HI!
I started writing this at week 31. Time flies.
Before time disappears at the speed of light when she arrives, I just wish to pen down and share some experiences, feelings, appreciations, blessings and sufferings I've been through this pregnancy.
First trimester.
Like what every experienced preggie would say, it's the worst part of the pregnancy.
Mummies are indeed the most noble people in the world. My first sacrifice came when I learnt that I cannot eat sashimi, drink multiple cups of coffee and tea daily and consume soft-boiled eggs and medium rare steak. Luckily, I got over it pretty fast. Occasionally, I indulge by bringing Junrong to Japanese restaurants to watch him eat aburi sushi and shiok maki. Haha. Usually, I'll insist to pay to reward my baby's papa for his hard work going for many appointments per week.
The second month of my first trimester coincided with a pre-booked vacation to Taipei. I was absolutely looking forward to the trip because I wanted to just eat all my favourite Taiwan food and enjoy a getaway from being my usual workaholic self. I totally did not expect the trip to be a total disaster for me. We went for 6 days without planning any itinerary because we simply want to just explore with no plans. I woke up daily in Taipei with morning sickness and all 6 days, I had zero appetite. I did not crave for any food at all and was experiencing extreme food aversion. Everyday was just 自然醒 (zrx), hunt for food, return to hotel for nap and hunt for food again before returning to hotel for movie night. As much as it sounds shiok, it was nowhere close to shiok for me at all. Sigh.
Thank goodness for the hubby for being so accommodating and understanding. He has always been pretty easy-going but I couldn't help feeling bad towards 'spoiling' his holiday with all the food aversion and lack of mood to do anything due to my fatigue. That was an unforgettable 6th anniversary with our little rice inside me.
Back in Singapore, on the first 3 months, I must not go hungry. Gagging in public and especially in front of clients and colleagues always left me feeling sorry and embarrassed. I feel nauseous every single morning. So before the hunger kicks in, I always have to wake up earlier to prepare our breakfast.
On the final day of my first trimester, we finally announced the pregnancy to our parents and family members. Prior to that, I suffered from 3 months of depression and fatigue as we didn't know we can share the news with our parents before first trimester ends. Everyday, I had to deal with keeping quiet about this good news and concealing my morning sickness symptoms from everyone. Sometimes, I had to postpone my appointments as I felt lightheaded and nausea very often.
Post announcement days were the happiest as my parents and in laws showered me with loads of concern and birds nest. My colleagues and clients were also very understanding towards my long toilet breaks and late-coming when I had to ease myself and readjust my state of mind after random sporadic vomiting at home and at public toilets.
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Continuing this post at week 34, going 35 in 3 days.
The second trimester was ushered in with the peak of my morning sickness where I puked multiple times everyday and merlioned my dinner every single night without fail for 2 weeks! It was a waste of money and time to take dinner during these 2 weeks during the 14th to 15th week. Lol. My tip to all fathers-to-be and mothers-to-be, don't waste too much money "pampering" yourself with yummy expensive food during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. They may all come out and go to waste unless you are those lucky ones who don't experience morning sickness!
I was 99% intolerant of taking spicy food prior to having our baby girl. During the pregnancy, I craved for katong laksa, mild spicy garlic aglio olio and otah. I believe my little girl is going to come out as a 小辣妹. haha.
Coincidentally and thankfully, my 2nd trimester also fell on the final quarter of 2019 when Junrong finally got transferred to my team. Without him, I wouldn't have promoted to EFSM in 2020. We worked so so hard to fight for his Gold Award and RCC, as well as my promotion. I'm also very blessed that some of my WMs fought extra hard in the final month of 2019, considering my promotion in their minds. We are all really thankful to our clients who trusted our advice and took action to progress in the building of their financial portfolio in November and December too.
At the end of my second trimester, we also decided on her Chinese name on my birthday! 陈梦宁! 梦想的梦，安宁的宁. We hope that our baby girl gets to chase her dreams and live a very fulfilling and meaningful life. 对于有意义的梦想，要有宁死不屈的精神! When she retires, we hope for her life to be filled with bliss, peace and contentment. This name is a gift from papa and mama to you, 梦宁!
Not to forget, I received a gorgeous push present from the hubby too. 谢谢老公! <3
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Novus, our new organization was newly set up. As a senior manager, I was heavily involved in many organizational events and new business models. Things went well in 2020. The work engine of the team started on the right note as all my WMs eased into their respective business models and into their new environment. I'm very certain that ZSA will work together with one another as a strong community with positive vibes and momentum while I retreat to rest and prepare myself mentally and physically for 梦宁's arrival.
Just last month, we finally got down to deciding her English name! The hubby opposed to this name for the longest time due to its difficult pronunciation. Finally, a wedding dinner made him give in. We have decided to name her after the Northern Lights, Aurora Chen. Junrong loves playing with snow and as a couple we have traveled to icy cold countries like Norway, Iceland and Finland to enjoy/self-torture in the cold and most importantly to catch aurora borealis!
An aurora is a luminous phenomenum, a natural light display in the Earth's sky, when the charged particles that come from the sun hit the atoms and molecules of Earth's atmosphere, exciting those atoms to give off light. The lights can come in so many beautiful colours and to be able to see it, one has to find a clear cloudless sky with no lights pollution. As such, the Aurora Borealis is usually seen in skies filled with countless stars and it never fails to take our breaths away! This name is another gift to her, as we hope that she is the most beautiful light of all lights, so strong but breathtaking.
As much as I'm very in love with the meaning and reason behind this name, I'm still practising the pronunciation everyday while forcing the hubby to practise it as well.
Today is the first week that I work from home and this week began with us unpacking the nappies and placing them into the right drawers, as well as unboxing all the deliveries from Shopee like baby nail file, wet tissues, oral wipes, breast pump. Just yesterday night I placed order for more baby items like the legendary Tula baby carrier and other necessities like the baby camera, more stretchmark cream, pacifier and bottle warmer. I still have more errands to run though I cannot wait for her arrival in 3 to 6 weeks' time.
Today also marks the 2nd day that I cooked from home. It's very very torturous to stay home for me! 2nd day only leh!! Yet at the same time I cannot fit into a lot of my clothes, so it's also very troublesome to leave house as I need to dig for clothes to wear. The belly is also well-packed and tight now, so my movements are all very restricted and snail-like. I can't even sleep properly at night.
Back to my stay home life tomrorow! Shall plan some meaningful home activities.
I will probably update again after her arrival when I have more insights on parenthood!