10th May 2017 - 7th June 2017
Still Playing Hide and Seek
The plans is to have my relatives find out about my pregnancy on Hari Raya but there was a family tahlil (prayers) on the 14th May for my newborn niece, circumcision for twin nephews, for the late Auntie Tipah and prayers for the upcoming Ramadhan. Yeah, it's basically a 4-in-1 kind of thing. 2 weeks before that, I had a spring cleaning of my wardrobe so I was more than happy to find some old Malay outfits I can squeeze in. I am still at the stage of able to hide my belly if I wear loose outfits and a baju kurung was no exception even though I had already hit the 6 month mark. So.... no one knows yet! haha
But this is how it looks like a few days past 6 months with my maternity outfit.
Glucose Blood Test
May's appointment date falls on the 22nd. Initially, our appointment was at 9:30am with doctor's consultation at 10:30am. Weeks before the date, I received a letter and SMS regarding a change of appointment time to 11:30am. Blur me, thought it was changed from 9:30am to 11:30am but it was ONLY the doctor's consultation that changed.
So we came for my Gestational Diabetes Test (GDT) way too late and the nurses were not too happy about it. I reaped what I sowed so I wasn't upset or anything but it seems they were. They were the ones complaining that I would spend a long time at the clinic etc.
The only downside was that I will be fasting a few more hours longer than usual. The GDT was to check if I had diabetes due to pregnancy and I had to drink a bottle (300ml) of glucose. Apparently, previously, ladies were given a thick solution in a cup but I wasn't. I guess it a diluted version of it and it was easier to drink. It was basically like drinking an orange non-carbonated syrup drink. The nurse took my blood before drinking, after 1 hour of drinking and then 2 hours of drinking.
Because of the time mix up, we saw the doctor while waiting for the hours to pass. The doctor's consultation was very fast as usual. "Hi", "how are you, any pains?", "Any problems?" Baby's heartbeat check and dah. We continued to wait for the last hour of blood test.
The funny thing was by the time we got to payment, I had to take the last blood withdrawal. So basically, whether we had came late for the GDT or not. we would still leave the hospital at 2:30pm! Go figure!
3 days later, a nurse called saying that I had to collect medication/ supplements. I was like huh? What does this means? I failed the GDT? She said no and that I passed but my blood count was low. Wuutttt? I was told collect it anytime I wanted except on weekends.
To Fast or not to Fast?
I did asked the doctor if I could fast for Ramadhan but she encouraged me not to. At that time, she seemed unsure herself because one, she's Chinese and two, she is not a resident doctor. I was the one who had to explained to her that pregnant women could fast provided there are no complications and the doctor gave a green light.
To be honest, I was unhappy. I don't see why I can't fast if baby and I are healthy. Being stubborn, I actually mentally planned to at least fast half a day on the side. But as if God was trying to prove a point, as soon as was done with my GDT and left the hospital. I fell sick. I had high fever and cough. Which brings me to the next part...
Sick, Sick, SICK!
I felt sick after my GDT which I thought probably because I had to fast, was dehydrated and all those blood withdrawals would make me feel sickly. But even after drinking and eating, I felt sick and it got worse. That same afternoon, I had a fever. I visited the family clinic for medication. The fever lasted for 2 days but my cough was rather severe and persistent. I am talking about wearing pads because of the peeing, bad muscle aches, lack of sleep and vomiting.
At the one week mark, I thought I was feeling better but when I woke up at 4:30am, (I help prepare sahur for the men), I felt that room literally spun. I had dizzy spells before but it was definitely the worst I ever had. I didn't know if it was due to me being sick or being pregnant. I contemplated if I should deal with it, go to a family doctor or what.
Well, remember that I had to collect some iron supplements? Since I was sick, I still haven't collected them yet. I called KKH for advice, I asked if I should go to their 24hr clinic? (I was thinking I could collect meds at the same time). The nurse said yes. Jhon and I went to the 24hr clinic only to be directed to Labour & Delivery because I was at 26 weeks and they wanted to monitor the baby.
I felt something simple kinda blown out of proportion. I knew there was no major concern because I don't have belly aches, bleeding or anything but they wanted to check. I also felt like I may sound like the over paranoid first time mom. In my defense, I knew I was just being sick and I just wanted to go to a clinic?
ANYWAYS, baby is healthy, I got to hear the heartbeat for a good period of time. They checked my sugar level which was slightly low and blood pressure was okay. I was given more medication for my virus and was told to see an eye-nose-throat doctor.
I got the appointment for 2 days later which by then, my dizziness has subsided but still coughing like a maniac. Long story short, the doctor could not conclude my cause of dizziness because it could be from the virus or just from pregnancy. Again, I felt like I look like a paranoid FTM. I was given 1 more type of medicine which actually helped with the coughing. Still coughing 2 weeks later but at least not so severe.
Weight
The doctors never voice any concern about my weight gain or lack thereof so this is simply pointed out by me. Just a quick recap, my pre-pregnancy weight was about 62kg while standing at 1.66m which is at a pretty average BMI. I lost 2kg due to morning sickness and by the time that subsided, my weight started to gain. It took me 3 months to gain back the lost 2kg plus 2kg which takes me at 64kg. I know as a gauge, I have to gain an average of 10kg throughout the pregnancy.
And then, I got sick and as I always do when I get sick, I lost 2kg; just like that. Don't get me wrong, I do still eat but that's how my body is lah. So as I end my 6th month, I am currently at 62kg. Everyone said I probably lost my own weight, not baby weight because my belly is still big. This is also another reason I chose not to fast during Ramadhan because for sure I will lose more weight.
Wonderful Act of Kindness
Jhon and I went to Lucky Plaza to remit money as usual. The queue was long as usual so it was no big deal. Within just 1 minute of queuing, someone tapped me on the shoulder, I heard something in Tagalog and saw the man walking away. Turned out I had a green light to jump queue! Jhon and I were surprised because we didn't expect anything at all and was more than willing to queue but who can pass up that offer? Of course, we got plenty of sour stares but we just did our own thing. That was the fastest transaction we ever had. Again, thus far, I've been blessed because people always give way for me.
Except for the slow walking. Yes, the fast walker me has slowed down to the zombie like pace. Since I don't look pregnant from behind, people naturally get agitated with me.... until they passed me and saw my belly. haha
Taking it Easy
I've always aimed to have a fit or at least an active pregnancy. I don't want to be a lazy preggo. Don't get me wrong, I am not actively doing prenatal exercises but at least walks everyday. Well, as I am ending my 6th month, it has been tough and being mostly sick during that period is not helping at all. Everyone is telling me to take it easy and although most of the time, I do feel okay, I still get tired very quickly. This also is also prompting me to want to finish buying the baby necessities before it gets worse.
