Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Girl :)
In a few days we'll be leaving for Toronto, Canada to celebrate our daughter's 1st birthday.
I just can't believe that she's turning 1 year old already. The past 12 months have been such an adventure for my husband and myself. Each day ends with a prayer of thanksgiving especially for the gift of our daughter.
I couldn't help going back to my Multiply journal that I wrote a few days after giving birth. Here's a copy for this blog.
*******************
On June 20th 2007, at approximately 6:30 in the morning, I went to the bathroom and saw a sign that meant I was going to give birth within 24 to 48 hours.
My husband was in the dining room having breakfast. I sat down beside him and calmly asked him if he could leave the office earlier that day because I was going to give birth. He left the house at around 7:30am. By 8:00am, I used up three overnight sanitary pads - my bag of water broke. However, I was not feeling any contraction. When I informed my OB-Gyne about this she instructed me to leave for the hospital if I didn’t feel any contractions by 9:00am. Since I sensed concern in my OB’s text message, I told my in-laws that maybe we should be on our way to the hospital. We left the house at around 8:30am which was rush hour. Luckily, traffic wasn’t that bad in Sucat Road and we were able to use the skyway going to Makati. We arrived at the Makati Medical Center 4th floor delivery area by 9:00am.
I presented the form that was given to me by my OB upon arrival at the delivery room. The staff asked me to remove all my accessories and they began to ask me questions. When my mother-in-law left me with the nurses, that’s when I suddenly began to absorb everything that was happening. After 39 weeks and 3 days, it was finally time for me to give birth. As I was about to enter a room which looked like an oversized toilet, I felt a lump in my throat and wanted to cry due to relief, excitement, fear and I wanted my husband and mom beside me.
By 9:30am, I was already in one of the nice birthing rooms of Makati Med and my husband was already with me. A resident OB did an internal examination and said that I’ve only dilated 1cm and that I had a posterior cervix. My OB arrived at around 10am, did an internal examination and confirmed what the other doctor said. Aside from the previous information, my OB said that my uterus was lazy – which meant that there was little or no contraction at all. My uterus was not pushing the baby out. She suggested that they give me something to induce labor and if it doesn’t work, they’ll have to do a c-section.
Since my last meal was around 6:45am, I was starving by 10:00 o’clock. The nurses told me that I was not allowed to take any food. After insisting (more of begging) for them to feed me, my OB agreed; partly because she was worried I might not have the strength to push later if I didn’t eat. My last meal for that day was 1:00pm after which they gave me medicine to induce contractions.
By 3:00pm, much to my husband’s dismay (or amusement), I was writhing in pain. I was squeezing his hand with each contraction. At 4 o’clock and at 3cm, I was pleading for an epidural – which surprised me because I normally have high tolerance for pain and I even told my OB that I might want to try natural birth (haha). The intensity of each contraction was so strong that I started to throw up and kept asking for ice chips. If it was that painful at 3cm, I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like at 8cm! It took a while before the anesthesiologist arrived since he was also in another operation. When he finally arrived, medication for induction was temporarily stopped and we proceeded with epidural. My husband, our OB, the anesthesiologist and 2 nurses were present in the room. The huge needle was inserted into my spine 3 times since the anesthesiologist couldn’t find the right spot twice.
Our friend was right – epidural becomes a woman’s best friend during childbirth.
Medication for induction was continued and I ceased to feel the contractions…even when the pain intensity was off the chart. After epidural, my cervix started to relax and I suddenly dilated about 1 to 2 cms per hour. By 8:30pm, to the delight of my OB, I was almost fully dilated.
By 9:00pm, I was wheeled into the delivery room. My husband joined me in the room with camera in hand. I started pushing, he started clicking. Because of the epidural anesthesia, I was pushing without actually feeling the push. I was numb from my stomach down to my toes. However, funny thing, I still got tired with each push. Aside from my OB, another doctor was right on top of me massaging my belly hard, pushing the baby down. M was doing his job – giving me moral support as I pushed. It was so surreal. I remember not feeling any pain yet I was trembling hard and vomiting once in a while. As I was asked to push, I remember silently calling Jesus, Mama Mary, the Holy Spirit and all the saints I knew to help me. When my OB told me to push one last time, I was too exhausted and told them I’m too tired to push. She decided to help me out with a suction.
At 9:52pm, our daughter was born. She was 7lbs 2oz and 52cm. She came out with a coil around her neck which our OB immediately cut. My baby girl, was placed on my stomach for me to see for the first time. No, I didn’t cry. I just remember saying, “Hello, darling. How are you?” The nurses took her from me and cleaned her. Meanwhile, the proud daddy, continued to click away with his camera. That night, in the delivery room, we had our first family photo.
Everything was done between 10:30pm to 10:45pm. M left the delivery area as I was brought to the recovery room. I left the recovery room at 12 o’clock midnight and they wheeled me to my room.
Giving birth for the first time was quite an experience. The Lord blessed us so much that day – no traffic, love of family and friends, efficient OB-Gyne and hospital staff, a much-prayed-for normal delivery and a beautiful baby.
Praise God!
End of sharing. Clap! Clap! Clap!
I just can't believe that she's turning 1 year old already. The past 12 months have been such an adventure for my husband and myself. Each day ends with a prayer of thanksgiving especially for the gift of our daughter.
I couldn't help going back to my Multiply journal that I wrote a few days after giving birth. Here's a copy for this blog.
*******************
On June 20th 2007, at approximately 6:30 in the morning, I went to the bathroom and saw a sign that meant I was going to give birth within 24 to 48 hours.
My husband was in the dining room having breakfast. I sat down beside him and calmly asked him if he could leave the office earlier that day because I was going to give birth. He left the house at around 7:30am. By 8:00am, I used up three overnight sanitary pads - my bag of water broke. However, I was not feeling any contraction. When I informed my OB-Gyne about this she instructed me to leave for the hospital if I didn’t feel any contractions by 9:00am. Since I sensed concern in my OB’s text message, I told my in-laws that maybe we should be on our way to the hospital. We left the house at around 8:30am which was rush hour. Luckily, traffic wasn’t that bad in Sucat Road and we were able to use the skyway going to Makati. We arrived at the Makati Medical Center 4th floor delivery area by 9:00am.
I presented the form that was given to me by my OB upon arrival at the delivery room. The staff asked me to remove all my accessories and they began to ask me questions. When my mother-in-law left me with the nurses, that’s when I suddenly began to absorb everything that was happening. After 39 weeks and 3 days, it was finally time for me to give birth. As I was about to enter a room which looked like an oversized toilet, I felt a lump in my throat and wanted to cry due to relief, excitement, fear and I wanted my husband and mom beside me.
By 9:30am, I was already in one of the nice birthing rooms of Makati Med and my husband was already with me. A resident OB did an internal examination and said that I’ve only dilated 1cm and that I had a posterior cervix. My OB arrived at around 10am, did an internal examination and confirmed what the other doctor said. Aside from the previous information, my OB said that my uterus was lazy – which meant that there was little or no contraction at all. My uterus was not pushing the baby out. She suggested that they give me something to induce labor and if it doesn’t work, they’ll have to do a c-section.
Since my last meal was around 6:45am, I was starving by 10:00 o’clock. The nurses told me that I was not allowed to take any food. After insisting (more of begging) for them to feed me, my OB agreed; partly because she was worried I might not have the strength to push later if I didn’t eat. My last meal for that day was 1:00pm after which they gave me medicine to induce contractions.
By 3:00pm, much to my husband’s dismay (or amusement), I was writhing in pain. I was squeezing his hand with each contraction. At 4 o’clock and at 3cm, I was pleading for an epidural – which surprised me because I normally have high tolerance for pain and I even told my OB that I might want to try natural birth (haha). The intensity of each contraction was so strong that I started to throw up and kept asking for ice chips. If it was that painful at 3cm, I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like at 8cm! It took a while before the anesthesiologist arrived since he was also in another operation. When he finally arrived, medication for induction was temporarily stopped and we proceeded with epidural. My husband, our OB, the anesthesiologist and 2 nurses were present in the room. The huge needle was inserted into my spine 3 times since the anesthesiologist couldn’t find the right spot twice.
Our friend was right – epidural becomes a woman’s best friend during childbirth.
Medication for induction was continued and I ceased to feel the contractions…even when the pain intensity was off the chart. After epidural, my cervix started to relax and I suddenly dilated about 1 to 2 cms per hour. By 8:30pm, to the delight of my OB, I was almost fully dilated.
By 9:00pm, I was wheeled into the delivery room. My husband joined me in the room with camera in hand. I started pushing, he started clicking. Because of the epidural anesthesia, I was pushing without actually feeling the push. I was numb from my stomach down to my toes. However, funny thing, I still got tired with each push. Aside from my OB, another doctor was right on top of me massaging my belly hard, pushing the baby down. M was doing his job – giving me moral support as I pushed. It was so surreal. I remember not feeling any pain yet I was trembling hard and vomiting once in a while. As I was asked to push, I remember silently calling Jesus, Mama Mary, the Holy Spirit and all the saints I knew to help me. When my OB told me to push one last time, I was too exhausted and told them I’m too tired to push. She decided to help me out with a suction.
At 9:52pm, our daughter was born. She was 7lbs 2oz and 52cm. She came out with a coil around her neck which our OB immediately cut. My baby girl, was placed on my stomach for me to see for the first time. No, I didn’t cry. I just remember saying, “Hello, darling. How are you?” The nurses took her from me and cleaned her. Meanwhile, the proud daddy, continued to click away with his camera. That night, in the delivery room, we had our first family photo.
Everything was done between 10:30pm to 10:45pm. M left the delivery area as I was brought to the recovery room. I left the recovery room at 12 o’clock midnight and they wheeled me to my room.
Giving birth for the first time was quite an experience. The Lord blessed us so much that day – no traffic, love of family and friends, efficient OB-Gyne and hospital staff, a much-prayed-for normal delivery and a beautiful baby.
Praise God!
End of sharing. Clap! Clap! Clap!
Comments