Birth Story at Mount Alvernia🤰
Hello 🍋
One more month till my precious baby girl turns 1!
As a FTM, do you see yourself browsing thru your gallery for your baby’s photos since birth? I find myself doing it so often and smiling to myself, and commenting “so cute!”. I miss being in confinement where food is always ready, Baby Boss will be well taken care of albeit the mild PPD (suspected) I had. I’m not even joking when I say I cried 6-7 times a day during confinement and beyond! Those were the days!
Before you proceed, here’s a warning for you: super long post ahead! 🤓
Mount Alvernia was the chosen one because:
✅ As much as we wanted, we couldn’t afford Mt. E due to the cost. I don’t eat seafood too (they’re well known for their lobster)
✅ If possible, we’ll want our future baby to be delivered in the same hospital to avoid any comparison of “why was jiejie delivered in this hospital but I’m at another tier?” because which kids don’t compare!
✅ Went for maternity tour and felt that the overall maternity vibe was 💯 compared to another one that we’ve been to (not mentioning, iykyk!)
✅ Sheltered multi storey carpark!
✅ Newly renovated building
✅ There are several stores available so if the husband feels bored, he could just go down for a walk or even MacRitchie that’s just a stone throw away 😹
Here’s the rough timeline of my daughter’s birth story!
🥹 12am
I did a walk-in administration (check-in) at 2359hrs just 1 minute before my EDD. Yes, I delivered exactly on my EDD (lucky us because I love this date a lot)! I felt contractions 2 weeks prior to my EDD and I got panicked because my pain tolerance has been low since young and as a FTM, I didn’t know what kind of contractions to expect and how long and how should it be timed. 1 week prior to my EDD, contractions were felt during both day and night and we even hesitated if we should check-in to the hospital early but clearly, Little Boss really listened in the womb!
Once we were registered, we were brought to a room to rest. The bad thing about getting Mt. Alvernia was no reservation could be done during Week 36 at gynae’s clinic. I was told that they’d inform the hospital but whether or not is there an available room of my preference would highly depend on the day I got admitted. (Note: this was in early 2025, and I heard from my friend that she could book her preferred room now in 2026)
I had wanted Premium Singles however at the counter, I was told that there’s no available room, hence they put us at Standard Singles and once the former is available, we could shift over. Felt a bit bummed because I really wanted Premium Singles! Oh well!
Anyway, CTG scan was monitored for baby’s heart rate and my contractions at this time
🥹 1am
I was administered with induction strip at around 1am. I didn’t have any birth plan except for wanting to go on natural route. As mentioned above, my pain tolerance is low so the induction strip was hella pain!!! Recently talked about delivery with my girlfriends and they’re surprised that mine’s a strip while theirs were induction pills. Is there any difference? 😩 Is that why mine’s so painful?!
🥹 3am
It might be my bad memory but as I was scrolling through my gallery, it seems like the room has changed. I was now teleported to a room where there’s a sofa for the companion!
I managed to get some sleep here as I knew the day ahead will be long!
🥹 8am
Started to feel more intense contractions. I think I could still have my breakfast here? Bite through the pain to have my meal. Nothing amazing, just some beehoon with my most hated spring onions! It was also disrupted by the intense contractions. It took me awhile to finish my meal while le husb gobbled within minutes. Took naps here and there.
🥹 12pm
Lunch was served! This time, it’s sweet & sour fish(?), rice, xiao bai cai and soup! There’s also banana and apple juice. I don’t think I finished this meal because the pain was more intense now!
🥹 4pm
My limit has reached sky high. The nurse checked and I was only 1.5cm dilated after 16 hours of induction strip inserted?!
I don’t know if my daughter was enjoying inside or I’m just weak overall! My gynae came to check on me and this time, I felt like my soul was no longer with my body.
I was given 3 options -
1️⃣ Since I wanted natural birth, I was given the option to continue waiting but it may roll over to the next day (no more favourite date)
2️⃣ Proceed for csec in an hour’s time (gynae had to make arrangement)
3️⃣ Continue monitoring and discuss to see if we wanna go for e-csec
Decided to go for the third option because I was very fixated with natural birth. Waited to see if there’s any progression but God has a different plan.
🥹 6pm
Husb talked to me and told me it’s ok not to go for natural birth as long as both baby and I are safe. Also because I could no longer feel myself at this point.
Husb called gynae for our decision and he made arrangement on his end. The next couple of hours were a blur and then I was transported from the ward to the OT.
As someone who’s freaking afraid of needles, and had never have any surgery before, I was so worried that they didn’t allow my husb to enter the OT. Thankfully, my gynae was very assuring and kept telling me “don’t worry, he can enter for sure!”.
In the OT, there was this nurse who was so patient with me (I didn’t manage to get her name). I was told to bend my body so that my anesthesiologist could administer the anesthesia into my spine. But I couldn’t do it because of the huge bulging preggy tummy — it felt like there’s something tugging or pulling my stomach open if I were to bend down. So this nurse held onto me and allowed me to grab her tightly on her arms (reminder: low pain tolerance).
When the husb appeared, everyone went “ok your husband is here. You can relax, and rest your mind and body now”.
Our baby was out from my stomach within 30minutes. I WAS SO MIND BLOWN BECAUSE WOW! CSEC LASTED ONLY THIS LONG AND NO FEELING AT ALL (except for the tugging and pushing of baby out from my stomach)!
Kudos to my gynae who wrapped up everything so nicely and quickly even my husb was so amazed by the whole process! My anaesthesiologist who also made great effort in distracting me, and chatted with my husb after he entered as a way of distraction (no my husb wasn’t afraid of blood. In fact, he was looking forward to entering the OT to witness the whole process!).
After the stitching was done, I was wheeled to the resting area for approx 30mins before I was wheeled back to my ward. Thereafter was a blur (again).
The three-hourly medicines and feeding sessions began!
Looking back, I really enjoyed my stay in Mount Alvernia! Shall leave this to another post instead!
Although my birth story focused mainly on the delivery day, I'd like to share my experience with Mount Alvernia’s antenatal classes, which helped me prepare mentally and physically for childbirth. The instructors were knowledgeable and supportive, covering topics like labor signs, pain management options, and newborn care—topics I found invaluable as a first-time mom. The environment during these classes was calming, and I appreciated the small class sizes that allowed for personalized attention and plenty of Q&A time. Plus, the hospital’s facilities, including the maternity ward and multi-storey sheltered carpark, made visits stress-free. For other moms considering Mount Alvernia, I highly recommend attending their antenatal classes. They gave me confidence and eased some fears about labor. Even the location near MacRitchie Reservoir was a nice bonus—my husband enjoyed short walks there while I rested during my confinement. These extra touches contributed to a positive birth and recovery experience.
