The birth story

This is a very very VERY overdue post...XXM has arrived!

And so, let us cut out the preamble and go straight to the point!

22 Aug 2012, around 12am

G woke up for one of her usual middle-of-night bathroom trip. XXM is already 1 week past his EDD and G is getting anxious and a bit sick of being pregnant...

But this bathroom trip is different...for one, G is having a very bad backache
And for another, she is having 'the show'...
And lastly, as she finally gets herself back into bed, she was hit by a contraction.
Not those teeny Braxton Hicks she has been feeling since week 34..
This is the real stuff. She knows because it feels so different

22 Aug 2012, 6am

J's alarm went off and while he is lazing around in bed, G broke the news to him

"I'm having contractions"

Nonetheless, since the contractions are about 20mins apart, there's plenty of time...

22 Aug 2012, around 8am

Contractions coming at about 5-7min interval. G decides to call the delivery suite. Midwife who picked up the call ask her to stay at home unless the pain is unbearable or water breaks

22 Aug 2012, 8am - 11+am

G continues to monitor the contractions while keeping herself mobile...she even clean and dusted the furniture! (the squatting helps with moving the labour process faster)

Then, at 12+pm, while having lunch, G starts to feel unwell. Body aches and lethargy, as well as feeling feverish. Checked temperature, no fever but bordering on having one

G informs J to be prepared to send her to hospital as she is feeling unwell

22 Aug 2012, around 3pm

J came back home to pick up G to go the delivery suite. By this time, the contractions are coming hard and with the feverish feeling adding on to the discomfort, G is starting to feel drained

Checked into delivery suite at around 4pm. Plug set and antibiotics injected, panadol given and CTG strapped up, G tries to settle herself down and find a comfy position

22 Aug 2012, 4 - 8+pm

The hours passed by in a blur of contractions and endless breathing exercises. Everyone in the room (except G) was calm and speak in soft tones while G is busy with deep breathing and then pant-pant-blow. The transition phase was terrible. The contractions seem to fuse into one big one that doesn't seem to end. G remember screaming...though J denies that she did ("not scream, just moan very loudly")

Throughout the whole process, it never crossed G's mind to ask for pain relief. Though somewhere in the process, G nearly gave up (but still did not think of asking for pain relief)

And unfortunately, that leads to G being too tired to move out of the bed and into the pool...

Finally, G gets the green light from the OBGYN to push...and that's the word of the day: PUSH!

22 Aug 2012, 8+pm to 1017pm

Pushing and pushing...moving from the bed onto the birthing stool. The lines that are etched into G's head

"Push! 2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10! Quick change of breath and Push! 2...3..."

"Contraction still going on. Can you push again?"

"Now you are 2 weeks constipated. C'mon, push it out!"

And finally...FINALLY, with one mighty push, at 2217h, XXM is born :)

First line from J: It's a boy!
First line from G: Why is he not crying?

22 Aug 2012, 1017pm to 2am

XXM did not cry when he was born. But he came into this world with his eyes open! When the OBGYN passed the baby to G, XXM looked up and into G's eyes.

After the cord was cut, XXM was whisked away as he is still not crying.
The neonatal Dr came...and it was only much later that G realized XXM had to be intubated
G was helped back into bed while J observed the process of getting XXM to start crying
The midwives rubbed XXM's legs and feet while the Dr set up the oxygen support
G looked on in fear at the number of people surrounding XXM...and finally, XXM let out a weak cry. G heaved a huge sigh of relief...

After that cry, XXM had to stay away from G for some time to get his oxygen level back up..in the meantime, G had to be cleaned up...some time around 11pm, the midwife gently place XXM onto G's chest for skin-skin contact.

After an hour of skin-to-skin contact and XXM had his first breastfeed, the midwives cleaned him up. Then, J, G and XXM were transferred to the labour ward for some much needed rest...

And so..this is the birth story for XXM a.k.a. Li Chen An （李辰安）








To be continued...

The wait continues...

39 weeks and 6 days...

1 more day and XXM will be really full term.

But the worrying thing is that nothing seem to be happening to indicate if XXM is gonna arrive soon!

G went to see the OBGYN 2 weeks ago and was told that she is already having quite strong contractions. On internal examination, she was dilated at 1cm. That gave J and G some hope that maybe XXM is gonna make its debut soon...

1 week passed and at the next Dr appointment, G is still only at 1cm dilation! Even the Dr expressed some disappointment, and did some manual stretching to see if it will help. 

G is immensely disappointed since that Dr appointment. And over the weekend, she walked, climbed stairs, squat, shot some hoops and played Kinect sports, all in the bid to try and wriggle XXM southwards and stimulate the labour to get started. Despite all the efforts, nothing has changed. Stress is starting to get to G and her mood swings has worsened. Poor J has to put up with her yoyo-ing mood, and has been trying his utmost to support G through this period. 

G's worst fear is that XXM is growing too big for her to push out naturally, which means a C-section is now more possible. In fact, even if XXM remains a respectable size, if the dilation doesn't happen, a C-section is likely to be the route. Furthermore, G was hoping to avoid medical induction so as to prevent the cascade of interventions that may follow...especially the dreaded epidural. 

It has been a stressful weekend...luckily, G has started on her maternity leave. At least that takes the stress of working off her shoulders...

Hopefully, in the next update...there will be a picture of J, G and XXM

Anytime now...

37 weeks and 2 days...
2.8kg
Femur length 71mm
Head fully engaged in pelvis.
XXM is now full term and ready to meet and greet the world anytime
At the check up today, G's cervix is just starting to dilate, so Dr says probably not due too soon...looks like the waiting game is gonna last for while more. G also had her first CTG done today. Being able to hear XXM's heartbeat for a full 40mins is such an enjoyable experience! And the reclining chair was so comfy too..G drifted in and out of a peaceful nap, lulled to sleep by XXM's heartbeat...and awaken by the contractions that comes every 2-4 mins. G is kind of looking forward to the next CTG. Can't see XXM, but hearing the heartbeat is definitely reassuring

XXM is one active baby. Usually by this time, the head is stuck in the pelvic cavity and movement become less - less kicking, more squirming from side to side. But XXM continues to kick, punch, stretch, elbow, squirm more than before! Dr is kind of puzzled, but she say it shouldn't be a cause for worry. Just have to monitor closely and make sure the movements don't suddenly decrease by alot...

G had a moment of freaking out this morning. All this time, while growing a life inside her body, she has been preparing herself to be the caregiver for another human being (a much smaller one which she has no experience in). Suddenly, this morning, while staring into space, it suddenly hit her that not only is she going to care for a little human being, she is going to be a mother. Yes, a MOTHER. And now, she is having alot of doubts about her own ability to be able to raise a healthy and happy child.

J, on the other hand, is still fighting off a bad cough. He has been having trouble sleeping lately, probably subconsciously, the anticipation, worry and fear of impending fatherhood is causing enough stress to affect his immune system and sleep pattern.

A new phase in life...and lots to learn...lots of compromises and sacrifices...all for this little life they've created

Soon, very soon...at the most, another 4 weeks...at the least...well, who knows..might be tonight!

Almost at the safety mark

Today marks 35 weeks and 6 days. One more week and XXM will be safely full term and ready to come to this world. Hopefully XXM can wait for one more week...the crampy feelings in G's lower abdomen today seem to speak otherwise...

In the mean time, G is still getting frequent Braxton Hicks despite the medications and almost 2 weeks of HL to rest at home. Although the frequency has now reduced to about 3-4 per hour (and on a good day, only 1-2 per hour for about half a day), G is starting to feel more and more pressure downwards with each contraction. The sensation is quite scary, at times, it even feels like something is going to tear. Going to the toilet is now a stressful event as G keeps having the fear of seeing blood or that the water will break when she exerts...and going to toilet to pee is also a very frequent even, especially with XXM's head now almost fully engaged in G's pelvis, every little movement XXM makes is squeezing on G's bladder. Toilet paper runs out way too fast!

G 'accidentally' discovered that NUH offers a special service called EMMa Care - Enhanced Midwife Maternity Care. Though a little pricey, with a midwife following through the pregnancy (whatever is left of it anyway), the birth as well as 2 months post-delivery, G hopes that the midwife can provide the support she (and J) needs so that G can have the natural (and maybe even water) birth she wanted from the start. G thinks that J is secretly very relieved to have 'a trained person' there to help...at least now there is one more person for G to aim the drip stand at...

At home, G is fighting the natural instinct to clean and pack (nesting instinct)...but she is not winning the fight, at least not for the weekend that passed. The wardrobe is cleaned and packed, and baby stuff is now more organized in the shelving area. However, G will have to give up any form of cleaning/packing soon. Back aches and pelvic pain has been plaguing her, causing many nights of poor sleep and movement so slow, she takes almost double to the time to do anything physical.

At the same time, J is fighting off a bad bout of tonsillitis and a rash of unknown cause. At least his throat is now less sore, rash is less itchy and he is finally able to help out more...

All in all, it has been a rather eventful time since the last blog entry. And by the next entry, perhaps XXM will finally have a gender...and a proper name

Too many Braxton Hicks

After managing to 'fight' off the low Hb, SOB and heart palpitations, G held the hope that the rest of third trimester can pass smoothly...

Had the third (and probably last) ultrasound scan and J & G are both excited to see XXM blinking! XXM is now estimated to be about 1.8kg, and Dr estimate XXM to be about 2.8 - 3kg at full term.

The past few weekends have been occupied with shopping for XXM. All of the clothes are now laundered and neatly folded...toiletries for XXM are more or less all bought and even the containers to neatly hold all of XXM's barang barang have been bought, cleaned and filled almost to the brim.

Perhaps G didn't manage to get enough rest or for some unknown reason, she has been getting frequent Braxton Hicks...as frequent as every 10 mins...worried that the contractions will squeeze XXM out, G saw the OBGYN yesterday. Not true labour contractions, cervix not dilated though XXM has started to descend...Dr advised rest and also prescribe a medication to decrease the frequency of the contractions. If frequency still remains as high, G may need to be hospitalized. To say that G is worried is an understatement...33 weeks is too early. Hopefully the contractions will ease off and XXM can stay in-utero for another 4 weeks to reach full term

J is also getting anxious and worried that XXM will arrive too early...not everything is prepared for the little one's arrival...

As each day passes, both J and G are getting more nervous and excited at the same time...the one thing very different from preparing for a baby vs preparing for a wedding - you just cannot count down to The Day for a baby because Nature has its own timetable which no one else can see

Third Trimester

Today marks week 30.

J commented that sometimes it feels like G has been pregnant for so long, yet it also feel so fast cos XXM is coming very soon!

G cannot agree more. While it feels like G's been pregnant for ages, the impending arrival of XXM is causing some serious freaking out for both J and G.

But what will come, will come...and the best way to deal with freaking out is to get the control back. So, J and G went baby shopping over the weekend...and finally, on this 3rd (and hopefully final) visit to Expo, they bought the sarong frame and a baby cot (that comes with the cutest bedding set!). Over the next couple of weekends, time to start buying the other stuff...

On a more serious note, G hasn't been feeling too well the past week. Shortness of breath, heart , palpitations and giddiness plagued her daily...and finally, she put in a call to NUH Women's Clinic and got an appointment to see her OBGYN. Diagnosis: anemia. The drop in Hb is from 13.1 to 10.9, and although 10.9 isn't a very low value, it seems to be significant enough to cause the symptoms. Dr prescribed another supplement with higher iron content, and G is supposed to stay at home and rest for the week. Hopefully, with the rest and change in supplement, G will start feeling better soon.

XXM is definitely growing and getting more active. The bump is seem to get bigger everyday, which has caused poor sleep for both J and G...and G is still trying to capture a video of XXM doing the moves. 2 more weeks to the scan...J and G are both looking forward to it!

And so, the countdown begins as the number of weeks left dwindle to a single digit...

Bump likes to move it move it

G's been trying to capture a video of  her bump doing the hooky-pooky when XXM does the kicks and punches, but it's like XXM has a 6th sense that there's a camera awaiting and will stop moving...until G switch off the camera and then back it comes with the acrobatics. Sigh...

XXM is getting increasingly active, including doing somersaults of some sort inside G's womb. G once witnessed the crest of her bump shifting from the right to the left! Maybe XXM is doing a 'kallang wave' inside

Boy or girl? XXM remains as an 'it' for now...so many people has been asking until G is tired of answering. However, G did have this nagging fear that as the sonographer did not scan the private area for XXM, J and G has no idea whether 'things' are developing properly or not. So at the last Dr appointment, G asked the OBGYN if it is necessary to scan the area but no, don't let J and G know the gender. Dr gave a reassuring smile and said that if something was really wrong, the sonographer would have said so. So...no news mean either a healthy boy or a girl.

So...boy or girl? The answer will be out in August...in the mean time, stop asking G cos she is really tired of saying 'Don't know'

Updates!

Tomorrow marks week 25 for XXM. All the movements are getting more pronounced and J has finally managed to see the action when G's belly actually twitched from XXM's kicks and punches. So far, movements are more pronounced at night...usually when G is enjoying the 9pm drama serial...or when it's time for food.

G is now undeniably bumpy and her wardrobe is almost completely packed into boxes except for the baggy tops and elastic bottoms. Won't be long till her entire wardrobe will be replaced by nursing tops and yoga pants.

J, G and G's mum went for a short trip to Malaysia...one last holiday and visiting relatives before G gets too big to travel. When XXM is born, will have to find a suitable time to bring XXM into Malaysia and be exposed to kampung lifestyle.

Not sure if it's the weather was too hot or just the change in environment, G actually lost 200g (instead of the usual gaining 1kg) over this week. J made a careful observation that G did not have any McDonald's this week...looks like french fries, cheese burgers and hot cakes are potent weight gain stimulators...


On the other hand, the hot weather seem to have lead to perpetual dehydration that caused fluid retention in G. This might possibly have led to the development of pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome in G's left hand. The Dr have no solution as X-ray for investigation is not possible and drugs are not allowed, so there's nothing that can be done except to brace and rest the wrist and hope for the best...

And baby shopping has begun! J is beginning to see how much this little thing is going to cost him. Luckily for J, G is not the kind who goes gaga over cutsie baby clothes which she must buy...so far it has been "aww...so cute!!!" and then back it goes onto the clothes rack. Nonetheless, a trip to the Baby Expo and Ikea burnt a little hole in J's pocket which he cannot ignore...another month or so and it will be an even bigger hole when the bulkier items need to be bought...

For now, XXM has its own little storage shelf on wheels! For now, all 3 drawers are rather empty...only the 2nd drawer is half-filled with bb clothes...G must say that it takes alot of determination to not buy more. All the little pieces of tops, bottoms and onesies are so adorable! Even G's mum caved to buying more despite repeatedly warning G not to over-buy as these clothes will only last about 3 months or less

Guess it won't be long when all 3 drawers will be filled with stuff (and J will be groaning from all the money spent...)

Ultrasound scan again

J and G went for the second ultrasound scan to check on XXM's progress.

Everything checks out. XXM is growing nicely, except that femur length is a little below average. Looks like XXM has inherited J's genes. G is horrified at the result and has resolved to increase calcium intake in the hopes of boosting XXM's femur length. Will it work? Results will be posted here in a few weeks.

On to the next topic, XXM is moving a lot more now. J can clearly feel some of the movements. G claims that some of the movements can be seen as XXM stretches her tummy. J has yet to see this and is looking forward to seeing it.

At the same time, G has not really been having cravings for exotic foodstuffs. She remains partial to a good old McDonald's cheeseburger and some fries. Must have something to do with her mum who works at McDonald's. Hopefully, this will not go on, or J will pack on some pounds from eating McDonald's before bed.   Also, it is not the healthiest food for a pregnant woman.

Cravings......

G just had her first craving, after 21 weeks.

At this point, J had been lulled into a false sense of security, that maybe he had lucked out and got a wife without cravings. Thanks to a Channel 8 show, G suddenly had a craving.

So, what was G craving? Some exotic food only to be found in the far reaches of the globe? Thankfully, her craving was for a rather more mundane item. French fries.

The silver lining for J is that there is a McDonald's within a 5-minute walk from home. And it is open 24/7. If this is what G will be craving, no sweat. :-)

In other news, G has been feeling little movements from XXM over the last couple of weeks. These movements have gotten stronger and this morning, even J felt something. Things are set to get more exciting as XXM makes ever bigger movements.

Half-term report

And we're half-way through the pregnancy as the twentieth week approaches.

It has been a fairly smooth journey so far. G's BP is still hovering at a fairly low level(as measured at home). But at least she no longer gets sustained bouts of giddiness.

G is getting a bigger and more noticeable bump. At least now people are giving up their seats to her on the MRT. And if she doesn't get a seat, well, she can always stroke the bump (and shoot murderous looks at whoever refused to give up their seat).

Earlier on, G was worried about the lack of weight gain. Now, as she starts gaining weight steadily, she's all worried about gaining too much weight. J thinks she should not worry too much as there aren't really many times when a woman is allowed to gain weight and be proud of it.

Baby is supposed to be able to hear external noises now. A week ago, only G's voice and heartbeat would have been audible. Maybe it's time to start on the Mozart, eh? Or perhaps, it would be better to give Baby a more varied exposure. Time to dust off all those classics and books and do some reading to Baby. J will make sure Baby gets bilingual exposure right from the start. Hey, it's a competitive world out there.

J & G are looking forward to the next appointment with the doctor. It comes with an ultrasound so J & G can see Baby again. Hopefully, the ultrasound will not ruin the surprise.  

Waiting for movement...

17.5 weeks
And G has finally put on weight! Woohoo!
Though it's only a measly 300g gain, considering that she lost almost 2kg in first trimester, to gain 300g is no easy feat

Websites and books say the first movement by the fetus (called quickening) can be felt as early as 16 weeks, and is described as a fluttering sensation, like butterflies. G has been trying very hard to feel any form of movement since 16 weeks, but so far,  no luck :(

Went for 3rd antenatal class yesterday, talking about labour and birth. J was mentally preparing himself to watch a gruesome birth video, but luckily for him, the one being shown was heavily censored. G, on the other hand, is wondering if she has the ability to cope with the labour...as much as 'pain-free labour' sounds tempting, her instinct is still to try and have the baby as naturally as possible...but all options have to remain opened. Because if she starts to throw the drip stand at J, J will probably override her decision and force the Dr to give her epidural...stat!

After the class, J&G went to 'look-see' at the Taka Baby Fair. Both of them went in with no expectations...and came out overwhelmed with options. The shopping list provided by Taka is so long, G has no idea what to get first! A tiny little human being, yet need so much more barang-barang...Looks like shopping for the little one is gonna take more effort and time than expected

On another note, after 2 weeks of force feeding herself with plenty of fluids in various forms, G's BP begin to pick up gradually, maintaining at about 90/60mmHg. Then, after another dose of 十三太保 on Thursday, her diastolic BP dropped to 40-55mmHg =_=|||

Luckily, this drop in BP did not manifest itself as giddiness...just an increased sense of lethargy which G is more willing to point the finger at the poor sleep quality she has every night. Needing to get up at least once a night to PU, often with a backache, is making G sleep-deprived and very cranky. This crankiness is further aggravated by the fact that J takes up way too much room on the bed, and has occasionally woken G up by kneeing or elbowing her. G is not happy!

Despite the poor sleep, G is glad to notice that the 2nd trimester energy boost as promised by all the books & websites has finally make an appearance. Though still far from her pre-pregnancy level of energy, at least now she no longer knocks out on the sofa before dinner. Appetite is very slowly creeping back...which probably explains the gain in weight this week =)

All in all, so far so good.
Will be better if only G can train J to sleep on HIS side of the bed....

The Story So Far...

It's 15 weeks and counting now.

G has been having giddiness persistently over the last week. As a result, J and G decided to bring forward the appointment with the doctor.

Suspected that the giddiness is due to low BP. Every time G measures her BP, systolic reading hovers at 80-90, diastolic at 50-60. But at the doctor's, it was a very respectable 119/68. -_-"

Suggested remedy: Get G to increase fluid intake. Bought Vitagen, chocolate milk and prune juice. And ice cream because it was on offer. (and J wants to eat ice cream) After 48 hours, G has only taken 1 bottle of Vitagen. J hopes she can finish the drinks before delivery.

At this point, J is starting to doubt all the books that J and G have been reading. Where's the energy, the disappearing of symptoms from the first trimester, or even G's appetite? Or maybe because it is still early in the second trimester, the promised goodies have yet to materialize.

Went for the first ante-natal class and were shown around the hospital. The delivery suite looks really nice, even nicer than J and G's bedroom. J loves the bathtub. But sadly, he won't get to use it.

Dug up G's long forgotten stethoscope. Couldn't hear the baby, but can hear G's very healthy bowel movement. Yay for Vitagen.

J and G have finally announced the news on Facebook. Good news should be shared. If you haven't done so, go like it. Now.

By the way, G is also starting to have a little baby bump. Ask her to show it to you if you see her.

安胎 or 安眠？

J's parents have started cooking 十三太保 for G to drink. It is a traditional Chinese medicine consisting of 13 different herbs, supposedly will make the fetus stronger and let the mummy have a smoother pregnancy

Or in J's mum's words "孩子比较壮，你 (referring to G) 也会比较好睡".

G had the 2nd 'dose' yesterday...and upon reaching back in BB, she promptly fell asleep on the sofa at 9.30pm. Her plan was to nap for 30mins before waking up to watch the news...

When she finally got woken up by J, it was 11pm!

And all G felt was drowsiness...if not for the fact that she's been out all day, she would have skipped showering and hop into bed immediately. But, G managed to drag herself into the shower and onto the bed at about 11.15pm...and then she fell asleep immediately and only roused at 7am by the urgent need for toilet...

Now, at 4.06pm the next day, G's blood pressure is hovering at 95/65, considered slightly low for her since the last BP taken at the Dr's office was at the range of 110+/70+

Hopefully, whatever medicine she drank was indeed 安胎-ing by 'forcing' her to sleep more...otherwise, this drop in BP and overwhelming drowsiness is not good for her, nor for xiao xiong mao..

On another note, J was down with food poisoning on Thursday...and his appetite seem to have gone and joined G's appetite in playing hide and seek with their owners. G remains nauseated at the thought of drinking water or eating fish (in fact, at the thought of eating anything at all...)

Not such a happy weekend...but as long as xiao xiong mao is safe and sound, putting up with the nausea, dizziness and fatigue is worth it...

Beginning of the Second Trimester

157 beats per minute.

That's how fast Xiao Xiong Mao's heart is beating now.

People have been telling G that she had a relatively easy first trimester as she only had nausea and did not actually vomit. However, in the past week, giddiness and headaches have set in.

The books say that the second trimester is the best bit of pregnancy, with energy levels being the highest. It is also supposed to be when the cravings begin. Fun times ahead then.

J and G went to the gynecologist together for the first time. Xiao Xiong Mao is coming along nicely. Blood test results for G came back clear and Xiao Xiong Mao's risk of having Down Syndrome is about 20 times lower than the risk indicated by G's age.

All in all, looking forward to the next ultrasound scan to see further developments.

P.S. For some reason, everyone around J and G have been saying that they already knew about the pregnancy. Is it really that obvious?

Xiao Xiong Mao is now coming to 12 weeks :)
He/She is 4.8cm long from head to buttocks...and during the scan, can do kicks and punches + nodding the head :)

J finally got to see his baby for the first time...probably is a reality check for him.
Yes, it is real.
He is gonna be a daddy.

As for G, she is just very very relieved and happy to see the baby moving, and to see the little heart beating so strongly :)

All's well with the Nuchal Translucency (NT) scan.
Next up will be Dr's appointment this coming Friday...

In the meantime, G is continuing the endless battle with nausea, poor appetite and fatigue (already lost 1kg)..while J is trying to catch up on his baby-book reading.

Won't be long till we can announce the big news to everyone :)

J is on overseas reservist...so G has to go to the first OBGYN appointment with her mum
Baby is 18mm long (crown to rump) and EDD is 14 Aug 2012 =)

Best part of the scan is to see the baby's heart beating...
Such a tiny little thing, yet already very much having a life of its own =)

Next appointment on 27 Jan 2012 for NT scan + blood tests (OSCAR)
Hopefully this time J can come so that he can see his baby for the very first time...