...19th Mar 2002...19th Mar 2002...19th Mar 2002...

Today is EDD, and right on cue, I started to feel mild contractions during breakfast (but they didn't put me off my food)! Our trip to the British Embassy was aborted, and we went straight to the hospital instead. I won't bore you with all the details, but my labour lasted less than 12 hours, involved an epidural and some forceps, and resulted in the birth of Elizabeth Indah at 8.48pm (Singapore time), weighing in at 3.140Kg, or 6lb14oz. I was expecting another week of peace and quiet, but as with everything else, PLC has read all the books, knows exactly what is expected, and has arrived bang on time!

...18th Mar 2002...18th Mar 2002...18th Mar 2002...

One day to go, and still no hint that PLC is ready to enter the world. So, to celebrate our possible last night of freedom, Alex and I went to see 'Bond' - classical music performed by 4 girlies wearing short skirts and tight tops. The concert was good, but PLC found it a bit loud....!

...15th Mar 2002...15th Mar 2002...15th Mar 2002...

Another hospital appointment, but still nothing is happening. PLC is healthy and moving around as normal. On the other hand, I am feeling more and more like a hippopotamus, and finding it difficult to move at all, although the obstetrician cheered me up by saying I had fantastic skin - no stretch marks! I am also driving Alex and Mum to distraction, as I need the air conditioning turned to maximum - apparently the apartment is freezing cold, but it still feels like a sauna to me!

...14th Mar 2002...14th Mar 2002...14th Mar2002...

For all of those horrid people out there who like to look at photos of me looking immense - here is a picture of me, taken today, at 39½ weeks, or 275 days pregnant..... I have been assured that I will lose it all in a few weeks time, but it is difficult to believe when I can't see my feet and I weigh more than Alex!

...7th Mar 2002...7th Mar 2002...7th Mar2002...

Only 12 days until PLC is due, and he/she is still hanging in there (knows that his/her mother is enjoying the stay in Singapore). However, she is not enjoying getting up every night to go to the loo, nor feeling the size of an elephant. Even my least optimistic post-maternity wear looks tiny - it looks like a few more weeks (if not months) of maternity trousers are ahead of me....

...15th Feb 2002...15th Feb 2002...15th Feb 2002...

An appointment with the Obstetrician in Singapore... and whilst I am there, a few more scans. Everything is normal and progressing well - PLC is head down, with both feet and hands by his/her mouth (ready to suck). His/her head is slightly smaller than average, but his/her legs are somewhat longer, and he/she weighs between 5 and 6 pounds. All in all, this seems quite positive - I have to deliver this baby in a few weeks time!

...5th Feb 2002...5th Feb 2002...5th Feb 2002...

Today I feel so uncomfortable, all I can do is lie down - but my bump has dropped down and the pain in my ribs has eased, which leads me to believe that PLC has turned head down, and is slowly burrowing downwards. Roll on Friday - I want to go to Singapore!

...4th Feb 2002...4th Feb 2002...4th Feb 2002...

As my pregnancy is nearing its end, it is probably about time to come clean about the cravings. Without really realising it, in hindsight I can identify a number of things that I simply had to eat. Back in September (along with the BigMacs), any restaurant serving spaghetti bolognaise was targeted. About 2 weeks ago, much to Alex's annoyance, it was seafood (particularly squid), and now I really fancy cream cheese and smoked salmon bagels. And tinned peaches. And maybe another slice of toast with lemon curd. Or marmite......

...3rd Feb 2002...3rd Feb 2002...3rd Feb 2002...

Nearly 34 weeks pregnant, and my figure really has gone to the wall. I am now the same weight as Alex at 10 ½ stone, although my waist measurement is somewhat larger......

...31st Jan 2002...31st Jan 2002...31st Jan 2002...

Top tip for anyone who is more than 30 weeks pregnant: do not go to a music concert, especially of a solo jazz pianist. I made this mistake today, and was repeatedly kicked and bashed by PLC. Just when things were settling down, the pianist invited a traditional Indonesian drummer to join him... and PLC took the opportunity to join in too!

...16th Jan 2002...16th Jan 2002...16th Jan 2002...

Today I felt a sort of clicking or knocking which went on for a few minutes, which I assume is PLC with the hiccups. Too much drinking apparently. Just like his father.

...15th Jan 2002...15th Jan 2002...15th Jan 2002...

A meeting with a midwife! A coffee and a chat with a newly arrived expat midwife is as close as we get to antenatal care. PLC hasn't turned yet (although it is early days), and at the time was sat with his/her bum in my pelvis and his head on my right hand side... probably chewing his nails (just like his father). Learnt the delights of pelvic floor exercises, good posture, and all those exciting and uncomfortable things that will happen after the birth.....

...7th Jan 2002...7th Jan 2002...7th Jan 2002...

PLC seems to have stopped kicking (in line with Southampton's improving performance in the Premiership). Instead, PLC has taken to stretching - it feels like he is stretchin all of his/her limbs, all at the same time. This is not fun - my ever expanding waistline is simply not designed for baby-to-be gymnastics, with little limbs poking out from time to time!

...17th Dec 2001...17th Dec 2001...17th Dec 2001...

Some of you have mentioned that you can't imagine what I look like with a bump. Well, at 6 months pregnant, I no longer have a sylph like figure. No stretch marks (yet), but my belly button sticks out rather than in. So far, I have gained about 1 stone in weight, and I am about as deep as I am broad (no more squeezing through tight gaps for me!)

...11th Dec 2001...11th Dec 2001...11th Dec 2001...

Yet another sleepless night - PLC was enjoying a good kick, my back ached and I simply couldn't get comfortable. I have a feeling that this is what moving from the second to the third trimester is all about, and it's not going to get any better!

...29th Nov 2001...29th Nov 2001...29th Nov 2001...

Another trip to Singapore! This time for visas, but it gives us an excellent opportunity to acquaint with the Singapore branches of Mothercare. I would like to say we didn't buy too much (some baby towels, blankets, cuddly toy, push-chair....), but our credit card was stopped halfway through the day because we spent so much!

...14th Nov 2001..14th Nov 2001..14th Nov 2001...

Since day 1 of this pregnancy (even before the two blue lines on the test), I have suffered from one pregnancy symptom almost continuously - I sneeze. Every morning, I wake up to a good sneeze and then sneeze on and off throughout the day. Up until now, the only respite I got was when I was asleep at night, however, I have now started to wake up in the middle of the night, purely and simply to have a good sneeze!

...30th Oct 2001...30th Oct 2001...30th Oct 2001...

I've been feeling a few strange movements in my tummy recently, but in church on Sunday I really felt PLC move (but only a litlle bit). Now, PLC has really taken to gymnastics sessions, swinging on the cord and using me as a trampoline - I really don't need to any exercise myself! Or is it actually the entire England football squad inside me, kicking away...?

...27th Oct 2001...27th Oct 2001...27th Oct 2001...

They say that pregnancy makes your brain cells diminish...well, I can confirm that it's true. Today I went to buy some frozen sweetcorn from the local supermarket, and went to pay for it at the counter. Now, Indonesian currency can be a bit confusing, but it's usually pretty easy to work out the order of magnitude (or how many zeros) you need to pay. So why did I try to give 180,000Rp (about £15) when the corn cost 18,000Rp (about £1.50). The pricing in Indonesia can be somewhat erratic, but can you imagine paying £15 for a bag of sweetcorn, anywhere in the world?

...25th Oct 2001...25th Oct 2001...25th Oct 2001...

Singapore for the 20 week scan! Although we are in posh private hospital territory again (there is even a bank in the foyer), it's back to the cold ultrasound gel. The baby didn't move as much this time, which meant the doctor could get all her measurements OK. The only thing was that the baby wouldn't move his/her hand from his/her face so that we could check his/her mouth and nose... just like his/her father! The pictures we got are more of 'body bits' than cute 'baby shots', but click Scans to see them!

...14th Oct 2001...14th Oct 2001...14th Oct 2001...

On going into the hairdressers, the woman who does Alex's hair took one look at me, rubbed/poked my tummy, and proclaimed 'Bagus!' whilst having a good laugh...

...13th Oct 2001...13th Oct 2001...13th Oct 2001...

Today, even though I wasn't tired, I shut my eyes at 1 o'clock (just before Alex went to work), and didn't open them until Alex shook me awake at 4 o'clock. Apparently he was concerned that I didn't appear to have moved for 3 hours!

...1st Oct 2001...1st Oct 2001...1st Oct 2001...

At last! I no longer look fat! There is a definite bump at the front... making it difficult to fit into clothes, bend over....

..20th Sept 2001...20th Sept 2001...20th Sept 2001..

Final check-up with the midwife befor leaving the UK - I got a clean bill of health with really low blood pressure (105/58) and pretty good haemaglobin (12.5). The baby was even obliging enough to let us listen to his/her heartbeat!

...4th Sept 2001...4th Sept 2001...4th Sept 2001...

The day of my first scan - it's 12 weeks today! For complicated reasons (including having worldwide medical insurance), we decided to go private, and have the scan at Southampton Chalybeate Hospital. The main differences between the NHS and private sector are that they warm the ultrasound gel in private hospitals, and you get more (and bigger pictures), all included in the (excessive) price.

Anyway, the scan was successful - the baby was happily doing backflips, kicking like Michael Owen, and even obliged us with a wave. Have a look at the Scans section to see the pictures!

...1st Sept 2001...1st Sept 2001...1st Sept 2001...

So far, the morning sickness hasn't been too bad. OK, I have to eat regularly, and am never far away from a packed of ginger biscuits, but apart from that - no worries. As for cravings, hardly at all. I am just appreciating the good food in the UK after 18 months in Balikpapan. Except for today, when wandering around Bristol, it became apparent that unless I ate a Big Mac (absolutely nothing else would do), I would surely be sick. Luckily, McDonalds was located in time, Big Mac was wolfed down in seconds, but if you ask me, there really should be more McDonalds for such emergencies - we had to walk for 1o minutes before we found one!

..16th July 2001...16th July 2001...16th July 2001..

"Would you like some champagne, Madam?" said the waiter in the restaurant at Raffles Hotel, to which I had to reply: "No, I'd like a glass of mineral water." For which, I had to pay £6!

We arrived in Singapore, slightly hungover after drinking excessively at the Bastille Day celebration the previous night, and so to give me a clear conscience to drink excessively on my birthday the following day, I decided to buy a pregnancy test. Well, I did the test a couple of hours later...and two blue lines appeared in the window...bingo!

...From the 12 week Scan...

...From the 20 week Scan...

...From the 35 week Scan...

"Thank goodness it's not me." Hayley Watt

"So you're pregnant then." Louise Dawson - before she was told

"It looks like an Alien." Sophie's mum - on seeing the scan

"Does that mean it's a boy?" Alex - on seeing the blue lines of the pregnancy test

"Get your nails cut - they will really dig in to Alex's arm during labour." John Dawson

"You are very slim. Well you were..." Sophie's mum

"I hope if it's a girl it doesn't have Alex's hair, and if it's a boy is doesn't have Sophie's hair." Alex's mum

"It's definitely a boy." Alex and Sophie - on seeing the Michael Owen likeness on the scan

"It's definitely a girl." the midwife - on hearing the baby's heartbeat

"It's got to have red hair." Sophie's Auntie Margaret (another redhead)

"Mum's the word." Frances Brightman

"But I've got enough cousins!" Mary McCall

"There are two lines! Does that mean twins?" Alex with the pregnancy test again

"Pregnant women lose all their sense of humour, and it never comes back." Justin Lacey, father of 18 month old Rebecca

"Epidural." Louise Dawson, Caroline Fyfe, Emmanuelle Moreau, Sophie's mum....

"Caesarian." Linda Febvre

"C'est une fille." Rosalia Dupuy

"It's a boy." Mary Hobson

"But you look so tiny!" Iris Rothenberg, said at 36 weeks