My Baby Girl's 4D Scan at 31 Weeks...

Just a night before my husband left for Angola, we've managed to book a 4D scan to see our baby! It was the most wonderful bond we've ever had with our baby (even before birth).. Feels so amazing...

Sharing the photos with you is my great pleasure, as a very proud mum! We gonna be seeing her in a few weeks time, about 7 weeks!, can't really wait...

I Am 25 Weeks Pregnant - This Is What My Baby Looks Like!

It is so wonderful to know that my baby is responsive to touch now, that I can have fun with her by trying to tickle his foot when he kicks you or by lying on your back and rolling from side to side, to see how he reacts. His eyelids open around now and his heart is beating so strongly, it may be heard with a stethoscope.

Can't really wait to see her.....

The baby now weighs nearly 1.5 pounds/ 660 grams and is approximately 13.5 inches/ 35 centimetres long from crown to heel. He makes breathing movements but has no air in his lungs yet. At 26 weeks, fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head, which according to researchers, means his optic nerve is working.

At every antenatal visit, your midwife or doctor will take your blood pressure and do tests on a sample of your urine. In this way, pregnancy-related conditions such as pre-eclampsia and diabetes can be detected and treated.

Your fingers, wrists and hands may be feeling achy and numb. The carpal tunnel in the wrist is swollen, as are many other tissues in your body. Nerves that run through the tunnel end up pinched, creating pressure that manifests itself as shooting or burning pain. Wearing a brace may help; so will taking vitamin B6. Talk to your midwife or doctor about other ways to cope.

Find out about natural remedies for numb or achy fingers.

Source: Baby Centre UK

I am Experiencing Nosebleeds Recently (Nosebleeds During Pregnacy)

I was so alarmed of having my nose bleeding quite heavily, but hubby was just so relaxed trying to remind that it was quite normal during pregnancy. However, since it was quite heavy I could not help myself but to worry! In fact, I managed to sleep at almost 3am. This morning I have experienced exactly the same too... Therefore, I had to re-read articles again today, to ease my feelings and here's what I have confirmed myself. I would just like to share this to all my readers, this practical information.

Now the question is, is it common to get nosebleeds during pregnancy? Yes, nosebleeds do tend to occur more often during pregnancy. Pregnancy can cause the blood vessels in your nose to expand, and your increased blood supply puts more pressure on those delicate vessels, causing them to rupture more easily. Although it's unpleasant and inconvenient, an occasional minor nosebleed is generally harmless.

You're especially likely to get a nosebleed when you have a cold, sinus infection, or allergies, or when the membranes inside your nose dry out, as they do in cold weather, air-conditioned rooms, airline cabins, and other dry environments. Trauma and certain medical conditions, such as high blood pressure or a clotting disorder, may cause nosebleeds as well.

How can I stop a nosebleed?

When your nose starts to bleed, sit down, keep your head higher than your heart, and put pressure on the bleeding nostril for five to ten minutes. (Use a watch — it's longer than you think.)

Using your thumb and the side of your bent index finger, firmly pinch the whole soft lower part of your nose and exert pressure toward your face. Don't let up for a second — even if you're getting very curious to see if the bleeding has stopped — because that could interfere with the coagulation process.

Applying ice can help, too, because it constricts blood vessels. Hold a cold pack or a bag of frozen peas over your nose and cheeks with the hand that's not pinching your nostrils closed. Don't lie down or tilt your head back: You might end up swallowing blood, which could cause nausea or even vomiting.

If the bleeding hasn't stopped after ten minutes of pressure and ice, continue for another ten minutes as long as you're not bleeding heavily. Consult your healthcare practitioner if the bleeding doesn't stop after 20 minutes of pressure.

You'll need a medical evaluation if you get a nosebleed following a head injury, even if you only have minor bleeding. Let your practitioner know if you have frequent nosebleeds so she can rule out underlying problems.

Can I do anything to avoid getting a nosebleed?

• Drink extra fluids to help keep all of your mucous membranes well hydrated.
• Blow your nose gently. Aggressive blowing can lead to nosebleeds.
• Try to keep your mouth open when you sneeze.
• Avoid dry air, especially in wintertime or in dry climates, by running a humidifier inside your house and not overheating your bedroom. Also stay away from irritants like smoke, which you should be avoiding anyway.
• Use a lubricant to prevent nasal dryness. Some experts recommend petroleum jelly. Others suggest a special water-based nasal lubricant that is available over the counter at pharmacies. Saline nasal sprays or drops can help, too.
• Don't overuse medicated nasal sprays or decongestants. They can dry out and further irritate your nose.

I Am 24 Weeks Pregnant - This Is What My Baby Looks Like!

Not too long to go, this is now my last trimester of pregnancy and can't really wait to go! I've now been experiencing difficulties since about 3 weeks ago, and my feet and hands have now started to swell... I've really got huge baby bump, still wondering if I am having twins at all LOL though it has been confirmed to have only one baby inside.

The following are the facts about my baby:

Your fetus weighs more than 1.3 pounds/ 600 grams. Though she still has little body fat and her skin is thin and fragile, she's now well-proportioned. Her brain is growing rapidly, and she is starting to fill the space in your uterus. From crown to heel she could measure 11.8 inches/ 30 centimetres. If you went into labour at this time, however, many obstetricians and midwives would make every effort to halt the progress of premature labour to enable your baby to continue maturing.

You may be noticing faint, red or brown streaks known as striae or stretch marks on your abdomen, hips and breasts. While creams won't erase them, wearing a supportive bra may help prevent or minimise them on your breasts. They are very common at this stage of the pregnancy -- about 90 per cent of women get them. After you've given birth, the reddish or brown pigmentation in the stretch marks gradually fades, and the streaks become lighter than the surrounding skin.

Also, your eyes may be light-sensitive and may feel gritty and dry. This is a perfectly normal pregnancy symptom known as 'dry-eye'. To ease your discomfort, use an "artificial tears" solution to add moisture.

Source: Baby Centre UK

Fruit Salad, My Latest Cravings

Though my food cravings have slightly disappeared, but still I had never a day without eating at least a tin of FRUIT SALAD with Carnation Evaporated Milk and Ice. Uuuummmm absolutely yumyum :).....

Playing Music on my Bump!

I have been playing music on my bump since I was as early as 12 weeks of my pregnancy! Thanks to Dangz Dhemz for giving me this idea, it is really true! Though it was quite early when I started it, but it was never too early to get used to it right? Which I duly did, and while thinking and searching of what must be the ideal music for babies, I used to play my old country, love, and Christian songs.

Until, I decided to buy the most Classical ones and Lullaby's....Baby inside mother's womb becomes aware of the outside world from as early as 15 weeks, and will respond to sounds, like voices, music from 25 weeks. We might imagine it's quite in there, but our womb is actually quite a noisy place. Our HEARTBEAT and BREATHING, the blood flowing in our veins and our digestive gasses all combine to make up the sounds our baby hears everyday!
Talking, reading and singing or playing music to the bump allows the baby to connect with you even before she's born. Although she may not be able to understand what we're saying it's not what you say but how you say it that matters. The tone of your voice as you talk or sing your favorite song will help her to recognise you when she is born....

I Am 17 Weeks Pregnant - This Is What My Baby May Look Like!

This is what my baby may look like inside my big bump!

My baby is now nearly 5.5 inches/ 13 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs approximately 5 ounces/ 140 grams. Her skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage, which will harden later. A protective substance called myelin slowly begins to wrap around the spinal cord.

With the help of a special stethoscope, I may now hear your baby's heartbeat. There's almost nothing more comforting or exciting than hearing your baby's heartbeat galloping along. On days when you're worried about how your pregnancy is progressing, hearing the heartbeat lets you know that your baby's developing and growing. For times when boredom strikes and you feel as if you'll be pregnant forever, it can be a pleasant reminder of what will come at the end of 40 weeks of waiting.

It says, your growing uterus has shifted your centre of gravity and you've probably been feeling a bit off-kilter. Be careful and wear low-heeled shoes. Finding it hard to settle when you go to bed? Check our tips for sleep in the second trimester.

If you haven't had an amniocentesis yet and plan to, this week is a good time. One perk: You'll get a long look at your baby through the ultrasound scan used during this procedure.

Source: Baby Centre UK

My 3 and Half Months Baby Bump!!

This was taken two weeks ago, and I am now in my 4th month of pregnancy - slightly bigger than this one!

What can you say??? uummm surely you'd say, blimey Madz you've lost your waistline hahaha indeed!!! Plus it doubled, oh dear... I still have a coca-cola body but in CAN instead, not in bottle anymore hahahahaha... never mind... what is important to me now is to see my baby very very soon! HUBBY and I ARE BOTH SO EXCITED....

I am 15 Weeks Pregnant - Fetal Development

It says that though I may not know it when it happens, but my tiny tenant frequently gets the hiccups, which babies master before breathing. Babies don't make any sound because their trachea is filled with fluid rather than air.

Although I've probably gained between 5 and 10 pounds / 2.2 - 4.5 kilograms (which I really have!!):

1) The fetus weighs in at around only 2.5 ounces / 70 grams. It measures nearly 4 inches / 11 centimetres long, crown to rump.

2) Legs are growing longer than the arms now, fingernails are fully formed and all the joints and limbs can move.

3) The most exciting of all is, I may be able to find out the sex of my baby by ultrasound now, since the external genitals may be developed enough that the ultrasound technician can tell you if you're going to have a boy or a girl.

... but I won't be having my next scan by 20th week which will be on the 2nd week of May....

If the idea of having a baby seems so remote, nothing makes it feel more real than feeling your baby move for the first time. Most mums-to-be discern movement (called quickening) between 16 and 20 weeks. If you've been pregnant before, you'll feel things earlier rather than later. What you may first think is a rumbling stomach may be your baby doing some back flips. Make note of when you first start feeling the baby and tell your midwife at your next visit. This middle stage of pregnancy is a good time to start exercising.

• Note: Experts say every baby develops differently - even in utero. These fetal development pages are designed to give a general idea of how a fetus grows in the womb.

Source: Baby Centre UK

14th Week of Pregnancy - Fetal Development

My baby will be 15th week in two days time! I have missed to give you updates the whole week, as I was feeling exhausted, tired all the time.

Crown to rump, my baby is around 3 and a half inches / 9 centimetres long and weighs one and a half ounces / 43 grams. The body is now growing faster than the head. This week, its parchment-thin skin covers itself with lanugo (ultra-fine, downy hair that usually disappears before birth). Though eyebrows are beginning to grow and the hair on top of the head is sprouting, this hair may change in both texture and colour after birth.

About now, the fetus can grasp, squint, frown, and grimace. It may even be able to suck its thumb. Researchers believe these and other movements probably correspond to the development of impulses in the brain.

Note: If you haven't yet made an appointment for maternal serum screening (also known as the triple test), you may want to do so now. The test provides more information about your baby, and screens for Down's syndrome and other birth defects. Also, your obstetrician may recommend an amniocentesis between 15 and 18 weeks for women over 35 and those with a history of birth defects. If you are over 35, have a look at our article on how age affects pregnancy.

• Note: Experts say every baby develops differently -- even in utero. These fetal development pages are designed to give a general idea of how a fetus grows in the womb.

Source: Baby Centre UK

Our Bundle of Joy

Click photo to see better...(my name was mispeled, should be Madelyn)

I had my first baby scan this afternoon, made us laugh upon seeing him/her waving hands and kicking off legs! What a nice feelings indeed. Had seen his tiny heart beating so fast, twice as fast as mine. She/he is exactly 13 weeks and 2 days.

This is the good news plus our baby will be due between 26th-30th September, which is very close to my birthday (Sept 28), I wish its gonna be on my birthday!

The bad news is, HE/SHE HAD TWIN! There was a second gestation sac towards the left side that contains a 16mm fetal pole (about 8 weeks) without a heart beat. I really felt sad the moment I saw the sac/other placenta with a ball-shaped embryo, whom didn't manage to grow and survive.

The midwife said that, this happens quite common here in the UK - to give life to the other one. So it was an infected baby, or abnormal for some reason.

Well, we are still lucky to have the one survived. One is enough to say, WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE 1 - THE MOST SPECIAL GIFT GOD HAS GIVEN US! I know he/she is going to survive. We've lost the other one, doesn't mean that we'll loose the other one too...

He/she was very active showing off to us.....

This Is Now My 13th Week of Pregnancy - Fetal Devolpment

I am so happy to have been surpassed my delicate FIRST TRIMESTER!

The fetus is now nearly 3 inches / 7 to 8 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs nearly an ounce / 23 grams -- about half a banana. Its unique fingerprints are already in place. It says that when I poke my stomach gently and she feels it, my baby will start rooting -- that is, act as if she's searching for a nipple.

If you're having a girl, she now has approximately 2 million eggs in her ovaries; she will have only a million by the time she's born. She'll have fewer eggs as she gets older, and by age 17, the number will have dropped to 200,000.

As for you, the fog may be lifting, so to speak. For many women, the side effects of early pregnancy -- frequent urination, intense fatigue, nausea -- diminish sometime in the second trimester. Your uterus, while large enough to announce to onlookers that you're indeed pregnant, isn't so huge that it gets in your way. Even though birth is months away, your breasts may already start making colostrum, the fluid that will feed your baby for the first few days before your milk comes in.

Source: Baby Centre UK

Previous Posts from my Personal Blog

You may have noticed or these four posts may have looked familiar to you and you may have left your comments, which I've had extracted them from my personal blog. Therefore, all comments are still in there, I only wanted to share them here too, to have a complete story of my pregnancy - from the very beginning until he/she comes out.

Please join me as I go along with my journey to "Parenthood", giving you my day to day updates of "THE BABY INSIDE OF ME"....