Aidan's entry into this world

Just a word of caution, this is a very long entry and may not be for the faint of heart as I am going to describe Aidan’s birthing experience. I thought that I should write down in detail so that I can share it with him when he grows up =)

It all began on in the wee hours of March 27, 2007….

00:00 Right before sleeping, I realized that I was having some minor contractions. I took out a notepad and started writing down the length of contractions. I was considering calling Vince since he was working at Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock so that he can come home to be with me but I decided to suck it up and wait to see if it was truly the “real” contractions.

00:01-7:00 Vince got off early at 3:00am. Thank God! It was so great to have him back home and help me to time the contractions. I felt so relieved that I was able to get a few hours of sleep after he came back home.

7:00-12:00 The contractions seemed to go ON and OFF so we weren’t alarmed to get to the hospital yet. My goal was to wait for them to be 5 mins. apart as I didn’t want to be sent home. Plus, I wanted to make sure that they were real…but it’s hard to know even though I’ve read a million books on pregnancy and what to expect.

12:01-18:00 A series of events happened…

· I ate a light lunch

· Continued to time the sporadic contractions

· Contractions seem to be getting stronger but still unsure

· Went out for a walk at the Fraser River park with Vince and Rylee.

· Rylee meets Buddy and they chase after one another along the beach.

· I was so engrossed in watching Rylee play with Buddy that I completely missed a big pothole while walking. I ended falling on my left elbow and then onto my knees. Thank goodness, my big belly was the last thing to go down…

· I felt so embarrassed and worried at the same time.

· Vince felt that it was time to go into the hospital to check things out just in case.

18:01-19:15 We got home and I immediately showered and got ready for the hospital. I was thinking of getting something to eat but I didn’t have any appetite at all due to the stronger contractions. Vince took out his sterilized gloves and checked to see how dilated I was… (it’s great when you have a hubby as a nurse!). He found out that I was 5cm dilated! You need to be 10cm dilated in order to start pushing…so we were already half way there and it’s been a not so bad experience. I was hurting a bit but I was still in really high spirits. We packed the rest of the stuff that we needed for the hospital and off we went.

19:16-19:30 While driving to the hospital, we saw a little dog running loose on King Edward St. We tried to get him out of the traffic but that little thing ran so fast that we couldn’t catch him. We also thought, even if we did catch him, what are we going to do about it? We are in labour!! Yikes.

19:31-20:30 We checked into BC Women’s Hospital and told them about what happened in the park and then they told us to wait as it was a really busy night. My contractions were getting harder but still bearable at this point…

20:31-21:44 Our super-friendly British nurse checked us into the Assessment area and she found out that I was now at 6cm dilated. I was trying my best to be a good patient and yes, I was still smiling and making jokes with everyone. We were left alone as they found out that Vince was a nursing student and was capable of taking care of me since there were a lot of other patients. At this point, I was hurting about 7/10 and with each passing contraction, Vince used counter pressure on my back while I hung onto the bed railing. I made him push so hard on my back that his wrists were quite sore afterwards. I also had some ice chips which seemed to help.

21:45-22:25 My water breaks!! Gross, it’s like having a big pee-pee and Vince had to clean me up. I got up to go the bathroom to clean up but the contractions were getting sooooo painful now that I felt that I was going to faint…

The contractions now spread all through my back and then to the front of my abdomen. It’s like having really, really, really bad menstrual cramps for about 90 secs. and then it stops for a bit….and starts all over again. I was able to breathe through the contractions and also meditate on Psalm 23 and 1 Peter 5:7.

By now, I was not a happy camper b/c I wanted to be in the birthing room as I felt ready to push but other patients kept on getting rooms ahead of me since it was my first time delivery and they thought that I would labour for a long time.

I told Vince to tell the nurses that if they don’t get to that darn room soon, I am giving birth right here and now. I didn’t want to push until I was given an OK or else I would be in a lot of pain….

Finally, a nurse arrives and puts me into the wheelchair to get upstairs into one of the Cedar rooms (which is the nicest rooms available in the hospital). We prayed for this room and we got it! God is sooo good =)

22:26-22:49 While I was being wheeled, I felt as though I was in a trance and I had to close my eyes and focus. All that prenatal yoga did a marvelous thing as it really prepped for this birthing experience…. I kept hearing my instructors’ voice saying: “breathe through the pain”, “many women of generations past have gone through this”, “you are strong”….

My nurse, Nikki, asked me to go pee while they set up the room and while I tried to pee, I felt as though the baby’s head was ready to pop out any minute. I told them that I am ready to PUSH but she still needed to check how dilated I was…and sure enough, I was at 10cm. We need a doctor!!

Vince set up the laptop with the songs that I selected to listen to, and he even got the scented candle lit to set a more relaxing birthing experience.

Nikki held onto my right leg while Vince held my left leg and I was told to relax my legs and push with all my might as though I was pooing. I tried to listen to their instructions and Vince was so supportive and loving through this whole process. He really helped me to breathe through each painful contraction. By now, the pain level was at 10/10! Dr. Gupta arrives and is shocked at how fast my labour was going considering that it was my first baby!! She even thought that I was another patient.

After a few pushes, baby’s head was already there! All I had to do was push some more but not too fast as Dr. Gupta was warning me loud and clear that if I pushed too hard then I would TEAR BIG time so I tried to listen as much as I could. It really does feel like you are constipated and you need to get a big piece of poo out…. Hee.heeee…

As painful as it was, I was remembering that with each push and with each contraction, I was closer to meeting my baby so I stayed focused.

Within ten more mins. of hard labour, out came Baby Chan. I faintly remember them telling me that it was BOY!! They placed him on me right away for skin to skin contact and the first I saw was Aidan’s head full of hair. Wow!! It’s over…

Or not…they had to the placenta out and then stitch me up at I tore to the second degree. I was still in so much pain that they decided to now give me so laughing gas. I didn’t feel like laughing, though… =)

I was losing a lot of blood and a young, female Asian Medical Student Intern wearing Lululemon headband was about to stick me with a huge IV drip but Dr. Gupta stopped her in the nick of time saying: “STOP, she’s okay now”. Phew………that IV looked huge and I didn’t trust that girl one bit to stick it into me. I would have much rather have had Vince do it than her…

Praise God for such a speedy and natural delivery!

We have a winner!

Thank you for putting in your guesses for Baby Chan's arrival. The person with the closest guess is Melody Wong! Congratulations =)

Her guess was: March 30th/ 7lbs 2oz./ 20.5 inches A BOY!

Her prize is a book of her choice from Chapters Online ($30 value). Great job at guessing!

In case you didn't know yet, our Baby Chan was born 11 days ago...

Aidan Cooper Chan
March 27, 2007
7 lbs 6 oz
51 cm

http://chanfamilia.blogspot.com/

Win a PRIZE =)

Happy Spring Break!

Want to win a prize? I was inspired by my friend, Jen, who made very specific predictions on Baby Chan that I thought I will make it into a game. Be sure to put your name and your prediction on the comment page and include the following info:

• Born before or after my due date (April 3)?
• Boy or Girl?
• How many pounds?
• How long? (in inches)

Have fun guessing! The closest winner will get a prize!!

3, 2, 1...

Baby Chan is now considered full term at 37 weeks! He/she is getting quite cramped in the limited space that he/she has. Baby should weigh about 6 pounds, and is probably close to 20 inches. Last week, my obgyn told me that baby's head is down and all systems are ready for blast off (well, I made up the blast off part!). I finished packing my hospital bag and I am now on mat leave and enjoying every minute of it!

I went to a breastfeeding class last weekend and was able to learn a lot about the history of breastfeeding. Who knew that so many women was sworn off from breastfeeding back in the 70s because they were told that formula is better and a lot more convenient? Formula companies also did a superb job in marketing (made me think about how influential marketing and logos can be...anyone read "No Logo"?). I enjoyed learning the history and the practical ways of breastfeeding as I think that the breast is definitely the best (hahaha). Not only is it economical, it is also rich in fat and high in protein and antibodies. It is truly amazing how God made women!

Reflecting upon my pregnancy, here are some of the pros and cons...

PROS:

• Being on mat leave rocks! (especially for one full year)
• The indescribable feeling that there's something growing within me
• People are generally a lot nicer to you and are willing to help you out
• Extra attention from Vince
• Eating more food! (well, I did try my best not to overeat as I only needed an extra 300 calories per day but it was nice to indulge in DQ ice cream once in a while)
• Preparing the nursery and getting things organized for baby's arrival
• Hardly any nausea throughout my whole pregnancy
• No swelling of the feet or hands (I'm keeping my fingers crossed)
  
• Researching for baby stuff so that we don't end up getting unnecessary things
• Generous friends who have lent us so much of their baby stuff (like Eudora and Woon Ai)
• Taking life at a slower pace and enjoying the practice of yoga
  

CONS:

• Going to the bathroom almost every hour is not fun at all
• Bad acne skin during first trimester
  
• Third trimester especially the end of it as I feel so BIG that I can topple over anytime
• Mood swings (just ask Vince)
• Klutziness and not being able to pick things up as quickly as before
• Baby's kicking in the ribs that it feels bruised
• Braxton Hicks contractions
• Heartburn
• Shortness of breath and fatigue
• Some stabbing back pains
  
• Not being able to have a full eight hours of sleep
• Not sleeping on my tummy or on my back!
• The labour part? A mom reminded me that it is truly an amazing experience and that eventhough it's painful, I will remember it fondly.
  

Canstruction

As part of our date, Vince and I went to Canstruction at the Canada Place. =)
http://canstructionvancouver.com/past.html

It was really cool to see how amazingly creative people are as they made sculptures out of cans! My favourite is the "As CANadian as it can gets" by Team Richmond (above pic).











If you have time you can look through my imagestation album:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2094576473

A Sundae Celebration

Last Sunday, March 4, Lucia and Sharen threw me a baby shower with a "Sundae Celebration" theme where guests had to each bring a creative topping. It was definitely a shower to remember as we all had yummy sundae treats with soooo many toppings to choose from, and played some interesting yet fun games. It was also really nice to see all my girl friends from my various parts of life under one roof. Baby Chan is sure spoiled as he/she received many, many gifts! Thank you to all the lovely ladies that came to the baby shower...

And many thanks to Lucia and Sharen =)

Here are some links to the shower pics...

izzy and lucia's pics http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2094825890

eudora's pics http://www.dotphoto.com/Flashtool/GuestViewShow.asp?SID=144630

gizzy's pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/gizzypooh/sets/72157594570293465/

Habitat for Humanity

Just heard on the news that there will be grand opening tomorrow, Sat. March 3 for the Vancouver location of ReStore! The ReStore accepts donations of new and used building materials and sells them to the public at bargain prices. Profits pay operating costs and help build local Habitat for Humanity homes. It's a great way to help an awesome organization, save some $, and reduce waste!

Happy shopping!

Here's the link:

http://vancouverhabitat.bc.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=112

The Vancouver ReStore is located at 69 West 69th Avenue, Vancouver, BC