Part I - The Rush to Labor

On my 9th month, I got a little impatient and tired with pregnancy. From excitement, the feeling transformed to impatience and anxiety. One source of anxiety is that I'm already nearing my due date schedule but my cervix has been totally closed yet. I've been so worried because I really don't want to have a C-Section due to many reasons. So on January 28, I decided to take periods of long (very very long) brisk walk in the morning with my husband. During the afternoon, we went to the park to exercise. This exercise composed of brisk-walk-till-you-drop around the park and 20 rounds of going up and down the staircase. This technique is advised by my friend when I told her I'm worried about not giving birth any time soon.

Part II - The Rush to the Hospital

After the exercise at around 5pm, I felt mild cramps on my abdomen and lower back. It feels exactly like menstruation cramps. At first I ignored it, we went home, ate dinner and tried to sleep. As hours passed by, the cramps grew stronger with irregular intervals so I thought it was just a false labor. But at around 10 in the evening, the interval was constantly around one minute and the pain lasts for around 4 minutes. I checked my underwear because it felt wet and to my surprise, I saw blood on it. I panicked, told my husband about it and we both panicked, in a good way :P. We immediately decided to to go to the hospital. Oh, before we went, I drank milk and took a sponge bath.

Tip: When you're on labor, do not eat anymore as you might just vomit it during delivery.

Part III - The Labor Begins

At 12midnight, we were able to check-in but not in a private room because there was no available room for us. *sobs*. We we're given a bed in the ward for male that underwent surgical procedures. Could you imagine how difficult it was, being the only girl, in labor, in a ward full of men? It wasn't easy especially if it's time for your IE.

I just accepted the ward because I really need to be in the hospital. The pain interval was constant and progressing that time and went on the whole day. It felt like forever. The pain I felt was like a severe menstruation cramp where you can't stand, walk or go to the office, something like that.

At 8am, my OB-Gyne checked my cervix. Nope, still closed at that time. She told me that if I did not progress, I should have a C-Section already at the afternoon, around 3pm. I agreed with her due to the increasing pain and I was thinking, well, maybe my cervix won't open at all. But I really didn't like to have a CS because:
(1) It's very expensive
(2) There are lots of negative feedback I heard about babies delivered via CS
(3) I'm scared in operation. I can't imagine being sliced like a meat!

After that, I did some walking exercise around the hospital lobby and stairs. I also did some squats as advised by my husband's aunt. I was tired already and I just wanted the baby to come out. Why should it be so difficult?

At 3pm my doctor came back and I told her I just want to wait for another day before the operation, to which she agreed. At 4pm we we're able to get a private room (Thank God!) and I continued my exercise there. At around 6pm, a midwife came and did an IE. My cervix opened around 1 cm, according to her. Because of this progress I've been determined to exercise some more even if the pain was increasing that night.

How will I describe the pain? Well, it's something I've never felt before. It was like my whole body was aching but I can't point which part, where exactly was the pain coming from, it's not even from my abdomen. It was terrible, horrible and extremely painful. As In. I thought I could die.

At around 11 in the evening, the pain was superior and I felt like there was some alien in my belly, moving, trying to get out. My husband's mother called the nurse. The midwife came and checked my cervix. She then said that the cervix was already opened and I will already give birth so they rushed me to the delivery room. It came so fast. They called my doctor, she came, she instructed me on what to do, then the baby came. During the delivery she told me to pull the bar of the bed and push/force my abdomen for the baby to come out. After three pushes, my baby came into the world and I got blacked-out. I woke up after some time and the nurse asked me, "Did you know you already gave birth?". I did not answer but deep inside I was like "Thank God! After 400 years!". I attempted to stand and the nurse asked me "Where are you going?!". I said, "I'm going back to my room!" (Haha!). She then laughed and said that they will bring me to the room. That's when I realized my body was aching and I cannot walk.

So I just rested the whole day and waited for our discharge the next day... with our baby, of course.

I kept on praying while on labor

Don't worry! You're baby's going to be fine.

Although moms-to-be will be very worried when they catch colds and cough during pregnancy, this infection will not harm your baby. Just make sure that you won't take any medicine, whether herbal or not, without your doctor's advice. I had horrible cough, twice, during my first pregnancy. Since I was a first-time mom that time, I got so worried that it will affect my baby. But then she grew in my tummy just fine.

On my first trimester, I got a week-long cough and colds because I got soaked in the rain. I'm used to get soak in the rain and loved it but I learned immunity drops when you're pregnant. The doctor prescribed Mucosolvan for cough and Drixine for colds. I did not buy Mucosolvan because my cough that time was already getting better.

On my third trimester, specifically on the week of my due date, I catched cough again. This time, my doctor advised that I take Strepsils but when it did not alleviate my condition, she prescribed Mucoslvan again which I already took. She did not advise me to take Mucosolvan's regular dosage. I just gargled and swallowed half-a-teaspoon of the medicine to relieve my itching throat and chest congestion. 

Tip: Drink a lot of calamansi juice! Make sure it's not hot so that the Vitamin C wont be destroyed.

Image from here

There are lots of articles posted online regarding your hospital bag. Some can be considered, yes, but for me, these are the only essential things you would need. This worked for me because I don't give a fuss about anything else than giving birth. I also went to the hospital during my labor unlike other people who wants to be admitted in advance. Since I had normal delivery with my two babies, I just spent 24-36 hours in the hospital.

My Hospital Bag Must-Have Checklist For The Big Day [Labor to Delivery to Discharge]:

1. Important Documents

• Philhealth Documents (for you and your husband)Make sure you have a printed-out Member Data Record. If you're employed, you can get this from your HR Department. Otherwise, you can get it in Philhealth's office.
• Photocopy of valid IDs (yours and your husband's)
• NSO Birth Certificate (yours and your husband's) - just in case. We actually did not use this but we brought it anyway.
• Marriage Certificate - some hospitals need this.
• Your pre-natal book from OB-GYNE
• Recent laboratory test results (Ultrasound, CBC, etc.), if any

2. Clothes

• For Mommy:
• Few Set of Clothes. I brought with me only 3 pair of clothes because I was expecting a normal delivery which means I could just go home the next day after I give birth. On the duration of your labor, you will be using the hospital gown so you won't change clothes too often. If you don't like to wear it, go on bring additional clothes. My advice, though, is that you should use the hospital gown because it's easier to have an IE and deliver with it.
• Lots of underwear. During my labor, the mucus (blood) came first so I was having a heavy menstrual-like blood discharge. This caused my napkin to overflow and I needed to change underwear regularly. Even if you do not have a blood discharge during labor, you may need to change undies regularly because you will have a heavy bleeding after giving birth.
• Tummy Binder! This is one of the best things I brought during my second delivery because I got to wear it before my tummy gets comfortable with its size (big, that is). It helped me condition my tummy that it should go back to its pre-pregnancy size.
• Jacket. Because hospitals can be so cold. Lol.
• Going home outfit. Make sure you bring the outfit that fits you when you were pregnant since your tummy won't be back to its glorious days in an instant. You will still look like 6 months pregnant.
• Cover-up for breast feeding. If you intend to breastfeed after giving birth then bring this. Just take note though that for most of moms that I know, milk doesn't come out right after they give birth so they don't have a choice but to give formula milk. But you may still request to exclusively breastfeed your child since it is your right and it's in the law.
• For Daddy:
• Clothes of his own choice. (Lots of shirts especially if he will do the running.)
• Jacket. Because. Cold. Lol.
• Undies, shorts, slippers.
• Pillows and Blanket for a good night sleep because he cannot co-sleep with you on your hospital bed.

3. Slippers
It's so comfy to have your labor, delivery and recovery in slippers. I mean, I can't imagine wearing sneakers nor sandals that time.

4. Toiletries

• Maternity Pads or heavy flow napkins. I needed a lot of pads during my delivery because of a heavy discharge. I even wore adult diapers on the first 24 hours after delivery just to make sure the bed won't be full of blood.
• Soap
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Feminine wash - can't live without it
• Tissues
• Facial Wash

5. Lots of water and some Snacks
Water sold in the hospital can be so expensive so it helps if you can bring a bottle or two. If you can't bring it during the rush to the hospital like me, you may ask some relatives to bring it for you.

For Baby:

1. Going home outfit and receiving blanket.

This is what the baby will wear when you bring him/her home. You would also need to wrap the baby with a blanket to keep him/her comfy on travel.

2. Feeding Bottles

Some moms are blessed to have their milk supply ready before they deliver. But as for me, breast milk came 3 days after delivery which means at the hospital, the baby needs to drink formula milk first.

Diapers, soap and other things needed by the baby will be provided by the hospital.

6. Infant Car Seat - if you have car and if no one will help you carry your baby.

After delivery, your whole body will ache. Trust me. You cannot even lift a 3-kilogram baby. It pays to bring an infant car seat so you can just relax in the car without carrying anything.

P.S. Although it's called a hospital bag, you don't actually need to buy a specific bag. I used my husband's back pack and travelling bag during my big day.

image from www.huffingtonpost.com

Constipation and Indigestion are common problems you may experience any time during your pregnancy. There are lots of articles that explain why pregnant woment but in my own words, I would explain it as "the result of uncommon (BIG) foreign object inside your tummy that blocks normal functionalities of your intestines and rectum".

I've encountered indigestion which feels like the food I ate still resides in my stomach after how many hours when they should be digested already. One way to avoid this is to eat slowly and do not lie down right after eating even if it's so tempting to sleep. Wait for, maybe, an hour or more before hitting the bed.

The feeling of constipation is like you wanted to let go of something but hard-headedly clinges on you. My tips to avoid constipation are the ff:

• Drink Milk suited for pregnant women, twice a day. I love Anmum Chocolate.
• Drink Yakult everyday. This is a probiotic dairy product I've been drinking ever since because I really have bowel movement problems even when I was young. If you do not like the taste of this, you may choose any probiotic drink with live lactubascilusshuratstrain (this is how I hear it but the name is Lactobacillus casei Shirota Strain which are friendly bacterias to help regulate bowel movements). There were lots of issues about the validity of this product's claim, but hey it works for me.
• Yogurt! Everday! No doubt, this will help you a lot. 'Nuff said. I personally love Nestle fruit selection yogurt in mango and Nestle Acti-V.

 


Image sources:
http://www.youbeli.com
http://www.foodprocessing-technology.com
foodrecipetraveltheworld.blogspot.com

 Anatomy of pregnant women according to my perception. :)

Credits to maternityphotographerphoenix.com for the image.

Discovered that you're pregnant? Congratulations! They say pregnancy is a beautiful thing - - - well, they're lying!


Just kidding! Actually, half-kidding. I've got some tips for you new mom, just carry on.


When I discovered I'm pregnant, I'm already halfway through my second month. I was in denial at first, thinking all those symptoms were normal. I wasn't ready to be a mom that time. I always thought that it's selfish to bring a baby in this world, a world full of war, famine and all. Lol.

I had these symptoms and corresponding excuses:

1. Excessive sleepiness - I've said to myself, "I am always sleepy! What's new?"
2. Cravings - I've always craved for something! Chocolates, Siopao, etc!
3. Vomitting - I've always vomit especially when I eat too much. I thought I was just over-eating!
4. Swollen/Tender Breasts - This always happen before my menstruation.
5. Fatigue/Stress/Headache - This is so me, everyday.

Helpful notes: Pregnancy symptoms are different in every woman.

For days, I waited for my menstruation that never came. A few days before I took the pregnancy test, I got extremely aching abdomen that felt like menstruation cramp. I immediately went home from work that time and slept. That should do the trick. I checked, but there were no signs of menstruation until I remembered I was already one month delayed. Next day, my husband and I bought a pregnancy test kit. We felt silly that time. I was like, "I don't think I could be pregnant, right?".

Here's the result:

Yes, that's positive right there.

I bought around 3 test kits and used them all. I thought the results would change.. but they did not. It was really a positive. That time, I didn't know what to feel. The thought of me, being pregnant, did not sink in immediately. But I was anxious afterward. What if I did something that hurt the baby? I drank too much soda, ate too much junk food and had too much stress! I had multiple client meetings, went up and down the stairs and rode the motorcycle on a bumpy road.

I immediately scheduled a visit to an OB-Gyne. It turned out that my menstrual cramp-like pain is due to fatigue. My doctor prescribed a medicine to avoid miscarriage.

Here are my tips for women:

1. If you have been sexually active, don't think you will not get pregnant.

If you do not want to get pregnant, then don't do the deed. I've always thought that it's selfish to bring a baby in this world full of war and hunger but it's even more selfish to enjoy an act which will impact a human being. It's even worst if  you use contraception, there are lots of side effects. Don't play with fire if you're not prepared to get burn. So, if you don't want to get pregnant, abstinence.

2. If you have been sexually active, be careful with your diet.

If you did the "deed" then you got the chance to be pregnant. Avoid soda, avoid any medicine, do not smoke and avoid alcoholic drinks. Just so you know, those are dangerous for the baby.

3. If you felt you were pregnant, yes you could be.

It's called 'intuition' and women are very good at it. Take the pregnancy test immediately since it's 99.99% accurate. If the result is positive, go to the doctor immediately. Your life and your baby's life are at risk. Yes, your life is at risk too. If the baby dies inside you without knowing it, you'll be poisoned and you will die.

If you are pregnant and confused, don't worry, you are not alone. You have to find strength from other people - your husband, mother or anyone you could trust. If you're not ready to be a mom, just don't do it. Remember that even women who thinks they are prepared were not really that prepared at all. Don't let your selfishness cause other human being's misery. Plan your conception and try to conceive when you think you're ready.