Baby Jalen's Arrival

Tuesday morning, I woke up around 4am feeling what I thought may be a contraction. It felt like indigestion and it was the first time I felt any type of early labour symptoms. So I got out of bed and pulled out my childbirth book and I was convinced that I was experiencing pre-labour symptoms. The cramps were not regular enough to feel like contractions but they were uncomfortable enough to keep me awake. So I went down stairs and walked around, trying to get through them. I didn't bother waking up Rick because I was sure that these were just very preliminary signs of labour and they were either going to go away or last for hours. About an hour later, I felt my first real strong contraction. I had to use my relaxation breathing to get through it. I thought, boy, that was kind of intense, do women really go through hours of such contractions before they even go to the hospital? I decided I didn't want to go through this alone anymore so I woke up Rick and told him that I was having some cramps. It took a while for him to realize what I meant and happily got out of bed to keep me company. He asked me if he should call into work and tell them he's not coming in but I said just wait and see. I had few more contractions and each one just as intense. They were coming every couple of minutes or so. I still didn't think I was in real labour because according to our baby class, early labour contractions can vary from every 3 minutes to every 12 minutes. But then the next few contractions were increasingly intense such that it took some serious breathing to get through them and I could feel my cervix opening up during these contractions. They were still coming what seemed like every 2 minutes. I decided it was time to call the doctor's office. I told the doctor that I started having contractions at 4 o'clock and now they're about a minute apart. She asked, 4 o'clock yesterday? I said no, 4 o'clock this morning. She told me to come into the hospital. I battled through a couple of more contractions and realized that my water broke. Now it's really on! I barked orders to Rick between contractions to grab our bags and load up the car. I was a little worried that once we started to head to the hospital that my contractions may slow down and they'd send me home. However, my contractions continue to come every couple of minutes and I got through them with a series of screaming, grunting, cursing and whining. All I could think about is making it to the hospital so that they could give me some drugs!

When we finally made it to triage, at around 6:45am, my water had broke completely. I was stilling having intense contractions every 2 minutes or so but I somehow managed to censor myself when I got to the hospital and kept my language to PG-13. When the nurse came to check me, I fully expected her to tell me that I was 5cm dilated and ready for my epidural! Well, was I ever wrong! She told me that I was fully dilated to 10cm! I said "WHAT?!" "Can I still have some drugs please??" They said at this point there's not much purpose to get an epidural, I was ready to start pushing the baby out. I begged for some drugs for my back which was absolutely killing me from the contractions. But they told me that any drugs that they gave me would make my baby very drowsy. So there I was, a mere 3 hours after my first contraction, 10cm dilated, wheeled into the birthing room, with no drugs, not even an IV. It took all I had to push for the next 40 minuts or so until finally, at 7:53am, our baby boy arrived. When he came out of me I broke into a sob of relief that the labour was finally over. When they told me it was a boy, I was not surprised at all because I had been so convinced that it was going to be a boy! When they handed the baby to me on my chest I was so happy but at the same time in shock. So much had happened and none of it like the way we had planned or expected. Who knew that it would only take 4 hours for me to deliver my first baby? And on top of that, with no drugs whatsoever?! That seems overly ambitious even for me! Nevertheless, this was how our baby boy Jalen decided to arrive into this world and we now have the most amazingly perfect child and an incredibly memorable story.

Our new little family. Jalen came in at 7lbs 12oz and 19.5 inches.

The proud papa and Uncle Joon.

Cousin Gracie and baby Jalen.

Let The Count Down Begin

Last Friday was my last day at work. It's been a bit challenging getting motivated and totally concentrate on work the past few weeks because I knew I would be leaving soon. Nevertheless, I made sure I still gave at least 90% so that I did a good job transitioning all my work to the appropriate people. My coworkers have been quite supportive and they've also been impressed that I'm still able to get work done so late into my pregnancy. Because I started my transition over a month ago I feel pretty good that nothing is going to drop through the cracks when I leave. Now that I've started my maternity leave, it feels a bit strange not having to think about work anymore. I wonder whether the next three months is going to go by really fast or really slow or both? I have a feeling that on one hand, it'll fly by as time always does but it'll probably also feel like an eternity because so many things would have happened.

Now that work is off my mind, I'm officially in baby watch mode. My due date is May 17th but the baby can come any day. Myra gave birth a week ago 8 days ahead of her due date. Aaron and Jenny had their baby right on their due date just this week. It seems like there's a baby born every week now, can next week be my turn? I don't feel too nervous about the upcoming delivery because I am anxious to be not pregnant anymore. Although the delivery is a big scary unknown, I just tell myself that it'll only be a day or two which is nothing compared to my 9 months of pregnancy or the rest of my life as a parent. I haven't started having any contractions yet but my doctor tells me that my body is progressing nicely to prepare for labour. The baby's head is down which means that he or she is also getting ready to come out. The question is when?

The 9th Month!!

It's hard to believe that our little one is scheduled to arrive in about a month! To be honest, physically I'm ready to have the baby now! The last month of pregnancy has been a bit more difficult. Sleeping has become challenging and uncomfortable. I normally sleep on my back but at this stage of the pregnancy I have to sleep on my side so that I get better circulation. I have no problems falling asleep but I always wake up with aches in my neck and shoulders. I get up a couple of times in the middle of the night to switch sides and go to the bathroom. Sometimes my legs cramp up really bad in the morning and I have to use my labour breathing to get through it! My legs and feet swell up throughout the day from water retention. Not only that I have a hard time fitting into most of my shoes, I have trouble walking when my feet are swollen and stiff. I try to put my feet up during the day if I get a chance so that they don't get so puffy and unrecognizable by the evening. Of course then there's the additional weight. Because I retain so much water, my weight can fluctuate 4lbs between morning and evening. I've gained over 40lbs since the start of my pregnancy and I've kind of stopped keeping track. Carrying all that extra weight has certainly slowed me down when I walk. Although Rick did notice that my calves have gotten more muscular from supporting the additional weight!

Despite the physical discomfort, I'm still not quite ready for the baby to arrive yet. Over the last few weeks Rick and I have been spending every weekend getting things ready for the baby. We painted the baby's room and got a crib, changing table and glider. I know that the baby doesn't really need much at first but getting the room ready helps us mentally prepare for the baby's arrival. We just finished our childbirth and newborn classes a couple of weeks ago. The course was 2 hours each week for 7 weeks. Although most of the information in the class could have been found in most pregnancy books, Rick and I found the class useful because it highlighted certain things that we should be thinking about. I have a much better idea now what kind of birth I'd ideally like and I'm going to included my wishes in a birth plan. The instructor showed us a birth video every class so that not only would we know what it looks like for babies to be born we would no longer be shocked by it. Being with a roomful of expectant first time parents and going through the course made me feel a lot less nervous about the upcoming delivery. I'm planning to work up until my due date as long as the baby doesn't arrive before that. I've already started working on a transition plan to hand over my responsibilities to my coworkers. Starting the transition at work has really eased my anxiety because for a while I was having panic attacks about the baby arriving early and me leaving work dangling behind. Deep down, I know I will never be truly, 100% mentally ready for the baby to arrive. The physical discomforts that I'm feeling now is probably nothing compared to the challenges that I'm going to face when the baby is here. At the same time, I'm getting more and more excited about finally meeting the baby. I can't wait to finding out whether we're having a boy and a girl and I can't wait to see what the baby looks like.

Baby Shower Part II

Over Easter weekend, Rick's sister Betsy and Rick's mom Eileen threw me a baby shower in Seattle. The guests included relatives from Rick's family and our Seattle friends. 2007 is turning out to be a big baby boom year, so 4 of the girls at the shower are pregnant: Myra is expecting a boy in May, Trish is expecting her 2nd little girl in July, Arleen is expecting a boy in August and of course me in May. Rick and I actually know about 5 other couples who are also expecting babies in 2007. People have been saying that there must be something in the water in Seattle!

Betsy and Rick's mom went all out for the baby shower. We had lots of yummy food and Betsy made a ton of adorable customized chocolate favours. Taylor and her cousin Michelle organized the shower games. My favourite one was where you had to guess a baby related word by asking only yes and no questions. I received a ton of wonderful presents from everyone. My friend Ivy who lives in New York was so thoughtful as to send a gift to Betsy's house to surprise me. I really enjoyed the shower because it was just such a nice occasion for everyone to get together, catch up, eat and relax.


Presents!!

Pregnant, not fat.

There's a Party in My Belly!

So far, the most amazing part of being pregnant is being able to feel the baby move. When the baby first gave me a little nudge, it was just the tiniest little flutter that could have easily been mistaken for gas. Then just in the following couple of weeks, the movements were often enough that I could let Rick feel them by touching his hand on my belly. At first, the idea of having another person inside me is a little strange. Someone with a mind of its own is in me? As time went on, the movements became stronger. Sometimes, the baby is pushing against my belly such that I could feel something round and hard from the outside. That made me wonder, is that your little head? Or your little bottom? Those moments made me feel that I'm already starting to bond with the baby and that I'm going to love it so much. I can't see it yet, but I'm imagining what its doing. Is that poke a kick or a punch? Is the baby awake or just tossing in its sleep? I could just picture that after the baby arrives, I would be watching it all day and all night, doing its thing and thinking to myself, so that's what you were up to when you were inside! At night, when I'm laying on my side getting ready to sleep, the baby really starts kicking up a storm. So I get Rick to talk to the baby. He doesn't really know what to say but it doesn't really matter. The baby will get to know his voice and recognize him when it arrives. Nowadays, the baby movements are so wide and strong that not only you can feel it outside my belly, you can see it. When we listen to the radio and the baby starts kicking, we imagine that it's because it really likes that type of music. When the baby acts up at night, we think to ourselves that it is a night owl just like Daddy. Even though we can't see the baby yet, we already feel like it's got a personality. It just makes us that much more anxious to meet the little one.

Here's a video of the baby moving about in my belly. Can you see the baby poking out to say hello?

Baby Shower Part I

On March 10th, my friends Tina and Catherine threw me a lovely little baby shower in Vancouver. Rick and I, along with his parents and his sister's whole family were all in Vancouver to celebrate a belated Chinese New Year with my parents. Tina hosted the shower at her apartment with a total about 10 guests. It was just the perfect location and perfect party for the occasion. Tina and Catherine put a lot of thought into putting together an elegant, beautiful and personal shower. And they complied with my single request: no poopy diaper game! Instead, they catered the baby shower games to my interests, such as match the celebrity baby names to their parents. I enjoyed all of the food (especially the cooked sushi and cupcakes) and opening all the gifts, but my favourite part was just spending time with my good friends. It felt so good to know that I have such good friends to share this special time in my life with.


My lovely hostesses Tina and Catherine.

Mmmm... Baby likes cupcakes!

Baby Moon

A couple of weekends ago, Rick and I organized a last minute baby moon with a few of our good friends. A baby moon is like a honeymoon except it's a getaway before the baby comes. Since we didn't really plan to go anywhere far, we decided a nice weekend away at our family friend's vacation house would be the perfect last getaway. Mrs. Suyama's family has a nice, big vacation house in the city of Shelton which is about 70 miles south of Seattle. The house is on a beautiful beach property abundant with oysters, clams and mussels. The view is amazing and the setting is so laid back. We spent all Saturday gathering seafood from the beach then the rest of the time cooking and eating and napping. It doesn't really get more relaxing than that!

On the way to Shelton, we decided to play the name game to kill time. Our friends John and Erin helped us come up with some pretty creative and funny names with the last name Locke. Here are some of the ones that made the list. And yes, pun intended.

Lady Locke
Head Locke
Wed Locke
Zip Locke
Boom Shaka Locke
Sher Locke
Dred Locke
Goldie Locke
Digital Anna Locke
Grid Locke


Gathering oysters on the beach.

Starting a fire in the middle of the day?!

Fresh Hood Canal oysters!