The Birth and the Place

We thought we would give you a little picture into where Maika was born and how all that went on for Yoko.

The morning of the 20th, around 5 am, Yoko started to have contractions. They were getting closer so we went into the birthing clinic around 12:00 pm. They checked her out and she was dilated to 5 cm, so they sent her to the room where she would give birth. Around 2:00 pm, Yoko was hooked up to an IV to help move along the process, and for the next 3 hours her contractions became closer and and more intense. Around 5:00 pm the real pushing began, and at 5:41 pm Maika was born. Maika was born at Matsugishi Ladies' Clinic. It is extremely clean and modern. However, the main reason we chose it was for its location. It is literally across the street from where Erik works and is only a 5 minute walk from where we live. When Maika was born, she had a little fluid on her lungs, so they put her in an incubator and kept her in the nursery for observation. While she was in the nursery, she was the biggest baby until a 9.25 lb/4200 g boy showed up.
At this clinic, they have the mothers stay for 5 nights if they have had a natural birth. If they have had a c-section, they stay longer. The room Yoko had was very nice, and they fed her very well. Erik would come over before work, at lunch, and after work to visit.

Saturday the 24th, we check out and headed home. All in all it was a good experience, and one in which we learned a lot. The Lord is good and again had His gracious hand upon us.