My birth story

Wednesday, 05 July 2006
I felt mild on-and-off contraction in the evening. It got stronger and regular - 4/5 minutes apart at 11 pm after I did lots of walking and 3 times climbing stairs.

Thursday, 06 July 2006
I knew that i had low paintreshold. So I decided to go to hospital at 1 am to get a painkiller. I forgot all comfort tools that we learned in antenatal class. We really hope that I already 1-2 cm dilated. Gleneagles in the chosen hospital. We went straight to labour ward. That's the good thing in Singapore. I heard from a friend of mine who gave birth in Jakarta that she had to stay in sharing room in early labour. Ari companied me all the time. I asked for pethidine and I felt asleep till 7 am when the doc came and checked. I was 1 cm dilated and she broke my waterbag. The effect of pethidine was disappeared. We can only get pethidine twice and if it was given in the late stage of labour, it will impact the baby. So we decided to take Epidural. O well...I can't take the pain..it's more painful and intense than yesterday. Epidural is very common in Singapore, it's a painkiller which was inserted into spinal block. I will feel nothing from waist down but I can still move my leg. I guess all the process took 30 minutes and it was such a bliss..I don't feel the pain..The low side of epidural is a prolonged labour.
Finally I was 9 cm dilated in 8 pm and I had an urge to push. So I asked Ari to distract me. Meanwhile waiting for the doctor, Ari gave me simple quiz..for example, what is the full name of his first nephew? Hm...good distraction!
The nurse came to teach me pushing...It was so damn hard!! Everybody scream at me...to breath and push...Urghh..The doctor came around 8.20pm..I had to push. I cried and almost gave up when the doc said that the baby's head was half way and nothing she can do to help this. She said that the only one who can get the baby out was me...I need to keep pushing. 1 Contractions and 3 good pushing...With lots of effort, It like 2 big poo. One for the head and one for the body.
Amazingly I had a natural delivery for my first baby. Arya is so big, 3.75kg and 53cm long.
Looking back, I don't think I can go through this without Epidural.