We’re Expecting! How We Found Out?

Ahhhh, finally!! I’m quite good at keeping secrets for others but totally suck at mine. I’ve been struggling to keep our pregnancy quiet because our parents are super pantang about it. We discovered that I was pregnant at week 5 and only revealing it to the world at week 14 (I’ve leaked it to a few close friends prior to this and some of them cried haha). So here’s my first pregnancy diary and I hope that there are more to come, if I’m not feeling too lethargic.

How We Found Out?

My period was due right before my trip to Yokohama in end March. I asked kampungboy if I should get it tested, and he said “Aiya, not so ngam la”. I sort of agreed with him, because I’ve been coping with the disappointments of getting my period every month and I just want to get this behind me and enjoy my trip.

And so I flew to Yokohama alone and I had a blast there by having all the sushi and sashimi that I crave for, drank an average of 2-3 cups coffee a day and also 2-3 alcoholic drinks every night.

Still no sign of period after I came back to Malaysia! I knew that it is time to whip out the pregnancy test because my period cycle is pretty regular and consistent. My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for the pregnancy test results in my bathroom. What if I have to experience another crushing disappointment when it is negative? What if I am pregnant? Is the baby going to grow well because I drank so much in Japan!

I glanced at the little pregnancy strip not knowing what to do. And then, suddenly, it happened. Two pink lines appeared, one was clear as day and the other line was a bit faint. Means what? Positive or negative? I took out another three strips and they all showed the same result. I showed it to the husband and he gave me a wide grin and said, “I think you are pregnant!”. I told him I don’t believe it because we bought the strips in bulk from Laz*d* and they were so cheap! I want to get it tested again tomorrow, and it has to be that Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test with Weeks Indicator.

3+ means 5 weeks

We spent another 50 bucks just on one pregnancy test and it clearly shows that I was already 5 weeks pregnant! “So, are you still in disbelief?”, the husband asked. I said ya I’m pregnant, but what if it is an ectopic pregnancy? I need to see a gynae! I blame it on google, there were too much information out there and some made me really insecure. We scheduled an appointment with my gynae and he confirmed my pregnancy and we saw a little sac in my uterus.

I thought we would hug each other and jump for joy, just like how they do it in the movies? No such thing wo. I got all teary-eyed looking at the little sac while kampungboy just stood there and grinned like a silly man.

The #TTC Journey

We got married in end 2013, and we agreed on a honeymoon period of two years, which means that we will start trying in year 2016. However, just when we were about to “hoi gong”, kampungboy’s father was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma cancer and his parents moved into our place for logistic reason. We were unsure how long is the treatment going to last, and can’t imagine having a pregnant woman, a cancer patient and maybe a baby in the same house, plus all the hospital visitation is going to take a toll on kampungboy. So, we bring a halt to our baby plan.

Fortunately, his dad’s treatment ended and in November 2016 and the prognosis was good. We kick started our baby plan almost immediately but unfortunately things do not go as planned. The first three months were exciting. The appearance of my period only made me think that oh we can still try next month! And then on the 6th month, it gets stressful! On the 9th month, I started questioning if there are something wrong with bodies? We had our premarital screening done and my yearly gynaecological screening shows that I am healthy! I even did HSG (ouch painful) to check if my fallopian tubes were blocked. All good!

I’ve decided to try the TCM approach because I’ve heard of so many success stories from people around me. My only TCM practising friend is Ginger, Bobostephanie’s twin sister and I know that she’s very qualified, so I went to her. She said that my womb is a bit cold so she prescribed me with some Chinese herbs that can combat the cold. It’s just 5 packets of medicine each month – not too difficult for me to follow. I took it for a few months and stopped for 1-2 months due to my crazy traveling schedule before I got pregnant. So I think it works, finally after 14 months of TTC! Thanks Ginger!

If you are interested, please contact Ginger at Pusat Rawatan Seng Woh’s FB page.

I know a lot of women out there are struggling to get pregnant, suffering from PCOS, miscarriages and all kinds of complications. I do feel them. We have had many crazy things said to us throughout our journey to get pregnant, mostly from those closest to us. It is best to listen without judging or offering advice. Never say things like “When is your turn? Your third uncle’s second son already gave birth to the second one”, “Still don’t want to sang zai a? Keep traveling only” or, “Japan got a lot of radiation you know, that’s why until now still no baby”, “You are too skinny, that’s why”, “You are working too hard, just stay home and be tai tai la”…

Some meant well, such as “Don’t stress, just relax and you can get pregnant easily” or “It will happen when it is meant to happen”. These kinds of responses are rarely comforting and they aren’t helping, at all.

I’m glad that my parents and most of my close friends are really supportive and I can always turn to them. Thank you so much Charlize, Christine, Ivy, WenChing, Michelle and the competitiveaunties gang.

First Trimester & Pregnancy Symptoms

only remember to take bump picture at second trimester

We heard baby’s heart beat for the very first time at week 8 and saw baby almost fully formed at week 11. The feeling is beyond amazing and how can such a tiny little creature looks so cute? It has been quite a smooth beginning during my first 12 weeks, except that I tend to worry about so many things – Is my bump too small? Is baby growing well? Is spotting normal? Is my baby still in there? I need to remind myself to stay positive and brush aside all these silly thoughts. Some of my symptoms were:

Food aversions – love spicy and sour food, oh and ice cream too
Mood swings – gets prangry easily (the husband said pregnant + hungry + angry)
Abdominal bloating – yes, a lot of gas and burping and farting
Frequent urination – used to be able sleep for 8-10 hours straight but wake up 1-2 times to pee every night since week 8.
Fatigue – no nap habit before pregnancy but love to nap on Saturdays and Sundays now
Sore breasts – definitely
Light bleeding or spotting – almost fainted when I saw brown spotting at week 6 but all is good
Nausea & Morning Sickness – none, but initially I was quite worried because some people said that pregnancy symptoms strong means baby is stable.
Constipation – none, because I take extra virgin coconut oil everyday

Pregnancy Diet

No alcohol, no sashimi, no half-boiled egg, no pineapple, no watermelon, no green papaya, no foei gras, no crab – ALL MY FAVOURITES FML. It feels silly to go for wine pairing dinner and ask for water only, or omakase dinner and said no sashimi please, or rejecting foei gras from a degustation menu. Dear Baby, I’m doing this for you so please be a filial son/daughter ok?

I still have my daily Nespresso but only limited to one lungo size. Sometimes I do crave for iced tea (especially Thai iced tea and bubble tea) and I will give in (once in while lo). There is also this endless list of what not to eat that every random strangers out there will tell you – lamb, duck, bitter guard, coconut water, cucumber, nuts, bananas, curry and etc.

I believe in eating healthy and eating in moderation. I tried to include more varieties of food into my diet, in addition to my favourite pregnancy super food such as sweet potatoes, salmon, low mercury fishes, eggs, broccoli, avocado, kiwi and greek yogurt – these are my staples.

New Malaysia, New Hope

Thanks to each and everyone of you who has made a contribution in one way or another, our baby is able to live in a new era, in a brand new Malaysia. Daddy and Mummy here don’t have to worry about international school fees anymore (hopefully), escalating milk powder prices, and most importantly a rotten to the core Malaysia will be a thing of the past.

I think that’s all for now? Thank you so much for reading. If you have any tips to share, please DM us or drop us an email. Being a new parent, we are still quite clueless 😀