My Birth Story

Gave birth on 7 July, and has been wanting to write this post to give all glory to God for an awesome supernatural birth.

For this pregnancy, I had desired to have a natural, drug-free birth, but I don't know if it is possible as I have a low threshold for pain. However, after attending the talk by Serene and Henson "Experiencing God in Pregnancy and Birth", I became convinced that I can have a supernatural birth, and started to confess scriptures and pray for the birth I wanted daily.

These are my prayer requests for this birth.

1. Labour to start by contractions, instead of bursting of water bag. (I later learnt from my gynae that labor which starts by contractions tends to be faster and the body is already ready, while labor which starts by bursting of water bag tends to be slower).
2. Baby to be born on 7 July, to share the same birthday as me. However, 1 week before my edd, my gynae informed me that he will be going away and will not be around on the 7th. So I changed my prayer request for the baby to come at God's perfect timing. But it was still my heart's desire for the baby to share the same birthday as me.
3. For wisdom to know when to go to the hospital, not too early, but also not too late.
   
4. Labor to be quick, within 2 hours on reaching the hospital.
5. No tearing and no episiotomy required.
6. Labor to take place at a time with minimal disruption to Sarah's schedule.
   
7. Baby to be born healthy with no jaundice.

Birth story:
7 July, 2.30am Woke up to go to the toilet. Felt some very slight contractions. Had a feeling this is the day, and was very excited cos its the 7 July! Tried to go back to sleep but can't cos was feeling very excited.

2.30am to 6am Could not sleep all this while. Was timing the contractions, they lasted 30s at 5 mins apart. Thought that it could take a while more since the contractions were short.

7 to 7.30am Contractions were getting stronger, lasting 1min, and still 5 mins apart. Felt that its time to go to the hospital. Washed up and changed and woke hubby up. Our plan was to drive Sarah to my mother's place then to the hospital. But while waiting for hubby to get ready, I felt the contractions getting stronger, and felt that I will not be able to make it in time, so we decided to bring Sarah with us to the hospital and have my mom meet us there.

8.15am Reached hospital. Thank God for a very smooth morning traffic on the PIE, despite being the peak hour.

8.30am Changed and nurse requested to do some fetal monitoring.

8.40am Water bag leaked together with show. Did a vaginal examination. Was 5 cm dilated. Was quite disappointed to hear that cos I thought its still a long way to go.

8.50am Doctor came to check, still 5cm. Said its going to take a few hours. After this, more waters leaked with more show. After the water bag burst, the contractions changed and were very strong. I also felt a slight urge to push.

9.10am Urge to push was very strong now. I even had to grunt through the contractions. Nurse did another VE, only 6 cm.

9.20am Am already pushing with every contractions. The nurse told me not to push cos she thought I was not fully dilated yet, but I was not able stop my body from doing what it should. At this point, I felt led to call the baby to be born. So I called the baby to be born by 10am in the name of Jesus (..and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Rom 4:17).

9.40am Pushing very hard with each contractions. Nurse probably realised I am ready to birth and quickly called for the doctor. Doc came and said I can start pushing. Those were the sweetest words I heard. I was surprised that I went from 6 cm to fully dilated in just 20 mins. Praise God my mom arrived at this point, so hubby could pass Sarah to her and join me in the birth room. I would not want to birth alone by myself! Started to push the baby out, and here comes the truly awesome part. There was no pain at all! Only very strong urge to push. Even the burning sensation that comes when the baby crowned was not painful at all. It was truly a supernatural birth! And indeed, baby was born by 10am!

I ended up with a 2nd degree tear. But God is merciful and gracious. There was no pain at all from the tear. Even the gynae and the nurses were surprised that I need not take any painkillers at all. I remembered when I had an episiotomy for my first birth, I could feel the pain days after and had to take painkillers.

I was feeling high after the birth. I was absolutely amazed that God had answered ALL my prayer requests, and am still in awe whenever I recall the birth.

I write this birth story as a testimony to the power of our miracle-working God, and to give all glory to him. Hopefully, this will also encourage other women that a supernatural childbirth is possible. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are heirs to the kingdom of God. Claim your inheritance!

Pregnancy Updates

Have not updated on my pregnancy for quite some time. Well, all thanks to the Lord, everything is fine and uneventful. I am now into my 39th week. At my checkup last week, the baby weighed 3.2kg, and is doing well. I think due to limited space in my tummy, the baby seldom kick now, but rather, I feel lots of pushing, and sometimes, I can feel his feet protruding out.

I am looking forward to his arrival, but this procrastinating mommy has not got everything ready yet. The cot is not assembled yet, and his clothes not washed. I told myself must get everything ready by this week. EDD is 4 July, but have been praying that he will come on 7 July, to share the same birthday as his mommy.

As for me, I am feeling big and heavy. Have not been sleeping well too, kept tossing and turning as every position gets uncomfortable after a while. Just last night, I kept changing positions almost every minute. I think I only got to sleep after lying there are a few hours.

Nevertheless, I am thankful that the Lord has watched over me and the baby for these 39 weeks. God willing, I am believing for a supernatural birth. Hopefully, I will have an awesome testimony to share here.

Update @ 31+ weeks

Went for my ob/gyn visit on Thursday. The little guy is growing well and now weighs 1.8kg. He is also moving actively, sometimes to the extent I felt uncomfortable. But I am thankful to God for these movements as they meant everything is fine with the little one.

For this birth, I have prepared a birth plan. Showed it to my gynae and got him to agree and sign off on it. Am glad I finally got this done. For Sarah's birth, I was quite ignorant of what to expect during the birth process, so everything was done accordingly to the nurses and midwives, which meant typical hospital protocol, which may not be all that necessary and comfortable for the labouring mommy. After Sarah was born, I read up more and also learnt a lot from other more experienced mommies. So for this birth, there are certain procedures I wish to avoid, and certain things I want to be done my way. I am glad my gynae is fully supportive of a natural birth and is open to different birthing processes.

Update @ 27+ weeks

Just went for my gynae visit this morning. Baby is doing well. He now weighs about 1.2kg. I have not posted any scan pictures of the little one cos I feel that can't really see much from the pics. But today, the doctor managed to capture the little one's face with his mouth open. So cute, so here it is.


As for me, luckily my weight gain is about 700gm this month. My weight gain for this pregnancy is slower compared to the first, mainly because I don't eat as much.

Praise the Lord for a smooth pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Smells Like Poo Poo

Yes, that's what my girl said when I offered her some durians. The daddy bought 4 boxes of the fruit last night. I offered Sarah some, hoping that she will like it, just like her parents, but to her, it smells like poo poo. I burst out laughing hearing her said that. Just now, I offered her some again, and this time she said "I don't like to eat poo poo."

Some people say that eating durians whilst pregnant will result in a big sized baby. As hard as I tried to control myself, I still can't resist them. I did eat durians while pregnant with Sarah, and she was only about 2.8kg at birth, so I do hope it is just a myth. My gynae visit is tomorrow, really hope my weight don't shoot up too much due to the durians. So far, apart from gaining back the 4kg I lost in the 1st trimester due to the vomiting, I have only gained 500g at the last visit. So hope that my weight gain will remain like this, so long as the baby is doing fine.

On the home front, everything is fine and as usual. Praise the Lord that the giddiness and headaches which have been bugging me for the past weeks have gone, and I don't feel so tired too. After hearing about good things about red raspberry tea leaves, I ordered 2 packets to try. Not sure if it is really due to the tea, I do feel more energetic now. With my energy back, I hope to do more cooking and baking as I do have some cravings now. Will update here if I manage to cook anything.

Updates

It has been a long time since I updated about us. So here's some short updates about us.

@ 24 weeks
I am now at 24 weeks. At my checkup last week, the little one is growing well and weighs about 700 grams. This little guy kicks a lot when I am lying down, not so much when I am walking around, but sometimes he likes to give a hard push. Thank God my energy level is back, though I can't stand or walk for too long, otherwise will feel some strain on my tummy. Appetite is normal, I eat normal portions, sometimes even less, not much weight gain this time round. But my sis-in-law says that for boys, the weight gain will come later in the pregnancy.

Sarah
Sarah is growing very fast. I was just looking at her last year's photos and realised that she has grown so much. I find that her facial features has matured, she still looked so babyish last year. Time really flies. So far, she has not shown any signs of jealousy towards her baby brother. She loves to read to him, and says that when didi comes, she will teach him how to play, how to read, etc. Hope that she will keep this up and be a good cheh cheh when the baby arrives.

Homeschooling
Homeschooling stopped for 2 months due to my pregnancy sickness. During these 2 months of inactivity, doubts crept into my mind: whether I am doing Sarah any good by keeping her at home where she does not seem to be doing anything. So in a moment of folly, I signed her up at the PAP nursery near our home. Well, as the saying goes, "Man proposes, God disposes". Though she seemed to do well at the trial class and on the 1st day of school, she protested a bit on the 2nd day. Well, on the 3rd day onwards, she refused to wear her uniform at all. Little missy is firm on what she wants. She told me she only wants homeschool. As for me, from the very moment I sent her up the school bus, my heart has not been at peace. I just don't feel right about the whole thing. So, after attending only 2 days of school, I pulled her out and resumed our homeschooling. I can only thank the Lord that He led me back on the right path. Everything felt right and Sarah enjoys her lessons very much. I enjoyed the time spent with her as well.

When I said earlier that it did not seem that she is learning much in that 2 months, nothing could be further from the truth, now looking back. I find that in that 2 months when I was not able to care for her, she has learnt to be independent. She learnt to play independently, she created imaginary friends. The only area she back slided was her self-feeding (as her 2 grandmothers fed her instead of letting her self-feed), but this has been rectified since.

Its really wonderful to have her at home with me, learning, playing and living life together. I treasure the time I have with her now, as I know that before too long, she won't be able to have all of me to herself.