For my previous pregnancy, I did request to bring back my own placenta, but the nurses were too busy trying to clear the delivery ward that they've forgotten about my request. Gynae personally apologised for the oversight and made a file note to ensure that medical personnels accede to patients' request in future. Hopefully with my current pregnancy, there would be no such mistakes.
Done some reading up on 'placenta' and thought the below would best describe its uses. In fact, based on babycentre's site, many Singaporean mothers do ask for their placentas to be stored and brought home with them.
Cultural reverence
In many cultures around the world, generations of mothers have long believed that the placenta still contains all its life-supporting goodness after the birth. After all, the placenta is the organ that supplies your baby with all the food, nutrients and oxygen she needed during her gestation. The Chinese place a great deal of importance in the healing properties of the placenta.
In the Malay community, the placenta is esteemed for its role in supporting the baby during the pregnancy. After the birth, the placenta is collected and accorded a respectful and proper Muslim burial, as a way of giving thanks to this special organ.
Many other cultures around the world have special ceremonies that honour the placenta for its role during the pregnancy. For example, the Maoris in New Zealand bury the placenta as a symbol of honouring the relationship of humans and earth.
For animals, they consume their placentas after birth. This act is called placentophagy, it is thought that the placenta provides the mother the nutrition she needs after using up all her energy for the delivery. It is also believed animals do this to rid evidence of the birth so their young do not fall prey to predators.
Mothers who consume their placentas believe it helps with post partum healing. Some think it will provide the new mother with increased energy after the birth, and help with contracting the uterus and stopping post partum bleeding. Others believe that it will balance hormones thus avoiding post natal blues, and improve complexion.
Fact is, the placenta does contain high levels of prostaglandin, which stimulates the contraction of the uterus after birth. There are also small amounts of oxytocin, a hormone which helps promote lactation.
Whether it does work or it's simply a myth... we await further research in this area.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Choice of kindergarten
Just realised how kiasu the parents in Singapore are. The wait list for Pat's SH near our area is running in more than a hundred. We are one of them but it seems that the hopes of getting in may be really slim. Really liked the environment as it was newly renovated, everything seems so clean, quality of the teacher were heard to be good, with few foreign teachers teaching in the academy. The playground, the curriculum, little farm area and outdoor toys were what we would expect of the ideal good kindergarten. Of course we can't confirm the quality until Nat is enrolled, but at the rate things are going, we've been advised to come up with contingent plans.
We visited couple of schools this afternoon and shortlisted 2. 1 is run under the Carpe Diem franchise and the other a new setup under Learning Kidz at Hg green which is 5-10minutes walk from mum's place.
Still in a dilemma on which to select. Any feedback on either centres/programmes offered would definitely be appreciated!
We visited couple of schools this afternoon and shortlisted 2. 1 is run under the Carpe Diem franchise and the other a new setup under Learning Kidz at Hg green which is 5-10minutes walk from mum's place.
Still in a dilemma on which to select. Any feedback on either centres/programmes offered would definitely be appreciated!
At 20 weeks
We've just completed the 5th month detailed scan and baby's gender has been confirmed to be a boy. Gynae wasn't able to confirm the gender at 3rd month scan as the umbilical cords were all over and the genitalia hasn't fully developed, so being the professional doctor she guessed that baby is going to be a girl but mentioned a disclaimer ie only to purchase the pink outfits only after the fifth month scan.
Despite this, I somehow had the inkling that this is going to be a boy since the start of the conception and indeed the mother's premonition is pretty accurate. It wasn't because I wanted a boy, cause gender does not matter to us. We just wanted to increase the family size as we've learnt so much from our first child and thoroughly enjoyed her company. Another child would increase the happiness and laughter factor by double and strengthen the bond. This conception just makes me feel somewhat different from the previous one, from morning sickness to the food I crave for, which are mainly meat/fried dishes. Also when the gynae said her guess was a girl, I immediately felt her guess was wrong. Weird huh?
However, I must mention that it's funny people would assume that woman who had delivered a boy and girl would likely not try for the third. We got the reaction from our gynae and she caught me off my guard as I haven't quite decided on whether the gender of my second is directly correlated to the decision of whether we would not be looking forward to the third child. All I could say was we'll take it one step at a time.
Despite this, I somehow had the inkling that this is going to be a boy since the start of the conception and indeed the mother's premonition is pretty accurate. It wasn't because I wanted a boy, cause gender does not matter to us. We just wanted to increase the family size as we've learnt so much from our first child and thoroughly enjoyed her company. Another child would increase the happiness and laughter factor by double and strengthen the bond. This conception just makes me feel somewhat different from the previous one, from morning sickness to the food I crave for, which are mainly meat/fried dishes. Also when the gynae said her guess was a girl, I immediately felt her guess was wrong. Weird huh?
However, I must mention that it's funny people would assume that woman who had delivered a boy and girl would likely not try for the third. We got the reaction from our gynae and she caught me off my guard as I haven't quite decided on whether the gender of my second is directly correlated to the decision of whether we would not be looking forward to the third child. All I could say was we'll take it one step at a time.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Rabbit babies (demographics)
It's interesting looking at the demographics of Singapore.. I suppose year of the rabbits do look like it's heading to a good start at increasing birth rates for the republic as young couples time their families before hitting the dragon year (2012). Too bad the stats only gave a 9 year spectrum.
source: http://www.indexmundi.com/singapore/birth_rate.html
Birth rate: 8.5 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
Definition: This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 persons in the population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population.
source: http://www.indexmundi.com/singapore/birth_rate.html
Birth rate: 8.5 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)
| Year | Birth rate | Rank | Percent Change | Date of Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 12.75 | 172 | 2003 est. | |
| 2004 | 9.49 | 211 | -25.57 % | 2004 est. |
| 2005 | 9.49 | 209 | 0.00 % | 2005 est. |
| 2006 | 9.34 | 210 | -1.58 % | 2006 est. |
| 2007 | 9.17 | 206 | -1.82 % | 2007 est. |
| 2008 | 8.99 | 212 | -1.96 % | 2008 est. |
| 2009 | 8.82 | 215 | -1.89 % | 2009 est. |
| 2010 | 8.65 | 217 | -1.93 % | 2010 est. |
| 2011 | 8.5 | 217 | -1.73 % | 2011 est. |
Definition: This entry gives the average annual number of births during a year per 1,000 persons in the population at midyear; also known as crude birth rate. The birth rate is usually the dominant factor in determining the rate of population growth. It depends on both the level of fertility and the age structure of the population.
Rabbit babies
We've both been so busy and when we finally met. Sarah was close to the last few weeks before delivery! It's good that Daniel managed to capture a photo of the 2 of us both looking very pregnant at the same time =) Sarah is at 36 weeks here and I am at 19 weeks. How often can this happen? 2 close friends delivering rabbit babies in the same year! Definitely a camera moment!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Naming the baby
We are back to this process again and only then did we realise how little creativity we have having got to depend on the few old suggestions where inspirations were all derived from 'Hero'. A popular TV series that tells of people with super powers, going through self discovery, and finally working together to save the world.
So here goes...
Hubby said if he is a boy ..easier we'll name him Nathan or better ... Hiro ...after Nathan Petrelli and Hiro Nagamuro.
If she is a girl ... he wants to call her Claire.. Claire-bear...and if we have a third child who turns out to be a boy.. he may consider naming him after his friend Clarence!
Not too sure about Claire.. need to ponder on this a little longer.
So here goes...
Hubby said if he is a boy ..easier we'll name him Nathan or better ... Hiro ...after Nathan Petrelli and Hiro Nagamuro.
If she is a girl ... he wants to call her Claire.. Claire-bear...and if we have a third child who turns out to be a boy.. he may consider naming him after his friend Clarence!
Not too sure about Claire.. need to ponder on this a little longer.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
17 weeks
These are kind of true for my 2nd one...( extracted from Babycentre)
Second trimester sleep: enjoy it while you can By now your body will be adjusting to its sudden hormonal and physical changes, and you can sleep more peacefully as a result -- barring a few sleep disturbances such as leg cramps, weird dreams, and bouts of congestion, of course! Yet at the same time as your sleep is improving, your sudden energy renewal may mean that you don't want or need the extra shut-eye. Life's so unfair!
Your tiredness starts to lift
The chances are that you're sleeping better now than you have done in months. That's because the influx of progesterone that started when you became pregnant has tapered down to a steady drizzle. So although your hormone levels are still rising, it's happening more slowly now, so you'll probably be feeling less tired than you did during the first months. Fewer trips to the bathroom
More good news: your baby is now positioned above your bladder, so you won't be scurrying for the bathroom as often as you have been. Morning sickness has probably passed, too. (Not quite true for this one.. still having the morning bouts in my case) Your second trimester isn't called the honeymoon phase for nothing!
The Bread Eater
Natalie has a unique way of eating her bread. She would start from the inside and not touch the skin. This instinct is definitely self-taught, since daddy and mummy are not so selective with the way we consume our bread. Once she is done and left with only the skin, she would ask if we want to finish the rest of the lumpy looking pieces of saliva filled bread skins. Of course there are no takers! Alternatively she would call for mimi and instruct saying " Here Mimi eat." Again, we did not teach her to do such things. I wonder how much food had she shared with her favourite maid. hmmmmm.....
Another interesting observation about her ... she knows the brand that she eats. Her preference is with Guardinia. Gong gong would sometimes purchase Sunshine, depending on whether there is a special promotion, usually it's a free loaf of hotdog buns. She wouldn't touch them. Weird huh? She kind of followed my taste since my favourite brand is Guardinia too. Such a coincidence huh? Or should I conclude that Guardinia is really 'as good as it gets'? Even babies could tell the quality difference.
Another interesting observation about her ... she knows the brand that she eats. Her preference is with Guardinia. Gong gong would sometimes purchase Sunshine, depending on whether there is a special promotion, usually it's a free loaf of hotdog buns. She wouldn't touch them. Weird huh? She kind of followed my taste since my favourite brand is Guardinia too. Such a coincidence huh? Or should I conclude that Guardinia is really 'as good as it gets'? Even babies could tell the quality difference.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The cake
Compliments goes to Yiyi for purchasing the fresh cream cake all the way from Suntec =)
But !!!! Me and my clumsiness ! I was walking towards the kitchen door and opps off it slipped through my butter-fingers!
This is what's left .. which is still extremely tasty! The thick layers of fresh vanilla cream with sweet, ripe strawberries...
But !!!! Me and my clumsiness ! I was walking towards the kitchen door and opps off it slipped through my butter-fingers!
This is what's left .. which is still extremely tasty! The thick layers of fresh vanilla cream with sweet, ripe strawberries...
Thursday, February 24, 2011
An Overly enthusiastic parent
The good thing about the JG program is that parents are allowed to accompany their young children during class. This helps ensure that the school uphold the teaching standards according to publicity materials. Who other than the eager parents would better understand the needs of their children? But I must say they could probably be your worst critics and judge. So far the teachers are indeed professional and engaging. Parents are often the ones who enjoyed the lessons more so than their children, which explains the continual subscription.
However overzealous parents are such a distraction in class! This term Natalie's class has one such parent. It's to an extent that I almost wanted to turn and tell her to keep quiet. It happened during drama lesson and during story time. She just cannot shut her gap when it's time to listen. When teacher jovanna asked what grows from an apple seed? Guess who gave the answer? Yes the overzealous mummy! The teacher has yet finished reading from the page, she would continue to the next, not quietly but audibly to her child whom I'm not sure is able to follow the teacher? I found it so irritating that I turned my head over and stared at her, but that didn't stop her. I ended up turning my whole body away from her so Natalie could concentrate on the teacher instead. It seems that she is preventing other people from interacting with her child and her voice is the only heavenly sound that counts. I'm definitely going to raise this to the teacher if she does it again the next time... ... Fortunately for the rest of the lesson the daddy took over and that's the end of the nagging.
However overzealous parents are such a distraction in class! This term Natalie's class has one such parent. It's to an extent that I almost wanted to turn and tell her to keep quiet. It happened during drama lesson and during story time. She just cannot shut her gap when it's time to listen. When teacher jovanna asked what grows from an apple seed? Guess who gave the answer? Yes the overzealous mummy! The teacher has yet finished reading from the page, she would continue to the next, not quietly but audibly to her child whom I'm not sure is able to follow the teacher? I found it so irritating that I turned my head over and stared at her, but that didn't stop her. I ended up turning my whole body away from her so Natalie could concentrate on the teacher instead. It seems that she is preventing other people from interacting with her child and her voice is the only heavenly sound that counts. I'm definitely going to raise this to the teacher if she does it again the next time... ... Fortunately for the rest of the lesson the daddy took over and that's the end of the nagging.
Potty training
Below are notes extracted from babycentre and judging from Natalie's development, it seems she is all ready for 100% potty training.
" Your child may be ready to start potty training if she: "
• Has regular, soft, formed bowel movements - She does this regularly everyday at approximately the same timing. We would get her to sit on the potty or either that she would come running to tell the helper that she needs to poo poo.
• Can pull her pants up and down - Nat knows how to do so, but when seated down. We'll need to train her to help herself whilst standing.
• Imitates others' bathroom habits (likes to watch you go to the bathroom, wants to wear underwear, and so on) - She would talk about wearing underwear and seems to like wearing them whenever she wears a dress.
• Makes a physical demonstration when she's having a bowel movement (such as grunting, squatting, or telling you) - She would tell us when she feels like doing the big one.. but not so much the little business.
• Has words for stool and urine - Definitely, but she mixes them up once in a while.
• Can follow simple instructions (such as "Give me the toy.") - Oh yes she can and she would give commands such as " I want", "No", "Out", "Give me" and so on. She has the management style of a commando when it comes to ordering the males around. However, Papa and Gong Gong seems to not mind her protective / aggressive stance and in fact finds it amusing to provoke her. But we all know she is joking as she smiles and asks for more provocations in her own way...
• Understands the physical signals that mean she has to go and can tell you before it happens - Yes, sometimes she would go sit on the potty herself.
• Dislikes the feeling of being in a dirty nappy - She would ask to be changed after waking up from sleep. She would say " Mi Mi ( name of helper), change diaper".
• Has "dry" periods of at least three or four hours (this shows her bladder muscles are developed enough to hold her urine in and store it) - Seems so but the little businesses are the ones she hasn't verbally mentioned.
• Isn't negative about everything - Except if her Barney gets taken away. But she understands the bath concept so.. it's not so difficult to manage when we tell her Barney needs to take a bath too..
• Understands the value of putting things where they belong - She could keep her toys on her own. We've trained her since 1 year old.
• Demonstrates a desire for independence - She could play on her own and make up stories about her toys. But preference is still to have someone playing together with her.
• Can walk and sit down - oh yes she can.. run, turn, spin, roll over... erm except jump. She has not grasped the fun of jumping up and down yet.
We'll take one step at a time. Catch the big and small businesses will follow.... can't imagine her going to toilet on her own! Kids grow up so super quick! In no time she would be able to speak fluently, command us, and go to school on her own... Scary!
" Your child may be ready to start potty training if she: "
• Has regular, soft, formed bowel movements - She does this regularly everyday at approximately the same timing. We would get her to sit on the potty or either that she would come running to tell the helper that she needs to poo poo.
• Can pull her pants up and down - Nat knows how to do so, but when seated down. We'll need to train her to help herself whilst standing.
• Imitates others' bathroom habits (likes to watch you go to the bathroom, wants to wear underwear, and so on) - She would talk about wearing underwear and seems to like wearing them whenever she wears a dress.
• Makes a physical demonstration when she's having a bowel movement (such as grunting, squatting, or telling you) - She would tell us when she feels like doing the big one.. but not so much the little business.
• Has words for stool and urine - Definitely, but she mixes them up once in a while.
• Can follow simple instructions (such as "Give me the toy.") - Oh yes she can and she would give commands such as " I want", "No", "Out", "Give me" and so on. She has the management style of a commando when it comes to ordering the males around. However, Papa and Gong Gong seems to not mind her protective / aggressive stance and in fact finds it amusing to provoke her. But we all know she is joking as she smiles and asks for more provocations in her own way...
• Understands the physical signals that mean she has to go and can tell you before it happens - Yes, sometimes she would go sit on the potty herself.
• Dislikes the feeling of being in a dirty nappy - She would ask to be changed after waking up from sleep. She would say " Mi Mi ( name of helper), change diaper".
• Has "dry" periods of at least three or four hours (this shows her bladder muscles are developed enough to hold her urine in and store it) - Seems so but the little businesses are the ones she hasn't verbally mentioned.
• Isn't negative about everything - Except if her Barney gets taken away. But she understands the bath concept so.. it's not so difficult to manage when we tell her Barney needs to take a bath too..
• Understands the value of putting things where they belong - She could keep her toys on her own. We've trained her since 1 year old.
• Demonstrates a desire for independence - She could play on her own and make up stories about her toys. But preference is still to have someone playing together with her.
• Can walk and sit down - oh yes she can.. run, turn, spin, roll over... erm except jump. She has not grasped the fun of jumping up and down yet.
We'll take one step at a time. Catch the big and small businesses will follow.... can't imagine her going to toilet on her own! Kids grow up so super quick! In no time she would be able to speak fluently, command us, and go to school on her own... Scary!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Pics at bilingual class
Appended are Pics of Nat enjoying herself in class during last Semester.
Initial classes were tougher to deal with as she is fully reliant on Mummy's presence. We struggled during Daddy's week as it's a class full of males and we forced her to accept Daddy's involvement which went really well initially but once she saw mummy.. she would be so highly distracted. Hmm.. Chris would give me this really crossed look for exposing myself against the windows. Ok ok my fault. Anyway she did enjoy herself with daddy more thereafter.
She has been really attentive during classes and teacher Jovanna would always sing praises of how wonderful she is. Personally I think Natalie needs to be more independent and less shy. Many a times teacher Shoba would tease her about her secretive smile.. where she tries to control a smile that's coming from the heart or she would turn her head away to smile.
She loves the drama classes which never fail to amaze the adults as well.
She would sing her way home to her favourite "Hello" song.
And activities which she looks forward to.... outdoor play at the playground!
oh not forgetting the handwashing breaks.. "This is the way we wash our hands.... "
Initial classes were tougher to deal with as she is fully reliant on Mummy's presence. We struggled during Daddy's week as it's a class full of males and we forced her to accept Daddy's involvement which went really well initially but once she saw mummy.. she would be so highly distracted. Hmm.. Chris would give me this really crossed look for exposing myself against the windows. Ok ok my fault. Anyway she did enjoy herself with daddy more thereafter.
She has been really attentive during classes and teacher Jovanna would always sing praises of how wonderful she is. Personally I think Natalie needs to be more independent and less shy. Many a times teacher Shoba would tease her about her secretive smile.. where she tries to control a smile that's coming from the heart or she would turn her head away to smile.
She loves the drama classes which never fail to amaze the adults as well.
She would sing her way home to her favourite "Hello" song.
And activities which she looks forward to.... outdoor play at the playground!
oh not forgetting the handwashing breaks.. "This is the way we wash our hands.... "
Concept of $
Daddy has been away for 2 weeks and Natalie would ask to talk to daddy via skype every night .
She would wait for the call to dial. Each time she gets frightened by the dialling in tone and hides behind mummy, away from the screen.
There was one day where daddy showed her the things which he bought from Shanghai and she said this:-
Natalie: Papa Papa, buy book... buy use money.
I was so surprised she used the words "buy" and "money" and understood the context of when to use them.
Obviously I didnt conscientiously teach her about the money and buying concepts, but I suspect she picked it up when daddy was queuing up to purchase some of her books and she saw the assistant opening and closing the till full of money.
Amazing...
Funny thing is the following night she says "Papa give money... mummy"
Told Chris over Skype he was in shock! haha he thought I conspired with her to ask for allowances.
I asked her how much and she would point to the pricetag at the back of her book, which reads " $2.00". Ok, she don't quite understand the value of the decimal places and what no. of zeros behind a coma or dot signifies. I'll teach her some day =).
She would wait for the call to dial. Each time she gets frightened by the dialling in tone and hides behind mummy, away from the screen.
There was one day where daddy showed her the things which he bought from Shanghai and she said this:-
Natalie: Papa Papa, buy book... buy use money.
I was so surprised she used the words "buy" and "money" and understood the context of when to use them.
Obviously I didnt conscientiously teach her about the money and buying concepts, but I suspect she picked it up when daddy was queuing up to purchase some of her books and she saw the assistant opening and closing the till full of money.
Amazing...
Funny thing is the following night she says "Papa give money... mummy"
Told Chris over Skype he was in shock! haha he thought I conspired with her to ask for allowances.
I asked her how much and she would point to the pricetag at the back of her book, which reads " $2.00". Ok, she don't quite understand the value of the decimal places and what no. of zeros behind a coma or dot signifies. I'll teach her some day =).
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Happy dedications
Happy Bday darling! Enjoy the clips! I know you did when you were 2yrs old =)
http://babytv.com/kingofbirthday.aspx?comp=172920&step=play
http://babytv.com/birthday-clip.aspx?step=play&p0x=151.825&p0y=110.625&p1x=130.825&p1y=138.625&p2x=90.825&p2y=138.625&p3x=65.825&p3y=112.625&p4x=64.825&p4y=72.625&p5x=87.825&p5y=48.625&p6x=128.825&p6y=48.625&p7x=151.825&p7y=73.625&imgx=-322.9&imgy=-178.8&scl=62.704&rot=-8.2584&path=129802114880360.jpg&bn=Natalie&ba=2&bd=undefined&bc=Singapore
http://babytv.com/kingofbirthday.aspx?comp=172920&step=play
http://babytv.com/birthday-clip.aspx?step=play&p0x=151.825&p0y=110.625&p1x=130.825&p1y=138.625&p2x=90.825&p2y=138.625&p3x=65.825&p3y=112.625&p4x=64.825&p4y=72.625&p5x=87.825&p5y=48.625&p6x=128.825&p6y=48.625&p7x=151.825&p7y=73.625&imgx=-322.9&imgy=-178.8&scl=62.704&rot=-8.2584&path=129802114880360.jpg&bn=Natalie&ba=2&bd=undefined&bc=Singapore
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Valentines
Recept: Sharon, we have received an item for you.
Sharon : What is it ?
Recept: It's a bouquet...you better come now..Now ya.. it's kind of .. you'll know when you see it.
When I arrived, there were 2 bouquets waiting on the table.
One was in a vase (medium sized ) and the other took up half the recept table.
Guess which was mine?
It's the.... humongous one from my long time admirer!
Sharon : What is it ?
Recept: It's a bouquet...you better come now..Now ya.. it's kind of .. you'll know when you see it.
When I arrived, there were 2 bouquets waiting on the table.
One was in a vase (medium sized ) and the other took up half the recept table.
Guess which was mine?
It's the.... humongous one from my long time admirer!
Monday, February 14, 2011
More of Spanish Architectures
4 CATS offers one of the best cuppa in central Barcelona, but locating them is not easy as they are situated along one of the many narrow corridors/ walk path. If it's not for its neighbouring Indonesia restaurant, it would never have caught our attention!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)