My Birth Pictures

My Birth Story

Mummy has officially handed over the reins of this blog to my tiny hands. I shall chronicle as best as I can on the new world that I have been brought into. Let me start by telling you about my birth story...

April 10, Good Friday @ 9pm

Mummy was telling Josh a bedtime story when she felt a kicking sensation at her bladder and that's when her water bag broke. She called Daddy and they prepared to go to the hospital. Josh was smiling all the time saying, "I am so lucky." Thankfully, Uncle Ben, Aunt Vicky and Mama were around so he was in good hands.

@ 9.45pm

There was bloody show. Mummy's dilation was only 1cm. The contractions were mild and infrequent. So she was moved from the observation ward to her room to wait. That night, both of them were sleepless with anticipation.

April 11, Holy Saturday

The contractions were getting stronger but still irregular. The OB mentioned to wait another 24 hours before considering induction or other alternative intervention. The water bag was still trickling by then. By the afternoon, there were hardly any contractions and I didn't move much, prompting mummy to alert the nurses. Back we went to the observation ward where my heartbeat and movements were monitored. That was when I decided to put them at ease and did the jig-a-jig. Everyone was relieved!

April 12, Easter Sunday @ 3am

The contractions got worst and came every 10 min. Daddy had to stay virgil most of the hours to massage mummy's aching back. Needless to say, another sleepless night for both of them. I suppose that's when the labour started. Mummy was in such pain that she contemplated succumbing to the knife. She also felt bad Daddy missed his sleep.

@ 10am

She was brought to the labour ward and dilation at 2-3 cm. The OB prescribed inducing the labour at its minimal dose much to my chagrin! My heartbeat plummeted and they didn't consider increasing its dosage. Mummy decided to go for the epidural (more like "happy"-dural) and it was godsend! She could rest well after that and the contractions speeded up to every 3 minutes. Soon her dilation was 5cm and before you know it, it reached 9cm! Yahoo! Now, my parents' could refocus on the VBAC. But mummy was worried she couldn't feel like pushing. So the nurse advised her to imagine pushing.

@ 3.30pm

The happy-dural was taken away to aid mummy in getting some sensation to push. She went into the labour room shivering (effects of the drug). After the epidural wore off some of its numbness, the midwife coached her to start pushing. Daddy had to flex some muscles in supporting her back to a semi-upright position. Soon, you could see some of my hair! Later the OB came in and the whole pushing business started to take off! At one point, Daddy had to remove his jacket as it was getting too "hot" to handle! At every contraction, mummy pushed and pushed until crowning. Then I slipped out 45 minutes later @ 4.14pm. Daddy cut my cord! I was brought immediately to mummy who comforted me. Aah, the familiar voice! Then I started nursing.... aah, the smell! Finally I was whisked away to be cleaned, weighed and checked. Poor mummy tore (naturally) and had to be stitched. She also threw up after that (again effects of the drug). We three were all exhausted from all that childbirthing business.

Mummy wanted me to put a special mention here that VBAC is possible (once a c-section, not always a c-section!) for mothers who desire it. During labour, she totally forgot about the risks of uterine rupture and pushed with all her might! Hands down, she would go for natural birthing again. It is not about the pain of childbirth or the speed of the healing process. The after-effects of both childbirth methods are different. The feeling of accomplishment as nature would have it surpasses everything else. I am sure Daddy felt just as accomplished and involved, having witnessed and participated in my birthing. And on a good note, VBAC also made her more adamant with a renewed confidence to breastfeed me.

As I came out only weighing 2.46kg, mummy's milk (and formula given that I had jaundice and low birth weight) has me putting on the kgs!

For another version of my birth story (thanks to Aunty Sharon for writing it), please go to http://www.babycenter.com.sg/pregnancy/labourandbirth/birthstories/sophia_low/

A New Year, A New Chapter

Everything is falling nicely into place now. We have secured a nice condo unit with an unblocked view of the swimming pool with great facilities like the jacuzzi and gym. The best thing for me about this unit is its timber-decked flooring, bay windows and nicely furnished bathrooms. We only need to condition ourselves to living in a high rise building with compact space and less surrounding greenery. And I just love the fact that cleaning will be so much reduced to just one floor.

But I suppose the greatest relief for me is that Josh has been confirmed a place at the Montessori For Children (Casa Dei Bambini), the pre-school of my choice. The teachers are super confident and they follow strictly to the traditional method of montessori. Josh seems comfortable and happy when he spent half an hour in one of their classes. And he got the chance to join in the Gong Xi Fa Cai song practice the children were singing! He really loves CNY songs. He would not hesitate to express his delight whenever he hears the songs being played anywhere. Well, no doubt about his roots there!

We are now in the midst of packing our belongings (a great time to dispose of unwanted stuff too! ;)) and purchasing some new furnitures to complement the new place. Who would have thought relocating would be one of the most stressful thing in a person's life! Our excitement is gearing up now and we have reached the hurdle of coordinating the transportation and our actual move-in.

Everyone is welcome to our place in Singapore. We will be in Mera Springs, Carlisle Road (Novena) and life is getting sweeter! Here's to the Year of the Ox and to the arrival of Baby!

Happy New Year and Gong Xi Fa Cai to all!

Infectious kisses and hugs

With a huggable and lovable child, you are never short of spontaneous kisses and hugs. While you will look forward to that every waking morning and sleeptime, it is hard to deny yourself those moments when the child is ill and especially when you are pregnant.

So as careful as I tried, I couldn't help visiting 3 doctors for different diagnosis over a couple of months. First it was uticaria / hives which I contracted solely on my own. Then it was the cough and flu season. Next was conjunctivitis. So imagine my boss' surprise that this is such an eventful pregnancy with so many MCs.

Our house is now a mini hospital but it is the only hospital in the world that we call home and is never short of giggles, laughter, kisses and hugs!

To Singapore we go!

Our long awaited exodus from Melaka is finally bearing fruit. I am looking forward to be a stay-at-home-mum (SAHM) and to Josh attending kindy for the first time. Jeff is also feeling the excitement as he starts a different direction in his work. Although it is for a 2 year period but this transfer is a good opportunity for new experiences, environment and who knows where it will take us from there?

With the gestation period of 22 weeks, I am blessed to be mobile and active as I start planning the move. It is getting highly stressful without knowing where we'll be staying before deciding which OB I will be seeing and which kindy Josh will be attending. Logistics planning has never been this stressful!! And the move is catching up fast on us as we plan to go after CNY.

On a different and depressing note, we were robbed last week! Yes, in broad daylight! I was the last to leave that morning and I failed to turn on the house alarm. It was really a fateful day when they entered via the kitchen window. Nothing extremely valuable was taken - we didnt have much things in the house. But I was saddest when my gorgeous Seiko watch was lost. The buggers also had the cheek to take with them Josh's new shirts. To think that they would also steal from a kid! He was sad... had tears to prove it. And he noted that he would "box" them if he sees them again.

But that episode is behind us as we begin our new adventure in the southern island.

We are back!

What a long hiatus! It's good to be back. After the last post, I went into the much dreaded bouts of morning sickness which took quite awhile to go completely away. It was madness really! This time I even ‘volunteered’ myself to be admitted for drips when the gastricitis took a turn for the worst. There were moments when I swore that this pregnancy would be my last. Now 3 months ahead, I can look back and wonder what I was thinking?! No doubt the vomiting and discomfort is not something I would like to experience again but having a life growing inside you is a feeling that is indescribable.

Dark clouds aside, now the appetite is growing and I’m putting on weight steadily. Baby has started to perform some kung fu kicks at the most unexpected times. Tummy is decidedly bigger than the first time, so there’s the excuse to buy gorgeous maternity clothes now.

Joshua has also kind of accepted the baby’s arrival. He would acknowledge sharing his seat at coin-operated toy cars with his sibling, but not without being in control of the wheel of course! He has turned to his dad if he still needs to be carried and will not look for me. He has also noticed that my body is changing and wonders why the panties are so big!

My check-ups with the OB have put my fears of a recurring ovarian cyst, to rest. The baby is healthy but still in breech position. He has advised me to go for another c-section as opposed to Virginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC) as the previous cut might re-open during delivery, exposing the baby to severe risk. This is a long-awaited baby and we do not want to risk losing it. On the other hand, I am also keen on a VBAC – a nostalgic want of experiencing natural birth, touted by mothers as the pain of a lifetime!

Anyway… as exciting it is to wait for the coming of this baby, we are anticipating another exciting chapter of our lives. But more on that in the next post.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

Sunny skies once more?

For the past 2 weeks, I used to have great difficulties getting to work. Once I awake, my body would tell me what to expect for the rest of the day. So I have been fighting a losing battle with gastric pain and wind. Funny, how I cannot quite recall the same symptoms when I was pregnant the first time. All I remembered was vomiting non-stop until I got admitted for drips.

So it is true (to some extent) when they say that when women are pregnant again, they won’t quite remember the details and would be willing to go through it again. Well, I say not if you journal it down! Lol…

Anyway, I have decided that I have to do something about this unpredictable predicament. I cannot be taking MCs and emergency leaves every week. So I negotiated with my boss to start the day later (he is not left with much choice either! haha) which means coming in at a reasonably later time but ensuring that my body is ready to go the distance of 11 km to work along bumpy roads with my trusty old Kancil. And to take a light breakfast (milo + milk + snack) before reporting in. My workplace is now a mini larder with all sorts of food to last me through the day. I need to eat every few hours and will try to do it discreetly out of respect for my muslim colleagues sitting behind me during the puasa month.

Well, so far so good. Really hope this lasts.