As usual, Wengr was acting shy and refusing to let our doc capture a clean profile. So all we have is a semi-clear picture of his head… which we discovered was gynormous for 32 weeks. The head is already at 9cm and the limit for natural birth is apparently 10cm, so unless Jr decides to stop growing the size of his head, G may not have a choice on Caesarian. On the bright side, he’s in the 95% on height and normal on weight and body fat.
We had our monthly pregnancy checkup on Friday, and G had an urge to see Junior’s face. In addition to a standard ultrasound, more doctors are now able to perform a “4D” ultrasound scan (not to be confused with the other popular “4D” in Singapore). In a nutshell, a 4D scan is a moving 3D image (or err video) of your baby. The same types of sound waves are used, but rather than bouncing the waves directly, they are angled to produce a 3D composite view.
So even at just 25 weeks old, we can see what (and whom) our son looks like. His nose and forehead definitely take after G (and confirms that it is indeed her child). And the other “trait” that runs strong in this family is a shyness to photo taking. The brief glimpse of Junior’s face was the result of some prodding (and poking) by our baby doc to get him to move his arms away from his face. It really was as if he was trying his best to avoid getting his picture taken (just like mum and dad). Hopefully, photo-averseness is just temporary, and like our chins will be two traits that won’t run in the family.
I joked the other night about G’s 9-month long sous-vide project. Then I saw this:
Sous vide baby bath. 5 minutes at 37℃ . Handle with care, no packaging needed.
Photo courtesy: @OurLaborofLove
Blais is my favorite Top Chef contestant of all-time.
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.
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.
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.
According to the BabyBump app on my iPhone, I should have felt some flutters by Day 126. The message showed up right around our Tokyo babymoon and I started to tear up. I managed to control the initial welling of emotions so I don’t think Wen realized how disturbed I was by the non-flutters until I felt teary again later that same day (and told him about it). He proceeded to do some quick research and reassured me that my high placenta position and this being our first baby makes it perfectly normal not to feel any kicks until even the 5th or 6th month.
Unfortunately, it certainly didn’t help that Day 135 said “By now, baby has started moving around in your tummy, and you’re probably wondering what on earth he/she is doing in there.” Yeah, thanks. Now I’m wondering if my baby is truly healthy because I’m not sure I’ve felt any movement. So I console myself that the baby must be kicking my bladder and causing that need to pee every other hour. Or maybe the slight soreness and indigestion I feel is really the baby kicking around. But mainly, I think I’m just so clueless that I need to literally see a slight imprint of his foot on my tummy (from inside out) to really feel his kick.
Whatever the reason, I definitely cannot imagine or be sympathetic to any complaints from pregnant women about the kicks they feel from their baby. It must be one of the top ten best moments for a mother and I can’t wait to say “Yes! That’s definitely a kick!”
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!
We went to our favorite beef place today because Wen read that Japanese beef has an equal content of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. Since I haven’t gained any weight since conceiving 4 months ago (the gynae appointment today measured a loss of 0.3 kg), I figure this indulgence is more than timely. And, the hubby says it’s our wedding anniversary dinner so who am I to argue with that.
Anyhoo, the manager there is now pretty familiar with our tastes and basically helped to place our orders for us. She also recommended that I continue to resist eating my favorite raw beef salad when I tried my luck asking if that was ok. Instead she recommended an oxtail soup that she said would help build up the baby’s bones. Then she gave me a few other dietary tips, including one on coconut water – drink at least 2 coconut’s worth of water per day in the last month of pregnancy.
According to Judy, coconut water helps to reduce the jaundiced effects of newborn babies. I’m not sure if this is an Asian thing but I was definitely jaundiced when I was born and had to be ‘sunned’. One time, my mum even forgot to take me back in after a long bout of sun-tanning so I’m really not sure why I’m so fair. Judy’s first child was severely jaundiced and not only required UV rays (no more risks of forgetting your newborn under the sun now that technology can provide controlled UV rays) but also had to be fed goat milk for a few days before she lost the yellowness and developed a fair complexion.
I did some googling and found this. I suppose it makes sense because coconut water promotes digestive health. Also, from a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) point of view, coconut is a ‘cooling’ fruit and is a life-saver during that last month of pregnancy when you’re probably going to perspire a lot from all that internal heat (the oven is almost done baking after all).
Still not convinced on the miraculous properties of coconut water for pregnancy? Read this article and you’ll even find that this miracle fruit may just be something you want in your diet the minute you find out that you’re pregnant!
One parenting responsibility I am not looking forward to (in addition to changing diapers) is the education of our child here in Singapore. Already G and I have been inundated with horror stories about how even the rich and well-connected parents have to spend years volunteering as crossing guards just to have a shot at placing their kid in the island’s “top” primary schools. Aside from the intense competition for a leg-up education-wise, it’s a bit disturbing that the Asian mentality is that even at such a young age where you get your education is important, nay, absolutely vital.
Today’s newspaper had a number of education-related stories including results of the ‘O’ level exams. The highlights of which were also broadcasted on local radio stations yesterday. In addition, there was a story about the overnight queue (line) for parents hoping to get on the wait list of the hottest preschool in town. Some parents even brought their newborns along! Based on the timing, we’ll have at most 5 months after birth to prep our kid to be interview-ready for said preschool. I better triple G’s dosage of fish oils now just to be safe.
If you’d like a small inkling of just how hyper-competitive education here is, check out this blog, Kiasu parents, and their ranking of primary schools.