Yay! Blogging via Pixel Pipe was a success!

Wooohooo... Finally, a free blogging app that finally works for me on my iphone!

More blogs coming your way!

Pixel Pipe blog test

Test blog using Pixel Pipe.

Baby D, Momma finally found it!

Baby D, after searching high and low, momma finally found your missing toy car that you supposedly lost in Guama's room.

How did it end up in momma's laptop bag??

5 more days at work... WOOOHOOOO!

I sooooo cant wait for this week to be over with... another 5 days and Im starting my maternity leave - WOOHOOOO!

Well, that is provided that 'THE DAY" doesnt come early eheheh... I hope not tho, I still have a voice over recording stint scheduled on either Thursday or Friday for an educational film. We'll see how it goes this week...

Been busy doing some last minute baby prep shopping over the weekend... bought some new pillow cases and fitted sheet for the crib, an Avent electric steam sterilizer, a new polka-dot baby blanket, nipple cream, nursing bras and a box of breast milk storage bag.

Went for a review on Sat. Everything is ok but baby is not engaged yet... Another review scheduled for next Sat and we'll probably see some progress then... Im hoping for natural birth this time but we also have a C-sec scheduled for the 2nd Sep so lets see which comes first... I took the Maternity Package brochure the other day so incase you need the info for the package here it is below... My gynea - Dr Ramesh came highly recommended by all who's been to see him and if you're looking for one - he's your best bet... Saw him when I was pregnant with Baby D and never looked to other gynea since...

My Darling Hubby's been suffering from intense lower back pain since early this month. No, actually he had it before, heals but comes back from time to time... I've mentioned to him that it might have something to do with his spinal disk and to have it checked out. And FINALLY, on Sat when I went for my review, he finally went to see the Dr. Dharma- the bone specialist in RMC (after much nagging from me)...

and guess who's right???? MEEEEE!!!!

Seriously guys, can you listen to your wife's advice when they tell you to take it easy? I kept telling him that but nooooo... too macho to listen... Well, now who's gonna be missing golf and badminton for the next 6 weeks huh? Booohooo...

We spent the whole Sat morning in RMC. Mostly because we were waiting for his turn then seeing the Dr and then the almost hour long physiotherapy session to try to get his back muscle to loosen up because his body is pulled to the right side. The bill was expensive but it was worth it. At least now we know exactly what the problem is and how to deal with it...

The nearer I am to giving birth, the more Baby D wants me or manja with me. He also reacts when he hears a baby crying while we are out. He'll also hugs, kisses and sayang-sayang my tummy. Awwwww so cute... He's getting so big now and learning to speak... I think he has like a learning spurt now because he picks up everything so fast... His brain is like a sponge and soaking up everything! And did I tell you that he is an iphone freak? He even gets sooooo frustrated playing with this game on Hubby's iphone where you actually have to READ the questions/instructions to play the game and if you get it wrong, you'd get a big red FAIL on the screen - he hates that so much LOL. BUT he found a way to play that game by himself... he would actually MEMORIZE the answers... can you believe it? And he's not even 2 1/2 years old yet... Seems like only yesterday he was born... Sigh...

Momma love you sooooooo much Baby D!!

Gestational Diabetes & Healthy Eating and 2 Weeks 5 Days left - more or less!

2 Weeks 5 Days left before I pop - more or less! Can you believe it? Wow, punya cepat!

Been on a diabetic diet since early last week because the Dr said my blood glucose level swings from one end to the other which is not good for Baby G. Yes, I've been diagnosed as having Gestational Diabetes. Not surprising actually coz diabetes runs in my side of the family.

So, since early last week I've been...

counting calories and carbohydrates

checking my blood glucose level 4 times a day - yes, my fingers hurt from all the poking from the lancet

laying off rice, normal bread/buns, cakes, chocolates, sodas etc etc

having a more healthy diet which includes no sugar whole wheat breads, cornflakes, low fat milk, vege vege vege, taufu etc etc

Sigh but it pays off! Weight maintained and glucose level is within the recommended levels... unfortunately, its taken a toll on my purse... I didnt realise that eating healthy can be so expensive! For example a pack (10 pieces) of no sugar whole wheat bread is like almost RM6 and the cornflakes that doesnt spike my glucose level cost almost RM14 a pack. Then going for salad for lunch when you're at work would cost you about RM10-16 without drinks! Thats more than double of what I spend normally (with drinks somemore!!!) Early last week me & hubby spend more than RM100 just for a weeks supply of healthy food for breakfast and dinner!

I wish someone can open an affordable restaurant that caters to people with special diets.

Anyway, enough of me venting about the cost of healthy eating because in the end Baby G and my health is all that matters...

Baby at 34 weeks and preparing for the upcoming labour...

Had my review last Sat. Here is how baby looks like now at 34 weeks....


Can you see her face? hihihihiihi...

Its so exciting! Today Im exactly 35 weeks. Dang! I've got like 5 weeks to go OR LESS!

So what have I been up to the last few weeks in preparation for labour you ask? Well...

Im done packing my hospital bag - finally...
I just gotta remember to bring my Iphone charger when the time comes...



Washed all Baby D's old baby clothes and baby's new clothes...



- Prepared an emergency plan with my colleague Karen, just in case my water breaks while Im in the office. This includes telling her that
* I have a set of changing clothes in my laptop bag at all times
* Emergency tel # which includes Hubby's mobiles, dad's, bro's, hse and Rafflesia
* Who in the office I trust driving me to Rafflesia if need be


- Prepared a food thermos for MIL to tapau me confinement food from home but the existing one I have now would only be enough for 1 meal. So Im kinda contemplating buying Cosway's 2 liter Magic Saver cooker so MIL can just tapau for the whole day terus...




The only thing thats not done is putting Baby D's old crib back together. Still waiting for Hubby to help me with this - BABE, WHEN LAH WANT TO DO THISSSSS ???



Having uncomfortable Braxton Hicks while writing this post and since day before yesterday I've been walking around like an elephant+whale...

Hubby said I should walk around in the mud near a jungle somewhere to leave my foot prints so that we can create another Big Foot hoax - F U BABE!

Men should try spending the whole day with a sack of rice strapped to their belly and a big bottle of water strapped to each leg and see how they feel....


WHERE THE HECK ARE MY ANKLES??!!!

ParenThots - Features - Mums, stop feeling guilty about working or staying home

ParenThots - Features

MUMS, STOP FEELING GUILTY ABOUT WORKING OR STAYING AT HOME

31 March 2010

CHILDWISE
By RUTH LIEW

I HAVE often been asked: “Who is better – the working mother or stay-at-home mother?” Mothers who want to quit working, want to know whether they are making the right choice. While mothers who are full-time home-makers want to know how it will affect their children when they join the workforce.

Whether working or stay-at-home, all mothers share the same fears and concerns. They wonder whether they are feeding their children right or spending enough time teaching them the right values.

You should always feel that you are doing your best for the children. Whether you work or stay at home, you are a full-time mother. There is no place for guilt. If you look after your children with knowledge, skill, love and patience, you are the kind of mother that deserves the highest recognition.

I grew up with a working mother whose own mother was a stay-at-home parent. When I was growing up, my mother and my grandmother often differed in their views on how children should be disciplined or how to manage certain behaviours.

Whenever my mother went on annual leave, we felt that she was cramping a year of parenting into a few short weeks. She made us clean our rooms and gave us extra written work for practice. We were quite relieved whenever she returned to work.

My siblings and I felt much better when Mother was at work. We wanted her to leave us to our own devices. When she was juggling work and raising us, she shared her time with us doing what really mattered. She took us on educational trips and introduced us to arts and culture.

My mother fared better outside the house. She also worked because we needed the extra income.

She could hardly cook but she took us out to great eateries to try out international cuisine. Sewing was not her forte either.

There were many things she did not do but my mother’s mothering style provided us with a great deal more.

We learned to do many things that she could not do. I started cooking at a young age because my mother encouraged me by buying as many cookbooks as she could afford.

Mothers get criticised for their choices. When they choose to work outside the home, many would frown on them and blame them for all the wrongs their children did because they were not able to stay home to spend time with their children.

When my children were babies, I had one stay-at-home mother who asked whether I breastfed my children. She also told me that I would not have much time for my children because of my busy schedule.

A mother who chooses to stay at home with her children is often misunderstood as someone who could not do much outside the home. I know of many well-educated and capable women who are home-makers.

I once met a lady who was conducting a survey on households.

She asked: “Madam, you don’t work outside the home. What is your educational background? Did you finish secondary school?” She looked surprised when I told her I had post-graduate qualifications. She had assumed that I was a stay-at-home mother because I had little education.

I used to have a neighbour who was a stay-at-home mother. Every day I could hear her screaming at her crying son. She was not happy and neither was her young son. She felt stressed out and lonely staying home the whole day with a young child.

What children really want is a happy mother, regardless of whether she is a career woman or a home-maker.

We raise our daughters on limitless possibilities of career choices. We must support them in the choices they make.

Children thrive on their mother’s love; there is no discrimination whether this love comes from a working mother or a stay-at-home one.

Be confident and trust that what you have chosen for yourself is also the best for your child.

Emma Pillsbury inspired necklace by Sweetpolybeads.com

My sis in law made this Emma Pillsbury inspired flower necklace! I like this necklace so much, I just gotta show it to everyone.

Check out her online shop for more handmade jewelry....

Kak, I hope you dont mind me putting the pics here!

10 weeks to go!

Time flies so fast huh?
I'm exactly 30 weeks pregnant today with 10 weeks (OR LESS!) to go!!

Starting to feel the weight now and two days ago my 'fat ankles' started... sigh... hate water retention... but at least it started now coz when I was preggers with Baby D it started when i was about 5 months preggers. I get dizzy sometimes, as well as nose bleeds and not to mention the sleepless nights and leg cramps and braxton hicks. The joys of pregnancy ehehehe!

Oh did i mention that we've having a girl?? YAY!

Here are some pics of the ultrasound from the first time I went to see my obgyn.

Went for a review this morning but unfortunately didnt get the ultrasound printed. Baby was in a breech position with her legs to her face but dont worry! Its still early and nothing to worry about now.

I do however, need to do the DREADED glucose test in two weeks time. YUCKS! Im so not looking forward to that. Have to drink the superrrrrrrrrrrr sweet drink at 6.30am, then fast for 2 hours then take blood test at 8.30am. I'm so gonna be super cranky that morning...

Meet my enemy!


Looks so harmless right? The word 'CARBONATED' is so misleading. Heck! It doesnt taste anything like Sprite even if you put some lime in it! Oh well, still have to do it anyway kan... so i'll just shut up and drink lah...

We havent decided on her name yet. Well, her first name at least. Middle name sudah fix. Still undecided on the first.

And no, we're not telling you what it is yet ehehehe...

Man armed with hammer assaults pre-school children in class

Man armed with hammer assaults pre-school children in class

MUAR: The happy chatter of children turned into screams of horror when an unidentified man armed with a hammer barged into a kindergarten here and bludgeoned three six-year-olds.

Six-year-old Vincent Tey being wheeled into the ward at the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital in Muar.

In the morning incident which shocked the residents of the usually peaceful Lorong Haji Ali, the man rode up to the kindergarten and parked his motorcycle outside.

Holding a hammer in one hand, he climbed over the fence and kicked open the locked grill that led to the main hall of Tadika Sinario.

Some 20 children were having breakfast at the time, under the watchful eyes of kindergarten operator Voon Siew Kuin, 45.

The children were at first shocked to see a stranger charging into their kindergarten, but became horrified when violence unfolded in the next few minutes.

Bloody attack: Bloodstains on the floor of Tadika Sinario after the man had attacked the children.

Voon tried to attract the attention of the man by repeatedly asking him: “You cari siapa? (Who are you looking for?)”.

Agitated, the small-built man threw pepper powder at her and hit her with the hammer.

As she groaned in pain, the man began to wildly swing the hammer at the children.

Alex Tan is carried in a wheelchair and Nur Nadriah Nabilah Mohd Yusri (below) is taken in a stretcher to the wards after receiving treatment.

Three of them, including a girl, were hit on the head. The other children screamed as they tried to flee.

The man then ran away when Voon recovered and chased after him with a broom.

When he reached his motorcycle, he threatened Voon by waving the hammer at her before riding away.

Apart from her, the only other adult at the kindergarten was a helper in her 50s. She was in the kitchen when the attack happened.

Voon and the assistant rushed the three children to the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital at about 10.20am as they were bleeding profusely on the head.

The two boys, Vincent Tey and Alex Tan, and the girl, Nur Nadrah Nabilah Mohd Yusri, underwent emergency treatment, including thorough head scans.

Nur Nadrah’s father Mohd Yusri Mukhlis was thankful that his daughter was not critically hurt.

He was horrified when he was earlier misinformed that Nur Nadrah had died. His wife, Farah Asyikin Abu Samah, went limp when she heard the news.

“We were relieved when we met the doctors at the hospital and were told of her condition,” he said at the hospital.

The three children were later sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru.

A mother’s grief: Farah Asyikin collapsed in shock when she was wrongly informed that her daughter was dead at the hospital yesterday.

Related Story:
Massive manhunt for kindergarten attacker


BURN IN HELL YOU ANIMAL!!!!
Cant believe somebody could do this to those poor little kids! If anybody touches my kids, you better hope you die somehow right after before i get my hands on you!

13 weeks 5 days pregnant and Baby D's turning 2!

Well whatdaya know, i've passed the 1st trimester! Cant believe I've got 5+months to go...

Time flies... Baby D's gonna be 2yo on the 26th this month and I'm looking forward to it. Planning to take the day off to bring him swimming and do other activities. Vika is here for a holiday and Seok would probably be taking the day off as well so girls, if you're reading this I'm dragging you guys along as well!! Hopefully my cousin Celia manage to take the day off so that she and the kids can come along as well. What a fun day its gonna be for Mommy and Baby D! Not sure if hubby can take his leave, his director might be coming down to KK that day (pls pls pls come the week after lah.. pretty pretty please??)

I gotta go back to work.. a shoot is coming up and lots of info to find!

Ramblings of the heart...

How do you be ok with something that your heart absolutely says no to?

I hate PR craps...

Preggos and chicken pox dont come together!

Its been awhile... again... I know, i keep saying that in my past posts :)) I've been lazy bah...

Its now 2010 and on this day its the 2nd day of CNY. I dont sound so excited huh? Well, I'll tell you why... I've been infected by the bloody chicken pox! Found out 2 days before CNY. To make matters worse, Im 10 weeks pregnant (but on the other hand YAY!)! Any sickness during pregnancy IS NOT GREAT.... AT ALL.

I can feel myself feeling weak with this pregnancy. I was full of energy when I was pregnant with Baby D. But with this one, its all the other way around. I'm always feeling tired, cant really eat meat (ANY MEAT), Squid makes me puke, same goes with fish soup (except if they fry the fish first), not really in the mood for rice, lately been having 'late afternoon' sickness, nausea, headaches, you name it - I probably have it. But I'm not complaining... at least now I understand what the other preggo ladies are talking about when they complain about their morning sickness etc....

I've been sick three times including this time. First was before I found out I was pregnant (lost a few kilo's there which made me happy). Second was after I found out I was pregnant (took a while to get better coz I couldnt take any medications) and now the chicken pox....

I was never really sure if I ever had chicken pox coz Mom cant remember. But as far as I can remember, I've been around people with chicken pox 3 times and never got infected before. So i thought maybe I did get it before and never thought much about it. That was until 4 days ago...


Day 1, Fri the 12th

Woke up in the morning as usual. Took a bath. Feed Baby D milk. Then play around with Baby D on the bed. Felt a sting near my eyebrow. Thought Baby D scratched me somehow during the night and didnt think much about it. Started to feel a little sick like I was coming down with flu. Eyes felt hot, you know, just the general ill feeling...

Went to work. Nausea. Headache. Felt like I had a pimple on my chin but it burst! Hmm that sure wasnt a pimple. So went to the washroom to check it out. Had two small blisters on my neck, one on my chin, one on my forehead (which I accidentally burst also) and that sting I felt earlier in the morning was not a scratch. It was a round red mark - another burst blister. That cant be what i think it is right?? Nah...

Went to the clinic near my office in the afternoon to get it checked out. Confirm - ITS CHICKEN POX!! Argh! Doc gave me Piriton for the itch and a cream and wash solution for the blisters. She wanted to give me Zovirax and even checked with the head of infectious disease doc in QE if it was ok to give to me coz I was still in my first trimester. But I said I wanted to check with Dr Ramesh (my Gynae) if its ok first. She gave me 7 days MC and I have to quarantine myself. OMG, its CNY! all I'm thinking to myself was, DANG, IM GONNA MISS RAMI SESSION!!! LOL!

Went home. Slept. Hubby sent Baby D to Likas. A little itch here and there but it was just getting started....


Day 2, Sat the 13th

Hubby went to play golf in the morning. I stayed in the room the whole morning. Hubby came back at lunch time. Went to Dr Ramesh clinic in Penampang. Because I have chicken pox, I had the express card to go in to doc's room eheheh. He said Zovirax is ok because if I dont take it, I'm gonna develop full body chicken pox. Chicken pox hits pregnant women hard because their immune system is low. So i got it from him together with some Paracetamol for my fever. He told me to get big bottles of Calamine lotion as well for the itch.

Went back to Likas. Watch some movies. FB. Sleep. Woke up. Sleep. Had rice and soup only for dinner. I have sore throat as well and its a little hard to swallow. Sometimes it gets too itchy, I just lightly rub the spot and it goes away. But the itch was saving itself for night time. I COULDNT SLEEP THE WHOLEEEEEE NIGHT!!!! Itch on the body was bearable but the itch on my scalp was like, WTF with a capital F!!! I had goosebumps all over my body just to tahan the itch. Finally went sleep at probably 6am.


Day 3, Sun the 14th - 1st Day of CNY

Woke up about 8.30 i guess. Went downstairs to cook maggie. Took a bottle of apple juice. Went back upstairs. Watch another movie. Terribly missing Baby D already. Went back to sleep. Sorethroat is worse today. Even drinking water hurts so much! A few spoonful of rice and some soup for lunch - it was all i could bear to swallow. Hubby and Baby D came to Likas after lunch. Hubby filled up his new swimming pool for Baby D to swim in with all his water toys. I can hear them making a fuss with Baby D and I can hear him shouting and laughing.

Sometime in the late afternoon, after Baby D finished his swimming session, Hubby brought him to the room for a bit. Baby D rushed to me wanting to hug me but obviously I couldnt. Had to get Hubby to bring him away from the bed - twice. After that when Hubby open the door, he just walked out not even waving goodbye... sigh...

Itch was amazingly bearable today. Even on my scalp. Was feeling feverish but didnt feel like my temp was that hot. But was shivering off and on a few times today. Slept good albeit waking up a few times feeling too cold or too hot...


Day 4, Mon the 15th (today)

Woke up. Hubby went for golf again. Went downstairs to get breakfast. Baby D was watching TV. Rushed to me when he saw me but Sis blocked before he could reach me. Took my food (rice and soup again with some mushrooms - throat still hurts) then Baby D saw me again and tried to come to me again. Sis carried him before he could reach me. Then he looked at me with eyes saying 'Why cant I come near you?' My heart just sank. DAMN YOU CHICKEN POX!!!!

aahhhh welll....

I think I'll stop here and continue later... Its about time to go down and get soup...