The arrival of Harris

ENFIN !! Our petit angel is here!!

Our baby was born on August 21st 2010 ( 21 / 08 / 2010 ) at 37 week and 6 days of POA. everything seems to happen timely. mama planned to start taking pre delivery leave on saturday, and there you were ! showing the sign of getting out from my womb as early as 630 a.m in the morning of saturday 21st.

I was about to perform my subuh prayer when i felt something dribbling down my legs. initially i thought it was the incontinence which i sometimes experienced when i cough or sneeze ( or any manouvre that increases intra abdominal pressure in that matter ). however, this one came unprovoked. I hesitated and sat for a while. it had gone. I then continued with my prayer. halfway performing it, the dribbling became more prominent.. it was more like streaming then. My prayer was halted. There and then I was pretty sure it was not urine. It was something else coming from a different tunnel. My heart skipped a beat or two. ' is it gonna be today?' 'for real?' and i kept asking myself the same thing over and over.
mama told papa of what happened. there were both happy and nervous expression on his face ( so did mine). we already pre planned to travel back to kuantan that morning as papa was supposed to work and my leave began that day. i did not feel any contraction pain nor having show at that moment, therefore we were not rushing and took our sweet time to prepare for the voyage to the hospital:)

we arrived at the Kuantan Specialist Hospital around 1015 am ( after stopping by wan and aki's house to pick up some essentials) and checked in. The liquor kept on gushing out that the back of my cloth was quite significantly soaked. mama was initially placed in 4-beds- room. it was ok but not condusive enough. lack of privacy i guess. The nurses were nice. as i lay on the bed, the midwife nurse began to set up the CTG probe on my belly. well, my dear boy your CTG was reactive :)

Dr suraya came to check on you and mama around 1215 pm ( as she had an OT case to run earlier). She's a very lovely consultant specialist. She advised me to have Prostin inserted (a per vaginal medication to induce labour) as i still did not feel any contraction pain even after 6 hours plus post leaking liquor. i reluctantly agreed as i knew she was right but also had heard the less favourable story about prostin induction ( especially about its hyperstimulated pain ).

I was right too. mama began to have a moderate contraction straight away right after 5 minutes or so post prostin. my cervical opening was only 1 cm prior to the prostaglandin insertion. After 1 hour, the pain was becoming more and more frequent and stronger. i was no longer able to smile or laugh at papa's jokes. Dr Suraya came to my bed again. my os was on ly 2 cm at that time. she then prescribed me with intramuscular pethidine to ease the pain. the drug did make me sedated but failed to do its main job : pain relief. i suffered for another hour or so with contractions frequency of every 15 seconds!!

i could not take it much longer ( with os that small n pain like you are almost ready to push!) hence requested for epidural analgesia. they then pushed me to labour room for the procedure. i was lucky to be pain-free while on the wheelchair. however the ultimate pain came while i was about to underwent the procedure. i couldn't describe how excruciating it was. the midwife checked my os once again before the procedure. it was 3 cm but cervix was already effaced, she said. my epidural was administered by Dr Nordin, an anaesthesiologist. i was crying, citing 'Allah' ' lailahaillallah' and the syahadah. i didnt know what else to do. Papa was there all the while from the beginning, holding me, massaging, kissing my forehead and stuff. He too was worried and sad, seeing his wife in agony.. the pain was soo strong that i bearly felt the epidural needle being poked at my back, luckilly i did not move. Dr Nordin gave mama a bolus spinal analgesia as well for immediate pain relief ( as epidural's will take 5 to 10 minutes to work). My whole body felt numb for a while after the drug was introduced. i was almost immediately pain free after the procedure. Then Dr Suraya did a VE on me once again. i couldn't believe her when she said my cervix had already fully dilated! what?? 3cm to 10 in 10 minutes????? - Yes it was a superfast precipitated labour..

they then hurriedly prepared me for second stage labour and arranged my legs in lithotomy position. because of the newly introduced spinal analgesia, i barely felt like bearing down. however the midwife was monitoring my contraction hence helping me to know when to push. the second stage was very brief, with papa, dr suraya and the midwife encouraging me rather ..casually i'd say ( as i was no longer in severe pain :D ) . Being a doctor was a plus at that time i guess. though i didn't really have the bearing down feeling, but i technically know the correct way to 'push' and it did help!! Papa got to see your temporal head for a while( and he was really amazed it seemed) before your head crowned. I initially refused for episiotomy ( KSH still applies the 'rule' - epi for all primid) but after contemplating about my baby well being ( estimated weight of 2.8 Kg , no continuous ctg monitoring at that time, prostin induced + precipitated labour which were all prone to cause fetal distress) I finally agreed. Dr Suraya performed the episiotomy when your head was crowning. and in a matter of seconds, you were already on top of me my dear.. no longer inside.

I was speechless and mesmerized. hearing your first cry and saw you moving your limbs actively gave me a relief : i knew straight away my baby had a very good APGAR score ( indeed it was excellent. your APGAR was 9 at 1 minute and 10 at 10 minutes!) . they put a linen separating you from my belly which i slowly removed so that your skin would touch mine. it was so surreal. both papa and mama were in awe. we are finally.. parents - To a lovely baby boy.

The bonding time was very brief. they then brought you to an open care to put you under warmer ( as well as to have you cleaned). papa went to see you and had you 'azan-ed' while the doctor and nurses were nursing me. I can't help smiling, feeling fully tranquil. i have delivered our very own child...

After half an hour or so, the nurse returned you to us. you are soooo cute and adorable and tiny. you weighed 2.41 Kg, with length 43 cm and head circumference of 31 cm. your sugar level was 3.4 mMol/L according to the glucometre. Dr Siti was your attending consultant paediatrician. the first thing papa told me after he saw you was ' comel nye baby, mata die kelabu'. indeed you are very cute and your eyes are beautiful as well as the whole of you.

by 530 pm. we are transferred to a single room which was waaay better than the previous one. you were visited by many of our loved ones that night. wan and aki, nenek and tok, your great-uncles and great-aunties. everyone was in a very cheery mood just because of you :)

i think i have written long enough. there were still alot of things to tell you. but i will do so in future entries.

we named you, our petit ange : Harris - a protector, the guardian of heaven :)

ALL ABOUT OUR BABY

i am currently at 37 week 2 day of period of amenorrheoa. my early scan at 11th week correlated nicely with my estimated due date. for the past 9 months my pregnancy-hood can be considered uneventful except for mild anemia ( whereby Haemoglobin level dropped to 10.2 currently from the baseline of 13) . I am considered risk-free from developing gestational diabetes melitus both interm of history and clinical ( thank God) but i still decided to have a go for Modified Oral Glucose Tolerance Test at 32 week POA JUST because I am more than 25 years old. Apparently it was supposed to be in the new GDM guideline, however since the screening was not cost effective, the ministry decided to scrap it off. My blood pressure maintains at 110 mmHg systolic/ 70 mmHg diastolic throughout.

I have completed my anti tetanus toxoid jabs in time and my infectious screening are negative. I felt the quickening as early as 17 weeks of POA, and the fetal kicks increase over time both in term of frequency and intensity. My husband and I can even recognise the fetal parts when the baby kicks prominently as I entered the late trimester :)

At one ocassion, as I went for my routine ultrasonography at 35 week 1 day POA, my baby's parametres were found to be quite significantly smaller than the expected range but growing still. Therefore I have to repeat scan ( done 3 days ago) to rule out the diagnosis of Small for Gestational Age. Glory be to God, it has been ruled out after the subsequent scan:) That was not the only matter that troubled me at that point of time. I also noticed he was kicking less actively than usual within about 15-20 hours, thus prompted me to have a Cardiotocography done, just to make sure the baby was ok. Baby is indeed in good condition. the CTG was reactive with sufficient accelerations and excellent baseline variability. yeay! and yes, the baby then started kicking and coiling around like no body business right after the CTG completed!

As for now, being a 37 weeker, I wait patiently and anticipatingly for the arrival of my baby. My first child . My fundus currently sizing about 36 weeks ( can still put my two knuckles in between the xiphoid sternum and the fundus) - in keeping with my pregnancy age;-) my baby is obviously a singleton, longitudinally lied, with cephalic presentation and head has alredy engaged by 2/5th below the pubic symphysis:)

baby dear, we are ready to have you in our lives :) muahx

tuning in

I am half-heartedly reading the PDF version of Obstetrics Illustrated currently.. just to realise how much i have forgotten. Even those fundamental basics about pregnancy and labour! i'm glad i'm still at home lazing with fun and idle activities.
I must say, mon cheri is somewhat a different man after we got married. Perhaps it's the title and status change.. perhaps he's just getting old more mature. whatever it is, i love this new guy he becomes. Unfortunately for him, i barely change. but the way he handled my silent tantrums has made it difficult for me not to let my heart liquifies , over and over.hoho

conferred and married!

Peace be upon each of you. hello again.

my apology for the super long silence. i've been busy. busy and happy. it is an awkward combination of adjectives there. but that's what best to describe life in this past two months ++.
Praises be to You, dear God.

June 17th 2008 was the last day of my life as an undergraduate medical student. the Final exam went rather smoothly with not much drama except for my unfortunate encounter with that intimidating RCSI professor during my surgical long case. God, he's a nightmare. i quite enjoyed the rest of the exams actually.

July 3rd 2008, mon cheri landed home. yeayyyy.

July 6th 2008, i was conferred with MB BCh BAO (NUI) degree(s) by my college and university; which entitles me to join the medical professional team. i was very happy indeed. my parents, my grandma, and my sister were there, attending the ceremony along with us. too bad cheri and his family couldn't make it. He had to attend his pre-marital course. i wore my mom's Kurung Tenun Pahang Diraja ; the cloth which my mom plans to put in the list of valuable inheritances of our family:P :P it was quite big for me but thanks to the graduation robe, the problem was well taken care of. As much as i was overwhelmed by the scrolls, mortar board, robes, mat saleh bigshots and all, i was quite sad by the end of it as i did not have the chances to part with a handful of my good pals properly.everybody was busy attending their family circles at the foyer.Some were in the high-tea hall, and some just 'vanished' out of my sight.i didn't take much photos too. how i regretted it.. Luckily that wasn't the end of the day. i eventually met cheri and his family later that night. his parents and mine were busy discussing about our marriage while we were 'busy' smiling at each other and cherishing the opportunity of meeting in person after almost a looong 10 months apart.

the rest of July was hectic for me and my family ( and my wedding planner). all sorts of people came to our house. Tuan Qadi, JKR staffs, interior experts, are to name a few. i don't dare (even until today )to ask my parents how much this wedding prep has cost them.. i just pray to Allah that their sacrifice for my sake would worth it. i pray that Allah would help me to repay them as much as they deserve.

July 26th 2008. that was 'the' day. at 10.09pm i am officially wedded to my long-time sweetheart after three attempts. hehe. he wasn't nervous. it was more to the fact that our jurunikah was being fussy and confusing. thanks miey for recording the time for us. two best friends i have to thank the most for my wedding is Ally and Miey. Sorry for troubling both of you for my cause.. you guys have no idea how grateful i am for what you have done. and of course to you too nuni, without you, who else would be my back up photog;-) and i'm sorry that you and zaman had to endure the mud. let it be known that i appreciate greatly that you went through all those 'obstacles' for the sake of our friendship ;-) to coy (and pakcik), please do read the sentence before this as well ;-)
back to the bride and groom story. we only started rehearsing for the next day by +- 11.30pm and finished around 1.00 a.m. . i was starving to death. i still couldn't believe that my status has changed. i was both thrilled and numb. and happy. and hungry. :P

July 27th 2008. Our first reception. i am overwhelmed by the number of people turned up to our humble home. 2500 guests! my only regret was that i couldn't meet and thank a lot of people who mean the world to me that day. there were just too many people to entertain, plus the unfortunate fact that i am notoriously known for not capable of handling hectic scenes smartly. huhu:P my big big apology. to those of whom the invitation did not reach them, i regret dearly. i meant to invite each of you. i have too little time to spare then. my friendster apparently was 'bengong' as well when i sent the invitation to friends' message boxes. i have the feeling that not everyone received my post online.. stupid friendster. believe you me, i didn't purposely leave any of my friends out. i'm true sorry if any of you feel that way.

all, in all it was a very very very memorable day of our lives ; ie my husband's and mine. and i hope it was for many of you who attended it too. thanks for sharing our special day with us. PMC mates, tahapians, SKTL buddies , smkt friends, jasinians............ a BIGGGG thank you from both of us.

we don't really have a proper planning for our future yet, but one thing for sure, we plan to live happily ever after together :-)

I'm yours =)

this is it...

he nailed it! ( finally) .i missed the concert Live show, therefore i surfed for its Youtube clips instead. I was doing some reading when suddenly my stomach gave a flip in response to one of Nubhan's beautiful coloraturas. I quickly opened that particular firefox tab to watch the whole thing again.. and again ( hehe). i'm still gaping in awe at the mo. hhuhuhu. gila lah lagu ni:P

i wanted to write about a lot of things, but i don't really have that much time left to procrastinate further...

Dr Irene predicted that i would become a paediatrician ;-) and yes i see myself either as a physician cardiologist/rheumatologist or a Paediatrician. hmm... sekali GP je ke.. huhuhuhuh

time to study

9 - 19 june 2008 ~ my future depends heavily on my performance at this particular period. Pleaese pray for me. I am plain scared right now. no kidding.. i need support and that's it. no dramas . i cant afford to be deviated from this sole focus. no kidding.



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Now playing: Coldplay - Viva la Vida [foobar2000 v0.9.4.2]
via FoxyTunes

diagnoses

one side of life : constrictive pericarditis

had been encased in a hard fibrosed shell for quite a while that i failed to expand to accommodate adequate useful input.

chronically it has now invaded the inner me that i am unable to pump out any profitable output too. outcome would be fatal if untreated. so please do.

other side of life : mildly anaemic otherwise pretty healthy

supportive treatment and assurance are the management of choice

ill but at ease :)

destiny is not a matter of chance
it is a matter of choice
it is not a thing to be waited for
it is a thing to be achieved :)
- William Jennings Bryan


I've been having quite a troublesome flu since yesterday. i should be attending class right now but am too sick to function academically and physically. even now im typing in a 'lateral decubitus' position with the laptop by my side. 'Exam finale' is approaching. those stupid write-ups are piling.

i called my grandparents just now, and found out from 'aki' that 'wan' is in KL at the mo.and as usual (which happened almost everytime my granny went 'out station')'my sister skipped classes as well since she is now replacing me as my wan's youngest daughter:P

like big sis like lil sis. but of course my reason is valid where as hers is not!:P

miey, hope we could meet up this weekend;-)

i love my family
j'aime mon chouchou
and i love my friends :)


'wahai lalat, bugger off' .. ;-) honey, i luv this bug macro photo.

p/s : les images sont les propriétés de mon cheri:)

time is running out - 6 weeks left!

so much has been happening since i last posted anything on this blog. where should I start. ok
let's start with this one :

My blog was blocked by the blogger's automated anti-blogspamming spy. i was like.. what the hell? their server auto-detected that my blog has several 'criteria' of a spam blog. but then, in what way did my blog 'meet' the so called criteria? i posted my own words. I RARELY commented on other's blog, let alone leaving my link there REPETITIVELY like their claim of a spam blog. the only nearest thing to a spam blog that i can think of is my SEMI- anonymousness -( otherwise i wouldn't be using pseudoname i.e. Cherie ;) ). however when i requested for my blog to be unblocked, they gave me an automatic message of apology - stating that this blog is probably not a spam blog as i, the owner, does actually exist ( i.e. by sending an unblocking request is sufficient to prove that blog-bliss has a living and sound owner). My blog was subsequently reviewed and thankfully unblocked the next day.

My car and a handful of other's had been sabotaged by a bastard psycho/ group of bastards psychos who owes me an apology (which won't be granted) before he could enter Heaven (if he/she would ever manage to). what he did was so malicious and beyond your imagination. this/these thug/thugs deserve/s all sort of curse words available in the world. my dear friends, you are allowed to do so on my behalf. hehe.

i Passed my ACLS course =) that's quite rewarding , after a bad weekend ( referring to the event above) plus the fact that the course consumed my whole weekend + my Monday. it was fun. i enjoyed the mega code session - where we learned how to manage cardiac arrest with defibrillator and several life saving drugs - and we were taught how to be a team leader in such condition ( that's the best part. for a moment, it gave you this feeling of how important you are then. hehe) . Grandiosity? yeah wharrever. During the last session, whereby they handed us our result, Dr Leah, the ACLS course coordinator, told me ( and the class) 'ohh, you've been very quiet' . My friends looked and smirked at each other. 'this girl? quiet? hahhaha. you obviously don't know her.' hehehe. well, i guess I'm not too talkative ( right? right?), but I am loud and outspoken at times. Quiet is definitely so not me. during that ACLS session i did keep a low profile though. i sat at a secluded corner and i didn't make myself too prominent by impressing the facilitators with outstanding skills and knowledge ( as if i could. hahaha) nor that i flanked so badly to be noted. i didn't get distinction in any station. but passing them did suffice for me:) apparently my group broke the all-time passing rate record of 40-50% ( cant remember the exact percentage). Ours are 63%. =) For the surgical batch, Best of luck in breaking that newly set record :p hehehe.


i met my cousin in Facebook recently and i was very happy about it. Thanks FB (i still prefer Friendster though);P. we haven't been in touch for quite sometimes. He's just got a baby and my new nephew is sooooo cuteeee!

LAstly, Riz of AF6 performed my favourite Muse's song, ' time is running out' , on Saturday night. as i expected, he and the AF band didn't do any justice to that song at all. He was severely pale in comparison to Matthew Bellamy of course, but that's still forgivable as i think he did quite well for his league. but the band.. how could you undo the rocky-ish of that song by sounding sooo... dull. it sounded so poppy and well.. may i say..flat. what an insult!!. ( did i sound like a true rock music lover now? hahhaa) that's statement is half sincere and half teasing i guess :P opss hehe. But I do love MUse!i do indeed! i get this sensational rush down my spine every time I watched their Live concert. they are really really good at Live Performances. Even better than their studio version. ask any muse's fan and they would say so too if you don't believe me.That's why i think it's a bad choice to select Muse's song for a karaoke singing competition like this, as it is very hard to achieve that level of greatness.
this video is to give you a taste of what muse likes in action. A Blast! This may not be their best live version but i'd say it's among the latest and most memorable ones (as it was performed at the new Wembley stadium.. not many artistes have done that so far;))

The studio version is now backgrounding my recently blocked Blog-bliss. =)

Vote Muse for Live act!!!