As mentioned earlier, Yvesander was born on Feb 17th 2009, 9 days before his expected due date. Luckily for us, we had everything prepared except for the installation of the carseat. Hubby had set an appointment and was going to get it done on Tuesday.
The story of how Yvesander came out is quite funny. Monday was a holiday, I think it was MLK Day. I had a chiropractor appointment in the morning. Hubby didn't have to work since the financial markets were closed. I had my back adjusted and made an appointment to see the chiropractor again the following week. He wanted to adjust my back and hips to prepare for the birth.
Anyway, after the appointment, we went home, had lunch and just went about our daily activities. For me, it meant napping :D Plus I cooked dinner that night because the fridge was empty. Made spam fried rice. So we finished dinner at about 7pm and was settling down to relax for the night. At about 7.55pm or so, I went to use bathroom before watching the show "Chuck". As I was getting up, I was telling hubby that I wouldn't mind if baby came out a bit early.
So I went to the bathroom and did my business. As I was cleaning up, I noticed that there was some blood on the tissue. I thought nothing much of it since the OBGYN did say that I would have some discharge as I get closer to the due date. But as I got up and out of the bathroom, I felt stuff come out. I went back to the bathroom and checked, and there was more discharge but it was fresh blood rather than dried up blood. The doctor said discharge but she didn't say that it would be fresh blood.
So that got me a bit scared, I went out, told hubby that I might need to call the OBGYN's office since I have some bloody discharge. It just so happened that my regular OBGYN was on leave that day, so I talked to her replacement. She told me to get checked into the hospital, just to be safe.
At about 8.30pm, hubby and I are at the hospital. The OBGYN had called in earlier and the nurse was expecting me. By now, I was a bit concerned since I wasn't sure what was going on. As this is my first child, I have no idea what to expect and everyone was expecting the baby to come late. So if anything happened out of the ordinary, one would be panicking. And I was panicking. I was trying my best not to panic but I sort of broke down once I was in the hospital room since I have no idea what was going on.
The nurse had me change into a hospital gown and brought me to the bed. By this time, hubby had parked the car and was waiting. The doctor in charge came in and took a look down there. As he was poking around down there, I felt some pressure and then liquid gushing out. I guess my water broke and that was what I saw at home. I was surprised since I haven't been feeling any contractions. You read from the book and they say that you'll be feeling contractions before your water breaks. Plus they also say that the first baby will usually be late, so that was why I was surprised when he announced that my water broke and that baby was going to be coming out soon. Anyhow, I was 1cm dilated by then.
With that, the nurse started to prep me for delivery. She drew blood for the tests, attached an IV to me and also a fetal monitor on my tummy. The purpose of the monitor is to measure my contractions as well as baby's heartbeat to make sure all is right. The nurse offered me a sleeping pill (Ambien), which I took since I figured I will need the sleep as everyone says that the baby won't arrive so soon. It was about 9.30pm. Hubby got a cot and both of us went to sleep.
At about 11pm, I started to feel the contractions. The nurse came back again and offered me Demerol which I took. The purpose of this was to dull the pain slightly so I can sleep. This way I would have enough energy to push when the baby comes. Once Demerol was administered, I went back to sleep.
However, I would not sleep for long since by 1am the contractions become much stronger and frequent. I think from hereon, I would not remember the details as clearly since it was overshadowed by the pain and the tiredness. Hubby told me later that I was holding his hands really tightly that he was grimacing in pain (but of course he didn't show me since I was in much greater pain than him). He also said that once the contraction was over, I would immediately went back to sleep, only to wake up for the next contraction. I do however remember telling the nurse that the baby was coming and I really needed to push. I think it must have been 2am then. The nurse asked if it was really because I needed to push or was it the need to use the bathroom to do the big one. Apparently before you give birth, you will feel the need to empty your bowels, which I did earlier when I first checked-in. So yes, I do the difference between bowel movements and the need to push.
Finally the OBGYN came. It must have been 4am at that time. The OB checked and agreed that I was ready. I think I heard that I was 7cm dilated. Like I said, everything was in a blur and time seemed to have passed quite fast from 11am to 4am. The OB was starting to get everything ready for the birth. I do remember having an oxygen mask put over my head to help me breathe during the labour.
By 4.30am or so, the OB started to ask me to push. Now this part I do sort of remember. I remember pushing 4 times with each contractions, though the OB only asked me to push 3 times. I felt that there was enough time from the 3rd push to the end of the contraction for one more push., so I just went ahead. It was better than feeling the contraction pains. I remember holding hubby's hands and also one of the nurse's hands. I also remember telling the OB that I didn't want an episiotomy, though the OB overruled me on that as the baby started to crown.
After 45 mins of pushing, Yvesander was born. When he finally came out, I remember feeling a big whoosh and sudden relief in pressure. Next thing I know, I hear the baby crying. They placed the baby on my belly for a while before whisking him away to be weighed and checked. By then I was tired and sleepy. The OB continued asking me to push and was pressing on my tummy to get the rest of the placenta and stuff out from my womb. After that, I remember her giving me an injection and sewing up the episiotomy cut. I told the OB that I could feel her giving me the anesthesia and sewing me up. Funny that that pain was sharper than the childbirth pain.
After she was done, and the baby weighed and such, he was placed in my arms till it was ready to wheel me to my recovery room. I was falling asleep while carrying him. I was trying my hardest to keep awake but I was dozing off. I think hubby was thinking pictures, but like I said it was all a blur. I have a feeling that it was a combination of the Ambien, Demerol and childbirth.
By about 7am, I was finally wheeled to my maternity suite. They took the baby away to the nursery. Hubby had to leave me to get the carseat installed since we had set up an appointment for that day and we didn't want to miss it. You can't take the baby home if the car seat is not installed. Hubby left and I konked out immediately and didn't wake up till he came back and ordered breakfast. I was tired and ravenous. Breakfast came and both hubby and I ate our first meals as parents before taking a much needed rest.
Thinking back, the delivery didn't seem as bad as some. It was definitely shorter than my sis's experience. I think all the yoga I did during the pregnancy helped. Plus I was kind of relaxed, which sped up the dilation. It was probably the expectation that it would take about 12 hours or more before we would see much activity that made me take the Ambien and Demerol. Probably a blessing in disguise since I don't think I would have lasted through 24 hours of contractions and labour.
Anyway, baby Yvesander was born in less than 12 hours after my water broke. And the best part, he's my hubby's birthday present. Yup, both him and hubby share the same birthday date. Definitely not expected but a nice surprise. Now I have one less birthday date to remember..hehehee..
The story of how Yvesander came out is quite funny. Monday was a holiday, I think it was MLK Day. I had a chiropractor appointment in the morning. Hubby didn't have to work since the financial markets were closed. I had my back adjusted and made an appointment to see the chiropractor again the following week. He wanted to adjust my back and hips to prepare for the birth.
Anyway, after the appointment, we went home, had lunch and just went about our daily activities. For me, it meant napping :D Plus I cooked dinner that night because the fridge was empty. Made spam fried rice. So we finished dinner at about 7pm and was settling down to relax for the night. At about 7.55pm or so, I went to use bathroom before watching the show "Chuck". As I was getting up, I was telling hubby that I wouldn't mind if baby came out a bit early.
So I went to the bathroom and did my business. As I was cleaning up, I noticed that there was some blood on the tissue. I thought nothing much of it since the OBGYN did say that I would have some discharge as I get closer to the due date. But as I got up and out of the bathroom, I felt stuff come out. I went back to the bathroom and checked, and there was more discharge but it was fresh blood rather than dried up blood. The doctor said discharge but she didn't say that it would be fresh blood.
So that got me a bit scared, I went out, told hubby that I might need to call the OBGYN's office since I have some bloody discharge. It just so happened that my regular OBGYN was on leave that day, so I talked to her replacement. She told me to get checked into the hospital, just to be safe.
At about 8.30pm, hubby and I are at the hospital. The OBGYN had called in earlier and the nurse was expecting me. By now, I was a bit concerned since I wasn't sure what was going on. As this is my first child, I have no idea what to expect and everyone was expecting the baby to come late. So if anything happened out of the ordinary, one would be panicking. And I was panicking. I was trying my best not to panic but I sort of broke down once I was in the hospital room since I have no idea what was going on.
The nurse had me change into a hospital gown and brought me to the bed. By this time, hubby had parked the car and was waiting. The doctor in charge came in and took a look down there. As he was poking around down there, I felt some pressure and then liquid gushing out. I guess my water broke and that was what I saw at home. I was surprised since I haven't been feeling any contractions. You read from the book and they say that you'll be feeling contractions before your water breaks. Plus they also say that the first baby will usually be late, so that was why I was surprised when he announced that my water broke and that baby was going to be coming out soon. Anyhow, I was 1cm dilated by then.
With that, the nurse started to prep me for delivery. She drew blood for the tests, attached an IV to me and also a fetal monitor on my tummy. The purpose of the monitor is to measure my contractions as well as baby's heartbeat to make sure all is right. The nurse offered me a sleeping pill (Ambien), which I took since I figured I will need the sleep as everyone says that the baby won't arrive so soon. It was about 9.30pm. Hubby got a cot and both of us went to sleep.
At about 11pm, I started to feel the contractions. The nurse came back again and offered me Demerol which I took. The purpose of this was to dull the pain slightly so I can sleep. This way I would have enough energy to push when the baby comes. Once Demerol was administered, I went back to sleep.
However, I would not sleep for long since by 1am the contractions become much stronger and frequent. I think from hereon, I would not remember the details as clearly since it was overshadowed by the pain and the tiredness. Hubby told me later that I was holding his hands really tightly that he was grimacing in pain (but of course he didn't show me since I was in much greater pain than him). He also said that once the contraction was over, I would immediately went back to sleep, only to wake up for the next contraction. I do however remember telling the nurse that the baby was coming and I really needed to push. I think it must have been 2am then. The nurse asked if it was really because I needed to push or was it the need to use the bathroom to do the big one. Apparently before you give birth, you will feel the need to empty your bowels, which I did earlier when I first checked-in. So yes, I do the difference between bowel movements and the need to push.
Finally the OBGYN came. It must have been 4am at that time. The OB checked and agreed that I was ready. I think I heard that I was 7cm dilated. Like I said, everything was in a blur and time seemed to have passed quite fast from 11am to 4am. The OB was starting to get everything ready for the birth. I do remember having an oxygen mask put over my head to help me breathe during the labour.
By 4.30am or so, the OB started to ask me to push. Now this part I do sort of remember. I remember pushing 4 times with each contractions, though the OB only asked me to push 3 times. I felt that there was enough time from the 3rd push to the end of the contraction for one more push., so I just went ahead. It was better than feeling the contraction pains. I remember holding hubby's hands and also one of the nurse's hands. I also remember telling the OB that I didn't want an episiotomy, though the OB overruled me on that as the baby started to crown.
After 45 mins of pushing, Yvesander was born. When he finally came out, I remember feeling a big whoosh and sudden relief in pressure. Next thing I know, I hear the baby crying. They placed the baby on my belly for a while before whisking him away to be weighed and checked. By then I was tired and sleepy. The OB continued asking me to push and was pressing on my tummy to get the rest of the placenta and stuff out from my womb. After that, I remember her giving me an injection and sewing up the episiotomy cut. I told the OB that I could feel her giving me the anesthesia and sewing me up. Funny that that pain was sharper than the childbirth pain.
After she was done, and the baby weighed and such, he was placed in my arms till it was ready to wheel me to my recovery room. I was falling asleep while carrying him. I was trying my hardest to keep awake but I was dozing off. I think hubby was thinking pictures, but like I said it was all a blur. I have a feeling that it was a combination of the Ambien, Demerol and childbirth.
By about 7am, I was finally wheeled to my maternity suite. They took the baby away to the nursery. Hubby had to leave me to get the carseat installed since we had set up an appointment for that day and we didn't want to miss it. You can't take the baby home if the car seat is not installed. Hubby left and I konked out immediately and didn't wake up till he came back and ordered breakfast. I was tired and ravenous. Breakfast came and both hubby and I ate our first meals as parents before taking a much needed rest.
Thinking back, the delivery didn't seem as bad as some. It was definitely shorter than my sis's experience. I think all the yoga I did during the pregnancy helped. Plus I was kind of relaxed, which sped up the dilation. It was probably the expectation that it would take about 12 hours or more before we would see much activity that made me take the Ambien and Demerol. Probably a blessing in disguise since I don't think I would have lasted through 24 hours of contractions and labour.
Anyway, baby Yvesander was born in less than 12 hours after my water broke. And the best part, he's my hubby's birthday present. Yup, both him and hubby share the same birthday date. Definitely not expected but a nice surprise. Now I have one less birthday date to remember..hehehee..
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