[Pregnancy] Week 35 + 6 : Hip pain gone!

By some miracle, my pelvic girdle pain has miraculously disappeared and I can move around like a normal human being again. 

I told John this but he told me to take it back so as not to jinx it!

Haven't experienced any other pain this pregnancy thus far.. and we are so near the end! I'm thankful and have been extremely grateful up to now. I pray it will continue this way right up to delivery.

[Tuesday Tips] Dealing with a Bicornuate Uterus

As I was trudging through a pile of old documents, I came across a doctor's MRI report from 2013 stating that I have a "Bicornuate Uterus" with 2 uterine horns.

For those who have no knowledge about what this means, a bicornuate uterus is basically a uterine abnormality that affects only a small portion of the female population whereby your uterus doesn't develop as it should when you're a foetus in your mother's womb. Instead of the normal inverted per-shaped uterus that most females carry, mine is heart-shaped with 2 horns and a septum dividing both horns.

One thing I am unsure of though is how deep the septum is & something I would love to find out once I deliver AJ. I'll keep in mind to ask Kamaljit this in the next appointment. Anyway, this explains several things as below.

1. Higher occurrence of a breeched position

Because your little one literally only occupies half the space in the womb, there is a higher chance that he/she will be and will stay in a breeched position. This is especially true if he/she is still breeched after 30 weeks because there is little chance that they will turn given the reduced amount of space and amniotic fluid as he/she grows bigger by the week.

Hence, because of this, and because I am already 2 days away from my 36th week of pregnancy, I will be going to UMSC to schedule my C-section date next week. Kamaljit recommends a C-section at UMSC as it is half the price (8-10k) of having a C-section at Pantai Hospital (15-20k). In addition to that, the doctors at UMSC are more specialised for this type of delivery/surgical procedure.

2. A lopsided belly

Again, your baby is most likely going to occupy only one of the horns, hence your belly will be lopsided for most of your pregnancy. For me, this only got more obvious with time as he grew bigger you could see a more distinct difference between the two sides of my belly.

My more "dominant" horn is the left one, where AJ constantly resides in.

I know he's been trying to turn the past week or so (because his heads sinks downwards) but he never gets past the transverse position and this is most likely because of limited space. My poor lil sweetie - at least he tried.

There are several ways to attempt to turn a breeched baby which I will go into detail in my next post and I will attempt to use one of the more well-known, natural methods (i.e going on all fours every night for 15-20 minutes) in these last few weeks and cling on to the very little hope that he will finally turn before the 37th week.

[Pregnancy] Week 35 : Hips don't lie! + Insurance

Today (just today) I woke up with hips that were less painful! After 1.5 whole weeks the pain has subsided a little bit. Not sure if it's for the longer term or if it's just for today though. Sure hope it's the former!

Anyway have to apply for maternity leave real soon - visiting Kamaljit for an appointment in 2 days' time (Wednesday) and will have to get her to write up a maternity leave report for me to hand in with my application. Now I'm not sure if it's 90 working days, or 90 days including weekends? It should really be 90 working days I feel, because after all we are already entitled to weekends off during a regular week, no?

Anywho I've asked HR to look into this and confirm with me again via email before I submit my application.

Also just managed to lock down insurance for little sweetie. We decided to go with Prumychild with the Infant care plan 2, for now. Might add on the PruValue Med premium once he's out but shall see how it goes with his health etc. Although I'm sure he will be a healthy, happy & bouncy baby!

[Pregnancy] Week 34 + 5 : Sick... Again + Things to be grateful for!

I think the recent spate of events as I mentioned in my last post has taken a toll on my already compromised immune system/body. Plus add the fact that John has been sick the last 1 week..

I've gotten a terrible sore throat, chesty cough and a slight fever. And it doesn't help that every time I cough, my already-sore hips hurt even more! It's been quite a miserable week to be honest, and I can't wait for my next appointment with Kamaljit next Wed to get a Physiotherapist recommendation.

My biggest issue now is dealing with these hips - our legs are so important for us to be able to be mobile, sometimes we take it for granted. It's only when you lose part of/all of the ability to walk that you realise how important this bodily function is. The days of being able to power walk, gym and jump seem to be long gone..

On a brighter note, things I could be grateful for this week include (but is not limited to!)  the following :

- New IKEA Cheras store opened yesterday! I can feel John's relief.. after a whole year of hard work.
- Despite the hips and sickness, my mood hasn't been crushed. I still smile, joke, laugh.. and I have a feeling that we have a happy baby baking in the oven :-)
- Received more baby shower gifts - can't be any more grateful for the people surrounding me
- 2 more weeks till mum gets here - i'm half excited, half nervous
- We won 2 pieces of furniture in the IKEA auction.. both for AJ and we got them at bargain prices!

It's Friyay! And I can't wait till the weekend. Another baby shower to attend tomorrow and I think Sunday will be a reading day for me. I can't wait till I get some time to myself to just sit at home and do nothing but sleep all day - something I haven't had the opportunity to do in a while. I'm also thinking of going downstairs to the pool just to waddle in and take some pressure off the sore hip and leg joints.

In other pregnancy-related news, little AJ is still in a breeched position and we (John, Dr. Kamaljit & I) are all hoping he will turn within the next 2 weeks otherwise we'd have to schedule the much-dreaded C section!

1 Nov 2015 : He proposed!

Today John proposed near the waterfalls in Bentong, Pahang. He chose a place we both love - Nature. Raw. Unpretentious. Sweaty. Just him and I in one place.

How he did it was another story altogether. This cheeky one can never really hide anything from me. Neither can he act. Lol! The night before our getaway he had already diligently packed his backpack and left it by the main door which i felt was absolutely strange and unlike him, as he is usually a last minute packer. And then the next morning he is up and early which is also something out of his character, but all that ran through my head was "Geez this guy is REALLY enthusiastic about this trip!"

At the waterfalls as I was taking a break by the rocks after our mini hike and was all sweaty and tired when he gestured with his right hand for me to come to him. His left hand was behind his back. Then, I already knew something was up.

Then as I stood in front of him, he knelt down and made his speech (which was super sweet by the way) and asked for my hand in marriage. After I said "Yes of course I'll marry you!" He revealed a rilakkuma bear.. and I was dumbfounded for a second, "...like seriously? What?" was what came to mind immediately.

Then he was like "Okay maybe this will work better.." then he flashed this beautiful ring nested in a super cute Carrie K signature bookcase box.

So let's get down to what the ring means.  He customized it to show...
The sapphire in the middle represents me (my favourite stone and colour).
The leaves on both sides of this rock represents Growth and Ascension.
The little garnet under the Sapphire (can't see from the pic) represents John (his favourite colour being red).

So basically,  as we grow together in life, he will always be there to support and encourage me. How sweet is that?!

I love my ring and I'm proud to tell others what it means (even when they don't ask!) because I truly treasure the amount of thought that went into the creation of this ring. And now that we are married I can finally call him my Husband.

From making big sacrifices, to looking after me when I'm sick, to wiping away the tears from my eyes when I'm down, to crying with me, to accepting me and my wretched past, I've truly found a soul mate in him and there is no one else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with.  We've been through so much, we've made it this far, what else is in our path that we cannot conquer and overcome?

[Pregnancy] Weeks 33 & 34 : PGP + Baby shower + ROM

Everything with my body was fine up until the start of this week when I started experiencing sudden pains in my buttocks and hips!

A bit of googling tells me that there is a high chance of PGP (Pelvic Girdle Pain) due to the hormone relaxin which is released towards the end of pregnancy in order to loosen the ligaments surrounding the pelvic joints to prepare the body for labour and delivery.

If that's the case, then I'm really suffering from the pain. Every step I take hurts and don't even get me started on getting up and out of bed. It feels like someone is constantly stabbing me in the hips 24/7 and the only relief I get is when I lie down and not move.  Even turning to lie on the other side hurts so much.

Planning to see a Physiotherapist next week right after I see Dr. Kamaljit for my 35 week appointment. I'm thankful though, that the pain is only centred around my back hips and no where else! Touchwood.

In other news, it's been a long, hectic yet fulfilling week last week, starting with the Ikea family day & the mad rush to prepare for the Baby shower (which was a success! And many many thanks to my awesome friends who helped out with the decor and games) and then the ROM right after, finished off with our 2 year anniversary yesterday. 

So basically this is how it went down..

13 Nov: Char arrives
14 Nov: IKEA cheras family day + Baby shower prep till 2am
15 Nov: Baby Shower
16 Nov: ROM + Char leaves
17 Nov: 2 year anniversary

It was so crazyyyyy - possibly the craziest weekend of my life but at the end of it I'm super thankful that everything went well and smoothly and that I know I have great friends around me who ill cherish for the rest of my life!

Little AJ is such a blessed boy already with all the gifts and love he's been showered with! These last few weeks will be spent building up his room and getting ready for mums arrival in KL on the 4th Dec.

I've got so much to say about 2015 already! I can't wait till the New Year comes round to start reflecting back