My First Post in April!

As you can see I have not been writing much... much to my ardent reader's satisfaction (sorry!) or rather to appease their curiosity as to what is the latest happenings around my not-so-action-packed-kinda life. Well, I have been travelling lately and recently just got back from Abu Dhabi of UAE. I am blessed. But beyond the travel-packed schedule, I am constantly missing my loved ones at home whenever I am far away from them and of course not to mention the lethargicness as we need to head back to the office the very next day after we are back from wherever we are. No excuses!

Hayden is now 6 months of age. Would you believe it....in another 6 months time, he will be 1 YEAR OLD! I am already planning for his big birthday bash, scouting for caterers out there that has good food with good prices, tents, decorations, portable air-conds...hmm what else? Well, the idea will come natually when the time gets nearer. Coincidently, Hayden's birthday falls on the same day as my company's anniversary date. The company will be hosting its anniversary dinner on that day and for sure, like it or not, Hayden will be following his mummy on this special day too! Can I buy him a birthday cake and everyone sings him his first actual birthday song as well? That would be most memorable for a sentimental mother like me.

How has your child been at 6 months? Majority I read, they are able to roll over. Hayden? Sadly, he doesn't know how to yet. However, he skipped a level by being able to sit up on his own for few seconds! His dr said, there isn't anything to worry about, especially since he is able to lift up his head when on his tummy and the fact that he is able to sit up, he will be all right! So, I hope at his own pace, he will be able to roll over. I am now teaching him and training him to do so (you can call it exercising his limbs) and hopefully he will be able to do this on his own soon.

Loving him to bits. My hubby thanked me for giving him this beautiful child. I praised God and thank my hubby back for the good genes he has produced! We still have a long journey to go in this life and we will walk the path together hand-in-hand till the day we leave this world behind for the new generation.

Yours truly

My Twinkle Little Hayden at 5 Months Old!

Hayden is 5 months old today. How time really flies! Before you know it, we will all be old hags whilst our child (+ren) grow up and taking over our place as the "kids" in our parents' eyes. I thank God for blessing us with Hayden and like a broken record, I am going to say it again: I absolutely love being a mother!

Hayden, at 5 months now, is such a doll! He is able to respond to us whenever we call his name. He smiles alot when we talk to him (he probably thinks we look funny when our mouth move). He squeeks, coo and laugh when we make funny noises too!

At this point, I am waiting to see when he would be able to roll over. He already started to twist his body sideway at 4 months but thats it. His neck muscles are visbly stronger too when he tried to lift his head up when he wakes up!

His sleeping pattern? Well, when he was younger (3 months back that is), he established a sleeping pattern where he would wake up twice in the middle of the night. Once at 2am. Another at 5am. I am quite used to get up and feed him despite being in a sleepy state. The books I read and other experience mothers told me: "When he gets older, he would not wake up middle of the night anymore..." "He would sleep longer if you turn off the light so he knows its night time..." "Let him cry till he falls asleep again..." "Let him drink more than the usual amount before his bedtime". So guess what? I've tried every method and right now at 5 months he is still the SAME. His sleeping pattern did not change. His last feed would be at 7.45pm before bedtime. I know some of you probably would advise me to feed him last around 10pm so he would sleep longer. I've tried that method too. Doesn't work. He has subconciously set his own alarm clock ...

Little baby Hayden is a joy to my life. I love him to bits! Hubby and I would definitely want a second child in later year(s). Be it Hayden's lil' brother or lil'sister, doesnt matter. So long he/ she is healthy. Agree? But of course I am openly hoping that my second child would be a girl!

Like they say, picture paints a thousand words. But video paints a billion. So here's a treat for you - a video of Hayden today.

  

Motherhood

Many of you have been wondering how's life for me being a mother. All I can say is, it can never be better =) Despite the lack of sleep everything is really good! How good? Well let's see:-

1) I'm under confinement for 30 days. - this means I get to watch all the tv shows on Astro. I can now tell you what show is at what time and what channel! In short I have a new profession -a tv guide.

2) I am on maternity leave till 31st Dec. - this means I get 2months of paid leave without working!

3) I breastfeed my baby - I am a target of envies as I get even bigger breasts than before.

4) I bathe everyday but I only get to wash my hair once a week - I get natural hair gel by the end of the week.

5) I eat so much ginger & I drink a glass of Dom everyday - my body is full of heat which I think I could turn into a dragon anytime now.

My little darling sleeps, drink & poo all the time. He is so cute that you just can't take your eyes away from him. He has a sleeping pattern - he wakes up sharp at every 2 hours interval (day till night) and he will be wide awake & start exercising his limbs (kick boxing style) from 4am till 6am! After feeding him at 6am he will continue his sleeping pattern of the 2 hours interval again...

Torturing you might think for me but as a mother you would just do anything for your child. I'm loving every minute of his baby-ish "cuteness" now as I will never be able to experience it again when he grows up...until of course I get my second child! When?? Well that you just gotta wait my friend!

7days old Baby Hayden

Today marks the 7th day since our little prince was born. Everyday has been fantastic for us -
we get to see him sleep soundly, see him smile as if little angels are talking to him in his dream, frown when he poo poo, mouth open wide searching frantically for the tip that stores his mother's milk, cry when he's too hungry or just want a cuddle.

Tim adores his son and he would cradle him and comfort him (apparently babies love it when we caress & tap lightly on their back). What tickle me most was that last night Tim had a 'man-to-man' talk with his son on the bed. I didn't really hear what their conversation was, but I heard something about girls and women! And Hayden just continued to
stare at his daddy cluelessly...hmm... (I rolled my eyes at Tim).

We took our little prince for his 1st weekly check up and a blood test was done. The lab doctor pricked the sole of his foot to get some blood out. Baby Hayden cried only for about 20seconds or so during the whole process! Such a brave little kid! (there was this other baby
before him who cried the whole time right till they were out of the clinic!) I smiled as I did that little comparison in my head. Guess it's a mother's nature to want to compare and
feel proud of her child eh? :D

Tim & I continue to have this invisible love bonding for this child. Sometimes I secretly wish our baby remains a baby. Its really nice to cradle him in my arms and caress his angelic face! Being a mother is a wonderful feeling (despite having to wake up during wee hours in the morning to feed the little munchkin). I've learnt to change his diapers, next I will have to learn how to bath him! Seeing how the nanny does it, it really does require a bit of skill I tell ya!

Till my next post...

Baby Hayden

My baby, our prince, our little darling has finally arrived!

20102010 what a date! God has certainly blessed us with this new born child. It was an amazing & unforgettable experience for Tim & I - Tim got to watch the birth of his son right before his eyes, whilst I got the first hand experience of going through labour pain before going under the knife:-

1pm - contraction was getting a little more intense. My doc came to check on my cervix. I was traumatized again as she inserted her fingers (& forcefully try to check the opening of my cervix). I was in total agony as I grabbed the nurse and yelled in pain. I was told that my cervix was still at 1cm and it was not a good sign basing on my contraction intensity and the bloody discharge. I was given 2 options then. To wait for few more hours & see if my cervix is properly dilated or not (for natural birth my cervix will have to be 10cm wide) or to go for the C section... I chose the 1st option.

2pm- the contraction pain got stronger at every 3 minutes. I was in agony. I couldnt sit up or walk to the toilet anymore. It was horrible. The pain was absolutely horrible! The nurses came and my doc was informed of my condition. Looking at the intensity of my contraction and my cervix dilation, it left us with only 1 option...

2.30pm- I was wheeled in to the labour suite... I was scheduled for a C section at 4.30pm. At that moment I wished I could turn the earth (like how superman did) to speed up the time as my contraction was getting unbearable.

4pm - I was taken to the operating theatre. Tim followed in. I was given epidural by a very cheerful & friendly anesthetist Dr Jamsari. My doc held my hand the whole time calming me down whenever the wave of contraction pain floods in. Was the epidural injection painful? Well, to me it was the best feeling ever! The contraction pain was so overwhelming that other pain felt like ant bites to me. As soon as the epidural was injected behind my back, the pain vanished. I became slightly 'high' (like drunk high) and my lower limbs turned jelly. Time to cut me open now!

4.30pm - Tim came into the OT dressed in a surgeon gown with a surgical mask on (I thought he
was one of the surgeon until he came to me and said "hi babyyy!". I smiled.

4.45pm - the sound of a baby crying filled the room... "CONGRATULATIONS!! you got one healthy
little baby boy!" my doc told us. I looked at Tim and he couldn't stop smiling... (he recorded the whole process on our camera).

When they brought the baby to me I was speechless. I kept kissing his face and just wanted to hold him tight next to me. What a beautiful sight! It is certainly the best day of my life.

Tim, our little prince and myself took our 1st family group photo whilst I was being stitched on...what an incredible experience!

Hayden Dominic Ng. You are truly a blessing and our gift from God. Mummy & daddy loves you very very much!

Final Trimester

2 nights back I had a wonderful sleep. I gloated about it. I was delighted...because it doesn't come that often these days. As I'm now entering my final trimester, I constantly wonder what are the new symptoms that I would be facing. A good note of advice to all my pregger frens who have yet to reach the stage of where I am currently at, do lots of research/ read up on pregnancy and what to expect on your weekly progress. My favourite site is  www.babycenter.com as I get to subscribe to its newsletter and constant updates on my pregnancy details (a general idea of how my baby developes) would be sent over via email to me every week. Its good to know what to expect!

This week as I enter my final trimester, occasional heartburn and haemorrhoids take center stage now and indeed I am suffering from the slight discomfort (pain at times) at my buttock! Apparently my growing uterus contributed to the haemorrhoid and that these swollen blood vessels in the rectal area are common during pregnancy. I am no stranger to this "rectal nut" as back in 2007 I was wheeled into the surgery room to have it removed. Now that its back, I wonder will I need to remove it again and will it ever give me problems when its time for me to give a hard "push" on 31st October??!

I pray for a normal and safe delivery.... pray for me too my dear frens. As the little munchkin is getting more and more active inside me, it gives me the reality goosebumps that I am going to be a mom soon!

World Cup Fever + Preggers Syndrome + Papa's Birthday!

I am in a real sleepy mode. And I mean EXTREMELY SLEEPY MODE....zzzZzzzz....

If there is a bed next to me, I would have jumped in, close my eyes and dream away. All this is caused by the World Cup fever where England (moi team) played against Slovenia last night and I was happily celebrating their 1-0 win against the latter. Now that they are through to the next round facing Germany, I wonder what will happen next to this team. So far they have been playing terribly, Wayne Rooney not at his best and John Terry acted as if he knows how to manage his team better than his manager (he can't even manage his domestic life, let alone a whole football squad!).

Oh well, enough of WC. My new crib is amost 90% ready and it is time to get the furnitures in. We have exactly 1 month from now before the scheduled moving-in date (yes... we are moving in on July 24th!). Not just the furnitures, we haven't even purchase anything for the baby yet, although Tim and I are kinda excited with the prospect of welcoming our first child together in 4 months time!

Despite my baby bump showing quite visibly now, I have a bloated face too. And my feet...gosh I have to wear 1 size bigger as my sandals are getting tighter as the day goes by. Water retention or is it just pure fat??!! Thank goodness my arms and legs are still quite on the norm side. Mark my words: I am definitely heading straight to the slimming centre right after confinement!

Here's a chronology of my preggers symptom:-

Month 1 - 3 : Vomitting, Nausea, absolutely terrible
Month 4: Hunger
Month 5: Backache, lethargic, old-woman syndrome (the difficulty of getting up once you lie down on the bed), baby kicks

I am in my 21 weeks now. I wonder how Month 6 is like? Let's wait and see....

Oh did I mention my father celebrated his 60th birthday last Saturday? We had an awesome party (not for me that is.. I meant for the oldies haha as we set up a karaoke machine and the old folks partied away at our garden and later on we set up an old style outdoor Cinema atmosphere at our garden where we played Comedy Court on the tv where they laughed till the clock striked midnight!). What a cool way to end my father's birthday in 2010.

Happy Birthday Papa and many more years to come!

Impending Motherhood

My mood for blogging is back... I do apologize for the long absence in the web arena (except of course I am still active in FB)   =)

I guess by now, everyone that knows me or knows Tim, or knows my family, or my in-laws, already heard the news that I'm carrying the heir or the heiress of the NG family of Brunei. It's coming to the fourth month now and impending motherhood is kicking in slowly but surely.

How different do I feel, you asked? Well, let me disclose my experience of what I have / had gone through for the 1st 3 months (note: every symptoms differ from each individual. From the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the easiest, suffer-free symptom, mine probably ranked no.3!) :-

1st Month - 4th week
I did my own home PT just for the fun of it when I realized my monthly strawberry jam cycle was delayed. Sit on the wc, peed in a paper cup, dipped the test strip....waited....and then.... 1st line appeared...then a faded 2nd line appeared visibly in slow motion. I openned my eyes wider then squinted it smaller and looked at it again (OMG!) Showed Tim the test strip and he couldn't stop smiling when I told him what it could mean. It was a picture perfect moment! Too bad I didnt snap a photo of his face then!

5th March, we went to the clinic and did another urine test, this time, the Dr confirmed the result and congratulated us (double OMG!). But we decided not to let anyone know yet as it was still at an early stage. Of course both our parents were the first to know about the result!

2nd Month - 6th week
The sickness began. Note, I do not have morning sickness. Instead, I had MORNING, AFTERNOON and NIGHT sickness. It was H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E! Whatever I ate, I'd throw up 5 minutes after I finished a meal. And then I'd get hungry again. So I had to eat AGAIN. Then I threw up AGAINN! This process repeated for at least 5 times a day. Sometimes it gets so bad that the nauseatic feeling would wake me up middle of night and I had to run to the toilet!

This went on every single day until I reached week 12th (3rd Month).

3rd Month - 12th week
Visited my gynae (Dr Yap, one of the founder of Fetal Medicine & Gynaecologist Centre and an obstetrician in Pantai Bangsar) and had my second scan with Tim by my side. He wasn't with me when I did my first scan with Dr Yap. So during this 2nd scan, Tim was so excited to see his little baby for the first time, lying on his/her back with his/her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands and legs properly formed in my womb. I became an instant celebrity amongst his peers and his staff as he cheeringly broadcasted to everyone he knows about his pregger wife and showed them the picture of his baby (in the womb).

Next week 18th May, I will have to go for my next scan and it will be exactly week no.16 then. 5 more months to go and a halloween baby will be born (that is if the baby comes out exactly on the date due).

What a complete change of events. I remembered this time last year, I was busy preparing for the wedding, selection of wedding gowns, photographers...etc. This time, it is the selection of maids, confinement ladies, baby cot and pram!

Busy year for the Wong and the Ng family that's for sure!