The First Week
Day 1: Saturday - The newest member on the earth
The day began really early, around 4:00 am. After the morning ablutions, a troika started towards the hospital. En route, the car hit a middle aged guy on scooter causing him to loose his balance and fall. But there wasn't enough time to stop the car and ask after him - the matter of fact was that Vaibhav was admitted to the hospital on 6th July itself and technically she was supposed to spend the night at the hospital. After reaching the hospital, enema was done, followed by glucose drip and some injections. Then Vaibhav was directed to sit in the out room of the operation theatre. By this time, it was around 8:00 in the morning and I finally arrived by train from Delhi. Tanu picked me up at the station, rushed me home, got me ready, pushed some breakfast into my mouth (under instructions from Vaibhav) and then we sped off to the hospital. Thankfully, by the time we reached hospital, Vaibhav was still in the out room. She stepped out and we talked until a doctor came by and chided her for not being in the operation theatre. In the OT, Vaibhav was given the epidural/spinal injection. The epidural had to be pushed into the spine three times before it finally found the right spot and could be injected. All visitors, including me, were asked to step out of the OT corridor, with only one relative per patient allowed in the corridor in case any medications were required.
The next news that came out of the ward was - IT'S A GIRL! Nice, I said. The new girl had already created a world record - there would have been a moment, however brief, when she would be the newest, youngest member on this entire earth ... or even the entire universe (if there were any thing as extra-terrestrial life). If there were to be an excito-meter (a name that I invented for an instrument that would measure a person's excitement levels) attached to me, it would not have registered even a bacteria sized surge. In fact, it may actually have indicated a negative reading - I was getting a little anxious about how Vaibhav was keeping. At around 11:00 am, mom and baby were wheeled out of the OT and taken straight to post operative ward number 7. Within a couple of hours, the baby had her first feed. Its amazing how babies come wired with the knowledge of feeding - even before she was actually fed, her small mouth was engaged in making sucking actions.
The rest of the day and night passed off rather uneventfully. The baby was under the effect of sedatives which made her very sleepy. She slept peacefully all night next to grand mom.
Day 2: Sunday - When the body is cut, it hurts
The next morning when I visited the hospital, Vaibhav was already moaning with pain. The effect of sedatives had begun to wane. Turning on the side to feed the baby was no longer the same. In the evening, Vaibhav was shifted to the cottage ward, room no. 11. Of course, there was hardly any sleep at night.
Day 3: Monday - The biggest reward - the baby
Vaibhav kept complaining that she had not seen the baby girl properly. She said so far she had only seen the top of the baby's head. Well, on this third day, she finally held the little one for the first time. The feeding is pretty regular, but the baby keeps sleeping off while feeding.
Day 4: Tuesday - The fever is on
Dressing on the stitches were redone. The sister who did the dressing said that two stitches of the seven stitches were infected. Probably this and all of the other stress and pain caused Vaibhav to burn in fever of 103 degrees. We had to call for the doctor who gave an injection to get the fever under control.
Day 5: Wednesday - When it pains, it rains (tears)
In the morning, Vaibhav started to cry because of the pain. We thought probably the infection in stitches was causing some serious problems and called doctor Rajrani again. She checked the stitches and scolded Vaibhav saying there was no infection and that she should stop complaining. She also said that she always saw Vaibhav on the bed and that is not good; that she should take short strolls. After the doctor went, Vaibhav's recovery was remarkable - a psychological recovery I would say. The paediatrician visited after a while and said the kid had slight jaundice. He said this was a regular condition that occurred during the first week because of a liver which was still developing. Later in the evening, Vaibhav got fever again, rising to 101 degrees.
Day 6: Thursday - I am a cry baby
In the afternoon, dad forced Vaibhav to eat more than she wanted. At first, she protested. And then she became a cry baby - noiseless tears started streaming down her face. For the first few moments, no one even noticed. Only a stroll down the corridor of the hospital could calm her down.
Day 7: Friday - Home sweet home
The junior doctor removed 5 stitches of 7 stitches - the removal was very smooth. There was no extra pain in cutting. The remaining two stitches had still not healed. In the evening, Vaibhav was discharged from the hospital and came back home.
Day 8: Saturday - Post partum blues
Cried a lot whenever she saw mom. Had to explain that mom is bound by traditions. Not her fault - not to see her as the aggressor. She in fact, is herself a victim. had she been alone at home, she would have surely helped. A discussion here about customs and traditions.
The day began really early, around 4:00 am. After the morning ablutions, a troika started towards the hospital. En route, the car hit a middle aged guy on scooter causing him to loose his balance and fall. But there wasn't enough time to stop the car and ask after him - the matter of fact was that Vaibhav was admitted to the hospital on 6th July itself and technically she was supposed to spend the night at the hospital. After reaching the hospital, enema was done, followed by glucose drip and some injections. Then Vaibhav was directed to sit in the out room of the operation theatre. By this time, it was around 8:00 in the morning and I finally arrived by train from Delhi. Tanu picked me up at the station, rushed me home, got me ready, pushed some breakfast into my mouth (under instructions from Vaibhav) and then we sped off to the hospital. Thankfully, by the time we reached hospital, Vaibhav was still in the out room. She stepped out and we talked until a doctor came by and chided her for not being in the operation theatre. In the OT, Vaibhav was given the epidural/spinal injection. The epidural had to be pushed into the spine three times before it finally found the right spot and could be injected. All visitors, including me, were asked to step out of the OT corridor, with only one relative per patient allowed in the corridor in case any medications were required.
The next news that came out of the ward was - IT'S A GIRL! Nice, I said. The new girl had already created a world record - there would have been a moment, however brief, when she would be the newest, youngest member on this entire earth ... or even the entire universe (if there were any thing as extra-terrestrial life). If there were to be an excito-meter (a name that I invented for an instrument that would measure a person's excitement levels) attached to me, it would not have registered even a bacteria sized surge. In fact, it may actually have indicated a negative reading - I was getting a little anxious about how Vaibhav was keeping. At around 11:00 am, mom and baby were wheeled out of the OT and taken straight to post operative ward number 7. Within a couple of hours, the baby had her first feed. Its amazing how babies come wired with the knowledge of feeding - even before she was actually fed, her small mouth was engaged in making sucking actions.
The rest of the day and night passed off rather uneventfully. The baby was under the effect of sedatives which made her very sleepy. She slept peacefully all night next to grand mom.
Day 2: Sunday - When the body is cut, it hurts
The next morning when I visited the hospital, Vaibhav was already moaning with pain. The effect of sedatives had begun to wane. Turning on the side to feed the baby was no longer the same. In the evening, Vaibhav was shifted to the cottage ward, room no. 11. Of course, there was hardly any sleep at night.
Day 3: Monday - The biggest reward - the baby
Vaibhav kept complaining that she had not seen the baby girl properly. She said so far she had only seen the top of the baby's head. Well, on this third day, she finally held the little one for the first time. The feeding is pretty regular, but the baby keeps sleeping off while feeding.
Day 4: Tuesday - The fever is on
Dressing on the stitches were redone. The sister who did the dressing said that two stitches of the seven stitches were infected. Probably this and all of the other stress and pain caused Vaibhav to burn in fever of 103 degrees. We had to call for the doctor who gave an injection to get the fever under control.
Day 5: Wednesday - When it pains, it rains (tears)
In the morning, Vaibhav started to cry because of the pain. We thought probably the infection in stitches was causing some serious problems and called doctor Rajrani again. She checked the stitches and scolded Vaibhav saying there was no infection and that she should stop complaining. She also said that she always saw Vaibhav on the bed and that is not good; that she should take short strolls. After the doctor went, Vaibhav's recovery was remarkable - a psychological recovery I would say. The paediatrician visited after a while and said the kid had slight jaundice. He said this was a regular condition that occurred during the first week because of a liver which was still developing. Later in the evening, Vaibhav got fever again, rising to 101 degrees.
Day 6: Thursday - I am a cry baby
In the afternoon, dad forced Vaibhav to eat more than she wanted. At first, she protested. And then she became a cry baby - noiseless tears started streaming down her face. For the first few moments, no one even noticed. Only a stroll down the corridor of the hospital could calm her down.
Day 7: Friday - Home sweet home
The junior doctor removed 5 stitches of 7 stitches - the removal was very smooth. There was no extra pain in cutting. The remaining two stitches had still not healed. In the evening, Vaibhav was discharged from the hospital and came back home.
Day 8: Saturday - Post partum blues
Cried a lot whenever she saw mom. Had to explain that mom is bound by traditions. Not her fault - not to see her as the aggressor. She in fact, is herself a victim. had she been alone at home, she would have surely helped. A discussion here about customs and traditions.
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