In the wee hours of August 21st, 2017, you, little Olivia, came into our world.
It had been a long 38 weeks since we have learned of your existence, and so much have change between then and now.
Have they ever…
August 31st, 2017 was your due date. Your mother and I have been planning for your arrival for weeks and months now. In fact, we had just finished putting the finishing touches on your new nursery a week before you were born, and there were just a handful of things we needed to do the weekend before your due date before we could take a breather and calmly await for your arrival. But as your mother and I have learned throughout this entire process, things are never fully in your control; only God knows the perfect timing and we can only trust to let Him take reign.
You had always been measuring a bit small during the pregnancy, but your mother and I never worried. We know you are our inheritance given to us by God, and we had full faith that you will be the most beautiful baby when you arrive from your mother’s womb. Nevertheless, as ordered by our doctor, your mother had to go through couple of extra measurements ultrasounds for precautionary reasons to make sure you were growing properly. And just as we went into the clinic on August 19th to review your latest report with Dr.Lee, she had plenty of concerns about you not displaying much growth between week 34 and week 38, hence sending us directly to the Hospital for further checkup. As we gathered ourselves and prepare to step out of the clinic, she had mentioned depending on what the maternity doctors think, we may have to make you come out a little early.
We took it with a bit of a shock, I remember thinking to myself, what is happening? Should we be worried? Is everything going to be okay? But after a brief moments of drawing blank and digesting the fact of what may be happening, my Spirit drew me back and kept me calm and composed. I told your mother that we should head home and prepare our stuff before we were admitted at the hospital, and I also knew I had to stay calm so that I could be counted on by your mother as she was in even more of a confused state as she failed to get a grasp of what to think nor what to expect.
As we checked in at the birth centre, Dr. Monaham strongly recommended to give birth to you right away rather than later given all the facts by your latest exam, and from there your mother and I stayed a total of two nights where we went through a series of examinations before the Doctors were satisfied by how strong you had appeared inside your mother’s womb, and ultimately gave us the green light that your mother could give birth to you in the most natural form of induced labour.
I remember when the nurse first hooked you up to the Fetal Monitoring machine and enabled your mother and I to listen to your heart beat; I remember the anxiety as the nurses conducted examinations to give your mother increasingly stronger contractions, and how strongly you reacted to prove that you are indeed a healthy baby; I remember the waiting and the routine check-ups by the nurses to make sure you and your mother were as comfortable as possible; I remember the love and support that we had received by our friends constantly messages us and checking in on us as everyone were praying for your safe arrival; I remember your grand parents all gathered beside your mother, sending us the greatest gift of love. We felt blessed.
We’ve had a lot of time to chat with the nurses at the birth centre, and they have all prepared us into believing that there would be a lot of waiting as in days instead of hours, given the fact that you are the first born for your mother and I. However, God had other plans.
It was only 24 hours into induced labour, your mother and I were waiting around to receive another dose of medicine which means another 12 hours of waiting between checkups. The clock hits 11pm, your mother and I were just getting ready to get in another night of sleep in anticipation of your arrival when suddenly the contractions begin to show. As each passing time, the contractions got more and more intense for your mother. We knew, it was time.
The clock struck midnight, and then 1am. I remember feeling anxious as the pain grew more severe with each passing contraction described by your mother; not knowing what to expect except that the frequencies of the contractions have became so close together it feel like it was almost time. Unsure if your mother’s body was ready to deliver, the thoughts of C-section begin to creep in because it was mentioned to us as a possibility should the body could not adjust itself in-time to give birth. Then at 1:30AM, the water broke, and the nurse came to examine your mother and told us she was almost halfway ready to give birth. Emotions rushed through my mind so fast I don’t even think there was a chance to process it all before it was gone. Excitement, nervousness, happiness, and fear. The world seemed like a whirl wind as I tried to keep your mother calm, monitoring her conditions, as well as keeping my own anxieties in check. 2:30AM, and there came an other contraction. But this one felt different. Your mother felt that something was moving its way down and being pushed out. The nurse confirmed that your mother is all ready to go into labour.
The grand parents came, prayers were made, encourages were said, and we each held on to your mother giving her every bit of support that we could offer her. With each contraction she pushed and pushed and gave you everything she’s got. At one time, she cried out that she doesn’t think she have enough strength to push you out, and that she was afraid that she would hurt you in the process. But on the contrary, your mother was especially strong woman. Progress were made with each contraction, and we could see you more and more with each and every push. She was tough.
3:13AM, with one last push, you came into our world. There will be many moments in life where words could not describe the emotions in your heart. This was one of them. Honestly, even if words could describe, it would not do justice to how special that moment was when the doctor wrapped you in a blanket and thrust you upon the chest of your mother. There you were, Olivia, tiny little you, crying, and overwhelmed by everything that’s new around you.
There were smiles and laughter from the new grannies, tears of joy and relief from your mother, doctors and nurses attending to you as well as your mother; overwhelmed by everything that was happening in the confines of the deliver room, all I could remember now was how proud I am of you and your mother. She had shown me incredible strength that I had not witnessed before, but I truly believe is there, existing within every women created by God. A sense of new found and utmost respects for every single mothers out there was brewing within me.
The pediatrician quickly gave you a full check-up, and gave us a big thumbs up indicating that you were as healthy as any baby given all that you have been through. The nurse was talking to me about what the were checking for but I could not take my eyes off you, seeing you wiggle your tiny hands and feet, crying your way into our hearts.
There you are, dear Olivia, all 2.6kg of you at birth. Your mother and I look forward to teach you all that we can teach you, and accompany you grow into the woman that God have destined for you. Welcome to In
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Camera used: Canon 5D MkIII
Lens used: Sigma 24mm f/1.4 AR
Edited in Adobe Lightroom and custom RNI filters
Images taken August 21st, 2017
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