[HB classes]

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been attending HB classes. To read more on it, click here. One of the biggest disadvantages of a long distance relationship is the fact that some things you can't do with your husband.  And in this case, I found it quite sad that the other 4 preggies could go with their hubbies, but I was there with my sister.  Of course, I'm not complaining that I had to go with my sister. By all means, I was so happy that she agreed to come along, and felt so grateful I had her support and didn't have to turn up there alone.  But, it's just a little different, as if something missing, when the person you created this life with isn't there to prepare for the birth with you.

I first heard about HB several years ago when I did hypnotherapy to overcome my PTSD.  The hypnosis sessions really worked, so I thought why not try it for birthing as well.  One of my friends is also a doula and she had trained under GP so that's why I was even more open to the idea.  The classes started of by tackling what our issues/fears about birthing were and how to replace them with positive affirmations. We were also thought some relaxation techniques which will help us cope with labour. It seems that HB mums have shorter, and less painful labours. In fact, instead of painful, strong contractions, HB mums were more likely to describe them as just intense surges.  Lesser need for drugs, lesser need for interventions, lesser rates of caesareans.  It's a pity it didn't include post-natal/parenting tips (have to pay separately for that!) or I'd have attended them too. There's still time to sign up lah...but must think of the cost. Heh. I'm not too worried about that because there are lactation consultants in hospitals that can help with issues like breastfeeding.

I hope I get to experience the natural birth that I have envisioned.  Otherwise, all these nights of listening to the ahem..very interesting...hypnosis tracks would be wasted. Heh. Then again, I guess I could use them for other aspects of my life, or for baby #2.  Again, got to just wait and see the outcome. Wish me luck!

[the final countdown]

9 months! 36 weeks! 1 more month to go! Time flies!

Can't believe 9 months has passed so fast. Ok well, while I was "suffering" it seemed to go slowly but now that we're here, nearly approaching December, it seems that time has zoomed by. My lil peanut has become a 2.4kg human being, at the last appointment at least, I'm sure he's grown even more. My stomach seems to have grown exponentially since I came back, and I'm pretty sure it's not me who's putting on the weight heh.  If he were to come out next week, he'd be considered a full term baby (but of course my dear H, you know you have to wait till daddy comes :P). My little H! And the end of life as we know it...

Had some not so good news at the first appointment at KK.  Dr S was very nice, saying how we should listen to babies and let nature take it's course as to when H should greet the world. Then she dropped the not-so-unexpected but still worrying bomb that H is still in breech position so I had to 2 options - to turn him manually from the outside, or to schedule a C-section.  While some women might be very comfortable with the idea of a C-section, I was very much inclined from the beginning to have a natural, unmedicated birth (read: do not even want an epidural. Laugh at me, but that's how I feel).  Having a bio background has has it's benefits and downsides, the more I read about what drugs can do to babies (and adults), coupled with new research about how birth experience moulds a child into an adult, I was very keen to give H the best start in his life. Not just that, I guess I have to admit that I'm pretty much afraid of a major surgery and it's post-recovery period. Sooooo, as Dr S said, it was a decision hubby and I have to make by next appointment, which is the day after tomorrow. Sigh.

I'm trying all sorts of non-invasive interventions now, like moxabustion (TCM thing), pelvic tilt, polar bear positioning, putting ice/heat packs and lately chiropractice. Also listening to hypnosis tracks coupled with the relaxation techniques I learnt during HypnoBirthing classes.  I feel like a bad mum when the chiro said H can't turn probably cos of my tilted pelvis, a problem I've had for ages that has caused my lower back pains. I guess if things do result in a C-section, I can console myself by saying I've tried all possible avenues. Sorry lil one, if I could, I would have given you a better start. Some people are comforting me by saying that he might turn at the last moment, so well, I guess I'll leave it in His hands and pray for the best.

Right now the only dreams I'm having seem to be of me going into labour. Either we did too much role playing during classes or that's all my mind is preoccupied with haha.  It'll be interesting to see how things work out. How will my labour start? When will I be at the hospital? How long will labour take?  Some things cannot be planned. That's kind of what has put me off balance ever since the breech news. Me, the one who loves to "plan ahead", can't plan on how things will turn out when it's time for me to greet my baby.  On the other hand, God is the best planner and at this point, I guess I should just put my trust in Him that everything will happen as it is supposed to.

See you soon my darling. Everyone is so excited to meet you.  May you have a safe journey into this world. =)

[2 weeks of humidity]

After 2 weeks of humidity I think I'm finally getting used to the weather here. Can just stay in the room / sleep with 1 fan on. That's a great achievement. During my first week or so here I was blasting myself with two fans - the ceiling fan and a standing fan. And even with the windows wide open, I was perspiring like a cow. Ok, I don't know if cows perspire a lot, but I just felt that I was loosing LOTS of water.  No wonder my friend said she had to have a fan constantly next to her when she was back here.

I've been taking it easy so far. Enjoying the company of my darling sister who's been looking after me so well. Ah, the advantages of being "Pregnant Lady" (that's my title now apparently; even her friends and my dear Jam call me that!). Also did some catching up wtih Jam since she's having her school hols.  Met a couple of friends here and there but nothing "hectic". I guess I'm not too rushed since I'll be here for a few months.  Though I'm sure I won't have the luxury of time once baby pops!

My parents have been surprisingly nice. Haha. Well, a weird thing to say but we all know how they can be :P.  I guess they have also been affected by the "Pregnant Lady" phenomenon.  So all in all, I'm having a great time here.  Although I was hesitant to come back, I think now I'll be hesitant to return to desert land. Ah the irony, or maybe it's not so ironic afterall.

I've been attending birthing classes at HV. My dear Sakura has been accompanying me - she's such a doll.  I'm the only one there without a hubby as a birth partner, sadly.  I appreciate Sakura's enthusiasm, but I guess it just feels different seeing the rest of the preggies there with their supportive hubbies (forced or otherwise lol). While going through the getting rid of negative thoughts exercise on the first lesson, Sakura said hers was that she was afraid Mr F wouldn't be here on time for the delivery.  G (the coach) said the positive affirmation should be to have faith that things will happen according to plan and that at least I have a support system with my family.  Then she added that Sakura shouldn't be surprised if I wanted her in the birthing suite even with Mr F around, to which she gasped. Haha, I guess she's not ready for that responsibility yet. The birth classes are fun, I actually look forward to attending them. 2 down, 2 more to go.

Other than that, been stocking up on local food.  Everytime someone wants to meet me, or if dad asks what I want for dinner, I'll go "Anything local!" Haha. I eat a lot of Indian food there, so been gorging mostly on Malay food - nasi lemak, ayam masak merah, and finally day before yesterday laksa. Mmmm. Haha.  Now on my quest to eat more Chinese food...I didn't realise what a big Chinese food eater I was till living in Rh heh.  Still eyeing paus and siu mei which I did not manage to get yesterday :P

Haven't prepared much for the baby.  Put his clothes in the cupboard, though I haven't washed them yet.  Been trying to plan what other baby necessities to shop for. Mum said to wait for her to be free so I guess I won't make a list yet.  I'm so not in the mood to do work. Point to note: Having to work from home in (boring) Rh is sooooo different from having to work while back here because I so feel like I'm on holiday and should NOT be staring at datasets or proposals, plus there are lots of distractions like my bed and of course, people around me.  Can't wait for my leave to officially start!

[The Tail of the Rat - Chapter 4]

Mr F was ever so keen to see if the poison had done its job. Next morning, he was in the kitchen exploring again, looking high and low for the rat.  Mrs F was quite keen to know the outcome, but at the same time worried that the rat might come out of the kitchen when Mr F opened the door.

Alas, he had good news for Mrs F! He had seen the rat lying on the floor beside the washing machine. In his excitement, he asked her to look at it too but Mrs F was hesitant. She would not have minded but she had had a bad morning with morning sickness that made her puke, so seeing Mr Rat might have made things worse.  Mr F looked a little disappointed but did not want Mrs F to go into another vomitting fit, so he changed his mind. Mrs F was totally relieved now. No more rat in the house!

Since Mr F had to rush off to work, he said he would get rid of the rat that evening.  However, that afternoon, he called Mrs F during lunch time to describe his little "adventure" in getting rid of it.  Since Mr Rat was in a tight corner and there was rat glue around the area he was in, getting him out wasn't a very easy task.  In his attempt to push Mr Rat out, Mr Rat had gotten stuck on the glue. Furthermore, he realised that the rat was not totally dead - it was still moving and twitching a little. A sad sight, Mrs F imagined.  After some struggle, Mr F managed to free the rat from the glue, place it on the dustpan and put it into a plastic bag.  Finally, he could throw it away and close the chapter on the rat.

Although Mrs F was totally freaked out by the whole incident, she felt pity for the rat. If only it hadn't entered their house, they wouldn't have had to resort to drastic measures to get rid of it.  Mr F also felt bad, especially since he had to do the killing.  He joked with Mrs F that he would have gladly coexisted peacefully with the rat if not for her. Haha, not.

One weekend (and more) later, Mr F worked hard to get rid of all the rat glue around the house. Mrs F mopped up the remaining traces. They were both glad they wouldn't accidentally step on the glue again. It was indeed difficult to get rid of the glue once you stepped on it, no wonder the poor rat had bled after being trapped on it.

Sorry Mr Rat, we hope you will forgive us. But to other rats, let this be a warning not to come into our house. Muahahaha.

--------------The End--------------

[The Tail of the Rat - Chapter 3]

Mr F got up from his seat and headed to the kitchen.  Then he called Mrs F, saying that he had heard a noise from the kitchen. Wow, Mrs F was impressed that he was so sharp.  They found that the knife had falled from the chopping board where it usually was.  Did that mean the rat was running around the kitchen? 

Mr F then noticed that the rat poison he had placed outside the master toilet had moved into the kitchen.  There was only one explanation - that the rat had moved from the toilet into the kitchen.  It was a good sign, because at least now they could confine it to the kitchen.  As if to confirm their suspicion, Mr Rat suddenly started squeaking. Freaked out as usual, Mrs F ran back to the hall while Mr F tried to search for it. Well, it was still squeaking, meaning the poison hadn't taken effect yet.  When would this rat episode be over?

Mr and Mrs F then decided to lock the kitchen up so that the rat could stay there in his remaining days (or hours, hopefully).  They took some essentials like a couple of plates, a butter knife, a couple of mugs and their breakfast shake; put them in the dining room then proceeded to lock the door. Hopefully, this meant that the rat would eat more poison and die soon.

The waiting continued but knowing that the rat was contained in the kitchen, Mrs F could be less paranoid and not be anxious about whether the rat would pop out in front of her any time.  For the first time that night, she slept without the stick beside her, and without the night light turned on.

------------ End of Chapter 3-------------

[back!]

And so I took the plunge.  The parting, albeit temporary, was a little teary. But I reminded myself (and the man) that we'd see each other in Dec InshaAllah.

The excitement of the airport kind of cheered me up a little. First, because the Sg community in Rh is so small, we (or rather Mr F) knew the guy at the check-in counter. Unfortunately he didn't know his name. But that didn't hinder us, because I got an express check-in partly cos I'd checked in online, but as an added bonus, I found out later that my bag had a biz class priority sticker on it, and we also got the airline keychain meant for biz class travellers. Yay to networking! We even fought over the keychain (quite atas quality and looks good) with Mr F saying it was HIS friend so it's HIS keychain; while I said it was MY check-in so MY keychain.  I'm keeping it for now, so I'll assume I won the battle haha.

As if that wasn't fun enough, just as I was about to queue for the plane, I bumped into Mr Wong at the boarding gate.  The other embassy guy was also there. Wah, what a small world. Obviously though, Mr Ambassador was in the biz class...but nvm lah...it was an eventful boarding.

After all that worry whether I should openly declare I was preggie or not, there was no hassle over boarding at all. In fact, Mr F was telling Mr we-don't-know-his-name that I was going back for the delivery and yet he did not ask for any doctor's letter.  So perhaps they're not that strict after all. I had asked the stweardess for a seat belt extension so she asked "Are you by any chance pregnant, ma'am?" but that was that, I did not need to sign any "Expectant Mother's Form" unlike my Dxb trip. Good lah. Simple and hassle free.

The flight was pretty uneventful, only one minor turbulence (I like them - makes the journey more fun lol).  So much for the flight being empty when I was choosing seats online; both segments were fully filled and I did not get to stretch my legs from the AD-SIN flight as I'd thought I could.  That made the flight a little uncomfortable, since I already have trouble sleeping in planes.  I walked around and drank lots of water as precaution. I guess as obscure as finding S'poreans in Rh is, there are still people who like Sg Air. Woot. But then again, I wasn't very impressed with the service. My seat had coffee stains all over. The two pillow covers were also stained that I asked mine to be changed. Even then I only got mine changed at AD. The food was pathetic, the rice so soft that it was almost porridge like, and the quantity was pathetic. Picture a usually good appetite lady who's appetite has doubled since pregnancy = I was not satisfied at all. Oh, and not forgetting, they did not serve ice-cream for dessert! Boo hoo. Seriously, if it hadn't been for the convenience, I would have chosen another carrier (something starting with "E" to be precise :P). Oh well...

Things at home have been pretty good so far Alhamdulillah. Family has been very nice. Parents treating me nice, sister super nice. Heh. Dad is so protective he doesn't even let me carry light NTUC bags haha.  Sis has an amusement for my round tummy, and my stretch marks lol.  She is even accompanying me to my birth classes, so sweet.  Jam was almost scared to touch my tummy intially then she got used to it heh. Quite amusing to see their reactions.

Let's hope everything goes this nicely for the entire time I am here.  Wee! Mr F, come here soon!