2nd baby – Labour Story…

My labour story for Rachel is HERE…

Rachel was born naturally, so I was hoping that it will be so the second time around too… However, there was no sign at all except for a mere 1.5cm dilation when Obgyn did the internal check during one of the checkups… Doc scheduled for me to be induced on Wednesday, 9th December 2009 (a day before EDD) at 7:30am…

We ‘checked in’ at 7:30am into SDMC, Subang Jaya (previously known as SJMC) and was given the LAST labour room available (busy busy day) which was Labour Room 9 (coincident yeah, all 9′s)… The midwife (Ervinna) cleared my bowel (at the time which I saw some red discharge) and got me ready… By 8:30am, Obgyn (Dr. Lee Say Fatt) came to check and confirmed that I was 3cm dilated, and broke the waterbag… Ervinna came back later at 9+am to put me on drips and collect my blood sample for StemLife (we signed up with the cord blood bank this time around)…

Tecky and I were sitting (and lying down for me) there awaiting anxiously for the slightest contraction to start… But even at 10+am, I was still comfortably watching TV, so Ervinna increased the dosage and by 11+am, I was starting to ACTUALLY feel the contraction pain… By 12pm, I was starting to feel like passing motion, but I manage to wait until 12:30++pm before informing the midwife, whom checked and said I was ONLY 4-5cm dilated! By 12:45pm, I couldn’t take it anymore and called for Ervinna to come check again, but was told that since another midwife just checked a while back, she’ll come back at 1pm to check on me…

Surprise surprise, that just a little while after Ervinna left the room, I was feeling the urge to push, and told Tecky to call in a midwife and make her check NO MATTER WHAT! Upon checking, she (I didn’t manage to get her name) called out for assistance, and I remember her shouting over to THREE (3) trainees standing there that “I don’t want any trainees. Get me staff nurse. GO OUT!” and “Get Dr. Lee. 8cm already”… Instantly after that, the urge to push was so intense, and I kept telling her that…

Upon another internal check, she shout over to Ervinna “Get Dr. Lee. FAST! Fully dilated! FAST!!”… TOTAL drama at that time, I have to admit, I don’t even know what Tecky was doing at the moment, except knowing that he was standing to the right of my bed…

I could still have a conversation with the midwife, telling her I really need to push but I takut ‘koyak’ lar, so faster get the episiotomy done… To which I was told that only Dr. Lee can do it… So I was asking WHERE is he, and of course, was informed that he’s on his way… I remember trying SO hard to hold in at least 3 contractions before Dr. Lee barge in with his green suite, hurried over and did the epi (I don’t remember him doing it)…

As soon as he was there, I remember asking (more like shouting at) him, “CAN I PUSH NOW?” only to be told CASUALLY “push lar, baby is already out!”… Tecky confirmed this saying that he already saw the baby’s head! So another push after that, Nicole Huan Ying En was born at 1.04pm, weighing 3.07kg and measuring 48cm!

First photo taken of Nicole, right before the midwife told Tecky that there’s no photos during procedures…

Testing her lungs?

Mother and daughter…

The whole thing went on SO fast that Dr. Lee only wore his boots AFTER Nicole was born, and was jokingly telling me that good thing I chose now, cuz 30 minutes later, he’ll be in the OT for a scheduled CSect… Then I heard the midwife asking Dr. Lee “Doctor, where were you? Did you run?”… Yet again, no one expected me to give birth so early!? hahaha…

Her 1st day, in SDMC…

Sleeping soundly on 2nd day…

Baby Nicole with her eyes open…

A photo of Rachel JieJie with Nicole…

p/s: I made a mental note, that contraction pain near labour feels more like intensive pressure low under, and is VERY different from actual pain from a cut or needle (and yes, I’m more afraid of pain from injections than labour pain, SERIOUSLY)…

p/p/s: I commonly heard that induced labour pain is more intense than natural labour pain, but well, I’d like to say and agree with my Obgyn that it is not more intense, but because the pain comes suddenly instead of gradually, you weren’t made aware of it… Given a choice in the future (if any), I would go for a short induced labour instead of a long wait for natural labour… Just my personal opinion…

Rachel’s Milk – Improved…

If you are a parent like us, with a kid that is refusing food (except junk food, raisins and sugus), then you’ll understand our determination in giving Rachel the best milk formula there is in the market… How do I define ‘best’? Well, firstly would be the pediatrician’s recommendation (in our case, my aunt’s recommendation), whether Rachel accepts the milk or not, and then there is the research and innovation from the brand, to consistently improve and provide us with better product from the researches that they have done…

Hasn’t milk formula come a long way? From what we drank as a child, to what we are providing the kids now? Truthfully, would you consider giving your kid the kind of milk powder we had as a kid? Minus the DHA and all? I know I won’t… I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again, haven’t we hear enough people saying how kids nowadays are smarter than the previous generation? I’m very sure milk powder got a big role to play in it…

Parenting, such a tough job isn’t it? Always wondering if we are providing them the best, always surfing the internet for more information on how to help with their development and how to best bring them up… I hear myself saying all the time, I’d rather be the one that’s sick, than for Rachel to be sick… So what do I do? I give her supplements and vitamins, to help boost her immune system… Wouldn’t we go all our way out to give them the extra boost of immune system so they don’t get sick as often?

Well, thanks to MeadJohnson’s new launch of Enfagrow A+ and Enfakid A+ with 4x DHA and the new Triple Protection Guard, I can rest assure that Rachel is the nutrients to support and boost her body resistance.

Why TRIPLE protection?

It’s for the 3 main important aspects comprising of Respiratory System, Digestive System and Resistance to other common illnesses. This adds up to our reason of choosing Enfagrow A+ as Rachel’s trusted milk, which has the highest level of DHA in the market, as I have mentioned before.

It’s about the right time also, this launch, for me to get Rachel ready for school… Well, at least her immune system… Everyone been telling me, how she’ll fall sick more often when she goes to school, with all the mingling with other kids, and then she’ll have to skip classes and then would be having difficulties catching up later on… So with the extra protection she’s getting from her milk, I guess she don’t have to skip so many classes when the time comes, and she’ll do just fine catching up…

Now, when should I send her to school? hmm…

Can we help give her a chance to see the world?

Dear readers…

Shed tears reading about this little girl… The pain and hurdles she’s going through… She’s only 4, and she’s been to 5 chemos? Well, long story short, she is diagnosed with a rare cancer called neuroblastom, and her chance of survival will be improved with a treatment only available in US… That, is where she needs our help… To collect a sum of over USD350,000 (if I understand correctly, but over SGD500,000)!! They are already at the mark of SGD330K, so lets help by pushing the mark a little towards the target…

For more info, you can click on the banner, or read the blog HERE, or more about the donation HERE…