i guess some of you are wondering what i'll be doing for the post-natal period; ie the confinement period. well, i did not hire a confinement lady and i will be at our apartment after the discharge from the hospital and handling baby on my own with b's help. b's mum will be cooking for me for that one month period.
i will let you all know right now that i personally don't believe in the whole confinement process. i've had so many friends come up to me to say that they regretted getting a confinement lady because they felt bullied into doing things that they never would have done for their baby had they been on their own (eg supplementing powdered milk because the confinement lady said that the baby's not getting enough breastmilk).
personally, since i've read so many books and actually helped to raise my brother (who was extremely small at birth) i've got things that i buy into and things that i don't. i guess i'm saying that i've got my own ideas on how things should be done (and i am quite a type-a sort of personality!). logically speaking, not being allowed to shower or wash hair is really quite disgusting and dirty (consider the fact that after delivery, you sweat buckets for a couple of weeks because you're losing all the retained water). can you imagine not being clean and then putting baby's mouth to your breast to feed? eew.....................also, wouldn't it be easier to catch germs in dirty conditions?! also, apparently, i'm not allowed to drink water, pure H2O, for the whole month. one should know that while breastfeeding, you get really dehydrated and this would affect the quality of your breastmilk.
anyhow, i'm not saying that i will purposely go against all these customs. it's just that i'll do everything in moderation and according to common sense. i think that's best.
and personally, i do not think that this is the time to tell me horror stories about how other women couldn't cope even with help post-natal (although i do admit that these stories i discard immediately). it's time to give me support because i'm going it alone and i'm excited!


* even though my mind is set, this will not stop me from asking for help if i really can't cope or if i take a longer time to heal!

so.................i went for my check-up yesterday. and guess what? baby has put on even more weight! he currently stands at 3.6kg! no wonder i've been feeling so tired and my tummy extremely tight these past few days.
anyhow, he's not even coming close to getting engaged. in fact he's moving further away from my pelvic bone area. here's the reason - the size of his head is the size of a 40 weeks old baby and the size of his tummy is the size of a 41 weeks old baby (i am only 39 weeks now). and apparently my pelvic bone region is too small to accommodate him (gee, i'm actually quite petite huh?). hence, my body has been rejecting his attempts in getting engaged.
my doc informed me that even if labour comes on naturally or even if she were to induce me and attempt to maneuver baby into position, i could be in labour for up to 8 hours and even then eventually needing a c-section because of the difference in size of my pelvic bone and his body. even if his head does engage, he might not be able to turn his body around enough to move through the birth canal and he might get stuck at his shoulders.
well, i ain't about to test my pain threshold nor am i willing to risk having baby get stuck so i'm going in for a c-section this friday morning, as recommended by my doc. i suspect as well if we were to wait until next week, baby'd probably hit 4kg and i think my doc wants to avoid that too.
well, all i can say is that baby definitely takes after b as he was born at 4kg! anyway, b is having an anxiety attack of sorts with the knowledge that it's 2 days away that we'll be seeing baby. as for me, i'm talking him through it and i simply can't wait and am so excited!!!!!

a couple of my friends have popped recently and the advice for me is this - take advantage of this period and sleep as much as possible because they can't remember what sleep is (this is of course because they are breastfeeding and have to do it every 2-3 hours). and since i do intend to breastfeed exclusively at least for the first 6 months, trust me, i have been trying my best to get in as much sleep as possible. but unfortunately, the insomnia has come back much stronger during this last trimester. it's either i wake every hour, take 20 minutes to fall asleep again, or i can't fall asleep at all, or i wake at 3am and just lie in bed hoping to fall asleep soon. sigh...................training for the post-natal period? but i must say i have gotten very good in sneaking in 10-20 minutes nap time whenever i do feel sleepy. so i guess i'm still coping alright for now.

got a text from p (in aus) this morning asking if i've already become a mum from the lack of posts on this blog. answer is nope, not yet. i have been staying at home and resting so nothing much has happened and hence there's nothing to blog about. i have been catching up on reading and watching tv (i've never watched so much tv in my entire life!). i walk around the apartment and rock on my feet. this is my only form of exercise now since the haze is still around and i can't trawl the malls anymore because my feet swells up so much.
my due date is on the 21st of august and as of today i have exactly 2 more weeks to go (if baby doesn't come early). my doc will not let me go past my due date because of the previous indeterminate bleeding. well, at least i have a "cut-off" date to deliver.
baby is still gaining weight as of the last check-up, which is surprising considering that a lot of women stop gaining weight towards the last 3-4 weeks of pregnancy. at the rate he's gaining weight, if he gets too big, i'd have to undergo a c-sect. i am not one of those women who have an "absolute ideal birth way to go" that it has to be that particular way or none at all. of course i am really keen on natural birth without epidural or any drugs (just gas and air) but it's not gonna stop me from asking for drugs if i really can't bear the pain! all that matters to me is the best option for my baby and that both baby and me will be fine during the labour process.
i know a lot of women towards the end of their pregnancy can't wait to get their baby out and start to fear the labour process. but not so for me. know what i fear? i fear that i won't know that i'm in labour especially if my water's don't break (water's breaking does not happen for all women).
as it is, i'm not even sure if i'm having braxton hicks (practice contractions from the 8th month onwards). it's describe as a tightening of the whole belly. what i've been feeling are cramp-like sensations and the sudden need to stop whatever i'm doing and to just take a really deep breath. i do feel a slight ache sometimes radiating from my lower back down to my thighs during some of those instances. and yes these sensations are coming more often. after these sensations have passed though i continue with whatever it was i was doing.
anyhow, i guess we'll find out my pain tolerance level when labour begins!