A mother’s experience
Jessy Tan, a soon to be mum of two, shares with theAsianparent.com her pregnancy experience with her now nine-month-old daughter Avril.
TheAsianParent (TAP): WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Jessy Tan : Yes, I struck on the first try; I never thought I was so fertile. I had some womb thickening problem and had an ops done but after one cycle of menstruation, I was pregnant.
TAP: WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Jessy Tan : Surprised, ecstatic. I could not believe it!
TAP: HOW OLD WERE YOU?
Jessy Tan : 28
TAP: WHAT ABOUT YOUR SECOND ONE, WAS IT A SURPRISE?
Jessy Tan : It was totally unexpected as it was not planned. Till date I still cannot really accept that I am pregnant so fast!
TAP:HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Jessy Tan : My whole body felt weird so I took a HPT (Home Pregnancy Test). I think it was Guardian’s house brand. All I saw was a faint line so I was not very sure. I took another on the Clearblue HPT and got a clear positive. I still couldn’t believe it and ended up making a visit to my GP to confirm my results.
TAP:WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Jessy Tan : My husband, Andy, who was in total disbelief.
TAP: WHAT WAS YOUR ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE?
Jessy Tan : 17 June 2008 according to the Thomson Medical Centre scan.
TAP: DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Jessy Tan : Slightly, especially when I was hungry. I didn’t really puke, just more like nausea.
TAP: ANY PARTICULAR CRAVINGS DURING THIS PERIOD?
Jessy Tan : No real cravings but for the first 3 months, Macdonald’s was the only thing I could take.
TAP: ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Jessy Tan : It was a pretty uneventful pregnancy except in the last trimester when my gynae became concerned about the baby’s growth. Avril was pretty small and rather light in terms of weight. He was worried Avril was not absorbing the necessary nutrients from me.
TAP: DID YOU ASK YOUR DOCTOR FOR YOUR CHILD’S GENDER?
Jessy Tan : Yes on the 20th week during my detailed scanning, the sonographer told us about the 3 lines which meant it was a girl. Prior to that, my gynae wasn’t able to determine.
TAP: DID YOU WISH YOU HAD A BOY INSTEAD?
Jessy Tan : Yes, we were hoping for a boy and all along we addressed the baby as a ‘he’. But when we found out that it will be a girl, I was reminded of just how sweet girls can be, after my experience with my first daughter. I absolutely adore her.
TAP: HOW MUCH WEIGHT DID YOU GAIN?
Jessy Tan : 20 kilos, which I think I lost within 3 months, thanks mainly to breastfeeding.
TAP: WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Jessy Tan : Mt Alvernia Hospital.
TAP: HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOUR?
Jessy Tan : I think it was around 2 hours.
TAP: WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
Jessy Tan : Andy, of course!
TAP: DID HE WATCH YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Jessy Tan : Yes, he had to be there. [Laughs]
TAP: WAS IT NORMAL DELIVERY OR C-SECTION?
Jessy Tan : Normal, and I went without epidural!
TAP: DID YOU TAKE DRUGS TO EASE THE PAIN?
Jessy Tan : Only the laughing gas, which did not help at all.
TAP: HOW MUCH DID AVRIL WEIGH?
Jessy Tan : 2.66 kg.
TAP: SO WHEN WAS THE ACTUAL DELIVERY?
Jessy Tan : 3rd June 2008
