Statistics...

I finally went to my gynae again after a long 2 months!! So this is the update of my little gal @ 29wks from the limited 5min scan picture.

Est 1.39 kg ; head already down ; legs are still long ; head is not round at all n nose very high n I just hope its not overly pointed

Conclusion : My supposingly pretty gal still looks like an alien to me because too many of the obvious characteristics from the husband!

The battle begins...

The battle of mummy vs the gal has began... haha probably just like the forever love-hate relationship I share with my mum, I am starting to struggle with little daily fights with my little gal.

Round 1: Belly button @ Wk 28
From wk 24, when I felt strong kicks from the little tyrant, I have a feeling that she has been trying to kick my belly button out... to date, fortunately, it is still in... so temporary I win... but am living in fear that her ploy will succeed soon.

Round 2: Leg cramps
Since last wk, I am having leg cramps every nite. It was so bad that at the first time, I screamed n hit sander so hard that he managed to wake up, switch on the lights put his hands on my legs in an attempt to help to massage n..... fall asleep on my leg! haha
Anyway since last Fri, I have faithfully do some leg stretching exercise before sleep and leg cramp hasn't pester me... so so , if i'm hardworking enough, I will win this round too!! hmm... will certainly try to perserve for the sake of my beauty sleep

Round 3: Quality sleep.... zzzzzZZZzzz
I dunno whether I have a soccer plyer or a boxer or whatever she is.... she certainly wins this round! Every night after my dinner, it is her play time, she starts moving n moving n moving n at bed time, it is peak time... soothing music, talking from the dad n hitting from me... all doesnt work !!!!! Sometimes I even feel her in the middle of the nite that I will try to shift position in hope to stop her. Sander said some mornings my tummy will be moving even before I wake up.... Does she ever sleep???????? If she is already such a night owl now, what will happen when she is out???!~@~!@~@

Strike...

Strike is on-going in the entire Europe now. From Brussels to France to Germany, from truck drivers to fisherman to farmers....they all have their reasons to organise one as they pleased.
Each time it is just another piece of news on TV in other major cities and today it has finally arrived in this ulu village.

The tram n bus driver have decided to go on strike but the problem is that they do not go on full strike but cutting down the service to <50% of the norm. If they stop the service completely, at least I have a reason to not go to work but now, it only means that I take a super long time to commute... Was lucky with my first tram this morning but had to walk 25 mins with my big old belly to the office for the 2nd leg. For the return, just have to be very buay pai seh n ask my boss for a ride.... *sigh~

...just blabbering ...

Yesterday we attended the 1st session of our prenatal course in Brussels. On the whole it is quite enjoyable to go out and meet other people, something we hardly do here in Belgium. It is organized by the Brussels Child Trust (http://www.bctbelgium.com/) which is quite link to UK and have a lot British woman in it.

Some people were more well-read than others but it was quite a relaxed environment to find out more about everything that concerns my silly gal to come and I think the men have fun too.

I am really thankful to God that my pregnancy has been a pretty smooth sailing one in terms of physical health. Emotionally I may have gone through a lot of roller coaster both because of the environment or the hormones but I am not the only one who is suffering from it. I may have been turned down by my gynae for an appointment but there was someone who was ‘sacked’ by their gynae for asking too much questions~~

So so, again trying to psych myself to be positive …

We also started played silly games with the gal. Since she is kicking so much so Sander try to put hot mug on my tummy and she kicked at the spot that the mug was. Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite response to cold things. Haha… maybe it is just coincidence but we need to keep ourselves entertain as well.

Loss of patience...

Last week, I was really frustrated by quite a couple of things (stupid bank / insurance / garage) and I thought I should start writing a series for people to know that the life in Europe isn’t as beautiful as imagination. As I was halfway through writing the encounter with the bank, I chance upon an article of “Cultural shock” published in one of the expat baby community magazine. I then started to reflect on myself thinking that it was my own fault for having the wrong expectations and stuff that’s why I don’t like being in Belgium. So I stopped my writing.

However yesterday I was so pissed off by my gynae that I really need to complain!!!! 2 wks back we missed our appointment for 2 reasons. First she has scheduled me in 3 wks instead of the regular 4 because she was going on holiday. Then in midst of the passing of Opa, we also didn’t recheck until the day that we thought we had our appointment and to turn up at the clinic to realize that it was closed.

Nobody ever call us to ask why we were not there. We then immediately call back to try to re-schedule for the next appointment. The gynae was of course not in town and I had to do the scheduling with a temp clerk who cannot even speak English. Nevertheless, I managed to get an appointment for 16 Jun, being the earliest possible slot possible and was told that the doc will be back on 6 Jun. Sander and I thought we can definitely get an earlier appointment after we speak to the doc when she returns.

Yesterday evening, as I was going home late, I saw that the clinic is open. So anyhow, I popped in and try to reschedule my appointment. The nurse was understanding but said that the schedule is really full until 3 wks later. So she thought of slotting me in as one of the last patient on wed. She specifically ask if I had any abnormal discomfort and my EDD and she will ask the doc to see what she can do. After consulting with the doc, they decided that I should keep to my Jun 16 appointment since they don’t feel any need for me to have a checkup any earlier. And then they even said if I feel any discomfort, I should just go to my family doctor and they will not schedule me for any earlier!!!!!!!

As much complain as I have for Belgium, I think the health care is cheap n relatively good. But service is again a word that you can never find anywhere in here. Only 3 more months to go, I still have no clue of whatever is going to happen. Today again, did not manage to get any seat on the tram and had to bulldozed my way all the way to the back for the last seat!

So so, for all those out there who think that Europe is all so wonderful and rosy, these are just some examples.