Baby on Board! (Part 3) –Things not to do during pregnancy

The list of things that pregnant lady should not do is listed as below. Again, listed in the form of ‘real advice’ and medical reason.

1. Chinese beliefs we should not move our house furniture during the pregnancy period. This is because moving the furniture (especially your bed) might ‘move’ the foetus position a.k.a. miscarriage.

Medical explanation: During our pregnancy, our back is very important as it will need to support our body weight (plus the growing belly). Moving things, if not careful enough will result in backache. Always keep in mind that our centre of gravity also changes when our belly is growing. This is also why they always say pregnant woman have got no balance when walking :P

2.   Do not renovate the house during pregnancy. As again, it will result in miscarriage.

Medical explanation: Pregnant women should avoid paint, thinner, dust and other subtances because inhaling too much of them can cause in miscarriage, birth defect and learning problem in child. For more information please click here.

3. Pregnant ladies are also advised not to announce to people (other than immediate family members) that they pregnant until she is at least on her 12th week. This is because they belief that baby might be angry or they call it ‘siu hei’ in Cantonese thus having the risk of losing the baby.
Medical explanation: or more towards logical explanation, the foetal is not stable in the first trimester and the risk of miscarriage is high during the first trimester. So to avoid disappointment, it is better not to inform anyone about the good news until the foetus is stable.

4. I found this new thing from this particular site where I think is quite interesting. It says that a pregnant lady should avoid sitting on a newly wedded couple’s bed if she attends their wedding. As this will make the couple not able to have child as much year as how many months the pregnant lady is. For example, if the pregnant lady is 5 months pregnant, then the couple will not be able to have child for 5 years. For more information, you may read here.
Medical Explanation: could not find anything scientific to back this one up though. And of course I did not try this, I do not want to get the blame if the couple really are not able to have baby for years, do I? :P

5. Please also take note that smoking is a big NO NO during pregnancy. Cigarettes increase the risk of babies having a low birth weight, being born prematurely and/or with respiratory problems, and maternal smoking is linked to miscarriage and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).


p/s: if you did notice, I did not put any Indian’s believe for pregnant women in my post because I have NO IDEA anything about it. LOL!

15.07.13 - turn Isabel, turn!!!

Day 143, at last she managed to turn over her body without any assistance from us. Weeks of practicing on her bed, our bed, her play mat, her playground and all over places did not go to waste after all.

being a hot tempered child (like me), She had been shouting when she was unable to turn or when her hand was stuck beneath her own body. It didn't stop her from keep trying though although there are times she vomited a bit of milk (due to turning here and there I guess?). in fact, she gets annoyed when stopped her from trying as sometimes she looked tired.

now that the first phase is done, the next step will be crawling and then walking. I guess we will have to chase her around by then!

*she feels so tired after this accomplishment (and also the earlier trip to the clinic and Tesco), she is sleeping like a pig now.

Baby on Board! (Part 2) – Food to avoid during pregnancy

Many woman worries a lot about how the fetus is developing in their womb throughout pregnancy and I’m not spared from the group. It’s very normal to have this type of feeling since we can’t actually see what’s happening inside. And so to minimize that worry and anxiety, I refer to some of the websites which are quite good in informing us on how the fetus is developing week by week and what mothers should do to take care of themselves during that period. One of my favorite site is baby-gaga : http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/calendar/ . They also provide parenting guidelines for infant. 

Being a first time expecting mom, expect to get loads of ‘advises’ from everyone you know. They will come with a list of things that you SHOULD NOT EAT, SHOULD NOT DO and the list goes on… In my case, I was expected to follow both the Chinese and Indian ‘rules’. Which of course… I did not. LOL. That’s because I was actually advised by my Gynea that I might end up eating nothing if I need to follow both… :s

Below is the SHOULD NOT EAT list that I was told to follow and what it says medically:

1. The Chinese beliefs that one should not eat raw (seafood sashimi or not fully cooked meat such as beef) during pregnancy.
Medical explanation: it’s not that raw seafood and half cooked meat is dangerous to pregnant lady. But it may easily get contaminated by growing bacteria which will then make a pregnant lady feel ill because pregnant woman’s immune system is lower during pregnancy so that our body will not attack out growing fetus. Please also take note that illnesses due to food poisoning could lead to minor problems such as flu and diarrhea or as serious that can cause miscarriage or other foetal damage. Click here for more info.

2. Chinese also says to prevent taking orange fruit during pregnant as it will result in too much phlegm in the baby when she is born.
Medical explanation: no harm in taking oranges during pregnancy as long as it’s in moderation as orange juice has got a lot of Vitamin C and Folic acid that a pregnant lady need to get energy from where as Folic acid is important for foetal growth.

3. Chinese beliefs that talking mutton or lamb during pregnancy will cause the baby to have seizures in future.
Medical explanation: I could not find any sites supporting the above. But, to eat lamb or mutton, we must make sure it’s fully cooked and not rare or medium well. Refer item number 1 (on top) for explanation.

4. Prevent cold drink and food such as ice cream is a common advice during pregnancy. Chinese beliefs that if a pregnant lady have too much cold water and cold food, she will affect the baby’s respiratory system where the baby might have a weak respiratory system when he/she is born.
Medical Explanation: I was told by my gynea, it is ok to drink cold water, because our body is so hot that by the time the ‘cold’ water reach my tummy, it has already became room temperature. :P But of course I only started taking cold water after my 12th week.. making sure that the fetus is stable 1st.

There are so many more things that I have been told not to eat but I could not think at the back of my head right now. But I think the list above is good enough to make the pregnancy duration miserable.

Other things that are medically proven that pregnant lady should avoid are:

1.      Deli products - as it is normally taken out from the fridge and eaten cold. This is when all the bacteria have already been residing on the Deli meat.

2.      Some types of cheese normally soft cheese – for the above same reason because they may be unpasteurized and contaminated with listeria -- bacteria that can trigger food poisoning. Unpasteurized milk will have the same effect too.

3.      Raw eggs (including homemade mayos) – they  also contain high level of listeria

4.      Caffeine drinks such as coffee and colas. Too much can increase the risk of miscarriage.

5.      Alcohol is also a big NO NO because alcohol can go to the baby almost immediately as it crosses the placenta. Baby will have risk of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

For more info, click here.

I'll continue with my Not To Do list on the next post. :-)

 

Baby on Board! (Part 1)

It has been ages (and I mean it!) since I have blogged. :P This is because we were going through the next stage in our lives. The preparation and the arrival of our little princess! :D

Now, where should I start from? When we found out I’m pregnant?

Of course we were thrilled knowing that we will have a new arrival soon.



Picture top and bottom left is a ultrasound picture of her in her 12th week



But the thrilled also comes with a price! Pregnancy is no easy job. At least not for me. LOL! Having to go through morning sickness, in my case is ‘anytime’ sickness and not just morning. Having to carry an additional 18kgs at the end of my pregnancy is crazy too. Yup. 18kgs is the total weight that I have ‘gained’ throughout my pregnancy. I looked like a giant mama carrying a giant ball by the time I’m due. But come to think of it, everything is worth it when you can have a new born in your arm after 10 months’ time.

Pregnancy process is something so magical that you will not able to explain to someone unless you have experience it yourself. Words alone will not be sufficient to tell how you feel when a tiny life is growing inside of you. From the moment you are able to feel her heartbeat in you womb, that’s when you know you are one of the lucky person in the world, taking in consideration how many women out there who wish to get pregnant but is not able to…