Didn't really sleep well the night before, the op was set at the last minute and I did not have time to hand over my work. Was all stressed up with work and the upcoming audit, just had to do a quick handover through email. Worked till late night until DC flared up and ordered me to sleep.
In the morning I was still checking the emails and preparing the audit documents. Then, my colleagues sent messages to inform me that my project was taken out from the audit list. *Instant Relief* Now I can finally get over my work and set my mind to prepare myself for delivery! :P
10:00am - Mum delivered food to my place and I had to finish them up by 1130am cos beyond 1130am, no intake of food was allowed prior the op which was scheduled at 730pm.
02:00pm - Packed baby's mittens and booties into the hospital bag and checked that all the essential things for the hospital stay are all packed.
03:00pm - I went for a long bath and made sure the hair is washed thoroughly because I'm not allowed to wash my hair during confinement - instructed by dearest Mum.
04:00pm - Sis and mum came to send DC and me to the hospital.
04:45pm - Admission done. No deluxe room, no single room. They assigned a double room to us and charged the single room rate. This might even be better because there's an extra bed for DC, the companion, to sleep on.
05:00pm - Brought to the ward for registration. Spent another 30 mins for the registration...
05:30pm - Sent to my room to rest and wait for further instructions.
06:00pm - Dinner was served... to DC only, I don't get it. Just look at how happy he was!
07:00pm - Dressed in the gown and was pushed to the op room.
07:15pm - In the operating room. The anesthetist informed that he will be late for 10 mins. We waited for him for 20 mins. DC saw him running into the ot. My gynae was on time.
07:35pm - Anesthetist administered the epidural into my spine. I was told to bend like a prawn. He tried for a few times but could not inject it in, think it was only successful after the 3rd or 4th time!! Blame it on my reflexes, ha! After the injection, the numbness did not take effect immediately. Left leg felt a little numb but right leg was not numb at all. The anesthetist kept asking if I felt numb but I kept telling him no. It seems as if the dosage was enough for me and that he was expecting a yes from me, so after a while, I gave a casual remark "I don't know how the numbness should feel like but maybe i did feel a little more numb now"... That was the worst reply that I could have given. He took that as a yes and gave the gynae the nod to kick start the op and alas! when the gynae glided the knife on me, I could feel the sharpness of the knife... and the pain!!!
I shouted out my discomfort and the op was stopped. The anesthetist increased the dosage (still not numb yet!) and got the gynae to try again. Ouch! The sharpness of the knife could still be felt! So, he tried to turn me head down for the drug to take effect faster. This time it felt like a pinch, no more sharpness but still it was uncomfortable. Another try and the pinch became less obvious. Guess the anesthetist was losing patience and told the team to proceed with the op. I WAS NOT READY YET!!!
I felt terribly uncomfortable during the procedure, I could feel every single thing! There was a point where the gynae was tugging and pulling my stomach quite violently and the feeling was unbearable. At this time, DC was brought into the ot and he sat beside me. I felt like grabbing his hands tight or even biting him to relieve my agony but he was out of reach even though he was just beside! The gynae told DC to sing a song to me to make me more relaxed but DC didn't loh! The anesthetist saw that I was uncomfortable and suggested to give me gas to breathe which I gladly accepted it! That was a good one, I kept talking to God to help me get over this fast. After a few breaths, I was oblivious to the pain.
08:07pm - It didn't take very long when I heard the cries of my baby. The effect of the laughing gas was slowly wearing and I could hear the distant voices of the gynae and DC. The gynae demanded DC to shout out loud "I'm a father". Our gynae got him to repeat for a few times because it was unsatisfactory (too bad, he didn’t record this down). He let DC off at the fourth shoutz "I'm a daddy!" and graded him a E-, ha!
They brought the baby to me after taking some measurements and simple tests on him. I was still semi-drowsy and couldn't really be bothered with the noises in the background until DC happily came to me and told me that the baby was very healthy. That was all it matters. I felt like I suddenly woke up from a dream. We took some pictures after that when I’m more sober and DC went off with the pediatrician to the ICU/nursery for further tests on the baby. I was left in the ot for the gynae to continue with the cleaning and stitching. It was then that the effect of the gas totally worn off and I felt fully conscious, shivering but hey, painless! It dawned to me then that the effect of the epidural has finally taken effect and I don't feel a thing when the gynae stitched me. Other than feeling cold, I was alert and looked around the ot to see who else was there. When I looked up, I realised I could see the reflections of the "work in progress" on the operating lights. I could see the full bloody view, could not really stomach it but luckily one of the nurses pushed the lights away and I tried to shake the horrific images off my mind.
09:00pm - I was pushed to my room where I rest till the next day. Baby was put under observation in the ICU. Actually there was not much rest, the nurses came into the room every 1 hourly to take my pressure and I couldn't sleep well at all.
01:00am and 04:30am - I vomitted. This was probably the side effect of the epidural and I couldn't take any liquid at all (tried red date tea and milo) until the next day late afternoon. After that, I was all well again. ☺
08:00am - The pediatrician came visiting to update us the status of the baby. Baby was out of the ICU after a few hours of observation and was all healthy. :)
09:00am - The gynae came to check me up. I must say that although he is quite a weird character, his skill was really good. Heard that most of the staff nurses went to him when they were pregnant! The incision wound did not give me any pain or trouble during the hospital stay. I sometimes wonder why he prescribed painkillers...
That’s it, that’s how the baby was born, 3 weeks before the expected delivery date. He had to stay for an additional day for his jaundice as his bilirubin level was 14.5 - high. I stayed over with DC too. Luckily the next day, his level went down to 9 and can go back with us... Although the delivery was brought forward (早生) and it cost more for a c-sect delivery than a natural delivery (贵子), it was well worth it to bring the baby out so early. He’s so cute and healthy!
However, the whole ordeal of delivery did frighten me - the scare, the pain, the bloody scene, the vomiting and the scar. I wonder if I still dare to try for a second child...
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