Welcoming our Zeb Gavin

Hello there ladies!

Sorry for my short hiatus. For those who have been following this blog, I am no longer living in Singapore but my husband still is. I came home here in the Philippines last December and officially became a stay-at-home wife.

After I stopped working, I found myself spending my time reading up on labor and delivery as I was very anxious or should I say S-C-A-R-E-D about the pain of giving birth. This is probably one of my greatest fear in life. I like to believe that I have a high threshold for pain but there's something about delivering a small human being via the small hole and the thought of it tearing/ripping scares the hell out of me. It makes my knees weak.

Anyhoo, I'm here to share with you guys my birthing story. It actually turned out to be a good experience as there was minimal pain in my labor and delivery.  Thanks to my baby :) 

So, here goes...

February 3

9AM

I woke up and felt that my undies was wet. I went to the bathroom to make sure that I just didn't accidentally peed on myself. I was wearing white undies that day so it was  fairly easy to see if there is a yellowish stain and there wasn't. I actually had to (sorry TMI) smell it just to make sure but it didn't really smell anything like pee so in my mind I know that it could have been from my water bag. At first I was still in denial. I didn't want to believe that I could be giving birth on that day because my husband is not yet here. He was actually scheduled to come home on the 6th of Feb. I couldn't imagine going through my labor and delivery without him by my side so I had to stay calm and collected. I then took a bath and dressed up. After a few minutes of thinking what to do, I decided to text my OB (my cousin Dra. Leonor Manio-Leonardo) and tell her about the wet undies. She instructed me to go directly to the Genesis Center of Asian Hospital for admission because my water bag have ruptured. As soon as I read the word ADMISSION, reality hit me in the face. This is it! I am giving birth... OH-EM-GEE! I was still hesitant at first because I was not feeling any pain or contractions but my OB told me that baby is exposed to the environment and I need to be induced.

I called my husband right away and broke the news and needless to say, I cried my eyes out! He calmed me down and said that he will be booking a flight that same day. He got the 4PM flight and was expected to reach Manila around 8-ish. I was really hoping that baby can wait for daddy before he decide to come out.

12:30PM

We reached Asian Hospital and as instructed, we went straight to the Genesis Center.  They did an IE and cervix was still closed. After that, a speculum was inserted down there to check my water bag and we found out it was not ruptured yet. What I experience may have been a leak. I was then strapped to a fetal monitor to check my contractions and they saw that I was having strong ones every 5 minutes however I wasn't feeling any pain at all. Since I haven't eaten anything since the night before, I asked permission from my OB if I can have my lunch first and she gave me the go signal.

2PM

I went back to the labor room and had me strapped again to the fetal monitor. This time the contractions were milder. Maybe because I kept asking baby to wait for his daddy before making his big entrance. 

4:30PM

I was put on oxytocin via an IV to induce labor and for contractions to start. I kept looking at the graph coming out of fetal monitor and there were contractions but it wasn't consistent and I still was not feeling any pain. 

8:30PM

Daddy made it to the hospital! Yay! I had a sigh of relief after seeing my husband walk through the door! Finally, I don't have to go through it alone anymore. 

11PM

They did an IE a couple of times more and my cervix was still closed so my OB ordered to stop my IV first and have it resumed the next day. At this point, I was already very exhausted. Lying on the bed almost the whole day strapped to a monitor was not the most comfortable feeling.

February 4

5AM

The nurse came in and resumed my oxytocin. After an hour, I started to feel the contractions but the pain was still bearable. Nothing that I couldn't handle. To be honest though, I was already petrified because I thought my labor will start anytime soon and the pain will get stronger and stronger but it didn't.

6:40AM

IE was done and I was finally 1 cm dilated! Finally we saw some "progress". We were already feeling the excitement but at the back of my mind I was also preparing myself for the pain. Hours passed and I didn't progress. I was stuck at 1 cm.

1:30PM

Doctor's order came that I can no longer eat or drink, not even water. I already knew that this in preparation for a C-section in case baby really decides not to come out the natural way. I felt torn. I have always wanted to experience that magical natural child birth that everybody's talking about but on the other hand, I felt that I will be able to handle the pain of a C-section more. Maybe because of my experience with my laparoscopic surgery a year ago. 

6PM

My OB arrived at the hospital and from then on things went by fast. After 10 minutes, I found myself inside the operating room and the spinal anesthesia is being administered. After a minute or two, it has taken effect and half of my body was already numb. This is it! We will finally meet our precious little baby! I felt sleepy but I tried to fight it off. I wanted to be awake when my baby comes out and burst out his first cry.

At 6:48PM, our precious little one, Zeb Gavin Lim said hello to the world!

Our Zeb Gavin with my OB Dra. Leonor Manio-Leonardo

Turns out, my baby's cord was around his neck and maybe that's one reason why he was not descending down my pelvis. We just thanked God that he came out safe and healthy at 3.5kg! The doctors and nurses kept telling me that he's a big baby and that I may not be able to deliver him via normal delivery.

Anyway, luckily daddy was allowed inside so he was able to take photos. I will forever treasure this moment. It has totally turned our lives around - we are now PARENTS. I know it's a tough job but it is a blessing to be one.

Our first family photo :)

As for baby, he got an infection and he needed to stay in the nursery instead of having him inside our room since he needs to be on IV every 12 hours.  I was ready to go home the next day but was not allowed yet by my OB. We also cannot bear the thought of leaving baby behind since I wanted to breastfeed so we decided to wait until baby was allowed to be discharged. By Saturday, Feb 8, we went home as a happy family!

So there you have it ladies. My not-so-painful birthing story :) I'm really thankful for my baby for making my whole pregnancy up to delivery a very pleasant experience. He didn't cause me any unbearable pain. I hope it stays that way until he grows up... lol! 

I am now 2 weeks post partum and my stitches have healed. I'm no longer taking pain medications since last week but I am still wearing my binder to put everything back into place hehe :) Not gonna lie, having undergone CS was tough especially the day after. It was so difficult to walk around especially when I needed to be wheeled out of my room to go to the nursery to feed my baby but miraculously, the pain disappears whenever I have my baby in my arms. I felt I was superwoman!

Now at home, I feel like we have already adjusted to catering baby's needs since the only thing they know how to do  for now is to sleep, eat and poop! We have worked our way around it and we are getting better/longer sleep at night. This baby is really such a breeze to take care of. Thank you, Lord for this miracle!