A mother's story on stem cells and cord blood banking

Here are some of Malcolm's very precious baby pics. Though not taken by me. I never knew of their existence until my sis#1 showed them to me when we were at my sis#2 house early this month. Malcolm was only a few hours old when she dropped by the hospital with her kids. Malcolm's still very much a baby now, at 20.5mths old though. Haimai hou cute lehhhh.

I asked them if they wanted to view Malcolm's birthing process or not and they all screamed in delight at the chance to view a real Caesarean birth video. They got to know more about cord blood stem cells, cord blood banking and saw the whole cord blood collection process in the video. After i banked Malcolm's cordblood, i have since introduced many of my friends to cord blood banking in Malaysia.

It's just too bad i havent heard of cord blood banking in Malaysia when i was pregnant with Gordon back in 2003. Though cord blood banking in Malaysia was relatively new then, it was already too late when i got to know about the importance of cord blood stem cells and umbilical cord blood banking. You see, my Obs never told me about it and only asked me if i want to bank Gordon's cordblood when i was RIGHT THERE ON the operating table, niamah. So, i lost the chance to save Gordon's precious cordblood then.

I just pray to God that IF in the event Gordon should ever call upon this to save his life, Malcolm's cordblood will be a match and i dont have to go around hunting for compatible cordblood from other places. Choi choi choi choi choi......... It's a very very costly thing to source for compatible cordblood, be it locally or from overseas cord blood storage facility.

So, for those of you who are pregnant. Find out more about stem cells and cord blood banking, cord blood registry, and cord blood collection from your health practitioner. Make an informed decision on the importance of banking your baby's cord blood stem cells. You only get ONE chance. I missed once. But insists on banking Malcolm's precious stem cells with a reputable cord blood bank.

Malcolm at 20 months old now. See how long this lil boy's been with me. I snapped him trying to squeeze himself into the tight space right next to my cpu a few days back. There's a magazine holder right behind his butt. So, he cant really get inside. Merely fit into the remaining space. He wont give up trying. He'll drag the magazine holder out and i have to keep stuffing it back in. And this will go on until he gives up and move on to other mischiefs.

Gordon at 18 months old. See, they all like to do the contortionist act at that age, dont they??? Sigh... i really miss Gordon's baby moments. He's a real darling compared to Malcolm. Malcolm's a real handful and crybaby. Clingy to the max. Just hope he can lose that separation anxiety soon and get off my boobs for good. I havent slept for two freaking years. So, now you all know why i'm so ranting on my posts.... DOHHHHHH

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!!!!!