Well, that’s done confirmed it… We saw the doctor again yesterday and there’s no mistake about it – we’re having a boy. Even I couldn’t doubt the shape of what I was seeing – the scrotum and his penis. Nevertheless, I had to ask the doctor again for any possibility of a mistake and his reply was:
“Nope. The water pistol’s still there.”
Hubby’s hinted to me that his fortune reading revealed he was going to have two boys and a girl. Sure… Good try, hubby. We’re still stopping at two.
Anyway, everything’s checked out well this time. My blood work and urine were clear. The baby’s doing well, albeit slightly on the larger side. I’m about 21 weeks plus and baby’s about 22 weeks in size. However, Dr Wong says there’s still plenty of time before the due date so we’ll monitor his growth as we go.
There were two things I need to watch out for after this visit:
1. My weight.
For some unfathomable reason (or maybe it has something to do with a certain chef SIL now living with us), I have somehow managed to stack on 4kgs since my last check-up. That’s got to be a record for me. The most I put on between the monthly check-ups with Gavin was about 3kgs.
Under normal circumstances, the only reason I should be concerned about the weight gain is purely an aesthetic one – my postpartum figure. However, the main concern with the excess weight now is my family history of diabetes and the possibility of gestational diabetes.
Although everything checks out so far, it’s still something I’ll have to watch out for.
2. Weak pelvic floor muscles.
Here’s the interesting thing that Dr Wong told me – exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles are best done BEFORE you get pregnant. Although it can help during pregnancy, the effect is not as great since the pelvic floor muscles are already being loaded by the weight of the baby.
It would appear that, based on certain mild discomforts I have experienced recently, my pelvic floor is weak. It might help for me to start working on them now, but then again, it might also be a case of too little, too late. Anyway, Dr Wong has recommended a few pelvic floor exercises for me to do but suggested I listen to my body and stop if I felt any pain.
Admittedly, I haven’t exactly been working out during this pregnancy – save a few very light sessions on the Wii Fit. It probably doesn’t help when everyone is so concerned about me over-straining myself when the real concern should have been whether I was exercising enough.
Here’s the thing about exercise and pregnancy – if you’ve been working out before getting pregnant, then there’s really no harm in continuing to exercise during pregnancy. Even running during pregnancy isn’t a bad thing if running is something you have been active in before getting pregnant. Of course, you take things easier and you don’t go trying to break any records, but a little exercise isn’t going to hurt you.
When I was pregnant with Gavin, I was at least attending Fitfor2. I was planning to start going again when Gavin starts school – but more about that one later…
Nurture for the Future 