Thursday, September 03, 2009

I'm an August Mom! :)

 
This is a very late update. :)  I gave birth last August 12, 2009 to our baby boy, Arin Mykel (nicknamed Ryken), at 10:21 A.M. via ceasarean at Dr. Jesus Delgado Memorial Hospital.  He weighed 7.4lbs and was 52cm long.  I was on my 39th week, my Expected Due Date (EDD) was August 14, 2009.

I initially wanted a normal delivery. However, when my OB checked me last July 27 and August 4, my cervix was still closed and mataas pa raw si baby.  My husband, Al, was decided to just undergo C-section so I can give birth on August 8 (which was what I would have wanted also if I was confirmed CS), but I still wanted to give normal delivery a try.  Come August 10, my cervix was only 1cm open and still no contractions or bloody show.  Hindi pa rin bumababa si baby.  My OB then instructed me to undergo Biophysical Screening the next day, August 11, to check the condition of the baby and if the baby is ok, she will try to induce my labor.   If the baby is not ok, then emergency CS na kaagad.  You see, my OB does not want her patients to give birth after their EDD since she believes that this increases the risk of having a CS or of the baby pooping inside the womb.  So I underwent screening the next day and thankfully, the baby is ok so my OB tried to induce my labor when she did an IE.  By 9pm, I was already feeling some contractions.  There was also a bloody streak on my underwear.  I even ate dinner then and took some of my vitamins, haha!  The contractions were getting more painful by the hour and by 1:30am, I already asked Al to bring me to Delgado.  My mom and brother also went with us to the hospital. 

Upon arriving at the hospital, the resident did an IE and I was still at 1-2cm.  They hooked me to the baby monitor and the oxygen supply and attached an IV.  I was on induced labor.  It was really painful!  I was already asking the residents for pain reliever but they only give pain reliever during the active phase of labor (cervix is 3cm open).  Har!!  But I told myself that this is what I wanted, if I can deliver via normal means then I would.  I was really grabbing the sides of the bed because of the pain. :)  Good thing I was the only one at the labor room then, hehe..  After about 40 minutes, I heard baby's heartbeat drop.  The residents were on alert and one of them tried to resuscitate my baby thru IE.  It was scary!  But baby's heartbeat became stable again, thank God.  They gave me a small dose of pain reliever that will also put me to sleep.  Napaisip pa nga ako kung paano akong makakatulog sa sakit na nararamdaman ko! :) But I got to sleep for some time and when I woke up, it was about 5am already and the residents did an IE again.  I was still at 2cm and mataas pa rin si baby, then my baby's heartbeat dropped again and became stable after a few seconds.  By past 7am, my OB arrived at the hospital and did an IE, which was the most painful of all because she really tried to reach inside, and I was still at 2cm and mataas pa rin si baby.  When my OB checked also, there was already meconium stain on the hand glove so my baby already pooped inside.  There was fetal distress already, especially with the two instances that my baby's heartbeat dropped, so I had to undergo emergency CS. 

At around 10am, I was already inside the operating room.  It was cold because of the aircon, hehehe..  Before I was given anesthesia, I prayed to God that He take care of me and my baby and to guide my doctors and the nurses.  The general anesthesia felt cold in my spine then my whole body felt numb already.  They shaved my hair there (which I wanted to oppose because I never shaved it, haha!) and I even told my anesthesiologist that I felt cold because of the aircon. :)  I fell asleep after a few seconds and from what I remember, I saw my son thru a cellphone picture showed by the anest.  I didn't see him in person, hahaha!  My OB said I was really sleepy and they were waking me up when my baby was out but I couldn't remember anything, just the cellphone picture. :)

I stayed in the recovery room for a long time.  I remembered my anest telling me that I will be staying there until 6pm but I think I got out at around 730pm already.  I heard the nurses that I only got to urinate a small amount in a span of 4hours so I assumed that a certain amount should be met before I can be brought to my room.  By 8pm, I was already in my room.  My husband and mom showed me pictures of my baby.  He was one of the well-babies, thank you, Lord! :)

The stitch was somewhat painful.  I really felt the pain when the pain reliever thru IV was used up and I had to take tablets, instead.  On my 2nd day, I was really crying when I tried to go to the bathroom with the help of my husband.  By the 3rd day, I got by and I only had the chance to try to breastfeed my baby that day but he was just fed at the time I went to the nursery and the 2nd time I tried, he didn't really latch and was crying too hard.  :(

I was discharged from the hospital on August 15, 2009.  When we reached home, I tried to breastfeed my baby but there's no milk yet.  I just let him suck to stimulate the breasts.  On my 4th day, I had breastmilk already! Thank you again, Lord! :)  

Being a mother really is the greatest experience. :)  

P.S. I have to commend the medical and non-medical staff of Delgado because they were very friendly, efficient, and professional.  It's a good hospital choice.  :)