My Grandparents

Yeh Yeh (Paternal grandfather), Nai Nai (Paternal grandmother) and Che Che (Big Sister)

Popo (Maternal Grandmother)

Introducing Julian

Entering the world first known as "didi" (Chinese for little brother), he has now been officially bestowed a cool name to compensate for his "uncle" look.  He has wrinkles like a 90-year old.

Believe it or not, this is actually Sophie at birth.  Don't they look alike?

Hello Didi!  This is Che Che and Popo...

In Baba's embrace

Funny face

Looks like this was what he was preoccupied with while in my stomach.  On his first night home, I trimmed those on his right hand, but his Baba complained that I did not do a good enough job, so he took over for the left hand, and promptly drew BLOOD on FOUR of his FIVE little fingers. 

Labour Diary

20 Oct

3:30pm - Regular doctor's appointment.  Strapped to CTG monitor for half an hour to track contractions and baby's heartbeat.  Three distinct contractions but hardly felt them.

4pm - Mentioned to doctor that there was reduced movement in the last few days, although not alarmingly so.  Doctor suggested to be admitted and get induced since I'm already 39+ weeks, just in case something is up with baby. 

5:30pm - Admitted to Delivery Suite. Strapped to CTG again. 

6pm - Prostin (induction tablet) inserted.  YL dropped by for a while before going off for dinner wtih Mom & Sophie.

7pm - Contractions more distinct and more frequent (less than 10 minutes apart), but still low on pain score.  Baby's heartbeat sounded like gallopping hooves.

9:30pm - YL returned to keep me company.  Still stuck in Delivery Suite because there were no wards available.  Apparently it was a very busy night with lots of babies arriving. 

10:30pm - Contractions getting distracting now, need to pause and breathe to let them pass each time.  Went for a walk to hospital's 7-11 to buy some snacks for YL and to pass time waiting for a room to be available.  On the way, heard women screaming in nearby Delivery Suites, and remembered thinking to myself..."Waaa so bad, meh?"

11pm - Finally transferred to a ward, but over at the gynae section because the labour ones are all taken.  Nurses there kept reminding me to inform them of any unusual pain because they are not specialists in labour.  Very strong pressure to pelvic area by now because of all the walking. 



21 Oct

12:45am - Contractions are certified painful now.  Asked to be transfered back to Delivery Suite for pain relief and to prepare for delivery.  Of course, now there's no Delivery Suite available....

1:15am - Walking around in ward to ease contraction pain which is now non-stop.

1:45am - Finally transferred to Delivery Suite.  Nurse checked and confirmed 3 cm dilated.  Asked for epidural.  Nurse called anaethetist and said he will arrive in 20 minutes.  Also informed my doctor.  Meanwhile, she suggested I take Entonox (laughing gas). 

Stupid thing did not work at all.  Remember thinking to myself, "What kind of pain relief is this???  Where is my epidural??  I don't think the doctor will make it!"  Trashed it away because pain is now unbearable.  YL reprimanded, "No, you have to keep it on and keep breathing!"  He took over the mask and kept it on me.  Nurses said the same.  "Just keep breathing.  Harder!  Faster!"  But it's not doing anything!!!  Involuntary screams and grunts accompanied by involuntary thrashing about and grabbing and shaking of bed rails. 

Waterbag burst after a loud pop.  Popping sensation reminded me of a champagne cork being popped open. 

2:10am - Anaesthetist arrived.  Started to inform me of side effects of epidural.  Sensation of baby emerging.  Removed gas mask and wailed, "Coming!" 

Anaesthetist paused, YL uncovered the blanket to peek down there.  Anaesthetist then informed YL in a very calm and gentle tone, "So, under these circumstances, an epidural is not appropriate."

YL replied equally gently, "Yes", but thought, "D'uh! Of course!! The baby is coming out already!"

Unbearable but very natural sensation to push.  Nurses scolded, "Not so fast! No, no, no! Take more gas!" and placed hand over baby's head to prevent it from emerging and tearing my perineum. 

Don't see how taking more gas will help, but tried anyways.  Four more illegal pushes. 

2:25am - Baby cries.  Instant relief. 

2:30am - Doctor arrived.  Delivered placenta.  Stiched up the tear with local anaesthetia.

Nurse asked rhetorically, "Aiya...Why so fast?..." 


I went from 3cm dilated to birth in less than 30 minutes.  To all second-time mothers-to-be out there, it's true that the second time is a lot faster....

Welcome to the 3rd firefly!

Didi joined our family today at 2:25am, coming into the world at 3.285kg. 

We just realised that we have forgotten EVERYTHING about taking care of a newborn...here we go again...!

Time for a change

Four years and hundreds of posts later, it is time to change the title of the blog to recognise that Sophie's World has just grown a teeny wee bit bigger. 

Three fireflies refers to those three magical specks of light, wonder, and joy hovering about me.  (Their toys, paperwork, clothes, leftover food, and general signs of their sloppiness also hover around me all the time, but I suppose that's part and parcel of the package)

I'm a Hakka!

On Saturday, in search for "something different", we headed off to a kopitiam (typical non-air conditioned Malaysian/Singaporean coffee shop) to try lui cha fan (literally translated from Chinese as "thunder tea rice"), a Hakka dish. It is basically brown rice heaped with ikan billis (anchovies), peanuts, and other green veggies. Very healthy, very detoxifying, and a lot of hardwork for the jaws. There is a green minty type of soup which you can pour over the mixture to soften things up, but its looks can be a turn-off.

Sophie liked it, because it had all her favourites, i.e. vegetables and plain rice. One step closer to her heritage...

She's my cousin

YL and I were debating over a picture of Isabelle, Sophie's brand new cousin, on whether the baby looks more like her mom (YL's sister) or her dad. So we asked Sophie for her opinion.

"Who does the baby look like? Gugu or Uncle Peter?"

"Erm...I think she looks like me when I was a baby".

Good answer.


p/s And you know, as usual, she was right. We saw a video of baby Isabelle yesterday, and she *does* look exactly like Sophie when she was a few days' old!

When is it my turn?

Sis-in-law popped yesterday, 2 weeks ahead of schedule! Congratulations!! It's finally over... You may remember that sis-in-law and I have the same expected due date. So I can't help but wonder - when is it my turn??!

Saw the doctor this morning. Only barely dilated, but cervix is still tubular. In other words, no signs of labour yet. I'm getting really tired, heavy and big and can't wait for this phase to be over, so that I can get tired with the next phase...

Now it's PUPPP

This pregnancy is much more eventful than my first. With my first, I practically sailed through the whole thing. No contractions, no aches, no pain, no cravings, no drama. What little symptoms I had were a form of entertainment for YL - a swollen red nose and pig's feet (sort of a composite of Rudolph and Babe). I was mobile with the agility that befits a 29 year old.

This second time is different. Does four years older really make you four times less fit? These last 6 months were filled with backaches, fatigue, minor ailments, clumsiness, bloatedness, loss of appetite, poor quality of sleep, atrocious memory, and overall INCREASE in size.

I am so big now even my maternity clothes don't fit. My stomach juts out such that my tops can't cover the whole stomach. So strangers on the streets and colleagues in the office get a nice view of the lower part of my shiny round belly every now and then.

I also now officially waddle. It's embarrasing and robbed me of my last shred of dignity, but I'm just-too-heavy to care!

Early in my second trimester, I was diagnosed with placenta previa. Fortunately the situation corrected itself in the subsequent weeks, but then baby's kidneys were found to be borderline large, so we have to monitor the situation post-delivery. And now, well into my 3rd trimester, I've just discovered I've got PUPPP. Here's what some websites have to say about it:

"Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy (PUPPP), also known as polymorphic eruption of pregnancy, is the most common rash in pregnant women. It normally occurs in first pregnancies during the third trimester with an average onset of 35 weeks. Thankfully, PUPPP does not usually affect subsequent pregnancies.

A rash of PUPPP almost always begins in the stretch marks (striae) of the abdomen. The rash itself consists of small, red wheals in the stretch marks that grow together to form larger wheals on the abdomen. Over the next several days, the rash can spread over the thighs, buttocks, breasts, and arms.

The rash is very itchy, or pruritic, hence the name. This condition is harmless to mother and baby, but can be very annoying. It lasts an average of 6 weeks and resolves spontaneously 1 to 2 weeks after delivery. The most severe itching normally lasts for no more than 1 week.

One study has shown that male fetal DNA can be found in skin biopsies of the rash. Since 70% of women with PUPPP give birth to boys, a new hypothesis is that male fetal DNA acts as a skin irritant."


Carrying a boy is indeed different from carrying a girl.