Our boys’ new adventures

“Monkey has more clothes than I and he is not even born yet!” says Ian.  That’s right, thanks to family and friends around the world, we have started to receive goodies for Monkey (clothes, blankets, stuffed animals, books, booties, carrier, etc.).  The exploration of sizes in clothes is rather interesting.   For those with kids, I am sure you’re very familiar with the identifications.  For a novice (though a shopping pragmatist) like me, it is puzzling to read that you have size 0 (okay, that must be for a new born), size 00 (now that is beginning to be confusing) and size 000 (what?!  hands down, I am lost!!!).  You would think it’s hard to be a woman, struggling to be a size 2, 4, 6, 8 and up all your life (sorry my Americanism and the sizing structure creep out), but when you’re a baby, you (or your Mom) have to decide how many zeros you qualify for!

It goes without saying, a picture speaks with a thousand words:

Just as we thought we didn’t have enough “things,” I had to insist on going to the “Baby Expo” held this weekend in the HK convention center (we have gone to practically any “expo” possible to make life-altering decision, e.g. wedding, new business/enterprenuerial ideas, and now baby).  It was really hectic and over-crowded and as per our friends’ advice, we shouldn’t have gone there.  But I just had to see what other junk I can get there.  We wanted to find the right stroller / webcam for our apartment, and both to no avail.  Maybe Ian is right again (as much as I NEVER want to admit it), we shouldn’t have gone.  Oh well, c’est la vie! 

The crowd at the expo:

It has been four weeks since a snap of the growing mom, and I hope that you can finally see how HUGE I am getting (photo on the upper right corner).  Life is getting a little uncomfortable as the summer gets hotter and hotter (and poor Ian gets more fluctuating pregnancy moods than ever!).  The diabetes test is not out yet, but it was rather unappetizing drinking all that glucose and sitting around at the clinic for almost 2 hours!  Thanks for all your advice on circumsion – we’ll take heart when our decision making comes.

Until next week, love from Hong Kong at 27 weeks.

This week, we went to Dr. Ma for our 26 week check-up.  Mommy is gaining weight too fast again (as of now +21 lbs!) and the urine test is showing extra protein.  This combination may lead to gestational diabetes – diabetes that you have during pregnancy.  It’s not a good thing for baby as the baby tends to grow too fast and get too big.  So next week, I’m having a blood and glucose test to validate whether I have gestational diabetes or not!  Fingers crossed I’ll be okay otherwise no more sweets (and that includes Ian!  Sweets I mean!) until Monkey is born.  Pregnancy and food just don’t go together.  Whomever tells you that you can eat “anything” and “everything” during pregnancy is a liar.  Setting the whole Chinese nonsense aside, there are just way too many restrictions!  And there will be more when I breastfeed!  But I am determined to get take-out sashimi when I leave the hospital to get my raw fish craving satisfied.  There are others too (like shrimp dumpling dim sum) but those are secondary!

We also spoke to Dr. Ma about circumcision.  The world of beliefs in circumcision is very much divided.  Some people are really for it (due to religious and hygienic reasons) and some are against it (putting your special bundle of joy under the knife – quite obvious, really!).  Our doctor is neutral one way or the other.  Her decisioning point will be how “big” the penis is to make the recommendation or not.  Ian thinks that Monkey will definitely require one just because of that!  So after paying for the advice, we are back to ground zero.  Not sure whether we should have Monkey go through the trauma at such an early age.  If you have any good suggestions / tools for us to make the decision, drop us a post!

By the way, Monkey didn’t have a good snap at the ultrasound scan.  So we thought we will post a photo of his new home and the change table instead:

His new home will stay in our bedroom for the first few months and then we will likely move him out to the guest room.  And what that means is we are likely kicking Ian out to the guest bedroom (so he can get sleep – how thoughtful of us!) until Monkey gets his sleep pattern sorted!

Until next week, love from Hong Kong.

First, there is the bed for our helper.  Then comes all the necessary and unnecessary things to buy for our Monkey.  The business world really has a way to “loathe” you into ”wanting” all these gadgets for your unborn child:

• Transport: baby car seat, a stroller, a carrier

• Sleeping & bedding: cot, bassinet, rocking cradle, blankets, walkie-talkie and more blankets

• Bathing & Changing: the bath, seat, towels, changing mat, brush & comb, nail clippers, wipes, nappies, Ducks!

• Clothing: bodysuits, sleepsuits, booties, scratch mittens, socks, bibs, and blankets (AGAIN!)

• Playtime: play mat, cot mobile, activity “center” soft toys, pram toys, soft books, teethers, toy hammock, bath toy

and the list goes on with more “things” for the nursing mother.  When I was born, I bet there was only one toy to play until I was a toddler.  Nowadays, there is a toy practically for every activity! 

Hence, we vow to have the minimal number of “things” for our monkey and let’s see how successful we will be!  The hardest thing is to resist in buying more clothes for your unborn child, they all seem so “necessary”.  While we were on babymoon, I managed to buy two diaper bags and a shirt for monkey.  I am sure he “needs” it or will need it… someday!  Anyone of you has comments on what we don’t need, we will love to hear from you.

Meanwhile, much love from Hong Kong at 24 weeks!

Joyfully, we were walking down the road in Happy Valley discussing how great it was to have hired the nanny (first month) and helper a couple of weeks ago.  As we were going through the list of chores that the helper will be responsible for: shoe polishing, cooking dinner, making packed lunches, washing dishes, laundry, ironing, cleaning bathrooms, making beds, etc., we came to the realization that it was like having a wife in the apartment…  Wait a minute, I thought I was the WIFE!  Modern times must have caught up and I must have become the “new age” wife!  A wife who is able to give lots of good advice (career, political, etc.) to the husband and who is extremely independent (almost over the top!).  That’s right, the “new age” wife operates in the business professional world and is very well self-groomed, i.e. manicure + pedicure!  I’m sure I’ll still have time for a good pedicure when monkey arrives!

In the search for the “perfect” helper, we interviewed 5 people.  There is a funny rule here in HK.  If your helper has been with you for more than 4 years, you (as an employer) have to pay him/her pension (which is logical) when they leave.  This then becomes motivation for employers to terminate the contract at 4 years.  How uncivilized and mean is that?!  However, to our advantage, these are the helpers who we are looking for.  They would be good helpers, since their employer didn’t fire them after the first 2-year contract.  We developed our spreadsheets and set out the “Helper selection criteria” analysis (also known as multi-criteria analysis in the business world).  Mind you, with weightage to ensure that more emphasis is given to some categories over others (e.g. experience with infant ranks high as supposed to his/her English).  Through our analysis, we decided upon the first lady that we interviewed.  She had experience with infant caring and seemed very pleasant.

As I am about to become the supervisor of our new helper (who will come to join us middle of September), I set out to find some “house rules” for her to follow.  A company will give a handbook to its new employee, so why wouldn’t the Lacy household do the same for the new helper??!  So, we set out rules for when to do what and what is & isn’t allowed.  I am still making changes to the proposal before presenting it to the board (Ian).  But the skeleton is there!

We are also making changes to our storage room, which will be turned into her room when she arrives.  More on that in a few weeks!

Otherwise, everything is well at 23 weeks.  I am feeling huge, but the picture is not doing any justice in the upper right hand corner!

Much love from Hong Kong.

As a bulging pregnant woman enters into the second trimester, it is recommended that a “Babymoon” be taken before your world (and your husband’s) turns completely upside down.  So we did.  We took the only available long weekend for sometime and flew to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.  The food, the city and the hotel were really great and we had a wonderful time!  We even took one day off from the Baby lessons (remember http://www.babyplus.com ?!) which both Ian and Monkey seemed extremely grateful for!

For more pictures, click “The Lacys Photoalbum” on your right (The Lacys Photoalbum):

A big milestone last week was that Monkey ”passed” the detailed ultrasound scan.  All his organs seem to be intact and he is growing nice and healthily.  No complaints from the doctor at all.  Our monkey raised his hand and waved to us again this time and I was really excited by telling the doctor that the baby tends to do this at every scan.  The doctor didn’t even smile and coldly said, “it is likely to be a coincidence.”  Man, couldn’t he have some “excitement” for a new mom?  Lucky he is not my main obstertrician, or I could be screaming during my labor and all he would say is “women in the past thousands of years have done this, it’s no big deal!” 

Another thing we asked was whether we should have a “4-D” scan and he thought it was a nuisance and simply put it: “it’s a waste of money and if you want to see the face of your baby before he’s born…why not.”  So, we are probably not going to bother with a 4-D, especially knowing that we have to go back to him for an analysis.  That will be a WASTE of time.

Here is Monkey’s face from the side, with his nose pointing upwards:

 So all is well at 22 weeks… and much love from the HK Lacys.

As if I don’t receive enough advice!  Being the book worm that I am, the indulgence of getting into books was inevitable.  First, there are the books for your pregnancy; then comes what to look out for when the baby arrives.  The topics then really stretch from breastfeeding to natural birthing.  Thanks to all friends here and abroad - I have gotten great advice on lots of different books.  Amongst those, my favorites are:

1.  The Mother of All Pregnancy Books: The Ultimate Guide to Conception, Birth, and Everything In Between (U.S. Edition) - my favorite official guide to pregnancy

2.  What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Third Edition - the official guide of pregnancy

3. Pregnancy Do’s and Don’ts: The Smart Woman’s A-Z Pocket Companion for a Safe and Sound Pregnancy - the western guide of what to eat!

4.  Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - a really good guide to teaching your baby about sleep pattern!

5.  Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – a real chick’s book about natural birth

Of course, there are heaps of supplementary online information on anything baby:

1.  http://www.babycenter.com - best website around!

2. http://www.pregnancy.org/pregnancy - very practical information about pregnancy

3. http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/default.htm - very informative materials on breastfeeding

But the latest addiction, makes me laugh in tears!

- Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth

- Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood

And if all these are not enough, there are the magazines:1. http://www.cookiemag.com/ - for the “smart” mom out there 2. http://www.pregnancymagazine.com/ & 3. http://www.primababy.co.uk/

I am still keen to read other books / materials about fatherhood (for Ian) and the pregnancy books in Chinese (which a friend has given me to read)… my bedside table is absolutedly stacked with them!

Besides updating myself and Ian about anything baby, we are also giving lessons to our bump.  Yes, Monkey now receives a lesson twice a day!  1 hour for each session and, we kid you not, Monkey actually kicks quite fiercely when the lesson is being played out.  Ian says it’s Monkey’s way of saying “Mom, don’t do this to me!”  But according to the experts, it’s the baby’s way to tell you they’re reacting to the cognitive therapy.  Check it out: http://www.babyplus.com/

This weekend is a long one and we’re heading for a “babymoon” (ie last holiday without kids for sometime).  In the meantime, love from Hong Kong at 21 weeks.

p.s. please drop us a comment if there are other books / websites / materials that I should read.

The mystery of guessing the sex of the baby ranges from physical to psychological changes in the mother.  However, scientifically there is no reason to believe your physical outlook dictates the gender of the baby.  Of course the guess is still “on” no matter what:

If you are carrying a boy, your skin is supposed to worsen and your nose will widen.  This is reportedly because of the male harmones that are produced in your body.  Your tummy is supposed to be pointy too. 

However, if you are carrying a girl, your “pregnancy” glow will make you beautiful and radiant.  Also, your tummy will be rounder and therefore you will look very pregnant from any angle.

Guess for yourself at my 19th week vs. 15th week:

More excitingly, we have gone to the doctor and our monkey is doing very well (although the mom is gaining weight a little too fast!).  When we had the ultrasound scan, Monkey actually raised his hand and sort of waved to us!  It was very very exciting.  He has very long fingers like his dad:

The left photo has monkey’s head and body and the right photo, you can see his hand waving again!

Until next week, goodbye and much love from Ian, Stacey and Monkey in Hong Kong. 

Hong Kong has received an unbelievable luck of clean air last week – and it was really nice, to say the least.  However, the weather has also soared to the 30s level and the summer has finally arrived! 

Monkey Business Inc. has also started our board meeting on what needs to be done before the deadline (due date).  The interviews and the research have begun for me and Ian respectively.  Ian is responsible to find the “perfect” stroller (where he found a fabulous website: www.strollers.com).  We need a light weight stroller but good enough to house our monkey from newborn to 2 years.  As the search begins, we found there are lots of gadgety things that tag along with a stroller!  We have yet to find the ONE, but surely deadline (oops, due date we mean) will give us people the kick to get it done!

I have also interviewed the first-month nanny this week.  What the first-month nanny basically does is to cook (make really untasty chinese soups) and teach the new mom what to do w/ a little young thing in the first month.  She (tends to be female) will leave after a month.  Those chinese soups (Ian calls them “flavored water”) are supposed to have so much nutritious value that your body can recover faster and they help to “make” more milk for you.  To me, any excuse to get help from an extra pair of hands and without my mom’s daily intervention will have me lining up!

The interviews went well and I learned quite a bit (to Ian, it was an hour of Cantonese Yabbering and girly giggling!).  We’ll likely go for the first one; she has cared for mixed children before and didn’t seem too deterred when we told her that there is no rice-cooker in this house.  The second one was quite a nightmare as the first answer she gave about breastfeeding was that I could not feed my child enough in the first 10 days and hence formula milk will be required!  That was hardly my philosophy and it would seem odd to have someone force me to use formula milk.  So much for that interview.  The second lady was out the door in 15 minutes. 

Really glad the nanny-search process is over – next in line will be the maid search!  Until then, much love from Hong Kong at 18 weeks.

p.s. surely you’re wondering where is the bulging woman in the photos?!  As you know, there is a SYSTEM for everything in this Lacy pad.  We will have them done every four weeks.  So look out for the widened nose (??) lady at 19 weeks. 

I was explaining to Ian that Mango juice is too “wet & heaty” according to the chinese culture…And it is only the beginning.  When you are pregnant, you think you could get away from any more “Chinese cultural advices” from everyone, think again:

- Don’t stand too long / Don’t sit too long / Don’t walk for too long – apparently you should just not do anything for too long!

- Don’t walk too fast / Don’t do too many exercises / Don’t be too active – now they are just telling you to sit in front of the TV all day and do nothing!

- Don’t wear high heels – the only thing that still makes you feel beautiful & sexy is prohibited. 

- Don’t move your bed EVER during the course of pregnancy (some feng shui belief)

- Don’t use needles / a pair of scissors on your bed (make your pregnancy “dangerous”)

- Don’t eat crabs (it makes your child naughty), shrimps (baby’s skin will turn bad), watermelon at early pregnancy (prone to miscarriage and too “cool”), mango (“wet & heaty”), banana (same reason as watermelon), papaya (they’ve lost me on this one!), goose / duck (poisonous apparently) and the list continues…

Being the rebel that I am, I am still doing/eating all the above. (just don’t tell my mom & dad!)  But according to the western world, there are a million things I can’t do either.  There is an entire book about it by my bedside!  At least it is more scientific and high heels are allowed in that book, so I am tending towards the western way…  Maybe it’s what Ian always says, Stacey does whatever suits her!

Baby adventure is going well and we are starting the search process for a nanny (for the first month) & maid.  I have been reading lots of British/American/Aussie mags about pregnancy and it is a wonder how any woman can do the whole baby venture on their own.  I absolutely applaud you!  You are a wonder woman.

Me – I have surrendered right at the instant when you are supposed to be feeding every 2 hours for first few months but still carry on being a human during the day?!  Maid comes to the rescue!  So, let’s hope we have some luck in the searching process.

In the meantime, we are keeping sane in the starting summer heat.

Love from Hong Kong at 17 weeks.

16 weeks have passed and the baby is growing rapidly inside my tummy.  I have been feeling more tired as the weight increases (7 pounds more from my original weight already!).  The bulge is showing a bit but I could still get away to playing golf last week at Kau Sai Chau.  It was nice to be back after 2+ years since our accident.

Our journey of spreadsheets has begun where we are starting to gather all information required, things such as shopping list, baby budget, important decisions (maid or no maid), nursery, etc.  They all seem a bit overwhelming but I am sure Ian will lead us through all those!

Clothes are starting to be snug now, and I am still trying my best to fit into the normal ones!  The maternity clothes here in Hong Kong could probably be categorized as the most “hideous” fashion in the world.  It is really a wonder why such a cosmopolitan city can allow pokka dot, ribbon & bow on the tummy & teddy bear and butterfly at bottom of pants / dresses on the street!  It is a crime!  Anyhow, I am determined to be fashionable (at least be myself in the next 5 more months) and that will mean shopping, shopping, shopping – he he he!  Life is tough when you are pregnant.

Future Daddy is doing fab although work is getting quite busy for him.  The poor guy is also getting all the wonderful flutuations of pregnancy mood swings!  But we are loving this process and can’t wait to be sleep deprived!

Much love from Hong Kong.  Thanks to all those who dropped us a note – take good care – keep checking us out!