Kick, Kick, Goal!

Ever since the 16th week, I have felt a ticklish feeling in the tummy, but I couldn't really differentiate between a baby's kick and gastric bubbles. However, while I have been getting anxious when I still have not felt 'it', our baby has started to make obvious kicks/movements this very afternoon. He has done it non-stop for the entire afternoon that it distracted me from work quite a fair bit. For the first time, I felt it when I put my hand on my tummy. It was such a joy! Hope our baby will let daddy feel it soon too. Marking the 20th week as a milestone!

Now, for the updates...
- Completed the 2nd part of our hypnobirthing course. Wow, a lot of practise to do, but we're such lazy bums that we have not done the homework given. Heard that our gynae Dr Tan is not too receptive to this idea... mood minused 50%...

- Spent last week battling with the flu virus.

- Shopping! Things we have bought recently:

• Chest of drawers


• Playpen


• Changing mat


• Medela PIS Advanced pump (Thanks to alerts from fellow forumers that the First Few Year shop is having a promo today at $599, and got hubby to go down Paragon to place an order. Collection date is 15 Mar 08.)


• Dr Brown feeding set and Desitin diaper ointment from Amazon.
  
  

A gift from daddy (with lots of sweat): self-assembled chest of drawer, from Ikea. Man, it IS heavy!

My contribution! Organising boxes from Ikea.

Changing mat from Ikea

Flipper playpen from JL. It comes with a bassinet and changing table.

Easy, short, relaxed, and comfortable birth

We spent our entire afternoon attending the first part of the hypnobirthing course. It was in a relaxed setting with warm, dim lights and we were made to sit back on thai mattress and lots of cushions. There were only 3 pairs of us, so it was supposed to be a cosy class size. It was a bit surprising to me to see the other couples because they were almost in their last month of pregnancy!

The lesson began with Ginny sharing the background of hypnobirthing, how it came about, and how it would help labour to be easy, short, relaxed and comfortable. There were some exercises which include breathing techniques to be practised daily. During the breathing exercises, we were guided to make ourselves very relaxed and to fall into a state of deeply relaxed mode and to make our subconscious minds take charge, somewhat. The whole point is, the more relaxed you are, the more your body muscles will loosen up too.

We were also shown how nature had intended the child to be delivered through the cervix/pelvic bones, and how to sit in proper posture (or rather, how to prevent improper posture) from the 32th week onwards, to enable the baby to choose the best way to position himself inside the uterus. The few ways of labouring and birthing were also demonstrated to us - not those typical positions you would normally see on TV whereby the mothers laid on their backs. And one cool thing was, hubbies were shown how to lightly massage their wives during labour to help them relax. One last exercise that we did was to run through a basic hypnosis script - wife laid back in the most relaxed position, while hubby guided wife into a state of hypnosis. My hubby was quite cool with this!

Throughout the class, there were short video clips, mostly on hypnobirthing. It looked really easy and fast! And the mothers were not as vocal as what you would see on TV dramas. In fact, they appeared so relaxed it was a bit hard to believe that this was real. And babies born in this manner appeared less cranky as well, and they only cried a short while to start breathing. We also learnt that it was just as important to have 'prenatal education', as the child would somehow be affected by whatever that was happening outside the womb, eg. the mother's emotions.

The first homework we need to do is to listen to the CD provided on a daily basis. And more homework will be coming via email. We took home some course materials and a book on hypnobirthing. With hubby having to tackle his newly started SAP course with a cannot-afford-to-fail exam, it is going to be tough on him especially. Gambatte ne!

Hypnobirthing Class

We attended the antenatal taster session this morning at Four Trimester, to find out more about their hypnobirthing course. There were another couple, and 2 other MTBs at the session.

What is hypnobirthing? In brief, it is a technique that helps you go into a state of deep relaxation. There is no 100% guarantee that the delivery would not turn out to be a c-sect eventually, but there is a higher chance of having a shorter labour and also with lesser pain.

At the end of the session, we signed up for the intensive course on next 2 Sundays, because hubby is only free on Sundays from next week onwards. Be prepared to brace ourselves for a mind-blowing, perception-changing process!

And Our Baby Is A....

...boy, until proven otherwise. So were the words from Dr Tan during our visit yesterday! Hubby had asked her whether we could tell the gender by now, and Dr Tan joyfully started the scan from the legs of the baby. She showed us the male genitals but honestly, we couldn't discern from the U/S machine.

See our baby at 16 weeks 5 days...


Here's a website that explains the technicality of a U/S: Obstetric ultrasound

I also asked Dr whether it was OK to apply nail polish, and the answer was "No problem". However, when I asked whether I could start to take bird nest, Dr Tan said it was not necessary.

But anyhow, due to my kiasu-ism, my mother, 2nd sis-in-law, and us visited the Hock Hua Medical Hall next door to buy the bird nest. The shoplady explained between the various grades and recommended the 'Guan1 Yan4' or the 'Jin1 Si1 Guan1 Yan4' for better taste. These are supposed to be more nutritious than the lower grades. Had chosen the latter eventually for the nicer smell. Great damage done: $210+ for 7 pcs, after all the discounts (in-store promo + mom's VIP card). But it was all for our little bundle of joy.

How to prepare:
1. Soak in a bowl of tap water for 1hr, inside the fridge.
2. Pour away the water. Refill bowl with tap water again, but do not run the tap directly into the bowl in case the water jet breaks up the bird nest. Using hand, hold one end of the bird nest and gently shake it inside the water. Look for any remaining strands of feather.
3. Pour warm (not hot) water into a slow cooker pot. Put the bird nest in, and add 2-3 slices of 'pao4 sheng1' (if you are not having a cough). Cook for 1.5 hrs.
4. Add rock sugar at about 10 mins before serving.

My hubby have prepared a piece this morning. Yum yum...