Friday, July 14, 2006

Malcolm's incredible journey to Planet Earth - in full technicolor :)

WARNING - ULTRA LONG POST WITH LOTS OF GORY PICTURES AHEAD. PLEASE DO NOT EAT WHILST READING THIS LEST YOU PUKE IN FRONT OF THE PC!! DONT SAY YOU WERENT WARNED!!!

Malcolm was conceived sometime in October 2005. I thank God everyday for blessing me with yet another of his miraculous creations. Gordon has brought me tremendous joy and now with Malcolm, i feel on top of this world. Yes, i love children. I asked hubby the other day if he's happy with just our two boys, should i decide to close shop. He replied with a smile, "Yes, the concubines will continue with the production process....." niamah

Now little boys and girls, when you ask your mommy and daddy how babies come into this world, dont believe them when they tell you some big big/stork dropped you from the sky,/burst out of a stone/from mommy's backside. Pure bullshit. This is one of the ways. You can either come out from your mommy's vagina, or have the doctor cut open your mommy's stomache and take you out.

The latter is how Malcolm came out. And why i chose this way, hoh.... you may ask. This is so that i dont have to undergo vaginoplasty next time should my vagina's muscle loosen during the birthing process if i choose to have him vaginally. According to my MIL, she says the men like it tight-tight and she's had 6 kids vaginally. So, there all kaput liao. Yes, sometimes our conversation do broach on the topic of sex. Now you have it... satisfied???

MALCOLM WONG JUN RIQ'S BIRTH VIA C-SECT - 6 JULY 2006

8:30am - Arrived at the hospital with hubby and Gordon. Got a 2-bedded room all to myself. Not too near the construction site, so, din down to tolerable level. But then, the stupid air-cond compressor was just right outside on the window's ledge, which made the floor near it shaking. I took the bed by the entrance instead. It's a big room. Much bigger than the single room, i like.

9.45am - After all the pre-op prep work, i was wheeled into the Operating Theater's waiting area. Whilst hubby took Gordon for breakfast at the cafeteria. It's against the hospital's policy to have any operation on film/video. No way are they to be held liable should any ooops event happen during the operation process. But then, i managed to smuggle my video cam in lah. Dont ask me how, shhhhhh.... secret. Taught the cameraman how to operate the video cam at the waiting area.

10am - Finally wheeled into the Operating Room itself. I had spinal again. Meaning, waistdown, i'm numb to sensation; only not entirely. Why? Because i want to be aware of what's happening during the process. NO OOOOPS EVENT!!!! After much discussion with my Obs, this time round, the anasthetic administered is of a much lower dosage, so that i do not end up with a whopping headache like when i had Gordon. But then, the trade-off is the mild pain, the sensation that i'm being tugged and pulled at; that i have to endure during the entire operation. I feel so alienated and yet, helpless.... lie there doing nothing.

10.18am - The first incision on my tummy is being made. Sorry about the bright light. Not my fault, k. We talked all the time, with the doctor and the anasthetist. So, even though i was behind the green screen, i know what's happening every second. The huge clock is just right on my right.


First incision made



After snipping away layers of skin and muscles, ahhhh, here comes my uterus. More close-up pics.



They put a dunno what metal thingy there to enlarge the working area and hold the hole in place.



Excess blood is continuosly sucked away to make the area more visible.



Now, this is the an interesting part. The opening of the uterus. See that spurt of water. That's the amniotic fluid squirting out. Amniotic fluid serves 3 major functions. 1 - to promote growth. 2 - to prevention infection. 3 - To prevent contraction. That's why, during a normal labor process, when the waterbag bursts, contraction starts.



Wooohoooo, see that fountain of amniotic fluid gushing out? And yes, in the video, it's quite high up.



After most of the amniotic fluid is out, my Obs put his hand in to locate Malcolm's head.



Ahhhh, found it...... and lifts it gently.



My Obs used the vacuum method to take Malcolm out. According to him, this reduces trauma to the baby and to my uterus. Gordon wasnt taken out this way. The whole vacuuming process was rather painful. Why? Because some knnccb had his/her hand on the fundus top to push Malcolm down and out as the vacuum pulled him out. Being skinny and fat-free, the pressure is all on my ribcage and stomache, and i can hardly breathe at all.

But then, the anasthetist is there to assure me that it'll be over in a matter of seconds. Bluff!!!!! Feels more like minutes to me. When one's in pain, the whole thing feels very long though in reality, it's damn fast.


There, Malcolm's head finally emerged from his comfortable womb.



10.30am - Plop, he's laid down between my legs to have his mucus sucked out from his mouth and nose with a tiny hose. All in a matter of less than 10 minutes from when the first incision was made.



Another pic of the cord blood collection process as my Obs started on the prep-work of having Malcolm's stem cells extracted from the umbilical cord. Here's another post on on stem cells and cord blood banking. And for those thinking of banking your baby's cordblood, do cite me as a referral. Kindly email me at myorganiclife at gmail.com for more information on which cordblood storage facility i bank my baby's cordblood at.



First pic of a wailing Malcolm, straight out of the womb. All covered in vernix, a white, waxy coating covering his skin to protect it for being immersed in amniotic fluid for such a long time.



Here, you see my Obs inserting the needle into the umbilical cord to start the stem cells collection process.


The cord blood stem cells then flow down into the cord blood collection bag. It'll then be sent all the way back to the cord blood storage facility where it'll be screened and processed for cryopreservation. In all, we managed to get about 37.1ml of cord blood with 456million cord blood stem cells. All ready to be of use should the occasion calls for it in the future..... hope not. We wont know how far medical science can go or do with this wonderful thing called cord blood stem cells we routinely discard right after birth.

Since i did not get cord blood banking done for Gordon due to lack of awareness and information around, i hope it'll also be compatible for him as procuring cord blood stem cells to match one's own is VERY COSTLY. Think 6 figures. It only cost a mere RM2500 to get cord blood banking done for your baby now, plus RM250 per annum for cord blood storage. Cheaper than your designer jeans/handbag/mobile phone/Ipod/wateva. JUST DO IT!!! Dont regret later.


This is the placenta. It's been home to Malcolm for the past 37.5 weeks. They bagged it for me, i dont know why. What am i supposed to do with it? Boil it for soup?? Or use as face masque??? Anyway, i told them to incinerate it.



The sewing up process is underway. I hope my Obs did a fine job, with no Winnie The Pooh embroidery work. Now that the dressing is removed, it looks pretty ok. No excess tummy fat.... only a small bulge is visible at my navel area. In other words, i'm just like before, minus Malcolm from my tummy. So, all pre-pregnancy clothes and pants fit me.... no excuse or valid reason to buy more new clothes, :(



Another close-up of the sewing process. Gory or not??? Puked or not??? Aye... yai... yai...



Ahhh, finally..... i meet my Malcolm for the first time. He was cooing all the time, not crying. as the midwife kept telling him to open his eyes to look at me, hahahaha.



MUACKKKKKS!!!!!!!! He smells HEAVENLY!!!!



Need i say more? IT'S A BOY!!! MY MALCOLM BOY!!!! You can view Malcolm's Caesarean birth video here.

WELCOME TO THIS WORLD, SON!!!! MAMA, PAPA and GORDON LOVES YA!!!!!

32 comments:

Em said...

Congratulations on your newborn baby. May your family be well and happy always. God Bless.

Nick said...

** fainted ** ... luckily wife didn't go for c-sect.

Mumsgather said...

Ooh.. you are graphic! Thank you very much for giving me an idea of how mine was done. lol! I had two too.

King's wife said...

Wow, that was gory alright....

Anonymous said...

omg.. tat was like the coolest bio presentation i had ever seen in my entire life.. pooi yi, am definitely NOT going for c-sect in the future.. =)

wombie said...

As gory as it may seem, I found this post very informative. Thank you for sharing.

All those horror stories I hear from other women's pregnancies really freaked me out. I remember my mom telling me when she had me (I was the first child), she had no idea what was going to happen to her. I think a lot of women are unprepared for the actual pregnancy and the pain. These women probably think, aiya, just go in hospital, push push a bit, wipe sweat and baby oh chut lei like shit.

Like in old China...don't talk about sex. You'll find it out on your wedding night. Then ah, your husband will deflower you and plant his seed. haahahahhaha....

Samm said...

anon - thx.

daddy nick - *splashes a cold cup of water over Nick's head* Wake up.... oi..... wake up. Want some "fung yau"? Whether wifey chose c-sect or vaginal birth, you still end up with the same product what, and that's Kevin.

mumsgather - Me graphic student in my college days mah. Why you never talk to them when you were lying there doing nothing, lol.

king's wife - then you must have had your 2 gals vaginally, right. Even if i had Malcolm vaginally, i'll still have it on video, hahaha. But then, it wont be up here for all to see lorrrr.

yenchiew - Eh, ask your mom ah... after having you 4 monster, her "there" kaput liao adi or not? If no answer, then go ask Papa. Then you make up your mind how you want yours next time, hehehehe

simmie - Yes, at least someone here acknowledge the fact that it's supposed to be an informative post. And yes, the women of my mom's era all make it sound so easy..... go hospital/birthing centres and "or chut lei...". Aiya, where got so easy wannnnn

Anonymous said...

But we learn it in Biology that the vaginal muscles can be stretched very much and then, return to its original size ..

Aiya, whether or not Mum's "there" kaput ledi or not, doesn't matter liao ma. Mum said that her "factory" is also no longer in service. Mum is one happily-married woman, with all four monster (us!) showering her with love, more than any mother would actually need.. :-)

Cocka Doodle said...

That metal thingy there to hold your stomach open is called a crowbar.
I also spy a jackhammer, hacksaw, chisel in the process. LOL

Lin Peh said...

Kongrachulation! This post is like those discovery channel wan. See the pic also can feel the pain involved......aaarrrrkkkkkk. LOL ;-)

Mommibee says HI from Sydney said...

Thanks for sharing these personal photos - now I have an idea how mine was done too, LOL except that I did not feel any pain during the process, just tugging! Your hubby did the recording?? If so, wah very brave of him loh! Congrats again!

Omni said...

Congrats on your BEAUTIFUL baby!! Those photos... will be useful when there are no horror movies playing, I guess... YIKES!!

Give Malcolm a kiss from me!! xo

Cocka Doodle said...

But i read it somewhere that C-sect actually damage some of the clitoral nerves as oppose to vaginal birth.
So, after 2-3 kids and you are no longer interested in sex, you know yours gone liao.

Helen said...

*kick Cocka* You men! Sigh, we women are usually faking it 90% of the time anyway... Hee hee hope guys dun think too highly of themselves..:-P

Hey, I really got to hand to you this is one of the best posting ever. COmplete with illustrating photos summore.. *shudder* lol

Hey, does the C-sect affect your milk production?

Helen said...

Oops typo error... should read..

Hee hee hope guys dun think too highly of yourselves..:-P

shoppingmum said...

Gosh, I salute the cameraman, how to snap the photos calmly huh?
My dear, there's something called Kegel exercise lah, do that 50x a day and your vagina will be as tight as your like. So go do now!

SampahMan said...

First of all, congrats on Malcolm's birthday :)
Secondly, was the cameraman your hubby?

Thirdly, those pix were just wicked! Great read!

ZMM said...

eh.. how come huh? I 'ming ming' left a comment here yest.. and then today it's gone.

I wanted to say.. after the Dr stitch you up 'there' after birth.. it becomes tight like a virgin la.. lagi song (for the man la).. So you don't know what you are missing!

and.. I'm going to puke now!! Such gore!

Anonymous said...

goodness gracious...i almost fainted...

5xmom.com said...

I actually enjoyed it! Now that explains my three c-sec! Hahaha, can I plug you in my parenting blog? I hope it will be informative to all moms-to-be.

Samm said...

5XMOM - Wah, after 3 c-sects oso, din see how any of urs done. Of coz. Need permission 1 meh. Liddat i become femes liao. Just hope dun freak those new moms-to-be out, lol.

Kimberly Low said...

omg amazing amazing pictures! thanks for sharing. congratulations!!! i wanna have babies too (via c-sect of coz heh)

Anonymous said...

my legs go jelly after seeing those pic...definately no "doc" quality in me....

But thanks for sharing.

alexis said...

Thank you for the lengthy explanation plus beautiful pics. Now, at least I know what happens during C-sec which i can read up but never see such detail stuffs!

Congratulations to you and hubby and I wish GOrdon and Malcolm well!

IMMomsDaughter said...

Hi, I was blog hopping. Congrates on the arrival of Malcolm and you really caught the whole thing in such awesome pix. I had two C-sects but no pix to show off. Have a good rest :)

Anonymous said...

That was fantastic! I had this with No.2 and I tried very hard to see through the reflection of the shiny glass (where the lights were), but of course, with shortsigthedness...one can only see so much!


Can I share this with a couple of friends who are thinking about c-sections? I think knowing what's going to happen may calm their nerves.

Samm said...

mott - i watched my 1st via the reflections also. I can see clearly coz i wore my contacts. it was at a different hospital then.... no viewcam.

this time, i cant see the reflections due to different materials on the lights. and of cos, do share this post with as many as possible. thx

Nine3 Nine3 said...

Hope I'm not late, congrat you and your family.Lost your link

Times really fly hoh

L B said...

*faint again*

Kan Hong Hong said...

Just saw the photos, amazing!!!! I think I'll try to make a video on my second delivery which is coming soon in Oct 2007!!! I think it will be more gory if I'm delivering normally!! yikes...see if it happens!!!

Samm said...

Yup, do it. These are just one of those few rare videos one can ever make in a life time. An dont forget to let me know when it's up, ya...... *looking forward to Kate's video....*

melcwf said...

Hehe,
Which company did u store the UCB (umbilical cord blood) stem cells?
C-section is more sterile and hence having less contamination than labour. I witnessed natural birth before...with the vaccumm pushed up the vagina. And I think the mum was in deep pain too. Omg freaked me out. But too tired to be scared at 4am in the morning also la....
PS: went to collect her cord blood...and processed it in the morning after...