Baby Luther is Born!!!

Baby's Room

Baby Luther's Room With Little Teddy

Tummy getting heavy

Yesterday is the first time I really felt heavy. I can't walk that fast anymore. I have to walk very very slowly cos the tummy is getting big & heavy. Some strangers actually came up to me and said that my tummy is getting low. Guess he's going to come out any time. Hey baby, stay in there till 30 Oct 08. Another 5 more days.... wow this is getting fast.

Photos of me at 38 weeks

He's going to pop next week... Ahhh....



Sleepy Baby...

Week 38

Weight at Week 38 - 57.7kgs.

So far I gained 8.1kgs,up from 49.6kgs. That's not too bad. But I'm like as heavy as my hubby now... Come to think of it, that's rather heavy. Heh...

Baby is 3.2kgs now. He grew 400g in just 1 week! Maybe it's because of all the bread I'm eating. Oops... too much carbs. He's going to come out next week on 30 Oct 08! Estimated date of delivery is actually 6 Nov 08. Due to fibroid growth in the cervix, I had to do a caesarean. Well, the doc says as long as the baby is healthy, it doesn't matter which way he comes out.

Time really flies... It was like yesterday that I just got pregnant. Now he's going to be out into this world! It's exciting to be able to see him at last, after 9 months. I'm also rather scared by the thought of it. Scared of how to best take care of him and take care of ourselves too. People always say that you will have no more time to yourself. I think we need a balance, orelse we'll drive ourselves crazy.

Photos of me at 35 weeks

How to know if Baby is Breastfeeding Well

When the baby is first born, his stomach is the size of a marble. He can only take about an ounce (5 to 10ml) of milk. So we have the colostrum waiting for him in the breast.

By Day 3, as the baby takes more & more of these small frequent feedings, his stomach can expand to abt the size of a shooter marble to hold more milk.

Baby's Age Ave ounces / feedings

3 days 1 oz. (30ml)

1 week 1.5oz. (45 ml)

2 weeks 2-2.5oz. (60-75ml)

1 month 3-4oz. (90-120ml)


Baby's Wet Diapers / Stools

Day 1 - 1 wet diaper / 1 stool (black)

Day 2 - 2 wet diapers / 2 stools (black)

Day 3 - 3 wet diapers / 3 stools (black or greenish)

Day 4 - 4 wet diapers / 3-4 stools (greenish or yellowish)

End of 1st week - 10 times more than Day 1

Baby's stools should change from black to greenish by day 3 or 4. If the stool is still black by day 4, we have to send the baby for a weight check. Stools should be abt 2.5cm. If there are smaller stools, don't count them. By day 5, stools should be yellowish. If baby's stools are following the schedule, great! That means breastfeeding is going well. =)

It's not very accurate to weigh babies ourselves to determine if breastfeeding is going well. Our bathroom scale is not really accurate.

If baby is breastfeeding well, she should have at least 8-12 feedings per 24 hrs.

Counting wet diapers is not recommended cos some diapers are ultra absorbent. So we can't really tell if the diaper is wet.

Antenatal Class - Lesson 5 Breastfeeding

To be successful at breastfeeding, we must be Persistent, Patient & Positive. I guess I have to just trust that I will be able to breastfeed well. Our body is designed to respond to our babies. When our babies cry, our milk may let down. But we still have to learn how to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding the Right-Brained Way

Think of it as a relationship, not as a skill.

1. Start with a calm, alert baby
It is the best frame of mind for the baby to learn and to feed.

2. Watch for early feeding cues
Cues include rooting (turning her head when sth touches her cheek) or hand-to-mouth. When she starts smacking her lips or putting her hands to her mouth. This is the time to try breastfeeding.

3. Use your body to calm your baby
Place your baby skin to skin vertically between your breasts to calm a crying baby.

4. Follow your baby's lead
When a calm, alert baby is held vertically between your breasts, the baby will show breast seeking behaviors. Help her into a horizontal position to find your breasts.

5. Play while breastfeeding
Let the baby latch on even if she's not hungry. She may just want to try out her new skill.

Antenatal Class - Lesson 4 Hands-on Baby Care

We really enjoyed ourselves in this lesson. The nurse taught us how to bathe the baby, how to hold, swaddle & how to wear his nappy.

How to bathe the baby:
- Fill 1/3 of the bath tub with cold water
- Pour hot water till 2/3 of the bath tub
- Test the water with your wrist to make sure it is warm
- Undress the baby, leaving the diapersand wrap the baby up with towel
- Hold baby in football hold and wash the hair
- After that, cradle the baby and slowly lower into bath tub
- With 2 fingers holding the shoulders, support baby's neck on your wrist
- Wash neck, armpits, legs & groin. Especially the creases.
- Turn the baby over to his back, supporting with other hand. Be careful not to tilt too far until the baby's face is in the water. (Someone actually did that to the doll... )

I found out something new about cloth diapers. If we use the diaper cover over the cloth diapers, we won't need to use the safety pin. I'm going to get more of these diaper covers, saves so much trouble trying to get the safety pin on.

Antenatal Class - Lesson 3 Labour

This is the scariest lesson we've been to. It shows women giving birth! It looks really painful and bloody... but when the baby is actually out, it seems that the pain was not so bad afterall.

There was one woman who seemed the most relaxed - the one that had a water birth. She wasn't screaming or moaning much. Just looked a little tense. She even cracked a joke about the float she's holding. Too bad Singapore doesn't have water birth. I wonder why. The books wrote that water birth helps to soften the vaginal and makes it less painful to give birth. Seems like it's the best birthing method.

Labour is probably the worst part of being pregnant but it's also the happiest for a woman cos after that we'll see our little baby... the little one that was inside us for 9 whole months.

Antenatal Class - Lesson 2 Pain Relief

This week we learnt about the different methods of pain relief.

• Entonox - Gas to make you feel high so it takes away a bit of the pain during contractions. I think this one is the best cos there're no side effects. But I wonder how effective it is when it gets really painful?
• Pethidine - Injection to lessen the pain. Makes the baby sleepy and you may feel sleepy & nauseous too. Hmmm.... not too good.
• Epidural - Injection into the epidural space of the spinal cord. Seems to be the best as it takes away 90% of the pain and doesn't affect the baby. But I heard from friends there are some side effects of epidural like backpain later on.
  
• Breathing exercises - It helps to relax and cope with the pain during labour.

I can't imagine what the pain is going to be like. Hmmm... it's best to not think about it and believe I'll be able to cope well and baby will come out fast.

Antenatal Class - Lesson 1 Physical & Mental Preparation

I just went for my first Antenatal Class yesterday. Dear wasn't with me cos he had to go KL this weekend to familiarize himself with the office. He has preview seminar there next Sat. Poor me felt so lonely there...

We learned some antenatal exercise - pelvic floor exercise, pelvic tilt, back, abdominal, chest, hands, leg raises, ankle rotation exercises to keep the blood circulating in the legs.

When we are pregnant, we only need an additional 200 calories per day. When we are breastfeeding,we'll need an additional 500 calories per day. The best thing is we can eat more & lose weight at the same time during breastfeeding. Isn't that cool?

Thanks Tifiny!

Thanks Tifiny! For all the advice & baby stuff you passed to me!

I only met her once at Kiddy Palace where I asked her for advice on what I should buy for baby. And I've been in contact with her ever since. She's really a kind lady.

Recently, I went over to her place to collect the baby stuff she's packed for me. She even gave me a small gift. I felt so taken care of. =) She has 2 lovely kids who are so polite and 1 cute little baby Jayden. They'll definitely grow up to be fine gentlemen & lady.

My Marble Cake

I've been baking marble cake for the fifth time now. & I still haven't got it right. This time it tasted more like a sponge cake, just that the chocolate portion still needs adjusting. The chocolate is too diluted. The recipe called for 1 tbsp chocolate powder & 3 tbsp hot water to make it into a choc paste first before mixing with the batter. I guess I'll do with less hot water next time.


Interestingly, I created something funny... an alien!!!


Looks like some **** Hehehee

Photos of me at 30 weeks

Cheeky cheeky...


My tummy looks like a ball! Pointed round ball. Weight now is 55.4kg. Oops, I'm getting heavier. Hmmm... I'll like to think it's all the baby's. ;)

Third Trimester (Week 28 - Week 40)

I've made it to the third trimester! This is Week 28! Wow this is fast... With just another 12 weeks or so before the little baby comes out. When I think about the delivery, I get kind of scared cos I read that it's going to be painful. I don't know just how painful that is going to be. So I'll rather believe it's going to be smooth & over in no time. Please... smooth & fast delivery all the way.

Everything is going well & smooth. The tummy looks so red. I guess lots of blood must be flowing around there. I've been religiously applying my Clarins body treatment oil to nourish my tummy so there won't be stretch marks. I heard this body oil is really effective.

Week 28 is where baby is shedding his lanugo & may be growing hair! His brain is growing bigger too. Isn't that amazing? He's going to put on more fats and getting ready for the outside world. Wow! He's kicking more now It's so funny to see the tummy bob up suddenly. But everything I wanted his Daddy to see him move, he'll keep so still that we'll just be staring at the tummy. Hmmm guess he's shy to let his Daddy see him move.

Photos of me at 25 weeks

I went to the Garden Exhibition with my cousin Avena & my mom at Suntec City. Really pretty flower themes. It'll be great to live amongst those lovely flowers...



Pretty me with pretty flowers... Hahaha

Music For Babies

I chanced upon this series of music by famous composer Raimond Lap, who is recognized as an international baby music expert. His music is really unique. He incorporates baby sounds in his music, which is what makes it unique.

Check out his music here
=> Lovely Baby Music

I found some of his music on YouTube too... Enjoy! =)

SLEEPY BABY, CLOSE YOUR EYES




THE FIRST CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR BABIES




BABY PRESIDENT

Winnie the Pooh Songs

I found some really cute Winnie the pooh songs to sing to Baby.

Winnie The Pooh Theme Song





New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh



Pooh Bear's Exercise Program

More photos of me at 20 Weeks

Loving pregnant shots! ;)



A really close up pic of my tummy. It looks really BIG!

Shopping for Baby Stuff at Kiddy Palace

I went shopping at Tampines Kiddy Palace. With some idea of what items to buy, I decided to get the Baby stuff before the sale ends at Kiddy Palace. When I saw the whole range of baby products, I got a little overwhelmed. There are so many things to buy, I wondered which ones are good.

I saw this lady, Tiffiny, also shopping for baby stuff. She seemed like a nice lady so I approached her & asked her advice. Turns out that she's a mother of 3. Wow, a very experienced mom. I felt so lucky to have met her. She recommended me brands which she feels are good for the baby. Thank you Tiffiny! You have been a great help!

Some stuff Tiffany recommends:


Recommended items from Pigeon & Nuk. Nuk bottles with the latex teat are best as it feels like the breast. Pigeon bottles to be used for giving water.



Mustela Baby bath & Cream to prevent diaper rash. Great for leaving baby smelling fresh & feeling smooth. Tiffany says her baby never had diaper rash as she uses this barrier cream!



Cute towels & blanket from Aussino Babies. The face cloth on the right is great for bathing babies cos it's so soft!

Second Trimester (Week 13 - Week 27)

Second Trimester - 3 May 08 - 22 Aug 08

I'm in my Second Trimester now. Sometimes, I forget which week I am in. It gets pretty confusing... maybe it's the pregnancy forgetfulness...

I stopped my Body combat & Body pump classes. It gets a little uncomfortable when I lie on my back or do twists & turns. So I'll just stick to walk/jog on the treadmill & using the machines to keep my muscles pumping.

The tummy is growing! It's not that big yet but it's interesting how I wake up sometimes to find my tummy bigger than yesterday.



Me at 20 Week!

Ultrasound Photos

Baby at 31 Weeks (The head... can't see much now)
Baby at 28 Weeks (That's the leg)
Baby at 25 Weeks
Baby at 16 Weeks
Baby at 13 Weeks
Baby at 10 weeks
Baby at 8 weeks
Baby at 6 weeks