Plenty of things happening on this month so I hope you don't mind I am dividing the 1st month log into 2 parts. I don't want 1 post to seem so long winded.
The Positive Result
On 1 Jan 2017, I decided to take my pregnancy test again. The signs were clearer every day. More cramps (mild), tiredness and nausea sets in. I actually had pre-planned how to announce it to Jhon way before taking the pregnancy test. I figured, if I am pregnant, it's all ready. If not, I can always keep it.
Well, I was ready to take the test and Jhon had went out for a quick errand after breakfast. I peed and within a few minutes, the lines were clear as day, without any doubt. I was pregnant.
My mind went blank. I didn't know what to think and how to feel despite "knowing I was pregnant before I was pregnant". To see the results staring at me was surreal and I almost regretted doing it home alone instead of just having Jhon in another room because I didn't know what to do next but wait.
I set up my mini Little One announcement and had the longest 2 hour wait ever. I kept sms-ing him if he was almost home. As soon as he was home, I asked him to open a box and his reaction was priceless. After all the initial surprise and tears, he said "What a wonderful New Year's news" Indeed it was.
[I crocheted a pacifier holder and attached it to a cheap pacifier]
Of course, Jhon was beyond happy. His biological clock was ringing like a grandfather clock for the past few months and for the 3rd time in our relationship, he cried. Thanks to my dorkiness, I recorded his reaction in plain sight so he was a little guarded with this real emotions. He hugged me and I started to tear up. It was a wonderful moment that I was glad we had it.
So what did we do after clean up? We had lunch and played on the PS4 the whole day! I don't know if reality haven't truly set in or we just don't know what to do but go to the clinic for an official doctor's checkup so we continued our lives as it was lah.
The Morning Sickness, Nausea and More
After the positive test, it was the longest 1.5 week of my life. Morning sickness, fatigue, nausea, dizziness and headaches got worse. I can't even think of majority food types or I will feel nauseous and if I try to fight it and force it down, I would just vomit it out. Little One hates milk, milo and tasty food like Soy Sos Beef or Kuah Lemak Chili Padi Ayam. Little One loves eating healthy meals like bread, fruits, yogurt, salad, simpler dishes like chicken soup, porridge or rice with fried fish. Luckily, I also like those food so I have no complaints except for the nicer and flavorful dishes lah.
I actually lost about 1-2kg but after getting accustomed to what Little One wants by eating the right food at the right amount 5-6 times a day, weight is normalized to 60kg.
The other thing I can't tahan was the extreme fatigue. I am no energizer bunny but I can move around a lot and rarely take afternoon naps. With Little One at this period, fwar! LOW ENERGY and sometimes I would nap 2 times a day. Besides that, I would have dizzy and headache spells which is also considered normal during the 1st trimester. At that point, I was counting the days when I will surpassed this phase but Alhamdulillah, the fatigue got better after 1.5 weeks. I would like to think it's because Little One and I have officially get acquainted and got used to each other. haha
The Doctor Visits
So 2 days after the positive results, we went downstairs to the GP clinic. I thought it's similar with Polyclinic because he is under CHAS scheme. He confirmed my pregnancy and we got a referral letter. The lady booked an appointment for us but KKH told us to go for our first check-up at Polyclinic/KKH clinic.
Hindsight note: I was bloated for the first 2+ months and this guy is losing weight. lol
We went to Bedok Polyclinic 1 week later and the check-up was to just obtain a subsidized referral letter. Jhon and I went blank. This means we had 2 types of appointments; subsidized appointment on 25th Jan 2017 and private appointment on 9th Feb 2017. I would be estimated 8 weeks 6 days pregnant on the former and 11 weeks 4 days for latter.
Personally, I love to cut costs whenever I can; with subsidized rates that may go up to 65%, you don't want ah? My only issue was a male doctor checking my hoo-hah. I know it's 21st century. Men can be cooks or gynae and women can be pilots and soldiers. But I've been taught modesty since young and protected my flower like a delicate crystal to only have a man poking around is such a nerve-wrecking situation for me.
People have been sent to the moon and back, why still no machine to avoid such evasiveness? SIGHS! I got to admit, a decision that seemed easy to most, was really hard for us. Luckily, Fizah and family had chosen subsidized rates so believe me when I said I asked a ton load of questions. In the end, I am going for the subsidized appointment because the cost saving is high. As for the doctors, just tawwakal and hope for the best.
The Other Announcements
After our visit with the GP, we told Mak the next day because I spend most of my weekdays with her since I help take care of my niece and nephews. For sure, she will notice the differences with me especially that my morning sickness was getting worse at that time. She cried with joy and we hugged. She did said she noticed that I looked so tired and the naps surprised her too.
We told Abg Jamil next because we live under the same roof and again, he would probably see the changes. He was really shocked because he said just the night before while on the bus ride home, I crossed his mind. He was thinking that I looked different and wondered if I was pregnant but quickly dismissed it.
I told Fizah 3 days after the GP visit. She told me she danced while on the phone and we chatted for a while. I decided to withhold the news from my siblings until our appointment at KKH so I have a scan to show too.
As for Jhon's family, we intended to tell them when we meet them which was only a few weeks away. The thing is, we will be going to his
grandma's 90th birthday party where all his relatives will attend. Of course, he wanted to tell his grandma (who had taken care of him when he was a kid) but I worry her reaction and pride might spill the beans with others. Like I said, I wanted to have a KKH visit first before truly announcing among families and our subsidized appointment is actually 1 day after we came back from Manila.
As weeks passed, I am so grateful my morning sickness has lessen to every other day and it's still surreal to have a growing Little One in me. I have started talking and acknowledging Little One and it helped mentally, emotionally and even physically. So far, it has been an interesting ride for the 3 of us. Not supposed to see a Little One bump at this point and my own fatty bump is making it confusing. One thing for sure, my tummy does feel stretched and getting bigger. And yes, believe me when I said I bought cocoa butter as soon as I got a chance to!