“So, do you prefer to have a son or daughter?” I cheekily asked my husband Phil after we have excitedly accepted the fact that we will be having a new member to our family. “Let God decide.” came his reply after a couple seconds of hesitation.
The first trimester after I was diagnosed as ‘Pregnant’ when I realized my menstrual cycle came to a halt sent me messaging all my family members and buddies the good news. Each party I spilled the beans to I reminded them ‘not to tell anyone’ yet as I hearsay that pregnant mums should not disclose the news until after the first trimester is over. However barely a week, the whole world has been informed of my 5-weeks pregnancy as I couldn’t contain my excitement!
Don’t-eat-this and don’t-do-that advices came rolling in from friends who have already been mummies. Even those who were not, provided their two-cents worth of pregnancy myths. My mum was paranoid and over protective and she disallowed me to carry any bags too huge that she labeled them as “heavy’. My hubby was quite sweet as he started marketing to cook chicken soup for me. Wow!
As I bid farewell happily to my days of headaches and nausea during my first trimester and progressed to the second trimester, I got a lot of good attention from my more obvious bump now. Strangers started conversations on how many months was my pregnancy then and predicted if I was expecting a boy or girl. Commuting on public trains and buses became a privilege as there seemed to be always be an empty seat somewhere reserved for me. How nice!
I haven’t really thought much about the gender of my baby since Phil reassured me he doesn’t mind whether we will be having a son or daughter. However I was weighing the differences and advantages of each gender and I came to a conclusion that both are really fine. If I was expecting a boy, he will be easier to take care of as I wont be worrying about him getting scratches on his face after a fight or coming home late. If I was expecting a girl, I can dress her up pretty and we both can go shopping and tea together. Girls tend to be closer to their moms too! That is sure a bonus.
When my gynae announced I was having a girl, Phil and I started shopping for girls’ clothing and thinking about baby girls’ names. We couldn’t decide on an ideal name hence we kept in mind those short listed ones. The second trimester breezed through too soon and before I knew it, I was already progressing to my third trimester. I’ve gone for my final medical checkup and was reassured that my baby was fine. All I needed to do was to pack my bag and standby for baby’s arrival. Although my tummy was protruding quite huge, my baby was estimated to be quite underweight. I panicked and felt guilty that I probably did not consume sufficient nutritious food during my first two trimesters. From then on, I attempted to have a tub of ice-cream each week, in addition of my daily dose of milk supply.
The wait for baby’s arrival was an agony, especially as it approached the estimated delivery date. Whenever I felt some pain in my tummy, I would be thinking:”is it the moment now?” Somehow the pain subsided and I knew it was a false alarm.
Each morning I would wake up wondering if Today is The Day. Until one cooling night when it was so comfortable that I fell asleep almost immediately when I hit my bed.
I felt an unusual pain that woke me up after midnight. As I was too tired to think much, I dismissed any thoughts and tried to fall asleep again. Within a couple of seconds, I could feel there were some liquid rushed out of me. I quickly sat up on bed and wanted to go to the restroom to check what has happened. However during my short journey to the restroom, I would feel more water trickled down my thighs. It was then that I realized my membranes were ruptured or otherwise what other mummies mentioned about “water bag bursting”.
Phil was awakened by my scream of panic. “Where is my bag? Quick grab my bag and go to the hospital now!” I yelled as I get changed and wondering if the pain I was experiencing just now in bed will come back as contractions. He was quite calm after he realized what was going on and he called the hospital to ask for instructions. The maternity nurse advised that I stay at home until my contractions became stronger. However I had decided to go to the hospital immediately so that the nurses can access my condition.
When I reached the delivery department, the nurses found out that there was some meconium [baby’s first stool] in my discharge and hence I needed to be induced as those indicate signs of my baby under stress. My gynae arranged the drip and started the induction. Within 4 hours, my contractions become stronger and stronger that I decided I needed some painkillers. My threshold of pain has always been low so the contractions were indeed extremely unbearable for me. When the midwife announced my cervix was only dilated by 4 cm, I requested for an epidural immediately as I cant imagine having to put up another 6 hours of pain for another 6cm dilation. My gynae gave his approval and an epidural was ordered for me. Within half an hour, my contractions eased off and i could feel my lower body numbed. What an amazing medical invention for ladies delivering their babies in a painless way!
I waited for another 4 hours while the midwife monitored my condition. When she announced to me it was 10cm wide and my baby was ready to be delivered, Phil and me cheered unanimously. Finally we were a step closer to welcoming our baby.
After pushing for half an hour, my gynae advised that vacuum assistance was required to deliver her. With the help of the vacuum and one final push, our little darling emerged and greeted us with her eyes opened! It felt surreal that this little one who has been in my tummy for nine months was now right in front of me, All those months are worth the wait as I hold this miracle of life in my chest. “Meet Ashley!” Phil proudly introduced the midwives while they wrote her name on the wrist band label. So Ashley is the name daddy finally decided on, and she is now 3 months old, still in my arms close to mummy!
