27 Hours of Labor

Nov 18, 2010 (Thursday)
The day started like any ordinary day. Jay has work today so we got up early and started preparing. At around 8:00am, he’s all dressed up and ready to go but at the last minute, decided not to go to work. Instead, we planned on having a checkup with our doctor and then go to the Mall of Asia for an afternoon of walking (pra matagtag). So, at around 11am, we went to the hospital. When it was our turn inside the clinic, the doctor checked for my dilation and, to our amazement, he said I’m already 3cm dilated. At first, I was like, what does that mean? When i got up from the clinic bed and on to my feet again, the doctor said I’m very near to giving birth, quote unquote “Manganganak ka na!!”. My husband asked him when will that be, if it’ll be that same week or the next week. To our amazement, our doctor (with a grin on his face) said I’m not giving birth that week, I’m giving birth that day!! (“Anong next week, ngun na!!”)

Whooaaa!!! Everything that happened after that was like a blur. Jay and I can’t believe it so we were laughing at ourselves, still thinking of our supposed plan of walking in MOA. Anyway, we were given a piece of paper to be shown in ER so they can admit me in the hospital. I was feeling nervous but happy at the same time. The realization that I’m gonna see our baby in a few hours simply amazes and excites me. And so, the commotion began. A dextrose was administered on me, I changed into a hospital gown, and then I was transferred to the labor room at around 1:30pm. Then I was dosed with “pampahilab” to induce labor.

Tick tock! Tick tock!!! The clock was ticking, I’m having contractions because of the pampahilab, I’m starting to get hungry, and worst of all, I’m already getting thirsty. Yet, when the doctor checked on me at around 5:00 or 6:00 pm, I’m still 3cm dilated. Aaarrghhh!!! The waiting was awful. I had to just lie there at the bed, I had no one to talk to, my husband was waiting outside the labor room (he’s not allowed inside), and I’m super duper thirsty. At around 8:00 pm, out of pity i think, they allowed me to eat. They asked my husband to get me food (soft diet) and water. I was able to eat a cup of noodles and drink a bottle (small bottle) of water. That gave me a few hours of energy.

Nov. 19, 2010 (Friday).
When the clock ticked 12am, I thought this is it, just a few more hours then I’ll finally give birth (I was hoping I’ll give birth before the sun rises). After all, when the doctor last checked on me, I’m already 4cm dilated. So I was thinking maybe it’ll be around 3:00 or 4:00 am. But then the sun is already rising and I still don’t feel that the baby is coming out. And I was again super thirsty. And what adds to injury is that the nurse, who was supposed to be looking after me at the labor room, just slept the whole night. It really annoyed me that i can’t get any sleep and here she was, next to my bed, sound asleep. Arrgghh!! But at least she did something good. She allowed my husband to come inside for a few minutes to see me. I was really glad seeing him and just holding his hand and listening to his encouragement. But when he left the room, I felt alone again.

Around 7:00 am, I was again crying because of exhaustion, and hunger, and thirst and because I feel all alone. Around 8:00 am, I was asking for my doctor. I just can’t take the waiting anymore. It’s driving me crazy. Plus, i can hear from the delivery room (which is just a door away from the labor room where I’m staying) that someone’s giving birth there. I envy that woman whoever she is because she didn’t went through the whole ordeal of laboring that I was experiencing.

Around 9:00 am, my doctor came and again checked for my dilation. He said I was 4-5cm already but the baby is still not positioned correctly (mashado mataas ang bata, ayaw bumaba). He then allowed me to eat but ordered the nurses to give me pampahilab again. So I was given food (this time, lugaw and a big bottle of water, thank God for this) and was able to drink.

Around 1:30 pm, the idea that I’m already laboring for 24 hours is driving me nuts. Huhu!! I just kept on praying that all this will be finished and I’ll see our little baby soon. Around, 3:00 pm, they transferred me to the delivery room and had me stay there. By that time, I’m sensing that something is wrong. I mean, the doctor said I’m already 4-5cm dilated but the baby still won’t go down. They gave me buscopan to induce more pain i think. Buscopan worked in giving me more pain in my contractions but it still did not made my baby ready to come out. Around 4:00 pm, the doctor came back, checked my dilation, and then, alas, he decided to perform a cesarean operation. That’s when I felt fear. I’m afraid for my baby’s health and nervous for myself. I haven’t had an operation before and i certainly wasn’t prepared for this. However, if the doctor thinks it’s the best thing to do in our current condition, I’m not gonna disagree. He said he’s going to talk to my husband about this. After a few minutes, he came back with my phone. Turned out Jay went home to take a bath and get a few things. So i called Jay and I informed him of the operation. Since a consent form was to be signed, I had my aunt, Mama Diday to sign the consent form for Jay.

What happened next was a blur. One of the nurses performed an allergy test on my left arm (this was really painful), they were all preparing for the operation, nurses come and go in the room. And then the next thing I knew, they were transferring me to the operating room. The anesthesiologist gave me the anesthesia which was injected on my back. They also gave me something for me to sleep (can’t remember what it was exactly). I began to feel groggy and the last thing i remembered was the anesthesiologist asking if i can still feel whatever she’s doing on the lower half of my body (which i groggily answered i can’t). When i woke up, it was finished. They already got my baby and they’ve already stitched me up. I still can’t feel anything on my lower half from my tummy to my toes. Then one of the nurses caught my attention and showed me my baby. He was so small as I remembered. He was brought to my side and I got to kiss him. And then I fell asleep again.

The next time I woke up, I’m being brought inside our room (Room 2017). And I was shivering like hell, it was painful. It is just recently that i learned it’s natural for a person to shiver like that after being given anesthesia and when it was wearing off already. My stomach was also hurting like crazy. Plus I had a catheter on me. Aarrgghh!! Everything was uncomfortable and painful. I was just glad that my husband and my aunt was there beside me giving me encouraging words and telling me everything will soon be alright and the pain will eventually disappear. And of course, I just kept on praying. The nurses were giving me pain-relievers every 6 hours, and it really helped me to at least get some sleep.

We stayed at the hospital until tuesday, November 23. That is the time when we also got Kharl out of the nursery. The pedia in the hospital was actually insisting that Kharl be brought inside the room as early as sunday. But since I can’t move that much yet, and my aunt is thinking it’s not hygienic for the baby to stay at our room, he remained at the nursery until we went home.

Now, I’m enjoying our baby’s company and thinking back to what I experienced back then, I can say it’s all worth it. Our baby is healthy and that is what’s important for us.