Last weekend ...

... was Jaden's last Friday in school before he gets a 2 week Raya break. His school had the break earlier a week compared to other local school schedule as his teacher had to leave for Europe. Well, guess when the others are enjoying their second week of Raya break, Jaden has to go back to school again as his class will resume earlier.

... Hubby left for Bangkok. Everybody that knows him would know what a big Liverpool fan he is and the only reason he went to Bangkok was for Liverpool's preseason tour and Bangkok was the last leg of that tour schedule. So, two weeks before the game, Hubby bought his stadium ticket, flight and hotel. Other than watching football, he went around shopping for his two children. He bought quite a number of clothes for Jaden and the coming baby. 

... my parents came over from Penang to keep Jaden and I company while Hubby was away so everybody will have a peace of mind since I am pregnant and everybody is concerned if I could handle Jaden all alone by myself for 4days 3nights. My parents stayed until Sunday and it felt so good that they were here. My mother really went into automated mode of cleaning up and making sure the house was spic and span. She took over all my duties, including bathing, feeding and looking after Jaden while all I needed to do was sit around and relax and plan where to bring them to for meals. My father was in charge of entertaining the grandson. How wonderful is that right? They had to leave on Sunday as my father had early morning work the next day, so that leaves both Jaden and I alone for that night.. only that night but we made it through! :)

Jaden's classmate and his mom came over on Monday afternoon for a short playdate, which started out as a fight over puzzles as no one wants to share but everything turned out good in the end. Both boys were actually playing 'chase' with each other around the whole house, which is something rare among our boys when it comes to social play. YAY to that! 

and later that night, both Jaden and I drove to the airport and picked up the big one.. and the whole clan is re-united again after being 4days apart. It just feels so good to have the big one home... :)

Farm In The City

Last Wednesday, 17th July 2013, Jaden went for his first ever school field trip. 

Since I was pregnant and can no longer handle Jaden's growing strength, I engaged the help of his ABA therapist, K.

His school field trip was to a place called the Farm In The City.

This place is rather interesting as they have quite a number of rare animals, and the children are allowed to have the wonderful experience of petting, feeding, riding, fishing and animal shows. It is really a place recommended for families with children to come and experience it for themselves.

Parents, teachers and students were all to drive there on our own and meet at the location latest by 10am. Of course, there were some late comers as this place was not very easy to find, even with the help of the GPS. We were nearly late ourselves despite leaving the house at 845am and the morning traffic was surprisingly smooth. I made the mistake of turning into Puchong area instead of heading straight and paying the toll, that leads us to Cyberjaya and then take the exit for Seri Kembangan instead. *sigh*

Luckily, K had google maps on her phone and we followed the instructions from there :)

Since I knew it was going to be a hot trip, I dressed Jaden as comfortably as he could. Sleeveless tops, shorts and sandals. 

When we first went into the farm, we were greeted with this tiny pony, that was so small, you would not have the heart to want to even place a child on it. Then, the farm guide lead us to the first pit stop -Tortoises.

There were all sorts of tortoises in their enclosures and there were two big ones that were out and roaming around, getting fed by the children. Boy, it was a feeding frenzy where the children were just trying to stuff the tortoises full with veges. Feeding food was handed out for free by the farm employees. I guess, it was all included in the entrance fee.

After the tortoises, we had to pass by the reptile area. Well, these reptiles were in their enclosures, which is a huge relief to me. Pythons, monitor lizard, were there cayman; not that sure...

After the reptiles, we went past the chicken and duck coops, where really fat chickens were freely roaming around. Next to the chicken coop, we were led into the locked pen where children gets to feed the deers and bearded goat. There were three deers roaming freely, although at that time, the farm guide held on to one deer and the children got to touch and feed them. These animals must have been used to crowds of children coming at them.

Jaden's therapist did a wonderful job in letting Jaden experience all of the feeding and petting and pointing to where the animals are, and making sure he sees them. In fact, she commented that Jaden was not afraid at all of the animals and he was just trying to stuff the food into their mouths. Scary! 

Then we came out and saw some wallabies. Of course, these wallabies were in their own closed up pen. Supposedly there were some joeys but the joeys must be fast asleep in the pouch. 

We moved on to the birds enclosure where everybody gets to experience these friendly birds coming and eating off from their hands. I am not sure if Jaden got to do that because he was sort of in a rush. He didn't like the idea of stopping.. he just wants to move on and on .. *sigh* my impatient boy but hearing feedback from his classmate's mother, these birds will just perch on your hands and eat their bird food. Budgies, pigeons.. as for me, I just wanted to get out from there as fast as I could. I was so afraid of getting shat on by all those birds flying around. Did I mention that there was the green and white peacock in there too. Sadly, these birds did not want to show off their beautiful feathers. 

After the birds, we climbed up and down the stairs, went past the vegetables and fruit farms and came to the cow shed. In there, was a big black bull. Jaden fed him grass a few times and we moved on to see the ostriches.

It was really tiring by then for me, as there were a lot of steps to climb back up, and thankfully, the next stop, there was a big airy canteen with lots of seats for us to rest. 

In front of the canteen, were the rabbit and guinea pigs hutches and the children get to feed these super friendly fluffy animals. There was also a long man-made drain, where all the guppies are, and the children were busy fishing them out into the pail. The children were just going wild there.

Jaden had his snack there at the canteen since he did not really want to fish. He was more interested in getting himself into the drain. 

Hubby cooked fried mee hoon for Jaden the night before, so his son won't feel left out where others have meehoon. :)

After Jaden ate and rested enough, it was time to move on to the jungle walk. There were iguanas sunbathing themselves up on the trees, little friendly monkeys and of course, another tortoise that decided that he wants to roadblock the exit.

We came out to another petting area, where the children got to pet an albino skunk (carried by the farm caretaker, of course) see two giant rabbits, ferrets, more snakes and then, the beautiful macaws. 

The children got to watch the bird shows, which the clever birds each have an act of their own. 

Since Jaden was not very interested in the birds, K and I brought him to look at the ponies and it so happened on that very day, was the day the raccoon was brought out to test out his newly finished enclosure. So we got to see that bandit like animal.. 

K brought Jaden to walk further while I went and rested in the shade a bit. K said Jaden seemed interested in the pelicans instead and wanted to stay a bit longer there looking at them.

After all that walk, it was lunchtime for the whole school gang and we headed to the air-conditioned restaurant and had our lunch. That, was the best moment for all of us as after all that hot, sweaty walk around, everybody welcomed the air-conditioning.

Since Jaden has his ABA team meeting that very day, we had to leave earlier than the others. So, the only thing Jaden missed out on was to have his pony ride. I am sure he would have been ok with it, rather nonchalent if I must say. Just like how he was on our Phuket elephant ride.

Anyway, it was a good school field trip and I am glad Jaden got to experience it, with the guidance and patience of his loving therapist. 

Being Independent

My soon to be 6 year old is growing up a little too fast for me. 

Though I love to baby him all over, and do things for him.. he seems to have his own mind to what he wants and will do for himself.

Lately, he has been taking off his diapers. Wanting to do diaper free during the day and peeing into the toilet bowl instead. Of course, he will still need diapers on during nap and night sleep as I am not prepared for that bed-wetting session but I have a feeling too, he is ready to be trained for his number 2.

Jaden would prefer to feed himself to eat his meals now and that does not mean scooping up whatever that he can on the spoon. He will scoop rice and meat together to make it a complete mouthful.

He has yet show signs to want to bathe himself but we will get there soon I bet.

He can wear his own clothes, put on his own shoes.. *sigh*

Sometimes he even helps me with a little housework when I ask him to like wiping the floor, put the clothes into the laundry basket, throw his own dirty diapers away.. putting away dirty dishes into the sink.. washing his own hands albeit he will turn on the water tap so strong, he will end up washing the whole upper half of his body.

Well, of course, other than those good things mentioned above, there will be times he gets my blood boiling mad, testing his limits on me... being a rebel, standing off and against me just to see if I will really blow up.. which I do, in the end, to show him who is boss and that, he should never ever question his parents.

I am still very much an Asian afterall. :)

19th week .. :)

Did I mention that one thing that I absolutely dislike throughout this pregnancy so far? 

It is the headaches I am getting. If I have disturbed sleep or lacking of sleep / missed my naps, these headaches will creep up on me and sometimes I try to bear the pain. 

Usually when I know that I won't be able to endure it and would just want to get it over with, I popped 2 panadols, which I know is not advisable but the pain was making me miserable and unable to deal with the day.

*sigh*

Anyway, I am going into my 19th week of pregnancy soon and there are at times where I am starting to feel baby's stronger movement. Still not strong enough for daddy to feel it but, it seems baby gets excited when Jaden is nearby playing or laughing.

My belly is growing bigger and bigger with each passing day, and that also means, comes the heartburn and breathing difficulty. Sometimes, I feel like I am near asthmatic with a sneeze or cough.Finding a comfortable sleeping position is starting to be a chore. I tend to wake up with a sore hip, or a cramp or a sore back.. despite having pillows and a nice thick comforter surrrounding me. I think I need a bigger space just to sleep in sometimes, thats why I enjoy my personal nap time tremendously when both the boys are awake and out in the living. 

Both Hubby and I are wondering how Jaden would cope when the baby comes along end of the year and we sensed that Jaden could be jealous.

Haidn was over at our house last night and all Hubby did was carry him for a little while and Jaden's mood immediately when unstable and he was clingy to both Hubby and I. He was easily triggered to cry and it took him quite a while to calm down, long after Haidn went home. 

Oh boy.. how now brown cow?

Disconnected ...

I had my hair cut short, not long after I found out I was pregnant and I could not stand the sweltering heat. 

I could not stand the mess my hair was in, and that I was not able to have any hair treatments done until baby weans off me. That is my goal, anyway, so the best option I came out with was to have my long tresses chopped off to the most minimal maintenance needed. 

Little did I know that, that might just be one of my ways of dealing with pre-natal stress, or some may call it pre-natal depression. I felt that I may have suffered a little of it during the first trimester as I felt so weak, that I was unable to be in control of my own body and its doing. 

Then, now come second trimester when I am supposed to be feeling much better. Of course, I do feel so much better than the first but there are still hiccups at times.

Did you know that first trimester just disappeared in a blink of an eye, a snap of a finger. The day before I was puking and feeling at my worst and having to want to eat every 2 hours, feeling bleerrgghh and then the next day, I wake up, everything that i felt the day before was gone. Just like that, that it made me ran all the way to my gynae and have him checked me out to make sure baby was still there with me. 

Now, all I want to do is to lie down and sleep and sleep and sleep. I can just fall asleep anytime and it is just so frustrating when I turn down invitations to hang out with my friends.

The very thought of having to dress up, make myself presentable is already so tiring, and to have to arrange babysitting duties, or having to bring Jaden out with me.. hey, I rather have it easy and stay at home and lounge around. Its just too much work right now for me, where my clothes don't really fit and its just sad that I can't wear my pretty clothes. So why bother making myself depress, trying to dig out what fits when I can just be really happy in my home shirts and pants and messy hair at that?

The only time I feel really perky and on the go is between 930am-1230pm. 

After that, its shut off time. Its the time that I come home together with Jaden from his school, and have our lunch and much needed nap.. and well, preparing him either for his dinner or evening therapy classes. Yes, he still have 3 hour classes in the evening.. so its not all play for me too. 

By the time I am done whipping up dinner for him and cleaning up after that, my battery runs low again and all I want to do is just go to bed and call it a day. 

Disconnected from the world right now is where I want to be.. yea, I enjoy occasional chats with my friends but the hassle of having to leave my comfort zone right now and having to feel bad about my changing body size and weight right now, its not my thing!

So, I hope my friend do understand when I reject their invitation to hang out or have a drink.. I rather not go than to be all snappy all night long. :)

For now, I just want to be disconnected. 

Thank you very much for your understanding. 

Baby Names

Apparently since I got to name our first child, I have lost all rights to name the others, if they were to come.. and well, since we are expecting the second baby, Hubby is estatic that he gets to name the child this time.

Despite me trying my best to trade with him options on stuff that he can do and pass on that naming responsibility to me, I failed! Yea, so the second baby is going to get his name from Daddy's choice.

Well, there are a few on my lists but it was shot down by Hubby, saying it sounds either pretentious or uurrgghh. Well, Hubby did name a few he shortlisted but we could not come to an agreement until last night. He said a name that I agreed instantly but well, who knows if that will be the name. :)

I am currently 17 weeks pregnant and feeling very much heavy already. I doubt my kgs are above 50 but I am feeling like I am 60kg and above.

My tummy this time round, seems bigger compared to when I was carrying Jaden at 17 weeks. My tummy is as round and big right now, same as when I attended XiuYi's wedding back in May 2007 and that, I was already 22 weeks pregnant.

We have been telling Jaden that he is going to be a big brother ever since we found out that I was pregnant but I am not very sure if he knows what we are saying. I am not even sure how to prepare him for the arrival of his sibling but I am sure, it will sail smoothly into place when time comes. 

Right now, all I let him do is touch my growing belly and saying that his baby sibling is inside and when the sibling is out, its his duty as a big brother to teach good examples and house rules to baby. Jaden will be promoted to a kor kor status.

This pregnancy had been rather harsh on me during my first trimester. We found out when I was about 4-5 weeks pregnant and two days right after that pee-stick confirmation, I had been hurling myself crazy, be it day or night. Morning sickness my ass, it should be call 24/7 sickness. My sense of smell heightened and a walk pass any food court or coffeeshop can send me straight into nausea attack. Even the smell of my neighbors' cooking makes me sick.. or better still, I had to stay away from food channel. The very sight of food makes me sick.

I have very very poor appetite, yet I was hungry almost every 2 hours and needed to have something to munch on. I also suffer from migrane attacks, which that I suffered too the previous  pregnancy. It was quite a different experience for me this round of first trimester pregnancy. With Jaden, it was a breeze through.. this, well, I experienced firsthand what morning sickness actually meant.

Blood tests were done, and now we are waiting to do the structural scan which will take place when I get to my 22nd week of pregnancy.

If I had a choice, I think most of my days right now would be spent sleeping and eating. Its no joke that I feel tired and out of breathe easily. Its as if I lack of sleep though I may have already had a full 8 hour sleep. I could just sleep off anytime.. backaches are starting to creep up on me now, but that is not stopping me from sleeping just yet. Its just that now, instead of just sharing the bed with Hubby, I also have to share the bed with Jaden, it makes sleep a little harder. I have to sleep and getup according to Jaden's schedule and no longer on my own schedule.

*sigh* 

I can already picture how i will be like when baby finally join our little brood.. so, since I already went through that newborn period, I know that sleep is very precious and I make it very clear to Hubby that I shall sleep as much as I want right now because I know I won't be able to soon, in a few months time. :)

Oops, I did it again ..

Little did I know when I was typing the post " First Quarter of 2013", I was already with life growing inside me.

The best thing was I had just been sharing my disappointment with my girlfriends that I really thought I was unable to conceive anymore and that almost every month, it had been negative and after a few tries of negatives, it was just too heartbreaking and all I did was just sit and wait for my next Aunty Flo's visit.

Just about two weeks ago, the left side of my breast, which I had a breast lump surgery removal before started to hurt a bit and I felt a tiny bump, and having a history of having a lump there before, worried the sh*t outta me and I quickly made a visit to my doctor to have it checked out just to make sure its not anything serious.

He sent me for an ultrasound scan of the breast tissue and the radiographer mentioned that she don't think its anything serious, maybe just an inflammation of the breast fibrosis and all that was needed to make it go away was a course of antibiotics. We checked thoroughly for lymph nodes but nothing was to be found. We scanned the right breast as well just to make sure I was all good and healthy.

My doctor then sent me home with a course of antibiotics and painkillers, which he said would make the swelling go down but I can only take those medicine if I am not pregnant. He even asked me not to get pregnant just yet if I am going to take the medicine. So I went to the pharmacy and got myself a RM6.90 test kit. 

First it showed one line at the positive side, then it faded away and the negative showed up on it after waiting for about 3 minutes.

Suddenly, my mind told me to just sit and wait it out. It was just going to be a few more days before Aunty Flo comes and I can afford to wait a few more days before popping those meds because if you start popping antibiotics, you have to finish them so I just wanted to be damn sure that I was not pregnant before I took the meds.

Aunty Flo always comes to me on time. ALWAYS and this time round, she was late. I waited for three more days before I went to buy two test kits. This time, I bought the ClearBlue testkits. Be it RM45 for both, pricey as it can be.. I wanted some accurate answers and not those that are mindfucking me. 

Lets just say the result was instantaneous.

I tried again, with the early morning pee and the result remained the same.

So yea ... 

We are pregnant with baby no.2 =)