...

Excitement
Anticipation
Nervousness
Anxiety
...
Impatience
Irritation
Annoyance
Frustration
...
Restlessness
Distress
Depression
Acceptance?

There we go again...

Went for my routine medical check-up yet again. I honestly thought last week (then again, maybe 2 weeks ago as well?) would be my last routine medical check-up. There we go again.

Updates at 40 Weeks

Kaelyn's Weight: Approximately 3.15kg
Kaelyn's Weight Gain: 0.14kg
Kaelyn's Head Circumference: 33.1cm
Kaelyn's Tummy Circumference: 32.8cm
Kaelyn's Femur Length: 7.2cm
Effacement: 3-4cm

Strapped onto the CTG again today. Nothing more than a couple of tiny surges. Nothing to shout about. Why is it that I have more action at home and waiting in line to see the Doc than during the CTG itself? Performance anxiety... Now nobody (except for G) will believe me when I say I have been experiencing surges. Hrmph.

Anyway, cut off date is this Friday, 28 September 2007.

I really hope she decides to come out on her own before that. I really don't want to do anything to yank her out. Sigh. Only time can tell.

Bun in the Oven

The oven timer has gone off.

The bun has been in the oven for 40 weeks today. Most buns will come out by 36/37 weeks, but this bun likes it in the warm, comfy oven and is still refusing to come out, much to my distress. Maybe she's trying to be obedient and staying in there till today? Maybe its the horror stories G and I have been telling her of what a big bad world it is out there that is scaring her to stay in and seek comfort?

Had a couple of false alarms over the weekend, none of which turned out to be the real thing, and all of which turned out to be just bad tummy aches. How am I supposed to distinguish between the two? Don't they all start off as bad tummy aches?

I have tried several of the old wives' tales ways of trying to get labour to start naturally. I have walked long, far and briskly enough to even tire out cross country runners. I have drunk enough coconut water from coconuts from an entire tree. I have eaten enough pineapples to wipe out an entire plantation. I have eaten enough spicy foods to warrant firemen to be put on standby to put out the many fires on my tongue and in my stomach. I have done just about everything and anything under the sun. Still nothing. Either the bun and/or the oven are very strong-willed, or yet again, the old wives' tales are just a load of crap...

The bun has been given another 3-4 more extra days to face the world, or she'd be forcibly removed against her will from the oven. Not much of a choice left, lil' bun!

Anytime...

... or so I have been told upteen times for the last 2-3 weeks. So when IS anytime? The anticipation and the wait are draining the life out of me.

Updates at 39+ Weeks

My Weight Gain: 0 kg (See! I told you the two big boxes of mooncakes I have almost single-handedly polished off works wonders in keeping the weight off! Mooncakes should be part of all diet regimes from now on.)

Kaelyn's Weight: Approximately 3.01kg

Kaelyn's Weight Gain: 0.2kg

Kaelyn's Head Circumference: Approximately 33cm

Kaelyn's Femur Length: 7cm

Kaelyn's Tummy Circumference: Approximately 33cm

Kaelyn's Average Heartbeat: 130-150 beats per minute

Effacement: 2-3cm

The great thing that came out of today's routine medical check-up was that Kaelyn's weight gain is taken from my (abundance of) fats! Woot Woot!

Doc says Kaelyn is fully engaged (yay!), so I'm just twiddling my thumbs and strumming my fingers, all ten of them, just waiting for D-Day. Dum de dum de dum. I'm sure Kaelyn is doing the same in there too. It sure feels like it all the time.

I was hooked up to the CTG today. It was supposed to only be for half and hour, but I think I moved a bit too much and the readings weren't accurate so I had to do it for a longer period of time. There was only one major surge, the others were just baby ones. Then when the nurse took the machine off me did I get several continuous surges. Arghhh. Murphy's law! How annoying.

Made another appointment with the Doc to see her next week. Hopefully I will get to see her earlier. I was given a deadline (you should have seen the Doc's face change when I asked her what was the drop dead date-- severe occupational hazard on my part-- I should have asked her for the "Long-Stop Date" instead. Means the same thing, but think people in the medical profession don't take too kindly too "Drop Dead" dates. Heh =)). Anyway, the deadline set by the Doc is 27-28 September. Nothing beyond that. I hope Kaelyn is a good obedient girl and comes out way before then (this is her first test of obedience). I want her birth to be as natural as possible and I really don't want to induce her out. I hope things will work out.

*crossing my fingers, toes, eyes, arms, legs, hair and whatever else I can possibly cross*

Hamburger!

Am getting anxious for the ANYTIME to arrive. Feeling rather full, tight and heavy walking around looking like I ate an entire Osh Kosh B'Gosh Watermelon and its stuck at my gut, undigested and unprocessed.

Being preggers means I invite many stares and comments from everyone, from well-meaning friends, relatives and colleagues to by-passers and strangers. What I realised is that the group that is most intrigued by my expanding waistline are those shorter than 1m tall. They just can't their eyes off the bump.

These days when people ask whether I'm having a girl or a boy, I ask them to guess and most of them think I'm carrying a boy cos of the old wives' tales that if the belly is jiam, its a boy. G thinks that my belly is rounded and jiam at the same time. Confusing.

Anyway, checked with the Doc on numerous occassions, the last one being last week's routine checkup, where the Doc showed us Kaelyn's Hamburger, and confirming that she doesn't have a Sausage and Two Eggs!

Guess that not all old wives' tales are accurate are they? *Grin*

Vastly divergent basic standards of hygiene

Was at Plaza Singapura with Lin last evening as I had my flute lesson and Lin had to pick up some photos she had sent for developing. Walked around a bit and decided to grab some post-dinner snack of Fried Mars Bars at Chippy's British Take Away.

This is where I realised that not everyone's very BASIC standards of hygiene were similar.

There were two youngish persons at the Take Away. I placed my order and the female promptly opened a box full of Mars Bars (which had already been pre-cut), took out 1 bar (consisting of 4 pre-cut pieces) and plonked them into some dubious looking, but extremely yummy, batter. As she was dropping it in, one piece dropped onto the black, oily, greasy floor that both she and her compatriot probably walked on and stepped on at least ten billion times that day.

I stared at her as she promptly picked up the run-away Mars Bar and ran it under the tap for all of 2 seconds before dropping it into the batter to join its other Mars Bar friends. I continued to STARE at her as she mixed it all up.

I couldn't take it. I had to do something.

I gently confronted her and asked her about what she had done. Surely that was a cue that the customer has been watching with eagle eyes and was certainly not pleased. All I got was a defiant stare and a very lame explanation of "yes it was the same piece I dropped onto the floor but I washed it already", "yes I know which piece it was (even though I mixed it all up in the batter)" and "no, I am NOT going to get you a new piece cos I think washing it under a tap would do the trick".

You should have seen my blood boil and the steam coming out of my head at this point. Of course, I blatantly stood my ground and insisted (almost arm-twisted actually) that she get me a new set (I was prepared to walk away cos I didn't want to risk food poisoning cos of her laziness and utter lack of hygiene, but greediness on my part stood in the way). To cut the long story short, I did get a new "set" of Mars Bars, but the "old grimy one" that had wiped the greasy ground with got washed and thrown back into the box of clean Mars Bars.

Good luck to whoever placed the next order. Ignorance is always bliss. I didn't stick around to warn him, but I sure hope he has a strong tummy!

I'm not usually a stickler for hygiene and I can tolerate some degrees of lack of cleanliness, but this...? Geez.

Hometown Minnesota

Minnesota has been the hometown of my brother for many years now. He's been in the States since 1992, when he went over to study. Over the years, he has set up family and settled in Minnesota.

He's got two in his brood now (and counting?). Here are some photos from my parents' last visit to him in August 2007:

(Entire family outside his home)

(Lil' nephew Mason--only 10 months old, but 95th percentile growth for his age -->gonna be a big strong boy!)

(Lil' niece Lindsay, cute as ever, in her little red Chinese outfit)

(Lil' Lindsay sitting by the door waiting for her friends to come to her 3rd year Birthday Party)

(Lil' Lindsay at her Birthday Party, with a Dora cake that Erica baked for her)



(Ah-Ha! Caught in the act)



(A very determined look of a 10 month old)



(Three generations of (King) Kongs)

The Last Leg: 38 Weeks and Counting

One of the best news for some time came at about 10am this morning. G smsed to say that his trial, set to take place till this Friday has just been vacated. Which means that the mantra that we've been chanting to lil' Kaelyn, of "Today is XX of September. Daddy's got to work till 14 September, so you try to enjoy yourself in Mummy's belly till then ok?" can now change. Wooooooopieeee!

Went for routine medical appointment again today. It has become a weekly affair and these days, it seems I keep appearing and re-appearing at the holding area of the doctor's office.

Weight gain: 0, zilch, zero, kosong (Double Woooooopieeeeeeee -- which means that the mooncakes I gobbled down in the past week had no effect, which means that Kaelyn's weight gain was taken from my stored fats!. Time to gorge myself with more!)

Kaelyn's Weight: Approximately 2.81kg

Kaelyn's Weight Gain: Approximately 0.1-0.2kg

Kaelyn's Head Circumference: Approximately 31.3cm

Kaelyn's Femur Length: 7.1cm

Effacement: 1.5-2cm

Glucose Test: NIL (Woooooppiiiiieeeeee -- these Ritz Carlton mooncakes I have been wolfing down must be health food. [Note to self: can buy and eat more])

Doc checked the amniotic fluid level to ensure lil' Kaelyn had a big enough pool to swim and splash around in. Got the all clear. Phew.

Didn't manage to get a good look at her face today. She was shy (again) and turned away. But we did see her long big feet (yet again, this must be from me) and her hamburger. Yes, she's still a girl. Phew.

So its now really pretty much ANYTIME, depending on when she wants to face this world. Time to start a new chant, "Anytime you are ready, Baby Girl. Anytime."

Also time for me to be able to finally get off my fat ass and power walk. Heard it increases the chance inducing labour. That, and more coconut juice for me. Slurp!

Inflation? GST Hike?

The prices of everything in Singapore have gone up. Is this a result of inflation or the recent GST hike to 7% which started 1 July 2007, or a combination of both?

G and I had lunch with some friends at Golden Shoe Food Centre near work and there was this "tissue paper" peddlers -- a blind man followed by a lady touting tissue paper to the lunch time crowd. We don't usually need the tissue (we can buy an entire SLAB of tissue for slightly above the price they are selling at!) but don't mind helping out these vendors who are trying to make a decent and honest living.

I digress.

As I said, the prices of everything has gone up. 3 packets of tissue which had a standard market rate of a dollar now costs $1.20, which, based on very elementary mathematics, translates to a 20% increase. Now, is this inflation, the effect of the GST hike, a combination of both or blatent day-light robbery? I wonder.

Little Miss Cutes

Was supposed to upload some photos of my lil' niece and nephew from my parents' recent trip to Minnesota, but haven't exactly gotten round to doing that yet.

Anyway, these are some pics of the niece, Lindsay--Little Miss Cutes. I bet if she were in Singapore, she would most definitely win the "New Paper New Face Award" in 13 years time, when she's 16!

Pffffftttttttt.....

Went for the routine medical check-up this afternoon. Kaelyn must have eavesdropped and have been quite excited cos she kept rolling and tumbling about for about 2 hours before we went for check-up, taking a break only during my lunch time. How considerate.

Updates at 37 + weeks

Weight gain: 0.3kg

Kaelyn's weight: Approximately 2.7kg

Kaelyn's weight gain: Approximately 0.2 - 0.3kg

Kaelyn's head circumference: 31.2cm

Kaelyn's femur length: 7cm

Effacement: 1cm

And yup, the bulbous nose and pouty lips are all still there, and probably more pronounced now than at the last visit. G kept laughing. Arrrrrgggghhhhh.

Kaelyn wasn't shy today. She stuck out her tongue at us when she realised she was being watched through the ultrasound. Pffffffttttttttttttttttttttttt... as if taunting us. Cute, and cheeky. Wonder who she learnt that from. Hmmm...

Kaelyn is only 3/5th engaged, so hopefully she'll be a good girl and stay in there for at least another 2 weeks till G is done with his trials.

On a separate note, Lin is in town for the next two weeks. She has a list of all the local food places that she wants to pig out at. I promised to bring her. There goes my diet plans yet again. Oh well. :P

Lin, Mom and I made our first stop (for this trip!) to Blk 85 Fengshan Market where we had the famous bak chor mee, black AND white chye tow kuay (cos Lin couldn't decide which she wanted), BBQ chicken wings and sugar cane juice. Yums. Here's a photo of a very tired us (me from my new weight and her cos her plane landed at 3.10am this morning!) hungry to gobble all the food up:

Lin bought a lotsalotsalegs caterpillar for Kaelyn with alphabets on both sides of its colourful body. *very pleased with new toy--grin*

Video

Kaelyn is 36 weeks old

Baby Kaelyn will be in our arms in about 4 weeks time, thereabouts. Kaelyn is a good girl and will listen to Daddy. Daddy often tells Kaelyn not to come into this world too early cos Daddy is still in the middle of his 4-week long trial which will end when Kaelyn is 39 weeks old. Hang in there (and stay in there) baby girl! Trust me, the inside world is more comfy =)

Went for routine medical check up today.

Kaelyn's estimated weight: 2.51kg

Kaelyn's estimated weight gain: 0.25kg-0.30kg

My weight gain: (sigh) 1.2kg

Sigh. I keep tipping the scales everytime I weigh myself. Soon the electronic weighing machine will flash "one at a time, please". Sigh. Must be all the good food I have been having as part of my birthday celebrations--the last one in my twenties. Double sigh.

Baby Kaelyn was shy when we were trying to take her photo. At first, she was facing the ultrasound scanner and making sucking motions with her pouty lips. Then she must have realised that we were peeking at her, and soon her tiny hands came up to cover her face and then she quickly turned away from the "camera". So we didn't manage to get a good photo souvenier of her this week. Only managed to capture her leg pressing against my belly wall. Oh well.

Had high-tea for two at Bar & Billard Room at the Raffles Hotel. Probably our last high-tea binge before Baby Kaelyn comes out. After that, we'll just bring her along!

Had potluck dinner at one of our husky friend's place. His dogs just had a litter of 5 red-white huskies. Aren't they gorgeous? The first one looks like Russy when we first bought him at the pet shop:

[Me: Think Russy looks more teddybear like... whatcha think?]

The Modern Day Dog's Life

It was an extremely windy evening. G and I took a nice leisurely stroll (my extra weight and newfound shape hindered my speed walking) after our very filling dinner of satay beehoon and orh luak at East Coast Food Centre.

This is the modern day version of what a dog's life is meant to be like these days:

Looks like a baby Russy but with big ears, enjoying the wind as the sea breeze whizzed past around him. He sure knows how to enjoy life.

Dang. I wish I were a dog. This dog, that is, not those mangy ones roaming the streets of China with the chance of ending up as part of some rich towkay's dinner.

You've Got To Be Kidding?!?!

This sounds like its worse than being in prison! How to tahan?

No wonder new mothers always suffer from post-natal depression. This must be the reason.

Mad.

Cravings

Ok, I admit, this time its my craving, not G's.

There's a little ice cream place that opened very near home, perhaps a 10 to 12 min walk? Haven't actually tried walking, but I'm sure if the craving is strong enough, I just might try.

It's a little corner shop called Ice Cream Chefs at the Ocean Park condo along East Coast Road, just before St Patrick's School. In essence, this is what it is:

1) Select your Flavors and Size

2) Choose your Mix-Ins

3) Watch us smash your Mix-Ins into your chosen flavors on the Chef's Rock!

The first time G and I went to check it out was National Day, just before catching the Parade on TV. I had the "Durian Surprise", which is a mix of durian ice cream and chocolate ice cream, together with a mix-in of Loacker wafer. It sounds weird but it was damn good! G had strawberry ice cream with his favourite chocolate mint, with a mix-in of shortbread. Also equally yummy.

My craving for it hit again last Sunday. This time we brought Hen and Del there after our very filling gourmet lunch at their place.

And I have the craving for it again today. Slurp...

Anyway, more reviews of ths place here and here.

Globalisation

Singapore, City of Possibilities

That's the slogan for this year's 42nd National Day Parade at Marina Centre. How apt in today's world.

...

The Hungry Ghost Festival started on 13 August this year. Today must be the 8th day that the gates of hell are open for our friends from the other land to visit earth. Several people were out and about in the streets praying, offering food and burning hell money for the departed souls.

I parked at the open air carpark just opposite Borders and there was a bunch of people burning candles and hell money just at the edge of the road. A funny sight stood before me-- a guai lo in a long sleeve shirt obviously coming from some office nearby was also burning hell money in the big cauldron. He obviously looked amused as he stared hard at the paper money that he was burning, probably secretly wishing that the stacks of hell money in ridiculous denominations were real money that he could pocket a piece or two. =)

Golly Gee -- Only 34 more days to go

The extra weight I'm carrying is defintely weighing me down, literally as well as figuratively.

I feel fat. I feel like a Whale.

Sleeping, which has always been my forte is becoming increasingly challenging, as my turning radius has increased substantially and the bed is becoming too small for G, me and my big belly.

Am also starting to feel more tired and wiped out, as if the energy from me has been secretly zapped and drawn from me, leaving me completely exhausted after just a short while of being out and about. Maybe old age is just catching up with me.

Kaelyn's movements have been my constant source of entertainment. Sometimes I can feel it when she has hiccups and there's a soft, constant tapping motion where her head is. Other times, she thinks she's the next muay thai champion practising her moves on me. More recently, she's been doing funny thing in the belly, creating waves and bubbles, perhaps from turning from one side to the other. Her movements never fail to amuse me, a constant reminder that she's going to come into this world to join us pretty soon. I'm sure even though I do wish she would be born soon (the additional weight is killing me!), I'll definitely miss the little moments lil' Kaelyn and I share throughout the day with her acrobatic stunts all the time.

Tomorrow is the start of G's 4 weeks worth of 3 back-to-back trials--which means late nights, high stress and increased grouchiness. All I hope for now is that Kaelyn decides to come only after his trails are over, and not during. Otherwise, I really don't know how he's going to juggle her birth, the first few days and the 3 trials. I'm not sure whether "Your Honour, I really have to go. My wife is going into labour, like now and I need to be there." would work on the judge.

As for me, I've just completed a major transaction (for which I just need to tie up the loose ends). I also need to start briefing people to cover me in case nature calls and I need to disappear at short notice. Think I'll sort all of that out in the next two weeks and perhaps work from home once in a while, especially on days when I feel especially drained in the mornings. With 24h internet connection and access into the Firm's server, I will still be (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on whose view you are taking) contactable and can still do real work. We'll see how this arrangement works out in the next coming days and weeks and play it by ear.

The Princess Sleeps Here

More updates on Kaelyn's room.

The final touches were finally put in (though they forgot to fix on the light dimmer!) this evening. Brought part of my teddy bear collection to accessorise the Princess' room for tomorrow's photoshoot.

Here are the sneak pics:

Gwandma painted the teddy bear chest. Genius, isn't she?

The Wailing Whale Wails Away

Went for my routine medical check-up today.

Updates at 34+ weeks:

Kaelyn still has a bulbous nose.
Kaelyn was making sucking motions with her lips when we did the ultrasound.
Kaelyn is in the correct head-down position, but is not yet engaged.
Kaelyn is still as goreous as ever.

Total weight gain since last checkup 2.2 weeks ago: 0.9kg
Kaelyn's weight gain: 0.5kg
Kaelyn's estimated weight: Approximately 2.3kg (50% percentile)

This is the heaviest I've ever been before. Ever.

Though most people say that other than the ever-expanding belly, I haven't put on weight in other areas, I beg to differ. My face is definitely fleshier (photographs don't lie, do they?), my arms seem a little heavier, and oh... don't even get me started on my thunder thighs! Although I'm sure weight has been "evenly" distributed to my lower torso to support the bulging belly (and perhaps to prevent me from losing my balance and falling over from the displaced centre of gravity?), I feel like a WHALE, a big fat wailing whale.

That's my new nickname--The Whale. Amongst many others. Like the Pregnant Guppy.

I look like I had just eaten a huge watermelon WHOLE, and its stuck trying to get digested in my gut. On the contrary, my appetite has plummetted drastically in the 3rd trimester, though I still eat enough to live, and no longer live to eat. Perhaps its the psychological impact my newfound shape (hey, round is still a shape right?) has on my appetite. I don't even crave Twisties anymore. There must be something really seriously wrong with me.

Oh, but there is one consolation to which I must say I am rather proud of myself for. I measured the thickest part of my belly with the Ikea paper measuring tape, and lo and behold, the widest part of me is only 36 inches! I can probably fit into some of my guy friends' pants!

Hmmm. I wonder what my waistline would be just before delivering. Anyone willing to wager a bet?

Grandmothers--The Biggest Rulers of All

The world is unfair. Whoever said that this world was fair obviously hasn't met The Mother.

In preparation for Kaelyn (?), I was warned, not once, not twice, but a zillion trillion times, "DO NOT BUY TOO MANY CLOTHES AND TOYS--people will buy as gifts and baby will grow out of it real quick".

So when I bought the bare essentials (think white top and bottom separates for home use), I was chided again for "spoiling the child before she's even born". This went on for months on end.

Then, The Parents decided to visit The Brother and his family in the States, as The Mother had not seen her soon-to-turn-1 year old grandson and just-turned-3year old granddaughter. They managed to time the trip such that they'd be there at the granddaughter's 3rd birthday party. Sweet.

Then comes the shopping list. I was asked what I wanted from the States. All I wrote on my shopping list was "Hooded Towels-- 1 or 2 is sufficient" and "if you see CHEAP and NICE crib bedding sets and is not too bulky, buy one set for me too".

It transpires that either I was speaking Russian, Greek or nothing ever registered. The Mother obviously had other ideas.

We were told to "drive two cars to the airport" to pick them up when they got back on Saturday night. You can imagine the amount of luggage they came back with and how much they had contributed to the US economy. George Bush will be proud of them.

Here's a sneak peek of the damage *warning, this is not all the loot*

After I returned my jaw that had dropped to the ground to where it rightfully belonged, I not-so-gently reminded The Mother about what she had earlier reprimanded me for... about not spoiling the child, not wasting too much money and such.

And this was the award-winning reply: "I am the Grandmother. I have the right and privilege to spoil the child."

With this sort of logic, how can anyone ever argue?

And yet again I reiterate--this world is just unfair.

Wacky Weather, Scary Stock Market and Phenomenal Property Market

Its mad, I tell you. The world is all going mad. Everything is going mad.

The world over is experiencing freak weather conditions. Its pouring cats, dogs and elephants causing massive flooding in several regions across the globe whilst causing horrible heatwaves at other parts. Even London and New York City has not been spared. And its even the wrong time of the year for such things. Its mad.

The Stock Market had been experiencing a bull run for the last couple of months, and then suddenly, without much warning, it tumbles and tumbles and hasn't stopped tumbling. Just about everything is in the red. My whole stock watchlist is now all red, as if joining in the celebrations for Singapore's 42nd Birthday.

The worst is the Property Market. Everyone seems to be jumping onto the bandwagon and trying to make a quick buck out of the recent releases, latest launches and special sale previews. 99 year property, freehold property... everything goes. The lines have been blurred and the distinctions of 99 year properties, 999 year properties and freehold properties, once hailed as the premium properties has been done away with.

"Its a dog-eat-dog-world out there", we were told by one property agent, who did one of the strangest things ever. We discovered this last Sunday after a random call.

G and I were reading the Sunday papers and G saw an advert in the classifieds advertising a particular sized unit in a development that we had acquired in the last 6 months. Our stack is the only one with that size, so we were curious which of our soon-to-be-neighbours was succumbing to making a quick buck. (OK, you got me. I admit it. We wanted to get a rough feel of how much ours was worth.) Anyway, as the story goes, G calls the agent and to all our dismay (including the howling pooch in the background), the agent is trying to tout us... drumroll please..... the exact same unit that WE bought! Geez.

"Is there something you're not telling me, DEAR?"

Geez. I never knew that we had even put our unit onto the market for sale. This is absurd. Can you believe it? Agents actually pay good money to advertise units that the sellers don't even have the intention to sell, or sellers are not even aware of someone trying to sell their home away. This is really bizarre. The parents were immediately smsed (they are currently in the States visiting the Brother and his family) and interrogated on whether they were putting our unit up in the market without us knowing. Heh. Just checking...

Oh, and it didn't please us that the asking price this entrepreneurial agent tried to sell us wasn't enough to convince us to sell. Far from it, actually. And of course, he didn't know that we actually owned the unit he had advertised.

Just his luck to get us to call up and enquire on his advert. Oh well.

Go Directly To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200

The Rascal knows the rules. No pee-pee in the front garden, otherwise it's punishment time.

We let him to the front after we got back at around 5pm. We reminded him again. No pee-pee, otherwise back to the back garden. He made his usual sprint to the front, displacing unfortunate pebbles in his path. He reached the front gate within seconds. Up came the right leg and ppppppppppssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttttttttt came a stream of yellow pee-pee all over the once-white front pillar.

"Who asked you to pee-pee? Who asked you to pee-pee? You jolly well know that you are not supposed to pee-pee here!", the G bellowed.

As soon as G took off his black shirt, Rascal was airlifted off the ground and banished to the back garden, only to have the heavy metal gate slammed into his face.

Go Directly To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200

It was a breezy evening so G and I sat at the new mosaic garden table set to catch up on the news, with the Rascal looking pitifully at us 10 feet away, whining and howling the house down, trying to gain some sympathy.

"Nope, no way little furry guy. You know the rules and you've got to be punished."

After what seemed like a reasonable time for him to reflect on his wrongdoings and repent, we let him out again, but not before giving him a severe warning. This time, he SEEMED obedient, just happily trotting about the garden, minding his own business, not peeing on any of the plants at the side.

After I was done with the newpapers, I took a stroll to the front to check out the plants, and lo and behold, I had a very guilty dog at my feet, cowering down as I walk. This was a sure sign that he had done something very naughty that he knew he shouldn't have. I scouted around the garden for the smelly giveaway. Ah-Ha! I see remnants of a stream of yellow pee on the SAME pillar! He had the cheek! psssfffttt.

"Who did that? Who pee-peed again at the same spot?"

The crouched-low-on-the-ground-with-head-tucked-under guilty pooch got a harder wacking this time around before being banished yet again, having his freedom to roam the front garden disappearing before his own very sad-puppy-dog-eyes.

Go Directly To Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200... Again.

No sympathy for the recalcitrant repeat offender this time round.

The Makings of Kaelyn's Room

Yet another hectic day for us as we get closer to the day Kaelyn greets us.

Spent a good half a day trying to fix up Kaelyn's room as part of the Young Parents Baby and Nippon Paint Promotion. The curtain man came to fix up really pink curtains to a really pink room. No doubt that the curtain material is probably of a superior quality, with the blackout bits lining the pink bits, but the print on the curtains look a bit dubious... like something you could pick up cheap from the neighbourhood / heartland shops. But upon closer inspection, the curtains had some nice touches of glitter paint stuck on it. Here it is:

Initially the lights that were to be fixed up in the room were supposed to be one of those chandelier ones. But when they turned up with these medusa-head-like ones, several of our jaws dropped an inch, but we decided to have an open mind to see how it turned out when the lights and the rose bud ends were fixed on. It turned out alright I suppose... just not quite what we had earlier agreed on and had in mind...

The room is still not completely done up yet. Will need to transport some of my teddy bear collection and some of Kaelyn's gi-normous clothes collection to accessorise the room for the photo shoot. Here it is so far...

Handsome Hunk

Some photos of our handsome prince--he who rules the entire household and melts the hearts of many, humans and dogs alike.

His puppy days in late 2005 and early 2006




His first day swimming



His first love, Muffin.




Ain't he gorgeous?

Paved with Good Intentions

This is day number 227 and you're 32 weeks pregnant!
You have 53 days or 8 weeks left, and are 80.0% of the way there.

"Labour pains are d**n painful"
"You will definitely need the epidural"
"Aiyoh... Don't be mad. Just take the epidural"

I have heard it all. All sorts, variations and permutations.

Medical technology has improved so significantly over the years till it is almost possible to give birth without feeling much pain--by succumbing to the epidural. Granted, the epidural eliminates just about all the significant pain associated with labour, but isn't inserting a catheter into the spinal cord enough to send shivers down anyone's spine? What if the anesthetist botches up the job and leaves me paralysed for life? What about all the horror side effects stories that we hear? Don't people ever worry about those? What if I am one of them?

Why is it that our grandmas and great-grandmas were able to give birth to so many children, chances are, at home, and probably without any form of pain relief? How did they do it? What's so different about then and now? How is it that women in developing countries are still able to give birth seemingly effortlessly like our grandmas and great-grandmas at this day and age and women in affluent societies think that its the world's greatest curse of being born a woman? How are we different from them? Granted that our grammies were probably much tougher women that we are today, given the little pampered lives most of us are living, but are we really such weaklings and softies that we can't even do what God programmed us to do when the friendly stray cat down the road seems to pop out kittens like she's a factory?

G and I have decided to try an alternative to pain relief. We have opted to tap on my body's natural epidural, using techniques we learnt for Hypnobirthing. We did our Hypnobirthing course at Four Trimesters sometime in May this year and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It opened our eyes to the possibility and reality, which has since been forgotten by many with the advancement in technology, that severe pain does not have to be an accompaniment of labour and that it is possible to experience the joy and magic of birth - rather than the horrific ordeal that you see on TV all the time.

It takes a lot of patience and dedication to practise the techniques and exercises that we learnt during class, but G and I are committed to going all the way to make it happen.

Wish us luck.

Sympathy Sympathize Sympathetic

This is definitely strange and yet interesting at the same time. I used to think the whole concept was a whole load of bull till it happened to G.

Sympathetic pregnancy, that is.

Apparently, it occurs when a husband feels the effects of his wife's pregnancy. The fancy schmanzy name for this is called "Couvade Syndrome", which is a derivative of the French word couver, meaning 'to hatch'.

Ravings on Cravings

Since the beginning of (my) pregnancy, G has been lucky in that I haven't craved for any particular food. I've had a pretty healthy appetite for most types of food and have been able to eat just about anything. G should count himself fortunate that he doesn't have to go through the "I-want-to-eat-the-margaret-drive-char-kway-teow-at-3am-in-
the-morning"& "you've-got-to-treat-me-as-Queen-Almighty-

cos-I-am-carrying-your-baby" phase. He should really count his blessings.

This is the strange bit. G is the one having all the cravings. One day its Margaret drive char kway teow, another day its Fong Seng Nasi Lemak, yet another day its durians. And still on other days, its kueh tu tu and sometimes its muah chee. The list goes on. G's latest cravings that we have yet to satisfy is for "black" carrot cake at "ABC Market" somewhere in Bukit Merah. I've never heard nor eaten at this mysterious ABC place, and he has not mentioned it in the 5 odd years that we've been together. Now suddenly out of nowhere, G proclaims "I gian to eat the black chye tow kueh at ABC Market. Shall we go?"

I eat just about anything and everything. Hence, the fat-ass whale that I'm starting to morph into. Perhaps I should go try out this mysterious black carrot cake place soon to satisfy his (current) cravings. I wonder what would be next?

Weeing in the wee hours of the morning

Yes, this is yet another symptom/side effect that the preggers woman is supposed to have--to wake up several times a night to pee cos Baby is pressing on the bladder.

And yet again, strangely, I am not the one getting up in the middle of the night. G still refuses to acknowledge it, constantly putting it down to "no what, once or twice only", but yes dear, I have noticed this way too often for it to be a "once or twice only".


I hear that some hubbies put on weight together with the wife throughout the duration of her pregnancy. And friends have told me that they have heard occasions where the husband gets morning sickness alongside the wife, to share in her pain and misery. Some even experience the pains of labour. How amazing is that?!?

Others say that its a sign that hubbies really love their preggers wives, despite the expanding belly and the lack of waistline.

Awwwwwww. I love you too G, even though you may be too macho to admit that you are suffering from sympathetic pregnancy! =)

An Exciting Start to Week 32

Today marked the beginning of Kaelyn's 32nd week. The Saturday morning began early for us, much like a usual work day, only more hectic. G and C (from the PR Firm), another G, his very sweet girlfriend D and Shi Fu (Nippon Paint) and a bunch of other people were scheduled to come over at 9am to start the painting of Kaelyn's new room and the living room as well as the photoshoot for Nippon Paint Hari Raya marketing brochure.

Makeover of Kaelyn's Baby Room

Here's a BEFORE and AFTER photo of our guest room which was being converted into Kaelyn's room, all part of a joint marketing project by Nippon Paint, Life Baby and Young Parents:

Here's a photo of the master shi fu at work. He's super agile and has a steady hand for a 74 year old man, who started his painting career at the tender age of 12, painting cars for 5 years before switching to painting houses for the other 57 years of his life, of which he spent 6 years in Swatow, China setting up the Nippon Paint China operations and training disciples there to carry on the trade.

Nippon Paint's Hari Raya Promotional Brochure

We had agreed to let the Nippon paint people use our living room as the backdrop for their Hari Raya marketing and advertising promotion. Little did we know what we were in for until we had about 25 people of various ages packed into our tiny living area, doing make-up, setting out studio lights, using huge ass cameras, and of course, an entire wardrobe of clothes for at least 5 models! The sheer number of shoes outside our door as well as part of the wardrobe hanging outside our house must have scared our neighbours!

Here are some of the shots that they were taking:

Oh, and if you were really wondering, Nippon Paint's Odorless range of paints REALLY have no smell. We had the aircon on in the entire house and it was smell-less! Wonders of modern technology. I am sold. :)

Routine Medical Appointment

Went for the routine medical appointment today at around noon to check on how Kaelyn is doing inside. Did a hospital tour as well, just to get a feel of what and how the labour rooms / wards looked like and to mentally picture myself in those surroundings. Strangely, ALL the rooms on the maternity floor were filled, from the super luxurious suites to the deluxe rooms to the 1 bedder to the 4 bedders. I knew July would be a busy month for babies being born, but this??? As a result, we only managed to sneak a peek into the rooms through the tiny windows in the doors. Oh well. Looks spacious enough for me.

The ultrasound conducted on Kaelyn showed:

She's STILL a girl (PHEW! The room can still remain pink)
She's got pouty lips and a bulbous nose (that's G's description of Kaelyn. I personally think she's cute!)
Head Circumference: 29.1cm
Abdominal Circumference: 26.3cm
Estimated Weight: 1.79kg (50th percentile, approximately 0.6kg weight gain from last checkup 3.5 weeks ago)

Oh, and my alleged weight gain (including Kaelyn's 0.6kg increase) was 2.5kg. I SWEAR that there's something wrong with that hospital scale... and apparently I'm not the first one to complain!

Did a Strep B test to see if I'm a carrier (hopefully not!) and whether Kaelyn would need treatment when I'm in labour.

Skype Video Calls

Ended the night on a 2h long video and audio call with Dad & Mum in Den's place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Dad & Mum decided to fly up at very short notice to visit Den & the kids before Kaelyn is born. They sent over some photos of the HUGE house Den stays in-- approximately 15,ooo sq ft, including a house with about 4,000 sq ft in built in space. Think Den's 3-car garage is probably the size of my entire Fernwood apartment. Geez.

And Den was telling us that he and Erica went to check out the most expensive house in their estate--built in was 12,000 sq ft and the land area was at least 2 acres (that's about 90,000 sq ft?). Double Geez.