My Delivery Journal

the day is finally here. think i was tired out by the last minute checking and the fasting since 12 midnight that i slept till 0645hrs. wanted to wake up at 6am to play facebook games for one last time since i had no idea when will i be well enough to log in after delivery. dear on the contrary woke up earlier than the alarm and switched it off, which explained why i overslept. he was drinking coffee and playing games on his ipad in the kitchen when i went to wash up. had to remind him of the time and chased him to the shower. after which he packed the very last items on the checklist, photo/video taking equipment, and we were ready to set off.

really appreciate the smooth traffic during holiday, wonder how long the journey would have taken on a normal workday had we been rushing to the hospital due to contractions. we left bedok at 0738hrs and reached thomson medical at 0756hrs, awesome isn't it?

took a number for admission, queue 2004. there was only one other couple at the counter, but there was also only 1 staff serving at the moment. while waiting for our turn, we did what most people would have done, selfie!

我们去生孩子了！Merry Christmas everyone!

we were so engrossed with photo-taking and browsing of brochures that the staff had to call out to us if it was our number. the wait was approximately 5 minutes and it took 20 minutes to settle the paperwork, which included the following.

1. Registration
2. Hospital rules & regulations
3. Estimated bill for hospital/professional fees
4. Medisave/medishield claims
5. Renovation notification
6. 3 complimentary parking coupons ($3 per exit) were provided, 1 additional coupon can be obtained from ward nurse daily for companion
7. Paid deposit of $4000

the concierge then led us to the ward where the nurse took over and showed us the way to room 313. after putting down our "luggage", the nurse went ahead with the procedures.

1. Took urine sample for tests
2. Brief procedures
3. Measure blood pressure
4. Measure baby's heartbeat, still in breech position
5. Shave private area
6. Insert poo softener, felt like air sprayed into anus and i needed to clear bowels within a minute
7. Change into operating gown

thomson medical centre - single-bedded room 313

self-orientated around the room for 15 minutes and the nurse came to check if i was ready. put on the socks provided and off she pushed me to the waiting area. mobile phones were not allowed and had to be separated from dear for a short while. he was asked to proceed to delivery suite 10 minutes before 1000hrs, the scheduled caesarian timing.

final photo before delivery while waiting for the lift

the nurse came to confirm my particulars and was told to fill in my name and NRIC on the consent for operation. she then offered magazines for my reading pleasure while waiting. after what seems like 10 minutes, dr chong jin long, the requested anesthetist appeared from behind. he briefed me on the epidural procedures and the effects that i would experience. shortly after, dr claudine, my gynae arrived, said hi and checked on how i was doing before i was pushed to the delivery suite.

after being transferred to the operating table, dr chong informed that he would start administering the epidural. the whole process was almost painless, the only pain was similar to that of an ant bite. from insertion of the IV cannula to local anesthetic to epidural injection, dr chong explained clearly what he would do and how i would feel. have to thank fellow mummies for recommending such a good anesthetist. as we opted to donate baby's cord blood, blood samples were drawn through the IV line before epidural was given.

in less than 5 minutes, there were pins and needles in my legs and i gradually lost the feel of them, like they aren't there anymore. dr chong performed 2-3 tests to check if the caesarian area is numbed and is confirmed that i could no longer feel pain nor cold. dr claudine then pinched me real hard as what they described and all i could feel was tugging at the tummy. the epidural administration was a success. dr claudine told me that they would summon dear to come in once baby is ready to be delivered.

much as i would want to peep through the green cloth that was draped above my chest to see what they were doing, i was not sure if i would be able to take the bloody scene. the anticipation was killing me and was really glad when dr claudine asked the nurses to get dear to standby.

dear geared up in protective suit with surgical mask

dear and i chatted for a while but i could not remember what our conversation was about. i was very much distracted by the movements around the tummy area and was paying attention to dr claudine's comments. dear and i giggled when she complained that baby pooed on her. shortly after, she announced that the baby was here before we heard his 1st cry. the nurse showed baby to me for the 1st time and carried him away for cleaning with dear watching by the side. she also counted baby's fingers and toes to ensure baby is perfect and requested for dear's confirmation.

bonding with baby

baby was crying while lying on my chest. no matter how i patted him or what we said to him, he just kept wailing. this lasted for 5 minutes before they brought baby for various measurements and dear had to follow through.

the next half hour seemed to last forever. wonder why but i suddenly felt sleepy and dozed off on and off. it was pretty annoying to feel the tugging and pulling while dr claudine and the nurses worked on sewing me up. dr chong checked on me a couple of times to maintain the steroid level. it was a relief for me when they were finally done, time check 1110hrs. i was then pushed to the recovery area for 15 minutes observation before being sent back to the room where i was finally reunited with dear and of course, our newborn baby.

a very big thank you to all the personnel who helped to deliver our lovely and healthy baby boy.