Monday, March 14, 2011
8:30AM
After three false alarms, where we went to the hospital thinking, “this is it!” only to be sent back home, I told myself and Daniel oppa that I want to be in a lot of pain the next time we go. So, when I woke up in the morning with some strong contractions, I didn’t think too much about it and went about the morning routine.
DK: It was work as usual; at this point, we practically gave up on the baby being born early and decided that she was not willing to come out until the actual date. Our baby likes to be on time.
9:30AM
I definitely started to feel more and more pain with each contraction. We finished breakfast and as I started to wash the dishes, I had to stop for a moment when the contractions came because it hurt more that I was standing and moving about. I told Daniel oppa that I wanted to wait until the afternoon, since last week my contractions usually dwindled by lunchtime. So he decided to work a half day and see what happens. I also called my mom to let her know that I was having contractions, but we all decided to wait and see if they continued into the afternoon.
DK: OK; so maybe the 4th time is the charm. I start preparing for the tasks for the day in case I have to leave early. I still didn’t think she was coming out today, but who knows. Perhaps she grew tired of waiting.
11:30AM
Daniel oppa decided to get ready in case we had to go to the hospital. I called my mom and told her that the contractions have been continual and strong. We decided to call Labor and Delivery and get ready to go to the hospital. When I called, the nurse said to come in before 1:30PM or head over to the clinic if it was after 1:30PM. I got Ethan ready to go and we headed to my mom’s to drop him off.
DK: Perhaps because we had to go into the hospital since Michelle’s water broke for Ethan, we didn’t quite know what to expect for “normal” birth. But it definitely seemed like Michelle was in a lot more pain and I let my colleagues know that I will be out this afternoon. Perhaps our baby was ready to meet us.
12:30PM
The last two times we had dropped Ethan off at my mom’s, he walked right into my mom’s house without looking back to say “goodbye.” Today, he reacted totally differently. As Daniel oppa was getting him out of his carseat, he reached out for me and started to cry. My mom had to carry him inside as he was crying out for us. It was heart-breaking! We drove quickly away, hoping he’ll be okay, but as Daniel oppa drove through the speed bumps, I had to ask him to slow down because my contractions were really strong and frequent, coming every 3-5 minutes.
DK: So I had to drive quickly to get to the hospital on time but also slow enough so Michelle was comfortable. Definitely not an easy task, even for a veteran driver like me. J
1:20PM
We decided to have him drop me off at the drop-off zone at the hospital and have me wait until he could park the car before going to Labor and Delivery. However, when we got to the hospital, a volunteer noticed that I was in labor and offered to bring out a wheelchair before we could say anything. We headed to the second floor and went to the nurse’s station. The nurse recognized us from Saturday and took us to the same Triage bed we were in before. Daniel oppa left to go park the car and bring our bags while I called my mom to check up on Ethan. She said that he was okay now and was about to eat lunch, so I let her go and just waited for Daniel oppa to come back.
DK: The lady was nice enough to offer the wheelchair; now that was a grand entrance. Here comes the pregnant lady about to give birth! Make way!
2:15PM
Since I didn’t have many complications with my pregnancy and had planned to go without an epidural, I was placed under the care of the Certified Nurse-Midwife. When she checked, I was 5.5cm dilated and with my strong contractions, some lasting 60-90 seconds and coming every 3-5 minutes, she decided to admit me. She guessed that the baby was going to be a little bigger than Ethan, but definitely under 7 pounds. I was so hungry by this time that I asked if I could eat anything. She said that I could have jello or broth, so I picked the jello and we got ready to move to the Labor and Delivery Room. As we were walking there, one of the other nurses recognized us from Saturday and said “You’re back and you’re going to have your baby today!” I was so glad that it wasn’t another false alarm!
DK: Still trying to figure out when the baby was coming out. It looks like things are progressing normally so that was a relief. Then we realized the time and we decided that we were both hungry.
2:30PM
While I was being admitted by the nurse, Daniel oppa went to get some lunch, since he also hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I called my mom and told her that I was admitted and she said not to worry about Ethan and to pray that I have a healthy, safe delivery. As Daniel oppa ate his lunch, I enjoyed my cup of orange-flavored jello. I thought it was funny how he would read the monitor and tell me when a contraction came and went, as if I couldn’t feel it. ;) Anyhow, I distracted myself by playing Scrabble on the DS until the nurse came to put in my IV, just in case I needed pain medications later on.
DK: At least hospital jello was free. I had to pay for the turkey burger at the cafeteria. But then again, it was not that bad! I suppose it really is hard to mess up a burger. I will need all the energy I can get to try and assist Michelle through yet another natural birth.
4:15PM
The midwife came to check on my progress. I was 7.5cm dilated and she suggested breaking my bag of waters. We decided to go ahead with that as she said that it would help move the labor along. By this point, I was having a harder time breathing through my contractions and distracting myself from the pain. I mentioned to the midwife that I might want some pain medication soon, thinking I’ll just get some fentanyl like I did during my labor with Ethan. She didn’t say anything to me, but just looked at the nurse.
5:00PM
The midwife suggested that I get out of bed and walk around as being in bed makes the contractions feel more painful. I told her that I would like something for the pain, but she said, “If you can tough it out for 30-45 more minutes, you’ll be holding your baby.” I thought about that and looked at the clock. It was 5:00PM, so I decided to go ahead without the pain meds. I got out of the bed and the midwife told Daniel oppa to put some pressure on my lower back during a contraction as it helps to relieve some of the pain. We walked around the room as if we were slow dancing, stopping at each contraction and continuing on until the next for about 30 minutes at which point I felt the urge to push. The midwife told the nurse “She said the magic words!” and prepared for delivery.
DK: So we walked around the room to assist with the contractions. This was exactly what we saw and learned in the birth class we took for Ethan. Ironic that we didn’t have to use it for his birth, but now we were doing exactly that for our daughter. So this is what the complete, normal birth routine is like. Learn new things every day!
5:40PM
I started pushing, but after 10-15 minutes, the midwife called in the doctor on call. Basically, the midwife noticed that something was not right because the baby wasn’t coming out and her heart rate kept dropping with every push. She had me move into different positions to help the baby recover from the pushing, so I was on my side, then on my hands and knees, on my back and then, on my other side, but the baby just wasn’t coming out. The doctor and midwife said that the baby’s head was not in the right position and that we had to wait for her to change position on her own before I could push her out. They suggested a vacuum to pull her out, but the doctor wasn’t sure that her head was in the right position for that either. The last resort would be to have a C-section since the baby would tire from all the pushing and recovering. By this time, I was exhausted and just ready to give up… A C-section sounded so good to me... I was out of energy and just wanted to have the baby out, but Daniel oppa and the midwife continued to encourage me.
DK: Michelle was in a lot of pain. Unfortunately no one expected it to take this long; we should’ve given her at least some pain medicine. After a while, I realized that the team was getting serious and a lot more nurses and doctors were coming into the room, and we were told that her heartbeat kept dropping below the threshold and had to monitor the baby a lot closely. They literally attached a cable to measure and monitor the baby’s heartbeat. So we had to monitor and track Michelle’s pushing, and also ensure baby was comfortable.
The baby was definitely not comfortable, and although Michelle was in a lot of pain (which, by the way, was unbearable just to watch; I can’t imagine the actual pain she went through…), she complied with the midwife and nurse’s suggestion to turn to different sides trying to find the most comfortable side for the baby. Essentially the whole team was more concerned about the baby and her safety first, and when she stabilized and heartbeats were going strong, then we would resume the pushing.
This was a lot more drama than I had anticipated; I realized that I wasn’t praying hard enough, so I started.
The doctor on duty came by (sometime after 6:30 PM), and firmly told us that we need to seriously consider C-section. It appeared that the baby’s head turned sideways and sort of stuck. We needed her head to turn (which with all the pressure of pushing, it was very unlikely), or a C-section would have to happen. With all the hard work Michelle had put into, we didn’t want to fall back to C-section, and everyone decided to try a bit harder for a while longer.
The doctor said she will be in the operation room at 7PM and if the baby was not out by then, we were to head out to the operation room for C-section. Luckily, we had found a position where the baby was relatively comfortable and the heartbeat was beating strong consistently, so we could focus on pushing for the last 10 minutes until 7.
7:00PM
Somehow, I was making progress with my pushes and finally the head crowned. The midwife said “I want you to touch her head just so you can see how close you are.” I couldn’t believe it. I had this sudden burst of energy and gave it my all with the last couple of pushes and then, Ellie was born! As soon as she came out, the midwife said that the baby came out just in time because she and the doctor decided to meet in the surgery room at 7PM if she wasn’t out by then. Ellie was born at 7:01PM. It was just the perfect time… definitely God’s perfect timing. I laid there holding Ellie in my arms, thinking how, once again, I am amazed at God’s creation and how awesome it felt to finally meet my daughter.
DK: Slowly, but surely, little by little, I could see the baby’s head moving closer and closer to us. It was still sideways; no wonder she’s been giving us such a hard time. But the baby was trying too; I could tell. With one last burst of energy, as we had all agreed that this set of pushing was going to be the last one, Michelle gave it all she’s got; I’ve never seen her so intense before, and told her later that it was kind of scary. J
The baby’s head came out! Well, not all the way, but kind of stuck out. Now there was no turning back; the head was beginning to come out, but still stuck. We encouraged and helped Michelle push a few more times. With each push, the head came out little by little, and I could see her frowning face. I could also see the top of her head where it had been stuck for so long; a definite cone-head.
The midwife told us this was the toughest second birth she’s had in many years. No kidding!
So after all that drama, Ellie Hyunji Koo came out to meet her mom and dad. We were just glad that she made it out safely and thankful that God was with us each and every step of the way, and that Ellie stayed strong throughout the entire delivery. Welcome to our family Ellie! You have made us realize what a joy it is to meet you finally.
Welcome home, Ellie… from the three of us.
