Had planned to document this down for a long, long, long time but with all the events unfolding since her arrival, I couldn't even find time to catch 10 winks, what more to structure my thoughts, until now. So here goes.
It all began on a Friday afternoon, a scheduled long wait + checkup routine at the clinic, one that we expected to be last (like finally) as the due date was drawing pretty close. As usual, doctor was casually 'marking' his lines and shapes to get measurements on the screen, updating us along the way when he suddenly stopped.
'Her weight is bordering 3.5', he said.
Took a few seconds before I recalled, he did highlight that for natural birth, baby's weight should not exceed 3.5 kg.
He proceeded with more checking before performing a 'widening' procedures (with his fingers), then advised to have the wife admitted now so he can induce labor early next morning. I could sense bits of urgency in his voice as he continued to inquire if we needed to head home to pack and I told him that both mummy and baby bags were already prepped, sitting in our car. He gave a little smile and muttered, 'Well, you're all set then'.
Still stunned, both the wife and myself sat for moment just looking at each other - events were unfolding too fast all of a sudden.
'Let's follow the doctor's advice and have you admitted', I broke the silence. The nurse sprang into action, starting the admission paperwork as we exited the clinic back to the waiting area.
You know how in movies, there were scenes where the characters' surroundings were zooming past while they stood still? We were deeply entranced in that moment until the nurse broke into our 'reeling', passed us the paperwork and told us to proceed to the maternity ward for admission. Then my 'just follow order, do as you're told' mode kicked in.
As we settled for a twin sharing room since no singles were unavailable, two thoughts crossed my mind. The first, I might have to sleep in the car that night since visitors were not allowed for shared rooms and the second, must be some good dates with that many deliveries happening, I should get into hospital business.
With all the paperwork done and the wife comfortably settled in her room, most of the evening & night were spent encouraging and consoling each another - other than one small SIL incident which had me rushing around like a mad driver for a while, until the nurse entered to shoo me away at 10 pm. As we bid farewell, the wife advised me to head home and get rest as it will be a long day tomorrow, and I practically repeated the same thing to her.
I doubt either of us managed to catch any sleep considering the anxiety as well as the hive of activities in her room, nurses entering to perform monitoring and reeling in baby for feeding as her 'neighbor' had just delivered.
'Gave me a ring once they start inducing', I said.
In the long drive home and on my bed, a thousand and one 'what if' scenarios ran through my mind the whole night. But not one, not even a tiny fraction, of them prepared me for what I was about to face the next morning.
As we settled for a twin sharing room since no singles were unavailable, two thoughts crossed my mind. The first, I might have to sleep in the car that night since visitors were not allowed for shared rooms and the second, must be some good dates with that many deliveries happening, I should get into hospital business.
With all the paperwork done and the wife comfortably settled in her room, most of the evening & night were spent encouraging and consoling each another - other than one small SIL incident which had me rushing around like a mad driver for a while, until the nurse entered to shoo me away at 10 pm. As we bid farewell, the wife advised me to head home and get rest as it will be a long day tomorrow, and I practically repeated the same thing to her.
I doubt either of us managed to catch any sleep considering the anxiety as well as the hive of activities in her room, nurses entering to perform monitoring and reeling in baby for feeding as her 'neighbor' had just delivered.
'Gave me a ring once they start inducing', I said.
In the long drive home and on my bed, a thousand and one 'what if' scenarios ran through my mind the whole night. But not one, not even a tiny fraction, of them prepared me for what I was about to face the next morning.
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