Happy Melahirkan

Sebagai seorang wanita, pengalaman hidup yang paling menakjubkan bagi saya adalah pengalaman mengandung dan melahirkan anak-anak saya. Ingatan saya segera meluncur ke saat saya mengandung dan melahirkan anak pertama yang sudah saya tunggu-tunggu selama 5 tahun. Meskipun peristiwa tersebut terjadi 6 tahun yang lalu, saya masih ingat segala perasaan campur aduk yang saya rasakan: rasa bahagia, takut, panik, dan cemas. Saya bahagia dengan kehamilan ini tetapi saya tidak terlalu PD untuk melahirkannya karena saya tidak memiliki pengetahuan dan pengalaman melahirkan karena ini adalah kehamilan saya yang pertama. Lagipula saat itu saya berada di negara orang, tidak ada sanak keluarga yang mendampingi saya dan saya sedang berusaha keras menamatkan sekolah. Selama hamil pun saya lebih berkonsentrasi pada studi saya karena saya tidak mau menunda kelulusan. Satu-satunya yang menjadi pegangan adalah buku tentang kehamilan dan melahirkan yang dikirim oleh suami saya. Saya juga berdoa tiap malam agar semua berjalan lancar. Puji Tuhan karena doa saya didengar. Saya melahirkan dengan normal tanpa ada komplikasi, tanpa C-section, dan saya pun tetap bisa lulus sekolah tepat waktu dengan nilai yang sangat memuaskan. Tiada saat yang lebih membahagiakan daripada saat saya menggendong bayi saya dan menyusuinya untuk pertama kali selepas dia dilahirkan.

Berdasarkan pengalaman tersebut, ketika Meidya Derni dan We R Mommies Indonesia menerbitkan buku ebook/audiobook yg berjudul “Happy Melahirkan”, dengan senang hati saya menjadi reseller karena ebook/audiobook ini berisi segala informasi komplit yang dibutuhkan oleh semua ibu yang hendak melahirkan, meliputi persiapan sebelum melahirkan (dari pertimbangan memilih tempat kelahiran dan ahli yang akan membantu kelahiran, bagaimana kalau posisi bayi sungsang, atau bayi lahir premature, sampai metode-metode melahirkan yang dapat mengurangi rasa sakit saat melahirkan) dan sesudah melahirkan (pemberian ASI, babyblues, perawatan selama 40 hari setelah melahirkan), termasuk juga informasi untuk sang ayah agar dapat berperan aktif dalam membantu mempersiapkan kelahiran si bayi yang sudah dinanti-nantikan.

Selain itu, terdapat juga sharing cerita dari mommies anggota We R Mommies Indonesia mengenai pengalaman melahirkan mereka. Komplit sekali kan? Rasanya semua pertanyaan bumil tentang melahirkan akan dapat terjawab oleh informasi yang diberikan di ebook/audiobook ini.  Selain itu, dengan menerbitkan ebook/audiobook ini, We R Mommies Indonesia ingin membantu pemerintah Indonesia dalam rangka menurunkan angka kematian ibu dan bayi saat melahirkan karena apabila si ibu yang akan melahirkan mendapatkan cukup pengetahuan tentang persiapan melahirkan, si ibu akan merasa lebih tenang dan kuat untuk melahirkan. 

Oleh karena itu, jangan sampai mom semua seperti saya saat melahirkan anak pertama. Kalau moms ingin PD saat melahirkan, langsung saja klik disini untuk mendapatkan informasi terlengkap tentang cara pintar persiapan melahirkan ini.

Audiobook Happy Melahirkan dapat didengarkan kapan saja, sambil masak, sambil kerja, sambil tiduran pun bisa mendengarkan. Kan lebih enak kayak dibacain buku cerita. Musik pengantarnya pun sangat menenangkan. Udah gitu si bapak juga bisa ikut mendengarkan kapan saja. Kalau malas mendengarkan dan lebih seneng membaca, buku ini bisa dibaca di computer atau di perangkat mobile lainnya. Tulisannya gede-gede, bahasanya pun tidak terlalu formal  dan kaku. Yakin seneng deh bacanya. Lah saya saja yang tidak sedang hamil pun senang bacanya. Jadi teringat masa-masa menakjubkan itu.

Harganya murah banget kok. Cuman Rp89ribu. Yang lebih asiknya lagi, bukan cuman dapat ebook/audiobook ini, tetapi juga bisa daftar jadi reseller. Lumayan untuk tambahan uang saku. Sang ayah pun boleh loh menjadi reseller. Kalo tertarik, silahkan langsung klik disini atau klik di banner Happy Melahirkan di halaman ini.


Kalau mau nanya-nanya, silahkan kirimkan pertanyaan anda melalui email atau comment di artikel ini. I’ll be very happy to answer your queries. Silahkan email saya di coffeeliqueur[dot]gmail[dot]com. I look forward to hearing from you all. Saya berharap semua ibu-ibu Indonesia mendapatkan pengalaman melahirkan yang paling membahagiakan.

Got the blues?

Yes, I did get the baby blues 4 years ago after I gave birth to my 1st child. I got it from the 2nd day after my son was born up to a week afterward. I got so frustrated, irritated, exhausted, and felt sad most of the time. I even cried every night for a week. Thank God I had such wonderful midwife and friends who were willing to go extra miles to save me from going into deep depression, and of course, the Plunket nurses were always available to pick up my midnight calls and talked to me about anything just to make me feel better.

Oh well, who wouldn't get baby blues if you were in my situation at that time. I was in my final year facing my last final examination when I had to give birth just a day before my final exam. I was a first time mother, knew nothing about motherhood and breastfeeding, all alone in a foreign land thousand miles away from my husband and family, haven't had a good night sleep for weeks because I studied hard to prepare for my final exam and never expected that the baby would come 2 weeks earlier. On top of that, I had to pack and to prepare all by myself to go back to Malaysia for good. I really had no time to rest physically and mentally. I never knew that having a baby was such a stressful experience not only because I had no experience at all, but also because of the hormonal upheaval that occurred in my body.

The blues hit me so hard it made me cried every night and felt so helpless and lonely. I felt sad all the time I found myself begging my newborn to give me a chance to rest and to sleep. I needed someone to talk to but not easy to find someone available and who was willing to listen to my woes. Even the people very close to me just couldn't understand why I cried all the time when I should be happy with the presence of my baby. Not everyone can understand about the baby blues especially if you never give birth before. They may think that it is just an excuse for first time mother especially, to cover up her inability to take care her newborn. So, instead of getting support that she needs it the most, she gets more difficult challenges to deal with these people who don't understand what she is going through. She'll feel even down and she can go into deep depression.

I read an article about baby blues written by DR Nor Ashikin Mokhtar in the Star newspaper. You can read the full article here: http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2008/9/21/health/2043971&sec=health
Do read the full article, especially for those who never give birth because it contains very good information on emotional reactions after giving birth.

According to the article, there are 3 types of emotional reactions to childbirth:

1. Postpartum Blues or Baby blues
2. Postnatal Depression
3. Puerperal Psychosis (the most serious postpartum emotional condition)
   

It is very important for mother who suffers from any of these emotional reactions to get full support emotionally and physically from her support persons, her family, and her friends.

Since I have experienced baby blues before, during my 2nd pregnancy my ob/gyn and his staff had to monitor my mental state throughout the pregnancy until after I gave birth to my 2nd child. They had to make sure that I had enough rest and they also informed my support person (my husband in this case) about the blues and asked him to give his full support so that I wouldn't get postnatal depression or even worst the puerperal psychosis.

So, my husband did anything he could to support me until I gave a green light for him to leave me when his duty called. I felt so much better on my 2nd childbirth because I already know what to do and what to expect when my baby is born. I've learned many tricks to handle my newborn as well. I don't think I experience baby blues this time but unfortunately, there is another type of blues I experience though; it's the maid blues, which is caused by...you know who...Gosh!! She's been nothing but trouble to me... : (

Still waiting

At the moment, I'm still waiting to give birth which can happen any time now until end of the month. My ob/gyn said big chance that I'll give birth during this week because everything is ready. The baby's head is engaged very low. The cervix has diluted 2 cm. I just have to wait for a big major contraction that is strong enough to break the water. After the water breaks, the delivery of the baby will be pretty fast. So, I have to make sure I am not too far away from the hospital at this moment.

But now, I'm still waiting...and waiting...and waiting. I've been having painful contractions but not too strong. I can't sleep because I just got too excited and I keep on thinking about my son when I have to stay in the hospital to give birth. If only I could just take him to the hospital with me so that I can always see and monitor him....
I've got super paranoid about who will take care of my son other than me. I don't trust anyone at all, including my hubby.
Besides, I don't know why, my body feels extremely hot and I sweat so much even though I've set the air conditioner in my room to 16 degrees Celsius.

I want to be able to do so many things and also traveling around but at the moment, my mobility is really limited with such a huge tummy.This waiting period makes me feel agitated so easily. I also get bored and tired so easily. I get bored over so many things I usually love to do. I even get bored of checking emails, browsing internet, even writing a blog. So, I really need to finish this before I'm completely turned off.

Please pray for me so that I can have a smooth and quick delivery with my husband by my side (he's been tired of waiting also and just cannot wait to go overseas for his work assignment). Thank you so much in advance!

37 weeks pregnant

Starting this morning, I have to see my ob/gyn for a check up once a week until I'm in labor because I'm into my 37 week pregnancy counting by date. I can be in labor anytime now until 6th September. If on the 6th September I'm still not in labor yet, then I have to be induced. I really hope the baby will come out naturally without an induction. Though I've never done that before, I heard from many people after the induction, the mother will experience tremendous pain and will run out of energy to push the baby. The baby can become distressed as well.

On this morning check up my ob/gyn did an internal examination and swept my membranes because I have been experiencing a number of strong contractions for the past 2 weeks. It was not a pleasant experience though. It's rather painful but not too long. After the internal examination, I was informed that the baby's head is already very low and the cervix is opening up a little bit. Because of this, I was sent to do the Cardiotocograph (CTG) test for an hour in the labor ward. The CTG test is done by using a machine that has an instrument to be attached to my tummy to record baby's heart rate and to record any contractions. At the same time, I had to monitor the baby's movement. This test is important to monitor the baby's well being.

For an hour I could listen my baby's heartbeat. It sounded pleasant to my ears. The baby sounded very relax and when the baby moved I had to press a button for 3 seconds.
I had to bring the result back to my ob/gyn to be examined. According to the CTG test, there was no major contractions and no fetal distress so I could go back home. I was told to return to hospital immediately whenever I experience any signs of labor such as any bleeding, water breaks, or any major painful contractions. I hope I won't be in labor tonight because my husband is not around until tomorrow. I'm not afraid to face this alone but what I am worried the most is that my husband will be missing his chance to welcome his child again for the 2nd time. It's really not cool because he has missed the 1st one.

35-weeks pregnant

While I'm still able to sit in front of computer and have sometime for myself, I would try to allocate the time to update my blog as much as I can. But at the moment, I can't sit too long anymore now that I am entering my 35th week of pregnancy. My tummy is growing bigger it makes me difficult to sit on a soft couch and to get up again, especially if I have to get up after sitting on the floor. Sleeping, walking, and breathing have been proven to be more and more problematic during this period. I cannot walk too far and too long anymore because I will run out of breath and I will experience strong Braxton Hicks contraction at night. It's so strong it can take my breath away and I'll be gasping for some air while praying and whispering to the baby to stay longer inside my womb.

I do not want my baby to come out prematurely. My first child was born exactly on the 36th week (2 weeks earlier than the due date) and it was a very easy and quick normal delivery with no epidural involved. While the easy and quick normal delivery part has always been what I ask for in my prayer, the earlier-than-due-date part is not what I want. 3 of my son's cousins were born earlier than the due date as early as 32 - 35 weeks. I talk a lot to my baby inside the womb to stay longer at least until 37 weeks. I do not want my baby to come out too late as well (overdue). Overdue baby usually is quite big so I'm afraid I will have a difficult and long labor not to mention the possibility of having Cesarean Section.

Cesarean Section is never my preference because then I will have to stay longer in bed, feeling the pain after the big surgery and still have to take care the newborn and worry about when I can recover because I have another son to take care, a hubby that cannot wait to go for his overseas assignment, and a long list of my duty as a wife and a mother as well. But then, if C-section is the only way to deliver my baby, then I just have to cope with the problems later.

At 35 weeks pregnant, I'm supposed to enjoy the time with my other half as much as I can, but unfortunately, his work always comes first. I wanted to take him to go for a movie but it never materializes. He would say, "Tomorrow, tomorrow. I'm very busy today." and that tomorrow means "wait long long lah!!" Aiyoh!!!
I can just go by myself to the cinema and watch The dark knight but then I'm afraid if anything happens to me, no one will help because at this period, the preparation of my body for labor is getting more and more obvious. Anything can happen anywhere.

I have done some preparation for the baby and for staying in the hospital. I've packed the baby's bag and mine. I've washed everything including the breastpump but I haven't sterilized it. I've informed my maid to do it once the baby is out. I still have quite a number of things to be bought such as the baby mattress + bed sheet, the baby bottle/cups to store the breast milk, and the baby car seat. I'm still looking for the most suitable baby car seat around because my car is very small and I have installed 1 car seat for my 1st child. If I want to put another car seat, I have to make sure, the car seat is slim enough to fit the back seat of my car and still have some space for my maid to sit. Oh yes, my maid always wants me to take her whenever my hubby and I go out. She complains when she has to stay at home. When my parents came over to visit me, she had to stay at home because the car can't fit too many people and my maid was not happy about it. She scolded my parents for coming over and causing her to be left at home during family outing. My hubby and I have no plan to upgrade the car soon because we still have no budget for that. Besides, big car means more petrol. I still need to allocate the money for more urgent things like all the newborn needs and the house that is still under renovation. I want the house to be completed as soon as possible because the apartment I stay at the moment is getting smaller with the new addition to my family.

Ok, I think I've been sitting here quite sometime and I need to end this post quickly because my back is starting to ache and I'm getting hungry. Oh by the way, so far I've only put on 7Kgs in total and my body weight keeps going up and down. When I was pregnant with my 1st child, I gained 10Kgs in total for the whole duration of 9 months.

32 weeks pregnant

I'm 32 weeks pregnant at the moment. Since the day I entered the third trimester pregnancy, I could feel that the most comfortable period of pregnancy has slowly been going away. My tummy is growing bigger everyday and it gets heavier. My body puts on weight as well though it is not too much compared to my first pregnancy. So far, I only put on about 7 kilograms.
My center of gravity has moved too and this makes me walk like a penguin. I have trouble sleeping every night because the baby tries to adjust her position all the time and I feel the pain in my lower hips every time I change position while sleeping. According to the scan, it's a baby girl, by the way. I hope it's right so I can 'close shop' with 1 boy and 1 girl... :)

Two weeks ago, I went for check up because I felt that the baby's position was already very low and I felt a painful cramp in my lower abdomen. I thought I was about to give birth already. But luckily it was only a false alarm. The baby's head was still in breech presentation. My ob/gyn asked me to stop walking too much but to sit up right and stand straight instead so that the baby could turn the head down by the force of gravity. I think this false alarm was triggered by the incident I had during the day when I had to walk up and down the staircase of more than 11 floor because the only 2 lifts in my apartment were malfunctioning.

Today, I went for my check up again and the good news is that the baby's head is already in the right position (cephalic presentation). I also had my tetanus jab (my 2nd time. I had it before when I was small) and now my left arm is very very sore... :(
The bad news is that my urine contains a slightly high level of protein. My ob/gyn is a bit concern about this because high level of protein in urine during pregnancy can lead to preeclampsia condition.

According to this website: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111122343.htm,
if it is not monitored, preeclampsia can rapidly escalate to eclampsia, a condition in which a massive rise in blood pressure causes the mother to suffer a series of potentially fatal complications and forces premature delivery of the infant.

So far, I do not suffer from high blood pressure and my sugar level is still normal. Hopefully my protein level won't bring any danger to my pregnancy and me so that I can continue the pregnancy to the full term and the mother and baby will be in good condition and healthy during delivery. Please pray for me and my baby.

Sharing important knowledge

Some of the information below I received when I attended an ante-natal class.

1. Breast milk is the best: I was successfully breastfed my son for 15 months and I can't stress enough how important it is to give your babies, from newborn - 6 months old, only breast milk (exclusive breastfeeding) because breast milk is the only thing that their tiny stomach can digest. Breast milk also provides complete nutritions for your babies to grow while helping all the internal organs to mature and can function properly. It's cheap and convenient. It protects your babies against infection and allergy. You will see that the rest of the information I give below will always referred back to breast milk as no. 1 solution. It is also important to know the correct way to breastfeed your baby, again I stress the word, breastfeed. Not nipplefeed. Make sure baby is latched on properly to the breast so that mother doesn't feel the pain on the nipple during breastfeeding. Many women do not want to breastfeed because they can't stand the pain.
   Visit La Leche League website for more info about breastfeeding or ask guidance from other breastfeeding moms.
2. Breastfeeding moms must be relaxed and happy to help increasing the milk production. For more information about how breast milk is produce, read here: http://www.babies.sutterhealth.org/breastfeeding/bf_production.html
3. Breast milk produces at night so breastfeeding mothers have to breastfeed their babies at night so that the breasts will not be too full. Full breasts are very uncomfortable and painful.
4. Do not put breast milk in a glass because breast milk can loose its important nutrition when it's put in a glass. Use a plastic cup/container instead.
5. No water for newborn to 6 months old babies. Only breastmilk (or only if mother can't produce breast milk, then give formula): According to the latest news I read from Reuters, giving too much water to babies below 6 months old and younger can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication because their kidneys are not yet mature. Too much water will make babies' bodies to release sodium along with excess water and losing sodium can affect brain activity.
   You can read the rest of the article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSCOL76777020080527
   
6. When your baby has jaundice (yellow skin): Jaundice is caused by the excessive amount of bilirubin in the blood. It is dangerous when bilirubin level is more than 15 mg. The treatment: Blue light - to help to bring down the level of bilirubin faster, give breast milk NOT water because bilirubin will come out together with the stool not with urine. Water will come out as urine which won't contain the bilirubin. So, beware when someone asks you to give more water to your jaundice baby. Read more about jaundice here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001559.htm#
   
7. When your baby has wind/colic: No traditional herbs for breastfeed moms. Breastfeed more. Do not apply oil/ointment on the stomach because it can caused liver damage (some mothers like to apply oil/ointment such as minyak telon/minyak kayu putih (Cajaput oil) to baby's stomach every time after bath. This is dangerous because after a warm bath, baby's skin can absorb the oil/ointment very well.
   
8. Nappy rash on baby: Change the nappy frequently. Even if you buy the most expensive nappy, you still have to change it frequently because you do not want the urine to stain your baby's skin that can cause the rash.
9. When your baby has eye discharge: The treatment for eye discharge: antibiotic eye ointment or drops, frequent cleaning of the eyes carefully and gently, massage the tear duct which may be blocked.
10. When your baby has heat rash (red rashes on the skin): Do not over-cloth the baby. Bath the baby more to cool down.
    
11. No pacifier: I don't recommend to give pacifier to your babies because: it's unhygienic (your baby can get oral thrush - fungal overgrowth in baby's mouth). Pacifier can cause nipple confusion on breastfed babies, and it's dangerous when it's accidentally swallowed (baby will die because of choking).
12. Sleeping position for babies: Back is the best. Lie on the back to sleep. Never leave your baby sleep on the tummy. It's a common cause of SID (sudden infant death/cot death).
13. Always strap in your babies (children) in the right car seat for them when traveling: the baby car seat must be properly and securely installed at the rear (back) seat of the car. Do not install baby car seat in the front seat and the passenger side with airbag when your car is equipped with airbag. Visit this website for more information: http://www.edmunds.com/advice/womenfamilies/articles/104581/article.html
14. Get as much as information you can and always check with your paediatrician/other specialists before you do anything dangerous to your children.

Love and protect your children. Unconditional love is the most important thing you can give to your children because it will teach them how to love others unconditionally as well.

These are all important information I can think of to share with you for the moment. I hope this basic information can help you to become more knowledgeable and wise parents.

Ante-natal class

I'm so glad I finally managed to drag my husband to attend ante-natal class. He missed the 1st one 4 years ago because of his work commitment and distance that kept us apart.

To me, attending an ante-natal class is a very important part of pregnancy period. Although I have attended before, I chose to attend again on my 2nd pregnancy because I believe the knowledge that I received is very valuable to prepare me and my support person to care for our newborn later. Besides, I needed to know any updated information regarding babies/children immunization, sicknesses and how to prevent them, and also great information on what to do/give and not to do/give to babies.

My 1st ante-natal class was provided by Birthcare (great postnatal hospital) in New Zealand. It was a free (fully subsidized by government) 3-day class from morning 'till afternoon. I was given 2 books containing the course material, one book for the father and one book for the mother. The 3-day class was very elaborate and the information given was great especially for 1st time mother like me who had to care for the 1st born by herself. I learned all about to go through my pregnancy, the birthing methods available, the painkiller options during labor, equipment used during delivery, tips on easy-quick delivery, the importance of breastfeeding, how to breastfeed correctly, and parenting education. Too bad my husband couldn't join me, so for 2 sessions my partner was an empty chair then on the final session, one of my good friends agreed to become my temporary birthing partner.

My 2nd ante-natal class was in Malaysia. It's provided by the hospital in where I am going to give birth later.
It was a half a day class. The fee was RM20 per couple in exchange of buffet lunch and all important things to bring to hospital for delivery. The speakers for this ante-natal course consisted of a paediatrician, an obstetrician and gynecology, a nurse, an anaesthetist, and a physiotherapist. I learned a lot of new things in this class especially things regarding breastfeeding, babies, and parenting in Malaysia in addition to the same knowledge I received on my previous ante-natal class in New Zealand.
My husband and I agreed that joining this class really gave us more knowledge about taking care our children. We learned many things that most people take for granted thinking that they already know when actually they know the wrong things.
It's great that my husband was there with me listening to the same information so that when we face a problem concerning our children, we will react the same way and not blaming one another instead. This is a very important point to highlight why it is very important for me to take my support person to attend an ante-natal class.

If you are pregnant, I really suggest you attend an ante-natal class with your support person (your husband, your mother, your mother in-law) so that every one will get the same knowledge and you, as a mother who only wants the best for your children, will not be blamed for doing things that consider new to your support persons. Your mother/mother in-law always think that they know everything better than you do because they are experience mothers, but if they never update their motherhood knowledge, then they will teach you all the wrong things (old information) which can be dangerous for your children. The knowledge you receive during ante-natal course will act as your mythbusters so you know for sure what to do/give to your children.

By attending ante-natal class, you and your support person will be more prepared and relax to welcome the wonderful addition in your family.

Temporary memory lost

Yesterday was the worst day in my life. I had a big argument with my other half. So, to release the anger, I walked aimlessly touring Ipoh town for about 2 hours in the mid of the day. When I got very hungry, I stopped by at the hospital closes to my house to have lunch at the coffee shop there. I was very sad, tired, thirsty, and hungry. In the coffee shop I was greeted by a group of nurses from the pediatric clinic and I also met the nurse from my O & G clinic. Talking to them has made me forget for a while about my sadness.

The nurse from O & G saw that I looked very tired and unwell. So, she suggested me to see the specialist to get checked. So, I got my urine checked first before seeing the specialist. From the urine test, the nurse found out that I was dehydrated, exhausted, and there was high level sugar content in my urine. It was a red alert for every one. So, my specialist quickly assessed my condition and my baby. He suspected I suffered from great depression and referred me to a different specialist from different hospital.

Once every thing's done at O & G, I quickly called a taxi to take me to the referred hospital. When the operator asked me to give my name, my contact number, and the address, suddenly, I just could not remember a thing. Suddenly my mind was blank. It was like a chunk of my memory was removed from my brain. I forced to remember but I just could not!
The operator asked me to read the information from somewhere but I just couldn't get any information to help me remember other than the name of the hospital as my pick up point. Luckily not too long, the taxi arrived and I showed the taxi driver where I want to go by showing the reference letter from O & G specialist. Along the way, I tried hard to remember things about me, but I just couldn't.

When I arrived at the other hospital, I was sent to the right clinic by the front desk officer. In the clinic, again, I had difficulty to give my details for registration. The nurse asked me to sit down and tried my best to remember things about me slowly. Suddenly I remembered that I had a name card. So, I took out my name card and gave the details in there. I was very happy. From there, I could remember my details again.
When doctor saw me, I told him what had happened. He said that temporary memory lost that I suffered from was triggered by the great depression I had.
He prescribed me some medicine, but I think I wouldn't need the medicine if only I had enough support and love from the people around me.

Walk slowly, mommy!!

Yesterday morning I fell down in front of the lift of my apartment. I twisted my ankle and bumped my right shoulder on the floor. I didn't remember how exactly that happened. It happened very fast. I was talking to my husband while walking towards the lift. I didn't notice there were puddles on the floor. Suddenly I was already on the floor and feeling a tremendous pain on my left leg. I laid still on the floor, didn't dare to move a muscle. I was in shock. The first thing came to my mind was the baby in my womb. "My baby. I hope my baby is ok." I kept on repeating that sentence. My husband was in shock too. He tried to help me to get up again. He kept on asking me if I was ok or not.

When I finally managed to get up again, I couldn't say a word. I was still too numb to speak and worried so much about my baby. I quickly checked if I was bleeding or not. There was not any blood coming out of my body. Fuih!! Thank you, God! I knew I couldn't blame anyone. It was my fault. I was not careful enough; but according to my husband, my slippers were to blame. He kept on blaming me for wearing the slippers because the slippers didn't have a good grip anymore. Never mind my slippers, it was all my fault for not paying attention while walking. I just prayed hard so that the baby was not affected at all.

The whole day all I could do was laying down on the bed feeling the pain all over my body. I sprained my left ankle. My right shoulder and my right hip got blue black bruises. I hope I fell down on my side so that my baby bump was untouched.

I couldn't come down to pick up my son when he returned from school. When he saw me laying down on the bed, he asked me, "What happened with you, mommy?" I told him I fell down and sprained my ankle. With his serious face while holding my hands, he said to me, "That's why you have to walk slowly, mommy. If you walked slowly, you will not fall down anymore."
Wha..ha..ha..I tried my best to hide my smile and put on my sad face and said, "Oh yes, darling. Thank you for your advice. I'll walk slowly next time, ok?" Then I saw him smiling at me. Oh my boy! He's just the best thing that ever happened to me. I pray so that the second baby will be as brilliant as the big brother.

Oh no! Not right now...

No one likes to have a terrible flu especially when you are pregnant. This is a bad thing that's happening to me now. I hate it so much. First, it's because it attacks my immune system that makes me very weak and even more tired than I already am. Second, it's because I can't take the damn medicines! Oh..no!! I need at least a paracetamol to help me to fight the headache but since I choose to give a chance to my immune system to fight without any help, I just have to 'enjoy' the feeling of my head is about to split into 2. I can't describe how painful it is. Now I know how Harry Potter feels every time Voldemort is in his head. Since I don't know how to do occlumency just like Harry, I just have to bear the pain and vomit when I really can't stand the pain. Gee, I never know I am too dependent on that bloody paracetamol.

Headache isn't the only challenge to my body defense, it comes in a packet with runny nose and sore throat which are trying their best to test my immune system.
I know my body is fighting the sickness. It fights so hard I feel so weak and restless at the same time. My nose produces liquid actively it doesn't give a chance for me to even run for my handkerchief. The liquid would flow back to my throat and make my throat so itchy and dry as if I just swallowed one bucket of sand. I cough and sneeze so much I'm worry about the foetus in my womb. I pray hard it won't be disturbed by this sickness. Disturb the mother, but not the foetus!

Gosh, I can't remember the last time I feel energetic and alive. At the moment, I just need to focus on helping my immune system to fight the flu before I fly back home. It will be a horrible experience to fly with a nose blocked and pregnant at the same time. Even without the flu, I am feeling nauseous and intolerable hungry all the time, so with the flu, that horrible feelings intensify, plus the sleeplessness every night. Oh...I don't feel well at all.

Food Poisoning

Last Saturday, I went to have breakfast with my husband at one of many hawker food joins in Ipoh. This was not my usual thing to do but because I have woken up so early in the morning and I felt a terrible hunger that would make me vomit if I didn't eat quickly, I begged my husband to take me with him.

I ordered a bowl of wan tan noodle and a piece of roti chanai for a quick and easy meal while my husband ordered a bowl of prawn noodle with 3 giant prawns in it. I didn't dare to order that one as it is not advisable for a pregnant woman to consume shelled fish during early pregnancy.

After I finished my food, I felt so bloated and wanted to vomit. I thought it was because I ate too much and I was sure that there must have been quite a generous amount of MSG in my food.
On the way back, I told my husband that I could feel the MSG and it made me sick. I felt dizzy and nausea.
My husband asked me to lay down. I laid down and closed my eyes for about an hour.

When I woke up, I felt a terrible feeling in my stomach. I went to toilet to pass bowel motion but instead of passing bowel motion, I vomited so much. Gosh! I felt so weak and dizzy. Once I could handle the nausea, I passed watery bowel motion. I freaked out! My food must have been contaminated with some bacteria or virus that made me suffering like that. I could not walk out of the toilet because I was shivering and so weak. I called my husband and asked him to carry me to the bed so that I could lay down and informed him what had happened.

I was so worried about my pregnancy and about the baby in the womb. Luckily, after about an hour of resting, I felt a lot better and was able to eat again. This time I made sure what I ate was clean and came out right away from the stove.

To make sure everything was fine, I went to see my Gynecologist on Monday to check on the womb. On the same day, I received a sad news from one of my pregnant friends that she just lost her baby due to typhoid. Oh no! It scared the living daylights of me! I panicked! I couldn't wait to get the result from my Gyne. I did the ultrasound scan again to make sure the baby's heart beat in normal rate and was not infected by any virus or bacteria. My Gyne told me that I had food poisoning last Saturday. He asked me to be careful when choosing my food and asked me to avoid hawker food as much as possible. The fetus looked alright and the heartbeat could still be seen. Oh thank you God!!

I promised my self to be extra careful with the food I eat and stop visiting hawker food joins for the time being. Nothing worries me more than loosing the precious gift due to my negligence and ignorance.

Oh by the way, my doctor informed me about the possible harmful effects of herbs, chinese drugs, native medicine, bottled extract of chicken, and alcohol, during pregnancy. I have also been advised not to take them throughout my pregnancy, delivery, and post natal period (confinement period). This is very important to remember especially during Chinese New Year feast that's coming in 2 weeks.

Sharing a good news

Some people believe that informing a good news about your pregnancy before it reaches 13 weeks old to other people is a taboo because the first tri-semester of pregnancy is the most crucial time. The pregnancy may get a spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) anytime because of many reasons such as chromosomal defect, imperfect brain development, drugs, cervical incompetence, ectopic pregnancy, or severe accident. According to my pregnancy guide book (New Zealand Pregnancy Book. This is a great book, by the way.), it is estimated that as many as 30% of pregnancies are lost, although many of these occur even before a woman is able to confirm pregnancy or in another word, before the woman know that she is pregnant.

Personally, to me, it is very very hard to conceal a pregnancy because getting pregnant is something wonderful that does not come easy to me.
For my first pregnancy, I had to wait for 5 years to get it, despite all the mocking and cursing I got. I even found out late about it because I was so sure all along that I could not get pregnant so easily. So, the moment I knew I got pregnant, I could not wait to tell the world about it. I knew I would feel extremely disappointed if it got aborted. I did not even dare to think about it; but thanks to God, everything went well and so smoothly.
My big belly suddenly became a public property. Every where I went, people stopped me and asked me how many months pregnant I was while touching my growing belly. From the youngest one at around 5 years old to the oldest one at around 90 years old, they honestly showed that they cared for me and that they too were very happy for me. These people didn't even care if I was only a stranger in the country.
It was the greatest adventure I have ever had so far. Really! Nothing could beat the happiness I felt for the whole duration of pregnancy. It was so wonderful to be the centre of attention and to get all the priorities in life so why would I hide it?

What happens if you are asked to do the X-ray? You've definitely got to inform about your pregnancy no matter how early it is.
It is also important to inform a GP that you are pregnant before the GP prescribes any medications to you.

When I found out I got pregnant for the second time, again, I found it hard to keep it a secret because this pregnancy is an answer to my prayer. I informed God that I am ready and my body is ready too to conceive my second child and God listened to me.
Just as my first pregnancy, I found out a bit late. But this time I could feel the same symptoms as the previous pregnancy so I've already suspected it.
And now, I'm telling the world about it because I want the world to be happy with me and pray for my pregnancy so that I will have the same smooth ride or better for the whole duration of pregnancy as the previous pregnancy until the day, I am able to give my 2nd child, the same greatest gift of love I've given to the big brother, my breast milk.

So, if you see that this blog is not updated too often, that is because I can not sit too long in front of computer. Just as the previous pregnancy, I always feel tired all the time so I need to have a lot of rest. Just say a little prayer for me and the baby inside my womb so that every thing will be alright. Thank you people!