Detailed Scan

Finally! Today is the day of my detailed scan, aka Fetal Anomaly Scan! It's been more than 1 month since I saw the little one on screen, but he never fail to remind me of his presence with his regular movements.

According to a brochure I obtained from the ultrasound centre, the FA scan is a detailed 2D ultrasound scan which is performed at 20 to 22 weeks to check the physical development of the fetus and measures the fetal growth parameters. The fetal brain, nose, lips, heart, spine, stomach, bowel, kidneys and limbs are best assessed at this stage to detect structural abnormalities. The fetal gender is usually known during this scan as well. Through this scan, the location of the placenta and amount of amniotic fluid present around the baby can be determined.

My appointment was for 11am. Since P's school bus usually comes at around 10.20am, I thought I will head down to the waiting area and send her off on the school bus, before going for my detailed scan. Boy, was P happy to see me. In fact, she spotted me when I was about 20m away. She was with my mil's maid, who as seated backfacing me. P happens to be facing in my direction and I waved at her. From a distance, I could tell she was mouthing "mama, mama..." Once I got within 5m of the waiting area, she jumped off the bench and ran to me. I stayed there for another 10 min and got to meet the other 2 girls whom P boards the school bus with. When the bus came, mil's maid passed her over to the bus aunty and she was placed on the 1st row of seats. She waved bye to us happily and for a fleeting moment, I felt a gush of emotions (pregnancy hormones at work). My girl has gotten over the crying phase and she is growing up too quickly!

I arrived at Thomson Diagnostic Ultrasound Centre at Novena Medical Centre about 10 minutes before my appointment time. I handed over my appointment slip and was told to take a seat before they called my name for registration. There were about 3 couples at the waiting area and I knew I will be in some for wait. P's detailed scan was conducted at Thomson Medical Centre, and the wait was very long. I was more prepared this time, with a fully charged phone and a partially charged power bank that should be able to take my gaming to the end of the wait. True enough, it was another half an hour before they called me into the room.

The sonographer was a friendly middle aged woman whose first question was "Hubby didn't come with you?" Thinking back, I must have been the only one who came without a partner, wondered if the other couples thought I'm a single mother, hee hee. Anyway, if my gynae visit at Week 16 hadn't revealed the gender of #2, hubby would probably have made more effort to come. The sonographer brought me through the major organs of the baby. She pointed out the body parts, but to be honest I can't decipher the images at all. At one point in time, I asked her how she can do it so easily and she was like "you don't believe me?" Oops, it sounded like I doubted her ability, but I was just curious because what's on screen is just a sea of black and white to me. She told me not to worry and she will do a detailed check, and if she spots anything amiss, she will let me know immediately. While trying to scan the head circumference of baby, she told me she couldn't get a good measurement because he is in a vertical position (whatever that means). After numerous tries and turns, she couldn't get what she wanted, so I was asked to go out for a walk and come back later to scan again in the hope that baby will get into a better position. And so, it was another 20 min of waiting... Luckily, she got her measurements when I returned. The report took 5 minutes to print, and I was out of the centre at 12.30pm.

My intention was to go straight to my gynae (she's supposed to explain the report to me), but a quick phone call told me they were closed for the afternoon, and full for tomorrow. The earliest slot would be after CNY, bleah! I took my lunch at Quizno Subs and went to AMK hub for a pedicure and haircut. Man, I don't think I've ever seen the Nail Palace so crowded in my life. They were actually operating at full capacity, and I was lucky enough to get the last seat. Whoever's behind me will need to wait for someone else to finish. I was seriously contemplating whether to get a coat of festive color on my toenails (worried about the effects on the fetus), but the pedicurist sold me. She told me many of her customers did pedicures with nail polish all the way till they deliver. I gave in to the temptation and my toenails are now flashing red, whee!! I had my hair trimmed after the pedicure, and it felt really good to pamper myself for the afternoon.

4 more days to CNY, can't wait! Question of the year will no longer be "When are you having a second child?"
"Boy or Girl?" I already have an answer ;)

A happy school girl

It's been more than 10 days since P started school, and I'm really glad to say that she is now enjoying school. I asked her two days back if she wants to go school the next day and the answer came back a resounding "Yes!!" I still do not have much insight on what she does in school. Based on her account, teacher will read Goldilocks and the Three Bears daily, eat noodle for lunch daily and sing the same songs daily. Nowadays, when she look at photos on my phone of her first three days at school, she will point out her Chinese teacher 叶老师 (whom I suspect P is fond of). I won't know for sure what brought about her change of attitude towards school, but I'm really glad for it!

Happy School Girl

Her body clock is also adapting to her school hours, and now she sleeps at about 11pm and wakes up after 8am, as opposed to 9pm and 7am in the past. She still falls asleep on her return journey in the school bus every now and then, and that will be her nap for the day. On such occasions, she will sleep early (before 9pm) and all the way till the next day. 

K1 and K2 kids started school on 7 Jan, and it means P has 2 companions boarding the school bus with her. One of the girls apparently likes P a lot, and has been giving her small gifts (stickers, small toys) every now and then. 

Waiting for school bus with 2 jie jies

Hubby has started a new job this week, and his working hours were longer than before. That means I will be picking up P from his mom's place after work and have some mother-daughter bonding time before the man comes home. 

She told me she built a "house"

Play-Doh fun

We took some time last weekend to head down to Marina Square for CNY clothes shopping where I bombed $200 on maternity wear. We had lunch at a newly opened restaurant (Shallots) at the Dining Edition section of Marina Square. They were offering a 3-course set lunch at $13.80++. The fish was really good, but portion was a bit small. I managed to get P a Staples flowery dress at John Little at a steal. The price tag was $12 (which I was already very happy with), but it turned out to be on 50% discount (happiness x 2). By the time we got to hubby's turn, P was already exhausted. We took a break at Coffee Club where P could lie down and nap, while hubby went in search for his clothes. We probably need to make another shopping trip this weekend, but we'll see how it goes. 

All the sweet things...

The little one in the tummy has been really active recently. The popcorn popping feeling I get at week 16 has evolved into amazingly strong 无影脚 that catches me off guard. It's been almost a month since I get to see him on screen, but detailed scan is coming up on 27 Jan and I'm really looking forward to it. As my tummy starts to grow, you can see that P has found a new use for it - a nice cushy sofa to lay back on and watch tv. I should start charging her for usage.

Sofa for rent

Traumatising Day 2

It's 3.45am and I'm lying in bed typing this post. Recounting the day's event brought tears to my eyes.

P had a terrible Day 2 at her kindergarten. Unlike yesterday, I tried to step aside today to let the teachers do their work. P became totally hysterical and inconsolable when she realised I'm not at her side. She cried through her assembly and tried several times to get to us, but was held back by a teacher. 

After assembly, I went to her to give her a hug and tried to do a proper goodbye, telling her that mommy and daddy are going to buy her some cheese (her fav snack) and we'll see her after school. She would have none of it, pulling me into her classroom and promptly sat on my lap to prevent me from going anywhere. Attempts to get her to sit on the floor were futile as her radar was on full alert, any distance more than 1cm would trigger crying. I got her out of the classroom to clam down upon hubby's recommendation. She was super clingy and not even hubby can get her away from me. Her Chinese teacher 叶老师 came up to us and offered to bring P to the classroom. She refused and hubby asked the teacher to just take her away. It was the most heart wrenching moment when she screamed and cried and tried desperately to hold on to me. Tears were forming in my eyes and I tried very hard to control. I really can't bear to watch on any longer, and asked hubby to get me out of there for lunch. 

I got back to the school just after 1pm to wait for P to take the school bus together, just as I promised her earlier when I tried to do the goodbye. She wasn't crying as she walked the long corridor to the main hall, but the moment she saw me, she broke into tears. 

Lessons learnt (in order of importance):

1. Out of sight, out of mind. The kiddo will only cry if she sees her parents. 

2. It might have been better if I hadn't turned up with her yesterday. It makes her think that mommy (and/or daddy) can accompany her to school and be with her the whole time. 

3. Proper goodbyes should be done the moment we reached school, otherwise it won't work anymore. In other words, drop and go. 

P must have gotten so tired from all the crying that she conked out in the school bus, poor girl. 

Concussed!

Next Monday will be the final day that parents can accompany their kiddos, both on the school bus and in school. I'm on leave, but hubby asked me not to go. Plan is to get mil's maid to send her up the school bus in the morning (which will be the routine going forward). Hubby will drive to school and peep to see how she's doing, but he needs to stay "invisible" (out of sight and mind for P).

Before bedtime, I had my usual daily conversation of "What did you do today and where did you go?" with P. She was able to tell me most of the day's event, but the only missing part was the duration in school. Sigh, I think she's totally traumatised by today and want to avoid speaking about it totally. Not a good sign!! I must make a mental note to tell my parents and in laws not to ask or say anything about school over the weekend.

Below is the carnage from today's struggles. I was shocked when I removed her badge and the safety pin just crumbled.

The wreckage

I'm worried about next week, seriously worried. 

First Day of School

Today is a nerve wrecking day for many parents out there. It is a new beginning for those entering preschool as well as primary school for the first time.

P started the day by sleeping past her usual timing. We'd expected her to wake at around 7 because she didn't wake up for her midnight milk, but she slept till 8 plus. As for me, I woke at 6 plus thinking how she was going to fare for the day. Tried getting back to sleep after that, but it didn't work. Parenting woes. 

We changed her into her school uniform at about 10am, and she looks super ready for school. 

Smiley pic

Bag and bottle ready

Since her primary caregiver will be my mil's maid, we've asked the school bus to pick her up from my mil's block. We walked over to mil's place to meet her maid and school bus was scheduled to come at 10.50am. We had some time, so more pics were taken. 

Family pic to mark this milestone

The whole entourage (me, hubby, sil and mil's maid) escorted her down at 10.50am to wait for the school bus. 

Where is the school bus?

As expected, bus didn't arrive on the dot. We waited for close to 20 mins before it finally showed up. In fact, I was deliberating whether to just ignore the school bus and just have hubby fetch us there. Haha, paranoid mom syndrome. Lucky the bus came and I accompanied her onto the bus. 

On the school bus with mama

P turned out to be the 2nd last kid to board the bus, so we actually reached school quite early at around 11.15am. She had the chance to interact with the teachers and help herself to the toys in her classroom.

Puzzle in progress with teachers

She was doing quite well on her own so I stepped out to give her teachers some time to know her better. After some 15 min of play, she suddenly became quite insecure and started looking around for me. I reassured her and she continued with her puzzle. Soon it was time for assembly and I watched the teachers lead her out. She sat near the front and looked quite calm, but from the way her lips were moving, it sounded like she's asking her teacher "妈妈在哪里？" They sang their usual songs but she got more and more upset towards the end of assembly. Soon, she was just crying so badly that her teacher had to pass her to me.

P is sitting right in front of her teacher

After assembly, they went back to their class for English lessons. Teacher Lyn lead them through some songs and I stayed close enough to P in order to encourage her to participate in the activities.

Let's hold hand and go in circles

Pass the ball game

The class was led off to wash hands at about 12.15pm and hubby also arrived around that time to bring me lunch (bread and water chestnut drink). Lunch was served after the kiddos washed their hands. It looked like porridge from outside, but the menu says it's "Fishball soup with vegetables and noodles". P was sitting back facing us, but she turned around and saw us outside the class. We could tell she wanted to come out and look for us, but at that moment, her teacher placed her food in front of her and we were forgotten.

Concentrating on her meal (middle table backfacing us)

After eating, the kids were supposed to put their bowl into a pail near the entrance of the class. I saw the teacher giving her instructions to do so, but guess what she did? P conveniently took her bowl, turned around and place her bowl at the table behind. She then turned back as if she had cleared her bowl according to instructions. I LOL-ed at that.

Parents were asked to leave the kiddos and wait in the main hall for dismissal. I could see P's class being lead up the stairs to presumably the outdoor playground. She told me later that teachers brought her to "play sand". 

When the dismissal bell sounded, classes are lead out 1 by 1. At the main hall, there are various alphabet cards indicating the school bus "numbers". P is to be on Bus D, which we had come on in the morning. Once the kiddos reach the assembly hall, teachers will base it on their badge transport instructions and direct them to the correct bus aunty. Although it was kinda chaotic today, but I think it will be quite organised in the absence of parents. P's class was the 4th class being led out and from afar, I could tell she was crying. As soon as she  spotted me, she tried to race past her teachers to reach me, but was held back. More hugs and kisses required to calm her. 

How to dash past teachers to get to mama?

Bus D was 3rd in line and we were soon on our way. For return trip, P was the first to alight, but the drop off spot was quite a distance from my mil's block. Bus Aunty explained that they have 2 other students come next Tuesday who stays near 310, so the drop off location is organised as such. The school bus service don't come cheap either, $110 per month. I hadn't expected to be walking some distance to go back home. Too bad there isn't an alternative for us, just have to make do.

As for the little one in my tum tum, he decided to make me throw up thrice today - once after I woke up, once after breakfast and once after lunch. With all the food emptied from my stomach, my first meal of the day turned out to be dinner, which thankfully is still intact as I type this post. It's week 18 already, and the puking is becoming erratic, not on a daily basis but sometimes can work out to a few times a day. 

I also feel like I'm coming down with a cough and flu. Need to hold out for the 2nd day of school tomorrow. I hope P adapts soon, jiayou jiayou jiayou!!