Week 37.5

Only 2 weeks or less to go! Still so unprepared. Still no name. But probably getting there.

It's getting harder by the day for me to move around. I'm getting clumsier dropping things all the time and having difficulty to pick them up. Dressing up is a chore. I wake up with every turn I make in bed so that I can do it comfortably without triggering any pain on the pelvic area. I am not eating a lot as you are probably taking up my stomach space but I have more frequent meals and snacks.

We have decided to stay with Dr Ng in Tanjung Medical Centre after our last visit about two weeks ago (which reminds me that we have an appointment later today!!!) We loved the labour rooms and nursery at Island Hospital and the midwives are probably much more experienced. However, we were told that babies are not allowed to room together with mommies and to nurse, we have to bring our babies to the nursing room! Imagine having to do that every 2 hours or so! Tanjung Medical Centre allows rooming in to encourage breastfeeding though babies will be wheeled back to the nursery if mommy needs rest. We also talked to a very nice ward sister who was very calm, experienced and assuring so I guessed that gave us the peace to stay there even though I still love the labour rooms in Island Hospital compared to the very clinical and basic ones in Tanjung Medical Centre!

I realised that delivering a baby here in Malaysia (or maybe even Asia) is very doctor-oriented. Doctors decide when to induce you and what to do sometimes without even confiding in you. In the UK previously, everything is about the mother. Is mommy comfortable, she decides if she wants pain relief and when, what sort of labour etc.. (provided that it is not a high risk pregnancy). Then in the UK, you basically are on your own postnatal most of the time but here in Malaysia, mommies can be so pampered if you can afford it and choose to have it. Most mommies are encouraged to not get their hands wet and just put their legs up and rest while either their parents or relatives or a confinement lady will do most of the work cooking for mommy and taking care of the baby. I now get to experience both! Quite looking forward to the being pampered part this time round!

Anyway, I finally got some washing done last week - clothes, mittens and booties, blankets and bedsheets. We received lots of other clothes that needs to be washed for you. People have been blessing us with some of theirs which is great as you will be growing so fast that clothes for the first few months are often worn just a few times. However, it has just been raining cats and dogs everyday that it is just impossible to do enough laundry so the rest might just have to wait. Friends are also lending us a Moses Basket and playpen and a sling, saving us a lot! We are so blessed!

Ok, time to get that hospital bag packed! You might just be a 11.11.11 baby?!?!?!