seventeenzeroeightzeroeight

Two weeks have since passed and I am grateful for the company to have given me the paternity leave to take care of both mother and child.

It all started on the morning of 16 August 2008. I was about to head for the airport for my trip back home to Singapore. My son decided it was time and burst the water bag.

So the trip back to Singapore transformed into a trip to the hospital.

When my wife told her mother about it, she was quite alright. I was in a state of excitement and nervousness. Luckily, my mother-in-law was there to calm things down.

We even had lunch before heading to the hospital.

Once we reached the hospital, I informed the reception that my wife's water bag has burst. The receptionist was more anxious than I was and arranged for her to be admitted to the delivery suite.

After my wife was well rested at the suite, then did they ask me to head down to handle the administration paperwork.

The genealogist came and checked on my wife.

Everything seemed normal but the genea was sort of worried that my wife was dilating accordingly and had a c-section could be possible.

The genea said to give my wife 24 hours to see how it progress with assistance from medication.

I chose the single ward so I could be with my wife through out the night. The hospital staff also provided a portable bed for me.

The night wasn't very peaceful though. Wife was going through her contractions and was in pain.

We called in the nurses and mid-wives a couple of times. Around 2am, the contractions got real bad and the mid-wife on duty suggested epidural, but my wife refused. The mid-wife then explained that this was normal and only did my wife calmed down.

Later in the morning, the genea came again and checked on my wife. He recommended a c-section and my wife was pushed into the operating theater in the early morning.

That one hour seem rather long though I had cable to entertain me. The doctor came in and congratulated me for being a father.

He said everything was fine and that the baby was quite heavy at 3.72kg.

He brought me outside the nursery and told me I could see my new born.

When I saw Anson then, he was fast asleep and showed a smile on his face. I couldn't resist taking a photo of Anson using my wife's mobile. I was both happy and excited to see my son, yet I was worried about my wife.

My wife was wheeled in and was still asleep.

We had to stay in hospital for another day as that was the norm for c-section. Wife had to stay off solid food and was very weak.

In between this period of time, Anson was brought in. He looked very fragile and I was quite afraid to carry him.

Most of the time, Anson was asleep.

Wife did try to breastfeed Anson, but was rather unsuccessful as Anson was still not used to it and was in a sleepy mood.

Wife went back home the next day but Anson had to stay one more day for treatment of Jaundice.

I went back to the hospital the next day and my mother-in-law was happy to carry him all the way home.

Wife was happy to see Anson home but she still was weak from the operation.

Luckily for us, mother-in-law found a good confinement nanny to take care of wife and child.

Both mother-in-law and confinement nanny showed me how to pick up Anson from the cot and carry him in my arms.

I started singing to Anson and he seemed to like it a lot. Rock-a-bye Baby is now his favourite lullaby.

On Friday, I had to bring Anson back to the hospital for his first preview.

Anson seemed yellowish and the doctor took some blood from him. We brought him home while waited for the results of the blood test.

When the blood test came back, Anson had to be readmitted into the hospital for treatment.

Wife was upset to see Anson leave for the hospital but she was too weak.

The next day, we decided to bring Anson back though the doctor suggested he should stay one more day.

Mother-in-law said to treat Anson with a little natural sun tanning.

I told the confinement nanny I wanted to carry Anson down and to wait for the car. She gave me the chance to carry Anson all the way home. I sang to Anson while he sleep nicely in my arms.

The next day, both Anson and I spend a few minutes in the morning sun. I took this opportunity to wish him Good Morning and sing as many lullabies as I could remember. I think it was up to four.

The post seven days were dedicated to running around KL for administration purpose. I had to go to the local govt agency to register Anson's BC and to the Singapore embassy to submit Anson's citizen application.

The two weeks paternity leave allowed me to do all this and at the same time bond with my son.

I am back in Singapore and will return to office tomorrow. There are lots of catching up to do but I am glad for the company to giving me this leave.

I will be returning to KL on Wednesday night and I can't wait to see Anson again.