Merry Christmas!

Probably the biggest event of the year
and this year, husband finally managed to took his week off
to do nothing much
well, he keep mentioned how he havent done so in many many years
but i rememebered that he did the same when i first arrived france. 

Normally we spent at least 3 days at the in laws place.
Since the past 2/3 years, 
the sisters and brother-in-laws spent christmas eve away,
and return on christmas day to our celebrations.
So, christmas eve celebrations is usually just us and the parents-in-laws.
At least, for next christmas, the little girl will be here too!

23/12/17 (Sat)
We met up early with the in laws 
and hitched a ride to Bracieux 
for the yearly christmas lunch with the grandparents.
I think we chose a bad date to go 
and ended up there was bad traffic jams
that a normal 2 hours ride became a close to 4 hours ride.

Although we were later than usual,
we still spent some time giving presents 
and had a good lunch at the restuarant.
Apart from the usual chocolates, we received a baby massage book,
and also received a 2nd hand baby mat and seat from the cousin
Thankfully the ride back was less painful 
and we arrived at in laws place at 2.5hours.

Im unsure whether is because of the long ride
i was definitely not feeling so well in my tummy.
Husband read somewhere that pregnant woman should not take long car rides.
Anyway, is probably my last long ride before delivery.
For the evening,
we spent time at sis in law's home,
but we didnt stayed too long as the pregnant woman is too tired.

24/12/17 (Sun)
Since there was only 4 of us for christmas eve dinner,
there was not much preparations to be done.
We went out for a short walk to the market
and came back for lunch with the parents in law.
The day was spent lazing around till dinner preparation time
and then, was the christmas eve dinner.
Im unsure whether we are getting old
or because i have a slight different pregnant menu.
The dinner was not as long as usual years
and we ended early at 10+pm 
We counted down to christmas in front of the TV.
And for the night, we had a bad blur wefie photo thanks to husband, haha.

25/12/2017 (Mon)

After breakfast,

husband dragged me out for a short walk to have some fresh air.

Everyone arrived about lunch time for christmas brunch

and is definitely much more lively than the day before.

After brunch,everyone went for a long walk

while mother in law and i stayed home.

Then it was dinner preparations, 

getting dressed up and last minute christmas gifts preparations.

We started apero at about 8pm,

earlier than usual for the hungry pregnant woman,

and we spent closed to 1.5hours for gifts exchange.

This year i chose baby related gifts as i dont really have special wishlist

(Considering that i cant really appreciate new clothes or accessories for now)

So  my main gifts are ergo carrier and a baby bag:

As usual, the dinner was looooooong.

By the time we arrived after the mains, 

i was falling asleep, haha.

At least i survived after dessert

and ended the night quickly to head to the bed.

26/12/17 (Tue)

We had a later breakfast due to the last night before.

We then spent time in the chatting with the family

before 1 sister and brother in law left before our late lunch.

And for us, we left shortly after the lunch.

We managed to grab an uber home

but got stuck in traffic for awhile.

Finally, it was home sweet home

and the start of do nothing for the rest of the week.

Merry Christmas!

Week 24 - Nightmare before Christmas!

Baby is the size of corn!

While waiting for the appointment at diabetic center to arrive,

i started my own diet at home.

Well is not really a dstrict diet but i try to make a meal carbo-free per day.

Hoping that my blood sugar will be fine by the time the appointment arrives.

Sadly, the appointment wasnt about further testing or monitoring.

I am considered as gestional diabetic:

- Given the blood monitor machine to monitor my sugar level 6x a day

- Nurse to teach me how to use the insulin 

- a dietician to advise on my diet

- if insulin starts, is till delivery

- the worst: how i should start insulin immediately if my blood sugar exceeds in 48hours

I really hated my gynae at that moment.

I remember that in oct, my sugar level was 0.91g/l 

but she never mentioned to me that when i arrive at 0.92g/l,

i will be immediately considered as gestional diabetic

and must suffer all these bullshit till i deliver.

If then she had warned me, 

i changed my diet,

probably i will not arrive at this stage.

Anyway, the appointment ended with:

- a list of insulin etcs i need buy from pharmacy

- going back to the center 2x a month for monitoring

And a very upset me.

Especially with christmas coming, 

all the food bingeing,

crazy inconsistent timing of meals,

im so dead...

At least 1 good news of the month,

we finally found a real good japanese ramen in Paris!
The shop is always in long queues

and the tiny shop surface really feels like we are in japan.

And the best of all,

our prayers are answered by the ramen god

and the ramen tasted super good

unlike the fake ramen we had in the "Chinese fake japanese ramen shop"

Before we could go back a few times,

i realised that the ramen gives the highest rise in my sugar level

that i am warned to avoid ramen for now on...

Oh well, fuck my life.

22th weeks

Baby is the size of papaya!

Finally is time for the detailed trimester 2 scan!
But before the scan, the bad news are:
- I put on too much weight (12kg now!)
Im suppose to only put on 1-1.5kg per month
but last month i put on 3kg??
I blame the sudden craving of nutella and desserts
at least my friends tried to comfort me by telling me 
that they gained 21kg during pregnancy..
Anyway, i really need to go for a big diet after delivery...

- my urine sugar level is too high that i need to test my blood sugar
Seems like i am in high risk of gestional diabetes
i guess if confirmed, im not so afraid of the daily pricking of finger or med
but i know it will be so hard to reduce rice, bread, noodles, pasta...
all the carbos that i love :(

Anyway for the scan,
we were told to bring along a dvd to record the scan
but without the commentry, 
im unsure whether we will understand or enjoy it.
baby was cooperative or too active (moving alot)
it helps sometimes to find the parts required for the scan
except that she hide her gential area behind my belly button
that we cant double confirm is a girl, haha.

Everything is fine and she weighs about 500g.
I think dr mentioned that she has a big tummy, opps
Is nice that we even managed to get a cute 3d photo of her...

*Updated on 11/12*

Results back for blood and urine sugar level.

Urine sugar went down from 1.59 to 1.01

Blood sugar was 0.98 when the recommended is 0.92 max

so got a referral letter to follow up with the diabetes department

i guess i need start manage my diet before the appointment :(  

20th weeks!

Baby is the size of banana!

Finally 50% of the pregnancy journey is done!

Had a scare this week when i was near home

and suddenly i had a massive cramp 

that it took me so much efforts to walk home.

Immediately laid on the sofa straight

and thankfully the cramp subsides in about 10minutes.

Informed husband that we may want to contact the gynae for advise.

This is when i missed the Singapore's effective medical system,

im sure if im in Singapore, i can quickly find a gynae for a scan.

However, we are in france.

Husband called the clinic to be informed that there is no direct number to reach the gynae.

Husband had to email the gynae and waited for her reply.

The only advise from the clinic was to go to the a&e.

Since the cramp left and i really dont wish to spend hours queuing in a&e,

i told husband that we will wait for the email reply.

In the end few hours later, we finally received the reply from the gynae.

A super short reply that it could be colic, a prescription for a medicine

and to go a&e if pain persists.

Not even suggesting a need for a follow up scan or appointment etc...

Oh well, i didnt feel unwell thereafter,

so we didnt do any follow up.

I hope baby is doing fine and we are going to see her in 2 weeks...

On a side note,
we went to watch our first official theatre: La Famille Semianyki 
Is actually husband's birthday gift from his mum
because i think threatre is really expensive
and mostly in french that i wont fully understand.
Anyway, for this show, there was only 1 show available in november..

The show was not as funny as i expected
despite branded as funny clowns from russian
and definitely not as family-orient/kids friendly as they advertised.
We had to go off 5 minutes before the show ended
as husband had to rush to  the airport for his flight to New dehli.
And yes, it was husband's first offical work trip
I will be happy to tag along but is to India?!
So, is fine that i give it a missed, hehe.
Well, it will be me and baby alone for 4 days, woohoo!

19th weeks and happy birthday to me!

Baby is the size of mango!

According to many websites, i should be feeling the baby movements this week.

But sadly, i did not feel any movements..

Maybe because i do not know how it feels like

or because of my layers of fats..

Still waiting patiently for the baby girl to give me some moves...

Nothing much happens to the pregnancy

except of my dying self confidence..

I was expecting some pregnancy glow

but all i feel is like a fat and ugly penguin

with horrible dry and white hair..

Sigh, it is so hard to feel the confidence

whenever i stared into the mirror and see a haggard woman..

I guess im those women who dont look great during pregnancy

and need work hard after delivery to get back in shape.

For now, im still avoiding the weighing scale

but know that im probably putting too much weigh again.

Anyway, a photo for the week:

It is also the week of my birthday!

Since husband is having a crazy period of work

and me, being a lazy fat penguin,

we didnt plan for any trip as per previous years.

And because of my current status and size,

the usual gifts of clothings/accessories do not apply/interest me.

Which i think is wonderful to save move 

since the best birthday gift is in my tummy!

On my actual birthday, i made a simple korean bbq at home

and we ended with a simple cake.

Apart from a body shop beauty set,

Husband got me what i requested as gift:

 A craftoholic cape: good for winter to stay cozy and as breastfeeding cover

maternity overall: i think its still acceptable for pregnant women

For my birthday weekend,

husband bought me to a chinese steamboat

that was soooo good..

Is crazy how the pregnancy made me love spicy stuff

and the spicy sichuan soup base was good,

i ended up sweating so much due to the soup and 

generally because of the baby radiator in me.

The price was reasonable for the buffet spread

and it was really popular (almost all asians) that we need a reservations.

I guess we will return again for my steamboat craving..

Nothing much happening for my 34th birthday

and the only wish is for us and baby to be healthy!

18th weeks

Baby is the size of artichoke!

Similar symptoms as of the 17th week:

- acnes on neck 

- motion sickness 

- backache when in the same position for too long
I guess the biggest scare was that i had cramps for the whole of sunday
that i forced myself to be on bed rest for the day.
lucky the cramps didnt lasts till the next day
and there was no other signs, phew...
Maybe is just that i have been moving things around the home
to make space for baby
and sort of overworked myself.

Over the weekend,
we went down to some baby shops
to try out some strollers.
I missed the convenience in Singapore,
where it is so easy to find baby shops..
Oh well, at least husband managed to find a few.
Although the shop did not carry a lot of brands for strollers,
it was a good experience to physically try out a few..

It was hard to decide the type of stroller that we want because:
- I will buy an ergocarrier as the metro is really not stroller friendly.
That i foresee myself using the carrier unless is around home or w husband.
And the carrier is not cheap, im not sure we want spend more for stroller
that we lmay not use often.
- We dont drive and mainly depends on metro to go around+small home 
If the stroller is too heavy and big, we will have problem in metros and strorage.
- Car seat is required at times.
We dont drive, so car seats will only be needed when we are with family / friends.
There are many strollers that sells car seats separately 
or requires us to choose car seat attachment before leaving home. 
- expected due date in april:
Not so cold like winter but may need winter accessories

Our fav stroller will probably be Strokke scoot.
Its super heavy (12.5kg) and super expensive (600+eur)
without car seat or winter accessories.
but it looks great and smooth to push
maybe if there is a 50% sales, we will buy it

My next interest was Chicco Trio urban plus (300eur)

and the most interesting part is the seat is changable into a bassinet.

Having a bassinet will be helpful when we visit in-laws 

for baby to have a nap and a place.

And the price also includes the car seat!

However, husband read alot of bad review about the wheels

and i read about the bassinet issues.

Some websites recommend a duo strollers (with car seat)

instead of trio stroller (with car seat and bassinet)

because most bassinet can be used only till 6 months baby.

and car seats can actually serve the same function.

So, with that in mind,

i got interested in Chicco activ 3

because reviews were great

and there was a time limited super discount

including car seat was only 388 eur (U.P. 600eurs)

Problem, its a jogger stroller..

means stable and good wheels

but huge and heavy.

Since we wont buy it now,

we wont be able to benefit from the discount.

I guess the most likely choice will be

Graco mirage plus + car seat (200Eurs)

because its simple, light and not expensive.

We still have plenty of time to choose

and hope winter sales will give us some good deals...

Pre-natal massage

I love massage!!
Practically any kind of massage.
Thanks to my  in laws,
I tried a facial and massage in Paris.
For the facial, the lady spoke too much
and for the massage, it lacks the hard aching kneading..
The shiok aching feeling.
Anyway, i dont know whether is because both were groupon
thats why is not so good.
Oh to add on, i even tried shampoo here
but it didnt have the asian head and shoulder massage with it. 
And since the pricing is in euros,
i always feel that massage here is expensive
especially when i compare to the prices in south east asia.

Every yearly trip back to Singapore means is massage time!
I even got husband hooked on this yearly massage routine,
that he did like daily massage in bali because it was so cheap...
However, this year, we had to give massage a miss
because im early in pregnancy
and google says no massage for 1st trimester.
So, i definitely want husband to suffer along with me, haha.
It helped that we visited hongkong this year,
less temptation of cheap massage.

However, with the pregnancy,
i was really aching all over that i badly need a massage.
During my jb trip,
i was disappointed again to know that prenatal massage is doable
after 4 months of pregnancy.
Arrrgh, i was so desparate that i went for hair shampoo sessions
so to enjoy a little of the head and shoulder massage.
Google says i should wait till 2nd trimester for prenatal massage
so i tortured husband for giving me massages.
Finally, im in my 17th week 
and i managed to find a prenatal massage near home!

The experience is defintely different from a regular massage.
Im unsure whether is is also because im not in asian.
The kneading is soft but at times, she did press some 'shiok' aching points.
The biggest difference is the massage is done with me on my side,
supported by a maternity pillow
and no fixed position for my limbs.
I did hope to have strong pressure on my aching back,
yet, it was so relaxing that i almost felt asleep.
I have never really tried to sleep in massages,
to fully enjoy the massage 
and sometimes too pain to sleep, haha.

Im having some post massage aches
that i guess is normal?
It was 60eur / 60mins
that i think ill be going back again for next few months...