Was discharged from hospital on 11/01/10…everything was okie…Sweetie darling was happy Cutie darling (Baby #2) is home…I’ve to give her (Sweetie) the credit…she’s really a good sister…when the baby cried…she stopped reading or playing & helps to ‘attend’ to the baby…she’s trying her best to be a good big sister…I’m so thankful to God for tat…

Cutie had to go back to hospital for the jaundice test on 14/01/10…we did the test…& the result was not good…her reading was 18.5…way too high…she was immediately admitted & they did the photo-therapy thingy for her…I was so sad…she was to stay in the hospital for 2 days…I didn’t stay with her…it really broke my heart to see her lying there…naked (except for the eyes & butt)…under the lights…Sweetie went thru 2 days of photo-therapy too…but tat time I was with her throughout the whole thing…tis time is different…coming home made me feel as if I’ve abandon Cutie…left her to fend for herself…yet I know tat if I stay…Sweetie will ‘make noise’…cos I dun think she can understand why mei mei & mummy have to stay in the hospital again…

When we reached home & told Sweetie tat Cutie was ‘not well’ & have to stay in the hospital for another 2 days…she cried…she wanted her sister back…it took quite a while for us to explain things to her…& she settled down…

We received a call from the doctor on 16/01/10 morning…Cutie’s jaundice reading went down to 8.2…thank God…! She’s able to come home…!!

Baby #2 arrived earlier than expected…she’s one wk old now…(tat explains why I’ve been ‘missing’ the whole of last wk)…the whole ‘process’ was not wat I expected…so different from the time I gave birth to Sweetie…

The Contractions – 08/01/10

12.05pm – I started having weird feelings (the hardening of tummy)…but it was soon gone & I tot baby must be having fun inside…‘bullying’ me…

1.15pm – The hardening feeling came again but I didn’t really bother abt it…cos my mind was elsewhere…Sweetie is not well…I was busy calling her doc to see wat time I can bring her for a check-up…

2.40pm – Same hardening feeling again & tis time round I sort of panic…I called my gynae…he asked me to monitor till 5pm & call back to let him know if I still have tis feeling…

3.30pm – Drove Sweetie to her doc…around 3.50pm…I felt something was not rite…my tummy turned so hard…it feels like I’m carrying a rock instead of a baby inside…

4.15pm – Gynae called to check how I’m feeling…told him the hardening feeling was on-going for the past few hrs…but only once per hr…he asked me to go hospital for a check…just to be safe…

7.15pm – Reached the hospital…went to Observation Room to ‘check’ & see if I’m having contractions…the graph shows tat I’m contracting but it’s quite mild…only 50-60…not strong enough for labour to really start…furthermore I didn’t have any ‘show’ & the water bag did not break yet…after awhile the contraction did increase to 100 & beyond…but it was only for a short while…most of the time it was around 50-70…gynae suggested tat I stay the nite…

9.30pm – In the hospital room…waiting for things to happen…actually I’m also not sure wat I’m waiting for…

11.30pm – Nurse came to see if I’m okie…if there’s any ‘action’ going on…but there was none…the contractions are still very mild & irregular…took my temperature & blood pressure…all is okie…

The Wait – 09/01/10

2.30am – The nurse came again…still nothing…

4.30am – Nurse came…took temperature…blood pressure (again)…nothing else happening…

7am – I can’t stand it any longer…I asked the nurse if its okie for me to be discharged…cos I see no point in waiting in the hospital…they called my gynae…

9am – Gynae came to see me…he gave me an option…I can choose either to be discharged or stay & wait or to induce labour…@ tat particular moment…I dun know why but I didn’t tell him immediately tat I want to be discharged…I told him to give us (husband stayed with me thru the nite) 30mins to think abt it…

9.05am – Went toilet & there was ‘show’…! Sigh…I guess the choice has been made for us…we have to stay…now…either stay & wait or induce…

9.30am – Gynae asked me to go Delivery Room to wait for him…he’ll ‘check’ & from there advise wat to do…contractions getting stronger & more regular…baby is coming…no stopping…I’m more than 37wks…baby is considered full-term…so we decided to induce…

The Birth – 09/01/10

10am – Everything was moving very slowly…there was no pain…I’m so thankful to God…all these time there was only discomfort & no pain…

11.30am – Still waiting…nothing much…but I’m starting to feel the pain…

12.15pm – Pain increasing…but I’m not really dilating…oh no…!!

1.15pm – Goodness…! The pain is killing me…!

2.59pm – Baby is finally born…!!

I’m entering Jan 2010 with mixed feelings…there are lots of changes ahead of me & I wonder if I can handle them… 

(1) The arrival of Baby #2 in late Jan – I’m not so worried of the physical aspect of things…dun need to buy many things cos Baby #2 can get hand me downs from Sweetie Darling…I’m more worried abt the emotional part…how are we (husband & I) going to handle being parents of a newborn (again)…how is Sweetie going to handle being a big sister…& so on…

(2) The new house – Well…we didn’t need to do any major renovation for the place (Thank God..!) & the basic stuffs tat we wanted to be done (like painting the whole place) is more or less completed…except the installation of the main gate (which according to the contractor will be done next wk cos the each & every one of their gate is custom made & it takes 2 wks to do up 1…*faint*)…we’re still not sure if we’re moving in immediately after the gate is up or to wait till after Baby #2 is born…

(3) Need to register N2 for Sweetie (by late Jan or early Feb) – Which school should we choose…? GP or BP…?

I feel tat the above points are major issues in my life rite now…I’m sort of worrying…when will Baby #2 come…to move or not to move…& so on…feeling down cos the throwing up came back…just thinking of all these makes me ‘shudder’…

Happy New Year to one & all…!!

I came across some wonderful reading challenges for 2010…I’m sure these challenges have been around for quite sometime but I just didn’t know abt them till recently… 

So for 2010…I’ll be joining in…

(1)  MizB’s Reading Challenges - TBR Lite (Option B)

(2)  Random Reading Challenge (Level I)

I’ve yet to complete reading ‘Supernatural Childbirth’ which is a re-read…but I really want to finish it…so the next in-line book is ‘The New Strong-Willed Child’…it’s the 1^st time I’m reading it + I picked it randomly (True Random Number Generator)…so it fits the bill for these 2 challenges ya…

Below is the list of books I’ll like to complete by 2010…hopefully I’ll be able to add more books before the end of the year…

(1) Lies women believe & the truth that sets them free – Nancy Leigh DeMoss

(2) Mama said there’d be days like this – Jean Doucette

(3) The five love language of children – Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell

(4) And then I had kids – Susan Alexander Yates

(5) The new strong-willed child – Dr. James Dobson

(6) Ordinary mom, extraordinary God – Mary E. DeMuth

I’m in my 36wks liao…very sian…cos my throwing up came back…it really affects my mood…I feel tired & grouchy…*sigh*…

As I look back & reflect abt 2009, there are lots of things I can give thanks for…maybe I’ll share them in T-13 tis wk…I pray & hope tat I’ll always remember to give thanks to the Lord…& also to be more consistent in memorizing my verses…(any tips on doing up memory cards…maybe I need them)…

I choose tis verse as a ‘closing’ verse for Memory Monday 2009…

Psalms 136:1 – Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.

Merry Christmas to all…!

Wow…time really fly ya…Fall Into Reading 2009 is over…its so fast…& there are still so many books on my list tat I’ve not read…*sigh*

Below is the list of the books tat I set out to ‘conquer’…I added & managed to finish 2 books (Dan Brown & Nora Roberts) last minute…I’m half-way thru ‘The new strong-willed child’ & ‘How to get your husband’s attention’ but I couldn’t resist the ‘temptation’…had to read these 2 books 1^st…hahaa… 

Praying for your unborn child – Francis & Judith Macnutt (Re-read)

Supernatural childbirth – Jackie Mize (Re-read)

Small changes for a better life – Elizabeth George

Lies women believe & the truth that sets them free – Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Mama said there’d be days like this – Jean Doucette

The five love language of children – Gary Chapman & Ross Campbell

And then I had kids – Susan Alexander Yates

The new strong-willed child – Dr. James Dobson

How to get your husband’s attention – Dr. David Hawkins

Playing for pizza – John Grisham

For better, for worse – Carole Matthews

Dead line – Stella Rimington

The lost symbol – Dan Brown

First impressions – Nora Roberts

But my target was @ least 6 books from the list…& it seems like I made it…“Yea…!”

How abt u…? Do share with me ur experience…

We found 2 contractors & ask them to give us a rough quote for the ‘reno’ of our new place… actually there’s not much to do…just dismantling a few items & re-painting the whole place…so imagine my shock when the 1^st guy came back with a quote of $4700…I was thinking…goodness…doing these few things cost so much…guess we’ll have to re-budget…but…when the 2^nd quote came back…it was so much lower…tis guy quoted us $2000…for doing the same things…hmmm…after asking my housing agent for his opinion (since both are recommended by him)…we realised tat the 1^st guy deals mostly with private housing & therefore his pricing is usually higher…so we decided to confirm with the 2^nd contractor regarding the ‘reno’…