Olivia was born!
A little princess was born on 13 October. After 40 weeks and 2 days of conception of living in her warm, dark nest, she was welcomed into the world by having her umbilical cord cut by her father and then placed onto her mother's chest. There, she stared into her mother's eyes with her big brilliant eyes, a surreal moment in which where two persons meet for the first time despite being physically together for an entire 9 months.
After heeding Doc's advice to go for an ultrasound to check out our baby's condition, it was revealed that the amniotic fluid was dangerously low and so I had to be checked in immediately to be induced. Despite all the prior talk about wanting natural birth, I opted for epidural after enduring one and a half days of contractions. The worst part of it was actually the intense backache. The pain in the back was constantly there and I tried all the positions that aimed to help with pain management - on all fours, hot bath, walking around - but nope, turned out I couldn't stand it.
I remember thinking "omg, it's so painful, i don't think i want to go through it more than once". Probably before the epidural though, haha. It felt like I was opting for an easy way out, that I wimped out at the last moment, which was why I hesitated so long. But I felt so relieved after they administered the epidural.
So relieved that it was only a matter of few hours before they realised that my baby is ready to be delivered! Too bad I already sent LG to dabao Mac dinner just a short while before that, so word got around to the doctor and nurses that the delivery couldn't be started yet due to the husband's trip to Mac. *chuckle*
So...the final stage. I couldn't imagine how I could have done it sans epidural. Kudos to those mamas who made it through. After an hour and half of pushing, our lil girl finally emerged and started crying.
The final moments when she came out crying, it felt so surreal to me, as if I were watching the process as another person. I was pulled back to reality when they placed her on my chest. She looked at me and I thought "wow, i'm actually a mom". I couldn't tell who she looked like more either, but I just felt so relieved that the process was over and that she's healthy.
We had to transfer to post-delivery room with our newly arrived baby. There was such a drastic difference between the delivery room and post-delivery room. Other than the size being a significant downgrade, the beds were really not fit for new parents. Dad's bed was so hard and the springs were all poking out at him. Mom's bed was too high-tech for her liking. It actually adjusts itself according to my position and all the friggin' time. Did the manufacturer really think that it was a good idea to sleep in a bed that keeps shifting on its own noisily? Especially for mothers who just went through a great deal of pain to deliver their babies? Arghs.
As for baby Olivia, her bed was probably the most comfortable. We didn't sleep much, if I even did at all. Already exhausted from delivery, we were kept up at night by her cries and feedings. Holding such a puny baby was unnerving to me, but we tried to learn as much as possible at the hospital.
We were originally going to stay for 24 hours, but the next day, we found out that she had to undergo phototherapy due to her jaundice being too severe. We moved to the NICU. It was heart wrenching to see her cry and being able to do nothing about it. I was also beyond exhausted after delivery and taking care of her needs. She didn't latch on well after the first day and it worried us. The specialist came to see me but I was so sleepy that I actually dozed off momentarily while she was talking!
On the 5th day of staying at the hospital, we were finally able to bring our feisty newborn home. I changed her into the "Daddy's little cupcake" outfit, and then she spit up milk all over it. Luckily I brought a spare change of clothes and changed her into that. We put her into the carseat and she looked so tiny in it!
