I wanted to do a post during Week 20; the halfway point. But I procrastinated a bit, and wham! Before I knew it, the Friday that just passed was Week 24!

Time is starting to fly now that the symptoms are subsiding. And I'm getting really nervous as the days of freedom are getting limited.

Let's see what's been going on recently pregnancy-wise...

1. Zika Virus
"Oh great, the epidemic have to happen when I'm pregnant." This must be what all pregnant women around the world are thinking nowadays.

Between my last post and now, Zika Virus has suddenly exploded and forcefully captured the world's attention. Although the virus hasn't reached Singapore, I live everyday in paranoia. 2 days ago, I got bitten by a mosquito on the back of my hand and I FREAKED OUT. The primary concern is that 80% of the people who got the virus shows no symptoms. So for all we know, the virus has been silently infiltrating the population for all we know.

And I keep forgetting to put on my insect repellent. And it's way too hot to cover myself from head to toe when I go out. I've been keeping away from parks and gardens, and known mosquito hotspots.


2. The Baby Bump
My tummy is finally showing. Sort of. I have to wear really tight dresses before people go "Oh baby bump!" Otherwise, it just disappears into normal tees and airy dresses. But it IS turning into some sort of mini table.

My BMI is now 20.4. I miss my BMI reading of 18, and have to keep reminding myself that I'm sharing 20.4 with another human being. Hey baby, please return my flat tummy to me after you come out ok!


3. Sleeping Position
Having a growing fetus means sleeping woes. Although tummy is not quite that big yet, I can no longer lie facing up for longer than 10 minutes before feeling uncomfortable. And forget about lying face down. I haven't been able to do that since OHSS.

For some reason, lying on the left side was more comfortable than lying on the right side, where there is a slight pain in my lower abdomen. Dr Google says lying on the left side is better too, because the liver in on the right. Well, whatever my body fancies.

And Hubby bought me a maternity pillow for my birthday which just passed. It has the cutest name ever: "Big Flopsy". I mean, how do you not want to hug something called the Big Flopsy!! (Review on Big Flopsy coming up soon)

4. The Flying Kick!
For the longest time, I thought my tummy was rumbling with gas. Until various ex-pregnant mommies confirmed that it's the baby. It's something like rolling waves over a small area; really fast.

And one day, I'm totally convinced when the sudden jab from inside my tummy felt like a disgruntled kick from a little baby. The feeling was like a variation of the waves.

My favorite ultrasound so far; baby's foot!

5. Darling, please get along with my Bladder
During Week 20's scan, I saw the little one punching repeatedly.. at what I assume the general direction of my bladder.

The little one seems to be mortal enemies with my bladder. My toilet runs when I attempt to sleep are an average of 2-5 times a night. To hell with the people who goes "sleep now while you still can". No sweeties, I have forgotten what it was like to sleep through the night. The last time was before the ovum pick up and pre-OHSS days.


Coming Friday's my next clinic visit. No scan this time. I've also been having lots of sharp pains when I walk. Hope everything's fine...

This was from Week 20!

Tokyo's Pregnancy Badge hanging on a bag. I like how it's so unassuming.

As I mentioned in my Week 18 Update post, I have a little baby bump now! Though vaguely visible under selected clothing, it makes me look more fat than pregnant. And no, no one is giving up any seats on the MRT to this preggie yet.

Speaking of public transport seats, any woman who have ever been pregnant will find it ironic. The period of time when a pregnant woman needs the MRT or bus seat the most is during her 1st trimester. We have all these nice human beings who are willing to give up their seats to those who need it (my faith in humanity is high); they just don't know you're dying from the 1st trimester symptoms. And by the time you have a nice rounded baby bump in your 2nd trimester and the nice human beings are giving up their seats to you, you no longer need it as much as a few weeks ago; although it's still nice to be able to rest on the train.

But nice human beings aside, we also have the judgemental nutcases who periodically upload videos of people they judge as being physically fit and thus undeserving of public transport seats onto youtube and Stomp. (How dare the NSman sit on the MRT?! How dare that rotund man not give up his seat to a pregnant woman! Obese men should be exercising not sitting down!) 

And the reasons why these videos go viral almost instantly is because there is a whole demographic of judgemental crazies on the internet whose sole reason for their existence is to engage in cyber witch hunt and to name and shame perceived baddies.

So thanks to these militant nutcases, I didn't even dare to sit on the empty priority seats because I didn't think the best way to announce my pregnancy was by public explanation on social media on why I am starring in a viral youtube video. And this was when I desperately needed to rest from the 1st trimester cramps; dizziness; nausea, breathlessness, acid reflux; gastritis; and all that jazz.

It is times like these that I wished Singapore would adopt the maternity badges or 'Baby on board' badge like in Japan and UK.

In said countries, after you get pregnant, you can apply for a maternity badge to wear in public. This badge is not to pressurize other commuters to give up their seats to you but if nice human beings see it, they will know you're in need of a seat. Most importantly, you can sit in the priority seat without getting all paranoid on "voyeurs" filming you.

So come on Singapore! You called on us to breed! Make us some maternity badges!

And if MCYS decides to implement the maternity badges, please take a page from Japan's design. The maternity badges in Japan are so cute that I wanted to do our babymoon in Japan just to collect the badge! Unfortunately, I couldn't decipher if they give it to pregnant tourists too, and what exactly is the procedure to procure one. There was a period of awareness campaign when they were giving it out at their metro stations in Tokyo, but I believe it's over.

If anyone knows how to get these Japanese maternity badges, please please share with me!

I love this design!! THIS is the one I wanna fly to Japan to collect!!

London's Baby On Board badge. The design is so typically English; Boring.

Maternity badges from other Japanese cities

Assuming there are 4 weeks every single month of the year, I am now 4.5 months pregnant! 2 more weeks to that 20 week scan.

And I am also finally not feeling sick ALL THE TIME! That's a milestone, to me at least. Hello second trimester! That said, the following still throws me into a violent fit of nausea:

1) Smell of food being cooked; the oily kind
2) Smell of very oily cooked food (I'm spared from fried food though, for some reason)
3) Smell of extremely spicy food (The qualifier is that I have a relatively high tolerance for spicy food so I'm still able to enjoy mild spices in my food)
4) Bumpy rides (No, it's not carsick)
5) Tight clothing
6) Random fancy by my baby


The 1st one: Smell of food being cooked. Now this is really the WORST. My apartment is near-airtight with the air-conditioning on almost 24/7. But when I step out into my yard of out of my apartment, I will get attacked by the stench of the entire apartment block cooking at the same bloody time. I either hold my breath and make a run for the elevator, or I get reduced into a whimpering nauseous heap.

The 6th one: Random fancy by my baby. As if to prove my point, it just happened. I was happily typing this post when I suddenly get into a throwing up fit; no explainable reason whatsoever.

But other than that, I'm more or less a functional woman.

My baby bump is also finally bigger than my OHSS bloat. The extra big shorts I bought to accommodate my OHSS bloat is officially too tight as of this morning. I've put on about 2kg since before the IVF procedure. But although my bump is showing quite a bit now, I look more fat than pregnant. And no one is giving up any seats to me on the subway yet.

I've been taking baby bump pictures (almost) every week but I'm a little shy to publish them here.

I bought my first pair of maternity jeans! That's my first piece of maternity clothing; highly recommended by my new-mommy girlfriend. Will review it at a later date after I'm well acquainted with the jeans.

So looking very forward to a positive 20 week scan to assure myself that all in well in the womb down there!

Like what I said in my previous post, we've started to tell people I'm expecting. It's always nice to tell that to friends who have recently become parents themselves so their pregnancy experiences, recommendations, and advice are still fresh in their heads.

Most of the advice are more or less the same, but the most interesting recommendation I received was from a girlfriend who ordered me to buy this stretch marks prevention cream IMMEDIATELY.

I had been quite apprehensive about the prospect of stretch marks, but have since accepted that it was part of a mom's sacrifice. Until my girlfriend appears with this shining beam of hope that I may be spared from the scars of a snapped tummy. She happily says she started using the cream as soon as she knew she was pregnant, and never developed a single mark. Her son is now 1 year old.

So I bought said cream over the next few days.

The Mustela Stretch Marks Prevention Cream was made in France and cost me SGD49.50 a tube. The reviews online seem mostly positive, although some women still developed stretch marks ultimately even after religious use. A quick check on Mustela's website for details of their 'clinically tested' results showed that the tests were only carried out on 20+ women, with no information on the women's age range or race. (Yes, I believe different race's skin types do make a difference in results for cosmetic cream)

But who cares! I'm gonna try it out. So far, I've applied it for 5 days already. The on-again off-again itchiness on my growing belly has been off-again since I started applying. But it's only been 5 days so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

The cream is runnier than I expected so a load tend to ooze out when you squeeze it too hard (actually I only applied a little pressure), so be careful there.

There is a slight fragrance from the cream that my newly pregnancy-induced Hyperosmia is not rejecting, so I guess that means it is more or less natural instead of chemical.

Well, I can only update whether the cream really works after my baby pops out and my tummy deflates, so let's hope for the best.


This is a non-paid product review. Want me to review your product? Contact me at  taru.contact at gmail.com.

So I was spared a full 2 weeks wait for the $800 test. I only found out it's called the Panorama Prenatal Screen when they emailed the report over.

The genetic consultant called hubby last Thursday (17/12) to deliver the news. The probability for Down Syndrome is now <1/10000 according to this test with 99% accuracy.

Oh gosh, we were so relieved! I wanted to jump and celebrate, except I can't really jump. The test also picked up the chromosome readings easily so we also now know the gender of my baby. But shhh, I'm not telling yet. Watching people guess based on their 'experiences' is so much fun.

We're probably the only ones I know that know the gender of the baby at less than 14 weeks. Hubby was disappointed at the gender though, and moped about it for a couple of days until I ordered him to snap out of it.

So now that we've cleared this milestone, I hope the little one is still fine in me. A hint of a baby bump has started to appear. I swear it's real this time! Although my belly still looks smaller than when I got OHSS. I always thought I looked 3 months pregnant during my OHSS ordeal, but it seems I had looked further along than I thought.

I will be 15 weeks along this Christmas. It's time to start announcing the good news. Here's a pic of baby in my belly at 13 weeks, 2 days; 7cm. Compare that to the 'abstract art' in my 2nd Antenatal dating scan. At least when I show this picture, no one is asking me "How does this work?" anymore.

So here we are, in the middle of yet another '2 week wait'. This time, my Schrodinger's Cat is in a lab somewhere in the hospital.

It. Just. Never. Ends.

Last Monday (7/12), we went for the Fetal Abnormality Screening. I had been nervous about the scan for a while but largely distracted by the morning sickness to fall over myself in worry.

The ultrasound scan was surreal. For the very first time, we saw the baby move. It moved! It was waving its arms in what looked like a salute, and it was turning around and flipping. And I swear I could see the silhouette of hubby's nose on the baby. I wonder if this means it's a boy!

We walked out of the scan room in a sense of wonder while waiting for the results. It measures about 5.6cm, but it was moving so excitedly!

But then the doctor presented the chilling results to us. There was a high risk that the baby may get Down Syndrome; more specifically, a 1 in 112 chance. This was 90% accurate

The next day, we opted for the other blood test that will be 99% accurate, and cost about $800. But the results can only be out in 2 weeks. 2 weeks of hell.

Yesterday, we went for the gynae checkup. The first official one after I 'graduated' from the fertility clinic. This time it was really hard to have to grimly watch the baby happily wriggling in the womb, dreaming of life; when its fate is so uncertain now. It has grown ever so slightly more, and is now measuring at 7cm.

I went through most of last week coping by being really busy and involved with work. It's not working this week at all. After a year of emotional trauma, after 3 episodes of OHSS madness, after suffering physical pain for 3 consecutive months; there is that possibility that I may have to interrupt this pregnancy. And after I have passed the torturous 1st trimester too!

We went for the 2nd dating scan on 16 Nov Monday, and I was so pleased that I have been promoted from the transvaginal probe to the 'over-the-belly' kind (what is this called?).

I was a little stunned as she placed the probe on my lower belly and immediately, the sac and the 'blob' inside it appeared on the screen. It has grown so much! From a little pulsating light in the dark of the ocean, I can now see a tiny humonoid shape (can you see the head shape in that picture!!); the pulsating heartbeat right in the middle of the chest.

A sense of relief washed over me. Yes, I had been paranoid. The internet overflowing with stories of failed pregnancies in every corner is really not a good place to live in.

And that was the good news. My little diamond is growing well at 26mm!

The bad news was... that the 2nd sac remained empty and silent; an abyss. I was really disappointed. Although I had been more paranoid for my 1st sac than hopeful for my 2nd, the disappointment I felt then in the room was huge. I had for weeks entertained the eager thought that I could settle 2 pregnancies in 1 go and leave my uterus alone once and for all. But now I may have to go through the ordeal all over again for a 2nd child. Having just recovered from OHSS, the thought is horrifying.

But that's another scenario for another day. Right now, I am just focussing on being grateful that sac no. 1 looks healthy. Hubby was grinning from ear to ear for the next 1/2 hour after the scan, although he probably didn't realise it.

3 weeks ago, the machine claimed I was 5.7 weeks pregnant. Exactly 3 weeks later, I am suddenly 9.4 weeks pregnant. Where did the 5 days go to? Dr Jerry Chan later ascertained the latter date is correct, and my full term will be on 17 June 2016 (That's my daddy's birthday! He's going to be so thrilled!)

Next appointment: Fetal Abnormality Scan on 7 Dec for risk of Down Syndrome. This is another huge milestone to cross.

Grow healthy and well, my dearest little diamond.

Meanwhile, I have clean forgotten what it is like to not feel sick all the time; have a normal appetite; have a brain that doesn't feel like mud half the time; nor to sleep soundly through an entire night...