Week 17 - Pipsqueak's First Holiday

Just came back from a great weekend in Batam with the folks from ACTS - for those who don't know, its our young adults group from Church. It was Pipsqueak's first holiday and he had an exciting time! Firstly I joined in a line dance as part of the resort's welcome routine for guests. Nothing strenous, just one step involved a little jump which I tried to kept to a minimum. Also had a nice massage at the spa, which involved me lying on my tummy for a while. He didn't like it, kept kicking me cos he didn't have enough space. Then a few of us went out to the bay in a speedboat. The husband was the driver of the boat and he was very careful to make sure we didn't travel too fast. The scenery was beautiful, especially when we drove around some marshes and swamps. We got caught in a rain cloud on the way back and the raindrops were painfully big! Plus cutting through the rain in a speedboat does make the impact all the much greater. Was quite an experience.

I got 2 offers for a seat on the train last week and 1 so far this week. Not bad considering its Monday. Not surprisingly, the ones offering the seats are ladies. I can't pinpoint why, but I've concluded that Singaporean guys are really not much good at being chivalrous. Most of the ladies that have offered me seats so far are middle aged too, so I figure that maybe they've been pregnant before. My first seat offer came last Tuesday and I was so taken aback, I refused the seat. (I have a short 10min train ride to work each day). I've decided today though that it takes a fair bit of courage to offer your seat to someone - I know it sounds silly, but in Singapore, anything you do to attract attention to yourself on a crowded train is embarassing. So I've decided to take up any seat offer I'm given, just to reward the person offering it. I got a seat today 2 stops away from home, but I graciously accepted it and thanked the lady twice - once when I sat and another time when I stood back up again to get off. I told her she could kindly have her seat back cos I've arrived at my destination.

As for cravings - they have been easily satisfied so far. Sour and very very cold stuff. So I suck on ice cubes at home and snack on grapefruit and other sour fruit I can get my hands on. Got a nice soursop and a bag of passionfruit from Batam over the weekend. There is still that yucky aftertaste in my mouth all the time, so the tartness from sour fruits helps to clear the mouth.

Week 16 - It's a Boy!

We had our 16 week scan today and it looks like Pipsqueak is a boy! There was a tiny organ between the legs. Doc said it could be umbilical cord, but it didn't move much when Pipsqueak moved around, so its likely to be THE ORGAN. Which means we are in a fix, cos we ain't got any boy names yet!

Pipsqueak's head is to the right of my abdomen, the body and legs are to the left. Which explains the weird sensations I've been feeling to my left. He was active, hands waving at us as usual, even caught a glimpse of him sucking his thumb briefly. He turned his head to face the screen once during the session! His body length is now 10cm from head to bum and total body length including legs is about 16cm.

Every morning, I go through the "what am I going to wear" routine. I'm too small for maternity clothes and too big for some of my regular clothes. Good thing I have a few pieces that were too loose for me!

I've gained 2kg - which the doctor says is really going to me and not the baby. UGH! I still think that I can eat as much as before, which is not true. My digestion has slowed so much that I can only take small meals. I over-ate last night. We went to Pow Sing for dinner and I was hungry so I ate really quickly. Then we went to Haato for dessert and I had a double scoop of milk tea ice cream and wildberry. I really shouldn't have, I regretted it at night cos I really couldn't digest my food as well. I ended up sucking ice the whole night to quench my thirst cos I just couldn't drink much water!

Week 15 - Neither here nor there

Week 15 has been good. On some days, it feels like the morning sickness is slowly creeping back. Somehow, the digestion isn't 100% and the strangest thing is that I haven't had any cravings since getting pregnant! I mean, I get cravings NORMALLY when I'm not pregnant, now that I'm pregnant, I can't figure out what to eat. Its strange. I'm getting used to the constipation too. I've realised that whilst prune juice helps in the constipation, it makes me feel really nauseous and bloated the whole day, so I've got to find other ways to cope.

My clothes are getting tight - thankfully I lost some weight last year so I have quite a few pieces that are normally too loose for me, which fit just right now. I tried on a maternity skirt in the S size and its way too huge. So I ended up buying normal clothes in size M. I walked into the shop and told the salesgirl I was pregnant and asked for all items with an elastic waist and tops that are empire line. I thought to myself how lucky I am to be pregnant at this particular point in time, the trend seems to be empire line tops and I managed to get a dress and a top that cost a fraction of the price of real maternity clothes, which will probably last me a few more months. I've had many envious mums in Church who keep commenting at how my tummy isn't really showing yet. The down side is that no one gives me their seat on the train!

I've started to feel what seems like the pipsqueak moving and kicking, but I can't be sure. Could just be my active intestinal tract or gas. We have our Week 16 scan this week, looking forward to seeing how pipsqueak has grown!

The other weird symptoms are my sensitive nose - I still can't stand the smell of perfume. The husband thinks I can get a job in the drug squad - as a sniffer dog that is. I am not as averse to food smells anymore but anything that smells chemical or fragrance that is articifial drives me mad. Which makes it hard sometimes when you have a client or colleague that reeks of perfume. And I'm starting to walk with my feet slightly angled - I think its the start of a waddle. Very scary.

I've been reading up lots and am very keen on a natural labour. Call me crazy but I'm even going to try without an epidural. Mum had me in 3 hours with no epidural and I'm hoping really hard that the labour process is somehow inherited, but we'll see. The latest fiasco this week was my vacillation between sticking with my current obstetrician or looking for a new one. Heard a horror story from the forum that my obstetrician may not be very pro-natural labour. She suggested to a patient that she induce her labour at Week 36 and according to this patient, for not good reason. Inducement and most intervention usually increases the chances of an emergency C-section. But I met 2 other patients who delivered naturally with my obstetrician, and one even said she was very encouraging towards a natural labour. The husband in his usual calm self told me to pray and do more research. I think we've decided to stick with our obstetrician. Honestly, we're comfortable with her and we have no reason to complain. I have a tendency to read up too much and with too much information, the husband says it tends to paralyse me. I've decided that whatever happens, its in the Lord's hands. If I pray for a smooth, fast and easy labour, it really wouldn't make much of a difference which obstetrician I choose.

Baby Gaga - Week 14 Cartoon