Figuring Bubbles out

Before Bubbles' arrival, I bought a pretty notebook to write down her daily activities. I thought it would be a great souvenir for her when she grows up.

Little did I realise just how messy it was going to get. With 2-3 hr cycles of feeding and changing of diapers, and half awake fumblings in the dark, we now have a mess of scribbles.

Time. Left (or Right) boob. What's in the Diaper. etc

Flowers for the new Mummy

The new Daddy in the family came home with flowers for me :)

View from our bed

Bubbles' nursery has not yet been set up, as her Grandma is here to stay with us, in her room, to help take care of me during this confinement period.

This is the view we have of her from our bed. It is a nice feeling to see her little face peeking through the rails.

A Quick Note

Our decision about featuring Bubbles on this blog:

We have decided to keep this blog the way it is - with heartfelt, personal sharing, but anonymous in terms of using actual names and facial photos.

This will also apply to the new addition to our family - our dear Bubbles.

She's still a wee little babe now, so I can get away with posting some photos of her, but that will end once she is a little older.

I'm always contactable via the email address on the sidebar :)

The Daddy

Little Bubbles is blessed with a wonderful Daddy.

He changes her diapers, bathes, bottle-feeds, plays with and sings to her.

I love this man I married, and watching Bubbles with him makes me love him even more :)

Jaundice

When Bubbles was born, she was given a clean bill of health, with no traces of jaundice - common in Asian babies. She also has a natural reddish complexion (Daddy's genes), so the yellowish of jaundice is less obvious.

At her PD check when she was 4 days old, she had her heel pricked for testing. I was devastated that the reading showed that her jaundice levels were high enough for her to be warded. My tears just flowed at the clinic, and continued to flow as we did the necessary to admit her back to the hospital, and flowed still when I went home to pack stuff to take to the hospital. I felt so sorry for my baby, and blamed myself for not producing enough breast milk to help wash the bilirubin out of her system.

I decided to stay in the ward as a lodger so that I could continue to see her for a few times in the day, and to breastfeed her. The PD however prescribed formula feeds as a top-up, and this was offered to Bubbles after each breastfeeding session.

I am so thankful that she did not reject latching on after being bottle-fed, which was one of the things I was concerned about.

This is my poor baby looking a bit stunned after her 1st phototherapy session. She was asleep when we warded her, so it must have been shocking for her to suddenly find herself in a different and probably uncomfortable environment.

She's better now and more smiley. Jaundice is not completely gone yet, but she should get better everyday.

The Birth Story

So this is what happened on the day Bubbles arrived.

I had a good swim the evening before and was sleeping soundly when I was woken up by a strong contraction. I jerked awake. Thinking it was time for my usual nighttime visits to the loo, I went to pee in the dark (I was so used to doing it at night that it didn't matter). Didn't think very much of it.

Contractions started becoming stronger, and because Roboman had some important meetings to attend to the next day, I told him to go back to sleep and not worry about me. I then prayed for God to show me a sign that this was IT, so that I needn't disturb Roboman.

The next time I went to the loo, I somehow decided to turn on the light, and thank God for that because I hadn't realised that I was bleeding quite a lot! That being a clear sign, we packed up and Roboman drove me to the hospital at about 4.30am.

I was only 1cm dilated, but having regular contractions. The photo here shows the machine that measures the baby's heartbeat and the strength of the contractions. Unfortunately by 9am, I was STILL only 1+cm dilated, so the gynae told me to have some toast and milo, and to walk around a bit and decide if I want epidural. Her assessment was that mine was going to be a long labour.

Soon after, my contractions started peaking. The highest reading on the machine is 127, and I was hitting it more regularly and for longer periods. It was really unbearable, considering I knew I had to endure it for a number of hours. Each contraction made me groan in pain and grasp the sides of the bed or Roboman's hands. Epidural was asked for and delivered, to much relief.

Then I prayed that I would dilate quickly - for the last thing I wanted was to have epidural and still not dilate. Thankfully, things happened very quickly from then on. The gynae and nurses expected me to deliver only in the evening, but Bubbles popped out at 3.05pm. The pushing was also very quick. I think we did about 4-6 contractions worth of pushes and she was out, her curious eyes looking everywhere.

The next thing they did after a clean up was to put her on my breasts. And I will never forget that feeling. She took to suckling so naturally, and while she did so, her eyes looked right into mine, full of wonder and trust. I still think back to those first few moments with her, and will treasure them always.

Arrival of Bubbles!

Our little Bubbles arrived bright-eyed and curious on 15 Sept 09 at 3.05pm.

She was 3.2kg.

We are so thankful for this little bundle God has gifted and are excited to be new parents. But as all with children know, it is not easy transiting into parenthood. But I'm thankful that we have been managing so far.

Bubbles had to be warded for jaundice on her 4th day, and I lodged in so that I could breastfeed her.

I'm sleep-deprived now and physically exhausted. But just looking at her and realising she is mine fills me with overwhelming motherly-ness. She has the most interesting expressions and is such a sweetie (biasness allowed as I am her mummy!) I love her. Thank you God!

I'm sneaking in this post in between her feeds. More updates to come for all interested in motherhood beginnings :)
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Read all about my Pregnancy Journey, and the Birth Story!

False Alarm

Procrastinators tend to do things at the last minute, but somehow manage to get things done.

Last night at dinner, I experienced my strongest contractions yet. My whole tummy tightened up really hard, and I started having this stretchy, achey feeling all around it - from the top of my tummy to my abdomen. Roboman touched my tummy and was taken aback by how hard it was. I had to sit straight up and focus on my breathing for a while. I thought it would go away quickly, but this time it didn't, so I just had to sit there. A wave of nausea swept over me.

Roboman immediately got up from his seat, and starting buzzing around the house finalising the packing of what to take to the hospital.

When I could, I also started really properly packing my hospital bag, stopping when the contractions hit. I was worried that it was TIME, and we weren't ready to go! Even our helper got concerned because she could tell I was having discomfort, and reminded me to drink chicken essence before I leave for hospital (as instructed by my mum!).

I didn't time my contractions, but it came on and off for more than an hour. While Roboman rushed downstairs to set up the baby carseat (which we realised later that it wasn't THAT much of a priority), I decided to take a shower so that I would be fresh for labour.

Funnily, the contractions died down after the shower. I plonked a clock in front of me, expectant that the contractions would come back. But when they did, it was more like stabbing, shooting little pains all over my tummy. But definitely not as bad as the contractions before, and definitely not regular.

So with that, I wriggled around and finally fell asleep.

Not Engaged

Bubbles, that is.

I'm one week to EDD and my gynae says Bubbles is still not engaged (meaning her head is not down my pelvic cavity).

I've also not put on weight the past 2-3 weeks (although my tummy DEFINITELY looks bigger and "sharper"), so she strapped me down today to check Bubbles' heart rate and signs of contractions.

Roboman was with me, and saw that Bubbles' heart rate went up and down - anything from 130 to 170 per minute in the 20 minutes the test took. I was worried while lying there because I thought that was some abnormality. Thankfully, my gynae said the test results are good - Bubbles is going strong, and ONE contraction was detected.

I've swum 3 times so far this week, and my gynae encouraged me to continue to swim. Helps with the backaches I'm getting now, and also breathing during labour, she says.

So it is back to the waiting game. As long as Bubbles comes out healthy and strong, I'm happy to wait!

Lady-in-Waiting

Roboman spent the day with me yesterday.

We slept in and had brekkie at home before he took his heavy-bellied wife to ION for a look-see. He decided we should go on a weekday morning to avoid the crowds. It was a great idea as the place felt emptyish and big. I like the "open" feeling.

I'm not sure if Bubbles has gone further down my pelvic region, but after walking for a bit, I started getting these nerve cramps on my butt =P So we were like a boring old couple - we simply had lunch, popped into New Look, Uniqlo, and Li Ning (this Chinese brand that just hit our shores - their badminton racquets retail at S$400+!!) then back to Wheelock Place's M&S to pick up some undergarments and socks before heading home.

And to add to our boringness, we napped the entire afternoon away! I still can't believe my propensity for napping these days - but I treasure the rest time now :)

After the snooze, we taught J how to use the vacuum cleaner for the first time in her life. I was quite funny seeing how excited she was. She thought it was really fun and was thrilled to use it. So, seeing how she enjoyed it, I changed her schedule today so she can vacuum our apartment. She was so excited about it! haha.

I can't wait for signs of labour to start happening! Have been re-reading books on stages of labour and babycare. Bubbles, mummy's looking forward to seeing you!

Time Fillers

Today is my first full weekday at home while on maternity leave. And I'm actually feeling kind of bored!

Didn't think I would, but I have to admit that I am.

There are things to do of course, like sorting out my many digital photos, planning for Bubbles' 1st month celebration, preparing Christmas pressies etc. All the things I think about doing when I was still working, but didn't have the time to. Now, when I actually have the time, I just don't really feel like doing them somehow. Me bad!

So I feel like a bit of a slob surfing the net and TV channels. Thankfully, a girlfriend popped by for lunch + ice-cream today, and mum came over for a chit chat, bringing along yummy tau huay and ingredients for winter melon soup.

I might pop down for a swim later when Roboman is back. A swim on Saturday did magic for the growing pain on my left butt due to Bubbles' growing weight.

Doc hopes I go into labour this week actually - and I am waiting in anticipation for signs :)

A lovely basket of toys and books I received for Bubbles - from my wonderful teammates (I have an amazing workplace!):

Off for 4 months!

It feels really surreal that I am now off from work for 4 months! After about 8 years of working, I have never had such a long break from work before.

I only have one more document to vet before I officially close the chapter on work.

Sitting at home today though, although it is only about 11am now, has been rather stressful.

Our helper has been showing some bad attitude and lazyness. A huge disappointment for us especially since we have been really understanding and giving her time to ease in. We've had our part-time help come in for 3 weeks so that she can learn from them and so she doesn't feel the strain. Mum has been coming by everyday to help and teach her with cooking. Still, she gives excuses for things not done, and has outrightly lied on certain issues.

The latest example was from yesterday. She was supposed to wipe all the surfaces in our apartment, but she left out one room. When asked why, she said it was because my mother came and disrupted her schedule. My mum came only at 4pm. She was supposed to wipe at 11am! On top of that, the chore before the wiping was supposed to be doing the laundry - of which she didn't have to do because I said there weren't enough clothes to fill one load in the machine. She also only had to prepare lunch for herself as we weren't home. Pray tell, how long does it take to wipe down surfaces in a small apartment?!

And of course the incident that takes the cake: She claimed once that she didn't do ironing because there weren't any clothes to iron. Our unironed clothes are hung on an open rack for easy access. There were clearly 5 items of clothing, including one of Roboman's work shirts (obviously crumpled). So I don't know what she means by "didn't see".

Sighs. I really hate scolding people, it takes way too much energy.

Just a while ago I got mad because she lied that she knew how to clean our bathrooms. Since I am home today, I asked her to show me. She didn't seem to know how to do what she herself described as what she always did! I suddenly got a spurt of Braxton-Hicks contractions while getting mad, so I decided that there was no point getting myself too angry, and hence am sitting outside while she's probably attempting to clean our guest bathroom.

Sighs. Roboman and I just feel that having live-in help is really not our thing :(