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!