Our New Addition

And now we are four...

Thursday 27 November started off like any other day. I woke up with some tightening around my stomach but thinking that they were just Braxton Hicks I didn't give it a second thought. We went about our daily routine, Shad got Ryan dressed and fed, and I drove the little fella to school. Then I headed out on my errands run, first to the post office then a quick stop at the supermarket, and as I was trying to decide whether to go to Central to pick up a few more last minute baby things or head to AMC for a hot chocolate and pedicure (one final opportunity to spoil myself :)), the tightening in my tummy got a little stronger and more regular. Talking to Karen over the phone, I described the feeling and my ever sensible sister just quietly said "eerr maybe you should go home and call your doctor". Thinking that it was probably good advice, I drove home, timed the contractions and called my OB who told me that it was time to go to the hospital!

At that point, I was feeling very relaxed about everything thinking that it was probably a false alarm and the hospital would send us home after they had checked me over and we would still be able to make our 2.30pm appointment come Monday for the planned C-Section. But this little baby had other plans, and by the time we got to Matilda, I was already 2cm dilated and the contractions were about three to four minutes apart. After speaking to my OB we decided that since I was already in labour, we'd try having a natural birth instead of a caesarian.

At 8.43pm our little girl Mia entered the world with her eyes wide open and an extremely loud cry for such a small parcel. Weighing in at 2.39kg, she was tiny but healthy. We are extremely thankful for her safe arrival and feel very blessed that we have two healthy beautiful kids.

Is this happening now? But we weren't scheduled until Monday...

Yes it's happening - those peaks at the bottom are contractions - 3 mins apart

Fresh out of the oven

Our new baby Mia

First portrait with Mama and Daddy

Little wrinkly foot

Kor-Kor meets Mia for the first time

Living it up with the Matilda Hospital room service

Slippers too - hospital or hotel?

A view over the South China Sea from our room, not bad for Mia's intro to the world

Daddy and his babies

He may be a big brother now but he will always be Mama's baby

All bundled up and ready for the journey home

A new teddy bear for Ryan

Playing with big brother

Err, does she have to stay here tonight?

Enjoying a soak in the hot-tub

Big baby, little baby

Siblings sharing a moment

Don't cry, Kor-Kor will look after you...

Who's who? Ryan and Mia, both 4 days old

Shower for Two

Baby shower that is! The two expecting mums (Paula and myself) within our close circle of girlfriends have due dates within weeks of each other. So a couple of weeks ago, we decided to have a girls' night out before either of our babies made an appearance. I was all geared up for a great night as it'd been awhile since I'd been out on a girlie night, especially since we were going to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon. Well, neither both of us preggie ladies knew that the others had planned a little secret behind our backs. It was a surprise double baby shower!

Looking back I should have suspected something was going on (it's obvious that I've lost even more brain cells with this pregnancy!!). For instance, after having planned to all leave home together in one car, hours before we were going to leave, I get a call from Dal saying that Chris had to get her hair done and Pam had to run some errands in the city before going to the restaurant so they could not come with us. In actual fact, they had to get there early to decorate the room. To be honest, I did think that it was a little strange, why would Pam be running errands at night and Chris getting her hair done? Wow, were we going to hit the bars in Lan Kwai Fong after dinner?" ;-)

What a surprise it was! Good friends, great food and a beautifully decorated room. Thank you ladies (Chris, Pam, Vera, Dal and Paula) for a lovely night. It was a wonderful surprise!!!

Wow, we didn't expect this!

A beautiful baby gift tower - thanks to Christine's creative handiwork

Good friends, great company, what more could you ask for?

My entree of marrow with golden mushrooms (forgot the fancy description of the dish)

Any guesses as to the sex of both babies??!!

Looking pretty moments before we devoured the yummy food!

Kota Kinabalu

As our due date draws closer, Shad and I have been trying to squeeze in as much "fun" time with Ryan as we can. While all three of us are very excited about our little new addition, I can't seem to help feeling a little apprehensive about the changes that will come with a new baby. Ryan's been the baby all this time, and has had our undivided attention. We're hoping he will be able to adjust to being the big Koh-Koh come December.

The minute our obstetrician gave the green light to travel (of course on the condition that travel time is short), we treated ourselves to a few days at the Shangrila Tanjung Aru Resort in Kota Kinabalu which is a short two and a half hours flight away. When we arrived there, the weather was beautiful, clear skies and sunshine. However, by evening the sky opened up and down came the rain. For the next couple of days, it absolutely bucketed down. Luckily we were in a beautiful suite which had a bathtub big enough to fit all three of us (even with my big tummy!) so for those two days, that was our swimming pool. And Ryan absolutely loved his bubble baths!

So despite the uncooperative weather we had a wonderful holiday, just the three of us :).

And guess who we should meet there when we arrived ... Poh-poh and Aunty Poh-poh Dianne on the last day of their food safari

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At the KK Pier

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View of our little beach

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Ryan was a welcome distraction for this music man who'd been banging on his bells for hours!

A late night stroll along the beach

The morning after the skies opened up...

Our hungry boy devouring his roti canai with bare hands

Living it up in the comfort of our hotel room (yes, that is a hand towel!)

Bubble boys!

Toddler in the mist

Chocolate monster

Fading fast at dinner after a long day of play

Bubur cha-cha served in a most unique way

Finally, a day without rain...

Sand construction with Daddy

A bike ride along the pier

Fun in the sand

One final bubble bath before heading to the airport

What will we see at the zoo...

A couple of weeks ago, Ryan's school organised an excursion to the Hong Kong Zoo as part of their curriculum for the term. The theme for this term is animals and the children have been learning about different animals both in English and Mandarin through books, songs and play. Looking after 24 little three year olds on the loose is no mean feat so the school "asked" (in other words, the child must be accompanied otherwise he or she will not be able to go!) that parents accompany their little monkeys on this trip. While Ryan had a great time running around looking at the animals with his little friends, I met some of the other mothers which resulted in a play date later in the week. All in all, a fun little outing for the both of us.

Chasing bubbles
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One tired and extremely sweaty little boy

Pork floss sandwich and a baby carrot - an interesting snack combo

"Think the girls will mind me sitting with them?"

"Star Bears" Babies

Chillin' with the boys