Photos of Nathaniel from March, April and May 2006. Click on the link below this photo to see more photos. This will take you to another site called flickr.com where you can view a slideshow of the photos. To see the name and date of the photo - click on the individual photo. If you have dial up - Click here if you are on DIAL UP

I am so much happier not being pregnant, honestly the only time in my life I have been happier than this is when Alex proposed. It was instant for the bonding and happiness to set in, as soon as we had our first feed, cuddle and he fell asleep on my stomach and chest I fell in love. I know everyone was concerned that I wouldn’t relate or bond, we were too, but it was just the ‘evil hormones’ of pregnancy that was making me feel so ‘bleh’ the whole time. Now that I am not pregnant, I am back to my usual bubbly self (albeit a lot more tired and with permanent dark circles…. and a few (okay a lot) of extra pounds!!!!)

I can’t believe how many hours I can stare at his face and just be in awe of his features. Everyone says he looks like Alex. I never wanted a child until I met Alex, and then I wanted a little Alex… so I feel like ‘we got what we ordered’ ha ha.

Alex has been the perfect husband and father - changing nappies, telling me to go to sleep when Nathaniel naps and being super supportive. Alex and Nathaniel have had lots of bonding time this weekend and get a bit of time each day before and after work.

Alex registered Nathaniel’s birth yesterday and Nathaniel now has a birth certificate, the next step is registering his birth with the UK consulate and applying for Nathaniel’s British passport. Nathaniel was also circumcised on Tuesday, 17 January, and is healing really well.

We are not on the full schedule/routine yet, but are slowly implementing it over the next few weeks. He is feeding much better now, around every 2 hours in the day and 3-4 at night (depending on the night, the other night it was every hour - ugh!)

We have a midwife visit every Monday, which is both convenient and helpful. On Friday we had our first Dr’s appointments - one with our Pediatrician, Dr Chui and one with Dr Lam our Obstetrician - both Nathaniel and I are doing great, and don’t need to go back until March 10th and 6 Weeks, respectively. We opted for local Chinese doctors and are very impressed with the level of service, expertise and care.

The stitching took about 30 minutes, and then they transferred me to our private room (with a great balcony!).

About an hour after the delivery, they brought Nathaniel to us, and we had our first breast feed. He was great and fed a long time on each breast. He then lay on my stomach and chest and I was instantly in love with him. Even now typing this, 12 days later, it brings tears to my eyes.

There is a great photo , of Alex with Nathaniel at 3 hours old, just after the feed.

Before the birth, we thought we wanted to ‘room in’ with Nathaniel, but the midwife convinced us that it would be better for us to rest and they would bring Nathaniel to us when he needed to be fed, cuddled or anytime we asked.

Matilda Hospital was excellent, we could not have asked for better care or more competent midwifes. We had lots of great advise about breast feeding, Alex learned how to bathe Nathaniel, and they made sure I was as comfortable as possible.

We stayed in the hospital for 3 days, until Friday noon when we went home as a family.

Our first three days at home were incredible. We did not ask our helper, Marietta, for any assistance – we did everything ourselves to get comfortable as a family. It was a very special time.

I wanted an epidural from day one, and am a total wimp - hate pain, hate needles, can’t look at blood or injections. Would have been glad if the baby could have come in an egg shell that we had to keep warm for 9 months

My waters broke (but no contractions) at 9:00 am 10 January 2006. I was sleeping and was having a dream in which Alex fell in water… woke up wet!

I called Alex, then the hospital, and they said to pack a bag and come soon.

Alex had three business partners from the USA here in HK, and on Tuesday he was supposed to have a very important meeting with them… needless to say, he came straight home!

We arrived at Matilda Hospital at mid-day, had an epidural within an hour, then a drip with something called Sentosin (or something like that, we kept calling it Sentosa, like the island off of Singapore) to induce labour.

Once the epidural was in I was very relaxed. As soon as I felt anything I asked Angie for a ‘top up’ - and wooosh! They add more medicine and it takes about 10 minutes to work and it is magic. They even have something I called the ‘super duper top up’ which was really amazing… like my lower body being on Novocain at the dentist.

It is called a ‘walking epidural’ – but walking means with Alex on one side, and the midwife on the other, practically carrying me to the toilet. Even so, it was good to think I was mobile.

The Anesthesiologist was Dr Henry Au, he is wonderful - he even came to check on me a few times. Once I had some strong pains in my lower left groin area, and he had to reset the epidural, once he did that it was all perfect again.

The midwife, Angie, stayed in the room with us the entire time – we were never alone and felt we had excellent care. We watched 3 really bad DVDs and Alex was able to order hotel quality food. Alex compared it to being on a flight. The funny thing was one of the movies had a rap song in the background about LoJack, Alex’s company!

Dr Lam, our Obstetrician, came to visit us at 2:00, and again for the actual delivery at about 6:30. Dr Richard Chui our Pediatrician was also there for the actual delivery and at one point even helped hold my leg!

Around 6 hours after it all started, it was over (or life with our baby had just begun!). My cervix had fully dilated, they gave me one last heavy dose of epidural drugs, then as they wore off, I started to push.

Angie held one leg, and Alex the other – this helped me to push. And it was quite funny at one point because Dr Lam, Angie and Alex were all counting to 10 aloud to encourage me – it was like having a cheering section.

I could feel the contractions and knew when to push (I felt like I needed to poo and I felt my stomach get hard with a contraction). I had 30 minutes of pushing (imagine being constipated and trying to poo a basketball, and that is what pushing feels like). The last 15 being real pushing which hurt, with the last 10 being very painful (with me screaming ‘Get It Out Of Me!!!!), and in the end they needed to use a vacuum delivery - but this was not because of the epidural, it was to do with other factors.

I can’t say what a relief the process was - it was painless until the last 15 minutes, yet I could tell when I was having a contraction and had control over the pushing. It was pretty fascinating to recognise the contractions but not have the pain.

We could not have asked for a better delivery – it was really minimal pain and discomfort.

Alex said the worst part was watching me get the epidural - he was in front of me and holding me so I wouldn’t move. The midwife held my feet. He could see the needle and it made him feel faint - especially because I was really scared and he knew it (I really hate needles!). But it was a worse experience for him than for me.

After the delivery, I asked them if they could leave the epidural in - but alas, they said no

After the delivery I was shaking for a while, and that evening needed Alex to practically carry me to the toilet as my legs were still weak - that was my only side effect and it was gone 6 hours after.

That night, I had too much adrenalin in my body and could not sleep, I was able to get up at about 2am and walk to the nursery on my own. For the first time in ages walking was easy, my hips did not hurt – WOW, I LOVE not being pregnant!

My body is now a vessel for the alien growing inside…
It controls my eating, sleeping, digesting, energy levels, moods, everthing!
Mostly it has made me feel very ‘bleh’, very tired and quite uncomfortable at times.
Oh, and quite unsocial as well - no real desire to socialise.
All of the above is very unlike my ‘normal’ self - which is positive, energetic, optimistic…
Looking forward to the end… well, actually terrified about what is to come as well

Saying all of that, Alex has been wonderful - the perfect partner in this, amazingly patient, calm and reassuring. Most importantly he has given me massages, taken care of me and bought me a heating pad for my back!

Well travelled alien:
Conceived in Sri Lanka, travelled to Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Bali, England, Scotland, USA…
Due to be born in Hong Kong sometime in Mid January 2006.

Delivery plans:
We will be at Matilda hospital on The Peak in Hong Kong and are hoping to have a natural birth with as many drugs as they can legally give me - gas, epidural, and any extras… but it will depend on what Dr Lam says, so who knows until it happens.

4 January 2006
Two Weeks or Less To Go:
Dr Lam last week told us the baby’s head might be too large for my pelvis, luckily this week the ultrasound showed that it hadn’t grown any more and there is a 90% chance it will fit… yeah!

Contractions - ok, so for about a week or two every now and then my stomach gets really hard… I thought it was just another pregnancy annoyance. It lasts about 10-20 minutes then goes away, and only happens sometimes. I asked the doctor what this was, and he said they were pre-labour contractions - who knew??!!

I am just a complete idiot about this pregnancy… in the first trimester my GP thought I had giardia, and it wound up to be my version of morning sicknetss… in the the 4th month I thought I was feeling gas in my intestines, it was the Alien kicking…. and now here are contractions and I don’t even recognise them…

So yes, read the books, bookmarked the websites, went to the prenatal classes, did all of that… but still have no clue!

The good thing is the Doctor said not to worry - when it is real, it will hurt and I will know! Then it is rushing to Matilda where Alex’s job is to repeat ‘Get my wife an epidural NOW!‘

Photos of me Pregnant