24 Weeks Or 6 Months

As of now, I can only fit into two bras, a few shirts, one pair of shorts, two pairs of jeans, about four dresses and that's about it. Dressing for work is a pain (no thanks to ASOS for the shipment that went missing), but casual dressing around the house is great. I'd just slip into Jerry's t-shirt and boxers.

Though I'm a little apprehensive about shopping on ASOS again, I don't feel like I have many other choices. My fruitless searches on Gumtree for secondhand clothing have left me feeling frustrated. Why isn't there anyone out there who wears a UK size 8? Also, I've been hunting around in H&M, Forever 21, etc, hoping to find some stretchy dresses. To my dismay, I found that this shopping season is just not pro-pregnancy at all. The waistline is fashionably placed right in the middle now (where I'm expanding). Stretchy or jersey materials are not the rage and ultimately, I just need something a little more dressy for work. I don't need another casual maxi dress! Maternity shops here offer only expensive clothes and my other dilemma is having to find something that can fit my 5'9" long body. Let me just say, it ain't easy even on ASOS.

On Sunday evening, Jerry and I dropped by the Mothercare store in Harbourfront Centre to officially check out baby things we'll be buying in the months to come. But what I really enjoyed was witnessing Jerry's growing excitement as we went from aisle to aisle. We finally left the store with no purchases but this priceless statement from Jerry: "I think we are going to have a lot of fun with our kid". My sentiments exactly :)

So, I spent some time today on Gumtree looking around for secondhand cots and strollers. I was initially thinking of buying brand new stuff. But when I think about my dad and his habit of using secondhand furniture, I can't help but feel like it's a big waste of money to buy something straight out of the store, especially if we will only be using it for a short while. Babies do outgrow their things very quickly! I'm also determined to save as much money as we can. Who knows what may come in the future? Working in Prudential has definitely made me want to be more prudent in my life.

Oh yes, last night, baby did something really weird. He usually kicks around a little more at night when I'm about to fall asleep. But yesterday, he did this super fast back and forth kicking that made me freak out a little. I had no idea he could move so quickly at this age! Perhaps it was the DDR earlier in the evening that inspired him. Speaking of which, playing DDR this weekend gave me such a great mental boost again. I LOVE being able to sweat and feel happy hormones flooding my brain.

I also did some skating... 

Shhh.... :P

Hung out with some friends... I had a really good time :) Socialising feels soooo great!

Oh baby I really cannot wait till you come out and start skating with us HAHA! Since Eito Yasutoko said his son started skating at age one, I figure you'll be fine starting at eleven months eh? Just kidding... Can't wait to see your cute little face soon.

Oh yes I had a little panicky thought last night. I started thinking about the actual labor process and the pain that would ensue and it made me really anxious all of a sudden. I've actually been pretty calm and cool about it until recently when EVERYBODY keeps asking me if I'm going to do a cesarean or get an epidural. The response from all my supportive friends are uniform when I tell them I'm going au naturel: "ARE YOU CRAZY?! IT'S GONNA HURT LIKE HELL!"

Well for someone who's never been to hell, it's easy to brush them off at first. But you know, I can't help but think: what if I can't handle it? I don't want to faint from the pain or have to do anything drastic!

All this just goes to show- I should just stop discussing the labor process with people. I haven't heard a single "you're gonna be fine" throughout all these discussions. It's making me anxious for no reason and that's it!

21 Weeks

What other mummies have been telling me is true: I am starting to really enjoy feeling my baby kick me.

It felt weird at first and I wasn't used to it for the first few weeks. Whenever he kicked me, it would give me a little shock because I wasn't expecting it. But these days, it feels more natural to me.

Today as he kicked my lower right tummy, I could see the movements through my skin. I quickly reached for my phone to try to take a video but it was too late. I'm sure I'll get to catch him in action someday though!

In the meantime, Jerry has been extremely patient and accommodating to my *ahem* emotional/mental needs. Being a skater himself, he totally understands how much I miss the skatepark. This weekend, he agreed to let me put on my skates just for a little roll around the skatepark. Although I didn't go pumping in the combo bowl, he did (reluctantly) let me go down a flat ramp twice just so I wouldn't feel so miserable. It sounds silly, but just being able to put on my skates did so much for my mood. For the most part though, I just stayed on flat ground and avoided the skateboarding/BMX kids.

But dear baby, although mummy is dying to skate again and can't wait till you're out of the womb, I'm determined to enjoy what few months I have left with you inside me. I hope you'll enjoy the skatepark as much as we do, because if you don't... Well I'm sure you will :)

Woodward Beijing

Oh gosh my poor dear forgotten blog! 

Sorry... I knew this was bound to happen... What with new developments in my love life and all. 

Anyway, even though I'm writing this post in December, I shall backdate it to October since that's when the events in this post actually happened. 

Earlier this year, a few friends and I had planned to go to Beijing to the biggest indoor skatepark in Asia, built by Woodward. We waited months before we got a really good price for the air tickets- around 300sgd. 

Months turned into weeks, weeks turned into days. Before we knew it, we had landed in Beijing!

The last time I went to Beijing was in 2012. I got lucky that time- the air wasn't so dirty then.

The skatepark is located about an hour outside of the city, in the middle of some godforsaken town （大兴 Daxing) that is famous for its watermelons. 

There is nothing there except fields and fields of watermelons. 

Nonetheless, we weren't there for the watermelons so it didn't matter.

Most of the skatepark, like its namesake suggests, is made of wood. 

The whole hangar smells like a lovely mix between sawdust and sweat. 

Here's a little clip of what we did once we got there.

The hotel we stayed in is conveniently located fifty metres from the skatepark. 

Unfortunately, during our stay there, the only restaurant in the hotel was unable to serve us regular meals at a reasonable price. They always ran out of food by lunchtime since the hotel was filled with guests that weekend. 

Thank God for Chacha- who I met last year in Beijing. She took us out in cars to eat at restaurants as well as to get some groceries. Without her, we would have been doomed to eat the same flavour of instant noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.

Here's us at a Peking duck restaurant, being REALLY excited about the food that's arriving!

All skaters :)

On J's birthday, we managed to hitch a ride with a nice guy who lived in the city. He dropped us off at the nearest train station and we took the subway from there.

We went to Nanluoguxiang that night to take a walk on the street.

As usual, the place was brightly lit and crowded with people.

We got cosy in a little restaurant. Had the most delicious dinner ever.

Ended the night with a trolley ride all over the Beihai area.

There was like one clear and sunny day out of all the days we were there. Better than zero right?

J kept trying to land his birthday trick- 540 off the vert. 

I really had a great time skating and just laying around. Didn't take much photos during this trip actually. I think my photos totalled less than 300, which is amazing. 

It was so fun, I want to go back ASAP!

A Month Into Aggressive Inline

Hmm it seems that I have been missing in action here for quite a while......

The reason being: I have found a new addiction!

I know what you're thinking... 

Haven't I always been addicted to rollerblading anyway?

But wait, this is different. 

This time I'm addicted to aggressive inline skating/rollerblading. 

Ever seen videos of people going up and down ramps, grinding on rails and all that fancy stuff? Yeap that's what I've been attempting to learn these days. In Ham's words, it feels a little like "relearning how to walk".

I have so much to learn, it's a bit daunting.

But then again, when I started playing DDR last year, I felt the same way too. It seemed almost impossible that I would ever be able to pass a level 14 song. Yet fast forward 5 months and I am now on to playing level 16 songs. 

I hope it will be the same with aggressive skating. 

I feel really blessed to have met other fantastic aggressive inline skaters who gave me great advice. They're able to point out things that would have taken me months to figure out. 

So yeap. 

Earlier today, or I guess, yesterday night, I was finally able to get out of the combo bowl on my own two feet, as well as land a 180 fakie jump off the island. I've got to keep working on my 180 turns now and learn how to control my speed up the ramp, so that I can start learning how to stall. 

Also need to buy a helmet and wheels so that I can finally attempt to drop down the vertical bowl. 

Ahhhhhh the challenges that lie ahead!