinet door and walk away, hoping that they die a terrible death.

Hmm, must also remember to charge the batteries of my camera. Think we'll be taking alot of pictures. I wonder who would baby resemble?