38 weeks + 5 days - the labor day

so, Dr S came by after maghrib prayer to check on me...i thought i was having a regular contraction before, now it seized...so, another VE done and it was still the same... so the plan was to wait for regular moderate contraction tonight or if not she will try to stretch and swipe me tomorrow morning and ARM me and later for piton induction...

i got some rest and watched whatever was on TV and fell asleep at around 10...i was awaken by a contraction pain at the suprapubic area which radiated to my lower back at around 11 pm...it came regularly now at around 3 minutes apart and each lasted about few seconds...and sometimes i couldn't feel any pain...so i had to bear the pain which came on and off and kept on timing my contraction...i didn't want to inform the nurse early because i wanted to be sure that this was not a false labor and to give time for my os to progress to active labor...so, i didn't manage to have a peaceful sleep..

at around 2am, i woke my husband up and asked him to tell the nurse that i was having a regular contraction...they came in to do a CTG on me which lasted for about 40 minutes then called the doctor on call to review me...i was reviewed by a nice colleague at around 3.20 am and found that i was already 4 cm dilated and she did ARM on me (broke my water) and then the nurse gave me ravin enema to make me poo in between the regular contraction which was very unpleasant...

off to labor room

i was brought down to the labor room and parked ourselves in room 9..the midwives in charge were very nice...i was put on drip and strapped to the CTG machine..they arranged the epidural for me but in the meanwhile i had to endure the pain...i felt that the baby's head was just there and was about to come out but i pressed my legs together not allowing it to come out because no matter what, i wanted my epidural first! i was cursing the anesthetist for coming in late and i was having 4:10 contraction...i couldn't see at what time he finally came down and found out he was actually someone we knew, Dr E...anyhow, he did his job well and gave me a bolus dose of medication and it worked wonders on me...no more pain, and i couldn't even feel the tightening of the contraction pain...Dr E stayed for a while to see on my condition..

a smiley face after the wonderful effect of epidural

a few minutes later, we heard that the baby's heart wasn't beating as it supposed to be at 120-160 bpm...it was very, very slow...our baby was very bradycardic, i saw on the CTG it was down to 70bpm...the midwife came in asked me to turn to the left lateral position and the baby's heartbeat improved...Dr E was still there as he was afraid that i might need a Caesarean section due to fetal distress and he needed to top up the medication...not long after that, our baby became bradycardic again, and the midwife checked on my os and i was only 5cm dilated...they called my obstetrician, Dr S and she came immediately looking very worried on my progress...we were worried as well, afraid of anything sinister might happen to our baby...she asked me whether if i feel the urge to push and said none..this time round the epidural did not give me any sensation at all but i can still move my legs though...

Dr S checked on my os opening again and to her surprise within minutes i was already fully dilated...she asked me to push the baby out as the condition was not favorable for us to wait any longer...if needed, she would use the Kiwi vacuum to pull my baby out...i still couldn't feel the urge to push like my 2 other deliveries which i felt the urge to push when i was already fully dilated....so the midwife helped me to time the contraction and guided me when to push...i pushed hard enough and heard Dr S telling me that i was progressing well and the head descended as expected...and Dr S made an episiotomy snip (which i saw while i was pushing, even though i didn't want to have an episiotomy) and after a few push the head finally came out..and the final push for the shoulder and body to come out at 5.46am and there he was, our little baby was put on my chest, vigorous and cried soon after...alhamdulillah...

few minutes later the placenta was out and i was stitched by Dr S...my baby laid comfortably on my chest, looking exhausted as well but he was wide awake...1/2 hour later he was taken for anthropometric measurement and was cleaned, he weighed 3.1kg...when Dr S finally finished stitching me up, the midwife called her to see our baby...she later came back to us, telling us that there were few abnormal features noted on our baby that were suggestive of Down Syndrome...i tried to absorb what she had just said, i was in denial but tried to stay calm..suddenly, all the complications of Down Syndrome gushed into my mind and i was trying to imagine our life in the future but simply couldn't...i asked myself repeatedly why us..? are we strong enough to be tested in such a way..? but i couldn't find the answer...

so the short femur and humerus during the antenatal check up did signify an abnormality which we thought it could be nothing significant...our baby was referred immediately to code pink (the neonatal doctor oncall) for assessment....hubby recited azan to our baby's ear and he was so quiet and calm listening to the beautiful azan...

our little precious few minutes after birth

while waiting for the doctor to review, i unwrapped and held my baby on my chest and tried to breastfeed him but he wasn't interested to suck..i expressed my colostrum and put it at his lips for him to lick...i looked at his face, well it was a bit dysmorphic but all newborns would look like that due to some edema after birth...he had a single palmar crease on his left hand (similar like me), his ears were a bit low set, there was a thick neck pad and some features on his eyes as well.....but what i saw in front of me was my most beautiful baby that He created for us... i knew that my dear hubby was shocked as well and he repeatedly told me no matter what happen next, we'll take care of our baby, love him unconditionally...

the code pink doctor, Dr G arrived and checked on our baby...he came by and told us that our baby had some soft features of Down Syndrome..otherwise, he couldn't hear any heart sound abnormality, our baby's sucking reflex was good and he had already passed motion...our baby would need a blood test to confirm the karyotyping and a pediatric consultant would review our baby once in the ward and plan the necessary...i did not drop a tear when he told us that...i didn't dare to look at my dear hubby's reaction...i wasn't so sure how to react at that time...what is going to happen to us next..?

i was rather exhausted after the delivery...i was feeling sleepy but tried to keep myself awake while holding my baby skin to skin with me...had a cup of milo while waiting for another review by Dr S but that didn't boost my energy up...

i was kept in the labor room until about 9.30 am before we were wheeled out to the ward...everything was fine, bleeding was not much and i was put on IV pitocin for 6 hours after the delivery to make sure my uterus contracted and no excessive bleeding occurred...

it was a quick labor, with some hype drama and an unexpected outcome...we are praying for the best for our little baby, which for now we are calling him baby Ahmad...may Allah give us the strength to go through the path that He had destined for us, the strength for us to care for this special gift He gave us...i'm trying to be positive now but i do not know how will i become tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and later...for us, baby Ahmad's condition will only be confirmed once the karyotyping is done...there is still time to pray and hope for baby Ahmad's good health, maybe he is a normal baby after all....

baby ahmad