Daryl turns 3 years old today! To celebrate his birthday, we decided to celebrate in his school together with his classmates.
We arrived at the school at about 3pm. By then, Daryl & his classmates had woken up from their naps already & were having their tea break. When Daryl saw us, he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
Daryl's teacher - Teacher Rani was so sweet. When we arrived at the school, she came out to help us to carry the cake in. Not only that, she also helped us to take the cake out from the box & bring it out to the table for us.
Posing with his Thomas the Train birthday cake
Admiring his cake
The Thomas the Train birthday cake
Sheepish Daryl
Waiting to sing the birthday song
Teacher Rani asking the kids to sing the birthday song
Teacher Rani gathering the kids to stand behind Daryl to sing the birthday song
Staring at his cake
Getting ready to sing the birthday song
Singing the birthday song
After we finished singing the birthday song, Teacher Rani took the cake into the kitchen to cut it.
Waiting for the cake to be served
While waiting, I asked Kel to take some pics of the 2 of us.
Cheeky Daryl refused to take a pic with me
Me & Daryl with his 1 eye pose
Me & Daryl. This is my favorite pic.
This is also 1 of my favourites. Pity that I am not looking at the camera.
Me trying to kiss the birthday boy
Me & Daryl in his 1 eye pose again
I succeeded in kissing Daryl's head. :p
The cake is served
Daryl & his slice of cake
With his classmates
Looking around for me as I went to attend to Dawn
The K1 & K2 kids
Eating his cake
Daryl asked me to feed him his cake while Teacher Rani looks on with amusement. Since it's his birthday, I agreed.
Feeding the birthday boy
Dawn in her carseat
Daryl's classmates crowding around Dawn to see her
Waiting for his turn to wash his hands.
1 of the things which I like about Daryl's school is their emphasis on hygiene. At least I know that Daryl is in good hands when he's in school.
After washing their hands, Daryl & his classmates went to sit down so that Daryl can hand out the goodies bag.
Handing out the goodies bag to his classmates
Giving his Chinese teacher - Teacher Dong a pack of M & M cookies
Group photo
After the group photo, we brought Daryl home earlier so that he can spend the rest of the day playing at home.
Even though I didn't have time to plan his birthday celebration & prepare his goodies bag due to Dawn's early arrival, I hope that Daryl had enjoyed his birthday.
Good news! Mei mei is discharged from NICU today! The nurse from NICU came to see me at about 11am to inform me that mei mei had been discharged from NICU already. Thus, if I want to see her, I have to go to the nursery. I quickly called Kel with the good news. He told me that he's on the way to Mt A already & asked me to wait for him.
When he arrived, he went to the nursery & brought mei mei out.
Me & mei mei
Kel & mei mei
Mei mei yawning
Mei mei sleeping soundly in her cot
We were watching mei mei sleeping soundly in her cot & were very thankful that everything turned out fine. Now all we need to do is to monitor her for jaundice as Dr Ng said that she got some signs of it.
This morning, Dr Chan gave the go-ahead for my drip to be removed. I can finally see mei mei already. However, he cautioned me. As I am still rather weak, he preferred that I am accompanied when I went to visit mei mei. I promised him that I would get Kel or a nurse to accompany me.
A nurse came in after that to remove my drip & uretha tube. After they were removed, I waited eagerly for Kel to come so that we can visit mei mei together. Kel only came at about 3pm as he need to work & run some errands in the morning. When he arrived, I pestered him to bring me to visit mei mei. As I can't walk yet due to the pain, he went to borrow a wheelchair for me.
When we reached NICU, we had to wash our hands 1st before we can see mei mei. Kel then wheeled me to mei mei's cot. When I saw her with all the tubes in her small body, I started crying. She looks so small & vulnerable. Kel comforted me by saying that mei mei is okie. It's just that she needs to be monitored as she's too young. A nurse on duty also came to comfort me. She told us that mei mei is of a good birth weight. It's just that she can't breathe well when she's born. Thus, she's in NICU.
My 1st pic with mei mei. The nurse who comforted me held mei mei while Kel took this pic.
Another pic with mei mei
Mei mei 'smiling' for the camera
The nurse adjusting mei mei for more pics
Mei mei yawning
See how sweet mei mei looks. I know I am biased coz I am her mummy. But don't you agree with me? :p
Me looking at mei mei with love
Mei mei stretching herself
Mei mei scrunching up her face
Mei mei opening 1 eye to peek at us
She decided to close it as she saw nothing interesting
On 2nd thoughts, she decided to open her eyes again to confirm
The above 2 pics broke my heart whenever I see them.
After the picture taking, the nurse told me to go back & rest for a while. We can come back again at 4.30pm when it's mei mei's feeding time. We decided to heed her advice as I am feeling very tired already. Kel then wheeled me back to my ward to rest.
At about 4.15pm, Kel went back to NICU alone as Fun had came to visit me. I didn't want to leave her alone as she had came all the way to see me. We had a great time catching up.
When Kel came back, he told me that mei mei's tube had been removed. Another good news is that she managed to drink 10ml of milk without vomitting it out. At this rate, she can be discharged from NICU soon.
Kel with mei mei. Can see the mark below her mouth? It was caused by the plaster which was used to secure her tube.
Another pic of Kel with mei mei
At about 7.15pm, we went back to NICU again for mei mei's next feed. The nurse then carried mei mei out of her cot so that I can carry her.
Me carrying mei mei for the 1st time. It feels so different carrying her as compared to Daryl.
After the picture taking, Kel fed mei mei her milk. She managed to drink 10ml of milk in a very short time. We were so happy to see that. Hopefully she can be discharged from NICU soon.
I wasn't allowed out of bed to see mei mei as I was still on the drip. Dr Chan & Dr Kwa want to monitor me for another day to see whether my allergic reaction would worsen. Luckily, everything seems okie, except that I am scratching like a monkey at times. Thus, when Kel came to visit me, I told him to take some pics of mei mei for me to see.
When he came back later to show me the pics, what I saw broke my heart again... Mei mei was in an incubator lying face down. On her right hand, the nurses had used a splint to hold her drip. The drip was used to pump antibiotics into mei mei as Dr Ng is afraid that she might suffer from some kind of infection.
I asked Kel whether mei mei is okie or not. He replied that she's responsive, i.e. when he touched or called her, she would respond to him. Thus, things are not as bad as we think. Hopefully she can be discharged from NICU soon.
Mei mei is not due till 16 Aug 2008. Thus, when I got regular contractions at about 10.15pm yesterday night, I panicked big time!
1st - our new house is in a mess as there are still stuff which I haven't unpack or put in their proper place yet.
2nd - there are still some stuff at our old house that we haven't cleared yet. Our 2nd appt is on 7 Aug 2008, thus we estimated that we would need to vacate our old house by end July.
3rd - mei mei's clothes are not washed yet. I thought that since mei mei is only due in Aug, I can wash her clothes about 2 weeks before she is due.
4th - there are still some stuff which I haven't buy yet for mei mei & my confinement, e.g. her bedding set, cot mobile, breast pump, dai fong ai for my bath, longans & red dates, etc.
Kel was already asleep by then as he needs to help his friend to lead a group of students to Pulau Ubin today. I woke him up & told him to stand by as I am having regular contractions. I tried to sleep, but I have a feeling that it's time already. So I busied myself by checking my hospital bag, packing some stuff, etc. At 11.15pm, when I went to the toilet for the umpteen time, I discovered that my water bag had broke. Omg... mei mei is really coming...
I went out & woke Kel up. I told him that my water bag had burst, thus we need to go to the hospital asap. I called Dr Chan up & informed him about it. He was very surprised to receive my call. When he heard that I am having regular contractions & my water bag had burst, he was very concerned. He told me to go to Mt A asap & he would meet me there. I hung up the phone & went to change. Kel had changed by then. He then went out of the room to make a cup of milo for me. When I had changed, I went out to the dining room to drink my milo while Kel took my hospital bag out. He went to let Asty know so that she can look after Daryl while we were gone. When I had finished my milo, I went back to our room, kissed Daryl goodbye & left the house with Kel.
During the journey to Mt A, I timed my contractions & found that they were 2 minutes apart. Great... now there's no turning back already. When we reached Mt A at about midnight, the main entrance was closed. Thus, I told Kel to drop me off at the A & E entrance & go & park his car while I wait for him inside. I went in & the doorman directed me to the delivery suite on the 3rd floor. On the way there, I was thinking to myself, what a difference 3 years makes. 3 years ago, when I delivered Daryl, I had to be wheeled to the Delivery Suite as the contractions were so painful. Now, I can walked to the Delivery Suite myself. :p
At the Delivery Suite, there was no nurse on duty at the counter. I pressed the bell at the counter & waited. No one came, so I went to sit on the sofa nearby & waited for Kel to come. When he came up a few minutes later, he was very furious to see me sitting on the sofa. Thus, he went to search for a nurse for me.
When a nurse came out, she brought me to the monitoring suite. Then she asked me to change in the en suite bathroom & peed into a cup. When I was done, I came out of the bathroom & the same nurse told me to lie down on the bed. The CTG machine was then strapped onto my tummy. Another nurse went into the bathroom to test my urine. The test results show that there is no protein in my urine. She informed the nurse who was attending to me. According to the CTG machine, my contractions were indeed about 2 mins apart. In addition, they were very regular. She got worried & went to call Dr Chan again. She came back after a while to inform me that Dr Chan is on the way to the hospital already. Coz he had to go back to his clinic to pick up my file. As I was 1 month early, there were a lot of stuff which was not done yet. E.g. my admission letter is still with Dr Chan, the anaesthetician & the pediatrician are not booked yet, etc.
At about 12.30am, Dr Chan arrived & checked on me. He told me that I am 2cm dilated already. Thus, he asked the nurses to prep me for the operation. He then left to prepare himself. Kel came in to see me & reassured me that everything will be okie. I guessed he knows that I am feeling apprehensive coz mei mei is too early. Even though I know that I am in good hands, however, I can't helped feeling scared.
When I am ready, the nurses wheeled me to the OT. Kel followed me all the way till the entrance. Before I went in, he gave me a kiss & said that he would be waiting for me & mei mei.
Inside the OT, I met Dr Kwa & Dr Ng again. They were the same doctors who helped to deliver Daryl. Seeing them reassured me coz I know that I am in good hands.
Mei mei was delivered via emergency c section at about 1.30am. Kel was there when she was wheeled out of the OT.
Kel's 1st look of mei mei after she was wheeled out of the OT. She hasn't been cleaned yet, thus the gunk on her head.
The nurse putting on a diaper for mei mei
Mei mei sleeping peacefully after her diaper was worn.
Mei mei being monitored as she was premature.
Kel then came back to the OT to meet me. When I was wheeled out of the OT, I sensed that he was beside me. Thus, I reached out with my hand to hold his. I wanted to ask him how is mei mei, but I couldn't say anything. All I can do is to squeeze his hand.
At the ward, after sleeping for a while, I managed to gather up my strength to ask Kel how's mei mei. He said that mei mei is fine. She weighs 2.67kg at birth. Her weight is better than expected coz her estimated weight at my last checkup was 1.775kg. However, she had to be sent to NICU as she was hyperventilating when she was born. My heart sank when I heard that. I kept asking Kel about mei mei. He told me that mei mei looks very pretty & she had more hair than Daryl at birth. I kept drifting in & out of consciousness due to the effects of the GA. Kel told me to sleep for a while as he is going to check on mei mei.
The above 2 pics were taken by Kel when he went to check on mei mei. It pains my heart to see them. Mei mei had a tube inserted so that she can be fed. In addition, she was also hooked up to a machine to monitor her vital signs. She looks so small & frail, yet she has to go through all this. Kel also took a vid of mei mei.
When I woke up, Kel was beside me. He told me that mei mei is being monitored in NICU currently. He told me not to worry & to go back to sleep. I told him to go back & sleep as he still needs to send Daryl to school tomorrow. He replied that he would leave once I had fallen asleep. The last thing I knew before drifting off was holding his hand.
This morning, Kel & I brought Daryl to school together so that we can settle the paperwork for his conversion to full day childcare.
Teacher Rani told us about this antic of Daryl which cracked Kel & me up. She asked us whether Daryl naps at home in the afternoon after we brought him home after school. I replied that he naps, but not for long. His naps are usually about 1 hour or so. Her answer was, "No wonder..." Her answer piped our curiousity, thus I asked her what's wrong. She then told us this...
The nap time in school is from 1 to 3pm. It seems like when Daryl wakes up from his 1 hour nap in school, he would actually crawled to whoever is awake & start to 'chit chat' with that person! The funniest thing is, he crawls instead of walk as he knows that the teacher who is looking after the kids would know that he's awake & asked him to go back to sleep. Thus, instead of walking, which would alert the teacher, he crawls instead. The teacher only knew that the kids are awake when she heard talking. We laughed when we heard that. Daryl can be so precocious at times. :p
