Welcome to the World
March 5th, 2009 -- Posted in nita | 2 Comments »Today was finally the day… the day when our long awaited moment has come. We are finally going to see our dear Aithim for the first time…
... ain’t that so cliché? Hahaha
But really, it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Aithim… whose name we have decided and I will announce later… was scheduled to be delivered via Cesarean on this very day.
For the past month, our gynea Dr. Cheng has been forewarning us about the low amniotic fluid level in the womb and the lack of cushion may cause a blockage of the umbilical cord. On the other hand, he wanted to prolong the pregnancy as late as possible to avoid premature development of the baby. So for weeks we were balancing between the two vital points by monitoring closely the movement of the baby in the womb.
On Monday during the regular weekly check-up, Dr. Cheng decided it was time. We’re bringing forward the initial estimated time of Cesarean delivery by a week. He scheduled the operation on Thursday.
“Wah!” was our silent reaction… “That’s only 3 days away!” and followed by a slight shudder.
So we went home to pack, and we packed like we’ve never gone overseas for holidays before.
Baby clothes… feeding bottles and cleaning apparatus… post-natal mommy’s stuffs… and mommy+daddy’s changes of clothes for the few days. SO MUCH STUFFS! We ended up with 3 bags and a big box.
Thomson Medical Centre is nice. Since we didn’t manage to catch the hospital tour earlier, we found the ward pleasantly clean and convenient. It’s a standard 1-bedded ward with a long couch large enough to be a bed for the companion. There’s even free wifi internet for the ward.
Nice deco… relaxing atmosphere. I almost felt at home at this place. It certainly helps calm nervous parents-to-be down. Such ambience certainly doesn’t come cheap… but it helps heaps.
Enough of the ward review… It was time to prep Sunsun for the op. While they were prepping her with the epidural, I was asked to wait at the ‘Family Waiting Lounge’. It was empty while I was there, but I can imagine families of soon-to-be-born babies waiting anxiously in this cozy room.
Then finally I was brought to the op theatre. Before I was allowed inside, I was made to put on a disposable ‘bio-hazard’ suit over my clothes, footwear and hair. Then I went in…
After some minutes (I lost count of how many, but definitely not too many) of slit, tugs, splurts and squirshes… and many other sounds of metallic surgical apparatus… I caught a glimpse of a greyish being brought away from the op table to a smaller one close by. I looked at Sunsun and tried to signal a smile… but only to realize I was wearing a surgical mask. Within seconds of suction sounds at the small table, a gust of baby wail followed.
ONGGGAAAAAHHH!!!!
At that moment, I was suddenly hit by an amplified overwhelm of joy. That hit caught me stunt for a few seconds, before I remembered I wanted to reassure Sunsun “IT’s THE MOMENT!”
WELCOME TO THE WORLD, my dear Aithim! Born on 5th March, 2009 at 16hr 31min 40:23 sec, Aithim… who is now named TEH YUANLIN, BENITA (郑元ç³)... weighed 2.44kg and already opened her eyes. She just couldn’t wait to enjoy the colors of the world.
VICTORY for MOMMY… and PRIDE of DADDY!
Nita... as we’ve already begun nicknaming… is so lovable. She has the TEH family squarish head, large nose and ears, and the distinctive angular hairline. Also, she had my large forehead… mommy+daddy’s large eyes… and mommy’s long eye lashes. Good thing she has mommy’s soft straight hair and not the wire hair of mine.
So here she is… my PRIDE and JOY. My beloved daughter…
WELCOME to the WORLD!
