Week 35: Countdown

Queen B happily showing her baby bump in her latest music video: Countdown!

My baby is a 10 
We dressing to the 9 
He pick me up with 8 
Make me feel so lucky 7 
He kiss me in his 6 
We be making love in 5 
Still the one I do this 4 
I'm trying to make us 3 
From that 2 
He still the 1

There's ups and downs in this love
Got a lot to learn in this love  
Through the good and the bad, still got love
Dedicated to the one I love, hey

Week 34: Darn hormones

I tried to finish up our nursery with the necessary art and electronics. Just when I took everything out, I realised I was short of 2 D batteries for the crib mobile, 3 AA batteries for the baby monitor, and a new frame for the main wall painting.  Then I got upset at myself and everyone else who basically came in commenting "Why are you doing this yourself?  Do we really need xyz?" etc. 

Sigh. I totally blame today's mood swings on these pesky things called hormones:

Anyways, it's Sunday night, and time to relax before my last 2 weeks at work.  The nursery will just have to wait.

Week 33

Highlights:

• First baby laundry.  Gosh, those booties and mitts are soo tiny!  Need more clothes pegs.
• Hospital bag packed. Call it paranoia or intuition, I still expect to deliver early...
• Helper's room cleared out (almost).  House will be clean again this Sat onwards. Yaay.
• Confinement catering ordered.  Better stock up on other food before I go all home-cooked Chinese!
• Baby's hyperactive just before it rains heavily at dawn.  Awesome little weather man.

Lowlights:

• Fluid retention, mainly in my hands. Last time I got carpal tunnel was years ago when I played the cello .... this time, my fingers are so swollen I can't even remove my ring.
• IKEA left out 2 screws.  Gotta wait to enjoy that Poang armchair and set up nursery.
• Major reorg at work.  Worried about my team while I'm gone.
• Hot mama!  First time my body temp's higher than hubby's.  Thank God it's been relatively cool (and wet) lately.
• Baby's hyperactivity while reassuring, wakes me at ungodly hours!

Week 32: Know your contractions

Contractions feel like a cramping or tightening sensation that starts in the lower back and moves around the front.  As these tend to be universal signs of labor, most first timers (like hubby and I) easily confuse Braxton Hicks with true labor contractions -- and get alarmed when these suddenly occur.  The main difference between them is the frequency, duration and severity of the contractions.

TRUE labor contractions continue no matter what you do. They come at regular intervals and get closer together, longer and more painful as time passes.  Hence the popularity of epidurals these days!

FALSE labor contractions are named after Braxton Hicks, the doc who discovered that some pregnant women actually felt contractions way before actual delivery. These are thought to be an aid to the body in its preparation for birth and tend to be unpredictable and uncomfortable. They can be managed by:

1. Drinking up
2. Breathing rhythmically
3. Lying on your left side
4. Changing positions or moving around
5. Emptying that bladder - make that effort for the 1tsp of pee. Again.