ALERT! Sharp Abdominal Pains (Lower-Right)...

Red Alert!!

Experienced a succession of sharp & intense pains in my abdomen last night... specifically in my lower-right abdomen.

The cramp-like pains lasted for about an hour (from 10.30pm - 11.30pm) and was excruciating to the point of bringing tears to my eyes... they were not continuous but hit me at intervals during that hour... :-(

Was getting rather worried & pored through "What to Expect When You are Expecting", "Babycenter" website & googled... but since there was no bleeding... it seemed like there was no cause for concern? Baby Bojo also hiccupped (i think?) when I took to bed so I felt a little relieved...

Anyhow, gave Dr Ong a call this morning just to be sure ... his suspicion is that my old scars from the myomectomy is acting up! Apparently (and of course, I've forgotten this...) the surgery done was mostly on the right side of my uterus so it does coincide with the pains I felt last night...

Doctor's advice is to take it easy today - ie. no strenuous exercise (??? i don't even exercise! haha) and to monitor the pains (if it persists) and to check Bojo's movements throughout the day... Sigh... pray that all will be well.

Jojo is especially "sweet" (by his standards la)... rang me at lunch to say that we should arrange for a visit to Dr Ong's tomorrow .. just to be sure... even tho' at extra cost! In any case, Dr Ong will be away at a conference and so, we've made tentative arrangements to see him Mon morning..

I REALLY hope that all will be well with the bub ...

Labyrinth: Our Girlies Retreat!!

WE HAD GRAND PLANS!

Plans for a weekend getaway in the sunny island of Phuket at the beautiful Treetops Arasia... just the girls... a chance to recapture our youth,,, of days gone by,,, sipping martinis (or fruit punches for Mabes, Steph & moi!). Breezy evenings spent lazing & chatting & just ... enjoying being in the company of a bunch of good ol' friends!

Then.. PRACTICALITY sets in... we 'revised' our plans ... we decided on a more feasible destination - PENANG! Great food, economical, sun, sand & sea.... but alas! That was not meant to be...

A compromise was made... we needed at least the 3 basic elements, SUN SAND SEA. We agreed on SENTOSA!! And even this was not meant to be ...

So where did we end up hvg our Girlies Retreat? *DRUMROLL* GUILIN VIEW @ BT GOMBAK in the sunny isle of SINGAPORE!!!! Hahahahahhahha.... all of our grandiose plans came to naught!!!

Fine, luxurious destinations aside, we DID have a good time! At the end of the day, as much as a fancy destination in a ritzy resort is great, GREAT FRIENDS SPENDING TIME TOGETHER count for much much more especially with Saggs back in SG!!

26 weeks / 6.5 months ... 99 Days & Counting

Fetal Development Factoids

• Approx. 760gms & 35.6cm from crown to heel (legs extended).
• He continues to take in small breaths altho' only breathing in water - good practice for when he's born.
• Bub's more sensitive to sound as his network of nerves in his ears develop.Response to sounds grow > consistent towards the 7th month.
• If Daddy speaks to him now, he might learn to 'recognise' his voice.
• The more he hears it, the more he'll find it soothing after he's born.

Six-and-half months!! Today, Baby is being abit naughtier than usual? Maybe it IS getting a little more cramped in there but he's been so restless! In fact, I've experienced several sharp pains in my lower right abdomen ... made me literally 'jump' up and hold my sides for several seconds just to stem the pains. Wonder what he's up to in there really??

Leg cramps are also starting to bother me alot more... i tend to get them at night when lying in bed or when i'm in deep sleep... Anyhow, Jojo said he held my belly when i was asleep & said he felt Baby move a fair bit while i was sleeping... hahahahaha! We definitely have a NIGHT OWL on our hands... exactly like Daddy ... wide awake at nights ... haaaiiii!

Mommy & Bojo love jazz ...

Ante-natal beliefs about 'infant education' thru music & reading whilst the bub is in utero are popular & rampant ... but I've been SO busy at work & all - honestly hadn't the time to "do" much by way of "giving my son a headstart" in this regard!

So... in the interest of ensuring that Bojo's brain is not turning into mush in utero, i decided that "IT IS TIME" to introduce the lil' one to my fav genre of music ... the soft soothing charms from the likes of Julie London (current fav, thanks to Steph!!), Steve Tyrell, Diana Krall, Michael Buble, etc

I know they say classical music is 'best' but I can't even say I enjoy it much myself so i figured it may be best to 'inculcate' (aka influence) a similar taste in my son NOW! Hehehe...

Anyhow, decided to (finally) make use of the nice new iPod my dearling bought me for our 3rd Wedding Anniversary... selected my preferred Playlist ... BLASTED the volume and placed the earphones on my belly ...

LOL - There was an IMMEDIATE response from the lil' one... i felt a succession of what must be 'kicks & punches' coz it resonated from both ends of my belly... for the first time simultaneously!! Well... i thought to myself, he either likes this aural stimulation vv much OR is protesting at the unexpected loud noise? Perhaps, he is dancing??

(Jojo thinks I'm overdoing the volume & is mighty concerned tt I may be impeding the development of his son's hearing... so I've promised to keep it down tonite ... har har!)

RESOLUTION : THIS WILL BE OUR NIGHTLY RITUAL GOING FORWARD ... {=:=}

100 days to Bojo's EDD

Wowee!! Just added a Pregnancy Ticker to my blog *pat pat on back* {=:=} AND ... noticed tt today marks what is the start of a "special countdown" to THE DAY!!

We're exactly 100 days away from my delivery date, ie. 28 June 2007 (Thur) ... CRIKEY!! I know I sound like a broken record BUT time really does fly?!?!? One-Hundred-Days.... scary scary.... on the other hand, it also means that I will be seeing my beautiful bub soon soon... *clapping hands*

Am starting to love love love this bub more & more ... our little angel sent from God ...

Our Sarong Sling Escapade...

This 'ha-ha moment' I am christening... "Our Sarong Sling Escapade"... read on & you'll find out why!

After our mini shopping spree at the Taka Baby Fair, we trolled along to United Square (I learned that this is Kids Mall Central!!) to hunt for the Sarong Sling that we have intentions to buy... and pic on the right is the sling we have in mind...


A ha! Found the boutique that carries this "BayB Sling"... and this is WHEN the 'ha-ha moment' came along! We had the very helpful salesgirl do a quick demo of how to put on the sling... and they even had a mock baby to help demonstrate how to put baby in, etc...


Hmmm...looked really easy! I offered to give it a shot too... Afterall, momma would have to be using this sling quite a fair bit, no? Okay...verdict is.. its TOUGH! From the get-go, I couldn't even figure out how to put sling on... N'mind that... salesgirl passed on mock baby to me... and I'm ALL over the place... tried to fit baby INTO sling.. found that baby's arm was sticking out the wrong way... and tried stuffing back in!


At this point, Jojo gave me a 'pointed' look that essentially said... "mmm, with real baby you can't be doing that..." and I heard a giggle from the salesgirl... "FINE, BLEH!!" Me passes on sling to the smart aleck daddy-to-be.. let's see how WELL he does..


Verdict #2 - He's worse than me?!?!?!?!? He got the sling on alright BUT when he had the baby, attempted to put in baby the wrong way in... AND AND AND... once bub is in, our friend lifted the sarong frm both ends and did a little 'toss toss' to adjust the bub so it fits snugly into the sling?????? Needless to say, I WAS AGHAST!!!

Moral of this escapade = Both of us have just begun to realise how inept we are with handling a BUB!! This was just a mock baby... imagine a REAL one with moving arms & legs, etc.... this is baaaad..... :-(

25 weeks & A Spanking New PLAYXTREM TR4 LIGHT Stroller!

Fetal Development Factoids

• Bub now weighs approx. 660gms & is 35cm long from crown to heel
• Makes breathing movements but no air in lungs yet
• Eyelids are open around now & if bright light is shone at abdomen, he'll turn his head
• Is responsive to 'touch' now
• Can have fun with bub by tickling his foot when he kicks OR lying on my back & rolling from side to side - Watch his reaction!

I remain amazed at how time simply flies... its been 25 weeks!! My little Bojo turns 6 mths + 1 week old today! The nice fluttery movements of past have now morphed into MASSIVE rolls & tiny feet peddling into my rib cage and... it hurts! :-) As the days pass, I am getting increasingly excited over the arrival of this little bundle of joy... he has become so 'real'... i can feel him... talk to him... now, I just can't wait to SEE him!!

Anyhow, today also marks a momentous occasion - we've invested in a Baby Stroller! After much shopping & research (i might add...), the dear Daddy-to-be decided on the PLAYXTREM TR4 LIGHT (Colour - Pistacchio...dun ask!). This is a Spanish import (a friend brings it in) and comes with the WORKS!!

THIS stroller is supposedly the "BMW" of strollers... comes with the following specs (if u ask me.. its almost like buying a darn car!!): -

* 360 degree swivel front wheel
* Suspension
* Disc Brakes
* Handbrakes
* (some) ergonomic carrycot cum car seat thingy

ITS HUGE... but sturdy and safe (vvv impt for Daddy-to-be)... my guess is... i'm NOT ever going out ALONE with zee bub in zis machine... too heavy & big for me to maneouvre round... i remember my days out with Saggs & Doey... am not gonna manage by meself ... for sure!

Anyhow, this is one more item OFF the list so yipppeee!!

Is this THE one... the Mt Alvernia Hospital Tour

Yes! Am vv proud of self... have gotten act together and sorted out the Hospital Guided Tour for Mt Alvernia (my hospital of choice?) ... We scooted off bright & early for the 11am tour & thank goodness we did too! More on the "carpark drama" later ...

In a nutshell, I'm really glad we did the tour. Whilst I'd been at Mt A for my myomectomy in Dec '04, it was an informative session where we were given a detailed & guided tour around the hospital's maternity facilities. We were shown the Delivery Suite, Maternity Wards (St Raphael, Our Lady & St Elizabeth) & the nurseries on Level 3.

St Raphael gets our vote... HANDS DOWN! Hahaha... it is newly renovated with wood panelling & soft-lighting and finally, ONE GOOD THING coming out of a C-section delivery ... i guess i'm able to "reserve" my room at St Raphael vs a Normal Delivery where your preference is on a 'first-come & available' basis (as one would not know when the bub decides to 'arrive'... keke!)

SIDENOTE : CARPARK DRAMA

Dunno why this keeps happening to us (maybe its got to do with Jojo?!?!?!!) but the parking situation was just IMPOSSIBLE at Mt A... we were told (later...) by the nurse that 11am is 'peak hour' as it is check-out time...

In any event, we were waiting for a lot in the MSC and as it was approaching 11am, we decided that I should make my way to the lobby to register ourselves first...

I left Jojo waiting in the carpark and 15 mins later, he arrived all huffy-puffy and DEFINITELY miffed! Apparently, some 'ah beng' snatched his lot (to cut a LOOONG story short)... Of course, my huffy-puffy "closet ah beng" hubby did what any self-respecting "ah beng" would do - he parked his car right IN FRONT of the 'ah beng' who stole his lot, ie. BLOCKING his exit entirely...!!!! *horrors*

Anyhow, we had a bit of tiffy tiff coz I was upset tt he was "ruining" a special baby moment, ie. our hospital tour... with dour temperament... so tour did start off on a bad note... with me sulking and him black-faced! And me standing in one corner of Delivery Suite and him at the OTHER end with arms crossed! Haaiiii...

But... as always, the 'quiet & gentle' spirit in me did the RIGHT thing and 'made peace' & we managed to continue the tour in relatively good spirits??

Drama #2 - When tour had ended, we strolled back to the carpark (me full of apprehension over the impending "showdown" b/w the 2 ah bengs!!) and what did we see???? TWO POLICEMEN waiting for us at Jojo's 'illegally' parked car... man!!!!

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