Presenting Number 4

Sorry, I'm two weeks too late in announcing this.

But I guess it's obvious by now that my little tenant has been evicted.

You'll have to excuse me for this belated announcement. As all mums of newborns know, the younglings don't understand the concept of time.

Or personal space.

Or that their life-givers need to take regular breaks and rest (I'm not even talking about sleep).

The little ones only know that when they're hungry, they want to be fed IMMEDIATELY.

Or they're squirmy because they're soaked in a dirty diaper and want to be cleaned up IMMEDIATELY.

Or they're too warm/cold and want the temperature to be adjusted IMMEDIATELY.

Or they're fussy and demand for some tender, loving cuddles IMMEDIATELY.

Newborns appear to be angelic and innocent, but they're the ones in total control: the grown-ups run helter-skelter, trying to decipher every cry and whimper, second-guessing what the babies want/need. Depending on which school of thought you might be accustomed to, some adults jump up and attend to the baby's every audible squeak while others believe discipline and training begins the very day the child is born.

But I digress. There are just too many thoughts running through my head right now and I really don't have the luxury of time to sit down and organise them properly because the baby is asleep now and this is my chance to ramble...

So. Exactly two weeks ago, on 4 March 2014, I delivered my fourth (and final) child.

I'd just visited Dr Lim's the day before and I was only 1cm dilated even though the baby's head was engaged i.e. ready to pop. She also highlighted that the little tenant was facing the wrong direction and may take a while before she moves to the right position. Since the tenant's estimated day of arrival was 7 March, Dr Lim said that if I didn't show any signs of labour by 6 March, I'd have to be admitted and she'd have to induce the birth.

I decided that a little "walking" would do some good so after my visit to Dr Lim's, I persuaded the hub to drive me to Plaza Singapura for a nice spot of Japanese food and some last minute shopping. As he was busy rushing projects, the hub ordered takeaways for himself and his staff while I sat at our favourite haunt, Kai Sushi & Grill, and enjoyed my stir-fried beef set. I spent the next 2 hours waddling around, stopping to buy a few new pieces of clothing for the tenant. I'd given away almost all of the girls' baby clothes so it was really back to basics.

It was about 3-ish when I realised lugging the additional 14kg was exhausting. Didn't help that I was plagued by sciatica midway through my pregnancy and prolonged movements were excruciating. I boarded the train along the North-East line and thankfully was able to get a seat (it was off-peak period).

I suppose all that extra walking in the mall did the trick. The contractions began close to midnight and initially I struggled to catch some winks because I thought they were false alarms. However, by 2 plus in the wee hours, the contractions gained intensity and I started timing them: 5 minutes apart. Reluctantly, I woke the snoring hub and got my hospital bag ready.

We reached Mt. Alvernia Hospital at about 3.30am, did the necessary administrative procedures, entered the delivery suite and then we waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

The contractions were strong and regular. But my cervix wasn't quite "ripe" and after 6 hours, I was barely 3am dilated. GAH!

Dr Lim strolled in at about 9 plus, checked me and broke my waters to hasten the birthing process. I was also put on the oxytocin drip to induce labour. The nurses were convinced that I'd be done by noon, since it was my fourth time. And my contractions were on track.

I'd (foolishly) opted for natural, non-epidural delivery again, much to the surprise of the nurses who exclaimed that I was one of the few women these days to do so. I figured that since I'd experienced childbirth without epidural thrice and survived, I might as well go for it again. Plus, I was concerned that I wouldn't know how to push if I couldn't feel anything below my waist. As far as possible, I wanted to avoid an emergency C-section.

I was getting impatient by 11am. This was by far the longest I'd ever been in a delivery ward as my previous three were relatively quick (less than 4 hours). By then, the contractions were beginning to slip into the "unbearable" state. Actually I was hoping to do without any other pain killers but the nurse saw my readings and suggested that I use entonox (gas and air) as I has done so previously. She explained that my body could be reacting to the pain and this could be counterproductive. I took her advice and she also gave me a pethidine jab which helped me to relax.

Within half an hour, the waves of contractions were merciless and even the entonox wasn't much of a help. That's when the hustle and bustle began as the nurses swarmed into action. I could feel the baby's head pushing down the birth canal even before Dr Lim's arrival. Of course, my OB/GYN is very experienced and she calmly walked in just in time for the delivery.

Even in my throes of anguish, I could make out the conversations around me and heard Dr Lim announcing merrily to everyone, "This one's an experienced mother. She knows how to push."

And then the birthing process began and all I could think about was: "Why the #$%^ did I not take the @#$%! epidural?!?!?" and "I can't believe I'm doing this AGAIN! !@#$%&!!!"

Actually, the scariest bit wasn't the pain/torture of childbirth. And I only found out MUCH later when the hub recounted (hours later, when I'd sufficiently rested) what happened in the delivery suite. Nobody was going to tell me anything there and then while I was desperately huffing and puffing away, totally focused on evicting the tenant.

As mentioned earlier, the baby was in the wrong position so during my first push, her head appeared and Dr Lim had to physically twist - YES, TWIST - the head (and presumably her body) to face upwards. When I pushed the second time, the tenant slithered out and that's when Dr Lim realised the umbilical cord wound around the baby's neck! Dr Lim then expertly manoeuvred the baby around and untangled the cord.

*&^%$#@!

Oh. My. Freaking. Gawd.

The horror stories of babies strangled by umbilical cords haunted me in nightmares. And I NEVER expected this could happen to me and my baby.

I'm extremely thankful and grateful for Dr Lim's skills and experience. Perhaps it's a common occurrence but our previous three didn't give us such a deathly scare so we were completely unprepared for such a heart-stopping incident.

Talk about making a dramatic entrance.

Anyway, it's time to present our latest Leonglet, my tenant no more:

Hello. I am Number 4.

Qi (that's her Chinese name) weighed 3.460kg and was 50cm in length. I was a little surprised because I'd expected her to be heavier than Wei.

My four beautiful Leonglets (from L to R): Wen, Qi, Xian and Wei

And she's the only one among my babies who wasn't allowed to be discharged after two days because her jaundice levels were high. So yes, we extended out hospital stay for another two days and because Qi's on a fully breastmilk diet, I had to be with her. I refused the option of substituting with formula milk and figured it would be too stressful for me to pump out the milk (there isn't much in the first few days) and bring it to the hospital for her. Yeah, I'm stubborn that way.

After two weeks (and two visits to the pediatrician for review), Qi is still looking jaundiced. We've been diligently "exposing" her to a daily dose of vitamin D in the mornings for about half-an-hour and will continue to do so until she looks less yellowish. :{

"Mr Sun, Sun, Mr Golden Sun...Please shine down on meeeee"

The first week back home was tough for me because I was sleep deprived and stressed over Qi's jaundice. Her sisters were also overly excited and kept running into the room to "check" on the baby, and this irked me tremendously because I desperately needed the rest.

Being a mum to a newborn again after a hiatus of 6 years isn't ideal, especially when I'm pushing 40 and my attention span needs to be divided between all my kids. The only consolation is that the girls are old enough to help out with the baby - especially during diaper changing time. Wen's the expert in this area and she will systematically lay out the essentials on the bed: changing mat, diaper, wet wipes and diaper cream.  Wei has become Qi's masseuse and enjoys applying baby lotion on her hands and legs. Xian, being the eldest and 12 years older than Qi, watches her while I eat/bathe/visit the loo etc.

Fortunately, things are getting better because I'm now accustomed to an-all-too-familiar routine - not too tough to get back into the swing of things after a while, really. It's only now that I realised how much I miss the days of caring for a newborn.

And I suppose I'd better enjoy it while it lasts because I'm pretty certain Qi will be my final baby.