4am: baby having a dance party in my tummy, super rapid movements. I joked that she's trying to break free of her prison 😂

Went to sleep.

8am: started having some menstrual-like cramps and then some discharge with blood (bloody show). The cramps was bearable.. just a little bit uncomfortable. I didn't know if it was contractions but I timed it anyway, and it was irregular.

9.30am: Victor drove out to get us  Macdonalds breakfast ☺️ After that I went to watch TV while Victor went back to sleep, after a restless night before. I continued to have cramps and continued timing them and they were about 5-7mins apart, getting more regular, but the pain was bearable.

11.30am: Crawled back into bed to try to sleep but I was having contractions every 3-6mins now.. and starting to be more painuful. went to the toilet bowl to sit the cramps out (and also to poop lah 💩), still had bloody discharge.

12pm: Went into the shower to take a hot shower hoping to ease the pain but it got so intense cramps that I started to shiver and convulse with each wave of contraction. That's when I shouted "Bao wake up! I cannot. I think I need to go to the hospital!"

12.30pm: left home for Mount Alvernia in a rush, with my towel still wrapped on my head LOL. I had about 4-5 contractions in the car where I was so in pain I cannot even talk (which means it took us about 15-20mins to reach)

1pm: checked myself into the delivery ward while Victor went to park the car. He then went to do all the paperwork while I got escorted to deliver ward 8 to get changed, and they strapped me up with the CTG for monitoring for about 30mins.

** My parents were on the way to Mount A as they were supposed to accompany to my 2pm appointment (which i obviously couldn't go to anymore) but they came anyway.. because excited about me giving birth soon! Only husbands were allowed into the delivery ward so my parents waited downstairs while Victor stayed with me throughout.

1.30pm: Nurse checked me and told me I was dilated 4-5cm already and went "wah why you tahan so long at home ah?" 😅 She then asked if I needed epidural (because she needed to call the anesthetist to come). Me, trying to be brave, told her I wanted to try the laughing gas first. But after 5 minutes I still felt the pain.. the laughing gas did NOTHING to me! So yes, EPIDURAL PLEASE.

2pm: My assigned anesthetist, Dr Yvonne Lim, arrived to administer the spinal epidural and I instantly feel some relief! She was super chill - her voice was soothing and she keep talking to distract you... honestly I did not even feel the needle being inserted into my back! Afterwards, with each wave of contraction, I only shivered and shaked - I read that it's the body's own mechanism of releasing the tension. But i felt no pain whatsoever.

2.30pm: my gynae Dr Tan came to check me and told me I've dilated to 7cm. He then came to burst water bag - the purpose is probably to allow baby to descend into the birth canal, I think? I just felt a warm gush of water pooling down there 😝

Asked him what time he predicts baby will out & Dr Tan said, "I think we can do this before dinner. 5.30pm maybe?"

3.30pm: Nurse came to check me. Still at 7-8cm. Catherer inserted. Tried to sleep but can't because I kept on shivering (side effect of the epidural) pretty badly actually.

5pm: Nurse checked me...10cm YAY! She goes out saying she will inform Dr Tan.

5.25pm: Dr Tan comes in, gets suited up and prepared - and told me to start pushing down there (even though I really can't feel much) 

5.42pm: I think I pushed about 10-15 times.. and after 3 minutes of pushing, she's out!

After that it was quite a blur - Victor cut the umbilical cord, checked on the baby's birth measurements while my placenta got delivered and my Vjj stitched up. I didn't have an episiotomy but suffered a "small first-degree tear" down. 

I also suddenly told Victor to get the bedpan because I had the sudden urge to vomit! Puked out all my gastric juices and water out into the bedpan several times while Dr Tan was stiching me up.. omg I felt damn embarrassed! He said it's normal as my body just went through some trauma.

Baby was passed to me for body-to-body contact and we were in the delivery ward for an hour before getting wheeled into our single-bedded ward where my parents were anxiously waiting to meet their grand-daughter for the first time :)