once you pop, you can't stop!

22.08.08 0400H (GMT+1) PLOP!

from deep slumber, i suddenly woke up on my elbows. in my mind the thought suddenly came "what was that?!" i waited a while and a mild contraction started and ended. i waited again... then another began. i woke up hubby and said calmly, "daddy, i think it's time." his eyes grew into two big round balls :)) still i waited ... and suddenly there was a small trickle of liquid.

i stood up. i heard that amniotic fluid flows faster when you're laying down. also i wanted to check if it was really what i thought it was. well, without surprise, it was. then there were stronger contractions which were like just 2 minutes apart. and so i said, "ok, i really think it's time."

hubby immediately called the ob, i spoke with her a bit and she told us to proceed immediately to hospital. of course, first i packed a few things i could get my hands on. i wasn't in a hurry. hubby was the one who was very worried.

around 430am, we arrived in ruzinov hospital. the contractions were getting even stronger. but they wouldn't let me be in a wheel chair. i had to walk to the lift going up to the 9th floor. the resident ob did an ie and found me to be already 7cm dilated. so immediately she sent me to the delivery room. i had to walk to get there, while the contractions are getting stronger. good thing hubby was with me all the time, in lieu of the fact that i don't speak slovak.

shortly, the ob arrived. we tried to ask for pain reliever. but she said it's too late for any of that. the baby is coming very soon. so i had to endure each and every contractions, every millisecond of it which felt endless.

just a few minutes before 600am, karol andrej gushed out so suddenly :)) he cried immediately and a sudden feeling of relief washed over me. the nurses took him for cleaning and a few moments after... there he was. so perfect.

yes, labor and delivery was short but unfortunately i heard the ob say i had a big rupture. so they had to do an episiotomy. the procedure felt longer and more painful than the whole labor and delivery. eventhough they administered local anesthesia, i seem to have felt every needle prick. but all these is such a small price to pay compared to what we now hold in our arms.


click karol andrej's blog for latest updates.

d-day minus one

21.08.08 it was thursday, we were scheduled for the weekly ob checkup. there we learned i'm already 2cm dilated. hence, she advised me to take a rest. we also discussed the next course of actions since i was due in just over a week (30 aug).

i was supposed to be admitted in hospital a few days before the due date (26th aug, tue). it's standard protocol for possibility of normal delivery after my having had a previous cs.

i didn't like the idea of being admitted. that means staying longer in hospital. already, it takes an average of 4-5 hospital-days-stay after delivery. think about staying in hospital by yourself where the language barrier is so great. sigh! but we didn't have any other choice.

at home, i cannot stop thinking about the impending hospitalization and delivery. my only way out was to go into labor before the 26th. noo-ni-noo-ni-noo...

i wanted to start packing my things for the hospital, but decided to postpone it. well, i've heard a story of how they packed their bags and then a day after they went into labor. or how the doctor told them it will still take a week, and within 24 hours they delivered. yes, i wanted to deliver my baby before the admission date, but i wasn't sure if i wanted it too soon. :)

against doctor's advice, we went shopping at h&m in avion that night. we scheduled it the previous day, but for some reason it was postponed. anyway, i helped hubby get some new clothes. i bought a black dress, and some children's clothes as gifts. inay got some things too.

so the evening ended uneventfully. in bed, hubby and i talked a bit about other people's labor stories, etc. other than that, we didn't have any clue whatsoever of what lies ahead... :)