Day 2 of life - baby miracle

my dear hubby pushed me on a wheelchair to the NICU...baby ahmad had been shifted to a new cubicle in the semi intensive area...when we arrived, we saw him wide awake and was moving his arms and legs vigorously...my heart melt when i saw his wonderful progress, i was really touched...yesterday he was just lying and sleeping the whole day and wasn't that active...and today, look at his wonderful eyes and movements...he was so alert and responding to our voices and touches...alhamdulillah...a feeding tube was inserted into his mouth and he kept on protruding out his tongue as if he wanted to remove the nasty tube away...the nurse who was incharged of baby ahmad was so nice and she asked me to hold baby ahmad and try to breastfeed him...

baby ahmad in his bassinet

my chubby little ahmad when we first saw him on Day 2

baby ahmad was put under routine monitoring of oxygen saturation, heart monitor and the temperature probe...so we disconnected the temperature probe and i was able to cuddle baby ahmad straight away...i offered him my breast and he had difficulty to latch on as the tube was in his way...his sugar was already stabilize and the nurse said i can just pull the tube for better latch on...so we pulled the tube out and baby ahmad latched on perfectly onto my left breast and immediately started sucking and swallowing the colostrum in a perfect rhythm...subhanallah, alhamdulillah...he was a miracle...he did it spontaneously and perfectly and it did not cause any pain to my nipple at all...we caught his action on video but i didn't put them on the blog as it was very personal...

so satisfied and contented after breastfeeding

he breastfed for about 20 minutes before he unlatched himself from my breast, looking very satisfied and contented...my dear friends who are also my breastfeeding peer supporters , KK and KF came to visit me outside the NICU and i was very touched with their concerns and support...i really needed the support at that time and found comfort with their soothing words and encouragement these 2 wonderful women gave me...

we spent our time in the NICU the whole morning, holding baby ahmad close to us and breastfeeding him on demand...he still sleep most of the time though and we need to wake him up for feeding...i'll be discharged today but since baby ahmad is still in the NICU, i'm going to room in with him in the NICU so that i can breastfeed him..they will give me a foldable couch in the cubicle so that i can sleep and stretch my back at night...there's a mother's room with beds behind if i want to sleep properly but i will use that to take my bath and change later..

so far, baby ahmad made a wonderful progress..he was only given RTF once today as his sugar dropped to 2.2mmol/L but he was very active at that time..maybe it was the machine failure or the expired strip...he's on full breastfeeding now and his sugar is stable ...the consultant in charged, Prof C did his round and he pointed out some of the Down Syndrome features that baby ahmad has to the medical students...he also discussed on our future plans of conception after we know the karyotyping result.. i'm trying to accept and digest the whole thing and keep on praying that Allah give us the strength to go through the whole journey with baby ahmad and make it easier for us...

sleeping time

we went up at almost 4pm as Dr S, my obstetrician wanted to check on me before discharging me...i couldn't thank her more for every steps and measures she took to ensure a safe delivery...she did a wonderful job and i was thankful for that (especially for the painless episiotomy)...a few friends came by to visit baby ahmad but we told them that baby ahmad is in NICU and suspected to have Down Syndrome..they were shocked (who wouldn't) and gave us the support  we needed...my aunt and uncle came to give their support upon hearing baby ahmad's condition...we are blessed to have these wonderful people around us...with their support and prayers, we are stronger to face the hurdles each day and baby ahmad is recovering to his optimal health...

i took my shower and changed, packed my stuffs to be transferred to NICU...alhamdulillah, this time round i felt energetic (apart from the sleepiness and tiredness after delivery) and had a quick recovery compared to my previous birth experiences...i'm already wearing my pants rather than my kain batik for quick and easy movements... so far, Allah made it easier for us...and every single moment with baby ahmad is priceless...i had a glance at other babies next to baby ahmad..some had been there for quite some time and their parents were not around...some were more sick than baby ahmad...we were very fortunate and thankful to the Almighty for giving baby ahmad a very speedy recovery from his acute condition and insya allah he will be discharged soon....

we decided to make a quick run home to get some stuffs, especially my breast pump and some clean bottles...i need to start expressing my milk as my breasts were getting engorged...dear hubby need to take his clothes as he's going to sleep in his office tonight...

had a quick dinner at home, imtiaz was crying to follow us back to the hospital...i was crying my heart out too seeing him acting that way...he missed us for being away for 3 nights now...insya allah, we'll be back tomorrow with baby ahmad...

at night, i slept on the couch given and woke up a few times to nurse baby ahmad...although it was quite uncomfortable, i survived...had my cardigan and socks on, with extra blankets and cushions to support me and make me comfortable, it wasn't a bad experience after all...i also expressed my milk, even though it wasn't much...still thick and yellowish but nutritious for baby ahmad..

as baby ahmad's sugar stabilized, his dextrostix monitoring was done every 6 hours instead of 4...he is such a miracle baby, strong and adorable...i had a feeling that we are going home tomorrow...insya allah...