The Delivery

I was very calm when I arrived at the hospital. This is my third time there and I know what to expect. Even my husband was very well-prepared. (He wore his long-sleeved shirt, long pants and sports shoes because he knew that it was going to be cold in the delivery suite. The last time he was there with me, he was freezing.)

Soon, I was brought to the delivery suite. I was still sleepy so I thought I could just sleep there, but the contractions started coming once in a while. Time seemed to pass very slowly. At about 8.30am, the doctor ordered to speed up the contractions. This was when the pain started to get intense. I could not lie down properly on the bed because the pain was so unbearable. I wanted to keep moving so that the pain would go away. (It worked for Jia Yi and Jia Ya) But, this time, it did not worked. (Probably, I am older now.)

I started screaming whenever the pain comes. My husband was shocked. (I did not screamed when I had Jia Yi and Jia Ya.) I screamed louder and longer as the pain became more intense. My husband tried to cover my mouth. He even offered me ice so that I can keep my mouth shut. But that did not stopped me.

The nurses from other delivery suite even came over to ask if I need pain relief so that it would not be so painful and I would stop screaming. I rejected them. ( I did not use any pain relief for Jia Yi and Jia Ya, so I wanted the same for Jia Ye.) I just continued screaming all the way till about 9.40am. That's when my doctor said that my baby is ready to come out.

I knew that I should not scream anymore. I had to use all the energy to push the baby out. I stopped screaming and concentrated on pushing the baby out. It seemed like forever. The doctor kept telling me 'just one more' but that was not true. I was soon breathless. Three nurses had to help me. My husband was holding my hand and encouraging me to keep pushing. I could feel the baby coming out, but somehow he was stuck there. Finally, I managed to push Jia Ye out. It was relief for me.

I could hear Jia Ye coughing and the nurses commenting that they now understand why I was screaming so loudly. Jia Ye is huge. Even my husband was shocked when he saw Jia Ye. My doctor commented that she expected the baby to be big, but not so big. Guess how much he weighs?

I was sent to the ward to rest after the delivery. It was really an unforgettable experience with all those screaming.

Coincidence??

Hi! I have finally delivered Jia Ye on the 17 March 2008 at 9.56am.

I do not know if Jia Ye understands me or is it just coincidence. When my doctor told me that I may deliver earlier than the estimated delivery date, I told Jia Ye that I do not want him to come so early. I wanted him to be just like his siblings, who arrived after 40 weeks of gestation. (People say that these children are fully-developed in the womb and are healthier.)

Then it was Chinese New Year. I had Jia Ya just before Chinese New Year and I missed eating all those Chinese New Year goodies. So, I told Jia Ye, 'Come, after I finished eating all those Chinese New Year goodies that I have bought.'

I managed to finish all the Chinese New Year goodies during the first week of March and the weather started to change. Usually, it is very hot in March, but this year, there is lots of rain. I told Jia Ye, 'Do not come on the day when it rains. It's very difficult to hail a cab in the rain.' I also told him, 'Do not come in the middle of the night.' He did not.

Jia Ye came right after the estimated delivery date (after 40 weeks of gestation). I had finished eating all the Chinese New Year goodies. And when I had my first contration, it was already 5am in the morning. The weather was good and it was not raining.

Do you think he heard me? Or is it just coincidence??

Jia Yi lost his second and third tooth

Jia Yi lost his second tooth about a month ago. After the first experience, he now knows how to handle the tooth when it drops. Unfortunately, the tooth refused to fall on its own. So, daddy decided to help him.

They went into the toilet and daddy tried to shake the tooth off for him. It did not come out easily. Jia Yi was screaming in the toilet. Finally, the tooth came loose. He was so happy! He took his tooth, washed it and showed it to me. He was so proud of it that he decided to keep it on his own, under his favourite Power Ranger CD. Once in a while, he will take it out to look at it.

Jia Yi's third tooth started shaking about a few days ago. This time, with more experience, he decided that he did not want anyone to know about it. So, he kept it a secret. Until... I saw him eating an ice cream and was wondering why that tooth looks so out of place. I asked him to come forward and he refused. After questioning him, I realised that he kept it a secret because he was afraid of the pain. (His daddy will help him pulled it out if he knows about it.) True enough, his daddy found out!

He was sent to the toilet to have his tooth plucked out. Daddy asked him to open his mouth. "Pain" was his answer. They spent more than thirty minutes in the toilet, fighting.

"Come here!"
"No. It's very painful."
"Okay. I will not help you pull it out."
"I want."
"Then come. I will do it gently."
"Very PAIN!!! PAIN! PAIN! PAIN!"

And this conversation can be overheard many times while I was outside waiting for them to get out.

In the end, daddy gave up. He came out of the toilet all wet, but with no tooth in his hand.

Jia Yi has won the battle.

Getting Jia Yi and Jia Ya to sleep

The 2 of them like to quarrel when I asked them to sleep. Jia Yi will start to complain that Jia Ya had disturbed his bed and Jia Ya will tell me that Jia Yi has taken her things.


When I turned off the lights, they are not able to see clearly, so they will not complain about the above. Instead, they will start touching each other and then start laughing. Slowly, it turns into tickling and then.... they will start running in the room, chasing after each other because someone had started it first.


This is how my mother make them sleep peacefully.





See, how alike they are... even their sleeping pose is silimiliar. And my mother has ease getting them to sleep.

Jia Yi and Jia Ya's Photos 1

These photographs were taken 2 weeks ago.
They look so loving.
You will not expect them to fight, right?

Jia Yi lost his first tooth

The first time when Jia Yi realised that his tooth was shaking, he was almost frightened to death. I told him that that was because he had eaten too much sweets and his tooth was going to drop. For that two days, he refused to eat any sweets, even when I offered to him.
He was so frightened that his tooth would drop off. To pacified him, I told him to keep the tooth if it dropped off while he was in school.
Two days later, I received a call from the childcare centre. The teacher had a fright because Jia Yi was crying non-stop in school, in the toilet and there was blood flowing from his mouth. The teacher thought that he had injured himself while he was in the toilet. They later found out that his tooth had fallen and he could not find his tooth. It had dropped into the basin!
He was so upset that day. When I went to pick him up after school, he refused to go home with me because he did not have his tooth with him. After spending a long time to explain to him that it was alright, he finally went home with me.
What a silly boy!

A Name for the Newborn

I was at my mother-in-law's place last weekend and she asked me if I had chosen a name for the baby. Before I could even answer her, she started her nagging...
"Don't choose names that are similiar to the elders in the family. That's rude! That xxx used the same character for the newborn and it just sounds like one of the auntie's name. Never think one! So rude, no respect!..." she was going on and on.
How to chose a Chinese character that is totally different from all those uncles and aunties? Mind you! My husband has 11 siblings and another 12 cousins. And they each has many sons and daughters. How would I be able to find a character that none of them have use? Unless I go for all those 'oh biang' names.
In fact, I have chosen the names for all my children right from the time I was pregnant with Jia Yi in 2002.
The first consideration was that it must be easy to spell. (My husband is very bad with English. It took him 6 months to spell my name right.)
The second consideration was that it must have values that my child must have.
That's how Jia Yi got his name. 'Jia' as in 'good' and 'Yi' as in 'perserverance'. And it is so easy to spell. Many thought that it means 'plus 1', because 'Jia' can also means 'plus' and 'Yi' means '1'.
When I was pregnant with Jia Ya. Many of my relatives were making fun of me. They were thinking that I will name her as 'Jia Er' as in 'plus 2'. 'Jia' means 'good' and 'Ya' means 'gracious'.
See how I have just changed the last letter of their names. In this way, my husband can remember faster.
Can you guess the name of the one in my womb now? I am going to name him/her... Jia Y?