his first question was about the EDD. we told him that it supposed to be in 13th october. he drew a line, marked it with 13/10=40wks and where we are now, 37wks 4days. he said, the best time for a preggy mother to give birth is at her 38weeks, and he stated, for me it should be on the 29th. a 38weeks fetus is matured enough to be born, and he said, if i had any problem like breech baby or any pregnancy-induced desease, he would let you out at our 38weeks. and for a test tube baby, in any case, at 38 weeks, he'll be born. furthermore, when i told him your last week's weight was 2.5kg, he said, if you gan 300grm per week, you're gonna be very big for me. in average, a normal baby should be 3kg above, but for me, he said i am too petite for a normal size baby. he expected you to be a small baby, but he said over and over again "this is not gonna be a small baby". an average, is not necessarily applies to everybody. like when we buy a shirt, i may fit S size, but my friends may not. some may fit M, L, XL or even XXL. measuring a healthy pregnancy is not relative to baby's weight alone but also mom's size. but at these weeks, he said it is impossible to control your weight, since you are already developing your own fat and carbohydrate.
the, we went to the ultrasound couch. and it was proven that you are big :) 2.8kg, my limit! again, he mentioned about our uncompatible sizes... duh! he showed us your big scrotum, caused by your abdomen fluid which was not cleared, but he said it's normal and no need to worry. just, you'll be born with a big scrotum. huhu. but there was some good news. your position was perfect, the placenta was posterior, amniotic fluid was 14 (should range 8-18), and you're 1/5 engaged! and the matured placenta, meaning you're ready to be born at anytime...
dr awang told us about what to do, if the signs of labor appear. a normal labor should start with 'show' or mucus+blood would come out, followed by painful, rhytmitic contraction, every 60mins, every 30mins.... until it getting more frequent up to every 2 minutes. i shouldn't be at the hospital if the mucus appear, but wait until the contraction comes in every 10 minutes. he said, some women get the 'show' and only 3 days after the contraction started. and he didn't want to keep me in the ward for nothing, hehe. and another sign of abnormal labor, is the water break. if this happen, i should rush to the hospital, cos when the water break, meaning the risk of infection to you is high. anything from outside might goes in the uterus and affect you. so, if this happen, even of without pain, he need me to be in the hospital immediately.
and he had another point of view about epidural. he said, his usual practise is not giving epidural in instant, but only after looking at the mother's condition. if the mother needs pain relief, he may provides the etonox or injection. then only if she can't cope with them, he'll call the anaesthetic for epidural. and as well as the baby's position, if there's no need for forcep or vacuum, he doesn't suggest epidural. we asked about the risk, he said 1 in a million is paralyse. and 1 in a hundred is severe headache, if the epidural doesn't hit the right place on the spine, causing spinal fluid to come out. and there's never 100% of succeed, even if it is done by the most specialist in the world.
for episiotomy, he said, the routine practise is, every first time mom should go for episiotomy, but currently they changed the routine. if there's no need for episiotomy, he won't cut my perineum! unless if there's need for forcep, vacuum or oversized baby that may cause severe tear to the mother. phew, big relief for Abi. as possible as it could, he doesn't want any part of my body to be cut :D
but i still feel a bit worry, cos dr awang said that, labor will come at anytime. after all, you are in your position, plus you are big, and heavy. actually we really want you to be born on the 13th october... but if you decide to come earlier, hmmm.. what can i do than letting you, but just make sure it happens when Abi is still with us OK (Abi's going back to Miri on the 30th).
back from the hospital, we went for shopping again :) we got what we still had in our list: detergent for your wardrobe, your bottles' cleanser, your towels, disposable diapers, my maternity pads, disposable panties and post-natal supplement. i add vita E, zinc and alfalfa for post-natal beside what i currently take. i should be ready for labor at anytime, so no more 'wait' to have everything perfect in the hospital bag.
i'm not sure about my feeling now. excited? afraid? blank? hmmm.. i have no idea. if only i can decide.. i would make your DOB on 13th october, but this is not my job now.. it's you (definitely it's Allah's job)! so i just.. waiting for your arrival :) but again please don't let me be alone in the labor room. i need Abi with me OK. :)
baby, can't you wait for another two and half week?