Tuesday night, I sat down to dinner at a little after six with Kay and next thing I knew...I was running to the bathroom. I called Craig to tell him to hurry home from work because my water just broke (not an easy task during rush hour in Hong Kong). I called the doctor and he asked me how far apart my contractions were. I told him I had no idea and had given up on timing them because I had been having contractions constantly for the past five weeks. He told me to call the hospital and head on in.
I kissed Kay goodbye, Craig grabbed a taxi and came to pick me up so I would not take forever for me to flag one and off we went. I was so thankful after we finished the 40 minute taxi ride. Throughout the whole pregnancy I have been so nervous about having a taxi baby! (I was excited when Craig picked me up- he was wearing the pink shirt he bought to wear to work after Kay was born to announce he had a girl! Perfect to welcome his next little girl into the world)
Once at the hospital Craig had to call our international insurance to figure out payment (the hospital does not contact insurance companies like they do in the US). After about 30 minutes he was able to join me in the room.
This labor was the one I always had hoped for. I was not hooked up to any machines (other than an occasional check of the baby- her chord was around her neck). We walked halls for several hours.
It was very strange to have only my OB, one nurse, and Craig in the room. Kay had a roomful of doctors, nurses, and specialists. The doctor and nurse kept talking in Cantonese. After laughing, they finally explained they were taking bets on how long it would be until I pushed and how many pushes it would take. The anaythesilogist patiently waited outside all night. My doctor kept telling him he did not think I would be a customer and he was right. The nurse said 30 minutes and one push and doctor said two to three hours and three pushes. The doctor left to try to get a quick nap and the nurse ran to the phone and told him to come back. He did not even make it to the top of the stairs. They both were right. It was less than 30 min and took about 3 pushes. Craig was able to quickly cut the chord.
The best part....I got to snuggle my baby!!!!! It is the most amazing thing to be able to snuggle with your baby after giving birth. No one whisked her away to the NICU, Craig was able to stay and support both of us vs having to leave someone (I will always remember that look on his face last time), and I got to snuggle the entire time!
We all went as a family to the nursery to have her weighed in etc. They do not really clean the babies for awhile here. I asked the nurse about it but could not really understand what she was saying. Something about "keeping the good stuff on".
I was moved immediately to the next room and Craig was sent home (I have a twin room). I sent Marissa to the nursery in high hopes of some rest. Unfortunately, my roommate did not have the same idea.
Marissa took to nursing like a champ and we are both doing great!!
When I went to change Marissa's diaper I could not find any wipes. I paged the nurse and she said they use cotton balls and a small bowl of water. I thought "ok, I can do this...it is just different". Well, have you ever tried to change a meconium diaper with an itty bitty cotton ball? I decided the best solution was to page the nurse and ask for help :). Changing dirty diapers with little cotton balls in the middle of the night is not real fun...we went on a search for wipes :)
Here are a few pictures from my phone. I will post better ones from the camera later...
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