Birth of Joan & Joen

Finally I found the time to upload the pics and post this... I've had to do this in segments...from setting up the post to posting the pics and finally writing it...:P

The following pics were taken at the hospital and following the birth of the twins. I'll post the birth story after I have completed writing it.

Me having CTG tracking of the bubs' heartbeats.

This was taken at 4+ am on the 7th of June 2008 in the delivery suite. I was supposed to be induced on that day at 7am but I felt some contractions at home so we went in earlier.

This is the proud daddy carrying his 2 princesses shortly after the birth. Mummy had bad bleeding so was not able to return to the room with them.

There weren't many pictures taken after the delivery as I gave birth in the operating theatre and daddy had to sit at a corner of the OT to wait. He was only able to come near to me after the birth. The reason for being in the OT was I almost had an emergency caesarean...you will know more when u read the birth story.

Due to my bleeding, my milk came in much later so Daddy was feeding them with whatever colostrum I had and topping up with formula.

Joan Cheng

Joen Cheng (pronounced bi-syllabic as Jo-en)

This little girl had a feeding tube put through her as she was small at birth and had low temperature and low blood sugar. She wasn't drinking much so they had to feed her through the tube. She was in the NICU for 2 nights and had her heels pricked so many times to test for her blood sugar. Just as well I wasn't around to hear her cry if not I will be crying with her too. It was so painful enough to see her with a tube going through her nose into her tummy.

If you were wondering why there's a sock on her hand, that's because we were using it as a mitten. She had very long nails and was scratching herself...

Mummy carrying both bubs when Joen (right) came down from the NICU for a visit.

A family photo after the birth (it's incomplete though as Ge Ge Timmy was not there)

Joen & Joan

This was taken when Mummy went to the NICU to visit Joen. Joan went along too to see her little sister.

2 sleeping beauties...

Daddy giving Joan her first bath.

The girls were not washed after birth, unlike in Singapore where they are washed up immediately after birth. The girls were only cleaned and wiped down after birth so they still had blood stain on their scalp before they had their bath.

Joan enjoying her first bath.

Both Joan & Joen couldn't settle to sleep well in their own cots so they bunked in next to each other with Mummy on her bed and slept very soundly.

This is the room that we stayed for 5 nights. The bed had to be shifted to make way for 2 cots and Daddy had his sofa bed, on the top left.

The girls getting ready to go home in their oversized flanelette rompers.

All strapped up in their car seats, ready to head home.

Ge Ge Timmy looking at his sisters...