Part 1.
Writing this entry had been very difficult. Recounting everything that happened and looking at old pics made me tear for 2 reasons. 1, after the birth of my babies, my grandma was still alive and she saw to my confinement. 2, seeing how small and frail the babies were when they just came into this world made my heart ache for them all over again. However, I am very determined to complete this blog post by tonight.
As you can see, I found it so hard to believe that I bought so many pregnancy test kits to make sure that I wasn't seeing the wrong thing. The ones here are just some of the many that I have tested when I got pregnant. If you remembered, I had a tough pregnancy and was bleeding in the late first trimester and early 2nd trimester. By the mid of my 2nd trimester, I was able to move around and did not have to bed rest as often. This pic was taken just 1 or 2 weeks before I popped. My tummy was really huge and my body was feeling the strain of carrying 2 babies.
On the 24th of Nov, I was sent to the labour ward by my husband because I was having cramps and my tummy hurt. When I reached there, the doctors said I wasn't dilated and not having contractions. But due to the fact that I am carrying twins, I was asked to admit to the hospital. I wanted to save money so I didn't and monitored my condition at home. R thought it was just another false alarm and was feeling super sucky about the whole thing. That night, I felt crampy and woke up and got to the toilet a few times. Each time I was careful to look out for any signs that I might be delivering soon. On the morning of 25th, R was supposed to go for his cousin's wedding in the afternoon. I started to have menses cramps like pain in my abdomen. Thinking it was just another false alarm, he went out to buy breakfast for me. At about 8 plus am, I called R to tell him that I am feeling quite a lot of pain and had the feeling of wanting to go to the toilet to poo. R then said he will buy my favourite wanton mee and then come home. By the time he got home around 10am, I was already in a considerable amount of pain and wasn't able to walk. I had called the hospital as well and had already prepped the doctors on duty of my arrival. My neighbour saw me bending over and helped me to walk to the lift then to the car. In the car, I was perspiring and every few minutes I would feel a pain that's quite new to me. It didn't occur to me that it was contractions until R asked me if I wanted to go KKH cause it was nearer and because he felt that this is probably it and he was afraid I would deliver in the car. That was when I decided to start timing the cramps in my tummy. True enough, every 3 to 4 minutes I was feeling the pain. I insisted to go to NUH and told R that I'm probably in labour. I was scared and at that point I guess I wasn't able to think clearly. I just knew I had to get to the hospital and ask for Prof Biswas.
When I reached NUH, the porter saw I was in pain and immediately helped me onto a wheelchair and wheeled me to the labour ward while R parked the car. When I got there, I was asked to get onto the bed and the nurse quickly removed my underpants. A quick check showed that I was already 2cm dilated and the water bag was protruding and about to burst. At that point of time, I was in a mixture of shock, disbelief, worried and a little excited. I was worried that the babies would arrive so prematurely and that their health will be at risk. But yet, I was excited to see them and frankly, a little relief that the pregnancy will be over. (later on I would terribly miss being pregnant) It was about slightly after noon when Prof Biswas came and ordered the ventolin drip for me. I was hooked up to the CTG machine and various drips. My BP and heart rate was being monitored every hourly and I was given laughing gas to help with the pain. (More pics on that in the next post.) At that point of time, the reality of me going through labour started to sink in.
I would like to end this post, albeit a little abruptly by telling you that if I could do this all over again, I will still gladly and bravely go ahead with it. Nothing beats having these 2 kiddos in my life. And everything I did and went through, was just so damn worth it.
Mooing,
J
