Baby Jared is born

Since Thursday night, my wife started to have regular cramps about an hour apart. By bed time, it was half hourly.

The next morning, 10 am onwards, the contractions were 5 minutes apart. We hurriedly went for grocery shopping making sure that the kitchen is well stocked so that our helper can cook for the kids.

When the pain was 4 minutes apart, she wanted to eat Char Siew and roast pork rice. So we settled our lunch at the Food court. All these while, she was still enduring the pain.


Mid-afternoon, I drove her to the hospital, arrived at the delivery suite and got registered. But this day must have been a good day to deliver babies because, their 30 over rooms were all fully occupied delivering babies at the same time.

Near evening, we got the suite. My wife was still contemplating to use Epidural or not, she wanted to brave the intense labor pain to deliver this baby. I told her at least use the gas, it should help make it easier for her.


She said the gas makes her very light headed... very high. So I had a few puffs of it. It felt like floating in clouds...

By 6.45pm, her contractions were very close, she started to twist and turn on the bed. I did my best to comfort her, ensuring her that it will be over soon, but she don't seem to hear me anymore.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide and stared at me and said: "The Water-bag broke." I lunged forward and pressed the red panic by the bed side summoning professional help.

The first nurse came in and checked, U-turned back to the door and screamed at someone else who pushed in a trolley with surgical utensils. Everyone started putting on rubber gloves.

In the mist of the pain, my wife suddenly said: "I feel like pushing now!"

But the Mid-wife replied: "WAIT, wait... breath... breath... pant pant..."

My wife waited as long as she could, but when the baby head appeared, they changed the command to "GO! GO! GO!" "PUSH! PUSH!"

The other nurse by my side: "DADDY! HOLD THIS LEG! Don't let it fight with me!"

I held on to her leg and lifted her shoulder to help her push: "COME ON! ONE MORE PUSH!"
Jared had a cord around his neck, but the nurse was quick to spot it, grabbed and pulled it loose before it got tightened.

Soon, I watched the baby came shushing out, heard his first cry.


38 weeks of waiting... finally we met for the first time, face to face on 17 July 2009, 7.20pm

Our Gynae helped us take this picture.

After the ordeal, my wife felt hungry...

At 9pm, where 99% of the hospital stores were closed, I managed to grab the last 2 bowls of noodles before they started cleaning up the store.

My wife, exhausted from the pain of delivery, ate hungrily.

Happy Birthday Jared

By the way... I cut the cord this time.

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