Our Baby Born - Part 1 - What Really Happened

Let me start my writing this month of August with a shocking news that I just delivered my little girl  - Maria Mikaela  on July 28, 2012 (premature) at exactly 3 pm. - at Polymedic Medical Plaza - Cagayan de Oro City.  She was born - 3.6 lbs.,  7.5 mos old. She is currently placed in an incubator to make her lungs mature for her to breath by herself.

What really happened?  I will try as much as I can to share and link back how it happened

On the 6th month of my pregnancy - June 6, 2012, a fist - size myoma was seen in my uterus during the fetal scan growing side by side with my daughter Mika.  I was not strongly alarmed nor threatened by it as I was told by my doctor not to worry  since a lot of it that appear during pregnancy may also be gone after delivery.  But if I deliver my baby cesarean, my OB can automatically take it out with the baby ( i totally rejected the idea in my mind as I wanted so much a normal delivery).  I never felt any pressure from my OB.  I just found her so cool about things making me just relaxed and go through the normal stage of my pregnancy for which I was so thankful to God.

However... on July 28, 2011 :

1:00am -  I felt the numbness and pain at my right lower side of my tummy.  I applied mint flavored liquid on top of it thinking that it may be just a "kabag" (trapped air) so i could just let it out. The pain continued like that of a dysmmenorrhea up to 3:30am.  Then i went back to sleep. 

At 7:00am during breakfast, the pain was back and I thought I could just bear with it by going back to bed.  As my husband was busy preparing for some errands to attend with in the city,  I felt a flowing liquid rushing from my vagina.  As I checked it, there I found the little amount of blood.  Good thing my husband was still home and he rushed me to the hospital - polymedic - Velez from where I heard the doctor's secretary relating all the details of my condition as she was stationed at Polimedic - Plaza that morning.  I already heard her secretary mentioned of unavailable incubator at the Velez- branch and so we had to go to the other branch Polymedic Plaza.

Everything was so fast.  I was given dextrose, blood test, ultrasound and IE.  From where results was positive that I would deliver my baby at 34 - week old.  I and my husband were so shocked (we knew full well that the earliest date of my delivery will be September 10 and the latest would September 23). 

We both prayed together while waiting for me to be delivered to the operating room.  I prayed hard, remained calm for my baby and my husband and held on to my faith in God that everything shall be well for all of us.  While in the labor room, I was contacting some family members - Gay (who had a company planning that time, Ronnie my brother in law and my sister Gina).  I mentioned my condition and of course everyone was shocked.  Gay with her kindness put in the down payment since my husband could not leave to withdraw the required amount for the clearance prior to the operation.

A nurse placed a circle pad on my belly to monitor the heart rate of my baby.  I would call their attention if it lowers down to the normal rate while waiting for the team of doctors that would attend with me.  My husband who was warning me months back that he can't be present during my delivery was there cheering me up.  I knew that he was just trying his best not to appear in panic just to be there for me.  I knew that he was struggling within but could not just utter it outright.  

At my end, I was in the TOTAL SURRENDER phase.  I had no courage to ask "why" to God.  I knew that I just had to go through the entire process without question.  I still felt the calmness all over me.  I pushed through with praying despite the struggle to focus since I was all eyes on everything around me including that time when it was declared that they are going to perform a Cesarean operation with me.  In my condition under those tubes and oxygen, i was still signing papers signifying my consent to what the team of doctors are going to do with me.  

As I was wheeled to the operating room, I was still able to ride with some jokes with nurses making us all giggle and laugh.  The anesthesiologist came in first  explaining to me that I would be sedated first which would lead me to become unconscious.  He mentioned further that he would monitor the machine all throughout while the operation is conducted and that I would not worry because he will be able to determine if I would be in deep sleep which of course he would not want me to.  

As he sedated me by injecting me through the tube in my dextrose, I was already very unconscious that I was not able to feel or see what happened after that.  I was only awakened by my anesthesiologist that it was finished, my myoma was removed and my dear baby already placed in the incubator.

I was slowly wheeled to my room (the memorable 301 of Polymedic plaza) from where I vomited and vomited.  I heard the voice of my husband first while he touched my shoulder to welcome me in my room.  And everyone was there - both mine and his family members.   Though I was not allowed to talk, I could not contain the joy of having family to be present to support me / us (with my husband and our baby Maria Mikaela) in our most unexpected moment of our journey as a family.

The funny thing was that, I was not allowed to talk yet I did (very talkative me).  I was welcoming guests in that condition lying so flat on my bed while I vomited from time to time. My dear older sister Gina was my "traffic" so that I would stop talking.  

The following day was like entertaining lots of guests.  I informed Vilma - a sister in our Christian Community - Sowers Field - about my condition together with the prayer requests.  And then a lot of them really flocked at night which gave me and my husband such joy.  I knew then that a lot of them are praying for us.  I could not contain and be overwhelmed by their presence as I felt the strongest of family from them with the initiative of my dear friend Vilma.

That second night in the hospital was different.  My husband visited our daughter Mika at the nursery and took some photos.  When I saw it, I could not hold myself from tears.  I was asking myself where would i get the courage to get near my daughter seeing her in that condition.  I prayed so hard to God that He would give me such.  I did talk to myself with the statement "I am the mother...i need to be strong for my daughter...I need to stand up for her no matter what...in her fragile condition she needs me...etc."  

I woke up the following morning receiving the announcement from the nurse that my catheter would be taken out.  And so I bravely announced to my husband that we would visit our daughter.  I had the mixture of feelings but more than anything was the courage to be brave for our daughter.  It was such a beautiful morning for us united as a family in that odd condition but so full of love for each other and our dear baby.  As I got near her incubator, I was in tears while stating "Hello Mika...mommy here... everything will be alright...God is with you...you are a  brave girl and yes you can make it...daddy and mommy are waiting for you...we are here for you...we love you so much"  We did touch her incubator.  

She was so fragile in her condition.  The good thing was, her Pediatrician announced that she is doing well, so mobile and they have decreased her oxygen by 40% that time and all her organs are healthy except that she has to have the oxygen until her lungs can fully function by itself since she lacked the number of days required for her to fully develop.  I and my husband were so happy of course.

But then another challenge was thrown at us to produce breast milk for her.  In her condition it is highly advised to have the breast milk.  And so the search started.  I am most indebted to my sisters in the christian community -  Joy, Jinky and Herme who accompanied my husband during the first night of search.  Vilma for the second and the following day's supply of milk.  My sister Gina for the succeeding 2 days.  

Well you may be asking if I did my toil too.  Yes I did.  I had all those full gear of breast pump with tears in between thinking that if Mika did not have this premature birth I would not dare work so hard at producing milk.  I had it on my first day of  toiling. Prior to that, I was asking my Mika's pediatrician and the assigned nurses if I it is really possible to produce breast milk.  And they unanimously said that all women that has delivered babies can.  You just have to stimulate it.  That was my inspiration until this time why i keep on working so hard providing that milk for my daughter from my own and from some kind donors.

Prior to going home for which I alone can since Mika has to stay for her to fully function through an incubator,  my husband took care of the high bills from where he joked "seeing the bills, you would literally want to cry..."  (from where I realized...it was not a joke...)  It was really that high excluding the baby's bills.  But truly my husband was such a committed and dedicated man that he took care of everything telling me not to worry about it.  He just wanted me to fully recover physically.