Week 31 - No More Durians

We had our 3 weekly checkup this week and discovered that Pipsqueak has put on a considerable amount of weight. He's gained 700 grams in 3 weeks, so he's 1.7kg. The strange thing - my total weight gain was only 400 grams. Which means he got 300 grams off me! His size is within the normal range, so nothing to be alarmed about. But I am convinced that his weight gain was attributed to durians. I had 3 large durian seeds over the weekend and I felt so heavy and I could see my tummy had grown considerably the 2 days after. Another pregnant friend of mine has been eating durians and also gained a lot of weight. So to all the pregnant mummies out there who have babies that are too small - EAT DURIANS!

I'm going to stay off durians for now, I don't want Pipsqueak to become so huge that he gets stuck in the birth canal!

Every day that passes, I think that I can't possibly grow anymore, but I keep growing and I think I'm surviving on God's grace alone. Its getting really hard to breathe and I get reflux when I lie down to sleep at night, so I have to prop myself up a bit higher. He likes to turn around a lot and do somersaults when I lie down, which actually really hurt now! His legs are also kicking my ribs a lot, so I have to sit up really straight.

My belly also becomes lopsided a lot nowadays, you can see his limbs or his back sticking out at odd locations. He does respond to his Dad though, who gives him a bit of a massage and speaks to him, which results in the offending body part returning back to position.

Despite feeling very heavy, taking a walk or swimming actually makes me feel better, not worse. I suppose its the circulation. I've been waking up at 5am in the mornings and the worse thing is I can't get back to sleep! Probably my body's way of getting ready for the late night feeds in the coming months.

We finally bought Pipsqueak his cot and stroller today! Will post pictures of them in next week's update. I've also finalised his wishlist, so for those who would like to know what presents to buy, just ask and I can email you the list. I've started packing my hospital bag and placing items in as and when I can. I didn't realise there were so many things to pack, so I figured no harm getting ready although I'm not due yet.

Week 30 - Visit from Aunty Winne

Pipsqueak got his first visitor this week - Aunty Winne from Hong Kong! Well, she actually came to visit me, but for now, its kind of the same thing. :) Aunty Winne brought presents for Pipsqueak - check out these cute mummy and baby matching shirts! Can someone who knows german tell me what the word means??? Winne has checked with her sources and they have assured her that its nothing vulgar. Which is a good start. But it would be nice to know what it means...hehehe...

We visited Sungei Buloh on Saturday afternoon to bring Winne back to nature - and we got totally feasted on by mosquitoes! Suffice to say that we were covered in mosquito carcasses by the end of the day after smacking each other's limbs to kill them. The park ranger assured us that these are not dengue mosquitoes, as Sungei Buloh is a swamp area and the Aedes mosquito needs very clean water to breed. Cold comfort to 3 itchy people. On the bright side, we visited some of the farms in the area and came home with a freshly killed sea bass and lots of organic vegetables. We had a sumptous dinner of HK style sea bass, carrot and corn soup and fresh leafy vegies. YUM! I also learnt the trick to making good soup, HK style. Anyone who wants to know, ask me. :)

We visited the Night Safari on Sunday night and although it was raining, we didn't let it dampen our mood. In fact, it ensured that the weather was nice and cool. The down side is that the Creatures of the Night show wasn't on as its an open-air show. But we had a good time nonetheless - would recommend you visit if you haven't been there before.

I took the day off on Monday and we watched Harry Potter and went for a massage after that. The massage was really sub-par, and its a well known spa chain called Rustic Nirvana. They promote their pre and post natal massages a lot, hence I decided to try out their promotional deal, but really, its not worth it. Don't waste your time and money trying. We had planned to have XO fish slice noodle for dinner after the massage but we were so lazy, we ended up coming straight home and cooking what was in the fridge! Check out our fusion meal - Korean noodles, HK Spare Ribs, Chinese Cod fish and Green Salad!



Am feeling so so heavy these days, and I have quite a fair bit to go before full term. I read the babycenter update for week 31 and I almost jumped out of the seat - it says Pipsqueak is headed for a growth spurt. OH NO! I can't imagine growing any bigger. We have another checkup tomorrow, I suspect Pipsqueak is lying sideways and not head down, will see what the gynae says tomorrow!

Week 29 - Bursting out of Pants

I think I'm really running out of space for Pipsqueak, breathing is getting difficult after a meal and especially so when sitting down. He's starting to kick me in the weirdest places, I think he's close to some nerve near my bladder and rectum, cos I've jumped out of my seat a few times from the sharp pain I get from his manoeuvres.

I was sitting down at my desk this morning and it was just before lunch. Suddenly I just couldn't breathe. I had to go to the toilet and remove my pants. And I hadn't eaten lunch yet! Thank goodness for the maternity shops nearby - I walked out during lunch and bought a brand new pair of black maternity pants and wore them straight away!

The fun part now is to see Pipsqueak's joints sticking out of my belly. I'm so stretched that I can actually stroke the limb that's sticking out of my belly as it moves around. The feeling is strange and amazing at the same time.

The Husband has been busy assembling the furniture pieces we bought from IKEA to store Pipsqueak's stuff. I predict we'll run out of storage very shortly as the drawers are already full!

Nanny Search Broadcast

As most of you know, I will be returning to work part time after Pipsqueak is born. We are looking for a good reliable nanny to help take care of Pipsqueak during the day time for about 2 days a week. Preferably someone close to our home with experience for caring for infants and loves kids. If you know of a friend, relative, aunty or friend of a friend that fits the bill, please let us know! We are willing to drop Pipsqueak off at her place and will pick him up at the end of the day.

Week 28 - The 1kg Mark!

Pipsqueak has hit the 1kg mark! This is apparently within the normal range for this stage. We had our routine checkup this month and all looks well. Sorry I can't post his latest ultrasound - the printout is really unclear and he's grown so big, the picture shows his face but its rather distorted...not like the earlier scans of him. Plus the machine in my Gynae's clinic is not the super duper modern one at her hospital, so its rather rudimentary (by my standards anyway). But what we could see very clearly on the screen was firstly his chubby cheeks (he's put on some flesh now) and his genitals. I don't know what this means but I guess for the Husband, he's proud that his son appears to be all man.

His head is also turned down and he's lying on one side of my belly, hence when I lie flat, you can see a bulge on one side of my tummy. Which explains all the kicking I feel on one side only as he's kind of lying sideways. We also saw his lips very clearly and my Gynae calls it "rosebud" lips.

I've been advised to keep active to help with an easy labour and I'm able to start doing squats too. I can't believe I've finally entered the last leg of pregnancy, the third trimester. I'm already feeling so heavy, I can't imagine how I can possibly put on any more weight. Apparently weight gain at this stage is exponential. I've put on 9kg in total so far, which puts me at 50kg. My Gynae estimates I will probably put on 14kg in total, which is fine. She's encouraging me to eat healthily so that Pipsqueak won't get overly big and make it a difficult labour for me.

I've also been having quite a bit of inspiration to cook - The Husband thinks I've been cooking exceptionally well since I've been pregnant. This kid is a gourmet I tell you. Here is a pic of what we had for breakfast this morning. We had some leftover potatoes which I made tuna potato patties with for dinner. I used the leftovers this morning and heated them up with a side salad of fresh cos, tomatoes, poached egg, oranges and a viniagrette dressing. YUM!



Pipsqueak is also a lot more active nowadays, or perhaps he's always been but he hasn't been as big as he is now for me to really feel the movements. Its good that I'm a heavy sleeper, so his nighttime activities doesn't affect me. But he's getting so good at moving around that he sometimes kicks my bladder and rectum and some nerve around that area that sends me a shock and I end up yelping. Good thing he's never done that in a meeting as yet!

I've also compiled a gift list for Pipsqueak as we've been getting requests from friends as to what to buy him. If you want a copy of the list, let me know.

From now on, my checkups at the Gynae will be every 3 weeks, followed by every 2 weeks and every week when I'm term. Time really flies, I can't believe I have 8 weeks to go to 36 weeks, which is technically term, although he will have another 4 weeks to full term. I've been diligently doing my stretching exercises every night and reading up on labour and delivery. The Husband is also taking note of when he has to really bring me to the hospital. We've also bought a bit of extra furniture - a chest of drawers to store Pipsqueak's clothes, a breastfeeding chair and a storage rack for the kitchen.

Week 27 - Prenatal Class

This is Pipsqueak's latest gift, a Touch and Tug Discovery Book from James and Pauline. Its really quite cute, I think I enjoy playing with it more that Pipsqueak! There are 3 different animals and the book tells stories, sings songs and makes animal sounds. I've been playing the lullabies and wrapping the book round my tummy so that he can listen to the songs and recognise them when he's out. The book can even be attached to the crib!



Pipsqueak also got another gift this week from Eekwang and Benita - a cool Winnie the Pooh outfit! As well as another bag load of hand me down clothes from James and Pauline. I really don't need to buy any clothes for him!

We attended our first prenatal class this week. We missed Lesson 1 and 2, so we jumped straight into Lesson 3. I was down with food poisoning when Lesson 1 was held, and that was the class on pregnancy nutrition and exercises. Lesson 2 talked about early stage labour and Lesson 3 is on labour and delivery. We signed up with Mrs Wong Boh Boi at Thomson Medical Centre based on feedback from friends who said her classes were very good. We rushed down from work on a Wednesday night to find the entire class packed with pregnant mummies and their husbands. We sat on comfy mats on the floor and did various pregnancy exercises. It was quite interesting, and the Husband was aghast that the husbands had to do the exercises with the preggy wives. He was muttering under his breath "But I'm not pregnant, why do I need to do these exercises?" He was sweet about it and aceded anyway.

We had a section on massage and that was really nice - Mrs Wong taught different massage techniques and once again the Husband started muttering "But I already give you massages exactly like this, why do we have to pay money for someone to tell me to do something that I'm already doing". We learnt a game to play with the daddies which is a form of communication between the unborn child and the dad. It involves mummy kneeling behind daddy who is seated cross-legged. A rhyme about raindrops and winds is recited whilst rubbing daddy's back. Then a thunderstorm comes and mummy has to pat daddy's back very loudly. After that, preggie mum presses her tummy against daddy's back so that he can feel baby kick him. Well the funny thing was that no one's baby kicked at that point! Mrs Wong very matter of factly said, "Well, sometimes baby doesn't know what games mummy and daddy are trying to play!"

The key part of the lesson was breathing techniques and relaxation exercises. We learnt how to breathe deeply during labour, the correct position for optimal pushing and how to visualise our babies in "crystal clear waters" and the "opening of canals" to cope with the pain. We went through a mock labour with daddies learning how to support mummies physically and emotionally, but were warned not to start pushing as some women have really gone into premature labour during the mock sessions!

The class ended with a tour of the delivery suite. Although I wasn't going to deliver at Thomson, I wanted to see how a delivery suite looked like so we joined in. Turns out there was a mummy in labour right next door! We heard the nurses counting to 10 to encourage her to push. Mrs Wong said if we were lucky, baby would be out when we finished our tour. True enough, when we walked out, we heard the loud cries of the newborn! Everyone was overjoyed for mother and child. Mrs Wong asked for permission from the daddy to allow us to watch the newborn being weighed and he agreed. She was gorgeous - a baby girl, 3.4 kg and super alert, looking around at the 30 pairs of eyes watching her being weighed. Quite a way to end the class.

I thought the class was pretty helpful and gave us a good idea of what to expect during delivery. The Husband thought otherwise and has been having father and son conversations with Pipsqueak about the happenings outside the womb. The funny thing is that I hear absolutely everything, even when father and son talk about me - so much for confidentiality. The Husband and I can be quite the opposite on various issues, which I must admit is a good thing. I have no doubt that he will stay my pillar of strength and calm should I get hysterical with pain at any point. I'm still optimistic about having a natural labour with no epidural and as the Husband likes to say - "Its all in the mind - half the battle is won if you win the battle of the mind".

I had a super appetite day this week. This is a log of what I ate over 2 days.

Day 1:
Breakfast - cereal
Mid morning snack - 1 slice of bread
Lunch - beef hor fun with sour plum drink
Mid afternoon snack - 1 small tub yoghurt, 1 grapefruit, 1 muesli bar
Dinner - Rice with Pork Ribs (Pai gu wang), kang kong and tofu hotplate
Supper - Longans with sea coconut dessert, 1 slice cheesecake

Day 2:
Woke up at some ungodly hour (it was still dark) absolutely famished. Struggled between eating and going back to sleep, hunger overtook me. Ate 2 Marks & Sparks raspberry tartlets from the jar next to my bed (yes I keep food next to my bed cos I've woken up hungry before)
Breakfast - grandma's nyonya bak chang and iced milo
Mid morning snack - Egg mcmuffin from Mcdonalds
Lunch - Yong Tau Foo & Fruits (I deliberately bought this cos I thought my body would go on overload soon with the amount of food I was eating)
Mid afternoon snack - 1 sardine puff
Dinner - 8 course wedding banquet

I was really amazed at how hungry I was and how much I ate - and I swear it was a growth spurt for Pipsqueak cos he hardly moved the next day! Babies grown when they sleep and he was sleeping alright. I panicked again and told the Husband maybe Pipsqueak was in distress, but he comforted me and told me not to get paranoid. True enough, Pipsqueak was back to his normal active self the next day and so was my appetite. You'll be glad to know I'm eating normally now.

After this week, I will enter my third trimester - the last leg! I can't believe how quickly time flies. I'm feeling heavier by the day and sleeping at night is becoming harder and harder. My hips feel so heavy with the weight and my legs get numb after a while, so I have to switch sides and stretch my feet before the leg cramps hit. My next checkup is at 28 weeks, which is a detailed one to check baby's growth and weight.