I used to think being pregnant simply meant having crazy food cravings, a super good appetite, licence to put on weight, morning sickness, difficulties walking around with a little basketball and enjoy privileged status.
I was so wrong!
While I did have food cravings, I could live without it for a few days as long as I get to eat it in the end. Sometimes after a few days my cravings go off even without satisfying it. I didn't crave for a single item for long. I think my longest record was probably Kovan Hawker Centre's ketchup wantan mee which I craved and ate for 3-4 consecutive weekends. Other than that, it was something new every other day. I never craved for sour plum but I did like sour stuff. During my 1st trimester, I was craving for a lot of junk food like potato chips, prawn crackers, french fries etc. Hubby likes to eat these junk too so we would stock up on these at home. Needless to say, I put on weight "too much too soon" as quoted by my gynae.
There were many cravings I couldn't satisfy due to dietary restrictions, some old wives' tales, some scientifc. I never knew being pregnant meant not being to eat a lot of "harmless looking" food such as half-boiled egg, stingray, crab etc. I even avoided fresh sugar cane juice as it's high in sugar content plus there's a risk of "rat poisoning" due to the storage of sugar cane at hawker centres. When I gave in to my craving for durians, I had to watch the number of seeds of durian I ate due to its high sugar and calorie content. I became a little paranoid over what I ate. Everything has to be thoroughly cooked. No salad allowed. Food has to be piping hot.
The 1 craving which I'm supposed to avoid but didn't follow was drinking tea. Having tea with milk for breakfast is a must for me. Without it I'm restless for the morning, plus I can't do my toilet business. Sounds strange, but tea with milk has a laxative effect on me. On hot days, I drink iced lemon tea during lunch or dinner. But people tell me tea is very "cooling" and should be avoided. It contains caffaine which isn't good for baby as well. However I simply couldn't resist it. I still have my daily cup of tea throughout pregnancy. If I exceed the 1 cup quota in a day, I try not to drink any the next day.
I plan to attack a list of food once baby's out! First on the list is salmon sashimi. Going to Japanese restaurants and seeing others eat sashimi and sushi while I can only see was pure misery. Next is crabs!! Chili crab, black pepper crab, butter crab. I did eat a little 2 weeks ago but it's not enough. I didn't dare to eat much as it's believed that if the mum eats crabs during pregnancy, the child will grow up to have "many hands", meaning everything wants to touch. Third on my list is BBQ Sambal Stingray, washed down with a mug of ice cold beer. Stingray has high mercury content and it's believed to cause bad complexion for babies, so I had to avoid it.
My appetite wasn't very good. My stomach filled up very easily and I would feel bloated for hours after that. Buffets were out. During the 1st trimester I was always hungry, especially at night, yet I couldn't eat much as it meant bloatedness which led to sleeplessness. Sometimes when we are out, I want to eat a variety of items and ordered a lot but in the end it's my hubby who had to clear all the leftovers. Luckily he has a huge appetite with high metabolism so he maintained his weight despite eating my share.
Putting on weight is expected during pregnancy but I didn't know there is a limit to how much I am supposed to put on. For normal BMI, weight gain should be between 11-16kg, the bulk of which should be gained during the 2nd & 3rd trimester. I put on 5kg within the first 3 months which gynae disapproved so I started to control my diet after that. I've put on 8kg to date and hope not to exceed 10kg by the time baby's out.
Morning sickness was mild for my case. I got it during weeks 6 - 12 of pregnancy. Usually I would feel nauseaous in the morning but would be fine by noon. No puking although appetite was affected. It didn't help that my workplace then didn't have a wider variety of delicious food so I often snacked on biscuits instead.
Gynae warned my hubby that my pregnancy hormones will cause me to be a monster at times with mood swings. Luckily for him, it hardly happened for the past 8 months. I believe because I wasn't working and had lots of rest at home, I was relatively stress-free and happy most of the time. Still that didn't mean he escaped the angry monster on that few occasions ;p
My little basketball popped up from 6th month onwards. However I could still walk a lot and at a relatively fast pace. I do not feel heavier with the big tummy. Discomfort sets in only when the tummy hardens like a rock at times. Although people tell me to rest more, I find it rather uncomfortable to sit down or lie down for long periods. I feel better when standing or walking around.
Sleeping is a challenge with the front load. Cannot lie on my back as it'll cause breathlessness and might affect baby. Lying on tummy is impossible. Best position is lie on the sides, preferably on the left. But when I lie on my side, my heavy tummy drops to the side as well and I'll feel the strain on the tummy. So now I've to sleep with pillows tucked under the tummy for support. Sleeping on the left for long is uncomfortable and I will end up with an aching shoulder. Oh, and just when I thought I've settled in a comfy position to sleep, I need to get up the bed to pee and this happens every 2-3 hrs at night!
I thought being visibly pregnant means getting reserved seats on buses & trains. No such thing here! People are usually very sleepy on public transport or living in their own mobile phone world, oblivious to their surroundings. It's hard to get a seat unless one dares to demand for it. I've been rather lucky to be offered a seat on most occasions although there are times when I've stand in a train of sleeping or busy passengers. I thought with my bump, people will be more careful around me. I didn't realise that most people are blind to bumps and I've to walk around with my arms protectively around my bump to fend off any blind rats who might knock into me.
The only privileged status I get is from my family & friends who take extra care of me. My mum brews good quality birds nest and very delicious chicken soup for me every week without fail. My brother, sis-in-law & sister helped me find out more about pregnancy stuff (coz I don't have many friends with kids). My friends always accomodate my preferred location for meet-ups and make sure I've boarded the taxi or hubby has arrived before they go off. All these little gestures by my family & friends really touched me. Soon the little one will enjoy the special treatment from them. In fact, the little princess already has a stroller given by my siblings & their spouses, rompers & pillows from my sister, rompers from my friend. My dad & sister now greets the little one inside first when they see me. Even hubby asks about the little one first when he's home. I've become #2 even before she's out!!
Despite all the discomforts & restrictions, it's nice to have a little one inside. I look forward to every gynae visit where I can see her on the grainy black & white ultrascan screen. On a recent visit, she was having hiccups while touching her head. Very cute! Everyday I get to feel her movements in the tummy and wonder what she's doing inside. Looking forward to see her in 3 weeks' time :)
