Pregnancy #4 - Birth of our Princess Isabelle Sophie Tews

Who do you think she looks like more? 

Sooo, its been 3 weeks.

3 weeks since I gave birth for the 4th time. 

3 weeks since we welcomed our princess into our family. 

3 weeks since I became intoxicated with the smell of having a newborn again. 

Still, there are moments when I find it hard to believe that I'm a Mom of four now! 

Time has become an even more precious commodity. So, without further ado, I shall attempt to summarise the last stage of my 4th pregnancy in words. 

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Baby Isabelle Sophie Tews was born 4 days past her due date. I was feeling sooo uncomfortable and huge that I was just one grumpy preggie whale towards the end. Gosh, I feel sorry for my husband and kids for having to bear with me those last few days!

All my previous pregnancies became progressively shorter with Liam being born at 39 weeks. That's probably why I expected Isabelle to be born before 39 weeks. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I went past the 40 weeks mark with her! 

Usually I'm fine about waiting past my due date but with gestational diabetes, I was under time pressure to get baby out because my gynae did not want to wait too long. In the worst-case scenario, they would induce the baby and with my previous C-section history with my firstborn, it would not be the most fun thing to do. 

On Monday, at 40+3 weeks, I remember feeling off. I had a bit of cramps but it was nothing like real contractions. 

25.9.18 (Tuesday) slightly past midnight -

We wanted to go to bed when I felt the crampy sensation getting worse. I wasn't sure if this was the real thing because I've been having Braxton hicks contractions all the time. 

I decided to take a nice warm shower to see if the contractions would ease off. They didn't. 

By the time I got out of the shower, I knew that this was it. 

The in-laws had just left for their vacation so there went our back-up. We didn't expect baby to come in the night, so we did not really ask anybody to be on standby. 

I knew that we had to think fast, so we decided to ring our immediate neighbour's doorbell. Thank God, the guy answered and he agreed to stay over at our place while we made our way to the hospital. The timing was fantastic too, cos all 3 kids were already sleeping soundly when we left. 

Usually I would have laboured a bit more at home but I didn't want to risk anything because I remember how my Mom told me that she almost gave birth to my brother (her 4th child) in the car.

1.15am - Arrived at Charlottenhaus (the hospital)

I was the only woman in labour! Yay!! September had been an especially busy month at the hospital because more babies tend to be conceived over Christmas and New Year's. Lol. I prayed that the labour ward would not be busy when I was in active labour - Prayer Nr 1 answered!

Midwife checked me and I was only 3cm dilated. :(

I was monitored on the CTG machine for a while before she told me to walk around the hospital, go up and down the stairs and to come back in an hour's time. 

2.30am - 5cm dilated

Even though it had only been 30mins, I decided to go back to the labour ward because I desperately had to use the washroom. And since I was back inside, the midwife examined me again. I was 5cm! That meant I dilated 2cm in 30mins! Awesome! 

We discussed whether the midwife should break my water bag. I hesitated so much because I remember how much more intense the contractions get once the water bag is burst.

I kept asking if I could opt for an epidural if push came to shove. She said the anaesthestist was just a call away. We decided to wait.

2.45am - 7cm dilated

This was when the midwife said it's time to burst the water bag if I want to expedite the whole process. My cervix had softened and she said that baby would appear by 3am if we burst the water bag now. 

She burst the water bag and examined me after that. I was 8cm gone, but I was not allowed to push because it was still too early. 

I remember the first wave of contractions after the water bag was burst. 

It was very intense and looooong! And ohhh the pain!! 

Second contraction hit me like a rock and I started screaming for an epidural. The midwife said that baby would arrive before the anaesthetist came and I am totally able to give birth without an epidural - I just needed to believe in myself. But I was in so much pain, I insisted that the anaesthetist be called in. 

Poor anaesthetist was woken up in the wee hours of the morning. 

By the 3rd contraction, I felt the urge to push! 5 mins ago, I was only at 8cm so it was quite crazy that I would have to push after 3 contractions?? With NO epidural?!  

Midwife examined me again and true enough, I was ready to go! What? Just 3 contractions later?!

Husband and midwife held me in a death-like grip so that I had to stay in the right position to give birth. I was lying on my back and the midwife was giving me instructions on how to push effectively. But I would have needed to roll my back forward instead of arching my back backwards. 

Since I was having very intense back contractions, I would automatically arch my back backwards whenever the contractions came. But since I was held down by both of them, I had no choice but to stay in the most effective position to push baby out. 

All I remember was trying to push as hard as I could. It must have been 4-5 pushes at most. I didn't even realise the baby's head was out. So imagine my surprise when I felt a slimy, wet sensation sliding out of me!! 

3.15am - Baby Isabelle Sophie Tews was born! 

She slid out so quickly and easily! I had no tears and needed no episiotomy. It was incredible! She was 54cm and 3920grams! My entire labour lasted 2 hours in hospital! What an answered prayer!! 

I held my baby girl in my arms and was soooo overwhelmed by the fact that this baby girl was born! And she's a girl! I sorta knew baby would be a girl, but after 3 boys, I never really could believe this fact until I saw it myself! 

I remember feeling more alive than I ever felt after my other labours! This was after all the shortest labour I've had. This meant that I didn't feel like I got hit by a bus (#1 pregnancy) and I didn't faint after giving birth either (#2 pregnancy).

They placed baby on me immediately for skin-on-skin contact. As I held her and stared at her face, I was so mesmerised at how she reminded me of myself as a kid! It's sooo surreal to finally be able to hold the baby that you've been carrying in your womb for 9 months!

I was sooo tired but I couldn't sleep during the 2 hours when I was lying down on the bed in the labour ward. I was too afraid that baby would slide off me! I breastfed Isabelle and had a whiff of the smell of BABY-freshness out of the oven! 

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I read this book "Supernatural childbirth" by Jackie Mizie. She talks about how we can pray and trust God for a painless childbirth with no complications and tearing. I remember being challenged in my faith. I just prayed the same prayers that were written in that book. And honestly, those things I prayed about specifically actually came to pass! I was flabbergasted! My baby weighed almost 4kg and her birth was simply the best!

This is my 4th birth experience and I will never ever get tired of witnessing the miracle of life. A human being is made so intricately! When you're pregnant, you're so well-aware of everything that can go wrong. Pregnancy is such a minefield of emotions and learning to deal with the "what-ifs". You never take for granted a baby that is born healthy. How a baby forms in the womb is such a testimony of the existence of God! Yes, a baby is made between a man and woman. But that's the same as saying, I put flour, butter, eggs and sugar into an oven and expect a cake to come out. Someone has to do the baking and measurements and that person is GOD! 

We are slowly adjusting to life with 4 little ones. Isabelle has been a pretty calm and relaxed baby so that helps a lot. Evenings are still very chaotic with having to prepare dinner and get all kids in bed, but we will get there! 

I'm still on cloud 9 at having my own Princess to doll up and be my real-life model! All of our girly clothes have been given / lent to us by our friends! I love these hand-me-downs cos they are sooo gorgeous and well-loved! I'm so so so thankful to God for giving us a healthy baby to love on! This was the verse I sensed the Lord gave us when we were pregnant with Isabelle.

"Delight yourself in the Lord & He shall give you the desires of your heart". Psalm 37:4

Li En means "beautiful grace of God". I chose this name to sound like my late mother's name, "Lydia". To live in grace and grow in grace. That's my desire for Isabelle and myself!

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Compare Isabelle's birth with:

- Samuel's birth
- Gabriel's birth
- Liam's birth

Isabelle Sophie Tews (Li En)

3920 Grams 54 cm

25.9.18

And after 2 hours, she's finally here!!! My precious daughter!

 1- day old Isabelle meeting her siblings for the first time! The look on Gabriel's face says it all! He was the one who started asking & praying for baby sister! 

Going home after 2 days at the hospital! Let the pink explosion begin! 

A dress on my baby! Say what?! 

3 boys & their little lady! 

Another beautiful dress! Albeit with a hangry baby!

By far one of my favourite photos of Isabelle & I!

Story of Baby #4 - A journey of God's Grace

So.... here I am 30 weeks gone and still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that I'm going to have a 4th baby!

Growing up, I told myself I would never have 4 kids. My parents have 4 children you see. I always found a family with 4 kids too big. You need a larger car, you never really get to travel far because hello crazy expensive plane tickets? And don't even get me started about how would you afford an apartment with 5 bedrooms?

I never even considered myself a person who loves young kids. When I was growing in my parents' church, I would often shun away from serving in the children ministry because hmm... let's just say I have enough "children ministry" at home. My two younger brothers are 8 and 9 years younger than me respectively and I was the defacto nanny chasing after them wherever we went.

Who would have thought that I would end up being a stay-home-Mom who totally found my passion in life by having MY own kids?

Maybe giving birth changed me. My first-time experience being a Mom with Samuel was the hardest. I had a difficult labour and unplanned C-section that left me in so much pain. My husband had started a brand-new job halfway across the country and I was left to my own devices for endless hours! I still shudder at the thought of those brand-new lonely motherhood days when every new experience felt like a challenge and uphill battle! Oh how I used to fret about the sleepless nights or whether I had enough breastmilk. I consulted Dr Google wayyy too often and I doubted myself wayy too much.

Fast-forward almost 7 years and I have 3 young boys (aged 2, 5 and soon-to-be 7). I don't have a nanny or maid. But a trusty dishwasher and a cleaner who comes by once a week.

I have ceased to consult parenting books. I sieve through people's well-meant advice a LOT. I no longer absorb other people's opinions like a sponge. When I get unsolicted advice, I just nod my head and go "uh huh". I go with the flow SO.MUCH.MORE. Kids are sick, ok. Are they dying? Can they breathe? Yes? Ok, let's wait and see how they are tomorrow. I no longer run to the doctor at any sign of distress. I'm able to decipher each child's moods / emotions / tantrums / illness so much better.

And most of all. I'm better able to trust my own instincts and God so much more. Baby doesn't sleep through the night? No biggy. I'll just enjoy snuggling with him cos I know that he WILL sleep-through the night at some point in time!

And each time I have a newborn, I'm more aware of the transience of time. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed Liam's first 2 years. He has made it pretty easy for me too, cos he's an awesome sleeper. But I think it's also coupled with the fact that I didn't stress myself up over every single problem. I embraced the "And this too shall pass" mentality. I never knew if I would go for a 4th, so I treasured each of Liam's milestone / newborn stage as my last.

That said, we DID go for a 4th! So... here's our story!

We both spent a lot of time talking and praying about our decision to go for a 4th. We don't take this decision lightly because we know how full our hands are with 3 kids. I struggled a lot, because I know that our chances of having a 4th boy is well.... very high?

To be honest, I LOVE having boys. I love my 3 boys. I love being a boy mom. And as much as I'd love to have my first girl, I would totally welcome our 4th boy into our family too!

The only thing I need to brace myself is for the comments from people. Moms of 4 babies of one gender whether all girls or all boys are the butt of jokes / mindless comments. I always feel like I need to defend my boys and tell people "No, 3 boys are NOT bad. They are NOT always wild. I'm NOT going crazy with the boys". I don't know how often I got the pitiful look from people for having 3 boys. I LOVE my boys!!! Why on earth would someone tell me it's "a pity" to have 3 boys and I should "try for a girl!" Drives me mad.

First trimester - 

Oh boy. The fatigue hits you like a rock! I was one exhausted Mama! I became a social hermit and cancelled all my social appointments, reserving my limit reservoir of energy just for tending to my 3 kids and my household. Once, I felt asleep on the floor in the hallway(!!) after bringing the kids back home! That was how knackered I was! I was nauseous for the whole of 14 weeks!

Second trimester-

I felt much better physically but my 3 kids and hub fell terribly sick. The hub was sick and lethargic for 4 full weeks! Winter viruses can be brutal!

I went to A&E cos I actually thought I was having a heart attack. It turned out to be a false alarm, thank God! I kept having pressure in my rib cage and I had no idea why. So when my left arm had the worst tingling sensation and I felt my baby finger lose sensation, I really thought it was a heart issue cos that’s what Dr Google said. Google “chest pressure and left arm pain”.

Doc reassured me everything was ok and even hooked me up to a heart machine just to assure me that I was fine! She said it’s most probably due to pregnancy hormones that cause everything to relax including the veins in my arms. When there’s too much fluid in my veins, it might cause a prickling sensation. I googled it and it turned out to be a common pregnancy symptom! Who would have known??!

Hayfever allergies were brutal! My second trimester coincided with the break of spring and while I welcomed the warmer temperatures, I couldn't stop sneezing and my eyes were so swollen and painful from the intense pollen concentration in the air! This being my 4th pregnancy meant that I had to seriously focus on squeezing my pelvic muscles whenever I had to sneeze! Not fun at all!

Fifth Disease scare. Gosh. Gabriel's kindergarten had a case of a kid geting the Fifth Disease, also known as "slapped cheek syndrome". I didn't think much about it until his teacher told my hubby to keep Gabriel away from kindergarten because I'm pregnant. Say what??

I called my gynae and was told that I needed to do a blood test to see if I'm immune to this virus. If I'm not and in the occasion that I contracted this virus, I would have to go for weekly ultrasounds at a specialist to see if baby is getting enough oxygen, because this virus could affect the red blood cell production of a fetus. #faint

I quarantined Gabriel at his grandparents for 5 days while I awaited the blood test results anxiously. It was seriously the most stressful period ever! When the nurse finally called me and told me that somehow by the grace of God, I'm immune to this virus, I totally burst out crying!

Gestational Diabetes .... again! I got tested early this pregnancy at week 20 because of my prior GD experience with Liam. It was quite a bummer, but now that I've been checking my blood sugar for the past 8 weeks and the figures are pretty good, I don't worry about it too much.


God's Blessings in this journey

Truth be told, I really wanted to go back to Singapore in August. But since this baby is due in September, I knew I wouldn't be able to fly in August.

Against my husband's advice, I went ahead to seek permission from Sam's school to ask if he could be excused from school for 2 weeks. We would then combine a 2-week school break together with the 2 weeks special permission break and travel sometime in Spring.

I figured, the most they would say is "no" and at least I know I have tried. Turns out, the school actually agreed to this audacious request of mine! Germany has a very strict no-vacation-during-school-term policy, to the point that policemen would sometimes patrol the airports to see if there are any parents breaking this rule! #facepalm

But guess what? Even after I got this special permission, I was unable to book any air tickets because of the 5th Disease scare and having to do my Gestational Diabetes test! By the time I had my test results and the green light from my doctor to take a flight, it was barely 10 days to the school holiday!

I was so uncertain about going back to Singapore with gestational diabetes because I was worried sick that eating out (which is my main reason for going back when pregnant), would cause my blood sugars to shoot through the roof.

Cheapest plane tickets - On Singapore Airlines no less!

When I checked for plane tickets and realised that Singapore Airlines had ticket prices at only 525€ (usual price hovers around 700€), I knew I had to go to Singapore!!! And hear this... SIA only had 7 tickets left at this price and we bought 5 of those tickets!!! I even had to ask the school to extend the number of days from 2 weeks to 2 weeks + 2 days!

Found the most amazing beach vacation venue!

Again.... we tried to book a beach vacation so we could do the European thing of lazing in the pool and sun, but try as I did, it was so hard finding a reasonably-priced hotel that would be willing to accomodate 3 kids - even if the 3rd kid still sleeps on our bed!

I spent 4 full days scouring the Internet and was just about the throw in the towel when my immediate neighbour came by my house and told me all about her brilliant holiday in Thailand at this amazing resort! And there was exactly where we went!

Managed to keep my sugar levels in check!

Remember my concern about eating out in Singapore? Turns out, everything worked out well! I could indulge in my favourite durians without any sugar spikes!!! I managed to eat everything I wanted and still keep within acceptable sugar ranges most of the time! It was such a relief! It was such a blessing to be able to satisfy my cravings instead of waiting another 1.5 years before I can go back to Singapore!

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Yeah, so that's my pregnancy in a nutshell! Sooo much to say in just one update. I knew I had to document my journey because I'm still soooo amazed to see God's footprints in the whole journey! I'm so grateful and thankful for God's grace each step of the way.

And that's exactly how I intend to approach my 4th pregnancy. When people ask me how I will manage with 4 kids without a maid, I'll just say, "With God, all things are possible!"

My only ultrasound photo of our littlest one!

My birth story

Ok, it's been 3 weeks since I went through what we term as "labour".

And today, I actually feel like I have enough energy to document the birth story of Sammy before the details blur into fuzziness.

Labour. Nothing can ever prepare you for this age-old reproduction process. I went for a birth preparation course where I was taught breathing techniques and different positions of labour.

However, when I had to go through the actual thing, breathing techniques were more like "survival 101".

Word of caution: This entry is not for the squirmish. 

Saturday night (3.9.11) - I was spending some time with the Lord.

This was when I was led to Psalm 22.9 "You brought me out of the womb, you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast".

I just knew there and then that Sammy would be born the next day. I felt in my heart that the Lord wanted me to "release" my baby into the world and that I needed to trust God to look after Sammy when he is no longer in the "safety" of my womb.

Blame it on the hormones but I felt so emotional knowing that this would be the last night I would spend pregnant with my first baby. I felt like as much as I wanted to see him in real life, there was nothing I wanted more than to protect him from all the "dangers" of this world we live in.

Still, I released baby in my heart to the Lord in a simple, heartfelt prayer and went to bed. I didn't know then how prophetic this prayer would be.
 
Sunday (4.9.11) 

Early morning - I couldn't sleep well this night. Kept tossing and turning, while having intermittent cramp-like contractions. I didn't think too much about it, because all I wanted to was to fall back asleep!

5 am - I felt a little balloon "burst" inside me. For a while I thought, "Could that be my water bag?"

When I went to the toilet, I saw that I had some discharge but it wasn't enough for me to confirm. My cramps started becoming more frequent.

5.30am - My water burst just like in the movies. I had to wake hubby up and we started timing my contractions. It was coming every 5-7 minutes. We called the hospital and they said to come in right away since my water had burst.

7am - Arrived at hospital, contractions were coming every 3-4 minutes and were very, very VERY painful! Upon internal examination, I was so disappointed to know that I was only 1-2 cm dilated and the doctor said that I should go for a walk.

I couldn't even stand up properly, let alone go for a walk! I ended up sitting on a stone bench at the park while the poor hubby kept urging me to get back on my feet.

I pleaded with him that it was close to impossible, cos the contractions were coming at such close frequency and I was in increasing pain!

9am - Went back to the hospital where they placed me in a birthing room and strapped me to the machine which monitored baby's heartbeat. I was still only 1-2 cm dilated but my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes!

By this time, I could barely do anything except concentrate on my breathing. The contractions were just crazy! There was another lady who was close to giving birth and whose heartbeat monitor I could see from my room.

My contractions were more frequent and the intensity was worse than hers! And she was in the end stage of her labour, while I was only in the first!

10.30 am - Decided to get the doctor to administer Epidural for me. The Epidural didn't hurt at all and I was soo thankful for the time off.

10.30 to 7pm - I slept intermittently while my cervix continued to dilate at about 1cm / hour to about 6 cm.

7pm to 8pm - No progress. Doctor said that baby's head seemed to have been "stuck" in the wrong position and was not directly at the entrance of the pelvis.

She manually emptied my bladder and amniotic fluid left inside me. I was also made to lie down on the left and right side at 15 minutes intervals so that this might hopefully help baby to settle into the pelvic region.

All this time, I could still get up on my feet so I was on the birthing ball, doing my standing exercises to help ease baby's drop. I did basically anything and everything I could think of! The doctors and midwives were very amazed that I could have motor control over the lower part of my body because they said that many women are unable to move once Epidural has been administered. 

8pm to 8.45pm - Dilated from 6cm to 8cm in 45 minutes!!!!!

My joy was short-lived when baby's heartbeat fell by 50% and there was a flurry of midwives and doctors who fussed over me in their efforts to bring baby's heartbeat back into the normal range.

I was given an injection that would cause my heartbeat to increase so that baby's heartbeat would be elevated.

The injection caused me to shiver uncontrollably while baby's heartbeatshowed signs of improvement.

8.45pm to 11pm - No progress. I was stuck at 8cm.

By this time, the Epidural no longer had an effect on me because I was feeling every single bit of nerve-wrecking, spine-tingling contraction. I was convulsing so violently whenever the next wave of contraction came.

Tried so hard to breathe through each contraction, but it was hurting so bad! I had both stomach and back contractions, so I basically had to deal with pain jotting through all my muscles at 1-2mins intervals.

I was also so mega exhausted that I was falling asleep in between my contractions! Before my labour, I didn't even think that would have been possible, but here I was, sleeping through my contractions!

11pm to 12 midnight - Finally my cervix opened to 10cm and I was ready to push!

BUT, baby's head was still not low enough! I was supposed to push him to sit right at the entrance of the birth canal.

The first push was semi-successful. Second push was awesome, in which the doctor said that the baby was coming out soon.

This was when the head OB-gyn came into the room, at about midnight.

He looked through my birth progress and said that something was not quite right because I didn't have any progress for 2-3 hours when I was stuck at 8cm. This meant that he suggested me having a C-section.

They decided to wait until the next contraction to see if my push was "good" enough to get Sammy out.

With this type of pressure, I caved and wasn't able to push properly with the next contraction.

At this juncture, I had to decide if I wanted to do C-section (as recommended) or just keep trying to push, keeping in mind that Sammy's head was still not entirely sitting at the entrance of the birth canal. :(

I decided to go for the C-section mainly because that's what the head-OB Gyn recommended.

By this time, I was soooo beyond my ability to really think that all I wanted was baby out! I fell asleep during the C-section as well, which might have been a good thing cos all I remember was that people were tugging and pulling my insides.

5th Sept 2011, 45 mins past midnight - Baby Sammy entered into the world looking all red and pinky.

Below is the first-ever photo taken of him at the hospital by one of the mid-wives and oh man, he already looks so different by now!

4060grams, 55cm of human-ness staring back at me and all I wanted was to sleep! The doctors said that he was sooo wide-awake even before they took him out of me. They said that most babies are just in a sleeply state when they are first born, but not for my Sammy. He was too eager to take in everything!

When people ask me what was my labour like? I candidly tell them I felt like I gave birth to two babies! One because I was fully-dilated at 10cm and the other through the C-section.

I was really disappointed that I had to go through a C-section but the midwife told me that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck once, so perhaps it wasn't entirely a bad decision. And he was afterall a pretty big baby, so I might have tore badly too if I had gone for a vaginal birth?

Questions for which I will never have answers for. But the most important thing is that my little one was born healthy and fine. I think that's the only thing I will still remember 20 years down the road. And I simply have to trust God that with so many people praying for me, it can't have been "sheer coincidence" that the head-OB gyn popped by out of the blue to recommend a C-section.

Overdue

As you might have noticed from my ticker, my D-day has come and gone.

Baby's officially "late" now - so that makes him more Singaporean than German. Hah.

On the other hand, statistically only 5% of babies are born on their Estimated Delivery Date ("EDD"). The other 95% are born in the time period of 2 weeks before and after their EDD.

I'm very thankful that baby decided not to come earlier, because of the wedding we attended recently and the very intense heatwave that plagued Germany last week.

However, now that I'm all ready, I must say that I was a bit disappointed that baby didn't make his appearance on his EDD - as if babies follow schedules.

I've been going to the gynae every two days just to check that everything's A-ok on the inside. Baby's heartbeat is strong and everything's still perfect. Just that there's no sign that baby's gonna make his appearance anytime soon. He's very active and continues to kick as if to tell us, "I'm happy inside here, don't worry about me!"

I feel like I'm sitting on pins and needles because I have no idea when the whole thing will start. I just have to keep trusting that God has already chosen the appointed time for our baby to come into this world.

Yesterday was the last day that we needed to finish cleaning the kitchen so our little bundle of joy can really make his appearance soon!

Last week I spent the entire time at home because of the crazy weather and just the thought of having my waters break in public was enough to put me off going to the city. However, after one week of being cooped up at home, I hit the city today with hubby after my gynae appointment. It felt so good to be out, do some shopping, get some fresh air and exercise! :)

Perhaps that's exactly what I need to get baby out! To get on with my life and at some point in time, little boy's going think, "I think I've had it in my Mummy's belly and wanna join her!"

Physically-wise, I'm glad that I don't feel too bad. I'm waddling because baby's head is very low in my pelvic region and have backache on my right side. But other than, even hubby commented that I don't like a woman who's overdue, since I still look energetic and fresh. Notice I used the word "look". 

On a side note: My beloved Sony VAIO laptop has been infected with a very malicious Trojan horse. :( I have no idea how it happened since I was simply surfing the Internet and didn't even download anything! I'm hoping that hubby can repair it soon - Am currently blogging from my hubby's laptop.

Yup, just a short update so that you know that our little baby is still baking and my absence is not because I'm in the hospital already.

Bump Progression

I figured I should do this post before I pop.

Before I got preggy, I always enjoyed seeing photos of other pregnant women and their bump progression. Its mind-bogging to know that the uterus can expand up to 1,000 times its original size!!!! 

First Trimester - Oh man, I had a waist back then!

Second trimester - Getting rounder!

Third Trimester - I like the 30+ weeks because they seem to fly by so quickly!

The home stretch - I think baby had a growth spurt eh?

Week 39

Hmm... feels a bit like a maternity fashion show too, don't you think? Considering that at the beginning of my pregnancy I really worried about not having anything to wear, my new wardrobe looks good enough to worn again in the future! **wink**  Hopefully I can still take another photo at week 40, if baby doesn't make an appearance by then. 

I'm really thankful to God for bringing me so far in my pregnancy. Sure there's been hiccups and I'm not having the most comfortable of all home-stretch pregnancies right now, but there's so much to be thankful for. I'm thankful to even be able to get pregnant and stay pregnant. And there's been no major complications in this pregnancy, such that I've had to be hospitalized or anything. Managed to travel on long-haul flights and go on holiday with my baby belly as well as continue my regular life. For that, I'm truly grateful to God for being with me every step of the way.

39 weeks preggy - 5 more days to go!

Yup yup, I'm still here!

The massive heat and constant sweating is doing nothing to induce labour. Today we had (take a deep breath) 37 degrees celsius!  I'm almost suffocating at home, since I don't open the windows. Thing is, there's hardly any breeze and if one opens the window(s), it would just increase the indoor temperature.

I really should go cool myself down in some air-conditioned place like a shopping mall, but I'm just too lazy to get out of the house. Told myself that once we get our own place, we would install air-conditioning in the bedrooms at least. 

We went for a lovely wedding of one of our youths last Saturday. It was sooo beautiful! And I'm so thankful that our little one stayed put in my belly so that I could attend this event. It was a bit difficult figuring what to wear now that I'm fully-blown. But I did manage to fit into one of my black dresses, which surprisingly enough was worn for the very first time!

So how does it feel to be 39 weeks preggy?

To be honest, very nostalgic! I keep wondering what it'd be like not to have a big belly anymore. No more backaches, no more having to sleep on my sides and no more feeling baby jut me in my ribs. I'm missing it already even as I'm typing this! Oh yeah, no more constant peeing in the night! Nor having to feel like I'm rolling a bowling ball whenever I switch sides when I sleep.

But on the other hand, the anticipation of holding our little one in our arms, looking into his face and studying his features is gripping me more by the day. We're pretty much ready in terms of baby preparation.

My to-do list for this week includes cooking confinement food and freezing it up - which I unfortunately haven't started doing yet.

How do I feel about labour?

I think the anticipation of when I'll go into labour is more "exciting" than the actual labour itself. I guess once the wheel starts turning, there's no stopping it. So there's no point in worrying about labour. And millions of women have gone through childbirth, so I'll just be one of them.

I'm excited to experience the miracle of life. Someone said that a newborn baby is like watching God caught in the act - I couldn't agree with this more!

It's also a bit difficult trying to figure out how to spend your last few days "baby-free". Everybody's telling me to rest more and enjoy my last few days of free time. I know that having a baby is going to change our lives in ways we can't imagine. But I also know that I don't want a baby to rule / control my life. I don't want my centre of gravity to be all-things-baby. I still want my centre to be God. And to be an individual. As Pris. As wife. As mother. As friend.

As I embark on a new season, I pray that God will grant me grace and strength to be a great Mom to our little one and to ride through the waves of adjustment with confidence, knowing that He is with me. And in time, we as a family of three would be able to find our own rhythm and baby would be integrated into our family lifestyle. May we truly experience the meaning of having a child as a gift from God.

My A.W.E.S.O.M.E. babyshower!

Yay! Finally my photos have arrived and I can share with you the sheer joy and surprise I had last Saturday at my babyshower.

Well the long and short story of it all is that I always wanted to have a babyshower.

Ok, I know its neither an Asian nor a Singaporean tradition, but I always felt the idea of celebrating the imminent birth of one's baby with close girlfriends really meaningful. It's sorta like what a hen's night is for a wedding.

Of course there will be girls-night-out when baby's born too, but this is something special. A babyshower is a time when women can be clucky, go ga-ga at baby clothes and talk about pregnancy stuff. To be honest, I don't really know what a babyshower entails, since my only exposure to it is through movies.

Thing is, having a babyshower isn't a tradition in Germany either. It's an American thing. And one doesn't organise it by herself. Usually its one or a few of the pregnant lady's girlfriends who organise the entire event.

I wouldn't have minded organising my own babyshower but I honestly don't have the energy for that. And I wasn't going to target a kind soul to organise one for me. So it was one of those things that fell under the "Oh, it would have awesome, but it really isn't necessary" category.

But God knew my heart. And I know He did. Because when Yvonne, the sweetest angel ever, asked hubby if she should organise a babyshower for me, hubby told her that I mentioned 3 days earlier that it would be such a dream come true if I had a babyshower.

So, Yvonne went ahead to organise the entire babyshower! Being German herself, she had no idea what to do, but researched online and everything just fell into place!!!

In order to make it a "surprise", even my mother-in-law was brought into play! She arranged to hang out with me at Ikea on Saturday afternoon so that they could get me out of the house while they decorated the place. I'm just amazed at how hubby could keep something like that a secret from me, without me ever raising an eyebrow of suspicion! Either I'm too trusting or hubby is too good at keeping suspense to himself!

It was soo touching for me, because I felt that I had girlfriends in Germany and they all made the effort to make this event so significant for me! Not only did they bring food but they also brought me (or rather baby) amazing presents! We got winter clothes (since I already have an abundance of summer ones), toys, a baby chair and all sorts of baby necessities! Oh yeah and a diaper cake too!

This is truly a "Commit your ways to the Lord and He will grant you the desires of your heart" testimony! It's with this confidence that I know that God will be right there beside me through the birth process. Amen!

My entire living room was transformed into a blue baby palace!

 Food galore! The ladies prepared something to contribute to the dinner and buffet table. We even had alcohol-free Champagne!!!

 Dessert table with personalized "It's a boy" decorations. Tiramisu was made without raw eggs.

 Table decorations - Do you see the mini milk bottles? How sweet is that?

 My beautifully-decorated living room. I loved the decorations so much, they are still hanging there! 

 Lovely view of my garden from dining room. The red roses were given to me!

Pacifiers decoration!

Waiting in anticipation to surprise me

You can clearly see the shock written all over my face!

 All the lovely ladies dressed in the blue colour scheme - I wore something blue coincidentally!

 Presents galore for the little one! 

Love my diaper cake!!!!

Some of the lovely pressies I got! Winter onesies and a baby chair (on the right)

 All the lovely ladies watching me unwrap my presents. Felt like Christmas in summer!

Games we played: Guess what the circumference of Pris' baby belly is + Let's see how well Pris can dress a baby blindfolded! 

Week 38 - Getting ready for baby

Last weekend was incredible!

We got our baby stroller and baby furniture! This is such a blessing because the expected delivery date was at least 2 weeks later. :)

The timing was simply perfect. Hubby took last Wednesday off to clear the study room of its furniture and reshuffle things that we didn't need. And on Saturday he got a call that he could collect the furniture and baby stroller.

Speaking of Saturday, I had the MOST-amazing surprise babyshower ever! It was such a dream come true. I would have bawled my eyes out if I hadn't been so shocked! - Will blog about this when I get the pictures! 

Hubby then spent Sunday, together with the help of Yvonne and Joni (vielen Dank ihr lieben!!!) to set everything up in our newly-emptied baby's room. We also washed baby's clothes, bedsheets and I have started packing my hospital bag. This is suddenly becoming so real to me!

On the pregnancy front, I feel my body is getting ready for birth. I've been getting pretty frequent tummy discomfort that feels like the "I need to run to the ladies NOW!" pain. Most of the time its just a false alarm and the discomfort is due to digestion problems. However, my stomach muscles tighten so much that sometimes I wonder if I'm going into pre-labour!

And last week I got a bit of period-like cramps, which has since stopped. Braxton Hick contractions are a daily affair these days, but they are not as frequent as they used to be a couple of weeks back.

If I could choose, I would like for baby to make his appearance after Saturday (so we can attend a close couple friend's wedding) but before week 40. And definitely not after week 40 cos I don't like the anticipation of "Ok, baby you're late now, when are you finally making your appearance?" But then again, that would just prove that he's half-Singaporean! hahahah.

My last gynae appointment on Tuesday showed that everything's A-ok! Baby's head is fully-engaged and right at my pelvic region. My weight gain seems to have tapered at 12.2kg and I doubt that I will gain any more weight, since I only gained 0.3kg in the last 2 weeks. :)

Only drawback is that gynae wants me to take iron pills to prepare my body for birth. I'm hoping that I don't develop constipation from the iron pills because I really hate that. I guess that's all part and parcel of being pregnant. You need iron - at the expense of constipation. You eat more fiber against the constipation, but develop flatulence because salads / broccoli etc. all cause gas. And the more gas you have, the more you have the "I got to go" feeling. Mommies-to-be simply can't win. But as long as baby is doing fine and great, I guess that's all that matters right? Besides, I've only got 2 more weeks of this....hopefully even less!

Here's some photos of the baby nursery furniture that we got.

  Left: The baby cot, which can be adjusted lower when baby grows bigger

Right: The diaper changing table with a set of drawers to store all of baby's clothes and miscellaneous stuff

We got the mattress and the lining of "Little big boss" too (ain't that cute?) It was a love-at-first-sight affair. Hubby and I were looking around Princess - a huge departmental store for baby stuff and when we set our eyes on this baby furniture, we knew in our hearts that this was it! Price was reasonable since there was a group discount for the entire set.

We also got the matching cupboards

They are really huge! Right now, we use the cupboards to store our stuff. We wanted something practical which could be used by older children too. So this set was simply perfect. Also, the green is neutral and cheery enough such that it would be suitable for a girl (hopefully) in the future as well. The brand is Paidi - which is a very renowned German brand. Another plus point? They have matching beds for baby once he outgrows the cot! How cool is that?

37 weeks preggy - Baby's full-term!

Ain't I looking like a whale now?

That's hubby's favourite term for me, especially when I need his help to roll on my sides on the bed.

Baby's considered full-term now! Well, the technical "full-term" is at 40 weeks but if a baby is born after 37 weeks, he/she is no longer considered premature.

I've decided to take some bare belly shots to "immortalize" my whale shape before I pop. And why did I photoshop them to make them black-and-white?

That's because of the latest casualty of my pregnancy. Stretchmarks!!!! Eeeekkkss!!!

I've been so diligent to apply Clarin's anti-stretchmark cream (that costs me 45€!) everyday, but even that didn't manage to save my belly.

Ok, given that my stretchmarks are mainly localized below my belly button, I guess I should be thankful. And I'm still hopeful that after I give birth, the stretchmarks would miraculously disappear!

I still can't believe that I'll be a Mom in a matter of weeks now! Hubby followed me to one of my birth preparation classes today and even for him, it was an eye-opener / back to reality phase for him to realize that he's going to be a Dad!

How do I feel???

Well, I don't really know! The whole birth process scares me sometimes, but I got to remind myself that God is on my side and He won't let me "tested" beyond what I can bear. And of course I'm praying for a smooth and short birth process. At the end of the day, all that matters is that my little one is born alive, healthy and kicking!

At this point, its just a matter of making the full use of my time doing things I enjoy doing and getting all the rest I can get. I'm actually thankful for a cool summer because that means that I get to sleep more! So yeah, sorry to all the other Europeans who are sooo sad at this cool summer, but I told my hubby today, "God made this summer cool just for me!" Heehee.

Baby has been really REALLY active these days! I think our baby falls under the exception in that babies in the 3rd trimester are supposed to move around less because of a lack of space. But our baby is so strong and moves around a  lot! He also seems to have a good memory because he kicks me on my right side close to my ribs ALL the time! I can literally feel the leg moving from the left to the right just to smack me at the spot that is still sore from the last kick! I think we got ourselves a cheeky baby! :)