Actually I think I am pretty scared thinking about it. A few weeks ago, I could still hop and skip. But now, with about ten weeks to go and a fat pot belly, I know my end is near. Even after reading materials and talking to other has-been moms, I still do not know what to expect. It's like studying exam-smart for an exam but never knowing what questions will pop out, or maybe the format might change. I think I might pee in my pants when they day comes.
Current weight: 120lb (~55kg)
Friday, December 23, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Baby Trivia
"True or false? If you have heartburn, your newborn will have a full head of hair.
True. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University set out to disprove this but were surprised by evidence supporting it. They found that 82 percent of women with moderate to severe heartburn delivered hairy babies; most women with little or no heartburn ended up with baldies. Makes sense, since the hormones responsible for heartburn also trigger fetal hair growth."
I don't think I had much heartburn, just a little acid reflux sometimes but not too frequent. Looks like fifi may be born an egghead like me.
True. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University set out to disprove this but were surprised by evidence supporting it. They found that 82 percent of women with moderate to severe heartburn delivered hairy babies; most women with little or no heartburn ended up with baldies. Makes sense, since the hormones responsible for heartburn also trigger fetal hair growth."
I don't think I had much heartburn, just a little acid reflux sometimes but not too frequent. Looks like fifi may be born an egghead like me.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
More physical changes
I was informed by my sleeping buddy that I knock out quickly and snore very loudly (like a dragon) at night these days. My colleague commented that I suddenly look very pregnant. I want to wear a dress for a church wedding this Saturday but every dress I tried on at the store makes me look like a Chirstmas tree shape (super A shape). I walk slower and waddle from side to side like a penguin/duck.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Birth Plan
It seems that my fitness and energy levels have taken a dive over the past few days. I owe it to the winter season and third trimester which just makes me want to snuggle in bed all day. But when I try to lie down sideways on the bed, I feel like a whale washed onto the seashore, stuck and not able to move and turn easily. Well at least on sunday yesterday, I attempted to try out some yoga poses from bits of what I remember from my yoga lessons (which dd was sniggering at my contorted positions). Anyway, I'm starting to think whether I'm being too ambitious by wanting to work till the day I pop and squeezing in an examination before that too.
For our last yoga lesson, we talked about the birthing and labour process, our thoughts, who we put our trust in and whether our perceptions have changed. It made me realise that I haven't given much thought about THE day, except wondering from time to time how much it is going to hurt. I have been focussing my research on pregnancy, newborn care and breastfeeding books but never really looked at any birthing material.
Fortunately, the yoga instructor gave us a list of books to read:
Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth
Hypnobirthing (The Monogam Method)
Birthing From Within (by Pam England)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (by Henci Goer)
I guess I need to do a crash course on these so I can have questions ready for the childbirth class. And think about my birth plan and options I would like to have and take during labour.
For our last yoga lesson, we talked about the birthing and labour process, our thoughts, who we put our trust in and whether our perceptions have changed. It made me realise that I haven't given much thought about THE day, except wondering from time to time how much it is going to hurt. I have been focussing my research on pregnancy, newborn care and breastfeeding books but never really looked at any birthing material.
Fortunately, the yoga instructor gave us a list of books to read:
Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth
Hypnobirthing (The Monogam Method)
Birthing From Within (by Pam England)
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (by Henci Goer)
I guess I need to do a crash course on these so I can have questions ready for the childbirth class. And think about my birth plan and options I would like to have and take during labour.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Baby Shower
Fifi's baby shower is coming on January 7th at our home and my plan is to get the house looking fairly decent and decorated when the friends come over. Well, at least the living room where people will be hanging out at. So far, furniture checked, painting checked. I think we only have to swop the ugly office blinds for the 3 windows in the living and dining areas with pretty daperies, and add a couple of paintings or decorations. I wonder if our christmas tree would have shrivelled up by then, it would be nice to have it around.
Chinese-Americans have it good here. They celebrate the ang-moh baby shower before the baby is born so they get one round of gifts. And then they have a chinese three-month celebration after the baby is born so they get a second of gifts or simply cash. Not that I'm complaining. We set up a gift registry with Amazon which is pretty straightforward and addictive. Just click click click everything you want and it's easily added to the list for friends and family to buy for you. I also set up a secret Pottery Barn baby registry for myself because it entitles me to 10% discount when I buy the stuff I listed on it even if no one buys it for me. I listed a couple of Peter Rabbit crib sheets and night light on it which I would like to give as presents to Fifi.
Chinese-Americans have it good here. They celebrate the ang-moh baby shower before the baby is born so they get one round of gifts. And then they have a chinese three-month celebration after the baby is born so they get a second of gifts or simply cash. Not that I'm complaining. We set up a gift registry with Amazon which is pretty straightforward and addictive. Just click click click everything you want and it's easily added to the list for friends and family to buy for you. I also set up a secret Pottery Barn baby registry for myself because it entitles me to 10% discount when I buy the stuff I listed on it even if no one buys it for me. I listed a couple of Peter Rabbit crib sheets and night light on it which I would like to give as presents to Fifi.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Fifi the Frisky
Fifi the Frisky has been having a whale of a time trying all her different moves in her swimming pool in me. Sometimes I feel funny wriggles. Or I might feel some flips. Sometimes after I visited the bathroom, she would be stomping all over my bladder, making me feel like going again.
Last night, when I accidentally bumped my belly into the ktchen counter, it felt hard and painful. I pressed at that spot again and it still felt hard and painful compared to other areas which were generally spongey. I decided to leave it alone and about fifteen minutes later, that spot felt spongey again. Maybe it was her head against the uterus wall or her palms of her hands/feet pushing out as if to say "stop". I hope I didn't bruise her head by poking around at it.
Last night, when I accidentally bumped my belly into the ktchen counter, it felt hard and painful. I pressed at that spot again and it still felt hard and painful compared to other areas which were generally spongey. I decided to leave it alone and about fifteen minutes later, that spot felt spongey again. Maybe it was her head against the uterus wall or her palms of her hands/feet pushing out as if to say "stop". I hope I didn't bruise her head by poking around at it.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
All Baby
In the last month or so, I have suddenly ballooned. Now I stand at a hefty 117lb so that's a weight gain of 24lb (11kg) so far. Sometimes I underestimate myself and get stuck in corners.Today, someone at work was very kind to say that I'm all baby and if she looked at me from the back, she would not be able to tell that I am pregnant (although I am pretty sure my hips are looking like back in the days before I lost weight - like an ant). I still remember the time I accompanied my sister for a prenatal visit and one of the patients there was all stick figure with only a belly. So I aspire to be like her too.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Marching Into the 3rd Trimester
From apprehensiveness to accepting to anticipation of little fifi, this pregnancy journey has been somewhat long and ardous. But now there are only 88 days left. What!!! And I haven't been blogging or had any progress photos of my belly taken (dd: please take note).
When I started working two months ago, I was feeling jittery about people knowing that I'm pregnant and giving me 'the eye' about skipping work soon after I started. I still remember trying to wear clothes that made me look as unpregnant as possible and groaned when I had to put aside a top because my belly started to stick out. All that has now stopped since I'm way too obvious and I feel more comfortable these days wearing clothes that wrap around my tummy and answering questions such as "how are u feeling?"; "when are u due?"; "do u know the sex yet?".
Now the honeymoon second trimester that moms-to-be have been raving about has passed and I am back into the supposed treacherous third. I had a two-hour glucose test and blood test yesterday. The test was no fun at all. They drew my blood before the test, made me drink a bottle of Fanta and drew my blood twice again in intervals of an hour. By the end of it, I was dead hungry from all the fasting.
The results of the glucose test looked fine which means I probably have no gestational diabetes. Phew. But this doesn't mean I should slack on food choices for my final leg. However my blood test showed a higher level of white blood cell count, low red blood cells and low platelets. Uh-oh. I did a bit of research and found out that higher white blood cells could be a sign of infection. That probably explained why I was shivering the night before. I wonder if the obgyn will prescribe me iron supplements for haemoglobin. And I also read that if I continue to have low platelets, they might not be able to administer epidural or have to inject epidural accurately to prevent accidental puncturing. Although epidural is not part of my birth plan, it isn't totally out of my list of options yet. Now I can only wait for my obgyn visit next week to see what the doctor thinks and whether she will make me do another blood test.
Over these past few weeks, fifi has been getting pretty active, particularly before and after mealtimes and also while the classical music is playing in the car (or so I would like to think!). The kicks and somersaults are random and strong, not that I'm complaining. With the start of my third trimester, I hope to be more dilligent with my posts (just like my more frequent doctor visits - fortnightly from now the last month where the visits are weekly).
When I started working two months ago, I was feeling jittery about people knowing that I'm pregnant and giving me 'the eye' about skipping work soon after I started. I still remember trying to wear clothes that made me look as unpregnant as possible and groaned when I had to put aside a top because my belly started to stick out. All that has now stopped since I'm way too obvious and I feel more comfortable these days wearing clothes that wrap around my tummy and answering questions such as "how are u feeling?"; "when are u due?"; "do u know the sex yet?".
Now the honeymoon second trimester that moms-to-be have been raving about has passed and I am back into the supposed treacherous third. I had a two-hour glucose test and blood test yesterday. The test was no fun at all. They drew my blood before the test, made me drink a bottle of Fanta and drew my blood twice again in intervals of an hour. By the end of it, I was dead hungry from all the fasting.
The results of the glucose test looked fine which means I probably have no gestational diabetes. Phew. But this doesn't mean I should slack on food choices for my final leg. However my blood test showed a higher level of white blood cell count, low red blood cells and low platelets. Uh-oh. I did a bit of research and found out that higher white blood cells could be a sign of infection. That probably explained why I was shivering the night before. I wonder if the obgyn will prescribe me iron supplements for haemoglobin. And I also read that if I continue to have low platelets, they might not be able to administer epidural or have to inject epidural accurately to prevent accidental puncturing. Although epidural is not part of my birth plan, it isn't totally out of my list of options yet. Now I can only wait for my obgyn visit next week to see what the doctor thinks and whether she will make me do another blood test.
Over these past few weeks, fifi has been getting pretty active, particularly before and after mealtimes and also while the classical music is playing in the car (or so I would like to think!). The kicks and somersaults are random and strong, not that I'm complaining. With the start of my third trimester, I hope to be more dilligent with my posts (just like my more frequent doctor visits - fortnightly from now the last month where the visits are weekly).
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