maternity clothing

I've been desperately trying to find some maternity wear that will last till the end of the third trimester, you may call it ambitious or kia su..hahaha, but to me, everything is geared towards savings for our future baby :) Right now, I cannot fit into any of my previous work pants or tees as they're getting super tight around the belly area.

After looking around for quite some time, my hubby & I ended up at Suntec and we chanced upon a shop called CLOUD 9. They were having a 15% storewide discount that day, so i ended up with the above items. On top of these, I also bought a skirt and a pair of 3/4 tights. The good thing about this shop is that they had a dummy pillow which actually simulated how big my tummy will be when I hit full term. So all these pieces are guaranteed to last the whole stretch! Yippeeee!!

I think I will just shop for 2 more maternity tees and that will be the end of my maternity clothing shopping spree for the rest of my pregnancy.

comfy flat shoes which look good enough for work

I have always been comfortable walking in heels and it had been a really difficult time looking for a pair of flats which fit as well as look good. I came across this pair with 2 colors, tan and black in CLARKS Suntec city on the 2nd floor. It has proven really comfortable. (bearing in mind i am prone to blisters more often than not)

Maternity Swimwear

It had been really tough trying to find a nice piece of swimwear, if any at all. We were just shopping at Tanglin Mall and came across this shop called MOTHERS WORK on the 2nd level near the information counter. To our delight, they actually had a rack of maternity swimsuits. There were a few designs to choose from, many of which are 2-piece with a conceiling flap, very much like an aqua-fabric version of a loose tank top with bikini bottom. In the end, i decided to go for the one piece swimsuit. It had already gone through a trial swim, and being 3 and a half months pregnant, it fits very well and has a lot more room for growth of my belly.

Backaches

I think my “morning sickness” (bloating & indigestion) has finally subsided J Feeling absolutely fine this morning and am still energetic at 4pm! Usually by now, I’ll be trying extremely hard to stay awake.

However, I’m having this annoying backache starting around this time. The pain is around my shoulders and at the back of my hip bone. I tried to go to the loo a while ago and man! That was painful. I could not even stand up straight and it took a couple of mins before I could straighten myself. This is really annoying as I thought finally I’m over the morning sickness but here comes backaches. *sigh*

Tummy is slightly protruding now especially when I sleep.

Pre natal screening and down syndrome test CLEAR

We are really happy to know that the OSCAR test which was conducted at Thomson Medical Centre on the 20th May 2008 gave a clear. The risk of down syndrome was lower than that of a teeenager = really really low.

Simply, the OSCAR test relied on 2 factors, - a combined risk analysis of blood tests measuring the likelihood of various chromosomal defects, together with the ultrasound measurement of the foetus's nuchal translucency, somewhere around the neck. Our measurement was 1.2mm, which put us in the really safe zone. According to the sonographer, the maximum is 3mm for it to be safe.

Tips:

1. Do keep a full bladder for the scan (we were not told and I had to drink lots of water while waiting for my turn)
2. Once you've done your scan, don't rush to the toilet.
   
3. You will need to pass the blood test form to the lab and they will need your urine sample

I'm one who really don't like needles!!! However, having said that, I've to give the lady who took my blood a super A+ for her professionalism. I did not even feel a thing when she stuck the needle in inspite of having to contribute 4 small tubes of blood. Again I did not feel a thing when she pulled the needle out. So far, this has been a good experience :)

The results for the adjusted risk for Trisomy 21 (the most common chromosomal defect) was 1:2471. What our gynae said to us as we anxiously entered the room anticipating the results was "Go home go home, no need to worry already."

So far now, we have seen our baby in a whole variety of positions, and heres two more. The one on the left shows the baby putting both arms to the head, and the other shows the baby in a thumb sucking position. (at this point mummy exclaimed, "stop sucking!" as it happened live on the ultrasound screen. In response, we witnessed the baby punching the walls of the water bag. It was all really hilarious.)

Craving list

Heres the craving list so far, expected to grow fast.

Red bean soup (the liquid kind, not the pasty thick one)
Wanton mee (not too porky)
Curry Puff (Old Chang Kee)
Chicken Satay (Lau Pa Sat stall 8/13)
Babi Pongteh (Ivin's)
Mee Suah (Home made)
Orange Juice
Birds Nest
Nasi Padang (Should have potato patty, chilli squid and tempeh with long beans fulfilled 2/3)
Marmite (with plain teochew porridge)
Durian Puff (Goodwood park)

Most of the above were achieved if not fully. Baby seems to have developed a taste for local flavors.

Baby room plan

Basic dimensioning and setting out of the room that we are going to convert into the baby's room. On the lookout for a few items. 1)baby cot 2)changing counter 3)single sofa bed 4) feeding chair 5)nice lights 6)color scheme

Seems like a lot for a small space like this but thinking of amalgamating some elements or maybe even incorporating the existing bay window for certain items.

Suggestions and advice greatly welcome.

Free baby package

Just got the free baby bundle from the
national library! Comes with a hardcover book
with some pretty useful information, a CD with
songs for the baby and a height chart.

Check out this link for more info:
http://newsletter.nlb.gov.sg/back_Feb_Mar07/
features/active/index04.asp