Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Back To School and Work?

Was inspired to take a short course during my maternity leave now. Actually was inspired to do many more things (see earlier blogs on the stuff I wanna do...make-up course etc) but since my leave was abruptly cut short, I could only squeeze time for this course.

So anyway, went for the tuition the other day and the day seemed much longer than normal. My eyes kept drooping down and it didn't help that the room was freezing cold as well. It's been a longer time since I took up a textbook to study and prepare for a exam too. *Gosh* I have forgotten how agonizing it can be. Today, after reading the same paragraph for 5 minutes, I fell asleep and woke up 2 hours later??!! Not sure if it's the midnight feeds for my baby had anything to do with my lack of concentration *excuses excuses* *tsk tsk* Not sure if I can pass...I better cos' I have spent quite a bit of money on this course. Hopefully, it's an investment.

Will be returning back to work in the 1st week of Dec. *Sigh* Contrary to what many people think, I hardly feel rested during this period. I feel tired all the time...FYI, my schedule for the last couple of weeks:

1st 2 weeks - In the hospital and trying to get use to Helena's routine (feeding her, cleaning her, pumping milk etc) And of course who can forget the baby blues....my figure and my stretchmarks etc

3-4 weeks - Still trying to get use to Helena. These two weeks, I had to contend with her rashes and her colic. Helena cries non-stop from 10 -1pm every night. was at my wits' end. I was also planning for Helena's full month celebration. Book venue, make & send invit card to guests, order cake, buy cake vouchers, organise the baby souvenirs for my guests etc...there were lots of stuff to do. I had also returned to my RCIA class. Since I was on 'leave', my RCIA mates put me in charge of a couple of Christmas projects as well...Of course, it didn't help that my office was calling me about work almost every day, the tele-conference was about 2 hrs long for consecutive days. In fact, I felt so obliged & frustrated that i volunteered to do part of the project while I was at home. Hey! I'm on maternity leave, I'm not supposed to do work! *welcome to the cold harsh world*

5-6 weeks - Office is still calling but not as intensive now. *sigh* It came to the point where I feel nervous when i hear the phone ring (actually i felt like throwing my phone out of the window, really frustrating when the ringing tone wakes Helena up when I had just managed to coax her to sleep)! Helena had the flu...*alamak* I suspect it was her daddy who kept kissing her even while he had the flu...*sigh* Poor girl was sniffing through the night. Brought her to the paed for treatment. 1 week after her flu, she had ear infection, my anxious & ultra kan-cheong MIL insisted that we had to send her to see the doc at 7+pm that day. So she had to be admitted to A&E...the hospital had to page for the pead on duty and the fellow had to rush to the hospital. Guess how much was the bill, more than S$200. Paed gave her colic medicine as well. Lucky for us, the colic medicine worked and her sleep is not as fretful as before. Registered for my course as well so attended a couple of tuition classes. My exams is scheduled next week *Gurp*

7-8 weeks - Still trying to study and at the same time doing some minor renovation to my home. Not much lah...just trying to clear the styff at home and shift my furniture around the house. One of my friends who came to visit me commented that my place is very cluttered with stuff now...*sigh* Also taking the opportunity to spring clean my home....change the sofa/cushion covers, wash the curtains, pack the cupboards etc. Waiting in anticipation for my trip next week too! (meanwhile, trying very hard to pump more milk for my baby to makan while I'm not around.

9-10 weeks - In KOREA!!! Hopefully, I can relax more when I go off to Korea next week and hopefully my last week of leave will be a peaceful & relaxing one.

Sunday, November 13, 2005
The 1st Sacrament - Baptism

One of the Seven Sacraments of the Christian Church; frequently called the "first sacrament", the "door of the sacraments", and the "door of the Church". Through baptism, the infant is cleansed of its original sins. It is through this simple but traditional act, that my little baby is now officially a Catholic.

I have never attended baptism ceremonies before but I would have to say that it was a really lovely ceremony. The entire ceremony took about an hour and it was a little solemn but it was really nice. There were about 10 odd infants/toddlers having their baptism at the same time. All of them were dressed in white, like little angels.... See some of the pix we took:

Saturday, November 12, 2005
Out of Singapore

It's been more than a year since I last travelled out of Singapore. Had planned for a trip to Bangkok last May but the plan was thwarted by my obstetrician who told me that I should not travel in my state (was 5 months pregnant then and had premature contractions). So to reward myself as well as enjoy myself before I go back to work next month, I booked a trip to Korea! This time, I'll be travelling with my mother and sister. My other half? He has volunteered to stay behind and look after the baby...In fact, my MIL has taken leave to help as well. So the both of them will be on shift duties during my absence. Not sure how I would feel without my little baby during that few days, but I have taken a couple of videos and pix on my HP so I could view if I missed her too terribly.

Counting down the hours now....exactly 168 hours before I'm on the plane to Korea!