Super Simple SAHM: 2 June 2011

It's been more than a month and I haven't had the time to update my blog on my baby's delivery.

I have been busy adjusting to her sleeping / feeding / pooping patterns.

Now that she's sleeping, I'm rushing to update this entry before she wakes up!

I suddenly realized that I've been scratching my head to decide on what to write ... how to write it ... and how to START!

Here goes, let's start with the most basic information.

Our little princess arrived on 2nd June 2011 at 7:49am.

It was a smooth delivery (termed SVD - Spontaneous Vaginal Delivery).

When I was in labor, my dad was nervously waiting in the hospital room (as he wasn't allowed in the labour room) and hubby was a nervous wreck witnessing the labour and delivery process (I love you so much dear! Thanks for giving me the support!)

Ok Ok enough of the mushy stuff ... (",)

SIGNS OF LABOR / NEARING DELIVERY

Two weeks prior to the delivery, I experienced the symptoms below, in no particular order:

Nesting - organized ALL the drawers and cabinets in my room so that the items were in order.

Re-organized the cabinets which contained baby's clothes to ensure that it's within reach, you know, so that when she's finally home we won't be scrambling around looking for her stuff (and the items are all teeny weeny tiny!!! So cute!)

You must be wondering why on earth would a heavily pregnant woman suddenly decide to complete house chores, right?

As it is, you constantly feel tired and sluggish the entire day and all you want to do is sleep!

I sometimes wonder about it too.

Thing is, on that particular day when I decided to re-organize the clothes, etc I suddenly had this burst of energy and didn't feel exhausted at all despite going at it for a couple of hours.

It still leaves me amazed to this day ...

Loss of appetite - people often say that pregnant women tend to add on their pounds and enjoy eating after 7 months into their pregnancy.

Boy, were they wrong!

My appetite dwindled down tremendously and I was back to how I felt in my first 5 months, constantly vomiting and not being able to enjoy any food!

Quite depressing, I must say. :(

Vomit - I've gone through this phase in my first trimester and slightly into the 2nd. Can someone explain why it came back in my final trimester?

Diarrhea - OK, I kept thinking if I took any spoilt food but the matter of fact was, I started having diarrhea when I was already on leave and staying home ALL THE TIME so my meals were prepared at home.

There's NO explanation why I'm suffering from diarrhea!

To Google I consulted and found out that you vomit and suffer from diarrhea so that the body can start clearing the system to prepare for labor and delivery.

You'll avoid the embarrassment when you go into labor and try to push baby out ... it'll be less messy that way.

THE DELIVERY

I started experiencing lower abdomen pains on 1 June around 9pm.

I had trouble passing motion earlier in the day and honestly thought I was constipated ...

The pain kept coming and going for a couple of hours and I was already on all fours.

Hubby and I were both watching TV that evening so he was wondering why I was on the floor.

Hubby kept asking if I was OK and helped apply ointment on my tummy and back.

By 12 midnight, I went to the washroom and saw blood (red blood clots like the ones you see when you have your period).

I rushed back into the room and saw that I had stained the sofa!

Hubby was shocked and panicked slightly, trying to think what to do first, help me or pack my stuff to admit me into the hospital or call the hospital first or find his keys & wallet or should he get dressed first?

Hahahahaha ... :D

I woke my mom up and she asked me to go to the hospital, saying that I was possibly going into labor.

I was like, wait a minute, is this how labor pain is? Like period pain? Or like you're constipated? I didn't believe I was going into labor and decided to wait it out.

So here I was calm and collected whereas the people around me were starting to fuss over me.

By 1am on 2 June, the frequency of the pain kept increasing (more than 3 contraction pains within 15 minutes) and we decided to go to the hospital, as in I finally agreed to go to the hospital.

Both my parents apparently had not slept a wink ever since I woke mom up earlier.

Dad had actually gone down half an hour earlier, on stand-by to start the car.

As hubby was collecting my stuff to bring to the hospital, I went in my dad's car whilst hubby took the other.

Again, I was calm in the car since it's 1am and there's no traffic so the ride to the hospital would be smooth.

Dad, on the other hand, was SPEEDING and kept changing lanes!!!

I told him, "Dad, chill, I'm OK."

He's like, "I need to make sure that you reach the hospital safely and not give birth in the car."

He said that with a worried look on his face ... :) I love my Dad.

Come to think of it, I'm sure he'll panic if I suddenly decided to give birth in the car so he's probably making some mental notes on how to help me already ... hahahaha

By the time I reached the hospital, the nurses came out and Dad told them I was in labor.

They immediately pulled out a wheelchair and asked me to sit (I told them I could walk but they said it was the hospital's policy ... uh, ok ...) whilst they took down my details.

I was pushed to the labor room in the wheelchair while Dad followed closely behind.

The nurses told Dad that he had to wait outside the labor room, only husbands are allowed inside.

I pity my Dad who had to wait outside and it was super cold in the hallway.

I was hoisted onto the bed and had some wires from a machine stuck on my tummy.

The machine produced some form of graph and the nurse, Mrs Tan, told me that I was in labor.

Best part, I was already 5cm dilated!

What??? 5cm??? OMG !!!

5cm???

I still couldn't believe it!

I was still able to walk around the labor room.

I kept going to the bathroom ... to pee ... can't remember if I took THAT MUCH of water earlier.

I joked around with Mrs Tan who is SUCH an angel and we kept laughing and laughing.

Bear in mind that this was at 2am and I felt fully awake!

Mrs Tan personally told me that she was surprised to see me being so calm and cool, walking about and laughing.

She shared that some other patients who were 5cm dilated would have already started crying / screaming in pain ... worse, they even swear at her! Not intentional, of course.

It all started with this injection

They would all tell her that the pain was unbearable and that they would request for an epidural or even a C-Sec to be done there and then.

She would tell them to hold on since they are encouraged to deliver babies naturally whereas C-Sec is the last option.

Here are some pics of the labor room:

Curtain covering the room's entrance

Spacious bathroom

So the waiting game began ...

Mrs Tan said that they could monitor my progress outside of the labor room so they needn't be around me the entire time.

She advised me to rest as much as I can and said if I needed anything, just push a button by the bed and she'll come in.

Hubby joined me in the labor room shortly after.

Poor hubby had not slept the entire day since he went to work at 7am the previous day.

Luckily, there was a sofa bed and he dozed off around 3am.

I was watching TV and occasionally checked my Facebook (yup, free WiFi).

Mrs Tan would come in and check on me, to see how I was doing.

She helped me throughout the entire process and gave me tips on breathing, especially using gas.

I couldn't remember the time when I was in extreme pain and the duration was longer.

I had to lie down on my side, closed my eyes and breathe.

I was holding tight to the railing on the side of my bed.

Next thing I know, my water broke (felt like a gush of water coming out uncontrollably).

I guess I was in extreme pain as hubby woke up from his sleep and called the nurses.

He stood next to me as the nurses were preparing me for labor.

The pain was immense, I was holding the gas to my mouth and looked at Mrs Tan's face for support.

At that moment, it was really painful, I wanted to cry but I couldn't.

I wasn't even breathing properly and I remember holding on to her hand.

I guess she could read my facial expression.

Mrs Tan reminded me how to breathe and told me "Good girl, that's how you breathe. You're doing well."

At one point, as it was too difficult to breathe, I held tightly to her hand and she kept saying, "It's ok, you're doing good, breathe in and breathe out."

I honestly felt like crying and thought to myself if this pain would EVER subside ... or worse, if I would even SURVIVE!

The only thing I could think of was, "I'm going to die."

My ObGyn came into the room.

The nurses told me to hold onto the two shafts on each side of the bed.

Hubby was trying to calm me down, perhaps panicking at the same time.

I was maintaining my breathing, trying as hard as possible to even REMEMBER to breathe!

All I could feel was the pain ...

The nurses and my ObGyn asked me to push...

First attempt, nothing (only felt pain)

Second attempt, nothing (more pain)

I was REALLY thinking of giving up ... I was about to say, "Dr, I really can't handle this, can you please cut me up????"

I think I even said, "OMG, I'm gonna die."

Third attempt, Dr Paul asked me to push three times within one contraction, I did just that.

The nurses and Dr Paul gave me encouraging words:

"You can do it"

"There you go, push, good girl"

"Good job, I can see the baby's head"

I was like, "What? Head? Really??"

The pain ... The pain ...

It was unbearable and I think I cried.

The final push ... baby came sliding out, Dr caught baby (it DID seem like that) and they placed baby on my tummy.

I had NO energy to hold the baby as I was also feeling drowsy.

I could only afford to look at the baby.

They told me it was a girl.

She is beautiful and let out a cry ... hubby kissed me a few times ... it felt magical!!!

After Dr Paul removed the placenta (felt like some thing sliding out) he stitched me up.

The baby was measured and sent to the nursery to be cleaned.

Labour room - Post delivery

I was then moved to another bed and they pushed me into my room.

I don't remember much, just that I fell asleep once I reached my room.

I couldn't remember how long I slept as I heard voices.

I woke up to see my family and hubby.

Everyone was busy sharing the story of me initially not wanting to go to the hospital to Dad speeding to the hospital and was ushered into the hospital room since he couldn't be in the labor room.

Or they were busy updating FB or calling relatives with the update.

Mom was also fussing over me and organizing my stuff in the cupboard, etc.

Once the baby was cleaned, the nurses brought her into my room and the whole family stopped what they were doing and fussed over her instead :)