A little update on the domestic helper. We've finally hired one after her over-night consideration. Her name is Maricel and she's 27 years of age. She's Philippino and she used to work for a HK family for the past4-5 years. I think that's all I remembered. Will update here once she's on board end of Feb.
It's week 25 already! Time flies and without knowing it Kathy's at the end of her 2nd trimester. Baby is really growing fast and her tummy is getting bigger and bigger. Head to heels, the baby now measures about 13.5 inches and weigh about a pound and a half.
This week Kathy's in her 6th month! Time flies and her tummy is growing day by day. Baby Jake is over a pound now and he's almost a foot long! His brain is also growing quickly now, especially when he listens to the BabyPlus machine everyday!
We just finished a hectic week last week. Went to Sonia&Lincoln's Wedding, Adrian's Birthday, Katie&Matthew's Anniversary, Annie&Anthony's Wedding... Glad that baby Jake was all involved! So how big is he now? He's now more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango <-- fruit again :) He's moving lots now especially with the BabyPlus machine's drumming sounds. He's also picking up other sounds from the outside world as his ears are developing rapidly. Loud noises that become familiar now - such as BonBon barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner - probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.
Kathy's tummy has grew exponentially all of a sudden. The picture on the left was taken at Annie&Anthony's wedding and no it's not photoshop. It's really that big already. Because of that, she's feeling tired these days again. Despite of the walks in the park, she's feeling like the tummy is gonna burst and her back is starting to develop pains. I guess it's really time to do more training on her muscles, so to sustain the growing weight of her belly.
Here're some tips from BabyCenter: lie on your left side or put your feet up when you can, stretch out your legs when you sit, and avoid sitting - or standing - in one place for long periods. Also, try to exercise regularly to increase circulation, and wear support stockings (put them on first thing in the morning) and roomy, comfortable shoes. And drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
X'mas is coming and we're so happy to have baby Jake celebrating with us before he comes out. It's gonna be lots of fun with lots of parties lined up. Yup gonna be an exhausting holiday... again...
We're in week 22 already! He's now at 11 inches long and almost 1 pound, and he's starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If we could see inside kathy's womb, we'd be able to spot the fine hair that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in.
Here's the latest ultrasound scan video:
Kathy's tummy is growing bigger and faster. It also becomes a hand magnet which Kathy's hands are placed on it all the time, so is mine. She's been busy with her BabyPlus schedule and I think we're kind of adapted to the 'tung tung' sound now so we can sleep while Little Curly is listening to the BabyPlus machine.
Over the weekend we went window shopping and there're 5 items we've decided to get: baby bed, baby stroller, baby hi-lo chair, standing baby bath tub, and baby carrier. We bought the bath tub and hi-lo chair already, and will get the rest soon. Thanks to all our 'sponsors' haha!
Hi nephew Jake,
a:w says:
hon, hv u received jake's email?
Kathy says:
hm.. not yet wor
a:w says:
not yet? to your gmail bor
Kathy says:
checking
hahahahhaa.. okok.. u r writing on behalf of ur son
a:w says:
no la, he was the one writing it. i didn't write bor
u sure he wasn't checking emails in your tummy? wifi is everywhere
Kathy says:
wakakka with his own iphone?
a:w says:
yup
Today Jake got his first email at his new email address (jakekjwong@gmail.com) from auntie bee, uncle d and cousin linden:
On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 3:02 PM, Bernice Prasad wrote:
Hello Jake!
This is your auntie Bernice! I'm saying hi to you from Vancouver bc. When you get older or when you're out I should say, you and daddy and mommy will come visit me and your cousin linden!
But don't worry, when you're born the first day I'll be there with baby linden!
You behave for now, don't give mommy a hard time I'll see you soon! :)
Auntie bee & cousin linden
Hi Jacob it's your uncle Darryl hope to see you soon and tell ur mommy eat lots of protein and veggies so when you come visit me I can train you with linden see you soon !
Uncle d
Here's Jake's reply:
hi auntie bee, uncle d, and cousin linden...
yes this is my first email to you all and i'm currently having fun in mommy's tummy. i wake up everyday in the morning when i hear the 'tung tung' sound from the BabyPlus machine. i suck a lot of juices for breakfast, and then i go for some exercises. after lunch i would take a nap before i start my second round of exercises such as bench press, sit-ups, and bungy jumps with my belly cord. when dinner time comes i would listen to the TV while my mom is watching the latest tvb dramas. and i would listen to daddy's talking non-stop. just before bedtime i would listen to the 'tung tung' sound again and it's time for me to go to bed. yup that's my everyday!
can't wait to see you all soon!!
baby jake
Today Kathy got her BabyPlus. What's BabyPlus? According to the website, it's a little machine that naturally derived sounds that resemble a mother's heartbeat. The rhythm of the sounds increases incrementally as the pregnancy progresses. The BabyPlus sonic pattern introduces the baby to a sequential learning process, built upon the natural rhythms of their own environment.
It's been an exhausting week for us: went for baby's structural scan, prepared docs for the car purchase, housewarming with colleagues, tidied up the old flat, and preparing for all the new changes up ahead in the new year! Here's the first part of the structural scan video:
Today we went to see Dr Kung again for the structural ultrasound scan. This scan is to check all external and internal structures of Little Curly including his arms and legs, his fingers and toes, his internal organs, his face and his heart. We were able to see his spines, arms and legs at the first attempt. But due to his position (he was curling up facing down) we weren't able to see the rest. So we had to wait til he changes position. So we had to wait for second attempt. On the second scan, he's still the same position so we had to wait again. Since we had to go back to work, we went back to Dr Kung in late afternoon. On third attempt, he changed his position a bit so we were able to see his hands and fingers as well as his kidneys. But we still couldn't get to his face and heart, which are the most crucial part. So we waited a bit again and on fourth attempt still no luck. Little Curly was just not cooperating. Maybe he's too shy to show his face or he doesn't want us to see his thick lips haha. ok we will do a new scan again tomorrow...
We're at the halfway mark! Little Curly is about 10.5 ounces now. He's also around 6.5 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel - the length of a banana (a fruit again!!)
Tonight when I talked to Little Curly up close, "baby, do your little kick so Daddy can feel ya", and just 1 second after he responded with a heavy kick to my ear through Mommy's tummy. Some research say it's more likely the baby to hear Daddy's voice first because of a lower sound frequency. We've proved this to be correct from tonight's experiment. Little Curly was responding to Daddy's Voice!! Woohoo!!!
When Kathy replied to Mom's email, she said "This year is very special to us.... The first bday after I became Mrs wong and little curly is celebrating with us!!!" Yes indeed very special. The three of us celebrating together for the first time (before LC is born of course :)
Yesterday we went for Kathy's first prenatal exercise in Causeway Bay, the one as referred by Vivian, and it was good. Since Kathy went there in late afternoon therefore only 2 mom-to-be in the class. We found the exercises quite effective as it focused on building Kathy's essential muscles for both during pregnancy and giving birth.
The past week was really exhausting. Packing and moving to new home. Since Kathy was advised not to get involved at all for the removal, I was the only one doing all the physical work. When finally moved in, finished initial unpacking, sitting in the new living room, listening to the music, and seeing that smily face of Kathy's when she enters into our new home, yeah, everything was worth it!
Kathy's in her week 17! Since last week, she's feeling much better and seemed like everything is back to normal, only her tummy is getting bigger and bigger. Everyone says her 2nd trimester is the honeymoon period of her pregnancy. Now we really notice that.
Today is Little Curly's first trip to Macau with Andy's colleagues. He was excited at the beginning but immediately felt tired after lunch. One thing we noticed is that he doesn't like gambling, which is good :)
We've just received few votes so far and here's the interim result (it changes real-time):
So far Jacob, Jonathan and Lucas are top of the list. For those of you who hasn't vote, please do follow this link - http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dEtyQjdXek9uSXhGV1J3TWhkRkNnWnc6MA
I'm now in Tokyo and I'm away from Little Curly (& Kathy) for the first time. Yeah I do miss them. And this morning I got a SMS from Kathy:
"I've gained 2kg and 4" on my waist! LC is like the size of avocado this week... How come he is always a fruit? Last week he was an apple... hahahaha
Love, hon+LC"
I'm gonna reply now :)
On Oct 24 we attended Sam & Ivan's wedding. This wedding brought Kathy's old time schoolmates together. Fei and her family flew in from Singapore as well. Fei got Little Curly a special gift - a box of funky socks. See it for yourself:
Thank you Fei!
p.s. Jennifer, who's also 4-mo pregnant, got a box too. It's so funny how our wedding were in the same month, and now we got pregnant with due dates in the same month as well. haha!
Kathy's in her week 15 already and she can now feel the tummy growing. This is cos the baby is now measuring about 4 inches long and it's about the size of an apple! His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of his joints and limbs. Soon he'll be kicking and Kathy can feel it. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can sense light. According to BabyCenter, if we shine a flashlight at the tummy, for instance, he's likely to move away from the beam.
Today we're entering week 14 of Kathy's pregnancy. We went to visit Doctor Ko this morning and did another ultrasound scan. Here's the video:
Kathy was having a conversation with her colleague who just gave birth to her baby recently, and they were talking about buying baby clothes as it's on sale now. Isn't it a little too early? Well according to my "financial controller", it's best to buy when it's on sale. So, we went to kingkow this afternoon and bought some summer bodysuits for Little Curly as it'll be perfect when he's born next April approaching summer time. Lesson learned: make small savings here and there and you can really save up.
Yesterday when I returned to office, I saw a package on my office desk. It's a surprise package from HR. Inside there're:
Yesterday Little Curly attended Crystal & Brian's wedding and met most of the Wongs family. Aside from enjoying the great wedding and sharing their happiness, families were congratulating us on our pregnancy. We were so happy our little baby participated in this special event too.
Congrats Crystal and Brian! Little Curly will see his 表叔表嬸 soon!
Last night Kathy went for dinner with Angela and Fung sir and they had a discussion on Little Curly's education in the future. Kathy's head almost exploded with all the info and planning up ahead to prepare for a good education.
on Facebook video (25 comments):
Congrats!!!