Getting a maid

There were 2 things which we took the longest time to decide on - 1 is the little one's name, and 2nd is whether to get a maid. Well, the first issue as I have mentioned earlier, was partially resolved (now left with Chinese name). The second one was resolved last week as well.

The second decision was not an easy one too. I am quite against the idea of getting a maid, as I dont want to have a stranger staying in my house. You lose a lot of privacy, and there is added cost of paying her salary of $350, and her food and maintenance as well. Most importantly, I have heard so many stories about maids, none of which is pleasant.

However, after our discussions with our parents, it dawned on us that getting a maid is unavoidable as our mums are not able to help take care of the baby full time without a helper, after I go back to work. So the maid shall help out with the housework and help wash baby bottles and clothes etc. She will not, at least for the first year, be fully in charge of taking care of my baby.

After asking around and going to different maid agencies in Hougang Green Mall, we finally selected a Filipino maid to come in on 1 Sept, after my confinement. Well, at least this is one item down from our to do list..

Week 37+

By now, you must have realised that i have a new entry each time I visit the gynae. So this is no different. I have to see Dr Tan every week now. Today, I weigh 68.5kg and our little Kaelyn is at 3.2kg! At the rate she is growing, we estimate she will weigh about 3.7kg if borne near estimated due date. That's actually quite heavy! Hope she wont grow too big for a natural delivery....

The baby is not engaged yet and I show no signs of labour i.e. no contractions, no backache, cervix still not soft etc.. Looks like it's not going to be early, which is in a way good. There are still a couple of things we need to prepare for her arrival, like preparing her room. Have put up some disney posters and washed her clothes and bedsheets. I am thinking of buying a small drawer set to put all her clothes. Right now, they are in plastic bags, which is not an ideal storage place at all.

I had decided to stop working in office 2 weeks before my due date. Which means that yesterday was my last day in office. Going to work from home for 2 days next week, take annual leave of 3 days and start my maternity leave on 30 July 07.

If Kaelyn doesnt come out early, I would still have close to 2 weeks to exercise, make preparations and relax.....

Here's how I look now..

Week 36+

Went to Dr Tan again on Friday (13 July). Weighed in at 67.9kg compared to my 66.6kg 2 weeks ago. I thought Dr Tan would surely comment on it but surprisingly she didnt! That's usually the first thing that she would comment each time we see her. Did Group B strep test today and results would be out following week. Think it's some type of test to see if my birth canal was infected. Dr Tan also told me to make sure the baby moves at least 10 times a day, and to do some breast preparation exercises. Also will have to see her once a week from now on. It means I am getting really very close to delivery!! Quite scared.... Oh, forgot to mention that our Kaelyn is growing v well. She's estimated to be 2.95kg! No wonder I am finding it more and more difficult to sleep and move around...

Talk about sleeping - really find it difficult now. I will wake up at least once every night to go to the toilet and a few times just to adjust my sleeping position. Think it's because the recommended sleeping position is to sleep on my left side, I will wake up if I were to turn to my back or right side, and also when I turn back to my left again. So all in all, I will wake up about 4 - 5times a night.... guess I will just have to endure this for another 3 more weeks.

Names...

David and I have been cracking our brains, searching through internet and poring over dictionaries to come up with a name for our angel. Actually 2 names - 1 in English and 1 in Chinese. WE started off with the Chinese name - I practically flipped from the first to last page of the Chinese dict "Ci Hai" to get some inspiration of words I can use and their meanings. This proved to be very tedious and difficult. I didnt like any of those which I thought up of...

We then moved on to the English name, thinking it would be a breeze. But how wrong I was! Looked through 1800 names from web pages and only shortlisted a few. Amongst them were Kaelyn, Tricia, Deanna, Rina... The one I liked best was Kaelyn. Took me a while to convince David that it's really a nice name. Got some comments from colleagues and friends that they like it too! But my sis and Kae Shin it sounded more like a chinese name. But who cares, as long as it sounds nice.

So finally after months, we finally decided our little angel shall be named - KAELYN!!

Now, we have the Chinese name to tackle.... Any ideas??

Our angel at 34+ weeks

We are getting really excited as the weeks go by. I am now nearing 35 weeks, which means only 5 more weeks to go before by due date! Sometimes when I think about it, I get quite nervous. Will the contraction pain be unbearable? Will she come out earlier than expected? Will I deliver in office or on the roads? But I guess all expectant mothers will have these thoughts at one time or another...

Went to the gynae today and weighed in at 66.6kg, a 0.7 kg increase from 2 weeks ago. And the good thing is that most of that - about 0.52kgs went to our angel. Her estimated weight is 2.5kg already! So happy. The scan shows her to be at the right position - her head is down near my pelvic and legs are up at my stomach. I knew she had shifted position over the past 2 weeks. The places where she jabbed me at have changed, that's how I knew. Good to know that she has changed to the right position!

Also celebrated my last birthday before the baby arrives. When I look at the photos, I realise I have become really fat and ugly! Hopefully I will be able to slim down fast after delivery.

Our angel at 32+ weeks

Went to the gynae today and again, the first comment she made was about my weight. Am 65.9kg now, which is a 0.9kg increase in 2 weeks. Dr Tan said to keep it up (or rather down), said it is well controlled this time. Phew! Baby is growing bigger and stronger by the day. She's weighing in 1.98kg today! that's a 0.58kg increase from the 1.4kg 2 weeks ago! i am amazed at how quickly she grows!

Counting down to the arrival of our angel

I am into Week 31 of my pregnancy and have been reading countless of postings of my friends' kids from their blogs. Since we are awaiting the arrival of our little angel, hubby David and I thought of also creating a blog to log down the birth, growth and happenings of our new member, and of course the events leading up to her arrival as well.

When I first confirmed my pregnancy on 1 December 2006 (at that time I was about 4 weeks pregnant), I was really very excited that I was going to be a mum. Went ahead to make an appointment with my gynae, Dr WK Tan in TMC but the sisters there said to only go in when I am about 7 weeks. For the 3 weeks that followed, I continued with my gym sessions, although I was careful not to go for the high impact exercises - only slow jog and some weight lifting.

When I get to see Dr Tan at 7 weeks, she advised against running / jogging. Said to go for brisk walks instead. Also we were not allowed to travel overseas in the first trimester. It then started to dawn on me that my lifestyle was going to change from this day on. You see, I signed up for gym membership not too long ago and was starting to hit it 2- 3 times a week. David and I love roller blading and playing badminton which we will try to engage every week in either. Also we had booked a holiday to Yunnan departing just a few weeks after and were looking forward to it. The fact that I can no longer go for my favourite sports and the trip really made me quite upset.

However, after thinking about it, the sacrifices above are really small compared to the joys our kid will bring to us when she arrives (yes, it's a princess) =)

So far, my pregnancy has been quite smooth sailing, I would say. Minimal nauseousness in the first trimester. The only discomforts were indigestion and fatigueness which werent that bad.

In my second trimester, the indigestion and fatigueness disappeared overnight and I even went on an overseas business trip to HK and Tokyo. David joined me in Tokyo and we toured round Tokyo for a week. There were lots of walking and climbing. I got very bad edema of the feet from this trip. Despite that, I was very glad we were able to go for perhaps our last overseas trip together before our little gal arrives.

Now into my third trimester and still feeling good. Occasional indigestion, constipation, edema and backache set in but on the whole I'm still feeling fine just a little clumsy and absent minded at times. Eating lots of fruits really help with the constipation and David dutifully massages my feet every night to ease the swelling. Sometimes he will help massage my back as well when the aches suddenly appear out of the blue.

Baby in my tummy is now 1.5kg and I have already gained close to 11kgs! Dr Tan said that I have put on more than I should and should exercise more. I am trying to, but I am quite puzzled at why I have gained more weight than expected. I eat about the same portion as I had pre-pregnancy. But nonetheless, I will just try to walk around a bit more to keep the weight gain under control...

Baby detailed scan at 20 weeks. This is only 1 of the pictures, and the only one that I can make out what it shows..