Pregnancy and Kids

This is me now...22 weeks pregnant, 55kg and starting to feel like a beached whale again. I'm expecting to deliver my second child (gynae says looks like a girl!!!) in mid-January 2008, about 2 weeks before I turn 30. Yup...the big 3-0 looms just ahead. It's a major milestone in any woman's life. Firstly, you'll no longer be in your twenties. Thirties is when you start to have problems maintaining your weight, wrinkles creep up where you don't want them and you start to feel...well, not-so-young anymore.

Eversince I was young, I've had a 'plan' for my life - married by 25, kids before 30. A career however has never been a big priority. I always knew I'd rather be home with my kids than in a power suit, jet-setting across the globe earning big bucks.

By God's grace, I married a wonderful man 3 months before my 25th birthday. I had my first kid at 27 years of age and I'm looking forward to celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this coming November, before welcoming our daughter in January.

I still get comments that I'm so young la when people ask if I'm expecting my first child and I tell them Joseph is already 29months old. It's weird....when I'm with my chinese friends, I do feel a wee bit young. Most of my peers are expecting their first child or getting married. But when I'm with my malay friends, I certainly feel that I'm running behind time.

For example, my friend Dr M ( a fellow dentist) got married in 2003, about half a year after me. She already has a boy and a girl, the younger one being about a year old already.

Another friend, Dr R (also a dentist) got married in Sept 2004, conceived 3 months after marriage and had her first child in Aug 2005. Her second child is due anytime now.

Yet another friend, Dr A (another dentist...what to do...got plenty of dentist friends) got married in 2005, had a boy in May 2006 and is expecting a girl next month (Oct 2007).

Children are indeed blessings from God. I'm of the opinion that if you want kids, then you shouldn't wait too long because the older we are, the less energy we have to run and jump and tumble with them. I'm sure there are those who disagree, with the opinion that having kids later in life will mean more financial stability, and the ability to give their kids the best.

Then again, what does giving your best to your kids mean? Is it the best baby cot? the most expensive milk? the most hi-tech stroller? the most fantastic encyclopedias? expensive toys? Indeed...there is a wide array of gadgets and gizmos out there to make parents part with their hard-earned money, believing that they are giving the best to their kids.

I on the other hand, feel that giving my best to my kids mean strolling in the park, reading to him, giving him piggy-back rides, playing hide-and-seek...all of which means giving him time.

We now realize that if we were to wait till we feel ready to have kids, we might never have kids. In fact, if our parents had waited till they felt fully ready, we might not exist! I don't think we will ever find ourselves at a stage when we feel we have enough money, or enough time to have kids. Human beings are greedy. We always want more.

We've learnt to manage what God gives, and trust his providence. After all, He is Jehovah Jireh. He always provides. His blessings are never ending.