Vincent's Birth Story

On June 9th, 2011, we arrived for our weekly doctor's appointment at Yongsan Army Base in Seoul.  We arrived a bit early and so we shared a piece of pie in the hospital cafeteria before our appointment.  Before we left the house, we made sure to pack my hospital bag, Elizabeth's overnight bag and Tim's overnight and emergency bag.  The emergency bag held just a few things, just in case I went into labor during transit or far from the hospital.

I had been having contractions for the past week, but they were not timely and low on the pain scale, so I assumed they were just Braxton Hicks.  However, I was encouraged by the news the OB gave at the checkup.  She told me that I was 3cm dilated and 75% effaced and if at all possible, should stay in the Seoul area.  So, I called up my cousin and told her I would be coming over for dinner and possibly staying the night.  To progress my labor, my cousin, her husband and I went for a long walk all over Itaewon.  Tim headed back home to Osan to pick up Elizabeth from preschool and feed her dinner.

At around 7PM, the contractions started to get stronger so I asked them to drop me off at the hospital for monitoring.  When I arrived, the contractions were coming every three minutes.  After being monitored for over two hours, they finally decided to admit me to Labor & Delivery.  During that time, three other babies were born in the L&D unit and I became an afterthought, stuck on the monitor.  Finally at 1AM, I was admitted and Tim made his way up from Osan to Seoul, stopping off at Hannam-dong to drop off Elizabeth at my cousin's house.

Labor progressed very slowly and finally when I couldn't stand the pain any longer at 7AM, I asked for an epidural.  At 9AM and 10cm dilated, I had them stop the epidural and I started pushing.  After two hours of pushing and incredible exhaustion, Vincent Andrew Eunho Chang was born.

Happy Birthday to our second child.  Vincent Andrew Eunho Chang was born on June 10th 2011, at 11:06AM, weighing 8 lbs 8 oz and measuring 20.75 inches tall. -S