birth

Now that we're back in Tianjin snug as a bug in a rug with 95 degree temps outside and Josie appears to be quite content after a 1.5 hour feeding, I hope I have a minute to tell the birth story.

After finishing up school and giving final exams a week early, Dave and I went up to Beijing on Sunday May 31st, both to meet my mom and settle in to wait for the birth. I was born 2 weeks early, so natually, the fact I was having a first born girl, I was very intent on also having an early baby. I had been having the occassional Braxton Hicks contrations throughtout the week, and was sure Josie was coming soon. We got to our friend Tamera's house, 5 minutes from the hospital, picked up my mother, and began to wait with anticipation.

We went to the hospital the next day for a check up, and everything was alright besides a concern about high blood pressure and a protein in my urine samples. But, fetal monitering was fine, Josie was moving a lot (as she normally is) and everything else checked out ok. Thinking that we might be in the next day to deliver, I was naturally excited. Contractions that night increased to a regular 10 minutes apart, and my sciatic nerve in my right leg caused excruciating pain whenever a contraction would end. We walked to and from the hospital as much as possible, and waited. Friends joined us for dinner and

Tuesday came along and we went to a modern art district in Beijing, me feeling tired, but hopeful, enjoyint my new camera and the walking. My mom and I also got pedicures in hopes that a little foot massage would stimulate things. But.... no cigar.

Wednesday I was feeling pretty emotional and tired, we spent time at the apartment watching movies, reading, sleeping. We went for a walk in the park that evening and my sciatic nerve was so bad I could barely walk. Dave went for a run and my mom and I hobbled through the park, and finally I just had to sit and wait for Dave. My mom was sure that I would deliver the next day (my due date) and I hoped that my emotional state was a sure indicator.

But no. Thursday came and went with another doctor appointment, news that I was dialated 1 cm, and an ultrasound showing my amniotic fluid to be low again. I left with instructions to drink, and my own goal to walk as much as possible to try and get these contractions and cervix on their way. Because we have plane tickets out on June 30th, and we have to get a passport for Josie processed at the US Embassy, and then get a visa from the Chinese government before we are allowed to leave the country, we were feeling the time crunch. We decided to schedule an induction for Saturday, and left.

Friday we went to the summer palace, a beautiful park in north Beijing and walked for hours in the heat. It was pretty, but contractions picked up (a good sign) but that also meant I had to stop and lean on Dave or any other stone structure I could find. Both of us weren't feeling very settled about the induction as we walked and decided to call the hospital and cancel it. I felt like what would happen would happen and we would figure out the details. However, all the while we were waiting in Beijing, so many of our friends were leaving Tianjin and we didn't have much of a chance to say goodbye. It was pretty discouraging to sit and wait in Tianjin, and miss the graduation of our students and saying goodbye to so many friends we are leaving permanently with our move back (people were leaving for the summer or for good-- the sad part about living in a transient ex-pat community). No denying it, I was sad and frustrated, and in pain.

Patrick and Kim were planning on throwing us an open house for people to say goodbye, and we kept postponing it. Our final attempt was to plan it for the Tuesday the 9th, the day before they left. With our indefinite birth, even that became impossible.

Saturday we walked around Hohai lake and the Hutongs, seeing more sites in BJ that I have in a long time. Went to a nice Vietnamese restaurant too and called it a night, me being more and more exhausted each day.

Sunday went to Church, saw our friends the Martindales and an old student of mine, had a great worship service and went for pizza... We had another doctor's appointment that day so we went directly from lunch to the appointment. Patrick and Kim told me that they would come up to Beijing on Tuesday and just say goodbye to us, whether or not Josie had arrived or not, and stay with Tamera before they left for their morning flight to the States.

The doctor did another ultrasound and found my amniotic fluid to be alarmingly low. Without any hesitation, she told me the baby needed to come out either by c-section that night or in the morning, or I could try and drink as much as possible that night and re-evaluate in the morning. I was overwhelmed, weepy and scared, and exhausted. I checked into the hospital and got to the business of trying the drink the 5 gallon water bottle in my room. My friend Erin came by to pray with us and see how we were doing, and later my mom and Dave retured to gather our stuff. Tamera stopped by as well.

I continued to have contractions through the night, but not as frequently. I also drank more than I've ever consumed in a night, and peed the entire night too. Maybe I drank a similiar amount before running a marathon 5 years ago... as a matter of face, this entire process was feeling like a very long-drawn out marathon!!

We did another ultrasound at 8 am, and the fluid had increased enough to attempt a natural birth (well, "natural" in the sense that I wouldn't have a c-section). My cervix hadn't changed at all, so I was put on pictocin at 10:30 that morning. At first contractions weren't that painful, but increased to 4 minutes apart. The hospital policy prohibited more than one visitor being with me in the labor and delivery room, so Dave and my mom took shifts. We watched a movie and some episodes of Heros, talked and ATE. In this hospital it's totally fine to eat during labor so food was delivered to me for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I ate pizza, rizotto, salad, soup and apple pie:) Though, as the intensity of the contractions picked up, my desire for food dramatically decreased. By late afternoon I was in considerable pain, and finally was taken off the pictocin by 5 pm, totally exhaused and discouraged-- my cervix had dialated from 1 cm to 1.5 cm after a full day of induced labor with no pain killer. I continued to have my own contractions after being taken off the drugs and the doctor told me I needed to sleep and try again in the morning. I was exhausted of being induced, and the thought of going through it all again in the morning was a little overwhelming.

Right before bed we called my dad to give him and update. He told us that my sister-in-law Lisa's water had broken and she and Jordan were on the way to the hospital. It was her due date, afterall... and that morning she got up and was telling my brother a funny story and acting it out when pop-- there went her water. I talked to Jordan shortly afterwards and told him we were in labor at the same time, though I had already gone through 9 hours of hard labor. His response: "it's a race." Ugh.

Tuesday morning came and Dave and I walked the halls of the hospital for a couple hours, encouraged that my own contractions were now coming at 90 second intervals, and waited for the Smiths to arrive. We called my brother in the meantime and we were on the phone only momentarily because there was a lot of shouting and moaning in the background (Lisa). Minutes later we found out that Sophia Star had been born-- on her due date, after 12 hours. I was determined that I couldn't wait much longer. It gave me the encouragment to endure the induction yet another day.

Smiths came at 11 am, just as the doctor came in to tell me it was time to start being induced again. I spent a couple of mintues with them, bouncing Moyer on my labor ball with me between contractions, kissing Keturah and very anxious to deliver Josie.

I left the recovery room telling Patrick I would be back soon with the baby. They agreed to wait. Kim was willing to wait for as long as it took, or at least come back at the wee hours of the morning if that was necessary to see Josie before heading to the airport.

I went and put the IV in again, and my contractions picked up exponentially right away. Within 20 minutes my water broke and I began to feel pain like I've never felt before. Dave suggested that I try and make a goal for myself to wait until the cervix opened more before getting an epidural. I was not in the mood for any goals or any games.. Between screams I let him know that now was the time for an epidural and so, within the next set of contractions-- me curled up in a ball with instructions not to move and reciting the first line of the 23rd psalm over and over in my head, the epidural was inserted.

Oh sweet relief as warmth spread over my body and I began to relax. Within minutes I was in a dazy dream... watching the doctors around me move, talking to Dave, and wouldn't you know, having pasta primavera, salad and soup!! It was around noon, and I got very sleepy. I decided to try and nap for a while. Around 2 o'clock the doctor came and and checked me. She asked if I could guess how dialated I was... I guessed 3 cm... then she told me it was more like 7 or 8! The baby would be born within hours!! Relief puts it mildly! We called my mom and Kim and began to prepare (which meant, I went back to sleep).

Now, we prepared for the birth by reading all of the natural delivery books we had, so what I was experiencing was nothing like I anticipated. It was helpful though to know my number one priority was healthy baby and healthy mom, and not be disappointed if things didn't go as planned. Although I wanted to be drug free, I was very encouraged that I would be delivering naturally, and very happy I wasn't screaming, but still unsure of what I should be feeling coming up to the birth. I could feel very hard contractions while I was in transition, but what I felt was extreme pressure, even though my contractions were off the charts for 4 minutes at a time. The doctors had left me alone and told me to ring them when I felt like I needed to "da bian" (poop). My mom was with me when I felt the first urges, so we called in the doctors and boy, doctors came in! 6 in all- doctors, nurses, a midwife and on top of that, a translator.

It was 3:45 at this point, and the 4 pm estimated arrival time seemed to be on schedule. We called Dave up from his facebook updating and hanging out in the recovery room and as he entered the delivery room, the doctors told me to start pushing. Actually, the doctors all stood around me laughing and telling me to poop. And to do it again. But when I actually felt the need to push, it seemed like all the doctors were busy laughing and talking to each other so I would yell out "pushing!!!" and they would turn to me and all cheer me on-- some mimicing what face I should have or how long this should go on. All in Chinese of course- and Dave trying to translate to me what they were saying as our translator basically stood in the background and watched the party happen.

She was out in 15 minutes, born at 4:05 pm June 9th, plopped right on my chest while the placenta came out 2 mintues later. Oh sweet relief... My mom was allowed in (though she was peaking at the door anyway) and the army of medical staff saw to Josie's needs right away. We stayed in the delivery room to recover for another 1.5 hours and then got wheeled down to the recovery room.

Patrick, Kim, Moyer and Keturah were all there to greet us! I kept to my word this time, I told them I would be back with the baby, and I was.

Sophia Star Evans and Josanna Mei Coons were born 9 hours apart, June 8th and 9th, across the world from one another. Definitely an eventful day!