Vincent Siu Heng Mok

Our 9 Months Together

Month #1 – March

I arrived as a surprise to Mom and Dad, although Mom said that she knew the moment I was conceived.  Home pregnancy test showed positive, and later was confirmed by Dad’s family doctor.  Auntie Stella was my first visitor; she was here from Vancouver for her spring break. 

Month #2 – April

Mom noticed some bleeding during the 5^th week.  Dr. Leibman Sr. examined her and cautious that it was a threatened miscarriage.  Vaginal ultrasound showed a small pea-sized shadow in her uterus and no heartbeat was detected (because I was still so small).  The clinic drew blood from Mom to monitor her hormone levels.  Mom and Dad were very worried and prayed the Rosary together.  Little did they know that I was a very strong baby and would make it all the way without any problem. 

Another thing that was bothering Mom was that she had been having stomach cramps, sometimes so bad that it would last a long time and wake her up at night.  Mom started praying about it and amazingly, her cramps went away after April 14.

Mom saw my heart beating for the first time during her second vaginal ultrasound by Dr. Leibman Jr.  I was about 7 weeks old and 9 mm in size.

Month #3 – May 

Mom first heard my heartbeat during this month’s clinic visit.  She had gained about 3 lbs over the past three months.  Besides the initial bleeding scare and stomach cramps, Mom said that I had been a very good baby because she had almost no morning sickness.  She had a change of taste in disliking mushrooms, but that only lasted a short while.  The only other thing that bothered her was lower back pain on the right hand side, probably because I was putting more pressure there.

Mom and Dad went back to Vancouver for her Ph.D graduation, where they saw their families and friends.  They also received a lot of my cousin Michelle’s items from uncle Charles and auntie Mayette.  Alan and Ivy also came to visit us from Vancouver and Toronto. 

Month #4 – June

Mom had the Alpha-fetoprotein test done this month.  Dr. Gross estimated that my heartbeat was ~140 beats/min.  Mom joked that my heartbeat sounded like a puppy, which Dr. Gross did not find to be too amazing. 

Month #5 – July

Mom was starting to feel me move.  It felt like a fluttering at first, but eventually my kicking became stronger and they could even “see” me kicked.  Mom and Dad thought it was wonderful to be feeling me moved.

Ultrasound showed that I had big head/body/eye sockets/nose/lips.  Mom thought that I resembled Dad.  I had one arm by my head and the other one hanging down.  One of my feet was next to my face.  I did a morning stretch with one of my legs and Mom and Dad were very proud and impressed.   The doctor showed them that I was going to be a boy since they wanted to know my sex.  First thing Daddy said was that he was going to buy me a lot of toys. 

Uncle Winston and Dad’s 2^nd Uncle and Auntie visited us this month from Vancouver.

Month #6 – August  

Dr. Scheller went over Mom’s chart with her:  O+ blood type, no antibodies to Chickenpox, and Alpha-fetoprotein test was normal (<1/5000 for Down syndrome and <1/10000 for spine problems).  My heartbeat rate was ~130/min.  Dr. measured Mom from pelvic bone to top of her tummy: 23 cm.  Each week from 23^rd week Mom’s tummy would grow 1 cm.  Mom and Dad also went to a labor class, which they found to be very informative.

Month #7 – September

Mom had a glucose test done this month, which initially turned out to be high.  A more accurate 3 h glucose test later showed that her blood sugar level was normal.  Mom and Dad watched videos on laboring, breastfeeding, and baby’s 1^st month in order to learn how to take care of me.  Best thing Mom thought she learned was that I was going to be her best teacher.  We also took a vacation to Cape Cod with some of Dad’s friends during Labor Day long weekend.

On Sept 11, the Twin towers and Pentagon were attacked by terrorists.  Dad flew to Switzerland the night before for a skin conference.

My grandpa (Dad’s Dad) finally gave me my Chinese name:  Siu Heng, which means “lots of prosperity”.  Mom and Dad started considering the name Vincent to be my English name.  Their Lamaze classes started this month, which would last for 5 weeks.

Month #8 – October

Auntie Salina from Vancouver and grandparents from Macau were here to visit.  Grandma bought ginger and vinegar to cook soup for Mom, and also a lot of Chinese herbs.  They also brought with them many presents from Macau for me. 

During this month’s check up Dr. told Mom that my head had moved down already.  Mom was experiencing Braxton Hicks from time to time.  Mom and Dad also visited Englewood hospital, where I was going to be born.

Mom’s roommate from college Jenny visited from Chicago.  Jenny was an OB/GYN residence and told Mom that my spinal cord was positioned in front towards the right hand side, which was a good posture for vaginal delivery.

Month #9 – November

Mom started noticing stretch marks on her tummy.  She interviewed two Pediatrician groups and decided to choose Tenafly’s group for me.  This month’s visitors included Albino and his wife Debby from Macau, and Odi and Terry from Vancouver.  While Odi and Terry were here we had a Pajama baby shower, in which Odi brought over many prayers and presents from friends in Vancouver.  Mom also enjoyed a surprised baby shower at work.

Internal exam by Dr. Gross showed that my head was very low and definitely engaged already.  Dr. Scheller also estimated that my weight was ~6.5 lbs.

Mom had leg cramp for the first (and only) time.

November 25, 2001 – Sunday (cloudy and rainy)

Mom and Dad had a Thanksgiving/Baby Shower dinner with friends the night before.  When she woke up in the morning Mom noticed some bleeding and was instructed to go to the hospital for a check up.  Dr. Gross examined her and told her that the breeding was probably from her cervix dilating and effacing, and the membrane had not been ruptured.  Since she wasn’t having regular contractions we were discharged from the hospital.  By 8:30 pm, however, contractions were becoming more regular, about 6 to 7 min apart. 

November 26, 2001

Mom’s contractions became more and more intense and they left for the hospital at around 12:30 am.  When Dr. Gross examined her, she was already 5 cm dilated and Dr. Gross broke her water then.  By ~3:00 am Mom was 9 cm and in no time she was ready to push (Mom said that was the most painful time because I was pushing on her spinal cord and was putting a lot of pressure on her).  Dad helped Mom by feeding her ice chips, pushing on pressure points in her lower back (a tip from Dr. D. Fenske), and ultimately holding onto one of her legs while I was being pushed out (besides saying “push harder” and “relax now”).  Dad said that he could see my hair and then my head with the pushes that Mom was doing.  Finally, by 4:12 am I came into the world.  My Chinese Birthday would be October 12, year of the Snake (辛已年十月十二曰).  I weighed 6 lbs 6 ozs.