I have been trawling the net for unplanned, unassisted birth stories (I'll tell you why in a moment). And I have been struck by the amount of stories and videos I have found. They are awesome. The ladies are very brave to put up their birthing videos on the net! I learnt a lot from just watching but yikes! I certainly wouldn't want to post me birthing my babies for the whole world to see. Kudos to these moms!

BUT

Why, oh why are they all the stories tinged with new age elements? Stuff like hypnobirthing, calling the placenta "mother placenta" (?!), and even orgasmic birthing?!?!?!?! Oh me, oh my!

I find it so sad that a strictly Christian perspective is so lacking. The only one I have found is Christian UC but even then..............

In the stories I have read, the ladies have experienced birth the way our God has intended but instead of giving glory to Him, they are acknowledging another god, another force. It shouldn't be this way. It is God who created our bodies to bear and to birth and to nurse the babies He has blessed us with. If we work with His design and not in fear, we should all be able to experience a natural, if not a supernatural and painfree birth.

But sadly most women, even Christian women, do not experience birth that way. Instead labour and birth are viewed with dread and terror, something to be gotten over and done with so that we can get to hold the baby.

It need not be that way. Really. Do read my birth stories and I pray you'll be blessed by them. I cannot go through this detailed teaching in a single posting (that's why we hold Experiencing God In Pregnancy talks) but there are 2 main things :

a) In the spiritual, believe that you have been redeemed from the curse and 

b) In the practical, read and prepare yourself to know what and how natural labour and delivery should be. A good book to start you off is Supernatural Childbirth.

Why search for unplanned, unassisted birth stories?

And if you are wondering WHY I am looking for unplanned, unassisted birth stories...well, if you read my last Birth Story, you'd know that the baby came real fast once labour was established. I just want to be prepared should we be unable to make it in time for the hospital thsi time round. I know 2 ladies who had their babies at home due to the speed at which the babies decided to make their appearances. I do not have a doula so I need to be prepared myself. And also to prepare dh should he be required to catch the baby .

My sil (dh's sister) who had planned a homebirth for her 3rd baby (in the UK) had to summon her dh to catch the baby coz the baby just decided to come out real fast. The midwives came only about 10 minutes after everything was completed. So, one never knows. And I'd rather be prepared than to be an ostrich and say it'd never happen to me.

And no, I would not want to check myself into the hospital early at all! It is just not comfortable. Period. I like labouring at home with absolutely no pressure and I prefer being away from the other children as little as possible.

How about just have a homebirth? Well, my dr is not for it. I asked him twice before  And I am not about to fight him about it. So my grand plan is to have the baby at the hospital but to be prepared just in case. Although it would really be nice to have the baby in the calmness of our home, Hmm............

Pray with me "not my will but His be done"!

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Although I have been feeling extremely big and heavy at only week 29 (Can't or is it don't?! want to imagine how I'll feel at 40 weeks!) I've been hit by the nesting instinct - much to the chagrin of my dh again!

After our return from Malacca (with Christalite Methodist Church), I have been doing load after load of laundry.  And today, I started decluttering the balcony AGAIN! I've already did one round back in June but then we acquired a freezer recently. And we've decided to put it in the already cramped balcony. So something has to go.

So I have had to be even more brutal in cutting down the amount of toys and other stuff that been stored in the balcony/playroom. I don't usually have a problem throwing away or giving away or selling away stuff. But when it is already pared down to the minimum and I still have no space...ahh!!! it is HARD!

But it's been done!  And I am pleased with the results.

Tomorrow, I attack the kids' rooms! My goal is to clear out as much clutter as possible off the top of the bookshelves and cupboards so that dusting will be much easier for the kids to do. And as I assign them that job (with close supervision coz I have one pack rat in our midst!) I'll be clearing out my own wardrobe.

After that? Not much else since we are really down to the minimum. But I'll be looking at re-organising our living spaces. Sometimes shifting a piece or two of furniture here and there can help "open  up" the space and allow maximum usage of the limited space we have. This is one major reason why we don't have built in cupboards or even wall shelves.

BTW I am also making use of ny nesting instinct to keep me occupied and not think of the fact that I have another 11 more weeks of feeling big and heavy to go! I sure wish it is March 2009 already! The increasing BH contractions I have is making me uncomfortable even though I know it is a GOOD thing! At least my muscles are working hard to tone itself in preparation for the birth.

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Ahh!!! 28 weeks and counting and we still haven't decided on any name for the baby!

I often marvel at those who can resist the temptation to find out if they are carrying a boy or girl and are able to come up with 2 sets of names (English and Chinese, mind you!) while they await the birth of their baby. Coming up with one set of English (and Christian) and Chinese name is stressful eough, I say!

The other children aren't helping much since they keep asking us what the baby's name is every night when we say our bedtime prayers!

But! I finally have a name in mind now. So now we wait upon the Lord to confirm it with dh - or not! And then begins another round of searching and praying for her Chinese name.

Oh - and don't ask us what her name is, ok? Coz we don't tell till the baby is born .

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In the last 3 pregnancies, I would develop a craving for milk in my 2nd trimester.

This is really weird for me coz I am generally lactose intolerant and develope very congested sinuses whenever I drink milk on a normal day. The congestion in my nose gets even worse in my 1st trimester so I would avoid milk at all cost or I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

But come the 2nd trimester, I would chug milk by the litres and I'd get NO congestion (now I hope I don't jinx myself for writing this down!) and not only that, I would crave it the whole day!

Then when I hit the 3rd trimester, I would have to get off milk again. Strange huh? My body must need milk and all its fats in the 2nd trimester.

This pregnancy is no different. I am sitting here blogging about  it while a huge cup of ice cold milk is staring at me.

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And don't forget to check out the Clearance sale I am having over at The Book Store! And the magazine giveaways!

Yes. Finally, I now look pregnant, not fat!

You know how in the beginning no one is sure if you are pregnant or if you just hadn't lost the baby fat from the last baby? Well, now no one needs to wonder anymore! Lol!

And I can just start fitting into my maternity dresses without looking as tho I am wearing a tent for a dress! But since this is not my 1st or 2nd pregnancy, I am much bigger than other ladies who are due around the same time or even earlier than me!

Yesterday dh and I gave our Experiencing God in Pregnancy Talk at Wesley Methodist Church. So I had a chance to "compare" the size of my belly with the other ladies. Oh man! I win, hands down! Haha! And here I was thinking that I wasn't as large compared to my last pregnancy. How our memories plays tricks on us, eh?

Oh! Separately, I bought myself a Maternity Support Belt. A friend, Sam, was googling around and found a blog of a woman who used this great contraption called Loving Comfort Maternity Support available at Amazon. But I bought mine off eBay. You can find out more HERE.

I love it! It is really easy to put on and best of all, it is comfortable! I can really feel it supporting my back and holding my loose abdominal muscles up. And...it can be used post partum as well! That would certainly help to hold everything together! So if this holds out, it would be really value for money. And if it didn't, I would just order another one!

And if you are wondering about the gender of the baby, it's a GIRL!!!  So now we are on a hunt for a name!

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Since I discovered red raspberry tea leaves with my 4th pregnancy, I have always drunk it diligently with the subsequent pregnancies. It has most certainly helped ME.

I wrote about it here http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MamaLim/340693/ and I have bought my stash of RRL Tea from Moms In Mind (an online store) as well as from Brown Rice Paradise and SuperNature - the latter two are organic health food stores.

However, I must say that you need to do your own research to determine if you would like to take it. Some with sensitive uterus may want to avoid it.

This time round, I started drinking just one cup of tea in the 1st trimester as I wanted to drink something other than water  But that caused a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions (BH) which made me rather uncomfortable. So I had to stop drinking it. But I know some ladies who did not have any such reactions and they drank it from the start to the end of their pregnancies. So do your OWN research. I am just sharing what worked for me, a grand mulitpara 

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At last! I hit Week 16!

Sometime last week I started to feel much better. Nausea was not all day but the exhaustion was still there. When I finally hit Week 16, I felt even better. But I suddenly required 2 naps a day!

Well, I still feel nauseous on and off. But I know what the triggers are for this period - exhaustion (going to the dr for the check up made me exhausted! ) and eating too much wheat-based products.

So if I can remember to continue to not over exert myself and not over indulge in pasta and noodles, I should be fine - I hope!

Separately, do you feel the heat of the past week?! It is so hot I broke out in a heat rash all over my neck! So much for Being Frugal! The air con is going to get a real work out if this hot season continues!

And I was thinking - if I feel hot now, I don't dare to imagine how I'll feel in my 3rd trimester!

Oh and no, I didn't do a scan this week so we have to wait till the next appointment to find out the gender of the baby. Unlike some moms who have the patience to wait til the birth to find out the gender of the baby, I want to know now! Lol!

It helps us in the naming of the baby. I don't believe in having a checklist of names to be just picked off when the baby comes. And just saving the other names not picked for whoever comes along next.

What we do is pray and seek the Lord for the baby's name once we know the gender of the baby. This takes an awful long time since dh and I have to agree on the name. Especially when the baby is a girl. We are running out of Old Testament girl names that we like!  Then comes the torturous part of choosing a Chinese name.

Why torturous? Coz we are so, so, bad in Chinese! And you know how Chinese names must not only mean well, they must sound right. And some characters just don't go with others.

Anyway, do stick around if you want to know if the children's prayers are answered!

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For moms of many, it is a common fact of life that we start showing much earlier with subsequent pregnancies than we did with our first few. Well, unless one was really hardworking to make sure our abdominal muscles are really tightened up and strong after each childbirth. Yes, yes, I know. We wish eh?

And so we end up wearing our maternity clothes much earlier compared to a first-time mom. I seemed to have really grown - sideways unfortunately - really fast this time round, despite the nausea. Coz the only time I feel less nauseous is when I am eating! So it was a great excuse to try looking for a few pieces of new clothes to update my maternity wardrobe.

But now that yahoo auctions has closed down, it has made my life a little more diffcult. Ebay Singapore just doesn't offer as much a range as Yahoo. So I browsed other online stores. But there's no way I am going to spend $60 - $70 for a maternity top!

But that is actually beside the point. Coz even if I were willing to spend that kind of money, the styles available nowadays do not appeal to me at all.

So here's my gripe - everything is tight, clingy, spaghetti-strapped and/or low cut. Pants are all below the belly style. I don't like them!!!

Call me boring and conservative but I don't want to go around showing everybody my belly and breasts just coz I am pregnant. I don't do it when I am not pregnant so why should I just coz I am pregnant?! I like my clothes fitting but flowing, not clingy.

And I absolutely detest under the belly pants, especially jeans. Hey! I don't want to accidentally expose myself while carrying my toddler, you know. And with tops getting shorter by the season, that happening is very possible. Ok - I know I am weird coz another thing about these under the belly pants. When I am in my final trimester, the band of the pants/jeans tend to press on my lower belly and trigger very intense braxton hicks contractions!

So where does that leave me? I guess I'll just have to dig out my old maternity clothes that I wore 10.5 years ago! I was hoping to update the wardrobe a little with a few new pieces. But that isn't going to happen. God's way of helping me save money?

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According to BabyCenter.com, Braxton Hicks contractions (BH) start as early as 6weeks but most moms don't feel them till much later.

Let me tell you that as a mom of many, I do feel them that early! And it always amazes me since the uterus is barely grown at that stage. But yep. I feel them alright. Sporadic but it's there!

At 15 weeks now, I feel them more. Especially after a long tiring day.

As a first time mom more than 10 years ago, I never experienced any BH. So when I had some contractions, I immediately thought that that was it! I was in labour! In hindsight, that was probably not true labour. And if I had avoided being so kan cheong*, I would have had a much more pleasant birth experience!

I read also that being dehydrated causes one to have more BH. But I drink lotsof water throughout the day so I guess that doesn't apply to me. It doesn't bother me at this stage but it does get uncomfortable in the later stages especially when I have to carry a toddler up and down the stairs!

A funny - the under the belly style of maternity denim jeans triggers BH for me! Lol! So I have to avoid that style, especially in the 3rd trimester.

* kan cheong - Cantonese for being panicky and impatient

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Pregnancy at 28 is different from pregnancy at 39!

1st pregnancy is different from 7th pregnancy.

The nausea (non-existent in my 1st pregnancy) has gotten worse with each subsequent pregnancy. The backache (non-existent in my 1st pregnancy) has gotten worse with each pregnancy.

The energy I had with my 1st pregnancy is non-existent with my 7th pregnancy.

But one good thing has come out of all this - I have been forced to slow down and to take better care of myself. I have no choice or I'll feel worse than I already do.

The things that I thought mattered have to be re-thought. Do I really need to do ....(fill in the blanks) ... or can it wait? Or can it - gasp!- not be done at all?

A friend mentioned that I am very relaxed. I told her that if I have not learnt how to take things slow and easy by now, I wouldn't be here! I was a task-oriented, Type A personality - or so I thought. Then I had all these children! If I don't change, I'd go crazy.

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Praise God!

Another lady who attended our Experiencing God In Pregnancy talk gave birth early this month and she had an awesome birth!

No pain!

I am just beaming with joy for her and awed by the awesome-ness of our God. Check out her birth story on her blog at Precious Memories.

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A friend just birthed and had a wonderful time. It was painfree though tiring labour and birth experience.

I am just so pleased for her. Since 2004, dh and I have been sharing our birth experiences at Wesley Methodist Church under the title "Experiencing God In Pregnancy". She was so keen to make this work that she attended TWO of the talks! One before she was pregnant and the 2nd when she was pregnant.

She'd called me on Friday night when she had her show but no contractions. I told her not to go into the hospital just yet. To complicate matters, her doctor was away! He would not be returning till Monday. And she had originally booked her hospital bed at Mount Alvernia Hospital (Mt A) . But the stand-by/stand in (?!) dr at Mt A was also away! Now that caused some stress  But the stand-in dr at Thomson Medical Centre (TMC) was available.

I told her that if it were me, I'd go with the doctor than the hospital.  She did end up at TMC last night and had the baby this morning.

In her words - it was not painful but it was uncomfortable and tiring! Her baby is also nursing like a champ. What a way to enter motherhood!

I'll see if she is up to writing our her testimony anytime soon. If so, I'll put a link to her blog, with her permission of course! These kinds of stories must be shared! All we hear are the 24hr long labours and excruciating pain, etc....

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Some time ago, I had someone tell me that her doctor told her to eat SUGAR to put on weight for her pregnancy!!!

Then yesterday, while giving the Experiencing God In Your Pregnancy talk, a lady shared that her doctor told her that Asians can't birth naturally!!! That natural childbirth is only for Caucasians!

Amazing that these doctors are allowed to practice medicine!!!

If you are expecting or are planning to start a family, you may be interested to attend our talk at Wesley Methodist Church.

Titled, Experiencing God In Pregnancy, my dh and I will share a Christian perspective on pregnancy and childbirth.

Date : 29th March 2008 (Saturday)

Time : 2:15pm - 6:00pm

Venue : Level 3 Hall, Wesley Methodist Church

Cost : $2.00 per participant
(light refreshment will be provided)

We will cover the following topics :

• knowing your position in Christ,
• our Birth Stories,
• the Chrisitian's antenatal response,
• preparing to be parents and
• Q & A

If you are interested in attending, please contact Evangeline Leong at 68378610. Do pass this on to your friends who may be interested. But please note that this is not a medical talk.

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Everytime we are blessed with a pregnancy, I learn many things. Some pleasant, some not. Some practical, others spiritual. But all ultimately to bring me to a closer relationship to God.

These are what I learnt this time round :

1. God is in control. No matter how much we fight it, it is God who's in control. He was the one who opens the womb and He is the one who calls forth the baby to be born. His timing is perfect - always!

2. Our God wants us to have a relationship with Him. He therefore does not work according to a method. He is not the proverbial santa clause in the sky!

3. Each birth is different. No matter how many times one births a baby, it is always a different experience. The only certain thing is that God is there for you if you would let Him. Remember, The Lord is my Helper. I will not fear. Hebrews 13:5

4. No matter how prepared you are, you are never prepared enough!

5. Our bodies are made to birth babies. It is God's perfect design if we would allow God to be God. Many times, we defer to Man's wisdom and Man's ways and short change ourselves from experiencing God's Hand on our lives. This birth is proof that we do not need a doctor to birth a baby!

I am not doctor bashing. I have a lovely doctor and I have learnt alot from him and even from my other doctors. But the point is - in the end, who do we put our trust in? God or Man?

6. We need to be responsible for the health of our bodies - taking care of it by eating and drinking properly. This includes post partum as well. Since He is in control, when we have our next baby is in His Hands. But we have a responsibility to look after our bodies properly - all the time. If we eat junk food and stay unhealthily overweight and say that it is the close gap between the babies that is causing our health problems, we are in effect, blaming God for the state of our bodies.

7. Red Raspberry Leave (RRL) Tea is God's gift to women! It tones and strengthens the uterus. This in turn facilitates a more efficient labour and less post partum bleeding.

A personal story - I drank a lot of RRL mixed with Nettle leaves with pregnancy #4. My afterbirth contractions were very mild and bleeding was also minimal. With pregnancy #5, I decided that I didn't need to drink that much RRL tea . I bled much more and the afterbirth contractions were very uncomfortable.

For pregnancy #6, I decided not to stinge and drank RRL and Nettle tea consistently from the 3rd trimester onwards. I continued to drink it after birth. The bleeding post partum was noticeably less than after #4! This goes against common medical belief that the more babies you have, the more you bleed post partum and the more painful the afterbirth contractions.

However, on the day I returned home fom the hospital. I didn't have time to boil and drink the tea throughout the day. That day, bleeding and afterbirth contractions increased! Say OUCH! When I went back to drinking it the whole day the next day, the bleeding and contractions decreased again.

Moral of the story? Drink your RRL tea!!!

Amount to drink - The rule of thumb is 1 cup per day in the 1st trimester, 2 cups per day in the 2nd trimester and 3 cups per day in the 3rd trimester. Usually, it is 1 tsp of leaves to 1 cup of tea. BUT for those who had miscarriages before, it is highly recommended that you do NOT drink it till the last trimester.

For me, as this was my 6th birth, I increased my dosage a lot more. I poured 1 litre of boiling water onto 1/2 cup of leaves and drank it diluted with cold water throughout the day.

Don't just take my word for it. Do your own research! I am not a herbalist. But I know it has helped me.

8. It is ALL God and none of me. I can do this only because of what Jesus did for me (and you!) at the cross of Calvary. He took the sins of the world upon Himself that we may live in victory and not under the curse. I can do this not because it is my 6th birth. I can do this only because He is my Saviour.

Ask me to do it on my own and I will say "no". I am a chicken when it comes to pain. (The jab after birth to help the uterus contract was so painful!!! ) But I stand as a testimony to the power of the cross that there was NO pain - save the pain on my tailbone from birthing in that awkward position!

Truly that can only happen because it is ALL of God and none of me.

May you be blessed as I have been truly blessed!

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Other Birth Stories are found here.

Visit www.BuildingUpMoms.com for encouragement for the Christian SAHM.

Yes, she's here finally! But woah! What a way to enter the world! This birth story is given as a testimony to the faithfulness & awesome-ness of God the Father, through Jesus His Son. All glory to Him!

Baby #6 joined the family on 7th June 2007 (6 days past EDD), weighs 3.34kg and is 50cm long.

4pm - If you had been reading Diary of Labour #6, you'd have known the number of false alarms I've had. So when contractions started at 4pm, Thursday afternoon (7th Jun), I just ignored it. Even though they were 10min apart. But the intensity was rather strong so I thought - well this could be it! So I got dinner ready and started preparing to bake Banana Bread for the next day's breakfast.

6pm - As I was eating dinner, the contractions were strong enough to cause me to perspire. Hmm...this probably is IT! So I sms-ed my dad & told him to eat his dinner & prepare to come over. I finished up dinner & went upstairs to pack all the last minute stuff - toothbrushes, comb...& showered. The contractions got closer & stronger. I got out of the shower & sms-ed my dad to start driving over.

About 7pm - I told dh that we should start bathing the younger children & put them to bed earlier. I lay down at the couch while he bathed them. The contractions continued at 10min apart but lasted longer & were definitely stronger.

8pm - My parents sms-ed me that they will wait downstairs til I am ready to leave. They can't come upstairs to wait or the children will get too hyped up to go to bed.

8:20pm - Got the children upstairs to pray & ready for bed. Contractions now 7min apart.

9pm : Started to sms friends to start praying for me!

9:30pm - asked my parents to come up & wait. Dh opened up the sofa bed in case it is a long wait ahead - ha! Contractions now 5min apart, lasting 1.5min. Prayed for a sign to leave.

10pm - Laid on sofa bed. I'd always preferred to labour lying down sideways and usually fall asleep between the contractions.

Contractions now lasting almost 2min long but still 5min apart. Should I leave or not? Contractions then moved to 3min apart. Just as I decided to tell dh to leave, the contractions went back to 5min apart. Then I felt the urge to push. Hmm....leave now? Then nothing. So I continued to wait. Another urge to push. Time to go, I told dh. I made my way to the toilet and discovered that a huge amount of mucous plug had been discharged! Oops! I may have waited a bit too long!

10:25pm Made way very slowly to the lift and car. Told dh that he needed to push back the middle row seats for me. The moment I climbed in, I felt the need to PUSH! I got onto all fours immediately (with 1 leg on the floor to stabilise myself).

Throughout the car ride, I felt the urge to push several times and then suddenly, pop! "My bag has burst! Pass me the towel!" Thankfully the towel was packed right on top. Dh could continue to drive with one hand and tossed the towel to me with the other. Lol! 

At that moment, I thought that the baby was about to be birthed there and then. Dh kept telling me that we were about to reach the hospital. But what I really wanted was for dh to stop the car somewhere for me to birth the baby!

When we reached Mt Alvernia, I thought dh rushed out to get someone to help me out. But he told me later that he just grabbed the nearest wheelchair he saw and with that, a male nurse came with him. But .... The baby is pushing out of me and they want me to sit on the wheelchair? How?!

The silly male nurse then told dh to go & park the car - like that is the most important thing to do at that point in time?! But he suddenly changed his mind and told dh "You better come with me!"

In between contractions, I managed to sit on the chair for them to wheel me into the lobby area. But because the urge to push was so strong, I pushed myself off the chair to try to labour on firm ground vs a shaky wheelchair.

But the same male nurse actually hauled me up back onto the wheelchair! So I shouted "The baby is coming out!" But of course no one believed me. He told me, "No, no, cannot!" Excuse me?! And still tried to continue to wheel me into the delivery suite. One of the more alert nurses must have decided that I was telling the truth coz she quickly directed the wheelchair into the nearest examination room of the 24hr clinic where I could see the baby's head crowning as we passed the doorway.

And with everyone standing around and not knowing what to do, the baby's head emerged. This comes the surreal part. No one knew what to do. Everyone stood standing and staring! I told dh, "Go and hold the baby's head!" But before he could react, I saw the 24hr clinic dr stepping forward and felt the the baby's shoulders pushing through at the same time. The dr caught the baby and I heard her cry loudly! Stunned silence.

The dr continued to hold on to the crying baby. I had to say three times, "Give me the baby!" before he reacted. Then like in a slow-motion movie, everyone reacted. All talking at the same time.  

And all they know what to do then was to keep saying "Cut the cord, cut the cord!" Dh had the presence of mind to remind them to wait for the cord to stop pulsing first! Meanwhile, baby was crying on & off while I held on to her. I tried to nurse her but she was too busy crying!

I asked dh to take pictures to document this interesting birth but realised that the camera & video were all still in the car. So he had to run out to get it. Then he got one of the nurses to take photos of him cutting the umbilical cord.

After birthing in that awkward position (sitting on my tailbone!) I tried to move into a more comfortable position. But guess what? They wouldn't let me! They insisted that I had to sit that way while they wheeled me to the Delivery Suite to birth the placenta and clean up!

I was then wheeled to the Delivery Suite. I looked back & saw the mess I left behind.  We then had to wait for more than an hour for the stand-in dr to check me! My own dr was on holiday in Bali! Meanwhile baby was nursing happily and helping my uterus to contract. When the dr finally came, he helped to birth the placenta and checked my perinium. He then pronounced that I did not have any tears!!! There would be no need for any stitches! That was miraculous to me considering the awkward position I had birthed in & the speed with which baby was birthed! Praise God!

Reflections : I stand in awe of the obvious hand of God on this whole birth process.

On Wednesday, 6th June, dh & I got together to pray that :

1. Baby will be born by 7th June (Thursday)
2. Labour will be quick
3. No tearing, no episiotomy
4. Little disruption to household routine 

Many people had asked if they should pray for baby to come only when my dr is in town & I have always told them that it didn't matter. I was given Hebrews 13:5 and I rested in the assurance that The Lord is my Helper. I will not fear.

And truly - The Lord helped to birth this baby!

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Ok - I know I said I am at peace with whenever the Lord decides to bring forth this baby. And I am.

But hey! I do wish people will stop asking me if the baby is out!!!

Look - I will sms/email/blog/run an ad?! when the baby is out, ok?

I know, I know - you care! But constantly asking me about it is not helping to get the baby out, kwim?

And yes, it is Day 6 past EDD now and my lovely pro-natural dr has gone for his week long holiday - in Bali! I hear . It is ok. As dh said - we trust in God, not man. And as the Lord Himself told me in Hebrews 13:5 - 6

I will never leave you nor forsake you.
So (I) may boldly say
"The Lord is my Helper; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?"

I promise I will let you know - details & all - when the baby comes.

1st June 2007 (Friday) - Week 40
THE day!!! But, no sign of baby's arrival.  Well, it is said that only 3% of women have their babies on their Edd. I guess I do not belong to the 3%! And never have been!

2nd June 2007 (Saturday)
We have officially gone past my EDD - yet again! Was having an interesting exhange with a friend that for both of us, our 4th, 5th & 6th babies have gone past their due dates! But we both had our 1st 3 earlier than the EDD.

She made a point that I have not paid any attention to before - our post date babies are bigger, more matured and easier to handle compared to our "early" babies. She called the early ones "undercooked"! Lol!

Anyhow, again, I have come to the point of acceptance that baby will come when she's ready. And only God knows when that is!

3rd - 5th June 2007 (Sun - Tues)
Still waiting............

Surprisingly calm now. It is as tho I had to pass my EDD to reach this state of calmness & peace!  But it is not a state of resignation, mind you!

The only thing that bugged me a little was the fact that dh deliberately cut back on speaking engagements for the month of June so we are in effect "wasting" our June away as baby delays her arrival day-by-day. And his July is jam-packed!

And - dh has an overnight retreat coming up on 7th - 8th July! Meaning, the later she comes, the less time I have to adjust to flying solo with 6 children at night!

But the Lord in His compassion & grace led me to Hebrews 13:5 - 6.

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So we may boldly say :
"The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

Wow! The Lord was telling me not to worry when baby is arriving. That even though I may have no physicaly help, I have His help. Then His peace returned.

6th June 2007 (Wednesday)
Went for another check up. Amniotic fluid is looking very good. Very slight calcification at the edges at the placenta which is very normal for this stage of the pregnancy - 40 weeks & 5 days.

Last night I had 2 hrs of regular contractions again. They were strong enough to keep me awake from 2:30am to 5am! I really thought "Great! This is it!" But I was wrong! Now I am totally exhausted from being up half the night.

If this girl holds out till next week, she may just birth at 42 weeks! Now will she or will she not break the record?  The other question I have is - just how big will she get?! My biggest by far has been 3.5kg and she came 5 days post date.....

Let me just preface to say that this is the first time I am doing this!

17th May 2007 (Thursday)
We have now proceeded to weekly check ups. At the last visit, the dr told me that the little one was in a very good position - head down & facing inwards. (A baby that presents himself "sunny side up" can cause untold hours of back labour - ouch! So I thank God for His grace & mercy!). Today, he tells me causally that baby has actually engaged. I was thrilled til I remembered that for "grand multi-paras" (ladies who birth more than 3 babies) the baby can engage and disengage til one births! All due to being more elastic.

But  it did give me hope that I may, just may birth soon! Wow! I have gone post date with the last 2 so was not holding my breath for an on-time, much less an early baby! Dh says I have no faith  and I must say that I do agree with him on this.  But honestly having been hyped up to believe that later babies will come earlier and then having to wait & wait for the last 2, I tell you, it is no fun!!! Talk about developing patience!!!

But what got my hope high was that after dinner, I started to pass very soft stools. Now I am a very regular person  and I had already gone in the morning so this was extra. Then nothing! Argh!

One great side benefit of baby having engaged is that my back no longer hurts! Obviously the nerve/s she had been pressing on has been relieved. This was great! I could actually move faster and move without wincing!

I also discussed my Birth Plan with my dr. That put my mind at ease coz then I have a signed Birth Plan to wave at the nurses should I go into labour now!

18th May 2007 (Friday) - Officially 38 Weeks!
No sign of any contractions. But went to the loo 3x! Hmm....then started feeling nauseous. Am I having food poisoning? Or am I starting labour???

Surfed net - never had nausea before labour before. According to certain websites, the hormones that trigger diarrhoea can trigger nausea too! So theoretically, I could be in labour. Yay!

I was also losing the appetite to eat. And feeling extremely sleepy and tired even though I hadn't done much today.

Then....nothing! Sigh.

I should have known, right? After I am not having any noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions (BH). And it is only 38 weeks..............

19th May 2007 (Saturday)
The cot has been set up - finally. The mattress sunned. The sheets laid. The bag is packed. I even washed the sofa bed covers and sheets! I am ready.  

And so we wait...

20th May 2007 (Sunday)
And wait...

Went to the loo 3x in a row. But no contractions. What is happening?

21st May 2007 (Monday)
2:30am Woken up need to pee. Tried to go back to sleep but can't. Started to feel contractions. Dozed off.

3:30am Woken up by 5yr old whining about stuffy nose. Dh tended to him but I started to feel more contractions. Timed them for want of things to do at 3 in the morning!  There was a pattern - a contraction at every 15minutes!

This went on for 2hrs and then nothing!!! Sigh....Another false alarm.

22nd May 2007 (Tuesday)
Definitely not in labour. Sleep at night is not good. Waking up every 2hrs to pee - just a teeny weeny bit. Sigh. Sometimes I wonder why we can't be allowed to "stock up" on sleep the days leading up to birth! Afterall, we will be waking up every 2 - 3hrs once the baby is born!

Had some distraction this morning. It is dd#1's 7th birthday. Brought her to the Seletar Farm, as per her request. Not much to see nowadays save a few bunnies. Got feasted by mozzies though. Not a good idea in view of dengue period!

The heat has led to me having no appetite for breakfast nor lunch. Dd has requested an Italian dinner for tonight. Oh boy! Just the thought of Italian food and its accompanying smell is enough to make me nauseous!  Let's hope I keep the food down!

Came home and in a sudden burst of energy, changed everybody's bedlinen. Washed everything that can be washed.

Now we wait...................................

Today's BH were pretty intense. They can stop me in my tracks. But, no discernable pattern...yet.

I think the little one is waiting for daddy to finish teaching his last course tomorrow night before she makes her appearance.

I must remember that her EDD is 1st June. And I have not birthed before 39weeks. Then I won't be feeling so antsy!

23rd May 2007 (Wednesday)
Went for my weekly check up. Everything's ok. I mentioned that I have been feeling much stronger BH and pressure on the groin area. The dr said that he won't be surprised if I was already 3 - 4cm dilated! Thankfully, he didn't do a VE to confirm it! That's what I like about him - non-invasive!

So we make another appointment to see him next week.  But he seems to think I would deliver before 7th June. He's going on a week's leave then, you see.  I hope so, I certainly hope so!

24th May 2007 (Thursday)
Had a tummy upset after eating steak that was more rare than medium! Not good to get a upset tummy near your EDD! It convulses you terribly.

We had to rush down to JL to make use of some vouchers to buy newborn diapers and a pram. The pram was a great buy!

25th May 2007 (Friday) - 39 weeks!
But - nope, no signs of going into labour. Lots of BH the whole day but everytime I spot a pattern, it disappears on me.

Getting physically more tired. A missionary friend just told me that she went 18 days over her EDD with her 4th child! Arrrrggghhh!!! Lord have mercy! Lol!

26th May & 27th May 2007 (Sat & Sun)
Still here waiting.....Went to the Book Fair, hoping that all that walking around could bring on labour. But nope. baby is snug & happy in there. ALL I got out of it was 2 books or was it 3? and painful, swollen feet!

28th May 2007 (Mon)
More waiting. Don't you just hate people asking you when you are going to birth??? Like I know??? And when you tell them - oh! anytime now, they exclaim surprise that you are still traipsing around town!

And people touching your belly!!! Hey! It's called molestation!

30th May 2007 (Wednesday)
Had a check up at the clinic. Dr confidently proclaims that I will birth this weekend - I certainly hope so! We teased him, saying that we practice stoning false prophets!  He said that the baby's head had engaged - now where have I heard that before! 

Had lots of BH, including another 2hr-every 10 min contractions false alarm. I really thought I was going into labour coz the contractions were really hard and it was accompanied by the feeling of bearing down.

Although frustrating for it to not progress, I take heart knowing that all that bearing down and contractions are slowly but surely dilating and effacing (softening) my cervix. I know, I know - it is soon.

I quote my previous dr who compared birthing to the second coming of Christ : we know and even see all the signs but we do not know when He is coming. So I know and see all the signs pointing to me birthing soon, but I sure wish I knew when! It makes it all the more bearable!

31st May 2007 (Thursday)
Almost 40 weeks! And still waiting. Tomorrow is D-Day. Will she or will she not make her grand entrance on the dot? It'll be cute if she did coz then it'll make 3 of us having birthdays on the 1st of the month! And of course, it'll put me out of the misery of waiting!

Some Notes :

Braxton Hicks - These are practice contractions for the body. BH has no pattern to them and it goes away when you change positions (Eg. from standing to sitting or vice versa). Real labour contractions move along with a fixed pattern. Eg. they come on every 10minutes and last 1 minute long and then will progress to either shorter intervals between contractions - every 5min instead of 10min or each contraction will last longer - 2min vs 1 min.

Signs of Labour - There are many websites and books that outline for you the various signs of labour so I won't repeat them here. Google "Signs of Labour" and read them yourself. Diarhhoea or the passing of soft stools is one of them as your body clears itself out to make way for the baby to move through the birth canal. It also removes the need for an enema - all part of God's design!  

By the grace of God, I have finally reached Week 18 of our 6th pregnancy. It's been a long, long way!  I have never felt sicker or more tired than in the 1st 16weeks of this pregnancy. It was so bad (for me) that I had to surrender and succumbed to getting a cleaning service company to clean my house for two months!

Even bathing the children was exhausting! How ridiculous, I thought. But I just couldn't fight it. It was either get external help or feel even more sick if I insisted on doing everything myself. I was just glad I didn't throw up. Feeling nauseous all the time was bad enough.

So how did I cope? Afterall, the cleaning ladies only came in oncea week. School still had to be done, meals still had to be cooked. The basics of housekeeping still had to be performed.

Well, I just did it.  But a little at a time. I had to pace myself. And I prayed A LOT! It really forced me to rely on God and not on my own strength coz I didn't have any!

Since school was priority, we always did school first. If that wiped me out and I couldn't cook, then I ordered in. Yes, it wasn't healthy but it was better than starving! Lol! And it was only for a season.

Where housework was concerned, I started teaching my older 2 (8.5 & 6)to get even more involved than before. Yes, they were not as thorough as I would like them to be. But hey! It was still better than nothing. And they are slowly learning.

Cooking, I must confess was a real challenge. Just looking at the raw food was enough to make me nauseous. To handle it really made me gag. This is where discipline came in handy! I just did it. And quickly too! Having no help meant that I just had to do it or the children get nothing to eat. Afterall, you can only order in MacDonald's so many times a week! I couldn't even order KFC or Pizza Hut. Those made me even more nauseous.

 BTW I tried all the natural things that many said worked for them. None worked for me except drinking ice cold water. Lemon water worked for one day. Taking dry crackers/biscuits made me more sick. Vit B6 did nothing for me. Switching to a B complex worked for one day. I used to be able to eat hard boiled eggs to ease the nausea with my 5th pregnancy. This time round, it made me sick. Drinking peppermint tea helped a bit.

It is said that when one has morning sickness, the body is purging the toxins from the body and that the body is instinctively rejecting foods that are not healthy for the baby. I personally believe this. While almost everything was unappetising to me, foods with MSG, caffeine, sugar, refined carbohydrates made me feel 100 times worse. Eating simple meals in smaller and frequent quantities made me feel better. Drinking lots of ice cold water felt good!

Being tired made me feel a lot worse. My body was telling me to slow down. I had to comply or suffer the consequences. I marvel at how God has so wonderfully made our bodies! Nursing my toddler made me really nauseous and uncomfortable. I prayed to God to lead her to wean! She did. On 22nd December, 2006, 4 days before she turned 22 mths old. My longest nurser yet!

I just thank God that once I hit 16weeks, my energy level returned. I am still nauseous and I still have to watch what I eat. But with tht return of my energy level, I could start re-organising the house and de-cluttering to make space for another blessing!

Indeed what an honour it is to have found favour with God that He should bless us with another baby. The Bible says in Psalm 127 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward." (NKJV, emphasis, mine). May we never take for granted that it is us who controls the womb!