Pregnancy Update : Getting Fit

Before being pregnant, I took weekly squash lessons and did kickboxing.
I loved the intensity of both sports and the workout it gave me and always felt so energized afterwards!
Both sports are a big no-no now since the plenty hip movements involved aren't good for the me or the baby.

So aside from some swimming I've started at the Club, some minor housework and the occasional walk around the neighbourhood with Sham, I've more or less been a lazy bum!!
Definitely high-time for some exercise!

So last night, I started Pregnancy Fit Ball classes at FitFor2 in Bangsar Village and I must say, I loved every minute of it!
Not only was it cleverly designed to greatly benefit expectant mothers, it was fun too. For a good hour, we bounced, stretched, marched and even got on all fours!
According to my instructor and all that I've been reading, the work out does help to ease delivery... so here's hoping!

Either way, I felt super fine after so this mama-to-be's definitely going back for more!

Lookalikes?

Isn't it weird how Sham & I kinda look alike?

Well, weird in an endearing sort of way, I guess! :)

Our First Anniversay

A weekend getaway, to the beach perhaps, candle-light dinners, evening strolls, mind-blowing sex - all the stuff a great first wedding anniversary celebration is made of!

Not for Sham & I though... no, siree! Not for us!

I wasn't exactly in the best of health but Sham insisted we go away somewhere, just to get away from it all. So off we drove to nearby Ipoh and stayed at the pretty classy Indulgence Restaurant and Living. Everything about the place was fantastic.

But I got sick and Sham spent the whole time selflessly caring for me. No candle-light dinners, no evening strolls, no mind-blowing sex.

So it may not have been the anniversary celebration of my dreams, but I returned home rested in the certainty that my marriage was made in heaven. That my husband and I were hand picked for each other by Jesus. Beyond any doubt, we are each others' best friend, each others' anchor.

And well, isn't that romance enough? :)

A Piece of Heaven

They say a garden is a piece on heaven on earth. So Sham & I are really lucky to have our own little 'piece of heaven' in our home- one we've badly neglected of late though, what with recent preoccupations and all!

So yesterday evening, with much resolve, we put our gloves on and began work!

I couldn't believe how much weeds there were. For a good two hours, we got on our knees and tugged and pulled and ended up filling 4 big garbage bags full of weeds! Phew, what a task!

With the new plants we planted, and all the weeds out of the way, things are looking much better now. There's more colour and some sense of neatness. Well worth the effort, I guess! Now to find the time to sit at our patio and enjoy the view!

Pregnancy Update : How We Announced It

Sham & I got both our families together for dinner about a week after our third positive pregnancy test (we had to be really, REALLY sure before getting everyone excited!).

We got everyone together at LaRisata in Damansara Heights and Sham made the grand announcement halfway through dinner. I must say, we didn't exactly get the first reactions we expected - shouts of glee, table thumping and crazy prancing all over the restaurant. What we did get were more like stumped gazes and glazed, blur looks from our folks - you know, the kind that said 'you kids know how to make babies??' LOL!

But when the shocked subsided and the reality finally set it, there were smiles all around and hearty congratulations! Everyone toasted to the upcoming next generation! I more or less spent the rest of the night answering a million questions -'When are you due? Do you have a gynae in mind? Are you on folic acid yet? Are you sure you've stopped drinking Coca Cola?' Gosh!

Needless to say, everyone's excited about the impending arrival!

Here's a picture of me and a soon-to-be great grandmother, my maternal grandma, Nana. We were debating a suitable name for the baby to call her... Nanny? Nono? Nan? Gigi Nan? None of them sound right, somehow. Hmmm... what do you think?

It's A Red Ribbon Day!

Sham's birthday fell right in the middle of this episode, so I wasn't able to plan anything elaborate or fancy or spend much time shoppping for that perfect present.

But because he is wonderful and good and kind and I love him so, I still did want to give him something special :)

So I was really glad when I came across this super cool website while surfing the web one day - a company called Red Ribbon Days. The first ever of its kind in Malaysia, the Red Ribbon team puts together and sells pretty unique gifts - not the material kind, but experiences and outings that suit every occasion, taste and budget.

There's loads of fun stuff like pilot lessons for a day, body massage for two, cooking lessons, romantics meals, cruise trips, cupcake making lessons, flying fox outings, batik printing lessons and oh so much more! There's absolutely something for everyone!

Picking a gift for Sham wasn't easy and I finally settled for the ATV Waterfall Adventure for Two. Sham and a friend get to experience the fun and adventure of exploring a rainforest right up to a waterfall on an ATV bike! Ooooh I would so go with him if I could!


Anyway, I got the team at Red Ribbon to have my gift delivered to our house early on a Sunday morning, the eve of his birthday. They showed up right on time with a big red box, wrapped with - you guessed it - a big red ribbon, tied to big red baloons and Sham's gift voucher inside. It was a surprise and it worked! Still in his PJs and groggy eyed, Sham was totally excited about his gift and can't wait for his big adventure!

The best part is, it was all so easy! Red Ribbon organizes everything - from the planning right up until the delivery. You just have to pick an experience and your preferred mode of delivery and pay for it! The team does everything else. Very cool! Definitely something I'll be trying again.

Pregnancy Update : Morning Sickness!

This isn't a pretty post. But I've decided to share something personal and close to my heart - a recent difficult experience in my life.
Easily disgusted readers, you may back off now...
~~~~

My spirit is weak.... fighting back tears as I write this...
Truly a time of trial and testing for me.
Can't wait for it to pass.

Clinging to this verse
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"2 Corinthians 12:9

- Excerpt from an email sent to my girlfriend, Brinda, sometime in May 2009.

A time of trial and testing - that is truly what the months of May, June and early July were for me. It was the 2nd and 3rd months of my pregnancy - weeks 6 to 13.

I suffered what is medically known as hyperemesis gravidarum or severe morning sickness.

It hit me suddenly and challenged me in every way - physically, mentally and emotionally.

What initially started as slight nausea grew into severe nausea, to infrequent vomiting, to frequent vomiting, to constant vomiting, to glued-to-a-toilet bowl/plastic bag-puking-my-guts-out-vomiting. It was just... horrid.

I was constantly dehydrated, my lips were permanently chapped and dry, my skin scaly. I lost 5 kgs and was thinner than I'd been in years (and not in a good way!)
I couldn't keep anything in.... I puked even when I hadn't eaten anything!
I was always hungry and knew not whether to eat just to quell the hunger pangs only to throw up later, or to not eat and and suffer the gastric pains (along with nausea waves).

I was physically very, very weak and bed-ridden. I couldn't drive, leave the house, go out in public, go to work or move around very much.
There were times when I couldn't talk or move my head because the nausea waves were so severe, a slight movement who trigger a vomit bout.

Three times, I was so dehydrated, I had to be admitted into a hospital and put on drips.
The third time, only last week, I was so weak from an all-day vomit spree, I was driven to the ER at 1 in the morning. I was so far gone, I barely remember anything that took place at the ER.

I have since been discharged and am living with my parents, temporarily.
Under their care, I am slowly thriving and regaining my strength.

This whole experience has been a true test, both mentally and emotionally.
Physical weakness affects the mind and spirit, I now know.
There were many times, after lying in bed for hours and unable to attend to my own needs, I'd find myself drifting off into an almost zombie-like state. Like my mind was slowly slipping away to some place scary... like I was slowly going insane!
It took all of my will and presence of mind to get a grip of myself and come back to reality.

I also found myself constantly in tears.... mostly tears of frustration at being unable to live life fully, tears of fear, worry and anxiety.

I am now entering Week 14 of my pregnancy.
Things are much better now though I can't say for sure if the morning sickness is completely over. I can only hope it is.

This experience, like all tough experiences, has thought me much. Lessons I would never have otherwise learnt - a compassion for the sick, a deep gratitude for my health, my energy and my strength. It has taught me that sometimes I need to slow down a little and appreciate the simple things in life - flowers in bloom, the breeze, a kind word, the sound of children laughing...and much, much more.

I don't know for sure if this experience has made me a better person, but I'm willing to bet it has.

And for that, I'm ever grateful and humbled.

Europe Holiday 2009

Sometime during the end of March, Sham & I went on a 3-week holiday to Europe. We spent time in the UK, Switzerland and Germany.

It was a wonderful, wonderful time (Yes, it was at this holiday that our child was conceived. We made good use of our time there, you see)

We met up with old friends, made some new ones, had a 3-day stay at the beautiful Lake District, went on a 5 day road trip to northern England, took long, leisurely walks around the lovely lakes of Geneva and tried all sorts of different delicacies at different places.

Oh we had a ball - a holiday we'll look back at with great joy in the years to come!

Here are some pictures.

We're Back With NEWS!

Well, it has been long. I have no excuses. Apologies all around.

Much has been happening in our lives. I'll tell of them all in stages here.
So stay tuned.
Yes, Sham & Mel are back... and we're here to stay!

The biggest news Sham & I have to share is.... we're pregnant!

I'm 14 weeks into my pregnancy now and boy what a ride it's been so far!
But I'll write more about my very eventful first trimester later on.

For now, Sham & I and our families are just delighted with the news.
Most of all, we're SO grateful to God for blessing us with this gift and we're totally looking forward to this next phase of our lives as parents.

Our baby... our firstborn (WOW!) is due late December and we just can't wait to see him/her. Watch this space!