We went for the OSCAR test which stands for the One Stop Clinic for Assessment of Risk. This is a
combination test offered during the first trimester to screen for risk of
fetal anomalies, in particular Down Syndrome. Dr Lee told us that it's optional but we opt in anyway.
The screening supposedly will allow us to find out sooner if our baby has a high risk of chromosomal defects.
Depending on the results of the OSCAR test, if need be, other test might be required. As Dr Lee does not perform such test, we are being referred to his partner Dr Choo Wan Ling to have the test done.
On the day of the test, Momi was first lead to a room to draw blood for the blood test. This is to allow the lab to measure the free beta- hCG (human chorionic gonadotrophin)
and PAPP-A (pregnancy associated plasma protein A) contents. A mummy to be who is carrying a baby with the Down's Syndrome will have abnormal levels of these two substances in her blood.
After the blood test, we were lead to Dr Choo's room for the Nuchal Translucency (NT) Scan. During the NT Scan, the doctor basically is checking for the collection of fluid under the skin at the back
of a baby's neck. All babies have some fluid but babies with Down's syndrome have more.
Good news from the test was everything seems normal from the scan. However a confirmation from the lab will be more accurate. Nevertheless, it gave us yet another opportunity to peep into the baby's world inside.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Cord Blood
One area that was getting more popular in recent years are the idea of Cord Blood Bank. As the name suggest, it's basically a facility where you get to store your baby's Umbilical Cord Blood.
Cord blood which is also known as Placental Blood, is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after the baby has been given birth. During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is the lifeline between the mother and child. After the baby’s delivery, the cord blood present in the umbilical cord could offer hope for the child or members of the family in the future.
Cord blood is a rich source of Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs). By saving it from the start, it will provide the family an options to obtain stem cells from a safe and painless way. The potential of treatments include certain cancers and blood disorders. Most importantly, it offers a 100% match to the new born.
From my understanding at the moment, there are 3 organizations that take care of Cord Blood, 1 public and 2 private. The public Cord Blood Bank function more like a donation facility while they private one will store your baby Cord Blood for a fee.
Public Bank
Private Bank
Which is a better choice? I am not sure at the moment as more homework got to be done. However for those who are consider storing their baby's cord blood, you will have to add this into your budget. There are some installment plans but you will still have to come up with an initial sum.
I'll be updating more when I have found out more about the choices.
Cord blood which is also known as Placental Blood, is the blood that remains in the umbilical cord and placenta after the baby has been given birth. During pregnancy, the umbilical cord is the lifeline between the mother and child. After the baby’s delivery, the cord blood present in the umbilical cord could offer hope for the child or members of the family in the future.
Cord blood is a rich source of Haematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs). By saving it from the start, it will provide the family an options to obtain stem cells from a safe and painless way. The potential of treatments include certain cancers and blood disorders. Most importantly, it offers a 100% match to the new born.
From my understanding at the moment, there are 3 organizations that take care of Cord Blood, 1 public and 2 private. The public Cord Blood Bank function more like a donation facility while they private one will store your baby Cord Blood for a fee.
Public Bank
 |
| Singapore Cord Blood Bank - http://www.scbb.com.sg |
Private Bank
 |
| STEMCORD - http://www.stemcord.com |
 |
| Cordlife - http://www.cordlife.com |
Which is a better choice? I am not sure at the moment as more homework got to be done. However for those who are consider storing their baby's cord blood, you will have to add this into your budget. There are some installment plans but you will still have to come up with an initial sum.
I'll be updating more when I have found out more about the choices.
Monday, December 5, 2011
First Peek at Bobi
After asking from some friends and getting reviews from forum, we decided to go and visit Dr Lee Keen Whye for our first consultation. His clinic is located at the Gleneagles Medical Centre. Made an appointment and went on a Friday.
One interesting scene that we notice was that all the mummies to be there are all drinking all sort of beverages. The clinic has quite a good varieties of hot drinks and also normal plain water. Not too sure at first but soon we will find out. Did some preregistration that includes blood pressure and weight taking.
Waited awhile for our turn and we finally met him. A fatherly looking doctor who is very friendly. Gave us some prep talk and find out more about us and we proceed to the ultra scan to take a peek at our baby. Did a scan and we were told that the intestines are blocking the baby but one thing for sure, Momi is definitely pregnant. Then Gr Lee told Momi to go out and drink more water so that the bloated bladder will push the intestines aside to have a clearer picture of the baby. Now we know what's with all the drinking haha.
Went out, drank, waited and went back in. Now we can see the tiny baby on the ultra scan screen. She is just 25mm long. can also hear the string heartbeat of the tiny girl. Oh yea, all babies started out as girls and not that I already know she is a girl. Pictures were printed out of the scan for us to keep. That is such an exciting moment seeing Bobi for the first time.
After that, we were brief on the Dos and Don'ts of pregnancy. Being warned that morning sickness will cause some changes for Momi. e.g. what she likes, she might not like or what she likes, she might like it even more. The only way to go about it is to eat tiny bites as and when Momi is hungry. Else she might end up puking everything out. Keeping some biscuit at arms way is also useful as hunger strike without sign. Tonics are not required at this moment as the baby do not require much at this point of time.
At the end of the visits, after paying the bills, we were given a welcome pack that contain the following:
One interesting scene that we notice was that all the mummies to be there are all drinking all sort of beverages. The clinic has quite a good varieties of hot drinks and also normal plain water. Not too sure at first but soon we will find out. Did some preregistration that includes blood pressure and weight taking.
Waited awhile for our turn and we finally met him. A fatherly looking doctor who is very friendly. Gave us some prep talk and find out more about us and we proceed to the ultra scan to take a peek at our baby. Did a scan and we were told that the intestines are blocking the baby but one thing for sure, Momi is definitely pregnant. Then Gr Lee told Momi to go out and drink more water so that the bloated bladder will push the intestines aside to have a clearer picture of the baby. Now we know what's with all the drinking haha.
Went out, drank, waited and went back in. Now we can see the tiny baby on the ultra scan screen. She is just 25mm long. can also hear the string heartbeat of the tiny girl. Oh yea, all babies started out as girls and not that I already know she is a girl. Pictures were printed out of the scan for us to keep. That is such an exciting moment seeing Bobi for the first time.
After that, we were brief on the Dos and Don'ts of pregnancy. Being warned that morning sickness will cause some changes for Momi. e.g. what she likes, she might not like or what she likes, she might like it even more. The only way to go about it is to eat tiny bites as and when Momi is hungry. Else she might end up puking everything out. Keeping some biscuit at arms way is also useful as hunger strike without sign. Tonics are not required at this moment as the baby do not require much at this point of time.
At the end of the visits, after paying the bills, we were given a welcome pack that contain the following:
 |
| Anmum - Materna |
 |
| Dumex Mamil - Mama |
 |
| Friso - Mum Gold |
 |
| Enfa - Mama A+ |
 |
| Nestle NAN - Mom & Me |
 |
| Various Brochures |
 |
| Various Booklets |
Friday, December 2, 2011
In Search of Gynaecologist (Gynae)
After knowing that Momi is pregnant, the next step will be to look for a Gynae to have a look at the baby and to find out if he/she is doing well and his/her Estimated Delivery Date (EDD).
For a start it seems like it's just getting some referral and to read up some review and you are almost well on the way. Apparently there is more than that.
There is one chicken and egg problem. To choose the hospital first or to choose the Gynae first? Why would this be a problem as some might ask. The reason is that some Gynae do not perform the delivery at other hospital. Which means that if you have chosen Gynae A, and he only perform delivery at Hospital A then you are more or less stuck at that particular hospital. If you are lucky, the Gynae might be able to do delivery at a few hospital then you will have some options. Vice Versa. If the hospital that you would like to deliver in does not belong to the Gynae list, you will not be able to do it there.
People might argue that "Of course a Gynae is more important than the hospital", however you have to face the reality of the upcoming hospitalization bills that you will have to face. If you have no budget constraint then by all means, choose a Gynae that you feel can best provide for the mummy-to-be and the newborn.
Therefore these are some points that you might want to consider when you are choosing a Gynae. There are the few "famous" Gynae but there are also those that do just as well at a budget that you are comfortable with. Do not over stretch yourself as more cost are coming up. The basic cost will be Gynae consultations, Gynae package, Delivery charges and Hospital Maternity Package. Some additional cost that might occurs are like neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where mostly premature babies will be spending their days until they are fully developed. Neonatal jaundice, it is generally a temporary condition that does not cause babies harm and does not require any treatment. However, a few babies do require treatment -- both when they are in the newborn nursery and for a short period after they return home. These are not covered within any package and will add to the final hospitalization bill. I heard of a initial bill of $5000 shooting up to $8000 because of this situation.
It's kinda tricky and takes a lot of planning. Just add this consideration into your usual referral and reviews. I guess all of us can make a better judgement with all these additional pointers.
For a start it seems like it's just getting some referral and to read up some review and you are almost well on the way. Apparently there is more than that.
There is one chicken and egg problem. To choose the hospital first or to choose the Gynae first? Why would this be a problem as some might ask. The reason is that some Gynae do not perform the delivery at other hospital. Which means that if you have chosen Gynae A, and he only perform delivery at Hospital A then you are more or less stuck at that particular hospital. If you are lucky, the Gynae might be able to do delivery at a few hospital then you will have some options. Vice Versa. If the hospital that you would like to deliver in does not belong to the Gynae list, you will not be able to do it there.
People might argue that "Of course a Gynae is more important than the hospital", however you have to face the reality of the upcoming hospitalization bills that you will have to face. If you have no budget constraint then by all means, choose a Gynae that you feel can best provide for the mummy-to-be and the newborn.
Therefore these are some points that you might want to consider when you are choosing a Gynae. There are the few "famous" Gynae but there are also those that do just as well at a budget that you are comfortable with. Do not over stretch yourself as more cost are coming up. The basic cost will be Gynae consultations, Gynae package, Delivery charges and Hospital Maternity Package. Some additional cost that might occurs are like neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where mostly premature babies will be spending their days until they are fully developed. Neonatal jaundice, it is generally a temporary condition that does not cause babies harm and does not require any treatment. However, a few babies do require treatment -- both when they are in the newborn nursery and for a short period after they return home. These are not covered within any package and will add to the final hospitalization bill. I heard of a initial bill of $5000 shooting up to $8000 because of this situation.
It's kinda tricky and takes a lot of planning. Just add this consideration into your usual referral and reviews. I guess all of us can make a better judgement with all these additional pointers.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Morning Sickness
Once of the more uncomfortable part of the pregnancy would
be the "Morning Sickness". Though it is called "Morning
Sickness", it does not necessary happens only in the morning. It can
happen in the morning, night or even throughout the day. Some mummy to be
suffer from week 5 onwards. Morning Sickness usually will go away or subside by
the end of first trimster.
The nausea feeling will keep you feeling that you want
to vomit. Even if you don't, the queasiness will be unpleasant and quite frustrating.
However if you cannot really keep the food down or feeling dizzy, it's best to
look for your Gynae and see if he can prescribe some medication for you to feel
better.
The Gynae did tell us that it's normal and Momi just got to find out what she feel like eating. Some ladies has a complete change of taste for food while others just love the kind of food they like even more. Smell and taste become more enhanced in a way.
Some tips that we manage to find were:
- Eating smaller quantity but more frequent meals, 少量多餐.
- Don't worry about nutritious diet during this period. Try as much food as possible to find out what you like. The focus is to eat.
- It may sound exaggerating but even toothpaste might cause discomfort. If it does for you, just change a brand and flavor.
- Accumulation of saliva in the mouth might gives you the feeling of vomiting. Have some sour stuff like sour candies and preserved fruits might helps.
- Ginger in all forms might help relieve for some, especially for the bloated stomach filled with gas.
- Have some bite size snacks at arms way. Prevent yourself from having a empty stomach helps.
- You will have to explore what best helps you during this period. Sometime you might have a craving for some food but when it's delivered in front of you, you lost your appetite for it.
This brand of Mandarin peel works quite well for Momi,
but surprisingly it's getting harder to find.
 | |||||||||||||
| YA BAO Brand Preserved Mandarin Peel |
An advice from Popi to Dads to be, buy small portions
of food regardless of food or snacks. Their craving and taste changes during
this period so she might have a huge crave at this moment but she might lost
interest later. You might end up with a lot of stocks if you grab all the huge
pack thinking since she got crave, should just get a big pack of it.
Friday, November 25, 2011
First Sign - Pregnancy Test Kit
There are many ways on how a couple can choose to embark on parenthood. Some had it planned out to the finest details, others just had a bit more fun. Ours is more of a let nature take its course without really thinking of it. The very first sign that we have embark on our parenthood journey will be when Momi was late for her menses.
We didn’t really put too much thoughts into it, brushing that it might have been late or something. When it was really late then we decided to get a Pregnancy Test Kit to test it out. The first kit we got was the Clearblue Easy +/- Results Pregnancy Test with Color Change Tip. After putting it to the test, this is what we got. We were 70% sure that it was positive but then the vertical like was kind of faint to form the “+” sign.
 | |||
| Clearblue Easy +/- Results Pregnancy Test with Color Change Tip |
To be sure and to clear our doubts, I went and got us the Clearblue Easy Digital Pregnancy Test. As this is a digital version of the Pregnancy Test Kit, it’s almost 99% and the result is clearly spelled out. We can see the result and how many weeks Momi is pregnant. After testing and waiting for the result,this is what we got.
 |
| Clearblue Easy Digital Pregnancy Test |
A clear indication that Momi is pregnant with more than 3 weeks. Guess we were first shocked since we are not expecting this. Slowly as reality sets in, we were overjoyed to have this new life.
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