BEGIN GORY LABOR DETAILS -----------------------
On Saturday evening I suspected I had a urinary tract infection, and we went to the hospital.
Me: I think I have a UTI.
Doctor: Well, I think it's the start of labor. You are having a lot of contractions.
Me: No, I think it's a UTI. And the contractions don't hurt [small lie]. I'd like to go home.
We got back home at about 11pm, and at about midnight I started to have more contractions. They were quite irregular....8 minutes apart, then 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 4 minutes, 8 minutes....you get the drill. We consulted the ultimate guide to everything, Google, and concluded that because they started so quickly and were so irregular it was definitely false labor.
5 hours of "false labor" later we decided to call the midwife. Ryan and I had hired a midwife to labor with us at home as long as possible. In Hong Kong, if a woman arrives too early at the public hospital she must labor in the labor ward - alone - until she's 3cm dilated. I was having none of that, so we hired someone from a company called Annerley, a wonderful midwife service run by Icelandic midwives. They call themselves the Icelandic Mafia!
Me: I think I'm in false labor.
Icelandic Mafiosa: I think you're in real labor, [you dummy].
The midwife came over and we labored at home for another 3-4 hours. It definitely hurt, but I thought I was managing quite well changing positions, taking a bath, making lots of moaning sounds (which I even do when I'm NOT in pain, so that wasn't a big deal!). I did throw up, though, and was concerned dehydration, hunger, and lack of sleep. Turns out it wasn't a UTI earlier in the evening, just the start of the bloody show (ew). Whoops!
At about 9am the Icelandic Mafiosa said I was 4cm dilated and should get to the hospital. She later told me that everything was progressing so quickly she was worried I'd deliver at home. So we checked in, the hospital midwife checked me and confirmed 4cm, and she sent us straight to the delivery room.
Icelandic Mafiosa: This is great news! She said you were 4cm dilated, and they are very conservative here so it means you are most likely 5cm. This baby is coming soon!
Exit Icelandic Mafiosa (I can only have one person in the delivery room, and I figured Ryan would be upset if it wasn't him!)
4 hours later I was checked again.
Doctor: You are only 2cm dilated. I'm going to break your water and see if we can progress the labor.
I've heard this happens sometimes because the baby's head may disengage from the cervix. I actually think it was the stress of getting to the hospital and being in a more uncomfortable environment. Whatever the reason, I was completely devastated. I cried. 13 hours of labor for 2cm!!
After she broke my water, the contractions went from being painful but manageable, to feeling like someone took my insides and wrung them like a wet towel. Enter Mean Midwife.
Mean Midwife: You need to relax. I delivered 2 babies using only Entonox [laughing gas]. Pain is just an experience. Lie down and relax your legs.
Let me tell you about Entonox: That shit doesn't work. Every time I inhaled it made me nauseous and by this time I'd thrown up again at the hospital and was even more dehydrated. Ryan was pretty upset with her, but I didn't care what she said. I had left all my dignity at the door, and I wanted a damn epidural. At the hospital, you must get a blood test and then wait for the anaesthesiologist to come. This process takes 2 hours, so 2 hours later I received an epidural. Holy cow! I'm convinced that the invention of this drug is the greatest milestone in modern medicine.
The painkiller was on for 6 hours and in that time I also had an IV to replace fluids. I was able to rest and felt the contractions very mildly. After 6 hours, the doctor confirmed that I was 10cm dilated. They recommended to remove the epidural and let it wear off over 2 hours so that I could feel the urge to push. Enter Mean Midwife again.
Mean Midwife: Just so you know, the lady next door just gave birth without an epidural. So you will need to gather your energy to push your baby out.
A little after midnight, another midwife came in to help me push and catch the baby. She was absolutely lovely and encouraging. However, after about an hour of pushing the baby's head was not out. Ryan could sneak a peak, though, and he confirmed she had a head full of hair! The doctor came in and after a few more pushes she got Baby M out with forceps. What a relief!
END GORY LABOR DETAILS -----------------------
Actually, the midwives and doctors at the hospital were excellent. Although they may lack some bedside manner, I was never worried medically about the labor. Most were kind and thoughtful. The thing is, it's a public teaching hospital so I think everyone is just very busy. Plus they are Chinese. Did you ever read The Good Earth? The main female character gave birth on her own and she was quiet as hell about it so as not to disturb her husband. Super hardcore. But guess how much the entire thing cost? 3 separate hospital stays (for various pregnancy related ailments) + delivery, including epidural + forceps + 2 nights in the hospital afterwards = 650HKD = 84USD. Take that again, US health care system!
After 2 nights at the hospital, I returned home and we have spent our days (and nights...oi!) caring for our beautiful baby. We feel blessed every day to have her in our lives. Although the second 13 hours of birthing was not ideal, in the end we still have a gorgeous baby! In your face, Mean Midwife.
Here are some pics of our first 10 days together.
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| At the hospital. |
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| Puffy around the eyes. Sorry about those forceps, baby! |
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| We spend a lot of time doing this. |
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| Daddy is tired! |
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| Unfortunately, not tears of joy. |
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| After bath time. |
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| With an Annerley Midwife, the only one who is actually not part of the Icelandic Mafia. She's French, and that's OK too. |
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| We love Faces Hour on MadTV. |
1 comment:
Beautiful Baby.
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