Pregnancy Hemorrhoids/Piles Is Killing Me - Week 39

Week 39 - 11 September 2012

I'm in Week 39 already and 'Lil Bub is still sitting comfortably in my tummy.
But I'm not so comfortable now.

Starting this week, my hemorrhoids/piles are getting worse, and it is really bothering me. I don't use to have piles. But during this pregnancy, I'm starting to have them because I am carrying baby very low throughout my whole pregnancy.

But when I went to see gynae yesterday, Dr. Eric says 'Lil Bub's head is engaged so low that we can't even see the top of his head in the ultrasound scan. So this means the baby's head is really giving me the pressure down there. The continuous pressure from the baby is pushing everything down, thus pushing those piles out. He assures me they will get better after delivery. Sigh. I certainly hope so.

With the baby's head so low, no wonder it hurts down there when I try to lift my legs, so I had difficulty wearing my pants. And my whole belly is also getting so low that i need to walk with my two feet apart, and so I waddle.

And the scan shows baby is 4.1kg. Omg. But doctor says it is not that accurate, and baby should be about 3.8kg only. And then baby head is still big. When I heard about this, I was like, oh no....can I still push him out?

But the best news of all is that 'Lil Bub finally turned and faces back! Yay!
I'm still 3cm dilated and doctor says my cervix is now as soft as 'tauhu hua', which means I'm like super ready to give birth.

Doctor says there is no need for intervention yet (inducement) because my water level is still good, and there is no high blood pressure or whatsoever. And he said he thinks 'Lil Bub should be coming out this week. Well, he had said that for the past 2 weeks and it isn't happening yet! Lol.

Anyway, if 'Lil Bub is still being stubborn, then I would be admitted next week and intervention will happen. So we will see.

The Waiting Game Really Begins

OK, I am still here, and 'Lil Bub is still inside my tummy. It's Week 38 this week.
So I guess Dr. Eric's prophecy is off.

Anyway, I went back to see him on Monday and he said I'm still about 3cm dilated, and he was surprised that I hold the baby inside me so well.The ultrasound shows that my water level is still good and 'Lil Bub's head is already engaged. However, baby's face is still facing the side, and not facing down yet. My cervix is also very soft and thus is a sign of labour soon.

I'm feeling very puffed up this week. I feel like my belly is going to burst any moment. And I'm carrying the baby so low that it hurts down below. But in order to achieve VBAC, I need to walk more, so I'm still doing lotsa walking, although in the mall. And I still bathe Shern and do lots of squatting. 

Well, will see if 'Lil Bub decides to pop out this week. If not, my next appointment with the doctor is next Monday. :)

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

OMG...It Should Be This Week!

28 August 2012 - 37 weeks preggy and Popping this week

I juz came back from gynae checkup on Monday, and guess what?
Dr. Eric said I'm already 2.5cm dilated!
Gosh...and to think that I'm only 37 weeks - juz right and ripe for a full term labour.

Anyway, Lil Bub is still doing well inside my tummy.
As of today he weighs 3.6kg already. Water level is still good and enough. But baby is not yet facing down.
However, his head is now very low, 30%+ down, which is why I had some pains down there when walking up the stairs or getting up from bed.

So now I'm just waiting for the labour signs - spotting, water bag burst, contractions, etc.
Now that the time is really near and here soon, I'm getting a little nervous. Actually very nervous.

Now my head is doing a checklist:
Hospital bag. Check. Instal Baby cot. Check. Baby Car Seat, Check. Prefolded napkins. Check.

This time around, I'm thinking of getting the Single Room. Compared to 3 years ago during Shern's time, the rates has gone up. This is the Maternity Package rate now at Island Hospital.

Normal Delivery (3 days 2 nights)
	Single Room - RM 3,900.00 2 Bedded Standard - RM 2,600.00
	Caesarian (Elective) Delivery (4 days 3 nights)
	Single Room - RM 7,000.00 2 Bedded Standard - RM 5,300.00

The reason I prefer a Single Room is because I want hubby to stay with me for the night. During Shern's time, I had baby blues/post-partum blues, which part of it was 'coz I was all alone in the hospital during the night. So now I try to do everything I can to avoid this. Haha, but all these comes with $$$, so I'm wondering if it is worth it.

Anyway, so the waiting game begins. Count down from now til end of this week. Tick tock tick tock.

The Evolution of my Pregnant Belly #2

It's all about belly talk these few days. :)
Ok, like what I did while I was carrying Shern, it is time for the Evolution of my Pregnant Belly while carrying 'Lil Bub.

 

                     

My belly started showing obviously about 5-6 mths. At the end of it, I'm like carrying a big watermelon inside my tummy.
It is not easy actually. As you can see, I don't gain a lot of weight throughout my whole pregnancy (only about 9kg until now) and all the weight gain is on my belly. My baby seems to absorb everything I eat! So that gives me a huge weight to carry around and thus I have lower backache.

But on the bright side, it means that it is much easier for me to gain back my pre-pregnancy weight and back to looking good soon, I hope! :)

Belly Art

25 August 2012 - Belly Art - week 36

 

I tried a new thing last Saturday. It's Body Painting but I call it Belly Art. My cousin's friend is venturing into this business so she is looking for pregnant models and I volunteered.
So last Saturday, the talented Goh Lay Kheng came to my place and gave my belly a little make up.

This is the artist doing her work.
My whole belly is rather tight and thus usually rather sensitive when being touched. But surprisingly, I did not feel much of it. She must be very gentle I think.

This is the end results of it all. It is rather difficult to see the whole picture because my belly is rather sharp. This is the best shot of it by us non-professional photographers. Haha.
It's actually a drawing of a cute teddy and some little boy clothings drying on a clothes line.

To zoom into it, this side of my belly shows the dripping teddy and an overall.

The other side shows a bib and a pair of socks!

I love this photo, it shows how big my belly is!

We even went down to our apartment garden for some shots. Lovely greens all around.

When I showed it to Shern, he was very fascinated with the art and said he wants his stomach to have drawing too. He said he wants Aunty Lay Kheng to draw a teddy bear and a train on his stomach for him! ;)

I am very happy to be given this opportunity to have my belly drawn. It's such a cute drawing, and if you know me, I'm not someone who loves cute things. But this is an exception. I love it.
Thanks a lot Lay Kheng!

And Now I Waddle

Week 36 - 20 August 2012

 
I'm now at Week 36 and besides having swollen feet, I now starts to waddle.
If you don't yet know what waddle means, here is the definition from dictionary.com

wad·dle/ˈwädl/

Verb:	Walk with short steps and a clumsy swaying motion.
Noun:	A waddling gait: "I walk with a waddle".

Yes, I now waddle like a duck. Sometimes when I noticed that people are staring at me, I try hard not to waddle, but it is difficult to stand up straight and walk with my two legs close together, and doing all these while carrying a huge watermelon in my tummy.
So I just stop trying so hard and continue to waddle my way into the coffee shops and malls.

22 August 2012

 
And this is how my swollen feet looks like. Much more swollen than just 3 weeks ago.

Swollen Feet @ Week 36 - 22 August 2012

I remembered seeing Shern waddle not too long ago, when he just started learning how to walk. He looked so cute then. I'm sure I'm nowhere as cute as him then. Sigh. 

I am now big enough that people started giving me privileges as a pregnant woman. Just today, I went into hlb to do banking and there are no public toilets around there, and one of the staff then led me to their staff toilets. I was so thankful because I nearly peed in my pants!

This is quite a big deal for I because just a month or so ago, some people still didn't know I am pregnant. Either they didn't look at me properly, or they think I am indeed so fat. Coz a few strangers still thinks I am hubby's girlfriend when we walked into coffee shops! haha.

Or maybe they think I am hubby's waddling pregnant girlfriend! :P

Maternity Portraits#2 - Part 2: Family

This is Part 2: Family of the Maternity Portraits#2. (Click to view Part 1: Big Belly)

We managed to capture some photos when Shern 'decided' to join us for some shots every 5 minutes or so.
Let's start off with a photo of the 3 of us. Ohh, should I say 4 coz there is Lil Bub inside my belly. =)

29 July 2012
Hubby, 32...me, 30...Shern, 37 mths

Cuddling time with Daddy. Look at how Shern stuck out his tongue on the left photo.

A photo of Shern with dearest Pho-pho on the left.
On the right is Shern and his upside-down photos. He kept wanting to do these 'upside-down' poses.

 More upside down poses with us.

Another one.

And lastly, a photo of us 4+1 !

Photo Credits - Chew Win Win / 3Quarters Studio

Maternity Portraits#2 - Part 1: Big Belly

About 2 weeks ago, I had my Maternity Portraits taken.
This time, instead of doing it at home like what we did the first time, we went to Win Win's studio.  

It was not easy this time because now there is Shern. He is like a monkey jumping around. So it was difficult to get him to pose with us. So we just let it be. We just enjoyed ourselves in the studio and did not force Shern to pose here and there.
While we take some individual and couple shots together with the baby, Shern went to the other room and played with Pho-pho. And once a while, he would peep at us in the room and joined us in the photoshoot. So that was when we managed to take some shots with him.

But he was like doing 'now you see, now you don't!' kinda act.
After a couple of shots, he would be gone. And then he would come in again 5 minutes later. ;)

Anyway, taking Maternity Portraits for me is a must. Is something for me to look back on when Lil Bub is no longer inside my belly. ;)

Maternity Portrait - Week 32 -29 July 2012

Love the lighting of this photo. It makes my belly looks so rounded.

Posing with hubby. 

I changed into a long maxi dress. Love this dress, very comfy.
My belly looks much bigger here.

Side views of my belly.

Hubby listening and feeling Lil Bub's kicks and punches

Love this photo of Shern looking into my belly.

A Happy Family of 3 + 1 :=)

We also managed to take some photos of the family, without focusing on my big belly. Look out for more photos in Part 2: Family and Part 3: Shern.

Photo Credits - Chew Win Win / 3Quarters Studio