Hello! I'm back and will be writing sporadically I guess due to this new phase in my life, I'm a new mom again to a baby boy!  Meet the newest addition to the family, Damien Louie.

All smiles on our way to the hospital and already 4cm dilated.

PRE-LABOR
I was scheduled that day for my regular check-up.  It was around 12:30 and I hadn't taken my lunch yet.  I remember how I was craving for a Chowking Pork Chao Fan with Siomai and Wanton Soup already but I was going to be late, so I just ate cookies. My OB performed her IE and she said I was already 4cm dilated.  She was still figuring out if I'd be giving birth that day or the following day.  A few minutes later, she did an IE again, and based on her assessment, baby's coming out that day.  I was told to meet her in the hospital at 2pm.  She asked when my last full meal was (it was breakfast at around 7am) and if I ate anything else, well just the cookies.  She said that's good, don't eat anything anymore.  Paano na ang Chao Fan na plano kong kainin?  Tiniis ko nang bonggang bongga ang craving.  I commuted home, met my husband who still went to work that day (and that morning loaded my hospital bags in the car already for some reason o alam na niya I'm giving birth already).

I was so chillax and my husband was panicky, parang siya ang manganganak.  But mind you, siya nagsabi, "mag-make-up ka na kaya, para maganda ka sa pics ni Doc after giving birth."  Wow, talk about presence of mind.

LABOR AND DELIVERY
I labored and endured the intolerable pain for almost five hours until my doctor decided to put me to sleep.  I woke up being transferred to the delivery room.  I remember pushing as hard as I can.  I remember the feeling of wanting desperately to deliver my baby vaginally because that's the experience I had with my two previous kids.  I don't remember how long that was, until I was told that I was fully dilated at 10cm and had been pushing for almost two hours to no avail.

I was groggy due to sedatives that's why I think I had little control of how I was acting during delivery.  I remember people around me telling me to push some more or instructing me how to push or maybe telling me I'm pushing the wrong way.  I remember how tiring it was and how painful it was that all I wanted was for it to be over and for baby to come out.

Everything was hazy, except this one clear moment when my OB called my name several times as if getting into my conscious senses telling me

"I'm sorry Louise, we tried to have a normal delivery.  I cannot risk your and your baby's safety.  We have to do a Cesarean.  Ang tagal na nating nagpu-push, kaya sana kaso your baby's position, delikado."  

That I remembered very well, kahit groggy ako at tingin ko sa OB ko angel na kumakausap sa akin, I remembered that vividly.

The next event which I can recall was being assisted to sit up then curled down to be given an epidural anesthesia.  I remember two sharp injections given at my back.  A few minutes later, I was laid down and immediately after that, everything was blank.

I already had delivered my baby via emergency Cesarean Section.

Hindi na nga rin nakapag-bikini cut because the doctors had to do the surgery fast, not that I prefer it, basta kung anong safest for me and my baby.

The next thing I could recall was being transferred to my room (which I don't know what time) and waking up the following day in my hospital gown, with a catheter, with swollen right hand due to dextrose, and a bandaged surgical stitch below my belly button.  I then confirmed from my husband that I had a CS and asked how's our baby.

DAY 1:
I felt very weak and tired.  I could feel a little pain in my tummy area, but manageable since I had a round-the-clock nurse assistance who gave me the medicines I needed like pain relievers and antibiotic.  I don't remember eating anything the whole day, just water which was given to me gradually.  Husband has been eating the hospital food during the first two days.

My OB visited me and explained to me at my conscious-and-not-lokaret-sense what happened and why she had to perform an emergency CS.  She was afraid that my uterus might rupture already and that the baby's position won't make it possible to have a normal delivery.  She could have done something about the cord coil, but baby's head was facing up.  She also said, I was being instructed to hold on to the bar, but I was holding on to the rubber mat, baka nasira ko nga ata eh.  She also said she did a vertical cut, not the bikini one because they need to rush the surgery.  She wanted me to rest well, to drink water first, then gave me clearance to eat burger for dinner.  I remember eating pizza instead.

Our friends visited us and mga loko-loko puro patawa, I was keeping myself from laughing because of the stitch, baka biglang bumuka, kaloka!  I rested well that night and I think I was recovering pretty well.

Milestone of the day: I already passed gas (every doctor and nurse who went in the room asked this question "Naka-utot na po?" hahaha!) and my catheter was removed.  But I was told that I have to urinate in the morning before 7am or else they will have to put it back. Nooo!

DAY 2:
Our family, both sides, and our excited kids went in the morning to visit me and Damien.  They were really happy to see baby being the biggest one in the nursery.  He was easy to spot, that humongous baby BOY Santos.  My brother and his family also visited and gave us Kamuning's special Palabok.  Ang sarap!  I already started eating full meals since breakfast and my doctor wanted me to regain strength by eating and resting well.  But she said NO to coffee, juice, sodas, and chocolate.  She also changed my stitch's dressing and instructed me and husband how to do it ourselves at home.  She gave tips on proper cleaning and caring for the wound.  Should I need help in making the scar's appearance less visible, she could also do something about it.

Milestone of the day: I willed myself to finally get up and off from the bed, stand with husband's assistance though a little dizzy, and urinate before the 7am deadline.  Breastfed baby in the nursery.  Changed wound's dressing and wore a binder.  I ate full meals the whole day.

Shortly after breastfeeding baby inside the nursery

DAY 3:
This was day three after the delivery but day four in the hospital.  We were both excited to go home already with Baby Damien.  I regained a lot of strength from the past two days of resting and eating well.  My husband and my superhero, processed and settled the following hospital documentations:

   - Philhealth discount (for hospital bill and doctor professional fees)
   - Baby's birth certificate registration
   - Medical Abstract (Certified Photocopy of the Original)
   - Operative Record (Certified Photocopy of the Original)
   - Hospital Bill
   - Doctor's Professional Fees (for OB-GYN, Anesthesiologist, and Pediatrician)

Milestone of the day: I didn't feel dizzy anymore.  I finally had my bowel movement in the morning.  I urinated frequently.  I dressed myself up.  I had better appetite and energy.  I felt physically strong and very able.


WHAT ABOUT BABY?
While husband was processing and settling all those mentioned, I was in the nursery to feed baby.  We also packed all our stuff and readied baby's going-home stuff as well.  An hour before our discharge, his pediatrician came to our room to tell us that we cannot take him home yet because of the jitteriness they discovered in him which could mean he may be low in electrolytes or something else, hence they needed to further test his blood and electrolytes level to exactly know what's causing it.

I loved him long before my first sight of him.  He's a miracle!  All babies are!

COMING HOME
Of course, husband and I came home with a heavy heart.  We still took it positively because, it's better that the jitters manifested before we brought him home.  Otherwise, we wouldn't know that something's already wrong with him and will not have the available nursing help we could get from the hospital.

We weren't told exactly when we could bring him home.  The pediatrician needed to make sure baby's test results would appear normal, that the jitteriness would subside, and that baby would be closely observed.

My kids had imagined me coming home with their baby brother in my arms.  But when they saw that I was alighting the car without the baby, they both sadly questioned why.

Personally, both my husband and I felt a bit empty and quite depressed that night.  We just prayed that his test results wouldn't show any abnormalities nor illness, and that we could bring him home sooner.

Apart from the heavy heart, I had heavy breasts, so I just pumped that night.

I was able to express 1oz on my first pump, I thought to myself that wasn't bad at all.

VISITING BABY IN THE HOSPITAL
We hurried to the hospital to visit baby and find out what the test results were.  The attending pediatrician wasn't there so we had to wait for her to update us with baby's condition.  But the supervising nurse said that baby's results showed normal electrolytes levels and even his blood tests showed nothing to worry about.  That good news lifted our spirits and hope that we could bring him home that day.  I was just at the nursing room almost the whole day to bond with baby and feed him.

Our first #selfie.  He was having his photo-therapy session when I took him, hence the "shades" on his eyes.

5:00 pm is the hospital's cut-off for patient discharge.  It was around 4 already and hubby and I were getting impatient.  His attending pediatrician hadn't made her rounds yet.  All we needed was her to say her GO signal for baby's discharge that day.

Nevertheless my husband still processed baby's Philhealth and settled our remaining balance after being advised to do so by the head nurse, because she said most-likely, we'll be bringing baby home.  Alas at around 5pm, the pediatrician came to talk to us about baby's condition and that she's discharging him (FINALLY!) but to closely monitor the jitteriness and to bring baby back immediately should there be anything unusual with him.

UNITED WITH SIBLINGS
Baby was finally home after five days in the hospital and united with his excited siblings who have so much love for him.  This photo says a lot and I couldn't be more thankful for this beautiful sight.

Kuyas Dandre and Wes looked after their baby brother when I had to leave the room shortly.

Everything else that followed after he came home was a combination of unexplainable joy, excitement, amusement, sleepless nights, exhaustion, and yes, even pain (referring to my stitch and breasts).

But I would like to summarize the experience as PURE BLISS.

Milk-drunk baby after our feeding session

Our dear Damien Louie, a new addition to the family, another little person to love and care for, a reason for the family members to gather and come rushing home to, a new life phase and a journey for me and my husband to share and enjoy.

And no matter how painful and entirely different this childbirth experience was, ISA pa siguro, baka next year or kung kailan ibigay ni Lord. :)

To everyone who prayed for me and our baby, thank you from the bottom of my heart!  God bless everyone! :)