*Sigh* Should’ve had my blood drawn yesterday for this test while I was in for my monthly check-up but careless me didn’t read the instructions and ate a mango and 2 mini-size pieces of chocolate within 24 hours of the test, so the lab technicians asked me to go in this morning instead.

Hopefully, I won’t hear back from them within 2-3 days (they will only call if test is positive)…so what does this test for? Gestational diabetes, which affects about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases of gestational diabetes in the United States each year. Source: http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp

Starting from 2 months ago, whenever I have my monthly prenatal check-up, the doctor would measure my stomach with a tape measurer. Never really understood what he/she was measuring and how he or she determined (approximately) the amount of months I am by doing this until today…

the measuring is to determine if the uterus is about the right size for the dates. Once the mommy reaches 20 weeks, doctors expect that her uterus to measure about 20cm from the pubic bone to the top. It grows about 1cm a week after that (equal with the number of weeks) and so should measure about 40cm at full term.

I’m supposedly 28 weeks and 5 days along…doctor measured 28cm today so I am right on target. Now I’m FINALLY starting to understand why mothers get stretch marks - imagine stretching your skin around 4 times its normal elasticity!!! :~(~~ Better pile on cocoa butter…really hoping I inherit my Mom’s genes of not getting stretch marks!

OK, seems there are two kinds of agreement: No, you don’t need it and of course, are you crazy?

As you can guess, older generation like our parents and our neighbour all said there is no need, just think how many generations deliver their babies without the medicine and still have smooth delivery..

And then there is this younger generation (include me) like people that we hang out with, they all said the pain is simply not bearable without the medication.  I am so torn and seems to swing from one side to the next everyday based on what I read/who I talk to. 

If I don’t get one, it’s not because I want to experience the “natural” birth (including the pain) - but because I am afraid of the epidural not being administered correctly for whatever reason and me ending up paralyzed.  Have also heard that it prolongs labor and some people have experience aftereffects (ie.backaches)…but can I bear the pain?! I don’t know because no one can describe to me what a contraction feels like…the only description I have gotten so far is, “It’s like getting food poisoning.” Well, I have never gotten food poisoning, so that doesn’t help.