Skyler's HERE!!! =D

Dearest Skyler,

Wow! You're out, Skyler! And you're a beautiful baby!

This is going to be a long letter, little baby girl, because we went through so much this past week!

Mommy and Daddy went into the Kandang Kerbau Women's and Children's Hospital on Tuesday, 27th December morning because your water bag had broken. This is supposed to be an indication that you're ready to come out, Skyler. Anyway, we got there quite early and were admitted for observation. The problem was, it became a super long wait!

We hung around in the Delivery Suite for a very long time as there was no more sign that you were coming. The wait ended up being an overnighter as it was too dangerous for you and Mommy and Daddy to go up to our assigned room as Mommy needed to be observed. Mommy also had to be put on an IV drip and take antibiotics because Dr Kang Wee was afraid that you would get an infection since you no longer had any protection provided by your water bag. As you were supposed to be due anytime, Daddy was too afraid to leave Mommy alone so we ended up sharing Mommy's meals. This was okay then as Mommy wasn't hungry and Daddy was too worried to eat.

Daddy had to sleep on a Lazy Boy seat. It's a chair where the bottom and top parts can be extended so that the whole chair becomes flat. There was no space for anything else. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on as the top part kept threatening to close on me when I shifted around.

Mommy was also very uncomfortable because she couldn't move due to the IV drip that was going into her hand. She couldn't move very much because of it. And she had sensors attached to her belly so that the nurses could monitor your heartbeat and the contractions that Mommy was experiencing.

We kept on giving ourselves false hopes that you would come out quickly. Daddy found out from the nurses how to read the graph that monitored the contractions. From it, we could see how frequent and strong the contractions were.

On Tuesday afternoon, it looked like the contractions were coming quite regularly and more frequently. However, they soon petered out in both frequency and intensity. The nurses and Dr Kang came in to check on Mommy every now and then and they told us to be patient. It ended up that we had to stay in that room until the next morning before they would decide on the next step.

It was so difficult to sleep that night. The nurses would come in every now and then to take Mommy's temperature, check on the readings on the machines - your heartbeat rate, the contraction rate, Mommy's blood pressure, etc. Every time one of them came in, we both would wake up. They also kept on asking if Mommy was suffering from any pain. Disappointingly, Mommy had to say 'no' each time. It was disappointing because if Mommy had experienced some pain, it would mean that you were ready to come out.

So, it turned into Wednesday morning, 28th December 2005. As Dr Kang was worried that you would suffer due to the water bag having been broken, she decided that Mommy should be given Oxytocin so as to induce stronger contractions. It was administered from 6 am in the morning. Then it was a continuation of the waiting game.

At about 8.45 am Mommy started feeling some pain from the contractions. Thus, she asked for some pain relief. It came in the form of a drug called an epidural. This was a common drug used by pregnant women to lessen the pain from the contractions. Mommy was given a whole list of what the side-effects could be of being given this drug and it was scary. The anaethetist also cautioned Mommy to not move at all when she was inserting the catheter into Mommy or else she would experience a severe headache for days. It was all so scary. But THANK GOD, everything was okay.

And then, we waited some more. Mommy didn't feel any more pain after that, though it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. The waiting then carried on ...

Throughout the rest of the day, the nurses continued to monitor Mommy. Daddy also just sat around and watched the monitor to see how close thecontractions were getting and how strong they were. As Mommy couldn't see it, Daddy constantly updated her on the readings. Otherwise, we would both fall asleep as we were so tired from both the lack of proper rest and the tedium of waiting. In between these activities, we would play cards. We played 'Blackjack' as it was the one that needed the least amount of effort. Daddy would also read to Mommy from one of her favourite books, 'Chocolate' by Sandra Boynton.

Closer to the evening, just after 6 p.m. Dr Kang came to check on Mommy and found that Mommy's cervix had opened up to about 8 cm or so. (The target was 10 cm for pushing to begin.) The nurse on duty then, Senior Staff Nurse Linda, was very encouraging and kept on talking about how that was such a great improvement and that Mommy was practically ready to deliver you. Both Mommy and Daddy thought that Dr Kang still felt that the labour was progressing too slowly and that she wanted to carry out a Caesarian Section to help deliver you sooner (we could be wrong because Dr Kang had been avoiding that the whole time). However, we think that what Linda said gave Dr Kang some hope that you could still come naturally so she decided to wait and see for a while more. It was also during that time that Dr Kang decided that Mommy shouldn't be given any more epidural. We found out that the dose was already depleting so the decision was to not give Mommy another dose.

As the epidural and its effects wore off, Mommy started feeling the strong pains from the contractions. She asked the new nurse on duty to look for Dr Kang but the nurse that was supposed to be with Mommy was actually with another pregnant woman who was giving birth then. So, we got some other nurse to help look for Dr Kang. There was another nurse who chanced by and we asked for her help. She said that she would try to look for Dr Kang but I think she never found her. Mommy was increasingly in pain so Daddy went out and looked for any nurse who could help. The nurses outside were very busy with their own charges so they could not really help us. And the nurse that was in charge of us was still busy with her other charge who was already going through active pushing.

In the end, Dr Kang came back to our room on her own and she was perturbed by how she had not been called by the nurses as Mommy had already entered this phase of such pain. Dr Kang decided that it was time for Mommy to begin active pushing too. However, as this stage would still take up some time, she asked another nurse to assist Mommy by giving Mommy 'old-style' encouragement to push - i.e. nothing more than telling Mommy to push when the time came.

The nurse that was tasked to do this was very distracted as she had just helped to deliver another baby by another Mommy who was under her charge. Thus, she kept on popping out to look for her 'own' baby and left Mommy and Daddy alone to figure out what to do on our own. This was very discouraging for us as you are our first baby - what did we know about what to do then? Anyway, Dr Kang then came in and was shocked to see that there was no one assisting us after a while. She asked if the nurses had been 'encouraging' Mommy with the pushing. Daddy didn't know what to say so I turned away and did not say anything. Mommy told her that we were the only ones who were doing anything as the nurse was not around.

Soon, the nurse that was actually in charge of us finally turned up as she had completed the delivery of the other baby. Now, we actually had a nurse with us who could guide us. We had been struggling with the process in the meantime. So, we spent the next hour or so trying to get you out, Skyler. Mommy spent a lot of effort pushing and there was some progression in getting you closer into the open but you were quite stuck at the last part. Dr Kang again warned us that if you had not come out by 9 p.m., she might have to perform a Caesarian Section on Mommy to get you out as it had already taken you too long to come out.

We were worried that she would actually carry it out as she'd been worried about how long you'd taken for quite some time. Mommy renewed her efforts in pushing but to no avail. Thank God Dr Kang then found that you were almost out and that she might be able to get you out 'naturally' using a vacuum extraction method. Thus, she ordered the nurses to prepare the equipment.

Daddy was then told to step out while she performed the extraction. I still cannot understand why I couldn't stay and watch you come out but I wasn't going to argue with the doctor then. While I was outside the room, I was so worried about you that I kept on praying that both you and Mommy would be okay. After failing to tolerate the pacing up and down the corridor, Daddy decided to go back into the delivery room and stand just behind the curtain to wait for your arrival. Thus, when you were finally out at 9.36 p.m., I could hear Dr Kang telling the nurses that "the Daddy can come in already" so I walked right in.

You had already come out and Mommy was lying on her bed totally exhausted. She looked so poor thing! And there you were, quickly turning reddish and with blood and other stuff all around you. Daddy was so upset - they did not allow me to stay and watch you come out or be with Mommy all the way. I had waited with Mommy for so long and when the final moment came, they sent me out of the room! Aarghhh! But never mind, Mommy says that I had come in immediately after you'd come out - within seconds so I guess I did not miss very much. But it still upsets me when I think about it. :(

After that, a lot of things started happening. The nurses had to clean you up and carry out some tests on you. Wow! Your APGAR scores were so high! You were given 9 out of 10 in both the 1st and 5th minute of birth! So HEALTHY! :)

Anyway, after the initial rush was over, we had to wait another two hours or so before they would allow us to go up to our Ward. This was because of the vacuum extraction. You had to be checked by a baby specialist to ensure that you were okay from the procedure. However, he was very busy as there was another baby who had been born just before you and that baby was very very small. The doctor had to take that baby to the Intensive Care Unit for observation and he had to spend some time there. After almost three hours, he was able to come and carry out some checks on you.

Once again, THANK GOD! He found you totally well, so all of us trooped up to the ward to rest - we went to our room (Ward 82 Room 17) and you went to the nursery for overnight observation. You were out, Skyler. You are now someone that we can hold in our arms and love!

Welcome to the world, Sweet Baby Girl!

Mommy and Daddy love you!