The Chongs: April 2009

The official due date for our little girl was for next month, May 7th. But in the last exam on April 20th (Monday), Suzanne was dilated 3 cm with signs of contraction or thinning of the tissue. The doctor projected the birth may now be sooner. It seems Isabella is quite anxious to join the scream fest with her brothers.
Day 1, Saturday 1 p.m.
So, with minor signs of discomfort – we took Suzanne out to get her hair cut and to to treat her with a pedicure. It seems the general rule is if you prepare, and anticipate…then it will happen.

Suzanne’s contractions started when she was marinating chicken and beef ribs. The contractions started again on the way back from her hair cut. That’s when the contractions occurred every 5 minutes. The contractions wasn’t that severe – either that or with this being number 3, she was able to bear with the pain.
We packed her bags, my toys (cameras), and the boys belongings. Dropped of the boys to Max’s godparents (Rinsy and Roji). For Zachariah, this was a treat for him to spend time with their children. – Time 6:30 p.m.
Arrived at West Penn Hospital at 7 p.m. – this is when Suzanne’s contractions stopped…or it just seemed to stopped at that moment. Suzanne started to second guess whether this was a false alarm. From past experience with Max’s delivery – I told her not to take any chances and to arrive early for the epidural. No sense of getting to the hospital with full dilation, it takes a while for the epidural to take effect.
Needless to say, she was now 6 cm dilated. We were staying and gearing up for the delivery. She finally got the epidural at 8 p.m. and was fully dilated at 11:30 p.m. The doctor broke her water at 8:45 p.m.

Our little girl decided she wanted to be born on April 25th at 11:39 p.m. (21 minutes to spare).
She’s very lean but she’s the heaviest amongst our children. Weighing in at 7 lbs and 5 oz. and measuring 19.5”.

It’s truly amazing to see the similarity in the appearance with her older brother, Zachariah. Almost identical.
Here's the link to Zachariah's birth photos -
http://kchong.blogspot.com/2005/10/zachariah-week-1.html

The first glance from daughter to mom.

The satisfying smile…finally being able to stretch her legs.

Big brother on his way to see Isabella.

I wasn’t sure if he knew the balloons was for him to give to his little sister.

The smile from big brother – looks like he approves.

Poor Max – he couldn’t figure out what to do with her.

Isabella was screaming for “MORE MILK”…another little piggy.

After another feeding, you can say she was satisified for now.

The girls in the family will be finally coming home today….I’ll be taking the boys to pick them up. Please check back for more postings.

Zachariah had no problems moving back to the rear of the minivan. We gave him a big boy booster chair to make it more exciting for him. He actually liked sitting in the last row since Isabella is facing him.

First Doctor's appointment - within for days, Isabella lost 11 oz. She weighed in at 6 lbs and 10 oz. On the one week visit, she gained almost of it back (7 lbs 3 oz.).