Deliver Me!

WARNING: This post contains graphic photos and descriptions of Teague's birth. Read at your own risk- I just wanted to record his birth story for him and posterity.


I chose to deliver Teague at Taiwan's Adventist Hospital, and it was so nice to be in a Christian environment for his birth. The above painting hangs in the maternity ward there, and it gave me comfort every time I saw it.


Monday afternoon Len & I checked in to our posh "private" room at the hospital. I had to do a slew of tests to prepare for my surgery the next day. That evening our friend Dave Millward stopped by and assisted Len in giving me a blessing. I'm so thankful for the Priesthood! Later that night Len and I walked to Burger King for dinner (my last meal for over 36 hours.)


My cesarean section was scheduled for 8:00 Tuesday morning, April 21st. However, Dr. Ling called me at 11:00 the night before and told me she postponed it to 12:00 noon. Since RH negative blood is only found in Caucasians, they didn't have enough of it at the blood bank. She wanted to have enough on hand if baby or I needed a transfusion, so more would be couriered over in the morning, so that's why the surgery was postponed. They recently remodeled the maternity ward and the LDR rooms are so pretty- so warm and inviting. The operating room was anything but that- it was cold and hostile. Even though I was anxious, Len and I were also excited to enter it, because soon our new son would be here. My anesthesia wore off during Gavin's birth, so I think they gave me an extra dose this time around. Unfortunately, it made me nauseous and I started vomiting right before they began. They got me cleaned up and soon we were under way.

After the scalpel met me and the vacuum met baby, at 12:39 Len and I heard our first gurgled cry. I started crying and laughing at the same time then. I couldn't wait to see my little boy. They whisked him over to the corner to label him and take his footprints, etc. He weighed in at 3.26 kg (7 lbs, 3 oz) and measured 54 cm (21 1/4 in) long. He has dark brown hair (peach fuzz) and dark blue eyes. They were going to take him to the nursery then to clean him up, but Dr. Ling told them to bring him to me first.

This was the first time I got to hold one of my babies in the operating room.

The little sweetie was screaming his head off while they brought him over, but the second they laid him on me he stopped. It was the sweetest thing ever! He knew I was his mommy! He actually got to lay with me for about 5 minutes, and he took a little nap. Soon they took him away and he started screaming again. Poor baby!

As they continued my surgery the anesthesia started to wear off again. Since I knew what to recognize this time, I was able to tell the doctor. She told me they would put me to sleep to finish things off. I felt relieved physically and mentally then, but I never fell asleep. They gave me 2 doses, but I was in an alert dream state. I don't remember much of it, but apparently I talked the whole time. Whenever Dr. Ling asked Len questions I would answer. They said most of what I said they could understand, but some was incoherent. When they told me afterwards I just laughed- a much better experience than last time!

Our sweet baby all cleaned up in the nursery. My doctor advised me to rest for at least 12 hours after the surgery to let my body heal. Since that would be after midnight we decided to keep Teague in the nursery over night and to stay in our "private" room for one more night (where babies aren't allowed).

The next morning I was chomping at the bit to move to a "double" room so Teague could be with me. Luckily, the hospital wasn't full so we got the room all to ourselves. It wasn't as posh as our first room, but now Len got to sleep in a bed instead of on a sofa, and we had our new baby with us!

This little boy looks like his daddy- just like his brothers!

Now we are six! The next day Gramma brought our 3 big kids up to meet their new brother.

Teague is Gramma & Grampa Lee's 5th grandbaby, Grandma & Grandpa Pittl's 8th, and Grandma & Grandpa Reil's 14th. Every new baby is a miracle!

We received beautiful flowers from Leonard's colleagues and from the Ho family. Flowers always brighten my day!

Our friend Crystal stopped by with a birthday cake for Teague on Wednesday, and our friends Sylvia and Shannon stopped by the next day with dinner from Bravo Burgers (best burger in Taiwan) and delicious cookies! On Thursday, Teague got circumcised too- sad little boy (but again much better than poor Gavin that had it done at 6 months.)

Before we left on Friday the nurses asked if they could change him into his going home outfit. I gave them his sleeper, beanie, socks, and blanket and they brought him back wrapped like a present (see previous post)- it was so cute! Soon we were on our way home. Teague did not have a good first impression of his car seat, but he quieted down and we arrived at home sweet home!

*My cousin Tori, gave birth to her daughter Klarissa on the same day. Congrats Tori and fam on her arrival!