I Not Stupid!

Finally managed to catch a movie tonight with Dear Dear. We've been wanting to watch 'I Not Stupid 2' because we heard that it's a really great movie. So, finally decided to catch it at Sunplaza. When I was inside the cinema waiting for the movie to start, I thought to myself - I better catch more movies in the coming month, because after Joey is born, I might not be able to catch any more movies until several months later. And I got to find someone to babysit her if I want to go movies with Dear Dear. Hmm..

I was really touched by the movies. Jack Neo is super good. He always ensures that there are really funny parts in his movies, and there are also always very touching & heart-wrenching parts which will make people cry. I cried so badly at some parts of the movie that I was a total wreak!

I like his movies because all the things the characters say in the movie are so natural and close to our hearts. It's things that we've heard while growing up. It's logical events that take place in our daily lives.

And one thing that kept popping up in my mind when I was watching the movie was whether I will be a good mother to Joey. The movie was so thought-provoking. Although Jack Neo brought to the attention of parents today about the things we say to our kids and how we always focus on their bad points and forget about their strengths, I must say that there are some things parents will always do. Parents will always nag. Parents will always assume we are not studying hard enough. Parents will always assume we don't want to listen to them. And alot of times, parents don't really care whether what they say get into our hearts or just in from one side and out through the other. They just want to say everything out. Much like it's part of their responsibility as parents.

I can almost visualise myself becoming like that if I am not careful. Cos sometimes I find myself doing that to my brother too. It's like we always say some things that are 'standard things to be said', simply because we feel we are expected to say those things.

I hope I will become a mother who's understanding and not overbearing though. I hope to be a mother-cum-friend to my daughter, and be someone she can always trust and believe in. I hope to be a mother who believes wholeheartedly in my daughter and always helps her to achieve her fullest potential and talent in God. I hope I don't nag too much. I hope I will encourage and edify rather than tear down and destroy confidence.

My own mother has been someone who has never added pressure to me, especially in my studies. Maybe because I've always been a good girl and I like to study, so she never really had to worry about me. But I found that it's really good that way because it made me take ownership & responsibility over my own successes, and not to do anything just to please anybody. If for anything, I do well so that I can make my parents proud of me and so that they can be happy. I want my own kid to feel that way too.

But I guess I don't have to worry unduly. Being a mother is the highest calling in my life. Didn't Pst Kong say that before? And I am sure if I trust in the Lord & commit Joey's life into His Hands, God will help me be a good mother to her. And to the other 'J -babies' who will come later. : )

Ginger in the Air

Preparations have started for my confinement. David's girlfriend helped us get some tonic wine not long ago, and my mum also helped us to buy the yellow wine (direct translation! haha) to be used for cooking chicken during my confinement. Mother asked her sisters to help buy good quality old ginger from JB so that I would have good-tasting dishes during my confinement. You should have seen the huge bag of ginger! I have never seen so much ginger in my life before!

For the past few days, Mother has been chopping the ginger into really fine pieces. Dear Dear also helped her cos it's really tiring having to chop up so much ginger. Then today, they were busy in the kitchen frying all the ginger they chopped so that the ginger would be fragrant and ready for cooking anytime. The aroma and fragrance of the fried ginger really were awesome! (Thank God people don't eat smelly beancurd for confinement, if not i really can't imagine...)

Mother & Dear Dear really loves me so much. You can imagine how hot the whole kitchen was but they just kept frying & frying & frying. All for my sake. Hmm.. Looks like my confinement dishes would be super delicious. Cos it's filled with love & sacrifice. Haha..

The day is drawing so near. Soon I'd be able to see Joey. I am really looking forward to seeing what she looks like after carrying her for so long in my tummy. : ) It could be as soon as end next month, so it's happening real fast. Kaishen was telling me the other day via msn that after seeing me for another 4 more bible studies, it's time already. haha.. cos he always sees me when he goes for weekly bible studies at YMCA. If I think that way, it's really fast leh!

Joey as usual has been so so so super active. Sometimes once she starts moving, she will keep moving for the next 5 minutes non stop. Maybe that's when she wakes up from sleep, and wants to stretch herself. Ever since I saw her from the scan the last time at Dr Chew's clinic, I have been trying to visualise what each of her movements are. Sometimes when she sticks her foot against the wall of my tummy, I will try to visualise I am touching her small little foot. haha.. Well, I guess it's not long before I can hold the real thing. : )

Is Joey Uncomfortable?

I wonder if Joey is feeling uncomfortable in her current position in my small small tummy. Yesterday and today, she has been moving and moving sooooo much! From right to left to right to left.. Sometimes it's so itchy especially at the side that I will fidget and make a funny sound. I very scared of tickle! And I don't think Joey knows that.

But come to think of it, it's only natural for her to feel uncomfortable since she is so big already and got to curl up & squeeze inside this small space. I also hope she can come out quickly, then she can have a big space in her own cot!

Grown so much!

I went to see Dr Chew again today. On one hand, I was thinking that Joey couldn't have grown much since the last appointment just two weeks ago. Yet, on the other hand, I seemed to have felt the great increase in weight recently, and they are evident from my swollen legs and dingdang hands (if u wonder what's ding dang hands, try looking at doraemon's hands... round round one...) at the end of everyday. So, I was pretty excited to see how well Joey was doing.

To my surprise, when I weighed myself today, I have put on so much weight! I am now 57.7kg (That was about 2 kg increase from 2 weeks ago!). Oh man. The missy joked with me that it's the Chinese New Year season so I am not the only one piling on so much weight. Hee... My mama also told me rather happily that I am now heavier than her. Sigh.

Saw Joey from the scan again. Can't see her face because she's facing downwards and her head is still down at the bottom, which is really a good sign. Dr Chew said her position is really good, and that's exactly what she should be when she is due for delivery. Good Joey was behaving well too, because even though she was actively moving constantly, she was not moving so randomly that Dr Chew cannot measure her head size. It's really important because that will allow the computer to calculate her weight to make sure she's not too small. It turned out that Joey is now 2.2 kg, a vast increase from 2 weeks ago when she was only slightly over 1 kg. So, she still has about 0.8 kg to hit a normal weight for birth.

Dr Chew said that most weight will be gained during these few weeks, and when it reaches the tailend of my pregnancy, it will slow down again. I was still rather worried two weeks ago when Joey weighed only 1 kg, because it felt so impossible that Joey can gain weight so quickly to hit her 3 kg soon. But thank God everything turned out well. Joey's size is the size of a 34-week old foetus, although she's only 33 weeks old. So, thank God she's growing healthily. : )

It was such a great joy to see Joey again. When Dr Chew pressed the scanner on my stomach, Joey moved her head right & left.. hahaha.... Dr Chew said she's trying to see who's disturbing her. Smart baby. : )

Something else to be happy about. Dr Chew said my tummy is very nice & smooth. No lines! No scratch marks so far, so i really pray they will never appear! Hahaha..

My New Name?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Today when I reached the place to attend Bro Nic's surprise birthday party, most of the DD3 leaders were already there sitting around. The moment they saw me, they all said.. 'Hello joey!'.. especially that uncle ziwei.. kept waving to my stomach, treating me as transparent??!! Sigh.. and I got to say, 'I am klessis lah!'... but ziwei insisted on just greeting my stomach and waving at joey, whom I am sure cannot see him yet.

Am I having an identity crisis??? Looks like my baby is more popular than me. sigh again.

Oh well, maybe I should not take it so hard. It's a blessing to have so many people who loves my daughter even before she was born. Hehe.. Ziwei is so funny, he even told me.. "I miss joey leh.. hope I can see her soon..." And I had to remind him that he has never even seen joey before, how to miss her?? Not logical. sigh sigh sigh.

Well, I should stop here. Pregnant ladies shouldn't sigh all the time. : )

Gifts from Afar

Pastor Lillian just came back from her overseas trip to Europe and she blessed Joey with super cute clothes! They are for newborn babies, so they are super tiny. Haha..

This is a lavender colour pants with sequins and flowers from Benetton:

Here's a pink mini skirt in the same series:

And there were some mini snowcap and socks too! All PINK!!!

I love them! They are all so cute! Thank you Pastor!

Shopping Day

Today we went shopping for Joey's things. It's so enjoyable shopping for her things because everything that Joey needs come in mini sizes! Hee.. At first, we only wanted to buy her the necessary clothes to wear from hospital back to home & for her daily use during the first month, but we chanced upon Baby Fox clothes & they were so cute! More than that, they were going at 40% discount with additional 20% if purchase 3 pieces or more! Although the clothes were meant for Joey when she's 3-6 months, we decided to buy them first because of the sale! Look at what we got today!

These are her basic clothes. We bought 4 tops & 2 bottoms. Notice that the top comes with ribbons to tie at the side. My mother in law says that baby is very fragile & we would like to dress her quickly without much hassle. I like babies dressed in white! Looks so clean!

Next comes my most favourite piece! It's a super chic & cute pink jeans! Hahaha... We bought it because I also have a pair of pink jeans! Mother-daughter costume! Hee...

Two other very lovely tops we bought!

Oh yes, not forgetting the small little things we bought today as well. We bought small scissors to cut her nails, powder container to put milk powder and 2 pacifiers!

What a victorious day!

So Touched...

I got to blog this before I sleep. Annie just told me that my ex colleagues are planning to buy me a bottle steriliser! Oh man.. I am so touched and in awe of their kindness. Come on, how many ex colleagues would even think of buying anything for someone who has left the company for almost half a year?

When they got news that I was pregnant after I left the company, almost everyone smsed me to congratulate me & to share in my joy. And annie just told me that right from the start, they were already thinking of buying me a bottle steriliser. Wow. Their love and generosity simply amazes me.

What can I say? I can only thank God for putting such people in my life. That in spite of the fact that I am no longer working with them, they still remember me. Thank you, my dear friends.

And Jesus, I pray that You pour down your blessings on them this year. Amen.

In Preparation for the Big Day

Before long, little Joey will be born. Dear Dear & I have started to buy some necessities to welcome her into this world. Bro Edmund has been so kind to keep reminding me whenever there's a Robinsons sale so that we can get really good bargains over there.

Just last week, we went to Robinsons to buy some feeding bottles, bottle brush, baby wet wipes, etc. Will probably go NTUC one of these days to get the diapers. She'll surely need those. We decided to skip the bottle steriliser cos they are really quite ex. We will probably be using the traditional method of putting the bottles inside a wok or a steamer with boiling water and use steam to sterilise them. : )

There are still many things to buy. For one, we haven't gotten Joey her first body suit, socks and snowcap so that she can wear them on her first day back home from the hospital. It's really important to me that she wears what daddy & mummy buys for her on her first day back home, cos it's so significant. Hee.. Saw some nice & cute clothes at Mothercare, but each time we couldn't make up our minds which to buy. But I think we should really get down to buying them pretty soon, now that I am about 31 weeks' pregnant. : )

Oh yes, not forgetting I need to start packing my bag for the hospital soon. Better to be early than panic closer to the actual day. I wonder if the hospital will allow me to bring my laptop in. I can play some games on my laptop to take my attention and nervousness away. Hmm.. maybe i should ask Dr Chew next week when I see her again. : )

New gifts for Joey!

Joey has been blessed with new toys and a new wooden bed recently! Right from the beginning, I had this hope within my heart to get Joey a wooden cot, because it's so nice and sturdy. But they are really expensive. So, when we got a cot from a friend as a gift but it's not wooden, I thought it's still great because we managed to save some money at least. But God is really good! Pst Chee Kiang just gave us a big wooden cot that his baby used for less than 30 days! It's really very nice and big, and can be converted to a mini bed for toddlers of 2 or 3 years old, so we can really use it for a long long time. Isaiah & I were so thrilled by the blessing!

Then yesterday, Meiting Ah Yee bought Joey a really cute Precious Moments feeding bottle! It is so sweet and lovely! I am sure Joey will enjoy her first feed from the bottle tremendously! The bottle cap also comes with some beads that makes a rattle sound when moved, so it can capture Joey's attention! Hee.. Thanks meiting!

Thank God for blessings!

Right side?

Joey doesn't like me to sleep on the right side. Whenever I turn to sleep on my right side, she will kick and kick and kick on my side, and makes me so ticklish. So, I have been sleeping more on my left side now. It's funny, she will stop kicking immediately when I turn and sleep on the left. This girl ah....

I can't write anymore!

My fingers have become so fat and bloated with water at the joints that I can hardly write anymore. I tried writing something the other day but it was a tiring & tedious process for me.

I can't even cluck my fingers like before because all I hear are water squashing sounds.

How to get rid of the water retention in my fingers? Can I lift them up like I do for my legs? But it's hard to keep them lifted all the time.

I can't really clutch my hands together tightly because it'll be painful to do so. Anyway, because they are so round & fat now, when I clutch them together, they look like doraemon's hands. hahaha...

The things that I would miss

I have been thinking these past few days that there are many things I would miss after I have given birth to Joey. Many people have told me that I look better during pregnancy because I have gained some weight. My usually skinny face now looks rounder and fuller, and that makes me look better & healthier. The glow that comes along with being pregnant is of course another plus point.

Another major thing I would surely miss is the kicks and movements in my tummy. It's been the most amazing thing that comes along with being pregnant. It's not even possible to fully describe what it feels like. And I am sure while I will be able to hold a kicking baby in my arms, I would miss the feeling that my baby and I are 'one' in one body. : )

I would also miss the round and big tummy I carried around for 9 months. Before I was pregnant, I couldn't imagine how I could carry a big tummy around. But I guess it just becomes so natural that I don't even need to give it a second thought. Movements are much more restricted with the big tummy, that's for sure. Tossing & turning while sleeping become a chore and not something natural anymore. I think after giving birth, there might be some periods of time when I would still think I am pregnant and move carefully, only to realise that I am no longer pregnant. Ha.

Another two more months and I will no longer have that big round tummy, so I have been trying to take alot more photographs nowadays as & when I can. For memories' sake. Heee.

Big Round Nose

Dawn has been telling me that my looks have started to change. She said it's the look that says I am approaching my due date. Hmm... the main tell tale sign is my big round nose which has become so red & shiny nowadays.

Not only my nose, I think everything else also became rounder. My fingers, for sure look much rounder, like they are swollen with water retention. My toes sometimes look fat too depending on whether I walked alot on that particular day. My face, without a doubt, looks much rounder than pre-pregnancy. Oh well, I don't really care, frankly. Cos I have been skinny almost all my life, so seeing a rounder Kless does inject some freshness and novelty into my life. Hee..

Joey is growing very fast!

This morning I went to see Dr Chew again. Joey has grown so much from the last time we saw her! Now, she's so big that we can't see her whole body from the screen, got to see part by part. Ha..

Joey is slightly over 30 weeks today. She weighs about 1.7kg now, and Dr Chew says she is a very good size now. Good position too, cos she's now head-down and birth will be easy. Dr Chew also says that the placenta is in the right position so natural birth will be no problem. Otherwise, I would have no choice but to opt for a Caesarean. So Praise God, she's really growing very well.

I told Dr Chew that Joey is constantly moving, kicking and shifting. And she said that's only normal and it's good that she's moving so much. By the next visit, she will be giving me a foetus movement chart so that I can count & monitor her movements everyday. If Joey moves less than 10 times on any particular day, I must consult her immediately. But at the rate she's going, it's not possible she moves less than that. It's likely she's moving around 50 times everyday. No joke. She's really such an active baby. : )