Welcome baby!

As some of you might have guessed... the long silence means something must have delivered :)

Welcome baby Kayden into this world!

He arrives surprisingly early on the 21 Oct 2008!

Doesn't he look like a king?

We are blessed with a small little gem who is calm and easy to care for. The kraamzorg helps tremendously for the first week and hubby has been busy taking care of me by buying last minute supplies, shopping for groceries and cooking food, not to mention taking care of the 2 rabbits. What else can I ask for from a man?

Oh great....

Today is the 36th week and we had our midwife appointment at night. Bronovo hospital started night-time appointment service, which is great because now hubby can join me for the checkup.

The midwife checked the baby's heart rate... fine. She also went through a checklist about when we need to call the hospital and what to watch out for when labour starts. Basically, bits and pieces of what we have all learned from the childbirth class. Both of us were just nodding our head. After awhile, I sensed that she thinks she doesn't need to explain any further... Thank God we took the class together!

However, after she did a position check, she suspects that the baby's head has not turned yet! So, I'll be off for another round of ultrasound (ouch) within the next 2 days so that they can decide whether to continue to take me under the midwife department or send me off to a gynae's care. I guess I'll be spending some time reading up on c-section tonight, just... in.... case... the baby decides to have some fun.

I have one last jewelry-making workshop to run and that's it, I'll be sitting at home not going anywhere. Weather is not good either, I hope hubby do not need to push me to the hospital with a wheelchair under a heavy rain. He is starting to feel anxious. I'm showing him around the hospital (like where to buy food and drink, where is the emergency entrance, how to get to the hospital from our place etc...), and also typing out instructions on what number to call and when to call, especially for the kraamzorg service.

One good news is that I've put on another 2kg! Finally, I'm approaching the normal weight gain range. Trust me, this is the one and only time that a woman will feel happy putting on weight than not.

Baby stroller

Woohoo!! Our baby stroller has finally arrived!

It took us great faith to buy this model, without even touching it! We bought it based on the reviews that we read and video that we watched. Considered silly or dumb, I don't know, but it is really a great buy, knowing that it will last us through the next 3 years! Hubby's colleagues help us to bring it over from US. We really appreciate their help!!!

The first thing that I tried out is the collapsing mechanism of the stroller. Man, I've to give it 10 thumbs up! It is SUPERB easy! By applying a bit of pressure and a little twist, the stroller just collapsed into one unit, not to mention that it's lighter than any other standard strollers that were on our shopping list. Surprisingly, opening up the stroller is amazingly easy too. Basically, the collapsing and opening of the stroller can be done with one-hand.

I still remember the time when we spent trying out different strollers at Baby Park in Gouda and it was frustrating because most of the big brands out there promised the sky, but it took us dozen of trials and errors to open and close the stroller, not to mention that they hurt my fingers!! On top of that, they are bulky and heavy (even without a baby sitting on it), which I couldn't handle it at all due to my size. Considering how many times we need to take tram or bus, or maybe later have a car, to unload and load a stroller in and out is going to be a major part of our lives, and we want that part to be stress-free and enjoyable, for us and the baby!

Overall, we are very impressed with the smoothness of the mechanism and how user-friendly the design is.

Of course, there are other reasons why we wanted this stroller :D
The stroller is high, so baby can be sitting at the same level as adult. Yes, we are cheated by 'the higher is better' concept from Stokke. The stroller is light, the stroller is ergonomically designed, big wheels so that baby can sleep and sit comfortably, the stroller's seat can turn 360 degree, comfortable padding, it gives higher value with the price that we paid than buying those that we tried and didn't like them etc...

Ok enough... the company isn't paying me anything to do the marketing for them. We are very happy that we made a good choice :D Now we are just waiting for the baby to test run it.

Ultrasound Updates

My ultrasound result turned out to be normal. Obviously they compared my size to the Dutch's average baby size and because of that, my baby's growth is 3 weeks behind their average growth, but still falls within the normal range on the chart. Most Asian mothers faced the same problem here. So I'm not surprised to find myself doing this episode to REALLY make sure that everything is alright.

However, the baby has not turned yet. According to books, the baby is supposed to turn to the head-down position by week 33th for the first pregnancy. I'm in week 33th now, and his buttock is still at the bottom. So, now I'm sleeping on my left most of the time to give him the optimal position for him to turn. Other tips that I read that can encourage the baby to turn is to sit upright with the knee position always lower than the hip.

I've also bought my kraampakket and now going through the final checklist to make sure everything is in place. I also need to start packing my hospital bag...

The baby's Chinese name seems to be progressing well, with more idea coming through, at least, we have got names that both of us like and happy with, and now we just need to decide on which one.

Back to Dutchy land

The London trip was FANTASTIC! We enjoyed such wonderful time with PL and her hubby, and with little baby Matt. It also gives me a brief overview on how having a five-month old baby feels like after the first 3 months of hoo-haa, fire fighting situation. As what our childbirth class teacher said in our class last night, it's a 24/7 job, at least for the first few months... It didn't really scare me though, I'm looking forward towards this brand new experience more than anything else.

I'm entering my week 33th now. My checkup with midwife this morning brought her to think that it is necessary to send me for another ultrasound scan just to make sure that everything is alright. Baby is small (compared to Dutch's size, and I don't know about Asian size), and the midwife can't feel the head either (hmm... I wonder where did it go?). It seems that baby has not turned yet. It is not bothering me yet since there is still a few more weeks to go for him to make the turn. He is kicking vigorously throughout the night and my belly is growing. I felt my skin is so stretched now that I just want to sit at home and watch Animal Planet.

And autumn is here. This makes me feel lazy.

Off to London

You will not hear from me for the next couple of days because I'm off to London to catch up with a dear friend and at the same time, to do some last minute shopping for baby items!

Enjoy your weekend!

30th Week!

Wow, time flies isn't it?

The baby can decide to meet the world, ANYTIME, after another 6 more weeks. I have definitely grew bigger, which I am very happy about. The midwife assistant weighed me a few days back and I have put on 6kg since the last 2 checkups (I missed one because the weigh was broken). The belly is now bigger. Sometimes one side of the belly is clearly larger than the other side, especially when I am laying on my side. I wonder whether is it the baby's head or his bottom.

I'm busy packing my hospital bag and checking a list to make sure that all baby items are in placed, all baby clothes are washed and I have my post-labour items all ready. But hubby still hasn't fix up the changing table and cot yet... that is a big to-do that he needs to tick off; and I haven't go out to buy the kraampakket. Kraampakket is a box that is full of all the maternity stuff that a kraamzorg needs when she is at home to take care of the baby. It includes items like alcohol, digital thermometer, maternity pads etc... So, still lots of things to do to get everything ready. But I'm sure we will get there.

Confinement food 坐月餐

Hubby volunteered to cook confinement food for me... haha! So I promised him that we can do some trial run before that. Start with something easy like ginger chicken 姜葱鸡.

One of the confinement food that I look forward to is the Pig trotters with vinegar 猪脚醋! Some people like it some people don't. My dad cooked it once long time ago, and I loved it! However, the correct one, according to him, is with lots of gravy. The one that he cooked was dry. So he said it was a failure. But I thought it was a nice mistake.

The only problem now is, where can I find pig trotters in The Hague? I haven't seen one yet...

Childbirth Class

Finally, the childbirth class is here.
I've been looking forward to attend this class. Not only because I get to learn more about childbirth through a teacher (not books), it's also because it is time to get hubby to learn more!
Err... it is not true that he is not learning. He did read up books like Bloke's Guide to Pregnancy, Happiest Baby on the Block etc... It's just that there are not many books that are catered for father-to-be and he has been asking me to teach him more. But I don't know what to teach. So, a childbirth class is perfect to fill in the necessary gaps.

Initially I thought it will be conducted in a classroom environment. But to my surprise, when we arrived, it is a living hall environment! There are nice couch and comfortable pillows everywhere! Perfect for expecting mothers! Plus, coffee and tea free flow with delicious chocholate cookies! Yum yum.... :)

The first session kicked off well. There are about 8 couples in the room. All of them are either foreigners staying in The Hague, or they have a partner who is not Dutch. This first session is an overview session. We introduced ourselves, and raised our concerns and worries (if there is any) through group discussion.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I can see that hubby enjoyed himself too!

Leg cramp...

Geez... it was painful! It has happened twice this week in the middle of the night.

As I said, I am not big size for a 7th month. But I can really feel the stress on the leg lately, and I'm sure I haven't really put on much weight yet. I can't imagine how uncomfortable it is when the belly is so big until I can't see my feet!

So my solution is: While I sleep, I put a pillow to lift my legs up and put another pillow behind my back so that it supports my back. I'm sleeping on my side, since that is the recommended way. I also bought a footstool from Ikea so when I am working in front of my computer, I put my legs up on the footstool. While I stand, I distribute my weight on my feet instead of relying on one side or the other. Hopefully it will help a bit.

Baby name

Thinking of a suitable baby name with my hubby's surname/last name is quite challenging, in mandarin.

No matter what I suffix it with, it sounds odd. Plus, you need to pronounce the name in mandarin, cantonese, hokkien, hakka or whatever other dialects that you can think of, because trust me, it can sound so normal in one language, but it can means something else in these dialects. These dialects: cantonese, hokkien and hakka are pretty common dialects that most Chinese can understand. If you give a name that carries funny meaning in these dialects, that poor child will suffer for life.

So I have call upon help from my parents and in-laws.

This is one to do that I personally felt more challenging than buying baby carrier.

Baby packmule society

Hubby's colleagues from US are visiting in October and due to the lower US exchange rate, buying baby stuff from US makes more sense than buying them here. Most pricing in Holland is priced at the same rate (just different currency symbol in front). So you can imagine, how much more extra we need to pay for a same item if we buy locally, plus some, we can't find them locally either. There is only one word to describe the pricing here, ridiculous.

One of the colleagues jokingly said that they are the baby packmule society for us :)
And I really appreciate their help because it's not easy to find colleagues who are willing to help us carry so many things (like baby carrier, stroller etc...) especially when these are 'baby' items, not some cool electronics gadgets. Each of them have to work out how to spread the load. Some lighter items have already been offloaded to colleagues who return to Holland earlier. We are expecting to receive our baby stroller in October, and I can't wait to see it!!

Usual checkup

3 days after we moved into our new place, I have my monthly midwife visit. I took approximately 5 minutes to walk to the hospital under a cold cold weather. It started drizzling since early morning.

The checkup is short and sweet. As usual, the weight, blood pressure, fundal height and the remaining time is for me to ask questions. I was particularly concerned about the size of my tummy. I'm in the middle of 6th months now, and I'm still not really showing. I'm concerned whether I'm not eating right, or the baby is too small. The midwife told me that for my size, everything is normal (they all said that don't they...), but she said, she does expect me to grow bigger when I hit my last trimester.

She also asked me to do a glucose test. All in all, the whole checkup and the visit to the lab took about 1 hour.

Oh, and by the way, I forgot to let you all know, it's a boy :)

6th Month

I'm officially in my 6th Month now.

I finally outgrew my jean today. No matter how I tried, I can only zip it up half way. So I went searching for the pregnancy pants that my mom-in-law bought for me from Jusco, and they do fit nicely and comfortably!

But still, no one is able to tell that I'm expecting, especially when I put on my jacket.

I guess I'm one of those who will just balloon up when I hit the 7th month.

Hubby said,"Warn me first just in case I'm next to you at that time."
Well, hopefully it doesn't happen while I sleep. He might just get bumped onto the floor.

Midwife Visit

Did I tell you what my midwife commented on my progress?

"Boring..." she said.

I told her that everything seems to be normal. I'm happy, happily eating, happily walking, happily sleeping. I didn't feel any discomfort, any back pain yet, any muscle cramp or whatever. Touch wood... truly the 2nd trimester is such a wonderful time. In fact, I asked her back, "Is this normal?"

She took my weight and blood pressure, and did an examination on the belly, checking the baby's size and measuring my fundal height. Then she said, "Your case is so normal that it is boring..." I laughed. But she is very very pleased with the progress.

I walked so much during our Berlin and Prague trip that I feel so energized. Yes, my feet were tired, but I don't feel exhausted from our walking. We tried the Czech's famous cuisine (can't remember the name), ate unagi in Japanese restaurant (I still skip my favourite sashimi), occasionally share magnum mini with hubby etc... I need to enjoy while I can!

So my next appointment is one month ahead.

Baby Vision Trip

Just when you want to be punctual and not late for appointment... you missed the bus.
This happened when both of us went for our Baby Vision appointment last Saturday.

The timing was just not right that once we came out of the train station, the bus just left the bus station. Of course, we waited for another half an hour under the rain for the next bus. It is a new bus station, so it doesn't even has a bus stop cover!

The technician can only spare us 15m for our session because another customer is waiting to do her scan too.

But it is all worth it!

It is such an experience for me and hubby that we feel that paying EUR 55 for a 15 minutes DVD session recording the baby's movement with narration from the technician, plus us asking stupid questions, laughing throughout the 15 minutes is soooo worth it. Not only we get the DVD, we also have 2 printed ultrasound captures in colour (yellow) and another 4 black and white prints of the baby. This is no normal 2D captures. These are the 3D captures which you can see the baby face clearly. We feel that 15 minutes is just right, not too long, not too short. Enough to keep the viewers entertained.

Initially the baby was sleeping, all cuddled up like a small ball, with baby's arm on top of his forehead, and one foot under the chin. We tried to wake the baby up by pressing my tummy and making noise. Our baby usually sleeps in the morning. After all these commotion, the baby started to move.

We managed to see the baby sucking thumb, stretching, smiling, pulling umbilical cord as if pulling away a curtain, open mouth (drink water), eyes, nose, mouth, ears, feet, arms, opening fingers and all sort of other small movements. The technician commented that the baby is very happy inside. I think so too!

For those who are planning to do a 3D or 4D scan, please note that you need to do it before week 25 so that your baby will not be too big to fit into the screen. I have a friend who did it too late so the pictures didn't come out clear (either you miss the head or miss the feet, you don't see the either body).

But yeah, do it if you can... it's fun!

Baby Carrier

Hubby said, it is important to choose a good baby carrier. He briefed me with a list of criteria and he has been researching on a good baby carrier for a long long time. It's THAT difficult to make a right choice. Among the criteria that I can still remember are:

• How secure is the carrier? There are incidents where the baby dropped off the carrier due to poor holder designs
• How comfortable is the baby when when he/she is sitting in the carrier? Some carriers have badly designed edges that cuts the baby's skin
• How good is the support? Some carriers have poor back support for the baby.

At the end, he finally made up his mind and asked me to take a look at this BECO Butterfly Baby Carrier. This doesn't mean that we endorse this product, but it means that we like this baby carrier more than any other carriers in the market.

The design blew me away. As a person who likes beautiful things, I immediately say yes! See, it's easy for me to decide. He he...

Picture from Beco Baby Carrier website

It's the fingers, it's the toes, no... it's a...

NO, I can't tell you yet.

Because we haven't got a chance to inform my parent-in-law yet! And yes, we know the gender now, and we are both very very happy!

Now it's summer sales period, so I'm off to shop for baby clothes! The baby is coming during winter time, I need thicker clothes instead of those that we can find in KL. I'm still going to stick to neutral colours so that the next child will still be able to wear.

We are in the midst buying baby stroller from US, and we are looking for people who can help us to bring them over!

I'm also very proud about myself because really, we managed to save lots of money through a second hand market place that was recommended to me by C. People here take good care of their items, and all the items that we managed to buy are in good conditions! The only thing that I need to do is to scan through the marketplace very very often so that I don't lose out on the good deals! Trust me, when you see good deals, you can recognise it! It's woman instinct!

My tummy still not that big yet. Most people whom I met still can't tell that I'm expecting except those who are closer to me. I'm enjoying this fun and lovely 2nd trimester to the max!

Geez... I can feel it now

I've been wondering how does it feel like when the baby moves. According to the books and lots of experiences that I read from, it is always being described like gas, or like butterfly fluttering.

When I became aware of it, it started with a simple thought thinking that, "hmm... it can't be so much gas in the tummy now...". As the weeks went by, now that I'm at week 21st, I can differentiate between gas and baby turning. Aww... it's an awesome experience!

There were times when the baby turns like crazy (or somersault or kick, I don't know) and occasionally I feel like saying ouch. Normally it happens in the late afternoon and late evening. The baby tends to be quiet in the morning.

Hubby listened with unbelief and commented that, does the baby has any muscle to be able to kick at this stage? I read in my Pregnancy bible book that says, yes, the muscle system develops normally in the week of 20th! His jaw drops. On top of that, baby at this stage knows how to play with the umbilical cord, suck his thumbs and hold his fist. Amazing isn't it?

Baby Transport!

Last Saturday, we decided to visit Babypark, a one-stop baby products outlet in Gouda, 20m away from Den Haag by train, 5m by bus and then 10m on foot.

Hubby is getting on with his father instinct, and he has started researching baby gadgets, including pram and buggy. I started with some basic findings, passed the data to him, and he took it on from there. In Holland or particularly Europe, parents spent lots of money to invest in a good buggy. Most named brands like Bugaboo (Dutch), Mutsy (Dutch), Peg-Perego (Italy) originated from Europe. In KL, the most buggy that we see is McClaren type of strollers, light-weight, and usually parents only start using them from 6 months onwards when babies can start to sit up or wanting to crawl out from bassinet.

In Europe, this is totally different. Most type of baby transport systems start with a pram (comes with bassinet) and then it can be converted into a stroller, and depends on the brands, some systems also come with an infant car seat. If you purchase a system, the baby will live through it from birth till around 4 years of age.

We listed down a few systems that we like after checking them out on the internet, and we headed straight to their booths. We couldn't decide between Bugaboo Cameleon, Mutsy 4Rider and Stokke Xplory because they all looked so nice and cool and comfortable. So we decided to play around with the systems. One of our criteria in choosing the system is how easy it is to collapse it within the shortest time. This is because we use public transports often. And guess what, all three of them failed.

They are clumsy and not user friendly at all. Yes they have nice flashy, comfortable seater and useful features like bigger wheels with good suspension (good for all kinds of terrains and baby won't keep waking up during the journey), adjustable seat height (so that the baby seat can actually be at the same level as adults - good when you are dining with them, gone were the days where the baby just watch your feet when you eat in the restaurant), no brake bar at the back (so you won't keep kicking the bar when you push the stroller), big shopping bags, good materials to support the baby body and excellent ergonomics design for parents etc...

The process of collapsing these buggies is so cumbersome that it hurts the fingers and hands. If my hubby have to try a few times to get the collapsing mechanism kicks in, you can imagine how frustrating it is for me to try to make it works.

We literally spent the whole day in Gouda. Both of us were so tired, have backache and sore feet. After we went back to Den Haag, we decided to indulge ourselves for Korean BBQ, which I have been craving for awhile now. It was hard work, but it was fun! We enjoyed every bit of it!