Week 37.5 - Full term!

Today is my first day of maternity leave.  So far, so good.  Boredom has not set in and I was busy going to the doctor and napping through hideous construction next door.  No photos this time - really, the diameter of Kumquat's head may be interesting to us but are may be not so interesting to you.  Kumquat has moved to the other side of me, so now she is in the ROT position.  Where we thought her butt was is not where her feet are.  It is all very confusing.  She is 3kg.  Matt asked me how much weight I gained - I did not answer as he was low balling it.  She has not assumed the position (lowered down) - which is kind of disappointing as it would be nice to meet her! It could be any day now to 3 weeks from now.  Sigh.  I am sometimes impatient.

Below are pics of us in Holland Village - may be our last nice dinner pre-Kumquat.  I was sitting under an A/ C vent and now have a minor cold.  Blah.  At least the baba ganoush was good. 

Zee Avi, Kumquat, and Me!

I had a chance to see Zee Avi in a Ryan Seacrest-esque interview and 3 song performance at a local university lecture hall on Thursday.  She was the marquee speaker among 3 - which meant that i sat for 3 hours in one of those university chair-cum-desk things that are not so confortable for prego me.  Kumquat thus far has exhibited little patience for sitting idly for long stretches of time.  Zee Avi is an "internet sensation" as she was discovered by the dude who produces the Killers off of youtube and now has an album and lives in NYC.  She was very charming and sweet - certainly not all entouragey and annoying.  After her concert I asked for her autograph - I am generally nonplussed by such acts but it was remarkably easy.  She was very nice, commented on my far-along pregnancy, wrote a lovely note.  She was short!  She had 3" heels on and I towered over her (and I am no giant).  My friend Rob ran into her at the taxi stand later where they chatted and she told him she was playing the next day at Stereolab at the Pan Pacific Hotel.  Matt and I went, waited for an hour and a half and we couldn't even see her!  We were sitting in the back and the acoustics weren't great for a concert and she only played for an hour.  O well.

I wish her well in her future - she is quite a talent!  

I was also commenting to Matt that this was the last concert before the birth but that is not true.  We are going to one next Friday.  YIKES!  Gypsy Kings and Buena Vista Social Club.  Very little chance of a mosh pit injury there.

Week 36 - 4D scan + a doctor update

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Originally uploaded by socitygal

Another video - she certainly has my cheeks!
Aside from this, the doctor visit was more or less uneventful.  Kumquat has not gained much weight over the last week - 0.1 kg and is now at 2.6kg.  Everyone tells me to be grateful the baby is on the small side which should make for a less eventful delivery, we hope.  Doctor was ok with the birth plan so that was good.  We see him again in a week and a half if not sooner.  One week left till full term!

Week 36 - Smile 4D scan video

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Originally uploaded by socitygal

There is a smile in this. Kumquat is not in the ideal position for delivery but she is for a 4D scan!

Week 35 Doctor Visit

I went a couple days early to my doctor due to some extracurricular things happening 'down there'.  Not so focused on getting the photos this time so nothing new to report – and let me say the only thing I can make out from week to week is the super bright femur.  I still have a yeast infection (the aforementioned extracurricular) and I think I am finally motivated to curtail the sugar.  The latter part of this week has been one of unusual focus for me, even minimizing fruit.  Aside from this, Kumquat is 5.5 lbs, her head has dropped, my cervix is soft but closed and my blood pressure is still going strong at a consistent 120/80.  She is in the LOT position.  She is kicking me all the time, her feet staying right below surface.  Sometimes Matt and I push the feet back in, which is weird/cool.  Did you know that Singaporeans have less kids in the year of the Tiger?  The kids are too feisty apparently.

I am listening to these hypnobirthing tracks – and they are fabulous!  I am not sure if they are supposed to be soporific but I don’t think I have drooled so much since I was a baby!  They are supposed to help me relax but, like in yoga, I equate total relaxation to sleep.  I do need to listen to these when I am not about to go to bed sometime….

In other domestic news, I just bought a tub of Fage’s Greek Yogurt 2%.  It is double the price of normal yogurt but is not sour.  I will continue to buy it.  Don’t tell Matt it is 12 Singapore dollars a tub…

Week 35ish: Somebody put a fat suit on my feet

 

IHere is a shot of my feet.  They are not at their puffiest.  I am a model of water retention.  I am also unusually attractive to mosquitoes.  All that extra flesh must make for an efficient bite.

 

Here is a belly shot.  I am wearing a T-shirt that says "The HO Depot" that my friend Joe gave to me at my wedding.  

I have been unusually uncomfortable today - as if my belly is an appendage that I do not have any dexterity over.  For the first time I felt like I could stop working any time now.  Kumquat was going nuts today - a rally cry for her imminent release perhaps.

This week I begin going to the doctor every week.  More updates to come.

Happy Anniversary Bucky!

Bucky is now a year and a week with us.  He is scared of noise and descending stairs as he as ever been.
Here is a lipstick shot done with my new Lightroom software (still difficult to navigate).

 

Happy 1st Anniversary with us Buckminster!

Updates from Chinese New Year

 

Here are pretty flowers Matt sent me for Valentine's Day.  Matt was in the States celebrating his mom's birthday and this was better than going out to dinner at a fancy restaurant where the expectations are high and the service is never as good as on a normal day.  I prefer to eat at home usually.

Over that same weekend I attempted macarons from Bakerella.  These were harder than they looked on her website - getting all the cookies the same size and not touching.  Plus I thought I was breeding a bacteria farm keeping the egg whites out for over a day.  My new Silpat is a bit bigger than my cookie sheet - so that batch ended up quite ovally.

I was too lazy to make ganache so I just used Nutella and dulce de leche for the gooey middle.  DB definitely preferred to dulce... :)