Peter is born
"It was a fateful day in September 2010 during orthopedic posting when i suspected something was amiss when Ivan decided to tease me that day in the houseman room. We were resting after lunch when Ivan decided that he shall eat an orange in the small stuffy room. He peeled the skin and offered me a piece. I brushed him off saying that i feel nauseous at the smell of that orange and he being the cheeky guy that he is brings the orange even closer to my nose. Nausea started to overwhelm me and Ivan laughed saying that "Ney, i think you are pregnant again. See, the veins on your hands are so prominent. It looks like how it was when you were having Nana."
I replied " Very funny Van. Hahaha..." Then it struck me, this might be true... I don't easily feel nauseous and my period was running a bit late. I thought that it was normal since my period hasn't returned to the normal cycle since delivering Nana..."
Mei Ling," Da Jie (big Sis) did it again!"
Those were the excerpts from Karling's unfinished blog draft. Since we found out we were expecting a second child, it has been an eventful and hectic 9working months. Just to recap on the highlight, everyone panicked when Karling suddenly had 1st trimester bleeding at 11weeks off gestation while she was working. Perhaps given the nature of work and compounded by the fact that most obstetricians would term the 15months gap between our 1st and second child as "poor spacing", the early trimester bleeding episode serve as a warning to rest and recuperate.
Thank you God for saving and keeping our second child. So to put it bluntly, Karling had a threatened abortion, although nowadays most medical staff would prefer the less traumatic term of near miscarriage. Being the pessimist I was finding self-composure and already blaming myself while waiting for the 1 and only negative outcome. After a quick antenatal scan, we were relieved fetal echo was present inside an existing intrauterine sac.Mother was immediately given 10days medical certificate and ordered to stay away from the vicinity of her working hospital, being the workaholic she is.
Proud Mami with her 1st son
..He looks so peaceful and calm, in the secure arms of Mami
Fast forward to 39th weeks of gestation...( this is like LOST, btw anyone get the ending of LOST? cos I'm still left hanging) Anyway, like I said, 39th week means Peter was born 1 week earlier, instead of his expected due date on May 12th which would have coincided with Chi Phoy's birthday.
Events leading to this was another nerve-wrecking episode. I rushed Karling to the hospital at 6am when she had premature rupture of membrane (I'm sorry, she broke her water). Worst still it was meconium stained, arguably light to moderate, which means there was on-going fetal distress.
Nana! Where to put her? Right, we placed her at the babysitter next door, gave a call to inform our private obstetrician, and rushed to the hospital in double time. Cardiotopography was indicating fetal distress, by that time mother was in labour and already contracting. Cervical os was full, liquor was moderate meconium-stained, Karling was urged to push on contraction, no vacuum assisted delivery this time, then out came Peter immediately crying, with umbilical cord around neck. What? That was definitely the culprit.
Nana has arrived, and she's asking, "Who's that?"
Our dear Nana, this is your new baby brother,
no longer in Mami's tummy.
APGAR score at 1 and 5 minutes was 10, all physical parameters was normal, just slightly lighter than our 1st born. So here we are, all of us relieved and grateful. Both mother and child are in good condition. Peter sleeping soundly and Karling looks rested and joyful. My chirpy in-laws arrived to welcome the new addition to our family.
Nana? She looked confused, maybe a bit crestfallen at the same time. Karling and I have discussed about this, how Nana would feel and react to this new situation. We had to be tactful to smoothen the transition of Nana being the only child to a big sister now. Bringing them closer together, after a small introduction session, Nana gently caressed Peter's forehead. The key was to prevent Nana from feeling neglected or abandoned in any way.
he shall be your blood, your growing up companion, healthy rival. An unbreakable sibling bond is formed on this day. Therefore, he shall be your responsibility too, Nana.
Jie jie sayang Di di, sayang~ sayang~ (Gently does it.)
Everything worked out well so far,so we placed Nana on her mother's bed, while she observed mami breastfeeding Peter. To her credit, she was composed, respectful and well-behaved, making me proud to conclude that Nana was advanced for her age. Still curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to try mommy's breast milk, since it looked quite yummy from Peter's point of view. After all of us convinced her otherwise, she took us on our offer for her bottle full of chocolate milk. Poor Nana, they all grow up so fast...
Karling spent the night at the hospital, while I brought Nana back to make preparation, fixing up the baby bed court,etc. The next morning, together with Nana, we picked Po po (grandmother from Kelantan) up from the train station, then fetched home mommy and the new baby from hospital once they were discharged.
The understanding and sensitive Nana never barge in while Peter was breastfeeding.
Our hearts just melt to witness such maturity and patience.
I missed Mami's milk. Papa~, can i please have some.
Once at home, Karling started her confinement period, under the supervision of a confinement lady we hired for a month. Po po was there to help out too, watch and learn because she never had the luxury of a confinement lady when she had me and my 2 younger brothers. Peter will be placed safely in the bed court, while Karling lie on our bed beside him. Being the light-sleeper whom she is, the moment Peter even started fidgetting, she would be up to breastfeed him.
Every night Nana will sleep with her Po po. Po po loves her granddaughter and Nana is quite attached to her. The dutiful confinement lady will come attend to Karling and baby's need in the middle of the night. Part of her job was taking care of Karling's confinement meal which main ingredient consist of rice wine. She also gave sound tradisional chinese confinement advice in full consideration both of us hailed from modern medical education background.
Welcome home Peter. From now on you shall stick with us.
My son, opening his eyes looking at his papa and me at him.
While Karling officially started her 3 months maternity leave, i took just few days off from annual leave since I'm not entitled to paternity leave.Being at home for the initial couple of days steadied the ship and helped everyone to adopt a calmer state of mind. I was also needed to chauffeur mother and son to their postpartum and neonatal check-up respectively. Not that Karling and I can't perform a routine examination, just that everyone prefers to consult specialists nowadays.
I'm just happy to get a boy. I've always wanted my 1st child to be a girl since i never grew up with any sister. Since then I had wished my second child to be a boy or else I would start to have serious doubt over my "Y" chromosomes. 6-7 months into pregnancy, under HD sonographic visualization, the obstetrician pointed us towards Peter's crown jewel and Hallelujah! I was relieved. I was gonna be a proud father of a pair of boy and girl child.
Nana is curious and constantly drawn to the sound of the new baby at home.
Don't cry baby brother, jie jie is here to play with you.
How was Nana so far? Splendid. She seem to have adapted well to life with a new brother. The moment she opened her eyes after sleep, she wandered into the room looking for di di(younger brother). I supposed she was curious to the sound of baby crying, studying the behavioral pattern of this tiny little creature and why was he on mommy's chest most of the time.
Throughout the time po po was at home with us for 1 week, and despite the arrival of Peter, Nana had lots of attention and love poured out onto her. Po po desired Nana so much so we didn't send her to the babysitter. In fact Nana was more cheerful and pleased when there was a small family crowd present in the house. Whenever Peter started crying, she would draw closer and attempt to pacify him, truly a reflection of Nana's sisterly instinct kicking in early.
Having to divide her attention for Di di, Mami make known to
Nana that she's still her special one.
This half boiled egg never tasted soo good (since Mami last fed me).
Yea~,time for Peter's sun-bathing and stretching exercise.
Gradually, Peter's eyes adapted to the light of daytime as he opened up the windows to his soul more and more to witness the world. I bet the 1st thing he saw was mommy's face, as he grew accustomed to the loving sensation of mommy's hand, experiencing the warmness and security close to mommy's bosom.
Until then we still couldn't figure out who did Peter look like. We thought after a few more days when he's chubbier and more expressive we could be sure. So after day5 assessment, my non-biased opinion suggested Peter's features more closely resembled that of mommy's.
He's still a bit camera-shy.
After feeding, we need to pat Peter's back to get the air out of his stomach...BUUURRRPPP!!
Aahh..what a relief. Better out than in.
Day 4 of life, I was already back to work. The community nurse from the local government clinic dropped by for a routine neonatal check-up. She confirmed Peter was having slight tinge of jaundice therefore should get his blood checked. Serum bilirubin level was elevated and Peter needed treatment in the form of phototherapy, which usually requires hospital admission. FYI this had never happened to Nana.
Upon consulting the private pediatrician from hospital, he offered the "bili-bed", a baby court device that emit blue illuminating photo-therapy, which reduced the physiological jaundice. The "bili-bed" was rented to us for Rm80 per day, and Peter's duration of treatment lasted 2 days. Papa himself had to prick Peter's vein to extract blood sample to make sure his serum bilirubin level has reached normal.
I am turning yellow? Is that something serious?
Peter is featured in an unprecedented local produced sci-fi movie.
So what's all the fuss about jaundice ie hyperbilirubinemia? Causes of jaundice includes preterm, breastmilk, G6PD deficiency, ABO (mother & child blood group) incompatibility, Rh isoimmunisation, and sepsis.
Physiological jaundice usually appears by day 3-4, and follows a pattern of arising from the head and descending to the legs via the trunk. By the time this yellow discolourisation reaches the umbilicus, serum bilirubin would be more than 250 micromol/L and alarm bells should be ringing to admit the baby for phototherapy.
Jaundice that doesn't subside beyond 14 days in term babies and 21 days in preterm babies is called prolonged jaundice. This can complicate into Kernicterus, an irreversible neurological damage to the brain, which is the worst case scenario. The only way to prevent this is early detection and exchange transfusion.
Gotta know more?
Pathophysiology & causes of jaundice
Naruto Shippuuden's source of energy, his favourite Ramen
Since big brother is treating, shu shu flips the menu for dessert.
Shu shu, what song are you listening to, any children song?
On Day 9, (shu shu) uncles came to visit. It was second uncle's 21st birthday and adhering to Chinese custom it was auspicious because the birthday boy finally reached adulthood (contrary to 18years old in western cultures). When it comes to our family, we celebrate in moderation, nothing grandiose. We were content with Japanese sushi and ala-carte. Nana was glad to come along but again, Karling couldn't join us due to confinement.
I love to lie on Mami's chest after a fulfilling feeding time.
Unlike papa's rock hard and ripped chest, Mami's is so soft and squashy.
Mami's friend came to visit and brought Peter some present.
Good that you don't have to wear Jie jie's clothes after all :-D
Ever wondered how Peter got his name? As unique as his sister's name, Peter's name was inspired by the biblical character of apostle Peter, a disciple of Christ who was more frequently mentioned among the 12 in the gospels of the New Testaments. Peter's name came from the meaning the "Rock", therefore it would be papa and mommy's hope that our son's good virtues, including faith and determination, would be rock-solid in days to come.
Apostle Peter showed great faith but also exhibited great failings. By the 11th hour before Jesus' crucification, Peter three times denied being a follower of Jesus, just as Jesus had predicted he would. Nevertheless, Peter redeemed himself and went on to become the leader of the early Christians.
In a similar way, papa hoped that no matter how many times or how badly his son fail, he would bounce back and emerge stronger.
But Mami, pink mitten is for girls, doesn't make me macho nacho..*yawn*...Zzzzz
Hit Girl from the epic Kick-Ass comes to life.
She is here to protect her brother from the evil influence of the world
I supposed having a new brother is the next best thing that happened to Nana. They say a child should always have a sibling not too far of age, as a growing-up companion. I can foresee they will be close best friends, going to the same babysitter, attending the same kinder-garden and daycare, same music class albeit playing different musical instruments, excelling in the same sports, etc.
Blood is thicker than water therefore I hope nothing and no one can come between them disrupting their sibling bond, not even their teenage boy/girl friends. I wish Karling and me would strive to give them the best up-bringing, education and nurtured talent to fulfill their fullest potential. I can foresee that there will be dilemmas, even shortage of educational funds. However I gotta keep trusting, praying and have faith that God will provide. And when God provides, He always x2 provides the best for us. Amen.
What, pink socks again? But Mami, I told you...
Hehehe, Mami is dressing up Peter in my old clothes~
Peter opens his eyes more and more now, and he starts to follow moving objects.
Is our family complete now that we already have 1 girl and 1 boy? At the moment, Karling said she's done for. I am hopeful for more but have to be realistic and practical, what more with the cost of living and education rising exponentially. Time passes very fast, Nana is already 15months old and running. We are building this family block by block and hopefully papa and mommy be blessed with enough wisdom to always make the right decision.
Were we ready to parent Nana and Peter at an arguably young age given modern standard, and at an early stage of our demanding career? The answer doesn't matter now because priorities have shifted. From my part, its is no longer traveling, wave surfing, hanging out with friends and striving to be socially well-received that makes me happy. To be able to use my time and spend it with Nana and Peter, turning theirs into something fun, productive and fulfilling, being reflected by much joy, laughter and love, is what would make me content at the end of the day.
This is my super baby suit, but I don't need it to give me a heart of a lion.
Po po treats me like the daughter she never had. Naturally she fancies me growing long hair.
It would be my therapy, no matter how downcast I am, to make them smile and be loved, nothing else that battered me matters anymore. Because I gotta be strong for them,they depend and look up to me, hence i wanna be a fine role model. Drawing wisdom from above, I pray You guide my every step, that i don't jeopardize the good that You have kept going for me. Thank you.
Taa Dah~!! Do you like my 2 sided-ponytails?
