First Trimester Ultrasound

Scheduled in for my first trimester ultrasound next friday. Its one week away but I have already started to worry.

So far I have been having it easy. I am 5 weeks + 2 now and im perfectly fine. No morning sickness, no bleeding, no spotting, no nausea. I do feel extremely tired and I have been experiencing cramps and really strong sense of smell. Which I heard are all pretty normal.

I found out that you can have your first trimester scan and not find a heartbeat and the baby has just stopped growing for some reason. Its made me so wrroed now.

I have been googling to find out more and apparently there are several reasons why you might not see the fetus's heartbeat at six weeks. First you may not really be six weeks pregnant. You may have ovulated late cycle.

The second reason has to do with the type of ultrasound probe the technician is using. Transabdominial probes (over the belly as opposed to in the vagina) are not as sensitive in detecting pregnancy and early heartbeat.

A heartbeat definitely should be seen if an embryo (or "fetal pole") is seen, usually as early as six weeks of pregnancy by transvaginal ultrasound.

Thus, a transvaginal ultrasound showing no fetal heartbeat will mean one of two things: either the pregnancy is too early for the hearbeat to be visible or a pregnancy loss has occurred. 

I also heard that if you ever see the baby on a first trimester ultrasound with no heartbeat, you should wait at least seven days and have a follow-up ultrasound. Sometimes the angle is wrong or something the baby is just too small. 

I guess chances are everything is fine and I have nothing to worry about and I will be able to see Little Opa's heartbeat. But I'm petrified!!

I think I should try to be more positive. Yes be positive and enjoy every day and just go with the flow. As long as I am keeping healthy and doing all the right things then the rest is in "God's hands". Keep thinking and worrying won't change anything.

Vitamin C & Pregnancy

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is essential for tissue repair, wound healing, bone growth and repair and healthy skin. Vitamin C also helps our bodyy fight infection and it acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage.

I know both pregnant women and the baby needs this vitamin daily - its necessary for the body to make collagen, a structural protein thats a component of cartilage, tendons, bones and skin. Based on animal studies, some researches believe that Vitamin C deficiencies in newborn babies can impair mental development.

Vitamin C also helps our body absorb iron. 

Some studies show that taking too much Vitamin C in the form of supplements during pregnancy may increase the risk of preterm birth and there are rare reports of babies with scurvy (a severe vitamin C deficiency) to expectant moms who took vitamin C supplements. Of course excessive vitamin C can also upset your stomach.

I also heard that taking too much Vit C can cause cell damage in the fetus. 

Vit C is also in a lot of foods we consume everyday but it is also water-soluble so you do lose a lot of it every time you pee and pregnant women do pee more than other people! Besides, it is a primal vitamin to support our immune system, which is crucial during pregnancy. 

Heres the recommended amount of vitamin C I found:

Pregnant women - 85mg 

Pregnant 18 years or younger - 80mg

Breastfeeding women - 120mg

Breastfeeding 18 years or younger - 115mg

I have been taking at least 3000mg of Vitamin C but I guess I should look at cutting it down. The recommended daily intake is 85mg for pregnant women age 19 and older. The maximum is 2,000 mg per day. I am taking Elevit which contains 80mg, so I should be only taking 1000-1500mg of Vit C instead.

The Joneses Movie Review

Demi Moore and David Duchovny star as a seemingly perfect couple who, along with their euqally perfect teenagers - Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth - move into an upscale gated community. The only problem is they're not a family - they are employees of a stealth marketing organisation and they know how to make everyone want what they've got.

The idea is that they move into an affluent neighbourhood with the purpose of enticing their status-conscious neighbours to desire all their cool stuff. From cocktails in juice boxes to flash frozen sushi to high tech golf clubs and high priced jewels.  

The Joneses follows the lices of a seemingly perfect American family in their affluent suburban paradise. Luxury cars, an enormous house, all the latest electronics. Life seems too good to be true as their fellow rich neighbours look on in envy.

For the first half of the movie, its very entertaining. Steve (David Duchovny) golfs and Kate (Demi Moore) goes to the salon. Subtly selling all the while. Kids, Jen (Amber Heard) and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) quickly become popular at their new high school, showing off their gadgets. The Joneses throw lots of parties in their meticulous manse. Its their luxurious lifestyle that's doing the selling. 

While this may seem to be an ideal situation (no living expenses, free everything, a big salary, etc.) it is quickly revealed that the perfect on-the-surface family unit is wrought with nemerous problems.

Steve (father) is in reality more or less the nice guy who is having difficulty coming to grasp with both his role in the "family unit" as well as how to sell. Kate (Mother) has been in the pesudo-family business for years andf is free of attachment to people or things but has no authentic relationshops to hold onto in life. Meanwhile Jenn (daughter) is trying to sleep woth any man she can find including Steve. Despite these familial issues, neighbours buy into what the Joneses are selling and quickly begin to acquire things and rack up debt in an attempt to capture the "happiness" the Joneses have. 

As time goes by, Steve blossoms as a great salesman. However he begins to struggle with the idea that he may be doing more harm than good to his neighbours/friends by encouraging them to spend and spend.

The Joneses is not a bad movie by any means. Many reviewers seem to think that the movie cops out in the ending. I thought it was all tied up too neatly. But the message of redeem yourself before its too late, I thought that was a really good morale.