Countdown to the Arrival of His Royal Highness – shop shop SHOP!

We went for our check-up again last Monday.
Things are fine, baby’s growing well (not TOOO speedily as the doctor had previously feared) but the news is – The baby’s engaged!

Okay, for those who are not familiar with pregnancy terms, when I say engaged, I don’t mean that I already have him betrothed to any of my friend’s unborn female fetuses.
I’m a planner, yes, but not an psycho planner!

Engagement means that the baby's head is at the level of the ischial spines.
Heheheh... I can practically see some of you giving me dirty looks
(Yeah, Diha...THAT helps. What the heck is an ischial spine???)
Okaylah... Engaged means that the baby has settled into the pelvic cavity, ready to be go down the birth canal and out into the world.

So my baby’s engaged. In fact, the doctor said he’s really deep down the birth canal. So he’s all ready to greet the world, any time now.
Impatient little tyke.

He’s only 35 weeks old!
He has 2 more weeks to go before reaching the age where he’s not considered ‘premature’.
He has 5 more weeks to go before he reaches full term.
But noooOooo, this little dude is already showing signs that he’s all set for birth.

The doctor told us that it’s best if the baby waits at least 2 weeks before he decides to come out and she asked me to take things easy. Nonetheless, she asked us to be prepared for birth at any time. In fact, she filled out our admittance form, just in case the baby comes during raya and she’s not around!

Wan & I are praying that the baby doesn’t come out too soon.
Let him get all the benefits of the womb as he can get.
But if he does decide to come and greet us early, we’re ready for him.

The world began when I was born and the world is mine to win
Badger Clark

Alamak.
I still haven’t bought his bath tub yet.
Note to self: Buy bath tub.

Speaking of buying...
I’ve never been much of a shopaholic.
My friends used to say that ‘Diha shops like a man’.
Meaning that I’d have a list (or an item in my mind), I’d go to the shop, purchase the said item and go home.
Not for me the whole window-shopping, scouting for bargains bit.

But after being an expectant mother, I’m ready to join Shopaholic Anonymous.
I have impulse buys, thorough-research-buys, online-buys, window-shopping-but-end-up-buying buys...
You name it, I’ve done it.

I never realized how FUSSY I could be.
Do you know it took my 6 months to decide on the right bed?
I wanted one with a simple, classic design, excellent safety features, no cartoons, no colorful balloon carvings, sturdy railings, no coasters, adjustable to play-pen height... you know, the works.
After nearly incurring Wan’s rare wrath (Do you want our baby to sleep in the sink?), I eventually bought a lovely one from Mothercare... but not before my in-laws had decided to custom-make the baby’s bed... seing that I was so fussy.
So now we have 2 beds for the baby...heheheh.

I’ll spare you the details of me looking for the best changing mattress.
Let’s just say that the changing mattress I finally decided on can be used as a safety device for the US Army.

I never realized how SELFLESS I could be.
I’m not saying that I’m selfish by nature, I’m not.
But I usually like doing stuff and buying stuff for myself.

But after being an expectant mother, I’d walk into the shopping centre with an item in my head for me... and I’d walk out of the shopping centre with 10 items for baby and none for me.

I used to buy at least 2 books a month (MPH, you guys owe me). But I haven’t bought a book since June! And my purchases these days are practically 99% baby-related. My son has a wardrobe that’s more extensive than his daddy’s!

I can’t walk into Mothercare without walking out with a Mothercare item. Wan used to laugh at me or shake his head at my ‘impulsiveness’... until the day he walked into Mothercare WITH me.

There I was, checking out the delivery form for the baby’s bed and my dear husband kept interrupting me with:-

“B! Look at this t-shirt! It looks just like mine!”
“Let’s buy one! No, let’s buy two!”
“Size apa yang kita patut beli...0-3 months? 3-6 months?”
“3-6 months dia dah boleh gi jalan-jalan ker?”
“B! Look at these jeans!!! And these camouflage trousers!”
“Let’s buy one! No, let’s buy two!”
“Size apa yang kita patut beli...0-3 months? 3-6 months?”
“3-6 months dia dah boleh gi jalan-jalan ker?”
“B! Look at this denim jacket!”
“Let’s buy one! No, let’s buy two!”

And it went on....

Heheheh...
That was the day Daddy discovered Mothercare.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

One of my least favourite shopping expeditions is when I was looking for bottles.
I had NO FREAKING IDEA that there were so many specifications for baby bottles!
Just to avoid colic, there were several options: collapsible, disposable liners that keep the nipple filled with liquid; reusable bottles with an anti-vacuum nipple design; bottles with a vent on the bottom; disposable bottle systems with built-in burpers...
Angled bottles to avoid potential ear infections (how how HOW?)
Latex versus silicone nipples...
Nipple shapes that came in preemie, round top, orthodontic, flat-topped, traditional, nipples that elongate, and one-piece nipple and collar sets.

I was absolutely confused and stood at the bottle section in Mothercare like a befuddled Elmer Fudd.

If confusion is the first step to knowledge, I must be a genius.
Larry Leissner

I kept on going to the same store to stare at the display and weigh my choices.

On my 5th visit, while I was doing my customary stare-at-bottles-hoping-God-will-give-me-a-hidayah, I overheard these 2 salesgirls whispering behind me.

“Hehehe... kita tengok, hari ni dia beli ke tak”
“Aku rasa tak kott”

Oh my God.
Were they talking about ME?
After all those visits they noticed me (Lady Who Stares at Bottles & Nipples) and are now contemplating whether I’d end up BUYING a bottle?

Aarrrghh!!
I immediately grabbed the nearest bottle I could find, paid for it and left the shop.
Thus, the story behind why I have one sad little bottle standing alone on the bottle-shelf in baby’s cupboard.

Yikes... that reminds me.
I still need to buy bottles, bottle cleaners and breast pumps.
Note to self: Go back to Mothercare. Get husband to choose the bottles.

Still have a few weeks left before baby comes, insyaALLAH...
More time to shop!
Excellent.