Hello Hello!!!

Can't believe it's another long hiatus from me :(
Haven't been blogging since I've been really busy.

It has been a challenging year for me in 2012 I have to say.
Now that it's 2013, guess I really need to re-cap what has happen in 2012 and what has been coming up in 2013 :)

Oct 2012

1. Left my previous company where I've sloughed hard like a buffalo for 2 years
2. Suffered from bloated-ness for a whole month and was suspecting something serious :(
3. Sold my 4-rm and upgraded to EA

Nov 2012

1. Joined my current company and really loving it :) Met nice colleagues and have a great boss who appreicates and understand my needs for Work-Life balance as she understands that I'm a mother and needs to be there for Baby Kwok
2. Found out about my pregnancy only after a month into the job! The bloated-ness was one of the pregnancy symptoms :P

Dec 2012

1. Travelled to Scotland for business trip with Prince Charming and little bun in my oven ;)
2. First separation from Baby Kwok for 2 weeks and  was so upset that I cried EVERYDAY

Jan 2013

1.  HDB completion done for the selling of my 4rm and moving out from our 1st home and back to my parents place

Feb 2013

1. Went back to Taipei with Prince Charming, Baby Kwok and little bun bun in my oven for CNY
2. Had my 2nd trimester screening and knowing the gender of little bun bun! We're having a princess for #2!

Mar 2013

1. HDB completion for the purchase of my EA!!! Yay!
2. Went for tiles selection and had the flooring measurement done for our parquet :)

 I have to say 2012 was challenging with me facing with a new job and having to know about my pregnancy. 2013 has been good so far and I'm sure it will be even better upon the arriving of my #2 in July! We're be a family of 4 soon! Yipeeee~

My Star baby :D

I have a star baby!

*I guess only Aimei knows what I'm talking about!*

Guess who's who? ;)

I love you my Baby Kwok ♥

My Baby Kwok ^^

After a long hiatus, I'm finally back to blog.

Still "under-going" confinement now but it will be ending soon in another 1+ weeks time! HURRAY!

It's so tough to have your confinement done during the April period! The weather never seems to help much, plus the temperature seems to get higher and higher each day. Luckily the past few days were quite cooling with the help of some heavy rain. Unable to bathe is a NO issue for me but with my MIL staying in my house, I have to oblige to it but thank goodness my Mummy bought the herbal shower pack for me so that I could at least soak myself in water about once a week. Actually I did sneakily bathe during my stay at mummy's place while she's at work :P *shssssss*

And yes, my most important task to blog today is to introduce my bundle of Joy! My baby Kwok! He arrived on 6-Apr 2010 at KK Hospital! I went through a 26 hours of labour but it's all worthwhile when I see him :)

Here's my birth story which I said I'll share the other time.

5-Apr 2010

--------------

9:30am - Admitted into hospital for induction of labour

10:00am - After the monitoring of baby's heartbeat at Labour ward, prositiin was inserted to help soften cervix

12:00pm - Had my lunch at labour ward as there were no available ward for me to stay in yet

1:30 ~ 2:00pm - Yeah! Finally get to shift to my ward where I can sleep comfortably

2:30pm ~ 8:30pm - Contractions came in but bearable

9:30pm - Heavier contractions encountered, notified nurse and was sent to Delivery suite since I'm having immerse contractions every 2 mins

9:30pm ~ 3:00am - Having bad contractions and was so sleepy. Slept through out but the contractions wakes me up every min!

4:00am - Gynae came in to burst waterbag!! Wooo.. hot fluid coming out!

7:30am - Can't bear with the immerse pain so asked for Epidural aka HAPPIDURAL!

7:30am ~ 3:00pm - Painless labour but at around 1230pm, Epi ran out so was topped up with another one since I was only 7cm dilated

3:30pm - 10cm dilated! Was asked to push so was giving all my best to push to crown my baby's head

4:00pm - Gynae arrived and within mins, baby arrived!

It seems just yesterday that I've given birth but looking at the dates, it's 3 weeks already!

Baby Kwok will be turning 1 month next week and I can't wait to see the cupcake tree that I've ordered for him :)

Prince Charming took this for Baby Kwok and I'm loving it!

We're going to print it in Poster size for Baby Kwok's First Month Party :)

Baby Kwok is here!

After a super long labour, Baby Kwok finally arrives!
I'll be updating my birth story soon, when I'm coping better with Motherhood! :)

When is the time?

Tapping my fingers to await for my baby's arrival. Currently 38+ weeks and I've no signs of labour :( Most of my forum mates who are due in the 1st 2 weeks of April have mostly popped and I'm one of the few who've no signs of symptoms yet.

Baby Kwok, Baby Kwok... When do you want to come out?

Mummy and Daddy Kwok is waiting anxiously and excitedly for your arrival!

Plus, I don't even know how's contractions like! OMG!

I only know I've pelvic cramps/pain and I feel tightness on my tummy. Are these contractions signs? Praying hard that Baby Kwok will come out chubby, healthy and soon! :)

Oh, and hopefully I can lose at least 12kg of weight upon the arrival of my healthy Baby Kwok :P

What I've done and not done so far....

Done List

• 95% done with hand washing of Baby Kwok's apparels (Rompers, Sleep suits, Receiving blankets etc...)

• 100% done with washing of Baby Kwok's Cot bedding (I've only got 1 set currently and I machine washed them so its pretty simple!)

• 90% done with packing of my hospital bag, with the exception of Prince Charming's stuffs. (He'll see what he wants to bring and wear - VAIN lor!)

• Almost 100% done with the purchase of Baby Kwok's stuffs, for instance: Baby Bath, Bottom Balm, Bath Towels, Burping Cloths etc...

Undone List

• Sterilize Baby Kwok's milk bottles and my Breast Pump

• Align the Bedding set onto Baby Kwok's mattress and pillows

• Wash and sterilize the Bath tub which is sort of hands down (We bought it for Prince Charming's Taiwan niece in 2007 when she came to visit us at 3 months old and it was only used for 1 week)

• Re-align the Kitchen appliances to make space for the Sterilizer and Tupperware to store Milk bottles

• Clean and "dettolised" my Fridge to ensure that the Fridge is bacteria free (Must store my breast milk in a clean and bacteria free environment)

Almost Almost!

Almost! Almost!
I meant my hospital bag is ALMOST ready! I wouldn't say its 90% done but I'm glad I actually did took out the effort to go through my list again and again and to reaffirm the necessary items with experienced mummies.

Remember the list that I posted several weeks ago? Many mummies have feedback that it is too long and many of the items are not that necessary for instance, Maternity pads/Breast pump/Breast milk storage bags. During my Antenatal lessons, my instructor Mrs Wong Boi Boi told the class that Colostrum or Breast milk may not come in right after delivery. Most of the mums get it maybe 3 or 4 days after baby's arrival which is why I suppose there is no need for me to bring my breast pump and storage bags to my hospital. Furthermore, most hospital do supply their patients with breast pump and storage glass bottles so okay... that's like 2 things off my checklist = lighter hospital bag!

Besides the almost ready hospital bag, I've just placed my deposit at the Infant Care Center that I'll be placing Baby Kwok once I resume work after my Maternity leave. Prince Charming and I had no choice to place Baby Kwok in an Infant care because Grandma (my mummy!) is still working and it sort of unfair for her to quit her job since I couldn't afford to pay her that amount of salary that she is getting, plus I can't even contribute the extra 15% CPF and the 2 times bonus which she gets every year.... I thought letting her to work is a better deal and most importantly, I've 2 brothers who are currently in University and Polytechnic. I believe with my mummy working, she can helps with the load that my daddy is carrying :) Even though Granny was telling me she don't mind, but I don't want to be a selfish daughter, I need to think for my parents who are approaching old age, don't I? :)

So another checklist done! FYI - Finding vacancies in an Infant Care Center wasn't an easy task!
Each Infant Care only caters to a maximum of 10 infants and many infant care centers have waiting list of up to 150! I'm really lucky that the Infant care center just 2 LRT stations from my area has 2 of their infants upgraded to the toddler group which is why I am able to get a placement there. Of course, I don't really like the idea of placing Baby Kwok in an Infant Care Center but oh well, I'd pray that I made the right choice. On a positive side, Baby Kwok can strengthen his immune system and has more contacts with the other kids which would make him more sociable when it comes to school.

Counting down.. I'm 35+ weeks into my pregnancy and will be due in another 2-4 weeks time!
Getting really excited!!

Time to pack my Delivery bag!

Remember my previous post mentioning about packing of my delivery hospital bag? I said I will start the preparations at my Week 30 but now 4+ weeks have passed and I've not even started a single packing!!!

My gynae said that all is ready to start popping after 37 weeks of pregnancy and looking at it, I'm left with just 3 -4 weeks time. I better remember to bring back my mini luggage bag from the office today, otherwise I would have to lug the big big luggage at home to the hospital. By then I guess I would have been the laughing stock of the day with everyone staring at my big luggage bag :S


Prince Charming took for me last week on my Week 33 :D
The invincible Stretchmarks have started to crawl in ALL AT ONE SHOT!
Now, it's really time to pile more of that fatty creamy Stretchmarks cream on my tummy.

My Pregnancy Progress

Some photos to share my pregnancy progress :)







As you can tell very rightly from the pictures, I have put on LOADS of weight. Hahaha...
Prince Charming was saying: "Who doesn't when they are pregnant?"
FYI - Up till date (currently 28 weeks), I've piled on 26 lbs! Heee heee..

Oh! I requested Prince Charming to do a "studio shot" for me and I truly love him!
I can't wait for Little Kwok to arrives in April!
Sharing my joy with all my blogger friends! :D

Counting on you, Prince Charming!

Baby Posing » a class by Kelley Ryden and Tracy Raver in Omaha, NE

A very cool blog to share with Mummies to be!
Awesome pictures and the babies are mostly about 10~12 days old when the pictures were taken.

Prince Charming, do you think you can do this? Me and Little Kwok counting on you! :D
P/s: I thought I should just post up some of my favorite ones from this blog :)

One very important List!

I'm officially in my 3rd Trimester now! Looking at my Pregnancy Ticker ( at the right bottom of my banner if case you get "Ah, where?), it's another 82 days till my EDD (Estimated Due Date). My Gynae did mention that most women tend to deliver their babies at around Week 38 ~ Week 39 but of course, it much depends on individual.

I read through some forum that it is best to pack my bag for Delivery at around 30 weeks ~ 33 weeks. I'm just into my Week 28 and have been researching up and down the necessities of what to bring. My sister, currently into her 2nd Trimester does not seems to have time for me (Dealing with her school and my niece + Brother-in-Law) so I dare not hinder her time since I know she really need more rest than I do! She's a teacher and I used to be one (okay.. contract teaching for 1 year) so I truly understand the minimal time she has for herself.

Alright, after doing some search via Google I sourced through a few local forums and got the following Bag list. I'm going to post it here for Prince Charming and my convenience! Also to share with all the First-time Mum-T0-Be like me :)

Bag List for Delivery

1. Antenatal & Outpatient Appointment Card
2. ATM Card & Cash
3. Gynae Letter (If any)
4. NRIC of both Husband and Wife
5. ROM Certificate and Bank Account Book/Statement (For Baby bonus Admin)

Mummy's Item

1. Cord Blood Banking Kit - Must remember to pass this to your Gynae before Delivery
2. Disposable Breast Pads - To absorb leaking Colostrum
   
3. Disposable Cotton Panties
   
4. Breast pump - You can start to pump your supply if there is
   
5. Hair Accessories (e.g. Hair Band/Comb) - To tidy up your hair
6. Face and Bath towel - In case the ward does not supply
   
7. A set of Home Clothes - To wear upon discharge from Hospital, preferably a dress
8. A pair of shoes - Best to wear Slipper for easy convenience
9. Maternity Pads - To absorb heavy postpartum Blood flow
10. Mobile Phone & Charger - VERY IMPORTANT!
11. Nipple Shields - To protect sore or cracked nipples while breast feeding
12. Nursing Bras - To use with Disposable Breast pads
13. Socks - To keep your feet warm, it can get very cold inside the ward
14. Spare Plastic bags - To store soiled clothes & towels
15. A box of tissues
    
16. Toiletries - Just in case the hospital does not supply
17. Cooling Bag - To store your milk supply if any
    
18. Breast milk Storage bag - If you have over-excessive volume of breast milk

Baby's Item

1. Receiving Blanket/Baby Blanket - To wrap and warm baby upon discharge from hopsital
2. Booties & Socks
3. Mittens
4. A set of Newborn Clothes
5. Newborn Size Disposable Diapers (Usually supplied by Hospital)
   
   

Daddy's Item (If Daddy is staying over with Mummy) - Something that I added myself!

1. Sweater - The ward can get very cold during the night so it is best that the daddy prepares a set of Sweater so that he can keeps himself warm. Alternatively, you can request for a blanket from the Hospital.
   
   
2. Snacks - In case the daddy gets hungry and become grumpy. (Opps.. which always happen to Prince Charming!
   
   
3. Magazines/Games/MP3 - To keep the daddy entertained which Prince Charming needs so badly. I can predict that!
   
   
4. Camera/Video cam - To capture the precious moments~
   

Happy Saturday!

Had a hearty breakfast and yum my day off! :)

Breakfast consists of Crispy Butter Croissant, Cocktail Hotdogs and Scramble eggs.

It's a simple meal but just make my day happy!

Made some Claypot Chicken rice for Dinner, with some Oyster sauce Veggies.

Prince Charming was amazed that I cooked Veggies! (Well... since my pregnancy I started to list Veggies as one of my "I-don't-like food item). I added in A LOT of preserved meat in the claypot rice cause Prince Charming loves them so much and I drizzle so much dark soy sauce (opps). The aroma just perks up our appetite that we had 2 bowls of it!

Oh, did I mention that the Claypot cracked while the rice was simmering?

I need a new claypot!!!!

Something to post before CNY!

I have so many stuffs on my list that I really wanted badly but, Prince Charming said we have to eliminate those that are deem unnecessary and only get the ones that we REALLY REALLY need. Okay, FINE...


#1: Slow Cooker
I so wanted it and nearly got myself a small Slow Cooker but got a big one for my mummy in the end cause I knew I probably won't use it for long (maybe just 4 times max) since I'm not cooking/baking much nowadays (Get tired easily lah!) and mummy is always brewing soups for me and I know the one she's been using is really really old and a tad too small.

#2: Multi-Tier Steamer
Prince Charming is worried about the limited space we have in our Kitchen. Exactly! That's pretty much what I'm worried too. My Kitchen is as small as a mouse hole and most of the space are much occupied by the huge Whirlpool Fridge. Having a Multi-Tier steamer would mean that I need to get rid of one of the electrical appliances that is sitting on my table top right now. Rice Cooker - No! Hot Pot - No! Cooker Hob - NO! Tell me, which one should I discard to fit in my Multi-Tier Steamer?

#3: Microwave Oven
Exactly the same problem I'm facing as #2 and my mummy kept nagging that Microwave generates a huge amount of radiation that's not good for humans.

#4: Dehumidifier
Prince Charming has been complaining so much about the humidity problems we are facing in our Walk-in Wardrobe. For those who have not visited my house, my shower room is just right inside my Walk-in Wardrobe and it seems that tonnes of moisture are escaping from the shower room and finding refuge in the Wardrobe. It sort of makes our clothing a little "wetter" but lucky enough, not adding extra scent or fungus to it (Maybe cause we don't poo in the shower room :P) This is making Prince Charming a little frustrated. Well, oh well.. we can't seems to find a small dehumidifier anywhere in Singapore and our Walk-in Wardrobe can't accommodate any bigger ones (1 disadvantage of staying a new flat = very small area!) Sigh.. also we don't have any electrical slot in the WIW and I don't really like the idea of using the extension unit! It will make my WIW looks untidy! (

#5: Playpen
Thought of placing the Playpen in the living room so while I'm doing any house chores or cooking in the kitchen, at least I can see my baby without walking to and fro from my Bedroom and making myself assured that my baby is still within my eye level but...... my living room is pathetically small :( I don't even know where to squeeze out a space to fit in the playpen. My alternative other than a playpen would be a Play Gym.

#6: Diaper Bag
In a dilemma whether to just get a cheap diaper bag or should I get something that I like. Prince Charming prefer that I get a diaper bag that I really like because he wants me to feel proud carrying that diaper bag. Actually.. he got his motive because if I get myself a nice diaper bag, he will have the excuse to get himself a Crumpler bag which he will uses it as Daddy's diaper bag! God.. what a clever husband I have!

Happy 2010!

How time flies!! Goodbye 2009 and Hello 2010 in a wink!

I can't remember how many Happy New Year have I greet in my blog, I think probably 3?

2009 may not be a prosperous year for many out there due to the major economic crisis and dramatic recession around the globe but I'm pretty sure each of us learnt something from our lesson, especially on the investment part. Haha!

2010 will definitely be a good year for me especially! In another 3 months plus time, I'll be delivering my Little Kwok! I really can't wait to see him! For now, I'll concentrate on my pregnancy and hope that Little Kwok absorbs all the good nutrients from me and continue to grow healthily. I hope all my families will be blessed with happiness and good health and wealth! Huat ah! :P

Anyway, didn't really celebrate New Year. Just a simple one at home with Prince Charming and his friends (Opps.. Actually I was sleeping like a log throughout the night). On New Year day, I did a humble dinner for both of us cause Prince Charming was really tired from the "celebration" at home the night before.

Cooked Butter Corn Rice which was featured on TVBS 生活好事兒. Really a simple dish to whipped up within minutes. Just purely melting some butter in the pan, stirring in some minced garlic and onions and adding in the washed rice and stir till fragrant. Add in the corn lastly and mix well. Pour the mixture into the Rice cooker pot and pour stock over it. Just enough to cover the rice and bring it to cook till done. SIMPLE right!

Prince Charming requested for spinach because he wanna be strong like Popeyes, hahaa.. So I bought a packet and stiry fry it with some oyster sauce. Simple deli! We bought 2 packet of Frozen Deep fried chicken from Fair Price the other day so Prince Charming requested for the one with Seaweed. Deep fried it and was served together with the other 2 as our dinner.

Simple yet fulfilling! I'm not a fussy eater you see! Kekee...

Catch me if you can! ;)

This is what I captured on video last night :)
I can see it quite clearly but maybe because Little Kwok is inside me and we are very well connected so that's why I know when's the exact timing.
Try spotting Little Kwok's kickings/movements! ^^

Pardon for the dark image cause I took it in the dark with just 1 bedside lamp switched on and oh well this was taken by my mobile so the quality may not be that good.

I want to go....

My Sis brought my niece to Tokyo recently and wow, Disneyland looks fantastic!
If only I could be there to play with my niece!! Told Prince Charming that I would want to bring our Little Kwok to Disneyland when Little Kwok is big enough to travel (say about 6 months old?)

He said he prefer to bring Little Kwok to Disneyland when Little Kwok is slightly bigger say about 2 years old. His logic is that if we bring Little Kwok to Disneyland before 1 year old, Little Kwok might not be able to remember what we did at Disneyland. Logical? Well, I don't quite agree but he is the boss so well.. Hahaha...!

Anyway, my Sis was so nice to buy some cute stuffs for my Little Kwok. She got Little Kwok a set of Mickey's house bibs and a set of Stitch infant clothes. The Stitch's set looks so cute!!! My niece, Charlotte told me that she misses me during her Japan trip. How sweet!

I'll share some of their Japan's trip pictures :)


That's Charlotte and my Brother-in-Law at some Shrine.


That's my Sister and Charlotte at Universal Studios :)


Charlotte and Sis at Disneyland. Spot Mickey Mouse?


That's my Sweetie Pie wearing a Mickey Mouse hairband.
So CUTE!!!


Happy Family ^^

My Weight Gaining Journey

I'm into my 21+ weeks of pregnancy and well... I gained up to 8kg already!
My weight gain seems to rocket especially in my 2nd trimester!

I still remembered losing 1kg during my 1st trimester because of the morning sickness symptoms and now getting back on track, the scale never seems to stop there. It'll just ..... goes up almost every week! I hope that's a good thing (Hopefully my weight gain are good signs that my Little Kwok is absorbing my nutrients and is growing very well) :)

Prince Charming took pictures of my tummy almost every week, if I'm not lazy.
Sometimes I'm just too tired to do anything that's why. I seriously need to be more hardworking to blog more about my life and pregnancy here.

Just some photos to share my joy ;)







If you notice, my tummy seems to balloon from 17 weeks onwards.
The difference is quite obvious :D

AND wait! My hair does'nt seems to grow!

I want this Diaper Bag!!!!!

This is my DREAM Diaper bag! So gorgeous!
If only I could get some sponsors to buy for me :P



Was thinking of getting it 1 month ago but due to currency dropping so hold it for a while (Auntie lah, wanna save more bucks) and then.. realized I couldn't buy it now cause I just pre-ordered a Medela Freestyle Breastpump that cost me $460!!! The Breastpump is definitely a must as I intend to breastfeed my Little Kwok and yup for at least a year if I can endure.

Oh.. can some nice souls out there buy this for me???? :P

The Flu and Cough bug

I should have taken well of myself.
I should really eat well.
I should avoid the crowded areas.
I should learn to take more Vitamin C.
I should not ignore Mum and Prince Charming's nagging.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I regretted not heeding the above :(
The stupid flu and cough bug stick to me like super glue. How I try to shun them off, they just wouldn't go! I hope the fever won't be my friend. Please don't come to me......

Been taking my medications prescribed by gynae regularly. Just praying hard I'll be well by next week. Baby, please do not get affected by Mummy ok? Baby must continue to grow well and be healthy :)

Hello Little Kwok! :)

Well, as you can see my "latest" updates was in July. Grrrr.. that's like 3+ months ago?
People have been asking me "Where did you go to?" "When are you going to start your cooking and baking?" "Why haven't you been blogging?" "Hello, your blog is growing mold!"

I'm finally going to reveal the answers to all the questions which were thrown to me at a rocket speed! As you know, I've been married for 2 years and both my Prince Charming and I thought: Hey, I think it's time for us to start our little family!" and *drum rolls* I'm having my little Kwok! ^^

It's not that I don't want to share this good news but being a Chinese *ahem PROUD Chinese*, I have to keep this wonderful news for a period for 100 days before I can finally spread it loud to the world :)

Finally, the day has arrived! I'm currently into my 14 weeks of pregnancy and though has been suffering from some bad Morning sickness for many couple of weeks, I'm still really enjoying my pregnancy! It's so amazing seeing my little bean developing a flickering heartbeat to a fully form little human now and who is happily swimming in my uterus.

I am wondering if I should blog my pregnancy journey here or should I start a new blog for my baby? Vote please!!!!!!!