All those pregnancy things...

I have been pretty tired and/or busy after starting work so this took some time - started writing this way back...

I thought I should make a list of the weird pregnancy things - weird as in not just your usual morning sickness or belly being kicked out of shape; weird as in, well, things you don't think much about before pregnancy but are actually pregnancy-related..

1) Ulcers

Remember those darn ulcers of mine while I was pregnant with ZY? Well, they are long gone. They reduced drastically in the days before delivery and after delivery? They disappeared. Good riddance! I thought of going back to the oral surgeon after ZY was born if they persisted but well, I guess they really were due to pregnancy hormones!

2) Not silent, thankfully not deadly too

Just like after ZK was born, I was farting madly. Ok, perhaps less madly than two years ago since I was probably not contracting as well as before, but still, I was super gassy for the first two months plus after delivery. It was not uncommon to hear ZK go "mama 屁屁" *.*

3) The other exhaust

But at least I could more or less control farts. I could not control, um, queefing *.* Thankfully I was less gassy than two years ago like I said, and it was (usually!) quiet.

4) My royal hairiness

I realised some time in late pregnancy with ZY or shortly after delivery that the hair on my calves was near non-existent. I could see only two or three on each calve. I was of course very pleased :)

But reently, I thought the two or three were getting a tad too long for my liking so I took a razor to my calves. Three days later, there was hair all over my calves, wth?! I felt retarded for shaving.

(Might as well go into funny parenthood things:)

5) Potty business

I always know I'll be wiping butts. Cute butts but still, butts full of shit with the possibility of rain projectile pee. But there are related things I didn't know:

a) I'll be smelling butts too *.* possibly shitty butts or clean butts but with the possibility of a smelly fart just as the nose goes near!!

b) Poop can go all the way up the back, very common for ZK

c) Poop can also leak from the diaper to the floor, and sometimes through the mama's skirt, as had happened with ZY

d) Someone should provide outsourcing service for potty training.. How do you make a kid who doesn't want to go in the potty go in the potty?! ZK is fine with pee but not poo.

6) The sleep struggle

I always know I'll be lacking sleep, but I didn't know I'll be this sleep deprived! With ZK, I had to sling him to nap for a long time. Then it would take two hours to make him nap only to have him wake an hour or less later - still happens sometimes! ZY can just doze off on the playmat - oh my angel! - but there are days and nights when he simply can't stay asleep, sighs..

Oh wait, that's not funny...

Um, how about there were days in ZY's early days when I would do things half asleep only to wake shortly after and find myself confused? Once, I suddenly found myself changing him at the changing table, with no idea how I got there or whether he had had milk before that - I record his nursing sessions but sometimes I forget to hit the start button. Another time, I woke up to find him on the bed with me, asleep after nursing while lying down, but I couldn't remember ever picking him up to nurse at all!

Ok, that's not funny either - that's downright scary!

7) Breastfeeding rocks - sometimes...

No period! Need I say more? :p

But breastfeeding doesn't always mean:

a) no period or spotting - Mother said she had her period after the first month every time despite direct latching us. I keep spotting the first two months with ZY - gynae said it's normal.

b) no fertility - Read the forums. So many people become pregnant while breastfeeding!

c) you'll lose weight - I have found it to be debatable.. It worked very well the first time; it isn't working very well now!! Moral of the story - don't binge while pregnant *.*

I knew I would be pumping but I didn't know pumping would be such a drag! It's a love-hate relationship. I stopped pumping two months after starting work with ZK. I started pumping earlier this time hoping to stash more milk away. I want to give ZY full breastmilk for as long as possible but I also want to stop pumping asap. So now the freezer is full of milk! Would have been fuller but the past couple of weeks, ZY has been waking more at night and wouldn't go down without a go at his milk milk so I'm all flat in the morning, nothing to pump!

Updated 28 Dec 2014

8) "Big ones"

I saw a remark next to the diaper change section in ZY's daily sheet in school - "big one", referring to his bowel movements. That's normal since this boy doesn't poop every day. But the "big one" I hear about the rest of the time refers to something else altogether - ZK's snot, and ZK has a lot of green snot!

I believe I crossed another parenting milestone when I dug out lots of green bits from his nose. Not the first time I did this but last time, it was all dry and not as much. Not a pretty feeling *.* But he won't let me take them out with a cotton bud or tissue so...