Preparing and consuming bird nest during pregnancy

*Items were purchased by myself

Bird nest is a chinese delicacy that is consumed by the high-ranking officials, wealthy people and the royal family in the past. Like the name suggests, it is the nest of swallows, and is thought to be rich in nutrients like collagen, amino acids and anti-oxidants. Until now, chinese have the tradition of consuming bird nest, especially during pregnancy and confinement to ‘bu’ the body.

There are many fake bird nest on the market, so to ensure I am eating the real stuff, I got mine it from the reputable Hock Hua. When I was like 6 weeks pregnant, my hubby pampered me with 3 liang (两) ‘gong’ yan, which is a good grade of bird nest heh. This amount can last me throughout my entire pregnancy if I consume every fortnight. It is believed that consuming bird nest during pregnancy can give your baby good complexion as well.

I tried taking the bottled bird nest before, and they taste really fake. Like the texture and taste are super off. So, I never consume the bottled ones.

Btw, this pregnancy is the first time I am preparing my own bird nest, but I am quite experienced now. The salesperson from Hock Hua was very helpful with teaching me how to prepare, and also recommend me other stuff for pregnancy, and what herbs to avoid etc. *thumbs up

First, I got the slow cooker:

 

1) Soak the bird nest until soft in tap water. This may take up to an hour.

I usually consume one whole piece, which is actually quite alot. Is even sufficient for 2 people.

2) Add the softened bird nest, together with about 250mL of water. Using slow cooker or the double-boil method, no lost of water volume.

3) Switch on and turn to high. For my cooker, it takes about 45 mins if I started out with room temperature water. But it is much faster if I use hot water.

4) Add 2 tablespoon of rock sugar and further cook for another 5-10 minutes. Buying bird nest from Hock Hua, they will give free rock sugar.

5) Serve warm or chilled. Wala!

 

xoxo,

Healthy Pregnancy recipes: Double-boiled soups

Chinese double-boiled soups are super nourishing, savory and healthy for pregnancy. To highlight its goodness, double-boiled soup is a must during confinement for full/quick postnatal recovery.

I am going to share several of my soup recipes that I have been taking during my entire pregnancy, so these recipes are completely safe for consumption during pregnancy. But take in moderation, and consult your gynae first if unsure or unstable pregnancy.

 

#1: Lotus root soup with pork ribs and fishballs

Serves 2

280g lotus root (peeled and cut cross-section)

240g spare ribs

1/2 carrot (peeled and cut cross-section)

4-6 fishballs

1/2 handful of peanuts

1 dried cuttlefish, 5 pieces of dried scallops (wash before use)

Instructions: Blanched spare ribs for 5 minutes before use to remove scum. Add everything to 1.5L of water. Boil for 10 minutes and then turn to low simmer heat for 1 hour.

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#2: Black bean soup with pork ribs

 Serves 2

150g black beans (soak before use)

240g spare ribs

6 red dates

1 dried cuttlefish (wash before use)

Instructions: Blanched spare ribs for 5 minutes before use to remove scum. Add everything to 1.8L of water. Boil for 10 minutes and then turn to low simmer heat for 1 hour.

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#3: Clear chicken soup

Serves 1

1 piece of chicken drumstick

3 dried scallops

5 dried longans

1/2 handful of wolfberries

2 dried chinese yam

1/2-1 mushroom

Instructions: Blanched chicken for 5 minutes before use to remove scum. Wash the rest of the dried ingredients for at least 5 minutes. Add everything to 1L of water. Boil for 10 minutes and then turn to low simmer heat for 1-1.5 hours.

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#4: ABC soup with pork ribs

Serves 2-3

250g spare ribs

2 potato

1 carrot

1 tomato

1 corn

1/2 onion

Instructions: Blanched spare ribs for 5 minutes before use to remove scum. Chop into bite size and wash the vegetables. Add everything to 1.5L of water/or enough to cover. Boil for 10 minutes and then turn to low simmer heat for 1 hour.

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#5: Old cucumber soup with pork ribs

Serves 2

250g spare ribs

1 small-medium size old cucumber (cut length-wise into half, then cross-section)

1 carrot

Handful of red dates

1 dried cuttlefish, 1/2 handful of dried scallops (wash before use)

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*Although some soups are more of a cooling nature, e.g. old cucumber, winter melon, it is suitable for heaty climate like Singapore, so can take in moderation.

*For chicken herbal soups, I avoided those sold outside. This is because I do not know the exact ingredients used in their soup, and some chinese herbs are known to cause uterine contractions, bleeding etc. I will only take those that I prepared myself, like my clear chicken soup.

xoxo,

What to expect at the first trimester screening and OSCAR test

I went for my first trimester detailed scan and OSCAR test at 12+ weeks pregnant. This test is meant to be done from the 11th-14th weeks of pregnancy.

This is also the first appointment with a new gynae that my sister-in-law and forum recommended-Dr Henry Cheng. My previous gynae was Dr Adrian Woodworth, which for some reasons, I decided not to continue to see him.

Dr Henry Cheng has 2 clinics: Mount E Novena, and Bishan. For this visit, it will be at novena, but the subsequent ones will be at Bishan, closer to our place.

We had a rather long ultrasound session, and our gynae was really patient showing us all the body parts of our baby. Since this is my hubby’s first time seeing the baby, he was very fascinated. Baby was also doing all sorts of movements like rolling over, waving the hands and bouncing.. No way it can get any cuter heehee!

A breakdown of our ultrasound photo:

Row 1: heartbeat (L) skull (R)

Row 2: face (L) hands/feet (R)

Row 3: overall CRL measurement (L) measurement of NT/skin (R)

For the OSCAR test, it is made up of several components. My gynae took the time to explain what the test is about, and how it predicts risk of down syndrome (DS). As I am only 26, my risk of having a DS child is presumably low.

It comprises:

NT measurement

If NT is high, means the skin is thick, higher risk of DS. And the thicker, the more likely to be DS.

Maternal serum markers

Fetal anatomy

My gynae mentioned that some DS fetus do not show a stomach at early scan.

 

And you can see the generated report.

For my age, the background risk, which means the average risk of having a DS is 1 in 1216 pregnancies. Any ratio that is above, means 1:1217 and above, means your risk of having a DS child is lower than your age group=hooray for you!

And my risk is 1 in 24329, which means it is almost impossible for my child to have DS.

What a great relief!

I just want my child to be a healthy baby 🙂

xoxo,

Pregnancy week 12: End of first trimester, food cravings and aversions, napping, constant dehydration

 

I am officially into my second trimester woohoo! I made it through the morning sickness. And miraculously, one morning, I woke up and the horrible all-day nausea left me. And most importantly, miscarriage risk is much lower now. I can focus on the baby and my well-being instead of constantly worrying about losing the baby.

I have mild food cravings, like cold juices. Coffee/tea is my constant go-to, and I never liked juices. Now, I feel constantly dehydrated and craving for sweet juices and ice water. Juices are my hubby thing, so he’s saying that baby is taking after him -_-. I think the reason why I feel dehydrated is the additional blood that is flowing through my body, and I need the water.

I still cannot stand the smell of deep fried food. The oily smell is gross! So, I’m basically having a healthy pregnancy, since I am craving for juices and hating fried food haha. I also love cup noodles though, and I would finish drinking the soup *guilty.

Although my morning sickness left me, I am still in need of naps. At least an afternoon nap a day 🙂

xoxo,

Best stretch mark products in Singapore

*Products reviewed here were purchased by myself

Having stretch marks is a really nasty thing, and I will do anyhing to prevent it.

If you have no idea how stretch marks look like:

 

Stretch marks during pregnancy are usually found in the belly, and maybe on the breasts, thighs, buttocks, and upper arms 

 

 

There are 3 main causes of stretch marks during pregnancy:

1) Genetics

2) Gaining weight too fast in a short period of time stretches your tummy extensively

3) Dryness and itchiness during to the stretching

 

When do you start getting them:

The 6th or 7th month of pregnancy

 

To reduce stretch marks, I have been religiously using the Palmer’s cocoa butter body lotion every night after bathing from 6 weeks onwards. The 250mL bottle can last a long time as I use only 1 pump everyday before 4 months, and after 4 months I need at least 2-3 pumps to coat my belly 

 

The active ingredients are: Cocoa butter, vitamin E, shea butter and Bio C-Elaste (contains collagen, elastin etc).

 

My review of the product:

Pros: It is creamy (great as an overnight moisturizer), and smells just like chocolate. Not sure whether it will prevent stretch marks, but it does reduce itchiness and dryness of skin. Can be applied all over body, including the breasts.

Cons: Tends to be greasy, so I only use it at night. So people are allergic to cocoa so can’t use this product.

An alternative product is the Clarins stretch mark control, which is also a very popular product. This product contains Crowberry extract as its active ingredient. A cheaper alternative to Clarins is the Bio-oil. Bio-oil formulation is more on plant extracts and vitamins in an oil base.

Some mummies use both, Clarins/Bio-oil in the morning and the Palmer’s for overnight.

Pricing (estimate):

Palmer’s lotion (250mL): S$20+

Clarins (200mL): S$70+

Bio-oil (60mL): S$15+

xoxo,