"Papa" and Bambino

YL has been very excited about Bambino ever since he realised that he was going to become a father. Everyday, when he comes home from school, he will ask earnestly about Bambino, whether Bambino has moved a lot or kicked a lot, or whether I have discovered any of Bambino's special movements!!

He loves to put his hand on Bambino's home (my tummy) and feel Bambino's movements. His eyes would light up and he would chuckle in excitement whenever he feels the rhythmic movements of bambino "having hiccups" (or so we think!), or just him rolling about.

He would also read out psalms to Bambino and at times pray for Bambino.

He would dream of the things that he wants to do with Bambino when Bambino is finally out...how he wants to teach him music, teach him languages (hebrew???), teach him swimming, teach him physics, do experiments with him (not to him!!), play with him, etc...

He would talk to Bambino, and tell him that this is his "papa" touching him, hoping that Bambino would respond with a kick. And often, I think Bambino does respond quite uniquely to him. Perhaps its because YL has a higher metabollic rate which causes his temperature to be generally higher than normal people. As such, Bambino could probably feel the difference between my touch and YL's touch. For example, at times he might not have been moving even when i pat my tummy, but when he senses YL's touch, he could give a mild kick or move with YL's palm. Of course, his "papa" feels really delighted at the special treat from his son!

:)

25th weeks

Negotiating with Bambino on his arrival date

According to the dating ultrasound done in the 8th week, Bambino is due on 26 Nov 2005.

[FYI - Dating scan is normally done at 8-12 weeks - the sonographer takes some basic measurements of the baby, for example from the top of his head to the end of his bottom (crown/rump measurement) in order to calculate how many weeks old he is, and therefore, predict the due date. Dating scans tend to be done before 13 weeks as they are less accurate after this, as measurements will be affected by growth variations and will no longer reflect the fetal 'age' correctly.]

It had just occurred to me that according to Chinese traditions, mums are supposed to be "confined" to the home with their babies for at least 30 days postnatally. As such, if Bambino does arrive on 26 November (Saturday), we would both only be liberated on Christmas Day (25 December)!! Aiyoh!! Sounds like a really long time to me, and I had really hoped that we could celebrate Christmas without being bounded to the home. And this is assuming that he doesn't decide to delay his entrance into this world! :)

So, dear dear Bambino, lets have a negotiation. Please do not be shy and delay coming into this world beyond 26 Nov! Sure, the world may seem to be a scary place sometimes, but Daddy and Mummy promise to protect you with all that we have, and God is always watching over us too!! Better still, wonder if we can entice you to come out and meet us a few days earlier? What about 23 Nov, instead? That way, we can all go out and celebrate Christmas Eve in church and perhaps catch a bit of the christmas light-up in Orchard Road!! :)

What will Bambino look like?

Ok...i know this is going to look bizarrely funny...
but YL had a haircut this afternoon, and came home looking like a little boy...
was wondering how much Bambino will take after him...
so I shot a side "mugshot" of YL and then morphed his photo with Bambino's ultrasound shot (see original here) via photoshop... :)

This was the outcome:

Ha ha ha!

Aiyoh...why am i so blur?

So they say pregnancy really makes a mother-to-be more forgetful...
It really showed in me today.

Baked banana bread this morning...
Texture and everything turned out just right....

But realised that I forgot to put in sugar...
Now must eat it with honey....

sigh! :(

p/s: Told hubby about it and he says "Nevermind, failure is the mother of success ! Will get more bananas for tonite! Will bake together with you..." So sweet! :)

The banana bread that finally turned out alright!

Bambino's playmates

Its an exciting time. Lots of my good friends whom I grew up with are expecting their first child and they're all due in the couple of months ahead.

SS - due in early August
AK - due in mid Sep
YN - due in mid Oct
Myself - Bambino's due in end Nov

YN and SS are my family friends. Our parents were university mates and since we were very young, we've all had weekly gatherings to play tennis/table-tennis/mahjong. Out of all the kids, we're the only three girls and were therefore rather close. So, it was with sheer delight that we found ourselves pregnant in months apart one another. (We didn't purposefully plan it though!! haha!) !

AK is a very close church friend of mine and was the first to help "diagnose my pregnancy"!

I remembered when I shared with a few of them about expecting Bambino, we all got very excited and discussed how our children can be one another's playmates, and we can then all register our kids for primary one together, six years down the road!

Some of us were even saying how we can start our own enrichment classes, since we have a ready pool of kids...e.g. get YL to volunteer teaching them piano/guitar or giving them physics lessons. Talk about starting them young!

Anyhow, it was with great joy when I received YN's email yesterday announcing the arrival of SS's bundle of joy!! "Hi, just to let you know, SS has delivered this afternoon (2nd Aug), about 2pm. Baby Kih Shaw is 3.17kg and 50cm in length." YN was so considerate that she even emailed me a photo that she had snapped of Kih Shaw. Cute!! :)

So the first of the new generation has arrived!

Being the "youngest", Bambino has to wait for his turn to make his entrance into this world. But am sure that when the time comes, Bambino would be excited to meet all his new playmates! :)

Bambino talk

Just imagining what Bambino might be thinking ... :)

He's been more and more active these days...must be busy listening in on us and reacting to what we are saying! If only we can decipher what he is saying too! Just the other night, I was reading aloud a few Psalms from the Bible and found him to be kicking rather rhythmically...maybe he was saying "Amen" to the promises in the Bible!! :)

I came by this psychological experiment in a book titled "Baby Monthly" by Carol Pope published by BBC. The experiment indicated that "even before making an entrance into the world, babies listen in, learn and , even more surprisingly, remember what they have heard going on out there". Psychologist Anthony De Casper asked pregnant women to sing 'Mary had a Little Lamb' frequently in the fortnight before they expected to give birth. After the birth, the newborn babies were given a choice - through the sucking test. The babies were fitted with headphones through which they could hear a tape either of 'Mary had a Little Lamb' or another song sang by their mothers. They could switch the songs by changing the way they sucked on a special dummy or pacifier, which was wired up to a computer. By sucking faster or slower, the babies could change the tape. The babies voted with their sucks for their familiar womb song - 'Mary had a Little Lamb'!! :)

Wonder if Bambino will choose 《小白船》if he is subjected to similar tests when he has been borned? :)

Here's an interesting artical on "Fetal Psychology".