March 31st: 1st contractions

I woke up with back pain and cramping in my bump as well as my cervix. Tried to ignore it at first and got ready for work but the pain just got worse and thought what if something is happening to the baby.

In the end, I decided that I should stay home and call my gynae when the clinic opened. It's a good thing I did because he said that even upper back pain could be a sign of contractions. Incidentally, I'd spent the weekend reading up on how to recognize contractions.

Sigh. So these pictures were taken later when Kelvin came to pick me up to see my gynae. I'm smiling because while I know something was happening. I didn't really think the baby was coming on that day.

So at the clinic, they hook me up to an ACTOGRAPH machine which is something used to measure contractions. You can also hear the baby's heartbeat. It was was a rhythmic squelching sound which almost put Kelvin to sleep. Turns out I am having contractions but they're pretty mild. My cervix hasn't dilated yet either but it's turning "ripe". The doctor says that it could be any day now so I'm given permission to lay off work.
It's been a week since then and I'm getting hot and cold from my body. One night I had contractions every 10 minutes which meant that I got no sleep at all. Then in the day time, nothing except 3 or 4 contractions. The contractions are intense but not anything where I'm doubled over in pain and I can't talk. Meanwhile Baby Lim's going strong and doing well. There was one afternoon when she kicked continously for 4 hours. I'd been playing back American Idol that afternoon. So perhaps she was responding to the music.

Almost feel that it was premature in stopping work last week cuz nothing's happening. Then over the weekend, I forgot to take my supplements and suddenly, I felt really faint and breathless. Like I couldn't stand properly. So perhaps it's good for me to be at home because I can't imagine taking my class and not being able to breathe. How would I cope?

I've come to the conclusion that stress brings labour on faster. Maybe if you're tense, your body thinks that the baby will have a better chance of surviving outside of you away from your skretchy shouting at teenagers all day. If you're relaxed and calm then the baby thinks it's better to stay inside where it's nice and cosy. Whatever it is, something and nothing is happening at the same time. It's just a waiting game now.

Yann's wedding

Back-tracking a little:

It's the last week of the March holidays and I'm really tired from all the resting I've been doing. I think it's just hang-over from the whole of Term 1's mad rush to get my work load in order before I go on maternity leave.

It's an important day for Yann Ling who looks sensational by the way. I don't try too hard to get any good shots because my tummy is in the way and I can't do things like squat. Haven't squatted for 6 months in fact. What I do is spread my legs like a giraffe and bend from the waist down. In the beginning my back hurt a lot but now I'm quite used to it.

Managed to get this shot of Yann when she came up to talk to me.

Here's Kelvin enjoying a sip of champange. He looks good in white. It's been hard on him the last couple of months. He spent the first 2 months training at night 3 times a week. Forced exercise by the army becuase he couldn't pass his IPPT. You know this husband of mine has strong legs and forearms (from all the game playing he does) but can't do a single pull up. Oh well, the vast majority of Singaporean men can't do pull-ups so my husband isn't alone.

This was a meaningful day for me. Weddings are always special. However, I've known Yann for 6 years now. Who knew that we'd still all be friends? This ROM marks a new chapter in her life. She's quitting teaching this year. Throwing in the towel after so many years. It's sad because that's one less talented art teacher who really cares about the art education our nation's kids receive. At the same time I'm happy she's made this decision to free herself. Me, I'm passionate about what I do but I have many moments in the past and even now where I'd rather just throw in the towel.