Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Hope on Board, Matey!

My phone rang earlier this morning and delivered a really awesome piece of news.

My great buddy
Yzma, who is also a miscarriage survivor and had endured the painful journey as I had previously, let out that she is now 6 weeks pregnant

Words can't describe how happy I am for her. I wish her all the best and don't forget to take enough rest throughout the day. Congratulations!!

Myspace Graphics

Monday, January 28, 2008

Mesy CB ditunda

Hari ni adalah hari yg aku tunggu2.

Setelah sebulan aku submitkan CB application ke Registrar, knowing full well dah quota dah abis, today they will let me know officially whether or not my application has been approved, or God forbids, rejected.

The meeting should have ended in the afternoon when I picked up the phone and braced myself to hear the news.

Only to hear that the meeting has been canceled to February 18th!

I have mixed feelings regarding this piece of news. Sure, I am very happy that I didn't get the 'uh-oh, sorry, hun, too bad for ya' response, but it will also mean that I can't get back to my potential SV with some solid news. I might have to stall things a bit or just be blunt and tell him the truth that I can't give an answer until next month. After all, as an academic he's sure to understand that scholarship takes a ridiculous amount of time and effort to sort out.

On the bright side, I'm pretty sure those big wig people at the top level management are really trying their best to get some extra scholarship quota from the Ministry of Higher Education. Ada hikmahnya la tu meeting CB tu ditangguhkan, Insya Allah.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Top Speed: 1 km/h

Hari ni aku n Hubs berjalan2 dekat Mid-Valley Megamall. Never has this mall seemed quite so mega as it was today. Dah la parking kat area salah, dekat Gardens tu, nyampah kena jln jauh giler... Dah la aku skang ni, 1 km an hour tu top speed. Mengah seh...

Sebenarnya saja konon2 nak mengusha2 kedai baby, di samping membeli hadiah kawen geng2 yg akan berkahwin minggu depan. Mcm ramai la plak org kawen bulan Februari nanti. Padahal bole je beli dekat shopping complexes yg byk dekat area umah, tp saja, gataiii... Mak aku sungguh x puas ati. Kata dia, 'iye, mmg dah 4 bulan, tp still x bole berjln byk2... dah la uri tu kat bawah...'

Bukan apa la, aku rasa boring la plak dah lama sungguh x kuar dating ngan Hubs. Ye la, awal2 tu asyik badan rasa x sedap je. Skang dah cergas sket ni amik la peluang sebaiknya.

Lepas dah dapat hadiah2 yg dicari, kitaorg berjalan plak ke Jusco, tgk selections of baju maternity yg ada kat sana. Sempat la rembat dlm 3 psg blouse and satu maternity T-shirt tu. Baju2 kat Jusco di standard la, affordable. Then window shopping sket2, lps tu mkn dekat food court die, and then kitaorg pon balik. X la eventful sgt pon day out kitaorg ni. Just enough for me to take the shopping edge away :)

Saturday, January 26, 2008

WEEK 18 - INFO UPDATE

By week 18 of your pregnancy, your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5 to 5.5 inches long. Your baby continues to develop fat layers and weighs about 5.25 ounces. Your baby will continue to grow and develop, but the rapid growth will slow down for a little while. There is still space available in your uterus and your baby will be active for periods at a time. Your baby may sit cross legged or turn somersaults. Around this time, your baby becomes more sensitive to the outside world and shows her presence through powerful kicks and prods. The bones through which sound is passed to the inner ear have hardened and the parts of the brain that receives and processes nerve signals from the ears are developing. This means that your baby can hear now. Your baby will get used to familiar sounds, such as your heart beating, familiar voices, blood rushing through the umbilical cord and other daily routine sounds. Your baby will become startled if he hears a loud sound.

Source:

Friday, January 25, 2008

4th Clinic Visit

It’s time for another clinic visit!

This time, kandungan aku dah masuk 17 minggu. First skali lps amik urine, timbang berat badan. I gained a steady 2 kg, so total skang is 67 kg. Dr Sy kata OK. Then dia amik BP, 120/70. Good. Lepas tu dia cucuk sket ujung jari, nak test blood glucose level. Resultnya ialah 6.2 mmol/L. Semua looks fine, Alhamdulillah…

Then naik atas katil utk scan. Awal2 lg aku bgtau Dr Sy, should he be able to see the baby’s sex already, please jgn bgtau aku n Hubs. Dr Sy terkejut gak ngan request kitaorg. I guess x ramai org skang yg x nak tahu the sex of their baby. Aku sebenarnya x sabar nak tahu, almaklumlah the technology is here, manfaatkan lah. But Hubs n mak aku pujuk ckp x yah la tahu dulu… nnt masa nak push bermotivasi sket, semangat nak tahu boy ke girl, plus bila surprise best mcm org dulu2.

Pikir2, betul jugak. Plus aku ni mmg jenis yg bencikan spoiler. Kalo tgk citer2 reality TV shows mcm Survivor ke, Amazing Race ke, The Apprentice ke, ANTM ke, even Hell’s Kitchen pon aku x kan search la kat Net utk tahu dgn lebih awal lg result. Biar la satu dunia dah tahu pon, aku rela tunggu tayangan weekly dia, n bila final siap berdebar2 lg rooting for org yg aku suka, walhal itu adalah show yg recorded ages ago, and dah tayang kat US dah pon. So I guess dgn baby pon sama la. Anticipation itu mmg best.

Masa scan, Dr Sy senyum2, so I’m guessing dia dah tahu baby lelaki ke pompuan, but he kept his words. Mana x nye, baby aku tu tgh duduk posing x ingat nye… Wah, lepaks nye baby duduk terkangkang menghala skrin, mcm gaya aku tgk TV di kala melayan lenguh tgh pregnant begini aje lagaknya. Hehe… like mother like baby. Bagus anak aku nih… Sayang die…

Dr Sy then usha placenta, but still x de perubahan. ‘It’s still too early and there’s plenty of time for it to migrate later,’ kata dia. But dia still catit la dlm buku merah aku sebagai placenta position low lying. X plak dia diagnos kan aku placenta previa. X pe la, like he said, byk lg masa utk placenta tu naik. So far, I’ll take what I’m given with a huge feeling of gratefulness to Allah Al-Mighty. Alhamdulillah Syukur Nikmat…

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Err.. There's a Leak In Here

Aku tgh berborak2 ngan K Anis kat phone, pasal photographer wedding dia nnt. Lama la jugak aku bergayut, about half an hour. Tiba2 aku terperasan sesuatu that freaked me out enough to leave me excusing myself cpt2 nak hang up. Why is there something leaking out of my left bre*st?

Aku mmg open ngan mak aku terus mintak dia inspect benda alah apakah ini. Sah lah, I’m leaking colostrum. A bit early at four and half months, but this has been going for some time. Like last week, aku bgn terperasan something sticky on my shirt, I just passed it as aku tertumpah something atas baju aku kot. Rupa2nya mmg colostrum ler. I remembered a friend had also had her colostrum leaked around this time when she was pregnant. I guess it’s only normal la kot.

So I got back on the phone, this time chatting ngan K Ti, room mate aku masa degree plak. K Ti pon tgh pregnant 4 bulan, so apalagi, mcm2 la kitaorg borak n compare2 citer. Basically, she’s going through the same thing as I am. So far so good la. Dia janji nak bawak dtg daging burung merpati utk aku lps balik dari Kelantan masa cuti raya cina nnt. Daging burung merpati bagus utk org pompuan mengandung, katanya. Aku pernah jugak dgr psl tu. Setakat mana kesahihannya, wallahu a’lam. Tp kalo org dah nak bg, kita menerima je la dgn tgn terbuka, ye dok?

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Syura Did A Norjuma

Oh My God! I am so appalled when I read this. I know it’s old news, but when I stumbled upon it online today, I was fuming. How dare these people make fun of pregnant women like that. It’s one thing to mock Syura’s weight gain (due to her pregnancy, of course), but it’s another thing to actually dub Datin Norjuma something outrageous like that. Like it’s become a trademark or something.

It’s bad enough that these women have to endure so many things during their pregnancy; from morning sickness, to sleeping discomforts, to swollen ankles, etc, and now this? Childish name-calling too?

I know they’re celebrities and they are easy targets for this kind of thing. But this is really immature. And I bet the person who posted this nasty piece on the Net is either never pregnant (most likely a man), or a real jack a$$.

At least Datin Norjuma has the means to lose all those weight and look fantastic afterwards. I wonder if the name caller would have the same amount of moo-lah to do the same had it been his wife /herself who gained the baby weight? I bet not, with that kind of mentality potrayed. Huff…

Yes, we pregnant women feel for one other and we stick to together like a bird to a feather. Cubit peha kanan peha kiri terasa juga. X percaya? Just visit any pregnancy boards and you’ll definitely know what I mean.

WEEK 17 - INFO UPDATE

Your baby's weight has doubled in two weeks and now weighs about 3.5 ounces! The crown-to-rump length of your growing baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches. If you spread your hand out opened wide, you can see about how big your baby is. Huge changes continue to take place within your developing baby. This week fat begins to form and will continue to do so until he is born. Fat is important to the body's heat production and metabolism. Right now, at 17 weeks, water makes up about 3 ounces and fat 0.018 ounces of your baby's body. In a baby at term, fat makes up about 5.25 pounds of the total average weight of 7.7 pounds. The placenta is continuing to grow at an amazing rate. The placenta will continue to develop in tandem with the fetus and it will weigh more than a pound at birth! By this week, the placenta is large and well established with a network of blood vessels that exchange nutrients and waste.

Source:
http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/Pregnancy/calendar/week/17

Friday, January 18, 2008

Changes

Lama x update with any real pregnancy-related content. Let’s talk about changes, specifically, bodily changes that occur during pregnancy.

Alhamdulillah, morning sickness aku dah x make a reappearance. Barangkali hormon aku dah stabil. I am, after all, in Week 16 already.

My belly has already grown rounder and protrude a bit to the front. I am no longer mistaken as fat bellied, and more people noticed that I am in fact, pregnant. I guess the maternity dress plays a huge part too. Alhamdulillah, belum ada tanda2 stretch marks, but don’t want to comment too much takut jinxing myself.

One thing la kan, my chesty parts have definitely grown overnight. To some people, these are one of the perks of pregnancy, but these people must have been previously an A-cupper or B-cupper the most, and the prospect of going up a full cup appears enticing. But if you were already previously a C-cupper and above, this isn’t necessarily good news, believe it or not! For a start, shopping for a good bra becomes a nightmare! And as things stretch, the itchiness can almost kill you. Enough said.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Happy Birthday Umi

Happy Birthday to My Mom, Umi...

Sunday, January 13, 2008

WEEK 16 - INFO UPDATE

At this point of your pregnancy, your baby is approximately 4.3 to 4.6 inches long and weighs 2.8 ounces. Not only is your baby growing, your uterus and placenta continue to grow to accommodate the growing baby inside of you! Just six weeks ago, your uterus weighed about 5 ounces. This week it now weighs 8.75 ounces! The amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby is increasing and there is about 7.5 ounces of fluid. You will easily be able to feel your uterus approximately three inches below your navel. Your milk glands start production at this time and this causes some tenderness and swelling in early pregnancy. Your veins will become more visible because there is an increased amount of blood flowing to the breasts.

Source:

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Awal Muharam

Selamat Tahun Baru Islam kepada semua umat Islam!
Marilah berhijrah ke arah kebaikan!
Hijrah!!!

Sunday, January 6, 2008

WEEK 15 - INFO UPDATE

Your baby's crown-to-rump length is approximately 4 inches and she now weighs approximately 1.75 ounces. Your baby is close to the size of a softball and you can easily tell that you are pregnant now! If you wear maternity clothes or a swimming suit, other people will be able to tell that you are pregnant also. You can probably feel your uterus about three to four inches below your bellybutton.


Source:

http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/Pregnancy/calendar/week/15

Saturday, January 5, 2008

3rd Clinic Visit - Contd

Sabtu dtg lg, so off we went to see Dr Sy utk collect result seperti yg dijanjikan. Result adalah seperti di bwh:

Haemoglobin 13.2 (bagus)
Blood Glucose @ fasting 4.6 mmol/L (bagus, tiada gestational diabetes)
Urine Appearance slightly turbid (kena minum air lg byk)
Urine pH 7.0 (OK)
Glucose in Urine Nil (Cantek)
Ketone 0.5 (x cun, tp expected sbb aku muntah2 morning sickness)

Overall, Alhamdulillah aku sihat walafiat. Nothing yg out of order so far in this pregnancy. Just got to wait that low lying placenta naik la, but I’m not too worried at the moment.

On the way out aku mintak ubat cagu ngan Dr Sy. Ntah kenapa aku prone utk kena cagu lak. Bila aku tanya Dr Sy, cagu ni related ngan pregnancy ke, dgn kelakarnya dia menjawab, ‘Oh bila kita pregnant, kita boleh blame pregnancy for everything.’ Hehe. So dia pon prescribed kat aku claxocilin.

Ok, aku ni fobia sket dgr cilin2 kat blkg tablet ni. Aku syak dia antibiotik, like penicillin, which of course, freaked me out to no end. Baliknya dari klinik tu aku cpt2 surf Net, check whether it’s safe to take or not during pregnancy. As this site and a few others explained, it is most definitely antibiotics, but of course la safe, x kan la Dr Sy nak prescribed benda yg bole mengancam kandungan kan. But I’d feel safer and a lot more confident taking the meds after reading up a little on it. By the way, claxocilin smells and tastes funny on the tongue la bila amik. Kalo la dia bkn antibiotics, x kuasa dah aku nak mkn sampai abis. Plus it has to be taken every 6 hours. Kacau tido sungguh la…. Tido is precious these days ;)

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

A New Optimism

Sedikit update on my CB application. I submitted my forms in, along with a formal appeal letter asking the Registrar to reconsider my application. I pray that a new quota opens up, at least a few more for the second half of this new year. Though not hoping too much, I will not giving up. It’s worth a shot.

After a discussion with my Dean, it had seemed wise for me to apply at another Uni in another country altogether, say Australia or New Zealand. I’d originally thought it was pointless to only begin scouting for places now, considering there’s less than 7 places open for Aus/NZ quota. But I don’t want my baby to see me as a quitter, and I promise myself to grab whatever chance may come my way. So yes, we are back to Square … Zero. This time, with added optimism.

1st Quickening

Dalam ke’frust’an yg berlaku 2 hari lps, masih ada event yg mampu membuatkan aku ceria kembali. Ya tuan2 dan puan2, today, for the first time, I got to experience my 1st quickening! And only at 14 weeks!

Aku dah lama dah syak rasa yg seakan-akan angin tu my baby moving, tp aku rasa cam terlalu awal la plak for me to be able to detect it. But the fact that I’ve seen my baby moving on last week’s ultrasound convinced me even more that this isn’t just imaginary or wishful thinking. May be because this pregnancy is technically not my first, so aku dpt rasa lebih awal, or maybe I’m just really in tune with my sensitive body. Whatever pon, it got me really, really excited.

For a while it felt like just bubbly gas. The only weird thing was that I never normally have gas that far down in the abdomen. It is kinda easy to detect, coz angin yg biasa2 tu rasa kat perut, usually followed by some kind of churning sound. But this one happens lower, dekat2 area uterus gitu.

And today, when I felt the ‘gassy’ movements again, I gave my tummy a gentle press with my right hand, and guess what?! It retaliated from the inside!! Oh my God!!! Subhanallah… Sungguh, ini bkn angin, kerana angin will just go with the flow but this one melawan balik as if to say, ‘apa cucuk2 org ni?’.

I don’t know how to describe it exactly. You really just have to feel it to know what I mean. Apa pon, I am truly happy of this new development and can’t wait to feel my baby’s very first kick. It certainly took away all my sorrow thoughts on that CB application.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hopefully this year we get to welcome a new member of our small family, Insya Allah. Looking forward to it, can't wait!