the miracle of life...

moving on...

2009-04-23T21:28:00.000-07:00

alhamdulillah...my little imtiaz is already 6 weeks old....creating this blog is about sharing my pregnancy experiences with little imitaz...pregnancy is the most wonderful thing that happens in a woman's life....knowing that another life is growing inside you is just a miracle...i just could not describe that wonderful feeling!

from now on, i will continue blogging about my life and my 2 precious gems in my main blog, A Mother's Discovery....feel free to drop by and share and exchange our experiences there....

the labour

2009-03-06T01:40:00.000-08:00

On 5th march, I had vaginal bleed upon waking up from sleep in the morning….aha! it’s almost time….but I couldn’t feel any contraction and the bleed just stop…so, I decided to go the hospital just to check my status and my baby’s status….

As my husband had a course to attend, my parents drove me to the hospital….we reached there at around 10 am and luckily not many patients were there….i had my cardiotocograph (CTG) done to check on my baby’s well being….i still can’t feel any contraction, just a minor back pain…the CTG was reactive….and vaginal examination (VE ) done showed that my os was sill closed…..so I was sent home, waiting for regular contraction….if not I would be admitted the next day for the induction of labour anyway…..

At home, the vaginal bleed was only minimal, regular contraction has not set in yet…I had a good lunch and dinner that day….i slept early that night but woke up at around 1 am due to regular contraction of 1:5…it continued until I cannot stand it anymore….at around 4 am, I woke hubby up, feeling that the contraction was more regular at 3:10….we got ready and drove to the hospital at around 5 am….had my CTG done and it was reactive…VE done and I was already 4cm dilated!!! It was quite similar to my first delivery experience 3 ½ years ago….artificial ruptured of membrane (ARM) done and the liquor was clear….i was sent up to the labour room at around 6.30am….

The labour room was empty at that time…I was placed in LR 4, the same room where I delivered Jihan 3 ½ years ago….the midwife gave me ravin enema which made me poo-poo…at that time, the contraction was already very strong and regular 4:10….i asked them to ring the anaesthetist for epidural….probably I have to bear the pain until 8am before the next shift doctor took over from the oncall doctor…in the meanwhile I was given enthonox, a mixture of oxygen and nitrus oxide for the pain relief but it made me dizzy..at that time, whenever I felt the contraction, hubby had t rub my back to ease the pain…and hubby who was supposed to have a mock exam, had to excuse himself from attending the exam…..alhamdulillah, at around 7.30am, Prof Joanna came to give me the epidural…it was such a relief…I couldn’t feel the contraction at all….

I was able to have a good rest for about 1 hour and 15 minutes before the sensation to bear down was felt at around 9am…I was supposed to be reviewed at around 10 am, so I thought I could wait until then…but the sensation became greater and I felt like pushing…I knew that I was fully dilated by then….i told hubby to call the midwife and asked them to check my os….and true enough I was fully dilated…the contraction was unbearable, at that time was 6:10….i held myself from pushing while waiting for my obstetrician, Prof Jamil to come…

i started pushing at around 9.40am with all my heart…..i found it a bit difficult to push efficiently …the contraction was strong and frequent but short, and I was out of breath…maybe because I’m getting older (hahahah..)..i felt that I’ve been pushing for ages, but Prof and the midwives were cool and encouraged me to push hard….at one point, I really felt the head was halfway out of the perineum and it just stuck there…and I gave my best for the last push and the head was out…I was so relieved, alhamdulillah….then the body was out, and a loud cry was heard, time of birth 9.58am and it was a boy!….hubby was preparing to take my baby’s first photo but Prof asked him to wear gloves to cut the baby’s cord…! Although he had cut many cord before, cutting his on son’s cord was a memorable one….he looked tiny compared to Jihan but the look was similar….i gave him my first kiss before he was taken to be weighed and cleaned…

in the meanwhile, I was in the 3rd stage of labour, awaiting the placenta to be expelled….i had a 2nd degree tear and a few stitches need to be made….my baby weighed 2.96kg, a little bit smaller compared to his sister 3.18kg….but both of them were born on Friday and I was glad that both my labours were easy and I didn’t have to endure long hours of pain and fatigue…I straight away gave my baby my breast for him to get the goodness of colostrum…

we were brought up to the ward later, the same ward when I was warded with Jihan but a different room, Baldu 1….. I roomed-in with my baby so that I can exclusively breastfeed him, which I gave every 2 hours….the boy sucked very hard to get the colostrum out….Jihan came with my parents at noon and she was happy to see her little brother was already out of my tummy and mama was no longer fat anymore…!!!

We were both well and discharged the following day…..we decided to name him Ahmad Imtiaz Iman bin Asrul …a new journey has just begun for our little Imtiaz….

39 week

2009-03-02T01:37:00.000-08:00

Another antenatal check up….i weighed 59kg and the baby was 3kg…I’m awaiting spontaneous labour but if that is not going to happen, I’m going to be induced on 6th march 2009 at 39 + 3 days….

38 week

2009-02-27T01:35:00.000-08:00

I’m having intensive course this week….still no sign and symptoms of labour yet….i bought few good books to read during my hospital stay and confinement later; Cecilia Ahern’s….i finished reading 3 books within 3-4 days….i had to buy more books to occupy my time later (AHA!)…

33-37 weeks

2009-02-20T01:32:00.000-08:00

I’m currently in charge of general medical ward….meaning that I have to do ward rounds in the morning… only Allah knows how painful was my back and legs when I was doing rounds and how frequent I had to go t the toilet to pee!!!! I was hoping that I would deliver earlier than my first child (39 weeks +), at least around 36 weeks onwards as I cannot tolerate the tiredness anymore….

My baby at 35 weeks was 2.4kg and I weighed 58.3kg….not much increment from the last visit even though I think I had very good meals in every meals!!! i repeated my BSP again at 36 weeks and it was normal…all readings were below 6mmol/l….i wasn’t controlling my diet that tight….i still went for teh ais or milo ais for lunch….i even had carbonated drinks once a while….chocolates, fruit juice, rice and everything under the sun!!!

I stopped going out during the weekend, only when necessary….i was too lazy and tired….i also cannot tolerate the heat at home, so we installed an aircond in our bedroom….as for the mum’s and baby’s preparation, I guess everything is ready…I also had packed the bags that need to be brought to the hospital later….

Another antenatal check up at 37 weeks, I weighed 58.8kg and the baby was already 3kg…the head is already in the pelvic though not yet engaged….my amniotic fluid index (AFI ) was 16.4….everything seemed good….still no sign and symptoms of labour yet…

29-32 weeks

2009-01-13T01:29:00.000-08:00

These were the weeks that were full of surprises (?) and tiredness…. First of all, I had to do the modified glucose tolerance test (MGTT) to see whether I have gestational diabetes (GDM) or not… not everybody who is pregnant need to do the test, I had to do this because my mother was recently diagnosed to have diabetes, so I’m at risk as well…. I need to be fasted the night before and took the fasting blood sugar the next morning….then I had to drink 75g of the sucrose mixed with 250ml of water which tasted damn sweet…. I can hardly brush my teeth after that, fearing that I would vomit after that, then I have to repeat the test all over again…2 hours after that I have to take another blood sample which was the 2 hours post prandial (2HPP)….and the result…? 4.5 mmol/L for the fasting sugar and 8.7 mmol/L for the 2HPP!!!! And that confirmed I have impaired glucose tolerance test which means I need to do the blood sugar profile (BSP) which involves 4 times blood taking in a day (yuckkksss!) and that will determine if I have a full blown GDM or not! I can’t believe it that I’m diabetic!!!! I am still in a denial state and didn’t bother to control my diet…still craving for good chocolates and teh ais or milo ais for lunch!!!!

At that time I was currently doing medical rotation, and I had to do oncalls as the requirement for the postings…luckily I was given 4 oncalls from 29-32 weeks and no more oncalls beyond 32 weeks till my delivery….the oncalls I had were unpredictable…my first one was quite a bad one…I wasn’t able to sleep at all from 9-7.30 the next morning, I was in the emergency room attending cases….at one point at around 4 am, I had a nervous breakdown and I cried in the toilet….i was so tired and had a bad backache and frequent Braxton hicks contraction….the next morning, I simply cannot get up and had to take a day off to recover from the stress and fatigue the night before….. I had almost the similar oncall during the 4th one…arghhhh!!! Luckily my 2nd and 3rd oncalls were quite alright…at least I managed to get some sleep to rest and to stretch my back….

I did my BSP and it was almost normal except my pre bed which was 6.3….my weight at 31 week was 57.3 and the baby weighed 1.5kg…. I had to repeat my BSP at 36 week…in the mean time I had to control my diet just to make sure my sugar won’t fluctuate and imposed the risk to my baby….

week 22-25

2008-11-25T19:22:00.000-08:00

i've been lacking in updating my pregnancy journal...the reason being, i'm too lazy...anyway, the pregnancy went on smoothly....occasionally i got constipation and 2nd degree haemorrhoids...and i've started craving for chocolates....yummmmm.....!!! i just love them so much..i've been buying the cadbury's chocolate milk bars and they are so milky and satisfying....!

and my mum was recently diagnosed with diabetes through opportunistic screening that i did on her...gosh! that means, i need to do a MGTT for myself....and i forgot to tell my obs about that..nevermind, i'll do the test first and tell him the result later...

my weight during the antenatal check up was 56.1kg...the baby was moving actively especially when i sleep during the nighttime....

my sister got back from Australia for a break...and we had a short break at Tasik Kenyir and Kuantan...(we had a wet and rainy days in Tasik Kenyir...) but it was a nice place to go....had a bot ride in the rain...!!! had lovely satar and otak-otak and keropok lekor at Kuala Kemaman..yummm!!

and Jihan had succesfully toilet-trained herself, both wee-wee and poo-poo in the toilet...yeay!!!!

week 21

2008-10-28T02:50:00.000-07:00

my next antenatal check up....i weighed 55.1kg...an increment of 3kg after fasting month....i have to properly watch my diet after this....and this time, my obstetrician really look into the sex of my baby...and there it was, the pointed penis, probably my fetus was peeing at that time...hahahaha!!!!!

so, that weekend i forced hubby to take me to Ikea...i was really craving for the Ikea's meatballs...so we went out early and reached there at 11am....they haven't served the hot food yet...we got our seats and rushed myself to the long queue to get my meatballs...bought 2 sets of kiddies meatballs and a set af kiddies pasta for Jihan...

yummm....it was so satisfying....

i am in the midst of training jihan to toilet train..so far, no progress....she must be toilet-trained when his new brother arrives....reduce the cost for disposable nappies!!!

week 20

2008-10-22T23:47:00.000-07:00

little cinderella at work

we were preparing for our Hari Raya Open House on the weekend...i made some dessert - carrot cake, mini fruit tartlets and some baked pasta...my bump had not showed itself that obvious but i felt tight when i wore my sarung for the baju kurung...what was more obvious was my boops...hahaha!!!

my appetite was good...i think i need to slow down a bit on my eating habits....and i've been neglecting my haematinics...and i did not take any milk at all..my throat didn't seem to accept the taste of milk at the moment...i remembered when i was pregnant with Jihan, i drank the whole carton of HL fresh milk a day and i obediently took my obimin....but this time, i was a bit naughty..sorry, baby...but i hope you got all the nutritients from my other foods that i eat...

the kick was more obvious now....every now and then i feel the tiny kicks....

week 19

2008-10-15T23:33:00.000-07:00

i had my detail scan done...the sonographer measured every parts of my fetus including its earlobe, feet, cerebellum, etc and all found to be normal....i asked her to check the sex again, just to confirm the finding earlier before raya...well, she said it was a girl...i screamed out, WHAT!!!!???!!! my obstetrician said it was a boy....! well, she thoroughly scanned it again but my fetus just too shy to show off his thing....then she concluded, it may be a boy...

anyway, at first i was quite sad because we really hope that this will be a boy...but it didn't matter, i'm glad it was in a good condition...

that weekend, we went to One utama again...all of us were craving for another round of Sushi Groove...i bougth 2 maternity pants and we fed the big fishes at the pond....later we went to Alamanda and we had a shot of Starbucks (i took the decaf one) and Jihan had a go at the swings and slides....

phew...!

week 18

2008-10-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

it's after raya break...i was feeling hungry easily...i must take something before i start the day, like biscuits or a piece of bread...then i start my day by doing ward rounds....and i always feel giddy after a long hour of standing...and i need to eat something heavy after that...i usually take nasi kerabu or meehoon goreng and that can keep me going until 3 in the afternoon..i seldom take my lunch...usually i'll just take something light...i don't want the excessive weight gain (though i already feel that i'm balloning up!)

i started to feel a small kick in my belly but it was infrequent....i can still fit into my baju kurung but sometimes it was very uncomfortable for me...

a lot of open houses to attend...i also made an engagement cake for my sister's friend...i'm doing my detail scan next week, hopefully....

week 17

2008-10-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

it's hari raya and i'm glad i'm still able to fit into my kebaya that was made before i got pregnant! and this is the time for me to put on weight that i've been losing during the fasting months...i had periods of non stop eating when i went back to kampung...the foods were superb and mervellous...!

long journey was tiring for me and the full stomach made me uncomfortable...i kept a pack of dried asam in my handbag to ease my nauseous feelings....

and i'm glad i didn't have constipation problems during hari raya even though i ate a lot...that's because i ate a lot of fresh pucuk ubi while i was in kampung...so that's made my bowel functioned very well....

i've started planning to satisfy my craving appetite in advance...Ikea meatballs, Jusco assam laksa, Sushi Groove (again!)....yum, yum,,,just can't wait!!!

salam Aidilfitri

2008-09-26T22:44:00.001-07:00

[Caption.iT - Picture Captions]

week 16

2008-09-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

went for my third antenatal check up....this time i weighed myself on the digital weighing machine and i weighed 52.3kg...

during scan, i was so amazed to see my fetus was growing big...i can see its spine, its face, its tiny fingers and toes and it was so cute....the parameters were according to its date...and we saw its gender too!!!!! we were so excited about it....probably we're having an XY baby this time...it showed so well even though he was still small...

i'm going to do a detail scan with a 3D image the next 2 weeks....

with the Aidilfitri coming, i was so excited....i can't stand the early morning stomach turmoil anymore...i hope this remaining Ramadhan, i'll be able to complete my fasting....

week 15

2008-09-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

we started shopping for Aidilfitri....this year, i didn't tailor-made my baju kurung although i already got the materials ready....i was scared i wasn't able to fit into it as i will be 17 weeks pregnant during Aidilfitri....but until today, i can still fit into my old baju kurung and i haven't gain too much weight during this Ramadhan..

this year, our theme colour will be pinkish, marron and the shades in between...and i'm not making any cookies this year...

my stomach turmoil was still there in the early morning and i really hate that...

week 14

2008-09-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

i started to feel not so good especially after sahur...i tend to vomit when i was brushing my teeth, everyday without fail!! and i ended up late to work (not that late, i arrived about 7.40 but i need to come earlier)...

and my left sacro iliac joint pain was getting worse even when i was walking and lying flat....sometimes, i just need to rest...

however, i really enjoy iftar time...my appetite was so good....i tried out the nasi kukus ayam dara kota bharu and it was damn good!!!

i'm already 14 weeks but i can hardly feel my uterus...hubby said, i already have too much fat deposited on my tummy that's why i cannot feel for them...

week 13

2008-09-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

happy merdeka day, Malaysia...and yes, we went camping on the merdeka day in Hulu Langat...it was a resort by the river and Jihan was so amazed with the 'sungei' as she called it...

Ramadhan came and i went through my first day fasting quite good...and i was craving for so many things for the iftar....for the first day, i asked mum to buy nasi kerabu and nasi dagang for me with martabak as well...

the subsequent day was manageable for me...though i was feeling weak and nauseated still in the morning, but i was able to stay strong until iftar, alhamdulilah...

still unable to perform terawikh during the first week of Ramadhan..i was excessively tired after iftar and i usually sleep until sahur....

week 12

2008-08-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

went for my second antenatal check up....the morning sickness had slightly became better but i was still feeling excessively tired...i can't eat too much though, because i felt easily nauseated after meals...

my weight has not changed much and i didn't trust that weighing machine at the clinic..it's the old, manual one that you have to adjust yourself until the beam was straight (like the ones that they used to weigh rubber or palm or coffee beans in the olden days)..i gave me 55.8kg on that...but my machine at home gave me around 52 kg...

my skin was getting more dry and i have to change to Sebamed shower oil instead of my normal Bodyshop...and i started to use the normal Aquoues cream that i got from the clinic (the big 500g tub)

during scan, i saw my cute little fetus was very, very responsive to touch..it was jumping around vogorously and his strong heart was beating well...i can see the head and body differentiation very clearly now and its 4 little limbs were kicking and punching all the way...he was growing well as expected..

with the Ramadhan coming, i hope i can fast the whole Ramadhan like i used to do when i was pregnant with Jihan 3 years ago...

week 11

2008-08-19T04:04:00.000-07:00

went to watch Wall- E with hubby n Jihan...love it! then visit my good friend who had just delivered a baby boy in Klang...

i'm feeling ok...but kept having on and off left sacro iliac joint pain....i never had this pain during my 1st pregnancy with Jihan....i wasn't sure what was the cause...

the good thing was, my psoting in Kajang is coming to the end...how glad i was...i really hate to drive alone nowadays...i love being pampered by my hubby....

i had a few courses to attend this week and next week...

and i failed in one of the courses and had to repeat the test after raya...i was so sad...but nevermind...

i seldom sent Jihan to her playschool this few weeks...hubby usually accompanied her...i had datelines to catch for my write up...and i was feeling sick to get up early morning, especially during the weekend... and i began to slow down going out to shopping malls during the weekend...

going for the 2nd antenatal check next week...

week 10

2008-08-12T03:56:00.000-07:00

sorry, i've been delaying putting the latest updates in this blog...the reason being, i was quite busy, at the same time i was lazy and i was damn tired, and sometimes i felt sick...

this week, again i went to sushi groove to satisfy the pregnant mother's appetite....we tried different sushi this time and it tasted good...

otherwise, i was feeling so, so...always feel dizzy when i stand for a long time...

i need a good rest...a long one and i just wish i am a fulltime housewife who can just stay at home to sleep...hahahah...

week 9

2008-08-05T04:17:00.000-07:00

i am really craving for a corn in cup!!!...i went to tesco and giant and went back feeling frustrated because nobody sells the conr in cup there!! then my dear mum realized that there were some frozen corn in the freezer so she made one bowl for me...yummy!!..but i still went to midvalley the next day to get Nelson's corn in cuo, to my surprise the price has gone up!!

i had an impacted wisdom tooth and it had become swollen again after i had a very bad episode about 9 months ago....i think this is mainly due to pregnancy when you tend to get swollen gum so it presses onto the tooth and the nerves surrounding it...i had to put ice onto it to relieve the pain and swelling...it's terrible!!!

and i'm still having a yo-yo appetite...hey, i'm also craving for sushi, particularly the ones in SushiGroove....and we went there to have some sushi....hmm...yummy!!!

and i'm still not gaining weight...and hubby took my blood for antenatal screening...i'm really scared of needles...that's why i only asked hubby to take my blood and we did it at home...because i tend to scream when he poked the needle into me!!!!

i'm getting lazier and lazier each day...i love sleeping nowadays...

week 8

2008-07-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

i did my booking this week....with my previous obstetrician, Prof J....all examinations were normal and when he did the ultrasound, there you can see a viable intrauterine feotus with its CRL equals to 8 weeks.... and i can see its strong heart beats too....

Jihan was so excited to see her little "adik" on tghe ultrasound machine screen...and i showed her the ultrasound photo of hers when she was 12 weeks old and also her little "adik" and she was so excited saying, "adik is black", referring to the all black background of my uterus...i told her that her "adik" is the white shadow...

i spent most of the time at home sleeping....i seldom study nowadays....i read when there's a discussion the next day...and i realized that i must eat Kiwi fruit everyday....i have to stock them in the fridge....and i also tend to eat "asam kulit limau", my favourite, but not that much...

and when i'm oncall, dear hubby would follow me to the hospital and stay in the doctor's room to keep me accompanied...thank you, dear....

and lately i feel like eating lasagne in the middle of the night and i'm craving for corn in cup...

week 7

2008-07-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

i'm still having this on and off giddiness and sometimes excessive hungry until i feel like fainting....i make sure that i have some sweets or chocolates in my my pockets and bag as well...i also experienced excessive sleepiness and tiredness....

my appetite has improved but my weight is still maintaining at around 53-54kg, not more than that....and dear hubby booked a night stay at Putrajaya Shangri-La just to have a different environment other than home and it was a very nice stay...but i was surprised that i can't enjoy much their scrumptious buffet breakfast...i felt a bit nauseous to taste all the food...

and i started craving for McDonald's which i have abstained from for a few months while i was trying to get my weight down....i really love their double cheeseburger....

and it's time for another ultrasound...my friend and i, we were trying hard to locate the sac but there was my bowel shadow overlying it...so cannot visualize it that good...but i think my dear foetus is somewhere there, probably the ultrasound machine is quite old and the view was not that good...

anyway, i'm very positive about this pregnancy...and next week, i'm going to make a proper check up with my obstetrician...

week 6

2008-07-15T05:29:00.000-07:00

the previous week went on smoothly...there was no sign and symptoms of early pregnancy yet apart from the breast tenderness...to my surprise, i lost about 1 kg in 1 week, despite eating normally and my appetite was still good...

then along the way, i started to feel nauseaous and giddy...i can't stand long doing ward rounds and i really hate Tuesday and Thursday because i don't have clinics on these days and i have to stand for a long time to do ward rounds....!

i started to purge almost every morning and there were days i cannot tolerate food...my mouth felt dry and bitter....i ended up sucking sweets and drinking ribena....and i lost another 2 kg within 1 week....my weight was 53kg....

i started to feel tired very easily and i spent most of my time sleeping...i hardly read my books nowadays...

i asked my friend to do scan on me but it's too small to be visualized...maybe we'll do another scan next week....

Jihan is very excited of her new baby brother or sister....we all are!!

week 5

2008-07-10T01:59:00.000-07:00

i was oncall again the next week...there was no sign of menses....and i haven't done any UPT yet...i was scared...what if it turned out to be negative..? with the delayed menses, i really hope that i'm pregnant...but what if i'm not..? and if i'm pregnant, i really hope i can cope with my studies at the same time...

i decided to buy a UPT kit the next day...i want to do it myself, though i can get it done for free at the clinic....dear hubby didn't know i bought the kit...

so, i tested it out...and the kit absorbed my urine...and the first line appeared...HAH??? i looked at the packaging, the first line was the test....then i looked at my kit again, the second line appeared....so 2 visible lines appeared on the kit...!!!!

i took my bath and left the kit on the wash basin...then hubby entered the bathroom and he was surprised to see the kit too....

we were so happy with this result...though some change of plans need to be made...we've been trying for the past 1 and 1/2 years and alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for this blessings...

week 4

2008-07-01T01:48:00.000-07:00

i was oncall and i was expecting my menses...at the same time i hope i won't come yet because it's difficult for me to oncall if i have dysmenorrhea...

well, it still didn't come until a few days later...i wasn't sure of how i felt...me period had been regular since i lost a lot of weight from my exercise and good diet control...and i don't think i was stress enough for my menses to be late...

thinking back, we weren't having SI during the ovulation period, well it was a few days before the ovulation and it was unprotected...and that was ONCE during the fertile period...we can't be hitting the lottery!!??!!

i don't want to be so excited because i don't want to end in a frustration ...

let's just wait...