is it fair to say that aries babies are hmm, a little ‘headstrong’?
coz it looks like she’s staying put in there simply to defy everyone’s predictions and taunt them, lol!
“nyeh nyeh nyeh boo boo!
ok, i think that’s probably the last tummy picture i’ll get to take. i realise i didn’t take much this time round. perhaps the novelty had worn off, and the doc’s discouraging ‘flabby tummy muscles’ remarks didn’t help. everyone’s *still* terrified of the sight of it, it could pass off as a sharp and dangerous weapon i tell you. the crowd parts like the red sea when i’m coming through.
anyway, the wait continues – not that i’m terribly anxious to get it out, ha ha. i kinda prefer to have it IN me than OUT, actually.
soooo, have you made your bets with your bookie yet?? :p
no contractions, no bursting of waterbags, no bloody show, zilch. yet. just a whole lotta wriggling (baby AND mother), constipation, and the discovery of a NEW bumpy vein on my derriere. great. no wonder sitting down is such a pain in the butt – like LITERALLY. :S
i’ve also been up till two in the morning almost every day coz suddenly, the days seem too short and there are so many things to be done and i think i’m slightly insomniac and the baby is WIDE awake and i have so many recorded episodes of ‘Heroes’ and ‘CSI’ and ‘Footballers’ Wives’ to catch up on SmartTv and we have diapercake deadlines to meet and my chocolate ice-cream stash gives me a sugar rush and i think the nesting instinct has somewhat kicked in.
boys’ clothes (left) outnumbering girls’ clothes (right) – for now!
i finally got round to clearing aniq’s wardrobe to make way for the baby’s new clothes. didn’t know that so much clutter could accumulate in a short span of two years! (and this doesn’t include his pjs and other daily clothes in the now-rickety ikea drawers on the other side of the room.)
i also rediscovered his old tiny rompers, and salvaged those that were not stained or maimed.
like this cute one that Is got for him from wildchild. which is SO gonna be reused, so die-die have to name the baby with an A.
so anyway, i’m quite sure we’ll run out of closet space for the both of them in no time, but looking around the room/s, i simply cannot imagine WHERE to squeeze in another wardrobe. in the hallway? in the living room? in the kitchen?? :S
and that’s just the logistics of *two* kids.
maybe to economise space, i’ll just fold their clothes really, really, really small so i can them tuck them in every nook, cranny and crevice of the wardrobe house.
oh okaaay, and spring clean regularly too. (boring!)
yesterday, i started getting a little nervy after SO MANY people kept insisting i could give birth anytime, and i think it psychologically affected me coz when i was driving home, i almost felt these phantom ‘tingles’ around my waist like the onset of contractions (which turned out to be just a full bladder after all).
so last night, i thought i’d better get down to the task of packing The Bag. grrr.
(bag pon nak colour coordinate eh.)
the stash includes:
- a change of blouse and underthang (speaking of which, i just dug up my entire collection of nursing bras, last worn a whole year ago, mostly stained, stretched, and SUNGGUH tak stim),
- basic toiletries (cannot live without my proactiv cleanser ok),
- glasses and contact lens container/solution (coz i is rabun as a bat),
- mobile charger (wait my handphone battery die, how to sms you all, right?? :p),
- camera (to take pictures of EVERY SINGLE THING of course, in typical blogger mode),
- basic makeup (ya laaah, i very hiao one, what),
- my W&F organiser (to, ahem, ‘work’ while waiting in the delivery room – feeling busy businesswoman liddat lah, like reaaaal only),
- my minyak makan to gulp down before delivery (don’t ask!)…
and hmm, i know i’m missing something.
i think, socks. yeah, will need those. maybe two pairs, coz the last time when my waterbag literally exploded, the only pair i was wearing got drenched and izad had to sacrifice his.
hmm, what else.. i guess all the receipts from my visits to the doctor, for reimbursement purposes.
and rini, pls find those leftover maternity pads and breast pads you said you’d give me. you think those have expiry dates? sekali i wear, then they disintegrate or i start scratching up there and down there, how??
ok, so i will now be lugging these EVERYWHERE i go – to the office, to the shops, to the toilet… everywhere lah.
well, that was the main idea, when i started thinking of the baby sprinkle (what’s that? “baby sprinkle”? read on…)
i even had a FAQ on the invite, lol!
diapers: because the baby obviously needs them.
dresses: because girls look undeniably cute in them.
dr seuss (ie books): because girls not only gotta look cute, they gotta have brains too, you know.
so, the diaper part, we got down pat, coz my Whims & Fancies partner and co-towkay, with the help of two little elves, stayed up to 2am in the morning doing this.
we’ve yet to name this kelong diaper cake (kelong because i was right there in the room when it was ‘baked’ and although banned from touching it, i couldn’t help it lor), but we’ll think of something. that’s always the part we have some (brain-racking) fun with, actually!
next, the dresses part. thanks to the guests, some came in the perfect dresses that fit the colour theme (and all abided by the No Pink rule), and most came WITH dresses for the unborn one (SOME OF WHICH WERE PINK! *gasp*).
ok, spot who’s NOT following the theme. (even baby nusair was in a white & green romper ok. hee.)
but wait… the last part was, strangely enough, not fulfilled. hmm… i wonder why?? lol! ok, maybe i’ll bring my tummy to watch Horton Hears A Who.
so obviously, i wasn’t about to go for a pink do. like, duh! i guess i could’ve gone with something more adventurous like black & white, or red & black, or… well, the possibilities are endless. but purple, green & white has ALWAYS been my favourite (feminine) colour combination, so there. and so i went on a purple & green frenzy (coz i’m obsessive like that, sigh).
thankfully, my guests humoured my mak buyong whims and fancies (ahem), coz they also came with purple & green food, bless them.
and i provided my current favourite drink (other than Sunkist orange juice, which obviously doesn’t go with the theme) – Grape Snapples. MMMMM.
right, as for the question, “Why a Baby Sprinkle and not a Shower?”
well, simply because:
a) it was a small-scaled affair (held at our humble ’six-star’ Hotel 498, located in the east :p),
b) it’s not my first baby (had one before, shower AND baby),
c) we don’t need anything much coz all the basic baby stuff are already part of our existing infrastructure (you know, baby tub, baby cot, minyak telon, etc).
there weren’t even any games or prizes, just a whole lotta eating, ‘discussing’ and catching up on ‘news’ (HA HA). oh, and cooing at the little ones who were present. (aniq was sent off to his oma’s, where he had a nice looooong nap!)
and by now i’m sure you want me to shut up and view more pictures, right? right.
the check up yesterday revealed that the baby’s head HAS gone southwards, PHEW. so, position’s ready, she’d better not pandai-pandai turn around anymore. gegerl, you hear me in there?? you’ll get it from me if you try anything funny, ah! (yes, mummy has been somewhat garang this pregnancy, something even oma has noticed. damn hormones.)
ok, what else… oh, the baby’s weight is now 2.8kg, and with less than 3 weeks to go, looks like she’s got a good chance of being another 3+kg baby.
less than 3 weeks seems surreal – i’m still in denial, actually. because… there are just TOO many things to do still!
the first time we came in, the doc estimated the baby to come out in May. then subsequently, the date turned to 17 apr. then last two weeks it got pushed up to 11 apr. and NOW… it’s 1 apr. and what a date! gah!
so if any of you guys receive an sms from me on 1 apr, don’t think it’s an april fool’s joke ok.
i think it’s coz the baby’s growing bigger than expected. but i’m really really hoping it’ll be a bit later, so maybe i should talk her into it, the way i talked her into heading southwards.
yes, it’s STILL a ‘her’. i made the doc check AGAIN to make doubly triply sure, coz certain parties have bought actual girly dresses for the baby, and well, they might not look so good on a boy. oh, and phoeey to you strange aunties who insist my tummy looks like a boy’s tummy. grrr.
speaking of tummies, i got yet another ‘lecture’ about working out after giving birth coz of my wobbly womb. so my codename now, when the time comes and i have to call up the doc, is “flabby tummy hana”.
eg. “hello dr? hana with the flabby tummy here. i’m having contractions, going to the hospital now. i’ll see you later? don’t be late like last time, ok. i know you said you’ll take the MRT there, just make sure your ezylink card is topped up. ok bye.”
on another note, i made yet another creepy discovery about my body.
see, this is my (slightly water-retentive) hand, pointing upwards.
and this is that very same hand, pointing downwards.
ok, i have no idea if that’s normal, but it’s the first time i noticed all those yukky veins popping out of my hands. and i can practically FEEL all the blood rushing up and down when i do this “hands up-hands down” trick (i showed it to a not-so-amused husband). i’m usually quite, err, vein-less (thanks to years of evading housework), so i was a bit freaked out. like finding out i’m some kind of x-men mutant or something.
and speaking of blood, my blood pressure’s also a bit on the low side. thus my extra MC today, hehe.
which works out perfectly because… TOMORROW PUBLIC HOLIDAY YOU KNOW!
y’all have a good one now… i have a feeling i might.
ps: forget ultrasound scans. here’s aniq insisting he’s drawing the baby. yes, he specifically said it’s the “baby”, even pointing to my (flabby) tummy to emphasise it. i do apologise on his behalf for the impressionistic nature of this ultrasound picture, though.
i always wondered why the fellow mommy colleagues around me rarely update their kids’ photos at their cubicles. most of them enshrine their personal office-wall-of-fame with photos of their kids as newborns or babies, little eternal peter pans, stuck in time. why don’t they bother? how much have those babies grown since?
well, now it looks like i’ve turned into one of them.
maybe it’s because those chubby, gummy baby moments passed by so fast that you cling on to those images for as long as you can.
maybe it’s a reminder of how they were once so cuddly and compliant and easily-contented and wouldn’t wriggle away from you when you want to kiss them. (grrr.)
or maybe there just isn’t enough cubicle space to chart their rapid, speed-of-lightning growth.
but i think in my case – it’s plain ol’ laziness. oops.
i guess when i come back (in october, woohoo!), i’ll probably have to make space on my personal-wall-of-fame for new photos. where both the little ones will always remain as cuddly, gummy little ones.
something that said “diva”, a customer specifically said, with a yellow buttercup base and polka-dots.
woah, another challenge, we thought!
Diva-ine Buttercup Cake
well… don’t know whether we fulfilled all her requirements, but we sure tried our darndest. we love birds, i mean, plumes, as you can tell. hee.
ouh, also another customer specifically requested for a princess tiara… and well, it’s nothing new coz i’m sure you’ve seen it before, but we couldn’t say no, could we? erm, please don’t call us copycats…
Primrose Princess Cake
and i have officially become a weekend hermit coz am simply TOO heavy and lazy to even move. as sluggish as a slug. sigh.
ps: thanks esah for dropping by with the chocs on W&F’s late night weekend session, that fruit & nut toblerone was my saviour during my butt-stuck-to-the-chair moments when i was too heavy/lazy/sluggish to salvage for proper food. very nutritious, no? :d
the resident void-deck cat, who always waits for the block’s occupants and accompanies them to the lift. we have no idea whose it is.
the little one, from all his keen observation of cats, likes to pretend he’s one too. he’d have me tickle his chin and stroke his back and his ears. oh, and he’d stick out his tongue when i offer him pretend cat food, and scratch his own back just like his feline friends do. he makes a pretty good cat, i must say. at least more docile than his human persona, hehe.
he said he wants to bring it home and have it sleep in his bed (in not so many words, eg. “aniq nak! aniq house! sleep aniq’s bed!” etc, you get the gist).
i’m not a pet person (neither is my mum), so i doubt i’d ever let him keep a pet. even the less messy ones, like fishes or terrapins (which i used to have, but it somehow didn’t bring me much joy and was eventually given away).
so, i think we’ll stick to the void-deck cats. (yes, plural – there are plenty of them, and i’ve seen them breeding even more.)
and i’ll stick to little children. (they’re messy enough, AND have to be fed and toilet-trained too, you know! :p)
i may have mentioned this 497 times (more or less), but my appetite’s still shite, and it should not be because i’m in my 8th month, where the food monster should rightfully have reared its ugly head and make up for the lost months of eating atrociously.
i CAN drink though, and my current thing is sunkist orange juice. by the litre. mmmmm.
some days, though, i’d get nostalgic and go for nasi padang, which is kinda like comfort food for me, for some reason (you know, like scrambled eggs with kicap, or home-peeled-and-cut fried potatoes).
nasi padang reminds me of those occasional saturday mornings at arab st with the family when i was younger. the ikan bakar with kicap and lime, the lauk lemak ayam, the rendang, the achar… and this coming from someone who’s not much of a rice eater in the first place!
the husband is a huge rice fan (then again, he’s a huge fan of food, period), and well, whichever place i’ve been to eat, he’d tell me of another place where it’s EVEN better. so i haven’t eaten at s/ab/ar m/en/an/ti for a loooong time, coz he insists nasi padang’s nicer (and cheaper) at hjh r/at/na, tucked away in a coffeeshop at beach road.
actually, we wouldn’t say nasi padang’s cheap, coz it’s not! all those small dishes *do* add up, but we credit it to the difficulty in preparing each dish, and such a variety at that. plus, rice is VERY EXPENSIVE now, hor??
aaaaaanyway, yeah, it’s pretty good, at least good enough for me to clean off a whole plate each time. again, very unlike me. (but just don’t give me the same thing everyday lah.)
so, other foods that i *can* stomach?
why, ice-cream, of course.
yes, even (or especially) the cheapo 50 cents mcdonald’s cone – aiyah, the cheaper the better lor! right? ;p
remember the peacock that tried to gatecrash len’s baby shower?
well, he was our “inspiration” for this cake!
Chocolate Cinnamon Gateau
the order was for an indian baby shower, and the mother is particularly enamoured by the colour brown for her baby boy. the shower’s theme was also brown, blue and gold, and we, as usual, got REALLY excited at being thrown such a request. ouhh, the possibilities! ideas were volleyballed around – elephants, henna… wait, peacock feathers – they have lovely royal shades of brown, gold and blue! perfect.
note: no animals were harmed in the making of this diaper cake
the little one even exclaimed “cake!” and pretended to use his finger to have a ‘taste’ coz it looked convincingly rich and chocolatey. even we felt like cutting a slice of it at the end, heh.
oh, and like i mentioned before, more pinks-and-browns for the girly girls. come onnnn, anyone wants a peach-and-chocolate one for a change instead? quick, email the W&F team!
i had the honour of covering farhan and farhanah’s engagement last week. it was my first time covering an event as the MAIN cameraman! i had the jitters the night before but I roped in my shutterbuddy to help out and as the day went by, i felt rather confident. btw, my nikon really had good workout :)
thanks to farhanah for giving us the trust and confidence in covering the event. we really enjoyed the occasion. the pictures will be up really soon. in the meantime, enjoy the sneak preview!
this week’s theme is Strawberries & Chocolate, apparently. lots of requests for this particular flavour! but we’re moving on to more exciting, and very challenging, stuff next week so… good luck to us, hehe. (photos will be up later when, again, i see sunlight.)
meanwhile, not only the aunties are having pajama parties – even the little ones are, literally.
i *swear* i didn’t buy those pjs for him, ok! his oma did!
yes, the damdils do sleep over occasionally, when their mommies are beating ‘deadlines’! and what do they do to amuse themselves? their ‘chief’, aka aniq, would run around after the other two and make them squeal and giggle, engage in pillow fights, fling around various pieces of blocks, and well, creating general pandemonium. while the daddies watch football matches on tv. and their mummies neglect them from being absorbed with solving tricky nip/tuck procedures.
ok, maybe i should mention about the unborn one for a bit too.
went to see the doc on weds, but two more patients before my turn, he had to rush out to deliver a baby whose head was already visible at the ‘exit’, hehe. i think the storks were also busy with their ‘orders’, like the W&F team, coz a few more were being delivered after that.
so, i had to head down again today, and thankfully, no babies were emerging from their mommies’ thingamajigs. which gave us time for a nice long chat with the doc, who once again said i gotta go exercise my tummy muscles BEFORE i get pregnant again – WHAT?!? exercise?? get pregnant again?? the thought of doing both is enough to give me a multiple dose of braxton-hicks.
the baby’s head is still not heading southwards, which got me a bit worried coz aniq was already at the right position when i was in my 7th month with him. doc said i’ve still got a month or so to go, so there’s still time for a turnaround. he did discuss what would happen if she decided to appear butt-first. basically, it’d be easy for the butt to come out, since it’s smaller than the head, but getting the head out if you’re not fully dilated, would be a problem – the thought of the baby with its neck stuck is, well, not very pleasant. :S
haiyah, very depressing lah. ok ok, happy thoughts!
lemme have some ben & jerry’s. and maybe whip up more ‘ingredients’ for our next cake… macam real jer, kalah buat kek betol. hehe. but hey, i do know of women who go into cooking or baking frenzy, and go all domestic during their pregnancy. do the babies come out, well, picking up this trait as part of their future personality? hmm… (if that’s the case, my mum must’ve been real lousy in the kitchen when she had me lor!)
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