~ 35-week photo ~

18 May 2007

i’m on my last week of the 8th month, so we went to visit the doctor and have the little girl scanned again.

35 week photo

since this is my first pregnancy, i had to ask the doctor how a contraction feels like, just in case i won’t be able to tell if i were going to labor. according to books, i won’t miss it. but the books also said that i should have started feeling the “practice (Braxton-Hicks) contraction”, where the uterus practices for the big day… and i haven’t felt it. so the doctor tried to simulate it by rubbing and massaging my tummy… it turns out that the pulling and tightening of the tummy that i’ve been feeling lately is the contraction…. so, i did miss it. well, that’s good to know. and the doctor added that the contraction for the labor will be much harder and actually painful (the one that i’ve been feeling is not painful at all… it actually feels kinda funny).

just like two weeks ago, it’s getting harder to see the the face since it barely fits into the screen. the doctor also told us that the weight measurement is probably less accurate than it was weeks before, for the same reason. according to today’s measurement, the baby is approximately 2.3kg, with 20% error range. the doctor said that it’s a good size… small enough to have a “not so tough delivery”… so we’re currently still on target to have a normal delivery (not caesarean section).

when the doctor tried to measure the girl’s chest for the weight calculation, it turns out that she’s doing breathing practice. her abdomen was moving, and it does look like she’s breathing. when still inside the womb, babies do not need to breathe, since the oxygen is supplied by the umbilical cord. but once in a while, they practice breathing by contracting and expanding their lungs, in preparation for birth. ari and i thought it was neat to see it.

towards the end of the scanning session, she was busy sucking her toes… she had her hands holding one of her feet up to her face. then we could see her putting her toes in her mouth and start sucking them…

“wow, so limber! she has started to act like a real baby!” ari said.

“she is a real baby”, the doctor chuckled.

starting next week, i’ll be visiting the doctor once a week. oooh, five more weeks to go and we can see the real baby! dun dun dun

~ comment (12) ~

wah thal… dulu rima waktu mau lahiran mikha mulesnya sampe 3 hari loh…. 3 kali bolak-balik ke klinik…

mudah-mudah lancar yah lahirannya.. rima juga lagi hamil 7 bulan nih… anak ke dua… mudah-mudahan cewe biar sepasang :)

ade | 19 May 2007 - 06:13 | reply

wah, mikha udah mo punya adek lagi! ngebut nih, de? hee hee. mudah2an lancar yaaa… :) gue sih deg2an juga, pengen tau kayak apa ya rasanya…

thalia | 19 May 2007 - 02:06 | reply

semoga lancar terus ya.. gue juga dulu ga tau kontraksi kayak apaan.. skrg juga udah lupa kontraksi kayak apaan ;>

Rani | 19 May 2007 - 08:02 | reply

yah, sama-sama :) udah se-ndut apa si perut?

thalia | 19 May 2007 - 02:06 | reply

omg! i’m holding my breathe, can’t wait to see ur little sweetpea. :)

maomau | 19 May 2007 - 10:38 | reply

we can’t wait either… such a suspense! (but don’t hold your breath for 5 weeks!)

thalia | 19 May 2007 - 02:08 | reply

Wah udah mendekati nich, ati2 jaga kondisi, sebaiknya elo nggak usah wall painting lagi deh hehehe maen ds aja :P

yoel | 19 May 2007 - 05:13 | reply

hee hee, emang sekarang lebih banyak main DS-nya… cuman bukan karena hamil, tapi emang lagi addicted ama gamenya :P

thalia | 20 May 2007 - 01:56 | reply

You need to hire a contractor to have a good contraction?

Masindi | 19 May 2007 - 07:39 | reply

The contraction has a rythmic, so when you feel one, see the time, when it comes up again and again but each with shorter interval, then you need to call the doctor. Take care.

mimi | 19 May 2007 - 08:57 | reply

awe! the last final weeks. i remember being so anxious! i also remember my doctor asking me if i was having contractions yet and i told him “no. just some sporadic cramping once in awhile.” and then he felt the tightness of my tummy and told me i was having one right then. :b so i didn’t know about my contractions until the beginning of the tenth month. i thought the tightness was just him stretching or something. but i’ll tell you, these earlier contractions, whether they’re just tightness are light-moderate cramps, do feel COMPLETELY different from the “baby’s coming now” contractions. i was so worried that i wouldn’t know i was having them and end up having my baby at home or on the way, but there’s no way of NOT knowing. they hurt! besides the fact that my water broke about half-an-hour before the contractions started anyway. even then i was like “uh. did i just pee and not realize it?” ha ha. :b

from burning my bump to not knowing i’m having contractions, i must sound like i was the most naivest pregnant girl. i probably was. oh well. hopefully you can learn from it. good luck! looking forward to seeing baby.

keri | 22 May 2007 - 06:23 | reply

ha! so, i’m not the only one who’s clueless about contraction :) that feels good, hee hee. so, i probably won’t miss the fact that the baby is about to come out, right? that’s what i’m worried about, too…

thalia | 22 May 2007 - 02:39 | reply