The Birth

I was scheduled for caesarean on Tuesday 17th, but baby has its own mind I went into labour at 2 o'clock in the morning on Friday 13th. I was 39 weeks & 1 day pregnant.

Here she is, our beautiful baby girl Ameera Hasna (means; beautiful princess). Born Friday, 13th January 2006 at 11.28 AEDT. Weighing 3.34 kg, height 51 cm.

Week 37-40

Well, so far so good I survived the hottest New Year's day ever in a decade. It was 47'C! Yes, you heard it right; 47'C!!! Boy, I nearly died...

I stay home most of the time which driving me crazy. Now I'm proud to so that I've experienced something I thought I wouldn't; BOREDOM!
But, hey.. I shall enjoy it whilst I can. Soon the little one will not let me have time for my own, so here I am bored as hell but happy... :D

My bub weight around 3 kg now, and should add only gain a little bit for the rest of the pregnancy although my doctor said the bub could be weighed 3,5 kg at term.
We are talking about the birth at every appointment now. He told me I have very narrow pelvis opening and with that vaginal birth will come with greater risks.

I've read a lot about birth, and the doctor warning making me nervous. I've made up my mind to just go for it and see what happens. Birth, here I come!!!

Week 33-36

Part One:
My back is killing me! Literally!!!
I'm so convinced I'll need a wheelchair soon just to get my self around... I feel like a disabled and helpless, and it's driving me mad!! So much to do and I just can't do it...

I think my baby has dropped down, I don't know if the head has engaged I will need the doctor to tell me by using ultrasound scan. I can't tell if the pain comes from the head rubbing the pelvic floor muscles or if it comes from my back problem..
I do notice that from around early 33 weeks my heartburn seemed to ease down... Yay!!! I could eat big spicy meal with no 'fire' in my chest!!! God, I missed those hot sambal*... It tasted so good I can't believe I had to give that up for quite sometimes... But hey, we're back in business!!!!

Oh, I've gained 10 kg (22 lb) now... Poor my back & pelvis...

*Sambal; chillie mixture pounded and fried in oil

Part Two:
Ah, my first Monday at home.
Yap, I'm officially unemployed now I have more time to put my feet up & relax... Until I get bored, of course, then I'll find something to do..

30 more days to go now..

Week 29-32

My belly has grown bigger now and I'm starting to get uncomfortable from the weight & the pressure of my belly. Lately I'm suffering from heartburn almost on daily basis. Some days it makes me so sick I feel like I'm having a morning sickness.
My back is also hurting and I don't know how to get rid of the pain. It is frustrating because we're moving units at the moment and it seems that I can't do much. I feel that I'm useless although I think I've been quite helpful with packing and organising most of the stuff. Of course, it is affecting me too at work that I get tired easily seems like I can't get things done fast enough. My doctor said the maternity support belt for back & abdomen might help. So I went and I did find one shop in Kensington which has it, unfortunately I will have to wait until next week as they need to have it delivered from Melbourne.

We had another ultrasound scan. My bub is weighing 2.2 kg (4.85 lb) and very healthy according to the measurements, heartbeats & blood flows... No pictures this time, I don't know why maybe the bub's too big for them to be able to get the whole profile. We did have it recorded in DVD. It's amazing these days how you can show your children their pictures when they still inside their mommy's tummies... I think it's very exciting...

Week 25-28

We had a really good time at Sunshine Coast, it was warm & lovely although some days were really hot but I didn't mind at all. I haven't had a break for a long time & been so worried by chicken pox scare, a week off seemed bliss to me. I felt very tired every now and then during our vacation, but a good night sleep fix me right the next morning...

We stopped at Brisbane on the way home to check on baby stuff, thought it'd be cheaper than Sydney. Unfortunately we didn't have time to browse around so we decided we'd leave the shopping spree until we're back in Sydney. However, we couldn't resist to buy a packet of sporty Adidas booties & a hat. They're so cute & stylish, we chose blue for colour thinking if we bought the pink ones then if our baby's a boy it'd be a bit tricky!
When we're back from holiday we went for a day shopping just to get some basic needs such us baby body suits, stretch suits, socks & bibs. We also bought some flannette baby's wraps & a blanket. We bought a pram too. This is all so exciting!!!

My baby's really growing although some people say my bump is considerably small compare to others. It doesn't really worry me as I'm only small. I can't really imagine carrying a huge bump, poor my spine & legs!
My baby is very active. Every time the baby awakes I feel like there's a boxing match inside my tummy with all the kicking, rolling & punching...

Week 21-24

Yesterday, 23 weeks & a day pregnant when I was finally offered seat on the bus!!

I'm starting to get backache even though I don't do much physical exercise. I think my body's started to change shape as I noticed the usual easy things such us get off the bed or kneeling to get something on the floor became twice harder than before.

My husband & I are planning a week off, we're going to drive up to Sunshine Coast QLD. Thought it'll be nice to spend sometimes together before 'three too crowded' when the baby arrives...

My baby's profile, fingers, feet & toes (USG 26 August)

Breaking News

I had the foetal morphology ultrasound scan on 26 August. I was 19 weeks pregnant. They said everything looks normal, Alhamdulillah*. That's enough for me for now that I know my baby is all right after I got the chicken pox.

We don't want to know the sex until the baby born but the sonographer said she couldn't see it anyway. My baby lied still the whole time, perhaps sleeping. Didn't bother to move at all even though my stomach was being poked & rubbed by the scan reader. I was hoping I'd see my baby yawn or stretch but I think it wasn't my lucky day. We have it taped and that was including the blurred 3D features of the baby. Oh, well...

*Alhamdulillah; Alhamdulillah in Arabic means "Praise to God". In everyday speech it simply means "Thank God!"

Week 17-20

I'm down with chicken pox.
Well, we did what we could to try to suppress the virus by getting the injection of varicella zoster immune globulin. Hopefully it does its job to stop the virus affecting my baby. We try to always be positive and to think that our baby will be all right.

I'll see my obstetrician next week and also will get the foetal morphology ultrasound to check the growth of the baby.

Now, the exciting bit; I've felt the baby moving! It's amazing! I still can't get over it...

Ps: It's my birthday, today :p

Week 13-16

My second trimester pregnancy. I was starting to show a little bump, I could no longer hide my pregnancy. Some ladies in the office came to me and asked, and of course I was happily share the good news with them...

I've been eating well, my appetite was good I could not stop eating. I tried to keep up with it without fall into junk food. I still don't think I'm eating enough healthy food although I always try to avoid junk food.

I had another quick ultrasound at week 14 and this time my husband & I could see the head, tiny arms & legs... It was a breath-taking moment for us..

Oh, we are a little bit worried at the moment because my husband got chicken pox and I'm not immune to it. I've had an injection to prevent me from getting infected, or if I did to lessen the activities of the virus. I hope I will not get infected.

Week 9-12

I finally found myself an obtestrician, Dr. Stewart Boyce at North Shore Private Hospital. He's ok, very experienced & a relaxed person and I heard he has a good reputation. I think I can trust him to take care of me & my baby... I had my first ultrasound at week 10 and all I could see was this tiny bean-like creature inside my womb. I was a bit teary thinking there's my little baby I saw on the screen. It's a pity that my husband wasn't there with me, he was suddenly missing in action when I was called into the doctor's room. I asked for the print out of the ultrasound so that my husband could have something to see too.

I don't look like pregnant although I feel bloated all the time. I thought some people would pick up my pregnancy but surprisingly no one has. I must admit though because I've been eating more frequent that I used to be some friends gave me a curious look but they weren't game enough to say anything. I played along with the game, I deliberately pretend nothing's happened.. :0)

I don't have any morning sickness whatsoever, I'm lucky. I only have one problem, I cannot stand stand the smell of certain perfume & food. I suddenly hate Thai food and sweetness smell of men's perfume. I try to avoid food courts and perfume stands or I'd be making faces and hold my breath until I go red!

Week 5-8

I wasn't too sure if I had to tell relatives and friends so I started by telling my parents. They're apprehensive because it's still early days, but as time goes they're getting more confident.
I've told two of my best friends overseas and we were almost crying and laughing at the same time, it was so funny... I've also told my closest friends at work and asked them not to tell anyone yet. I haven't had any morning sickness so far so I looked just normal at work...

I've had appointment with my GP and she arranged some blood test for me to do. We had the results came within few days and everything came out good. There's only one problem, My GP was a bit concerned about finding an obstetrician for me as my due date is mid-January and many doctors will be on X-Mas and New year's leave.

My husband and I spent a weekend away at Port Stephens. It was nice just to be away from Sydney even only for two days. My husband wanted to ride the quad bikes at sand dunes and although I was 8 week pregnant I insisted to come for a ride with him. It was fun!! I think if the tour guide knew that I was pregnant she wouldn't have let me on the bike... :)

Week 1-4

My husband and I have been married for 5 years. We thought we'd start to have family in the year 2005, and we did!

I've had written down my period due & ovulation dates on my daily planner for the last couple months and my husband thought I was a little too discipline about it. Well, it worked didn't it, Honey?!
I was 4 days late for my period but thought it was just a late one, nothing to get excited about. On Saturday 14th May I finally decided to use one of my home tests. I was feeling tired for no reasons for the last two weeks, and combining that with the late period thought it was time to find out..
It was 9 o'clock in the evening when I lazily dragged myself to do the test, didn't want to get too excited afraid I'd get disappointed... Well, not this time as I was positive pregnant! I rang my husband at work and he proudly told his work mates that he's going to be a father... :)