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Saturday, March 29, 2008

LIFE AS A NEW PARENT

Madison has officially crossed week 2 .. and the trials of parenthood begin...

I am quite happy to say that the initial pains of breastfeeding have settled somewhat... the initial pain of latching is better, the boobs are getting used to being chomped on 2-3hourly...

But now, the terrors of little Madison are starting... first up, the battle to settle to sleep. For some reason, Madison settled quite peacefully in the first week into her cot, but this week, she began to develop an aversion to her cot!

Part of the reason could be that she has been somewhat unwell this week, suffering from a groin abscess/pustule thing that nobody knows how she developed. We took her to see the neonatologist Dr Yong on Monday, where the pus was partially drained and cultured. She was then started empirically on oral amoxicillin and cloxacillin for the week. The amoxicillin she took well, but oh, the clox tasted terrible and she would fuss terribly taking it 6 hourly. I diluted it with sugar water which made it barely better... The culture grew a Staph aureus which was resistant to penicillin and amox but thankfully sensitive to clox. Then she started having diarrhoea from the amox... which we stopped...

Thankfully the pustules are resolving and her diarrhoea is settling. However she has become more clingy and fussy over the past few days, and has ended up in our bed at night and needed us to comfort her to sleep. And using me as a human pacifier...

This is in addition to the neonatal jaudice that she had in week 1, the highest SB reaching 244Umol/l. She has had to endure painful heelpricks, at one time daily readings as her bilirubin was climbing...Thank goodness she did not end up with phototherapy...

The upside? Well, she is certainly more active this week, stretching and yawning and even lifting her head slightly from a prone position! She smiles spontaneously too...and cries even more loudly this week...She is also more alert first thing in the mornings now...

Sunday, March 23, 2008

THE NEW FATHER

This is a post dedicated to my dear hubby, Christopher... who has been a source of great support and encouragement throughout the pregnancy, delivery and post partum...

Being a father brings about great responsibility, which I am sure he feels the burden of, although he does not complain and discharges his duties to his best abilities..

Thanks to him I have a complete photographic documentation of the delivery, and Madisons' early days...

He has also been faithfully up at nights with me, without complaint despite his extreme exhaustion, changing Madison's diapers and patiently burping her in between her feeds... which in breastfeeding babies can take over an hour to complete!

During the day, Chris has been the driver, ferrying us around to various tasks eg KKH for her jaundice checks, morning walks at Botanic Gardens, to the Joo Chiat clinic to sort out things...

Breastfeeding wise, if it weren't for his faith and support, I'd have caved in to supplements ages ago...

So.. kudos to a great father in the making!

WEEK 2 of the saga...

Time really flies....its been over a week since I'd been pregnant, and the memory of the pregnancy is rapidly fading away... even the delivery seems like a distant past in the fog that is parenthood in the early days...

The days are blending into each other... being stuck at home and to Madison is rather daunting but the exhaustion that accompanies parenthood ensures you don't really feel like venturing too far from home.

We have been trying to get some fresh air every morning in the form of a short 15 minute walk, thus far we have made it to the Botanic Gardens twice, East Coast Parkway once and around the neighbourhood over the past 2 days. I feed Madison just prior to the walk, Chris checks and changes her diaper, then we set off on our little jaunt which ends with a bite to eat.

Today we took the stroller down to United Square, and had a lovely cup of hot chocolate with brekkie at Starbucks... Then we managed to make a mad dash to the Cold Storage supermarket to pick up some Honey Dijon Mustard Kettle chips as well as a few other groceries.. my first shopping trip in over 1 week! Madison began to wail just as we were at the checkout, hence the mad rush to get her home for FOOD and DIAPER change...

Taking her out is STRESSFUL... BUT we have to persevere!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Early days of Madison's life

Today marks Madison's first week old birthday...

Time truly flies,although the past week has been much of a fog to Chris and me..

THE FIRST NIGHT

We were admitted to ward 82 Rm 25 in KKH, and the first few hours were a torture. I had to CRIB ( complete rest in bed ) as I had an epidural. If I did not PU in 6 hours, they were to catheterise me! Then the horrendous nausea set in, which was likely a side effect of the epidural. I had taken 2 tablets of Maxalon (my own) in the delivery suite, but they did nothing to curb the sensation...

Thankfully I was able to PU at 5Pm and after a short nap the nausea passed. Madison was finally wheeled to our room and as I was totally breastfeeding she was to stay with us in the room during the stay.

Lots of people popped by to visit, although I was pretty much out of it.. and of course the photography sessions that followed. I received plenty of gorgeous flowers as well.

Chris stayed in the same room as I did but he got a crummy sofa bed while I had the fancy automatic hospital one. As the epidural wore out, EVERYTHING started to ache! The epi site was SORE and I was bleeding( which is normal ) , and I'd never felt so weak in my life...

Breastfeeding was also painful.. not forgetting that Madison needed to fill her tiny tummy almost every hour by the clock. Then the stress that she had not passed much urine or meconium... we felt pressured and caved in to 1 supplement of formula at 11Pm.. after which we regretted as she became agitated at the next feed when food did not seem to come easily to her.

WE DID NOT SLEEP on the night of the 13th!

THE FIRST DAY...

Pa arrived early to bring me his homemade soup and noodles for breakfast, which was godsent as breakfast arrived close to 9 am!

Madison was wheeled out at 0530h for her morning bath, and only returned past 8am... she was STARVING by then, but we managed to console her with breastmilk..

Chris' mum, Neil and Anthony popped by and took more photos...Anthony was really helpful and helped us with transferring stuff into the car..

Chris and i decided to stay only the 24h, so we were to be discharged just after 1Pm...Dr John Tee came by to check on me, and soon we were being organised for discharge. The neonatologist came to the room to screen Madison, after which she was taken for tests : hearing test and metabolic screen.

I tried to breastfeed again in the ward and I found it extremely painful. The lactation consultant came to check on the latch on, but I was surprised that she told me to consider supplementation if Madison did not pass much urine or meconium.. that really stressed me out and was sorely tempted to cave in to formula at EVERY feed! Thank goodness for Chris, who insisted that we persist with total breastfeeding...

Subsequently another LC came along, the vivacious Teo Yen Ping, who demonstrated how to massage the breasts and unclog milk ducts. She is pro total breastfeeding and did not encourage any supplementation. Armed with her advice I started to feel more confident and persisted with TBF.

We were discharged at 1PM on the 14th, and made our way to the Novena house. IT was exhausting just to make the trip home and climb into bed to await her next feed.
Pa and Ma hosted a BBQ dinner party that night but I was really too exhausted to come down.

SUBSEQUENT few days...

What I remember at this stage:

1. PAIN: extreme-- from breastfeeding and latching, at the epistomy site, lower back and neck from feeding...

2. EXHAUSTION: protracted lack of sleep since Madison's arrival... not more than 2hours in a row since the 13th of March...prolonged sitting for breastfeeding...

3. MOOD SWINGS: ranging from sadness that she is changing and growing up so fast, to elation and amazement at the miracle of nature..

4. STRESS: initally over her passing urine and stool, then over her jaundice ( which is still ongoing), then her skin...etc...

BUT like everyone says.. at the end of the day, it ultimately feels WORTH IT...

So far we have made foray into the Botanical Gardens and East Coast Park for brekkie..
The rest of the day is usually spent revolved around her naps and feeds, apart from the afternoon trips to KKH for her serum bilirubin tests...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Welcome Madison



After 39 weeks of waiting and planning, Madison finally arrived... On 13th March 2008 at exactly 1222h, weighing a good 3235g, length 49cm and head circumference of 33cm

Madison's arrival was fairly smooth by most standards...

I'd been having what I thought were probably strong Braxton Hicks contractions during the week prior to the 13th... we visited Prof Tee at KKH on the 12th March, where he checked and told me that I was hardly dilated so we had an appointment for the next week.

We had a sumptous dinner at home that night, and I felt pretty well...

At exactly 0323h on the 13th, I was suddenly awakened by a short sharp cramp in the lower pelvis. Thinking it was probably another Braxton Hick I waited until another similar pain struck. It was exactly 10 minutes later.

The contractions continued for an hour, after which it grew closer together at 7 minutes apart. The intensity increased to a point that I was no longer comfortable lying in bed. 45 minutes later they became 5minutes apart and Chris noticed that I was not lying in bed. He immediately got up and started to get ready, while I was still in denial, thinking that it could be a false alarm.

Nonetheless, Chris insisted that I got myself ready, while we watched television and timed the contractions. By 6am the intensity grew to a point that it was pure SUFFERING, and we threw the towel in and left for KKH.

On arrival at the delivery suite on level 2, the kind nurses checked us in and examined me. I was strapped to the CTG machine, and told that I was only 1 cm dilated! After suffering 3 hours of pain! Lying flat on the couch waiting for the CTG trace to be done was pure agony.

At 0730h Natalie Chua came to examine me, and proclaimed that I was now 2 cm dilated and partially effaced and so I was admitted directly to a delivery suite.

As I was being wheeled into the room, I met Sng Ban Leong! Old friend from anaesthesia. He promised to pop by and see how I was doing later on.. and give me the epidural if I desired it.

The contractions were increasing in intensity, and I started to try Entonox for analgesia. The nurse was surprised that I was able to manipulate the face mask, but I suppose they didn't realize that I used to do this for a living! Entonox was a surprising experience, making me rather lightheaded and giggly, with some level of anaesthesia.

At 0800h I decided to go for the epidural, taking into account that Dr Tee was probably going to artificially rupture my membranes and augment the labour ( thanks Natalie for the forewarning! ) Ban Leong was so obliging, doing my intravenous plug and then subsequently administering the combined spinal epidural anaesthesia for me at 0830h, despite the fact that he was post call that morning. I also received a patient controlled analgesia device which I liberally used towards the end of the first stage.

At 0930h Dr Tee arrived and proclaimed that I was now 3cm dilated and partially effaced. He then proceeded to rupture the membranes and started an oxytocin drip. Boy, was I glad for the epidural! I could feel the contractions but the edge was taken off by the epidural.

By 1130, a midwife came to examine me, and was surprised that I was fully dilated! She then told me to call her if I felt the need to push and told me not to give myself any
more doses from the PCA device.

We started to have trial runs of 2nd stage pushing, which progressed pretty well, to the point that she had to call Dr Tee to attend. The process was surprisingly tolerable, except that my head felt like it was about to explode with the effort!

DR Tee arrived just after 12noon and we were in business! My legs were hiked up to his and the midwives' hips, and with several pushes our dearest Madison was out. The sensation as she left me was truly strange and magical, like a heavy weight being pushed out of my body as she left in a watery mess. Her loud wails announced her arrival at 1222h and she was then brought to the heater to clean and warm up.

The placenta was then delivered and Dr Tee stitched the episotomy site up. He then took blood from the umbilical cord for cord blood banking.

When Madison was all cleaned up, the midwife brought her over for me to start her first meal.. colostrum. Our dear Madison was truly a natural, latching on perfectly at the very start.. BUT THE PAIN!!

Finally we were both cleaned up and ready to transfer to the ward at 1330h...where lots of family were in wait to see us all!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

VISITORS FOR MADISON

Pregnancy and babies generate an enormous amount of excitement and interest among jaded adults.. that's my conclusion having being through my 1st pregnancy...

Thursday ( 6/8/08 ) heralded the arrival of the first of many visitors to be...it started with my grandmother - in-law ( Chris' maternal grandmother )arrived first at 11 in the morning via train from Kota Bahru. At 4 in the afternoon, ANTHONY CHUI, my brother in law ( therafter referred to as BIL -- CHRIS' elder brother) , arrived from Malaysia on a month-long stopover before going on to Japan for a holiday.

Chris' maternal Aunt Saw Peik was also scheduled to arrive on Thursday, but having arrived late in the evening she chose to stay overnight at the Crowne plaza at the airport. She is on a stopover on route to Perth from Christmas Island, to visit an orthopaedic surgeon for a hand condition.

Today heralds the arrival of MORE people... our new domestic worker CARNINGSIH is due to transfer to us today from the employment agency... this is generating an undue amount of anxiety in myself, not having employed one directly before... As far I have created a simple task timetable as well as an employment contract as recommended by the Ministry of Manpower. We will have to see how proficient at English she really is!

In the afternoon, my mother-in-law (MIL), Chris' mother will be arriving with Neil. They will be with us until after Madison is delivered.. she is the reason they are here to visit in the first place...

THE AIR IS FILLED WITH ANTICIPATION.. largely waiting for ME to POP! We are all gathering for dinner tonight at the Marriott with Dr Foo Chee Liam and Pa as well..

OUR WEBSITE : HEAL JOO CHIAT CLINIC part2

The Site is finally ready and is now searchable via my favourite search engine: GOOGLE!!!

Finally.. patience does pay off... I wonder if anyone looks it up??

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

PREGNANCY THRILLS!!

To even call it 'thrills' is probably a gross understatement of the anxiety an unborn child can exert on his/her parents!

My dearest daughter, who has been transverse in lie, then head down then finally BREECH in the last visit merely 7 days ago, HAS DECIDED to do a somersault and turn head down once again!

It amazes me that I have minimal sensation of her doing somersaults, though I suspect that sometimes this occurs at night, while I am trying to get comfortable and SLEEP.. and feel pain in the back, groin and chest! THANKS GIRL...

It was sweet relief though, to hear the gynaecologist exclaim that her head was down.. on clinical palpation he was expecting the head to be up near the left side of my abdomen... just goes to show.. how on earth do they expect MBBS students to pick up presentation of babies just by palpation alone!! ITs ridiculous!

HOPEFULLY she stays down ... I have the hypothesis that it's the BABYPLUS device that made her turn down.. the noise it emits is enough to drive her crazy!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

OUR WEBSITE: HEAL JOO CHIAT CLINIC (click here)

ITS FINALLY READY

with many thanks to the creative director, aka Christopher Chui, the official website of the Heal Joo Chiat clinic is ready, in all its glory..

Quite a bit of effort has gone into its creation, with several late nights invested into putting it up on the website. Readyspace is hosting it for us, albeit at a cost, but so far the website seems to work fine!

Now to get the search engines to list our Heal Joo Chiat clinic website...
www.healjoochiatclinic.com.sg