Pictures

Things happening over the past month:

Mel and I call each other 'twin' simply cos we were both skinny, gawky and terribly ugly in secondary school. 15 years later, this one has blossomed into a real knock-out and her wedding day is a day before my 1st year anniversary- nice timing! Her husband and I go way back- we knew each other as schoolmates since we were 6 and scraping our knees. So to Karman & Mel, I'm so happy this finally happened.. I've waited a whole year for it!!

Used to be 5, and now there are 4... Me, Suraya, Rifqi, Sanah, Syifaa on a typical bday outing- where we all stuff ourselves and talk cock and laugh all night long. Fidza, just so you know.. u were sorely missed!!



Suraya at 5 month pregnant- can't see a damn thing and she still insists on wearing her heels. I'm so glad I'm sharing this pregnancy with you, pompan giler, and there's someone I can call and ask "Ey, are you fasting today? I'm feeling woozy, shall we go grab lunch?" ooaaahahahaha!



A Mehendhi party for Nitya who's getting married in Seam Reap Angkor Wat temple. What a spectacular wedding it will be. But I'll be so big the airline people will not allow me past baggage clearance. I hope you like your prezzie and put it to good use? *wink*

~The End~

Belly Belly Huge @ 30 weeks

Things I have difficulty doing at 30 weeks:
1) Tie shoelaces
2) Put on socks
3) Trim toenails
4) Turn in bed
5) Get out of bed
6) Get out of car

3rd Trimester- the Home stretch...

I've just passed the week 30 lap, Hafidz & I have more or less agreed on a name- ARISSA meaning 'BRIGHT' and 'SMART' in Arabic. All I've spoken to seems to be in favour of the name and friends have already started referring to her by name saying things like "So what is baby arissa doing right now?" as if she's already a real person. Its kinda wild that this soon-to-be person inside of me who's daily routine includes acrobatics and tap dancing at totally inappropriate times, like when I'm in a meeting or just about to doze off at night, will have a real name, a real face and a real personality. 10 more weeks to go...

Lets see what changes have been happening according to Childbirthsolutions.com:

MUM

Week 29
By this point in your pregnancy your blood volume has doubled. Thanks to the crowding of your stomach, heartburn may be a problem for you as time goes on. Ask your care provider for suggestions on treating it. In the meantime, try eating smaller, more frequent meals and remain upright for a time after eating. Rest assured that it will go away once the baby is born. Pregnancy can cause a rise in your blood pressure called PID or Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. Your care provider will be checking your blood pressure at every visit to make sure this is not an issue for you. You will probably find that though you've been feeling pretty energetic throughout your second trimester, you are beginning to slow down now. Pay attention to your body's signals and rest when you need to. The time is ripe to begin writing down your plans for your birth.

Week 30
Exercise is still an important activity for you, even though it gets harder as you get larger and heavier. Try swimming, stretching and walking…all excellent options for pregnant women. Now is the time to take a good look at your breasts and nipples. If they look flat or even inverted, have a talk with your care provider. Nursing is still possible of course, but may require some additional preparation. Lying on your left side is the ideal position for sleeping since it prevents the weight of the baby from obstructing the blood flow through the vena cava and aorta, both of which lie slightly to the right of your spine.

Week 31
Are you waddling? This is because the ligaments in your pelvis have softened, allowing your hips to spread in preparation for birth. The top of your uterus (fundus) should be about 4 ½ inches above your belly button now. If it is significantly less than that your care provider may be concerned about intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). This means that the baby may not be growing as well as he should be. This only happens in 3 to 7% of all pregnancies. It is more likely to occur in a multiple pregnancy and may only affect one of the babies. If you find that the increased weight of your breasts is uncomfortable when sleeping try wearing a soft but supportive bra to bed.


BUB

Week 29
Space is getting really tight for the baby. She will have her knees tucked up to her chest now all the time in the 'fetal position'. The baby's bone marrow has now taken over production of red blood cells. Due to the lack of space available to her now, your baby will make fewer big movements, like somersaults, and more small movements of the arms and legs. Now that almost all of the baby's organs are functioning, his growth will focus on maturing those organs and growing muscle mass and fat stores. He should more than double his weight again between now and birth. All 300 bones in the little one's body are present and accounted for now, though some of them will fuse after birth, leaving a grand, lifetime total of 206.

Week 30
The early baby fuzz, lanugo, is disappearing now and being replaced by actual hair. Baby is approaching 16 inches long and is weighing about 3 pounds now. Some babies are already sucking their thumbs. It is possible for the baby to cry real tears, even within the womb. The baby's brain is growing rapidly, developing hundreds of billions of new nerve cells. All of this work will be finished by birth. No new nerve cells will be added after birth, though the brain will not reach full size until your child is 5 years old.

Week 31
Your baby's irises are now responsive to light, dilating and contracting as needed. Due to deposits of fat under the skin, your little one's skin is now pink rather than red. Your baby's nails are now long enough to reach to the tip of her fingers or beyond and may need trimming as soon as she's born so she doesn't scratch herself. A loud noise near you may cause your little one to jump.

PS:
I've just found out a trick to settle Arissa down for the night when she gets super active at bedtime. I'll put on some Mozart, dim the lights and soon (give her 5-10mins), her kicks and punches would've died down. This indicates that she is listening intently (which is good for her brain waves I've been told) but I think eventually she dozes off to sleep she'll be quiet the whole night. Good for mummy!!!

Where to Shop for Baby Stuff

I'm the first to admit- I'm generally a tightwad. I like em cheap, and I like em good, so when it was time to shop for baby stuff.. I asked around for cheap bargains and went visiting these places:

BABY KINGDOM
Address : 83 Kaki Bukit Ave 1 #01-00 Shun Li Ind Park Singapore 417954
Tel : 6547 1677
My 2-cents :
I love the baby changing tables at this place, ranging from $350 onwards. Wide selection of baby prams and car seats and slightly cheaper than Baby Hyperstore. For example, a Peg Preggo pram + car seat combi I was eyeing was about $30 cheaper here than Baby Hyperstore. They also sell Britax car seats (Economy, Business and First Class seats) for newborns up to 8 years old. Its a bit pricey (ard $600 onw) but you only buy one to last 6 years instead of buying 3 [an infant carseat (NB to 18mths) -> toddlers seat (18mths to 4 years) -> booster (4 years onw)]. Only thing is the colour is a tad dreary and boring. Upstairs, you'll find the light-duty stuff: diapers, toiletries, clothings, bath tubs etc.

BABY HYPERSTORE PTE LTD
Address : 69 Kaki Bukit Ave 1 Shun Li Ind Pk Singapore 417947
Tel : 6844 1123
My 2-cents :
Next door to Baby Kingdom. But if its baby clothings you're looking for, give this place a miss. Instead, Baby Hyperstore has a wide range of heavy duty baby stuff- car seats, baby prams and baby strollers, cribs, playpens. They sell big brand names including Peg Preggo, Quinny, Maxi Cosi, Combi and Aprilla at heavily discounted prices from say, Robinsons or Metro. It also sells those antenatal audio equipment for listening to your baby's heartbeat at home for about $60.

KIDZLOFT
Address : Blk 6, 154 Tagore Lane Singapore 787567
Tel: 6333-6002
Website : http://www.kidzloft.com/
My 2-cents :
The sad thing is they're only open office hours so I havent had a chance to pop in yet. The website, however, is pretty comprehensive and you can order online. They don't have big brands, mostly in-house brands but the Bumboo baby seat is something I'd like to get when baby is older. Kidzloft was also featured in a Channel 8 baby programme hosted by hot mumma Zoe Tay. Prices seem very reasonable.

TOM & STEFANIE
Address : West Mall; Choa Chu Kang Centre; Woodlands Civic Centre; Tiong Bahru Plaza
My 2-cents :
A few outlets, the one I went was in Yishun Northpoint during a huge baby sale. They sell 0-18 months rompers and other pieces of clothing for as cheap as $3 each from well-known brands like Baby Gap and the like. Mostly surplus but its clean, soft and new so I don't see why not- anyway they grow out of them so quickly. Also sells mum's pregger clothes but those are too tacky for me.

BEDOK INTERCHANGE BABY STORE
Address : I dont know the exact address but its alongside Pizza Hut (just across the little road) at Bedok Interchange. You can spot it by the little bicycles and tricycles on display out front.
My 2-cents :
I love this little hunt- everytime someone gives birth, I run over here to get them a prezzie. The best gift ever must be their baby bath seat, for only about S$60. I've given 2 of my girlfriends this little baby bath seat and they love it so much, they started recommending it to other people (I'll post a pic when I get my gf to send me one of hers) . Apparently it makes baby bathing a breeze- forget the ole chunky bath tub, the foldable baby bath seat looks like a mini rocker, lets you put your baby inside it thereby freeing BOTH hands! You put the seat in a large sink or on the bathroom floor and shower the little one using a normal shower head. He/she's happily lying back relaxed so you don't have to deal with the little one squirming and making a fuss at bathtime. Once bathtime is over, you simply hang the shower seat up to dry. Its made of rustless plastic and soft mesh that dries very quickly.

This place also sells things at a fraction of department store prices- mattresses, play pen and the lot. Don't expect big brands though, it is after all an 'uncle' shop.

BABY FAIRS
A bargain hunter like me would never miss a baby fair. The one at Takashimaya recently offered good bargains- Avent baby bottle was selling at $6 (UP $9+), booties and mittens were selling at $3 and rompers and separates were goin for 3 for $10. Although I blew an extravagant $150, I got everything light duty sorted out- nipple creams, baby bottles, many many clothing, toiletries, breast pads, cotton wools, hair brush, mittens & booties, rubber mats blablabla.

I'll let you guys know of other baby fairs when I hear of them.

Yahoo (Singapore) Auction Site
A lot of people auction off relatively new playpens, cribs, changing tables at really reasonable prices just to clear spaces in their storerooms at home. Sure its not new but if its a 2 years old something, the condition should still be acceptable. If you need to buy a 'luxury' item (ie something you don't really need, but would be nice to have) like a baby changing table, this is the place to go. I saw some guy auctioning off a 1 year old IKEA baby changing table for a mere $20. What's more, you can contact seller for more pics or to clarify certain doubts before making a purchase decision.

Hope this saves you some mullah!

Mood Swings in Pregnancy

We women are renowned for our temperament especially during 'that time of the month'. But pregnancy brings out the beast in me sometimes. It doesn't happen very often- I've had screaming episodes maybe 4 times so far. It always starts the same way- wake up feeling F-U, I start feeling trapped in my own pregnant body, depression and dissatisfaction sets in and I feel the need to vent my frustration on someone (ie my husband is the most convenient, of course).

The smallest thing that offends me will set me whining, then bitching, then finger-pointing and, when Hafidz is in the mood not to take shit from me, it will evolve into our infamous fights. Then I will refuse to talk and start weeping, and he will eventually apologise (give him an hour or two) and profess his eternal love. His apologies aren't theme-specific though and goes along the lines of "I'm sorry for what happened" although I know he is totally clueless as to how a molehill became a Himalaya of a mountain.

Unfortunately, I cannot find a good enough explanation or solution for this, ladies.. Many books blame it on a whole host of hormones- prolactin, relaxin, HPL, oestrogen, progesterone, prostaglandin and mysterious workings of my glands. The bottom line is that YOU need to keep the beast in chains.

Try a couple of things that will work for you. I found that my solutions, in descending order of effectiveness, include:

Meet/call a close girlfriend
..but don't whine, talk about something that'll cheer you up. Gossip is always an outlet. And with girlfriends, you know you don't have the advantage of turning them into punching bags.

Watch a really sad sad dvd alone and weep your eyes out
Basically the rationale is to get the frustration out of your system and we women do it best by crying our eyeballs out.

Pray
Prayers settle me down some and gives me a sense of peace. It also keeps my mind occupied with 'holy' things, the antithesis of anger.

Avoid your husband!
Tell him to take a hike cos you're in a bad mood and you'd appreciate if he stays out of your face because you're not responsible for your actions. Get involved in an activity that precludes men in general- bake a cake, reorganise your wardrobe, sift through old stuff to donate to charity.

Shutting Up!
Just refuse to talk when the depression sets in. I'll be sulky for half a day but I save my husband from the grief of tangling with my erratic hormones.

PS: Some old wives tale says that if you HATE the sight of your other half during your pregnancy, the baby will look just like him!? Ask around, many people I've spoken to have confirmed this theory.

Pregnancy home treatments- cheap, tested and effective!

My cousin from KL, Norish, an experienced mum w 2 little princes, sent me a list of massages/ treatments I can do myself, in the comfort of my own home, to ease the various displeasures of pregnancy. I quote her fully here:

for your aching feet, every day after work, soak both feet in hot hot water first, and I mean reaallllyy hot ones. soak it until you can't tahan the heat anymore, but you should be able to feel the ache or tension easing off, than quickly dip in ice bath (bowl or baldi filled with ice and water). best gilaaaa... lepas tu wrap your feet with towels. masa tengah lembap2 tu (when its damp) rub lavender oil or olive oil from BodyShop, then wrap again and put up on two pillows, slightly higher than your head.. aaaahhhhhhh.. memang best.. try it.

as for sleeping at night. put one pillow under the belly whenever you turn left or right. and baby Arissa (nice name) will be sort of cushioned and she will stop moving or kicking.

one more thing to try, heat up a few round flat stones, big ones (you know the black shiny stones used for creative paving or pot filling tu ?) yup that one, take some, wrap in towel and heat in microwave. ask hafiz to do this. You, of course, must be lying ready in bed, on your side. ask hafiz to rub the stones on your back, especially along the spine. or put in on your tapak kaki. heavenly..!!!!

I'm trying them tonight! Thanks akak!