We had our first and only appointment at the hospital yesterday. The doctor scanned the baby and revealed that the baby is a BOY. Honestly, it did not really come as a surprise as our instincts and comments from others have somehow indicated that the baby would be a boy, yet I was happy to have an accurate record on the baby's gender. One of the reason is so that we can decide on its name. It's not easy to think of an ideal name for the baby, especially its Chinese name. Neither of us are very familiar with the aspects to consider when deciding on the Chinese name. For example, I was told that the child must not have the same name as the father. Since Leslie's Chinese name is Thian Lung, our child's name cannot carry the word Thian or Lung. They are other rules to follow but neither of us are familiar with it. The other downside is that I have really lost touch with mandarin, hence it is a struggle for the both of us. Nevertheless, I am confident that we will find a nice name for it when the time comes.

Based on the doctor's scan, the baby is only 36 weeks. Two week's younger than the expected due date. However, as written in many books, the due date scanned during this period is not accurate. My only conclusion is that this little boy is still small in size. It's weight is not heavy enough to be of a 38 week old baby and so is its height. The doctor has fixed January 10th as the final date for me to deliver. If the baby is not born by then, I will have to admit myself at the hospital and they will probably induce me to deliver the baby. I hope that will not need to happen. I am very much hoping for a natural birth that is free from any complication.

It was fun to see the delight in Shawn (my nephew)'s face when we revealed to him that his little cousin would be a boy. Being the only child, Shawn has shown eagerness to have another playmate and I guess have a playmate of the same gender is indeed a bonus. He is 9 years old now, I hope he will not find our little boy an irritating pest as how my sister used to think of me during our childhood. Shawn has suggested Sebastian for his cousin's name (much nicer name compared to Santa Claus which he had earlier suggested) but to be honest, I keep thinking of Sebastian the crab whenever I think of the name as much as i think Sebastian is a very nice idea. Why did Shawn suggest Sebastian? Because it begins with an 'S' just like Shawn.

After seeing the doctor, I went to the Medela service centre to get spare parts for the Mini Electric Plus breast pump which my cousin loaned to me. Replacing those items cost me RM 165 but I am grateful that at least I do not need to buy one. The market price for the pump is RM 599. Hence I am saving a lot of money by using what is given by my cousin. Besides, Medela seems to be one of the better brands in the market, if not for my cousin, I may not have the luxury of using a pump of such quality. I may end up buying other cheaper brands which I would later need to compromise for the weight and comfort.

The baby's items are almost all ready, except for the mattress. Again, we failed to find one that fits into the cot. Nevertheless, it may have been a blessing in disguise. The coconut husk mattress sold at Little Whiz was RM 300 plus and yesterday, when we enquired at a shop in Taman Sri Serdang, we found one that cost only RM 140. Leslie plans to buy the mattress from the man in Taman Sri Serdang. Guess we are going to force the mattress into the cot. We are left with no choice unless we buy a new cot for the baby, but then again, that would be a waste of money.

So, every day we are preparing for the arrival of the little one. Either we are buying something or we are fixing or cleaning something for him. I am looking forward to his arrival.