My labor started at 11 AM of February 5th. I could feel the familiar wave of pressure around my hips and abdomen, so I set my contraction timer, and true enough I was consistently having contractions every 5 minutes or so and it kept getting intense, too. I was already on my 40th week that time (according to my pregnancy app), and on my 39th week (according to my doctor's counting), so we knew that this could be Pip's birthday already. We prayed that Pip's arrival would fall on a weekday when Thirdy and Bam would be in school as we do not have a helper or family members to help us out.
So, we thought that his decision to come out on a Friday was perfect.
We dropped Thirdy in his school at 1 PM, then we went straight to Thomson Hospital, which took us 20 minutes by cab. When we got there, I was brought in at the Emergency section but was not yet admitted. I was only 2 cm. My contractions also started coming in erratic intervals. By 4:30 PM, there wasn't much progress, so my OB advised (over the phone) that I could go home first if I wanted. I said I wanted to go home because I wanted to get some rest. The paperwork and the traffic, however, delayed us from picking up Thirdy, which upset him. We are thankful to Thyda for picking him up for us. But while we were there at the playground, the pain started becoming intense and sitting down was making it worse. Axe picked Bam up from school, and when they got to playground, I decided to go home with Thirdy. Father and daughter went to buy dinner.
When we got home, Thirdy said he felt tired and went to sleep. I lay down with him but sleep was impossible for me because of the intense cramps. At this point, I knew that this could be real contractions already, so rest would be impossible. But part of me still wanted to stay home. To get my mind off the dilemma and the searing pain, I loaded the laundry and ate dinner wth Bam. After which, I gave her a shower, washed the dishes, hanged the laundry to dry, and mopped the floor.
The contractions were getting stronger that I begged Axe to let Bam sleep now so he could massage my lower back. Thirdy was awake by then and even with the pain, I still managed to sit down with him as he finished his dinner.
Axe could see that I was in agony, so he asked me if I would like to go back to the hospital. I said yes, let me just take a shower first. He called our good friend, Tito Slo that Pip is ready to come out now. While I was in the shower, I couldn't help but scream every time a contraction would come knock me down. Tito Slo arrived just on time, so my husband booked us a cab. We left at 9:50 PM.
Me trying to inhale and exhale en route to the hospital.
We made it to the hospital at 10:15 PM, and I appreciate the lady who was quick enough to see how distressed I was. She let me sit on the wheelchair and hurriedly wheeled me to the delivery room.
I wish I could get her name, so I could thank her again.
At the delivery room, the nurses were on their feet as they removed my clothes and prepared me for delivery. All this time, Tito Slo was nervously standing in the corner of the room, unsure with what he needed to do. I noticed this, so I told the nurses that he is not my husband. One of the nurses said, "Oh. Sorry. Hindi mo kasi sinabi!" And Tito Slo was shooed out of the room. The nurse said only husbands are allowed in the delivery room.
I asked the nurse how far I was now. And she said, you're already 9 cm. I was distressed about this because my OB advised me to come early as I will be given an antibiotic for my GBS. The antibiotic will take effect after 4 hours. As I was already 9 cm, there was no way that the antibiotic could still protect my baby from GBS. I started crying and the elderly nurse comforted me by saying, "Sayang! Sayang!" They still gave me the antibiotic shot anyway. I was also if I wanted laughing gas to which I refused.
At this point, I could feel the urge to push but the nurses told me not yet. My OB was not yet around. She was just in time, though. I was already pushing, and while they were dressing her up for the delivery, I was screaming because I could now feel the ring of fire. I was struggling, so to calm me down, the elderly nurse would clamp down the oxygen mask on my face and let me breathe the laughing gas, while saying, "Sayang! Sayang!" I asked for water several times because my throat was so dry, but they didn't give me one.
About 3 pushes only, and my darling boy Pip came out weighing 2.8 kgs at 10:50 PM! At this point, they gave me some water.
My Sayang!
They took him away and did the necessary newborn check-up, while I was being taken cared of. The laughing gas made me incoherent. I couldn't speak properly, too. I asked several times if I could breastfeed him, but the nurses asked me to rest first.
After an hour, when I was back to my normal self, I asked the elderly nurse what Sayang meant. She said it means love (in Malay).
What a handsome boy you are!
Love indeed! Getting pregnant during this pandemic and being away from home was tough for us. But my love for my little Pip, for my husband, and for my two older kids has sustained me through.
Ninong Randy and Ninang Irish! The only visitors we had.
Freebies from the hospital which meant 1 year supply of toiletries for the baby :-D
I am thankful for this Ilongga nurse for helping us get discharged from the hospital.
I stayed for 2 days at the hospital, and since my husband could not pick us up, I am proud to say that I did the bill payments and the packing up all by myself. Pip and I just took a cab home by ourselves, too. What an awesome start in life. He'll grow up independent and strong. He's a tough one, my Pip.
Dada, Manong Thirdy, and Manang Bambam were happy to see us come home!
