tristan now...

Mark's nephew lil Tristan then....

 ...and now at 3 months +, he's got the biggest most gorgeous pair of eyes!

 Holding him in my arms felt funny as he was super light compared to Darren...lol.

'EMO' = Emotional MOther?

MOtherhood is such an eMOtional turmoil for me. More recently, experiencing more downs than ups - i blame it on this nagging flu that i've been having for a month. Just when i think i'm on the road to recovery, then comes a round of interrupted sleeps, and Mr Flu Bug comes to visit again. Now i feel like this cold's stuck with me forever....plus tons of housework (esp washing and cleaning that never seems to end!) with practically nil rest during the weekends, i really can't distinguish my tears from my mucus anymore. 

No, not complaining...just dying to voice out. I very well know that these are a parent's sacrifice, even more for those who doesn't have additional helping hands. On the brighter side, there's something good that comes out of this - a quicker slimmer me. 

And despite everybody around me asking when i'm getting a second one, I sometimes do get emo and wonder if i dare go on and have another child in the future. With the state i'm in right now, mentally drained, physically unfit, and help-deprived, things MUST change first. I can certainly start by nourishing my body with its much needed nutrients and vitality...damn, i miss my mum's herbal concoctions. See, even I need a mother's love right now... =]

It's pretty amazing i still have time for my blog ya - in fact, i find it a great 'Ranting in Silence' channel. Plus, baby's fast asleep now so i have some time to spare. 

My only consolation right now - looking at my boy's lovely bright eyes...

In a blink of an eye, and he's 7 months now.

On 1st August, his bottom front teeth started to grow.

Biting on whatever he could grab within arm's reach, is now his favourite pastime. Thank god i got him this hippo teether. Plan to get him some teething rusks too.

So i headed over to IBEX, which is by far one of the best baby expos i've been to. 

My haul for the day :-

At least i didn't forget the rusks. 


Sigh, just what i needed...... retail therapy. Never fails to help a woman distress.

Now i just need more Mega-Sales to cheer me up.

yet another dragon bb...

Mark is an UNCLE now! A REAL uncle by definition. 

Congrats on the arrival of your bundle of joy, love and smiles... Nee and Ravin.

 And to Tristan, welcome welcome!!!

Lotsa hugs n kisses from
'ahntee' siuV, 'angke' mark + 'cas-zen' darren  ^^

missing dave....

Remember Dave, my nephew? This is how Dave looks like now... A super duper hyperactive boy who climbs all over his parents, grandparents and whoever else is carrying him. Even my big strong dad finds him a handful. Dad has gotten his 2 grandsons mixed up....like today, he sms-ed me 'How's Dave?' haha. 

Makes me recall the time when he used to call all his children's name first before getting the right one.."Victor, eh Millie, aiya, Sylvia..." 

Oh no, Dave doesn't have the Steven Gerrard look anymore...though he still shows a tinge of 'gwai lou' -ness. He's looking sooo playful here.

 Here's Dave on his very first bus ride in S'pore. Mmm, I don't see Darren sitting on a Metro or Rapid KL bus anytime soon. I think our local buses certainly need some good scrubbing and sanitizing by the germ-busters.

Last but not least, a photo of 3 generations of the Yap family....
We're looking at a gap of >70 years separating the youngest and the oldest.

Now that's priceless!!

dave at random

Dad sent over some photos (really random ones) of their recent trip to Universal Studios S'pore with Millie, Jason, Victor, Irene and little Dave. The pics taken were just too cute not to put up here....

 This is the funniest i've ever seen my mum pose...way to go, mum!

 The most wanted man on a hot Sunday!

 Highlight of the trip - cutie-pie Dave definitely! lol, he still has dat Gerrard-look..

 He certainly knows how to put the biggest smile on his grandparents' faces!

Love!

baby's blessing

So the other day, i paid a visit to my gynae.

hey look, it's my gynae...

He was explaining to me about my delivery method options, providing me a complete breakdown of the medical costs and all. It was a real thorough breakdown, in terms of consultation fees, medication charges, procedures, admin fees, etc. From what i recall, he mentioned that a natural delivery would come up to a total cost of RM 4,085. Wow, that's pretty costly, I thought, vividly remembering that a few months back, he proclaimed the cost to be around RM 3,000.

Nevertheless, there wasn't much time for me to react as shortly after,... i woke up. =.=

Casually, i recited my dream to hubby, who then instinctively decided to try his luck at lottery (since there was a specific 4-digit number in my dream). oh-kayyy, why not, i thought. Just for the fun of it. Let's see what they say about dreaming winning numbers....

We took the humble approach and took up a minimum bet.
 
Guess what the winning numbers turned out to be today......

 he-he-he...what a pleasant surprise indeed.


Though our winnings were a mere RM 60, i'd like to think of this as baby's first gift to mummy and daddy as our bundle of joy celebrates his 33rd week with us.

Yup, i'm THIS huge now as lil one's getting bigger and bigger day by day. 

Can never get enough of his kicks and punches though. 

At least i know he's getting more exercise than me. >.<

stem cell banking for the lil one

As a parent-to-be, one of the issues one might ponder over is cord blood stem cell banking. For the price those stem cell banks are charging nowadays, it's no wonder one has to carefully think it over before investing in this so-called 'luxury'. And you've only got one chance to get it - during the birth of the baby, where blood from the umbilical cord (which is super rich with baby's stem cells) is drained and cryopreserved at approximately -190Celsius in a 'bank' - a proper facility which you had better pray doesn't go bankrupt along with your baby cells. 

We read about these stem cells being a possible cure for chronic diseases like certain cancers, heart diseases, blood-related disorders, diabetes or even neurological diseases (...promising..) but how developed is our country's medical R&D in applying this technology when it's necessary.. (...doubtful...)?

So many other questions I could think of, but seriously, I've read about this technology before, and after some Internet research on it, something struck my awareness chord that this was the way to go. 

The health benefits of these stem cells could benefit not only the child himself, but possibly his siblings or even parents. If there is even a remote chance that it might help the public, why not. 

It's an investment for my family's future anyway and i'm hoping that perhaps 5 or 10 years down the road, researchers will discover more about the fascinating stem cell.

Hence, we have signed up a promotional package with StemTech International. They may not be the leading player in the stem cell market but it was their friendly service and detailed explanation that won our hearts over. Plus they were a subsidiary of TMC Group (listed co) and is in collaboration with Tropicana Medical Centre. 

 The price?
For a duration of 21 years, baby's stem cells will be stored in their deep-freeze storage facility - all for a price of about RM 4,100.

 On top of that, we got various beauty vouchers as well as free medical check-ups... Sweet.

SO, there you go. Despite my gynae's non-encouragement towards the investment of stem-cells, we have decided go ahead and take advantage of this technology. At least it gives us a peace of mind if ever our family is faced with any medical challenges, this serves as an additional treatment option available to us. ;-D


On a different note, i also just noticed that i'm starting to experience numbness and stiffness in my finger joints and left wrist, moreso when i'm asleep, where hands movement are limited. Oh oh, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome alert! Is it normal??!

I probably need to exercise my fingers by typing on the keyboard more often.
Oh, and thank God Doc told me to remove my wedding band.....my fingers are also beginning to swell.....!

 and my feet too!!

(ooh, Can you see the popping veins on my feet?)...Varicose Veins alert!!
My feet looks like the world map now.

can't get enuf of dave!

This is my nephew Dave on his day of birth.

And this is Dave 4 months later.

"How cute am i..!!"

Dave got to meet his aunty Sylvia (me!) and uncle Mark for the very first time in S'pore last month.

No one can deny the unconditional love and joy on the faces of the grandparents...

Come to think of it, Dave looks a lot like his Daddy when he was young.
Daddy celebrated his birthday recently with his very-clueless-looking bundle of joy by his side.

Dave has started learning to turn over and he must be super loving it coz he's always smiling and giggling when he's lying stomach down.

Here's some awesome photos that'll make you go all goo-goo gaa-gaa......

I was desperately trying to make him giggle....not sure if tickling his chin helps..

yey, i did it!

Dave's impression of driving an F1 car....

tee~heeeeee

Dave's eyes remind me of a certain England footballer.......guess which one..!

...especially the eye brows! Any idea who.....??

.........STEVIE G!!!......

Nevertheless, with a face like this...

other female toddlers who see him also M-E-L-T!!!!!

baby bluezzz...

Let's see...i'm 28 weeks into my pregnancy and it just dawned upon me that i've still got tons to do before i can actually welcome a little one into our home!
I've been having very detailed vivid dreams every night and last night was no exception as i dreamt i was on a 4D 3N holiday in a resort in Perak. And can you imagine how busy my brain was the entire night as i actually played out every single activity i did during my 4D 3N there. See what i mean by 'detailed' dream?! The last thing i could remember from my dream was my ex classmate (whom i've not seen in ages), Peggy asking me to buy her a bag of fish ball from Perak when i get home.. (???)

Some nights, i would dream of my 50+ yr-old male gynae nagging me on my diet intake and sugar level, leaving me feeling depressed and guilty. Nevertheless, i take that as my sub-conscious mind reminding me to see what i eat, not eat what i see.

Some dreams absolutely amaze even myself for its potential to be a movie blockbuster, like when the storyline gets really sci-fi and complex - some sort like the movie Inception! maybe even better! i would wake up feeling super excited, wishing i could tell my dream to a scriptwriter and turn it into an Oscar-worthy epic!
Would want to think perhaps the little one was channeling his creative juices through me! lol.

'Cept for the dreams, i've been sleeping well (thank god!) especially since i've recently discovered that sleeping on my left side was a much more comforting position for me. Like what they say on the Internet, this helps reduce the pressure on my liver (which is on my right side) and promotes the best blood flow for the heart, fetus and uterus. As for leg cramps, have only experienced them twice (so far) on my right calf so no biggie about that. As for frequent night urination, i've got dear hubby to wake me up every night for the much needed toilet wee-wees... tee~hee.

Now back to my baby blues, when i woke up this morning of Raya Haji, something told me to compile a checklist of things to pack in a labour bag...and so i did.
May be too soon to think of it now, but looking at the list i came up with, it may not be such a bad idea to start preparing for it now!

If you think that list was longer than any grocery list you've ever seen, then wait till i got on to the even bigger stuff - a checklist of stuff to get for a newborn. As i got by, the list just got longer and longer and what you see below is only one of the many pages of my 'Notes'.

Time for me to clear up some storage space in my store room. Not to mention, hope these items don't clear up my wallet too much too! :op