What a 2nd trimester: Part III, 14 October, 22nd weeks and 4 days

I suddenly had an acute pain in the centre part of my tummy, the area below the chest and above the uterus. 

This was the 1st sign on 13 October 2010, 130am. Everything was ok, until I woke up with an acute pain in the tummy area, followed by a burning sensation. Throughout the pregnancy period, this was the first pain, I encountered such a pain. It was unusual for me. And being first time mother and a paranoid, I started to wonder if something had happened. The pain lasted for about 15 minutes.

The pain has disappeared in the morning, until it came back again after my lunch. The same area and the pain persisted until evening. Before that, my hubby had advised me to call up Dr Ho and checked about the pain. I did as I was told. It was gastric pain, as advised by the nurse. Trying to be a brave spot, I endured the pain, thinking that it will disappear by itself without any medication.

Well...this is called, "Do not act strong, if you are not." The pain continued until evening, until it was so unbearable that my hubby decided that I should go to KK Women's A&E for a check up.

What a lousy mummy. Gastric pain - go to A&E. Sigh....

The main purpose was to check on the well-being of the baby, to ensure that everything was alright. Most importantly, is to have a peace of mind. And I finally understand what being mummy is about. When the nurse gave me an option of whether to fill up my stomach with food 1st, in order to stop the pain or to check on the baby 1st, I insisted on checking on the baby 1st, knowing that I will have to endure the pain for another 1 hr. 

This is the mother instinct - everything is done with the child in mind 1st. You rather suffer, then have the child suffer. I am sure my hubby will agree with what I have done. It is ok for the adults to endure the pain, but we should not let the young ones suffer.

The nurse suspected the pain to be either gastric pain (which is common among pregnant mothers) or uterus contractions (which is a danger sign and could mean early delivery).

In order to confirm the findings, I was put on a machine for an hour plus, where I was being monitored for signs of uterus contractions. 

It was close to 9pm after the test was completed. Poor hubby has to rush from home after receiving my call of the persistent pain, skip his dinner, accompany this lousy mum to A&E and wait at the hospital for more than an hour. Well, I felt guilty towards both the father and the baby for not taking good care of myself. 

There was no signs of uterus contractions, thankfully. It was just a gastric pain. 

Now, I am more aware of the different types of pain.

If the pain occurs directly above the uterus, in the middle part of the stomach, that is gastric pain. If the pain occurs directly below the uterus, it is uterus contractions. If the pain occurs on either sides of the tummy, directly below the rib areas, it is due to the stretching of the uterus. 

Well, it pays to be curious and question about everything under the sun. At least, after spending all the money on consultations, on a piece of mind, on advices, my hubby and I became more aware of the different signs of pregnancy. 

We will soon become seasoned mum and dad after this round of pregnancy.

And there you go....my gastric medicine.

What a 2nd trimester - Part II: Visit to Thomson Medical Centre, 9 Oct 2010

We did not manage to get any slot on Saturday. The earliest one will be the following Tuesday. Being anxious, 1st-time parents, we could not wait any further. Thus, with the advice of the nurse, we reached TMC before 830am (opening hour of the clinic), hoping to get the earliest slot.

The centre was packed. Nevertheless, we managed to see the doctor after waiting for 1 1/2hr. 

Like I mentioned before, this is an active baby, constantly moving inside my tummy. But I was happy that it is active. Active = healthy. The doctor did a detailed ultra-scan of the baby's developing organs, everything was good, as per Dr Ho's diagnosis. However, when it comes to the examination of the baby's brain, the doctor has a bit of difficulty. The baby was lying on its tummy, face down (hahahaha.....). No matter how much the doctor tried to talk to the baby to look up, the baby just refused, until the mummy came in. 

"Baby baby, be good. Listen to the doctor and let her look at you. The more obedient you are, the faster we can get out of this room and meet daddy who is waiting outside for us." 

It works. Baby slowly turned its body and looked up. There it went. Doctor finally managed to get a good view of the baby. No cyst. Phew. What a relief. 

Baby tried to be a little funny before we ended the session. It stretched one of its legs and tried to use its hand to reach the toes. "So cute."

Once again, we heaved a sigh of relief. Baby is good, active and healthy.

Here are another snapshot of our pretty baby. For a moment, I thought the baby was blowing bubbles...=p

What a 2nd trimester - Part I: 4th visit to the gynae (7 October 2010)

2nd trimester, to most people is supposed to be a very easy-going period, the most relaxing period throughout the entire pregnancy. However, it does not seem to be the case for us. 

The 13th - 16th weeks were good period, not much complaints, except the regular pain in the lower left part of the rib area, appetite was good, everything was manageable, life was as per normal, business as usual.

The regular pain in the lower left part of the rib area persists. The pain will come whenever I start eating. It could last from a few minutes to 1/2 an hour, sometimes bearable, sometimes no.

This pain, as assured by Dr Ho, during our 5th visit on 7 Oct 2010, is due to the expansion of the uterus which causes the ribcage to expand. This is why, if I eat too much, it will cause my tummy to stretch and affect the rib area, thus causing pain. Thus, it is important that I take many small meals and moderate my food and/drink intake at any one time. 

We were shown the results of my blood test and the Triple Blood Test for Down Syndrome. Everything was good. 

The 2nd part was followed by a detailed ultra-scan of the baby. Examining in detail, every single developing organs of the baby. This has always been an active baby. Constantly moving about in my tummy; stretching its legs and arms; trying to reach its toes with its hands; lying side way on one moment, and lying face down on the other. Sometimes, it seems to be waving its hands at us. The detailed scan was good, except for the presence of a cyst in the brain, which was detected in the last visit. The cyst, however, has disappeared. But to be assured that everything is good, Dr Ho suggested for a 2nd opinion, i.e. for us to head down to Thomson Medical Centre to do another scan. 

We were shocked to hear the news but did as were told, and immediately fix the earliest appointment to TMC.

Baby is already weighing 400+ grams and it is within the acceptable range. We were glad to hear that. And I have also gained 8kg.

 

It is such a funny world. hahahha

On the train, some people will be afraid to give up their seat to a person for fear that they may give the seat to a wrong person, i.e. when the person is just being fat and not pregnant.

In roadshows, promoters of slimming companies maybe skeptical of approaching someone for fear that they may mistake a pregnant woman as being fat.

This is such an amusing world.

What a week. Another bad news.

Our boss has officially announced her resignation. In fact, she has already served her full month notice and has stayed on on a voluntary basis.

She has chosen family over career, one which a woman would have done, especially when I have reached her level. She is already in her late 30s, a career woman, a super power woman, I should say. In terms of career satisfaction, I believed she would have achieved what she wants. The only thing that is lacking in her life and which I believe she has sacrificed for her career, is her family. 

As a woman, I can fully understand where she is coming from. Nothing is ever complete without a family. No matter how much a woman earns, how successful she is in her career, her life will be lacking if there is no children. That is how she is feeling now.

I believe she is starting to feel her biological clock ticking away. Career can be built up at any point of time in life, even when you are at your 40s or 50s. But having a baby gets more and more difficult as you aged. That is why, in a way, whether it comes at the right time or wrong time, I am thankful that I have.

My boss has always been like a mother hen to us. To us, it is like a love-hate relationship. I didn't fully understand this love-hate relationship until I saw tears welled up in her eyes as she broke the news to us, until I saw one of our old fellow colleagues tear in front of her. This colleague of ours has always been complaining about the boss micro-management, her autocratic style, is a "I dislike working under your management" kind of attitude. Until I saw her tear, then I realised that, in this colleague's eyes, she still values our boss a lot. 

I have the same sentiment as this colleague but I am thankful for what I have. Because I know my boss always have a soft spot for me, don't ask me why. She seemed to have witnessed a few stages of my life - from the time I joined, I get married, I passed my exams, till my current stage - she is always beaming with joy whenever I shared these happiness with her. I am lucky and she is always my support. If I have conflicts with my immediate supervisor, she is always my shield.

But, sigh....now that she is leaving, I am starting to get very lost. How is the new management like? I guess everyone is as apprehensive as I.

Pregnancy is a blessing in disguise

Perhaps this pregnancy is blessing in disguise. 

I received news of another staff turnover, which is from my team. This means that my team is down by 1 again. Back to square 1 - from 2 staff to 3 staff and now back to 2 staff. The immediate reaction will be a big SIGH - when will the cycle stop? There again, my workload will pile up.

However, I forgot that I am pregnant. Being pregnant is like having a decree. Because of this decree, I can manage to escape from a lot of things. Things that I should do in the past, becomes not required. Things that I should be given now, are given 2nd thoughts by the management. No matter what, my boss is still warm-blooded. Once in a while, she will tell me, "Do not stretch yourself. Get help if you need. The last thing you will want is to strain yourself." Or when she sees me carrying heavy things, she will say "Please get someone to help you." These are such comforting words. Something that you know there is someone out there who cares. 

Well, like what everyone says - enjoy this moment of being a queen.You deserve this kind of luxury treatment because you have a decree on hand now =)

Staff turnover is not exactly a bad thing. Our YTD figure for this year alone is 50%. However, I don't see that as bad. I see that as opportunity for changes. New staff helps to remove the cliques and re-bond people together. 

Like what someone rightfully said. People of X personality come together to form a group called X. People of Y personality come together to form a group called Y. X types of people cannot mix with Y types of people. But when a Z type of person comes along, he may bring both the X and Y group of people together, to form a new group. I did not believe it at first. But as the days go by, I slowly witness this change and am convinced of this analogy.

The joining of new staff does help to reduce the formation of cliques. People of A, B, C and D personalities come together. All are new to each other, no one knows each other beforehand, they come together because of 1 objective - they need company. There is not a need to break any invisible boundaries which are present in cliques. And this is what makes a team. A team consisting of a group of people rather than many groups of people. 

Though the transformation is painful, with a lot of legacies to clear, the comforting part is we are starting to see new changes in the team.

Less cliques and more team spirits. And I am starting to like what I am seeing.