July 28, 2005

WEEK 41

Filed under: Baby's Development — haseenah @ 10:27 am

MY PREGNANCY - WEEK 41

While we are aware that many of you will have had your baby by now, we thought we had better add an extra week for those who are still waiting, and possibly becoming rather impatient about when your labour will finally get start!

If your baby doesn’t come by your due date, your health care professional may wait for up to 14 days for you to go into labour naturally. If you reach 42 weeks, most health care professionals will agree that the baby should be delivered if it is in the proper presentation. You may be monitored for another few days in the hope that you will go into natural labour, or your health care professional may discuss the possibility of inducing labour or performing a caesarian section.

Good luck with whatever option you and your health care professional decide on for you!

If you are a new mum by now, Congratulations! Don’t forget to share your birth story with others in the Essential Baby Birth Stories Discussion Group or in your diary. Also take a look at Essential Baby’s Birth Announcements area, an easy, convenient way to announce your baby’s birth details and post a picture for all of your friends to see!

July 20, 2005

How old is Dani

Filed under: General — haseenah @ 8:34 pm

Lilypie 2nd Birthday PicLilypie 2nd Birthday Ticker

July 17, 2005

The Big Day!

Filed under: My Pregnancy with Dani — haseenah @ 1:26 am

I woke up super early today and getting myself prepared to see Dr. Tan. I wore my usual black maternity top and my yellow funky pants. I look huge! Today I am 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant. I really wonder when I can see my baby boy. I really can’t wait!

I woke Jan up and as usual, he grunts. I lay beside him and talk softly to his ears. “Good morning handsome….I think I am giving birth today..” I always says this line. And I end up dissapointed. Finally after blowing softly into his ears and give him soft kisses on his face, he wakes up. He asked me how I feel and I told him that I feel that the baby will arrive today. He smiled…I asked him if I should bring my labour bag and he says no. It will be embarresing to bring home the big bag. Well….men!

Anyway…hehehe…Me and Jan walked into Dr. Tan’s cllinic and not much people were waiting. We were next. We went in and he asked me how I feel. I asked him immediately, “Can you induced me? I feel really heavy and tired. My legs aches and my back is giving me lots of problem”. He looked at me and asked me to lay down on the bed. He checked me internally and found that the baby’s head is really low. He is surprised! For 2 months, my baby’s head has not been engaged and now, it is really low!

I told him that I have been getting braxton hicks contraction quite a lot. He sent me to the other room and strap the ECG machine on my huge tummy. After 30 mins later, he came in and saw the chart and told me that my I had one big contraction a few mins ago. I did??! Contractions are pretty painless….hehehe

He asked me to lay down on the bed in the consultation room again. He checked me internally and told me that I am 3cm dilated!! What??! Serious ah! But I was feeling fine…women starts screaming when their cervix opens up to 3 cm. I was smiling and joking around. He attached a drip on my left hand and asked me to go down to admission and straight to labour ward. I said to Dr Tan..”I can’t give birth today! I have not shaven my legs…!!” hehehehe.

Jan took me to the labour ward. I still didn’t feel a painful contraction yet. Just Braxton Hick’s contraction every 3 mins or so. The bell boy even asked me if I need a wheelchair. No! I can walk! I want to walk!

So here I am, in the labpur ward. The midwife gave me a dress to wear and I changed. Jan went back to bring my labour bag. I waited for Jan to come back. I was scared. Really scared. My sister came to the hospital immediately after I called her. But she cannot come in. Only husbands…. :(
So…Jan got back and went back home again as he forgot the most important thing. The Camera!! He is too excited I think…hehehe

At about 11am, Dr. Tan gave me an Enema. Don’t ask me what is it…it’s something I am shy explaining! After a few mins later, I was in the toilet, doing my thing…hehehe. I got back to my bed and Dr Tan says he wants to break my waterbag. Sure…no probs. The midwife teaches me how to use the Entonox gas and I did some trial and it makes me real tipsy. I like it!

The waterbreaking process was not something I will forget easily. It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life! I feel when he was poking to break the water, my life went up to myy throat! I really thought I will die. I breathe in too much gas and I was semi unconsious for about 1 min. I had lots of tears in my eyes. It breaks Jan’s heart to see me like this. He touches me forehead and tells me it’s?ok. I was crying and telling him that it hurts so bad.

Soon after the water breaking process, my contractions starts. It hurts bad. Dr. Tan checked and I was only 4cm dilated. He asked me I want Penthidine. I said no at first and when i feel the contractions getting stronger and stronger, I begged for it!

At 1pm, Dr Tan comes in again and checked me and I was still 4cm dilated. I asked the nurse when is the pethidine gonna kicked in. She said, after an hour ago and I still didn’t get much pain relief. She asked me if I want epidural. I said No. I am a tough woman! I can endure this!

At about 4pm, I can’t stand it. I let go of the Entonox and I am begging for Epidural. Dr. Tan checkd me and this time I was 6cm dilated and?calls for Dr Lim, the? anesthetic and it took him about 20 mins to come. My blood pressure was down to 86/45 and my baby’s heartrate went down to 56 beats per minute. I heard?Dr. Tan?was saying to Jan, “This is scary!”??Finally, Dr Lim came and I was asked to turn my body to my side and he asked my name.?He asked my name a few times and I didn’t answer him. I was in a semi consious state. I was completly exhausted and has no energy left to even lift a finger. I was just going..”OOhhhhh….oooohhhh” at every contraction. Dr Lim injected my back and slowly, I can feel that my contraction is getting lesser and lesser. Within half hour, I can’t feel my legs at all. I was completely numb was waist down.?

At 5pm, Dr. Tan checked me again and finds out I was 9cm dilated. He changes into some nice yellow boots and blue gown and white gloves. The nurse asked me to sit up and put lots of pillows behind me so that I can feel more comfortable. The two nurses hold me each from each side and Dr Tan screams…”Push!” I push! and push! and push! and at 5.35pm, my little Daniel came out! He was a huge baby! 53.5cm in length and weighs 3.02kg. Dr. Tan uses a vacuum to suck him out! His heartrate is falling and his umbical cord was found around his neck.

Dr. Tan places him on my chest the moment he was born. I was so happy!! Finally…all the waiting and all the pain…my baby is born! A healthy boy! My love! My Daniel.

July 12, 2005

WEEK 40

Filed under: Baby's Development — haseenah @ 11:13 pm

MY PREGNANCY - WEEK 40

Your Baby.

  • Fetal size: crown-rump 37-38cm (14.8-15.2 inches), crown-toes 48cm (21.5 inches). Fetal weight: 3.4kg (7.5 pounds).
  • If your baby hasn’t already been born, he/she is preparing to be born. By the end of this week your baby is fully mature and all organs are developed and working ready for life outside the uterus. Your baby will also be plumper, and will need to curl up to fit inside your uterus. You will still be able to feel your baby kicking, but the increasingly limited space in your uterus will mean movements are much less than they were a few weeks ago.
  • By now your baby should have “engaged” or moved into a head down position ready for birth. When engaged, your baby’s head settles deeply into your pelvis, resting against your cervix.
  • Your baby’s skin is now much smoother. When awake, your baby’s eyes are open, and will probably be blue when he/she is born. If the eyes are going to be a colour other than blue, they will change within a few weeks of birth. Your baby’s fingernails are long, and it won’t be long before they need a trim. The lungs are maturing in preparation for breathing air outside the uterus.
  • Your baby’s immune system still needs to mature. Until it does, he/she receives your antibodies through the placenta. Breast milk is also an important source of antibodies for your baby after he/she is born, particularly colostrum, secreted for the first few days before your milk comes through.
  • Your baby will get rid of bilirubin (breakdown product from red blood cells) before he/she is born. Bilirubin will be transferred from the fetus, across the placenta, through to your blood circulation. After your baby is born, it will be able to handle the bilirubin its body produces on its own.
  • Your baby’s intestine is filled with a dark green to black substance called meconium. After your baby is born, this will be the first bowel motion he/she passes. Sometimes babies pass meconium during delivery.

Your Pregnancy.

  • You will probably start to see your health professional on a more regular basis (usually weekly) during the weeks leading up to the birth of your baby. During this time you may also experience the “nesting instinct”, translating to a desire to clean the house or make things ready for the baby. Don’t overdo it - you’ll need lots of energy for the birth. This week you should be resting if possible.
  • When your baby engages, you will feel a bit more comfortable, mainly because your baby drops a bit and some of the pressure is taken off your diaphragm. Because you are carrying so much weight at the front of your body, you may tend to lean back more. This may result in clumsiness, so be careful and take it slowly.
  • Getting a good nights sleep is probably quite difficult now, as your size makes it hard to get comfortable. If you’re not sleeping well, try to rest as much as possible during the day.
  • You may find that your breasts begin to get swollen as the placenta starts to produce the hormones that stimulate milk production.
  • By now you are eagerly anticipating the birth of your baby - if only because you are so uncomfortable! If your baby doesn’t come by your due date, your health care professional may wait for up to 14 days for you to go into labour naturally. If you reach 42 weeks, most health care professionals will agree that the baby should be delivered if it is in the proper presentation. You may be monitored for another few days in the hope that you will go into natural labour, or your health care professional may discuss the possibility of inducing labour or performing a caesarian section.

July 5, 2005

WEEK 39

Filed under: Baby's Development — haseenah @ 12:13 pm

MY PREGNANCY - WEEK 39

Your Baby.

  • Fetal size: crown-rump 36cm (14.4 inches), crown-toe 48cm (21.5 inches). Fetal weight: 3.25kg (7 pounds).
  • Your baby will still gain weight during the last week or two of pregnancy. By now, there is very little room for your baby to move.
  • All your baby’s organs are developed and in the right place. The lungs are the last thing to mature, and your baby is still receiving your antibodies in order to produce surfacant (the lining of moisture present on healthy lungs). The brain also steadily grows and matures during this last week.

Your Pregnancy.

  • You will now be about as big as you can get during pregnancy, and no doubt you feel it too! Your weight shouldn’t increase much, if at all from Week 39. Up to and including Week 39 your total weight gain should be between 9-13.5kg (20-30 pounds).
  • Before you have your baby, you will probably have an opinion about procedures such as episiotomy, and you may have included instructions about such procedures in your Birth Plan.

    An episiotomy is an incision (either down and away from the vagina and perineum, or straight down through the perineum between the vagina and anus) that helps to deliver your baby’s head and avoids natural tearing. An episiotomy isn’t always needed, and healing of episiotomies can be less efficient than that of natural tears.

    It is possible to avoid natural tearing and episiotomy by refraining from pushing while your baby’s head is being born. This means the head has time to ease out, rather than being delivered suddenly, giving your perineum time to stretch slowly to accommodate your baby’s head.

    An episiotomy may be necessary if:

    • your baby’s head is too big
    • your baby’s birth is happening too quickly for you to stretch slowly, or if you are unable to control your pushing
    • your baby is distressed, or other complications arise
    • you require other methods of intervention (such as forceps or vacuum extraction)
    • your baby is in the wrong position

    You should know if an episiotomy is necessary when your baby’s head reaches the vagina. At this point you should ask if it is necessary and discuss the reasons why.

    After you have had your baby, your episiotomy and the resultant scar may be the most painful part of your recovery. It can take weeks or even months for you to recover fully. If this is the case, talk to your health care professional about what can be done to ease the pain and promote healing.

  • You may want to ask your hospital if they have a cord blood donation scheme, and if so, give some thought to donating your cord blood. Cord blood is obtained from the umbilical cord and placenta after the birth of your baby. Cord blood contains the same cells that are found in bone marrow and can be used to treat cancer and other genetic diseases that are being treated with bone marrow transplants, especially childhood leukaemia and other blood and immune diseases.