Haiya!!! Kick!!!

Recently, little princess has been kicking, tickling, punching and pinching mommy all night.

When mommy wants to rest and sleep, little princess is all energetic and restless. She kicks so hard that I can see my tummy moves and vibrates! The result: probably a satisfied baby but a tired and sleepless mommy who has to drag herself out of bed to go to work.

Today, after a few restless nights, I roamed around the office with a heavy head and an easily-irritable mood. Someone who happened to step on my tail early in the morning has a taste of my temper and sharp tongue. Felt bad after that, but I must say serves her right!

脚抽筋

最近经常睡到半夜小腿和脚趾就会抽筋。那天晚上，右脚突然半夜抽起筋来，痛得我受不了。我不得不把整个身子像虾米一样蜷曲起来，用手搓抽筋的地方。可是不论我怎么搓也似乎不解疼。

过了好一阵子，疼痛没有减轻，反而觉得脚筋好像要被抽断了一样，而且好像开始冒冷汗。无计可施，只好把老公吵醒。他睡眼惺忪，伸手就往我左大腿轻轻捏。我哭笑不得，一直说“右边、右边”。他挪了挪身体，打算捏我的左小腿。我几乎发狂！折腾了一会儿，他总算搞清楚状况。说也神奇，老公解除抽筋的方法还真管用。没一下功夫，感觉舒服多了，脚筋也开始放松。

隔天，老公还可爱地问我他昨晚是不是做梦梦见我脚抽筋。

脚抽筋时最害怕就是没有人搭救，那种叫天天不应、叫地地不灵的感觉超恐怖。唉，可是我总得学会自己解除抽筋的痛楚。

Truly appreciate

Today as I was on my way to work, it suddenly occurred to me that the colours in my surrounding seem alot more vivid, brighter and livelier. At this moment, the little one in me stirred and kicked. I wonder if I have been too occupied in the other things in life to even notice the skies, the trees, the grass, the wonderful nature surrounding me.

Or perhaps, my pregnancy has made me take a different perspective in life. I slowed down my pace and started to learn to appreciate the smallest thing in life - as small as a little bubbly movement in my tummy. I think it is only now that I've truly learn to stop and smell the roses.

This may sound silly – but it is so true that 'you can only see what you are looking at'.

Is that just a tad too obvious? But really, doing so has helped me keep my eyes focused on the right things, the important things and the good things. The moment I let my eyes drop and fixate on the negative stuff collecting around my feet, I miss seeing all the wonderful things in my life.

Sometimes life is agonizing and finding the good is incredibly difficult.

But often life has lots of wonderful moments, but we miss them because we are obsessing over the bad – the bad mood we can’t shake, the mess at work that we were made to clean up for some idiotic colleagues, the argument we had with our significant other.

So for me, I need to continually stop and refocus. Get my eyes firmly fixed on the good things in life.

I am thankful for my loving husband, wonderful and supportive parents and family, fun and lively friends; and of course, the little princess in me. Life is good, and it will only get better. Have faith and truly appreciate.

What changes when you have a baby?

A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

Sacroiliac Joint Pain

Recently whenever I tried to stand up from a seated position, and especially when I tried to get out of bed, I felt a lot of soreness in my left hip - to the point that I had to limp around for a few minutes or more. It has been so bad for the past few days that I had to excuse myself from work to rest at home.

According to the physiotherapist, I’m suffering from sacroiliac joint pain. The pain felt like a pulled or cramped muscle, and sometimes it feels like a sharp jolt on the left side of my hips that extend down my thighs.

I searched the web and found out that SJP is the most common back complaint and typically flares up in the second trimester.

The sacroiliac joint is where the spinal column meets the pelvis. During pregnancy, the hormone relaxing causes the joints to relax, which may make you favour one side over the other. This may lead to inflammation and further pain.

What to Do About It
One can ease the pain with warm (not hot!) baths and pain relievers such as Tylenol. These therapies are a good starting point, as long as you keep the water under 100 degrees (anything hotter can affect the fetus) and check with your doctor about any medication beforehand. Another option: See a prenatal chiropractor, who can perform a spinal adjustment to help correct your weight imbalance. If the cause is hormonal fluctuation, you can expect the pain to subside after delivery.

Sigh... seems like nothing much I can do except wait for things to get better. =(