Birdnest good for baby?

Not sure but it's definitely good for me :)

Birdnest is a popular tonics in TCM that boosts collagen production and high in protein. When someone said birdnest baby to grow too big, no true for me. I myself grows a lot but not bee :(

My complexion is better during pregnancy than then and now. I think it really help in boosting collagen as my skin is very elastic, I don't have a single scretch marks on belly at all. I did use the bio oil for maybe 4-5 times throughout my pregnancy but i hate the oily sticky feel therefore i drop that. 

I dare not take collagen or any supplements during pregnancy except my pre-natal gummies (Vita-fusion, very yummy). So I guess birdnest is the only beauty boosting product that i've been taking frequently.

I do not know how to cook nor my mum have time to, therefore I always buy the ready-bottled birdnest (reduced or sugarfree) from either Eu Yan Sang or Hockhua. I took 1 bottle every 2-3 days since 2nd semester onwards.

Superior Bird's Nest With Rock Sugar (Reduced Sugar) from EYS & HH

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Delivering at NUH

After the operation (C-sect), I puke like nobody's business (the pills does not work at all, LOL). Right after stitching, I'm pushed to back to the waiting area outside the theater to rest. Bee was send to me for skin-to-skin bonding, he is so tiny (just 225g) and vulnerable. The nurse put a small machine on the legs (like massaging) to increase blood flow to my legs and once my toes can move, they will send me to the ward.

 Although it's a planned surgery admission, the hospital is still having ward vacancy issues. I have opted for Class A ward so have to wait. My toes are able to move on my own after about half an hour time, but the nauseous feeling and vomiting did not stop and it lasted for whole day.

After about 1-2 hours, they have a vacancy room for me and the nurse told me I'm considered lucky because some patients may wait up to 4-5hrs to get a room or bed space. The room is consider quite big with a person attached big bathroom.

Gift Pack from NUH upon discharge

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The Big Day! C-sect @ NUH

I could not sleep well last night, am so excited to see my little Bee on this big day. We arrived the hospital 3 hours prior surgery time for check-in. After registration, we went into a waiting room/ward to change my clothes and normal check on blood pressure and fill up some questionnaire.

Nearer to the operation time, I was pushed to the waiting area outside the theater room while daddy went to the waiting room outside. The nurse will inform him to come in prior the surgery commence. when it's about 10 mins before the surgery, I was push in to the theater. I'm very scared and the other hand was very excited to see my little Bee.

The nurses are very friendly and nice, they keep talking to me and assuring to me that everything will be fine, just relax (impossible to). While they talking to me, I knew there's a very long needle inserted into my left hand for dropping (it was very very painful), and then next, i'm asked to sit up and hunch my back for the Epidural anesthesia. The anesthetist inject a small needle (it was quite painful) on my back to numb the area, then insert a long and thick needle into my spinal. within the next few mins, I felt numbness and heavy feel on my legs and then slowly I feel nothing from my waist to bottom.

It's kinda weird and scary for feeling nothing on your lower body, as if they were gone. Then daddy came in, I was happy to see him, he makes feel more relieved. He hold my hands and we wait for the arrival of little miracle coming in the next few mins. The surgery commence right after Prof Su came in, there's no pain but you will know the doctor is touching you and all the pulling and tugging feelings.

After a while, I can feel that my blood pressure drops drastically, feels like fainting and I have to try very hard to keep myself awake. I can't describe the feeling but it is very very very uncomfortable but in less than 15 mins, Bee is OUT of me! Bee arrives with a very high-pitch and loud CRY that I will never forget for life. I can't kiss him enough when he's put next to me, Mummy loves you lots & lots!

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36 Week appointment

The nearer to due date, the heavier I became (LOL). I have gained about 18kg till to-date. Today's visit is slow as usual, long Q again. This will be the last pre-natal consultation and we have fixed the date for C-sect next week (38th week).

 Dr Su advised that as long Bee exceeded 2kg, he will not need to stay in NICU nor incubator. She estimate that Bee will be around 2.5kg at birth and memtioned that Bee is not getting good amount of nourished inside me probable due to placenta no good so it may be better for him to arrive early.

I was given 2 pills, one is to take a day before and the other at 2 hours before surgery time. These pills was said to prevent/soothes nauseous (side effect of anaesthesia) after the operation.

We have been praying hard for Bee's smooth and safe arrival :)

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34 Week Scan

As usual, results is small small small. Little bee is growing at only 9 percentile, the sonagrapher is quite concern about it and wants me to do another follow up scan in 2 weeks but i declined. I am really tired of doing all these (long Q and scans) and yet always came up with the same results and no solutions about it. I personally don't think there'll be any big difference in just 2 weeks therefore I refused to scan again.

I consult Prof Su about it and she agreed with my decision. She wasn't worried about the report as she mentioned that Bee have been growing gradually on each visits and the difference is still kept within 1-3 percentile so it's fine, he is GROWING. She will do the usual scans on next time to estimate his weight and giving me the same advise, EAT MORE!!!

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31 Week Scan

It Bee's 31 weeks scan today, we arrived the Fetal centre about 5 mins earlier and waited for less than half an hour for my scan. The results of scan were not ideal, the sonographer keep saying Bee is too small :( and wants me to scheduled for a doppler scan 2 weeks later plus a growth scan at 3 weeks later.

 After receiving the report, we went to the Ruby clinic to see Dr Su, we had a long wait today (about 3hrs). Firstly, we are called in to meet the nurse officer to brief us on the financial assessment and estimated bill size for the delivery. Then wait again to see the doctor. Dr Su seen the scan report and assured us that Bee has been growing adequately although he is only growing along 8 percentile of his gestational age, but he is growing gradually.

Dr Su explains that, the previous report was along 9 percentile, therefore as long he is still growing within 1-3%, means he is growing gradually. It is not possible for a fetus to grow rapidly from a 9% percentile and jump to 20 or 30%. That's not possible, therefore Dr Su advise us not to worry to much, just eat and sleep well :)

I told Dr Su that I do not wish to come for the doppler scan since it's only 1 week away from the next scan so I prefer to do it at the same time at 3 weeks later and she agreed. 

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Chasing for appointment date!

I called the women clinic last tuesday about my next appointment schedule but the nurse told me that the nurse-in-charge of Dr Su's appointment is not around therefore no appointment dates were given yet. I told them since Fetal Centre has given me a date on 09apr for the next scan, can they arrange the same date, but she couldn't answer and promise to get the nurse-in-charge to call me in 1-2 days. 

Today's the 4th working day and there's no one revert to me yet, I have call appointment line again and to request for a call back from clinic, very frustrating!!!

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28 Week Scan

It's the day for Bee's growth scan again, my appointment is at 8.40am and we arrived early for registration. Unfortunately we had to wait for about 2 hours for the scan. I wonder whats the point of getting appointment time in the first place and my instinct tells me that they miss out my Q because all other mummies who came at the same or even later time already came out and done their payment.

 I went to the counter for a check, the lady just answer me that number will not be in sequence, ask me to wait. I told her, this is not right, we have been waiting for 2 hours insist her to run a check for me to ensure they didn't miss out my Q. We were told that we are in the next Q of the room, and we still waited for another 20 mins before my number were called.

During the scan, I can see that Bee has grown a lot. He is growing within the growth chart BUT still on the lower borderline (only 9 percentile). After getting the report, we headed to the Ruby clinic to see Dr Su but was informed to wait at least 1 hour, another round of waiting :(

Dr Su advise on the results of the report and told us not to worry too much over it and eat healthily. We make the payment of the scan $160.50 (not included in the prenatal package) and went home. After we reach home then I realize that the nurse did not gave me the next appointment date yet :(

What a day :(

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Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT)

On the day of appointment, we reach the clinic at 8.30am, after registration, the usual urine trip test and weight measurement. Within mins, I get to see Dr Su, she took my blood pressure and ask me few questions about any feeling of baby movements, if I have eat well..etc. She told me that my weight is still the same, but I told her it can't be because I am very sure that I have gain about 3.5kg over the last 4 weeks. I suspect this is another mistake by the admin staff who do the recording of my weight measurements :(

Dr Su said that she can see my baby bump has grown a lot and more important is, we have to see if Bee is gaining weight so we went to the scan room for an ultrasound scan to measure Bee's heartbeat and his abdominal circumference. Dr Su explain that, the abdominal circumference is the basic biometric parameters used to assess if baby had grown adequately in their gestational age. She show me that the system had measure Bee in his current 25weeks gestational age, so it means he is growing well :)

After seeing Dr Su, I was called to the nurse room to take my first blood drawn at 9.50am. The nurse gave me a orange drink (with 75 grams of sugar) and ask me to finish it within 15mins, then come back in 1 hours time. Hubby and I went for a short walk at the Kent Ridge mall then return to the clinic for the 2nd blood drawn at 10.50am. Then again we walk around the hospital and return to clinic for the third blood drawn at 11.55am. The nurse mentioned that the results will be out on the day itself, should there be any abnormality, they will call me before 6pm, otherwise the report will be given on the next visit.

I am so hungry, so we rush out of the clinic and head for my brunch immediately. By around 3pm, hubby and I both receive an SMS from NUH to inform us that the test result is normal. Such a great relieve!

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A day before OGTT

4 long weeks have passed, here comes my appointment with Dr Su again. I remembered that she told me I will be given Glucose test during this appointment, I was quite stress about this test due to family history and my sweet tooth. Therefore a day before the appointment, I did some research online to find out the procedures of this glucose test.

For preparation of this test, patient has to fast for 12 hours before the test and procedure will takes about 2 hours therefore doctors will normally scheduled this test early morning because no food is allowed before and during the test. But my given appointment is at 11am and nobody had mentioned/informed me about fasting before the appointment, this makes me wonder if they had make a mistake so I decide call up NUH to check whether I will be taking the test tomorrow or not. The appointment line admin staff have no records of what test I be doing for this appointment, therefore she arrange a call back by the clinic nurse to advise me on this.

I received a call back from nurse in about 2 hours, she ask me to come early at 8.30am for the OGTT and I need to start fasting from tonight 12am onward. I questioned her if they had made a miss out my test, she apologies and admit that the nurse who schedule my appointment date could have overlook on this. I told her the main reason that I change from subsidies clinic to private is to avoid such things to happen as I don't feel comfortable to see different doctors. While this OGTT must be done within week 24 -28, I could have miss it if I did not take the initiative to check with them myself. It is rather disappointing as I have not seen any improvements nor benefits for converting to private clinic other than paying more :(

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Second Trimester Anamoly Scan

Finally get to do the long awaited second trimester scan at Fetal Care Center. This scan is included in my NUH Antenatal package ($984 for senior consultation). The scan lasted about half an hour, the sonographer took measurements of Bee on his body, head circumference, abdominal circumference, length of bones on hands and legs, spines...etc. Baby Bee is very active during the scan, keep moving around which makes the sonographer a hard time to take his measurements.

After ultrasound, we went to the Ruby clinic to see Prof Su, but she held on at the operation theater, therefore we had a long wait (about 2hrs) before we get to see her. My scan wasn't ideal, baby Bee is measured too small again (this has happen since first scan), but Bee seems to be much smaller than expectation. Prof Wong (from Fetal Care Center) had schedule another scan for me on week 28 to monitor on Bee's growth.

Prof Su want me a take a blood test ($178) to check if there's any virus hindering baby's growth and she prescribe low doses of 100mg Aspirin for me to the increase my blood flow so that it can deliver more nutrients to Bee. Prof Su also advise me to eat more proteins (meat, eggs, birdnest...) to help baby to grow bigger. Grow Baby GROW!!

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First consultation at NUH Ruby Clinic (A/prof Su Lin Lin)

My first visit to the private clinic (Ruby clinic), the outlook and atmosphere is totally different from G clinic. The private clinic is well furnished with comfortable chairs and sofas (unlike G clinic that looks like polyclinic). 

The registration took a bit long for first-timer, the receptionist show me to the restroom for pee stick test and took my height & weight measurements.

We sat the sofa outside the doctor's room and waited for about 20 mins to get to see Dr Su. 

My first impression of her is very good, she is a very very soft spoken lady as per reviews online. She gave me my result of previous swab test and told me that I have Gardnerella Vaginalis infection but she assured me that this is a very common infection and it will not affect the fetus. 

She prescribed some medications for me and then we proceed to a scan room to check on Bee’s heartbeat. We managed to catch a glimpse of Bee moving his hand during the scan.

He seems to be waving to us, it is really heart warming to see that Bee is doing well and moving actively inside. 

His heartbeat was captured at normal rate of 150. We are given a few ultrasound shots of Bee... he is sooo dxxx CUTE!! I love him to the max even before he is born. I pray for Bee's good health and well being daily. Mummy loves you always!

~~~

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*** I am not representing nor advertising for any products or company. All items posted are purchased and owned by myself, posted just for fun & sharing :) ***

Last visit at G clinic

Today is my last visit to the subsidies clinic (G clinic) and it is the first time I attend my prenatal appointment alone. DH did not come because we had a fight yesterday. Feeling very down and lonely. The pregnancy hormones and discomfort is torturing me and yet DH gave me additional stress and fights, so sad!

This appointment is just like previous visits on the same routine (urine strip test & weight). Waiting time about 30 mins, the doctor took my blood pressure and then start scanning for Bee’s heartbeat using a Doppler. She did a vga check as I complained to her about recent heavy discharge and itch discomfort. The doctor suspect it could an infection so she took some samples to check for infections. The results will be advise and follow up on the next visit with Dr Su.

All consultations and tests done today are charged under subsidized rate (which is about -60%). I am feeling well, I feels like crying all the time yet I am afraid that crying will harm Baby Bee. I feel very very stress!

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Appointment secured with Ruby Clinic @ NUH

Few days later, I decide to try my luck on changing doctor to Prof Dr Su. I called the appointment line again and to my surprise, it is my lucky day! There is a cancellation of appointment in mid Jan, so I quickly grab it. The first consultation with senior consultant for NUH private is around $130+, thereafter repeat consultation will be $95+ each. If my first visit is good, likely I will take up the Antenatal package from Week 22 onwards.

The Antenatal package includes 2 main obstetrics scan (week 22 & week 32) plus all consultations from week 22 until delivery. The package cost about $950 (for senior consultants). 

I can't wait to see how's my little Bee growing till the next obstetric scan in Feb :)

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Switching from Subsidized to Private clinic in NUH

Initially, I intend to see Dr Phyllis Liauw (of Thomson Hospital) recommended by my sister after my first trimester but after much considerations, I decide to stay with NUH since all my records are here and it is more economical to choose the government hospital where I can fully utilize the $$$ that I have intended to spend at Thomson and get more at NUH (eg. the B class ward in Thomson hospital cost almost the same as A class ward in NUH.

There are many good gynaes in NUH and they have the best facilities for any unpredictable / unexpected circumstances therefore NUH should be a better place in my point of view.

Switching from subsidize clinic to private clinic is very simple, just make a call to their appointment hotline and schedule an appointment with the private clinic gynae that you wish to see and follow up with will do. I prefer a female senior consultant, therefore I did a little research online on the most popular female gynaes in NUH. I saw tons of good reviews about Dr Su Lin Lin, however she so popular that her appointment dates were all fully booked till mid Feb next year (too late), so I booked an appointment with Dr Chua who is a pro in Csect.

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iGene test with optimal results & it's a BOY!

Right after we disembark from the Sapphire Princess cruise, we drop our bags at home and rush to NUH to collect our iGene report. Dr Arun reveal the results to us with a smile and tell us that its good news, all screen results are negative and Bee is a BOY! 

DH & I are overwhelmed by the good news. We have been praying hard that Bee is all healthy and good, BOY is a bonus to us. Thank god!

My conclusion over the FTS screening scare is, this test is really un-necessary. 

It is well-known for giving false positive results and causing us all the unnecessary stress & agony. If anyone wants do such screening, I would suggest her to take the more precise screening tests (eg. iGene, Harmony, Panorama...etc) instead.

After taking the report, another lady doctor offered to give a scan on Bee's heartbeat using a doppler. She's brought in an understudy male doctor and demonstrate to him on the usage of doppler on ME, both of them were talking to each other about the usage of droppler. 

That moment, I am like a specimen to them, I feel very offended but am too happy to be angry with them.

After this appointment, I was told that I will no longer need to see the high risk clinic (group of senior doctors), so I will be seeing any doctors (meaning the junior doctors) from the next appointment onward.

I discuss with hubby about my uneasiness of seeing different doctors all the time especially with the under-study doctors around so we decided to find a private gynae from next appointment onward.

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The iGene Test

DH & I went to the G clinic again to see Dr Arun (senior doctor). She gave us the FTS results, the screening results for Trisomy 21 (down syndrome) was fall under positive of 1 in 263, meaning it was less than 0.5% of a chance that my baby would have d/s, it is not as bad as what we imagined.

I felt a little relieve after knowing KKH will only consider high risk if the index is 1 in >200. Not sure why the 2 hospital having difference standards. However Dr Arun still recommend us to do a more specific screening/diagnostic test to confirm the result. She gave us 2 options, first is the invasion test CVS which may contribute a small risk of miscarriage which we reject immediately. Secondly, we can opt for an non-invasion test call 'iGene' (similar to Harmony test in KKH/Thomson) which has an accuracy of 99% on Trisomy 21, 18 & 13 with very very little chance of getting false positive and false negative (less than 0.05%). 

The iGene cost about $800 (no govt subsidy). DH and I discussed and we both agreed that instead of stressing ourselves over this d/s thing for the next 7 months, we decided to do the non-invasion iGene test to re-confirm it. We made payment immediately and I had 2 tubes of blood drawn for the test. The results will be out in 2 weeks time.

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Another Nightmare!

On the following day after the first trimester screening, I received a call from NUH (shocked), ask me to see the doctor as soon as possible. The caller said it's due to a positive (means no good) result of my FTS, meaning I am at a higher risk of having a child with down syndrome. I was blank, dunno what to do and they schedule an appointment for me to see the doctor on the next day.

Whole day since the call, I was feeling WTF! Why me? What is wrong? 

We are both healthy, no such family history. I am very ad and can't stop crying. 

I did some research on this FTS and it was said that this test tends to give high percentage of FALSE positives. I keep convince myself and DH that the result is FALSE. This was the longest night for us :(

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First Trimester Screening

After a long month, I had my first trimester screening at the NUH Fetal Care Centre. 

we did a NT scan (ultrasound scan) to measure the fluid behind the baby's neck. Bee has grown a lot bigger now, he/she measured at 63.5mm. The sonographer has no expression on her face, you can't tell the results from her face. Not a word heard from her until the end of the scan, she smile and said everything okay, the scan looks good. 

After the scan, they draw my blood for some lab tests. The nurse is very good pro at drawing bllod, total 3 tubes and not painful at all. Feels a bit numb when drawing the 3rd tube tho. We then waited more than half an hour for payment and then happily go home.

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First Antenatal Care appointment @ NUH

After the spotting nightmare, it's due for my first antenatal care appointment (Week 8) at NUH G clinic (for subsidized patients). Due to the episodes of spotting at A&E, I am referred to see the group of senior doctors. The waiting time is short, I get to see the doctor within 15 mins after my BP (Blood Pressure) measurement. 

I had my first obstetrics scan and Bee (fetal pole) was found and measured at 15.2mm. He is smaller then his gestational age, probably due to my longer cycle and late ovulation. Heartbeat was detected, everything seems okay. The doctor prescribe me with more Dydrogesterone that have to be taken all the way until the end of first trimester (week 12).

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