Elephant Feet and Sausage Fingers

Ye.. inilah rupa kaki dan tangan saya yang sungguh sembap skang di akhir2 pregnancy. Sandal dah x muat, dan carpal tunnel syndrom x usah cerita la lagi....

Comel kan? Gemok2 .... hehehe....

Let's Talk About Stripes

I want all of you to visualize tiger stripes in your head. Done it? Good.

'What about them?' say you.

Well, last night, for the first time, I noticed one more surprise that this journey to baby has brought me. The wonderful gift of striae. Oh, I'm just being posh here and using a big word in an attempt to cover up the ugly truth. The ugly truth that something found its way on the back of my thighs and legs - STRETCH MARKS!! Yikes!!

I have been very careful with my belly, and I'm quite proud (and very, very blessed and grateful to Allah) to not have any. I had been very careful not to scratch it with my nails even when the itchiness when unbearable I thought I could pull my hair out. I figured I'd somewhat managed to escape it since I only have three weeks or so to go. But alas, when I bent down last night, I saw the reflection of my own backside in the full-length mirror in our bedroom and noticed streaks of something that was never there before.

Arkkk! They've found their way in!!! Here I was thinking that I had protected my turf quite good on the front and they came from behind when I wasn't looking? By the look of things, they've been there for quite some time now. So sneaky!!

Which instantly reminded me of the tiger stripes. They don't look much different side by side, do they?

Not complaining (honest!), just observing and basking in the changes that happen throughout the journey to motherhood. As one person has said, feeling fat and ugly only last nine months but the joy of becoming a mom lasts forever. So true!

To those who are also in the same boat,....
Tabik Spring to All Moms and Moms-to-Be! and Double Tabik Spring to those yg ada 'Service Stripes' to show for it. Ingat Army and Navy je ke yg bole ada Service Stripes ni.. ngehehehehe....

PS: The pic on the left is not of my fleshy bits (neither is the one the right! I got it off here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003287.htm

Don't Go Out, Else Your Water Will Break ...

Ahh… so this is what is feels like to be 8 and half months pregnant… all is good, Alhamdulillah.. the only thing that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable (and I really should feel embarrass for even writing this down) is that people, especially family are beginning to think that I might explode anytime soon hence the extra precautions on every single thing I do. Don’t get me wrong, I love pampering and attention as much as the next pregnant woman does but when you can’t even go out to lunch with friends anymore without being given a long sermon of what to do and what not to do, it really just takes all your mighty strength to not roll your eyes back to those loving, well-meaning family member.

I guess now I know how Danielle in Desperate Housewives Year 4 felt when she was pregnant and in hiding at the convent.

Bree: What the Hell do you think you’re doing roller blading at 8-and-half months?
Danielle: I got bored …

At least I am ten times luckier than Danielle coz I’m surrounded by family who cares and love me at times like these. It totally beats staying in hiding in a far, far away land!

P.S: I went out to celebrate my great friend Mas' belated birthday today by going out luch with her. And Thank God, my water did not break (yet) ;)

What's the Non-Posh Word for Pelvic Pain?

I am in pain.

I have my shares of pregnancy-related pain throughout the 34 weeks of gestating, but this, by far is the worst pain I've felt so far. And it's difficult to describe the pain to anyone else coz it's someplace down south. I can't walk without looking funny, I can't sleep without wincing in pain and when I finally found a comfy spot, I can't get up from the bed without yelping.

Yup, people, the fancy name for it is Pelvic Pain, where it's a sign that my ligaments are loosening up to allow for birth. But I just call it 'Sakit P*pet'.

Really. I do.

I stumbled across a pregnancy board discussing this topic and I owe it to these women for describing just exactly what it feels like.

'...In my vagina it feels like both the muscles and the bones are hurting like hell. And sometimes it hurts so bad that I can barely walk...'

'...I, too, am having this pelvic pressure. I so want this baby out. I can barely walk. It's also really bad at night when I've been laying down and go to get up. It's just so sore and achey...'

'...I can completely relate to the night pain too... Its so brutal...'

'...My pelvic hurts BAD, especially when walking. It feels like my vagina is broken...'

'...I've had the same problem ladies... walking like i'm 100 years old, thinking I was going to crack in half and that something was wrong... '

The best description goes to this one here,

'...now sorry this may come out weird but its the only way to describe it...but it feels like someone punched me over and over and over and over directly on my vagina...'

So true!

But personally, I would describe it as,

'... like someone mashed the muscle of my vagina and banged a sledgehammer right there again and again and again ... '

Seriously.

I'm thankful to Allah coz my body is actually doing what it is supposed to do now, which is to prepare itself for birth. I'm also glad that I'm not the only one going through this. Hang in there, not long to go now!

MC

Aku teringatkan pekeliling terbaru yg dikeluarkan mengenai MC di institusi tempat aku kerja nih. Katanya, kalo surat MC tu dikeluarkan di klinik2 panel atau pun swasta, maka maksimum cuti sakit dlm setahun yg dpt ialah 14 hari. Kalo kat hospital kerajaan plak, 45 days.

Aiseh... Aku pon call la bhgian cuti utk confirm kan perkara ni coz right now my MC comes from HPAN. One thing they suggested me do was to get the MC endorsed at Pusat Kesihatan (PK). Argghh..

So off I went. Mmg aku cuak sgt la.. sbb kononnya kalo lebih 14 hari nnt bole kena tindakan tatatertib. When questioned what exactly 'tindakan tatatertib' meant, nobody could answer. I guess buat masa ni mcm diorg belom decide lg je, or ntah2 pakai ikut budi bicara je, I really wouldn't know. Ni semua gara2 mereka yg tidak bertanggungjawab yg suka2 ati amik MC tipu la. X baik wooo... x amanah tu namanya. Kesannya, menyusahkan org yg betul2 sakit, sebab majikan dah kureng percaya. Susah payah kan org lain betul la...

Sepanjang perjalanan ke PK tu aku berdoa moga2 Allah mempermudahkan urusan aku. Kot2 la kalo PK x nak endorse ke, buat x layan ke.. sebab aku tahu for a fact PK x cater utk staf dia yg mengandung. But I'll let u know one thing, diorg ada mesin ultrasound tu. Aku pernah guna dulu, tp bkn utk scan baby la.. hehe.

Alhamdulillah... everything went smoothly je dekat PK tu. Lom sempat aku duduk nombor aku dah kena panggil. Discuss dgn Dr tu (Dr Latinah x silap aku), tp dia x sure la bole ke x sokong kes aku, but she was being very kind and sympathetic dgn masalah aku. Terus dia panggil SN masuk utk confirmkan and masa tu la aku jumpa Kak R*wk, ex-penasihat kelab PBSM aku dulu. Dgn bersemangat and efficient nya diorg check dgn Ketua dekat PK tu.

Akhirnya PK pon endorse MC aku without a problem. It was cleared out that the circular was only meant for minor illnesses seperti batuk, demam, sakit perut dsb nya. Kalo dah ada diagnosis spt aku, dikira exception, even kalo aku pergi swasta sbb PK kata, they would never rule out a specialist's diagnosis, x kira la swasta ke govt ke. Cumanya tiap2 kali aku sambung MC, kena gi endorse PK lg and they will support it. Tinggal claim je la x bole, kena kuar pocket money sendiri aaa kata diaorg. Aku sengih2 je la... Fuh... Lega aku... Alhamdulillah..

Seterusnya aku terus gi opis, handed out the now endorsed MC to bhg cuti. People kind of joked around when they saw me, kata diorg, 'Ko ngan Awien ni sama je. Dah besar nak meletop pon belom bersalin lg?'

Apparently K Awien is currently overdue by 5 days. I pray that she delivers safely soon. Kalo aku pon mungkin dah kurg sabar jadik dia. Aku betulkan keadaan ckp aku due bulan depan, cuma MC je manjang. After sorting out a few urgent stuff dekat opis and collected my letters dlm pigeon hole, we went home. Btw, in case u guys are wondering, no I did not get up the stairs to the pigeon hole (yg ridiculously situated at 1st floor itu). My brother did, he's such an Angel, he is.

Malamnya tu, aku dpt SMS dari HoD aku, tanya someone told her aku dah bersalin, betul ke? Aiks... cpt2 aku corrected her ckp belom, but she'll be amongst th 1st to know once aku dah bersalin nnt. I'm guessing someone must've seen me kat opis today and thought, 'Oh great, she's back from maternity leave already.' Ha!

Mmg believable pon, sbb I've been away for so long now. I just hope that kalo betul aku dah deliver nnt, the pregnant belly that I love so much right now wouldn't decide to stay for good. Haiyoh.. x mo la buncit x kempis itu mcm...

Half Way There!

Tahniah buat Sake and Ummu yang telah menyambut kehadiran cahaya mata lelaki mereka seberat 2.65 kg mlm semlm di Hospital Pakar An-Nur, Bangi. Masa Sake bgtau semlm, aku n Hubs dah x sempat pergi, sbb dia bgtau pon dah dekat Maghrib. Hari ni Sake call lagi, bgtau diorg stay lg semalaman, sbb baby kena jaundice, so kalo nak dtg melawat, silakanlah.

Mengenangkan Sake ni mmg dah kira cam best bud aku, maka aku gagahkan diri utk pergi juga melawat. Bkn aku x nak, in fact, bab2 melawat org bersalin ni dulu aku la org yg paling teruja, tp aku still ada lg saki baki trauma sbb pernah wat D&C kat An-Nur. Bkn salah dari segi treatment ke apa, but just the whole place tu membuatkan aku teringat2 dan terbyg2 episod yg menyedihkan dlm hidup aku tahun lps. Pulak tu, a few days before peristiwa itu, aku gi melawat member baik yg baru sahaja menimang cahaya mata kat Hospital Putrajaya, only to find out later that I had miscarried. So please understand aku punya irrational fear of melawat org bersalin ni.

As I said, fear x fear, itu benda yg lps and Sake is a good friend of mine, and we must live in the present. Plak tu kawan kita tgh happy, and mmg kita pon tumpang happy sama. So dgn sokongan Hubs dpt lah aku cari kekuatan utk menjejakkan kaki semula di tempat bersejarah itu. And Alhamdulillah, x de la mencabar mana sgt, especially bila dah berjumpa dan mendengar penuh khusyuk si ibu muda tu menceritakan pengalaman bersalin. Cuma berdebar sket2 je masa lalu depan Operation Theatre, teringat waktu kena sorong ngan trolley dulu before the procedure was done. Eii... ngeri.

Sake tanya how far along I was, to which I replied dah 20 weeks plus. Ah... dah half way through, kata dia. Bole plak aku x perasan ek. 20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go. Rasa cam skjp je masa berlalu. Lps solat Maghrib kat situ, kitaorg pon beransur pulang. Sayangnya x dpt nak cuit2 baby Sake sbb dia kena phototherapy kat nursery. Kesian... Semoga cpt baik and the new family of three dpt cpt2 balik umah n start a happy life of their own :)

KWSPee Pee

Tghari td aku ikut Hubs gi KWSP masa lunch time utk submit permohonan nak kuarkan Akaun 2 utk membiayai kos pinjaman perumahan. Mak aiiihhh... ramai nya manusia. Nak pengsan aku. Plak tu barisan beratur sungguh pjg. Terpaksa la kami bersabar beratur.

Sesudah amik no giliran, kami pon duduk menunggu le. Tiba2 tu plak terasa pundi kencing sudah berisi benar. Alamak, lately ni mmg kalo nak gi toilet mmg x leh budget2, time terasa je nak terkucil tu, time tu la kena pegi. Wahh... panik juga nih. Dah la baru lps makan, lagi la, tangki baru diisi. Melilau mata aku mencari kot ada public toilet kat dlm KWSP, tp x de la plak. Mungkin kat belakang tp utk staf aje agaknya.

Nak best lg, Baby plak duk berenjut dan melompat sakan dalam perut aku. Mungkin Baby ingat bladder yg penuh itu adalah trampoline utk dia bermain. Haishhh... x bole jd ni. Mau nya aku ter'pee-pee' dekat sini, kelam kabut pejabat KWSP nih.

Dlm aku dok menahan2 tu, giliran kami pon tiba. Malangnya, x cukup satu item kena fotostat extra. Maka terpaksa la kami ke kedai berdekatan utk fotostat. Mujur la x jauh, sebelah je. By that time aku dah x tahan, terus tanya org kedai fotostat tu, ad toilet x kat blkg yg bole aku tumpang. Dia kata OK aje terus aku pegi. Masa tu x pikir dah malu ke tidak (kat situ semua pekerja fotostat lelaki), toilet tu bersih ke tidak (sememangnya tidak bersih n hancing banget), bahaya ke tidak (memandangkan aku ni perempuan yg lemah tumpang toilet nun jauh di belakang kedai), or even ada letak kamera ke apa ke dlm toilet (it sure looked dodgy and possible).

Peringatan utk diri sendiri n semua pregnant women yg lainnya: Please, please, please buang air kecik dulu sebelum bergerak ke mana2. Nanti menyusahkan diri sendiri huhu ... percaya lah!

cartoon from: http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/week15

Syura Did A Norjuma

Oh My God! I am so appalled when I read this. I know it’s old news, but when I stumbled upon it online today, I was fuming. How dare these people make fun of pregnant women like that. It’s one thing to mock Syura’s weight gain (due to her pregnancy, of course), but it’s another thing to actually dub Datin Norjuma something outrageous like that. Like it’s become a trademark or something.

It’s bad enough that these women have to endure so many things during their pregnancy; from morning sickness, to sleeping discomforts, to swollen ankles, etc, and now this? Childish name-calling too?

I know they’re celebrities and they are easy targets for this kind of thing. But this is really immature. And I bet the person who posted this nasty piece on the Net is either never pregnant (most likely a man), or a real jack a$$.

At least Datin Norjuma has the means to lose all those weight and look fantastic afterwards. I wonder if the name caller would have the same amount of moo-lah to do the same had it been his wife /herself who gained the baby weight? I bet not, with that kind of mentality potrayed. Huff…

Yes, we pregnant women feel for one other and we stick to together like a bird to a feather. Cubit peha kanan peha kiri terasa juga. X percaya? Just visit any pregnancy boards and you’ll definitely know what I mean.

Changes

Lama x update with any real pregnancy-related content. Let’s talk about changes, specifically, bodily changes that occur during pregnancy.

Alhamdulillah, morning sickness aku dah x make a reappearance. Barangkali hormon aku dah stabil. I am, after all, in Week 16 already.

My belly has already grown rounder and protrude a bit to the front. I am no longer mistaken as fat bellied, and more people noticed that I am in fact, pregnant. I guess the maternity dress plays a huge part too. Alhamdulillah, belum ada tanda2 stretch marks, but don’t want to comment too much takut jinxing myself.

One thing la kan, my chesty parts have definitely grown overnight. To some people, these are one of the perks of pregnancy, but these people must have been previously an A-cupper or B-cupper the most, and the prospect of going up a full cup appears enticing. But if you were already previously a C-cupper and above, this isn’t necessarily good news, believe it or not! For a start, shopping for a good bra becomes a nightmare! And as things stretch, the itchiness can almost kill you. Enough said.

Who says morning sickness ends after the first 12 weeks?

Dah past Week 12 dah ni... Sungguh tipu!!!!!

(But still greatful, cuma pointing out the truth that it isn't necessarily so)

Now the Whole Department Knows..

This week has been a busy one. Semua staf menghadiri Bengkel LO di hotel, woo hoo... best nye dpt tukar environment for a change.

At this point aku dah x drive keta dah, atas alasan aku pregnant, ngehhehhe... usually aku tumpang org je skang. Mual2 tu all the day ada, especially time lunch, which is tersangat la sayang coz lunch buffet kat hotel ni best2. Tp nasib baik hotel ni provided never ending supply of gula2 mint, so spjg bengkel aku dok mkn gula2 tu je la to get through the day.

Aku mmg x berapa produktif dlm perbincangan. One thing, aku mmg kepenatan, fatigue la bak kata omputih. A common symptom of pregnancy. Dah la tido mcm x berapa cukup sbb dlm satu mlm tu, ada la sekali dua bangun nak buang air kecil. Again, a common symptom of pregnancy. Tapi lepas dah gi toilet tu susah plak nak tido. Tu yg wat penat lebih tu.

Secondly, aku mula terasa betapa sunyi nya jabatan aku without the usual crowd; Mas, Iezma, Nabil, K Dlyn. Diorg sumer dah sambung PhD. Si Azri plak tgh bercuti pegi scuba diving ke snorkeling. Sungguh x de geng.

Oleh sbb aku nmpk spacey satu mcm tu, senang la staf2 lain teka yg aku pregnant. Aku iye kan aje la, dah betul kan. So diorg pun x de la bg workload yg melampau kat aku, hehehe... relax sket. So gitu la aktiviti aku dalam tiga hari berturut2 tu.

Mlm Jumaat nye plak, Sake dtg umah ngan wife dia, Ummu yg tgh pregnant 6 1/2 bulan. Diorg nak ke Penang esoknya and then nak gi majlis kenduri Jahar. Aku dapat jemputan gak, tp x gi la, sbb masih baru2 lekat ni. Aku kirim aje la sumbangan sket melalui Sake utk Jahar n Ida. Semoga diaorg berbahagia hingga ke akhir hayat... amin..

It's Puke Fest

I must have some kind of fascination with puke la, coz ari ni pon nak citer psl puke lg. Ah... these are the things that makes a pregnancy special...

Aku skang mmg kali naik keta aje dah x tahan, mmg nak rasa muntah. Bukak air con salah, x bukak lg salah. Even dok kat opis pon, kejap2 kena kuar dari bilik aircon tu, sbb mula la rasa mual, loya, semua ada. Selera nak mkn pon x de. Kdg aku amik lauk ikan kering ngan kuah je. Yg tu je bole telan, yg kari2 ke, asam pedas, masak merah ke, semuanya buat aku nak terbelahak je.

It got even worst la utk mkn mlm. Selalu gak aku tido x mkn, sbb mmg lepas muntah maghribnya tu, dah x de tenaga nak turun makan and x de selera nak tgk nasi. Hari ni hari Jumaat, ada pasar mlm, so Hubs ajak aku beli terus la mkn mlm.

Tgk itu, tgk ini, semua x selera. Last2 aku beli Kebab. Balik umah aku terus mkn, kononnya nak mkn sblm rasa nak termuntah tu dtg. Bijak... bijak... cumanya, perasaan loya tu tetap dtg maghrib nya tu, dan aku tetap muntah. Masalahnya, this time aku x ready, maka termuntah la dlm sink instead of the toilet bowl. Kuar abis ketulan2 daging kebab td. Lebih teruk lg, sbb daging2 tu quite chunky, nyaris tersumbat sinki tu. Terpaksa la aku korek balik n kaut daging2 tu guna tgn. Waaaa... geli weh... who would've guessed kebab ni sungguh berminyak. Abis tangan aku kiri kanan berminyak. Dah la aku x larat nak berdiri, kena cuci sinki lak tu...

Tobat aku x nak makan kebab lagi ... at least sampai this mental image is out of my head la..

Susah eh nak jd mak org? Oleh itu, jangan la derhaka pada ibu kita. I have a new found appreciation utk semua mereka yg bergelar ibu. Tabik aaahhh... especially yg alahan teruk2 sampai masuk wad semua. Aku ni kira average je. Tp semua ni aku terima ngan redha n hati terbuka. Asal semua sihat n selamat sudah... amin

The Most Pahit of Them All

Hari ni praktis lagi pergendangan. Bebudak ni cepat pickup, main pon OK la memandangkan dlm sejam lebih je praktis sehari, 2 hari seminggu. Tp kdg aku yg x tahan mengajar nih, sbb apa, kalo ketuk ikut suka ati je, naik pening kepala aku, but I blame the hormones la. Especially kalo x psg aircon tu kan, isyy.. panas semacam je. But most of the time aku tahan2 kan aje perasaan x selesa tu. Nasib baik la buat sesuatu yg kita minat, kalo buat benda yg x minat lg sengsara agaknya.

Anyway, prektis hari ni abis pkl 12 lebih tghari. Hubs dtg amik, ajak aku mkn sama. Ok la tu. Problemnya, lately ni cuaca panas terik sgt, and aku kalo travel time2 panas gini, mula la rasa mual x pasal. Dah la pg td x sempat mkn rasanya.

2,3 kali aku dah ala-ala nak termuntah tp sempat men'stop'kan diri. Hubs gelak aje, panas betul ati aku. Ingat main2 ke. Dia ckp, nak muntah, muntah aje la. Aku skang mmg travel bawak plastik kecik dlm beg tgn, wat spare utk muntah. Last2 aku give up la, x tahan sgt dah, aku hambur aje segala yg nak kuar tu bg kuar. Uweek!

Mula2 tu ingatkan aku muntah air oren, sbb aku sejak pregnant ni suka sgt minum air jus oren Peel Fresh tu. Skali baru teringat air oren aku dah abis, pg td x de minum jus. And a split second later, dtg la rasa pahit yg amat sgt dari dlm anak tekak aku. Adoi... air yg ke'oren-orenan' tu air asid perut la, sbb x de mknan sedari pagi.

Pergh... gile pahit x ingat nyer... Sabar, sabar...

On a higher (and more dignified) note, aku dah dpt surat kelulusan senat ari ni. Officially, aku sudah menjadi seorg graduan Ijazah Master, Alhamdulillah!

It's Here

The morning sickness, that is.

It crept slowly last week. Little by little. But this week, it kinda turned into a habit. I puke every single day. Usually around Maghrib time. Not that I'm complaining. It's kinda exciting to finally have some pregnancy symptoms. Really. At least I know the hormones that sustains this pregnancy are going up and good. To me, this is a real blessing.

But man, does it drain the energy out of you. I'm pretty much sapped out after a good puking session. Blurgh!

Note to self:

During this few weeks, please avoid Asam Pedas and Tauge. The chillies from the Asam Pedas do not go gentle on the throat when they come back up. As for the Tauge, well, being resurrected from the pit of the stomach as whole tauge really just grossed me out. Brrr...! {shivers}