I’m enjoying the last couple of weeks in my 2nd trimester.

The 2nd trimester is a lot more enjoyable than the first. The nausea subsided, less discomfort, the appetite is back (a little too well now), and although my energy level didn’t quite go back to what it used to be, I have been feeling a lot less lethargic.

The 2nd trimester is definitely the best time for a babymoon, if you are planning one 🙂

We also took this period of time to seriously think about childcare plans. There are so many school of thoughts on childcare (just as there is a plethora of theories on pregnancy and motherhood) – full time SAHM (Stay At Home Mum), part-time SAHM, full-time working mum, infant care, maid, the grand-parents… And each have its own pros and cons.

After praying over it extensively, we are pretty much set on our plans 😀

Shared it with my mum and she is rather supportive of it so I’m pretty thankful for that 🙂

A lot of people have been asking if we are prepared for Baby L’s arrival but I think there are still a lot of preparations to be done 😐 Looking forward to the Baby Fair in 2 weeks’ time where we hope to snag some good deals for Baby L’s essentials!

Here’s my shopping list, for now:

If anyone has recommendations for particular brands, I’ll be thrilled to hear about them!

But Baby L does have quite a collection in his wardrobe now 😛 thanks to friends for souvenirs,  hand-me-downs and of course, Baby L’s shopaholic daddy for spoiling him with romper choices before he’s born 😐

And my dear cousin-in-law who gave birth recently made a bean sprout husk pillow for Baby L!

If you are intending to get one, it’s better to ask for the husks from one of the market stalls and dry out the husks again yourself before you ask someone to make it for you. This is to ensure that the husks are completely dry before they are used as the pillow fillings. I’ve heard horror stories of bugs growing in store-bought ones because the husks were not fully dried :S

I went for my 24-week check-up recently and got a (gentle) warning from Dr Tan that I should watch my weight gain 😐 I’ve gained close to 10kg so far and past my 60kg mark recently. Otherwise, baby is healthy and she always calls him a happy baby 🙂 She either says that for all the babies or it’s because Baby L is always waving and moving during the scan.

She told me to exercise more often and cut down on my carbs to keep the weight gain at 2kg per mth (I exceeded by 1kg this mth 😛 ). So after the check-up, I tried surviving on cereal and salad for breakfast and lunch (for a short 3 days) but realised I got tired easily with the reduced carbs in-take and Baby L’s activities also dropped significantly during the day 🙁

Since my blood sugar is still normal and Baby L is at a good weight during the scan, I decided to eat regularly again, but try to watch my junk food in-take instead. This made my carb-loving baby happy and I’m happy too 🙂

Had some time at home earlier today and decided to do an impromptu and casual maternity shoot before entering into the final trimester, and while my belly has not been invaded by stretch marks!

It’s kind of scary and yet amazing to see all the changes to my body, to know that another being is growing in me, to feel his subtle heartbeats and to understand that my body may not go back to the way it used to be even after the little one is out of his temporary abode.

But it’s part of the journey to motherhood and I’ve learnt to embrace every minute of it. To learn to enjoy the changes and to continue to be amazed by the process 🙂

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Note: Right after I completed this post last night, I was sitting at the sofa with Wayne and suddenly, we saw Baby L’s movements! He has been rather active (especially at night) so we have been feeling his movements, but last night was the first time we SAW him move 🙂 Another milestone at 26th week ❤️