I thought...

I thought I was starting to get better, but sadly it wasn't the case yesterday. Hubby had me thinking about Japanese bento boxes so yesterday we went to a Japanese grocery store to get me one for dinner. By the time we got there, there was only one bento bowl left: chicken teriyaki. Since we've driven the entire way and I was starting to get hungry, we decided to get it.

Finally, we got home and I started eating it. I can't say it tasted great but it was ok. Something to fulfill my cravings, right? Or at least the wisp of one. Anyway, a few hours later, I up-ended everything into the sink. So there goes my dinner. Hubby says that maybe it was the bento box itself. The store cooks it for lunch and I bought it quite a few hours later. So perhaps the food was starting to turn, which was why my tummy rejected it. I couldn't eat much after that since it was late and tummy was feeling rather tender. Either my tummy very sensitive or baby very picky...haih~~~

So this weekend, we're going to try to go to NYC. I can't seem to find the asam (suan mei) that I want from the Chinese grocery store here. And I really need to eat one after every meal to help with digestion. So we might as well go to NYC Chinatown and see what they have for me. The few varieties that I bought isn't all that great, so have to try more. At the same time, maybe also satisfy some cravings as well. I miss those Japanese bento boxes from this Japanese bakery in NYC. Maybe I'll get some for lunch. But first, I have to see if I'm up to making the trip since I haven't taken the train from the time I found out I was preggie. Hopefully I won't get motion sickness.

Huffing and puffing

I had 2 dental appointments yesterday. One for my braces and the other was for regular cleaning and filling. So being very gung-ho and not wanting to bother hubby, I decided to walk there. For me, it's not unusual since I've walked there before, even during winter time. The walk usually takes me an hour. So I thought this would not be any different.

Boy, was I wrong. Not even a quarter of the way there, I was already feeling nauseous and breathless. My heart was pumping hard and my ears were stuffed. I read that stuffed ears is also another effect of pregnancy. Luckily I packed some buns in my bag just in case I got hungry and I ate some while walking. I had to quickly take a break on some benches near my hubby's office. Was quite tempted to call hubby to send me to the dentist but I decided against it. He mentioned that he was going to be busy that day.

So I had my break, got up and continued walking. I had no choice since I had to go for my appointments. I was walking really slowly but my heart still felt like it was in a race. The walk took me more than my usual one hour, partly due to my break and also because I was walking much slowly. I decided against speeding up since I didn't want to risk anything. By the time I got the dentist office, I was late and out of breath. I quickly sat down, had some digestive biscuits and water. Felt a bit better about 10 to 15 mins or so. I wasn't really keeping track.

Once I was done with my first appointment, I went to have lunch before my second appointment. Didn't eat too much as usual, though it was a bit more than my usual amount. Maybe it was all the walking. Went for my second appointment and called hubby after I was done. We had made an arrangement that he would pick me up on the way home since it won't be possible for me to make the trip back. Good thing too since I don't think I would have survived.

So today taking a day off from yoga due to my "wonderful" walk yesterday. It was quite an eye-opener. Somehow, I need to get myself out of the house everyday for a short walk. Just need some sort of carrot and stick. Stick is probably more of what I need...HAIH...

Doctor's visit and genetic testing results

So I had my doctor's visit on Thursday. All is well, though doctor's still a bit concerned about my diet and lack of appetite. Nope, no weight gain yet but at least I didn't lose any. She got the results from the first phase of my genetic test and it looks pretty good. I'm signed up for the second phase, which includes another set of blood draw and ultrasound. Plus she also re-iterated how important it is for me to go take the iron and glucose test since my previous results weren't that great. I told her I'll try, probably get it done next week or so. I need to fast for this blood test, which is not good since no breakfast means nausea.

Speaking of nausea, I think I'm a little bit better now. Tummy doesn't act up as much though appetite hasn't improved all that greatly. Like I mentioned before, my tummy is smaller and now used to digesting smaller portions. Need to get it to expand slowly.

Plus I have possibly discovered another side effect from my pregnancy: I'm now lactose intolerant. Previously, I could drink milk and eat yogurt without much problems. But since I got pregnant, my tummy's been rebelling against these foods. It just get uncomfortable and gassy, which is a surprise since I never had problems before. Might also explain why I couldn't eat ice-cream. Yes, even ice-cream gets to me. Doctor did recommend Lactaid, but we'll see. I might just go for calcium-enriched OJ. I can still take dairy but perhaps in smaller portions.

Another lazy day

It's another lazy day for me. I decided to skip yoga again. This time, I have somewhat of a valid excuse: doctor's appointment in the afternoon. I don't want to rush home from yoga and then head out to the doctor's without having a good lunch..hehehehehe. But it's also because I take public transportation, you can never tell if there will be a delay or not. Better be safe than sorry. Plus the weather has been so nice and cool lately. I just want to sleep in :D

On a more positive note, I feel that my appetite is returning i.e. morning sickness is going away. At least in the past few days, I've been wanting to eat more. However, I don't think my tummy can take the extra food yet since it's been subsisting on tiny amounts lately. So I'll need to expand it slowly, let it get used to processing more food. Also, leftovers still is a big no-no for me as I tried it on Monday (or was it Tuesday?), only to eject it a few hours later. It could be because I ate too much, but I can't tell. However, I'm not that keen to try it again.

So lazy today

I'm so lazy today. Was supposed to go for my yoga class but got lazy. Started chatting with my younger sister and my M'sian friend online that I didn't feel like going out. Usually, I don't get the opportunity to chat with them since they're both busy. So I decided to skip class. But of course, I feel utterly guilty later on. Hubby says to do yoga at home but it's so difficult to motivate myself to roll the mat out and do it by myself. There's something about having a teacher and a group of people around you to motivate you :D But then, I felt like sleeping in today and didn't want to get out of bed. So good thing I lazy (??)

Yesterday I wasn't lazy. I didn't go out but I did potter around the house and do some stuff. I turned on our small chest freezer since I discovered that some of the herbs I brought back from KL last year got moldy. I was quite upset since those herbs were of pretty good quality. Have to get my mom to bring me more when she comes in December (cross fingers). Packed some stuff into the freezer since I didn't want them to spoil. Read some books that I borrowed from the library since being in front of the computer for too long is not good.

Then I took out some frozen pork, soaked some dried mushroom and wood ear fungus. I love to eat this dish that my mom make for us. She would stew the pork ribs in dark soy sauce, ginger, mushroom and wood ear fungus. Yum yum.. I think I like it a lot because of the wood ear fungus. She would always put in a lot of wood ear fungus since it's one of the first item to disappear from the pot.

Anyway, I cooked that for dinner since I didn't want to eat take-out. The dish tasted a bit different since I usually use chicken thighs, but it was good enough. I didn't use all the pork since I have to learn to cook less. The leftover pork, I marinated in char siew seasoning and might end up roasting it today.

Food Cravings

You always hear about pregnant women having crazy food cravings. Well, for me, I haven't had any. I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that I keep on ejecting what I eat. Once in a while, I'll want to eat something but it's usually quite fleeting. One minute I'll want it, the next I'm like "no thanks"

The only thing I would think of constantly is my mom's cooking. Keep thinking about it. It's simple home-cooked food but always so good. I know if I eat it, I'll have no problem keeping it down and gaining the requisite pregnancy weight. But sadly, I'd have to go home to KL or get my mom to come here. The latter option is not possible since my mom has her own obligations at home.

I've also been thinking about those M'sian hawker foods. The dry wantan noodles with the pickled green chili, chicken rice, yong tau fu...drrooolll. I dream about them when I'm sleeping. Must be missing all those home flavours. I can probably satisfy those cravings easily if I were to go to NYC, but I don't think I can make the trip just yet. The morning sickness hasn't gone away completely.

Well, can't wait till the morning sicnkess is over and my appetite returns. Then I'll go and eat everything that I miss....hehehehehe...

Weekend

Didn't do much last weekend. Went to an optomerist to get my eyes checked and see if I need new glasses, then off to yoga and home. Yoga's starting to get a bit tough for me now. I can't do everything I used to do and need to rest every now and then. I always feel like I'm out of breath, even though I'm not doing much. But I still have to hang in there since the workout is good for my body and baby. Perhaps I need to walk a bit more these days. Get out of the house more.

Sunday passed by quietly. Went to check out a new Asian grocery store but nothing much there. Half the shelves were empty, so not much choices. Hopefully when the grand opening comes along, there'll be more stuff. But then I don't really mind driving 30 mins to our normal Asian grocery store. That one seems to have way more stuff and they have nice cooked and baked stuff. Fresh roast pork (siew yuk)...YUUUMMM~~

12th Week Ultrasound

Today was our 12th week ultrasound as well as genetic testing. The genetic counselor sat down with us to get a picture of our families' genetic history, i.e. any diseases, disabilities, etc. The counselor was quite thorough in her questions. I guess you have to be if you want an accurate picture of what health risks might run in our families that could be passed down to the children. So I'll have to call my mom this weekend to ask her some more questions about family medical history. This way, I can get back to the counselor and we'll go from there. She did give us some additional tests to consider if we want to be more careful.

Then it was time for ultrasound. We had to wait a while since there were quite a few people ahead of me. No issues, I get to sit down and snack on my apple slices, digestive biscuits and asam (suan mei). Seems like I'm eating constantly, but I have to else I'd be at the sink again. So it's time for ultrasound. This time, there was definitely more baby to see. As the ultrasound was part of the genetic testing, the technician needed to measure the fluid space in the spine to make sure it's normal. If the space is too big, then it's a sign of some abnormalities. The baby's spinal space is normal.

Next came the measurement for the baby's length to see if he/she is progressing on schedule. Not sure what the measurement is but it's on schedule. We could see the baby more clearly: the head, body, arms and legs. The technician had to "encourage" the baby to move a bit so she could take better scans. It was quite fun to see the baby moving around. The arms were moving and was turning quite a bit. I think he/she was trying to escape the technician's poking..hehehehehe...Hubby was quite excited. I think he wanted to see the gender but it's a bit early. This time, we had some pictures to take home. Hubby will scan them later on and I'll post some up when it's ready.

I also had to take a blood test for the regular genetic testing. It's to test for Down syndrome, Trisomy 18 and spina bifida. I think it's probably the most common health issues doctors encounter, so they want to make sure that the baby is healthy. The blood test was after the ultrasound and being the scaredy-cat I am, I looked away from needle. The needle going in wasn't so bad, it was the extraction. I had asked for a butterfly needle since it's smaller and had a tube running from the needle to vial. This way, you don't feel them changing vials, if you need to take multiple samples. This butterfly needle was unique as it had a spring to pull back the needle at the end of the process. Somehow the spring snapped back and it hurt more than it going in. I didn't see it, but hubby did. So I'm using his description.

Now we wait a week for the results and it would be about time for the next gynae visit.. fun fun..

My pregnancy experience so far..

So, I'm heading towards my 12th week now. Counting down with bated breath so my darn morning sickness will go away. The thing is my morning sickness doesn't happen in the morning. I get it in the late afternoon and evening. I'd be running to the kitchen sink and up-ending whatever I ate, be it a snack or my dinner that I finally manage to eat.

Lately, it's been pretty bad. Last week was the worst. Throwing up 4 days in a row, at least twice a day. I think my baby must be saying, "It's the end of the first trimester, must make mommy suffer as much as possible!!" If that's the case, that's a really naughty baby. But then I have been nicknaming it "Naughty" everytime I throw up, and I blame hubby for it..HAHAHAHA... Well, it is his fault that I'm pregnant right now. Ahh..the eternal "blame-the-husband" game.

The morning sickness didn't really start till after my July roadtrip with my sister and her hubby. We went to Philly and DC before the July 4th weekend since it was cheaper to travel then. Plus we've never been there and wanted to save some money (with high gas prices and all). For my sis, it was her pre-baby vacation. Anyway, I slept a lot during the trip. I slept in the car, in the afternoons when we should have been sight-seeing. The good thing was both hotels were located pretty close to the tourist sights. My BIL (bro-in-law) probably planned that in mind since my sis is a couple months ahead of me in her pregnancy and cannot walk too far. My appetite was still good then, though I think the nausea was starting if I ate too much. Plus I'd get grumpy if I don't eat on time. Not sure if that was hormones though..hahahahah

When I had my first gynae visit, the doc asked if I was experiencing morning sickness and I happily answered "No". I spoke too soon. A few weeks later, it hit me. It wasn't so bad at first, perhaps I'd be hugging the sink once every few days. Suddenly it increased in frequency. My cousin said that maybe the baby's releasing hormones to stay in the body. The more morning sickness, the better it is for the baby. Small comfort. Plus the lack of appetite didn't help either. Every evening, hubby would ask what I want to eat for dinner and I'll be stumped. My body just doesn't want to accept any food since it knows it'll be expunging it later on. There were a few bright days where I'll crave for hamburgers and chicken nuggets, so hubby will go to McD's or Wendy's to get it for me.

Another change due to my pregnancy is that I don't cook as much as I did before. I tried a few times and only ended up at the sink again. The smell of it just gets to me. So eating out has become something of a must (and I dislike eating out since there really isn't much variety here and pretty expensive too). There's another reason why I don't like eating out since hubby has to eat all the leftovers. I realised that I cannot eat leftovers since it produces lots of air in the tummy, which aggravates the morning sickness. You know, no one ever tells you that when you're pregnant, you're going to be extremely gassy. If you don't burp, you'll be uncomfortable the whole day. In my case, the sink.

I did try the normal remedy for gassiness; ginger, mint and stuff. Apparently, asam (preserved plums) works pretty well for me. Too bad I only discovered it recently, else it might have helped with my sink visits. I was trying to stay away from all those preservatives and stuff since my diet has been sadly lacking, but I was at wits end and needed relief. I finally gave in and bought it the other day. Guess my ginger tea will be collecting dust in the cupboard now...HHAAHAHAAH

Other than that, I had the normal drowsiness and dizziness from the pregnancy. The dizziness was mostly due to be being anemic (I think), from lack of appetite prior to my blood tests. At that time, I was already experiencing the morning sickness and lack of appetite. So that didn't help the blood work. Plus the technician drew 9 vials of blood from me (no wonder anemic too). I had asked for a butterfly needle since I'm a scaredy-cat when it comes to needles. Luckily too else I would have felt all 9 vials being drawn...bbbrrrr...I get goosebumps thinking of it. So in my next gynae visit, doctor got the results and said that I needed to eat more meat to build up the iron and scheduled me for another follow up test...HAIH..more needles..

The thing is I do want to eat. I really really do. But this baby is saying "no, no." Surprisingly, baby is ok with soups and fruits. So Wholefoods is now our favourite grocery store since I can get organic apples and the chicken soup. It's the only 2 things that I can eat consistently without a visit to the sink. I usually add my own ingredients to the soup so that it gets fortified a bit more (plus soups here are usually too salty for my taste). However, I can only eat half a bowl and then I'm full. This also means that I'll be hunting for food every hour or so. It's really bad. But I've stocked the house with raisins, dried apricots and nuts. These contain some iron and other healthy nutrition for the baby. Now, if I can only get more calcium in my diet......

I also had to make some changes to my lifestyle. I used to do yoga 3 times a week and walk quite frequently too. But since I got pregnant, I'd be lucky to put in 2 classes a week. 2 of my classes are held in a nearby town, so I need to walk 30 mins to the train station, grab the train just to get to class. To get home, I'd have to catch the bus, and then walk another 30 mins home. So I was pretty active. Recently I got myself a bike to help cut down on the commute to the station. Luckily, the third class is on a Saturday and hubby drives me there :D

However, since I got pregnant, no cycling on the road for me...bumps and cars. It's back to walking. But sometimes, the morning sickness gets to me in the morning and I can't get out of the house, thus have to skip class. And when I can make it, I would feel a bit nauseous (probably from all the activity just to get there). I've taken to carrying snacks with me to class so I can eat before and after class. It helps a bit but there are times when I feel that I can't make it home and just need hubby to pick me up.

In class now, I have to take it easy as well. I used to be very gung-ho and try to do everything the instructor ask us to do. I like to challenge myself and see how far I can progress. Now, must take it easy and no more twisting for me. Twisting is bad since it contracts your belly and has less space for baby. Since my instructors know that I'm pregnant, they've taken to modifying some of the poses for me. I am contemplating taking a pre-natal yoga class but I think I'll go for it when I'm much further along.

I would have to say that I might be luckily than some women out there. The fact that I'm not working is a blessing in disguise. I can't imagine taking the train to work every morning and wanting to throw up, or not being able to take my afternoon naps when I'm soooo tired. But the thing I do miss is my mom's cooking. If I had that, I don't think I'll have any problem with anemia and lack of appetite. Too bad, I'd have to move back home for it...

So tomorrow's my next ultrasound and genetic testing visit.. hope everything goes fine..more needles...

How we found out

I suspected that I was expecting in mid-June. I itchy-finger and took the pregnancy test. I waited the requisite minutes but the results wasn't a confirmed positive. The second line was very faint but there was some colour. I was panicking a bit. I called my gynae and spoke to the nurse. She took some dates from me to predict time of conception etc, and suggested that I try the test again in a few days time. But the nurse set up an appointment with the gynae for me just in case the test shows positive again. She said if not, then just call to cancel the appointment. By then, I was a teeny-bit overwhelmed, trying to wrap around my mind that I might be pregnant. I called hubby and told him. He was rather calm over the phone, though he said that he was excited inside. So the rest of the day was a blur to me. I think I was in shock.

Anyway, took it a few days later and Voila~! confirmed pregnant. Both lines showed up bright and clear. So no need to call the gynae to cancel the appointment. I think that evening, both hubby and I called our respective parents to break the good news. But we told them to keep it quiet from the rest of the family till I'm further along. So my parents are definitely excited since it'll be their second grandkid. My younger sis is pregnant with the first one.

So the following week, I was at the gynae with hubby. Had to fill paperwork for insurance and stuff, and give urine sample. Apparently that will be the norm for every visit, it's to check for urinary tract infection. Then we waited for about an hour before we could see the doctor. She's pretty popular and has lots of patients. When it was finally my turn, she asked some questions and did some poking around. She also scheduled me for an ultrasound and a whole slew of blood tests. In the US, the doctors won't confirm you're pregnant till you go for an ultrasound and see/hear the baby's heartbeat. I guess they don't want to give people false hope and kena sued later on for raising their hopes. People here really like to sue for whatever Tom-Dick-and-Harry reason.

Finally the day came for the ultrasound. We went to the nearby hospital for our appointment, filled some paperwork and waited for our turn. I think I was a bit anxious as to what will show up on the screen. Finally it's time, the technician did the ultrasound (had to try a few times). Lo and behold, there was a heartbeat and a little shrimp in my belly. It really did look like a little shrimp, ok maybe a bean. We could hear the heartbeat quite clearly. I don't think I had a lot of reaction, though hubby was happy. Then the technican took measurements and stuff and said the baby was approximately 6 weeks 6 days along with an estimated due date of end Feb 2009.

My very first post

I've been debating for a LLOONNNGG time as to whether I should start a blog or not. Well, it's more of procrastination..hehehehe. So, I finally decided to do it. Call it a confluence of circumstances.

Since this blog will mostly be read by family and friends, the title should give you an idea as to what it's for. Yes, I'm finally pregnant. I'm now heading towards end of my first trimester. I have to say, I'm a bit relieved since the morning sickness was horrible. Throwing up almost everyday is not fun. Compound it by the fact that I have no appetite whatsoever, it makes it even worse. You know how you read about pregnant women having large appetite and gaining weight like crazy, well I have to say that I'm the opposite. I didn't gain any weight, as a matter of fact I lost weight. The doctor said not to be a bit concerned, says that I'll catch up in the following two trimesters. I hope it's the case since I really don't want to deprive the baby of any nutrition that it needs.

Anyway, this blog probably will be used to document my experiences throughout the pregnancy and hopefully continue to after the baby is born. I do hope I will have something interesting to write since my life here is really quite boring. More on that later :D