Thursday, December 29, 2005
Green Stools
28-DEC-2005:
Dominic was discharged from the hospital. When we went home, we noticed that his stools have turned green (it used to be yellow). I was worried and searched the Internet for answers; but the old folks said that it's normal. A day later, his stools turned yellow again.
I find myself spending a lot of time analyzing Dominic's stools. Are they too watery? Are they too firm? Is he getting enough water? Is he having diarrhoe (because his stools are a bit loose)?
At this age, I thought to myself that Dominic is a good boy. He sleeps after being fed, and cries only when he's wet or needs feeding. :-)
Dominic was discharged from the hospital. When we went home, we noticed that his stools have turned green (it used to be yellow). I was worried and searched the Internet for answers; but the old folks said that it's normal. A day later, his stools turned yellow again.
I find myself spending a lot of time analyzing Dominic's stools. Are they too watery? Are they too firm? Is he getting enough water? Is he having diarrhoe (because his stools are a bit loose)?
At this age, I thought to myself that Dominic is a good boy. He sleeps after being fed, and cries only when he's wet or needs feeding. :-)
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Jaundice
27-DEC-2005:
Dominic is 5 days old now.
He eats every 2-3 hours and poops after every feed. He begins to develop plenty of red spots on his face and head. Could be baby acne? He also has jaundice. We took him to the pediatrician to examine the bilirubin level in his blood. The result was 275 (which the doctor said was pretty high). Dominic was admitted to the hospital for one night to be put under the light.
Dominic is 5 days old now.
He eats every 2-3 hours and poops after every feed. He begins to develop plenty of red spots on his face and head. Could be baby acne? He also has jaundice. We took him to the pediatrician to examine the bilirubin level in his blood. The result was 275 (which the doctor said was pretty high). Dominic was admitted to the hospital for one night to be put under the light.
Friday, December 23, 2005
The Baby's Arrival
22-DEC-2005:
The day when Dominic was born. I was given 2 pieces of dry crackers and a cup of Milo for breakfast. Then, some kind of laxative was inserted into my anus, which less than 2 minutes later, made me flush out everything. :p
SM arrived at around 7:30am. At about 8:30am, we were taken to the labour suite. It was a pretty nice, big room with a leather rocking arm chair (for husbands, I suppose). The doctor came in at about 8:45am, did another painful vaginal examination and broke my water bag. Then I was put on the drip. Moments later, I began to feel really painful contractions. The pain came every 15 mins or so and each time, it lasted for about 1 min. It went on like that forever ... until at about 12pm, the doctor came in and delivered the baby. It only took about 5 pushes.
All I wanted to do was to sleep after that. By the time I got out of the delivery suite, it was already 3pm.
The baby's name is Dominic Chim Wing Jien. In Mandarin, the name is pronounced as Zhang Rong Jien; Rong as in "Fu Gui Rong Hua" which means to flourish, glorious or splendour; Jien as in "Jian Qiang" which means strong or firm. In Cantonese, the name is pronounced as "Cheong Wing Kin".
The day when Dominic was born. I was given 2 pieces of dry crackers and a cup of Milo for breakfast. Then, some kind of laxative was inserted into my anus, which less than 2 minutes later, made me flush out everything. :p
SM arrived at around 7:30am. At about 8:30am, we were taken to the labour suite. It was a pretty nice, big room with a leather rocking arm chair (for husbands, I suppose). The doctor came in at about 8:45am, did another painful vaginal examination and broke my water bag. Then I was put on the drip. Moments later, I began to feel really painful contractions. The pain came every 15 mins or so and each time, it lasted for about 1 min. It went on like that forever ... until at about 12pm, the doctor came in and delivered the baby. It only took about 5 pushes.
All I wanted to do was to sleep after that. By the time I got out of the delivery suite, it was already 3pm.
The baby's name is Dominic Chim Wing Jien. In Mandarin, the name is pronounced as Zhang Rong Jien; Rong as in "Fu Gui Rong Hua" which means to flourish, glorious or splendour; Jien as in "Jian Qiang" which means strong or firm. In Cantonese, the name is pronounced as "Cheong Wing Kin".
Thursday, December 22, 2005
The Vaginal Examination
21-DEC-2005:
The doctor said he would insert 2 fingers into me to determine how much my cervix has dilated. Although I do not think that he had very large fingers but the process was extremely painful. I began to imagine how painful it would be when the baby's head squeezes through. With just inserting two fingers, the doctor could tell that I'm 1.5cm dilated (I wonder how he did it without using a ruler). :p After the examination, I was bleeding slightly for the whole day. I was told to admit that night itself to prepare for tomorrow morning's labour.
That night, SM and I went for a huge dinner (I thought I'll need energy to push the baby out), then we checked in at the hospital. The nurses and mid-wives took my blood pressure, measured my body temperature and checked the baby's heart beat. Then I was hooked to a machine for about half and hour to measure the baby's heart rate and also any contractions that I might have. At about 11pm, the mid-wife inserted a pill into my vagina to induce dilation. Before she did that, she gave me another vagina examination which was as painful as the first. It was terrible! After the pill was inserted into me, SM went home and I prepared for a good night's sleep. However, the nurse came in every now and then and asked if I feel any pain! So much for a good night's sleep. I told the nurses that I did not feel any pain and I think they looked a bit disappointed.
The doctor said he would insert 2 fingers into me to determine how much my cervix has dilated. Although I do not think that he had very large fingers but the process was extremely painful. I began to imagine how painful it would be when the baby's head squeezes through. With just inserting two fingers, the doctor could tell that I'm 1.5cm dilated (I wonder how he did it without using a ruler). :p After the examination, I was bleeding slightly for the whole day. I was told to admit that night itself to prepare for tomorrow morning's labour.
That night, SM and I went for a huge dinner (I thought I'll need energy to push the baby out), then we checked in at the hospital. The nurses and mid-wives took my blood pressure, measured my body temperature and checked the baby's heart beat. Then I was hooked to a machine for about half and hour to measure the baby's heart rate and also any contractions that I might have. At about 11pm, the mid-wife inserted a pill into my vagina to induce dilation. Before she did that, she gave me another vagina examination which was as painful as the first. It was terrible! After the pill was inserted into me, SM went home and I prepared for a good night's sleep. However, the nurse came in every now and then and asked if I feel any pain! So much for a good night's sleep. I told the nurses that I did not feel any pain and I think they looked a bit disappointed.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Setting the Labour Day
02-DEC-2005:
I went for my weekly regular check-up at the gynae today. I told Dr. J that I wanted a year-end child and wish not to deliver after 2005. My expected due date (EDD) was supposed to be 1-Jan-2005. However, the doctor told me that the baby is mature enough and I can go into labour anytime. Therefore, I just sort of randomly pointed to a date on the calendar ... 22-Dec-2005. I was asked to see the doctor again on 21-Dec-2005 for a vaginal check-up to ensure that I am ready to be induced.
I went for my weekly regular check-up at the gynae today. I told Dr. J that I wanted a year-end child and wish not to deliver after 2005. My expected due date (EDD) was supposed to be 1-Jan-2005. However, the doctor told me that the baby is mature enough and I can go into labour anytime. Therefore, I just sort of randomly pointed to a date on the calendar ... 22-Dec-2005. I was asked to see the doctor again on 21-Dec-2005 for a vaginal check-up to ensure that I am ready to be induced.
