Some Photos

From sometime last year..

I take *that* long to upload photos.

Big Sister Huda

Stuff about Huda which she may enjoy reading in future..

1. Her favourite colour is purple. She wants her purple shoes, purple T-shirts, purple pants, purple Yakult and purple panties. She drinks from her purple bottle and wants her father to buy her a purple crane (the machine, not the bird).

2. She's still in the process of toilet-training (as long as she gets to wear her purple panties - of which we only have two). She has no problem peeing in the toilet but she just can't poo in there. She will tell me that she wants to poo but 5 trips to the toilet later, still no poo. Put on her diapers and the poo just comes. Hmm.. This is a toughie. My mom suggested not giving in to her diaper demands but I'm afraid she'll be constipated.

3. She had another bout of stuffy nose and a whole lot of phlegm last week. One of the medicines prescribed was a nose spray to clear her nose. She hated this tremendously so we used it only when she couldn't breathe through her nose. Before her nap time in school, her teacher tried to persuade her into using the nose spray.

Teacher:   Huda, come. Let's use the nose spray.

Huda:       Huda tak nak lah. (I don't want lah.)

Teacher went on to extol the virtues of the nose spray.

Huda:       Huda dah tidur lah. (I've gone to sleep lah.)

She promptly lay on her mattress and pretended to sleep.

 

4. Talking about school - her grandfather sends her to school now that I'm back at school myself. In the earlier weeks, she will insist that her grandmother sends her as well but now she will sit at the backseat of the car AND she actually allows herself to be belted up! She also makes no attempts to unlock the door or hurl herself out of the car. Whew!

 

5. Her teacher reports that she is coping very well with school. She eats well and takes her naps without much fuss. She plays with her friends. On two occasions however, she scolded kids from the next class. *gulps* One was her own cousin who was extra clingy one day. The other one was a boy who was crying before their nap time. She - who can be extra noisy during nap time herself - actually had the audacity to walk to the next class and told the boy, "Diam!" And the boy actually kept quiet after that.

 

6. We do wish that she is a lot clearer in her pronunciation and enunciation of words but I suppose some children take a longer time to do this. Most of the times, if the /s/ sound appears at the beginning of the syllable, it will be pronounced as a /t/ sound. /s/ at the end of syllables are not mispronounced, though. I guess it's just bad speech habit. We try to make her say the words properly but once the word appears in a sentence, it gets mispronounced again. Hmm.. more time needed, perhaps.

 

7. She enjoys being read too. She will take books after books and get either her father or her mother to read them for her. I'm not too sure if she understands what we're reading because almost all the books are English storybooks and we speak mostly Malay to her. But, reading is good so we just do it. One of the many stories she enjoys is Puss in Boots. I'm pretty disturbed by this story because it's about a cat who lies and his master reaps huge rewards all thanks to the lies the cat tells.

 

8. She likes to choose her own clothes now. Grrrr.. This is a stage I don't like. She will choose a long-sleeve T-shirt on a scorching hot day AND she will want to wear a short-sleeve front-buttoning pyjamas top over that long-sleeve T-shirt. I'll be treated to howls of protests if I were to deny her requests. Of course, matching is never an issue for her. To her,cartoon prints go perfectly well with floral prints. And she would want to wear this when we go out. What will people think? Surely it's a form of abuse when you allow your children to go out of the house in horrifyingly mismatched clothing? :P

 

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Of course, after I've posted his, I'll remember about 8 more things to write about but I'll save that for another day (if I can still remember them another day).

Running Out of Time

1. A respite! A respite!! I was granted a respite! Farah is still along the 3rd centile. The blood flow doesn't look that good either but things are not so bad that I had to be admitted or the baby had to be delivered immediately. However, the gynae asking me, "So, how? Today you want to beranak or not?" threw me off and brought me back to reality. Yes. I am going to give birth soon. I'm almost 35 weeks now. While I would prefer a natural birth, the gynae highlighted to me the unlikeliness of that happening. For one thing, inducing labour is not an option for tiny babes like Farah. So, we came to an agreement of sorts - that, if by the 37th week, nothing's happening, to the operating theatre we will go. I'll pick a date at the next check-up.

2. Having to go for weekly scans and check-ups now, I think I will see all of $0.42 cents in my salary next month. Each time I go for these things, I just flash my see-as card and everything will be deducted from my salary. Scans and check--ups don't come cheap and with at least 4 scans this month - ouch ouch ouch! I'm just glad that I'm not celebrating see-an-why otherwise, I'll be broke beyond belief.

3. At the end of every work day, I'll arrange the stuff I'm supposed to do the following day and write notes on each pile. I'm so afraid that I'll deliver the baby at night and people will not know where I've stopped and what to do with my charges.

4. The Husband is now in charge of clearing the wardrobe to make space for Farah's clothes. Good luck to him.

5. I've stopped watching The Little Nyonya online. I'm saving the rest of the episodes for my hospital stay.

6. Huda - I haven't talked much about her here lately. But, I think she will be okay with the little bub. We have already decided what to get her as a present (supposedly from Farah) - more Dora stuff. She has not watched a single episode of Dora yet she loves that character to bits.

7. Today, Huda's grandmother babysat her cousin, Farouq, and the little boy cried when he woke up from his nap. She tried to soothe Farouq and when she failed, she practicaly dragged her grandma into the room. So, I don't think she will make attempts to gouge Farah's eyes out when she's alone with her. (Well, I hope she won't!)

8. Hmm.. I thought I had quite a bit to say earlier but my memory being what it is, I can't recall what they were.

9. Now, I have a desire to poo but it's just phantom shit. Do forgive my very articulate self. Apparently that's a sign of labour but I'm just not feeling it. I have no idea what contractions feel like but those who have experienced it said that they are very, very painful. My stomach will get all hard but the pain is manageable. Besides, it's not even at regular intervals. So, I'll just wait it out and maybe, sometime in W37, I'll have my c-section.

10. Finally, have a happy Chinese New Year to all those who are celebrating it! And to those who aren't, it's a superduper loooong weekend. Rejoice, people!

Week 34

I am now 34 weeks, 3 days along and I am still pregnant! Alhamdulillah!

When I went for my check-up last week, I was haunted by the thought that I could very well be admitted if the baby's growth wasn't satisfactory. That was what happened almost 3 years ago with Huda. But, this little girl wants to stay in a lot longer and she showed it by putting on a bit of weight that week.

I was so relieved when the scans and CTG showed that all was well. Farah (that's her name!) was still smaller than her peers but not by so much this time round.

Being allowed to go home was a sign that I better get all the baby things ready: pack the hospital bag, sort and wash Farah's clothes, make space for Farah's clothes in the wardrobe..

At this point, two days away from my next check-up, my progress has been minimal. I've come up with a list of items for the hospital bag, Farah's clothes are in the washing machine now (like, finally!!) but space in the wardrobe - maybe I'll do that tomorrow..

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For the past few weeks, I have been feeling very very not-eloquent(?). I am going through my I-need-to-speak-Singlish phase. :P

Preparations

Tomorrow - another scan to find out if Farah is growing well.

 

She has been growing well all throughout the pregnancy until week 28. 5 weeks ago, the scan shows that she's slightly below the 50th percentile. Last week, the scan shows that she's on the 3rd percentile. The reason for the slowing growth rate is the same as Huda's - poor blood flow.

 

With Huda, I was hospitalised after W33's check-up. And she was born in the wee hours of W34.

 

So, I am mentally preparing myself for a stay in the hospital tomorrow. I hope it won't come to that but it doesn't hurt to prepare yourself mentally, does it? Most importantly, I should clear my work and make sure that there's a smooth handover to the next person. This being so early in the year, there is not that much to clear but I have rubbish from the previous year which needs disposing. I do not know why I didn't do this any earlier. Grrr.

 

Mental preparation is one thing but other preparations are NOT underway.

 

For example, I do not have a hospital bag packed. Heck. I don't even know what is supposed to go into a hospital bag. And, what about Farah's clothes? Not unpacked, not washed!! It doesn't help that they are in three different houses - mine, my sister's and my mom's. There's also no space in the wardrobe for Farah's clothes. I have to prune Huda's clothes to make way for Farah's. See? So much to do and if I have to be hospitalised tomorrow, I am in trouble for sure. Being mentally prepared is just not enough.

 

And then, there are things I want to do to the house. The most important of which is to get some professional cleaners to clean that once-upon-a-time-off-white-leather-sofa-but-now-is-brown-and-grey. And clean the window grilles of Huda and Farah's room.

 

Okay. So, that's what I have to do. What I'm gonna do now is to list down what I'm supposed to have in my hospital bag. Hopefully, I won't be hospitalised tomorrow.

Week 32

I don't feel like writing long sentences and paragraphs today.

1. Baby is smaller than average. Has been so since W28's checkup and has worsened since.

2. Baby is on the 3rd percentile of the growth chart. Well, at least she's on the charts.

3. Problem is the same as Huda's - poor blood flow into the womb.

4. Am I disappointed? A little bit. But, I have to be grateful that she's bigger now at 32 weeks than Huda was at 34 weeks. So, she will definitely be bigger than this at birth. And she won't have to spend 1 and half months at the hospital.

5. I can only pray that she'll be healthy and normal. Amin.

 

On another note...

I was pleasantly surprised, as I was trudging up the stairs, to find that they have installed the doors to the lift!! Yippppppeeee!!! Does this mean that the lift will be ready before the April/May/June projected date? Please please please please!! Let it be ready by the end of this month, please!!!

Week 30

I have hit Week 30. It felt like it took forever to get here and now there's only 10 more weeks to go.

This will be a whiny report so, if you are looking for jolly pregnancy stories, do check again in a few weeks.

I'm discovering, quite late, how some foods simply don't agree with me - mostly things that have gone through some form of fermentation process: cheese, tofu, yogurt. They make my stomach feel all queasy, but, thankfully, no vomiting. Spicy food also does not agree with me these days. I vomited after having my weekly prata a few weeks ago so I've sworn off roti prata for now.

I am now tired, tired and tired all the time. When the tummy is queasy, I would think that a good walk will work things out. Unfortunately, a short walk leaves me tired and breathless. I need to walk very s-l-o-w-l-y which is most annoying. And when I see a bench or a bus stop or anywhere where I can stop to rest, I will. I get THAT exhausted.

And, after walking from my mom's place to mine just now (The Husband asked a few times if I wanted to just cab it but I needed to calm my queasy tummy so I insisted on walking), I was so very spent. My muscles were aching - even in places I didn't know I had muscles. I just had to lie down by 7.30pm. But, I had to make sure I woke up less than 2 hours later. Otherwise, I'll wake up at midnight and will not be able to fall asleep til 4. Which was what happened a few nights ago.

Sleeping is not too easy these days. I take a long time to fall asleep and when I am finally asleep, I keep on waking up at all hours. I don't know if that is pregnancy-related or something else. Whatever it is, it is going to be difficult to wake up at 5.30am when normal working hours begin next month.

There is one other thing that's bothering me somewhat about this pregnancy. But, I'm not going to worry about it for now and will wait for the 32-week scan next month to ensure everything is okay.

So that's it. Week 30 and counting.

I'm so disappointed because...

...the lift won't be ready by January!

Months ago, when the lift upgrading programme started, I called the number given and asked when the expected completion date is. January 2009, they told me.

Being kiasu and excited and all, I called two more times and was told the same thing: January 2009.

This being very efficient Singapore, I naturally expected the lift to be completed by December, a bit ahead of schedule. I had visions of my very pregnant self waddling to the lift instead of struggling up the flight of stairs.

However, at this point, things still do not look complete. And so I called them again. This time, they told me: Oh, we've just revised the schedule last week and the lift in your block is expected to be ready sometime in the second quarter of 2009.

WHAT??!! That's anywhere between March to June. I would already have given birth by then and my pregnant self would have to go up the stairs throughout my entire pregnancy? Not even the possibility of a short reprieve towards the end of the pregnancy? Sigh.. I is very very sad lor.

It's the final week...

... before I go back to work.

I have enjoyed this short break. It was rather short, compared to what I used to get. But, in these tough times, I should not complain.

Talking about tough times, it is a wee it depressing reading/listening to the news these days. Everything is about yet another financial institution collapsing, how bad the situation will be, how we must all tighten our belts and on and on and on...

Sigh.

I suppose, in the next one to two years when I won't be drawing a salary, I should really, really cut down on my expenses - the biggest of which goes to transportation (which sounds really legitimate when I put it that way but not so when I spell it out as t-a-x-i).

Other than that, I don't think I am inclined towards big expenses. I have somewhat lost interest in bags (momentarily, perhaps?) and I am not really inclined towards the high life (other than good food but halal good food is, thankfully, not as easily accessible here as it is in KL so that doesn't really count). In other words, we should be pretty sheltered against this recession? God knows. Still, it's wise to cut down on unnecessary expenditure.

What a dreary topic that was.

Now, moving on to more exciting stuff. The Baby has a name! Heh heh heh. Must seek clearance from the higher authority (ie, The Husband) to announce the name to all. But, it will be revealed soon, if I have not already told you la.

And more about Huda's school - She's adjusting extremely well to school. Even the principal commented that the 2006 babies are adjusting well to school. Occasionally, she will protest about going to school in the morning but once in school, she'll be okay. She is eating well in school. She even takes her naps without complaining. This, after I regaled her teacher with all sorts of horrifying things that Huda would do to avoid naps. When I picked her up on the first day she stayed in school past naptime, the teacher told me that when Huda finished drinking her milk, she rolled over and fell asleep. No fuss. Saboteur or what?

And today, after her evening bath, I decided to give toilet-training another shot. And, oh my oh my.. She peed in the toilet three times!! Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! (Yes. Wee, indeed.) No accidents! (I was also inspired to do it thanks to that nasty nappy rash she had on our return from a trip up north.) The only problem is, she insists on pee-ing standing up. No squatting or sitting positions for my little miss.

That trip up north (where else but to KL) - I think there must have been about a million Singaporeans there last weekend. We kept on bumping into familiar faces. There were familiar faces that we planned to bump into but there were also a good number of familiar faces that we have not seen for years in Singapore.

We went to this swanky new shopping centre and they had clowns and other costumed characters. Huda was extremely scared of the clown. There is a word for people with a clown phobia but I'm just too darn lazy to click the next tab and do a search so I'll just call it clownophobia. Long ago, The Husband and I have decided not to invoke the bogeyman when it comes to disciplining our children. We have been successful - until three days ago. Our little clownophobic was behaving in the most unbecoming way and her uncle invoked The Clown. Immediately, she behaved and the time spent at the restaurant was most civil and pleasant, all thanks to The Clown. Will we use The Clown again? In most desperate of situations, if ever. But, we will use it very, very, very sparingly, I hope. 

I suddenly have lots to write about but gotta stop now cos I need to pee (the 745th time today).

(Psssst.. The date is wrong, okay? I wrote this last night, 16 December, but I wrote it over a draft I had written earlier. That's why the date for this entry does not quite correspond with the sequence of events. I know people will most probably not notice this but I am ngeow like that.)

Schoolgirl

My precious little one is now all grown up. Sob sob.

She started school on Monday.

She has been very excited about going to school as two of her cousins are there too and whenever her aunt comes over on weekdays and brings along only the wee ones, she realises that the missing older ones are at this place called school.

So, Monday morning came and she was jumping up and down chanting, 'Yay! Yay! Nak pergi sekolah!' (Yay! Yay! Going to school!)

She didn't cry one bit on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, when I told her that I was going off, little tears started rolling down her cheeks. But, the moment anyone looked at her, she would quickly wipe them away. Once she started her breakfast and was occupied, I left. Sigh.

Her teachers say that she's adjusting well. She had three portions of rice on Tuesday and today, after one portion of noodles for dinner, she said, "I want some more." This had to be the influence in school! She's eating more and asking for seconds! Wow! She's also brushing her teeth on her own and does not have to be forced into it. Wow wow! As I have been picking her up before her naptime, I do not know how she will react when forced to take a nap. That, I'll find out tomorrow as I will only pick her up after her naptime tomorrow.

My only grouse is she may pick up bad language habits from her friends. (Not that she's speaking all that well in the first place.. Hahaa!) But, what to do.. I can't keep her isolated forever, right? We just have to model the correct use of Malay and English to her.

She seems happy enough there and I am 94% happy that we made the decision to put her in school.