Pregnancy Diary II: Into the Second Trimester

This week's my 19th week of pregnancy and my tummy has grown exponentially. Sometimes I wonder if it's due to all the junk food I've been eating and I (quite routinely and very paranoid-ly) keep asking KU and my mum and sis if my bulging tummy looks like the result of too much eating or if I truly look preggers.

But that aside, I've been unemployed for about a month now. The first week, I had a feeling like I was on a holiday, cos in the past 6 years, I've never quit without a job, and even in between jobs I usually get only a day or two of rest before starting on the new job. But slowly. I've settled into sort of a routine: Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, I wake up about 8-ish and go for a 30-minute walk at the stadium near our place, then I come back and do abit of resistance training; after which I make breakfast, eat, and then get some housework done for about 2 hours, then it's time to make lunch; after lunch, I either watch TV or make jewellery, then I make dinner, and wait for KU to come home. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I sleep in cos I don't exercise on those days; the rest of the morning is pretty much the same as the other days, and after lunch I'll walk over to my sister's place to spend some time with her and my precious little niece. :)

In the second trimester, there are a few very minor changes for me. My tummy has grown quite a bit and I can't fit into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes anymore. Due to the large tummy, I also have a bit more difficulty bending over to wash my lower legs when I shower, and I find that even when I can do so, I lose my balance more easily. 0___0

Nowadays, when I do my walking at the stadium, my calves and shins cramp more easily and they usually don't let up even when I stop to stretch. So I'm trying to take it easy and walk at a slower pace, but even then I still have to stop twice in a half hour to stretch out the cramps. :(

The water retention is also getting worse in my legs. I can't seem to wear any of my covered shoes, so my best friend is my Birkenstocks now. But I reckon I'll need to loosen the strap of the top of my Birkies as the pregnancy progresses. Thanks to Aunty Kat advice though, I think the water retention's not as bad as it could have been, cos I've taken to propping my legs up on a fat pillow when I sleep, so my calves are not that fat yet. *thanks God*

Sleep-wise, I'm having more trouble falling asleep. Probably cos I'm actually a stomach sleeper, and with the baby, I definitely can't sleep on my tummy anymore. These days I try to sleep more on my left cos that's what the pregnancy books say is the best sleeping position for baby. And I definitely can't sleep on my back anymore cos I've had some back problems previously and the pregnancy has just made it worst, so sleeping on my back gives me such a horrible horrible back ache.

Sometimes though, I feel like it's so surreal - me carrying this little human inside me. Besides the physical changes I'm experiencing, sometimes I can't believe I'm going to be a mother soon. But the moment I'm really looking forward to now is to feel our baby's first kick. :) I keep wondering how amazing it would feel and I think when it happens, it will really drive home the fact that I am pregnant and the constant kicking will be a testament of that. :)

Looking at my mummy friends and my own sister, who are enjoying motherhood, I'm sure it'll be fun times ahead . :)

See The World: Paris-London (Part IV)

So, the next day, we took the early morning Eurostar train back to Paris where we were going to stay for 2 more nights before returning to Singapore. :((

Those 2 days were really very relaxing days cos there wasn't much we wanted to see in Paris anyway. I don't know why, but we weren't interested in the usual famous tourist attractions like the Pantheon, Sacre-Coeur etc. But one thing KU wanted to do was to photograph the Eiffel Tower at night. But I didn't want to go to the Eiffel Tower at night cos I've heard horror stories of the streets becoming exponentially more dangerous when it gets dark and I wasn't about to take any risk.

So we visited the Eiffel Tower in the day.

The Tower with gloomy skies

After that, we visited the Invalides museum (or Musee de l'Armee), where Napoleon's Tomb is. The entrance fee to the tomb was EUR15 per pax (if I didn't recall wrongly) and cos we were too cheapo to pay for the ticket, we tried to find neglected doorways which would lead us to the tomb. Hehe.. (There was free entry to some of the other parts of the museum.) But to no avail, so KU made do with taking pictures of the exterior of the museum.

Had a nice walk from the METRO station

While we were waiting to the train back to our hotel, I saw that that particular station we were at had very nice mosaic art on its ceiling. It made me wish that Singapore's MRT stations didn't look so sterile. BUT. After experiencing the train system in Paris, I'm grateful for the efficiency we have back home.

And we ended our day with a good meal at the hotel cafe, which served very decent food.

My shrimp and vegetables roasted in paper box style

KU's steak with beans

The next day, it was shopping in the morning at Galeries LaFayette and Pierre Herme, and to the airport and home sweet home!