Broken hearted at 38 weeks ...

I am officially in my 38 weeks of pregnancy and baby no.2 is moving much more intensely compared to earlier weeks. Must be the confined space that he has to grow in.

Contractions, come and go but not frequent enough for me to rush to hospital to have myself check out if I was going into active labor, though each time now that I feel a strong movement at the lower part of my body, I tensed up a little. Its the thought of me, not knowing when active labor might kick in scares me, yet I know that it will be a painful yet beautiful moment, because my baby no.2 is ready to come out and be showered with lots of love from us; Jaden, Hubs and I.

Just last Monday, 25th November, I had my checkup and surprisingly, this week, I went up 400grams while baby went up from an estimation of 2.9kg to 3.2kg. Should baby no.2 is still in me this coming Monday, we will have another checkup. I am just wondering how much weight did I pile on again as the day draws nearer, I find myself pigging out more. 

Sleep is not longer something I really look forward to because all positions have become rather uncomfortable for me. Can't sleep on my tummy and back thats for sure.. and if I sleep too long on my left side, which was recommended, I find that the weight puts pressure on my heart, liver and sometimes makes me want to puke in my own throat. Not sure why that happens though. If I sleep too long on my right, the limbs become numb and I wake up, not being able to feel them and then this is when pins and needles starts to happen.

I am still driving around town quite actively. I find solace in driving.. its like me having the key to freedom. Anyway my parents will be down in town next week onwards to take over whatever duties I have until I pop baby no.2 out. 

It was just a few days ago, I thought I felt as if there were sand in my throat and oh boy, yesterday both Hubs and I were down with sore throat. It was worse for him as his body was aching through, as if a fever coming down on him and he had to pop panadol, which is something he tries to avoid if he could. I am still having that bits of sandy feeling left but I am downing as much water as I can, to keep the flu germ away, and hopefuly Hubs will also recover fully in time, without infecting Jaden so we can all welcome baby no.2 with no worries.

Such a bad bad time to fall sick.. *sigh* I blame the weather though. Its really hot throughout the day and then suddenly the strong grey skies bringing on some horrendous rain in the evening or at night. 

Another news to share is that... I am officially broken hearted.. my idol has announced to the world his girlfriend or is that his wife by now?

Though its about time he settles down or at least put speculations to rest that he is swinging the other way... it is still a heartbreaking moment.. and I don't think I was the only one brokenhearted as many girls all over the world shares the same sentiment as me. 

Of course, I feel happy that he has found someone that he loves so much that he would take this next step.. so now, I shall be cheering him on as a married man and hopefully with a beautiful supportive wife, just like how most girls were brokenhearted when Prince William is no longer a bachelor. I will still attend his concerts and try my best to be at events he will show up at.. but now we can no longer pretend the love songs that he writes are dedicated to us anymore. LOL 

On the right track

It has been 4 months since we last had a ABA (Advanced Behavioral Analysis) team meeting with my supervisor and therapist, and finally, today, we just had one and I am glad that we all have positive feedback on Jaden's progress and we are moving on to new learning programs.

I was just telling Hubs today that Jaden is nearly complete with his one year of school. Hes been in there since school started in January and well, one more month before we call it a year-end break for him. 

Jaden has been showing signs of improvement with the programs school has arranged for him and also the ABA home programs. He is also much more compliant and cooperates with his speech therapist on work and signing she introduces to him.

It is always a happy and welcoming news to hear positive feedback from his team of learning support. Though at times, I wished he can move faster in his programs. Well, as long as he understands what he is being taught, then that is fine with me. Jaden has this gift of memorizing, therefore its a bit hard for us to make him understand, the purpose, the words behind it instead of just him plain memorizing.

School has exposed him to hair-cutting all over again, and even the shaver. They will be doing it more often to get his head-sensitivity issue out of the way. 

I have to admit, we spend quite a lot of money on Jaden's early intervention -school, ABA and speech. Used to have Occupational Therapy inclusive but since school is doing that with Jaden, and my time allocation for more therapies that I prioritized, I just couldn't fit in anymore time slot in Jaden's schedule. 

BUT all these early interventions do help us out alot and all of us are happy with Jaden, and how he has grown along the way with his learning support team.

School is now focusing on his behavioural and academic, while ABA focuses on his cognitive and speech, well, his communication skills. 

Sad to say, Jaden is still a non-verbal child but as long as he is able to communicate with us, either by using signing or PECs, we are happy enough so that both parties will not get frustrated by not understanding each other's wants and needs.

Truth be told, I broke down just a few weeks ago, thinking about his future and that future is only the schooling part. I didn't even dare to think of teenage years yet.

Right now, since he is already in a kindergarten that accepts him, my heart and mind is at ease.. but there will be a time when he has to move on to another school, that is more age appropriate for him (eg:-Standard 1 onwards) and that would be quite an issue if I still insist that he goes to a proper private or international school. 

After having a discussion with Hubs and getting my feet back into reality, I realized that why the need to go through all that heartbreak, and money spent when I can actually enroll him into a homeschool centre that will teach him at his own speed. As long as he learns survival skills, basic understanding of manners, hygiene and communication, I would be happy for him. I would be happy to know that he can make it on his own even when we are no longer around for him anymore. 

Now now, since I am still pregnant and my hormones are still a bit on the yo-yo side, I won't type on further in case water works begin but I guess you guys got my point.

Till then, I shall just keep doing what I can to help my son grow and learn and be a happy boy at the same time. 

Like an elephant ..

While I was giving Jaden his routine night bath before bedtime, I suddenly felt as if someone has taken a bat and hit my left leg and it hurt to stand straight with the feet flat on the ground.

I then quickly gave Jaden his bath and wiped him dry, put the pyjamas on him and asked Hubs to help me massage my left leg, which he did.. and then...

"OMG! LOOK AT THOSE LEGS! THEY ARE ALMOST THE SAME SIZE AS MINE!"

I found it amusing because I could still clearly remember back to the days when I was trying on this beautiful white dress at Forever 21 for our ROM (also in our 35-36 weeks of pregnancy) and the very first thing he said to me when I walked out from the fitting room was... 

"OMG! YOU LOOKED AS IF YOU ARE GOING TO BURST OUT OF THAT DRESS!"

*sigh*

Yeap, water retention has got to me and boy, this time it sure did hit me quite bad. My bottom half looks doubled.. no, tripled my original size and both my calves look like tree trunks.. they are so thick looking.

Hopefully, I will be able to retain back my original leg shape after delivery, though it will take some time before I resume back to maybe 50kg.. though I really pray that I could achieve my pre-pregnancy weight at at least 47-48kg.. 

Age do really play a part when it comes to shedding off fat fast/slow... 

Somehow as I know how I look exactly right now, it doesnt hurt my feelings when others do comment about how large I have become because that is the truth. 

Anyway all those 'large' comments don't hurt my feelings right now.. maybe it might just will if I am still looking like that in 2 years time. That is when, I will really feel miserable and might just opt for something drastic to lose weight. *wink*

p/s: Just another typical day at home, where Hubs and I exchange jokes like these, knowing that its just a joke and nothing else.. :) 

35th Week update

Just came back from my baby check-up today, and we are approaching 35 weeks in 2 days time. 

My blood pressure and pee seems to indicate everything is normal and my weight went up 2kg in 2 weeks. 

I was 59.2kg last two weeks ago and now, I weighed in at 61.2kg. I guess its pretty acceptable to me, 2kg in 2 weeks as this is the time that baby needs to really start piling on good weight to come out all healthy and strong. 

But if I were to calculate the weight I pile on in a month, it still adds on to 4kg in a month. *sigh*

ANYWAY, I was happy to hear that baby is now at an estimated weight of 2.8kg. He went up 500grams. 

I have been hoping we could at least get a 3D shot of baby this pregnancy but it seems baby has something else up his mind. Each checkup, he will have one hand or another covering his face, and my gynae would advise us against doing the 3D as it would be quite a complete waste of our money. 

Looking back at exactly where I was when I was at the same week, pregnant with Jaden, I wrote that I only piled on a miserable 200grams in two weeks but now, I piled on 2kg in two weeks. Oh boy!

So, at 35 weeks, I have piled on 14.2kgs .. and I am still going to pile on more.. anyone placing bet yet, what the final weight is going to be just before I pop? 

I managed to complete my birth plan yesterday, so I took the opportunity to discuss with my gynae my concerns and thankfully, he did not see me as some whacko! 

He said he understood where I was coming from and that he also offered me a choice of giving the baby oral vit-k intake instead of the injection. He did not push me or insist on it, just saying the choice is mine to make.

It seems that there is no way I can escape the waiting till no pulsation before clamping and cutting the umbilical cord as I do want to do cord blood banking, so should I take the option of waiting till no pulsation, that would mean, there would be no cord blood left or enough cord blood left to be stored. Just that I had to make sure that by almost immediately clamping the umbilical cord, it will not affect my baby.

Risks are everywhere and it is sure a headache when it comes to making sure you are making the right decision for your own child. 

@ 33 weeks ... 15th Oct 2013

Hi everyone,

Presenting to you guys our family/maternity photoshoot :)

Our theme? Just as 'us' as possible, fun-loving and playful...

:: pics credit all goes to OneThreeImagery :: photographer, Mr Lucas Lau ::

xoxo,
SimonYap clan

So much more...

I never knew when all these buying spree is going to end. 

Although everything thats need to be bought for baby no.2 is completed, just last night, we got the final item -the storage drawers, somehow, for me, I still do not feel settled.

I have yet to get my confinement herbal stuff, and I still need to go get that pressure cooker for easy cooking for me, so when my mother comes down to take care of both Jaden and I will have much more an easier convenient cooking experience. 

Then there is the nursing sport bra-kinda that I want to get as at the moment, I only have two nursing bras and they were from 6 years ago.

How can I even forget about getting a thermos flask for myself to store those confinement red date tea that I am supposed to be drinking? *sigh*

Now, do you understand why I said these buying spree will never end? Maybe I can take a trip down to Aeon One Utama to redeem the thermos flask that I have with all those cash vouchers I scored while I was on that 'housewives gone mad Aeon card day sale' purchases.

Tomorrow is my 35th week gynae-checkup and I have just finished writing my birth plan which I had been doing some readings about pros and cons about my birth plan choices. Not sure if my gynae would just brush me off or agree to whatever I listed down.

Night sleep has now become a bitch to me. I hardly wake up for frequent pees compared to Jaden's time but just to turn to another side to continue sleeping is such a chore, a pain in the butt, legs and sometimes my limbs feel so numbed out! That, itself can just wake me up from my sleep and with this type of frequent wakings, I wake up in the morning, feeling like I had not slept at all. 

I tried letting Jaden sleep between Hubs and I on our bed during the weekend and it only took a night before I asked him to sleep back in his own bed. The inability to toss and turn as I like really affected my whole lower back and I felt so sore the whole day after.

Baby no.2 is moving much more frequently now, kicking me from inside whenever he feels that I am cramping him up inside me, especially when I am sitting down. It seems he is most comfortable when I am standing or walking around, as my body will be stretched then, and not 'gently squashing' and fighting with him for space when I am sitting down.

Well, speaking of having all the baby essentials in the house, my job is still not finished. Now, it means taking out the bottles, cleaning them and sterilizing them one time before Hubs do it again before baby comes home from the hospital. 

Then, there are the clothes area, diapers storage, dishwashing and laundry detergent, diaper creams and baby shower gel to be put properly in properly labeled areas so my Hubs can easily get them. He can get reall 'blind' at times. 

Thankfully the part-time maid is coming in tomorrow afternoon. Will have her wiped down everything before I take out all the clean laundry,which I packed into a vacuumed bag and arranging them into the drawers we just bought yesterday. 

I still have not packed my hospital bag. Will be doing that tonight I hope. All I have to do is now, write down my list to bring... 

Somehow, I kinda feel that I would miss this whole pregnancy journey, although I have had my fair share of complaints of discomforts here and there but hey, I think its a very beautiful thing to me.. especially when baby no.2 is moving inside me. It is a bond that only mother and child would be able to have.. to feel it from the outside is really different when you get to feel baby from the inside.. 

5 more weeks to go before EDD.. time really flies! Soon, this time next year, I would most probably be stressed out again.. wondering what to do for baby' first birthday but for now, let me worry about going into labor and what awaits me. It is so gonna be a whole new experience for me with this pregnancy as my choices are rather different this time round compared to when I had Jaden. 

For now, I shall just sit back for a while, relax and drink my cup of organic third trimester tea and write out my hospital bag list so I can pack them up tonight. :)

Just one more ...

Yesterday, I had the luxury of walking around The Curve on my own to check out the remaining to-get item on my list -Baby cot / Baby Playpen.

Actually, I do already have one that my friend borrowed me but since it was only at the play level, and not where I can comfortably just pick the baby up from his sleep, I had to return it back to my friend as it was really not practical.. especially when baby is still a newborn or few months old.

Hubs said to go get one of our own, a playpen so it would be more convenient for us to move baby around the house, or from room to room as we are actually space-constricted right now in this house of mine.

I chanced upon this deal, RM1599 for a Graco playard, that comes with a bassinet that just fits right into what I was planning for. Just a nice fit into the bedroom, and the playpen cum cot can be put outside in the living room area.

I asked for the membership discount and was told there would be a 10% so well, its great news isn't it. So I mentioned that I would be back with my husband tomorrow, to get it.

I left an important question out or rather the salesperson did not inform me of the most vital point!

SO, today, early morning, after dropping Jaden off in school, I returned to get Hubs to go with me to The Curve to get the cot.

Then, only we found out that the shop and the other branch at Paradigm ran out of stock. The only stock left is the display unit and we don't want that, do we?

My heart dropped! Such a disappointment and that means more searching around for the right fit and love at first sight again.

So Hubs and I went about to run his work errand, and while waiting for him in the car, I googled for the same product, if anyone else carries it.

Just my luck, I chanced upon this website that carries it. Called them immediately to ask about their pricing and if its in stock.. and if there are any discounts.. 

Yeap, me just being Malaysian and thankfully I asked because the same product that they are selling, and yes, it is in stock.. it is selling at an even better price. 40% discount!

Asked them their whereabouts and as soon as Hubs came into the car, I told him the good news and then I started figuring when should I head there. We still have quite a lot of places to run, in such short time frame before it is time to pick Jaden up.

Luck was really on our side, and we made it through the lunch/Friday prayer hours along the Federal Highway and well, lets just say, the playpen/cot is now ours! Paid and taken away and is now sitting comfortably in Jaden's therapy room, waiting to be unbox. 

Lets just say, even with the 10% discount given by the shop at The Curve, we are saving about RM400 more with this new place I discovered. So, it really turned out to be a blessing in disguise that the shop at The Curve had no stock. 

So what is this cot that I am so happy that I got for baby no.2?

Well, this is the one... 

Graco Day2Night Sleep System

                             

I know the duration of how long a baby can sleep inside the cot, and also the baby will outgrow the cot in no time, but it would be good enough till our place is done up middle of next year, hopefully. 

So for now, there is just one more thing to get and that would be.. 

pic taken from my friend's fb but you get the idea.. baby clothes storage drawers