Monday, October 20th was going to be my 42nd week pregnant.
I started fretting about it a few days before; having had no prelabor signs what so ever. My baby hadn't dropped, and was moving all over the place, I was not looking very big and didn't really feel
like I was about to pop. I had energy to spare and felt this could go on forever.
My mom arrived from Israel on October 1st for three and a half weeks. Her visit was about to end... and I wanted her there for the days that FOLLOWED the birth to help do, well, everything.
Juey... well my poor husband was so strung up he seemed much closer to bursting than me. He kept calling me every hour to find out how my 'tummy' was and kept asking me when the baby will be born.
We had some heated arguments where I complained about how unhelpful he was being, and he complained about the pressure he was getting at his office. (Hey, he came home 'early' three weeks in a row).
I hated going out to take Taiyo (5) to the bus or play outside with Koyo (3) because everyone that saw me got THAT look in their eye and asked mada? (Not yet?).
GRRRRRRRR, this was not easy for me.
I had stayed near home since my mom arrived, just in case, but nothing happened.
So, on Sunday, the 19th I told Juey: 'We are going out!' It was a beautiful autumn day so we decided to head off to Kodomono Kuni, a great big park about an hour away.
The kids had a great time running, climbing up the jungle gyms, eating ice-cream and feeding the animals. We did a lot of walking and by the time we got home we were all exhausted.
We had Nabe for supper (a hot pot filled with veggies and fish) and were ready to go to sleep at 9:00pm.
9:15pm my water broke. I giggled and went to the toilet. The kids came running behind to find out what happened. I told them my water broke and we will have a baby soon. They started jumping up and down shouting 'Yata, Yata' (yippee).
They went to tell Granny. Juey immediately took charge of the vacuum cleaner and
started cleaning. My mom helped him set a HUGE plastic sheet (regisheet) on the
tatami in the living room and they set some pillows and futons for me to lean
on.
Taiyo asked Juey how he could help and Juey told him to just clean up any dirt
he found. So Taiyo and Koyo set off to find every tiny bit of dust they could
pick up, show me, then throw away. Our spirits were very high and we got some
'before' pictures taken.
I kept leaking more and more water. It came in gushes and I kept needing to change my
undies and pants. It kept us all very amused.
Anyhow, about half an hour or so after the water broke, I decided I should try
and get some sleep. No sooner did I put my head down, contractions started. They
started kind of mild but soon grew into quite intense ones I couldn't sleep
through. Juey and my mom kept me company until about 11:00 and then they went to
sleep.
From this point my memory is not very clear. I believe I fell asleep between each contraction. Moreover, I feel like I departed from the
rational function of my mind and went into instinct mode.
I can't remember making any conscious decisions, just following my inner
powers. I wasn't thinking HOW to labor, I just did. I have no idea how long
contractions lasted or how far apart. I remember leaning on the cushions,
'hanging' from a wooden bar in the living room, going in the bath, taking a
shower, standing on all fours etc. I remember being in a lot of pain and making
a lot of low deep noises. At some stage I remember noticing I was losing my plug.
I can't remember how the time passed, but at 6:00am when Juey woke up I was
so happy to have him with me, I wouldn't let go of him after that. I started leaning on him
hanging down his neck (poor thing, I am heavy!) during contractions while he
pressed on my back. Later I leaned on the cushions, lay in bed and sat on the
toilet - always with Juey's hands pressing on my back. I was very particular
about the location, the amount of pressure, and the part of his hands I wanted
used. Otherwise I couldn't say a thing. Just those deep groans...
The kids woke up around 7:30. Koyo wanted to nurse so I lay next to her while
Juey lay behind me and I had about 2 or 3 contractions this way. At this point I
tried to snap out of my primal mode and pay attention to the kids. I told them
that mommy has a lot of pain but this is good for bringing out the baby. I tried
smiling during one of the nursing contractions when I caught Koyo's worried look
by the noises I was producing. But I don't think she 'bought' the smile

.
Taiyo was very distressed by the situation. We asked him if Granny could take
him to the Yochien (kindergarten) bus as I needed Daddy, but he refused to go
with my mom.
(I would have kept him home but they had immo (sweet potato) picking that day,
which he had so much looked forward to and he didn't want to miss.)
I 'let' Juey go and had one contraction without him. (My mom came to sit next to
me but she wasn't what I needed).
Taiyo left in a bad mood but asked me before he left for a brother.
Juey came back and we were back at it..
At some stage I got Juey to change the water in the bath.
My mom made me RRL tea.
I suddenly got hungry. There was very little to eat in the house but I took a
few spoon fills of yogurt and sucked up a mikan (klementine).
Juey asked my mom to go to the convenient store to try get some bananas and
prunes.
My mom left and I went into the bath. This must have been around 8:15-30. Koyo
wanted to go in with me but I told her there was going to be blood. She opted to
take a shower instead. I remember the scene of me laboring in pain with Juey
sitting by me pressing my back and Koyo singing away next to us, without a worry
in her mind.
My mom came back empty handed so I knew I had to wait till 10 for the stores to
open.. It was never to happen!
Koyo went and joined Granny for some fun play. Every now and then she came in to
check if the 'blood had come' yet...
In the bath I apparently was in transition, though I didn't realize it at the
time. After a while I suddenly realized I was pushing. I told this to Juey. He
looked in my eyes (and this I will NEVER forget) and said 'I don't want to lose
you or the baby, especially you. If you feel in anyway there is a problem, let
me know'.
Some blood came out with
the first push and here is where I could KILL Juey. He decided to CHANGE the
water and pulled the plug. As the water started going down my belly I felt this
enormous pressure and I shouted STOP!!!. He immediately put the plug back in and
added water and soon I was covered again.
I remember feeling so strange that I had to push. I checked my self and found what felt like complete hollow inside, with something hard at
the end...
My contractions were still very painful and this surprised me because I remember
with Koyo that pushing gave me a sense of relief, not pain. Every contraction
started with the pain and then this intense need to push. I was kneeling and as I pushed, my bottom would move forward.
Soon after I felt the Ring of Fire! It was very painful and once again
surprising as I didn't expect to feel it so soon. I put my hand on my perineum
and felt my self S T R E T C H. Another push and there was a plop. I felt
something between my legs but couldn't quite work it out. I asked Juey to tell me what
he thought this was. He put down his hands and shouted 'it's a head!!!' I
touched again and could feel it rotate. Another painful push where I had to bear
down, and out came the body.
Now, Juey and I are not quite decided on who brought the baby up. He claims it
was him where as I KNOW it was me, but I let him tell everyone he did it..LOL
All I remember is the shock of seeing a BABY. I know this sounds strange, but I
feel I was so disconnected from my brain that I kind of forgot what this all was
about and seeing the baby brought on a Major sense of astonishment.
It was 9:35, October 20th.
Koyo opened the door of the bath at that moment and my mom stood behind her with
a big smile on her face and tears running down her cheeks. She kept saying 'you
have a baby, you have a baby'.
I held the baby face down to let the fluids drain (guess my brain kicked into
action) and the I heard the cry. It wasn't a wimp but a scream. I turned the
baby around and felt between the legs...
I looked up and said with surprise 'It's a boy!' (but of course, I did 'know' it all along

).
I think I stayed in the bath about 5-10 minutes and then went out to the futon.
Juey had placed pads for me to deliver the placenta on to.
Juey phoned his dad and then my mom phoned my dad.
I was bleeding slightly the whole time but never felt weak. After about an hour I pushed
out the placenta. Juey moved it into a bowel WITH HIS BARE HANDS, and didn't
vomit

!!!
We cut the cord 6 hours later, tying it with a shoe string.
I checked and found I did not tear. Yippee!!
Juey fetched Taiyo from Yochien at 12:30. Taiyo came running into the room and
was and still is at awe over the baby. Need I say he is delighted to get a
brother?! Koyo had a difficult day or two adjusting to the new nursling rival, but is back to her old jolly self. The
baby is hers and could not possibly be kissed enough.
Today my baby is 4 days old. He is still nameless, is about to lose the umbilical stump, is absolutely divine and has only been touched in love.
We named our son Yosui.
Yo– meaning warm (the same kanji as in Taiyo)
sui – meaning water
His name signifies his birth in water, and he joins his brother Taiyo (sunshine) and sister Koyo (red autumn leaf) as a child of nature.