Double Happiness

Today the babies are 30 weeks + 2 days and a growth scan shows that ah-boy is 1.7kg and ah-girl is 1.66kg. It is not a bad weight but we’re a bit disappointed that they have grown only 200g in the last 2 weeks. We were hoping that with Tim’s genes the babies would be closer to 2kg by now. On the other hand, my cervical length is 1.4cm today, slightly better than the 1.1cm last week though still far from the 2.5cm safe range. Still, if my condition remains stable, Dr Kenneth Qwek, head of the High Risk Consult, may allow me to go home for bedrest at 32 weeks, which is around 17 March. He wouldn’t recommend any earlier and if I insist on leaving, I would have to sign a ‘discharged against medical advice’. Being my kiasu self, I of cos would not do that.

By now I am quite used to the hospital routine, a typical day goes:

7.30am: House Office (HO) and Medical Officer (MO) make their rounds, asking routine questions like ‘Any pain’, ‘Any contraction’, ‘Any discharge’? This is the time to give my queries to the doctors as they will not be around until same time next morning

7.45am: Nurse will dispense 2 adalat and 1 iron supplement for me to take after breakfast with the rest of my supplements.

8am: Breakfast is served. Usually there’s congee, rice or even fried noodles. A cup of Milo is always included. If the breakfast looks too oily for me (eg fried kway teow), I can ask for 2 slices of bread with margarine and jam. I miss my usual cereals and toast. If the High Risk Consult team drops by, it’s usually around 8~8.30am. This is the time I ask Dr Kenneth Kwek all my burning questions.

9am: CTG time. Senior nurse will strap me with 3 monitoring devices to the CTG machine which provides traces of each fetal heartbeat and maternal contraction. I have to lie as flat as possible (without becoming too breatheless) and remain as still as possible for the entire tracing. Sometimes babies are good and it takes 45mins. Sometimes babies are too active and I have to be strapped down for almost 2 hours. Ah-boy is so far more obedient, can always be found at the same spot, is happy to lie still and hence providing a beautiful continuous trace. Ah-girl seems more active and plays hide-and-seek, she moves around too much and sometimes her trace disappears altogether and we have to start all over again. Also, ah-girl’s heartbeat is constantly higher than ah-boy’s. This could be an indication of their personalities, we shall see!

10am: Warm barley drink is served.

10am-12noon: This is when I use the laptop to surf the net or write emails.

12noon: Lunch is served. It’s usually a soup, one dish of meat, one dish of vegetable, one HUGE serving of rice and one dessert (usually aga-aga or fruit compote). I have tried one week of Chinese food and it is quite bland, especially the vegetable which swims around in a pool of water. The meat is always either chicken or pork. Ths soup is worse, flavoured with Kellog’s chicken cube and a few morsels of vegatables. I then tried one week of muslim meal which was exciting at first because of the beef and mutton and the spices. But after a few days of 3 spicy meals a day, I noticed the blend of spices seem to be the same, the only thing that changes is the meat. It gets nauseating after a while and I have to get Tim to buy me something different like Deli France tuna or egg sandwich. Fortunately Tim is not a fussy eater and doesn’t mind eating my hospital meal while I feast on something more interesting.

12.30pm: Tim pops by for lunch visit and stays for about an hour.

2pm-5pm: This is what I call the sauna period. It is the hottest period of the day where every contact with the mattress means heat and sweat accumulation. I try to lie on one side to minimize my skin contact with the mattress, and turn every 30 mins or so to a new position on the bed where heat has not penerated yet. This is the most UNBEARABLE period of the day. I try to either sleep, read or watch something on the Cowon. Not a good time to use the lapton because it requires me to sit upright, with maximum contact with the mattress.

2pm: Nurse will dispense 2 adalat

3pm: A cake or pastry is served together with either Milo or milk, I usually ask for milk as it’s less sweet and less heaty.

5pm: Dinner is served. Menu is the same as lunch except that instead of a dessert, a fruit is served. I am usually not in the mood for dinner at all at 5pm, since in my ex-life outside the ward I usually only eat dinner at 8 or 9pm! But stone cold hospital food tastes even worse, so I psycho myself to begin eating latest by 5.45pm.

5.15pm: I go for my daily shower. This is one of the highlights of the day. I wish I can take more than 1 shower a day but decided not to take the risk – the floor being slippery and too much out-of-bed time.

6.30pm: If my parents visit, this is the time they pop by as they try to catch the last shuttle bus from Bugis MRT to KKH.

7.30pm: Tim usually arrives at this time and stays up to 2 hours. We catch up on the happenings of the day, brainstorm for baby names, and he gives me a back rub. He leaves around 9pm to work some more at home.

8pm: Nurse will dispense 2 adalat

9pm to 11.30pm: I read or watch something on the Cowon. This time of the day is more pleasant and I perspire less. After midnight is the best as the temperature is the lowest.

2am: Nurse wakes me up to dispense 2 adalat

5.30am: Nurse wakes me up to tke blood pressure and temperature. Sometimes I am unable to sleep after that.

And the day goes on…two more weeks of this, I shall be bored out of my skull…