sooyindotcom

…because I’m having trouble accessing my own website, ironic as it may sound.

Apparently, the Celcom Wireless Broadband thingamajig that I’m using at my parent’s place (another thoughtful gift from hubby…knowing how much time I spend online, he bought a 12 month package so that I can surf the ‘net while I’m staying at my parent’s place as well as when I’m in the hospital waiting to deliver… ) has some problems accessing certain websites, including those hosted by Exabytes, which is my webhost.

This is one of the few times that my website could actually load fully (most times, it just says ‘transferring data from www.sooyin.com’ and the page never loads), so I’m taking advantage of my good luck and using this time to write a quick post.

Another reason for the lack of updates is due to my precious baby who’s still happily ensconced in my tummy. Every day begins with anticipation that today is D-DAY…but so far, she shows no signs of wanting to come out. Even the regular contractions have tapered off! Throughout the day, the thing I do most often (other than sleep and eat!)…is to ask my baby girl a combination of:

1. “Babyyyyy…when do you want to come out?”
2. “Babyyyyy…come out tomorrow ok? Ok? Deal? Deal?”
3. “Babyyyyy…come out la…everyone is so eager to see you…”
4. “Babyyyyy…you must be so uncomfortable in there, no place to stretch your legs. Come out tomorrow la, plenty of space out here for you…”
5. “Babyyyyy…everything is ready for you. Got new clothes and new toys to play with. Come out tomorrow, k?”

Or some variation of the above… …

I’ve never been good at waiting patiently, sigh.

Will get round to answering comments soon, promise!

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Woke up this morning around 6.30am feeling contractions every 4-5 minutes. Went to DSH at 9am for the routine CTG scan, and yup…still there, every 3-5 minutes. Saw the doctor after the scan…and he said…”Hmm…this will likely continue for the next 2 weeks you know…”

Anyways, instead of reducing my oral tablets from twice a day to once a day, he decided to stop it completely. Told me to keep an eye on my contractions, if it becomes worse, come in for another scan. Hubby and I asked him…it’s already 3-5 minutes apart, how will I know when’s the right time to come in? The answer was…when it becomes painful.

Alamak! What if by the time I go to the hospital (when the contractions are painful), it’s too late to get an epidural? *blek*

Anyhow, it looks like baby will be here anytime between now and CNY since I’m no longer taking the meds to relax the uterus muscles. And if she still refuses to come out by CNY, doctor said he’ll have to induce (constant contractions that go on for too long will put too much stress on the baby). I do hope that she’ll decide to come out on her own. I don’t really like the idea of inducing (although I know at some point, it’s necessary) as I prefer to let baby choose her birthdate…I know, sounds pretty silly!

Also, I’m allowed more physical activities now…ie. can walk about, etc. though the doctor said don’t wander off too far (like to Ipoh I suppose…*grin*). However, with labour imminent, I suddenly find myself not wanting to leave the apartment, just in case.

From today’s ultrasound, doctor said that baby is positioned really low now…and yeah, I can feel the pressure on the pelvic area when I walk. She’s been kicking up a storm since last night too…feels like an entire cast of Riverdance performing in my tummy. I think she must be feeling excited too…

When we got home after the check-up, I told baby…”Girl, pack your bags and get ready to come out…it’s all systems go! We’re giving you two weeks…after that, like it or not, you’re gonna be evicted from your nice comfy home!”

In the midst of all the excitement, I think hubby’s kinda worried about what happens if I go into labour during weekdays when he’s in the office…will my parents be able to get me to the hospital safely? And with our lousy DiGi lines (yes, LOUSY cause SMSes sometimes don’t go through, phone calls get diverted straightaway to voice mail because there’s no or low coverage…sigh), he’s worried that I won’t be able to reach him. So today, he bought a Hotlink prepaid card to use on his backup phone so that I’ll have another number to call just in case. So sweet, yes?

Oooo…this is just so exciting! The finishing line is within reach!! Woohoo!

In the past weeks since I moved over to my parent’s place, my mom has been helping me to wash baby’s clothes, blankets, towels, etc. Everything is now folded and in place in my wardrobe…smelling oh-so-lovely (that baby type of smell, y’know?). I’ve also finally packed my hospital bag…the incident 2 weeks ago definitely gave me a wake-up call!

Hubby also took some time over the weekend to take some belly pics…we thought we’d better take the chance now to snap some photos just in case this girl decides to pop out anytime. The last photo session was nearly 6 weeks ago! Being the unashamed vainpot that I am, I was pretty pleased to see that my waistline had not expanded as much as I thought…the view from the back still looks pretty decent… I really wonder how long it’ll take for me to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, though. After all, since I plan to breastfeed, I will still have to keep up my food intake…plus I’m not the type who’s really into exercising (lazy lah)…hmmm. Oh well, will deal with it when the time comes!

During the previous scan and weighing-in on last Saturday, we found that I’d actually lost 0.5kgs but baby gained an estimated 0.2kgs! Not that I mind…I mean, heck, if she’s helping me to dissolve my internal storage of fats while putting on weight herself, I say…be my guest, my precious baby girl!

In terms of movements, she’s doing alot of stretching and pushing nowadays. Poor girl, her home is getting smaller and smaller as she grows! She’s also pressing more and more on my bladder…I can feel some uncomfortable twinges now and then, and bathroom trips at night are definitely more frequent too (also contributed by the amount of water I’m drinking).

Energy wise, I feel myself getting tired easily…I can sleep for nearly 12 hours from night to morning, and still feel sleepy during the afternoons and evenings. Appetite wise…feels like a return to the first trimester where I’m constantly hungry every 2 hours or so, and I can only consume small amounts each time I eat.

Now that the doctor has said “anytime now”, I’ve been wondering…how will it happen? Will my water break? Or will I start feeling more intense contractions? Will it happen during the day? Or will it happen during the night? Will I go into the labour room screaming my lungs out or in a dignified manner (I doubt it!)? Will I agree to go for an epidural or am able to endure the pain (I doubt it too! Though both my grandmother and mom said that they both had relatively easy deliveries…not much pain, just a backache. Methinks the pain was actually really really bad and it probably erased their memories… )?

And more importantly…W.H.E.N….?

Hubby and I agree on one thing though…if baby has inherited my stubborn and often rebellious character, she’s probably thinking…

“Hmppph….fine. Since you didn’t let me out when I was good and ready at 32 weeks, I’m going to take my own sweet time, kick up my heels and wait till week 40…”…

I know my baby is not the only one that does this, but it never ceases to amaze me when she responds to external stimulus.

Music - definitely gets her moving in my tummy.

Loud voices or noises - she doesn’t like it and will start kicking.

CTG machine - she DEFINITELY does not like it. She was dozing this morning when we reached the hospital. The minute the two sensors were strapped on, she started moving and shaking like Shakira’s hips.

Me patting her with my palm - she likes the patting as she’ll move towards the location of my hands. If I put my left hand at the top of my bump where her legs are, and my right hand at the bottom near her head and start patting with my right hand, I can feel her start moving and ‘rising up’ under my left hand.

Me prodding her with my fingers - sometimes I can see a little mole-like bump moving around my tummy and I just can’t resist touching the small bump with my fingers, it’s so cute! But when I do, she moves to another spot. And if I follow, she moves again…it makes me laugh everytime she does that!

And not to forget, her favourite…the small scratching motion that never fails to make her ‘rise up’ and distend my belly. Works almost every time, though I try not to do it now in case it causes more contractions…

If she’s so responsive and active in the tight confines of my tummy…I really wonder how active she’ll be when she’s out!

How did we spend New Year’s eve?

At the hospital being hooked up to the CTG machine…*blek*

The P.L.A.N. was to drop by DSH around 8+ after dinner for my routine every-alternate-day-CTG-scan, then go back to our apartment and spend the night there (vs. going back to my parent’s place which would be near impossible due to the traffic jam).

My uterus had other ideas though. It decided to start contracting regularly as soon as I was hooked up to the CTG….it’s really strange as I didn’t feel any regular contractions at home throughout the whole day! Anyways, the contractions were about 9-10 minutes apart, and luck would have it that my doctor was doing his rounds at the maternity ward. He dropped by, took a look at the chart, and asked me to bring forward my next round of medication from 12 midnite to 10.30pm, then do another scan at 11.30pm to see if the contractions are still so regular.

I wasn’t too keen to wait for two hours in the hospital, so we took a slow drive out to buy some cakes and KFC, came back to the hospital, had our supper, ate my oral tablet, waited for awhile and did the CTG again at 11+pm. Again, the contractions were still regular, but not very intense. The midwife gave my doctor a call, and he gave us the green light to go home, get some rest and come back again in the morning at 10am the next day for another scan.

For some reason, baby was really really super-active throughout the night, and I didn’t sleep well either as I kept waking up and timing my contractions (but falling asleep before I felt the next one…very counter-productive, I know!). It was a pretty horrible night actually…I think the anxiety kept me from sleeping well, my head was buzzing, and the night seemed to go on forever and forever. I finally managed to doze off sometime close to 4am, I think.

The alarm went off at 6am as I’d set it to remind myself to take the next dose of Britaline. I started timing my contractions again and to my horror, it was about 5 minutes apart! So instead of waiting till 10am, we decided to change and go back to the hospital for the scan.

Again, the CTG machine picked up the contractions, but measuring around 7-8 minutes apart. The midwife called my doctor after the scan, and he came over to the hospital 20 minutes later. After taking a look at the graph, he decided to still let me go home but advised me to come straight back to the hospital the minute I feel the contractions getting closer. He said that putting me back on the drip would only delay the inevitable…the end result once I’m off the drip would still be the same.

Once I got back home, I decided to stop watching the clock each time a contraction came…it just made me even more tense and anxious! Surprisingly, it helped as I could feel less contractions, and when we went back to the hospital on Friday morning for another scan, the graph was completely flat with exception for one contraction at the end of the 30 minutes! So strange isn’t it?

I guess ‘irritable uterus’ is really an apt description though as the contractions started AGAIN on Friday night…about 8 minutes apart, and continued throughout the night till this morning. We had an appointment with the doctor after doing another scan this morning, and after doing an internal examination (still only 1cm dilated, thank god!) and a routine ultrasound, he decided that as baby has reached an estimated weight of 2.3kg + the steroid shots + the fact that she’ll be 34 weeks by Sunday…he’s pretty comfortable with letting nature take its course. So, my oral tablets have now been reduced from three times to twice a day for one week, then once a day for the following week…and we’re now adopting a wait-and-see attitude. So let’s see when this little princess wants to make her appearance!

The fact that the doctor has given the green light for labor to progress naturally, and that I’ve been ok-ed for a natural birth has honestly taken a great load off my mind! It’s a big relief to know that we’ve done what we can to keep her safe, and now it’s up to her to decide when she’s ready. And at least I don’t have to feel so jittery everytime a contraction comes along, and the dark cloud of having to do an elective c-sec is no longer hovering over me! Yes, I feel really squeamish about c-secs…I have mental images of internal stitches popping open or something… Furthermore, recovering from a c-sec is harder, more painful and longer if the books are to be trusted and I really really want to be able to hold and breastfeed my baby when she’s delivered…so fingers and toes crossed…I really hope my labor will proceed fast and smoothly and I don’t end up with an emergency c-sec!!

So my dearest dearest baby…everything is ready and waiting for your arrival! Daddy has been rushing around every day, buying all the last minute necessities. Daddy and grandpa has fixed your cot and it’s waiting in mummy’s bedroom together with your cot mobile. Grandma has washed all your clothes, and they smell wonderful and are all waiting for you in mummy’s wardrobe. Mummy’s hospital bag is packed, and mummy has already picked out your going home outfit…a cute pink polka-dotted footed one piece suit. Camera batteries are charged. Four packs of diapers are on standby. Your playpen and bathtub has been ordered and will be delivered in the next few days.

Anytime now…tick-tock-tick-tock…