The Birth

[updated on 8th October 2008] It's taken me this long to finally update the blog!

As it was left on my previous entry, Kuchee-Rat had indeed decided to arrive much earlier than expected.. 15 days early, to be precise!

At 1.30am, I woke up, needing to pee. When I thought I was done, I found that I was still leaking and my sanitary pad was soaking wet! This was it, my water bag broke! I immediately rang Doc (felt darn guilty for interrupting his sleep) and he asked me to time my contractions, if they were 20 minutes apart, it'd meant that I was in active labor. I timed my contractions and they were already 20 minutes apart! I hurriedly woke Hubby and oh boy, his eyes were wide open when I told him "I think my water bag broke". I had time to take a quick shower and did some last minute packing for the hospital bag. Hehe..

By 2.30am, we arrived at the hospital. Contacted Doc while I was being wheeled straight to the delivery suite. I changed into the hospital gown, got propped onto the bed, strapped on the fetal monitoring system (heard Kuchee-Rat's heartbeat throughout the time) and was given an internal examination. I had already dilated to 4cm. Hubby did the necessary registration and then joined me in the room. He had the privilege of lying on a recliner, watching the Euro '08 match between Greece and Sweden on the telly while I endured the contractions and more internal examinations. Ouch!

The contractions kicked in at shorter intervals and I kept asking the nurse how much worse off will the delivery pain be. "10 kali lebih sakit!" (10 times more painful than this!). I had to decide if I'd want any pain relief. After considering the options, we decided to go with Pedithine (short injection on the buttocks to make me slightly drowsy) and Ethonox (laughing gas). Even though they're only 30% effective (where as Epidural is 100% pain-free), and despite remembering Doc repeatedly suggested during the checkups that I should take Epidural coz I couldn't withstand the pain of doing blood test and vaginal examination, die die also I did not go for it just coz of the long needle. It's expensive too! Then again, I think I have this rebelling attitude of proving a point that I can do what people say I can't. *lol*

So there, Pedithine was administered and I slowly started feeling drowsy. There was one point of time where I think I dozed off for a while (and so did Hubby!)..... Until I felt as if I wanted to poo big time. It was a sign that the baby was ready to come out! But I had to abstain from pushing coz at that time, I have dilated to 8cm but I had to wait until it's 10cm, otherwise there will be tearing and boy, it won't look very nice! That was when I was given the gas - when the contraction kicks in, I had to immediately inhale as deep as possible (must be able to hear the sound), and when contraction stops, I had to exhale. It was reaaaaaaaaaaaally bad. Hubby even asked if I was already laughing but I just practically ignored him coz it was extremely painful resisting the urge to push and kept concentrating on inhaling and exhaling the gas.

The moments after that were very vague. I didn't remember the nurses telling me to push when I had dilated to 10cm. I didn't remember seeing Doc walked into the room. I also didn't remember him telling Hubby that I had been in the second stage of labor for more than an hour, that if nothing happens within the next 10-15 minutes, he would have to cut me. But what I remembered was that I was still feeling very drowsy. The nurses placed my feet onto the stirrups and adjusted my body. Doc was already standing in front of me. Then I heard them telling me to inhale as deeply as I could the moment I feel the contraction, and push without exhaling. It took me some time to get the hang of it. I pushed and pushed again. I remembered Doc telling me to push harder, that he would assist me and everyone was just encouraging me. So I pushed harder and then, I felt the baby's head coming out. With all my might, I gave a final push, screaming my lungs out. Doc immediately did an episiotomy (he had warned me about this before, it's better to have a clean cut than having a bad tearing which will be harder to stitch up after that) and pulled the baby out using Wrigleys' Forceps. I heard the baby wailing and then I cried with relief. The nurses cleaned him up before bringing him to me and asked me to give him a kiss on his cheeks while Doc stitched me up.

Kuchee-Rat arrived into our lives shortly before 8am, weighing at 2.46kg. He's a small one, so scrawny and so fragile. But what was more important was that he was healthy. *Smile* And I did it! Without epidural! Woo hoo!!!!!! To think that I was actually more afraid of needles than contraction pain. *lol*

Contractions?

Slightly more than 2 weeks to the EDD.. My belly is drastically huge now as compared to the previous weeks, but I still try to walk a lot. It scares my colleagues. They expect a pregnant woman to walk reaaaaaaaaaaaally slowly and rest a lot. Hehe..

They are more anxious than I am. Everyday they'd ask, "Eh, still working ah?", "You haven't applied leave yet ah??", "No need to stay at home and wait ah??". Sometimes it does get a little bit annoying. I myself don't even know when will I give birth, right? My usual answer would be "Tomorrow, tomorrow" or "If I give birth in the office, you boil water for me, ok?"

The truth is, I have not applied to go on leave earlier. As much as I myself am terrified at the fact that I might possibly begin labor while at the office, I wouldn't want to waste my annual leave just to pot around at home and wait for Baby to come out. Besides, Doc had mentioned before that even if my water bag breaks while at the office, I'll still have ample time to go home, take a shower before heading to the hospital.

Somehow, lately, I've been feeling lke as if I'm having period pain.. I really don't know if they're just Braxton Hicks contractions or the real thing. Tonight's are exceptionally stronger. But I don't see any tinge of blood (they call it the mucous plug) or water leakage. I'm probably just scaring myself..

Maybe I should just go sleep it off... Ta!

Not Time Yet

Today's checkup has shown that I've gained yet another 0.8kg. Am now 50.8kgs. WOW! Seriously lifetime achievement, man!! I have never, ever touched the 50kgs mark at all!! Woo hoo!!

Doc however, expected me to lose a bit of weight coz the amniotic fluid should be reducing now that we're approaching the EDD. Somehow, in my case, it's not. So I guess Baby's still happily moving about in his 'swimming pool'.

Doc did the internal examination (I sooooo have to get used to it!) and said that my cervix is still closed but because Baby's head is already engaged in the pelvic from the previous checkup, he is still very certain that I wll probably give birth way, way earlier than the EDD. Doc also still strongly suggested that I take epidural.. *Sighz* Let's just see how it goes on the day itself, ok?

We're scheduled for another checkup next week.. I wonder when will the actual day Baby wanna come out and play.. Hhhm....

37 Weeks

Baby is 'fully baked' today!!!

He is safe to be born anytime now. It's down to 21 more days till he arrives. Scary when you come to think of it.. But I'm really excited to be able to finally meet Baby!

I know I'm gonna miss having him inside me. I will miss al his kicks, turns, stretches, hiccups.. Oh boy, suddenly am feeling so melodramatic now. On the other hand, I'll get to hug, kiss, cuddle, touch and play with him!! *Huge, huge grin*

We're going for our checkup tomorrow. And then the next day, we will be going for a tummy-filling buffet dinner in conjunction with our belated wedding anniversary as well as Daddy and Mummy's. 30 years for both of them! 2 years for us! Hehe..

Let's just hope that Baby doesn't decide to come out while we're at the buffet!

Better Car

I wrote before about us getting a stroller from the recent MJ warehouse sale. However, when MJ Ah Yi called the supplier the other day, she found out that the stroller was missing from the store. It had probably been sold off to someone else!!

It was so upsetting.. We were so excited at the thought of using a Cosco stroller! *Sighz* It wasn't meant to be. Thank goodness MJ Ah Yi did not put in any advanced payment for it. There's barely a month before Baby is out, so Hubby and I had to go hunt for a stroller as soon as we could.

We finally found one that we were both really happy about.. Hauck Shop N Drive travel system from Toys R Us. A stroller that comes along with an infant carrier seat, just as sturdy as Maclaren's or Peg Perego, and best of all, it fitted our budget!!

The moment we brought it back home and assembled it, we were both practically wheeling the stroller around the living room, imagining our little baby sitting in it.

I guess it was a good thing that we lost out on the Cosco stroller. Everything happens for a reason, eh? *Grin*

Baby Journal

Another wonderful momento for us, this one was given by one of Baby's godparents-to-be, Chef and Xiao Ping.

Baby journal

It's for us to document everything from the moment we discovered that we're expecting a little bundle of joy until Baby is a few years old.

We are indeed very blessed to have our very supportive families, friends and colleagues share in this wonderful journey as we prepare ourselves to parenthood. *Sniff*

2/5ths In!

A fortnight ago, Doc said that Baby's head is already "locked" within the pelvic.. Today, he said that Baby's head is 2/5ths engaged.. Which is almost half deep in the birth canal.. Apparently, usually around this time for first pregnancies, babies' head would still be floating around, trying to get engaged. Looks like Baby's an eager beaver, eh?

We can hardly see the full head during ultrasound scan now.. Doc did an internal examination and could feel Baby's head but the cervix has not dilated. If it has, Doc should be able to feel Baby's hair and that means, labor is due to happen within hours or days. It's scary at the thought of that, but it's exciting. Baby still has lots of amniotic fluid around him to move about. His heartbeat rate is normal. My blood pressure is normal too. I've now touched 50kgs, almost 1.1kgs gain, which Doc was really pleased about.

Because of the fact that Baby's head is already 2/5ths in, Doc warned that I could most probably go on early labor, 1-2 weeks before the estimated due date. Gee... Is Baby trying to come out early for Father's Day celebration??? Hubby's banking for 16th June, coz it coincide with the birthday of his favourite singer, Tupac. *shakes head*

But yeah.. I've got to be ready.. I need to pack my hospital bag!

Goodies From Down Under

Was expecting a parcel of jig board (for jewelry-making) from Lily but I'd never thought I'd get anything more than that! Imagine my suprise when I saw a huge box waiting for me at my doorstep today!

Down Under goodies!

* Deluxe Thing-a-Ma-Jig
Bringing my jewelry-making hobby to a higher level by forming loops with wires. I have something to do during my confinement period, well.. Besides the boxes of TVB and Korean drama series that Sis and Footitie will be loaning me. Tee hee hee!

* Card
"It's a boy" with a personalized message from Lily and husband. Thank you so much!!! *Hugz*

* 2 pairs of onesies, a.k.a. bodysuits
The joy of having a baby boy - 'Lock Up Your Daughters' and 'PIMP - Poo In My Pants'. *lol* Why aren't there any locally-made baby clothes that come with cute captions like these? Hubby and I couldn't stop smiling about the PIMP one. Very excited to have Baby wear them!

* Baby Owner's Starter Kit
The most hilarious yet informative manual I've ever seen.. Describing babies in product terminology.. The kit comes with a darn cool manual (troubleshooting baby's audio cues, and checking with the service provider if there are any missing parts), an instructional poster, growth chart and stickers for marking baby's progress, babysitter's memo pad, a crawling baby magnet and oh, hardcover keepsake box. Niceeeeeee!!!

Thanks a bunch, Lily and husband!! You've already given your share of gifts from the baby shower last weekend and yet there are more with these goodies. Thank you, thank you!!! And yes, the manual is definitely gonna be very handy for us. Hehe... Thanks again!!! Bless you both!!! *Hugz*

36 Weeks

4 more weeks to go! *Gasp*

From 3dPregnancy..

"I am getting a white oily vernix all over my body; that feels nice and soft".

"Being pregnant is wonderful. It is for a good cause and it will not last much longer! Be glad that you can still enjoy your belly and that you have your baby happily inside. Once the baby is born, you will think back with a bit of melancholy on that wonderful feeling of being pregnant. A feeling that is hard to describe but that is so beautiful and overwhelming, you have to experience it to understand. Enjoy it while you can!"

Indeed I am enjoying the moments.. More so now that the big day is getting nearer and nearer. The more I think about it, the more I know I'm gonna miss having Baby inside me - kicks, hiccups, turns and all.. *Sniff*

But on the other hand, in 4 weeks time, we will be welcoming a new member to our little family.. And yes, I'm very, very excited!! *Grin*

What Are You Looking At???

The one thing about being pregnant is that people tend to stare at you or rather, your bulging tummy.

When my bump started showing, I was pretty oblivious about the stares. At least until someone mentioned about them. And when the bump got much bigger, the stares got even worse and longer.

Whenever Hubby and I walk around the shopping complexes, strangers would just stare at me. They'd whisper to the person beside them to tell them to look at me. I'd be wondering if there was something on my head, a stain on my face, did I look weird to them or was I walking funnily. Had they just take a short glimpse, smile a bit or something, then I'm fine with it. But this is downright annoying.

Once, my colleagues and I returned from lunch and we took the lift up to our floor. There was this other lady in the lift with us. My colleagues noticed that she was practically staring at me from head to toe the entire ride. They were so annoyed that they stared back at her. I of course, did not take notice of this until they told me.

One of the afternoons, Hubby and I had dim sum for lunch. A lady sitting opposite me was staring at me. When she left, she passed by our table and she just looked towards my bump.

What the heck! All these people just seemed as if they've never seen a pregnant woman before! It is coz I look too young my age to be pregnant, that you need to search for the wedding ring on my finger??? That I look too small size and thin to be pregnant? Have you not seen a pregnant belly at all??? Must you stare at me like as if I'm some kind of an exhibit?? And for sure I don't wear any tight fitting clothes.. I have nothing to flaunt, really.

YES, IT IS POSSIBLE! YES, I AM PREGNANT!

Please give us pregnant women some respect. It's already stressful having to cope with the pregnancy blues, cramps and all. We do not need any added stress by you staring at us like aliens!

35 Weeks

From 3dPregnancy..

"There is a good chance that he will not have to go in the incubator if he is born now. After all, he is completely ready, except for his lungs! If he were born today, the neonatologist will check to see if the baby is premature. If his lungs are not fully developed, he may need to spend time in a special care nursery with medication. If he's healthy, though, he can even go home soon, despite his small size."

Noooo.. Baby's not 'fully baked' yet.. Don't come out so soon!

"Breastfeeding is very important for premature babies, because their immune system can still be underdeveloped. The chance of infections is greatly reduced through breastfeeding. The first milk, colostrum, is extraordinarily rich in antibodies and is an outstanding precaution against infections."

I do intend to breastfeed Baby for at least 6 months, if it's possible. Good for Baby. Good for me. And good for our pockets too, save on milk powders. *lol*