24 weeks pregnancy update & my worries

I'm already 6 months pregnant and time seems to fly really fast. I just went to my monthly prenatal check up yesterday. Everything was well except my amniotic fluid. Doctor said my water is not much but he didn't have any concerns, he asked me to rest more & leave the baby care to other person. My urine had a little bit of protein too which he asked me to drink more water. Baby Cal is growing well (that's good news for us!) She is about 700 grams (Doctor said it's a very good weight for her gestational age) and about 20 cm from head to bottom and she's measuring a week ahead. Her current position is head down, legs up (and again Doctor never raised his concern). I have so far gained 1 kg from week 20 to week 24 (not much but as long as baby's weight is fine, gaining a little in pregnancy is fine too)

Although Doctor didn't have much concern about my low amniotic fluid (I guess it should be on the lower-normal end), he just said rest, rest and rest! All looking good but deep inside I CAN'T! Yes, I'm worried about Baby Cal, I'm worried something bad could happen to her and I'm freaking out! I have been checking Google about this issue and it seemed like Google gave me both good advice and scary stories like birth-prematurity, baby's lung or kidney problems which seriously freaking me out :'( Maybe I shouldn't read Google too much & just follow my Doctor's advise to rest well!

Honestly every pregnancy is a scare to me. I remember when I was 36 weeks pregnant with baby EJ, I rushed my self to hospital because I felt EJ wasn't so active. And I panicked like hell. And also when I was into my early pregnancy with Baby Cal, I had blood in my uterus and Doctor said it wasn't a stable pregnancy and asked me to rest more. I rested and Baby Cal continued to grow well and here comes another concern (although it's not my Doctor's concern) but it's my concern and my worry. I just want Baby Cal to stay healthy and come to us in this November or early December. I will be officially full term in this mid of November, a few more months to go, so baby girl, please stay well like you are now, okay?

It's also kind of breaking my heart knowing I have to leave baby EJ care to my helper or mil full time as he's very active and I have to rest well & I'm no longer allowed to carry him. Imagine, he's only 1 year 3 months old and his mommy can't carry him for a few months. That will break both of our hearts. Nevertheless, I'm still trying my best to bond with him through reading, watching video together, light-playing or just cuddling. I hope he understands mommy needs to care his little sister, so she can arrive safely :)

Baby Cal has been kicking so actively and I can feel her moving all the time, sometimes my belly feels a little sore from her kicking but I hope she remains her strong kicks. I don't mind at all, it shows that she's all well and that's the only thing matters to me :)

I read that low amniotic fluid can be caused by dehydration. Many women drank liters of water to increase the amniotic fluid level. I really really hope that my "not much" water in my belly is caused by dehydration and could be fixed, simply by drinking more water. I hope that's really my case. I drink liters of water and hopefully my next check up (4 weeks later), my amniotic level is back to normal. I pray hard for that!! 4 weeks is a long wait & I'm both nervous & worried!!

I also feel a little bit guilty over my diet for this 2nd pregnancy. It seems like I took things for granted which I deeply regretted it. I craved for Hawaiian Pizza, fast foods and Pepsi and I had at least 2 cans of Pepsi a week, not forgetting other kind of comfort soft drinks and tea going into my stomach. I haven't been eating healthy in this pregnancy. I didn't eat vegetables or meat enough and I didn't drink enough water too. I drank like 7 to 8 cups a day which apparently wasn't enough. A pregnant woman must drink at least 2-3 liters of water a day. Or 2 cups each hour, one for mommy & one for her baby. So I hope that was the cause of my low amniotic fluid, not other worrying cause.

The other thing I regretted was I think I over-walked. I walked a lot in this pregnancy, I carried heavy groceries, carried my 13 kg son, sent my son to his baby class ~ walking far with heavy diaper bag back and forth. From now onwards, I will take care my body better & I won't take anything for granted

I have so far been drinking plenty of water, totally avoiding soda & soft drinks and focusing on healthier diet. I really hope baby Cal continues on staying strong & healthy just like baby EJ when he was in his mommy's belly

Maybe I'm over worrying but she's my baby, I love her as much as I love her older brother, so that's mother's love I guess ~ worrying every single thing since pregnancy.

As much as I wanted to do more baby shopping, for both babies ~ the 15 month old & the one in my belly but I put my desire to shop on hold first. I need to rest & when I'm better (my water is back to normal), I will continue my shopping.

Belly is noticeable already :)

 And our daughter's name is

I decided to reveal her name early because I just felt ready... She has her own identity and that's not very cool to address her as 'peanut' all the time hehee...

Calysta means most beautiful & fairest and Avalyn means beautiful life, we hope she's not only beautiful from the outside but from the inside too & she will live a beautiful life just like her name :)

Till Next Time & Wish me a super super smooth pregnancy ^^

~Netty~

Baby #2 is a GIRL, the 20th month pregnancy update

We are expecting a little princess :)

I found out the baby gender last week when I was 20 weeks plus pregnant (I'm now in my 21st week of pregnancy) Last week, not only I found out baby peanut's gender, but I also had my last OSCAR test which turned out to be fine (baby peanut is healthy, thanks God!)

I was so nervous, not only nervous about gender surprise but I worried about peanut too and at the end, gender didn't matter anymore, I just wanted a healthy baby but God answered my prayer (I wished for a baby girl) and my wish came true, so here's peanut, a girl :)

Last Friday, my husband took a day off to accompany me to have my OSCAR test and also to find out peanut's gender and I was so so nervous, in the waiting room, I felt like my palms were sweating and my heart was beating fast like crazy! And the ultrasound technician called my name

First, I saw peanut's side profile and peanut was so adorable. Little peanut waved her hands to us to say "Hello mommy & daddy!" My husband asked directly "so, it's a boy or a girl?" A question that I was so nervous to ask.

She checked and said "I think the baby doesn't want to show you, maybe later..." My heart dropped!

And the technician kept on continuing checking peanut's organs and other stuff until...

15 minutes later, the ultrasound technician surprised us with her soft voice "you are having a princess..." She continued "look, there's a labia here & no penis found so far..."

It was one of the best moments in my life. I felt something like warm air flushing inside my heart and within seconds my eyes were teary and I wanted to cry but I held back my tears (it's embarrassing to cry). I couldn't believe it's a girl and I felt like I was in my dream land for the next 2 days and couldn't stop smiling & imagining things. I know it's very silly :D and I'm now back to reality, yes yes yes it's a girl and I can now use "she" or "her". It still feels a little awkward to use "she" or "her" because I have gotten used to call baby EJ "he" or "him", so you know, the transition is a little awkward :D

It's natural wanting a girl when I already have 1 boy (or vice versa) and I'm so lucky to hit the gender lottery and have both genders! Although I didn't know about baby girl at all (have gotten used to taking care baby boy) but I'm looking forwards to things like having girl talk, dates, shopping, movies and beauty time together (I still love my boy so much and nothing can ever change it but with my girl around, our family is finally complete)

I knew I was expecting a baby girl before the 12th month scan (before my doctor gave me a little hint "high chance, it's a girl because there's nothing in between the legs, but don't hope too high since it's very early and male parts could develop later on..."), it was just a very strong maternal instinct that told me the baby in my belly is a girl and also when I was 3 months pregnant, I had this weird dream.

The dream was beautiful, I dreamed about one little girl. She was beautiful & almost perfect to me. I've never dreamed someone I didn't know that clear before. The little girl was about four years old and she was wearing white lacey dress, just like a little angel. She had white porcelain skin the moon reflected off, making her glow like an angel. Her hair was dark brown, medium length but thick, straight and shiny. She had thick fringe too. Her eyes were bright and glowing. Big & beautiful brown eyes she had! But her nose was tiny! Her lips were small but full and rosy. She was one of the most beautiful little girls I've ever seen in my life. And until today, I still remember how she looks like very clearly.

When I had that dream, I was hoping it was a sign given to me that I will be having a little princess, a beautiful girl just like the one who came to my dream and I couldn't help myself, a strong feeling that told me it's a GIRL

And I did old wives tales gender prediction that showed GIRL result, 4 tests out of 5, you can read the post here (you can try it out if you are interested to find out earlier for fun)

And I'm right :) both maternal instinct and old wives tales gender prediction were very correct for my case :)

We have chosen a name for her, a name that represents the fair skinned - beautiful little girl in my dream and her name will start with "C" and ends with "A" and her middle name will start with "A" and ends with "N". Her nick name will be "Cal" (pronounce "kel") Her name means "most beautiful & fairest", as much as I expect her to be beautiful & fair, but that's not very important, most importantly let her be beautiful inside and have a beautiful heart, just like her name :)

A little princess in my belly :)

Peanut aka baby "C" is about 300 grams at 20 weeks :) She's growing well :)

Pregnancy Update:

1) Baby "C" is moving like crazy. She kicks a lot! Whenever I sleep on my left side, she will put pressure (like her body against or pressing a certain part of my womb?). I can feel her all the time now!
2) My weight gain from week 15 to week 20 is about 1 kg, basically I gain like 1 kg every month. I know it's not much of gaining but my doctor didn't have any concerns as long as baby's weight is normal
3) No specific craving this month
4) I still don't need maternity pants/shorts (yes I can fit into my normal shorts, just that I prefer not to button it to make it more comfy)
5) My cheek is so dry, flaky and pinkish. Strong moisturizer with extra hydrating is no longer working :/
6) I literally need to pee every hour :/
7) My boobs are growing like crazy
8) I'm super forgetful and I can't remember now what else to update hahaaa...

That's about it, overall I'm doing fine and I won't complain a thing. I love being pregnant, feeling baby moves and kicks inside me and it's the warmest feeling ever. I will enjoy this pregnancy as much as possible and won't rush anything :)

As long as she's healthy and growing well ~ I'm contented & happy ~

18 weeks pregnant with baby no.2

Can you believe I'm already 18 weeks pregnant with my 2nd baby? It seems like yesterday I found out I was expecting & I didn't expect it to happen that quick either! :) Seriously, it felt like yesterday when I held my first newborn and here I'm expecting again! Last year, in 2013 I gave birth to baby EJ and this year, 2014, I will be delivering another baby in early December! I'm excited but scared at the same time, I don't know what to expect of having 1 young toddler and a newborn under one roof!

2nd trimester is all well. I'm feeling good, I don't have certain craving and I'm not feeling that hungry which is good, heehee.. My energy level is pretty good, I'm not that sleepy and yes, I can walk for long with no problem so far :)

Weight Gain: 1 kg every month. When I was pregnant with baby EJ, I gained 4-5 kg per month in my 2nd trimester which was crazy. My weight gain in my 2nd pregnancy has been slow and I guess it's because of my 'normal' appetite. I don't snack! I just eat 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch & dinner) and I don't feel hungry nor having huge appetite to eat extra just like a pregnant lady!

Craving: None but I like fruits (mango, watermelon, honeydew and grapes, etc) and I like spicy foods too (actually it's not related to pregnancy, I have been crazy about sour & spicy foods for my whole life as I remember)

Skin: Pretty good, no acnes, I can't complain much! But it's a little dry here and there, so I moisturize daily!

Hair: Normal, I can't see it's getting thicker or shinier (opposite with baby EJ, I had super luscious hair)

Morning Sickness: No more! I had morning sickness, nausea without vomiting from week 6 to week 12, after that, I'm all good!

Stretch Mark: None. Please stay away!

Gender: To be confirmed very soon, yes, this month!

Constipation: Yes!!! That's my problem and I feel so uncomfortable!

Sleeping Well: I would say yes! Some days, I can't sleep, it takes me so long to fall asleep but most days, I'm fine!

Frequent Urination: Yes! Yes! Yes! I need to pee every hour during the day and every 2-3 hours when I'm sleeping

Exercise: Can I consider carrying a 12 kg baby an exercise? Yes, I still carry my 14 month bundle of joy every day and he still wants his mummy so much! Besides, I'm still doing house works as a SAHM such as doing laundry, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning toys, washing dishes, cooking for my toddler, etc..

Maternity Clothes: Not yet! I still can fit into my normal shirts & pants

Baby Movement: Yes!! I can feel peanut's movement but very softly, almost unnoticeable

Baby Kick: Not yet and I'm looking forward! 

Swelling: None, but I feel bloated!

Backache: Yes, I have terrible backache when I do house works and carry a 12 kg baby. Is it due to my weak back (I had epidural during my delivery last year, could it be the long term effect?) or is it due to pregnancy? Something to ask during my next appointment

Belly Button: In for now

Baby size: At 18 weeks, I'm not sure how big peanut is but my last ultrasound at 15 weeks, peanut was 8.7 cm from top to bottom

Baby Preparation: I'm all ready, baby! I think peanut's stuff is 90% complete haahaa... I just feel it's best to do baby shopping when tummy is not huge yet. I can walk better, therefore I can pick the right stuff and go for the best deals heehee..
 
Baby Name: if it's a girl, her name will start with "C" (her name means 'most beautiful & fairest') Well, I decided this name is because of a dream I had about one beautiful little girl (which I will tell later here when peanut's gender is confirmed anyway) If it's a boy, his name will start with "L" :)

Mother's instinct on baby gender: My instinct said girl and I hope it's correct!

Baby peanut at 15 weeks and peanut is already 18 weeks in my tummy now! Time flies!

14 weeks plus

 

At 15 weeks, my bump was very tiny and I could fit into my normal clothes & pants (not even a little tight) and I can still fit into my normal clothes at 18 weeks now (although it's getting a little tighter now)

17 weeks and can you spot a bump? I don't have picture taken at 18 weeks though, I reckon the bump size is still pretty much the same, hehee..

 Baby EJ reaching for his little brother or sister :)

Pregnancy Update Week 24, 25, 26

Hello Everyone...

 

Momma to be is back on her pregnancy update :) I'm currently in my week 26 of pregnancy.. A week and more to go to be officially entering my third trimester and I'm so looking forward to my third trimester.. I'm more than ready, so baby, bring it on your kicks and punches!!

 

Overall, my baby boy is doing well, some days he kicks like crazy and some days he's just being a lazy bum!!

 

Week 24 : I swear, he scared me! His movements were much lesser than earlier weeks. He wasn't active at all. All I felt was little flutters here and there.. I was so afraid that there was something wrong with him.. I worried about him for the whole week and I finally felt relief when my doctor said he's fine and doing well..

 

During my ultrasound check-up at 24 weeks, my naughty baby boy scared me again :( Oh baby, don't do that anymore to your poor mommy, please?

 

What happened was during my ultrasound, we heard half heartbeat, not the strong full heartbeat as usual.. I was very worried :( My doctor showed a little concern too but he said let's check other parts of baby first then get back to his heartbeat... After checking his head, his growth, his weight, doctor said baby is growing very well and let's get back to his heartbeat... It was strong and full heartbeat.. and I asked doctor if it's normal and common for that case to happen? and to my relief, my doctor said it's pretty common but not to worry, baby's fine :) then 5 minutes later, doctor checked baby out again and his heartbeat was strong as per normal... Phewww, ultrasound sometimes can scare people out like crazy....

 



I don't get perfect ultrasound picture at 24 weeks because I think somehow my baby is a little too big to fit every part of his body into one small ultrasound picture, so only his head size as shown in the picture below is taken (as doctor thinks it's important to measure his head size)

 

Week 25 & 26: He's starting to move and kick a lot... He's back to be very active :) Sometimes he kicks more in the morning, sometimes he only gets crazy at night, so it's still pretty random and his movements and kicks are still unpredictable >.<

So far, my pregnancy has been great and easy.. I feel good and I don't have problems so far, thanks God :) (btw, he's kicking me a storm while I'm writing this post :P )

I have picked a name for him too but I will keep it as a surprise until he's born.. The initial will be E as his first name and J as his last name and his name means "strong" and of course his surname will be "Lim" (my husband's surname)

Until Next Time & I gotta get some food to eat, I'm starving :P

Loves,
Netty

20-21 weeks pregnancy update

Hello Everyone...

Momma to be is back on her pregnancy update ^^

I'm currently 21 weeks pregnant and it's almost the end of my 5th month of pregnancy. Next week I'm going to enter another new chapter which is the beginning of my 6th month of pregnancy and I'm so looking forward to feel kicks from the outside and hopefully my husband can feel our baby's kick from my belly too..

I really can't believe that I'm already over halfway throughout my pregnancy and I have a few months left before I can finally hug, kiss, cuddle and hold my precious baby in my arms tightly

I found out about our baby gender when I was about 20 weeks pregnant, me & husband went for detailed ultrasound to check our baby out (it's like an anatomy scan)

My husband had been so curios about our baby's gender for the past 5 months and he couldn't wait any longer to hear whether it's a BLUE or a PINK...

When the nurse put the doppler on my belly, his first question was "What is the gender?"

Then nurse showed us something in between baby's legs.... and she said "you see, what is that?" Until then, I knew it and I knew it... we are having a BOY, a little boy ^^ My heart stopped for a while and I was teary :') I was so happy :')

My husband on the other side didn't know what's going on as he couldn't figure out "what's between those tiny legs" then he asked the nurse again "what is the gender again?" and this time round he got the double confirmation that we are clearly having a little BOY, our precious little son :')

Our parents were extremely overwhelmed when we told them we're having a little boy. There is clearly a reason behind their over-happiness.. it's because according to traditional Chinese culture, having a boy, especially the first child in the family is purely a JOY, a precious son who will carry the family's surname for many generations down the road and also a precious son who will take care his parents and his siblings in the future. A son is very important in Chinese culture. So now you know why our parents are so happy?

I was very happy too, not because we found we're having a boy but we were glad to know that our precious baby was doing great.. During the 20 minute ultrasound scan, he moved a lot! He waved his tiny hands, one hand over his butt, he kicked, he performed many acrobatic movements :') That 20 minute was my best moment :')

Coming to my pregnancy update, I have felt some movements of course, some punches & kicks too.. Pretty strong enough for me to sense out that I'm having a little man behind that hard bump :)

Other pregnancy signs are my belly is super itchy & I can't help to scratch it all over, my back can be hurtful when I walk too much, I feel a little dizzy too.. Plus I've overgrown almost all my clothes :/ so I'm now left with a few dresses to wear only :/ I smell it's time for maternity shopping perhaps?

To my surprise (or maybe not?) I have gained a total of 10-11 shocking kg :/ I heard that is normal for a "used to be underweight" girl like me. I was around 5 kg underweight before my pregnancy, so can I guess that it maybe a little bit normal for my body to re-adjust itself to a normal weight + pregnancy weight? I'm lucky that with my height, I still don't look fat yet (although I gained a crazy amount of weight)

This baby meant a world to me and I love him very much before he's even born.. To me, it's very difficult to love someone without worrying about his well-being all the time :/ Oh yes, I'm over worrying about my little boy all the time :/ It often stresses me out when he doesn't kick regularly or if he kicks more than usual, if I eat something I'm afraid it's not healthy for him or if I watch loud movies in the cinema and afraid if it could affect him...

I had also once drunk a glass of sugar cane and I was scared to death to think how unhygienic the juice machine would be? I felt guilty for days :/  I had once watched Hobbit in the cinema and the movie was very loud & baby kicked a lot and again I felt guilty for so long... How if I had scared him?

Whatever it's I just wish that my little boy stays healthy and happy and I can't wait to see him, I can't wait to kiss his chubby cheeks, I can't wait to hold him in my arms and I can't wait him to recognise me as his mommy :)

Our son at 20 weeks :')

My bump at 19 weeks plus... depending on how I dress up, I can look like a real pregnant lady or just "over-bloated"

My bump at 21 weeks, yes I have had many good people in the train offering me/giving up a seat to me and I was really touched the first time somebody offered a seat to me :) Simple gesture and action made my day!

Until Next Time,

Happy momma-to-be,
Netty

15 weeks pregnant and I'm so in love!

Momma to be is here....

15 weeks pregnant and I'm so in love with my little bun! I love him/her more and more and more..

I went to my ultrasound check up yesterday, one day earlier because yesterday I was having nasty watery discharge and the discharge was more than usual. Worried about baby and freaked out if my water broke or something was broken inside, I called my clinic and went to see my doctor yesterday..

Before my 'water discharge' incident, I was sick last week, I went to see my GP twice for high fever & bad cough. And of course, worrying about baby, not my self anymore. Luckily I recovered fast after taking safe medication prescribed for pregnant woman like me :)

Back to my ultrasound......

Lying down, doppler on my belly, staring at monitor, heart beating fast, worrying my little bun...

Doctor said "Don't worry, everything looks fine and you've got lots of water in there" then he checked baby out "Baby is about 9 cm plus and here's the heartbeat. Good." What a relief!! Thanks God!!

And Thanks Thanks God, for the 'low risk' OSCAR test result for down syndrome.. I was very scared when the doctor was about to discuss the OSCAR test result because he looked very serious, I was like... "Oh, shit, don't tell me the bad news" Anyway, it's a big relief now!!

Morning sickness has totally gone and I'm back to 'the normal me' except I'm lots more heavier and I have my little baby bump!! I also gained 2 kg in one month.. I weigh about 66 kg right now :0

Talking about weight, I remember myself being so thin almost all the time.. A year ago, my weight was barely 56 kg, with BMI of 18, I was totally underweight for my 1.77 cm height. Being so thin was no good for me, I was fragile, weak & sick... Having surgery, staying in hospital made everything worse.. A few months after my surgery, I promised my self to be healthy, to eat more & to gain weight... to get the ideal BMI of 19, I wanted to get pregnant, so I needed to gain weight! Deal on, with my high motivation of being able to carry a baby, I gained 4 kg in a few months, I became more healthy, fertile, glowy and I looked better (my hair & skin was better too)

As expected, I conceived my little bun after gaining those healthy KGs.. I weighed 60 kg when I got pregnant for the first time and here I am, 66 kg and looking great!! Never ever wanted to look back at my 'skinny bony me' and will never regret if I'm going to balloon up to 75 kg at the end of my pregnancy.. This baby meant a world to me and I would never ever trade it for anything, not even my weight!! I'm going to be one happy fat momma and proud of my body, my curve, my cleavage!!

Here's my picture when I was very thin.. months before I conceived my little bun. I looked skeleton at 56 kg :( and when you see my next picture below, you will be surprised, HAHA!!

Back to pregnancy...

I hope next month at 19 weeks, I'm going to find out whether our bun is going to be a HE or a SHE, It doesn't matter HE or SHE, my little bun meant a world to me!

here's my little tiny baby bump!! Are you surprised? Try to compare my pictures above and below, non-pregnant & pregnant, my body is just very different. I'm a lot larger now!!

I still don't need maternity clothes, never say no, I may need to wear maternity dress next month, who knows!!

Overall, I think my face looks fine, no swelling nose or whatever :) and my complexion looks okay too with this pregnancy :) :) Double Happiness :) :)

Here's my baby side profile, although the ultrasound picture is not clear, my husband insists that our baby's face from the side, looks pretty much like me.. HEHE!!

 

 

My Prenatal care:

 

Fish Oil & Prenatal Vitamin, prescribed my gynae. One capsule every day

 

Stretch Mark Cream, highly recommended by my gynae.. Twice every day!

My favourite chocolate milk. Twice a day, that explains why I gained so much weight.. I can't sleep soundly without having a glass of it!! Totally addicted!!

 



Total damage per one check up, including prenatal vitamin & cream $200 plus... Totally not cheap in Singapore, but it's alright, as long as baby is well, I'm a very happy momma :))

Until Next Time
Momma to be, Netty