2.6kg

With only one month to go until the calculated due date, we are now seeing the doctor every week.
We wake up early, get ready and reach her office. Today our tadpole was roughly 2.6kg, head down (that should not change until he comes out), face towards the back.
Head diameter is still 9cm so it's all clear to come down the natural way. He's nicely growing with thigh bones of about 6cm. Seems it will be a long baby, which is to be expected given the height of the father.

If we assume that tadpole will grow 200g per week and that he will be around 3.4kg (as his parents when they were borne), highly sophisticated mathematical calculation tells us that he will stay in my belly for another 4 weeks.
The only question is how I will manage to move around as my belly gets bigger. Good that I only have 3 more weeks of work ahead of me. Rushing from one meeting to the other with all the bathroom stops is becoming exhausting.

Surprise baby shower

Today Wolfram had blocked my calendar for an afternoon tea. I thought this was a weird idea coming from him but he's been trying to make the last month of pregnancy easier on me, so maybe he was opening himself to tea.

I was so wrong.

This was a false excuse to get me to a surprise baby shower from my colleagues.

Normally I would have guess that something was cooking but with the lack of sleep I'm losing my detective sense. I had suspicion because Wolfram would not let me buy some of the baby things under weird pretexts like he needs to see the bathtub before we buy it. But I had no idea it would be today.

A whole bunch of girls were there and we enjoyed tea, cakes and baby stories.

We received lots of gifts for the baby. Obviously someone told them what we were missing.

Wolfram made himself invisible by playing the role of photographer. He managed to get great pictures of everyone (as usual).

This was a really really nice surprise which obviously got the pregnant woman all emotional. Emotional but happy :)

Only one month to go...

Someone got a new toy

And is already playing with it.

Frames are getting on the walls with style!

9-15-23

What could those numbers be?
These are the hours of the day when the little inhabitant in my belly is the most active.
9:00 - Clearly a peak of energy after breakfast
15:00 - When he feels that I am falling asleep in the middle of the afternoon. Better make sure that I stay awake at my desk, even if it is nap time.
23:00 - Isn't that the best moment to kick and punch, when others would like to sleep? I wonder...

We saw the doctor today. Now we see her every other week which gives me the feeling of spending my time there.
Everything is fine. Tadpole is now 2.3kg, nicely growing... and so does my belly.
No cute pictures has at 10am, someone was nicely sleeping is head facing the back.

6 more weeks to go and I can't wait to see my feet again.

National Day Fireworks

True we could have been better placed, a bit more to the left.
True, I should buy a bigger tripod so my life is easier for the two times in a year I need one.
True we could have gone there earlier and enjoy a picnic while the sun was coming down.

But even with all of the above, the National Day fireworks from Singapore would still have been disappointing. It felt to me more like a village fireworks vs. what one would see in a capital.
Thanks to expert advice, my camera was perfectly set to capture the fireworks. Again, we will most likely do something else next year for the National Day, but I got a few cool pictures, so it was not a total waste.

Geylang Park Connector

The concept is simple and quite good: to connect the different parks in Singapore, park connectors have been built. Basically they are green areas connecting the major parks of the city. This morning we had the ambition to go to Geylang Park Connector, near Dakota subway station, and walk our way back home. Merely 13km.
I say we had the ambition, because after 5km under the sun and my slow pace, we decided to take the subway back home. Let's face it, carrying tadpole around takes a lot of energy and chest space.
This said, it was a nice walk throughout a part of Singapore where we had barely been up to know with the chance to see the Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore Flyer and the Marina Bay Sands from the other side of the river.

Wolfram also took the opportunity to identify a good spot for watching the fireworks tonight. In case you wonder why, today is the national day of Singapore. People and buildings are dressed in red and white, following the colors of their flag.

I hope the fireworks will be nice tonight.

A touch of home

It's not going to replace going back home to France, but it's a little something that makes the day fresher.

Getting ready

Maternity suitcase 90% complete.

Only missing last minute items.

We are getting seriously ready for tadpole. 

Now we can leave any time. Although chances are this suitcase will stay in the guest room for another 7-8 weeks.

Patience... It takes time to grow a tadpole.

My sexy husband

All dressed up for the Glam Rock Party of the offsite.

Aren't I lucky?

Marina Bay Sands

We are having a team offsite over a couple of days in Singapore. We were fortunate that the hotel selected was the Marina Bay Sands. Yes, that's the famous hotel from Singapore, the one that looks like there is a boat on top. 

We packed a light suitcase and were ready for the offsite. While the event itself was probably not worth remembering (apart from the fact that it seems there is a way to give some recognition to everyone at the risk to get the audience bored), the highlight of the stay was that as guests of the hotel, we could access the infinity pool on level 57.

At the end if the first day, we quickly checked in and changed. Direction the pool!

Pool was crowded which is to be expected given how popular it is with tourists. But we managed to get a few pictures of us at the edge of the infinity pool right above Singapore. It is quite an experience to be up there looking at Singapore. 

That alone made this offsite worth it :)