Category Archives: Baby Matters

Mar 2

Stir Fried Placenta

It may be a little too soon to think about it now but the other day at a friend’s baby shower, the conversation in our corner revolved around what to do with the placenta (after the baby is born). Apparently, one lady is planning to eat the placenta raw while another is planning to stir fry it (presumably with spring onions and ginger).

I did a quick search online and found that there’s an actual word for eating the placenta! It’s called Placentophagy. Someone even did a whole lot of research on a topic that she’d accidentally stumbled upon.

Would you eat your placenta?

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Feb 28

Guess this counts as a craving

Our kid must’ve been inspired by a recent Top Chef episode as G suddenly had a craving for a tuna melt with tomato soup.  Since she’s not allowed to have tuna, I substituted ham.  It’s funny, for someone who lives to eat, G hasn’t really had any cravings.  I’m just glad that there was a bit of it tonight, accompanied by some healthy kicks by Junior.

Feb 27

Durians

Like pungent rotting eggs… one whiff can send grown men fleeing or scrambling to the nearest durian stall for a quick fix.  The smell is so strong that “No Durian” signs are posted everywhere in Singapore (and other durian-loving countries) from trains to hotels.  As if the odor wasn’t enough of a warning to stay away, this proclaimed “king of fruits” also bears sharp spikes that have to be deftly bypassed in order to gain access.  Depending on who you ask, the flavor of the flesh inside is like either an ambrosia or spoiled milk.

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Feb 26

Alive and kicking!

Felt him kicking after a very satisfying homecooked Japanese meal yesterday evening at L&S’s home. L, the ultimate Japanese afficionado, made us a hot pot dinner with Japanese ingredients and a 3-mushroom soup stock (Japanese shabu shabu typically comes in a pretty tasteless stock). After everyone was done eating, L made Zosui (Japanese porridge) from the leftover stock and it was soooOOO good that I ate 2 bowls of it! And, I’m usually full after just half a bowl of rice so that is a lot of rice for me.

In fact, with the baby on the way, I have to be careful not to overeat or I’ll get nauseous from indigestion. But apparently our son is also a Japanese food fan and not only held down all the food, he even let me know how much he liked it with some pretty vigorous kicking.

This evening, I felt him kicking again but not quite as vigorously. Wen said it’s cos the baby has good taste and didn’t like tonight’s dinner as much as yesterday’s. =)

According to a quick search on Google, it seems like feeling kicks at the 20-something week period is not as consistent because it’s easier to get distracted by work and other matters to actually notice the kicks. By week 30, or even week 28, the mother should start monitoring the kicks (e.g. x number of movements every y minutes/hour) and even visibly see the baby moving across her belly.

Feb 25

Trotters feet

Pregnancy has been treating me quite well in general. While I’ve developed an aversion to garlic and suffer from increased indigestion, my complexion has improved and my weight hasn’t ballooned. Unfortunately, the scale has finally tipped and swollen feet are making this pregnancy a little more uncomfortable than I was ready for. At a mere 21 weeks, I am already feeling my feet tingle and swell. Shoes aren’t fitting anymore and prospects of having trotters-shaped feet in the third trimester are not at all uplifting.

You see, the condition I have, endema, is commonly an issue during the third trimester when excess fluid collects in your tissue due to increased water retention. As the baby grows, s/he will place more pressure on the pelvic veins and the vena cava (the large vein on the right side of the body that carries blood from your lower limbs back to the heart). This forces fluids to pool in the feet and ankles resulting in the swelling. So if my feet are already swelling now, imagine how much more swollen they will be when I’m in my third trimester.

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Feb 24

Help Wanted: Bahasa-speaking Mary Poppins

In many countries (such as Singapore), a domestic helper is vey much an integral part of the middle class family.  They frequently work 7 days a week cooking, cleaning, and doubling as nannies.  In fact, it’s not uncommon to have young children be just as attached to their caretaker maid as to mum and dad.  For most, this arrangement works- families gain valuable time to well… do stuff, and the employed helpers earn significantly more (10x +) here than in their native countries.

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Feb 22

Don’t Panic

This is Wen Jr at 21/22 weeks.  We have this ultrasound a week earlier than planned because G was starting to worry that she couldn’t feel any kicking or movement.  While I tried my best to assure her that it was normal, we ended up at an all-night clinic talking crazy to a doc (apparently you can’t hear a baby move around with a stethoscope), and of course searching the web for answers.  So, sometimes the best thing to do and for peace of mind is just to go see the baby doc.  And as it turns out, the baby’s fine, growth normal, and yep, still a boy.

Eventually Junior will grow large enough for his kicks to be felt through the placenta, tummy, and extra thick skin…  (I always thought G to be rather thick skinned, and now we have medical proof).  But until that day, I’ll have to remind G, and myself, to relax and don’t panic.

Feb 21

Hormones overload

Last Friday night, I was crying in the car as we headed home from the 24-hour clinic because the doctor didn’t have a doptone machine to read my baby’s heartbeat. Apparently, a stethoscope is not adequate to read heartbeats through all the amniotic fluids. The doc might have sensed my impending breakdown because he waived the charge on our consult.

This morning, we made an emergency visit to the gynae even though our next appointment is just a week away because I was still worried all weekend about not feeling any baby kicks. The gynae cut short my apologetic ramblings by telling me that it’s normal to be worried and that she has mothers who come by almost everyday. My weight gain of 3kg in five weeks was also a good sign since I didn’t put on any weight in the first 15 weeks. I definitely felt much better with just those words alone because it meant I wasn’t the only crazy new mother in town.

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Jan 29

Week 16

While there are still 24 more weeks to go, it’s amazing to think that already 4 months have passed.  At this point, Wen Jr is the size of an avocado, ~10cm, and is actively moving about inside the womb.  As for the mother, she’s still feeling quite a bit of the first trimester nausea and heartburn =(  Hopefully these symptoms subside in time for her to enjoy some much needed vacation and good eats on our Tokyo babymoon!