It's a girl!

Our little pink bundle decided to come a whole week early! My contractions began at 10pm on Monday night and we went into hospital the following night at 8pm. Our little girl was finally born in the wee hours of Wednesday the 24th of September at 1.19am. She's so tiny! At 2.86 kg, she barely weighed anything as I carried her in my arms. The husband did exceptionally well too, managing to stay upright throughout the labour and despite all the blood and gore, he cut the cord with a huge grin on his face. Must be the adrenalin pumping through his body which gave him the extra courage because he's always been terrified of blood! We now have a healthy, bouncy little girl and we can't take our eyes off her. We're completely besotted.

So on this note, we say 'goodbye' baby bump and 'hello' baby Caitlin!

Visit my tickled pink blog for more stories about Caitlin...

Week 39

Baby Bump blog now closed for contractions.

Week 38 :: It's time!

Feeling positive and ready for anything this week. Spend the week catching up with friends over dinner and relaxing over what will probably be our last weekend together, just the two of us.

Week 37 :: Nearly there

Still filling my hospital bag with final bits of shopping like snacks for labour, i.e. sweets, as advised by the midwife. My hardest decision is between jelly beans and gummy fruits, so I end up buying both. Then there are all sorts of other issues to deal with like do I need more socks? Need to wash that favourite pair of trackies before I pack it (not helping with the rain coming down hard this week!). Which set of 'going home' outfit is best (or cutest) for the baby? With diminishing braincells and an ever expanding bump, making decisions at this stage can be very hard! I think I'm almost there except for the odd thing or two...I hope.

The husband, I'm proud to say is all set and ready to go. He's picked up the baby capsule this week and organised his own little bag complete with toiletries.

Another visit with Dr V checks out normal and we're now up to weekly visits. He also checks if my hospital bag is ready to which I sheepishly reply "yup, almost there". "Time to pack that bag, my dear..." warns the doctor. Gulp.

Week 36 :: Are we there yet?

The nesting instinct pretty much hits us like a tonne of bricks and before we realise we've been taking it easy, we now have little time left. I will be full term by week 37 so the baby can apparently pop out any time after. The husband quickly moves into full swing to finish up his "Things to do before baby comes" list, by spending the whole weekend painting not just the walls of one room but two others as well. More in preparation for the Queen Mother-in-law who will arrive from Singapore a week before baby is due, methinks!

We decide that baby will sleep with us in the first few months so night-time feeds will be much easier. We're lucky to have the space anyway. The cot is up and ready and baby's washing all pretty much done.




Now to pack that hospital bag which I've been putting off for ages..."You don't want to be packing your bag between contractions do you?" warns my sister-in-law. Nope.

Week 35 :: Babies love boobies

It's Boobsfest in our final antenatal class this week. We learn about the great joys of breastfeeding and just how much babies love boobies. Somehow, practice feeding with a toy baby doesn't seem very real and everyone is cracking up with laughter over boob jokes. That is until we are told that one couple in our class has given birth unexpectedly at 37 weeks and everyone is squirming with anxiety as it can happen to any of us anytime too. We bid each other farewell and keep our fingers and legs crossed for the best.

We attend baby Oliver's one-month old celebration over the weekend and much to the delight of the husband, there's ang koo kueh. Returning with his second kueh (or third or fourth...I've lost count), the dear man remarks happily "the baby is pretty quiet eh? I hope ours also don't cry that much." Right on cue, Oliver cries and wants a feed...according to his mummy.

"See, not that difficult. Either feed or change and the baby will stop crying..." says the husband. I love his optimism. Not wanting to burst his bubble (seeing as he's chock-full of kuehs), I nod in agreement. I really hope for his sake that remains true but judging from my noisy side of the family, there's quite a slim chance of that happening.

Meet Ollie!

Week 34 :: Braxton Hicks pays a visit

Wake up one morning with tight cramping in the belly. Must be the dreadful Braxton Hicks. It goes away as quickly as it comes and I'm back to normal again. How does this prepare you for real contractions? I can't say. Hopefully the baby feels it too so it'll know what's coming.

At my routine check-up this week, we note that the little one has grown to around 2.2 kg and is doing well. My GTT results also come back normal. All we do now is wait...6 more weeks to go!