Mi Na

Her name is Mi Na Anne. Mi Na means smilingly tender. Anne is my middle name, the name of my grandmother, Steve's grandmother, and Steve's sister.

Our tender little one came to us on the summer solstice, June 21, at 6:13 PM, exactly three weeks before her due date. She weighed 6 lbs 14 oz, measured 21 inches long.

Steve woke up early Monday morning to water the grass. I woke up with the kids and helped them find Steve. They watched him water the grass while I got a little more sleep.

After getting ready for the day with Steve, I told him that it would be nice to go into labor in the morning so we wouldn't have to bother anyone to watch our kids in the middle of the night. I somehow knew that the baby wasn't going to wait for Ie Ling and Jonathan to arrive, but I didn't really think I would be having the baby that very day.

I sent Steve off to work and we started our day like any other. I had irregular contractions all morning until 10:13 (or 10:23, according to our stove clock, which is 10 minutes fast), when they became more regular, about 8 minutes apart. I started timing them and simultaneously addressed thank you cards. 10:23, 10:31, 10:39, 10:47, 10:53, 10:58, 11:06, 11:17, 11:25, 11:30, 11:35. They started coming every 5 minutes.

I tried to find someone to watch my children. I thought it would be good to find someone in our old neighborhood, closer to the hospital. Ashley was the first I found to pick up her phone and she was available and willing. Thank you, Ashley.

Somehow, even though my contractions were getting closer together, I still didn't believe I was in labor. I wasn't in pain, I wasn't panicking, and life was just going on like it normally does. That morning, Stephen and Mei Li decorated her mirror together.



I called the doctor's office and talked to a nurse about what I should do. She consulted with the doctor there and the doctor said I should head to the hospital, considering that I had been at 3 cm on Friday, and that this was my third.

The kids were watching Sesame Street when I told them it was time to go. They put up a little fight, but they came.

I continued to have painless contractions 5 minutes apart during the 30 minute drive to Ashley's. We met Steve there, dropped the kids off, and then he drove me to the hospital.

I was at 5 cm when the doctor first checked me (around 3 PM). I asked the doctor to hold off on breaking my water so I could see where these painless contractions would take me. We took a 45 minute walk around the hospital floor. My contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. When checked again, I was only at a 6 (around 4:30 PM). The contractions continued and one hour later, I was only a little more than 6 cm.

During all of this, Steve and I watched the World Cup. We were happy and chatty.


Steve took pictures of these ugly turkey vultures outside of my window.


The doctor broke my water and the next five contractions were mildly painful and more intense. I suppose those ones took me to 7 cm.

The next two were unbelievably painful. I moaned through them. Then I asked the nurse for an epidural, and felt a little silly for not asking for one sooner. The nurse took her time getting that ordered.

I screamed and cried during the next contraction. But before the next one came, Steve very carefully and tenderly asked me if it would be okay to offer me some pain-coping advice. I thought it was sweet that he was so careful about my feelings and just didn't want to make things worse.

I let him give me his advice. He told me to try to project my mind past the pain. I relaxed my body and tried to almost fall asleep. It helped. In the middle of intense pain, a patient ambassador walked in so he could ask me some questions. I told him that it wasn't a good time.

The anesthesiologist arrived during the next contraction, but I already knew she was too late. I felt like I needed to push. The doctor checked me and it turns out that those last few contractions took me from 7 to 9 cm.

The next one came and I was ready to push. I turned to Steve and asked a silly question, "is it okay if I cry?" He looked at me and smiled, "yes, it's okay to cry."

In considering giving natural childbirth, I knew to expect extreme pain like I'd never felt before, but I never expected to feel fear. In that contraction, I felt so so scared. I was scared because I couldn't turn back and I desperately wanted to. I screamed, "I can't do this, I can't do this!" Steve said, "Yes you can, Ie Li. You're doing it!"

Steve reminded me to breathe so I tried. It's easier to scream than breathe, though. I breathed, screamed, pushed. Breathed, screamed, pushed. Her head was out and I saw a full head of black hair, just like my other children.

One more push and she was out. I felt relief and exultant joy, just like I did with my other two. To me, the pushing seemed to last forever, but Steve informed me that I pushed for just five minutes.

Steve cut the cord and then the baby was on my chest. She was beautiful with her smashed face. I cried. We did it again. We did it together.


Rachel and Christine picked up the kids from Ashley's house and brought them to the hospital to see their new sister shortly after she was born. They loved her and they looked at her with wonder. Thank you Rachel and Christine for your help.


That night, I asked Steve to write down his account of her birth. It is short, but so sweet. This is my favorite part of his story:

"I am always impressed and touched as the baby is born, just how close a new baby brings us all to heaven. To think she was just there, and now she is here. I think that is what makes the moment so special every time. I wonder if we can make her home here as nice as her home there."


We are going to try. We are going to try really hard to make her home a heavenly one. I think that with a father like Steve, and loving siblings like Mei Li and Stephen, we can make it happen together. Welcome to the world, Mi Na. We love you.