I find a terrible sense of urgency to write up this blog entry. Everything was in a state of craziness for the longest time that I was too exhausted to blog, despite missing in writing.

On 19th January, me and the little girl inside hit 37 weeks! Technically we are full term and baby girl can be popping out anytime.
Oh yes, I have been having ALL the pre-labour symptoms since a few days back. All of it!
So mummies, if you are getting an SG50 baby this year and will be in my shoes soon, here are all the symptoms that you might have.

1. Backache
In this 3rd pregnancy, I have the worst backache ever! It doesn't help that I am making 2 to 3 trips to the toilet every night. Getting up from bed after sleep is a chore. I will be walking like an old woman to the toilet.
I am not as mobile as I would like to be during this pregnancy. I love walks. I can go for walks but now, I will have to take a 15-minute break to rest my back after a long walk. To kick off the walking pace again would also be a chore. But me being me, I really cannot see myself sitting down and resting at home. I feel so.. so... useless.

2. Leaking
Hahahaha.. I leak ever since my first pregnancy. It is and will never be the same again and we all have to live with that in exchange for the beauty of pregnancy and seeing an adorable mould coming out from you.

I used to think sanitary pads are meant for those times of the month. Oh well, not for me.

3. Contractions
Oh yes! I started having Braxton Hicks pretty late into the pregnancy. Sometime around 33 to 34 weeks. That is considered late for me because my children have a habit of coming out 3 weeks earlier than due date. But, this time around, my pre-labour contractions are the most painful among all my 3 pregnancies. I am beginning to think that I am getting old.

It's always tempting to go to the hospital and see if it is due, especially over the last few days but I had to hold back. There was no regularity in the contractions. Then again, I never experienced that. In my first pregnancy, my water bag leaked and I was induced. In the second pregnancy, I was dilated and I was induced.

I faced real contractions delivering Riduan because my epidural wore off. I remembered tearing in pain begging for more epidural. So until i reach half that stage of pain, I will hold off the hospital visit.

4. Cramps
I probably have not had my mensus cramps in the longest time. Since Feb 2013. That makes it almost 2 years when I conceived Riduan, breastfed him and conceived the third child. But yes, it was all coming back to me now.

5. Pelvic Pressure
This has been my accompanying friend for the longest time. When my bladder is full. When I walk. When I bend down to pick up things. My baby girl was already head down at 33 weeks, so this is really no surprise.

6. Baby 'drops'
This too I experienced earlier in the pregnancy, when I was about 34 weeks. Suddenly, I can walk longer, breathe better and laugh harder! I thought it wasn't so obvious, but everyone seems to be noticing it too.. so I definitely can't go wrong.

7. Diarrhea
I am a constipated person by nature. No amount of vegetables can help me with this because it is just what iron does to me. So instead of going to the loo once in every 3 days, I am doing it 3 times a day now. And it is very different feeling.

8. Stop gaining weight
Just a week ago, I lost half a kilo and baby gained 600g. So that makes me 1.1kg lighter.
I would think this is partly due to the change of diet I have since I am controlling my sugar intake and also my new regime of taking the organic apple cider vinegar which helps with weight loss. I also follow the chinese tradition of drinking long bean and tomato juice for diuretic purposes. It's nice to feel lighter despite carrying a rice sack weight in front.

9. Nesting period
This time around, my nesting period kicked in very very much later. Maybe at 35 and 36 weeks or so. I wait for nature to take its course.
But when it came, I was arranging my baby's clothes, re arranging the laundry area and my kitchen. I even am having half the mind to clear up my store. Lol!

So to sum up this pregnancy, I really did not have the best of times (though all makan cravings have been checked and satisfied).Work had been obsessively demanding, creating a lot of unnecessary stress. I had a difficult time keeping Her Closet in regular momentum. I come home late or exhausted that I get too tired to spend time with Rania and Riduan. Not a single date with my husband till I was on hospitalisation leave.

It was also the time when we moved in to our home in Ang Mo Kio and my leave was not cleared. There was no way of settling down. Till today we are still trying to settle down. Then, there were other home issues which made me and hubby taking up a lot of time to normalise for the family.

Hopefully 2015 will spell out a better year for us both and for the family. Here is the journey of my pregnancy for through the 37 weeks.

At 11 weeks, during Eid, still have the urge to wear heels.



15 weeks



16 weeks



18 weeks



20 weeks



23 weeks
I think I look the best here. Not too big. Not too small but well, it was not the end of the journey.



24 weeks



26 weeks



28 weeks



30 weeks
I begged Alfi to bring me to KL to have my feast before I got heavier and could not manage the two kids. It was not an easy trip but we survived!
We booked a hotel at Westin to make it easier for us to head down to Pavillion. Basically we only stayed at B1 and eat and eat and eat.



31 weeks



32 weeks
Some thought I was pregnant with a boy because I did not grow as wide as a girl pregnancy.



35 weeks
Diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it was hell till I found a remedy and resumed the joy of eating again.



36 weeks
Still 0cm dilated during the check up.



37 weeks
The final stretch. Met the gynae at 37+3 days and was already 2.5cm dilated so we scheduled an induced delivery the following day.
I am not a person who can live with anticipation nor someone who would be calm with surprises, hence the willingness to be induced through normal delivery.



Pregnancy has always been a joy for me. To know that I was given the opportunity to carry a little one inside me is a gift. To know that the little one carves out another milestone for the family is too precious to let go.
There is only so many times a woman can go through pregnancy - biologically. So every one is memorable for me.

The target was 5. We have hit 3, past half way mark. I do not have many more chances and the clock is ticking.
If He gives, we shall embrace. That's all I would say.

Till the birth story of my little princess.

Welcome to the family!

Many whom I have shared that I am pregnant again, gave me different reaction.
Some could not believe that I conceived again soon after Riduan's birth. Some cannot believe how I even let myself in the situation. Some even thought I was crazy. Some was not very happy that it was too soon. Some became speechless. Some thought I am a pretty strong woman to be able to put my mind on number 3.

Many who knew me also would have known that I wanted a big family. As big as it can get because my heart can fill them in.

But I always had one principle. Let God decide when is the best time for my pregnancy.

I admit, I never expected myself to get pregnant again so soon and at the same time, I was quite apprehensive because I was still trying to juggle with two children and work was indeed so demanding that I am not sure if there is any work-life balance anymore (or even is there such an ideal?)
I went through a phase after delivering Riduan that both will cry for milk at the same time. Both will seek for attention at the same time.
How to even think of number 3?!?

But I was going to make sure that I would not want to carry on the guilt like how I did with Riduan.
So I made myself embrace the pregnancy very quickly the moment I found out. I knew He plans the right time for the family to have another child though it seems tough.

Workplace is becoming very toxic and I needed to move house, all during my pregnancy. I am exhausted to my bones.

But I still lie in bed and thank Him for all that He had arranged for me. It could have been worse for me and the family. So my little baby is really a saviour for all of us.

I have been unknowing about the pregnancy and there were no tell tale signs for the longest time.
6 months after delivering Riduan, I still did not have my monthly cycle. I read up and since I was semi-breastfeeding, some forums mentioned that it could take up to 8 months for the cycle to come back.

So I gave myself that timeframe. Anything more than a year, I will head down to visit my gynae.
Still, I was taking my pregnancy tests every 2 weeks and all came back negative. But there was a time when Alfi went Hawaii and I lapse with my checks because I thought it was not necessary. Who would?!?!?

So there was a day when we had to send Rania to KK for her croup and Alfi insisted that we fill up our tummies a little from Mac'D so that we will not go hungry.
If you know me, Mac'D was a favourite of mine!
But on that day, I wanted to puke at Mac'D. I forced down a Fillet and did not like it.

Of course Alfi thought that it was strange. It is just not me. He thought he did me a favour so he told me to do a home-test.
After we headed home from KKH, I settled the kids down and did my test at about 2.30am.

I went straight to the room and told Alfi,"B, I'm pregnant."
With his eyes half-open, he said,"Why do you always have to tell me in the middle of the night? Congratulations."

The following day, I quickly scheduled a session with my gynae and met her a few days later. I was actually quite curious how long have I been pregnant.

Gynae: When was your last mensus?
Me: Never had since my second delivery.
Gynae: Wah the sanitary pad company don't get money from you.

So she checked the size of the foetus and confirmed it to be 8 weeks.
8 weeks?!?!?!?
I was pregnant 8 weeks and I didn't know. I only thought I was bloated and was gearing up to get my cycle back again.

But we were very happy. I had no prenatal care and I pray everything is ok.

At 15 weeks, I asked the gynae if we could see the gender. I saw Riduan's at 16 weeks. I was very happy when she said,"I see very penyet (flat)and got equal sign."
Yeay!! Finally Rania will have a sister. I know what it is like to have a sister and I really wanted one for her.
So the other 2 children (after the 3rd one) can come in any gender. My mind is at ease.

Alhamdulillah.

This is me at 14 weeks





15 weeks



And today 16 weeks.



Come beginning next week, I turn 17 weeks! That's pretty quick isn't it!!!

I still feel bloated some days and the stomach is bigger. This time around I take care of my food intake better.
Especially when work can get merciless.

I have the same symptoms when I was pregnant with Rania but milder so I can only be thankful. The asthma, the pimples, the nose redness are all milder than with Rania. In fact weight gain has also been slow which makes me estatic. I am still wearing size M of maternity clothes. (Big Hurray!)

At the end of the day, I love being pregnant. I get a little bit more attention from the husband and he insists no public transportation for me. He makes sure I am getting enough rest and making the maid do most of the things. He succumbs to my cravings everytime. The world is just mine when I am pregnant.
So why do you think I do not mind going through this again and again.

Please pray for the well-being of me and the little baby inside. May we have a nice bond and incubating journey together.
Amin!

Shoot & Snap

I have been a very good girl. I have kept my hands together when it comes to gadgets and 'toys'.
The last expensive item I bought for myself was a Surface RT which aided me at work and is very helpful if I need work to be mobile for me.

But recently, I have been getting a little cheeky and stretching a bit of my dollars in view of being 'productive'
Thanks too with the support of Alfi because he knows my passion for photography, blogging, social media and running my baby business.
So while he does not get to fully enjoy gadgets, he just needed to hear from me the return of investment purchasing an item and then he comes onboard the excitement.

Yeah, we are just suckers like that.

Last month I made a purchase for Shttr. It is an inexpensive purchase actually and I think after this, a lot of selfie addicts will get a piece of this.
For USD$40 with a small stand and free shipping, Shttr is a very slim and lightweight camera phone shutter connected via bluetooth.

Its awesome to be able to take photos more comfortably. I need not tell my sister to hold the phone while I press the shutter.
Yeah! Now you know!

Having a group photo is also easier!


To really know what a Shuttr can do for you, here is the youtube video you can watch but be careful NOT to fall in love with it.



My Shuttr is in white. What will yours be?



Alfi was off to Hawaii for a week and of course there were a lot of stories to share when he came back.
I suspect he is not done with his stories just yet but one of the things he shared was that he saw someone using the Sony QX-10.
He was just explaining to me verbally how it looks like and what it can do and I was like,"You serioussssssss?!?!?"

Within 2 days (at least I let him recover from his jetlag) we were at the Sony store and in under an hour I came out smiling!!
I was initially so keen on the Canon Powershot S120. It was a no brainer since I am a Canon fan and my previous point-and-shoot was a Powershot S95 before it was caught drowning in my handbag filled with 1.5L of water.

Sony QX-10 was more affordable and when I bought it last night (yes, just last night) I managed to get the casing (so happy that it's blue!), 2 micro SD cards and 1 mini tripod (which I surely will convert it into a mini monopod!). The whole package was just $349.
Can you see all the heart shapes on my eyes?

The flexibility of taking the picture with the camera, or the camera attached to the phone or doing selfies and videos. These data files goes straight into your phone and to your social media in a flash!!!

This was the picture taken with studio lighting. The picture definitely looks wonderful.


Here are those taken under normal light.







Available in 2 colours, I was so undecided which one to choose!



But the salesperson said white was a winner. Lucky I picked that. Look how the colours of my gadget now matches!



To many more selfies of me and me and me with the kids!



Go check it out!

I missed you!

Indeed I miss writing on this blog. This blog keeps my sanity in check, I swear. So I kinda lost some of my sanity now.
I missed my readers. I used to get a few emails/watsapp/facebook chats but those have reduced over the months.
Thanks to my work schedule which is more hectic than ever and also to the previous helpers I had which didn't help me at all.

Riduan is turning 7 months now!
How time flies and there is not even a birth story about him. Trust me, I do plan to have that written out, if you still like to read it.
Nonetheless, I will still have it blogged soon because it is not fair that Rania has a birth story and Riduan doesn't.

Life as a mother of two now is so different. It is challenging but surely rewarding.



Their smiles, their antics - its really one of a kind.
Insya Allah to many more blog entries to come over the next few days.

This is just to kick-off the long silence.
I am not going to stop rattling off.

That's for sure!

What to expect at Week 34, 35, 36

Writing a 3-week update will be quite a lengthy one.
Here was me at week 34. Still glowing in pregnancy.



In a way, I am glad my arms and hips did not get any bigger though everything else did.
During my 34 week check up, I was suspected of gestational diabetes because the sugar levels since Hari Raya was still seen in my urine.
I was awfully nervous.

Within the next day, I was asked to come back for OGTT.
Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
It required me not to eat and drink for 12 hours and I had to be in the clinic by 9am.

Upon arrival, they took my blood and you know how phobic I am with needles. Worse, the husband was not around to give me that physical support.
After the blood test, I was asked to drink what it seems like a 500ml laxative drink.
So sweet and a lot.

The moment I finished the drink, I was light-headed and the stomach didn't feel well.
Still no food and drinks.
I wanted to vomit but the nurse did not allow me to do so because it would nullify the whole test.
Waiting time - 2 hours.
It was a terrible two hours.

I was lucky I brought the maid with me to help take care of Rania while I cringe at the sofa in The Private Suite.
2 hours was up and they took my blood test again.
I was very eager to get it over and done with.

The minute it was over, I was in search of food like a glutton.
Still the whole day continued with me heading to the toilet to shit and a tummyache.
Later that evening KKH called me up. I was nervous to the bones!!!
Alhamdulillah all cleared!!!

So I went on my hooray mood with my foodie again.
Here was I at 35 weeks.



Rania is becoming extremely clingy to me.
She refuses anyone if I am around. She makes it very hard for me to clean her up in the toilet.
With everyone else, she gives them an easy time.
Doesn't she realise that mummy's tummy is getting huge!!?!?

Entering 36 weeks, my stomach was huge huge huge.
There are some who still wonder there are twins in there. Oh well, as a mother, don't you think I will be the first to know.



It is heavy and I wont bluff you.
I would like to believe that I weigh more water than fat but we shall see.
I have passed the 90kg mark and weigh more than when I was pregnant with Rania.

The boy too at this my 35th week check up weighed as much as his elder sister when I delivered Rania at 37 weeks.

So other than the weight gain and sugar in my urine, all went well.
Now at week 36, I started to have dizziness and didn't think much about it. I thought I was just looking up and down too fast.
Come my check up, my BP shot a high of 150/94 and there was protein in my urine and my sugar was rated 4 out of 4.
That was super high.

My gynae only checked if my cervix was open.
Still closed.
I was immediately put on a wheelchair and wheeled to the delivery suite. I was a nervous wreck.
It was my first check up without Alfi and Mum and Rania was with me.

The nurses quickly ran a fast drip into me and took blood samples.
Needles at the delivery suite are always nasty. They are not only long but the needles come with tubing and for someone who is so scared about needles, I wonder why I allow myself to deliver again and again.
Don't we all mothers wonder?



So now I am on hospitalisation leave for 2 weeks which my gynae estimated I will deliver.
She is not only an awesome gynae. She is awesome with giving MCs and hospitalisation leave.
Not a very friendly gynae.
She was not my favourite when I was pregnant with Rania but when I saw her on the job delivering Rania and how the nurses and even the doctors are scared of her, she became my #1 choice.

I will be seeing her again in a few days time for another check.
My stress is about completing the tasks at work before I head off for my maternity leave, my orders which I still have quite a bit more to do.

In the next post, I will share how I planned out my delivery and my holiday bag.
So if you are a mummy-to-be, stay tuned.
Who knows you can pick up a tip of two :)

xoxo

Pregnancy cravings

Cravings.
Every pregnant woman go through this phase at least once.

I have my very own set of cravings with this pregnancy and they are way so different from the time I was pregnant with Rania.
I started off having cravings for spinach badly. I could eat all of them by myself.
In fact, I also like all types of vegetables especially brinjals, kangkung, butterhead lettuce, wild rockets.
Going to a supermarket, I must always tell myself to refrain from taking too many vegetables from the shelves.



I am now in the phase of steamed broccoli and carrots that I can get cold turkey not having them.



This was the time was I was crazy about butterhead lettuce, wild rockets and biting on ice cubes!!



Then occasionally I requested Alfi to dine in at Paul's because I must have their plain croissants with butter and strawberry jam. I can have 3 at one go!



Or how Hari Raya ended and I still ordered 150 pcs of sarang semut only to eat it and affect the sugar in my diet.
Adoi!



Most nights I feel conforted going to bed with my cup of milo and 5 pieces of Hup Seng cream crackers.



And in times where I prefer to work away from office, I will pick a quiet Starbucks outlet and have my decaf Iced Latte with Cheese bagel and cream cheese.
Carbo is always a must for me!!!

C'est La Vie

xoxo

Life Changes

So much has happened over the past 4 to 6 weeks that I have been pretty quiet.
I have put on much weight now. I may just hit the 90kg mark again.
Thank god I have not yet walked like a penguin but I am definitely walking slower now.

Entering into the third trimester now has been quite challenging and some of these challenges were something I did not forsee.
One big example was having Rania being extremely clingy with me.
While I enjoy her running to the door screaming "Mummy" repeatedly everytime I come home from work, it also means that I have to pick her up and carry her, kiss her all over and ask her how was her day without sitting down.

This is also the time when the 'nesting period' sets in.
So I end up cleaning my own room, packing and repacking, trying to make some space for the little baby boy.
It is really a challenge to maintain an upcoming family of 4 and Her Closet in the same room. Just that in mind makes me miss my home in AMK and the space I can potentially have.
But the hubby is also worried that I need those extra pair of hands to help me when baby no. 2 comes.

Over the weeks, I bid goodbye to Android (especially HTC), a semi-goodbye to Windows (because it is still awesome when it comes to my work productivity) and welcome Apple into my life episodes.
Hmmmm.. yeah.. finally.
I was very resistant to step into the Apple world but it is very key for me for get connected to the people in the social network. That is where I get my daily doses of chats and sharing among the sisters. My online business works very well with an iPhone apparently.
I love the photography apps available to feed my obsession. I love the fact that I do not need to carry my iPad around anymore. Diaper bags are an ease now.

So switching to an iPhone made me a happy girl though I must admit it takes a lot of discipline to put the phone aside.
Plus, I ended up doing more microblogging than blogging.

I think my Instagram pictures looked better. More of character.
You know how a picture tells 1000 words. Maybe I can do it not with 10,000 words.





How I find it very convenient not to lug around my camera because I do it all on the iPhone.
Third trimester, back ache, sleepless nights, the iPhone keeps me company because Alfi bought me a 3m long cable wire where I can play with my IG, upload videos, watch YouTube and play Candy Crush while lying on the bed.

Pampered much?
Perks of being married. Bonus to be pregnant.

*lol*

So here is how I spend my Eid.
4 days of visiting and the body gave up on me.



I'm in the 30th week now.
7 more weeks to go till full term and looking forward to the maternity leave.

It is probably no rest time for me since the newborn will feed all the time and give me sleepless night but I am looking forward to use this time to spend time with my children.
It's amazing how my hair stands when I use the word 'children'

First it was just me and Alfi. Then we had a little girl. Now another addition coming along.
Trust me, I swear there is still a lot of space in our hearts to welcome more.

Just the other day, I shared with Alfi that if I were given a choice between luxury and children, I will choose children.
He smiled.
One of the reasons why we got married was because we agreed to have a big family and having one just makes me look forward to grow old with him.

May Allah continue to bless us with so much love and joy.
It is truly a priceless gift.

xoxo

Akan datang!

For those who have followed me during days before I got married, you would have a good knowledge of how close my relationship with my little sister is.
We are so close that we send mushy sister quotes to each other from time to time.
We think almost alike though that has quite changed a bit since I became a wife and a mother.

We have awesome telepathy that our record was saying a sentence with 8 words in unison. Then we will look at each other, mouth opened wide and giving the 'excuse me' look, insisting we were the ones who opened our gap first.

Then she started to have followers on her Instagram, people of whom she doesn't know.
She will walk into my room and ask who is who. Turns out that they are my online business clients or my followers in any of my social media network.

I kept telling her we make a good team to reach out to ladies outside. She did not buy it. It took me more than a year to convince her. She can just be stubborn like that.
She was always in a world of her own.

So a while back, she agreed that whatever I had in mind was the way to go and you cannot imagine how thankful I was when I heard those words.
It was almost instantaneously that we set up a tea appointment and got the ideas running.

It is very hard to get her time because of her work commitments but I am sure she will say the same with me because of my family, work and other things which interest me in life.

In time, you will find something very interesting in another space. No, we are not opening up another business (Alfi is telling me ENOUGH!). All we are asking is for your support and readership when we embark on the journey.

Here were us squeezing our brain juices.





This was a photograph taken before I was pregnant or maybe during my early pregnancy days.



Stay tuned and we will lead you further down our journey akan datang!
You coming onboard?

xoxo

Weekend Theme Pictography

Before we break for the weekend last week, I called out for those who appreciate the Xmas season to send pictures and tagging #velvetchronicles.

I really thought it was easy. I mean, you see Xmas decors everywhere and everything now is about Christmas isn't it. Well, I have to admit that it was hard for me too.
Maybe because I was so immersed with Rania's birthday on Sat and I was so shagged by Sun that these was all I got.

A capture at Plaza Singapura, where I am sure this is not as nice as many shopping centres out there but I am hating crowds and avoiding the madness.



Thank you to @crushice for the lovely pic. Yes, I recognize this one at Raffles City! Such a pretty one!



And many others from @lindazaini who said she loves looking at the cakes available during Xmas.






As for me, I am really keen on the ornaments and everything shiny and colourful!



And here is to my six pics a week!! It wasn't as many as the previous week but here's what to remember for the week!  
Wishing my Christian readers a Merry Xmas tomorrow and for Muslims like us who are enjoying the public holiday, rest well for the upcoming new year!

*lol*

Till the next post - soon!

xoxo