THE BIG MOMENT

I came home from work around 3:30 am on Sunday, May 2, 2015 and was munching on my late night $5.00 Churches chicken combo. I then received a message from Monica around 4:00 am telling me that she thinks her mucs plug came out. I quickly ran upstairs to check up on her and she was told me she was getting contractions. First thing that went through my head was "I need my sleep asap". I knew that although she was getting contractions, it didn't mean Avery was going to pop out right away as it would usually take awhile. However, I told her to wake me up if the contractions became closer or she needed assistant. I was able to take a few hours of sleep and woke up around 9:00 am.

9:00 am

Woke up to check up on Monica and asked her how she was doing. She told me that she didn`t sleep well as she was waking up to go the bathroom constantly. I pulled out the Go-Pro (http://gopro.com/) to document the journey.  I double checked the luggage and snacks then went to grab some Vietnamese subs for breakfast. 

12:00 pm

Contractions were becoming more frequent and we decided to call our doula Rylie to come over to help us as well as bring over the TENS Unit (kinda like the Dr.Ho gadget where it sends little shockwaves to ease pain). It has been designed specifically for use in labour. It is an excellent, drug-free method of pain relief that is widely accepted by Obstetricians, Doctors, Midwives & hospitals. It really works as I saw Monica feel a bit better once she got to use this  Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation unit.

Our doula was very helpful as she showed me some massage techniques to ease the pain for Monica. Look at the doula as your assistant to help your partner when you are tires(Well, Monica said she would rather have her there than me as she did most of the legwork). We told our doula to go home to rest up as Monica's contractions was still tolerable and we would call her back once the contractions were more frequent. 

02:00 pm 

We continued the massages on her lower back and frequently checked up on Monica. There wasn`t much I could do aside from being supportive and acknowledging her. She walked up and down the stairs, took a bath, and continued to moan throughout the contractions. We put on some classical / spa music on the television to create a more soothing environment. It provided a more calmer atmosphere in the house.

06:00 pm

We called our doula Rylie back around 6pm as Monica's contractions were getting more frequent. Our doula continued to help massage Monica with different techniques and was very informative on what to expect in the next few hours. There wasn't much I could do aside step in at times to take over the massaging. I felt helpless, however, I did my best to do whatever was asked (eg. get water, update family members, etc). 


08:00 pm

We decided to call our midwife Li as our doula suggested that it was probably a good time based on the pattern of the contractions. I have noticed that Monica's moans were becoming more frequent and louder. Our midwife arrived and checked her cervix. Our midwife told us that we could go to the hospital now if we wanted to. We decided to stay a bit longer at home since it was more comfortable.

10:30 pm

It was time to head to the hospital (BC Women's Hospital) as Monica's contractions were becoming more frequent. I checked my luggage and bags one lasttime. We arrived to the labour admittance in 20 minutes or so. It felt like a long drive as I had to drive really slow. I didn't want to go over any bumps or speed on any turns as it was already very uncomfortable for Monica but unfortunately we had taken a route which had alot of speed bumps. The midwife did one final checkup in the hospital for our baby's heart rate to make sure he was stable for water birth. It was like another 15 minutes where Monica was strapped with wires. I felt helpless as I could only observe. However, I continued to cheer her on and reminded her that she was amazing at handling the pain. 


11:30 pm

We checked into the birth pool room in the hospital. I've heard many stories where the fathers were sleeping on the floor or different rooms while waiting for their partner to give birth. All I have to say is the birth pool room looked like a luxury labour room and I even found a bench where I knew was going be my bed (Sweet!). I highly recommend everyone to "plan a water birth" in VGH if possible. Although, you plan a water birth with your child, it doesn't mean you have to choose to give  birth in the watewhen the moment arrives. Our midwife gave us the option to choose the bed or birth pool when it came to "THE MOMENT". It was a tiring labour for Monica as she chose to do everything natural and drug free. She was pushing from the birth pool, bed to the toilet. Rotating between all spots and all I could do at that point was cheer her on. I held her hand at every possible moment and I remember telling her how much I love her. As a father, you could only be supportive at that point. 

The labour took so long that I started to nod off on the bench at one point until the nurse was telling me that she could see our son's head popping out. At this point, our midwife had to sneak out to deal with another water birth labour next door. And my son was going be coming out in the toilet! It wasn't funny at the moment. However, thinking about it now - It would've been epic. HEADLINES - Indeed water birth but in toilet water *lol* 

The nurse quickly told Monica to move back to the bed as she was not trained to receive a baby from the toilet nor in the tub. Lucky our midwife Li came back in time as Monica was down to the final stretch. I could literally see the hair on my son's head. My heart was racing at the moment. Our midwife gave us an option to continue our birth plan to do it in the birth pool or on the bed. Monica and I both decided to go to the pool as it would minimize the tearing and it would be less stressful for our newborn coming out.


09:00 am

Our son Avery Liam Ho was born on Sunday, May 3, 2015 in the bright morning. I actually got the entire birthing event on my Go-Pro. He came out healthy weighing approximately 7 lbs 11 ounces. Words couldn't describe the feeling. I couldn't stop telling Monica how I am proud of her and how amazing she is. Even today, I keep telling her that I'm truly blessed to have her be the mother of my child.