Little Feet 11
Entry posted by Admin_2 ·
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Errr...where to start?
I'm really tired but I wanted to get some memories out before they lose their clarity. On Wednesday night, June 23rd, Jeab couldn't sleep because of stomach pains. She toughed it out until about 1 pm the next day when she called our doctor. She was having contractions every 20 minutes or so. They were irregular/inconsistent in terms of pain level, consistency, and duration, so in the back of mind I would have bet on those being fake signs of labor. Her water had not broke yet either.
Nonetheless, the doctor told us to get to the hospital within a couple of hours, so we got there around 3 pm and began a few tests. That's when the doctor said the baby would be coming out within the next day or two...Woah.
Jeab's contractions were getting more and more consistent. When they were coming once every 10-12 minutes, I got a phonecall from my Mom who is currently visiting my brother in France. "Perfect timing...we're probably having the baby within 24 hours!" I said. Little did I know that about 4 hours later, Jeab was going to give birth to Arisa at 10:07 PM. She and my brother were ecstatic. My mom's voice when she is extremely happy shines through the phone as if she is right there next to you.
Soon after I called my father. To give a bit of background, my father has been delivering babies for close to 40 years. He is currently chairman at Mount Auburn Hospital where HM King Bhumipol was born. Just hearing about obstetrics and gynecology from him and his colleagues over the years has put me at ease throughout Jeab's pregnancy. Talking to him about our then-current situation helped a lot. He's very matter of fact about things like this in a good way. My guess is that most pregnancies and births have some sort of complication along the way, but telling a first timer parent that anything is less than 200% perfect is akin to ripping their heart out.
Arisa was getting a low heart rate everytime Jeab had a contraction. Our doctor was wonderful about explaining everything, but if it wasn't for my Dad saying "eh, that happens...I'm looking forward to the pictures" I would have had a heart attack.
Our doctor was saying that it gets "a bit dangerous" when her heart rate got below 120 beats per minute. That happened three times that I saw, and it was as good as a flat line to me. Once the 4th time occurred, our doctor jumped up and called for an immediate C-section. They rolled Jeab out into the operating room, and left poor Daddy To Be in the room. France was down 1-0 in the World Cup, but that wasn't why my palms were sweating. I can remember a nurse coming in and changing the sheets telling me how good my Thai was...I didn't want her there. No offense, but the biggest moment of my life was coming up, and I wasn't prepared. I was shaking...watching the clock. I called Jeab's Mom who was on the train coming into Bangkok, and I had to break the news that she was going to miss the birth by an hour. I think she took it well, though that whole period is very blurry.
Those 40 minutes of surgery took what seemed about 40 days and 40 nights, and then our moment came. Another nurse with a warm smile told me that I could come and see my daughter. I was exploding with excitement. Some of us spend months or even years waiting for this moment that was just seconds away...right around the corner.
There were three nurses standing by this clear box, and inside was Arisa Jasmine Kawada. My first thought was "She's so beautiful." They opened a little hole where I reached in and touched her Little Foot. Looking back now, it's fitting that that was the first place I touched her since her Little Feet have been on my mind so often. After a couple of minutes, we walked over to the nursery. The whole time was just pure love and excitement. People talk about that first moment you see your baby, but that moment wasn't as powerful for me as was when they wheeled her away into the nursery. I was alone in awe for about a minute, and that's when my eyes began to fill with tears.
"Oh my God. I LOVE her." It's that powerful feeling that only parents know about. A love beyond any love you've ever experienced. Everything was different.
The few days that we spent in the hospital were not what I expected. Nonthavej is a top of the line private hospital with great doctors and more assistance than you'll ever need. However, they keep the newborns in a quarantined nursery for the first three days. We could only spend time with Arisa during feeding and bathing times...that sucked, but we got to see her through a glass window whenever we wanted. They were just worried about germs and bacteria the first few days.
My last memory that I wanted to get out was the ride back home this afternoon. I drove an average of 5 miles per hour the whole way. I turned and told Jeab that I felt like I had a highly unstable nuclear bomb in the car, and if I went over a speed bump too fast, the whole world would explode. She laughed and then gave a painful post-surgery grimace.
Jeab and Arisa are both healthy. That's the important thing at the moment. My life has completely changed. We're fumbling through the first days of being parents. It's stressful at times, but the reward is infinite.
And the first dinner I cooked when we got back...steak, salad, and mashed potaters...
Pics of Mommy with Arisa will come shortly...Jeab is a bit camera shy al momento.
Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Adding in some pics from this morning, June 28th.
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