SHOPPING

GSS started last Friday, 23 May 08! It means that is time for us to shop for baby stuffs! Therefore, we finally started our shopping and bought something for our precious last weekend. I promised to my bb before, I will definately buy him something if he revealed the gender to us during the last scan! So my dear Handsome Kok aka chilipadi, mommy keeps the promise, and you must be “guai guai” to let mommy feel your first kick soon ok?

By the way, I must thank my hubby for being very patient and accommodative last weekend. He is not a kaki shopping and always practices “chop chop” when shopping. Although I know he was very tired last weekend, but I am glad that he still accompanied me to many places without complaining and showing black face to me. Thanks to my dear!

As usual, there were sales at Robinsons, OG, John Little, Takashimaya, MotherCare, Toys”R”Us, Kiddy Palace etc and we surveyed all of them within 2 days! Yes, I also quite impressed of my own stamina. *giggles* There were actually more stores in our list, e.g. 2 hypermarts at Kaki Bukit, but we decided to give them a miss due to their location and not so attractive offers, according to some MTBs @ forum.

Since my hubby will resume his busy life from this week until Aug, I planned to purchase the big items (with higher cost of course) with him first. For those small items, I think I can decide on my own without asking him later. After few round of comparison, we settled our purchase for last week at a shop in Beauty World (HB), Bukit Timah. The reason why we settled on HB is because on top of the promotion price, they gave us further discount.

1. Cot

There are not many choices for the cot that within our budget as compared to pram. You can find the same cots with similar price at many of the departmental stores. This enabled us to come out with a quick decision. The price of cot (convertible to toddler’s bed) is pretty standard, just that during GSS, one of the brand/model throw in free gift which are 4” foam and 7-piece baby cot bedding set, and thus make up a good deal (inclusive of free delivery and installation).

2. Stroller/Pram

Unlike cot, there are numerous bands and models of stroller in the market, e.g. Maxi Cosi Baby, Quinny, Peg-Perego, Maclaren, Graco, Ferarri, Aprica, Capella, Combi and etc. Besides, their price range is wide, some “branded” stroller can cost you > $2k! Hoho…we spent quite some time comparing here and there before narrowing our choice to Combi (due to light weight) and Capella (due to design). Our preferred criteria for stroller are: reversible handle, full reclining seat (for new-born), 4-wheelers, storage basket, and reasonable weight. The models that having special promotion and within our budget are:

• Combi EnjoyMe AW-1: half-covered canopy, double compact fold, carrying strap, front swivel wheels, 4.2kg
• Combi Calpico CS-439SP : sleeper canopy with mesh window, one tough folding, front swivel wheels, detachable front guard, 5.6kg
• Capella S-228: sleeper canopy, height adjustable handle, double compact fold, carrying strap, swivel front & rear wheels, detachable front bumper, 6.5kg
• Capella S-226: sleeper canopy with rear window, SilverNano (Anti-bacteria), double compact fold, carrying strap, front swivel wheels, 5.5kg

It was quite tough deciding among the 4 models. In the end, we opt for Capella Stroller, mainly due to their design and practicability. Basically, there are not much difference between S-228 (older model) and S-226 (latest model), except S-228 weighs more, has adjustable height handle and larger swivel front & rear wheels. Nevertheless, the price of S-228 is cheaper than S-226. Due to the bulkiness of S-228, hubby and I preferred S-226 (green) and we managed to negotiate a good price for it!

3. Playpen
You must be wondering since we have bought a cot, why do we need a playpen? This is because we need a baby bed for our boy when we visit our parent at Malaysia during weekends or holidays. Playpen is foldable for easy transport. Since we will only need it once in awhile, a second-hand playpen serves the purpose perfectly. I chanced upon an online advertisement last week, given the condition of 9/10, the price quoted was reasonable. Thus we just grabbed it!

Three major items off our list but many more still to go! Decided to hold on to the purchase of sterilizer, breast pump and etc due to warranty issue, although there are some promotion going on. Btw, I will continue to shop for baby stuffs until before my 3rd trimester, I don’t think I will have energy to do so by then. Aiyo, broke ah! If you get to know any good lobang or have extra cash to sponsor for my baby stuffs, feel free to contact me please. In fact, I also dun mind if you have any hand-me-down baby stuffs for us! Hee...the more the merrier...

MICKEY/MINNIE?

Hee…Are you all waiting for the update of my check-up last Saturday? Sorry to keep you waiting.

Since we announced our pregnancy to relatives and friends, many of them asked us what gender we prefer for our bb? Our answer is always: No preference, most importantly is a healthy baby. In fact, I love to have a baby girl, as I can have a lot of fun by dolling her up. *giggles* Besides, unlike boys, girls are more thoughtful, caring and closer to the parent. Nevertheless, I will be glad if bb is a boy, because I have 4 nieces already, it will be great if I can have “someone” different, isn’t?!

My check-up on Saturday went well, it was very fruitful! I have talked to my bb for days, hoping bb can be cooperative during scanning, and show us the genital! My hubby was very naughty, he was once trying to psycho bb to show him alone, but do not show to me! Hm!!! Wait long long! Hee…Yes, the mystery has finally revealed, but before I announce it, would like to share with you some symptoms/cravings I had for this pregnancy. You can make a guess based on the information provided, before I reveal the truth! Keke…

Craving. This is the common question posed to me before people try to make a guess on my bb’s gender. They told me 男酸女辣, meaning that MTB who is expecting bb boy craves for sour food, while MTB who is expecting bb girl likes spicy food. Hoho… I craved for spicy food (even for now), that is why I named my bb - chilipadi. But I like sour food also. The only thing I dislike is sweet stuffs!

Morning/All-day Sickness (MS). They told me that MTB who is expecting bb boy will have bad MS, while MTB who is expecting bb girl will have no/mild MS. Opps, this is something I dare not blog about in my early pregnancy, simply because I am pantang! Yes, I had very mild MS. *touch wood* I did have nausea, and only lost my appetite during my first trimester. However so far, I only vomited once as I could not stand the smell of garlic during one of my cooking session. I could eat and drink as per normal. I love to drink plain water, which some mommies had to substitute it with honey or Ribena. Thus, I consider myself a lucky MTB!

Facial complexion: Many people said that a MTB’s complexion will worsen if she carries a bb boy, while a MTB’s complexion will improve if she carries bb gal. I even heard about MTB's nose becoming bigger/swollen if bb is boy! For me, my skin complexion has become worse after pregnant. I have those small little pimples on my forehead, as well as major pimples breakout sometime. *sob, sob*

Spotting: One of the MTB told me, if you have no spotting or spotting for about 1 day only, higher chance to have a boy. If you have spotting for a few days, then will be a girl. As you may have aware form my previous posts, I had spotting twice during my 1st trimester, but both last for few hours only. Let’s see….

So, have you make your guess? Haha….is time for us to share our joy with you!

During the last Saturday check-up, my bb is real active, keep on moving during the scanning. Dr. YC actually managed to spot the gender few sec after she scanned me. She was very nice and patient, guiding us on how to “read” the ultrasound scan. She tried to scan from different angles, in order to show us my bb’s genital! And we finally saw the didi (birdie) between my bb’s legs when he was somersaulting! Haha…so cute!

*beat drum for effect* So ladies and gentlemen, I am expecting a baby boy!

Baby was somersaulting. You my need some imagination to "read" the u/s. (Photo is extracted from the video clip)

My gynae commented that my boy has very long legs and arms, just like his father! Oh faint, my hubby was super duper happy and proud of that! He already said bb resembles him by looking at our previous u/s photos. Win liao lo, even now Dr. YC agrees with him! My funny hubby was then worried that with long arms and legs, our boy can't stay comfortably in my womb! *faint again* So next time, I will have one big boy (my hubby) and one small boy to take care of! *faint again and again* Haha…..

Haha...my bb was doing Yoga in my womb!

With Dr. YC’s permission, we took a video clip of my scanning. At the end of the scan, she turned on the speakers to let us catch our bb’s heartbeat in the video, so nice of her…

By the way, I have gained 3.6kg so far. *sobbing* According to Dr. YC, the ideal weight gain after this will be 2kg/month. She said I am still allowed to gain 12kg until my full-term! Oh gosh, guess what she joked to me then? She said I will be heavier than my husband, the first time in my life time! I do not want that to happen! *shouting out from my lung* Headache!

TONIC

One of the MTB friends asked me did I take any tonic for my pregnancy? Yes, I am taking. I was told/advised not to take any TCM or herbs during first trimester. Thus I just took few bottles of chicken essence before 13 weeks, aimed to make myself stronger to hold the bb. Also because I simply like the taste since young. Once I moved into my 2nd trimester, I start taking cordyceps capsules every morning. Moreover, I am lucky to have both nice mum and mother in-law (MIL) to brew tonic for me. My mum cook the herbal soup while my MIL home-made the pure chicken essence with cordyceps for me when I visited them in Malaysia 2 weeks ago.

Today, I am going to be a chef to share the recipe of chicken essence here (Yeah, I succeed on my first trial)! Hee…TIN can cook, so can you! According to my MIL, besides boosting my energy level, this home-made chicken essence is very nutritional to both baby and mommy. It is very pure with no added water. Thanks to Mas Selamat, we can no longer travel back to Malaysia so often (heavy jam at custom), so my MIL taught me how to stew the chicken essence, so that I can prepare it for myself during weekend.

Hubby drove me to wet market yesterday morning to get a black chicken. Yes, needless say chicken is the main ingredient for chicken essence. My MIL said we can either use kampong chicken or black chicken, but not the old hen (老母鸡). Beats me! I prefer to get chicken from wet market, as I can ask the seller to peel off the skin and cut the chicken into small pieces. This saves a lot of trouble for me!

Ingredients:

• 1 kampong chicken/black chicken (remove the skin and cur it into small pieces)
• Cordyceps (冬虫夏草) or Pao Shen (泡参) or other herbs that safe to take during pregnancy

P/S: Specially thanks my mum for providing me the good quality of pao shen!

Utensils
In fact, there is a special double-boiled pot meant for making chicken essence, consisted of an aluminium stock pot, and a set of porcelain tray and pot. My mum has it in my hometown, maybe I should borrow from her next time. Anyway, if you do not have that, still can use following utensils to stew the essence.

• double boil pot (I used Chinese soup pot (Fig. A) instead, as I could not find the big double boil pot)
• Rice bowl (Fig. B)
• Big stock pot

Method

1. Wash the chicken and remove the fat from the chicken fresh.
2. Lightly crush each chicken piece with the back of a chopper (If possible, crush the bones as well).
3. Put few slices of pao shen/cordyceps in the Chinese soup pot (Fig. C).
4. Invert a rice bowl in the soup pot (the pao shen/cordyceps is placed underneath the rice bowl) – Fig. D.
5. Place the crushed chicken fresh on top of rice bowl (Fig. E) and cover with the lid.
6. Place the crushed chicken fresh on top of rice bowl (Fig. E) and cover with the lid.
7. Place the crushed chicken fresh on top of rice bowl (Fig. E) and cover with the lid.
8. Fill some water in a big stock pot, and place the soup pot into it. Make sure the water level is at half of the height of soup pot (Fig. F).



9. Gentle boil for 15-20 minutes (Do not boil the water rapidly, as it will spill over into soup pot to dilute the chicken essence).
10. Once the water in stock pot boiled, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 3-4hrs.
11. Check the water level in stock pot every hour, to make sure there is enough water for double boiling.
12. Shut off the gas and wait for 15mins before removing soup pot from the stock pot.
13. Remove the chicken carefully from the soup pot. Do not move the bowl until all the chicken is removed. The chicken essence is trapped underneath the bowl (Fig. G & H).
14. Remove the rice bowl and collect the chicken essence (Fig. I).



15. If chicken essence is too oily, let it stand and scoop to remove the oil layer on top.
16. Nutritional soup (chicken essence) is ready for consumption (Fig. J).

Tips:
Do not discard the cooked chicken. You can keep it in the fridge and make chicken soup the next day.

Happy Mother's day to all Mummies and MTBs!

GROW

It has been almost 3 weeks since my last post! Opps, please do not complain, I am not lazy in updating the blog, just that I am simply too busy to do so! Additionally, I thought mum-to-be (MTB) not suppose to stay too long in front of PC, due to radiation? Hee…I should be excused right? By the way, Mr. X, if you happen to read this post, remember to bring me the radiation proof maternity wear next week ok? Thanks in advance.

Think most of you will misinterpret the title of this post, sorry, I am not going to talk about the growth of my bb, but to share with you, how much my tummy has grown. Gosh, do not be shocked if you see my photos later!

I realized that I can hardly fit into my normal wear since 2 weeks ago (not talking about jeans/pants, I cannot squeeze myself in when I was only 7 weeks!), although many of my friends were commented that my tummy is not obvious. My hubby used to complain about my small appetite, and hence I do not look like a pregnant lady with a small tummy. But he has to agree that my bump is growing bigger these few days. Sadly, I have become a big eater who need to eat frequently!

Frankly speaking, I am a bit upset with the size of my bump, I cannot bring myself to the weighing machine. My target to not to gain more than 10kg until the full term, as I worry it will be tough for me to go back to my figure before pregnant! Nevertheless, I know it is not wise for me to think this way, and my hubby sure will jump high if I control the food intake! Hoho…so baby, mommy promise will eat “appropriately” no matter what, and you have to grow well inside mommy ok?

In fact, I have started window shopping for the maternity clothes since 1.5 months ago. As we know that, the changes in look (some MTB have this problem) is beyond our control, but we can make ourselves more presentable by wearing nice clothing (too bad the make-up is not advisable for MTB to heavy metal content in cosmetic products). Of course the price of clothes must be affordable! After comparing the prices and design of maternity wear from few shops in both Singapore and JB (aiyo, maternity wear really can cost you bomb!), I decided to buy the clothes from online stores, the design are nice and most importantly their price are more affordable. Nowadays the online businesses are very competitive, so they have to provide good services besides the good offers. I can actually arrange to view and try on the clothes before purchasing. Hee…have bought some and started wearing them, very comfy.