Leg Cramps

Oh dear.

I've had 3 leg Cramps so far in this pregnancy and they are excruciatingly painful! They all happened when I wake up in the morning and decide to flex my feet downwards to stretch the legs out and before I know it I'm feeling this extremely tight and painful "knot" in my calf.
And it's always my left calf. So what are some ways to reduce or relieve the pain? Here are my tips.

1. Flex your feet towards your shin.

This works to stretch out the cramped muscle because leg Cramps happen as a result of a "knotted" muscle so stretching it will straighten it out over time.

2. Massage the cramped area.

While flexing your feet you may want to massage the cramped area too. This provides some relief and slowly releases the tension in the muscle.

3. Stand up on your legs.

If you're looking for a quick fix but are game enough to withstand more pain, then standing straight up on your cramped leg will provide instant relief.  Not too sure about the science behind it (I'm assuming it's due to your gravitational position coupled with the muscle stretching out as you rise) but this works a treat.

With that being said, I'm usually crying out in so much pain I don't even want to move, let alone stand up. So if you're a brave soul and tried tip #3 before, I take my hat off to you! 

[Pregnancy] Week 26 : General Tiredness is backkkk

Uh oh. It's said in several articles I've read online that the first trimester is where you feel nauseous and tired, second trimester is when you feel horny and alive (glowing period I guess?) and when third trimester strikes, you're back to being tired and moody again. 

I'm kinda feeling the start of the third trimester I think. This week so far has been nothing short of tiring for me. I feel drained of energy and all I want to do is sleep in. When I'm up and about for too long (over an hour) now my lower abdomen hurts, almost as if Lil sweetie is being pushed lower into my pelvic region by the force of gravity.

For example last night half way through cooking dinner I had to stop and lie down because of the gradual abdominal pain. I hope it doesn't get much worse than this! I love pregnancy thus far & appreciate everything John has been doing for me to help make this easier.

P.S another (4th) lady at work just told me she's expecting too! But waiting till next week, after she sees the heartbeat, to announce. Yay!

[Pregnancy] Week 26 : Braxton Hicks Contractions + Working From Home + Other Updates

We are officially 26 weeks pregnant today! The past few days I've been really experiencing what I think are Braxton Hicks (BH) Contractions. 

According to Wiki, "Braxton Hicks contractions, also known as prodromal labour or practice contractions, or incorrectly as false labour, are sporadic uterine contractions that sometimes start around six weeks into a pregnancy. However, they are not usually felt until the second trimester or third trimester of pregnancy." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braxton_Hicks_contractions

Also this morning I've been having dull sore lower back aches & I hope that this is not the start of the infamous back pains and aches everyone says you will experience in pregnancy - I know some mothers who never had a single backache all throughout their pregnancy and for me, the strangest thing is that I have scoliosis so pre-pregnancy I used to have regularly back aches, especially if I sat or stood up for too long at a time. Well, the last 26 weeks have been a breeze (to say the least) in this department as I have felt zero back pains where I usually would. John jokes that AJ has kicked my spine back into it's normal position. LOL! 

So yes, I'm hoping this isn't a signal to the start of something terrible.. :/
In other news, starting last week I've been working from home every Mondays. Some time in mid late October that will increase to twice a week, and the last 4 weeks of my pregnancy I'll be working from home at least 3 times a week. The arrangement is going well so far. I pray and I pray and I pray that AJ will come on the 25th December! 

Also I've been feeling his kicks much more recently, now that's he's bigger and his strength is growing by the day/week! It's been almost impossible to get a full night's sleep where I don't wake up in the middle of the night either to pee, or to adjust my sleeping position (I tend to lie on my back which is bad for the baby as it allows for him to press against a major artery, cutting short his and my oxygen supply) and I can safely say the same for John. This poor guy.. He periodically wakes up in the middle of the night to push me to my side so I'm not suffocating AJ or myself by lying on my back and as a result, he too, gets interrupted sleep and feels super tired in the mornings. I feel terrible about this but at the same time, I don't want to get a pregnancy pillow that I will only be using for the next 3 or so months.. I'd rather get a few more "regular" pillows to build a fortress around me. 

Anyway I need to get back to my work now - planning to hit the gym later at around 3-4pm (after not having gone for the last 2 weeks due to my cold!) Laters~

[Pregnancy] Week 25 + 4 : USD & Headaches

Took the day off work and went shopping today at Midvalley for a dress for Glady's wedding this Saturday. Ended up with this gorgeous Miss Selfridge strapless khaki dress for RM269! Pricey but looks great.
It is in a size 8 though (I'm normally a size 6 pre pregnancy) so I doubt it'd fit once I lose all the weight post partum :(

Also bought the Sephora contouring kit and liquid pen concealer. Spent quite a fair bit today :-( The only saving grace is perhaps the fact that I changed 450USD into RM to take advantage of the current exchange rate (4.24!!). Banking the rest of the cash in tomorrow.. need to really start saving for Lil sweetie.

Speaking of which, I don't think I'm entitled to shop for more than 2 hours on end these days. Today I got to Midvalley at 12pm and started getting headaches at close to 3pm.. I was walking around the mall without rest though so maybe that's why? Even now at 5:15pm I'm still having a headache however need to meet Prem at Empire Damansara to have a quick chat about what he has to offer. Wonder how that will go!

Back to work tomorrow. I've really been enjoying this past week off.. its been a while since I could take so many consecutive days off work just to chill, relax, rest & recuperate (still sick by the way).

Can't wait for the weekend already!

Cardiologist visit

We went for my appointment with Prof Chee Kok Han at UMSC yesterday (at 25+2 weeks) and wasn't too impressed.

First impressions : He had a very condescending nature about him. John would say he was a cynical man.
Some questions that he asked were redundant but felt like he asked them just to show that he's in a higher level of authority than everyone else.
Case in point : He finds out I'm on metformin and asks "Do you even know what metformin is for? Tell me what you think it is for." I was quite taken aback at first, his questions felt intrusive, then right after I gave an answer (based on my research etc) he said "Okay well I'm asking not because I don't know - I just want to know if you know what you are even ingesting."
Uhhh okay.. you just wasted 10 minutes of my time treating me as though I'm a bloody kid. You could've told me right from the start what metformin was about and why you're even talking about metformin when you're a CARDIOLOGIST.

Anywho all this while he was googling metformin and then 20 mins in; he realize he was veering off topic and we finally got back on track - talking about my VSD repair. He sent me to get an echo done and I got the original hardcopy results that costed us RM100! 

The total bill came to a hefty RM480 by the way, and Prof Chee's consultation fee was RM160 compared to RM80 for Prof Valli. Daylight robbery, anyone??

I'm also going to have to find out from HR this Friday if this is something that I can claim from work insurance.  Oh and my passport has finally been endorsed so John and I can book our flight to Bangkok soon for a massive baby clothes haul!! Whee ~

To briefly conclude our experience, everything about UMSC and UMMC has disappointed us for far, except for the convenient in-clinic shuttle van that takes between the two buildings for free. And that's why we've decided not to deliver at UMMC - visiting pantai in a few weeks.

[Pregnancy] Week 25 : Oh the kicks!

Bubs is growing bigger everyday and he is making sure we know that!

His kicks are becoming more prominent and frequent - he even kicks me awake some nights. As much as it breaks my sleep I wouldn't trade it for the world.. I love the feeling of his tumbles and somersaults, it's a constant reminder that he's there. :-)

Complaints this week? so far none other than infrequent dull aches near my lower abdomen due to his stronger movements/kicks and also the fact that I'm still suffering from a cold (runny nose, phlegm, sore throat and mild fever).
No backaches (or any aches for that matter), swollen hands or feet, vomiting, nausea etc.

My parents were here for 2 days and I took them on an office tour, to our fav jap place (senya) and to antipodean. Will be seeing mum again on 4th Dec!

First breakdown :'(

24+6 weeks

Yesterday at 24 +6 weeks I had my first meltdown. I've been sick since Monday (7 days ago) and I was looking forward to getting better so AJ could feel better.
Yesterday I woke up to a bad throat and congested nose, and I started berating myself. I felt horrible; like the worst mother on planet Earth.
Is it because I didn't rest enough in the week? Is it because I was pushing myself too much? I was given an extra day off by my manager but instead, I went back to work.
I felt an immense amount of guilt towards little sweetie, and for the first time in almost 25 weeks, I broke down into tears.

I was lying in bed, my back towards John. I tried to stifle my sobs so he wouldnt notice I was crying - but the more i tried the worst it got. He noticed something was wrong when i got all quiet and didnt answer his questions. He got up and gave me the biggest hug and reassurance and i immediately felt better. Whether my breakdown was hormonal or otherwise, I've also come to realize that having a supportive and loving partner by your side on the same life journey as you is a true blessing. And last night as we lay in bed, falling asleep, he turned around and told me how blessed he was to have me in his life. And for that, I cannot be any more grateful. It means at least I'm doing something right in this relationship.

Today I strive to fully recover from this bugging illness, whatever it may be. Eating healthy, sleeping right and staying positive. I want to conquer the world for our little boy.

Womanhood

They say that a woman becomes a mother when she is pregnant and a man becomes a father the moment he holds his baby.

I couldn't agree more. The past few years I've been praying to God for more courage, strength and confidence to face the world so I can grow into who I really am, and I have come to the realization that this beautiful precious gift from God growing inside my belly for the past 23 weeks is the answer to my prayers.

I've never felt more like a woman in my life than at this point in time. Being wholly responsible for an entire life other than yours, making sacrifices & putting your foot down on decisions that will directly (or indirectly) affect the health & wellbeing of your growing baby is probably the most difficult tasks in life - one that only mothers can really & truly understand.

I also find it amazing the way a physical life is created - the intricacies of DNA splitting, chromosomal separation all the way to limb buds formation and organ development. It takes 9 months to form a beautiful life made out of the perfect love of 2 adults. I've studied the ins and outs of how life is formed when I undertook a unit of human anatomy and fertilization at Uni but I never fully understood its implications and the reality of it until I experienced it myself at this present moment. Every day, I'm in awe of how life forms from a single cell. 

Anyway, I truly feel like im growing into this pregnancy, I feel more matured and confident and I've never felt so happy about putting on weight! People around me are commenting on how much I'm glowing and every moment and each day I wake up & feel his kicks, I praise God for this miracle inside me. I know I am blessed in so many ways and that this is meant to be. 

From the initial feelings of anxiety, worry and fear to the present waves of happiness & excitement riddled with tears & laughter, I can only be grateful to those around me who have supported and loved me for the past 23 weeks - Especially especially especially John who has been MORE than what any word can correctly describe. He's my constant pillar of strength - a God-sent presence in my life I will always be grateful for.