Think Aloud Mommy

And thus begins my 'vacation' in UMMC.

I stayed in a 4 bed room as that is only type of room available in the prenatal ward. The wards' were recently refurbished, so they look quite cheery and bright.

I'm served 4 meals a day (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner). There's a menu for me to choose my meals from, ranging from local spicy, local non spicy, western and vegetarian. Taste wise is so so. Some dishes were good, but some were not.

My next door neighbor is also having placenta previa, and like me, has not experienced bleeding thus far. Her due date is one week earlier than mine. So we're both we like 'residents' in that room, while our opposite neighbors come and go.

Every couple of hours, the nurses will come and check the baby's heartbeat, and once a day, my blood pressure is taken. Every morning, and sometimes in the afternoon, the doctors will do their rounds, checking on all patients.

As UMMC is a learning hospital, and as I wasnt experiencing any bleeding, I was approached twice to be a 'test' patient for the medical students. The first was for an ultrasound demo/talk, where the doctor did an ultrasound presentation on my condition to her students. The second was for the final year students' exam, where they had to do a practical, by interviewing a patient and present the case to their examiners to be evaluated. That was quite an interesting insight. Boy, the students were nervous! I was given a small monetary reward on both occasions.

I spend my days reading, sleeping, eating, playing games and surfing. In a way, it wasn't too bad, cos I got to rest quite a bit the whole time, as third trimester does take it's toll on me. Due to the position of the placenta, the weight and pressure on my lower abdomen is greater. I move a lot slower and can't sit too long.

I have another week to go before my scheduled c-section. Crossing my fingers that everything goes smoothly.

During my 33rd week checkup, my gynae asked that I pay a visit to a government hospital for further checkup. Due to my placenta previa condition (which is considered high risk pregnancy) he mentioned that most private won't accept these kind of patients. Furthermore, I may loose a lot of blood, and may require blood transfusion. Government hospital are better equipped to handle cases like this and have a better network of blood supply.

And so, on 26th of March (my 34th week), hubs and I went to UMMC (University Malaya Medical Center) for checkup. After the necessary registration and routine tests (blood and urine test) we went in to see a gynecologist. We were told then that I should be warded immediately, in case of bleeding. That totally freaked me out. My first time hospitalized!! But after a couple of deep breaths, I realized it would be for the better. At least I'm already IN the hospital in case of emergency. And there are doctors and nurses around, monitoring my condition.

So hubs and I waited a while until a nurse came to wheel me to the ward.

I will have to stay until the baby is delivered. If no bleeding occurs, a c-section will be planned sometime in week 38th.

My gynae had been mentioning that I had low placenta since the last few checkups, but with some hope that it will move up as the pregnancy progresses. However, I had a checkup last week (32 week), and it still has not move up. He mentioned a condition called placenta previa.

From Babycenter:

If the placenta is still lying low in your uterus after you are 20 weeks pregnant, it is called placenta praevia. Even at this stage, the placenta may still move up in time for your baby to be born. By the end of pregnancy, about one in 200 women has placenta praevia to some degree. Most of these are minor cases. 

If the placenta covers your cervix at the end of your pregnancy, your baby's exit route through your vagina will be blocked. The placenta may be partly covering your cervix (partial placenta praevia) or completely covering it (major placenta praevia). See our images, below. Either way, your baby will need to be born by caesarean section.

source: http://www.babycenter.com.my/a830/placenta-praevia#ixzz2NDalZJ9k\

Apparently, there's also a tendency for early bleeding due to contractions - thus early delivery. Hubs and I are really praying that our lil girl will stay inside till at least week 37. I'm mentally preparing myself for a c-section now and reading up more about it. Hopefully, I won't lose too much blood as well when the placenta detaches itself from the uterus - as I read, this may happen as well for placenta previa cases.

I'm having so much fun looking at baby clothes, thinking of what to buy for my lil girl!! There's sooooooo many adorable clothes that I just want to buy them all! But of course, the practical side of me kicks in to withhold myself from buying too many, since babies tend to grow quite fast the first few months.

As my belly grows bigger, I get tired too easily after walking a short while. So I'm clothes-shopping from the comfort of my own home - online shopping!!

Aren't these two rompers just oozing with cuteness?!? Yea, I bought them, even though they're only available at a bigger size (9-12months). :P

Before being pregnant, I always thought how cool it would be to experience naming a baby. Fast forward to the present, I must say, baby naming can be pretty exhausting! Not that I'm complaining, but the choices are a plenty! And with me who's always having difficulty making big decisions, this one is certainly tough.

There are a couple of names that I like, but alas, they're already taken - either a friend's name, or a friend's baby's name. Then there are names which I like, but hubs doesn't, or vice versa. Or names that doesn't sound nice when put together with the last name (family name). Or names that mean something else when saying it in a different language/dialect. Or names which may be difficult to pronounce by certain groups of people.

I guess the weight is really upon us as parent to choose the correct name for our children. After all, it'll stay with them for years to come, and if we happen to choose a wrong name, we're doomed! :p

It brings a smile to my face every time I feel the baby kicking. I only really noticed the kick sometime in week 19. It's still a gentle kick for now, although I do hear from other mommies that the kick gets harder as the pregnancy progresses. Initially hubs had been trying to feel the kick as well, but whenever he puts his hand on my belly, the kick stops. Cheeky baby! LOL! He has now felt the kick himself a few times now, and his face literally lights up as well. The miracle of life :)

Came across this cute illustration, from Show Mom How.

I started reading up on how to prevent stretch marks when I was still in my 10th week of pregnancy. I have dry skin, so I was sure if I don't moisturize my skin well, I was definitely going to have stretch marks.

I heard of Earth Mama Angel Baby natural stretch oil by chance when reading some of the forummers' experience on stretch mark prevention. Different people have different views and experience on what works or does not work for them. So it was mostly down to trial and error.

I decided to give Earth Mama Angel Baby natural stretch oil a try, since it was organic and all natural. I bought a bottle from an online blogshop at RM90 (including postage). I loved it the moment I used it. I love the soft citrusy smell, and the fact that even though it's oil, it doesn't feel heavy or sticky after using it.

My skin around the belly started getting tight and itchy around my 13th week of pregnancy. After several days of using the oil, the tightness disappeared. Yayy! I'm now in my 24th week of pregnancy, and I haven't seen a hint of stretch mark yet (touchwood!).