Pregnancy

Third Trimester

Posted on Jun 18, 2013 in Pregnancy | 0 comments

Apr 18
I was able to sleep 10 hours a day easily during the first and second trimesters, but now I wake up after 6 or 7 hours sleep (enough?) and can not go back to sleep. That was also written in a book as a symptom, so I just have to live with it.

Apr 23
I felt my tummy tightening for the first time. When I was sleeping in bed in the early morning, my tummy suddenly felt tighter and hard. It was softer before. I was surprised, but no pain. I wondered what happened, but it got soft again. Was I just imagining!?

Apr 24
When I went to bed, my tummy tightened again. It’s abnormal. When it’s hard, I don’t feel the baby moving. It stayed like that for 30 seconds or so. And then it got softer. It repeatedly happened like 5 times within an hour and I got worried. But no pain, and when it’s not tightened, I still felt the baby moving. So I quit worrying and tried to sleep.

Apr 25
After I checked about it in my book and online, I ended up finding it was a normal thing. It’s called Braxton Hicks in English.
Online, it said,
At 28 weeks pregnant you may notice shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, and scattered Braxton Hicks contractions. These contractions are normally painless and consist when the uterus hardens for a minute then releases.
Yes, I’m on 28 weeks now. They know it very well.
In my book, this Braxton Hicks was explained a lot in the section of 8 months. I’m still on 7 months, so I hadn’t read that part too carefully… (yes, it’s an excuse.)
Anyway, I’m relieved.

And at night, I felt the baby had hiccups. It was like every 2 seconds, some little spasms were happening in my tummy constantly and continued for more than 1 minute. I got worried about this too. But after checking in a book, I found out it was fetal hiccups. So interesting.

Apr 29
Now I see the middle line on my tunny top to bottom. This is called the linea negra. I’ve seen it on pregnant bellies. My belly button hasn’t come out yet, but I can see inside very well.
She is doing hiccups again.

May 2
One term seemed to have finished at school and some people left. The gym at the U of A had less people than on the weekend.
Early in the morning when I was still in bed, I got a cramp again. This time it was nasty and painful for 2 days… Even though I go to the gym and try to get the blood circulating well, it seems to have no impact on avoiding leg cramps… I got afraid to stretch my body in bed and tried to sleep with my legs bent.

I’ve been trying to find some under-wear that opens in front or that are easier for breast feeding, but it’s not so easy to find perfect ones because they are kind of specialized items and expensive. I find Japanese online shops have more variety of range of personalized items and also cheaper. Why are they so different? Japanese stuff (designed in Japan and manufactured in China often) are great.

May 7
She was doing hiccups again, this time for more than 10 mins. She moved a lot as if she was uncomfortable doing it. After that, she got tired? Not much movements. I thought the head had been down, but now I feel the hiccups from the side of my belly. The head went to the side? Not sure…

May 9
I got a strained back!
I had a plan to go out with a friend for shopping, so I went. But it wasn’t easy. So awkward to walk. I didn’t look normal … like an old lady. It was nice to be able to see some outlet stores with baby clothes and goods. I checked the availability and price ranges, etc. Still haven’t bought much yet…

May 13
After I had a strained back, it was terrible for 2 days, and it got better gradually. Now I noticed not only my legs but also my fingers got swollen. My ring didn’t come off! When I start going to the gym again, would it get better, I wonder.

Went for a 2nd test for pregnancy diabetes. No urine test. At first, took some blood. And then drank sweet glucose juice. After 1 hour, gave more blood. And after another hour, gave it again. Took my blood 3 times in total today and it took 2 hours to complete. Please let me pass the test!

May 14
Felt a dull pain like period pain.
Braxton Hicks are not painful. Not even uncomfortable. So I sometimes don’t notice if my hands are off my tummy. When the real contraction starts, I guess it will change to uncomfortable and then painful… I thought I was dehydrated, but it happened a few times in a day, it wasn’t that. It happens regularly now.
After the gym, my finger swollen went away. What an effect!
But I’ve read some mums keep being swollen or a bit overweight even after delivery, I decided to keep my rings off for a while.

May 15
Hiccups again. 3 times a day!
The second hiccups were felt from the side, so I wondered the head went the side. But the the 3rd ones were felt from the bottom, the head went down again? Good! We still have 2 months and she will still move around, but when the head is not down, that makes me feel a bit worried.

babyposistion

Recently the temperature went up and the home heater doesn’t get turned on. The dryness goes away because of it and the humidity is around 60%. My skin felt more moist than usual. Good!
My hubby helps me with washing dishes often these days. That’s very nice.

According to the book, our baby should be about 1.8kg now.

May 16
This morning, I felt her hiccup from my upper tummy. Oh no, now the head is up?
babyposistion2
Anyway, the most important thing is that the head position is down when she comes out. No need to worry right now. And I’m not sure about where I feel her hiccups really matter or what.
Is she still going around like an astronaut in a spaceship?

Seeing my doctor.
32nd week.
Up until now, it was once in 4 weeks. Next 2 times will be every 2nd week and then every week.
My weight increased 3.5kg compared to a month ago. Overall, averagely, 7-9kg increase is the ideal, and I already increased 6.5kg.
Her heart rate was 145.
The result of my pregnancy diabetes came out, and it was no problem! Yay!
Sorry to have made you guys worried, but it was a routine and had to just make sure. Even if you had the pregnancy diabetes, it’s not too worrisome, he said.
Even though he says so, no diabetes is better for sure…
I told about my cramps, Braxton Hicks, and her hiccups (I thought 3 times a day might be too many times, so…) , but he said they are all normal. Relieved.
Today the appointment was 1:15pm, but we were able to see him at 4:30pm. Hubby also waited with me. Doctor often apologizes for the waiting time and we sympathize him. But still it’s really a long time to wait!

Now finally moving!
We were planning to move to another apartment on July 1st, but we changed our plan and decided to do it on June 1st.
We found a nice place, and the new place wants us to move-in in June not to waste time. So our old landlord favorably said OK with a shorter notice.
But we have a whole-day prenatal class on June 1. So we did our moving between June 2 – 4.
Yes, earlier was better this time, as I’m expecting in July. Baby delivery and moving in the same month would be really hard.

 

Strained Back

Posted on May 12, 2013 in Living, Pregnancy | 0 comments

At the end of April, the temperature went down to -6°C and it snowed. But the last Sunday it went up to 30°C. The season is skipping spring seriously!

At night it’s still like 5 °C and the temperature differs a lot in a day. It’s nice to hear warm warnings about it from many of my friends. Yes, we really have to take care of ourselves not to catch cold. Thank you.

So it’s been warm or hot for the last 2 weeks outside. But somehow our basement suite has been about 3°C colder than the temperature it’s supposed to be. It is set for 21.5°C. But it’s been much colder! As soon as we get home from the hot outdoors, we feel chilly and I have get on a turtle neck sweater right away. A turtle neck sweater is an all-year-round item for me in this basement.

I had a headache this morning… chilly, chilly.

After living in a basement suite for 2 years, now I finally understand how it is. It’s like a cave. Cooler and colder. My hubby’s cough didn’t get better quickly because of this chilliness here. So a year and a half ago, we bought a small heater. But we found out the usage of it can make the house short of the electricity and also found it’s restricted on our lease. Oops… so we bought it, but we couldn’t really use it.
But in this case ( 3°C colder  for 2 weeks), we need to use it. We explained and got permission from the landlord. They didn’t know why the temperature was like that here. They have 23°C up there, they said. Wow, nice!

Anyway, when you live in a basement, you always have to have heat and the lights turned on, even though the outside is warm/hot and very sunny and bright. It’s quite anti-eco, but how can we help ourselves…?

AND… today I strained my back! This might be a bit serious. I’ve had a back pain once or twice since I came to Canada, but I recovered within 1 or 2 days, and it wasn’t serious like the ones I got in HK. I think some yoga and some certain foods helped. And also since I got here, I was practicing some poses once in a while that can prevent back pain. I think that was good. But that pose is difficult to do when your belly is big. So I stopped doing it. Maybe that’s why… My balance of weight has been changed, which also could be a reason.
Tying a shoe lace is quite difficult now. When you crouch down, you have to open your legs because the belly is there. So the maternity denim skirt that I bought wasn’t so practical. My legs don’t open side to side (Can’t do that anyway when someone is watching!?).

I don’t want to catch cold anymore during this pregnancy! So I’m wearing a turtle neck, a fleece, and then a blanket on top of it, while sitting around the desk.

I really don’t mind moving out soon!

 

May 5th, 2013, Hawrelak Park. The last snow (30°C) :

Hawrelak ParkHawrelak Park

North Saskatchewan River:

Hawrelak ParkHawrelak Park

 

By the way, now 100 Japanese yen = CAD$1!

Braxton Hicks

Posted on Apr 26, 2013 in Living, Pregnancy | 0 comments

Today it seems like the spring has suddenly come and the temperature went up to 20 c degrees! Much warmer than my home in Japan and close to HK temperature! The snow is almost gone and the roads are sandy and dusty now.

Screen-Shot-2013-04-26

When the temperature goes up suddenly, our house’s auto heater gets confused or something and our place gets colder… it’s the fate for basement residents?

We went out for a branch to IHOP. It was Friday, but it was crowded like Saturday. The waiter with a tattoo was a friendly guy and gave us funny drawings of Micky Mouse on my pancake and my husband’s waffle. ^^

 

It’s another finding about being pregnant.
I heard the expression of a tightened tummy or a bloated tummy, but I never imagined it was like this! It’s totally different from the feeling of eating too much and being bloated with food or gas.

Apr 22
I felt my tummy tightened. When I was sleeping in bed in the early morning, my tummy suddenly felt tightened and hard. It was softer before. I was surprised, but no pain. I wondered what happened, but it got soft again. Was I just imagining!?

Apr 23
When I went to bed, my tummy tightened again. It’s abnormal. When it’s hard, I don’t feel the baby moving. It stayed like that for 30 seconds or so. And then it got softer. It repeatedly happened like 5 times within a hour and I got worried. But no pain, and when it’s not tightened, I still felt the baby moving. So I quit worrying and tried to sleep.

Apr 24
I checked on my book and on line about it, I ended up finding it was a normal thing. It’s called Braxton Hicks in English.
Online, it said,
At 28 weeks pregnant you may notice shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, and scattered Braxton Hicks contractions. These contractions are normally painless and consist when the uterus hardens for a minute then releases.
Yes, I’m on 28 weeks now. They know it very well.
In my book, this Braxton Hicks was explained a lot on the section of 8 months. I’m still on 7 months, so I hadn’t read that part too carefully… (yes, it’s an excuse.)
Anyway, I’m relieved.

And last night, I felt the baby had hiccups. It was like every 2 seconds, some little spasms were happening in my tummy constantly and continued for more than 1 minute. I got worried about this too. But after checking in a book, I found out it was fetal hiccups. So interesting.

Second Trimester Pregnancy 2

Posted on Apr 19, 2013 in Pregnancy | 0 comments

 

A record of my second trimester, the later half:

Feb 25
2o weeks.
Now I can drink water. Good!!
I’m starting to drink warm water first thing in the morning. Still have a cold.
Skipped a yoga class, as I was still coughing. Will be good by next week!
Started feeling the baby moving.

Mar 4
90% of my nausea has gone! Great news for me. It was such a long time. I don’t want to have that again.
I’m getting better from the cold also. I can sleep much better at night. I slept 12 hours, 8 to 8, the other night. Especially after going to the gym.
I realize I like coffee very much. I started wanting to have some every day as soon as my morning sickness finished. I take decaf.
Even decaf coffee prevents iron and some other nutrients from being absorbed, so I try not to have it during or right after meals.
Last Christmas, my hubby and I bought ourselves a room fragrance (wood stick type). But the nausea made me sick with the smell. So I had to put the cap on it for a while, even though I liked the smell when we bought it. Now my sense of smell returned to normal, and we uncapped the bottle.
Mar 7
As my nausea finished, I started going back to the gym 3 times a week. Easy to get tired. I get sleepy easily and go to bed at about 8 on gym days.
Pregnant women get forgetful, I read. I made Temakizushi (a help-yourself kind of sushi), but forgot to serve rice! Excuse me.

Mar 14
Appointment with my doctor. Even though we have appointments, a 3 hour-wait is usual here.
I had a book to spend my long waiting time, but I had finished reading it the day before. Damn! I’m so stupid.
The doctor looked very busy, but we gave him a lot of questions. He recommended us to take a prenatal class. We wanted to take one, so it’s good he recommended a class that is carried out at the hospital where I’m planning to deliver the baby.
We wanted to ask about 自然分娩 (natural birth) and 無痛分娩 (no pain birth). I wasn’t too sure how to say it in English. So I was calling it “natural birth”. The question I wanted to ask was simply if I could use an epidural or not, and also if we want to make decisions on the spot it depends on the situation. But my words weren’t accurate and he started talking about the definition of what is natural. Oops. Anyway, yes, I can use an epidural, if needed.

Mar 19
Even though I cook almost everyday at home, I don’t break dishes. Maybe once in a few years? But this day, I dropped a glass in the sink… Pregnant women get reckless…
I phoned to book a prenatal class, and found out April is already full. Later in May is available, but we will be busy. So we booked it in June. It’s a 6-hour class on Sat ($75 for a couple).
While sleeping, I got a cramp on my leg early in the morning. In the second trimester, pregnant women tend to get cramps, I read. Because I don’t even walk to work, if I don’t make an effort to exercise, I could spend many days easily without any exercise. Especially these days, my body is needing to work out.
My yoga teacher was recommending swimming a lot. It’s easy on joints and still a great work out. The gym I use has a swimming pool as well. But I’m a bit shy to wear a swimming suit when I’m pregnant.

Mar 23
The baby is moving a lot. Happy to see she is energetic.

Apr 5
An ultra sound is usually carried out twice during the pregnancy, but we had a problem last year, so I did it 3 times. This was the 3rd.
I went upstairs to pay for the class fee, and I saw my doctor in an operating green uniform. I wonder he already delivered any babies this day…
I paid and came back. Usually we wait 2-3 hours, but this day was only a 1-hour wait. Good.
There was no abnormality with the baby. Her head was already down. She would still move around, but we hope she stays in the basic position.
25 weeks. 860g.
No change on the gender; girl.

Ultrasounding baby Ultrasounding baby

Apr 8
Without eating breakfast, I went to a lab to have myself checked for pregnancy diabetes (gestational diabetes). It’s done when it’s around 26-28 weeks.
First, a urine test. And then drink a very sweet glucose drink with an orange flavour (artificial-colour looking!). I was hungry, so it wasn’t difficult to drink it quickly. And then I waited for 1 hour and then my blood was taken into 2 containers. This Japanese lady in the US was also having the same drink for the test. Interesting and funny blog.

Apr 11
Appointment with my doctor.
The day before, I met my friends. One of the mama friends told me that my tummy looks small for 6 months. My hubby and I thought it’s too big for 6 months. So that was an interesting insight.
This day, the waiting time was 1 and a half hours. Shorter than usual. The ideal is within  30 minutes though.
My blood pressure was low and the weight was the same as a month ago.
The doctor checked my tummy and he also said it’s rather small (but still it’s within the range of normal). So my friend was right!
Everything is all right! Except….

Oh no! My pregnancy diabetes test was not OK. Shocked! I am low on cholesterol (nothing to do with it?) and somehow I was confident that I was OK. Pregnancy diabetes is not a life time condition. The sugar in the blood goes up because of the changing balance of hormones and after delivering a baby, the sugar level goes down again. It still give some risks for the mum and the baby. Depending on the situation, some pregnant women get restrictions on their diet, I read.
I was told to go for another test before the next meeting with the doctor. If I fail to pass this one, I’ll be diagnosed with pregnancy diabetes. The next one takes 2 hours, checking the blood after 1 hour and then after another hour. He said it could be because I’m Asian. I wonder if Asians tend to have high sugar in the blood when pregnant. I asked what to be cautious about, but was told no need to be careful of anything and no need to change my eating habits. I had some pie the night before, is that anything to do with it? No, he said.

Apr 15
I had a dream of producing my breast milk… ^^
Now at the point of the end of 2rd trimester, the baby starts having a sense of tasting. When the mum eats spicy food, the baby tastes it and when it’s sweet, the baby likes it too. Is it true!? Because the nutrition doesn’t enter from the mouth but from the umbilical cord, right? After doing some research, apparently the baby drinks the amnion liquid! Wow!
The baby is very active. I let my hubby touch my tummy. Very exciting. She kicks and punches, and I feel something like her elbows or knees ares slowly moving as well. My hubby is sometimes putting his face on my tummy and talking to the baby.
When I go to bed and lie down, the baby start to move a lot somehow. It’s becoming my routine to enjoy her movements before falling asleep. An active baby is a great thing. It’s 27 weeks now.

* Thank you, Yuan, for linking my records: 「80%の妊婦がつわりを軽減!すぐにデキルつわり対策法」. This blog has a lot of useful info about morning sickness.

 

Value Village

Posted on Apr 14, 2013 in Pregnancy, Shopping | 0 comments

I like Value Village.
Value Village is a recycling shop that sells donated items. Items are used or sometimes new!
There are a lot of crappy items (sorry – could be a treasure for someone else!), but if you take time, you’ll find very valuable items.
Since we moved to Edmonton a year and a half ago, I’ve visited this shop a few times. If it were closer to our place, I would go more often.
It’s a great place to buy casual clothes. The pink sweater I wear the most was only $3. Even when I have a big belly, it’s still perfect to cover it.

It’s been a while since we visited here last time. I wanted to check what baby items or maternity items they’ve got. There are a lot of cute clean-looking items there. The items have tags of NB (Newly Born) or 3MO (3 months). Easy to choose. We bought 3 to begin with, with the price range between $1.99〜$4.99 per item. NB clothes are so small. I wonder if our baby would come out this small!?

baby clothes

They’ve got more maternity clothes than I expected. Yes, we wear these only for a certain period and we wouldn’t need them any more later. So, of course, these items would get donated regularly, I guess. I should have come before I went to the mall last time.
These maternity pants cost more than $50 at the WEM mall. They’re made from a thin material and I haven’t worn them more than once yet. For the next 3 months, I don’t know how many times I would wear them, but it’s an expensive buy for such a short period of time…
maternity wear

This was only $9.99 at Value Village.
maternity wear

It’s made with really nice strong material that I like.

I bought a few more maternity items and a sweater.
My husband bought 4 books. If you buy 4, the 5th is free! Lucky him. Good stuff.

We bought a lot. The stamp card got full for just a one-time purchase! Next shopping will be 30% off for us. Yay!

Value Village
8930-82nd Ave NW, Edmonton , AB T6C 0Z3
Phone: (780) 468-1259
Hours: Mon-Sat 9-9 | Sun 10-7

They have 5 branches in Edmonton.