37th week checkup

Or shall I say 36 weeks + checkup.

Went to see Dr Siti, for the first weekly checkup before labor starts. That morning when I was gonna go take my urine for testing, Braxton Hicks attacked. This is usual for me. I always get this in the morning after a long drive to office.

When it was my turn to see Dr Siti, I guess she sensed that I was not very in comfortable condition. She asked if I was in pain, I told her it's normal in the morning. She told me to lie down for scanning. Baby still not engaged, although the position was ever ready to be engaged, head down, water enough, weighing 2.9kg.

I actually did not realise what else did the doctor do. I forgot if she had explained what she was doing, but she was definitely doing something down there at the vagina. After we hear baby's heartbeat from the doppler, she inserted something in the vagina, and took korek something like taking a sample or something, I don't know. Then, she inserted something very deep into the vagina. Not sure with her fingers or with something very long, but I thought it was a very deep insert, not painful, but a bit uncomfortable I would say.

She looked at me in surprise "You are 3cm open!!!" Whaaaat? I didnt know how to react, I asked "Are you serious, doctor?" Of course she was serious! She told me she will give me MC for a week until the next checkup. Two things in my mind:

1. I am happy that my leave already starts unexpectedly, as she was gonna give me MC until I deliver.
2. I have to wait another week for the cervix to open more than 3 cm???? That's loonnggg!!!

I kinda panicked, not sure what to expect. I was told that within this week, I should go straight to the labour ward if my water break or I have frequent contraction like every 10 minutes. She told me to go home and rest.

We went to Giant nearby our house, to buy last minute things like baby's toileterries, nursing bra, disposable panties and maternity pads. When we got home, I found that I was bleeding macam period. We were panicked at first. consulted few people including our doctor friend, mostly said the bleeding may have caused  by the vagina insert earlier (sorry, I don't know what's the medical term used for this. Malay would say, doktor seluk).

After wash, no more period like discharge, only stains. The next morning, after breakfast, I did some clearing up at the guest room where i am gonna stay for my confinement period. Later, I realised I was bleeding again. Hubby called the labour room and spoke to the midwife. She said the same thing, only go to the hospital when my water burst or when there are frequent contraction. The blood is normal unless it comes out non-stop like menses, then, it is something to be alarmed about.

So for now...I am just relaxing at home. It has been 2 days, I dont know if the cervix is still only 3cm open. But I don't feel any contraction, now. Not even the normal Braxton Hicks I used to get in office.

I need to do some work at home. Be a bit more active, maybe walk a bit in the evening, make some love at night, hahah! See if there is any progress tomorrow. Based on my research on real life stories, from 3cm to open up to 4-5cm, sometimes, it could take up to 2 weeks.

Argghh... ni baru 2 days!

Cepat lah sakit....

Newborn Checklist

30 days to go, let's see what is still pending.

Newborn apparel
1. Bodysuits - I have just bought 5pieces shortsleeves and 5 sleepsuits from Mothercare. Not sure how big my baby is going to be and how fast my baby is going to grow. Buy 5 pieces first, tak cukup nanti, get hubby to run and buy more.
2. Infant cap, Mittens and Booties - I have only got 2 sets from BBstore. Need to buy more. At least 5-6 sets more.
3. Kain bedung - I have got 3 pieces from BBstore. Ira is going to give me more. So I guess, I dont have to buy anymore extra. Nak balut baby tak lama pun.
4. Bengkung baby - I have 3 sets from BBstore, 3 sets from Pigeon and 3 sets from Anakku. Cukup la kottt!

Bottle Feeding
1. Feeding Bottles, Pacifier, Bottle Brush - I bought 1 starterpack from The First Year that has 2 small bottles, 2 medium bottles, with pacifier and bottle brush.
2. Formula Milk Dispenser - I dont need this yet. InsyaAllah as I plan to breastfeed all the way. Moga-moga susu banyak tak perlu la fikir pasal formula milk just yet.
3. Steriliser - I dont really think that I am gonna buy this. To me, maybe it is not necessary. I can go back to basic macam zaman mak-mak kita dulu. Rendam je dgn air panas mendidih. InsyaAllah, hilang jugak bacteria. Anyway Zetty said she was gonna give lent me hers. So, a bonus point if I get this from her.
4. Bottles Drying Rack - I got this one from BBstore, Munchkin brand.
5. Warmer - Normally warmer jual sekali dengan steriliser. But I got as warmer set that was sold separately. Included in the set, is warmer yang boleh bawak travel jugak. I can also use this warmer to sterilise puting botol.
6. Bib - Sadly, I have only got 3 sets. I need to get more of this.

Breast Feeding
1. Breastpad - I got a set of 6 pieces washable pads from BBstore. But according to some friends, it is also better to get the disposable sets. I need to look for it. 6 pieces is definitely not enough.
2. Nipple cream, nipple protector - I have not bought these yet, not sure if I am gonna need these. Bila perlu nanti baru run kejap kat farmasi terdekat to buy. I dont like to buy things unnecessarily.
3. Breastpump - After a lot consideration, I finally bought Medela Swing. My working environment does not allow me to pump sambil buat kerja lain (multitask), so no point of buying the Freestyle Medela.
4. Breast milk storage container - Bought the disposable packs from BBstore. So I can write down the dates of pumping to note which one shall I use first.
5. Nursing Pillow - Got one from my bffs for my babyshower

Bath and Grooming
1. Bath tub - Bought yang boleh guna for newborn up to toddler. Included inside is anti-slip.
2. Bath Seat - Bought one from Ikea.
3. Water Temperature Indicator - I dont know if I need this. But I have not gotten any.
4. Hooded Bath Towels - Belum beli, caya tak??? Haduihh. I need to look for it desperately.
5. Toiletries and skin care products - Blom beli. I am looking at Johnson's brand. Kinda trusted brand for me. Sebab mummy pun still guna Johnson's :)
6. Grooming set - Hanya sudah beli ketip kuku. Need to look for comb, brush and scissors.
7. Thermometer - Beli satu from Pigeon, then tetiba nampak Omron brand, beli jugak. So now I have 2.

Sleeptime
1. Baby cot - Beli the one yang can turn into baby bed later. Bought from Ikea together with its mattress.
2. Playpen - Bffs bought this one for me. I need another cot to be put downstairs while I am away at work, so maid can monitor baby placed in this pplaypen. Tak payah nak bawak turun cot. I cant put baby on the floor, coz I have cats at home.
3. Crib set (Cot bumpers, comforter) - Baru ada satu set yellow color for the cot. I need to get another white crib set supaya easy to match with other sheet colors.
4. Bedding set - Pillow and bolster sudah beli satu set for the cot. ShoAnne said she is going to give another set, I shall put them in my playpen. I already have 2 sets of sarung bantal and fitted sheet. I need to get at least 2 more sets for my playpen.
5. Waterproof Bed pads - I have one rubber pad, I guess it is enough to serve the same purpose.

Travel/Baby Gear
1. Car seat - Have not gotten this one. Haven't been surveying any. Might not need it yet during pantang. So decided to buy this later.
2. Stroller - Pun belum beli. But I have decided on which one to buy. So will get this one later.
3. Baby carrier - Bought 4 position baby carrier (also for newborn) from Mothercare.
4. Diaper bag - Hubby bought one from Nike. Konon dowan pink pink kaler, coz he said he was gonna carry the bag, he wants something macho. So... a sports brand. Taktau la boleh guna ke tak. We'll see.
5. Changing mat - Beli satu tilam kecik untuk changing on the floor. Not necessary for changing table.

For mama
1. Nursing bra - belum beli
2. Disposable panties - belum beli
3. maternity pads - belum beli

Teruk jugak la my preparation for the delivery. Hospital bag pon tak siap lagi. OK. Will try to settle at least half of these if not everything by this weekend. C'mon mama!!!



  

3D/4D scan at Umra Hospital

If you google for 3D scan reviews in the internet, you will get a lot of Umra results. Yes, one of the famous place to do your 3D scan...mainly I think because it is cheap to do over there. Even my doctor from SDMC suggest to do the scan at Umra because SDMC charges are from RM350 to RM450. At Umra, last time used to be only RM100.

At 32 weeks of pregnancy, I made an appointment with the hospital to do my scan. First impression when talking to the guy on the phone was very positive. He was friendly and nice. One good thing about this place is, you can make night/weekend appointments unlike SDMC. My appointment was on a Friday night at 8.15pm.

I reached there at 8.20pm, registered myself, and was called for the normal urine test, weight recording etc.. That was fast. And the nurses were so friendly and polite. Then I waited for my name to be called. 

NO ONE called for me from 8.30 pm until 10pm. Dah la semua orang yang duduk at the waiting area already being called, people came after me also being called. All 'Puan' was being called except Puan Izrin. Maybe I was the only one who came for scanning, yang lain semua memang patient came for checkup. So they give priority to their patients. Either that, or maybe these people have made earlier appointment but came late sebab hujan. Whatever it is, tak fair langsung. People should make appointment to secure a place for consultation, but pukul berapa jumpa doctor should be based on FIRST COME FIRST SERVE basis. Like how they do it in SDMC. 

At 10pm, I started to get agitated, dah la lapar, I went to see the nurse and asked why isn't my name being called? I am the last one now in the waiting room. Dont tell me, to come again because you are closing your clinic. She said she will check and then straight away she called my name. Hah, apa yang susah I seriously cannot comprehend these kinda thing.

Dalam keadaan marah dan lapar, masa scanning started, that makcik (the examiner) started to show me parts of the baby body on 2D vision.

She was so big tengok dalam screen. So the makcik told me the position of the baby, baby's kidney functioning, jumlah air ketuban, and all that, basically all was good, alhamdulillah... She did quite a detailed scanning, tapi sbb everything was good, tak ingat apa yang dia cakap. Sebab terlalu khayal tengok baby.

The she tried to change to 3D vision. She said the baby was already too big at that time, her face was so close to the uri. Baby was facing inside n melekat kat uri, so was a bit difficult to see her face very clearly. The best that she could capture was this.

She said the best time to come for 3D scan is between 26 to 30 weeks. More than 30 weeks is a gamble like mine. There are probabilities that you cannot see the baby's face at all. Tapi Alhamdulillah, dapat jugak tengok at 32 weeks. Because at 32 weeks, everything has fully developed, the features can be seen clearly macam baby betul. Everytime I see this picture rasa nak gigit hidung dia.

After scanning, I was called in for doctor's consultation. Doctor tu punya la promote untuk beranak dekat Umra, sebab murah la, dekat dengan my house la, and kutuk SDMC for being expensive and bad location. Boleh tak? Hello, I go for the doctor, not for the hospital. I come here for the scanning and I PAY for it, bukan free, so just give me the service that I ask for. You don't have to kutuk the place that I choose to give birth at. 

And guess what? Hubby had to pay RM160 for the scan and consultation, not RM120 seperti yang dihebahkan di blog blog orang lain. Dalam pada itu, kata plak air kencing kotor, bagi antibiotik and ubat apa ntah lagi. Total up to RM200. Tak kuasa nak gaduh, hari dah lewat malam, malas nak query macam-macam. Bayar aje la, and go. Hubby didnt let me take the antibiotik. So bila kat rumah, seronok dok tengok gambar baby je la. Out of 30 pictures and 3 videos saved in a cd, ini dua je yang clear. 

So I dont know whether to blame myself for doing the scan lambat, or to blame them for not scanning properly to get the best shot. 

Apa pon, syukur alhamdulillah.. semua sihat and can't wait for my next check up with Doctor Siti. 

Pregnancy 3rd month and 2nd Trimester

Oh, it takes me 2 months to update my pregnancy stories from the last entry. I have been very busy not only with work but also keeping up with my body changes.

I went for my 3rd checkup in June 2012. From a piece of meat, literally seketul daging in my womb, it has grown to be in shape.

I could see the shape of the head, and back bone. I believe from this picture it was facing down. My third month of pregnancy was nothing much different from the second month. All the symptoms were still there, maybe was at my worst.

I had terrible back pain, nausea all the time, I could not smell food, I would feel loya and nak muntah. Tapi tak muntah pun, but believe me, you'd feel better if you can vomit it out. Lower abdominal was still very much in pain. Fatigue? Jangan cakap lah... If you haven't gone through this stage, you'd never be able to imagine the level of fatigueness a pregnant woman can get.

4th checkup, was exactly 4 weeks later.

  
The position of the baby was still the same with the previous position we managed to capture above. When it heard us talking, it turned its head n faced us. It was soo amazing that she could hear us. And Dr Siti managed to capture its face.

At this stage most people able to know the gender of the baby. But I couldn't. Maybe because of its position. And MAYBE because it's a girl. Although a lot of people guessed my baby was a boy, I strongly believe it was a girl. Kata hati seorang ibu lah konon. Especially when we couldnt tell the gender at this stage, you can easily know if it's a boy, because it's very easy to see the tootsie!

In a blink of an eye, I realised that I was already in my 2nd trimester. Suddenly, all the pregnancy symptoms were gone and I didnt even realise it.

The fifth checkup was in the fifth month of pregnancy. Everything was good, my protein, sugar etc.. was great, alhamdulillah. Berat badan je tak best. Tapi takpe lah..hopefully sementara ni aje.

Unfortunately, during my visit this time, Dr Siti got a call from the labour room, I guess she was in hurry, she forgot to save my baby's picture from the scan. Tapi from the scan, she guessed that the baby was a girl. A-HAA!! But she only gave 98% confidence level that it was a girl. Well, when my mom was pregnant with my brother, doctor said 120% it was a girl, bila beranak turned out to be a boy. So 2% of chances it could be a boy was still high to me. It doesn't matter, anyway.

At 5th month baru rasa ada flutters in my tummy, mom said that's the movement of the baby. Rasa macam ada butterfly in tummy. Sometimes, I got confused whether it was the baby or it was just me being hungry.

My 6th checkup was done after more than a month. Probably between my 6th and 7th month of pregnancy.

THIS was the best 2D scan picture I have ever had. Dr Siti confirmed again that she was a girl because this time she could she her tootsie very clearly. She has turned her face from right to left side. Her eyes n mouth were open, Dr said she was a chubby baby. Oh my God. This photo really melts my heart. EVERYTIME! Her round eyes, her round face, her round body, makes my husband calls her Bulat-Bulat.

At this stage, I could feel her kicking already. The first 2 weeks she started kicking, only I could feel the amazing feeling. Hubby still could not feel it, until going to the 7th month. Seronok rasa sebab all these while, I only enjoyed it alone, and I could not prove how enjoyable it has been. Now that hubby could feel it too, rasa best. Tapi its too late for him, because as he first feel her kicking, I could already SEE her move from one side to another side in my belly.

Oh, second trimester came and go too fast. Sekejap je rasa seronok. The third trimester already coming, and the feeling I felt in the first trimester is haunting me again, only worse this time, because of the bulging belly and the heavy body to carry together with you.

3 bulan je lagi!!! InsyaAllah, I can go through this.

Raya 21 - 2012

Dah 21 hari raya, baru la berkesempatan nak jumpa my bffs. Dah la bulan puasa tak jumpa langsung. But anyway, Dyla's open house memang la rumah yang ditunggu setiap tahun.

From left: ShoN, Ira, me, Dini, Myra, Dyla, Nad and Asma

So happy to meet everyone. Especially the moms to be! I call ourselves, the dragon mummies. That's because all of us who are pregnant will be delivering in the year of dragon, insyaAllah. Except for Dini though. Not sure when is her due date. She will be dragon mom also if she delivers before 10th Feb 2013.

Macam mana pun, so very happy to meet up and sharing checkup experiences.

 I look like I'm gonna pop real soon don't I? Haihh tapi hakikatnya, lambat lagi.. heheh!!

Can't wait for next meet up with the girls, hopefully..very soon.

Pregnancy 2nd month

In the previous entry, I talked about discovering the pregnancy. In the first checkup which was about 5 weeks then, we couldn't see anything from the scanner screen. Just a black hole. Dr Siti told me to come again in 3 weeks time to see the progress. You'd be surprise to see how the tiny little dot, has grown into a piece of living meat in just 3 weeks time.

From the screen, I could see the meat moving, Dr said it was the heartbeat. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was still only half convinced that I was pregnant. Seeing that thing moving, I thought it was just in my mind. Probably it moved because I was breathing.

But still, I went back home feeling so happy that finally I see something in my womb. The scanner cannot be lying, right.

At 8 weeks, my tummy was already looking like 16 weeks. Probably because I was bloating. Berangin satu badan.

This is the time where everybody will take extra careful of you. Because you are so fragile at this point in time. Takut keguguran. Makan pun jaga. Nenas, kicap, kopi were the BIG NO! Although Dr said there is no restrictions. Semua akan pesan, no heavy lifting, no running, and no heavy work. But for some of us who are wondering if you can still have sex with your husband, the answer that Dr gave was "yes, you can, but stop when you bleed". Of course it wasn't me who asked the Dr. Adalah orang lain yang tanya :p

Alhamdulillah, I did not have bad morning sickness. The most is rasa mual, macam nak muntah, tapi tak muntah-muntah. Feeling sick and fatigue all the time. I thought it was end of the world already. But when I got to know some of my other friends were put to bed rest for weeks, taking up MCs, duduk sebelah jamban to get ready to vomit anytime, consuming pain killers, I felt so thankful and syukur to Allah that I didnt have to go through all that. Well, not in this pregnancy la at least. Different pregnancy kan different experience.

In this period, I also had back pain and lower abdominal pain that made me difficult to walk and uncomfortable when I sleep. When I want to get up from my seat, I had to stand still for few seconds just so my muscle tak terkejut bila terus berjalan. And bila jalan, yaAllah, macam orang dah sarat. Sebab sakit sangat dekat lower abdominal tu. Orang cakap, sakit tu normal. Sebab baby nak mengembang and membesar. So I didnt worry too much.

When you are at this stage, then you realise kenapa orang pregnant selalu moody. Sebab menahan sakit badan yang teramat sangat and rasa indescribable fatigue. Just like why women are moody during their menses. sebab nak tahan sakit perut period. But of course, some lucky ladies, do not have to go through all these. Tapi, only when you go through these la, you realise betapa besarnya jasa ibu. For going through all these, but still not giving up. You'll appreciate your mother more!

Bila dah macam ni, of course I couldn't wait for my next checkup!

 

Pregnancy 1st month

I discovered something was baking in the oven some time in late April. Then, I was 2 months late. But I didn't put much hope in it because I had an irregular menstrual cycle. And the fact that I checked using home kit test in March, the negative result did not surprise me at all.

In April, I realised something was very wrong with my body. My tummy bloated like different kind of bloat. I asked my husband if he thinks that it was something to do with growth or fibroid or anything like that. He just said " No laaaa, maybe you're just getting fatter" blergghhh!! I bought another pregnancy home kit. Hoping for a miracle. Hoping it was positive. Because if it didnt turn out positive, there was a chance of fibroid or growth. Seriously, the bloat is very diffierent kind of bloat. I know la my own body. Boo my husband! hehe

I tested. It was positive. I couldnt believe my eyes. I asked my husband and my mom if the result shown meant I was pregnant. None of them actually know. Mom has never used pregnancy home kit before. So she herself was not confident. I asked few friends, none of them gave positive remark, because they didnt want to give me false hope. 

I bought two more pregnancy home kit, different brands and tested at different time. 

All showed positive results. And one of them, ClearBlue (supposedly the most reliable one) actually displayed 3+ on the screen, and according to the instruction, it meant 3 weeks plus. I read the instructions over and over again, waiting for time to go see the doctor for confirmation.

I made an appointment with a very famous obgyn in Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SDMC), Dr Siti on 3 May 2012.

She did a scan, and she said she could only see a sac. But no baby. But of course she didnt say it like that. I would have cried my heart out if she had said "No baby" to my face! She said it in the most comforting way, I cannot describe.

Then she inserted something in the vagina, and she said "that's the baby, it is at the right position" showing me from the screen. But honestly I could not see anything. The thing that she called baby. I couldnt see it. I could only see this little black sac. But i fell in love with the black hole already.

Alhamdulillah, it is something miracle to me. Because of my medical history, my irregular cycle, and all the doctors that I went for consultation with told me that I will have difficulty in getting pregnant unless I seek medical help. But I gave myself 1 year to try naturally, and syukur, at 8 months of marriage, Dr Siti confirmed I was 5 weeks pregnant.

But at this point in time, up to my second checkup, I still could not believe I was pregnant. Everything was like a dream. And even in reality, I was only 50% sure that I was actually pregnant.

Patiently waited for the second checkup.