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.

RED.

We celebrated Singapore's 50th birthday over the weekend. It was so nice to enjoy a long 4 day weekend but of course it sucks being back at work today.

So, I thought that I didn't really have any cravings since being pregnant but I think there is one craving that has recently snuck up on me : ICE CREAM. First, you need to know that I hate ice cream. I eat it at the very most once a year or once in one and a half years but over this long weekend, I found myself wanting to have an ice cream after a meal. So last night, me and my aunty Heather who is visiting from Perth, had a very decadent chocolate fudge sundae from McDonald's. It was delish. I ate everything! And the day before, I had had 2 scoops of coconut ice cream that came with my red ruby thai dessert. Let's hope this doesn't continue!

I've also developed a new pain that I get right down the centre of my tummy if I bend down too fast and then get up too fast. Experienced it last night while bending down to apply eye drops to my dog Kaiser. Poor little mutt has a small ulcer on the surface of his right eye and so he can't quite open that eye fully. We took him to the vet on 9th August and he has antibiotics, anti inflammatory meds and eye drops which he absolutely loathes. He tries to nip our hands and fingers each time we try applying drops to his eye. I guess it stings upon application. I hope he gets well soon. The vet said he should be alright in 7-10 days time.

I've got my next check up with my gynae this coming Saturday 15 August. I shall record down my total weight gain then. I'm definitely feeling the baby kick and move about every day now. It's slowly becoming more regular and some of his kicks and pokes are starting to feel stronger and harder. Also, it seems the baby has discovered how to jump on my bladder. That sensation, my friends, is not a pleasant one and I've been told that it just keeps getting worse as the weeks roll by and baby gets heavier and stronger. Every time he jumps on my bladder, I rush to the toilet, afraid that I might have leaked.

Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to seeing the baby kicking and wriggling on the ultrasound :)

 

We call him "Squinty" now. Haha.

 

 

 

Aunty Heather & I at Pulau Ubin (8 August 2015)

 

 

 

Almost 24 weeks (9 August 2015)

 

 

Is it a boy or a girl?

When I first found out I was pregnant, I kinda knew that I would not wanna know the sex of my baby. I thought it would be such a lovely, old-fashioned surprise that way. Back when technology wasn't this advanced, parents-to-be had no way of knowing their baby's gender and it was fun because it left people guessing and speculating and you could even have bet going on! That's what I had in mind with our baby. I thought it would be such fun to get everyone to place their bets and then we would divide all the money among those who had guessed correctly. But noooooo. The hubster felt it would be better for us to know so that we could start picking out the baby's name and buying clothes etc.

On 16 June, at my routine doctor's check up at SGH, my gynae asked if I would like to know the baby's sex and I said yes. And he told me that he was 80% sure that we were going to have a BOY! And on the 18th July at our detailed 20 week anomaly scan, the sonographer and our gynaecologist confirmed that I was carrying a boy. Both of us were really happy. Then again, we would have been happy with a boy or a girl as long as the baby was healthy. I had read on a few websites that boy babies tend to be born heavier than girl babies. I wonder if there's any truth in that.

Anyways, just thought I'd share some cool and interesting things that I learned about pregnancy and stuff from reading my pregnancy books.


Interesting Pregnancy Facts

1. The sex of a baby is determined by whether the sperm that fertilizes the egg caries the X or Y version of chromosome 23. That actually means that the sex of the baby is determined by the father and not by the mother.

2. Babies can apparently cry in the womb.

3. During pregnancy, a woman's uterus expands to about 500 times its normal size and will shrink back to its pre-pregnancy size by 6 weeks postpartum.

 

4. During pregnancy, a woman's internal organs such as intestines, kidneys and liver get shifted around to make way for the expanding uterus and growing baby. This often causes heartburn and indigestion.

 

5. When pregnant, a woman's body produces up to 50% more blood to cater to the needs of the baby.

 

6. A pregnant woman can expect to gain anywhere from 8-15 kg during pregnancy without having to eat extra or increase their daily caloric intake. This is because the body naturally gains weight due to extra blood, amniotic fluid, the weight of the baby, the weight of the placenta, the weight of the enlarged uterus, water retention and maternal fat stores which are used for breastfeeding.

 

7. A woman will lose between 5-8 kg immediately after giving birth after losing the weight of the baby, placenta, blood and amniotic fluid.

 

8. A woman's breasts can increase up to 3 cup sizes during pregnancy in preparation for breastfeeding.

 

9. A woman's heart has to work harder during pregnancy due to the 40-50% increase in blood supply.

 

10. Babies heads usually turn and descend into the birth canal during weeks 34-37 to prepare for labour and birth.

 

11. Babies get hiccups while in utero and their mothers are able to feel this sensation.

 

12. Women with an anterior placenta tend to feel baby's kicks and movements slightly later than women with posterior placentas. This is because the placenta acts as a cushion between baby and stomach. However, by week 28, most women will be able to feel strong baby movements regardless of the position of the placenta.

 

13. Most miscarriages occur in the first trimester during weeks 0-13.

 

14. Babies can hear sounds and recognize their mother's voice by week 22. They can also get startled by external noises.

 

15. The task of producing breast milk requires a lot of energy and can burn up to 500 calories per day!

 

16. Recent studies have shown that pregnancy stretch marks are mainly hereditary. If your mother had stretch marks while pregnant, chances are you'll get them too.

 

17. After a baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut, an umbilical stump remains and usually drops off on its own after two weeks.

 

Our first ultrasound

We had our first check up on the 18th April at Singapore General Hospital and we also had our first ultrasound to confirm that there was a viable pregnancy and a heartbeat from the baby too. Everything looked good. We met our gynae for the first time that day. Dr Tan Hak Koon is a man of little words and doesn't say much unless there is something to talk about. So he reassured us that all was good with the baby and that I was about 6 weeks pregnant that day based on the size of the foetus. Here are the ultrasound pictures at 10 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks. They usually tell you it's best to wait till you have passed your first trimester (week 1-13) before you announce your pregnancy. This is because most miscarriages occur during this time and it is regarded as the most crucial trimester.

 

Ultrasound at 10 weeks (13th May 2015)

 

 

 

Ultrasound at 12 weeks (26th May 2015)

 

 

Ultrasound at 16 weeks (16th June 2015)

 

 

 

Here I am at about 17 weeks sporting a tiny baby bump (June 2015)

 

 

Being Asian and living in an Asian country, there was certainly no shortage of pregnancy advice that came my way. Prior to being pregnant, I had heard of some of the things that you should and shouldn't do when you are pregnant. I had heard that a pregnant woman shouldn't bend down, shouldn't lift heavy things, shouldn't go out late at night, shouldn't eat raw foods for fear of food poisoning etc etc. The list goes on and on. And then when I finally started telling people I was pregnant, I heard all sorts of strange advice from women young and old who had children. Here are just some of the things I had been advised to do and advised against. I swear we have so many superstitions and traditional beliefs in our Asian society. It's pretty crazy! 

Pregnant women should ...

 

 

1. Not drink cold drinks because you should keep your womb as warm as possible.

2. Not bend down where possible.

3. Drink a lot of milk to provide the growing foetus with calcium.

4. Not eat pineapple, watermelon, bananas and other "cooling" fruits. This apparently will cause your baby to be born with a lot of phlegm.

5. Abstain from sex for the entire duration of pregnancy.

6. Not sleep on their backs at night but on their sides instead.

7. Eat for two.

8. Not bathe with cold water.

9. Not go for Brazilian waxing.

10. Hang pictures of beautiful babies in their homes and stare at them every day if they want a handsome/pretty baby.

11. Not watch horror movies as the baby will feed off the mother's emotions and be affected if she gets a shock or is startled.

12. Not rub their belly affectionately or else the baby will turn out to be spoiled and needy.

13. Only wear baggy or loose clothes lest the baby is suffocated.

14. Drink plenty of milk every day if they would like a fair skinned baby.

 

I told you some of the advice I got was weird!

 

Since we were both first time parents, the hubster and I decided that we ought to go out and buy ourselves a couple of baby books for dummies like ourselves. So we went to Kinokuniya one fine Saturday morning and bought two books for ourselves. In the following weels, I also saw some other pregnancy and parenting books which I thought might come in handy so I bought them and excitedly rushed home to start reading. I still read these books till today and as I write this blog entry, I am into my 24th week of pregnancy aka 6 months.

 

 

I don't think our dog Kaiser enjoys this book as much as I.

 

 

 

I don't know much about being pregnant and having babies so ...

 

 

 

19 weeks (July 2015)

 

 

 

19 + weeks (July 2015)

 

 

 

21 Weeks.

 

 

My EDD (estimated due date) is slated for 8th December 2015. I would be exactly 40 weeks pregnant then but doctors say that a baby is considered full term from week 37 onwards and babies can be delivered any time after that as their lungs are fully developed by this time. It's a scary thought, huh? The thought of you going about your day as usual and then suddenly you feel a gush of water streaming down between your legs while you're in public! But maybe that only happens in Hollywood movies for a more dramatic effect? I have no idea. My gynae told me that I would either feel contractions coming on or I might feel a sudden release of water in the form of a trickle or a gush. Either way, I'm getting my hospital bags packed & ready by week 34. Just in case the little one decides to come early.


Weight gain as of 18th July - 4.5 kg
Cravings - None.

 

Hello world. I'm pregnant!

Hey there! It's Melissa here and I'm new to blogging. I decided to set up this blog to chronicle my on going pregnancy. I figured that one fine day, I might wake up and realize that I miss being pregnant and even miss the discomforts that come along with it. Ever since I found out that I was pregnant, I have been talking to lots of women around me who are around my age, give or take, who have kids and almost all of them have told me that they missed the feeling of being pregnant at some point in their lives and so a few of them suggested that I write my memorable experiences in a diary or blog about it as well as take loads of photos each month. And so this is how this blog came about!

So, I'll start things off by keeping the story short. I got married in February 2015 and I found out I was pregnant on the 31st March which also happens to be my late grandfather's birthday. I think I was about 4 weeks pregnant then.

Just thought I'd put up two pre-pregnancy pictures of myself so I'll remember how I looked like just weeks before I was pregnant. This picture was taken on my wedding day in February.

And a pic taken just a few days after my wedding (seen here with my aunty Heather and cousin James)

 

 

 

Anyways, I shall not get into the story of how I eventually told my husband that I was expecting but let's just say that we were both really surprised upon finding out! But yes, I told him on the evening of 31st March 2015 with a wrapped up pregnancy test kit that screamed the words "PREGNANT" in the results window. (Peeing on a stick isn't all that fun, FYI)

 

Before I got pregnant, I was roughly 50 kg. I shall be keeping track of my pregnancy weight gain in this blog too as well as any weird cravings I may have and all the unpleasant things that unfortunately come bundled with pregnancy. Oh and one thing I didn't know was that an average human pregnancy lasts for about 40 weeks aka 10 months not 9. This is because they add an extra few weeks because there is just no way doctors can pin point the exact date of conception. That said, here's to a relatively pleasant 40 weeks or so of pregnancy and a smooth (and hopefully pain-free) delivery. Epidural shall be the name of my new best friend. Sorry Shu!