In My Belly

Dear Sunshine,

We got word from our doctor today that your head is engaged now. That means you’re raring to go out into this world really soon! Daddy and I were given options to either deliver you on the 17th or the 20th. We both chose the 20th to be a more fitting birth date for you. We still have some more things to arrange, purchase and organize before you finally come out and also, Lola Nanay will be here by the 20th.

Your heartbeat continues to be strong as we heard it for about 30 minutes in the doctor’s clinic this morning. You continue to be very active in mommy’s tummy and I pity you coz I know there’s not much space for you to play anymore. Don’t worry, once you’re out, you’ll have all the space that you need!

Here’s daddy during our pre-natal class last Saturday. You should know how much Daddy loves you. He is always looking forward to attend these classes. He wants to make sure that he learns how to hold you, change your nappies, cradle you and a lot more. (Not to mention..) Daddy has been very patient with Mommy, too. He really loves us both and I hope you’d be grateful for that someday. Look at how serious Daddy was during the class. He’s listening intently to Mrs Wong on how to help you burp after a bottle feed.

xoxoxo,
Mommy

For today’s check-up, baby’s heartbeat was monitored for about 30 minutes. Hubs and I were sent to a small room in the clinic, I lied down and gadgets were tied around my waist. We heard a very active heartbeat and some movements from her, too. Doctor’s interpretation of the CTG was good, she said baby has been really active (I couldn’t agree more!!). We were also told that baby’s ‘dropping’ is progressing and she said it won’t be for long before real labor kicks in. I also got my Group B streptococci (GBS) test result and it was negative.

Our doctor might have noticed that I looked tired compared to the past week and it’s due to lack of sleep. Sunshine has been so active lately at night and it takes much rubbing (and pleading) before I could settle down to sleep. But of course it is a good thing that she is active. I never had to worry about her because of her constant activity.

That’s our doctor’s parting shot when we had our 35th week check-up last Saturday. In our past appointments, whenever she would greet us with a, “Hi C, Hi R, how are you?” my reply would always be, “Doc, can I deliver today?” Yes friends, I’m on the final stretch and I’m feeling kind of impatient and in more pain than ever. The back pain I’ve been feeling lately is relative to our baby getting heavier as she now weighs approximately 6 pounds!

After my cervix check, which is normal at this stage, doctor announced the best news as yet. She said my cervix is ripening and my pregnancy development is advanced as if I’m on my 37th week and not 35th. Check-ups will be weekly from now on and we’re praying that baby will arrive really soon!

I have finalized my leave plans with my company. I will be off from Nov 13th and will be back by February next year. I can’t wait!!!

My family will start arriving mid November, mother will be here first then the rest will arrive in December. My in-laws are now finalizing their plans to spend the holidays here. Sunshine will be their first grandchild and I’m sure they are as excited as hubs and I are.

Another good news is that our nanny preparations are slowly but surely getting organized. She passed the medical tests, got herself a passport and other important documents. We plan to bring her here before Christmas as we need all the help we can get.

Here’s Sunshine’s latest photo. If you stare closely at the details, you will see her chubby cheeks and cute nose.

Dear Sunshine,

We’re nearing our 8 months, baby. Before we know it, you’ll be out in this world! I couldn’t wait to hold you in my arms, cradle you, kiss you and sing to you. You make mommy and daddy’s sacrifices worth it, even at this early stage.

I pray that you continue to be healthy inside mommy’s tummy. Mommy’s been slacking with milk intake but I’m trying very hard! Hope you’re alright in there. Your kicking and squirming night and day assure us that you are safe and very much alive.

Someday when you get bigger, we’ll have picnics together, we’ll go to malls and shop and eat! You’ll have playmates in school and in church and that would be fun! We will travel with you and take you to many places! Meanwhile, just continue to grow healthy and strong. We will see each other soon.

xxx,

Mommy

During the early stages of pregnancy, I have sort of decided to have a scheduled cesarean section. I was scared of going through labor, scared of the tear and the possibility of going through labor which will later on end with a c-section.

Until my sister and close friends started to talk me out of it and suggested that I should try natural delivery first as the recovery for c-section is much longer (and difficult) than going natural. Within a span of a few weeks, my mind was made up and hubs and I told our doctor today that we want to go for natural delivery first.

With our doctor’s appointment today, we were surprised to know how much baby has gained within a span of a month. Her weight last month was almost 1kg and now baby weighs 1.9kgs! This alarmed our doctor and opened up the possibility of me having a c-section unless baby’s weight stabilizes in the coming weeks. We are scheduled to come back in 2 1/2 weeks to check for diabetes though from the start I declared that we don’t have family history of it.

During the ultrasound, baby continues to be very, very active. She yawned, popped her tongue out and stretched both her arms which didn’t allow for an ultrasound photo to be taken because of her continuous movements.

It somehow saddens me to know that there could be something wrong with my pregnancy. I have to veer away from sweets, which I have come to enjoy this 3rd trimester. No more ice cream sticks, A&W root beer, Swiss chocolates and chocolate donuts. Well, at least until the doctor declares me diabetes-free on our next visit.

I know I’m going to regret not having to document my 18th to 27th week of pregnancy. So many things have happened and I didn’t have the energy to sit down and compose a paragraph or two for this blog.

Every week that my pregnancy progresses is a different experience. Looking back, I’d say the first trimester proved to be the most difficult. The second tri is a lot better as I slowly lost my food aversions, I had more energy to do other things outside work and in some days, I was even able to go out with friends without feeling the blues. However, with my bulging tummy, the challenge was to find the most comfortable sleeping position. There were nights when I logged less than seven hours of sleep because I was still adjusting to sleeping on my left side, at the same time, I would take 2-3 trips to the bathroom in the wee hours of the morning.

Moving to the third tri, I feel less energetic and there are days (specifically during weekends) when sleeping is the only activity I am up to doing. At work, I yawn a lot and I catch myself daydreaming at times. It takes discipline and determination to keep the enthusiasm to work because at this point, I can just count down the days to my delivery day. The upside is, I have more appetite to eat now, I totally lost any spite of food aversion I had. My craving’s back and it’s good because my baby’s development is in full blast now. She needs all the good stuff she can get from what I eat.

I’ve read that you can determine the sleeping/waking pattern of your baby from the third trimester. Since Sunshine has been very ACTIVE lately (night and day), I think hubs and I should brace ourselves for major sleep deprivation when she comes out!

Here’s the latest scan from two Saturday’s ago. During the scan, she popped her tongue out and moved her lips as if tasting something really good. Unfortunately, hubs was busy setting up the camera that he failed to capture the moment but yeah, it’s so cute!

I’m on my 28th week now and today we went for our scheduled hospital tour. We have to decide on which room to book for the delivery. The tour was quick, we walked from the Patients’ Services counter to the birth room, viewed the single, double-bedded rooms, peeked at the VIP or the delivery suite and saw the nursery. We got a tour pack, we got more details as to packages and upgrade costs and right now we are looking at booking a single bedded room. We’re planning to see the deluxe room on our next doctor’s appointment. We weren’t able to view one today because all the deluxe rooms are packed.

It was a good experience. More or less a simulation of where and how hubs and I will be like in less than three months. We had glimpses of dads carrying their new borns, most likely the moms are still recovering and nurses pulling baby carts around.

I’m so looking forward to my D-day. I want to see and hold our Sunshine.

These days, our time outside work is full of baby thoughts, baby planning and baby purchases. From doctor’s check-up last Saturday, we were given ‘assignments’ that we should complete by the next appointment scheduled next month. We should be able to:

1. Submit the name of the pediatrician to our OBGyne.

2. Choose the maternity package that we want. (Hospital room, etc.) We haven’t even scheduled our hospital tour!

3. Decide which delivery method we want. Natural, scheduled caesarean section (CS)? If natural birth, we have to inform our OBGyne on our preferred pain relief (Breathing & relaxation? Nitrous Oxide? Pethidine? Epidural?)

4. Decide whether to breastfeed or not. Inform the doctor of the choice of formula milk if we intend to partial breast-feed.

5. Decide whether to go for pre-natal class. If we intend to have CS delivery, there’s no point in going for pre-natal class to learn breathing techniques, etc.

Aside from these ‘assignments’, we also have to:

1. Clear up the 3rd room which will be the baby’s room. The 2nd room will be for guests coming at the time of my delivery. Our parents will be here and stay for a month and then afterwards will be my in-laws. My sister’s coming, too. When we have settled and only the nanny will be around, will convert the 2nd room to be the nursery and the 3rd room, the nanny’s room. Whew!

2. Assemble the pack n’ play, the bassinet, etc. so that they can ‘breathe’ before baby starts using them.

3. Buy baby cabinet and complete the baby stuff checklist.

4. Finalize the baby’s name!

5. Plan for trip home. Yep, we plan to fly with the baby sometime next year or as soon as the baby can travel (I heard 5th week onwards is a good time.)

6. Get information from hubby’s company on maternity benefit. We can reimburse majority of our expenses (thank God!) from his very family-friendly firm.

7. Get information on Medisave (government reimbursements). Zero knowledge here.

A 1-2 Kick

Driving our way to work the past week, I was jolted by the sudden movements in my tummy. My reaction was, “Uggh, aray!” and that caught hubs attention. When he asked what happened, I said, “I think the baby just kicked me.” Ha-ha. The kicking was kind of strong alright but it was cute. While other pregnant women say they felt butterflies in their stomach or that the baby’s first movements were ticklish, well, mine was certainly not!

But this Saturday morning, I was already half-awake when I felt baby move again, this time, it was much gentler. When hubs woke up, I put his hand in my tummy and we waited til baby made her movements again. And, she did. That was a moment.

The Transformation

My toes look like ginger.
My hips and thighs are much bigger.

My tummy is protruding now.
My boobs are making a show somehow.

My back hurts more at night.
I have to start sleeping on my side.

My hair has grown thicker than ever.
I feel like Diana Ross in her ’70’s album cover.

My face is clearing up from all the reddish bumps.
I’m glad I’m over the 1st-tri hump.

Weeks 10 – 13

This final month of the first trimester is what I consider the ‘most difficult’. Despite the absence of vomitting, I still felt very much nauseous. Except for our bedroom, I disliked staying anywhere else in our own home! I hated going to the kitchen, I felt like my internals will go out with the mere scent of garlic or sauteed onion.

My bitter taste buds was at its peak. I would enjoy the first part of my meal and in a few minutes I would feel the bitterness in my mouth. I veered away from ice cream, soda, chips and vegetables (yes! veggies) because they automatically bring the bitter taste. Mentos dragees has been a constant friend this period, at work or wherever, I would chew one and would lose the akward taste at least for a short while.

Week 14

I started feeling my tummy harden from time to time. My bump has become a bit obvious and I could no longer wear my office pants as they are for I had to use safety pins to close them. I could no longer tuck-in my shirt and felt lousy most of the time, with my shirt or blouse dangling out of my pants. I knew I had to start buying some maternity clothes to deal with my discomfort.

I was so looking forward to move to the 2nd trimester expecting the first tri blues to go away. The bitter taste came and went. My sappy mood swings (triggered usually when at home) slowly picked-up and hubs didn’t have to see his preggy wife in tears at times for no apparent reason. I felt proud and grateful that I never had to take time off from work, that I was still able to meet with friends and enjoy their company.

I told my colleagues that I am on the way! My boss and teammate in UK knew about it on the 6th week but delayed to tell my workmates here in Singapore until I’m over the 1st tri. I received different reactions, some got excited, others thought that I was spilling a joke because they said I don’t look pregnant yet and others were worried when they learned I will be off for 3 months maternity leave! Ha-ha.

Week 15

I started wearing maternity pants and princess cut cotton blouses! I felt insecure the first time with the hipster pants and all, but trust me, it is so comfy! The pants is straight cut, drawstring and doesn’t have the ‘poochie’ that is right smack in your tummy and looks like a balloon. I bought 3 pants and 3 blouses from Maternity House and mixed and matched them with my pre-pregnancy pants and skirts that I could still wear. I got a discount card because of the purchase! Hee.

Week 16

I visited Topshop and Esprit with hubs and bought a few more blouses. They’re not maternity blouses, really, but I can wear them comfortably for work with my growing bump. I’m so thankful that princess cut blouses are very much available. Right now, comfort is of great importance to me more than my look.

Also, I got my appetite back! I can now eat well compared to my 1st tri and I am a better company when dining out with hubs. Before he would eat his food order and finish my portion but not anymore. I am eating veggies again. I just think of taking in whatever is nice to the taste and healthy for the baby.