our lamaze childbirth experience

i was about to post theo's photos as he turned one month last november 4th but i realized i haven't yet made a post about the terrible but wonderful lamaze childbirth experience jude and i went thru. so i crammed to come up with this kwento...

 

19 september 2009 – i met my obstetrician, dr. menefrida reyes, for my prenatal check-up that saturday afternoon and we found out that my cervix is already 1 cm dilated. i already had a hunch about this even before our meeting as while i was en route to her clinic  i already experienced mild to moderate contractions. she told me that i can give birth within a few days if the contractions become more frequent so a lot of walking is needed to induce it if i wanted to give birth that week. i was already on my 37^th week so there’s no problem with me giving birth that time. excitement brewed up for me and jude and we readied our nest as soon as we got home that night. but days passed and nothing happened, my contractions remained the same. i told myself that baby theo might probably want to come out on my birthday, which is on the 24^th. :D

  

26 september 2009 – my birthday passed and ondoy was wreaking havoc in metro manila on this day. but inspite of this i urged jude that we go again to st. lukes for my prenatal check-up just to know the progress of my dilation. the drive was uneventful and surprisingly we were able to get there from makati in 40 minutes. since dr. reyes’ clinic is closed that day she instructed me to head to the dr as she left instructions for the resident ob to examine me. jude and i were both disappointed to know that my cervix was only 2 cm. dilated and effacement is only half-way thru! our things were already packed and stuffed at the back of our car as i psyched myself that afternoon that we already have baby theo with us when we go back to our house after 3 days.

since almost all of the roads that day were flooded, my OB did not allow us to go home that night as there’s still a chance, even how slim it was, that i might give birth anytime soon and there’s the risk for me to deliver the baby inside the car. we heeded her advice so i, together with jude and iñigo, was confined for one night (we’re thankful in the end for this as we found out that there was a brownout in our condo that night) but i promised myself that we won’t go home yet the following morning so i did all the natural inductions i could think of, with the help of my supportive husband. *grins*

but morning came and am still stuck at 2 cm!!! i was immediately discharged that morning but instead of going home, we headed to mall of asia to briskwalk, hoping that it would help speed up my dilation.

3 october 2009 – exactly two weeks after my OB found out that my dilation has already started. we went again to her clinic that afternoon to check the progress of my dilation and effacement and to my dismay, i was still 2 cm. dilated! it’s actually between 2-3 cm so it improved a bit. i already know what she’ll answer but still i asked her if there’s any chance i could give birth that night and she said that there is as long as my contractions will become more often and regular... so again, it’s a 50/50… tell me that i’m crazy but i started to pray for that kind of contractions. :D i was already afraid that i’d reach the 40^th-week mark and i might end up with induction and that would ruin our lamaze plans!

i couldn’t imagine myself being induced again as it’s what i am blaming for the long, difficult and very painful labor i went thru during iñigo’s time. and it’s most likely that i’ll ask again for an epidural during the course of my labor if that happens again.

my OB gave me the option to be admitted or not but i told her that we’d go to a nearby mall first so i have more space to walk around. we went to gateway mall and i did the walking while jude and iñigo were having their dinner in the foodcourt. i was having more contractions and some of these were intense but still tolerable. i told myself, “’eto na siguro.... more walking pa and it will become regular na.” i went to the restroom to pee and saw a tinge of blood in my underwear. i became more excited. i joined the boys and had my dinner. then i told jude afterwards that we will go back to st. luke’s as i observed an improvement in my contractions. but again, when the resident OB examined me it was still at 2-3 cm! i didn’t know what else to do to speed up my dilation! “magjumping-jack kaya ako 100 times?” i asked jude. hahaha. frustrated, we went back home that night.

4 october 2009; 5:30 a.m.  – i was awakened by the sudden gush of fluid from my cervix. finally, my water bag already ruptured! jude heard this from me and immediately got up from the bed to prepare our things. my ate who stayed with us that night also heard me from where she was sleeping but i should have been quiet about it as she was more tense and before i knew it, she was already shooing us away. she didn’t even let us have our breakfasts first, or have a shower, or even change to nicer clothes. we left the house in 5 minutes.

6:30 – traffic was light since it’s a sunday morning. we even managed to have a quick breakfast in mcdonalds along e. rodriguez before we went to the hospital. i knew i have to eat as there’s a difficult job awaiting for me that afternoon.

i was ushered to the IE room upon reaching the delivery room complex of st. luke’s. dilation improved a bit and it’s now between 3-4 cm. though my contractions were not yet that regular and intense i knew that i was already in the active labor phase. since my water bag already ruptured, the resident ob had no choice but have me admitted and transferred to one of the labor rooms. i was strapped to the fetal stress monitor to check baby theo’s heartbeat and i was relieved to know that he’s doing well. the hooks were removed after 30 minutes and i was free to walk around the DR complex--the beauty of lamaze!

9:00 – the time i observed my contractions were becoming regular, now with 3-5 minutes interval. the pains were still mild and tolerable. i can easily brush it off  just by doing pelvic rocks. it would be a different story if i was tied down again to my bed and had nothing else to do to manage the pains. thumb’s up really for lamaze!

i couldn’t also complain much this time as there’s a 14-year old in another room sleeping over her contractions at 6 cm… jahe naman. hehe.

11:00 – my cervix was examined again and by this time the dilation progressed to 4-5 cm. the pains were becoming more intense, but still tolerable as i was able to remain in standing position and sway my hips. by 11:30 am and while we’re having lunch (i only had soup though as i was afraid to vomit), my ate arrived with iñigo who was insisting to go with me inside the labor room. i asked jude to bring them outside the building and to where they can have their lunch since i can still manage the contractions without his help.

1:00 p.m. – my contractions were more intense, longer and frequent this time, with only 2-3 minutes interval. now i wish i didn’t pray for it! hahaha. i was already crying in pain. jude, who was all there for me since we arrived in the hospital tried to give me a massage but instead of comforting me, every touch of his irritated me so i just told him to stop. the pelvic rocks and the breathing techniques also no longer helped. i alternately lied down and stood up during contractions with the clock inside the labor room as my focal point. i also tried to squat, sit on jude’s lap with my legs wide apart, any position that i felt was effective in mitigating the pains because my contractions this time were really hurting! in fact, i was already crying to jude and was telling him that i’m giving up our lamaze plan. i was already begging for an epidural anesthesia. he was open to this option but he asked me that we consult first dr. reyes. but while waiting, he continued to be my rah-rah boy and encouraged me to continue with our game plan, that is, lamaze delivery for baby theo.

1:30 p.m. – dr. reyes finally arrived and IE-ed me. it was relieving to know that i was already 7 cm. dilated and the effacement was already complete—the reason why my contractions were hurting so bad already. i took it as a good news and i felt like we’re already near the end of the tunnel and i can already see some rays of light. we talked about my request for epidural but my she reminded me that it would take a while like 15-20 minutes for the anesthesiologist to arrive and prepare for the procedure, then i have to wait for another 20-30 minutes for the drug to take effect. she further motivated me towards lamaze by saying that i could have given birth within that timeframe so giving me an epidural would only be useless.

i was already in the transition phase, which i was dreading of, and i felt a very strong contraction. she asked me to do the “all-fours” to shake off the pain in my and hips and buttocks, which i did. i told her that i was having a rectal pressure and there’s an urge for me to push but instead of telling me to do the “hee” blows to counter it she told me to do a mild push if i think it would help me bear the pain. again, i followed her and was thankful in the end that i did.

then another IE was done to me and by this time dilation progressed to 8 cm--i can’t believe it’s that fast! i regained my confidence to deliver without any anesthesia because of this and especially when i heard dr. reyes telling the nurses to prepare the delivery room as i can already be transferred there in less than 15 minutes. i learned later on from a medical intern that it’s one way for dr. reyes to motivate her patients to continue with their lamaze plans--i really love her! :D

2:00 p.m. – it’s around this time that i was wheeled in to the DR. i was surprised to see more than 15 hospital staff crowding inside the delivery room and dr. reyes might have read my mind as she told me that it’s seldom they see a woman giving birth via lamaze that’s why they were all there. gulp! to think that i almost gave up… hehe.

i think i had two more contractions inside the delivery room before dr. reyes did her last IE on me and finally, my cervix is fully dilated. she now told me to try pushing every time there’s a contraction. i made 4 pushes until theo’s head finally crowned. i was already tired! jude who’s there beside me to wipe off my sweat (i was really perspiring as i asked the staff to turn off the aircon as i felt chilly when i entered the DR) and give me my ice chips was able to see the crowning and is now telling me to hang on, that baby theo is coming out already, and that he’s more than proud of me for giving birth to his son via lamaze, etc.. he just didn’t know that my energy was already running out.

 

another contraction and again i made a strong push. i could only hear dr. reyes’ voice saying, “ayan na marie… nakikita ko na ulo… push ka lang.” but i could only tell myself while i was writhing in pain, “ulo pa rin lang??? pagod na ‘ko!” it was really a painful experience as like there’s something inside of me which feels so heavy and wanting to get out but it couldn’t. fundal pressure could have helped me push baby theo out but since i mentioned in my birthplan not to do it, dr. reyes told me to just rely on my pushing.

2:32 p.m. – after two more pushes, our second son, theo lorenzo t. bustamante, is finally out! we were surprised when he was weighed as he’s weighing 7 lbs. and 7 oz., same as the weight of his kuya iñigo. he‘s also heavy, which explains why, with my small frame, i had a difficult time pushing him out. my target for his weight is only less than 6.5 lbs. but i feasted on big mac almost every night during the last 2 months so it’s also no surprise that he’s big. hehe.

 

dr. reyes (right) and the competent slmc staff.

post-delivery:

we went back to my OB and theo’s pedia two weeks after i gave birth and i was so happy to find out that i was already back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 110 lbs.—no sweat!  but what made me more happy is when i learned that instead of shedding off pounds, which is normal for newborns, theo gained more weight.  thanks to breastfeeding for making all these possible!