The 2nd Trimester

Mummy is 27 weeks & 5 days preggie.....
Ethan is 5 years, 2 weeks & 3 days old.....

Baby

• Weight at 24th week: 590g

We found out it's a boy on my 16th week check-up. When I asked my gynae if we could see the gender on that day, he told me "Yes, if the baby is co-operative". Well, baby was really very co-operative on that day and showed us everything. I remembered hubby said in the car later "Another boy ah". I said "I thought you said ok to have another boy". He replied "I'm only worried about you. Having one boy already caused you 'dai geng pau' (thyroid), what more another boy now." When I asked him about baby name a few days after that, he said wait until the next check-up to confirm it's a boy. The next check-up showed it's a boy, again. I don't have to explain more on what he prefers right?

As for me, seriously, I don't know what I prefer. It's like 'Ok, I have tried a chocolate cake this time and maybe I want to try a strawberry cake the next time. But the strawberry cake is sold out the next time I wanted to buy it. Well, never mind, I know how the chocolate cake tastes like and I like it and don't mind having it again.' At the end of the day, what we really and I believe all parents hope for is a healthy and normal baby.

The gynae did a 3D scan for us during my 24th week check-up and everything seems ok. It's all that I ask for.







Mummy
The nausea and vomitting stopped at about 4 months+ and the appetite was improving fast. So fast that I gained 4.5kg between the 20th (55.5kg) and 24th (60kg) week check-ups. The nurse was shocked and the doctor was horrified. I was warned to watch my weight and diet. My gynae asked if I was having too much durian and I said only a couple of times but I really craving for sweet stuff. He told there is a high risk of baby being obese and hyperactive if I take too much sweet food. From there on, I try to control the intake of sugar and other fattening food (cakes, durian, carbonated drinks, nasi lemak, fried noodles, etc. etc.). My weight lingers around 61kg+ for the last few days and hopefully, it will not go beyond 62kg during my 28th week check-up.

Baby bump at 24th week. It's much much bigger now.

Preparation

• Clothing-Checked. Got more than enough for the baby's first 2 months from my sister. Some belong to Ethan.
• Baby cot-Checked. The cot that Ethan used, which was transformed into a toy storage has been cleared and cleaned.
• Mattress-Bought a new latex mattress for the cot (and got my sisters to pay for it...muahahahahah).
• Latex pillow-Bought a new one.
  
• Bed sheets, cot bumper set, mosquito net-Still in storage. Need to clean it soon.
• Breast pump-Checked. Got a pre-loved Avent manual set from my sis. Barely used.
• Electric steam steriliser-Bought a new one (Lindam). Although I plan to breastfeed, baby will still use bottles when I return to work.
• Cloth diaper-Bought 4 new sets and 1 set used by Ethan.
• Napkins-Got old ones, which was barely used by Ethan and bought another 12 pieces.
  

There are still things that I need to buy and prepare for the baby's arrival. One major task is to prepare myself mentally to breastfeed. I failed miserably in breastfeeding Ethan. He was only breastfed for 1 month and was not even fully breastfed. This time, I want to breastfeed full time, so I'm not going to buy any formula for "just-in-case" use. If baby refuses to suck, then I'll express/pump. What I fear most is lack of sleep and sore nipple.