Dobry den! (Good day!)

M just drove me home from our hospital appointment. I’ve never seen such great number of preggy women before, all converging in one place in different shapes and sizes. I think we were about 15-20 there waiting at the doc’s clinic. It was amusing.

During the check-up M wasn’t allowed inside the clinic so I had to use the few Czech words I know. I warned the doc and nurses with “nerozumim Czesky” (I don’t understand Czech). Thank God the doc speaks little English but the nurse doesn’t. It was still okay coz she was just telling me when is my next appointment. I was able to use “pomoc” (help) in getting up from the reclining examination chair. Kalingaw!

Anyway, since the doc was checking the baby by ultrasound, I took the chance in asking him if he can see what the gender of the baby is. He tried but told me it’s difficult to determine though he said that it’s probably a girl. I didn’t tell him that my OB thought so too. Please Lord, let it be a girl!

I’m so glad we’re in the internet age! Whenever I need to know something, it’s ever ready to answer the questions bothering me. Since yesterday, I’ve noticed that my vision is impaired. I thought it was because I lack sleep the other night. So last night I was off to bed at 11pm and got up at 8am this morning hoping that the long sleep would solve the problem. It didn’t! I’m having a hard time focusing my eyes still…my vision seems to go in all direction! Waaaa

As usual I consulted Uncle Google, my ever reliable info source. Thank God! Vision does change during pregnancy! Probably it was also triggered by the long duration I was wearing my contact lens last Wednesday. I didn’t have the slightest idea that pregnancy can have so many complications! It’s like everything unusual I feel is caused by pregnancy. Tsk tsk tsk

What’s 100% sure in our life? Those words came from the mouth of my “philosopher” OB when I asked him if he was 100% sure of my baby’s gender.

What are the best food sources?
Green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, meat, starches, and milk all contain magnesium. Some common food sources:
 1 oz. dried pumpkin seeds: 151.9 mg
 1 oz. sunflower seeds: 100.5 mg (I have a pack of sunflower seeds in the pantry!)
 1/3 cup wheat germ: 90.9 mg
 1 cup spinach spaghetti: 86.6 mg
 1/2 cup boiled long beans: 84.3 mg
 1 oz. dried unblanched almonds: 84.1 mg
 1/3 cup tofu: 76.1 mg
 1 cup nonfat yogurt: 43.4 mg

My urinary bladder is actively working! I don’t mind when I’m at home, I can readily relieve myself without any problems.  What about when we’re out say like attending a one-hour Mass or strolling in a place where rest rooms are nowhere in sight?  Hold it? No can do!

Bladder control problem is common for pregnant women especially on the 4th-7th month of pregnancy. According to Birthing Naturally:
“The pressure of your growing uterus and a heightened metabolic rate cause increased frequency of urination. For some women, the increased weight of the uterus stressed the pelvic floor muscle causing incontinence.”

These might help:
•Do your pelvic floor (kegel) exercises. They strengthen this muscle to help it work properly even with the increased weight of the uterus.
•Keep drinking water. Being dehydrated won't decrease the frequency of potty breaks, but it can cause discomfort, fatigue, and increases your risks for other problems.
•Go to the bathroom regularly, don't try to hold it.
•If you feel a burning or stinging sensation when you urinate, you may have an infection. Seek the advice of your caregiver.
•Don't sit with your legs crossed or wear tight, restrictive clothing. These things may encourage a back-up in your urinary tract causing an infection.

My tip? I just make sure the place I go to have a restroom nearby or else I’d rather stay at home.

If you think beauty is the be-all of your existence, try holding your urge to pee. It's like torture, right? What is plastic surgery compared to the satisfaction of relieving one’s self from the annoying urge to urinate? Simple pleasures are still the best in life and that includes the freedom to urinate whenever you feel like to.

“How’s the baby? Is it kicking already?” This is one of the most common questions I get asked by friends. 
My usual answer is, “its fine” or “its sleeping I guess”.

Honestly after the first trimester discomfort and nausea, if not for my bulging tummy I wouldn’t even feel I am preggy.  My tummy is as calm as a river, no movements at all that would indicate a human-being growing inside. I was up to my usual routine and back to my normal self.

But sometime in the middle of March prior to the doc’s appointment, I feel a weird sensation in my stomach’s left side, like there is something falling.  Could it be the baby moving? I wondered. This has been going on for sometime until I got a confirmation from ivillage.com pregnancy article which says:

One reason for the return of your energy is that the arduous work of fetal organ development is mostly complete. By week 14, your baby is four and one-half inches long from head to toe and weighs about 45 grams. He or she is quite active, doing somersaults in the amniotic fluid. You will probably feel these movements as a fluttering sensation that begins between weeks 18 to 22.

Somersaults! Whenever I feel the “falling” sensation, I picture my baby doing somersaults.  How amazing!

Then last night, I got the first real kick! M and I were already lying down to sleep when I felt the strong kicking movements inside.  M placed his hand over my tummy and strangely enough he sensed the movements too.  Aha! Almost 5 months and my baby is finally kicking! 

“Maybe he wants to be like you, a soccer player,” I smilingly told M. But my gut feel is telling its going to be a girl. So what will she be when she grows up? A gymnast?  Nonetheless, with the jerky kicks I am getting, I’m expecting a hyper-active kid.

January 15 was our first appointment with the OB Gyne.  It took about two weeks to fit into the doctor's schedule which irked me a lot.  I wanted to know how my situation was, I had bouts of morning sickness which my sister said a doctor has to prescribe vitamins to lessen it. But I had to wait for almost two weeks! Duh! 

Anyway, we were finally there. After getting my personal information and health background, doc did the pap smear and ultrasound of my tummy. Below is the ultrasound picture. I've encircled my baby in green.  I was exactly 2 months pregnant that day.

 
The baby measures 22.5 mm, so small really!

Doc gave me some prescriptions – vitamins and lollipop to ease my queasiness.  It was only later I realized that he didn't even suggest what food I should eat and what not to eat.  He just told me to drink tea and eat toast before getting up in the morning.  Fortunately, I have the internet to turn to.  It's where I get most information I need and questions that are hounding me about pregnancy.

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I often see in soap operas or TV shows women who were hiding their pregnancy being exposed because of morning sickness. Picture this, a family eating breakfast happily then suddenly the daughter darts to the nearest toilet to vomit, leaving the rest with questioning look on their faces. I used to ask myself, when a woman feels like vomiting in the morning, does everybody have to assume she is pregnant?

In my case, the first signs were the swelling of my breasts (that same feeling when you're expecting your monthly period). I expected that soon I'll have my period. I keep a record of my monthly period and I noticed that I was already behind for few days. It's not usual. It sometimes even comes earlier. I was already excited to buy the pregnancy test kit (PTK) but M and I decided it’s was too early yet. He left for three-day vacation in Spain. And he promised me we we’ll do the PTK once he’s back. Who knows, we thought my menstruation will come while he’s away.

One night, while watching a video of a nose operation, I suddenly felt like passing out.  My sight turned black and I hurriedly ran to the bed and lay down.  I told a friend about it, and she said she would probably feel the same way I did. "It's gross, why do you watch such videos?" she remarked. So, I brushed aside the thought that it could be a pregnancy symptom.

When M came back from his trip, we didn't have the time to buy the PTK.  It was two days before Christmas, so we were all busy. I was helping Mom with the food preparation and we had to wrap our gifts. On Christmas day, all stores were closed so we had to wait for the next day. 

The test
 M helped me with the test.  Well, he had to because I couldn’t understand a single word written in the package.  It was in Czech.  The PTK we bought was a stick with two windows. The left window was a control to check if the PTK isn’t faulty and the right would determine if I am positive when the vertical line turns pink after soaking in the urine. It says to wait about five minutes. Well, we didn’t have to wait that long.  As soon as M picked up the stick from the urine, only a few seconds passed and it turned into PINK!  Wow! I’m pregnant! We kept hugging and kissing each other, still stunned from the result. We had been trying for 3 years to have a baby and finally our prayer came true. And what a great timing, it was Christmas!  I was teary-eyed. 

I found myself looking at the stick days after the test, still giddy with joy. M teased me that I’m making sure the pink line wouldn’t disappear or else it would mean the test was wrong.