Monday, November 29, 2010

Confinement is over

For the last few weeks I have not been updating my blog because I was busy eating, resting, watching TV and milking :-). All these will come to an end on Tuesday when Aunty Foong leaves and I will be left on my own to manage 2 kids, scared nya.

I don't like confinement periods. I don't like not being able to bath and wash my hair as and when I like, I don't like being sweaty all the time because of the heaty stuff I have to eat, I don't like confinement foods, I don't like drinking red dates water everyday (I miss plain water) and I don't like being confined to home but I will miss Aunty Foong.

Aunty Foong is my confinement lady. She cooks for me, boils water for my daily usage, takes care of my needs, looks after Zac and sleeps with Zac at night so I can get some rest in between my milking hours. Aunty Foong who is almost 60 is a good confinement lady and comes from Kuala Langat. I can't really comment on her cooking skills as I am not into confinement foods so whatever she cooks I will just eat eventhough I don't really like it. Aunty Foong often comment that I am a small eater and I don't know how to eat.. haha.

For the last one month she even cooks dinner for papa and Hayley and clean up after them which most confinement lady will not do as it is not part of their job. Although she sometimes will have her own ways/ideas in the things she do which I might not agree with, she did teach me a thing or two on what I should or should not eat and how best to care for a baby. I will also miss chatting with her, she's very '8' and likes to gossip about people from her hometown with me :-).

I have had 2 confinements, 1 with the help of a confinement lady and 1 without. For those who will be having a baby soon, I highly recommend hiring a good confinement lady to help you get through the healing period. For me, the experience was very different and I truly enjoy having Aunty Foong at home.

I am sure Zac will miss her too.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Need more breast milk storage bottles/bags

Can anyone please recommend me what's the best method for storing breast milk in the freezer?

I have 8 Avent containers and 4 Avent 9oz bottles and they have all been used up. I need to get more containers for storing breast milk and not sure what's reliable, useful or efficient.

Can someone out there please help recommend me something good?

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The day he arrived... (Part 2)

Continued from here.....

After about 3-4 hours I was wheeled out from the OT, the anaesthetic started wearing off and I could finally feel the pain. Dr Lee mentioned that if needed I can ask for painkillers and the one that would work best would be the suppository type. As the pain was bearable, it was painful but not the end of the world kind of pain, so I decided to be a heroin and refused the painkillers. To be honest, I was more uncomfortable sleeping on the hospital bed than handling the pain from the wound. The hospital bed was so hard that I am sure I would end up with bed sores if I had to sleep an extra night. My buttocks and back were so sore that I have to move and change the pressure point every 30 mins but with the pain it was hard to move. And as I still had the drip on me plus the urine cathether, it was even harder.

I just lied there the entire night, only sitting up slightly assisted by the bed to breastfeed. I started breastfeeding the night itself. The nurse also offered me a glass of milo which I accepted happily. As it was a single bedded room, papa was allowed to sleep with me. He had to sleep on a reclining chair that squeaks a lot (ie very noisy). It didn't look at all comfortable but he will just have to make do. After the 11pm feed, papa went back home for a quick shower and returned about 2 hours later. During that time, the nurses came in to check on me every 15-30 mins, checking my blood pressure, heart beat and temperature. It was quite annoying honestly as I didn't really get to rest properly.

At about 3am the following day, the nurses stopped the drip but left the needle intact in my hand as I still need to be injected with antibiotics. I felt much better being able to move both my hands more freely now. Bun was also brought to me every 3-4 hours for feeds. I was able to feed him quite comfortably too.

The next morning around 6am, the nurses removed the urine cathether. You have no idea how relieved I was when it was removed. After a while I became worried. What if I needed to wee and I still can't walk? The nurses told me I will need to make an attempt to the toilet at least once before 12 noon otherwise they will need to put the urine cathether back in me.

At 8am they came back to give me a sponge bath and to change the sheets. After it was done they asked if I would like to try to sit on the chair. Papa was away for his breakfast. I braved myself and tried to sit up with the nurses' help. It was only 18 hrs after the surgery. I managed to sit on the bed but the moment they helped me up on my feet, the wound hurts so badly it felt like I was being ripped apart. I could make one small step using my left foot but not with my right. Immediately I could see blood dripping from down there onto the floor. The nurses said I must have stood up for too long and told me to get back on the bed. With a lot of pain, I got back onto the bed. My heart sank. I was constantly being reminded by nurses and doctors and friends that the sooner I walk, the faster I would heal. Imagine my disappointment when I could not walk.

Dr Lee came to check on me in the morning and I told him I could not walk as it was too painful. He prescribed me with some mild oral painkillers. The nurses came a few mins later with a little brown pill and 2 paracetamol. I took them hoping that it would help me walk faster. Dr Choy, Bun's paed also came to introduce himself and told me that Bun was doing very well and he was a healthy and heavy little baby.

Then around 12 noon the nurse came again to check if I have used the toilet. I told her I could not walk still and asked her if I could use the bed pan. She brought the bed pan and I cleared the bladder. It was about 800ml! The nurse then warned me that I cannot hold my bladder for so long as the fuller the bladder is, the harder it would be for the uterus to contract. Moreover, if the bladder is full it would hurt the uterus too. After relieving myself, I felt so much better. I was wondering if that was the reason why I could not walk in the morning... could it be because of the full bladder?

The rest of the day got by like usual, lots of nurses coming in and out for the routine checks, cleaners coming in to clean the room, breakfast, lunch and dinner being served. For the entire 3 days 2 nights I was there, I was given tasteless fish porridge for lunch and dinner. For breakfast I got 2 slices of bread with fish porridge for day 1 and 2 slices of bread with oats for day 2. Oh how I miss eating rice. I got milo 4x a day.

Around 5pm, after 5 hours of clearing my bladder, papa asked me to try and sit up again. This time it was just me and him. I held his neck tightly and he helped me up. I managed to sit down for a while and adjust to the pain. After about 10 mins, I was able to stand up and again had to remain standing for a while to adjust to the pain. I finally managed to walk a few small steps to sit on the chair next to the bed. I was so happy. Next mission is to walk to the toilet. As the nurses still needs to monitor my output 2 more times that day, I had to call them to help me to the toilet. Taking one small step at a time I was able to walk to the toilet and cleared my bladder. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

After the first time, the subsequent times of getting up from bed, walking and sitting became easier and less painful. I got up a few more times that night to just walk around the room unassisted. I was so happy as this would secure my discharge tomorrow!

The next morning Dr Lee dropped by to visit and asked if I was independent to walk around, use the toilet etc which I proudly replied yes. Then he told me I could go home today and advised me to continue taking the painkillers for 2 more days just in case.

At around 1pm on Wed, I was finally discharged and was able to walk all the way from my ward to the car park. I was so happy that I don't have to sleep on the hard bed anymore.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The day he arrived... (Part 1)

Everytime after having a baby, I told myself that I will never want to go through it again but a few months down the road after seeing how cute they grow up to be and what a joy to have them around, I forgot what I have been through and got myself in trouble again. So this time I have decided to document it so I can refer back and remind myself that I should not go through this again... and hopefully it works.. hahaha

On November 1st 2010 at 8.30am, we sent Hayley to the babysitter. Upon leaving her at the door, I could not hold back my tears and started crying. Aunty asked me what was wrong and she thought I was scared of what's coming next. I told her I will be scared later but now I am crying because I have to be away from Hayley for 2-3 days and it will be very tough for me. Everytime I am away from her longer than the usual working hours, I will miss her terribly, I will worry if she will be ok without us, and then the tears will automatically roll. Plus this is the first time she's actually not sleeping with us by her side. Aunty assured me that she will be ok and we left with a heavy heart, after a hug and kiss routine.

We drove straight to SDMC and got admitted around 9.45am. We requested for a single room (RM230 per night) but since none were available at that time, we were given a 2 bedded room (RM150 per night). I insisted to be on a waitlist for a single room. Around 10.30am, nurses came in to clean me up ie shave me and gave me a hospital gown. My elective c-sec has been scheduled for 2.30pm that day and since I have to fast, I spent my time filling up forms, watching TV, facebooking and updating my blog to keep my mind from thinking about the surgery. Papa went for a quick breakfast when I was getting cleaned up. Dr Lee also popped in to check on me and to inform me the name of the anaesthetician for the day. It was Dr Zurainah:-). He said she is very skillful and I am in good hands.

During the entire time I kept staring at the clock and got more and more nervous as we approach 1.30pm. I know in anytime they will be coming to get me. At exactly 2pm, they came in with a bed and wheeled me out into the OT. Papa followed but was only allowed to wait at the waiting area outside the OT.

I was wheeled into the reception area of the recovery bay where they asked me my name etc and some information as I have filled in the forms, probably to check and make sure that I am sane and I know what I am doing. Once everything has been clarified, they wheeled me into the recovery bay. Another boy of about 10 was in there with the mom probably waiting for his turn to undergo some surgery. I asked the nurses again if papa was allowed to accompany me (since the boy's mom was there) and they said no. After about 30 mins, Dr Zurainah came to introduce herself and inserted the needle on my left hand for the drip. Although she was gentle, it still hurts. I also took the opportunity to ask her about the various anaesthetics and she confirmed that spinal would be the best for baby and me, this method according to her and some studies I read on the web has the least complications.

Around 2.45pm, I was wheeled into the OT. You have no idea how fast my heart was beating at this time. I think at least 200 beats per min. The OT was cold and they transferred me onto the OT bed. The bed was small, if I turn either sides I would end up on the floor. I could see many nurses in the room preparing the things required for the surgery. I could hear Dr Lee's voice outside the OT. Then I was told to sit up, with my legs bent inwards and a pillow under my armpit forming the letter C. Dr Zurainah then sprayed something cold on my back and jabbed me with the spinal jab. I didn't dare to look and could not stop trembling and asked one of the nurses if I could hold her hand. I squeezed her hand so tightly but yet she didn't complain. The nurses there were very symphatetic and understanding. They kept comforting me that it will be painless and it will be over in a min. I can feel the needle being poked into my spine and then I can feel the sensations on the right leg but nothing on my left. Then I overheard Dr Zurainah saying something about it not being deep enough and I knew I will have to go through it again. She jabbed me again for the 2nd time and after a few seconds my feet felt very heavy. She asked me to lift them up and I couldn't. I have to say that the jab itself is less painful than the insertion of the drip on my hand.

After the magic potion kicked in, they inserted the urine catheter into me. Although it was painless, I could feel the sensations and I knew exactly what they were doing. It was extremely uncomfortable. Once everything is ready, they started putting up the cloth to block me from seeing what they were doing. They placed both my hands on the arm rest on my left and right forming the letter T. They covered my upper body with thick blankets as they saw me trembling. Suddenly my nose itched and I asked the nurse to help me scratch :-). After a couple of mins, I started feeling nauseous. I told Dr Zurainah and she said it was normal as my blood pressure was dropping, a side effect of the spinal jab. She said it wil be over in a few mins. It was a terrible feeling, lying down and felt like vomitting but she was right, it was over in a few mins.

Dr Lee then came in, spoke to me for a min, he said after the surgery I can have my milo and the ever famous chicken soup of SDMC. He really knows how to make people feel better. Then he asked the nurses 'everyone ready?' and 'can I start?'. Then they responded and said yes ready.

I couldn't feel when the knife or whatever was used to open me up but I know they were touching me and working on me. My body was being turned left and right and after about 10 mins I heard Dr Lee asking for a forcep. Then a nurse came over to my upper part and started pushing my baby downwards by pressing onto my tummy. After a few mins, I could feel the baby being taken out as I felt light. Seconds later I could see him on my left and heard his first cries... I cried too..

During the entire time I was just watching the baby. He cried so loudly and continuously while they were cleaning him up. The Dr and the nurses called him hero as he cried non stop. I couldn't really see his face but could see that he was huge, some of the nurses even joked that he looked like a 4kg baby and no wonder Dr Lee had to use a forcep!

As I kept my eyes on him, I could also hear Dr Lee and the nurses as well as the suction. They must be cleaning up the blood inside me. Dr Lee then started stitching me up as I could hear him say '1st layer' then '2nd layer' and finally 'last layer'. Before they began stitching me up, the nurses brought baby to show me and let me kiss him for the first time. They also showed his private part to me to confirm his gender. Then baby was taken out to be shown to papa. The stitching and cleaning up took at least another 30 mins and it felt like forever. After everything was done, the nurses flipped me over from left to right to clean up the blood. I could see cloths with blood on the floor and in plastic bags. Then they remove the cover that blocked me from seeing the surgery and I knew it was all over.

Dr Lee showed me his bloodied gloves and told me how big Bun's head was and he couldn't grab it and had to use a forcep. Then he said everything went well, and Bun is well but the forcep scar will remian for a day or 2. The scar was from his left cheeks crossing down to his lips and right chin. He also adds that if I need painkillers after 2-3 hours I should ask them from the nurses.

I was then wheeled out from the OT into the recovery bay. I was instantly covered with thick blankets and one of it came with hot air to keep me warm. I trembled non stop. The nurses said it is another side effect of the jab and I should be ok in about 30 mins. It was about 3.45pm then. I was finally wheeled out into the ward around 4+pm. Papa and his brother were waiting for me outside the OT. I was wheeled into a single bedded room. I was still energetic as I got back to the room and started calling family and friends to inform of the good news. After a few hours, the 'pain' finally kicked in....

Friday, November 5, 2010

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Updates..

Our little boy is finally here.

Name: Zachary Yew
Weight: 3.84kg
DOB: 1st November 2010

Will follow up with the experience and his photos later :-)

Monday, November 1, 2010

Waiting....

I admitted into SDMC since 9.30am this morning. They shaved me, cleared my bowel, got me to fill up some forms and I am now waiting for the TIME. I think this waiting time is the most horrible in my life. Half of me is excited and the other half of me is nervous and not to mention I am hungry and thirsty. I kept staring at the clock! Dr Lee dropped by earlier to check on me and he told me that papa will not be allowed in the operating theatre, DAMN! I thought for once he could see it for himself what I have to go through, let him see how courageous I am and let him experience it all for the last time. Sigh... that is not going to happen again (the first time in Assunta and he was not allowed in as well) and I am so upset. Dr Lee said papa will get to see Bun in the recovery room and I will be wheeled out into the recovery room for about 45 mins after the surgery.

The most dreadful part of the entire process for me would be the insertion of the drip, the urine catherer and lastly the spinal anasthetic jab. Needles makes me weak. The nurses said these will happen in the OT itself. Although this was my 2nd c-sec, it was different the first time as I was wheeled in from the labour room into the OT and most of the preparation work was done in the labour room and everything happened so quickly.

I pray for courage and strength and a smooth delivery...