Pregnancy note @ 36 weeks

From this point on, I will be meeting the Ob-Gyn or midwife on a weekly basis, that certainly indicates I'm almost to the finish line! I will be full term at 37 weeks, meaning I can deliver baby F anytime within next week to 42 weeks. My EDD is at 40 weeks ie: May 6. But lets just pray, she will wait until her nenda arrives from Malaysia.

Baby F: She is doing well. She is not a big baby according to midwife Blanche, well dah perut pun besar cam 7 bulan je, camner lah baby nak besar kan. She might have descended to the pelvic canal since I could feel her head is pushing down but Blanche could not confirm it through palpation. But for sure, she is head-down with her butt sticking out (most of the time) on the right side of the womb. Mak nye banyak sangat tengok Kim Kardashian kot. So, I shall wait next week when they perform a vaginal examination for Group B Streptococci (GBS) testing.

Mommy F: is officially 62.5 kg! Body is not proportionally balanced, as I look more like a starving kid that has intestinal worm infestation ie: a pot-bellied appearance with ribs protruding and visible. Scary image in the mirror!  I was a little bit exhausted last week, mostly because I had trouble sleeping at night and that made me cranky with lots of housework to settle after heading back from lab. Rasa nak marah semua orang. I had trouble to doze off not because I was having back pain or such. It was because I checked my phone everytime I got up for bathroom breaks.So, this week, I tried to stay away from my phone and walla! I regained back my energy. Technology can ruined your life, seriously.

Birth plan: As what I wrote during the earlier stage of pregnancy, I will go as natural as possible and keep the options open in terms of using medication during labor. The only thing I asked from them is to let Jai have the baby for a few minutes right after delivery for azan and iqamat, or what Blanche described as 'whispering to baby's ears'. I really like Blanche from the first time I met her cos she knows a lot about our religious belief than any other midwives, hopefully she will be the one on call when I deliver the baby.

Work: Overwhelmed, as usual. I don't think I will have the time to analyze all the pending data as I am really occupied with optimizing and running several assays. And the only computer that has the software is in the lab, unless I would like to spend the remaining weekends to work in the lab, which I would not, considering I should now be resting instead of doing so many things simultaneously. However, my boss is kind enough to purchase a software license for me to work at home, the only caveat is I have to buy a new laptop. What! Ok, whatever it takes to get a paper publish this year.For the sake of research, I kept reminding myself over and over again.

Signs of labor: Already? It was false signs.

1. I was lying in bed, could not sleep when suddenly I felt a menstrual cramp-like pain extending from front to the back. It is a sign of labor, so I read. I waited for another 30 minutes, the pain did not subside. I was panicking, should I call the hospital at 2am asking? Then, I decided to get up and pee. Few minutes after, the pain went away.

2. I had a full bladder, went to the bathroom and pee. I was about to get up from the toilet bowl when fluid kept coming out and I could not control it. I thought my water broke, but were not so sure. I changed my pantiliner and waited for half an hour to check whether there was still a leakage, but there was none. Urinary incontinence I assumed. I guess Kegel does not work when you have a full-to-the-point-of-nearly-exploding bladder?

Due to those two incidents, Jai has forced me to pack up for my hospital stay earlier than I had originally planned. I was thinking of doing it this weekend, but Jai kept nagging me, so I did the packing already.

*Yoong, if you read this, the bag is in my bedroom right beside the bassinet*

I guess this will be the 2nd last pregnancy note as my maternal instinct says, I will deliver before my due date. Maternal instinct lah sangat kan.

Til then, enjoy your weekend!