This Ramadhan, Hafiz has been so sweet and
caring. He did all the house chores. He won’t let me do anything. He caresses
me, massages me and takes a good care of me. Even though he’s fasting, he would
prepare me breakfast, go out and get me lunch: you name it, pizza, nasi ayam,
burger king, nasi campur. I even asked him, okay ke beli lunch masa Ramadhan,
what would people say? He convinced me by saying my wife is pregnant and that
is my responsibility to make sure that she eats properly :’) I really need such support from him.
First
Trimester
Masuk minggu ke tujuh pregnant tu, perut dah
start to cramp at 3 – 4 am that I had to sit to make it go away. Selalu rasa
bloated and uneasy during the day. Hafiz akan gosokkan perut and baca
Al-Fatihah, Al-Ikhlas and Syahadah just to make me calm. I constantly feel
hungry, especially at night before sleep. So I had to stay up and eat. Not to
mention to pee regularly. I often feel nauseous over closed aircond with food
environment. So I don’t really enjoy walking at food court area at the malls. So far I only crave for specific dish like
Asam Laksa Ah Cheng, Jco Donut, Manhattan Fish Market Spaghetti Marinara and
Nandos. Takda lagi crave for benda pelik2. Let’s see how I’ll survive for second trimester.
First Baby Kick
First Baby Kick
I was 16 weeks pregnant at that time. We were watching Captain America at my MIL’s place. Then I felt a sudden hit at my tummy exactly when Steve had this fighting action going on. I immediately told Hafiz, he was so excited and placed his hand on my tummy and felt the kick coming from his strong kid! #teamCaptain
So tanyalah my Gynae bila baby normally kick or move. They said roughly at 18 weeks sometimes at week 17, it depends. I smiled knowing that my baby is growing healthily.
By weeks 20 onwards, lagi lah active, kick more often especially at night and would respond by moving or kicking bila kita communicate dengan dia. At some point, you can see your tummy moves and there’s like a jutting out punches coming from the inside which kinda creep me out at first.
Baby Growth Scan
Klink Kesihatan takda provide a printed out baby scan so I did the growth scan at Klinik Najat, Sek 7 Shah Alam. Highly recommended! I normally call first upon checking Dr Nadia’s availability. She handled us new parents and the baby very delicately. She will talk to the baby, spend some time to show us all the different side and angles, which is head which is legs, arms, backbone, heart, and etc. She patiently answered all the curiosities and her explanations on the baby growth and health was really informative. So I did one scan during the first trimester, one during second trimester and I also did the gender scan with her :) Gonna do 3D and 4D scan in the 3rd trimester later.
The price range is pretty reasonable too. RM50 for growth scan with 2D printed scan and RM129 for 3D, 4D and 5D scan. They also have NT Scan where you can check the baby’s health in terms of Down Syndrome and etc.
I also have maternity checkups at Hospital Sg Buloh. They do give printed 2D scan at every checkup but the process was cut short and the explanations weren’t that detailed due to the time constraint and the waiting lists. So you have to pay for more comprehensive explanation lah kan. Klinik Najat is something you should consider :)
Second
Trimester
So I’ve vomited about 3 times during the first
trimester. The first one when I started to take my Zincofer (vitamins for mommies). The doctor mentioned that the side effect includes vomiting and
constipation. The other two times were also due to this Zincofer which made me
changed to Iberet. Iberet was lighter but it tasted weird as compared to
Zincofer. The stomach cramp only lasted for few weeks and I also had skin
breakouts during my first trimester with acne kept on popping out. Alhamdulilah, all of that eventually
disappeared when coming to second trimester.
- Folic Acid (take from 3 month bfr consuming to up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, refer to your Gynae)
- Zincofer (supplied by Klinik Kesihatan)
- Iberet (can get from Watson / AA Pharmacy)
Before I took Zincofer, I stopped to take folic
acid, then only they gave me Zincofer. Apparently, the chapped lips and severe
dry throat were caused by folic acid. It was a common side effect but made me
really uncomfortable especially when I woke up. I referred to my Gynae then
only they prescribed me Zincofer which I then changed to Iberet.
The challenging part during second trimester was
taking the air gula test, dua kali btw (2nd time masa 3rd trimester nanti). I had to
fast from 10pm to 10am the next day! The feeling of taking it with empty
stomach wasn’t that great tho. The taste was HORRIBLE! Make sure tak muntah! if
not kena buat all over again, gulp. So I managed to go through all the
procedures of giving 2 blood samples and checkups! Alhamdulillah. Still, I
vomited the next morning tho :’D
Remember I mentioned bout the weird taste of
Iberet? So selalunya I would take something right after I took Iberet, like
Oreo, milo, chocolate or sometimes even telan chocolate spread just to make it
go away. The different between Iberet and Zincofer is Zincofer was stronger, I
normally vomit right after I took it, Iberet was lighter, it takes a whole day
to process, so I’d vomit the day after. I’ve vomited about 4 times during my
second trimester. One time was a day after that air gula test, one time was due to empty stomach and the other two
was caused by Iberet. The feeling of knowing that you will vomit when taking
the vitamins weren’t that nice too. At some point I skipped a day or two and
the longest was a week. But then it affected my HB level. From week 7 up to
week 21, this was the first time my HB dropped below normal which was 10.8, the
normal rate is 11, and my previous readings were 12.6 and 12.7. So I kinda got
into a pretty long lecture on how important it is for us mommies to take the
vitamins. For early pregnancy, the drop in HB level may cause miscarriage, when
reaching 2nd trimester, low HB level affects the oxygen supplied to
the mommy and baby where it could actually kill the baby, and when giving birth
low HB level can put mommy in danger as you lose a lot of blood and lack of red
blood may cause anemia. So pergilah consult with my Gynae bout the uneasy
feeling of muntah lepas makan vitamins, even Iberet yang supposed to be lighter
tu. Rupanya, never sleep with empty
stomach and jangan amik susu or dairy products with Iberet. Alhamdulillah now,
dah consistent makan and dah tak muntah dah. Kena hadap jelah weird taste dia
tu.
Weight Gain
My weight during the 1st trimester
was 47kg, eventually I gained 0.5kg/month for the past 5 months, which was
normal. When I got into 2nd trimester at week 18, my weight was
49kg. At week 21, I gained 3kgs which was the maximum rate for normal weight
gain for me. So the nurse said that, I have to control my weight gain though it
is normal at that time, but that was the maximum rate I can go. I was in
underweight category, so I can only gain 0.5kg/month up till week 20, then 2kg/month
till delivery. For the next checkup, if I gain more than I’m supposed to, they
will have to refer me to the doctor
At week 33, I’ve gained 9kgs in total, yeah.
Alhamdulillah, still within normal limit of weight gains.
Third
Trimester
Somehow, 3rd trimester was easier.
Dah tak mengah2, jalan laju, Alhamdulillah kaki tak pernah bengkak lagi so far,
dah takda morning sickness, muntah2 semua takda. But most importantly baby sangat
active and sihat masa 3rd trimester ni. Always communicate and usap
perut tu, you’ll notice dia respond by bergerak2, awh the best feeling ever!
Hafiz even pernah kena kick in the face masa dia duk tonyoh2 muka dia kat
perut.
But then, masa pregnant ni, sugar level senang
naik, lagi2 for me yang always crave for ice cream and donut. I normally drink
plenty of plain water. Air paling sedap dalam dunia okay! 2L setiap hari since
Hafiz belikan botol bapak gajah. Tapi tu
pun sugar level naik, so kena kawal glucose intake.
Towards the end ni, HB selalu rendah. So my
Gynae gave me another iron tablets called Ferrovit, soft gel capsule, takda
rasa apa, senang telan. She even recommended Maltofer, iron tablet with
Chocolate flavor Haha. Iron tablets ni best to take with juice, every morning
with empty stomach. But since I also need to take thyroxine, every morning with
empty stomach, and thyroid issue is more critical and my HB, so I take my
vitamins 2 hours after dinner bfr going to bed with honey lemon. and fyi, when you change your vitamins, it takes about 3 weeks to respond. So lepas 3 minggu consume Ferrovit ni, Alhamdulillah, HB dah naik above normal range walaupun setakat 11.1, to reach that I tell you is not easy, after so many efforts, food intake, juices, veges and change in iron tablets. Ferrovit ni quite new, can get it at AA Pharmacy, but even the pharmacist tu kena google dulu.
So besides iron tablets vitamin tu, boleh makan
kerang, anggur, sup bayam merah, tembikai, dragonfruit, pomegranate, raisins,
almonds, beetroot, senang cerita anything yang warna merah. Some
say avoid internal organs like hati and paru, some say boleh makan. But for me,
better avoid jelah.
My snacking at the office: Raisins, Nuts and Pomegranate
This time around, kaki mudah cramp kat bahagian
calves, tak sure sebab jalan banyak or selalu pakai heels g kerja. Especially
masa tidur and pernah sekali masa tengah drive – the worst! At week 28, nurse
akan ajar kira pergerakkan baby from 9am to 9pm, make sure ada gerak 10 kali if
not go straight to the hospital takut tali pusat terbelit. Dah 7 bulan ni dah
boleh prepare hospital bags sebab ada je premature baby (minta
dijauhkan). Baju2 baby dah boleh start basuh and sterilize what’s necessary hehe
Reaching The
End
At 32 weeks, akan rasa mild / false contraction.
Especially bila baby gerak rasa ngilu pastu hilang. Leg cramps tu dah lagi
often. Sakit pinggang, and kena tukar sleep position. Sleep on your left side
lagi selesa. As per my last scan, kepala baby dah engage kat bawah and my Gynae
cakap probably akan bersalin awal dari due date. Peeing is more often now,
kadang tu right after I just peed, still rasa nak pee. Gynae also said that my
perut kecik, sangat tegang, so amniotic fluid tak banyak, kena drink lagi banyak air but Alhamdulillah
now dah cukup untuk baby. Bontot baby kat left side, kaki and tangan kat right
side which explains why setiap kali sleep on my right side, dia akan kick, susah nak tidur Hehe. Hence, tidur on left side lagi selesa :)
So far banyak perubahan during my pregnancy ni, everyday is like another experiment yang we need to encounter, challenging but Alhamdulillah still managable. I only pray sitting at week 33, kaki takda bengkak so far, and amazingly masa pregnant ni rambut lebih sihat, takda gugur macam dulu, now hardly see any rambut kat lantai, pimple pun jarang keluar dah as compared to dulu. Alhamdulillah. Just that ada trouble in sleeping je towards the end ni, but manageable :) and mula rasa gatal2 kat perut coz baby is growing but cocoa butter helps, so lepas mandi akan pakai Bio Oil and cocoa butter. And it works!
My Gynae suggests minum air kelapa banyak nanti baby bersih and to not take any air selusuh or air zam zam bfr contraction happens. Coz air tu memang mujarab and ada kes, minum air tu, terus rasa gesa nak bersalin tapi still takda pembukaan, so the mommy suffered alot, rasa sakit nak bersalin tapi tak boleh bersalin lagi. She suggested to take air zam zam masa dah ada dalam labor room.
So far banyak perubahan during my pregnancy ni, everyday is like another experiment yang we need to encounter, challenging but Alhamdulillah still managable. I only pray sitting at week 33, kaki takda bengkak so far, and amazingly masa pregnant ni rambut lebih sihat, takda gugur macam dulu, now hardly see any rambut kat lantai, pimple pun jarang keluar dah as compared to dulu. Alhamdulillah. Just that ada trouble in sleeping je towards the end ni, but manageable :) and mula rasa gatal2 kat perut coz baby is growing but cocoa butter helps, so lepas mandi akan pakai Bio Oil and cocoa butter. And it works!
My Gynae suggests minum air kelapa banyak nanti baby bersih and to not take any air selusuh or air zam zam bfr contraction happens. Coz air tu memang mujarab and ada kes, minum air tu, terus rasa gesa nak bersalin tapi still takda pembukaan, so the mommy suffered alot, rasa sakit nak bersalin tapi tak boleh bersalin lagi. She suggested to take air zam zam masa dah ada dalam labor room.
Yours truly,
CONVERSATION