My Lady of the Lantern

Just to update you on the whole fuss I made about the dipping Hemoglobin, here's the thing: I switched my iron supplement! The one I have been taking from the beginning of this pregnancy is Ferrous Fumarate IP (152 mg), and it has been replaced with Ferrous Bis-glycinate (60 mg). The kind advice came from my resident OB ( aka dear mother ). Ferrous bisglycinate is a chelated form of iron.(Chelated means amino acids are attached to the mineral) Hopefully things will get better. Also, I hope the new drug will permit me to not enjoy the benefit of mild acid reflux that stays with me for a part of the day. And oh, there is this evil hill rising on my forehead too... And I am leaving you with You Learn (Alanis Morissette). ^WiseGuy^

Okay, this is a composite of random things I don't want to dedicate individual posts to: a. I have an anterior placenta . I don't mean that in a good or bad way, just matter-of-fact way. b. Reaction of family: My in-laws revealed my news to their side of relatives after my first trimester was over. Apparently, my baby is a community effort. Everybody ( ??? ) was putting in their chips with God ( Gawd!!! ) to have me and Birdman be blessed with the divine. I am so miffed at knowing that as soon as something gets done, people just want to highlight it meant so much to them, and was their indirect doing. And yep, Kaiser has been booked for temple appointments, because he/she has come through from the respective prayers to the respective God. Blech! c. I can't get over my cola cravings . I do actually, but only by consuming. I feel very guilty and satiated...it is the satiation that comes before the guilt. Coffee is not a staple for me anymore. I have had about three cups (ima...

I saw Kaiser (through Dr. BS) again on Friday night. I did not get a very good profile of the baby, as the baby was turned 'away'. Kaiser rested his/her hands over his/her head and that is the one thing I remember distinctly. Other things follow: Le Good: I submitted my holy blood for a fasting sugar and hemoglobin test on October 21, 2010. The Good is that my sugar is well within range [82 mg/dL when the normal is between 74 - 100 mg/dL]. Le Bad: Hemoglobin is down to 10.7 gm/dL. The value at the beginning (in the tests run in the first trimester) was 12.0 gm/dL. What Dr. Google tells me is that during pregnancy, anemia is defined as Hb What surprised me is that Dr. BS did not take the dip seriously though. After she thought I was humming on and on, she asked me to - increase the number of times I feed myself. - increase milk intake. - turn Popeye - and, maybe increase the iron supplementation to twice a day for a while. She asked me to take care about the possible consequen...

Hey Kaiser, How are you? Well, I am sure you are doing okay. And I am hoping to catch a glimpse of you again very soon. I am sure my uterus feels like a cage right now...and you need to go 'Bang Bang Bang'. I want to say 'OMG, I felt it! ' all the time. I am fixed on where I would like to give birth, and why I stay obsessed with it is because I want to let my and your life be easy. I am sure wailing will be your only mode of complaint initially, and I pray you do not do it much. I can't believe that Jan/Feb is inching so close every day. I have a hundred things to do before I proceed for my maternity leave. I often lie at night hoping to feel you kick just before I go back to sleep. Sometimes I can feel you, sometimes I can't. But I always feel better when I do. As I have told you before, between your father and me, you are Baku to us. And Papa wants to feel 'Baku'. Anyways, poor fellow once told me 'I can feel the baby breathing' , and then real...

I can feel Kaiser move!!! And it is amazing really. [Though I almost always find a bone to get crucked on.] Like, the first time I felt those solid kicks was evening, then a couple of days later I got a three-kicker on an afternoon after I laughed at a funny statement a student made. And now I am obsessed with finding some pattern. One morning, I woke up and felt Kaiser having a go at my innards. I must tell you it hurts to be losing a boxing match where you just can't get back. I did have my 'ha!' when I turned sides and the kicking reduced. I did not feel bad about countering Kaiser then, and now I am like 'Jeez, I should have let that continue' . Since then, Kaiser seems to have understood that Mamma does know a couple of tricks, and he/she seems to space out flutterings throughout the day...rather than odd fixed time-spots. And I kind of miss him/her doing the jig during evening time...Kaiser just won't persist with a pattern. I almost managed to post a r...

Picked this up from Ginger and Lime 's blog who left it as an open-to-all tag...and its a great way to interview me. Obviously the interview is conducted by me, hosted by me, and well even the snacks for the show are being sponsored by me. 1. Are you good at sports? Ans: Does Farmville count? I am not currently into any though...have been into recreational swimming once upon a time. 2. Are you allergic to anything? Ans: You bet! Fresh Pineapple core makes my throat feel scraped from the inside. And I have had acne breakouts with mangoes. 3. What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve ever done? Ans: Several things, one for example... changing a T-shirt (that I wore the wrong side out) in a public parking lot in broad daylight without much thought is one thing I have definitely done...and yes, I still believe no one saw me. 4. Do you consider yourself liberal, conservative, or something else? Ans: Liberal, I suppose. 5. Do you dream in color? Ans: Yep, and Dolby sound too. 6. Would you...

I felt it!I felt it!I felt it! Four punches/kicks!! Yeah Baby, Rock it good! ^WiseGuy^

I dedicated today to Farmville and playing catch-up with blogs. I had another do-on-PC thing lined up but from the look of it, I am not going to do it at all today. I have these moments where I count and recount my days and specifically think of what I felt before and now, and how drastically different I feel. I spent a long time imagining being pregnant, and now that I actually am, I think I could not have anticipated the emotional and mental shift really. Milestones, they are all there - concrete and dated. The constant sacred knowledge of carrying another life inside? It is dizzying and powerful. But more than that, it is transforming and humbling. I feel amazing. I have instances of being scaredy cat, and other times I am too elated, but still to know that I will be holding my child in my arms soon is so comforting. And now, I am on two boats...one that wants to stop the ticking away of the clock, and the other one where I want to hasten week 21 to week 35 in a minute... One thing ...

My parents were here this past week, and mummy taught me a few exercises before she left. So far, I have consistently managed to do it on alternate days ( shhhh....nobody tells her, okay? ). -- I bought maternity wear for myself ( quite some while ago )...few mix and match pieces that were looser/ oversized and so far I have been comfortable in my old clothes...I did take out one from the maternity gear, but it was only because I wanted some novelty. No surprise however is that I am 'showing' clearly now. So the next pearl from Office TV is a suggestion by colleagues to wear my clothes such that the bump remains covered. Another one elaborated that this way I could save myself from evil eye. Bwahaahaaaaa! -- I am sleeping better. -- If I keep my hand on my belly lightly, sometimes I do feel some sensation. It is evanescent, and that is why I wonder if what I am feeling is actually Kaiser doing his/her jig inside. But I am still confused, because I do not know if what I am feeli...

It is incredible really...in daily increments, I find a whole stack of nine months melting away. When this journey began, I thought nine months was just three months shy of an year, and a year is a long time period. Now that I am in my sixth month, I wonder where the time has gone. Of course, I see it in my blog...the milestones and appointments and reports, but still! This is not an original sentiment, but there is this saying that a moment lasts a lifetime, but a day passes quicker . Anyways, I met Dr. BS on Saturday afternoon. Kaiser was limb-dancing...all limbs out! He was curling and opening his hands, bending them at elbows. I still can't feel the 'fluttering'. Maybe I am still not sensitive enough, or the sensation is so minute that it fades away before I take cognizance of it. I am waiting for heavy-movements, when I can actually feel him/her doing a good warm-up inside. Kaiser measured 20w3d, had a galloping horse-heartbeat and the AFI was sufficient. I got my sec...

My mummy is here, I have gas, This is a stupid poem But that's what me has; Am meeting Dr. BS tomorrow, Craving a butt-smacking tetanus shot, and not even by a bow and arrow! I think you are still reading this: 'Why?', That's what I wonder, OK folks, I am walking off, Swimming to loony down under! ^WiseGuy^