The long wait is over. Kyla finally decided to join us on the 22nd of September, 2008. She weighs 3.7 kg and measures 54 cm. Yes, as big as Louna, just 200 grams lighter. She’s being breastfed so she requires Maman’s presence almost every 2-3 hours. She had been monopolizing our time since we went home last Saturday but she’s more cooperative today, allowing us to do other chores than taking care of her. She’s currently sleeping so I have the time to gather my scattered thoughts and put them into writing.
Kyla’s Birth Story
We had a short walk around the park the day before. Louna was with her bike and I jokingly told her that at the speed she’s taking, it will never induce my labor. Then arriving at home, I helped L to fix our wallpaper. It was on purpose to induce labor naturally.
At 6:30 am the next day, I woke up with an excruciating, almost unbearable pain. I woke up L and told him that this must be it. We counted the regular contractions and in less than 10 minutes, we knew it was D Day. He hurriedly took his shower and busied himself preparing the remaining necessary stuffs to bring at the maternity clinic. I took my shower during that time, with a lot of difficulty of course.
At 7 am, Louna was already awake. We took our breakfast together and explained her that she will take her lunch at school and stay there the whole day. The school nursery opens at 7:30 am so a few minutes after that, Louna was already at school. It was the nanny who fetched her from school that day. She then stayed at the nanny’s place for the night.
We arrived at the maternity clinic at exactly 8 am. I was hurriedly examined and surprise! I was already 10 cm dilated. I was then transferred immediately at the delivery room. They asked me if I still wanted the epidural but since I was already 10 cm dilated and I knew that actual giving birth is nothing compared to contraction pains, I finally declined that option. I chose the side-lying position as I was too tired and too much in pain to try the semi-sitting position. Well, at least that was what I felt during that particular time.
At 8:40 am, my water bag was pierced. I pushed at each contraction and I could actually feel the baby coming. There was a little pause once the head was out since the umbilical cord was around her neck. The OB cut it at once and the delivery proceeded normally afterwards. I was even the one who took her out completely from my womb, taking her out and putting her on my chest. Isn’t that lovely?
At exactly 9:15 am, Kyla was already out and I didn’t suffer from episiotomy. Talking about fast and effective delivery!
A Delivery That Was Almost Perfect
Minutes after delivery, after they cleaned and examined Kyla, they brought her back to us so I could start breastfeeding. But the little girl wasn’t really hungry. She was calm and quiet – so adorable and looked remarkably the same as Louna.
I, on the other hand continued bleeding and my uterus refused to contract. They did a series of massage but each time they stopped, the bleeding continued forming blood clots inside my uterus. They then injected anaesthesia so they could examine if any part of placenta was left inside. Nothing.
They continued massaging my tummy making it real painful, as painful as the contractions. They also added 2 more perfusions, one to induce contractions, another for supplements, I think. They explained that if bleeding continues, they will be obliged to transfer me to the hospital for further interventions.
True enough, at 4 pm, I was transported to the hospital by an ambulance. They again examined me, checked my uterus, massaged my tummy and injected God-knows-what. At that time, I was already too tired and hardly conscious. I wasn’t allowed to take not even a drop of water.
After their intervention, I was again transported by an ambulance to another department, Radiology department. There, some veins of my uterus were apparently plugged to stop bleeding. The worst consequence of this kind of problem is the total removal of the uterus to which I was luckily spared.
At 2 am, I was transported back to my room, allowed to take dinner with the help of L and drink gallons of water. Whew!
That day, probably more than 20 people saw that most intimate part of me at its most unglamorous state. But I didn’t care. All I wanted was to get over and done with it so I could be with my family the soonest possible time.
I was back at the maternity clinic the next day, free from any complications. With the amount of blood I lost, I was lucky not to take any blood transfusion tho my hemoglobin count went down to 8 (normal is 12 – 16).
I was separated from my daughter for about 24 hours. Everybody in the clinic commended me for my courage to continue breastfeeding inspite that experience. I was supposed to be tired. The sole inconvenience I have right now is an allergy I got from one of the medicines they injected to me during the operation – my arms, back and tummy are itchy!!
And Life Goes On…
Louna is happy to have her little sister, even asking to hold her and give her the bottle. There are bouts of jealousy here and there but not at a worrying level. We take extra careful tho not to focus all our attention to Kyla. Balance is something we need to master at this particular moment. L is on paternity leave this week which helps a lot especially right now when Kyla has no fixed schedule yet. Organization at home starts to be settled little by little. It will be a long journey till we get back to our normal schedule. Nights are shorter and nap opportunities are too rare to be grabbed.
And all that .. is part of parenthood. These angels worth all the efforts and sleepless nights.
Kyla has turned 1 month old this week and yet, it seems like nothing has changed in her behaviour. She still cries quite a lot and claims her milk almost every 2 hours during daytime. The thing is, she sleeps once she's breasfed inspite of the constant stimulation I do to wake her up. As a result, she's not taking enough milk making her grouchy all the time. It's really hard to lie her down on her bed without waking her up after breastfeeding.
Jealousy is one thing we had been dealing with difficulty since the arrival of Kyla in our lives. Louna had apparently changed behaviour at school - from a joyful toddler to a pensive child. She seems to be lost and thinks about something else all the time, giving less focus on school activities. We had observed a certain change at home too. She became demanding and dependent - a real change from a totally independent Louna who wanted to do everything on her own.
Class picture 2008. Louna is the only kid with a sad and serious face. This is taken a day after the birth of Kyla.
