Adelyn Is Here!!

My ultimate favourite birth photo of Adelyn Yasmin.

Wow.

I’ve beaten my own personal record with this one. With the boys, it took me over a month to pen down their birth stories. But with my FIRST GIRL, it has taken me ELEVEN months to coax my writing mojo to make an appearance. Frankly, in this day and age, I’m not even sure if blogging is still relevant as a social media platform. I’ve shared so many photos and stories of Adelyn on Instagram that it feels quite odd to be still writing about her on my blog. But of course, there is a limit on how much exactly I can type in Instagram so here I am back on my blog, typing this blog post, so she can one day read this and enjoy her own birth story.

Why did it take so long? I'm not sure. For starters, I was enjoying my 5 months maternity leave a bitttt too much. Adel (that's her nickname!) was not an easy baby to begin with, so whatever free time I had away from her was spent binging on TV shows and online shopping. Barely 30 days into confinement, Hubby went for an operation to put in a pacemaker so I was commuting between home and IJN then assisting him in his recovery. Then when things eased up on the homefront, I got busy with planning her aqiqah (which deserves another post altogether), then after the aqiqah I had like nearly two months left of leave when suddenly my helper's mother passed away so I was left maid-less for 10 days. The most horrifying days of my life; juggling a screaming baby, pumping milk, caring for the two boys, laundry yada yada. I remember standing to have some leftovers for lunch while cradling Adel with the other hand. As soon as my helper came back, I had mastitis due to all the stress and was admitted into the hospital. My first experience with mastitis - no joke, I tell you! After being discharged we scrambled to prepare for our trip to Gold Coast (can watch my highlights on Instagram)... and then suddenly it was time to report for duty at work! *cries* Once at work, it was work work work non-stop, and literally no time to do anything else.

I digress. This is supposed to be a post about Adelyn's birth story. 

So Adel's due date was at the end of September, and Hubby was secretly hoping that I would carry her into October (his birthday month). I initially thought it was do-able, until I realized that my mid-thirties body won't be able to cope! So if we were to have the baby in Sept, it was either wait until she decides to meet the world, or opt for induced birth and choose a nice birth date. Naturally, we inclined towards 18.9.18 due to the number kapit. Furthermore, Aiden was induced while Ian wasn't, and I remember how calm it was with Aiden and how chaotic it was with Ian. Imagine hounding your husband to drive faster while having contractions from Shah Alam to KL. No thank you.

So the night of 17th September, Hubby and I checked into the hospital at about 10pm. It was a very calm check-in; we didn't inform any family members of our intent to induce. We wanted to check in into the junior suite but it was full for the night, so I requested to book the suite once the baby arrives. Unpacked and reminded the nurse to wake me up early morning so I can have my last shower before being induced. (Hard lesson learnt from the last induction with Aiden; by the time he arrived at ~3pm plus recoveries, visitors started arriving and I was all stinky with a urine bag hanging off me and strict instructions to remain in bed.)

445am: Nurse woke me up for my shower. I had managed to have one last wash and blow before we went to the hospital, so I bunched up my curls into a nice tight ponytail to last me through labour.

515am: The nurse inserted half Prostin. It was painful but I had no contractions whatsoever. VE showed 2cm. Was hooked up on CTG till 6am. Still no contractions. Managed to sleep between 7am - 8am.

830am: Dr Seri arrived. I was still at 2cm so she inserted the second half of the Prostin and did an S&S (stretch and sweep). The S&S was super painful! I actually googled S&S after she left, and found out that it can only be done by experienced doctors and is done to sweep the membrane to induce labour. Showed her my bloated hand due to the IV line, so she asked the nurses to take the IV out.

840am: Started feeling slight contractions, which gradually got stronger and stronger.

930am: Strong contraction started, so I was asked to clear my bowels. By 945am, CTG started marking 'mild' contractions which were very close together. Nurse suggested to take the epidural at 11am which I agreed to immediately. (With Ian I prolonged the request and the anesthetist was not available by the time I needed it!)

1045am: Contractions were going very strong so I called the nurse. I was in so much pain that a whole team of nurses came to check in; one checked my CTG, the other kelam kabut pasang balik the IV line that was removed earlier, and another assisted me to move beds so they could wheel me to the labour room.

Still very much pregnant.

1120am: The anesthetist arrived as promised, and she was so reassuring. The epidural process was as agonizing as I remember it to be. *shudders* Once the epidural was in, they did a VE and found out that I was still at 2cm! I was so disappointed. Despite the strong contractions, I was not progressing well. The nurses pun were disappointed because I was in so much pain, they were so sure that I was going to deliver soon. Hubby darkened the room and we managed to get some sleep in the labour room untill 1pm.

1pm: Nurse woke me up and we started on a low dose of Pitocin via drip. (Tak cukup dengan Prostin, I had to have Pitocin too! This Adelyn is one stubborn girl!)

Oh hello Pitocin!

130pm: Requested for Hubby to give me a foot massage because I was feeling really down.

145pm: Dr Seri popped in to check on my progress. While she was doing the VE, suddenly my water broke! So apparently the foot massage that Hubby gave me actually helped in progressing the labour. Water was clear, with no signs of poop; which is a sign that baby is still doing ok. However, VE showed that I was still at 2cm!!! Dr Seri gave me another S&S and increased the pitocin to full dose. After she left, I confided in Hubby that I felt really really down. I knew that if my labour didn't progress soon, baby was going to be in distress and then I would have to resort to a Cesarean. I started regretting the decision to induce. I mean, why force her out when she is not ready to meet the world?

215pm: Nurse came to do a VE. I declined because it was too close to the S&S. So the nurse said she would return at 3pm. Meanwhile, Hubby continued his (precious!) sleep beside me, while I was worrying about my labour.

245pm: Felt a strong pressure at my vagina. Woke Hubby up and he reluctantly got up. He suddenly realized that he hadn't done his prayers so he went to the toilet to take his wuduk. As he was doing so, the pain got stronger and I knew I couldn't wait for the nurse to come at 3pm. Insisted for Hubby to get the nurse immediately. Solat pun dah entah ke mana. VE was done... and I was at 9cm!

250pm: I felt a really strong urge to push. Pressure was very intense down there. Nurses started flooding my room to put my legs into the stirrup and to setup while another called the doctor. Dr Seri arrived just 5 minutes after that. During the peak of the moment, I realized that I completely forgot how to push. The nurses graciously taught me how to do so. "Jangan angkat buntut! Chin down! Pegang handle ni, dan pushhhhhh!!!" *chuckles*

302pm: And with just three pushes, Adelyn was out! The first thing Dr Seri said when she cradled the baby out was, "Eh, dia ada mark lah!" Yes, a very prominent mole above her left eyelid. She weighed a healthy 3.7 kg, beating his Babang Ian! I had to have 2 stitches because she was so bam-bam.

After she was cleaned up and weighed, they passed her back to me. She was wrapped tight in a white towel, and as I sat up in the labour bed, crading her in my arms, I felt a wave of gratitude and happiness flood throughout my body. It was such a different feeling from Aiden and Ian. Memang betul, ini lah yang ditunggu-tunggu. After so many years of longing for a girl, Alhamdulillah my prayers were granted. And the feeling - indescribable. Surprisingly, she was already coo-ing and blowing bubbles to us in the labour room, and I could feel both Hubby and I melted into a puddle, watching our beautiful and precious bundle of joy.

Freshly out of my womb. She doesn't look too happy, does she?

Cleaned and weighed.

Alhamdulillah, she's here!

All cleaned and wrapped in a towel. Check out her angry face. Someone wasn't happy to be forced out into the world! 

Started blowing bubbles in the labour room.

Opened her eyes for the first time! See, the world ain't so bad, baby girl!

Check out her very prominent mole. Ikut Daddy nie... he has a prominent mole just below his lower lip.

First smile!

Still sleepy from the epidural effect.

All clean! Finally checked in into our junior suite.

N.B: Adelyn Yasmin was safely born at 302pm on Tuesday, 18th September 2018 at Prince Court Medical Centre. She weighed a healthy 3.7kg. Mummy and baby were detained at the hospital for only 2 days as the post delivery recovery was fabulous and baby only had a slight jaundice. The damage incurred during those 2 measly days amounted to a whopping RM10,000 despite staying in the Junior Suite.... thank god for medical coverage from the Dutch Oil Company!

False Alarm

So yesterday, we had a false alarm labour.

It started just after lunch, around 2pm-ish. I started having contractions (though not painful). I tried to move around, drink water, lay on my right, hot shower... but the cramping still persisted. BUT it wasn't painful at all. Just an uncomfortable feeling of tightening around the tummy area, then release. My stomach was also hard to the touch. It was sort of like my earlier Braxton Hicks moments (they started about two weeks ago on and off), but what worried me was the frequency of the cramping and the fact that it wouldn't go away.

I remember when I was carrying Ian, I foolishly brushed off my actual contractions as Braxton Hicks. And look at how that turned out!!! By the time I acknowledged them as contractions, it was already very painful. By the time we got to the hospital, got my contractions monitored, changed, cleared bowels bla bla bla... there wasn't enough time for epidural.

This time around, I didn't want to take the risk. Dah la they say that labour progress will be quicker with the third child. Hence dengan kelam kabut I told Hubby to complete our hospital bag packing (yesssss banyak lagi rupanya last minute things yang belum masuk). Baru nak isi air zam zam, carik kurma, pack toiletries, yada yada yada. It turned out that we needed a bigger bag, so we had to change bags as well before we left. Kissed the kids goodbye and left home.

By the time we got to the hospital, it was just before Maghrib. They hooked me up to a contraction monitor, and as expected, it was registered as a mild contraction, and frustratingly irregular. The nurse did a VE and decided that the baby was still high up, so we were told to go home. *sigh* As I was walking out the emergency room, I still felt the contractions. We then went for a quiet dinner for two at Huckleberry Damansara Heights, and even then I was still having (painless) contractions every 7 -15 minutes apart. Baby AY was really pulling a fast one on me!

Arrived home and found that my helper had packed the boys' bags in preparation to head to the hospital. *giggles* The boys pulak wanted to 'see' the baby! Amboiiiii everyone is super excited to welcome the princess.

Nevertheless, this false alarm definitely showed us how unprepared we were for the actual thing. And I guess this reaffirms our decision - we will induce Baby AY tomorrow, and InsyaAllah she will be in our arms on the 18th. *18.9.18*

I hope you can spare a moment of your time to doakan for both this mummy and baby; that the delivery will be a smooth, quick and painless one. *kisses*

Just realized that I was so busy buying party frocks and tutus, that I did not buy any 'practical' butang depan clothes for newborns. Hence this was my last purchase for Baby AY - her going home outfit!

38 Weeks

Drafting this as I’m waiting for my (now weekly) gynae checkup. Yesterday was my last day at work, so I am officially on leave starting today. Honestly, memang menyesal tak accept the doctor’s offer for MC at from 36 weeks; I foolishly thought that I could cope with work until the end. What I failed to realize was that my body is aging. I’m not as young as I was when I carried Ian - back then I was baking and busy with decorating my SIL’s wedding dessert table at 38weeks!

If I can give anyone a piece of advise, it would be to have kids before their 30s. At 35 years old, badan memang dah tak larat nak lug around additional weight. And surprisingly, I gained a whopping 25kg this time around, meeting my maximum weight gain as when I carried Aiden. My legs and the heel of my feet simply cannot take it. Back pain tak payah cakap la. Just to shift sides on the bed pun I would be wincing in pain. Thankfully, Hubby has never slacked on his responsibility of giving me my nightly back and foot massage. It doesn’t cure the pain, but it’s at least 15 mins worth of pure bliss.

But looking on the bright side, Alhamdulillah I can confidently say that I did not slack off at work. This has been a relatively easy and drama free pregnancy... and to be able to work up until my 38th week, is something that I am extremely grateful for.

Ok, doctor’s calling! BRB.

Ok I’m back. So baby is now 3/5 down in the birth canal. Cervix is soft, 1cm dilated but the doctor still cannot feel the head of the baby (yup I went through a VE)! And she is 3.7kg! Omg that’s even bigger than Ian. I hope she’s not trying to beat Aiden’s weight. I’m banking on the machine’s 10% tolerance accuracy so hopefully in reality she’s below 3.5kg???

Options on the table? Induce myself on the 18th *18.9.18* or wait for her to come naturally. I’m oh so tempted to get her induced (sebab badan dah tak larat). I’ll have the long weekend to think about it - doctor recommends a staycation close to the hospital, just in case! *chuckles*

Wish me luck, peeps! For all you know, the next time you hear from me, l’ll be proudly showing off Baby AY to the world. InsyaAllah!

And Yet Another Pink Baby Shower!

I had just finished drafting the blogpost for my baby shower, when I was surprised by yet another!

This time it was by the SPK girls. Similar as the last time, it was a semi surprise. Why? Well, Hubby learned a hard lesson the last time, hence he gave me a heads up that he was planning to take me out for an intimate lunch. What he failed to realize was that he had scheduled it just before Friday prayers... and I know my husband very very well. Never in a million years would he skip solat jumaat for lunch, even for me!

By the time we stepped foot at Empire Hotel Subang, I looked at my watch and was feeling very suspicious. And as expected, it was yet another surprise baby shower, this time courtesy of my #neighbourslikesisters gang!

They decorated a corner table beautifully, ironically with some items from my DIY room party stash! *chuckles*

I immediately recognized my disco balls and silver sequined cloth.

Love the 'GIRL' balloon! Definitely coming with me to the hospital too.

Beautiful cake - the sleeping figurine is soooo adorable!

Yeay for diaper cake!

Love the personalized door gifts.

Bath and body works cream for each of us. 

Placemats on doilys.

Yours truly beaming in our beautiful corner.

It was a buffet lunch cum high-tea, and we stuffed ourselves silly. It was definitely a great outing with the girls. Different from my prior baby shower where it was all games and hoohah, this one was more of an intimate chat and catching up session, plus gossip of course! We did play some games, but interestingly it was a questionnaire about how well they knew me. Funnily enough, I couldn't even answer some of the questions... one if it was, "What was Liz's favourite childhood toy?" (Erm, did I even have one??!!) *chuckles*

Answering questions... ignore the messy table!

Cake cutting session.

So much love for these girls. 

Thank you girls, for the intimate time out. So touched with your efforts and your presence. Oh baby AY, if only you can see how excited these aunties are for your arrival!

My Pink Baby Shower!

Baby A is coming!

That was the hashtag that my gang pagar sekolah apparently created for the surprise event. Boy oh boy, it was definitely a surprise!

Since surprise baby showers were a tradition in our group, I knew that a baby shower was coming. But I did not expect for the baby shower to be held that soon! (I was at 31 weeks then!) Hubby pun pandai berkomplot with the gang; he made up a story about an invite to a birthday party. Siap we bought and wrapped a present lagi for the fictional birthday boy. *chuckles*

So anyway, he drove us to the venue (The Saujana Hotel Subang) and then dropped me off at the entrance on the pretext of not making me walk so far from the parking lot. So while I was walking into the lobby of the hotel, I suddenly had this suspicion that this was all a planned gimmick. Why? Because I didn’t see any signage to a so called birthday party, and honestly; I don’t know any of Hubby’s friends who would splurge on a birthday party for their son in a hotel! The minute Hubby walked in, I immediately pounced on him and demanded to see the invite. Nampak muka dia panic while he tried to dodge the question, and insisted that I followed him. I on the other hand, refused to budge. And to my surprise, he actually walked away! Ok sah sah something fishy was going on.

After waiting for a few minutes, suddenly he returned with one of the gang pagar girls. *giggles* Surprise tak menjadi! After a few minutes of persuasion (I still refused to budge cos I wasn’t mentally prepared, nor dressed for a baby shower!) I eventually followed them.

The venue they picked was fantabulous! It was a quiet corner in Ti Chen by the lake, and the whole area was cordoned just for us. The table was immaculately decorated in pink floral flowers, with a beautiful cake and diaper cake to top it all. They even dressed me up in a sash and a floral crown! Everyone came dressed in white and pink with matching floral crowns. I don’t think I can ever do justice to the deco in words, so I’ll let the pictures do the talking:

Yours truly with a beautiful floral crown and sash. Oh you can call me Booties too! *giggles*

Beautiful signage, which is currently hanging in Baby AY's room.

Flowers everywhere. That beautiful floral 'A' will be following me to the hospital as deco! Cake and diaper cake lovingly made by members of the gang pagar.

The placemats.

Princess A is coming!

Matching personalized doorgifts.

Our quiet corner.

Setup for the cake cutting session at the end of the baby shower.

After lunch, we moved on to games. After planning two baby showers for the gang pagar, I knew that we had played most of the games suggested online. Hence I was very intrigued on the choices of games that they had in mind. It turned out that they focused more on word games rather than activity games. Which was quite a blessing because doing physical activities while lugging around nearly 20kgs of extra weight around is no joke, ok!

Some of the word games we played. They were quite tough!

We wrapped up the afternoon with a group photo session. Despite not being really dressed for a baby shower (I was supposed to be decked in pink too!) I managed to blend in by hiding behind some bouquet of flowers. *chuckles*

Hiding my tummy behind a bouquet of flowers.

The girls!

Everyone in pink, except me of course.

Posing with our floral crowns.

One with the master decorators!

Gang wefie.

Cutting the beautiful two tier cake.

Selfies.

Last photo by the lake.

Thank you girls for planning such a lavish event for me. I feel so loved!

33 Weeks

5 weeks away from a full term baby!

Alhamdulillah, since my last blogpost at 30 weeks, I have done leaps and bounds in terms of necessities for baby AY. Some were purchased via online shopping (BabyDash is the best!) while the rest were from the recent Mothercare sale. And I managed to refrain myself from buying anymore baby clothes; super proud of myself! *chuckles*

So here is my a photo of my recent baby shopping spree:

As I said, we’re reusing a LOT of Aiden and Ian’s stuff, but I simply cannot run away from purchasing certain things as brand new. Consider this as a baby shopping checklist untuk anak kedua or ketiga dan seterusnya:

• Baby hair brush. Grabbed the cheapest out of the lot, which incidentally was from Tommee and Tippee. Nak sikat rambut jer pun! Although I am sincerely hoping that she has thick hair like Aiden, but curly like Ian.
• Baby toiletries. Did my research online and finally settled with the Mustela range. Zaman Aiden dulu, Johnson and Johnson tuh dah kira top range dah tuh. *giggles* Purchased the shampoo, wash gel, moisturizing cream and diaper rash cream. HappiKiddo online was selling them at more than 50% off so I borong terus. Minyak angin is always minyak Yu Yee Cap Limau cos I really love the smell.

Mustela smells really good too.

• For hygiene, baby wipes from Snapkis and Alexa. Euky baby hand sanitizer in two sizes, one for visitors and the smaller one for the diaper bag. 
• Cotton wool and cotton balls for the early diapering days. Plus baby cotton safety buds. 
• Medela nipple cream yang super mahal but super effective. Disposable breast pads for those leak days. Nursing tea from Joy Angel to boost my milk supply. 
• Baby towel from Cleva Mama. Bought one in pink and the other in white. Should be enough. 
• Baby binder (barut) from BumbleBee. Only because my makcik urut told me to buy one. Honestly, both my boys tak pernah berbarut pun. 
• Muslin cloth/ napkins from Mothercare. I didn’t splurge on Aden and Anais (which is so in nowadays) cos my helper said, “Ala, nak buat kain lap jer Puan!” *chuckles* Was going to buy new swaddles too but a friend just gave me three of hers so that’s sorted!

My first time buying a barut!

• Laundry liquid wash from NappiKleen, for washing all of AY’s newborn clothes.
• Milk bottle from MAM and cleaning brush. I hope she doesn’t reject the bottle! Mini milk storage bottles for storing precious breast milk. 
• Baby milestone cards, to record baby AY’s progress in photos. 
• Disposable baby bibs from Pigeon. Wow, they didn’t have these back in Aiden’s and Ian’s days. It was going for real cheap so I bought it anyway although baby AY is eons away from solid food. 
• Set berpantang. After much research, I settled with loose items from NR such as Minyak Herbanika for berurut, PhytoNatal pills untuk lawaskan perut and Akar Herbanika for drinking. Plus from Tanamera, Feminine Herbal Wash for you know what, and Brown Soap for showering. Everything else such as pilis, lulur and herbal bath will be prepared by my makcik urut, InsyaAllah.
• Last but certainly not least... a new car! Hahaha my Mini is definitely not appropriate for three kids so I definitely needed something bigger. That’s all I’m going to say! *chuckles*

There are a few other things still in the list such as diapers, milk storage bags, car seat mirror, stroller fan and pati ikan haruan. But really, those can wait until at least I am discharged from the hospital. Plus the hospital provides maternity pads, disposable panties and newborn diapers anyway, so no rush. But I do have to send my Medela Freestyle for service soon; waiting for my SIL to return it to me so I can get that done.

Next weekend, I’m going to dedicate my weekend to staying at home and packing my hospital bag pulak. Honestly, walaupun this time around my feet baru nak start bengkak (with the boys my kaki bengkak awal gila), I dah tak larat nak jalan-jalan at shopping malls. I don’t know how I used to do it when I was pregnant and younger. *sigh* I’m even trying to convince Hubby to chauffeur me to work. I get tired so easily nowadays, it’s super frustrating. And this cough from the durian (see my last post) is simply not going away. I really hope I recover soon.

Till the next blogpost, take care!