Hey Adam Kim!
On the night of Thursday, September 16, 2021, we were still in the midst of the COVID pandemic. We were supposed to go to my parent’s house to celebrate Auntie Tiff’s birthday, but because of the increasing risk of COVID, it was canceled. Instead, we had a video call with our family and sung happy birthday. Then, I decided to go rest. It was another work night so it was time to sleep.
However, I couldn’t sleep as I started having pain. It started lightly at first, nothing too bad or serious. But, it didn’t subside. I kept having this strange pressure pain. I tried to just breathe through it. I wasn’t sure if I was having Braxton Hicks. The pain would go away and then come back again with the same intensity.
“These can’t be contractions,” I thought. There was no discharge of a mucus plug. There was no blood. There was no breaking of my water. But, the pain continued.
I had a doctor’s appointment in the morning the next day. I thought I would just ask the OB-GYN about it tomorrow. Everything would be okay. Somehow, I was able to make it through the night and actually fell asleep.
When I woke up the next day on Friday, September 17, 2021, I received a phone call from Kaiser. They called to tell me that my doctor had to cancel our appointment. I was a bit horrified because the pain was still there. I told the nurse about it and they told me to go to Labor & Delivery, so off we went. During the car ride, the pain increased over every bump on the road.
Your Appa and I arrived at Labor & Delivery around 9 am. They checked us in and led us to a room. I wasn’t expecting for you to arrive. I had 9 more days. I was supposed to take a week off before your due date. But, that didn’t happen. The nurse came in and checked my cervix. I was 5-6 cm dilated already. I had no idea. There was no blood, mucus plug, or water breakage. They hooked me up the machines, to the IV (which hurt a lot, so I don’t know how people just rip out the IVs in movies/TV shows), and monitored the contractions. They were painful, not to be a broken record. They kept asking if I wanted an epidural but I thought it would be too early.
Eventually, they moved us to a private room. Every contraction was painful. Finally, I decided to get the epidural. I was scared because I had read scary things about getting an epidural. However, it really relieved all the pain I had. The only thing was that I couldn’t move from the bed. It was now the waiting game.
I was getting cold, hungry, and thristy. But, they said I couldn’t eat anything, only have juice. I was shivering. They tried to give me blankets. Apparently, I ended up with a fever. While the epidural was working, I still felt an immense pressure where it just felt like I had go #2 (TMI, I know). Your Appa was with me the entire time, trying to comfort me.
It was then 10:30 pm. They said I was ready to push. I was finally dilated enough. They instructed me on how to push. I pushed as hard as I could, as fast as I could, and as much as I could.
At 11:11 pm, you were arrived. You cried immediately. Your Appa counted your fingers and toes (something my family told him to do). They took you to a close-by bassinet to measure you, make sure you’re okay, and Appa cut your umbilical cord. They brought you to me, putting you on my chest to initiate our first contact. You were so small, so soft, and warm. I immediately fell in love with you. Then, you pooped all over me.
We weren’t discharged and had to stay overnight. They ran tests on you. They gave me antibiotics for my fever. We stayed until Sunday morning when everything was finally done. We left the hospital and showed you off to your paternal grandparents. A few days later, you met your maternal grandparents. I’m thankful that my recovery wasn’t too bad and the next day I was back to normal.
You were in our world, Adam. You became our world.
Love,
Umma
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