Balmoral beach on a rainy day

we're so lame.  it's almost the end of autumn and we decided to take the boy to the beach. not only was it not sunny, it was drizzling too. but i swear, the sun was out before we left home but as we got closer, it started to drizzle. nevertheless,  we managed to take some decent photos, checked out the beach and realise it is actually closer to where we live than expected. probably one of the closest and more accessible beach to us. on top of that,  parking is not bad, there's a nice cafe just down the esplanade and the beach is quite kiddy friendly too.

looking forward to summer 2015 already. 

ps: i must be quite out of touch with blogging with photos. the tone/colours of some of the photos in this post looked different from how they were or how i intended them to be when i edited them. it felt like blogger altered the colours as i uploaded them to the post. 

Sydney Royal Easter show 2014

wow, the last blog post with more than one photo was like 3 months ago. time for some photos! 

as the due date of baby #2 gets closer,  we feel the need to spend more quality time with boo. his life is about to change forever. soon he would not have 100% of our attention and be the only child. i often feel sad for him and i hope he understands when he is older that it is much nicer growing up with a sibling than without one. 

i have to admit we're quite lazy parents and we don't often take him out much to do 'interesting' things. not that we don't want to but our time mainly get filled up with chores and full time work. so, lately we're making more effort to take him out. 

first up, the royal Easter show. as we are both on leave when the show is on and boo is old enough to go on rides and appreciate the show, we decided to take him this year and i'm so glad we did. 

on the day before,  we looked up on the show guide to get an idea of the types of activities be might be interested and the timing so that we can make the most of day. 

we got to the show bright and early and made our way to the farmyard nursery. so early that it was not opened yet so we went and check out different types of sheep where boo picked up a colouring book and some sheep/lamb related posters. at the farmyard nursery, we bought some animal feeds to feed the farm animals, we saw some hatching chicks, we patted some sheeps and goats and the animal that boo was most interested in was the puppies!  after that, we went to the milking shed to 'catch' a milking presentation but we left half way because boo wasn't interested. we picked up some free milo with milk on our way out and that was the first time boo had milo. he loved it. chocolate milk! yum! 

after the milking shed, we went to the poultry exhibits to check out some show birds. boo got very excited when we found freshly laid eggs in some of the cages. we touched some of them and they were still warm. 

no Easter show is complete without rides but we're not sure if this boo would be a fan of them because i certainly am not one. lucky daddy is and he could take boo with him. boo's energy level was starting to get a bit low by the time we finished checking out the animals but he perked up as we got to the rides area. we walked around a little to figure out what type of rides would be suitable for him. in the end, he went on 4 different rides, his favourite was the super slide. he asked to go again as soon as he came down. and his least favourite was this spinning saucer thingymagic that resembles the spinning tea cup except it goes up and down as it spins round and round. i could see his face changed after the first ten seconds. 

after the rides, we had some lunch, checked out the arts and crafts section, and headed to check out the dmx show. i thought the show was pretty awesome but by this time, the boy started to get a little restless as it is almost his nap time. we managed to catch most of it before heading to the show bags area to pick up an octonauts show bag for him and a princess show bag for his cousin. we thought this boy would be so excited when he sees the octonauts show bag but by this stage, he was already sounds asleep in his stroller. instead of heading home, we took the opportunity to check out the food dome. i was going to try the famous cwa scone and cream but i was too full after lunch. we wander around the food dome and other sections of the show while the boy napped in the stroller. 

all in all, we all had a great time at the Easter show and i'm glad we took boo out of daycare because i don't know when we'll be going again. 

to baby #2: 23 weeks

what an exciting week it's been. not that we did anything exciting but your movements are finally visible on the outside. daddy and your big brother both felt them too. your big brother is very excited. he was so excited he even sang to you and asked you 'are you my best friend'?

i was reading the 'what to expect when you're expecting' book yesterday and i realised how much less i've done for you and myself this second time around. i remember when i was 23 weeks pregnant with your brother,  daddy and i would be looking into attending parental classes. there are classes we need to attend at certain stage of the pregnancy. the most important one was the pre natal class where we learnt about labour, childbirth and newborn care. after going through labour and childbirth and caring for your brother,  i sure hope we have a better idea this time around. 

it's not that i don't enjoy being pregnant with you as much as i did with your brother but i just didn't have the luxury of time.

_ when i was pregnant with your brother,  i attend pre natal yoga class once a week and i would also go to the gym 2-3 times a week for some light exercise.  i wish i could do the same this time around but i'd be lucky to squeeze in a 20 minutes walk around the block these days.

_ when i was pregnant with your brother,  i would go through a bottle of bio-oil in no time because i slather that stuff on the bump,  my thighs,  my arms and just anywhere i could put on weight to prevent stretch marks. nowadays, i'm still going through the same half used bottle from last time and the bump would be lucky if it gets some moisturisation weekly.

_ when i was pregnant with your brother,  i had no idea i would have problem with my milk supply given how much bigger my boobs had gotten during the pregnancy but this time around i know better and i already came up with a plan of attack with this breastfeeding business so that you could get a chance of being 100% on the boobs!

_ when i was pregnant with your brother,  we did so much shopping for baby stuff but not this time because we already have most things. it was much easier with your brother because we knew we were having a boy so we could plan better. we haven't really bought anything for you because we don't know if you're a girl or a boy. i have bought some gender neutral yarn to make newborn hats for you and some flannelette to make baby wraps for you though.

_ when i was pregnant with your brother,  most people would comment that i'm carrying small for my due date but this time around,  people actually asked me if i was sure i'm only carrying one baby to which i respond to telling them i'm carrying three! i do feel that i'm slightly bigger this time around but apart from doing less exercise and eating a bit more sweets this time around, i haven't done anything different.

i'm sorry baby #2 if it seems like i'm not doing as much for you as i did when i was pregnant with your brother but one thing for sure is i am still as excited to be pregnant with you as i was with your brother and i promise i will love you the same when you are finally here. in fact, i think you might have a better newborn experience than your brother. 

to baby #2: 20 weeks

yikes! we're half way there already.

 

we had our 19 weeks scan at the beginning of the week. your daddy and i decided not to find out your gender the day we had our 12 weeks scan. we wanted it to be a surprise and the suspense is really killing me.

 

on our way to the scan,  i suggested to daddy that we should just cut the crap and find out now so we can be more prepared in terms of getting stuff ready for your arrival but on second thought i decided against it. afterall, we've waited 20 weeks, what's another 20 weeks? the wait will be worth it when dr Ford yell out 'it's a girl' or 'it's a boy' when you arrive. for now,  i'll just continue to imagine what you are,  whether you'll be born with a full head dark hair like your brother,  whether you'll look like your brother who looks like a spitting image of me or would you look like your daddy?  from the 3D images the sonographer showed us,  you looked like you might have a sharper and longer face compared to your brother. i said to daddy looking at the 3D image, i think you look like him. he thinks i'm crazy.

 

i can feel more and more of your movements these days. all the little flutters are very reassuring and i enjoyed every single one of them. i'm looking forward to the next 20 weeks as you grow bigger and when your movements become more visible on my bump. i think your brother might enjoy it too.

 

before i became pregnant with you,  i always thought the second pregnancy is not going to feel as special as the first one. after all, i've been there and have a fair idea of what to expect for the three trimesters. but i was wrong. maybe because i know this would be my last pregnancy and also learning from past experience how quickly the due date comes around i try my best to savour every moment i'm pregnant with you. every moment except for the ones when i was really sick in the first trimester.

 

the reality of caring for a newborn and meeting the demands of an active toddler has finally dawn on me. i'm both excited to have a newborn in my arms again and sad that i won't be able to give 100% of my attention to either you or your brother. nevertheless,  it's going to be a challenge both emotionally and physically at the beginning but it won't last forever. i believe we need new challenges in our lives every now and then to make life more interesting and to learn and grow too.

to baby #2: 17 weeks

can't believe i'm 17 weeks pregnant with you already baby #2. we've been talking to your brother a lot about you. most mornings when we have time, i'd ask him to give you a kiss and i would remind him that when you arrive, he will have to give you cuddles, love you and share his toys with you. so far, he's been quite happy to tell us he would share his toys with you but i wonder if he knows what sharing means. 

i'm slowly getting my energy back and am able to do a little bit more with your brother your poor brother has been spending a lot of time on the iPad. hopefully we can go to the park a bit more before the weather gets too cold.  

i didn't believe it when i heard that no two pregnancies are the same. surely it's the same body doing the same thing, i'd feel that same. but no. this time, it definitely feels different. i had such as easy run when i was pregnant with your brother. i probably had 2 days in my entire pregnancy where i had really bad morning sickness . i thought about food most of the time and had such a good appetite. 

as for you, it was the opposite. i had the worst morning sickness for most of the first trimester and i still get them on and off. i have no cravings and my appetite isn't great. i eat when i'm hungry so that i don't feel sick. most days when i'm hungry, i struggle to think of what i wanna eat and by the time i finally decided on what to eat, i'm so hungry that i feel sick. 

we had another appointment with Dr Ford last week. we couldn't really get a good view of you because you were lying in a rather awkward position. Dr Ford said you must have been quite comfortable though lying on your tummy on the placenta. you looked so cute in that position. it was hard for Dr Ford to get a good crown to rump measurement of you to measure your growth but he managed to measure your head and you are measuring the right size for your due date. i was very happy with the appointment. partly because i got to see you again and listen to your heartbeat, but it's also because i found out there is a prescription drug that is safe for me to take for my motion sickness. i can get on a plane! we thought the earliest we could go to Malaysia to visit grandma, yi yi and Jinn would be after you were born and at least 3 months old but now, we can go soon! i was so excited when Dr Ford handed me the prescription. and yes, we've booked our tickets already. hopefully i won't be too big at the time and the flight would not be too unbearable. daddy will have to deal with your brother on the plane because i'd be too drowsy. 

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.