That day a child was born
To commemorate the special occasion of my baby's first birthday, let me jot down the memory of what happened on that special day, exactly one year back...
The day was July 28, 2014, a Monday. It was the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri so it was a public holiday and we didn't need to go to work. I woke up in bed around 8.30am, feeling a slight tugging in my underbelly. As I sat on the toilet, feeling the tugging sensations that were coming and going, I did not at all think that those were real contractions. In fact, I believed those were "false contractions" from a blog I had read somewhere before. We had scheduled a planned Caesarean-section with my doctor for two days later, July 30, so that baby would come out on the same day as her dad's birthday. (So that in future I wouldn't have to bake two cakes, hehee..) Jokes aside, the planned C-sec at 37 weeks was because baby was not getting sufficient nutrition and was not growing well inside the womb. Anyway, my mind was actually prepped for the BIG thing to happen two days later, and not today.
So the tugging went on the whole morning, like a little annoying and persistent period pain. It came and it left, at non-regular intervals when I tried to time it, so it only added to my belief that those were "false contractions". We went to eat chicken rice nearby our house for lunch. After that, I went to cut my hair short in preparation for the confinement. I still remember telling the hairdresser that I was ready to give birth soon but my tummy was still so small. At 3pm, hubby's friend came to visit us at our house and gave us a baby clothes giftset.
After our friend left around 4.30pm, I started to feel that the tuggings were getting stronger. I called my mom.
Me: "Mom, I think I am having contractions."
Mom: "Huh.. contractions are very pain, you won't be able to withstand it."
Me: "But I can withstand wor.. it just feels like period pain."
Then I went to the toilet and saw that I was spotting. I told hubby and he said, let's call the doctor now. Upon receiving my phone call, my doctor said that those were birth contractions and urged me to rush to the hospital as soon as possible as baby was too small to withstand the stress of coming out through natural birth! The doctor also advised us to take town road instead of Greenlane route as it would be jammed.
All throughout the car ride I was nervous, wondering whether I had compromised my baby's health by not going to the hospital sooner. But I also comforted myself that contractions could last up to one whole day and the baby would still be okay.
It was about 5-ish when we reached the hospital. We went to register at the front desk. The hospital attendants put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me up to the delivery floor even though I was still feeling fine and the contractions were still only mild at that time. Our doctor had already arrived, she met us at the lift wearing her normal everyday clothes. At my hospital room, the usual things happened, (blur to me now..) signing documents, shaving, insertion of urinary catheter (ouch!!), taking of blood pressure... then I was wheeled into the operation theater. Too bad hubby could not follow me in as it was a case of emergency C-section.
A big burly Indian male nurse helped heave me onto the bed inside the operation theater and I was soon surrounded by nurses, midwife, my doctor and the anesthesiologist. I remember the anesthesiologist asked me what did I eat for lunch (I was told to fast before my planned C-sec) and I said chicken rice. He was like "Oh no, you're gonna throw up" and then he asked me to sit up straight and put an intrathecal in my spine. I started to feel very cold and my whole body started to shiver. They had put up a screen to cover my mid-section so I could not see anything that was happening down there.
I think the point where everything started to hit me real hard was when I overheard the doctor saying that my baby's stats were not looking good. I was feeling so alone without my hubby beside me to give me support and at the same time feeling so worried for my baby. At moments like this you turn to the Lord for comfort. I started praying... for my baby to be safe, to be born healthily, for her brain to not be in lack of oxygen, etc. I willed myself to surrender to the Lord and to place my baby's life in His hands. I knew that the Lord would deliver both of us safe and sound. Everything happened in a daze and I could feel the doctor pulling and tugging at my stomach's skin. After what felt like a very long time, I dared myself to ask the nurse/midwife standing beside me, "Could you let me know when the doctor has started?" Then she said, "Doctor started already.." But I couldn't hear anything. I kept quiet for a while until the midwife heaved me up and told me to push out the baby now. (Yes, C-section also need to help push out the baby..) Then I asked again, "Why is my baby not crying???" Then somebody answered, "Your baby is crying so loudly, can't you hear?" I strained my ears again. It was true, I could hear in the background of what sounded like the most beautiful and angelic voice in the world - my newborn baby was crying! Although not quite as loudly as I would have imagined, due to mucus stuck in her throat. I remember asking my doctor loudly in a mix of confusion and worry, "Is my baby ok? Is my baby ok?" Then the doctor replied, "Everything is ok." I started to feel waves of relief wash over me and started to cry joyfully inside. My prayers had come true, my child is safe. A few minutes after, the nurse brought my baby to my side for me to look at (just a blur...) and told me in Hokkien to check my name and ID on the baby's tag. Then they whisked my baby away to the warmer.
Everything about the delivery and the C-section happened so fast. The doctor closed me up and I was back to my room around 6.30pm.
And that is it. That day a child was born, our very own, little baby Hayley.
The day was July 28, 2014, a Monday. It was the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri so it was a public holiday and we didn't need to go to work. I woke up in bed around 8.30am, feeling a slight tugging in my underbelly. As I sat on the toilet, feeling the tugging sensations that were coming and going, I did not at all think that those were real contractions. In fact, I believed those were "false contractions" from a blog I had read somewhere before. We had scheduled a planned Caesarean-section with my doctor for two days later, July 30, so that baby would come out on the same day as her dad's birthday. (So that in future I wouldn't have to bake two cakes, hehee..) Jokes aside, the planned C-sec at 37 weeks was because baby was not getting sufficient nutrition and was not growing well inside the womb. Anyway, my mind was actually prepped for the BIG thing to happen two days later, and not today.
So the tugging went on the whole morning, like a little annoying and persistent period pain. It came and it left, at non-regular intervals when I tried to time it, so it only added to my belief that those were "false contractions". We went to eat chicken rice nearby our house for lunch. After that, I went to cut my hair short in preparation for the confinement. I still remember telling the hairdresser that I was ready to give birth soon but my tummy was still so small. At 3pm, hubby's friend came to visit us at our house and gave us a baby clothes giftset.
After our friend left around 4.30pm, I started to feel that the tuggings were getting stronger. I called my mom.
Me: "Mom, I think I am having contractions."
Mom: "Huh.. contractions are very pain, you won't be able to withstand it."
Me: "But I can withstand wor.. it just feels like period pain."
Then I went to the toilet and saw that I was spotting. I told hubby and he said, let's call the doctor now. Upon receiving my phone call, my doctor said that those were birth contractions and urged me to rush to the hospital as soon as possible as baby was too small to withstand the stress of coming out through natural birth! The doctor also advised us to take town road instead of Greenlane route as it would be jammed.
All throughout the car ride I was nervous, wondering whether I had compromised my baby's health by not going to the hospital sooner. But I also comforted myself that contractions could last up to one whole day and the baby would still be okay.
It was about 5-ish when we reached the hospital. We went to register at the front desk. The hospital attendants put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me up to the delivery floor even though I was still feeling fine and the contractions were still only mild at that time. Our doctor had already arrived, she met us at the lift wearing her normal everyday clothes. At my hospital room, the usual things happened, (blur to me now..) signing documents, shaving, insertion of urinary catheter (ouch!!), taking of blood pressure... then I was wheeled into the operation theater. Too bad hubby could not follow me in as it was a case of emergency C-section.
A big burly Indian male nurse helped heave me onto the bed inside the operation theater and I was soon surrounded by nurses, midwife, my doctor and the anesthesiologist. I remember the anesthesiologist asked me what did I eat for lunch (I was told to fast before my planned C-sec) and I said chicken rice. He was like "Oh no, you're gonna throw up" and then he asked me to sit up straight and put an intrathecal in my spine. I started to feel very cold and my whole body started to shiver. They had put up a screen to cover my mid-section so I could not see anything that was happening down there.
I think the point where everything started to hit me real hard was when I overheard the doctor saying that my baby's stats were not looking good. I was feeling so alone without my hubby beside me to give me support and at the same time feeling so worried for my baby. At moments like this you turn to the Lord for comfort. I started praying... for my baby to be safe, to be born healthily, for her brain to not be in lack of oxygen, etc. I willed myself to surrender to the Lord and to place my baby's life in His hands. I knew that the Lord would deliver both of us safe and sound. Everything happened in a daze and I could feel the doctor pulling and tugging at my stomach's skin. After what felt like a very long time, I dared myself to ask the nurse/midwife standing beside me, "Could you let me know when the doctor has started?" Then she said, "Doctor started already.." But I couldn't hear anything. I kept quiet for a while until the midwife heaved me up and told me to push out the baby now. (Yes, C-section also need to help push out the baby..) Then I asked again, "Why is my baby not crying???" Then somebody answered, "Your baby is crying so loudly, can't you hear?" I strained my ears again. It was true, I could hear in the background of what sounded like the most beautiful and angelic voice in the world - my newborn baby was crying! Although not quite as loudly as I would have imagined, due to mucus stuck in her throat. I remember asking my doctor loudly in a mix of confusion and worry, "Is my baby ok? Is my baby ok?" Then the doctor replied, "Everything is ok." I started to feel waves of relief wash over me and started to cry joyfully inside. My prayers had come true, my child is safe. A few minutes after, the nurse brought my baby to my side for me to look at (just a blur...) and told me in Hokkien to check my name and ID on the baby's tag. Then they whisked my baby away to the warmer.
Everything about the delivery and the C-section happened so fast. The doctor closed me up and I was back to my room around 6.30pm.
And that is it. That day a child was born, our very own, little baby Hayley.
Comments
Anyway .. time flies ~! Hayley is a little girl now ..