Having a newborn in the family is a momentus event, and the beginning of a new chapter of life!! It can also be a chaotic mess of things all coming together. I took a few days of memories after our baby’s arrival to show just a few of the things that can happen – to yourself, to you family members, to your surroundings.

Day 1: Arrival

I never thought about the prospects of having a baby, nor do I know what to expect. So when our baby was born today, it was a flood of emotions all crashing together. Before the delivery, all I was thinking was all the  new and additional costs to bear, the changes that need to be made to accomodate the new life.

I was in the operations room during the delivery. My mind was blank, simply because I had no idea what to expect, until you hear the baby’s first cry. The feeling is indeed indescribable – a sudden excitement with a bit of anxiety but also happy that the baby is ok. Despite all the worries I had before, these things seem to set aside itself and you feel things can work out somehow~

Day 2-3: Complications

Being happy or being depressed is almost like the flick of a switch. You can be starring at the sweet eyes of your baby, but feeling helpless at the same moment if he has problems and there is nothing you can do.  After birth, the pediatrician said he had to stay in an oxygen case because his lungs were taking longer than usual to adjust from the placenta water to oxygen in the air and CRP (C-Reactive Protein) levels were above average (these indicate inflammation levels in the body).

Since he was in oxygen case, no one else but immediate parents can see the baby and so on day 1 and 2, I was going in to see the baby and taking pics for my wife to see as she is still recovering from the operation. On day 3, nurses and I took wifey by wheelchair to see the baby. It was bittersweet, while we can see and touch and talk to baby, but the fact that he was still in the case and we can do nothing for him felt…depressing to say the least…

Day 6: Home, Sweet, Home

Checkout day! Over the last few days, baby’s condition gradually improved and by day 6, the doctor gave him a clean bill of health so he can come home with us! That’s the good news, as reality hits back when I went to pay the hospital bill. Of course I am prepared for the amount already beforehand, but I still let out a quiet sigh while looking at the amount. Well…got to do what you have to do to ensure baby is safe and mom be relieved.

Being new parents, we were absolutely not ready to take over at home. Our confinement lady was starting on the next day, but we were already having troubles taking care of the baby, especially with the diapers and milk feeding schedules. We did survive the night, but mainly because our helper was really proficient handling baby matters…we were lucky.

Day 7: Our first Confinement

The cavalry has arrived!…or so we thought. We interviewed this confinement lady back in March (have to start early in order to get more candidate options) and found her to be satisfactory. Her booklet of positive recommendation form and her friendly manner made me think she will be a good fit for my wife.

However, on day one, even before she arrived, she suddenly tells us that several services that she originally can offer now cost additional charge. In addition, the quality of her care was average at best, and worsened as time went on, especially the care for our child was increasingly lacking, leading to several more serious incidents that we had to handle. As time went on, we only saw more and more faults from her…

 What happened after? Do we keep her? Do we get other help? Stay tuned for part 2~!