Last day of April...let me do some updates.

1) Finished marking students' assignments (the more impt ones) last week and just got their MYE paper. Marking never ends. -_-|||

2) I have sort of decided to take no pay leave after my maternity leave and go back to school in Sem 2 2012. Sounded it to my HOD not long ago and will confirm it again with her during my Mid Year work review in June. Actually I am quite heart pain about the money...cos the NPL will affect many many things but the idea of being with my bb till he/she is about 9 months is wonderful.

3) Except for my growing belly, there hasn't been much 动静 from bb yet. Gender will most probably be revealed this coming Friday during the detailed scan. I hope bb is healthy and doing well inside :). Will start my shopping spree very soon...girl girl then confirm will spend more.

4) I am quite proud to say that till now, I am quite an independent and strong preggie. I take the stairs, squat, bend and do whatever I can do myself. Except for lifting heavy items, I try not to trouble others. Not because I feel paiseh to ask for help, but I hold to the belief that life should be as per normal. I have a pregnant colleague who expects others to help in everything. She has her own concerns but I decided I will not be like her.

Food wise...I eat almost everything. The only thing which I would love to have but haven't had is Kopi and I try to limit my Koi intake to once a month.

5) June will be exciting. Shopping for bb and doing up the bb room..can't wait.

Btw...I am 18+ weeks now!

Now that baby is growing...There are several issues that we have to start thinking about.

1) Maternity Clothes.

My bump is starting to show and for now, I can still wear some of my old clothes. I dug out some of the dresses which I had no confidence wearing and I am so glad I bought them then. I don't like to wear pants, so I will most probably be wearing dresses and maternity skirts. I just bought one maternity skirt and some tops from Spring Maternity, all can still be worn after delivery. I will probably buy one or two more maternity skirts and pants as well as shop for nice dresses when my bump gets bigger. Watching my stomach grow as the days go by is an amazing experience. Many times I wonder if it is fats or bb. And it will be inflate during the day and deflate a little when I wake up in the morning. :)

2) Confinement

First it's the 'where' question. Initially I thought of having my confinement at my mum's plc. But she reminded me that if I do it in Bedok, it will be difficult for my in-laws to visit. I am very thankful for her reminder so I have decided to do my confinement at my place. Next question is whether I am getting a confinement nanny to help? Mum said she hasn't looked after a baby for a long time so she would love to have someone to help her refresh her memory. I have some choices now, waiting for them to get back to me. Meelu strongly recommended hers...so I am hoping her confinement nanny will be free in Sept :)

3) Taking care of bb when I start work

This is something that doesn't require immediate attention but it's probably the most important issue. Mum is the best choice but she stays so far away which means I can only see bb once during the weekdays. Location wise, my MIL will be a better choice. But she is working so unless she offers, my mum will be the one taking care of bb. I don't want her to move to the north yet because I am thinking of moving back to the East a few years later so...let's just see how things go.

4) Baby items.

Clothes, pram, cot etc etc. Will be doing all the shopping in June. The problem now is gathering the list of hand-downs soon. My MIL keeps asking my SIL to hand me certain things but I think she probably wants to keep them for her next bb so she seems to be a bit reluctant. I am totally fine with it because I don't want her to be pressurized to give me stuff. I am kind of paiseh to ask things from others and most of my good friends are not married yet so I am not sure who I should ask. I still have some time so shall wait and see how.

5) Gender

Many people said 男的女的都好。I totally agree but there must be a preference deep inside our hearts. For me, I would love to have a girl. In fact, I hope the next one will be a girl too. (Sisters!) If not for Ryan ( I hope if I have a boy, he will be as cute ), the desire of having a girl will be even stronger. WJ wants a boy, to play sports and computer games/PSP/Wii with him.

Except for the nightly wake-ups to pee, I seriously don't feel that I am pregnant. Life is as per normal, just that I eat more now. I hope bb is doing well inside me, can't wait to see him/her again 2 weeks later.