Leah’s Month 2-3 Progress

I seriously don’t know how mommy bloggers do it. I am a SAHM with only one baby and even then I can hardly find time to go to the loo, let alone blog. I figured its best I stop apologizing for my lack of updates as I simply can’t help it.

Leah is now 3.5 months old. My mother in law, Leah and I flew back to Italy on 4th February. And knowing my luck, it was the coldest winter in many years when we flew back. To make matters worse, we had to fly into Milan, abt 3 hours from my place instead of Bologna which is a mere half hour away, all due to some paperwork problem that is so charateristic of the Italian system. When we reached Milan airport, it was -12 degrees, icy and foggy and in a nutshell, DREADFUL especially for a little baby. Needless to say, I was worried sick about Leah and how she would handle the cold. Thankfully, she was ok. She was a real gem throughout the flight and didn’t fuss at all. She slept in her bassinett, and when she was awake, she just cooed and smiled and melted some other passengers hearts (I like to think 😉 )

Leah in her bassinett

 It was a dreadfully cold 2 weeks after we arrived. We were pretty much snowed in and I got sick and tired of the snow after just a few days. Snow is only fun when its Xmas, when you have nowhere to go or if you’re a kid (cos schools are closed if theres a lot of snow). Thankfully the weather is a lot better now and the snow has gone.

Boy oh boy has my life changed. I am typing this with one hand as she suckles and drifts off to sleep. I wake up at least 3-4 times a night to nurse her and during the day I go through my chores like a tornado. I havent had the time nor opportunity to bake and dinners now are pretty simple too.

( I had to save this draft and continue this post the next day as the little one was fussing >__< )

 

Month 2-3 progress

7kgs at 3 months old

1. Recognizes faces. Above all, she recognizes mommy (ME!) yayyy. She has this big grin that is reserved for me and she breaks into smiles and coos when I talk to her. She isn’t this responsive towards others, and its a bummer for her poor daddy coz he feels pretty forlorn that she isn’t that receptive towards him, but I guess its normal since she’s always looking at me, and its mommy who wakes up 382920133 times a night to feed her, carry her, rock her back to sleep etc.

 

2. Tracks voices (mine?) across the room and follows our movements when we move around.

 

3. Starting to grab her toys at 3 months old. She is rather cautious from what I noticed, and will only slowly move her fingers around toys that are placed near her. She has only recently started grabbing at toys in front of her when placed in her bouncer. And at almost 4 months now, she is still as obsessed as ever with her fist. I have a truckload of pics of her staring at her right fist and focusing at it, complete with scrunched brows and pouting lips. Very cute.

 

4. Is still nursing through the night. When we first arrived in Italy, there was one week where she woke up every.single.hour. I suspect it was a growth spurt, and I sure as heck nearly died of exhaustion having to soothe her back to sleep as she kept fussing and crying. As of now, she wakes every 2-3 hours for feeds, and if I’m lucky, 4 hours. Strange this is, she doesn’t really fuss for milk during the day time.

 

5. We started off co-sleeping in the same bed, but the hubs had a cold and we decided that perhaps its time I move her into her crib in our room. It was a bittersweet moment for me (geez I cant imagine her leaving for college!), and tho its more difficult for me as I have to wake up and walk to her crib all the time, I guess the hubs gets better sleep. The things a mother has to do for her husband baby.

 

6. Its ironic as she started out in life being SUCH a poopy baby, pooping up to 6 times a day, and then it got lesser and lesser, and the longest she went was 5 days without a poop. And then she gave me a nice explosive Valentines day present – 5 days worth of poopsplosion.

 

7. She is still fully breastfed and I’m mighty proud of it coz it ISN’T easy. I can’t leave the house peacefully knowing that she might get hungry and since I don’t plan to introduce her to the bottle, she may just get hungry and throw a fit. Thankfully that hasnt happened yet.

 

8. Sleepwise, gosh I wish it would get better. She is SUCH a light sleeper, and is real daughter of ours. Both hubs and I are very light sleepers, me especially. She only catnaps throughout the day, and sleeps for 20 minute stretches maximum. And that too, is if we rock her in the bouncer.

 

9. She LOATHES tummy time and though her neck is stronger, as can be felt when we carry her, she still can’t hold her head up while on her tummy.

 

10. From time to time, she still gets gas/slightly colicky and will suddenly wail in the evenings/at night. This is usually accompanied by her passing gas, so it’s quite obvious that she experiences tummy discomfort. My poor baby. The only thing we can do is feed her with a bit of Dentinox, and so far it seems to be helping. I do hope that she outgrows it soon, as its heartwrenching when she cries in pain.

 

11. How can I forget this. At just 2 months old, Leah showed obvious dissatisfaction when removed from her bathtub. She ADORES bathtime and coos and is as happy as a lark while in water. A few times, when I removed her from the tub, she started crying, and I was afraid that she was in pain/had some discomfort. But after a few times of it happening, I did a little test, and immersed her in water again when she started crying after her bath. And what do you know. No more tears but instead, she broke into a huge grin! Drama much? So now I’ve learnt to prepare loads of her toys around her after bath, so the moment I start to dry her and dress her, and she starts crying, I’ll have the toys to distract her. Phew.

 

12. Language development wise, Leah rules! She “talks” really well and some days I can hear her talking in the living room while I’m in the room. She has different intonations and can show displeasure. Just yesterday, after tummy time and she wailed, I carried her and consoled her, and she looked me in the eye, scrunched her eyebrows and began “complaining” in her Oww Oww OWWW voice. Super adorable!

 

All in all, I would say that this little girl of mine isn’t exactly fast in the motor development department, but is great at social/emotional development. I’m in no hurry really. I’d much prefer she develops at her own pace and I’m not the kind of mother who worries if her baby develops slowly. Already, I feel that she’s growing too quickly, evident in her pile of clothes she’s already outgrown. I do wish time would slow down….

 

One of her many fist photos

 

 

Wrapped like a dumpling TRYING to find The Fist

 

Mesmerized in her Jumperoo

 

Heartbreaker in the making

 

Take your time growing up little one. Mommy is in no hurry ❤

 

 

The first 2 months

Wow. Where do I even begin.

Leah turned two months old just 3 days ago, and this is only my second post.

This is some journey indeed.

I had a roller coaster confinement period at my in laws place. Why roller coaster? Coz I had ups and downs. The biggest challenge was simply staying in a house I am not accustomed to, and the noise and heat that came with it. Coupled with a fussing baby, it drove me to tears some days. There really is no place like one’s own home. That said, I was glad to have help in the form of a live in helper who did Leah’s laundry (COUNTLESS poopy nappies), and a mother in law who cooked nourishing food for me. It would have been a perfect confinement period if we were all living in a bigger house that wasnt so hot or noisy! I have to be honest and say that I got a little upset at the hubs many times. I was envious that he could still go out jogging, playing badminton and having mamak sessions while I was literally cooped up 24/7 handling shitty diapers and a crying and fussing baby all the time, and well, I needed all the help I could get. I am glad to announce though, that he’s doing a lot better now. Diaper duty isnt his favourite, but at least he’s willing to do it unlike the beginning. Now that Leah’s showing her personality, cooing and smiling loads, I feel that Daddy is more willing to participate and help out. Thanks love. She is after all half you (and heck, she LOOKS like you hrmmmpphh). Dads out there who don’t participate in their child’s upbringing don’t know what they’re missing out on. A baby is only a baby once.

The first few weeks after Leah’s birth was the toughest time in my life. Having had a C-section, I was in a lot of pain. Being the stubborn mule that I am, I did not take a single painkiller that was prescribed to me because I did not want any of it in my breastmilk. Breastfeeding too started out really rocky. I’m glad I got off to a better start by deciding to call in the help of a lactation consultant. At home, Leah wanted to latch on ALL the time. I was so zombified, it just made things even harder. Trying to sit up all the time to feed her was tough, as it hurt my scar like a b***h. To make matters worse, I was having a really bad cough, and each time I coughed, I could feel the stitches sorta expanding, and it was so painful my tears would well up. I guess its a good thing that God gave me a high tolerance for pain.

There were some nights where Leah would want to feed every half an hour to an hour. Day and night. I was sore, tired as hell and cranky as a cow. I was literally counting down the days till Leah reached 30 days old (fullmoon). Thankfully that day arrived (not) so soon enough.

We had a full moon party/dinner at Imperial Restaurant in Klang.

Leah at her full moon party

Today, Leah is a bubbly 2 month old baby who’s grown so much. At 6 weeks, she gave her first social smile, smiling and cooing back at us. Its much better now that she’s gotten into sort of a routine. She needs to be swaddled to sleep else her arms flail around and she wakes herself up. She loves her baths, and is a contented little bug in the tub. She feeds every 2 hours or so, and at nights, she goes back to sleep after her feeds unlike the initial days where she’d fuss to high heavens. The only time she really cries is when she gets the occasional colicky/gassy bout. She cries in pain and it sometimes makes ME tear. Her paed has suggested Dentinox and it seems to be working so far.

She’s gone from a tiny 2.66kgs at birth to a nice 5.3kgs as of yesterday. I can’t help but swell with pride when people comment on how chubby she’s gotten, coz she’s 100% on mommy’s milk!

Here are some recent pictures of the little princess.

Yes. I’m in love.

Introducing Baby Leah

Yes, it was labour that I was experiencing in my previous post.

Leah (it’s a girl!!) is 17 days old today.

On 14 November, I woke up to cramps, had a show, and lost a bit of the mucus plug. Called my doctor, and he said to wait it out, and if it continued after an hour to check in to the hospital.

That was 7.30am when I called him. I was having contractions 5 minutes apart, and deep down I knew I was going to see my baby that day. I had some fried meehoon for breakfast, and mama, upon waking up and seeing me pacing up and down the house, took emergency leave that day. Let it be known that I threw up everything even on the day I gave birth! I took a long hot shower, washed my hair, and was cringing and holding on to the bathroom walls when the contractions came.

Hubs who was in Klang was alerted via SMS, and he made his way to my place in Damansara, and arrived at about 8-ish. I think I was distracting myself by going on Facebook, blogging a little, repacking my hospital bag and what not. At 9am, we made our way to the hospital. The worst part was making my way from my apartment to the visitor’s parking where hubs had parked his car, it felt like I was walking from Malaysia to Nigeria. Had to stop and manage the contractions while they came, while at the same time not alarming the people who were walking about.

Got to the hospital, got the fetal monitor strapped on me, and it showed my contractions peaking and subsiding. Some smartypantsone thought it would be smart to update me on the intensity of the contractions – “it’s going up, 68,69,72” I swear it made things 100 times worse. Till I asked him to please shut up 😛 Our friend then proceeded to tell me a joke about some asses people on a plane, but thank God the doctor came in before he could continue. (I still dont know the end of the joke).

I was given a vaginal exam and went YEowwwwyeowwwowwww!!! The dr then announced that I was 2cm dilated, BUT baby was in a compound presentation, meaning that her arm was making it’s way out together with her head, and there would be a risk of a fracture. Hence I had to undergo an emergency C-section.

It all happened so quickly from then on. I was wheeled into the operating theater, briefed by the anaesthetist and my gynaecologist, and was given a spinal block which numbed sensations from waist down, but I could still feel pressure being applied. The anaesthetist was a really nice Malay lady, no doubt a mother herself, who put me at ease and said comforting words. My favourite item in the whole operating theater was this fan/hose like thing which blew warm air under the sheets onto my chest. It was really welcome in that freezing place. I wanted to crack a joke about my gynae’s white rubber boots not complementing his blue scrubs, but decided against it 😛

The hubs was beside me, in scrubs too, holding my hand, and thankfully minus the jokes.

There was a burning smell, pushing, prodding out in my abdomen and I heard a remark by my amused anaesthetist, to which my gynae replied, “it’s the arm”. I guess he was trying to pry that stubborn arm out.

I heard her cry. And I cried.

They took her aside, and did the basic checks before she was placed near my face, all gooey. I cried some more, and told her how much I loved her, always had, always will.

They proceeded to clean her up, weigh her and gave her her necessary shots. Little Leah weighed 2.66kgs at birth. And while the doctors stitched me up, the hubs followed Leah to the nursery.

I have been exclusively breastfeeding, and that itself started out pretty rocky, but I perservered. I honestly think breastfeeding has turned out to be tougher than labour itself. But things are going well now, touchwood. Will try and write a post on it when (IF!) I have the time.

Typing this with one hand while the little koala is latching on to me is proving to be HARD. So I’ll end here, with a picture of my little Leah wearing her camicia della fortuna (lucky shirt)- a silk shirt worn on babies when they’re born to signify good luck in her future. This was gifted by an Italian friend.

In the meantime, I hope Leah will let me have some time to run to the bathroom. She seems milk drunk now. I guess that’s my cue. 🙂

Is this it?

Woke up at 5.10am, feeling menstrual cramps intermittently throughout the night. Felt like doing a number 2, and saw that I had a pinkish show. Sat on the throne and saw that I released a glob which I assume is the mucous plug.

Feeling contractions/cramps every 5 minutes for like 20 seconds or so. The hubs is in Klang, and I’m in Damansara. Sent him a text, and I reckon he’s getting ready and making his way here.

Now the only thing is, bubs has not engaged. Which worries me, as if I go into active labour, I’d have to go thru an emergency C-section.

Naughty little kiddo, be safe. See you hopefully soon.

Week 38 – The waiting begins

Where do I begin.

Ok, I’ll start by saying that I haven’t popped 🙂

At week 38 currently, and back home in Malaysia, I am pretty much waiting for D-Day to arrive.

I flew home to Malaysia from Milan on 29th September. And in between shopping for baby stuff and meeting up with friends, I have been pretty darn lazy busy and caught up with stuff to even think about blogging.

Initially, I had half a mind to deliver baby AL in Italy. It took a lot of thinking, hmming, hawwing but I finally decided to have baby in Malaysia. It will be the hub’s family’s first grandchild, and depriving them of the experience got me feeling pretty guilty. Not to mention the fact that I’d have to make a 5 hour journey to Rome to the Malaysian embassy to register baby’s birth. And my lack of confidence in the Italian doctors.

Being home has been great thus far. I feel safe knowing that the hospital where baby AL will be born is only a 3 minute drive away from my house. For those curious to know, I will be delivering at Tropicana Medical Center. And most importantly, I am totally at ease with my gynae. He seems to be patient with my 1001 questions, worries and paranoia. He doesn’t rush through our appointments and takes the time to explain things. As of now, baby AL is in a oblique position, meaning head down, but lying diagonally, and not engaged. Yet. It kinda worries me, but my doctor says to give it some time, up till about Week 42 or till when the placenta starts to lose it’s efficiency. I have conveyed my intention to have a natural birth, and he knows it. I’ve been through a procedure before under general anaesthesia, and I don’t fare well with medication. I was allergic to the anaesthesia that was given to me, developed a keloid on my scar and felt like I’d been hit by a train. I am even allergic to Paracetamol! So yea, still hoping and praying that Baby AL will engage soon.

On other fronts, I have put on 11kgs in total, not too bad I reckon. At our checkup last week, baby is at about 2.5kgs, and doc says since I’m of a petite frame, AL won’t be very big either. I guess that’s good news, hope it facilitates the natural birth that I am so hoping for. I didn’t develop any stretch marks. Right till about 2 days ago, when I saw them blasted lines appearing on my under belly. I thought that I’d be lucky enough to escape them, but nahhh. Deep down, I knew I’d get them, as I already have stretch marks from when I was about 14, but I guess I was just hoooooping I wouldn’t. Oh well.

The hubs arrived in Malaysia (much to my relief!) last week, and although he’s had to work even in Malaysia, I feel safe knowing that he’s around, and can come a-running as soon as I make a phone call. 😛 As of now, I’m staying with my mom as the hospital is close by, but once baby arrives, I will be doing my confinement at my in-laws place. I am, however, more than relieved that my mom-in-law will not make me adhere to the usually very strict rules pertaining to confinement practices. Let’s hope all goes well eh?

Tomorrow, I have another visit with my gynae, it has now become a weekly thing. And on Sunday, the hubs, MIL and I will attend a breastfeeding class conducted by a lactation consultant. Many may think that breastfeeding is a natural thing, and balk at the idea of attending a class for this, but I strongly believe that getting the basics right would eliminate or at least reduce many challenges a breastfeeding mother may experience. And why bring the MIL and Hubs along? Because everyone should know all they can about breastfeeding! I also hope to garner support from them during tough times, and hopefully I will not be hearing remarks like “you’re not producing enough milk!” or “supplement with formula for a chubbier baby!” or “baby needs water” (a breastfed baby does NOT need plain water).

I am now nursing a cold and a nasty cough, and I’m pretty anxious to get well ASAP as I’m gonna need all the energy during delivery. I went out and bought myself a jar of (pricey!!!) manuka honey and hi-potency Vitamin C to combat this darn bug, as these come highly recommended and are, well, the most natural things I can take. No meds for me whenever possible.

While I wait for The Day to arrive, I’m taking it easy, listening to relaxing music, playing with the best little pal I have – my pooch Boo, and uhh, eating 😛 This waiting game is nerve wracking I tell you.

Cuckoo over cloth diapers

There’s a new bug in town, and it’s called the cloth diaper bug. Haven’ you heard? 😉

In an effort to be cost conscious and environmentally friendly, I have decided to jump on the cloth diapering bandwagon. To simplify things, this is an excerpt I took from lampinkain.com

Why Cloth Diaper?

 

Cloth diapers are easy to use and it just take a little effort.

 

Cloth Diapers have evolved. Cloth diapers now are elasticized, waterproof breathable and equipped with Velcro-like closures or snaps. They are just as easy to use as disposable diapers but it is washable.

 

 

But wait, does an extra load of laundry sounded like a prison sentence to you? Honestly speaking, yes it does take a little effort. Using cloth diaper do means extra of 2 – 3 loads of laundry. But trust me that washing it is just a breeze.  

 

 

Cloth Diapers Are Cheaper Than Disposable Diapers

At first glance, the price is expensive. Cloth diapers have a pricey start-up cost.

But wait. Let’s do some calculations before making any conclusions.

 

As a rule of thumb, a new born baby will use up to 12 diapers per day. An older baby will need around 8 diapers a day until potty training.

 

 

Let’s do some estimation:

 

 

	Disposable Diapers	Cloth Diaper
How many diapers?	New born baby up to 4 months – 12 diapers per day  Older baby – 8 diapers  (Assumption: potty train at 3 years)	12 size small  12 size medium  8 size large  (I use one-sized diapers)
Total of diapers	(12 diapers X 4 months X 30 days) + (8 diapers X 32 months X 30 days) = 1440 + 7680 = 9120 diapers	32 diapers
Assumption on price per diaper	On average, cost of average brand diaper in Malaysia RM0.50 (In Italy, it’s about RM1.10 each)	On average, the price for a cloth diaper is RM75 (EUR17.50)  *These days, one can get dipes for as low as RM25!
Total money spent on diapers	RM4560 (EUR 1062)	RM2400 (EUR 560)
Savings		90%

 

 

Thus cloth diapers would only cost between RM1800 – RM 2500 which is equal to 90% savings. Although the table above states that one can buy sized diapers, I think its even more cost saving to buy one-sized diapers like I did. They are adjustable and can usually fit a 3kg baby till potty-trained.

 

The best part is that these cloth diapers may last for one or more successive children and your savings doubles or even triples.

 

 

How about laundering expenses? Cloth diapers will usually mean an extra one to three loads of laundry a week, but if everyone were to weigh the extra costs of their electricity, water usage, and detergent, I think they would be pleasantly surprised. These costs are still low if compared to the cost of expensive disposable diapers.

 

 

Cloth Diapers Are Better For the Environment

Disposable diapers require thousands of tons of plastic and hundreds of thousands of trees to manufacture. After a few hours of active service these materials are trucked away, primarily to landfills, where they sit, neatly wrapped packages of excrement, entombed or mummified, for several hundred years.

 

 

Waste from disposables diapers are the 3rd largest single product in the waste stream behind newspapers and beverage containers. The urine and feces in disposable diapers enter landfills untreated, possibly contaminating the ground water supply.

 

 

When you consider the unnecessary depletion of our valuable forests, the huge volume of garbage created, the toxic air and water pollution and the potential health risks to children, it is very difficult to comprehend how washing and reusing cloth diapers could ever be considered an inconvenience. They are a rewarding investment all around. A financial investment, an investment in our children’s health, and an investment on our planet earth!

 

 

Cloth Diapers are Healthier for your Baby

Some toxic chemicals are presented in disposable diapers. Disposable diapers contain:

 

–         Dioxin, which in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases, genetic damage, is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers, and trace quantities may exist in the diapers themselves. Dioxin is listed by the EPA as the most toxic of cancer related chemicals.

–         Tributyl-tin (TBT) – a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.

–         Sodium polyacrylate. If you have ever seen the gel-like, super absorbent crystals in a disposable than you have seen this first hand. Sodium polyacrylate is the same substance that was removed from tampons because of its link to toxic shock syndrome.

 

 

No studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby’s reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years. Studies have also been done to show that the chemical emissions from disposable diapers can cause respiratory problems in children.

 

Cloth diapers, on the other hand, are free of the many chemicals contained in disposable diapers.

Source: www.lampinkain.com

Seeing that there are some sales going on in Malaysia in conjuction with the Malaysian Mega Sale, I took the opportunity to purchase some cloth diapers online and got it shipped to my sister’s house in Malaysia, and another batch to a friend’s house in Singapore. I realized that it would be a pricey purchase and hence decided to start early and not buy everything in one go. That would most likely cause the other half to blow a fuse freak out, and hence the step-by-step purchase. Of course, it is always best to buy a few first to see which brand and type suits your baby best before purchasing more. Unfortunately, I do not have that luxury as it is close to impossible to get good deals here in Italy, and thus, buying in Malaysia would be a much more economical solution, what with the mushrooming of blogshops offering competitive prices. Sigh, I do wonder why just about *everything* in Italy is so much pricier. Even purchasing goods from Ebay Italy can be quite pricey!

That said, here’s my first stash of cloth diapers (or popularly known as fluffy mail amongst cloth diapering moms) that arrived in the mail. These are cloth diapers from Bumgenius, and the solid coloured Bumgenius’ are from their latest series, Bumgenius 4.0. The one with designs on them are from the Bumgenius Artist Series. The rest are from Happy Heinys, another well known American producer of cloth diapers. I can only hope that bubs will be able to wear them all sans any problems.

Can you tell if bubs is going to be a boy or a girl? 😉

All things baby!

This blog is turning into a baby blog isn’t it? Oh well, I’ll just go with the flow and embrace whatever life throws me. Bubs isn’t here yet and our lives are ALREADY revolving around him/her!

I must say though, that I am enjoying every minute of it 🙂 I have always been that girl who melts when she sees an ADORABLE pair of baby shoes. Heck, there was once I seriously contemplated buying a pair of baby Nikes and to put them as an ornamental piece in my house simply because it was too damn adorable. And no, I wasn’t married then, and most definitely not preggers. And now, muahahah, I actually have the LICENSE to actually buy these items! *rubs hands in glee*

After much arguing discussing, we finally decided on the big ticket items for baby. We were initially deciding between the Stokke Xplory stroller, the Concord Neo stroller and the Bugaboo Cameleon Stroller. The Stokke is indeed eye catching, what with it’s elevated position, but most shop owners warned that it is bulky and is difficult to fit into cars, unless one has a car with a big bootspace. Which is something our little car does not have. So then, it was a toss up between the Concord Neo and the Bugaboo Cameleon. Concord is German and Bugaboo is Dutch.

Concord Neo

Bugaboo Cameleon

The main criteria we looked for in our strollers were:

1) Good suspension and manouverability. The nerd engineer in the hubs couldn’t help but to test the suspension of the wheels and he/we loved the Concord and Bugaboo’s good wheel suspension

2) Brakes activated by hand. I had no issues with brakes at foot level, but the hubs preferred that the stroller we chose had brakes that is at hand level, which both the Concord and Bugaboo had.

3) Weight. Of course there are umbrella strollers out there are very light, but we wanted something that wouldn’t be too heavy for a stroller that is in this category. The Bugaboo weighs 8.62 kgs and the Concord weighs 10.6kgs. (Information retrieved from their respective websites).

Both the Bugaboo and Concord pretty much fulfilled the criteria we wanted, making it a lot more difficult for us to decide. Of course, the price factor is another matter. The Concord was slightly cheaper by about EUR200. I was however, loving the bright colour options of the Bugaboo. We went to three different baby stores to try out the strollers, and finally we decided to try out the Bugaboo again before deciding on which to buy. And whaddaya know, that particular store was having a 20% discount on all items above EUR200 on that day, and so the discount factor made us decide on the Bugaboo. Hubs who was initially leaning towards the Concord said “Ok, we’ll take it (the Bugaboo) immediately when he heard of the discount. This particular shop doesn’t stock the Concord, hence it made it easier for us. Phew! I happily chose the Cameleon in a nice cheery orange shade.

Since there was a discount going on, and discounts do NOT come by often here in Modena, we thought we’d buy some other items too.

– A Fisher Price infant to toddler rocker/chair

Fisher Price rocker - picture from Amazon.com

– A Flexibath foldable baby bath tub

Flexibath tub - picture from babyology.com.au

I reckon that this tub would come in handy since we do not have much space in our bathrooms. The Flexibath comes in a myriad of colours, but we bought the transparent one in case of uhhh…poopy accidents happening. Reckon it would be easier to spot LOL.

– Aveeno toiletries

Aveeno Baby Wash and Shampoo

As I will be delivering in Malaysia, I don’t want to stock up on too much toiletries all at once for our home in Modena. I figured something pretty basic would do. I’ve heard lots of good reviews on Aveeno, especially if a baby is prone to eczema (touchwood) or other skin ailments.

Of course, there’s also the baby crib which has not been set up yet, for it’s far too early.

We bought our crib and mattress from good ol’ Ikea. Crib is the Hensvik model, and the mattress is the Vysssa Somnat.

Ikea Hensvik crib + Vyssa Mattress

The reason I wanted an Ikea crib was simple. It was simply because I wanted a crib that would be able to double up as a child’s bed once baby is bigger. As can be seen from the image above, one side of the crib is removable so the little kiddo can climb in and out of bed when he/she is bigger. Italy has some really REALLY lovely nursery items, and some of their cribs are so beautiful but mighty expensive and I haven’t come across a decently priced crib-cum-bed in any of the regular baby shops here.

Other purchases we have made include books. Some of these books were bought way back last year 😉 while the famous breastfeeding book by Jack Newman arrived just yesterday. I try not to overload myself with information, but I think these books are pretty much essential, especially the top and bottom ones. What Every Parent Needs To Know is a book that the hubs bought, and I started reading it, and found it quite interesting, especially where it concerns sleep training etc, but I reckon I’d finish Jack Newman’s breastfeeding book first before completing the former.

Trying to think ahead, I also got a nice friend to help me purchase an Ergo Performance baby carrier. I will be flying back to Italy when bubs is about 2 months old, and I figure a baby carrier would be great help. There are LOADS of baby carriers out there, all kinds of shapes, sizes and functions, but since I live in ulu Modena, I have to decide on one as there aren’t many/any shops that stock these, and shipping would be expensive too. There was a Parenthood fair in Midvalley, KL, Malaysia last week, and Alesia kindly helped me to buy this at a promo price of RM391. Usual price would be around RM480. Since I will be using this when bub would be really small, I’d need to get the infant insert too, but that can wait till I get back to Malaysia.

Ergo Performance - image from http://www.ergobabycarrier.com

As it’s not too “girly” looking as many ring slings and pouches are, the hubs would be able to use it too. Thanks again for your help Alesia! I LOVE the feeling of getting a good bargain 😉

I feel a little more relieved having purchased these items, as I’m a wee bit concerned about the whole going back home to deliver in Malaysia thing, and having to come back to Italy and ensuring that bubs has all the necessities ready in our home in Italy too.

Next week we will check out wardrobes for bub’s room, as we’re not going with the usual chest of drawers, as we want something that would last us much longer.

I have also been researching cloth diapers, as I am keen to cloth diaper as it saves lots of money in the long run, and is also good for the environment. And as usual, yours truly is being all kiasu and gung ho coz I need to get the items when I’m back in Malaysia! I hope the hubs doesn’t freak out at the initial start up cost of these cloth diapers, although he has been quite supportive of it thus far. ( I sayang this guy loads, he patiently listens to my explanation on things and usually lets me have the last say) Can we all say awwww? 😉 As of now, I am leaning towards Bumgenius diapers after all the good reviews I have read about them. Other good brands are FuzziBunz and Rumparooz I reckon. They don’t come cheap, but if it’s gonna save us money in the long run, then I’m all for it. Anyone with info on group buys/discounts on cloth diapers especially Bumgenius, do let me know!

So phew, there you go, a looooong update on preparation for bub’s arrival. The hubs travelling oh so often for work makes it difficult for us to buy stuff, so whenever he’s around, we go searching for stuff. And Modena being a small town, we have to search even harder for items. The nearest Ikea for instance is a good 45 minutes away on the highway. Times like these, I do miss KL and it’s proximity to everything. *sniffs*

Oh well, we win some, we lose some don’t we? 😉 At least I have a loving, supportive other half who has been amazing throughout this pregnancy. Let’s hope this continues babes 😉 else I’m gonna make bubs love ME more.

The 20 week scan

(Not so)little bub turned 20 weeks two weeks ago in utero. I was SO nervous before the scan, hoping quietly that all would be ok, especially since I wasn’t gaining much weight.

As soon as the doctor placed the probe on me, we could immediately see bub wriggling away in there. I could see the feet clearly, and had to stop myself from squealing, but unfortunately the hubs couldnt see what it was. I wonder if he would recognize an elephant if I placed one in front of him.  😛

The doctor monitored the heart and head the most, and he mumbled that all was ok with bub. He’s a strange, eccentric doctor this one, but apparently the best in scans throughout Modena. My primary gynaecologist is a different lady doctor, but even she directed me to this doctor, let’s call him Dr.M for my scans. Apparently practically the whole of Modena sees him for scans. Man, he must be sleeping on a nice bed of moolah. Our 15 minute scan cost us EUR200.

Anyway, so much for Dr.M. All I care about is bub. As at week 20, I had gained about 2kg, and was hovering at about 49-50kg. I asked him about it, and he said that it’s fine as long as bub is growing well.

“UGH…PAPARAZZI!”

 

😀 Check out that arm covering the face. Bubs was in a normal lying position, but when the doctor prodded my tummy further to get a clearer view, bub instinctively raised an arm and covered the face! How cute is that.

 

The doctor persisted and prodded my belly even more, much to hubs chagrin, as he was worried that the doctor would hurt bubs (HAH what about the mommy whose tummy is being poked on, no one cares about the mommy anymore). And we were greeted with this:

 

 

It looks like a Let’s PARTAYYYY kinda pose, what with both arms above the head doesn’t it 😉 But then I realized that’s pretty much how I sleep, with both arms above my head. Maybe bubs takes after me in that aspect. But from what we can see, bubs has the hubs nose with a high bridge. I have a button nose, and I doubt a button nose would show up prominently like bubs.

 

On a different note, I’m happy to report that this is ONE ACTIVE baby I’m carrying. I feel strong movements when I’m hungry, when I’ve just eaten, when I’ve drank something cold, and also when I change positions while sleeping. That’s pretty much movements ALL the time. In fact I feel the bumpity bumps right as I write this. Sometimes I worry I’m squashing bub when I’m sleeping, and I do try to make a conscious effort to sleep on my left side. But the back aches too much and I have to switch positions after some time.

 

As I write this, I am at Week 22, and am at 51 kgs after all that eating in Germany. Our trip to Germany was LOVELY. I ate so much and was sooooo glad to have had lamb almost everyday. It’s my favourite and unfortunately lamb is hard to come by in Modena.

 

Bubs is behaving and not making me crave for anything else thus far, and I couldn’t be happier. Craving for something and not getting it is TORTURE. I still have my stock of rootbeer in the fridge, and am cauuuuutiously consuming it for fear of a sugar overdose. Ironic though, that it’s the hubs who would eagerly offer to open a bottle for me. We all know why, don#t we 😉

 

My next doctor’s appointment should be at the end of July, but I’m in no hurry to see her since bub’s all fine and dandy. I just might postpone it to August instead. We’ll see.

 

In the meantime, what does bub look like to you? A girl or a boy? Go on and take a guess 😉

 

Baby’s first items

A quick post for posterity’s sake 😉

 

 

The little Lamaze toy is from hub’s ex-colleagues/friends from Singapore who were visiting Italy a couple of weeks ago. We drove them to Verona and Mantova, and baby received his/her first gift ever.

 

The little white Benetton top was something that the hubs and I simply couldn’t resist getting. The bling font was just too adorable to pass up. I just love white on babies. This top is officially the first item that hubs and I have purchased for bubs 🙂

 

 

Lookie Lookie!

 

 

Look at what I got from New York 😉

9 bottles of A&W rootbeer.

One bottled immediately chilled in the freezer when the hubs got home, and downed in this 36 degree celcius heat, tasted just.absolutely.divine.

Oh, I got me some items from Sephora too, a Bobbi Brown foundation and some Clinique moisturizer. Would have been better if I had gotten that Nars blusher. 😛  And who cares about Coach bags when Prada from Milano is just like a hop and skip 2 hours away from my house. Ahem. 😉

The sister and brother-in-law arrive from Malaysia in 2 days time, and she’s got some Super Ring snacks for me YUMS. We leave for a trip to Germany on Wednesday and get home on Sunday. I hope the weather’s cooler there than it is in sweltering hot Modena.

Now that I’ve gotten my oh-so-elusive root beer, I hope the cravings stay far, far away. I have been thinking about asam laksa lately, but so far, I’ve managed to keep it off my mind. Fingers crossed 😉