Jensen James Is Here

Our little bundle of joy arrived on 31 August 2011 at 9.20am weighing 2.92 kg. My due date was 2 September but had a show in the morning of 30 August and admitted, induced at 2pm, and delivered the next morning at 9.20a.m.

Who ever said that the 2nd time around should be easier......no, it's not. In my case, the labour was longer and the pain was much much worse. I almost wanted to give up when I was 6cm dilated. With every contraction at the peak, I thought that it couldn't get worse but it just did and I was surprised a human being can go through such pain without passing out. I closed my eyes tighter and tighter with every contraction and when it was at the max, I couldn't believe that my eyes just pop open (against my will). I must have screamed too (I can't hear nor control myself at that time) so much so that I felt my throat was dry and sore after the delivery. But I remember myself crying at the peak of each contraction.

Like the 1st labour, I didn't opt for epidural, just asked for the gas and the pain killer jab. After all the drama, moaning (almost like screaming) and crying, baby Jensen arrived safely. Then, the cord snap leaving the placenta inside me. The doc had to call the anesthetist to numb my lower body so that she can retrieve the placenta by hand. I can't explain how relieved I felt after that, no more pain. Then I thought that I should have taken the epidural in the first place to save all the sweat and tears.

I felt so embarrassed after the delivery, thinking of how smooth the 1st delivery was and how well I handled that compared to this. The whole labour was like a dream to me, like I was outside my body, hearing all the conversations between the midwives, nurses, doctor and my hubby but I just couldn't respond nor control my body.

What I remembered clearly was I told the doctor "I don't want anymore babies after this".

24hrs of Contraction but It's a False Alarm

Mummy is 36 weeks & 5 days preggie.....

Weird isn't it?

About one week before that episode of false alarm, I had contraction for 12 hours, which started on 28 July (34 weeks & 6 days preggie). We were watching the Malaysia vs. Singapore football match at home that evening. I started to feel the contraction at around 10pm+ and wasn't sure about that. So I observed for about 20 minutes and the pain is still coming at about 9 minutes apart. Hubby was still watching the match when I stand in front of him and told him to get the bag out from the wardrobe. He looked at me with eyes wide opened and said "baby coming out ah?" I said "I'm not sure but I feel the contraction". After taking the bag out, I started to pack the hospital bag and he continued to watch the match until finish. I told him later that it's still too early to tell but if it continues throughout the night, I need to see my gynae the next morning.

I only managed to sleep after 2am that night. So many things went round my head. Luckily, I have briefed my boss what are the outstanding things on my hand that need to be monitored. The pain was still there until the next morning at about 9 mins apart but there was no spotting and water bag is still intact. We went to see my gynae after sending Ethan to school. He did a scan on me and checked on the cervix. Baby was doing fine, weighed about 2.3 kg and his head is down but not engaged. Cervix is not dilated. He gave me a steroid jab (cannot remember the name) to strengthen the baby's lung, in case he decided to come out early. The baby is not yet full term and it's best to carry him to at least 36 weeks and his weight should be ideally above 2.5kg. The jab will also help to stabilise the contraction/womb and my situation should improve by 80% after the jab. I need to go back for the 2nd jab the next day. It was a darn painful jab in the @$$.

I was actually on leave that Friday, which I have applied 1 month ago coz I so so wanted to go to the Parenthood fair. Before going to the clinic, I told hubby over breakfast that I'm going to ask the doc if I can go to Midvalley later (he has agreed to go with me a week ago) and hubby quickly answered "you cannot go lar". I said "aiyah, let me ask first lar". Before I could say anything, my gynae already told me that after the jab, I should go home and rest, cannot go around and shopping. Wah, he can almost read my mind. So, I looked at hubby and just laughed. Darn....I'm so disappointed. Really disappointed. The contraction slowly faded away after the 2nd jab. I was given mc for 3 days (Friday, Monday & Tuesday).

The False Alarm
On 2 August (35 weeks & 4 days preggie), I had the 1st appointment with another gynae at UKMSC, where we have opted to deliver the baby. I waited for 2 months to see this gynae. Can't believe the waiting list is that long. I was so worried when I first experienced the contraction coz I was not sure if the specialist centre will accept me or not if I were really in labour before I see the gynae.

I was so relieved after the check-up. Firstly, I know I can surely be admitted there if I'm really in labour. Secondly, baby was 2.6kg with head down but not engaged. Thirdly, the hospital bag was packed. So, I can deliver anytime now without worries. I told the gynae about the contractions and the jabs I was given. She said things are under controlled and I can go back to work the next day.

That very same night, the contraction came again. We went to bed about 10pm+ and I started to feel it at about 11pm. Ethan and hubby were asleep and I didn't wake hubby up. Again, I have another sleepless night. I monitored the contraction until I dozed off at about 3am. It was 9 mins apart lasting about 5-10 seconds each. I woke up at about 6.30am. the next morning and the pain was getting stronger. I woke hubby up and told him about it but I still think it's too early to go to the hospital. I told him to go to work and I will send Ethan to school and then go to my mum's house to monitor the contraction. I will call him if there's anything.

The contraction was getting stronger and more frequent on that day, from 9 mins apart to about 5-6 mins apart in the evening. However, there was no spotting and my water bag did not break. I asked hubby to fetch Ethan after work and go to my mum's house for dinner before going to the hospital for a check. We had put the hospital bag in the car that morning. By the time we headed for the hospital at 8.30pm., the pain was quite intense. The MO checked on me and asked tonnes of questions. The CTG showed that I had contraction but not consistent. Baby's heartbeat was normal. Cervix was about 1cm dilated.

It was exactly the same scenario when I delivered Ethan 5 years ago - 12 hrs of contraction and 1cm dilation when I went to the hospital. Ethan came 3 weeks early, which makes me think this baby might come early too. After all, everyone has been telling me that the 2nd baby will come earlier than the 1st one. The only difference was that I had spotting after a few hours of contraction when I delivered Ethan. I remembered I can still walk to the ward when I was admitted last time, which means the pain was not that intense compared to this time, which I don't think I can walk to the ward.

After checking on me, the MO told me that it's too early to tell if I'm in labour. It could be Braxton Hicks contractions and I can choose to be warded or go home to wait. However, he will discuss this with my gynae first. I read many times about Braxton Hicks and all the resources said that Braxton Hicks contractions will go away after a while but mine didn't. He called my gynae, whom I just saw the day before and after discussing for a while, he handed the phone to me. I told her the contractions were getting stronger consistently from the time it started and she advised me to stay in the hospital for monitoring.

They wheeled me to the ward at around 10pm. and hubby stayed with me that night. I managed to fall asleep after 2am and throughout the night I was awaken by the pain but I gave up to check how far apart it was. I just wanted to rest as much as possible to gather energy for the labour. The nurse came and check the baby's heartbeat at 12 midnight and the CTG at 6.30am. the next morning. It showed that the baby's heartbeat was ok but the contraction was not that strong. I too felt that the contraction was further apart and slowly faded.

We waited for my gynae to come and by the time she arrived at 11am, the contraction has gone. I just didn't feel it anymore. I told her I'm confused. She said it happened and saw a few cases like that before. I can be discharged. She checked on my tummy and said the baby's head was not engaged. I felt so tired at that time, having to deal with the on-off contractions and sleepless nights. So I asked her if I can be induced but she said NO. I just have to wait.

So, here I am back to work and still pregnant.

The 2nd Trimester

Mummy is 27 weeks & 5 days preggie.....
Ethan is 5 years, 2 weeks & 3 days old.....

Baby

• Weight at 24th week: 590g

We found out it's a boy on my 16th week check-up. When I asked my gynae if we could see the gender on that day, he told me "Yes, if the baby is co-operative". Well, baby was really very co-operative on that day and showed us everything. I remembered hubby said in the car later "Another boy ah". I said "I thought you said ok to have another boy". He replied "I'm only worried about you. Having one boy already caused you 'dai geng pau' (thyroid), what more another boy now." When I asked him about baby name a few days after that, he said wait until the next check-up to confirm it's a boy. The next check-up showed it's a boy, again. I don't have to explain more on what he prefers right?

As for me, seriously, I don't know what I prefer. It's like 'Ok, I have tried a chocolate cake this time and maybe I want to try a strawberry cake the next time. But the strawberry cake is sold out the next time I wanted to buy it. Well, never mind, I know how the chocolate cake tastes like and I like it and don't mind having it again.' At the end of the day, what we really and I believe all parents hope for is a healthy and normal baby.

The gynae did a 3D scan for us during my 24th week check-up and everything seems ok. It's all that I ask for.







Mummy
The nausea and vomitting stopped at about 4 months+ and the appetite was improving fast. So fast that I gained 4.5kg between the 20th (55.5kg) and 24th (60kg) week check-ups. The nurse was shocked and the doctor was horrified. I was warned to watch my weight and diet. My gynae asked if I was having too much durian and I said only a couple of times but I really craving for sweet stuff. He told there is a high risk of baby being obese and hyperactive if I take too much sweet food. From there on, I try to control the intake of sugar and other fattening food (cakes, durian, carbonated drinks, nasi lemak, fried noodles, etc. etc.). My weight lingers around 61kg+ for the last few days and hopefully, it will not go beyond 62kg during my 28th week check-up.

Baby bump at 24th week. It's much much bigger now.

Preparation

• Clothing-Checked. Got more than enough for the baby's first 2 months from my sister. Some belong to Ethan.
• Baby cot-Checked. The cot that Ethan used, which was transformed into a toy storage has been cleared and cleaned.
• Mattress-Bought a new latex mattress for the cot (and got my sisters to pay for it...muahahahahah).
• Latex pillow-Bought a new one.
  
• Bed sheets, cot bumper set, mosquito net-Still in storage. Need to clean it soon.
• Breast pump-Checked. Got a pre-loved Avent manual set from my sis. Barely used.
• Electric steam steriliser-Bought a new one (Lindam). Although I plan to breastfeed, baby will still use bottles when I return to work.
• Cloth diaper-Bought 4 new sets and 1 set used by Ethan.
• Napkins-Got old ones, which was barely used by Ethan and bought another 12 pieces.
  

There are still things that I need to buy and prepare for the baby's arrival. One major task is to prepare myself mentally to breastfeed. I failed miserably in breastfeeding Ethan. He was only breastfed for 1 month and was not even fully breastfed. This time, I want to breastfeed full time, so I'm not going to buy any formula for "just-in-case" use. If baby refuses to suck, then I'll express/pump. What I fear most is lack of sleep and sore nipple.

The 1st Trimester

15 weeks & 3 days preggie.....
Ethan is 4 years, 9 months, 2 weeks and 1 day old.....

We have been planning for a baby since last year and found out about the good news in January. Everyone was happy about it including Ethan. The morning sickness (or rather evening sickness) was bad but not as bad as the first pregnancy with Ethan. I can safely say that it is over now (finger-crossed). Both hubby and Ethan have been very understanding and supportive. Hubby will entertain Ethan and does most of the chores when I needed to rest. Ethan once asked me "Mummy, why you don't want to play with me?". I told him "Baby wants to sleep" and he said "Ohh" and left the room. From then on, I just have to tell him baby wants this or baby wants that, he will let me do whatever I want without fussing. I think he deserves a big present from the baby when the time comes.

About one month before I found about the pregnancy, I discovered that I have (hyperactive) thyroid. I was on medication prescribed by my GP and then my gynae referred me to a specialist for more detailed check-up/follow-up. I have to go back for check-up every 2-3 weeks. It will involve blood test to check my thyroid hormone levels and a consultation with the Endocrynologist on my condition and the dosage of PTU to take. When I first saw the specialist, I was on 6 pills a day and the dosage has been reduced to 1 pill a day now. The specialist told me that as my pregnancy progresses, my condition will improve by itself (in most cases, it do) but there will be a relapse after delivery. Whatever it is, I still have to go for check-up every 3 weeks now. Earlier on, I asked the specialist, what will be worse case scenario if the thyroid remains active? I was told high chances of miscarriage. Now that it is under control, I can put my worries aside and hope the baby is going to be healthy and normal.

Work wise, it has definitely slow down a little bit. I'm only trying to meet the deadlines of the utmost important thing. Two days before I found out I'm pregnant, I went to propose to my boss about a conference in Canada. He approved it and sent a memo up to the CEO for approval. It was then approved and I was really in a dilemma as to go or not because I was still in the early stage. After a week of consideration and a big NO NO from my gynae, I told my boss about my pregnancy and I shouldn't be travelling long-haul especially. He was very understanding and was ok with it but I still feel guilty for having to pull out and let my colleague went on her own.

Canada was out but I went to Hong Kong with my family when I was 12 weeks pregnant. Luckily, my gynae gave me a green light. Not that I will cancel the trip anyway but I will enjoy the trip more with his approval. It was really a good trip. Next is Guangzhou, a 7-day/6-night business trip that I can't say no again. Will be flying off in 2 weeks time.

My next check-up with gynae is this Friday and if we're lucky, we should be able to know the gender then. Awwwww......so excited.