Vanny's Telling Everything.: August 2015

Hi Hi, Im now exactly @ 35 weeks into pregnancy.. and the pictures above are the progress of my growing belly so far.. :)

Decided to write a quick one about my pregnancy as I am aware that all pregnancies and mummies (or even daddies) feel differently; just to share a little of my personal experience thru this journey thus far.

I must say, pregnancy is another one of the things that you'd need to go through on your own to actually relate to or even understand. Prior to being pregnant, I never looked at preggers the way I look at them now. I never could understand the joy/pain/tiredness/mixed-feelings that came with it. And there were so much more feelings that could not have been felt for not being pregnant; one for example is the tiredness...

Feelings/ Things You Will Never Get To Feel/Know Not Being Pregnant:

#1 Tiredness & Morning Sickness - I have never ever in my life felt this tired before...
During the first few weeks of my pregnancy, I started reading about "what to expect in the coming days" and I did read about preggers feeling fatigue during their first & third trimesters. My surprise was the first trimester; I've always thought that the most tired period for preggers would be towards the end as from a physical point-of-view since bellies grow up to that kinda size it made sense that the weight would take a toll on the body just getting thru daily activities. BUT.... to my shock myself, I was wrong... So far, I can say that I was the MOST TIRED during my first trimester (on top of the horrible-horrible morning sickness). I was never a person that took naps, nor takes rests mid of the day. I was the active person who'd constantly want to workout, walk/shop about, do housechores or revisions w/o taking any breaks for consecutive hours and still felt great. But into the 2nd month of my pregnancy, I felt the unexplainable FATIGUE that made me sleep in the day (deep sleep for 2-3 hours), wake up and still feel really sleepy in the evening (like falling asleep as early as 8pm). My friend who's a FTM always asked how I was able to work during that period; thinking back, I wonder myself. Amazing I must say.

Currently in my last tri, I feel that mostly the tiredness comes from the lack of sleep due to baby's sudden jerks/movements which may feel really strong - most nights I'd feel like i have a little monster in me; always so active. Lol. Other preggers may feel difficulty in breathing, or discomfort in their sleeping positions. I feel all these factors are still manageable, and keeping positive is really important.

#2 Heightened Emotions - I guess this differs for different preggers?

I also read that there would be heightened emotions for preggers; the start of it kicked in during mid of my second trimester. I felt more irritable though no loss of tempers unnecessarily. My patience for nonsensical questions/actions just got lowered during the period... lol. But there was this mummy who shared with me that she was constantly mad at her hubby while she was facing this, poor daddy.. But daddy has to be understanding in this sense as we are not able to control these feelings/emotions at times due to the racing hormones; support is an important key to healthy relationship especially at times like this.

#3 Heightened Sense of Smell - This was a horror for me...

Oh my, this was one of the most hated thing for me that tagged along the morning sickness. As if morning sickness and constant having the feeling of nauseating was not enough, the heightened sense of smell made things much worse. *Yucks* at anything that had a strong smell. I hated my perfume, even hated more for my husband's perfume (because men's perfume tends to be a tad stronger & musky), any scented candles or lobbies, smell of coffee (er-hem, I used to be a daily coffee drinker FYI), food, yucks. It was that bad. But it recovered slowly during my second trimester, when after my morning sickness went away. I have even read that other women actually could not even take the smell of their partner's natural body scent - like they actually felt disgusted smelling and looking at them. Hmm.. that would be a torture for daddies.. Just avoid, don't think about it, it will pass...

#4 Leg Cramps - this one came as a surprise for me, but I soon got used to it...

My calve muscles literally cramp on me every few days, or if not consecutive nights. Most nights when I stretch my legs out while changing of my sleeping position, I could feel the cramps coming up and I immediately flex my foot to counter the pull. Some nights where I do not manage to flex in time or flex enough to prevent the cramp, I'll just yelp for my hubby to help fix it. It was such a common thing I got used to it shortly.. lol. Yesterday, for the first time in my entire life, i pulled my thigh muscle (back of my thigh) while trying to get my shoe off standing up. WOW.... IT IS SO MUCH MORE PAINFUL THAN CALVE MUSCLES BEING PULLED... Im not joking. Like wow. Try it... lol. : D

#5 Cravings? - Nah, not for me..

Okay, I must say I didn't really have "cravings"; lucky me? Maybe?
I have always been a healthy eater and watch what I eat. I do not go on fad diets but I eat in moderation; i even snack, & occasionally on junk/desserts because most days I eat light and I get to indulge in moderation on other days. I exercise regularly and lead a healthy lifestyle. I guess for someone who already leads a healthy-lifestyle, being so used to mind-over-body for what she takes into her body, I was not the one who easily got off-track (even during pregnancy). So lucky or not you say, I did not really craved for foods like you'd see on TV drama shows where pregnant wives would demand of their husbands to get them "Penang Laksa" or "Durian" in the middle of the night. Lol. But okay lah, I did have craving once; rojak.. and sometimes chocolates, which can be settled with a few bites - thats all.. Hehe. At the end of the day, everything in moderation, I strongly believe in this and that your baby would also benefit from the healthy eating too. : )

#6 Backaches/Pains - I suffered PPP (Posterior Pelvic Pain)....

I exercised throughout my pregnancy, until 3 weeks ago... (I was about 32 weeks far ?)

where I started feeling constant sharp pains in my lower right hip area. I used to study in Sport Science and took the module Functional Anatomy (topic on body), so I roughly knew which areas of my joint were in pain so it was easy for me to identify and explain to my gynae. In specific terms, my right SI joints (Sacrum-Ilium) was in pain or my gynae called it PPP (as mentioned above). Its a common syndrome in pregnant women thou not all preggers get to feel it. It happens when a hormone called Relaxin is released from your body during the last trimester in preparation for your labour, it relaxes the ligaments in the pelvis and softens and widens the cervix. They also soften the ligaments holding the pelvis together at the front, sometimes causing pain in those joints (explanation extracted from; www.birth.com.au/aches-and-pains/causes-of-backache). The pain kept me from walking straight (was limping for a few weeks), and felt pain in every single movement i made. Yea, literally "pain-in-the-butt"... lol.. the pain did improve now after 3 weeks, but I still need to be careful not to over-exert too much in that joint region, thats why I stopped going to the gym altogether (on top of my very-concerned-hubby who prefers me to be resting)... : P

#7 Fart & Pee Like Nobody's Business - For real...

I read BongQiuQiu's blog during the start of my pregnancy and read about this exact same topic she briefly wrote on.. I had a laugh reading how she explains the number of times she farts and having to pee like every 20 minutes. Its very real... Running to the toilet is like a favourite pastime now, and accidentally letting out gas is also au natural.. My hubby and I had a good laugh at times I let a rip out.. Hahaha. I laugh mostly because i felt embarrassed but then what to do, could not control leh. Oh ya, also you will get constipation most days and even for me I am still going to the toilet most days, the waste come out small & hard like animal poop. (haha, you will know what I mean if you're a pet owner).

#8 That My Body Is/Was Amazing - And I believe will still be...

Before being pregnant I had so much complaints about my weight, size, dislikes about my tummy my fats etc etc etc (I can go on & I believe most of you ladies out there understands). Now looking back at my old photos, I then realised how slim I used to be, thou not at the ideal well-defined-and-toned state yet, I still feel thankful for what I had. And for that, I have a strong feeling that I will continue to feel thankful for my body and work towards my goals after safely delivering my BBG. Going thru this pregnancy made me learn to love my body more for being pregnant, your body goes thru alot and most times you cannot even do or eat like how you want to because you'd have to consider for your little one in there too. Its amazing how a woman's body can carry this little life (ya, sometimes I feel this little life is like a monster, lol!) and then recover from it later on. Really, if scars do arise from this journey, take it as a sign of triumphant over your 10 months of endurance. Cheers. ;) Oh did I mention, I just realised I can't see my Va-jay-jay anymore from few week ago..can you imagine how big your belly has to get to this point?

#9 Memory Loss - I mean, like total loss....
I've always had a poor memory especially for numbers and names - am so not a numbers person. I had to use visuals or other methods to help myself remember things that was hard for me to keep memory of. Upon entering the end of my second trimester, I literally lost it all; really, I felt like it was almost all of it. It affected my work in a way because I would forget about small details and I even made mistakes twice that my boss had asked me about it! I felt a little emotional over this problem because it made me feel stupid for making mistakes; but then I explained to my boss that as much as I didn't want to put the blame on my pregnancy, I really could feel the loss of memory that I'm going thru. It even happens in my personal life; my Dad applied for birthday vouchers for a restaurant knowing we were gonna dine at the venue, upon receiving the vouchers, I "accidentally" threw them in the trash thinking they were opened and unwanted letters. Thats just an example; ouch to my self-esteem. But then knowing of my "new problem", I paid more attention to details especially during work. I would say, it is hard because I'd have to constantly remind myself to check & check, its double work, but manageable. *fighting!

#10 Pregnancy Terminologies - Did you know the "water" surrounding babies in bellies is called Amniotic Fluid (aka "Yang Shui" in mandarin)...?
Ya lah, I wouldn't have known most of the terms if not for reading on pregnancy, and who'd even read about pregnancy if she's not thinking of having a baby right? Just to share a little more about what I read, which is quite interesting: "your baby will swallow the amniotic fluid, filter it through his kidneys and pass it out again as urine." That's why babies sometimes can taste the flavors from the food mummies eats.

Of course there are much much more feelings & things as a pregger would know more than others but the above shared are the very prominent ones that made a change in my journey; or I would say the "milestones" in my pregnancy journey.
Stories from others may make one stressed/nervous about pregnancy, but really, just take it as it comes.. its not as bad as how it sounds or as amazing as how some mummies describe. All the feelings are accustomed to different mummies; embrace them! Good luck to new mummies or ladies (or partners) who're thinking of getting preg soon. ; )