Finally, I have crossed my first trimester.
There were so much worries and fears inside me during the first trimester as it's the first three months where the most dramatic changes and crucial development occur to the baby. I tried to stay relax and calm, and pray everytime when I feel the fear. And it helps a lot especially when EG has been very supportive and keep comforting me, especially by telling me lots of jokes to make me laugh and feel happy everyday - at least to release my stress inside me.
During our 4th visit to Dr Karen, she already can tell us the gender. I couldn't forget how she put it when she showed us our baby in the ultrasound and telling us.. "See, it looks flattish and nothing-ish..". When I shared with my friends, some of them actually felt offended to have the doctor telling it that way but we were perfectly OK - thought maybe the doctor was just trying to be funny. =) ... And as usual, she moves again and this time, Dr Karen actually commented that she moves extra as compared to other babies! Let's just hope that she won't be too naughty later. =)
Anyway, for me, my first response was slightly disappointed - Chinese traditional thinking kicked in. However, EG has reminded me to guard my emotion so that my baby doesn't feel rejected. Our baby is a gift from God and we should treasure her regardless of the gender. So I brushed off my negative thoughts and started to think of everything that I could do for my little princess. As for EG, he's just excited. He couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear after seeing his little precious one grows well inside me. And I knew he always has something for little girl and when we left the hospital, straight away he told me, "We'll call her Eunice... ".
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Oh Haiz
Our 3rd visit to the gynae might be one of the most memorable one for us.
After the dot with heartbeat blinking on the 2nd visit, we went again on the 11th week for our routine monthly checkup. And this round, to our amaze, we can see our baby in human form. That's really, really amazing.
Dr Karen as explaining to us on our baby's length - from top to the buttock, and showing us baby's little hands, legs, face profile and etc, And SUDDENLY, we thought we saw some movements.
EG asked:"Did the baby just move?" Dr Karen replied:" Yup, see the little hand there? Your baby is touching the face now.. and make a turn, and now your baby is lifting up the hand... " and etc etc.... EG was totally shocked and said, "Wow, the baby moves...." And Dr Karen cooly replied:" Yeah... of course, it's a LIFE ok...! Of course they move!"
After the checkup, EG was floating in cloud-nine for the rest of the few weeks. He kept telling me that our baby was waving at him and said.."Hey Daddy..!" And together, we just couldn't wait for the next few checkups to see our baby again. Sometimes I hope I have an ultrasound machine at home so that I can check what's my baby doing inside there... =)
Besides, this also shows how important it is to have hubby to accompany wife for checkup to see the progress of the baby development together. It's just a joy and miracle to see a life growing inside...
After the dot with heartbeat blinking on the 2nd visit, we went again on the 11th week for our routine monthly checkup. And this round, to our amaze, we can see our baby in human form. That's really, really amazing.
Dr Karen as explaining to us on our baby's length - from top to the buttock, and showing us baby's little hands, legs, face profile and etc, And SUDDENLY, we thought we saw some movements.
EG asked:"Did the baby just move?" Dr Karen replied:" Yup, see the little hand there? Your baby is touching the face now.. and make a turn, and now your baby is lifting up the hand... " and etc etc.... EG was totally shocked and said, "Wow, the baby moves...." And Dr Karen cooly replied:" Yeah... of course, it's a LIFE ok...! Of course they move!"
After the checkup, EG was floating in cloud-nine for the rest of the few weeks. He kept telling me that our baby was waving at him and said.."Hey Daddy..!" And together, we just couldn't wait for the next few checkups to see our baby again. Sometimes I hope I have an ultrasound machine at home so that I can check what's my baby doing inside there... =)
Besides, this also shows how important it is to have hubby to accompany wife for checkup to see the progress of the baby development together. It's just a joy and miracle to see a life growing inside...
Friday, November 6, 2009
The First Sign of A Life
I know they said when the sperm and the ovum meet, it's already called a life.
But for us, when we first saw the heartbeat of our baby - that's when I was finally convinced that I'm pregnant - carrying a life inside me!
Many friends shared how they were touched and teared when they first saw the heartbeat of their little one inside them during Ultrasound. For EG and I, it was another funny experience.
I was supposed to go for my checkup in my 9th week but we went earlier because EG is going for biz trip in US for 3 weeks. We went and visited our gynae again on the 7th week - just 2 weeks after the first visit. I just wanted to make sure that the 7mm dot grew to make sure that's the right dot - with no other expectation as I heard the heartbeat will normally come between the 8th week to 10th week.
So, as usual, when Dr Karen did the ultrasound, and she told me: "OK, your pregnancy has grown to 10mm now... And from the size, you're now 7th week and your EDD should be on 22nd Feb next year..... ". And I was thinking in my heart - Oh.. that's after Chinese New Year - so it'll be either a little tiger or tigress. And she continued... " And see that blinking stuff.. that's your baby's heartbeat.."
DANG....!
It took a while for me to process her words. EG responded faster than me (unusually) and said:"Huh..?! So fast got heartbeat?!"
I... dunno how to explain my feeling. I was very happy of course as I have heard many cases where some couldn't make it as there wasn't any heartbeat or growth after 10th weeks. And I was relieved and just couldn't stop thanking God for His blessing and protection though I have broken all the pantang larang where the older generations have warned me about (we were moving house - and it's quite impossible to not to do all the moving / drilling / nailing / etc).
Only at this point I finally convinced myself that I'm going to be a mummy! =)
But for us, when we first saw the heartbeat of our baby - that's when I was finally convinced that I'm pregnant - carrying a life inside me!
Many friends shared how they were touched and teared when they first saw the heartbeat of their little one inside them during Ultrasound. For EG and I, it was another funny experience.
I was supposed to go for my checkup in my 9th week but we went earlier because EG is going for biz trip in US for 3 weeks. We went and visited our gynae again on the 7th week - just 2 weeks after the first visit. I just wanted to make sure that the 7mm dot grew to make sure that's the right dot - with no other expectation as I heard the heartbeat will normally come between the 8th week to 10th week.
So, as usual, when Dr Karen did the ultrasound, and she told me: "OK, your pregnancy has grown to 10mm now... And from the size, you're now 7th week and your EDD should be on 22nd Feb next year..... ". And I was thinking in my heart - Oh.. that's after Chinese New Year - so it'll be either a little tiger or tigress. And she continued... " And see that blinking stuff.. that's your baby's heartbeat.."
DANG....!
It took a while for me to process her words. EG responded faster than me (unusually) and said:"Huh..?! So fast got heartbeat?!"
I... dunno how to explain my feeling. I was very happy of course as I have heard many cases where some couldn't make it as there wasn't any heartbeat or growth after 10th weeks. And I was relieved and just couldn't stop thanking God for His blessing and protection though I have broken all the pantang larang where the older generations have warned me about (we were moving house - and it's quite impossible to not to do all the moving / drilling / nailing / etc).
Only at this point I finally convinced myself that I'm going to be a mummy! =)
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Changes
Despite all the normal physical changes that I had during pregnancy in early stage, I don't have major problems like what's described in magazines or shown in tv. Except that I was having bad nausea during the first few weeks - and I thought life was meaningless then.
Almost all food didn't taste nice, but I felt constantly hungry. When I was hungry, the nausea feeling got worse, and I feel like eating - nothing! That was really irritating and frustrating. A friend once shared with me that we should enjoy our pregnancy journey as modern people these days only will get pregnant 2 to 3 times in their lifetime - and I thought it was very true. However, at that time, I seriously had no idea how to enjoy my pregnancy.
Thank God for friends. Two friends who are now mummies gave me a good website to track on my pregnancy - Babycenter, and gave me a suggestion to buy ginger biscuits to chew on when I feel nausea. My mum bought organic biscuits, raisins and milk from Miri and spent almost RM20 on postage to send to me to make sure I'm eating something as I told her I was too tired to go buy anything after work, or during weekends. From Babycenter, I read the citrus fruits like oranges and green apples help to improve nausea so I make sure I eat 1 orange and 1 green apple a day.
And thank God, this nightmare is over after a week. And this one week felt like forever...! After that, except for steam fish and vegetables, I was OK with any food that you serve me with. The only thing that I really need in my daily life was sleep. I would head to bed at 10pm and slept all the way till 7am. During weekend, I could sleep for 12 hours.
Physically, I was able to hide my pregnancy up till 4 months. No one in office actually notice that I'm pregnant. But I did notice that my waistline has gotten thicker and I don't look good in any picture anymore as there isn't anymore curvy shape! It was a bit depressing. And I can't fit in my beloved Levi's jeans anymore. All I could wear are those skirts that used to hang on my butt - which later became mini skirts as my tummy grew.
Many asked me how I was doing and my answer is always the same - "Just like normal". In fact, I have never vomitted. Many said I'm really lucky and blessed to have such an easy pregnancy. However, I told EG that it's a blessing from God as He knows that we're all alone in this island, with no family members or relatives nearby who can cook nutritious food for me. I'd need to cook it for myself if I want to eat any nice nutritious food, except if I go back EG's hometown every month. And we might not be able to handle it if I were to have bad morning sickness.
So, I make sure I eat as much as I can to make sure I'm well fed and healthy. My doctor told me not to worry about cholesterol at all as baby will need it to grow - it was like the best news that I have ever heard in my life and since then, I have eggs almost everyday in my meals.
Almost all food didn't taste nice, but I felt constantly hungry. When I was hungry, the nausea feeling got worse, and I feel like eating - nothing! That was really irritating and frustrating. A friend once shared with me that we should enjoy our pregnancy journey as modern people these days only will get pregnant 2 to 3 times in their lifetime - and I thought it was very true. However, at that time, I seriously had no idea how to enjoy my pregnancy.
Thank God for friends. Two friends who are now mummies gave me a good website to track on my pregnancy - Babycenter, and gave me a suggestion to buy ginger biscuits to chew on when I feel nausea. My mum bought organic biscuits, raisins and milk from Miri and spent almost RM20 on postage to send to me to make sure I'm eating something as I told her I was too tired to go buy anything after work, or during weekends. From Babycenter, I read the citrus fruits like oranges and green apples help to improve nausea so I make sure I eat 1 orange and 1 green apple a day.
And thank God, this nightmare is over after a week. And this one week felt like forever...! After that, except for steam fish and vegetables, I was OK with any food that you serve me with. The only thing that I really need in my daily life was sleep. I would head to bed at 10pm and slept all the way till 7am. During weekend, I could sleep for 12 hours.
Physically, I was able to hide my pregnancy up till 4 months. No one in office actually notice that I'm pregnant. But I did notice that my waistline has gotten thicker and I don't look good in any picture anymore as there isn't anymore curvy shape! It was a bit depressing. And I can't fit in my beloved Levi's jeans anymore. All I could wear are those skirts that used to hang on my butt - which later became mini skirts as my tummy grew.
Many asked me how I was doing and my answer is always the same - "Just like normal". In fact, I have never vomitted. Many said I'm really lucky and blessed to have such an easy pregnancy. However, I told EG that it's a blessing from God as He knows that we're all alone in this island, with no family members or relatives nearby who can cook nutritious food for me. I'd need to cook it for myself if I want to eat any nice nutritious food, except if I go back EG's hometown every month. And we might not be able to handle it if I were to have bad morning sickness.
So, I make sure I eat as much as I can to make sure I'm well fed and healthy. My doctor told me not to worry about cholesterol at all as baby will need it to grow - it was like the best news that I have ever heard in my life and since then, I have eggs almost everyday in my meals.
Our Responses
One of the many joyful moments to be married to EG is that we always have many "funny" and memorable first time together. And we can talk and laugh about it for years.
This is another first time experience for us.
I missed my menstrual for 2 weeks and I have decided to buy the test pregnancy kit to test it - when EG was not at home. I used the test pregnancy kit and saw 2 lines in the result. I read the instructions many times to make sure I did it correctly. At that point of time, I was happy. I took a picture of the test result, MMS to EG. He replied and asked me: "What does that mean?". I replied: "1 line means negative, 2 lines means positive. How many line did you see?".
Next, he called back, laughing at the other end of the phone, reconfirming and asking me: "You really kena already?" And I told him... "I think so...". While he's back, I can hear him laughing when he came down from his car going into the house. I asked him if that means he's very happy, and he told me: "Have you seen people laughing and later on cry?"...
At night, when we talked about it, we realised we had no idea what's in front of us. That really made us panic. And I have read and heard so many cases of miscarriages, and it made me even more worried and depressed at times (which might be caused by the hormonal changes as well). We prayed together on that night.
To confirm the pregnancy, we booked an appointment with one recommended gynae @ Island Hospital. During the ultrasound, the doctor told me: "See the dot? That's your pregnancy. And it's now 7mm in length..". To tell you the truth, I was in great doubt and wanted to ask her, "There are so many dots around, are you sure that's the right dot?!" But of course I didn't.
Negative thoughts keep coming into my head and blame it all on the hormonal change! EG wasn't helping much as he had his own struggles to go through for this new stage in life. Both of us were adjusting esp. mentally to even predict what's going to happen next, and in the end we just got more stressed out!
Of course we informed our parents about this. And next I shared the "secret" with my girlfriends in KL and a few close friends from church - getting them to pray for me as it's the only thing that can help me at that time. We thank God for EPCC where our church always provides help when we need it. We also met up with our Family First pastor (who in charge of all family matters in church) and had a 1-1 session with a doctor from our church - and those sessions help A LOT when we know more about pregnancy.
Anyway, I was still in a panic mode and kept sending emails to my girlfriends in KL for more information or their experiences. And I have been praying and praying that everything will just go fine.
And it did. =)
This is another first time experience for us.
I missed my menstrual for 2 weeks and I have decided to buy the test pregnancy kit to test it - when EG was not at home. I used the test pregnancy kit and saw 2 lines in the result. I read the instructions many times to make sure I did it correctly. At that point of time, I was happy. I took a picture of the test result, MMS to EG. He replied and asked me: "What does that mean?". I replied: "1 line means negative, 2 lines means positive. How many line did you see?".
Next, he called back, laughing at the other end of the phone, reconfirming and asking me: "You really kena already?" And I told him... "I think so...". While he's back, I can hear him laughing when he came down from his car going into the house. I asked him if that means he's very happy, and he told me: "Have you seen people laughing and later on cry?"...
At night, when we talked about it, we realised we had no idea what's in front of us. That really made us panic. And I have read and heard so many cases of miscarriages, and it made me even more worried and depressed at times (which might be caused by the hormonal changes as well). We prayed together on that night.
To confirm the pregnancy, we booked an appointment with one recommended gynae @ Island Hospital. During the ultrasound, the doctor told me: "See the dot? That's your pregnancy. And it's now 7mm in length..". To tell you the truth, I was in great doubt and wanted to ask her, "There are so many dots around, are you sure that's the right dot?!" But of course I didn't.
Negative thoughts keep coming into my head and blame it all on the hormonal change! EG wasn't helping much as he had his own struggles to go through for this new stage in life. Both of us were adjusting esp. mentally to even predict what's going to happen next, and in the end we just got more stressed out!
Of course we informed our parents about this. And next I shared the "secret" with my girlfriends in KL and a few close friends from church - getting them to pray for me as it's the only thing that can help me at that time. We thank God for EPCC where our church always provides help when we need it. We also met up with our Family First pastor (who in charge of all family matters in church) and had a 1-1 session with a doctor from our church - and those sessions help A LOT when we know more about pregnancy.
Anyway, I was still in a panic mode and kept sending emails to my girlfriends in KL for more information or their experiences. And I have been praying and praying that everything will just go fine.
And it did. =)
A New Journey Ahead
We have been married for 1 year 9 months 2 weeks and 3 days as I'm writing this (by referring to our wedding website - and yeah, I still visit the webpage once a while to make sure all links are working :P).
Throughout our marriage, questions like - When are you getting pregnant? When are you guys planning on your next generation, and etc, never stop to bombard us. I started thinking about it this year and tried to convince my dear hubby to take a step out with faith to go to our next level in our lives together.
With not much hard work, I found out that I'm pregnant in June. Unlike the movies or magazine where the going-to-be parents will be shouting in joy and jumping around, where hubby might carry the wife up and turn a few rounds in air, in fact, the first feeling that both of us had then was - panicked, stressed out, and worried. Mainly because we just moved to a new place and still settling down with many things, and we felt helpless that we're all alone in this land with no family members nearby us. The feeling is really.... helpless.
I have been reading about some trying so hard to conceive due to the stress in work, health and many issues. For me I also didn't expect it to happen so fast. Well, like EG always said, at least we know that we're fine and things work fine in us. =). At least that makes us feel slightly better.
While I'm starting this blog, I'm closing to the end of my 2nd trimester and entering my 3rd trimester. Many things happen after this little bundle of joy came into our lives and I thought it'll be good not only to share this joy with many, but also to let my family members who're far from us to read and know what's happening to our child (and later more children).
I'll recall what happened in the past few months and jot down the joyful moments. It's a wonderful journey so far and I'm sure with God's blessing, it'll also be a wonderful journey ahead of us.
Throughout our marriage, questions like - When are you getting pregnant? When are you guys planning on your next generation, and etc, never stop to bombard us. I started thinking about it this year and tried to convince my dear hubby to take a step out with faith to go to our next level in our lives together.
With not much hard work, I found out that I'm pregnant in June. Unlike the movies or magazine where the going-to-be parents will be shouting in joy and jumping around, where hubby might carry the wife up and turn a few rounds in air, in fact, the first feeling that both of us had then was - panicked, stressed out, and worried. Mainly because we just moved to a new place and still settling down with many things, and we felt helpless that we're all alone in this land with no family members nearby us. The feeling is really.... helpless.
I have been reading about some trying so hard to conceive due to the stress in work, health and many issues. For me I also didn't expect it to happen so fast. Well, like EG always said, at least we know that we're fine and things work fine in us. =). At least that makes us feel slightly better.
While I'm starting this blog, I'm closing to the end of my 2nd trimester and entering my 3rd trimester. Many things happen after this little bundle of joy came into our lives and I thought it'll be good not only to share this joy with many, but also to let my family members who're far from us to read and know what's happening to our child (and later more children).
I'll recall what happened in the past few months and jot down the joyful moments. It's a wonderful journey so far and I'm sure with God's blessing, it'll also be a wonderful journey ahead of us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
