A baby is born

Day 1
Sherrie arrived into this world on Friday, 6th March, at 7.40am, through C-section. Sherrie was estimated to be 3.7kg at birth and because of an uncooperative cervix, she could not be naturally delivered. I don't think that it would have been wise to try and end up in an emergency situation.

She cried the moment she was lifted out of the womb... taken to be wiped down and wrapped in a towel before she was placed in my chest. Daddy was there through the surgery (I opted for epidural: I was awake through the surgery) and was very supportive. When she was placed on my chest, it was such a joy and the first thing we noticed were her puffy cheeks! And was she rosy... I wonder if all that birds nest helped... The anaesthetist helped us to take photos and Sherrie left with Daddy to be properly swaddled and weighed. She turned out to be 3.740kg (as predicted). What a big baby!

I was wheeled to a recovery room and shortly back to the room to rest. Sherrie had to be monitored till her temperature stabilised and that took about 2-3 hours. Meanwhile Mum, Dad and Koko came to visit and since I had just gone through the op, I was on a drip and had my legs still slightly tingling from the epidural. Tired as I was, I was looking forward to seeing Sherrie.

She was wheeled into my room around 2pm and I got to breastfeed her for the first time. Though there was no colostrum yet, it was so warm to feel her suckling on my breast. The rest of the day whizzed by with Sherrie being wheeled in for feeding and bonding.

Day 2
Staying in a single-bed ward was the best decision we made. It gave us privacy and lots of space. We could even surf the net in the room. V could also stay over and be my support through the nights.

With the morphine wearing off, the wound started to hurt and it was not as easy getting out of bed. To help the recovery, the hospital provided an abdominal binder to hold the wound tightly together so that I could walk around more easily. While a little troublesome, it did help considerably.

Over the day, I learnt various ways of breastfeeding Sherrie - football hold, cross cradle hold etc. It was really interesting to see which hold was the easiest for me. I think most people like the cradle hold because the baby is right against the chest.

Sherrie opened one of her eyes today and we were so excited to see whether she would open both at the same time. We couldn't tell for sure if she had double eyelids or dimples (from Daddy) but she sure had the chubbiest rosy cheeks. She was also a loud wailer (not good for our ears) but it was always for a valid reason. She was either hungry, had wind in her tummy or pooped/pee-ed. At least there was a reason and she was not jus throwing a tantrum.

That night, we opted for Sherrie to have glucose water so that I could rest - a decision I regret now. Because of that, i didn't get up to feed and the next morning awoke with swollen breasts. I had read about engorgement but didn't know that the breasts would actually feel like rock melons.

Sherrie had a bit of jaundice and had to be put under the light to reduce the jaundice. However, the doc said that she would likely be able to go home with me because it was mild.

Day 3
We attended a bath talk to revise how to bathe baby and breastfeed and through the talk my breasts keep getting harder and harder. When i went back up to the ward, i requested for help from a lactation consultant or someone to massage my breasts because of the pain I was in. Thank goodness for a nurse who helped me massage and put cold cabbage on them to reduce the swelling.

Sherrie was also my heroine. She would, over the night, be wheeled in to help me clear the engorgement. What i didn't know was that the engorgement inadvertently prevented her from suckling efficiently on my breast and getting much milk at all. Oh yes, this day, Sherrie opened both her eyes and we were all so delighted. She is really cute!!! We also discovered that she loved being swaddled tightly, but also enjoyed sticking her hands out through the swaddle. She had a strong grip and strong kicking legs (exactly like in pregnancy).

Day 4
Leaving the hospital was tough! In the hospital, I could wheel baby away when i neede to rest.. but at home, i had to hear her cry whenever she was either wet, hungry or tired. It was heartbreaking. We were met at home by the confinement nanny and the agent. Ying jie would be spending the next 28 days at our home, taking care of baby, doing laundry and cooking for us. It would be a good transition from the hospital. What we ddin't know, was that I STILL had engorged breasts and a baby with insatiable hunger.

V had to go buy more stuff for the nanny to cook and so i took a nap while Sherrie slept (well, not for long). The rest of the day passed relatively quickly, with reality sinking in that this was going to my life for the next 4 months.

That night had to be the hardest night ever. Sherrie kept crying and ying jie told us that she was hungry. I was determined to breastfeed and she brought Sherrie to us. Yet after each feed, I was exhausted, but Sherrie was not satisfied. She kept wanting more. Desperate and sore (nipples), we took out the breast pump, thinking we could express some milk for her. However, cos I was still engorged, we got only 1 or 2 drops and worse still, cos the nipple was cracked, there was also some blood. It was painful! We called the TMC hotline and they suggested to hand express. When we tried that, again, only 1 drop came out. Hardly enough for my lovely Sherrie. As a result, she cried all night and we hardly slept.

Day 5
We made an appointment with TMC Parentcraft to find out what was the problem. I didn't know i was still engorged, thinking it was a latching problem. When i arrived, the lady told me that the engorgement was quite deep and needed alot of massage to remove it. In fact, she put me on a regime of Cabbage-massage-feed-pump. Sherrie came along each time because I thought it was a latching problem... and cos she started to cry there, they had to feed her formula. She promptly drank down 60 ml of the milk and quietened down. That was when we discovered that she had a great appetite. She was only 5 days old. That morning, we went back with cabbage on my breasts and bottles of formula for my darling (so we wouldn't hv another sleepless night).

I had to return to TMC that afternoon because the problem was still there. Believe me, i didn't really look forward to it because the massage was so painful. But i really wanted to settle the problem and feed Sherrie with as much breastmilk as possible. When we were there, Mrs Wong Boh Boi, lactation consultant and our antenatal class teacher, found Sherrie very cute and in her words, 'eh sai jia' (hokkien for 'edible'). She promptly asked V whether Sherrie could be part of a photo shoot for her new book. Of course, we agreed. We were asked to bring her back the next day... she could go for the shoot while I could continue my massage treatment.

Day 6
Back at TMC again.. The breasts were getting better and I could pump out about 20 ml for Sherrie. But it was not good enough. I still had to continue with the regime and look sadly while Sherrie drank formula again. I guess it was a no choice situation - I'd rather she have milk than go hungry. As she spent many hours at the photo shoot and probably used up a lot of energy, she consumed almost 3 60 ml bottles, leaving Mrs Wong to remark that i had a big eater on my hands... Sadly, mummy here was not a big supplier at the time....

The photo shoot for her new book was interesting and the photographer took many lovely photos of her. They would call us to pick up the CD once they had settled all the photos. I hope we also get a copy of the book she's writing.. Sherrie is a star even before she made it to 1 week! As mummy, I'm proud of her! Anyhow, the ladies at the photo shoot were gushing over her and wanted to ta pow her home. I said they could whenever she cried. hahaha.... Kidding, of course. Who would want to give her up? She is incredibly sweet and cute. But i am biased of course.

Day 7
We had to go bk to TMC again.. this time not for engorgement. The breasts were getting softer with V's massage at night. It was tiring for him, having to be back at work and wake up in the middle of the night to pump milk and massage my swollen breasts. However, thank goodness for his strength because the breasts became much softer. Of course, i still had to follow the regime, even sleeping with cabbage and waking up to remove it by setting the alarm.

We were back at TMC for the pediatric appointment and to register her birth. Sherrie weighed 3.755kg, only slightly heavier than when she left.. probably cos she just fed. We had brought along some formula and picked up 40 ml of breastmilk from TMC... as contingent. We ended up taking longer than expected cos we wanted her to do a metabolism test so the two milk items saved our lives! I also had to go to the nursing room to feed her before we went home. She was certainly a big eater.

Her name on the birth cert is Sherrie Chan Mei Yan (Chen Mei Xin). I am a proud mummy.