week 16-as busy as a bee

alhamdulillah, i've made it to 16 weeks...i've started to have aching sacroiliac joint (somewhere near the buttock) and that made sitting and lying down and moving around quite difficult due to the pain, especially when i wanted to change position while sleeping and lying down...i also felt some stretching pain around the uterine ligament due to the enlargement of the uterus...

that didn't stop me from moving around and did a lot of walking while i was finding patients for my breastfeeding research project...the progress was quite slow though, that's because there were not many patients delivered at my centre...i had the chance to help these mothers to breastfeed and gave them some vital informations about breastfeeding...

i also had some impulsive shopping act during the momslittleones warehouse sale...although it's still early to shop for some baby stuffs, i bought some storage bottles and a breastfeeding recliner that i've been eyeing for this while...it was on great offer...i got it for RM650 (the original price was RM1200+)...

appetite has been good and my weight has been maintaining around 56kg...the weight that i mentioned during the antenatal check up last week was not accurate as i had myself weighed after and hefty lunch...i'm surviving the allergic symptoms on topical medications, trying "avoiding" them when necessary...that's because i'm not good at following routines on taking medications..

i've started to eat haematinics (antenatal vitamins to prevent anaemia) but being me, i've not been taking it everyday because i always forgot to do so...i realized that in this pregnancy i love to eat fresh fruits such as grapes, pear, orange...the only thing that i've not been taking regularly (or i've not been taking at all) is milk...and i've not been taking calcium tablet as well...i'm trying to get as much calcium as i can from normal food but i don't think that is sufficient...so need to start drinking milk or taking the calcium tablet...

anyway, imtiaz has shown some affection towards his baby brother...he always hug me and tell me that he wanted to kiss the baby but instead he would kiss my breasts...cheeky imtiaz...

week 15- up an about, 3rd antenatal check up

alhamdulillah, i'm feeling better each day and i finally regain my strength and energy to do my work...and this week i'm starting to recruit patients for my research project..i'm doing a project on breastfeeding which is my passion...i'm glad that i was able to give some counseling to those mothers recruited in my project..the project is done in collaboration with the Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselor (MBfPC) and i'm lucky to have in the team 10 peer counselor volunteers involved and 2 IBCLC as their supervisors...

my dear hubby had to attend his attachment in UKMKL, so i had to drive myself to work for 3 days...alhamdulillah, the journey was smooth and i didn't have any giddiness while driving and i managed to drive at constant speed of 90-100km/h (usually i love to speed up to 120km/h)...

this week, i had twice breakfast at mamak's near the hospital..had my usual roti canai or roti telur and the ais...yummy...! my tastebud has improved tremendously, no more bitterness taste, so tried to minimize taking asam (fermented, dried fruits and sweets)..

the parameters according to date

i also attended my 3rd antenatal check up with prof J...my weight has shoot up to 57kg (from 55.5kg in the last visit), but that weight was measured after lunch, so i considered that as not accurate.. my BP was normal but somehow it went up a bit when prof J measured it manually...i had an ultrasound done...the feotus was doing fine, we were able to see the arms and legs...the heart was beating strongly, the spine looked normal and then we saw the PENIS!!! it's going to be a boy...! we double checked and it's 99% confirmed it's going to be a boy...and the placenta was posterior, not low lying...

i was quiet surprised as i thought i was carrying a girl...well, it doesn't matter actually as already had a pair - jihan and imtiaz...as long as the baby is healthy and  safe...so now, we have to start searching for a baby boy's name, as we only had in mind a baby girl's name..

we broke the news that i'm 99% confirmed carrying a boy this time, so we made a joke that jihan is kak ros, imtiaz is upin and the baby in tummy is ipin, as the characters in the kids' favorite- upin & ipin...

that's the femur, the penis not visualized here...

week 14- makan besar week

that's my lamb cutlets and kebab..yummy...

alhamdulillah, i'm feeling better already and having such a big appetite...my Masterchef sister treated us to a scrumptious dinner at chef zubir's restaurant, Laman Grill Steak and Barbecue at Shah Alam..there were 11 of us including the kids and we had such  a feast...i ordered the lamb cutlets with lamb kebab but surprisingly i couldn't finish them all...yes, i have big appetite but usually i can only half the plate... nowadays i felt full easily, so just me give me half the meal...

the following day we had a total change, from western food to halal chinese food and dim sum, also courtesy of my sister...i simply love the butter prawn and the dim sums...imtiaz was so surprised to see so many food on the table and he said, "banyaknya makanan, macam mana nak habis?" (so many food, how to finish?).. anyway, 5 adults' stomachs were able to finish them all plus some food were packed home..

jihan is waiting for her event

i also managed to attend jihan's sports day despite having my sacroiliac joint pain and watched her competing in running in the sack and she got the 3rd place and overall her team (green team) became the champion this year...!

i realized that my allergic rhinitis (itchy nose and frequent sneezing and very sensitive to smell) and also my allergic conjunctivitis (itchy, red, watery eyes) became more severe since i'm pregnant...it's very difficult to control and i'm trying my best to avoid the possible allergens but as usual it was difficult because sometimes i really don't know what i'm allergic to..i'm applying some topical medications, trying to avoid as much as possible the antihistamine that is graded as category B in pregnant and lactating women, which means either animal-reproduction studies have not demonstrated a fetal risk but there are no controlled studies in pregnant women, or animal-reproduction studies have shown an adverse effect (other than a decrease in fertility) that was not confirmed in controlled studies in women in the first trimester (and there is no evidence of a risk in later trimesters) - from Safe Fetus Drug Search

so, i guess i have to pray hard that this condition won't become any worse and i'm able to tolerate them well..

picture google-ed

i also started to change my regular outfit to full maternity outfit..and my friends had already realized that i'm pregnant..i attended an academic course and really had fun meeting and discussing with my friends regarding academic matters..i also had the opportunity to attend a motivational talk by the well-known Prof Dr Muhaya Muhammad, a consultant ophthalmologist and an esteemed motivator and she was really amazing..

i also did a meeting with my fellow supermums, the Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselors (MBfPC) who had volunteers to be part of my research project...i really admire their support and enthusiasm to be part of this project..

overall, it was really a fruitful week...my hope for the week after is to have a very good health, as i'm starting recruiting patients sample for my research, to be more discipline and really looking forward for my next antenatal check up at the end of next week..

week 13- imtiaz turns 3

at the beginning of my 13th week of pregnancy, i think i'm feeling better...i can eat well (although i tend to get sleepy and usually sleep for a few minutes to a few hours), and the feeling of unwell had almost disappear...i had the energy to climb up the hill to get my lunch at the campus when my husband was busy with his work to get it for me...my appetite improved and i haven't check my weight since the last check up, wondering how much i gained for the past 2-3 weeks..

imtiaz celebrated his 3rd birthday this week...we had a mini celebration at home with his Masterchef aunt baked him a very chocolaty almond torte..and he loved the chocolate frosting very much...he's a big fan of chocolate, and can finish the whole chocolate bar all by himself...he is still not aware that he's going to be the big brother soon although i kept telling him to kiss and love his little brother/sister in my tummy..instead, he would go to my chest and kiss my breast telling me that he wants to saying baby...

since i'm a bit better, i decided to go to the maternity expo at midvalley after work...my aim was to look for some comfy nursing/maternity bra and that's it...yes, there were lots of people and i managed to get what i wanted and after that strolled through the crowd to look at what else were available there..but it was too crowded and it's too early for me to buy the other essentials...so we decided to go to metrojaya, claiming my RM50 voucher and did some shopping there..i ended up buying 2 maternity pants and tops and some clothes for the kids and a remote control red ferrari for imtiaz as his birthday present...

then it's time to stuff our hungry tummy...i suggested to hubby to have our favorite jusco's assam laksa (since i was too frustrated with madam kwan's last week)...the aroma was so tempting and the taste was excellent, although i thought it was better the last time we ate it 3-4 years back....we did our prayer and suddenly after that i felt like eating some snacks...

went down to get some grapes at cold storage and i thought i wanted to give a try of irish potato chips, but the shop was closed for renovation...sigh...then i thought, i want to have some sushi...can't get it off my mind this craving of sushi...so bought a sushi combo from cold storage (i've anticipated the not-so-nice-taste and lowered down my expectation)...

oh, there was one day that i was stranded in a massive traffic jam for almost 3 hours during the SMART tunnel closure and just imagine how the feeling was (luckily both hubby and i were not working but we had plans to do some errands)...i haven't had my breakfast as we thought of having our usual roti canai near the hospital, so my stomach was empty and i started to burp and burp and i was feeling rather hypoglycemic, my back was aching and i only get to fill my stomach at almost 12...i thought i had rather big appetite at that time, i ordered ayam penyet and cumi goreng from wong solo but didn't finish it...

anyway, with all good things happened this week, i think i've passed through the 1st trimester illness, alhamdulillah...i also managed to meet my lactation friends to discuss on some research project that i'm doing in collaboration with them and made some progress in my work...may Allah continue giving me good health in the subsequent weeks ahead as i need to plan and start on my subjects recruitment for my research and have courses to attend...ameen..

week 12- i'm a zombie

i was so delighted that i finally reached 12 weeks of pregnancy, meaning that the nightmare of morning sickness/motion sickness will be over soon as i'm entering my 2nd trimester...but that didn't happen...after my fever subsided, i had a little bit of cough  and runny nose, and i had to go through bad traffic jams in the morning to go to work at the Sg Besi Toll and that caused me to have giddiness and i was retching all the way..i ended up resting and sleeping in my postgraduate room as i couldn't drive myself to the clinic i am attached to...i felt nauseated and couldn't eat much...everything tasted bitter...i'm not sure if all these symptoms caused by taking too much roasted pumpkin the day before cooked by masterchef sister...she made roasted chicken with roasted pumpkin and cheesy portabello mushroom..people said pumpkin can cause wind and retching...

it continued for a few days and i felt helpless...i can't do much of my work...this was the worst week ever...i started to feel my uterus at the suprapubic area...but the whole baby bump started to show off and i can't fit into normal trousers/sarung anymore..so i ended up wearing loose pants with gutter around the waist and i even wore the maternity pants (even though it's kind of loose)..

dear hubby took me to Madam Kwan's for dinner one day as i was craving for the food earlier...i ordered the assam laksa and i ended up adding 2 sachets of sugar into the gravy...i felt it was too sour and tasteless...but even after i added the sugar it was none better...

Imtiaz will turn 3 next week...he weaned off totally but occasionally still asking for mama's milk...then i had to console him and hug him as usual then he would be off running around playing with his toys...i'm proud to be able to give him the best from my 2 boobs for the past 35 months without any supplementation of formula milk...and he is growing well and healthy and as cheerful and cheeky and smart as ever...

i really hope for a better week next week...i have lots of thing to do and i need to be well...