Erica Lau was born today at 14:41pm at Burnaby General, weighing in at 6lbs, 3oz and standing 50cm. She has a full head of hair, long fingers, and a slender waist. Mom and baby are both doing very well.Now that the introductions are done, let me say that after today, I have a deeper appreciation and respect to any woman who has given birth. The inner strength that Evonne showed left me in awe. This morning we woke up early and went to the hospital to induce labor. Although the process took almost 7 hours, the Oxytocin made the contractions more frequent and unbelievably strong. For awhile there, they were lasting 50-90 seconds, with maybe a minute in between. I have never seen anyone in that amount of pain.
What astonished me even more was that she only used laughing gas, and a shot of demoral to relax. She had nothing for the transitional and final phase of labor. Throughout the entire ordeal, she never swore, and kept a smile between contractions. The final 10 minutes, she was pushing with an intensity and determination that I never thought possible. She never once gave up or asked for stronger drugs, and she pushed whenever the doctor or nurses asked. I have never been so proud of her as I am now.
Some funny things did come out of her mouth. She did rely heavily on the laughing gas, and after some tough contractions that left her gasping, she said stuff like:
“Thank god for laughing gas”
“I’m gonna make a card about laughing gas and ice chips!”
“I love everybody!”
The laughing gas tank actually ran out, and for about 20 min she was inhaling with the mask on but no gas. When the tank returned full and her mask returned, she patted the mask and said: “Ahhh, you’re back!”
On Erica’s part, that little one did her part and came out strong. When the head popped out, Dr. Wong suctioned out her mouth, and as she did Erica chomped on her finger. Once the rest of her came out, there was that sense of relief as we saw her face for the first time and her her cry out. Within minutes her skin tone turned pink. She was wide awake and looking around, responding to sound. When I first walked over to the little table, she was fussing a bit, but as soon as I spoke, she calmed down. I put my finger in her hand, and immediately she latched on with a good grip.
Our deepest thanks to Nurse Bonita, Dr. Carrie Wong, and the rest of the staff at Burnaby General who got us through today.
And as an inside joke, we’re happy to report that our girl has no lower back tattoos or belly rings. As parents, we sure hope it stays that way 🙂
We should be home this weekend. Thanks to everyone for their advice and support. Erica can’t wait to meet everyone!
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Congratulations to Evonne & Derek!!!! Welcome to the world Erica!! You’ve got great parents 🙂
Looking at the photo, my first impression, is that she looks like Derek. We’ll see 😉
Love,
Elvira
Awesome, I’m a double uncle now!
Can’t wait to see more photos!
Whoa… if you click on the image and look at it full-size, it looks a lot like Uncle Charlie…
Congratulations!!! She’s so beautiful.
Congratulations Derek and Evonne! Erica looks so beautiful and happy in that photo. Let’s hope it will stay that way for the rest of her very long life.
P.S. Welcome to the parents club!
CONGRATULATIONS Evonne and Derek!!! Erica’s so cute. Post more pictures!! 😀
Sophia
She’s finally here!
Jonathan and I visited the two girls at the hospital yesterday and Erica is absolutely perfect. A great mix of Evonne & Derek.
She slept the whole time we were there and Evonne looked so calm and proud.
I can’t believe our Isabel is bigger! Erica looks and felt so tiny.
Congrats to all of you and I’m so happy to be Erica’s “auntie”.
Derek, if you’re that in awe of Evonne, you should watch me go to the bathroom some time.
But on a serious note, congratulations. We hope Evonne makes a quick recovery and we are very happy that Erica is healthy.
BTW, don’t worry, the meconium-filled bowel movements will be gone in a day or two…but the horror will live forever in your memory. 😉
Larry and Sue
Yee Haaa! Way to go team Lau. Dude, the sentiment is dripping off the page, I love it. Sounds like it was a great experience overall. I thought she had your eyes and upper face but E’s mouth and lower face. James always said you’d make a good looking woman, Derek. Can definitely see you both in her. Lovely name too. Hey, welcome to the club. Was I right or was I right? There is just no way someone can explain that experience… you just have to go through it.
Congratulations you three! You seem to fit well togther. e, I think you will enjoy your parents. Keep up with the picture posting (I LOVE the one of E and her tummy!)
Cheers,
Andrea