@ The Bum

A handful of people appeared skeptical and raised an eyebrow (or two) when I said I'll be giving birth in Bangkok instead of glorious Singapore. They had genuinely asked about the standards of medical services here in Thailand. Mostly, they were just being skeptical given Thailand is considered a third world country and wondered if it is a dodgy place to entrust birthing and health matters. I attest it certainly is not.

On the contrary to what most people believe of a third-world country, the medical facilities and services of private hospitals like Bumrungrad (aka 'The Bum' in my dictionary) or Samitivej just to mention a few, are actually of international standards. No doubt the prices are relatively higher than the government or public hospitals, but it is well worth the higher price for a peace of mind; especially when Thai is not your native language. One thing for sure, the costs of private hospitals in Bangkok are pretty competitive, and I do believe are relatively cheaper than what you might eventually pay for the private hospitals in Singapore.

For instance, specific to birthing, Bumrungrad has 3 different packages (Prices are estimated based on recent memory as I have forgotten the exact costs):

1. Natural Delivery without pain relievers (based on 3 days 2 nights stay): ~46K THB (~1.9 K SGD)
2. Natural Delivery with epidural (based on 3 days 2 nights stay): ~ 56K THB (2.3K SGD)
3. Ceasarian (based on 4 days, 3 nights stay): ~ 66K THB (~ 2.7K SGD)

For the above packages, you get a standard room. Of course, additional charges apply for services, medication and extension of stay. Nonetheless, you pretty much have the ward to yourself and the room is equipped like a hotel room. Each standard ward comes with a one person patient-bed, with a couch for a family member who is allowed to stay for the night. Silver Bullet said the couch is quite comfy, too! On top of that, there is a flat-screen TV, a free WIFI connection, a fridge, a microwave oven, a wardrobe, a safe, a computer keyboard and monitor and an array of room services!You gotta admit that for a 'standard', it is actually pretty decent!

The "Standard" Room @ The Bum

One thing that I thought is pretty cool is the birthing room itself for those opting a natural delivery. As far as I know, there is only one such room in Bumrungrad. I, of course, had the privilege of staying in this room for almost the whole day when I was in labour. The room was equipped with a different type of bed and unlike those in the normal wards, they put in a rocking chair, a radio, yoga mats and those big bouncy exercise balls which I believe are used to cope with labour pains. The bathroom itself has a bathtub that is meant to be used for water delivery should such means of delivery is desired.

Took some pictures of the birthing room while I was in between contractions...but had forgotten to take one of the bathroom! Those bouncy balls were damn useful distractions for when the contraction starts. Here is one with the very un-glam me on the bouncy balls fighting off hours of contractions.

Not too dodgy at all, I'd say!

The Recovery

[Warning: A lengthy blog post]

It has now been more than 20 days post my C-Sect and I still don’t feel a hundred percent.

My recovery since the delivery via Cesarean has been pretty slow. While my doctor assured that most women are up and about within a day or two from the C-Sect surgery, I struggled pretty darn hard. Some of my colleagues even testified they did not feel a thing after the surgery and could pretty much walk around as if nothing had happened within a day. It was disheartening to hear such stories when I can’t even get out of bed on the first day after. In fact, I had trouble getting back on my feet even after the 3rd day of the surgery. I still remember the sharp, intense pain the moment I put my foot down on the ground. The pain was paralyzing. It felt as if a serrated knife was continuously jabbing my abdomen. The pain was relentless. It was so intense that I could not even walk to the bathroom on my own which was less than 5 meters away from my bed. I was so pathetic that I had to call for help each time I need to go to the bathroom. Having a shower was a feat, and I could not do it without any assistance. I could hardly stand as every step was a cry for help. That was how bad it was. It was obvious that my usually high threshold of pain did not prepare me for this one.

I felt that whatever dignity I had before the C-Sect, it all was stripped off of me as nurses manhandled me, stripping me off my clothes as I lie paralysed in bed out of numbness from the anesthetic for a few days and then stripped me naked in the shower in their bid to assist me to clean-up after myself. The entire thing was such an ordeal physically and to a certain extent, mentally too.

I was pretty much bed-bound for a few days, but I tried very hard to walk around in the hope that I’ll recover faster. It felt like a bad experience…a bad dream, but I was determined to be able to get back on my feet as soon as possible. My! How I tried. And I tried, and I tried. I had only managed to slowly hobbled, and that was with some human support or the wheelchair on my 4th day. Even so, I cannot stand on my feet for too long. Every movement was not without effort. I never thought this would be so hard on me. It was as if my body was just rebelling. I did not feel like everything was normal.

It was only on the 5th day that the pain subsided a little. I was able to hobble a little faster and by the end of the day, I could walk myself to the bathroom…but only very, very slowly. Things got better later in the evening and I became fit to be discharged on the 6th day. It was not without any pain.

It was not easy coming home with a helpless newborn and at the same time, trying to adhere to doctor’s advice of getting a good rest, eat proper meals, not to strain or not carrying heavy things myself. Not having enough sleep from then on did not help very much either. I was barely operating at 50% which continued on for another week…on top of being deprived further of sleep.

I am only glad that I have also heard stories from other women whose recovery were just as slow. Our neighbour is a good example when she had her baby 3 months ago. I am glad I was not alone experiencing such difficulty. I was bummed for not being able to go for natural delivery, but I did not rule out having to go for C-Sect given the circumstances. Perhaps, I just was not prepared for the outcome. Thailand is a country with 80% Cesarean rate as most Thai women would prefer to be cut up than having to go through the pain of natural delivery. It makes me wonder how their brains really work, given the aftermath of the surgery can be a difficult one. It goes to show that no two women are the same, and that our bodies react in different way as they go under stress. It just seemed that mine was not cooperating too well.

I am, however, glad that at this very moment, I am feeling much much better than I did 2 weeks ago. I am still not a hundred percent, but there has been some stark improvement. Given my personal experience on this, again, it makes me realise the challenges of a single mom if they were to go through what I went through. I am thankful for all the help and support I have gotten so far from my husband, our nanny as well as my family. Recovery should be getting a lot easier from here.

The Last Stretch

That last stretch of the pregnancy was a rather trying time for me. Not only was Spud almost 3  one and half weeks overdue from the estimated delivery date (EDD), there were also no signs whatsoever indicating that the baby would be out any time soon. [3 1/2 weeks overdue if calculated from 38 weeks i.e. @ 38 weeks, the baby is considered fully baked and can be delivered]. After my 38th week, there were still no contractions, no baby’s engagement (she was not low enough), no cervical mucus and virtually zero dilation of the cervix. I basically had NOTHING. Spud seemed rather chilled out being in my womb for an extended amount of time. That three and half weeks of extended time felt like eternity and it took a toll on me and my mood. I was on the verge of depression; even seeking help with alternative therapy to induce with foot reflexology, acupuncture and hypnotherapy.

This is me 3 days prior to delivery (41 weeks + 1 day), looking all poofy and swollen...with still no signs of Spud coming out anytime soon.

When labour finally came, I had a hard time going into labour-proper in my quest for a natural birth. My contractions had started on a Thursday night and continued on into the whole of Friday. By early Saturday morning at 3 am, the contractions became 5 minutes apart and while my water has yet to break, we decided to just head out to the hospital as it felt like delivery was imminent. They basically put me in a delivery room and monitored my contractions for the whole of that Saturday. Even with intense contraction at 98%, I still have only dilated by 1 cm. It remained at 1 cm even after I was induced with oxytocin in the evening. All in all, my contractions lasted for almost 3 days and never actually resulted in what they called "active” labour. God knows how much longer it will take for my cervix to dilate to 10 cm for me to go for natural labour, given that I haven’t had any sleep since Thursday! And even if we had persevered and waited for me to go into active labour, we wondered if I actually would have any strength left to push, since I haven’t slept for more than 48 hours. I was lucky to have a supportive and obliging doctor, who pretty much stood by us most of the entire time. While he did give his professional advice, he never once imposed his opinion on us.

In the end, we decided to go with the dreaded Cesarean after having been advised that my amniotic fluid is getting lower that it should. In a matter of minutes, I was wheeled into the surgery room, and was promptly attended by several nurses and an Anesthecian. I felt manhandled and violated like a shrimp on a stick about to be barbecued as they administered epidural. Despite being on a high and light-headed the entire time, I didn’t like the experience one bit as I felt (and still do!) traumatised by it. I think I may have told the Anesthecian to EF Off  at one point in time when she fussed about me and my spine as I felt the pain. I tried my best to stay still, but it was almost impossible since I could FEEL the pain in my spine despite being numbed and all; and how dare she complained to the doctor telling him I was not co-operating!  (I figured she told on me as soon after, my doctor showed up and told me gently that I need to co-operate! WTF! Damn Biotch!)

The next thing I knew, Silver Bullet was by my side and I heard wailing in the background. Out of nowhere, I was presented with a lump of red flesh wrapped in a blue cloth. I remembered feeling rushed and fussed as strangers around us started clicking their cameras at us and telling me stuff I could not absorb at that point in time, given my not-so-sober state. Everything was a little blur, but I recall going in and out of consciousness while they whisked Silver Bullet away as my doctor was sewing me up. They then put me in a recovery room for 2 hours right after that. I remembered feeling a little miffed at the entire thing as I felt isolated without my husband (who was not allowed in the Recovery Room with me) and my newborn child. At some point though, whilst still in the Recovery Room, they brought Spud to me for my very first breastfeeding. The sight left me more amused and bewildered than anything else.

It felt like eternity before I saw Silver Bullet again in a ward where I was to recover for several more days. After texting a few close friends telling them about the safe delivery, I was then lulled into sleep by a very powerful painkiller that was administered intravenously. That sent me a-flying immediately. I was in happy land for the night! (And not so happy in the next few days to come!)

The crucial must-have picture that everyone has right after delivery!

Mimosas?

We recently noticed a new specimen of plant in our used-to-be empty pot at our balcony. Don't exactly know where they come from, but I'm pretty certain none of us had planted what looked like a mimosa plant to add on to our green collection!  Strange that.

The road to "freedom"

Looking back, I did have a relatively easy pregnancy. There were small inconveniences; but unlike most stories I have heard, I did not have terrible morning sickness or having to do any bed rest or have to frequently miss work. In fact, I did not feel pregnant until I was in my 36th week  For most part of the time, I even forget that I was actually pregnant, and was only duly reminded of my condition when my tummy got bigger in the last trimester. I was also very active throughout my entire pregnancy, working right till the very end of it.

I was, however, a little on the ''sensitive" side - a bit of a softie, easily irritable and a little fussy with things and want things MY way. But! my bouts of irritability were in fact, pretty minimal. All things considered, I did not have any violent mood swings or was even remotely temperamental. In fact, I was relatively happy and easy-going for most, if not all of the time.

Up until the last stretch, that is.

I don’t know how other women can rave so much about how much they have enjoyed being pregnant. I can only say I tolerated it. As said, despite having it relatively easy, there were many, many small inconveniences which I had to deal with. They royally annoyed the crap out of me. So annoying that I now have an entire list of rant on what they did not tell me about pregnancy!

Contrary to what most women feel, I do not miss being pregnant. Far from it. At this point, boy! Oh boy! Am I glad to be un-pregnant. I'm probably missing all the good bits about pregnancy, but really! what was so enjoyable about being pregnant again?

Am I just A.B.normal?

Doting Grams

Spud getting a lot of attention from Nya-yi (Grandma) and Yai-yi (Grandpa) when they came by for a visit last week.

I think Spud have taken really well to Nya-yi since she is almost always immediately quiet when my mom held her whenever she has that wailing bouts. One thing I know for sure, like cats, babies and kids seem to just take to my mom like magnets. She does have a way with people and animals, this grandmother! :)

Bureaucracy

This is just annoying. Do you know that despite the fact that one of the parents is already a Singaporean and in order to apply for a Singapore passport for newborns who are born outside of Singapore, the (parents of)child  has to first apply for a Singapore Citizenship which may take 3-6 months to process BEFORE one can apply for the passport proper?

What happen to granting an automatic citizenship by descent because the  mother is already a Singaporean? Talk about inconvenience by bureaucracy!