Weight

I was back into my old jeans (loose one) within a month after the delivery and I weigh the same as before pregnant. However as I lose my appetite on chocolate, crisps, etc during my pregnancy, I had been making up for lose time and had been snacking everyday since. I got to STOP snacking!!!

Gifts from colleagues
Tristan with the personalised blanket (one of the gifts from my colleagues).

Birth Story

Finally Tristan is born on 28 Dec 2010!!! I was having contractions on 26 Dec but it was far part (ranging from every 5 minutes to 15 minutes or sometime even stopped!!) that I can't go into hospital yet. I finally insisted on going into hospital on 27 Dec evening (around 11pm) as I wasn't coping well with the pain and was unsure how far along I am. After examination, I was ask to go home and wait it out as I was only 1 cm!!!

Reach home at 2am on 28 Dec and I feel the urge to push and my water broke. Called the hospital again and was asked to go back in immediately. Reach the hospital at about 3am and I was fully dilated upon examination. Tristan was born at approx 5am!!

No drugs at all (except for the TENS machine which I put on since 26 Dec) as there's no time for me to have any....... however I have a tear that need epidual to stitch it back :( plus I lost too much blood and need a blood transfusion (2 bags). In total, I stayed at the hospital for 2 nights and I was desperate to go home as I couldn't get any sleep at the maternity ward (4 beds sharing) with Tristan not sleeping in the night and other babies crying too.

Back home from hospital on 30 Dec and are now trying to cope with a newborn baby schedule.

Baby gifts
Gift from Jo, a Deglingos Nonos.

A 7 piece baby clothings from Liz and Steve.

A range of clothings (Bibs and mitts are in the washing, therefore not in pic) and toys from Kit and Jess.

Different in birth cost

In UK, as we already paid approx 10% of our salary into National Insurance from our gross salary, there's no bill to pay for giving birth in public hospital. Any prescription from GP are also free as pregnant woman are given exemption during pregnancy and up to 12 months after giving birth.

Of course the public hospital is different from the Singapore hospital (not that I have given birth in SG) :-
- We visited the labour ward and they are 6 or 8 beds in the ward. There's 1 room (only 1 bed) which you can pay to be in there (if you want some privacy) but it's not ensuite and it cost about £100 a night (what's the point).
- If you are in labour, you need to call the labour ward and you will need to be having 3 contractions in 10 minutes before they ask you in. If you insist on going in, you can but if you are not dilated 3cm and beyond, you will be asked to go home and wait instead. That's why I bought a TENS machine to cope with the pain at home.
- You see your GP and a group of midwives throughout your pregnancy. During labour, any of the midwives might be there (depending on their schedule) and you don't get to see a doctor unless you are having complications.
- One of the mid-wife will visit you after you take the baby home (just to ensure you and the baby are fine)

Of course you can go to private hospital in UK, but it's going to cost lots!!

Last day of work

Today is my last day of work before I go off on maternity leave.
Had a nice lunch with colleagues and receive this lovely pinky bouquet of flowers from them yesterday.

36 weeks pregnant

The 36 weeks pregnant me.

So far I have gained 8kg. Face complexion is great (no spots!!), not sure whether it's because it's a boy (read it somewhere that when you are pregnant,carrying a boy will enhance your beauty and carrying a girl will steal your beauty), the bird nest soup I have been eating or the healthy eating I have been on. Oh well, enjoy while I can, 4 more weeks to go.

Stokke Xplory

This was the pushchair which we loved years ago when we first saw it at the airport security queue. When I got pregnant, we checked up on the price but it was just too expensive, therefore we look at others. However we cannot decide on any.

Recently we realised that the Stokke Xplory can also be a high chair and there's a price reduction. We found House of Baby price online and decide to visit the showroom in Bedford and physically test the product before buying it.

The staff was very friendly, knowledgeable and we can test the pushchair outside the showroom, road testing on the tarmac, grass and uneven surfaces. We also tried how it fold into our car and how the car seat fit into our car.

In the end, we decided to buy it, costing us £743. For this price we get :-

- Stokke Xplory, Dark Navy in colour
- Stokke Carry cot (from birth to approx 6 months old), dark navy in colour
- Maxi Cosi Cabrofix car seat (A must for transporting the baby in car), light blue in colour
- Stokke adaptor for car seat
- Stokke carry bag (free for purchasing the Stokke Xplory in store), dark navy in colour



The product is guarantee for 2 years and can be extended to 3 years by registering online. This is the most expensive thing we bought for the baby so far. Think it's worth it as we can use it for a few years and there's a second hand value on ebay.

PS : Based on the colour chosen, have you guess the gender of the baby?

The pregnancy effect

It's a life changing experience to get pregnant. Changes are :-

1. I used to sleep on my stomach but need to sleep on my sides now as bump is sticking out. Also can't sleep on my back as baby will press on my blood vessels and I can feel faint (Happened to me when I was lying on my back during one of the scan and I was feeling faint, so scary).

2. Leg cramps. Got three leg cramps one after the other last Saturday night, worst cramp so far. Eventually I have to wake Sam up to relieve my leg cramp.

3. So tired...... Feel so tired, especially every Sat after going out shopping, I must go to sleep at mid-afternoon to rest.

4. Out of breath. I feel out of breath easily after a flight of stairs. Got to walk slowly and minimise the things I carry around.

Pregnant
I'm 14 weeks pregnant and just had the first baby scan last Thursday. The baby is now 8.36cm and wasn't co-operative during the scan as the baby kept facing the wrong direction for the scan for the heart, face, etc. In total, the ultrasonographer saw me 4 times and each time, she press really hard into my belly hoping to see the right position!! Overall, she managed to get all the scans and the baby is fine. We were at the hospital for the 10.30am appointment and we only managed to leave at 4pm!

My appetite is really bad and not improving, feeling nauseous most of the time and still can't stomach meat (e.g. pork, beef, lamb). As I'm not eating meat, my blood test result shows that my iron level is lower than expected and now I'm on iron supplement tablet.

I was hoping that during pregnancy I can eat what I like but this wasn't the case for me....:(