This pregnant photo was taken right before I was asked to quickly put on the hospital gown and subsequently wheeled into the OT for a c-sec.


Come to think of it, my experience was kinda weird. I thought the minute babies are born, they are put on their mommies' chest for immediate skin-to-skin contact and for first round of breastfeeding? None of that happened for me. The minute Lil E was pulled out of my abdomen, the nurse quickly grabbed the crying and screaming Lil E to the small station at the corner of the OT to clean him up. Thereafter, he was brought to my side for me to have a glimpse of him before being quickly whisked out of the OT for assessments. I delivered Lil E around 3-ish and only got to see him at night!


Here's our first family portrait together. But ahem, no one is looking at the camera. And I seriously looked like shit and felt even more like shit. Am on morphine as pain killers. The pain from the c-sec is slowly but surely kicking in. And after the nurses came and massaged my uterus to ensure that it contracts, I can't even move my body or clear my throat for it aches terribly when I do so.


The nurses brought Lil E in to be breastfed. But because I could only lie on the bed stiffly, they had to help me carry Lil E in various positions to encourage him to latch. However, instead of latching on he just cried and cried and cried. :(


Then, my BFF came and visited me with her daughters. So touched la. Never expect to have any guests aside from my family.


And then my childhood friend came his pregnant wife too! 5 days after this photo was taken, the wife delivered a baby girl. Hehehe...


My family of course! My mommy looked so touched, I thought she would break out in tears anytime! And if she does, I'm sure I would follow suit too. Mommy cooked me food but because I have not peed, pooped nor farted, nurse said I can't eat anything. :(

19-Oct was such a happy, touching and memorable day! Welcome Lil E! :)

Just realized I've not documented my birth story. Here's what happened...

The News
So at week 38, on a Friday, my doc told me that my amniotic fluid was low and that I will have to be induced. However, since baby was still in posterior position, there is a high chance of long labour and potentially emergency c-sec. 

The Decision
We were given 2 dates to be induced. Sat or Mon. But since doc said there will be high chance of emergency c-sec, we decided to go for c-sec straight upon consulting family members. Decided on Saturday morning and was slotted in for the same evening.

The Drama
Shed a tear (actually many drops of tears) when doc said Hb cannot be in the OT with me since it's after normal hours and there's only 1 medical team for the timeslot I was scheduled for. It was apparently a hospital policy that he has no control over... Hb was sad too. But my doc patted me on my shoulder and said "Don't worry, I will take care of you. You can chit chat with me in the OT"

The Separation
Tears were flowing down my puffy cheeks as I was wheeled into the OT. Hb trailed along as far as he was allowed to. Remembered thinking what if that was the last time I saw Hb? And therefore, even more tears... wetting my already very wet puffy cheeks.

The Fear
All alone in the OT, I was trembling; partly fear and partly also cos I was in a freezer. The nurses then got me ready. Plugged me with an intravenous needle and shoved a catheter up my urinary tract. It was painful and super uncomfortable! I was then held onto a sitting position where a jab was administered into my spine. It wasn't epidural, I forgot the term used. The doc told me to keep very still and I was 'lagi' afraid. Cos what if I accidentally move due to reflex?

The Procedure
Almost immediately after the jab, my legs felt numb with tingling sensations. When they started, I felt no pain, only lots of tugging and pulling while doctors and nurses had their casual chit chats with one another. I was too overwhelmed to "chat" and was busy saying my prayers in my heart. The anesthetic doc must have sensed my fear cos he grasped my hand and told me that everything will be fine. Remembered feeling touched with the gesture and wished Hb was there with me.

The Miraculous Moment
With a big push on my abdomen, Lil E was pulled out! He came out crying at the top of his lungs and his cries filled the entire OT! Amazing cos a second ago he was still kicking me in my ribs! Upon cleaning him up, he was brought to my side where I caught my first glimpse of him. Again tears flowed but I was so busy trying to memorize his face. When the nurse showed me his genitals, he left a small amount of sticky black meconium poop on the side of my bed.

The Wait
Expected him to be plopped on my chest for skin to skin contact but he was brought out for assessments immediately; leaving me feeling so worried. The procedure continued where this time they pulled out my placenta b4 stitching me back up. After the procedure, I was held back at another station outside the OT where my BP was measured repeatedly for what felt like eternity (~45min). Only after that I was told my BP shot up really high during the op. Luckily all was OK.

The Reunion
When I was finally wheeled out, the first person I saw at the exit was Hb and he quickly told me that he has seen our baby. At the corner of my eyes I saw another man staring at me and when I looked over he gave me the thumbs up sign and said baby's all good. Was wondering who the weirdo was when Hb told me he's our baby's assigned paed.

The Blackout
Back in my ward, the nurses injected me something for my uterus to contract and boy contracted it did. The pain was pretty unbearable and although I was put on morphine, both the pain from the contraction and surgery left me lying stiffly on the bed. The slightest movement would send me in tears. At this point, Lil E was still not brought in. But Hb managed to take a video of him while I was still in the OT. Happy that it was the same face I saw earlier, I fell asleep...

That pretty much sums up my birthing experience...

And so Hb and I busied ourselves trying to complete the works in our study room. We bought additional inserts for the bookshelf as well as the side shelves! Here's the final outcome which we're so happy about! :)

Ohhh I also had this "brilliant" idea of creating a so-called 3D art using the various magnets we collected each time we travelled overseas. Some of them were souvenirs from friends too. 

And tadahhh... our study room's complete now! Well maybe we need proper chairs. Currently just using 2 of the chairs from our dining set. Hehehe... 

Hb and I finally decided to do up our study room after over 8 months of moving in. Hehehehe... So on 5-August-2013, we went to Ikea to get the following items:

Shelving unit from the Expedit series to store books, magazines and files. We initially wanted to get the 5x5 one but that only comes in normal paint and not high gloss. Fearing that it may turn yellowish over time, we decided to get the 4x4 one instead in high gloss White. Oh for a moment, we were even considering the high gloss Red one given that our study room is located in the South sector i.e. Fire element. But then we thought it was a tad too outstanding and may look overbearing once we put in our red carpet. So in the end, we went back to our initial choice.

We also bought the matching table from the same series. Colour wise it was either White or Black-Brown. We have a corner showcase unit in our study room that houses paraphernalias that we bought back overseas or collected over the years and that showcase is in Black-Brown. Therefore, Black-Brown it is for the attaching table.

Next, we also bought the 2x4 shelving unit to be placed horizontally for our printer and audio system.

Carpet wise, we took the carpet from our master bedroom; also from Ikea cos my mom gave us several larger carpets and one of them matches our master bedroom. Not forgetting, red's the colour we need for the study room in the South sector.

We could've paid Ikea for the delivery and installation / assembly but HB insisted that it will be a piece of cake (wife is skeptical of course, hahaha) and proceeded to try and load all the above into our car. Thank goodness they all fit.

Next up... how they all fit together in the study room... :)

We've been so busy with the new house that I totally forgot about my new year resolutions! So here goes...

1. Make More Money
2. Make Babies
3. Make Time

Top 3 priorities this year.

More money, cos' we spent a bomb on our house renovation and furniture. It's time to replenish our savings! Also cos ahem, we've got lots of wish lists for the house still! :)

Make babies, been married 3 years. In the past we only live together on weekend. Now that we have moved to this new place, we are finally living like a normal married couple. Supposed it's high time to make babies!!! :))

Make time, for things that matter. There's 24 hours in a day. And yet we often lament that there's just not enough time. While I am juggling career and personal life, I would seriously like to make time for my parents (not like I'm not doing it now but more of it since we now live 6 units apart), for myself to discover hidden passion(s) that I may have and for my hubby! :)))

So ya! Top 3 resolutions for 2013! Happy New Year!!!

Several things about moving to a new house...

Switches
Not entirely sure which switch is tied to which lighting or fan or aircond... That often all the lights and fans in the house is on... hehe...

Keys
While it's easy to figure out the main keys of the house, the sub keys are the hardest to figure out cos they all look the same.

New Hob
Everyone seemed to be able to on my new hob except me. Hmmm...

Sweeping & Cleaning
After renovation, the entire place is full of dusts! Even after mopping numerous rounds, it still felt powdery!!!

Nevertheless, slowly figuring them out with Hb... :))
Here's a snapshot of our house. Several pending items still:

TV Panel

• Doors not fitted yet
• Surface to be polished
• Missing drawer to be installed
• Holes to hide home theater wires
• Astro installation
• Fan & middle row of downlights seemed connected to the same switch!

Dining Room

• Painting to be installed

Dry Kitchen

• Missing door to be installed
• Fridge to be delivered

Wet Kitchen

• Grills to be installed
• Additional partition for tall cabinet

Study Room

• Not a single item done yet!

Family Hall

• TV, home theatre & DVD player to be connected
• Astro to be installed

Master Bedroom

• Wardrobe clothes rail, 2 missing
• Toilet flush not working

As you can see, there are still tonnes to be done! :)