Our Birth Story

Hubby and Baby, The Look-A-Likes!

Mother and Daughter

I thought the day would never come.  Well for the impatient me, that’s how it felt like.  For the control freak me I have been doing what I can to achieve my ideal birth: 3 hours of labor, natural delivery (hopefully sans the epidural) on or before the 40^th week.  However as they say, you can never can tell.

I had a doctor’s appointment last December 7 and I was excited to know if Luna has engaged, and my cervix effaced and dilated.  4 days short of the scan due date, none of those have happened yet.  Then in the afternoon I had a show and I thought, “this is it!”  I rushed off with my bags in tow and called hubby over to meet me at the hospital.  With the show and all, I was not getting any contractions.  When they checked at the hospital, I wasn’t even dilating.  Seriously?  I felt I was “leaking” though and my doctor, K, prescribed some antibiotics.

I resigned myself to the fact that we have to keep on waiting.  And tried to find meaning on why our daughter is taking her sweet time, “bobbing her head” way up above my long cervix on our due week.  Maybe she was waiting for her Nanalou (our term of endearment for baby’s maternal grandmother) to arrive? 

We went for another check a day after my scan due date, two days after Nanalou arrived.  Same old story.  We were still close and not engaged.  Baby’s feeling a lot cozy back there huh?  And I am dying of anticipation.

The day after, while having breakfast, I noticed there was a stain on my shorts.  It’s hard to tell if it was the bag of waters breaking because I always imagined it was some kind of a rush – you know like uncontrollable pee.  But not like exaggerated discharge.  In any case my Nanalou got quite worried and urged me to call the doctor.  K immediately asked me to go to the hospital immediately.  I sensed the urgency in her voice.  With the conditions, she gave a heads up that if the all are favorable, we’ll induce or to be open to a CS delivery and stop taking my breakfast. 

When we arrived, it was confirmed that my membranes have ruptured.  But still no full-on labor contractions, still a long cervix and a bobbing head refusing to engage.  K said “with this, she is telling us something.  She can’t be delivered vaginally.  We can try to induce but it will just be useless pain because you have unfavorable cervix.  We have waited for a week.”  Or something like that.

I have gone from “What have I done?” to “What to do?”  In as much as I have befriended my dream birth for 9 long months, I can’t risk my baby’s health (and mine) over some ideal.  Alas, it must be done.  Then resignation to excitement.  Finally.  Our baby Luna is here.

Nanalou stayed with me in the birthing center as they prepared me for delivery while hubby did all the administrative and logistical arrangements: lunch for them, confinement details and what not.  I had another show.  Still sans the full-on labor contractions.  CS was really meant to be.

I got wheeled in to the OR (or the “Theater” as they call it here), met the anesthesiologist, C, who was so wonderful.  C explained the options, side effects and how I’ll be during the procedure.  We went for the usual spinal anesthesia, did the needful, I felt the effects working and the “theater” then became lively and booming as K came in.  She really is a ray of sunlight – greeting the operating team and myself happily.  They started the procedure while C walked me through what was happening behind the curtains.  Really, she was with me all the way, she did a fantastic job and even went beyond the call of duty.  I am thankful for her. 

Then K asked for hubby to be called in.  THIS IS IT.  In a matter of minutes, I heard our baby cry and hubby telling me she is here.  When I first saw her, it was a plethora of emotions so many that I couldn’t even express it.  I wanted to cry but just couldn’t.  It was beyond anything I ever experienced in my life.  They brought our baby to me and upon seeing her, I saw my husband in her.  Such a splitting image of the father! So big too!  And so beautiful.  C remarked, “yeah, she’s huge, imagine if you were pushing her out.”  Indeed, it would have been a struggle, pushing her full 7.7 pound glory.  Or maybe not because it wasn’t really supposed to happen anyway.

And so here we are.  Hubby, Nanalou and myself, with the rest of my family and friends all over the world, truly over the moon with the safe landing of our daughter, Luna Isabelle.  We are forever changed.