March 23, 2009
Labor Via Twitter
Instead of recollecting and re-editing the story of the birth of our first child, I'll just repost all the tweets that I sent out throughout the process, a raw retelling mostly sent by iPhone.
We have water leakage. No big water-break and no labor yet but we're off to the hospital.
11:41 PM Feb 27th from TwitterFon
Confirmed water break but no labor yet. We're admitted and will induce in the morning. We're not leaving here without our baby!
1:22 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Ooh we have a contraction. Dilated one finger-width here we go...
2:46 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Contractions getting regular now, every 10min or so, so far.
3:42 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Baby's not low enough yet for imminent birth. This could take a while.
7:20 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
A quick breakfast run to the MickeyD around back. No food for her until the doc checks her out, though.
8:54 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Contractions every five minutes or so and getting stronger. Definitely no need to induce at this point.
9:17 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Doc's here. Cervix open two finger-widths but we'll give her a shot to regularize the contractions. OK on the breakfast front.
9:23 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Cervix opening fast by the time the anaesthesiologist got here it's already getting a bit late for the epidural. We'll ride this out.
10:32 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Saved the money on the epidural so we'll do the in-room birth. She doesn't need to move to the OR and I get to take pictures.
10:52 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Fully dilated time to push.
11:28 AM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Baby is starting to show time for delivery
12:42 PM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Yay she's done it!
1:17 PM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
2988g healthy baby boy born at 1:13pm
1:37 PM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
And the aftermath:
Boy thee sure's a lot of paperwork involved with bringing new life into this world.
2:30 PM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Handing off to mom and going home to take a nap and show grandma the pictures.
4:53 PM Feb 28th from TwitterFon
Back on station at the hospital. The kid's surprisingly well behaved, considering. And so cute!
10:18 PM Feb 28th from web
We have suckling action. Not sure if he's getting anything out of it yet, though.
6:24 AM Mar 1st from web
Whoever said the nipple was the only intuitive interface was a liar. Thankfully infants learn fast.
10:00 PM Mar 1st from web
Skype+eeePC = Baby-vision for dad in the States.
11:32 AM Mar 2nd from web
Sent the baby off with the nurse for a nth and bilyrubin tests so mommy can get some blissful sleep.
7:45 AM Mar 3rd from TwitterFon
Baby's jaundiced so he has to stay for a few extra days to bake off the bilirubin. Common problem but mom&dad miss him anyway.
7:36 AM Mar 4th from TwitterFon
Damn the baby is still jaundiced which means at least two more days in the hospital.
11:03 AM Mar 7th from TwitterFon
Not sure what the UV lamp is doing for the baby's bilirubin levels but it's sure giving him a heck of a tan.
12:53 PM Mar 7th from TwitterFon
Mom's here at the hospital to see the baby. Nurse suggested to feed him formula for the rest of the day to pass the jaundice faster.
1:06 PM Mar 8th from TwitterFon
is ready to start showing off the baby to all the relatives. (from Facebook status).
12:09 PM Mar 14th from twitterfeed
March 16, 2009
Denouncing Western Capitalist Propaganda
After seeing folks from our Chinese factory huddle around the stock chart terminals at the bank after work, I was surprised that there isn't more big-time financial coverage in the news. Well, it looks like 芮成钢 is the man for the job, anchoring the main business program for CCTV.
There's something to be said for having a calming, self-assured voice delivering the news in the midst of the current financial maelstrom. On the other hand, does anyone take Chinese Central Television seriously as a >journalistic organization? At least Mr. Rui is not totally blind to the controlled nature of Chinese party-line news.
Because his positions often parrot Beijing’s critiques of foreign journalists, Mr. Rui is asked whether he engages in propaganda handed down by the government. He compares it with Fox News coverage of the White House during a Republican administration.
“I hate the word propaganda,” he says.
It's fascinating how one may interpret those statements from an American point of view. Some may be dismayed that a Communist Party organ is compared to the hard-hitting truth-telling of the Fox News Channel. Others may find it ironic how a propaganda-hating reporter might point out Fox News coverage of Republican presidents as an admirable example. But both groups could point out that at least a Republican administration is subject to Change, and Fox News has competitors both in the Mainstream Media and on the Internet. But regardless of his views, so long as he does his government appointed jobs of calming the proletariats stuck with downward-sliding stocks he'll be useful to investors around the world, since a crashing Chinese economy would really make this a global catastrophe.