I wished I have taken photos but unfortunately , I may not have fancy photos but hope my experience will help.

The arrangment of the room was done by my husband, Ronald. We did not plan to book for the Super Deluxe Room , initially. After knowing the rate of the Super Deluxe room was not far from the Single Deluxe Room, it was a few hundred dollars difference.
The rate for 2013 for Super Deluxe Room is $738.30 per night, and for hubby to accompany wifey is another $80.23
The only issue is there is one Super Deluxe Room in Mount Alvernia. So you have to count on your lucky stars to get it.

Super Deluxe Room



Presents from our guests!

The cupboard area served as present collector and another area, where Papa Koh could used his laptop on a study table. And the extra table came in useful as Papa Koh's dining table. 
Papa Koh was telling me that the second child will not have this priviledge or rather Mama Koh will not have this priviledge.

I thought I have packed my Hospital Bag, but I realised that I should have brought along my maternity pad, the hospital only provide 2 packs and they also used it when my water bag burst. For the benefit for other mummies, the items to bring are:

For Mummy

1. A set of pyjamas for breastfeeding and maybe one extra pants (I stained my pants and have to ask my friend to get another pair for me.)
2. Diposable Panties
3. Going home clothes , (a comfortable pair of pants , your tummy will stick out at this point, so don't bring skinny jeans. )
4. Socks
5. Basic toiletries. ( But Mount Alvernia had toothbrush, comb , and some other toiletries , I feel at ease whenever there are extra or backup)
6. A pair of slippers

For Baby

1. Swaddle towel (I loved the Aden and Anais swaddle towel, also note that Mount Alvernia provides the towel but not sure why the hospital didn't give it to me.)
2. Mittens and Booties
3. One set of babies clothes for going home.

Documents

1. Husband and wife's ICs
2. Marriage Certificate
3. Documents for claiming from medisave
4. Cordblood kit if you purchase the policy.

Hospital provides

1. Swaddle Towel
2. Bath Tub (pls check with your hospital provides, Thomson Medical doesn't)
3. Diapers for babies.
4. Maternity pad during your stay in the hospital.

Beside the things that I did not pack an extra set, I was comfortable during my stay at Mount Alvernia. :)
And one last thing, Papa Koh was provided pillows and blankets to convert the sofa to a bed, but he wasn't exactly as comfortable.. Poor PaPa Koh.... Wasn't he glad when I and baby was discharged. :)

 21.03.2013 is a special day, it was two months before Royce's dad's birthday.
And we decided the date 21.03.2013 was the time for Royce's arrival.


All it takes was induction tablet to induce the labour.
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I was in the labour ward at 12am, with my husband beside me laid uncomfortably, on a stiff leather setting and metal armrest chair. To make matter worse, the aircon was super cold. The contractions kick start an hour later. I felt uncomfortable every 5 to 10mins.

The discomfort was bearable, and for someone like me whom can sleep easily anywhere. I couldn't sleep a wink. Each time I was about to sleep , the contractions woke me up. I was pretty stressed up because I knew I had to have a good sleep for the battle, but I couldn't . Furthermore, I had painful backache due to labour.

Good thing I and my husband, Ronald "survived" the hunger and coldness with free milo from the dispenser. (It was the start of my addiction of milo since then).

The first update was I was dilated at 3cm around 8am in the morning. Dr Claudine Tan broke my water bag. I have braved through the 8 hours of pain. I was about to put a pat on my back when I was told the pain was going to get worse. Scrambling for assurance that I was going through the child birth pain free. All these months of telling myself  I wasn't going to use the epidural was thrown to the back of my mind, without hesitation I agreed to using epidural.

The sensation of having to pass motion and nothing comes out, made me think that I needed the bathroom. However I was told that baby was pressing against my rectum. I was amused by the thought that the sensation was an indication that baby was coming out. The thought soon vanished when I couldn't cope with the increasing discomfort. I start crying , it was my way of finding a way to relieve the pain. It didn't go away!!

Poor Ronald had to witness my discomfort and attend to my wailings. Who says epidural is pain? For me, I didn't feel a thing...
And I thought Doctor will come in when my cervix was dilated at 10cm. Nah... the nurse calmly told me what I had to do, my legs was hoisted on the leg rest and wide apart. The monitor indicated when I had my contractions, each time when I had contractions, the Nurses asked me to push as long as possible. Ronald's role was to push my head , while the nurses cheered me on to push.

The funniest part is when it comes to pushing the baby out. I didn't feel the discomfort, but I still felt the sensation, and mind you I had epidural and it was supposed to be sensation and pain free. Well, lucky I could feel the contractions, they say it was easier to push if the mom could feel it . Doctor came at the crucial moment. Dr allowed Ronald to take a peek at initial stage of pushing and he could see baby's hair. Half an and hour into pushing, one of the nurses massaged my stomach hard so that baby could come out faster. You know the videos , you see mummies screaming while pushing? I was definitely was one of those. Not that I felt pain but I was holding my breath and the screams just came out naturally. "Pop" ! I felt Royce's head slide out. Yeah! I did a victory dance in my head. But guess what, it was only the head!

I gave one final push and baby was out !! They passed me the baby and I held baby and with my head turned, because he was so bloody and he felt slimly. I think I was a little stunned, and they took Royce to clean him up.

 With Dr's help, she digged my placenta out, and she sewed me up. I chit chat with the Dr while she sewed the three layers.  And finally we got to see him. :)

Royce's first contact with the world

Hi Hi,

Mama Koh waves to the same group of anxious mum. 

I was sharing the story of "Lightening" to my friends,
The term "Lightening" means baby moves down because the lower part of your uterus (womb) expands. Your baby's head, or bottom if he's in a breech position, will sit a little lower in your pelvis.

I think it amuses me alot.
On the 11th March 2013, On the way home , I felt him worming and heading his way down. I was abit anxious, because I expected the pain to come but it didn't.

Papa Koh  stopped the car nearby as we were at Bishan area, he say Royce moving from side to side...
I think he was very amused by the entire situation. The whole commotion stopped and our excitement died down. :(