Our Very Own Mini Me

Happy 1 Month, Andreanna!

Chronological Age: 1 Month

Adjusted Age: 1 Day

Weight: 3.83kg (+1.105kg since birth)

Length: 52.1cm (+3.1cm since birth)

Head Circumference: 34.9cm (+2.9cm since birth)

She's grown so much in such a short period of time. We're so proud of her!

Introducing Andreanna

She's 1 month early! Sel delivered her via emergency c-section under full GA at 3:55AM today. Alhamdulillah, she's healthy.

Weight: 2.725kg

Length: 49cm

Head Circumference: 32cm

Wakey-Wakey!

Another Scary Bleeding Episode!

We had another scare today! Sel has been spotting on and off the past 2 weeks. Well, this morning she had a lot more and it's like chocolate mucus (sorry TMI). Sel was freaked out! She can't help but feel really worried.

Anyway, she had googled and thought that she's lost my mucus plug. She called the gynae's clinic but they had no idea what she was talking about. After describing it to them, Dr Sim decided to see her again today. Vin rushed to take an urgent leave and accompanied Sel to the clinic. After some checks and monitoring, we're relieved to say that my baby is fine. At the clinic, Dr Sim was not able to see any signs of bleeding. She suspected that Sel may have yeast infection and had inserted a tablet in her vagina for treatment. Sel's blood pressure had risen. She is still on strict orders to be bed rest and the c-section is scheduled on the 30th of this month.

Since nobody knew what Sel was talking about when she was describing the chocolate mucus, she decided to take a picture of the bleeding when it happens again. It so happens that she bled again in the late afternoon and this time, it was more red than brown.

Sorry it's gross!

Sel was quite disappointed that she's unable to deliver our baby via normal vaginal delivery. After reading more about c-section, she's come into terms with it. She's also upset that the scheduled c-section clashes with Vin's reservist and yet he refuses to defer. Sigh. We can't push back the date because Dr Sim will be going away then. Vin will just have to try and take time off from his reservist to be there for Sel during the c-section. He'll probably have to go back to camp on the same day. Anyway, his reservist will end that weekend which is just in time for Sel and baby to be discharged from the hospital. That's the plan! But you know that not everything goes according to plan when you're having a baby.

Week 33 - The size of a pineapple

Good news! Thanks to the dieting, Sel lost a bit of weight. The baby gained a healthy 200g in 1 week and she is still measuring acceptable average size.

Bad news! Due to the low placenta placement, our baby is unable to turn. Thus, she is in transverse position. Sel will most likely need to deliver her via c-section.

Anyway, what's most important is that the baby is healthy. Alhamdulillah.

Week 32 - The size of a large turnip

All the dieting seems to work, our baby is now measuring at acceptable average size. Yeay!

Anyway, after the appointment, Sel had to get home to finish off some work. We were planning to head out again to spend some time together after she's done. Unfortunately, something unexpected happened while we're at home. She realized that she was spotting when she went to the toilet. It was fresh blood! She had to go relieved herself and when she was done cleaning herself, she had blood dripping down her legs and pants as she stood up. She then had some cramping as though she has the runs. Sel called Dr Sim’s clinic immediately for advice. She was advised to monitor the bleeding for an hour.

Thank god the bleeding had stopped. Dr Sim wanted to play safe so she requested Sel to come back to her clinic for some medication. Well, Sel was given steroid shot to help our baby develop her lungs faster (in case of early labour). Oh man, the shot really hurts! She was to come back tomorrow for another dose. Dr Sim had prescribed some hormones for Sel to take to helps relax her muscles and hopefully prevent any future bleeding. At least the CTG shows that the baby heart rate is normal and that she was not having any contractions.

According to Dr Sim the low placenta is the cause of the bleeding. Sel was on strict orders to be bed rest. Dr Sim warns that the bleeding could get worse and if it does, our baby might have to be delivered via c-section at KKH because the cost of NICU at TMC will be too expensive. It is best that Sel take it easy until the 35th week when the baby’s major organs will be fully developed. We’re to see her again next week to follow-up.

What a scare we had today!

A Sneak Peek of Baby's Room

Yeay! The cot is up. So are the wall decals. The mummy and daddy owl will look after baby at night.

Baby's Cot

Lemon Pepper Pan-Fried Cod with Spinach & Mashed Potatoes

Lemon Pepper Pan-Fried Cod with Spinach & Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
1 fillet of boneless cod fish
1 cup of spinach
1 small potato
2 pinches of lemon pepper seasoning
Some butter
Some skimmed milk
1 slice of lemon (wedges)

Method
Put the potato in the microwave oven on high for 5 minutes. Heat up a frying pan and melt about 1 tablespoon of butter. Season the fish on both sides with the lemon pepper and place it in the hot frying pan. Turn the fish when it’s slightly golden. When the fish is done, place it in your serving plate. Leave the heat on and add some butter to the leftover juices in the frying pan if it’s too dry. Add the spinach and stir-fry until it is cooked before placing it in the same serving plate. Take the potato out of the oven and peel the skin. Add a bit of butter and mash the potato. Add some milk as you continue to mash the potato until you get the right texture. Then serve the mash potato on the same plate with a slice of lemon wedges.

The spinach and mashed potatoes if eaten individually could do with a little more seasoning of salt and pepper but it taste fine when eaten with the nicely seasoned fish. Not sure if the serving is filling enough for Sel to last till tea break.

Cream Cheese Sandwich

Cream Cheese Sandwich with Tomatoes & Cucumber on Toasted Wholemeal Bread

Healthy and delicious!

Garlic Fried Rice & Steamed Chicken with Pek Chye

Sel has the sudden craving of eating teppanyaki garlic fried rice so she googled for an easy recipe to try.

Garlic Fried Rice

The recipe was taken from http://www.mywisewife.com/home-kitchen-recipe-garlic-fried-rice-japanese-style.html.

Ingredients
2 cups of steamed rice
2 eggs (scrambled)
1½ bulbs garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce (which I omitted)
Light soy sauce to taste
Some prawns

Method
Heat up a wok and melt the butter. Add garlic and saute until golden brown and fragrant. Add the prawns. Then the rice and eggs. Pour in some light soy sauce. Toss the rice to allow the sauce to mix well with the other ingredients at medium-high heat.

It's not the same as the garlic fried rice that Sel craved for. But it's just lacking the slight "chao ta" taste.

To add on more protein and some fibre to the meal, she cooked steamed chicken with pek chye.

Steamed Chicken with Pek Chye

The recipe was taken from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3844/steamed-asian-chicken.

Ingredients
4 pieces of chicken
Some pek chye 1 shitake mushroom (sliced)
1 clove of garlic (chopped)
1 clove of garlic (sliced)
1 slice of ginger (shredded)
1 chilli padi
2 table spoons of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce

Method
Marinate the chicken with the light soya sauce, chopped garlic, ginger and chilli. Place the pek chye on the oven dish and spread the oyster sauce over the vegetable. Throw in the mushrooms and sliced garlic on top of it. Place the marinated chicken in the same oven dish and pour over any left over marinate over the chicken. Cover the oven dish with aluminium foil and put it in the oven. It should take less than 15 minutes to cook.

Steamed Cod Fish with Vegetables

A quick, easy and healthy way to cook lunch is to use the Panasonic Microwave/Convection Oven NN-CD997S. The Sensor Reheat function automatically cooks the food without the need to select the temperature or cooking time as the it uses the humidity sensor to detect build-up steam and calculate the remaining cooking time. It's really convenient and fast!

Steamed Cod Fish with Vegetables

Ingredients
1 fillet of boneless cod fish
2 slices of onion
1 slice of ginger (shredded)
1 chilli padi
1 salted plum
A few slices of carrot
½ cup of cauliflower
½ a tofu
3 pieces of shitake mushrooms
1 small tomato
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Adequate water
Some parsley

Method
Place the fish fillet in an oven dish. Rub the flesh of salted plum on the fish surface. Take the leftover flesh on the seed of the salted plum and soak it in a little water. Spread the onions, ginger, chilli and parsley on top of the fish. Mix the vegetables and place it in the same oven dish. Add salt and pepper over the vegetables. Pour the water with the salted plum over the vegetables. Cover the oven dish with aluminium foil and put it in the oven. It should take less than 10 minutes to cook.

It’s so easy and it taste good too!

1st Day of the Home Blood Glucose Test

8.30am - Breakfast
Blood Sugar Level at 10.30am was 7.7mmol/L.

Wholemeal Sandwich (with beef patty, cheese, egg, lettuce & tomatoes)

Sel had glass of red bean soup for morning tea.

1.55pm - Lunch
Blood Sugar Level at 4.05pm was 7.1mmol/L.

Boiled Cod Fish with RiceStir-fried Vegetables - Tofu, Mushrooms, French Beans

No afternoon tea.

9.00pm - Dinner (Seafood fried rice from Simrah - with egg, squid, crabsticks, prawns & fish)
Blood Sugar Level at 11.00pm was 9.1mmol/L.

Chicken Soup

Ibu cooked curry fish today. Vin is not a fan of curry and Sel can no longer eat curry, or at least for the next 3 months because she had failed the gestational diabetes screening earlier this week. Guess Sel will now have to learn and cook healthier meals and not rely on Ibu's cooking daily. So the menu for today's lunch and dinner:

Chicken Soup

This is Mama's recipe.

Ingredients
4 pieces of chicken thigh
¼ of an onion (chopped)
1 small piece of garlic (chopped)
1 slice of ginger
½ a carrot
2 cups of cauliflower
1 potato
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Adequate water
Some parsley

Method
Saute chopped ingredients and ginger. Then add 3 cups of water and let it boil. Add chicken and after 5 minutes add the potatoes. 5 minutes later add the carrots, vegetable and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat when your vegetables are cooked the way you like it. Done! It’s so simple.

It somehow doesn't taste like Mama's but it could be because Sel had put lesser salt. The nurses had advised that her food should be as bland as possible.

A "Gift" from the Gynae's Clinic

2 days ago, we've received a call from Dr Sim's clinic to inform us that Sel had failed the gestational diabetes screening. Sel was asked to come in as soon as possible for further consultation. The appointment was set first thing this morning and she's got a "gift" from the clinic:

Optium Hypocount Machine

Well, it's not really a gift. It's a rental from Dr Sim's clinic to monitor Sel's blood sugar level weekly. Rental costs S$10.00 per month and there's a S$30.00 deposit for the machine. Now Sel has to poke her finger one day every week, 3 times that day, every 2 hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner. And she's got to update the Outpatient Diabetic Monitoring Chart and report back her results to the clinic every week.

Anyway, her appointment only took 15 minutes. They showed her how to work the machine and gave her advise on how to improve her diet. The list of Do's and Don'ts:

1. Eat smaller meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

2. Reduce carbohydrate consumption by 1/3 and increase in protein consumption.

3. Have a light morning tea, afternoon tea and supper.

4. Avoid fruits with high sugar like mango and durian. Fruits like strawberries and grapes should be consumed in small quantity (ie. just 3 peices).

5. Food should be as bland as possible. The best way to cook is by boiling and steaming. Stir-fried food is acceptable but deep fried food is an absolute NO.

Sel has never gone on diet before so this is going to be a torture to her! Sigh... Anything for the baby's sake.

Week 29 - The size of a butternut pumpkin

The gynae is concerned that our baby is considered big compared to average. She’s at least 100g heavier than the normal range. She is particularly concerned especially since Sel has been gaining a little too much weight and she has a family history of diabetes.

Sel had done the 2 hours post prandial test to screen for gestational diabetes first thing this morning. The test requires her to fast (no food and water) from 12.00am the day before and to finish a bottle of the glucose drink 2 hours prior to the test. We’re hoping that that she passes the test but we’ll only know the result later this week. Even then, the gynae has advised to improve her diet by eating lesser carbohydrates and more protein.

On a lighter note, we are both amused to see that baby has hair now.

Week 25 - The size of a turnip

Ayam Masak Madu / Honey Chicken

Sel tried a new recipe today, Honey Chicken. So the menu for tonight's dinner:

Honey Chicken Green Beans with scrambled eggs

The recipe was taken from http://cikmin.com/2010/05/ayam-bermadu-tak-mengapa-jangan/.

Ingredients
500 g chicken, mix with turmeric powder and a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons red chilli (grounded)
6 shallots
2 cloves garlic (grounded)
2 tablespoons chilli sauce
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 red chillies, sliced oblique
1 large onion, sliced round
Salt to taste
Adequate water

Method
Fry the chicken until golden brown then set aside. Saute ground ingredients. Then add chilli sauce, honey and a little water. Let it boil. Add chicken, black pepper, sliced ​​onions and chopped chillies. Mix well and cook until the sauce is thickened. Taste and add a little salt if necessary. Then it's ready to serve.

Hope that it taste as good as it looks!

Week 21 - The size of a peach

Alhamdulillah, we've passed the halfway mark!

Week 17 - The size of an onion