Baby Kayla's New Year

It wasn't exactly a Happy new year for Kayla as she spent her post-Xmas and new year in sickness.

She first started with a fever on 28th Dec 09, and we'd to bring her to KKH for consultation as it happened after clinic hours. After waiting for hours, we managed to reach home after midnight. Then we woke her up at 3am for paracetemol medication. That's when inexperienced me who tried to feed her with the syringe, didn't manage to feed her successfully. She spit out some of the medicine, then she vomitted. We had to send her back to KKH again, as told by the doctor in the earlier visit. So its another few hours time. Kayla was really tired. She fell deep asleep in the pram while I kept dozing off. Its 7am by the time we reached home the 2nd time. Both husb and me were so beat that we knocked out when touched the bed. All these while we slept beside Kayla and made sure we measured her temperature, and kept her cool by putting the cool plasters on her forehead, armpits, behind her neck, above her groin, and on her back. The cool plasters didn't really bring down much of her heat so I went to do sponging on her. It worked immediately! Her temperature was much normal after a few times of sponging.

Throughout the process we were worried for her, but fortunately her fever wasn't very high. So its monitoring her condition for the next few hours and days.

Everything resumed normal after a day or 2, then come to 31st Dec 09 (Fri)/1st Jan 2010 (Sat), we noticed that she started to cough with wheezing sound. We called up her pd clinic on saturday and realised the pd was out, and another pd was in the clinic. So we decided to wait till Monday 4th Jan 2010 to let her see the usual pd.

Very bad news was told to us after the visit to pd - she had bronchitis. The phelgm in her tiny lungs are unable to be purged out. So the pd advised us to admit her to hospital so that they can treat her through the usage of nebuliser, medication and physiotherapy session (physio session, together with the usage of nebuliser, can help to loosen the phlegm such that she can either pass the phlegm through her stools, or spit them out through vomit). We were very worried for her as this was the first time we faced this as new parents. And also worried for Kayla. When she had her first nebuliser and physio session, she didn't cry. Probably it was something new to her. When at subsequent sessions, she kept crying, especially at the physio sessions as they pat repeatedly at her side, and back. We couldn't help but to onlook by the side. We were so heartpain. The final straw came. She was brought into the treatment room for suction of the phlegm so as in order to bring the phlegm for lab test and to analyse the type of bacteria before they can prescribe correct medication. We were not allowed in. Standing outside the treatment room, we heard her desperate loud cries..crying for help, crying for us, crying in pain...Both of us hugged each other and cried in each other's arms... She's such a poor little baby who had to suffer so much and our heart ached.. When she was finally out, her face were full of red blood spots due to over-exertion when she cried (I'd those when I vomitted too hard during pregnancy). She was sniffing so hard, and looked very scared.. Husb hugged her tightly in his arms. I can only comfort her by sayang-ing her. It must had been a terrible experience to her...

Worse still, during her 3 days stay in TMC, I'd also fallen ill due to a flu virus. Had not been ill since I was pregnant and suddenly kena a serious flu when I shouldn't be sick at that time! So I only managed to stay in the hospital with Kayla for the 1st night, together with husb. The next night I had to go home and rest, while I left husb alone to attend to Kayla himself. I felt very bad but I kept coughing and/or sneezing. So I was in dilemma - to stay and to try to take care of Kayla but risk passing her more germs, or to leave and let the poor husb to take care of the poor Kayla by himself? It was really tough when I'd to go through the experience of having to take care of my baby when I was really ill that time.. Life is no longer the same once you become parents. You take a back seat, when your child comes first in your life.

So, it wasn't a Happy new year and pleasant experience for the Yammies. But it had made us stronger - I love and treasure Kayla more than before. I've witnessed how supportive my husb had been to me and his love to his baby. I've experienced close support from my in-laws. I wish we will be happier, healthier in the coming years...and I hope Kayla will have a better New Year in 2011.