The Bub in the Belly

Today, after the stroller, car seat and ISOFIX base were delivered, we went to Gleneagles for their hospital tour. The session started with some talks. The first was by a paediatrician, Dr Steven Ng, who spoke on infant ailments and vaccinations. After that, there was a talk by Dr Teo Cheng Peng, who spoke on cord blood banking by Stemcord. This was quite a persuasive talk and after listening to him, we decided to bank with Stemcord.

The next talk was by the labour ward nurses who talked about the admission and labour process, including pain relief options, and about infantcare in brief. After that, the nurses took us on a tour to show us the labour ward - the delivery room, the maternity rooms, the parentcraft room and the nurseries. There was one baby girl in the nursery that we could see, the rest were either undergoing phototherapy or with their parents.

The maternity rooms are located on the 5th and 6th floors. The 6th floor rooms have just been renovated and have nicer furnishings, although the size of the rooms are not very much different. It was interesting to check out the rooms and to imagine that we will be staying and labouring in one of those rooms very soon!

This evening, after visiting a friend in the hospital who had just delivered a healthy baby boy (2.49 kg at 34 weeks!), we popped by Baby Avenue to check out their strollers and car seats. Got there just before they closed.

We knew what we wanted - the Peg Perego Pliko P3 with the Peg Perego Primo Viaggio Tri-Fix infant car seat - and their price was right so we only had to decide on the colour. It seems like such a simple thing, but it's really not! We were undecided between the Pure Vapour (lovely creamy white with light gray cushion) (2007 version) and the Black Bubbles (2008 version). On the one hand, the Pure Vapour looks clean and sweet and you'd definitely know when the stroller needs a clean-up. On the other hand, the Black Bubbles looks sleek and smart and scratches wouldn't show up so easily. The Pure Vapour was slightly cheaper as well because it is a 2007 version (the 2007 and 2008 models are exactly the same, only difference is in the colours).

Eventually, we decided on the Black Bubbles with the matching Primo Viaggio infant car seat with ISOFIX base. Hope our son likes it - it's his first ride! We'll pimp it up for him - with the appropriate skull-and-bones? or the obligatory wrap-around soft toy caterpillar?

Here's a picture of the stroller and car seat that we bought. They will be delivered to us on Saturday, 29 November.

This evening, we had a gathering of some mothers-to-be at our house, which Leona got to know through singaporemotherhood.com. These ladies are all due in January 2009 although some will pop in December 2008. We have met up three times so far. It's great to be able to share experiences and opinions, get advice and tips and give and receive support from each other. Everyone is really friendly and it's always a pleasure to meet up.

Richard's parents and sisters (Margaret and Mary) and Margaret's three children (Jerica, Malcolm and Justin) came to visit us from 17 to 20 November. It was good to see everyone as, other than Mary who just visited us in September, we had not seen each other since May. We had a great time and celebrated Jerica's 11th birthday and an early Christmas too.

Richard's parents gave us a jade pendant for our baby, which I'm supposed to wear till baby is delivered, after which baby will wear it. It belonged to Richard's mum. They also brought some bird's nest and some chinese herbs. Aunty Margaret gave us some new baby clothes, 2 sarongs for easy breastfeeding and stretchmark cream. She also gave us some stuff she bought during their last trip to Langkawi - a pair of slippers for me and a shirt for Richard. Thank you!

Here's a picture of the pendant.



Here's a picture of Aunty Margaret's gifts for the baby:

Here's my belly at 29.5 weeks! I am finally looking pregnant beyond doubt! My belly has overtaken my boobs at last! Time to give up my high heels!

I've packed away those of my clothes that I can't wear now. Hopefully I can fit into them after baby is out - some of them are still brand new and more importantly, I don't think I want to change my 'style' hahaha!

It's time to visit our son again! We only get a peek at him every 4 weeks - as if he's in boarding school. It's always a treat and we always hope to get a look at his face and his expressions.

Unfortunately, he was sleeping today with his face towards my back and both his arms up on each side of his head. So no photograph of his face today. We tried to give him a poke or two but he wouldn't budge. In the end, Dr Chan said, "Since I can't give you a 3D shot of his face, I'll give you a 3D shot of his birdie." Hah hah!

So here it is, in all its glory... the only pornographic thing I'll ever publish...



Another interesting shot - our baby has already got hair!




Baby's statistics show that his growth is on track and he has long legs. He is 1.225 kg. Best news of all is that he has turned head-down, just as Dr Chan predicted he would.