What's in the name?

Hmm......we totally forgot how we came across the name ZACH and how we finally decided on that name for him....Must be those books and finally realising that it'll be easy to pronounce in the Malaysian context.....yeah...we considered all angles when we decided on the name...the only possibility was it being pronounced as Jack.....and true enough......he's called "Jack" by some people until today....even his school teacher calls him "Jack"...urgh!!!! I got so irritated by her pronunciation that I actually corrected her.....in a nice but sarcastic way...."erm..his name is Zach. U know..as in XYZ? Think she must have got my sarcasm and is embarrassed by it......I'm stil lwodnering if she still calls him "Jack"....something to ponder

Well, that's not as bad as some stories I heard from friends whose kids' name were pronounced so badly that they could be jokes! For example:

1. Charlotte being pronounced as Char-Lot-Teh! No joke ok! Poor girl........
2. Phoebe as Poh-eh-bee (that's my niece's name and I heard it with my own ears, someone pronouncing it that way...urgh!)

So, now we are faced with yet another dilemma.......naming Precious #2! I went through the internet and all...trying to get some ideas on what to name him.....since we know it's gonna be another male.....boy! it's not easy at all! I have personally always liked the name Sean.....it's just such a nice and classic name....so much so when my nephew was born almost 6 years ago that I suggested that name for him and his daddy immediately registered him under that name. Next was for another nephew (hubby's brother's son)...whom we briefly suggested the same name and they immediately decided on that name! Yes...I now have 2 nephews named Sean!

When we found out that Precious #2 is gonna be a boy.......our heachache starts again.....
Zach and Sean are our all-time-favourite names and they are both taken! I secretly regret that I suggested Sean to my cousin/bro in law for their sons....should have kept it for my own son....ya ya.....but who knows right? I was so crazy hoping to have daughters all this while..never thought I'd be blessed with 2 sons instead.....
So the hunt begins.........boys' names........argh....it's not easy at all!

We have sort of made a shortlist of the following names (with feedbacks and potential mispronunciations and all):

1. Roy (my 3rd choice after Zach and Sean. So perhaps we shall name Precious #2 that..but hubby still wants to consider other names.......so it's not confirmed yet. Gotta crack our head for a 2nd name like kor kor's [Zach Ryan Goh] cos Roy Goh sounds funny....)

2. Nick (got a call fr Vee warning me not to name Precious #2 that cos that name reminds her of someone who's useless and hopeless) - so it's gonna be off the list!

3. Scott (such nice name...to me that is..but he's gonna risk being called "Cot" by those who are not English educated, or those who cant pronounce the letter "S", and those kampung aunties and uncles) No way I'm letting my son's name being mispronounced!

4. Joshua (both of us love this name as well as it sounds soothing and proper) But it's gonna be out of the league as how Zach is named cos Zach has a 2nd name and Joshua doesnt need any more 2nd name......I know I'm fussy but I cant help it......I know some ppl said I stress out myself for nothing.....but not for me lor.........a name is gonna be stuck to a person for all his life and I must ensure that it's a nice name..at least tht's something nice and permanent that I can give to Precious #2 once he enters the world!

5. The rest of the names that we came across and are in our list of considerations are Jayden, Aidan, Al, Ian (Ling made me realise that it's gonna look like LAN for some - so I think it's most likely a NONO!, Brad, Isaac, Ethan (2 very nice but common names for the current generation/era), Don, Ron, Rex, Lex, Dex...the list is still going on..........

Suggestions anyone? hehehe

Precious #2 at 22 weeks....moving n kicking non-stop!

It's known!

I'm well into my 18th week when I was scheduled for a check-up last night. The anticipation leading up to last night was a very tensed one cos we were told by Delaila that she would be able to tell the gender of the baby! I was so looking forward to the check-up last night that I couldnt wait to have my name called into the room for examination!

Well, those who know me long and well enough should know that I'm crazy over having a daughter of my own. DESPERATE might be the word to describe how I long for a daughter to call my own. But I guess it's always right whenever we hear people say that "You will never get what you want!" Well, that happened in my first pregnancy when we found out that Zach...is well, Zach. And I consoled myself "It's only my first baby. Boy is alright. Shall try and hope for a girl the next one." And I realised that I'm not the only crazy mommy in this world who hope for a girl more than a boy. Guess it's natural instinct for mothers to have at least a daughter..maybe it's the female to female thingy in us. Just like how we would mix around with girls only in schools, parties and having circles of female friends more than males.

Well, baby #2 arrived quite unexpectedly...a li ltoo early I would say. So we were hoping that it would be a lil girl to call our own.
And there we were...in the consultation room, looking right in front of the monitor...me hoping to see a "hum chim peng" instead of a "birdy with 2 lil balls". Delaila was going round my tummy with the ultrasound scanner explaining to us...

"That's your baby's head, here's the liver, your placenta's looking good, water level is good...oh those are the legs and.....do you wanna know the baby's gender?"

Needless to say.... "Of course we do!"

Delaila continued scanning, "There...it's gonna be a BOY!

Me: Are you 100% sure doctor?
Hubby (laughing out loud) : See! I told you!

Delaila: Ok..let's see one more time.....There! That's the penis....can you see it?....and look, those are the testes! Confirmed la...cannot run away already. It's a boy! No chance for girl this time!

Guess all those myths and theories of predicting the gender of my next baby is so not true afterall!

Well! there it is...it's right in front of me! the final result of trying to guess the gender of Precious #2. My wish and hope for a daughter is dashed! I'm gonna have another rascal instead. A lil brother for Zach instead. I'd be lying to say that I wasnt disappointed at all with the fact known that I'm carrying yet another baby boy in my tummy. But then again, I wouldnt love this baby any less and all we could hope for right now is for a healthy and normal baby boy!

Hubby (holding and kissing my hand in the car) : Are you ok? I know it's a bit of a disappointment, but another son is still ok, right?

Me (rubbing my eyes): Of course I'm ok. But I'll be lying if I say that I'm not disappointed lor.

Hubby: Are you crying?

Me (trying to hide): No la! My eyes are getting itchy nowadays. That's all. (I know. What a lame excuse!)

Hubby: You are still gonna love this son, aren't you?

Me: Are you crazy? It's still gonna be my own son. Of course I will!

Hubby: So I guess, no more Nathalie huh? (our chosen name if it's a daughter) It's gonna be either Nick or Roy instead. Hahahaha

Me: Looks like it.......save Nathalie for our grand daughter instead. Haha!..(quiet after that)

Hubby: Well, I dont mind having a third child if you dont mind. Hopefully it's a girl lor.

Me: Siao ar? And what if it's another boy? If you can guarantee me it's gonna be a girl, I might consider. ...No la! No No No No way! Stop at 2! Enough!

Hubby: Ya lah...stop at 2 la. So, 2 daughters in law! Well, at least we dont have to worry about the safety of our daughter in future. You know, like the risk of being raped, teenage pregnancy and all, etc.

Me: Ya..but to worry if our sons might impregnant other people's daughters! There will be issues to worry about also la.

Hubby: True.

Guess the hope for a daughter is really getting to its peak in me that the disappointment is just as high. I know it's crazy. Afterall, it's no harm to have another son to call my own. But I just cant fight the natural feeling built inside me. The fact that I can never buy those pretty dresses, nice head bands, lovely pink shoes and all things nice for my own daughter.......Well, unless we dont mind trying for another baby the next time! No way! I'm not putting myself yet into another phase of guessing the gender of Baby #3 and going through the agonising period of encountering numerous morning/night sickness!..and then to know that it's gonna be Baby Boy #3! Nope! We are pulling the handbrake after Baby #2, no matter what!

As crazy as it may sound, I guess the disappointment in me got to its toll that I actually dreamt of it in my sleep last night and woke up weeping. Stupid and crazy me! Maybe it's the fear to show hubby of my disappointment that built up in me that got me shouldering this disappointment all by myself and it even brought it to my dreamland!

So, son #2...mommy is anticipating for your arrival in May next year. Hopefully you will turn out to be a fine young man in future and have a great bond with your Big Bro Zach!

Baby talk

It was such a coincidence last week when I was channel surfing and came across an interesting episode on Oprah's show. It was all about baby language and how a gifted lady named Priscilla Dunstan from Australia discovered her ability to interpret how infants communicate with their caregivers. It was said that babies around the world speak the same language to convey what they want and how they feel. Interesting isnt it? Well, it all boils down to 5 main sounds on how to differentiate what the babies want. And they actually tested them on a few babies to prove this and surprisingly it worked! I was amazed......... I told myself that I must record those 5 sounds here to test their effectiveness once Precious #2 is out next year.

1. 'neh' - "I'm hungry"

2. 'owh' - "I'm feeling sleepy"

3. 'heh' - "I'm feeling uncomfortable"

4. 'eair' (pronounced as 'air') - "I have lotsa gas...I need to fart!"

5. 'eh' - "Burp me!"


Well, guess I cant do much about finding out how effective those sounds are until I try them out myself next year!

Apparently there's a DVD for sale on this and it's called Dunstan Baby Language (can be ordered through http://www.dunstanbaby.com/) . The details on this can also be found is http://www.oprah.com/ . So for those curious young mothers out there...you might wanna have a copy? I'm still considering if I should get hold of a copy.........

So far so good....@ 14 weeks

Yeah...we've finally seen the doctor who assured us that Precious #2 is doing fine and well inside my tummy....... In fact, it is so a ctive inside me that we could see its hands and legs moving durign the ultrasound scan and made us all laugh seeing how active it is......

"I'll be able to tell you if it's aboy or a girl next month!"

That's what the doc said and we are now curious and anxious to know if we are giving Zach a baby brother or sister in May 2008! Boy or girl.....all we hope for is a healthy being who will add to much joy into our family!

Now...I wont label this scan because one would be able to see which is the head and which is the body if one is observant and alert enough! hahahaha

Anxiety kills!

It's been a month since my last post here and well...I'll be going for my check-up tonight to see the development of our Precious #2.

I hate to admit it but Ive been having this anxiety on negative issues about the baby and i just cant stop having this weird feeling that something might be wrong with Precious #2. As much as I dont want anything bad to happen to Precious #2, I guess it's just the hormonal imbalance in me that got me thinking negatively. I remember facing the same anxiety when I was pregnant with Zach. Well, I hope it's just my gut feeling and nothing else......really hope to see an improvement and positive development in Precious #2 tonight....been praying real hard that Precious #2 will arrive in a good shape and that we will have the opportunity to shower him/her with much love and care!