Final thoughts on hospital stuff…

We didn’t get much sleep the night before being induced, and hardly any sleep while we were in the hospital. By the time we got home yesterday, E was just exhausted and still very sore from the delivery. Getting a private room I would say is a must for the hospital stay. Even with a semi-private room, especially in the maternity ward, it’s hard to get any rest.

We also found that we were getting conflicting information at times. We perceived that there were two groups of nurses- the old school, and the new school. It pretty much was experience vs. latest teaching theories. I think we would be fine if we stuck to one school of thought, but when the night nurse is telling you something different from the day nurse, you just have to add exhaustion to that equation to come up with confusion and frustration. This isn’t a criticism of our health system at all as the nurses and doctors we had were all super, however I think communication could be improved.

Bonita, (the nurse who helped us through delivery) came down for an informal follow-up visit before her next shift. We were so grateful for her help that day, and I think for her to see both her big and little patient doing well, it must be one of the best perks of the job.

Thoughts on coming home…

Remember when you took driver ed, everywhere you went, there was your instructor present to watch and giving direction. Then after passing your roadtest, you have that first drive as an officially licensed driver. I found that first solo drive by myself a bit odd. For starters, it was silent… nobody to tell you where to make a left or where to park. And then you remember that it’s ok to crank the stereo as loud as you want. Well that’s sorta the feeling when we left the hospital and got home. We walked in the door, and just enjoyed the silence.

Then our new boss made her expectations known, and we quickly fell into the routine that we developed at the hospital… feed every 3-4 hours, diaper check, bath every second day, etc. And did I say it felt so very good to be home?

My mom has been a huge help, just by helping with the groceries, meals, and looking after our cats. All she wants in return is to hold Erica… hmmm, strange but we’ll accept that deal. 🙂 Yesterday was also pretty special because Erica got to meet her Grandpa for the first time! (Erica, he’s the one that will buy you anything you ask) I think one of the special things for E and I is watching how our families react to Erica. It’s like there’s this light in everyone’s eyes and a big smile.

At our 5am feeding, I think everyone was just in shock at having to jump to action at that time. Mocha came out, looked at us, and gave a few worried (yep we can distinguish) meows. He followed us into the change room, then followed us back for feeding time. He sat by the bed quietly watching. When it was all over, he crawled back under the bed and went to sleep. During the entire ordeal, Kit was snoring at the foot of the bed.

Our thanks to friends and family for the beautiful flowers and thoughtful gifts… and for keeping visits small and short until we get settled in and a schedule established. For certain vistors who drove all the way from Downtown and the North shore, but didn’t come in out of courtesy, E thanks you being so thoughtful, but also would have loved a short visit to show off the little one and talk “mom/baby” talk.

Ok, sleep deprivation… I’m rambling… ZzzzZzzzzz

We finally made it home. Just before noon, we had a final check from the Pediatrician, who gave her a perfect bill of health. A little Jaundice, but nothing to worry about.

I’ve uploaded a small set of photos to our flickr account. One thing I recall from our pre-parenthood days is a lot of photos of babies from every imaginable angle. Good photographers are taught to edit down their work. I’m not a good photographer, but I can edit.

It was a wonderful experience today carrying her out of the hospital. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day to introduce her to the grand outdoors and the warm sunshine. Bringing her home, we felt a sense of relief.

We quickly got her settled in and are setting up the same routine we had at the hospital. Jean/Richard/Sloan and Normie came over. Sloan is about 2 1/4 and it’s amazing to see how quickly they grow in such a short period. Everyone went “awwww” as Sloan gave Erica a kiss. Big difference now, but when they are 19 and 21, the age difference will be negligible. And they will both be sequestered at an all-girls university. 🙂

Jason/Sheila/Aston aslo came over. Cousin Aston is almost 2 months older, but he’s about twice her weight. He’s a “meaty” baby as E would say. So again, the growth rate over that time span is pretty phenomenal. The interesting this is that the age difference between Aston and Erica is the same as Vennie and Jason. There are a number of photos of Vennie and Jason splashing naked in the tub, racing around in the walkers, etc. I’m sure there will be a familar sense of deja vu as Aston and Erica grow up.

The introduction to the cats went pretty well. Mocha and Kit were down checking out the new stuff, and really didn’t notice anything until Erica moved. Then they froze and took notice. One by one, they went over for an introduction with Mocha first. Luckily we got photos of the introduction.

Again, thanks to all our friends and family for their good wishes. E and I feel very fortunate. It’s been a tough, but unbelievably rewarding experience… and we now know what Parents mean when they talk about their kids. It’s amazing how quickly the bond forms. E looks like she’s been a mom all her life… and I mean that in a good sense.

It seems a bit odd, yet fitting that I’m quoting Gene Simmons about parenthood, but I saw his show the other day and he said: “When they say Daddy, it goes straight to your heart.”

One more Evonne quote on labour: “This is harder than the Grouse grind!”

… Girl!

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.

We went to the hospital today for another non-stress test and ultrasound. Baby and mom-to-be are both well. From the ultrasound, we saw that the baby is head down and in the proper position. The heart is beating 135-160 beats per minute, which is fine.

Yesterday we had the “spicy” wings from KFC. Verdict- not spicy enough. We had to douse them in tabasco to even register 1 chile. Definitely not going there for wings again.

So everything looks good, it’s just that baby isn’t ready to come out yet. Back for more monitoring tomorrow.

So we’re a day past the due date, but as we’ve been advised, it’s not uncommon among first time parents to be a few days late. Doc Wong says we have 80% chance of going into labor within 7 days of our due date. Plus, baby has no idea of what a due date is, so it’ll come when it’s good and ready.

However E is ready to get baby out. There’s a lot of people (and pets) waiting to meet the little one, so we keep reminding it.

Our strategy yesterday to hasten this event was to go for a walk and try to shake the baby out.

Today, I’m going to KFC for some hotwings and spicy chicken- the eviction notice has been officially posted. 🙂

E is doing well- she’s taking her naps in the late afternoon which is good. With all the family events over the past 3 weeks, she probably hasn’t gotten all the rest she’s needed.

It’s a bit surreal now that we’re past our due date. Surreal in the sense that we were looking forward to the August 14th date for so long. The thinking is that by that date, we’ll be parents. Now it’s a little different… by tomorrow morning, by friday, or by next week we could be parents.

I hope this doesn’t mean we have one of those rebound kids that refuses to leave home when they reach adulthood. :-

Our due date is here, but no baby yet. We’re off to see the doc this afternoon for a regularly scheduled appointment, so we’ll get the scoop on what’s happening then.

E is a bit restless and tired of being preggy. We’re ready to meet Peanut!

Update- we went to see Dr. Wong, and waited an hour to get in. I think they were a little surprised that nothing has happened yet, but will wait for labour to start naturally. We’re scheduled to go to Burnaby General on Wednesday for BP, non-stress test, and ultrasound. Based on those results, we’ll decide what to do next. Hopefully we won’t have to be induced.