Samuel's Birth Story

Amnesia: A condition that enables a woman who has been through labor-- to do it again.

It's hard to believe Samuel Raymond is almost two months (and in a couple weeks his brother will be two years!) Mothering two under two (plus life overseas) doesn't leave much time for blogging! I've been wanting to tell the story of Samuel's birth for those of you who are interested in "the details." ...

You already know that Samuel was a late arrival, thankfully not as late as his big brother (who arrived 10 days past his due date). We knew that the hospital here had a policy of inducing labor seven days past the due date, and I really wanted to have a natural, unmedicated birth so we were praying for Sam to make his appearance sooner rather than later.

I was at peace, though. During communion on Sunday (a couple days before Sam's birth), our cell group friend Hong Lan prayed for God's perfect timing in Samuel's birth, and I see it was exactly that.

I had lots of Braxton Hicks contractions this pregnancy, so I wasn't sure whether my contractions on July 27 (five days past my due date) were the real deal. Mark was at the office, so Esther and I started timing con- tractions. They weren't so painful but did get my attention a bit. Since I was already 9 cm when we got to the hospital for Abe's birth, we wanted to make our hospital trip a bit earlier this time. (10 cm is fully dilated).

We had a friend from church over for dinner that night (a single guy, John, who was helping Mark with language). The contractions were on and off through dinner, with my interjections continuing every once in a while during our meal ("that was another contraction, honey"). Mark decided he should hurry up and finish with John since this baby might be arriving soon. John left and we decided to lie down for a while to see if the contractions would subside. They continued, so we packed for the hospital.

We got to the hospital around 12 am, surprised to meet "Grandpa and Grandma" Dave and Joan and Lilly, close friends and colleagues waiting for us. They helped us get our labor gear up to the ward and I was examined... I was already dilated 7 cm. I was determined not to get stuck on my back hooked up to monitoring devices so we asked permission to go walking in the parking lot while labor progressed. We walked a few laps we called our families in the US with the news. A nurse then came rushing out the front door of the hospital saying, "The Dr. is here to help with your delivery. Will you please come up to the ward?" OK, no worries!

Dr. Helen examined me and predicted that considering the strength of my contractions (and their timing), this baby would come around 4 am. She was only 8 minutes off-- Samuel Raymond arrived at 4:08 am! I was armed with my natural birth pain management techniques that I actually had time to use. (With Abe's birth, I arrived at the hospital and immediately started pushing). For you soon to give birth mothers, I highly recommend warm rice socks (fill a sock with rice or beans, then heat in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes-- it keeps the heat for about 10 and is a wonderful compress for the back) and a birthing ball. (Water birth is great too, or so I've heard, but it wasn't an option for us here).

My contractions were getting stronger and the birth team prepared for Sam's arrival. They were still 12 to 15 minutes apart, though, so in the meantimewe had a long discussion with the Dr. about jungle trekking and abortion in our various countries.

In two strong pushes, Samuel was born. Daddy helped cut the cord (it took a bit of sawing) and our new little boy was off to a great start nursing.

While the ambiance of this birth was not quite like birth in the States (it was much more clinical, complete with the green surgery dressings and stirrups), we were thankful that everything went so smoothly. Samuel entered the world to classical tunes (I think it was Beethoven) and a very thankful happy family.