Pretty Gift

One of my fav Xmas gifts received this year.

The girlfriend, who i'm not even that close with, crocheted the brooch herself.

And she's now teaching me how to crochet some animals for the twins!

I hope to show off some of my work soon!

NYE party- secret angel

We were assigned someone to be a secret angel to. We had to get them a gift, and write a clue to who it was from.

I received this very ME scarf with a clue that read:

" To my taugeh...from your taupok"

=)

I knew immediately who it was from. Taupok has been a close friend in the office for many years now. And someone i'll miss terribly while i'm away, and definitely in my new posting.

Cheers Taupok!

End of the road

The department officially bade me farewell today. I go on MC in a week, for 3 weeks and then I clear 1 month worth of leave I've saved up over the year, before going on maternity for 4 months. I'll then be posted out to another department to begin a new chapter in my professional career.

It's been 5 or so years since I've been with my current department, and my posting is certainly long overdue. I've been quite bored for quite some time, and really just need some new challenges in my professional life. I was supposed to start at a new posting in 2011, but with my pregnancy, it made sense to hold all things off till after my maternity leave.

As i look forward to something new, I do sometimes wonder whether I should have held off my departure for a bit. Afterall, I'm going to through a massive life-changing event in a couple of weeks, and coping with a new role as a mother. A new work-role, in a brand new environment could be too much for me? But there's been many changes in the department that I really don't like, and don't wish to stick around for, that this also seems like the best time to move ever!

I think for 2011, I resolve to take everything in my stride. The challenge of raising twins, a new job, a new house, everything. I'll make it. I always have. And i'm sure I will again. More confidently, I know I have an army of souls who love and care for me, to lend me all the support and courage I need to get through 2011. =)

my farewell gift- a huge crumpler bag for

baby stuff!

cupcake found!

forgot all about the cupcake brooch that imp gifted, 

until i stumbled across it while spring-cleaning!

LOVE IT!

my twin pregnancy journal- helping my sweet tooth along

week 29

So. I have always had a sweet tooth. And although it's tapered off drastically when i got pregnant and morning sickness came along, it's returned in my 3rd trimester. But definitely not back to my pre-pregnancy levels of chocolate and sweet indulgence. Even so, i was quite bummed that the gestational diabetes meant that i couldn't indulge my sweet tooth.

But I was totally rocked when i found among my mum's recipe stacks, a recipe for low-fat, low-sugar wholemeal pancakes! I made the poutiest face I could pull and asked mum if she'd whip me a batch for brekkie on Saturday. And she did!

I thought i'd go without any syrup...cos i'm all diabetic and all..but on a random trip to the supermarket the next day, I came across a bottle of diabetic maple syrup. I didn't even flinch at the pricey $10 pricetag and added it into my shopping basket.

I was in heaven on Saturday, with my wholemeal pancakes and my diabetic maple syrup!

my twin pregnancy journal- pretty purple dress

week 29


Headed out to a wedding on Sunday afternooon. The groom is a very close friend of my lil brother. They went to secondary school together, and is a close friend who i too had gotten to know over the years. So although i wasn't feeling up to it, and feeling altogether FAT- in a whale-kinda way, i dragged myself out.

It was also a good excuse to wear my pretty maternity dress that i had purchased just for weddings. I had only wore it once, and it was already quite tight. The dress itself is big, but the inner lining is a little smaller.
I was surprised that it was looser this time.

This gestational diabetes diet has helped me shave a few kilos it seems! Even some of my colleagues have remarked that my face looks slimmer. I just hope the babies are still growing well! =)

my twin pregnancy journal- HUGE!

week 29

I am HUGE! I look like I am 40 weeks pregnant. I'm so huge, that even sales assistants ask me while i'm shopping when i'm due. I figure they're all worried that I'm going to deliver right there on the shopping floor while they're on duty. And they're all shocked, with mouths wide opened when i tell them that i'm only due end of Feb!

Imp took a snapshot of me while we were gallavanting at Ikea during a lunch break. And i too was surprised by just how huge i looked.

but the good news is that, i don't look that pregnant from the back!

Well, i have only put on 9 kilos since i got preggie, and my bump is huge, so most of that weight must have gone to the babies...in fact, i think i myself may have lost a lil weight during the pregnancy...what with 5 months of morning sickness!

I'm just wondering, how much bigger i'll get!

my twin pregnancy journal- preparing for upin and ipin

week 28

I'm finalising my preparation for Upin and Ipin's arrival. I've managed to clear out enough space in our already tiny room for all the baby stuff my sis-in-law has passed to me. Yes, my babies aren't going to be too good for hand-me-downs. In fact i'm quite thankful for all the stuff that she's passed on to me.

Made me really happy to arrange all the stuff nicely into what used to be my undie drawer!

I'm also getting especially excited about expecting twins..although i can go on and on about the pains of carrying 2 babies right now...but everytime i see all the cute lil twin type clothes that's been gifted...i go all weak in the knees and all teary too!

my twin pregnancy journal- gestational diabetes

week 27


It sucks! It's xmas time and there are goodies galore, and i won't be able to indulge my sweet tooth, which has just returned this trimester, in all the xmas goodies because i've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Of course, i have to experience like almost every negative symptom of pregnancy there is. I had 5 months worth of morning sickness, hemmarhoids and now gestational diabetes. And you know, this condition was the condition i was so confident i wouldn't get.

I do have a sweet tooth, but the sweet tooth disappeared as soon as i got preggie. I've not been over-indulging in food, and i've only put on 10 kilos since i got preggie. Make it 9 kilos, i've managed to lose 1 kilo over the last 2 weeks! Even my colleague who's put on 20 kilos, carrying ONE baby, didn't get it. Nooooo but i did!

Sigh...last week i had to go through 2 days of self-testing of my blood sugar levels on 6 meals a day diet my doctor has put me on. The diet's not too bad, like i said, i haven't been over-indulging. The new diet is basically the same as when i was not on a diet, except i've cut out my sweetened yoghurts, sweetened cereals (like cococrunch) and the marigold choc puddings i've been indulging in. Oh and my occasional ginger beer, which was really to help my morning sickness.

But still...i'm NOW craving the sugar and the chocolates....and i can't have any...

sigh.

my twin pregnancy journal- the dreaded hemmarhoids

week 27


Initially, I was embarrassed about this situation I'm in. But it really is something that is very common among pregnant women. About 20-50% of pregnant women would experience hemorrhoids during pregnancy.

It started last Saturday. We were attending a friend's wedding and were on the way back home, when i felt something as I plonked myself into the car. I told hubby, 'hmm...i think i have that errr...ummm...condition. I can't remember what's its called, but i highly suspect it'. Hubby of course didn't know what i was talking about. I fished for my phone and googled it, and exclaimed- HEMORRHOIDS!

I quickly forgot about it though. I fell asleep exhausted as soon as I reached home. But it did bother me the next morning, and I quickly asked hubby to send me to the doctor. It was confirmed. I had 2 prolapsed hemorrhoids and 1 internal one. Doctor sent me home to rest in bed, with suppositories and cream to help the pain.

And boy, did it hurt! I spent the next 3 days grimacing at my every move. Most of them just shifting from lying on my right to my left, as i laid in bed fighting back the tears, wishing that the 70 odd days that stood between me and my EDD would come as quickly as possible.

Then the bleeding began. It first started out as very light streaks of blood. Nothing that worried me very much. And then on Thursday, it really started to bleed. I was soaking pads up so quickly!

We rushed back to my GP who proclaimed that this was beyond her and that I had to see a specialist immediately. She made an appointment for me at Mount Alvernia with a Dr Cosmas Chen (i was in no mood to even be amused by his name), and we hurried over to see him. She said that he would probably do a rubber band ligation procedure on the hemorrhoids, which would stop the bleeding.

BUT, Dr Cosmas told me that my hemorrhoids were way too big for that! And if I weren't pregnant, he'd be wheeling me into surgery right that moment. Now anyone else would be freaked out by now, but this Dr was smart enough to calm me down the moment i walked through the doors, and told me that he would take care of me and that everything was going to be fine. So i didn't panic and was generally calm.

He managed to stop the bleeding, shoved the hemorrhoids back where they belonged for awhile, and told me that the best way to manage this was through an aggressive course of oral medication which he assured me was safe for the babies. And that I had to keep pushing my hemorrhoids back to where they belong at least 3 times a day and proceeded to scold and nag me about having a diet high in fibre.

The worst case scenario, is that I start bleeding again. I can't stop it, and he can't stop it. Then he'd be forced to operate on me on local anesthesia...NOT General Anesthesia! YIKES!

It's been about 4 days now, I haven't had much problems, and only slight discomfort. but i have to take care of this until the babies are born... so I've been watching my diet, eating lots of fruits, cos I wouldn't want to have to be awake when Dr Cosmas prods around down there....

sigh.....

9 weeks to go.....