The day Zachary was born..

This happened exactly 7 months ago, on the 20th of July but it feels like it happened very recently. Can't believe that 7 months have passed! Was just looking at his photos which were taken when he was born and he has changed so much!

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On the 19th of July, Thursday:

So, SY was right! We told baby that we would induce him and force him to come into this world if he didn't give us any signs that he wants to be out naturally before 20th July. Contractions happened on the 19th July and he was not induced! Read this post on the date we picked for induction.

I woke up at about 9am and show appeared (bleeding). I told SJ that but we didn't have any big reaction; that was a sign that baby could be coming anytime soon. When a show appears, the contraction could take from hours to days to occur. We went to Antipodean, Bangsar for our huge breakfast. It was yummy! I was about to enter the confinement period for one whole month right after delivery, I just had to make sure I get to eat my favourite foods on the day before I deliver.

After our yummy big brunch, we drove to Amcorp mall in PJ because we decided to get a good camera on that day. I have been telling SJ that I always wanted to get a better camera because the current one that we have does not take good clear photos in low light. Told him I 'needed' a good camera to take baby photos :)) and he said, ok! He started to search for the camera model the night before. He even posted that question in Facebook and many suggested Canon G12 and we decided to get that! Found out from the internet that the shop in Amcorp mall gives one of the best prices for cameras. 

I was so happy and in good spirit because we have a new toy! :) Spoke to Dr Choong briefly while I was at the camera shop to explain to him about my condition. I was supposed to go into the labour ward in preparation to induce labour that very Thursday night after dinner. Since the show appeared that morning, we thought maybe we should wait for another few days because natural would be better for both mommy and baby. Asked Dr Choong for his opinion but he said it was entirely up to me. Dr Choong voiced that he preferred me to wait for baby to come out naturally. 

After that, we did some errands; stopped by at the lighting shop to confirm the lights for our new home. At about 2.30pm, I felt a regular rhythm of hardening and releasing of my tummy. It felt like baby was stretching really hard in my womb, which I initially thought it was baby kicks but realized that it was contractions because it occurred on a regular pattern. The contractions were 20 mins apart. I quickly messaged my friends and family members with this new update. My mom was asking me to quickly rush to the hospital because she was afraid baby could be popping out anytime.

We went home to rest. I had a nap but was woken up by the pain whenever the a contraction happens. Had my shower, washed and dried my hair. The Chinese's confinement observes that new mothers are not allowed to wash hair during the one month confinement period because it could cause rheumatism. We packed 4 bags of things to bring to the hospital. It was like we were going on a holiday because we had so many things. We had a bag of food; bicsuits, instant cup noodles and even isotonic drinks which we barely touched when we were in the hospital. I read that we won't be given any food when we were in the labour room and I should eat a little so that I would have energy to deliver the baby. So, the kiasu me packed a lot!

My mom-in-law was so anxious that she advised us to bring our dinner to the hospital instead of having it at home. At about 7pm, my contractions were about 15 mins apart, we had dinner at home and we watched an episode of CSI before we decided it was time to leave to the hospital at 9pm. The antenatal class instructor advised us to only leave to the hospital when the contractions were 8 mins apart.

Reached Pantai Bangsar at about 9.30pm and I was ushered to the labour room. 

Wires were being stuck on my belly to monitor baby's heartbeat and contractions, as shown on the machine located on the right side of the above photo. The nurse or midwife confirmed that I was already dilating and there was no need to induce anymore. Yay!

Just the two of us. Third member of the family would be joining us soon!!!

 In front of my bed was a small little bassinet where my baby would be placed inside when he was born into this world.

After the initial 30 mins of monitoring, I thought I would be transferred to a nicer room with an extra bed. During my tour when I was about 5 months pregnant, we were shown different rooms with an extra single bed for daddies to rest and there were tv in the rooms. I thought those rooms were great because SJ could rest and I could probably distract myself with the tv but I was told that I had to stay in this labour-delivery room until the baby arrives. I was shocked and feeling a little sorry for SJ because he had to sleep on the plastic chair. Tried to negotiate with the nurse that I wanted a better room but was unsuccessful because she said I would had to move back to this room when I deliver which could happen anytime soon.

My plan was to walk a lot while waiting for baby's arrival. I was walking around the room for a bit, stopped in between when the contractions comes and practicing my breathing but when the water bag breaks at about 10.30pm, it was almost impossible to move. Water was trickling continuously and it was so uncomfortable to even move a little. I was advised to just sit or lie down :(

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On the 20th July, Friday: 

At about 2am, when I was at about 5cm dilated, the pain was rather unbearable and I was not able to get any rest with the contractions that I decided to get the epidural. The epidural took about an hour to arrive and the anesthetist told me that I would still feel the pressure of the contraction but the epidural will take the pain away. A catheter was inserted to my back to numb the bottom half of my body and I would not be able to leave the bed at all because the epidural solution would continuously flow into the body. Babycentre explains epidural very clearly: http://www.babycenter.com.my/a542571/epidural

The epidural effectively removed the pain and I could sleep for a good few hours. SJ was sitting beside me the whole time observing the contractions and baby's heartbeat monitor. I was in so much pain without the epidural when the contraction number went to 60 but with the epidural, I could still sleep soundly even when the number went above 100. 

I had a fever at about 4am and I was shaking uncontrollably. I was feeling so cold and my teeth were chattering but it stopped after I had some paracetamol. At about 6am, Dr Choong came in and told me that my baby's heartbeat was beating faster than usual. Baby was in distress and it could due to my fever. At that time, I was 8cm dilated and if I did not reach 10 cm in another 2 hours, Dr Choong suggestted caesarean. 

9am came and Dr Choong examined me and I was still only 8cm dilated. He said he would let me wait and take my time if my baby's heartbeat was not beating so fast but because my baby was in distress, he strongly advised us to have caesarean to get the baby out fast. We agreed and preparation for surgery started immediately.

I was pushed with my bed to the operation theater  This was my 2nd time being in the OT, the first when I had my thyroid surgery in April 2010 but this 2nd time was quite an exciting and happy moment because I was nearing to meeting baby! The hospital staffs were fussing over me, preparing for the surgery that they almost forgotten about SJ. They left him standing outside of the OT. Dr. Choong was about to start when I reminded him to bring my husband in. 

Operation started at about 9.30am and baby came out at 9.49am! I could see the digital clock clearly in the OT and I could see a little from the reflection of the lights above me when Dr Choong pulled the baby out. The moment baby gave a really loud cry, we were relieved because baby was ok! SJ immediately took out the camera and followed the nurses. Our first born, Zachary was born! He was weighed 4.15kg and 51cm tall. I was so thankful that Zachary was a healthy baby.

The nurse brought Zachary to me so I could kiss him before they took him away

Our new precious!

It was love at first sight!

Yay! All good! 

That was 7 months ago! This past 7 months was probably the most special 7 months in our lives. It's really amazing that this tiny little human being could bring so much joy to our families and it such a blessing to have him. I hope I am doing alright as a Zach's mommy. SJ was amazing and very supportive throughout the labour and delivery. He is such a hands-on daddy and he is my pillar of support. I am really lucky to have him! :) I hope Zach would grow up to be like his Daddy. 

16th July 2012: Our last antenatal visit before baby's here!

July 20th 2012, this Friday is the date that we're going to induce labour if baby doesn't arrive naturally before that. We saw Dr Choong at our 12.15pm appointment today and as usual, he would take my blood pressure and the result is normal. My urine test result is also good. Did an ultrasound and baby's head is still down and his heartbeats sounds really strong and loud today. It seemed much louder and clearer today, maybe because baby is bigger; or maybe Dr. Choong turned up the volume of his ultrasound machine. I always love seeing the black and white images on the screen especially when Dr is focusing on the blinking part, which is the heart!  

Dr. Choong then proceed to measure baby's head circumference, abdominal circumference and the length of baby's femur bone. Before I could really see the numbers at the bottom of the ultrasound machine screen, SJ exclaimed loudly, 'WAH! 4.1kg!'. Dr. Choong measured everything again (I think twice) and finally he said that baby is estimated to weigh 3.732kg today. This is just an estimate; baby's real weight could be plus minus 400grams. I think Dr. Choong gave me a lower weight number so that I would not be so frightened about delivering a huge baby. He doesn't know that I am actually fine to deliver a big baby because my antenatal class practitioner told us that a woman delivered a 4.9kg baby in normal birth, a new record; and I thought since that woman can do it, I'm sure I can do it too. Anyway, I don't think my baby will be more than 4.5 kg. 

Ultrasound for today! Baby's head is on the right and his body is on the left. I cannot make out his head and body as baby grows (that was about since week 30).All we could see was his heart and his spine. Baby is 3.73 kg and Mommy has gained 18 kg in this whole pregnancy.

After that, we sat down and told Dr. Choong that we have decided on the induction date; which is this Wednesday, 18th July. Dr. Choong felt that 18th is too early to induce. He really doesn't recommend induction of labour because it would cause a lot of stress on both the mother and baby with a higher risk of having cesarean section. He explained that my pregnancy has been a very good and smooth one, my placenta is functioning really well; that is why baby can be so big because baby is able to absorb all the nutrients via the placenta. The date that he recommended for inducing labour is between 23rd and 26th, which is almost 2 weeks from my EDD. 

I was telling him about I'm just worried if something is not well; I was telling SJ that I couldn't feel baby much yesterday and I was quite worried over the weekend; my mom was concerned about baby suffocating etc, which Dr. Choong thinks that there is really nothing to worry about because everything about my pregnancy has been good. SJ was nodding and completely agrees with him. SJ always thinks that I'm such a worry-pot! They both don't think that my placenta will stop functioning or baby suddenly unable to live in the womb after EDD because the EDD is just an estimate, it's not the final date of baby in the womb. SJ's colleague, SY told me that if we pick an induction date, baby would usually come out earlier than the date that we picked because the baby is afraid of getting induced. We'll see if this is true!

After listening to Dr. Choong, I am feeling more confident and my mood was lifted. I told SJ that I should see Dr. Choong every 3-4 days so I could get a confidence boost every 3-4 days. There have been so many people telling and asking me why am I not inducing earlier or having a c-section now since I've passed my EDD for so long?! It's only 4 days!! Met a colleague in the hospital after my Dr's visit and she also asked the same thing. It's a world of difference when speaking with Dr. Choong and I am so thankful that he has cleared all my doubts. I know that many people have good intention but they usually based their opinions solely on their one or two experiences. Dr. Choong has more than 30 years of experience and I trust and have confidence in him. He is very logical and he speaks very sensibly. I am definitely happy to have him as my doctor ;) 

So, now it's just another 4 days to go before baby arrives by 20th, which is this Friday!!! Can't wait! Baby could be coming anytime earlier but Friday is definitely the last day! I asked Dr if I need to prepare or do anything before I get admitted. He told us to have a very nice dinner on Thursday night and then get admitted after dinner, at about 10pm on Thursday. Then, a pill will be inserted vaginally to ripen and soften the cervix on that night. I would be given an intravenous drip the next morning and inducing of labour will commence. If everything goes smoothly, baby should be delivered by Friday evening. I was wondering would inducing labour will have a short labour and delivery? Dr. Choong told me that some people could take days; some needed to be induced twice and some would have a quick one. So there is nothing certain. I hope my labour would not take days because I wouldn't want Dr. Choong to work on weekends. Must tell baby to be good and quickly come out to see Daddy and Mommy!

I'm 40 weeks & 4 days pregnant!

I'm 4 days overdue and there is still no signs of baby wanting to see this world yet! Dr. Choong's prediction is right! My mom was getting worried about baby being overdue that she called me twice today and advised me to speak with Dr. Choong tomorrow on our weekly visit on our next course of action. She thinks that we should pick a date to induce and we should pick an early date. We have picked a date! It's going to be 18th of July, this Wednesday, about 6 days from my estimated due date (EDD), 12th of July. 18 is a good number for Chinese (means 'sure rich' in chinese) and an ob-gyn specialist friend advised me not to wait more than 41 weeks because baby could be in distress after 41 weeks. I'm feeling a little worried and emotional in these two days, maybe we really should induce labour soon. I know that baby is all ready to come out and I somehow have a picture of baby with a round face, big eyes and a head full of hair in my mind. So happy that I'll be seeing Dr. Choong tomorrow afternoon so I can hear baby's heartbeat again! :)))

The Chong family had a bet on the dates on when baby will arrive. My sister, Jamie Yi Yi is the winner because she chose 15th and the nearest to the date is the winner. My dad, mom and SJ picked earlier dates. So many friends and relatives have been calling and messaging asking about baby's arrival. A client of mine, Fidael was so excited that he called me yesterday just to ask if baby has arrived and when I said not yet, he just said ok and ended the conversation. That was a rather funny phone call. I have been putting up photos and updates of myself in Facebook to let everyone know that I'm still hanging around and baby is not out yet.

I have been eating so much desserts for the past week! I'll definitely have a dessert with SJ almost every night after dinner, thinking that the dessert that we're having that night would be the last in case I go on labour the next day and I would be in confinement for one whole month. Have to go slow on the cold desserts and drinks because many people advised me that it could cause my baby easily to catch a flu and cold in the future. 

Let me update what I have been feeling and experiencing in these past few weeks: 

Getting out of the bed and turning on the bed for the past few weeks had been really painful and difficult :( The pain in my pelvic/pubic bone has been so bad that I don't think there is anything could be done to relief the pain. I told my yoga instructor for weeks about this pain, which eventually in week 39, she told me that there is probably nothing I can do about it; so, I'll just have to bear with it till delivery. I cannot sleep on my back anymore as baby is too huge and is pressing against my chest which would make breathing very difficult. I couldn't lie on one side for too long because my arm and hip that I lie on would ache terribly; I had to turn to my other side in the middle of the night and it has been such a huge chore every time I do that - I struggle so much, making so much, grunting away while holding my tummy to push it to the other sides that SJ would usually wake up too. When morning comes, I literally had to swing both my legs together out of the bed to be on the sitting position because if my legs were separated, my pelvic bone would ache a lot; almost felt that it is going to break apart. This pelvic pain is making me waddle when I walk and I had to arch my back to balance my huge belly; hence, walking really slowly and like a penguin.

Other than that, my fingers are so swollen with water retention that I could wear SJ's wedding ring! His ring used to be able to fit my thumb only but it can fit my ring finger now. I sure hope my fingers (and my feet!) will be able to get back to its old size so I can wear my wedding ring and my many favourite shoes! My Aunty couldn't get back to her old shoe size after she delivered her children more than 10 years ago. Her feet got permanently a size bigger. 

The swell on my fingers has also caused my fingers joints/knuckles to ache, especially in the mornings. The pain is worse on both hands' 3rd and 4th fingers. I would shove my hands to SJ every morning when I wake up and request that he give my fingers a massage. Same goes for my swollen feet too. SJ has been extremely sweet to fulfill my requests; giving me feet massage almost every night and fingers massage every morning :)))  

I can deal with swollen fingers and feet or the pelvic bone pain. I think the most depressing part about this whole pregnancy is the stretch marks!!! :(((( Stretch marks beginning to appear in week 36 and I was really sad about it. Since the beginning of this pregnancy, I have tried my best to make sure I apply oil and lotion everyday (morning and night) on my thighs, arms, bust areas and the whole tummy area with the hope that stretch marks would not appeare. There is a guide on where to apply oil in the L'occitane Almond Supple Skin Oil box which I follow closely. I even look and scrutinize my tummy area almost every night after shower for stretch marks; was quite pleased until week 36 when I saw nasty red lines on my buttocks (!!!), the lower part of my belly and both sides of my belly :(( It just caught me by surprise that stretch marks would appear on my buttocks!!?? That's the last place I actually thought it would appear, hence, didn't apply any oil in that area at all :S

Somehow, deep down I know that there is nothing I can do or prevent these stretch marks from happening because I was told that this is genetic, if your mom has it, you'll surely have it. So my mom has it, I would surely have it too plus my bump is really huge compared to many people. I noticed in these 2 weeks that stretch marks appeared around my belly button. My bump is really quite huge, measuring at 43 inches today. So many people been asking me whether am I carrying twins. SJ's theory was that I'll definitely have stretch marks because of these reasons: my bump is huge, baby is huge, I'm been so active walking and moving around which gravity plays a part in pulling and stretching my bump downwards which the skin will definitely stretched. The body needs a much longer time (more than 9 months) to accommodate and adapt such a huge change of the body. I was wondering those fat men with huge beer bellies on whether they have stretch marks or not; SJ doesn't think so because they had years to get to that huge belly, which their bodies can adapt to that changes slowly. 

 I quickly bought a bottle of Clarins Tonic Treatment in week 36, that is specially applied to treat stretch marks (heard many good reviews but was told that it was expensive) but I guess it's a little too late now because the stretch marks just increased (quite drastically) in these past few weeks. I am not even bothered to look at them in  the mirror anymore after shower. Was talking to a friend and she told me that she didn't have any stretch marks because she literally shower in these oil or cream. She used a huge amount Palmer's cocoa butter and Bio Oil until it drips :S Both her boys were also very small when they were born; they were less than 3 kg. My baby is definitely more than 3.5kg. So, her bumps were smaller than mine. If she wasn't as mobile as me, it should be surprising that she didn't have any stretched marks. 

I guess there are worse things that could happen in this pregnancy; like having varicose veins, lots of facial hair, terrible acne problem, darkened spots/patches on face or neck etc. I should be thankful that this pregnancy has been good so far because I didn't have any of those mentioned above :))) Well, I guess I can always do laser treatments if I 'really' want to get rid of the stretch marks in the future. I was complaining to SJ that it's not fair that my body has changed to much; stretch marks, putting on so much weight (I'm the heaviest now in both Yong and Chong's family) and so much cellulite on my thighs! Now I know the sacrifices that mothers have to go through to deliver a child. No wonder everyone told me that you'd appreciate your mother more after you become a mother. I totally agree with that statement. 

 SJ's colleague who has the same EDD as me, we are seeing the same Dr. Choong for our pregnancies, we even attended the same antenatal class with Jenlia; she delivered her baby girl on Saturday, 14th July and her baby is 3.85 kg. We didn't expect her baby to be that huge! My baby is definitely bigger than hers, so now we're expecting our baby boy to be about 4kg or more! :O I am ok that my baby is big, I don't really mind because many people been reassuring me that bigger baby is easy to care for. I'm ok as long baby is healthy ;) Am trying to set a very positive mindset for baby's arrival. I can't wait to meet baby! Now I can't wait to listen to baby's heartbeat tomorrow afternoon!

I'm 40 weeks pregnant today!

A photo of me taken yesterday, 11th July; a day before I'm 40 weeks pregnant. 

SJ and I were sharing a Baskin Robbin's Brownie Ala Mode ice-cream :)))) 

Yes, TODAY is the date of my estimated due date (EDD) of baby's arrival but there's no sign of baby coming tonight! Can't believe that 40 weeks have gone by so fast and we're anticipating baby's arrival anytime now! Dr Choong told us that baby most likely will be late based on his 30 plus years experience because it's our first baby. In my last antenatal visit, which was last Monday, 9th July, as usual, we (or rather just me) have many questions to ask him. Questions that we've asked were: 

1. How long should we wait before we induce labour? Dr. Choong said that the EDD is just an estimate and usually it's not accurate. We should not use this date as the last date for baby to be born. He is willing to wait for another 14 days but he is up for negotiation to induce earlier depending on how I feel as many new expectant parents would be pressured from the grandparents and friends. Dr doesn't suggest induce because it puts a lot of stress on the mother and baby, which could cause a difficult labour and delivery; unless both mother and baby have medical risks such as gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, low amniotic fluid etc. Dr. thinks my pregnancy been good so far, so it's good to wait. SJ and myself agree with him too.

 2. I was concerned about baby swallowing feces at birth because I was told by my colleagues that this is very possible if the baby is overdue. SJ has no idea what was this about when I mentioned it to Dr. Choong. Dr. Choong explained and clarified further that baby could be ingesting his own poo (meconium aspiration) starting from week 38 onwards. This means that it could be happening way earlier and before baby is due and I should not be worried about it because there is nothing I can do to prevent this. Of course I had to find out more about this from the internet and I found this site to be very informative in this area: 

Meconium (the first stool that passed out by baby) aspiration is a potentially serious birthing complication that could result in severe respiratory complications in affected newborns. This condition occurs when a baby breathes in meconium, the black, sticky waste product that has been present in their digestive tracts since the 10th week of pregnancy. Factors that might increase your baby’s chances of suffering from meconium aspiration include an extended or difficult labor, a history of gestational diabetes and a prolapsed cord. 


 Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/530644-signs-symptoms-of-meconium-aspiration-in-newborns/

3. Is SJ going to cut baby's umbilical cord? Throughout this pregnancy, Dr. Choong never mentioned about cutting baby's umbilical cord. We have friends telling us that their doctor would ask the dads to decide whether they want to cut the umbilical cord on the birth-day or not and I was wondering why Dr. Choong never asked us this. When I brought up this question, he said that it has been his standard operating procedure for the past 20 years that the fathers were the ones that been cutting the umbilical cords. He has not been cutting umbilical cords for many many years. He said that if the dads are not going to cut the cord, he would offer it to the grandmother and if the granny doesn't want to do it, he would offer to the new mommy to cut it herself. I thought it was pretty cool and I was happy with his reply.

I'm liking Dr. Choong more and more as this pregnancy proceeds. He is experienced and he never fails to give me comforting and positive replies. Most importantly, he is always patient and answers all my questions. Both SJ and I like his standard operating procedure and we know that he will respect and will work together with us on how we want our baby to be delivered ;)))

I am off from work since beginning of this week! FINALLY! It was so difficult to tear myself away from work and finally able to do so this week. I guess I just love my work too much :D Been wanting to stop work for the past 3 weeks! Will try to update this journal as much as possible on my experience in this pregnancy while waiting for baby to 'decide' to come out. :P