Good morning! It is 10:15 am on January 24, 2018, exactly 22 hours after Amelia was born. Both Renee and Amelia are sleeping right now (this is usually when I write these posts). We are actually all well rested. If there was one word that would describe this delivery, "smooth" would be the word! We hope this continues to carry forward to the next few months, but now having said this, I've probably jinxed it! Lol!
Anxious Over a Blessing
Many of you know that we use the Natural Family Planning (NFP) method as a natural means of contraception. It is the only way that is morally acceptable in the eyes of the Catholic Church. I wouldn't actually call it contraception, because it's really not. The way it works is entirely through abstinence (i.e. not having sex) during the days when the woman is fertile. So, it's not like you're having sex and the method prevents fertilization of the egg.
NFP is highly scientific based and claims high success rate (95%+, similar to using a condom). Basically, we have to monitor the vaginal secretions to determine when Renee is fertile and abstain on those days. It's actually quite simple. However, it turns out that we're not very good at it! Lol! With Adele, we successfully delayed pregnancy. We got married in August 2006 and then only started trying to conceive in mid 2008. So, it worked quite well for about 2 years. However, I think it's always difficult for parents to have their first, and subsequent children seem to be easier, but that observation is entirely anecdotal.
Fast forward to the conception of Anne. Her conception was, well, unplanned. I don't think it was due to the failure of NFP, but rather on our part to adhere strictly to the method. I'll be the first to admit that NFP is not easy. Just like fasting during Lent, one needs to exercise self control and discipline. Looks like we lack either or both! Lol!
With the conception of Amelia, it was also unplanned. This time, we thought we had followed the rules, but perhaps we did not make our observations well enough to determine whether Renee was actually fertile or not. So, for us, NFP has not worked well in the practical sense. And reflecting on it, I can certainly understand. Since both Renee and I are easy-going, carefree people, I can see how a method requiring discipline would not work well for us! 😅
So, when we found out that we were pregnant with Amelia, we were obviously very anxious. Questions like, can we handle five?, can we afford having five?, how will we make it work?, etc., started surfacing up. We were also worried about putting too much stress on my mom, who is super-grandma and helps us in so many ways. It was never a question about whether we wanted more children. We love them to death; it was more about our ability to support them. It is again, at this time, that I needed to read and re-read Matthew 6:26, "Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?"
Over the course of the entire history of humanity, a new life has always been seen as a blessing. It is only in the last century that children have become a burden, rather than a blessing. Actually, I want to be a bit more precise in my wording. I believe it is actually the thought of a new life that is a burden to families. Eight months ago, both Renee and I were so anxious after having found out that we were expecting. Now, all we can feel when we look at Amelia is joy and gratefulness.
Go ahead and ask any parent out there who have children who were unplanned this question: do you wish that you had never given birth to your unplanned child? I'm willing to make a serious bet that you would not find one parent who would answer with a "yes". Sure, it's not easy raising a kid. Sure, you would have to make countless sacrifices. But to me, bringing any one of my children into this world was truly my greatest achievement in life. Raising them up to be good, kind, and responsible adults will be my second greatest achievement. Would you be surprised if you heard further good news from us?! 😉
Back to the Story...
Amelia's due date was January 24th. Both Renee and I are natural procrastinators. We had largely gotten ready with one exception: Amelia's crib is a large storage bin currently. That's a small thing, but at least, we were somewhat successful in clearing some of the stuff that have accumulated in our room over the past 2 years.
On Monday, the kids had a PD day. I was planning to work half day and then take them skiing in the afternoon. However, once I was in the office, meetings became more meetings and I didn't end up leaving until 3:30, which was essentially a full day after having started at 7:15 in the morning. Anyhow, Monday was a very, very foggy/misty day. Visibility was about 5 meters in Milton when we went skiing. Coincidentally, we were planning on naming Amelia 曉嵐, or literally "dawn mist". When we left for the hospital at 7 am, it was very misty as well. So, I think God is telling us that He likes the name as well.
Interestingly enough, when Adele was born, we wanted to name her 曉月, or "dawn moon". The morning we left for the hospital, the sky was very clear and we saw a setting full moon. I think God likes that name as well! 😄
No Walking Required
Renee's contractions started intermittently at 8 pm on January 22, which became more consistent at around 3 am. By the time it was 6 am, they were occurring about every 7 minutes, with some shorter and some longer. When Anne was born, we almost got turned back home because Renee was only 2 cm dilated. So, we took our time this time.
Once we got to the hospital, we walked up to the birthing unit. Before getting to the desk to sign in and get admitted, Renee had a contraction in the hospital hallway. A nurse asked how she was doing and what baby number this was. When we said five, the two nurses freaked out and asked us to go into the delivery room just beside where we were standing. I asked whether we needed to get signed in first and she said, typically yes, but since it looked like she could pop any moment, we would go into the delivery room first. When the nurse examined Renee, she was already 7 cm dilated!
The nurse who ended up helping us was Louise. She was a middle aged lady who was very assertive and just funny overall. When she learned that Renee was tested positive for GBS (Group B Strep infection), she got very anxious. Since antibiotics needed to be administered at least 4 hours prior to birth, she was afraid that it wouldn't be enough time. If there was not enough time, Amelia would need to have bloodwork done and potentially stay longer for monitoring. Louise was determined to delay the birth as much as possible. So, she ended up not examining Renee at all, as to not inadvertently break the water. Getting to 12:30 pm would get us to 4 hours.
This ended being a relatively easy labour (sorry, I know that's an oxymoron). Renee was instructed essentially to lie in bed and just try to delay the birth. Once she was in bed, the contraction slowed down and averaged around once every 10 minutes. The strength was also quite bearable.
At about 11:45 am, Renee's water broke by itself. After that, the contractions started getting significantly stronger. It was apparent that the birth was imminent. When it was around 12:10 pm, Louise was fairly sure that Renee would deliver soon. She said that it was ok to give the 2nd dose of antibiotics 15 minutes early. She got that all set up rather quickly and administered the dose. About 1 minute later, Renee felt a lot of pressure and Louise got to work, asking her to push. At that time, the OB, Dr. Liao, was in the operating room doing a C-section and was not available to deliver. A resident doctor, Dr. Maude was just on her way in. There was also a medical student who was helping out, but it was Louise who delivered the baby...and with one hand, because she didn't even have time to put on both gloves. Louise was our hero! Even with the resident and medical student there, Louise was commanding the room! It was quite a sight!
It was quite a smooth delivery. Renee only needed to push once and there was no tear. Amelia was born at 12:15 pm and weighed 6 lb 2 oz at birth. She was about 100 g shy of the passing mark for weight, and like all of our previous kids, she has to stay in the hospital for 36 hours for monitoring of blood sugar levels. This means we'll be going home Thursday morning.
So Far So Good
The first night went very well. Amelia has been a good eater and sleeper. She latched on well immediately after birth and has been eating well. Also, she has been sleeping quite well. I actually feel well rested after last night. Her blood sugar levels have been consistently well above the threshold. We're really hoping this continues!
If you wonder why we had chosen the name Amelia,
here is one of the stories of St. Amelia. We think that's a pretty awesome story! The name also means "industriousness" or "defender". Donna was Renee's late aunt's name and we named Amelia in memory of her. In my limited time with Aunt Donna, she was always so caring and generous. I distinctly remembering her taking us to a restaurant (大平館) in Hong Kong, which was famous for their invention of their "Swiss Chicken Wings" We pray to the Lord that Amelia will grow up bearing the traits of her patron saint and great Aunt!
