20 November 2006

an entry about my labour. i hope i'm able to remember the details, they say labour makes you forget some things.

my due date was 1 december 2006, but during my last 2 check-ups my gynae had confirmed that i would be delivering early. as the days progressed, she was able to choose a date - 20 november 2006 - as my delivery date. first, she decided i could be induced on that day. after more check ups, she said i've induced myself and she would just assist on that day. on 19 nov, the night before the chosen delivery date, after finished packing my clothes, hubby's and amir's clothes in anticipation of the week ahead, i experienced 'the show'. that was around 10:30pm. hubby was sleeping and i decided to not wake him up. i called up the maternity ward, asking them if it was necessary for me to be admitted that night, as i had already planned to come over in the morning. plus i had no contractions. the nurse said as long as i was comfortable, i can stay at home. they booked a room for me as they wanted me in early the next morning.

i didnt sleep too well. i was anxious, scared (more so that i was with amir), i was on edge, i was excited...i had a lot of mixed feelings i couldnt explain. before i knew it, it was 6:30am. i woke hubby up, took a quick shower and performed the subuh prayers. then i checked our bags and the house - ensured the windows and doors were locked, lights switched off, laundry set aside and wrote a note to my sis to let her know what she should do when we're not around.

at 7:30am we all left the house. hubby sent me to the hospital while my sis took amir to her workshop. we took care of the admission process and hubby left me in the room to attend a meeting nearby. he told me to let him know of any progress and call him if i wanted him to come back. i sat there wondering what i should do, when the nurse came in and asked me to follow her to the labour room. there were 2 other rooms occupied. she asked me to strip and get into the labour "baju". then she proceeded to give me something so that i can go to the loo. while waiting for the anema to take effect, she asked me what painkiller i wanted, which anesthetist attended to me during my previous delivery and who would be the baby's peadiatrician.

i sat alone for a while, before the doctor came in around 9:30am. she checked me, and told me i was already 4cm dialated. it was going faster than we planned. she broke my water bag and informed me that i will be given epidural soon. i quickly called up hubby as i didnt want to go through that alone. he came back within half an hour, while i was having a quick breakfast.

the epidural shot was given, while hubby spoke to the anesthetist about circumcising the baby. darn it...there goes my plans to circumcise immediately. hubby and i sat and talked for a bit, before the nurse came in again at 11am. now i was already 5cm dialated. i couldnt feel the contraction any longer, but can see from the graph that it was coming at a constant rate (2 minutes apart, the nurse told me). then all off the sudden i felt a lot (and i mean a lottt) of water. feeling scared and confused i told hubby to get the nurse. she said it was the amniotic fluid coming out. as i am having contractions, the baby's head is pushed downwards and with that the fluid comes out. ahhh...i see...so that's what water breaking means.

sure enough, fluid comes out everytime i had a "good" contraction. ensuring me that the labour is progressing nicely, she told me to rest and take it easy. i managed to get a bit of sleep and i also had time to preformed solat hajat in my head and in my heart. i felt better after that.

at 12:30pm my gynae called to check how i was doing. the nurse said i was already 9cm dialated and she started getting me to push while waiting for the doctor. about an hour later, i was in full labour. i was pushing and panting and breathing. i didnt feel anything but had help from the doctor, the nurse and hubby. my mind went back to when i delivered amir, when i couldnt push properly being under epidural. it took over an hour and the help of vacuum before amir was delivered. i was thinking...oh no, i cant go through an hour of this. then the doctor said...you're doing very well, i can see the head, its almost out. then she turned around and said something to the nurse, about OP (i've got to check that abbreviation out). she told me my baby's head was tilted upwards making it seem larger than it is. she had to use kiwi, some sort of vacuum, to tilt it down then pull it out. it took less than 3 minutes, i looked down and saw my baby's body halfway out.

another pull, and he was completely out and laid on top of my chest. i wanted to cry, i wanted to laugh, i wanted to hold him, but i dont know what i did. the nurse took him to give him his vitamin k shot and clean him and weigh him. hubby went to take wudhu to azan him. the gynae was stitching me up, but somehow it took longer than i remember it did with amir. my baby was given back to me. when hubby came out i signalled for him to take the baby, and i cried out...water...i need water...i've got a headache. then immediately, i was given the oxygen mask and lied down completely on my back. i was feeling feverish and felt i was going to faint. all i can hear is the doctor saying i had a tear and lost a lot of blood and my blood pressure was very low. they decided to leave me in the labour room while they took my baby to the nursery. i was there for almost 2 hours while they monitored me. within the 2 hours, i did get enough energy to ask for lunch (laparlahhh).

my parents called saying they were coming and hubby went down to greet them. they went to see my baby and stayed around until i was wheeled back into my room. after i got back my strength, my baby was brought to me for his first feed. he didnt want to eat much and slept through the visits (my sis took amir to see me, and i cried like a baby when he left). the nurse said his tummy was still full from the fluid he consumed inside my stomach and will start nursing tomorrow. i think its God's way of making the mother rest and recuperate. unfortunately, i couldnt rest. as the epidural wore off, i hurt like crazy. i requested for painkillers 3 times that night. i could feel the uterus contracting, i could feel the stitches and i could feel the epidural shot again. i wanted to scream and throw things. i looked at hubby and the baby in envy. they slept soundly while i was hurting.

i finally slept at 2am, though it wasnt a long sleep as my baby got up around 5am for his feed. after the feed hubby took and slept with him while i looked at the ceiling. no way i can sleep again. around 7am i called for the nurse to take the baby as i wanted to shower. hubby brought me into the bathroom, sat me down on the toilet seat and bathed me (he's so sweet). then he dressed me and let me lie down while we waited for breakfast. when my baby was brought back to me for feeds, he went down to have his breakfast.

i bonded with my baby and started feeling better. i still did ask for painkillers and was given pills to help with the blood lost. the next couple of days went on similarly. hubby was on hand to help me adjust my position, help me with breastfeeding, with my nature calls, with my bath, with my meals.

when we went back it was the same. he would attend to amir, he would do the laundry (except folding clothes), he would prepare and serve my meals, he would ensure the house ran smoothly while i just sat on the bed or on the couch. he would wake up at night to help me feed the baby and rock him to sleep after feed. he would even carry both the baby and amir at the same time. he slept with the baby during the day in another room, so that i can catch up on lost sleep and rest. he was my nurse, my janitor, my chef, my cleaner, my babysitter during the 2 days we were at home. i was worried about him as he didnt get enough sleep and was starting to feel feverish. in some ways, i'm glad my baby had to be re-admitted for jaundice on friday as it gave hubby some time to rest. today, i can see that he's feeling much better. i hope the next few weeks would be good for me, hubby and the boys. i'm feeling much better now and cant wait to get on my feet.

till then, i'm sure i can count on my number 1 hero to make me feel better.

sayang...thanks, i couldnt have done it without you. be prepared for a lot of b**ching this week :-)

My Two Heroes

note - we would like to thank all the well wishes and gifts we received. we're sorry we cant thank you individually, but be sure that you are all in our hearts.

some pictures of my babies, taken over the past couple of days...
amir seems to think asyraf is his new toy. he would go all shrilly saying "babyyyyyy..." everytime he sees asyraf.

asyraf was admitted to the special care nursery last night for jaundice. i was supposed to stay over night with him, so that i can feed him, but once we got home hubby told me to rest and stay at home as i was shivering and pucat from all the walking we did at the hospital yesterday. so there...a night without my little baby. i feel so guilty. i slept for 9 hours, and am itching to go and see how asyraf is doing.

Our Gift

he's finally here. went thru quite an uneventful labour, but a pretty tiring after birth. will write another entry on that later, when i'm feeling better.

at 2:05pm, on monday, 20 november 2006, hubby and i heard the cries of our second child, engku asyraf izzuddin. alhamdulillah, he is a fine and healthy baby boy. perfect in all sense, looks exactly like his abang long. even has a mirror image of his birthmark (asyraf has one on his left leg, while amir has on his right leg). size-wise they are almost the same, amir's shorter by 1cm at 48cm, while asyraf's lighter by 0.1kg at 3.07kg.

hubby & asyraf

engku asyraf izzuddin

amir saying hello to asyraf...

loveee asyraf...

Labour

not "the process of childbirth" but "physical or mental work; exertion; toil".

my gynae gave me the week off so i can stay at home and rest. of course, to me, stay at home certainly doesnt mean rest. there's just so many things to do. let me see...what did i do in the past 4 days...

tuesday -
1. laundry - 2 loads
2. changed amir's bedsheet
3. dusted & wiped all furnitures in my room
4. vacuumed my room

wednesday -
1. changed my bedsheet (my sis washed hers as well)
2. washed the baby's stroller cover, blankets and prepared the playpen (for his daytime nap)
3. wiped all window frames in my room and computer area
4. cleaned the computer area

thursday -
1. laundry - 2 loads
2. dusted and wiped all furnitures in the living & dining room
3. folded and put away amir's clothes
4. washed my bathroom
5. vacuumed my room (again!!)

note: all three days included going up and down the stairs numerous times to entertain the "mummy nak..." "mummy nak..." requests of a 22-month old toddler...

friday -
1. laundry
2. wiped all windows in amir' room and my sis' room
3. vacuum amir's room & my sis' room
4. changed bedsheet in amir's room
5. ironed clothes
6. swept the whole of the downstairs area, ie living, dining and kitchen

i managed to do most cleaning on friday as my sister was kind enough to take amir with her for the day. all in all it was a very, very tiring week, yet i'm glad its all done. i dont know when i'll be admitted and for how long, but at least i'll be at ease knowing my house is in a good and clean condition (yes...its seriously important that i come back to a clean house...haha!!)

when i went for my check up today, i felt the work that i had done during the week was worth it as my gynae said i've managed to speed up my labour (this time it is the process of childbirth) and wouldnt need inducing. she said i wouldnt even last until the end of the week...so good news no 6 really did materialise.

before i go off to await the arrival of my baby, i'd like to fulfill the requests of some of the fellow bloggers...

mexican baked eggs
4 eggs
1 tub sour cream
1 bottle salsa
cheese
(the next 2 are my own addition to make it 'heavier')
minced beef
capsicum

fry minced beef & capsicum till dry
spread on a square oven-proof dish
pour sour cream (leave some for later)
pour cheese, making 4 indentations in each quarter for the eggs
break eggs at each quarter
scoop out the salsa around the eggs (leave some for later)
bake in oven for 20 minutes or till eggs are hardened
serve with hot tortillas or toast with the sour cream and salsa

50th Birthday

it was my uncle's 50th birthday yesterday. my mom decided to have a small dinner, for his family and mine. it was a surprise dinner and getting him to come over was such a hassle. his family had to lie and create stories and force him to come over.
it was a good dinner, not too many people (only 1 of my cousins was missing - she's in langkawi) and my sis went off halfway, she had an open house.

arrival of guest of honour...














cake cutting




























my uncle made a booboo! he took his cucu for the cake cutting, forgetting for a while he had a young child. he had to blow out the candles again...














what do you do when you get together?? you goss!!














minah getiks...


















chibee happily going around saying, i'm taller than you...i'm taller than you...














pics of the naughty boy who didnt want to listen to his parents, simply because he had a lot of attention last night...














not only that, he also got a pair of bedroom slippers, that he refused to take off and wore to sleep...


















picture of amir and hubby, who has been nominated as the official photographer at all family functions. hence no photo of him during the event...only after!


















family photos...

Week 37

weekly check up started last week, in the last month of pregnancy. this week i went back to saturday check up as my gynae had a conference (i sorta knew what and where, cos i passed by the buntings on my way back from work everyday). for the past week i've been saying, its ok if i start showing labour signs at work, as my gynae is just next door.

went a bit late today, so i was one of the last ones. when i walked into her clinic, my gynae said i'll be delivering soon, she can tell from the way i walk. good news no 1.

she asked me to lie down on the examination table/bed to check the baby's position. she said the head is engaged, but only the top part. good news no 2 (bad news that comes with it - when she scanned, we couldnt see the baby's face).

then she asked how i'm coping. i said i'm really tired and my stomach is really heavy and my groin hurts!! she said i should take it easy and rest, so i'll be getting the whole week off work next week. good news no 3.

she did perinial massage, checked my blood pressure and gave me the admission form to be prepared. good news no 4 (although she did say it wont be anytime soon - not in the next few days, at least).

then she asked me...do you want to induce? that's the question i've been waiting for. she explained how inducing works, pros and cons of it, what to expect, and asked me to choose a date. it wasnt really choosing, it was a coincident. my gynae wanted to see me for another check up and she will decide then if inducing would be a good choice, so she gave a date - which was the date hubby and i had initially chosen. good news no 5.

so i've got 4 days off work next week. 5 actually but i'm going in on monday to tie up some lose ends. then next saturday, we'll know our fate...

hoping for good news no 6!!

Let's Eat

my sister had an open "your sister's" house last night. didnt take pictures of the guests as it was mostly her shop staff, i didnt know them (they are amir's friends though...haha!!) hubby and i just sat around the dining table, stuffing ourselves with food.

my sis started cooking from the night before. came back early from her shop to cook some more yesterday but amir was in the way. when i came back, i helped a bit. then my youngest sister came. hubby took a picture of the 3 of us cooking (2 were cooking, 1 just stirred...sakit kaki lah) but the battery was flat so the gambar tak jadi.

the food...
nasi tomato that my sis didnt want me to say i helped make...














nasi sos tiram...














my mom's beef curry (extremely yummy)...














daging dendeng...














potato salad...














desserts...almond jelly and coffee jelly with custard (these desserts have been our desserts since we were young, my mom's specialties...)


















the spread...














eh...where's tiza's ayam kicap??

The Agony of Waiting

2 weeks ago, i wasnt ready. we had bought absolutely nothing for the baby. now, as i enter my 36th week, i am just waiting for some small sign to indicate my labour has started (unfortunately i cant detect any sign yet).

car seat is waiting...














cot & new bumper is waiting...














the changing table and all the clothes are waiting...














mummy's bag is waiting...















abang long is waiting...




















adikkkk...cepat lah keluar