Nesting Instincts

These past few weeks have been nothing short of stressful. I'm currently 34 weeks pregnant going on 35 this Saturday, and until about two weeks ago, I still had nothing ready in our room for the baby!

It wasn't until I threw a fit that Jerry finally decided to hop into action. Within a day, he rearranged the entire room by taking out our closet and a chunky low table/drawer. That was just the first step. Next, we faced the challenge (or rather I did) of cleaning the whole room. And by that, I mean that I actually wiped EVERYTHING- including all the walls, down to the very last wire.

I'd been shopping around online for IKEA's Sundvik cot, which we both saw in the store and liked. But for some time, we couldn't find any decent secondhand Sundviks either on Carousell or Gumtree. Until the last minute!

We got a new cot from Carousell for 150 SGD, including the mattress. Fortunately for us, the seller's twin babies had refused to sleep in their cot since they were born. IKEA's selling this cot at 249 SGD and a pretty banged up version in their As Is section was selling for 130 SGD without the mattress in both cases. So I'd say we got a pretty sweet deal!

After much begging and pleading with a husband who really didn't see the need to get a new chest of drawers, he finally relented and we got this (brand new) Hemnes from IKEA. It's probably the most expensive thing we've bought for the baby so far, apart from the package with the gynae. I think it cost 269 SGD? Everything else, including the diaper changing pad you see on the drawers, I got secondhand through Carousell :)

As I'm getting bigger by the day, I've been finding it really hard to get out of the house. I just feel so unmotivated when I think about having to take the MRT. Seats are not always guaranteed and the weather is just too hot and humid.

I just don't feel like my old self these days. I did not use to be so... spoiled. But this last trimester is no joke at all. I just find myself wanting to rest more instead of pushing myself to my physical limits.

Also, the occasional urge to vomit isn't something that I want to deal with in crowded Singapore.

Thank God that Jerry is very understanding and tries his best to make things as convenient and comfortable for me as possible. For example, I know he doesn't like to drive, but he would drive me anywhere if I asked, just because :)

Once the drawers and cot were in place, I set about unpacking my suitcases full of baby things. And just like a daughter of my mom, I ironed EVERYTHING after putting them in the laundry. Including the baby's handkerchiefs...

And then labelled everything...

Ironing his clothes wasn't as exhausting as actually sorting through them and organizing them methodically in my head. And actually ironing made it easier to fold and pile them neatly in the drawers.

I still have a few random things to get, but otherwise, I think I'm set!

I can see him kick through my clothes very clearly now. Every hour or so, I would get either a strong shove in my right belly (from his feet), or pummeling, or some awkward stroking action from within my belly. I like it when I'm being still, but it's definitely weird and uncomfortable when I'm trying to do some *ahem* business, or eat.

Anyway, I know his days in my belly are numbered and I should enjoy what's left of them. 

Life is going to change for sure, even as it already has!

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 :)

Kicking Away

My little cutie pie has been kicking and kicking and kicking away in my tummy since this morning. I think he wakes up every two hours now just to stretch his legs and feel all over my insides. I was standing in the train this morning, daydreaming and almost forgetting that I'm pregnant when I suddenly got a small stab in my lower abdomen. It caught me by surprised and I jerked my head down in time to see his second punch pop through my dress. It was a very surreal moment. I almost wanted to ask the person next to me, "Did you see that?!"

I guess I'm starting to feel a queer sort of tenderness towards my baby. I don't know what that overpowering motherly love is supposed to feel like, but at the moment I'm more curious about what he is going to look like and what kind of personality he's going to end up with. I guess you could say that I'm very curious to meet him as a person.

Jerry is also starting to warm up a little. Before he was able to feel the baby move, I'd say that he wasn't as interested in its development. Men are such visual creatures. But ever since he's been able to feel his fluttering kicks, I can feel Jerry's tenderness grow alongside mine.

I'm almost reaching the end of my nineteenth week now and I already feel like time is flying by. Before we know it, the baby will be here and our lives will forever be changed. It's scary yet exciting at the same time to think about! In the meantime, I intend to enjoy what's left of my relative freedom :)