Preemies (Premature Babies)

Sorry Readers for taking such a long time to blog about preemies! Have been so busy with work during the weekends (my only working days ^.^) . Be prepared to see lots of photos which might make you feel a little heartache!

Premature babies are born before 37 weeks gestation. Most premature babies have no long-term health problems, but some babies die as a result of being born too early. The lungs are the last organ to mature and respiratory disease is the most frequent complication for a premature baby. That is why I was given steroids injection before my C-sect.

When the doctors told me that they were out alr, I couldn't believe my ears. I was thinking, "Its either I'm deaf or they are mute". I didn't hear a single cry, I thought they didn't survive or something. The nurses calm me down and told that they were crying just that their respiratory system are still immature so there wouldn't be any sound.

Their Life In NICU @ KKH
Qi was only 3days old. Look at her size, and see how I feed her through a feeding tube. Only 1ml every hour, which is not even 1oz each day! She was on CPAP(continued positive airway pressure) to remind her to breathe as she couldn't breathe on her own the moment she was born.

Han was also 3days old & I nearly lost her....
All I see was tubes all over the incubator, needles into her skin, eye shield over her eyes. I broke down after the doctor told me what happened. She was having PDA(a type of heart defect found in babies because the circulation of a fetus is different from that of a baby who has been born), Pneumothorax(when air leaks from the lungs and is trapped between the lungs and the chest wall), jaundice, suspected of blood infection & desaturated for quite a few times(baby not breathing). Even undergo a surgery, injected with morphine&caffeine, and had a tube punctured into her lungs to drain the air bubbles. She was alr so small, yet have to go through so much pain.

1st month of life.

Still so small & I remembered that Qi's weight went down to 879grams! Omggg can you imagine how small it is?! & they're even shorter than their Papa's feet! :( Han was still having PDA and a hole near her armpit, but luckily no more jaundice & suspection. Just hoping that they will gain weight!

Jiejie (Qi)

Small&tiny :(



 

Meimei (Han)

Incubated can still sleep so cutely, aww..

They spent their 满月 in the incubator. :( & also Han's very first time trying to breathe on her own without CPAP. Was so happy when I finally see her without any tubes around her head!

This was taken in the afternoon but when I went back in the evening, I was told that she barely make it for an hour.



2nd month of life.

Jiejie (Qi)

My first time carrying Qi. I'm so damn nervous cause I have never carried a baby before and she is such a small little one with all those tubes, not even 2kg!

4/12/12, She's breathing on her own, without CPAP!

Second time carrying my little princess :)



 Look at her tongue, so long!



No longer incubated!!!!!



The sweetest smile that melts my heart. Heartwarming. Taken on the 2nd last day of hospitalization!



Meimei (Han) 

First time carrying meimei :)



"I'm above 1.8kg so I don't have to be incubated! :)"







Trying to feed meimei but she desaturated again. :(



 On 8/1/13, SOMEONE IS GOING HOME!!!

Minnie Mouse :) "My romper is so oversized!"

Daddy carrying home ^.^

But, poor Han still had to stay because everytime the nurses tried to feed her, is either she couldn't finish her feed within 30min or she'll desaturate. & she couldn't be latched on too. So when Qi is back home, I still carry on my routine on going to hospital every single day to visit my darling, talk to her & give her support. It carried on for about a month.

On 30/1/12, SHE IS FINALLY ABLE TO GO HOME with conditions....

• I have to learn how to insert the feeding tube for her
• How to perfom CPR on babies

Not something pleasant to do, as I have to insert it from her nose to her stomach. My hands were shaking whenever  I do it for her, too scary. Missed by a cm is not allowed at all! But still, I have to do it in order to bring her home! SO, I DID IT! :)

"YAY for Mummy! :) Its my 2nd last day in hospital, so I gave a wide smile!"

See how chubby she is! Hahahaha!

Han came home with her feeding tube but we took it off within a week! We fed her every hourly to make sure she gets enough milk instead of feeding 3 hourly, struggling to finish her feed.

Luckily she came back before CNY so she gets to wear pretty clothes with Qi! :D

This is my girls's incubated life.

I hope mummies or mtb don't get too worry as KKH has all it takes for premature babies. I have no doubts in their skills and facilities.

As you see them grow, you'll realise how fragile life is &

how strong mothers can be, always protecting our little ones, be by their side as and when we can.

Quote of the day.

" Nothing wins over a mother's love."



Childbirth @ KKH

On 29May2012, I found out that I was pregnant......

After several months of discussion & preparations,

5months



6months

 Gerald & I got married on 30September2012 :)

 

2days after marriage                  vs                 10days before birth

25 Oct 2012 

Went to Amk Hub happily with my sil & mil to get shoes for bil's wedding the next day! Who knows, when everybody is excited bil's wedding, my babies can't wait to attend too. So, middle of the night, I was feeling constant severe abdominal pain & I still didn't know it was contraction till I struggled to the toilet and realised that I was having vaginal bleeding!

 

I lost my muscus plug 2-3weeks before labor! & I totally don't know what is it as I thought it was just normal vaginal discharge.

Mummies-to-be, please take note:

Loss of the mucous plug means that labor will most likely start within the next 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes sooner! If you are more than 36-37weeks, its fine. :) But if you are less than that, inform your Gynae asap! Don't be stupid stupid like me, thought that it was normal.

 

The plug may come out in a lump or as increased vaginal discharge over the course of several days. The mucus may be tinged with brown, pink, or red blood. Having sex or a vaginal exam can also disturb your mucus plug and cause you to see some blood-tinged discharge, even when labor isn't going to start in the next few days. Have been reminding my friend who was having twins as well, to not have sex around her 24weeks! Haha but luckily, she had them till full-term.

 

Admitted to KKH immediately cause the pain was unbearable! It came so strongly at one moment, then slowly died down. But after a few seconds, it came again. When I reached, was already dilated to 6cm. :( Cannot help alr... They gave me 2 shots of steroids to help my babies lungs develop more quickly. I'm only at my 28th week!
 

 26 Oct 2012 

Finally, the last few hours of labor, the pain was overwhelming. I feel like there's a big stone sitting on my pelvis! Must be Qi, cause doc said that Han has alr turned down! Doctors wanted to try to prolong my pregnancy for at least a week! Crazy! I can't imagine having this contraction for 7 days! In the end, they failed. I told them I couldn't take it anymore! Is as if like your shit is coming out but then don't allow you to push!!!

I WAS IN LABOR FOR MORE THAN 24HOURS!!!
Just because they wanted to try to prolong my pregnancy!

Before they pushed me into the operating room for my C-section, I don't know what the hell the nurse fed me, so sour!
(It is called Bicitra, to neutralize your stomach acids so that if you were to vomit during surgery and aspirate it into your lungs you would have less of a risk of pneumonia.) 

It made me shiver so hard that I couldn't even speak properly. Was pretty afraid of what is going to happen next.. :( Thank God, doctors and nurses from KKH were really kind, one of them even talked to me throughout the whole procedure! ♥ Everything lasted for less than hour, I'm glad that things went on smoothly afterwards.

 

Thank you KK Hospital's nurses & doctors for helping me to deliver my girls safely! Their service is very efficient & they really pay close attention to your recovery. Strongly encouraged all mummies, especially mummies-to-be with twins to deliver in KKH, as they really provide and answer to all your needs!

My first princess

 Second princess

    

My girls are premmies (premature babies). Look at their weight, and their height is less than 40cm.. I'll blog about premature babies in the next post, cause I feel that this post is too wordy. Hahahaha! Don't wanna make you yawn!

 

GOODNIGHT!!! 

 





Daily life with twins & a nephew

                        First photo of the day! My younger darling ♥

 

Life with babies is full surprises, things that you never expect them to do, things that you'll never get to see & feelings that you'll never get to feel till you become a mummy.

 

I'm living with 10person now. Hub's place used to have only 5person & now its doubled, after his sis-in-law & I gave birth to our little angels! Got to hire a maid to help out with household chores and of course, to look after the 3 little imps with me!

 

My girls are 10months+ & my nephew is 5months+. All 3 of them have their own bubucar (walker) and so this is what I see every single day.

 

 

 



 

They can play together but they tend to make a mess in rooms! They pull everything they see, & whatever thing that is in their hands, it will go into their mouth! THIS IS NOT NAUGHTY, THIS IS BABIES.

 

There are quite a few reasons for them to do so:

1. Curiousity
2. Teething
3. Trying & tasting to know if it's food. Haha!

These are the 3 main reasons I think and its also their natural behaviour ah. There'll be more to come! Hahaha, so mummies or mummies-to-be, don't get too worry if they put everything in their mouth. Just make sure that everything morning before the little ones wake up, clean their toys with a wet towel, and let it air-dry. You can also soak the toys with hot water, but it may not have enough time to dry cause some water may sip into the toys. To my point of view, environment for babies must be clean but not TOO clean. That's what my father-in-law told me too! Otherwise when they grow up, a little bit of uncleanliness can cause them to fall sick alr!

 



 

 
 

 

 

Sometimes I tell my friends that my place is like a childcare center. Hahaha, all 3 of them eat, sleep, play together. I will always make it a point that they have to be always playing with each other. None of them is going to be treated like a king or a queen. This is how I train the kids.

 

Its not easy to take care of 3 babies at the same time. Especially for mummy with twins, everything is double. You have to bathe two, feed two, rock two to sleep. How to tahan when you don't teach them well.

 

I cannot say that my girls are super obedient, no matter what they're still babies but at least, I don't pamper them. When they cry, I won't carry them straight, unless in the morning, when they're crying for milk. When they super teh, at most I carry them for like 5-10min, I'll put whoever down and play with the other 2. BUT, you can only do this after they're 4-5months old! (will be more detailed when I'm posting about prematures) Yes, babies do need our love and care, but not to pamper them too much! :)

 

 

 

 Photos were taken when Qi&Han was 7months, Louis was only 2months old. But the 3 of them looked like they're of the same age!

 

 

 

Bro-in-law bought this big playmat from Kiddy Palace which cost less than $60. Its super good! Cause the thickness is just nice, so even if they fall, the pain will be very minimal. Plus its big enough for maybe 2 kids? The material is quite spongy & main thing is that its waterproof. So even if their urine leaked or they spill their milk, its very easy to clean. Mummies can consider getting this too & I love it because its 2 sided too. This is only one of the side, will show the other side on the next post cause the 3 of them have been sitting on this for the whole day! Even sleep on it....

 

Covered it with another mat to let them sleep more comfortably. :)

 

Quote of the day. #qotd

"The moment the child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before till the day she touch her little angel."

 

 

GOODNIGHT!!! :)