The First Bath!

After several careful self-education on You Tube (Praise God for You Tube! Just search "how to bathe a newborn" - the resources are endless!), I've finally worked up the courage to bath my precious prince Lucas since his umbilical stump fell out somewhere last week. It was a short bath, I just wanted to get him accustomed to water in a tub and I was so worried he will fuss or catch a cold, but he was so lovely and brave in the tub!

Here are some cute pics; I'm quite amazed he actually hang about calmly enough for me to take a few snaps too! Bravo my boy, bravo! You never fail to make mummy SMILE :)*muaxxx*

Mummy, don't shoot! I'm naked!!! 

Making eyes at the camera!

Getting restless!

Stupid Questions & Remarks

Throughout my pregnancy and after, I've encountered alot of ridiculous questions and remarks. In fact I've got one post on some of the weird things people say when they discovered I was pregnant here. 

Well, after you give birth it doesn't get easier, firstly you are bombarded with endless visitors ranging from families, relatives, friends and colleagues who then decided to bring their spouses, cell members, children, golf buddies etc to witness your "just gave birth look like hell no makeup bad hair face" and brand new baby who is probably shocked to be suddenly outside the comfort of the womb and have to deal with many a staring face. Plus your nether regions are on fire with pain that is unspeakable as the epidural and painkillers slowly wear off and you are dying for a shower, bed pan, morphine, whatever, plus your emotions are highly unstable and you are physically and mentally TIRED beyond words, yet you have to smile at an endless stream of visitors and entertain questions to infinity. or all you wish to do is hold your newborn child in your arms and enjoy the moment but NOOoooooooo ..... *sheeessshh*

Well, most people are extremely thoughtful and lovely and they just want to congratulate us, share our joy and see the new baby. But some of these visitors come bearing remarks that can actually be quite unkind, offensive and insensitive, or just plain annoying. I decided to list some that I've personally encountered lately here so that (a) we don't repeat it and risk irritating the sh*t out of others AND (b) don't come and annoy me with these questions and remarks as well.

Here are some I encountered (for real, not making it up):

1. Are you in alot of pain? What do you think??? This came from a young girl who has yet to birth a  child so I will forgive this remark LOL!
2. You look tired. *duh*
3. Why is your labor so long? Followed by a detailed victorious story of how their labor was so wonderfully short, painless and effortless. OMG what is there to compare? It this really necessary?
4. How come your baby is so SMALL??? Followed by serious bragging of how their baby was 4 freaking kg and their success story at bringing forth a gigantic fetus through an almost instant vaginal birth. Oh God seriously? Are we bragging about the weight of the baby???
5. How come you need to use a vacuum when your baby is only 2.83kg? I just wish I can say "get lost lady, get outta my face" and I wonder why I'm even having this conversation with you.
6. During my pregnancy I didn't put on THAT much weight as my baby was good at absorbing the nutrients. At this point I'm just wondering what she's implying; that I'm too fat yet my baby is small and somehow my baby did not absorb the nutrients? Meaning what? I'm a bad mother stealing all the good stuff from my own fetus? Gosh lady, you need some serious lessons in tact, and this coming from a so-called matured woman in her forties.
7. Epidural is not good, you will get backache in years to come. Seriously, think about it, we all know that, don't you think anyone in their right sound mind won't want to avoid this if possible, obviously it was not like an easy choice to make. And unless you can say you knew the pain I went through, you have no right to judge the labor decisions I made.
8. Why didn't you just opt for Cesarean? This came from some clueless guy who probably think all women should go c-section so that the vaginal regions are unmarked and unscathed by childbirth. This is due to pure ignorance, a sad lack of education. Think about it, nature and God intended for a vaginal birth. A c-section, in most cases, is necessary due to medical complications and emergencies. Of course lately alot of women are opting for elective c-sections for vanity / convenience sake (and I say this without any judgement whatsoever, each to her own), so I guess we can't blame these guys for thinking it's the norm.

Well, maybe a new mother is super emo, sensitive and highly defensive during the first few days and weeks, and I think she has every right to be, given that her body, mind and soul is going through quite a lot after bringing forth a new baby into the world, and everyone is different in every way. I don't see what's there to loose by exercising some consideration, kindness and tact. I mean, after all you came to visit me and my baby, so why is it suddenly all about YOU and YOUR big fat baby and YOUR very smooth easy labor and birth? I'm not interested. I'm tired, in pain, and drugged out, the last thing I need is to hear your bragging-baby-stories. And please stop making comments about my baby being small or whatever negative nonsense. My ob-gyn confirms the baby is a good size for me and he is healthy, whole and just perfect in every way.

Ultimately the main objective is that the baby came safe and sound and perfectly formed, and that the mother is also well and alive. I know my true friends are happy for us and really, that's all that matters. At moments like this what we need are people who are kind and supportive and respect our decisions. We have no room in our lives for those who are here to pass judgement and unkind nonconstructive remarks.

Precious Prince Lucas @ Week 2

At the risk of being one of those annoying new parents whose lives revolves around their new babies, here I am again with more pictures of our dear Baby Lucas to commensurate his second week of life! :)

Afternoon nap on his favorite 'whale' pillow; I can't resist the adorable way he moves his arms in all kinds of directions during his sleep.

Fast asleep on Mummy Shortcake after a satisfying feed.

Sound asleep in Daddy's arms :)

In Popo's (i.e. maternal grandmother) arms; this is the pitiful look; about to burst into tears due to soiled diaper!

The contented post-crying face after a fresh diaper change.

My Labour Story

Everyone, well not everyone, mainly fellow mothers and mothers-to-be have been asking alot of questions about the labour and how it went and all kinds of detailed questions to the point that it's really quite tiring, hence I will detail it down here so that I need not repeat it again and again like a broken record on rerun. Furthermore I noticed my tolerance level and hormonal impatience which I developed during pregnancy has not diminished whatsoever. So here forth I will direct all Q&A on my labor to this blog post haha I'm so mean I know. To be honest at this point, I hate talking about the labor, maybe because it was quite horrific an experience plus not enough time has passed for me to look back and laugh at it yet.


But for everyone's benefit, I will make it short and succinct in point form here ...

2nd Sept 2010, Thursday

• Arrived at the hospital in the afternoon for a check up as I was leaking for 2 days and my discomfort was mounting to the point I can barely walk.
• They did an internal and strapped me up on the EFM (electronic fetal monitoring) and decided that I need to be admitted as the leaking cause me to be at risk for an infection and apparently the EFM shows slight contractions at 4 minutes apart.
• My ob-gyn was out of the country for conference so I was being attended by another doctor who was great as well, very understanding and gentle.
• I explained to the labour team I did not want to be induced (Pitocin via IV) nor do I want an epidural, they respected my wishes and worked around that.
• Throughout the day and night, there was still no progress in terms of cervix dilation despite continuous leaking and stronger contractions by evening.
• Towards the end we agreed to go with a milder form of induction i.e. Prostaglandin, inserted into the cervix to see if we can speed things up.
• Needless to say I was very tired and achy from being poked and prodded the whole day and night.

3rd Sept 2010, Friday

• No progress, Doc was getting abit worried, we decided to burst the main water bag because the leakage was from the 'hind waters' apparently.
• After the main waters were broken, the contractions became super duper unbearable.
• Yet I tried to resist further medical intervention, hubby and I have very strong misgivings about getting an epidural due to all the horror stories and potential side effects, but at this point, it's not the time for me to be a hero anymore as the baby may risk distress due to prolonged labour and contractions. 
• After four tearful and unspeakably unbearable hours of pain, we gave into the epidural as the cervix still refuse to dilate despite the incredibly strong contractions. I decided here that whatever I've read in theory on labor and birth is bullshit crap and I've overestimated my own threshold of pain; tattoo and belly piercing is no indicator of one's pain threshold *duh*
• Also, Doc says at the rate the cervix is behaving, it's gonna be many many hours of pain with very little dilation, he doesn't think I can make it, I concur totally.
• By evening, around 6pm or so, we relented and started the epidural. It was like heaven, seriously. I felt like I could suddenly breathe again and actually lie down still and rest for abit.
• I was still being poked and prodded, they are forever checking my cervix dilation *ouch* but thankfully, the epidural lets me feel nothing. That night, I could sleep properly.

4th Sept Friday.

• Just past midnight or so, the contractions somehow stopped, dilation was about 3cm, they decided to go with Pitocin via IV.
• Even that took longer than normal, it was almost 11 hours before we got to 8 or 9cm I think.
• By 6:45am, the midwives and nurses decided I'm ready, they got the Doc in and we got ready for the baby.
• By 7:44am; Praise God, finally Baby Lucas was born (whole and healthy at 2.83kg) after almost 45 mins of assisted pushing and vacuum towards the end (the epidural affects the ability to push plus the momma was super duper tired, seriously)
• When Lucas was placed on my chest, all bloody and cord intact, it was such a precious moment that cannot be described, all I think of was "OMG we did it!" and I was in such awe and disbelief at this cute tiny human being that came out from me under there! No amount of reading and preparation can prepare you for that sensation at seeing your child emerge from inside you. And he looked so very perfect, he is everything I hoped and prayed he would be.

So there you go; my first ever labor and birth experience. If you've seen my birth plan in an earlier post, you would realize that it just went out the window like ashes to the wind! Oh well, some plans are made to be broken, but ultimately we are grateful we managed to have the ultimate objective; to have a safe vaginal birth; despite all the medical interventions which we tried so hard to avoid. Yup, I was also subject to an episiotomy *sob*sniff*sob* and it's still smarting like hell right now.


However, I must say the Doc and staff nurses were very supportive of my Birth Plan and they even allowed me to try to deal with the process and the pain which is why it took so long. They did not compel, force nor coerce me to do anything I was not ready to do and I was well consulted on all procedures. I was impressed and thankful of the experienced and professional labor team at Pantai KL, these ladies knows their stuff, I was really well taken care of.


My dear hubby was amazing, I was impressed he was able to face the entire birthing process and cheering on with the nurses for me to "PUSH"! He was even steady enough to catch some really good photos. Cheers to the new Daddy!


Two hours after that, we were admiring the brand new baby all cleaned up and swaddled in the cot. Hubby and I were in absolute awe and wonder that we "produced" such a beautiful creature; it's truly a miracle, by the grace of God. Then we looked each in the eye, exhausted, relieved and ecstatic and we both had an instant mutual understanding ... next it'll be a dog or cat to accompany our precious sweet Baby Lucas :)


Well, in retrospect, I would say I should not have gone into the hospital so soon despite the leakage and discomfort and I should have waited abit more; like 2 more days. But then again, truth be told, I was so eager to have the baby, I was getting quite impatient, plus I was subconsciously pressured by everyone bugging me about why is the baby so late. Looking back, I would not give a rats ass about what anyone says anymore; it's not their body, it's not their baby, and I would advise the same to any mums-to-be; trust your own body, trust your ob-gyn and don't be pressured unnecessarily by well-meaning people around you.

Anyway, what's done is done, we believe in God's perfect timing and everything works for good for those who love Him. Besides, who would know how long should I wait and what further signs should be sufficient before it's time. I guess ultimately, God was in control of the situation and it was how it was intended to be. So all praises to Jesus for bringing forth sweet baby Lucas into our lives.

Welcome Baby Lucas!

Today our newborn son Lucas is one week old! He was born exactly a week ago; 4th September 2010, Saturday at 7:44am at Pantai Hospital KL. Here are some quick pics to introduce Baby Lucas to the world!

This picture was taken by Daddy within the first 2 hours upon his arrival; still within the labor ward. 

Mummy took this picture of a one day old Lucas right after his 'breakfast feeding' when the nurses brought him in at the break of dawn.

This pic was taken by Daddy on his first morning at home. Lucas is two days old here.

This is also a day two pic taken at home by Daddy; this is how he looks when he's in the mood to make eyes at you. He started sucking on his fingers on the first day itself.

It's been a crazy week! Overwhelmed yet absolutely overjoyed. More updates soon!!!

Bizzarre!

I just came across something so bizarre it's knocking off my socks completely. I have Facebook connections who set up individual Facebook pages for their dogs. Don't get me wrong, I have nought against pets and I particularly love dogs and if you've been stalking me for a while you would have caught snippets of our family mutt scattered around this blog.

Anyway, I know some people set up Dog Pages so that they can give a life and identity to their beloved doggie and I think while that's not exactly normal sane human behavior, it is kinda cute in a weird way. They hook up with other Dog Pages and there your pet can live an online life through you, frankly I don't think the dog gives a skinny kitten's ass if he has a Facebook page, never mind if he has fans / friends on that page. In fact, back in the heat of novelty, I too created two such pages dedicated to two dogs but they are defunct now and I do not, I repeat, I do not have conversations with myself posing as a dog.

What bothers me to the point of doubting someones sanity is when they 'talk' on behalf of their dogs (as in post status on behalf of the dog) and then, get this ... they reply as themselves, the dog owner. Heaven knows I am so freaking tempted to screen capture and show the dialogs here and tickle my readers high but I shall not as i still do value these crazy connections I have. I can't resist mocking them here though.

Here's a modified example of what I saw on a wall, names changed to protect the demented:

Dog Wall Status: Hmmm I am so hungry, wonder what will mummy be feeding me later? *woof*
Owner Replies: U are so naughty, u just ate bone snacks and u're already hungry? Such a piggy glutton of a dog you are ^_^

Dog Wall Status: Yay mummy's home from work!!! *wag tail*
Owner Replies: Aaaawww you're such a darling puppy *muax*

Ok, cute to death right? Fine. Maybe one sees this as a platform to explore and express one's scriptwriting or creative writing skills and I can see how this will come in really useful in a Sunday school puppet show or to fulfill some dreams of writing children's books. But on Facebook, for the benefit of your adult friends? Maybe it's just me; maybe I'm too dense to appreciate this kinda creative banter.


And ... dig this, some of these people manage more than one Dog pages; actively. I wonder if these people are simply so high on themselves or they just have absolutely no useful and purposeful agenda in life whatsoever that they have to simulate imaginary conversations with their pets on a public social media platform. Oh gosshhhhhh ...... *pengsan*

Tell me it's not me that's weird or is this some kinda new current trend I'm missing out on??? Is it? Is it???