Baby Im's Blog

Somewhere betwee the contractions and the nurses checking up on Baby Im, I have found some time to blog about the experience thus far.

I started having contractions 2 nights ago. When I woke up in the morning, I thought that my water had broke, so we called the hospital and they wanted us to come in. We got a check up – turns out that I indeed was having contractions, but my water had not broken.

That day, Daniel and I went for a super long and uphill walk and also had some spicy Korean soup for lunch. By the time I got home, I could feel the contractions getting stronger.  In the middle of a Jason Upton DVD, I realized that the contractions were getting quite close to each other, and so we started to time them.

At first they were about 10 minutes apart. My doctor had told me that she wants me at the hospital when my contractions are 10 minutes apart, but I wanted to labour mostly at home, so we waited about 2 hours and then conttractions became 5 minutes apart for an hour. That’s when we went to the hospital.

The doctor checked me out and admitted me to the hospital as of 9 PM yesterday. She told me that they would monitor me throughout the night and perhaps tomorrow (that would be today) I would be holding little Victoria in my arms.

The next morning, they examine me. My contractions are still about 5 minutes apart and my cervix isn’t dialted much. They suggested that they give me Oxytocin which would strengthen the contractions. OMG….did it EVER do that! After lunch, I was having contractions about every 2 minutes and they lasted for about 45 seconds each. I was in so much pain. I couldn’t talk and there were times I had tears in my eyes.

At one point, I was ready to give up. I was so tired, I wasn’t allowed to drink or eat anything since being admitted in case they needed to do surgery, I was discouraged and discontent. I cried out to God for some sort of encouragement. That’s when I heard Daniel say, “The doctor is here.”

She checked my cervix …3 cm dialted. Yeah..not that much, but then she told me that I could eat and drink, which was music to my ears. I was craving a tuna sandwich on a croissant (quite specific for Korea) and Daniel found it at the bakery! Yes…all little things, but those were definitely reminders that God is looking out for us.

SO, now they have taken me off the oxytocin. Hopefully my contractions stay the same and I am dialted more. The doctor was encouraging and said that hopefully in the wee hours of the morning, we will be holding our little girl.

I know I will look back on this and say it was all worth it. It certainly has been a journey and I don’t think any amount of reading or prep could have prepared me for the ups and downs of labour. Just gotta take it one step at a time.

More updates to come as the news progresses.

Thanks to all those who are praying for us! We really appreciate it and cherish them!

We have been praying about Baby Im’s name for quite some time now. In the last couple of months, we really have felt like we’ve chosen a name that has a special meaning to us and reflects the time in our lives that she is arriving in. We have kept it a secret until a few weeks ago and now we’d like to share it with you.

Baby Im’s name will be . . . (drum roll please) Victoria Providence Im.

Let me explain No, it is not because we love British Columbia or Rhode Island.

We chose Victoria to signify and represent the freedom and victory we have in Christ.

We chose Providence to remind ourselves (and her) about this time in our lives. God has always provided for us, but ever since we have come to Korea, God has really shown us His providence. Even the timing of this pregnancy has been straight from the hand of God. We want her to remember that God is her provider.

We have approximately 2.5 weeks left until our precious Victoria Providence arrives. We would really appreciate your prayers for a quick, painless, and safe delivery, as well as wisdom for these first time parents! We are COMPLETE newbies. I just found out yesterday that babies will go through about 12 – 15 diapers a DAY! Daniel thought 6 and I thought at the most 10. We have a lot to learn

In preparation for our first child, my husband and I like to randomly ask each other, “What would you do” questions. For example, “What would you do if your daughter lies to you?” or “What would you do if she has a temper tantrum in the middle of a meal at a restaurant?”

So, yesterday during dinner, I randomly ask my husband, “What would you do if your daughter’s boyfriend says:

“Sir, your daughter is pretty hot.”

I suddenly see my husband’s teeth clench, his nostrils flare, and his fist raised.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he says, “I would punch him in the nads!”

I burst out laughing out of shock (if you knew my husband, he doesn’t usually say things like this). It is in this moment that I realized how protective my husband will be over our daughter.

SO, to future Baby Im boyfriends, I leave you with one piece of advice: you may want to wear a “cup” when you are around my husband.

How did time fly by so quickly? With about 5.5 weeks to go, Baby Im will be gracing us with her beautiful presence in no time.

I still remember the flood of emotions I felt as Daniel and I looked at those pink double lines on the pregnancy test. We hugged each other and cried – mostly out of joy, partly out of fear.

Then the morning sickness started and I joked that perhaps this will be our first and last baby since the first trimester was so difficult.

Then, the celebration of my birthday, our 3rd anniversary, and soon to be my husband’s birthday . . . all milestone celebrations since they will be the last as not parents.

Through it all, we are humbled that God would choose us to carry on the next generation. We continue to pray for WISDOM, for love, for understanding, for mercy, for truth, for direction . . . for SO many things since we feel so inadequate to parent this child.

In a way, I think that is also the beauty of it all. Moment by moment relying not on our own strength, intelligence, human love, etc. . . but daily and humbly coming before God with our insufficiencies knowing that He is sufficient.

I never thought that we would be having our first child in a foreign country where I don’t understand the language and their medical practices are different. In many ways, Korea has been AWESOME about prenatal care. I have had way more ultrasounds and opportunities to hear Baby Im’s heartbeat than I ever would have in Canada. We also received our 3D ultrasound as a general practice instead of having to pay more for it. The staff remember our names and those odd times that we have gone in because of potential complications, we have seen the doctor in less than 20 minutes. Haah…I know that would have NEVER happened in Canada.

However, the one thing I wish I could have received here in Korea were birthing classes in English. I have only found one person who provides them, but at $100 per class (5 classes in total) and a limited availability time, we couldn’t do them. I was sort of starting to panic since this is our first child and I don’t want to do anything wrong. Then, the idea popped into my head: Why don’t I look on youtube? Lo and behold, I actually found birthing classes in English posted on youtube! Man…what did people do before internet?!

So, for those who potentially may be having a child in a foreign land, youtube may be useful!

Baby Im is Famous!!! A few days ago we were in Taiwan visiting Daniel's family. While we were walking through one of the malls, we came across this poster. We just had to stop and take a picture

Have you ever wished that you could be in more than one place at the same time? For our family, this wish is very much a reality.

For those who do not know, we are expecting our first child (a girl!) on Oct. 25, 2009. We are currently living in Seoul, Korea, while both of our families and close friends are living in Canada. Thus, in order to share our joys, experiences, laughter, and tears, we have decided to start this blog to document Baby Im’s arrival and growth.

We will try to post weekly or every other week, but please forgive us if this is not as up-to-date as we would hope it to be. Apparently babies are a lot of work We will definitely try to post pictures and mini movies as well.

Thanks for checking in on us!

Love,

Daniel, Christina, Teddy, and Baby Im