tunfatimah

Misi meng-preoccupying myself

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:06:43 GMT

These are some of the stuff that I have been doing this past week sebagai attempt to preoccupy myself while waiting for baby #2 to arrive:

1) membuat aktiviti2 yang berkaitan dengan sekolah Diya. Seperti raising money for 'Childrens in Need Day' dan membakar dan menjual cupcake bagi tujuan raising fund untuk sekolah.

2) Membuat aktiviti shopping di dunia cyber - tapi dengan justifikasi pembelian yang bersesuaian (matilah makk)

Apekah yg ada dalam packaging ini?

Mungkinkah jenama ini?

3) Mengadakan hari 'Diya & Mom day' dan pergi makan Japanese food dekat Ichiban. (sebenarnya alasan sebab tetiba craving Jap food gittew.. Mak hentam ajorr sushi2 tuh sebab dah nak branak pown..)

Rainbow Maki

Squid rings (although diya thought they were pretzels lol)

My tempura udon

Anyways, my dad has confirmed his visit and will be coming on the 18th! And oleh kerana ittew, rombongan puan Fatimah telahpun dipanjangkan sehingga 30th December! *pomspoms*

Now I need to reschedule my Scotland trip sebab initially the plan was to go between 17-20th. I myte reschedule the trip after the christmas week and sebelom pi Scotland, we myte singgah bi*cester on boxing day aci tak? hihi..

As for preparation for my family, I'm thinking of buying an inflatable double mattress which I found at Home Bargains at a very reasonable price. I think its a good investment coz next time if ado tetamu lain nak datang boleh makk pakai tilam itu sajorr, pls it would not take up any space if its not being used. :) So adek2, anda akan tidur diatas tilam belon harap maklom. :p

ps: Tmrw is my nephew's 3rd birthday and he is having a party at McD (sungguh jeles tak dapat pegi!) Anywys, happy birthday Adam!

38 + 1

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:11:47 GMT

Today I had a workshop at the Uni, Introduction to SPSS, to be exact. Sesuwai dengan tahap makk yang tak reti pasal SPSS nihh.. hihi.. I thought it was quite useful, although contoh yang diberikan adelah lebih sesuwai utk survey/questionnaire based research. I'm planning to use it for my content analysis. So kena try tweak here and there lah utk menyesuaikan dengan keadaan.

Anyways, after the workshop, instead of asking ubie to fetch me, I decided to walk home . I just feel that I need some exercise and walking is said to help with labour kan? Anyways, I took my own sweet time terkedek2 jalan macam itek, and what usually took me just a half-an-hour walk, turned out to an hour walk! hihi.. that is to show you how slow I was walking. Thank god I managed to make it on time for my antenatal appointment at my GP.

Speaking of antenatal visit, baby is measuring spot on 38 weeks. She is not engaged yet, but baby is caephalic (she has been since week 20 kot) and hopefully takdelah nak pusing2 after this. My MW, Denise, discussed about post-due date matters and she said that if I go beyond 40 weeks, I will be offered a membrane sweep on 30th Nov and according to her about 50% women will start labor after having the sweep. But lets just hope that I wont have to. hihi..

Anyways, I feel extremely tired these past few days. I just feel like lying down in bed. Sometimes, I even feel nausea and last night I vomitted. Its almost like 1st trimester all over again. Denise said that it can be a sign that labour is well on the way. Harap2 betullah ramalan MW ku ini..

Anyways, tomorrow is another day of SPSS workshop. And I shall waddle home again, hihi..

BTW, I like tomorrow's date : 17/11/2009. How I wish baby #2 will be born on that date. But its proly unlikely that I will.. hihi..

The waiting Game

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:45:33 GMT

I'm still here in case you are wondering. No babies yet. In fact, no signs that the latent stage is starting. I did have mild period pain-like (very mild in fact) but that is basically it.

I'm pretty okay with the waiting game. I mean, the baby will come when she is ready so no need to feel too impatient for no reasons. After all, I am still 2 weeks away from my due date.

Last week, my fundal height was 36cm, which was 1 week smaller to my gestation week. Tapi scan menunjukkan baby is 2 weeks bigger. So technically kalau ikot scan measurements, I should be 40 weeks today. I hope that baby wont be too big, but I'm not that worried TBH.

I am however, worried that I havent been able to contain myself when it comes to food! Aiyo! Seriously, everytime I go to the loo at night (thats like every hour), I will grab those sinful M&S Belgian Cookies and munch away before dozing off again. Erk! Sangat keji! Ini tak termasuk munching while I watch TV (which I dont normally do), while I'm on the Net, while I'm cooking, aiyo!! *pengsan la kalau mcm ni sampai 40 weeks!)

I just hope I can shed all this weight (macam che sabb yang kurus ittew) and be discipline with Wii Fit (a gift from My sis cinderella!! tengkiu sis! - supaya saya kurus macam dia) after giving birth nanti. Hihi..

Oh, BTW there is a big possibitily that my dad will also visit me next month, after his work trip to Cameroon. *pomspoms* But I'll only know for sure this Friday.

MLU here I come!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:34:53 GMT

Just wanted to let you all know the result of my meeting today. It went great! I was very lucky that they were very supportive of me having a VBAC and yes, I will be delivering at the MLU! *ecstatic*

I can also use the pool, for both pain relief and water birth. She basically said that I might as well take advantage of all the equipments there and increase my chances of having a VBAC.

In the meeting, she explained the risks involved and discussed what my options are. I also have full right to refuse any procedures - I opted to decline constant electronic monitoring as I cant be in the water if I have that stapped on.

However, I did agree to vaginal checks in every 2 hours (to monitor labour progress) and if my second stage does not progress in an hour I can be wheeled in to the consultants unit. But again, she said that all this is not written in stone, and as long as I have positive progress in labour and that both the baby and me were fine, they would still keep me there.

Apparently, not many women took the opportunity to deliver VBAC at the MLU (at least at my hospital). She said they only received about 20 cases throughout the 4 years since the unit was opened.

Anyways, nak juga mention bahawa makk feeling2 bonding dengan head of MLU ittew krn dia pown was pregnant (with twins plak tuh) masa buat PhD. hihi.. And perlu jugak makk drop the name of my supervisor. Kerana emak sv saya adelah seorang yg terkenal dalam midwifery world. hihi..Funnily enough, she kenal my sv jugak! Terpaksa makk lebih bonding2 gittew.. LOL

Anyhow, I am very very happy with today's meeting outcome, and decided to treat myself with lotsa chocolates! LOL

Now I just need to relax and wait for lil bubba to arrive, hopefully soon!

Pray for me having a successful VBAC people!

My Greatest Find

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:36:11 GMT

Out of all the bargains and deals that I have seen so far, this is probably the greatest find throughout my 2 years being here.

Girls leather winter boots from Clarks!

These gorgeous leather boots are priced at 5 quids each and on top of that they are listed as one of the orange multi-buy items (which means that you can get another pair for free)! That means that each pair of boots would cost a freaking 2.50 quids!! I almost fainted!

As you can see the original price was 38quids people!

Even the cashier thought it was a crazy deal. He said that the store might as well give them for free at that price. LOL!

Furthermore, its pink (obviously diya's fave), they have stars and flowery pattern on it, and the most important thing is the base is made of rubber (which is very useful here since autumn/winter tend to be mostly cold and wet.)

However, the sizes were limited, but I was lucky enough that it was just slightly bigger than her current size and she can fit into it already (thank god that they are high boots so it gives a better snug and hold of the legs when walking). I bought the other one at a bigger size and hope she can still fit into it for next winter.

Oh, i got these babies at the outlet btw. Sempat lagik pi bershopping while menunggu nak beranak nihh.. Well, they are for scotland trip and Diya needs boots for winter anyway. The one that she has (from last year) dah tak muat. *matilah justification untuk bershopping* haha.. Lagikpun my midwives kata, creating distractions can reduce frustrations while waiting for baby #2 to arrive.

ps: its getting really cold now. Tapi kami still tak on heater lagik kat umah, nak jimat punya pasal.. haha.

parentcraft

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:07:17 GMT

Had a parentcraft class yesterday. I really loved the class, we got to do some exersises ( i loved the massage session the most, for obvious reasons). I also got to ask a lot of questions about labour and birth and it was pretty reassuring to hear the midviwes explained it to me, even though I have heard/read them before on the Internet. Anyways, I think I am much more informed this time around and I feel that I am in better control as to how I like my birth experience to be. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I have my previous labour experience to thank for this. TBH if I hadn't had that experience, I think I would still be giving the doctors all the green light to cut me again.

Anyways, in case some of you havent heard, I am 37 weeks today!! Yeay! My bun is fully cooked and is now being kept warm in my oven till she is ready to come out. Nak keluar malam ni pown takpe.. LOL.

Check-up report

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:28:11 GMT

Today's ultrasound revealed that baby #2 is measuring 2 weeks bigger than my gestation week. That means she is measuring 38++ weeks, when I am about 36 + 5. According to the sonographer, theoretically I would be delivering earlier than my due date, but nobody can really tell. This is the first time baby #2 is measuring bigger than my gestation week. Selalunya measurements semua ngam2 ajor dengan gestation weeks. I am starting to wonder if the sudden growth spurt has to do with me indulging too much sugar these past weeks. Hihi.. But than again, masa dengan Diya dulu, I was on sugar high throughout 9 months and she was still born a healthy 3.37kg. Hmm.. Anyways, my O&G said that baby#2 would probably be about the same weight as Diya when she is born nanti and she is not anticipating that baby #2 will be a big baby.

Oh, also I expressed my wish to deliver at the midwifery-led unit and my O&G explained all the risks etc. She was not opposing to the idea nor was she enthusiastic about it. But she did forward my concern to the midwifery-led unit and I have an appointment to see the head of unit next Tuesday to discuss further about my option. Basically the head of unit will be the one to decide because she would be responsible for all the labours there. I'm having my fingers crossed that she will say Okay. Tapi seperti kata fabulous, I'm keeping an open mind about my labour and birth. It doesnt matter if I cant go under the midwifery led unit but its still worth the try. :)

ps: PhD-wise I tak buat apa2 kerja pun for the past 2 weeks! But the worst thing is I dont feel guilty pown. Aiyo!

All about my labour and birth plans

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:52:40 GMT

Saspen tak baca tajuk entry nih? LOL! No, I havent given birth yet, but I'd like to tell you about my dillemma about some labour and birth stuff in this entry. Kalau tidak berminat, sila tekan X at your top right page.

Anyways, yesterday I went to tour the hospital that I will be giving birth at. And for the first time I really understood the whole system of maternity care here in the UK. Before this I macam faham lite lite aja. Apparently, kat UK ni ada beberapa level maternity / labour care. You will be given routine check ups at your GP by local midwives and only need to go to hospy for ultrasound. Ultrasound will only be carried out 2 times only throughout pregnancy. This is provided that you have no complications whatsoever throughout your pregnancy.

If you have complications such as family history illness, diabetes, high blood pressure etc, you will be monitor intermittently at the nearest hospy and you will have alternate check-ups between your GP midviwes and consultants at the hospy. In my case, I had to be monitored because I had chicken pox at early pregnancy so they want to monitor the fetus growth every month.

Aside from health complications, you can also be categorised as high risk pregnancy if you have had a c-section in your previous pregnancies. Therefore you are advised to give birth at a hospy that has more complete facilities and consultants. In my case, I was referred to Heath hospy (which is different from the hospy that I do my regular check ups and ultrasound). So kesimpulannya, i have 3 places that I have my pregnancy check up.

Complicated tak? It doesnt end there okay. I just found out from yesterday tour that kat Heath hospy ini ada 2 different labour care. One is called consultant-led unit and another one is called midwifery-led unit.

Currently I am booked in at the consultant-led unit (because I had previous c-sect). The thing is, I macam tak suka dekat consultant-led unit tu. The rooms are tiny, the atmostphere is very2 uninviting and I dont know why but it brings back bad memories of sakit contractions etc. Lepas tu the building is currently under construction so what you can see outside the window is tiang2 construction! Aiyo. mak tak suka..

Looking in the labour rooms!

The midwifery-led unit pula is 100 percent the opposite! The rooms are at least 4 times bigger than the ones in consultant-led unit, they have 3 huge birth pools. And husband can stay over night (if necessary and space ada). Kat consultant led unit hubby cuma boleh stay from 9am to 9pm ajor. Lepas tu atmostphere kat midwife-led unit adelah sangat2 soothing. Sesuwai dengan plan makk nak try for hypnobirthing. But the midwife-led unit is for the low-risk pregnancies and therfore cuma midwife aja yg ada kat situ. Hence, you can only opt for gas, pethidine or water pool for pain relief. Kalau nak epidural, kena pi naek consultant led unit and give birth there.

The midwifery-led unit labour room -
notice the huge birthpool, labour ball and space!
Pastu the post-labour rooms plak ada double beds and ensuite bathroom! Best macam duduk hotel!

So anyways, my dilemma is, I want to give birth at the midwifery-led unit! I think I need to talk to the consultant and persuade her that I can be placed under midwife-led unit. Esok ada appointment and ultrasound so this myte be my best chance to convince them. I know that here in the UK, doctors are more supportive as to where you want to give birth. I know a couple mothers on babycentre that have opted for a homebirth after c-sect and their med caregivers are very supportive of their decision. So esok makk nak try my luck and pesuade them to change from consultant-led to midwifery -led unit.

Oleh itu, I've prepared some alasan for this:

1) I have been and remained to be healthy in this pregnancy.
2) All my ultrasounds have shown that my fetal growth development are normal
3) Baby is in good size and weight for vaginal birth
4) I'm planning for a natural hypnobirth VBAC so I need the atmostphere to be as calm and serene as it can get
5) Visiting the consultant-led unit has brought back traumatic memories of my previous labour. I am afraid that I will give in easily if surrounded by such atmostphere.
6) My previous labour was induced but had failed before I reach establish labour stage, so I have a higher chance of normal delivery.
7) Oh, did I mentioned that I am very2 keen on having a VBAC, so any support would be very much appreciated.
8) If there are any complications that arise during labor (Nauzzubillah), I can still be wheeled in the consultant-led unit, because they are in the same building.

Okei tak alasan2 ni? Ada yang boleh ditambah tak?

Oh, nak jugak cakap bahawa, I cannot be induced this time around because I have had a previous c-sect. This is the practice in the UK. So I will have to wait for nature to take its course and hope that I wont exceed 42 weeks of pregnancy. Full term babies are from categorised as 37-42 weeks gestation. So if I do go over my due date, the doctors would still wait till i'm 2 weeks overdue before deciding what to do.

I am very2 hopeful that baby #2 will arrive before my due date. Not just because I cant wait to have her in my arms but also so that we would have a better chance of having a VBAC. Kat sini, if you have had 2 c-sect or more, you will be advised to have c-sect again. :(

Oh.. I'm gonna be 37 weeks this coming Sunday (yeay!!) so baby #2, you can come out any day after this weekends okei.. Mom is ready for you. :)

ps: During the tour, the nurse told us to bring our own stuff - like enough babygros, nappies, cotton wool etc. They do not provide apa2 okei. Aiyo..

Trick Or Treat!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:13:53 GMT

It was a very fun night full of scary costumes, good company, great food and sweet TREATS! (that's 2 weekends in a row for me, Yikes!)

We carved halloween pumpkin (well, ubie did all the carving while we watched.)

Draw the face on the pumpkin first

Diya insisted that we carve a happy pumpkin, not a scary one.

The carving process

Then Diya put on her witch costume and some face makeup. Again, she doesnt want to look scary, so no spider web painting or dramatic eye. So we had drawings of the stars and moon on her cheeks. Makk pakai eyeliner ajor.. senang nak wipe afterwards. hihi..

Glittery eyes and some stars on the cheeks

Posing with our pumpkin!

After maghrib, we drove to Hila's place. We didnt go trick or treat at our neighbourhood because our kawasan ni tak berapa happening dengan halloween. Almaklumlah, kawasan ramai pakistan and not mat salleh.. hihi..

We arrived lambat sikit. Shameem and Jue was already there. Had dinner before going trick or treat. Candlelight dinner with glow in the dark skeletons, and lotsa halloween decors lightings. Hila even had witch brooms on her window. :)

Desserts - pumpkin gingerbread cookies, swirly cuppies, Foot shaped cookies, and appetiser smoked salmon on cheese crackers

Window halloween decorations

Gorgeous table setting. Can you spot the glow-in-the-dark skeletons on the table?

Us having dinner. Roast chicken, salad, pasta and fruit salad. Yums!

Among the trick or treaters!!

After dinner, its our turn to go trick or treating!

Our trick or treat gang! Nabil a.k.a Darth Vader Batman, Danial the Dracula
and my lil Diya the friendy witch!

Choosing their treats!

Posing at one of the houses

Diya looking scared at one of the houses

Kiddies and mummies. And Oohh.. Taraaa! my new hair!

Oh there's also a video on my facebook for you guys to see.. I dunno how to put it up here sebab its not my video. But its really funny. You can see how chatty diya is in the video. LOL!

So thats our first trick or treating. Hopefully we'll get to do it again next year!

ps: ninie, make sure tunjuk mama n papa gambar n video tu taww.. hihi..

Happy Halloween!

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:16:29 GMT

Just came back from trick or treat-ing. So penat but so much fun! Will blog about it tmrw.

My little witch and her pumpkin