hi, nikki, i was using the angelcare monitor. it is super sensitive. can really detect almost anything. pro and cons.... cos if the fan is blowing at the cot, it kinda activate the sensor as well. so 'touch wood', if baby is not breathing but the fan is blowing at the cot, the alarm would not go off. it was helpful for me during the first few months when my baby was home with us. susbsequently, we use it as a audio detector instead. if you are interested, i can sell you. hee.... quite new. let me know bah.
nate just passed his 1st birthday recently. and we are so taankful. i wrote a letter to him and would like to share with all the mummies and daddy who has been such an encouragement to me.
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29 june 2010, tuesday
Dear nate,
you are one year old today. Well, at least in terms of your birth age. According to your corrected age, you are only nine months old. The first 78 days of your life was spent at KKH NICU and SCN. Mummy did not manage to hold you when you came out. That’s because at 28 gestational weeks, your lungs were not fully developed. At birth, you needed resuscitation and subsequently a ventilator was inserted to help you breathe. I will never forget your birth because it was a traumatic one for me. Three weeks earlier before your birth, the sterile environment a.k.a. water bag has ruptured. Medically, mummy was in labour. We are so thankful that God kept you in for three weeks. Each day is a daily grace from the Lord. Hence Huai En (remembering God’s grace).
Mummy still remember the first time I saw you. Daddy has gone back to rest. 6 hours after delivery, I hobbled down from the ward to NICU. Nothing could have prepared for what I was about to see. You were so tiny. I think the tubes; TNP and CPAP (an apparatus which pump in oxygen to help you breathe) were heavier than your 1 kg frame. I wept. Silently. I could only say ‘sorry, baby’. Sorry that mummy could not keep you in longer. Quickly I composed myself because I know that mummy need to be strong. The NICU soon became a familiar place during the confinement. I was not exactly confined considering that I visited you twice daily. Thank God for Sister Winnie who is a senior nurse at the NICU. She is mummy’s friend’s friend. She gave you special care. Daily, she would walk over and pray for you. You had quite a bad case of jaundice. The nurses would strip you naked and sun bathe you. Thank God your liver started working actively and after two weeks, you were off the phototherapy. His daily grace.
At about one week after your birth, you needed blood transfusion. Subsequently, you went on to have another two rounds of transfusion because your red blood count wasn’t exactly fantastic. A dentist had to be called in as a pre-natal tooth decided to make its appearance. It was rather wobbly and with the ventilator inserted, they did not want to risk having a loose tooth go missing in your airways. That would have been bad. Really bad. The dentist was extremely nice. He told daddy and mummy not to worry about the alignments because God made all things beautiful and when you grow up, the teeth will form up nicely by itself.
Feeding you was a challenge by itself. All these while, you have been fed through the TNP and tube fed. When the doctors decided to let you try the bottle, we were warned that you might desat. Desaturation means you forget to breathe and your face turns blue and we have to inflict a slight pain to remind you to breathe. Mummy read somewhere that it is better to latch you on. And you did really well. But because you were on vitamins, iron drops, MCT oil and protein, for a large part of the feeds, we used the bottle.
Towards the end of August, daddy had to go overseas. It was also during this time that we were notified of a lump near your groin area. Hernia. A surgery was scheduled. Again, mummy sobbed silently when you were wheeled into the operating theatre. Mummy, at the ripe old age of 33 have not gone under the knife yet. But you, a mere 8 weeks old has so much medical procedure done already. The uncles and aunties in the cell group prayed for you. They love you very much, you know? The operation went really well. The scar is hardly visible.
You were discharged a few days later. After 78 long days in the hospital, we can finally have you home with us.
The reason why mummy wrote such a long letter to you is because I want to remember His daily grace in our lives – especially yours. You were discharged with a whole list of problems. ROP Stage II (abnormal growth of the blood vessels in your eyes); poor post-natal growth; congenital muscular torticollios (which if not corrected with therapy may result in you not being able to crawl and walk) and anaemic. But you overcame them one by one as you grew older. You are a fighter. And maybe because you had to fight for a chance to live, you are more strong-will as compared to zach gor gor. Recently, you grabbed zach gor gor’s hair because he was teasing you to no end. I think you pulled out quite a substantial lock from his hair. Since then, he has been rather cautious around you.
Nate, you are one year old today. There are still many milestones that you have to reach. Some are easier and some might be a little more challenging. But mummy knows that you will overcome them because of His grace in your life.
Nate, blessed one year old and mummy loves you very much.
Love,
Mummy
