(st) patrick's day

so. what's new? big. i had patrick. who's he? my darling cute son. what? when?

patrick was born march 3rd, 2010. he was actually due to be born march 1st, but alas, no sign on labor. i spent 3 weeks dialating only 1cm, so finally doctor said i needed to be induced.

"it's up to you, do you want to wait a week, or do it tonight?"
although i've been expecting this the word 'tonight' sounded so sudden and alarming. but i don't want to wait another week either. i was so huge and uncomfortable that i was ready to be de-pregnant.

so finally my husband and i decided we'd do it the next day. doctor contacted the hospital OB to reserve a room for me while i and husband went to the ER (his work place) to find replacement for him. i was nervous, excited, scared.. everything rolled into one. i was gonna have a baby.

so the next day we spent the day getting everything ready for the baby home-coming. then 6pm came and we drove to the hospital. believe it or not i was crying because i was sad to leave the dogs behind for several days. silly, i know.

once in the hospital they put me on the IV fluid and inserted some kind of a pill into my cervix. to make it dilated a bit more, doctor said. once the cervix reached 3cm he was gonna break my water. lemme tell you something... having someone insert their fingers deep into you (let alone probe around in it) was very very V E R Y unpleasant. i hated that part. and sadly the pill didn't do its job. i had to repeat the process every 4 hour. and once inserted i had to lie flat on my back, hooked up to IV and monitors attached to my belly. sleeping had never been so uncomfortable and annoying.

at around 7am doctor came in and finally announced that i've dilated a tight 3. then he broke my water. my husband arrived sometime around 8 and took me for a walk, which the nurse said will help with my dilating. at around 10 something nurse came back in and put me in pitocyn, a drug that was used to speed up the labor. soon i was contracting really bad, like 4-5 mins apart but was still dilating only 3cm. so she wanted to put more pitocyn, but thank God there's something wrong with my IV needle that everytime she put more dose in it the needle burned my hand. finally around noon or past i was dilating 4cm, and allowed epidural. it took forever for the anesthesiologist to come and by then i was in pain. you cannot believe how much pain involved in the process. each contraction came twice, one backpain and then immediately after that bladder pain.

after epidural though, i was in heaven. i can't feel a thing on my right side, but still able to feel pain on my left side. not too much, just like menstrual cramps, annoying but i was too tired to respond. after a while the nurse help me sleep sideways so the epidural will flow evenly to my body. soon i was numb waist down. and that's when she announce i was complete and ready to push.

so push i did. for half an hour, not knowing when (except for when they told me to), how (couldn't feel a thing), and what to push. but they said i was doing great. after a while nurse suddenly said "ooh he's coming. i'll get the doctor." so doctor came, told me to push, and with one push out came patrick. my husband was so excited that he forgot to record the moment patrick came out. duurrr!

nothing can describe my feelings when i first hold him in my hands (they immediately put him on my chest after birth, and scrub him dry there). amazing. i still can't believe that i managed to push something so cute and scrumpled like him out of my vagina. :D anyway, he weighed 6lbs 15oz, and 19inch long. a bit small but perfect in any other ways (apgars test 9/9).

and my life is never the same.