Feeling baby’s movements (Week 15-19)

These four weeks felt like forever because it’s the longest we’ve gone without seeing Chua Bee Bee. How is she? Is she well? Is everything developing correctly? Week 15 was also when I started bugging Aishah incessantly, “How would I know if the baby is ok?” You won’t know. You just got to have faith. I guess this period of limbo is really “no news is good news”.

But in Week 15, I started feeling butterflies in my tummy. The feeling is like a butterfly landing on your tummy and then quickly flying away. I didn’t know those could be Chua Bee Bee moving – her movements were like a whisper. The next week, I started feeling “muscle twitches”. With real muscle twitches though, they’re normally at the same place, but these twitches were all over the place on my lower abdomen. I read that these sensations were called “quickening”.

By Week 18, I was sure I was feeling my baby move. I could feel little kicks, not every day, but most days. What a cute feeling!

20-week anomaly scan

We were so looking forward to this scan, just before Christmas. We could finally see our kid after more than a month! Jason went for the scan with me this time cos he didn’t want to miss out on looking at Chua Bee Bee close up. He missed the 12-week scan as I thought it would just take five minutes so I told him I could go alone. The scan took about 45 minutes. The sonographer measured the head, the abdomen, the limbs, the spine, and looked out for baby’s brain, internal organs, genitalia, hands and feet, and even counted her tiny fingers and toes! She explained what everything was as she scanned – I was beginning to think she had some super power. How to see on that screen and some more have to come up with a detailed report to the doctor stating if everything has developed normally?

Chua Bee Bee was now 15 cm long from head to her bum, and 25 cm from head to toe! Her arms and legs measured longer than average, her chin and nose looked sharp (yes can see!), and everything appeared great. One scene I will never forget is when I felt and SAW her kicking me on the screen. Look at this scan of her foot in the air. You can even see her tiny toes! Isn’t she photogenic!

And then you can see her tiny hands. The sonographer searched for both hands and counted her little fingers:

And here are her feet. We took the longest to find her feet cos they were squashed somewhere underneath and she wouldn’t budge! I was asked to empty my bladder and come back to the room so that there’s a chance the little girl will shift positions. And FINALLY, we see her little feet and counted all her cute toes:

The sonographer also measured the length of her forearm and her thigh bone. Both were around the 80th percentile. Long limbs like her dad! Sure taller than me.

And her head circumference:

The rest of the scan pics I can’t make out what they are LOL. If you’re a mom going for your 20-week scan soon, enjoy it! Here are Chua Bee Bee’s measurements if you’re interested (she was 19W5D at time of scan):

Gestational diabetes scare (Week 21)!
I got a scare when I peed on the urine test stick at the clinic and saw that my glucose level has skyrocketed. Having always taken care of my health, I have NEVER seen such crazy levels before. At my 12-week blood test, I was having borderline LOW blood sugar. At at the previous month’s visit, my glucose level was also normal. How could it be at 21 weeks, my blood sugar was so high? My doctor said not to worry as the spike was probably due to me eating breakfast within 3 hours before this and that we will take the test again next visit. But all I had was my unsweetened soya milk, albeit less than an hour ago. I knew I had let myself go with all the cookies and cakes, bubble tea, ribena, large packets of rice and noodles and potato chips and ice cream. And this needed to stop. I had no doubt that with my dietary changes, my levels will return to normal by the next visit. And sure enough, they did!

The good news is our little girl is growing well and she has put on another 40g and now weighed 354g!

Overnight a big tummy (Week 24)

Over the past three weeks, we have been setting aside time at night talking to Chua Bee Bee and feeling her move. Jason could already feel her kicking his face as he kissed my tummy. I realise that she is most active at night, around 10.30 pm to 11.30 pm. Her kicks assure me that she is doing well. I love feeling those kicks and wish she would just kick me all day long!

This same week, my tummy grew OVERNIGHT. Impossible as it might sound, it really did. I was already showing before this, but because I am fatter, you can’t really tell if I’m fat or pregnant. Nobody gives up their seats on the bus or MRT for me! On Sunday, I began feeling stretching, pulling aches, similar to what I felt at Week 15. As the uterus expands to accommodate the baby, your ligaments will stretch and you will feel mild aches or light cramps. I read that this is normal. What I didn’t read is that I was “rewarded” with a round, firm belly immediately the next day! I was doing my usual thing, lying on the bed and putting my hands on my lower belly to wait for the bub to kick, and realised in amazement how round I have become. What is happening to me?

Me and my tummy at 24 weeks!

Next:
Pregnancy: The third trimester 4D scan – I saw Chua Bee Bee’s cute little face!
Pregnancy: Mount Alvernia Hospital – Maternity Tour & Estimate Bill Size 2016
Pregnancy: Bellybuds! Playing music for your baby in the womb
FY2016 Budget: Is the government giving us an extra $3K into the Child Development Account?
Pregnancy: Why I’m choosing GAIA Natural Baby Organic Skincare for #ChuaBeeBee
Pregnancy: Why I’m choosing GAIA Natural Baby Organic Skincare for #ChuaBeeBee
The third trimester: Tips for changing your gynae at Week 35
Pregnancy: When you wrist hurts like nobody’s business (De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis)
How to bake your own chunky chocolate lactation cookies
Pregnancy: Week 39 – Low amniotic fluid and an eviction notice!

Previous posts:
Pregnancy: The big reveal!
Pregnancy: The first trimester scans… I saw an empty womb on my first scan
Pregnancy: The second trimester – harmony test and gender reveal!

The post Pregnancy: The second trimester – 20-week anomaly scan + gestational diabetes scare appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

(This pic is so stereotypical.. I’m going to paint my nursery mint or turquoise regardless of whether my baby is a girl or boy!)

The second trimester (Week 13)

I read that pregnancy symptoms reduce drastically in the second trimester and it is true. I got my energy back! I also got back the results of my Harmony test, which screens for the risks of chromosomal abnormality trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome).

And if you’re interested, here’s a link to Understanding Genetics, which really answered my questions about Down syndrome in general.

Many mums whom I’ve talked to said it was “unnecessary” for me to go for the Harmony test (accuracy of 99.99%) instead of the more common OSCAR screening (accuracy of 90%) as it is much more expensive (about $1000 – $1200). Most of their doctors tell them to go for the OSCAR test, and if the results are no good (there are many reported cases of false positives), to then take the Harmony test to confirm. I don’t agree – I mean, great if your results are low risk but what if you get a high risk result and you don’t even know if that result is accurate? And it’s another 2-3 weeks of worry as you wait for your Harmony test result. The anxiety that you’ll experience is not worth it. Nobody should have to go through it.

What Chua Bee Bee looked like at 12 weeks!

My Harmony test was done around Week 12. 6 tubes of blood were drawn and dispatched to the USA on the same day. The expected waiting period was about two weeks. And because I have fat arms, I always have a problem drawing blood. The senior nurse (she’s really aunty and many say she has a bad attitude but to me she’s just a bit kan cheong… and she’s actually very kind) is so experienced… imagine where she took my blood from? No, not from the back of my palm as the veins there are too small to draw 6 tubes of blood. She drew the blood from….. my wrist! OMG I was mindblown.

Harmony test results (Week 14)

I remember I was at work when I got a call from the clinic. I was waiting for this phone call forever (although it was really only 9 days). “The results of your Harmony test is normal, extremely low risk,” said the senior nurse at the other end. RELIEF SWEPT OVER ME, and before I had a chance to react, she broke another news:

“Your baby’s gender is FEMALE.”

OMG CHUA BEE BEE IS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *throws confetti*

I was convinced Chua Bee Bee’s going to be a boy because I saw how sharp her profile was at the 12 week detailed scan and thought to myself, ‘Looks like Jason’s facial structure!” And ok, also because of the Chinese Gender Predictor LOL. I pray for a healthy baby and her being a girl is a super bonus!

Pre-eclampsia + 12 week scan + Harmony test report (Week 15)

My doctor went through the results of my pre-elampsia risk test, 12 week scan and Harmony test with me. My risk of developing pre-eclampsia was 1:4381 (risk cut-off 1:200). The risk of fetal growth restriction (due to nutrients not reaching the baby, for example) was 1:1861 (risk cut-off 1:150). Levels were healthy and Chua Bee Bee’s measurements (10.1cm) were all on track and normal. She’s looking like a peanut here:

For the Harmony test, my risk level of all three chromosomal abnormalities was less than 1 in 10,000. Best news in forever!

From now on, our doctor’s visits will be once a month instead of the once every two weeks we’re familiar with. I was starting to develop a case of separation anxiety.

Next:
Pregnancy: The second trimester – 20-week anomaly scan + gestational diabetes scare
Pregnancy: The third trimester 4D scan – I saw Chua Bee Bee’s cute little face!
Pregnancy: Mount Alvernia Hospital – Maternity Tour & Estimate Bill Size 2016
Pregnancy: Bellybuds! Playing music for your baby in the womb
FY2016 Budget: Is the government giving us an extra $3K into the Child Development Account?
Pregnancy: Why I’m choosing GAIA Natural Baby Organic Skincare for #ChuaBeeBee
The third trimester: Tips for changing your gynae at Week 35
Pregnancy: When you wrist hurts like nobody’s business (De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis)
How to bake your own chunky chocolate lactation cookies
Pregnancy: Week 39 – Low amniotic fluid and an eviction notice!

Previous posts:
Pregnancy: The big reveal!
Pregnancy: The first trimester scans… I saw an empty womb on my first scan

The post Pregnancy: The second trimester – harmony test and gender reveal! appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.