Wednesday, January 30, 2008

the waiting game ...

someone's a little too comfy and all snug as a bug in my tummy

that same someone is only expected to make her debut in 3 weeks, with an expected birth weight of around 3.2kg

that same someone FINALLY has a name - the Mummy and Daddy pondered over tens of names before finally agreeing and deciding on one



someone else is ballooning and puffing up much to her discomfort

that same someone else is trying to pass the waiting time through all sorts of necessary AND unnecessary projects around the house

that same someone else is also thinking up ways to disguise her fatness, but realizes there really isn't any way to hide it anymore, so have decided to embrace all of her fatness



happy rest-of-the-week to all! :-)

Sunday, January 27, 2008

conversations with the Big Z ...

a case of not liking them doctors ...

Big Z : I don't like my doctor, Mummy.
Me : Why? What's wrong with him?
Big Z : Coz he always pokes me (mimics the doctor giving him his injections).

Hehehe ... 'pokes' is his definition of injections.


Big Z : Also .... I think I don't like your doctor, Mummy.
Me : Whyyy??
Big Z : Coz he said it's a baby sister inside your tummy, not a baby brother! I told him I want a brother, but he said baby sister. See, that's all. So I think I don't like your doctor.

*LOL*

He says a lot of "see! that's all" too these days. He'll talk away, and at the end of his sentence(s), will say "see, that's all".



planning for the future ... seems he's been planning as much as I have too!

Me : Shall we go for a nice holiday somewhere in August?
Big Z : August? August??? Holiday?!?
Me : Yea. You, me, Daddy and Baby ... we'll go a for a nice holiday, coz your school will be closed in August.
Big Z : But Mummiieeeeeee ..... August is my birthday!
Me : Yea, I know. Mummy's birthday is in August too. So, let's go away for a good holiday.
Big Z : No Mummy. August, I only want to stay at home.
Me : Why?
Big Z : Becauussseeeee...... all the boys and girls, all my friends and everybody must come to my house for my birthday party. .... In August! See. That's all.

So yea. The Big Z isn't too keen on a nice long family holiday in August. A problem, I'd say, as I'm very much looking forward to one and August seems the most appropriate month to travel - Big Z having his long school break then, Baby Z won't be too small and fragile by then, and I, well, hopefully, HOPEFULLY will be at least a size smaller than I am now.

Monday, January 21, 2008

guaranteed to work (for the romantic souls, that is) ...

I subscribe to some of them free online newsletters which tracks your pregnancy stage - the likes of Baby Centre UK and Parenting Weekly. It's mostly informative useful information (as most of you would be familiar with, am sure). There are the occasional mails they send which end up being less informative on my part though - more like you're-kidding-right?? bits of 'information'. One such mail came in this morning.

According to Parenting Weekly, in this last trimester and no less, last few weeks to due date, they're suggesting us heavily pregnant women do the following, to rekindle the romantic spirit during the pregnancy:


1. Take a long, leisurely bath together. Enjoy a glass of non-alcoholic sparkling cider or sparkling water with juice.
There is NO possible way of that taking place here at the Big Lime abode - we've no bathtub and well, we've just never gotten too comfortable with the whole bathe-together concept. Some non-alcoholic sparkling juice doesn't sound too bad though.


2. Take turns giving each other slow, sensual massages. Try using oils scented with jasmine, rose, or musk.
Another miss here. The husband has never massaged me. In fact, the only time I recall him actually massaging my back (which is very much prone to bad aches no thanks to the countless of falls i've had over the years) was during our dating days back in UK. Ever since, any backache I have, I simply endure it on my own, and self-medicate it somehow.


3. Play soft music. Dance slowly by candlelight.
Hmmm ... I'll do the music bit. Dancing by candlelight (or even any great big flashing neon lights), I just wouldn't bother with.


4. Rent a romantic video and snuggle under a soft blanket.
A romantic movie I may watch. Snuggle under a soft blanket, I may do too. But we both tend to watch our DVDs on our own, rather than with each other - we're fussy and anti-social like that.


5. Feed each other. Try chocolates and fresh fruits.
How about just the raw definition of 'feeding each other'. He pays for the groceries, I cook up some meal using those paid-for (by him) groceries. Works too, right? Chocolates and fruits are often on the menu anyway. ;-)


6. Look through photos taken when you first met to remember how you felt when you first fell in love.
Photos when we first met? You mean all what, TEN (or less!) of them?? *LOL* If not for having our firstborn, we would probably still have those ten photos only. We aren't big on photo-taking, not till Big Z came along and then all focus was on him.
But to remember how we felt when we first fell in love? Well, it's a good thing my memory is pretty good, so we just talk about it really - minus them photos.


7. Return to the scene of your first date or re-create it as closely as possible.
Aaaww... would I? Can I?? Returning to the scene of our first date is what I think of practically everyday - but something tells me it's not just to reminisce on the date itself, but as a whole, the whole walking-down-memory-lane part of recalling my days as a student (both single and then with The Husband) in foreign land. We're talking about 'recreating' those days sometime end of the year ... but for now, it's all just talks. Only. Period.


8. Sit together in the moonlight and just hold hands.
How about just trying to sit together through a meal at home? That hardly takes place anymore. We each eat at different times, at times, even choosing to skip our meals. Which is why, weekends are crucial times to go out and have a nice decent meal together (well, with Big Z too of course).


So there you have it. 8 tips as suggested by the people over at Pregnancy Weekly.
For your typical lovey-dovey, touchy-feely, overly romantic and madly in love couples, I'd say the suggestions could well work and do great big wonders to their already-heavily-laden-with-love-gestures lives. For the clearly-non-romantics like us though, it simply highlights how distant we are, yet somehow that silence and freedom we have to do our own thing at our own time still bonds us together. Hard to believe, I know. But it seems to work. With a lot of hiccups too in between, mind you.

Having said that, during my pregnancy with Big Z, I was surprised myself as it was all-systems-go in the romantic department. I was my most sensual and romantic during those 40 weeks. This time though, I don't know... I'm happiest when I don't see him (The Husband). How bad is that?? But I've heard similar stories where the pregnant wife can't stand the sight and/or company of the husband. I hope it'll pass soon enough. And definitely by the time Baby Z is out of me.

Just a thought - as difficult as it gets for the pregnant wife, am sure husbands have a hard time adjusting to all sorts during the pregnancy period too. On that note, my apology to firstly, my husband (i'll now have to give him the link to my blog so he can read my apology .. heheh) and secondly to the rest of the expectant fathers community out there, in particular, those with super-uptight-and-moody wives. (see, i still DO care, you know?)

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

a pixie-haired mom is ready for changes ... (or so she hopes)

am in my final weeks of the pregnancy now. not feeling the healthiest, strongest and certainly not the most attractive at the moment. body and joints are all achy, nose is bloody, sleeps are becoming almost impossible. put simply, i'm not feeling the chirpiest, happiest and most confident 34-week-plus mom right now.

so ... something had to be done. i could have resorted to just lying in bed with a good book or mag ... but that'll see me as plain lazy and won't help the ever-expanding hips and thighs and bum! i could have entertained myself with some dvds - but nothing new to watch, and i don't particularly fancy a repeat of the ones i've watched. i could have baked me some naughty-but-am-certain-would-be-satisfying brownies or cookies, or whipped me up a good lime custard pudding thingy my sister does so brilliantly ... but, i'm crap in the dessert-making department. i did the most logical thing then. drove to the mall nearby, got myself a much-needed haircut.

as i watched with all blurriness (glasses were off while the lady did her thing on my hair), i was bidding goodbye to my long-ish locks and my messy days, and as each lot of curls were brushed off me, i took that as new chapters to open up, new rewards to look forward to, new beginnings to embrace. i've a pretty short hairdo now. (for obvious reasons, i can't put up a photo of the 'new' me ;-)) i feel much more free, light and ready to face the next great big thing coming my way. i think i needed the haircut, not just as i was getting sick of my limp long hair, and not just as i've always thought short hair suited me better, but it was more of a step to change things around, to take the plunge and just let things be as He has obviously mapped out for me and to not worry too much over tiny little details every so often. there is only so much i can do at the end of each day, the rest - the unfinished bits of work - either abandon them completely, or just calmly bring it on to the next day's list of to-dos. hitting myself, punishing myself over imperfections won't do any good, and as a result, i only end up a cranky mom and wife. that isn't what i want to be, though sadly, that's happened one too many times off late. so, enough of that, it's time to start fresh. the haircut is a good first step. and heck, i NEED to sort myself out already ... i've a baby to give birth to in a month's time - give or take some days.

on that note, what better way to welcome in more positives than indulging in a big mug of chilled orange juice and a couple of scones. of course, i could beg my sister to make her lovely lime custard pudding thingy, but the OJ and scones will do for now. one can't go wrong with a lil bit of sugar-pampering, right? ;-)

Monday, January 14, 2008

all you need is just ONE letter ...

My son's never been short of showing concern and care towards other people. OK ... that paints too pretty and too perfect a picture. Let's start again.
My son's never been short of being nosey. And just to sugar-coat things a little, yes, I'd like to think, at the back of it all, it's only because he's concerned and interested in one's well-being that he displays this 'sibuk' trait.

Some 2 weeks back, we were over at my parents'. My lil nephew (a happy 10-month old lil chap) was crawling under some tables much to my brother telling him not to. He ignored it and kept going back to the said-table. After some few warnings, my brother stood up, started walking to him while clearing his throat doing that "ahem .. ahem ..." warning thingy one does to alert a cheeky lil toddler. The rest of us just carried on doing whatever it was we were doing, leaving my brother to pull his son out from under the table. Well, almost 'the rest of us'.

Big Z being Big Z ... Big Z being my incredibly chatty, much opinionated, nosey/concerned self, had to step in! He walked behind his uncle (my brother), and as the uncle was 'scolding' his son, Big Z tried to mimic the scolding. He couldn't go as far as "ahem ... ahem ..." though. He came up with his own signature telling-off. It was all of ONE letter, not even a word. Stood in front of his 10-month old cousin, and warned him by saying "M ... M ... M...!". *LOL*

We all laughed. It was the combination of his eagerness to step in to 'punish' this lil toddler and then to come up with not even a viable word, but the repitition of a single letter of the alphabet. Where there's a Big Z, there's bound to be some true-to-his-style comic relief.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

when things just don't quite fit you ...

achy + sleepy + desperately need to get new, bigger bras = a not-so-happy me

Hmm ... just thinking now, maybe I'm achy because I'm wearing a size too small, and as a result of the aches, the eyes are somehow affected too. You think?


Am tidying up and sorting out the photos on my laptop, came across this old one.
This was me, some 3 weeks before giving birth to Big Z, back in '03.



:: with my family celebrating my dad's birthday - Mandarin Oriental KL Chinese restaurant ::

I'm looking pretty much the same at the moment, with some 4 weeks to go now - give or take. Just picture a bigger me though. Am bigger this time, am convinced of that. Just to prove my point even more, yesterday ... let's just say, my left wrist was pinched a wee bit too much as I tried to fasten my watch on it. There's now a mark of sorts on the wrist, just to remind me to quit forcing myself into things that clearly DO NOT fit me anymore. Haha. Seriously ... how much bigger am I going to get before full-term? Scary, to say the least!


Anyway........

How has your day been so far? Better than mine, I hope.

Monday, January 7, 2008

almost ready to welcome Baby Z

Can I just say I'm possibly the happiest 29 year old expectant mom around? OK ... maybe the happiest on my street. But anyhow, that'll count for now. Why, you may ask? Well, I got around to completing even more of Baby Z's corner today. And while at it (dressing up the space for her), I also did a lil something for Big Z.

Would love to show the corner now. But 2 lil problems here ... the first, I haven't exactly photographed them at all and secondly, showing it now will only display Baby Z's name (which is something I'd like to announce ONLY once she's out of me).
Until then, on a completely unrelated topic, here's a rather serious photo of Big Z - such is the expression you'd get from him when he's on Youtube or any other kids/learning sites. Deep concentration this photo displays.



The other extreme would be something more along the lines of pure laugh-out-loud excitement, like this one shot during a morning trip to the local playground.




Sunday, January 6, 2008

nesting on a Sunday ...

Today saw us staying in (well, The Daddy had a reunion brunch with some old schoolmates though). After lunch, we managed to get quite a number of things done around the house. I'm a happier person now because of this. :-)

Apart from the usual laundry (I really don't know why I can't just do laundry every other day or even just twice a week, instead of every single day ... honestly, I think I should limit the change of clothes habit in this household ... haha) and the sweeping and mopping (today was the whole of downstairs), we finally created the corner for Baby Z in the room downstairs. Plan is to have myself and baby parked downstairs during the confinement period. Saves me walking up and down too much especially since we haven't a maid waiting by our every call. I'd still have to attend to daily housechores and being downstairs just seems the most practical solution.


So yes. A lil corner downstairs then for Baby Z. There's the swinging crib, a chair for feeding sessions, some wall art and ample more space on the floating shelves to display other bits in the future. Depending on how efficient I'll be, the plan is to take close-up photos of Baby Z and have them lining up on the shelves. There'll also be a storage box of sorts to hold in her essential toiletries and diapers; this would occupy the other half of the wall shelves. Other than that, there's the crib to dress up (we've yet to get cotlinen) and possibly a cushion just to 'complete the look' of the feeding chair.


OK. Just read this post up to the previous paragraph, I really haven't completed the corner, have I now?? Still lots to do. But ... judging by the rate things get done around here, I'd have to say, I'm most pleased with our efforts today. Haha.

When it's all finally completed, I'll photograph the teeny-weeny corner and put up them photos here.


Meanwhile, I shall have a serving of good 'ol tau fu fah now - they say, packing in them calcium in you is all good for baby and expecting mom. Some go as far as guaranteeing you the fairest baby too. Hmm... A big serving I shall indulge in now then. ;-)


Oh, and Big Z's getting better now, Alhamdulillah ...
He should be able to make it to first day back at school tomorrow.

Friday, January 4, 2008

an upset tummy and a new year to make the most of ...

It's just past 2am on the 5th day of 2008.

At the top of my mind now (of things to see to, priorities, things to do and such) is my not-too-well Big Z. He's down with an upset tummy, he's made 3 trips to the loo just today and he's now not his chirpiest self. Weak and quiet pretty much sums him up at the moment. Seeing him unwell like this just breaks my heart. He's otherwise known to be very vocal and chirpy a 4 year old. I'm doing the quick recall exercise in my head now and I really can't think of anything bad he could have eaten in the past couple of days or so to trigger this upset tummy. As I'm typing this out, he's asleep next to me - we're taking refuge in the downstairs room tonight as the distance between the sofabed here and the ensuite bathroom is closer than that of his and/or my bed upstairs and the bathroom upstairs. Am anticipating at least one more rush to the loo some time middle of the night, and at this stage (of my being heavily pregnant), I'd like to save as much walking steps as I can. So, here we are camping downstairs tonight and I'm very much awake as I can't get that peace of mind knowing my son's unwell. Just doesn't seem fair to sneak in some shut-eye when I know he's far from comfortable even with his eyes shut.

The morning will see us making a trip to the doctor's. Have him properly checked and treated. It's all so timely (NOT, really) he's down with this tummy bug now, just 2 days before he starts school. After a good 4-week break, his school will start it's 2008 term this Monday. If the tummy doesn't settle down by tomorrow though, I don't think he should go in to school on Monday. Miss the first day, I really don't mind.



All this aside, I'm hoping for better things to come my way, our way this year. As we all do, naturally. I wouldn't say I'm one to list down my new year's resolution. But, just for the sake of all things 'new' and list-y, some general things I'd like to tick off my mental list would be as follows:

1. Have as smooth and easy a labour and delivery when Baby Z decides it's time to wriggle out of me - please please come out easy, my lil one ... and then please please be a darling of a child to raise.

2. Better myself as a whole, but mostly, as a mother to my kid(s), wife and daughter - I owe it to my kid(s) to be a strong, responsible and loving mom; I owe it to my husband to be a responsible, communicative and loving wife and I absolutely owe it to my parents to be a responsible, well-mannered and thankful daughter.

3. Get back to a size 10 (UK) by middle of the year - big BIG ambition here, but why not? Let's put me on that great big journey of a challenge.

4. Manage my time better each day so as to keep my sanity - this applies to juggling daily housechores, whilst managing the demands of a 4 yr old and soon, a lil baby too.

5. Have greater patience and tolerance for inevitable conflicts of interest between the husband and meself - this would no doubt be a great challenge; almost as, if not more than #3.

6. Always always shower my kid(s) with more than necessary love, yet maintain the fact that I'm here playing their mom first, and their friend second - which means, discipline and good behaviour from them would always be expected. I'd tolerate no roughness, no bullying, no verbal rudeness and the likes of those.

7. Suggest, persuade, plan a good holiday with the husband for us to go on with Big Z and Baby Z when Baby Z is at least 5 months old - for now, the thought of Bali seems very welcoming.



So there you have it. My list for now. It's a list I better make myself refer to every so often. Them ticks would very much do me good.

Till the next update then, wish me luck and hope you do well with your own respective lists too. On that note, happy new year to all. May 2008 bring us all better things, rewards, much love, berkats, rezekis and pahalas. InsyaAllah ...