[Weekly Digest] Postpartum: Week 3

How I feel (Overall): 90% is where I'm at this week. Whilst I'm beginning to feel more and more like how I felt pre - pregnancy, it's not there yet.

For one my little belly is still there because my uterus is still in the process of shrinking. And I think my hormones have not completely subsided - I still feel bouts of extreme sadness and/or happiness and/or anger.

In terms of mobility, I can do all housework now :-)

Pain areas: The area around my incision is still numb - I understand that this can continue on for YEARS to come. But it doesn't bother me. My incision is almost fully healed (scabbing!) and is no longer tender to the touch.

I still can't get out of bed frontwards as my internal abdominal muscles are not yet fully associated and it'll take time. So right now I'm still rolling out of bed on my side.

How I coped: The major breakthrough for me this week is AJ latching on correctly 50% of the time.
I've discovered the cradle and cross- cradle position and boy, all those tears I shed in the first few days of breastfeeding could've been solved if it weren't for that wretched football position due to my incision! I always feel mothers who delivery naturally (not by c section) have it easier with recovery.

It's funny how life works - always a give and take in life right? C section mothers suffer post-delivery while natural mothers suffer during labour and delivery.

AJ's Progress: We went to see Dr. Altaf on Sunday and guess what? AJ weighed in at 3.4kg! Which means he gained the ideal 300g in a span of a week. Phew! I can finally pat myself on my back *pat pat*

With this, I'm more motivated to continue bf-ing and pumping for my little guy. I want him to grow big and strong!

Also we got some medication for his minor oral thrush, milia and probiotics (which cost us RM120 for a tiny bottle!) for his gassiness.

Overall a good week! It's getting better and we are reading him better - knowing what his cries mean, what to check when he cries (diapers? last feed time? temperature of room?) and how to rock him to sleep. He loves music. And I'm not referring to the infamous "White Noise" that is recommended for newborns as it mimics the sounds he's used to inside the womb, neither am I referring to baby lullabies. What he really falls asleep to is pop songs, billboard chart toppers and generally the type of music that the current generation listens to.

Heroes by Alesso, anyone??

[Weekly Digest] Postpartum: Week 2

How I feel (Overall): This week is proving to be an improvement from the last. Not just in terms of recovery, but in terms of AJ's progress. I see a schedule slowly taking shape - John managed to extend his paternity leave for another week because I broke down last week and told him I needed him for another week. Fights with Mum, mainly due to parenting differences, is getting worse. Sigh.

Breastfeeding is still taking a toll on me - painful nipples, blisters and even a little bleeding situation once - so tempted to give up. But I shall now. If I have the supply, I will strive to make this work, for the sake of AJ. I want nothing but the best for him.

TOOK MY FIRST SHOWER IN 8 DAYS.

Pain areas: My bandage came off after the end of Week 1. Paid a visit to Kamaljit for a Week 1 checkup and she said I've healed wonderfully! Yay. All the effort I put in to prevent myself from sweating and infecting the incision paid off. All of John's and Mum's pro-activeness in making sure I don't sweat up a storm, definitely paid off.

To be honest, it feels weird without the bandage now, as thought my fresh wound is exposed to the harshness of the world, vulnerable and ready to be attacked... Okay maybe I'm over-dramatising it a little but it does feel strange. I need to get used to this! I'm so afraid to touch it.

How I coped: I took my first shower (in 8 days!) and it felt.so.good. I feel like a new woman again. To give you an idea, pre-baby I used to bath twice a day, no less, and sometimes more. So going 8 consecutive days without a shower has been nothing short of a miracle for me. It doesn't help that I've got 'sweaty' genes, meaning I sweat up a storm almost everywhere I go in Malaysia (I don't know anyone in my circle of friends who sweats more than I do).

Granted, John wiped me down daily in those 8 days, but a damp cloth doesn't compare to the feeling of having warm water running down your skin plus the smell and feel of soap & shampoo.

I still have difficulty getting out of bed, takes me about 20 seconds to roll to my side and use my arm to lift my torso and upper body off the bed. And each time I do this, my lower abdomen where my incision is, hurts a ton. You know what else hurts? SNEEZING. After my shower, as I was putting on my clothes I let out an involuntarily (and huge) sneeze, immediately causing me to double over clutching my torso. It felt like someone literally stabbed me with 100 knives at once.. I seriously thought my stitches had split open - a visit to Kamaljit proved otherwise (phew!).

AJ's Progress: He's crying less this week. Last week (week 1) we had a fever scare. The no-touch forehead thermometer that Mum bought us kept showing that he was having a fever (hovered between 37.5-38.5 degrees celsius). We immediately packed our bags and made our way to Pantai Hospital. Because it was past 12am, we went straight to emergency ward. He kept crying and crying and the whole ordeal was terrible for us. Coupled with sleep deprivation, we were absolutely shaken.
Luckily, the paediatrician on duty at the time took one look at AJ and said "He's hungry".
I breastfed him on the spot (with curtains closed of course), and true enough he settled down immediately after.
Supposedly, having a fluctuating temperature like that is extremely common for newborns, particularly because their immunity and bodily functions/systems are not yet fully developed and they cannot regulate their body temperatures as well as we adults can.

Other than the fever scare, he's settled down a little bit. A scheduled visit earlier this week to Dr. Yong (Pantai Hospital Paediatrician) shows that he's lost 11% of his birth weight! From 3.28kg down to 2.92kg - which means he's not getting enough food, which absolutely explains his frantic screams and cries the last 1.5 weeks! We were so desperate because my milk supply hadn't come in yet, John drove out to Tesco (on just an hour of sleep - poor guy!) to get Similac (formula milk) for him and we fed him through a syringe to avoid nipple confusion as we planned to still breastfeed him once my milk supply comes in.

By the way, we didn't have a good impression of Dr. Yong - didn't appear dedicated & resourceful, and I had to ask a billion questions only to get either a "Yes" or "No" or a coy smile from him.
We asked Kamaljit for a PD recommendation and we were referred to Dr. Altaf in TTDI.
Paid a visit to his clinic at the end of the week and he's just amazing. His clinic is always packed - and what I really like about it (and I found this to be true of Kamaljit's clinic as well) is that it is a first-come-first-serve basis.
Essentially, you walk in from 9am to 12pm and write your name down on a numbered list which gets cancelled off one-by-one. If you come early at 9am, you'd be sure to get first dibs. If you come too late like past 11:30pm you'd be sure to be wait a long time because by that time there would've been at least 10 people ahead of you waiting to see Dr. Altaf.

Anyway he got weighed and put on 200g in less than 4 days!! Went up to 3.1kgs. We were so happy.

Things to be Grateful for: AJ has gotten back some of his birth weight and is overall a healthy bubs.  Mum is becoming more helpful - she took a one day hiatus and coached it down to Singapore where she caught up with Aunt BL. It was a good break for John and I too - sometimes you need that couple-alone time to get your heads back straight on again. Also grateful for all the well wishes from friends and relatives - we feel so loved and we can't wait for everyone to meet AJ. He's been such a blessing! Grateful also for a smooth recovery. My belly is slowly deflating... I give myself up to week 6 to get back my flat tumtums!

[Weekly Digest] Postpartum: Week 1

How I feel (Overall): To sum it up in one word, hell. When I was pregnant and reading up everything I could on motherhood, none prepared me for this first week. The incessant crying and not knowing what he wants, was not only painful to hear but an overwhelming sense of helplessness also engulfed me. Luckily, John was on paternity leave and could "share" in this pain with me.

We understood from the nurses at the hospital that AJ is still trying to get used to the new environment, new smells and it is normal for a newborn to be crying his lungs out and screaming in the first few weeks, but we never thought it'd be this hard. I eventually broke down and cried to John and he encouraged and motivated me to stay strong.


Pain areas: Incision throbs and hurts. I can barely walk, let alone lift anything. Trying to prevent incision from becoming infected as we live in a humid country and chances of infection is much higher than if we had a drier environment.


How I coped: John, & Mum. These 2 people in my life are God-sent I swear. Recovering from a C-section is not an easy feat. Add to that the responsibility of a new baby and existing responsibilities of having to keep the house clean and for food to be on the table 3 times a day... John & Mum have taken all of that onto their shoulders. For them, I am ever so appreciative <3


AJ's Progress: This first week has quite honestly, been super hectic. All he's done this week is cry, feed, sleep. It's okay.. the first few weeks I know are going to be the hardest.


Things to be Grateful for: A healthy baby boy. Nothing makes us more happy than seeing AJ thrive as he does. The reason our hospital bill came to almost half of what we were expecting it to be was because he was born healthy. No jaundice, no need to be admitted into NICU for any reason. Healthy baby, happy mummy (& daddy!). Thank God.

[Pregnancy] Week 37 : So close yet so far

Today I am week 37 + 7.

I've been feeling great except for a nightmare I had last night where I went into labour at home and I woke up to a back ache because a pillow was sitting right under me right back!

Went for a CTG at Pantai Hospital just yesterday (Saturday - cost us RM167 all up) on Kamaljit's instruction and everything was okay with lil sweetie. He's been such a good boy this whole pregnancy I swear, I have a strong feeling he's going to be a good boy when he's out too. :-)

Right after the CTG procedure (they strap 2 transducer things on your tummy; one is to monitor baby's heartbeat the other is to monitor uterine contractions), a chirpy nurse came in and told me that because I have a breeched baby, any time I feel any sort of pain or if my water breaks all of a sudden, I'll need to drop everything I'm going and rush to the hospital to undergo an emergency c section, because the labour risks involved with a breeched baby is much higher than a baby who is already head-down.

I've already conveyed this piece of vital information to John and he's given me 5 of his colleagues contacts just in case I can't reach him on time. He was so worried and told me that even if I can't on first try, keep ringing and ringing him. My poor hubs has been working afternoon shifts the past few weeks since the new store opened.. he's definitely lost weight and I can see how tired he looks these days (not to mention the anxiety of an impending birth of our baby).

Now that mums here hopefully we can take some weight of our shoulders!

4 more days till our scheduled C section - I went to see the anaesthetist at Pantai last week and she took one look at my X rays and said a spinal block shouldn't be an issue. I can't wait to hold lil sweetie in my arms and I'm even more eager to watch John as he holds him for the first time. Can't wait!!

Pantai KL vs UMSC

When Dr. Kamaljit told us that UMSC was half the price of Pantai Hospital for a C section, we decided to pay UMSC a visit to see if it was worth the savings.

Prior to this we've already gone to pay a visit to Pantai KL and here are 3 top reasons why we've decided to go with Pantai, despite the higher cost of delivery.

1. Professionalism

When we went to Pantai Hospital for our first visit, everyone whom we spoke English to, replied back in English & didn't assume that we were locals.
I'm really sick and tired of people automatically assuming that we are Malaysians and STILL attempting to talk to us in Bahasa despite us speaking in English/telling them that we are not locals.  At UMSC, this was what we experienced. Other than the super long wait to see Dr. Valli which resulted in John confronting the nurses at the desk (I mean, what's the whole point of booking an appointment if we're going to arrive on time and STILL wait 1-2 hours to see the doctor?!), we also experienced incompetent nurses who dodged responsibilities when questioned.

In addition to that, the gynae we were assigned to was muddle-headed to say the least and we were quite surprised when we tell her our preferred C section date and 5 minutes later she points out the incorrect date range. She was very forgetful on numerous other occasions and John already started feeling uncomfortable at the thought of her being our c sect surgeon.

2. Accreditation

Pantai KL is one of the top 3 JCI accredited hospitals in KL, and for good reasons. With top facilities and a competent group of doctors and surgeons it's not hard to imagine why.

On the other hand, UMSC is still working towards their accreditation, and my mother kindly pointed out a poster on their hospital walls saying that one of their top goals is to eventually become accredited.

3. Facilities & Ease of mobility

UMSC Hospital has a very complex building structure, with 2 separate wings under the same building (government wing, and private non-government wing) and unclear instructions, which is NOT going to come in handy when you hage to rush to the hospital and make your way to the appropriate ward. Even the nurse we spoke to didnt know how to help us get back to the parking space.

Oh and parking is another painful situation altogether. Lots are super tight and impossible to find most of the time. There are also unclear parking signs all over the place that if you were a newbie to this hospital, you'd definitely get lost the first few times.

On the other hand, parking at Pantai KL is very straightforward. You enter the parking space from the main road and taking the lift leads you right up to the main lobby. At the main lobby there is a front desk with staff who speak English and helps you with your queries, WITH A SMILE. And a smile, especially in Malaysia, makes a world of a difference.

Facilities and surroundings here are definitely newer, more modern - looking and the overall atmosphere is more lively, cleaner and just generally makes you feel better about the prospect of getting hospitalised.
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Having said all these, you definitely get what you pay for. That's how the world works - pay a bit more for better service, better facilities and better quality. And John and I have decided that because it concerns our baby and my health, that money is not an issue. I've been fighting the idea of going to Pantai because of how much a C section will end up costing us (and this is not even taking into account other potential costs involved such as NICU costs etc ***touchwood***) and I've clearly expressed that to John, but he has given me the reassurance that everything will be just fine with our finances. He really wants the best for us (bubs and i) and he didn't have a good feeling at all about UMSC to start with.

So, 4 more days till the big day. :-)