Pregnancy and Delivery

Adam's EDD was 30 Aug 2008. Even after walking every inch of IKEA, Curve and KLCC on 31st Aug, there was still no sign of labour. As I have mentioned in my last post before the delivery, Dr Aziz asked me to come for induction on the night of 1st Sept should nothing happen in between. Based on his last scan, the baby was already quite big and if we wait further, the baby might grown to 4kg and that might cause problem.

So there I was in the Labour Room on midnight of 1st Sep. The nurse helped to induce me and was asked to sleep. I couldn't really sleep. The contraction was not that bad but as my husband bunked in with me it was not that comfortable. Morning came and the contraction was still bearable. Dr Aziz came and checked but he said there was no opening yet. By noon, the contraction was a little stronger but it was still bearable. I would say I have experienced something more painful than that. When Dr Aziz came in again at noon, there was still no progress so he recommended for emergency cesarean. He said we could still wait if I want to but he said there is a possibility the baby's heart rate will drop by the evening. So his advise was to have it in the afternoon when both the baby's and my heart rate were still okay.

I agreed to it and by 3.00pm I was pushed to the OT. My hubby was not allowed to go in as it was not a scheduled cesarean. The anesthetist performed local anesthetic and was kind enough to hold my hand throughout the procedure. He was like a narrator telling me what my gynea was doing. At 3.38pm I heard Adam cried for the first time. After the nurses cleaned him, I hold him for the first time. Frankly, I couldn't describe how I felt at that time. There was this 3.74kg baby in my hands with his eyes roaming around the room. I just stared at him not knowing how to react.

When Dr Aziz came to see me later, he told me that Adam's head was still floating and not engaged yet. He said for the my next pregnancy, we will have to check the pelvic opening to know if it is big enough or not. I could not really digest what he said then.

Recently when hubby said he is ready for another child, Dr Aziz's words lingered back. Here are the questions I had and the answers I get when I did my little research to understand the situation.

Q: Why was I induced after only 2 days late? I heard others waited for as long as 2 weeks prior to being induced.
I put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy. It was beyond the normal average. Though Dr Aziz did scan to gauge the size of the baby, it might not be accurate. By scanning, he could only estimate the weight of the baby. As we are aware, baby grows exponentially in the final few weeks of pregnancy. If we were to wait for a week, Adam could have grown to 4kg and huge baby not only makes it hard to deliver normally, there are many risks associated with post term pregnancy.

Q: So why was there no progress when I have been induced?
There are 2 possibilities. First is Adam is not ready yet as it was only 2 days after EDD. Only 5% babies are delivered on EDD. 95% are delivered 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the EDD. Secondly, there is a possibility that my pelvic opening is not big enough for Adam to pass through. The size of the opening has nothing to do with one's body frame.

Q: So why didn't my Doctor checked the size of my pelvic opening before he induce me?
I was told that doctors are taught to check the size of the opening using their bare hands. That sounds scary right? Other than that, they could either X-Ray the pelvic bone or do an MRI if you are already pregnant. MRI is expensive! I was told by my sister that in a government hospital in Indonesia, it already costs RM800 what more in a private hospital in Malaysia. The cheaper option is X-Ray but of course it has to be done prior to your pregnancy.

So now, before I am pregnant again, I have to see a gyne to x-ray my pelvic bone. If it is found that the opening is small, I could opt for elective cesarean that would be much cheaper than the emergency cesarean I had before. If it is found the opening is big enough, should the next child(ren) decided to stay longer in the womb, we could wait until they are really ready and have normal delivery.

The reason I had to do the research and all is because we decided to go to a nearer gynea and hospital this time around. As much as I love Dr Aziz and his team, it's not an option as they are too far. It was okay before as there were only hubby and me and I stayed at my father's condo in my last few months of pregnancy. With Adam around, and he might be in school by the time we will have our second child, we have to make a realistic choice and find a good gynea in Shah Alam instead.

P/s: My apologies if I mixed up the jargons and medical term. I am not a medical professional and this entry is explained by what I understand of the situation. Your feedback is most welcome :)

Weight and Pregnancy

Was browsing trough the internet and found this interesting article. Here is a snippet of the article:

How much weight should a woman gain during pregnancy?

It is considered normal to gain 10 to 12kg (22 to 26lb).
For practical reasons the pregnancy is divided into three periods:

• the first period runs from week 0 to 12 where it is normal to gain 1 to 2kg (2 to 4lb).

• the second period runs from weeks 12 to 28 in which it is normal to gain 300 to 400g (10 to 14oz) a week.

• the third period runs from weeks 28 to 40 and it is normal to gain 1 to 3kg (2 to 6lb) a month.

It is not necessary to be obsessive about your weight during pregnancy. Many obstetricians have stopped weighing women other than at their first visit because the information is of little use in detecting problems with the mother or her baby.
However, excess weight gain is probably best avoided since most women will want to return to the same dress size within a few months of delivery.

Where do the extra kilos come from?

• A total weight increase of about 11.2kg (24lb) is normal.

• A baby weighs approximately 3.5kg (7lb 11oz) before birth.

• The uterus grows to approximately 900g (1lb 14oz).

• The placenta weighs approximately 650g (1lb 6oz).

• The amniotic fluid weighs approximately 800g (1lb 12oz).

• The woman's breasts grow by approximately 400g (14oz).

• The weight of the extra blood is approximately 1.25kg (2lb 12oz).

• Water retained in the body tissues weighs approximately 2kg (4lb 6oz).

• The layer of fat beneath the skin weighs approximately 1.7kg (3lb 11oz).

So mommies out there, the next time someone made fun of you saying that the baby is only 3kg but you gained 10kg, shove them the list :)

P/s: No, I am not pregnant. Not yet ;p

Roti Paun

If you have been to Terengganu, you might noticed the sign "Roti Paung (Terengganuspeak for Paun) Panas" almost everywhere. My favourite roti paung is sold at Shell Batu Buruk under the label Ngor Bites or something of that effect.

My guess, roti paung or paun came from the word pound. Maybe 1 batch of roti paung weighs 1 pound. Anyway, if you have tried roti paung before, you would notice that they are very soft and the structure is so simple. Even after a few days, the bread would still be soft and one would not satisfy you as they are made into small little buns.

Anyway, as you might have known, my latest hobby is trying out new recipes. Last night, I decided to try MamaFami's Roti Paun. In her blog she gave credit to Bro Rozzan and rnana. I have tried a few recipes from MamaFami before and they all turned out well. So I decided to give this a try. It might not be the best roti paun I ever tasted but it sure is one of the best :)

Here is the recipe posted in MamaFami's Blog:

ROTI PAUN
Source : rnana @ Forum Komuniti Teratak

Ingredients :

1/2 cup luke warm water
1 egg (large)
300 g flour
80 g sugar (my scale is not that accurate so I convert it to 2/5 cups*)
20 g milk powder (1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
1/2 teaspoon bread softener
1/4 teaspoon (heap) bread improver
1 tablespoon margarine

Method : (using Bread Maker)

1. Pour the lukewarm water into the bread maker pan. Add in egg.
2. Add in flour, sugar, milk powder, instant dried yeast, bread softener and bread improver.
3. On the bread maker to Dough setting. (This setting will takes about 1 1/2 hour to finish it's cycle.)
4. Once the dough is just combined, add in the margarine. Let the BM continue it's process. (I added the margarine with the liquid)

the dough is ready

5. After about 1 1/2 hour, remove the dough from the pan and divide to 63g each. Make into round balls and leave to rest for 10 minutes. (my balls were about 60+grams each and I managed to get only 8 balls. To make the ball,  just pull the top skin to the bottom of the ball so it made a clear smooth top)

The size is not the same as those that has been shaped will raise while you shape the others

6. Grease a 9 x 9 inch pan with margarine and coat with a bit of flour. Remove the access flour. (I use round pan as I only got 8 balls of dough. I skipped the greasing part because I used non-stick baking tray)

7. Shape the balls again and place them in the prepared tin. (As my favourite roti paung has margarine taste at the bottom, I decided to insert some margarine in a few of the balls)

put the margarine at the bottom of the dough

then you pull the dough from top to hide the margarine 

Wrap the tin and let the dough prove again. In my case, I left it for more than 2 hours. (I left it for 2 hours 15 minutes and covered the pan with wet towel)

cover the pan with wet towel

8. When the dough is double the size, bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 20 to 25 minutes. (I baked for 20 minutes)

the dough ready to be baked

as my oven's heat is not equally spread, I had to turn the pan after 10 minutes

9. Once out of the oven, brush with margarine for a shiny effect.

fresh from the oven

after the shiny effect

the bottom - the yellow part are the ones with margarine inside it

the inside texture

You can enjoy it on its own or dunk it in Nescafe/Milo. Yummy!

* Conversion Table that I use:

Gram To Volume Chart

Product	Grams Per Cup	Grams Per Ounce	Grams Per Teaspoon	Grams Per Tablespoon
Baking powder, double acting			4.6 grams
Baking soda			4.6 grams
Butter	227			14.2 grams
Buttermilk	245	30.60 grams per fl
Flour, all purpose	125
Flour, whole wheat	120	15 grams per oz	2.5 grams	7.5 grams
Gelatine, unflavored	227	28.38 grams	4.7 grams
Oil, olive	216			13.5 grams
Oil, vegetable  (liquid)	218			14 grams
Peanut butter	258
Rice, long grain, white	185
Salt, table	292
Shortening, vegetable or lard (solid)	205			12.8 grams
Sugar, brown	220		4.6 grams
Sugar, granulated	200		4.2 grams
Sugar, powdered (unsifted)	120		2.5 grams	8 grams
Vanilla Extract	208		4.2 grams	13 grams
Water	237	29.57 grams
Yeast, bakers, dry active	224	28.00 grams

Review on Adam's stuff - Part 2

We meet again in Part 2.

'Lamaze' Zebra Rattle

This pic was taken when Adam was almost 2 months. Why the inverted comma? Because I am not really sure if it is a real Lamaze toy or not. I bought it at a very small store in K.Terengganu for RM9.90 if I am not mistaken. When I tried to google for the picture, could not find it in Lamaze website but found it in 1 Thailand website and in 1 local online shop. The online shop is selling it for RM29.90. 

Anyway, the zebra's legs has magnetic ends. So it could clasp together when I put it around Adams's leg. I love it because it helps Adam to exercise his tummy, neck, arm and leg. He will try to kick it off his leg and then he will try to lift his head to see what was that stupid thing Mommy put at his leg and after a few days, I noticed he tried to grab it using his hand. I believe small babies should have some exercise to strengthen their muscles instead of just lying around and sleep :)

Playgym

I can't recall what brand is this playgym but I remember buying it for less than RM60 at Giant. I personally feels that every baby deserves a playgym. It allows them to exercise their legs and hands while lying on their back and exercise their neck and hand muscle when they are on their tummy. Don't worry of SID. Just make sure you are not sleeping while they are playing on their tummy. From my experience, Adam turned his head just a few minute after I put him on his tummy for the first time (he was 9 days old). 

 Adam was about 3 months in this picture. If your child seems to be bored with his/her playgym, just buy those dangling toys and add on to your existing ones and you will have a new set of friends for your little one :) I know in the market there are alot of playgym ranging from RM50 to RM300. The trick is, find one that is washable and "modifieable" (the toys can be rearranged or you can add more toys)

Lamaze Spin and Explore Garden Gym

This is one of my favourite! Saw it at an online shop and was drooling over it for a few days before I click the 'buy' button. Was contemplating at first because it was above RM100 and what if Adam doesn't like it? Initially, Adam was not a fan of the spinning ladybird. He will cry every time I tried to put him on it. After a while, he got used to it and will spin around the mat playing with all the little toys attached to it.

You can also remove the spinning ladybird and put your baby right on top of the mat. Adam loves the mirror attached to the mat. And of course, this mat and the cover for the spinning ladybird are washable! If you haven't have one, and your baby is still small, go and get it! :) Here is the top view of the gym.

Baby Cot Mobile

Ours was a present from a family friend I guess. The original video has Adam 'talking' to the bears for more than 8 minutes! That is long enough for me to change his diaper and clothes. I found cot mobile a big help especially when you need to change baby diaper. Looking at the material I bet it was not that expensive but we love it! It's just a simple cot mobile with bears making a circle and a simple musical background. Recently, my mom and I tried to look for something simple like this but all those in Toys R Us are wayyyyy above RM100. If you found one like this at less than RM100, do give me a buzz as my sister in law is looking for one.

bebePOD plus

I can still recall this moment. Adam was trying hard to pull off the toy from the tray. I love this bebePOD as it allows baby to sit wayyy before they can sit on their own. When Adam was bigger and started eating solid food, this bebePOD helps to make sure Adam sit still throughout his meal. Kalau tak, sibukla nak merangkak sana sini. Why I chose this over Bumbo Seat? Because it is much much much softer and comfortable compared to Bumbo Seat. You can either attach the toy to the tray, or just have the tray, or you can just take off the tray. BebePOD comes in 3 different colours.

For me, the downside is its price. You can almost buy 2 bumbo seat with the price of 1 bebePOD plus. The choice is yours :)

Happy Safari Lion Mirror

Adam loves this mirror! As you might have already known, babies looove mirror! Adam still plays with this mirror till today! I was lucky I found this on sale at Mothercare. As much as Adam loves it, I don't think I would pay for its original price. Wayy to pricey for a mirror :) Maybe if I live in UK and earn in pound, than this lion is worth the price :)

Guess that would be all for today. Will do some more if I have the time :)

Vaccination for your child(ren)

A couple of weeks ago, my cousin's 6 months old daughter was hospitalized for diarrhea caused by rotavirus. She was hospitalized for about a week. It was heart breaking to see the drip bandaged to her hand. Last week, a friend to my friend lost her 15 months baby due to diarrhea and rotavirus, again, was the culprit. I was told the virus has creeped into her central nervous system and infected her brain. The baby had diarrhea so the parents brought her to a clinic and was given some medicine. After 2 days her condition did not improve so they brought her to a private hospital and were told the baby was already dehydrated. After 5 days on life support system, she left to heaven.

Both babies did not take extra immunisation apart from those made compulsory by the government. And both could actually be prevented if they have taken the rotavirus vaccine. The first mother was not even aware of the existance of rotavirus vaccine while the second mother thought it was too expensive. It costs about RM600 to RM750 for 3 shots. But the cost for not taking it? More than RM2k for the first case and the life of the baby for the second case.

When Adam was younger, I took the initiative to ask Adam's paed and the doctor in our local clinic for advise on whether we should take the additional vaccines. My favourite book on childcare, "What to Expect" series also listed the vaccines that are made compulsory in developed countries. That was how I learned about the importance of vaccination.

At first it was hard to convince my husband as it costs alot of money, and I had just had a caesarian which costs us alot more money. After I made my case, he finally agreed to it. My mom was not too happy at first as she said I gave Adam too many shots so to her it was like so many chemical going into that little boy's body. So I explained to her what vaccination is all about and now she is the one who encouraged other new parents to give the additional vaccines for their baby.

During vaccination (most but not all), the doctor will insert a weak or dead disease germ into our body. That is how our body will develop its own defence system (antibodies) to protect ourselves against the germs. So, the next time a real strong germ attack, our body can already recognize it and do what needs to be done to shoo them away. Some of these antibodies could remember the germs for the rest of our life. But some, needs a periodical reminder that is why sometimes we have to take the booster shot.

So, what additional vaccines can you get for your child(ren)? I am not qualified to recommend them to you but these are the additional vaccines we took for our little Adam:

1) Rotarix (Rotavirus vaccine) - at 2, 4, 6 months. It helps to fight Rotavirus, the main cause for severe diarrhea in babies.

2) Prevenar (Pneumococcal vaccine) - at 7, 8, 10 months. If your child is above 1 year, only 2 shots are needed. It helps to fight among others, pneumonia and meningitis. I took this vaccine because each time Adam had flu and cough, he will also gets ear infection apart from the high fever. Upon consulting with our local doctor, she advised us to take the vaccine as Pneumococcus is one of the common bacteria that causes ear infection in young children. So we took the chance hoping to kill 2 birds in one stone. Alhamdulillah, after taking the vaccine, Adam did not have ear infection anymore. So we did kill 2 birds in one stone :)

3) Flu Shot (Influenza Vaccine) - to be taken once a year. My colleague told me that she sent her kids for flu shot every year. At that point of time I was not aware of its effectiveness.We took this shot because Adam was about to go back to my parents' place and my brother was a doctor in the H1N1 ward at that time. So, as a precaution we took the shot. Prior to that, Adam had flu that leads to cough and fever almost every other month. After the shot, he had flu only twice. The first one affected the whole family so it might not be the common seasonal flu and the second time, the colour of the mucus was clear and it went away after 2 days without affecting Adam much. I will definitely continue to get him the annual flu shot.

Hope my experience could help you in making the decision whether or not to spend the extra money on vaccination. But of course, consult your doctor first :)

Random Thoughts

This morning, hubby greeted me with a tough question..
"If you are in a labor and I had to chose between you and baby, whom should I pick?"
"Whatt??!" I was dumbfounded. I had never given this a thought before.
Hubby said it was just a random thought. And he said he would pick the baby.
"Why?"
"So that you can die as a shaheed and will go straight to heaven" said husband with a smile.
"Kalau x belum tentu lagi masuk syurga sebab ayang degil" added him with a bigger smile. Chet!
"But if I were to have the option to die as a shaheed, I will chose it" he added with a serious note.

I hope we would never have to face this. Call me selfish but frankly, my first thought was for him to pick me. I could give birth to more babies if that is what we want. And even if we cannot have a child anymore after that, we already have Adam. And what if we already have a few children who are still very small and need their Mommy. Who would take care of them? Of course my family will give their full support and hubby could even get them a new mommy but it won't be the same right? The sadness and emotional impact on them for losing their Mommy might not be cured forever. And it could impacted more lives than it would be if the baby is the one who sacrifice for his/her Mommy. I mean, we barely know the baby.

Having said these, I haven't really make up my mind. What if I could never get rid of the guilt that will haunt me forever for being so selfish? I don't think I have the heart to live with that. It will eat me alive. Let us just pray I (and all of us) would never have to make this kind of decision.

On another note, have you thought of organ donation? I have been toying with the idea for quite sometime. Initially, just like the above, I was too selfish to give up my organs even if I am already dead. After given it more thought and read all those articles written by Muslim scholars, I felt more open to the idea. As what we read in the media, even if I have the donor card, my family are the ones who own my body upon my death. So, I need to get their blessings first.

Couple of months back, I popped the question to hubby. What does he think about organ donation? He is positive about it and has no objection to it. I haven't bring up the subject to my parents though.

Though it has been quite some time since I first thought about this, I haven't had the time (or courage) to actually go and sign up for it. Let us make this as one of my to-do list this year so by end of the year, my name would be written on one of this:

So what do you think of both issues?

P/s: For more information on organ donation in Malaysia, the process and the likes, you can visit Malaysian Society of Transplantation website.

Final entry for the year?

Punya la malas nak tulis so just wanna share what I had written in FB Notest masa I sibuk2 nak tanam parsley last few weeks..

With help from Mr Wiki and En Wiki, this is what I found:

1. Daun Saderi = Daun Sup = Celery = Apium graveolens

Celery leaves and stalks

Celery Plant

2. Daun ketumbar = Coriander Leaves = Chinese Parsley = Cilantro = Coriandrum sativum

Coriander leaves

Coriander Plant

3. Parsley = Petroselinum crispum

Two main parsley groups used as herbs are:

a) Curly leaf = P.Crispum Crispum Group

Curly leaf parsley plant

b) Italian = Flat leaf = P. Crispum Neapolitanum Group

Italian or Flat leaf parsley

Finger Painting!

After months of toying with the idea of having a finger painting session with Adam and weeks of asking around on how to make the paint, I finally made it! When I was cleaning the study room to make way for my cousin who is staying with me for the time being, I found a roll of mahjong paper and decided it is time to try finger painting with Adam.

After a scrumptious lunch (will blog about this soon) last Saturday, I prepared the paint and stripped Adam down. Actually I wanted to buy yellow, red and blue food colouring but yellow was out of stock so I replaced it with Orange instead.. to mommies or aunties or anyone out there who wants to make your own paint, here is how you do it..

First, you mix some flour, corn flour and water in a bowl.. (you can google for the recipe I just add in until I get the consistency that I thought was right ;p)

Then, you divide the mix into 3 other bowls for 3 different colours.. or as many bowls as you want.. I decided to use 3 colours red, blue and yellow (orange) because I remembered En Ahdan (my form 1 Arts teacher) taught us that these are the 3 basic colours (please correct me if I am wrong). You can get purple, orange, green and many other colours from these 3 colours..

I used these food colours to ensure the paint is edible in case Adam decided he is suddenly hungry and needs to eat the paint..

Just use one or two drops of the colour for each bowl.. Don't worry, the stain on your clothes will be washable :) That is if you use just a drop or two like me.. I dare not guarantee if you use too much of them.. But as precaution, just wear your oldest and darkest pair of shirt..

You will get three bowls of paint like this.. Noticed that each filled less than a quarter of the bowl? This is more than enough for a session with a toddler..

Make sure you cover your floor with newspapers, just in case...

Then, just get a large piece of paper for your child to channel his or her creativity.. I know that if you google it, many of them says get a thick paper or cardboard as the wet paint might tear the paper.. Don't worry about it.. This mahjong paper or any paper will do.. You can always dry it out later if you decide to keep it.. I did not so I don't really care :)

And now, you can start painting!!

It was not easy for me to get Adam to stamp his fingers on the paper.. He preferred to use the brush to paint his body! I hope Adam enjoyed the session because I know I did :)

Here are some pictures of Adam during the session..

At first he ran away and showed his dirty hand saying eeeeiiiiii!!!!

Eeeii!!!! My hands are dirty!!!

It was not an easy task to get him to transfer the paint onto the paper

Then he realised that it feels good to rub the paint on the paper

Hey! I can transfer it to my feet!

Adam used brush to paint the hard to get area

Finish mommy! Can I have some more please..

Let me double check if there is any left..

Thank you Mommy! I had fun!

Tadaaa! Adam's first masterpiece..

In case any of you were wondering, the paints on Adam's body were easy to clean. I just used his normal body shampoo. No need for scrubs whatsoever :)

Good luck trying!