Third Trimester Checkups

Yesterday we went to east shore for my regular checkups, it turns out that i only gain 0.3 Kg. My baby weight is 1.7 kg which means she only gain 0.1 kg since 3 weeks ago..though my doc said everything looks fine and she still have a normal weight, i am worried that she wouldn't get enough food. I felt guilty of not putting enough weight lately.
I am now 33 weeks and the doctor doesn't seems to be worried about me, thus he ask me to visit him in 3 weeks time. I thought by this time i should visit him once a week, but the nurse said it wouldn't be advice until i reach 36 weeks or if the doctor advice otherwise.

After visiting him, we went to pre-registered for my delivery, and was told not to wear any jewelery or bring any valuable stuff along.

Btw, i have some not so happy news, my dear's lil brother apperantly choose 31st dec as his wedding date. Which means that my dear will not be in singapore for his first new year eve with his child. I couldn't say anything when he told me about that, except i was just smile. Its the thing with me, i couldn't say anything when something was upsetting me. Well.. i guess i have to bear with the situation, as i don't have a say in this. I am very upset and dissapointed, but nothing i said or done will change anything.

baby cot for my chantal

Today Singapore was pouring rains, although the day start with a beautiful morning and a hot and humid afternoon, by 1 am, the skies suddenly darken, and wind was blowing with such a high pitch. Then its raining, it wasn’t pissing like it usually does, it’s a total rain, and sky was so dark, you’ll think it was 6 o’clock in the evening.

I supposed to go to the market today, to grab some veggies and some other stuff needed at home. Well, I’m glad that I cancel it due to the delivery of my new baby cot, which supposed to come on the 2nd September (this Saturday). Another thing I really don’t like doing business with Singapore was they wont tell you the exact time for them to delivery the items, they always put down between 10-12 or between 1-5, and expect people to be home during that time. Why can’t they give people more precise time, or at least more reasonable interval like 1 to 3? When I was living in Australia, every delivery will came around 7-9 or 9-11, they always gave you 2 hours interval, not 4 hours!

Anyways, stop with the complaining, the baby cot came around 4 and it was perfectly fit the space left in the room along with the single bed. I love it, though the bedding was in blue, I wouldn’t asked for the pink one, cause last time I saw it was so ugly. Blue can go with girl too right? I know,…I know, I will look for the set of bedding for the cot, maybe some natural color, and some diapers bag, mattress cover, toys for the cot, wow…I still have so much things to buy for the baby.
I guess it gave me a reason for another shopping spree….yeeheee…

An old friend of mine

I have received an sms from a very old friend of mine, she apparently got my singapore number from my younger brother. She used to live in perth, and was a friend of Lia (my best friend).
Anyways, she called me and i was curious as what was she doing here and was wondering whether what lia told me before was true, about her being separate (maybe even divorce) and she move to singapore to enter some beauty course or something. And it turns out that what lia told me was totally true, she separate from her husband the day her son was born, her son is now 2 1/2 years old, which means that she has been a single parents for nearly 3 years already.

Hmm, after hearing her story, i couldn't help but thinking how lucky i am, to have married the one i truly love, and not just marrying someone for the shake of "getting married'.

The reason why i said this was because some of my friends were getting married for the wrong reason. Which then end up living with a regrets, some then decide to get a divorce, some still trying to figure it out what they want from their relationship (too late when you already say I DO isn't it?).

Pepper Crab

Yes, i ordered another round Joo Chiat's famous crab.
I called them first, and it was kinda hard talking to singaporian, their english is very hard to understand, and i ended up with 2 medium (medium = larger) crab. Ha ha,..i hope we can finish all of them. Couldn't wait for my dear to arrived from work, it smell so darn good.

Dinner @ eunos

Well, we decided that we were doing to stay at home after doctor visit, and just be lazy. So we did! we stayed home, browsing the internet (psst..we still using other ppl connection!), wacthing infotainment on indonesian channel, laying on couch...well..just plain lazy.

Although, we decided to go for a swim just to cool down a bit. However, we couldn't stay too long at the pool, as the water became too cold and there's no sun at all.

Then after a shower and a cup of cocoa, we went to grab something to eat at the foodcourt near by the mrt station.

After lurking around for about 10 minutes, we decide to order 3 dishes from one of the busiest stall. And these are the dishes... butter sotong, bean curd with minced beef and kangkung blacan. I know...it was quiet a lot for just 2 people, but we manage to finished them all...:)

2nd visit to ObGyn

Weight: 61 Kg
Blood Pressure: 120/80
Baby weight: 1.4 Kg

My appt was 8:30 am on saturday, when we arrived at the hospital, the doctor was still doing his routine check on the 4th floor.

So we made some small take with the nurse there, her name is Azizah, she was sho cheerful and so nice. She told me not to consider any epidural, because the pain wasn't that bad. Oh yeah rite, just because she had a very easy labour that doesn't mean i will too. But i took her advice and just smile.

When we went inside to see the doctor, with 2 of my early scan, the doctor then determined that my due will be around 20th.

I asked him about pain relief during labour, and he said theres some injection to numb the pain for a while, and there s epidural to numb the pain all the way to labour. And i told him that i choose to take epidural, and he said that it will be ok and will take note on that.

Everything was fine, my water level was totally fine, my baby head position is already where it should be, which is down, and my placenta position is ok. So, he told me to just relax, and enjoy my pregnancy.

Oyah, we finally find out how much will the labour will cost if i choose to have the 1 bedded, approx S$4000 something, that is including the doctor fee, and if i choose to take epidural, than theres and additional S$700.

Joo Chiat's Famous Chilli Crab

As tomorrow is a public Holiday in Singapore for National Day Celebration, we decide to try the very famous Joo Chiat Chilli crab which is located 5 minutes from where we live.

We were thinking of eating out, but we change our mind as soon as we saw the place was packed and there are people still waiting to be seated.

So we order for take away, the person asked my hubby to choose the 2 life crab form the aquarium, and she will then weight them and then escort those life crabs to the chef to be cooked.

2 life crabs which were weight 1.8 kg cost S$38.

When we arrived back at our apartment, and start eating those crabs, our comments was "Oh My Gosh...this is really delicious...hmm...yummie". The taste was soooo goooood. The sauce was plain black, with a sense of margarine and the crabs was sweet and juice and thick. I took a picture of my dear eating those crab and will post it later.

We cleaned up the plate, and agreed that was the best black pepper crab that we ever tasted.

Starter Kit for newborn

Today i went window shopping @ suntec city to look for a couple of stuff for our baby. I went by mrt and stop at city hall interchange so i can walk through city hall mall and take my time looking at shops along the way.

After browsing through baby's stuff in mothercare, i have just noticed that i would be needing so much stuff for the baby, that i could not know where to start.

So i start by buying a pack of 8 clothing for our baby's, its a starter kit for newborn. Although i couldn't take my eyes on the pink set, i still bought the white one, just in case it wasn't a baby girl. After our visit to doctor, i still have doubt on the sex of our baby. Because i have develop a pimple face which got to do with hormonal changing, some said if the mother developed a lot of pimples, than theres a high possibility of her having a baby boy.

Thus, i will only buy those pinky stuff if i'm diff sure about my baby's sex. However, baby looks more radiant and pure and innocent in white don't they?

For the cot and other stuff, i'm still browsing around for the most efficient and affordable one, the one that will last untill my baby is 3-5 years old. Preferably the one which can be convert into a toddler bed.

Arriving in Singapore with Family and Sibling

At last, i can start writing in our "forgotten blog" again.
Not that we want to left it behind, its just some many things i have to do, and considering we haven't had any internet connection since we move to our new apartment.

We arrived in Singapore on the next day of My Dear's best friend wedding, it was on the 16th july. We had an early flight, and arrived in singapore around 10 am, and straight away headed to the apartement in Changi.

To our surprise, angie (our RE Agent) didn't mention that all the furniture which supposed to be arrived yesterday afternoon weren't not completed delivered by Novena ppl. There were only the divans and coffee table in the apartment. I was so dissapointed, she told us that the delivery was delayed and she couldn't wait for the delivery ppl. So she (or the person whom she told to wait) had left the premises around 6:30, and the delivery ppl came around 7:30 pm.

My parents were also kinda surprise and we decided that we might as well check-in into the hotel and come again tomorrow for the delivery of the rest of the stuff.

So we took some of our stuff and catch a cab to scotts road, hoping to get a room at Royal Plaza in Scotts. Though it wasn't our lucky day, as no room available, then i tried to call hyatt hotel which located opposite Royal which had a rate much higher than the Royal one. But my parents was tired and my mom need to rest, so my dad said it was ok and told me to take 2 rooms at Hyatt.

After settling in Hyatt, it was time for lunch, so we had lunch just around the corner of Hyatt.

After lunch, my parents wanted to take a nap and we (me, my dear and choky) will do some shopping for the apartments and will be back when its time for dinner.

We decided to take MRT instead to go to Harvey Norman, coz we need to buy some household such as rice cooker, kettle, and so on. After spending some time deciding which type of things we like to purchase. We headed to Carrefour to buy some other things for the apartments. After finished shopping we took a cab back to the apartments and drop the goods there and head back to Hyatt. What an exhausted day we had so far.

Baby Girl

We had an appointment with Dr Denas Chandra at East Shore Hospital, this hospital located not too far from where we live. The Hospital itself is not that big but it is one group with Mount Elizabeth and Gleneagles.

It only took 10 minutes walking from our apart to the Hospital, we were late though, the doctor already seeing other couple, so we have to wait for 10 minutes. I gave the nurse all information that the doctor need before seeing me, such as my 3d screening and my blood test result.

When its time for us to go in, I have to take a urine test, I don’t know for what reason though. The doctor was really kind, he looks Malay and spoke very soft, he took some notes on my pregnancy, and done some ultrasound screening, guess what?? It’s Baby Girl!!! My dear had a big smile on his face when the doctor said it’s a girl. Then what everyone said was totally wrong, I knew it that it will be a girl, but because so many people said that it is a boy, I had a doubt myself. So it is confirm that it’s going to be a Chantal instead.

My doctor also said that my due date might slightly be on late October then early October; this is due to the measurement of the baby. If he used my last day of period, which mean I am in my 28 weeks than my baby should weight about 1 kg, but when he measured the length and the weight, she only weight around 800 grams, which means I should be around 26 weeks instead.

He said not to worried, cause everything looks fine, she look proportional and my water level was about alright. So there’s nothing to be worried about. It might be just my calculation was wrong. Come to think of it, my last first date of period was on the 3rd January, though it didn’t last as a normal period, it last about 12 days. As the first couple of days my period wasn’t going as normal, only a couple of drop and that’s it. I though it might be because I was sick and took some antibiotic.

However, the doctor wants me to take some blood test, as my previous one didn’t include HIV and other important things. He then prescribes some multivitamin and a calcium tablet for me and asks me to come to see him in 3 weeks time.

We take bus home, as we want to open bank account. There were a DBS Bank in MRT station nearby, though we had left our passport, which my dear said I don’t have to bring when opening a bank account. Anyway, we walked back home to get the passport and told mom, dad and my brother about the good news.
My dad was so happy, he said that will completed his grandchild, one boy and the other is a girl. My brother was happy too so does my mom.

Hunting for an Apartment in Singapore

Before we leave on the 3rd July, we had contacted a couple of real estate agent, completed with our budget range and what we are looking for in an apartment.

For instants we need an apartment which is fully furnished, 3 bedroom (for the upcoming baby and guests). Place near MRT and possibly not too far from where my husband's work. Although, we know that places around where he works will have a price way over our budget range.

On the day before our departure from Jakarta, i have arrange a viewing with 2 agents, one scheduled as soon as we arrived in Singapore (afternoon), the other is on the second day (4th July). But to our disappointment the first agent was taking us for granted, he thought that i only contact him for inquiries, and he ended up let us down by saying he didn't have any suitable place within our price ranges. What a B*tch he was.

So on our first day, my husband look upset about the agent, and so did i.

The next day, the other agent called and told us that we will viewed 4 places, and will start the viewing from 2:30 to 4:30.

My husband had to canceled his appointment with ISS Consulting, and had re-scheduled it to the next day.

The first place was in Aljunied MRT, it's an apartment with no facilities, 3 bedrooms, fully furnished, kinda old, and when we viewed it, the owner still have a lot of stuff lying around, which make the place look small and not neat at all.
I knew that this is going to be the last choice if we have to choose a place today.
Although, the price was ok, it was 1500.

The second one was quiet a nice place in Paya Lebar, huge place with full facilities, it is a condo apartment. But the price was wayyy wayy over our budget. It was 2500, and its not fully furnished. MRT station was located 5 minutes from the place. I don't think we should even consider this place even the owner said the price still negotiable.

The 3rd place was in Eunos, one stop after paya lebar, this one is a brand new apartment, with a small pool and a jacuzi. As soon as we entered the place, we both was stuned by how bright the place was, a lot of sun came in the place, the kitchen equiped with gas stove, all rooms was in parquite, and the place was never tenanted before. We discussed in the kitchen and decided that we going to rent it, with one condition, they will provide washing machine and a fridge. The lady who is the agent of the place told us that the owner will provide the washing machine and the fridge but not the whole furniture. So, we asked our agent a favour as to show us where can we rent some furniture. She told us that we can even go looking for furniture afterwards.

After signing for a letter of consent, and put down some deposit money, we went to furniture place to look for furnitures. The first place was Nova, after looking around, the total amount that we need to spend in order to buy all those will be around 3000. I don't think i want to spend that much of money to buy all things that we only use it for 2 years. So i told our agent to take us to the rented one, she made a call, and we drove to the other furniture place. This place was ok, all their furniture are on sale and compare to the first one, their price was lower than Nova. We took a the codes of all things we want to rent including their prices. After calculating the price and spoke to the person who incharge of rental. He offer us 210 dollar/month with the deposit of one month rent and one month in advance.

After settle everything in one day, we had so much relief and rest in our hotel room for a couple of hours.

We went to have dinner at Food Republic and spent a couple of hours walking around the plaza. When we arrived back at the hotel, i have the urged to calculated the total amount that we need to spend per month and compared them with the amount we spent in one go if we decided to buy all those stuff. If we rent the furniture for $210 per month, we will end up paying 4000 plus, while we only pay around 2000 plus for all the stuff. Thinking of it, we will gain more if we buy all the stuff than rent them. So I sms my agent again and told her to hold the process of renting, because we will go to the furniture place again and will asked for the the final price.

Out from the comfort zone

Its all started when a head hunter from magnetic consulting was calling my dear, offering him 2 jobs, one in singapore for Levi's and the other in Australia.

This back and fort called was only happen a week ago, apparently my dear told the head hunter to put him on the Singapore Job, because the aussie job was for 6 months contract, while the singapore one is for 2 years contract with the possibility of extension or permanent.

After second interview with their IT Director, my dear secure the job, and had to sign contract yesterday.

So today, my dear went to see our boss, and gave him the letter of resignation, to our surprise, our boss didn't even said anything to made him stay, he even said he knew that all senior might not like the result of the merger, and sooner or later he will lose all his senior. My dear also said, that i will resign as well, i was supposed to see him this afternoon after his meeting, but i think i will see later.

O well, at least my dear had the courage to move from his comfort zone which begining to be not so comfortable anymore.

We will start a new begining, where we both have to start with only the two of us, overseas, no family and no friends. But I think we can make it and will make it.

Visit to RSB Asih

Weight: 55 Kg
Blood Pressure: 110/70
Mood: Happy and proud

Yesterday i went to see my ObGyn for my monthly check up, this time i didn't go to MMC but to another hostpital which specilize in labour. It located in South Jakarta, near my old kindegarten. Was there from around 4, and ended up seing my doc around 5:40ish. My mom accompanied me there, she want to see when the doc took the ultrasound, but I guess it wasn't her lucky day, my doc said there's no need for an ultrasound, as i already took 3d u/s 2 weeks ago. I told him i wanted to see the sex of my baby, he said we'll find out later, it's either a boy or a girl anyway. :)

Since there was no complication on my pregnancy and i did put on weight, he was so happy and did a check on my baby heartbeat.

I told him about my last visit to the other doctor and how he said that my placenta was lying low. But my doc said, there was no need to be worry, because it is normal to have placenta lying low in early pregnancy. Phewww..i should have see him after i saw the other doctor, for reassurance.

Neverthless he said i could fly as long as i am not in my 7 months, and told me not to worry about my ankle, because he didn't even see the difference, and it might only my paranoid. Hehehehe.

The answer for my swollen ankles

How can I ease the symptoms of swollen feet during pregnancy?

Swollen feet are common during the last trimester of pregnancy, especially during hot and humid weather. Some women find that swimming is the best way to reduce swelling, as both the cool temperature and hydrostatic pressure of water help to decrease the edema (fluid accumulation).

You can try a cool bath as well. Try to keep the water at a temperature that's comfortable but cool and lay in it for 15-30 minutes. When you get out, rest and elevate your legs, if possible.

Drinking water will also help your body function well and diminish fluid retention. It may seem that more water would make things worse but conversely, dehydration sends out a message to your body to retain water.

Check food labels and avoid high sodium products. Once you start reading labels, you'll be amazed by how much sodium most processed foods contain. Try to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoid over-processed foods.

Catherine Cram, M.S.
Owner for Comprehensive Fitness Consulting LLC
Author of Fit Pregnancy for Dummies (Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2004

Kankle

I have just find out that my ankle are getting huge..
I don't know why, today when i was looking at my feet, i notice both my ankle are growing bigger. Bare in mind, i always has small ankle, that was the pride of my legs..DoooH!

I bet this things are one of those symthoms of preganancy, which will drive moms crazy, well..not all woman, maybe just me!

I like showing of my legs! Perhaps i should reduce my salt intake and drink plenty even more water than i used too..and Yes, EXERCISE! Gee,...it sounds so easy does it? The thing is, i don't have time to do some exercise, well, actually I DO, i just can't be bothered doing it, cz most of the time i will be too tired to do anything.

Maybe i just take a walk, doing window shopping, walking around a big mall like Pondok Indah Mall or something...or PS maybe?

I don't know why

Was feeling crampy this morning..
Starting when i was talking to one of our company's driver, telling him about how my mom was sick and how she was being treated. This women, who is a receptionist in our office kept cutting in and said something which totally out of my subject, and couldn't stop until i said so.

Then, around lunch, just before i get my lunch, my dear was talking to me on YM and was whinning about how difficult it was to get his KeyBCA to work properly, because he had change the address and that the new address wasn't not registered to the KeyBCA, to make matter worst, he has to go to the central bank to get it fix.

He was annoyed with all the procedure that he has to do, because he has moved to my place and has change his ID card address to the current address, and told me that his younger brother have had told him that it will be so much hazzle when you change your address and have to renew all document, including car registration, tax land, etc.

I couldn't take it anymore, can't handle the complaint, and tears was coming out of my eyes.

22 Weeks

Weight: Haven't jump on the scale lately.
Blood Pressure: 100/69

Been feeling really tired these couple of days. My maide had to go back home because her child was sick, thus me and my dear were helping each other to do things around the house.

Office was getting really crowded, all the sales people stayed in the office, preparing proposal or making calls to prospective client.

It's still 11 am and i'm already feeling tired and sleepy.
O well maybe i need to do some exercise or start swimming.

Visit to 3D/4D U/S

Our appointment to see this specialist was scheduled on 18th may, at 7 pm in the evening, my dear will go straight from pulo gadung, while i will be taking cab instead, cause the parking was quiet impossible around that place.

My dear arrived first and already registered for the appointment, when we were pointed out where the doctor room was, there were a long queue sitting at a long sofa.

Finally, we were called in around 9ish, and spend 15 minutes inside, the doctor was so nice, as I lay down on the bed there, i was so surprise looking at my own tummy, apparently the bump look so obvious.

The tiny creature inside me has already has completed its transformation, though still look kinda skinny. My dear was worried because the baby look too skinny and asked the doctor, whether it was because the mother didn't accordingly. But the doctor said, it is normall for a baby to look that skinny when in its 18/19 weeks, no matter how much the mother eats, the baby will only absorb a small amount of food.

Everything looks fine he said, no abnormalities, though he still couldnt see the baby's sex yet. After meassuring my baby lenght and all, he said that i might be on labour late october, around 18 october. And I need to be more carefull, and not gets too tired, as he showed me that my placenta in to close to "jalur lahir", the normal lenght are 1.5 cm, while mine was 1.04 cm. This could trigger a bleeding in early pregnancy. He also said that if possible, we need to take some break from having sex for a month. :)

We went home, with 5 pictures of our baby. I'm so happy that my baby is so healthy and look normal dispite my placenta condition.

God, what a weekend

It was friday morning around 4 something am, when my dear received a phone call from my dad. My dad told him that he needed to go the hospital, cause he had just sliped in his bedroom. So dear and I were rushing down stairs to my parents bedroom, and found my dad was laying on his bed with hands covering his nose, there were some trace of blood from bathroom to where his bed was. My dad was telling us that he had fell down and hit the table near the bed, and eventually teared some part between his nose and his lips. I was so shocked, i couldn't think. I was scared, cause i never saw my dad in such a pain like that. We tried to get him up to go to the hospital, but he was saying his back hurts, and he was too weak to get up from the bed. We waited a couple of minutes when he finally get up, get dressed and walk out from the bedroom. By the time we arrived at the emergency room at MMC Hospital, we found out that my dad had been there a couple hours before with my younger brother, and the doctor had given him some medicine for his headache and some sleeping pils to help him sleep. That was the reason why he fell down and couldn't remember ever fell down. Though, the doctor said this won't happen if he stayed at the hospital that night.

After a couple of minutes waiting on the doctor to prepared to examined my dad, she came up to me and asked whether i want my dad wound to be treated by plastic surgery doctor or herself, i said it better if the plastic surgery doctor can attend to my dad wound. Then the nurse called the plastic surgent and asked if she could come in, or she wants to be pick up considering it was still early in the morning.

While waiting for the plastic surgent to be picked up, my dad was undergo some x-ray for his back problem, and a ct-scan for her head, in case something happen when he fell down.

The procedure took quiet a while, so i take care the administration and book a room for my dad. By the time my dad had finished all his x-ray and ct-scan, he was taken back to the emergency room, where the doctor will perform the surgery.

Before the procedure take place, i told the nurse and the doctor that my dad had been sweating all morning, and she said it might be from high sugar level that my dad had.

We waited for nearly an hour at the emergency room, while i called my mom, and message my older brother about what happen. The surgery went well, and the result was good, though the plastic surgeont said she won't keep my dad, and he can go home, as for his back complain and others, we have to wait for other specialist to come and see what happen to my dad. Therefore, they took my dad to normal room, so he can rest while waiting for the internist doctor.

Me and my dear felt a relief because everything went well. Though, waiting for the other doctor to attend to my dad was such a bump. Gosh, i was so tired and so were my dear. He went to get some breakfast, while i've waited for the doctor to come.

To make the matter worst, the blood test showed that my dad trombosit was below normal, thus he have to stay until it went up to normal.

18 weeks

Yes, i'm now 18 weeks and 1 day pregnant, and i'm so proud of having this bump on my tummy. Eventhough, all my normal pants starting to annoyed me with its tightness and uncomfortable, i love being pregnant. A couple of weeks ago, people wouldn't notice that i am pregnant, coz for my size i would consider my pregnancy to be small. Well, i am a small woman. Till now, people still think im in my early pregnancy (first trimester). :)

My weight still wouldn't go up, though i've eat quiet a lot lately. Since my last visit to the dr, i felt so quilty of not eating the amount of a pregnant woman should eat. But last night when i weight myself on the scale, i'm still on 52 kilos :(.

I am one of the lucky one, who doesn't have morning sickness, with no particular craving except i prefer to eat beef than other meat ( i don't usually eat red meat, never fond of the smell). Although, come to think of it, in the early of january, i was craving for a steak (yes, grilled flame steak) and it was the time when we didn't even know that i was pregnant. All i can remember was i want to try those ABUBA Steak in Cipete, so one saturday night, we drove to that place and found out that there was no parking spot until another 500 meters. So my dear said, no point parked to far away to eat those steak, and we ended up eat steak at Nebraska (which i finished eating those steak within 15 minutes!!).