38 Weeks and Baby Out!

Hello, hello!

I'm alive and I've given birth!

In my last entry, I wrote that the OB was psyching me that I might give birth in January. I had my next check-up on December 20. Per gestational age, I was 38weeks and 3days then. OB performed her first IE on me and remarked that my cervix was still high or something so I won't be giving birth anytime soon. Oh well.

EDIT:

I even had this post in my Drafts dated December 19:

Despite the declarations of my OB, I'm playing the waiting game. The past couple of days, I've been experiencing hardening of the tummy, some cramping and stabbing pain down there. As always, I talk to balong and tell him that should he decide to come out, sana early morning so it won't be traffic going to Medical City. Ha.

I want to give birth na. The hardening of the tummy makes me worry because I've read about painless contractions and all along, I've been thinking that pain is the one unmistakable sign of labor. But I haven't experienced any other signs, i.e., bloody show, water breaking, etc. So, waiting game.

Anyhoo. Hubby and I were to attend a birthday party that night, and instead of heading home, we decided to go to Trinoma. I remember walking around a lot and buying a gift at Toys R Us where there were lots of people. Then hubby and I had frozen yogurt at Red Mango before heading to the party.

We were early birds at the party. I ate spaghetti, rice with pakbet sabaw, a prawn, salmon, lechon, and buko salad for dessert. I think I also had cake. Gluttony, I tell you. We got home before midnight. 

At around 12:30AM, I peed and saw blood when I wiped. However, since I was not feeling any pain, I attributed the same to the IE done at the check-up earlier that day.

At around 5:30AM, I woke up with intense abdominal pain, like I had to poop. Since I had a constipation episode the week before, I went to the CR. But when I looked, I saw blood instead of poop. I woke up hubby and Manang and we were off to the hospital.

On the way to the hospital though, I knew DEFINITELY that I had to poop. HAHA. So when we got to the ER and they placed me in a wheel chair, I was saying, "Pwede ba muna ako mag-CR?" I kept saying that until they told me to change in a hospital gown and get into the hospital bed where I promptly pooped sans bed pan. Sabi na I needed to go eh!

So they performed an IE and I was just 1cm. dilated. I thought they were gonna send me home but when they called my OB, she had me admitted. So they wheeled me into the labor room... where I stayed for 19 hours! I think I was 3cm. and 5cm. for a long time. And I kept pooping pa, around five more times that my OB asked, "Ano bang kinain mo?"

My water bag also has not broken yet so they brought out this long instrument. Buti na lang during one contraction, I felt a pop and gushing of liquid. Yun na pala yun.

At one point, they asked me if I wanted to have the epidural already. Clueless first-timer me, I thought, I have a choice when to take the anesthesia? Ayun tuloy, since it was Christmas season, it took a while before they got hold of an anesthesiologist. I was already 8cm. when they injected me,  waaa. So there I was, curled up into a fetal position and I was supposed to not move and then a contraction would come. Huhu.

 Then, it was time. I was wheeled into the operating room 12:10AM of December 22. They gave me instructions, take a deep breath on top of a contraction, hold breath for 10 seconds then push. Andaming tao sa OR, everyone was giving me instructions. Everyone was chanting, "inhale, 1 to 10, and puuush!" The pushing was 2 sets per contraction and baby came out on the third contraction. It was 12:32 AM. Ambilis lang!

He did not cry immediately so I got worried. He cried when they were cleaning him up na. Hubby was inside the OR so he was taking lots of pictures. Then they brought him to me for the breast crawl but he did not latch immediately.

Then I was brought to the Recovery Room where I drifted in and out of sleep. Someone was snoring in there, inggit ako. But I think I was high from the adrenaline and besides, I'm just really hungry! Then they injected an antibiotic into my IV and I felt my face tingling. I asked the nurse if that was normal. They injected something else and then I felt the tingling na up to my feet! I kept moving my limbs kasi baka I was getting paralyzed na. I even thought, "shet, sa Recovery Room pa ako mamamatay?!" They thought it was an allergic reaction so I was injected some antihistamine. A nurse also came to get some colostrum. 

Then, wheeled again into our room na. After a while, baby was brought into our room and he latched. Yay! That evening, he cried when I just fed him so I thought, diaper change? And lo and behold, meconium, that dark sticky first poop! Yun nga lang, my mommy forgot to pack the rubber diaper mat so the poop ended up on baby's blanket and clothes. 

We were discharged the next day, December 23. Christmas came early indeed. And my life then has never been the same. :)