Monday, February 6, 2006
730am – supposed to call Kaiser between 7:45am – 8am to make sure there was a bed available, since you didn’t come on your own. An induction had been scheduled two weeks ago for today just in case you didn’t arrive (your original due date was January 30th).
Kaiser told Dad to come on in, but Grandma and I wanted to shower first! Grandma had driven down to stay overnight after Superbowl Sunday. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks. Daddy called Nai-Nai and Yie-Yie in Los Angeles and they started driving shortly thereafter.
830am – We weren’t much in a hurry I supposed since we’d been already waiting for you to arrive for so long anyways. Along the way, we forgot the tripod, so we turned around and went home to get it. Then Dad wasn’t sure he had enough videotape, so again, we stopped at Rite Aid to pick up some more. Sheesh, it was almost a 30-minute ride (normally, it only takes 5 minutes to get to the hospital).
9am – We arrived at the hospital and checked in with the receptionist. After some paperwork was completed, we were showed our room – Labor and Delivery Room #4. There were only 5 patients total for the day (not many at all)! Our room was nice and big – grandma, Daddy and I all fit with all of our gear as well. We had the videocamera, regular camera, extra clothes for all of us, and food for Daddy and Grandma (even some Otter Pops for me that were put into the freezer). We all got excited when we saw what would later be your bed – it was off in the corner.
10am – The doctor came in to tell us that we needed to use misoprostol (Cytotec®) inserts to ripen my cervix so it would be more responsive to contractions when they did occur. She explained that there would be one insert every 4 hours up to 5 inserts (that’s 20 hours!), and if there was still no change, then a balloon would be inflated to help open the cervix. The cervix needed to be open 3 cm before Pitocin could be started. Pitocin accelerates contractions. There was a monitor around my belly to measure your heart rate and another to monitor my contractions. The nurse said that once the insert was in, the doctor wouldn’t check on me until at least 4 hours had passed. I had not been feeling any contractions thus far, but supposedly on the monitor, they were happening.
11am – 1pm – The nurse (Hillary) came in every hour to check my blood pressure. She put an IV line to have access for later. Grandma, Dad and I just watched TV all morning long. Grandma and Dad went out to get lunch (Korean food) while I ate bland Bee Bim Bop (no added spice). I was lucky to be able to eat; if I had been having contractions, the doctor would not have let me eat at all. Auntie Jennifer Yu called from LA to check on us. She knew you were due soon, but didn’t know we were in the hospital today.
200pm – No doctor yet to check on us and place the next insert.
230pm – No change! The doctor said my cervix was still only 1 cm dilated, therefore another insert (#2) and another 4 hours!
3-5pm – Still blood pressure checks every hour and getting up to go pee – having to drag the IV pole and monitor attachments each time. Good news – I was feeling some mild contractions and watching them on the monitors. It looks like a mountain when there is a contraction! A new nurse, Soly, replaced Hillary after 330pm.
630pm – The doctor checked again and still no change. Therefore, insert #3 was given. Also, Yie-Yie and Nai-Nai arrived from LA. We all took turns guessing how much you’d weigh. The guesses were between 6 and 7 pounds. We visited for awhile, and they enjoyed watching the monitor to check for contractions. I did have one pretty bad one while they were there, but overall they were not bad. Yie-Yie and Nai-Nai went back to our house to rest up and spend the night waiting for the phone call that you had arrived. I was able to eat dinner, but this time, it was hospital food. Chicken, rice, green beans and carrots – I scarfed it down because I was starving! Grandma and Daddy ate leftovers from lunch.
7-10pm – Still more TV! We tried to read some People magazines that Tai-Po collected for me from Great Aunt Jean.
1030pm – The doctor checked again – 2.5 cm! Good news: I was progressing, bad news: I needed one more insert. I was becoming more uncomfortable, but knew nothing more would happen until at least 230am. Grandma, Dad and I were just going to have to get comfortable for the night.
11pm – Soly left, and Esther started.
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
12-2am – not much going on now, trying to sleep as much as possible. Daddy was in a rocking chair with his feet propped up on two other chairs while Grandma had a chair that turned into a bed.
230am – The doctor came in to examine me – 3cm dilated! Now we’re talking. Soon after, things got rolling. Once the doctors mentioned Pitocin, I immediately requested the epidural. That would help with any pain from Pitocin-induced contractions. The epidural was administered and the nurse cautioned Daddy not to look. Esther, the nurse, held my hand during the procedure. The numbing agent was painful, but went ok. It was a frightening experience knowing there was a catheter being inserted into the spine so that the medication could be administered. They looked at my long torso and informed me they’d need a lot of medication. The Pitocin was making me more uncomfortable as it gave me harder contractions. It felt like a lot of pressure down there, but it meant that I was that much closer to meeting you! The doctors continued to check my progress every 3-4 hours. During this time, Esther checked my blood pressure every hour and was concerned because it was getting higher. She was worried about pre-eclampsia, which worried me, but then later she realized that pain was causing my blood pressure to go up. I wasn’t really telling her I was in pain, but it just so happened that every time my blood pressure was taken, I was having a contraction. Bad timing.
6-7am – The doctors checked again. I was now 6cm! Esther said once I started Pitocin, it would be 1cm dilation approximately every hour. She put your birth time at around 11am or so.
7am – Bertha was our new nurse, Esther was done with her shift. I was really feeling the contractions and really uncomfortable now. Not really pain; the pain score never really got above a 3. I told the doctors to give me more medicine if my pain was at a 5 (out of 10). At some point this morning, there were alarms going off on one of the pumps that administers the medicine. I immediately asked Daddy to check which one it was. Daddy traced all the IV lines to the one machine that was beeping. It was the epidural pump!! Quickly, Daddy alerted the nurses – if it were any other pump (fluids, antibiotics, Pitocin), it would not have concerned me, but this was the pain medication after all. The nurse came in shortly to change the syringe and add another full one. After this, it was more TV.
8am – The nurse prepared all the sterile equipment and wheeled in a cart full of supplies for later. It was getting close to your arrival, and they wanted everything to be ready.
930am – The nurse said the doctor would come in and check on me. However, once the doctor came in, she said I was 10 cm and it was pushing time, but the nurse wasn’t quite ready for us yet! The nurse said she had to discharge another patient first, then she could devote her time to us. Meanwhile, now I was in agony, especially knowing you were ready. I had to wait for both the doctor and nurse to be ready for us. This didn’t happen for another hour! I guess they figured I’d already waited this long, what’s another hour.
In the meantime, Daddy called Nai-Nai and Yie-Yie who were staying at our house and updated them and told them you’d probably be born pretty soon.
1030am – Finally the nurse and doctor were both ready for me to push! We started pushing with each contraction, but the doctor decided to push with every other contraction because your heart rate kept dropping. The contractions were stressing you out. Later you did ok so we pushed with every contraction. Grandma and Daddy updated me on how far you were out. First just the top of your head was visible, then later, more and more of your head could be seen. The doctors said that you had hair (which we saw in your last ultrasound). This gave me encouragement to push harder so I could see your hair for myself.
1200pm – It didn’t seem like it had been that long, but really, an hour and a half of pushing and I was drained! Especially since I hadn’t slept very well in 48 hours (I couldn’t sleep well on Superbowl Sunday because I was so excited to finally meet you). The doctors even had to cut me a little bit because you weren’t able to make it out quite by yourself.
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1219pm – After almost 2 hours of pushing, you arrived! What a relief!! You came out and pooped on the floor! Your eyes were wide open and you looked right at me, then Daddy and Grandma. It was the happiest day of my life! You were crying a little bit, but calmed down and looked around. Grandma said you were so long, once you started coming out, you just kept coming and coming. You had 10 fingers and 10 toes, and you were perfect. The doctors put you in my arms and Daddy cut your umbilical cord. Unfortunately, since Daddy was the one taking all the pictures, we didn’t get a picture of Daddy cutting the cord. The videocamera was set up, but Daddy was in its path when he cut the cord. Nai-Nai and Yie-Yie came in shortly thereafter to visit and meet you. While the doctors worked on me, the nurses took you to the scale in the corner of the room, where we’d seen your bed earlier the day before. 8 pounds, 1.6 ounces and 21 inches long. No one would have guess that. We’d all been guessing that you’d been somewhere around 6 pounds since that’s what the last ultrasound estimated you to be. You were then cleaned up (your first bath) because you had a lot of goop in your hair. I finally got to see your hair! They wrapped you up like a burrito to make sure you were nice and warm and topped you off with a hat. Then they gave you back to me so that you could have something to eat. Bertha, the nurse, had to show us how to properly feed you. It was new for both of us. Time was all a blur after this. But one thing’s for sure, Mommy was hungry and needed to eat now. This time, I got a hamburger (I had to skip breakfast because of the contractions).
3pm – Daddy called a bunch of people including Auntie Meg and Uncle Jeff to tell them that you were born. He called Auntie Laurie and several others. Mommy doesn’t remember, but she did talked to Auntie Debbie Chamkasem and left a message for Auntie Carolyn Kong. Mommy was so exciting about meeting you that she doesn’t remember what she said to people that day. They let us hang out in the Labor and Delivery room for a little bit, but then we were transferred up to the recovery area on the 5th floor with new nurses. As we were being rolled out of the L&D area, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” was playing. Daddy had already taken our things up to the 5th floor, but Mommy and Grandma heard it.
5pm – We now went to our new area, but had to share a room with AJ and his mommy. He was a big cry baby and already Grandma knew we were in for it. AJ’s mommy was having a hard time with him. Grandma and Daddy were there and soon Great Grandma (Tai-Po), Great Great Aunt Judy and Great Auntie Jean came to visit you. Soon after, Grandpa came to visit from San Francisco. He had been busy at work because it was the start of tax season. Uncle Brian was golfing at the time, so he was not able to join Grandpa. So everyone was all together to meet you, but had to leave by 830pm at the end of visiting hours, even Daddy since we were sharing a room with AJ. Only Grandma was allowed to stay with us.
8pm – Daddy had his basketball league game and since he couldn’t stay overnight, didn’t want to miss the game.
9pm – I couldn’t sleep well because I was so worried about you (and AJ kept crying too). Your little bed was set up next to mine, and Grandma had to sleep in a fold out chair that turned into a bed. The nurses said they’d come in to check on your temperature in the middle of the night and do a hearing test. I was worried that I wouldn’t be awake when they took you (you have to make sure they are actually nurses and not just strangers coming to take you away). You were so good – you didn’t cry when AJ did, but when you were wet, you cried a little and really set AJ off! All of your diaper-changing supplies were contained in your bassinet. The nurses said you were a little cold, so they brought warmed blankets to make sure you didn’t get too cold. I had to wait until you were warmed up before I could feed you.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
2am – The nurses said you passed your hearing test and everything was normal.
730am – Daddy came back to the hospital. I had eggs and potatoes for breakfast. We fed you, and then you were to get your circumcision that morning along with your bilirubin test. Daddy was planning on going with you for the procedure. Dr. Snitzer checked you out and told us what to expect with the procedure. You really liked him – you cried a little while he examined you (the stethoscope must have been cold), but then he picked you up and you were happy again. Dr. Snitzer said it would be ok to take you home or you could stay one more night if you wanted. We wanted to stay an extra night in case there was something wrong with your surgery site.
8am – Yie-Yie and Nai-Nai came to visit you before they left for LA.
1030am – Uncle Tony came to visit you for the first time. And then AJ’s family came by to take him home. Peace at last.
1130am – Daddy was supposed to go with you to the circumcision, but the nurse came to get him too late. You were already done and were all alone! We were sad for you. When you came back, Mommy’s co-workers Aunties Kathy, Michelle, Nhi and Julie came to visit you. You were very quiet because you were recovering from the procedure.
3pm – Therese, a lactation nurse, helped us feed you. You were a bit fussier today because of the procedure. It was expected (sort of how AJ was, but not nearly as bad). Lunch was very salty turkey with sweet potatoes (it wasn’t very good compared to the other food we had had). We hung out in the room 552 for awhile then asked for a private room. The nurses said there wasn’t anything available, but then Mommy told the nurses that she works for Kaiser and a private room (558) was opened. It was much better (although we had to share a bathroom). The other room ended up having 3 patients in it and was very crowded, so we’re lucky we got to move. Grandma and Daddy both stayed in the room.
630pm – Dinner. Daddy felt that you had abandonment issues since he wasn’t there at your procedure. Whenever you were sleeping in his arms, you’d open your eye (just one) to check that he was still there and then go back to sleep. You didn’t like the bassinet today. We had to keep holding you – it was getting tiring. Daddy was holding you to keep you quiet. Auntie Laurie and her mom, Mrs. Campbell came to visit around 7pm. They have given you lots of outfits – enough for the entire year!
Daddy, Mommy and Grandma were all there until 1230am, when the nurse found too many visitors in the room. She kicked Daddy out and he went home. You’re only supposed to have one person stay overnight. Grandma didn’t even know that Daddy went home!! Mommy held you through the night. Grandma said you sounded like AJ!! You weren’t that bad.
Thursday, February 9, 2006 – Going home!
8am – Therese came by to check with us to make sure you were doing well latching on. The doctors came to check out Mommy and also the pediatric nurse practitioner came to check you out. Everything was good so we were clear to leave around 10am.
10am – A volunteer came by with a wheelchair to take Mommy out and I carried you. Grandma and Daddy carried out our stuff. We put you in the car seat for the first time and you cried your head off! It was new for you. Once we started driving, you did better. Grandma sat in the backseat with you, your “backseat buddy”. We videotaped your arrival home, and once we got unpacked and situated, we found you didn’t like your crib. We had to keep holding you. We thought this was going to be a problem.
7pm – Uncle Kenny and Auntie Rachel came over for a visit. Mommy was tired and was sleeping when they arrived, but awoke to see them after a little bit. Then you needed to eat, so I fed you and then they left. Grandma stayed over your first night at home. Our first night at home wasn’t so bad, we woke up about every 2 hours to feed you. We weren’t sure that you’d wake up on your own to eat, so we set the alarm.
Friday, February 10, 2006 – We made it through the night!
Great Grandma (Tai-Po), Auntie Jean, and Uncle Gary came over today. We took pictures and Great Grandma brought chicken soup and rice. Grandma left with everyone else and then it was just you with Mommy and Daddy. We did ok our first night alone with you. We figured out how to get you in your crib – very slowly, setting you down while you were sound asleep and gently removing our arms. Only then would you sleep there by yourself.
Saturday, February 11, 2006 – We got up early to g to your Newborn Club appointment. You had not lost any weight since leaving the hospital, which was good. You weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces. (When you left the hospital, you weighed 7 pounds 11.8 ounces). We gave you your first bath today. You cried. You didn’t cry when we washed your hair, which was a surprise. You just didn’t like being naked.
Sunday, February 12, 2006 – Grandma drove down again to visit. She missed seeing you. Uncle Tony, Auntie Kyoko, Megan and Mason also came over to see you. Later, Uncle Kenny and Auntie Rachel (with whom we eat dinner almost once a week) came over and brought Maggiano’s. Auntie Suong was also here to meet you. We all had dinner together and watched the Olympics (they started on Friday, 2/10/06). Auntie Suong took pictures with you and your red wagon that Aunties Debbie, Debbie, Kathleen and Josephine sent on Saturday.