Thought of writing this down so that many years from now, the little one will be able to read for himself what I went through to bring him into the world.. heh.
We visited the gynae in the morning of Monday, 27th April, and learnt that I was already at 2 cm, and the baby's head was already very very low, so things were looking good. Soon, we were told. And so we waited. The contractions got stronger throughout the day, but they still weren't close enough to warrant a trip to the labour ward just yet. We were hoping to hold on out until the next morning, since we didn't fancy going in to the hospital in the middle of the night, but at midnight I decided I really had to wake poor hubby up, and off we went to the hospital.
I had thought the whole thing would move along quite quickly, given the baby's position and all.. but it still took 12 hours. Gosh!
It was quite frustrating to learn that I was still at 2 cm at midnight; so there was nothing to do but to wait. The painful contractions were occuring every 5-10 minutes, which meant I could not get any rest, and neither did poor hubby. At 4 a.m. I was STILL at 2 cm...there was still a long way to go, and I was worried at being exhausted by the time it came to pushing the baby out, what with no rest throughout the night and all. Drat.
And so I signed the consent form for the epidural; hubby and I praying very hard that the anaesthetist who was going to administer the epidural would be alert and awake enough not to mess things up. After all, it IS an injection into the epidural space, which is part of the spine.. :p
My legs were all warm and tingly after the epidural; more importantly, I couldn't feel the pain of the contractions, which was absolute bliss. Should have taken the epidural earlier. Haha.
Managed to get a few hours' of light sleep after that; my gynae came in at 7 a.m, announced that I was at 3-4 cm (only??), and proceeded to burst my water bag. (We thought it had already burst, but she said it was still intact, and prodded it to show me. It felt like a water balloon going round and round... eww.)
After that, things got a bit weird. I developed a slight fever, started vomitting and also started shivering. Apparently, these were all side effects from the epidural. I couldn't even keep a sip of water down, and I was shivering like crazy. We had to switch the air-con off, and I was under 2 blankets, but I still felt like my bones were freezing. Those few hours were TERRIBLE. It was like having severe food poisoning (which is something that I am quite susceptible to); but on top of that being in labour, with blood and fluid leaking everywhere, and the lower body nothing but a helpless deadweight. Also, I could feel the epidural 'wearing off', since I could feel my contractions again. I was distressed almost to the point of tears, and wondered how I would find the strength later to push. Goodness.
It finally crossed someone's mind to give me some anti-vomitting medicine, so that I could also take the medicine to bring the fever down. They topped up my epidural dosage (the tube was taped to my back), and that helped somewhat. Thank God hubby was there to help take care of me. He sponged me with a towel to get the fever down, and later to help me cool off when the medicine took effect and I started to sweat profusely. By then, I was about 5-6 cm.
The next thing I remember was being at 9 cm, and then there was a flurry of activity in the labour ward. I was re-positioned, poles were put in place for my hands and feet, the gynae's equipment was laid out, etc. Everything happened so fast; the gynae suddenly appeared and the next thing I knew, it was time to push! It was tough; I couldn't seem to get the technique of coordinating the breathing and pushing quite right.
There were 8 other people in the labour ward; and I recall there was a lot of cheering from the 'spectators'- loud cries in unison spurring me to push, push and push some more! Thanks to the epidural, I remember this scene quite vividly since there was only a dull pain (thus my mind had time to wander..) and I recall thinking how ridiculously funny this whole affair would be- if I wasn't the one stuck in the unflattering position with an entire cheerleading team watching me! :p
After about half an hour or so, the gynae informed me that she might have to use a vacuum to help baby out, since he had already passed motion (she could see the meconium stains) and that wasn't a good sign... I was warned that it didn't mean that I could stop doing any 'work'; I still needed to push, and with the help of some fairly low suction, baby was out!
It all happened so fast; suddenly there was this slimy, greyish thing slapped on my tummy, and there was a commotion as hubby rushed to cut the umbilical cord and the nurses ran around to attend to baby. I don't even recall seeing his face at that point; and he was taken outside the room to be cleaned, checked, etc.
Baby was brought back into the room after a while, and I remember how weird it felt to see my baby for the first time. He seemed like a little stranger (or maybe I was just too dazed and confused to think clearly); and if you're wondering.. no, I didn't have one of those 'movie moments' where I cradled my newborn in my arms while shedding tears of joy. I did envision that, but it was not to be. Talk about a reality check. :(
Instead, baby was whisked off to the neonatal ICU, since the concern was that he might have breathed in some meconium (which is essentially his own poo) which could lead to infection in the lungs. Poor baby had to have an x-ray taken, an IV inserted for a glucose drip and antibiotics prescribed. It was quite distressing for me and hubby; and it was heartbreaking to see all those tubes sticking out from his tiny little body...but we thank God that everything turned out alright in the end- thank you all so much for your prayers!
On April 28th, 2009, our lives changed forever. May God give us the strength, wisdom and perseverance to journey on together...
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Anytime now...
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Milestones...
Phew.. I've finally made it to this entry. Thought I wasn't going to be able to pen down what happened for the rest of 2008... haha.
We moved in to our new home at the end of August, after months of effort to get the place ready (and we didn't even do that much- i.e. no major renovation involved). We got the built-in wardrobes done, the lights installed, and the furniture delivered (after a lot of shopping around of course). We had some drama with regards to painting our ceiling; looking back now we can laugh about it, but it sure wasn't funny then. The installation of the lights involved some hacking, and the resulting paintwork over the patched areas was rather unsightly- no matter how many times we tried to fix it. And so we decided to paint the entire ceiling. On our own. Suffice to say, it was a BAD idea.. and in the end, we had to pay the professionals to do it anyway. Cheh.
September 20th was a big day for us- we found out that I was 7 weeks' pregnant! No wonder I was feeling like crap for weeks; I thought it was just the work stress getting to me. We were both stunned to see the little sac on the ultrasound, and we were just blown away by the miracle of life. Praise God for His wonderful gift!
I'm in my 32nd week now; and our little sweetheart is due to arrive in early May. We thank God that the pregnancy has been going relatively well. I didn't really have any morning sickness in the first trimester (save for nausea when I ate too much, but I guess that's normal :p). Of course, there are aches, pains, heartburn, breathlessness etc etc but overall it hasn't been too bad. At the moment the shooting pain up my nerve in the lower back has been causing me some grief; but I hope it's nothing too serious. Hmm..
There were times earlier on where I got worried when people commented that my baby bump was so small, and I didn't seem to be gaining much weight... but now it looks like I have to watch my weight! My gynae made me take a glucose test to check for pregnancy diabetes, since my recent weight gain was a bit too much- but fortunately things were ok and I'm fine. I blame the weight gain on all the goodies I consumed over the Christmas and Chinese New Year period! :p
It has been amazing seeing our baby grow over the past few months. We saw him (yes it's a boy!) bouncing about like a jumping shrimp earlier on, waving his hands, stretching his legs and rolling about as he got bigger. I remember one time we saw him open his mouth (a yawn maybe?) followed by some lip-smacking afterwards. Even my gynae was amused, heh.
I can't quite recall if I ever felt the 'quickening' feeling mentioned in the books.. but the kicks have been unmistakeable! He's quite the active little dear- kicking and moving about ever so often. One of the funniest things I'm experiencing now is his tendency to kick me on whichever side I'm sleeping. If I sleep on my right, he would kick me there to get my attention. Feeling bad that I was squashing him, I would turn to lie on my back for a while and try a bit later to sleep on the left instead. And guess what- he would then proceed to kick me on my left! Basically I think he's trying to protest that I am depriving him of his space- there's no pleasing this little guy! :p
8 weeks more to go; we're praying that everything will continue to go smoothly... would value your prayers too! :)
We moved in to our new home at the end of August, after months of effort to get the place ready (and we didn't even do that much- i.e. no major renovation involved). We got the built-in wardrobes done, the lights installed, and the furniture delivered (after a lot of shopping around of course). We had some drama with regards to painting our ceiling; looking back now we can laugh about it, but it sure wasn't funny then. The installation of the lights involved some hacking, and the resulting paintwork over the patched areas was rather unsightly- no matter how many times we tried to fix it. And so we decided to paint the entire ceiling. On our own. Suffice to say, it was a BAD idea.. and in the end, we had to pay the professionals to do it anyway. Cheh.
September 20th was a big day for us- we found out that I was 7 weeks' pregnant! No wonder I was feeling like crap for weeks; I thought it was just the work stress getting to me. We were both stunned to see the little sac on the ultrasound, and we were just blown away by the miracle of life. Praise God for His wonderful gift!
I'm in my 32nd week now; and our little sweetheart is due to arrive in early May. We thank God that the pregnancy has been going relatively well. I didn't really have any morning sickness in the first trimester (save for nausea when I ate too much, but I guess that's normal :p). Of course, there are aches, pains, heartburn, breathlessness etc etc but overall it hasn't been too bad. At the moment the shooting pain up my nerve in the lower back has been causing me some grief; but I hope it's nothing too serious. Hmm..
There were times earlier on where I got worried when people commented that my baby bump was so small, and I didn't seem to be gaining much weight... but now it looks like I have to watch my weight! My gynae made me take a glucose test to check for pregnancy diabetes, since my recent weight gain was a bit too much- but fortunately things were ok and I'm fine. I blame the weight gain on all the goodies I consumed over the Christmas and Chinese New Year period! :p
It has been amazing seeing our baby grow over the past few months. We saw him (yes it's a boy!) bouncing about like a jumping shrimp earlier on, waving his hands, stretching his legs and rolling about as he got bigger. I remember one time we saw him open his mouth (a yawn maybe?) followed by some lip-smacking afterwards. Even my gynae was amused, heh.
I can't quite recall if I ever felt the 'quickening' feeling mentioned in the books.. but the kicks have been unmistakeable! He's quite the active little dear- kicking and moving about ever so often. One of the funniest things I'm experiencing now is his tendency to kick me on whichever side I'm sleeping. If I sleep on my right, he would kick me there to get my attention. Feeling bad that I was squashing him, I would turn to lie on my back for a while and try a bit later to sleep on the left instead. And guess what- he would then proceed to kick me on my left! Basically I think he's trying to protest that I am depriving him of his space- there's no pleasing this little guy! :p
8 weeks more to go; we're praying that everything will continue to go smoothly... would value your prayers too! :)
Monday, February 02, 2009
Haywards Heath
I've finally come to the last of the series of blog entries on our trip to UK waaaaay back in May 2008. I can't believe this has taken me this long :p
We made a trip to Haywards Heath (about an hour's train ride from London) to visit a dear friend and his family. It was lovely meeting up again after all these years, and I was thrilled to see his beautiful girls for the first time. After a quick lunch, we ended up joining them to take part in a procession (their village was having a funfair that day), so it was all rather fun!
We made a trip to Haywards Heath (about an hour's train ride from London) to visit a dear friend and his family. It was lovely meeting up again after all these years, and I was thrilled to see his beautiful girls for the first time. After a quick lunch, we ended up joining them to take part in a procession (their village was having a funfair that day), so it was all rather fun!
The theme of our group was the story of Jonah :)
What fun!
We left for London in the afternoon.. and soon it was time to say goodbye. We had a great time in the UK; but now it was time to head home. London has changed; and I have come to accept that my most recent experience of this city cannot possibly be the same as when I was there studying. You know what- I think I have found the closure I was looking for...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
New Fellows' Presentation
Staple Inn
The New Fellows' Presentation held at Staple Inn was one of the reasons for our trip to the UK, so I was rather looking forward to it. The ceremony was quite interesting, rather like a graduation ceremony- complete with inspiring speeches and of course, champagne and canapés! :)
One thing that was really noticeable was the look of relief on the new Fellows, and their accompanying family members as well- haha. I guess the past few years have been challenging for most of us; and what a journey it has been! But then again, I'm reminded that qualifying as a Fellow should be viewed as the beginning, and not the end. How true.
After the presentation, we met up with my dear university friend PS, for lunch. It was great seeing her again after all these years. Sigh, how time has flown by...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Greenwich
Poor hubby wasn’t feeling well the next day so we stayed in till late morning. We eventually managed to make our way to Greenwich by bus, arriving in time for lunch. Our first stop was the National Maritime Museum, which proudly displays Britain’s seafaring history. From there it was a rather steep walk up to the Royal Observatory, the renowned monument to navigational research. It is the original home of Greenwich Mean Time and is famous for being the source of the Prime Meridian line that divides the East from the West (longitude 0° 0' 0'').
National Maritime Museum
The famous line
Ooh look, Kuala Lumpur gets a mention :)
Y&A dropped by to join us until closing time, and then it was off to a nearby village to grab some tea. It was raining rather heavily, so that was one wet and cold walk! Well, at least there was something warm to look forward to :)
We managed to catch another musical later in the evening- Hairspray! We decided to take a chance and just turn up at the theatre counter for last-minute tickets, and were pleased to find 2 suitable and affordable seats left. Hurrah! Hairspray was just so much fun; we really had a blast. There was so much colour and energy in the music and dancing; it was difficult not to groove along!
We got lost in Rotherhithe late at night while trying to get home by bus, so that was a bit scary. Thank God we managed alright in the end! Phew.
Monday, December 29, 2008
South Bank Walk
The next day saw us taking a long walk along the South Bank. We started at Westminster, crossed over to the South Bank, walking past London Eye and right up to the Tate Modern, then back across the river via the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's Cathedral. Phew!
Houses of Parliament
Buskers at work
View of the Millennium Bridge and St Paul from inside the Tate Modern
We had a look inside the Tate, and it was rather interesting, as always. Hubby and I played a game where we tried to guess the names of the exhibits on display; and we would come up with names like 'Circles in Squares' or 'Block of Wood' or something along those lines. Ahh.. modern art. :)
Our walk didn't end there.. we continued from St Paul down Holborn till we reached an old haunt (Kam Fung) for dinner. It was nice to have a warm, satisfying meal at the end of that long, long day!
Our walk didn't end there.. we continued from St Paul down Holborn till we reached an old haunt (Kam Fung) for dinner. It was nice to have a warm, satisfying meal at the end of that long, long day!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Stonehenge & Salisbury
It's quite strange seeing this major tourist attraction just standing there by the highway. One can actually see the entire structure quite clearly without paying the entrance fee; which loads of people just did. We did pay to go in; the experience wasn't really great, but it wasn't too bad though. We had the most fun trying to figure out which angle the photo featured on the brochure was taken from (we tried to take the same one). Pretty soon others caught on to what we were trying to do; seemed to think it was a great idea, and so they did the same. Hehe.
We then headed for Salisbury, famous for its cathedral which has the tallest church spire in the UK. Salisbury is quite a pretty place, but we weren't there for long since we didn't want to get back to London too late.
We then headed for Salisbury, famous for its cathedral which has the tallest church spire in the UK. Salisbury is quite a pretty place, but we weren't there for long since we didn't want to get back to London too late.
I managed to drive part of the way and made it to the car rental place to drop off the car (it was stressful though- given the rush hour traffic). So now I can say I drove in London! Haha :p
We met some dear friends for a late dinner, and had a great time catching up. I met cute little George for the first time- and he is ever so adorable!
We met some dear friends for a late dinner, and had a great time catching up. I met cute little George for the first time- and he is ever so adorable!
Gorgeous George :)
Penzance to Tintagel
The next day saw a drastic change in the weather. It was cold and rainy, with strong winds all round. Not so pleasant when one is near the coastline! :(
We drove to St Ives , but didn't get a chance to see much of it because it was raining so heavily. We sought shelter at the Tate St Ives for a while but finally decided to go on with our journey because the rain and wind showed no signs of abating.
So on we drove to Tintagel, which took a couple of hours- given the weather conditions. Tintagel turned out to be a really touristy place. We took the walk to the castle- only to find it was closed!! They couldn't let anyone go up there due to the strong winds. We were so disappointed, but just had to make do with exploring Merlin's cave and wandering around the area a little bit.
We drove to St Ives , but didn't get a chance to see much of it because it was raining so heavily. We sought shelter at the Tate St Ives for a while but finally decided to go on with our journey because the rain and wind showed no signs of abating.
So on we drove to Tintagel, which took a couple of hours- given the weather conditions. Tintagel turned out to be a really touristy place. We took the walk to the castle- only to find it was closed!! They couldn't let anyone go up there due to the strong winds. We were so disappointed, but just had to make do with exploring Merlin's cave and wandering around the area a little bit.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Cornwall: Minack Theatre & Land's End
We left Marazion and drove to Porthcurno to see the Minack Theatre. The drive was a tad scary, as the roads were narrow and winding, with either stone walls or hedges on both sides (thereby leaving no road shoulders). It was a bit stressful when cars came up close behind us (probably the locals) and we had to find suitable spots to pull over and let them pass. Plus, it was quite unnerving to suddenly go round a bend to see a car coming headlong towards us! Not for the faint-hearted, that drive.
We were so glad when we arrived at Minack Theatre. I would never have known about this place if not for my mum- who saw it featured on her favourite travel show, hosted by the ever-so-entertaining Samantha Brown. Minack Theatre is an amazing open-air theatre created from the cliffside at Porthcurno with spectacular views of the bay. The theatre was built by a lady named Rowena Cade- who actually transported stones from a nearby quarry in a wheelbarrow; thus building it with her own hands! Wow.
We were so glad when we arrived at Minack Theatre. I would never have known about this place if not for my mum- who saw it featured on her favourite travel show, hosted by the ever-so-entertaining Samantha Brown. Minack Theatre is an amazing open-air theatre created from the cliffside at Porthcurno with spectacular views of the bay. The theatre was built by a lady named Rowena Cade- who actually transported stones from a nearby quarry in a wheelbarrow; thus building it with her own hands! Wow.
Can you think of a more gorgeous way to enjoy scones? :)
Leaving Minack Theatre, we drove on to Land's End- the most westerly point in England. The views of the rocky cliffs and the ocean was breathtaking, and it was lovely to see locals and tourists alike out enjoying the beautiful weather.
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