Missed Period While Extended Breastfeeding

   Hi my fellow mommies! Had you visited my other blog site yet by the way? It's where I am posting updates and milestone for my second child Moses who is now turning 15 months old this 4th of February and at the moment, I am still on extended breastfeeding round the clock.

With this new post, I would love to share this article in this blog site as it's somewhat related to pregnancy.

Just wanna share this out:

Last August, I had this feeling that I was pregnant but ended up just having my period back after months of not having it due to breastfeeding. And now, here I am again having some pregnancy symptoms, yay!

It was last August, baby was 9 months old then that I had my period back and I had it regularly every month thereafter. Last December 12, I had it for about five days, it was the heaviest period I had since August. My cycle is every 28 days ever since and when I got my period back it went like it will arrive the day itself or mostly two days late.

But this month, I am expecting that it will arrive around 12th of January but only to find out some brown discharge and light red blood that I only get when I wiped. Days before my next period is due, we conceived once so I don't know if this had something to do to delay or to miss my period.

Ever since after I gave birth to my first, we are following the 10 days before and 10 days after safe method for natural control and was effective. The difference between the age gap of our child is almost 5 years.

This time, I was wondering that it's been days that I was having some pregnancy related symptoms like frequent urination, feeling sleepy, easily gets tired most especially when walking accompanied by breathlessness, also feeling hungry and frequent toilet visits.

Am I pregnant? With the result of the pregnancy test last 22nd, the answer is negative. I am planning to make another test again probably after a week again as I don't want to keep on guessing but with the symptoms I can say that I am most likely to be pregnant again.

Today 25th of January, I just had some white discharge. I remember with my previous pregnancies it was the same, I had them too after I missed my period and I even mistakenly thought that I was about to have my period then.

I've also noticed that my taste somewhat had changed, too, as just days, I had requested to my husband that he buy mineral water as the taste of the boiled tap water is not good though we are drinking these normally at home. And now that I was thinking I am pregnant, I had thought of my sensitivity to taste recently. Strange!

Just with these symptoms, I am embracing the thought of having a beautiful baby again and I already feel excited.

For mommies who were experiencing the same situation, I will be updating this post every now and then for whatever outcome as I, myself is also wondering so I could share with everyone the result...

UPDATES:

25 Jan - this afternoon was about to go outside for a walk. I felt exhausted and tired as soon as I placed baby on the carrier so I placed him on the stroller instead. I usually use the carrier everytime we go out so feeling was really so strange.

26 Jan - took another pregnancy test and it was negative.

27 Jan - still having some white discharge. Having some lower back and left hip pains. Feeling sleepy, frequent urination...

28 Jan - Feb 5 - still no period yet...

6 Feb - my period started in the evening... Woo hoo! Thank God as I am not yet ready to have a new baby as I wanna focus with my youngest at the meantime especially that I am still breastfeeding him.

Everyone Is Welcome To Visit My New Blog & YouTube Page! =)

Hi friends!

   Since this pregnancy blog had received a lot of views, was thinking that you might also be interested to visit my blog dedicated to my baby's growing development and milestone. Feel free to visit this links! =)

Kindly visit:
http://neilmosessantiago.blogspot.hk/

As well as my Youtube page in which I will be sharing some of his videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/iloveamberjade

Baby Moses at 5 months 21 days old

We'll see you all there! =)

Finally, Our Lil' Guy Born at 39 Weeks! :)

The Birth Story of Neil Moses

Repost via Babycenter (November 2013 Birth Club)

Date of Birth: 11/04/2013
Original Due Date: 11/11/2013
Weeks Pregnant: 39 weeks
Baby's Weight: 8 lbs 39 oz

  Sunday around 5:30 early morning after I peed, a gush of liquid came out. I've never experienced urinary incontinence and that I can always control my bladder so I was thinking that it might be my amniotic fluid. Afterwards, was having some contractions though were mild and some abdominal pressures. 

  Thought of it as I might be on labor, my husband called 999, rush me to the hospital via the ambulance. The doctors checked me, they just wanted to be sure if my water really broke. They monitored my contractions thru the machine. Contractions not that of regular intervals so might just be normal braxton hicks. The doctor said cervix still closed.

  The doctors scheduled me for repeat CS the next day, Monday. It was 3:07 in the afternoon, we heard the sweetest cry. With Amber, I was put on general anesthesia so wasn't had the chance to hear her very first. I am glad with our son, it was a spinal one so Daddy was around, I am widely awake, so we were able to hear that of baby Moses.

  It was a wonderful experience. Added, I've never seen Amber having so much joy when she saw her little brother thru her Dad's mobile. She was giggling and in very much excitement. She kept on saying "So cute, so cute!" You will feel how happy and glad she really was.

  Actually she have been a sweet sister from the very start of my pregnancy. Loves to hug, kiss my belly and talked to baby a lot. She even sings him Lullaby Song every time we go to bed. Their bonding was so special.God willing soon, they'll see and meet each other face to face. Can't wait for that moment.

  Truly we're blessed. Happiness is beyond words... Thanks be to God!

38 Weeks 5 Days Today! :)

    Thanks be to God, I am now around my 39th week of pregnancy. Last Wednesday, I had my antenatal check-up, BP normal and weight now measuring 76.50 kilograms. Last week, 24th of October, the Doctor told me baby measures big, 7.5 lbs based on the ultrasound scan. His head measuring already at around 39 weeks wherein I am just past 37 weeks then.

The big sister to be, Amber, has always been excited. Never missed the chance to kiss my belly daily. Also she's the one who puts lotion on it during night time, enjoys doing it! :) Loves her little brother so much, she is very sweet!

To share, baby's development right now:

Inside the Womb at 39 Weeks

Photo courtesy of Babycenter

Photo courtesy of Pregnancy Companion

Photo courtesy of Pregnancy Assistant

Child length: approximately 20.5 - 20.7 inches  (about the size of a Celery bunch)

Child weight: approximately 7.3 lbs

At this stage:  The child is fully formed, and you watch for the first symptoms of the beginning birth.

Although your baby is full term, he will continue to grow until you deliver. At this point waiting for your baby is a challenge.

Your baby is practicing breath and urinating, and can use his fingers to grasp tightly. Your baby has lost most of the slippery vernix that had been covering and protecting his skin. In addition supplying the kiddo with nutrients, around this time your placenta continues supplying antibodies to help protect him against infections from bacteria and viruses.

In fact these antibodies will actually give his immune system a boost for the first six months of his life. Pretty amazing! If you could peer inside your belly, you'd notice that his tiny fingernails have reached or grown past his fingertips. He'll need a trim fairly soon after he arrives.

Believe it or not, your baby may have taken its first bowel movement. The waste is greenish-black substance called meconium and either passed in the womb or is stored on his or her intestines and will be excreted after birth.

Childbirth can begin at any time. Its symptoms can occur a few days or a few hours before the zero hour - every woman is different.

Your baby is starting to come down into your pelvis. The movements continue to be less noticeable. You will start to become more uncomfortable, due to the baby being lower in your pelvis. Frequent trips to the restroom and trouble sleeping are quite common. Taking a nice warm shower and drinking warm milk before bed can make you more relaxed and help with sleep.

Symptoms of Labor:
1. Losing the mucous plug - a sign that the cervix opens
2. Then may come the membrane rupture or, colloquially speaking, water breaking when the amniotic fluid leaks out. It may happen, but is not required. Sometimes the bladder is pierced by medical personnel.
3. Another important sign are contractions. They are different from pre-contractions that you have experienced fro some time now in that they are regular, escalating and do not stop when you change positions.
4. Keep a close eye on yourself and monitor the situation. You will not miss this moment for sure.

Before your pregnancy, your uterus weighed only two ounces. By now, it has stretched large enough to hold your baby and weighs around two and half pounds.

Days left to birth: 9

Due date: 11 November 2013

Data Sources: Babybump, Babycenter, I'm Expecting, Pregnancy Assistant, Pregnancy Companion and Pregnancy Guide

"Almost there!"

Group B Streptococcus Screening

Just had my weekly antenatal check-up yesterday and also had my Group B Streptococcus Screening Test in which the result will be next week. Got a weight of 75.10 kilograms while urine and BP normal.

From my first pregnancy, I remember that I didn't have this GBS Screening so the test was not familiar to me so to know more about it, here's what I've read from Babycenter.

I have read that all pregnant women are recommended to be routinely screened for GBS at 35 to 37 weeks. 

What are the consequences of early-onset GBS disease?

Early-onset GBS disease can cause sepsis (an infection in the blood), pneumonia, and, less frequently, meningitis. Some of these babies, particularly those with meningitis, will have long-term health problems such as hearing or vision loss, cerebral palsy, or developmental disabilities, and about 5 percent won't survive. 

Preterm babies have a lower survival rate than full-term babies, and those who survive are at higher risk for long-term problems from the disease.

What is the test like?

Your practitioner swabs the lower end of your vagina and your rectum (this isn't painful) and sends the swabs to a lab to be grown in a culture that will identify whether GBS bacteria is present. Your results should be available in two to three days, and your practitioner will give them to you at your next prenatal appointment. If she doesn't tell you, be sure to ask. 

You may have heard about GBS tests that can be done during labor and delivery in some hospitals, with results available within an hour or so. But the rapid tests are not as sensitive as those that allow time for the GBS to incubate. So at the present time, the CDC, ACOG, and AAP all still recommend screening at 35 to 37 weeks. 

What will happen if I test positive?

A positive result means only that you carry the bacteria – not that you or your baby will definitely become ill, even if you don't receive proper treatment. 

Getting antibiotics during labor does reduce those odds by a huge factor: For example, if you're a GBS carrier with no other risk factors (you're 37 weeks or more, don't have a fever, and your membranes haven't been ruptured long), your baby's odds of getting infected are about 1 in 200 without treatment and about 1 in 4,000 if you do get treated.

Treatment also reduces your own chances of developing a GBS infection (such as a uterine infection) during labor or postpartum, as can sometimes happen.

If you're GBS-positive, you'll begin getting antibiotics as soon as your labor starts or your water breaks, whichever comes first. (The only case in which you wouldn't need treatment for GBS is if you have a cesarean section before your water breaks or you go into labor,regardless of how far along you are.)

Ideally, you'll want to get started on the antibiotics at least four hours before you give birth, but if your labor is very rapid you may not have that much time. Take comfort that getting started even a couple of hours before delivery helps reduce the risk to your baby. And try not to worry, because the chance that your baby will get sick – especially if he's full-term, you don't have a fever, and your membranes aren't ruptured for long – is small.

Data Source: http://www.babycenter.com/0_group-b-streptococcus-screening_1647.bc

Around My 37th Week! :)

   Thanks be to God that I'm now around my 37th week of pregnancy. I've read that my baby at this stage is considered full term and if pregnant ladies deliver this week, it should result in a very healthy baby. :)

My Belly At 36 Weeks

Inside the Womb at 36 Weeks

Photo courtesy of Babycenter

Photo courtesy of Pregnancy Companion

Child length: approximately 19.3 inches  (about the size of a a Coconut)

Child weight: approximately 5.9 - 6.5 lbs

At this stage:  You may feel the first contractions of your uterus - an infallible sign of the approaching childbirth.

Your baby's once wrinkly skin has now been plumped up by a healthy layer of fat, and his face has rounded out as we.. (oh, those chubby little cheeks!). He has also developed strong sucking muscles - which will enable him to down his first meal shortly after birth.

Your baby continues to gain weight. The lungs are functional at this time. The amniotic fluid around the baby is decreasing, which makes it more difficult for your baby to turn. At this point, if your baby is breech, it will probably remain so until birth.

The bones in your baby's skull can move and overlap each other, allowing the baby to pass through the tight birth canal more easily. Don't be surprised if your baby arrives with a pointy or misshapen head. It will become more round once the bones move back into place, anywhere between a few hours or days after birth.

Prenatal checks will now happen every week until your baby is born. Be sure to inquire about what you should do if your water breaks.

Just a month away from your due date, you're likely feeling very anxious for your baby to deliver. If you are by nature meticulous and carefully plan everything, you must know that only 5% of children are born on their due date.

Days left to birth: 27

Due date: 11 November 2013

Data Sources: Babybump, Babycenter, I'm Expecting, Pregnancy Assistant, Pregnancy Companion and Pregnancy Guide

"Worth the weight..."

Thanks Be to God! A Bundle of Boy!

   From the very beginning of my pregnancy, I knew inside of me that I am carrying a baby boy as what I've also felt with my first. Maybe it's that "Mother Instinct" thing. :) Thanks be to God that this time, He blessed us a baby boy and that was exactly what my daughter Amber would love to have, a "baby brother".

   When I had Amber, the day I found out from the ultrasound that I was having a baby girl, I wasn't that surprise at all as I was really expecting that I was having a baby girl right from the start. With my first pregnancy, I really wanted to have a baby girl, as we all know that they're so cute to dress up and have lots of pretty items out there to buy for them. Also, I was thinking about long beautiful hair, pink ribbons, tutus and some other girly stuff. :)

   I thank God for He blessed us another baby, and this time around, a baby boy. 

   Aside from the "Mother's Instinct" thing, maybe I can say that with my first pregnancy, the symptoms I had from there differ compared at my present pregnancy right now. With Amber, the sooner I knew I was pregnant, the very first symptom was I had a very sore breasts, warm body temperature and lower back pains. Though with both pregnancy, I never had morning sickness, no vomiting just like what most pregnant women experiences.

   But this pregnancy, my first symptoms were I am so sensitive with my smell and taste. I was so choosy with what food to eat wherein with my first, I never had an issue. Everything went out smoothly, I had a good appetite from the very start with my first.

   To share with my first pregnancy, aside from those symptoms I've mentioned, I have also experienced having a toothache, some metallic taste on my mouth, muscle pains on both my hands and feet though eating bananas had helped me cope with it as they're rich in potassium. 

   I've read that when you're pregnant, there are times that those foods you don't actually like to eat at all, will be those that you would love to eat. Before, I really don't like eating bananas as they're slippery and it feels like I had to vomit every time I eat one. But during my pregnancy, I had really love eating them.

   To add with my present pregnancy, some more symptoms were dizziness, constipation, heartburn, shortness of breath though I still had this with my first but a more issue this time specially when I lay in bed. If with my first I had a toothache, this time I had a gum problem on one of my teeth in which my Dentist told me it's called "pregnancy tumor", which is common during pregnancy and will usually fade away after you gave birth provided you also give it proper gum care, wherein I was prescribed medications.

   Again for similarities, both of my pregnancies, I measure really big that most of those who see me kept asking if I was having a twin or that if I'm nearly on my due date. I just really measure big from the very start. Especially now, I grew more bigger as I am on my 36 weeks of pregnancy. With the gender, those who see me, everyone keeps telling me that I may be having a baby boy because I got a strong aura, the way I look, maybe the way they see me. ツ I also had some pimples from the early stage of this pregnancy.

   I just keep telling them that I felt it from the start and knew that I am carrying a baby boy but was also telling them that whatever the gender will be, as long as it's healthy.

   By the way, this "Mother Instinct" thing was just confirmed today, Wednesday, 9th October 2012, when I've visited a private doctor for check up. Together, with Daddy & Amber we saw from the ultrasound that we were having a healthy baby boy.

   Thanks be to God for such a wonderful blessing! We're very grateful that we were gifted with another child and that we can't wait to cuddle him in our arms especially Amber who's always been excited to have a baby brother.

   "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." ~ 2 Corinthians 9:15