the chronologies continues...
1.20pm
Those nurses were very quick in their job. They skilfully changed my gown, lifted me from side to side until they succeed in and then helped me with the sanitary napkin. I was then moved from the operation bed to the bed I was wheeled in earlier. I still remember the sight of the bloody bed with a full red-stained gown on top of it. Whoa.. what a sight! I must admit that was a very pretty scary sight. No wonder they hang a big screen to avoid patient from watching his/her own surgery. It surely not the sight for the faint heart. I must say that I am very proud with my husband, for his willingness to accompany me throughout the surgery, and have a great courage to stay strong beside me, and witnessing the whole operation.
After they took off the strap and wires, my midwife told us that I would then be wheeled to the 'Wake-up Room' for constant monitoring at least for 1 hour. They told my husband to wait at the waiting room with our new baby before went to the room I was given earlier. After a kiss from my husband, I was then wheeled to the -2 floor. I was very embarrassed, lying flat on bed while being wheeled, and going past some people. I was not wearing headscarf, and that was awkward. I bet my hair was oddly tangled, and I looked terrible at that moment. I remember the big bruise I had on my left arm from the blood pressure strap that was attached to me during the surgery.
The 'Wake-up Room' was quite spacious. I saw a lot of patient in bed, still recovering as I was. There were at least 30 spaces for beds and my bed was put in the middle of the room, just beside the nurse's desk. Each space has its own machines for blood pressure, heart beat measurer (I don't know what's the term), and some other I just didn't recognized. In front of me there were four person recovering, and two of them were fast asleep (I guess they were just went through surgery, and still under drug).
I was advised to keep moving my feet, as it was good to improve blood circulation. They sticked four wires to my abdomen, and took my blood pressure in every 10 minutes. I was told that I was prescribed with a morphine drip as a painkiller, and I could control the dose by only pressing a button. They also gave me another painkiller by drip during the 'Wake-up' moment.
I'll never forget, how I wished my husband was there with me, holding my hand, accompany me with our new baby, and I really wished I could hug her at that moment. I wondered, how was my son doing up there on the tenth floor, waiting for me.. has he stopped crying? He must be very worried and confused, watching me being taken away without anyone explaining things to him.
3.00 pm
Finally a nurse came and told me that I was ready to go to my room. She smiled as she did a final blood pressure check and 'feeling' the tummy, and did one more sense test similar to one that I had before the surgery. She asked me to move my feet, and I successfully wiggled them. I was quite anxious, as I was not completely sure if I was ready to walk at that moment (as during my first cesarean, they made me walked 6 hours after the operation).
I was desperate to seek comfort from my husband, and I longed to meet my new daughter, of course I really missed my son very much...
3.30 pm
Finally, a male attendant came and wheeled me to my room. Again, that made me really uncomfortable. Without head covers, and with four bags of fluid attached to my bed frame, and one of them was the morphine drip, and the rest was glucose drip and painkiller drip, and a uterine tube, hanging just below my bed frame, I must looked scary.
Come to think of that again, perhaps that was just my feeling. I did feel that the crowd weren't that interested to 'know what happened to me'. They looked, yes they did, but that's that.
3.45 pm
Finally I was in my room, and how happy my son to see me! His face instantly brighten upon seeing me arrived. I was delighted when my son rushed to hug me (for comfort, I guess), but then my husband stopped him and said, 'Mummy sakit... tak boleh peluk lagi... (Mummy is not well, she can't hug you yet)' That reality really put me back my thought to hug him. And, oh my.. the incision was very painful once the epidural worn off.. Thank God the painkiller drip really help to contain the pain. My abdomen looked really bad, and felt jelly-like at that moment. And I hated the sight of it.. urgh..
Then I found my little girl, sleep soundly next to me, in the clear plastic baby cot. She's so beautiful. I received a lot of kisses and hugs and praises from my dear husband. I listened to him about what they have been doing while waiting for me to arrive, and I was happily entertained by my son's behave of missing me, running here and there, showing me toys and telling me stories. My husband said that Umair was so happy and he kissed Dana when she first came to the room. That was the most happiest moment I had, the big reunion of four, after the frightening experience in the operation table.
I remember giving my newborn daughter her first taste of milk. I found it was very hard and excruciating to get myself up. I need help to get my daughter from her cot to my arm for feeding. I was glad when I found out that Dana was easy to feed, even the lactating nurse who helped me to sit upright and assisted me to feed Dana was impressed. 'She feed very well', was their claimed that day. And I just smiled, although at that moment my milk hasn't fully developed yet, the amount was too little. But the nurse assured me that during the first few days, baby only need a small amount of milk, and the first milk, colostrum (although it was very little) is really important for baby, as they are full with protein and enough to fill a newborn. The nurse encouraged me to give Dana both sides of milk so it should be enough for her.
Oh, I forgot to mention that my bed was very sophisticated. Easy to control with few buttons so that I could adjust the height of the bed, even the posture of the bed. And that features really helped for me to feed my daughter.
4.30 pm
We then took chances to skype with my parents-in-law in Malaysia. They were so happy, and there were also tears of joy. My mother-in-law in her teary eyes reminded us to always look after each other, and gave plenty of advises of what should we do after that day. I know, they wished they could come and visit me, and look after me and their new grandchild, and playing with of Umair. But I do understand that they also have other big commitment in Malaysia, and I must not be that selfish to force them to come here and assist us.
Conclusion
I stayed at the hospital for 6 days. During the 6 days, my husband has played a great support for me, as well as my husband's cousin, who accompanied me every night, to help me with Dana. A night nurse would came every day to check my blood pressure, and checking the incision. Then another 'nurse for baby' came to check Dana's temperature, her weight, and bathed her. I was completely in bed rest for 2 days after the surgery, and was forbidden to eat or drink, only given glucose drip (only after I felt gas movement in my tummy then it's okay for me to eat). During that bed rest, a group of nurses would come and help me clean. They washed my body while I was in bed, and though it was quite embarrassing, I braced everything as they did it very professionally. My gynae also came almost every day to look and ask my condition.
I was able to walk independently during the third day after the operation. It was very painful, and at first I had to ask my cousin to help me getting up. It was difficult but I knew I had to do it so that I'll heal faster. I washed myself that day, and that was my first real bath after the surgery, which was very refreshing. And that day, I finally allowed my first sip of water in the afternoon, and finally have my first real meal for dinner.
For the next day, we had developed sort of routine. In the morning, my husband will came along with Umair, visiting me and Dana. Then the cousin would follow them home so that she could cook some foods for my husband and my son, and prepared soup for me. I stayed with Dana, and later in the evening, my husband came along with my son and his cousin, bringing some soup and collected worn clothes to wash, chatted for a while, and then left with Umair, leaving the cousin to stay for the night. That was really touching. I couldn't thank them much their supports during my hardest period, where I really need a lot of helping hands during the recovery period.
On the sixth day, after a Rubella shot, and thorough inspection of us (Dana and I), we were finally discharged. I was very excited to go home. It must be quite tough for my son to sleep without me in bed, and now having me back he had to handle a new addition in our family. Nonetheless I know in my heart that he would and could handle it well. The staples on my tummy was taken four days after I was home by nurses who came to our our house to check the baby's weight.
And now, it's almost 5 weeks since the operation, which means Dana Sufiya is now 1 month and a few days old. I am still recovering, and the incision by now is completely shut. There were some area around the incision that feel numb, even if pinched I feel nothing. There were also times when I feel a little pain inside my tummy, and that only happened when pushed myself to do house chores too much. I know then that I still need times to recover, and need to pull back some works, and begin things easy and slowly, as the incision is still healing. I still need some more rest and not to force myself with jobs yet.
Whatever it is.. we are finally four! Two boys and two girls in the house! Imagine that! Can't wait to be back in Malaysia this September for Hari Raya gathering, introducing Dana to her grannies and the rest of our extended family members, and furthermore witnessing the wedding of my brother with his fiance at Sabah..
Alhamdulillah..
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