Baby stuff inventory

This is just gonna be a practical post where it will be serving as a checklist of baby essentials for me & KL. Time to check and get ready to spend some cash!!!

Baby bedding

- Crib/Cot : preferably a wooden crib for its sturdiness and easier to match any other furniture in our new place. CONS: Space consuming, hardly mobile so only location for it will be the baby's bedroom.

- Playpen : An alternative to the crib/cot, but is flimsy and can get damaged easily. Mobile and can keep easily. The previous one for Rianne in pink 'could' (haven't check) still be in good condition, but doubting it as it has been 7 years since. 

- Pillows/blankets/support around the sides of the baby's bed (be it crib or playpen) : We kept many pillows, bolsters and even a homemade beanie pillow from my past pregnancy. Some were probably used very minimally as Rianne didn't sleep in the playpen for very long, she loves snuggling in my bed with me! Expecting some blankets/wraps as baby gifts when I deliver.

Mattress : The one used by Rianne should still be around. Of course judgement is very much paramount to determine whether the mattress is fit for use after 7 years. 

Musical mobiles : These are the musical toy that you attach onto the baby's bed. Apart from the music, they are usually twirling/spinning as well which I believe is to stimulate the infant's responses to moving objects. Not sure how this will help induce sleep, that's why the one Rianne had was not a spinning one.

Mosquito net : Applicable and available still at this age and time??!! I say, definitely unnecessary!

Bath time items 

Bath tub : Get a new one for goodness sake!! Especially if you had a tub for your previous kids and you kept them for use in your laundry when the kids can no longer fit in them; like Rianne's tub.

Anti-slip mat (both inside the tub and on the area where the bath is happening) : Consequence of not having one is obviously serious, need I say more?!

Towels (include the soft towel for wiping the baby's face, and rubbing the gums. Oral hygience starts young!) : Fabric and cleanliness is of utmost importance! That's why new towels should be bought!

Toiletries and creams : Best bet to start your newborn with those non-fragant shower gels and shampoos with hypo-allergies components! You don't want to have to deal with baby rash in the early infant days! The 'real' baby rash will hit you outside of shower time, trust me. That said, it's always advisable to stand by nappy rash cream especially since breastfeeding causes very good bowel frequency and the stools are usually quite nasty; watery that is. Baby lotion - a must for that bonding time when massaging your little one after bath! 

Squeaky bath toys : Not much of a purpose at this time, and might even be hazardous since you need to be using both hands to hold the baby as well as bathing him at the same time. 

For the head/hair : I heard baby oil is good for 'naturing' a head full of nice black hair. But no harm with that 1 or 2 drops onto your baby's scalp. Soft hair brush also required, though the baby may not have lots of hair in the early babyhood.

Clothes, accessories

One-sies : This is probably the smartest invention in the baby fashion world where wearing and taking off is super easy! I reckon there can be no fixed number of how many onesies you should have for your newborn. As many as you like and get those with cute, humourous messages across the onesie!!

Diapers : The brand is the most sensitive topic here. I am not biased towards 'brand-less' sold at supermarkets, but I just want to be sure that whatever brand of diapers I put onto my baby do not induce some crazy bum rash or are super flimsy and fall off after holding just 1 pee! 

Soft cloth diapers : Most cost saving, but is that practical or not? The person washing will scream "Enough!" if your baby's peed or pooped after every feed for up to 10 times a day (Rianne's poop record when she was being breastfed!) 

Socks, booties, mittens, caps : I think there's a certain level of necessity for them, though it looks like you are plainly accessorizing your newborn with extra items on their little hands, feet and head. The little ones might scratch their face with their un-cut fingernails, unless you are daring enough to cut the nails of an infant! Soles get cold just like adults, and maybe easier than adults since they are used to the warmth inside their mommies for a good 9/10months! Similarly they never have their heads and scalp exposed to the cold/aircon, so keep it warm!

Swaddle cloth : They say keep the baby wrapped up as long as possible to keep them tame and less 'wriggly'! I think the baby anyway would appreciate the warmth, rather than exposing their bare skin to the cold.

A bean bag/pillow : Weirdly this item is often regarded as very important to have for all newborns! Made of shells of beansprouts or green beans, the pillow has to be rested against the baby's chest with his/her arms underneath it. This is so that the baby will not 'jerk' too much when he is frightened (eg, by sounds of the thunder). Maybe people often associate jerking with fits, and try means to minimize?

Lots of hankies : I remember this essential very vividly as Rianne was a baby who regurgitate her milk after almost every feed for the first few months of life. 

I guess we can only add the other required items as we go along and as needed, else this checklist may even develop into a storybook!! Hah!! :p

Confinement

Just by looking at the subject, you would know that we have not got our confinement plan finalized yet. Sigh, it is such a dilemma for us especially when KL and I are now staying apart.

Well, my primary concern is not so much on the confinement bit but more on caring for Rianne's needs during this period. Rianne's school needs can be quite demanding especially when she has homework, assessment, tests, and spelling very regularly. My mom can only care for Rianne's living needs, but not in terms of school/academic. 

Hence, one of us (be it KL or me) needs to be there for her on weeknights. This very much narrows down our confinement options, as we need to ensure whoever is responsible for Rianne needs to be at my place by 7.30pm every night. Sorry, but working overtime will not be possible for KL if he's the one. However, I have my doubts if he will be able to fulfill the requirements. 

If we are not hiring a confinement lady for 1 month and me not staying at KL's, I'l be around for Rianne every day. There will be no rushing to get to my place and my mom can just leave for her weekday activities whenever she need. Don't assume this is the best resolution as it is not. My mom, now with her fractured finger and legs not as agile as before, is not the best person to call upon for washing and cleaning up a baby. 

There will be tonnes of baby clothes to wash, not to mention the existing load for the rest of the family. This is my biggest concern actually, as I don't wish to aggravate her 'condition' any further. 

I can order confinement food which I believe is very prompt meal-time delivery, so that part on cooking can be settled quite easily. And luckily, that is not the most expensive item in my confinement! 

What should I do?? Hire a part-time domestic maid for 1 month? Subsequently someone will still need to wash those baby clothes, which I am hoping will not be me. Arghhhhhhhh.. 

This triggers me for another post on baby stuff inventory, stay tuned! 

So worrisome!!

If you have thought you would have conquered half of the pregnancy discomfort and woes by the time you are in your second trimester, let me tell you; you thought wrong! The battle with all those hated worries and discomfort only begins now..

With a past pregnancy that was full of complications, I knew it wouldn't be an easy pregnancy for me this time. When things are not easy, it also means it is not cheap. You are darn right, every extra test/assessment at my gynae's or an out-of-office-hours trip to the O&G clinic at KKH is a few extra hundred dollars incurred on top of my usual maternity expenses. You bet KL's face was all squealed and cramped up whenever he signs off the bills! Haha..

Just this Friday, I had probably the worst cramps ever in my pregnancy!! I was out and when both my feet had cramps, I screamed for help from my daughter who thought I was just pranking her on April Fool's! I basically had to drag my feet in order to move out of the shop to somewhere where I could sit down and squeal in pain until the cramps subside. 

At night, I wore compression stockings in order to prevent the recurrence of the really painful cramps. It didn't help and I yelled like a lunatic in a madhouse, only to get no response from the log (Rianne lah, who else!) who was so soundly asleep beside me! I realised I couldn't move my leg covered by the compression stockings, eventhough I had to pee!! It was scary as I had pee almost coming out, but also because I don't want to end up being crippled! With all these thoughts, I pushed myself up hard and dragged my entire body to the nearest bathroom in the room next to mine. 

It felt like I had just been in a nightmare and was immobilized in that entire duration! I freaked out as I don't know if there are any underlying medical conditions that are now showing symptoms which in this case, are the cramps. I worried myself throughout the night and eventually when dawn broke, I called my gynae and sought advice. I was asked to go down to his clinic or at least to KKH for an assessment. He wants to rule out the potential of Deep Veins Thrombosis, otherwise known as DVT (this sounds so much like a fashion acromyne. Just 1 letter different from becoming DVF - Diane von furstenberg, hahaha!). 

And so I went, to the O&G clinic on a Sat afternoon and was asked to return on the  following Monday for an ultrasound scan to determine the existence of DVT. 

I shan't go into details of the scan and the unbearable waiting for the report results to be out. To conclude, there was no sign of DVT which is great news and I only have some slight swelling which is common as my weight increases. 

Cleared myself of this DVT worry, and another is just embarking itself onto my pregnancy journey; this familiar and most irritating of all called 'Heartburn'. 

The dramatic detailed scan

Didn't I already warn a gush of emotions washing expectant parents at the 5th month detailed scan of your baby?!!

I thought I was prepared to handle the emotions, I really thought so. Thinking back when Daddy D teared at the detailed scan of Rianne, I was still mocking him inside me. And now, I cannot help feel guilty of wrongly accusing him of being so wimpy and crying over the skeleton pictures of his daughter 8 years back! 

At the detailed scan, we were full of anticipation and undeniable anxiety too. KL was paranoid especially when it was his first time seeing such details of his unborn! He appeared relaxed but I know he was wondering what every single lump, bump showing up on the screen is, and if every measurement the ultrasound technician took implies anything. 

Small small baby (this is what we call him now) was super cooperative accordingly to the technician, as she was able to take all the required readings as requested by Dr Wee. From the images, she explained that small small baby had raised his right thumb like a 'good' sign to show us! She told us that usually babies will be fist-tighted and holding it upright, and very rarely, you get a baby who shows a thumbs up!! The technician shows there were babies before who showed a victory sign, how amazing that is!! 

Ok to the part where I teared. The scan was progressing and 3 of us (KL, me & the technician) were laughing over the thumbs up from small small baby and after that the technician were busy taking a lot of shots from the scan to put them onto a CD for us. I watched the images flashed one after another in front of my eyes, and I couldn't control my emotions anymore! We finally have a baby, and a growing and normal baby!! I find it hard to come to terms especially when I remembered the very traumatizing miscarrage less than 1 year back when my baby was cruelly taken away from us!

But God is good! He is forever full of love and compassion for us! He gave me this second chance which I am so grateful of!

KL is a very happy father-to-be as he kept reminscing about the details of the scan and how our small small baby is such an amazing creature inside his mommy's stomach now!! 

I love you, small small baby and mommy and daddy can't wait for the day to say this to you in person..

Shopping urges!!

I have always been a shopaholic, and I am not ashamed to admit it. But never did I think that my pregnancy hormones actually induce a lot more shopping urges than before! 

It makes total no sense to be drawn to loose, unflattering maternity wear unless you have always been yourself in plus-sized clothes! No, I wasn't attracted to those; but instead the usual pretty clothes in 2 sizes bigger than my pre-pregnant size. 

I love browsing thru racks full of the clothes I would buy without a baby bump, at H&M, Zara, Mango, Cotton On, etc. Then subsequently I get bumped, seriously bumped, because I look fat in those nice clothes meant for slim girls! 

The low-morale me decided to move away from pretty frocks and look at shoes and bags! At least there is no separate 'maternity' category for these 2! 

But I was wrong. Very easily I find myself in situations like "pregnant woman shouldn't wear wedges/heels!", or "this confined style is not suitable for pregnant woman when our feet starts to swell!" and "the shoes not comfortable enough for long walking!" Eventually I ended up drooling over pretty Melissas, funky Brikenstocks and choosing from Crocs..  :(

To me, comfort is the main consideration now where design and style comes after. There is no point flaunting an expensive or gorgeous pair of sandals only to realise you can't actually walk in them! 

I am also starting to reduce the number of stuff I have in my bag daily. As my stomach grows, walking is a challenge and panting or catching my breath is common. So, to make walking (an inevitable task every Monday to Friday) an easier feat for me, I need to go light. Less things in my bag or a smaller bag means I don't have to exert more energy lugging my bag when I walk. 

Waiting for the day where I can simply show up at work with one of my nice little sling bags, and walk with so much ease and comfort.. 

Stress level

I am officially declaring herein that it is such tough work to be expecting a second child while having to juggle work, your first child amongst many other family issues. 

If there was a machine (medically designed or not) to measure my current stress level, you will know that I am not exergerrating. 

Work has been especially crazy, and it is almost impossible to avoid the heavy workload when there is only so much I could delegate. I did considered the fact that I might have to go on part-time if I am getting too much stress from work, so as to minimize the possibility of my pre-emclampsia condition from recurring. Told my bosses this and they were empathic, and of course all of us were hoping that I won't have to go down this route. 

On managing Rianne, I can almost hear myself begging for God's grace to help me tide through every single episode of her headaches and vommitting. It is hard for me as I really am so helpless in these situations and could only pray that those horrible headaches and discomfort will pass as quickly as possible! 

Her school work is the other contributing factor to my high stress level. There's no way I could spend a significant amount of time going through her daily homework, upcoming spelling tests and assessment to mention even read her a proper bedtime story. By trying to complete all of those listed, it would mean that I'l only get to have my dinner past 9pm (10pm at times if Rianne fall asleep later), and have my shower after that before I can finally collapse onto my bed after a hard long day.

It is certainly not fair to my unborn, and I do know that I am not eating as much as I should be at this stage of my pregnancy. I won't blame my husband if he was to accuse me of being negligent to the well-being of my baby! But, I need help..

Sometimes I do wish that people around me can see, remember, bear in mind that I am a pregnant woman. Being pregnant is not a disability, but it means that I am not as good in handling anything too physical, too emotional or too stressful at this point of time; no matter how tough a woman I am. 

The 2nd trimester

For mothers or soon-to-be mothers, you will probably feel the same as me about the second trimester in your pregnancy. 

A happy period where you start to see your baby's limbs and other vital organs being formed and the little movements spotted through the ultrasound scan each time you are at your checkups. 

Both KL and I were ecstatic when our baby moved his arms during my scan, and Dr Wee snapped a picture of him with his right arm high up; as if like he was waving to everyone who was looking at him through the monitor!  

Apart from this happy moment, I was able to feel my appetite returning. I have the appetite to eat more than before in that naseous first trimester. But, I wasn't gaining weight. In fact, I had lost some weight. 

In terms of my food intake, I am taking my meals at regular times as much as possible, and ensuring that I eat healthily; like a well-balanced meal. I find it harder to enjoy/finish my dinner though, and I wonder if it's because I typically have to rush through the meal in order to be able to put Rianne to bed. 

I also started to venture into drinking more water. I realised that it doesn't turn me off as much as before, and I am gradually increasing my water intake by drinking a full glass of water when I take my meds instead of just half a glass. I find this to be a huge improvement, as I am seriously worried if I may eventually become dehydrated or diabetic due to the lack of H2O.

Another exciting part for some mothers would be the time when your baby's gender is being revealed at the detailed scan. Unless you choose not to know, else I bet all parents would be filled with anticipation as they wait for the gynae/ultrasound technician to announce  if it is a boy or a girl you are expecting!

For us, we knew the gender of our baby when I was 11 weeks pregnant. Fetal sex was one of the test components of the harmony test I did, and the results came back to us 1 week after my tubes of blood were sent to the lab in US. 

I didn't exactly prefer one gender over the other as I only care if my baby was healthy (if there was a significant risk for Down Syndrome and other bone deficiencies). Although KL didn't declare his preferance, I am guessing he would be happy if I was expecting a baby boy. Well, it turns out that I am indeed having a baby boy and to me, this news on top of knowing my baby's normal (aka low risk for Down and others) was more than wonderful! 

With my baby's gender now known, the debate is on whether he should have a name with the first letter as 'K' or 'R'. It should be a 'K' since Rianne who is a girl follows my name with the first letter being 'R'. KL likes the name 'Rowan' and I agree it is nice. But I really wish he could respect the naming convention I have set, and finds a name which begins with 'K' for our baby. 

The search for the 'K' name now begins..