April's day 1

5/4/2005
The cervix softening process yesterday was painful and frustrating. Contraction started from 2pm till 10pm, every 2 1/2 min. After the 8hrs, Xiaoyan still dilated about 1 cm. So, we were very concerned about the choice of induction today.

We got up 6am in the morning and got there at about 7am. The doctor came in at 8am. We raised our concern about this choice. "What's the chance of getting our baby out naturally without a C-section after induction is used, given that Xiaoyan only dilates 1 cm?" The doctor did not guarantee us, but she did convince that it was better to give it a try at first . And it turned out to be an excellent decision (Thanks, Dr. Abrams!). Another wonderful person that we would like to thank is the nurse Denise. She was a big, big help for us. She told us her own experience, helped xiaoyan to relax and took very good care of Xiaoyan, and later the baby.

The induction began at 10am. The regular contraction started at about 11am. Water broke at about 12 noon. When Dr. Abrams cheked back at about 12:30, Xiaoyan already dilated 3.5 cm. Exciting news! If she followed this pace, she would be able to deliver the baby at 5pm. As the time went by, the contraction became more intense. We asked to have Epidual(?) at about 2. Xiaoyan was given one shot at about 2:30pm, but this one did not help much. What I could do was holding her hand when the contraction was coming. At 4pm, Xiaoyan almost dilated 8-9 cm, pretty good! However the pain became much stronger (What the heck is the Epidual doing?). She asked to redo the epidual. Just after getting her second epidual, she was almost ready to push, Dr. Abrams came in at about 4:20. Xiaoyan started to push at about 4:30. After 4 pushes, our April was out! It was AMAZING! I was so overwhelmed that I could help bursting into tears.

Here is our little girl:7lbs 12.3oz = 7jin



Dr. Abrams with April:



Denise with April:



Mom with April:



April is sleeping:



Isn't she beautiful?

Dad