Maternity Exchange and more

My body is literally a factory at the moment. It's using up all my energy stores to create and sustain life. I really want to rest, but due to some selfish parents, I can't. Shit happens every Thursday. at 11pm I'll receive a text to inform me that the kid has something on n that I have to reschedule! I m knackered! Don't these people have something called Shame or responsbility? An eg of the conversation:

ME: I'm having my antenatal course in Sept thus our lessons will be affected
XX: Ohhh..can u come more frequently during the Sept holidays then?
ME (In my reverie): WHICH word in my sentence doesn't she understand?!?

I'm allowed to get some well-deserved rest but the phobia of finances in the next few mths pushes me hard. I won't plonk my ass down for prolonged periods. Too much on my plate:

1. Collection of lil bub's mattress -- 27 Aug;
2. Delivery of playpen -- 10 Sept
3. Delivery of ink cartridges (due to the impending exams, the printing is going to get intense) -- 26 Aug
4. Setting up and launching of website -- pending
5. Buying items on Checklist version 1.1 -- pending
6. Washing of lil bub's clothes, hankies, blankets, toys, nappies -- pending
7. Decorating (or attempting to do whatever minimal decoration) of nursery -- pending
8. Finishing my Gina Ford & Glenn Doman -- Pending
9. 6 + 1 sessions of antenatal classes -- September
10. Cutting of my mane -- unknown
    

OMG! So many things are pending! n the list goes on. It's insane! As organised as I may seem, I think i've been running around like a headless chicken. Thank goodness for the advent of the Internet..so I'm able to order some stuff and follow up on things after work (which is an insane hour of 10pm on avg). I know i shouldn't rant...hopefully it doesn't cause my amniotic fluid to be acidic. I sit here typing with a little wriggle of joy in my belly. Comforting especially since the hub is still travelling extensively. My biological clock these days has been rather screwed. Not being able to sleep early is already a pain, but waking up way early is insane! Strangely, the back pain is minimised when I have the whole bed to myself! The only perk when the hub is away. The room feels colder when he's not around. Missing him lots perhaps due to the influx of raging hormones. Apart from the backpain, lil bub has been pretty active at night. Loving the flutters though it can get rather intense. The lil bub is also doing quite a fair bit of baby waves. I literally see the wriggle of joy doing the kallang wave! Really wonder what's going on in there. I've approximately 10 weeks more to countdown. Kindof scary since I don't have the full 24hrs to be productive. For now I can only pray that the hub will be around, as promised, when I'm nearly full term!

Meanwhile, a bit of photo update:

Am loving the idea of maternity exchange and am thankful for kind friends. Am also particularly lucky that there's a friend who just had twins and was able to hand-down heaps. Except that it's mostly in blues. But I'm not discriminating coz afterall, I'm more of a blue person than pink! The above and below are just some of the many things kind friends have passed down. From maternity wear (3 big bags!!); mittens (i must have a dozen); 2 sterilizers; a changing station; Bottle rack; milk bottles; clothes; toys; sarong; rocker and some other random items. To think that I was initially worried as most around me are not done with the reproduction process thus would not be too willing to pass on their bb's stuff.

Pump in style (Medela) on loan. Apparently, breastpumps are a trial and error affair! Some mummies I know have two! They don't come cheap in Singapore too. Thank goodness, I only have to buy the parts. In case you need them, you can get them conveniently on:
http://www.mumsfairy.com/ and http://littlethinkies.wordpress.com
That's why i'm thanking the invention of the Internet and entrepreneurship else I wouldn't have gotten so much done with my hectic schedule. With that said, i've yet to place order as it seems that there's a 10% discount at the hospital's retail pharmacy! Am going to check it out on my next visit. With the endless things of things to invest in, I can't help but transform myself into a thrifty buyer. It's quite an interesting journey and amazing to learn how much one can save if research is done. Am also thankful for the helpful mummies out there.

One of the items I got online to clean lil bub's toys. Apparently this brand is used by hospitals and kindergartens! $38.80 for 5 litre.

Even though the hubs has been soaring the skies (I'm not exaggerating here, he has received his gold status in less than a year!), he tries to do his part when he is in town. Was extremely touched when he got his hands dirty and almost broke his neck whilst separating those husks. The oldies believe that a husk bolster placed on his chest is able to calm the little one thus I shared this knowledge with my MIL who was surprised that I'm so old school. She suggested making it ourselves since she's a great seamstress and the husks are FREE! I love the word FREE but didn't expect the whole process to be so tough! But DIY is really rewarding. Hope lil bub likes her bolsters:

The finished products. I applaud the MIL on being so efficient. First were these bolsters (separated and sewn within 3 days!), then came the pillows and their cases. Now she's onto sewing the extra covers for the rocker and bedsheets!

Apart from the husk pillows, the hub was also quite intrigue with the breast pumps and steriliser. As there was some scum on the metal plate, he tried using vinegar to get rid of them but to no significant avail. Am thankful that he is handson when it comes to such appliances.

The mil's loot from Australia! Immense amount of PINKs....
Hand-me-downs from mummy E. Thank you!!

The hub's loots from Canada!Irresistibly cheap! I'm still waiting for my shipment from the States!



A simple yet heartwarming meal whipped up by the hubs (I only helped with marinating and instructing).

Ok, i'm feeling knackered from today's activity. Shall leave you with a video of how my sweetie is going to be a loving daddy:

Checking 1 2 3

I'm seriously all over the place when it comes to organisation. As much as I'd like, I don't seem to be as focused as before. Probably hormones influx or perhaps there's just too much on my plate. As mentioned before (or have I not?), this whole baby business is a real PHD. From the very beginning where one needs to find out which gynae has the best stitches, to finding the right breastpump and cot, every single thing is education! I kid you not! To call me kiasu is totally over-rated. I thought i was...researching every thing I could during my 2nd trimester when things are much more pleasurable, thinking that I had my timeline all under control...but boy was I wrong! Firstly I had problems switching to my preferred gynae after my detailed scan at wk22. After a long 1.5wk wait, the gynae FINALLY approved my transfer! it's either he's that busy (which he certainly is) or he is being cautious. Detailed research and thought has also been made towards his package which starts after wk20 and after much calculation, I thought this would be the best and most economic plan. WRONG AGAIN! Transfer mommies are not suppose to be on the package! Well donez! In other words, I have to pay-per-visit! First visit set me back by $319..a stark contrast from the $100 which I've been so used to paying! Not to mention, the no wait time! Seriously don't know why I'm putting myself through this. But I'm praying that it's for the better?

Then came the booking of a masseur for after birth. Once again, I have put aside my top 3 candidates and procrastinated till today (wk28), thinking that there's still time. But a fellow mummy shared that she booked hers (who happen to be in my top 3 list!) 6 mths prior to her EDD! PANIC button has been pushed and it propelled me into action. I called. disappointment overwhelmed me when all 3 candidates are fully booked for the month of November! talk about Kiasu Singaporeans! Sheez..n the hub still thinks I'm in the league. Thankfully, one of my top consideration recommended someone from her Kampong and I've booked myself a post-natal masseur at an attractive rate of $50 for 1hr 15mins. Not bad considering the lady will come to my residence. Am truly looking forward to it as I haven't had a proper massage since 7 mths ago! The hubs do try to ease my tension once in a while, but it's seriously not enough. Granted that he does a good job, but it's a mere 10 minutes or so. Barely enough to cure that backpain for me. Speaking of which, I've been waking up in pain every day. The common complaint is lower backache, but for me it's upper backpain! Been trying to pinpoint the problem, and tried several ways like sleeping in an upright position, propping the legs, all of which to no avail. :( I attribute it to my Serta mattress but i highly doubt it as the hub doesn't get such a problem. Now I have a phobia for sleeping. It also doesn't help that the mil doesnt allow me to go for pre-natal massages. *GROAN*

The list of things seem to be endless each day. with the masseur and gynae settled, next comes the buying of the essentials. Thankfully i have quite a bit of hand-me-downs from cousin-in-laws and friends. Heaps of maternity wears! Yeepee! no need to spend! Just last wk, to make full use of the National day Public holiday (which incidentally was a mere half day work for me), the hubs and I went round collecting those stuff. From Jurong to Pasir Ris, it's seriously tiring for both him and me. But it was all worth-it as the haul included: 2 breastpumps (a manual and electric); disposable breast pads, a changing station, some baby clothes, some toys, 2 sterilisers, one food warmer, a couple of brand new teats and bottles and one baby basket pending. Nice. As they say a penny saved is a penny earned.

I feel more comforted that things are beginning to take shape. The hubs and I finally succumbed and bought our lil bub a playpen cum cot today at the Taka Baby Fair. Yeah! After much comparison of brands and prices online, things didn't go the way I wanted (AGAIN). we wanted to get our hands on the Graco Pack 'N Play Playard/Playpen but seems like most sites online are OOS. Blessing in a way as we got a better deal with Evenflo! (retailing at $369, we got it at an attractive $199!) I can now probably try to figure out how to rearrange things for the nursery cum our study room once the cot is here in September. :)...This leaves all the expendables and breastpump parts which the hub will take charge. Hopefully it's not all lip service.

Presenting our Evenflo BabySuite Select Playard in Atom Grey

We didn't have much of a choice when it came to colours. It was Green/ Blue. I reckon green would be a more unisex colour. I love the way it is structured. Light but stable. And upon packing, it's very compact. Though it can only withstand a weight of approximately 13.5kg, I guess it's good enough as the kid would probably be around 2 yrs old. By then, the lil bub would perhaps not even want to be rolling in the cot. Next on the list: getting a well ventilated mattress. Yup, it didn't come with one. SIGH. more work.

Speaking of expendables, I wanted to try out cloth diapers for our lil bub. Found a great lobang via SMH portal and mentioned it casually to the MIL. I thought she was on the same wavelength as me when she supported the idea of cloth diapers and rattled on the benefits of it like it being eco-friendly and wallet friendly in the long run (though u'd have to wash) and the lil bub will be less prone to nappy rash. At the end of our little talk, I then realised what she meant was the ancient unfolded nappies which we used to use as a child! As opposed to what I wanted was the pre-folded kind. She insisted that mine is far too expensive and said Malaysia would have cheaper alternatives. Next thing I knew, she went Msia and got me 2 dozen of those unfolded ones! *FAINTZ*...when she presented it to me, she even happily announced that it came with instructions on how to fold! double faintz! With this, I'm plagued with the dilemma of whether to get those pre-folded ones. The cousin-in-law says she gave up after a while as she thought it's too hot for her baby. Some other mommies whom I've corresponded with have also procrastinated due to the intense amount of washing.

The above was what I wanted and am still keen on getting. Just look at the delicious colours! How can one resist?? Blame it on asthetics overpowering practicality and rationality.