My Confinement Stay Review (Part 1) - The Beginnings Of A 28 Day Relationship

DISCLAIMER: Please do note that this is my personal experience. I understand that everyone has different expectations and therefore different experiences. Please do ensure that you do your own due diligence. Please visit the center and ask the questions which are important to you. I am happy to share if anyone has specific questions. Please do connect with me on themummynotebook@gmail.com



I realised that giving birth is really a walk in the park compared to the aftermath of giving birth! (Duh right? This is my second one!) I must say that this is just my experience...I really respect and am in awe of other Mummies who go through a lot more to bring their child into this world. Recovering your strength and health for one is really tough when you are determined to fully breast feed your baby and when you fall into the category of "advanced maternal age" (you can already guess my age! :) you feel every ache and pain postpartum! Ouch!

So handsome even at one week old! :)

So, I really do believe in the wisdom of the confinement period for new mothers. It is a lot to take in and your body has just been through drastic changes! Not mention possible emotional challenges too. (See list of changes here.) So rest and proper nutrition is of utmost importance and I am so glad that we decided to go down the path of staying in a confinement center. The time I spent researching and visiting confinement centers was worth it! We visited four other centers in Subang, PJ SS2, Taman Yarl and Seri Petaling before we confirmed on Yuan Yuan Confinement Retreat Centre in Damai Perdana.

The Check In

Personally for me, the first two weeks post partum was really the most difficult. Firstly I was emotionally drained from the experience of hyperbilirubinemia in Joel, added to the physical strain of giving birth, sleepless nights...I am just glad that when I checked into the confinement center the first thing they gave me was the very thing I needed! It was the "CALL BELL"! (Ha ha ha! I think all you mummies out there would agree with me!) It was basically the passport to me not having to do a single thing/lift a single finger unless I wanted to. It made such a difference because I literally did not leave my room for 4-5 days because of the extreme pain in my lower back, abdominal and pelvic areas. Thank goodness for all the help!

The Call Bell!

I felt a little lost the first few days as I did not know who was who and what was where.  I think that if someone had spent a little time with me to do a simple orientation session to share about how things are done, who does what, and what goes where, it would have made things even more pleasant than it already was. It is the little things that matter, for example, how is cupboard space segregated? I was in the sharing room which allowed for 4 Mummies to stay in at the same time. My bag was on the floor and my clothes were on the bed next to me for quite a few days before I decided to just put my bag into any cupboard space to get organised. Same with the bathroom. I wasn't sure what belonged to whom and what I could use. The funny thing was, I missed using the herbal bath for the first 2 days because I didn't realise that one of the buckets were for me! The toilet bowl was also missing the seat cover and it was precarious business going to the toilet! (So funny! Everytime I went to use the toilet, I had to be careful not to fall into the toilet bowl!) It also felt strange that no one would tell you/remind you what to do/eat and not to do/eat during confinement! I had the experience of a confinement lady the first time and I remember her constantly telling/reminding me about good confinement practices.With regards to food, during the first few days, I was surprised that they served me french fries, ham and nuggets for one my breakfast meals. I do like continental breakfast but I felt that the quality could have been a little better. I didn't feel like eating processed meat then.


A Bumpy Start

Like most things, beginnings always need a little tweaking. I realised that it was up to me to make my stay the best I can. So I started to ask around a lot, made an effort to talk and get to know everyone in the centre, Hubby helped to tell them about the broken toilet seat (which they fixed promptly! Hooray!) opened up to them about what kind of food I prefer, how much I enjoyed drinking soup, eating the rice wine chicken/pork/kidney and vegetables. I also asked them questions to understand more about how they would care for my baby. After that I shared with them how I wanted them to support me in caring for my baby in line with their best practices. It really does take two hands to clap! Both parties making the effort really makes a difference. I am pleased to say that overall, I had a great time recuperating at the centre and would highly recommend new mummies who are trying to decided between a Confinement Lady or Confinement Centre (you can read about how we rationalised trying out a confinement centre here) to try out a confinement centre! Stay tuned for my next installment in the review of my stay at Yuan Yuan!

How do you handle bumpy starts to new experiences? 


Update: 30th December 2016

The center has been rebranded to Culture Romance Confinement Retreat Center. You can reach them on their Facebook page at @cultureromance

March 2016 Expenditures - Baby Full Moon and Diapers!

Hi everyone, it is good to be finally back to my blog! I really missed writing the whole of April and it wasn't on purpose either. Coming out of the heaven of the confinement home to the chaos of home was...I think the only way to describe it...HILARIOUS! If I didn't have my head screwed on, I would have left it behind on several occasions. Caring for two is definitely a different ball game all together and since I officially started work last week and I am just glad that Mother-in-law and Father-in-law survived the week with our two children. I have so much updates and things that I want to share with everyone! Little Joel (Murtabak...a story for another time) is growing up so fast! He is now 6.5 kilos at 3 months old.

The first half of March was relaxing as I was still in confinement, financially it was still a pretty heavy month for us, as a major chunk of money went into paying for my stay in the confinement centre. Both our car insurance and road tax for the year was also due, so another chunk of money disappeared into the abyss of Car Maintenance. On top of that we are still doing up our home and I went on a diaper buying spree! (Kiasu mother...see a good deal cannot pass it up in case it goes up in price again.) I think most of you know what I mean, things are just going up in price like nobody's business. I used my credit card a lot to make those purchases, but I always make sure that I pay it in full when the bill arrives. I am allergic to paying any interest on my credit card and as a family we have paid off all my credit cards in full and now we are working towards clearing all of hubby's ones too. I wasn't always that way but that's a story for another time...We want to be credit card debt free! (Again, a story for another time!)

My supply of diapers for the both of them!8 boxes in total, 2 we already sent to my in-laws!

In our tradition of the Baby Full Moon celebration when Joel turned one month old, we spent some money to give away full month gift boxes particularly to our parent's friends. We decided to order them online from Uniq Full Moon & Gift Shop. They had a discount promotion for their traditional rice sets. We were contemplating a Full Moon party but that hasn't materialised yet. Maybe 100 days...?? But then again that has passed too! ...just a simple makan maybe...maybe not...spend more money?? Nooo....

At nearly 1 month old...so clever to smile. The curry was yummy and the red eggs were beautiful!

After  my confinement, we went out and indulged in spicy foods and ice cream which I couldn't eat throughout my pregnancy and confinement! Here's to nasi lemak and coconut ice cream! As you can see Chapati really enjoyed having both his parents and his little brother home all together. I caught this really cute photo of him playing in his toy box with me!

Well here is where our RMs went to in March!

Item/Vendor	Amount (RM)	Notes
Eating Out	768.55	Hubby discovered a quick, simple and cheap place to eat Japanese food. Plus I was out of confinement and wanted to eat stuff that I couldn’t eat before.
Fuel	409.00	Mainly for Hubby’s work travel.
Parking & Toll (TouchnGo)	135.67	Hubby’s TouchnGO Auto Reload Card
Parking & Toll (TouchnGO)	18.20	We are paying for Hubby’s parents using my TouchnGO Auto Reload Card
Parking & Toll (TouchnGo)	46.72	My TouchnGo Plusmiles & Tesco Card
Mobile Phone Bills	598.60	We are paying for my parents, hubby’s parents and our monthly mobile phone bills
Medical Insurance	500.00	Chapati & Murtabak’s medical insurance premium monthly
Car Maintenance, Insurance & Road	3404.94	The Honda and X-Trail were due almost at the same time. So decided to do it together.
Home Maintenance	906.90	We replaced our cooking gas, some boxes and towel railings to get better organised and a very comfortable armchair! Breastfeeding is hard work!
Home Security	50.00	March 2016 contribution to the safety of our home
Confinement Home (Final Payment)	2300.00	We paid a total of RM 6300 for my stay in the confinement home. Hubby decided to upgrade RM500 for my meals so that I could eat better quality food and have a choice of how it was cooked.
Medical	90.40	My calcium pill supplements and mouthwash. My teeth need very thorough looking after. Don’t want to incur expensive dental bills.
Groceries	433.38	Bought a change of CO2 tank for our soda express machine and indulged in yummy Sunny
Kids	808.52	Diapers, diapers, diapers and a monster truck for Chapati. Hubby still indulging his love for toy cars!
Shopping	113.80	Hubby bought replacement Croc look-a-likes which are from Thailand and really good quality too! I also got my Chinese double boil soup pot.
Doggies	120.10	Alpo food from Tesco. We didn’t get a chance to buy their normal food.
Gifts	490.70	Full moon gift boxes and Ang Pows for the staff in the confinement home.
Beauty	87.00	My facial spray that works as a toner before I put on moisturiser.
Misc	17.00	Dry cleaning for my office work suit which I had sent and forgetten all about it for more than a year!
Total	11,299.48

Did you indulge like I did post confinement? Do share your stories!

February 2016 Expenditures And A Baby!

February 2016 will be forever a cherished memory for us because our little family is now a family of 4 with the arrival of little Joel! Ta-da! It has been a roller coaster ride of an adventure for us as parents caring for another little human being and a major adjustment for Chapati. He is now the big kor-kor! (big brother)  It has been really awesome and at the same time really exhausting for us but we are so ready for our new adventure as a family!

 Little Joel at two weeks old, sleeping contently after a feed

It was also an out of this world month for us in terms of expenditures, we spent a lot of money this month, but it's all good because we were ready for it and Hubby had already planned for the medical expenses which made up the bulk of our spending. It has also helped that we have started spending more prudently over the last 6 months and saving more. Whilst it looks like a lot, we managed to spend a lot less than what we did for Chapati's birth two years ago. Experience does help! We did it once before and I was determined that we would do it cheaper and just as good this time around.

That's us having a blast of time at the playground taking photos! :) 40 weeks preggie!

I also decided to encapsulate my placenta to try and see if my recovery after delivery would be better and faster. Most importantly, I am hoping it will also stave away any kind of post natal blues. Based on a friend's recommendation, I decided to confirm the encapsulation services from Gift of Love. You can check out their FB page from the link.

A few things that we did right:-

• Register my pregnancy with KKIA and do all follow up at the clinic which was free!
• See our private Doctor who would be doing the delivery once a month. Usually when you reach your 3rd trimester you have to see the doctor once every two weeks and at your final month, once a week. We saved a lot of money on consultation fees! Hooray!
• Free pregnancy vitamins from KKIA
• Free jabs and compulsory blood tests at KKIA
• Take the hospital maternity package. We could have saved even more if we took the 4 bedded ward. Honestly the 4 bedded room was so much more pleasant and spacious than the 2 bedded one that I was in. 
• Staying in a confinement center for 28 days rather than hire a confinement lady for 2 months! 
• Joel's medical procedure after he was born was a lot cheaper than Chapati's. We saved about RM300.

Overall, February was so awesome and fantastic! The joy of having Joel is beyond what we could imagine and as a family we have so much to look forward to. We are healthy, happy, more energised and determined to make a difference in our family life, our finances and walk with God!

So here goes, this is how we spend our RMs in February!

Item/Vendor	Amount (RM)	Notes
Eating Out	973.10	Chinese New Year Yee Sangs! Huat ar! Prosperity! Health and Happines for 2016!
Fuel	590.04	Petrol prices dropped in Feb and since I was heavily pregnant and then delivered Joel, we haven’t been out gallivanting much. Can’t wait to be out and about after the 28 days confinement period.
Parking & Toll (TouchnGo)	129.28	Hubby’s TouchnGO Auto Reload Card
Parking & Toll (TouchnGO)	12.42	We are paying for Hubby’s parents using my TouchnGO Auto Reload Card
Mobile Phone Bills	595.25	We are paying for my parents, hubby’s parents and our monthly mobile phone bills
Specialist Consultation Fee	250.00	Two visits to see Dr Eee and one of them was when we did the CTG for Joel. Very reasonable
Placenta Encapsulation	600.00	From Gift of Love. 50 pills were vacuum packed, the rest were in a freezer safe bottle and the umbilical cord came back as a keepsake in a box molded in a heart shape.
Hospital Delivery & Ward Charges	2804.56	This was the Pantai Cheras Hospital 2 bedded maternity package. 3 days and 2 nights.
Baby Jaundice Treatment	1488.70	This was including the doctor’s charges, photo therapy and an additional two night’s stay for me in the 4 bedded ward so that I could be with him.
Joel Medical Procedure & Medication	1269.60	This was done in Gleneagles Intan Medical Center on Jalan Ampang. It included the specialist consultation, day procedure and medication.
Confinement Home (2nd Installment)	3000.00	We paid RM1,000 as a booking fee and now upon checking into the home, this second instalment. The rest will be in March 2016
Groceries	290.25	Mostly CNY cookies, Bak Kwa (dried meat snack) and yummy Mandarin Oranges
Gifts	2016.40	Chinese New Year Angpows for family and friends! Look at the amount! This year is 2016! Cool…
Kids (Misc)	10.90	Hubby bought another truck for Chapati from DIY
Total	14,030.50

 

New parents out there, how much did you spend on the delivery of your prince/princess? Any tips or ideas on how to save more?

Our Learning & Experience: Hyperbilirubinemia - Jaundice in Newborns

There is no greater sense of helplessness and heartache for a parent, than to see your child sick or in pain...a newborn baby more over. If you are parent, you will agree with me that you would rather take their place and suffer whatever it is that is plaguing your child.

Joel was born at 6.28 am, after they took him to the nursery for the necessary jabs and check ups, I was wheeled into my room to rest and recuperate. They brought him back to me to breastfeed him and I kept him with me most of the day because our parents and family had come to visit and see Joel. It would seem that all was as it should be. A short and fast delivery, healthy baby and mama...

Then the pediatrician (Dr Hoh) assigned to us by the hospital drops by at about 5.30 pm and casually tells me, that my baby looks very jaundiced and that it is unusual for it to happen within the first 24 hours birth. In this case it is only 12 hours since he was born and it is already very obvious that he is jaundiced. He then advised that first thing tomorrow morning, they would do a blood test to see what his levels are and then decide on the treatment moving forward. I then asked him why not do a test now and find out exactly how high his levels are and we can then decide on the course of action asap. Dr Hoh gave me a really laid back and I would say in hindsight, lame ass answer of something along the lines of not wanting to poke my baby because poor thing, it hurts to take blood. He then hypothesized that it could possibly by a condition called ABO incompatibility. I was of course really worried and started to send whatsapp messages out about Joel's condition. I also started googling ABO incompatibility to read up and understand more about the condition.

I was still undecided about what to do as I was on my own and still recovering. Hubby was busy with work and Chapati. I was still feeling rather uneasy and when Hubby arrived at the hospital after dinner, we had a short discussion and I decided to ask the nurse if we could request for a blood test to check Joel's jaundice levels. The response from the nurse was they would have to ask doctor and I asked them if it was possible for them to give Dr Hoh a call. I also told them that I would be happy to speak to Dr Hoh and explain to him why I was uneasy and asking for the test to be done asap. The nurse seem reluctant and I insisted that she call Dr Hoh. When I did get to speak to him on the phone, things went from bad to worse. He was condescending, arrogant (whilst still polite), sarcastic and didn't bother to address the issue or listen to what his patient was saying. He also said that I was over reacting and that he insisted, we should not subject babies to a heel prick test just to satisfy a mother's over reaction. He ended the conversation saying that he was thinking of the baby and not the mother. He also suggested starting photo therapy first if I was really worried. I was really puzzled and asked him, why would he suggest starting photo therapy and not do the test? His answer: "I just want to make you happy"
 
The more I think about it the angrier I feel!

• High levels of jaundice in newborns can cause cerebral palsy,  deafness and brain damage! You know what? It is PREVENTABLE! What if Joel's levels were in that high range? We don't know for sure until a blood test is done to check his bilirubin levels. So which is worse, a little heel prick to draw blood or a lifetime of pain & suffering for the parents and the child?

• When doctors take their specialist certification, there is a standard of care that they have to adhere to. All I am asking is that the bloody doctor do his job and practice the standard of care that certified him as a specialist rather than his "30 years in the business experience" as he himself says. WHAT IF, this was the 0.01% that didn't conform to his "experience"? Everywhere you read and research says that if a newborn develops jaundice within 24 hours of his birth, their bilirubin levels should be checked immediately. Here are some articles on newborn jaundice from Medline Plus and Babycenter

• Can you imagine a doctor telling you to be treated with medicines or a procedure just to "make you happy"??

On so many levels there were so many things wrong with the way it was handled overall by this Doctor. As parents it was a very difficult learning for us so I am going to list it here so that we never ever forget it!

• When choosing a Gynae and a hospital, remember to choose your Pediatrician too! Most of us get caught up with the doctor who is going to deliver our baby and the facilities of the hospital. It never occurred to us how important the Pediatrician is, if something goes wrong with your baby like what happened to us. In our case, with Chapati and Joel, the pediatrician was assigned to us. In both cases, they are doctors I would not recommend to anyone ever!

• Always follow your maternal/parental instincts, after all this is your child! Don't hesitate to get 2nd or 3rd opinions and never hesitate to change physicians if the physician is unwilling to discuss/advise you on the medical situation of your child.

• If an advice or a course of action bothers you and doesn't seem to be quite right, it is not! Don't allow yourself to be coerced into feeling as if you are over reacting or being the difficult patient. Once again, it is your health or in this case the health of your child. Never forget that!

• We should have opted to start photo therapy instead of doing nothing, because we allowed the sarcasm and unprofessionalism of Dr Hoh to influence our decision making. He made me feel like we were totally making a big deal out of nothing.

• Lastly make sure you buy medical insurance for your child during pregnancy. We are so glad that we purchased a policy for Joel. It helps to allay the cost of treatment and gives you some peace of mind. If you need a good insurance agent to advise you on that, I would be more than happy to share my contacts! We bought PRUmy Child for Joel.

14th February

Joel's test results came back at 9 am at a whooping 17.2 mg/dL or 294 μmol/l! My heart sank! When the nurses brought him back to me in the morning for feeding, he looked really bad with swollen eyes, he was listless and didn't seem to feed well at all.

Dr Hoh then came in to see me not long after his test results came back and said that he will be starting Joel on double photo therapy to try and bring down the jaundice asap. He then advised to supplement with formula if my milk had not yet come in to help flush out the bilirubin through urine and poop. He also said that if the levels did not drop, he would also like me to stop breastfeeding altogether because breast milk contains certain hormones that cause jaundice. On that matter, I told him that I would think about it. He then concluded our conversation by saying that they would test him again tomorrow morning to see if the levels have come down. 

I agreed to supplement him with formula as I was only producing colostrum at that time. I told the nurses to cup or syringe feed him as I wanted to continue to breast feed. Thank God that I was thought the method of At-Breast Supplementing or tube feeding (I believe most hospitals in KL/Malaysia understand if you say tube feeding) and also how to do hand expression to stimulate my milk production.

I spent most of the day worrying about him and crying so much because I was so worried and I felt so bad that I had waited so long to treat him and his condition had become this bad. According to the doctor, if his levels continue to climb to 20 mg/dL - 25 mg/dL (342 μmol/l - 427 μmol/l)  they would have to put in a drip to help flush out the bilirubin. That afternoon, Dr Hwa our family friend came by with his family to visit and advised us to get his blood test done once again that night to see how he is doing. Later that evening after dinner, I also had a long conversation with Doc sis and she also insisted that we get his blood test done. So feeling determined, I told the nurses calmly that I would like another test to be done since it was already 12 hours since the first test. I wanted to know whether his levels were going up  significantly as we wanted to make some decisions.

We understand that private hospitals in Malaysia do not have the facilities to handle Hyperbilirubinemia if the levels are very high, ie. if Joel need a blood exchange to be done all the private hospitals will transfer the baby to a  government hospital for treatment. So if this was the case, we did not want to waste anymore time and let Joel suffer for no reason. If needed, we would check out immediately the next day and check ourselves into the nearest government hospital to seek treatment.

His test results came back at 17.9 mg/dL (306 μmol/l). It was a relief to know that his levels had not shot up significantly and the probability that it will drop the next day with treatment and supplementation was good. So we decided to wait until his blood test the next morning to determine our next course of action.

We continued to pray together with our family members and cell group for his healing. 

15th February

His blood test results came back at 15.5 mg/dL (265μmol/l) I was praising God that it had come down pretty significantly since the night before. I took a picture of him and look at the difference! He was so much more alert and happy. I also managed to breast feed him somewhat though we had to continue to supplement him with formula so that he will settle down and stay under the photo therapy longer.

16th February 

His blood results came back at 11.9 mg/dL (203 μmol/l) He was indeed getting much better and I was able to pump about 40-60 ml of breast milk for him to drink so we could supplement less with formula. Dr Hoh said that he would only be able to discharge Joel if his levels came down below 10 mg/dL (171 mg/dL) His reasons were the possibility that the level could go back up again as it is only day 4. We thought no harm in staying another day to make sure that he was ok. Chapati left the hospital on day 4 and his jaundice level was188 μmol/l (10.99 mg/dL)

He was able to breastfeed much better and we still supplemented him with some formula to keep him satisfied once again so that he could sleep still under the photo therapy.
 
17th February

His blood test results came back at 9.6 mg/dL (164 μmol/l) We were so ready to go home! We got our discharge slip, paid the bill and left the hospital at around 2pm!

That's him after a feed. You can see how chubby his cheeks are and how much he has improved. You can hardly see any yellow at all. That's us walking out of the hospital together!

We are so grateful to all our friends and family who prayed for us during this difficult time. We also really thank God for his healing, grace and mercy on our family.


Mummies did your baby have jaundice? What was your experience?

Welcome To Our Wonderful World Baby #2 - My 2nd Supernatural Childbirth

13th of February 2016, just one day shy of Valentines Day, Hubby and I welcomed little Jo Jo (that's my nick name for him for the time being until we both find something better...) at 6.28 am.

He came out really quick and was calm as a cucumber. It was funny because I had to ask Hubby if the baby was ok because he was so quiet. He cried a little and then was quiet. Doc Eee said, it's ok, it's good that baby is calm, no need for a screaming and crying baby.

It was really good that I got to enjoy a portion of the Chinese New Year and not have to spend it in confinement. I ate a lot of Yee Sang and spent time with family and friends. Indeed God's  timing is so perfect and wonderful, Public Holidays like Thaipusam and Federal Territory Day gave me added time to prepare personally for the upcoming birth. Even though work was busy, I am glad that I was still relaxed. Three weeks in a row from 25th of January, every Monday was a holiday, Chinese New Year was on the 8th and 9th of February which was also a Monday and Tuesday.

The best part of it all was that I got to spend a little more time with Chapati before Baby #2 arrives. I really treasure the time because I had missed out on so much of his day to day growth and milestones. It really was an enjoyable Chinese New Year 2016!

Since I was pregnant with Chapati, someone shared a book with me called "Supernatural Childbirth" which I really treasured and read throughout his pregnancy and delivery. His was indeed my 1st Supernatural Childbirth and will sit down one day to write about it. With Jo Jo, I only occasionally pulled out the book to read and claim the promises in there as I was beleaguered with all kind of pregnancy issues that you can read here, here and here. (In hindsight, I probably would not have suffered so much if I did!) But thank God for his grace and mercy, what little I did read and declare helped a whole lot.

My due date according to Dr Tan(ultrasound)  : 3rd February 2016
My due date according to KKIA and LMP       : 13th February 2016

Funny thing was, I didn't realise that I had two different dates. I always thought that my due was the 3rd of February as it was easy to overlook the 1 in 13. So we and the rest of the our world, were happily expecting Baby to come since late January. I must say that when 3rd of February rolled around and there was still no sign...the question "is baby coming yet?" was starting to get a little irritating. Anyway, we went to see Dr Eee and he said that we could still wait until after Chinese New Year and if by the 10th of February I still haven't delivered, he advised me to go straight to the hospital to be induced. So I went home with a heavy heart and we both prayed that Baby would come when he was ready. I was of course getting bigger and bigger as the days went by so much so, I really felt like I would explode like a balloon at anytime.

11th February

I woke up and noticed that I had a little blood on my panty. But it wasn't like before with Chapati where it was so sure it was a bloody show. This time around I wasn't really sure...but it was the first time that I had blood. I was also still working so I kind of forgot all about it in the busyness of the day. I was off in the afternoon as I had my appointments at KKIA and Dr Eee for a check up.

I had a little scare at the KKIA appointment because when the nurse used the fetal doppler to listen to his heartbeat, it was actually around 180 beats. She then referred me to the doctor who did an ultrasound and promptly told me to get to the hospital and get a CTG done because his heartbeat was quite fast and based on the ultrasound, baby was about 3.8 kg (plus minus 500 grams) She said he was a big baby!

So after the KKIA appointment we went to see Dr Eee and we asked him if it was advisable to do a CTG. He was very obliging and the best part was, he had all the necessary equipment and we didn't need to go to the hospital. Thank God that the CTG turned out to be normal and Dr Eee confirmed that according to the ultrasound it was good because baby was active and everything else looked good. ie. amniotic fluid more than enough and Baby was already head down. Though Doc said that he was still facing upwards. It would be easier on the birth if he was facing down.

Still no sign of anything else apart from feeling like an absolute whale that ate too much. Little spots of blood but nothing really significant.

12th February

Woke up in the morning and again there was blood...but nothing else! I remember telling my family that I felt different today. I told Hubby too that most probably the little fella will arrive very soon...deep down I just felt different! Like my waiting was over...I thought I had some contractions but I couldn't be sure that there was no pain at all. So I was still "whaling" around. I just love the little whale icon in Whatsapp.

It was another relaxing day and mother-in-law said that she would cook dinner for us. So we had a good dinner together as a family. We then left to go home at about 9 ish...

11.30 pm

I started to feel something...again, I just couldn't put my finger on it because there was just no pain. I told Hubby that I feel something but can't be sure. He then decided that we should just go for a drive and send Chapati to his parents place and after that we would decide whether to go to the hospital or not. We both got ready, put the bags in the car and then drove to his parents place and dropped Chapati off. Needless to say, he was not a happy that we were leaving him with his grandparents and he didn't quite understand what was happening. Hubby spent some time talking to him and telling him why and where we had to go but he still cried.

We drove out and then I told Hubby that really nothing was happening and we should go home and get some sleep. Baby might come later or not...and were both tired, especially Hubby. We reached home at about 12.30 am and I fell asleep instantaneously. I found out much later on that Hubby couldn't really sleep...and only just fell asleep when I woke him up. (Poor thing)


13th Feburary

3.30 am 

I suddenly got woken up by an intense feeling in my stomach. I wasn't sure what it was... so I just continued to lie down and waited to see what else would come up.  Nothing happened after a few minutes and I almost fell asleep again. Suddenly, I felt what I can only explain as a very strong contraction as I could hardly breathe and could not move at all for the few seconds until it was over. It was really intense. I closed my eyes and waited to see it it would happen again. Within the next few minutes it happened again and it was even more intense than the previous one and it was also painful. I really couldn't move and it was a struggle to breathe. After it subsided, I reached over to Hubby and woke him up telling him that we have to go the hospital now as something is happening for real.

We both woke up a little groggy and proceeded to leave the house. I was so thankful that we had already make the necessary preparations of putting my hospital bag, other necessities in the car earlier and sending Chapati off to my in-laws. Once again God had perfect timing! I think we left the house about 4 am.


4.15 am

Hubby dropped me off at the front entrance of Pantai Hospital Cheras. There was a little confusion as we weren't sure if we were supposed to use the main entrance or the A&E entrance. So Hubby had to reverse the car to the main entrance and wait for the security guards to get me a wheelchair before driving off to park the car. They then wheeled me in and I handed my documents over to the nurse at the Triage. By this time, I could feel the contractions but I didn't check the frequency of it. I was busy trying to breathe and ride through the intense feelings. For some reason, it was a little overwhelming. 
They pushed me to the labour room on the 1st floor and asked me to change out of my clothes and lie down so that they could examine the size of my dilation and put a CTG monitor on my Baby. Hubby walked in just as I was lying down.

4.45 am

I was already 4 cm dilated on the nurses first examination. For some strange reason, I was could not stop shaking/shivering. I didn't feel cold but the shaking and shivering just wouldn't stop. The nurses suggested that I eat and drink something as my glucose levels could be low because it was 4 in the morning. Eating was obviously the last thing on my mind but I told Hubby that I was thirsty. So I drank some water and he got me a packet of cold soy bean drink from the vending machine which I drank up really fast. I was still shivering/shaking uncontrollably so I asked Hubby to sit down and pray with me the prayer for Delivery from the book "Supernatural Childbirth". Slowly, my shivering/shaking subsided.  

They then gave me an enema and told me to immediately to go the toilet and wait. Now this was really strange, as my previous experience with Chapati in Prince Court Hospital, they wouldn't let me get out of bed for at least 15 -20 minutes. This was because the enema would need a little time to work. Anyway, the nurses at Pantai  got me out of bed immediately and walked me to the toilet which was in another room quite some distance away.(Now I know why...) The distance is actually not far for a normal person but when you are in labour...it was a real challenge. I arrived at the toilet and to my horror, there was no place to wait as such! It was a large toilet with a toilet bowl, sink and shower with the usual metal support railings for you to hold. I told the nurse that the enema takes some time to work and I would need somewhere that I could sit/lie down whilst waiting for it to work and she still insisted that I go into the toilet and wait. I didn't have the energy to argue with her and went in.
I tried to stay upright by holding on to the wall and the metal support railings to wait a little longer for the enema to work but it was really difficult with the contractions. I thought of putting the seat cover down and sitting on the toilet bowl but just thinking of sitting on a public hospital toilet bowl cover was a tad gross as I was naked except of the hospital gown. I just couldn't continue to stand anymore and promptly sat down on the toilet bowl only for all the medication to come out and nothing else! What a waste of the enema and my energy going to the toilet. After a few minutes, the nurse outside kept asking me if I was done and I told her that nothing came out except for the medicine. She then told me to go back to the labour room! I would have strangled her if I had the strength!

Now this is where my memory is a little hazy because of the contractions. Some time between the first VE (vaginal examination) and the subsequent ones, they gave me a shot of Pethidine to help with the pain.

5.28 am 

They checked again and I was 6 cm dilated. I remember the nurse telling both Hubby and I to call them if I felt a strong urge to poop. They kindly turned off the light to keep me calm and allowed me to rest. Once again this experience was different from Chapati. I remember the labour room at Prince Court being extremely bright with lots of people walking in and out and I even had an IV line put in.

5.55 am

I told the nurses that I felt like the baby was coming and when they checked I was already 8 cm dilated! By then they started rushing around and I think one of the nurses called the doctor. Maybe they called the doctor earlier, but I can't be sure.

 I could still smile! Which is good! :)

I told the nurses that I feel like pushing already and I can't help it! They told me don't push yet! I said how not to push?!! I can't help it! They then told me to breathe in deeply the entonox everytime I felt the contractions coming. It seemed like I was going to give birth at anytime! I had to keep breathing in the entonox gas until my mouth and throat felt extremely dry to keep myself from pushing the baby out.

6 am or 6.05 am

Dr Eee arrived and by that time I was already fully dilated to 10 cm. The nurses got me ready for the delivery and Doc said that we are going to have to deliver Baby fast because he had already passed meconium and that is usually a sign of distress. If he didn't come within the next 10 minutes or so, Doc will assist with the vacuum. So I was to push the next time I felt the contraction! What a relief!

I had 3 rounds of pushing and each round I had about 2 pushes each. I wasted the first round because the contractions were so intense I kind of made noise. I wasn't screaming just a loud groan. So the doctor and the nurses had to tell me "no sound!" So the next two rounds, I had to grit my teeth and push really hard. On the last push, the nurses on both sides of me helped by my pushing hard on  my tummy with their hands and suddenly Baby came out!! Doctor put him on my tummy whilst waiting for the 2 minutes before clamping and cutting the cord. I could feel his little weight on my tummy, he was so warm and cute! :) I felt so happy and relieved that he came out without any medical intervention needed. I just wish that Hubby had taken a photo of him lying down on my tummy whilst waiting to clamp the cord. He arrived at 6.28 am!

What a supernatural delivery indeed!

1. Dr Eee did a great job in helping me deliver little Joel, he was so relaxed and calm when talking to me. He even joked with the nurses in between my pushes so the nurses were relaxed and calm too.
2. I lost very little blood. According to Hubby, Dr Eee and floor was clean! He told me that during Chapati's delivery, it looked like a war zone! There was blood everywhere on the floor, he remembers that the labour room floor was coated in blood and he could see blood gushing out from me. 
3. I delivered Joel in about 10 minutes with about 6-7 pushes. Joel was still facing upwards and he would have come outeasier and faster if he was facing downwards. I am just thankful he came out fast and safely. The nurses was also commenting that they managed to see the "opening" and "closing" of the delivery. Ie. from the start to the baby coming out.
4. I had a very small episiotomy but after the delivery, Dr Eee actually mentioned after he sewed me up that he didn't even need to make it for baby to come out.
5. Dr Eee didn't need to break my water bag, according to Hubby, it seems that the water bag broke on its own during the delivery.

God is so good and we really thank God for the smooth and safe delivery and for blessing us with another beautiful baby boy!

We are now a family of 4! 

God's gift to us, our son Joel!

 Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm, plans to give you hope and a future, Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13