The Apple's Diary!

Finally baby Jonathan is discharged after being warded for 2 days to treat his jaundice. Everyone was happy. And I spotted him smiling several times when I talked to him. I'm just glad that Jonathan is home with us now. Praise the Lord!

After we got discharged on Friday, my emotion took a nose-dive. First, I discovered I hadn't had any milk at all. My poor boy was crying so hungrily at midnight that papa had to rush out to buy a tin of Similac for him. Think of it, I still feel the heartache. I couldn't do much except to keep crying. Sigh! It's really heartbreaking to hear your baby cries non stop. But luckily my confinement lady was experienced. She managed to pacify Jonathan until papa was back with the formula milk. However, my lousy mood didn't just picked up. When I woke up on Saturday morning, my tears flowed again. It was really a very stressful period for me even though I kept reminding myself that formula milk was just as good. But somehow, I just couldn't managed my emotion. This was the first time I cried until my eyes were so swollen that I couldn't even recognise myself. It really took me 3 days to calm myself down and my mood got lifted abit. On Monday ...

We were discharged on Friday 26 Aug 2011. Papa went back home the night before to get the house and baby cot ready for our lil prince. I still remember it was raining heavily in the morning and so papa got the shrek towel to wrap Jonathan around. Doesn't Jonathan looked cute with his shrek hooded towel? It was a good thing Gleneagles provided complimentary limousine service so we made use of that to go home. Back at home, suddenly baby Jonathan looked so small in his baby cot. Being just 1-2 days old, he's sleeping most of the times and I tried to wake him up for feeding before he got really cranky and frustrated from hunger. But here, no matter how much I budged him or tickled him, he's still so soundly asleep and even covered his ears as to tell me to stop bugging him. He's really such a lil darling! Daddy's and mummy's most precious : )

It has been barely a week and I experienced plenty of emotions output, to put it simply. My emotion is running on a roller coastor mode. Starting from 23 Aug 2011, 9pm. We were told to admit to the hospital around 7-8pm but being so ill prepared, we only managed to leave our house at 7.45pm without dinner. So we went to the nearby mall for dinner which I could only think of Mac Donald for a quick dinner. But Darren thought it wasn't memorable so we went to this new Thai restaurant. By the time we were done with dinner and cabbed to the hospital, it was already past 9pm. We wanted a single bedded room but was told it isn't available. So I sulked all the way up to the ward until a nurse discovered there was a single bedded room available. My mood went up a little, though I wasn't completely satisfied. I think back then, I was expecting some sort of a nice hotel room. So here's me looking grumpy in the surgery robe and waiting for the prostaglandin tablet to be i...

Today is really the most drama day for me. What I thought was a routine check at gynae's, turned out to be so drama mama for me and Darren. First warning came the low amniotic fluid, Dr Tan decided to send me for CTG to monitor Xiao Poh's heartbeat pattern even though I didn't find him moving lesser than before. After being strapped to the CTG for an hour, Dr Tan scanned me and checked my cervix dilation again. He decided I am to be admitted to hospital tonight to induce birth. His explanation was low amniotic fluid means placenta is aging and not functioning well. There's no benefit of keeping baby inside and runs the risk of not having enough oxygen to baby. Shock to the MAX! The plan is to admit tonight to hospital, the nurses will place a tablet to prime the cervix. Next morning at 7am, Dr Tan will come and burst my waterbag and labour will begin. OMG! I can't believe it, neither does Darren. We were so stunned. For once in my pregnancy, my hands t...

Today's task - Trial run of sterilizer and washing of milk bottles Dismantle all the accessories of Avent Sterilizer and learning to re-assemble them to suit our needs. Test run of sterilizer began. 1st batch of successful sterilized bottles. Avent series in different make and sizes. 2 x 125mL of anti-colic bottles, 2 x 260mL of anti-colic bottles, 3 pacifiers, 1 x 125mL of normal bottle n 260mL bottle that need adapter rings. 2 extra teats. Mendela series from Freestyle breasts pump. 4 of them with an extra received during one of the baby expo fair. 1 teat included. 3 glass milk bottles meant for storage. Enough?

*Jonathan Poh* Papa Poh chose this name for Xiao Poh. Jonathan is of Hebrew origin, meaning "gift of God". In biblical context, Jonathan was the eldest son of King Saul and the best friend of future King David. He saved David's life when Saul wanted to kill him. Jonathan was also noted for his manliness, generosity and unselfishness. The same quality as his papa, Darren Poh. Our prayer for Xiao Poh is to grow up healthily and be a man after God's heart. *Cheering for Jonathan* We are day dreaming about Xiao Poh's entering primary school. We will be at side bench cheering him on as he participates in the track and field event. *Make way for the little Prince* Papa Poh ensures that nothing harms his beloved son. Greets his son, "Jonathan Jonathan" before acknowledging mummy's presence. If not, calls out adoringly "Jonathan Baby"... seldom hear him calling me "Darling" now... Life has d...

*Xiao Po saying "Hi" to Xiao Poh * If you watched Kungfu Panda 2, you will get this joke. In KFP2, Po recalled his baby days and he was called Xiao Po when he was tiny baby panda. We have been calling baby his nickname Xiao Poh since Day 1, so was amused when we watched KFP2. When we decided to do a maternity shoot, the panda soft toy just had to come along. Hopefully Xiao Poh doesn't think he's a panda although his papa looks like one with all his dark circles. *three's a crowd?* This is a fun photo, with Xiao Po(h) being squashed in between. *what's in the tummy?* An ultrasound scan of Xiao Poh @ 11 weeks 4 days. Tummy in the photo was already at 33 weeks 4 days. At that time, Xiao Poh was already a mighty 2.3kg baby boy. Till date at 35 weeks + 4 days, Xiao Poh's scan revealed he's growing up strong and well, with a weight of 2.6kg. Of course, papa is very pleased with his son's growth chart. ...

*You will always be my beloved son.* I always like this kind of mood photos. So glad that Hong Yin from Little.Miss.Rabbit could capture the moment well. Indeed, even if I have #2 child, Xiao Poh will always have this special spot in my heart. For he's my firstborn. *May angels surround Xiao Poh always.. * Hong Yin called for a diva shot. This is the best I could express. Some commented that this was beautiful like I've got wings. To do this well, Darren was roped in to create this effect.

*He's my son.* Among so many photos taken with Darren alone and baby in tummy, I really like this picture best. The expression depicts a proud papa with his son and a man excited on his next milestone in his life.

Received our maternity shoot photos on Wednesday evening. We got back our 10 selected touched up print up as well as all the raw photos back. *Thanking God for everything!* It's truly amazing how a single egg and sperm can add up to a baby. And even more amazing as the baby grows, he responds to you. What an extraordinary gift from God! *Welcoming the new Poh member* We welcome the little bundle of joy, soon in our arms =D *Love that crosses all boundaries* Besides thanking God for Xiao Poh, I am also mindful that I have a husband. Really appreciate all he has done for this up and coming family. He will be a good role model for Xiao Poh.

Pregnancy timeline to date : 35 weeks 2 days Counting down to POP date : 4 weeks 5 days or 33 more days!! Pain level : Going upwards My oh my! When I was in my mid-34 weeks, I suddenly developed Carpal Tunnel syndrome . It started on Monday, eve of National Day. I woke up feeling my right hand weird. It felt numb. Later as the day passed, I experienced pain in my fingers joint. I tolerated it for 2 days before calling Dr Tan (my gynae) to check with him. Apparently, there's nothing much he can do for me or I can do for myself. I just have to wait out and it will go away after delivery. So now, I am enduring this new pain. Sometimes in the middle of the night, my right arm will experience pins and needles and I have to shake shake to get the blood circulate better. Sometimes, my fingers don't feel like belonging to me. I can't bend them as I will. I have to use my left hand to physically "activate" my right fingers. All the times, I can't ben...

Yesterday, I received another surprise from Darren. Actually, this time round he couldn't contain his own excitement. He told me some weeks ago, he got me a gift and wanted me to guess. In the end, he revealed the answer himself. But with the pregnancy-induced forgetfulness, I totally forgot about his surprise gift until yesterday when the courier man delivered my gift. Ta-da! Skagen rose gold watch. I was considering Skagen when I was looking for a proper lady-like watch. But retailing at $200 - $300+ , I was not willing to part with my money. So when Darren did his online shopping (yes, guys do their online shopping as well. dun be surprised.) he saw this Skagen watch on discount and he bought it for me. Thank you my dear! You have revived my watch collection again, though now is no longer Swatch collection. =D

As D-day draws nearer, I realize I have endless of things to get ready. One of the items is to standby milk bag. Initially my plan is to latch on and express out for night feed, so baby will be comfortable with both methods. Then, I received 3 glass bottles from colleagues and also bought some Avent and Mendela bottles. But I'm not sure how the whole milk business works. To avoid any last minute panic, I decided to buy just ONE box of milk storage bags to standby. Bought locally online, at $8.50 for 25 bags with free postage. I hope these bags will be used eventually.

Look! Ms Momo Peach handmade this apple lunch bag for me. She was it is my belated birthday present. She's probably the 1st person who handmade or crochet me a bag. Thank you Ms Momo Peach. I really love your crochet bag especially with the trademark apple!

When we returned home 2 days ago, there was a mess of cement at our doorstep. Splatter of cement on our gate. Traces at our door. More on our floor. So now, the workers have proceeded to cement pillar for the lift upgrading program but at the mess they left at our doorstep, we are certainly not very happy about it. We just hope they quickly finish all the "dirty dusty" work before Xiao Poh is out.

Yummy snacks for my indulgence.

We finally bought our stroller after so much comparison and weighing out all the pros and cons. We were deciding among big brands such as Quinny, Peg Perego Piko P3 switch or classic and Combi's Miracle Turns or Urban Walker. Eventually, we decided to go a light weight stroller that I can single handedly fold the pram and unfold the pram. So light that I have no problem carrying it myself. So in the event I have to bring Xiao Poh out myself, I can manage everything (although I still doubt I can do it alone, with the diaper bag, my own handbag, a baby and a stroller). Anyway, Takashimaya Baby Fair came at the right time. We got our Urban Walker at $389 with free delivery. Picture Source : http://www.combi.com.au/combi-urban-walker-prestige-stroller.html We liked this Urban Walker firstly, it is light weight (around 6.3kg). The wheels are sturdy enough. I can single handedly fold and unfold and carry it. Fully recline position for infant and everything is wash...

One of the essentials during confinement period - DaiFonAi Herbal bath. Got this from the same shop. 10 packs for $20. Effectively, it means can only use for 10 baths. I wonder if I can alternate between normal warm bath and herbal bath. Wonder if it smells too!

Bought the ingredients to make Confinement Red Date Tea. Unlike the usual red date tea we drink, confinement version required 4 main ingredients - red dates, black dates, wolfberry and dang sheng. Longan meat for sweetness. We didn't go down to Victoria Street to purchase all these. Instead we decided to try neighbourhood medical hall. Bee's Brand @ Ghim Moh outlet From top row (L-R) 1) Seedless red dates, 700g @ $3.80 2) Zhangzhou longan meat, 1kg @ $15.00 Bottom row (L-R) 3) Black dates, 500g @ $3.50 4) Ning Xia Wolfberry, 300g @ $7.50 4) Wen Dang Sheng, 250g @ $24.80 According to the shop people, my loot is only enough for half a month's supply. I think I will try to stretch to a month. Afterall, this is only the tip of the iceberg. I foresee more expenditure during confinement month. *moolah flying away*

I got my craving satisfied. Unfortunately, my hunger overtook my memory to take photographs of my chilli crab. It was digging halfway then I remember I haven't took a photo of my beloved chilli crab. Actually, come to think of it. I don't feel "Wow" after my chilli crab, unlike my chocolate souffle. Maybe the chilli crab standard drops? Whatever it is, next stop - Mao Shan Wang Durians!

Darren finally agreed to a paid maternity shoot. So I grabbed the chance and relied on recommendation. We went with Little Miss Rabbit by Hongyin. She's having a promotion - $128 for an hour studio shoot. It was a good deal, with up to 3 change of outfits, all photos returned with high resolution. 10 4R print outs with touched up. Selection of photos on the same day. Can't wait to see the finalized photos!

After much consideration and deliberation, we decided to donate Xiao Poh's cord blood. To be honest, there's pros and cons in storing cord blood in a private bank. Currently, there are 2 private cord blood banks in Singapore - Cordlife and Stemcord. Both charges similiarly and both advocate banking your child's precious cord blood akin to buying an insurance. To store it to have a peace of mind and hope never to use it ever. We spoke to our gynae on this matter and decided that it would be better if we donate Xiao Poh's cord blood instead of banking it. So we met up with Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) staff to finalize the legal documents. One precious gift from God and one precious gift from His beloved.

I have a few food in mind that I have to eat it before popping in September. The 1st one will be Chocolate Souffle. So on Monday, good friend Angeline specially took a half day leave to have a good meal with me. I had my chocolate souffle craving satisfied @ Bakerzin (Jurong Point). But good things must wait, so we had our main courses before the grand finale. Starting with cold beverages to cool down on a hot day. We took their promotion lunch - Pasta + beverage for $10.90++ Ice Lemon Tea - for her Grapefruit Soda - for me Aglio Olio with Mushrooms, Ham and Bacons * A tad too oily and not really spicy * Mushroom Linguine *Creamy Creamy* Raspberry Panna Cotta - Her dessert My Grand Finale - Chocolate Souffle Yummy yummy, warm lush chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Really luv it! Next up - Chilli Crab!