Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Delivery by C-Section


It has been quite a challenging week. Besides nursing round the clock and balancing the needs of a newborn and demanding 2 year old, there are still many orders and enquiries for the online shop that need to be tended to.

Just thought I would take a break by sharing a little about my journey as a "new-mom-again" so far, starting with how Nadya was born.

I have to say that the whole delivery process this time felt really surreal. Unlike the first time when I was in labour for 15 hours before going for an emergency c-section, this time everything seemed so orderly and pre-meditated as it was a planned c-section due to the expected size of the baby.

Vitali and I checked into the hospital in the early afternoon after a visit to the hair salon (I decided that I needed to have a hair wash since I knew I was not going to be able to walk for the next day). It felt like we were checking into a hotel for a holiday, except that there was also an immense sense of deja-vu as we entered the hospital. Weren't we just here just recently to welcome our first baby? How time flies!

When it was time for me to be wheeled into the operating theatre, it started to dawn on me that we were going to meet our new baby soon. While I was excited, I was also quite nervous as I recalled the trembling, vommiting and hallucinations I experienced the first time I had Vera. I prayed that this time would be better although it didn't help that I had to notice some bright red spots of blood on the ceiling of the operating theatre where I was parked. How did that get there...hmm....ok, close eyes, don't think, never saw it, don't want to know. Period.

The anaesthetist came in to give me a jab to numb my lower body and Vitali joined me shortly after I entered the theatre. Everything ok so far and I was still conscious and feeling quite fine, unlike the first time when I had already passed out of fright at this point in time.
I tried to keep my eyes focussed on Vitali, think happy thoughts and engaged in a dinner-like conversation with my gynae. Before I knew it, she happily announced that the baby was going to come and the nurses in the room started to push my tummy. I heard a cry soon after and the feeling of joy was immense when I realised that Nadya was born. I made it and heard the baby's first cry! Praise God! The nurses quickly wrapped Nadya up and placed her on my chest. That was when the picture above was taken and I was still in the process of being "stitched up". Yikes!

So this is the story of how Nadya entered the world. Not as drama and long-drawn as Vera's entry but different and just as memorable.

While it has been a tiring week since then, I really thank God for this little bundle of joy. I have been trying to savour every moment of this new journey as I know how fast babies grow. I guess the point of me sharing this on this blog is to assure other moms who have to go for a c-section for one reason or another not to feel too scared. It really isn't bad as some people make it or what we imagine it to be.

Of course, if you can deliver naturally, why not? But if for some reason you can't, then do enjoy the alternative process of delivery that medical advancement has enabled. The joy of hearing your baby cry for the first time and holding him/her in your arms will make up for any fear or doubts you might have about a c-section delivery.

2 comments:

pei fen said...

hey su ling, pei fen here again! your husband looks like a real surgeon in this pic ;)
ITA with your last paragraph... after having gone through natural drug-free labour myself, i do tell new mums that it's not as bad without painkillers or an epidural, but i also say that how you birth your child is not as important as the fact that the child comes into your arms healthy and happy. happy second motherhood!

laissezfaire said...

Hi Peifen, come to think of it, Vitali does look like a surgeon in this pic. A bit too relaxed to though..heheh... I don't think I would be able to do a drug-free labour. Really thank God for epidural!!