Sunday 18 April 2010

Week 29: Vomiting, heartburn, hairy baby, Yong Tau Foo

This week wasn't exactly great. It started out okay though, until Wednesday lunchtime. I was working from home so I had a sandwich and a couple of chicken wings. Shortly after that I felt  sharp pain in my gut so I knew it was a heartburn attack. 

I quickly downed Gaviscon but that didn't help so there I was as usual, groaning, hyperventilating, twisted in agony. I took a stronger tablet to in an attempt to control the stomach acid and also drank some peppermint tea which eventually did help to knock back the pain. But it was still there in the background right till dinnertime. 

For dinner, I made some pasta and forced myself to eat a small bowlful because sometimes a bit of food can help to improve the situation. I also drank fizzy water and 7-up because the carbon dioxide usually works at neutralising the acid. But the pain continued to bedtime and I laid awake through the night rubbing my stomach. Nothing seemed to have helped. 

I made and drank more peppermint tea but in my terrible state knocked the mug onto the carpet. This of course woke R and he helped to clean up the mess and offered to get me more Gaviscon. The moment I downed it I felt an urgent need to be sick. I tried to fight the feeling but I was salivating and I could feel it coming up my throat. Thankfully I made it to the toilet where I vomited twice.

Being a nurse, R remained calm and went to get me a glass of water to rinse out my mouth. I kept telling him to go away as I didn't want him to see me throw up. But he said, "Don't be silly, what do you think I do everyday?" So anyway, I felt a lot better after puking and I managed to finally sleep for a few hours. I couldn't however, face going to work, so I called in sick in the morning. My guts were also very bloated and painful still so I went to see the doctor. 

She examined me and said the womb is pushing right up against the stomach which makes me more susceptible to heartburn and indigestion. She prescribed a liquid medication similar to but apparently more effective than Gaviscon for me to take after meals. I could barely walk because my insides were hurting so bad. Later, when my stomach pains had gone, I realised I was all tender from vomiting - I had pulled my abdominal muscles when I threw up. 

That day I did not and could not do anything. I slept for three hours, read for a little while in bed and had a small bowl of clear chicken soup and some bread at mealtimes. At night the muscle pain kept me awake and it still hurt to walk so I worked from home the next day. 

By the evening I felt well enough to head into town for a few hours. I had arranged to have dinner with two Singaporean girls at a Chinese restaurant which had Hakka Yong Tau Foo and I didn't want to re-schedule the appointment. I also wanted to drop by K's place (she lives near the restaurant) to see her before she pops. 

Since I last saw her, K had developed a lovely big bump and her baby could come any moment now. We sat around to have chocolate cake while her dog kept us entertained. She looked great and appeared to be calm and confident about the impending birth. I can only hope I would be half as composed as she is. 

After two days of bad belly, I was happy to indulge myself in some nice food at the restaurant. The Hakka Yong Tau Foo was absolutely delicious but I did not overeat and thank goodness the evening went pain-free. 

I heard from a friend who also suffered from terrible pregnancy heartburn that women who had that were more likely to give birth to hairier babies. I thought it was an old wives' tale until I read this - there is actually scientific proof to that theory! Oh my god I hope Bean doesn't come out looking like a baby chimp!

1 comment:

mwang said...

Super cute!!