The Bub in the Belly

Yesterday, the clinic called and told me that my blood test results showed that I had low hemoglobin levels. One cause could be thalessemia so Dr Chan wants both of us to go for a thalessemia blood test. So, this morning we went to the hospital to have our blood drawn. Richard hates needles and is confident he does not have thalessemia, however he has no choice but to undergo the experience with me, otherwise he will have to come up with some fantastic excuse to tell Dr Chan.
The blood test was done fairly quickly. As I just had blood drawn two days ago from my right arm, today the nurse drew blood from my left. I wasn't too bothered, needles don't really trouble me.
Slightly worried about this. I am confident I don't have thalessemia major but could I have thalessemia minor? Hoping it is just mild anaemia brought on by the pregnancy. Fingers crossed!

Today we went for the amniocentesis test. Before that, Dr Chan did the usual ultrasound scan and this time, our baby proudly announced that he is a Boy!


Baby's weight is estimated to be 194 g. Head and abdomen circumference and femur length measurements are medium on the growth chart. However, my weight gain is slightly above Dr Chan's liking - it must be all those sugared drinks!



After that, we did the amniocentesis. Dr Chan spread some orange gunk on my belly and then inserted a long needle into my tummy and into my uterus to collect the amniotic fluid. It was virtually painless and it was over in less than 5 minutes. Results will be out in 2 to 3 weeks, as the laboratory needs to grow the cells in the fluid before examining them for genetic abnormalities.

We were then sent over to the hospital to have my blood drawn for the routine blood test to check for HIV, rubella, hemoglobin levels, blood type, etc. I think the amniocentesis was less painful than the blood test!

After our gynae appointment, we went to the baby fair at Takashimaya and picked up a few things.

We bought:
- 4-in-1 Rocio cot, with a musical mobile, one bedding set and one coconut fibre mattress.
- a baby monitor (Baby Farlin)
- Pigeon Rapid Steam Steriliser bundled with bottle/food warmer, Newborn Starter Set and some extra bottles.
- two Anakku waterproof mattress pads
- a packet of Anakku diaper fasteners

Didn't want to pick up stuff like clothes, diapers and towels at this stage because they will just be collecting dust until baby is out. Also didn't want to have to keep small stuff like baby cream, wipes, etc for so long. Need to get a breast pump and car seat but putting these off till later. So I guess that's all for now.

How interesting it is that pregnancy causes every woman to obsess about her weight. Whether it is too little, too much, too fast, too slow, it definitely ranks as one of the all-time favourite topics of conversation among preggers.

This is my weight chart for 1st trimester... not much change. Gynae wants me to stay within a gain of 1 kg up to 16 weeks.

We are finally in our 2nd trimester! Have been feeling less tired and less nauseous and have also been puking less. Starting to feel like a normal human being.

Went to see Dr Chan again for our 14th week update. Baby has grown to 9.14 cm (CRL) !! Still can't tell the gender yet, but Dr Chan says, "It could be a boy."

Next appointment we will be having the amniocentesis test to check for genetic abnormalities.

These are the 3D/4D scan printouts.

12 weeks along now and have been feeling tired and nauseous. Was puking almost everyday for about one to two weeks, making regular donations to the toilet bowl. However, the puking is not the worst part, in fact puking is easy. The part I hate the most is the utter fatigue and exhaustion. I'm just too tired to get out of bed, to put on my make up (which is pointless anyway since it gets washed off after I puke), to stay awake in the office, to stay awake when I get home...

The bloatedness has gone down but my appetite has changed. I prefer lots of veggies and greens and sweet stuff, nothing too salty, nothing too oily, less meat. Can't take chicken rice or nasi lemak or KFC. Strong smells like frying oil and garlic... cannot tahan. On the flip side, I have no food cravings. In fact, I don't have much appetite at all but if I don't eat, I will feel nauseous. So mealtime is always a chore - I have to really crack my brains for ideas on what to eat.

Sigh. I can't wait for 1st trimester to be over.

Our next appointment at the gynae, 10 weeks now, baby is growing well, CRL (Crown-Rump Length) is 3.59 cm. Placenta is still a little low, but is not covering the cervix and gynae is confident it will not be a problem.

Gynae also managed to do a rough NT measurement (0.89 mm). He said this is really minimal which is good because it shows less risk of Down's Syndrome. That is really good news for us, as our first (unplanned) pregnancy in late 2005 ended in a miscarriage at 12 weeks due to baby having Down's Syndrome.

Baby was moving his hands and gynae managed to scan and count five fingers!

Am feeling some slight nausea if I skip a meal or eat a little later than usual... looks like the nasty symptoms are starting...

8 weeks into the race. Have been feeling bloated after meals - terrible, terrible. Fell sick over the weekend as well, went to a GP who just gave me some Vitamin C and some lozenges. Still, I'm sure the worst is yet to come...