11 Sep 05
We tie the knot after 9 years 2 months of courtship and a friendship that spans 20 years.
22 Feb 06
My husband, Hafidz, comes back from filming in Ipoh, Malaysia after a week away. It's so great to see him!
9-17 Mar 06
Sick as a puppy. 4 days went by in a blur- doctor says its a virus. I've just came back from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh for the filming of our BBC documentary 'Vietnam Psychics' where bird flu is prevalent and doctors want my blood sample to ascertain that its not anything serious. I insist on a pregnancy test- it came back negative. Was expecting that anyway since I have PCO (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and my gynaecologist has suggested a fertility treatment to get pregnant.
24 Mar 06
2 weeks and still flu-ish. Blood test reveals nothing. I insist on another urine test even though the doctor says that my symptoms do not point to pregnancy. This time, its 2 red lines. POSITIVE! Hafidz was waiting for me at the clinic, I go over to him, kiss him on the lips and whisper "Congratulations, you're going to be a father". He opened his mouth but nothing came out. If a picture was worth a million words, he didn't really need to say anything.
28 Mar 06 - 5.5 weeks
At the gynae's! She says its 5 and half weeks old. We're ecstatic when the scanning began and there was heartbeat! It's just a shapeless lump really. The gynae pointed to a sac and a yolk, making me feel like a mother hen. She says that PCO patients usually conceive unexpectedly and that mine was probably a mild case of PCO anyway.
Its a secret between Hafidz and I still. We give each other secret looks and giggles all the time asking each other "how did this happen so quickly?!" but feeling very very happy indeed.
We gave up our car last week, thinking we'd save up for our house, but now there's an unplanned gift coming and the nausea makes me wish we still had the car. Standing for too long will make me feel sickly, worse when I have to get on the train to ferry to and from work. My taxi bill this month hits the roof.
17 Apr 06 - 8.5 weeks
Another visit to the gynae's! It's grown to a good 5cm now and the heartbeat sounded like a horse's pounding away. It also keep bumping its arm on its head- maybe due to the noise we were making.
We call it 'Astronaut' for now, due to its big head and small body. Nuchal fold reveals normal development, gynae says no threat of Down's Syndrome. I'm always lethargic and the nausea has really kicked in. I can't go hungry otherwise I start retching so I've bought muesli bars and kept them handy in my bag. I have to sit every so often and munch on something to keep the nausea at bay. For the first time ever, I felt so tired after getting dressed to go to work in the morning that I curled up in bed and went back to sleep. Gynae expects this to last til around Week 14 before I start to feel normal again. That's another 6 weeks of feeling flu-ey!!!
I've told some close friends. Sapna & Anil came to meet us with roses and a pair of diamond and pearl earrings for me. I've made them godparents too.
30 May 06 - 14.5 weeks
Astronaut is now 9cm and already moving. But we can only see it on the monitor during a scan, I can't feel anything. I can only stomach fast food so its been Mac's or BK or KFC for me for lunch everyday. Gynae has given a go-ahead for our Tioman Island trip next week. I need the short break to laze around.
2-8 Jun 06 - 15.5 weeks
Caught a glimpse of a Pontianak in Tioman but nothing scary. Other than that it was like being in Paradise! I totally enjoyed myself there, wading in the ocean and snorkelling amongst the marine fishes. Its been a long time since I went on a proper holiday, lately I only travel for work. My bump is starting to show- my tankini has gone a tad tight and some bottoms are impossible to squeeze into. Also, the nausea has tapered off but I hate the smell of fish, especially grilled mackerel. Almost killed me when the chalet people grilled some mackerel for us to feast on. I kept wanting to retch all the way through dinner which wasn't polite at all.
21 Jun 06 - 17.5 weeks
Went to gynae alone- so sad. Hafidz had work commitments he couldn't get out off but I can't expect him to accompany me on every trip. Ah well, might as well get used to it. Astronaut is 11cm already and sleeping during the scan. Gynae has a strong feeling that its a baby girl but told me to wait for 20th week scan for a confirmation. Had to do a blood test to determine any abnormalities like Down Syndrome etc. I'm also starting to feel normal again. YEAY! No more nausea or retching!!!
17 Jul 06 - 21 weeks
Had my compulsory detailed 20th week scan at Thomson Medical Hospital. Alone. I was nervous ALL morning, hoping and praying that everything will turn out ok. After 2 hours of detailed scanning, the sonographer told me that everything looks fine and that Astronaut is growing according to plan. All the major organs are developing well and all the physical developments are perfect. Does it mean I can go shop for baby stuff now?
And yes, a little princess it is for us!! I texted Hafidz and he texted me back saying 'Let's name our little princess ARISSA ABDUL HAFIDZ". I like the sound of it. My best friend, Fidza, who lives in KL was the one who suggested it last week.