With age, I mellowed. U think so?: Ayra's Birth Chronology

Alhamdulillah, dah 2 bulan bergelar ibu. I miss my pregnancy journey and it was such a wonderful experience. Ok, my due date was 18 April 2014, 40 weeks to be exact. I was hoping to give birth a week earlier so that my youngest sister would have enough time to babysit her niece at my mum's.

But I only felt Braxton Hicks a week before my due date. The sensation was irregular and mild. I told myself, "Bilalah nak datang sakit nak bersalin ni?".

To cut it short, on 16 April 2014 evening, i felt a few mild cramps, but they were irregular and were gone below 1 min. I was like, "Ah, they were just Braxton Hicks!". I still could bear the pain. Around 1 in the morning, I started to feel frequent cramps. I told DH to send me to the hospital early in the morning. I asked him to sleep well. But my pain was getting intense but still bearable. That whole night, I couldn't sleep. "I think the baby will pop out pretty soon!".

To fade away the pain, I went to my kitchen and cleaned some mess, swept the floor. And started to get my hospital bags ready. I tried to take cat nap because I was so tired and sleepy. At last, I felt asleep with the pain.

Around 6 am, I took my shower, performed Subuh prayer and recited Surah Maryam. But the pain was unbearable and became more frequent. I woke DH up and asked him to get ready. He also made me a mug of warm milo for energy.

We left our house for the hospital at 7.45am on 17 April. After registration at Dewan Bersalin, a nurse checked my baby's heart rate through CTG. When the contraction came, I just closed my eyes and recited Doa Nabi Yunus. I knew the time has come. The nurse did VE and I was 1cm dilated.

After an hour, a young female Dr did an ultrasound. She told me that my baby could weigh 3.6-3.8kg. And she considered as a big baby case. She also mentioned about having csect because of 'the big baby' plus this was my 1st pregnancy and it was quite risky. My heart was going to explode. I wasn't prepare for any major operation. I wanted a vaginal birth. The Dr from Klinik Kesihatan said my baby weighed below 3 kg. I was upset and speechless.

She asked me to stay at home until the contraction became more frequent and regular. The worst part was I threw up when the contractions came. In short, I was dehydrated. Then, we rushed to the hospital and finally I got admitted.

I couldn't bear the contraction. I asked for pain killers. A nurse gave me a jab but the pain wasn't subside. I was given IV drip to stay hydrated.

That night I asked for another pain killer jab. Ya Allah, the pain was unbearable. I wanted this child to pop out real soon. I also asked the nurses to do VE. At last, around 1230am, 18 April 2014, i was 5 cm dilated. Then, I was rushed to the labour room. Called DH to wait me there and get ready for the delivery.

At 530am, I was 6cm dilated but there was an urge to push the baby out. A young indian female Dr kept reminding me, "Don't push the baby out, wait until 10cm dilated.". She broke my waterbag to speed up the dilation rate. But the progress was pretty slow. I couldn't bear the urge. When the urge came, I had to pull and hold it back. The pain was getting worse, I asked for entonox and epidural.

Sadly, the Dr couldn't cater that because 1) entonox will keep me unsober and 'stoned'. 2) epidural can be requested during working hours 8am-5pm. The Dr said they will send me for emergency c-sect if my dilation progress is poor and she asked me to wait and bear the pain until 8am. I requested for the c-sect to be done soon and I didn't want to wait until 8am. Plus it was a 'big baby case'.

After getting a consensus from DH, they rushed me to the OT. Alhamdulillah, finally at 6.32 am on 18 April 2014, Raja Ayra bt. Raja Shafiq Mukri was born. She weighed 3.3kg. And they classified my case as, LSCS for suspected big baby. I felt so relieved as long as my baby is safe and healthy.

Everything was fine, I was discharged on 20 April 2014. Alhamdulillah, now my career as a mother has just begun. May the force be with me always.