Hi everyone,
My name is Chloe Tan. My parents are Johnson and Nicole. I was born on the 26th August 2009 at Thomson Medical Centre. As I was 3 days overdue, Daddy and Mommy had chosen to induce me.
On the day of my birth, Mommy and Daddy checked themselves into the hospital. Mommy was ushered into the labour ward while Daddy was asked to go to the Admission counter to settle the paperwork.
From my Mommy's womb, I could hear the "Miss-y" telling my Mommy to clear her bowels. Then I heard Daddy's voice when he returned and could not find Mommy in the room. My silly Dad forgot to check the washroom. Mommy and I were in the washroom because she was still clearing her bowels after the nurse administered a very effective medicine into her. Finally, another "Miss-y" knocked on our washroom door and Daddy was reunited with us again.
Mommy was then asked to lie on the bed while the "Miss-y" attached a device to monitor my heart rate and Mommy's intensity of contractions of her uterus. Next, the "Miss-y" poked a thick needle into my Mommy's left hand and placed her on a drip. The drip contains Syntocinon, a synthetic version of the naturally-occurring hormone, oxytocin. Both chemicals were used to cause the muscle of the uterus to contract during labour so that I could be pushed out. Synthetic oxytocin was used because I was overdue. Poor Mommy had to endure the prick of the needle for my sake.
The effect of the Syntocinon was very strong. Every half-hour, the "Miss-y" came in to increase the drip dosage. They also noted my heart rate and Mommy's contraction for the past half-hour. Mommy's uterus, once my warm and cosy safe-haven for the past nine months, started shrinking! I had no more space left and was pushed through Mommy's birth canal. By now, Mommy was inhaling many puffs of "Laughing Gas" as the contractions increased. The air was meant to help Mommy to manage the pain from the contractions. Many a times, Mommy was not drawing the breaths correctly as she was taking them in smaller puffs. Daddy noticed it and kept saying "Breath... breath...breath..." many times to Mommy. Every time Daddy said breath, Mommy would hear Daddy's voice and she would take in the laughing gas longer with each breath. Later on, Mommy also told Daddy that his voice helped as there were many instructions from the "Miss-y" but all she could hear was Daddy's voice. Good thing Daddy knew about this because it was mentioned during Parent Craft training.
All this time, I'm still in my womb and Mommy started pushing with the help of Daddy and 2 "Miss-ies". It took the time of 3 intense contractions before Mommy's Gynaecologist arrived. It then took 2 more contractions before I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Poor mommy had to suffer an episiotomy because I was a heavy BB. Thanks to the large quantities of bird nest and the occasional durians that was bestowed upon to me by the placenta.
Air! I'm breathing air for the first time in my life outside of my Mommy's tummy. The feeling was very different when I was training for it with amniotic fluid. It did not help that some of the fluids were mixed with the fresh air in the delivery room 7. I choked and started to cry but only for a while as one of the "Miss-y" quickly inserted a tube into my mouth. The tube quickly sucked out the fluids from my throat and I started to feel better. Daddy was offered a pair of scissors so that he could cut my umbilical cord. Goodbye cordie, I remembered holding and kissing you time and again while we were playing in Mommy's womb. Thanks for supporting me throughout this nine months so that I can finally breathe the air with my own lungs. I will miss the times we spent together.
After the "Miss-y" cleaned my body, I was returned to Mommy's embrace and Daddy finally had a chance to take some pictures of my birth. The bonding between Mommy and me was momentarily brief but treasured. It was time for me to be wheeled away to be weighed and measured. Daddy's coming along because it was his job (he was not the one bleeding) and also because Mommy wanted Daddy to make sure that the "Miss-y" did not mix me up with another BB. Deep down, I know Daddy will come with me even if he was not told to because Daddy will always keep a watchful eye on me as I grow up.
I weighed 3.98Kg and measured 52 centimetres in length. In case you think I'm fat and chubby, think again. My BMI is 14.71893. After weighing me and measuring me, the "Miss-y" tagged me on my ankles and left me alone with Daddy to bond. Daddy said to me, "Hello Chloe, I'm your Daddy. Daddy's here and Daddy will protect you and make sure you grow up in a safe and healthy home." He then proceeded to introduce me to his Nikon N90 camera. Daddy also called Gong-Gong and Yeh-Yeh to inform them about my time of birth and weight. He was so proud of his wife, my Mommy, because she had given birth to me without any other forms of pain management.
The "Miss-y" returned a while later and wheeled me back to continue my bonding with Mommy. I was breast-fed by my happy and exhausted Mommy. Yippee! I am tasting something else other than my own amniotic fluids and I do not even want to tell you what amniotic fluid consists of.
I spent the next 2 days sleeping and demanding to be fed or to be held. Keeping Mommy and Daddy up all night with my wailing seems part of my job. So my Daddy thought he and Mommy were ready for the job at hand, they better be in for a reality check! Friday's the day the 3 of us leaves the hospital as a family. On my first night, they decided to let me stay in the nursery so that I can have a chance to stay under the warmer. I still have some fluids in my nasal canal. Mommy and Daddy were worried because I kept sniffing away. Every few hours, I was wheeled back to Room 506 so that Mommy can feed me and Daddy can take pictures of Mommy and me. By leaving me in the care of the "Miss-y" at the nursery, Mommy and Daddy also had a chance to rest from their exertions.
On the second day, Daddy requested for me to room-in with Mommy and Daddy. My constant wails were effective at keeping them awake. My lucky Daddy took the chance to sneak away for a while. Later, I realised that he had gone away to order my cot and bought me a thermometer.
The cot was in the colour Mommy had envisioned for me and because they had waited till the Takashimaya Baby Fair, the cot finally came at a discounted price and was sold separately. It was a good thing because Mommy also wanted me to use mattress from BabySafe. Daddy managed to get both and also decided on the mattress sheets, bumpers, pillows and bolsters. They will be delivered next Tuesday and I can hardly wait till they arrive. Meanwhile, I should be able to sleep between them on their King-sized bed and can wake them up every few hours in the middle of the night. This will be fun when we get home.
On Friday morning, I had slight Jaundice but the Paediatrician gave the green lights for me to be discharged. Mommy also received the same green lights from her Gynaecologist. Before we leave, there was one thing Mommy and Daddy needed, they needed to refresh on a couple of things from their teacher, Mrs Wong. Mrs Wong taught Daddy how to feed through a cup. A significant task because all this while, Daddy felt totally at a loss how he could help during my feeding, a task only Mommy could do. They also re-learned how to do a swaddle. Finally, they asked Mrs Wong to teach them how to burp me and I burped really loudly. Please excuse me and please excuse my smelly fart when Mrs Wong placed me back into the Maxi-Cosi car seat.
The drive home was uneventful as Daddy carefully navigated the mid-afternoon traffic along the PIE and BKE. Daddy tried very hard to stay awake when there was traffic congestion along the PIE. On hindsight, I should have let him sleep longer but it was a safe ride home.
