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.

Some pics, car seat and a lesson learnt

We were at Mothercare at Harbourfront some weekends ago to get an infant car seat. Took some pictures of father and daughter enjoying their dessert while having lunch at Spizza.

Speaking of carseats, my intention was to get one that can be used from 4 months to 4 years old. So we went the much talked about Baby Hypermart to have a look. They carry only Maxi Cosi brand and do have what I wanted, but hubby was not too keen to get the 4 months to 4 years old kind. He felt that we should get an infant carseat for use from birth up to about 1 year old, and then switch to the current one Sarah is using. In my heart, I knew I should follow his leading, but I was still undecided so we spent quite some time there. It so happened we met hubby's ex-colleague who had a 9 mo daughter. She told us that its better to get an infant seat which can allow the baby to recline more as this is better for their small bodies. So with this, I conceded and agreed to get an infant seat. But hubby was not keen on Maxi Cosi, as he has seen the Britax one at Mothercare and felt that was better. So off we went to Mothercare to get the Britax Rock-a-Tot Plus Si.

Amidst all this carseat buying, I have been once again reminded of an important lesson by the Lord. I know that God has placed the man as the head of the family, and as a wife, I should submit and following his leading. But there are many times when I tend to insist on my way. I thank God for this lesson where I learnt that I should trust my husband and following his leading. Afterall, he is the one whom God has mandated to be my husband.

Children's Season @ The National Museum

Backdated: 27 May 2008

Daddy was on leave this week, so we planned some activities for the little girl. One of the activities was to bring Sarah to The National Museum for the Children's Season. This was our first time at the museum, and I must say that the newly renovated museum is very nicely done up.

Our first stop was the story-telling session by Monsters Under The Bed. They are a professional language and story-telling school. They are very good in getting the children to use their creativity and the story-telling involved participation from the kids too. I think Sarah enjoyed the session, though she was quite sticky to us and refused to sit on the floor by herself.

Getting the kids to use their creativity

Story-telling in progress

Next, we went to the The Murmurs Playground. This was where Sarah had the most fun and where we spent the most time. In fact, we spent so much time here that we did not manage to view the other exhibitions/workshops.

At the Musical Chef where kids use different kitchen utensils to make music

Drawing with cousin Daniel

Sarah's fav: The ball pit where she kept jumping in and out of it

It was a day well-spent at the museum. A pity we had to rush off and could not visit the Mozart: A Child Prodigy exhibition.

Out of Sorts

Have not been online much as I have been feeling a bit out of sorts for the past week. Is there such a thing as pre-natal blues? I must be having that. Physically, I have been feeling stretched. This baby likes to stretch a lot. Sometimes he stretches so much that I feel like my tummy is gonna explode. Depending on the position of the baby, I have been getting backaches on and off too. Emotionally, I am in no mood for anything, don't feel like cooking, going out, meeting friends, yet feel bored and frustrated at home.

Just venting here. Hope to be back soon. Will update on what we did this week, which is pretty much as daddy is on leave.

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.

Box Fun

Earlier this week, hubby bought the latest 24" imac which was delivered in a gigantic box. The moment I saw the box, I knew Sarah will have great fun with it. So when Grandma came to visit, we decided to make a house together. Sarah decided to call it her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, after the show of the same name.

On Thursday, we cut out the doors and windows and put on the roof. Sarah used color markers to decorate the house. This was not enough for her. She kept asking to paint her house. So on Friday, we painted the house. Can see her putting in the effort to paint, though she got tired after painting the doors, windows and walls, and Grandma helped with the roof and the finishing touches.



Decorating the clubhouse with color markers


She likes to hide herself in the house



Painting the house

Later that evening, Sarah was playing with my shawl, and the ever playful Grandma decided to wrap it around her like a sari. I think she looked really cute.



Its amazing a simple thing like a box provided much fun for this little girl