Babycare Festival 2009

Our first time to a Baby Fair on Friday afternoon. Was worried about the weekend crowd so decided to take a half day to go see see look look at the BabyCare Festival in Expo.

Saw a lot of different sizes of Mummies' bellies there..hee.. mine is so insignificant compared to them. But guess they must be in later stages than me. But Dear has been so sweet and trying to shield me from all the bellies & prams there.

Other than patronising the various booths there, we also listened to a Breastfeeding Talk by Philips Avent. Quite educational! Gota learn more from my antenatal course in March bah.

A sneak preview of our purchases after an 5-hour duration at the fair....

My back is almost breaking at the end of the 5-hour duration, even without me carrying alot of stuffs. Poor Dear was the one carrying all the bulky stuffs throughout the whole 5-hours...

What we've actually bought/done:

Can't resist getting our hands on some cute small-sized baby's clothes, suitable for 0-6 months, and 6-12 months..Hahaha... Also got an infant pillow and newborn pillow from BabySafe - Highly recommended and used by friends and colleagues. Mummy also got something for herself! A sleeveless hot pink Nursing top at discounted price of $19.90! Can also wear it now to reveal my belly.


Also got ourselves the Philips Avent's Special Bundle which consists of :

• An Express Steam Steriliser
  
• Thermal Bag
• Magic Cup Handles
• Baby Wrap

The Special Bundle costs $150, instead of Usual Price of $218. We also got ourselves a freebie -
They ran out of BPA-free milk bottles, so we didn't get to buy. Probably next time.

Also signed up for cord blood banking from Cordlife for Baby Yam...

More like an insurance that we are buying for Baby Yam..

Also checked out the Jamu Slimming Services from Babies-Bellies & Beauty booth. The post-natal package seems attractive but not much reviews on their services. Anyone has used their services before, or heard about them?

That's all we've bought and done at the Babycare Festival. A very tiring yet fulfilling day spent!

Beautiful Rainbow outside the window...

Today a very beautiful rainbow appeared outside our office window, on a tiring weekday evening.. Glad I stayed back in office to clear work, if not I would have missed such a beautiful God's creation...

I silently made a wish for Baby Yam once I see the rainbow. Silly me.. hee...

More Maternity Clothes Shopping!

Yesterday Papa Yam and Mama Yam went to get a pair of maternity jeans from Stylish Mum2be Maternity as I can't fit into my usual jeans anymore, with the bulging tummy! At the same time, also added 2 more tops to the shopping cart! Haha..

After the home-shopping, we went to Vivo, hoping to find a nice maternity dress for upcoming wedding events. That's also my requested V-day gift from Papa Yam. Tried one of those batik prints and tight-fitting knee length dress, I find it really 'chio' with my bump in front! At least now I dun feel fat with my previous small flabby tummy... A pity its kinda short, and I predict with the growing bump, I can't wear that dress for long.. Furthermore, clever Papa Yam who knows me so well, also think that I won't wear after giving birth, cuz then my flabby tummy will be protuding.. Ya I agree no more. So didn't buy it thou I quite like it at that moment.. Well, Papa Yam also praised me that I look pretty in that tight-fitting dress, and with my bump showing. He likes the way I look when I am pregnant.. *blush* I felt the butterrflies in my heart.. my eyes teared a little.. *Heart filled with lotsa LOVE*.
Occasionally Papa Yam will also kiss and sayang my bump at shopping centre! hee.. That is very sweet... hope no one familiar caught it! hee..

So off to more searching... somehow I can't find Egg Maternity thou I kept walking around the mall, even after checking the directory, then I realise I saw the wrong unit no. and went to Espirit instead! ARGH! At that time, we are 5 mins away to the closing of the Information Counter (to redeem the carpark points with our receipts) so we gave up the idea of searching. Furthermore Mama Yam is tired liao, after all the walking...

Next on our shopping agenda will be the baby's stuffs. Upcoming will be the Mother and Baby Fair on 27 Feb - 1 Mar 09. Took 1 day leave to go jalan jalan and hope it won't be crowded and stuffy!

Baby Yam's first gentle nudges

I think I felt Baby Yam's first gentle nudges today!!!

Previously I heard from friends' experience and read from books that the baby's first movement should be felt around 5th month (20th weeks) or 17th weeks onwards (if to feel it earlier) and how it should feel like gentle, fluttering sensation at first, but get stronger and more obvious as time passes. Also can be described as "bubbling sensation".

Today I think I felt it! More than once some more!!!

First time in the morning, I felt something like a soft thud at my front abdomen. I was hesitant and got stunned a while. Was that it?

Then in the afternoon, I felt a slight bubbling short wave passing my left side of abdomen. I felt the instinct was even greater! Very highly cuz I never felt that way before, and it is so similar to what my friends told me about her experience! I think that's Baby Yam's hand!

Third time was a small tiny punch (more like a nudge bah) around top front part of abdomen.

I got so thrilled with all these small little movements felt for the first time!!! I quickly emailed hubby to describe to him and he got so excited too..hoping to feel them too.. Guess he gota wait for a while longer when Baby Yam gets bigger and punches/kicks harder lor! At that time I think I will suffer yet suffer happily...

I shall monitor for the next few days and see if the nudges can more frequent and to confirm that that's really the movements I've been waiting for!

A Valentine's Date with Benjamin Button

Not I, but WE, had a Valentine's Date with Benjamin Button yesterday...

Movie review of Benjamin Button

Indeed.. This 3 hour long movie is truly intriguing and fascinating.. Both the storyline, and how Brad Pitt's face can be shown on such a small frame when he was young (but look old). After discussion, we come to the conclusion that it could be computer graphics? The movie, thou abit lengthy, it shows many details on the "growing" of Benjamin and won't skip stages for the sake of cutting short the film. I guess it's fate and God's decision for him to be abandoned at the elderly home whereby the people around him all look old and wrinkled like him. So it becomes the world, the family who can accept him for how he looks

There are touching moments when Brad's childhood sweetheart-who-later-become-his-lover-and-stay in partner, Cate Blanchett, was suddenly in labour and eventually gave birth to a sweet normal-looking baby girl..  I was extremely touched and teared uncontrollably at the scene, probably because of my current pregnancy status.. I feel for the whole child-birth process and the joy when the baby is born.

There are also humor in the movie whereby one of the old folks at the elderly home kept telling Brad that he was struck by lightning 7 times..Every time he started saying the same old statement, the whole cinema audience will laugh. Especially there will be a comic-version of depicting how he got struck by lightning in respective times. Dear counted and said the movie only show 6, but not 7 times of the striking by lightning scenes.

I also like the way when Brad narrates that if things from the past happen a sec or a minute later, of if certain things did not happen in a certain way, it will not lead to the ultimate happening.. In general, it is saying all events from the past and present are connected, a sec or a decision can make a difference in the future happenings. Sound abit vague here, but you will know what I am referring to when you watch it!

Some pics of me (only) and the dinner at Imperial Treasure La Mian & Xiao Long Bao:

I feel that the quality time that both of us spent together on a date is more important than lavish gifts and huge bouquet of flowers. That is the way how the Yam's family will spend their V-Day from now onwards.. Next year will be spent together with Baby Yam!

Food Cravings and Aversions

Friends and colleagues have been treating me like a Queen, always letting me make the decision for lunch/dinner according to my Food Cravings....

Well, for the 1st trimester, I do not really have any food cravings except to try to eat food that won't make me nauseous or pukey or bloated or difficult to be digested...So it wasn't an exactly pleasant experience for the 1st trimester...

After the 1st trimester, with my morning sickness slowly disappearing and my appetite slowly recovering, my indigestion problem also begin to occur less often. Slowly discovered that I have certain food cravings such as:

• White rice
• Meat (Chicken/Pork/Duck/Roast Meat!!!!)
• Fried food (I usually don't like to eat fried food unlike hubby does.. Duno why I started to like fried food after becoming pregnant)
• Home-cooked Soup! (especially my mother-in-law's soups! Since Baby Yam is a pure Cantonese baby, so also like to drink soup lor )

Other than food cravings, I also have a lot of food aversions (thanks to my gan jiong Lao Gong lor) hee... I feel quite pampered when he gan jiong me, but stimes feel quite restricted cuz I believe I can eat all kinds of food in moderation. On my own, I will also restrict myself on certain No-No foods such as raw pineapple, coconuts, crabs, clams, mussels, oysters, raw fish....

With so many things not being able to eat, I have come up with a "List to Eat After Giving Birth!"

• Crab !! of all types! Steamed ones, chili ones, crab beehoon....
• Sashimi...
• Any other types of seafood that I can't eat now.
• Pineapple tarts (was not allowed to eat during CNY)
• Steamboat/Teppanyaki
  

That's all I can think of now.. Shall think and see what else to add on to my list..hee

16 weeks (Start of 2nd trimester) : 4th Gynae Visit

11 Feb 09: Today is my 4th gynae visit @ my 16th week, which is also the beginning of my 2nd trimester.

What is special about this gynae visit is also because my best friend cum sister - TL, accompany me & hubby for the scan. My gynae called her "the good friend"..haha.. well, I duno what are her feelings about going for the gynae visit and seeing the baby moving on the screen! Will hope to know from her thou!

Us @ the clinic

The gynae went through the results of my OSCAR test and after her explanation, I am no longer that worried about the risk ratio. Have to go through the detailed scan at my 20th weeks to check on any deformities. Of cuz I hope Baby Yam will be healthy, normal and fine!

We are hoping to see the baby's gender in this scan. Well well, baby has been quite cooperative. So we've got a 99% confirmed result. Shall reveal the gender when we've that 1% confirmation next month!

Scan @ 16 weeks:

Baby is now 10 cm long! Growing real fast since the last scan! Happy!!

Baby is sitting upright inside me.

My tummy has been growing pretty fast recently..and I heard that development will be even faster for the next 3 weeks! Ooo-La-La! Thou only 4 months pregnant, already have been getting some slight backache and buttock-ache when I lie down or sit down too long. Can't imagine when the tummy balloons up!