Long Hiatus

Wow realised upon visiting my blog after such a long time that I haven't blogged in a full month. Thinking back its really no wonder. I've been so bloody busy at work, its really driving me nuts. First semester of the acad year had always been more busy with all the admin work like goal setting and budget planning etc. But this time round...I realy don't know why everything must happen at the same time. Suddenly there's a new option to be launched and I need to work the curriculum; suddenly there is a course review and I need to not only work out the survey for graduates but to send them out and consolidate the replies from hundreds of graduates ( better be that many else I will need to call them one by one to get their replies... can u imagine? ); suddenly there's this stupid new module I need to be in charge of (aside from my existing modules) that I need to coordinate with another member of the team. I can feel the stress building up as I lament why couldn't all this happen next semester instead (when I'm on maternity). Aside from the workload, I'm struggling with the heavy heat that has set in since April. It is most annoying trudging around campus ladden with a laptop, in very warm maternity wear balancing with my new baby bulge.

Speaking of which, met up with some of my friends over lunch yesterday. One of them was commenting her sister, who is about the same stage as me, wasn't showing half as big as mine. Indeed, I had similar comment from my colleague. So be warned those who havent met me in a while. Maybe you wouldn't recognise me with my big baby bulge now =) Also, to keep you posted, Dolly determined in the previous visit that we're expecting a baby girl come October. So guess it will be pinks in the wardrobe then ;P

We celebrated my first mother's day celebration, where i'm a mother (to be) that is; at Taste Paradise. The food was pretty exquisite I would say, although I'm not normally a fan of fusion. Tastebuds also made the expensive food like abalone unappetising, but simple foods like the fried rice was really good. My first self declared mother's day present was a metallic rose ds lite. Its barely into its opening ceremony and its already my most utilised gadget (yes, more so than my mobile phone or PC even). There is this game called Harvest Moon DS I'm absolutely addicted to. I'm sure I spend at least 5-8 hours a day on it on average. I love the way the time flies by during the morning and evening commute. I suspect there is a touch of escapism there. I always get most addicted to silly things when I'm stressed. I recall once when I spent my eves of exams folding paper cranes.

I must confess I cannot really blame it all on work though. As I move into my 5th month carrying my baby, the buzz of the conception is more or less settled and in its wake, stress is starting to build up. I'm fairly pragmatic I would say, and never thought that having a baby will be a breeze. But now the reality is starting to sink in, in all that we'll need to sacrifice once my baby girl is born. My feelings starting to become more ambivalent. I hope this is a passing phase though...

Disappointing Visit

I've been sitting on the post since my visit on Monday. I've been plagued at work, and at home, hardly ever seem to get enough sleep. I get nightmares some nights and wake up, heart beating so fast. Gynae says I'm stressed...? Maybe lor.

Anyway back to the posting, I finally went to see Dolly, again with mum and Ming, hoping to finally know the gender. But baby very shy leh. When scanning, baby closed the legs. Dolly try to poke the baby a few times, but all we managed to coax was for baby to turn the head towards us. Legs still closed leh. Mum later say, maybe girl more shy, lol. dun wanna open legs ;P Anyway, Dolly harboured a guess, that it was 60% chance a girl. LOL... i remember mocking 60% guesses, since any tom dick or harry, without aid of an ultrasound scan, also can make a 50% guess liao. 60% doesn't mean anything leh. So, despite the 2nd time my mum freed up her time to come to the visit with me, we were unable to get any conclusive results. Dad called again, only to hear the bad news again. lol. Hopefully, next visit, can confirm gender lor. Anyway, I already got many new neutral rompers. Promised myself, no more liao. haha... hope i can keep to it once I find out the gender, especially if its a girl, coz there's just so many pretty girl clothes out there! That night, Ming announced to my in-laws that its a girl. He has gut feel is girl leh. Haha, maybe the source is from him, he got better gut feel ba?

Aside from the visit, I also managed to buy my first pair of Clarks. I had always had an aversion for Clarks for its relatively high price given the lack of asthetics. My mum had always been a huge fan, especially after she had feet problems and needed specially made insoles. But thanks to that, I learnt the importance of shoes, and heeded her advice to blow some money on a pair of shoes I would otherwise not have looked twice. For that price, of course I would have preferred another pair of Birkens, but realistically speaking, I couldn't wear Birkens to work lah. Another limitation of my anal workplace. But nevermind lor, for the sake of the child, and the future of my feet, I just hope the Clarks are worth it. Well at least I don't have to wear sports shoes to work everyday like I'm doing now ;P

2nd trim

Technically, 2nd trim is somewhere between 12-14 weeks. I've been delaying this post, not really knowing when my 2nd trim is, and also waiting formy 1st trim symptoms to abate (as they are supposed to). Fortunately, appetite seems slightly improved, but the fatigue is still there. It supposed to abate, but I've stopped holding my breath. I wonder if its due to the start of school year. Maybe I'm less fatigued but due to work and stress, I still feel tired? I guess I should be thankful that school only started after 2nd trim, where pregnancy is supposed to be more stable.

Next week I visit Dolly again. XXXXX all fingers hoping this time round, I can know whether is girl or boy. haha... not that it really matters. Nowadays, I feel too tired to shop already. The initial excitement of havign a baby has settled down, and work has taken over in urgency since school started. In fact delayed my gynae visit by a week so my more anxious than me mother could make it too =) We did play around with the idea of keeping ourselves in suspense. But guess no point also lor. Knowing gender does help us prepare for baby stuff. This time round, my weight gain is surely more than triple my previous gain. haha... lets see if she chides me again. Fortunately, Sis had already warned me she was particular about weight ;P

Last saturday attended Jeff and Trish's baby Maryam's 1st month birthday. Maryam was very peacefully sleeping, seemingly oblivious of the many people around her. We didn't get much time with her as anxious relatives wanted their time with her too =) Caught up with Darrel and Geraldine who went to Tokyo Disneyland. So we exchanged stories about Disneyland in HK vs Tokyo. Jeff entertained us with detailed description of his witnessing baby Mayam's birth process, including crowning and when her face popped out blue. He even commented "Smurf!" haha amazing lah he. I don't think Ming (nor I really) will want to witness. As long as he stays by my side, I'm happy.

This saturday I'll be attending Audrey's girl Arelyn's 1st year birthday party. Suddenly all around me seem to be babies, from Rylee, to Michael, Maryam, Kathleen's baby boy whose name is unknown to me yet. I think mine should be the next in line?

Hong Kong/Guangzhou

We had decided to visit HK and GZ despite all the bad press about the flu etc. Consider it a last honeymoon when its just the 2 of us. Of course, future trips with the child or children might probably be fun and excitement, but will definitely be different. There is a freedom when its just us, you know?

Overall, pretty much enjoyed the chance to get out of stifling Singapore, despite my not 100% constitution. Appetite issues and headaches did plague me sometimes in the trip, but they were fairly manageable, probably coz i was in or near my 2nd trimester. and yeah, maybe its psychological too ;P Nonetheless, we did get a chance to cover most of the places we liked to, although we really had to pace ourselves and take it easy.

Transport
We flew to HK via Jetstar, but booked too late and missed all the promos :( the final price difference was just about $100 from SQ. I find the airplane quite decent actually in terms of leg room, stability etc. But personally, I think SQ would have been a better bet, less hassle of taxing from airplane when landed to the HK airport. And with the limitation that fluids cannot be brought on the plane, $5 to fork out for a bottle of mineral water seemed a bit steep. Foodwise, it was about $10 for a plate of fried rice or nasi lemak. We refused to pay restaurant price for microwaved food however, so we gave the meals a miss.

HK MTR was very convenient though, connecting the airport directly to our destination in Kowloon station for about HK$140 for two tickets. Subsequently, we found the HK MTR very convenient for getting around HK, with simple to understand maps and instructions despite having many rail lines. Price-wise, a trip to the Disneyland station costs about HK$16+ pax, which is about $3+?

Taxis were also fairly convenient and plentiful, and inexpensive too for areas inaccessible via MTR.

To get to Guangzhou, we took the train. I've never taken a train except for the New Zealand trans-atlantic was it called? So images of steam engines fed with coal and noisy wheels came to mind. The train to GZ was a pleasant surprise. Clean and comfortable, it was much more spacious than expected. Other passengers included many businessmen in suits.

Shopping
I couldn't seem to get much shopping done in HK or GZ. It would have been slightly better if I weren't expecting or if I had solid faith I could retain my figure after birth. As it was, I only got a couple of tops from HK ESPIRIT that could be worn during maternity. Ming managed to get some tops from there too.

The very popular HK Ladies' Market yielded nothing for us though. Felt was quite 'pasar malam' type of goods that you could find pretty much many countries in SEA. Considered some soft toys but nothing too interesting.

Food
Surprisingly, the food wasn't as spectacular as I hoped (maybe with the exception of one classy dim sum restaurant our hosts introduced us to), with all the rumours of gastronomical delights available in HK. We tried dim sum, their cha chan ting, foodcourts, restaurants and fast food. Perhaps we just didn't know where to try? Pricewise however, mostly it was pretty much cheaper than back home though. I hunted high and low to no avail for my peanut paste though. But surprisingly found the wanton la mien in a foodcourt near the ulu Hong Hum station of very good standard. That was where we took the train to Guangzhou later in the trip. We had quite many meals at fast food joints though.

Food in Guangzhou was also lackluster, but it was cheap. Cheaper than HK, and much cheaper than home. There were many rumours and cautions on their hygiene standard, but given I was pregnant and yet didn't encounter any tummy upsets, I conclude it was safer than rumoured.

Attractions
The highlight of the trip I have to admit was Disneyland. We were in 2 minds about going there given the bad reviews it suffered. I wasn't too impressed with the one I went in California so this one must have been worse I deduced, plus the fact I couldn't take the rides in my pregnant state. But since it was Ming's 1st trip to Disneyland, we thought to give it a shot anyway. We heard tonnes about its small size and how half a day was enough, so we went there only at 11am (opens at 10am) expecting a leisurely enjoyment of the park. We only managed 'leisurely' before lunch. Instead it was much rushing from ride to show to shopping to meals. We really didn't have the time to complete the tour of the entire Disneyland and had to forgo many rides we wanted to take, to our disappointment. We shouldn't have lingered in Main Street and taken our meals on the run because between the queuing and waiting, there just wasn't enough time. Very sad to miss the Winnie the Pooh ride Ming wanted to take :(

The Peak (Victoria, was it?) was another attraction we went to. Fairly nice, despite the long painful queue to board the tram. And we weren't prepared for the butt freezing cold at the Peak while we tried our best to snap photos while shivering. We really shouldn't have bought the ticket to the scenic viewing gallery as there were plenty of other places from which the view could be enjoyed. We didn't know that of course, so nevermind. Foodwise, the ribs there was fairly good, but guess we should have ordered the shrimp they were famous for.

Miserable

This is the worst phase of the pregnancy thus far. Since Monday, I had been nursing a migraine that fades in and out but stubbornly refuses to make an exit. The nasty thing about migraine coupled with the dizzy spells of pregnancy, I don't dare to stand too near the MRT tracks anymore lest i lose my balance. I also feel disoriented and lost in a crowd, losing all navigational skills. It also makes working on a computer hard and i always must turn down the backlight or my eyes feel strained and tired, worsening the pain. It also caused my 1st puking session since i got pregnant. Sleeping is another problem, as i can no longer seem to sleep uninterrupted. Wake up in the night, sometimes unable to get back to sleep.

i also hate that it caused my appetite to take a downturn, causing family to fret over everything i ate (or didn't eat). I certainly felt I was mature enough to worry about my own diet. I recalled before I got pregnant, I promised myself I will be one of those model mums who would eat a healthy, nutritious diet for the sake of my unborn child. But reality could be cruel, as my tastebuds got really picky (frankly i'm not much a picky eater before pregnancy) and I only seem to crave unhealthy food (chicken rice, laksa, otah, fast food etc). This of course made family fret even more. which stresses me out and headache gets worse, and cycle continues :(

Second visit, first regurgitation

i went to see the gynae happily today, all hopeful to know the gender of baby. unfortunately, she couldn't commit to me any gender at all :( say its too early. but but, when she was doing the scan, she (purposely i think) disturbed the baby so that baby moved her hand! look like baby was waving at me! very very cute. baby is now about 4.7cm, last visit baby was just under 1cm. =) grown so much from first visit hor? sigh but i had such high hopes to go to HK knowing to buy blues or pinks! hee... oh yes, gynae say i put on 300gm :( she say not good for 1st trim. say if weight gain in 1st trim means tendancy to gain weight. hai.. better watch diet le.

it was a really warm day compared to previously, and me and mum marched all of orchard up down running errands and for a yummy brayani lunch near ming's workplace. probably the heat and exertion got to me, and i settled home nursing a migraine. in the evening, i puked my 1st since pregnancy :(

Michael's first month

the girls and i popped by simei to visit fran and her new addition to the family, michael darius. he was quite active already, with a pair of big alert eyes that were already pretty focused. the girls took turns carrying him but unoruntely coz pandang for me, i din get to carry him :( photos for this pending in fran's camera. Fran and sugi also shared their very interesting labour experiences (note to self, write birth plan...) and it was quite interesting to see sugi handle the tiny baby michael. to his credit, michael stopped crying when daddy picked him up. so he must be quite good at it ya? =)

fran's aunt oso made a killer mee siam for us, with huge slices of fresh succulent prawns, and the chilli!! yum! words cannot describe. and not to mention the yummy fish-paste you tiao...droolz... we all had second (or third) helpings ;P was really very yummy