Into the fray

After a horrible sickly day of constant throwing up yesterday [of which I am thankful for all your comforting comments, emails, text messages :)], today has been much better.

I braved one bout of puking, and a morning of nausea to head to the Mother & Baby Fair at the Singapore Expo.

When I first heard about this fair, I was hesitant to go, because the Natas Fair, reknown for the huge crowds it attracts, is also on now at the same place. But when a friend who is almost full-term into her pregnancy expressed interest in going, I decided it would be fun for us all to go together.

We arrived at 11am - the official opening time. The carpark was already almost full, and we had to join a queue to enter the fair! Still, I believe the bulk of the crowd had not yet arrived, and we were comfortable enough to do a walk around.

I didn't buy anything although I brought along a very helpful shopping list that lilsnooze sent me (thanks dear!). I asked Roboman to help record prices of things that we saw, and was just generally intrigued by the many baby and mummy things that I have never ever paid any attention too before. It helped to see what some of the contraptions actually looked like!

My friend bought a couple of packs of Huggies newborn diapers and received 2 free Mothercare onesies. She also got a MacLaren stroller at a really good discounted price.

Me? I walked away with a free goodie bag, a record of prices, and 1 little cup of Milo from the Nestle counter :)

(Why does Milo always taste better from these portable dispensers? Remember school sports days when we got iced cold Milo from the Milo van? Yum!)

Guilt

I'm losing weight.

The quantity of food I'm eating is probably half of what I used to eat before I was pregnant.

I've already puked twice this morning.

I'm worried the Vits I ate came out too.

I pray my baby is ok.

Feeling awful :(

Ms Sleepyhead

I've just passed pregnancy Week 10 and am now into Week 11. As I crossed from 10th - 11th week, I have been hit with intense tiredness.

By 9pm my eyelids start drooping and by 10pm I'm usually fast asleep.

What this means is that I effectively don't have any spare time at all between work, dinner and sleep! How sad.

One thing that excites me now though, is that I have been asked to make earrings to sell and raise funds for charity! It is part of my organisation's yearly fund raising activities. I was told I could claim the cost of raw materials, but I decided I would donate those as well, since I still have quite a lot of materials left (although I already have been giving some away!).

I have about 4 weeks to prepare for this. My eyelids would have to be kept up to make say, 2-4 pairs a day? I hope I can do it!

An evening walk

It was a cool evening after the rain, and we decided to head to Keppel Island - our first visit - to take in fresh air and enjoy an evening walk.

We appreciated the cool breeze and peaceful quietness as the sun set.

Although we didn't think very much about how the restaurants were facing the Carribean condominium rather than the open sea, we will probably be back to smell the sea and enjoy the quietness.

Pretty Clothes

I recently ordered a whole bunch of maternity wear online.

I love dresses, and find them the most comfortable for a starting-to-bulge tummy.

As I wait expectantly for the clothes to arrive, I am especially looking forward to this pink number from ASOS. I love the colour and the sheen of the material.

There are 4 weddings I have to attend in April, so if this fits well, I'm going to wear it to all of them!

I want back...

... my sense of taste and smell!

I've never realised just how much my natural senses have been taken for granted. This pregnancy has shouted it out to me.

Sensitive nose begone!
My sense of smell has become to acute that I am unable to stand certain everyday smells. I stepped into our car one day and immediately wanted to retch at the scent of the air freshener. My immediate thought was that I had accidentally set it to the "high" mode, but upon checking I realised it was still at the lowest setting it always has been. I had to pluck out the entire thing and air the car for a bit.

I also can't stand certain cooking smells, which has led me to have to change dining plans more than once. The most memorable one was at Cedele. I thought I would go there with the family to have some healthy salads. The moment we reached the entrance, the smell of oil hit me and I could not step into the restaurant. Blimey!

Oh my poor tastebuds!
Most readers of this blog would realise by now that I love my food. I love to eat and I love to eat different things. I already prepared myself to be 'deprived' of my favourite sashimi, oysters and medium rare steaks because of this pregnancy. But I never did realise what is much worse than this deprivation is the inability to enjoy food.

Firstly, everything I put into my mouth now has a faint metallic taste to it. Certain meats and fish taste so strong to me that they immediately create a lurch in the stomach and I have to stop eating. Most things just taste more bland than usual.

The ultimate of it all is this: during the rare moments where I actually have somewhat of an appetite and want to eat a particular thing - the actual taste is always never like how I imagined it to be in my head, and it is a letdown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did all the above sound depressing?

Well the good news is that not every woman will go through what I did. The bad news is that I know people who have had it worse.

But you know what? I guess this is the beginning of many sacrifices I'll have to make for the little one within me! And from everything I've heard - they'll all be worth it!

I'm cared for

The people whom I work with are a great bunch. Besides the many text messages, emails, and cubicle visits, I've also found thoughtful gifts left on my desk.

It is the wonderful work environment I'm in, the sense of achievement and belonging, that makes me sometimes wonder if I would ever want to give it all up to focus on being a SAHM.

Decisions to be made over the next one year!

The Expectant Father

Many people have asked me about Roboman's reaction to finding out about the pregnancy. Unsurprising to me, his reactions so far have been so congruent with his personality and character - a down-to-earth, practical, and loving person he is - that I can't help but love him even more.

The Discovery:
We had decided to do a pregnancy test the night before (I am told it is best to test in the morning) the actual day. That morning however, I was too tired and woke up late. He was already leaving the house when I peeked out from under the covers and asked him if he wanted me to quickly do the test while he was around. He gently said it was not necessary and asked that I go back to bed. So when I finally did test and got a positive result, I quickly called him. His response was a down-to-earth: Oh, that is good news then. Over the next couple of days, he read up on some pregnancy books given to us, and informed me that he was well ahead - reading up stuff till the 3rd month of pregnancy. Haha!

The Acts of Service:
The back-rubs, the collection of barf bags from planes for me, stocking up on milk, juices and crackers, and unassumingly taking on the role of housekeeper and cook. Right now, all our meals are dictated by what I feel I can stomach, and where I feel well enough to go to. He has lovingly taken all these in his stride.

The One Who Makes Me Laugh:
One evening, I was feeling particularly down and queasy, and was plonked on the sofa, all spaced out and moody. Roboman walked into the bedroom and emerged with a big pillow under his T-shirt. He proceeded to act like a pregnant woman waddling as he walked towards me. It TOTALLY cracked me up. I laughed and laughed till my blues went away that evening. I will never forgot this incident of my husband taking it upon himself to cheer me up =)

Where I have been

So folks, I can finally be back on this blog! =)

This, is the reason for my disappearance:

(taken on 16 Jan 09)

Yup, I'm pregnant - and now 9 weeks so. So the folks who suggested that I was pregnant then, during the random giddy spells, were all right! Just that I didn't know it myself.

After a few happy days of discovering this pregnancy, I fell into 2-3 weeks of utter disarray - exhibiting textbook pregnancy symptoms. I got bouts of intense tiredness and giddy spells. My tastebuds changed, and I could not keep my food down, running to throw up a few times a day. I have never vomited so much or so violently like I did those few weeks. The doctors gave me a couple of days of much needed medical leave just to rest, and rest I did, for I could not really function normally at all. When I did have to go out, I always had in my bag 2 plastic bags for the inevitable puking that would occur.

Now however, I am thankful to seem to have survived the worst of the Morning (I'd say "All Day") sickness. I feel my energy coming back, and I am keeping my food down a lot more. I suspect it has partly to do with the huge dosage (50mg/day) of VitB6 that my gynae prescribed me.

I have so much to share about my thoughts, emotions and experiences, and I will be glad to do so from now on :)

In the meantime, I received this Kate Spade diaper bag! A dear friend bought it for me in anticipation of my getting pregnant =) Isn't that so sweet? I love the polka dots on the inside, and it matches my other Kate Spade bag!

Still around

I've disappeared off this blog for a while. Many things are happening in my life right now, most of which I have not been able to bring myself to blog about just yet.

But I'm well and good, and recently organised a department retreat for around 70 people. It was a whole day event, and a massive task - made more challenging by the huge cut in budget we had to make do with year.

I love the concept we have though. In this tradition, a day is set aside for the management team to appreciate the rest of the staff, and for everyone to appreciate their colleagues. It is a celebration of individuals in the department for the job well done the previous year.

We started off the day with the management team making real fruit juices for everyone. Orders were taken a couple of days before for requested juice mixes, so we bought the stuff beforehand. I also ran a Breakfast Iron Chef competition, where teams were given some ingredients, and had to barter for other ones to compete to make the best breakfasts.

In the afternoon, we took everyone out for a surprise vist to 2 farms. One was a little organic farm, where we were treated to a tour and health talk, and learnt how to make different types of salads. Many colleagues were really keen on the health benefits of certain plants, and took home a couple of leaves.

We ended off the day with a visit to a fish farm. Everyone got to experience 'longkang' fishing, and take home fish. I was a little apprehensive that this would be too childish a thing to do, but to my surprise, everything plunged into it with much fervour, with a mini competition building up to see who caught more fish!

After days of planning, checking out places, and shopping for the various required items, PLUS the heat of the actual day, I was completely conked out that evening. I had to nap in my office cubicle (!) that evening before driving home. I didn't trust myself to drive in such tiredess.