The Big Promotion

Exactly 4 years ago, the Missy arrived. She was very punctual. Arrived on the expected due date. So tiny and fragile.

~ the day XY was born ~

Here goes my labour story. Be warned of a long post ahead. Enjoy!
One day before D-day, I spotted a tinge of blood, but there was no pain. I went to the clinic for check-up. The cervix has not opened at all and the nurses asked me to come back again if there’s heavy bleeding or extreme pain. Should happen within the next 24 or 48 hours. I felt like a ‘sua koo’ (very silly and inexperienced). Such a small matter also come for check-up.

On D-day (18th), I woke up with very bad contraction pain at 5am. I wasn’t sure if that’s what they call ‘extreme pain’ (now I know it is!), so tried going back to sleep. Didn’t want to wake CB yet. Not planning to be admitted yet, so let him have his wonderful slumber. I couldn’t sleep coz the pain was very bad and at frequent intervals. So I started to count. It was at 5-7 mins intervals. A bit puzzled coz contractions were supposed to be at fixed intervals. Feeling unsure, I called the clinic at 6+. The nurse said if I can bear the pain, just bear it (which means it’s not considered extreme yet). Get admitted when there’s heavy bleeding or the waterbag has burst. Then she ended the sentence with “If you’d like, you can still come for a check-up.” Can you believe that? Not helpful at all!

After walking up and down the stairs, still trying to sleep (but not getting any at all), I finally woke CB up at 7+. Had 2 pieces of bread for breakfast and got admitted at about 9am. I was already 2 cm dilated. Didn’t manage to use epidural coz the dr in-charge was not available. He was away in another area and my gynae said I would’ve delivered by the time he reached the clinic. The nurses were very supportive and said I was doing fine without it. Very grateful for their guidance and encouragement.

My waterbag burst at 11+. I was wheeled into the delivery room for monitoring. I used the laughing gas (ethonox). It helped a teeny weeny bit at the beginning. Doesn’t make you go high at all. But when the contraction was at the peak, it was useless. CB was called to the room to witness the birth of our child (he was not allowed in earlier). I think I started to push at 12:30. They were saying I wasn’t pushing correctly. Should be pushing my bottom, not chest. I don’t know what the h*ll they were talking about! I was already pushing like mad, and they tell me it’s not correct? And with that 2 miserable pieces of bread for breakfast, I was running out of strength fast. Come to think of it, if I’d used epidural, I may not be able to push very hard (without that kind of intense pain to react to.... trying to console myself). They had to help me a bit. They also pushed my stomach to get the baby out. And finally, she came out at about 1pm. What a relief! The nurse immediately showed me the baby’s genital to confirm that she’s a girl, but I wasn’t really registering at that time. Still in a daze after all the pushing, I suppose. When XY was born, she was white (according to CB coz I wasn’t noticing much). After a few hours, then only she got some colours. She had very mild jaundice which didn’t require hospitalisation.

So exactly 4 years ago, I was promoted to motherhood. Happy 4th Birthday, XY! Wishing you happiness always. No matter how naughty and cheeky you are, we will always love you dearly.

Note: Special thanks to Jazzmint, the Sifu, for her tutorial and help on scrapbooking. Still very new with PS. Shall explore and experiment further.