Raeanne's Birth-Day!

20th June ~3am, mummy was awoken from sleep because of abdominal pain. But then, it wasn't too severe, so mummy thought that could just be the Braxton-Hick contractions and I went back to sleep..

2 hrs later, a slightly more severe pain roused me from my sleep.. Dr Tan's words came back to me.. N I thought to myself, could this be for real? This time round, I wasn't able to go back to sleep. Everytime just when I was about to fall back into sleep, the contractions would start..

~7am, mummy woke daddy up and told him about my suspicions. Daddy felt that we should make a trip down to the hospital to check things out. So we made a trip down to the labour ward a day ahead of schedule..

At the labour ward, they did the same checks as they did previously when mummy had contractions. The Dr who attended to mummy said that my contractions were still irregular and that my cervix was only 2.5cm open. So she sent mummy home and instructed mummy to come back only when my waterbag bursts or if I bleed or if the contractions get stronger in intensity..

So off we went.. Mummy then spent the afternoon sleeping at home, periodically being woken up by the contractions which grew in intensity over the hours.. By evening time, the contractions had grew pretty strong and frequent. But because mummy's waterbag was still intact, I thought, well, I could still put up with the pain. Cos mummy didn't want to go to the hospital, only to get sent back again. So that went on for another few hours...

~1030 pm, mummy could no longer tolerate the pain anymore! Mummy then called daddy (who was out helping Raeanne's uncle moving house) and told him I couldn't take it anymore. Daddy decided to take mummy to the hospital. But mummy was in so much pain that I could barely lift myself off the bed. Plus the intervals between the contractions were so close that there was hardly enough 'pain-free' moments for me to make it out of the house. So daddy called Raeanne's grandparents for help.

After much difficulty, they managed to support mummy to the car. ~1130pm, we finally reached the labour ward. After changing into the labour 'gear', the mid-wives asked mummy if I wanted an epidural (for pain relieve).. Mummy was in so much pain that I said yes without much deliberation. But!! Upon examination, they said mummy was already 7cm dilated! Which means Raeanne is going to arrive real soon, so there's actually no need for epidural already. Plus mummy's contractions were so frequent and intense then that it would have been quite impossible to give me a proper epidural! So to my horror, I was only put on a nitrous oxide mask for pain relieve!

The contractions grew more and more intense...and mummy's distress naturally escalated exponentially... It was only about an hour later that mummy's waterbag burst and Raeanne's head started dropping low enough.. From about that point onwards, the contractions really got so bad that mummy would eventually be screaming into the gas mask!! The mid-wives would then tell mummy to take long, deep breaths and push but don't scream.. Well, according to daddy, mummy was pretty loud.. Perhaps, they were afraid that I might scare the other few mummies lying in the next few rooms.. But then, mummy was in so much pain that I simply couldn't control myself anymore..

Soon, they told mummy not to use the gas mask anymore.. It's time to start pushing real hard cos they can see my lil' girl's head already!! So mummy pushed and pushed each time a contraction came... After several pushes, I felt like giving up.. I didn't think I was going to be able to push you out at all... I was really drained.. I kept saying "I can't do it"... But Dr Tan and the mid-wives kept encouraging mummy saying that I can do it. All I needed was just one more push and my lil' darling will be out.. And most importantly, daddy was there all through out the ordeal for mummy.. He kept vigil by mummy's side, holding mummy's hand and wiping sweat off mummy's forehead.. That gave mummy the strength to continue to push! For daddy and for you...

Finally! At 115am 21st June 2008, my lil' sweetheart was finally born! When I heard your first cry, I was so full of relieve and overwhelmed by emotions... I can't believe my precious lil' girl has finally come to this world! All the pain was then forgotten (momentarily!).. All I wanted was to see my lil' sweetheart and when I finally held you in my arms, I didn't want to let you leave my arms any more.. The emotion that mummy felt then is simply beyond description.. And for the first time, after so many hours, mummy finally saw a smile on daddy's face.. =)

My lil' sweetheart, you look just like that ultrasound pic of yours taken when you were 7mths old.. Not a bit less chubby than a few months back! And you look so much like daddy!! With hair so black and eyes so bright.. though daddy says your nose and eyebrows take after mummy.. =) But Raeanne has something which neither of us have... A dimple on your left cheek!!! So adorable!! =)

My dearest sweetheart, mummy and daddy loves you a lot... You must be a healthy and happy baby okie? =)