Pregnancy: The second trimester – 20-week anomaly scan + gestational diabetes scare

Feeling baby’s movements (Week 15-19)

These four weeks felt like forever because it’s the longest we’ve gone without seeing Chua Bee Bee. How is she? Is she well? Is everything developing correctly? Week 15 was also when I started bugging Aishah incessantly, “How would I know if the baby is ok?” You won’t know. You just got to have faith. I guess this period of limbo is really “no news is good news”.

But in Week 15, I started feeling butterflies in my tummy. The feeling is like a butterfly landing on your tummy and then quickly flying away. I didn’t know those could be Chua Bee Bee moving – her movements were like a whisper. The next week, I started feeling “muscle twitches”. With real muscle twitches though, they’re normally at the same place, but these twitches were all over the place on my lower abdomen. I read that these sensations were called “quickening”.

By Week 18, I was sure I was feeling my baby move. I could feel little kicks, not every day, but most days. What a cute feeling!

20-week anomaly scan

We were so looking forward to this scan, just before Christmas. We could finally see our kid after more than a month! Jason went for the scan with me this time cos he didn’t want to miss out on looking at Chua Bee Bee close up. He missed the 12-week scan as I thought it would just take five minutes so I told him I could go alone. The scan took about 45 minutes. The sonographer measured the head, the abdomen, the limbs, the spine, and looked out for baby’s brain, internal organs, genitalia, hands and feet, and even counted her tiny fingers and toes! She explained what everything was as she scanned – I was beginning to think she had some super power. How to see on that screen and some more have to come up with a detailed report to the doctor stating if everything has developed normally?

Chua Bee Bee was now 15 cm long from head to her bum, and 25 cm from head to toe! Her arms and legs measured longer than average, her chin and nose looked sharp (yes can see!), and everything appeared great. One scene I will never forget is when I felt and SAW her kicking me on the screen. Look at this scan of her foot in the air. You can even see her tiny toes! Isn’t she photogenic!

And then you can see her tiny hands. The sonographer searched for both hands and counted her little fingers:

And here are her feet. We took the longest to find her feet cos they were squashed somewhere underneath and she wouldn’t budge! I was asked to empty my bladder and come back to the room so that there’s a chance the little girl will shift positions. And FINALLY, we see her little feet and counted all her cute toes:

The sonographer also measured the length of her forearm and her thigh bone. Both were around the 80th percentile. Long limbs like her dad! Sure taller than me.

And her head circumference:

The rest of the scan pics I can’t make out what they are LOL. If you’re a mom going for your 20-week scan soon, enjoy it! Here are Chua Bee Bee’s measurements if you’re interested (she was 19W5D at time of scan):

Gestational diabetes scare (Week 21)!
I got a scare when I peed on the urine test stick at the clinic and saw that my glucose level has skyrocketed. Having always taken care of my health, I have NEVER seen such crazy levels before. At my 12-week blood test, I was having borderline LOW blood sugar. At at the previous month’s visit, my glucose level was also normal. How could it be at 21 weeks, my blood sugar was so high? My doctor said not to worry as the spike was probably due to me eating breakfast within 3 hours before this and that we will take the test again next visit. But all I had was my unsweetened soya milk, albeit less than an hour ago. I knew I had let myself go with all the cookies and cakes, bubble tea, ribena, large packets of rice and noodles and potato chips and ice cream. And this needed to stop. I had no doubt that with my dietary changes, my levels will return to normal by the next visit. And sure enough, they did!

The good news is our little girl is growing well and she has put on another 40g and now weighed 354g!

Overnight a big tummy (Week 24)

Over the past three weeks, we have been setting aside time at night talking to Chua Bee Bee and feeling her move. Jason could already feel her kicking his face as he kissed my tummy. I realise that she is most active at night, around 10.30 pm to 11.30 pm. Her kicks assure me that she is doing well. I love feeling those kicks and wish she would just kick me all day long!

This same week, my tummy grew OVERNIGHT. Impossible as it might sound, it really did. I was already showing before this, but because I am fatter, you can’t really tell if I’m fat or pregnant. Nobody gives up their seats on the bus or MRT for me! On Sunday, I began feeling stretching, pulling aches, similar to what I felt at Week 15. As the uterus expands to accommodate the baby, your ligaments will stretch and you will feel mild aches or light cramps. I read that this is normal. What I didn’t read is that I was “rewarded” with a round, firm belly immediately the next day! I was doing my usual thing, lying on the bed and putting my hands on my lower belly to wait for the bub to kick, and realised in amazement how round I have become. What is happening to me?

Me and my tummy at 24 weeks!

Next:
Pregnancy: The third trimester 4D scan – I saw Chua Bee Bee’s cute little face!
Pregnancy: Mount Alvernia Hospital – Maternity Tour & Estimate Bill Size 2016
Pregnancy: Bellybuds! Playing music for your baby in the womb
FY2016 Budget: Is the government giving us an extra $3K into the Child Development Account?
Pregnancy: Why I’m choosing GAIA Natural Baby Organic Skincare for #ChuaBeeBee
Pregnancy: Why I’m choosing GAIA Natural Baby Organic Skincare for #ChuaBeeBee
The third trimester: Tips for changing your gynae at Week 35
Pregnancy: When you wrist hurts like nobody’s business (De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis)
How to bake your own chunky chocolate lactation cookies
Pregnancy: Week 39 – Low amniotic fluid and an eviction notice!

Previous posts:
Pregnancy: The big reveal!
Pregnancy: The first trimester scans… I saw an empty womb on my first scan
Pregnancy: The second trimester – harmony test and gender reveal!