to baby #2: 13 weeks

written on 9 February 2014

as we finished week 13, i am starting to feel less nausea and my energy is finally coming back. i haven't had to take any anti nausea medications since Monday which is a good sign. 

i've read that i will be able to feel your movement earlier this time around given it is my second pregnancy and i did. i'm not sure if it is you but i could feel your movement in my tummy the entire day today. the first time i felt your brother's movement was when i was 15 weeks pregnant with him. 

my appetite is slowly coming back so is my taste bud. as weird as it sounds, when i was busy working in the office today, i could taste Spam in my mouth. i think i'll have to get some Spam this weekend!! 

//me and my 13 weeks bump//

to baby #2: 10 weeks

written on 22 January 2014

today couldn't come any sooner. after seeing you for the first time at the dating scan two weeks ago, i've been counting down the days till today when i have my first appointment with Dr Ford. knowing from when i had your brother, i know Dr Ford would do a quick scan for me to check on your size, your growth and your heartbeat. and he did. he even printed a scan photo of you for me for keepsake. 

i was very relieved when the monitor came on and i could see you kicking and bouncing up and down as Dr Ford tried to measure your heartbeat. you didn't stay still for him long enough to measure your heart rate the first time but he got it eventually. your heart is currently beating at 172 bpm. he assured me that you are growing at a healthy rate. 

this week, the morning sickness (or all day sickness) is slowly easing away. my appetite is still not great and my tastebud is still somewhat bland but knowing that you're settling well in my tummy is all that matters. oh, this bump of mine is getting quite obvious and i'm struggling to fit into my normal work clothes and i don't think i can get away with telling people i've had too much to eat for any longer. 

a Christmas miracle

//originally written on 25.12.13

it's Christmas morning and we had a miracle.

we didn't think it would happen so soon. not 7 weeks after our previous lost. i had an inkling at the end of last week but i was too afraid to be sure. i've been thinking about doing the test since the weekend but i thought i'd wait till Christmas morning for that extra luck. 

and then we saw two lines....two lines! it is still early days and we have both learnt out lesson so we decided to not think about it too much and be too excited incase it is short lived like the last time we were pregnant. for once, i have no idea the due date for this baby. i know when i lost my last but falling pregnant again so soon after a miscarriage, i don't know how far along i am now so trying to estimate the due date is even harder. 

our GP is close till the first week of the new year so we probably won't know for sure for at least another 10 days. i wouldn't know whether my first blood test would show a higher BhCg than the last but if everything goes well, i'd be able to see my OB in two to three weeks and if i'm lucky, i might even get a dating scan. 

i'm taking things really easy this time around. not over exerting myself and trying my best to reduce the chances of having another miscarriage. i'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed. 

getting back into it

this little space of mine hasn't been updated for at least a week i think. it hasn't been easy getting back to writing again. not when you're tired from work,  tired from dealing with the ever present morning sickness but i've been warned (ahem) so i better get back to updating this blog on a regular basis.

i actually have some draft posts waiting to be published. i almost forgot about them. the first one coming up after this is a post i wrote on the day i found out we are expecting baby #2. perhaps these posts will help me get back imto the swing of blogging?  

today you are 26 months and 1 week

i was meant to write this post last week when you turn 26 months last week but other things got in the way. i'm a week late but it's better late than never i guess. 

_ you are becoming such a little boy as you become more and more independent and better at putting a sentence together.  

_ you are starting to ask a lot of questions like "what's that mummy", "what's that noise", "where did iPad go".

_ you are such a little chatter box. from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed, you can go on and on and on.

_ you can be both polite and rude at the same time. you say "thank you mummy" whenever i do something for you and you will say "please" with all your requests too. but you can also be so rude asking your grand parents to "go away". i hope you will grow out of this phase soon.

_ i can finally leave you at daycare without you crying and screaming your head off. nowadays, you will give me a cuddle, a kiss and a proper goodbye. 

_ you love catching the train and going through the tunnel. almost everyday you will grab daddy's train ticket and ask gung gung to take you our to "catch twain" "see tunnel". 

_ you are slowly moving on from Peppa Pig and you currently like this Korean show call Robocar Poli you stumbled upon on YouTube.

_ i like that you can now listen and follow simple command. so much so that we can make cookies together. 

_ i am going to miss you my little boo when your little brother/sister arrives in August. i wonder if you'll be a good brother?

feeling a little bit normal again (and very excited)

after feeling sick for the past six weeks, i'm finally feeling a little bit normal again. 

it's such a relieved to be able to finally share the news with our family and friends but the biggest relieved is to know that this little bubba is growing healthyly in me.

it's not like i'm a first time mum but the magic of expecting and growing a little baby inside of me still fascinate me. 

i wasn't very good with keeping a journal when i was pregnant with boo but i'm hoping i'd do better this time. 

Chinese New Year 2014

the first day of Chinese New Year fell on a Friday this year. this year, Jim's aunties from Malaysia and New Zealand and his cousin from Melbourne decided to come join us in Sydney for the annual reunion dinner. instead of keeping to tradition of having our reunion dinner on Chinese New Year eve, we had it on the first day of Chinese New Year. 

we kept to the family tradition of bringing a dish each and ended up with a total of eight dishes. there was yee sang, roast whole suckling pig, braised pork knuckles, steamed fish, butter prawns, eight treasures duck, braised veggies with dried oysters and ang koo. all these dishes have fancy names that signifies prosperity, good health and wealth. and we only get to eat them once a year. i wish i had taken photos of all the dishes but i was too busy digging in....oops! 

here we are trying to take a family photo with everyone. in the first take, Jim and two of his uncles were missing as they were busy setting their cameras' timer. in the second take, everyone made it into the photo except not everyone is ready. 

boo wore his traditional outfit from last year because it still fits and it looks more festive than any of the new clothes he has in his wardrobe. we'll have to buy a new set next year. 

Chinese New Year used to be my favourite holiday season when i was living at home. i get to wear new clothes for at least three days in a row and we would spend at least three days as a family visiting relatives and friends together, collecting red packets from the uncles and aunties and the days are spent eating, eating and more eating. 

on the first day of Chinese New Year, dad's side of the family would gather at our house for lunch and on the second day, it's mum's side of the family's turn. our house is always buzzing and filled with laughter and food. 

the last photo is a bowl of red wine chicken with mee suah. it's a traditional dish in the family and a must eat dish during Chinese New Year. i made it for dinner on the third day of Chinese New Year for us using the rice wine i made at the end of last year. whilst Chinese New Year celebrations in Sydney is nothing compared to Malaysia, i think we did pretty well with keeping to tradition with a reunion dinner with the family and i hope we can continue this tradition in Sydney so that boo will remember his heritage and culture.