Maiden Voyage in His Carrier

I bought Jeddy out on his carrier today.

It was his first. :)

Here he is looking up at me from his pouch. He seems happy to get out of the house to breathe some fresh air. Well, so am I. ;D















We went to NTUC to get some groceries, diapers and dumpling noodles for myself... it's been such a long time since I ate food from the kopitiam cos I have tingkat meals delivered to me everyday.

Yum!

He was really well-behaved throughout the trip... think he really likes to go out. *Phew* And I think the bouncing as I walk makes him drowsy. He was asleep for most of the short trip.



















As we waited for the lift, he was awoken by this plus-sized lady on very high heels that went click clack clack very loudly! I was secretly angry with her cos I wanted to put him to bed once we reach home. Grr...

At home, I had to 'unload' him from the carrier... I took care not to drop him but at the last lock, I somehow forgot to support his bum and he dropped a few inches. I was holding on to his neck area but still, he was shocked. For the first time, he cried out in fear... (I feel soooo guilty!) He's been a really hardy kid so far, not even flinching at the loudest thunder clap. Guess I really frightened him this time.... Sorry Jeddy! Naughty Mummy!

Note to self: Support his bum at all times!

I had to calm him and carry him a little while as he settled from his ordeal. Hope he will not develop a fear of the carrier from this incident!

He's sleeping in his rocker now. I could tell he's still quite affected as he did not close his eyes completely even though I think he's almost in dreamland. I could see his eyes tracking me through tiny slits as i walk around him! I think he's trying to make sure I don't walk away from him till he's really settled. *Mummy wipes sweat from brows*

Still, an enjoyable trip! It's an adventure everytime! :D

Scatter Brain?

I have trouble concentrating these days.
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1001 things are constantly zipping through my head....
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Still, I need to persevere... It is currently Procrastination 100 Me 1. I gotta persevere..... *struggles greatly*

Think a gallery is most suitable at this point in time since I can't keep one thought in my head for more than 3 seconds... I think I'm not even very coherent right now...

Anyway

Here's Jed being totally drunk on milk. He's doing this very often lately... out like a light right after his meal... It's really fun to see him like this, all limp and gone. Heh heh... But then again, sometimes it means that I won't be able to wake him up to finish his feed. I can hold him upside down (kidding, but you get the idea) and he still will not wake up.



















I crocheted these socks for him when I was preggy. Back then I told myself, nah... these are too big... bet him won't be able to wear them till 3 months old... but nooooo, I put them on a few days ago and they were just about right, in fact, a tad too snug I think. Yikes.



















My current favourite photo of him. That night before his bedtime, Hubs and I were playing with him after his feed. We took his burp cloth and put it over his head to see if he's aware of it. He ended up looking very cute (to us at least!) ;) I think my boy needs to wear hats or caps to look cute since they'd cover his very high (and bare!) forehead. keke.



















Ok... I've exhausted my blog cells. Plus Jed is awake from his nap. Can hear him now. Sigh...

Till then
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Bath Time

I'm really tired..... Jeddy only clocked about 2 hours of sleep in total since 9am. He's finally asleep now... at 11pm. It was a good thing Hubs was around today and was able to help look out for him while I take breathers here and there....

I'm beat.

Still, here I am, with a little wee bit of precious me-time... before he wakes again for his feed. I'm not really in the mood to blog but I guess even a short one is better than nothing.

Me 1 Procrastination 0

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Here's Jeddy after his bath today. I thought he looked quite hilarious in his towel and his 'accident-preventing' nappy. He's been known to pee right after his bath, especially on Mummy!



















And here I managed to capture him chuckling! He really likes being wrapped up like this. He'll talk to himself and snuggle in the towel while i dry his bottom and legs and put on his diaper.



















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I managed to find some time yesterday afternoon (I sacrificed the laundry and floor mopping) to scribble. I needed to design a cat for a stamp and here are the final versions...












I personally prefer the one on the right. It has got the right kitty 'attitude'!

I sure hope Vania likes them! :)

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Ok, leaving you now with a pic of Jeddy playing with his after-bath 'make-up' basket. At 6 weeks, he's really beginning to be more aware of his surroundings. He's also getting more interactive!

You can't see it here but he was trying to stick his little fingers into the holes of the basket while I apply lotion on him... this is one little fellow who really knows how to kick back and relax! :)

Breastfeeding in Public

Yesterday, aunt and sis came down to accompany me to Whitesands. I needed to go to the bank... some trouble with my signature...

Spent a lot of time preparing for the trip as usual... and the timing has to be just right so that Jed leaves the house full of milk and happy (I'm feedin him at this moment as i type with one hand).

Aunt put him in the sling and he settled right into it. So far i've been hopeless with the sling, succeeding only once in putting him in without twisting his neck out of place, I really must learn from her!

Here's Jed relaxing in his pouch. :)



















We took a bus down to WS. It was his first trip on a bus! But he was too sleepy to notice it. :)
They walked and shopped around while I queued up at the bank. You could always count on a long queue at POSB, even during off peak hours....

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Bought some baby supplies at Tom and Stephanie's, including the Avent Manual Pump. The Medela Electric Pump doesn't seem to work very well for me... well, I really hope this new one works. Costs $91 bucks ($80 after discount).

Before we knew it, Jed was squirming in his sling and it's time to feed. I brought along a bottle of expressed milk (EBM) and we settled at Ya Kun Kaya Toast to feed him over a cuppa. To my horror, the milk is all spilt as the cover did not really fit the bottle! Furthermore, it smelt spoilt.

Thank God I brought out my shawl and I had no choice but to feed him there and then by using the shawl to cover us. I had some help from Aunt and soon, he was feeding happily under the shawl... nobody could tell what I was doing unless he sticks out a leg. ;D

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When we left Ya Kun, we saw it.

A Nursing Room.

Darn.

But it's a great discovery nonetheless!
With the renovation of the basement, they have added a nursing room to the mall. Not as good as the one at Century Square, but it'll do. It has a tap and sink for washing, a cushioned leather changing platform and a leather couch for breastfeeding. My only complaint is that there's only a draw curtain covering the breastfeeding area and the room also doesn't have a lock, which means anyone can just walk in on you and even draw the curtains while you're feeding the little one. But if someone's there with you, I guess it's fine...

Here's a photo of him on the changing table.















The nursing area...















After changing him out of his stinky diapers (he pooped!), we went a quick round at NTUC to grab some groceries. I was already very tired. I had to struggle to keep my eyes open. Think I'm really worn out... we ended the trip with a bus ride back.

Really stoned and tired but very happy to be able to go out of the house and bring Jed around. :)

Looking forward to the next trip.

18th August 2007

So there you are, my boy's all ready to face the world, but not before being 'tortured' by the midwife. kekeke...





























He's so small!!! Holding him in my arms for the very first time and finally meeting the little being that's been in my tum tum for the past 40 weeks. Now is my turn to torture him!!















This will freak some of you out. My placenta. ;D Supplying all the nutrients and oxygen to the little one ever so faithfully.... time to retire... (the midwife asked me if I wanted to bring it home. Apparently, some do, and horrors of horrors, eat it! *gag*)















Our first family-of- three photo.

Little Jed is 1 Month and 3 Days Old...

I can't believe that one month has passed by just like this... talk about grand ambitions to blog about my birth story and Lil' Jed's life...... I'd never imagine that being a mummy would be such hard work! I am officially a slave to my son, albeit willingly. ;D My 24 hours revolve around him (poor Hubs) and him alone.

Not that I'm complaining though...

I'm sacrificing some precious (almost non-existent) sleep here to blog after being inspired by Dawn, who's son Caleb is jus a month older than Jed. Think I will not regret writing it all down...

I really want to write about my labour and Jed's birth. It was nothing short of a miracle. So here goes....

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If you read my previous post, you'd know that I was due for an induction as Jed was showing no sign of wanting to come out. I checked into the hospital on the 17th Aug at 8 pm. Before that, I was really praying and trusting the Lord's Hand on me and Jed.

Here's the Lord's Mighty Hand at work...

I was in fact 2 cm dilated when I went to the hospital! Dr Chan was very surprised as I did not feel the contractions at all. She was very pleased and announced that I do not need to be induced after all. Praise God! God has answered my prayer right on the dot! Talk about great timing. ;)

I did not feel much pain through the night though the contractions became more regular. It felt very much like menstrual cramps, which was bearable for me...

At about 5 am, the pain became stronger and stronger, but I was praying through each wave of contraction, following my mum's example to just praise the Lord for each contraction and breathe really deeply.

I was determined not to use any painkillers. I believed that the Lord will give us strength when we need it. I continued to trust in His love...

Dr Chan checked on me again at around 5 plus. I had dilated only a further 1.5 cm... so she sped things up a little for me by bursting my water bag. That was really painful!!

After my water bag burst, the pain really began to intensify. Each contraction was coming closer and closer and lasting longer each time. By 7 am, it was quite unbearable. I was groaning in pain, though I continued to focus on breathing and prayer each time. I made Hubs rub my forehead each time the contractions come while I focus on the waves and rub my tummy in a circular motion.

Around 9 am, I suddenly felt an intense urge to push with each contraction. The urge was beyond my control and I find myself pushing against my will. The midwife flipped me to one side and told me to breathe slowly while the doc rushed down to the labour ward. I was pulling at Hub's shirt and shouting in pain while the midwives set up the place for delivery. It was all very fast.

Dr Chan arrived, dressed up, and told me to place my hands behind my thighs. It was only then I released Hub's shirt. I think I almost tore it! With one deep breath, I pushed with all my might. The pain was really beyond what I have imagined, but somehow I was able to bear it and the urge to push made me forget the pain. With two pushes, Jed was out with a loud cry.

I pushed out the placenta with one final contraction and it was over.

Jed was born 10 am on the 18th August 2007, on his expected due date.

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The Lord is faithful to all who place their trust in Him. Praise Him! :)

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Here are some pictures:




















Having a yucky porridge dinner at the labour ward. We did not manage to have dinner due to all the anxiety and preparation for the hospital stay.
















Trying to sleep but ended up being awake the whole night! It was more from the discomfort of being strapped down than the contraction pain itself!
















Out pops my little bundle of blessing. :)


I seriously need to get some sleep... will upload more in my next entry. Let's just hope that it won't take another month! :D

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Till then.

It's Almost Time Now...

I finally decided to update my pathetic blog. Sheesh… how long has it been? 5 months?

Anyway, for those who check in once in a while, I’m reaching my due date tomorrow. Yep, 18 August. The little bugger in me is refusing to budge. There’s no sign of labour yet….

Anyway, went to see the doc on Wednesday and she said my cervix has begun to thin. Yippee!! But no dilation yet…. Duh…….

In the end, she decided to induce me so as not to get me past my due date. When she said she’d induce me on Friday night, my mind just went blank. I just ok ok all the way. So sotong!!! I should have asked her more about the procedure and all…. Sigh….. anyway, I did ask her if I was ready and she said yes… so I trust her professional judgement… she’s like 60 years old anyway….

So, I’m checking in tonight at 8 pm at Gleneagles to get the pill. I’ll be monitored through the night to see if that brings on any contractions. If that’s not effective, I’ll be put on the drip (oxytocin) to kickstart the whole process. If everything goes smoothly, baby Jed should be out on Saturday evening, on his due date.

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I tried to do some research on inducing labour and I must admit I was quite discouraged with what I read. Many of the induced cases ended up in c-section as the baby was under distressed and suffering from lack of oxygen.

I’ve wanted to experience a natural birth all this while and have been praying that God will bless me with a smooth natural delivery. My desire is to rely on Him for His Strength through the entire process. Yeah, I’m a big mouth now to say that I do not want any painkillers (aka epidural) but I believe that God designed women so that they can bear the pain of childbirth. I also believe that when the time comes, He will show Himself to be faithful and guide us through the worst pain of our lives.

My mum told me that when she gave birth to me, she was just praising the Lord and saying Hallelujah through the entire labour process. She gave birth to me without any painkillers. Wow.

(Interesting Fact: I was also induced as my mum thought she had contractions. Turned out it was just food poisoning from eating too many kueh kueh! ;D Doctor told her to induce since she was in the hospital anyway… she was put on the drip at 1 pm and I was out by 6:30 pm)

I shall follow my mum’s good example and continue to trust in the Lord for a smooth labour and delivery. I trust that He has the best plan for me and my child.

This is my favourite verse and I have hung on to it many times in my life as I went through tough moments… I will continue to hang them…

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Amen!

Last night, as I was reading the Bible, I chanced upon a Psalm which had a date next to it… I remember that was the date which I had a miscarriage (17 October 2005). During that time, I had sought the Lord with all my heart and trusted that all was in His plans. I believed that it was for the best and that the Lord has prepared a far greater gift for me, greater than I can ever imagine. I believe that Jed is that gift. :)

It was Psalm 34.

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears. (verse 4)

Thank you Lord, for Your Word that gives me strength and hope for all times. I will trust in You and Your Faithfulness to all who loves You…

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Gotta go clean up the house once more and get ready to head down to the hospital. Pray for me!

Yucky Food

There's a new Hong Kong style restaurant at Whitesands Shopping Centre... Hubs and I decided to try it out since the exterior looked quite posh.

There's a lot on the menu and we ordered: Roast Duck Noodles, Century Egg Porridge, Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice and Siew Mai.
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Verdict: YUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Let me tell you why:

Duck Noodles: The noodles were too sweet (dessert-like sweet) while the roast duck was too salty (preserved duck during CNY kind of salty). What a conflicting combination! And to add on to the bad experience, the green vegetables were filled with sand. Angry!

Century Egg Porridge: It was lukewarm! And bland, and watery. Not like they had a ready set of condiments for you like soya sauce and pepper. What they had on the table was a bottle of chilli sauce! And the kind used for western food!!!!

Lotus Rice: One word. Bad. The rice does not even have the fragrance of the lotus leaf! It's just normal glutinous rice with chicken and mushroom. The chicken, not marinated properly, was tough and tasteless.

Siew Mai: It was our last hope.... dashed. It tasted just like the siew mais we get in school canteens. Full of fatty pieces and more fatty pieces.

We just fell short of flipping the table over in our angst. Throughout the meal, Hubs and I were daydreaming about how we'd come back in the middle of the night to vandalize the place. Haha! Anyway, we decided that without us doing anything, this place should fold soon. It's not even an authentic Hong Kong restaurant! We tried speaking cantonese to the staff and all turned out to speak either mainland mandarin or english. Cheh! At least the Hong Kong Tea Place on the 2nd level have managers from Hong Kong. We paid $27+ for the miserable meal and decided we could have eaten to our fill with much better food at a kopitiam stall with that money!

And to make sure we were not the only ones grousing, we scanned the restaurant and saw many furrowed brows. In fact, we couldn't even see a smiling face! Aiyo!

Just call it a lesson learnt for us. Since then, I've been telling all my family members and friends not to patronize the place unless they are really desperate. It's just not worth it to have them spoil your day....

I'll leave you with a picture of our almost-eaten yucky meal. Jaa!















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Where have I been???

Oh my oh my... it's March!!!!! What have I been doing with my life for the past 2 months????

Arrrrrrgghhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *runs around screaming*

*Takes a deep breath*

I have not been doing ANY crafts since I started the new term in January. The work at the new school is simply horrendous. Hours are long, the food is beyond gross, and it's not like the pupils are angels as well....

Anyway, I will stay till the end of the semester at least... it's just not responsible to leave mid-term. What will happen to the pupils?
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Well, it's not exactly right to say that I have not been doing ANYTHING this 2-3 month..............................................................................

I have been trying to grow a baby!!! ;D ;D Yes yes, the baby is now 4 months old in my tummy. I went to check on it (don't know boy or girl yet) last wednesday and the little bugger was moving around so much! We saw it kicking my guts, and sucking his little fingers. It was also doing little twists and turns in my tummy. So exciting! I really thank God for watching over this little bugger and me... Amen!

Baby is currently 146 grams with a heartrate of 153. Length is about 13 cm. Heh heh....
Because it's an ultrasound scan, we could see the spine, the heart, brain and eye sockets. Everything seems alright... we will be going for a detailed scan next months... most likely can tell the gender if little bugger cooperates. We'll see!

Oh! Like I said, an email from a friend jolted me into action... So, I set on carving rubber stamps again! Did a few random minis to see if my skills are still there... turned out that I got rusty after all... but still managed to carve lah... Here they are...















Hope to be able to do more... am dreaming of making little baby shoes now. ;D

Remember to tune in! (once in a while!)
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Here I am, caught up in the rat race all over again....

only that, I am not actually qualified for the race! Arrghh!!!!!

For the clueless you, it means that I am now back at work. Teaching hundreds of kids a day, selling half my life to MOE (I think 12 hours a day warrants that!). Mind you, I'm supposed to be on a part time, part pay scheme (no career advancements), but noooooo, my over zealous new school lined up a whole lot of activities for me such that I am now working a full time, part pay scheme. Accckkk!!!!

Not that I have much to complain about the pupils, which are heavenly compared to my previous school. I am a stricter teacher now as well. Pupils who needs to be disciplined cannot be given too many chances. It's not unusual to hear me bark at students or glare at them now. Heh heh... I guess I have finally matured as a teacher huh! Still, there are monkey classes that I have yet to tame. Let's wait and see....

Can you believe it? I have not sat at my desk since 3rd Jan! After work and dinner, Hubs and I would just slack on the couch and watch TV. And I'll promptly go to bed by 10 pm.

This is how my desk looks like now.... urrgh!















And naturally... my crafting frenzy came to an abrupt end... much to my frustration.

Hmmpph! I should really monitor my work and see if I am being underpaid. If so, I don't think I want to sign the contract. Even though it gives me medical benefits, paid holidays and maternity leave....

Tomorrow's the start of another long week... and I have badminton duties till 6 pm. Darn.

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