On July 11th I went to my scheduled doctor’s appointment. I was one day overdue, but my doctor was not too concerned about that, since babies come late all the time. Then she examined me and determined that my amniotic fluid was a little low. She suggested we induce labor the next day. Since I was eager to have this baby, I agreed.

I had a great relationship with my obstetrician. She was the reason I picked the Longtian Hospital. She was older, probably in her 60’s, and she spoke English. I could communicate with her without any intermediaries. She also took lots of time to explain the tests she was ordering and what the results meant. She helped me to understand what was going on.

I knew from the very beginning that my doctor had retired from actually delivering babies. She did all my pregnancy check ups and she told me that when I was in labor, she would make sure that one of the hospital’s best doctors was there to deliver my baby. I asked her if the other doctors spoke English. She assured me that many of them did, and I would not have a problem communicating during my delivery.

On the morning of the 12th, Josh and I met the doctor who would deliver our baby. She did not speak English.

Josh suggested we call Erin, a Chinese friend who had expressed interest in helping out with the baby.

“Hi Erin. This is Josh. Are you doing anything today? The baby is coming. Can you come to the hospital and help us translate? Really? Thanks!”

Erin arrived at the hospital about an hour later. By that time they had me on a pitocin drip and it was starting to kick in. I tolerated the painful contractions for about another hour, then I demanded an epidural.

They needed to move me into the delivery room for the epidural and they tried to tell Josh he had to wait outside. I told them I was not going anywhere without my husband, so they caved and they let him come with me. He and Erin both put on surgical masks and caps and gowns and we all moved into the surgery.

They plugged the epidural into my spine and the pain subsided very quickly. Then they demanded that Josh pay 500RMB for the cost of the epidural. For some reason, anesthesia was not included in the deposit we made upon checking in.

“They want me to pay for it right now?” asked Josh.

“Yeah,” said Erin. “That’s what they say.”

“That is the craziest thing I have every heard.”

All of our money was in our room upstairs, so Josh told them they would have to wait. I was glad they didn’t ask us to pay before giving me the drugs.

The epidural was great. I could still feel the contractions, I could still move around, but I didn’t feel pain. Josh chatted with Erin while I rested.

Then the pain came back. I told Josh, Josh told Erin and Erin told the doctor. They gave me another shot. It worked, but not as well as the first one. They told Erin and Erin told me that they could not give me any more because it might make the baby’s heart slow down.

Then everything started moving very quickly. Erin said, “When you feel the contraction, you have to push.” I pushed as hard as I could, and she said, “you have to push harder and for a longer time.”

I pushed, and I screamed, and Erin said, “They say you shouldn’t scream because you need to save your energy for pushing.”

At some point I spaced out and couldn’t remember where I was or what I was doing. Then I remembered, oh yeah, I’m having a baby, and I screamed again.

And then, all of a sudden, she came out. I felt more relieved than I had ever felt in my life.

The three of us stayed at the hospital for four more nights after that. We had a nice little room with two beds and a bassinet in between. Artemis stayed with us all the time.

Josh was there every moment, except when he was running out to buy us food. They didn’t serve any food in this hospital so he had to make frequent trips to RT Mart, and a few runs to KFC.

It was important for me to breast feed Artemis, and I stayed topless for most of our time in the hospital. This made the nurses a little uncomfortable. One of them refused to look at me when she came in to give me an antibiotic. She handed the pill to Josh instead.

Crazy naked foreigners.

A couple days after the birth I got a visit from my obstetrician. The doctor who delivered Artemis had told her that I was very brave. She said I was a good example to Chinese women who often opt for elective cesarean sections instead of going through the pain of childbirth.

She always knows just what to say.