Our Blog revival

It had been almost a year since the last blog. A short continuation from the last blog. Ma, Pa, Jul and Renae went back to SG a month early. I was made to shift from base housing to Mountain Home city. Sion and Evon invited me to stay in their house for the rest of my time in Idaho. Totally grateful to them as I can sleep longer and is closer to the gym.

Without Ju and family, it felt so empty. Everyday going to work, gym and sleep. Most importantly, settling Moca's paperwork to bring her back to SG. Luckily there was so much things to do in Sion and Evon house. That kept me out of boredom.

Shortly after, I flew back to SG. The weather was torturing. It was super humid and hot. I am so touch that Rajesh and Nisha came to pick me up from the airport. I really appreciate them for spending so much time and trouble.

The rest of the 14 days leave was totally busy. There were so many things we did. We looked for a contractor to reno our new house. Visit Moca in the animal quarantine centre. Spent some time together. With a blink of an eye, I returned to work.

At work, it was a total different atmosphere. There are many new faces and some colleagues have left. System was totally different from U.S. side. But I still adapt pretty well. It was very hectic though.

Three months later, I was sent to Australia for 8 weeks. It was a great experience there and I met fantastic people there and even managed to catch up with my friend in Brisbane. At the same time, Renae is growing rapidly. She learnt so many things and was starting to walk. She can call out her mum so well. When I returned, she was shocked at first when she saw me at the airport. But she became comfortable with me shortly after.

Our new house reno was completed and Ju added some touches to it which make it looked so amazing. Till now,we are still working on clearing the boxes. Aint easy.

Darn.. I have to work tmr. Those are just some of the updates on our lives. Pictures coming up.. Sucks that I cant use a camera phone.

Renae's Baby Shower

It's been more than a month since our last post. Been really busy with our newborn! Never did we thought of throwing a party for her baby shower but after Michelle convinced us, well, we went ahead.

We would like to thank Michelle for organising the party. Decorating the venue... next, would like to thanks PX for assisting on the decoration and also making the glutinous rice. Last but not least,.I would like to thank Well for such delicious food she prepared. With these awesome ppl helping out, things went smoothly despite our small little house. Wait... one more very important person, Mum! She was the cook of the day! She prepared so many dishes by herself and really appreciate her hard work.

P.S. It's 2016! Will post more pics on Renae's.baby shower and our resolution for 2016!

Happy 1st Birtbday Moca

Happy birthday our mischievious and playful four legged daughter, Moca!

Though sometimes you really gave us a headache and kept us busy playing fetch, we still love you as much. We might pay lesser attention to you recently after Renae was born, but our love for you is still the same! We know you are never jealous over Renae and in fact, we knew you can't wait to play with her.

Happy 1 year old Moca! Can't wait to spend our time back in SG!

Home Sweet Home

After ten days of stay in St.Luke Meridian, Renae finally discharge. She was great and there was no symptoms of meningitis in the lab test.

As first time parents, Ju and I were struggling to figure out how to install the car seat and how to let Renae be comfortable throughout the journey back home.

Throughout the journey from hospital to home, Renae slept soundly. We had so many things to unpack and was really exhausted with the lack of sleep. But most importantly, Renae is back home! Moca was very excited and wanted to play with Renae. It just feels great to be home!

P.S. The staffs in St Luke Meridian were awesome, wonderful and professional! Their service is top class! Staying in the hospital is no fun but the staffs made our stay an enjoyable one! Thank you all so much!

St Luke stay begins

To take care of Renae, it is best for us to stay in the hospital. We will be able to look after her ourselves and monitor her condition. After all, she's our baby.

Rename condition was always improving. From being sleepy to being active looking around her and drinking very well. The staffs in St Luke Meridian Hospital are fantastic! They constantly checked on Renae and ensure she is fine. As Renae began to drink well, she was removed from IV and allowed to sleep with us.

For the next few days, her conditon got better. We finally can rest our minds as our little girl works towards full recovery. If nothing goes wrong, Saturday she will be coming home with us.

Can't wait for that day to arrive!

P.S. Ju has been a wonderful mother. Feeding her, changing her and clean her up. Ju, you are awesome!

Sepsis

Sepsis: The presence of harmful bacteria and toxins in the blood. Infection of wound.
I came to know about this illness after doc told us Renae was infected. That was probably why she did not want to drink and kept sleeping.

Next day, Renae was sent to St Luke Meridian for treatment where there are more resources there. Ju had a fever and treated too. The most probable cause to that could be the sanitization during labour.

Renae was tested positive that night for GBS ( Group B Streptococcus) and have to be treated with antibiotics for 10 days. We were given a room to stay in so that we can monitor Renae's condition and at the same time, take care of her.

4 Nov: The Intensive Labour

In the wee hours of 4 Nov, Ju told me she felt some contraction. After few minutes of consideration, we decided to go to the hospital. As Ju dilation was still about 3cm, we were discharged. After we came home, I went to bed, thinking that I only have 4 hrs to rest.

At 3.30am, Ju woke me up again and this time, the contraction was more intense. We quickly proceed to the hospital and this time, she got a 5 cm dilation and needed to be admitted. In a flash, the anesthetic was here to set up the epidural process. Everything happened so quickly and the next moment, Ju was under epidural. However,.she could only felt her right leg was numb.

She suffered contraction pain for about 2-3 hours and there was some contradiction whether to reseat the epidural. With some persuasion, she decided to go against reseating the epidural and to break the water bag. At around 7, the doctor broke the water bag and warned that the contraction would be worse.

The next few hours, there wasn't any dilation but unbearable pain. Pain that felt like 100 knives piercing through Ju's intestine. I was heartbroken to see her in such pain. Usually, her pain tolerance was sky high. This time she was defeated by the intense contraction. For 2 hours, there was.no dilation. Worse still, the next shift doctor recommended the injection of petocine. Things got worse. Ju gave up and asked for another dose of epidural.

The second epidural was effective and Ju could take a rest to prepare for the finale. We took a 2 hrs nap before the doctor came in to check. "Alright, you're ready!" I got excited. The medical staff started to prepare for the finale. The scene was like soldiers preparing for war.

Push! Push! That's the command we gave Ju whenever she felt contraction. Every push was a progress and for the first time I saw our baby's hair. Omg! She's coming out! After about 40 mins, Renae was born. Our first meeting was a scary one. There was blood on the top of her head and she looked pale. I thought what could had happened. They cleaned her up and and discovered the blood was not hers. It belonged to Ju. Her v was ruptured badly during the labour.

It really hurt but I felt proud for my wife. No one will ever know how she feels. The nurses passed me a pair of.scissors to separate baby away from Ju...

 

The next chapter of our life begins....

P.S. Welcome to the world, Renae Wu!