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.