2.12.2012 - Your Birth Day

I'm writing this post for my baby girl, hence the reference to "you" is to you my baby girl :)

                        

Your birth day. One of my favorite days my entire life.

1.12.2012, Saturday

38th week check up at Dr Siti. Other than the routine check up, she checked my va-jajay and said "you're ready...baby can come out anytime". Hmmm what does that mean? Were you engaged? Has my cervix opened? We were too caught up in the moment and didn't ask Dr Siti what "ready" meant. The first thing on my mind was "don't come out yet" because Mummy has not bought the nursing bras and have not packed for the hospital! Then Dr Siti continued and said I have 2 options; (1) induce labor or (ii) wait till you come out naturally. Why is she giving me these 2 options? Well, your initial due date is 17.12.2012. Unfortunately, Dr Siti will be away from 7th till Christmas.

Mommy and Daddy discussed about this, and we decided we want Dr Siti to deliver you. Daddy didn't wake up super early for the past 9 months everytime there's an appointment with Dr Siti to get the waiting number to have another doctor, who would have a shorter que, to deliver you. For those who have Dr Siti as their OBG would know that Dr Siti is the only OBG who would still have patients waiting at 5pm on a Saturday. Why? Because, even if you're that last patient at 5pm on Saturday, when you walk into her room, you will be treated the same as if you were the first patient that day. How to be the first patient? Queing in front of the registration at 6am. So, we want Dr Siti.

She told us that we can induce labor naturally, by doing a lot of walking, swimming etc. We decided to try natural inducement, and if by the 5th there are no signs of labor, we'll come in on the 6th to get you out.

I didn't plan to start any natural inducement activities because even though my 2 weeks leave starts on Monday the 3rd, I planned to go into the office that Monday to finish off some hand over stuff and update a few files. I also planned to do some last minute shopping for you, to clean the room, pack the hospital bag etc. I also planned to attend this seminar on the 5th. There were still so many things to do.

After seeing Dr Siti, me and daddy went to Midvalley for a baby exhibition. Before we went to the expo, we had a big lunch at this Thai place and joked that today was the last day to really eat up before I start my pantang food because its the last weekend before you're coming out.

The expo had sooo many booths and things on sale. I finally got the nursing bras, more pyjamas for you, a second bath towel, blankets, the zipper bundle and some other stuff for you to complete the hospital bag. Then we crossed over to the Gardens, cause Daddy wants to look at office shoes for him. We then had dinner. I planned to eat a big cheese burger but wrongly ordered a mushroom burger! That was my last chance to eat junk food and I ordered the most healthiest burger! I was thinking, it's ok, there's 5 more days to eat junk food. How wrong was I?

I remembered feeling sooooo tired and fell asleep in the car on the way home. I had some bleeding, but didn't think of it as anything because Dr Siti said I'll have some bleeding down there because of her inspection of my va-jajay. Reached home, contemplated to pack for the hospital, but was tooo tired and I decided to do it tomorrow.

Our last night sleeping on the bed just the 2 of us.

2.12.2012, Sunday

4.00am : Startled from sleep because I felt a gush of trickling water coming out from down there...I automatically waked Daddy up...I remembered thinking, did I pee in my panties? It didn't feel like pee because I couldn't control it...did my water broke? I was thinking, it cannot be...it's too early!  Luckily I was wearing a pad, because of the bleeding. Went to the toilet, washed off and went back to bed. Few seconds later, water gushed out again. And it kept on coming out. Ok, definitely not pee. OMG. I asked Daddy to google what water breaking feels like. It can be continuous trickling of water over a period of time or a dramatic gush of water like you see in the movies. Mummy's was the former. We decided to go to the labor room. I frantically packed the hospital bag...I just shoved whatever I can think of in the luggage. I started feeling contractions.

5.00am:  I remembered when Qhala Mira started feeling like she was going into labor, she took a bath first and shampoo-ed her hair. She said better wash your hair cause you can't wash your hair for at least a day after giving birth. And google did say that it can take up to 24 hours before the baby actually comes out. So Mummy and Daddy decided to bathe before going to the hospital. I watched a few birthing videos on youtube and most mom-to-be looked horrible! And there were some who looked so prim and pretty. So, after bathing I blow dried my hair, put on concealer, wore a pretty dress...I wanted to look nice in the labor room. By this time the contractions are about 5 minutes apart.

6.00am: We wanted to quietly go to the hospital and confirm that Mummy was actually in labor before waking everybody up, but because of his excitement, Daddy created some ruckus which woke Tok Ibu up. We drove to the hospital at about 6.15am.

6.30am: We arrived at the labor room. The nurse greeted us and Mummy was asked to put on the SDMC dress. They checked my va-jajay and confirmed that I'm in labor! They strapped 2 devices on my tummy, one to monitor the baby's heart beat and one to monitor the contractions. The nurses told me they were going to monitor my cervix opening and will call Dr Siti later in the morning. I was opened 2cm. I asked for milo cause I was hungry. Can't remember if I had any food. They then inserted some medicine in my butt to clear my bowel and 5 minutes later I was running to the toilet.

7.00am - 3.00pm: CONTRACTIONS. The device monitoring the contractions shows how severe the contractions are. 50 and above means I'm experiencing contractions, the higher the reading, the more severe the contractions are. If it goes beyond 100 it means its really severe. During the first hour, every 5 minutes the reading will go up to 70 to 100. Then it's every 3 minutes, and goes up to 120. Man, everytime Mummy experienced contractions Mummy will squeeze Daddy's hands. Yeah, Daddy was next to Mummy all the time. Even though the contractions were painful, it was still bearable...it's like the most really bad period pain, which I'm used to, cause i get really bad period pains. The nurses keep on offering epidural, but I felt like I was still ok...I just took the shot which was supposed to make me relax, it doesn't really relieve the pain. I was dozing off a couple of times but will wake up during contractions.Your grandparents and aunts and uncles were waiting at the waiting room...they could not come in to the labor room, so Daddy will step out every now and then to update them. Dr Siti came at about 12 and checked up on me...everything was ok. I remembered I had both my personal and office blackberry with me...at about 9am I received an email from my boss asking about some work stuff...I replied, and at the end of the email Mummy wrote "BTW I'm in labor boss!"

3.30pm: After almost 12 hours since my water broke, my cervix has only opened 3.5cm!! By this time the contractions have gone from really bad period pain to crazy out of the world pain! I was crying by this time. EPIDURAL! Before Daddy confirmed to the nurses that Mummy will be taking the epidural, the nurses gave Daddy some brochures and leaflets on epidural and its side effects. I remembered telling Daddy I don't care about the side effects, Mummy NEED the shot, NOW. The anesthetist came and gave me the shot, while gossiping with the nurses about some other doctor. I was trembling by then because of the contractions that I didn't actually pay attention to what they were talking about, I didn't even notice the pain of the injection to my spine. The anesthetist said that sometimes epidural won't work 100% to relieve the pain...WHAT? Alhamdulillah, after a few minutes, the pain went away and Mummy dozed off into semi-sleep. I remembered feeling soooooo relieved! Daddy would tell me that I'm going through contractions up to 120-140, and I'll be smiling, not feeling even a tinge of pain! Thank God for epidural!

5.00pm: I am opened 8cm.

5.45pm: 9.5cm. Nurse said this is it...Mummy can start pushing. Daddy can see your beautiful hair...They stopped the epidural so I can feel when I started pushing. We did some trial runs before Dr Siti came in. They started prepping Dr Siti's gears...I remembered Daddy asking the nurses about Dr Siti's yellow boots. Was it going to be really bloody? yikes.

5.50pm: Dr Siti came in and we started getting you out. Daddy was cheer-leading at the side shouting "Push" and giving me encouragements. He even dialled in Qhala Myra and put her on loud speaker while she shouted "Push" together with Daddy and the nurses. I remembered that everyone was saying I was doing a good job but I was so afraid they were lying trying to keep me positive...so I pushed my heart out.

6.07pm: After 38 weeks of pregnancy, 14 hours of labor, 11 hours of contractions pain, 15 minutes of pushing, I finally get to hear your beautiful voice. When you came out, I felt like a big gush of water coming out and a sense of undescribable relief...Daddy cut your umbilical cord and the nurses showed me your cute little va-jajay and said "It's a girl!"...Then I saw the nurses carry you to wash you off and weigh you. I saw Daddy following the nurses wherever they brought you from one station to the other.

You were perfect...weighing 2.83kg and 475cm long. Then the nurses brought you over to me for me to hold you for a little while. The feeling was like the lyrics to the old song "The First Time" by Surface..."The first time, I looked into your eyes I cried"...I literally cried while kissing your chubby cheeks and I remembered I keep on saying "Hi Baby". You opened your beautiful eyes sooo wide...They then took you out to debut you to the rest of your big family...Tok Ba qamat to your ears...They then took you to the nursery to clean up. Family members came in to see me...I was told I looked like a wreck...so much of looking prim and pretty! I remembered I was alone for a while in the labor room and felt this urge to puke...can't find the nurse button and I wasn't strong enough to shout so I vomitted on the floor....kesian the nurse had to clean it up....

7.00pm: They pushed me to my room. There was a funny incident that made Tok Ba laughed so hard...I was still feeling dizzy and nauseated, I needed to puke...Qhala grabbed a container and Daddy held the container up for me to puke in....he then threw the vomit into the toilet bowl, and started puking himself...that's your Daddy!

11.00pm: The last visitor for the night left....Daddy slept on the floor and kept on waking up to assist me to feed you. It was just the 3 of us...our first night together...and we survived.

Words cannot describe how happy we were and how much in love we were with you.

It's been a month now since you came into our world, and I'm falling in love with you everyday, over and over again.

Despite the pain, everyday I feel like rewinding back to this day.

Next: Our First 30 Days!

40 weeks today

(started wrting this post on 17th Dec...only managed to finish it today, in between the breastfeeding, burping, pumping and diaper changes)

17 December 2012. The date that my baby was scheduled to come out.

Yes, we were pregnant! (past tense, baby AO is already out at 38 weeks). After 40 weeks, now is the only free time I have to blog about my pregnancy!

Lets see what I remember...

The test

Me and hubs started trying for a baby in January this year...we decided that after 6 months, we might be ready to be pregnant and have a kid (emphasis on "might" ... if we wait until we are "sure", might be a while until we try :p).

So, we bought a fertility stick which apparently works to tell you your 2 most fertile days to conceive naturally. Didn't know this thing exists, go to know about it from a friend. We never used it. Hahah. It's still in tact in my dresser drawer...maybe I can give it to one of the many to be-newly weds next year as a present :)

So, I was late in April. And had a really bad fever, MC from office for 2 days...people say demam mengandung...So I decided to take the test on the 19th of April. I had a pregnancy stick lying around. Kakmira bought me 2 sticks some weeks ago when I was late in March. So this was my second time taking the test since we started trying. I took the test in the afternoon, and it was positive! I could not wait to tell everyone, but I thought Aliff should know first, and I didn't want to do it over the phone, so I had to wait for him to come back from work...and that night he came back really late...it was so agonizing for me to keep this from ibu and my sisters! I was already asleep when he came home, but I woke up because of the lights that he had turned on...I didn't really plan on how to break the news...I had the stick next to my bed and just showed it to him...His face lit up and he hugged me and instantaneously I saw him taking out his phone to text everybody! I told him, other than our immediate family, we should not tell anyone first until we confirm with the doctor...but Aliff was too excited to hold it in, he practically told everyone the news the next morning. Just to double confirm before we went to see the OB-GYN, Kakmira, our in-house bidan (she is our point of reference for any pregnancy-baby related issues cause she already has 3 babies and she knows a lot of stuff), told us to take another test using Clear Blue Digital which apparently is most accurate. The next day, Aliff picked me up from my office at lunch time, got me the test from Ampang Park and sent me back to office. I went straight to the toilet and peed on the stick and few minutes later the words "Pregnant" appeared. The test also indicated that I was 3 weeks pregnant.

We set an appointment and met the wonderful Dr Siti at SDMC on 30 April 2012 and confirmed that  this cute little thing was growing in my belly:

During the first check up, Dr Siti informed us about the test for down-syndrome. I was freaked out when she asked whether we want to take the test, and so was Aliff, he was like "Did you see anything wrong doctor?". Hahha... But Dr Siti explained it's the normal protocol to ask patients to take the test, because if we decide to terminate the pregnancy, we have to do it within the first 5 weeks. But she assured us that she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and that the possibility was very slim given my age. Ofcourse afterwards we consulted our in-house bidan, Kakmira, and she said its normal to take the test, she took it for 2 of her babies. So we took the test and if we didn't get a call within 2 weeks from the test, there is nothing to be worried about. The 2 weeks was so agonising for both of us, though we didn't express it out loud, trying to be positive. When the 2 weeks came by and we didn't get any call from Dr Siti, we relaxed a little. Alhamdulillah, at the next check up, Dr Siti said everything was ok.

First Trimester

• No appetite to eat AT ALL. The only thing I could eat was beef - fried, nothing fancy. Even then I could only stomach a few bites. I can't even look at chicken without feeling nauseated. At one point I was crying in front of the food because everything didn't suit my stomach.
• HATES the smell of cigarette smoke and alcohol.
• Lost 800 grams 
• Dr Siti started me on acid folic.
• First craving was laksa penang. Ibu cooked for me. Then Aliff brought me to Subang Parade and I had one bowl at the Penang restaurant there (can't remember the name of the restaurant).Also craved for tempoyak ikan patin. My sweet aunt from Seremban cooked a bowl for me :) (other than these 2 dishes, I didn't crave for a lot of weird things throughout my pregnancy).
• I experienced bad headaches and nausea - I was lucky I did not experience terrible morning sickness. I think throughout my pregnancy, i vomitted less than 10 times, and most of the time it was because of tooth-brushing.
• Me and hubs took an imromptu-short holiday at the YTL Pangkor Laut Resort. Will try to blog about this later if I can find the time. Short review: One of the best places to go to for a relaxing holiday. Beautiful beach, EXCELLENT spa experience, tip-top customer service-seriously the best I've ever experienced, you are addressed by your name, anything you want, you get and even the cleaners will greet you.
• Still wearing 3 - 4 inch heels and was constantly being told to switch to flats by my colleagues and boss. 

Can barely see the belly yet...at this point people probably think that i'm just fat

First day at Pangkor Laut

A closer look at the growing tummy

By the Emerald Beach

Second Trimester

• Got my appetite back. But I overdosed on beef that I had to lay it off for a while. Can start eating chicken back, yay!
• Plain water is like HEAVEN on earth! Nikmatnyaaaa minum air! One of my favorite things to do when being pregnant is gulping a glass of plain water.
• My smell senses got really sensitive - there was one day when I was talking to Aliff i the car and suddenly I smelled oranges...Aliff then told me he drank the tropicana orange juice that morning.
• Started my love affair with Pizza. I can eat pizza all day everyday. If you asked me what i want to eat, my only answer will be pizza.
• Also started my closer relationship with the toilet - had to pee everytime i gulp water. I think I went to the loo about 20 times a day.
• Started experiencing butt-ache. Yep, butt, left cheek. If i sit or lay down for more than 10 minutes, I will experience the most painful ache when I try to get up. Sleeping is a nightmare. This was one of the most irritating and painful part of the pregnancy for me.
• Belly started showing, but I had a relatively small belly.
• Gained about 3kgs.
• Dr Siti started me on sangobion to up my iron.Was also taking calcium and neuro gain.
• Work did not slow down, but I try to be home by 8 or 9 pm so I don't have dinner too late.
• Fasting month came - and alhamdulillah, I fasted for the whole 30 days without much problem - PROVIDED I wake up for sahur everyday, which I did.
• Started feeling really SLEEPY during the day, especially between 3-4 pm. Started having afternoon naps, and I never nap during the day! There was once at the office, in my room, I decided to lie down to rest my head after praying zohor. It was around 2.30pm. When I woke up, it was 4pm, and I was still in my telekung! Luckily my boss wasn't looking for me!
• Started buying baby stuff (will try writing about this later).
• Felt baby kicking for the first time, at 5 months of pregnancy, on the eve of my birthday! One of the most happiest moments in my life.
• Got to know that we will are cooking up a beautiful baby girl at 5 months into the pregnancy. I kind of already know it was going to be a girl, since the first 2 attempts to detect the sex was unsuccessful...they say if it's a boy, you'll know as soon as 4 months.
• Switched to 2 inch heels.

Lulu's Pink and Purple 4th Birthday Celebration

Hari Raya at Kampung

   

Baby Naurah's aqiqah and cukur jambul

Third Trimester

• Started wearing kitten heels and flats to the delight of my colleagues and bosses.
• Could not fit into pants anymore. My attire to work was maxi-stretchable dresses only.
• Still in love with pizza.
• Butt-ache still persisting and getting worse. 
• Started experiencing many other aches from all over the body.
• Can't lie straight on my back.
• Complaining about the aches more and more.
• Sleepy all day. Started having naps in the office under the table.
• Had pregnancy hemmorhoids. Doctor said nothing to worry about, just apply the cream. It will not affect natural birth.
• Started car-pooling to office with Aliff because I got too tired to face the KL traffic and my belly was getting too big for the steering wheel.
• Found it harder to wake up early in the morning for work. 
• Ibu and my sisters organised a lenggang perut and baby shower for me on 7th October.
• My baby nanny/maid arrived safely on the day of my baby shower. What a relief! One of the best baby shower presents for me and baby!
• Went to have a detailed scan of baby at about 28 weeks of pregnancy. Best to do it within the 20th-26th week, to be able to see the baby clearly because baby has not grown too big to crowd the space and liquid is adequate to be able to see the fetal parts. The aim of a deatiled scan is to look at baby's anatomy in detail and see if there any abnormalities. Dr Siti said it will only show superficial results (which means the surface of the baby, not the organs). We did it at UMRA hospital at Shah Alam. It was open after office hours, which was convenient for me and hubs, and it was much cheaper than the SDMC clinic, which was only open during office hours. We saw baby kicking me in the belly! Sooooo adorable! Everything looked normal and perfect. Alhamdulillah.
• Syida's engagement (will write about this later - wahhh so ambitious of me to write so many posts after this...this post alone took me about a week to finish!)
• Kakmira gave birth to baby SH and I just can't wait for my baby to come out! I remembered Kakmira was breastfeeding baby SH one day and I was moaning because of my body aches, and Kakmira looked at me and said to me, while showing at my belly "that is easier than this (showing at her new-born)". I didn't believe her...how wrong was i? hahaha
• Felt baby hicupping in my belly at about 30 weeks of pregnancy. How do I know it was hiccups? You just know...it's not the normal movements of the baby...you'll know when you feel it. This is what I got from google- "Keep in mind that when your fetus is hiccupping there is nothing wrong. You dont need to call your doctor or midwife, unless you feel something else is going on, and you dont need to freak out. Simply relax and enjoy feeling your baby move inside you. Hiccuping is a sign that your baby's central nervous system is well-developed and that he is readying himself for life outside the womb." 
• Gained another 4kgs and lost about 600grams at the last check up, which made it a total of about 8-9 kgs throughout my pregnancy. I didnt gain much weight, people always tell me I'm too thin for a pregnant woman, and that I don't look pregnant from the back or from neck up...hahah. But baby gained weight at every check up. Dr Siti said my baby was growing fast and was at 3.1kg at the last check up which was at 38 weeks.
• Went to our first baby exhibition at mid-valley, which turned out to be my last outing before baby came out (labor story on a seperate post).
• Last craving was for cekodok...but didn't get to have it...will write about this in my labor story.

Syida's engagement

My Baby Shower

One of the last pregnant pictures of both of us...Kakmira popped the next day

I never thought I would say this, but I miss pregnancy! I miss my belly. I miss not having the need to hide the extra layer of fat in the belly, I miss strangers coming up randomly to ask me about my baby,  I miss the perks and privileges of pregnancy - people being extra nice and cautious of you, getting to cut lines, coming in late to work without the need to come up with excuses etc.

Next: My Labor Story. 

My last pregnant picture. This was taken around 10am, in the labor room at SDMC, in between contractions :)

Till then, toodles.