The months leading up to this day have been full of anticipation, excitement and planning.
Under the recommendation of my gynae we scheduled a C-section so we knew when we were going to have N a few months before it actually happened.
Knowing when he was coming gave us a sense of control but yet there were still many things beyond our control.
When we were scheduling the surgery, we were told that the anasthetist we engaged for our last pregnancy wasn't available so we had to look for someone else.
I watched as the nurse called 3 other anasthetists before finding someone who was available that day.
I was a little nervous because it seemed like we only managed to engage her because she wasn't very popular.
Little did I know, she was part of God's plan to take care of us.
The day drew near and we got less sleep each night.
I woke up often during the night because the baby was getting heavier and kicking harder so it was more difficult and uncomfortable to sleep.
Q had his share of restless nights waking up at 2am worrying about the day of the surgery.
We decided to treat the scheduled C-section like a normal birth and kept the day of delivery a secret from our parents.
We wanted it to be a surprise like how it would be if we did vaginal birth because we foresaw that telling them would bring 4 very eager and proud grandparents to camp out in the hospital on the day of the surgery.
We decided that the best thing for K was to keep all visitors away for the first day so she wouldn't be too anxious while being introduced to N.
That meant that we had to work out child care for her between us and obviously the job fell onto Q's shoulders as I would be 'otherwise engaged'.
So the plan was for me to take a taxi to the hospital and have the surgery while Q took care of K and came with her later.
We definitely had other options like calling close friends to keep me company for the surgery but I felt it was unnecessary because other than the expected nervousness before any life change, I wasn't anxious about it at all.
I had gone through a C-section before and sort of knew what was coming.
Q on the other hand was worrying on behalf of me and was slightly perplexed at how I could be so nonchalant about having such a major procedure alone.
'And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.' -Philippians 4:7
I had God's peace. I knew He was watching over me and that morning, He sent many many reminders.
The day started off with a very early morning wake up.
I wasn't able to fall asleep the night before till the wee hours of the morning because I was having a really bad cough (and I was trying to finish watching the last few episodes of my korean drama.. oops).
During the night, I had coughed myself sore and my chest muscles were aching from all the coughing.
I was worried that the cough would continue after the surgery and having a cough right after a C-section is the worst thing ever.
So I asked my lifegroup to pray for me and I spent a lot of the night and the morning praying too..
I woke up at 5.15am and got dressed, said goodbye to Q and headed downstairs to look for a cab.
I didn't see any cabs around so I whipped out my phone to grabtaxi one.
Being an 'aunty' I saw that there was a budget option to choose grabcar instead.
I've never used it before and thought why not? save money.
So I did that, and smsed Q the details of my ride (just in case).
I spent the ride talking to the guy about how grab car worked and how I was heading into the hospital to have the baby on my own.
He decided at the end of the ride to bless the both of us with a free ride!
I was shocked and thanked him for his kindness.
That was my first reminder from God that He was already blessing my day and with me.
I walked into the hospital to be registered and saw a handful of other couples waiting to register.
I was the only one that was there alone and found a tiny corner to sit and wait and Candy Crush ;)
The night before, I had managed to get unlimited lives for Candy Crush for 24 hrs and boy did I need that with all the waiting involved!
That I considered to be a second blessing from God :)
When it came my turn, I was told that all the single rooms were full.
I was thinking that I might end up in a double room like the last time when I had K.
I was a little worried about that because it might have an effect on K if she went into the room and saw a stranger in the next bed.. But decided we would just go with whatever was given to us.
A room is better than no room after all!
After a 20 minute long wait, they finally called for me and informed me that we had been upgraded to the premium rooms (aka the suites)!
Again, God gave me another reason to smile :)
So after arriving at my room, I prepared for surgery.
Still calm and at peace, I put on the robe and climbed onto the surgery bed and was wheeled into the room.
I quickly informed the nurses that I was having a bad cough and to let the doctor know in case.
The surgery room was really really cold.
I started shaking from the cold the moment I entered the room.
As I lay there waiting for the doctor and coughing away, I spent the time praying and asking God to continue to watch over me.
I remember my knees were shaking super violently under the covers because it was so cold and suddenly mid prayer, they stopped.
I suddenly felt very comfortably warm and the itch in my throat started to calm down.
Soon after, the anasthetist came and introduced herself and everything was a blur from there.
When I finally got back to the room, I realised that it was already 10am and I haven't coughed the slightest bit ever since the start of the surgery at 8am.
This was a miracle to me because just a few hours before I wouldn't have lasted 10 minutes without coughing!
That evening, the anasthetist I doubted dropped by to visit and explained that the nurses informed her about my cough and she gave me a morphine shot with my spinal and prescribed a painkiller that would further help me with my cough for the next few days.
I was taken aback by her attention to detail and it was clearly another amazing show of God's care for me :)
Today is day 3 and I've already gotten up and walked around more than a handful of times.
My recovery this time round is definitely faster than when I had K.
I even woke up at 5am this morning and started packing the room littered with K's toys because I felt energetic enough and my OCD self was clearly showing itself.. hahaha..
My milk came in last night and N has been nursing very well and on the whole, the breastfeeding has been easier the second time round (another reason to give thanks!)
N gave me a tiny smile after his 5am feed this morning because he finally got his first taste of milk.. hee!
It's going to just get more challenging from here on but with such a great start and so many reminders and assurances from God that He is with us right from the start, I am nothing but excited for the days ahead.
But He said to me, " My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -2 Corinthians 12:9
