Please forgive my absence on the blog for the past week or so, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying being pampered during ‘Confinement Month‘ and bonding with Olympia. To say the least, I’m absolutely smitten with our daughter. The hesitations I had about sharing my wardrobe with her has completely evaporated.

As I lay in bed, belly full of ginger-infused chicken/fish soups, and a head full of gratitude, (I am an extremely light sleeper, after all), I couldn’t stop reflecting on the events that had taken place 2 weeks ago. The are 10 quirky things that are worth remembering from Olympia’s birth.

10. The last place I visited before heading to the hospital was SAVERS. Last time round it was Bubble Cup (it was my sustenance during Winston’s labour). Since I would be ‘confined’ for a month, I am very happy that I sneaked in one last dose of op- shopping and scored these satin chinoiserie slides (see above).

9. My waters broke spontaneously again, just like with Winston. Even though the midwives informed us that we were to go home after the checkup, I listened to my intuition and packed our hospital bags anyway. By the time we got to the hospital, the contractions had become more serious, and so…

8. I rode the lift up to the Maternity Ward instead of taking the stairs this time round.

7. I was escorted to the exact same Delivery Suite as my previous birth- Room 1. I had just read a Thomas The Tank Engine book to Winston earlier on, so the theme song of “Sodor’s Number One” kept chugging into my mind…
6. I wore a Trenery black wool dress fastened with this Triple Balloon Brooch (See above)- the midwives thought I was going to the opera. I also wore my Invisalign night braces since it was late in the evening. They came in handy because they prevented me from gnashing my teeth…

5. Every time the contractions came, I crushed clutched hubby’s hand.

4. The Thomas The Tank Engine theme song was not particularly useful, so I sang “God Is So Good” in my head instead during the contractions and was then able to ride through them with a serene smile.3. I also had the promise from Isaiah 66:9 to hold on to during Stage 2 (the Pushing part) of labour. “Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God.”

2. The entire duration of the labour was just over 4 hours, I was in the hospital for 3 hours.

1. I kept thinking “I can’t wait to meet you Olympia!” and “It’s going to be your birthday!” during it all.

Hence why the Triple Balloon Brooch. And although everything below the hips hurt, I couldn’t wait to say “Hip Hip Hooray!”