I've Popped... In the Most Unglam Way Possible

So yes, while you are still reading my scheduled posts on my blog, I've actually popped and it happened in one of the most dramatic ways possible, like you know, women in TVB dramas giving birth. 

To begin the story, we have to go back to 23rd April where we visited our doctor for our check-up. She said I was only about 1cm dilated so she did something 'down there' to sort of try to open up my cervix a little. Because I was having pregnancy high BP, her suggestion was to have me check-into the hospital on 28th (Tuesday) and induce me so latest I'll deliver would be on 29th (Wednesday), instead of my earlier due date, which was supposed to be 8th May.

So Deardo and I started doing some last minute preparations to welcome our little bundle of joy. We also went out quite a lot, knowing that I'll be confined for a month after delivering the baby.

On Saturday (25th April) morning, instead of some brownish blood discharge (which was supposed to be normal after what the doctor has done the other day), I noticed there were fresh blood on my panty liner, together with some transparent-looking stuff. I've heard about this being 'the show' so I quickly Google it up and phew~ It says normally for first-time mum, the mucus plug coming out means you might have to wait a week or up to a month to deliver! So I was like okay baby isn't coming, just yet.

That evening we made a spontaneous decision to go down to Sungei Wang, a place we know we might not want to bring a baby to when he is out. We were going to choose a new G-Shock for Deardo since his birthday falls in May. But before that, we stopped by one of our favourite restaurants, Hong Kong's Food Culture for some yummy Fried Beef Noodles.

Beef Noodles FTW!!!

While I was eating, I constantly feel discharge coming out of me. I still thought it was normal discharge until we finished and started walking towards Sungei Wang. By then I could feel my thighs were rubbing each other with water... I told Deardo maybe my water bag has broken??? He was like hai mai gah??? To be safe, I went to the ladies and once I take off my underwear, water just flow freely down my legs... OMG MY WATER BAG REALLY DID BREAK!!!

Hey that's me, trying to hold on to the water that are still flowing down... :S

Freaked out, we quickly, but also slowly (hahaha I don't know if you understand this lol) made our way back to the car (yeap, no G-Shock today my dear husband) where the only thing we can use for me to sit on was a recycle bag. We drove all the way home, took an important shower, washed my hair and checked into the hospital at about 11pm.

Deardo wanted to capture almost every moment so this is when we arrived at the hospital...

First check, I was only about 3cm dilated so we knew it would be next day that we will meet our baby boy. We refused to take Epidural because Deardo has heard story from colleague that it has side effect - backache. But being the useless self, by 2am ish the pain was too unbearable I begged Deardo to just let me take the Epidural. Gosh those nurses could hear me screaming from outside the room okay!

Before the pain kicks in, I'm assuming since I looked so happy still. 

So after the Epidural I felt much better but the entire night (or morning) we didn't get to sleep much since the midwives and nurses kept coming in to check on me from time-to-time. At least I wasn't feeling much of the contraction pain anymore...

Fast forward to 8 something in the morning where I started pushing (or should I say we since Deardo was sort of involved in the whole process?), and by 9.20am our baby boy finally came into our world! But honestly, because of the numbness at my lower body I didn't even realise our baby is already here so when they put him on my tummy and told me hey baby is here I went huh? Oh! There he is! Later when they handed him over and asked me to kiss baby, I was also like huh? Oh ok, then kissed him on his forehead... LOL! I think I was just too tired and numb to react to it. So unlike a lot of you new mums out there, I didn't really shed any tear. Deardo instead was in tears haha...

Mummy and baby's first photo together! :D

Papa kissing baby passionately. :D

So there, from a family of two, we now have a new member and it's our son, Rayden Wong! :)

First family wefie yo!!!

Well, more about that name slightly later when I have more strength to blog. Till then, here are some earlier photos of Rayden to brighten up your day. :p

Another Letter to My Future Son

Hey baby!

Mummy and you, the bump!

Well that's what your papa loves to call you by nowadays and he is almost sure that your name would be 'Baby Wong'. What nonsense lar he! 

Mummy's loving a nice dessert or sweet drink after meal now, baby, are you sure you are our kid? We never liked sweet stuff yo! 

As we are nearing to the date of seeing you in real person, mummy and papa have been seeing the doctor on a weekly basis and I must say I'm just so proud of you baby, for staying so strong, healthy and just the right size so far. :) Mummy is the one who is having a little problem with the blood pressure but don't worry, it is still pretty much under controlled. Doctor said we might be seeing you earlier than the given due date so you know what? I'd say yay, bring it on! I will be seeing my little baby boy soon!!! ;D

Papa and Lil' Jolie playing. I still can't imagine how would it be like seeing you two playing like this... :p

One thing for sure though, is that I'm gonna miss having you in my tummy. Your somersaults, kicks and punches can sometimes be so painful but they never failed to make me laugh or smile, cos these are just signs that you are really strong and healthy, and that you are just too cute! There was this one time I went to the toilet to poo but you kept tickling me at the bottom and then I lost focus and no poop came out... LOL! I know it's disgusting but it was really funny! #truestory :p

Papa paying for some toys for you at a toys warehouse clearance! 

I always read and talk to you like a crazy woman, even your papa always laughed at me but now he is doing a lot of that too! He even sings to you you know! Ahhhhh... These precious moments are going to be something we will miss too! And I think he is getting excited too to see you!

Papa hard at work there...

Wefie with your little baby cot!

Your stuff are so mini even your papa has to agree they are too cute! :)

More stuff are done in preparations to welcome you, my royal highness! Baby cot, bed sheet, blanket, pampers, wash up your clothes, etc. Your baby cot looks lovely and papa had some wonderful time putting it up and we can't wait to see you sleeping in it soundly at the corner of our room, SOON! Got most of your stuff before GST strikes but there are just some leftover that I'm eager to get them real soon!

Mummy pampering myself to some pedicure! Yay!

Catching up with Aunty Karen here, who has self-proclaimed to be your godmother!

And me sitting kangkang (cos this is the most comfortable position already) with Aunty Maddy and Aunty Lea on another catch-up date.

In preparation for the confinement month, mummy has been spending more time out of the house recently with not only your papa, but also mummy's friends. It just feels right to be out as much as possible before being confined at home, especially when I always feel better and energised when I'm out than when I just sit at home! :)

Say hi to Mummy Shirlexia! 

Physically and mentally, mummy is feeling good, although the feeling of exhaustion, breathlessness, swelling legs and face and the insecurities on the changes to my body are still bothering me. I would still get emotional from time to time, but for now they are mostly tears of joy thinking about having you or got so touched by your papa's words. Many said I look like a surprise pregnant lady (meaning if you see me on my back you won't realise I'm pregger) and that always make my days! Haha! 

Bird Nest for the mummy and the baby! :)

It's good to stay positive during pregnancy and I'm feeling a lot of positive vibes and love coming towards me and you baby! Friends are showering me with gifts and good advice, some are already asking what to give you and me as gifts... And you know what? The other day, thanks to your Gugu, I got to eat a bowl of bird nest! Say I'm suaku I don't care, but that was probably the first bowl of bird nest I've ever had in my entire life! I remember I've probably had a scoop or two of them but never one whole bowl like that! See how lucky you are baby! :p

Just so happy that your papa gave me a hi-tea treat and we really enjoyed it! :D

Mummy throwing some basketballs at the arcade, one of the earlier activities that papa and mummy loved to do when we were just a new couple! :)

As for papa... He is recently busy with his car since he wanted to modify his car as much as possible before GST. I let him do whatever he wants because I feel like as I grow bigger and heavier, your papa's love for me and you have also grown 'bigger and heavier'. Hehe... He would help whenever I needed him to, be it just standing up or climbing up somewhere to take some stuff at home. Not only that, he has been answering to my ridiculous requests before giving birth e.g. having hi-tea at a 5-star hotel! He has been very encouraging too, assuring me everything will be alright whenever I'm worry about anything. You must remember most of the time I'm the positive one but now he just turned the table around! :)

Mummy and papa on a secret video shoot where papa surprised me by planting a kiss on me! *blush~*

What I really like about your papa is that although in many many ways he is a typical Chinese husband (and dad too, probably, you know being bossy and all), there are still many many ways that he acts like a non-Chinese guy, especially the way he deals with me, almost like I'm the whole world to him and I'm just really grateful to have found him *tear tear~*. He is a great husband and I'm pretty sure he will be a wonderful dad to you too! :)

Well, I'm not sure if this will be the last letter to you before I pop and see you in real person but regardless, I want you to know, papa and mummy can't wait to see you and we will love you like nobody's business okay! 

Till then, see you soon!

Lots of love,
Mummy Shirlexia

Maternity Photoshoot CHECKED

WARNING: PHOTOS-HEAVY POST AHEAD

Most women want to document their pregnancy with a pretty maternity photoshoot, and I am no exception. I am however, a little particular about the photoshoot. For instance, I don't fancy showing off my naked baby bump (feeling a little insecure here... Keke...), and I don't really fancy too much of cute maternity shoot. Another issue here is, my Deardo doesn't see it necessary to do one, hence, he won't be in the photos too.

I'm clear though, that I wanted my maternity photos to have two styles - 1) Bright, cute ones and 2) darker, more like a fashion shoot ones.

I tried to contact a local bridal house which I really like their gowns but I thought I wanted to know if they have gowns that can fit preggers and that do they do maternity shoot. But after several failed attempts in getting a reply from them, I've decided that I shouldn't give company that has lousy customer service any business. I then asked Lea to help source for freelancers to do the shoot but the answer was I better look for a bridal house. So eventually I settled for Lea and Jason, two amateur photographers/friends to do it for me. If you remember, they both took some photos at my wedding in KL too!

Now, before this, you might have seen some of the sneak peek here and we took quite a lot of photos but here are just part of them. I'll update once I upload all of them onto my FB later.

First up, the so-called bright and cute ones...

Most props you see are already what we have, only new thing  here are the booties I bought for the shoot.

As the photoshoot begun, I started to feel damn happy about my decision to not engage a professional photographer because they will normally ask you to do poses that are way too common. I think those are really no fun anymore lor...

Love the one with our baby photos! :D

I really like it that although Lea and Jason would adjust my positions and all, they also aren't that familiar with poses and I can sometimes play with whatever I like to do and that to me, is really important in reflecting my personalities in the photos. Best of all, because we are friends, I'm not even shy to do funny poses in front of them! *Wink~*

Our baby boy will sure love cars, just like his papa! And I love the booties I bought, so fashionable!!! 

We started the shoot pretty early in the morning because we wanted the natural sunlight, yet it wasn't too hot since it was all done in our house! :)

Top: PDI
Skirt: Old tube dress from Forever 21
Hair Piece: Handmade by Lea's niece

And here are the so-called fashion shoot ones...

Thanks to Lea who have done some editing on these photos on her phone! 

We moved to Empire Damansara, hoping to get some nice European elements in the shoot where I wore a black gown that makes me look either elegant or high-fashion. Hahaha... Tell me did we achieve that? LOL! Okay, no I don't really want to know... :p

Jason loves to play with silhouettes shots...

There as expected, we were chased away by their security guard telling us we can only shoot with phones, not any cameras. So most of the photos taken there were all taken with phones so yeah...

We were lucky there was this area with toys hanging from the top! So ngam with our shoot yo!

Ironman was totally BYO from home though. :p

Pretty awesome too, this one!!! :)

Gown: Old gown from a shop in Asian Avenue, Sunway Pyramid
Heels: Wedding heels from Nose
Hair Piece: Diva (also part of our wedding)

It was a bit 'potong steam'. but what can we do? Honestly speaking, I wasn't and still not really happy with that kinda treatment that we got from the management. I mean, I can understand if I need a permit to shoot or even pay to shoot at your location if this is for commercial purposes or if I'm taking bridal photos with a bridal house. But we are obviously just friends who are taking photos around that area! I've read about people complaining online too that they were just hanging out and taking casual photos but was warned to not do so with cameras.

My point is, that place is already almost a failure - not much crowd, expensive car park rate, stupid planning because when it rains you can't walk to any shops you want just like that cos it's an open concept and still a lot of empty shops vacant... Yet the management decided to chase their customers away by having those foreign security guard telling people to fuck off in an impolite way, I think they are heading to a suicide here. I mean I love Empire in Subang but this place, despite having pretty design, really sucks. While we manage to stay composed throughout the shoot, we decided not to stay back for lunch after that cos we are done giving anymore business to them!

We actually had worse experience at the DPAC next door with someone telling us we can't even take pictures with phone! Gahhhh... Why so sombong???

Anyway, Deardo did join for a few snaps before we headed out to Empire...

Loving this picture sooooooo much!!! 

And he chose to pose like that ah, we didn't ask for it! 

Because Lea and Jason aren't really good in editing photos, I've passed these photos to Ducum to do the editing but she will probably take another year to finish editing... Grrrhhhh... So anyway, what you see here are all either unedited, or was done with filters on Lea's phone. I still think these photos look pretty presentable without any touch-up! :)

I gave Lea and Jason a lunch treat after that and that's all I paid them. Honestly speaking, while they aren't very confident with their own work, for non-professionals like them, both Deardo and I are very impressed with the quality of photos and I can't thank that enough for their hard work. Jason was running an event a night before and had to wake up earlier for the photoshoot. Both of them not only needed to take photos of me, but also had to take care of me, the clumsy pregnant woman, especially when we shoot outdoor, even helping me to change from my sandals to the high heels, and vice versa. I'm just very thankful to have them as friends who are willing to help and so caring towards a heavily pregnant friend. :)

 

I did however, paid for the make-up. I hired a fellow Hua Lianian, Piper Chuah for the make-up and I'm pretty happy with her work too! 

Let me know if you are interested to engage any of the people above for any of your shoot, I'll be happy to share their contacts with you. But make sure you pay them lar! :p

Post CNY Letter to My Future Son

Yo, what's up my lil' boy?

Nope, we haven't decide on your name yet. So we can only still call you 'baby' or 'baby boy'...

I normally write an entry for CNY happenings on a yearly basis, but this year because of you, I'll make it a letter to you a.k.a CNY report.

Papa and mummy having fun posing with you during CNY! :)

Compared to last year, being away from my own family for most part of CNY has become easier this year. Perhaps it was you who made me stronger or 'manly'? In fact I think I had a very good time back in Taiping this time around without much emo-ness!

Ah Gong went to a wedding on Valentine's Day and came back dancing in this attire so we decided to join the fun too! :p

Me, 2e and 3e being silly again...

Another joy of going home? Awesome Ang Tao Ga that I need them in KL now because of the hot weather!!! 

However, I'm still very happy that your papa allowed me to go home whenever I want because I think as a pregger with you in my tummy, it's important to surround you with crowd so you won't be scared or shy to face big crowd and noises when you are born. Moreover, mummy's family has so many cool, fun and happy people that it is extremely important for you to spend time with so that you can become a cheerful boy too! 

Your crazy aunts and uncle wanting to feel you!!! 

Here's your Aunt Carina (who is only 11 years old) doing a very good job as she wish you to become a very 帅 boy! So cute of her!

I cannot tell you enough how much mummy enjoyed the CNY with many of my aunties and cousins so curious about you. They wanted to feel your kicks/punches, they wanted to know how are you doing, they wanted to know how big you are, they wanted to know when can they finally play with you! I cannot imagine how much love and attentions you will be getting next CNY when I bring you home! Let's just hope that you can handle them with ease yo! *wink~*

Soon, baby, soon you will be joining us for all these awesome and fun photo sessions! :D

Because I'm pregnant, most of the time now when I talked to my aunts it's all about parenting and I see a lot of good examples in 3e's parenting cos my cousin Eu Jin and Jan Yi grew up to become very happy, lovable, obedient kids, yet very close to their parents. I must make sure I learn from 3e and that you will learn from my cousins too to become a good kid.

Having fun times with siblings and cousins!

Mummy also went for old schoolmates' gathering where we were entertained by cute and very happy Princeton. Urm, baby, the bar has been set okay! 

Going home is always a joy for me too cos I get to eat your Ah Ma's cooking again! She always ask me what I want to eat before buying the ingredients so almost every single dish on the dining table are mummy's order of the day. They don't need to be fancy food, in fact what I really missed the most are the simplest homecooked dishes by your Ah Ma. So this CNY I had some simple meals like porridge and fried bihun which are all awesome too! I know you love them too cos you kicked pretty hard while I was noming! :)

Ah Ma very seldom cook big dinners like this so this was really special cos your papa was there for dinner! LOL!

Ah Ma's fried rice is always so delicious I don't know why...

After too much of food, we decided to have porridgveand it was still a very satisfying dinner! :)

Ah Ma's fried bihun is also unbeatable, trust me! 

Apart from all the CNY hoo-haa, papa and mummy just saw you through ultrasound the other day. While it is harder to see details of your body now, we are just glad that your heart is beating strong and normal and you are weighing a healthy 1.7kg already! Big hands for you my little boy!

First day of CNY when I was at your papa's we took this family photo with you Ye Ye and Mama...

At 3e's house for another round of CNY gathering back in KL!

3e (your 3e Po) made some really yummy Heng Hua Mee Suah for us! Yumzzz...

Mummy also wants you to know that you can continue to kick/punch/swim in my tummy as much as you want because every movement I feel from you is a sign that you are still strong and alive. I've read too much about baby being caught by the umbilical cords and it freaks me out so much. For instance, mummy's friend Aunty Madeleine recently gave birth through c-sec and her son came out with the cord around his neck. Thank god he is alive! So promise mummy that you are playing very safely inside okay? Haha by the way, I was still a bit stiff holding her son Mikhail during my recent visit to her house so let's hope I'll be okay holding you when you are so small! :p

Baby Mikhail is shoooooo cute!

Since this is the third trimester, mummy is really feeling very heavy, bloated and tired all the time. Moving around has become tough task for me... Whenever I feel tired, breathless, aches, swollen, emotional or insecure, I'm always grateful that your papa is always there to cheer me up, massage me and show me the love that I need right at that very moment that I needed them the most. Sometimes I wonder if all these will go away once you are born? Will your papa treat me differently after this? Hmmmmpppphhhh... He better not cos giving birth to you won't be easy okay!!! 

Papa said he want to buy me belated Valentine's Day flowers so I picked these lovely and cheap flowers over the typical roses. They live longer lives and the vibrant colours really brighten up the house! :)

Papa and mummy understand that when you officially come into our world, we will be very busy taking care of you and may not have time for ourselves so much (mummy, especially) so papa has been very 'cooperative' bringing mummy to a movie and to a Karaoke session recently. God knows when is our next time at these places when you are our top priority next time?

Papa and I belting out some of our favourite numbers! 

Luckily too for mummy, perhaps because I was quite active working-out before this or perhaps it is your 'manly' hormone that makes me still pretty strong. Despite always feeling tired and sleepy, I'm still able to do quite some walking and sort of really enjoy going out still. Ahhhh... Maybe it's just because I know I'll be confined for one whole month after this! :S

Us after one of our walking sessions back in Taiping.

Oh nom nom nom...

Still very excited about going to the mall! 

Oh yea, right before CNY, mummy's friends Lea and Jason took some very cute and nice maternity photos for me! I'm still in the midst of tidying-up the photos but here are some sneak peek. What do you think? Is mummy looking good with you in my tummy? :p

Photos taken by amateurs, but turned out to be really nice! :)

Well I don't think you have a choice, before you find your dream girl when you are older, mummy has to be the most gorgeous woman in your life! You have zero choice! :p

Okay, time for mummy to go take a rest. Talk to you next time okay? Mummy loves you A LOT A LOT A LOT!

XOXO
Mummy Shirlexia