Entering the 3rd trimester

"How many months now?"

I get that a lot nowadays, which I didn't get during my first trimester - the attention.

Clearly, my baby bump's got bigger, much bigger and rounder now.

And because my unborn child has grown in size, I often experience backaches and even sitting up straight causes discomfort to my back.

I need pillows, more pillows the better. Soft ones of course.

Shopping was THE thing to do but now, I have to take a 10 to 15 min break (to sit down) almost after every hour of sluggish stroll in the mall.

This favourite activity of mine  - shopping - hasn't been that fun lately.

I get tired easily. Backache is the main issue here.

Despite not having that much fun walking around the huge malls in KL, I have, subconsciously, developed an impulse shopping disorder.

And this is recent.

I just HAVE to buy something every single week to fulfil my shopping desire and it makes me feel very happy.

I wonder if it's hormonal-related or a feel-good therapy.

But one thing's for sure - it's definitely a guilty pleasure. I'm a shopacholic.

Thus, I've entrusted my husband with a very important duty -  to control this disorder of mine.

But it's not helping much as he's just too nice, too kind to restrict me.

He'd swallow the word 'no' each time I gave him the "puss in boots cute eyes" look and asked, "Can I buy this?"

The "look" always works.

Besides this disorder, I'm also having sharp pains in my head (also called headaches) which comes and go quite frequently.

I don't want to take aspirin.

So, I just drink plenty of water and 100 Plus in the hopes of curing it.

It's working, I think.

The headaches are slowly fading.

Thank goodness.

Oh, my baby girl that's inside my belly, is constantly kicking and punching and somersaulting.

Her movements are more distinctive, which means, I can distinguish her movements from my bowel movements.

She's an athlete.

She always, always kicks me to indicate that she needs food because after a minute or two, I will start to feel hungry.

She can already express herself! Marvellous.

Oh, she's communicating with me now...and it means, I need to fill my stomach right away.

Still enjoying my pregnancy...:)

Cititel Penang

by z_l3nG


Georgetown Penang

Windy and sunny




Let me start off by saying:

"Cititel Georgetown in Penang is not a fabulous hotel to stay, but it's definitely value for money."

If you're like me, a Penang food junkie, but not at all crazy about the gorgeous hotels along Batu Ferringhi, take my word - go Cititel.

They always offer better rates and the rooms are not bad.

Yes, you can find cheaper room rates in Georgetown only if you don't mind the condition of the rooms and hotel service.

For instance, I stayed at Hotel Malaysia years ago and if I remember correctly, the room rate was RM100, oh yes, very cheap indeed, but the room was old and dull and the sheets weren't clean.

Also, the room smelt funny and you don't get complimentary bottles of mineral water.

They may have upgraded the rooms now. I don't know, but one thing's for sure - I ain't going back there.

So far, I find that Cititel is one of the more decent and affordable hotels around Georgetown.

What I like about this hotel is its strategic location.

You can get anywhere easily, by bus, cab or three-wheeled vehicle known as trishaws. Who needs free hotel breakfast when you can get food just across the street and right next to the hotel?

If you decide to take a ride on a trishaw, don't accept their first offer. Bargain. You can at least get 20% - 30% discount.

Georgetown now offers free shuttle bus around the city and to major attractions in Georgetown and the good news is, the bus stop is just right across Cititel, which is in front of a parking lot.



OK, let's look at some photos of Cititel's standard room:

This isn't a fancy and modern room, but decent and clean. The bed's quite comfy too.

There's no LCD TV in a standard room, but quite a few channels to choose from though.

The light at the dressing table is dim, so can't get a good look at the make-up. Solution: Open the curtains to get natural light in.

Who says you can't get a seaview room in Georgetown? Ok, who am I kiddin'? But, hey, you can get a glimpse of the sea...not bad, huh?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Cititel Lobby

Before booking, try finding other websites like marimari.com or hotels.com to compare room rates.

For local hotels, I usually book through marimari.com. For last minute reservation, try latestay.com.

They're reliable and efficient.




Cititel info as follows:

Add: 66, Jalan Penang, 10000 Penang, Malaysia


Tel: 604-370 1188

Reservations: 1800-38-3388

Email: info@cititelpenang.com

Mine's a Princess

It's official. It's a girl.

"There's nothing in between the legs," said the OB (short for obstetrician) last Saturday. "No male thing."

I had a laugh in my heart. Why couldn't he just say, 'there's no penis?'

Conservative still, I think. Or could it be too tiny to be called a penis?

I don't know.

So I'm having a baby girl in August.

I remember having this conversation with my husband, sometime last year, pointing out that most of our friends had baby girls.

The statistic was, 5 out of 6.

It was like a pandemic.

In the corner of my mind, I thought it's time a boy comes into the picture, and that I would be the one who beat the odds.

Turns out, Nope. I'm in THE statistic as well.

Don't get me wrong. I'm absolutely OK with any gender.

A girl. It should be fun. It's like dressing up a Barbie doll, you know.

I get to dress her up in different style everyday; short skirts with leggings, blouse with short pants, mini dress with a matching headband and so on...whoa, I can go on for days just thinking of the many fashion for my baby girl.

First child, a daughter is good. A girl always takes care of her siblings and is so loving and caring.

Oh, and fathers just have that special bond with their daughters, just like mothers with their sons.

So, it's a good thing.

As aforementioned, I went to see my OB just last Saturday, again, a week earlier than the appointment set last month.

When the nurse asked why we were early, we told her, "Oh, we're busy next week."

That was a lie. The truth was, I couldn't wait for another week to see my baby on the screen.

It's become an addiction.

I wanted to know if my baby's doing fine inside the uterus and if she's comfortable.

The gender of the foetus was supposed to be revealed to me and my husband last month, but my baby was all curled up, hugging itself, probably sleeping.

So there was no way for my OB to get a clear picture of the foetus.

Last week, we couldn't get a clear shot of her either.

She was so restless and vigorous. Both her legs were stretched out, long and straight, and in another milisecond, she was in a crawling position, with her hips up.

There was never a moment where she was still in one position.

But, it was a sign of good health.

Her heart, to my amazement, was pumping so fast and hard, at more than 150beats per second!

It was something new to me.

It was very exciting.

I guess the thing that gets me up early in the morning (which I usually don't) on each doctor appointment was the thought of seeing the growing baby inside me. Each time is just different; so many changes in only a month.

I get tickled once in a while everyday because she's moving alot!

It feels out of this world.

And I can say, I'm loving it!



- 20 weeks + into pregnancy -


Source:
Images from Google