My Second Born, My First Boy
>> Rabu, 18 Juli 2018
Banyu Sanskara Regn Satria. You can call him Regn. It has same pronunciation and meaning with 'rain' in English. Baby Regn is my second born. A little brother for Summer. Another miracle sent from God. And here is a short story about my second pregnancy.
Summer was turning 4 on this July. A perfect time for her to have a sibling, isn't it? Well, for me, Regn's presence is a perfect gift at the perfect moment. My second pregnancy is not a result of pregnancy program. Yes, there was a turning point when i guessed i am ready to have another child, and i was emotionally surrendering to Allah SWT. Then, sometime on November, i realized that i was pregnant! I did the pregnancy test in home two times using different brand. Then to be sure, around two weeks after that, i went to an Obstetrician.
Similar with my first pregnancy, my first trimester went well. I could eat anything, sometimes i felt nauseated, but not severe. I could say, every child is unique as well as every pregnancy. This pregnancy, i disliked things that i am used to like, such us taking a picture of myself (yes, i am that narcissistic ;D), and shopping. On the other hand, i liked things that i didn't really like before, such as eating spicy food, and eating meats. At that time, somehow, i guessed that the baby in my belly is a boy. And the doctor said so after saw the baby via USG after my 16 weeks.
I decided not to go to the same Obstetrician as my first pregnancy, but i randomly chose the Obstetricians. It turned out that i had to change my doctor two times due to unintentional reason. I was already in the hospital when suddenly the doctor couldn't come. So, i requested any Obstetricians available at that time, and it brought me to dr Irwan Kreshnamurti, SpOg. In fact, he was accompanying physician in my first baby delivery! I had just realized when he mentioned about it first!
Fyi, i had cesarean delivery before, so my first question to the Obstetricians was whether it is possible or not for having Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). Somehow, i needed to wait and see to know the answer, because it depends on the baby and my condition.
On my second trimester, i went to Japan and Surabaya for business trips. Well, it's such a pleasure yet challenging because i faced an extreme weather in Japan on the first day, and i had to walk a lot in there. But, i think the baby is so adventurous seeing how enthusiast he was in my belly. He kicked so many times! And also, i was very thankful that my boss and my colleague helped me a lot during the business trips. :D :D :D
My baby was expected to be born on the end of July. I consulted with the doctor whether it is ok for me to take maternity leave start on middle of July or not, because i still had to take care few things at works. Dr Irwan also suggested the same time to start the leave, so i decided to start the maternity leave on July 9th. I planned to join pregnancy exercise course on that week. On the same week, dr Irwan also would like to check and discuss whether i need another cesarean delivery or VBAC. Unfortunately, started on that week, my husband would have to leave for 6-month-training, and only be able to go home on the weekend.
Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018, i was quite surprised that all new clothes, blankets, etc for the baby i bought through online shop already coming to my office. I expected them to come on the next two days. At that times, i brought it all home. After went home, i felt unwell. I was having a fever. The contraction came and went very often. And on the midnight, i couldn't sleep because the contraction was getting more often. Started at 3 am in the morning, i realized that the contraction is on-off every 15 minutes. 'Am i going to have the delivery soon?', the question came to my mind. But, i thought that it might be false alarm. I had just met the doctor exactly a week a go, and everything seems normal, the expected date still 3 weeks later. Then i decided to go to the hospital just to make sure before go to office. I insisted my husband to accompany me and bring the bag that already been prepared for my baby delivery, in case i need to be hospitalized right away. Thank God i already prepared the bag a week before.
Oh well, in the birthing room, the midwife checked my contraction, and it's already twice per 10 minutes. At that time, the cervical opening was already 4 cm. I was still on my 36th week. We were waiting for the doctor, and i needed to ask him question about c-section and VBAC. We planned to decide on the next week, but the baby delivery was 3 weeks earlier!
When giving birth to Summer, i only experienced the cervical opening until 5 cm. And this time, it went well until perfect opening, 10 cm, with excruciating pain. Oh pardon my words, but i did feel that way T.T
If i am not mistaken, dr Irwan came to check on me when i was on my 7-cm-opening. He said that the baby position is good. And confidently he said "Yuk, kita coba normal!" ("Let's try normal labour!".red). I was stuttered! Not because i didn't feel glad, but because i was very nervous. I had never done breathing exercise before, i felt not yet prepared mentally and physically for baby delivery. I planned to start the preparation on next week! I told this to the midwife, and they taught me what to do. Oh well, i knew the theory but when the contractions were getting closed to 10 cm, it's difficult to control my self. Alhamdulillah everything went well. VBAC is surely possible to be done. Alhamdulillah i got the experience of cesarean and VBAC. And i believe, that God's timing is a perfect timing. Because the baby was born 3 weeks earlier than expected, i had the opportunity to be accompanied by my husband in the birthing room. To be honest, i was also nervous if i need to give a birth by my self when my husband is not around. Couldn't thank God enough for all things He gave to me. Alhamdulillah.
Usually, in normal labour, both the baby and mom can go home after 3 days. So, i expected to go home on the friday. I have been prepared to go home when suddenly the nurse informed me that the baby need to stay in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and get photo therapy for the next 24 hours because his billirubin level was above normal. I know it's quite common for the newborn baby to have billirubin above normal, especially when the blood type of the baby is different with the mother. But still, i did feel broken-hearted. I was worried a lot thinking about how to breast feed him. The nurse said that it's ok for me to go home, and leaving 60 cc x 3 breast milk for the next 12 hours. It's like a lightning strike. My breast milk was there, but if i suddenly had to prepare 60 cc x 3, it seemed impossible! I even hadn't started to pump it yet! Maybe i was too sensitive but, i felt under pressure. After some discussion, i decided to stay at the guest house across the hospital, and would be ready to come every time the ICU calls to breast feed my baby. I came and went to the ICU every 2 hours. Even though it's only across the street, but walking to the ICU was quite a struggle too. The ICU is on the 4th Floor, i needed to change the lift 2 times, and it took around 10-minutes-walk for me to go there. Even the wound down there was not dry yet.
My mom, sister, and brother came on the next day, first flight from Yogyakarta. Due to the condition, i asked them to come to the guest house directly from the airport then go to my apartment together after baby Regn check-out from the hospital. But the planning needed to be adjusted. Regn's doctor asked to prolong the photo therapy until 5 o'clock in the morning. it meant i need to stay one more night there. Finally, my mom and siblings stayed in the guest house to accompany me. My husband went home to accompany Summer. And the journey continued. Illa, my sister, was the one who accompanied me from guest house-ICU-guest house every two hours. And Ical, my brother, accompanied my mom in the guest house. Oh, i was so glad for having them! I felt more relaxed with their presence.
In short, finally baby Regn could go home after i anxiously and unhappily talked to the nurse that i need to go home soon because my mother's flight home is in the afternoon and she even hasn't seen her grandson yet. Fyi, the test result already came out since 7/8 am, but they said that the doctor wants to see the baby first before giving permission for me to go home. The nurse said that the doctor was on the way to hospital, so they requested me to wait. But well, the doctor finally came on 12! What a waste of time. What made me annoyed is that my mom and siblings only had 3 hours to spend with Summer and Regn after not seeing them for almost a year. I am broken-hearted. Again.
The funny thing was, because it was so sudden, we just looked for the baby box on the night when baby Regn got home, I was too worried to put baby Regn and Summer on the same bed since Summer is very 'active' in sleep.. haha..
Well, that's my second pregnancy experience. Next time, maybe i will post more details about VBAC. See you soon! =)
