week 37: last pregnancy photo

Hello hello! Finally got time to finish this post! I haven’t been that occupied but writing a blog post needs continuity and when you’re having a newborn, continuous free time is sooo precious that you better dash to bed. Or like now, I’m writing this while holding my baby on the other arm. Having a baby teaches you to do things one handed. Haha.

On 27 July 2014, or 8 days before the due date, my little man decided that he had spent enough time in my tummy! Such a surprise for us but apparently he wants to share the same birthday with my granddad who passed away early last year.

We gladly welcomed Nathanael Judah Phodiansa; measured at 48 cm long, weighted 2720 grams and had a head circumference of 32 cm. And I’m happy to say that both the bub and I had quick recovery after the labour.

hello from the 3 of us!

I’d like to thank Phodi who never left my side during the whole process, the nurses who were extremely supportive, my parents & brother who came straight away to Bandung, my aunt who was with us when my parents haven’t arrived and everyone who prayed for us. THANK YOU!

So here’s Nathanael’s birth story… and of course, Phodi made a video to capture the day. Don’t worry, any bloody detail has been completely omitted. Enjoy!

Saturday, 26 July 2014

11.45

Half asleep, went to the toilet and “Oops, did I just pee again?! Eh, why do I keep leaking? Ooohhh… this MIGHT be THE water! Wake up Phodi dear, grab our hospital bag and let’s go!”

Sunday, 27 July 2014

00.05

Arrived at the maternity ward, getting checked by 2 nurses and being connected to the CTG scan. Irregular contractions were captured by the CTG scan but I didn’t feel any contraction yet and no cervix dilation yet. I was as happy as a bee while Phodi was calling our parents to let them know that we’re in the business.

Checking in at the hospital

00.45

Being transferred to room 204, waiting for this baby to make his next move. Half sleepy (hey, I was in bed!), 2 of my aunts who happened to be in Bandung came to visit and told me to get some rest while I could. So I tried to sleep and later invited Phodi to came to bed with me. He snored straight away while I did my best to doze off. There was no pain just yet but the excitement was too hard to contain.

Enjoying my fave chocolate sandwich. Still no pain.

03.00

Gosh… someone was moaning every few minutes and interrupting my sleep nap. Oh actually, would I sound the same later?

04.05

4 hours on. A nurse came to check on my dilation and good news, 1 cm dilation. Haha. She came back 10 minutes later and told us that the doctor recommended me to be induced because my water has broken and we had to have this baby within 18 hours. Being totally unaware of what could happen with induction, I asked for more information. After being told that the success rate of induction is 50%, I asked for 2 more hours before I made any decision.

06.10

Still no regular contraction and I could easily manage the pain through breathing. Phodi asked me if I had made my mind. In a way he “pushed” me to do it so we could progress this labour. After considering that this baby should go out regardless how, I decided to go with induction. The nurse set up the induction and set the drip to 70.

Induction started!

07.00

My parents and brother arrived at the hospital. At this stage the pain was real. Breathing technique? What breathing technique!!

08.20

I was so desperate waiting for the nurse to come and check on my dilation. I scolded Phodi for not pushing the nurse hard enough to check in. The nurse finally came and said that it’s now 2 cm. Whoaaa… 2 hours on and only 1 cm progress?! I asked for epidural and was denied because it’s too soon as I need to be at least 4 cm dilated.

I started considering having C-section but the nurses were really determined to talk me out of it. They kept saying things like, “Are you sure, Ma’am? If you’re going through C-section then you’ll spend a day in bed. But if you go through natural birth, you’ll only need 6 hours to recover.”

09.00

I couldn’t take it any longer! I asked for C-section and I wanted it now! Phodi, my parents and my aunt prayed over myself so I could make the right decision. Phodi then requested to talk personally with me regarding my decision. A decision that was never in our conversation, let alone an option that I would consider. By that time though, I was so over the process that I just wanted the baby to come out immediately!

A nurse came with a surgery agreement for Phodi to sign. Phodi was reading the paper when another nurse came in and said, “Just to make sure, let me check your dilation.” and this was what happened in the next hour;

Nurse A (while checking for dilation): “Oh, it’s on 4 now.”

Me (while “managing the pain”): “Ok, I want epidural and I want it now!”

Nurse B: “I’ll see if there’s any anaesthetic doctor available.”

Nurse A (while still in ‘it’): “Actually I can feel the head. It’s actually 7-8 now.”

Phodi: “Eh, are you sure? So how long can we expect?”

Nurse A: “Usually it takes an hour for 1 additional dilation.”

Phodi: “Jess, can you wait another 2 hours?”

Me: “I’ll die if I have to wait for 2 hours!! Go pray so this baby will come out in 30 minutes!”

Phodi (sounded unsure): “Ok, let’s pray.”

…. I can’t even remember if Phodi actually prayed… Haha.

Me: “Okay, I need to poop now! Like now!”

My aunt: “Are you sure? Are you really sure?”

Me: “I need to poop NOW!”

My parents & aunt rushed to call the nurse. Within minutes I was transferred to another bed and a nurse told me to keep breathing and hold pushing. How on earth did I know which one was pushing? Amazingly though, once I was fully dilated the pain went away – puff! – just like that. In between the chaos, I heard someone saying that the doctor was still on the way.

Few minutes in the labour room, my doctor came in a rush, put on his apron, ordered the nurse to get into position, ordered Phodi to hold my right leg (remember my dislocated shoulder?) and started the process. Game on!!

I barely remember what happened next but I remember that pushing the baby out was easy and painless. And I remember the doctor said that he could see the head and Phodi shouted that he could also see the baby’s head. Then another push before we hear the baby’s cries. Such a relief! A nurse then cleaned the baby and put him on my chest. I was so sleepy by then that I was half asleep as the baby was doing the breast crawl (IMD / Inisiasi Menyusui Dini) and as the doctor was fixing my tears down there.

holding my baby for the first time <3

I’m forever grateful that God has taken care of us during the labour. When I gave up, God sped up the process that even the nurses were amazed. Phodi later said that when I told him to pray for 30 minutes, he thought that I was going gaga because you know, my request was way too far. But after that day, we’re reminded that God will give you the best even if it’s on the eleventh hour. After all, He has promised to make everything beautiful in its time

Phew… I should admit that I (and also Phodi) was looking forward for last weekend. Last Saturday was my eldest cousin wedding and because we had missed the fun at her engagement party 2 weeks ago, we were happy to be in her big day. I particularly was happy as I got to dance away! It has been a loooong time since the last time we were dancing. The band at the wedding was great but boo… they ended their gig right after things were heating up. I.e. just one song after the bride and groom were joining the crowd and it wasn’t even 9 pm. Super boo!

Anyways, three photos from the day; I totally forgot to take any picture on my phone so I have to ask others to send me photos -.-”

with aunts, cousin and mom

And during that week, us, Indonesians, were having our country’s most exciting (and controversial?) presidential election yet. Psst.. this presidential election was my first ever election. 5 years ago I didn’t bother coming down to the Consulate General in Melbourne to vote as I was in the dark about any candidates. However this election was different. We were presented with (too) much information that hopefully could help us to choose the right candidate. Like always, some educated people acted more like groupies rather than smart voters whenever they’re discussing their chosen candidate. Politics is always funny, isn’t it?

first time voter

So the day of Wednesday, 9 July 2014 came and it was an important day because we voted for the one who will rule Indonesia for the next 5 years. Here I present you both candidates;

(pic taken from google)

As of the time of writing, there are stilll debates on the quick count results as some quick count organisations declared Joko Widodo as the winner while few others declared Prabowo Subianto as the winner of the election. The real count result will be published by KPU (Komisi Pemilihan Umum / General Election Commissioner) on 22 July so it’s best that we wait until then.

However, just now I read an article on Kompas where Head of KPU stating that the result produced by KPU isn’t an absolute. Okay… I understand that there’s a law saying the result can be challenged. But isn’t his statement showing lack of confidence in his own institution’s legitimacy? Ah.. we can only pray that Indonesia is in God’s hands. Pray that peace will still take place after the result in published in a week time.

On a much happier topic, we’re now in week 36 and we’re as happy as we can be. I’ve packed my hospital bag the day after we came back from Jakarta, thanks to the realization that the baby can come sooner. Within the last 3 weeks, 3 people told me that their first born arrived 3 weeks early. Everything was normal, it’s just that their babies decided to join them early. With those stories, I decided to pack my hospital bag just in case. Have I finish packing though? Of course not! Hahaha.

From this week onwards, we will visit our obgyn on a weekly basis. On week 36, the baby’s 2,6 kg and our obgyn’s happy as he wishes the baby to reach 3 kg before labour. His statement surprised us a bit because he never mentioned anything to us before. I just wonder how many more kilograms I will gain until labour as I’ve gained 13 kg up to today!

measuring amniotic fluid

measuring weight

heartbeat at 133 bpm

It’s now 3 weeks to due date and I won’t lie to say that I’m not nervous. While the thought of holding our baby is exciting, I’m not so fond about the thought of going through labour. But like my obgyn said, in the midst of our silence because we had nothing to ask during consultation, “Just like a warrior going on a war, prepare your self with the thought that you can win it.” Hahaha… I’ll treat the process that way then.

And oh, I’m writing this entry on my laptop with some music playing on the loop and my baby’s dancing away in the tummy. One of the best feelings ever

33 weeks tummy

eek.. looking tired after another JKT-BDG drive

We were scheduled to visit our obgyn on week 32 but he was away for the week and on week 33, I was in Jakarta because Phodi had a management retreat in the Sunny Coast. So then we made an appointment on the first Monday we were back in Bandung and… our obgyn was sick. Arghhh!!

Finally we were able to see our obgyn last Thursday and most importantly, we got to see our baby!

measuring our baby

At 34 weeks, our baby was 2,3 kg. There at the bottom right photo you could see a glimpse of the baby’s left side. Tiny nose and tiny lips <3 <3

measuring amniotic fluid

The amount of amniotic fluid was also good and the baby’s healthy heartbeat at 139 bpm. Ah.. so glad to know that the baby’s doing well.

Our Obgyn said that the baby’s head was already in position so there should be no problem for natural birth. However, our Obgyn told us that the dilation process will only depend on God’s will and the only thing that we can do is to exercise to maintain the stamina. Oh well, I really hope that the magical thing called genetics will take place as my mom was in labour for less than 4 hours for each of her child *crossing fingers*

Saturday, 7 June 2014 was Phodi’s little sister’s wedding day. She’s marrying her boyfriend of 7 years (!!) and like most wedding in Indonesia, we started the day very early. Thanks for being preggo, I was scheduled last for hair do and make up which meant I didn’t have to wake up as early as the others. While others started at 3.30am, I didn’t have to be ready until 4.30am -.-” ZZzzz… Anyhow, the day went well and I wish my in laws a very happy and fulfilling marriage!

Here’s how a 31 week pregnant me looked like in wedding party dress. Big thanks to my uncle, Djongko Rahardjo, for making this pretty dress.

and on the same note, here’s me in Javanese Kebaya (traditional costume) also made by my dear uncle for my eldest aunt’s 30th wedding anniversary. This was back during week 27. I never thought that I can still wear kebaya when pregnant and looking that pretty

the five of us (+1 in tummy)

Back to week 31 now. I was so tired after the wedding and was so grateful that Phodi and I didn’t end up having a wedding celebration in Indonesia. It would be too strenuous for both of us and so we’re glad our wedding was the way we dreamed it. For few days after the wedding, Baby Boy didn’t move as much. Probably because he knew that I’m tired and so let me to rest well? Thank you Baby But of course the paranoid part of me was worried if something bad happened to the baby but thankfully by Wednesday he was kicking and swirling all around again. So then I knew that he’s very much healthy and alive.

Then, during the week after the wedding, my mom in law texted me saying that she went for baby shopping. Okay… I thought we would be going together when I’m in Jakarta the following week but nevermind, we knew that she would be shopping for the basics and we haven’t bought anything but cute clothes during our trip in KL. Hahaha. To be fair though, Phodi was the one who couldn’t resist the temptation to shop for cute clothes! He’s obviously too excited

So while in Jakarta, I dragged my mom to ITC Mangga Dua for baby shopping. I told mom that I’ve had a price list of some items for comparison and I felt like she somehow didn’t get it. It’s not until we went into a shop and met a grandma-to-be who said that her daughter made a list of things she needed with all the prices attached to each item, that my mom realized that it is how we shop these days. Hehe. Thanks to the internet, we won’t have to pay for the higher price.

Here’s what we bought that day. Pardon the super low quality photo, as originally it was intended only to be sent to Phodi. We bought swaddle, small pillow, breast pump, old style diaper (I doubt my patience in using this kind of diaper!), waterproof overlay (perlak), towel, girdle and some jumpers.

baby shopping with mom

And here’s a photo of me with our baby shopping haul in KL…

and there’s another big bag of baby’s clothes from my MIL that I prefer not to share. Heheh. So at this stage, we’re still tossing back and forth in buying car seat, stroller and sterilizer. Which one should we get for each? Hmm…

Week 29 – a day before the accident

Monday, 19 May 2014

That morning I woke up earlier than usual because my right shoulder blade was awfully painful. That has happened several times in the last few days and I thought that’s probably because I haven’t done any exercise. So I decided to woke up and was getting ready for my yoga routine before suddenly I sneezed and my biggest nightmare happened! My old enemy – dislocated right shoulder – came back. For those who aren’t familiar with joint dislocation, read more about it here.

A quick recap with this old enemy of mine, I first had it during a volley game back in high school. Since then I’ve had another 5 accidents (either Jakarta & Melbourne) happened due to various reasons. However none was as bizarre as this last one. A sneeze, a small sneeze after I woke up.

See, I haven’t got this condition in the last 4 years so I kinda forget all about it and I can assure you that I don’t miss it even for a sec. The pain that comes with each dislocation is one of the most excruciating pain that one can experience. So that morning, I screamed for Phodi (who was still half asleep in bed) and we decided to go to the hospital. Poor Phodi, he has never experienced this and I truly wish that he will never again!

As soon as we arrived in the hospital, I was praying hard that the doctor has dealt with this kind of issue before. Unfortunately for us, the doctor wasn’t the best one out there. It was a 4 times trial before he finally popped my shoulder back in and it was so painful. Somehow I remember the breathing for labour pain management video that I watched the other day so I decided to give it a go. Hahaha… a practice for labour perhaps?

After the shoulder was back in, we had another worry about the baby. Poor baby has to dealt with mommy’s stress in the early morning! I guess it wasn’t a coincidence that we had an obgyn appointment that morning. Straight after being discharged from the ER, we went to our obgyn. As a bonus from the ER, I had my right arm & shoulder being bandaged – mummy style. So imagine this, a preggo in pyjamas with a bandaged shoulder & arm.. Surely attracting everyone’s attention. Too bad I didn’t have any picture of myself in that “outfit” though.

So we went in to see the baby and he’s a healthy 1,492 kg baby boy. Praise God!

And because the baby’s healthy, I had clearance to fly and attend my brother’s graduation in Malaysia. Hooray!

What also seemed to be a coincidence, we were planning to travel to Jakarta that very day because Phodi would travel to Manila the next day. Meaning, I would be able to visit the sinshe (Chinese doctor) who used to deal with my shoulder. He’s actually also a bone and injury recovery specialist. So I was able to visit him on Tuesday and he suggested me to wear an arm sling for 2 weeks because I must have torn quite a lot of muscles. The sling was to prevent me from using my right shoulder too much (or do any movement above the head).

This is how I see everything that happened in the last few weeks. God has planned everything and surely, everything happens in its time.

1. Although it happened in Bandung, where we know no-one who can fix it quickly and efficiently, I’m forever glad that Phodi was with me. That it didn’t happen when I was alone.
2. Thankful that we had an obgyn appointment that day so we could check on the baby straight away.
3. Grateful that it happened just before we left Bandung for our 2 weeks trip. I can’t imagine not being able to do anything at home such as cooking or washing the dishes or even to tie my hair! Being at my parents’ and going on trip meaning I have someone else to help me doing things that I couldn’t do.
4. Each pregnancy has its own ups and downs, and one of my downs is probably this (the other down is this). I didn’t have any morning sickness, never had any craving and my back pain gone right away after I did yoga. So yes, this is pregnancy’s-down-moment story.

Just like every single time after my shoulder dislocated, I have this fear that it will happen again. The thought of the pain and being so helpless get me each time and somewhat my fear become so unreasonable. I have to admit that this time the fear was even bigger because I’m having a baby soon! I want to be able to hold him and nurse him, and not having the stress that my shoulder would fail me to do so. And talking to people, with all their unknown, just made me stress even more. I had some people saying “Oh, you shouldn’t carry your baby. You might drop him if your shoulder is dislocated again.”

Of course those crossed my mind and in my hopelessness, I could only pray that God will be even more gracious to us. That the muscles covering my shoulder are strong again so my shoulder will stay in its place. Also that the three of us will be healthy and safe

week 27

Baby boy is now 28 weeks old and I have experienced so much joy having this miracle growing inside me each day.

Here’s a list of the awkward & awesome moments (so far) during this pregnancy;

AWKWARD

1. Sitting down after a bathroom trip and realizing that you need to go again. Ugh!
2. Being 27 weeks pregnant with a considerably showing bump, wearing fitted clothing and people were surprise to know that I’m pregnant. (Really? So you kinda thought that I have a very fat tummy then…)
3. Being called “Bun” (from Bunda) by marketing / sales people. Especially when they say it like, “Bun, Bun, silahkan dicoba”
4. and people call my baby “Dedek Bayi” or “Si Adik”. Please stop… this is not your dedek and definitely not my dedek. This is my child. Please refer my baby as “Bayi” or “Anak”.
5. The priceless gestures of some people’s disbelief and unacceptance when I said that I had no morning sickness and all those. (Can’t you just be happy with me on this? Heheh)
6. Just last week I had someone whom I just met said, “Oh, you’re still so skinny! But this is your 1st right… Let’s see your figure after you have your 2nd child.” (Gee.. best awkward moment ever!)

AWESOME

1. Hearing our baby’s heartbeat for the first time at 7 weeks
2. Feeling the baby’s movement everyday. Even more awesome when he’s responding to us as we talk / read to him.
3. Having Phodi randomly greeting the baby, touching my belly and laying his head to hear the baby’s heartbeat.
4. Seeing Phodi smiles each time he feels or sees the baby moving. It feels like we’re a complete family already!
5. Not having a huge bump  that I can still fit into most of my pre-pregnant tops and shirts. (I know it’s still growing though)
6. Being so blessed with good health for both of us that we could commute Bandung-Jakarta almost every week.
7. Knowing that Phodi is also trying to learn about pregnancy and baby.
8. Being able to finish a full rice portion of Nasi Padang and feeling just right afterwards. Nomnomnom.
9. Feeling sexier thanks to my growing breasts

As of today, this baby boy will stay in my tummy for 84 more days (according to my droid apps). Baby boy, please grow well inside mommy’s tummy and I’ll see you in August

During our last doctor visit, he reminded me to start doing exercise. Ups, I’ve been slacking and resting too much and he knew it! Haha. Back in Melbourne, when I was staying down at the oh-so-awesome Degraves Street, I used to jog along Yarra River after work. My then housemate loved to tease me for being “healthy” but there were 2 main reasons why I went jogging then. 1: I found it relaxing, just running the stress out and breathing the fresh air along the river. Fantastic! 2: Sometimes Phodi would join me for a lap and we loved it. I especially loved it when he ran out of breath before I did But seriously, it’s kinda romantic to jog along the river and then take a rest while watching the sun sets people passing by.

Yarra River – no, that’s not us

When I moved to South Yarra, I didn’t jog because the terrain in where I lived was so hilly and I almost died after I did my first run. For the first few months my only exercise was walking to and from station. So much for a healthy and active young blood. It wasn’t until mid-2012 that I pushed myself to splurge a bit and start doing pilates. I used to do body balance back in uni, and I found that pilates was so much fun. It certainly worked well for my scoliosis back and my post-dislocated right shoulder. Pilates is amazing as it doesn’t cause excessive sweat but it gives you result.

Then the time came when I moved to Bandung. The heat, the humidity and mainly the laziness of waking up early (we’re newlyweds!) dragged Phodi and I back to point 0 of our exercise routine. Phodi would swim and I would do pilates every now and then, but our main exercise was walking around shopping centres. And that, ladies and gents, was a bad idea because shopping malls in Bandung are small so we will never hit 10,000 steps.

Now, in my bid to deliver this baby boy naturally, I have pushed myself to exercise again. Clearly we always need at least a reason to do something and mine is to be strong and healthy to survive natural delivery. My choice of exercise? Yoga, because I have experienced in the past and mainly because there’s no excessive sweating included. In the past 3 weeks, I did pregnancy yoga 2 times a week and boy, my back has improved since then.

warrior post

These days I experience stiff back almost every morning I wake up and doing pregnancy yoga helps me to stretch those stiff muscles. With the baby growing bigger and heavier, my mid back would feel the pressure if I lay flat. While if I lay on my right side, I would feel that my internal organs are all squeezed. Laying on the left side is always the most comfortable but obviously it’s bad for the spine to stay on one side for the whole night.

In the next few weeks I will keep doing this pregnancy yoga and try to wake up earlier (this is a huge challenge!) to start doing morning walk. Phodi honey, we need to basking in the morning sun!

week 23

Bersambung dari cerita sebelumnya (disini), begitu masuk mobil kita langsung bersyukur karena si baby dan saya baik-baik aja. Habis itu langsung deh ambil hp dan ngecek google tentang polip ini. Gara-gara baca google tentang polip, langsung saya dan Phodi gak jadi telpon orang tua untuk ngabarin apa yang terjadi. Kenapa? Karena hampir disemua artikel yang kita baca, polip ini dihubungin sama tumor yang jelas-jelasan bukan kasusnya kita. Daripada bikin panik padahal kita berduanya santai aja, jadi kita diem-diem dulu deh sampai kita yakin 100% tentang tindakan selanjutnya. FYI, Papi saya tuh canggih banget pake google (nurun banget ke saya deh :p)

Pulang ke rumah, langsung ganti panty liner supaya bisa keliatan kelanjutan spottingnya gimana. Minggu malem masih agak banyak tuh bercak-bercak tapi hari Senin pagi cuma ada 2 titik kecil. Okeh, no worries lah kalo gitu. Seharian itu saya baca-baca artikel lagi dan liat-liat forum tentang cerita bleeding/spotting selama kehamilan. Anehnya ya, walopun siang itu masih ada beberapa bercak tapi saya ngerasa yakin aja kalo polip saya ini gak berbahaya. Hari Selasa pagi, di panty liner udah gak ada noda sama sekali dan habis itupun saya lupa sama si polip dan tenang-tenang aja.

Selama beberapa hari selanjutnya juga hampir gak pernah ada noda/bercak apapun jadi saya pikir udahlah ya, kita gak usah ke dokter lagi sampai bulan depan. Udah gak ada apa-apa dan ke dokter cewek yang kemarin itu mahal banget karena untuk USG ada additional charge padahal kalo ke dokter kita yang biasa, harga yang sama udah termasuk USG. Tapi Phodi kepingin banget periksa ke dokter untuk peace of mind dan juga karena dokter cewek itu bilang kita gak boleh berhubungan sampai polipnya diambil. Heheheh. Iya juga sih… rasanya gak ada apa-apa tapi juga gak boleh ngapa-ngapain kan gimana ya…

Akhirnya hari Jumat, 10 April tepat satu minggu setelah kita cek bulanan, kita pergi ke dokter langganan. Si dokter simpatik gitu denger kita cerita dan ngerti kalo kita kuatir, beda banget sama dokter sebelumnya. Kita tanya banyak  banget soal polip dan gimana sebaiknya menurut dia. Si dokter jelasin pake gambar segala supaya kita beneran ngerti dan dia juga jelasin pilihan-pilihan yang ada. Phodi bilang terserah saya maunya gimana (diambil atau enggak) dan akhirnya saya mutusin untuk diambil karena si dokter bilang gak sakit sama sekali.

Sebelum mulut rahimnya diperiksa, detak jantung si baby diperiksa untuk pastiin kalo dia ok. Hello Baby! So good to see you. Heheheh. Nah kali ini karena dokternya udah kenal dan karena udah pernah, gak masalah deh periksa bagian bawah sana. Waktu dokternya liat, dia langsung bilang kalo itu bukan polip. Atau mungkin itu dulu polip tapi yang pasti sekarang bukan polip tapi kayak darah kering. Kalo menurut Phodi, itu kayak bekas luka berdarah yang gak dibersihin gitu, jadi si dokter cuma gosokkin cotton bud untuk ambil “polip” trus dibersihin aja sisanya. Trus udah deh selesai. Abis itu detak jantung si baby diperiksa lagi dan hello again, active boy!

Bekas polip yang kayak cotton bud itu disimpen di botol isi formalin dan bakal dikirim ke lab buat diperiksa. Kalo menurut si dokter, itu gak berbahaya jadi hasilnya dikasi tau waktu bulan depan kita ke dokter lagi. Tapi kalo penasaran dan mau telpon dia setelah 1 minggu juga boleh. Saat ini sih kita gak ada penasaran sama sekali jadi bulan depan deh ya baru dicari tau. Heheh.

Menurut dia lagi, pendarahan ini bukan dari si baby (puji Tuhan) tapi mungkin dari pembuluh darah leher rahim yang pecah. Si dokter cuma pesen supaya jangan capek-capek, which bingung juga karena saya kan anak baik-baik anteng di rumah ya… tapi dia juga bilang kalo capek itu bukan cuma fisik tapi juga emosi dan mental. Jadi keinget deh kalo minggu lalu, tepat sebelom pergi ke dokter saya marah banget sama Phodi. Waktu itu bener-bener upset sama dia dan mungkin itu yang bikin pembuluh darah pecah. Nah kan.. emang bener kata Amsal kalo hati yang gembira adalah obat. Hehehe.

Jadi sekarang semuanya baik-baik aja dan semoga selanjutnya juga begitu ya. Baby, be a good boy and stay healthy in mommy’s tummy. We will see you in August!

Minggu, 6 April 2014.

2 hari setelah kunjungan bulanan ke dokter untuk ngecek perkembangan si baby, ada kejutan yang gak diduga (ya iyalah) dan sangat gak diharapkan. Hari itu seperti hari Minggu biasanya, pergi ke gereja, makan siang (hari itu ngajak temen baru yang lagi tinggal di Bandung dari USA) trus pergi jalan-jalan. Tujuan hari itu adalah Trans Studio Mall. Seperti kebiasaan sejak hamil, toilet jadi tujuan utama begitu nyampe di mall. Tapi sebelumnya sempet ngelewatin Metro buat ngeliat-liat barang bayi. Tetep donk ya gemes ngeliat barang-barang super lucu yang harganya kadang gak lucu.

Nah, setelah itu langsung menuju ke toilet dan saat itulah saya menemukan kejutan yang jeng jeng jeng! Ada apakah? Ada noda darah yang cukup banyak di panty liners. Alhasil langsung super panik dan langsung langkah seribu keluar toilet. Phodi langsung berusaha nelpon si dokter yang sayangnya gak nyambung. Aneh juga tuh padahal si dokter biasanya selalu stand by dan selalu angkat telpon. (Ada temen saya yang cerita kalo si dokter bahkan angkat telpon waktu lagi ngelakuin c-section ke dia!). Saya telpon ke rumah sakit buat ngecek ada dokter yang available dan kita langsung berangkat ke RS. Gak jadi deh jalan-jalan siangnya.

Begitu sampai di RS, setelah perjalanan yang mendebarkan hati dan pake nangis tersedu-sedu, langsung masuk ketemu dokter. Ceritalah sama si dokter tentang kenapa saya ke RS di hari Minggu yang mendung hujan-hujan begitu. Trus dia USG untuk pastiin kalo si baby baik-baik aja. Wuih… rasanya lega banget begitu liat si baby lagi asik muter-muter di dalem perut. Si tante dokter juga pastiin kalo plasenta dan semuanya bagus. Dia juga nyebutin kalo jari-jari tangan dan kaki si baby lengkap dan juga kasih konfirmasi kalo si baby adalah cowok.

Baiklah dokter, sekarang karena udah tau kalo si baby baik-baik aja, darimana asalnya darah kecoklatan yang bikin panik ini? Nah nah.. untuk cari tau ini si dokter perlu ngecek area bawah sana. Okeh, saya sudah tau dan sepenuhnya sadar kalo si dokter harus cek lewat bawah tapi huhuhu… gak pengen!! Alhasil yang ada saya nangis tersedu-sedu antara lega si baby baik-baik aja dan antara takut sakit. Hahaha. Kebetulan pula ya, si dokter ini sangat gak simpati dan cara ngomongnya gak menenangkan hati. Untungnya ya, susternya baik banget banget walopun keliatan sih kalo dia berusaha nahan senyum juga. Heheh.

Diagnosa si dokter adalah polip nekrosis di  mulut rahim. Dijelasin secara singkat (super singkat!) sama dokternya kalo polip nekrosis adalah daging “lebih” yang jinak dan yang udah “mati”. Untuk baca lebih lanjut soal polip, bisa diliat disini. Kalo kata Phodi yang ngeliat, si polip ini kayak ujung cotton bud kecil yang ngegantung. Dia bilang gak ada hubungannya sama si baby jadi terserah mau diambil atau enggak. Kalo diambil gampang banget, cuma diputer-puter trus ntar putus deh (beneran dia begitu ngomongnya). Kalo enggak diambil, mungkin bisa lepas juga kalo pas lahiran normal tapi ya bakal ada spotting terus dan gak boleh berhubungan intim.

Akhirnya setelah ada di posisi kurang nyaman (ngangkang di depan orang asing bok!) selama beberapa lama sambil bikin keputusan, saya putusin untuk ngediemin si polip ini. Pertimbangannya karena kita gak merasa dapet keterangan yang memuaskan dari si dokter dan yang paling penting karena ini gak life threatening buat si baby. Trus satu hal lain yang bikin saya tenang adalah ekspresi lega si suster pas ikutan ngeliat polipnya. Kan walopun dia bukan dokter ya, tapi dia pasti tau kalo itu berbahaya ato gimana. Kalo soal spotting, saya mau liat juga apakah akan terus-terusan sebanyak ini atau berkurang. Juga yang pasti, saya mau cari informasi lebih soal polip sebelum saya diapa-apain donk ya…

Gimana akhirnya? Lanjut ke sesi 2 yuk ah.

We’re having a boy!!

After our last visit to the obgyn, we posted some pictures from the usg and asked you guys to have a guess. Most who guessed it right were either having/expecting a boy or being meticulous readers. I accidentally put “he” instead of “the baby” when referring to the baby and a couple of people noticed it. Well done guys!

“Can you see my manhood?”

As on week 22, baby boy is growing well and very active. I love our monthly obgyn visits because then we get to see our baby. I actually requested for a clear baby photo because last month the photo was very abstract. Our obgyn was very nice and taking time to get good photos. Heheh. When we started the usg, the baby was facing down in the exact same position like last month. Then the baby decided to entertain us by changing his position to lay on his back and catching some hiccups. Cuteness!!

22 weeks and 4 days

My obgyn then showed us the baby’s internal organ; heart, lungs, liver, brain, stomach, kidneys and then he counted the baby’s fingers and toes. His fingers and toes are complete, his brain fluid is good and everything else seems to be fine. My amniotic fluid level is good, the placenta and umbilical cord are also fine. And as of Fri, 4th April the baby was a healthy 500 grams. Ah.. we’re totally smitten with the baby!

Foot print

As for this mama, I gained another kilo in 4 weeks and I could feel that the obgyn was a bit concern at first (before we did the scan). He asked me if I’m still drinking milk and he asked me twice! But after the scanning and seeing that everything’s fine, my obgyn didn’t complain about my weight gain. He just told me to carry on with my daily vitamin and DHA intake.

lively heartbeat

During the visit, we asked our obgyn to explain the process of a vaginal birth. I’ve seen videos of natural birth before but the videos are always showing the hard labour time then cut straight away to the happy teary time after the baby is born. None of the videos show what actually happen down there after the baby is out of the way. So I asked this super naive question (yes, after 5 months into pregnancy!) and he confirmed that my nightmare of having scissors, needle and thread near my body could happen. This procedure known as episiotomy and although most websites I read say it’s not common these days, my obgyn says that Asian tends to have this procedure. BUT he mentioned that he have had 3 women in April who didn’t need a cut so there’s hope for me! A flexible muscle and a not so big baby would definitely help.

counting baby’s weight

Now while we’re obviously over the moon, we’re on a huge mission of baby naming. Even before married, both Phodi and I have each a name for a baby girl. BUT we have no name for a boy and now it’s confirmed that we’re having one. After lots and lots of readings and discussions, we now have a handful of boy names but none seem to fit (yet?) So let’s wait and see, we might come with other names or else we might fall in love with one of the names on our list. What would be good ah…

Okay Baby, until next time Mommy and Daddy love you so much. Please hang tight in mommy’s tummy and keep growing well xxx

baby bump during 21 weeks