Sunday, December 10, 2006
rewind: arrival of... Kid A
December 12, 2005
arrival of... Kid A
hello!
we're back!
all THREE of us. :)
first of all, thank you to EVERYONE for your words of encouragement, well wishes and do'as. they mean a LOT to us, coz... we survived!
shall i slowly recap what happened since my last ten-minutes-apart contraction entry?
***
so around 8.40pm, i was pret-ty sure my contractions had shrunk to exactly 5 minutes apart, in a very constant pattern. called the doctor, who said we could proceed to the hospital. hokay! time for some action, finally! :D
we took our time finishing up our KFC meal (yes baby, you last had chicken) and had a quick bath.
grabbed our bag and took a final picture before leaving the house. haha.
all freshed up!
very bedek, right, 5mins contraction can still smile. tsk.
got to the hospital at almost 10pm, the nurse knew whose patient i was, and we were promptly led to the delivery suite, where i got changed, peed (a FULL cup when i'd just gone at home), and got myself strapped to a strange contraption.
and the baby's heartbeat came out of this machine like a thundering racehorse, in surround sound no less!
it went "GEDUB! GEDUB! GEDUB!" but in a watery way. (till the next day, i could still hear this sound reverberating in my head, since it was strapped on me till labour.)
baby's heartbeat was good. and hey the machine also could tell when i was having contractions, and i was right, they were 5 mins apart.
let me tell you about this doppler monitor. it's not exactly the most comfortable thing in the world when you're lying on your back with a huge tummy which is squirming around and hardens every now and then. gah.
so then it was enema time.
a bit of a squirt up my rear, and ten minutes later, phew! great stuff if you're having constipation, i tell ya.
from there, it was mostly just... waiting.
and waiting...
oh i forgot to mention about my Fingering Session which finally happened. unfortunately, it was done by one of the midwives, lol! when i came into the delivery suite, she wiggled about her fingers inside me and announced that i was already 5 - 6cm dilated, which was halfway through the process. i was 9cm within the next few hours. (and i suppose fully dilated by the time my water broke.)
i guess all that waiting out at home and walking around helped.
back to the contractions, did i mention they keep getting more intense?
unfortunately, izad didn't take any pics of my face in various states of grimace. (because he was sleeping and i was grimacing. in silence. heh.)
at around 2+am, after i'd given up reading and watching crappy tv, the nurse asked if felt like passing motion. i wasn't sure how to answer her, coz i thought i HAD passed motion. BUT, it was not soon after when i DID feel like i had to pass motion, and nodded when she asked.
she made me put on the gas mask during one of my contractions, and ok heck, let's try it. but WHOAAA NELLY! that thing is EVIL STUFF! coz it made my head berserk and giddy and full of oxygen and made my breathing out of whack, so i said nooo, don't want it, please.
and i *think* it was during one of my delirious states that we heard a sudden loud POP and water splashed out of me onto my socks and probably the walls and the midwives.
my waterbag had burst. ahh, so THAT's how it's like. hehe.
so from then onwards, the URGE to push got reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally strong, but the damned midwives (they were really very nice, really) kept saying, "don't push ahhh... don't push ahh... nurhana pandai.... very good...." because - the doctor had not arrived yet. gah!
of course, in my delirious state (by now i'd put on the gas mask as a means of distraction from the pain from the contractions, as well as deviced my own very effective breathing technique - breathe IN DEEEEP.... wail OUT LOUUUUUDDD) i was thinking "kepala hotak berdengung lah, macam mana tak push siak, peduli apa, PUSHHHHHHHHHH AJER LAHHH!!!"
the labour contractions. ahh. *chuckle*
they are very very intense when they come, but once the wave is over, you temporarily forget it coz it's such a relief... until the next one comes. kinda like a Very Bad Constipation.
soooo, when the doctor finally made his VIP appearance, the baby was already crowning (according to izad who witnessed everything from the other side). he took one look, told me to open up my legs wide, snipped my perineum just as i was having one of that WAIL OUT LOUD AND PUSHHHHHH moment, and the next thing i knew, i felt a huge solid thing tumbling out of me. in malay, i would describe it as "terburai keluar".
can i say that was one HUGE relief? :D
everything happened so fast, my legs weren't even strapped up (coz i was told to keep the baby in, remember hehe), and the doc cut off the umbilical cord before izad could. i think he forgot lah. even his hair had the dishevelled look of one who'd just woken up from sleep. ceh.
so the baby cried and izad was laughing, more in amusement than joy i think, because the baby had peed right there where he'd just come out. so THAT's why he wanted to come out so quickly, he had to go to the loo! talk about the call of nature!
i bit my nail, watching in amazement as the nurses fiddled about with him at the weighing machine, at that little person that had just come out of me. i also looked down in amazement at the tummy that used to be full to the brim, now floppy and flabby.
then i got to meet him.
hello!
meanwhile, the doc was fiddling about with me too. down there. he was waiting for the placenta to come out, and it fell out promptly with a plop.
the nurse had jabbed my left leg with painkiller that made it wobbly, the doc jabbed my nether region twice before stitching me up.
it was only much later that i discovered he'd snipped a straight line and given me ONE stitch. no wonder i could pee right after.
baby was given an apgar score of 10, and given to me to feed. a VERY short suckle, coz i still had nothing coming out of me.
izad said he came out clean, no sticky white stuff on his body, just a bit of blood on his hair. and MY OH MY, we were all shocked at that shock of hair. this was no VBB (Very Bald Baby)! it was a VHB (Very Hairy Baby)!
...
Posted by nurhana at December 12, 2005 10:13 PM
# posted by izadnhana at 3:24 AM
--->
arrival of... Kid A
hello!
we're back!
all THREE of us. :)
first of all, thank you to EVERYONE for your words of encouragement, well wishes and do'as. they mean a LOT to us, coz... we survived!
shall i slowly recap what happened since my last ten-minutes-apart contraction entry?
***
so around 8.40pm, i was pret-ty sure my contractions had shrunk to exactly 5 minutes apart, in a very constant pattern. called the doctor, who said we could proceed to the hospital. hokay! time for some action, finally! :D
we took our time finishing up our KFC meal (yes baby, you last had chicken) and had a quick bath.
grabbed our bag and took a final picture before leaving the house. haha.
all freshed up!
very bedek, right, 5mins contraction can still smile. tsk.
got to the hospital at almost 10pm, the nurse knew whose patient i was, and we were promptly led to the delivery suite, where i got changed, peed (a FULL cup when i'd just gone at home), and got myself strapped to a strange contraption.
and the baby's heartbeat came out of this machine like a thundering racehorse, in surround sound no less!
it went "GEDUB! GEDUB! GEDUB!" but in a watery way. (till the next day, i could still hear this sound reverberating in my head, since it was strapped on me till labour.)
baby's heartbeat was good. and hey the machine also could tell when i was having contractions, and i was right, they were 5 mins apart.
let me tell you about this doppler monitor. it's not exactly the most comfortable thing in the world when you're lying on your back with a huge tummy which is squirming around and hardens every now and then. gah.
so then it was enema time.
a bit of a squirt up my rear, and ten minutes later, phew! great stuff if you're having constipation, i tell ya.
from there, it was mostly just... waiting.
and waiting...
oh i forgot to mention about my Fingering Session which finally happened. unfortunately, it was done by one of the midwives, lol! when i came into the delivery suite, she wiggled about her fingers inside me and announced that i was already 5 - 6cm dilated, which was halfway through the process. i was 9cm within the next few hours. (and i suppose fully dilated by the time my water broke.)
i guess all that waiting out at home and walking around helped.
back to the contractions, did i mention they keep getting more intense?
unfortunately, izad didn't take any pics of my face in various states of grimace. (because he was sleeping and i was grimacing. in silence. heh.)
at around 2+am, after i'd given up reading and watching crappy tv, the nurse asked if felt like passing motion. i wasn't sure how to answer her, coz i thought i HAD passed motion. BUT, it was not soon after when i DID feel like i had to pass motion, and nodded when she asked.
she made me put on the gas mask during one of my contractions, and ok heck, let's try it. but WHOAAA NELLY! that thing is EVIL STUFF! coz it made my head berserk and giddy and full of oxygen and made my breathing out of whack, so i said nooo, don't want it, please.
and i *think* it was during one of my delirious states that we heard a sudden loud POP and water splashed out of me onto my socks and probably the walls and the midwives.
my waterbag had burst. ahh, so THAT's how it's like. hehe.
so from then onwards, the URGE to push got reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally strong, but the damned midwives (they were really very nice, really) kept saying, "don't push ahhh... don't push ahh... nurhana pandai.... very good...." because - the doctor had not arrived yet. gah!
of course, in my delirious state (by now i'd put on the gas mask as a means of distraction from the pain from the contractions, as well as deviced my own very effective breathing technique - breathe IN DEEEEP.... wail OUT LOUUUUUDDD) i was thinking "kepala hotak berdengung lah, macam mana tak push siak, peduli apa, PUSHHHHHHHHHH AJER LAHHH!!!"
the labour contractions. ahh. *chuckle*
they are very very intense when they come, but once the wave is over, you temporarily forget it coz it's such a relief... until the next one comes. kinda like a Very Bad Constipation.
soooo, when the doctor finally made his VIP appearance, the baby was already crowning (according to izad who witnessed everything from the other side). he took one look, told me to open up my legs wide, snipped my perineum just as i was having one of that WAIL OUT LOUD AND PUSHHHHHH moment, and the next thing i knew, i felt a huge solid thing tumbling out of me. in malay, i would describe it as "terburai keluar".
can i say that was one HUGE relief? :D
everything happened so fast, my legs weren't even strapped up (coz i was told to keep the baby in, remember hehe), and the doc cut off the umbilical cord before izad could. i think he forgot lah. even his hair had the dishevelled look of one who'd just woken up from sleep. ceh.
so the baby cried and izad was laughing, more in amusement than joy i think, because the baby had peed right there where he'd just come out. so THAT's why he wanted to come out so quickly, he had to go to the loo! talk about the call of nature!
i bit my nail, watching in amazement as the nurses fiddled about with him at the weighing machine, at that little person that had just come out of me. i also looked down in amazement at the tummy that used to be full to the brim, now floppy and flabby.
then i got to meet him.
hello!
meanwhile, the doc was fiddling about with me too. down there. he was waiting for the placenta to come out, and it fell out promptly with a plop.
the nurse had jabbed my left leg with painkiller that made it wobbly, the doc jabbed my nether region twice before stitching me up.
it was only much later that i discovered he'd snipped a straight line and given me ONE stitch. no wonder i could pee right after.
baby was given an apgar score of 10, and given to me to feed. a VERY short suckle, coz i still had nothing coming out of me.
izad said he came out clean, no sticky white stuff on his body, just a bit of blood on his hair. and MY OH MY, we were all shocked at that shock of hair. this was no VBB (Very Bald Baby)! it was a VHB (Very Hairy Baby)!
...
Posted by nurhana at December 12, 2005 10:13 PM
Labels: birth
# posted by izadnhana at 3:24 AM
rewind: hello world!
December 11, 2005
hello world!
Syukur alhamdullilah, Izad Jr came out safely at 3:45am, 10 Dec 2005. With a healthy weight of 3.07kg and length of 51.5cm, I can imagine him growing ever so tall!!
I'm really proud of my wife for being so calm and composed throughout the experience. Other than the usual screaming of pain and her constant deep synchronized heavy breathing, she was really amazing. None of the horror stories of the wife biting the husband's hand seemed to materialize. :)
Her water bag burst at around 3:10am, but just before 3am, she was very sure that the baby was coming out. She had this feeling like she needed to pass motion. The midwife called up our gynae at around 3:05am. But just after her bag burst, she felt that izad jr was pushing to get out. So for that 30 minutes, from 3 - 3:30am, my wife was battling to keep the baby in, yep, you heard it right, not out. It was all so tense during the period, the midwives (there were 2 of of them) moving in and out of the room, waiting for the gynae to arrive.
Well finally, our prayers were answered when the doctor arrived around 3:40am. When he took over, and told my wife to part her legs, I could see the baby's head right up the opening!! Well, the little one was really impatient to get out of his mother's womb and into the world!
Not suprisingly, the gynae took less than 5 minutes to get the baby out, it was really fuss free, alhamdullilah, no complication, whatsoever!!
i will let her tell you her side of the story next... :)
Posted by rohaizad at December 11, 2005 08:37 AM
# posted by izadnhana at 12:06 AM
--->
hello world!
Syukur alhamdullilah, Izad Jr came out safely at 3:45am, 10 Dec 2005. With a healthy weight of 3.07kg and length of 51.5cm, I can imagine him growing ever so tall!!
I'm really proud of my wife for being so calm and composed throughout the experience. Other than the usual screaming of pain and her constant deep synchronized heavy breathing, she was really amazing. None of the horror stories of the wife biting the husband's hand seemed to materialize. :)
Her water bag burst at around 3:10am, but just before 3am, she was very sure that the baby was coming out. She had this feeling like she needed to pass motion. The midwife called up our gynae at around 3:05am. But just after her bag burst, she felt that izad jr was pushing to get out. So for that 30 minutes, from 3 - 3:30am, my wife was battling to keep the baby in, yep, you heard it right, not out. It was all so tense during the period, the midwives (there were 2 of of them) moving in and out of the room, waiting for the gynae to arrive.
Well finally, our prayers were answered when the doctor arrived around 3:40am. When he took over, and told my wife to part her legs, I could see the baby's head right up the opening!! Well, the little one was really impatient to get out of his mother's womb and into the world!
Not suprisingly, the gynae took less than 5 minutes to get the baby out, it was really fuss free, alhamdullilah, no complication, whatsoever!!
i will let her tell you her side of the story next... :)
Posted by rohaizad at December 11, 2005 08:37 AM
Labels: birth
# posted by izadnhana at 12:06 AM
Saturday, December 09, 2006
rewind: contractions and coconuts
December 09, 2005
contractions and coconuts
mum came over around noon, still worried. showed her the blood, which she's never seen before in pregnancies. her own pregnancies went by uneventfully, she said.
meanwhile, the contractions HAVE begun. i think. from early this morning, even before izad has woken up for work.
what do they feel like?
exactly like menstrual cramps, or segugut, just like the doc, mum, and everybody else has described it. how amazing that this biological phenomenon is so... universal.
it comes like an intense, sharp cramp at the lower part of the abdomen and around the back of the waist... then passes by, fading away.
my last recorded time sequence:
2.12 pm
2.20 pm
2.31 pm
2.42 pm
2.52 pm
3.01 pm
3.12 pm
3.20 pm
3.38 pm
3.49 pm
so... that's an average of ten minutes apart, yes?
i'm just waiting it out. it's pretty bearable for now. don't want to be staying at the hospital too early.
meanwhile, he bought me something to drink. "they" say it's for the baby to come out cleaner, or with lesser vernix, the waxy white substance that covers a baby's skin at birth.
macam-macam air saya minum.
Posted by nurhana at December 9, 2005 03:53 PM
# posted by izadnhana at 9:50 PM
--->
contractions and coconuts
mum came over around noon, still worried. showed her the blood, which she's never seen before in pregnancies. her own pregnancies went by uneventfully, she said.
meanwhile, the contractions HAVE begun. i think. from early this morning, even before izad has woken up for work.
what do they feel like?
exactly like menstrual cramps, or segugut, just like the doc, mum, and everybody else has described it. how amazing that this biological phenomenon is so... universal.
it comes like an intense, sharp cramp at the lower part of the abdomen and around the back of the waist... then passes by, fading away.
my last recorded time sequence:
2.12 pm
2.20 pm
2.31 pm
2.42 pm
2.52 pm
3.01 pm
3.12 pm
3.20 pm
3.38 pm
3.49 pm
so... that's an average of ten minutes apart, yes?
i'm just waiting it out. it's pretty bearable for now. don't want to be staying at the hospital too early.
meanwhile, he bought me something to drink. "they" say it's for the baby to come out cleaner, or with lesser vernix, the waxy white substance that covers a baby's skin at birth.
macam-macam air saya minum.
Posted by nurhana at December 9, 2005 03:53 PM
Labels: birth
# posted by izadnhana at 9:50 PM
rewind: labour drill
i'm gonna backtrack a bit these few days leading up to The Big One and dig up some old posts from our archives exactly a year ago (THANK GAWD we still have them!).
am feeling... nostalgic. :)
December 09, 2005
labour drill
been having slight brownish tinges on the panty liner since yesterday, and this evening, i noticed blood mixed with mucus when i wiped myself with toilet paper after bathing.
"izad..." i called, so very calmly that he hardly bothered to respond. finally he showed up, and i showed it to him.
so *that's* the bloody show. how bloody exciting!
we were getting ready to have my birthday meal out, so we stuffed the rest of my "important" bits in the hospital bag and brought it along with us.
it was like a fire drill, but with less drama. you can call it a labour drill.
we were scarily calm coz i knew the real action wasn't going to take place just yet. i was still having only braxton-hicks, not the cry-out-loud-in-pain contractions. in any case, we called the doc for advice. he said it could still take some time for labour to begin since i wasn't having contractions yet, and if still in doubt, i could drop by the clinic tomorrow. as long as the baby is still moving, i've nothing to be worried about.
the birthday meal went by, with my mum looking very worried that i wasn't looking worried.
when we got home (with our hospital bag in tow haha), i checked again.
looked kinda familiar. you know, like light menses on the first day?
sms-ed a reliable source of info who assured me that hers *was* like menses, and true contractions may happen only 36 hours later, or even a week.
a quick google check confirmed it:
Bloody show: Loss of mucus plug
During pregnancy, a thick plug of mucus blocks the cervical opening to prevent bacteria from entering the uterus. When your cervix begins to thin and open, this plug may be discharged. You may notice stringy mucus or a thick discharge. It's typically brown and sometimes tinged with blood.
Losing the mucus plug is a sign that labor may begin soon, but it's not a guarantee. Labor may still be a week or more away.
MORE waiting! hah.
the plug itself hasn't come out, this was just a preview. i think.
meanwhile, the space between my boobies and abdomen is now TWO handspan wide. googling is very useful, coz i now know this is called 'lightening'. and i can literally feel peanut wiggling his way further down.
let's make 10th or 12th our target dates, ok boy-boy?
they're nice even numbers, see...
Posted by nurhana at December 9, 2005 12:53 AM
# posted by izadnhana at 12:00 AM
--->
am feeling... nostalgic. :)
December 09, 2005
labour drill
been having slight brownish tinges on the panty liner since yesterday, and this evening, i noticed blood mixed with mucus when i wiped myself with toilet paper after bathing.
"izad..." i called, so very calmly that he hardly bothered to respond. finally he showed up, and i showed it to him.
so *that's* the bloody show. how bloody exciting!
we were getting ready to have my birthday meal out, so we stuffed the rest of my "important" bits in the hospital bag and brought it along with us.
it was like a fire drill, but with less drama. you can call it a labour drill.
we were scarily calm coz i knew the real action wasn't going to take place just yet. i was still having only braxton-hicks, not the cry-out-loud-in-pain contractions. in any case, we called the doc for advice. he said it could still take some time for labour to begin since i wasn't having contractions yet, and if still in doubt, i could drop by the clinic tomorrow. as long as the baby is still moving, i've nothing to be worried about.
the birthday meal went by, with my mum looking very worried that i wasn't looking worried.
when we got home (with our hospital bag in tow haha), i checked again.
looked kinda familiar. you know, like light menses on the first day?
sms-ed a reliable source of info who assured me that hers *was* like menses, and true contractions may happen only 36 hours later, or even a week.
a quick google check confirmed it:
Bloody show: Loss of mucus plug
During pregnancy, a thick plug of mucus blocks the cervical opening to prevent bacteria from entering the uterus. When your cervix begins to thin and open, this plug may be discharged. You may notice stringy mucus or a thick discharge. It's typically brown and sometimes tinged with blood.
Losing the mucus plug is a sign that labor may begin soon, but it's not a guarantee. Labor may still be a week or more away.
MORE waiting! hah.
the plug itself hasn't come out, this was just a preview. i think.
meanwhile, the space between my boobies and abdomen is now TWO handspan wide. googling is very useful, coz i now know this is called 'lightening'. and i can literally feel peanut wiggling his way further down.
let's make 10th or 12th our target dates, ok boy-boy?
they're nice even numbers, see...
Posted by nurhana at December 9, 2005 12:53 AM
Labels: birth
# posted by izadnhana at 12:00 AM
