I was still awake early on Sunday morning (23 May) when rather painless contractions started around 2am (as most of you may know, I'm quite a late sleeper, that's why). They were around 10 minutes apart. Tried to go to sleep but the contractions were very regular, so kept disturbing me. By 3am, I got up & started preparing things to go to the hospital. Also made myself Tea (mainly Raspberry Leaf, Alfafa, & Honey) to drink at home & in the hospital. Had planned to labour as long as possible at home before going to the hospital.
I washed my hair & had a nice long soak in a bath (lavendar/jasmine/clary sage/sea salts). Around 4am, I woke Nick & told him that by my own judgement, I thought the baby would be arriving around 7am. Contractions were around 3 to 5mins apart then and getting intense. I spent the time singing along with my favourite "Praise" Album Tape. That really helped.
We arrived at Mt Alvernia Hospital at 5am. We were asked to walk STRAIGHT to the Labour/Delivery Ward. "Procedures" seemed to have been improved/simplified since we last had Daniel there almost 2-1/2yrs ago. In the delivery room, I changed to a hospital gown & was asked to give a urine sample (any idea why??? don't recall ever doing this before). I was put on a foetal monitor for 15mins which showed contractions to be STRONG & coming every 3mins. I was also checked to be 5cm dilated (my reaction: ONLY??!!!).
Unlike the other 2 births, the midwife didn't "automatically" give me an enema. She instead asked if I had "moved my bowels" earlier. When I said I had, she just mentioned that she thus didn't need to give me an enema. I also wasn't shaved this time (unlike Daniel's birth).
I spent the rest of my labour walking around the room and singing along with my "Praise" Album songs from my walkman. Also sipped on my tea & hubby gave me rubdowns with jasmine oil. I hadn't bothered to use the aromatherapy burner because firstly, I couldn't seem to find a place to put it (so little counter/table-top space!!!), and I figured that I wouldn't be there long enough to matter. I did later use the burner with Lavendar Oil in my own room. Contractions were by then very intense & coming one on top of the other. The horrible thing was that my walkman's batteries ran out on me & I'd forgot to pack spares!
At around 6.30 to 6.45am (I think), the midwives checked me a 2nd time & decided I was soon to give birth. They thus wanted me strapped to the monitors again. Lying down, the contractions were so very intense. There was HUGE pressure at my pelvis. I didn't know what else to do to cope, so asked for the entonox gas. It was at this point that I understood why an epidural might be comfortable!
I started feeling like pushing (& I probably did...), but the midwives said that I was not ready yet. They did comment however that my waterbag was "bulging". I started wondering WHERE DOES MY GYNAE STAY(??) and WHY she hadn't arrived yet! Of course...she then arrived, checked me, broke my waters & said it was time to push.
Baby crowned after about 4 or 5 pushes (whew! no cheering team this time! The OB/GYN & midwives mainly left it up to me to push), and then out popped his head looking at me! I was then a little puzzled that I was AGAIN asked to push. I recalled that my previous 2 babies just came out easily after the head popped out. Found out later that the baby's shoulder was stuck. This pushing resulted in me tearing - with some 3rd degree. <sigh>. I believe that this could have been prevented to some extent with change of positions to either left-lying position or on hands/knees???
Anyway, the whole 2nd stage took only about 10 to 15mins at most. I believe this is about the same amount of time it took for Sarah & Daniel's births when my previous ("kancheong"?) OB/GYN proclaimed my pushing ineffective & used vacuum.
Immediately on birthing the baby, they placed him on my belly to hold while Nick cut the baby's cord.
Baby weighed in at 3.27kg and was very alert. When placed next to me (I was by then lying down), he instinctively rooted for the breast and on finding it, started nursing away. Quite an expert! I was amazed at the amount of head control he had.
I was to stay in the Delivery Room for the next Hour after birth for observation. Maybe this is a new practice because I was wheeled to my room straight after both my previous births. Anyway, it was lovely because they left hubby & me with the baby who happily nursed away for most of that hour. And... I was also served breakfast in the Delivery Room - what a reward for hungry little me! Fish porridge & MILO & Fruit Juice. Yum, yum, yum! Such a difference from when I gave birth to Daniel!
After the 1st hour of alertness, Baby Timmy slept most of that 1st day of his life. He only woke to nurse about 3 times that day. On day 2, he became an almost constant nurser - good thing though, since because of that, he passed lots of meconium like Sarah and was thus not jaundiced (bilirubin is passed out with meconium). My milk didn't start coming in until day 4, but because I'd just stopped nursing Daniel only 2mths before (Daniel self-weaned), I did seem to have quite a bit of colostrum.
Sarah & Daniel came to visit the very morning of Timmy's birth. We'd prepared "birth-day" presents for them. They were very excited. So far, they have been quite good as "Kor-kor" & "Che-che".
