Friday, July 14, 2006

Can you keep a secret???

Its incredible how fast time flies. I'm already in my 18th week and soon I'm gonna be at the halfway mark of my pregnancy. I haven't had any major incidents Alhamdulillah. The pregnancy is progressing marvelously and I'm quite enjoying this journey. I have been still able to keep my pregnancy under wraps from most people although I suspect it won't be long before I will eventually have to make it known.

Why am I being secretive? Hmmm...Both my hubby and I feel that this is such a private matter that we are not quite willing to share every single detail with the whole world. Weird? Perhaps. No I'm not into scientology despite my fan-atic obsession with Tom Cruise at one point of time. (before he lost his head in love and embarassed himself mercilessly) My colleagues in the office do not know yet. Umi says they are not observant enough or I'd have been found out long ago. I guess I won't lie if they ask me if I'm pregnant point blank but to-date they haven't and I'm not going to announce it as of yet. I guess it helped that I didn't have any tell-tale signs like my other colleagues when they were pregnant, ie. running to the toilet to puke and constant fatigue and falling asleep at their desk. I have been normal albeit a little more quiet nowadays.

2 of my colleagues are pregnant. (yes my office environment seems to be very fertile) One due in September and the other in Feb next year. Looks like one by one somebody is gonna go on maternity leave.

I thought I didn't mind not knowing whether it's going to be a boy or a girl but lately that has been in my thoughts 24/7. It sure will make shopping a little easier. I recently scrutinised the package I signed up for at my O & G and I realised that I have a 3D scan scheduled sometime in this trimester. I so can't wait for it. In the 3D scan we'll be able to see the baby in life form, flesh and all instead of the black and white shadowy figure we are used to every month. The wonders of technology! Take a look here at a sample of a 3d scan. The baby may look "scary" at first because of all the magnifying n refractive qualities of the amniotic fluid but the image of the baby is quite clear.

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Friday, July 07, 2006

Take Your Pick!!

Since the baby insists on keeping his/her gender a mystery everybody has been taking potshots guessing if its a boy or a girl. Hubby had a dream way before I knew I was preggers and he's convinced his dream was a prophecy. But either way we have no exact preference. We'd rather pray that our child is healthy and well. In any case for fun, I found this website that lists old wives' tale about certain symptoms of pregnancy that is said used to determine the gender. Some people swear by it, it seems.

It's a boy if:

You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy - No morning sickness for me alhamdulillah. Just an extreme aversion to milk that made me puke everytime I drank it.

Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute - I don't exactly know this one but judging from the 100 horses galloping sound we hear at every scan, I think it's def more than 140b/min.

You are carrying the extra weight out front - nope my stomach ain't showing much yet.

Your belly looks like a basketball - I think I look like a basketball.

Your areolas have darkened considerably - hhmmmm....

You are carrying low - At the moment my bump is not obvious. I just look like I'm very very fat instead of pregnant.

You are craving salty or sour foods - before pregnancy, I can't stand anything salty or sour so everybody thought I'd like it immensely during pregnancy but so far they've been wrong!

You are craving protein -- meats and cheese

Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy - On the contrary, my whole body is very warm. Hubby yelps whenever I accidentally touch him.

The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy

Your hands are very dry

Your pillow faces north when you sleep - my pillow stays east-west position. Why would it face north?

Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you - This one is certainly so. And he has been having more ailments than me!!

Pregnancy has you looking better than ever - This is what people have been telling me although personally I think I look like Roseanne.

Your urine is bright yellow in color - and foul-smelling too. I suspect its the iron tabs I'm taking.

Your nose is spreading - How does the nose spread? afro type of spread?

You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves in circles - I haven't tried this and dun think I want to.

You are having headaches - I used to have headaches a few occasions int he past month or so. But they've gone away. Thank God!

You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number - 25+3 = 28.

Total Score = 8 / 19

It's a girl if:

You had morning sickness early in pregnancy

Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute

You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear - I think I'm expanding everywhere instead of just the tummy. I hope the expansion is nearing its limit.

Your left breast is larger than your right breast

Your hair develops red highlights - wow I didnt know pregnancy could do that to your hair!

You are carrying high

Your belly looks like a watermelon - I feel like a watermelon!

You are craving sweets - I have always had a sweet tooth. Its not exactly craving coz I dun feel like I'll die if i dun get it. But I love chocs and ice cream.

You are craving fruit

You crave orange juice

You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy

You are moodier than usual during pregnancy - I was a bit moody at the beginning of my pregnancy in the office but that was due to my extreme tiredness. No more of that. Now I'm a cheerpy bird

Your face breaks out more than usual

You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread - I love the heel of the bread!

Your breasts have really blossomed! - let's just say I now know what it feels like to be Pamela Anderson!!

Your pillow faces south when you sleep

Your urine is a dull yellow color

You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves from side to side

You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number

Total Score = 4/19

Does it mean it'll be a boy? I have no idea. I just we'll just have to wait till the doctor tries again next month.

9:45 am | 0 comments

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Monday, July 03, 2006

I met Dracula....and he took my blood....

Last Saturday was easily the worst day of my pregnancy so far. I was scheduled to take the glucose test + blood test at the hospital. So as to have an accurate result I was told to abstain from food and drink from 10pm the previous night. My appointment was at 8.30am but due to our late night watching the World Cup soccer match, we only left the house at 8.30am. That was the start of my disaster day.

My first encounter at the lab involved a simple urine test and a general screening blood test. They took a whole syringe-full of blood from me (and I'm talking about the big fat syringe not the teeny weeny one!) They had a hard time finding my vein and when the nurse asked me which hand is blood extracted from me in the past, I was stumped for a minute and realised I have never given away my blood before!!! You could say I was a blood test virgin!! hee hee Lucky I am not the squemish type.

I was also given a bottle of orange flavoured dextrose beverage to drink in 5 mins. I find it amusing that the nurse actually asked me if I wanted it in room temperature or chilled. I almost answered neither!!! I was filled with great trepidation about the ominous looking bottle but the taste was similiar to an F&N Orange drink with perhaps 40% more sugar content. I was told again and again not to move about while I wait out the two hours before my next blood & urine test was scheduled and not to eat or drink either. But I made my way to my doctor's clinic anyway since it was way more comfy there than the crowded waiting area of the lab.

Meanwhile, I saw my doc for my monthly checkup. I asked her about the discomfort I felt. (refer to earlier entry) Due to the position of the discomfort, the doc thinks its ligament pain instead of the baby. She says I should be able to feel the baby proper in a few weeks time. As usual during scaning the baby is fast asleep and thus not moving much again. (He/She is really taking Hubby's sleeping hobby seriously.) The doc tried to see the gender of the baby but He/She was in a cross legged position. We're not particularly hoping for either gender so we were not overtly disappointed. We'll try again next month.

We brought Umi along for our appointment. Umi was super excited about the visit. She so wanted to see her grandchild on the screen and she got her wish. We wanted to bring both grandmas actually since we knew the doctor was going to try see the gender but my MIL had other plans instead.


The second blood test was even longer than the first. We spend quite some time trying to locate my vein at various positions and finally found one visible (after lots of slapping) at the bank of my left palm. This time was slightly more painful than the first and by this time I was already quite faint from no food for more than 12 hours. I felt even more faint when the nurse took out about 5 vials and asked me to check that all were labelled correctly. They sure took a lot of blood from me!!! As soon as my misery was over (or so I thought) we went to the cafe and I wolfed down a plate of Nasi Lemak. Barely 15 mins later, all of the nasi lemak came out in droves as I "merlion-ed" everything out. Hubby quickly made a pit stop at Burger King, (my absolute favourite restaurant since I got pregnant)and got me a Whopper. Never have I relished a whopper the way I did that day. For the remainder of the day I continued feeling weak and listless. Of course hubby tried to persuade me to rest at home after my ordeal but no way was I going to give up my long awaited shopping trip.

10:06 am | 0 comments

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