Baby's Here!

We welcomed our little bundle of joy at the hospital late in the afternoon today. We were at the operating theatre when I heard her first cry. I was all numbed up and couldn't see her because of the makeshift curtain set up in front of my face blocking my sight. When we first heard her cry I asked Alex, "Is that our little girl? Is she out?" Hearing her cry for the first time was such a heart tugging experience.

I had intended to have the entire labour process as natural as possible. No drugs, no assisted delivery, no inductions. However as my midwife puts it, babies decide how they want to arrive and no amount of intention on the part of the parent makes any difference.

My labour was a long one. It started at 12pm with waters breaking and I was admitted to the hospital for overnight observation. By 10pm that night, the contractions had started and it went on till 3.30am at which point the pain was bordering on unbearable. I called my midwife informing her and I was moved down to the birth centre which was my preferred place of delivery. From that point, labour continued laboriously (no pun intended) and it was at 12pm that the decision was made that I needed an epidural to get us through the final stage. Prior to the epidural I had had an IV drip put into me, sat under a hot shower for 2.5 hours, sat in a warm bath for an hour and had 4 saline injections on my lower spine to manage the back pain. I don't recommend the latter to anyone. It really hurt and the relief that it provided was brief. Our little one was in a posterior position and it was causing me a lot of back pain. My strength was fully depleted by then and I was slipping in and out of consciousness in between contractions. The epidural restored me to much of my usual self but by 3pm the decision was made to send me to the operating theatre to retrieve the baby via forceps, failing which they would perform an immediate caesarean. I told the doctor that I really didn't want a caesarean and he assured me that my preference would be made known to the surgeon. I started praying at that point that baby would move and a caesar could be avoided. To end this little story, our baby arrived safely at 3.52pm. As I was being pushed up to the operating theatre, she had miraculously moved to the correct position and was delivered via forceps.

Although I managed to avoid having an induction earlier on, I pretty much had everything else and narrowly missed having a caesarean. I was fully drugged up in anticipation of a caesar (no sensations chest down) but we thank God that prayers work wonders. Now we are praying for a quick healing of my wounds as the surgeon needed to perform an episiotomy on me. The healing process is a long one but with prayer we ask for a speedy recovery.

From the point the waters broke, it was 28 hours before we first saw baby.

While I was pregnant with the little one I remember saying to Alex, " We have to remember these few months. It will be the last time its just the two of us."

After the birth of our little one, I said to Alex, "Remember what I said before about just the two of us? Now, I cannot imagine life without our little girl."

Alex agrees. She is our little precious one and such a joy to carry. She really is just too adorable.

cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 39 & 4 days

Here is the final update on the weight gain. Looks like I have much exercising to do 2 months post partum. I am very keen to find out how much weight will be lost once baby + amniotic fluid + placenta is out. Half of 12.5 kgs hopefully?

I have not been keeping tabs on the amount that I ate throughout this pregnancy. I must say though that I am a little disappointed that I haven't had as much appetite for food as I did prior to being pregnant.

I have always thought that since I love all things food, I would be eating like a horse round the the clock. Unfortunately it has been the reverse. I have not had much cravings if any at all. In fact I had more cravings being unpregnant than being pregnant. Here are some of the changes I have noted about my diet.

1. I want an extra teaspoon of sugar in my milky beverages. Tea, coffee, milo.
2. I am eating a lot more fruit. About 3 a day because of the sweet juices from the fruit. It makes my tongue taste better. If that makes sense to you.
3. I don't eat much meat be it white or red. Just don't feel like it.
4. I am constantly thirsty. (Maybe this explains all the water in my belly!)
5. I prefer soups or soupy food.

I'm glad to say it won't be long now till baby comes and the confinement period begins. Lots of yummy mommy cooked stuff (from my mom and mother in law) and I get to go back to how I used to sleep (on my back!) and how I used to eat (no acid reflux!). It all seems like a distant memory now. These 9 months have been an eye opener and definitely life changing for me. And yet there are more changes to come! Whooh...

I am anticipating the onset of labour pains at any moment now. How very nerve wrecking...

cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 38, 39

One thing has to be said about the final 2 weeks of pregnancy. If you think that the weeks leading up to this final stage could not get any more tiring or have you seeing more changes to your body, you are so wrong.

I stopped working last week and by the end of week 38, my tiredness has doubled, my ability to walk has slowed to 1/3 of its previous speed and the heaviness I'm experiencing on lower abdomen has just about tripled. I had somehow managed to pull some muscles or strained some ligaments and it now hurts each time I stand up to take my first step. I can't even turn in bed without it hurting.

The best thing to have at this time is help. Lots of help. Even the simple act of washing dishes brings so much soreness to your lower back you will appreciate all the help you can get. This is why I'm so glad my sister and her boyfriend are here in Canberra for a short holiday and to also lend 2 pairs of hands around the place. Now that they have left we have lost 2 valuable helpers!

Their trip was planned way before we knew about the pregnancy so Alex and I tried our best to show them the sights and sounds around Canberra which included a short trip to Sydney. I stayed home from the Sydney trip but I got my bottom moving for the sights around Canberra. Here are some pics of this very pregnant lady doing things a pregnant lady probably shouldn't be doing i.e walking at the markets, visiting museums, walking at the botanical gardens, feeding swans and even cycling! :) I did think twice before taking on all this activity but hey, they are only here for 2 weeks and I wasn't keen on missing out on the fun. So persevered I did and I think baby is in no way traumatised by all the action.

The very swollen mama to be, on a night out having hot chocolate in winter at Koko Black

The papa to be enjoying all the noise and company visitors bring

My sister and Ying plus my mother in law cracking their heads over Samurai Sudoku accompanied by hot chocolate.

A picture with the hubs at Regatta Point - a 'must' visit if you are in Canberra. Check out the belly! And I'm wearing black too! (Black minimizes.. if you get my drift)


After church service on Sunday with my sis.

We took a drive up Mount Ainslie for the sights. Very appropriate that the biggest person in this picture is standing furthermost from the camera :)

We took them to all you can eat Dim Sum. I don't think the many plates of dim sum made much difference to the circumference of my belly :)

At the National Museum, they had free access to wheelchairs. I jumped at the opportunity of having Alex push me around. Who wants to walk when you can be off your feet?

Enjoying my ride. I was so very glad I didn't have to tour the place walking.

Even then I was very tired at the end of the tour.

This is Scrivener Dam. Canberra has seen a lot of rain these past few weeks (a very rare occurence in this dry state) and by chance we saw the flood gates open, pouring water into the river below. A very rare sight. Many cars stopped for picture taking.

We decided to take our two guests cycling around Lake Burley Griffin. The sky was very blue and the sun was shining. It was a perfect day for the activity and this 'nutty' mama decided to not miss out on the fun. Pedal cars are so much fun!

Our two guests prior to push off.

If you are in Canberra on a beautiful day like this, you have to hire a bike and do this. Its something you won't regret.

The views on the bike path are breathtaking.

The wheels on the bike go round and round...

The next day we took them to feed some swans at the lake.

Before they left, we had a steamboat dinner at the house.

Nothing beats a steaming pot of communal soup with lots of ingredients cooking in it in winter. Its the perfect set up for conversations around the table. Fresh food cooked slowly and eaten slowly encourages the building of relationships at the dining table.

Thats me at 39 weeks and 3 days. I look tired and rather washed out in all the photos because I really do feel tired and washed out most hours of the day :)

We were really glad to have my sis and Ying Kai around these past 2 weeks. Them being around brought a little festive atmosphere to the house and added extra anticipation to whats about to come. Its too bad they had to leave before baby arrived. We now await my parents arrival in Canberra and hopefully baby will make an appearance on time.

Come on now baby! Its time to come out...!

cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 36

Its the 9 month! 4 more weeks to go till baby says hello to the world. The sun was shining real nicely this morning and I thought that I should take a picture of my shadow for remembrance.

So this is what this whale of a mama looks like now :)

A frontal shot - I think you can't tell I'm pregnant here

And boom! A side shot - looking super pregnant

Oh and yes I got myself a hair cut. The lovely long hair from the pregnancy hormones had to be cut off in anticipation of the month long confinement period after baby is born. The hormones over the past months made my hair look so nice, healthy, shiny and luscious that every stylist in the salon made a comment about how sad it was that it had to chopped off.

I used to drop lots of hair on a daily basis but since the pregnancy began, I have not had to sweep the bathroom floor much. The sweeping went from every time after a hair wash to once in 2 weeks. Imagine that!

I do know that this lovely thick hair won't last. Give it a month post partum and hair will be falling out by the fistful on my pillow each morning.

Sigh... the highs and lows of being pregnant.

cheryl

Pregnancy - Weeks 26,27,28,29

Here is the updated pregnancy weight gain graph. This was last seen about 2 months ago and since then the line has progressively gone upwards. To date my total gain is 9kgs. It fluctuates between 9-10kgs but so far I have not hit the 10kg mark yet. We have another 2.5 months or 10 weeks left to go before the little one pops out to say hi to the world. In this 2.5 months, baby is expected to triple in weight so by calculating that, I expect to put on another 3kgs. That would make the total gain 12-13kgs. * GASP *

I feel like a walking beach ball - not filled with air but something heavy like lead or cement. I kind of feel like one of those life sized air filled figurines that have big bottoms filled with heavy lead at the base of them that prevents the doll from toppling over after being punched... You would punch as hard as you could but the darn thing would just keep bouncing back. I somewhat feel like that doll. Not that I bounce back after being punched but the fact that most of my weight is now focused a little below my center I feel a little wobbly, waddly and quite uncoordinated.

I can't remember what the doll is called... punching doll? In Hokkien I think its called the 'Pu Tau Wang' I think? Or is that in Mandarin?

So we have 10 more weeks to go before baby is released from the holding cell :) Only a mere 70 days to 'peekaboo!'. I'm getting anxious and the thought of birth pains is starting to make me nervous.



cheryl

More Baby Gifts!

We met up with more friends during our short trip in Penang over a cuppa. And as lovely as lovely friends can be, baby got more gifts!

I think we are doing well and on track in terms of baby clothes. Being a first time mom, I'm grateful for all the gifts we received.


Here is a shot of the stuff baby received that night. Jumpsuits, bibs, booties and also a book that has lovely recipes for baby food.


God bless fantastic friends!


cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 14, 15, 16

As it so happens we were back in Penang at the end of the first trimester. And as the ends of first trimesters go, moms to be usually have their first ultrasound to check on baby’s progress. So off we went to the obstetrician where I had my first encounter with the cold gel and sound waves.

I must say the entire experience was very surreal. Those who know me know that I have never been the kind of girl who raves over babies, wanting to carry them, coo at them or even say how cute they look. I normally smile pleasantly at new parents and have zero inclination to stay chatting for more than 5 minutes. As such I was very surprised at how happy I felt when we first saw the image of baby. My heart did a little leap when the black and white screen captured a head, body, hands and feet. I was so happy to finally see the little bub that so far has spent 3 months in mommy. So cute!

I guess I now understand how it is impossible to not love your own child. During the 9 months in mommy, the bond that is forged between mother and child is so very unique. Even though I have still yet to really believe that I am now nearly a mother, I can already foresee that as the months progress I will only come to love this little one even more.

Anyways, enough about me for now. Everyone say hello to baby!

cheryl

Baby Shower!

My nice sister Debbie and nice friend Macy organised a baby shower for us in February during our short trip back to Penang. We had a fantastic time. The baby shower was a little early but hey, since we won't be heading back to Penang for the next 1.5 years, February was the only time to celebrate baby! We had lots of laughs and it was nice to catch up with friends on a slow, lazy Sunday afternoon.

Simple finger food my sister organized for tea


My mom and sister's pretty arrangement of fresh fruit

Macy organized the baby shower invites and the party was held at her house. She made the pretty invite below. Trust Mace to come up with pretty, cutesy little things.

The invite envelope and cover

Inside the invite

Debbie my sister organized the food and the games. And boy did we have a good laugh with the games. The first one we played was 'How well do you know Pa, Ma to be and who do you think the baby will take after?' Each of us were given a list of qualities and the person who had the most matching answers in comparison to the answers of the mother, wins! You might be wondering why it was matched against the answers of the mother not the father. Well, all I can say to that is since the mother is the one doing most of the hard work, she gets first dibs :)

Laughs and smiles everywhere

The second game was pictionary. This was the funniest! Here are some pictures of our expressions while at the drawing board.

Looks of confusion, bewilderment and amusement.

Here is Pin trying really hard to get the picture across

Here is me having a go

Here are some of the drawings. See if you can guess what each picture means.

This was 'Barney the purple dinosaur.' We couldn't guess this. You would think the purple ink would somewhat help give the drawing away.

This was 'Big Bird' .. Oh yeah, BIG bird. Still smaller than the cloud next to it. Hahahaha...

This drawing had the biggest laughs. This was Alex's idea of a 'Breast Pump'. I don't know which department store he has been visiting....

Everyone had a good time and it was great catching up with friends at an informal party. Food and laughter is never a bad combination. At the end of the baby shower, as custom goes, we got gifts! I'm glad everyone didn't wrap their gifts because I would be sitting there taking ages just removing gift wrappers and everybody would be itching to say " Just rip it will ya??" Hahaha...

This were party favors Mace made - nicely tagged Cheryl + Alex = ? Pink for a girl and blue for a boy.

We received some really lovely things and I must say thank you so much for organizing, coming and blessing us with your friendship :) I so miss everybody I know back home!

cheryl

Backdating Posts

I'm still trying to catch up with blogging on entries from the second week of January. I have put up 2 backdated posts so far.. I will continue to put up some more posts over the next couple of days.

So for now do scroll down past the next entry below to read my updates. Hopefully I can catch up by the end of the week.

cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 12, 13

Most of these 2 weeks have been spent shopping and packing our luggage for our upcoming trip back to Penang. My appetite has shown signs of getting better although the burping hasn't stopped. Nausea comes intermittently but it showing signs of decrease. So I'm very much looking forward to the coming weeks. Hopefully it disappears forever.


And the weight gain trend continues... 1kg total gain so far but I am sure this number will skyrocket once we arrive in Penang. I have a long list of food places to visit. Lots of eating will be happening especially since it will be at least 1.5 years before we return to Penang. So this trip is extra precious and we are looking forward to arriving on Saturday night.



cheryl

The First of Many

We bought our first baby stuff this week. It felt a little foreign at first to step into the baby section of the store as neither Alex nor I ever gave this section a second glance before this. It really became obvious to me as we walked in how I was completely blinded to this section of the sales market.

The most important purchase we made today was this.


I can continue wearing all my jeans and work pants with this brilliant belt :) It joins the button on one side of the zip to the button hole on the other side hence no matter how much your belly expands, the belly belt has the gap covered. There are 4 pieces in each pack. One for when your belly is still small and three for when your belly has grown so much that even the zip can no longer be pulled up. The 3 come in blue, black and white so that covers jeans, work pants and casual white pants. This is the best purchase for any mom to be.

We also bought a swaddle blanket and a waffle blanket for the bub. Since we do not yet know the gender of the baby, we are buying gender neutral colors for now, favoring yellow.

As we were walking out of the shops, we spotted this really cute T-shirt and had to just buy it.

Cute yes?

cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 9, 10, 11

I had 4 days in week 9 of "Great! I can eat again!" A lot less nausea and food didn't seem so unappealing in the evenings. I was about to start the celebrations of having control of my body back when I got hit with a massive wave of nausea on Monday. So we are back to square one. I can't wait for this phase to diminish. I have been pretty blessed so far to only suffer from evening sickness and not a morning one. At least I can still function at work for most of the day before I start showing signs of fatigue and holding down the contents of my stomach. I have been told of a relative who suffered from ALL DAY sickness right up to the end of her 2nd trimester. That is half a year long! I'm just waiting for my 2nd trimester to start and hope it means that I will have my normal appetite back plus no more nausea. For now, I am still a burping machine and still semi constipated. Toilet visits are now once in two days.

As for week 10, I have discovered that it is better if I continously eat throughout the day to avoid having gas build up in my tummy. Over the last 2 weeks I have noticed a change in my sleeping pattern. I used to sleep all night on my back. Now I fall asleep only on my side, then I flip onto my back and then I flip over to the other side. Its a 3 side rotation all night and I keep having to wake up to do it. Waking up multiple times through the night is really annoying.

I can now barely fit into my shorts. Though outwardly I don't look pregnant, my clothes sure feel very different to me. Things just don't fall in the right place anymore.

Oh and I felt like having dim sum over the weekend so the family headed to an all you can eat dim sum lunch. I weighed myself the following morning and gained 2 kgs!

Thankfully, the weight didn't stay on. After two days it dropped back down.

In week 11, I threw up for the first time. I have been having some trouble when I brush my teeth for the past few weeks. Each time mid brush I start feeling the heaving of stomach contents. Because brushing is the first thing I do after waking, I have no stomach contents so I end up dry retching. So far I have been able to take deep breaths to hold it down but this morning, I was unsuccessful and heaved up stomach acid. Real gross. But I can't complain much since I have only 'vomited' once all pregnancy. Baby has been good to me.

After 11 weeks of pregnancy, I have officially gained 500gs. I think if it wasn't for the dim sum binge, I may not have even gained the 500gs. I must say though I am looking a lot more bloated even though the weight gain is minimal. Wonder why....


cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 8

1. I am a burping machine.

2. Constipation is the theme of the week

I'm glad the hubby hasn't fled from the home because of my excessive burps and belches. In fact I think it has given him the freedom to do so himself around the house. I used to glare at him whenever I hear a runaway fart or burp. For me, expelled wind is now coming forth from both ends.. top and bottom :) I don't quite know what is causing it but it comes hand in hand with my evening nausea. The build up of wind is actually quite uncomfortable and I wish I could get all of it out in one go but no matter how loud the belch, there is another no less loud one coming along in under 5 minutes.

As for things I can stomach, I am leaning towards basic white porridge cooked with lots of water, served with a small portion of fermented tofu, a fried egg and a dash of soy sauce. If I could get my hands on Bovril (a beef extract) and stir some through my porridge I would. I used to have Bovril and plain white porridge when I was a kid. And I think it has somewhat become a comfort food for me.

Apart from that I like very basic soups, mostly with tofu. I have also discovered that I can't have bananas. It makes my nausea much worse and the gas, absolutely monstrous. I still can't really cook at night for dinner. So the hubby has had to make do with subpar food for dinner.

As for being constipated, I have noticed that I am only going to the toilet once every two days. Either I'm not eating enough to have excretion or I am not drinking enough water. I think I am averaging at only 6 cups a day. So note to self: Put in a concious effort to drink more water.

And this is the progress of the chart for this week.

Still nothing yet. I'm not complaining.

cheryl

Pregnancy - Week 7

I have only one craving. My first craving in this pregnancy. I want fruit. I want fruit in the morning, before lunch, for lunch, after lunch and for dinner. I think it is the juice and the sweetness in fruit that I am actually craving for. My tongue feels like yucky tasting sandpaper and sugar seems to help. One fruit that stands out at the moment are cherries. I am hooked on cherries. I have eaten 2 boxes of it so far and I am also loving pink lady apples, oranges and plums. Bananas are pretty good too though I'm not jumping up and down for it - maybe because it is less sweet compared to the others.

I am still having bad evenings. I am still unable to cook. I do force myself to do it but its a very difficult task to complete. I have also realised that I cannot eat cheddar cheese. By that I mean the solid blocks that one buys and cuts up. I think it could be the high fat content that makes my stomach turn. Kraft's processed cheese slices are fine with me.

Unfortunately being pregnant means I cannot have my other favourite cheeses like Brie, Camembert and Roquefort for fear of listeria. That is worth a mourning. This also means no more sashimi or sushi either. I now wish I had eaten all of that to my hearts content prior to November. Its going to be a LONG wait till August when I can have those again.

I have been keeping tabs on my weight to make sure I don't gain weight too early in the pregnancy and also just because I'm curious about how this 'blowing up in size' is going to happen overnight. So I have been religiously weighing myself every morning after I wake up, used the toilet and brushed my teeth. Every morning without fail, with the same one piece of clothing on, I hop onto the machine. And since I am keeping a close eye on the moving needle, I thought I'll create a chart recording the changes and share it with you guys :)

Here is the chart thus far:-

No weight gain as yet :)

cheryl

First Baby Book and other related details....

Some of you who are reading this blog might be thinking, " Hey, where is Alex in all this pregnancy blogging? This is the Alex-Cheryl blog and not just a Cheryl blog. Doesn't the father to be have something to say?"

Well I must say that my hubby is a man of many words - in speech. While I am a woman of many words, it is more so in print. I am fairly less chatty in person (although some friends beg to differ) but really I'd rather observe people than talk up a storm. Alex on the other hand is usually the source of the storm. And this is good. Our differences here balances the equation.

Anyhow, I digress. The point I was trying to make was, although Alex hasn't blogged much, he has made several attempts, evidenced by the fact that I have 3 drafts sitting in my list of posts, none of which exceed 3 sentences :)

This father to be has been a very dedicated father-to-be. I didn't realize how seriously he took the pregnancy until he dragged me to Borders Bookstore one Sunday and was super insistent about buying this book.



Apparently this is the best book to read for expectant families. It has become Alex's duty to read this book, updating me about what to expect throughout the pregnancy on a week to week basis. Having your man involved is great because it gives the man another way to connect with the pregnancy experience through the 9 month period. While men can never experience nor really understand the difficulties of carrying a child, it is good to involve them in the entire saga. This is not only because us women need their emotional and physical support, it also gives them a sense of responsibility plus refreshing the fact that they played a major role in bringing about this bundle of joy.

Alex has been much more serious about our pregnancy than I have been. He has been very strict about me staying away from raw and cold foods. So no sushi, no salads, nothing that has been kept in the open in the fridge, no mayonaise ...etc. One exception - I have been insisting on deli meats because I do so love my cold cuts and he has given in (only for deli meats) as long as I zap them in the microwave first. He has also been making sure I have a sip of water at 11.30pm plus my nightly folic acid supplement without fail even though I kick up a fuss about having to swallow any form of pill. (My mother can tell you how much a pain it is to try and get me to eat supplements. She has been on my case for years about Vitamin C, Evening Primrose Oil, Fish Oil - I actually don't take them at all)

Alex has been very faithful (or I should say stubborn) about making sure I eat the supplements for the sake of the baby's development. He has been waking me up nightly at the same time to take it. You might be wondering why he has to wake me up. Its because I normally crash at 8.30pm while he only sleeps at 11.30pm. So before he gets in bed, he brings up the water plus pill and gives me a quick wake up for them.

Though I'm singing praises about my husband's dedication here, I secretly think he enjoys watching me pout, kick and complain about having to take the folic acid supplement. The thing is FOUL. Tastes absolutely gross. Its a folic acid plus iron supplement and the iron content in the pill makes me feel yuck.

But I guess since he is going to so much trouble in making sure I take the pill, I can easily do my part by just swallowing it :)


cheryl