All day I was feeling mild to medium cramping. That afternoon daddy and I eve went to Dan Ryans to eat. He had the lunch special - ribs/chicken, clam chowder, and dessert. Mommy had a tuna melt- tuna for maybe the 3rd time for 9 months... Well maybe you didn't like the tuna because you decided it was time. So Sunday night, having not even had dinner, we (including grandma wong) drove to the hospital. Arrived about 9:50pm. Mommy got hooked up to the monitor and by 10:20 we found that they weren't normal/regular contractions but still would be staying in the hospital. We got to see all the rooms since it was fairly empty... And decided on OB13- mommy's lucky #. It even had an extra bed for daddy, which usually doesn't. :) so we got lucky lucky!!
By 10:30pm daddy drove grandma home and by 11:10pm I started feeling contractions more regularly... And 5 minutes apart. By 11:20pm I went back to the labor room to get hooked up to the monitor again and sure enough- they were 5 minutes apart and getting stronger. The strongest are usually about 120-130ish, and I saw they were going up to 90, 100, but still bearable. I called daddy to hurry back and by 11:30 he was back, in time. I was hoping labor would be 3-6 hrs max- as I had always told little girl, but I guess it was not her plan. Being exhausted by 1am, staring at the clock, I was really getting tired from also not eating since 3pm. Contractions were also hitting 120, which was pretty strong, bearable to a certain extent but because i was so tired and hadn't eaten, i figured by 1:30am we should get the epidural, just because i knew we needed to rest for the big labor process/delivery. So by 2am, Dr. Yau came in and administered the epidural. First there was an IV (yuck! needles) and then the epidural. I was shaking b/c it was so cold... It kicked in about 10 minutes later, and i started to feel nothing in regards to contractions, however little Sofia's heartbeat dropped to 73 I remember at one point within those same minutes so we had to turn onto the other side, then turn back to get her heart rate back up... scary. but at least things worked out okay... unfortunately though i'm not sure if the epidural ended up slowing down the entire process because the contractions started slowing down as well from 1.5-2min back up to 5. :(
as we watched the clock tick, the hours go by, every 2 hrs we "topped up" the epidural. it's an interesting sensation, the cold fluid you can feel entering into the tube into your body... being that this was the first ever time i have been admitted to the hospital,, it certainly was a new experience. (thankfully the first time I’ve been admitted to the hospital and for good reason of course!)
so watching the clock go by, but managing to nap about 2 hrs between each top up- i tried to just wait as long as possible between each time to see if the pain would really be as bad as you'd think / or as they show in the movies. I don't really think it was UN-bearable, but it wasn't comfortable that's for sure. i'm glad i did get the epidural after all.
at around 6:15am i heard a "pop pop pop" and though okay, either i just farted or my water broke. And sure enough, my water did break. They take a swab and swipe to see if it changes color... if it does, sure enough your water did break. Yes!! i was thinking, progress!!! but not really.
By 7am (11 to 7 = 8 hrs elapsed), i was still only 5-6cm dialated... oh but quite "funny"- as 7am a lady checked in also in labor, and apparently did not have an epidural... b/c she was breathing in the pain gas (can't remember what it's called) and when she finally started to go into labor was SCREAMING " Jiu wo!! Hao tong ah!" ...yes, really, no epidural. Entertaining a bit, sadly.
By 9am (11 to 9 = 10 hrs elapsed), i was 7 cm dialated... and Dr. tsai came to visit. He said that although i was dialated, little girl's head hadn't come down yet and was still floating around, not in my pelvis. He said we should wait till lunchtime to see, otherwise there may be swelling in her head and we'd need an emergency c section. I was a bit disappointed, but also accepting, as long as I could breastfeed immediately afterwards, which he said I could. Also we asked that knowing, with c sec, you can't have too many kids due to the scars on the uterus-- and he said yes, prob only 2-3 kids max... At least the bf part was okay... but i was still praying that her little head would drop into place for a vbirth. Oh, and i wasn't able to eat anymore. Mind you, I hadn't eaten since 3pm the prior day... over 18 hrs ago. at one point i asked daddy to sneak me a dried apricot, an almond and a raisin, but oops, those came right back up and I started to vomit and vomit some more... poor daddy said, he started to cry b/c i looked horrible. Oh well. guess I shouldn't have eaten as the dr ordered! (but i was REALLY hungry!). They even gave me some Zantac i think, but eh, that came up too.
By 11am (11 to 11 = 12 hrs elapsed), well, i was finally 8-9cm, but still no sign of her head... so the Dr started to make phone calls to prepare for an emergency c sec by 1pm. He tried to get us in earlier however the anesthesiologist, Dr. Yau was not available till then. I was worried but at the same time, just ready to meet our little girl. I think I was also so tired and exhausted from no food that it didn't matter anymore. As long as she came out healthy and strong, that's what was most important.
Catheter (not very pleasant but thanks to the epidural i couldn't feel it), shaved, and prepped for the OR, I was wheeled down to the first floor slightly before 1pm. I was checked once more prior the operation (sounds scary really) began, but still no progress... so off we were.
Dr. Yau used the epidural to add more, stronger drugs, so the entire bottom half of my body was numb. I felt like a tree/ log... because i couldn't move anything. It kicked in at about 1:10 and by 1:15 Dr. Tsai was starting to cut his way into getting little girl out. It's a very strange sensation... being tugged, pulled, moved around yet not really knowing what's going on. It doesn't hurt at all, nor was i nervous, perhaps because I really was just that exhausted and couldn't wait till the little girl finally was here. At one point daddy was able to stand up and look over the curtain but he doesn't really remember what he saw. Perhaps he blocked it out of his mind, or was just focused on that instant our little Sofia Michael made her entrance into the world- During the operation I actually was looking up at the reflection in the lights to see if i could see what the dr was doing, but all i saw was a blur... not too much blood it seemed, I wonder how many layers the dr had to cut thru to get to little girl...
And at 13:28, (1:28pm), November 23rd, Monday, 2009. ~7lbs and 11 oz (3.49kg) and 50cm (19.7") tal, Little Sofia Michael Wong- you were born.
You actually weren't chunky like we had expected from the 4d scans, instead was long and lean, and your fingers and toes too, just as long. Reminded me of when I was born, mom (grandma tsang) said that my fingers were long people were making comments on how i would play piano well... well, sure enough, i'm sure our little girl, Sofia, you too, will be good at piano-- as soon as mommy can start teaching you! :)
Daddy recorded your first moments, your first cry, cutting the umbilical cord... it's such an amazing thing, i don't know how you managed to be squished inside, but you were... i wish actually i could go back in time already (i'm writing this actually late, 12/1 today), and i know that what's in store for us, our future together as a new family, will go by even faster. Everyday is such a blessing, we much cherish and be grateful... for our health, happiness and our loved ones.
Dr. Yau took some pictures of us as a family... our first photos. :) Mommy was crying of happiness, of course. I got to hold you for a bit and then Daddy went with you up to get cleaned up while mommy finished getting stitched up... i was so tired... unfortunately i had to wait awhile before headed back up to the 2nd floor, it seemed like a long time, but probably was only 10 minutes... either way my feet were getting antsy, like i wanted to move them but couldn't... But by the time I got back to our room, they were moving again slightly-- which was around 2:15pm. I asked to see you asap and by 2:30 i was able to feed you. Yay! What a good girl you were too, latching immediately... though I knew you would want to eat, since that really was on mommy's list... "likes to eat". ;)
The rest of the afternoon seemed like a blur... all i knew though was that i needed to feed you as much possible to get all the bilurubin out of your system so that you wouldn't have jaundice and need to have lights, since grandma tsang said that might damage your eyesight later on... my goal was for you to poop poop and poop some more... and that you did. Little girl, you are the eating and pooping champ!! :) it makes me happy to see you eat though, that i am doing something right, and helping you get stronger and healthier everyday. I mad you a promise a long time ago little girl-- back when you started your journey... I promise to take care of you always.
***
We were in the hospital from Sunday night until Friday afternoon... each day seemed to fly by, looking forward to what to eat (the ginger pumpkin soup is quite good, as is the veg spaghetti bolognese)... the veg food is actually not bad at the hospital! I couldn't type on blackberry the first few days either... my eyes were so tired i just tried to rest.
About every 3 hrs, the little girl would come visit for her feeding, and by Wednesday, we had you stay with us most of the day.
Daddy stayed with mommy and you in the hospital too, everyday and every night, which was really nice. Daddy has been so wonderful to mommy, and to you... he is such a wonderful husband and father. :)
The only bad thing about the hospital was that i used tap water to wash my hands, i hadn't showered properly (yes i smelled), nor had i washed my hair... because the chinese thing is to not wash with tap, due to possible arthritis later on in life. (Now, i didn't know this, until we came home, and my joints in my fingers (knuckles) started to ache and the pui yuet told me that it's because the water is not good. So now mommy has to bathe with ginger boiled water everyday.)
By Friday everything looked okay- the only thing was that we needed to bring you back to the hospital on Saturday to check your jaundice level again, because the 6th day is the highest typically... but aside from that, mommy looked good and so did you. So by 4:30pm, we left the hospital and were on the way home... well, close. We needed to stay at grandma/pa wong's house first because they're still doing the construction upstairs. I'm not sure how much/loud it still is, but hopefully they're done soon... Very exciting, but also not very, since it wasn't really "home" yet. when we finally are "home home", then i will be really excited i think, to finally start to settle down into our "home" and start our little family. Mommy Daddy and you, little Sofia Michael.
***
Looking back, it's okay that we had a c section vs. v-birth... things always work out in the end. I am concerned for your little brother(s) and sister(s), but i'm sure things will be okay. The scar is about 6" long, it's a sort-of-smile, a "bikini" cut as they call it, at least it's not a vertical one! And although there was bleeding, soreness and some pain, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Dr. Yau gave me some strong pain killers, also administered thru the epidural which lasted 15 hrs before he took it out, which was nice, and then after that they gave me some suppository, which also was ok. Then by Thursday they just gave me oral pain killers but to be honest I don't think they worked. I got some to bring home as well, but yes, those didn't really work either and i didn't want to eat so many as i don't want them to affect the milk either. So mommy stopped taking them after 2 days.
Also, even though our plans didn't go accordingly, you realize that it doesn't matter. C section or not, as long as our little girl is safe and sound, healthy and happy-- this is the ultimate beauty of life... the cycle, the love... and when you look at their little angel face, nothing else matters.
***
12/1 .. .December already?!
It’s been amazing the past 8 days to see this little person grow and do new things… she’s learned to “fake cry” for attention and also today has learned to stick fingers into her mouth. I think she probably would’ve done it sooner had we not had her mittens on… but regardless, she is such an angel… we couldn’t be any more blessed…
I am actually already thinking about how she won't stay small forever and am a bit sad, but am looking forward to seeing this little girl grow and develop into a personality and character of her own... seeing just *how many* of those things on mommy's list come true. :)
and yes, she's a scorpio/sagittarius cusp. ;)
we love you so very very much little girl, and we are so unbelievably and words-cannot-describe- how happy we are.
love mommy and daddy.
No comments:
Post a Comment