“…Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us…”
An hour after watching US Pres. Obama’s inauguration rites at around 330AM, I woke up with lower abdominal cramps (which I initially thought will be easily relieved by changing positions or walking around). I spent another hour monitoring how long the cramps would last and figured that I have to wake Migoy up – as the cramps were felt at 5-min interval, lasting for around 1 to 2 min. Thanks to the learning from our birthing class, the relaxation techniques were definitely helpful (in fact, I had to wait for Migoy to finish up taking a shower – yes, he was so relaxed.).
By 5AM, with less than 30 min drive from Pasig to Alabang, we were already inside the Genesis Center. I was
diagnosed to be 3 to 4 cm dilated already. Then, the staff already advised me to be admitted. While at the labor room, I would say, I was able to manage the contraction pains well --- as I was still able to find time to send text messages to family and friends on my labor progress. At 9AM, I was again checked and was told that I am already 4 cm dilated. After the staff learned that I only had a slice of toast and a glass of water for breakfast about 5 to 6 hours earlier, they asked my doctor if I can still enjoy breakfast. Lo and behold, they later served rice, chicken with mushrooms, and cereals for my breakfast..JPG)
After enjoying my meal and a couple of hours later, dilation is not progressing well, that I was advised to do manual stimulation (which did not work that well either). By 1PM, I already had to be administered with oxytocin to help with my labor. An hour after the oxytocin kicked in, my dilation came up to 6 cm! I was successfully managing the pains naturally, until I felt I was short of breath at every contraction. I felt I was having an asthma attack --- that my attempts to breathe deeply were foiled. This is the time the epidural came in handy --- although it brought uncontrollable chills all over.I was wheeled into the birthing room (BR322) to prepare us for the main event. I was then diagnosed to be 8 cm dilated an hour later, but my water bag was still intact. My doctor then had to rupture my bag and was happy to see that the water was still clear --- still a good sign that we can proceed with normal delivery (as I had indicated clearly in my birth plan).
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After almost a couple of hours of close monitoring, I was stuck at 8 cm dilation and my baby’s heartbeat was dropping in a regular pattern (coinciding with every contraction). It may be every woman’s wish to have an hourglass figure, especially after the pregnancy; but mine came too soon and in a different way. Everyone observed how oddly shaped my very-pregnant tummy has become! It was shaped like an hourglass…which then brought my doctor to advise Migoy that she is thinking of doing a C-section with my state and especially that of our baby. With my sober condition, I was roused to listen to my doctor’s advice intently. Considering my baby’s condition, I immediately succumbed to the needed surgery.
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At exactly 5:28PM, my baby was out. It was a good decision to not waste any time to proceed with the C-section, as my baby had a cord coil, which was causing the distress (and probably my peculiarly bunched up tummy). As soon as I heard my baby cry, I was in tears…moments later, I had her on my chest.The sequence of events on that joyful day definitely put me and Migoy to the test --- test of love, trust,
strength, and faith --- and with much pride, I would say, we were ONE and we did not falter and instead, faced every step of that wonderful journey together with lots of laughs and tears; and interesting stories to tell baby Annika.
