Blogging the Baby

Yang is mad. They won't give us the Olympic tickets I ordered online. They say it takes one day to process and we've only just placed the order today. Yang plays the "I'm nine months pregnant card" to full effect and eventually a nice American chap emerges with our tickets. Yang has a feeling that if we don't pick up the tickets today, it could be a while.

Tickets safely fetched (two baseball, two boxing, two basketball) Yang says she feels like Teppanyaki for dinner and we find an all you can eat, really nice, Teppanyaki place in the China View building.  Next to The Den, but that is a story for another day. We eat well, really well, and make it home by 9:30pm. I tell Aidan and Lydia about the tickets and ask both what country they will cheer for in the Olympics. Lydia says China, Aidan America. When asked how about America and China, Lydia sticks with China and Aidan says, America, China, and just for good measure Cuba.

Around 12:30am Yang gets up to use the restroom and her water breaks. She wakes me up and is all business as we grab our pre-packed bags go to the hospital. It is now August 6th which is an even day and we have odd ending license plate. With the Olympic traffic controls in effect, this means we are not allowed to drive and for a moment I consider asking Yang to huff it the two blocks to the hospital. A brief moment. Our drive safe, we get settle easy enough into the hospital. It is reassuring to know that the admin desk here is like the admin desk anywhere, their number one job is to secure payment despite any prior arrangements you may have made.

Contractions start to arrive every six minutes but then quickly escalate. The pain is gets severe and Yang asks for an epidural. They say she should wait a bit but the the pain gets more than a bit worse and the contractions are coming every two minutes. They roll her upstairs into the delivery room where a nurse calmly lies out the birthing instruments and oils. Yang is in a lot of pain, asking loader and loader for the epidural. She then gets quite, the pain not sparing her any energy. We are told the doctor is on his way. After a very long 30 minutes the doctor arrives and administers the epidural (although it has a fancy new name) and Yang's relief is near immediate. She relaxes, tries to nap, and makes small talk with the nurses and mid wife.

Birth is handled by a mid wife here and the English of the support staff is limited. This limits my interaction a bit and my understanding a bit. But mostly I understand what is going on. Nurse and mid-wife give each other "the look" meaning Yang is ready to push and then the pushing begins at around 7:15am. My job is to sit next to Yang and not get in the way. The medication Yang is on can't compete with the pain from pushing but Yang works through it. Every 90 seconds, two rounds of pushing, then relax, then more pushing.

I see the top of Elisa's head and a mane of dark hair. With more pushing her head is free and is looking stretched and not all that life like. One more push -- and mid wife pull -- and Elisa is out and crying. No slapping the butt here, but slapping the bottom of the feet. She is in Yang's arm's within moments as I count her finger and toes.

Yang with Elisa shortly after birth. Yang posing with the mid-wife.

After things settle down, I walk the two city blocks home this being an even car day. Aidan is in the playground and runs up to me and asks if the new baby is coming and how is mommy. I show him some pictures and he is so excited he runs away with the camera and shows his playground friends. Lydia, meanwhile, is upstairs and is also very eager to see the pictures.  I show her and tell her that she is now a jiejie and she is very clear that she is still Aidan's meimei and Elisa's jiejie. She then tells me I can leave.

As I finish this entry, Yang is still awake, Elisa sleeping peacefully by her side, four hours after her birth. I may join her in a bit.

Elisa sleeping like...well..you know. Aidan and Lydia greet Elisa.