The Plan
Based on baby's progress discovered through the regular check-ups, doctor (again) called for early admission to the hospital. Same like my first pregnancy, doctor proposed for induction to take place at 38th week due to the size of the baby. And this year, 38th week happened to be on 11th October 2011 :) The decision was made on 29th September 2011 and admission letter was prepared for the big day. I was expected to check in a day before, Monday 10th October 2011 by 22:30H.
Knowing when to deliver is like going against the nature. Child birth is usually unpredictable, a sudden urge that brings an indescribable bundle of joy to a couple after 40 weeks (some maybe lesser) of waiting. But in my case, both were planned.
Things happen for a reason. With planned birth comes planned leaves. Alhamdulillah, the husband again managed to join me during the labour. The one which was different from the first attempt o_0 yikes!
Nampak tak botol besar kat belakang tu? Itulah air selusuh saya. Doctor sgt impressed :D
The Pain
To our surprise, I was already 3cm dilated the moment we arrived at our suite. Wow. No pain at all. So this is how natural birth works. That was at 22:30H. Induction did not take place at all. At 05:30H, another examination was done, with an opening confirmed at 5cm. Phewww~ half way to go.
Doc came later at 07:30H that morning, on 11 October 2011. Everything was ok. But baby is a little bit high from the uterus. That may delay labour. Time was still at my side. Hopefully baby will come down as the dilation progresses. I was then rushed to the labour room to undergo the procedures to get the epidural in me. Painful? A bit, yes. I was then asked to get some rest before the 'show' began. Oh the doc broke the waterbag after the procedures completed. Macam empangan pecah. Air ketubanku banyak~
09:00H the pain started to chip in. I was still at 5cm. The pain was bearable. But the question was, how come I could feel it when the epidural was already took effect? Wait, does this means that it is not working?? Glurppp* I tried to remain calm and optimist that it will be ok soon. Boy, I was wrong!
10:00H Contraction was observed at every minute. No progress, dilation was still at 5cm; still a long way to go. It was my first encounter with contractions. Never in my pregnancy that I experienced any, especially without epidural on. This is as good as natural birth. I struggled to fight the pain. Just as I was about to settle down, another contraction came to say hi. Oh my, I never felt such pain before. PAINFUL, no joke! The nurse suggested that inhaling the gas would help during the contraction. I tried. Fine, it worked but for an every-minute-contraction-situation, it made me drowsy and sleepy. So I stopped taking gas. At that point, I almost gave up. Zul was in shocked, did not know how to help and most of all terrified seing his tough-wife in pain. "Abg, doakan Ja ye", mohon restu pada suami. Air mata tak berhenti mengalir. Lemah betul hambaMu ini Ya Allah... Indescribablely painful. Macam nak kena cabut peranakan ni. The urge was too strong.
I felt helpless. Mulut ni tak putus berdoa and zikir. Doc came in to check. Everyone seemed to be worried looking at my condition. Not that I shameless-ly cried, screamed or what so ever. I was helpless, quietly fighting the pain, in tears. "Macam mana ni Fiza. You're only 5cm dilated. How can we proceed with normal delivery macam ni", said the doc as I refused to take another round of epidural as suggested. Worried big time, yes.
Not long after the doc left the room, Ms Kalai the staff nurse rushed to my bed and said, "Pn, ambil la epidural sekali lagi. Sempat ni Pn...." I was touched with her concern. My worry was on the contractions, which was then observed at every half a minute! Again, I was only 5cm dilated and I foresee if I did not undergo the second procedures, I will run out of energy by the time labour sets in and operation might be the best option. Oh no as best possible I will not opt for operation. So I agreed with her suggestion. And Alhamdulillah, no contraction was felt during the procedure.
The second procedure was done by another anesthetist, the one who helped me during my first delivery. I would say that he is faster and efficient in doing his job. I can feel the painkiller in my nerves immediately as he finished. Alhamdulillah the second procedure was a success. At 12:00H pain was hardly felt and I was able to recharge before the 'battle'. "Umar turun ye..." sambil usap perut, itu je doa ibu at that time. Dah habis air mata lawan sakit tadi. I settled down, and told mama how painful it was when she came into the room. Mulia sungguh hati seorang ibu. Belum makan, tapi insist nak jenguk anaknya yang satu ni. Mama nampak sedih, tengok aku in that condition. Insafnya.."Nanti Ja sakit nak beranak ma keluar eh. Ja tak nak ma tengok Ja sakit". Mama angguk je.
Doc came in again. "Good decision, she said" It was closed to 13:00H. "You're ready for labour". Baby's head was so close to the entrance. Alhamdulillah, Umar dengar doa ibu. I looked at Zul and smiled. Everything happened so fast. Ms Kalai guided me on how to push. "ok, macam tu Pn. Kita cuba lagi sekali ya". Ada main cuba-cuba pulak hehe. Reason being, usually while on epidural people tend to feel numb and do not feel the urge to push. Alhamdulillah not in my case.
After the first push, baby's head was already out. Doc siap pause kejap, suruh ayah ambil gambar. Bila tengok balik, serammmmm. Second push, baby popped out. 13:03H Umar Faruqi bin Zulfadhli was born safely into this world. The 'party' did not stop there. Everyone was amazed with the size of Umar. "Cuba teka berapa kilo??", the doc raised the question. There were 3 staff nurse together in the labour room. And there were 4 answers. I just smiled seing the joy. If I recalled correctly, the highest answer was 4.13kg. Not long after that Ms Kalai's voice conquered the room, " Doctor, 4.6kg!!" I joined them in laugh and cheer. Alhamdulillah! Surprisingly, the 'damage' was mild compared to my first delivery. Very very mild. Syukur, semuanya dipermudahkan.
The connection...mother & son
The Name
Zul was the one who proposed the name of our son. At first, Zul suggested that we name our son as Umar Abdul Aziz, after the name of one of the khalifahs. Yes, I understand his intention. However, I wish it could be shorter. So we kept Umar as the first name, followed with Faruqi. Which means, khalifah pembeza antara yang benar dan yang batil. Zul's father raised that the meaning is a little bit too strong. Zul and I on the other hand had our reason. Hopefully, in a situation to decide, to choose between right and wrong, Umar will make a good choice and judgement based on his knowledge and the religion's perspective, atleast for himself. Itu harapan ayah dan ibu buat Umar. Insyaallah...
The Praise
Syukur padaMu Ya Allah, dipermudahkan urusan kelahiran, dipinjamkan kekuatan.
I could never have done it without the help and doa from family and friends, thank you.
Zulfadhli Ismail, I love you so much :) Thank you for being by my side throughout the process. Alhamdulillah, anak kita dah dua yang! :)
Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah...
Some of the baby gifts received. Hilang sikit rasa sakit! Thank you! :D
P/s: buat masa ni, sy serik. Next in 4 years time ok tak? Rest dulu :)
