Gastric or Something Else?

Last Sunday, I woke up around 9ish feeling really hungry but felt really tired so I decided to continue sleeping.  I finally woke up around noon and started having this really uncomfortable cramp like feelings just below by breast and above my belly.  So the first thing that came to mind is gastric.  For the whole day I regretted not waking up the first round to have something light to bite knowing that I was really hungry. 

Anyway, we decided to go out for lunch so I suggested to go Summit in USJ because I just found out that there is a Babyland there.  So I thought why not since I've decided to buy the Medela Swing Breast Pump.  So we had lunch at Black Canyon but boy I really didn't have much appetite but I thought I should eat slowly and hopefully the gastric will go away.  After lunch, we were walking looking for Babyland and in between we went into some sports shop which I suspect that the Nike shoes they are selling are not genuine.  Anyhow, because it's cheap I bought one pair of slip-ons from them.  After buying the breast pump from Babyland I told hubby that I want to go home because I was really not up to walking anymore.  All I felt like doing is just lie down and curl up into a ball because the cramps that I'm feeling comes and goes.  Anyway, before we left just to satisfied our urge for coffee we went back to Black Canyon to have a cup of coffee each.

We spend the rest of the day at home watching the series Lie To Me till dinner time.  In between I was tossing and turning trying to find the most comfortable position and as usual baby was also doing his rounds of exercise routine inside punching, kicking, moving around.  I must say recently I noticed that baby's movements are getting stronger and stronger and I'm so happy that finally hubby can share the same experience as me.  I can tell that he gets so excited everytime he felt baby moved.  Sometimes, he will even try to play with baby by poking my stomach! But so far baby only responded to him once.  Most of the time, he had to put his hand on my belly for quite sometime before he can feel it.

Anyway, back to my "gastric" episode well besides from feeling the cramps..I had diarrhea too! Thankfully the cramps was not as bad on Monday so I still manage to go to work.  The diarrhea still maintains for the whole day.  Then suddenly it strike me could it be something else? I was thinking to myself maybe the cramp like feelings is actually not gastric.  Maybe it is Braxton Hicks contractions.  I mean I am in my final trimester now.  So once again, I started google-ing about Braxton Hicks contractions and realised that the result I find mostly says that it is painless and you feel your stomach hardens for just few seconds.  Then I started to touch my tummy and felt oh no I can't tell the difference because certain time of the day it always feels hard! Then I continue searching and then it somehow links to pre-term labour which one of the signs says diarrhea! Then I got really worried and started thinking hmmm cramps + diarrhea not a good sign.  I thought to myself give it another day and if I still feel the cramps I should call the Dr to ask about it. 

Today is already Wednesday and thankfully I did not feel any more cramps today but still had a little bit of diarrhea.  Then suddenly my brain function properly and I laughed to myself how can  I be in labour when the cramps are above my stomach! If it was a real contraction I should be feeling it at my belly right? I mean if the information online is correct it should feel like menstrual cramps then it should be just above the pubic area.  Silly me! Worried for nothing!!  

Tiramisu...Attempt No 1

My friends and I were planning for a Christmas dinner at my place but unfortunately the main chef fell sick so we had to postpone our dinner to next week.  Anyway, I told my friends that my contribution for the dinner will be Tiramisu for dessert.

I found this recipe online from Jamie Oliver and it looks very simple.  Since the dinner was postponed, I told myself that I will test out the recipe today.  Well everything went well until the recipe says to slowly fold in the beaten egg white into the mascarpone mix.  Silly me did it the other way round! I pour my mascarpone mix into the egg white and started folding and notice hmmmm this doesn't seem right...  oh well too late to do anything so just continue folding...On top of that, the recipe states to briefly soak the sponge fingers into the coffee...without even testing one I straight away put in 5-6 sponge fingers and they soak up so fast that I didn't have enough coffee left and they started to be really soft.  Hopefully, after setting it in the fridge overnight everything will still turn out OK.

But I had another concern... Half way through making the tiramisu it suddenly hit me that perhaps I shouldn't be eating it until I deliver.  Why? Well, the recipe requires 3 eggs and because there's no baking involved it means that the eggs are not cook at all! Isn't raw eggs a big NO NO to preggers? AAarrgh! Maybe I'll just try a little bit tomorrow!

27 weeks and 4 days..........

Yay....I'm so proud of myself that I went through 1st and 2nd trimester without much problems.  I don't know about my hubby that seems to be complaining to my friends ever since I am pregnant.  It started of with my ever changing cravings for food which to me it wasn't a big issue! I heard that there are some preggers who go to the extend of asking their partners to drive like miles away just to buy some particular food and mine was just Mcdonalds! It's always around the corner somewhere!

Then once I entered into 2nd trimester he started saying that I'm clumsy.  Yeah I mean I do have butter fingers at times but not ALL the time.  As for the bruises on my thighs or legs or arms, I get bruises from knocking over something even before I was pregnant anyway! So no difference to me.  So other than that, my cravings for Mcdonalds still maintain just that it upgraded from a Fillet O fish to a Double cheeseburger yummy! Not bad for a first time preggers right?

Well, now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, honestly really getting very excited and worried at the same time.  Excited because I can't wait to see my baby boy...Worried..oh boy what's labour like? It will always remain as a big question mark till the day comes.  First, I will think how do I know whether I'm in labour? Then once it is confirm I've been thinking to have epidural or not.  I read about the procedure of an epidural and OMG it gives me the shivers down my spine! But then again friends been telling me that the labour pain is so great and intense that we can't feel the epidural procedure.  Is that true? Shall I just be strong and just go with normal pain killers? Some even tell me that there are possibility that with epidural we can't feel how to push when the time comes! So many thoughts run through my mind that I get cold feet at times.

Besides from labour, we still have a few more things that we have not bought like the car seat, breast pump, diapers, wet tissues, cottons, powder and the lists goes on and on! On top of that, since I will be staying in the Condo after giving birth, the condo doesn't seem to be equip enough.  Number 1... I will definietly need a washing machine and thinking where to put it is also another problem.  No 2.. is time to set up the dryer since we can't hang clothes at the balcony which I also don't intend to do it because clothes hung on our balcony is as good as not washing it! It will be full of dust from federal highway! No 3.. I must have an internet connection. 

So, baby's daddy... please look into it yeah? Love ya!

   

Sleepless Night....yawwnnnn!

Last night was the first night that I was awaken not because I need to pee but I was awaken by my baby boy.  Not too sure what makes him so active last night that I was tossing and turning to get the most comfortable position to fall asleep and he did the same inside me too! Well the difference is that he was playing inside more than trying to fall asleep.

I've tried lying down on my right side it was OK for a while but then I started to feel ticklish on my right tummy maybe because my tummy was lying against the bed.  So I switch to the left, oh boy at one point in time i could feel as if there's thunder in my stomach! He's move in my stomach last night was pretty strong and when I put my hand on my tummy I could felt my stomach moved quite vigourously.... Maybe because of this reason I got more and more awake at 4am! I even tried lying on my back but that was not comfortable at all because after a while I started having backache.  I think for about an hour or more I was trying all sorts of position and trying to calm him down by stroking my stomach and finally I could feel that he's sound asleep and so did I......

I must say eventhough when the alarm rang this morning and I was so reluctant to get out of bed for work I still woke up with a smile on my face thinking back what I went through in the middle of the night with my hubby snoring beside me.  I guess this is one of the moments that I will not forget about my pregnancy....

A Step Closer to Final Trimester

Last Friday we went for baby's monthly check-up in Pantai Hospital, Bangsar for the first time.  The wait was really long but thankfully we manage to occupy our time by exploring the hospital.  Anyway, we reached there about 9.15am and the nurse took my blood pressure, weight and requested for my urine and asked us to come back later at about 11am because I am actually number 10 in line. 

So we requested to view the labour ward since we have so much time to kill.  The nurse was very kind to assist us to call the labour ward and guide us the direction to the labour ward.  The moment we reach there we were greeted by another really friendly nurse showing us two different wards.  Well according to her there's only 2 wards not occupied at that time.  The first room is the single room with attached toilet.  I was taken aback the moment I stepped in, because firstly the bed doesn't look comfy at all and there's so many wires hanging everywhere honestly kind of freak me out.  So we went to the second room which is the suite.  The difference with the suite it comes with a sofa.  Oh by the way, I manage to see the water birth pool in the suite.  It's exactly like what I saw on discovery channel.  Of course if we do not intend to use it, it will be removed and the room will look much more like a suite.  I have yet to decide which room I will want to go through labour in but definietly not the suite because it is way way to costly. 

After the visit, we asked about ante-natal classes and the nurse referred us to Sister Elizabeth.  So we went to look for her and had a long and informative chat.  First she was explaining what all the classes is all about.  Briefly as below:-

Session 1 Breastfeeding & childhood survival / feature of newborn
Session 2 Process of labour / tour of delivery suite / post natal ward
Session 3 Miracle of stem cell / care of newborn
Session 4 Pain relief in labour / nutrition in motherhood
Session 5 Prenatal exercise

After all that she was very nice to give us some tips on what type of clothing to buy for newborn and what type of car seat.  She even explained that the best way to bath your baby is to put the tub ontop of our dining table is the best! Initially, we were very proud that we didn't had to go to that extend but after listening to her we felt a bit foolish because we totally didn't think about what happen after the baby bath! Sister was asking us if our stand is just enough for the tub then what happens when the bath is over.  How do we dry the baby? She further explained we can't carry with one hand and wrap the towel because baby is very slippery.  It is also very dangerous to carry a wet baby around.  So best is to have a place right next to the tub so that we can dry and dress the baby before moving him around.  Looks like we will need to move the tub with the stand into the bedroom instead. 

Anyway, looks like we should be more clear after attending the classes which will commence next month.  After our long chat, we still had half an hour to kill so we decided to have a drink before going back to see the doctor.  We check out the cafeteria and I got sucked into ordering the waffles.. Oh my god it taste like homemade pancakes! I think the next time, we will just stick to starbucks. 

At 11am we went back to the specialist area and waited for about 15 to 20mins and then it was our turn.  As usual, because this is our first time, doctor asked us a few questions like allergy and medical history.  Then she reassured me a few things like the discharge or the muscle pull.  After that we started with th ultrasound and again she explained to us what we are looking at because most of the time I can't tell what I'm looking at!  Baby progress is very good.  We even manage to see him move his mouth and doing lots of stretching! After the scanning Dr told me that she will send me back to Bangsar Women Specialist and then she will see me again after CNY.  Well, as expected the bill came up higher than usual and we were quite surprise that we actually have a CD to bring home.  This is what's in the CD

Well there's a lot of clips but one is taking really long to upload and looks blur.  Looks like I have to figure out whether can we compress the file. 

English Tea @ Ritz Carlton

One of my galfriends msn me saying that she would like to see my belly as the last time we see each other was during her daughter's fullmoon and at that time I wasn't showing yet.  So anyway, because last Tuesday was a public holiday we decided to meet up for tea.  I guess initially both of our ideas was maybe just coffee at a cafe.

Both of us couldn't decide where to go because I personally am quite bored with Delicious.  So as usual I open my favourite browser and start googling where to have tea in Klang Valley and wahlah! I came across this blog that had a write up on English Tea at Ritz Carlton.  The pictures on the blog was very impressive and with the price for the tea set it was even more impressive! So it was decided that we give it a try.  Anyhow, in my mind how wrong can Ritz Carlton be right?

They serve English Tea from 3pm-5pm everyday except Sunday.  I was wondering whether should we make any reservation but then we were so confident that it will not be full house so we decided not to make any reservations.  Anyway, so we met at the hotel at 3pm and I drove there myself trying to figure out where is their parking and when the valet pointed me to the basement parking I was shocked! First I had to pay RM20 to the security guard and I get no receipt whatsoever! I was told to park my car at B2 so I did.  The parking was kind of dark so I choose a parking right next to the entrance of the lift.  Unfortunately, the lift was not working!! I was thinking to myself how can this be? This is Ritz Carlton! I can't imagine that I need to walk up the staircase in a 5 star hotel. 

So anyway, I arrived first (as expected my friend will be late) and noticed that the lounge is really warm.  Luckily while waiting for my friend they served me a glass of cold water to cool my body temperature.  I thought to myself goshhh just by climbing up the staircase I felt so warm already?! So when my friend arrived we told the waitress that we are ready to have our tea.  So the waitress pushed a cart full of tea leaves 40 different types to be exact and introduced to us a few types of teas.  There were so many teas that we didn't know where to start smelling! So anyway, I quite like the tea called .... Rose (can't remember the name) and my friend had Earl Grey.  So the waitress said she will get us one set with additional pot of tea.  We just assume it should be the tiffin set. 

The teas were served in a nice looking English teapot with warmer and the "Set" was served on a 3 tier tiffin set.  The top layer were 2 warm scones (one plain & one with apple), chicken pie and a quiche.  The scones were very good but very fattening! Well... fattening for me because I choose to have it with butter and fresh cream! Oh by the way, on the table there were 3 different Jams (marmalade, erm.. something berry and can't remember the other one) which we were suppose to have it with the scones but I bypass that and jumped straight into the cream.  Anyway, I also like the chicken pie and the quiche too.  2nd Tier there were pickled cucumber sandwich (bread was a bit dry), smoked salmon canape (can't comment because I didn't try it) and another canape that both of us did not take coz we were so full.  I think is cheese canape.  As for the last tier is more towards sweets... fruit tart, mango cheesecake, macaroon and somethingelse with nuts that I was not interested. 

Overall I would say is a very good experience.  Eventhough the lounge was a bit too warm to the extend that it was a little bit uncomfortable but minus that, I don't mind having tea there again.  At least we chatted without needing to shout at each other throat! Oh by the way, the set which includes one pot of tea and the tiffin set is RM68++

24 Weeks and 5 Days

According to my iPhone application, today I am officially 24 weeks and 5 days pregnant.  It didn't hit me that I am officially in my 6th month until today when I was bored at work and was doing some mental calculation how many months is 24 weeks and it hit me!

Wow.... time really flies I must say.  I still can't believe that I am 6 months pregnant! It felt like I haven't done a lot of things especially my exercise routine! I was very adamant to do yoga at home but I only manage to do it twice.  Swimming only once so far... but to console myself I did lots of walking since the day I was confirmed pregnant.  Hubby been very nice to accompany me to ensure I fullfill my walking exercise on a weekly basis.  Every weekend without failed we will walk for hours in a shopping mall from Mid Valley to Pavillion to Sunway Pyramid and even Carrefour! I told myself I must swim at least once a week starting from tomorrow.  :)

Well, we also manage to shop a few large items for our baby.  Hubby decided that we should start buying gradually so that he doesn't feel the pinch so much.  We have bought so far :-

1. Inglesina Zippy Stroller...this stroller only requires one hand to operate which is the reason why we bought it.
2. Baby Cot with latex matress (it comes with one free bedding set by the way)
3. Playpen
4. Fisherprice infant to toddler bouncer
5. Baby bath tub with netting and hubby purposely buy a stainless steel stand from Ikea for me so that I don't have to squat and hurt my back while bathing baby
6. A cupboard from Ikea to put baby's stuff

I think that's about it.  Hopefully, from now till my due date we are only left with the car seat which I am thinking whether should we buy from newborn or wait till he is 6months old and smaller items like bottles, clothes, sterilizer etc.

Can't imagine what it will be like when baby is here and definitely can't wait for my next check up on Friday to see my baby progress.

Holiday in Hong Kong with Hubby and Baby --- Day 5

We woke up just in time to freshen up and pack up before checking out.  The bus suppose to pick us up at 12.15pm but the driver was late.  As usual, he will go round a few more hotels to pick more passengers before heading to the airport.  The queue to check in was really long but thankfully the waiting time was bearable.  Anyway, baby was getting hungry as after we settle everything it was already 1.30pm and we haven't had anything to eat. 

We were walking around the airport and decided to splurge a little at this really nice looking chinese restaurant that serve dim sum.  Initially our intention was to have dim sum but then when hubby told me that they have roast goose rice I agree to it immediately and I would say it was really really good! I told hubby if we ever return to Hong Kong we must come here for their roast goose.  The sour plum sauce that comes with the goose is also very good.  Can't get it here in KL.  Anyway, hubby ordered wanton noodle and he still insist that the wanton and noodle we had the first day was still the best.  The portion was small for him so he ordered roast pork rice to fill up the balance.  Initially, I was sceptical about trying it but he said I will love the roast pork and so I tried and I agreed! Hubby found a new way to enjoy roast pork that is to dip into mustard but for me I still prefer it without any sauce.

Roast Goose Rice--yummy!

 The roast pork rice was so good that we forgotten to take any pictures of it.  Overall, it was quite a relaxing trip besides from all the walking... food wise a little dissapointing maybe we were having too high expectations.....definietly failed in terms of shopping!  

Holiday in Hong Kong with Hubby and Baby --- Day 4

Well technically this is our last day to explore Hong Kong.  Hubby decided to go to Causeway Bay.  I think he wanted to go there because of the movie 'Young & Dangerous'.  Anyway, since the guide book also mentioned that they have shopping malls there so we decided to go ahead anyway. 

Hubby decided that we should take the MTR from Mong Kok East station instead of walking all the way to Mong Kok station..of course I agreed ! So we bought the ticket all the way to Causeway Bay and we know we had to change train a few times.  The planned route was Mong Kok East-Hung Hom-Tsim Sha Tsui East-Tsim Sha Tsui-Causeway Bay.  Everything went perfectly fine until we reach Tsim Sha Tsui East and we know we must have made a mistake somewhere as the Tsim Sha Tsui East and Tsim Sha Tsui station is not connected.  Well not connected in the sense that once we exit the Tsim Sha Tsui East station we can't get the ticket back! Which means we will need to buy another ticket to Causeway Bay from Tsim Sha Tsui... sighh major boo boo on our last day. 

Finally we arrived at Causeway Bay and we walked towards Sogo from the MTR station.  We were thinking hmmmm don't all these people need to work? Geez it's a Friday and is not even lunch time and Sogo is so crowded! I guess the sale must be really good because I see people with loads of shopping bags! We decided to have our brunch first.  Since is our last day and we haven't had dim sum in Hong Kong I insist that we have Dim Sum.  So we were walking along the main road and noticed that there are some restaurants situated inside the office buildings.  We decided to check out one of the restaurants and the moment the lift open we were in the restaurant already! We were kinda shocked because we wanted to do some survey first.  Anyhow, we were to shy to turn back so we decided to go ahead.  Thankfully they do serve dim sum but hubby was having problems understanding the dimsum menu in chinese so we decided to take their set meals instead.  The price is reasonable and this is what comes in the set:-



Fried Beef Hor Fun (Dry)--- VERY GOOD!



Fried Carrot Cake-- Not Bad

Chives Dumpling--No comment



Black Bean Chicken Feet---Not soft enough but tasty



Char Siew Pau---VERY VERY GOOD!

After our dimsum, we went into Sogo hoping we could get some cheap clothes or diaper bags or any baby stuff back but after the price conversion there's not much difference than buying them in KL.  Therefore, we failed in terms of shopping in HongKong! We didn't want to waste time so we went back to Tsim Sha Tsui. 

We decided to explore Tsim Sha Tsui and manage to stumble across this Macau Restaurant which sells the Polo Buns! I told hubby I must have it! Otherwise, I won't have chance anymore! So we decided to have tea in a Macau Restaurant.  We ordered a Polo Bun with Butter, hubby ordered a Macau Pork Chop Burger and we also wanted to try the chili pepper squid.  I've been telling hubby I actually miss the chilli pepper squid tentacles in Perth.  Well, there are alot of things I miss about Perth especially their food...perhaps my tastebud is much more accustomed to what they serve in Perth.  Oops...drifting away..

Polo Bun with Butter

Macau Ice Coffee

Pork Chop Burger---the ommelet is GOOD!

Chilli Pepper Squid---No Good :(

After our tea break, we decided to head back to the hotel for a rest as the weather was getting gloomy. 

Our last dinner was bad.... we decided to walk along Fah Yuen Street if I'm not mistaken and because we kinda have no idea what to eat we just simply pick one that has some roast meat hanging as their ornaments...thinking that the roast should be their specialty.  Boy were we WRONG! The roast pork that hubby ordered tasted like 'lap cheung' to me! Thank God I've learned my lesson not to order anymore pork dishes... I ordered mince beef with egg and rice and luckily it was OK..I kind of felt guilty for having this as the egg was raw and because I'm pregnant I shouldn't be taking anything raw but anyhow I didn't finish it because I know I will feel very guilty until my next check up if I do. 

On our way back, I told hubby that I must get some dessert from Hui Lau San and I take away a cup of snow jelly and they were very good! A little too sweet but bearable.  Well since it's our last night, we went back to the hotel to pack up and enjoy live TVB Anniversary show.