It’s been over 3 weeks since jelly bean arrived and through these exciting times, there’s one thing I never forget-
When I gaze at him, I’m counting my blessings, everyday.
Here’s a big thank you to my supportive friends and family. Couldn’t have come this far without you guys. Of course, the confinement period didn’t feel as bad as what was previously expected but that’s a tale for soother day. 🙂
And as we have it, having entered the delivery suite for induced labour ended in a quick start all-natural labour.
As advised by my gynaecologist, Dr C, we were admitted after midnight to await the morning. A quick explanation from the nurse revealed that the drip medicine will be administered early morning when the doctor came in to break the water bag.
Overnight, a softening medicine would be used to allow a smoother transition. She added, “you will feel like you’re having mild cramps. I’ve even had patients who didn’t feel anything.”
Having mentally readied myself for a restful night, with the CTG machine attached to my belly, I curled up into a ball before getting some shut eye.
Before long, a wave of tightening around my tummy began. Over and over again before increasing in intensity. Apparently, jelly bean had decided it was time to make his appearance.
Fast forward a few hours, the entire delivery took around 5 hours (which we later realised was a rather quick labour period), as we awaited for Dr C to arrive. As I had passed the timing for epidural to be given (wanting to wait out the extended exposure of the epidural drug to my baby), laughing gas was the only available option.
The pain caused by the rolling waves of contraction and involuntary pushing, coupled with the rupture of my water bag threw all preparedness out the window. Deep breathing and focusing on a comforting mental image no longer worked and I knew that all this pushing before the time has come was only going to cause me more hurt than good.
Time ticked by minute after minute as I carefully eyeballed each passing moment, willing time itself to go faster.
With Dr C’s arrival, the nurses quickly pinned me down. Encouraging me to push when told (which I couldn’t adhere to well in my current condition), it took 6 good pushes before being greeted by the arrival of our new born.
Am I still on a euphoric high from seeing this little being come out from me? Most definitely.
Never underestimate the sacrifice your mothers have undergone for you… Having been through child birth itself, I have certainly gained a new level of respect towards all mothers. Especially those who did it without any form of anesthetic.
A while back, we started a debate on what name would best suit our incoming jellybean.
One that holds significant meaning for instance, Lionnel derived from Lion, while Mariel came from my mother’s name, Muriel. In short, significance that could be representative of a personality/ behaviour one can hope to make an impact on our child’s life in future or one of meaning that comes from adopting a name that’s close to home.
Our debate ended with 3 major points:
1. For boys, the name should start with L, and for for girls… well you know the drill.
2. There had to be some form of meaning behind a name. Not a fairytale-spun name which upon my helpful suggestion would have been a combination of both of names- e.g. Ledriel.
3. It had to consist of at least 2 syllabus. This mostly stemmed from the hub’s fascination with pronunciation, and after several verbal testing of certain names (in context with certain dialects and bearing in mind derivations within our local Singlish vernacular); our little experiment was clear. 2 or more syllabus was ideal.
And this set us up for 2 choice names after omitting a slew of others:
Lyod
Leriam
Ledriel
Latham
Lionnel
Lucian
Lucas
Lanchester
Lufstansa (?? )
Lawrence
Leonard
Loren
Lyon
Liam
Of course, our list only contained the letter L and that was an exhaustive list of possible names in itself. For now, we are set. Awaiting the arrival of our little one.
Mariel Wong 