Saw baby move!

Went to KK today for gynae check up. Dr Judy Wong did both abdominal scan and vaginal scan. The second scan was clearer, can even see baby's limb buds. We also saw baby moving, so cute. Baby is now 2.3cm long and the shape is more defined. From this scan, confirmed that EDD is 1 Feb 08.

Scanner works again

Bought a new printer but turned out the old printer works fine except for the printer cable. My friend at HP had an extra printer cable so the old printer works now. Re-uploaded the previous scan photo. Will see kk gynae in 3 days on Wed evening. MS symptoms are still the same. Bloated and nauseous after a meal but yesterday, I cooked instand noodles for myself for supper and today, I heated up a pizza for lunch. Quite an accomplishment for me, as I couldn't stand any cooking 2 weeks ago. :)

Back to work

It's been 2 days since I went back to work. Found it very difficult to adjust on the first day, so sian and so sleepy but now getting better. The worst thing about working in an airconditioned office is all the food smells. Yesterday, smelled someone eating fried beehoon with tau gay. Yes, I can even smell the tau gay. Today, can smell someone eating mee rebus, feel nauseous smelling it. Hubby is sick today, fever and sore throat. Hope he feels better tomorrow.

Monday was our 4th anniversary. For once, we celebrated it in Singapore. Was not in the mood for a good meal so we just had light dishes at Din Tai Fung. Didn't buy hubby a present this year cos I had not gone shopping for the last 2 weeks. But hubby had prepared a present from Tiffany long ago and hid it behind my pillow. :)

Saw BB's heartbeat!!!

Went to see private gynae today. Finally, saw the BB's heartbeat. What a relief! I was worried for the past few days. BB is only 0.9cm long so the heartbeat was just a very tiny white dot flashing away. Gynae had to blow up the image many times before I even noticed it. She said if I still can't see, must change specs liao. Hee. :)

Unfortunately, of all days, my lousy HP all-in-1 printer chose to break down today. Could not power on. So, I cannot scan and put up the ultrasound photo. Sigh, called HP helpdesk but prepared for the worst cos the printer is 2 years old already. Think no electronic stuff last beyond their 1-year warranty nowadays. Took a photo using my handphone but it's a bit grainy. Better than no photo, I guess. :P

Confinement Lady

Just called the confinement lady today. She was recommended by my ex-colleague, who had 3 girls and she used this confinement lady for her last 2 pregnancies. As baby will be due close to Chinese New Year, I expected to pay more for her services. She charged my colleague $2400 this year when her baby was born just before CNY. But she's raising her prices again and she wanted to charge me $2800!?! After some negotiation, she agreed to $2600. Never knew that it will cost so much more to have a baby near CNY. My ex colleague asked me if I want to check around before deciding. But I told her no, I rather pay a bit more for someone who is experienced and recommended than to contact an agency because I really won't know who I'm paying for. Plus it'll be difficult to get a CL near CNY because some CL will rather celebrate CNY than do babysitting so the pool of available CL will be smaller. Better be kiasu and book early.

9 June 07

Appetite for breakfast was good, ate 1 slice of small pizza, 1 drummette and half a hashbrown. Leftovers from the pizza hut dinner yesterday. Maybe, because I gave baby a pep talk to control the symptoms . Told baby if mummy can't eat, then baby will not have enough nutrition. Hee hee.

Went back to office to clear emails at 1+pm. Tons and tons of email. Already know what is the work waiting for me when I return. My boss and colleagues are really overstretched, don't know whether to cut short mc and go back to work early. But feeling kiasi in case anything happens if I do go back to work also. Arghh. Didn't expect to face the dilemma of being a good employee or a good mum so soon. Either way, also feel bad. Sian. :P

Mee siam

Didn't know what to eat for lunch again. Meal times are so frustrating for me now because I can't predict if I will like what I order. Sometimes, eat 1 mouthful, don't want already if the smell & taste doesn't agree with me (or is it baby). wanted to eat lor mee with lots of vinegar but the nearby coffeeshop is closed for renovation. Poor hubby cycled there for nothing. Suddenly, thought of mee siam so asked hubby to buy. Good choice, the soup was sweet and sour, with the refreshing smell of lime, whets the appetite. I finished more than half of it. Considered very good for my standards now. If any MTBs got no appetite due to MS, I highly recommend mee siam and ribena. Hee hee.

A Good Friday Morning

Hello. A good Friday morning to all. Papa Piggy here. Just finishing some leftover Holicks from Mama Piggy whose stomach is still very confused of what to eat or not. Everyday's an exciting time guessing what Mama Piggy wants to eat. :)
Okay, back to my crystal-ball gazing now and see if I can predict what Mama Piggy wants to eat later.
Any suggestions? :)

Motherhood Fair at Expo

Popped by the Motherhood Fair at Expo after lunch. The fair was ok but a bit smaller than I expected. Maybe, I was comparing it to the John Little Expo Sale next door. Hee. Saw a lot of MTBs with big tummies carting away diapers and baby wipes so they must be cheap. Wanted to check out the market for baby cots and prams but the selection was very limited. I counted only 3-4 boothes at most. It makes sense for the vendor not to bring too much baby furniture cos the booth space was quite limited. The Palmer Cocoa butter stretch mark cream was on offer, only $19. Wanted to buy it but when I tried the tester, I didn't like the rich sweet smell. It was too strong for my newly acquired 'super nose'.

Motherenvogue and Moms-in-mind were both there. Saw some nice sleeveless stretchy tops with beautiful pastel colours for only $30 at the Moms-in-mind booth. Loved the dusty pink one but still 'pantang' to start buying stuff when I'm only 6 weeks and 3 days now. Told hubby I'll check out their website and buy next time though I'm sure it'll be more expensive. :P

Jacobs Cafe

Went to Jacobs Cafe at Changi Village for lunch today. Still no appetite but I was hoping their delicious Hainanese mutton stew will wake my hibernating stomach. On my way there, I remembered my mum saying no mutton when pregnant. Hiaz! Looks like I can't have the mutton stew after all.

When we arrived at the cafe, I asked the staff and he recommended their chicken stew. It was equally good though not spicy like the mutton stew as the chicken stew was western style. It was a good deal, only $8.30 and the bowl was chockfull of carrot chunks, potato chunks, button mushroom, fresh mushroom and bite-size tender chicken. The broth was thick and flavoursome with just a hint of pepper. It also came with a free drink (lemonade, sprite or Coke) and baguette/rice. I chose baguette but it was still too much for me so I ended passing at least half of the stew to hubby who chose the spicy beef curry served with rice. I don't take beef but hubby said the curry was very nice and thick with very tender beef and potatoes, but it was not very spicy.

Dr Judy Wong at The Private Suite

Decided to give KKH 1 more chance and saw Dr Judy Wong at The Private Suite on 6 June 07. She was recommended by a few mothers-to-be at the online Motherhood forum which I frequent. TPS was cosy with nice sofas and waiting time was very good, I only waited less than 10 minutes to see the gynae.

First impression of the gynae for this fussy Singaporean? Very good. :) Dr Wong looked like she was in her late 30s or early 40s. She was well groomed, poised and sophisticated with her pearls and a classy dress. She had a nice voice and spoke well. If I had a daughter, I wish she will grow up like her, a brainy doctor and classy lady. Hee hee.

Anyway, as I had to do a routine urine test before seeing the doctor, I did not have the benefit of a full bladder this time. So, the doctor had to do a vaginal scan for U/S. Baby has now grown from a yolk sac to a 2.5mm foetal pole (hope I spelled it correctly). This time, we got a bonus with 2 photos and she asked us to return 3 weeks later for another scan. I've heard good and bad things at KKH so still haven't decided whether I'll go to private gynae or go to KKH (where I can claim medical benefits)



P.S. Symptoms did not get any better but Dr Judy Wong said I could stop all the other medicine for the time being and just take folic acid. Decided to start a blog to take my mind off the symptoms after being inspired by Ahusband who started a blog for his wife.

Symptoms started

I have been relatively symptom free so far but symptoms kicked in soon after the first U/S. Not sure if it was because of the hormone pills the private gynae prescribed but I really felt horrible. No appetite, nauseous, bloated, heart burn, gassy and moody all the time. Can't go shopping or to the spa or go swimming because the gynae said I should rest. I'm on MC and not working so I can smell my neighbours' cooking and even that made me nauseous. Have to consciously remind myself to be thankful for my pregnancy but sometimes it's really tough. :(

1 June 07 - Finally saw the sac!

I have decided to tell my in-laws that we are expecting a baby today but I still haven't seen the 'baby'!?! So, how to tell them? So, I decided to go to a popular private gynae at Tanjong Katong area and get a U/S. We waited for 3.5 hours even though I was no. 4 in the queue as the gynae was called over for a surgery at Mt Alvernia and a last minute delivery at Eastshore while I was there. When she saw me, there were no questions asked. Immediately, she said, let's do a scan and see. Phew! What a relief! I was tired of gynaes who refuse to do scans. I had a very full bladder at that time and she could see the sac immediately through an abdominal scan. The sac was 1.6cm long.



The gynae also gave me 2 weeks MC to rest and gave me hormone pills to support the pregnancy. Hubby and I are both in our 30s and this pregnancy was hard to come by. Had to break the news to my boss and it wasn't easy as my boss herself is going on leave and we are shorthanded. Thankfully, she took it quite well. Finally showed the U/S photo and broke the news to my in laws. :)

The Second Gynae

Saw the second gynae on 29 May, she is in her mid 40s and definitely nicer than the first one I saw. She said it's too early to scan and asked me to go back to her in 4 weeks to do the ultrsound scan. I wondered why I had to wait so long because most women could see the sac at 6 weeks. Hoping to do my U/S earlier, I asked the nurse if I could do the scan in 3 weeks instead. Only then I found out the gynae is on long leave in June, she did not even bother to tell me. That's when I decided to take my time and shop around for a good gynae whom I am comfortable with because 9 months is a long time.

26 May 2007

Bought the cheapest pregnancy test kit (B sure, $7.50) I could get from Unity pharmacy and tested again in the morning. Yeah!!! Two lines appeared.

First gynae I saw was a disappointment

The second person to know of my pregnancy was my boss. Funny right? I think most people, would have broken the news to their mum, sister or best friend after the husband knows. But having just come back from MC, I needed to tell my boss about my urine positive because I wanted to see a gynae to get a blood test to confirm if I'm really pregnant.

As I'm working in a hospital, I was lucky to get a gynae to see me that very morning. Unfortunately, she was a real disappointment. Although she agreed to see me in short notice, she was impatient and cold. Even though I told her that we have tried quite long to conceive, she refuse to order a blood test and instead said it's normal and asked why am I so worried. I vowed never to go back to her.

It was a good thing I told my boss because she helped me get a blood test ordered through her personal contacts. The second person whom I really wanted to tell was my cousin and best friend but she was based in NZ so I sent an sms to her immediately after the blood test was confirmed.

25 May 2007

Woke up early before 7am to test before hubby went to work. I was 2 days late, but it has happened before so who knows. When the clear blue digital pregnancy kit said "Pregnant", I was stunned and quickly called hubby over to double confirm what I just saw. Having been trying for so long, I really thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Even took a photo with my camera phone though it was a bit blur. Too excited to go back to sleep after that.

Thinking back, I had food poisoning symptoms (vomiting a few times) after eating a small piece of chocolate brownie for supper on 21 May so I was on MC on 22 May. The strange thing is that hubby ate 2 pieces of the same chocolate brownie for tea and nothing happened to him. Maybe, this was the early indication that something is different...

Mrs Piggy