On 26th August 2004, Mae brought Baby Jesse out into the world. And there I was watching it all! What a trip! If you're an expectant daddy, heck even if you're not, make sure you never miss the opportunity to witness this miracle! Here's a sneak preview - approved by the Censorship... erm... Broad (*ahem*)!


Mae went into labour at 2:00am. She would eventually deliver 12 hours later. That means 12 hours of pain! By the time we checked-in at the hospital at 6:00am, Mae's contractions were at 10-minute intervals.


By 11:00am, the pain was so unbearable that Mae requested for an Epidural. I was fearful, yet on the other hand, it broke my heart seeing her suffer. The procedure was pretty scary. A long tube was inserted into Mae's spine to administer the anaesthetic that would numb her pain. The drug is pumped into her body with this device. Meanwhile, I prayed for the best.


The Epidural took effect 15 minutes later despite some scary moments. Mae is at ease and no longer feeling much pain. I was free to make a nuisance of myself with the camera. Meanwhile, the midwives continued to monitor Baby's heartbeat.


By noon, things had really started to cook. Doc's equipment had been laid out for her. Somehow, I knew it was gonna be a messy affair. Meanwhile, the midwifes had gotten Mae to start pushing.


After almost 2 hours of pushing, Doc arrives and got dressed for the occasion. Mae had gotten very weak by then and Baby was still nowhere near appearing. Baby would have to be vacuumed out. A vacuum suction cup in inserted into Mae and attached to Baby's head. Then Doc began pulling. It was chaotic. Everyone was shouting. And amidst the confusion, Doc snipped a little incision. Sneaky!!

"He's coming!" Doc yelled after 10 minutes. I stood firmly as I readied my camera to catch that decisive moment. Suddenly, Baby just popped out of there like a squished pimple. I felt the little hair stand on my back as tears welled up in my eyes! Nothing had prepared me for that. I stood there gaping like a dumb-ass as the moment passed me by. So no shots there. I was just happy I didn't drop my camera or pass out! Heheh!


Baby is plopped unceremoniously on Mae's belly. She's as shocked as I was. "Daddy," Doc's voice shook me out of my stupor, "You wanna cut?" You bet your ass I did! And so I cut my son's umbilical cord. At that point, I felt like a Superhero or something. Hehheheh!!! Baby was then wrapped up and placed onto a table under a heatlamp.


Soon, Baby Jesse is whisked away. I follow. They weighed and measured him. And they gave him his jabs. Then he was brought back to the Delivery Room and put under the heatlamp again. I give him my hand and he grabs on to my finger. I bend over and whispered into his ear, "Jesse, you are God's gift to mommy and daddy. We will always love you."

And just like that, I went from a Superhero to a softie. It's a amazing how someone so little can make me feel so much. *sigh*

NOTE (as at 1 Sept 2004)
Forgive me for the grammatical mistakes. I know I have my tenses all over the place. Heck, I even cringe re-reading this! It was late and I was half asleep. And now I'm too lazy to correct anything. And oh, btw, when Baby first arrived he was purple and he looked like my dad. Hahahah!!! Thank God he's looking a whole lot nicer now. :)