Maternity photoshoot: Willunga Almond Blossoms

took some maternity photos at Willunga yesterday. The almond blossoms are not in full bloom yet but already look quite pretty :)

Pregnancy update: Week 30

 

Weight: 59.4kg (+0.5kg in the past week, overall +12.4kg)

Symptoms: acne, backache, pelvic girdle pain, queasiness

Summary of the week:

18/7 backache upon waking up

20/7 went to see GP to get my whopping cough vaccine - Adacel dtap vaccine. soreness around vaccination site. got the vaccine on my left arm so it was hard to sleep on my left side :(

21/7 queasiness and dry mouth... most likely due to those supplements

22/7 ??braxton hicks in the am

23/7 tightening of tummy felt again... but really don't know if it is braxton hicks. apparently braxton hicks feel crampy but i don't feel any pain. Atty's kicks are more painful lol.

24/7 i usually use a neck pillow to support my belly while sleeping on my side. when i was about to turn from lying on my left side to my right side, i removed the pillow from under my belly first. Atty's feet happened to be there and she seemed to feel as if she was falling when i removed the pillow and started to do a kicky kick kick struggle hahahaa... so cute <3

Pregnancy update: Week 29

 

Weight: 58.9kg (+0.4kg since last week, overall +11.9kg)

Symptoms: acne, backache, pelvic girdle pain, some queasiness likely due to supplements, and ?braxton hicks

12/7 did an onsen soak and Atty seemed to like it, she was swimming around when i was in the onsen heeheee. 

13/7 starting to feel Atty's movements throughout the day. maybe it's because she is getting bigger. feels like she is swimming around all day...very gentle movements, unlike her nighttime kicks lol.

14/7 felt some tightening across my tummy at times during late night, like a slight crampy feeling. not sure if it is braxton hicks or just Atty pushing out against my belly.

15/7 Atty seemed to have shifted into another position today. used to only feel her kicks and jabs at the left and centre of my tummy but today i could feel them on the right side! as if she had rotated around.

16/7 seems like Atty rotated back haha.. felt kicks and jabs back at the left and centre of my tummy again.

17/7 late night/early am tightening/hardening of tummy felt again... hmm is that braxton hicks??i really don't know...

on a side note, the way i'm calculating the weeks of pregnancy is actually 2 days off. i have been using the EDD as 26/9/17 based on my first ultrasound (week change on Tuesday, hence Tuesday updates), but the healthcare team decided to keep my original EDD of 24/9/17 based on my LMP which brings the week change back 2 days to Sunday. i feel that the later EDD is more accurate though, because i never had a 28 day cycle.. my cycles have always been 30+ days. my last ultrasound had my EDD as 28/9/17 so i just figured to take it as 26/9/17 for my own calculation since it is right smack in the middle of the 24th and 28th. i just have this feeling that Atty is going to come later than that EDD, and i feel as if i'm losing few days of leeway in that scenario... midwife said EDD+10days will be when i'll get induced, so if my EDD is off by 2 days then i'm losing the additional 2 days chance :( they should just take my EDD as 28/9/17 based on the last ultrasound so i can have an extra 4 days...

Pregnancy update: Week 28

 

Third trimester!

Weight: 58.5kg (+1.2kg since last week, overall +11.5kg) omg... my weight >.< i think it's the heaviest i have ever been... and i think i'm going to go over 60kg very quickly at this rate

Symptoms: acne, backache, pelvic girdle pain

5/7: slept on my right side and woke up with sharp pain on the right side of my tummy at 7+am. i thought it was braxton hicks but it was only on one side of the tummy. pain resolved when i turned onto my left side. so weird... can't figure out the cause of the sharp pain

6/7: dreamt that Atty was attached to my left shin just below my knee, could see the fetus shape clearly and not much cushioning. i kept worrying if Atty would get hurt if i accidentally bumped into something

7/7: started taking my prenatal vitamins again, and added on an iron tablet. had some queasiness after taking the supplements

8/7-10/7: similar queasiness likely due to the supplements, and burping++ is back

Atty keeps growing bigger.. and my tummy feels much heavier. more pressure in my tummy area which makes standing/walking around for long harder. all the extra weight is giving me more back pain/pelvic pain and also strains my feet... my feet get sore much quicker these days. back/pelvic pain is especially bad upon waking, most likely due to me having to sleep on my side.

Cooking attempt and more Catan

 
attempted to make heart-shaped egg rolls with King that was inspired by this youtube video:
https://youtu.be/P0A3XfYqe8Y
i would say the final product was 80% successful... a little lopsided looking hearts and not compact enough. also quite a bit of wastage at the sides of the egg roll that couldn't form the heart shape. but it looks cute.

initially it was supposed to be a romantic couple activity, but 2 people in the kitchen didn't work out too well :( sighs

30th birthday celebrations

milestone moment this week with me turning 30 and reaching my 3rd trimester :)

started off my 30th birthday celebrations one day early on 7th July with a movie date to watch Spiderman at Hoyts Salisbury with its recliner seats again. we arrived just in time as the movie was about to start. this time King didn't drop popcorn all over the seats, haha.

after the movie we headed to Pira Thai for lunch as King was craving for thai food. we had the thai fried rice and tom yum noodles.


it was raining so we couldn't take a walk at a park so thereafter we went to Westfield West Lakes mall to walk around and digest lunch, and also for me to pick up iron and vit D supplements.

i had borrowed a pregnancy fitness dvd from the library which was due today but i forgot to bring the dvd out to return it, so King had to run out again to help me return it. the library is about 5 minutes drive away from our place but King took 1 hour to make the trip which was weird...

for dinner we headed to Uncle CK's place for ee mien and returned home rather late and got ready for bed as the next day was a long day of birthday celebrations too. then after midnight King said he was hungry and would be making some supper so he left the room for the kitchen. to while time i opened up the laptop and found a folded note in there from King for my birthday! <3 i thought that was all... but it turns out it was the start of a string of surprises. shortly after, King came back and said he prepared my share of supper too. i was still reluctant to head out as i usually don't eat so late...

when i got to the dining area, turns out it was a birthday cake surprise! mummy showed me a video of a bunny singing happy birthday, there were candles lit... and my birthday cake! Strawberry Watermelon Cake from Han's Patisserie! i was really not expecting the surprise as just moments earlier i was still planning tomorrow's itinerary with King which included stopping by the cake shop to pick up my birthday cake and then have it after tomorrow's dinner. turns out King took super long with the library return as he took a detour to the city that afternoon to pick up the cake. and my cake has a personalized birthday greeting 'Bunny Wifey Happy Birthday' awwww <3 and the candles show '21', lol #shameless. so apparently King got the candles when we were at the mall while i was in the toilet. how sneaky... he told me he went to look for my supplements at Woolies then haha.

   

after the cake it was already 1+am and really time for bed... as i was arranging my pillows i found the musical box for Atty wedged between the pillows. apparently that musical box had been there the entire time ever since i finished my shower... and i had even been flopping against my pillows for a while after the shower but i never realized its presence haha...

there was yet another surprise within the musical box! it was filled with leaves from the gingko plant which King had collected and dried since autumn... and on each leaf is a handwritten poem <3 <3 <3 awww... this has to be the sweetest and most romantic surprise ever! filled with so much effort and love <3 thank uuu~~~ *teary eyed*

 

Midwife appointment

routine midwife appointment today - my midwife Kala from the midwifery group practice came to our place for the appointment. so convenient.. don't have to head to WCH for the appointment.

so for my blood test results, it's my ferritin levels (iron stores) and vit D levels that's low... got to take supplements for 1 month and then retake bloods again. also have to get the whopping cough vaccine so Atty can get the antibodies.

Kala came with a bag full of equipment including blood pressure machine, fetal doppler and even weighing scale (to weigh baby in future). so cool, like doraemon's pouch.

just the standard parameter taking.. everything progressing well. blood pressure 110/60, Atty's heartrate is 150bpm and fundal height is 29cm. Atty kept kicking as usual when Kala was feeling around my tummy when taking fundal height lol... Atty really doesn't like to be disturbed.

Pregnancy update: Week 27

 

weight: 57.3kg (-0.1kg since last week, overall +10.3kg)
not sure about the weight as i took my weight 4 times, and each time had a different reading... the lowest being 56.8kg. i just indicated as 57.3kg as is the closest to last week's reading. not sure what's the deal with my weighing scale.

symptoms: acne, heartburn, pelvic girdle pain, leg cramps x1

27/6 suddenly became dizzy after shower when i was drying my hair, resolved after some time and fresh air
3/7 late night slight queasiness (felt more like indigestion... i think the nausea has finally left me after 2 trimesters)

these days my backache upon waking is getting worse... still can't really get used to sleeping on my side...i miss sleeping on my back...

i couldn't wait for my midwife appointment on 6/7 to get my blood test results so called up my midwife to check on the results of my OGTT... and my sugar levels are fine! *throws confetti*
fasting 3.9mmol/L (it was 4.2mmol/L based on the glucometer at SA Pathology though... ???)
1 hour 6.7mmol/L
2 hours 6.6mmol/L

but...turns out my iron and vit D levels are low. time to eat some steak! it's hard to get enough sunlight during winter though. i don't want to take supplements~~~

overall the 2nd trimester has been much more smooth sailing compared to the 1st trimester. seems like discomfort is starting to build up moving into the 3rd trimester as Atty is growing bigger. no wonder the 2nd trimester is like the honeymoon trimester for most people.

so... it's onto the 3rd trimester!!! only about 3 more months left... ahhhh!

Muah chee

 

Made muah chee today!

Recipe (got it by googling):

120g glutinous rice flour

180ml water

2 tbsp oil

Ground peanuts and sugar mixture

1) Mix everything together

2) Microwave (covered) 4 minutes... mix after ~1.5minutes intervals

3) Add peanut/sugar mixture and cut into bite sized pieces

Done~~~~