We chose to do prenatal check-up and delivery at Tropicana Medical Centre (now rebranded as Thomson Hospital Kota Damansara) simply because it is the nearest to where we live, haha. All check-ups and delivery done under Dr. Hoo Mei Lin and we were very happy with her.
Up till around 30 weeks, baby Y seemed to be a small girl, and doctor estimated that her birth weight is going to be around 2.8kg and I was hoping for a natural birth. The baby dropped since 32 weeks, and everybody estimated she might be born a bit early. I was anxiously waiting for her arrival since 35 weeks mark, got hospital bag ready and was quite prepared for baby's arrival. Who knows the princess doesn't want to come out up until her due date. By that time, the baby already weights around 3.5kg++ and doctor gave us an option whether we want to induce the baby. My mom-in-law said I am likely to have a condition known as CPD (Cephalopelvic Disproportion), which in layman term is something like, pelvic bone being too small for baby's head to descend. So, we asked doctor whether she suspected CPD in me, and what is the failure rate of induction. Since doctor confirmed the failure rate of induction can be quite high, we agreed for a planned caesarean section at 41 weeks.
The operation theatre charges are double on public holidays, so we chose one fine Wednesday for the delivery. The doctor helped us book the OT and anaesthetist, and issued us an admission letter. The operation time is 8:00am, so we were supposed to get admitted to hospital by 5am. I was too nervous the night before and couldn't sleep. Baby Y seemed to be too eager to come out, she kept hitting my pelvic bone with her head which made me feel very uncomfortable the whole night. I was still optimistic that she will be born naturally on that night haha.
The next day at 5am, we went to emergency department for hospital admission process. The hospital charged RM10k as deposit. I was much annoyed during admission when we were told that all the single rooms were occupied and we only had an option for either 4-bedded room or a suite room. We thought of booking rooms earlier, but the doctor told us that usually rooms are available and didn't really need pre-booking. (We found out only later that since the day before our c-section was a public holiday, many mothers choose to get induced on that particular day. Hence, almost all ward rooms were occupied.) We ended up taking the suite room which was RM600/night x 2.5 nights, this was one of the reason our bill went out of budget :(
Anyway, thanks to God, the whole operation process went very smooth. I always had an extreme phobia for needles and injection, the C-section being a major surgery was a nightmare for me. I had to keep telling myself to be brave for the sake of baby as this was the scariest thing I had ever faced in my life. The operation theatre was so cold, I couldn't find my husband anywhere until after the anaesthetist came and gave me a general anaesthesia. Nurses were helpful, they alleviated my fear and a big shout out to my anaesthetist Dr. Navin for cheering me up throughout the whole surgery. Fear aside, I felt quite secure to have Dr. Navin and Dr. Hoo performing the surgery.
The surgery started around 8:10am; under general anaesthesia, half of my body was already numb. They allowed my husband to come in just a short while before the baby was taken out, I am not sure why he couldn't be with me from the start, it would have been much easier to deal with my fear :'( I was too scared up to the point that I told myself, I am never going to deliver another baby again. However, the whole surgery was very fast, all my fears and worries vanished once I heard baby Y's first cry at 8:26am. The paediatrician informed me the baby is very healthy, but I only had a glance of her. Out they went, and disappeared again :D Later I was placed in a recovery room for about half an hour which was very cold and I felt so helpless. I couldn't wait to see my baby. During that time, the paediatrician was doing checkup for the baby, and husband was sent back to the room. Only around 10am, they send me back to my room.
On the first day, I could barely move. Not sure how long did it take until general anaesthesia wears off, but i was still under heavy pain killers. Later nurses brought baby to me and a lactation consultant came to help with breastfeeding. I wasn't well-equipped with breastfeeding knowledge and it was so stressful. With the C-section pain, it was very difficult to turn sideway to breastfeed her. We tried to feed her every 1-2 hours. Baby was good at latching but my supply didn't kick in yet so we had to struggle a lot. Eventually we were worn out and sign the consent form to allow nurses to feed formula milk on the first night. I felt quite guilty but it was the only way me and my husband could catch some rest, and baby won't be too tired crying for food.
The gynae came to check on the next morning and asked me to try to walk around. She told me that if I can bare the pain on second day, I am good to go. The nurses helped me to walk down from the bed for the first time after 24 hours lying down. It was scarier than the surgery itself! ๐ญI couldn't remember much details except the fact that no words to describe how painful it was. So, for expecting moms who will be going through c-section, the most terrifying day is day 2! ๐
The struggle with breastfeeding continues on day 2 as well. I still couldn't figure out the best way to hold my baby, some nurses were helpful, some were not. The c-section pain become quite bearable on day 3, doctor allowed us to discharge and we went home around 5pm.
This is the list of items that hospital suggested you to bring. Since C-section patients need to stay in hospital a bit longer, I suggest you to bring extra newborn diapers and baby wipes too.
The hospital scheduled baby's check-up with paediatrician at one week after and mother's check-up with gynae at two weeks post-delivery. Baby Y had jaundice, she got pricked at her feet for blood test for 2 times (each 1 week apart). Luckily she was a hungry baby who drinks and poo diligently, so her jaundice level went down fast.
hospital food
I'm not a fussy eater, so the hospital food was basically fine with me. They serve 4 meals a day, you will get to choose from three different types of food.
The hospital scheduled baby's check-up with paediatrician at one week after and mother's check-up with gynae at two weeks post-delivery. Baby Y had jaundice, she got pricked at her feet for blood test for 2 times (each 1 week apart). Luckily she was a hungry baby who drinks and poo diligently, so her jaundice level went down fast.
Baby Y is already four months now, we faced a lot of challenges as first-time parents. I shall elaborate more some time later. Parenthood is both fun and difficult at the same time, but our family become more complete with our new bundle of joy!
