Contractions?

Been feeling many different sensations the past 2 days, in increasing frequency.

1. The tightening-relaxing type, which sometimes makes my belly look really tensed and odd-shaped. This is sometimes painless, sometimes painful.
2. The wave of period cramps in the lower abdomen and lower back.
3. Short waves of “stabbish, numb-ish” pains down my lower back, to the tail bone, or down the pelvic bone to the upper thigh.
4. Gastric pain /period cramp types, higher up the belly.

Checked it out and it seems like people experience contractions differently – and all 4 descriptions were similar to various women’s descriptions of contractions…
*Jitters*
Does this mean it’s gonna be soon?

On one sleepless night, I thought I’d prepare myself by finding out more about the labor process. I foolishly went on youtube to watch labor vids.
Bad move.
The crowning part looks really scary. How can something the size of a baby’s head actually emerge from there? And the episiotomy….. ERKS!!!
Now this wasn’t the first time I watched delivery videos. I remember watching them when I wasn’t pregnant. But somehow this was different. It’s so different watching and knowing that it’s gonna happen to me, probably within the next 7 days!!

Gruesome as it looks, must admit that it is also miraculous.
When you think about it.
At first, it’s just gruesome.

I decided to be evil and make Munch watch it the next morning.
“It’s training,” I insisted, “Since you’re gonna be there with me, you better make sure you can take it.”

After watching, Munch decided that I should go on epidural.
He said that even if I could take the pain, he couldn't bear to see me go thru it. (awwwwww...)

And after watching the vids, I tend to agree with going on epidural.
Forget about trying to save that couple of hundreds.

Even for a scrooge like me, that money ain't worth saving.

Courses and things i learnt

Attended the NE Seminar.


It was interesting.

We sat for hours and listened to folks from MOE, MTI, SNOC, MINDEF & MFA.

i like. it makes me excited about nation building (ha... really) in a more macro sense than classroom teaching. It made me wonder if i should go do a stint in various other ministries. Or go do another degree. Or something.

We walked for hours and visited the Army Musuem, SAFTI MI and SDC.

i like. it made me feel like joining the army. it made me feel like bringing my dad/ munch/ korkor/ lik khian there and listen to their army stories again. There was an exhibit of the first-era tekong bunk. i bet daddy would have loads to tell. There was a simulation theatre, similar to the one in Universal Studio. I asked, and a teacher told me it was similar to being at a life firing, but more dramatic. We saw the SAFTI MI bunks too. They look like Hall 3 hostels, but tidier.


And the shower cubicles had no doors.








It was also tiring.


SDC is soooo far away. I puked at the end of each leg of the journey - even though i drove. I wonder how daddy does it everyday. I'm glad i can get to work in less than 30min each day! The 3-Learning-Journeys-in-a-row was exhausting too. We walked from 9 to 1. I kept feeling the crampy/contraction pain in my lower abdomen and wondering if baby was gonna just pop out right there in jurong. But she didn't. =).





Tonight, i went for another "course".





Spiritual Foundation Course Wisdom For Living Lesson 2 Managing Your Time.





I need to plan to schedule the following into my life:


1. Develop spiritual disciplines


2. Spend meaningful time with spouse/ children


3. Maintain friendships and share the gospel


4. Read and reflect


5. Serve others


6. Get regular exercise and rest





Nothing happens unless you allocate time for it.


Especially for a recluse like me, the things i drop off my schedule first (#3 and #5) are those that requires human interaction. And once they're off my schedule, they're really off.


Bad. Cannot.





Been meditating on Colossians and something which struck me greatly was...how to live a life that is pleasing to God.

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way:

bearing fruit in every good work,

growing in the knowledge of God,

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,

and joyfully giving thanks to the Father.

And it kept "poking" me that He wants me to bear fruit in every good work.


HAiz...




But dun talk to me about it.





It's a childish and spoilt thing to say, but dun talk to me about CGs either.






Anyway, tonight i also learnt another thing.
The amazing ability of a Big Belly.

Instructions:

1. Lift Belly.
2. Put paper to be "giap-ed" between Belly and thighs.
3. Rest Belly on paper.
4. Your papers are now firmly giap-ed.

There. What a week of learning it has been.

Readiness Check

It's any time now!


It's hard for me to grasp the full extent of what that means, coz i dun know exactly what's gonna happen. But as far as we've been informed/ adviced, we're trying to be ready.


I'm crazily trying to prepare the house for baby. Due to unforseen circumstances, i won't be able to have my confinement in Seletar. So we had to move everything back, and get things ready back at home. We're almost there, i think...


Her cot is ready, her clothes are hanging out to dry, a packet of diapers on hand, loads of baby wipes ready... that should cover her eat-sleep-pee-poo routine right?

XXX

i've dreamt twice about Glory-Faith's arrival, (both times painless - O God, please let that be a sign of things to come!) and last night munch dreamt baby's here too - also painless! In his dream, i delivered in the middle of the night while sleeping, and we woke up to find a baby in bed with us. the baby looked a bit ang-moh tho, and my mum scolded me..... hmmmmm. dun worry dearie, i swear i've been good. =)

Conducted a readiness check on munchie today (marking papers is b-o-r-i-n-g!) to see if he would be contactable should i go into labour.

First i tried to sms. He replied immediately. Pass Test 1.

Then later in the day, i tried calling. He didn't pick up, but he did call back about 10 min later. Pass Test 2.

Not bad not bad. Response time quite short.

=)

XXX

In-laws came over with bird nest again last night.

Realized that this could be my last bowl of bird nest... reckon it will stop once baby comes!

So i took a pic for posterity.


Never, never in my life have i taken birdnest in such quantity and frequency.
Ahhhhhhh.... that's another perk of pregnancy i'm gonna miss....

XXX

Oh yes.... One more adjustment that will be coming up real soon...

cgl has been hinting, there were other signs i should have noticed. but i kept trying to pretend it wasn't happening... but pretending doesn't make it go away. it has now returned to stare me in the face, in the form of an edict.

Oh well... *shrug*

It's a MIRACLE =)

2 weeks back, Baby was estimated to be about 2 kg – which is small for date.
“Well, eat and sleep and rest, that’ll help.” Dr J said, “Hopefully she’ll hit close to 2.5kg before she comes out.”

I was very enticed by her offer of a week’s medical rest. But I was even more curious about why she kept harping on “2.5kg”.

So I checked out some online articles… and was disturbed by my “research”.

• Low Birth Weight: Less than 2.5 Kg.
• 5 times more likely for death before 1 year.
• 3 times more likely to be brain-damaged/ have learning disabilities…

gosh…


“Babies born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces (2,500 grams) are considered low birthweight. Low-birthweight babies are at increased risk of serious health problems as newborns, lasting disabilities and even death.
About 1 in every 13 babies in the United States is born with low birthweight. Advances in newborn medical care have greatly reduced the number of deaths associated with low birthweight. However, a small percentage of survivors develop mental retardation, learning problems, cerebral palsy, and vision and hearing loss.”
Low Birth Weight – arch of Dimes. (http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1153.asp)

“A low birthweight (less than 2,500 grams) raises grave health risks for children. Babies who are undernourished in the womb face a greatly increased risk of dying during their early months and years. Those who survive have impaired immune function and increased risk of disease; they are likely to remain undernourished, with reduced muscle strength, throughout their lives, and to suffer a higher incidence of diabetes and heart disease. Children born underweight also tend to have cognitive disabilities and a lower IQ, affecting their performance in school and their job opportunities as adults. “
Childinfo.org: Low Birthweight
(http://www.childinfo.org/areas/birthweight/)

I was disturbed not because I couldn’t trust God to take care of my baby, but because I felt guilty that I had not taken the doctor’s advice to rest. It seemed so presumptuous and unwise. Like a kid who refuses to brush his teeth after eating toffee, despite being given toothbrush and toothpaste, and expecting to have healthy teeth. Like a sick person who refuses to see the doctor after being provided with the medical fee, and expecting to recover. Like a student who refuses to attend lessons or even take a look at the exam schedule, and expecting to do well for the exams… you get the drift.
It’s like, if anything happens to Baby related to the low birth weight, it’s really my fault. Sound advice was given, yet I stubbornly refused them.

*****

At her fastest, Glory-Faith was putting on 500g a month. And her growth was supposed to slow down as we approached the final weeks.

No wonder Dr J was so concerned that she put on as much as possible, that she stayed in as long as possible, that i rested and ate properly.

By the looks of things, chances were slim. Even if she continued putting on weight instead of slowing down, AND stayed in as long as possible, we could only hope for her to barely touch 2.5kg.

*****

We prayed.

And we wrote in the prayer request cards for the council/cgls to pray.

And we asked our cg to pray.

*****

All my life – well, at least for the past 11 years- I’ve felt/known that God especially loves me.

You know, special blessings, special protection, special favours, special miracles, special messages… And I was proven right again! =)

Yesterday I went for another scan.
Dr J clicked on the computer and the estimated weight was calculated…
“So fast uh?” She exclaimed, “Can’t be... Of course if it’s correct I’ll be very happy… Let me take a second measurement.”

And my baby was estimated to be… exactly 2.5kg =)

******

I know all of us would have a pet theory to explain this.
Some will say prayers work.
Some will say the “white cards” (prayer request cards) very “ling”.
Some will say it’s coz I rested and drank milk.
My mummy says it’s coz my baby had a late growth spurt.

I say it’s coz God’s super-duper powerful.

I say it's coz Glory-Faith isn't MY creation, but God's.
And I say He especially loves me AND Glory-Faith, and maybe Munchie as well (i can’t speak for him… )

I reckon only the party involved will know if he/she is especially loved. =).
And I am!

******

Colossians 1:15-18

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church;

he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Sunday morning and i'm home

It's Sunday morning and i'm not in church. All because of a stabbing pain in the ~ which requires me to lie on my side... Started on Friday night, but the clinic's not open today, which means there's no relief till my scheduled visit after school on Monday... AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.


It's torturous, but yet.... ummm, quite ... funny....


Never mind.

***************

Anyway,

BOOKS make me happy! =)

Anti-Clockwise from top right:

PRECIOUS MOMENTS DEVOTIONAL

from bee leng. =)

Its verses for meditation are categorized according to situations, with space for you to write your thoughts. There are stickers to decorate the pages, and the words are all printed in pink! And it's Precious Moments!

MY FIRST FIVE YEARS

a record of early childhood with images by anne geddes,

from punitha.

Probably the closest i'd ever get to Scrapbooking... Much as i am impressed by Joyce's artwork, i dun think i'd have enough discipline and patience! Can't wait to fill it up with pictures and notes... it even has a little envelope for a lock of Baby's hair!

HOW TO REALLY PARENT YOUR CHILD by ross campbell.

Bought this (and the other 3 books) from SKS yesterday.

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS OF PARENTNG by ed young

I WANT TO ENJOY MY CHILDREN by henry brandt & kerry l skinner

and

RAISING KIDS FOR TRUE GREATNESS by Dr Tim Kimmel.

Only at Chapter 3 now, but it's been good so far. It's about raising kids to be great (passionate about God, concerned, giving and caring towards others.) not merely successful in the worldly way (good job, comfortable life... power, popularity and possession).

*****************

i think books are a wonderful source of wisdom.

Books...

and Learning Journeys.

Recently, 2 lovely couples invited us over to their homes for dinner, and we were given up close and personal encounters of real Christian homes, with real child(ren).

Learning Journey 1:

Home of Stanley, Shirley and Jireh John Kwek.

Main takeaway: Education in a fun, positive and enjoyable way. (well, stan & shirley are both trained teachers!!)

it's almost like a pedagogical showcase - learning via songs and movement, outings, reading, art, puzzles... jireh obviously loves learning! and munch and i left very much in love with jireh =) we were going "Neigh Neigh Neigh" (Jireh's rendition of a horse) for at least a fortnight!

Learning Journey 2:

Home of Pastor Tiak, Jul, Shang Yew, Zoe Ying, ZeeZee & Ray Kit

Main takeaway: a balanced and effective life- living a productive and sane life after (4) kids.

We heard them discuss their kids' schoolwork, about Jul's night with the kids when they refused to do their school work, we saw how a real home was like with 4 children, how there was order and respect, bustling with activities yet not chaotic.We saw how Tiak could still invite us over for dinner and minister to us, manage his family and still go for carol's birthday celebration late at night. We saw how Jul took it all in her stride - serious, high-level work, 4 kids, being a pastor's wife- and isn't resentful or grumpy about it.

Wow.

And we also saw that their kids were not neglected! Somehow i had this idea that when the parents are too busy with church and ministry, the kids will be resentful towards the church & God/ act up to get the parents' attention/ be socially, emotionally, intellectually disadvantaged because of lack of attention & stimulation. But Learning Journey 2 showed us that all the responsibilities entrusted to us can be done without neglecting the kids!

SY, ZY, ZS & RK are confident, intelligent, sociable,loving and speak well.... and they obviously are secure in their parents' love.

And far from being short-changed, they were witnesses everyday of their parents' lives, lived passionately for God, and poured out for others. Which really is the best thing we can teach our kids.

then of coz, i did also wonder if the kids' intelligence/ speaking abilities are inherited. And that perhaps only super-humans like tiak n jul could cope with ALL THESE. =P But that aside, at least i have seen a real life example that's really inspiring, something i wanna learn from.

***

On a sillier note, i've been obsessing over this game.

http://gamehouse.com/onlinegames/playgame.jsp?navnum=9&AID=&game=letterlk&code=LetterLink

It's really just Boggle, just timed and more challenging.

Can't get past level 8.....

Grrrrrr

Gotta get there before the baby comes....

**********