07 January 2008

Chronicles of 19 hours of Labor

I’ve had the most normal of pregnancies, in fact you can call it quite uneventful except of course for the typical milestones like the first ultrasound or when we first learned about our baby’s gender…and a couple of times when I got real sick…no drama, kumbaga. Blood glucose level – passed both times when I had my OGCT (this one we had to check twice since my mother is diabetic), Blood pressure – usually within the 110/80 range, Weight gain – gained only 23.5lbs throughout the whole 9 months, UTI – some case but not really serious…as I’ve said, NORMAL.

But everything changed on our last prenatal check up last Dec. 28.

According to my LMP, Ethan is due on the 31st of Dec. However from our 8th month prenatal check-up (and I’ve also mentioned in my previous entries), I was already 1-2cm dilated although cervix was still in the posterior (ansakit kapag IE, promise! Kasi nasa likod ung cervix, hirap si doktorang abutin), effacement was not yet progressing (makapal pa ang cervix). According to Doc Niza, Ethan may come out before his due date so we were waiting for Christmas…baka gustong sumabay sa kapanganakan ni Jesus.

But Christmas came and went, wala pa si Baby Ethan namin.

Next prenatal check up was on the 28th, 5pm at Healthway Shang. A day before, I was already experiencing some headache at pamimigat ng katawan…but I didn’t really attribute it to anything…as I’ve already said a gazillion times, I’ve had a very “uneventful” pregnancy so far. When the nurse got my BP, 130/100…no reaction pa ako nyan, didn’t even worry. But when Doc Niza arrived, medyo panic ata si Doc…ayun pala, having that BP level is cause to worry! We had our prenatal, she asked me to have a urinalysis test – to check on pre-eclampsia…the signs were there, high BP…edema, one thing left to confirm – presence of protein in my urine.

Right then and there, she gave us our options (from time to time she was checking my BP, laging nasa 120/90) – giving birth in Cardinal Santos is out of the picture because I am disqualified from availing their maternity package (kahit gestational hypertension lang, automatic di na pwede sa package). So our only option was to go to Medical Center of Muntinlupa where we originally planned. Good thing we brought Ethan’s stuff with us before we left Marikina because we were planning to go home to Alabang for the night and just go back to Marikina on the 29th.

With my high BP, Doc Niza was really bent on inducing me for labor whether that night or on the morning of the 29th. The only option we had was when to get admitted – which depended on the urinalysis result. If it was positive for protein, I had to get admitted right away but if it was negative, I can wait until the next morning. We waited for the test results for an hour (all the while I was ruing the fact that I ate sisig pa kasi, kaya siguro tumaas BP ko)…and it came out positive for protein! OMG, this is it!

With the traffic going to Alabang, we arrived at MCM around 12MN of Dec 28. Doc Niza phoned ahead to inform them of our arrival and when we got there, we were immediately accommodated. Went through usual admission process (I guess) and then was prepped for the labor room. I was sedated because they had to inject me with the loading dose of Magnesium Sulfate due to my pre-eclampsia. Doc Niza was adamant to give me that to avoid horror stories of post-natal convulsions. Said goodbye to A, was kinda hard knowing I’ll be going through labor without him there…and already expecting long labor since inner OS was still closed.

I was in and out of consciousness, was groggy but in those cases when I was conscious, I was alert. My condition didn’t really change at all even the next morning, still same dilation. I knew Doc Niza was monitoring my case and also talked to me – she will rupture my amniotic sac upon her arrival at the hospital to help induce me into active labor. Unfortunately, she got there a bit late due to the traffic so the resident OB had to do the rupturing. When Doc Niza got there, she was able to bring Albert to the labor room – 12 hours na yang hindi nakikita ang asawa nya no, papasukin nyo na – and voila, Albert was there :-) At least I was able to see him for a few minutes (and fortunately, mag-isa lang ako sa labor room). I also informed Doc Niza that it was Albert’s birthday – yes, if Ethan does come out, he’ll have the same birthday as Albert :-)

As pointed out, the rupturing of the amniotic sac was the point of no return…because after it was ruptured, labor pains really came! The problem was, we still had to wait for the anesthesiologist to arrive…and it took her about 5 hours!!! I distinctly remember asking the attending doctors whether the anesthesiologist was already there EVERY TIME I woke up. Doc Niza already returned from her clinic hours at Healthway and was in her surgical robe but still no anesthesiologist.

To make the long story short, epidural was given at around 6pm after which Doc Niza let me take a nap (sedated me actually) to let me rest from all the pain. When I woke up, good news – I was already 8-9cm dilated! After which they brought me to the delivery room. It took me about 4-5 na ire (with someone pushing on my stomach) before Ethan came into the world.

Actually, anti-climactic nga e kasi nung sinabi nilang lumabas na, napatanong ako kung nakalabas na nga…didn’t feel any pain at all…but felt the strong gush of water and Doc Niza saying “My gosh, basang-basa ang robe ko….nasa loob ang lahat ng tubig” Hahaha…okay talaga to si Doctora! And right after I gave birth, my BP normalized to 110/80 and has been within the normal level, ever since. Thank God!

Ethan Gregory (Ethan = strong; Gregory = guardian) Mahinay Francia was born at 7:49PM on December 29, 2007 (30 years after his papa came into the world)…6.05lbs, 49cm (buti na lang di malaki si baby kasi complicated na case ni mama nya)…our cute little angel.

Was able to hear his first cry and was able to kiss him pa before I slept and woke up in the recovery room at around 10pm. By this time, I was itching to go to my room and be with A, tell him this story. Sayang lang talaga di sya nakasama throughout the delivery but there’ll be other times…ung next in 2-3 years time pa no? Hahaha. Right now I’m recovering (asked A to upload this entry lang para fresh pa sa mind ko) at home, breastfeeding and sleeping with Ethan…still feel the battle scars (yung mga pasa dahil sa injections at muscle pain) but all definitely worth our angel (cliché but sobrang true).

Thirty-nine weeks and 5 days of waiting (with 19 hours of labor), 6.05lbs, 49cm long, countless muscle pains and sleepless nights…everything adds up to one little bundle of joy for his papa and I…our precious strong guardian, Ethan Gregory.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations che (and of course, your dearie A)!!!!! *kisses to baby ethan* god bless your family ... God is good!

Unknown said...

sis congrats! I thought you'll be giving birth by this month pa... yun pala december nanganak ka na. Super gwapo ni Ethan ha... na-excite tuloy ako bigla sa aming little one. And belated happy birthday din kay Albert ... grabe! Ganda ng new years gift sa inyo ni Lord ah :).

cheryll said...

hi pie! thanks :) yup, God is good :) ingat lagi...

hi sis ann! grabe, kaka-excite ba? hehe...lapit na rin yan. new year's gift pati birthday gift din sa papa nya hehehe...thanks for dropping by. ingat.