Another mummy who was seeing Dr Heng also delivered last Friday.

So it was all about congratulations and excited messages this morning in the forum... I shared with Julian as he also saw Sharon on our last appt. So we will plan to go watch 2012 this Wednesday. keke..Take it as our last movie treat for ourselves....

You know how it feels like now?
God has given me a gift....inside me. And i am waiting to see how the precious gift of life looks like!
I can't wait to put on those small cute baby tie-string clothes on her. I can't wait to hold her and breastfeed her. Im looking forward to putting my sleeping princess on her cot and admiring her from my bed..
Am i imagining everything to be too easy? Treat her like my 'toy doll'..
Well.. i have to admit i din have much practise with my Barbie doll except that i enjoyed tying up Barbie's hair into golden plaits.
I try to believe things will be manageable and it is part of learning and becoming a mother  =)
Oh really... this can be nerve-wrecking at times..But i try to calm myself down and be as prepared as possible for the day when it is my turn.
In any case, like discussed with so many people - it is like taking an exam paper - it is all about "real time reaction" now. (临场表现）
I want to be au natural about it, cool and just do what is natural for a mother to do....just like how our ancestors brought our fore-fathers to this world...
And of course, i pray for God's presence and grace to be on us - Bless Daddy Julian and me and this new family member which God had given to us.

I may think i will not have much time to update this blog soon..
But i will still keep this passion burning - so besides Facebook, i will write all my feelings here - AS LONG AS I have internet and the laptop....okay?

I will be getting busier and please forgive me if I have been extra forgetful or distracted during this period of time..
This is one of my life's most important transition... and im going to enjoy it (well, i have enjoyed 9 months of it!) and make the most out of this....(my maternity leave) haha.
I will be back soon!

Please continue to pray for our family and join me in my count down to December... and Baby Faith  =)
Its the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, La la la la.

Muackz!

Hmm... i was stumped! I looked back (i think i stared!) at him and found myself dumbfounded.
Like i could hear my mouth waiting for that electric signal from the brain, so i could sprout out a smart reply. But the mouth and myself was waiting and no answers came!

*GOOngggggg!!* eh wake up, dey!*

i spluttered, "ooohh.... Why din i think of that? "
And i was even mentally prepared to 'enjoy' my first hospital stay! Wahaha....

So.... until i get more answers, I think i have to assume that i wun be bathing or showering in ESH during my stay.
Oh.. wun i become a smelly pig?
No wonder gynae recommend that mothers take a bath (if they have time b4 baby pops out), then prepare for admission to the hospital....

But im sure to exert force and sweat in the labour ward right?
Oh right... I guess instead of showering stuffs, i should bring my deodorant.....

"For my Faith, ...... for my maranthon..." haha

Hmm..  not exactly so that I can feel the excitement yet.  I am giving myself more time - probably by mid November, i should get excited.
Its more of an anticipation and a mixture of anxiety..
Becos i have been relaxed for so long and now i find that i have little time to get all the stuffs ready for my baby Faith.
Clothes are easy....But what about the cot, the space in our room, her drawer of stuffs - things like Ru Yu Oil, thermometer, nose cleaner(?) <-- i am a bit fearful of using this... so im gg to ask more ppl if i need to get this appartus first (Otherwise the alternative is to suck from her nose...!!!!!????) Erhm.... i think i may get this eventually.
Many other small stuffs...need to start to wash her clothes too.. Need to buy special detergent for baby's clothes, special detergent to wash baby's bottles etc....
I better start to turn the other half of my 648 bedroom into a baby room - once the cot is delivered and set up (14th Nov!)- we shall then (have more idea to/ be prompted to) appropriate the space. Now, its more like "Hi Faith, mummy is not ready yet okay... you take your time to grow inside..while i get ready".
No... dun tell me how many weeks i have left - Wait, NO...Dun remind me how many days i am closer to Dec 10th..
Wait... give me some more time..
So, u see....  im not excited yet.
Once I am ready and waiting at home for her to be ready - that is call excitement...

Still got thousand and one questions (even b4 i set up to drip The Body shop Green Tea essential oil into the oil burner, i had to consult the internet first) - but i am blessed with many ppl (experienced and first timers) who are around me and I can call on them if i have any problems.
Even when im shopping for a receiving blanket for the baby - i will sms to my "panel of mothers" to get their opinion..  I smsed them b4 i got my nursing bras...really thank God and appreciate them for their willing help and guidance.
My panel of mothers: Joanne (relative -1st time mum), Catherine (Weehow's wife, 1st time mum, delivered at ESH ), Josephine (my cousin -2nd time but more prepared mother), sometimes, Jacqueline, my ex-colleague. Sometimes, Eileen (2nd time mum, relative). I also can consult my current colleagues, Sin Wan and Joleen. Joleen, 2nd time mum after taking a break for 12 years -  have passed me a couple of useful stuffs, like breast milk bags, breast cream and disaposable breast pads... Sin Wan, a first time mum this year, she is very willing to share and initiated a few conversations with me. She seemed more excited than me when talking abt childbirth and babies! Look at how she smile! (Hmm..... Can after childbirth give me this kind of glow too?)

Im just so..... 'market research' plus 'survey' person...In the end, Catherine's advice was to get a swaddle or blanket that comes with hood, or i can give her a cap to wear when Faith is out... So yar, there i am, haven got the 'receiving' blanket for my child.
But i am waiting... waiting for a day for my busy julian to be free and we can grab those stuffs at one go - in his car and into our room! I have done my research and the one stop place to go would be Kiddy Palace (As recommended by Catherine too).
As for myself, i need to get pads, more disposable underwears, think of what i am going to wear in hospital stay, my shower stuffs, bring along breast pump also... ... etc --> this is for my hospital bag.

Do i sound like i am lamenting? Do i sound like im complaining (already!!!???)?
Gosh! This is the part - i have been enjoying myself before in the past months... and now -this is the part 'Crossing over to Parenthood'.. and its happening. Lets freak out! HAHA..

No... i dun see YS or Weehow freak out... they are so cool.
And i think to myself, if teenagers can be mothers, i can be one too! What big difficulties can they face that i can't?
At this thought, part my brain relaxes and say "Sub-sub-water lar!" (While the other half doubts... )
YS and Lynn were relaxed on Sunday for Baby Jovia's 1st month party. Lynn's mum was taking care of Baby Jovia. Even after we alerted YS -  cos we saw her daughter red-faced and was 'pushing' in her sarong- so we (all 3 girls) thinks Jovia had poo-ed, but the 'cool' father only thinks she had farted, can continue to let her sleep in her lovely pink sarong... (Hmm.. then wats the baby cot for?)
The only thing i heard good of sarong is that the baby head will be round - as compared to baby sleeping in a cot - cos we have to take effort to flip her head so when her head is still soft, she doesn't press on one side of her head for too long... (I need more info on this too! - I shall ask Mrs Wong this Sunday!)
Yes, baby cot - So i saw the 2nd example of a baby cot under-utilised. Apparently, Weehow's daughter Gerelle likes to sleep with mummy on her bed. So poor daddy have to sleep on the floor... (DUH?)
Thats not all - Babies are also particular about:
- (the brand of) milk bottles they use 
- their diapers (Its like they have super bum-skin, can differentiate what brands they like...and what they dun like) 
Not sure if there are any more we, as parents, have to sacrifice and pay attention to.

BUT i know one last thing on my baby list is the baby pram. This is kinda a big investment (other than the cot), so i just 'feel' we need to let her be comfy in her own 'car car' when in future, we bring her out.. I cannot make any decision for her now (except the kind pf specs we roughly want - cos we are the co-users). I would prefer Baby Faith sit on something she likes, then i will buy for her. Easier for adults to adapt than babies, right?
Not yet think about the baby car seat yet..

Last Friday, i took the chance to go back to mum's place for dinner.. as DD was in Bangkok. We kept in touch via phone calls whenever Jul was free to talk, he would update me.
Saturday afternoon was KTV-ing at International Building/ Partyworld with Sis. It was a good time, the songs still ringing in my ears and i so wished to go sing again soon.
But i had to forgive myself for i was unable to sing properly now - with tummy upwards, i guess my diaphragm have been squashed too. So is my abdomen area.. so i find i do not get enough breath easily when singing and i cannot project my voice properly now. No 'power' in my singing liao.. No more Zhang Huimei crooning - only songs which requires my throat pitching.. But still it was good time - i enjoyed my bubble green tea. Hehe..
Then while we exited International Building -  i saw a familiar face entering the building and then upon second glance, i recognised her and naturally smiiled at her, as if i saw my relative. She was  Xiang yun. She returned my smile. Very friendly and warm. She was with her daughter. But i did not see Edmund. Prob he was walking too fast in front of the mother and daughter. I only managed to see his back view - thin and the likes of a 'teenager' built.
Across the bridge to Far East Plaza, accompanied Sis to get her caridgans. And saw another two celebs, Lai Yi Ling and the guy co-host with her in "On The Beat 2 都是大发现". The skies turned darker as we came out from shopping. Sis was planning to go Pasir Ris, while i need to go Marina Square to meet Jeannie and Singyin.
I saw my bus 124 and hopped on hurriedly, without giving Sis the goodbye hugs.. I was gan cheong -cos i did not want to be stuck in the rain..(with little cash) -the ATM at Far East had long queue...
It started to rain cats and dogs. I was glad the bus stopped at the bus stop closer to the entrance of the City Hall entrance near St Andrew's Cathedral. So, after some waiting, i took the 'leap of faith' and walked to the shelter and walked along it to reach the entrance of City Hall mrt. Phew!
Singyin was shopping at Mango. Soon Jeannie joined us. We headed to Mothercare and went to shop for a gift for Baby Jovia. Cos we were attending her baby shower the next day..
In the end we bought her a set of rompers - with cute elephant and mouse design. After dinner at Waruku... we went to Fox and topped up with another pretty dress...
Conclusion: shopping for baby's stuff will be most likely to make me bankrupt next year!
I better thicken up my savings!!! (Faintz)
At the same time, i think this will strengthen my judgement on "needs" and "wants" - especially for myself, the household, and for Baby Faith.

I am blessed to receive a bag of baby clothings from Eileen, my relative's daughter last night. I have not "ransacked" it, but they looked new to me. I think that bag alone saved me a lot of money - just like how my hand me down pregnancy clothes from Liyen saved me bucks on getting maternity denim jeans.

Jul returned on Sunday morning 1am. I was so happy he bought so many stuffs, for me and baby.
Jul is not of 'shopping' material.... He does not know how to buy girl's stuff.
But consider he did it for me, shopping alone -So, i have to accept his answer when he says: I bought it cos it looked good on the mannequin.."
I can ony smile sweetly at him.. becos i see his gesture, his thoughts... not what he actually bought.
He bought me a slipper, a dress and 3 tops. He bought Faith a dress( but paid by his boss, Reggie) and 2 shoes. His colleague, Lilian bought Faith three Osh Kosh tops in yellow, pink and red colour and a pink mini skirt. Good for her when she starts walking, she says..
I think we need to categorise her waredrobe then... and keep reminding myself Faith has enough! So we do not spur on her clothes even as she gets older! (Cos ppl already pre-buy for her liao)
Jul also bought for himself a yellow slipper, 3 "man-bermudas", belts, ties and tailored a pants and some shirt for himself. Missed each other so much, we chatted in bed until we were tired.. and drifted off into sleep.

Going into Wednesday! Tads fast!
I will try to enjoy my week - the Team returned from Korea today (Tuesday) - and our day started with gifts like: lipgloss, faceshop facial masks, seaweeds.....magnets, pens. 
But im also glad they are back - i can settle many pending things..

More blessings, Lord... Thank you God for keeping me (sane)...Thank you for your great love showered on me each day! =)

Take care and have a good week! Keep you updated again!
Love, Me & "moving- a- lot" Baby Faith 

"If you see me getting uglier, you will see Baby Faith getting prettier..." me to Jeannie at Marina Square Fox, uponing seeing the price of a pretty baby dress...
I am joking. yes.....  =P

Missed ya all...  I din go anywhere - was kinda piled up with work and unable to do any blogging in office.
Good news was Yenting has been selected to fulfil my duties while I am on my maternity leave, so now i am handing over and guiding her on the daily stuffs i do for my clients accounts, the admin, the filing and what nots.
I must have been lazy for a while. The last time i wanted to load some pic to share, but there was error when loading. So i gave up trying and took some break from this blog. Meanwhile, while i have time, i check out facebook using my mobile. Im gg to try again tonight, perhaphs - to load my pic and some gifts which Faith has already received!

Yupz, October is going to be a busy month for me... especially the weekends are quite packed with schedules already. Not forgetting our weekly Parentcraft lessons on sunday (12.30 - 2.30pm) at AMK Hub
I will share more about this class later.

Coming events:

17th October -  Evening BBQ at Leng Kah's house (colleague)
Extras: Going to ask Teresa to teach me how to make Oreo Cheesecake at Lengkah's house. I would like to make one small one as trial. And i hope i can make one for Julian for his birthday. Besides FIL loves cheesecake) Learning the chilled version of cheesecake would do us fine, cos we do not have oven. (Hmm. but maybe i will need an electric mixer, or else my arms will become very muscular...haha - i guess!) 

18th October - Wedding 1: Liesl (NYP fren)  -->As it is a lunch reception, we have to take our Parentcraft 2nd lesson on a later slot, prob have to leave her wedding reception earlier to rush in time for the 3pm class at AMK Hub...  =(
(What an unfortunate clash of events)
Venue: Regent Hotel

23rd October - Chalet (Jul's Uni friends)
Intend to take half day leave from work for a medical apt at Changi.
Then go join Julian's Uni friends at Chalet.
If possible, make the cheesecake for Julian at the chalet so at night can let him try out  =)

24th October - Gynae appt with Dr Heng at 11.25am.
We will set off from chalet.
I can foresee weight gain - i have increased appetite for chocolates this past weeks. And have not been brisk walking regularly. Opps..

25th October - Wedding 2: Valarie (Colleague from Export Dept)
Venue: Amara Hotel, Dinner banquet

"Hand me downs" for Baby Faith: In the afternoon, gotta go down to Tampines to collect "hand me downs" for Faith from relative, Eileen. This includes a baby rocker chair -good for the living room

My weekend (9th-10th-11th October 09):
Please enjoy the short stories... they even have titles  =D

FRIDAY (9th Oct):
Soccer with flood lights @ NYP

Although i had in mind to finish work and be on time to catch the soccer match between Jul's gang (consists of T.O players and LA gang) and NYP staff (James' lobang) @ NYP, i only left office at ard 7.30pm. And there was an email i need to send to Europe, so i took my laptop home.
I must thank God for meeting Big boss in the lift, he was able to give me a lift to NYP. (Cos i told him, my 'Ahmad' was having soccer match, not coming to pick me up today)
Anyway, it was an okay journey. He was asking about work most of the time and eventually he came to the question: if I could handle more accounts than the present two. I think you all should know my answer. (Got choice meh?) hehe..
I alighted at the furthest entrance of the school and took my time to walk into the Sports Complex, where the match was held.
Along the way, i called up Sis to chat with her. It was her second night at TTSH.
Her fever had not subsided and on Thursday (8th Oct) the clinic gave her a referral letter to go TTSH and TTSH warded her to do test on her, eventually reveal she had infection on her gall bladder and kidneys. She was put on antibiotic drip.
Sis sounded energetic and we both lamented how hospitals can get away to keep their patients warded in the hospital with "all kinds of reasons and tests". It was not much of a choice the patient have. I did urge Sis to tell the doc she wants to be discharged asap. But then TTSH says they want to keep her in ward until the blood test is out...
Then i told her i could visit her on Saturday and she sms-ed me her ward number.
Latest update: Sis was discharged yesterday (Monday) afternoon and her blood test report was all clear - meaning no virus/bacteria in her blood. Good. Thank God it was over for her. And she was on another set of antibiotics - stronger dosage. I hope this really helps her increase her immunity this time and no more high fever for her...    

Back to my journey into NYP:
Although i had been in this campus for 2.5 yrs, (previously the campus had different campus and business campus was the one at Tiong Bahru -We moved into the new campus in our 2nd Year), but there are stil parts/areas/block of this campus which i have never ventured before. I have been to the engineering block to have meals, and went swimming at the campus pool with Elaine and Limei (i think!!) and i guess that was by far the furthest i have ventured - out of our School of Business Mgmt (SBM) blocks. So i knew i would get lost. But eventually i followed my ears when i heard familiar noises of a soccer match plus following the flood lights - i reached the fields - and in time to hear the final whistle.... i was so very late.
The score was 4-3. Julian's team won and they were all very happy. Julian (being the coordinator) was the busy man of the night. Being his wife, of course i saw more of his 'anxiety' side in his preparation of this match - sharing with me his tactics for the team while i brush my teeth etc (he even wanted to bring a white board to draw the player position!).... he was still excited when lying in bed the night before... haha.. 
While the guys bathe, James brought me to see his 'workplace' - the staff gym. That was certainly some place i have never been to. Charlene was there waiting for James. She is James' gf. Kind and sweet girl - she bought me orange juice and a packet of Kinder Buenos! Julian also bought me a bread in case in get hungry when i watch the match.. but the busy man forgot to take it out from his car, only until Ken discovered it already squashed under the butt of either Tiang or Zhiming at the passenger seat. What a waste - but i told Jul was the thoughts that counts! =) Later we had our dinner at Yio Chu Kang and went home.

SATURDAY (10th Oct):
"Obedient D/ DIL and Grand DIL"
I woke up ard 10-ish and planned to go to TTSH. Absent-mindedly, i informed MIL about it. At the mention of the word 'hospital'...my fate for the day changed... MIL advised that it was better i stay away from crowds and "places of virus"- as i should keep my body in tip top healthy condition as my top priority now - because i have Faith inside me. I could hear that she tried to make it a point to explain to me her view and tried not to make me misunderstand her intention that she is 'evil'...
Well... i accepted her idea and kindness, i know what she meant. I have overloked the serious-ness of this matter. Thus I was blaming myself for not considering this factor and already promising Sis last night about my visit as i was too eager wishing i could pay Sis a visit. (I have not seen her for a long time!)
 I should have known this would happen and slip out of house not revealing the "real" location i was heading to. Sigh.. 
But being me... I did not give up, holding onto the last ray of hope- I called up my mum hoping to get her consent. Well.. erhm... her reaction was similar. She also advised against me going to the hospital. OK. I accept my fate.  Called up Julian and told him what happened - he blamed himself for forgetting to 'warn' me about the 'obstacles' he knew i would face today.(That's him) But what done could not be undone. I knew i had to stay home. So i called up Sis and seek her understanding. My heart went out to her, so wished i could accompany her at least for a few hours in the lonely hospital. But i was grounded.
I helped MIL to mop the flat, then settled down for a bowl of noodles which MIL made for me. Julian was not back yet. He will have soccer and a wedding dinner to attend later in the evening/night.
While having my noodles, MIL went into another round of 'stressing' why it was important that mothers kept themselves healthy during pregnancy. She cited examples of her relatives and friends, those who had high blood pressure/ diabetes etc during pregnancy, stressing again how important mothers should feed themselves only nutritious food at this point of time.(Also stressing that we should keep away from canned soft-drinks and those 'home-made' lemon tea that kopi-tiam sells cos of the "dangerously" high sugar content in them. MIL knows better -trust her on the lemon tea.) On my end, I appreciated the rare conversation that MIL initiated, although i have to say only certain parts was interactive - other times i was just slurping my noodles and nodding my head in silence- implying, "yes, i agree with you."
After Jul returned, he took a 15 mins nap and we drove down to Marsiling for his T.O (Means Team Orange) soccer match. Maybe it was due to the previous night match which drowned out T.O's losinf streak, the match resulted in a draw. This was a (phew) scrap through under the guidance of the replacement manager- Kenneth. Kelvin had work assignments in Sydney.
After Julian bathed, we drove down to Grandma's house to pick up small aunt (xiaogu).
His wedding dinner tonight was an appearance 'ordered' by his grandma. Julian and xiaogu had to attend this wedding dinner as representatives - cos Grandma and granpa were overseas. While small uncle and wife had to attend another relatives' wedding dinner.
Grandma did not allow me to go - for the same reason: stay away from crowded places. Although Julian was upset that he had to leave me alone in Grandma house (and according to his words: while he ate shark fin, he could not bear that i was having anything lower grade ...haha ), but i was okay not attending - if Grandma finds out and she will definitely be angry and naggy about it.
We tabao my dinner - i ordered a beef steak -Western food style and for my leafy vege supplement - we order 3 bucks worth of 'oil vege' from a chicken rice stall. Yes, i love 'xiao bai cai'....
After they left, i savoured dinner and channel surfed along Channel U, Channel 8, Animal Planet and Natgeo.
At around 9.30pm, Jul called to inform me how slow dinner was progressing - i appreciated his call to let me have mental preparation on my wait. I even managed a 'sweaty' short nap on the leather sofa after a drink of Vitagen.
The pair returned at around 11-ish - i was watching Natgeo and they were showing their research on how King Tut's burial and mummification could have been done in a rushed manner.
We went home but that was not all to our weekend. Mahjong was waiting for us at 648.
We packed out stuffs and left to join Ken and Zhiming at 648. Our one round of mj (accompanied with smoke-breaks and soccer watching) ended at ard 3am. I was tired but i was glad i managed to minimise my loss to a mere 5 bucks.

Sunday (11th Oct):
Meeting the famous, Mrs Wong Boh Boi
It was a day i had been looking forward to... Yes! Our first lesson as first time parents. Of course it was  long time since.. we had lessons together in same class, learning same thing since we graduate from poly. haha... We did not participate in any pre-maritial course, so i was glad to be able to make this course possible for Jul and myself. It was already good that, although Mrs Wong works under Thomson Medical Centre, this course was open for all, even if we are not delivering at TMC. (Of course we pay slightly more, cos no discount) I have read good comments abt Mrs Wong's class from forums. And if i want to engage Jul in this class, i wanted to ensure this was an interactive class and not just showing us old videos and slides.

While i was doing my makeup, i heard a whimper of pain from the shower. Julian had "sprained his neck" again.It must be the pillow - it was too low for him and when he is tired, he will stay in the sleeping position for too long during the night and his 'tight' shoulder will cause problem for his neck..
We were already running late. Our lesson was 12.30 and we aim to have lunch at AMK. I had got no choice - I was.....  'Ahmad' for the day. Had lunch at Pepper Lunch. It was a long time since i had Pepper Lunch. I ordered their Sukiyaki Beef set and enjoyed the meal thoroughly. We upgraded to a set and i had orange juice and a Caramel icecream as my side dish. Jul ordered a pepper beef set, Pepsi Light and a mash potato. We arrived at the classroom at 12.45.
Those who had arrived were watching a video about how caucasian mothers breastfed their twins babies. (The mothers made it looked so easy,b/fing with and without the 'horseshoe' cushion, and those huge, wide eyed babies din seem to have any problems latching onto their mother's breasts!)
 All except Mrs Wong would be seated on the floor (this was to faciliate exercises to be done later). We sat on the given foldable mattress and two pillows.
We picked a corner area and half the mattress rest on the wall. 
Now, going back to my poor Julian with a strained neck..... it was really heart breaking everytime i see him winced with pain when he moved his neck; and i could do nothing about it and reminded myself not to agitate him today.
Now he had to accompany me to sit on the floor for 2 hours for this lesson.
This neck sprain really came at a wrong time. I tried to cheer him up by being extra cheerful myself.

Mrs Wong was a slim, petite asian sized woman. I could say she was very filled to the brim with knowledge of childbirth, breastfeeding and mothercare that she sounded rather 'unpleasantly boastful' when she was introducing herself. Yes, as long as you read about any breastfeeding forum, she would be one of the speakers. She also wrote 3 books for TMC. Julian could feel her commitment to share her knowledge, although he called her a "witch". Even though it was our first lesson with Mrs Wong, i already know her favourite verse: "I dun wan history to repeat itself..."
Indeed, her lessons were interactive and also filled with jokes. Julian sat behind me (cos of the lack of space) and i would turn around and laugh at some jokes with him. Julian was amazed at how i enjoyed the lesson as he ruffled my hair during break time. I just smiled but did not tell him, tat actually it was simply becos of his presence.
Mrs Wong taught us a lot of exercises and the 'papas' in the class would follow and do along with the wife, assisting/supporting her in same.
She explained that fathers are the best doulas when their wives are in labour.
Because no mater how knowledgeable/smart/capable a woman is, when she is in labour - she is just "blur" and during this time, the papas would be there to guide "the poor woman in pain" what ever they have learnt together.
This is so right =)
Doulas: –noun

a woman who assists women during labor and after childbirth.

But din she know that pregnant women have poor memory? I could not take down all the exercises into my notebook in time and now i can only remember a few. I also learnt about placenta and the baby. She also passed around a sack, mould with a belly and breasts for the papas to put onto their front - so they could experience the extra weight gain that a pregnant women have to handle when they are pregnant. It was rather meaningful. =) Mrs Wong taught us how to move about up and down, leave our beds in the correct way without injuring ourselves and our frail bones. How to exercise such that certain muscles are relaxed and what exercise to do to reduce muscle cramps, relax our shoulders, firm our chests etc.

After the lesson, i wanted to hang around to listen to the advices she has got for other mothers with questions. But i know Julian, with a spained neck woud not have it. So we left. I hope to be able to stay around next week, and ask her the questions that i have in mind. I also hope we can revise the exercises we did or maybe she will give us some notes about her lesson.

It was decided that we should have someone look at Jul's sprained neck. His movements were slow and he was straining his shoulders awkwardly that i was not getting very used to him...It was akin to a mother who would miss her child's activeness/naughtiness when he/she is sick...
So we went to AMK Central and decided to go to the "Gleneagles of Traditional Chinese Medicine" - Eu Yan Sang TCM Clinic. The 'yishi' rubbed and tried to relax Julian's shoulder muscle. In the end, though Julian tried to oppose, the yishi still went ahead to insert one accupucture needle into his left hand. I was accompanying Julian and was seated on an empty bed on his right. So i tried to distract Jul's attention when Jul turned away from his left hand, but i know i wasn't doing a good job cos i was also afraid of accupuncture needles myself!!! But it was fast, the yishi wanted Jul to rotate his neck while he rotated the accupucture needle in his hand, and within one minute the needle was removed. The yishi claimed the accupucture needle would help to relac jul's shoulder muscle. We had bought a Tiger Balm plaster and the yishi helped Julian to stick it on. Julian's conclusion: Did not felt any better and we went around searching for 'Zheng Gu Shui" which appeared to be Julian's most trusted brand for sprains. Unable to find one that comes with a spraying appartus, we went Guardian to get one empty container for him to transfer the medicated liquid.
We also went to NTUC to get gifts for Baby Gerelle -Weehow and Catherine's baby girl.
Weehow say that we could visit the family at night.

After having lor mee at home, i wrapped the present that we got for Gerelle - 2 baby wipes, one travel milk powder container with 3 compartments and a pair of pink car strap protector. We could not decide what toys to get her. So decided on the more 'useful' stuffs.
Baby Gerelle was having her milk (fed by her grandma) in the living room when we arrived. Her granddad was practising karaoke. The family just returned from an outing. Weehow and Catherine got married on the same day CWT Globelink had our 20th Anniversary Dinner last year. I could not attend their wedding dinner. We also did not visit the couple after their wedding at their house, thus it was my first time that night viewing their renovated room and baby's room.  We also got to witness how busy the parents can get just to 'wipe' the baby and change her diapers cos she had soiled herself. Julian and me witness a crying baby girl and 3 pairs of hands around her - Weehow, his mother and Catherine. It was a short but good lesson - to bring us nearer to the future - our reality that we would be facing.
Now in my belly and safe in her 'water world', baby Faith is so nice to play with and we do not need to feed her, change her diapers, make sure she sleeps well etc.... but once out to this world- Expect Havoc - this was the message I got that night. I also heard the difference between a baby's cries and wails. Wailing was like a marathon of orchestrated cries - stereo.  Apparently Gerelle loves bathing but hates being wiped dry. I wonder how Faith's cries and wails will sound like.... anyway, they will be part & parcel of my life, something i have to get used to, in the future so that i would still stay calm and steady when i am doing my job of cleaning her/ feeding her. I am in control of her world.
We left at 9pm, i guessed Jul needed rest for his neck already. Back at home, i was somehow struck with a slight pang of loss. Julian understood it clearer than me and spelt out that my worries surely stemed from my childhood experiences.
Yes, Part of me was afraid that i would be fighting this baby battle alone.
I shared with Julian that I was afraid we would have so much lesser time together once Faith is out. I may not have the time to smile at Julian anymore. Julian laughed and replied (without batting an eyelash): Faith brings me joy, and we will be in this together. "Will I bring you joy?" I asked Jul. Then i realised my silly question, wild thoughts may have brought me too far to cause insecurity to thrive. 
Fortunately assurance from my sprained-necked Julian was still as effective. I guessed the 'playful' me was just complaining. I reminded myself that was not to overlook my vast circle of support from his grandma side, xiaogu, PIL and my mum - something which other others may not have... and they have to rely on maids and external help.

I am blessed. =)

I shall continue to look forward to this Saturday - i will be learning how to make a chilled cheesecake and i want to be able to make my first cheesecake for the family. =) 
Consider this as something to add to my "Mummy's resume" - Cheers - to the 'mummy' in me! Heehee

You all, Have a good October! God BLess you! Shall write more 'short stories' soon!

P.S: Oh. i do miss Halloween.(just for the dress-up part).
 If not for Faith, i was planning to get dressed up for one!
So do "jio" me next Halloween! hehe..

The visit was a short one - cos she told us, we were the last patient she will see, then she has to rush off to tend to an operation. So my consultation was a hurried one. The normal procedure of Dr Heng during ultrascan each time was to show us baby's head, then she will take measurement. She will take measurement of baby's waist as well as her thighs. Baby Faith's head was at the bottom this time. i was happy with this position but Dr Heng says she can turn herself again. Dr Heng had to use more pressure on the ultrascan scope so as to show us a close look at baby. She was playing with her fingers. She wasnt shy but was moving during the scan. Sadly, the scan print could not capture the image that we saw on the screen as clearly and properly- so you could only see a big head 'roughly'...

I was happy with my weight gain - 1 kg this month. Seems like my effort to consciously avoided icecream cravings and lesser carbo in my diet did pay off. Baby was 1.228kg this week - at Week 29 & 4 days.
Dr Heng says although she was small but her weight is normal.
So this week, she is a Week 30 baby already. Next week, she will be 31 Week old!
Still as active and ultra sensitive to her movements at night whenever its lights off time for bed..Despite any other pain that will come along the way, i wish she will continue to gain weight and gain size =)
Mummy is with you, Faith. Stay bouncy...and we look forward to see your pretty face on the 10th December...
I also booked my 2 bedders ward stay with ESH - cos MIL advised i will not feel so bored, compared to staying alone. Since i had no preference, i went along with her decision (at least she did not make me stay 4 bedder =p )

Back to our day on 26th September - After getting the usual supplements and booking my appt next month to see Dr Heng:
We went to Bedok for lunch after settling our flat tenure stuffs at Bedok Branch office. At the market, it was the usual stuffs which we would order to eat - Jul's favourite Carrot Cake (always yummy!). I saw 'chui kway" and asked for 4 of them. We both wanted to have some chicken meat - thus order a chicken drumstick meat without rice to share, then we shared another plate of 'Fried tou fu" mixed with soury chilli sauce. Jul had to leave for his showflat duty whereas i had plety of time to spare alone before my appointment with the Soya Bean milk tasting started at 6pm. So he left me at Orchard to shop and walk at 3pm.
I wandered to Isetan and bought some dresses and a top going for 10-15 bucks. I decided to "invest" in a pair of Truimph Sloggies (not cheap ok, 21.90 for one) undies for myself as i could not fit into some of my old thongs anymore.
Then i tried to find myself more flats to wear but found none suitable for me at Isetan. So i walked to Tangs and grabbed a honeydew drink along the way - it was a hot weather. At Tangs, the brand Tangerine was having sales - 16 bucks for a pair. I bought a white pump and a bronze sandals with a large diamante design in the centre. Then i realised it was 5.30pm, so i hurried down to Orchard Hotel where the tasting survey would be conducted.

It was one to one interview - inside one of Orchard Hotel's ballroom, i was asked to taste 4 different brands of soy bean milk and give my comments. Well.... i have to admit, i wasn't a good fan of soy bean milk (but i did not want to give up the chance of attending such marketing surveys, plus the fact that i passed the phone screening test - despite answering "jollybean' and "Mr Bean" as one of those brands which i will think of when i tink of Soy Bean.) They were talking about retail brands - those you can find at the supermarket. ( Ohhh.. )  
The challenging part was: After tasting a small cup of sample, you have to describe and rate its 'aroma', 'after taste', 'residue', 'colour'!!! etc of the four soy bean milk. Well, i tried my my best to find out which one suits my taste best. After about 1/2 hour, the survey was completed. And out of it, 25 bucks in exchange for my opinion and time. Not for the money, but for the fun and experience i get out of it. =)

I was to head to my mum's place for dinner, then wait for Julian to fetch me home at night after his showflat duty ended. So i decided to take bus to my mum's place. BUT... somehow, my 'happy' feet brought me to This Fashion at Douby Gaut. In the end, i 'big bag, small bag' more dresses back home and i was feeling a bit regretful for such a spree, i must have gotten more than 10 pieces of clothes in the few hours in Orchard!! Tsk, this always happens when i am alone -wandering and have too much time on my hands. Of course some dresses were good buy (and i had to buy.. the fact that i was not their member anymore, did not deter me)  - they were also having some warehouse 80% sales on their 3rd floor. I could no resist the curiousity so the feet brought me up and in the end, I selected 2 long dresses that added up to 12 bucks only. Wanted to have a change in style for my pregnancy look. I wore one of the green floral halter long dress yesterday to work.
That was why that night, i updated facebook - i was overdosed on dresses... seems like they will not be enough for me.
But enough was enough, i told myself as i tried to find space for each of them later in the tiny waredrobe (Shared with julian). No more dresses, i do have enough. =P

OK.. i shall update more later. Its lunch time now, my noodles are ready - announced my MIL.
Later at night, more members of the family will come together to celebrate 'Mid Autumn' with food. mooncakes and pomelos. I hope all pomelos will be yummy and tasty and sweet! Cos i am not looking forward to the vegetarian chicken rice..... only the rice and chilli is nice.. i do not enjoy 'floury' mock meat, maybe a few pieces to show face.
Im waiting for Jul to return home now, i guess we will continue to watch Naruto at Crunchyroll and take a nap later.
But the stomach can't wait. Im hungry liao - so im gg to tuck into my 'mee suan'...

HAf a gd weekends you peeps!
LOVE YOU!

Icecreamgal's Saturday editorial team:
Kicking Faith, me and icecreambox.

me and wriggling-Baby faith