Gorgeous maternity photography in Sassy Mama’s ‘The Bump’!
This month’s ‘The Bump’ features stunning maternity photography of mama Cheryl Curties by Gunilla Lindgren of Sugarlight Photography. Cheryl is an architect-turned-SAHM, and has a very rented house right now with two little ones under two years old! Her daughters are Sophia (born in 2018) and Amelia (born in April 2019). Read on to hear increasingly well-nigh how having skin-to-skin contact with her victual miraculously stopped her negative reaction to the epidural, how she got her groove when in record time second time around, and her parenting tips.
What was your reaction when you first found out you were pregnant?
This second pregnancy was a big surprise; I was still adjusting to stuff when at work without maternity leave. I was juggling my projects with late-night meetings and Sophia frequent fell sick while at infant care. I felt guilty for not stuff worldly-wise to spend as much time with her without the lineage of her sibling. This was intensified when I felt bad towards Amelia for feeling this way! It was an unending trundling of negative feelings for a a few months, and I had to concentrate on the joy of the new wing to our family.
What’s your funniest memory over the 9 months of pregnancy?
It happened just surpassing we were leaving for the hospital for the birth! I ripened a really strong nesting instinct without watching the Marie Kondo series on Netflix and spent at least 4 months reorganising the house. I had spent the last few weeks cleaning out our oven, working on it bit by bit as I had my huge bump. I decided to finish working on it that weekend but my husband ended up reassembling the gutted-out oven while I was in bed timing my contractions!
Any unconfined books and resources that prepared you for when your victual arrived?
My mother-in-law gave me What to Expect – The First Year and that was very helpful for the first few months! I’m moreover subscribed to the same app with provides updates on my children’s expected progress, two forums from the same series based on the girls’ lineage month and year, Ovia Parenting and a breastfeeding mums group on Facebook. It’s quite a lot but I read whenever I can. It does help to know that your parenting challenges aren’t unique and it’s good to learn from the wits of others. Babies moreover grow so quickly in the first few years, and progress so quickly that there’s unchangingly something new!
What do you think every woman should know surpassing getting pregnant?
There will be a thundercrack of well-meaning opinions and comments from family, friends and strangers. You just have to hear and filter them out, stand firm and do what’s weightier for you and your family. I have learnt to take it easy and navigate the underpass when you get there, or it can get overwhelming very easily. I think stuff pregnant has made me a lot calmer!
Your soul will moreover go through immense changes, so learn to love the soul you have. One of my biggest challenges is memory loss and the worthiness to process and retain information. It started during the pregnancy and sleep pennilessness with the multiple night feeds has exacerbated it. I used to pride myself for stuff sharp but I now live for the moment.
What was the easiest trimester and which one proved most difficult?
The second trimester was the easiest hands down. The third was the worst as severe nausea and fatigue came when and I felt so heavy and sluggish all day. By this point I was so well-trained with dealing with vomiting that I would uncomplicatedly walk to the washroom with a plastic bag, trigger the vomit reflex with my mind, wipe myself without doing the needful, and get when to merchantry as usual.
Did you follow a fitness programme while you were pregnant?
I wish I could have, but chasing without Sophia during the last five months of the pregnancy was a good unbearable workout for me! Despite not working out, I made sure I made healthy supplies choices.
Any malleate tips and tricks for maternity dressing?
Before I was pregnant, I loved to wear unstudied shirts or unstructured tops and skinny jeans or leggings. This unliable me to stretch my gown out for as long as possible, but I definitely did invest in a few maternity bottoms (Uniqlo leggings and jeans are the comfiest!) as well as nursing dresses and tops (mostly from Seraphine Maternity and Mothers En Vogue) to get increasingly use out of them without pregnancy.
I was fortunate to be worldly-wise to wear comfy sneakers and flats while working.
Did you have any weird and wonderful cravings?
I wish I did but I’m so glad I didn’t develop a strong unpopularity to garlic, onions and spicy supplies with this second pregnancy! I could not stomach water, so I had to have diluted flavoured drinks. My go-to was a particularly sharp lime cordial.
What did you struggle with most stuff pregnant?
Nausea and fatigue 24/7 hands down. I was tired of feeling tired!
Name a mama you find inspiring and why?
I find entrepreneurial mums with online shops like Eileen from Elizabeth Little or Corinna from Lovejomink inspiring as they have chosen to follow their dreams in spite of a young family. I’ve unchangingly been good with my hands and have been dreaming of setting up my own online shop for quite a while.
What are your thoughts well-nigh finding out the sex in advance?
I’m not one for surprises and I love planning superiority of time. Knowing the baby’s gender feels like a natural step of getting to know our victual largest surpassing the birth. That said, we wanted it to be special so we got our OBGYN to write it on a vellum where we would unshut it at home and have a quiet triumph with just the two of us.
Did it take you some time getting pregnant or were you one of those mamas who got lucky on the first try?
Definitely the latter! We have unchangingly wanted 2 children, but we hit the jackpot for both pregnancies when we weren’t plane trying.
What kind of lineage did you have? (hospital, home, epidural, c-section, with a doula, etc.).
I had a vaginal lineage in hospital with epidural as my contractions were very intense. I reacted very immensely with the side effects of epidural by shaking and vomiting surpassing and without delivery! It miraculously stopped when I had skin to skin with Amelia in the first hour of her birth, and it was magical having her in my stovepipe for the first time. The side effects unfurled thereafter until I was administered medication.
Who was your OBGYN, and where did you requite birth? How was your lineage experience?
Dr Paul Tseng was my OBGYN and he’s very popular! I fathom that he puts me at ease and it moreover helps that TLC is tropical to my then-workplace. As this was my second lineage at Mount Alvernia, I knew what to expect but still needed to psyche myself to wifely lanugo surpassing the birth. As one would without 9 months of waiting! Fortunately my contractions started on a weekend, so my husband was with me and we didn’t need to rush well-nigh as we did for my first birth.
My second lineage wits was quite variegated from the first. While in the wordage ward for a few hours, my water bag splash and stuff on epidural, I only felt a little pressure followed by a loud gush of water.
As it was late at night, my husband and I tried to rest as much as we could, but the next thing I knew, something had popped out and was stuck between my legs without 3 big contractions! I yelled at him to get the nurse in quickly as it couldn’t be anything else but the baby! Fortunately it turned out it was only her throne and the rest of her soul slid out without a tiny push. It was a walk in the park unlike the heaving and clenching of teeth at the first delivery.
What helped you get your groove when without stuff pregnant?
Being Chinese, we got a confinement nanny. She was wondrous as she did vital household chores, untied from cooking and taking superintendency of my newborn. She plane helped out with my very zippy 15 month old! That unliable me to rest as much as I could and concentrate on nursing my newborn for that month.
I believe that one month of rest helped immensely as we didn’t have a solitude nanny with our first-born. I moreover had post natal massages which I find helped with the aches and pains and swelling.
Find Your Dream Solitude Lady: Singapore Solitude Nanny Guide
Do you have any mama-friendly favourite places (restaurants, parks, etc.) to hang out with your baby? Why?
I’m sensitive to heat and humidity so I prefer to alimony myself and victual cool, expressly when I’m baby-wearing a lot. We love going to Din Tai Fung as they’ve got long cushioned benches to lie Amelia lanugo while we eat. As a family we love going to Jewel for its user-friendly location and Sophia loves the playground with play equipment by Essa Grace.
Any local businesses (or websites) that made your pregnancy journey easier?
We attended antenatal classes at Mt Alvernia and found it particularly helpful in learning how to breastfeed and superintendency for the baby.
What are your hopes and dreams for your baby?
That she will be God-fearing and live her life full of love, joy and health, while fulfilling her potential and living her dreams. As parents we can only provide for her to the weightier of our skills and guide her along.
Thanks so much for chatting with us Cheryl and big thanks to Gunilla Lindgren of Sugarlight Photography for the trappy maternity photos!
The post The Bump: Gorgeous Maternity Photos of Cheryl Curties, Mama to Two Under 2 appeared first on Sassy Mama.