Sunday May 29th at 4:00am, my contractions started. I started tracking the timing and intervals of the contractions. We didn’t end up going to church and watched Francis Chan’s message online instead. In the afternoon, our extended family came. My eldest sister from Pasig drove my parents to our town, so they can be with us when the Ezekiel comes. Traffic in the Philippines is one of the worst in Asia, so having my parents stay with us before the baby comes, is a MUST (instead of having them commute to come here).
The contractions are not yet very strong so I told my sister not to bring me to the hospital. However, my sisters insisted I visit the ER already so a doctor can examine me if my cervix have opened. After dinner, they dropped us off at the ER. Just like what I assumed, my cervix is still not open. The nurse put a Doppler on tummy to hear the baby’s heartbeat. It was great to hear his heartbeat. I always take a deep breath whenever they put a Doppler in my tummy to hear the baby’s heartbeat, thinking about our last experience when we try to find out the gender of our 3rd baby (Titus).
At 10pm, they discharged me from the ER and fortunately, my brother-in-law was able to pick us up from the hospital. Around 11:30pm, as I climbed up the bed. I heard two big clicks inside my tummy. I said to my self, that’s weird…it can’t be just the baby moving. I got up and went straight to the closet and right there, at that moment, my water bag broke! We texted my brother-in-law right away to pick us up again and bring us to the ER. At 12am, we’re back at the ER. My cervix is now 1cm dilated. The contractions are still not very strong so I have a feeling, the baby will come in the morning at maybe 8 or 9am.
I was brought to the “Labour room” which is also the “Delivery room”. Tim has to be sent to our room (the ward) to put away our things and wait for the delivery. It was already 3am and the resident doctor checked my cervix again. This time, it’s now 4cm dilated. As I look at the clock from 3am to 3:15am, I felt there was a sudden change on my contractions. It became stronger than before and having epidurals with both G & C, I don’t want to take a chance and wait until I can’t handle it anymore. I told the resident doctor to ask for epidural already. Around 3:20am, she said the doctor that will administer the epidural is on his way. Around 3:30am, it felt like I’m a water crashing on rocks! I tried to stay strong and asked again if the doctor is coming or it’s too late for epidural? Between 3:40-45am, I’m a screaming woman who I don’t recognize asking still for epidural and then screaming again that it’s too late now because the baby is coming. I remember the resident doctor asking the nurses to call my OB as she holds on the opening of my cervix. I can feel the Ezekiel’s head pushing out and her hand trying to hold on it. Finally, I heard my OB asked me to start pushing. I only pushed once…and Ezekiel came out! The rest was a blur. Since they weren’t able to administer epidural on me, they just “drugged” me to get me in “happy mode”.
I saw the baby when they put him on my chest and when I nursed him for the first time. But, I didn’t even know Tim arrived on time to welcome Ezekiel and cut the umbilical cord. I didn’t know they were taking pictures, but somehow I was smiling on the camera.
The next thing I know was they are transferring me to the ward. I saw Tim beside the bed and Ezekiel on the hospital bassinet.
The following day, the pediatrician doctor came to examine Ezekiel and noticed that he’s much yellower than the average baby. She ordered the baby to be transferred to NICU and do several tests. We were hesitant but we don’t want to take any chances on Ezekiel’s health. He wasn’t getting enough milk from me yet also, so getting fluids in his body is crucial.
We were so glad that even we planned to have epidural, we are going to save because I had a natural birth and anticipated a lower hospital bill. However, it wasn’t what we hoped for. Our hospital bill was actually even higher than what was estimated (if the delivery has epidural). We felt devastated at first, but we don’t want the bill to steal the joy from us. We thank God for the provision of being able to pay the hospital bill and finally take our son home. G & C were so glad to be home with their new sibling.
After 9 months waiting with moving, settling and transitioning to a new place, we finally welcome Ezekiel to our family. He was born on May 30th at 4:07 am weighing 6.8 lbs.
