Preggy Diaries: Pregnancy and Labor

Hi! I planned to create one blog per month for my preggy diaries but later on decided to summarize it in one.

We're married for four years and the timing was perfect when we found out that we're expecting. 

The Surprise

I had a pregnancy test one morning while I was preparing to go to work. It was (I think) a day after my husband's leap year birthday party. Excited to tell him about the good news, I rushed into our bedroom, sit beside my sleeping husband and woke him with "Habibi, happy birthday!" while holding 2 positive pregnancy tests. Overwhelmed, I didn't get the chance or thought of documenting it... his reaction was priceless. We almost cried. Too bad we didn't capture it on cam. 

The Doctor

I had 2 Ob-gyn doctors before I met her. She was referred to me by my cousin and our nurse friend. She is known in her field to be a fertility doctor, and true enough, we got pregnant! 

She's Dr. Leonila Casanova. I heard so much about her, even our office nurse knows her great reputation. I like her because she's the only one who explained everything, from fertility to post pregnancy. She is family-oriented and would even coach you about the importance of family. She answers text inquiries as well. 

9 months

Oh believe me! It wasn't easy. All the morning sickness in the first trimester, to frequent peeing on the second and backache on the third. With all these, we were still excited and thankful that we got pregnant. My husband was so supportive and loving. My mom was diabetic and I was advised to be careful with what I eat because I am already a candidate of gestational diabetes. My doctor gave me a maintenance medicine --that I prefer not to mention to avoid indirect prescription-- to prevent it.

http://www.whattoexpect.com has helped me through my pregnancy. Every week, I check this site to know what to expect. True enough, almost everything in this site is accurate. It helped me a lot to know which one's best to do like when to talk to my baby bump and have them listen to music or what is Braxton Hicks and how to differentiate it with actual labor. For first time pregnant women, I recommend this site.

During pregnancy, just make sure to take care of yourself. Eat healthy and know which ones are not safe to eat. Walk or exercise only when advised by your doctor. Don't be stressed out with things around you. Love your body and always pray and ask Him to keep you and your baby safe. 

Labor is Real

There are 3 labor signs my doctor told me to remember: Bloody show, Water bag broke and pain with 20 minutes interval. She instructed me to go straight to the emergency room if I experience any of these signs.

It was 3:00AM and I woke up to pee, only to find out there's a little blood that came out... it's the bloody show my doctor told me about. It was not at all painful. I calmly woke up my husband and tell him it's time so we drove to the hospital. 

It took me 22 hours and 26 minutes before the baby came out... about 9.5 hours of which was the extremely painful labor with 5-minute interval. Crazy! About 12:30AM, I was brought to the delivery room with only 8cm dilated cervix (should be 10cm to have a normal delivery). We tried pushing it twice until my doctor advised me and my husband that she'll do a C-section already. At 1:26AM, at 7.7lbs., baby Chloe came out and the rest is... for another blog post to tell. :)

All labor pains and 9 months of pregnancy was paid off by a little beautiful girl that looks like her dad. All we were able to say was "Thank you Lord." The following day, we were dismissed and headed home with our baby. :)