Hubs and i decided to let the cat out of the bag yesterday. Also because our family members are finding it hard to keep it a secret any longer! So well, we reckon it is a good time to share the good news and so we did.

While i was glad that many of our friends congratulated us and gave us good advises, there were also a handful of negative people who threw sacarstic remarks, and bad bad advises and some who thought they were the best parents and offered their “advices”. Well i told hubs that we can always listen but ultimately how we decide to bring up our child is our decision.

Choices is aplenty and as long as we, as parents, have done our due diligence to ensure it is the right choice, noone else can fault us for it. on some days like these, i really do not appreciate negativity in my life hence i choose to ignore or avoid.

We made it for the Expo fair last friday, it was a small fair selling basically Carter’s products and some Seebaby strollers and etc. Managed to grab some pyjamas for baby! Well not easy now as i dont know the gender so we could only buy neutral colours.

Next was the suntec – Super Mom fair. it was crazy! the fair opened at 11am, and we went for the OSCAR scan in the morning and headed over to Suntec after. We were quite early and they didnt open the doors till 11.05am. But a long queue has formed!! I find it quite a bad idea because for parents who were pushing strollers, it was quite bad to have to push the stroller thru the snaking narrow queue. It was not as if you needed a ticket to enter the event, i dont see why they only opened 1 door for the entry.

There were alot of diaper booths at the fair which i think may be good for parents as the diapers were going at a good price! my best friend bought cartons of diapers. Other than that, there were booths selling learning classes for children, some apparels, some strollers, some other essentials. I figured that whilst everything was good under one roof, the discount was not good enough for me to brave the crowds again. We bought a Capella stroller which we thought was a good buy, it was the last piece in the last colour left.

This stroller cost us $228 and the reason why we purchased it was…. it is a very basic stroller which is light (6kg) and can be folded quite compact which can fit into our hatchback car boot. it is enough for our needs as we would seldom use public transport hence do not need a too high end one.

After the fair, we walked over to Marina Square and went in to Mothercare to have a look at car seats. We saw the same exact stroller we bought at the fair.. with 3 colours available…. and it was going at $249 (with 10% off). So it ended up about the same price we paid! but without the crowd and better customer service probably!

Anyway, the OSCAR scan in the morning went well too. although there was quite a bad experience havign to turn up early for our appointment BUT the radiographer was late and not informing us kinda pissed us off, we waited for 45 mins before we could have our turn. but all our anger disappeared when we saw our baby on the screen swinging his/her hands and sucking his/her fists and just moving and squirming around. They also managed to snap a great picture of baby, i can already imagine how cute he/she will be. hee. yes all parents are bias.

Friday we will see you again, baby.

Today is awful. Woke up feeling like i got hit by a truck.

whole body aching, didnt have a good night sleep, feeling tired and nauseous.
Changed in and out of many outfits just because i felt like it doesnt fit, i dont look nice, its hideous, makes me uncomfortable etc. Finally decided on an outfit and out of the house i went. LATE.

Dragged myself to work because my 2 team mates are out for a recruitment fair and im supposed to be holding the fort in office.

I have to walk up a flight of stairs to reach my office, and today i walked up half way and i felt giddy. held on to the wall and slowly made my way up. sat down and felt nauseous. my skirt suddenly became tighter. my top became uncomfortable. i just dont know whats wrong. everything feels wrong today.

gonna head out for the nearest mall during lunch to get some new pants/skirt. im just feeling too uncomfortable right now.

baby,thank you for reminding me you are always there.

Over the last few days.. i developed a strong craving for steak. I dont know how to explain how i feel but when i eat steak i feel so happy and satisfied. When i was eating steak on friday.. i told the hubs that i wished it was a magic piece which will not disappear as i eat. Yes im aware i have gone mad.

Today is sunday and the craving came back. Doesnt help that i saw my cousin’s instagram that she had a nice piece of juicy steak. I kept looking at that picture and my craving steadily increased. The hubs doesnt take beef so i tried asking my mom if she would like to go for steak dinner. Their request was that i was to pick them. Who on earth asks a preggie woman to be the driver!!

Anyway after i reached home…i felt so tired and my baby never fails to remind me of his/her presence by the 5pm nausea waves. Plus i suddenly had ear block today. I cant seem to hear properly and i can hear my own breathing which really sux. All this combined to making me feel really lousy. My clothes are so snug.

Anyway i told my mom im tired and dont wanna drive.. she says ok rest well. I suddenly burst out crying. I tink it is a combination of all factors making me feel so horrible today. The blocked ears… the nausea…. the headache… the lack of steak. 🙁

But its okay. This too, shall pass.

Half way through Week 10 now.

Yesterday I felt extra suffocated so I had to go buy new undergarments. My bff said that she changed twice, so I kept that in mind not to get too many new ones. Got 3 new ones and that costs me $120ish! Oh well, comfort is number 1 right?

These days, we started looking out for baby fairs, many of our friends said that they got good deals at these fairs, but of course the downside was to squeeze through the crowd. And I reckon that it would be a good time for us to go now when my big tummy has not shown up. I also heard the crowd at such fairs are unfeeling and they will push and bump into you as though you are not pregnant.

There is 2 baby fairs going on next week in fact, one at Expo Hall 4 and one at Suntec. Both Friday – Sunday. 11am – 9pm. Im hoping to make it for the Expo one on Friday evening, hopefully the crowd is not so thick, and the suntec one on Sat as I will already be in town area for my Oscar scan.

Recently I also sent in enquiries to quote for a Confinement Lady from agencies. We are still undecided if we should hire a confinement nanny for the 28 days confinement period, or get my MIL or my mom to help. But the problem is that both our moms are working, they could take turns and we wont need them to cook as we can cater confinement meals. This will kinda ease their load. We probably only need help in taking care of baby especially since we are first time parents and this family support is well appreciated.

Next we started thinking about Cot or Playpen. Cots are study and hard and babies may stick their hand and legs out which may pose as a danger. Playpens are soft and safe, but it also means that it may be bad for baby’s spine cos of the softness of it. Both seem to be adjustable according to age so it wont pose as a problem.

And then the next important big item is stroller and car seat. Although I find that we do not need a $500 or $700 stroller/pram, I still need to find a suitable one, hopefully a one hand operation, not too heavy, can fit into my car boot and must be able to support weight of a baby bag hung on it. Car Seat has to be easy to install, back facing, light. Im not sure if I want the kind where there is a handle so we can transport baby out together with the car seat as and when we need to.

Oh gosh, so many things to consider and money doesn’t fall from the sky.

But its never too late to start thinking about all these!

Its Week 10 yesterday! Yay good job me.

Other than the evening sickness… the nausea that hits me towards 4.30pm… I been feeling even more exhausted. All I wanna do is lie in bed. The body is changing and my clothes are feeling snug. I know it is almost time to get new undergarments… the current ones are squeezing me tight and I cant breathe sometimes. Doesn’t help that the boobs are so sore that I wish I could pluck them off. But truth is, I really don’t mind going through all this morning sickness and soreness if it is a sign that my hormones and baby is doing well.

Last night I had cold chills and hot flushes. I been waking up at 2 hr intervals the past few nights, not sure if it’s a preparation for the night feeds to come, but last night I woke up feeling cold, like shivering cold and I had to cover my blanket right up to my neck. And then 2 hrs later im feeling so hot that im perspiring under the blanket and I have to kick it off. And then 2 hours later the cold chills come back. Gosh! I could really do with some quality sleep these days.

We have been seeing Dr Siow from Parkway Gynae, recommended by a few friends, and my bff who has just given birth also was seeing him. The only grouse is that he is slightly on the premium side. But that also means that the service is extra attentive and to be honest, I am pampered by that. We searched forums to look for an alternative before we took up the anenatal package from Dr Siow, and there was a Dr Phua who was also quite recommended and plus point is that his clinic is near my house so in case of any emergency (choy), it would be easier to get to him compared to Dr Siow who was at Gleneagles. But the pain points far outweight the plus point that I left the clinic very angry (I know its bad for the baby), we decided to stick with Dr Siow.

We are going for the Oscar test next Saturday and I am quite excited. The fact that I am not afraid of blood tests (in fact I quite enjoy it) doesn’t make me dread this appointment. Also that this test will allow me to see the baby via ultrasound for 30 mins is making me super excited. I love to see my baby moving and each time we do the ultrasound, I see my baby growing up, I feel so assured that we are doing a great job together so far.

And the following week will be the next appointment with Dr Siow to go through the Oscar Test results as well as the routine check. And by then, we will be past the 1st tri and we can finally announce to the world.

It is really a great feeling to have the gift of life inside me. Be good baby, we can do this together 😉