Little Alya had her maiden outing today!

Well... no where fancy but to see little Alya's paediatrician, Dr Veronica Toh, at Raffles Children's Centre. I won't call it an outing actually since the trip there is to check on her jaundice level. It has gone down and she looks less yellowish. Nevertheless, little Alya finally get to try out her new toy, the stroller.

Little Alya seems to enjoy the short trip there. She hardly makes any noise. Mummy has to bribe her with milk of course....

Little Alya getting comfy

Little Alya comes home with plenty of gifts

We are home!

The 3 days stay at the hospital has been a pleasant one. The service at Raffles Hospital is excellent. Never regretted my choice to deliver there. The midwives and nurses were extremely helpful and friendly. And not forgetting my gynae, who dropped by to check on me often enough to assure me that everything will be fine. Thanks to these people who have made my stay there a very pleasant one. And to my family, relatives and friends who had squeezed in some of their time to visit us and shared our joy on the arrival of little Alya; your presence is greatly appreaciated. And thank you so much for the lovely gifts too.

Despite the fatique and the after labour pain down there, i'm actually pretty anxious to be home with my little one. Now that we are home, i'm hoping to catch up on my sleep whenever i can (when little alya sleeps, of course). I'm actually sleep deprived due to the constant awakening of little alya for breastfeeding. To be able to breastfeed little alya is a great feeling though the first few tries were horrendous. There's very little collustrum and little alya doesn't seem to have enough, causing her to whine and eventually exploded into loud cries. It stresses me up, being unable to give in to her needs and can't do anything abt it. Things finally improves on the third day when there's a better flow of milk and little alya is able to suckle on well.

Hush... hush.. dahling, daddy's here...

Proud daddy

The arrival of little Alya is definitely a blessing and adds joy to our otherwise routine lifestyle. The nine and half mths of wait, anxiety, lethargy and the 15 hrs of labour is all worth it at the sight her. The joy of just staring intently at her half-closed eyes and to cradle her in my arms is indescribable.

For someone who has no experience with tiny babies, her daddy seems to do quite well, adjusting himself every now and then while carrying her. Weighing just over 2.3kg, her fragile little frame seems hard to handle. Nevertheless, daddy is trying hard to hold her right. He's definitely one proud daddy...

The Birth Entry

Little Alya after being cleaned up

15 hours!

That's how long it took little alya to finally see the world!

Wat's the feeling like? Out of the world!

On 17th Aug, at 1.20am, I felt a sudden leak of liquid flowing out. Unsure of what it was , I went to the bathroom to check it out. Then suddenly a gush of clear water flowed out. It finally registered to me that my waterbag had bursts!

Ah...!! Finally the long awaited moment came. I'm finally going into labour! Quickly woke Saiful up, told him abt it and he said: ohh... jadi dah nak beranak ah ni?? or something in that line... we've been anticipating the baby's arrival for quite some time and finally at 39+ weeks, the time has come..

yah..yah.. go get ready quick! We both managed to squeeze in a short shower before driving down to the hospital. Being a Strep B carrier, my gynae had reminded me to get to the hospital as soon as the waterbag bursts as I needed to be on antibiotic drip immediately after the bursts to avoid infection to the baby.

The 20 minutes journey to Raffles Hospital seems to take forever as i started to feel intermitten menstrual-cramp-like pain. Upon admission, I was quickly hooked up to the foetal monitoring machine. The midwives there were quick and efficient as they bustle about preparing me in the labour suite and asking medical questions. After an internal check and upon consultation with my gynae over the phone, I was hooked with a glucose and antibiotic drips. So there I was, lying on a bed, strapped with a monitoring belt and hooked up with 2 kind of drips. With a smile, one of the midwife gently told me labour will only be in about 7-8 hours time, since my cervix is only abt 1.5cm open.

Go and get some sleep. You will need the energy later.

Yah..rite..sleep in between pain? But then, the pain is still bearable, maybe i could still get a wink or two.. and that wink lasted for over 2 hours.

With a TV in the labour suite, Saiful and I managed to entertain ourselves in between catnaps while waiting for labour to be more imminent. Around 9.30am, contractions get stronger and the little cramp pains gets more painful. Internal check by my gynae revealed a mere 4cm opening of the cervix. Damn..!!

You want to take the epidural? Its better to take now. Don't wait till the last minute.

Thinking that labour could be anytime soon: Its ok. I can still tahan. Boyy...labour doesn't come till hours and hours later... and i tahan and tahan and tahan until i cannot tahan anymore... my face crumble like a prune, my back felt like its snapping into two and the rubs that saiful gave on my back barely helps.. at 11.30am, i surrender! the pain was just too much too handle. Epidural pleaseee...... hurry!!

With the epidural finally sinked in at 12.15n, I heaved a sigh of relief. The lower part of my body felt numbed and i cant seem to move my legs. The pain totally disappeared. i get to sleep longer and even managed to smsing my friends and colleagues.

eh, you in labour also can sms ah?

Im on epidural pe...

Then suddenly at 4pm, 2 midwives came over and propped my legs up. Ok, u r in labour, get ready to push when i say push ok! Huh? push? It didn't register to me that im about to give birth though im starting to feel the pain coming back. Saiful, looking confused, holds my hand and confidently echoing the midwives. ok, i..2..3, pushhhh..... more..more... The hubby: Come on zu, i dah nampak rambut dier, panjang and lebat! Push harder k... after abt half an hour of pushing and still failing to deliver, my gynae finally came in with another 2 assistant. Dr Goh is here, now you have to work harder. and i do have to work extremely hard! Come on zuraidah, pushhh...harder..give your all... don't sleep, look up (i'm not sleeping ok..) finally, at 5.15pm, after the snip, snip, out she came at one final push, together with the placenta...

fuhhyuhh.... alhamdullillah... and ouchhhh....

Looking at her tiny fragile body and the delicate hands and feet and her tiny red face; The long wait and the pain is all worth it!! Welcome Little Alya!