Playing tic-tac-toe at the restaurant

27 months old:

• Dec 8:  Bb has been not cooperative in terms of teeth brushing the last couple of weeks.  She’ll let us brush her bottom row but clench and suck down on the toothbrush for the top row of teeth.  She’s actually had some staining on the front bottom row that we had to pry off using our fingernails and brush really well to get it off.  It makes me think it’s more than a phase and perhaps I should get a book on tooth brushing so we can read about it daily so she’ll learn the importance of dental hygiene..
• She’s still obsessed with reading her two newest books, Mommy Loves Me 1, 2, 3 and Near and Far, and requests to have them be read to her daily.
• Between the 6 dates a day, 1 cup of raspberry leaf tea (although I could have more/up to 4 a day), Chinese herbs for treating damp heat, and milk, it’s a lot to ingest and balance between my three regular meals and snacks every day…
• This bb tiger is a nonstop mover.  Most active time is 10 to 11pm, just like the older sibling.  He/she moves a lot too when I’m rolling on the yoga ball.
• Found it hard to stand up straight to walk today.. the belly is really heavy.
• Been consistently emptying my bowels three times a day recently.
• Bb was holding the Families Belong book and asking me what specific words were.  She recognized the word “together”.  It’s interesting that she doesn’t even know the alphabet yet, but she is asking how the printed word is read. She remembers and recognizes the letter “W” anywhere.
• DH started playing Jenga with bb and she actually successfully pulled out a couple of the blocks herself from the middle of the tower!  But after a few tries and the tower fell down, she got less confident and only started taking the blocks off from the first row.  Pretty neat that she understood the idea of the Jenga game already though.
• When bb says something and we don’t understand her after a few repetitions, she gets frustrated and repeats herself “Or wai nei gor ah” (I said this one ah).  But sometimes it still doesn’t help if we can’t make out what she’s trying to say.
• She pronounces “Cheerios” as “choy yo” 😂😅.  She also refers to Cheerios as “jo chan” (breakfast) since that’s usually what we offer her for the first meal. For a few days last week, she preferred to eat it without milk.
• The past week, bb liked to eat her tub of yogurt while sitting on the small green plastic chair with the grey stool as her “table”.
• We were each busy with our own thing before dinnertime (grandma was cooking, DH was having an after-work snack, and I was rolling on the exercise ball watching bb play), and bb said she was busy too “peeling carrots” in front of her play kitchen.  When she was done, she showed us. Turns out her “peeling carrots” task was ripping apart a piece of tissue paper and putting it in the play sink 😅😅.
• My belly is so droopy and low.  When I feel my upper belly part, there’s no baby there and it’s just my own abdomen.  So the baby has indeed dropped lower.  Mom and DH have both commented on how it’s so much bigger than the first pregnancy.
• I noticed I have a few red stretch marks coming down the sides of my belly now.  The old ones are still there but stretched thin and appear white-ish.
• I find myself easily out of breath these days too..
• Dec 13:  Finally took some “selfie” belly shots for myself and especially when the baby was pushing out towards on my stomach.  Took a video in a full length mirror in a restaurant too to show my belly.  It’s actually quite pointy this time.  And you know what they say about pointed bellies… the old wives tale.
• Bb can independently play by herself for up to 30 or 45 minutes at a time.  She plays with her magnetic tiles the most, then some of her bigger Lego pieces, the coloured blocks, and these days some of the Jenga too.  She also plays with the dog puzzle so much more often than before.  She still needs help with some parts but she can recognize most of the dog to put it together by herself.  She doesn’t play much with the kitchen and food toys anymore.  It’s interesting to see what creations she makes with the magnetic tiles.  It’s really the best toy out there.  Sometimes she puts together the tiles in boxes and sometimes she adds single tiles to it.  I just don’t think of the things she does.
• We found a small white umbrella in the basement and bb has been enjoying playing with it.  When we get to the part in the book in Near and Far where the elephant is holding an umbrella, she likes to get the umbrella out too.  Same thing whenever we finish reading Mommy Loves Me, the second book to follow is Near and Far.  She always has to get her stuffed tiger toy out to read it together because there is a tiger inside the book.
• I had another growth scan ultrasound this week for week 37.  Even the technologist recognized me.  The estimated weight is 7 pounds and 2 ounces, but we all know ultrasound weight estimations are not accurate.  She said the head was down and low.  She listened to the umbilical cord and I heard it too.  It was normal.  The heart beat this time was 149 bpm, faster than what we had heard last time (I think it was 139).  She was nudging my stomach on the right side at one point repeatedly.  She said she was trying to get the measurements of the baby’s hand but it was difficult because it seemed the baby was sleeping and not moving much lol.  She also scanned the feet which was in the right side of my belly.  That’s mostly where I feel the strong kicks too.  I guess the baby had shifted their feet to the right side again.
• She told me that the amniotic fluid level was kind of low but it must be that I hadn’t drunk a lot of water.  It was true… I barely drank much water that morning and I wasn’t instructed to either.  She wasn’t concerned so neither was I.  She also said that the umbilical cord was wrapped around once around the baby’s neck but she wasn’t concerned because it seemed that once the baby turned, the cord would be loose.  I for sure hope things are okay.  If things were really alarming, she would have instructed me to visit the ER immediately and she didn’t.
• I was so comfortable laying back on the examination table while she did the measurements that I could have fallen asleep.  I felt so comfortable and peaceful there.  DH came into the room near end like the other visits to look at the scan too.  There isn’t much to see there since the baby is so big.  The tech showed us the face and the hands and the feet.  We saw the profile of the face and I think I saw the lips.
• Bb loves sitting with grandma on the massage chair.  They’ll eat fruit or durian cake snacks together and watch the video-recorded songs from the daycare — the “thank you” song and the “Y, Y” song. 🤷‍♀️
• Bb requests to see photos on my phone and is proficient at “swiping” the screen for photos.  It’s so bad to have her learn this young how to swipe at the phone, but they also learn super fast.  She learned that the “flower” symbol on my phone means that that’s where the photos are.  It’s the “gallery” icon for Android phones.
• It is so difficult to turn over in bed.  It keeps getting worse each night.  It’s almost over though and near the end.  I never had this much discomfort during the first pregnancy.  I also exercised so often and walked so much more during the first pregnancy.  I was lighter too.  It is all correlated.  I just really prefer being pregnant (third trimester-wise) in the late summer/autumn.  I can still walk outside and not feel so cold in comparison.  This baby also is wedged so low in my pelvis.  It makes me wonder if labour will be faster since they’re positioned so low already…
• DH cut my hair again now that all of my social events are finished and I’m ready for the baby to come.  Practice makes perfect.  I haven’t gone to the hairdresser since 2019.  DH hasn’t gone since February/March 2020.  It’s been all home-based haircuts.  Even for bb and my mom too.
• Taking advantage of the fact that the baby hasn’t shown up yet to go out for lunches and dim sum (twice) and dinners with family.  It’s also the first time that DH had weekday dim sum and grocery shopping like this now that he’s officially already on paternity leave.  A few more days of calm and quietness before a new normal comes…
• The slight cramping at night that I had dissipated.  I still am emptying my bowels three times a day on average, but there have been no other signs of imminent labour.  I was thinking to get acupuncture later this week to get the baby out that way, but maybe the baby isn’t ready yet and we should wait until the __th for the actual induction?  I’ve been reading about positive induction stories and they’ve been really reassuring.  Some moms have really quick labours after the induction and no issues at all.  Every labour and birth really are so different… my loose bowel movements have been going on for a full week!  Last time with the firstborn, I had them 24 hours before I gave birth.
• While waiting for the food to arrive at dim sum, DH played tic-tac-toe with bb.  She actually chose the correct quadrants and tied the game with DH a few times.  We were so amused and shocked lol.
• Naps have been on and off… some days, she successfully naps during the afternoon and some days she doesn’t.  If she wakes up early at 7 a.m., there’s a higher chance that she will nap for two hours between 2 and 4 p.m. (which is the best).  If she wakes up 8:30 or 9 a.m., she usually isn’t tired enough in the afternoon to nap… sigh.
• She’s been doing this thing where she pulls at her crotch area and it seems like she’s in pain.  We ask her if she wants to pee in the potty and she says no every time.  It’s unfortunate but it seems like we botched our chance at potty training her for the time period… we weren’t consistent enough.  Sigh.  Now we have to wait for her to be ready again to have one less diaper wearer in the house…
• When bb sees us putting hands on my belly to feel bb move, she sometimes does it too.  It’s so cute ^_^
• We’ve been doing walking exercises at home on YouTube and bb likes the one with the little kids where you get a “trophy” at the end.  She doesn’t quite know how to coordinate her limbs yet, but it’s good for her to see us exercise and for her to try.
• DH brought bb downstairs to play on the electric piano.  She likes to press each key down one by one.  I guess she likes hearing the notes?
• I’m finding it so difficult to sleep before midnight these days… I’m tired often but just can’t get to bed early.
• We are finalizing the Chinese names, girl and boy, for the newest arrival soon.  It’s so hard to find good-sounding names that don’t remind us of people we know and that are high scores.  We have a bunch of potential boy names and two girl names.  One girl name, we really like which we’ll likely choose if it is a girl.  The boy names are still up in the air.
• As for the English names, I thought we had our boy and girl name down pat, but I found myself changing my mind again.  We had actually chosen these two names in August.  We have to choose a few more and then see what the baby looks like to “match” it up.
• I still love how I can rub my belly and within minutes, the baby will react and move around or squirm or kick in response.  It is so, so reassuring and comforting.
• Sometimes when I have my hand on my belly, it pulses.  I don’t know if it’s the baby breathing or the baby pulsing?
• I can’t walk faster than my mom these days.  I used to say she walked slow but I walk slower than her these days.  It’s the big belly and extra weight I’m carrying…
• Although I have been eating dates and drinking the tea daily and even sitting and bouncing (a little bit) on the yoga ball and we even did it twice so far, we’re still waiting for the baby to arrive.  While I don’t want the induction, I also don’t want to rush the baby if he or she is not ready to come out yet.  Maybe the lungs aren’t fully formed yet and still need extra time.  The firstborn came out 38+4.  I’m on 38+1 today.
• Whatever snacks or food we are eating, bb always wants to eat what we are eating.  As such, we have to hide away from her sometimes or know that we have to share with her too.  But sometimes, after she sees something new come out, she changes her mind and doesn’t want to eat it anymore.
• I think the “terrible twos” is when bb says she wants to do something and then changes her mind two seconds later.  Or when she asks a certain adult to do something and no one else can do it.  Like when we went to the grocery store, she only wanted me to push the cart and no one else.  Or most of the time she only wants DH to do something for her and no one else can.  Otherwise, she’ll burst into tears and throw a tantrum.  That must be what the terrible twos are right now.
• Other examples:  She doesn’t want anyone to crack open the crackers for her.  She wants to do it herself.  Or she wants to get the yogurt from the fridge herself and if we do it for her, she’ll cry.  Or if I open the yogurt for her and she wanted DH open it for her, she’ll cry.  So then I have to put the lid back on the yogurt for DH to open. 🙄  It’s a lot of independence that she wants.
• She asks for DH so often that I don’t know how we’ll transition after DH’s pat leave ends (thankfully it won’t be until March, but still).
• I wake up more often to pee at night and it’s really annoying.  I just want to sleep through the night (or only wake up once and then be able to fall asleep again).  The baby definitely is pressing down on my bladder and making me pee more often.
• At night, she knows when it’s about time to go to bed and will head up the stairs by herself.  So then we’ll follow her with the dino and tiger stuffed animals and her milk.
• Her favourite toy is still the stuffed dinosaur.  She cherishes it like crazy.  She likes to count his teeth.
• While at dim sum, I really appreciated how one of the servers told me about the handicapped washroom that was on the first floor.  That way, I didn’t need to go to the washroom in the basement.  Obviously looking so pregnant these days, I really appreciated that care and attentiveness.
• DH sometimes reads with her by leaving out the last word or words of the sentence for her to fill in.  She actually can fill them in because she’s heard us read the books to her so many times.  It’s pretty amazing.  She can’t pronounce all the words 100%, but she can say them 80% close enough that we can tell she’s trying to make out the word(s).
• She says “sun dar ee dar” when she really means “twinkly stars”, which is the last words in the Near and Far book.
• She’s been screeching and screaming at the top of her lungs on purpose recently. -_- She’s discovered she can, so she does.
• Dec 14:  Last OB appointment at 38 weeks!  Quite underwhelming actually for a final visit before the baby comes.  The regular urine sample test for protein – normal.  Stepped on the scale to be weighed by the gentle and friendly receptionist – 149lbs.  (Made small talk with me and asked how I was doing.  Told her the upcoming induction and baby could come any day.  She said hopefully not tomorrow because of the snowstorm and said that baby is good to mommy so will wait and for me to stay home tomorrow.  Felt the warm fuzzies  from her care and attention.)  Waited a bit longer than normal inside the doctor’s room.  The kind receptionist gifted me a Pampers branded fanny pack or some diaper bag.  Felt so comfortable in that room enough to fall asleep.  I think I’m just so tired these days.  Bittersweet to know this was the final appt.
• When the OB came in, I said “Hello.  How are you?” as usual and “Last appointment!”  He knew and answered with the day of the induction, which I appreciated him remembering.  He has so many patients, I wouldn’t fault him for not remembering me.
• He measured my blood pressure, baby’s fundal size, the heartbeat (142 bpm), we heard the heartbeat and the baby moved/kicked while he did it.  The OB chuckled a bit when he saw the baby move.  He helped me up off the table since it takes me longer to get up by myself.
• And that was it basically.  He reminded me to book a postpartum appointment 6 weeks after baby’s born.  He also said baby could come any time despite the induction date.  I agreed and said hopefully not tomorrow because there’s a snowstorm coming.  He looked at my recent ultrasound report and didn’t mention much.
• I asked him if I needed to know anything prior to the induction and he said not really.  And that was it!
• When I asked about getting a copy of my ultrasound report from the reception before I left though, they couldn’t find it.  She called the ultrasound clinic and apparently they didn’t have it ready yet since I had only had it done last Friday. Whaa.  So the doctor was looking at the wrong ultrasound report then, the one from week 35 instead..  How annoying to not get the report yet.  Usually it would be ready less than a week is my assumption.  It’s funny that I didn’t get the report of the last ultrasound of the previous pregnancy either because I had already given birth by that point and this time, I couldn’t see it either because the report wasn’t ready yet.  I’m sure if there was anything amiss, the report would have been fast tracked to the OB.
• Daily 3x bowel movements continue.
• Sometimes when the baby moves, it feels like a snake slithering inside.  He/she still moves just as often and vigorously as before even with the increased cramped quarters.
• Bb lets me snip her bangs without restraint.  She knows it’s to help her not get her hair in the way.  She’s so cooperative and it’s easy for me to snip off a few strands when she is sitting in the bathtub.  If only she was this cooperative for teeth brushing!