Staycation at TMC

And so....as EJ was born super early at 6.21am on 17 March (EDD), instead of later in the morning or afternoon, E and I get to spend 3 days 2 nights at TMC.  A staycation, as Caro put it.  3 days, 2 nights of enforced rest, before I discharge home.

The experience of birthing EJ is so adrenaline pumping that you don't feel like sleeping, even though we haven't had a good night's sleep...both E and I were up the whole morning, excited, talking...just enjoying those few quiet moments together.  Talking about the morning's experience, finding out each other's version and perspective of the birth experience.

Doing paperwork - filling in birth cert application.

We managed to get some paperwork done in the afternoon, as E rushed to the office right before 4pm to process the birth cert.  Jacob Dela Rosa.  Short and sweet.  And the Chinese name is 王圣杰.  Given by Ellie.  Nice.  

In the evening, the grandparents came with G and later on, Henry and Lucille also popped by to visit.

Gloria is now a big sister!

It was still lovely to have our own time after the visitors left.  E is back to work for day 2 of the staycation and that's when I get my own time!  I just stayed in the room, enjoyed the TMC confinement food which consisted of moderate portions of protein, veg and rice and a good soup.  Baby J was brought to me regularly for breastfeeding and this time round, I could feel the difference in bf No. 2.  The afterpain or the pain in the tummy as he bf is intense.  I learnt that this is actually a sign of the uterus contracting.  So that's good news.  But still, each time, I bf him, I felt like biting my lips.  Very painful!

I also went to claim the TMC gift for baby J - imprint of his little feet in a piece of glass, which will be ready some time in future.  And I attended the parentcraft workshop at 3pm, which talked about bathing baby and breastfeeding.  I found the visit by the lactation consultant most useful.  She spoke fast and rapid, like a true blue healthcare professional, used to dishing out bits of advice in a no-nonsense manner.  But she's clear about her advice.  I found it refreshing to have someone just give me the facts without the wishy-washy stuff.  There are new things that I learnt, such as breast massage to relieve initial engorgement.  Massage with palms all around the breast, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock.  Massage the aerola with two finger, clockwise and anticlockwise.  Then stretch back the aerola and squeeze up to release the milk.  I managed to collect 5-10ml of colostrum in a cup for baby J.  Which is great as he was getting sleepy after bf, compared to the inital alertness after birth.

On the last day of our staycation, we were all packed and ready to discharge home.  But the nurse informed us that EJ has jaundice, and the level is high enough to warrant a stay in the hospital for phototherapy.  :((  I really didn't want him to stay and I didn't want to stay too.  So I got some quick advice from Caro and we decided to discharge home and rent the phototherapy machine.  We have to discharge asap and rush to the PD clinic to place the $50 deposit before 1pm.  So off we go....

All set for home!