Videos...

Day 15

Ryan playing downstairs

Ryan has been hanging out upstairs most of the time, since the room is warmer..:)

Day 16 - We took him downstairs to play..

Day 15 - Daddy reading to Ryan

From Ryan to mummy.... I love you too Ryan!

Day 11 - Ryan Kwan

Baby Faces.....

Here are some cute shots of Ryan...

My labor story................

For those who are interested, the following blog is about my labor with baby Ryan.. I probably will go into detail, so if you think it is too much, you can stop reading now..:)

My first signs of baby coming was the mucus plug. It came out on Friday night/Saturday morning while I was using the bathroom. This was followed by small cramps like the period cramps. I did not think much about it since I read that the mucus plug doesn't tell when the baby will be out.

We headed over to Simon and Lu Fun's house for their kids bday party and I continued to have small cramps. It did not impact me. As the evening came around, the cramps started getting worst, but nothing unbearable. Around 7pm, I decided to time the cramps to see how often they arrived and noticed it was happening every 10 minutes.

We left Simon's house around 8pm after eating a lot of food and headed to Circuit City to buy a hard drive for Soon Jin. We got home around 9pm, and I decided to time the contractions again (I guess the cramps were the contractions). This time, it was 5 minutes apart lasting for 30 seconds. Gordon and I looked frantically for the information sheet that says when to call the hospital and it did say to call if the contractions are 5 minutes apart. So, I called the Walnut Creek Kaiser number and told the nurse that I was going to come in. After taking all my info and me telling her I am coming in, I got a call from the nurse at the Kaiser facility. She said I should stay home for another hour and make sure the contractions were still coming in. I told her that we are 40 minutes away and we prefer not to wait an hour. She persisted in asking me to stay home, but we headed over anyways (good thing we did!)

In the car, I tried to stay quiet since my sis and mom were in the car as well, and I did not want to frighten Gordon, who may start driving to fast.... so here was I having contractions 5 minutes apart and trying to be quiet..:)

We arrived at the hospital and the pain was getting unbearable. We checked into the triage nurse area and they asked me to undress and wear a gown. The gown was such a pain! If a person is having contractions, how can they figure out how to wear a hospital gown with so many buttons? Anyways, in the room, the pain was so great, that I puked. Poor Gordon, he felt sick when he saw me puking that he had to leave the room for a while.

The nurse informed me that I was 7 cm dilated and I told her that I only had contractions for 2 hours and I want the epidural now! So, they wheeled me over to a room and started the IV work. I was in great pain and kept asking for the epidural which came like an hour after I got to the hospital. I think I got the epidural around 10.50pm and I was at the hospital around 9.50pm. I could have killed them! I think the worst part is knowing that the pain is going to arrive every 3 minutes and not seeing the anaesthesiologist around.

After I got the epidural, everything felt so much better. I puked one more time (yeah, all the food I ate the Simon's house came out!) and felt better. We waited an hour, and was told I had dilated to 10cm and could begin pushing. So, the pushing started. I could see the graph that shows when the contractions are coming and I pushed. We pushed for 2.5 hours. It actually did not feel that long, but the clock showed it. Then the mid-wife (Jennifer) said she did not see any progress in baby's head moving down. She said she would call the doctor and let him decide what to do.

Dr. Nan came in and he said that he would try and vacuum the baby out two times and if it fails, he would do a c. He was worried that the baby's head would come out, but not the shoulder. So, the prep work began for a c-section, in case all else fails, the doctor can immediately do a c-section. Gordon had to change into his scrubs and he decided he did not want to watch the c and just sit next to me..:)

So, I pushed one more time, the doctor saw no progress and said, we are doing a c and the work began. The great thing was, there was no pain! Just a whole bunch of waiting. They definitely gave me a lot of epidural...cos after the surgery, I could not even talk right and was slurring.....

Ryan arrived at 4.16am and shocked the doctor as he wasn't expecting a huge baby (9 pounds 8.2oz). There was no way baby was going to come out by me pushing...

All in all, it was a good experience. I will probably schedule a c for my next baby.....:)

Day 5 - First whole day with Ryan

We survived day 5 with Ryan being at home for the first time.

We had to start the day early as we had to be at the hospital lab at 8.00am. By 7.30am, we were out of the door and met out appt time.

After the doctor's visit, we came home and put Ryan in the sunlight for a couple of minutes. We survived the rest of the day with Ryan sleeping and eating mostly..:) Gordon's parents were here as well, and made me lots of food!

My milk supply is also finally in, so I am now trying to take him off the formula (I had to give
Ryan formula as he needed to pee and poo more due to his jaundice).

Videos of Ryan

Day 5 - At Home.




Day 4 - At the hospital

Leaving the hospital

Our hospital stay was extended as Ryan had jaundice and needed to be treated under the light.

For those who have been calling and leaving well-wishes messages on my phone, sorry for not calling back yet! We have been busy busy but thank you for all the calls. We will call back as soon as we can!

Day 4 - We were finally able to leave the hospital on 1/16/2008 around 8pm but have to go to Pleasanton clinic on 1/17 morning to take a blood test and see the pediatrician.

Here are some pics of us leaving the hospital.

Family Pictures

Welcome Ryan Wing-Leung Kwan

Gordon Kwan and Lynda Ng

welcomes

Ryan Wing-Leung Kwan

born January 13, 2007 at 4.16am

9 pounds 8 ounces

22 inches.

Parents and baby are doing well...:)

Happy New Year - Welcome 2008!

oh yeah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...:) I am officially on maternity leave. Started on Jan 2, 2008, and time seems to be passing so fast! Having family around has been great.... keeping me busy with walking around the malls, eating out and just chilling.

Christmas was fun this year as my mom, sis and brother in law were in town. We actually opened presents together on Christmas morning...:)... something we have not done for a long long time now...

New Year's eve was spent at Rick and Helen's house. We ordered chinese for dinner and everyone brought a little something (mostly dessert). Rick and Helen also provided the finger foods and more desserts. It felt more like a dessert party!

Here is a pic of my sis with Kaylyn and the desserts..:D

Since there were many kids and they all had bedtime schedules, our countdown was done at 9pm, together with the New York people. So, we turned on the TV, watched the ball drop and did a countdown together..:) By 11pm, we were the last guest out of Helen's house... yeah, no one stayed for the midnight countdown...;) We did head over to Lake Chabot hills and watch the SF fireworks from a far far distance at midnight..... welcome 2008...:D

The funnies about pregnancy - a week before the due date..

No signs of Baby Kwan....... due date is still Jan 13..:)

Here are a few things I noticed within this week.

1. Restaurants with fixed chairs and tables are a no-no for pregnant people
- We went to Little Mongolian Sheep restaurant for dinner and they put us in a booth. As I slided in.... I noticed that my tummy and the table were touching! and I could not suck in the tummy......Gordon had to go over to the waitress and ask for another table that allows one to adjust the chair so that I could sit and still breathe......

2. Regular public restrooms are tough to use
- I realized how little space there is in a public restroom. When I close the door, it always touches the tip of my tummy.... I guess I should start using the handicap restrooms....

3. Even my kitchen is too small..
- I was doing dishes the other day, and my mom was still eating at the table. With her sitting at the table and me standing at the sink, my sister could not get over to the other side of the kitchen...... mmmmm, i think I should stop doing dishes...:D

Overall, I have to say, I still like being pregnant..... I know I get stares from people about how huge my tummy is (or maybe I am just paranoid).......only a few more days..... and a baby is coming out!