I was waiting for the cashier to gift wrap my purchase when a little boy tiptoed and put a little toy car and a $10 note on the counter. He should be about 5 years old.
While waiting, his mother asked him,”how much change are you supposed to get back?”
He replied, “$5”.
A sharp, curt retort, “NO! WRONG!”
His little face looked crestfallen, he looked down and shifted his weight to his other foot.
I must never to do this to my children.
The woes of a sleep deprived mom at 3am.
Just as you celebrate the moment of liberation, when the baby has fallen asleep. As you lower him gingerly onto his cot, to the horrors of horrors, he gives a sudden hiccup.
*%!$@!!!><#@&!!
The light at the end of the tunnel extinguishes.
No wonder there's such a thing called post natal depression.
Watching him sleep, I wonder to myself. It’s a miracle that he was made in 9 months. And I actually carried him around in me until just a few days ago. Can’t imagine how he had fitted in.
The miracle of life…
I’m practically glued to 小小宝贝. Even toilet breaks are chop chop affairs. Sigh.
Here’s a short post. Spring cleaning for Chinese New Year!!
Something I’ll do next year. I’m 5kg away from pre-pregnancy weight. There’s still a chance I can fit into those clothes I wore one year back!!
I’m a person who has never been very INTO kids. As in other people’s kids. They were fun to play with for like 10 mins then that was it.
4 years ago I decided that I was ready for one, well, somewhat… At least I was committed to spend time and effort on one and try my best not to let her go down the path of hooliganism and be a pest of the society in future. She appeared.
She was an easy going child, very manageable, endearing, mostly smiles and roses. So I decided that maybe I should have one more. So nine months ago, we had news of him.
The pregnancy went relatively well, albeit not as easy as the first one, due to old age (well, I’m not going to lie to myself, that I’m still some schoolgirl. :p). There was the initial scare of low placenta but that went away eventually. A lot less rest because with 宝贝 time was not always managed by me.
The estimated delivery date for 小小宝贝 was 5 jan 2013. Everyone was congratulating me on how lucky I was to conceive a dragon baby. Zodiac sign has never been a big thing for me, he can be a snake, pig, rat etc for all I care. I was relieved that he’s going to be a 2013 baby though. The pragmatism in me simply didn’t want me and him to endure the lifelong competition of a sudden spurt in baby population but with no extra resources allocated to handling it, just because 2012 was a “lucky” dragon year.
I had a caesarean operation for 宝贝. It’s been an interval of 3 years and many people around me had successful vbac (vagina birth after caesarean) so I was determined to have one. There were dangers of course. The doctors and hospitals are always quick to point out the dangers and forms were signed to discharge themselves of the liabilities. The biggest one was that the old wound would rupture and become life threatening.
So until the last day, I still opted for vbac. I was feeling all weird on 3 jan. And at 2am 4 jan I was woken up by a gushing feeling between the legs. Bleeding. I woke up the hub and told him “eh water bag burst leh”.
We had discussed this possibility of me delivering in the middle of the night. Should we:-
1. Call my parents to come over and watch over 宝贝 while she sleeps?
2. Send her over to my parents’ place?
3. Lug her along to the hospital?
4. Just stay put and I go to the hospital on my own?
I was bleeding and contractions were far and in between. We decided that the fastest way to get myself to the hospital was to go there on a taxi while the hub stayed back and get 宝贝 ready for school and come over. Of course, to play by ear and change the course of action if necessary.
I changed and packed my bag quickly. Most important stuff were my iPad and phones and chargers as I foresaw that I’d need to keep myself entertained for a long time as the contractions were still far apart. Ah ah I can just see readers shaking their heads while reading this. It’s true Mah!!!
At the end of my quick packing (I thought it was rather fast considering that I started from scratch.) My blood actually soaked through my pad and pants!! Waaa this was serious. I had no idea that there was so much blood. The called cab had arrived. My concern was if I bled all over the cab, the driver would kill me!! >;;;.<;;;
I quickly changed and hoped for the best. Luckily he got me there in 10 minutes!! I never knew that my house was so near to kkh!!
Once he sent me to the doorstep of the a&e, I was put on a wheelchair and whisked to the observation area. I did a quick scan on the back of my pants. It was dry that meant that I didn't stain the cab seat. Phew!!
Then, as expected, things and wires were stuck to me while I was lying on the bed and I was chained to a monitoring machine. Luckily I had my phone. And there were people awake at 3am to chit chat with. Haha. Nurses and doctors on duty were constantly checking on me. By 430am they decided to admit me.
"Where's your family?" "Oh. No one came. Here are my admission documents."
I heard one nurse whisper to her "she came alone in a cab at 2 lah." Then I heard it repeated to a few people.
To people unfamiliar with sg's culture, usually the Preggie comes admitted (yes, especially in the middle of the night) with the family in tow (sometimes even extended family!!!). I was given some strange looks. Hmmm…. They probably thought I was a single mom or someone's mistress. Shrug. Oh well…
I asked them "if my husband comes, how is he going to locate me??" (I was almost tempted to say boyfriend, lover etc, but I held my tongue. I was still bleeding, not a very good time to joke.) "he just needs to enquire at the delivery counter". I dutifully whatsapped the information to the hub.
They started piercing my left hand with a drip needle. "Erm, I'm going for natural. Why do I need a drip?" They replied, "just in case you need it." They jabbed me twice because the first time they almost punctured a valve. Zzz…
I hate the drip…
At 7am my contractions were still 10 mins apart and cervix dilation only 2cm. My gynae arrived and checked me. Immediately she said, “your water bag burst at 2am. There shouldn’t be anymore bleeding but there’s still fresh bleeding. We are unable to find out where all these blood come from. I recommend an immediate caesarean.” Waaa this was getting serious. Of course I agreed immediately. I whatsapped the hub.
Immediately a flurry of activities began. An operating theatre was arranged within 15 mins. Scheduled operations were pushed back to accommodate mine. I foresee a very hefty bill at the end of the stay. =.=” I started signing a stack of forms shoved into my face. Changed for the surgery. Was hauled onto a trolley and pushed into the theatre. A whole army of green clad people were waiting for me there. I was really impressed that everything was ready in such a short time. I was all the more grateful that I was born in Singapore and not in some ulu part of the world. (To not take for granted what I have and be thankful is my no 1 resolution for 2013. I set that a few weeks ago and am living by it.)
I was given a spinal anesthesia and the lower body started to feel numb. Cloths were draped over me and it all began. I couldn’t see what was being done to me, just a lot of pushing and pressing. Then I knew how a piece of pork felt on a chopping board. I heard a loud wail and he’s out!!! They showed him to me hastily and brought him to the side to run checks and clean him up. Meanwhile they were still working on me.
My 1st caesarean 3 years ago took only 15 minutes. This one took 45 mins… I was told that the non stop bleeding was caused by the old wound which was starting to tear. Complications… So the emergency caesarean call was a prompt one.
It was finally over.
I was pushed to the recovery ward and they brought him to me. I finally had the chance to see him carefully for the first time. We did the skin to skin contact and the first latching on. He’s a miracle. Haha. Every mom thinks that her own child is a miracle. Especially after all the shit (figuratively) and ordeals we went through.
A good size wail.
Against the advice of an army of people, we decided against buying a present for her and pretending that it’s from her baby brother. She’s too precocious to believe in it. We decided that a better way was to give her the responsibility of taking care of him. So as the responsible big sister, her duty was to learn how to carry him and pat him. She knew how delicate he was and she really patted him very gently. Aww…
The “wow” factor.
The loving big sister.
Day 1 wrinkled look.
Day 2 sleeping slightly different look. It’s amazing how his looks changes everyday. I’m looking forward to his day to day evolution. :)
Signing off for more rest and of course, breast feeding…. What else….
Changi airport is one of our favourite haunts. It’s within a short driving distance, air conditioned, spacious, beautiful. In fact I’m really proud of it. I haven’t found any other airport in the world (so far, an indemnity here) that’s grander than it.
Personally, terminal 3 is my favourite terminal. When it rains, 宝贝 can ride her strider at the spacious basement 1 level with ease. The food court has a wide variety of food. If necessary, we can even do grocery shopping at Ntuc. All in one!
The tall ceiling of the halls with its natural lighting and the living green walls give it an airy, spacious feel. It’s really a luxury to have all these features. It’s not as crowded as the other 2 terminals as it currently services fewer flights and airlines.
And yes I hate crowded places. A strange thing to say in a high density living place like Singapore. That’s precisely why I love Changi Airport. It’s one of the few air conditioned uncrowded places left here. Therefore if you want a little getaway from the crowd, just head east!
宝贝 loves to ride on the sky train (yes… She has a mrt fetish too…) so one of our favourite pastimes is to ride on the sky train from one terminal to the other.
Here’s something from the newly renovated terminal 1 (not so new in fact, it’s just that I was so enamoured with terminal 3 that we seldom visit t1.)
It’s called the Kinetic Rain display, made up of beautifully moulded silver blobs that resemble rain drops. They are connected by wires and are constantly moving in various display formations. One can really stare at it the whole day. It has some kind of hypnotic effect. Hehe. 宝贝 wasn’t too impressed by it though. But she, too, spent quite a while staring at it. She was keener to ride her strider and weave through the occasional crowd.
I prefer the kinetic rain display to the moeller thingy (great big motor vane with a huge flower in front) at Terminal 3. :p
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxbkoPcHIQ8&w=560&h=315]
This is a momentous day so I must blog about it before it’s over.
I received a surprise bouquet. First one since the one I received for my birthday 4 years back!! He saved a lot of money huh?!
We have decided not to buy flowers on cut throat days e.g. Valentine’s day. Why let the florists earn the extra amount?! May as well give the cash to me. But sigh…. Conveniently, the number of bouquets dwindled to nil.
Anyway, to look on the bright side, it’s a brand new year. A cheery bouquet on 01.01.2013 kickstarts a promising new year. It can double up as a new year’s bouquet, early valentine’s for all I care.
To be grateful for what I have and to cherish them is one of my resolutions for year 2013 and every year after.
Cheers everyone! I’m looking forward to the next few days when I will receive the greatest gift for the year of 2013!! :)
Akan datang!!
6 months ago, we were disappointed to come to a Pasir Ris Park with most of its playground boarded up. We had to make do with whatever was left.
Turn the clock forward. Today we visited Pasir Ris Park again. Since massive condominiums can be constructed within a time frame of 3-4 years, we figured that 6 months should be enough to rebuild a little playground.
Alas…
It looked exactly the same as the last time we visited it. If they are not ready to rebuild it, shouldn’t they just let the children have access to it for another 6 months??
Not only that, check this out…
Even the swings are missing this time round?!?!
Nparks, why oh why?! When are you going to complete the upgrading??? Condominiums are built faster than your upgrading. Sigh….
宝贝 has been wearing the bracelet, which she beaded herself at the Chiltern Charity Carnival.
Since she liked beading so much, it seemed to be a good idea to start her off on it. I combed the shelves of spotlight for beading material. Just for the threading material alone, there were thin wires, thick wires, leather, plastic thread etc. That’s not even taking into consideration the various kinds of beads, pendants, crystals and even pearls!! Then the cutters, wire twisters and all!! Oh my… Making my head swim. I’m not exactly a very handicraft person and all those material were too sophisticated and small for a toddler to handle. I left, empty handed.
Hmmm.. Maybe I should try qoo10 (gmarket) since it has almost everything. Lo and behold, I found an online store that sells all kinds of beads and even big ones, suitable for children. Similarly, the variety was mind boggling. I read the profile of the owner, and discovered that she has 2 very young children. So I emailed her for advice.
She was really prompt in replying and mentioned that her 3 year old had problems sitting still for beading sessions. But I thought I’d try it on 宝贝 anyway. She recommended the elastic cotton thread that’s easier to handle for little hands and allowed room for alterations. For the beads, her advice was to go for the ones with at least 2mm big holes. The great thing about her website was that the sizes of the beads and the holes were all clearly listed.
The name of her shop on qoo is Creating Footprints Together. Here’s the link to her website.
After placing an order on qoo, the package came really fast!!
She started by creating a necklace for one of her teachers. We wanted to buy gifts for N1 teachers to thank them for all the love and attention they have showered upon her in the whole year. She decided that she should make the gifts for them herself.
She picked out the letters of their names. This is good training for alphabet recognition. Then she decided upon the colours of the beads for one side of the necklace. For the other side I gave her 2 choices, whether to haphazardly thread them without any colour order or to thread them in a symmetrical fashion. She chose the latter. This trained her to recognize patterns and symmetry.
Then she sat there and threaded the beads painstakingly, one by one. It really took her a super long time.
She made the last one for herself because she needed a little reward at the end of the session. Since she was already able to spell her own name, she picked out the letters without any prompting.
All in all, she took 1.5 hours to complete 2 necklaces and 1 bracelet. Quite an astounding feat for a 3 year old to remain seated and in full concentration for that long. Their span of concentration usually lasts about 30 mins. She must really love beading. Hehe.
The completed works.
Her celebratory portrait!!
She’s put on the one she’s made for herself and held the 2 she’s made for her teachers.
The final gift product.
Beading trains : patience, concentration, fine motor skills, letter recognition, sorting, pattern recognition, symmetry.
You are my one and only … iPhone 5 cable.
I promise that from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, ’till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.
I’ve a 30pin cable in my bedroom, one in my study room, one in my car, one in my office and one in my bag.
But you… There’s one and only you…. I’ll always be with you. Maybe I can fashion you into a necklace and wear you around my neck.