5th month mark and we are having a...

I know, I know it is the June holidays and I should have more time to blog but I am starting to feel normal (although some pregnancy symptoms still irk me, but I am thankful for no more morning sickness which I will talk about it in awhile). Therefore I am enjoying what normal has to offer me by going for dates with Baobei and my close friends. Also, we went to Bandung for 5 days 4 nights on the first week of June (will also blog about it in case you need to make a trip there). Oh how time flies, I am left with 2 DAYS of school holidays before my crazy Term 3 commences.

BUT the bright side is despite the busy (and I mean, very) 3 months I am going to have, I am looking at early maternity leave. I am planning to take one month early maternity leave which will start in October then continue til November. Since December is school holidays, I do not have to take any for that month. Go back to work for a week in January to settle my kids down and go back to maternity leave until end of February (or if I am lucky, it can stretch til first week of March). So hoorah! The perks of working in school.

Anyway, we have finally hit our 5th month mark!

20 WEEKS!

I have been carrying little one for 20 weeks already!

(inserts lots of hearts)

To be honest, I was very worried how the little one is doing inside. I keep asking myself, "Is little one growing well inside?" Plus the 5th month scan is a detailed scan where sonographer checks for everything! The heart, kidneys, spine, fingers, toes etc. They even measure the nose bridge because any abnormality indicates something not good with the baby. It is extra worrying for us, although we made a decision at 12 weeks, since we forgo the Down Syndrome test. But we will never know right? Doa and tawakal aje.

So on Wednesday, we went for our detailed scan. Mama tagged along because this was going to be one cool check up, and deep down inside I also knew if I were to learn something not good about little one, I needed my mother around.

Entered the room and there's 2 screens. One for us to look at the sonographer's screen and one is the sonographer's. The lady was nice and explained a little here and there what she was doing. She said, "Today is a photography session. We are going to take a lot of pictures." The night before I was talking to the little one to behave for tomorrow's scan because they needed to be able to see little one clearly for measurements after our storybook session

Because my aunty had to go for a walk and come back because Adam was curling in a position that made it hard to take good pictures for the measurements. Before we went for the check up, I talked to little one again. So during the scan, the sonographer had to push my tummy here and there, then she commented, "You have one sleepy baby." HAHAHA, little one was asleep lah during the scan! So sonographer asked me to cough so that little one will move. Baobei was already laughing at me because I had to fake cough. HAHAHA. I ended up laughing which little one woke up and yawned! Sonographer was, "The mouth so big! Yawning away." Hahah didn't manage to video little one yawning but SubhanAllah, it was truly amazing.

Then sonographer needed to check for little one's backbone and I needed to fake cough again because little one went back to sleep apparently. Aiyo, Daddy's first day off or the little one. So attached and same like the daddy! Geram! Then Baobei tickled my foot so that my laughter will wake little one! HAHAHA. Told him he can work here part time when the sonographer needs the mummies to make their babies move.

Last but not least, sonographer asked, "Have you found out the sex of the baby?" The golden question!!! We were like, "The doctor couldn't confirm it last scan but we are hoping to find out." So I had to lie down on my left so that little one's legs will open up... and then

Hehe, we all had our guesses and apparently the only giveaway was the shape of my tummy... Yup, we are expecting

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"Nabi cakap, untung anak pertama anak perempuan."

(Now I know why little one always act up when Daddy goes to work!)

My gfs are super excited for me. Within 10 minutes of the news that we are carrying a baby girl, Li bought me and the little one matching top knot headbands which she defended her buy by saying "I have been waiting for this moment LOL. To have a reason to buy girly stuff." This is a mother of a baby boy. Then when I was whats'apping Shiqs, she was "I JUST BROWSED FOR YOU BABY'S GIFT." And when I met up with my poly friends, they were itching to buy baby stuff but couldn't wait to find out the gender! Heheh, little one is so loved even before she is born. I love my friends!

Which after the check up, Grandma (Mama) got super excited that we dropped by Mothercare at KKH jugak to get this for little one:

Pink socks! Seluar panjang!

So mentel kan with the prints and lace!!!

We are happy regardless girl or boy to be honest. We are happier to hear that although I only gained 1.2kg from the last check up (which means the last 4 weeks), little one is doing well like she should be. I just need to eat more to help to gain weight but we are both okay. The only thing that Prof Han was mentioning about the results from the detailed scan is my placenta is lower than it should be.

Which simply means (adapted from here):

The placenta develops wherever the egg embeds in the womb (uterus). Placenta praevia happens when it develops low down in the womb and stays low-lying beyond mid-pregnancy.
If your placenta is near your cervix when you’re ready to give birth, it may block your baby’s exit route through your vagina. Placenta praevia can also cause bleeding in mid-pregnancy to late-pregnancy.
If the placenta covers your cervix at the end of your pregnancy, your baby's route through your vagina will be blocked. The placenta may be partly covering your cervix (minor placenta praevia) or completely covering it (major placenta praevia). In both cases your baby will need to be born by caesarean section.

However, chances are the placenta will go up naturally in the next few weeks/months so I do not have to opt for a c-section for now. But at this point of time, I need to be open to options. My gf, Li, said her SIL went for urut to naikkan the placenta but Mama, Mak and Cik Awa (Mama's bestfriend) said the best is to let it be and if have to, just do a planned c-section. To be honest, it is scary to do urut even by professionals with little one inside. Kak E went through an emergency c-section and she recovered well. And no one is less of a mother if she does c-sect or natural birth. All are still worthy of the name; Mother.

The pros about doing a planned c-section are 

1) we get to pick a date 

2) Baobei can be inside the op theater with me 

I asked him yesterday if he will be okay inside the op theater with me but I underestimate my husband. He is excited that he get to feeling2 like the asian scrub nurse in Grey's Anatomy. HAHAHA. Suka hati you Baobei, asalkan you happy and tak pengsan okay!

So anyway, while we were in Bandung, it was impossible not to shop for little one's clothes because tiny clothes are really adorable. Ibu was saying I can get baby girl stuff and give away if little one is a boy but I didn't want to so bought a lot of unisex stuff or more for boy hahaha. Look at our guilty buys:

Yup, a whole luggage of little one's clothes.

There's guitar, soccer ball and even dinosaurs! Hahaha

But our secret buy (chosen by Baobei)

With a little hope that we may be carrying a baby girl.

SO NOW LITTLE ONE CAN WEAR THIS!!!

Oh, I bought these back in Hong Kong 3 years ago with Haiya but never had an opportunity to give anyone because they only had baby boy. So now little one gets to wear these too:

HEHEHEHEHE

Animal preenz!!!

So anyway now that we know that we are carrying a baby girl, I want to clear some "myths"/share some of the annoying pregnancy symptoms I still have:

1) Kakak is always saying, "You are so lazy, maybe you're carrying a baby boy!"

I am not lazy, I am just insanely tired. Although I have more energy than I did in my first trimester (yes, I am able to stay up past 12 midnight), I still get tired easily. 

2) If you're carrying a girl, she will steal your glow. If you're carrying a boy, you will glow.

For me, I have very, very bad breakouts all over my face and neck. New pimples pop out every day and they don't heal properly. I can't take antibiotics to help me manage the breakouts and no matter what I use on my face, it is still the same. The cause? Hormones. When will it end? When I give birth. I will take a picture of my face and you can see how much it pains me that my skin is currently in a bad state. Which is also why I am super lazy to wear make-up because I don't want my skin to get worst and it is sometimes painful. Sigh. So is my little one stealing my glow? I hope so and I want her to have dimples since she and her daddy have the family name (haha nak jugak eh). But I also know people who carry girls and they are glowing just fine. So this is not very accurate.

3) If your tummy is circular, you're carrying a boy. If your tummy is flat and wide, you're carrying a girl. 

For me, my tummy is flat and wide. It was not popping outwards. That's why most people guessed that I am carrying a baby girl. And for most people I know, their tummies do show accurately what gender they are carrying.

4) Food takes very, very long to digest and I get hungry easily and at odd timings.

I can eat Nasi Lemak at 12pm and only burping my Nasi Lemak at 3-4pm. It takes very, very long for me to digest my food which is why I don't eat a big portion during my meals. I get hungry between 4 to 7am which is when the little one starts kicking me. Oh, which also means I have to eat proper food first thing in the morning or I will feel nausea until the next food intake. On the 5th month check-up, I didn't eat anything until 11.30am which was 2 bites of chicken pie. Next thing I know, I see black spots and had to be wheelchair-ed around KKH.

5) I cannot stand for very long. 

If I stand more than 5 minutes, my right ear will be blocked which is an indication that I am going to feel nausea or pass out anytime soon. So, Geylang Bazaar is out of the question for me since I will need to find places to sit after awhile. Not sure how I am going to survive in July's Baby Fair.

6) I only started to show at Week 17

7) At Week 18, I am sure that the movements in my tummy is from little one kicking me and not my food digesting.

The first few days, the movements/kicks were very hard to catch but Baobei managed to feel them. Then Kakak and Mama. Haha. Now the little one kicks me more often or she is getting stronger!!! But most times, it is after I eat or if I have not eaten. Now, I am trying to catch her kick and can be seen from my tummy moving upwards on video!

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Anyway, I will be setting the video of the little snippet of my sonogram that I uploaded on Facebook to public if you want to have a look (it is the same on IG). You can find me at "Renny Rahman".

Now is back to searching for one thing: Baby names.

Initially we had a thought of a boy's name which we can keep for the next one (haha, ada hati nak go through another 12 weeks of morning sickness). But for now, you're still my little one okay? You're still Baby Raja. So please little one, grow well okay like you have been for the last 20 weeks. We shall aim to gain at least 2 to 4 healthy kilograms for the next check-up and hopefully the placenta will go up then.

Oh, although it is fasting month, we can't fast because my tummy will masok angin which will cause me to be nausea and black out but we will try in a few days time! If not, I will bayar balik after little one comes out. No biggie.

You have been such a beautiful blessing, little one.

Yes, I will get my blogging game going strong with our house (which we plan to move in by August) which includes the process of resale flats and the things I/we have planned for our little one, which includes what and why we are buying certain things.

Ramadan Kareem to all Muslim people

and XO.