Thanks for the Midnight feed
Labor
It's been a week since Ian was born!
It really doesnt feel that long (the labour part did)
Tuesday 2pm - heading out to the airport to get my mum when realize my water broke.. No not the gushing waterfall type but just enough to know it broke n not make a mess!
So we manage to contact my mum before she leaves Chicago ( the last flight out before last weeks storm!) and had a kind friend pick her up.. And host her for 2 nights while k n I stayed at hospital.
At 3pm I was 1 cm dilated so was labor was induced ( oh no, gives stronger contractions)
After a bunch of contractions and my labor coach and I trying to make it thru, the doc checked again and At 2 am I was 5 cm ... I.e probably quite some hours to go to get to 10cm
It was a good time to opt for an epidural!
So we did and both k n I promptly fell asleep from mental exhaustion n all the excitement. 7am Wednesday- we made it to a grand total of 6cm! 1cm after 4 hours?? Anti climax ...
More induction drugs.. If we don't get to 10 cm in 4 hours chances are we need a c section.
Baby heart rate drops so the drug is reduced.. And good news by 11am or so .. We are at 8cm. It took another 4 hours to get to 10cm, and by the time doc said we were ready to push-- we were ready! it wasn't just the waiting.. I was having contraction pain n tired if lying down n not having food or water for the last 24 hrs!
The pushing took 20 or so mins-- baby, you are coming out NOW!
It really doesnt feel that long (the labour part did)
Tuesday 2pm - heading out to the airport to get my mum when realize my water broke.. No not the gushing waterfall type but just enough to know it broke n not make a mess!
So we manage to contact my mum before she leaves Chicago ( the last flight out before last weeks storm!) and had a kind friend pick her up.. And host her for 2 nights while k n I stayed at hospital.
At 3pm I was 1 cm dilated so was labor was induced ( oh no, gives stronger contractions)
After a bunch of contractions and my labor coach and I trying to make it thru, the doc checked again and At 2 am I was 5 cm ... I.e probably quite some hours to go to get to 10cm
It was a good time to opt for an epidural!
So we did and both k n I promptly fell asleep from mental exhaustion n all the excitement. 7am Wednesday- we made it to a grand total of 6cm! 1cm after 4 hours?? Anti climax ...
More induction drugs.. If we don't get to 10 cm in 4 hours chances are we need a c section.
Baby heart rate drops so the drug is reduced.. And good news by 11am or so .. We are at 8cm. It took another 4 hours to get to 10cm, and by the time doc said we were ready to push-- we were ready! it wasn't just the waiting.. I was having contraction pain n tired if lying down n not having food or water for the last 24 hrs!
The pushing took 20 or so mins-- baby, you are coming out NOW!
baby ian Day 5. or 4. I have lost track..past few days are a blur
dinner
I've started going for weekly check ups and had one today. Not much happening on the dilation front, so I don't think I'll be giving birth too too much before the due date. In the evening, hubby and I decided to go out for dinner at a japanese restaurant (where I sadly eat cooked food while watching him eat sashimi). The last time we came, the boss lady gave us free ice cream-"for the baby",she said (we've had quite some free food "for the baby" since becoming pregnant- all from restaurant/food stall boss ladies).
After we had ordered, the boss lady came over to say hi to my tummy, and then she asked what hospital I was giving birth at. I told her and she exclaimed something, then introduced us to the couple at the next table. It turns out that the man at the next table worked at the hospital I had mentioned... and he asked me what clinic/doctor I was seeing... and it turns out I was going to the clinic that he started, which is a group of 6 doctors. I see a different doctor each time I go (that's the system here, you don't know who will be delivering your baby, just depends on who is on call) .. but I hadn't met him before because he didn't do deliveries ( I guess the boss gets to skip the late night shifts etc). So anyway, it was a cool coincidence, meeting the doctor that we read/hear about at our clinic, plus he gave me the OK to eat raw fish from a good source (like the restaurant we were at) and said we could call him if we had any pregnancy-related problems. Really nice couple! Later on the boss lady introduced us to her husband, the chef behind the sushi counter, and it turns out they have christian services (in japanese) at their restaurant on Sundays (the restaurant is closed on sundays)... and then they invited us to their house when summer comes round, when they apparently have a concert series on their property (this is pittsburgh, a large property is not unthinkable) performed by professional musical friends. According to the restaurant website, they own many animals (chickens?) in addition to normal dog pets in their home- kind of bizarre! They also said something about making grilled seasonal fish in summer- I'm not sure if that was at their place, or at the restaurant. So, a "normal" dinner turned out to be kind of fun and funny... and we still got free ice cream!
After we had ordered, the boss lady came over to say hi to my tummy, and then she asked what hospital I was giving birth at. I told her and she exclaimed something, then introduced us to the couple at the next table. It turns out that the man at the next table worked at the hospital I had mentioned... and he asked me what clinic/doctor I was seeing... and it turns out I was going to the clinic that he started, which is a group of 6 doctors. I see a different doctor each time I go (that's the system here, you don't know who will be delivering your baby, just depends on who is on call) .. but I hadn't met him before because he didn't do deliveries ( I guess the boss gets to skip the late night shifts etc). So anyway, it was a cool coincidence, meeting the doctor that we read/hear about at our clinic, plus he gave me the OK to eat raw fish from a good source (like the restaurant we were at) and said we could call him if we had any pregnancy-related problems. Really nice couple! Later on the boss lady introduced us to her husband, the chef behind the sushi counter, and it turns out they have christian services (in japanese) at their restaurant on Sundays (the restaurant is closed on sundays)... and then they invited us to their house when summer comes round, when they apparently have a concert series on their property (this is pittsburgh, a large property is not unthinkable) performed by professional musical friends. According to the restaurant website, they own many animals (chickens?) in addition to normal dog pets in their home- kind of bizarre! They also said something about making grilled seasonal fish in summer- I'm not sure if that was at their place, or at the restaurant. So, a "normal" dinner turned out to be kind of fun and funny... and we still got free ice cream!
Counting down
A week to go and we've had 2 lovely baby showers, one with the singaporean/malaysian- mostly student- community, and also our church friends.
When I told my brother about the shower, he thought I had given birth already!
In Singapore, we celebrate the first month after the baby has been born, a buffet meal for family and friends... on the other hand, a baby shower takes place before the baby comes, mostly with a group of women, someone organises it for the pregnant person (yay) and it is a means of showing support and joy at the incoming baby. It kind of helps with getting baby items / advice/ stories you need.
A friend commented that doing it after the birth kind of makes it easier on the mum IF anything happens, while a baby shower has a more optimistic tone, i.e. u are assuming that all will go well. who knows? : )
Cute-est card from friends kids
Linli
budding architect
photographed a gingerbread decorating event today and while most kids made a cute mess, this one boy made a house with some kind of rooftop feature.. complete with structural beams and some design elements. impressive!
Ice Sculptures
Pretty winter things at another christmas shoot... too bad they can't be done indoors in a heated room
Fireworks
quick shot from a shoot last night at a college that had a Christmas event going on... which included a nice fireworks display. In Singapore, I guess we get to see fireworks once or twice a year, but here fireworks come out pretty often-- to celebrate the start and end of summer, spring, independence day, christmas, random community day-- pretty much any event you want to light!
it was snowing (which got me worried abt wetting the camera) but fortunately it didn't last long... and the other activities were indoors (like talking to santa claus.. who told all the kids to be good and do well in school, asked them what they wanted for christmas and made sure the parents could hear their request)
it was snowing (which got me worried abt wetting the camera) but fortunately it didn't last long... and the other activities were indoors (like talking to santa claus.. who told all the kids to be good and do well in school, asked them what they wanted for christmas and made sure the parents could hear their request)
pittsburgh portraits
look at those big bright eyes!
