On Saturday, the Bo & I had a maternity shoot to capture the final moments of our pregnancy journey.

It was a birthday gift from a very special someone (thank you again), and while I didn’t think I would dare to bare the belly in front of the lens (I won’t even wear a bikini pre-pregnancy &  took some getting used to when I had my first glance of these preview photos) and the Bo thinking that it was probably a waste of money since he could have captured the belly using whatever photographer skills he possessed; we were glad we went ahead with it anyway because upon seeing a preview during our photos selection process after the shoot, we realized that we now had our very first set family photos captured. Encapsulating the joy, love, gratitude & blessing we have for baby chungkin #1 – as we progress from couple hood to family.

The Bo especially has never been a fan of posed portraits, which is why we never had any pre-wedding photos taken as we much prefer spontaneity instead. But seeing how he willingly agreed to have photos taken with us on Saturday, showing either his protective dad-to-be side or goofy little expressions in most of the shots made my heart beat faster & melt at the same time. He definitely looked every bit ready to be a dad as much as I think I am to be a mom.

To parenthood! … the beginning of a beautiful journey and to a smooth, healthy,  fantastic & blessed labour.

We had one of the best gynae visits today!

Firstly the wait was about 30 minutes (vs. the standard 1.5 hours or the recent 2.5 hours we’ve been subjected to for the last 2 consultations).

The gynae was in an obviously good mood, had the time to joke around, answer my questions, acceded to my early request of a strep B test (just in case I was due early, to which he assured I wouldn’t. :p) and we had a fun, longer-than-usual time seeing baby chungkin via tummy scan.

Little one’s growth slowed down a little, putting on only 0.5kg more from the previous visit which was about 3 weeks ago (currently at approx. 2.2kg) but mama here put on 1.9kg, which was really bad. Though I kind of knew that those red velvet cakes & cookies I’ve been having almost every other few days would contribute to it.

The gynae said that he was very pleased with the growth progress, and that if I maintained, labour should be fairly smooth.

And!!! we managed to get quite a clear side profile of the little one too! Although his hands were in the way again, this time covering his mouth (probably still hungry from the light curry puff lunch I had earlier).

2 more weeks my little man, to you being full term and seeing you via the scan/monitor again! Whee. We’re all getting very very very excited.

In the past 3 days, baby chungkin & I shot our first ever tvc & print commercial. And boy was it an eye-opening & interesting experience.

[background: advertiser needed a preggy lady as one of the main talents and somehow production felt the real deal was still better than having an actress pretend to be like one; so one call led to another, my post-natal massage lady (a friend of one of the production crew) asked if I was free & interested to try out. And since I didn't have a job nor commitments to attend to - I agreed to it, plus I was also curious to find out what it was about and would be like.] 

The main gist of the ad was to promote fairness in the workplace and to give everyone a chance (i.e.: not discriminate the pregnant, elderly, handicapped etc.) and I thought it was a pretty good message to be part of.

I had dearest mommy who volunteered to chaperone me on all 3 days (thank you mom!) while the very grateful husband was busy mugging for his upcoming exam. And turns out, she had a blast getting to know the various production people/crew on set as well!

It was also amusing when some of the talents asked if my belly was a ‘prop’ (a fake tummy) / and if I was donning it on throughout to really get into my role on separate occasions! While others would asked which agency I was from. Turns out that most of them were either freelance talents or managed by an agency and had some form of acting experience vs. clueless mama here.

I had a fantastic time, albeit feeling a little worn-out from the 2 days of filming especially on the first day when I didn’t quite know what to expect. I did manage to start getting the hang of it (and basically ensuring that I had ample rest on the night before) by the 2nd day, and was very well taken care of throughout – lots of sitting (they would even have someone bring in a chair for me to sit between takes), rest breaks in between and very well-fed…there was almost always food & drinks available. And getting first hand scoops/stories/experiences/accounts from the people I worked & chatted with was of great hilarity !!!

Never again will I look at tv shows & commercials in the same light. Filming/ shooting is definitely hard work and there’s just so much that goes into producing that mere 30 sec or 1 min commercial, let alone a tv series or a movie.

Kudos to the great production team I worked with and I can’t believe that chungkin’s already famous in-utero! HAH!

Here’s some pix taken between the 3 days, with none on set  because we weren’t allowed any photos by venue’s gate-keepers. :x

{the 33-weeks+ belly}

{mama & me}

{with wardrobe artist, Ms Annie who was a darling… helped massaged my swollen legs & feet}

{done for the day!}

{with mom at Gill’s salon for a much-needed haircut}

{doing a moisturizing hair treatment}

{mother & daughter}

{sporting a shorter hair cut – 4 inches off}

4 more weeks to full-term!

You know how mummies tend to want to organize play dates for their little ones with others around the same age?

Well, technically I’ve given myself (and the chungkin) a head start already because since more than a month ago, me and 2 other moms (who are also due in Apr) have been actively organizing our own mummies play dates revolving lunch/cakes/coffee/shopping/online shopping amidst other adventures!

Today, we had a reunion lunch meet-up just before the year of the Rabbit ends in 2 days’ time and boy, did time fly by so quickly just eating, shopping, yakking & eating again. Frivolous, I like!

It won’t be long before our all-exclusive mommies play dates will start to involve our little bubs now.

{at PS cafe Paragon}

{rustic potatoes with greens. Our only substitute because this outlet don’t have truffle fries. Boo}

{Ashley’s triple cheese penne}

{My order of all-day breakfast sandwich}

{Group shot of our jelly bellies + Annie’s darling little Kyan}

{After some shopping, we had to stop for some desserts. A must in every gathering}

{Mr. Cutie}

{Ashley was a really good toddler sitter & entertainer}

I’ve always wondered the fascination with TWG (after all they just sell tea, right?) since spotting their tea boutiques; and it wasn’t till I had my first session there last Dec (initiated by request from a friend who wanted to have tea there) that I may have concluded the hype about it.

For the friend (an Australian chick who loves visiting Singapore and always wanted to have tea there), it was about the macaroons, ambience and cute staff.

For me, there was just something very English about the entire affair (and I’m quite the sucker for all things English). The nostalgic furnishing perhaps, or fine bone china being used, friendly staff dressed primp & properly, to even the lovely choice of ‘Disney music’ (as I term it) being played in the background – it felt like I was transported into a magical place oozing of old-world charm. Sitting & watching the world go by within the tea boutique and outside (credit goes to excellent choice of venues & location within the malls) and feeling like a lady of leisure, if even only for a few hours. And needless to say, the various aromas fused from the different teas and those scones served with tea jelly – icing on the cake.

Today was the 3rd visit for me in 2 weeks – with a different bunch of ladies each time of course, and I had lunch there for the 1st time, which is not too bad! I know it sounds pretty extravagant, but it was definitely one of the better places where we could really get a decent conversation going on without having to repeat.

Plus with b.chungkin making his appearance in a matter of 10-12 weeks, …here’s to tea, scones, awesome catching up with great company for at least 1 more time before D(elivery) day and motherhood begins! Don’t think the little one’s company will be appreciated by other patrons by then :p

{tea-infused lagsane}

{roasted chicken sandwhich}

{scrambled eggs with greens & prawns on the side}

{my company for the day!}

And on an even happier note, here’s me at almost-28 weeks:

Spent yesterday morning catching up a little with the BR and then with the rest of Queenies over at Sinema @ Old School, while lending our support for Ning’s mega magic gig (pity Jas & I had to leave first and didn’t get to witness her act though).

Did some walking about the ex-MGS school compound with the Bo & girls, taking silly photos here and there.

I love hanging out with me girlfriends so much :p

And here’s me just about a week away to entering 3rd trimester (27 weeks ++). Yay!

{wearing one of my favorite cobalt blue frocks from maternity exchange, which I got at a steal!}

It was gynae’s visit today (yay – finally after 6 weeks of waiting which surprisingly went by quickly) and I was nervous to bits about my routine pee test. I’ve been guilty of indulging in one too many cookies & cakes for the past week so I was really banging on the fact that keeping to a healthier diet in the past couple of days would do the trick, and it did!

What I wasn’t prepared for though was weight gain. Each time I meet up with other preggies and they would share how much weight they’ve gain (which I’ve no idea goes to where else apart from their bellies because their bodies still look in really great shape) – I would often be clueless about mine. As of the last visit 6 weeks ago, I had only gained 4 kg. Didn’t know whether it was a good thing or not but as long as baby was growing as he should & healthy – it didn’t matter to me.

So when I tried to decipher the nurse’s doctor-like handwriting on my slip of paper and asked her what my weight was, she repeated it twice: 65.9kg. And I let out a scream shrill upon hearing that. I’ve never hit the 60-mark in my entire life so to know that I piled on 8kg in 6 weeks was a bit of a scare to me as I brisk walked back quickly to the Bo and gave him the update. And you know what I got back in response? “Hahahaha. My wifey’s a fatty”.

We finally saw the gynae after 70 minutes of waiting time which wasn’t too bad as compared to what the nurse at the reception had prepared us for when we first arrived. Baby chungkin was 800g (a little on the big side), heartbeat and condition looking very healthy , gynae praised me on my stretch-mark free skin as he observed my belly (beams) and baby’s head was already down.

I was like “what? there’s still another 7 wks to go before I hit 32 wks!” but gynae said it was fine and the baby was probably preparing in excitement. Husband attributed it to good planning ahead – a similar trait that he has. A wee bit too “kiasu” (fear of losing out) if you ask me. But as long as b.chungkin is patient in that tummy till full term; I’m cool with it.

I was also happy that I got to dictate my next appointment which will be in 3.5 weeks’ time as opposed to the usual 6 weeks. Gynae was more than happy that I was very firm on that so he needn’t decide for me. Win-win.

All in all, a very happy visit and a wonderful Christmas present for us. Oh the chungkin is now officially a week ahead of his initial EDD. hmm. Mischief, much?

I have to admit, I haven’t been willing to be in any photos recently because me thinks me body is starting to develop a weird, odd shape (instead of beautiful round ones like those ladies in my yoga class) due to a calorie growth contributed by milkshakes & famous amos cookies.

Hence the lack of any narcissistic portraits / posts.

Growing a pretty pregnancy belly is not going as per plan for now…. :( But what I can attest is that I feel a lot more active & healthy, even more so than I was pre-pregnancy. I walk a lot more & do yoga twice a week – I can do 5 sets of improvised sun salutations (with plank & downward dog poses) without panting as crazily as I did when I first started. A huge improvement, considering my lifestyle was filled with car/taxi rides & zero exercises in the past 2 years… Having a baby does make you want to do stuff out of your comfort zone aye! That, along with drinking milk (the last I did so was when I was 12 years old).

Anyhoos, enough of the me-talk and here’s a shot of the jelly belly at 23 weeks – for posterity’s sake.

{wearing H&M tunic layered over Cotton On tunic, Promod belt and Naturalizer sandals}

It’s starting to feel a lot more real now with responses & ‘scheduled movements’ (apparently baby chungkin seems to have a schedule of his own). Yay-ness!

my milkshakes. thank you very much.

It was also through sipping this cup of goodness that I experienced at least 5-7 minutes of continuous movements and kicking from the bubba as though he was enjoying it along with me. Pampered, much?

Meanwhile, here’s me counting to being almost 21-weeks shortly after a stretch & tone session at Mother & Child earlier today:

{Wearing Uniqlo tunic, H&M leggings & Naturalizer Sandals} 

Almost 21-weeks! 

The session was quite different from the other pre-natal yoga classes I’ve been attending but enjoyable nonetheless with lots of breathing, stretching of thigh & pelvic muscles – all to aid us in our natural delivery. Let’s just hope when push comes to shove, I’ll remember all these exercises and deliver[pun intended].

For most of this week, those close to me have been hearing my bits of resentment as I been uttering in dissatisfaction how I’ve yet to feel any baby movements in the form of flutter, bubbles popping, ‘gas rushing through the intestines’ at 19 weeks when my friends currently in their 16, 17, 18 weeks all said they have started to feel something, or at least they thought they did – believing it to be their little bubs instead of possible gastritis.

Then during our little excursion at the Parenthood fair this morning, as everyone talked about their little belly movements (you can only imagine how envious I was), I concluded that I must have been one of those mom oblivious to anything and the only consolation that I could give myself was that as baby grows bigger, I should be able to feel something eventually since a bigger baby is most likely to constitute stronger movements?

And then tonight between waiting for dinner to be served (at some lousy restaurant, unfortunately) and playing around with my iPhone; I suddenly felt a little ‘swoosh, gooong gooong, zzzhng zzzhnnng’ feeling that fluttered from left to right. It felt unique from anything I’ve ever felt and within another second, I felt the same thing going from right to left. It felt like baby was doing a roller pin spin of sorts and felt very very very very good. I teared as I told the bo, who was deeply engrossed in clearing his ‘angry birds’ special level. He smiled and said “aww…  baby is probably hungry!” Grr. Men!!!

Anyway…I was really thrilled because I had been looking forward to this all week and when it finally happened, it was such a magical moment. It was so…real.

You know that do you feel pregnant shebang they always ask you about?  I’m definitely feeling a whole lot of it now.

Come on chungkin, show mama what else you’ve got!

I’ve been a bit of a paranoia b*tch lately, mainly because of the growing belly.

It started when I felt some dull aches and light cramps yesterday afternoon and it stayed all the way through evening. The tummy also seemed a little more heavier (or perhaps I’ve been oblivious to it all along) but I didn’t want to play the freaky wife in front of the husband so one minute I was busy whats-apping other mommy friends to find out if it was normal, the next I was busy searching google for answers – and it turned out I found a search result that I didn’t like. Something along the lines of “a severe ache in the abdomen could mean a possible ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or premature labour”. Eck. Every possibility sounded utterly negative.

I might also have been possibly triggered by another friend telling me that she started to feel flutter (aka. baby movements) in the belly last week (she’s at week 16). And with me almost 4 weeks ahead I was obviously envious and insisted that I had to feel something as well…except I didn’t; despite the few times I secretly placed my palm on the belly in hopes of feeling something while watching tv with the hubs. It turned out that there was something rumbling in the tummy after all – my tummy, which actually caught the attention of my husband a few times without me even realizing. Oops.

And then thanks to What to Expect , I found an answer which I was satisfied enough to ‘settle’ with (noticed my happy answers in red):

“Your uterus is supported by thick bands of ligaments that run from the groin up the side of the abdomen. As your uterus grows (and grows and grows!) the supporting ligaments stretch and thin out to accommodate the increasing weight. This weight pulls on the ligaments, causing sharp pains and/or dull aches in the lower abdomen. Other causes of abdominal achiness during pregnancy include increased blood flow (you’ve pumped up the volume to nurture your baby) and the buildup of your uterine lining.”

It may or may not be true. But I reckon with so much hiccups that have been going on in the journey so far – as much as I still enjoy and treasure the fact that I can even experience this – it would definitely make more sense to think positively than to send myself on another anxiety route from absolute assumptions.

So there – yours truly has been suffering from abdominal achiness thanks to round ligament pains, which has been making her quite a nuisance around people recently :p

I finally managed to find the discipline to wake up early this morning for my first pre-natal yoga class. Met a friend there, and turns out there was only 4 of us present for the class – which was great because our lovely instructor Sarah had time to address my & Aileen’s back problems (as we were the 2 newbies).

The class was generally more relaxing than the usual yoga class I was anticipating, with lots of tips (such as getting a comfortable posture for sleeping/sitting/standing) and explanation (she did mention that she conducts a less-aggressive class than the other instructors) on usage of our protective muscles and our core.

Today’s main focus was on alignment/posture –  I was told that I had very good body alignment (yay!) but also had a weak core because my body was of the ‘soft’ & flexible type (which is great for gymnasts and yoga enthusiasts). And if I didn’t practice or train up on my core enough, back aches would come haunt me later in pregnancy, especially post natal (boo).

In between we did some deep breathing & stretching in trikonasana and ‘cat’ pose which made me felt so alive as I woke up my lazy muscles since quitting regular yoga classes and exercise some 3 years ago. We also learnt how to do pelvic exercises to incorporate into our daily routine, as strengthening this group of muscles is supposed to help us be able to ‘push’ baby out (easier) during delivery. Apparently, one of my friend managed to deliver drug-free due to these exercises, albeit being in labour for 16 hours. I still don’t know if I can do it like she did…yet! Who knows!

*******

Meanwhile I’m having one of the toughest pregnancy decisions to make (and to think I naively thought it would be natural delivery or c-sect?). I’ve been seeing 2 gynaes for a while (don’t ask me why I did it, probably out of sheer impatience) and in 2 weeks’ time, I will need to make a final decision to drop one and follow the other. The extra visits have been costing a hole in the pocket (which can be easily saved for a lot of other better things), though giving me plenty of assurance that all is going well in addition to being able to see baby more often. I’ve been bouncing this off to a few people, drawing up a pros and cons list between the 2, but each time I’m almost headed towards a conclusion, I end up being back at square 1 after visiting either of them.

Gynae A will save me some money, overall a positive man, the bo likes him; but will be moving to another hospital which I’m not too keen on giving birth at the moment (due to negative feedback). Gynae B will definitely cost us more, but he’s known for his delivery, stitching and team of delivery staff he works with. He’s younger, straightforward and tells you the situation as it is and offers solutions, but not too sure if the additional is worth paying for, since I’ve been told that gynae A’s stitching and delivery skills are commendable too. A friend recently suggested that I go see gynae C, but the thought of having to build rapport all over again within the next 5-6 visits (and gynae C is a person of few words so that makes things a lot harder) is something I would like to avoid doing.

Decisions, decisions. Just hope that I can come to one soon and not have to worry about it for the rest of the journey. Any suggestions/tips/comments? :D

*******

Speaking of decisions, we’ve yet to finalize room renovations plans too! With the constant rainy weather, we’ve been advised that it might be an uphill task getting the extended wing roofing done within a week. So its highly possible that baby chungkin may appear before renos are even done after all; which may end up being a blessing considering that we will be saving a huge chunk of our finances for something else (hospital bills, maybe?) For now, we’ll just have to get creative on ways to create more space for the make-shift nursery etc.

*******

I’m now inching towards 19-weeks, almost half the journey there, hooray! <p/s: very very tempted to organically colour my hair for the festive season…I just might!> And praying, hoping that detailed scan next week will go a-okay! Gynae B mentioned something about thal. possibly causing abnormalities though not all abnormalities are necessarily caused by thal. (ironic!). God will be with me and baby, I’m sure.

Happy long weekend folks,

Nat, x

{Wearing GAP tee, Spring maternity denim shorts & Naturalizer Sandals}

18 weeks going on 19…