New baby gifts

A pretty baptism dress with matching ballerina shoes from Pam &
a pretty bathtub from Angie!

Anytime soon...

As of last Sat's checkup, Doc Fong could feel JD's head. Whenever I think about this, I can't help wondering what was going through JD's mind.. Was she thinking: What's that rubbing on my head? Who's calling me.. hello hello.. I wanted to ask Doc Fong if he could feel she had hair, but I decided against it, he's been very patient with seemingly silly and endless questions from me for the past 8 months. Morever, the cervix check was traumatising and uncomfortable enough and Doc Fong is already considered super duper gentle. I can't imagine how much more uncomfortable it would be when it's the midwife (FEMALE - who most of the time are less sympathetic with other females as they probably have experienced it themselves and couldn't care less about making you feel good, afterall there's no harm involved) who's going to check my cervix during labour. Anyhow, my cervix has not opened yet but it's apparently very very soft, with baby's head very very low and I've been told it could be anytime this week. I've been told to walk alot more now to have an easier labour.

JD, JD, your papa's very excited to see you. He's been trying to coax you daily to pop. Are you going to come out this week? Aunty Mo already said she'll see you this week when she bade you farewell last Saturday. Though my next appt with Doc Fong is next Sat, but he said most likely the next time he'll see me will be at Mt Alvernia. But somehow mama wants you to hang on till next weekend. I've applied my maternity leave to start from 1 Sept.. Well, JD - you decide what's best for you ya! *wink wink & muacks muacks*

Sha la la in the morning

Wow! The M&P package has actually been backdated to 17 Aug 2008! I am of course overjoyed! This means more time & more money for JD, though I must admit I'm quite skeptical at the sudden change in less than a day. Those who follow politics closely will know what I mean. But, what the heck, politics is afterall, dirty. To me, it doesn't matter how it's played, as long as my objective is met and no harm comes to anyone in the process.

Nevertheless, I'll give our current government the benefit of doubt, that the modern Singapore government is pro liberalisation, consultative and open to criticisms and feedback.

Thanks to all who made this possible: God, our nation's leaders, Felicia and all who contributed to the petition and also not forgetting Mo & Fong, who bore most of the brunt of my ranting since Wednesday!

Mass disappointment by Aug - Dec 08 MTB

The online petition by parents of babies due from Aug - Dec 08:
www.petitiononline.com/mums2008/petition.html

The media has been reporting on issues like how people are pleased with the new goodies dished out, for eg: the IVF subsidies & tax reliefs. There're also reports on how employers are concerned that the 4th month of maternity leave will affect work efficiency. However, these only serve to reflect & emphasize the kindness of the government. I've yet to see any reports on the disappointment felt by many other people affected which has been taking root since 1pm on 20 Aug 2008.

It leaves me to wonder if this online petition will see any changes or make any difference. This is a big enough issue for the media to pick up on. However if there's no squeak about this in the media, then we all know for sure what's going on behind the scenes. *Evil Snigger*

Govt's rationale

What's the rationale behind the cut off date for the enhanced motherhood package?

Yes, I understand that there has to be a cut off date and not all decisions will please everyone. But why 1 Jan 2009? It's neither here nor there. If talk abt fairness, then shouldn't it be either wef May or June 09, afterall, the purpose is to encourage couples to start a family. But then again, since when was life fair? hmmph.

My baby is due anytime now and I feel a little sad that I'm not eligible for the 4th month maternity leave. It even pains me more knowing that I've lost the chance to "earn" the $7k cash benefit extended by the govt for 1st borns. If I can feel this this way, just imagine those mothers due in December 08! I wonder how's Pam taking this news.

Nevertheless, regardless of what tangible benefits I may have missed out and how disappointed I am with the policymakers, I'm still grateful for this little wonder inside my tummy. It's more than what I can ask for. All I hope now is to have a smooth delivery & a healthy baby.

Oh btw, congrats Lenggu, on the birth of your bb girl!

Stay a while more in there JD!

JD's 3kg (+/- 10%) at 37 weeks, 3 days. Doc Fong says it's a good weight for delivery & JD's really low now so I should start walking alot to expedite labour.

But.. but.. there is going to be an extra 4 weeks of maternity leave and higher financial incentives for 1st born. So JD, just hang in there for a while more alright! Mama needs to find out when is the effective date. If it's September 08, I think it's really worth it to just nest inside Mama's warm & comfortable womb till the time's ripe, so Mama can spend a whole extra month with you!

Support Sg's Gold Hope or Sg's PM?

Tough choice? On one hand, I'm keen to know what are the upcoming benefits that we mothers to be are going to enjoy and on the other, I'm eager to watch the live match that our table tennis team is going to play this Sunday.

So, should it be 7.30pm on Ch U or 8pm on Ch 5? The force tells me... 7.30pm on Ch U. The excitement that a live match brings on can never be replaced whilst PM's rally speech can always be read in the next morning's papers.

But frankly, if I were the PM, I would change the timing of my speech so as not to deprive my fellow Singaporeans a chance of screaming & supporting our national team. Afterall, this may be our only chance for the next 48 years :P

Pride & Prejudice

For the past 3 consecutive days, from the telly to newspapers, I've been engulfed in scenes from the Beijing Olympics & Singapore's National day.

No, I'm not going to start comparing the opening ceremony of the Beijing games to our National day parade. That wouldn't be fair as it akins to comparing apple to orange & to hell to anyone who tries to do that. (Yes, I'm referring to you, Simone aka Glenn Ong's schizo personality. Btw get out of of the Morning Express, you've made my Monday morning ride to work very painful).

I've always felt proud to be a Singaporean. Yes, I do have grouses against some actions of the government and some bad habits of fellow Singaporeans. Nevertheless, I know that despite these shortcomings, I grateful for the security, the stable government and the familiarity of my family and friends.

Thou I'm not a China nationality, I'm Chinese in race and I felt a surge of pride sore through me when I saw how beautifully the opening ceremony in Beijing was executed. It's amazing that a country that was so backward just a decade back could put up a show that mirrored or even bettered the ideas & technology that the West, who has been in this "game" much longer. It put to shame the many Westerners who have condemned the notion of the games being held in China. And it sure wasn't surprising to read that some praises from the West were given grudgingly and some were still insistent that the Opening Ceremony sucked. This only further emphasizes their prejudice and lack of objectives.

Having said that, I give the benefit of the doubt that these black sheep do not represent the views of the majority of the West. Seeing tears almost welling up in Michael Phelps' eyes and his emotional expression when the US of A's national anthem was being played after he was awarded his 1st gold medal, it seemed so genuine that the reason he was in Beijing and he won was because of his passion and love of the sport. He did not succumb to the nonsense of Steven Spielberg or Nicolas Sakorzy. It was also a wonderful feeling seeing Larsen Jensen giving Park Tae Hwan a congratulatory hug immediately upon learning that the latter had come in 1st. This is true sportsmanship. No politics to mar the spirit of the Olympics.

An update on JD @ 35 wks gestation

She's no longer that fat! Haha.. 2.5kg, which is 200g more than what she was 2 weeks back. Even mama lost weight. I told Doc Fong yesterday that it's probably due to the trauma & pain that the trigger finger caused, that I could hardly eat nor sleep for the past week. But at least this gives me a chance to talk to DW before he sleeps every night. I'm awake by 5.30am every morning and that's 10.30pm in London.

She's turned, not engaged yet but at least her head is down already and her legs are right at my ribs. No wonder, recently I've been having the constant urge to pee and her kicks can be felt even more strongly!

My next appointment is in 2 weeks time and I think my cervix is going to be checked then for any dilation. Eweee.. I dread to think about it. Heard it's going to hurt when Doc's fingers "go in".. Eweee...