It all happened on...

... Saturday, 29 August 2009!

Yeah, so my big, grand, what-are-the-odds dream of DN and his sister sharing the same birthday didn't materialise, but heck, who cares? It was a quick (ISH) labour and DS is finally here. *proud mother beam*

So here's my birth story. Prepare yourselves. It's quite a long post for a short labour! Unless you're also serving imprisonment (ooops, did I say "imprisonment"? I meant "confinement") like me and are imprisoned confined at home against your own will and exhibit one or more of the following:

1. slowly going bonkers
2. sweating like a pig
3. feeling and smelling like crap
4. producing enough oil on your head to fill a vat
   
5. constantly entertaining thoughts of killing your confinement lady
   

... then go ahead and read the whole thing. You have nothing else better to do anyway. Otherwise, just read the red bits. That's the chop-chop-car-li-pok version!

Friday, B-Day minus 1
When I woke up on Friday morning, I had the "show". That caught me totally off guard because honestly, I was all set up for 2 Sept. PF and I even planned our fancy dinner for Tuesday, 1 Sept. Yes, I know... the audacity! So when I saw the "show", I was like, "My steak dinnerrrrr!" -___-

I started getting panicky because I wasn't ready. AT ALL. And I really wanted that steak dinner. But the day passed without event, no tightening, no surges (or contractions), no nothing, just the "show" throughout the day, so I started to relax. I googled "show" and "mucous plug" and read that 35+% of women give birth within 2 days of arrival of the "show". That night, or early Saturday morning, I started getting more intense surges and I was 90% sure IT was going to happen so I woke PF up too. (For better or for worse buddy.) But they turned out to be Braxton Hicks because they disappeared after 2 hours. Ho hum, twiddle thumbs.

Saturday, B-Day
Of course I had no idea this was going to be Birth-Day. So at 2pm, when PF said, "Come, let's go out!", I said, "AWRIGHT MAN!" DN was napping so we snuck out for a quick romp in town, hee hee. In the car, I started getting surges, just like the ones the night before but a little more intense. Still very manageable though and I practiced my hypnobirthing relaxation exercises. All was good.

We got into town and I bought a custard choux puff from the Food Fair at Isetan Scotts (which I hear is already over, so am I glad I got to try one or what!). Phwoargh. The puff was crispy crunchy and the custard was perfect - creamy and sweet and dense. Not like some so-so custard you get in some alibaba puffs. Bleah.

We then popped over to Wheelock Place and even ventured over to Ion (maybe the shock of seeing the crowd there triggered labour, hot damn!). I bought PF's birthday present and was tempted by a Dunkin Donut. Unfortunately, I had to pass that by unless I wanted to give birth in Ion itself because the queue was just insane. We left town just before 4.30pm and until then, I was having surges every 20 minutes or so. All very manageable and the shopping definitely helped. I mean, with so many things to buy (and eat!) who would be able to concentrate on those surges anyway? They really should add "shopping" to the hypnobirthing plan of things.

When we got back, DN was bouncing off the walls. It was a good nap.

I tried to play with DN, but was finding it difficult because the surges were coming more regularly and were getting more intense. I started timing myself and they were lasting between 1-3 minutes each. I decided to lie down, listen to the relaxation CD and concentrate on relaxing. I managed to fall asleep and that helped to blur the surges. As I was "in the zone", PF was running around like a headless chicken, feeding DN dinner, packing last minute things into the hospital bag (like snacks!) and checking on me every now and then. Poor thing was sweating buckets, BUT! A small price to pay compared to what we have to go through, I say.

My PIL brought DN over to his great-grandma's and PF and I left at 6.30pm. The traffic on the PIE was absolute crap. As I closed my eyes and relaxed, I imagined PF barrelling down the expressway with police cars hot on his tail, and a baby hot on mine. Not a very relaxing image, but so Hollywood!

We reached the hospital at 7pm. On the way to the labour ward, I had 3 surges. One of which was spent in the car park, leaning against a red Honda Jazz with the bemused driver standing patiently to one side as I had my moment. If that happened to my husband, he'd probably have sped off to Singapore Pools after that. Pregnant women are supposed to be bursting with luck right?

In the labour room, I changed into my own clothes while PF set up the music, essential oils and dimmed the lights. (Yes, I was going to have a baby, not make another one!) I got annoyed with the registration essentials - CTG monitoring, blood pressure and temperature check, signing of forms, blah blah blah... HELLO! My uterus is contracting (and not exactly painlessly) and my body is getting ready to push a 3 kilo baby out, do I look like I want to sign some forms now!??!

At 7.10pm, the CTG monitoring started and it was reassuring to see DS's heartbeat on the monitor, and interesting to see my surges on a graph chart, although I didn't like having that strap around my belly. But I still managed to "zone out" and relax with every surge until about 7.50pm or so I think. Then, sadly, I lost the plot. And my nerve. And my resolve. And my sanity.

It'd gotten to the really intense stage and I couldn't relax anymore. When I first went in, the nurse said I was about 5-6 cm dilated. When it got really intense and I started tensing up, she did another check and she said 4cm! So it really is true! If you tense up, it doesn't help with dilation at all! Then the next surge came and despite PF trying to keep me on track, I caved in and asked for epidural. :p

BIG SIGH!

I was so disappointed with myself because I managed to give DN a drug-free birth (just barely!) and wanted to do the same for DS. Oh well. *guilt trip*

Back to the labour room. It was close to 8pm and I was wondering where on earth my epidural was. PF on the other hand, was stalling for time and kept asking me if I was sure about the epidural. This is the part in labour where I hear of many mothers asking to be shot. So yes, I was sure. When the nurse finally came with the form, I scribbled my signature onto it and asked her to hurry up! Suddenly, think it was about 8pm, I felt this HUGE urge to poo! A midwife came and said I was 9cm dilated, no more epidural for you missy! 9cm?! But I was only 4cm about 10 minutes ago! I was relieved (I can give Bessie a drug-free birth, albeit reluctantly!) and disappointed (ouch!) at the same time. Then she said my gynae wouldn't be able to make it on time, so she would deliver the baby. I was relieved to hear that because I've heard of some gynaes who won't let anyone else deliver the baby. Thank you Dr Chang, but are you still going to charge me delivery fees???

The midwife and nurse attending the birth were really good. They knew we were a hypnobirthing couple, so they kept telling me to "breathe (the baby) down" instead of "push". But I just couldn't. I pushed. And pushed for my country at that. At 8.29pm, out popped little Der Shyen!

Immediately, the nurse and midwife starting going "skin to skin, skin to skin, skin to skin" and they plonked the baby on my chest. Honestly, at that moment the ward could have collapsed around me and I wouldn't have bothered. But holding DS for the first time was amazing. I think I cried.

It was a busy day at the hospital so by the time PF sorted out the registration bits (he didn't get to do ANY of that before I gave birth because there was just no time!), we got into our room just after 11pm. It was so nice to settle in, just the 3 of us, in that quiet little room. My spirit was far from quiet though. I was so pumped with adrenaline, mentally I could have hopped up Kota Kinabalu. Physically of course is another story altogether! It took me forever to fall asleep. And even after I finally did, I kept waking up just to look at DS.

And that's THE END!

But really, it's just the beginning.

Welcome To The World, Baby Girl!

YES! She's here! ANd let's just say, boy am I glad the birth part is OVER. Adios, sayonara, so long, GOODBYE!

I shall blog about the birth another time because it's almost 11pm now and *yawn* the interrupted nights have started. Need. To. Get. Some. Shut. Eye.

But before I go, just a few little golden nuggets of advice we got from friends throughout this pregnancy and after I gave birth.

Pre-Birth

1. Sleep as much as you can now!
2. Eat your placenta!
3. Don't forget your Kegels!

Post-Birth

4. Start saving up for her wedding now!
5. Eat more ginger!

... and my favourite...

6. Buy a gun to ward off all the boys!

Gotta love my friends. :D

DN's 3rd Birthday Party (part 2)

I think DN's favourite part of the party has got to be the birthday song part. You should have seen his face - it was absolutely gleeful. As everyone sang the birthday song, he was smiling to himself and staring at his cake (which he didn't really eat, humph!) the entire time. It was so funny to watch. Seeing him so happy just made my day. Made all the frantic running around before the party all worth it.

The cake was a dairy-free, wheat-free and gluten-free one. The baker actually asked me if I wanted it sugar-free too. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Of course not! I liked the cake. It was lighter than other usual chocolate cakes so not as tasty, but the fudgey chocolate sauce on top was pretty good. PF hated the cake and thought it was gross. LY thought it tasted like tofu. But it really wasn't that bad!

Of course, we HAD to take pictures with the cake! With Mickey ears! Although they looked more like pimples on PF's head, hohoho.

Here's the little family again, all donning DN's trademark fake smile.

Now, this one, I'm not sure what kind of smile it is. Probably something like a I-can't-believe-these-are-all-my-presents-are-these-all-MINE???-yes-they-ARE!!! kind of smile.

DN's 3rd Birthday Party (part 1)

The day of DN's party, I was officially in my 38th week of pregnancy and was I glad I hadn't given birth or what?! If I had, I would have missed the party of the year. (Well, that's what it was to me!) Because I'm due on 4 Sept, 2 days after DN's actual birthday, we decided to have DN's party 2 weeks earlier. Just in case. Having it just 1 week before I'm due would REALLY have been pushing it. My initial suggestion was 15 August, when I'm in my 37th week of pregnancy, but PF (he of much confidence) said, "Aiyah, 22nd August is ok! Just don't give birth lah!"

Er yah, okayyy...

MEN! Not only are our bodies subjected to 10 months of expanding (which is not necessarily followed by a proportionate amount of contracting *wail!*wail!*) and 1 month of unbearable imprisonment confinement, we also have to deal with wise cracks like that. The distribution of 'baby' responsibilities seems unbalanced I think, especially since labour is already on our plate. Hands up those of you who think men should lactate!

So my mantra the week leading up to the party was, "don'tgivebirthdon'tgivebirthdon'tgivebirth...". It worked! And I had a blast at the party!

The morning was a bit crazy because there are just some things you can't do the day before, like pick up the cake, collect the food and send your sister-in-law to the airport when her flight's on Saturday morning. So thanksthanksthanks to my granny, Li Yen and Joanne for helping with the fried rice, dry mee siam, balloons, driver duty, hard labour and ice! :D

Bellies were filled with, from top to bottom, sushi, child-friendly fried rice, dry mee siam (both lovingly cooked by my granny, yum yum) and subs. Thumbs up for the sushi but thumbs down for the subs, I thought. We collected the subs at 10am so by the time people ate, they were kinda soft and squished (from being piled on top of each other). The subs, not the guests, hur hur.


A close up of the sushi which was very well-received!


We didn't do much for decorations. Just some Mickey balloons, which some of the kids went at like a punching bag. Poor Mickey! He's looking a bit 'deflated' now, LOL.


When planning for the party, PF and I considered lots of options - a pony party, a baking party, a mega gym party... er, okay, we considered only 3 options! By a stroke of good luck, I bumped into an ex-student of mine who's now working with a mobile kids gym company, and they were looking into tapping into the birthday party market. Perfect! The kids get entertained and the parents can just sit back, eat, drink and relax!

The only problem was, when all the food arrived, everybody, I repeat, EVERYBODY (adults and children alike!) abandoned the obstacle gym course set up in front of them and flocked to the food instead. But there was dry mee siam and prawn sambal, so I don't blame them! Even birthday boy had eyes only for the sushi. When the 'class' started, he REFUSED to budge from the sofa and just wanted to eat sushi. I was like, "What the...?!"

Anyway, he finally did join the class and he had a blast! The obstacle course had a slide...

... some climbing apparatus, some rolling cushions, a walking bridge and a station for forward rolls. (I know, I just made a big mess describing all the stations.)

After the obstacle course, there was some rope play and then the kiddos all received stickers. No idea what they were doing here though. (???)

And after that, it was pinata time, woo-hoo! Did you know that there are pinatas for toddlers? There's no whacking the pinata (and probably other unlucky people at the same time) with a stick. Instead, there's a whole bunch of ribbons hanging from the pinata and the kiddos are supposed to pullpullpull until one lucky child pulls the ribbon that releases all the candy from heaven! Like a lucky draw!

Now of course, PF and I were not going to leave it to luck. So we kelong-ed the pinata game! *blush* We found THE RIBBON. We taped up THE RIBBON. And we only released THE RIBBON (after all the rest had been pulled) just for DN. So shameless! But you know what? It didn't matter in the end who pulled THE RIBBON because when the candy-from-heaven started showering on them (literally), none of the kiddos gave two squats about it! They all just went for the candy on the floor! PF and I stuffed the pinata with raisins (in boxes of course!), konnyaku jellies, gummies, sweets and cookies. All dairy-free! :D

The way the candy fell out of the pinata was a bit of a let-down though. I don't know, I guess I expected a "graceful shower of treats from heaven", so when it looked more like a "sporadic dump of treats from a round cardboard box with a hole", I was quite disappointed. I think it's because we put bigger treats in the pinata and those got stuck at the opening. So PF had to shake the pinata to induce my "candy shower". Humph. But who cares?! I gave everyone a little goodie bag to fill and they had a blast stuffing their bags. So so so cute! Some walked away with bags that hung like bowling bags, and some walked away contented with two gummies. Hee hee! Er... DN's bag looked like a bowling bag... with TWO bowling balls!

Waiting-for-Bessie Update

We saw the gynae on Thursday and she's engaged! (Bessie, not my gynae) In the words of my gynae, "Any day now." Ack! I can't give birth yet. There's too much hanging on the line. There's DN's birthday party for one, and my last assignment to complete for another. And I want to watch one more movie, and have one last nice dinner, and bring DN for a picnic (and maybe the zoo?), and wash all the baby clothes, and set up the cot, and eat a Dunkin' Donut, and convert the home office into a nursery (yup, it's NOT done yet!), and practice my hypnobirthing relaxation exercises, and eat a Dunkin' Donut... and eat a Dunkin' Donut.

Birth-day is just around the corner though because my belly has "dropped". Bessie has moved down a little and that means 2 things - one, I don't feel so full now after eating and two, instead of pressing against my stomach, she's now pressing against my bladder and making me run to the toilet every hour or so. Not fun. >.<>It was DN's birthday party today and it was FUN! Will promise to blog about it in the next few days. :) Watch this space!

Planning DN's 3rd Birthday Party

I remember telling friends and relatives at DN's 1st birthday party that his next big parent-sponsored bash would be when he's 21, when we can turn him loose on society and not feel guilty about it. HA! I also remember telling people that the first birthday party was not really for him (he couldn't even eat the cake eh?) but rather, for US (but we could... and it was lychee martini!) - a reward for getting through the first year unscathed, undeterred and most importantly, (mentally and physically) undead.

His 2nd birthday party was a low-key affair compared to the first one. Just a small gathering for his little friends that all of us co-organised. It was a wet BBQ (bleah), but at least we had cupcakes (heh!) and all families were colour-coded. The Ongs were radiant in red. ;)

His 3rd birthday was meant to be a non-event, because hello, I'm giving birth on 2nd September! *hao lian* Unfortunately, both PF and I have severely underestimated the wiles of Master Ong DN. Some time in June, for some strange unknown reason, DN started singing "Happy Birthday". To himself. In a pitiful, self-deprecating tone. Repeatedly. At least he didn't do it sitting in a corner with his head hung down eh? Now THAT would be wily! Besides the birthday song singing, he also started saying things like "Today is my birthday!". To us. In a gleeful, expectant tone. Repeatedly.

I mean, WASSUP??! *narrow eyes*

So yeah, that's how weak we are. We caved in. And moved the 21st birthday party forward by 18 years. :p PF and I are trying to justify this party by telling ourselves that it's DN's last chance to have a party all to himself because from next year onwards, we'll be celebrating the 2 kiddos' birthdays together. Also, I've been feeling awfully guilty about not being able to give DN my 100% when Bessie comes along. I know I don't have to feel guilty, but I can't help but feel a little bad.

Anyhows, back to the party. Why just stop at a cake when you can blow it all (read: child's future trust fund) on entertainment for the kids, helium balloons, themed fillers for goody bags, matching plates and cups and (the piece de resistance) A PINATA FILLED WITH EDIBLE GOODIES! Arriba! Jalapeno! Paco chicano! Ole!

The next thing to do was to decide on a theme. I went with Mickey Mouse because it's gender neutral and I won't have an aneurysm when deciding what to put in girl and boy goody bags. Only over my dead body will I have a Barney party even though that's also gender-neutral. I hate that purple dinosaur (who PF believes is actually a T-Rex with blunt teeth because of its short, useless, flailing arms). And oh yeah, the most important reason why Mickey Mouse? DN lurves Mickey Clubhouse.

The grand plan (and I'm full of these useless things that don't materialise) was to MAKE my own Mickey Mouse pinata with papier-mache. If I could make a papier-mache bowl in primary school, what's stopping a 34-year old from making a Mickey Mouse pinata? Well, how about plain 'ole deludedness? I thought about it for a day and then promptly shelved the thought next to grand plan #2 - baking DN's dairy-free birthday cake, which by the way is sitting next to grand plan #3 - going swimming to work on that tan and get M.Obama arms in time for the party. Like I said, deluded. So after all the grand plans have gone the way of the Dodo, what else is left?

Actually, tons! For 3 days, I pored over the Birthday Direct website, adding things into and deleting things out of my shopping basket. I'm going to keep the contents of the goody bag a secret, but let's just say I bought a few extra just for myself! So exciting, hee. Tomorrow, I'm going to buy the edible pinata fillers and on Friday, DN and I are going to pack the goody bags. Can't wait! :D

It's going to be a mad rush on Saturday though. The cakes need collecting (2 cakes from 2 different places... argh), the food needs picking up (again from 2 different places... argh argh), the ice needs to be bought and the room needs setting up. And all that to be done by 10.30am before guests start arriving. Thankfully, I didn't even entertain the thought of decorations because that might just be the thing that sends me into labour!

The only grand plan that I concocted and actually saw through was scrapbooking my own digital invite. I'm quite proud of this one! Ta-dah!



Invites? Check.
Cake? Check.
Kids' entertainment? Check.
Food? Check.
Drinks? Check.
Goody bags? Check.
Balloons? Check.
DN's birthday present?

OOOOOPS!

About Bessie

I realise I haven't really been talking much about Bessie on this blog and I think Bessie knows because I had Braxton Hicks all day yesterday! Like ALL DAY. Think she's trying to tell me something, hmm. They were still kind of mild and hardly causing me any discomfort, so I'm not that fussed, but woah nelly, I don't have that much longer to go! Technically, it's 20 days to Bessie's EDD (which happens to be the exact same day as DN's EDD) and I am willing myself to pop on 2 Sept - DN's birthday! So hang in there Bessie, no rush. If Bessie really makes her grand arrival on 2 Sept, we're definitely stopping at 2 because if #3 doesn't come out on 2 Sept as well, I will not be able to live with myself. How can one ever live with that kind of inconsistency??? It's just as bad as NOT having all your Yusof Ishaks in your wallet facing the same direction.

Which person in the back snorted "anal retentive"? COME HERE!

This pregnancy with Bessie is very different from when I was pregnant with DN. With DN, I had morning sickness, but nibbling on dried mangoes always did the trick. With Bessie, I puked on the road. Like, on my car tyre! Eeep.

While pregnant with DN, I was quite fit. With no 3 year old to take care of, I could go to the gym 3 times a week. Yoga, pilates, spinning, body pump? Bring it on! Now? Prttthhhfff! Not only is the flesh unwilling, the spirit has gone on no pay leave too. Bah.

Halfway into my pregnancy with DN, no one knew I was pregnant. I was just DYING for the bump to show because I just looked like I had really enjoyed myself at some buffet, sorry, BUFFETS. This time? Bah. I started getting comments like, "Wah, you're so big ah?" in month THREE. @#$%*!! *piah*piah* (read: slap, slap!)

But overall, I cannot complain because Bessie is doing well and growing well. At 36.5 weeks, she weighs about 2.5kg and doc says she'll probably just hit 3kg by the time I pop. Measurements suggest that she's a little on the petite side, but PF and I both agree that health is definitely wealth so it's okay!

And how's DN dealing with the idea of having a baby sister? Well, he knows there's a baby in mummy's belly, but I'm positive he doesn't know what's really flying his way come September. Actually, us too, because the motley (and hao lian) pair of PF and I are still insisting on sleeping at 12-1am even though we know full well about the sleepless nights ahead of us. Back to DN. He can be quite sweet to his Mei Mei at times. We have an empty kitchen roll that we use as a "baby telephone" and DN uses it to talk to his little sister. He says things like, "Hello! My name is Ong Der Nen. Mei Mei, what are you doing?"

LOL!

And the other day he sang Baa Baa Black Sheep to her. She responded by kicking him back.

LOL!

We haven't decided on Bessie's real name (it's NOT "Bessie"!) so the other day, we asked DN, "What do you think Mei Mei's name should be?" His reply? (and it was instantaneous) "Ong Baby Mei Mei!"

LOL!

I bet, if he had known about the wonderful, multiple uses of the word "DUH", he would have added "Like DUH, people" at the end of that.

DN is an Aquaduck

After being on the Aquaducks waiting list for a few months, DN finally got a space in their toddler swim class at the Portsdown Road pool. Quack! It's a really early class, :p but we figure it's a good thing because it gets us off our butts early in the morning and forces us to start our Sundays early instead of lolling and fluffing about at home. Anyway, DN is such an early riser (he usually wakes up by 7.30am) that it doens't make any difference to him. It's me that's the problem - sleep is my good friend, my VERY good friend. PF is on pretty friendly terms with sleep too. >.<

I was so excited about DN starting swim class that I bought him a new set of swim gear - board shorts and a raglan tee. DN was very excited too. On the morning of swim class, he had to lie down to contain himself.

Swim class was real fun and DN just LURVED it. They played with toys, blew bubbles, laughed and (DN's fav bit) sang Humpty Dumpty and jumped into the pool when Mr Dumpty fell off the wall. Actually, he jumped off at "Humpty Dumpty sat on the WALL..." and gave PF a big scare, but never mind.

Here, they're retrieving rings from around the pool to string back onto the noodle that the coach is holding (behind). It's so funny how ALL the kids have their favourite colours. DN only wanted to collect the yellow rings, another girl only wanted the green ones and another one only wanted the pink ones.

It was only half an hour, but DN was absolutely famished after swim class. I think it was because PF told him, "If you don't kick your legs DN, we can't move!" (when retrieving the toys). And he just stood there until DN kicked his legs like Flipper. You should have seen him go man, PF was water-blinded by his wake, haha. And gosh, watch how he just inhaled his porridge at breakfast. And his noodles at lunch. Slow down, my good man, slow down!



We headed home after breakfast and DN konked out in the car... at 11.15am! Quite amazing when he usually has his afternoon nap around 12.30-1pm.