~ Baby's First Month ~ First Shot! Ouch!

Our baby is a month old! I can't believe how time flies. Now my maternity leave is depleting and I am still not fully recovered. I need more leave days!! Anyway, my baby and I had appointments to see our doctors. Mia needed to be given her month-old shot and I needed to be checked up by my doctor, Dr. S.

As usual, we went to Tawakkal Hospital from Putrajaya and arrived there at around 10.30 am. We registered baby Mia at her pediatrician'c (Dr. Z) clinic first and then me at my clinic. We waited at the pediatrician's clinic for her to get her first shot. Well, technically this is her second shot since she got ger BCG shot before we left the hospital after her delivery. 

The pediatrician checked Mia and told us that she's healthy. Her weight had gone up from 3.1 kg to 3.85 kg. We were not so surprise since her cheeks had been getting chubbier everyday. She was wiggling around so much whilst her doctor was examining her. And then it was time for her to be given the shot. I had to stay away because I couldn't bear to see her cry. I only knew that the shot was administered once I heard my baby wailing at the tops of her lungs. It must have been painful to her. Poor baby! ( _ _ )

Dr. Z then told us that our baby might get a fever after the shot had been given so he will prescribed us a medicine. We were told to give our baby a dosage of the medicine once we get back home just in case the fever fires up later. He also told us to look out for signs of colicky moments and report to him at the next visit since babies are usually colicky in their 2nd month. Then we were sent on our way and it was time for me to see my doctor.

Dr. S checked me and she said that everything looked okay to her and my wound is healing nicely but slowly. I did mentioned to the doctor that I had been having gas and wind lately and I also had headache quite often. The doctor told me that it might came from not enough eating and not enough rest. I am told to rest a lot and sleep when the baby sleeps. My weight had been going down so I was also told to pack up on food. Reality is that I cannot have the luxury to rest and eat a lot since I am always alone at home with the baby and there's no one to take care of the two of us. So, I had to do everything on my own during the day most of the time except when my mother comes during the evening or when my husband didn't have to go to his lab. My appointment was set for another two months so hopefully I will be fully recovered and feeling a little bit healthier by then.

Baby Mia's next shot is scheduled to be on 27th of March. I hope everything goes well. I do love looking after the baby and am still adjusting myself to the new role of a mother. I hope I can give the best care for my baby and she will grow up healthy and happy. ( ^_^ )

Confinement ~ Traditional Massage ~

I am still in my confinement days and I have about 3 more weeks to go. I am counting the days till I can go out and do a little bit of shopping for the baby. As of now I am recuperating quite well. I managed to get up by the end of the first week even though it was reeaaalllly painful. I actually forgot how painful it was to move after a c-section operation. I managed to start doing small chores around the house by the second week. Since my mother can't really stay at our home full time to take care of me and the baby, we had to make do with whatever resources we have. My mother do come whenever she can but she's usually around only in the afternoon. Otherwise, it's either my husband and me or me alone with the baby whenever my husband goes to his lab.

It was around the second week that I had started to get painful cramps in my tummy. My mother said that it must have been gas or wind in my body. I guess since we had to take care of things most of the time by ourselves, my meal time is a Since my diet for confinement is not so appetizing, I only eat a small portion every meal. The fact that I didn't eat my meals not strictly on time also added to the chance of gas and wind entering my tummy. It was really really really painful! If you are ever in confinement, please take good care of your health and eat on time to avoid this painful agony. I am telling you, it is VERY painful!

Most of our friends that came to see the baby told me to get a traditional post delivery massage. I have never gotten a body massage before because firstly, I am ticklish and secondly, I don't handle pain too well. But since I kept getting painful tummy ache and even headache because of the wind, I grudgingly agreed to get a massage. My husband's friend had given him a contact number for a masseuse. She offers her services for massages and even post delivery care. I decided to give it a try and contacted her and set up an appointment. The package that I agreed to was a three days c-section post delivery massage. 

The great thing about this masseuse is that she does not have to be picked up but she came to our house on her own with no extra charge. From the first day I told her that I had never been massaged before and I am very ticklish and have a low pain threshold. She reassured me that she will adjust the pressure while massaging to my level of acceptance. I found that the massage was not that bad and I could endure it. There were some problematic areas such as my shoulders and legs which did hurt quite a bit when she massaged me. She told me that it's my veins being blocked and tight from years of usage and not ever smoothing them out with massaging them. My body did felt lighter after the sessions.

At the end of the three session, I can make the conclusion that the massage was okay and a must for women after delivering a baby. As for repeating a body massage at any masseuse's hands, I think I will refrain from getting massaged unless I really need it. Haha!

If anybody out there is searching for a post delivery massage, below is her contact number:

Tel: 017-325 1553 (Azah)

Email: siti_norazah80@yahoo.com

She covers the are of Putrajaya, Puchong, Kajang, Seri Kembangan and Bangi only. Her services are strictly for women only and she offers traditional massage for post delivery massage, health/stress massage, pregnant women massage and even post natal care.

I hope that my body will recover faster so that I can enjoy taking care of the baby more. ( ^_^ )

Post Delivery ~ Jaundice ~

It has been three days since the delivery. So far everything was going well except for me still feeling weak and incapable of too much movements. Even so, I was hoping that we would be discharged that day since I had quite enough of nurses coming in and out of my ward room, the medicine and all the procedural questions. Unfortunately for us, our baby's pediatrician told us on Thursday morning that our baby had jaundice and her reading was quite high, so she had to be monitored and treated under the blue light. We were also advised to stay in the hospital since I was breastfeeding her at that time. 

I know, I know. There were lots of tips I had received during my pregnant days about ways to avoid my baby getting jaundice. One of them was to drink goat's milk in the 9th month of pregnancy. I wanted to but never got around to exactly buying goat's milk. I even had trouble keeping up with me drinking regular formula milk specially made for pregnant mommies. I only succeeded in drinking Goodday's Milk in the blue carton which I thought tasted much nicer than all of those formula milk. I hope it was not because I didn't drink goat's milk that our baby got jaundice. Most probably it's because both of us have O+ blood type. Huhu..

In the end, we had to stay in the hospital for two days. Throughout the two days I was called now and then to feed the baby but it seemed that my precious little baby didn't have enough milk since my milk was not producing fast enough. The doctor and nurses advised me that they needed to add formula milk for my baby since she needs to drink more so that she can pee and poo more to help get the jaundice out faster. I had to agree with them since I do want my baby to get well faster. Her jaundice didn't look like it was decreasing every time I went in to feed her. The nurses alternated my feeding sessions with formula milk to ensure that my baby had enough milk. This feeding routine went on through the night until morning. I got some rest and shut eyes in between the feedings.

It was on Saturday morning that the doctor came in and told us that our baby's jaundice reading had dropped below 10 and we were allowed to go home. My heart jumped for joy! At last! My dear husband packed up all of our things and we waited for the signal from the nurses for us to be discharged. By midday, my husband was called in to settle the hospital bill and then I was called in the nursery to change our baby's clothes (an indicator that we were about to be sent on our way home!). After all the procedure was done, my husband got all of our things into the car and drove to the lobby. I was put in a wheel chair and pushed by a nurse to the lobby alongside another nurse wheeling the baby inside a baby cot beside me. I thanked the nurses as my baby and I was bundled into the car feeling happy that we finally were on our way back home. At the same time I was feeling a little bit lost and scared that we are now venturing into something that we are unfamiliar with.

I really hope that my dear husband and I are able to take care of our precious little baby as best as we could since we are now newbie parents. Now, it's an entirely new journey for the three of us.. ( ^_^ )

~ The Delivery ~

28th Feb 2012: Morning

My husband and I went to the hospital as instructed by my doctor yesterday. My contraction was getting more intense and closer apart especially yesterday morning. We saw the doctor and we were told that I will be admitted immediately so I needed to start fasting for the operation. My doctor advised use to go through the c-section since there might be some complications during labour and we both agreed.

We were brought to Admission and paid for our delivery package at the counter. Then we were sent to the labour ward for me to be processed. I was quite nervous since everything is going too fast for me. At the labour ward, my tummy was shaved, I was given some medicine and the anesthetician doctor came and told me his procedure in giving me a spinal injection. I would be awake from top half. Later at around 2.30 pm I was given a medicine and then we were sent to our ward room. We had some time to perform Zohor prayer before nurses came in and started to prep me with drip. I have started to feel very nervous and scared.

28th Feb 2012: 4.00 pm

Nurses came into our ward room wheeling in a bed. I was told to get on that bed and lie sideways. I was shivering non stop by then. My dear hubby was allowed to come along for the procedure. I was too scared and started panicking thinking of the operation and the spinal injection I was about to face and it made me shake like a leaf. I was crying and almost didn't want to go through with the operation. My husband was doing his best to calm me down all the way to the operating theater. The  anesthetician  doctor came and gave me an numbing injection in my back, then the spinal injection. Surprisingly it didn't hurt as much as I had anticipated. But the shaking still wouldn't stop. I was then wheeled into the operating theater and was transferred onto the operating bed. I was then was told to lie on my back. My legs have started to feel numb but to my horror I still can move my right leg and wiggle my toes. I panicked BIG TIME!

Doctor S came in and started to prep me. I was still in panic mode since I can feel what she's doing especially all the prodding and wiping. I told her that I have not lost all feelings on my lower part of the body and she asked me to raise my legs. I was able to raise my right leg but it felt very heavy. She told me it's okay and she's going to try and cut me. WHAT? Seriously, I panicked since I was afraid that I could feel the knife slicing me open. The anesthetician doctor told me to calm down and explained that I could feel all the prodding and poking but I would not feel pain when I am cut. Doctor S then carried on with the procedure. I could feel the tugging and pulling and probably every layer cut open but did not feel the pain. I did feel a little bit of pain from the baby's thumping before the sac holding her was cut open. When the doctor was pulling the baby out, it was quite painful since I felt heavy pressure as they pushed my tummy to help the baby out. It did hurt very much. Then suddenly I heard the baby cry out. It was a good loud cry too. ( ^_^ ) My hubby was told to go and check the baby ie fingers, toes, gender and then recited azan and iqamat into her ears. The baby was then sent to the nursery to be processed and my hubby was told to follow. All that while, the doctor was checking my old laparotomy scar to check whether my cyst and fibroid were present and to remove if there was any. Fortunately, there was no cyst and fibroid. She told me there were no adhesion as well. She did asked me whether I ate snakehead fish (haruan) after my last operation and I said no, she said good since that fish would cause adhesions.

I kind of felt it when the doc was sewing me up. I was not sure which layer the doc was finishing but I certainly felt a bit of a sting near the end of being processed. After all was done, I was cleaned and wheeled out of the operating theater and parked at the prepping/waiting area outside of the operating theater. A nurse came and put two layers of blankets on me and another layer of thermal blanket to help me with my shivering. My blood pressure was taken and I was left under the blanket for about half and hour until the shivering subsided. Then I was wheeled outside of the prepping area and was transferred onto the same bed I was wheeled in from my ward. Then, I was finally sent back to my ward.

Upon entering my ward room, my dear husband was already waiting for me. As I was wheeled in I felt relieved and secured once I saw his smiling face. The nurses transferred me onto my bed and made sure I was prepped for the evening. My hubby sat by my side after the nurses left and we talked about the whole operation and filled in the blanks when each of us was away for brief moments during the procedure. Whilst talking, a nurse came and told us that our baby is crying because she is hungry.She asked me whether I had energy to try and breastfeed the baby and I said I'd like to try. She went and brought back the baby to me and showed me how to breastfeed the baby whilst lying sideways. It was quite an experience feeding the baby for the first time. I felt very happy to be able to hold our baby in my arms after carrying her for 9 months. Only Allah SWT knows how I felt that time and I am very thankful and grateful that I am given the chance to become a mother in this short life. Alhamdulillah.. ( ^_^ )

Baby Ameera Damia was born on 28th of February 2012, 4.47 pm, weighing 2.93 kg.