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Wednesday 12 September 2012

Retrospective Wisdom: Week 31

"Your baby now weighs more than 1.4 kg. The brown fat that has been deposited over the past few weeks has changed the look of your baby's skin from reddish colour to pink blush. Your baby is growing fingernails, just in time to be trimmed at birth. Be sure to pack a pair of baby fingernail clippers in the bag you plan to bring to the hospital or birthing centre." - excerpt from The Complete Illustrated Pregnancy Companion by Robin Elise Weiss with Dr. Marcello Pietrantoni.

My birthday week! Z treated my swollen feet and ankles to a pair of red leather size 7 Scholl's as I could no longer fit into any of my slippers. I am hoping I will return to my pre-pregnancy show size of 6.5, or else all the fabulous Charles Jourdan heels and Ferragamo ballerina flats will have to go on Ebay for sale *really sad face*

After weeks of online research and window shopping, I found and bought 2 comfortable nursing bras from Mothercare that I can handle with one hand and anticipate that I can hold Jr with the other hand. Those with snap clips no matter how easy still require both hands! I will buy more of the "one hand free" nursing bras closer to week 38 as I am still growing. I have gone from 75B to 85C in the last 31 weeks! Perhaps, this is the only part of my body that has grown bigger and I will have no complaints if they do not return to pre-pregnancy size, like most women would agree with me *hehe*

I have thrown up after eating papaya again. Out of the two times that I have eaten papayas throughout pregnancy, I have thrown up on both occasions. Papayas are now banned from my diet! Apparently the papaya soup increases breastmilk supplies, hmmh.

The reverse is true of fish. Jr seems to really love salmon (grilled or in porridge), cod (in porridge or steamed) and torpedo (grilled and stuffed with sambal herbs). Other seafood like cuttlefish, prawns or mussels are well tolerated too. After a meal with fish or seafood, Jr will kick excitedly. We interpret this as appreciative because the same reaction can never be achieved after a meal of chicken or beef.

Both Z and I have started attending ante-natal classes since week 29. Our other classmates are also first time parents. It is quite interesting to learn of real life experiences from peers. Some can be very similar, some not!

We hit another milestone this week when asked to complete the labour pre-admission procedures at the hospital. Preferences were relayed to the hospital and we hope they will act on it when the time comes. We have put down our choice of single bed room with baby in the room (and not at the nursery on her own with other babies). It appeared that mothers usually leave the babies at the nursery with the nurses and only have the baby for feeding. I guess I have no idea how tired I would be when the time comes but I am sure that no matter how tired I get to be, I would still prefer for my newborn to be in the same room as I am (with the support of husband, parents-in-law and encouraging friends)!
 
The length of stay is estimated at 2 days for a normal birth. We'll see...I have been getting jitters about last minute Cesarean if I chicken out of epidural and normal birth. No matter how much encouraging materials I read and hearsay from birth experiences of friends, I guess it boils down to me and my self-confidence. Positive mantra to self *I am designed for giving birth*

The noticeable physical change this past 2 weeks seem to be the relaxation of pelvic joints and membranes. I feel the Jr's head resting in my pelvic area now and sometimes it gets a bit difficult/painful to walk. Since we have 9 more weeks to go, I am hoping that nature's way of preparing me for birth is right on cue. Dr. Haris is of the opinion that this is normal at week 31 and I should practice caution and enjoy the waddle as walking is not really the same from now on.

This week's check up is the first check-up where both my protein and glucose in urine test recorded negative results (meaning good!). All the previous tests recorded positive for protein (and got me anxious about pre-eclampsia risks) except the one on 6 February 2010, where I was positive for glucose (certainly got me anxious about gestational diabetes). All the resting and lessened activities have really paid off so I must continue to rest as much as possible (feel sorry about the weeds in the garden and un-ironed laundry in the basket). Something has to give...

Measurements taken by Dr. Haris Hamzah on 19 February 2010:

BPD (that means from ear to ear): 8.21 cm (was 7.52 cm)

Head circumference: 28.26 cm (was 26.8 cm)

Abdominal circumference: 25.15 cm (was 23.98 cm)

Femur length: 5.76 cm (was 5.46 cm)

Estimated fetal weight: 1.476 kg (was 1.274 kg)
 
**Retrospective Wisdom: Keep your shoes and clothes you may return to your normal size, it took me 5 months. Papaya soup DID increase my breastmilk supply and I had to pump to relieve the heaviness.**

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