Ian's 2 Months Old

Time really flies...... 9 weeks of maternity leave is already over and I only left with 3 more weeks of maternity leave..... Soon, I will need to decide whether I want to return to work in August or September.....

But enough of that..... let me update on Ian's development..... He has grown so BIG and HAPPY.... he tends to smile at me and Wan..... and he has such a sweet smile..... Sometimes, he is cranky, but most of the time, he is an easy baby..... I shall miss him when I need to return to work...... Ian has also learnt to suck his fingers..... he seems to prefer his fingers to his pacifier..... guess his fingers taste nicer..... :-P...... Now, just need to make sure that his fingers are clean......

Just went to the Polyclinic with him today..... he has not poo for 6 days, but the doctor said he is not constipated..... so just have to monitor whether he poo in the next few days.... Hopefully, he will poo within the next few days.....

Enough update for today. Will try to update again soon.

Ciao!

Ian's First Month

The above photo was taken on 03 June 2006..... see his big eyes.... He is alert and happy.....

6 weeks have passed and I only got another 6 more weeks of maternity leave..... time really flies..... It started me thinking on whether I should take another month of vacation leave or should I come back on 1 August 2006.... and work 4 days a weeks.....

Both alternatives have its advantages and disadvantages..... One of the major advantage of taking an additional 1 month leave is that I will have more time to spend with Ian without having to think about work at all..... but the major disadvantage is that once I return to work in September, I will have minimal time to play & teach Ian things as weekends will be going to grandparents' place

If I return to work earlier and work 4 days a week, it means that I will have 1 day to play with Ian and I could spend this day teaching him new things...... but of course, I will also be affected by work..... Truthfully, there is no ideal solution to this problem.....

There are moments where I felt that I should just take no-pay leave till December 2006.... but there are issues to be considered as well..... such as forfeiting my pay, whether I will be bored at home....

What should I do???..... I will need to think this through and decide on what step I should take by end of June..... because I will need to inform my boss by mid-July if I intend to come back to work on 01 August 2006.....

Well, will keep you updated of my decision....

Ciao!!

Finally, managed to upload Ian's photo.... anyway, this is a photo of him on his first day on Earth..... He got my nose..... and looks like a Chinese boy..... now, he has turn darker and beginning to look more like Daddy..... but with Mummy's nose..... no longer as cute as his first few days....

He has also grown crankier and more demanding..... :-P

Anyway, we will be going to the PC Show tomorrow and hopefully, Ian will behave himself.....

Till next time.... CIAO!!

IAN'S DAY OUT

We brought Ian out yesterday..... The itinerary is as follows:-

11 am : To the doctor
12 noon : To daddy's office
12.30 pm : To ICA to collect passport
1 pm : To Bugis Junction for lunch & shopping
3 pm : To mummy's office
4.30 pm : To IMM

The day out was very interesting and educational.... :-P...... but got a few shocks..... Ian's poo was super liquid and it stained his clothes at IMM..... was worried that he is suffering from stomach pains as he might have drank not so warm milk at lunch..... but everything turns out to be fine.... he is well....

Tomorrow, we will be bringing him to KKH & paternal grandparents place...... and on Sunday, Ian & I got to go for our Hep B jabs..... it will be super OUCHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.... I hate injections and am thinking of skipping the injections.... maybe I will just hide at home and let hubby bring him for the jabs.... :-P

I am back again....

Yesterday, went to Holland V to order the first month cake.... It rains, so no choice, have to choose the cake myself as hubby is too worried about Ian getting wet and falling sick..... He is always so worried about his precious baby.... sometimes, think he should be the mother instead.... :-P ..... Anyway, decided on a picture of a cartoon baby boy pushing a gift & with Ian's full name written on the cake.... hopefully, it will look and taste good as well.....

I am looking forward to this Thursday where we will go and distribute the cakes as well as collect Ian's passport..... and of course, the fact that after this weekend, I can bring him out anytime I want..... Wanna go shopping for new clothes as well as more baby thingies for Ian.... afterall, it is the GREAT SINGAPORE SALE .... But think hubby will have something to say about it as usual.... He will be once again worried about his precious baby.... But all tat is another story..... shall update you on our first long outing this Thursday.....

Ciao!

It has been 3 weeks into my Maternity Leave.... Technically, I have 9 more weeks left before I have to report to work..... However, if I decided to clear my 2005 Vacation Leave and a bit of my 2006 Vacation Leave, I will only need to report to work on 04 September 2006..... but do I want to do that? I am not too sure.... maybe I will just clear some of my 2005 Vacation Leave and report back to work on 01 August 2006..... that way, I will have some vacation leave to clear during the festive ocassions....

What has been happening at home? Nothing much..... things have more or less fallen into a routine..... wake up at around 6 plus am..... pump my milk..... bathe Ian with hubby..... feed Ian..... surf net for a while..... take care of Ian..... It is not so bad..... just that night time is the worst as it is impossible to have a full night sleep as Ian will wake up at least twice a night..... but guess am getting used to it already.....

Don't really feel like writing much today..... shall keep you updated in the near future.....

I am back again.... have more free time at hand.... :-P

Tomorrow, Ian will be 2 weeks old.... how has the 2 weeks been?..... pretty tame, but there were moments of frustration of course....... Let me just summarise everything.....

1) Ian was discharged from hospital on 01/05, Monday. Due to his jaundice, we stayed at the hospital for 4 days..... Life at hospital was boring, but lots of food... :-P.... I was fed 6 times a day.... and of course, Ian was taken care of by the nurses at nite..... no night feeds for me.... :-P.... On the first nite home, Ian cried at around 10 plus and refuses to stop crying..... seems like he is SUPER hungry..... felt like a FAILURE as then my milk supply refuses to kick in and I only got about 20 ml per time..... Hubby said to supplement with Formula Milk..... and rush off to GIANT to buy the formula milk..... Upon drinking the formula milk, Ian fell asleep..... I really felt so DOWN at that moment........ but things got better as my milk supply improves.....

2) Ian was again admitted to the hospital for 2 days from 04 - 06 May 06 for his jaundice..... It was a busy 2 days as hubby and I run around from home to hospital to visit him..... but it was also kinda fun as I managed to get out of the HOUSE..... :-D..... But the frustrating thing is that everytime I visit Ian, the nurse had fed him formula milk.... so no chance of breastfeeding him for that 2 days.....

3) These 2 days, Ian been a bit naughtier..... he refuses to sleep in the early afternoon..... he will keep awake from 12 plus till around 4 pm..... and he wanna company..... he also wanna suckle on me before going to sleep..... am beginning to treat me like his pacifier.... :-(

Okay, enough updating for the day..... will continue to update on Ian's development......

My Birth Story

I am BACK!.... Ian was born on 28 April 2006 at 1105 am.... let me update you on the "ordeal"....

28/04, 12 midnite : check-in into TMC for induction.
28/04, 01 am : Nurse put in the pill (did not feel much pain throughout the nite)... but was unable to sleep at all as I was feeling scared and wondered if everything will go fine in the morning.
28/04, 06 am : Nurse came to tell that they have to bring me to delivery ward for drips. Managed to take a bath first :-P
28/04, 07 am : Put on drips (ouch, as the nurse had to do it twice as my first vein was not straight)... till now, the vein is still aching.....
28/04, 0830 am : Doctor came in to burst waterbag.... can feel the water & blood gushing out..... feel so messy..... but pain still bearable.... using the breathing techniques whenever I feel the contractions.
28/04, 1020 am : Pain becomes unbearable.... tears started to come into my eyes and I really felt like giving up.... do not want to give birth at all...... wanna pain relief now..... in desperate need for pain relief......and I really, really feel like pushing... Nurse came to check my dilation and found that I am 8 cm dilated.... Nurse ask whether I wanna the "p"-injection..... ask her how long it will take to be effective..... She said about 20 - 30 mins..... and I think no point as afterall, by then the baby will be born.... so just ask for gas...... Keep on breathing the gas and screaming into the gas mask whenever the contraction came...... Gas doesn't seem to be working as I am not getting high at all.....
28/04, 1050 am : Doctor came..... he put on the "green" overalls..... and when I was just about to get high on the gas, the nurse took it away.....*sob* *sob*...... No more gas and doctor asked me to push...... Tried to push, but no breath..... nose blocked due to my earlier crying.......
28/04, 1105 am : Doctor saw that it is useless to ask me to push the baby out..... so the "vacuum" was prepared and he inject me with a BIG needle to numb the area..... and then he cut me...... When the next contraction came, he asked me to push again and then he vacuum out the baby.....My little angel, Ian is safely delivered... It was a wonderful experience seeing him.... started to close my eyes...... was so relief and tired...... but before that, managed to see my hubby with tears in his eyes...... and of course, my hubby decided to abandon me with no backwards glance and follow his baby out of the room...... :-P ....... I closed my eyes and doctor started to stitch me up..... can feel the needle and thread going in and out.....

Was the labour pain worth it? I guess so..... seeing little Ian is certainly a wonderful experience and it does make the ordeal less frightening for me.....

Anyway, the story does not end here.... will keep you updated of the first few weeks of Ian's life.....

Hi

I been more than a month.... it is 27 April already.... time flies....

I will be induced for birth tonight.... and hopefully Ian will be born by 28 April.... What is my feelings?..... I really dunno..... I do feel scared..... nervous.... yet a bit excited of seeing Ian....

Shall update you on my feelings a bit later on....

Tata

It has been so LONGGGGGG since I write here....

Ian has been growing well.... and moving around a lot especially at night.....

Just went for another scan today, and he finally showed us his face..... he is so cute..... CHUBBY, but not smiling..... think he may either be sleeping or just too shocked to smile at us..... but it was nice seeing him after 4 weeks.....

He is also a bit on the high side of the weight.... he is already 1.8 kg when an average baby at 31 weeks is supposed to be only 1.6 kg..... yeah, 0.2 kg sound like a small difference, but to a baby, I think that is a remarkable difference.....

Just 9 more weeks to go, before Ian is born..... and what a difference it will make in my life..... From just a couple to a family..... and all the changes that have to be made..... but guess after 5 yrs of marriage, it is time for a change.... :-)

Shall update further in the next couple of weeks....

Tata.

It been 3 weeks since my last entry...

Found out that I am being promoted to MX 11 this year... felt happy, yet unhappy too... isn't it just human nature to be never happy with what is given to you... actually, I am happy with the promotion as that means a good pay increase.... yet, I am also unhappy as it might deter me from finding other jobs.... Guess the truth is that I am bored with my job and needs a change of environment... and of course the fact that people around me are also getting new jobs...

But even if I am looking for a new job, I can only do so from Jan 07 onwards as I wanna keep all my Year 2006 bonus and hopefully, get my performance bonus for Year 2006 too.... I am kinda confused now... just have to tolerate my job for another 8 more months and then can move on some where else.... just hope job market is still good then...

Enough complaining about my job.... on the baby front, I am growing so much BIGGER now... and Ian is also quite big already.... I just can't wait to give birth & go on maternity leave & only return to work in Sep 06.... wonder if my pals will still be here...

I am back again...

Been feeling the movement of the little baby since last week.... he tends to be more active in the evenings and at night.... kinda scary as I think my little baby will be a NIGHT OWL.... and I am not a very night person

I have also been shopping for baby clothes... to date, got 4 cute outfits for him to wear when going out.... 4 outfits for day time.... and 5 outfits for night time.... need to shop for more outfits for him as he needs at least 10 pieces of each type of outfit....

Will also be going for my detailed scanning this Wednesday... I just hope that everything is okay with little Ian.... oh yes, forget to mention that his name will be Ian Ihtesham Kusuma.... of IIK for short (sounds like the EEK the purple cat which always get hurts while helping others).... :-P.... back to the scanning issue..... we just need to see his lips & heart valves....

Gotta run.... write some other day....

Got the detailed amnio test results on Friday, 09 December 2005. There is no apparent chromosome abnormalities with the baby.... so that means my little baby is fine.... and not suffering from down syndrome.... however, still need to go for the full scan in my 20th week to see whether there are any physical abnormalities (such as heart problems, etc) with the baby.

Also found out that I am expecting a little baby boy.... so that means no more shopping for little dresses and cute baby thingies for my little Ian.... How do I feel about expecting a little boy??.... Truthfully, I don't know what to feel.... kinda numb as I am expecting that I will have a little girl.... and now, found out that it will be a little boy.... but it is also kinda fun afterall, no more worries whether the kiddo will be big size as afterall, boys are supposed to be bigger in size... :-P
Soon I will be going shopping for baby clothes..... blue and boring ones... :-P

I went for the amnio test yesterday... took both the amnio-PCR and the full amnio... the injection does hurt, but it was not as bad as I anticipate it to be...

Anyway, to cut the story short, but a phone call from doctor today at 2 plus in the afternoon... the result for the amnio-PCR is normal... Thank GOD for it!!... now, I can bond with the baby and just wait for another 2 weeks for the full amnio test result to be out.

It has been almost one month since I wrote in you.

Lots of things change... got worrying news about my triple blood test yesterday... doctor recommended that I go for the amniocentesis test... will be going for the test on next Wednesday... results supposed to be out in 2-3 weeks time.

Emotionally, I am a mess... I can be crying one moment and ok the next... find it difficult to concentrate at work... the worst is that I am extremely confused of what I have to do... I have fallen in love with the unborn child... am so afraid that the test give a negative outcome and then I have to make a decision... can I then live with my decision?

I know that I have to be strong... but it is easier said than done... the rationale side of me know that I should just go for the test and depending on the outcome, make the most appropriate decision... but the emotional side of me am so afraid and doesn't want to go for the test

What should I do?... I really have no idea and am taking each minute as it comes...

The last few weeks have been an exciting one.... found out that I am pregnant.... suffered from all day sickness... no appetite to eat and worse of all, found out that I can't stand all type of smell..... life as a pregnant woman is gonna be interesting for sure.