Kimmy and Julie :: Family Journal

Samantha @ 1 Month

This is a very very late post due to Internet connection problem. This post should be up on 24 April 2010. At 1 month old, she is still tiny and fragile, weighing at only 2.65kg. Will talk about her in a later post…

Samantha – The Challenges

Baby Samantha is 3 weeks old today.  I am still learning in taking care of her who requires more tender loving care.  Still working out the best schedule for her which includes her milk time, vitamins time and massage time.

I am practising the art of infant massage by using Johnson & Johnson’s guide on “The Importance of Touch…”.  The schedule would be at least one time a day but preferably 2 times a day.  Massaging fragile little Samantha is like breaking her bones.

Getting Samantha to swallow her vitamins is a great challenge and can be quite stressful. In a day, she needs to take 6 vitamins.

1. Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 (liquid – mixture of powder and syrup)
2. Biotin, also known as B complex (tablet – crush into powder form)
3. Vitamin B1 (tablet – crush into powder form)
4. Folic Acid (tablet – crush into powder form)
5. Co-enzyme q10 (soft-gel capsule - squeeze out the oil-soluble)
6. Vitamin E (soft-gel capsule - squeeze out the oil-soluble)

She was also given Polycose (powder to mix with water/EBM) 3-hourly to help her get the calories she needs for growth.

As it is quite taxing for her to take all vitamins at once, I separate them into 3 portions.  I need to establish a routine for her vitamins intake too.  All the vitamins are so awful you can see from Samantha’s reaction when the mixture reaches her tongue. Some smells awful. My poor baby…

Samantha went for her first follow-up after she was discharged. It seems that she had not gained any weight since she discharged. Because of that, doctor advised to give her EBM instead of direct BF. This is to ensure that she gets the right amount of milk which is for now, 1.5oz every 3 hours. But Samantha tend to fall asleep after taking only 1oz or less. No matter how you agitate her, she won’t suck.

She’s like an owl. During day time, she can sleep for 3 – 4 hours without crying for milk. At night, she cries every hour and using my nipple as her pacifier. BF her is a challenge too. When I started breastfeeding her, it was so difficult to latch her on my breast.  As she is smallish, she’s not willing to open her mouth wide unless when she cries out loud.  

My other problem is the bottle teat. I think she prefers small and soft teat with slow flow. Any recommendations?

Back to Daddy & Mommy’s Arm

Doctors finally allowed Samantha girl to go home on Monday, after 10 days being in Neonatal ICU. Thank you for all the prayers and concern for Samantha.  And as I am writing this post, my little girl is sleeping peacefully. Praise the Lord!

After what Samantha’s had gone through, the doctor (a geneticist) diagnosed her with Inborn Error of Metabolism (IEM) in which she had Mitochondrial Disease. However further tests will be performed as she grows, to confirm this diagnosis. Right now, she has to be on long term vitamins to give her energy.

Here’s Baby Samantha’s miraculous story……

She was delivered via C-sect due to a breech position and weighing at 2.03kg. Apgar score was good and she looks like a normal healthy baby. Initially she was sucking well from the bottle but later towards the evening, pediatrician informed us that she was shivering and so she will be put in the incubator for the time being.

In the evening of the second day, she looks lethargic and was breathing rapidly with a pulse rate of 180+. Pediatrician stopped her feeding and put her on IV drip via her belly button in order for her to rest so to see if her condition will improve the next day.

In the morning of the third day, she was not getting much better but her condition deteriorated with very high acid level in the blood (pH 6.8 compared to normal pH 7.6). Pediatrician informed us that we need to send her to a bigger medical centre for further examination. He called all of the government hospitals and private medical centres but non are available to accept the patient.  At last, without a choice, we ended up at Prince Court Medical Centre (PCMC) in the heart of KL city. We are aware of the higher medical charges but we rather not put the baby’s health at risk by waiting for another few hours or a day until we get a cheaper hospital. Pediatrician immediately arranged for the ambulance to transport baby Samantha in the incubator accompanied by Darling.

In the afternoon, I got myself discharged, one day earlier with my sisters’ help. Good thing that I was strong enough and had recuperated quite well from the C-sect. I never thought that I would be wheeled out from the hospital without my baby in my arm. I had to be strong to face every challenges and Darling and I knew that Samantha will be in good hands.

At PCMC, Samantha’s condition was quite severe. She was admitted due to severe metabolic acidosis. When the doctors briefed us on her condition, they sounded very unpromising if Samantha can make it through or if there is any brain damage. She was sedated with tubes and wires every where. Every second, every minutes, every hour and every stages that she is going through is like a battle you never know if you will win. But by faith, we prayed to God each time she goes through a procedures. That night was a painful and scary night for both Darling and I.  We are very thankful and blessed that we have a group of doctors and nurses that are very caring, loving and sincere, that are willing to put in every might and effort to stabilize Samantha. Due to the severe acidosis, the doctors had to perform a blood exchange transfusion and peritoneal dialysis to remove as much acid as possible. The whole thing lasted until past midnight.

The next day and days after that was really amazing grace of God. Her acidosis level and pulse rate slowly improves. She fought strong and progressed very well for a tiny baby like her. It was a great joy seeing her getting well every day. Indeed God is good…all the time. Indeed God is watching over Samantha. Whilst she was in NICU, we  whispered to her everyday that Jesus is holding her hands to walk through all these and she’s going to be fine. Amen!

And so here is our little girl on the day she was discharged from hospital. Tiny she is but the angel of our heart. We are still praying with faith that she would not suffer from any developmental delay, learning difficulties, physical handicaps, behavioral problems or sickness which could occur in babies affected by IEM.

Our Little Girl – A Quick Update

As much as I would like to put up a good post showing off how well our little girl is doing, but the fact is she is not.

Baby Samantha 4 days old: 2nd day in ICU

Baby Samantha 5 days old: 3rd day in ICU

Baby Samantha (this is the name we’ve chosen for her) is currently in Prince Court Medical Centre’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She was being transferred here since last Friday, the 3rd day after her birth. Cause of illness has yet to be diagnosed and we are still praying hard that the doctors will be able to rule out the diagnosis by today.  Will write more about her later.

At the moment, her condition is quite stable but still under close monitoring. Praise and glory to God for his mercy and healing powers thus far! Our gratitude and heartfelt thank you to family members, relatives, CG & church members and friends who has been keeping baby Samantha in their daily prayer. Do continue to pray that she will recover soon.

Our new addition

This is a short update to inform all our friends that Julie and our baby girl are doing well and healthy.
Thank you for all of your prayers and wishes.

Off His Favourite

I never thought I could do this and complete the mission successfully.    It is a date to remember that finally Jonathan boy is off his favourite pacifier (or peh peh he would call it being the first syllabus “pa”).

Two weeks ago, on a Saturday night that was 27/3/2010, Darling initiated the mission which I was doubting if we could sustain. It was a tough night for Jonathan boy. Initially, he asked for his peh peh with his manja voice as usual but his request was rejected by us. Then he started to whine, then cried, then thrown tantrum by rolling on the bed, kicking here and there. We kept telling him ”no more peh peh“, “Jonathan big boy already”, “peh peh for baby only”, “peh peh shame shame” but he still can’t accept it.  After sometime, he drifted into dreamland with tears.  Oh, my poor boy. In the middle of the night, he woke up once to look for his peh peh and cried when he can’t find them.

The second night, he went to bed without any fuss as he was too tired because he didn’t take his afternoon nap. Phew……we thought tonight is an easy night. Who knows, it was Chap Goh Mei! He was awaken by the firecrackers and it turned an easy night into a horrible night. He cried so terriblely as though having a bad dream.

The following nights, Darling was on night shift. I warned him that if I couldn’t bear with Jonathan’s act, I’ll give in. (Guess I am not as firm as him or not as patience as him)  I was praying hard that Jonathan won’t give me a hard time each night. Hehe….he was very co-operative indeed.  Few nights in the beginning, he requested for his peh peh and I kept telling him “no more peh peh“, “Jonathan big boy already”, “peh peh for baby only”, “peh peh shame shame”. It was really a brainwashing session. He didn’t cry or throw tantrum but just whine a little. I gave him his milk bottle or water bottle with teat to soothe himself.

One week gone. Occasionally he still ask for it.  He nearly wanted to pull out the toy pacifier from one of the doll. The following week, he began to understand and accept it. He never asked for his peh peh anymore. We browsed through the photos in my camera and when he sees himself with pacifier, he said, “Jonathan shame shame”.  When we asked him if he still wants peh peh, he said, “Peh peh for baby.”

Many asked me before this, when would I want to wean him off from pacifier. I couldn’t gave an answer because I was afraid to see him “suffer”.   If you ask me now, how to do it, I can only share with you what we had been through.  It really depends on your child, how you handle the situation and perseverance is very important. Some parents had to perform tricks (like cutting off the pacifier in front of the kid), some kids need to be encouraged with some “bribe”, and like my son, I think he just need to be brain-washed. (Now I’m wondering if he will easily get influenced by others when he grows up. Hmmm…..)

Not forgetting, all credit goes to Darling, for being a very supportive husband and a firm Daddy.  And also Jonathan boy for being a very understanding and well-behaved boy.

37 Weeks

My body began to change since CNY. Nose growing bigger, legs getting more swollen, getting lazier and restless, and the worst is acne!  Blame it to the burning hot weather. A bath suppose to be refreshing but ended to be like just came out from a hot spring. Night should be breezing cool but it was the warmest part of the day. Because of that, I had acne all over my body.

Now I just can’t wait for my confinement. Thinking of all those delicious food and 2 months leave. Hope I can get to enjoy my two months maternity leave with minimal disruption from the office and without any annoying calls from my boss and colleagues.  They make it seems that their phone directory only has my number and only I can answer or resolve their issue and only I have the access to the information they want! This is the problem when you do not have someone as your back-up that knows the A – Z of your work.

How is the little one doing? Oh…last week’s scan showed that she refuses to turn her head down!

Doc: Come back next week and if she is still not turning, we will have to schedule for a Caesarean.

Me: So soon? My EDD is 25th. Can’t we wait till there are signs of labour?

Doc: No…by then we have to go for emergency Caesarean.

Me: *Keep quiet. Disappointed*

Since then, I had been praying harder and talking much more to baby. I’m not afraid of C-sect but just want to experience natural birth since I had gone through C-sect the previous time.

Got most of the necessary stuff packed for baby, myself and Jonathan. This time will be having my confinement in hometown and Jonathan will be tagging along. Not too sure if I can cope with the traveling in such condition and having to take care of the baby at the same time.

* Update (one week later): Praise the Lord! Little one is very obedient. She turned!! What a relieved. So now, we just have to wait, wait and wait for signs of labour.

Mixing Up “Me” & “You”

When your child starts to speak and understand, does he/she mixed words up or get confused? Jonathan boy mixed up the “me” and “you” pronouns.

I used to say: “Come boy, Mommy carry you.”

When he wants me to carry him, he would say: “Mommy, carry you, please.”

***********

I would ask him: “Jonathan boy, Mommy make milk for you, ok?”

When he wants milk, he says: “Mommy, make milk you.” (Notice too that the “for” is missing here)

When he made this mistake, I would stare at him with a smile. He can read my expression and then corrected himself.  But suprisingly he won’t get the “I” and “You” or “Me” and “I” mixed up. He knows when to use them.

Such as: “Daddy, I want egg.”  and “Daddy, you want egg?”

                  “Give me.” and “I want.” instead of “Me want.”

I try to use nouns and names when speaking to him but often forget ’cause we are so used to using pronouns in our daily adult conversation.  Nevertheless, it’s so cute sometimes when you hear the mistakes they made.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Left: Taken yesterday, Right: Taken one year ago.

See how much Jonathan boy has grown.  He is now well-trained to say, “Gong Xi, Gong Xi, ang pow please…” But only in front of Mommy. Shy boy it seems. Sigh….

Anyway, wishing everyone a good year ahead and safe journey for those who are traveling. Take care and don’t fall sick. Cheers!

My Daddy is Handy Manny When…

… I see no picture displayed on the TV because I accidentally pressed invalid channel.

… the remote control is out of battery.

… my remote control car refuse to move on its own.

… the arms of my Ultraman dislocated.

… my shoe has a “buaya” mouth.

… I don’t hear any sound from my computer while playing games or watching my favourite VCD.

…there is no light shining from the torch light.

Many more mishaps happened due to my naughtiness curiosity at this age but Daddy got all that fixed.  That’s not all.

…Mommy sees a lizard. She will be screaming, “Darling! Come and catch this lizard away.”

…I see baby cockroaches running inside the car. I’ll scream, “Daddy, catch!”

Isn’t my Daddy great? And I shall now call him Handy Daddy. Hooray!