The birthing journey...

Warning: This will be a very long post on very gruesome details of giving birth. Not for the weak hearted :P

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As mentioned in the previous post, Kwok Jyn was born on 30 April 2011, 8 days earlier compared to his Estimated Due Date ("EDD").

We went for our weekly checkup on Friday, 29 April. Before the checkup, for an entire week, I had braxton hicks contraction at night. Not too sure if it's because I sat continuously on the gym ball for the entire week coz Dr. Tan informed that my cervix has not opened fully and Jyn has not engaged (ie, head into the birth tunnel).

On Friday, during the weekly check, Dr. Tan did the finger test once we entered his room. IT WAS DARN PAINFUL! I thought I was mentally prepared for the pain as the week before I was tested and erm.. I went through the same thing for Anne.. BUT but... no mental preparation is ever enough to get me ready to go through this finger test! I had to breathe in-out as if I was gonna give birth (wahaha).

Anyway, after doing the test, Doc's face wasnt too satisfied. He said baby has engaged, from the previous week's measurement of -3 from the birthing tunnel, Jyn's head was at -1 this time, however, the head is still slightly too high. THEN.... to help my cervix opened quicker, he S.T.R.E.T.C.H.E.D the cervix!!! and smiled and said "you're 2-3cm dilated now"; then took up his hand and said "see, this is the bloody show. it's normal. You might continue to see some bloody show today, but it's nothing to worry about. Unless your water bag breaks or your contraction becomes very strong, every 5 minutes, or you have heavy bleeding, you dont need to rush here yet".

He left me lying down on the bed to recover from the pain down under :p Meantime, he told Dearie that if we're lucky, I might deliver that very night... if not, provided I continue doing squats and continue walking, then most probably it'll be during the weekend.

When I joined dearie to listen to him, he went on to say "you want epidural, right?" to which I nodded profusely! He smiled and then wrote a large note to inform his nurses that I want to have the painkiller and told the nurses and midwife that "She wants epidural. Make sure to call the anesthetist when the time is right. Put this file on top and bring it up" (up means Level 2 where the labour rooms are)

When we walked out from the consultation room, I went "whoa! bring the file up? that means he expects us to come in anytime!" I was still slightly worried as Jyn's head was not as low as expected. Concerns of him not being able to engage fully and me having to go through a c-section was all over my head.. I know, I know.. thinking too much - but I cant help it!

Anyway, I didnt dare stay home alone as I was already 2-3cm dilated. Doc said that the mommy will dilate faster for the 2nd child, compared to the first. So just to be on the safe side, I stayed at Di's when Dearie went to work. At Di's place, I continued with the occasional squats, walked around the garden and the road infront of the house the entire afternoon/evening(while watching Prince William and Kate's wedding on TV :P) , hoping that the baby would just go lower and engage nicely - and would eventually come out greeting the world naturally!

During the entire afternoon, contractions were quite regular, but not to the extend of occurring every 5 minutes.

However, come 6pm, I suddenly realized that the tightening of the belly was abit too frequent.. started timing it and it was about once in every 9-10 minutes... Quickly took my bath and washed my hair...

From 6pm onwards, contractions got REALLY regular.. I started timing it from 6.45pm onwards and the contractions pattern was at 6.45pm, 6.53, 6.59, 7.04, 7.11, 7.18, 7.25, 7.34, 7.38, 7.43, 7.45, 7.48, 7.56, 8.04, 8.09 etc etc...

Looking at the above pattern made me panic! When Mi reached home, told her to quickly cook coz I think I'm going into labour! wahahha.. (lpx is gonna roll her eyes when she sees this.. )

Xzan said : diu! summore wanna wait for dinner! go to the hospital lah!!!" (lol!!! her exact sentence... same thing happened 3 years ago when I said I wanted to drink a cup of coffee before getting her to fetch me to the hospital :P)

Anyway, I waited for dinner. Had a bowl of rice and soup, made myself full before telling Dearie "ok, I think we should really go to the hospital now".

On the way out, Dearie said "I dont think it's time yet wan la.. with your pain tolerance, if you're really going into labour, you wont be so confortable now.. might be yelling in pain dy!"

And I replied, "Hm... maybe la.. but just go check if contraction is regular enough, ok? Or else I wont be able to sleep properly tonight".... and so with that, we headed to the hospital.

Once at the hospital at about 9.30pm, we went to the labour ward. They found my file immediately after I told them my name as like how Dr. Tan instructed, my file was already put on stand-by since morning. I was very afraid that they'll finger-test me again and kept asking the midwife and nurse if they can put me on the CTG machine to just monitor if contractions were regular enough.

The midwife told me that even with the machine, they will still need to test and ascertain the dilation of the cervix... which means, I cant escape the finger-test.. (oh no... :<)

and so, after connecting me to the machine and confirming that the baby's heart rate was normal, the malay midwife came to "test" me at about 10pm.. and boy-oh-boy... I yelled like crazy!! coz it was sooooo painful! I think I yelled REALLY loudly coz the other nurses came running to the ward :P

After the test, the nurse said I maintained at only 3cm dilated. and because of that, they cant call the anesthetist yet coz it's only at 4cm that the epidural is suppose to be put in (so to prevent the pregnant woman to be bound in bed for too long as it might take daysss to progress from 3cm to 4-5cm!)

So the midwife said while they monitor baby's heartbeat and my contractions (which were very regular), they'll test me again at 10.30pm to see if my dilation progressed since they stretched me again when they tested at 10pm! If dilation didnt progress, they suggest that I get admitted anyway because my contractions were regular. If dilation did progress to 4cm, then they'll call the anesthetist!

So well, that half hour was the longgesssttt half hour that I've experienced! Finally at 10.30pm, the midwife tested again... this time was another midwife (an indian lady which was reallly nice and kind and professional and... ok, u get the picture :P). But no matter how nice she was, it didnt make the test any more pleasant. Her fingers went in and she stretched and turned!!!! Tears immediately started rolling and it rolled non-stop for quite some time! The nurses came running in and started teaching me to breath in/out as if I was gonna give birth, padahal they were actually just stretching me! wahahaha...

After the test, the midwife told me that I've progressed to 5cm and they'll call both Dr. Tan and the anesthetist right away.

*Phewww.... I was actually surprised dilation progressed from 3cm to 5cm just within that half hour! The midwife said it was because they assisted me "manually".. gawd.. so that explains the pain :P

While waiting for the anesthetist (another Dr. Tan) to arrive, the nurses put in the Enema (ie, a capsule to be inserted into the anal to clear my bowel), I changed into the hospital robe and Dearie chose our room (got a single room again as both Dearie and Anne stayed overnight with me on both nights). Also called home to inform DiMi and Xzan that the "action" will indeed be taking place that night itself! ;)

At approx 11pm, Dr. Tan S.L. (anesthetist) arrived. My heart was beating really quickly as I remembered the administering of the epidural to be quite painful (not really the epidural pe say, but the local anesthetic that's put in before the epi).

Dr. Tan SL explained the epidural process and the possible side effects and proceeded to put in the pain killer. 3 pokes all together... the drip, the local anesthetic and the epidural itself. The drip was not painful, local anesthetic was painful (but not as painful as the "test") and the epidural itself was no-feel (as the local anesthetic has already taken effect when the epi was put in). The whole process completed approx 20 minutes later. After the epidural took effect (about 15 minutes later), the midwife came and did the test again! She said she just needed to confirm how much I've dilated so that she could give a thorough report to Dr. Tan when he arrives later. Geezz.. luckily epidural has taken effect. So I was with the "do-lah whatever you want" attitude coz it wasnt painful anymore! Lol

Dr. Tan BC (my lovely, kind, patient, understanding, professional gynae :>) arrived at slightly pass midnight, in his pyjamas :P (ie, home t-shirt and track bottoms). Once he came into the labour room, he washed his hands, put on the gloves and did the test again!! Doc said I was only about 4-5cm dilated but contractions were indeed regular. With that, he broke my water bag and said my blood pressure and baby's heartbeat were to be monitored closely by the midwife. (According to the midwife, manual breaking of the water-bag can only be done by the doctor. Not even the midwife can do it). After breaking my water bag and giving some medical term instructions to the midwife, he told me that he'll come back at 2am to check on me. It was about 12.30am then.

Oh.. I think I forgot to mention where Dearie was during the entire period above. :P

He was walking in and out of the labour room, wondering why I was yelling so loudly when the midwife tested me... and offered me his kesian hand to be crashed when the 3 jabs of epidural went in. Was also there to witness the breaking of the water-bag and the look on his face when he saw the water coming out was as if he saw a whole pile of shit on his bed! (yea... he looked really surprise and disgusted with the sight of the water).. I asked him "why ar? the water very dirty wan ar?" and he replied "no-la.. just water with some blood lor".. in a super not convincing voice! Lol

Ok, back to where I was (oh dear.. this post is gonna be so very long!)

After the doc went to have his rest, I told Dearie to take a rest also, as if the dilation is according to the rule of the thumb, one cm = 1 hour... and that means I'll only be in active labour at around 4-5am!!! At that moment, Dimi, Xzan and Anne were already in the room waiting for the arrival of Jyn. Anne refused to go home with DiMi saying that she wants to wait for Mommy *awww...

They were not allowed to the labour ward.. and so they had to wait in the room at Level 1 instead.

From 12+ to about 2am, the midwife was with me at the labour room the entire time, talking about random things and reminding me to cut my nails (she noticed that my nails were still long and commented that I should cut it or else it'll be difficult to take care of the newborn later).

During the entire time, Dr. Tan (who was supposed to be resting at his clinic) has already changed into his "action robe" and was walking up and down from Ground Floor to Level 2, checking on me periodically. The midwife said that's how Dr. Tan is. He never leaves his patients to the nurses / midwifes. Always checking on them himself eventho he has professionally trained midwifes and nurses to do the job.

At about 1.45am, Dr. Tan came into the labour ward again and had this frown on his head. Then the midwife followed suit. I quickly ask if there's anything to be worried about. They informed that my contractions have slowed down and it wasn't as strong and regular as how it was when I just got admitted. Also, baby's head was still abit high (tho already in the birth tunnel, but it should get lower)

Dr. Tan said that's one concern with patients with epidural. The patient becomes too comfortable and that slows down the birthing process. Frankly, I was really abit too comfortable.. no pain whatever.. Was even a little sleepy (it was almost 2am, ok!) He then told the midwife to reduce the epidural and continue monitoring. Upon hearing that the epidural dosage will be reduced, I got a little panicky and sat up, and concentrated in getting the contractions coming (believe me.. mental power is very strong! when I concentrated, the contractions did get more regular! at the same time, started communicating with Jyn to cooperate and get the contractions going.. and told him to quickly engage and crown)

Once I started concentrating, believe it or not, contractions came back and was regularized again. At about 2.15am, I started shivering... shivering really really badly. I wasnt cold, but I couldnt stop myself from shivering (hands & body) and teeth chattering against each other. Tho I wasnt cold, I got the doc to switch off the air-cond. Nurses covered me with blanket .. yet I continued to shiver. Dr. Tan said it's the effect of the epidural; as my upper body was warm and my lower body, because of epidural, was cold. So the hot/cold effect made me shiver. And I continued to shiver right until after labour!

Anyways, doc said he will test me again at 2.30am. and from 2.15am to 2.30am, he kept reminding me, "when I say push, take a deep breathe and push allllll the way. Dont yell and dont scream as it'll take away your energy. So just concentrate, listen to me and push". He repeated that many many times. Frankly, I wasn't quite use to the 100% attention given to me by him and the midwife. Both of them were seated next to my sides (one of left and one on right) from abt 1+am right until after labour! Both of them had their hands on my tummy to feel for contractions while the doc monitored the CTG machine.

I thought the test at 2.30am was just to ascertain how much I've progressed in dilation; as like how I mentioned earlier, if my calculations were correct, 1hour = 1 cm dilation, I'll only go into active labour at 4-5am!

However, after the test at 2.30am, doc confirmed that baby's head is at the right position and I'm 9cm dilated! WHOAA! From here, things went VERY quickly! He put the leg rest for me and told me to try to push when I feel the tightening at the belly (ie, contraction). I tried once and he told me to push with all my might! With that trial push, he yelled for Dearie to have a look coz he said he could see the baby's head.. and of all things, the doc cracked a joke at this hour by saying "eh? how come your boy is a blond? haha.."

I stopped pushing, gave him a "what-the-heck look" and asked "what to do now?"

He said, "when you feel like you have the urge to push, let me know and push with all your might! Take a deep breath and push!"

After about a second of him saying that, I stammered and went "doc doc.. I think I feel like pushing!" and he went "ok, we're ready! PUSH!!!" By then, the labour room had 5 persons - me, Dearie, Doc, midwife and the nurse. All with just one similar goal - to bring Jyn to us :)

And so I took a deeeeeep breath and pushhhhhhhhhedddddd... the first breath wasn't enough and I went on a second one...half way pushing, the doc told me not to lift my hip to prevent tears and concentrate in pushing. Told me that if I continue pushing so nicely, he wouldn't need to cut me.. and before he finished his sentence, suddenly, I felt a miracle happen!! I could feel (LITERALLY FEEL) the baby coming out of me and I could feel the doc pulling Jyn out of me and him sliding out of my body!! I could also feel a sensation of the doc snipping me to allow more space for Jyn's grand appearance! (of course there was no pain as I have the world's greatest invention, but I could feel all of it!)

I dont know how to describe the feeling, but it's very VERY special and also obviously, at the same time, a very big relief. I suddenly remembered reading from somewhere that once the baby is out, we should stop pushing to prevent tears down south. And so once I felt that Jyn was coming out, I stopped pushing and just breathe in and out.

With that, Kwok Jyn gave us his first cry at 2.48am, after 2 pushes :) I had a less than 1cm episiotomy stitch. Baby was put in my arms immediately after he started crying. He was slightly blue and doc said it's normal because he was cold.

Doc asked for our permission to cut the umbilical cord as I once mentioned to him on the possibility of cutting the cord later as I read online that cutting the cord later could provide the baby more blood from the cord. He said the study is not proven and it's not important. However, I guess he remembered my question and didnt cut off the cord immediately after the baby was delivered. Instead, waited awhile after the baby was on my arms, asked me, and only after I smiled and said yes, did he pass the clipper to Dearie to do the honour :)

Right after cutting the cord, the midwife took the baby to the babycot next to my bed and started to suck out phlegm from him. Dearie started "work" hereon by recording down the process of the midwife doing her task. Frankly, I dont really remember where was Dearie during the 15-minute 'pushing session'. My hands were firmly gripped on the metal bar next to the bed (as advised by the Doc/midwife) and so my hands were not crashing Dearie's. He wasnt sitting behind me supporting my back coz this time, the bed was put on a half-sitting position as requested by me. I asked him after we came home what he was doing when I was pushing and he too doesnt remember. I guess everything happened too quickly and he was just standing next to me witnessing the whole miracle. This time, he said he saw the baby coming out from me (when Anne was born, he was seated beside me and didn't manage to see the whole process). I guess Dearie was a little too overwhelmed as I had to remind him to snap photos and record the video :S

While the midwife was helping Jyn with all the newborn process at the room next door (Dearie went with Jyn and the midwife to the room next door as there was a heater there to keep the baby warm), Doc helped me with the giving birth of the placenta (which came out whole and beautiful), stitched, remove excessive blood from my belly by massaging and pressing (I dont remember him doing this when I gaveg birth to Anne), soaked up all the overflowing blood using tampons and cloths and pads (:P) and then helped me put on a disposable panties with a hugeeeeee sanitary pad :P (way too much infor, ya? wahahaha).

After he finished the process, he said "I'm done. Wanna have a look at your baby?" to which I smiled. He removed his gloves, went out for about a minute and came back with our beautiful boy. He was still covered in vernix but was no longer blue. He looked and smelled beautiful!! I couldnt carry him for long as I started vomiting immediately after that.

Vomiting was worst this round compared to Anne's. I vomited from about 3am right up to about 5am. I wasn't able to shift from the labour bed to the wheelchair to be wheeled back to my room as my head was too dizzy from the vomiting! The nurses need to shift me to a mobile bed and I was wheeled back to my room in a mobile bed (sungguh the paiseh!)

I couldn't even greet DiMi, Xzan and Anne who were waiting eagerly in the room! (Yes, they stayed all the way until they saw me! Anne was already sleeping half way through, but woke up after she heard that baby was born and mommy's coming back). I was left to be vomiting myself in the room while the rest of the world went to witness Jyn's first bath :S Yes, again, I was obviously not the highlight of the night :P

After the vomiting stopped, immediately started breastfeeding Jyn at about 6am.
Following are the photos of the little one, clean and beautiful :) taken during the first week at home

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Alright.. that's the whole birthing story...

Long, detailed and memorable!

So here we are! One happy family... Papa, mommy, che-che and jyn :D

The greatest achievements of my life - all in the pictures below :)