The Vital Statistics of a Birth

Posted by spots (Singapore, Singapore) on 19 August 2005 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

Here's the story of Daniel's birth. It really wasn't a typical textbook birth process... in fact, it was anything BUT typical... e.g., I was 4cm dilated with no contractions / pain at all! Go figure. And, to the chagrin of natural birth proponents out there, I actually quite enjoyed all the various man-made tools & drugs that were used to encourage / facilitate the birth of the Little One. Read on... for those who have always wondered what giving birth is like, the below might be helpful... :)

1. Last meal prior to the Fateful Visit To Dr Tan:
Breakfast a la Post Banana Nut Cereal with Meiji Fresh Milk, in comfort of home.
It was supposed to be just another regular check-up (la-dee-da) as I wasn't due till 25 Aug 05. But, instead...

2a. Time when Dr Tan pronounced I should be warded into post-natal ward:
Monday, 15 August 2005, 9.20am

2b. Reason:
I was 4cm dilated (though I did not feel any pain, nothing! I couldn't believe it!) Dr Tan wanted me to rest in the ward and wait for contractions to start.

2c. Time we were warded into post-natal ward:
10.15am

3. Key activities during wait:
Playing free download game - Rise of Nations, watching HBO, CNN, CNA and TCS5, sleeping, praying, SMS, reading Straits Times & explaining to mystified friends & relatives what was going on. We also sneaked out to eat famous Duck Rice @ Neil Road and pack extra goodies for hospital stay, e.g., King Koil pillow & laptop!

4. No. of hours in ward:
23 hours - contractions did not start, though I was trying my best to 'psyche' myself into feeling them. "Dear, I think I just felt a mild contraction, ... er, or is that just my stomach growling?" ^__^

5. Time when Dr Tan pronounced I should be warded into labour ward:

One day later - Tuesday, 16 August, 8am

6. Reason:
Though I was still 4cm dilated (and still no contractions!), his plan was to 'induce' contractions & get the labour process started.

7. Time I was warded in labour ward:

9.15am

8. No. of 'machines' I was hooked up to:

Five. Lessee...there was Machine That Took Blood Pressure at Regular Intervals, Machine That Monitored Baby Heartbeat & My (lack of) Contractions, Machine Also Known As the Amazing EPIDURAL Drip, Machine to Stabilise My Blood Pressure and the Machine Also Known As the OXYTOCIN Drip. Fwah!

9. Time when doctor burst my water bag:

10.15am

10. Time of first contractions:

10.15am. Immediately after the bag was burst, contractions began at regular intervals of once every 3 MINUTES! This happened even before the oxytocin, a drug meant to encourage contractions, was administered. Thankfully, the epidural drip was already in place, so I felt no pain whatsoever.

11. Key activities during contractions:

Listening to screaming women in other rooms, watching HBO and CNA, chatting & praying with Husband, SMS. Strangely enough, time flew by, maybe because of the anticipation and adrenaline of seeing Baby Daniel soon!

12. Funny moments in labour ward:

#1. "If you love me, you would give me a biscuit."
I had been warned by several nurses not to eat, but I was ravenous after several hours. After threatening my Husband with a few rather unBiblical remarks, he caved in and fed me, but only 2.5 Khong Guan Custard Cream biscuits! Che...

#2. "Look honey! You're having a contraction!" "Really ahr? "
It was really kinda cool checking the blimp on the monitor that was faithfully reporting I was experiencing off-the-chart sky-high contractions every minute or so - because I wasn't feeling any pain at all! This was all thanks to the painkiller Epidural - in my words, "God's gift to women!"

#3. "I'm wearing a turban!"
The labour room was freezing and being hungry made it all the worse. My whole body was shaking with cold, so Husband ended up covering me with 3 white blankets and wrapping an additional white blanket round my head. I kinda looked like a seal... or a tai-tai in a salon, having her hair permed! Not very glam...

12. No. of hours of painless contractions:

8 hours.
By 5pm, I was 10cm dilated! So, the nurse turned off the epidural drip and we waited till about 6.15pm for the epidural to wear off. Then,.... the pushing began.

13. No. of hours of pushing:

1+ hour. In that hour, which seemed to last FOREVER, I

a. threw up the biscuits I had made my husband feed me (retribution!)

b. burst into tears of frustation

c. moved the baby, hmm well, about.... all of 4 cm! At the end of the hour, he was about 2 cm from entering the world (and I was about 2 cm away from asking for a Caesearean!) ... don't laugh. It really isn't THAT easy, especially when you haven't eaten breakfast, lunch or dinner. But on the bright side, Husband & nurse were terrific cheerleaders. Even though I later discovered the extent of my dismal progress (only moved the baby 4 cm!), their words of encouragement & cheering on really made me persevere,...

14. How baby came out in the end:

Via a rather strange looking semi plastic electric vacuum, courtesy of Dr Tan's 'gong-fu'. (!!) Thankfully, Daniel's head is perfectly normal, not cone-shaped or funnel-shaped or anything!

15. Best moment in labour ward:

Breastfeeding Daniel SUCCESSFULLY in labour ward, after birth.

16. Strange moment:

Being put on a stretcher and wheeled out to the post-natal ward. Felt like a scene from ER...

16. First meal after labour ward:
After all the hype died down & our entire extended family left the ward, Husband & I quietened down and began inspecting our kid. Everybody said the little squidge was "soooo cuuute" and actually, he kinda was. Unlike other newborns I've seen, Daniel remained wide awake, with big black eyes staring intently everywhere, for about 5 hours after birth! He had a full head of hair, and nails that looked like they just came from a French manicure! Very cute indeed. We took turns to coo at him and the whole night was subsequently spent breastfeeding him every 3 hours. Basically, once the kid came out, it's been a series of new experiences for me - things that I've never done before, and things that I'll need to start getting used to fairly quickly - breastfeeding, swaddling him, holding him, calming him down etc., ... it's easy to see how a young squidge could overtake your entire life, and we're trying to avoid that. But for now, since he literally is dependent on us for everything (even burping!), we'll be focusing on him more of course. With God's strength, the initial stage will pass and it'll become less tiring or more natural soon!