Any time now...

Week 38...and Mummy is 1.5cm dilated! oooohhhh....means anytime now!!

Baby Louisa, please stay inside for at least another 11 days...Mummy and Daddy are not quite ready yet. We haven't quite gotten the Christmas tree up. Your baby cot / cradle is ready, your clothes are ready, your bottles (well, you're not allowed to use bottles till 2nd month) are ready, just that the home is not quite ready to welcome you yet. It's still a bit messy...

The contractions are becoming stronger. It's not painful...just uncomfortable. How does the "uterine massage" (aka contractions) feel on you?

During my last gynae visit, I was strapped to the CTG machine to monitor heartbeat and contractions. Woah, Baby Louisa kept moving during that whole session. Could hear her move. Gynae did an internal check (yucks!! I hate that!! It's painful....aiyoh!) and found that I'm 1.5cm dilated. Almost cried when gynae did that check. I can't imagine having to be checked a few times druing labour, to see if it's time to push...oh my. Couldn't stop shivering/shaking after the check was over. Guess I really need the epidural. What was I thinking of, when I first planned to deliver without epidural. I must be crazy.

On top of the low threshold for pain (all my life, I thought my threshold was rather high...), Baby Louisa is estimated to be 3.2kg at 38 weeks. She seems big. How to deliver naturally without epidural? I must really be mad. hahaha...That's it. It'll be epidural for me.

As the date draws nearer, as it starts to sink in - Baby Louisa will be out soon...., I find myself getting more and more nervous. I'm actually nervous about the whole labour process, something which I've been reading up on. I guess no amount of reading can prepare you enough for it. I afraid of the pain that might come with it! And any complications that might arise....

Oh dear, I need to go back to this and pray...

The past few days / weeks have been extremely hot. It's so hot that I feel like I'm melting. I have to stand in front of the fan when I'm at home. Otherwise, the air-con has to be turned on, regardless rain or shine. Whereas Daddy is complaining it's too cold. Hahaha...So I ended up eating the 2 tubs of ice-cream in the freezer to keep cool ( and also trying to finish them up before confinement, so that the ice-cream won't be around to tempt me during confinement period...)

And...my feet started to swell again!! On Sunday. This is the 2nd time the feet swelled. The first time it swelled, the swelling lasted 1 day. It was gone the next day after I kept drinking water. So, it could be due to the saltier diet I had the day before (salt retains water...). However, the 1st time it swelled, the swelling was much lesser than this time round. This time, my ankles are really fat! And I cannot fit into my shoes!! Fifrst time in the whole pregnancy, feet cannot fit into shoes...hahaha. The ankles ache when press on them. The knuckles on my hands are also aching, especially in the morning. It is as if someone had bashed my fingers while I was asleep. Owwww.....

However, all these experiences showed me how amazing our body is. The body is preparing itself for labour, hence the water retention. During labour, there's hardly any chance of a drink. Besides, you wouldn't want to embarass yourself by relieving yourself at the inappropriate time (not that one can help oneself, during labour. Baby will be pushing against the bladder!). Therefore, the body begins to store water to allow it to function normally during the long labour hours.

Amazing, isn't it? This mechanism created by God...

Sudden burst of energy

For some strange reason, I had a sudden boost of energy today.

I've been clearing my desk (hey, 3 month's worth dust collecting on a messy table is NOT nice...plus, in case they get an intern to sit at my desk, how?). Desk is more or less quite cleared now.

So, today, I went down to Bugis area (the Fu Lu Shou Complex) and bought some herbs needed for confinement. Some only...as I am not sure if (a) I would eventually use ALL of them during confinement and (b) I can't carry too heavy a bag of herbs...

What I bought today:-

(a) Dang Shen

(b) Medlar Seeds / Wolfberry / Gou Qi / Kei Chi (it has several names). We still have some in the fridge, but this is something that's like ginger, used in almost every confinement dish...

(c) Black Dates (not much, only 500g)

(d) Dried Longan Meat (500g)

(e) Tangerine Peel (100g - and I think it's still too much. The girl wanted to sell me 500g!)

(f) The herbs for bathing (just enough for 1 week. Need more? Confinement 'nanny' can go get when he goes and buys the fresh foods during confinement)

Good thing is, all these herbs and dried goods can be used in other herbal soups (with the exception of the bathing ones) in future. So, they won't be wasted should I not finish them during confinement.

Think I still have to get black beans, raw peanuts, bei qi, huai shan and honey dates.

To Do / To Get List

I do have some form of memory lapse...so I'm jotting this down to help me remember:-

List of things to get:-

(1) Diaper rash cream – Desitin (ordered)
(2) Baby bath tub
(3) Mosquito net
(4) Baby thermometer
(5) Baby bouncer (netting type or the Fisher Price type?)

(6) Those herbs for bathing

(7) Ginger

(8) Eggs (gee, I wonder how many eggs to prepare)

(9) Sesame oil

Hmmm...I think that's all for now.

18 More Days

In summary:-

Baby Louisa is now estimated to be 2.9kg (week 37).

Amniotic fluid is sufficient.

She’s not engaged yet (but that does not mean she won’t come out early).

Gynae visits are now every week. Will be put on the CTG this Saturday to monitor her movements...

We collected her cot/cradle yesterday evening. I want to get her a new mattress. Foam should be better than sponge…The sponge mattress can be a spare mattress.

Should I get her a baby bouncer?

Her present for us on our 1st wedding anniversary – lots of BIG movements throughout the day. Hehs. It was fun watching my tummy move (it always is fun…)

And my confinement ‘nanny’ has not stocked up on the essential ingredients for confinement food yet. What if Baby Louisa decides to come out earlier? Maybe I should just take one day’s leave and go get them myself.

Medical, Social, Physical and Psychological aspects of confinement.

Daddy's thoughts:-

The amount of information on confinement, child birth, bringing up a child can be rather voluminous.

The sources are varied - there are books, people in the medical field, relatives, associates, hearsay etc. Sometimes, there are overlaps which can be interesting. If your relative is from the medical field, then the information on confinement is both advice from a relative and from a medical person. You could think of permutations eg a relative who is an author, a friend who passes down hearsay etc...

The point here is that one needs to be sure of the medical facts. For obvious reasons, the consequences of doing the wrong thing medically can be huge. This seems to imply that authoritative sources ought to be taken more seriously since there is some form of systematic empirical findings. But you would be a fool if you thought only along those lines.

Be nice to well meaning people even if it is clear to you that the information is hearsay or weakly unsubstantated and that you seem to know more than them. The last thing you want to have is a social problem.

That said, it seems possible to tenatively think of confinement in 4 key areas- the medical, phyisical, psychological and social.

I'd like to invite comments in a category you feel comfortable with. Also feel free to come up with new categories.

Confinement "Nanny"

Oh, I simply couldn't leave this very important person out.

Introducing.....my confinement 'nanny'....Daddy!! (Have I done this already?)

Yup, daddy will be helping me with confinement. Isn't he just great... =) The washing machine can do the washing. Daddy just hangs the laundry up. He's own clothes will be washed separately (by the machine). He can cook (with additional help from a book of confinement recipes). I've stuck post it notes on those recipes that I want to eat and even labelled them for different days of the week, different weeks for the month - Hey, I need some variety too...besides, different foods provide different nutritional value as a mother recovers from the delivery. As long as Baby Louisa pops out at the expected date, it should be fine...coz that's when Daddy is on holidays...otherwise,...I dun dare to think otherwise. hahaha.

My only worry? Daddy is the kind who will just fall asleep when he's tired. So, will there be a point where I'm left on my own? Coz Daddy's asleep....during the day. Will Daddy be able to wake up early enough to make breakfast for Mummy? Especially when he's probably going to be so tired. How about Daddy's meals? Confinement food may be too heaty for him. Who's going to prepare his meals for him?

FINAL countdown...Exactly 1 more month!!

Mummy's thoughts:-

It's exactly 1 more month to Baby Louisa's EDD...07 Dec 07.

Have I gotten everything ready? hmmmm....(whips out checklist). Tick, tick, tick,...nope. Not quite ready yet. Gotta get baby soap for Baby Louisa, deco her room (or what would be her room, since she's gonna be in the master bedroom for the first few months...), get more clothes (we've got a few hand me downs, but those are kinda too big for her, I think)

Gotta stock up on all that old ginger, red dates, mee sua, rice...(for confinement).

****

I watched a CNA (Channel News Asia) programme this morning. Yupz, our office TV is tuned to CNA. It was about different birthing methods. The programme was hosted by Lisa Ang and a few mummies gave their experience. It was mainly about alternative birthing methods - hypnobirthing and water birth. I think I will go for the more traditional delivery at the hospital, afterall this is the first child. I have no idea how my body will take to giving birth... However, what struck me in the programme, was what one mother said. She shared about how happy she was opting for that alternative method, because she knew she gave her baby the best present..."by giving birth to him with a calm and relaxed mind" (ok, maybe not the exact words, but something to that extent). But that's it. The best 1st present to give her child was a mother who is calm, relaxed and not fearful of the process. A mother who is not screaming in pain at the process of birthing. Basically, a peaceful birth. Not that other births are not peaceful...imagine this, you are on your way out into this world, and your mother is screaming her guts out at the same time. It does sound like it's a "messy" world to be stepping into. hahaha. But sometimes, it can't be helped.

What she said struck me because I've been quite pre-occupied with worrying about how much pain I can tahan, would I need epidural, would I be screaming my head off etc. But it has never occurred to me to instead, focus on being calm and relaxed during the brith process. The moment I think of giving birth, I'm thinking: head full of perspiration, legs on stirrups, squeezing Daddy's hands, cringing in pain and screaming "I can't take it anymore!"... Hmmm, that shouldn't be the way. The birth process is a unique process, a miracle, enjoyed only by unique people, us FEMALES. So I really shouldn't think about how bad it can be. Rather, I should be thinking about how to enjoy the process. Yes, it sounds like a very tall order, and I do sound unrealistic. Is it a case of "mind over matter"? Hmmm....the moment I think of giving birth, I should be thinking: relaxed process, calm surroundings, my body is just guiding Baby Louisa out into this world.

Time to find a nice soothing CD to pack into the hospital bag to bring into the delivery suite...Hmmm, should I bring the aromatherapy too?

Have I lost weight?

Mummy's thoughts:-

We went for our 2-weekly gynae appointment on Saturday. It’s week 35!!

My overall weight is 62.9kg. I lost weight?? At the last visit, my weight was 63kg. Hmmm…

When Dr. Tan measured Baby Louisa, her weight was estimated to be at 2.7kg. Baby Louisa was estimated to be 2.3kg at the previous visit. So, it’s either the measurement of the baby was a bit off (there is usually some error, that’s why it’s called an “estimated weight”) or, the Mummy has lost about 500g!

I’m more inclined to think that Mummy has lost some weight. Not because I want to lose weight, but rather, I have been so busy lately, that there hasn’t been much rest or sleep.

Lately, I have been feeling a bit of pain in the pelvic area. It occurs when I walk or sit. Dr says this is due to the body preparing for labour (pelvic bones shifting and adjusting). It does not occur together with the contractions, so it is not labour pains. At the pelvic area, it’s sharp pains. At the hip/butt area, it’s dull aches. Oh my….

Baby Louisa has been stretching a lot too. Well, perhaps it’s the same amount of stretching, but it feels like it’s harder due to the lack of space. Each time she stretches out, there’s a lump that stays there for a while, and it does hurt a little. As usual, she tends to move more when it’s meal time…I thought there would be less space for her to move much nowadays, but no…she’s still moving about. This will be one active babe, I think.

The Braxton-Hicks contractions have been coming on strong and more frequently. It’s uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. When I’m asleep, I find it more difficult to turn – BH contractions plus pelvic bones aching. Ouch ouch ouch...

Time to rest more….