Last night at around 6:30pm I started getting painful contractions which continued to get longer, more frequent, and increased in intensity. At about 8:30 I called my doctor who told me that there's no way to really tell if I'm in labor or not unless I go into the hospital, but also warned me that since I am a first time mom and I was only 1cm dilated the day before, there's a chance that I am just having false labor. I had a hunch that I was really in labor, since I had had my membranes stripped the day before and had been passing my bloody show for about 24 hours. Plus, while I had been having painful braxton-hicks contractions...
Continue readingI may be married to a Chinese guy, but I still play it pretty safe when it comes to Chinese cuisine and can be somewhat of a dumbass when it comes to Chinese dishes. This flowchart, which can be downloaded in PDF format, would come in handy for people like me. P.S. — I still can't eat chicken feet. Via Neatorama. ...
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So the sweeping of the membranes seemed to have done something. I had some cramps after the procedure but ignored them (as I have been having cramps for the past couple of weeks) and took a short nap. When I woke up to pee, I noticed some blood on my underwear. No reason to panic, since the doctor had warned that I might have some spotting. As as long as it's not bright red and/or gushing, I had nothing to worry about. It was only when I wiped that things got interesting. Was that...
Continue readingI knew that I had to share this story with my readers as I totally teared up while reading it earlier today. (But then again, what doesn't get me emotional these days? I cried while watching the newest episode of House last night.) As my readers can testify, pregnancy is not all about unicorns farting rainbows. Take the case of Shirley Sirivong, who, after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes, complete placenta previa, and incompetent cervix, was put on bed rest and a strict diet consisting of bland and dull food. In order to liven up her meals and bring some cheer to her monotonous routine, Shirley's husband Gat began to make funny faces out of boiled egg and toast. From then on, the food art...
Continue readingThis morning I had my weekly OB visit and whined to the doctor how miserable I have been feeling lately. While sympathetic, the only advice she could offer was nothing I hadn't heard/read before (move around as much as possible, take Tylenol or a hot bath for the pain, "It could be any day now!"). She gave me a cervical check to see if I am progressing at all, and I was sorely disappointed to learn that I am only 1cm dilated and 40% effaced. "That's it?!?" I wanted to yell. "Then why does it feel like this baby is between my knees???" The doctor then proceeded to strip my membranes in hopes of speeding up the process some. If you do not...
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