Sometimes, it seems to be that Louis is the one that is pregnant instead of me. I'm saying this going by how my mom exhibited anxious behaviour over Louis' well-being more than mine, especially prior to him leaving for his overseas trip.
When I first returned to Singapore from my break in the US, my mom made me a portion of bird's nest soup. And since then, that was the only time she made bird's nest soup for me and me alone.
Two weeks later, Louis arrived home and guess what, my mom made another batch of bird's nest and told me to share it with him. And on Fri night, my mom called me on my handphone to confirm if Louis was flying off on Sunday morning? She then explained that she went by the medical hall to buy more bird's nest but as it was the Lunar Chinese New Year period, the medical hall was closed and she couldn't purchase any. She remembered that I took 2 pieces of bird's nest home once and told me to double-boil it on Sat so that Louis could have the bird's nest soup before his trip.
Of course, I whined back to her and lamented that I was the preggie one here, not Louis. To which, she laughingly said we could share the bird's nest after I've boiled it. And throughout my conversation with my mom, my dear hubby was eavesdropping at my side and sniggering away silently.
Geez, I wonder if my status as my mom's daughter has changed to become that of a daughter-in-law after marriage. How the world has change.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Le Petit Bebe Qui Pense
I'm in my 32nd week of pregnancy and officially into my 8th month. This week, we visited the gynae for a detail scan of Baby's weight and measurements to see if all is well with Baby's growth rate.
Unfortunately, the Doc said that while Baby was doing well, his/her weight was at the lower range of weight gain for a baby of his/her size, at approx 1.7 kg. I asked the Doc if I could do something to rectify the situation such as trying to stuff myself with more food. He replied that there's really nothing much I can do at this moment and even if I try to ply myself with more food, it doesn't guarantee that Baby's weight will gain exponentially. He asked that I check with my mom on my birth weight as it could be a possible explanation for Baby's size too. Unfortunately, my mom told me I weighed around 3.1 kg at birth, which i gather during my time, I was a relatively big baby. *Huge sigh*
Thus far, I've been blessed with a compact belly and am able to carry my pregnancy well without the waddle gait that most women faced. I guess the downside of a small and compact pregnancy bulge is that Baby is smaller. I was frantic and worried that Baby would come out small at birth and also feeling pressured that I'm not a "good mom" since I've been hearing of many friends or friends of friends who have delivered babies weighing more than 3.5 kg or even one that is 4 kg!!!
Through it all, I am thankful that Louis, my mom, MIL, friends and colleagues were encouraging to say that it might be easier to deliver a smaller baby and to not fret too much as its always possible for Baby to feed more and play catch up after birth.
An old wives' tale that I've heard from 2 sources was to eat more durians as it might help speed up Baby's growth. However, Louis wasn't in favour of such "drastic measures" and felt that extreme behaviours or habits in the hope of reversing the situation might turn out to be more harmful than helpful to Baby.
For now, I'm just hoping and praying that Baby will continue to maintain his/her growth rate and not slow down in the last 8 weeks. At least, there's hope that Baby might turn out to be in the normal weight range at birth and allay my fears going by the 0.6 kg growth rate per month.
Oh... and the Doc did a 3-D scan of Baby's face. Hmmm... from what we can see, Baby seemed to be worried cos he/she had her left hand to the forehead, as if he/she was deep in thoughts. And Baby seemed to have a high forehead coupled with a fairly big nose too! I think Baby is resembling Louis more in terms of looks and being a worrier too. Hahaha... at least I don't have a problem with that. If Baby is a worrier, then perhaps I wouldn't have to chase after Baby at the school-going age to ensure he/she completes his/her school work ;)
Unfortunately, the Doc said that while Baby was doing well, his/her weight was at the lower range of weight gain for a baby of his/her size, at approx 1.7 kg. I asked the Doc if I could do something to rectify the situation such as trying to stuff myself with more food. He replied that there's really nothing much I can do at this moment and even if I try to ply myself with more food, it doesn't guarantee that Baby's weight will gain exponentially. He asked that I check with my mom on my birth weight as it could be a possible explanation for Baby's size too. Unfortunately, my mom told me I weighed around 3.1 kg at birth, which i gather during my time, I was a relatively big baby. *Huge sigh*
Thus far, I've been blessed with a compact belly and am able to carry my pregnancy well without the waddle gait that most women faced. I guess the downside of a small and compact pregnancy bulge is that Baby is smaller. I was frantic and worried that Baby would come out small at birth and also feeling pressured that I'm not a "good mom" since I've been hearing of many friends or friends of friends who have delivered babies weighing more than 3.5 kg or even one that is 4 kg!!!
Through it all, I am thankful that Louis, my mom, MIL, friends and colleagues were encouraging to say that it might be easier to deliver a smaller baby and to not fret too much as its always possible for Baby to feed more and play catch up after birth.
An old wives' tale that I've heard from 2 sources was to eat more durians as it might help speed up Baby's growth. However, Louis wasn't in favour of such "drastic measures" and felt that extreme behaviours or habits in the hope of reversing the situation might turn out to be more harmful than helpful to Baby.
For now, I'm just hoping and praying that Baby will continue to maintain his/her growth rate and not slow down in the last 8 weeks. At least, there's hope that Baby might turn out to be in the normal weight range at birth and allay my fears going by the 0.6 kg growth rate per month.
Oh... and the Doc did a 3-D scan of Baby's face. Hmmm... from what we can see, Baby seemed to be worried cos he/she had her left hand to the forehead, as if he/she was deep in thoughts. And Baby seemed to have a high forehead coupled with a fairly big nose too! I think Baby is resembling Louis more in terms of looks and being a worrier too. Hahaha... at least I don't have a problem with that. If Baby is a worrier, then perhaps I wouldn't have to chase after Baby at the school-going age to ensure he/she completes his/her school work ;)
Monday, February 12, 2007
A Time to be Grateful
Actually, I've discovered that there are many things I should be thankful for or be appreciative of about pregnancy. In my 1st trimester and the better part of the 2nd trimester, I've been grappling about lots of things. On reflection and especially since I've returned back to work after the 2-month break in the US, I've come to realised that indeed, there are quite a number of priviledges associated with pregnancy. Other than some of the physical discomforts from a bigger stomach, really, there's a lot to be grateful about.
Most people that I've met tend to be extremely friendly and considerate towards pregnancy mom-to-bes. Like I was once queuing at the Ikea Alexandra toilet and the woman ahead of me actually offered for me to preceed her to use the next available cubicle. And a couple of times, hawkers would strike up conversations starting with "so, is it a boy or girl that you're expecting?" or "so, you how many months pregnant?". Seemingly, it doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you put together many such nice encounters, it makes you realise that really, the ugly Singaporeans that many people make disparaging remarks do have a good side to them.
Definitely, pregnant moms get priority when it comes to food. Once, I was at the reception level of my office having a meeting and both our office receptionists had some "kuehs" from another colleague. They offered to share their food with me even though I was about to start my meeting and insisted that they would keep a portion for me until my meeting ends. And what great timing it was. Becos I was a little hungry after my meeting and that served as my tea time snack.
While housework becomes daunting with pregnancy, I am externally grateful to my mom and aunt for coming over to my house on a weekly basis to help clean my house and mop the floors. In fact, they have even wiped all the windows and window grills in the house that I don't even have to do any spring cleaning for the coming Chinese New Year!!
Although my small stomach has been a source of concern to me as to whether Baby is growing at the recommended weight range, I'm grateful that I do not have any "love-handles" when seen from the back nor do I waddle much at all. In fact, a number of colleagues have remarked that I've carried my pregnancy pretty well for someone in her last trimester and in fact, there's that glow on my face. Now that certainly is a morale booster, especially when my own vanity gets the better of me at times and I dispair about my pregnant form and the limited [read dowdy] maternaty clothes that I now wear to office.
In the whole scheme of things, and now that I've got another 8 more weeks to go before Baby is supposedly due, I thought that I should show gratitude to the many people who have in one way or another shown me the better side of human nature. So, to all my family, friends, colleagues, bosses and strangers that I have encountered, here's a big "THANK YOU" for the kindness, consideration and support that you've shown :)
Most people that I've met tend to be extremely friendly and considerate towards pregnancy mom-to-bes. Like I was once queuing at the Ikea Alexandra toilet and the woman ahead of me actually offered for me to preceed her to use the next available cubicle. And a couple of times, hawkers would strike up conversations starting with "so, is it a boy or girl that you're expecting?" or "so, you how many months pregnant?". Seemingly, it doesn't sound like a big deal, but when you put together many such nice encounters, it makes you realise that really, the ugly Singaporeans that many people make disparaging remarks do have a good side to them.
Definitely, pregnant moms get priority when it comes to food. Once, I was at the reception level of my office having a meeting and both our office receptionists had some "kuehs" from another colleague. They offered to share their food with me even though I was about to start my meeting and insisted that they would keep a portion for me until my meeting ends. And what great timing it was. Becos I was a little hungry after my meeting and that served as my tea time snack.
While housework becomes daunting with pregnancy, I am externally grateful to my mom and aunt for coming over to my house on a weekly basis to help clean my house and mop the floors. In fact, they have even wiped all the windows and window grills in the house that I don't even have to do any spring cleaning for the coming Chinese New Year!!
Although my small stomach has been a source of concern to me as to whether Baby is growing at the recommended weight range, I'm grateful that I do not have any "love-handles" when seen from the back nor do I waddle much at all. In fact, a number of colleagues have remarked that I've carried my pregnancy pretty well for someone in her last trimester and in fact, there's that glow on my face. Now that certainly is a morale booster, especially when my own vanity gets the better of me at times and I dispair about my pregnant form and the limited [read dowdy] maternaty clothes that I now wear to office.
In the whole scheme of things, and now that I've got another 8 more weeks to go before Baby is supposedly due, I thought that I should show gratitude to the many people who have in one way or another shown me the better side of human nature. So, to all my family, friends, colleagues, bosses and strangers that I have encountered, here's a big "THANK YOU" for the kindness, consideration and support that you've shown :)
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