Week 35 Pregnancy Update + Hospital bag

Week 35!! I can't believe I'm almost 9 months pregnant! Where did time fly? The feeling of getting ready to a newborn baby arrival is so unreal but yet it's coming & it's very real! hello, labor ward, I will see you in a few weeks time :)

Baby bump at 35 weeks ~ many commented I don't look like an almost 9 month pregnant lady and I don't look like I have already gained 15 kg but deep inside (I don't know it's just the feeling), I feel so huge, especially standing up next to my husband (I feel bigger than him!) ~ so I take 'You're not huge' comment as a compliment! :)

Baby bump from the side ~ I'm sure my belly has dropped at 35 weeks because recently I feel light, I mean I don't get breathless from walking anymore ~ I pretty much feel comfortable when I walk, just that I need to pee more often which explains my belly has dropped & I feel lightening, it's a sign my body is getting ready for labor. Plus I'm no longer suffering from heartburn (I suffered horrible heartburn at 33-34 weeks, every single night) and that's another sign of lightening ~ heartburn relief and breathing feels easier too! :) I feel great!

I will be giving birth at Thomson Medical Centre. The hospital will provide almost everything ~ including baby necessities likes clothes, mittens, blanket, diapers, swaddle, baby wipes, etc, so I don't have to bring a single baby item.. Just need to bring my own stuff and of course husband's too :)

I have packed ready my hospital bag at 34 weeks and I'm here to share what I have packed so far, I try my best to bring as less as possible ~ I want my bag to be light and hassle-free. So I will bring one sport bag (medium size ~ not too big) and another one (pink color from nestle) as my handy hand bag.

As this is my second pregnancy, my first born was delivered at TMC too, I pretty much know what I need to bring to hospital VS what I need to just leave it at home.

I remember I packed a big luggage, a small sport bag and a hand bag when I had my first child last year. I think at that time I over-packed (first time mum at that time, didn't know what exactly I needed). I packed breast pump which I didn't use because breast milk came on the third or forth day. I was discharged from hospital on the 2nd day, so I ended up not using my breast pump, plus thinking how troublesome needing to sterilize the breast pump parts too.. I also remember packing lots of snacks like chips, dried mango, chocolate & even my favorite Ribena drink and 2 latest fashion magazines. But again ended up bringing those untouched snacks & magazines back home.. I didn't have time to read magazines, too focused & excited on my child birth and after he was born, I was too in love with him! And for snacks, during labor, I didn't have mood to eat chips and stuff and also the hospital provided me with lots of nice cakes, cookies, milo, etc. So I was pretty full at that time and after delivery, I was pampered with lots of good foods & snacks from the hospital too.. So, seriously, there's no need to pack foods at all!

My sport bag has 2 compartments which is great. I put my small items and toiletries inside one small cosmetic bag (silver color) and dump everything inside the bag's outer compartment.

My toiletries (hospital provides toiletries but I prefer to bring my own) and other small items I packed in my hospital bag:

1) Sample sachets (I find it easy to bring & light) of face cleansing foam, shampoo & conditioner, a super small bottle of shower gel, a sample size of Kodomo lotion powder, toothbrush, a travel size toothpaste, 2 strings of dental floss (instead of bringing the whole), deodorant, lip gloss, travel size moisturizer, hair clips & 2 hair ties (must bring 2 because hair tie snaps easily) and a hair brush

2) 2 pairs of socks (I put 1 in my hand bag for labor & delivery and another pair in my hospital bag). Last delivery I brought only one pair of socks, oh dear, big mistake! My socks were so dirty!

3) 3 sachets of Mother's Milk Tea (breastfeeding tea) to stimulate breast milk production earlier

4) 3 plastic bags for dirty clothes, underwear or wet toiletries (I don't like to mix)

P/S: I won't bring make up stuff at all because I don't think I will have the mood to put on make-up, I will just wear my oversized glasses to cover my black panda eyes. Oh yeah, I brought make-up & contact lenses last delivery, ended up not using it at all (no mood & couldn't be bothered at all)

And inside my hospital bag, I have my:

1) Breastfeeding pillow (This is a MUST!) I didn't bring mine last delivery, ended up having difficult position in latching on the baby and hospital pillow was too thin to be a proper breastfeeding pillow. So I learned from my lesson and bring my own this time!

2) Nipple cream (This is a MUST!) I didn't bring mine last delivery and ended up having super painful nipples!

3) 2 bras, 3 cotton panties, 1 pack of disposable panties (although I don't like to wear disposable panty with maternity pad inside, I just feel it doesn't fit well & blood can leak but anyway I just bring it, but most likely I will double wear my regular cotton underwear over the disposable one for better fit & double protection from leaking), a pack of maternity pads (hospital provides but I bring mine too in case I don't feel comfortable with hospital pads or it's not enough, I need to change my pad every time I go to toilet)

4) Breast pads (2 pairs), most likely I won't need it because milk will only kick in on or after the third day but it's ok to bring, just in case, who knows milk will kick in more quickly, since this is my second child? It's very light too, so no problem to bring at all!

5) Hair Dryer. I didn't bring last delivery, ended up borrowing hospital old hair dryer and it didn't dry my thick hair properly. I thought I wouldn't need it, I planned not to wash hair during my hospital stay but oh man, epidural made me vomit like mad! I vomited all over my hair & definitely needed a good hair wash after delivery! So this time, I'm well prepared!!

6) Clothes: 2 nursing pajamas, one nursing dress, 1 dress robe (I find hospital air-con can be too cold and I need this as my extra wear and it will also make breastfeeding easier too) and a going home dress that fits 6 month pregnant bump (I will still pretty much looking pregnant after delivery). I bring extra set of clothes because I'm too paranoid that something "bloody" would leak heavily =.='

7) Husband's clothes.

8) Hot Water Thermos. It's easier for me to make hot drink whenever I want to

 

And inside my hand carry bag, I packed:

1) Admission letter from doctor, wallet (with both husband & wife IC's inside), ROM certificate (for birth registration, most likely won't need it because I don't plan to register for her birth certificate immediately, will do that after being discharged from the hospital, but will bring it anyway, in case I need that for admission), medical bills (if any, to claim from medisave)

P/S: I have already pre-registered my hospital stay at 34 weeks pregnant because we want to stay in the single maternity room for more privacy, so I booked early!

2) Cordlife Banking Kits (I have registered with them)

3) Scarf

3) Handphone & charger. Will only use iphone to snap pictures

4) Mints

5) Tissues/Wet Tissues/Anti Bacterial Sanitizer

6) A small water bottle

7) A pair of socks to wear during labor & delivery

That's pretty much everything I packed for my hospital bag and yes, I'm done! Please excuse me if I'm missing anything (I'm pregnant, I have pregnant brains too!) To avoid re-check, unpack and re-pack again (in case you are afraid missing anything), while you're packing, take picture of what you have packed, in case you are missing something, refer to the picture, add more stuff into your hospital bag and that's it! :)

Btw, I also bought Lemongrass Shower Gel for my confinement, 2000 grams because there's no way I can skip showering for 1 month, I will be depressed & go crazy! I actually tried this once and I love the lemongrass smell, very refreshing.. It felt minty when I lathered this on my body and it still felt minty for a while after I rinsed & wiped dry my body and a while later, I felt warm sensation in my body, so I guess this confinement shower gel worked as it claimed! Bought a super big bottle because I plan to use it after my confinement to expel wind and gas from my body ^^

 

 

That's everything about pregnancy week 35 update and my next doctor appointment will be on next next week (37 weeks)

 

Almost there & the countdown begins now!

 

~Netty~

 

 



DIY Oatmeal + Olive Oil Soap Bar

Hello

It has been a while I didn't post anything about beauty although I'm always very passionate about beauty stuff & cosmetics. Blame my pregnancy hormones, it makes me so damn lazy! Instead, I have been regularly updating about my pregnancy, can't blame me for that because pregnancy only lasts for 9 months and I want to record what has happened to me during those precious 9 months and in case, I miss my pregnancy moments and baby bump in the future, I can read again my old pregnancy posts. so, yeah, this is why I'm so lazy to talk about beauty and stuff. But recently, my beauty mood is kind of back & I'm so inspired to start DIY-ing again..

I have been quite obsessed in making DIY soap bars recently and I'm here to share my little recipe :)Oh in case you are a breastfeeding mum & would like to DIY breast milk soap bar (if you have a great supply and so, instead of throwing extra breast milk), I hope this post can give you a little inspiration how to make super easy DIY soap bar, using your own ingredients (you can also use oatmeal, olive oil, essential oils, rose petals, herbs and you can explore many more, very exciting, isn't?)

As you all know the benefits of oatmeal + olive oil, it soothes sensitive skin, it's great for dry skin, has good cleansing & healing properties and many more. My first trial of making DIY soap bar was to use 2 simple ingredients directly from my kitchen: Oatmeal + Olive oil

The method I used was Melt and Pour. This method is the easiest in making DIY soap bar, don't worry about the chemicals used that might hurt your skin or eyes if you are not careful. This Melt & Pour method is totally safe & easy!

Ingredients you need:

1) Soap base (it's transparent, no color, no scent, very natural) or any left over soap you don't use anymore. I haven't bought my soap base, so I used baby soap bar to test it out.
2) Olive Oil
3) Oatmeal
4) Microwave
5) Microwaveable container
6) Knife
7) Spoon to mix & stir
8) Grater to grate the soap
9) Baking molds (if you have), I don't have one, so I used my small plastic containers
10) Other ingredients you wish to add like honey, essential oils, etc

 

 How to DIY:

1) I used 100 grams soap bar, it's a baby soap bar, if you have a soap base, it's even better.

 
2) Grate the soap bar (so it's easier to melt)

 

3) I used microwave to melt my soap bar, so I put shredded soap in a microwaveable container. You can also use double boiling method if you prefer to use stove instead of microwave but it will take a much longer time (and I'm too lazy to wait!)

 

4) Microwave it for 60 seconds

5) Prepare your oatmeal & olive oil

6) After 60 seconds, your soap will be pretty much get melted, although not totally in my case because I was using a normal soap bar instead of a soap base, but it's ok though. Next is to mix 2-3 teaspoons of olive oil & a few spoons of oatmeal (I didn't measure), then put a spoon or two of hot water and stir everything. Your microwaved soap will pretty much have super soft texture now. Then, put the mixture in the microwave for another 30-60 seconds. The more water you add, the softer the soap bar will be!

 

7) Pour the mixture in a baking mold or a container, sprinkle some oatmeal on top, let it cool down for 1 hour, then put it in the freezer for another 1 hour, take it out from the freezer and let it sit in the room temperature for a few hours and newly DIY Oatmeal + Olive Oil Soap Bar is ready to use :)

8) Final product! From 1 soap bar, I can make 2 DIY soap bars! The final product looks edible though, like a piece of baked oatmeal cake ^^ It may not look pretty compared to commercial soap bars from the stores, but at least this one is 100% DIY & hand made loaded with lots of natural goodness :)

The other day, I tried oatmeal + honey and here's the result, still looking yummy like a piece of cake :)

Happy Trying!

Love,
Netty

What does a newborn need? Must Haves for Baby Calysta

Hello

I was thinking whether to blog about baby essentials especially for newborn or not, because there are quite many baby websites listing about baby must haves for the first year. Then, I decided to share with fellow mommies here because I really think these are all what I need the most and also this writing is also for my own record, you know, in case I got pregnant again many years later and I need to start over again preparing baby stuff, at least I will know what to buy (although it's very less likely for me wanting to get pregnant again after many years, even if I want #3, I will try it within 2 years time frame, I'm not that young anymore haha... but who knows 'accident or something' haha..)

Newborn Clothing:

1) Swaddle (Traditional cloth type ~ I have like 7 pcs, please invest on Aden & Anais Muslin Swaddle)
2) Instant Swaddle (I have like 7 pcs ~ find it easy to wear on baby at night & easier for diaper change too)
3) Romper Pajamas ~ 6 pcs
4) Socks & Mittens ~ I have like 20 socks & 20 mittens because these get lost easily)
5) Wash Cloth & handkerchief ~ more than 20 pcs ~ find it very useful to clean baby face, body & hair during bath time and also can be used as newborn bibs during feeding & for mouth cleaning too)
6) Hat ~ 2 is enough
7) Baby shirt/short sleeve ~ button-down type ~ I have 14 pcs ~ I need many because baby vomits milk all the time
8) Long pants ~ 7 is enough ~ seldom use it though because newborn will be swaddled anyway to keep her warm & long pants are not that needed
9) Baby shirt/long sleeve ~ button-down type ~ 7 is enough ~ not that needed too because again newborn is swaddled all the time, so without wearing long sleeve, she's warm enough!
10) Romper ~ 4-5 pcs ~ not that needed because it can be a little hard to wear this type of romper on newborn baby & thus hard to take off too ~ however it's great for photo taking :D
11) Disposable Diapers ~ my favorite is Merries ~ do invest in newborn size 1 pack first to see if it fits and size S 3-4 packs
12) Cloth Diapers ~ I have 2 types ~ one is like Japanese Sumo pants (very traditional type) for newborn and another one is a modern cloth diaper. The green one as shown in the pic is great for baby aged 1 month and above, this one size cloth diaper can be worn by infants & toddlers. Check out Moo Moo Kow brand! Cloth diaper is a must because baby does get bum rashes quite frequently. My son wore cloth diaper when he had bum rashes ~ I have 12 cloth diapers with inserts!

Add: 1) Some pretty outing outfits, baby Cal has 2 dresses for 0-3 months and the rest are 3-6 months and 6 months onwards. Check out Baby Calysta's outfits/dresses here

2) Bibs ~ I have many but I normally will use bibs after baby is starting solid foods

And don't forget:

1) Bed Sheets ~ for your baby cot ~ 2 is enough!
2) Towels ~ I have 4, yes I need a few because baby pees on towel all the time ~ especially after bath
3) Mattress Protector ~ to prevent mattress getting wet
4) Baby Cloth Sling ~ it's a must for me, I prefer to wear baby sling when my baby is still a newborn and after 4 months old or when her head is firm and steady, I can definitely upgrade to baby carrier
5) Baby Cot Bumper ~ I don't need this as I'm using Playpen

Blankets:

1) Wearable Blanket ~ a must for me ~ I'm too paranoid normal blanket could suffocate baby at night when we don't supervise our baby, plus baby does kick blanket away every time
2) Normal Blanket ~ for afternoon nap ~ when I'm supervising the baby or not sleeping, and to make sure the blanket won't cover her face

Baby Care Essentials:

1) Changing Mat
2) Baby Wipes (I love Pigeon)
3) Spray Water Bottle (I use water to clean baby's bum after using baby wipes to prevent rashes, using baby wipes without rinsing can cause rashes)
4) Diaper Cream (I'm happy with Bepanthen or Desitin but prefer Bepanthen more as the texture is lighter)
5) Sterile Cotton (one small pack costs like $1 and I have like more than 30 packs, newborn must use sterile cotton. It can be used to clean newborn's eyes, face, ears, bum, etc
6) 2 in 1 Hair & Body Shampoo (I love organic brands like California Baby or Gaia and please use only organic hair & body shampoo for newborn as newborn's skin & scalp can be very sensitive)
7) Tummy Oil (either Ru Yee Oil or Minyak Telon, but I prefer Minyak Telon as it's mild/not so hot on baby's thin skin, but it's individual preference)
8) Body Lotion (This time I will try Mustela, I hope it's good!)
9) Aveeno Eczema Cream (I swear this cream is so good when baby has rashes on face, my 18 month old son is still using this when he has rough skin on his face & within 1-2 days, his face is back to baby-smooth-face)

Optional: Baby Massage Oil ~ I seldom use it though, but I have one sample bottle ^^

Please don't forget to buy anti-bacterial hand sanitizer ~ I put one in my room, one in living room and another one in the kitchen. When you have a newborn, you or other family members have to make sure hands are clean before touching the baby

Other Baby Care Products:
 
1) Nail Clipper/Scissor ~ I heard Pigeon brand is good
2) Nail Trimmer ~ Zoli Brand is really good, it's battery operated nail trimmer
3) Braun Digital Thermometer ~ Get the ear type, it's more accurate, easy to read & quicker, expensive but it's a good investment
4) Pigeon Hand & Mouth Wipes ~ A must to have, especially when we are outside, baby vomits a lot!
5) Hair Brush & Comb
6) Nose Aspirator ~ it's to suck the mucus out of baby's nose when baby is having flu. Mine is battery operated, Graco brand, just bought & never tried this before, I hope it's good!
7) Cotton Bud ~ to clean baby's ears (please do not clean inside!)
8) Mouth Wipes ~ you can use either clean wet cloth or My Dentist Choice Tooth Tissue (which can be used from birth up to toddler) to clean baby's tongue & gums. Mothercare offers similar product too. It's really individual preference. My mum & mil use Chinese Medicine Powder to clean newborn's mouth. They said it can prevent baby from being spooked (Well, I don't know about this too! Old Generation belief!)
9) Alcohol Wipes ~ it's to clean newborn's belly button when umbilical cord hasn't fallen off. You can get that from pharmacies
10) Medicine Syringe ~ Please invest on this A LOT! I bought 1 whole box (I think more than 50 pcs). This medicine syringe is a one time use & it's used to feed liquid medicine to infants or toddlers. Do expect that infants or toddlers can get fever after immunization and do prepare to feed them liquid paracetamol as prescribed by PD
11) Fever Patch ~ for fever ~ Pigeon brand is suitable for infants & toddlers

Diaper Bag is a must! ~ choose a light weight one! Mine is from Okiedog with lots of compartments inside! Awesome!

If you decide to bottle feed your baby, you may need:
 
1) Milk Powder Container ~ not only it's good for travelling but I also use this container on daily basis ~ you know sometimes you remind your helper, husband or mil to wash hands before making baby formula but they can forget or too busy or perhaps get distracted by baby cry, this milk powder container is the perfect solution without worrying milk powder would get contaminated or something! No wash hand, not too worry!
2) Baby Bottles ~ My son is using Avents and this time, my daughter will be using Comotomo (I heard it's a very good breastfeeding bottle and although I hope she would just latch on instead of using bottles)
3) Hot Water Thermos
4) Bottle Cleanser & Brush ~ Tollyjoy is the best

If you have decided to breastfeed, you may read my post on breastfeeding essentials here (breastfeeding stuff I prepared so far)

 

Item/s I won't buy:

1) Pacifier ~ the reason is I don't want my baby to get addicted to it plus I heard pacifier can change mouth shape & teeth structure, so I don't want to risk it ~ I want my baby to have beautiful smile in the future!
2) Pillow ~ just don't like the idea that it could suffocate my baby if baby left unattended
3) Baby Exersaucer ~ no good for baby legs' development

Other items I own: (most of these are from my son, passing down to my baby girl)
 
1) Baby Bottle Sterilizer (I use it every day, to me, it's very useful & a time saving product, instead of boiling bottles)
2) Bath Tub (A must!)
3) Car Seat (Seldom Use)
4) Stroller (A must!)
5) Baby Swing (Very Useful)
6) Baby Hammock aka yao lan (Very Useful too for my first born)
7) Baby Shoes (for non-walking infants, shoes are not needed, but I did own a few pairs for my first born, so he could look 'cool')
8) Baby Carrier (Very Useful, I love Ergo Baby)
9) High Chair (Absolutely! After 6 months)
10) Play Gym (I have one, but not really needed as I seldom use it)
11) Books & Toys & Teething Toys (all passing down from my toddler son)
12) Baby Walker (my son used this when he was 6 months old and above but I did make sure that he only used baby walker for max 10-15 minutes then he had to take a break)

Btw, for baby swing, I bought this Fisher-Price 4 in 1, I find it sophisticated, can be used from newborn to toddler :)

Check out here to take a look on my simple nursery for my baby girl and here for my maternity/nursing clothes

I hope I have already mentioned everything here and please excuse me if I have forgotten one or two items (I'm pregnant and I have pregnant brains too! LOL) Most of the stuff here are left over from my toddler son and some stuff they will both be sharing and I hope this post can be useful to first time mums-to-be. I'm no expert though, everything is just based on my own experience as a soon to be second time mum.

~Netty~

 

Week 34 + Baby Calysta's Nursery

Hello

I'm a little over 34 weeks pregnant now and yesterday was my 34th week scan.. Baby girl is finally 2.3 kg & 29 cm from top to bottom. Baby girl gained a good 600 grams in 3 weeks time. And she's also taller by 3 cm. Compared with my now 18 month old boy, he was 2.7 kg & 31 cm at 34 weeks.. Baby boy is bigger & taller, right?

Doctor told me my placenta position is not low, so I can pretty much deliver normally. Baby's head is also already fully engaged. Baby's head is low, thus I was asked to rest more.. Talking about rest, I'm so tired of resting! I have been resting since I was 28 weeks, following doctor's advise and seriously I feel so bored & I feel like going out! But I'm paranoid something could happen if I don't follow doctor's instruction which is to rest, so yeah yeah yeah, I'm resting on my bed while typing this.. One more month to go, rest & sleep more as much as possible is also a good thing, right? Because I can't be slacking that much once baby Cal is out..

I didn't even realize my baby's head engaged earlier because I didn't feel any lightening. That means I should feel lighter, my belly should have dropped lower. I knew my boy's head was engaged in my first pregnancy because I felt my belly was lighter and lower and I felt walking was much easier & less tiring but this pregnancy, I still feel my tummy is heavy and I feel so tired to walk far. So it's kind of funny how first and second pregnancy can be so different

Other than I was asked to rest more, I think this pregnancy is a total blessing. (Touchwood) so far, no itchy skin, no stretch marks on belly or thighs (except on my buttocks), no painful wrists, joints or knees. I had all the symptoms I just mentioned, in my first pregnancy except the stretch marks.

I have so far gained 15 kg at 34 weeks. I feel so fat & swollen everywhere ~ my puffy cheeks, double chin, fat arms & elephant legs ~ so unattractive! I put some make up yesterday when I went out for my doctor's appointment and realized make up could only fix eyes, eyebrows and complexion but there's no way I could hide my chubby cheeks & puffy chin =.=' The only trick I could do to make my face a little slimmer is to tie up my hair.

I would never thought I could gain that much weight because I gained super little weight during my second trimester. I only gained 1-1.5 kg per month during second trimester, so I thought I wouldn't gain that much in my third trimester too. I expected to gain 12 kg only for my whole pregnancy but you see, things can be quite different than you expected, right? I mean, as long as baby is healthy, I think it's fine to look like a hippo mama once in the life time (I hope so!)

Pregnancy makes me feel so hot (not looking hot of course!) but physically so hot & sweaty. I need to take cold shower more than twice a day! Even after a cold shower, I will sweat like mad again!

I also think it's really weird that baby Cal always do her kung-fu kicks & movements on my right tummy ~ literally my right waist. Yes only my right side & waist! I never felt her on my left tummy or anything on the left side. But funnily, I can feel her hiccups on my lower left tummy, totally the opposite! Unlike my first born, I felt him all over me!

And finally, her little nursery is set, organized and done! I have washed all her clothes as well.

Well, her nursery is nothing fancy since she will be sharing a room with us. Her baby cot is just a meter away from the king sized bed I share with my husband. We live in a 3 bedroom apartment. One room for me & husband, one room for my son & helper and another room for my mum in law who is staying together with us. So it's not possible for the little princess to have her own luxury nursery room. And also I will get worried if she sleeps by herself. So although she will be sharing with us, I will try to make her little nest as cozy as possible. And of course, I can't paint everything in pink or decorate every corner so girly since my husband is sleeping with us too. So I decorated a little for her in her own corner. The decorations I did (pom pom & butterflies) were all DIY from papers. And so her floral baby cot bumper, all DIY from mommy's proud hand works!

Showing you her little nest! Nothing fancy here of course!

DIY Pom Pom from tissue papers. I got these tissue papers at (I think) $0.90 cents each. Super cheap! Pom Pom is generally easy to make too.. Just cut into many square pieces equally (the more pieces, the fluffier), fold like you are folding origami hand fan, tie it with a string or ribbon in the middle & open up folded tissue papers piece by piece. Trim a bit, that's it! I think it took me 10 minutes to make 1 pom pom.. Cutting the super big tissue paper into many smaller pieces is taking so much time! Other than that, pom pom is super easy to make if you wanna try DIY! You can learn from YouTube videos too on how to make pom pom. Watching video will give you a better illustration than a picture here :)

Paper butterflies.. This is seriously super super easy to make. I think it took me only 2 minutes to make 1 butterfly. It's pretty much like folding colorful origami paper. You can learn that from YouTube too :) but of course, if you really want to know how I folded this, you can write me and I will do a blog post on how to make DIY paper butterfly next time! :)

I made pom pom from 3 colors, baby pink, hot pink and light purple :)

Here it is :)

 

Final touch with the musical mobile

This is how I made my floral DIY baby cot bumper Actually her baby cot/playpen is left over from my son, since he's now sleeping in a big mattress, so I'm passing this special cot to my baby girl :) This baby bed was once a cozy nest for my son and I hope it's a cozy corner for my little princess too :)

 

Nursery organizing is done! I have my baby bottles & a small can of formula ready (I hope I won't need it but who knows?) and an UV baby bottle sterilizer too. Never used UV sterilizer before. I hope it's good! I normally use steam sterilizer! I have my breast pump & accessories ready in a container. This $2 container from Daiso is really good, not only it comes with a secure cover but I can use hot water to soak my breast pump parts in this container too.

I love those $2 each floral cloth/plastic boxes from Daiso.. I can keep all baby care essentials I need to use daily like lotion, diaper cream, baby wipes, etc into one pretty box. I have 1 pretty big drawer to put all newborn stuff too

On top of my baby drawer, I have night light that came along with some soothing music. This night light is a projector kind of light.. It makes my ceiling looks prettier like little stars. I hope baby Cal will be entertained by this :)

Inside my baby drawer: 1st drawer: is my baby essentials (breast pads, diaper creams I bought a lot for both EJ & baby Cal, some sample stuff, baby wipes, disposable bibs, nose aspirator, fever patch, baby comb & brush, nail cutter, cotton bud, baby oil, anti bacterial wipes, etc)

2nd drawer: newborn clothing ~ mostly for home wear : swaddle (both instant swaddle and traditional cloth swaddle). I have many of Aden & Anais muslin swaddles, newborn shirts (button down type, both short & long sleeves), rompers, both long & short pants, small wash cloths (a lot), bibs, hats, mittens, socks & booties and pajamas rompers

3rd drawer: towels, cloth diapers & inserts, blankets, bed sheets, mattress protector, changing mat, receiving blankets and a lot of white cloths my mum bought me when I had EJ ~ turned out to be very useful ~ can be used as blanket, swaddle, bed sheet, changing cloth, etc..

4th drawer: random stuff I want to dump inside. Normally the last drawer is a little messy hahahaa...

And here are her dresses. The bottom part of her closet ~ I use $2 cloth boxes from Daiso to store her other clothes for future use :) Btw, check out her dresses collection here

 

 Baby bump at 34 weeks ~ swollen everywhere! ha..

Hospital bag packed at 34 weeks but I'm not sure if I packed everything completely ~ will double check & write again what I have packed when I'm really sure everything is inside ~ nothing missing!

Finally ~ my pregnant face and my 18 month old boy!

 

 

Until next post ~ Week 35 + Hospital Bag!

~Netty~

Week 33 pregnancy update + my crazy breastfeeding essentials

Oh my gosh, I'm a little over 33 weeks pregnant now! that means it's only 4 weeks left to the full term and if little princess decides to come early at 38 weeks, that means I have only 5 more weeks to go! Things are getting more real now! And I can't believe I'm going to give birth to a baby girl end of next month or early December. It's exciting but I feel extremely nervous! I know with baby #2 around, my life is not gonna be the same again. It's a new journey for me, my husband and our soon to be 18 month old son.

I'm not sure how our toddler is going to adjust with his newborn sister. I'm not sure how am I supposed to spend more time with my son when my newborn daughter is around. Newborn baby is a handful, and so is a young toddler! How am I going to divide my love and attention? Will my son get jealous? So many things in my mind I haven't sorted out yet! So many things to worry! How if breastfeeding didn't work again & I have to end up with exclusive pumping, just like I did with my son! How if baby #2 is hard to be taken care of? So many if's! And thinking of all these matters gave me a sleepless night =.='

Another thing is I have only a month to go but it seems like my preparations are not that ready yet. 60% of baby clothes are not washed yet (I blame the rainy weather). I haven't packed my hospital bag and my nursery is not properly set yet. But luckily, I have bought all her stuff!

How come time flies so fast? Or am I too slow?

At 33 weeks pregnant, things are still okay. Since this is my 2nd pregnancy, I exactly know what to expect, so instead of complaining uncomfortable stuff, I just accept, embrace and of course endure it!

My belly is heavier, thus I feel breathless to walk, my legs get cramped easily, my skin gets itchy easily. It's hard to toss around in bed. And I have to pee literally every half an hour! My back is sore from merely just sitting down and do nothing! I feel like an old grandma! Nevertheless I feel really grateful with this pregnancy, it's much more comfortable than pregnancy #1. I remember I suffered terrible painful wrists and knees and my fingers were all numb & unable to type when I was pregnant with my son. I really think this pregnancy is not that bad! I quite enjoy the process! :)

I'm going to share with fellow mommies my crazy breastfeeding essentials. Seriously, you don't have to follow me, I think I over-bought and over-analyzed stuff. But being me, a little perfectionist, I will worry if I think something I haven't done and completed. And also being a little organizing freak, I just can't sleep if I think something is not well prepared! And here I go!

P/S: This is just for your reference and just buy what you think you need, yeah?

Breastfeeding essentials I prepare so far:

1) Medela Breast Pump + Accessories obviously (breast milk bottles, extra parts, cooler bag + ice pack) Cooler bag + Ice pack is for travelling
2) Milk Saver. It's basically like a cup you insert inside your bra to save milk from leaking when you latch your baby. Normally, one boob latched on, another one will leak! So you can use this to store extra milk, rather than leaking & wasting it!
3) Mother's Milk Tea. It works to increase supply
4) Simple Wishes Pumping bra. So you can have enjoyable hands free pumping session!
5) Breast milk storage bags
6) NUK Nipple Wipes. To avoid breast infection!
7) Mothercare Nipple Cream. I love 100% lanolin and the one I don't need to wash off prior feeding
8) Comotomo Baby Bottles. I bought Comotomo bottles because it claims it's closest to mom's breasts

9) Brest Friend Nursing pillow
10) Nursing Cover

11) Momby Feeding Seat. I bought this because when I had EJ, I found it hard to breastfeed from my right side. Not sure, if my right hand was kind of stiff to hold a newborn or what. I found my position was rather awkward, so I bought this to try out! I hope it works to reduce the awkwardness from my right hand side! This apparently is a feeding seat from Korea, designed to feed (breastfeed) a baby with a better body posture than nursing pillow. so, let's see!

12) Medela Supplementary Feeding System. Basically it's when you want to nurse your newborn at early days, but milk hasn't come yet, so you have to supplement with formula milk, but you don't want to use bottle. This is a great product to avoid nipple confusion! I hope this Medela innovative system is easy to use!
13) Medela Softcup Advanced Feeder. It's like a silicon cup feeder with special design, so milk will not spill messily when you need to feed your newborn from a cup. This is also another innovation from Medela to avoid nipple confusion at early days (to avoid nipple confusion, avoid bottles, simple as that!)

P/S: I know I'm crazy buying all these stuff, you may ask me, why did I buy baby bottles when I persist to make breastfeeding work and I have already bought products to avoid nipple confusion? The answer is I want to have more options. If option A & B fails, I still have option C which is bottles (when I try my best & things don't work the way I want it to be, so let's use bottles as my last option)

14) Deep Freezer. To store frozen breast milk if I'm successfully able to build a stash. IF!!!
15) Mini Fridge. You don't need to buy this but I bought because our home fridge is full of stuff like meat, fish & left over foods (sometimes, the smell can be unpleasant). For hygiene reasons, I want my breast milk to be stored separately.

 

Baby bump at 33 weeks ^^

My huge belly (I think) but I was told my belly is not that big for an almost 8.5 month pregnant lady!

I feel bad if someone (a newly pregnant lady) reading this finds it stressful to buy so many breastfeeding stuff. But don't worry! It's really me, over analyzing stuff! Oh well...

P/S: I'm kind of having separation anxiety (I know it's weird!), so I try my best to be around baby EJ as much as I can & try to spend time with him as much as possible before the new arrival comes ^^

Week 31 pregnancy update + maternity haul

I'm 31 weeks pregnant and I can't believe I'm in my 8th month of pregnancy. Time flies!! 6 more weeks to full term and I should keep myself busy with nesting & preparing the arrival of my little princess :)

I went to my doctor appointment yesterday for my 31 week scan and thanks God, everything looks fine with baby Cal. She's now 1.7 kg at 31 weeks and measuring 26 cm from top to bottom (baby's curled up, so we won't know exactly how long is she from head to toe :D, but I think more or less about 45cm perhaps?) Baby EJ was 2.3 kg at 31 weeks, so you see? One big boy VS One tiny girl!

She gained 600 grams in 3 weeks time and her height increased by 4 cm from 28 weeks to 31 weeks.. This girl has been growing well ~ oh well, doctor commented she's small-average size, so it should be easier for me to give birth naturally to her. Thanks to her rapid weight gain, my weight also increased crazily :( I gained 3 kg in 3 weeks time ~ I can't believe I gained that much this month, so last night I tried my best to persuade myself "oh Netty, don't worry, you don't gain it all yourself, remember baby Cal gained 600 grams and so plus increased water, blood, etc, technically you gained 2 kg yourself and oh remember it could be water retention, plus before you went to clinic, you just had a big lunch and you drank 1 liter of water.."  I was freaking out yesterday and you see how I was in denial and tried to persuade my self hahaaa...

Anyway, I think I won't care about weight gain anymore, I will eat if I feel hungry, simple as that! As long as baby is healthy, whatever it is!

I asked a stupid question to my doctor "Are you sure it's a girl?" hahaha...I don't know why I asked such question but I heard from my friend, a baby girl can be a baby boy and a baby girl gender scan is not 100% accurate, someone had it wrong before, scanned a couple of times as a girl but bam, it's born as a boy, so you see? My doctor replied "She closed her legs but not to worry, nothing dropping.." I knew what my doctor meant, no "balls" dropping in between legs, so no worries! It's a girl! hahaha.. perhaps I should re-confirm with him again next appointment?(for the third time confirmation? LOL)

Pregnancy is crazy! One moment, I feel like "OMG, I love being pregnant, my bump is beautiful, I love baby kicks, it's the best feeling ever. Time, please slow down! And I promise this won't be my last pregnancy" And soon, I feel like "Oh crap, I can't wait to give birth, I feel so uncomfortable as I'm getting bigger & bigger. I can't wait this to be over..!!  So you see, pregnancy is crazy, I don't know why hormones can make woman such a mental way!!!

Although she's sitting low ~ head down position but luckily her head is not engaged yet, that's good news for me ~ having informed so, I really shouldn't take this for granted, I should still rest, rest and rest!

I can feel Baby Cal is getting stronger and stronger.. Her kicks and jabs are getting more uncomfortably painful ~ although sometimes, I think it's cute! Many times in a night, my poor husband has to hear this repeatedly from me "Ouch, Cal, it's sooo painful..." hahaaa...

My baby bump is so huge now. It's funny to watch how my belly grew. At 5 month pregnant, I barely had a bump and 3 months later, I look like a pregnant lady, ready to pop anytime :P

I don't know how other pregnant mommas get themselves comfortable during sleeping time but here's mine! Last pregnancy, I used a pregnancy bolster and it was an expensive bolster, specially designed for pregnant mom, I bought at $120 and I couldn't sleep without it! And this pregnancy, I don't know why, I just feel the pregnancy bolster I bought last time is not comfortable at all. I just don't like it! So, I prefer to use my thick blanket as my specially designed ~ DIY pregnancy bolster! hahaha... Oh gosh, I swear this thick folded blanket is the best out of the best and it's 100% more comfortable than any pregnancy bolsters in the market.. It's wide, big & fluffy, more than enough space for my long legs to cover! Seriously, try this if you are pregnant and if you are tall like me and can't seem to find the right bolster! :D

Here's my maternity + breastfeeding clothing haul. I didn't buy nursing clothes at all because I think they are unreasonably pricey! 1 nursing pajamas can cost around $70 at Mothercare, imagine how many sets of pajamas I do need a day ~ considering baby puke, milk leaking, etc?

So instead of specially designed nursing pajamas, I bought so many of button down pajamas (shirt + pants set). I bought different combinations like shirt + short pants or shirt + long pants. You guess how much per set I bought? It's only $8 per pajamas set. I bought it at stall market nearby my house. I'm going to wear the black satin pajamas set during my hospital stay! These are not only suitable for breastfeeding but it's also very comfortable to wear during confinement period. The material is super soft cotton. What a good buy!

And I also bought super cooling cotton shirts to wear as nursing tops. Again I didn't want to buy nursing tops because they are crazily expensive. So I bought button down cotton shirts instead. I bought both short and long sleeves. Thinking the long sleeves one can be worn during confinement period. The material is super comfortable! The dark blue button down shirt is only $2, the rest is about $15 per pcs. Considering I can wear this as my home wear or nursing friendly top when I'm outside, it's a good buy if you compare with $50 per pcs nursing top!

 

The trick to get cheap maternity + nursing clothes is do not rush at all and go for stall market! I didn't buy everything in 1 goal but instead, whenever I'm outside, I will watch any good deals that caught my eyes and then I will buy it a little bit by a little bit. Believe it or not, I started shopping at 12 weeks pregnant ~ good deals, grab it! So, at 8 months pregnant, everything is complete & ready! Just take your time in shopping and remember it doesn't have to be specially designed pregnancy clothes, any clothes that are accessible to nursing, that will do the same job perfectly!!

Pray for me to have continuously healthy pregnancy!

~Netty~

Baby Girl Clothing Haul, Lots of Dresses!

I guess this is one of the most exciting posts I've ever written.. What else can be more exciting than buying & showcasing princess's dresses?
 
At 30 weeks pregnant, Calysta's clothes are 100% complete, all the way from newborn until 12 months old.. I know I may sound a little early to collect baby clothes up to 12 months old, that's the way too early, right? But who can blame me when baby girl's clothes, headbands and accessories are just the way too adorable to resist?
 
The way I think is like this, just grab & buy it when the deal is good and the dress is pretty, it doesn't matter if the size is too big right now, baby grows up very quickly and she will eventually have the chance to wear it even it's a year later heheheee...
 
I think I have already spoilt this girl before she's even born because she has so many clothes and dresses, not mentioning so many pretty hair clips and hair bands :) And I make sure I buy her quality clothes from brands like Carter's (Oh Gosh, I can't believe I purchased so many Carter's dresses & rompers for her), Oshkosh, Mothercare, Ralph Lauren (only 1 dress though), Baby Gap (mostly rompers), Pumpkin Patch, Fox Baby and a few overseas brands.
 
I know many people would tell me "but baby grows up so quickly..."
 
Yes I know that though, but I always believe a girl no matter how young deserves to be treated like a princess.. She deserves to get dressed prettily and by dressing up properly and nicely since young, she will eventually grow up and become one fine young lady :) It will also influence the way she dresses up when she grows up :)
 
My mother loved to dress me up when I was a little and she would dress me up in pretty dresses whenever we went out for family outings. The dresses she bought me were so pretty and wearing those dresses made me feel like "I'm one special little princess.." Thus I felt so much better about myself :) And I want my daughter to feel that way too.. I want her to feel special since young :)
 
Plus I think Calysta will be my only daughter (that's why she's pretty spoilt), don't know why I have this feeling that my 3rd baby (if I have one) will be another boy.. After that, my ovaries will be officially retire. It's a very strong feeling lingered around for so long, so let's see! :D
 
I'm a very girly girl and I love dresses so much. My wardrobe has more dresses than tops and I only have 2 long jeans pants (I'm not a big fan of denim, long jeans, etc). Being a super girly girl, it made me naturally wanting a baby girl since young so I could dress her up in my own girly style and so when I found out I was pregnant with a baby girl, I was over the moon! And I couldn't wait to start shopping her stuff!
 
After I found out "it's a girl" I started my early shopping at 20 weeks pregnant. I bought her stuff a little by a little.. I didn't rush at all.. Mostly, I bought online! I grabbed whatever good deals I saw and within 2 months time, I have completed everything :)
 
I would say I'm pretty lucky to be able to complete Calysta's stuff 2 months before she's here.. If I haven't done so, I wonder how could I continue on shopping while I'm on strict home rest due to premature labor risk?
 
Thanks God, everything is complete now, I just need to wash, organize, set up her nursery and buy additional stuff I may need for my confinement, I'm all set! :)
 
In fact, I bought her baby care products before I even found out her gender. I started buying stuff except her clothes at 3 months pregnant.. I started early because I wanted to get prepared well at my 2nd trimester, so I could enjoy & relax more at my 3rd trimester. I know how hard it is to do baby shopping at 3rd trimester while carrying a big baby bump around.. Learned that from my 1st pregnancy and I regretted to buy EJ's stuff at almost 8 months pregnant.. I was so tired and couldn't walk too much.. Ended up buying EJ's stuff from strictly 1-2 baby stores. So this time round, I'm super well & better prepared!
 
I will show you more when I'm done with washing & organizing baby stuff ~ hopefully able to share some information with fellow mommies-to-be what you need to buy and what you don't need and what are baby essentials when you are expecting your little one. I hope to be able to get everything set and done before 36 weeks :)
 
Here I'm sharing with you clothes & dresses I bought for Calysta.. I have more than this but I keep it in her closet and will let her wear it (and show you too) when she's older enough! These are mostly my favorites. Basic stuff and those hands down clothes from EJ (neutral colors), I won't show it here.. (because it's not girly enough, hahaa..)
 
Her style will be very girly and princessey with floral & ribbon head accessories :)
 
This princess romper with matching tutu skirt is too pretty. Can't resist it, so I bought 4 different designs (with different sizes)

Love floral dresses so much, my favorite is the top left from Carter's

 The top left is from Ralph Lauren and so far one of my favorites :)

Super comfortable dresses from Carter's (top left) and can be worn at home too  

 

Cute Owl Rompers

Baby Hoodies, denims and summer slippers for baby (3 months plus)

More rompers :)

Ah, this one is my favorite, a pretty pink denim dress from Oshkosh.. I mean it's denim but pink? It's absolutely too adorable not to get this one!

More dresses from Carter's.. I love Carter's brand because the material is very comfortable, the cotton quality is good, yet it doesn't feel hot at all.. Very suitable for hot weather like Singapore. Plus it's so suitable as home & play wear :)

 

More casual & home wear from Carter's. Dresses are not only pretty (I super adore the pretty soft color and design) but it's super comfy too (cooling material) I reckon Baby Cal will look adorable at home every day :)

Sneak peak of her closet. I mostly hang clothes from 0-6 months and from 6-12 months, I organize & put inside cloth bags I bought from Daiso (will show you more how I organize her stuff when I finish washing & organizing)

 

More dresses ~ top left floral dress is from Fox Baby, top right is my favorite white dress from Pumpkin Patch (very pretty & flowy with floral lace design), left middle is from Mothercare (baby pink dress) & Carter's (hot pink cardigan), right bottom blue floral dress is from Oshkosh Baby and bottom right is all from Carter's (3 dresses & 1 legging)

 

I love floral & ribbon hair clips.. These are designed for newborn and young babies, thus the clips will not hurt baby's scalp and it's super comfortable to wear :)

Pretty head bands from newborn onwards.. These are also very super comfortable and I hope Calysta doesn't mind this on her head.. I heard some baby girls mind. But I think even she does mind, it's alright I will keep this for her to wear when she's older.. I can absolutely work something out, like using it to tie ponytail hair perhaps?

Matching booties & mittens ~ all in pink color (because mommy loves pink, hahaha...)

Cute floral hat from Mothercare and some cute socks I bought from baby Expo

Finally a pair of ballet shoes for newborn from Mothercare. Absolutely pretty!

 

That's about it, meanwhile I have to stop my retail therapy for my daughter now! She has more than enough! But seriously can I resist one pretty dress? I doubt so! :D

P/S: I order Carter's clothes from US website through a local seller here, you can email me in private if you wanna know how I place my order :)