Week 21 - Structural Scan

At week 21, I have scheduled a structural scan session with Dr. Patrick Chia at FMGC (Fetal Medicine & Gynaecology Centre at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya). This detailed scan took about 20 minutes to thoroughly scan through the main organs of the baby, just to make sure there is no abnormality in terms of functions as well as appearance.

In fact, this scan was optional since my fetus has passed the 1st trimester screening at week -12 with low risk. However, my heart could not be 'set free' whenever I recalled the long list of medicine that I have taken just days before I found out that I was pregnant. (You may read more about my preceding story here.) My gynae, Dr. Paul Ng (Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur) has suggested me to undergo this scan just to find out the truth, as keep worrying about the baby throughout the pregnancy has no benefit at all, to both the baby and mother.

My husband and I reached FMGC at 9:20 AM on a working day. We were told that the waiting time is about 90 minutes as we are patient number 6 while Dr. Patrick was just about to attend to patient number 2. We were called in at about 11am. As usual, the soft spoken Dr. Patrick greeted and chatted with us for a couple of minutes, before he began to perform the scan. You will never feel that you were being 'rushed' through the session even though there was still quite a long queue outside of his consultation room.

First of all, the doctor 'helped' us to confirm the gender of the baby. This time, without much effort, the baby generously showed us his weapons......yes, we are having another boy! Of course, the perfect scenario is to get a girl to complete the 'set'. However, just barely 7 years ago, we thought we will be childless, isn't it already a great blessing to be able to have 2 children now? So, who cares about the gender? Health comes first. Nevertheless, we knew that both of us have to really be fit enough to be able to chase after 2 active little men in the very near future.

This scan had also showcased that the baby is doing well. The following were visualized and appear normal:
Head, brain, face, spine, neck and skin, chest, four-chamber view and great vessels of heart, abdominal wall, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, bladder, extremities (arms, legs, fingers and toes) and skeleton.

The doctor had also revealed that I shall have a healthy and safe pregnancy looking that my placenta is positioned at posterior high. There will be no issue for me to travel or continue to perform not too strenuous sports.

This was indeed a good consultation session to clear all the dark clouds that scattered above me all these while. I am now able to march ahead healthily and happily with the baby in the womb.

Expenses:
Structural Scan + Consultation Fees=RM400

P/S: 1st Trimester Screening + Consultation fees = RM 845 

Maternity Belly Belt

I love wearing jeans as it gives me a sense of dynamic and mobility.

Being pregnant means that you have to say goodbye to your ordinary jeans as soon as your belly expands.

I remembered during my first pregnancy, I had to keep away my normal jeans and start wearing maternity dresses or leggings with long covering shirts as soon as I entered 2nd trimester.

For my 2nd pregnancy, my belly expanded so much faster than my first pregnancy, mainly due to the loose muscle around the belly after the first pregnancy. I found that I could no longer button my jeans anymore even when I was just 8 weeks pregnant. I took out my maternity dresses that I had kept well since 2 years ago.  I was very reluctant to put them on this time around as I found those dresses looked very old fashion and made me looked very ' preggy'.

Tagging on the 'reason' of having nothing to wear, I bought a few pairs of maternity clothes (inclusive of dresses, legging and blouse) from a local online maternity wear shopping site. Upon receiving the parcel, I found that those clothes looked different from what had been showcased in the website. It was not about the design but the look of those clothes on me. After some logical analysis, I realized that the main reason was I was carried away by the the pictures featuring those clothes, which were put on young (20++), petite non-pregnant women with fake oversize tummy. Not to say that they were also professional models who were relatively taller, with arms, legs and buttocks remain at the non-pregnant size.

Fail to transform myself elegantly into those newly-purchased, I decided to invest in a good set of belly belt, which allows me to continue wearing my existing jeans and skirts. After comparing the price at a few maternity stores, I finally got the following belly belt from LittleWhiz, which is just situated at my neighbourhood. The selling price was RM79.90, but it was at 10% discount during the time of purchase.

These set of belly belts comes with button fasteners, slide fasteners that transform your existing jeans, trousers and skirts into maternity wear. To keep the tummy covered after the expanded gap (because you are unlikely to zip up your jeans properly after putting on the fastener extension), there are also three panels in denim, black and white to patch up the gap. 

Button fasteners and slide fasteners

Three panels in black, white and denim colour.

During my first trimester, I did not need to use the panel yet ( as I still can zip up my pants almost fully),
only the button fastener is used in this picture.

The product claims that it allows you to keep wearing your favourite clothes throughout your pregnancy. So far, at week 21, it still delivers what it says. However, I doubt if I can still fit into my jeans and trousers later on during the third trimester, as we know that during that stage, not only your belly will be humongous, but your thighs and buttock too ( at least in my case!). 

Nevertheless, till date, I am happy enough with this product that allows me to fit into many of my pre-pregnancy attires. The only thing that I need to take caution is to always wear a longer top to cover up the belly belt segment.