The night prior to delivering Baby See, I was playing with him as usual. He's usually active at night and wakes up around 945pm. We were playing the tapping game which I would tap back whenever I feel his kicks. It went on for a while, much longer than our usual play sessions and it stopped suddenly and I felt the other side of my tummy tightening.
1240am: Water bag broke
I didn't give much thought to it until I felt something leaking which was strange because I wasn't coughing nor sneezing. Hence, I went to the toilet to check and there was some sticky discharge. Before I knew it, more sticky discharge started flowing down the sides of my thighs. I was startled and my Mom told me its probably my water bag that burst. Mom went through c-sect when she delivered me so she didn't experience water breaking. Very quickly, I put on a sanitary pad but it was soaked in less than 5 minutes. Luckily, I got the overnight panties from 七度空间. After changing into them, we made our way down to the hospital.
140am: Reached hospital
I didn't feel any pain or contractions along the way to the hospital. Upon alighting, we went to the labor ward and were brought to the observation ward.
154am: Enema administered
I was asked to change into the hospital gown and an enema was administered which made me empty my bowels 10 minutes after.
2am: Emptied bowel and 2cm dilated
After which, the nurse checked me and I was told that I am already 2cm dilated. I was asked if I am Strep B positive because if I am, they have to give me an additional drip. At that moment, I could only recall that I had to take antibiotics for something but couldn't remember if it is for Strep B. And guess what? We left our reports at home so we called my Mom to check because the hospital couldn't retrieve the records as my gynae's clinic is closed. Turns out that I'm Strep B positive.
After which, we moved to the delivery suite. It was so cold in there, luckily I brought my trusty Puma hoodie along.
I felt another tightening feeling when I was in the delivery suite but it wasn't painful, just slight discomfort. I asked for epidural the moment the nurse asked if I wanted any pain relief.
250am: Epidural administered
At 250am, the anaesthetist came and my hub was asked to go outside. She wiped my back before administering the epidural and boy, it felt so cold! When she did the injection, I shifted because it hurt and the nurse had to hug my thighs to prevent me from moving. After the epidural kicked in, I kept shivering badly and it was hard to control. I was told by the nurse that the trick is to inhale for 5 counts and exhale for 10 counts. It worked most of the time but there were times when I still shivered badly.
Took this to mark the end of our couple time for we are welcoming our little one!
625am: 3cm dilated
At 625am, I was 3cm dilated. I asked the hub to take a last photo of me before I deliver so that I can look back in future.
My tummy only look huge because of the CTG strap. I opted for cheese sandwich for breakfast as I didn't have much appetite and this is what I usually have at home for brekkie. Little did I know that I would throw up twice after 10mins of having it.
I was very worn out by then because I didn't get much sleep since I was admitted. Luckily, I managed to catch some sleep from 9am - 11am.
1255pm: 7cm dilated
At 1255pm, I was 7cm dilated. The nurse asked if I wanted something to eat before delivering. I ordered egg sandwich and orange juice but when the food arrived, I was told that I can't eat anymore as I will be starting to push my baby out very soon. However, the nurse asked me to take the juice so that I would have some energy to push the baby out.
2pm: 10cm dilated
At 2pm, I was 10cm dilated and was told that I could start pushing. I had my legs propped up and the midwife and my hub supported my back to curl me up like a ball to push whenever there's a contraction. I didn't know when a contraction is coming because I can't feel it due to the epidural so I had to rely on the midwife to check on the reading on the CTG machine. It went on for an hour before the midwife said she could see a 2cm opening and that my son has a lot of hair just like me. The pushing was so hard, I had to take a deep breath in and breathe out with my mouth closed for 10s and repeat it in sets of 4. I was asked if I wanted to continue to push since it has been an hour or if I wanted my gynae to assist. Of course, we chose the latter and he actually helped to push the baby out with his hands! He did it by pushing my tummy once, followed by asking me to push once and then he pushed my tummy again before asking me to push again and baby is out! After baby's head came out, I could feel him gliding out. The first thing that I said when baby is out was - OMG, I did it! And my gynae was like, "No, I did it." He's hilarious as usual.
330pm: BABY SEE IS OUT!
Immediately after delivering Baby See, I felt giddy and threw up again while having skin-to-skin contact with him. Other than that, I really thank God that the delivery was a smooth one and I did not experience any pain. I remember that while waiting to give birth, we heard the lady next door howling and we got so startled and the hub consoled me by saying that she might have opted for no epidural.
I am glad that we overcome this as a couple. Hub was very supportive and motivating throughout the 14 hours of labor and I can't thank him enough.
I will be updating Part 2 of Baby See's birth story soon so stay tuned!
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