My twins @11 days...

This is what you have been waiting for... here's a mini-video of the twins in action!!

My birth story on 23 Nov 2007 ...

I had been so busy with the twins since discharged, and also nursing my wound... Finally, I found some time to pen down my birth story, which is a planned c-section.

Here's the sequence of events:

22 Nov 2007
11.30pm:
sleepless night for both hubby and I as c-section is scheduled at 8.30am the next day. no food and drinks from 12 midnight onwards so had a light snack @11.15pm before settling down to sleep ... ...

23 Nov 2007
5.40am:
had a good shower and get ready to set off with hospital bag and cord blood storage kit in tow.

6.15am:
off we go to Mt Alvernia Hospital, with mother-in-law... keke... hubby was pretty nervous and needed some support.

6.40am:
arrival at Mt Alvernia Hospital and was directed to labour ward. Given meds to clear bowels, draw blood for blood test, get changed etc. while hubby went to settle the admission details.

8am:
all ready to go into OT. The nurse informed that my gynae had arrived and is currently doing a c-section for another patient. I'll be next!!

8.15am:
wheeled to just outside the OT to await my turn. Hubby was with me and soon the anaesthetist came to brief us on what to expect.

8.30am:
the time has come! wheeled into OT and before I know it, I am knocked out...

8.53am:
Twin 1, the boy arrived, weighing 2.845kg.

8.57am:
Twin 2, the girl arrived, weighing 2.24kg.

10am:
I woke up from my drowsy state and hubby and mother-in-law was outside the OT to receive me. They were telling me excitedly about the twins when they first saw them. The girl was wailing away while the boy had a very contented look on his face... keke.. They updated me that both babies are of good birth weights and doing well.

The final countdown.... 2 more days to go!

D-day is just 2 days away! My c-section is scheduled this Fri, 23 Nov @8.30am. During yesterday's check-up, everything is going well. My gynae was very pleased that I managed to hold the twins till now and asked me to endure for just another couple more days! keke...

I checked with him about my itch problem and also pain at the left wrist and he said that these symptoms could all be due to water retention. Once the water retention goes off after pregnancy (could take a few days or a few weeks), all these symptoms should subside.

After the check-up, we went for a family dinner at Wen Yan Lou at Jurong East. My hubby parked at the multi-storey carpark and there's a pillar near the front car door when I got out of the car. I told my hubby that its too narrow for me but he insisted that it should be fine. My mother-in-law helped me and indeed, I managed to get out of the car. The gap was just nice... keke... Then we realised that I am trapped because the gap between the pillar and car is too narrow for me to get through!! Ha ha... The scene was really quite comical!! In the end, my hubby had to drive a little forward so that I can move from behind and get out from the other side!! All of us had a good laugh over this incident.

The food is pretty good; I enjoyed the seafood claypot and bamboo clams best! My sister-in-law indeed made a few great choices! Marcus, my godson, as usual, was very curious and fasinated by my bulging tummy and kept putting his ears to my tummy to detect movements or crying, keke...

Can't stand the itch!!

I had been having restless nights for the past week, mainly due to super itchy legs, especially the shin area! Even the tummy and arms are sometimes itchy, although not as bad as the shin area... I just discovered from the motherhood forum friends that this could be due to Palmers stretchmark cream. One of them had the same problem as me and shared that the rashes subsided after she stopped using it! For me, the itch seemed to have started only after I switched from Clarins tonic oil to Palmers stretchmark cream recently. Hmmm, looks like I should stop using it and see if the itch subsides!

How to increase milk supply when breastfeeding...

I had been reading and asking around about breast feeding because I need to supply milk for 2!! I've heard a lot of recommendations from friends about drink fish and papaya soup and now, finally got the recipe from a friend at motherhood forum! Here it goes....

Ingredient
200g green(unripe) papaya
fish bones or a white fish (eg carp, snakehead, sea bream, pomfret and kurau or threadfin)
slices of ginger

Instructions
In order not t waste the fish meat, use the bones, head and tail to simmer the soup.

1. Scale and clean the fish.
2. Simmer together with pieces of papaya and ginger for 1-2 hrs or until it becomes soft.
3. Remove the bones before serving it.

To boost milk supply, take consecutively for three days.

For those who opted for c-section, it is recommended to consume this soup only after your wound has healed.

Happy breastfeeding!! ;P

D-Day is coming...

I went for check-up this morning and the babies are so cramped up that the gynae says there's no way to determine the estimated weight! The reason being that he can't figure out where the legs are! Haha... The babies are pretty active though, squirming here and there when the scan was being done. All we can do is to listen to their heartbeat to know that they are doing well.

As I had been having contractions now and then, my gynae did warned that I could go into labour anytime... If the contractions are at regular intervals and continuous for a few hours, I'll need to alert him immediately! Oh my, on hearing this, it suddenly dawned on me that D-Day could be anytime and my maid will only be coming in this Thursday! Luckily, we had made arrangements to shift in with my parents-in-law by this weekend and she'll be in charge of training the maid. (Well, she has vast experience in this area, having had a maid to help with my sister-in-law's kids since 9 years ago...)

Nevertheless, we discussed with the gynae and booked 23rd November for c-section. That would be 36+ weeks and the twins would be better developed by then. Keeping fingers crossed that they would stay in mummy till then!

Pain in pubic area...

Since yesterday, I had been experiencing pain around my pubic area, especially when I stood up after sitting for some time. The pain is so bad that I had to just stand still for a while before I start walking!! And I had to walk like a tortise because each step taken just added to the pain... Even changing position when lying down causes the pain! Arghhh...

I called my gynae this morning and the nurse said that the pain could be due to the babies pressing on some ligaments near the pubic area. I was told to observe further and come down to see my gynae if the pain gets worse.

Well, I am not too sure if this pain is due to SPD (symphysis publis dysfunction), otherwise known as pelvic joint pain. I shall observe further the symptoms and discuss with my gynae during my next visit.

Really hope that the pain will go away soon! I had been talking to my babies to be good and not press on mummy's ligaments.