My baby, Joshua Christian.

So, at 6am on December 2nd 2015, I went to the toilet and found that I was lightly bleeding. Went back to bed and was rudely awakened by a constant tummy ache around 7am. Seeing as how I had had Braxton Hicks contractions from my 6th month of pregnancy onwards, I couldn't decide if the tummy discomfort I was feeling was labor pains. I decided whether or not to wake the hubster up. As the pain became more intense, I finally decided to wake him and I said to him "I think this is it. I think you need to bring me to the hospital."

So off to SGH we went with my brother in law, Cale, in tow. Once I got there, the nurses had me hooked up to a few machines. One of which was a device that monitored the baby's heart beat. The doctor came in shortly after to confirm that I was in fact in labor and I was told that I was just 2cm dilated. 

Around 12pm, my gynaecologist came in to break my water bag in hopes of speeding up labor. Turns out, my waters were dark brown in color which meant that baby had pooped in utero and his heart beat was dropping because he was in distress. My Gynae decided I had to have an emergency cesarean section in order to save the baby. Reluctantly, I signed the forms, got my epidural and was swiftly whisked off to the very cold OR. 

And at 2.20pm, my life changed forever. Joshua was born and weighed 3.38kg. He was a yucky mess when we first met. Covered in blood and a whitish coat on his skin. But he was mine and he was so beautiful. 

Here is a picture the hubster took of me shortly after our arrival at SGH. 

And here is my gorgeous baby boy just an hour after his birth. 

I fell in love the minute I met you, baby Joshua. And I'm so damn proud to be your mummy (:

38 weeks and still waiting ...

Well, what do you know? As I type this, I'm feeling like a big fat cow at 38 weeks today. The time has come to serve a letter of eviction to my baby. I have never felt this uncomfortable in my life. I'm dealing with constant backaches, plagued by nightly insomnia, needing to pee every 40 minutes or so, extreme exhaustion/lethargy, painful baby movements in utero and oh yeah. To top it off, those Braxton Hicks contractions that I started having at around 28 weeks pregnant have intensified and increased in frequency. I now go as much as 5 to 6 false contractions within a hour and they are painful. Most nights, I find myself awake at 4 or 5 in the morning. The baby keeps me up with his movements, so do the contractions and frequent trips to the toilet. Also, I occasionally experience these sharp shooting pains down my left upper thigh. They take my breath away, I tell you. Oh and a stabbing pain in my cervix and vagina too. Was told my my Gynae that it's because the baby's head is burrowing deep in there. Damn. 

As you probably guessed by now, I'm really quite desperate for this baby to be born. I'm hoping he will be here by 5th December. If not, shall have to be induced at SGH. 

I thought I'd post some very honest belly pics. Baby is well cooked now. He should weighs about 3.1 kg. Will find out at our next checkup this coming Thursday. 

37 weeks! And the countdown begins...

I'm officially 37 weeks pregnant today and baby J is now considered full term! Which simply means that I can expect him to be born any day now! Apparently they say most first babies arrive between weeks 38 and 39. Then again I've also heard of first babies arriving past their due date so I guess its anyone's guess right now.

We went for our gynae check up last Saturday 7th November (36 weeks). Baby J is a healthy 2.5 kg and his head measure about 9cm. He is still very active though his quarters are very tight at the moment. I have gained a total of 13.5 kg in these last 36 weeks of pregnancy. SHIT. Let's hope I'll be able to lose most of this weight by 6 months post-partum. They say breastfeeding really helps women drop the pounds because you burn 500 calories a day simply by your body producing breast milk. My plan is to breastfeed for at least the first 3 months. Our next gynae check up is on Monday. I wonder how heavy the baby weighs now.

As my due date draws closer, I'm starting to get more and more anxious, nervous, frightened and worried. I'm terrified of having to give birth and going through the whole labour process. I know I'll be getting an epidural but it doesn't do much to curb my fears. I just hope for an easy enough delivery and I hope that there won't be any complications with me or the baby. And I hope to give birth to a healthy baby boy. Hopefully he won't have jaundice or colic like I did. My grandmother said that she almost lost her mind when I had colic. I would cry for hours on end and there was nothing that would pacify or soothe me.

I think the hubster and I are more or less prepared for the baby's arrival. We have his clothes washed and folded, we bought a pack of new born diapers and we have bought the other necessities. We do need to fix up the baby car seat in our car though. I keep bugging the hubster to do it but as usual, he wants to leave it to the very last minute. Haha. We have also yet to buy a breast pump for me. That way, I can express breast milk and store them in the fridge. Family members can help with the baby's feeds.

I'm so bloody anxious to meet the little one! Can barely wait to see his face and smell him for the first time. I wonder how yucky he'll look when he's fresh out my womb! All babies look like crap when they're first born. They are slimy, covered in blood and all kinds of gunk, they have white patches all over their body and they're all wrinkled up like a prune. But I know I'm gonna love baby J the instant I meet him. I've been loving him for the past 9 months :) Hell, we share a body! How not to love my tenant! Only thing, this tenant kicks me and keeps me up at ungodly hours with his karate punches. And recently, I experienced stabbing pains down below in my cervix and bladder. That was downright PAINFUL. I thought I felt a tear drop from my eye. It felt like someone was using a small sharp knife down there. It's probably the baby up to no good.

My cousin James will be here really soon too and I'm psyched about his visit! I'll be 38.5 weeks pregnant by then and I hope the baby wouldn't have arrived yet! Would love for James, Stef and Cale to all be around when I go into labour. I could use the moral support just by knowing they were waiting for me outside the delivery room.

Here are some pictures taken on 7 November at Shuli's house as well as a more recent pic taken just yesterday 12 November at Tan Tock Seng Hospital with my beloved grama. She prays every day to be able to meet her first great grand son :)


And so the countdown begins .....

 

7 November (36 weeks)

 

 

 

12 November (almost 37 weeks)

 

 

 

Ouch ouch ouch!!

Oh dear. I am still plagued by bouts of insomnia. Almost every night, falling off to sleep and staying asleep is a struggle. Firstly, I am not joking about this. I promise I shit you not. I literally have to wake up once every hour and a half at night to pee. Yep. That is because my dear baby boy is still using my bladder as his beloved pillow and has been doing so since 12 weeks ago. I honestly don't know how I survive at work each day when I have to be up by 7.30 in the morning. As if these frequent trips to the bathroom aren't annoying enough, I have also been dealing with terrible heartburn/indigestion since about 2 months ago. I make it a point to have dinner as early as possible. Sometimes, that even means having dinner at 6.30 pm because from what I had read, they say you should not eat within 2-3 hours of bedtime. I've been doing everything right it seems, and yet when I lay my head to rest at night, I feel these awful discomforts in my upper chest & a churning sensation going on in my stomach. I have also had the very unpleasant acid reflux. MANY TIMES. YUCK.

If frequent trips to the bathroom and heartburn aren't bad enough, I have one last thing to contend with at night... My baby's ongoing daily karate sessions within my stomach. He punches, he kicks, he twirls, he kicks once more this time right under my rib cage before he smashes his head down right onto my bladder and takes a 10 minute time-out before resuming the game all over again. SIGH! My dearest baby J. Your mama's stomach is already as stretched out as it will go and my entire abdomen has never ever felt tighter and heavier in my entire 31 years of life. How I wished you would just give me some peace and quiet at night, just so I can get some decent sleep even if it's just a mere 5 hours. I'll make a deal with you. You can practice your karate moves all throughout the day if you'll just leave me alone at night. Perhaps I'm not singing to you enough & you're restless in there?

So, here is a short list of some of the things that I shall NOT be missing when I'm no longer a pregnant woman :

- the inability to sit with both your knees touching.
- the extreme lethargy that comes naturally with being pregnant.
- the mood swings that I get from time to time.
- how every small little thing can upset me and make me cry.
- the slight waddle that I've acquired.
- the inability to sleep due to all the many pregnancy discomforts.
- the constant heartburn.
- those nasty Braxton Hicks contractions that I get every single day that are supposedly your body's way of preparing your uterus for actual labor.
- having trouble getting up from the couch or bed.
- those painful kicks and jabs in my stomach from the baby.
- the non-negotiable ban on alcohol.
- the constant aches and pains in my stomach due to tightness & round ligament pains.
- the nausea and morning sickness that I had for the first 3 months of pregnancy.
- the dull back aches.

On a happier note, I spent half of yesterday clearing up the baby's room and making space in the closet for all his clothes, diapers, wet wipes, powder, mitten and booties etc. I am so pleased with myself cos I got it all done on my own! I'm relieved that this is done. Now I just need to get some last few baby items and pack our hospital bag by week 36 (November 7th). We are almost ready for your arrival into this world, baby J!

Almost week 34.

 

 

When the word tired doesn't seem to cut it..

It's Monday the 19th October 2015 as I type this and I am 33 weeks pregnant. We went for our doctor's check up on Saturday and baby boy is now 1.9 kg! This probably explains all the backaches I've been experiencing since about 3 weeks ago. I on the other hand have gained 11 kg so far. It seems I'm gonna be gaining quite a bit of weight these next 3-4 weeks as the baby packs on the pounds. He should be a good 3 kg at least at the time of birth. Saw him on the ultrasound on Saturday and he looks so adorable. He's still in the same position (the head down vertex position) and both doctor and I are hoping he stays that way till the day I pop. I just realized that baby has been in head down position for the last 12 weeks or so. I wonder if he's ever been in breech position at all? Our next check up is in 3 weeks. I'll be 36 weeks by then. Our gynae also told us that I can pop anytime after 20th November.

These last 2 weeks have been becoming increasingly uncomfortable for me. I am plagued by insomnia almost every night. My stomach feels soooooo tight and hard and it hurts when I change positions too quickly and even hurts when I walk sometimes. I really feel like I'm running out of room but baby is still kicking, stretching out all his 4 limbs powerfully, and thrashing about in his cramped quarters. Poor guy must be feeling so uncomfy in there too. It hurts whenever he moves cause he stretches out my already tight stomach skin. And let's not forget that he often keeps me up in the dead of the night when practicing his karate moves under my ribs. The swelling in my feet seems to have gotten slightly better the last few days but I'm pretty sure those fat ankles and puffy feet will soon be back with a vengeance. I'm still trying to do light exercises daily by walking at least 30 minutes just to at least keep my blood circulating and to prevent water/fluids from pooling at my feet by the end of the day.

The hubster also bought me a back massage chair which is pretty darn good. It's supposed to help with lower and higher back aches and pains.

So yeah. I guess what everyone had been telling me was true. They said that towards the end of your pregnancy, you will be longing for the baby to get out so you can be over and done with being pregnant. When I was newly pregnant, I couldn't understand how this could be possible BUT I UNDERSTAND IT VERY WELL NOW. I am tired every day, my feet feel like elephant's feet when I walk, my back aches constantly, I need to pee every 40 minutes on average throughout the day and especially at night which is so disruptive to my sleep, my tummy hurts from time to time due to tightness, I am literally breathless and panting just from climbing up a small flight of stairs and worst of all, I think I have adopted a very slight waddle when I walk now!!! Sweet Abraham of Nebraska!

Anyways, here are some recent belly pics showing my belly growth.

Taken on 18 October 2015 (33 weeks)

 

 

 

15 October 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought you your first pair of pajamas, baby J! I hope it will fit you well.

 

 

 

The only pic of me & the hubster since I've been pregnant. Yes baby J. Your papa is VERY vain & he hates taking pictures.

 

29 Weeks!

It's been quite awhile since my last blog entry. I am now 29 weeks and 3 days. Going into my 30th week of pregnancy! Can't believe how fast time has gone by! I technically have only 10 weeks more to go. It's exciting yet frightening all at the same time. There is still so much to do before the baby gets here. We haven't got anything except for a baby cot and some baby clothes, socks and mittens. The husband decided that we should go "panic shopping" sometime in mid-late October and get everything that we need in one go. Necessary purchases include diapers, baby wet wipes, nappy rash cream, milk bottles, pacifiers, baby bath tub, baby bath towels, pajamas, bottle sterilizer, milk bottle warmer, cotton buds, cotton wool, baby strap-on carrier, car seat, stroller, high-chair and the list goes on.

We went for our doctor's check up yesterday morning and all is well with me and baby. As of yesterday, he weighed approximately 1.2 kg and he was in the birthing position (head down on bladder). This explains why I have been needing to pee every hour or so. No joke, people. No joke. But the doctor said that this was a fantastic position for the baby to be in and we are hoping he stays put till he's ready to greet the world. My tummy has definitely grown in the last 3 weeks and it's going to keep growing till I pop. My tummy is starting to feel itchy at times but I've been resisting all urges to scratch and I try my best to apply moisturizer to my stomach before bedtime. My belly button is half way popped already. That is due to the enlarging uterus putting pressure on my belly.
Next doctor's check up will be at 33 weeks (17 October).

Total weight gain as of 21 September : 9 kg

I am now suffering from slight water retention in my calves and feet. It gets especially bad at the end of the day when I'm home from work. So once I hit home, I prop my feet up and try to get as much rest as I can. The haze has also gotten pretty bad, hitting PSI's of 170 and even 230 on a few occasions. I've bought the N95 mask which I wear on days when it gets bad. The haze is so bad that it is the equivalent of smoking a packet or two of cigarettes.

I also managed to do a quick pregnancy photo shoot with Shuli at her place on 12 September (28 weeks). The pictures turned out lovely! I just love the ideas Shuli has for photo shoot poses! She's a natural! We shall be doing another shoot when I'm about 35-36 weeks. By then, the belly should be about as big as it will get. The line down from my belly button has also darkened (called the linea nigra and caused by pregnancy hormones). And my enemy, heartburn, has returned with a vengeance. It tends to occur at night after dinner so I'm trying to eat lighter meals during dinner time to help with the heartburn. This too I was told is extremely common in pregnant women and will worsen in the last month of pregnancy. Yikes. That's something to look forward to. NOT. Bending down has become an increasingly difficult task for me too these days. My stomach hurts whenever I bend down. Imagine a hard soccer ball in your way when you're trying to bend down to feed your dog. Thankfully, I can still see my toes. FOR NOW.

Here are some pictures from the last 4 weeks or so.

 

Me @ 25 weeks.

 

 

 

Photo shoot with Shuli @ 28 weeks (12 Sept)

 

 

 

29 weeks

 

Daddy's 69th birthday 17 Sept 2015.

 

 

 

My extra loving dog, Kaiser.

 

 

Kicks, twirls and movements!

We went for our monthly check up yesterday at SGH. Baby is doing great and now weighs around 600g! For the past week, I have been feeling pushes, kicks and movements in my bladder area and I have discovered why. My doctor told me that the baby's head is laying on my bladder so there we go. It's putting a lot of pressure on my bladder which explains why I have to wake up to pee like 4 times EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. It's so disruptive to my sleep but nothing I can do.

These days, the baby's kicks are definitely getting much stronger and harder and movements are becoming more frequent too. I still remember the day I first felt him kick me gently. It was 10th July (19 weeks). It was such a strange feeling but I loved it!
As of yesterday, I have gained a total of 6kg in my 24 weeks of pregnancy. The next check up will be in 5 weeks time at 29 weeks. I also had to have a compulsory blood test done to test for hepatitis and HIV. Trouble is, I had not eaten the whole day prior to going for my check up and so when it came time to draw 3 tubes worth of my blood, the nurse couldn't find my veins! And so I was poked and prodded in both my right and left arm till she managed to collect 3 tubes full of blood. Not pleasant. Not pleasant at all.
Note to self : EAT before every doctor's check up cause you never know when they will need to take a blood test from you.

 

The aftermath :(

 

 

Touching her unborn godson!

 

 

15th August (24 weeks)

 

 

17th August 2015.