Celebrating the 12th week!

Peanut is 12 weeks old!

(The mister insisted on the nickname Diamond instead of Peanut. Wow, didn't know that it's that glamorous floating in the womb...)

Anyway, we'll stick to Peanut. And I do know that one thing's for sure it's certainly not glamorous wearing leggings that are zipped up halfway or finally getting comments about how my hips have grown sideways like some wild hedges and not being able to fit into anything anymore!

But the symptoms have reduced tremendously, so it's time to celebrate! Lesser backcramps for now (yay!), night sickness is almost gone (touch wood!), heart beats are back to normal (double yay!) and getting back to my normal crazy routine at work (work for once has been keeping me sane).

I have put on 5kg in such a short span that it's frightening the daylights out of me. Friends who have not met me for quite some time didn't notice any changes, so I suppose i have to thank my wardrobe that has always been of a darker shade. I am definitely waiting for this flabby period to be over soon. I feel like a whale all the time, day in, day out.

Some latest developments include sending away the 2 bunnies to my parents' home back in Muar. They have adopted Udon, the grey Lionhead who is now named Pin Pin. Good grief. I guess, when in France, do what the French do. My home in Muar has always been a pet sanctuary, so I am pretty sure he's in paradise now (with a maid to pick up after him, and with the master who's his playmate and entertainer).

The other kid, Sushi, a white New Zealand bunny is now at the home of close family friend. He has now the attention from 4 teenage boys who I hope will teach the kid some good manners especially on peeing in the litter pan!:D

The folks also got 2 pictures of very happy looking babies in photoframes (1 girl and 1 boy) for me and the mister to wake up to everyday. Apparently, it's a method to ensure the birth of a very happy Peanut! My pregger friend, Tiffany T. has also asked me to only look at pretty things all the time. She has been doing that since Day 1 as well. Then I must start looking at more LVs, Burberrys', Pradas etc. Heck, that's a lot of motivation I must say!

As for updates on friends, I am so glad that Ben finally proposed to Lynn! Lynn is a bestie since childhood days and they are now residing in Melbourne permanently. Lynn was my maid of honour and I can't wait to see her in the white gown that's awaiting her. I must add that Ben did a fantastic job of proposing to her - never imagined that he could be so artsy fartsy that it led to goosebumps all over when I saw the photographs of his creations for that night in their apartment. To Ben and Lynn, you certainly have our best wishes! :)

Finally, Q3 is in full swing at work and we are all looking forward to a long break during Hari Raya. We have booked our yearly getaway to Cameron Highlands and also bought tickets to watch Tiger Huang, the Jazz Goddess from Taiwan perform. Her concert will be held at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands. I am definitely looking forward to that as I have memorised her songs and the lyrics are on the 1st few pages of my song bible (there is a story to my song bible which I may tell someday). And this is my 3rd concert in my life ever, after Andy Lau's and Celine Dion's. We are still trying to get the tickets for Jacky Cheung's concert to end a good year. Fingers crossed!

And now, to end this entry with a self-reminder list of the things to do:

1) Start looking out for new or 2nd hand baby stuff
2) Exercise and walk more
3) Eat less, don't overindulge (doubt it's possible but please control Missy!!!)
4) Confirm the confinement lady by this month end!
5) Find out the process of hiring a maid
6) Read to Peanut every night
7) Listen more to jazzy and classical music

It's obvious the list will never end...

The Great Big Irony

Ironies in life are many times funny and they do actually mean a lot. And in our case, the ironies that hit us meant a whole lot without us having the slightest inkling of the great big surprise that was coming our way.

It all started with my short business trip down south to attend the much awaited CommunicAsia 2011 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. But of course, for a 2-day 1-night trip, my 3 colleagues and I intended to make the best out of our trip by focusing on the activities for the evening at some lovely watering hole at Clarke Quay. For all the plans that we had made, I had to fall really ill with stomach flu on the night before our trip, almost wanting to tell the gang that I wouldn’t be able to make it. Alas, I couldn’t as I was the leader of the pack and held all the important details regarding our road trip. So after tossing and turning in bed till 3am on that very morning, I literally had to drag myself out of the house to meet the gang at the office at 5.30am. Though we made it to our neighbouring country in less than 2 hours, I had already popped 2 painkillers and hoped in the vain that my fever would go away.

Miraculously I survived the day, hopping onto trains and cabs as we navigated our way to the event venue from our hotel. At the event itself, I popped another 2 painkillers to make sure that I could keep up with my colleagues to tour the whole event that was showcased on 3 different floors. Miraculously again, I wobbled in my 3-inch heels, for 4 hours before being whisked away by an associate in Singapore who apparently brought us to the ‘best’ Thai restaurant on the island. At 5.30pm, we were too early and got chased away by the lady boss. We ended up in this dingy pub on the next street. They recommended me, an innocent drinker, to an innocent pint of innocent apple cider called Strong Bow. I was too thirsty by then to make small talk so I finished the whole glass in 10 minutes. Boy, did it feel good. The last I had a drink was a good 6 hours back. It didn’t occur to me that I was drinking on an empty stomach as I didn’t have appetite for lunch earlier in the day.

We then made our way back to the Thai restaurant and happily ordered the entire menu because I mentioned that I was starving. The dishes came quickly and filled up the table, much to our delight. Again, too hungry to make small talk, I ate as much as I could and felt that it turned out to be a good trip afterall. I guess I forgot that I was still feeling very ill.

AND THAT WAS WHEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.

On that very evening, I, drenched in cold sweat, staggered through alleys, sat on pavements, tried to open the lift door, knelt at the hotel carpark, fell butt flat 5 steps before reaching the hotel room and miserably missed out on the after party. I never made it to Clarke Quay or Orchard Road that night.

But I had the best sleep ever, from 8.00pm till 8.00am the very next day.

When we returned to Kuala Lumpur, my illness didn’t go away and stayed with me for another week or so. And then it got really bad again when I woke up at 5.00am one day, sweating profusely and feeling nauseated. I didn’t even know why I whipped out the box of untouched test kits that we got for a steal at the pharmacy a year ago but at 7.00am on 26 June 2011, I tested positive for pregnancy. ( I only managed to read about this little thing called ‘intuition during pregnancy’ in a magazine later on).

I didn’t make it to work that day and I also didn’t tell anybody, not even the Mister about the test result. Truthfully, it left me stunned the whole day, not knowing what to expect next. I was happy and yet stunned, as it came unplanned. Afterall, we have only been married for 4 months.

However I couldn’t contain myself and I ended up calling my mum in the evening to break the news to her. She was even greater, as she was the least surprised! Haha, just because your daughter has never been on the pill? But I told her that I wanted be extra sure of the entire situation and told her my plan of testing the kit for another 2 days. Afterall, I still had 3 more kits to use!

And so, the next 2 days were the longest days of my life. On 28 June 2011, I finally shared the news with the Mister and my in-laws (with the 3 test kits as proof! Haha!).

But the funniest part was that I have never kept track of the cycle of my womanhood and couldn’t tell anyone the approximate age of Peanut who was growing in my tummy.

So I bought myself the most expensive kit on the shelf. At RM29.90, the Clear Blue kit gave a digital reading of Peanut being 3+ weeks old!

When I visited Dr Tan, the gynae at Gleneagles, for the first time, he measured peanut to be 7+ weeks old! He also estimated the due date to be early of March 2012. All I could say during the examination while he scanned my tummy was, “Wow, it’s a really a miracle.”

Seeing Peanut all wrapped up in a mini cocoon of flesh and moving to my heartbeat was indeed a sight of a miracle. I immediately felt bad that Peanut had to undergo such ‘horrendous movements’ during that unforgettable Singapore trip of mine. What a rough journey! I must be so lucky that nothing dangerous happened.

Peanut should be 9 weeks old and perhaps 11mm by now. Despite suffering from fashion woes (no more heels! Boo hoo!), severe heartburn, nerve-wrecking backaches, night sickness and a flabby waistline, the sun has never shined this bright.

Peanut, we are all waiting for you.