We had been to Mak Su's house yesterday in Bangi for a housewarming doa selamat around lunch time, where again I faced a traditional Malay food spread of nasi minyak and rendang. My in-laws were planning to spend the night with us, and we had agreed to eat out for dinner (I don't need to cook, WOOHOO!!). Around 6 pm, after Hubby had done his Asar prayers and could keep an eye on Nuaim, I went to take a shower.
That was when I saw the blood stains.
It was dark brown, almost black. I quickly took a shower, trying to calm myself down. Maybe it's nothing serious.
Maybe God took me seriously when I was saying to myself that I wasn't ready for another baby yet.
Please God no.
I came out of the shower and told Hubby. He panicked, while I tried to stay reasonable. We went to the hospital's A&E section, it being a Saturday evening.Nuaim came with us, oblivious to the panic swelling up inside me as I held him close.
After recounting my whole fiasco with the missed birth control pills and everything, the MO concluded that it may have been a false pregnancy and this was just my period starting again. When I told him that I did two tests and was experiencing all the typical symptoms, he looked at me and said "Well you probably really are pregnant then."
My usual Obstretician was on leave, so they got Dr Roslan in. He was very nice, and suggested an ultrasound scan.
The first thing I saw was a little round sac in my womb. But is it still...?
Fortunately the little one is still intact. Dr Roslan said that the discharge was probably due to an old bleeding or my past menses which somehow still remained in the uterus, based on the colour and consistency of the blood. He told me I should only be worried if it was fresh blood, or if there were clots and bits of tissue in the discharge.
On a positive note, he estimated that my pregnancy is 6 weeks old, based on the size of the sac (2 cm long).
Adik Nuaim will be due around early April next year, Insyaallah.
Sunday 21 August 2005
Wednesday 17 August 2005
I don't know what triggered the thought.
Maybe it was my thickening waistline (which I started noticing in Bangkok, but that could have been due to the good food). Or the constant lethargy despite having a relatively stess-free workload. But I think the strongest sign was the nausea and heatiness I felt after a particularly spicy meal (and with 3 Malay weddings in one weekend, it certainly put me in a bad mood). The sensation reminded me so much of my first one that I thought to myself, "Could it be....?"
So after a week of feeling continuously sea-sick, I went to Guardian Pharmacy to get me one of those home test kits. And this was only three days after I stocked up on Noriday. Thank goodness I hadn't started taking them yet.
Anyway, the home kit seemed to test positive - it was difficult to tell when there seemed to be three lines instead of just two (positive) or one (negative). "It means you're super-pregnant. Maybe it's twins!" was my husband's hopeful response to my query. So yesterday, on my way back from Bangi, I decided to stop by the clinic just to make sure.
It's official. Nuaim is going to become an Abang Long.
How many weeks already?
That's difficult to answer. My period's been really irregular (the last one was almost 10 weeks ago, and that was only the third since I gave birth last year) but that was probably due to breastfeeding. I already took a test a month ago and it was clear. The doctor told me I could start taking Noriday immediately, but I decided to stick by my gynae's advice and wait till my next period. Fat chance of that happening any time soon.
Anyway, I debated over when to tell Mak. The chance came when she showed me some cloth she bought for Nuaim's baju Melayu, but one was exactly the same as one he already has. "Oh well, we'll just keep it for his adik then," I quipped nonchalantly.
She didn't pick up the hint.
Hubby and I exchanged glances.
Then Mak commented how Nuaim seems so hypercharged and attention-craving these days.
"Maybe he knows he's getting an adik," I tried again.
This time she got it right.
Maybe it was my thickening waistline (which I started noticing in Bangkok, but that could have been due to the good food). Or the constant lethargy despite having a relatively stess-free workload. But I think the strongest sign was the nausea and heatiness I felt after a particularly spicy meal (and with 3 Malay weddings in one weekend, it certainly put me in a bad mood). The sensation reminded me so much of my first one that I thought to myself, "Could it be....?"
So after a week of feeling continuously sea-sick, I went to Guardian Pharmacy to get me one of those home test kits. And this was only three days after I stocked up on Noriday. Thank goodness I hadn't started taking them yet.
Anyway, the home kit seemed to test positive - it was difficult to tell when there seemed to be three lines instead of just two (positive) or one (negative). "It means you're super-pregnant. Maybe it's twins!" was my husband's hopeful response to my query. So yesterday, on my way back from Bangi, I decided to stop by the clinic just to make sure.
It's official. Nuaim is going to become an Abang Long.
How many weeks already?
That's difficult to answer. My period's been really irregular (the last one was almost 10 weeks ago, and that was only the third since I gave birth last year) but that was probably due to breastfeeding. I already took a test a month ago and it was clear. The doctor told me I could start taking Noriday immediately, but I decided to stick by my gynae's advice and wait till my next period. Fat chance of that happening any time soon.
Anyway, I debated over when to tell Mak. The chance came when she showed me some cloth she bought for Nuaim's baju Melayu, but one was exactly the same as one he already has. "Oh well, we'll just keep it for his adik then," I quipped nonchalantly.
She didn't pick up the hint.
Hubby and I exchanged glances.
Then Mak commented how Nuaim seems so hypercharged and attention-craving these days.
"Maybe he knows he's getting an adik," I tried again.
This time she got it right.
Monday 15 August 2005
Sorry for the long silence....
It's been quite hectic for the past three weeks. Okay, where do I start?
The last week of July I was in Bangkok for 5 days. Purely job related, but it was fun. The first two days was a Field trip organised by Yokogawa, one of the big Instrument and Control System vendors that have installed bases in our plants groupwide. We stayed at the Imperial Queens Park Hotel (jacuzzi bathtub, woo hoo!!) off Sukhumvit Road, but the trips took us two hours out of Bangkok to Sara Buri and Rayong. The remainder of the trip was a Users Group Symposium organised by Honeywell, another I&C vendor. My boss had assigned me to present a paper at the Symposium, which I only finished preparing the night before the presentation itself. It went very well, I have to say. Being the first presenter does have its advantages. Oh yes, the shopping and food was really enjoyable too. And I would really recommend the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa on the Chao Phraya River to anyone (not to be confused with the Bangkok JW Marriott on Sukhumvit Road).
The first weekend I got home, I had to attend a KAED (Kuliyyah of Architecture & Environmental Design, UIA) function that my sister was a committee member of. I guess it's all part of the Convocation festivities at the university. Most faculties organised their own fests, and part of the KAED Fest was an 'Image Enhancement Workshop' for female students. The wrokshop consisted of several events, the first of which was a Forum entitled 'Challenges & Dilemmas faced by Professional Career Women'. I was one of three speakers, and the only one not from an architectural background.
The week after that, the first week of August was the most hectic. I could write three separate blog entries on that week alone, but I'll try o condense it all into this one.
You see, my son has been suffering from a teary right eye for some time now. It started off as conjunctivitis, complete with the puffiness and redness, but after the swelling and redness disappeared his eye started tearing. He'd also squint during the day and seemed particularly uncomfortable with bright light. We saw a specialist who said it was a viral infection of the cornea, but when the teariness didn't disappear Mak advised me to get a second opinion. Someone recommended a Professor Muhaya from HUKM, so I took my son to see her. The first visit my son was so uncooperative, and after the third visit, which was on Tuesday after the Bangkok trip, she told me that the best thing to do was to put him under General Anaethesia just so she could have a good look and determine what was really bothering him.
So on Wednesday morning I took an EL, and checked myself and Nuaim into 'Hotel HUKM'. We were advised to get in by 10 a.m. so that the anaesthetist could visit during her normal rounds, but she didn't get to see us till 5 p.m. The Operation was scheduled for 8 a.m. the next morning, so Nuaim had to fast from 4 a.m. onwards. I set my alarm to wake up and prepare a bottle of milk at 3.30 (6 ounces should keep him fairly satisfied till after the procedure) but he would only drink 2 ounces before going back to sleep and refused to wake up till an hour later. By then, of course, he was really hungry but I couldn't feed him then, so he got really upset and cried for a whole hour. He would only quiet down for the Subuh azan, and by then I wasn't even allowed to feed him water. What made things worse was, his operation was delayed by an hour due to some mix-up with the schedule. And Nuaim simply refused to be put down all the while, so I had to carry him for a whole hour. Both Ummi and baby were tired, hungry and intimidated by the unfamiliar surroundings.
When they finally managed to gas him, I was told to leave the OT and wait outside. It took all of my resolve not to cry. I mean, it's only going to be an examination, there's no surgery involved or anything. I wonder how people can endure worse.
The good news was, they found nothing more serious than a surface scratch (could've been caused by his own nails) which should heal on its own in time. We were still given some medication, and some eyepatches to help speed up the recovery.
And then the HAZE hit KL and PJ.
Oh well....
The last week of July I was in Bangkok for 5 days. Purely job related, but it was fun. The first two days was a Field trip organised by Yokogawa, one of the big Instrument and Control System vendors that have installed bases in our plants groupwide. We stayed at the Imperial Queens Park Hotel (jacuzzi bathtub, woo hoo!!) off Sukhumvit Road, but the trips took us two hours out of Bangkok to Sara Buri and Rayong. The remainder of the trip was a Users Group Symposium organised by Honeywell, another I&C vendor. My boss had assigned me to present a paper at the Symposium, which I only finished preparing the night before the presentation itself. It went very well, I have to say. Being the first presenter does have its advantages. Oh yes, the shopping and food was really enjoyable too. And I would really recommend the Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa on the Chao Phraya River to anyone (not to be confused with the Bangkok JW Marriott on Sukhumvit Road).
The first weekend I got home, I had to attend a KAED (Kuliyyah of Architecture & Environmental Design, UIA) function that my sister was a committee member of. I guess it's all part of the Convocation festivities at the university. Most faculties organised their own fests, and part of the KAED Fest was an 'Image Enhancement Workshop' for female students. The wrokshop consisted of several events, the first of which was a Forum entitled 'Challenges & Dilemmas faced by Professional Career Women'. I was one of three speakers, and the only one not from an architectural background.
The week after that, the first week of August was the most hectic. I could write three separate blog entries on that week alone, but I'll try o condense it all into this one.
You see, my son has been suffering from a teary right eye for some time now. It started off as conjunctivitis, complete with the puffiness and redness, but after the swelling and redness disappeared his eye started tearing. He'd also squint during the day and seemed particularly uncomfortable with bright light. We saw a specialist who said it was a viral infection of the cornea, but when the teariness didn't disappear Mak advised me to get a second opinion. Someone recommended a Professor Muhaya from HUKM, so I took my son to see her. The first visit my son was so uncooperative, and after the third visit, which was on Tuesday after the Bangkok trip, she told me that the best thing to do was to put him under General Anaethesia just so she could have a good look and determine what was really bothering him.
So on Wednesday morning I took an EL, and checked myself and Nuaim into 'Hotel HUKM'. We were advised to get in by 10 a.m. so that the anaesthetist could visit during her normal rounds, but she didn't get to see us till 5 p.m. The Operation was scheduled for 8 a.m. the next morning, so Nuaim had to fast from 4 a.m. onwards. I set my alarm to wake up and prepare a bottle of milk at 3.30 (6 ounces should keep him fairly satisfied till after the procedure) but he would only drink 2 ounces before going back to sleep and refused to wake up till an hour later. By then, of course, he was really hungry but I couldn't feed him then, so he got really upset and cried for a whole hour. He would only quiet down for the Subuh azan, and by then I wasn't even allowed to feed him water. What made things worse was, his operation was delayed by an hour due to some mix-up with the schedule. And Nuaim simply refused to be put down all the while, so I had to carry him for a whole hour. Both Ummi and baby were tired, hungry and intimidated by the unfamiliar surroundings.
When they finally managed to gas him, I was told to leave the OT and wait outside. It took all of my resolve not to cry. I mean, it's only going to be an examination, there's no surgery involved or anything. I wonder how people can endure worse.
The good news was, they found nothing more serious than a surface scratch (could've been caused by his own nails) which should heal on its own in time. We were still given some medication, and some eyepatches to help speed up the recovery.
And then the HAZE hit KL and PJ.
Oh well....
